List of things that will not be going to hell in a handbasket when Obama takes over

[Bucky]

I was gonna start a thread on all the problems that Bush is leaving on Obama's plate while he gallantly rides off to his next career: giving $50,000 a plate speeches to the same oil industry & defense contractor fat cats that brought him to us in the first place. (Fantasize about The Hague all ya want, kids, you know how he's gonna spend his retirement years--at least three shoe-throws' distance away from anyone who might feed him a dose of reality).

Anyway, it quickly occured to me that it would take me considerably less time to list the problems he's not leaving Obama with.

For instance....

1. No need to buy new china plates

2. Lots of shredded paper lying around the briefing room floor, in case Sasha and Malia want to make a paper maché clown.

3. The White House is not literally on fire.

4. Blair House booking problems are completely resolved following Inauguration Day.

5. Sunflower Harmony Bush, the once-lost "third Bush twin" the Obamas will find abandoned in the White House basement, is at least fully house trained now that Cheney's finished "breaking" her.

6. Enough photographs of the original Bill of Rights exists that it can be reconstructed to within 80% accuracy.

any items for gratitude that I've missed here?

[Donald Ian Rankin]

1. The White House is not on fire *yet*.

But we're still more than a week away.

[donco6]

2. And Chimpy's lookin' edgy . . . n/t

[Cha]

3. Does anyone think bush or mccain would lift

a finger to help our environment?


<snip>

By Beth Daley, Globe Staff

"Barack Obama gave a whole lot of environmentalists hope today as he pledged to "spark a clean energy economy."

His comments - while notably broad-stroked - provided the clearest signal yet he aims to create a kind of green New Deal by combining job creation with clean energy and infrastructure.

Below are excerpts from his speech transcript and after reading them, let us know: Can it be done? Do you think emphasis on clean energy will raise energy prices? Lower them eventually? What kind of jobs and financial incentives should be created?

"To finally spark the creation of a clean energy economy, we will double the production of alternative energy in the next three years. We will modernize more than 75% of federal buildings and improve the energy efficiency of two million American homes, saving consumers and taxpayers billions on our energy bills. In the process, we will put Americans to work in new jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced – jobs building solar panels and wind turbines; constructing fuel-efficient cars and buildings; and developing the new energy technologies that will lead to even more jobs, more savings, and a cleaner, safer planet in the bargain."

Later in his speech he said:
"To build an economy that can lead this future, we will begin to rebuild America. Yes, we’ll put people to work repairing crumbling roads, bridges, and schools by eliminating the backlog of well-planned, worthy and needed infrastructure projects. But we’ll also do more to retrofit America for a global economy. That means updating the way we get our electricity by starting to build a new smart grid that will save us money, protect our power sources from blackout or attack, and deliver clean, alternative forms of energy to every corner of our nation. It means expanding broadband lines across America, so that a small business in a rural town can connect and compete with their counterparts anywhere in the world. And it means investing in the science, research, and technology that will lead to new medical breakthroughs, new discoveries, and entire new industries."


http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/greenblog/2009/01/the_greenest_pieces_of_obamas_1.html