:: Da' Militant One's Lair ::

:: Sunday, August 31, 2003 ::

Memo to Fox News:

Gentlemen,

As a republican for 17 years, I am more and more amused at the lengths that some republicans will go to win a point. Today, you had a clip of Senator Clinton (and I will give her the respect due) talking about the EPA's Inspector General report. She was speaking about the alleged misrepresentation by the EPA on the air quality at Ground Zero in the months after the WTC terrorist attacks. Interspersed with her comments were those of a republican strategist. What is that all about? I have never seen you do that with President Bush, or anybody else. Now I don't watch your station that often because I know what a "conservative slant" is and the Fox News Channel provides it. However, if the news is about Senator Clinton's comments, why the unnecessary commentary by a republican partisan? It doesn't strike me as fair and balanced, if you don't accord President Bush and other republicans the same treatment.

I like to think that the core republican philosophy is enough to persuade the public at large. Mind you not the type of republicanism that is practiced today, but the more economically and more importantly socially conscience republicans of the 1950s and early 1960s. What I see now is a bunch of bitter and intolerant individuals who seem out of touch with the America that I have come to know. I know that we can do better. I don't need Tom Delay trying to engineer a gerrymandering scam in Texas. I don't need Darryl Issa fomenting a republican purge of a democratic governor. I particularly don't need the partisans like Hannity and Limbaugh that demagogue. I have faith that principled individuals like Dick Lugar, Chuck Hagel, and John McCain will force the far right wing of the party to moderate some of their legislation. I look forward to the day when President Bush and his minions are in retirement. The Republican Party can do better and it must do better.

Da' Militant 1

:: DM1 8/31/2003 01:53:00 PM [+] ::
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Memo to Bill O'Reilly:

Bill O'Reilly got the Fox Network to sue Al Franken, a former writer for Saturday Night Live and noted liberal activist, for using
Fox's trademark "Fair and Balanced" in the title of his latest book, "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right". The case was thrown out by the presiding judge and was determined to be "wholly without merit". Here is the text of my email to "Irish" Bill:


Irish Bill,

What is wrong with you? You are quick to denigrate and condemn those that do not agree with you, but a lawsuit against Al Franken? You can do better. You talk a lot about frivolous lawsuits. Well Fox's lawsuit against Franken was as frivolous as you can get. Why don't you show that you are a stand up guy and pay his legal bills connected with the suit. If you want any credibility on the subject of frivolous lawsuits then you will square "Liberal Al" away. If it was just talk then you are just another windbag with situational ethics. Just a thought.

Da' Militant 1

:: DM1 8/31/2003 01:51:00 PM [+] ::
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Memo to Tim Russert:

John Kerry was on Meet The Press on 8/31/03. Russert asked Kerry about a statement he made about George Bush in the recent past. Kerry essentially said that Bush (who was two years behind Kerry at Yale) was the same person today as he was at Yale. Russert asked him what he meant and Kerry wouldn't respond specifically to the question. Here is the text of my email to Russert:

Timmy,

John Kerry is too much of a gentleman to say what he felt about George Bush. What he meant by saying that Bush was the same person today as he was at Yale is that Bush is an "amiable dunce". Of course Bush is a likable fellow. How do you think he's managed all of these years. Just goes to show you how far a big name and big money can take you! Why don't you invite Bush on and question him? He deserves to have his feet put to the fire, though I have my doubts that you could, or would ask the really tough questions. Maybe you could start with the 90 page report he recieved on Iraq's WMD BEFORE the war. Ask him why didn't he read the footnotes at the end of the document that noted a split in the various agencies on the veracity of the Niger/Uranium claim? Ask him how could he as President, ready to send thousands of young people to war and hundreds to their deaths, not have read the report in its entirety? Didn't he owe it to the Nation and its soldiers to be fully informed? Didn't he have an obligation to act intelligently and responsibly? Anyway, John Kerry was dead on the money about Bush and we are all now dealing with his lack of intelligence and basic knowledge of the world and its history.

Da' Militant 1

:: DM1 8/31/2003 01:45:00 PM [+] ::
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Memo to America:

A taste of Ashcroft justice "For His Family":

From Salon:

Ashcroft's nephew got probation after major pot bust
Although his arrest for growing 60 plants could have landed him in federal prison, Alex Ashcroft was tried in state court and avoided jail -- despite his uncle's crusade for tougher federal drug laws and mandatory prison sentences

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Daniel Forbes

Jan. 12, 2001 | The nephew of Attorney General-designate John Ashcroft received probation after a felony conviction in state court for growing 60 marijuana plants with intent to distribute the drug in 1992 -- a lenient sentence, given that the charges against him often trigger much tougher federal penalties and jail time. Ashcroft was the tough-on-drugs Missouri governor at the time.

