Kerry criticizes Dean, Bush environmental records

[Nicholas_J]

LISA FALKENBERG
Associated Press

DALLAS - Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry on Wednesday criticized the environmental records of fellow Democrat Howard Dean and President Bush, accusing the former governors of striking a deal in the 1990s to ship nuclear waste to a poor Hispanic town near El Paso.

Kerry said Dean, when he was the Vermont governor, signed a compact in 1993 with Maine and Texas to send nuclear waste to Sierra Blanca, a plan opposed by civil rights groups. Bush was the governor of Texas at the time.

"He clearly reflected an insensitivity to that community," Kerry said during a campaign stop at a Dallas housing project.

The Massachusetts senator criticized the decision to "dump nuclear waste into a poor community far away from where you live because you can do it. I think George Bush was wrong and I think Howard Dean was wrong."

http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/6909044.htm

Clever, clever Senator Kerry.

Dean making deals with Dubya...

[acerbic]

1. Kerry behaving more and more like his most despicable supporters...

Sad.

[MercutioATC]

2. Don't blame Kerry too much, it's just politics....attack the front-runner.

Yeah, I was hoping he'd be different too, but he's still my third choice...

[acerbic]

3. That's understandable of course

I'm most disappointed by the way he attacks in this case: using the lamest spin as if copied from the desperate spam posts right here. That's not how one could eventually go against Dumbya & Co. $200 million propaganda machine...

[DrFunkenstein]

20. Dean's Record Stinks, Kerry's Record Rocks

Where's the spin?

Do you - personally - believe that shipping nuclear materials over tens of thousands of miles of train tracks is really the safest option we have on the table?

Do you - personally - believe that this is something over than a racist form of NIMBY?

[acerbic]

23. The lame spin: pretending that Dean chose to send the waste

...specifically "to a poor Hispanic town near El Paso", not "to Texas"... but I'm sure you just didn't notice: after all, this same BS hasn't been spammed as another new thread here for a couple of hours now and all in all, it must have been repeated less than 200 times. :eyes:

[DrFunkenstein]

28. I'm Sorry, I Haven't Heard It Debunked Yet

Could you proved a link that shows Dean was ignorant of where his pile of NIMBY was going?

[acerbic]

53. The "rules" of normal debate: whoever first makes the claim

...like in the case of this thread those claiming that Dean decided to poison poor Hispanics with nukes, is expected to show the proof. Oh well, who am I kidding: as usual with fanatics, those debunking their claims must disprove them, over and over again, forever and ever and ever...

Here is the actual text of the Texas-Maine-Vermont compact from Vermont's side:
http://www.leg.state.vt.us/statutes/fullchapter.cfm?Title=10&Chapter=162

Notice that it doesn't say anything about Sierra Blanca. It does say:

"Sec. 4.04. The host state shall do the following:

(1) Cause a facility to be developed in a timely manner and operated and maintained through the institutional control period.

(2) Ensure, consistent with any applicable federal and host state laws, the protection and preservation of the environment and the public health and safety in the siting, design, development, licensing, regulation, operation, closure, decommissioning, and long-term care of the disposal facilities within the host state."

Could you provide a link that shows Dean deciding to poison poor Hispanics? FYI: claiming even 1000 times is still not the same as showing...

[DrFunkenstein]

76. I'll Accept That

The first time I've seen it, honestly, and I find it compelling. At least as far as the racism goes.

But it doesn't effect two matters:

1. It is blatant NIMBY. Rather than figure out how one of the greenest states in the country could responsibly deal with their own waste, they passed the buck on to Texas.

2. This shows a complete inability to understand the public safety and security issues involved with shipping volatile materials over thousands and thousands of miles of train tracks.

[HPLeft]

55. Perhaps if Governor Dean would begin telling the truth

about his consistent flip-flops on position after position, then maybe there would be no need to point them out. You can't just re-invent yourself when you're running for President. You have to run on your entire record - and be able to defend it, chapter and verse.

And it would be good if he mentioned that his opponents flip-flop no more than he does, and, in some cases, far less. Or that the largely centrist positions he advocated throughout his career do not qualify him to claim that he represents the "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party".

This is, of course, assuming that Howard Dean is not just another politican on the make - and his holy crusade to clean up politics is actually not an elaborate ruse to get him into the White House.

[Duder]

57. Speaking of politicians on the make...

'Alas, the Globe's seven part series on Kerry's life is growing progressively less flattering as it departs from Kerry's epic wartime feats and delves into the details of his early political career. Today's installment, although lacking in headline-making disclosures, was filled with embarrassing details about a young politico on the make.

For instance, the Globe's Brian Mooney uncovers an internal memo that, though Kerry denies it, strongly suggests, as a first-time Senate candidate in 1984, Kerry changed his answer on a nuclear-freeze group's questionnaire to ensure a rival candidate did not outscore him. The question at issue dealt with funding for nuclear Trident submarines, which Kerry apparently learned to oppose after his initial hedging upset the anti-nuke crowd.'

http://www.tnr.com/primary/index.mhtml?pid=491

[Skwmom]

56. What's wrong with speaking the truth? e/o/m

[Nicholas_J]

58. No more thn Dean

Intimatin the others were Bush-Lite..or calling the October Resolution a blank check for war, which it was not.

Dean chose to misrepresent these events, but stating a personal opinion of the acts, and trying toget as many people as possible to believe and spread that misrepresentation.

Kerry bringingup what Dean ACTUALLY DID. is hardly a problem

ANd it seems to be working. Dean lead seems to be falling with the same speed at which he gained it in Ausits and early September.

[acerbic]

67. "Dean making deals with Dubya..." Kerry is a LIAR

Kerry bringingup what Dean ACTUALLY DID.

That is a so called "yourfactsarewrong" or "misrepresentation" (use of proper noun prohibited by DU rules).

When the deal was made, Governor of Texas was Ann Richards (D). So if your claim of what Kerry is saying is true, Kerry is LYING.

[Nicholas_J]

77. Dean dealt with his soul mate Bush on Sierra Blanca

With Bush, kiddo.

But if you want to see where the OTHER candidates stood on allowing it:

In a recent interview with Grist, an online magazine that advocates environmental protection, Dean said as governor he thought it was a "grand idea" to get rid of his state's nuclear waste, but now that's he running for president he would reassess his position on Yucca Mountain and "see what the science looks like." (In contrast, among the major Democrats vying for the nomination, Lieberman of Connecticut, Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts voted against sending nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain. Sens. John Edwards of North Carolina and Bob Graham of Florida voted in favor of moving forward with plans for Yucca Mountain.)


