Free Republic

The U.S. and 21 other countries want to triple the global generation capacity of nuclear power by mid-century. The pledge, announced at the United Nations’ COP28 climate summit in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, comes as more of the world’s governments say increased use of nuclear power is critical to reduce emissions of carbon and combat climate change. Countries involved are the U.S., Canada, the UK, France, South Korea, and the UAE. Officials have said increasing nuclear power in Europe would help European nations reduce dependence on oil and gas from Russia, while conceding it will require major investment....

...Iranian administration has prevented the entry of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency into one of its nuclear sites. Iran claimed that the inspectors were not admitted to the site due to safety issues.

A conservative group backed by the billionaire Koch brothers and their wealthy allies boasts a scorecard on its website that rates the presidential candidates based on their opposition to policies meant to tackle climate change, such as EPA regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, a renewable fuels standard, and a tax credit that benefits wind energy.Texas senator Ted Cruz scored the highest rating on the American Energy Alliance site, which labelled him a "hero" due in part to his opposition to regulation and taxes. Cruz was followed on the scorecard by four other Republican candidates - Florida senator Marco Rubio, ex-Florida...

During my transcription process of the book Fabian Freeway, I would sometimes go through the footnotes and see what I could verify, when one thing in particular caught my eye. (Chapter 17) The fact that an old-line southern Democrat had been induced to sponsor the basic legislation so ardently desired by all spokesmen of gradual Socialism was an early and notable example of success for the Fabian technique known as permeation. This concept is actually used extensively throughout the book, but for whatever reason, it caught my eye in the current context. The Fabians turned "Permeation" into a policy because...

Capital Survey Research Center, the polling arm of the Alabama Education Association, has suspended operation. A bill passed in the special session of the Legislature last month bars deduction of AEA dues from state paychecks if the money is used for political purposes, including polling and political advertising. "AEA deeply regrets, particularly at this time, the loss of some 30 jobs in the Center and looks forward, as it becomes possible, to reactivating the work of CSRC and its important role in the state's public policy processes," Capital Survey director Gerald Johnson said in a news release issued this afternoon....

Wednesday's developments in diplomatic efforts on halting Iran's quest for nuclear technology: • Europe, backed by the United States, rejected Iran's request for talks on its nuclear program, cranking up international pressure on Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment.• Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said "there's not much to talk about" until Iran halts nuclear activity, saying the Islamic republic and its current leaders are not trusted with such technology. Rice met in Washington with the European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana. • Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, accused the West of acting like the "lord of the world" in...

“Oh, yes, I know, we have recently been told by no less than 365 academic economists that such a thing cannot be . . .Their confidence in the accuracy of their own predictions leaves me breathless. But having been brought up over the shop, I sometimes wonderwhether they pay back their forecasts with their money.” —Margaret Thatcher, 1979 As our $500 billion/yr trade deficit, with its attendant job destruction and long-term damage to our industrial base, continues to spiral out of control, the public may be forgiven for wondering whether there might be problems with the free-trade theories that have...

...on school issues:

Citizens for a Sound Economy August 27, 2003 Alabama Will Lead Us In September, voters in Alabama can show the nation that higher taxes aren't the answer to state overspending. Every once in awhile certain voters in our republic have the opportunity to make a profound impact on the country’s future. In 1979, the voters in California approved proposition 13 which dramatically lowered property taxes in that state. Proposition 13 sparked an anti-tax revolt across the entire country and helped elect Ronald Reagan president. Reagan then proposed and Congress approved across-the-board tax cuts that sparked the longest peaceful expansion in...