Monday, August 11, 2008

So what is the Governor going to do about it?

Gov. Culver wants Iowa to lead the nation in solar power technology and use.

Not surprisingly, however, Culver is doing nothing to create the greater use he desires. Iowa ranks as among the most hostile of economic markets for solar development. Culver has supported construction of new coal plants in our state.

Much like flood relief, Democrat leadership are always the first to describe problems and the last to solve them.

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

"........first to describe problems and the last to solve them."


That's a pretty accurate description of yourself Sporer. Maybe, "the first to bitch about everything and propose nothing towards a solution" would be better now that I think about it.

Anonymous said...

I’m back.

I don’t think Culver himself has specifically supported the construction of coal plants. He has pretty much ducked the issue and deferred to the Iowa Utilities Board. Not great political leadership, I have to admit.

This post warrants me to repeat my accolades to the lone R on IUB, Darrell Hanson. Unlike his two D counterparts on the board, Hanson voted against the Alliant coal plant. He was a great appointment by Culver.

I suspect the biggest obstacle to meaningful state solar incentives are the numerous and very powerful utility lobbyists. Both D’s and R’s need to shape up and do the right thing on this.

Anonymous said...

I like how Alliant promised to the IUB to produce 10% of their power from renewable fuels like switchgrass. Only problem is the technology does not exist yet. Somebody should have told their public policy consultants to zip it before they promised what does not even exist yet. They should have promised something a little more plausible like Star Trek warp drive capabilities or holidecks.

I wonder if the big lug will rescind the approval when it becomes clearer that the deal was bs?

Didn't you get that memo?

Anonymous said...

rf - most likely that "lone R" on the board really isn't an R. We've discovered that Chet filled many spots that are required to be from the opposite party are really d's that have just recently changed their affiliation to R, so they could get the spot.

it's how chet get's around the rules of non-partisan or bi-partisan participation as required by law.

has anyone in the d party kept up on oil, gas and coal technology since the 1970's when earth day was invented?

It seems not. how do they not know it is far more risky to the environment to ship the oil over in tankers than it is to drill offshore?

The oil spills that Nancy is so concerned about have come from tankers not oil rigs.

How is it that d's don't know about clean technology on producing oil?

You'd be far more environmental to drill close to home and not ship it by tanker.

How much in gas to ship it here by tanker?

What about the tankers shipwrecking? Remember the Exxon Valdez? It was a tanker not an oil rig.

If you are serious about the environment, you'd be for drilling and not shipping. Instead you are a for shipping, which is riskier.

aaaarrrrrghggghhhgh!!!!!

Anonymous said...

oh...forgot....

welcome back. we've missed your reasoned input.

Anonymous said...

you left and art came back.

ick.

don't do that again. we liked it when art was gone and you were here providing the d response.

Then, he came back.

ick.

Anonymous said...

Well, well, well. Here's how the register is characterizing stu's new position.

"Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Stewart Iverson has been hired as the administrative assistant for Senate Minority Leader Ron Wieck"

...It’s something brand new for me. We’ll see how it goes. He’s kind of taking a chance on me,” Iverson said.

...Wieck said he and Iverson “are on the same track” and “will make a great administrative assistant for me.”

...Iverson’s salary has not been set, Wieck said. Oleson was paid $86,304 last year, according to state records. Iverson starts his new job Aug. 18.
--

and now we know the rest of the story.

I guess it sucks to be the chair.

far better to be the dministrative assistant to the guy who replaced you.

wow

Anonymous said...

You can't spell corruption without an R!!!!

Anonymous said...

Bill,

Alliant has been testing co-firing switchgrass with coal at their Ottumwa facility for years now. So technology-wise nothing new there. The main problem with burning biomass is the higher cost of the feedstock and the logistical difficulty of gathering and storing the bulkier product.

The 10% biomass requirement may have been a smart poison pill by IUB to kill the coal plant without actually voting against it. I suspect John Norris didn't want to vote for the plant, but also did not want to anger the labor unions that want the plant.

Of course, the near-certain future carbon costs are the fact that should make Alliant reconsider the plant. From financial investment perspective, a coal plant is a very risky endeavor these days.

Anonymous said...

Anon,

Thank you! It's good to be back with my feisty R friends. I always miss you folks. I'm strange, I know.

Re: Darrell Hanson, he is a former R state legislator, so I think he's for real. But he's a known conservation-minded R in the mold of Teddy Roosevelt (and maybe Teddy Sporer as well).

When it comes to energy policy, why are R's so proud of being ignorant? After all that mockery of Obama's statement about inflating tires, even McCain admitted Obama is right. Just like every real energy expert will testify. And to claim that's all Obama has in his energy plan is just as ignorant. - McCain really should stop taking his talking points from oil industry lobbyists. It's embarrassing to be so ignorant.

Anonymous said...

