L u k e n . o r g

Energy bill OKd in raucous vote / GOP measure scrapes by after hard lobbying on House floor
Washington — The House of Representatives descended into bedlam Friday as Republican leaders kept a five-minute vote open for more than 40 minutes — and arm-twisted two of their members to switch their votes — to pass a new energy bill.

The bill, which would offer incentives for oil companies to build new refineries, sparked angry accusations by Democrats that GOP leaders were abusing House rules to squeeze through the controversial measure.

The vote was tied at 211-211 when Republican leaders convinced Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, R-Md., to switch his vote to “yes” 44 minutes after he had voted “no.” His spokeswoman declined to comment on why he changed his position (although I believe he was most likely strongarmed and caved in)

The energy bill that passed the House of Representatives by a two-vote margin after a controversial extended vote would:

Streamline government permits for refineries
Allow refineries to commit environmental hazards unchecked

Outlaw price-gouging and give federal regulators the authority to impose fines of as much as $11,000 per violation.
Probably only applies to mom and pop shops who can afford to compete anyway

Encourage carpooling
In a Suburban

Open federal lands including closed military bases for refinery construction
Give cash rich oil companies taxpayer land for about a buck an acre. Also, closed military bases usually reside in undesirable areas where the populas cannot affort legal costs to prevent gas lines running through their living room

Limit the number of gasoline blends refiners have to produce from 17 to six, eliminating many blends designed to reduce air pollution
Eliminate those absurd barriers and costs of protecting the air, and roll back to pre-1940 environmental standards

Allow a city or region to petition for more time to meet Clean Air Act standards if it can show the pollution comes from another area
Since we have a jet steam encompassing the globe, I guess we can just say all the polution comes from China.

Well, today the recital in public schools of the Pledge of Allegiance was struck down on the grounds that the reference to one nation “under God” violates children’s right to be “free from a coercive requirement to affirm God” if they don’t believe in God, or actually, if their parents don’t believe in god.

So here’s a link to the brief history of the pledge, which ironically, has some interesting roots. It was written by a Christian Socalist, Francis Bellamy, author of the American socialist utopian novels, Looking Backward (1888) and Equality (1897).

Interestingly, the original pledge, ‘I pledge allegiance to my Flag and (to*) the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.’ omitted the word ‘equality,’ because he knew there the state superintendents of education on his committee were against equality for women and blacks. But is was added in October, 1892.

In 1954, Congress after a campaign by the Knights of Columbus, added the words, ‘under God,’ to the Pledge. The Pledge was now both a patriotic oath and a public prayer. How they pulled that off, I have no idea if these are the same Knights organization that I remember seeing when growing up in Brooklyn. They have a local chapter on Jamaica Ave and Norwood. But that’s a whole different blog entry….

I just wonder how further polarized this country can become.

The Pledge of Allegiance – A Short History

Hmm, we remember. It never ceases to amaze me how some history is conviently omitted from the history books, such as the only time when aerial bombs were dropped on a continental US city. AFRO-AMERICAN ALMANAC – African-American History Resource

Many people are puzzled as to why the initial feeelings by blacks to the hurricane response is deemed to be race related. With 80% of New Orleans being black, and 30% below the poverty line, cynicsm reigns and there will always be that underlying feeling of discrimination and racism based on ommitted history events like that of Tulsa, 1921.

In speaking with an elderly black person in my town where I live, he remembers life in the south, and made this comment: “Any way they can get rid of us black folk, leaving us to die in N’Orleans or bombin’ Tulsa, it will always be….”

Now I’m not saying that their thoughts are justified or not, but what I am saying is that their feelings are based on a reality, not just a perception. And remember, a majority of disrimination was government based and sponsered, from the Dept. of Agriculture on black farmers, to the ship builders and coastal properties in Wilmington, NC., or even the history of land thefts and trickery in Cary, NC. itself. Blacks remember these things, some still live them, so when they see an issue like the hurricane response, they relive their past experiences. So if you’re asking why this anger is surfacing amongts the storm victims, here is a look into why.

Now I remember hearing the story of Tulsa about 15 years ago while I was at Ft. Bragg, but dismissed it as not being something that could actually happen on our soil, but I was a lot younger, and naive back then. So, hopping on the net and doing some searching, here it is….but prior to reading on, this post isn’t for starting hostilities, but rather to foster understanding and compassion.

Monday May 30, 1921

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