David Stockman recently explained “How my Republican Party destroyed the American economy.” So you’ll be delighted to know that the party has no new thinking at all on what to do now, as TP reports in this cross-post.call 1800

Former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), the chairman of the Atlantic Council, recently sat down for an interview with the Washington Diplomat. In the interview, the former senator touched on a variety of topics, including what he feels is the need for the United States to “unwind” from the war in Afghanistan.

Towards the end of the interview, Hagel says that while he has “no plans to renounce his membership in the party,” he finds that the Republican Party of which he is a part is not “presenting any new alternatives, any new options, or any new thinking“:

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Koch Industries joins Valero and Tesoro to stop climate action

On Friday, September 03 Thomas F. Steyer, Co-Chair of the No on 23 Campaign and Paul Knepprath, Vice President for advocacy and health initiatives for the California chapter of the American Lung Association held a press call to discuss the latest donations to the Yes on 23 campaign to repeal California’s key climate and clean energy laws.

“The dirty oil coalition behind prop 23 just got a lot dirtier,” said Knepprath, referring to the $1 million contribution that Koch Industries made to the Yes on 23 campaign a day earlier. The campaign is supporting a passage of proposition 23 that was placed on the ballot by Texas oil companies.  The proposition would undo California’s Global Warming Solutions Act (also known as Assembly Bill 32, or AB 32).

Koch Industries is one of the biggest polluters in the country and is ranked the biggest spending dirty energy company.  In fact, Koch Industries outspends Exxon Mobil on climate and clean energy disinformation.  Yesterday, in addition to Koch, Tesoro donated another $1 million bringing the total contributions to the Yes on 23 campaign to more than $8 million – 97% of which comes from oil and 89% of which comes from out of state.  Valero, Tesoro and Koch alone have funded more than $6.5 million – 80% of total contributions.

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When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans five years ago, the devastation was heartbreaking. Residents lost homes, schools, and churches, and in some cases entire neighborhoods were destroyed. The city was in ruins by the time the water finally receded, leaving the task of rebuilding to those whose homes and livelihoods had been swept away by the massive storm. The Crescent City slowly but surely crept back to life, and in the process, New Orleans 2.0 is becoming better, stronger, and greener.

There are a number of organizations working to help New Orleans think smarter and greener as residents rebuild their homes, keeping in mind that installing rooftop solar panels or backyard wind turbines isn’t realistic for most people, and that simple is better.

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