A rough Monday looms for Bay Area drivers

As I drive to work tomorrow, I can take heart in the fact that tens of thousands of people are going to have a morning commute worlds worse than mine is going to be.

These are pictures of a section of freeway that funnels traffic onto the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge burning white hot early this morning after a gasoline tanker truck overturned and caught fire.

Talk about lucky - the driver, who suffered second-degree burns, walked away from the accident and hailed a taxi to a local hospital. The LA Times didn't say whether the drive was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, but I'm sure he didn't really care after walking away from that disaster.

From the LA Times:

The California Highway Patrol said the truck crashed on the interchange from westbound Interstate 80 to southbound Interstate 880, which carries traffic from Berkeley and Vallejo south toward San Jose. The CHP said intense flames and heat from the fire caused the overhead connector from eastbound Interstate 80 to eastbound 580, which carries traffic from San Francisco into East Bay, to fall onto the interchange.

Officials encouraged motorists to carpool, find alternative routes around the closure and take public transportation. The Bay Area Rapid Transit District announced that it would be running longer trains Monday and increase its capacity by 50% to help relieve increased traffic congestion.

I'm always whining and complaining about I-76 (known locally as the Schuylkill Expressway, and no, President Bush probably can't pronounce it), the major artery that connects Philadelphia to the suburbs. The special challenge with this highway is that there is no way to expand it but up, and that will almost certainly never happen.

A few years back, I wrote PENNDOT and proposed doing just that - decking I-76 to double the highway's capacity. Finally, I received a tart reply from Roger A. Madigan (R), the chairman of the Pennsylvania Senate Transportation Committee, which said that building a 15-mile bridge from King of Prussia to Philadelphia just wasn't going to happen.

Anyway, maybe it's a good thing PENNDOT doesn't fix I-76 with a deck, because I've always had a phobia about traveling on the bottom part of a decked highway, and through traffic tunnels, because of accidents like these.

I could certainly get over it, though, if my commute time were cut considerably by a congestion-free highway, regardless of the number of decks. I just want highway fixed. I think it's time to begin writing letters again.

Top Photo: AP/Bryan Carmodi
Bottom Photo: AP/The Oakland Tribune, Noah Berger

LA drought worst in 130 years

Above, the Los Angeles skyline, pictured in January 2007.

AFP is reporting that earlier today, the National Weather Service said Los Angeles is going through its longest dry spell in at least 130 years, fueling fears of rampant wildfires which have plagued the US west coast in recent years.

Yet another reason to fear climate change. When reports like this come out, it's more than a bit troubling to me. And this is just the beginning - the BBC reported earlier this year that many scientists are predicting that 2007 could be the hottest year on record.

This is just routine though - this has always happened, right global warming deniers?

Just unreal.

My thinking about global warming is this - what's the risk? If we prepare and take drastic steps to cut our greenhouse gas emissions and we curb and drastically reduce our dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels, where's the downside?

What really makes me angry is how people reason that it will "destroy our economy" if we impose carbon caps on big businesses. It's a total crock. Has anyone thought about the jobs that would be created if the U.S. were to get aggressive in installing solar panels, wind mill farms, etc.?

I really don't have any doubt that Big Oil is behind much of the obstruction to the United States taking a much bigger initiative in curbing our fossil fuel dependence. Politicians love to get on TV and say how we need to reduce our dependence on oil, yet when it comes time to collect the campaign checks, they gladly open their arms and embrace the scum that is Big Oil. It's the millionth reason we need campaign finance reform in this country.

(AFP/File/Gabriel Bouys)

McCain declares, Joe Biden style...

...with a major gaffe.

Last night, Judas John McCain appeared on David Letterman to basically announce that he is going to announce that he is running for president in 2008. No real surprise there.

What WAS a surprise is when he mentioned that "we've wasted a lot of our most precious treasure over there [in Iraq], which is American lives.

I wonder how the neocon talking head morons will spin this one? Michelle Malkin comes to mind first, considering her diatribe on Barack Obama after he made a similar remark last month.

Every candidate for president is going to have gaffes along the way, and Judas John is no exception. I'm not going to crucify him for that, but in the overall context of McCain's recent position changes is quite amazing. If it's not obvious to you that this man will say or do anything to be elected president, it soon will be. McCain switches positions more than Jenna Jameson.

Anyway, what irks me more than anything is the coverage that McCain's announcement on Letterman received the next morning. Some major media outlets didn't even mention McCain's gaffe in stories about his announcement. What's that all about?

The proof is in the pudding. I went to these Websites and read the stories firsthand. Take a read. Bear with me, I know there's a lot here, but it's worth reading...

