An Inconvenient Truthiness

Former Vice President Al Gore, still basking in the glow of his Oscar win, has taken some hits from the right wing bloggers on the power consumption of his Tennesee home.  And this includes posts on Orange Punch and Orange Juice blogs.

The news came from an organization no one has ever heard from and how the heck did they get a copy of Gore’s private residence power bill anyway?  The truthiness behind the announcement was picked up chapter and verse by all the usual suspects and I’m guessing Steven Greenhut never made a call to find out if the numbers are true.

 

But let’s assume that they are.  This tidbit from the Anonymous Liberal blog:

The press release claimed that Al Gore’s home in Nashville consumed 221,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity last year compared to a national average of 10,656 kWh per household. I have no idea whether the number cited for Gore’s house is correct, but let’s assume it is. The 10,656 number comes from data published by the Department of Energy. But it’s an average of all households nationwide (including apartment units and mobile homes) and across all climate regions. As it turns out, the region in which Gore lives–the East South Central–has the highest per household energy usage of any climate region in the country, a good 50% higher than the national average quoted in the press release (I assume this is due to the combination of cold winters and hot, muggy summers). So that’s misleading in and of itself. Moreover, Gore lives in a large home (10,000 sq. ft.). If you look at the data, it’s clear that Gore’s energy usage per square foot (even assuming the 221,000 kWh number is accurate) is well within the average range for his climate region. So all this accusation boils down to is a claim that it is somehow “hypocritical” for Al Gore to live in a large house.That’s awfully weak. Gore’s a former Senator and Vice President of the United States. Does he have to move into a studio apartment before he has the right to talk about climate change?I remember walking through the Register’s newsroom with my cub scout pack several years ago, when the Reg still did that.  Reporters have lots of fun signs and clips adorning their desks and monitors and such.  My favorite sign reads: “Your mother says she loves you? Check it out!”

I remember walking through the Register’s newsroom with my cub scout pack several years ago, when the Reg still did that.  Reporters have lots of fun signs and clips adorning their desks and monitors and such.  My favorite sign reads: “Your mother says she loves you? Check it out!”The rightwing noise machine in OC still doesn’t get it on global warming.  So they are participating in what they do best.  Make Gore’s strength - his record on the environment - a weakness by suggesting he is a hypocrite.  Never mind the long track record of hypocrites from the right such as Rush Limbaugh’s drug use, Sean Hannity’s suggestion that Fox News doesn’t have a bias (even though Rupert Murdoch admitted it does), Dick Cheney’s position on gay marriage despite having a lesbian daughter, Mark Foley’s House position on Missing and Exploited children and his interesting IMs to male pages; Ted Haggert’s meth purchases and gay male prostitute massages; Bill Frist lying about his video diagnosis of Terry Schiavo, George Allen’s “Macaca” explanations, and so on and so on.
 

AN UPDATE: MSNBC did an update on this last night and pretty much rips apart the news release and exposes the non-partisan group that pushed out the news as being connected to the American Enterprise Institute, beholden to big oil, nay-sayers on global warming and the like.

March is Women’s History Month

I have been contemplating the likes of Mary Lease “Raise less corn and more hell” and Mother Jones. I bet we can come up with quite a list of trailblazing, inspiring women throughout ‘her’story, so my question to you is:

Do you know an inspiring woman in Orange County? If you do, the Orange County Community Forum is accepting nominations for Women Who Make a Difference in Orange County.

Nominations are open until Monday, March 5 (limit 2 nominations per person). Your nominee will be honored at the Orange County Community Forum’s 5th Annual Women Who Make a Difference in Orange County Celebration on Tuesday, March 27, 2007. (more on that to follow another time).

Limit your superfluous praise to one or two paragraphs and send it off to alibwdem@yahoo.com

Tim Steed for California Young Democrats Chair

A few of us are having a little get together/fundraiser for our favorite Activist, Tim Steed. I freely admit I have a Native Son bias and someone from Orange County should be at the head of the State.

Nepotism aside, Tim is highly qualified to get the job done. Organizing High School and College Campus’, GOTV projects, raising money and the list goes on. Funds raised will help send College and High School Democrats to the State Convention in San Diego. If I keep at this, I will get too gushy; so the info is below:

Donations of $25, $50 are appreciated. If you have deeper pockets, go to town. The event is at Alicia’s House on Sunday, March 4, 3 - 5pm, but when I spoke with Alicia last night, the date may move. Contact Alicia alibwdem@yahoo.com if you want to attend, contribute, or write a testimonial.

How to pick the Nguyener. Pillow Fight?

I think I’ve found a fun way to decide the 1st District Supervisor Election contest.

At first I was thinking of something along the lines of “Celebrity Death Match” but that seemed too harsh.
Nguyen vs. Nguyen

Why don’t we put the two Ngyuens in a ring, each with a feather pillow and let them fight it out.

