Think Progress

Inhofe’s Grandchildren Build Igloo To Mock Killer Snow Storm: ‘Al Gore’s New Home’ - Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

The record-breaking snowstorm that has shut down the mid-Atlantic region for days has become a favored target for mockery by Republicans who deny global warming, seemingly on the supposition that deadly blizzards invalidate the science of climate change.
Before the storm hit, the Virginia GOP launched a web ad mocking “12 inches of global warming,” [...]

Utah state representative claims climate change is a ‘conspiracy’ aimed at population control. - Saturday, February 6th, 2010

On Thursday, the Utah House Natural Resources Committee passed a resolution expressing the legislature’s belief that “climate alarmists’ carbon dioxide-related global warming hypothesis is unable to account for the current downturn in global temperatures.” The resolution, which now goes to the full House for a vote, urges the EPA to not regulate pollution blamed for [...]

ThinkFast: February 1, 2010 - Monday, February 1st, 2010

President Obama will unveil a $3.8 trillion budget for 2011 today, that will add “billions of dollars in new spending to combat persistently high unemployment and bolster a battered middle class,” increase war spending, “raise taxes on banks and the wealthy to help rein in soaring budget deficits,” cut spending on some discretionary domestic programs, [...]

Demoralizing His Supporters, Obama Calls Nukes, Coal, And Oil Drilling ‘Clean Energy Jobs’ - Thursday, January 28th, 2010

President Barack Obama’s discussion of energy policy in his first State of the Union address pandered to corporate interests while demoralizing his progressive supporters. Though Obama made a strong case that real investments in clean energy such as solar technology, advanced batteries, high-speed rail and efficiency are critical to job creation and international competitiveness, he [...]

ThinkFast: January 28, 2010 - Thursday, January 28th, 2010

A CBS instant poll after last night’s speech found that 83 percent of speech watchers liked President Obama’s proposals and 70 percent said Obama shares their priorities for the country, up from 57 percent before the speech. Forty-eight percent of speech watchers in a CNN poll had a very positive response to the speech while [...]

Lobbyists For Foreign Corporations Begin Fight To Ensure Foreign Money Can Influence American Elections - Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Last week, the 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision invalidated a sixty-three year-old ban on corporate money in federal elections. The ruling gives corporations essentially the same rights as individuals in their ability to spend freely on political advertising, even if those advertisements explicitly advocate the election or [...]

Health insurers spent $38 million lobbying Congress in 2009. - Monday, January 25th, 2010

The Hill reports today that insurance companies — who have fought hard against health reforms like the creation of a new public health insurance plan — spent $38 million in 2009 to influence the direction of the health care debate. Here are some of the biggest spenders:
WellPoint: The Indiana-based insurer spent $4.7 million lobbying Congress [...]

ThinkFast: January 25, 2010 - Monday, January 25th, 2010

“Make them filibuster,” Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA) advised Democrats in how to deal with Republicans. “My message to those Democrats is don’t be afraid. … Make the American people look at a modern day spectacle of what a filibuster would entail. I think it’s time to call their bluff.”
South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer said [...]

After hottest decade in history, senators attempt to outlaw science of global warming. - Friday, January 22nd, 2010

As scientists announce that the 2000s were the hottest decade in recorded history, U.S. senators are working to outlaw the reality of global warming. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration reported yesterday that 2009 is “tied with a cluster of other years — 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007 — as the second warmest year [...]

After Whining About Being ‘Suppressed,’ Chamber Discloses It Spent $123 Million In Lobbying - Thursday, January 21st, 2010

Today’s Supreme Court ruling that opens the floodgates to unprecedented political spending by corporations is another major victory for the corporate lobbying giant — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
In July, the organization declared its support for Citizens United in an amicus brief arguing that there is “no basis for restricting its core First Amendment [...]

Senator Of Katrina-Ravaged Louisiana Collaborates To Block Climate Action - Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Today, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) announced that she is the previously unnamed Democrat joining Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) in her campaign to prevent Clean Air Act regulation of greenhouse gas pollution. Because she “believes the Clean Air Act is not meant to be applied to carbon dioxide emissions,” Landrieu is collaborating to craft what environmentalists [...]

Carl Cameron Gets Chummy With Brown Supporters, Ducks Question Of Fox News’ Ethics - Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

As Media Matters has documented, Fox News has boosted the campaign of State Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), the Republican running for special election to the U.S. Senate today. On multiple occasions, Fox News has provided a soapbox for Brown to solicit money and volunteers, and Fox News hosts have appealed for viewers to support Brown’s [...]

Atomic scientists push back Doomsday Clock because of Obama’s ‘pragmatic’ foreign policy. - Thursday, January 14th, 2010

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced today that it would push their Doomsday Clock back one minute — to six minutes to midnight — in recognition of President Obama’s efforts to combat nuclear proliferation and climate change. Scientists concerned the world was spiraling toward nuclear disaster first introduced the clock in 1947 [...]

‘Grassroots’ Opposition To Clean Energy Reform Bankrolled By Foreign Oil, Petro-Governments (Updated) - Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

lean energy legislation passed by the House, now pending in the Senate, faces fierce opposition from the proprietors of fossil fuel companies, and much has been reported on how domestic oil and coal companies have flooded the debate with money, lobbying, and misinformation. These opponents of clean energy reform claim to be “standing up” for [...]

Fox Thinks Winter Chill Disproves Global Warming; Experts Disagree - Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

In recent days, conservatives have seized on the cold snap gripping the southeast region of the country to cast doubt on global warming. “Hey Al Gore: we want our global warming, and we want it now,” said Newsbusters’ Mark Finkelstein. In his newsletter today, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich wondered about “Al Gore’s explanation for [...]

Right Wing Mounts Witch Hunt To Smear TSA Nominee With Flailing, Off-Target Attacks - Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

“Republicans are stepping up their effort to block Erroll Southers from becoming head of the Transportation Security Administration,” Politico reports. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) has been holding up Southers’ nomination in a political effort “to prevent TSA workers from joining a labor union.”
Southers, a counterterrorism expert, is currently working as a senior official for homeland [...]

ThinkFast: January 11, 2010 - Monday, January 11th, 2010

Yesterday, Republicans called on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to resign over his recently reported offensive description of Obama as “light skinned” and “with no Negro dialect,” for which Reid has apologized. But “Democrats are preparing to throw the race card back in the laps of Republicans” by distributing things such as “the NAACP [...]

ThinkFast: January 5, 2010 - Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

Former U.S. government officials said yesterday that the “suicide bomber who killed seven CIA operatives in Afghanistan last week was a Jordanian informant who lured intelligence officers into a trap by promising new information about al-Qaeda’s top leadership.” The bomber had been recruited to infiltrate al Qaeda’s leadership circles and was trusted by his CIA [...]

Governor Of Katrina-Ravaged Louisiana Tries To Block Climate Change Regulation - Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Even as the Senate argues whether to pass clean-energy legislation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finally moving to regulate global warming pollution. One of the leading opponents to the EPA’s proposed regulations, slated to go into effect in March, 2010, is Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal (R-LA). On Monday, Jindal “and the secretaries of the [...]

Right wing bullies Build-A-Bear into removing videos about manmade climate change. - Thursday, December 24th, 2009

Until recently, the Build-A-Bearville website (part of the Build-A-Bear Workshop) featured online videos telling children about manmade global warming and the dangers it holds for the North Pole. In the videos, little animals learn about the problem and teach Santa Claus about it. The right wing has been outraged over the antics of these [...]