Paul Chesser's Blog – September 2010 Archive (32)

Earlier this week I wrote in the Washington Times about the introduction of a national Renewable Electricity Mandate bill by New Mexico Democrat Sen. Jeff Bingaman and Kansas Republican Sen. Sam Brownback. About 30 states already have them in one form or another, which require public utilities to generate…

The Washington Post today has another of their "scientists say" articles (they're actually just wildlife advocates -- well, only certain wildlife, as you'll see) about how too many birds are falling prey because of excessive outdoor cats:

Scientists are quietly raging about the effects that cats, both owned and stray, are having on…

From this morning's edition of the Washington Examiner's weeklong series on Big Green:

The median salary among all 15 of the highest-paid Big Green environmental officials (the nonprofits like Environmental Defense…

The Hill (via Drudge): 'Dems to stuff 20 bills into post-election lame duck session:'

Democrats are considering cramming as many as 20 pieces of legislation into the lame-duck session they plan to hold after the Nov. 2 election.

The array of bills competing for floor time shows the sense of urgency among Democratic lawmakers to act before the start of the 112th Congress, when Republicans…

Yet more shovel-ready busy-work funded by taxpayers, discovered by the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota and Watchdog.org:

St. Cloud Regional Airport touts lots of amenities on its website—a café, ATM, free wi-fi, free parking and a $5 million completely renovated terminal whose capacity went up dramatically from 30 to 200 travelers. There’s also a new $750,000…

Vulnerable Rep. Betsy Markey, and many fellow Colorado Democrats, has been the beneficiary of liberal billionaire heiress Pat Stryker's generous political contributions, which helped transform it into a Blue State a few short years ago. Now it appears that Markey has returned the favor by helping one of Stryker's…

This was taken on a pretty busy thoroughfare in south Raleigh. The three Democrat congressmen listed on the sign -- Bob Etheridge, Brad Miller and David Price -- all have significant portions of their districts in North Carolina's state capital.

Hat tip to the Wall Street Journal's John Fund for the head's up on this campaign ad by Let Freedom Ring, which criticizes Sen. Lisa Murkowski over her write-in campaign after she lost the Alaska Republican primary to newcomer Joe Miller. It reminds voters that she got her seat because…

And as the current playbook demands, anti-Koch Industries (the new Exxon) also. The take-home quote:

“I don’t think you want the Tea Party running your community, running your family, running your government.”

In case you need a…

Colin Beavan, the author of "No Impact Man," which chronicled his yearlong experiment of taking his family off the electricity grid (and from what I hear, toilet paper), has made the rounds this summer at colleges and business forums promoting his book. He recently visited the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, as my former John Locke Foundation colleague Jenna Ashley Robinson explains:

UNCW isn’t the…

All I saw on the homepage of CNN was the headline/link "Republican takes on heckler," and I knew who it had to…

Democrat Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine hates the practice of lawmakers who travel on private jets. Despises it, as Maine Watchdog recalls:

According to written remarks delivered before the Subcommittee on the Constitution in 2006, Pingree said: “Most Americans never have and never will fly on a…

Hey! Did you know that what is depicted in those nature documentaries is not always genuinely "in the wild?" It's often set up in controlled circumstances, according to Chris Palmer, author of a new book that uncovers the tricks used by wildlife videographers. From the Washington Post:

...At 63, he has written a confessional for an entire industry. "Shooting in…

There are very few traditional values organizations I am aware of that view issues of taxes, spending and clean, accountable government as equally important to be addressed as the social issues. Even less so are there ones that deliver their messages effectively and entertainingly. One of those few is Minnesota Majority, which in the past has weighed in on other topics -- such as…

The CBS affiliate in Denver reports that the Census Bureau paid about $100,000 in airfare, meals and hotel for 140 of its administrators in the West to gather at a Las Vegas luxury hotel to confer on "lessons learned." Rep. Mike Coffman, a Colorado Republican, saw it differently:

"It's impossible to argue this without saying these folks took a vacation and they took it at taxpayer…

The Democrat-favoring Public Policy Polling has three-term incumbent Sen. Russ Feingold trailing Republican challenger Ron Johnson in Wisconsin, by an 11 percentage point margin. Politico reports:

It’s the largest polling lead Johnson has held since he clinched the state Republican Party’s endorsement back in May, and a jarring deficit for the state’s junior senator in the traditionally deep blue state.…

According to the Washington Post Doug McKelway, a reporter for the city's ABC affiliate WJLA, has been fired after he was suspended last month over a confrontation with his boss. The conflict arose because of a McKelway report about a demonstration by environmental…

The Associated Press yesterday focused on the Wisconsin Senate race between incumbent Democrat Russ Feingold (I thought his name was McCain Feingold?) and Republican challenger Ron Johnson, in which the three-termer declared himself the underdog. The article addresses Johnson's wealth, his willingness to spend on his campaign, and his message, which seems to have helped him attain a tie in…

By now you've probably read and/or heard about the much-blogged about Washington Post article earlier this week about the last incandescent light bulb plant (owned by GE) that will close soon, and put 200 people out of work, because the bulbs will be outlawed in 2014 in favor of compact fluorescents. The manufacturing of the newer technology lights will drive these jobs to China, where the manual labor required to shape the CFL squigglies is much cheaper than here -- but not cheap…