While I know there may be a little bias on his part, I think Gerald Feather should referee.

Nguyener Take All!

Trung Nguyen and the Power of Positive Thinking

Can Nguyen vs. Janet Nguyen

Little Engineeer That Couldn'tNo I’m not making this up. Reminds me a bit of Will B. King who pulled papers for this election.


Can Nguyen is the name of the front person for Trung Nguyen’s election challenge lawsuit. The Power of Positive Thinking, wasn’t that the name of a philosophy book written taught by a notable preacher from Garden Grove? Hmmm, what was his name? Schuller I think. If I’m not mistaken, he built a glass house somewhere in the First District.

Here is the actual 14 page lawsuit filed Tuesday afternoon. From what I can tell, Trung is challenging every ballot that was challenged, except for those that were decided in his favor. What I find interesting is that in the suit the plaintiff charges that there was voter fraud in this election. That seems to be a bit like the pot calling the kettle black given what was seen coming out of the Trung Nguyen campaign in this election. Some people just never learn not to throw stones in glass houses.

I also find it interesting that these Republican operatives, who opposed the installation of the verifiable paper audit trails on electronic voting machines, are claiming that a recount using the electronic ballots is invalid.

Trung, no matter who files your lawsuit there is no way you can nguyen win.

Yes Mr. Photoshop, you’ve lost your third election in a year, you’ve lost the election to the Board of Supervisors to a Woman who is younger than you and not from an elite class.

Baby
Mr. Photoshop, there is no way to save face. Now you are just acting like a spoiled child who wants a piece of candy that he is never going to get.

Something tells me you’re being the sore loser you called Janet a week ago.

The angry conservative

This post in the Flash Report is loaded with all of the venom and spew that the hardcore conservative right has become.  It’s not OC, but a post on the OC-based Flash Report make it noteworthy.  It comes from Michael Der Manouel Jr., the chairman and co-founder of the Lincoln Club of Fresno. 

His contention is Liberal hate Conservatives. No, we don’t.  Some of my best pals are these politically misguided souls.

He points to posts on the “hate-filled” Daily Kos as proof.  Sorry, I don’t see the hate and I read the site daily.  You’ll get snarkiness in the comments for sure, but hate-filled is pretty strong when you consider all the love the Republicans gave Bill Clinton in his time in office.

The next text kills me. 


“They don’t believe in defending this country, and they don’t believe our President is legitimately elected - either time.  They wish death to Dick Cheney.  They openly root for our defeat against terrorists.”


Not true.  I concede the second point but can only speak for myself.  On death ot Dick Cheney, no we don’t.  And on the last line, hell no.  In fact, on that last line alone, is proof that the hardcore right has gone totally batshit.  How many times must liberals, progressives and Democrats have to say it?  We love America.  End of story.


“They shout down conservative speakers on campus, protest the war against terrorism, and heap anger and misery everywhere they go.”  On the first point, please see the documentaries “This Divided State” and “Shut Up and Sing” to see which side shouts down the other.  We protest the war in Iraq which is not the war on terror.  Heaping anger and misery everywhere we go?  Only in places you lost congressional or senate seats.


Lastly, “…this “greenhouse gas” business is just a load of crap?”  I don’t really need to add anything to that do I?

I have to wonder why Jon Flieschman even gives a voice to “principled conservatives” like this.  It’s stuff like this that is continually thrown at us and we need to respond to it or else it sticks.  I’m old enough to remember days where Republicans and Democrats worked together to move the country forward.  Compromise worked.    But with conservatives like this, its very hard to be serious about working across the aisle to resolve our statewide and national problems.  And that’s too bad.


 


AN UPDATE:  This post from the Huffington Post on how Republicans have vandalized John Edwards’ online headquarters.  Perhaps The GOPrati in OC would like to comdemn this action? 


 

Supervisors looking at building a Great Pyramid in Irvine

No, I’m not joking.

On todays Board Agenda, the Board had a rather innocuous Consent Item which they pulled for discussion. The matter related to the disposition of some leftover County property from the former El Toro Marine Base.

PyramidDuring the discussion Supervisor Moorlach suggested that the staff be directed to look into the possibility of moving the County Seat, or at least significant amounts of Government operations to that currently vacant land.

Supervisor Bates chimed in suggesting that the County buildings be demolished and the vacant land in the Civic Center be converted to a Great Central Park in Santa Ana.

How nice of these people to make such a suggestion immediately after they decide to not seat the elected Supervisor from the First District, the home of the County Seat.

Since they decided to defer seating the new 1st District Supervisor for a week, why couldn’t they wait to direct staff on an issue, with an impact at least as significant to the First District, for a week.

