Yaknow...Just looking at the name of this "Clean Edge?" bill sends me the signal that it probably won't cut it. Is it really written to benefit "We The People"? Or is it leaving the controlls in the hands of Corporate government?

What made this country great, is free enterprise and the imagination of the American people. At the turn of the century many of our farms had their own blacksmith shop in the barn. Self sufficient farm families traded with other families and invented farm machines to suit their needs. Anyone that wanted to build and market an automobile was free to do so. By the 1920's there were over 200 kinds of automobiles. There was of course gasoline power, but also steam powered, electric powered, and a gas/electric powered vehicles. The gas electric had a motor/ generator in line with the gas motor and differential, which...yes...put power back in the batteries when coasting or braking.
Sound familiar? Well take a look at the Toyota Prius, an environmental friendly car that gets 50 mpg.

Great...we say. Look what we can buy, if we pay more tax because we are using less gas. Of course, "We The People" can do much better if we can develope cottage industries, and return to our own blacksmith shops. I dream about this kind of freedom, and pray that the Corporate Government isn't able to tune in to my thoughts.

Anyhoo...getting back to Toyota...In 2002 Toyota came out with a prototype e-car that surpassed 100 mpg, in tests, and was advertized on Toyotas web site. It is a supercharged 4 cylindar deiselelectric, that stores energy when coasting or braking. There was an artical in The London Times on this car, and there were people trying to buy one, but no one could find anything out from Toyota. So there are a few of them around, that have been road tested, with excellent reports on performance and milage, but it is the Prius,which came on the market in 1997 that is on the market. It is a shame that yet another efficient car has dissappeared from the market at a time when we should be doing everything possible to reduce co2, and conserve energy. This is just another example of what Al Gore is saying in his latest movie..."An Inconvenient Truth.
I don't know what kind of bill we need, but I believe that if it has to have a name, that it should be something like "Power To The People", or "Free Enterprise For Everyone", or maybe "Freedom".
That's what we truelly need in this country is freedom. Not the freedom that the Bush administration says we are fighting for in Iraq. Not the Neoconserative treachery that puts tricky names on every agenda in order to control every aspect of business and government. But the old fashioned freedom that this country was founded on.

No Child Left Behind legislation costs millions of dollars to implement, regulate, and document. Since it is based on increasing standardized tests scores, we will always be behind and no one will get ahead. Standardized tests scores are based on a national curve. If everyone in the nation increases test taking skills - the curve will move and everyone who was behind will still be behind - even if the scores improve. Everyone knows the goal is impossible but we continue to run on the hamster wheel.

Let's put our money into authentic instruction and real life educational skills. Let's look at each student individually and help them progress from place to place. Let's get real and not base individual worth on a bubble test we give once or twice a year.

We need people to see that gasoline/oil is not the way to go in the future. We must face the fact that it's going to become more and more scarce as world usage increases.
This is my proposal for how to help fix this problem and move people in the right direction.

Doubling the price of gasoline/diesel fuel and maintaining that ratio as prices rise or fall sounds like a scary proposal, but I feel it can do much to get the gas monkey off our backs.

That money would be collected by the states to be returned equally to all that states licensed drivers with registered vehicles who file that states tax returns.

Equally returning the money will incite people to drive the most economical vehicles allowing them to keep the difference for other uses causing fuel usage to drop.

States where more driving must be done because of lack of mass transit and greater distances will be able to refund larger amounts to their citizens.

20% could be retained by the states to pay for the program with the remainder used for mass transit only.
80% would be returned quarterly to qualified recipients. Quarterly refunds quickly restore the extra funds used by the price increase.

This equal distribution of the funds will allow people to decide if they want to use the money to pay for the increase or drive a more efficient vehicle and be rewarded by keeping the extra money.

The money the state keeps could only be used for lowering fares and expanding mass transit.
The states would not be allowed to offset their normal transit funding with these revenues. These must be in addition to normal funding.

I'm sure all the what-if's aren't addressed, but I'm sure people smarter that I will be able to fix those.

Think of what can be done.

This posting is my response to Senator Reid's statement that creating English as the country's official language is "racist." Well, Senator Reid, I am a lifelong Democrat and very rarely, if ever, vote for a Republican. Despite the fact that I'm a Democrat, I am FAR from liberal. I am a socially and fiscally conservative Dem.

