It seems to me that the real story to focus on with regard to Harvard’s decision to license its name to a line of “Harvard Yard” apparel is that Harvard undergraduates dress terribly. You’re talking about, basically, a bunch of dorky nineteen year-olds. In New England. In the winter. It’s nothing you’d want to emulate. Probably a snappier looking bunch than what you’d find down the road at MIT, but that’s a low bar to clear.
Van Jones resigns
[I'd be happy to forward to Van Jones any comments or words of support people have for him on this painful day.]
I am resigning my post at the Council on Environmental Quality, effective today.
On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me. They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide.
I have been inundated with calls — from across the political spectrum — urging me to “stay and fight.”
But I came here to fight for others, not for myself. I cannot in good conscience ask my colleagues to expend precious time and energy defending or explaining my past. We need all hands on deck, fighting for the future.
It has been a great honor to serve my country and my President in this capacity. I thank everyone who has offered support and encouragement. I am proud to have been able to make a contribution to the clean energy future. I will continue to do so, in the months and years ahead.
With that statement issued just after midnight Saturday, the White House’s champion of clean energy jobs, Van Jones resigned. The controversy over past statements was just too great. The Politico reports:
Nancy Sutley, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, to which Jones was attached, accepted his resignation in a statement released early Sunday. “Over the last six months, he had been a strong voice for creating jobs that improve energy efficiency and utilize renewable resources,” she said. “We appreciate his hard work and wish him the best moving forward.”
[Memo to Politico: It is annoying that you attach "Read more: 'Long URL' " to every bit of text one copies. The folks who were going to link to you, would link to you anyway, and the ones who weren't, wouldn't. But you do waste our time deleting that unwanted attachment. Ask yourself why no one else does this.]
I think the NYT lede in its story is just the kind of drama-driven reporting that has poisoned both media coverage and American politics:
In a victory for Republicans and the Obama administration’s conservative critics, Van Jones resigned as the White House’s environmental jobs “czar” on Saturday.
I suppose this may be seen as a “victory” if you are one of those who have no positive agenda for solving our energy and climate problems — see The Audacity of Nope: The GOP channels Groucho Marx, “Whatever it is, I’m against it.” But how can the paper of record declare this a victory for anyone? This ain’t the Roman Coliseum.
Ryan Grim, writing at Huffington Post, notes:
During the presidential campaign, Obama repeatedly threw aides overboard who became political liabilities; White House observers saw Jones’ departure more as a matter of when rather than if.
His fate was sealed when Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs declined to defend him at a recent press conference:
Invade Iran Caucus Still Pining for the Fjords
It’s good to know that some folks, like NRO’s Andy McCarthy, still cleave to the old time religion and want to see us invade Iran:
I don’t agree that the Iranian regime could be ousted without the use of military force. Your excellent points (and other reporting at your essential blog) about how the Iranian population is ripe for revolt argues for giving them whatever encouragement we can. But I think the regime’s grip on the levers of brute force is too extensive to be undone without U.S. military intervention. I’m familiar with the arguments about how moderate elements of the IRGC could get the job done, and I hope those arguments are right and I am wrong, but I’m not optimistic. (As you know, I think vital U.S. interests call for ousting the regime regardless of whether the population is amenable, but the fact that they are amenable certainly helps make the case.)
Just though I’d throw that out there.
‘Climate Crock of the Week’ video: 1998 Revisited
The video is by Peter Sinclair, the guy who proved Anthony Watts knows as much about copyright laws as about climate science.
It bears repeating that 2005 is the warmest year on record using NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies data, which is almost certainly superior to other datasets (see “What exactly is polar amplification and why does it matter?“). In any case, barring a major volcano in the next several months, more records are on the way (see NOAA says “El Ni±o arrives; Expected to Persist through Winter 2009-10″³ “” and that means record temperatures are coming and this will be the hottest decade on record).
‘Climate Crock of the Week’ video: 1998 Revisited
The video is by Peter Sinclair, the guy who proved Anthony Watts knows as much about copyright laws as about climate science.
It bears repeating that 2005 is the warmest year on record using NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies data, which is almost certainly superior to other datasets (see “What exactly is polar amplification and why does it matter?“). In any case, barring a major volcano in the next several months, more records are on the way (see NOAA says “El Ni±o arrives; Expected to Persist through Winter 2009-10″³ “” and that means record temperatures are coming and this will be the hottest decade on record).
Van Jones Resigns
The AP reports that after weeks of constant attacks by the right wing, Van Jones has resigned as Special Advisor for Green Jobs at the Council on Environmental Quality. Below is the letter he sent to chair Nancy Sutley:
I am resigning my post at the Council on Environmental Quality, effective today.
On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me. They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide.
I have been inundated with calls – from across the political spectrum – urging me to “stay and fight.”
But I came here to fight for others, not for myself. I cannot in good conscience ask my colleagues to expend precious time and energy defending or explaining my past. We need all hands on deck, fighting for the future.
It has been a great honor to serve my country and my President in this capacity. I thank everyone who has offered support and encouragement. I am proud to have been able to make a contribution to the clean energy future. I will continue to do so, in the months and years ahead.
On July 23rd, Glenn Beck began his crusade against Van Jones, calling him “a communist-anarchist radical.” He went on to rail against Jones approximately 20 times on Fox News in the past couple of months. Last Friday, Beck cited “former black nationalist, avowed communist Van Jones” as an example of “the true danger” of Obama’s “czars.” Prior to joining the administration, Jones had co-founded Color of Change, an organization that successfully convinced 57 advertisers to drop Beck’s program in just a matter of weeks after Beck called Obama a “racist.”
In recent days, Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) called on Jones to resign, and Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) called for a congressional hearing to investigate him.
Update
Alex Pareene documents the Van Jones story.