Dean's controversial record on disposing of radioactive waste won't end at Yucca Mountain. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that other Democratic presidential candidates plan on attacking Dean's environmental record, possibly on Thursday in Albuquerque, N.M., during the first official Democratic debate. The Wall Street Journal mentioned that under review was Dean's support of a proposal that would have sent low-level radioactive waste to Sierra Blanca, an impoverished Texas town on the Mexican border. Ultimately the plan Vermont worked out with then-Texas Gov. George Bush never panned out, but Dean can expect to be interrogated by fellow Democrats about that proposal.



http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/editorials/2003/sep/03/515560557.html

Notice the article, the plan worked out with "then Texas Governor Bush". Deans proposal. Dean negitiating to send radioactive waste to an impoversed western town

Dean Dean Dean Dean

Bush Bush Bush Bush

Do you see it, its RIGHT HERE Notyed above. Dean trying to negociate a plan to send radioactive waste to kill poor hispanics.

Dena. ANd no one else.

Not once but twice, Yucca Mountain. Sieraa Blance.

Dean

Dean

Dean...

And only Dean.
One Governor trying to screw the poor, with the comlicity of the Governor most like hinm philosophically.

[acerbic]

79. You can post the same lie from however many "sources" you can find

...but I don't think it will change the simple historical fact of who was the Governor of Texas in 1993 when the deal was made. It just looks delusional and obsessed...

[Nicholas_J]

81. Wrong again

You are trying to decive by giving the Year for Yucca Mountain as the same year that Sierra Blanca was done.

That was when BUSH wass in office.

[acerbic]

82. Your "misinterpretations" are getting more illucid by the minute...

Here is the actual text of the Texas-Maine-Vermont compact:
http://www.leg.state.vt.us/statutes/fullchapter.cfm?Title=10&Chapter=162

Anyone actually reading it instead of the claims by the "misinterpreters" can see the year (=1993) and what it says about Sierra Blanca (=nothing).

[Nicholas_J]

84. And Dean continued to take part in the compact

Clear through its defeat in 1998....

Who was fighting for the compact:

Bigger is better- the economics of nuclear disposal

Congress, in response to industry pressure passed legislation in 1980 and 1985 that encouraged States to join regional compacts to dispose of low-level radioactive waste. If Texas could develop a licensed disposal site for the waste generated by three states in the proposed Texas-- Vermont--Maine compact, it would be worth a guaranteed $50 million for construction and hundreds of millions in disposal fees.

Bush and his official lobbyist in Washington DC took the lead in making sure the compact bill, which had been defeated by a two-thirds majority when Bush first took office in 1995, was not only revived, but passed...

In September 1998 President Clinton signed the Texas-Vermont-Maine compact into law. On October 12, 1998 -- 8 federal Mexican officials begin a hunger strike in front of Governor's mansion in Austin . They were joined by many other Mexican officials , community leaders, and indigenous religious dancers.

On October 17, a month before gubernatorial election in Texas, Sierra Blancans and their allies throughout the US and Mexico were stunned when the TNRCC Commissioners agreed with administrative judges who recommended rejection of the Sierra Blanca license. However, the victory was short-lived. Texas remains the designated host for the nation's nuclear waste, and private companies are now clamoring to open new dumps to take not only commercial power plant waste, but also federal nuclear weapons waste.

http://www.txpeer.org/Bush/Sierra_Blanca_Dump.html


Sorry, this was a process that wet on from 1993, when Dean negociated with Texas, then the Vewrmont Legislature had to pass a bill , in April of 1994, Bush becomes governor in 1995, Dean and Vermont are still particpating in the compact, Dean did not pull out of it after it failed to pass before Bush was in office.


ANd then there is Dean and his phony IBM environmental awards:


RE: DRIVE THAT NAIL IN FURTHER

»» Annette Smith, Danby: Since you mentioned IBM, how much water it is discharging, and the pollution at the site, I thought you should know a little more about IBM's operations.

Of the 3,500,000 to 4,500,000 gallons of water being discharged, how many tons of cadmium, chromium, lead, zinc, nickel and silver do you think ought to be allowed to be discharged into the Winooski River? The state permit allows 50 tons. IBM is not currently discharging that much, maybe half of that. So is 25 tons of heavy metals going into state's waters all right with you? It's not okay with me. I thought this was the sort of thing that the Clean Water Act was supposed to minimize or eliminate altogether. Heavy metals are poisons and they shouldn't be going into our waters.

What the media (BFP reporter was present) neglected to report was that the third person to speak at the public hearing said that in cases like this it is always good to ask what the alternatives are, and that in fact there has been new technology for microchip production developed that reduces the quantity of water necessary by 95% and the pollutants discharged by 95%. This new technology was developed by -- IBM! And it is apparently in use in one of IBM's New York plants.

CLF's point is a reasonable one -- write the permit for what IBM is actually doing, rather than giving them a permit that allows them to use up the entire pollution allowance for the Winooski River. IBM will have to make hardly any changes in its processes to comply with a permit with more stringent standards. CLF's gripe is not with IBM; it is with the state of Vermont's wastewater management division of the Department of Environmental Conservation. Over and over we see that DEC is not really regulating polluting industries, it is simply observing.

http://www.dwinellpoliticalreport.com/ds_07_11_03.htm

Or how about:

Not surprisingly, business groups have tended to back Dean since 1991. "He's been a strong supporter of many of our baseline issues," says Chris Barbieri of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. IBM's O'Kane says, "For the most part, business has viewed him favorably." IBM is far and away the state's largest employer, and Dean has assiduously courted the company, meeting quarterly with its executives for 11 years. When the plant in Essex Junction pulled for a highway construction project that environmentalists opposed, Dean took the company's side. In mid-May, rumors circulated that IBM might scale back or close the plant. Dean told a press conference, "There have been very few things that they've asked for that they haven't gotten."

http://www.prospect.org/print/V13/13/dreyfuss-r.html

And this is what Dean Brought to Vermont:

Problems with the permit include:

High levels of heavy metals like lead, nickel, chromium, cobalt, copper, zinc, and silver that will violate water quality standards are authorized by the permit.

The Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) is allowing the entire flow of the Winooski River to be used for dilution of IBM's wastewater.

The phosphorus concentration limit is in excess of levels recommended by the Agency of Natural Resources.

High levels of organic wastes are authorized which could lead to depletion of dissolved oxygen, harming downstream fish populations.

ANR failed to require effluent limitations for cyanide, iron, selenium, hexavalent chromium, and aluminum - pollutants which are present in IBM's discharge at concentrations which exceed state water quality standards.

ANR is authorizing levels of vinyl chloride, a known human carcinogen, and possible carcinogens like trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene that are in excess of water quality standards for drinking water supplies like the Winooski River.

http://www.clf.org/advocacy/winooski_river.htm



Dean allowed it, and its RENEWAL is being opposed.