Alex Ashcroft, then 25, and his brother Adam, 19, were arrested and charged with production and possession of marijuana after police raided their home in January, 1992. A housemate, Kevin Sheely, then 24, was also arrested. Officials said approximately 60 marijuana plants were found growing in a basement crawl space, and a lighting, irrigation and security system was also discovered.

Although growing more than 50 plants often triggers federal prosecution, and results in jail time -- thanks to federal mandatory minimum sentencing laws Ashcroft fought to toughen as senator -- Alex Ashcroft was prosecuted on a state charge and received probation. His brother Adam did not live in the house and was never prosecuted. END


There's more, but I think you get the gist of it! Should I go on? But I must! There will be no relief for you until the "fraud" and his henchmen are vanquished!

:: DM1 8/15/2003 10:52:00 PM [+] ::
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Memo to Sheep:

How are you doing? I know it's been rough cleaning up Bush's mess, but just remember, you voted for him! A lot of soldiers are being wounded and killed, but just remember, you voted for him! Osama and Saddam are chillin', not like Uday and Qusay. but just remember you voted for him! Come to think of it what is happening to the country in a lot of ways is your responsibility because you voted for the "Un-elected Fraud". Hurts doesn't it, to know that he really is an idiot and an "average american". This is why we try to vote for Americans who have an above average intellect because they need to be able to discern, comprehend, think on their feet and build consensus among other traits. Bush has been on vacation the better part of 250 days. He's yet to be in office three years! Such is the life of the "average american"!

:: DM1 8/15/2003 10:38:00 PM [+] ::
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Memo to Conservative Republicans:

Here's more on the failure of Bush to address the upgrading of the energy grid. This article was on the Nema Publications web site and was dated February 2001:

NEMA Urges Bush Energy Team to Promote Stable Power Grid

In response to a request by the Bush transition team, NEMA has submitted a white paper urging the Administration to enact "rules and incentives to maintain adequate supplies of power at the lowest possible cost, and for maintaining electrical system reliability."

In the transmission white paper, NEMA notes that the development of competitive power markets, coupled with the emergence of retail markets, has resulted in significant new uses of the interstate transmission grid. The grid has thus been subjected to flows of energy about which little is known, created transmission bottlenecks, and increased reliability problems. Experts believe that additional investment will be required to expand transmission capacity.

That investment may be difficult to come by, however. The association’s white paper points out that uncertainties surrounding financing, facility-siting, post-deregulation ownership, and policies governing the transition to regional transmission organizations, are making utilities reluctant to invest in new transmission facilities.

It also notes that the permitting process for the construction of new transmission facilities or expansion of existing ones is becoming ever more problematic. In the past, for instance, transmission lines were built primarily to meet state requirements to serve a utility’s "native loads." Today, new transmission facilities in most locations are no longer likely to exist primarily to benefit a utility’s customers or a regulator’s constituents, but for other purposes like the support of regional, multi-state, power markets.

NEMA thus contends that, "state commissions and local authorities are less likely to authorize the development and construction of new transmission facilities. This raises the question of a larger role for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in jurisdiction over transmission facilities."

The North American Electric Reliability Council has estimated that annual investments in new transmission facilities have been declining by about $100 million a year for the past two decades. While that precipitous drop was taking place, load growth was moving in the opposite direction. EPRI has estimated that in the ten years ending in 1999, electricity demand in the U.S. rose by approximately 30 percent, while additional transmission capacity grew by just 15 percent. The trend continued to ramp up in 2000, above the ten-year trend, due to weather extremes and the increased use of computer data centers. The diverging trend lines strongly suggest that an immediate, powerful remedy is badly needed.

To insure that increased consumer demand is met and at the lowest possible cost, NEMA recommends a series of measures that combined will (1) increase the reliability of the grid; (2) facilitate the expansion and upgrade of existing transmission facilities and promote the role of technology in achieving this objective; and (3) encourage increased investment in new facilities and technologies.

