» Adam Axvig

The Nashville Tea Party

Adam Axvig — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:16:59 +0000

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin gave the closing address to the thousand plus participants in the first annual National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. The speech capped off a vigorous three days of events ranging from prayer sessions to documentaries. The convention, intentionally or unintentionally, seemed to focus around one question; where does the movement go from here? That question remains one of the most difficult to achieve consensus on. Many would like to see the movement remain decentralized and grassroots, others would like to see the Tea Party Movement organize and field candidates....

Congress to Raise Debt Ceiling by $1.8 Trillion

Adam Axvig — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:47:47 +0000

Congressional Democrats are poised to vote on raising the national debt ceiling from $12 trillion to $13.8 trillion. The vote could come before the end of the year, an effort to minimize possible political blowback in the 2010 midterm elections. The story elicited a number of comments by lawmakers. In an interview with Politico, House Appropriations Chair David Obey said, "...the credit card has already been used. When you get the bill in the mail you need to pay it." Groups of conservative Democrats critical of runaway spending have emerged in both the House and Senate. One such member is North Dakota's Sen. Kent Conrad, chair of the Senate Budget Committee. Conrad teamed up with New Hampshire Republican Sen. Judd Gregg to introduce legislation to create a budget task force (press release) to plot a more sustainable fiscal course.

China – “Developed Nations Must Cut 40% by 2020″

Adam Axvig — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:32:31 +0000

This afternoon, China's top climate diplomat, Xie Zhenhua, asked the US to commit to cutting at least 40% of its carbon output by 2020. The tough talk came in an interview with Zhenhua at Copenhagen. So far, much of the focus in Copenhagen has been on China and the United States, the two key players in the negotiations. Many speculate that if the two powers cannot come to an agreement, the Copenhagen Conference will fail to produce any substantive accord...

Copenhagen Day One – COP15 President “Let’s Open The Door To The Low Carbon Age”

Adam Axvig — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:22:53 +0000

Copenhagen Day One - COP 15 President Connie Hedegaard opened up the Copenhagen conference today urging what has emerged as the common theme among the media and heads of state attending; action must happen now.

Minnesota Budget Deficit At $1.2 billion

Adam Axvig — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:13:52 +0000

Budget officials released their projections on Tuesday, predicting a $1.2 billion shortfall over the next biennium. Both parties issued releases on the shortfall (GOP DFL) and state leaders made statements on the deficit, from MPR:

Northern Lights Express Price Tag Revised to Just Under $1 Billion

Adam Axvig — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:32:58 +0000

State officials have revised the estimated cost of the Northern Lights Express to $990 million. The number could become reality if the Northern Lights Express is built using the "worst case scenario." Federal money could pay up to 80% of the project, but supporters and the state need to find common ground on what the estimated cost is to submit an application for federal funding.

Climate Research Unit Emails Leaked

Adam Axvig — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:50:32 +0000

Last week, 102 megabytes of private emails, documents and other files were downloaded from servers at the Climate Research Unit at the UK's East Anglia University. Included in the files are over a thousand emails between climate scientists, interactions seldom seen by the general public. Since the leak, climate skeptics have been in an uproar over the files, publishing innumerable posts parsing through the emails and exposing some of the more insidious elements within the files. Reading through them myself, a few things stood out.

CBO: Senate Health Care Bill Costs $849 Billion

Adam Axvig — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:22:21 +0000

According to Democratic sources, the Congressional Budget Office estimates the Senate version of health care reform will cost $849 billion over the next ten years. The CBO also predicts the legislation would reduce the deficit by $127 billion over the first ten years. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hopes to hold debate on the bill as early as Saturday. Some of the reforms in the bill include:

Requiring most Americans to carry health insurance
Mandating that large companies provide coverage to their workers
Banning certain insurance company practices such as denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions
Setting up new insurance marketplaces — called exchanges — primarily for those who now have a hard time getting or keeping coverage

Reuters: “World leaders back delay to final climate deal”

Adam Axvig — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:34:58 +0000

Reuters reported yesterday that many world leaders are now supporting a delay in creating a legally binding pact to tackle climate change. The change is a dramatic turn around from a few weeks ago when a Copenhagen pact seemed eminent. From Reuters: "There was an assessment by the leaders that it was unrealistic to expect a full, internationally legally binding agreement to be negotiated between now and when Copenhagen starts in 22 days," said U.S. negotiator...

Senate Moves on Climate Change Bill

Adam Axvig — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:07:18 +0000

The "Kerry-Boxer" bill made its way through the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee this morning, despite bipartisan opposition to the bill. The legislation calls for an ambitious 20% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020, a number that will undoubtedly meet tough opposition by Senate Republicans and coal state Democrats. Montana Senator Max Baucus...