And trying to state that this is happening only after Dean left office is NOT valid:

CLF plans a press conference today to air its concerns prior to a public hearing on renewing the five-year permit for IBM’s Essex Junction facility, according to Robert Moore, head of the group’s Lake Champlain Lakekeeper effort. CLF’s Lakekeeper program focuses on protecting the lake and advocates for improved enforcement of the Clean Water Act.

Moore said that while IBM has had the permit for years and is not seeking to discharge any more wastewater into the river, CLF and other groups — including the Vermont Natural Resources Council, Vermont Public Interest Research Group, National Wildlife Federation and the Sierra Club — are taking this opportunity to challenge it.

http://timesargus.nybor.com/Regional_News/Story/67620.html

Now that they are trying to RENEW the permit that DEAN gave IBM, Environmentalists are AGAIN trying to fight it. They had the permission under Dean, and just want it back again.


Lets look at that one again from ANOTHER source:

IBM Faces Challenge On Wastewater Permit
Environmentalists Want Plant Held To Tougher Standards


ESSEX JUNCTION, Vt. -- IBM is up for a new wastewater permit at its plant in Essex Junction and there was a public hearing on the matter Wednesday.

Huneke said IBM has been operating under basically the same wastewater permit for decades. Company spokesman Jeff Couture said the permit works for the company and for the environment.

"We don't harm the fish. We don't harm the aquatic life. We don't harm the safety of anyone," Couture said.

Huneke said environmental groups acknowledge that IBM is currently meeting performance standards but say the permit allows the company too much flexibility to harm the Winooski River.

"If IBM does ever discharge within the limits of this permit, you'll see untold impacts to aquatic life and violations of water quality standards," said Moore.

Moore and other environmentalists said IBM is discharging waste into the river that contains toxins such as lead, cadmium, nickel and vinyl chloride, which Huneke said is a known carcinogen. So, environmentalists want to use the permit renewal as an opportunity to reset the standards for IBM, but Huneke said Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas is skeptical about the need for changes.


http://www.thechamplainchannel.com/news/2294555/detail.html


Dean is about as much an environmentalist as Bush is.

The record is CLEAR.

[acerbic]

85. Your "proof" for that doesn't contain string "Dean":

http://www.txpeer.org/Bush/Sierra_Blanca_Dump.html

:crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

[Nicholas_J]

86. Yup:

Searched to see who was reposnsible for trying to PASS the Vermont Maine Texas Compact.

George Bush, not Anne Richards.

And guess who supported that compact after it was rejected by the Texas legislature:

Howard Dean.

This did not occur in one year, but from 1993 - 1998. Dean either knew what was happening, where it was going and didnt care about poisoning a bunch of poor hispanics. Or he is dumber than dirt.

[acerbic]

88. Only claims, no proof...

Well, at least you're consistent with that. :-)

[Nicholas_J]

90. Note the Date :

Associated Press, 10/25/98 13:32


Dean: No radioactive waste site in Vermont

Dean rejected calls by some anti-nuclear activists that Vermont should take care of its own waste, storing it above-ground at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant in Vernont.

"We have much too much moisture in the ground and too much rain," Dean said. "This is not a big issue. Texas has the responsibility to site this (nuclear waste dump) and they will."

Vermont's low-level radioactive waste comes mainly from Vermont Yankee, and consists of materials other than the more highly radioactive spent fuel rods the plant generates. A small part of the state's waste comes from medical facilities.

"Nuclear waste dumps are a terrible way to store waste - all burial sites leak," said Lea Terhune, head of the Vermont Sierra Club. "What Vermont Sierra Club supports is storing the waste above ground, in a secure facility at Vermont Yankee."

Thursday, members of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission rejected a plan to build the dump near Sierra Blanca, a poor, largely Hispanic town about 16 miles from the Mexican border. Activists in Texas and in Maine and Vermont said the town had been chosen because it lacked political clout

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/4745/LLRW/Texas/vermont.html

Dean unaware?

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[clar]

5. You've just earned

an alert. Now try learing some manners.

[Sean Reynolds]

6. Yup.

Continues jerking.....about.....to.....shoot.....load.... :eyes:

[seventhson]

7. and I think John Kerry is WRONG for America

You haven't seen him doing DIDDLY squat to shut down the Plymouth Nuke plant or Seabrook right next door in New Hampshire

These plants produce more radioactive waste which ius a major PART of the problem. There is nowhere to put it.

Dean tried to get it out of his home state.

I do not blame him at all.

But it is the SENATE, INCLUDING KERRY, who is responsible for CREATING this waste mess and he has been freakin' ziplipped on this issue for more than a decade.

If Kerry and the Senateworked to shut DOWN the nukes there would be no problem for the governors to deal with created by Congress.

Dean did the best he could under the circumstances cleaning up or eliminating toxic shit from his state that Kerry helped to create.

THAT is how DEAN should respond

[seventhson]

9. Shut 'em DOWN. If DEAN says SHUT THEM DOWN!!!!

I will be in heaven.

Dean knows first hand the problem.

There is nowhere for the waste to go.

The industry and the Congress forced this down the throats (and toxically into the blood of) the States.

KERRY is responsible for this problem.

If he knew it was UNSAFE then why did he NOT OPPOSE IT???

He didn't and Dean did his best to rptoect HIS state's citizens.

It is KERRY's Fault in part that Dean had no CHOICES.


Dean should become the ANTINUKE candidate!!!


No NUKES, Howard. PLEASE!!!

[DrFunkenstein]

11. Are You A Parody of Yourself? Dean's Record is Terrible!

I realize you are trying to spin things for Dean, but I honestly have never seen a worse job of it.

First of all, Kerry did vote against this, silly goose! He said it was unsafe at the time and has continued to say so ever since.

Secondly, Kerry made the early part of his career as a powerful opponent of nuclear weapons and waste. That's a matter of record. Dean "should become" the antinuke candidate, but Kerry already is.

Thirdly, Dean repeatedly turned a blind eye to corporations like IBM that were among the state's worst polluters, and in fact repeatedly awarded IBM with environmental awards. That also is a matter of record.

I am familiar with your history on DU, and that you have repeatedly posted lies about Kerry. Next time, take a little time before you click the button.

[stickdog]

24. Dude, if IBM is your state's worst polluter ...

What, did they have a leaky data dump?

[acerbic]

26. But, when Dean was governor, Vermont had the worst polluter in the state

Many other, better managed, states didn't have one! :-)
:think:

[DrFunkenstein]

38. And They Certainly Didn't Hand Them Awards Year After Year

Dean repeatedly turned a blind eye to corporations like IBM that were among the state's worst polluters, and in fact repeatedly awarded IBM with environmental awards. That is a matter of record.

