turbinetree
turbinetree's JournalSuspicious relationship between the Koch brothers and Utah university raises eyebrows
Koch’s foundations, and a Utah State University institute began publishing the same research, people started to take notice. Further examination of the relationship is leading critics to question whether the Koch brothers are using the cover of an academic institution to push their anti-renewable energy, pro-fossil fuel agenda to a larger audience.
Strata Policy, an independent think tank founded by Utah State University professor Randy Simmons, is closely tied with a university research group called the Institute of Political Economy. Simmons and the other professors who staff the Koch-funded Institute of Political Economy also hold positions at Strata Policy. Simmons, who previously served as the Charles G. Koch Professor of Political Economy at the university, runs both the on-campus and off-campus groups.
“It seems obvious that they are gleaning the university’s brand and prestige for not only the Institute of Political Economy, but also Strata,” Connor Gibson, a researcher for Greenpeace’s investigations team, told ThinkProgress. Gibson cited a report released earlier this year critical of North Carolina’s pro-renewable energy policy that was co-branded with the names of both Strata Policy and the Institute of Political Economy.
https://thinkprogress.org/kochs-fund-energy-think-tanks-in-utah-482ab143e66d/
This dangerous, especially from these "guys" and others of this ilk
Lunatic Fringe by Red Rider
Lunatic Fringe
I know you're out there
You're in hiding
And you hold your meetings
I can hear you comin'
I know what your after
We're wise to you this time
(Wise to you this time)
We won't let you kill the laughter
Uh huh
Uh huh
Uh huh
Lunatic fringe
In the twilight's last gleaming
This is open season
But you won't get too far
Cause you gotta blame someone
For your own confusion
We're on guard this time
(On guard this time)
Against your final solution
Oh no
Uh huh
Uh huh
Uh huh
We can hear you comin'
(We can hear you comin')
No, you're not gonna win this time
(Not gonna win)
We can hear the footsteps
(We can hear the footsteps)
Way out along the walkway
(Out along the walkway)
Lunatic fringe
We all know you're out there
Can you feel the resistance
Can you feel the thunder
West Virginia governors coal company engaging in attempt to intimidate public officials
AUG 14, 2017, 4:40 PM
The family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) is suing two top officials at the Kentucky Department for Natural Resources after the state tried to collect millions of dollars in unpaid fines from coal companies owned by Justice. Legal experts are describing the lawsuits as acts of intimidation against government officials seeking to hold a company accountable for violating the law.
The lawsuits, filed in Pike County Circuit Court on behalf of Kentucky Fuel Corp., owned by Justice, allege the actions of Kentucky Department for Natural Resources Commissioner Allen Luttrell and Deputy Commissioner John Small could have cost the company up to $4.5 million in fines, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported. In a highly unusual move, the company is seeking money from department officials themselves, not the state of Kentucky for which they work.
The Department of Natural Resources had cited Kentucky Fuel and other Justice-owned companies with hundreds of coal-mining reclamation violations in eastern Kentucky. Federal law requires that coal companies rehabilitate land after coal mining operations have stopped.
https://thinkprogress.org/jim-justice-coal-company-intimidation-843ca4ea20f4/
Just in case anyone missed why he went over to the "republican " side and how they stiff taxpayers, just like the "guy" in the white house
Trumps air traffic overhaul would add $100B to deficit, says new analysis
Source: The Hill
President Trump’s proposal to privatize air traffic control would add nearly $100 billion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years, according to a new analysis.
An initial cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected that the legislation, which would reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for six years and transfer the country’s air navigation system to a nonprofit corporation, would add $20.7 billion to the federal deficit.
But that was before necessary tax provision changes were made to the bill when it was filed with the House Rules Committee, where measures are teed up for floor debate.
Democrats demanded a revised score from the CBO, predicting that the updated version of the measure would add “tens of billions” to the bill’s cost.
Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/346873-trumps-air-traffic-overhaul-would-add-100b-to-deficit-says-new-analysis
But let's not forget, the republicans say the CBO should be disbanded..............it's the only current agency that is saving us from complete destruction, if the republicans had there way.............
GOP senator: Trump hasn't 'changed much' since campaign
Source: The Hill
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) shot down questions about impeaching President Trump on Wednesday by noting voters elected Trump in November and he hasn't "changed much" since.
Pressed by reporters a day after Trump's latest controversial comments on the violence in Charlottesville, Va., the GOP senator said he saw "no grounds" for impeachment.
"Listen, the American people elected Donald Trump, and I'm not sure he's changed much from what he was during the campaign, so again I see no grounds for that," he said, asked if he believed Trump was fit for office.
Trump reignited a political firestorm on Tuesday after he blamed the "alt-left" and white nationalist groups for part of the violence that left three dead in Virginia over the weekend. He also said there were "very fine people" on both sides.
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/346872-gop-senator-trump-hasnt-changed-much-since-campaign
So tell everyone in WisCONsin and around the country what have you exactly done top protect the citizens of this country from this "guy"---------------
He's not my president, he lost
The Voter Purge Crusade That Preceded Trumps Sketchy Elections Commission
Source: Talking Points Memo
By TIERNEY SNEED Published AUGUST 16, 2017 6:00 AM
Vice President Mike Pence, leader of President Trump’s shady “Elections Integrity” commission kicked off its first meeting last month with a promise that it would have “no preconceived notions or preordained results.”
