>heretofore obscure procedure known as budget reconciliation

You must be kidding. That is the same procedure that George W Bush used to push thru all of his regressive tax changes. The money lost in tax collections is larger than the projected cost of this public option.

For %&*#$ sake! Isn't this why they all were elected? Make them pay democrats, make them pay. Renounce your party affiliation, make them curry your vote by policy, and make them suffer when they fail to deliver.

To state it directly, our legislature is indended to be a dynamic body, based on public support. It is not a career-for-life. We are one of the most highly educated nations in the world, and there are MANY people qualified for that office.

>The U.S. is in the same situation as Weimar Germany in the 1920s, and it “ends the same way."

>"Here’s how it’s going to work: I’ve done a lot of reading on history in the last few years."

I'm actually afraid of the same thing - that it "ends the same way". If he's been reading history and made some projections, it seems pretty clear which side he wants to be on. Heil Herr Beck!

It might be legally wise for a man to never allow his name to be put on a birth certificate without a paternity test to prove it. They aren't very expensive, but the consequences of a mistaken assumption certainly are.

A true story: when I was in college, I had a catholic co-worker who didn't believe in birth control. She also didn't think abstainence or monogamy was reasonable. When she got pregnant, she was able to narrow it down to four different guys. She picked the one she liked the most, told him it was his, and demanded they marry, which he agreed to. Poor sucker...

It sounds like you differ on more than the question of whether or not there is a god, but on many core values. That is a difficult spot. I think you need to be honest but not confrontational. If you are honest about yourself, and tongues wag, then those people are only making themselves look bad. However, if you aren't honest about yourself, you are living a lie, and that has long-term consequences. Not to mention, you are actually supporting their beliefs you don't agree with through your actions.

When you do choose to "come out of the closet" as I hope you do, you can remind them if a god-less athiest like yourself can not hold their religion against them, then surely as followers of Christ they could do as much as well.

GDP in the west, especially when related to carbon production is a dubious variable.

1: Financial ponzi schemes of all sorts are tracked as GDP. Not the underlying gains and losses, but the transfers are counted as part of GDP. - services count as "production" even if they produce nothing material or of long term value. Transactions have no carbon cost in this model.

2: OF COURSE it is more expensive in terms of carbon to make something in China, even if you can sell it 3 times (importer, distributor, customer) in the West, reaping GDP on each transfer.

3: Assuming these maps show a purely East/West transition, why are the points in/near the Arctic circle? Is rainforest deforestation not an issue? The developing economies of China and India are so much closer to the equator than US/Europe and don't seem to register that way.

4: Considering all of the above, and the phenomena of globalization, does it even make sense to track emissions on their country of origin? Export-based economies will necessarily produce more carbon. If it is made in one place, to be shipped to another, does it make sense to tie the carbon cost to the point of production, or might it better be tied to the point of consumption? Would those goods have even been produced without a buyer?

Paraphrase: Why are such glaring truths about the origins of our policies continuously ignored? - because it serves the purposes of some.

- the military industrial complex needs to justify itself. Silly me, I'm still waiting on my post-Soviet peace dividend...

- Politicians like to talk tough, and look tough because it keeps the focus off the wheeling and dealing.

- a radical strain of Christians thrives on notions of persecution and end-times good vrs evil showdowns.

- a xenophobic strain of Americans is just plain scared of the "other". Their fear is self-fueling, and has been elevated to a way of life.