[KaraokeKarlton]

50. Wrong, they got awards because of the efforts they made

to be more enviornmentally friendly. Whenever a business makes the effort to do better that should be rewarded and recognized. Vermont has some of the toughest environmental regulations in the country, too...which is something Kerry supporters conveniently leave out of their anti-Dean diatribes.

[Nicholas_J]

78. Dean created the award.

and then created the condition to win it.

Dean brought every polluting industry he could to the state, and said, pollute,but only pollute so much.

Before Dean, no business that polluted as much as any of the existing businesses would have been allwed into the state. Dean changed the legal environment to allow that. Created regulation that he did nothing to enforce.

Deans environmental legislation very closely resembles those Republican Environmental pieces of legislation that "SUPPOSEDLY" protyect the environment, but actually do nothing.

[DrFunkenstein]

36. You Are Clearly Very Aware of The Multinational Corporation

Stretch your imagination just a little bit. It won't hurt much.

[Nicholas_J]

80. Nope

They are making computer chips, one of the most water polluting industries in the nation. They now dunp more than 50 tons of chemical into the Winooski River a year. Dean only allowed them to dump 25 tons of the toxic metals a year. And Deans awards were given for them using a technology that used less water,and so supposedly polutted less but didnt monitor or limit the amount of water that they were using in total, so did not limit the actual amount of toxic waste they ACTUALLY were dumping ito the river. They could step up production this way, and actually pollute as much as they did before by making more chips.

RE: DRIVE THAT NAIL IN FURTHER

»» Annette Smith, Danby: Since you mentioned IBM, how much water it is discharging, and the pollution at the site, I thought you should know a little more about IBM's operations.

Of the 3,500,000 to 4,500,000 gallons of water being discharged, how many tons of cadmium, chromium, lead, zinc, nickel and silver do you think ought to be allowed to be discharged into the Winooski River? The state permit allows 50 tons. IBM is not currently discharging that much, maybe half of that. So is 25 tons of heavy metals going into state's waters all right with you? It's not okay with me. I thought this was the sort of thing that the Clean Water Act was supposed to minimize or eliminate altogether. Heavy metals are poisons and they shouldn't be going into our waters.

What the media (BFP reporter was present) neglected to report was that the third person to speak at the public hearing said that in cases like this it is always good to ask what the alternatives are, and that in fact there has been new technology for microchip production developed that reduces the quantity of water necessary by 95% and the pollutants discharged by 95%. This new technology was developed by -- IBM! And it is apparently in use in one of IBM's New York plants.

CLF's point is a reasonable one -- write the permit for what IBM is actually doing, rather than giving them a permit that allows them to use up the entire pollution allowance for the Winooski River. IBM will have to make hardly any changes in its processes to comply with a permit with more stringent standards. CLF's gripe is not with IBM; it is with the state of Vermont's wastewater management division of the Department of Environmental Conservation. Over and over we see that DEC is not really regulating polluting industries, it is simply observing.

http://www.dwinellpoliticalreport.com/ds_07_11_03.htm

Or how about:


Not surprisingly, business groups have tended to back Dean since 1991. "He's been a strong supporter of many of our baseline issues," says Chris Barbieri of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. IBM's O'Kane says, "For the most part, business has viewed him favorably." IBM is far and away the state's largest employer, and Dean has assiduously courted the company, meeting quarterly with its executives for 11 years. When the plant in Essex Junction pulled for a highway construction project that environmentalists opposed, Dean took the company's side. In mid-May, rumors circulated that IBM might scale back or close the plant. Dean told a press conference, "There have been very few things that they've asked for that they haven't gotten."

http://www.prospect.org/print/V13/13/dreyfuss-r.html

[Cha]

37. And you're Always "Spinning" for kerry....you accuse others of

spinning ..Well I call you.. always spinning for kerry.

[DrFunkenstein]

40. Zidzi, Do You Have A Point

Besides "I like Dean?"

If you are accusing me of spinning, at least let me know which part I am spinning.

Are you suggesting that Dean has a strong environmental record? Or Kerry has a weak one?

A sagacious man once said, "Don't go there, girlfriend."

[Nicholas_J]

87. Dean record is abysmal

Allowing IBM to dump 25 tons of toxic metals, and carcingenic chemicals, and then creating an environmental award and giving it to them because they didnt dumot the 50 tons they were capable ofr dumping because they used technologies that allwed them to create each chip using less water, and then simply increasing their production (they ended up polluting more after they put in the "ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY" eqiopment than they did before, because Dean simply stoppped watching what they were doing)

[KaraokeKarlton]

12. It was low level waste and Bush lied to everyone about the site

It was Xrays and other low level waste. The report on the site that Dean got was full of lies and didn't even mention that there was a fault beneath the proposed site. From what I understand, none of Vermont's low level waste went to Texas at all. Oh, and yes, the Congress okayed the plan in the first place. Anyone know how Kerry voted on this issue? Seeing as he didn't even bother showing up for the mini nuke vote it's OBVIOUS that he doesn't give a shit about nuclear waste. Anyone who truly cared about the issue would have been at that vote, whether only symbolic or not.

[DrFunkenstein]

14. Did Dean Show Up Symbolically?

Just like he showed up at all those antiwar rallies?

As I've posted, Kerry voted no on Yucca. And I've seen Dean say that he hadn't thought of the issue at the national level, but voted in the best interest of Vermont. I'll try to find some actual quotes, but I remember that distinctly.

Kerry made a deal with Daschle to be at any votes that he was needed. His phone has been open ever since. In the mean time, he has to make sure we get someone that can actually beat Bush for Boston.

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JohnKleeb]

27. what about Kucinich?

Yes I know to you he doesnt have a chance but he and Sharpton did. So Stick to be fair, I called you on that. Just saying is all, no offense but thats not true that Dean was all alone in opposing the war.

[Name removed]

35. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Cha]

39. kerry caved when it counted....that cannot be spun.

he could have voted no like Kucinich, Jeffords, Leahy, and many others.

[DrFunkenstein]

44. I Was Marching - Where Was Dean?

When it came time to put his money where his mouth was (since he couldn't actually vote), Dean was nowhere to be found.

The fact is that Dean was not anti-war, but only anti-resolution. Why didn't he attend ANY rallies? Millions of people did. Was he taking a nap on those days?

[JohnKleeb]

46. They are gonna get on you because your guy voted IWR

Well my guy voted IWR and marched with the both of us, actually he spoke in NYC. A plus for Kucinich for speaking out at a rally. I also marched and good for you Doc for doing the same.

[DrFunkenstein]

66. The Police Wouldn't Let Us Past 3rd Ave

So I didn't hear any of the speakers. But it was a wonderful experience. The vibe was very positive, even after we were charged by the police horses, even after the police started pushing us away from the curb (which was part of our legal right to organize in NYC). Everybody was determined not to let anything get ugly, which was awesome - especially because Bloomberg seemed determined to start a confrontation by sectioning off the protest.

