Ethon flew in and took over the spare bedroom. He said the upcoming feather flap over climate change legislation was gonna be too good to miss. The big bird didn't book early because he figured there was no way to get anything through the US Senate, but had a quiet smile on his beak thinking about how that problem has gone away. From the beginning of the year the talking pigeons were chirping that Obama would never get a vote on this short of folding it into a budget reconciliation bill which is not subject to filibuster. When the US Senate went back and forth on that the chorus got louder.Last week the Obama administration put a gun to Congress' head. That's the entire purpose of the EPA ruling that CO2 is a pollutant that endangers health and welfare. EPA must now draft regulations to limit the damage and THAT will force a vote in Congress on greenhouse gas legislation. The fallback in case Congress does not pass legislation is no longer nothing, but EPA regulation which should concentrate everyone’s mind. Look for EPA to throw some pretty tasty draft regulations out there fast to turn the screws even tighter. Congress has to get out in front of the steamroller. Ethon is gonna look for some flattened liver treats in the middle of the road.
Since the Supreme Court has already ruled that CO2 is subject to regulation by the Clean Air Act and that if it endangers public health it must be regulated any law suits are haggling on the edges. Anyone know where Eli can find a large bird bath for the summer?
More snacks please.
ReplyDeleteHat tip to:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_04/017897.php
Read it for excerpts and links and the snark:
"Gore tried to explain that Barton has relied on the wrong people for guidance on science: "With all due respect, I believe that you have relied on people you have trusted who have given you bad information. I do not blame the investors who trusted Bernie Madoff, but he gave them bad information."
Barton replied, "I have never talked to Bernie Madoff."
________
Whose hat is tipped to:
http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2009/04/24/blackburn-challenges-gores-motives/
______________
BLACKBURN: I'm not making accusations. I'm asking questions that have been asked of me. And individuals, constituents that were seeking a point of clarity–
GORE: I understand exactly what you're doing, Congresswoman. Everybody here does.
______________
Video and transcript. This can only be the beginning, they'll get better as they get worse.
Oh, lordy, more Barton:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2009/04/a_simple_question_from_a_simpl.cfm?
A simple question from a simple man
Posted by:
Economist.com | NEW YORK
Categories:
Congress
IS JOE BARTON, the congressman from Texas, auditioning to be host of "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" Judging by his questioning of Steven Chu, the energy secretary, yesterday, it would seem so. Mr Chu, you will remember, is a Nobel prize-winning physicist. Mr Barton is obviously not.
The video, posted by a Barton fan:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgKepHebKRc
Why limit yourself to a single gun to the head when you've got another one that's just as good?
ReplyDeleteRe Ethon's needs, there's a perfectly servicable bird bath right in the middle of DC, conveniently packaged with this phallic symbol suitable for double-duty as a perch.
Of course Obama doesn't need any new regulations to do this sort of thing.
ReplyDeleteBut back to our main snack tray:
ReplyDeletehttp://thingsbreak.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/industry-group-1995-internal-memo-said-climate-effects-from-ghgs-cannot-be-denied-while-group-continued-to-do-just-that/#more-2243
(click the original for related links)
Excerpt:
Lomborg and Roger Pielke Jr. have long perpetuated the lie that James Hansen wanted to see trials for people over an innocent “difference of opinion” on climate change rather than a deliberate effort by industry executives, made in bad faith, to mislead the public as the tobacco company executives did. They whinged about persecution, witch hunts and inquisitions, and the trampling of free speech.
Hansen’s own words were sufficient to rebut the ludicrous claims made by the Lomborgs and Pielkes as to the scope of to whom he was referring- not, despite their claims, the genuine skeptic, or people who merely disagreed with the mainstream; but rather:
[s]pecial interests [who] have blocked transition to our renewable energy future… fossil companies [who chose] to spread doubt about global warming, as tobacco companies discredited the smoking-cancer link… CEOs of fossil energy companies [who] know what they are doing and are aware of long-term consequences of continued business as usual.
The pathetic fig leaf these “heretics” hid behind, once they were confronted with their mendacious twisting of Hansen’s claims, was that no one could really know that the industry groups were deliberately misleading the public. Here we have undeniable evidence that this is exactly what took place. How long, do you reckon, we’ll have to wait for apologies from these paragons of intellectual honesty to Hansen? And how will history look upon them, those who in exchange for fleeting acclaim fought in defense of special interest groups bent on deceiving the public about one of the greatest threats to its well-being?
[UPDATE: Pielke Jr. doesn't dissapoint, continuing to feign concern over non-existent attacks on free speech on behalf of the poor defenseless corporations who knowingly misled the public.]