Archive for the 'Energy Industry' Category

Quick Hits: Risk Exposure A-OK and Lunsford Has a Plan

Terri Whitehouse July 24th, 2008

Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao is pushing to loosen occupational health and safety regulations. Quoth Adam Finkel, a former health standards director OSHA:

It’s an insult to America’s workers for the Department of Labor to be spending its time in the last year of this administration allegedly fine-tuning the details of how to do these regulations when, other than the one ordered by a court, they have issued no major worker-health regulations…there’s a great need to light a fire under this moribund agency to do something — anything — to protect workers.

U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford has unveiled a plan, and it involves more than beating on his chest and saying, “DRILL!”

Quick Hit: Anne Northup = FAIL

Terri Whitehouse June 25th, 2008

“Anne Northup will lose badly and leave politics forever,” says the LEO’s new editor, Stephen George:

What an insult, to stand in front of a gas station owned by one of the wealthiest families in Louisville — one of your biggest campaign contributors — and act like you’re some populist baby Jesus who’s returned to save everyone from four bucks a gallon. Not only is this “policy” feather-light on intellect, but it is a dangerous, stupid and purely political approach to the energy question, which will require manifold real-life solutions, not the lip service Northup has paid to her party’s minority view of a balanced, multi-level federal energy agenda.

And how!

I Can Has Milkshake?

Terri Whitehouse June 18th, 2008

Sen. Mitch McConnell’s official campaign blog is the first result when querying OIL MAN MITCH on Yahoo. Drink it up, oil man!

Sugar Coma

Terri Whitehouse June 17th, 2008

Page One and some other self-aggrandizing bloggers have noted Sen. Mitch McConnell’s shaky poll numbers, and I wanted to expound on that a little.

Career beltway-ist McConnell has done his best to paint incumbent candidate Bruce Lunsford as an incompetent status-seeking businessman. Funny, then, that Lunsford is leading among low-to-middle-income Kentuckians without college educations. Now, I hold nothing against people who make more than I do, and I certainly wouldn’t go hurling “college-educated” around as an insult, but given that Kentucky ranks near the bottom in terms of education and income, McConnell is going to have a heck of a time positioning himself as someone who is really in touch with the “average” Kentucky voter.

Being that McConnell’s campaign site has been redesigned to showcase his ability to roll up the sleeves on his tastefully casual shirt rather than sit around pushing papers in a suit and tie, I’d guess that he’s more than a little worried. Over half of Mitch’s twenty most-recent blog posts urge readers to sign a petition for a bill designed to do exactly nothing about our petroleum dependence, so I’d urge you to try something different instead. Why, it seems like it was only yesterday when McConnell thought it’d be enough that he brought home the pork-barrel projects. I guess he’s getting wise that Kentuckians need someone with a little more substance than that.

It’s Been A Long Time Coming

Terri Whitehouse June 5th, 2008

Reading more national coverage about the posts below, it is clear that it’s not just us Kentuckians that are sick and tired of Sen. Mitch McConnell and his shenanigans. So I’d like to issue a little challenge for those of us who truly want to Ditch Mitch this November.

For every minute (~ 510) that it took a clerk to read the bipartisan climate change bill aloud, I’d like to urge you to to donate to campaign of Bruce Lunsford. At a rate of penny per minute, that would total a mere $5.10 donation. A nickel per minute would total $25.50. You get the picture. I know it’s not a great deal of money. But I think it would be a powerful gesture, regardless.

The people of Kentucky and of America are not pawns in Mitch McConnell’s political power games, and before we hit him at the polls, we must hit him where it *really* hurts - his pockets. The government’s business should never be political strategy. Not on my dollar. Not on my penny.

If you agree with me, please repost this blog entry wherever you think it may be welcome, and urge like-minded people to do the same. When a person such as Mitch McConnell makes it so crystal-clear that he has zero interest in representing the people of the Commonwealth, then we have no choice but to elect a person who does. And that person is Bruce Lunsford.