[JohnKleeb]

68. Ive been told that things werent so pretty

That sucks. I went to the one in DC in October where Sharpton spoke as did Ramsey Clark and Cythina McKinney.

[KaraokeKarlton]

49. Dean isn't a Senator

I should have specified that those elected to show up and vote on behalf of their constituents SHOULD have been there. If he can't show up to vote he needs to resign and let someone who actually wants to do the job take his place. Same goes for the others who skip out on the votes.

[JohnKleeb]

60. Well if doing your job at the same time as running for president is a plus

I see yet another attriube of Dennis Kucinich that I like a lot. You know that I didnt get to see him in Baltimore because he was busy fighting for Medicare in the house. Just saying its interesting that you brought this up, KK I dont hold this against those guys honestly about campaigning when they still have jobs, yes its annoying but I dont think it would matter to you if your candiate was a senator or congressman and missed votes. I am just saying, I prefer Kucinich's attiude of being there whenever he can to the others but I dont think this makes them bad men.

[ModerateMiddle]

30. What is "low level" nuclear waste?

I thought it would be an interesting google search, and here it is:

"Low-Level" Nuclear Waste

“Low-level” nuclear waste refers to radioactive byproducts of NRC-licensed or DOE-permitted activities that are not high-level waste and do not contain elements with an atomic number higher than uranium. While even low levels of radiation can pose health hazards, so-called low-level nuclear wastes can contain as much radioactivity as some types of "high-level" waste. For instance, in the U.S., even old reactor vessels are considered "low-level", although elsewhere in the world they are "high level". Public Citizen advocates for stringent laws and regulations to keep nuclear waste securely isolated from people and the environment.

It's not "xrays" and such.

[KaraokeKarlton]

51. Yes, it was Xrays

Do your research on the subject. Before you get your knickers in a twist about the waste, find out exactly what it was that was going to be sent to Texas. Implying that it was far worse than it actually was is wrong.

[ModerateMiddle]

32. "Anyone know how Kerry voted on this issue?"

He voted no. As did Mosely Braun.

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=105&session=2&vote=00255

NAYs ---15

Akaka (D-HI)
Boxer (D-CA)
Bryan (D-NV)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Harkin (D-IA)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Moseley-Braun (D-IL)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Torricelli (D-NJ)
Wellstone (D-MN)
Wyden (D-OR)

[JohnKleeb]

33. fine crowd of NOs

[JI7]

34. wellstone

seeing his name on there brings back some good memories. i REALLY miss him.

[JohnKleeb]

41. Paul was a great soul

[Nicholas_J]

83. Wellstone called Deans participation in this

Dean advocated sending nuclear waste from his state to the poor, mostly Hispanic town of Sierra Blanca, Texas. Wellstone called the proposal "blatant environmental injustice" and fought to delay the measure in the Senate. It ultimately passed but was later determined unsafe.


http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml%3Fi=20030526&s=farrell

[DrFunkenstein]

15. That Is The Dumbest Argument I've Heard Yet

Despite Kerry getting the highest possible marks from Sierra Club and League of Conservation Voters - for his votes and LEADERSHIP - you are blaming him simply for being in Congress. You are truly an unbiased observer.

In fact, Dean did not do his best. He was what we call a pro-business environmentalist - earning praise from Business Week for his "flexibility."

Where do you get the zip-lipped part? Do you really think no one is going to call you out on this?

[stickdog]

29. Sierra Club and Dean.

http://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/report99/community.asp

Focus on Vermont

"In Vermont, we cherish our towns." - Governor Howard Dean

Millions of Americans visit Vermont to enjoy its quaint towns and villages. The citizens of the state protect their communities by ensuring they have healthy downtowns, which nurture civic life and preserve the unique character of the state.

To keep these special places alive, the state's Agency of Commerce and Community Development has created the Vermont Downtown Program. This program builds public-private partnerships that support local businesses, funds physical improvements like landscaping and access for pedestrians, and rehabilitates buildings in need of repair. The program is designed to support many small efforts over time, rather than a few big showcase sites that are often driven by large developers.

Vermont has also been in the forefront of the fight against the "big-box" retailers (like Wal-Mart and K-Mart) that blight so many of America's towns. Though a quarter of a century old and not perfect, Vermont's land-use law regulating large projects -- Act 250 -- has given the state the clout needed to fight the giant chain stores. Environmentalists and state policy-makers have successfully kept the character of their towns intact despite pressure from these mega-stores. In some cases, citizen outrage has kept the stores away entirely. In other cases, stores have tailored their plans to fit Vermont -- building on a smaller scale, or building in redeveloped downtown areas rather than sprawling into open space.

Vermont's policy-makers are also working to keep their government from fueling sprawl. State leaders are currently pushing to keep government facilities, like post offices, in downtown locations instead of letting them migrate outward. They've held Uncle Sam to the same high standard that private companies like Wal-Mart must meet.



http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/07/30/national1808EDT0718.DTL

(07-30) 18:47 PDT MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) --

Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean is proposing an environmental policy that would push automakers to improve fuel efficiency standards and require that part of the nation's electricity supply come from renewable sources.

One day after presenting his economic plan in Iowa, the former Vermont governor planned to lay out his 100-year vision for the environment and criticize President Bush's record in a speech Thursday in San Francisco. The Associated Press obtained excerpts and the broad outlines. "We have a president who seems to regard public resources as gifts to be handed out to special interests," Dean said in prepared remarks.

Under Dean's plan, 20 percent of the nation's electricity supply would have to come from renewable sources such as wind and solar power by 2020. He also would elevate the Environmental Protection Agency to Cabinet level and would insist that the United States participate in international environmental agreements, such as the Kyoto global warming treaty.

But in a proposal certain to upset automakers in key electoral states such as Michigan, Dean suggested requiring automakers to establish a fuel efficiency standard of 40 miles per gallon by 2015. The current requirement is 27.5 miles per gallon for cars and 20.7 for trucks.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

31. I notice that Sierra Club article doesn't mention one thing Dean has done.

It doesn't even mention his name except for the feel-good quote. Interesting how you include the news story about Dean's campaign announcement on the environment in the same post but neglect to mention it in the title.

Vermonters for a Clean Environment is a Vermont-based environmental advocacy group that does have a few things to say about Dean:

http://www.vtce.org/deanenvironmentomya.html
http://www.vtce.org/deancrisisagvt.html


I agree with the Sierra Club assessment. Vermont is a wonderful state. Most of my family lives there. Too crowded for me but it is pretty.

