Hundreds more gigawatts expected in the coming decades More than 70 gigawatts of wind power is installed around the U.S., according to new figures from the American Wind Energy Association. The milestone was hit in November. It took three years to get from 60 gigawatts to 70 gigawatts due to the temporary expiration of the Production…
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“A Complex Story”: Hillary Clinton Posts Late Night Apology On Facebook
In a latenight Facebook post, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton apologized for her role in a deepening email scandal.
In the post, Clinton admitted that she should have used two email addresses during her time at the State Department-something that Colin Powell said he did during his time in the role.
Read Clinton’s full message below:
“I wanted you to hear this directly from me:
Yes, I should have used two email addresses, one for personal matters and one for my work at the State Department. Not doing so was a mistake. I’m sorry about it, and I take full responsibility.
It’s important for you to know a few key facts. My use of a personal email account was aboveboard and allowed under the State Department’s rules. Everyone I communicated with in government was aware of it. And nothing I ever sent or received was marked classified at the time.
As this process proceeds, I want to be as transparent as possible. That’s why I’ve provided all of my work emails to the government to be released to the public, and why I’ll be testifying in public in front of the Benghazi Committee later next month.
I know this is a complex story. I could have—and should have—done a better job answering questions earlier. I’m grateful for your support, and I’m not taking anything for granted.
I understand that you may have more questions, and I am going to work to keep answering them. If you want to read more, including my emails themselves, please go here:
https://www.hillaryclinton.com/emails/
Thank you,
Hillary”
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Former NYC Police Chief Claims There’s A “Ferguson Effect” Hurting Police Work
Earlier this morning on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” television program, former New York police chief Ray Kelly said that New York City was in danger of slipping back to a period of high crime and that police officers were scared of properly doing their jobs because of a “Ferguson effect”.
The comments came during a conversation with Kelly over Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s policies.
Joe Scarborough, a former republican Congressman and host of the show asked Kelly if he believed there to be a “Ferguson effect”, referencing the fallout from the killing of an unarmed black teenager in a St. Louis suburb.
“Absolutely,” Kelly said in response to Scarborough’s question. “Ironically of course, Daryl Wilson was totally exonerated by the Justice Department. We talk about Ferguson but a lot of people forget that fact.”
Kelly went on to explain his reasoning.
“The Ferguson effect is that police officers… are thinking twice before they engage. And with the advent of [body] cameras, which I ultimately support cameras are going to make officers hesitate somewhat. In some people’s minds that’s good, in some people’s minds that’s bad. But I think you’re experiencing now reluctance for police to do what they’ve done in the last 20 years. Crime is down dramatically in other parts of the country, I attribute it to smarter policing proactive policing. You’re seeing a backing off from that for a variety of reasons.
“I think everybody has to be concerned of that possibility,” Kelly said when asked if he feared if the city would slide back to a period of high crime associated with the late 1980’s. “Bill Bratton is a top flight professional but the mayor sets the tone.”
Kelly refused to slam the door on a possible mayoral run when asked by show host.
“I’m happy right now with what I’m doing,” Kelly said.
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Body Photo Credit: MarineCorps NewYork/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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Why The Republican Party Is So Out Of Touch With Reality On Climate Change
By Nicholas Olivera
In mid-December, leaders from 195 countries came to an historic agreement in Paris about how to address the global crisis of climate change. The agreement was heralded as a pathbreaking moment for both international diplomacy and the scientific consensus concerning climate change.
Back home in America however, things felt a bit differently, as they often do.
A week after the historic agreement, President Barack Obama mocked Republicans for their continued failure to recognize climate change as a real issue.
“The American Republican party is the only major party that I can think of in the advanced world that effectively denies climate change,” Obama said according to the Guardian.
According to a recent Pew survey, only 27% of Republicans believe that global warming is mostly an issue caused mostly by human activity.
Only a couple of the Republican presidential candidates have expressed the belief that global climate change is a man-made threat.
Former governor of New York George Pataki has openly acknowledged his stance on climate, saying during October’s GOP debate: “It is not appropriate to think that human activity — putting CO2 into the atmosphere –doesn’t make the Earth warmer. All things being equal, it does. It is uncontroverted.”
Pataki has spent some time working towards a cleaner environment, having served as co-chair of the Independent Task Force on Global Climate Change, an independent commission dedicated to preventing climate change.
The group even issued a report back in June of 2008 making market-friendly recommendations in order to cut carbon emissions 60 to 80 percent by the year 2050.
And while Pataki is a staunch believer in climate change there’s no mention of it on his campaign website.
Why would a candidate with so much passion for the issue of climate change leave it out of their campaign?
“The fact that it isn’t being talked about very much by the rest of the candidates doesn’t surprise me,” Dr. David Woodard, a professor of political science at Clemson University and former consultant of Republican candidates told RISE NEWS. “I have found that other candidates have gotten a lot more mileage by bringing up the terrorist issues.”
Six of the remaining dozen candidates have dismissed the issue entirely.
Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum has said in the past that he believes that climate change is nothing more than an excuse for “more government control of your life.”
Texas senator Ted Cruz asserts that climate change was simply concocted by “power-greedy politicians.”
And of course Donald Trump has made his beliefs concerning the issue known in a rather vulgar way.
This very expensive GLOBAL WARMING bullshit has got to stop. Our planet is freezing, record low temps,and our GW scientists are stuck in ice
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2014
The remaining candidates are caught somewhere in the middle; each of them have publicly expressed a mixture of doubt, hesitancy, and skepticism in regards to climate change.
New Jersey governor Chris Christie has acknowledged the existence of global climate change but argues that the degree to which human activity contributes to it is up for debate.
Former governor of Virginia Jim Gilmore (yes, he is still running) claims to need more proof as to whether or not it is a man-made issue. Even former governor of Florida Jeb Bush has expressed his skepticism.
But chances are this is an issue that won’t pick up traction within the GOP nomination contest this year.
“I don’t think it’s an important issue this year given the events in California along with other terrorist attacks,” Woodard said. “The other candidates are going with the more hot-button issues where they get the most press attention and conflict with their peers.”
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