GOP Opposes Federal Fracking Regs Regardless of Whether EPA Finds Poisoning

As natural gas exploration expands throughout our energy-starved nation -- from the West and now into the South and Northeast -- many folks living in drilling country are rightfully expressing concern that their groundwater may be susceptible to pollution from the fracking fluids that are central to drilling operations. These are very legitimate fears, as HBO's critically acclaimed documentary Gaslandso graphically shows. And yet, to date, the Republican Party has expressed a rather callous "drill first, never ask questions later" attitude -- callous, even for the GOP.

During the Bush years, Republicans managed to legislate an exemption for fracking fluid into the Clean Water Act. Then, Republicans in Congress blocked the proposed FRAC Act, which wouldn't even ban fracking fluid -- it would simply require drilling companies to disclose what's in the fluids they are pumping into the earth near critical groundwater supplies. And now, in perhaps the most extreme step yet, Republicans here in Colorado (a state with one of the biggest natural gas reserves in the world) are demanding the Environmental Protection Agency never regulate fracking,regardless of whether or not the agency discovers that fracking is poisoning people.

As the Colorado Independent reports, you just can't make this up:

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More "Christian" Hatred

Pastor Hosting ‘International Burn A Quran Day’: ‘We Have Nothing Against Muslims’

On September 11, 2010, the extremist evangelical Dove World Church — whose pastor, Terry Jones, has written a book called “Islam Is Of The Devil” — plans to host “International Burn A Quran Day,” when it will burn Muslims’ sacred text and encourage others across the world to do so as well. Churchmember Wayne Sapp has even posted an instructional video that explains how and why to burn the Islamic text.

CNN host Rick Sanchez invited Jones on his show yesterday to ask him about the inflammatory action. When Sanchez pressed Jones about why he would try to anger the world’s Muslims by burning their sacred text, the evangelical pastor replied, “Well, for one thing, to us, the book is not sacred,” provoking laughter from the CNN host.

Jones later went on to explain, “What we are also doing by the burning of the Quran, we’re saying stop, stop to Islam, stop to Islamic law, stop to brutality. We have nothing against Muslims, they are welcome in our country.” When Sanchez asked him how he would feel if Muslims burned the Bible, Jones admitted he wouldn’t like it but emphasized that it was his “right” to burn the Islamic text because “we live in America”:

interview

The 2010 "Republican Plan" - Angry and Wrong Ain't a Plan

As I listen for some sign that the Republican Party has a plan, any plan, to fix America's problems, I'm struck by their notion that giving wealthy people a tax cut isn't going to do anymore for unemployed, or underemployed people now than it did when George Bush was President and pushed through his great unfunded tax cuts. And when Republicans voted against extending unemployment benefits when times are so tough, it was WRONG. Who are these guys working for? We need jobs, and a living wage.

So here you go, the "Republican Plan" - you buying?


Out-of-touch, angry and still wrong isn't a plan boys!

Reducing Debt and Deficit - What Leadership Looks Like

By George Pace

THE PRINCIPLE OF fiscal responsibility has been lost in the past decade, as evidenced by our national debt increasing from $5.7 trillion, 56 percent of Gross National Product, in 2000 to an estimated $13.5 trillion, or almost 90 percent of GNP in 2010. Furthermore, the current administration forecasts that by 2020 the national debt will exceed $22 trillion, or more than 100 percent of GNP! Said another way, interest expense on our national debt will exceed $1 trillion a year by the end of the next decade, unless we demand that our elected officials rediscover the principle of fiscal responsibility.

We need to limit the federal national debt to no more than 60 percent of GNP, which would mean our national debt would have to be reduced by $5  trillion to $6 trillion in the next decade. This will be a daunting task, requiring targeted tax increases and significant spending reductions. My recommendations follow:

Read More:

5 Republicans Under Investigation for Ethics Violations

Fund-Raising Before House Vote Is Focus of Ethics Inquiry

Tom Price, R-GA

John Campbell, R-CA

Jeb Hensarling, R-TX

Christopher Lee, R-NY

Frank Lucas, R-OK

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NAACP to Teaparty: Clean Up Your Act!

About time...

“We take no issue with the Tea Party movement. We believe in freedom of assembly and people raising their voices in a democracy. What we take issue with is the Tea Party’s continued tolerance for bigotry and bigoted statements. The time has come for them to accept the responsibility that comes with influence and make clear there is no place for racism & anti-Semitism, homophobia and other forms of bigotry in their movement,”

By-the-way, I know this guy, he works for me, he's a spoiled, self entitled child, he's a racist. This picture was taken at the Teaparty protest on the Mall last year. His sign says: "...Stand Idle While Some Kenyan Tries To Destroy America. I Don't Think So. Homey Don't Play Dat". I'm working on him, but honestly, he may be gone...

Extremist Christians Aim to Create Armed Militias Against "Godless" Federal Government

Christian Reconstructionists believe civil government should be reformed according to the dictates of biblical law. Some advocate for followers to take up arms.

The Christian Taliban. Same theocentric arrogance and violence, just a different God.

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Absurdity as Governmental Philosophy?

The party of something for nothing speaks with authority.
But...  Mind bending absurdity rings through the delivery.



"You should never have to offset tax cuts." ????
WTF?
Only if you care nothing about debt and deficit.

Perriello for Jobs

Please visit

http://www.perrielloforcongress.com

Yet Another Good Southern Baptist

Jonathan Wilkins, Baptist Tabernacle Minister, Files Lawsuit To Overturn Georgia Church Gun Ban

ATLANTA — A minister in Georgia is challenging the state's ban on guns in churches after the U.S. Supreme Court recently issued a decision supporting Americans' right to keep and bear arms.