None of this would have happened had we gotten on board with Mark Klein, M.D. Now there was our uber hero, a true Patriot if ever there was one. It's not too late to get the third party ball rolling for that sage, that giant amongst midgets! Mark Klein, M. fucking D. now more than ever! Right on!

Anonymous said...

None of this would have happened had we gotten on board with Mark Klein, M.D. Now there was our uber hero, a true Patriot if ever there was one. It's not too late to get the third party ball rolling for that sage, that giant amongst midgets! Mark Klein, M. fucking D. now more than ever! Right on!

Anonymous said...

Ray Hoffman was chair for how long? He was in his second term, at least when he abruptly gave way to Stu's coup.

He says in the register article the reason for his stepping down was so he could spend more time at his restaurant.

Didn't he own his restaurant during his entire political involvement? Just now he needs to spend time on his restuarant?

I thought being chair was a critical component to his restaurant's success. how many events did he rope folks into having at his place.

Doesn't stepping down kill his marketing plan?

Who strong armed Ray to step down so Stu could take over without so much as a conversation with the SCC?

Who arranged that coup and why?

Seems like stu just needed a temporary paycheck.

did stu bully ray into stepping down so he could get the only possible paycheck he could find?

The funny thing is he could be a manager at Casey's for more than he was making as Chair. He probably could get the job if he asked Jeff Lamberti to ask his Dad if it was ok.

Why didn't he become the manager of his local casey's?

And everyone is soooooo concerned about Steve Sheffler and Kim Lehman actually trying to advance republican philosophy as a rebuilding strategy.

No wonder Steve and Kim are pissed at the state of affairs of republican politics in iowa and ran for national offices.

The mods gave us Stu and continue to infect us with his corruption.

Anonymous said...

Interesting how Steve Roberts reveals himself ever since he lost. Here's his latest commentary about the party. Looks like Steve can't really explain his lack of effectiveness so he blames it on something other than himself.

Of course, they wanted change. YOU WEREN'T DOING ANYTHING. YOU WERE COASTING ON YOUR PAST GLORY.

by Carrie Dann (NBC)

Fri. Aug 8, 2008

"They didn't want to fight," said Steve Scheffler, the president of Iowa's most prominent Christian group and a leading voice in the party's evangelical wing.

"We want to fight the Democrats and expose them for the liberal left agenda that they hold."

At their convention in July, Iowa Republicans experienced their own change election.

Backed by frustrated state Republicans and loyalists within his Iowa Christian Alliance, Scheffler ousted incumbent national committeeman Steve Roberts, a gravel-voiced 20-year veteran of Iowa's RNC delegation.

Scheffler ally Kim Lehman of the Iowa Right to Life Committee won a corresponding slot as national committeewoman.

"The people who were running the Christian Alliance wanted to take power," the defeated Roberts told NBC/National Journal. "They wanted to take the whole enchilada. And they had the organization and the ability to do it."

http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/no_20080808_6229.php?related=true&story1=no_20080808_6229&story2=no_20080725_2366&story3=no_20080708_8015

Anonymous said...

Doesn't Steve really say it all? "They didn't want to fight".

They didn't want to engage the democrats over philosophy and agenda. They wanted their platform of "whatever" to be our rallying cry.

Didn't the vote really say it all?

Roberts is sooooo concerned about a takeover but admits they had the organization and will to achieve a HUGE vote for Sheffler and Lehman.

If Mods really are the majority, then where were they? Where were they during the Al Lorenzen primary against Erik Helland???

I guess a "whatever" platform just doesn't inspire the troops to turn out. After all, whatever...steve roberts or steve sheffler - whatever...you say tomato, I say tomoto. That's how mods believe - thus the definition of a mod.

Anonymous said...

It looks to me like Stu, Steve Roberts and company are more concerned about each other's continued crony employment that advancing any issues.

Maybe that has been evident to the poor republican masses who care about winning. Maybe people are tired of that crap. Remember Steve Grubbs as chair hiring himself as a consultant to the party - talk about double dipping. That crap continues to this day.

Maybe everyone is tired of the party being exploited for personal economic success rather than ideological success.

Everyone keeps hiring the same vendors, the same consultants, the no-bid contracts, the buddies they've made along the way that now are more important than the party itself and the alledgedly original reason for getting involved.

They are far more concerned about their paychecks than the party's success and the Iowa economy.

Now, we are sclerotically root bound. Death occurs without new blood or oxygen. We are dead as a party.

Maybe everyone is tired of that crap.

Anonymous said...

Knowing how much Stu's decision to become chair was all about the money, I find it deliciously ironic at how Ted was accused of that being HIS reason for becoming chair.

How transparent Stu and Stu's evil minions.

Freud called that type of attack "projection".

When they brought that up as the reason, we knew what their real motivations were.

Ted has a job, in fact, is an entrepreneur who owns his own law firm. He has marketable employment skills outside of politics and makes more than $30,000 a year.

I guess, as it turns out, Ted is not in it for the money and is in it to win instead. Winning is his currency and emotional paycheck.