For you to suggest that making English the official language of the US "racist," I take huge offense to that. I happen to believe that English should be our country's official language and I guess, by your standards, that would make me a racist. You and the other liberals are going to hurt the Party's chances in the mid-term elections this year. There are factions in the Democratic party who do not believe in and subscribe to the extreme left you and many others in the Senate obviously do.

Because of your radical stance on illegal aliens and your determination to make them citizens and turn a blind eye to the felonies they have committed, I no longer care to receive your email updates. You're too far left for me. I will base my votes and support in November on where the candidates stand on securing our borders and not rewarding Mexicans for flouting our laws and granting them amnesty. No Democrat is a sure thing for me this year.

Today, Bush Republicans kicked off their campaign of dividing the country instead of addressing the real priorities of American families. Our country faces great challenges: record high gas prices, skyrocketing health care costs and an intractable war in Iraq. Yet instead of addressing these issues, Senator Frist has chosen to put the politics of division ahead of real progress by pushing for a debate on a divisive amendment that will write discrimination into the constitution.

This is exactly why the American people are looking for a new direction that puts their priorities ahead of partisan politics. Democrats stand ready with real solutions for the country. This Memorial Day, Democrats will be focused on the high cost of gasoline that is squeezing millions of American families who are filling their tanks and hitting the road this weekend. Unfortunately, Bush Republicans would rather focus on purely divisive maneuvers than real solutions that address the growing energy crisis.

It's time to increase the minimum wage.

This is a moral issue that has been ignored by the Republican Congress and President Bush, like so many of the critical concerns facing the nation. The minimum wage, stuck at $5.15 per hour, hasn't been touched since 1997. Since then, the cost of food, healthcare and childcare, and just about every other conceivable measure that determines the cost of living, has increased. A single parent making the minimum wage today earns $10,700 annually, more than $4,000 below the poverty line.   Read More »

In our political system, there is no more outrageous symbol of the power of money and the influence wielded by lobbyists (outside of Jack Abramoff) than the Medicare prescription drug bill.

Seniors were an afterthought in the writing of that legislation, as more than 900 lobbyists from the pharmaceutical industry and the HMO's massaged senators and representatives to produce the kind of legislation that only a corporate board member could love.

It's time to fix the mess. We need to keep the promise we made to America's seniors when the prescription drug bill was first being discussed.   Read More »

Since Rick Santorum became the third ranking Republican in the Senate, and since George Bush became President, rising insurance premiums and rising costs for businesses have driven 714,000 Pennsylvanians out of the health insurance system. Those families are one accident, one illness away from financial ruin. The Senate, however, has done nothing to help fix this crisis.   Read More »

In Massachusetts, we have a name for Nevada Democrats: "Republican"

Well, that's not completely true. Most Mass Dems probably have never given a thought to Nevada Dems in general, and it's good to see Harry Reid out there, 'giving them hell'

But here in Massachusetts, we have a governor who is a lot like Harry Reid ...   Read More »

Since the horrific attacks of 9/11, almost 5 years ago, we've heard a lot of talk about our homeland security. The simple fact is that we're not as prepared as we should be.

Last week I was honored to receive the endorsement of Pennsylvania fire fighters and the IAFF in Scranton, PA. Spending time with these first responders reinforced my resolve to make it my solemn duty, and highest priority, if I am elected to the United States Senate, to protect and defend the citizens of this great nation.   Read More »

Today's Washington Post Crossword Puzzle

R. James Woolsey, former Director of Central Intelligence

"It is vitally important to our national security for us to move away quickly and decisively from dependence on conventional oil and its products, since two-thirds of the world's proven reserves are in the Middle East. The policies in the Clean EDGE bill that encourage advanced vehicles and transportation fuel choice would take us a substantial distance along the path toward that objective's becoming a commercial reality."

Navin Nayak, Program Director, Environmental Alliance

"For the past five years, President Bush and this Congress have pushed an energy policy focused on rewarding big oil at the expense of all Americans. This bill sets things straight by securing America's energy future first and putting big oil at the back of the line."

Tom Buis, President, National Farmers Union   Read More »

Last night the voters of Pennsylvania sent a strong signal across the state and across the nation. Pennsylvania Democrats stand united and they are focused on one thing: sending a new face to the United States Senate.

I want to give my sincere thanks to my supporters, volunteers and my staff for helping us take a big step closer to the goal of changing Washington. Most of all, I want to thank the Pennsylvania voters for choosing to put their support behind me once again.   Read More »

Someone once said "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." What a perfect quote to describe America's energy crisis.