UPDATE: You can also sign up to volunteer for Lunsford’s campaign here. DO IT!

Mitch McConnell Holding His Breath ‘Til He Gets His Way

Terri Whitehouse June 4th, 2008

Well, actually, Sen. Mitch McConnell is holding a senate clerk’s breath until he gets his way. So says Politico:

McConnell has essentially shut down the Senate floor this afternoon by forcing the Senate clerk to read aloud the entire 500 page global warming bill. So if legislative language is your thing, turn on C-SPAN and watch the Senate at its best, or worst, depending on your perspective.

The Politico bit mentions judges and such, but we know this is all about his desperate need to help oil profiteers. DITCH MITCH!

(h/t: Page One)

UPDATE: This just in from the League of Conservation Voters:

Senators McConnell, Cornyn, Allard and Inhofe: the Exxon Delegation Stalls the United States Senate

Washington, DC – Senators Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn, Wayne Allard, and Jim Inhofe and their friends in the oil industry don’t want to talk about the Climate Security Act. Not only did McConnell, Allard and Inhofe vote against the Cloture motion to open debate on the bill, at this moment, the four Senators are forcing the Clerk of the Senate to read all 491 pages of the bill aloud. The bitter irony of wasting hours reading the bill aloud is that this bill addresses the urgent need for action on global warming and for viable alternatives to skyrocketing gas prices.

“Doing Big Oil’s bidding does nothing to address global warming or America’s energy crisis.” LCV President Gene Karpinski said. “McConnell, Cornyn, and Inhofe are running for reelection and American voters want action, not political stall tactics from the Exxon delegation.”

Senator McConnell has accepted $580,311 from oil and gas interests. Senator Allard has accepted $405,156; Senator Inhofe has accepted $999,023; and Senator Cornyn has accepted $1,197,305. (opensecrets.org)

Godfather of Green My Foot!

Terri Whitehouse April 10th, 2008

Just thought I’d share this blast issued by the League of Conservation Voters about Sen. Mitch McConnell, the self-proclaimed “Godfather of Green“:

LCV Members Elect Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell the new Don of the “Dirty Dozen”

Self-proclaimed “Godfather of Green” Continues to Stand for Polluters while Standing in the Way of Clean Air, Clean Water, and Clean Energy

Louisville, KY – The members of the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), the independent political voice for the environment, today added Senate MinorityLeader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to its 2008 “Dirty Dozen” list.

LCV members voted online to decide which 2008 candidate had committed the most egregious offenses against the environment. 25,000 concerned citizens voted for the next member of the “Dirty Dozen,” and chose Sen. McConnell by an overwhelming margin.

“Our members know that Mitch McConnell has voted against our health and safety since he came to Washington. They know that he stands as an impassable roadblock in the way of a clean energy future for this country,” said LCV President Gene Karpinski. “They know that it is time to tear down this roadblock. That’s why Mitch McConnell, this ‘Godfather of Green,’ is the new ‘Don’ of the Dirty Dozen.”

McConnell’s lifetime LCV score of 7% is among the worst in Washington. In 24 years in the Senate, he earned an annual score of 0% twelve times, and in the last fourteen years, McConnell has cast only two pro-conservation votes. Since becoming his party’s Leader in the Senate, McConnell has served as the chief enforcer for Big Oil and other corporate polluters, leading efforts to derail and weaken legislation that would protect our families and keep America’s land, air, and water clean.

LCV’s trademark “Dirty Dozen” program targets current and former members of Congress – regardless of party affiliation – who consistently vote against the environment and are running in races where LCV has a serious chance of affecting the outcome.

“In 2006, our members brought down nine members of the Dirty Dozen, nine of the worst politicians in Washington. With that kind of record, this Dirty Dozen election may be the last vote that Senator McConnell ever wins,” Karpinski said.

