In God We Trust

Cameron Says:

26 June 2008 at 5:58 am.

California unveils ambitious climate plan

By Nichola Groom Thu Jun 26, 3:26 AM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California on Thursday took a major step forward on its global warming fight by unveiling an ambitious plan for clean cars, renewable energy and stringent caps on big polluting industries.

The plan, which aims to reduce pollutants by 10 percent from current levels by 2020 while driving investment in new energy technologies that will benefit the state’s economy, is the most comprehensive yet by any U.S. state.

It could serve as a blueprint not only for the rest of the United States, but also for other big polluting nations like China and India, planners and environmental groups said.

“This is of tremendous importance, not only for California,” Mary Nichols, chairman of the influential California Air Resources Board (CARB), said on a conference call with reporters on Wednesday. “By taking action here … we will be able to help motivate other states in our nation.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080626/us_nm/california_climate_dc;_ylt=Al.wkRMLAWsn14vYG98m8oRH2ocA

Cameron Says:

26 June 2008 at 9:01 am.

Supreme Court to issue decision on D.C. gun case

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court is meeting to issue its final three opinions of the term, including defining Americans’ right to own guns.

The challenge to the ban on handguns in Washington, D.C., is the biggest case left on the court’s docket. It also is expected to resolve disputes over a campaign finance law and contracts negotiated during the Western energy crisis in 2001.

The justices won’t return to the bench until Oct. 6, the start of their next term.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080626/D91HO0I00.html

Benjamin Says:

26 June 2008 at 9:51 am.

Thank goodness.

Supreme Court says Americans have right to guns

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court says Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting, the justices’ first major pronouncement on gun rights in U.S. history.

The court’s 5-4 ruling strikes down the District of Columbia’s 32-year-old ban on handguns as incompatible with gun rights under the Second Amendment. The decision goes further than even the Bush administration wanted, but probably leaves most firearms laws intact.

The court had not conclusively interpreted the Second Amendment since its ratification in 1791. The amendment reads: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

The basic issue for the justices was whether the amendment protects an individual’s right to own guns no matter what, or whether that right is somehow tied to service in a state militia.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080626/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_guns_4

E.E. Says:

26 June 2008 at 11:25 am.

Stocks tumble as more bad economic news piles up

NEW YORK - Stocks tumbled Thursday as Wall Street contended with a barrage of bad news: another surge in oil prices and warnings of trouble in the key financial, automotive and high-tech industries. The major indexes showed losses of more than 1 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which shed more than 200 points and dropped to its lowest level of the year.

The Dow fell as low as 11,570.74, well under its 2008 trading low of 11,634.82. That sent some investors rushing for the safety of Treasury bonds — government debt is a haven when the stock market is in turmoil.

The passel of worries that investors juggled Thursday added up to an increasingly troubled economy. Analysts’ negative comments on General Motors Corp. sent shares of the largest U.S. automaker to their lowest level in more than 30 years, while Citigroup Inc. fell sharply after an analyst placed a “sell” rating on the stock and warned investors to expect less from the brokerage sector in an uneasy economic climate. Disappointing outlooks from technology bellwethers Oracle Corp. and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. further soured investors’ moods and made the tech sector one of the steepest decliners.

The gloom was compounded by an unnerving forecast about oil prices that raised the specter of higher inflation and even more damage to the economy.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080626/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street

Stumpy Says:

26 June 2008 at 12:45 pm.

Shoot! That were so blasted sobering it wasted my nice buzz from my lunch time visit to my still.

Matt Says:

26 June 2008 at 1:11 pm.

Somebody’s in trouble. (better if you imagine me singing those words with a real nasty tone)

Cavetrollhead Says:

26 June 2008 at 2:02 pm.

Anyone Notice that Mitt Romney advanced in the Veepstakes at msnbc.com? I am not sure how important that is, but that is who people are picking. He beat Huckabee 58-42 last week. I don’t know who they are gonna put him up against next.

Pickles Says:

26 June 2008 at 3:07 pm.

Okay then, that’s good. Schhhhaaaaaack…there’s a kiss for you.

Matt Says:

26 June 2008 at 3:11 pm.

Oil jumps above $140 on OPEC, Libya comments

NEW YORK (AP) - Oil futures shot above $140 Thursday after OPEC’s president said oil prices could rise well above $150 a barrel this year and Libya said it may cut oil production.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose as high as $140.05 in afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange before retreating slightly to trade up $5 at $139.55.

Chakib Khelil, president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said he believes oil prices could rise to between $150 and $170 a barrel this summer before declining later in the year. Khelil said he doesn’t think prices will reach $200 a barrel.

Khelil joins a long list of forecasters who have made bold oil price predictions this year. Each new forecast—such as Goldman Sachs’ recent prediction that prices could rise as high as $200—causes a jump in prices as speculative buyers are drawn into the market.

Meanwhile, the head of Libya’s national oil company said the country may cut crude production because the oil market is well supplied, according to news reports.

“Shokri Ghanem, the nation’s top oil official, declined to say when a decision would be made on whether to lower production, or give any indication of the size of the cut under consideration,” said Addison Armstrong, director of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Conn., in a research note.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D91HU5I81&show_article=1

SGS Says:

26 June 2008 at 3:33 pm.

Hoorary to the US Supreme Court’s decision that the gun ownership is a basic right of every American! (Well, not actually every single one, as those felonies and such cannot own one, but still, other than this minority group!) If I am not living in middle of city, and if I actually do own a gun, I would be firing in air!

Oh wait, this decision BARELY is in favor of this right. It was 5 for, and 4 opposed. It’s not good! It really is just a matter of time before they find some excuse not to support the gun rights.

The Realist Says:

26 June 2008 at 5:02 pm.

Worst June since the Great Depression. Okay, maybe things are a little worse than I wanted to believe. I still hope we rebound but I won’t deny it is tough.

Sharon, thanks for that link. Not good news.

SGS, I’m with you guys, good news from the court but way too close for comfort.

Cavetrollhead Says:

27 June 2008 at 1:36 am.

Our best hope is that McCain picks Mitt, and then dies the first day in office.

. . . .I wasn’t the only one thinking it. . .just the only one saying it.