The President went to Genoa, Italy last week to talk about a number of things, one of which was to restate the long-standing objections of the United States Government - including the U.S. Senate - to some major provisions of the Kyoto Treaty.
The day after President Bush left the G8 meeting in Genoa, there was an announcement in Bonn, Germany - to the accompaniment of fists pumping in the air, great celebrations in the streets, and huge headlines - that a compromise had been reached on the Kyoto treaty.
According to The Times, "The accord turned on a compromise offered to Japan, Russia and Australia, under which penalties for countries that do not meet targets for emissions cuts will not become legally binding until a later date.
Further, The Times reports, a "political compromise includes the retention of an unregulated market for the buying and selling of emissions credits, generous allowances for offsetting national targets through forest sinks."
So the environmental geniuses came up with a system which has no penalties for not meeting emission targets, and allows rich countries to, in effect, sell their dirty air to poor counties who, because they HAVE little industry do not produce much in the way of industrial pollution.
Imagine, for a moment, if President Bush had arrived in Europe and suggested that the big industrial nations try their darnedest to meet the targets, and be given credit for the attempt, if not the achievement.
And, imagine, for a moment, if President Bush had suggested that the U.S. and the other major industrial nations be able to trade clean air credits with poorer nations.
The U.S. press corps and its allies on The Left would have had a terminal case of The Vapors excoriating him for trying to foist such a sham on the world, on using the filthy lucre of American wealth to poison the air of poorer nations along with everyone else on the planet.
But, because these two items were agreed to without the United States' approval, they are hailed as a major step forward in reversing global warming.
One last note from The Times:
"Countries which backed the accord, and green campaigners, accept that it will do little in itself to
arrest global warming. The Kyoto treaty, which demands an average 5.2 per cent cut in emissions by 2010, will have an
almost imperceptible effect on the climate."
So, this is all a public relations ploy - it has nothing to do with the future of our atmosphere.
By the way, these were quotes, not from the Washington Times, but from the London Times.
The Patient's Bill of Rights bill was pulled from floor consideration yesterday because the House leadership didn't have the votes to pass the Administration version over the version being pushed by the Democrats and Georgia Republican Charlie Norwood.
Given some of the reporting you might think that the Democrats' plan will make all medical services free to
everyone all the time, and the President's plan will make the medical services available in Calcutta look good by comparison.
This graf from The Times explains the differences in the two bills on the health care delivery side of the equation:
"The two parties are in broad agreement on much of the patients' rights legislation. Both sides support guaranteeing that patients have access to certain specialists and emergency room care. Both support establishing new independent review panels to handle disputes."
And here is how The Times explains the entirety of the differences:
"But the two sides differ sharply on the extent to which patients should be allowed to sue health plans, and how much they can collect in damages. The Democrats' measure allows unlimited economic and pain-and-suffering damages, and punitive damages up to $5 million. Republicans would ban punitive damages altogether, and cap pain-and-suffering awards at $500,000."
By the way, those are not quotes from the Washington Times. They are quotes from the Los Angeles Times.
Here's the joke running around Your Nation's Capital this week: How can you tell NBA star Patrick Ewing and former President Bill Clinton apart? Ewing told the truth about it under oath.
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