McConnell joins Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), and former Rep. Bob Schaffer (R-CO) on the 2008 Dirty Dozen. LCV will name the rest of the 2008 Dirty Dozen members in the coming months.

For information on LCV’s “Dirty Dozen” program, visit www.lcv.org/campaigns/dirty-dozen.

For more on McConnell’s voting record, visit www.lcv.org/mcconnell

In case you forgot, Sen. McConnell’s “Godfather of Green” claim stems from the fact that he secured pork-barrel spending for Louisville’s oustanding park system. And while I am a fan of parks, I’m also a fan of math. Louisville’s park system, great as it is, only occupies about one-half of one percent of all of the land in Kentucky, and is only about 3.5% of the size of our state park system, which of course doesn’t include national parks, municipal parks, private hunting and fishing areas, farmland, mines, land developments, etc. Parks are great places to spend time and are of real value to our communities, but as wonderful and important as they are, they are NOT the sole indicators of land, air, and water conservation.

One-half of one percent, folks. I’d say that’s probably a good number when measuring just how much Sen. McConnell really cares about Kentucky’s citizens. It is time to DITCH MITCH!

Ooooooh! Buuuuurrrrn!

Terri Whitehouse February 2nd, 2008

There is an excellent editorial in today’s Courier-Journal about Sen. Mitch McConnell titled, appropriately enough, “The Back Of His Hand“:

Millions of Americans are in economic trouble, while the Big Energy friends of George W. Bush and Mitch McConnell wallow in historic profits. Yesterday, Exxon Mobil Corp. posted the largest annual gain ever by a U.S. company — $40.6 billion. The rest of us are left to cower at the gasoline pumps.

Mitch McConnell feels he deserves re-election because he “does so much for Kentucky.” Never mind what he and his friend have done to America.

For real, though! Go read the whole shebang.

They Protest Him There, Too

Terri Whitehouse December 11th, 2007

The C-J’s James R. Carroll is reporting that a demonstration is being held at Sen. Mitch McConnell’s Washington office. Apparently, Kentuckians aren’t the only ones disgusted that Sen. McConnell (aka “Big Money Mitch“) is in the pocket of the coal industry:

One of those sitting in McConnell’s Russell Senate Office Building suite is Ted Glick, coordinator for U.S. Climate Emergency Council, a Washington-based non-profit group that supports efforts to combat global warming and to promote cleaner energy sources.

Glick said he and as many as 20 others have been staying in the office and have demanded a meeting with McConnell.

…

Glick’s group and others want Congress to keep strong provisions for renewable fuels in the comprehensive energy bill. The House passed the bill last week, but the Senate did not, and Glick faults McConnell.

People are pretty fed up with your obstructionism, Senator! And we’re just itching to vote you out of office next year!

Is This Land Made For You and Me?

Terri Whitehouse October 30th, 2007

I don’t read DailyKos very often, but happened to look at it today and saw a great article about Appalachian coal frontpaged there.

Being a Western Kentuckian and not much of an environmentalist, I’m embarrassed to admit that I really haven’t known just how bad of a problem some mining tactics are for the communities in which they occur.

Incidentally, Sen. Mitch McConnell’s good budies over at Peabody Energy have just confirmed that they will build a coal gasification plant in the western part of the state. Good work, guhvnah.

Mitch McConnell — Bush’s Biggest Ally in Destroying Appalachia

Shawn Dixon August 24th, 2007

This deep into Bush’s disastrous presidency, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that the administration is putting regulation into place today that will give a big break to the coal industry by no longer holding them accountable for cleaning up the mess they make during mountaintop removal. However, the disgusting part of this whole process is that Kentucky’s political leaders are allies in this grand scheme to ease regulation on the coal industry whose practices are destroying our natural resources all across Appalachia.

From the New York Times Article on the issue:

“From 1985 to 2001, 724 miles of streams were buried under mining waste, according to the environmental impact statement accompanying the new rule.

If current practices continue, another 724 river miles will be buried by 2018, the report says.”