But like many of its other members, commissioner J. Christian Adams has done little to hide what has been his end-game: bullying state and local election officials into aggressive voter registration purges that civil rights groups worry will end in eligible voters getting kicked off the rolls. Now he will be joining on the commission several other figures known for their efforts to make it harder — not easier – to vote in an endeavor that many in the voting rights community believe will be used to justify tougher voting laws, including measures that will prompt sloppy voter purges.
For more than half a decade, Adams has been on his own private sector crusade to pressure election officials to agree to voter purge protocols beyond what are required by law.
He, along with a constellation of other GOP lawyers affiliated with a handful of under-the-radar conservative legal groups, have sent a flurry of letters warning election officials that they’ll sue if they did not do more to trim down their registration lists. In a handful of places, they’ve followed through with lawsuits, but have achieved minimal success in getting judges to ordain their views on voter purges. The tide may be turning, however. A trial just finished in Broward County, Florida, in a case that voting rights advocates worry will boost conservatives’ abilities to pressure jurisdictions across the country to purge their rolls.
Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/j-christian-adams-trump-elections-commission-2
With Charlottesville Attack, NRATV Confronted With Terrorism It Doesnt Want To Hype
Source: National Memo
Reprinted with permission from MediaMatters.
Every weekday morning starting at 9 a.m., the National Rifle Association’s news outlet NRATV begins its broadcast with a show — Stinchfield, hosted by Texas radio personality Grant Stinchfield — that “brings you live news updates and interviews” and “tackles the issues the mainstream media won’t.”
On Monday it quickly became apparent that there are some topics the mainstream media will cover, but NRATV still won’t. Throughout the morning, the show completely ignored a story that had shaken the nation. On Saturday a neo-Nazi rammed his car into a crowd demonstrating against white nationalists in Charlottesville, VA, killing activist Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others.
The first hourly update of Monday’s show, the first to air since Saturday’s attack, covered gun violence in Baltimore. The 10 a.m. update covered the NRA’s upcoming “concealed carry” fashion show, the 11 a.m. hour featured discussion of the Czech Republic’s gun laws, and the noon update was about a police officer mistakenly asked not to bring his firearm into his doctor’s office. The last update of the day, at 1 p.m., talked about a case where a bureaucratic error caused a New York man to have his guns temporarily confiscated.
Read more: http://www.nationalmemo.com/charlottesville-attack-nratv-confronted-terrorism-doesnt-want-hype/
And then there was Dana Loesh, was broadcasting old news and not current events, typical hypocrite
Captain Sully To Trump: Youre Grounded
Source: National Memo
Reprinted with permission from AlterNet.
America’s most famous airline pilot has shot down President Trump’s proposal to privatize the nation’s air traffic control system.
“Our air traffic control system is the best and safest in the world,” declares Captain Chesley Sullenberger in a new video produced by the Alliance for Aviation Across America.
Sullenberger famously guided a crippled passenger jet to a safe water landing on the Hudson River in January 2009, a display of calm heroism that saved 155 lives and inspired a Hollywood movie.
“Why would we give such an important and valuable national asset to the largest airlines, the same people who continue to make your airline seats smaller and closer together, who often put expedience and cost reduction ahead of the safety and the welfare of others in the long term?” Sullenberger asks.
Read more: http://www.nationalmemo.com/captain-sully-trump-youre-grounded/
I worked in aviation for over 26 years as a FAA certificated aircraft technician / mechanic, with radio and radar endorsement, and I have seen everything, and mean everything.
I am in total agreement with Captain Sullenberger we the public are the ones that have a direct input in this system, we have funded this program since the very beginning of flight, and this is why we are the safest in the world, we may complain and all of that other stuff, but when something happens the public can change it, this privatization board will implement fees, a lot of fees, its about the bottom line, so call and write your representatives, our infrastructure shold not be for sale and it should not be run corporate board room, look no further than the current "guy" running the government
Captain Sully To Trump: Youre Grounded
I also worked in aviation for over 26 years and this "privatization" plan is wrong, the FAA has done a great job
Not Just In Charlottesville: Across The Country, Bills Immunize Drivers Who Injure Protesters
Source: National Memo
Reprinted with permission from AlterNet.
With all eyes on the tragedies of Charlottesville, many say this is not the America they recognize. However, legalized violence is nothing new, chiefly in the form of police brutality and the immunity offered to those who retaliate against protesters. Though lawmakers are objecting to the car-plowing incident in Virginia that killed activist Heather Heyer, Republican representatives across the country have introduced a slew of bills granting immunity to drivers who injure protesters, exhibiting lawmakers’ disregard for freedom of speech and freedom to organize.
1. North Carolina votes to protect drivers who collide with protesters.
In April 2017, the North Carolina House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation that would not hold drivers who collided with protesters liable as long as they “exercise due care.” After chaotic protests blocked interstate roadways in response to the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott by Charlotte police, the bill’s sponsor, Republican Representative Justin Burr, said, “This bill does not allow for the driver of a vehicle to target protesters intentionally… It does protect individuals who are rightfully trying to drive down the road.”
Read more: http://www.nationalmemo.com/not-just-charlottesville-across-country-bills-immunize-drivers-injure-protesters/
And then we have this BS from a "republican" ass****
” After chaotic protests blocked interstate roadways in response to the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott by Charlotte police, the bill’s sponsor, Republican Representative Justin Burr, said, “This bill does not allow for the driver of a vehicle to target protesters intentionally… It does protect individuals who are rightfully trying to drive down the road.”
So in essence, if there are people walking in the road, forget the driver education class you took that says you must give pedestrians the right away, not in the "republican world view" have at it
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