Bad Deeds for 3/30/2010

 

Here’s What Some Government Investment in Infrastructure Can Do

Problem is, it’s in China.
Wuhan Station, March 23, 2010

 

And For Contrast: Detroit Michigan Central Station, August 11, 2009

 

Koch Industries and Other Oil Companies Funding Climate Change Deniers – Koch Industries, a huge privately-owned US company dominated by oil and chemical interests, is plowing millions of dollars into campaigns to discredit climate science and clean energy policies, a report alleged Tuesday.

Between 2005 and 2008, the Kansas-based conglomerate that “most Americans have never heard of” spent nearly 25 million dollars to fund “organizations of the ‘climate denial machine,'” environmental protection group Greenpeace said in the report.

Between 2006 and 2009, Koch Industries and the family that founded and still controls the conglomerate spent 37.9 million dollars on direct lobbying on oil and energy issues — eclipsed only by oil majors Exxon and Chevron, who spent 87.8 million dollars and 50 million dollars, the report said.

 

Conservatives Embarrass Themselves by Jumping to Conclusions – After Federal authorities have arrested a Philadelphia man and charged him with threatening to kill House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and his family, Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham and columnist Michelle Malkin wasted no time labeling the suspect as a left-wing loon. But, it turns out that the suspect appears to have leveled plenty of threats against Democrats, as well.

In one video, which was flagged by TalkingPointsMemo, the suspect makes threats against President Obama, as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), saying: “Your punishment is coming, the swine, it will be severe, and you will beg for mercy to your god. It will be severe, you will know god’s swine, god has warned you.”

 

Court Orders Dead Soldiers Father to Pay Church’s Legal Fees – The Westboro Baptist Church, headed by Fred Phelps, is known for picketing at public events and funerals, often those related or peripherally related to gay people or soldiers in the military.

Al Snyder’s son died in Iraq in May of 2006. Members of the rabidly anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church picketed his son Matthew’s funeral, causing immense personal, emotional pain for him, his family and their friends.

Mr. Snyder won a $5 million civil lawsuit against the church and the Phelps family, but it was recently tossed out of a federal court. To add insult to injury, the court has now ordered Snyder to pay all of the church’s legal fees. There is a legal fund set up for Mr. Snyder, if you’d like to show him some love.

 

Followup on Yesterday’s Story: Insurers Agree to Fix Loophole That Would Allow Them to Reject Sick Kids – In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the insurance industry’s top lobbyist said Monday that insurers will accept new regulations to dispel uncertainty over a much-publicized guarantee that children with medical problems can get coverage starting this year.

 

Followup on Yesterday’s Story: Republican National Committee Also Spent Lavishly at Reagan Museum Shop, Liquor Store – The RNC was revealed by The Daily Caller on Monday to have incurred thousands of dollars in expenses at a bondage-themed nightclub that features topless lesbian dancers, as well as other lavish escapades in its trip southern California last month.

And that’s not the end of the Republican Party’s troubles.

Records show that last month, the organization also spent thousands at the Ronald Reagan Museum Store in southern California’s Simi Valley, as well as hundreds at a liquor store in Capitol Hill. The items were listed as marked ‘office supplies’.

OK, Here’s Some Good News:

 

Another Victory: Student Loan Reform – The reforms that President Obama signed into law include historic investments to make education more affordable, and deliver on another key campaign promise. The legislation:

• Ends subsidies to special-interest private lending companies
• Doubles funding for Pell Grants to help more students afford a college education
• Will cap a graduate’s annual student loan repayments at 10 percent of his or her income
• Helps an additional 5 million Americans earn degrees and certificates over the next decade, by revitalizing programming at our nation’s community colleges

Regards,

Jim