It’s one thing to be loyal to a president of your own party, but it’s quite another to help him destroy the state your were elected to represent. Shame on you Mitch McConnell. I guess you’ve spent too much time sitting in your D.C. townhouse to appreciate Kentucky’s natural beauty.

Safety? Schmafety!

Terri Whitehouse August 22nd, 2007

Dave Meyer of OpenKY.com has a timely post about Mine and Health Safety Administrator, Richard Stickler. As has been reported in the media, Stickler is a former mining executive whose safety track record was less than satisfactory. And, as Meyer points out in his post, Sen. Mitch McConnell played a big role in Stickler’s recess appointment:

I know there has been a hold on the MSHA Director nomination on the other side of the aisle. I have been told that there will be an objection yet again today. But I want to plead with those from the other side who may believe that this is not the perfect nominee— he is the nominee, nominated by the President, reported out of the HELP Committee. If he were to be drawn down and this whole process were to be started all over again, we wouldn’t have an MSHA Director for months and months into the future. We need a permanent Director of the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

The McConnell/Chao/mining connection has been previously documented on DM-KY. Meyer’s post on the topic is definitely worth the read.

KY GOP: A Real Class Act

Terri Whitehouse July 11th, 2007

Via the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, Joe Biesk reports that the KY GOP is making robo-calls to Kentucky residents criticizing the House’s decision to adjourn after Governor Ernie Fletcher called a special session.

The House claimed that issues including tax incentives for power companies, more than $400 million in projects and a ban on domestic partner benefits at public universities were not urgent enough to justify the approximately $60,000 per day cost to operate the legislature. The Senate disagreed.

Yes - how dare they adjourn when there is corporate welfare to dole out and people left undiscriminated against!

But as Fletcher was making his public plea for compromise, the state Republican Party was launching a telephone offensive of between 150,000 to 180,000 phone calls to voters across the state criticizing House Democrats for their actions. The calls, which Fletcher’s campaign knew about, started in the afternoon and carried into the evening night.

The Kentucky Republican Party on Monday night targeted more than 40 members of the state House — mostly Democrats representing coal constituencies — with automated phone calls, state GOP Chairman Steve Robertson said.

I especially like this part of the article:

State Rep. Jeff Greer, D-Brandenburg, said calls to his constituents near Fort Knox claimed he was antimilitary. The Senate passed legislation Monday that would give an income tax break to members of the military.

Because, you know, the Republican Party has such an outstanding track record for giving a flip about military personnel.

As for KY Democratic Party Chairman Jonathan Miller, kudos for stating the obvious:

Nevertheless, Miller said the calls were evidence that Fletcher’s motivation for calling a special session was an attempt to spur his re-election campaign. Fletcher, a Republican, is seeking a second term against Beshear in the Nov. 6 election.

Dang, Fletcher. You’re about as transparent and substantive as a piece of saran wrap.

Steve Beshear’s KY Blogger Conference Call

Joe Sonka July 6th, 2007

In an effort to reach out to the progressive KY blogosphere, soon-to-be-Governor Steve Beshear (D) conducted a conference call with several local bloggers. The roll call included: Matt, Shawn, Cliff, Jim and I from DitchMitchKY; Jonathan Singer from MyDD; and Ted Shlechter from The Bridge. (there might have been others, fill me in if I missed someone)

Beshear noted that the blogosphere is going to continue to play an important role in KY politics, not just in this year’s Governors race, but next year with the Congressional and Presidential campaigns. He felt that this call presented an opportunity to hear some concerns and feedback from us, and the gesture was greatly appreciated by all. Any candidate that wishes to have success in the next 2 years would do well to embrace the post-Bluegrass Report blogosphere.

Steve also noted that he was glad he avoided a run-off election in the primary, as the Kentucky Democrats appear to be united on all fronts and in good shape for this Fall. Though polls show him well ahead of Fletcher, he cautioned that we shouldn’t be overconfident. Fletcher is sure to raise and spend plenty of money for attack ads, which could always make it a close race. He did note that he plans on raising $4-5 million himself, excluding outside dollars.