The Rev. Jonathan Wilkins accuses state officials of violating his First Amendment freedom of religion right and his Second Amendment right to bear arms. Wilkins' attorney John Monroe said Friday that the minister wants to carry a gun to church for protection considering church shootings over the years.

Wilkins is a minister at the Baptist Tabernacle in Thomaston in central Georgia. The lawsuit is being filed on his behalf as well as a handful of gun rights advocates.

So this is what Christianity has become? What's next, sanctioning IEDs? Suicide Bombing? These extremists are just the christian version of Al Quaeda. No wonder rational people are leaving this religion in droves.

Study Shows that the Biggest Defaulters on Mortgages are the Rich

Contrary to the immigrant bashers and class warfare elitists on the right and their echo chamber, it is not the poor or immigrant working class who are defaulting the most on their mortgages, it is the rich.

In fact, more than one in seven homeowners with loans in excess of a million dollars are seriously delinquent. By contrast, homeowners with less lavish housing are much more likely to keep writing checks to their lender. About one in 12 mortgages below the million-dollar mark is delinquent.

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GOP Rep SLAMS his own Party

GOP Rep. Inglis: Republicans Are “Preying on Fears,” Spreading Messages With Hate Radio

This post originally appeared on Think Progress.

Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC), who lost recently in his primary run-off for the Republican nomination to keep his seat in Congress, is speaking out about the influence of hate radio and right-wing fear mongering in the Republican Party. In an interviewwith the AP, Inglis called out reactionaries like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck for spreading “demagoguery” and hatred in society:

– Noting that Palin had spread the “death panel” smear, Inglis said, “there were no death panels in the bill…and to encourage that kind of fear is just the lowest form of political leadership.”

– Inglis slammed GOP leaders for following hate radio talkers, rather than leading on principle: “I think we have a lot of leaders that are following those (television and talk radio) personalities and not leading [...] What it takes to lead is to say, ‘You know, that’s just not right.”

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It is Time to Tax Churches

Considering the radical, anti-Christ like, evangelical, politicized and agenda oriented, fundamentalists that organized religion has evolved into, it is time that they lose their "charity" status. They have become selfish entities like corporations, and like every other business, they should be required to pay their fair share of taxes. Churches, synagogues, and meeting houses have been given a free ride for far too long. They have essentially become corporations.

Like McDonalds and Burger King, they put forth HUGE efforts to brainwash the public into buying their "product." And like McDonalds and BK, organized religions spend millions of dollars co-opting governments at all levels to push their selfish agendas and receive favoritism in all forms including lax oversight, loose regulation, favorable laws, and tax breaks. And also like Mickey Ds and BK, organized religion uses these tactics to benefit those at the top, often to the detriment of the health and welfare of the general public.

Considering the fact that communities all around the state face dramatic budget cuts and painful decisions, and considering the fact that Harrisonburg and Rockingham County have about 100 Churches, Synagogues and Meeting Houses, alone, I think that it time that these mini-corporations step up to the plate and truly serve their community. They should be required to help pay for the social services that they receive, and should no longer be allowed to take advantage of taxpayers.

Reshaping Sprawl for a Sustainable Life...

Food for thought for our local governments and communities...

Dying malls rehabilitated, dead "big box" stores re-inhabited, parking lots transformed into thriving wetlands.

Learning from the past to Improve Tomorrow...

Second Re-Posting of a popular and important article and concept.

What Our Grandparents Can Teach Us
About Saving the World

Half the vegetables produced in 1943 in the United States,
were grown in Victory Gardens...

The World War II home front was the most important and broadly participatory green experiment in U.S. history. Is it a model we should use today?

"With the participation of the Boy Scouts, trade unions, and settlement houses, thousands of ugly, trash-strewn vacant lots in major industrial cities were turned into neighborhood gardens that gave tenement kids the pride of being self-sufficient urban farmers. In Chicago, 400,000 schoolchildren enlisted in the "Clean Up for Victory" campaign, which salvaged scrap for industry and cleared lots for gardens."

Click here for the story

Then come back and talk about it. We've got some thinking to do on this issue...

As Oil Industry Fights a Tax, It Reaps Billions From Subsidies

When the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform set off the worst oil spill at sea in American history, it was flying the flag of the Marshall Islands. Registering there allowed the rig’s owner to significantly reduce its American taxes.

The owner, Transocean, moved its corporate headquarters from Houston to the Cayman Islands in 1999 and then to Switzerland in 2008, maneuvers that also helped it avoid taxes.

At the same time, BP was reaping sizable tax benefits from leasing the rig. According to a letter sent in June to the Senate Finance Committee, the company used a tax break for the oil industry to write off 70 percent of the rent for Deepwater Horizon — a deduction of more than $225,000 a day since the lease began.According to the most recent study by the Congressional Budget Office, released in 2005, capital investments like oil field leases and drilling equipment are taxed at an effective rate of 9 percent, significantly lower than the overall rate of 25 percent for businesses in general and lower than virtually any other industry.

And for many small and midsize oil companies, the tax on capital investments is so low that it is more than eliminated by various credits. These companies’ returns on those investments are often higher after taxes than before.

the rest of the story

Jesus quotes John McCain

Jesus quotes Bill O'Reilly

Jesus Quotes Barbara Bush

More Than 30% Of The South Is Obese

Ironically these idiots are the first to scream NO to universal healthcare and also the first to whine when they lose their expensive, inadequate employer funded health care.

Sorry folks but there is a direct correlation between lack of education, intensity of faith, poverty, teen pregnancy, obesity and southerness. Another ironic point, southerners LOVE to scream about the evils of social programs, yet they are the biggest recipients of them. Talk about biting the hand that feeds them!

No worries though, I'm sure your God has a plan right?