Come on people, I know the election of the first Vietnamese-American member of the Board of Supervisors has turned your world upside-down; but that doesn’t mean you need to rush to move out of your current, albeit upside-down, pyramid.
Now that’s representative government for you.

Trung’s Lead Erased. Janet Wins!

UDATE: The candidates are stating their arguments to the Board of Supervisors this morning as to whether Janet Nguyen should be sworn in today as the new First District Supervisor. Oh the madness, oh the insanity.


Stay tuned… More to come.


The Board succumbs to the Dark Side of the Force (Schroder), so the 1st District doses without a new Supervisor until next week, Tuesday March 6th.


Mr. Photoshop Eraser


Trung Erased!


The votes have been counted and Janet Nguyen has overcome Trung Nguyen’s initial 7 vote lead during the recount of votes in the 1st District Special Election for Orange County Supervisor. This Photoshop Finish will most likely end up in court, but for now the final certified count has Janet Nguyen defeating Trung Nguyen by 7 votes.


I guess Phil Paule was right in his post of January 30th on Red County/OCBlog.


“The one thing that I can say with 100% confidence is that the only way Trung will get to the 5th floor is with the help of Photoshop.”


Fifth Floor Trung


Let them eat pie?

George Norby?

On Thursday the 22nd of February Board Chairman, Fourth District Supervisor Chris Norby, and his wife Marsha served County workers lunch in honor of George Washington’s Birthday. Workers were treated to Ham or Turkey sandwiches, potato salad, and cherry pie. Chairman Norby paid for the lunch himself with left over campaign funds.

One of the highlights of the lunch was the sight of Chris Norby and his wife Marsha dressed up as George and Martha Washington.

Chris and Marsha; thanks for the lunch. Please understand that our attendance at this little shindig was not us looking for a free lunch as your colleague on the Board John Moorlach may seem to think. Rather, we accepted your invitation in the true spirit of remembering a great leader of our nation.

Chris, also please understand that County Workers are not as easy as pie. We expect to be treated fairly in our upcoming contract negotiations and not vilified by you or your colleagues as thugs looking to get something for nothing.

Does Giuliani really want to be President?

I’m thinking the right political job for him is actually Queen. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, you understand.
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Pot or Kettle, Rep. Hunter?

Remember the story earlier this month about some liberal bloggers hired by the John Edwards for President campaign who wrote what some had considered anti-Christian posts earlier in their blog-careers?  It caused mucho bloviation among the Right Wingers out there.

Now news the San Diego congressman and presidential candidate Duncan Hunter has hired Dr. Henry Jordan for his campaign.  Jordan is on record his hateful and disrespectful comments about Muslims.

Jordan was an unsuccessful candidate for lieutenant governor in North Carolina both in 1996 and 2006,  Last May, he said science does not support Darwin’s theory that man evolved from monkeys which I’m sure surprised a great number of scientists. He is also a strong advocate for teaching ”intelligent design” along with evolution.

So I wonder if the right wingers out there will call for Rep Hunter to drop Dr. Jordan like a bad habit?

Reservoir Dogs

This is sort of in response to the flap between the Obama/Hillary camps over David Geffin’s remarks (I love how the only time someone like Geffen is taken seriously by the GOP is when he’s critical of another Democrat…funny how that happens).

Remember the scene in Tarantino’s 1992 film Reservoir Dogs where the gang all has guns pointed at each other?  And then they fire.

Le’t s recreate the scene for a moment but around the concept of announced candidates for the GOP presidential nomination.  But let’s substitute a couple of the shooters with Steven Greenhut of the Register and Jon Fleischman of the Flash Report and their targets are different candidates running for president.

Yesterday, Fleischman ripped apart Arizona Senator John McCain for his role in limiting free speech by being a co-sponsor of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform; and he takes the Senator to task for supporting tough new environmental proposals aimed at limiting greenhouse gasses and global warming (Jon views Global warming as a threat to our economy, proving he’s another Republican who continues to ignore volumes of research that documents this as a serious, serious problem).

And on Sunday, Greenhut ripped Rudy Guiliani a new one using Rudy’s own record against him.  Before 9/11, Rudy was wildly unpopular in New York.  The serial affairs and nasty divorce aside, Greenhut actually puts together a convincing arguement why Rudy Guiliani shouldn’t follow in Larry Agran’s footsteps of running for president after having served as a mayor.

So what does that leave us with Republicans?  Mitt Romney (flip-flopper won’t carry the South)?  Newt Gingrich (character counts; serial adulterer)?  Duncan Hunter (pro-Iraq war/anti-immigration)?  Sam Brownback (who?), or Tom Tancredo (one issue wonder; gets the John-and-Ken vote)? 

The lesson from the 2006 election was American has moved to the middle, so its kinda fun to watch these Republican pundits battle over who isn’t Republican enough. 

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