From the March 1 edition of The New York Times:

In Newly Usual Way, McCain Says He’ll Run
By ADAM NAGOURNEY

Senator John McCain of Arizona took the platform of a late-night talk show Wednesday and said he would formally announce his campaign for the presidency in early April. His remarks erased entirely whatever doubt could have existed about his ambitions for the Republican nomination.

"The last time we were on this program — I’m sure you remember everything very clearly that we say — but you asked me if I would come back on this show if I was going to announce," Mr. McCain told David Letterman. "I am announcing that I will be a candidate for president of the United States."

"Oh," Mr. Letterman replied with what seemed at least a glimmer of surprise.

Mr. McCain is known as something of a free spirit, and his aides suggested that his remarks to Mr. Letterman were, if formal-sounding, extemporaneous rather than a result of careful planning by his campaign. Nonetheless, aides said, his appearance clearly fit into the campaign’s effort to stir as much excitement and interest as possible in his plans — a point Mr. McCain himself made as he and Mr. Letterman bantered on.

"By the way, I’ll be making a formal announcement in April," Mr. McCain said. By way of explanation, he added: "This is the announcement preceding the formal announcement. You know you drag this out as long as you can. You don’t just have one rendition. You’ve got to do it over and over."

Acting a bit downcast, Mr. Letterman responded, "How do you think that makes me feel?"

The exchange was the latest example of how the customs of presidential campaigns are changing. Not all that long ago, an announcement was a defining moment in the evolution of candidates, in which they truly opened their campaigns. For 2008, on the other hand, candidates have been not only announcing but also pre-announcing on Web sites and various television shows and in random interviews.

In truth, Mr. McCain has been running for the White House for nearly two years and, ever since forming a presidential exploratory committee in November, has repeatedly told interviewers that there are no circumstances he can foresee in which he would not run.

He has assembled a full campaign staff, and his organization has been churning out nearly daily pronouncements of the latest political figure to endorse him. In Iowa two weeks ago, he talked at three events about what he would do as president. And he is going to the West Coast this weekend to raise money.

Mr. McCain’s aides said Wednesday that they would not disclose any details about the announcement tour until later, no doubt in anticipation of drawing yet another round of publicity. "Details on the formal announcement will be forthcoming," said Brian Jones, campaign spokesman.

From the March 1 edition of The Washington Post:

McCain Says He'll Seek Presidency, Plans to Make It Official in April

By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 1, 2007; A01

Sen. John McCain of Arizona declared last night that he will join the 2008 race for the White House and will formally announce his candidacy in April.

McCain used an appearance on CBS's "Late Show With David Letterman" to say what has been clear for many months, erasing whatever doubts may have existed that he intends to battle for the Republican nomination, which eluded him in 2000.

"I am announcing that I will be a candidate for president of the United States," the former Navy pilot and Vietnam War prisoner told Letterman.

McCain's decision to use the program to declare his intentions followed a pattern increasingly common in this presidential contest, as candidates have used multi-step announcement schedules to garner maximum attention for their bids.

In this case, however, McCain, 70, may have additional motives for using the late-night comedian's show, as he tries to rekindle some of the spontaneity and unpredictability from his first campaign. He cast himself as an insurgent politician in 2000, but this time, weighed down by a supportive position on the Iraq war that is out of step with the public even as he methodically woos the GOP establishment, he has struggled to project the buoyant personality of his first effort.

McCain lost a bitter contest for the Republican nomination to George W. Bush in 2000. But he emerged as the early leader in the race for the 2008 GOP nod, in part because of his support for the president's leadership on the Iraq war but also because he has spent months courting Bush loyalists and the Republican establishment that had spurned him.

In recent months, however, his star has been eclipsed somewhat by that of former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who now leads McCain in many national and some state polls testing the Republican field. A Washington Post-ABC News poll released Tuesday showed Giuliani leading McCain 44 percent to 21 percent. A month ago, Giuliani's advantage was much narrower, at 34 percent to 27 percent for McCain.

McCain advisers said the decision to declare that he will join the Republican race was not a direct result of concern that Giuliani has gained ground in the past two months but rather part of a long-planned strategy to make his intentions known around this time.

McCain is one of the leading congressional advocates for Bush's troop increase in Iraq, a position that has tied his presidential aspirations to progress in the conflict there. McCain has been highly critical of the administration's management of the war, describing what has taken place over the past few years as a "train wreck" and calling Donald H. Rumsfeld "one of the worst secretaries of defense in history."

In addition to McCain and Giuliani, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is seen as a potentially strong candidate for the GOP nomination. The McCain and Romney camps have been circling each other for months, attempting to corral activists and major fundraisers both nationally and in states with early contests next year.

Other Republicans already in the race or contemplating running include former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, former Wisconsin governor Tommy G. Thompson, former Virginia governor James Gilmore and Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado.

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) may also join the race, although he appears likely to wait until at least late summer before deciding.