[KaraokeKarlton]

52. Those people aren't Democrats, you know...

They are from the Vermont Progressive Party, which is even further left than the Greens are. They don't support Democrats and vote for people like Nader. The executive officer of that organization (Annette Smith) is a bona-fide radical kook who wants all of the people in her town to go off electricity. If she had her way there would be no businesses at all in Vermont and everyone would live in a commune. Sorry, but I don't take a damn word that woman says seriously. But hey, if you want to promote people who would vote for a third party candidate and help Bush win again, all the more power to ya.

[Nicholas_J]

64. Typical

This is typical Dean and Dean supporter reaction. And it affirms
Dean’s conservatism as it closely mimics the Republican tack of
Attacking progressive and liberal policies as extremist.

The Vermont Progressive Party more closely is in line with
The Democratic Party platform than anything Howard Dean
Has done in his ENTIRE political career.

This tack on Dean’s part and in particular on the part of his
Supporters screams out loud of the same tactics that Republicans
Use to belittle the Democratic Party itself, and as such are in support
Of conservative and Republican party platforms.

They more and more provide proof that Dean’s sentiments and
Statements backing up ANYTHING that came out of Newt Gingrich’s
Contract for America have not changed at all.

The Progressive Party far more closely represents and supports all
Of the hard fought for and hard won principals the Democratic Party
Stands for and which Dean has been intent on tearing apart.

The far most interesting thing about Dean and his may supporters is that they must use the same sort of arguments againt progressives and liberals that Republicans use against Democrats. THat they are extremists.

Dean is far more extreme in his conservative leanings than the Progressives and Vermont Democrats were in their left leanings.

It is a clear indictment that Dean and the DEmocratic Party have little in common except that his is running as one.

It is Dean and not Clark who deserves the attention paid to his past record of conservatism.

[stickdog]

54. And they all hate Dean. (NT)

[Feanorcurufinwe]

65. Vermont environmentalists hate Dean? Why?

Were they born that way? Or does it have something to do with Dean's policies and record?

[DrFunkenstein]

42. 2020 Was Kerry's Plan For Years, Plus His CAFE proposals

http://www.lcv.org/Campaigns/Campaigns.cfm?ID=1597&c=4

http://www.time.com/time/2002/greencentury/enkerry.html

http://www.sierraclub.org/trade/fasttrack/kerry_amendment/

Kerry Has Highest LCV Rating of Any Presidential Candidate –
John Kerry has the highest career rating of any of the Presidential candidates. Senator Kerry’s 96.5% is tops amongst the seven current and former Congressional candidates rated by the LCV.

League of Conservation Voters: Kerry’s Leadership “Unsurpassed” –
“Kerry’s exceptional lifetime score of 96 percent on LCV’s National Environmental Scorecard and his unsurpassed leadership on clean air, safe drinking water, and open space issues make him an invaluable environmental leader in Congress.”

On the Record for a Better Environment
"When it comes to protecting our environment, Sen. John Kerry leads where others falter," said Deb Callahan, national president of the League of Conservation Voters.”

http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/environment.html

And your Sierra Club doesn't mention Dean except the lame quote.

[JohnKleeb]

43. Thats a plus

My guy has a pretty good record himself, Kerry does a great job in this category. I think DK got a 90 something from LCV, still IIRC even Kerry beat him out on this thats not to say Dennis isnt superb on the environment like Kerry has. He would be a good choice for LCV although it would be nice if they got Kucinich.

[DrFunkenstein]

69. 96.5% over 18 years! That is astounding!

That's going back to 1984! That certainly impresses me. And anyone that can get to the national stage with a record comprable with Kucinich is just amazing, and a reminder that all is not lost.

[JohnKleeb]

75. You bet it is

Thats a very important reason why I made Kerry my second choice. Well Kerry is a good student on Labor like DK, DK has a 98, and Kerry has a 90 from the AFL-CIO. They both have solid records on civil rights and I will be honest, Kerry has the better record from the NAACP, thats the only thing they differ on really, other than that 100%s across the board. Of course all isnt lost. I really like Kerry, Ive joked with you guys that anyone who gets on Nixon's enemy list isnt so bad. Yeah he is a good guy, I dont have much problems with him. Now if Kerry wins, maybe he will see that DK is cool, and make it Kerry/Kucinich lol I just hope those anti Catholic voters wont care.

[Nicholas_J]

89. Kerry ALSO

Fought for and passed the legisltion requiring that fifty percent of all autombiles in the U.S. be some sort of electric or hybrid gasoline/electric by 2010. WHich is of course now being administratively ignpred by Bush's EPA.

[blm]

21. That's crazy, 7son...Kerry is antinukes as they come.

Dean was IN BED with the energy companies. He even pushed to deregulate electricity which is a BFEE goal, and you know it. Where the hell have you been doing your research?

[JohnKleeb]

22. if you really want anti nukes its Kucinich you want

but blm is right, Kerry is anti nukes too.

[blm]

8. The reporter has a fact wrong.

Bush was elected in 94. If the compact was signed in 93 it was with Ann Richards. Maybe she signed the compact and Bush implemented it.

[seventhson]

10. Kerry seems to have had it wrong too. Smart

blame it on two democrats when the SENATE and KERRY CREATED the damn problem to begin with.

NO NUKES


see radiation.org

and find out what radiation is doing to your reporductive organs and your babies' genetic makeup.


DEAN/EDWARDS in 2004!!!!

[DrFunkenstein]

13. Uh, Check The Record Big Guy!

Kerry's record on the environment is untouchable.

http://action.citizen.org/pc/officials/congress/?lvl=C&only_votes=1&azip=02101

This vote was on whether to override the state of Nevada’s veto and approve the Yucca Mountain nuclear dump, despite broad-based opposition from environmental and public interest organizations. The Department of Energy’s recommendation of the Yucca Mountain site has been plagued by compromised research and numerous safety issues. Far from solving the nuclear waste problem, sending waste to Yucca Mountain would require tens of thousands of radioactive shipments through communities in 44 states.

Kerry voted: Nay (with Public Citizen and every other environmental group)

[DrFunkenstein]

17. Voted Against Similar Proposal In 1997

Voted NO on approving a nuclear waste repository.
Approval of the interim nuclear waste repository.
Status: Bill Passed Y)65; N)34; NV)1

Reference: Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1997; Bill S. 104 ; vote number 1997-42 on Apr 15, 1997

http://issues2002.org/2004/John_Kerry_Energy_+_Oil.htm

[DrFunkenstein]

19. He Also Voted Against Re-Authorizing Price-Anderson

This was very big with Ralph Nader in 2000. Essentially, we have always footed the bill for nuclear plant insurance, making it MUCH cheaper to use nuclear power.