We need lower prices, energy independence and more security - but we have Republican leaders who keep proposing the same solutions, "Drill, Drill, Drill."

"Drill, Drill, Drill" is never going to deliver the results we need. Look at the last five years. Oil imports have increased from 55% to over 60%, and gasoline prices have doubled since Bush and Cheney came to office. Common sense says if we want different results, we need a different direction.

Today, Democrats are unveiling our plan to bring sanity to America's energy policy. It's called the "Clean EDGE Act." Our legislation will achieve real results - like energy independence and affordable energy - because it will transform America's approach.

Instead of "Drill, Drill, Drill," it calls for a policy that deploys the latest technology and relies on American ingenuity. It's a bold bill that will move America in a new direction. Because the Federal government must do more than watch while OPEC and oil companies make billions and Nevadans pay 33 cents more for their gas this month.

We need a long-term strategy to fix our broken immigration system. Congress must pass comprehensive immigration reform to secure our borders, enforce our laws, and bring 12 million undocumented immigrants out of the shadows. The president got off to a good start tonight, but now he must stand up to right-wing members of his own party who are working to block Senate action. He should denounce the misguided approach of House Republicans, and exercise his leadership to get the job done.

First and foremost, I want to take this opportunity to thank Senator Reid for allowing me to have a seat at the Candidate's Table on his blog and share some of my thoughts and ideas with you, his online community. Senator Reid has shown unparalleled leadership as Minority Leader in the Senate and I can assure you that I am doing everything I can to make him the Majority Leader in 2007.

As some of you may already be aware, tomorrow is the Democratic primary election in Pennsylvania and, as I'm sure you can imagine, I'm extremely busy aggressively campaigning all over the state, gathering support. It still amazes me that I can make this post while driving in the car.

The Pennsylvania primary election tomorrow mirrors the opportunities we have as Democrats all across the country. 2006 gives us the opportunity to send out a strong message: the values that unite us as Democrats are stronger than anything that might divide us and it's time for a change.   Read More »

Summer is a time for Hollywood blockbusters. Those big budget movies
that attract large audiences and the biggest movie stars.

This third week of May, we have a blockbuster of our own in the Senate. It's a
sequel. Immigration Part II.

We know how the first installment went, and we know there was not a happy ending.

The Senate's first attempt at immigration reform was flawed from the beginning.
This is a complex, emotional issue, but the Judiciary Committee was given only a few
days to consider a bill that was hundreds of pages long. Why? Because they were
working under an arbitrary deadline set by the Majority to get a bill to the floor.   Read More »

On 9/11, Osama Bin Laden and his cohorts struck at symbols of American strength - business through the World Trade Towers, military might at the Pentagon, and our government with the foiled attempt aimed at the Capitol Building.

But the true target of these attacks was the wellspring of our strength, the values upon which our Nation stands: individual freedom, the separation of power among the three branches of government, the rule of law, and the fierce pride these values arouse in all Americans who rise to defend them at every threat.   Read More »

According to a new poll by Harris, George Bush's job approval rating has dropped to 29%.

In addition:

"Roughly one-quarter of U.S. adults say "things in the country are going in the right direction," while 69% say "things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track." This has been the trend since January, when 33% said the nation was heading in the right direction. Iraq remains a key concern for the general public, as 28% of Americans said they consider Iraq to be one of the top two most important issues the government should address, up from 23% in April."

   Read More »

Hey Harry, I've asked this question of the readers of the Las Vegas Sun
and most of the US Senate members. So far no one has dared to answer.

I am truly amazed at the actions (actually inaction) of our Senate. The bill passed in The House was about securing our borders. The Senate is arguing about amnesty. It seems to me our Senate has put the cart before the horse.

To our United States Senate members, I ask; What value do you place on one human life? By not securing and protecting our borders vigorously we are aiding, abetting and sharing responsibility for the criminal deaths, robbery and rape of many men, women and children attempting to enter the United States illegally, not to also mention successful drug running.

These crimes are perpetrated because it is possible for people to enter this country illegally. The "coyotes", drug runners and other criminals in the border area commit the crimes. If it were a secure border, the drugs, crimes and illegals would not be there. We are providing the environment for these criminals to flourish and decent human beings to suffer.

Let's secure the borders first, then we can talk about amnesty and quotas.

Meanwhile, the Senate continues to stall. Rest assured that while they stall, more will die needlessly. What is one human life worth?

Dennis Carter
Las Vegas