The white supremacist political party, American Third Position (A3P) announced its triple digit financial contribution to the fund established by Arizona's Governor, Jan Brewer, to defend the state's new immigration law.

Food and Water Watch cautions that we cannot wait for a water shortage catastrophe for the U.S. Congress to undertake inquiry and to ensure that the nation's scientists have the tools and funds to evaluate U.S. groundwater resources. Once data is available, we will then be able as a nation to enact science-based policies on the state and national levels to ensure water resources for future generations.

Though I'm a single-payer advocate, the industry shenanigans with regard to all we're likely to get--the "Public Option" is fascinating to watch. Wendell Potter offers more great insight.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Supporters of President Barack Obama's drive to remake health care are pushing back against a dire report from the insurance industry warning of hefty new costs for consumers from the latest legislation.

The Obama administration is considering appointing former Monsanto executive, Mike Taylor, to head the Food Safety Working Group at the FDA.

Gar Lipow of Grist clearly outlines the flaws of Waxman-Markey "cap-and-trade" bill with its many concessions to the coal, nuclear, and electric sectors. Specifically, he points to three fatal flaws, downstream permitting, offsets, and giveaways. Lipow offers the most intelligent analysis and criticism of bill that I've seen to date.

Gar Lipow has spent years immersed in the subject of efficiency and renewable energy. He has written extensively on the economics of solving the global warming, and why pricing externalities (though important) cannot be the main driver of such solutions.

Time for President Obama to accept reality that bipartisanship in his cabinet is a lost cause. Frankly, I'm relieved to see Gregg go. Now, the President can nominate a solid "for the people" nominee to Commerce. It was Gregg who offered his name into nomination, therefore, the manner in which he withdrew without notifying the President, in advance, to coordinate the announcement of his withdrawal is incredibly disrespectful. It is poor form that seems in keeping with the whiny behavior of Republicans for the past several weeks. His inability to recognize the ideological divide with the administration, as he cited today, before accepting the nomination seems flaky. Hopefully, President Obama accepts the reality that extending the bipartisan hand to his cabinet is futile. Hopefully, he replace Gregg with an individual truly committed to helping the country and the American people out of the current crisis toward prosperity.

Go Maxine! Thank God for Congresswoman Maxine Waters who is such a staunch advocate for her constituents and those living on the margins. Clearly, these CEOs were barely contrite and nothing is going to change. I think that Huffington Post's James Warren gets most of it right in this story, but I am irritated with his condescension toward Rep. Waters. Thankfully, Keith Olbermann invited her to Countdown this afternoon where she was able to expand upon her motives in grilling the CEOs about interest rates. Unfortunately, it was revealed by Olbermann that the limit on CEO salaries was apparently stripped from the Stimulus Bill in conference this afternoon. Rep. Waters said she'll go after CEO salary limits in the $350 billion banking bailout package.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today set aside the Bush administration's midnight timetable for a vast expansion of offshore drilling. Salazar sharply rebuked the "headlong rush of the worst kind" put in place in Bush's final week in office. Announcing that "the time for reform has arrived," Salazar explained that he "will extend the public comment period by 180 days, get a report on offshore energy resources, hold regional conferences, and expedite rulemaking for offshore renewable energy resources":

I intend to do what the Bush Administration refused to do: build a framework for offshore renewable energy development, so that we incorporate the great potential for wind, wave, and ocean current energy into our offshore energy strategy. The Bush Administration was so intent on opening new areas for oil and gas offshore that it torpedoed offshore renewable energy efforts.

Secretary Geithner's plan seems to protect banks and as he's said "the system," but details on the benefit to the economy and to the American people who desperately need a bailout were scant in his presentation to Congress. Instead, the bank executives who created this disaster must be fired and nationalization of the banks should be on the table.

Terry Moran of ABC News interviews President Obama and presses for answers on the bank bailout and Treasurery Secretary Geithner's proposal likely to cost taxpayers trillions of dollars. The President was evasive when asked for a dollar estimate. Moreover, when Moran asked about nationalizing the banks, the President cites the banking crises in Japan and Sweden and presents our options as "either / or" when other options are desperately needed and should be explored. It appears that President Obama is extending the same friendly bipartisanship that has failed him in Congress to the banking industry. Instead, this crisis demands that he be bold. It is worrisome that Secretary Timothy Geithner appears to be protecting his banking industry buddies, and his four-point plan as rolled out yesterday was too short on details.

President Obama and Interior Secretary Salazar off to a great start in overturning Bush Administratoin 11th hour raid on our precious natural and cultural resources.

Salazar is proving to be a sound choice for Interior Secretary. This is one among many energy and environment Bush administration policies that I hope the Obama administration will overturn.

Great read on the greed of the top 25 people responsible for the U.S. economic meltdown