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Archive for August 18th, 2008

Defeat Don Young!

Posted by Richard on August 18, 2008

Rep. Don Young of Alaska is one of the House's chief porkmeisters and the poster child for why the Republican Party is no longer trusted as the party of fiscal responsibility. Along with the now-indicted Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, Young pushed through the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere" earmark, and that's only one of many pieces of pork he's promoted.

Young doesn't limit himself to pork for Alaska, either. Check out the new Club for Growth PAC ad against Young revealing that he pushed through a $10 million earmark for an interchange in Florida (opposed by local officials) that benefits a Florida developer who raised $40,000 in contributions for Young. 

Young is facing a stiff primary challenge from Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, a solid fiscal conservative who, according to Pat Toomey, "led the fight for lower taxes and spending in the state legislature, and joined Gov. Sarah Palin in pushing for reform in the state."

A recent email from the Club for Growth indicates that Parnell is poised to defeat Young in the Aug. 26 primary, given sufficient funds (emphasis in original):

A new poll done for Sean Parnell in his Alaska Republican primary race against the "Bridge to Nowhere" congressman, Don Young, shows Parnell with a four point lead, but the race is within the margin of error of the poll, so we must leave nothing to chance.

Now is the last chance to get rid of Young, who recently voted with Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats to raise income taxes.

Now is the last chance to defeat Young, a three-time winner of Citizens Against Government Waste's "Porker of the Month" award.

Read what Don Young said to Republican budget cutters on the House floor last year: "This constant harping on this floor about cutting monies from other areas under the guise of balancing the budget, I say shame on you, too. I say shame on you because we are not doing the legislative process any good. . . . And like I say, those that bite me will be bitten back."

Don Young embodies what's wrong with too many Republicans today. Fortunately, we have an excellent chance to replace him with economic conservative Sean Parnell.
… 

Sean Parnell is a different kind of politician. He is the polar opposite of Don Young in both philosophy and temperament.

Before Sean Parnell became lieutenant governor in 2006, he served two terms in the state House (1993-1996) and two terms in the state Senate (1997-2000), compiling a solid record as a fiscal conservative. During that time, he fought against several attempts to raise taxes and increase spending. Sean supports permanent repeal of the Death Tax, making the tax cuts permanent, curbing government spending and drilling for more oil and gas. Sean has also taken a pledge to oppose tax increases.

Along with Alaska's extremely popular governor, Sarah Palin, Parnell is viewed as a reformer who wants to clean up Alaska's image, making it free of corruption and pork-barrel abuses.

Regardless of your party affiliation (or lack thereof), if you're disgusted by the culture of corruption in Congress, by the fiscal irresponsibility and the endless flood of pork and graft, please join me in contributing to Sean Parnell's campaign today. You can do so quickly and easily on this Club for Growth page. Nothing would send a stronger reform message to Washington than the primary defeat of Don Young.

While you're there, consider contributing to some of the other Club for Growth candidates, the Club for Growth itself, and the Club for Growth PAC (just keep scrolling). 

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2081

Posted by Richard on August 18, 2008

Harrison Bergeron is easily my favorite Kurt Vonnegut story, and I really liked the 1995 TV adaptation. Now, The Moving Picture Institute ("Promoting Freedom Through Film") is coming out with a theatrical short based on the story entitled 2081: Everyone Will Finally Be Equal. It looks and sounds terrific (the Kronos Quartet performs the original score). Here's the description:

Based on the short story Harrison Bergeron by celebrated author Kurt Vonnegut, 2081 depicts a dystopian future in which, thanks to the 212th Amendment to the Constitution and the unceasing vigilance of the United States Handicapper General, everyone is finally equal… The strong wear weights, the beautiful wear masks and the intelligent wear earpieces that fire off loud noises to keep them from taking unfair advantage of their brains. It is a poetic tale of triumph and tragedy about a broken family, a brutal government, and an act of defiance that changes everything.

Go to the 2081 website, watch the trailer, and sign up for email updates regarding screenings in your area.

Also, check out The Moving Picture Institute website and sign up for their email updates. Here's some background about the organization:

Founded in 2005 by human rights advocate Thor Halvorssen, the Moving Picture Institute is unlike any other foundation dedicated to promoting the ideal of liberty. At MPI, we believe that film, more effectively than any other medium, can bring the idea of freedom to life. In keeping with that belief, we are working to ensure that film becomes a center of genuinely democratic art in the coming years. Our goal is to guarantee that film's unique capacity to give shape to abstract principles—to make them move and breathe—is used to support and promote liberty. Toward that end, we fund films from development through post-production, support up-and-coming filmmakers, and serve as a high-level intern placement service.

Historically, the film industry has been largely unconcerned with developing a distinctive and nuanced portrait of deep-seated American values such as free speech, freedom of association, and the free enterprise system. Such values have been defined and defended almost exclusively in print and through oral argument. But as visual media become increasingly prevalent, we depend more heavily upon movies for our philosophical, moral, and social guidance. If the ideal of freedom is to endure—if it is to maintain its vitality and relevance in our society—it must find its way into film, our most vital, relevant, and far-reaching art form. Freedom must be seen to be believed.

MPI is going on my list of organizations to support. How about you?

(HT: Andrew Roth)

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Energy industry claims more victims

Posted by Richard on August 18, 2008

By now it's a familiar story: Another rural community torn apart by conflicts over energy development. Father pitted against son, brother against brother, and neighbor against neighbor, as some celebrate the influx of money and jobs, while others rail against the destruction of their peaceful way of life, the noise and pollution, and the damage to their pristine surroundings.

But the story of the Tug Hill plateau near the village of Lowville in upstate New York is a bit different:

"Is it worth destroying families, pitting neighbor against neighbor, father against son?" asks John Yancey, whose family have farmed Tug Hill for generations. "Is it worth destroying a whole way of life?"

Similar questions are being asked across the state and the country as more and more small towns grapple with big money and big wind.

Yep, she said "big wind."

Shouldn't that be capitalized? Big Wind. Like Big Oil, Big Pharma, and Big Tobacco. 

I guess wind power was all green and cool when only a few aging hippies and their starry-eyed, Gaia-worshipping offspring were involved. But now it's becoming a big industry. So the usual suspects are beginning to express doubts, view with alarm, and wring their hands with worry and concern. 

I guess some people won't be happy until there is no energy industry at all. No industry of any kind, for that matter. I guess they want us all to live in primitive huts, subsistence farm, and huddle around dung fires.

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