Regress

Congress, the late Nipsey Russell once said, is the opposite of progress. Last night, however, the House of Representatives stunned everyone by actually making progress on a contentious environmental issue - global warming. The clean energy bill passed by the House passed narrowly - by five votes - making investments in clean energy production more of a reality. The bill, known as the American Clean Energy and Security Act but sometimes called the Waxman-Markey Act (after its sponsors), requires carbon pollutants to be reduced by 17 percent by 2020, and up to 80 percent by 2050. Other provisions include a requirement for new use of renewable energy by utilities and energy efficiency incentives for homes and buildings.

Republicans and oil companies fought this bill diligently, and only eight Republicans voted for it. Tellingly, three of those Republican votes came from my own state of New Jersey. Sadly, my congressman's vote was not among them.

Bob Etheridge voted for it. :-) ;-)

The bill now goes to the Senate, where chances of passage seemed dim but get a boost from the House vote. This news is a big win for President Obama, who hopes at least to put America on a wiser, more efficient path when it comes to energy usage, and do more to combat climate change.

Wrong Call

Have you ever wondered why progressive causes and policies a majority of Americans support - tougher environmental laws, more support for Amtrak, universal health coverage - never come to be? Perhaps this episode involving the Sierra Club explains it.

I got a call today from a Sierra Club asking me if I would support the American Clean Energy and Security Act, which is up for a vote in the House of Representatives, by speaking directly to someone in my congressman's office. The Sierra Club representative told me she could transfer me to my congressman's office, as they knew who my congressman was based on my telephone number exchange. It sounded like a good deal to me, so I said yes.

The next voice I heard on the phone answered, "Good morning, Congressman Bob Etheridge's office."

Bob Etheridge is not my congressman.

I didn't know what to do, so I feebly excused myself and hung up.

And people wonder why the left never gets anywhere.

Maybe I'm better off just clicking form letters to my congressional representatives through e-mail.