End the Fossil Fuel Subsidy

Bernie Sanders and Keith Ellison have put forward a plan to cease the tax exemptions utilized by oil, coal, and gas subsidies. Said Mr. Sanders, "We are here not just to announce new legislation, but to send a message that it is time to end the absurdity of taxpayers providing massive subsidies to hugely profitable fossil fuel corporations," Bernie said. "In these difficult economic times, it is imperative that we support the taxpayers of this country and not the fossil fuel industry -- one of the most powerful special interests in the world.”

COMPREHENSIVE FOSSIL FUEL SUBSIDY REPEAL TO
SAVE TAXPAYERS OVER $110 BILLION
Endorsed by:
350.org, Taxpayers for Common Sense, Friends of the Earth, Sierra Club,
Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, Oil Change International
ORIGINAL SPONSORS
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN)

IT IS TIME TO END FOSSIL FUEL WELFARE
At a time when we have a record debt, Congress should not continue to give away taxpayer money to the established, highly profitable fossil fuel industry.

• Fossil fuels are subsidized at nearly 6 times the rate of renewable energy. From 2002 to 2008, the US Government gave the mature fossil fuel industry over $72 billion in subsidies, while investments in the emerging renewable industry totaled $12.2 billion.
• The fossil fuel energy industry does not need taxpayer subsidies. In 2011, the Big Five oil companies alone made $137 billion in profits. During the first quarter of 2012, the Big Five oil companies earned a combined $33.5 billion, or $368 million per day.
• Unlike renewable energy incentives which periodically expire and require Congress to approve extensions, the fossil fuel industry has dozens of subsidies permanently engrained in the tax code from decades of successful lobbying. In 2011, the oil, gas, and coal industries spent a combined $167 million on lobbying the federal government.

STOP MORE THAN $110 BILLION IN FOSSIL FUEL GIVEAWAYS OVER NEXT TEN YEARS
The bill would comprehensively abolish fossil fuel subsidies, saving taxpayers billions of dollars. It ends tax breaks, eliminates special financing, does away with taxpayer-funded fossil fuel R&D, and sets fair royalties policies to ensure the fossil fuel corporations pay their fair share. Examples of these giveaways include:

OIL, GAS, and COAL TAX BREAKS

• $14 Billion Saved by eliminating the intangible drilling deduction.
• $12 Billion Saved by repealing a 2004 law that allows fossil fuel corporations to take deductions aimed at helping American manufacturers by claiming they are manufacturers.
• $6.8 Billion Saved by closing the loophole that allows corporations like BP to deduct money they spend cleaning up their own oil spills and paying damages.

SPECIAL FINANCING

• $2.4 Billion Saved by stopping fossil fuel companies from investing through Master Limited Partnerships, an option not available to clean energy businesses.

TAXPAYER FUNDED R&D

• $3.7 Billion Saved by shutting the federal Office of Fossil Energy.

ROYALTIES

• $10.6 Billion Saved by recouping lost royalties for offshore drilling in public

Read the bill here.

Why bomb Libya but not Yemen or Syria or Rwanda?

Oil.  Libya hovers over about 46 billion barrels of oil reserves.  Yemen owns about 11 billion, Syria, 2.5 billion, Rwanda, 0 billion.  So don't let anyone con you into thinking the US is a Dudley-do-right nation.  We're in it for our own interests or should I say corporate interests.  We're bombing Libya for oil.  We (as in a group of white middle aged wealthy men who may be Americans but not necessarily, hold vast power over policy decisions, and can't tell the difference between Tyler Perry and any other black person) invaded Iraq not because Saddam was Satan but because they're sitting on over 110 billion barrels of oil reserves.  Case closed.  We, the people, are complicit because of our insatiable attachment to driving our own cars.  Trust me, I'd rather drive my car to work - it takes 15 minutes by car - than to take the MCTS - it takes an hour (by bike it'd take me at least 1.5 hrs).  Anyway, until we have a stronger commitment in this country to public transportation, we'll be dependent on oil.

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Some folks were sad to see Herb Kohl resign.  I think they must have been republicans because Mr. Kohl hasn't been much of a democrat.  This past week he voted to continue provisions in the Patriot Act that allow the government to eavesdrop on any and all citizens.  That seems utterly mind-boggling.  He's also not been the loudest advocate for discontinuing the Bush tax cuts nor has he been vocal about cuts to Inheritance tax, or Capital Gains tax.  But it makes sense, he's a billionaire.  How long will it be before all of our senators are billionaires?   

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Still searching for the Higgs boson.  In the meantime, Stephen Hawking has decided there is no heaven.  Yet the universe keeps providing images that make it hard to accept:

Comet Between Fireworks and Lightning
Credit & Copyright: Antti Kemppainen Explanation: Sometimes the sky itself is the best show in town. In January 2007, people from Perth, Australia gathered on a local beach to watch a sky light up with delights near and far. Nearby, fireworks exploded as part of Australia Day celebrations. On the far right, lightning from a thunderstorm flashed in the distance. Near the image center, though, seen through clouds, was the most unusual sight of all: Comet McNaught. The photogenic comet was so bright that it even remained visible though the din of Earthly flashes. Comet McNaught has now returned to the outer Solar System and is now only visible with a large telescope. The above image is actually a three photograph panorama digitally processed to reduce red reflections from the exploding firework.

Is it possible to just get rid of organized religions without dismissing the notion of god?  It seems a little weird that Jesus who was quite a bit of a rebel - similarly with Mohammed and Abraham and Moses - would advocate organized religions that we have today battling over parishioners, vying for donations, and searching for more innocent children to convert through pedophilia.  Maybe there should be a lot more dancing, like Lionel Messi.