destroying levees and restoring the environment

The clock is turning back on 16,000 acres purchased in the 1960s. Bulldozed and dried out, this land lost its forests, wetlands and marshes for levees and a giant soy bean farm.

The Ouchley brothers plan to undo this damage as best they can:

There is a growing awareness that Louisiana’s levees have exacted a huge environmental cost. Inland, cypress forests and wetlands crucial for migrating waterfowl have vanished; in southern Louisiana, coastal marshes deprived of regular infusions of sediment-rich river water have yielded by the mile to an encroaching Gulf of Mexico. Some scientists have suggested opening levees south of New Orleans so the Mississippi River can flow normally into the swamps. full article

counting same-sex partnerships

The Wall Street Journal reports:

The White House said Thursday it was seeking ways to include same-sex marriages, unions and partnerships in 2010 Census data, the second time in a week the administration has signaled a policy change of interest to the gay community.

The administration has directed the Census Bureau to determine changes needed in tabulation software to allow for same-sex marriage data to be released early in 2011 with other detailed demographic information from the decennial count. The bureau historically hasn't released same-sex marriage data. full article

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approves sketchy energy bill

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved of a sketchy energy bill that would open up oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and does not include any mandatory reductions in heat-trapping gases (although another Senate committee is focusing on this aspect).

The bill also calls for utilities to produce 15% of their electricity from wind and solar by 2021--a weaker target than the current House bill.

The New York Times reports:

The energy bill includes money for clean energy technologies and training for workers in new energy-related industries. It calls for expansion of the nation’s stockpiles of petroleum reserves to deal with sudden shortages or steep price increases. It provides federal incentives for projects to capture and store carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, and encourages a solution to the problem of storing nuclear waste. full article

Both Republicans and Democrats are hoping to strengthen the bill, for their respective positions, on the floor.

Not promising.

Nestle Cookie Dough is recalled

Yuck.

FREED Act has 17 co-sponsors

A few months ago, I blogged on my experience lobbying for the Federal Response to Eliminating Eating Disorders Act (FREED) with the Eating Disorders Coalition (EDC).

I am excited to announce that we have 17 co-sponsors:

Rep. Patrick Kennedy [D, RI-1]
and 17 Co-Sponsor



Rep. Tammy Baldwin [D, WI-2]
Rep. Dan Burton [R, IN-5]
Rep. Lois Capps [D, CA-23]
Rep. Russ Carnahan [D, MO-3]
Rep. Gerald Connolly [D, VA-11]
Rep. John Conyers [D, MI-14]
Rep. Joe Courtney [D, CT-2]
Rep. Diana DeGette [D, CO-1]
Rep. Jo Ann Emerson [R, MO-8]
Rep. Barton Gordon [D, TN-6]
Rep. Steven LaTourette [R, OH-14]
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter [R, MI-11]
Rep. James Moran [D, VA-8]
Rep. Grace Napolitano [D, CA-38]
Rep. Todd Platts [R, PA-19]
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen [R, FL-18]
Rep. Christopher Smith [R, NJ-4]

Amendments to H.R.1193

Number	Status	Purpose

Supreme Court declines to hear border fence case

The Supreme Court has declined to hear a case challenging the constitutionality of whether or not the federal government can trump local and state laws in order to build a fence between the United States and Mexico.

The Hill reports:

Under President Bush, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff approved two waivers that disburden fence planners of having to comply with "all federal, state or other laws, regulations and legal requirements" of construction. full article

This includes the ability to ignore the Endangered Species Act and and the National Environmental Policy Act.

Barney Frank to reintroduce ENDA as all-inclusive

According to his adviser, Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) is planning to re-introduce an all-inclusive version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that passed in the House in 2007.

The older version of ENDA was--despite a lot of controversy--split into two bills, separating sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill did nothing in the Senate and died. Now, Frank claims the political climate is more conducive to pass with protections against gender-based discrimination and sexual orientation in one shot.

Southern Voice reports:

Sanchez said that, as of Wednesday, the bill had eight House co-sponsors, including four Democrats and four Republicans. Among the sponsors were gay House members Frank, Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), and Jared Polis (D-Colo.). The lead Republican sponsor is Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.). full article

and here it is

The Washington Post reports:

In an Oval Office ceremony, Obama signed a presidential memorandum that gives same-sex domestic partners of federal employees access to long-term-care insurance benefits and allows civil servants to use sick leave to care for ailing domestic partners and children not related by blood or adoption. He also ordered the Office of Personnel Management to advise agencies within 90 days on how to comply with anti-discrimination regulations. full article

placating the vote

Now that several powerful gay fundraisers have withdrawn from a DNC fund raiser in June where Biden is speaking, Obama is expected to announce that same-sex partners will be receiving federal benefits on Wednesday

click it OR STICK IT

I am so angered by all of the money and resources wasted on this Click It or Ticket business.

A) I agree that minors should be legally required to wear seat belts and that the state can legitimately seek to enforce the safety of those who are not of legal age to decide for themselves, and who may or may not have adequate legal guardians.

B) I am an adult. How I decide to sit in my own car, so long as I am not harming or potentially harming another, is my business only. The state needs to leave my body alone.

C) WE ARE IN A FISCAL CRISIS. Why in the world are national and local funds spending money to advertise this junk, especially when the target group is males from age 18-34?

THESE ARE NOT EVEN MINORS. If the ad campaign sought to crack down on the deaths of small children, perhaps I could muster up some understanding.

love this quote

"If I had my life to live over, I would do it all again, but this time I would be nastier."--Jeanette Rankin, first woman elected to Congress

vegans against PETA

I always love when another voice enters the discussion. And we all know I have my legumes with PETA (recall my discussion of PETA and transphobia)

I also hate the default imagery associated with veganism.

Check out Vegans Against PETA