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John Kerry

John Kerry

Posted: March 4, 2010 05:56 PM

Listen To These Vets

What's Your Reaction:

The Senate needs to listen to these veterans:

Enough words have been spoken in Washington, with none as powerful as what these vets have to say. Let's keep it simple and straight. Politicians have talked for years about the link between foreign oil and global terrorism.

And these veterans are doing their duty once again when they remind politicians in Washington that it's not "tough" to vote for legislation that creates jobs, cuts pollution, and strengthens our national security -- what's tough is what happens when we don't and our troops shoulder that awful burden instead.

And it's true. Don't believe me? The Pentagon recently released their quadrennial defense review, and they included the instability from climate change as a factor that could cost the lives of the men and women who serve in our armed forces.

The Center for Naval Analysis brought together a blue-ribbon panel of generals and admirals who concluded that "climate change is a serious national security threat." And General Anthony Zinni said flatly that if we don't deal with climate change now, "we will pay the price later in military terms. And that will involve human lives."

And these veterans know it already does.

The politicians don't have it tough. The troops do. End of story. Now the Senate needs to do its job -- for them.

 

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The Senate needs to listen to these veterans: Enough words...
The Senate needs to listen to these veterans: Enough words...
 
 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
atexasdem
Pointing out the foolishness of republican voters.
12:44 PM on 03/08/2010
Climate change and economics cause people to get very desperate. If a person doesn't eat, if a person sees no better future they tend to join radicals. They become desperate for solutions, any solutions. Certain "leaders" quickly take advantage of that desperation. You can't debate with someone who hasn't eaten in three days. You can argue the causes, man made or natural but it doesn't matter. Hunger and desperation are all that matters.
To deal with this we send in our military to calm things down. This is a very temporary patch for a long term problem. You don't hold a gun on a hungry man and expect him not to hate you.
We like to think that our military is the ultimate solution to everyone's problems. Of coarse their not. Rather than attacking the symptoms, we need to be working on the solutions.
09:16 AM on 03/08/2010
I applaud the vets who made this video for their courage to speak out.
03:49 AM on 03/08/2010
then shouldn't we be going after the OIL company's?
instead of the Terrorists they hire?

Cut off the MONEY

and no more Terrorism

now Economic Terrorists is a different matter
11:02 PM on 03/06/2010
This is a great ad. I wish people would take it to heart and support legislation supporting clean jobs. China is doing it. America needs to foster clean energy jobs. We have to end the K-Street Lobbying.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
RockyMissouri
'You must be carefully taught to hate'...
10:23 PM on 03/06/2010
Nobody is TAKING anything--it is being SOLD!!! Big difference!!
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
RockyMissouri
'You must be carefully taught to hate'...
10:20 PM on 03/06/2010
Love that Gen. Zinni!!
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John Mainstream
I'm a Clinton Democrat that is now an independent.
10:01 AM on 03/06/2010
The United States also has huge natural gas reserves. Research at MIT has demonstrated technology that removes as much as 99% of pollution from burning natural gas.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
jacobomorales
10:46 AM on 03/06/2010
Burning more of anything is only a short term alternative. It is still carbon based and polluting.
08:18 PM on 03/06/2010
Bio Char is carbon based,

and carbon negative.
07:00 PM on 03/06/2010
"The United States also has huge natural gas reserves"

False.

all the "Natural" Gas is gone.

all we have now is incredibly environmentally damaging Fracked gas.
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John Mainstream
I'm a Clinton Democrat that is now an independent.
09:58 AM on 03/06/2010
Building new atomic energy plants is the worst choice that could be made. Aside from issues of safety, possible security threats, 15 year completion schedule, and radioactive waste, private investors won't put up the money because they are a money losing prospect. Why should taxpayers back $50 Billion for new atomic energy plants that wouldn't come on line until 2025 anyway? In contrast, with modest tax incentives to private investors enough wind turbines could be constructed by 2025 to deliver the electric power need for 100 million homes within the United States.
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John Mainstream
I'm a Clinton Democrat that is now an independent.
09:10 AM on 03/06/2010
Until there are cost-competitive alternative energy and conservation technologies in wide-spread use, Americans will need to buy increasing amounts of oil and coal. We need Congress to pass long-term tax breaks for wind, solar, bio-fuels, etc. as well as for conservation. Also, we need large R & D investment tax credits for new, cost-effective technologies that remove pollution from burning oil and coal.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
SFTor
12:25 AM on 03/06/2010
How long have we known this for?

The only way forward is to turn K Street into a parking lot. Before we can break U.S. dependence on oil we have to break the dependence of Congress on corporate money.

Everything else follows. Publicly funded elections now.
04:14 PM on 03/05/2010
General Anthony Zinni... right on.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
quillsinister
03:39 PM on 03/05/2010
Brilliant! :-D
03:33 PM on 03/05/2010
..why scar the landscape with silly windmills and solar collectors when we have the latest 4th generation Thorium nuclear power technology?

China is going to import the material from the moon...why can't we do the same?

Thorium nuclear power is even strong enough to burn its own toxic waste.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
quillsinister
04:03 PM on 03/06/2010
The raw materials to produce nuclear power are just as finite as oil.
01:50 PM on 03/05/2010
The vets know. See 4 min into this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r_ICauyyWs