jackassery
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Will he run?
A while back, certain … sources of mine in Tennessee (hi Amanda!) let me in on what was back then still a quiet rumor: a Republican savior is on the way. Soon to be riding to the rescue of downtrodden Republicans, burdened with a weak field of presidential candidates, is Fred Thompson, lawyer, actor, and […]
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One of them is missing
Bad Actors and their enablers have been pushing a particular spin on the climate debate: it has "two sides," the denialists and the alarmists. What can wise people above it all in the center do but roll their eyes at the grubbiness of it all? I’d like to introduce you to one side of the […]
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It’s time for enviros to adjust to winning
I had hoped to leave my ill-tempered rant behind, since the subject obviously irritates the hell out of me, my irritation obviously irritates the hell out of everyone else, and as was pointed out, the whole subject is something of a distraction. But as I’m now being compared to (called?) a rapist, I suppose I […]
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Everything is lame
The people at Living Homes are totally lame and hypocritical for designing a modular LEED platinum house, but making it too big. And putting too much glass on it. The Prius is totally lame because it gets worse gas mileage than it says, and also because it’s not public transit. The Super Bowl is totally […]
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Utah middle schoolers send message to world
Almost two years ago, aerial artist John Quigley brought more than 500 community residents and several movie stars together to spell out the words “Arctic Warning” way up in the Arctic Circle. The event was documented by Everything’s Cool co-director Daniel B. Gold, and makes an appearance in the film. On Monday, Quigley arranged nearly […]
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It’s pretty low-end
I would hope it goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway: I do not condone the acts of the ALF or, to the extent it's extant, the ELF. Arson is a crime and should be prosecuted. Flooding, vandalism -- not cool. Graffiti, well, it's a menace.
To deem one's cause more worthy than a living, breathing human being is the ultimate in jackassery. As yet, ELF has not gone there.
But destroying people's stuff is also jackassery. A distinctly lower-order form of jackassery, but jackassery nonetheless. Only a jackass indulges in jackassery.
And let's face it. Somebody's going to get hurt. The more the feds inadvertently (?) publicize ELF, the more ELF will attract attention and self-proclaimed membership. Eventually it will attract a crank who will injure or kill someone. My sympathy for that crank is nil and I'm all for throwing the book at him.
My concern is not whether "eco-terrorism" should be morally or legally condoned -- it obviously shouldn't. My concern is whether it is particularly significant, in terms of threats to the health and welfare of Americans. It seems to me the Bush administration is using it quite crassly, for political purposes, in a manner all out of proportion to the real danger it poses.
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Jackassery
John Tierney doesn't have the stones to come out and say that global warming will be a good thing, so instead he just dances around it with innuendo and anecdotes.
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GAO to investigate whether Cooney’s editing was illegal
Chris Mooney has a good catch today: Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Harry Reid (D-Nev.) have asked the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, to determine whether recently-resigned Bush administration official Philip Cooney violated federal statutes against obstruction of Congress and false statements.
Cooney, as you may recall, is the former oil industry lobbyist, turned chief of staff of the White House Council on Environmental Quality who edited research reports to play up uncertainties about global warming. Turned, uh, oil industry lobbyist. (To everything turn, turn, turn, eh?)
Lautenberg and Reid are also asking the Climate Change Science Program to retract the redacted reports, writes Chris. "I don't know what kind of results this will achieve, but it's a new tactic, as well as a strong demonstration that Congress is getting serious about the science abuse issue."
