Bad Deeds for 8-24-2011

 

Quake Sensors Removed Around Virginia Nuke Plant Due to Budget Cuts – A nuclear power plant that was shut down after an earthquake struck central Virginia Tuesday had seismographs removed due to budget cuts.

U.S. nuclear officials said that the North Anna Power Station, which has two nuclear reactors, had lost offsite power and was using diesel generators to maintain cooling operations after an 5.9 earthquake hit the region. The North Anna plant, which was near the epicenter of Tuesday’s quake, is reportedly located on a fault line. Republican Eric Cantor, who is all for budget cuts, represents district where the plant is located.

 

Earthquake Hits Cantor’s District After He Led Fight To Slash Funding – You may recall Republican Eric Cantor’s effort to slash the budget of the United States Geological Service (USGS). Who needs warning of an earthquake?

Cantor also defended cuts in the National Weather Service and NOAA — and now there is a hurricane approaching Washington.

 

Earthquake Does Less Damage to Washington than Eric Cantor Majority Leader’s Devastation Felt Across Nation – Seismologists said today that a 5.8 magnitude earthquake centered in Virginia did less damage to Washington, D.C. than House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, also centered in Virginia.

“The earthquake and Eric Cantor originate from almost the identical point,” said Dr. Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota’s Seismology Institute. “But while the earthquake caused some minor shaking, there’s only one word for Eric Cantor’s impact: devastation.”

As residents of Washington picked through the rubble left behind by Rep. Cantor, some questioned whether it made sense to rebuild.

“What’s the point? Congress will be back from recess in a few days and then he’ll just knock everything down again,” one resident said.

While rumbling from the quake extended to states as far-flung as New York and Ohio, Rep. Cantor’s path of destruction has wreaked damage on almost every state in the country, Dr. Logsdon said.

“The only state he hasn’t destroyed is Wisconsin,” he said. “That’s because there was nothing left of it after it was hit by Scott Walker.”

 

Congressional Republicans Want to Raise Your Taxes – At issue is a tax that the vast majority of workers pay, but many don’t recognize because they don’t read, or don’t understand their pay stubs. Workers normally pay 6.2 percent of their wages toward a tax designated for Social Security. Their employer pays an equal amount, for a total of 12.4 percent per worker. As part of a bipartisan spending deal last December, Congress approved Obama’s request to reduce the workers’ share to 4.2 percent for one year; employers’ rate did not change. Obama wants Congress to extend the reduction for an additional year. If not, the rate will return to 6.2 percent on Jan. 1.

Obama cited the payroll tax in his weekend radio and Internet address Saturday, when he urged Congress to work together on measures that help the economy and create jobs. “There are things we can do right now that will mean more customers for businesses and more jobs across the country. We can cut payroll taxes again, so families have an extra $1,000 to spend,” he said.

Social Security payroll taxes apply only to the first $106,800 of a worker’s wages, so high-income earners pay a smaller percentage. The great majority of Americans make less than $106,800 a year. Millions of middle-class and low-wage earners workers pay more in payroll taxes than in federal income taxes. However, Republicans want taxes cut on the rich by not letting the Bush tax breaks expire on the high earners and by reducing the top tax rates.

 

Fracking Advisory Group Riddled With Financial Ties To Gas Industry – Six of the seven members of the Natural Gas Subcommittee of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board have current financial ties to the natural gas industry.

These conflicts of interest make it appear that the subcommittee is designed to serve industry at taxpayer expense rather than serving President Obama and the public with credible advice. Officially assembled in May 2011, the group was charged with addressing reports that hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, poses significant threats to environmental health and the public water supply.

 

Rick Perry: Investor In and Protector of Porn Films – Back in 1995, when his bouffant hairdo was barely all the rage, Rick Perry invested thousands of dollars into Movie Gallery, Inc, a porn distributor company. It was the largest distributor of porn movies, and was even opposed by the conservative American Family Association, the same organization that now claims to support Rick Perry after he showed up to host their prayer rally, The Response, in early August. Rick Perry later passed laws to help porn companies like Movie Gallery, Inc., avoid ‘tort suits’ for illegally distributing porn across state lines. Perry is also keeping the director of the Texas Film Commission in place who was found guilty of sexual harassment.

Regards,

Jim