Wednesday, August 08, 2012

Catnip 8/8/12: What IS the Matter With Kansas?

mtdiablo8622

Wind Cave on Mount Diablo that went clear through the rock. These formations aren't actually carved by the wind though; they are due to evaporation of the water in the sandstone. Read the story here.

Win some, lose some, onward to November...

Election day. Well well. Let's start with home. Disappointed that Trevor didn't win, disappointed that Roy Schmidt did. As long as voters do not hold the brazen liars and crooks accountable for their actions, don't be surprised when your elected officials are brazen liars and crooks. Next chance GR, November. Sorry to lose Hansen from Congress; he's a cool guy. And hey, how's everybody liking Ruth Johnson over Jocelyn Benson? That working out for you?

Moderate Republicans are purged from the Kansas state Senate. Biggest story from yesterday's primaries could be this: "Conservative Republicans who've been working to push GOP moderates out of state legislatures in a large section of the country have scored big victories in Kansas, where a state Senate that has been an obstacle to fiscal and social policy changes is likely to have a solid majority on the right next year." Kansas is already total wingnut, hard to see how it could get any worse - but keep an eye on what policy they pass next year.

Missouri split the crazy base and ended up with McCaskill's pick for an opponent for the US Senate race there: Todd Akin, hater of gays, liberals, Medicare, voting rights... you know the drill. Only problem is: He might win. Careful what you pray for, Claire. McCaskill is already up with a website that focuses on Akin's... um... "colorful" policy positions.

The Big Dog weighs in on Romney's dishonest dog-whistle ad concerning welfare, a little too late in the evening to make a difference in yesterday's news cycle. Still, nice to hear from the authority. Guessing that Mitt doesn't care and is working on his next Big Lie as we speak.

Reports this morning that Romney signed off on a plan that helped Marriott and others avoid paying taxes, costing the government "billions." "'Son of Boss' and its related shelters represented perhaps the largest tax avoidance scheme in history, costing the U.S. many billions in lost corporate tax revenues. In response, the government initiated legal challenges that resulted in complete disallowance of the losses claimed by Marriott and other corporations." Romney approved "fictional" tax losses of $70 million for the Marriott Corporation in the 90's. Made it up out of thin air, which, yes, is illegal.

Could be why America is just not that into you, Mitt. Unfavorables are climbing by the day.

Economist Brad DeLong grabs a team and absolutely destroys Romney's joke of a "jobs" plan. It's utter nonsense folks. How many more have to weigh in before the MSM picks up on the story?

The world is noticing Mitt's attack on green energy jobs though. The world is not pleased. Especially when you consider that Republican governors of all stripes have championed renewable energy efforts in their states. Clean green energy is one of the rare areas that enjoys bipartisan consensus; Mittens may have picked the wrong Koch horse on this. Hope so, anyway.

A lot of hot air, this time the good kind. "The American Wind Energy Association said Tuesday that wind power has reached 50 gigawatts of electric generating capacity. 'U.S. wind turbines now power the equivalent of nearly 13 million American homes, or as many as in Nevada, Colorado, Wisconsin, Virginia, Alabama and Connecticut combined,' AWEA said in a statement." That's the equivalent of 11 nuclear plants, or 44 coal-fired plants. Nifty graphic here.


I'm hearing rumors that Kathleen Sebelius is actually a "radical". Must go investigate. Didn't know she had it in her. Perhaps Kansas needs to be questioned about its intentions. Until next time....