ENVIRONMENT
Big Stakes In Bali

The environmental stakes are high for the tropical island of Bali if the global community doesn't move forward to combat global warming. It would likely face fiercer and more frequent tropical storms, a rise in sea levels, and an increase in infectious diseases, among other disasters. It is therefore fitting that representatives from more than 180 countries are gathered there this week and next for the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The primary objective of the conference is to "draft a timeline to discuss the global emission reduction policy that will succeed the Kyoto Protocol," which will expire in 2012. The United States is now the only wealthy industrialized nation that has rejected Kyoto, and the Bush administration has made clear that it intends to resist binding international limits on carbon emissions at Bali. Show your support here for the United States to play a "positive leadership role" in drafting a "visionary treaty" to fight climate change.

THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S POSITION: In 2001, President Bush broke his campaign pledge to seek greenhouse gas reductions and rejected the Kyoto Protocol to limit global warming emissions; the administration "has not taken any of the UNFCCC negotiations seriously since." Bush skipped U.N.-sponsored "road map" meetings in September, instead hosting a separate gathering of the world's major emitters of greenhouse gases, at which he pushed them to accept his misguided framework of "voluntary" reductions. Earlier that month, Bush also convinced leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation to agree to a "long-term aspirational goal" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, instead of binding targets. At Bali, Bush "remains opposed to international constraints on curbing carbon emissions." In the run-up to the UNFCCC this week, Bush administration officials reportedly "established contact with representatives of the Chinese and Indian governments in an attempt to curb progress on climate protection initiatives." Luckily, a "shadow delegation of American business and political leaders" are also in Bali to "advocate mandatory limits." This group includes Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA), and former vice president Al Gore.

THE REAL U.S. POSITION: The Bush administration is more isolated than ever. With Bush's close ally John Howard recently ousted, Australia has taken swift action under new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and signed the Kyoto Protocol. "This is the first official act of the new Australian Government, demonstrating my government's commitment to tackling climate change," Rudd said in a statement issued hours after he was officially sworn in Monday. Nevertheless, the United States "stood firm" in its opposition when asked by reporters about Australia's reversal. "We do not see eye-to-eye with Australia or many other countries on the signing of Kyoto, that's obvious," said Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns. Last week, officials from more than 150 companies around the world -- worth "nearly $4 trillion in market capitalization" -- signed a petition demanding "urgent measures to cut greenhouse gas pollution at least in half by 2050." More than 200 climate scientists released a similar petition yesterday, arguing that "there is no time to lose." "Clearly, the U.S. position is much more advanced than the White House position," noted economist Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University in New York and a special adviser to the United Nations.

GOOD NEWS FROM CONGRESS: Bush may be frozen in time, but the rest of the United States is moving forward. Yesterday, led by committee chairwoman Boxer, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted 11-8 to pass the Lieberman-Warner climate change bill, which would create a "cap-and-trade system" and require the United States to cut global warming pollution 15 percent by 2020, and emissions 63 percent from 2005 levels by 2050. Sen. John Warner (R-VA) called the legislation "a chance to give America our opportunity...to be counted on this very very important issue." The House will also vote on an energy bill today that would, among other measures, mandate "a 40 percent increase in vehicle fuel efficiency standards to a fleet-wide average of 35 miles per gallon" and "require that 15 percent of power come from renewable sources by 2020." Even though this legislation is supported by the auto industry and United Auto Workers, but the White House has indicated it may veto it.

Under the Radar

ADMINISTRATION -- WHITE HOUSE REVEALS BUSH WAS TOLD IN AUGUST IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM 'MAY BE SUSPENDED': On Tuesday, President Bush said he was never forewarned by the intelligence community that Iran had suspended its nuclear weapons program in 2003. "Mike McConnell came in and said, 'We have some new information.' He didn't tell me what the information was," said Bush. In fact, Bush did know what the information was. "President Bush was told in August that Iran's nuclear weapons program 'may be suspended,'" the White House said. The White House statement released by press secretary Dana Perino last night states that McConnell told Bush "the new information might cause the intelligence community to change its assessment of Iran's covert nuclear program." On Tuesday, Bush said that "nobody ever told me" to back down from hawkish rhetoric on Iran. Whether or not that statement is true, Bush knew Iran "may have suspended" its nuclear weapons program and that the intelligence community was in the process of "changing its assessment." Nevertheless, he continued to warn of "World War III" because nobody told him specifically to stop. 

IRAQ -- CHENEY PREDICTS IRAQ WILL BE 'DEMOCRACY IN HEART OF MIDDLE EAST' BY JAN. 2009: In an interview with the Politico yesterday, Vice President Dick Cheney said that by Jan. 2009, he is "confident" Iraq will be in "good" enough shape that the White House will be able to look back and say, "That was the right decision. It was a sound decision going into Iraq." By 2009, it would be clear "we have in fact achieved our objective in terms of having a self-governing Iraq that's capable for the most part of defending themselves, a democracy in the heart of the Middle East." Cheney has been pledging such a development for the past five years. In June 2005, he asserted, "We will succeed in Iraq. ...We will stand up a new government under an Iraqi-drafted constitution...it will be an enormous success story." Cheney also promised, "The victory of freedom in Iraq will inspire democratic reformers in other lands." Despite Cheney's assurances, the White House is quietly scaling back its "expectation of quickly achieving major steps toward unifying the country," and in July, Gen. David Petraeus warned that the fight against insurgents in Iraq could take "decades."