Several of the questions and concerns dealt with Beshear’s advocacy of "clean coal" as the future of KY’s energy policy. Beshear said that he would sit down with leaders from all sides of the issue to reach some kind of common ground; allowing union leaders, environmentalists and industry to meet at the table. He also expressed a desire to enforce regulations on strip mining and mountaintop removal that are not currently followed through on. Additional funding for alternative technologies at universities will also be a top priority. He noted a quite interesting tidbit on the Peabody deal- that Peabody wouldn’t even have the feasibility study done for one of its plants until April. Which makes the special session plan a little….shady?

Beshear also talked a great deal about improving Kentucky’s economy. He noted that KY’s budget is currently woefully inadequate to fund everything that we are in need of. One method of increasing revenue, of course, is his plan to expand gaming. He also criticized the tactic of offering outside businesses tax breaks to move to KY as rather short-sided, in itself. He noted that such companies often move here for a few years, only to leave for Mexico or somewhere else where they can get even cheaper labor. Beshear wants to give small and medium sized independent businesses incentives to stay and thrive here in KY, and he also wants to fund job training programs.

When asked what he would do as Governor in the instance that a bill is passed which prohibits UK and UL from implementing its domestic partner benefits plan, he said that he would veto it. We need to help our universities compete nationally, and having the government impose such a restriction will not allow them to attract and keep our best candidates.

The folks at DitchMitchKY, BlueGrassRoots, The Bridge and MyDD thanked Beshear for setting up this conference call, as it shows a good deal of respect for both the KY blogosphere and grassroots activism. As local blogs in Connecticut and Virginia showed last year, we can have a huge impact on the political scene. We’re glad that Beshear and his staff have recognized this new political reality.

(crossposted at BlueGrassRoots)

Elizabeth Edwards Rocks Lexington (and chats with Jim and Joe!)

Joe Sonka July 2nd, 2007

I’m not really sure how many supporters John Edwards had in Lexington on Friday morning, but I know that he has a lot more now. The line on John Edwards that is making the rounds is that his best asset in the campaign to win the presidency is not his humble Southern background, health-care platform or charm, but his wife, Elizabeth Edwards. After watching her performance during Friday’s Small Change for Big Change event in Lexington, I think that statement isn’t too far off base.

Elizabeth Edwards performed a rather spectacular hour+ Q & A session with over 200 contributors, fans, and potential voters. And due to the online outreach efforts of the Edwards campaign (thanks to Tracy and Amy, via DMKY’s Shawn Dixon) and the southern charm of DMKY’s own Jim Pence, Jim and I were able speak with Elizabeth face to face for roughly 10 minutes before her public Q & A session.

Though the Edwards staff thought we had a decent chance of chatting with her for a couple of minutes, shortly after we entered the venue and set up our cameras (Jim and fellow film guru Erica), we were told that there was no time for an interview. After Jim disappeared for a few minutes to chat up the Edwards folks, he came back saying that she might be doing a short “meet and greet” with some people.

“What’s a meet and greet?”

“I’m not sure”

“I’ve never been to a meet and greet”

“Yea, me neither”

Ten minutes later, Jim pulled me backstage and one of the staff stopped us and asked if we were the guys from DitchMitchKY and told us that we could speak with Mrs. Edwards in a few minutes, but not on camera or on tape. So while all of the slick, dolled up TV reporters waited for Elizabeth to come out for the Q & A, the blogger in ratty Chuck Taylors and ripped pants, and the hillbilly with the Acapulco shirt were whisked upstairs to meet her.

Continue Reading »

Well, That Was a No-Brainer

Terri Whitehouse June 21st, 2007

How’s this for an obvious headline: “Senate Republicans block tax hikes for big oil companies”? Meanwhile, Senators Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning are wanting to funnel more money to Peabody Energy.