Yes, I would like to see Republicans block cutting tax breaks for absurdly profitable oil companies. That'll play well in 2008, I suspect.

Huzzah! The 100 hours are almost up and there have been victories in the House! Great job guys, NOW GET BACK TO WORK!

Chickens before they hatch is right, and as for 'Big Coal'- all I can say is:

CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM

The reform bills they passed and the one the Senate is working on are half-assed, after-the-fact measures. They don't address anything of consequence when it comes to corporate donor influence or dirty campaign ads, nothing to restrict outside influence on state races (JoeLeib, anyone?), nothing to create uniform voting rules, oversight, or equipment, nothing to free the system and themselves from year-round fundraising and special interest influence.

You want a fair fight between alternative energy and coal? You want regulation and oversight of commercial genetic engineering? You want science and reason in our politics? Then you want campaign finance reform. You want lawmakers unfettered by the pressures and compromises that come with unfettered campaign spending. You want legislators who can actually follow the advice of experts, instead of tempering their decisions to the will of their corporate/special interest sponsors. You want campaign contribution deadlines that frees candidates from fundraising and forces them to choose between spending on negative ads and positive ads- between addressing the issues or inflating the hype.

Great conquests rely on small victories, and this is one small victory the American people are eager and willing to support. We must level the playing field before we take on giants.

Campaign Finance Reform

It's so nice to see some forward-thinking legislation being passed again. Now we just need to get the government to actively promote science in the classrooms and in industry and maybe we will really be able to get going on renewable energy.

The sweet royalty deals Mr. Leonard refers to happened in the Clinton Interior Department, not the Bush one. As has been reported extensively over the last few months, it would appear to be an honest mistake, but one of stunning incompetence. The Bush Interior Department was made aware of the mistake and did nothing, certainly giving them more than their fair share of culpability, but they did not initiate it. I am no friend of Bush, quite the opposite, but this story deserves to be told the right way because it is one that reveals how important it is to have competent, attentive people in positions within our government.

That said, no matter how it happened, this is a good day for renewable energy policy in the US, and that's worth celebrating.

It doesn't make any difference whether the Repubs and Bushies stop these pieces of legislation because if they do stop them come 2008 the Dems just have to keep saying that we tried. If the Repubs and Bush, a Repub, will damage their chances in 2008 when the american people remember, with constant repitition from the Dems, that it was the Repubs who stopped thier children from going to college or stopped the Claen Energy Act etc. The Dems just have to remind people that 'we tried', 'we put forth the legislation' but 'it was the Repubs who stopped everything'. The repubs, with their vetoes and obstructionist political policies who will give us a Dem prez in 2008.

Yawn. The House is full of madmen. They can pass whatever they'd like. When they get to the Big Boys in the Senate their plans will be cut into pieces and stuffed down the garbage disposal.

Wind energy? Solar? You're kidding me, right? In 20 years you're going to be bitching about big coal as we switch to cars powered by the grid. The only renewable energy worth investing in on a large scale is nuclear. But the irony is that because of environmentalists pressure, we're all going to be living under a big coal economy with mercury in our water and sulfur in the air.

to the potential cloud of Senate denial or Usurper's veto of House dems' 100-hour agenda is the PR value.

"We did what we promised and what the American people sent us here to do - shame on the Senate republicans/President Bush for refusing to do what the people want and what is best for the country.

"We will not let these anti-American obstructionists stop us from doing what's right. We will keep sending this patriotic legislation to the Senate/the President and keep demanding that they accept the inevitable."

Turn defeat into public opinion victory!

The best I'm hoping for is that maybe a few more of the segment of the American People(TM) who haven't yet will FINALLY wake up to just how much of (1) a whore for big elites and (2) how against America's best interests a creature like Bush is when he inevitably vetoes this bill.

On the other hand, if six solid years of selling out America by this traitor "president" hasn't woke everyone up by now, I'm not sure what will.

You're probably right about not getting too excited about a bill until it becomes law. It still has to clear the senate and also get past Mr. Bush's veto.

It is a case for guarded optimism, though. Let's hope it's a sign of a sea change in American politics.

Am I dreaming? Is the government waking from a long dark slumber and getting back to reality?

When the Dems got voted back in, I didn't really think it would make a difference. I think I'm about to be proved wrong.