---

This vote was on an amendment offered by Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) to the Senate energy bill, which would reauthorize the Price-Anderson Act. Price-Anderson provides an unfair taxpayer subsidy to nuclear plant operators by limiting their liability to the public in the event of a nuclear accident. This mitigates the industry’s investment risk and dramatically reduces the cost of retaining liability insurance. Estimates of the value of the annual subsidy range from $366 million to $3.4 billion.

Passed 78 Yea to 21 Nay;

Kerry voted: Nay (with Public Citizen)

http://action.citizen.org/pc/issues/votes/?votenum=42&chamber=S&congress=1072

[JohnKleeb]

16. No Nukes

*nudges* theres a guy named Kucinich who doesnt want them either.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

18. Kerry speaks out against environmental racism

Kerry spoke against a pattern in the United States of putting waste dumps and other environmentally dangerous sites near minority neighborhoods. If elected, he said he would create environmental empowerment zones that would get funding for cleanup, adequate housing and ensuring air and water quality.

Bush, Kerry said, "has sat on his hands while hardworking minority Americans have been subjected to more of these choices that place sludge sites, dumps, toxic waste, chemicals and lead and asthma into the lives of our children."

Kerry made his comments while touring a West Dallas neighborhood called Green Leaf Village that was once a barracks-style, segregated housing project contaminated with lead.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/6909044.htm

[Feanorcurufinwe]

47. More from Kerry on Environmental Justice

Kerry's Plan for Environmental Justice and Healthy Communities

Calls for Making Environmental Justice a National Priority

On October 1, on the site of a formerly contaminated housing project in West Dallas, Texas, John Kerry called for making environmental justice a national priority. The housing project has been rid of lead contamination and on which new apartment buildings are being constructed. Over the past three decades America has made great strides in reducing pollution and safeguarding public health. But for too long, too many low income and minority communities have borne a disproportionate burden of air pollution, water pollution and other environmental hazards. As a result, quality of life is lower in these communities and residents face greater risk of respiratory illness, heart disease and other ailments. Kerry held up the Greenleaf Village as an example of what should and can happen in environmentally impacted communities.

<snip>

John Kerry proposed a plan to make environmental justice a national priority:

CREATE ENVIRONMENTAL EMPOWERMENT ZONES

John Kerry proposed creating Environmental Empowerment Zones to ensure that environmental justice is considered in decisions that affect these communities and, more importantly, to empower communities from the ground up for positive change. By empowering local officials and citizen leaders, Environmental Empowerment Zones will overcome economic, civic and cultural barriers and help ensure that no community will be forced to live with a dirty and unhealthy environment. These zones will be designated areas where the federal government will make sure its resources are backing up the fight for environmental justice and where communities will get help to build a better environment for themselves from the ground up.

CREATE A HEALTH TRACKING SYSTEM

John Kerry also pledged to create a national health tracking system for chronic diseases and environmental health hazards. The proposal calls for tracking asthma and other debilitating illnesses linked to environmental causes that are not now monitored in any comprehensive manner. It would place an environmental health officer in each state and coordinate pollution and disease data nationally.

GIVE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE A STRONGER FEDERAL ROLE

John Kerry will reinvigorate action on environmental justice at the federal level. He proposed creating a new Assistant Administrator position for Environmental Justice at the EPA and will revive the Office of Environmental Justice. Today, this office is under-staffed, under-funded, and undermined on a daily basis. Kerry will bring life back to this office so that it can serve as a resource and advocate for community activists all over America.

John Kerry will also build on President Clinton’s 1994 Executive Order to include environmental justice in laws, regulations and policies. President Clinton required all federal agencies to address environmental injustice, past, present and future and required federal agencies to develop strategies to bring justice to Americans who are suffering disproportionately from environmental impacts. President Bush pledged to uphold this Clinton initiative but he has fallen short of that goal. A recent report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found fault with four federal agencies for failing to adequately include environmental justice in their work and program goals. As President, John Kerry will enforce this order and ensure that low-income communities and communities of color have access to information about their environment and that have an opportunity to participate in shaping government policies that affect their health and their environment.
http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/enivronmental_justice.html

Kerry doesn't just talk in vague generalities and feel-good messages. He lays out specific plans that can actually be implemented.

[DJcairo]

45. Kerry is going to win because of his record on the environment

He's right to criticize the dubious at best record of his main opponent. Kerry has and will continue to tie together the issue of energy security, jobs and the environment. This is his own distinct platform and sends a powerful message to democratic voters.

September was tax policy month and October is environment month for Kerry. Look out!:kick:

[clar]

48. Alas,

Americans are not focusing on the environment. I wish Kerry would emphasize this part of his platform more. Everyday bushco is rolling back environmental regs. It's a disaster, and no one has more credibility on the environment than JK. Has he made a statement of solidarity with Jeffords and others who are blocking bush's new appointment to head E.P.A.?

[DJcairo]

61. Yes, and he has called for an investigation into the WTC EPA report

Kerry is an environmental leader. Name any environmental issue and he has experience with it.

[JohnKleeb]

63. what are we paying attention to then just out of curiousity

Environment is a big issue for many people.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

70. Kerry joins effort to stall Leavitt confirmation

John Kerry said, "While none of us should be surprised that President Bush has chosen someone who has a record of working to undermine national environmental protections, the truth is that we aren't going to have a real commitment to the environment until we have a new President.”

“From his energy policy to climate change to clean air and clean water, George W. Bush has made siding with corporate special interests over protecting our families a hallmark of his administration.”


“Christie Todd Whitman certainly tried to bring some common sense environmental policies to this White House, but she was repeatedly
rebuffed and overruled by a Bush Administration bent on siding with corporate polluters and special interests.”

“It doesn't matter who is in charge of the EPA, if corporate polluters continue to write our environmental laws."
John Kerry Statement on the Appointment of Governor Mike Leavitt As EPA Chief


After sailing through the U.S. Senate hearing on his nomination as Environmental Protection Agency head this week, Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt got another reminder of the political fight ahead.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., became the fifth Senate Democrat with plans to hold Leavitt's nomination from coming to a full floor vote until getting satisfactory answers or commitments on specific environmental issues from the White House.
<snip>
Kerry said he wants to know why the EPA is delaying the Superfund cleanup of an old nail and tack manufacturing plant in Fairhaven that is contaminated with PCBs, cyanide, pesticides and other toxins. The cleanup began under the Clinton administration but has received no federal funds during the past two years, said Kerry.
Kerry is also joining Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., in demanding more information from the White House on whether it pressured EPA to knowingly mislead the public on the dangers to New York City residents from airborne contaminants at Ground Zero following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, as claimed in a new internal investigative report.
Kerry joins effort to stall Leavitt confirmation

[sandnsea]

71. So wrong

I don't know anybody who isn't concerned about the environment, not even my Arkansan Southern Baptist Republican sister and her husband. In fact, it's the biggest issue where centrists and Republicans are unhappy with Bush. The environment is a crossover issue, people want balance.

