the weekly US and World Report on Public Policy
by Edwina Rogers
Global Report: Geoengineering Climate Change
Staff from the Secular Policy Institute attended the Tuesday release at the National Academy of Science of the CIA commissioned new Climate Report. The report covers Short term fixes for climate change. Geoengineering covers a variety of technology fixes for the problem of climate change whether rooted in human behavior or not. For example, tiny particles of sulfur dioxide could be sprayed into the upper atmosphere. That would mimic the effects of a volcanic eruption. The thin haze would reflect sunlight, cooling Earth’s surface. The full reports are covered in more detail in this newsletter.
United States
President Barack Obama addressed the nation on Wednesday regarding his request for congressional authority to use military force against ISIS.
Lawmakers on Wednesday morning received a draft Authorization to Use Military Force for six months against the militant group. The text of the resolution does not authorize “enduring offensive ground combat operations.”
On another note, President Obama has 10 days to issue a veto on a bill authorizing construction of the Keystone XL pipeline now that the House has passed a final version, 270-152.
Twenty-nine Democrats voted with Republicans to pass the measure, which Obama has repeatedly said he will veto. He says the decision to build the pipeline should rest with the executive branch.
Neither the House nor Senate passed the proposal by a wide enough margin to override a presidential veto.
National Prayer Breakfast
President Obama attended the National Prayer Breakfast last week. He called the Islamic State a “brutal, vicious death cult.” Then he dared to note that Islam is not the only religion to have been perverted to justify violence and atrocities. This fact drew public daggers from Christian conservatives.
Here is the full quotation to underscore the inoffensiveness. “From a school in Pakistain to the streets of Paris, we have seen violence and terror perpetrated by those who profess to stand up for faith, their faith, profess to stand up for Islam but, in fact, are betraying it.”
“We see ISIL, a brutal, vicious death cult that, in the name of religion, carries out unspeakable acts of barbarism – terrorizing religious minorities, like the Yazidis, subjecting women to rape as a weapon of war, and claiming the mantle of religious authority for such actions. We see sectarian war in Syria, the murder of Muslims and Christians in Nigeria, religious war in the Central African Republic, a rising tide of anti-Semitism and hate crimes in Europe, so often perpetrated in the name of religion”
Obama’s offending words: “And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ. In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ.
“Obama Insults Christians,” blared the Catholic League; its president, Bill Donohue, termed Obama’s comments “an attempt to deflect guilt from Muslim madmen.”
US Senate
On Wednesday the Senate had pending business on a motion to proceed on the Department of Homeland Security. This is the third attempt on the DHS appropriations bill. There will be another vote before the week is over. Ash Carter for Secretary of Defense will have his final vote this week. The Senate is in recess next week for President’s Day break. After the recess the Senate will address Keystone again, force against Islamic State, No Child Left Behind, Cyber Security, Gitmo Bill and the Budget.