McCain was one of the first Republicans to establish a presidential exploratory committee, filing papers with the Federal Election Commission weeks after the GOP drubbing in the midterm elections last November. At that time, McCain also filed a statement of candidacy, in essence a declaration of his intentions to run.

He recently made his first trip to Iowa as a prospective candidate and made clear that he would run hard for the Republican nomination.

The 2000 race was hard-fought and highly negative. Bush entered as the dominant front-runner, while McCain, who had often parted company with the GOP, was seen as a dark horse.

McCain chose to skip the Iowa caucuses that year and concentrate on New Hampshire, where independents play a more significant role in the process. His maverick style and "Straight Talk Express" theme caught fire and he soundly defeated Bush in the nation's first primary.

That set up what turned into a nasty clash in South Carolina, where McCain was the subject of scurrilous attacks. His advisers blamed the Bush camp for the attacks, but Bush advisers said they were not responsible. Bush won the primary and McCain and his team emerged angry and bitter.

McCain would later find himself in conflict with religious conservatives after he delivered a speech sharply critical of the influence of Rev. Jerry Falwell and the Rev. Pat Robertson, among others, describing them as "agents of intolerance."

Those kinds of remarks have soured some conservatives on McCain as a potential party standard-bearer. Some doubt his commitment to social issues, despite a long record opposing abortion rights, and others believe he has not been a strong advocate for supply-side tax cuts, which have been at the heart of GOP economic philosophy since the administration of President Ronald Reagan.

Some Republicans who opposed McCain in the past have warmed to the prospect of his candidacy, in part because they see him as a potentially strong candidate. But those moves to court conservatives have cost some support among independent voters, and the issue of the war has further complicated McCain's ability to project himself as a nominee who could attract Democrats and left-leaning independents.

And finally, from The Los Angeles Times:

California titans join McCain's campaign team

Although the GOP senator hasn't officially joined the presidential race, he tells David Letterman he is in

By Dan Morain, Times Staff Writer
March 1, 2007

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) unveiled a presidential campaign finance committee Wednesday dominated by Californians and New Yorkers, including some of the biggest donors to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and President Bush.

McCain's 13 national finance committee co-chairmen include five Californians: Orange County billionaire Donald Bren; investor George Argyros; Univision Chairman A. Jerrold Perenchio; Cisco Systems Chief Executive John Chambers; and San Francisco venture capitalist J. Gary Shansby.

Altogether, McCain named 70 Californians, 68 of them men, to his finance team. They will be expected to raise $100,000 or more for the campaign.

"I'd be very disappointed if I didn't raise over $2 million," said Shansby, former chairman of Shaklee Corp., who helps run an investment fund.

The California list includes executives in the entertainment, investment, banking, telecommunications, real estate, gambling and alcohol industries, and current and retired politicians.

Other co-chairmen include New York Stock Exchange Chairman John A. Thain; JP Morgan Vice Chairman James B. Lee; New Jersey banker Lawrence E. Bathgate; GOP fundraiser Lewis M. Eisenberg of New York; and former New Jersey Rep. James A. Courter, chairman of the telecommunications firm IDT Corp.

Though McCain hasn't officially announced his candidacy, he said in a taping of the "Late Show With David Letterman" on Wednesday that he was running and would "announce" it in April.

The release of his finance committee is aimed at showing other candidates the depth of his support and convincing donors that he is the front-runner.

Perenchio is one of at least eight Californians on McCain's list identified as a Bush "pioneer," meaning he raised in excess of $100,000 for the president's campaigns.

Perenchio is Schwarzenegger's largest single donor, at $4.8 million. McCain also tapped Schwarzenegger's lead fundraiser, Marty Wilson, as part of his California
finance committee.

Argyros, Bush's first ambassador to Spain, has spent more than $960,000 on federal campaigns since 1997, including $200,000 on Bush's 2005 inaugural.

Chambers has given more than $1 million to federal campaigns since 1997, and his company has accounted for $1.6 million during the last four years.

Bren and his wife, Brigitte, have given $267,000 to federal campaigns since 2003. Bren's Irvine Co. has accounted for $250,000 to Schwarzenegger.

Shansby has been a relatively small federal donor in the last decade, giving $35,000, Federal Election Commission records show. But as managing director and chairman of TSG Consumer Partners, a San Francisco-based fund that invests in consumer products, he has the potential to raise significant sums.

Damn liberal media!

Absolutely absurd and inexcusable that three of the leading papers in the country would fail to report McCain's gaffe. And a deadline is no alibi here; there is plenty in each story on McCain about not only his announcement, but quotes from the "I'm announcing that I'll announce" candidate.

A special shout out has to go to Media Matters - an organization that does a fantastic job of monitoring stories just like these.