Plus, Kerry isn't just suggesting we protect the environment. He's suggesting an entirely new vision of clean technologies that will create jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. People will want this, it's just common sense.

And Kerry said he'd block Leavitt a while ago. It's kind of old news, to tell you the truth.
http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Sep/09252003/utah/95647.asp

[DrFunkenstein]

72. Kerry Will Be The Energy Independence President

He has the perfect melding of environmentalism and experience with fighting terrorism. He realizes that 9/11 doesn't have to release only our worst fears, but can also serve to realize our most deep-seated hopes. This is a unique moment in history, and an opportunity to really point the way for the 21st century.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

73. Putting the environment front and center of the debate

Grist: In the face of war and terrorism, environmentalism has dropped considerably in the polls as a primary issue of public concern. How can we get this issue back on the map?

Kerry: First of all, those polls often don't reflect people's real feelings. Polls are a snapshot of a moment. Poll results can be skewed by how questions are worded and how they are asked. When I say to audiences: Domestic, renewable sources are urgently needed now because they are entirely under our control, no foreign government can embargo them, no terrorist can seize control of them, no cartel can play games with them, no American soldier will have to risk his or her life to protect them -- audiences respond. I find that all over the country, people are responding to environmental concerns as I talk about it.

Grist: What about beyond energy issues? Or is that the issue people respond to most?

Kerry: There are plenty of issues that touch a chord with people. Take, for instance the 80,000 chemicals registered for use in the United States. Fewer than 10 percent of them have been tested. Daily we are exposed to hundreds, even thousands, of them -- in the food and products we buy, in cleaners and cosmetics and children's toys. Some of these are linked to cancer and birth defects, and yet still the EPA and FDA don't yet have the authority and capacity to investigate, monitor, and test the long-term risks of these compounds. People respond to this.

They also respond to what's happening to their towns and neighborhoods. The federal government needs to help cities across the nation, like the old manufacturing towns all across New England, build the infrastructure that will keep sewage and polluted runoff out of our rivers, lakes, and harbors. We must leverage a new urban strategy in America to plan spaces -- build community and avoid the endless sprawl that robs us of our public spaces -- and ultimately revive the urban center as one of the best places to live and raise a family. You're telling me Americans don't care about these things?

Grist: Can you elaborate on how, when you travel around, you energize average citizens around these issues, and how central such issues will be to your campaign?

Kerry: It's very central. I tell them it's critical to our own survival. It's critical to our legacy, to the next generations. People connect to that. People understand it. They just want reasonable proposals. They don't want doomsday extremism. They want optimism and real, practical solutions, and we can drive that -- with science, technology, research, with very practical efforts. There's a lot we can do. It's empowering for Americans to hear what we can do.
http://www.gristmagazine.com/maindish/kerry092303.asp

[Nicholas_J]

91. Kerry

Stated that Bush's selection for the EPA is a joke.

Two committee members, Sens. Bob Graham of Florida and Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, are vying for the Democratic presidential nomination. Along with Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Lieberman, Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina have threatened to block a vote on the Senate floor once Leavitt's confirmation clears the committee. Democrats Kerry and Edwards also are presidential candidates.

http://www.sunspot.net/news/nationworld/bal-te.epa02oct02,0,5225760.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines

Kerry joins effort to stall Leavitt confirmation




Sen. John Kerry
By Christopher Smith
The Salt Lake Tribune

WASHINGTON -- After sailing through the U.S. Senate hearing on his nomination as Environmental Protection Agency head this week, Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt got another reminder of the political fight ahead.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., became the fifth Senate Democrat with plans to hold Leavitt's nomination from coming to a full floor vote until getting satisfactory answers or commitments on specific environmental issues from the White House.
"The unfortunate truth is that it doesn't matter who heads the EPA under this administration, because they will be nothing more than another pawn for the corporate polluters who control the White House's agenda," Kerry said in a statement posted on his Senate Web site Wednesday. "Governor Leavitt may eventually be approved by the Senate, but I cannot in good conscience allow that process to even move forward without getting the answers that the people of Fairhaven, Mass., New York City and communities across the nation deserve."
Kerry said he wants to know why the EPA is delaying the Superfund cleanup of an old nail and tack manufacturing plant in Fairhaven that is contaminated with PCBs, cyanide, pesticides and other toxins. The cleanup began under the Clinton administration but has received no federal funds during the past two years, said Kerry.

http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Sep/09252003/utah/95647.asp

I would say the answer to that question is a decided YES.

[Nicholas_J]

59. Deans record on EVERYTHING

Is dubious. Which is why the media is focusing on it. They cant find a great deal on which the other candidates have a dubious record, but the major papers and media outlets keep finding more and more about Dean and hiting on it in negative ways. And there are tones of more information in Deans record about shady dealings with big business and republican interests that will keep the others going after Dean.

Already, the first pollster that indicated Deans rise is showing a sharp fall off in Deans support in Nwe Hampsire since the info about his Medicare statements have been let out. Private polls show other candidates eating away or eleiminating his lead in Iowa.

Deans sudden sharp rise to the front was statistical anomaly, an the recent sharp declines, proof of that.

[DJcairo]

62. Nicholas_J you are worse than me and I love you for it

Of coursethis is flame bait and it is all true and the Deaniacs are going to swarm on it like sharks.:yourock:

[Nicholas_J]

74. Thank you

Of course they are.


It is an attempt at damage control...

Do you notice that Deanies have to paint the Vermont Sierra Club and the Vermont Progressive Party as radical extremeists in order to make Dean appear to be a centirst, rather than the congenital conservative that he is.

Dena himself even resorts to typically Republican campaign tactics in order to attack people who have been far better at supporting long fought for and hard won social legislation that Dean has oppposed or thwarted.

Dean's support of even ONE aspect of Gingrich OR any of those other Republicans involved with Gingrich's "Contract for America" or even ONE criticism of Medicare as the "worse government program ever" is grounds for him to be drummed out of the Democratic Party.

Dean is stinking, politicking , lying slime.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

92. Don't forget Dean's push for energy deregulation.

Over the years, the governor has sided with the utilities on many of the most pressing issues,
including the push for deregulation of the electric industry, and later backing away from that as a goal.
http://timesargus.com/Archive/Articles/Article/43125

Howard Dean, once an ardent proponent of electric industry competition,
said recently that he was glad the Legislature derailed his administration's drive to deregulate.
http://rutlandherald.nybor.com/News/Story/14542.html

Vermont Gov. Howard Dean thanked lawmakers for blocking his push to deregulate 3 1/2 years ago.
http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/02/03/power.woes.02/