Wheelhouse

U. S. Representative Dave Camp is not our representative, this according to him. During a recent meeting with citizens about the war in Iraq he was quoted in the Record Eagle. “You guys are really not listening to the people,” Jim Coats told Camp. Camp responded: “I’m hired to try to reflect the views of the people I represent, but I’m also hired for my judgment.” Hired by whom? I thought we elected Representatives by voting? My mistake.

Looking into Mr. Camp’s Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions to his last “re-election” in 2006 may indicate who “hired” him. His total 2005-2006 PAC contributions were $851,771.00. The largest PAC contributions from: Finance/Insurance/RealEstate - $184,119, Health- $180,562, and Energy/Natural Resource - $91,798. Check out more about him at Open Secrets

Mr. Camp is the 42nd most wealthy member of the U.S. House of Representatives. What are the sectors invested in by Mr. Camp? Finance/Insurance/RealEstate - 43%, Health - 5%, Energy/Natural Resource - 4%. Who hired him?

April 11, 2007, Traverse City, MI

In solidarity with the Occupation Project, a group of Traverse City area peacemakers occupied Senator Carl Levin’s Office. The video clip is of shared reading the group did during the occupation. The video clip is on YouTube- here, or on VentingMedia.com - Here

Human caused warming of the earth will change the climate everywhere on the planet.

The latest report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) points out the current effects of climate change; no longer just projecting what will happen, but what is already happening in ever region of the planet. The latest report also predicts which regions will fare the worst and the ones that will “benefit” from climate change in the future.

I’m afraid the same power brokers that control our corporate-based government, the ones that brought us the 1.5 trillion dollar Iraq war that has killed 100’s of thousands of people, will see the “benefits” to climate change as a mandate to let the “free market” sort out the winners and losers. This will be their excuse to do nothing about climate change. After all, the regions that may see a short term “benefit” from climate change are the over-developed industrialized corporate-controled nations in the northern hemisphere. The losers are the developing regions in the tropical areas.

But isn’t this a market failure? The regions of the planet that are most responsible for climate change are the winners and the losers are the least responsible. If the market were sending correct signals, wouldn’t the destroyers of the climate suffer and make changes as a result of market feedback? Perhaps the “free market” doesn’t really work when it comes to planetary destruction. But who really cares . . . if you live in an industrial empire in the north. . .

The ones that have long been denying climate change, will now switch to, yes it’s happening, but look at the benefits!