Specifically, the NEMA position statement delivered to the Bush transition team says NEMA supports "policies that create enforceable and mandatory reliability standards to ensure that the interstate transmission grid is not operated in a manner that adversely affects system reliability. To protect consumers, NEMA urges Congress and the Administration to act quickly to enact the NERC consensus language on electric reliability—either as a stand-alone bill that provides a first step towards improving reliability, or as part of comprehensive electric restructuring legislation."

NERC developed language included in major electric restructuring bills introduced in the House and Senate in the 106th Congress. S.207 was passed by unanimous consent in the Senate, but neither bill passed both houses. The NERC language, providing a framework for the development and enforcement of mandatory reliability standards, was endorsed by virtually all segments of the electric utility industry.

NEMA’s white paper recommends further that the foundation of any new transmission policy should rest upon the creation of a regulatory structure that:

Promotes the use of technology to protect and enhance the integrity and reliability of the existing interstate transmission grid in the near term;
Removes siting and permitting impediments that currently serve as a barrier to the construction of new facilities;
Ensures, through use of rate incentives and other similar market measures, that investments in new transmission facilities will be recovered and a competitive return for the investment made;
Provides authority to states to allow them to enter into regional compacts to address siting issues; and
Provides FERC with the authority to require utilities to enlarge, extend, or improve transmission facilities upon application and after referring the matter to a joint federal-state board.
Finally, NEMA recommends that Congress make sure that the Department of Energy’s Transmission Reliability program is adequately funded and its programs applied "in a manner that complements and encourages industry’s own efforts."

NEMA Vice President for Government Affairs Tim Feldman, the association’s representative to the transition team, said NEMA’s position was hammered out in full consultation with representatives of the organization’s policy committees. "We’re comfortable," he said, "that if our strategies are implemented, the difficult transition we are experiencing in California and other parts of the country can be smoothed, that consumers will benefit, and that power reliability will be assured at a reasonable cost."END



There you have it! More than two years ago, Bush was warned about the power grid and the need for upgrades. What did he do? Well judging from yesterday, not enough!

Da' Militant 1

:: DM1 8/15/2003 10:25:00 PM [+] ::
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Memo to Republican Conservatives:

I've been away for a while because you are bordering on insane. Did I hear Sean "Weasel" Hannity blame the blackout on Bill Clinton today? Is this your defense of Bush's and the Republican Congress' lack of action. Didn't Dick "D-Money" Cheney hold an energy meeting with his gang to divide the energy spoils. Shouldn't that meeting have focused on the aging energy infrastructure? Obviously, it didn't. So what did they meet about and why was their strategy a failure. This of course assumes that they even gave a damn about the poor saps in Ohio, Michigan, and New York. Let's go to the video tape:

From Joe Conason in today's Salon:

The president's response to the blackout was predictable: Use the occasion to promote the interests of his supporters in the oil and electricity industries -- and to proclaim that he has been on top of this decades-old problem all along. According to the New York Times, the White House plans to use the blackout to promote its energy bill, written by corporate lobbyists and the vice president (but I repeat myself).


"Of course, we'll have time to look at it and determine whether or not our grid needs to be modernized," Bush told reporters. "I happen to think it does, and have said so all along."

Whatever he has been saying all along, his administration and its comrades on Capitol Hill haven't done much to address the decay of the grid -- an issue not easily solved by deregulation. David Sirota, former communications director for the minority on the House Appropriations Committee, sent around a note today pointing out that in June 2001, the White House and Congressional Republicans voted down a proposal to provide $350 million in federally backed loans for reconstruction and modernization of the grid. Its sponsor was Sam Farr, a California Democrat who commented at the time, rather prophetically, "without timely intervention from the federal government, the crisis is likely to spread to other states." END


Do you notice that it was Bush and the Republican Congress who came out against modernizing the grid. For a measly $350 million the grid could have started to undergo some modernization. Where did the money go? Can you say "tax cut" ? So there you have it "Weasel". You and the rest of your cult have the real story and still you blame Clinton. I'm being to think that you wish that you could trade places with Monica. I have never seen so much anger. It's almost like a lover scorn. Clinton pays attention to everyone, but you. You goad him and goad him and still he pays you no mind while he's making millions of dollars. It just riles your asses. Well not to worry. I doubt that most of you will be around much longer. The lies that you have had to spread and defend are becoming much to numerous. Even poor Dr. "I hate my mother" Laura is converting back to Christianity. Talk about sowing what you reap! I really hope that you choke on the truth because after today that is all that is on the menu!

Da' militant 1

:: DM1 8/15/2003 09:53:00 PM [+] ::
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