IRAN -- THOMPSON'S NIE CONSPIRACY: IRAN MAY HAVE 'LEAKED' INTEL TO U.S.: Since the intelligence community released its National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) that concluded Iran had halted its nuclear program in 2003, conservatives have generated a host of conspiracy theories. On PBS's Charlie Rose, former senator Fred Thompson added his own to the mix. "We're just going to have to wait and see, why they would start it up and they would move away without telling anybody. Unless of course they have leaked this themselves" to "divert our attention a little bit," he said. Thompson expanded on his disdain for the NIE later, stating, "The accuracy of the latest NIE on Iran should be received with a good deal of skepticism. ... It's awfully convenient for a lot of people." Thompson's reaction echoes that of administration officials, who in July, "expressed skepticism" about an intercept from "a senior Iranian military official" complaining "that the nuclear program had been shuttered," believing it was "part of a clever Iranian deception campaign."

Think Fast

Today, President Bush will announce a freeze on some subprime mortgages in an effort to stop a wave of foreclosures. Bloomberg writes, "Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's success in crafting an agreement on a five-year fix of subprime mortgage rates owes a debt to an unlikely source: congressional Democrats."

The National Intelligence Estimate's conclusion that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program came about after intelligence agencies obtained notes last summer of Iranian military officials complaining "bitterly" about the decision by their superiors in late 2003 to shut down a central part of the program.

In the ongoing Guantanamo Bay case, Boumediene v. Bush, the Supreme Court may "finally bring an end to the disastrous six-year military commission experiment that has so far brought about only one plea-bargained conviction," writes Michael Hoffman and Ken Gude of the Center for American Progress.

One in three Americans "want to deny social services, including public schooling and emergency room healthcare," to undocumented immigrants, according to a LAT/Bloomberg poll. However, 60 percent still favor creating a pathway to citizenship for law-abiding individuals.

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) yesterday took offense at being described as a "puppet" of President Bush by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). Jim Manley, a Reid spokesman, "said it's understandable that Republicans are sensitive about being associated with Bush."

"President Bush has sent North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong-il a personal letter, Pyongyang revealed on Thursday, as it faces uncertainty over when and how it will meet nuclear disarmament steps agreed with Washington."

"Car bombs in Baghdad and three northern Iraqi cities killed at least 22 people and wounded more than 60 others on Wednesday, as Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived for an unannounced visit with senior Iraqi officials." The wave of killings accounted for the highest daily death toll in several weeks."

Gates has "decided against a proposal to shift Marine Corps forces from Iraq to take the lead in American operations in Afghanistan." Gates told Marine officials that Iraq "remained too volatile to contemplate such a significant change."

The White House formally nominated Mark Filip, a federal judge in Chicago, for the Justice Department's No. 2 job on Wednesday, a day after the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman threatened to postpone confirmation hearings until next year.

And finally: Conservatives dream of Reagan on Mount Rushmore. Former ambassador Fred J. Eckert, a staunchly conservative former Republican congressman from New York, has worked to create an image of what Rushmore would look like with Reagan carved into it. The result can be viewed at ReaganRushmore.com. Eckert claims that, "in time," his fantasy will become reality.

Good News

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday blocked a Bush administration rule under the "Healthy Forests Initiative" that "allowed logging and burning projects in national forests without first analyzing their effects on the environment."

State Watch

MASSACHUSETTS: "Nearly 300,000 people have obtained health insurance through the state's landmark initiative over the last 18 months."

FLORIDA: "A key state official plans to vote against Florida's proposed new science standards because evolution would be taught in public schools to the 'exclusion of other theories of origin of life.'"
 
ECONOMY: "A slumping housing market and skimpier sales tax collections will force as many as 20 states to go back and patch holes in their budgets in 2008."

Blog Watch

THINK PROGRESS: Like the State Department, Justice Department policies discriminate against gay and lesbian employees.

POLITICAL ANIMAL: Former Bush adviser Dan Bartlett says the White House speaks to conservative blogs because "they regurgitate exactly" the message the administration wants to put out.

CLIMATE PROGRESS: Wall Street Journal editor insults scientists and attacks Al Gore over climate change.

CARPETBAGGER REPORT: Three out of four of Fox News's primetime shows ignored the new National Intelligence Estimate on the day it was released.

Daily Grill

"To address these problems, the goal of Federal policy should be to emphasize abstinence as the only certain way to avoid both unintended pregnancies and STDs."
-- White House, 2/02

VERSUS

"The birth rate rose by 3 percent between 2005 and 2006 among 15-to-19-year-old girls, after plummeting 34 percent between 1991 and 2005."
-- Washington Post, 12/6/07