To corsicate

A proposal for the Twenty-first Century Political Dictionary*

Corsicate: to fabricate, gather false stories and data, and publish such information in a publication with the goal of smearing, maligning and defeating its intended target. This is done without regard for veracity, ethics, or the harm to the intended target or anyone associated with the target.

Corsinian: behavior in the manner of corsicating (see to corsicate).

Corsi, Jerome: the person who developed the art form of corsication.

(* If there is no such dictionary, there should be!)

Offshore drilling is a really, really, really bad idea

Offshore drilling is at best hyperbole that will not lower gas prcies nor offer the real change we need to make with our use of energy and production. Here is a good list of reasons why:

"The top 10 reasons offshore drilling is such a dumb idea:

10. Offshore oil drilling won't impact gas prices today, and it won't have a significant impact on gas prices in the future.

9. This is nothing more than a money grab by the oil companies - who are already making record-breaking profits.

8. We burn 25% of the world's oil here in the U.S., but we have only 3% of the world's oil reserves. So even if all offshore oil magically came to market today, the vast majority of our oil would continue to be imported, and we wouldn't see price relief at the pump.

7. The current moratorium was put in place decades ago to protect us from the danger of oil spills along our coastlines and beaches.

6. Burning fossil fuels like oil causes global warming, which causes stronger hurricanes, which will threaten the very offshore drilling rigs being proposed, which will contribute to even more global warming.

5. To avoid the worst impacts of global warming, we need to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy within the next 10 years. The billions of dollars that would be spent on offshore oil drilling just postpones the inevitable transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

4. Oil exploration requires massive seismic testing - which threatens whales and dolphins.

3. Oil prices are set on the global oil market, so American oil is no cheaper than Saudi oil. We won't get a discount for oil drilled in the U.S.2. We can't solve the world's energy problems with the same drilling that created them.

1. Renewable energy is available now, so it's time to walk away from fossil fuels and toward a clean energy future."

The above list was sent to members of Greenpeace by Melanie Duchin, Global Warming Campaigner. To take action, go to:

www.greenpeace.org

Will candidates for president risk our fragile environment?

Will candidates for president risk our fragile environment to win needed contributions for their campaign? Will they endanger our already threatened oceans and air for personal political gain?

I will not contend that corporate donations play absolutely no role in the Obama campaign, but the renewed and improved support from Big Oil for John McCain since his reversal on off-shore drilling (is this an example of flip-flopping?) shows how far he will go. I recommend reading Matthew Mosk's article in The Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/26/AR2008072601891.html

Civility and Discourse in America

I like to join in conversations in some forums, such as those at Topix. The internet gives us rich opportunities to have exchanges between people of a variety of viewpoints. It is difficult often to bridge the divide among these different American viewpoints (far-left, left, center, right, far-right--they are all American). That requires some work. But what makes it more challenging and frustrating are those who join such forums and see it as a chance to hurl epithets at just about anyone they do not like. They reduce good, honest meaningful discourse to vile name calling.

Ironically some of these declare anyone who disagrees with them to be anti-American and traitorous. I call that ironic because using whatever cruel and dishonest device to attempt to silence another person from sharing a viewpoint is in itself against American ideals.