Sheffler and Lehman feel the same way.

Anonymous said...

Steve Roberts, Joy Corning, David Yepsen - et al keep lamenting that Sheffler and Lehman won national offices. They lament that this hurts the party - it's divisive. They claim to only care about the party and "their" social issues - which is to advance gay marriage and advance abortion for "whatever" reason.

Why then do they keep running to the media? Why do they keep running their mouths? Why do they keep trying to kick out the conservatives? Why do they constantly try to silence the majority of our party?

Who's divisive? Not Sheffler and Lehman.

Social issues have dominated the mods for too long. I'm concerned about how much social issues dominate their agenda over issues like $4.00 gas.

Why don't mods care more about the economy that abortion for "whatever"?

Ken R said...

Jim lost to a liberal and instead of moving to the right he moves even further to the left.

I never really liked him and this latest episode justifies the contempt he earned from Republicans.

Ken R said...
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Ken R said...
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Ken R said...
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Anonymous said...

Ken,

Just a couple of honest questions. Where do you think Jesus would fall on our political scale? And how do you think he would feel about you using his name and image with some of the pretty harsh commentary you have posted in earlier threads?

I'm also wondering how some of the socons reading this site feel about that? Before I left, I believe I saw a comment by an actual pastor in one of the threads.

Anonymous said...

Come on rf - Jesus is only useful to the Repubs as a prop. People like Ken, Deace, and the other bible thumpers have probably driven more people away from faith than they have brought in to the fold.

Ken R said...

Actually,

I am sure Jesus would be offended about people who view Obama as a Messiah.

I am giving glory to God and not detracting from Him by exposing the false comparison.

Pastors embracing Obama tend to be the same ones embracing abortion and gay marriage so I am not worried about offending them at all.

Ken R said...

I changed my photo to one I know Democrats will love.

Anonymous said...

Amen to Anon 9:38a. The same no-bid contracts, the same vendors, the same double-dipping. In the real world, where most of us live, including Uncle Ted, my hero, all of that is totally unethical and in some cases illegal. But, in the fake world of Iowa politics, nothing matters but who you know, even if those people are no-talent lying hacks.

Anonymous said...

Ken,

I have not heard any Obama supporters making an Obama-Messiah comparison. It’s the R’s and the McCain campaign, and maybe some Clinton supporters, making those comparisons. Of course, Obama does have some overly excited supporters. But I don’t know why one would hold that against him.

Also, I find it extremely interesting how the R party that so revels in the memory of the “great communicator” now disdains Obama’s abilities in the same area. Let’s face it, in today’s society those skills may be some of the most important ones for a successful president to have.

BTW, the pastor I was referring did not appear to be an Obama supporter. If I remember correctly, he made kind remarks about Scheffler and Lehman.

I do find it interesting how our different political sides read the bible so differently. When I read about Jesus and think of his character, I have a hard time seeing him all excited about today’s socon approach and agenda.

Ken R said...

RF,

I still respect you regardless of our differences. If all Democrats conducted themselves in your manner we'd get along a lot better.

You mentioned a pastor in your response so I want to clarify my coupling of Obama and Wright stands alone and has nothing to do with one you mentioned.

Obama is a great speaker - as long as he has a teleprompter because he fails when given actual questions not known in advance.

The Messiah reference is valid because a many of his supporters get that "deer in the headlights look" whenever asked to explain his policies. A reoccurring them is "CHANGE" and that he is some version of the "Chosen One."

Anonymous said...

RF,

I appreciate your well thought out and friendly responses to serious political discussion. Hence, I have yet another question for you. I could give a rip about the biblical references to either candidate and I'm not exactly praying at the alter of the McCain campaign, but what concerns me is this: What happens to the United States if by some chance President Obama's teleprompter malfunctions and is no longer operable? Does the country just call a timeout and shutdown the government until it gets fixed? :)

Secondly and on an even more witty front, I gotta know if you felt the immense pride and euphoria that we pachyderms did when the U.S. won the gold by thumping of all countries the trash talking French in the swimming medly? Come on, didn't if feel exceptionally good to beat THEM?

Anonymous said...

Ken,

After nearly 8 years of W and knowing how 70% of electorate feels about the man and his record, why wouldn’t Obama or any other D run on “change”? It would be absolutely stupid not to do it. You guys would be doing the same exact thing if things were reversed. W himself got into the White House by running to “restore integrity” to the place.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Joshua, and Ken too –

When the countless D debates started last year, I was one of the first people to admit Obama’s style in a less scripted environment is not nearly as impressive as his reputation for giving speeches. His unscripted style is very professorial, which does not come across very well on TV. It actually sounds like he’s thinking about his answers as he speaks, rather than repeating well-rehearsed lines. But I agree, it does not sound very reassuring on TV. Still, I find it funny R’s criticizing Obama’s rhetorical skills when we all know the speaking abilities of our current president.

And yes, the swim relay victory against the French was extremely rewarding. But for me, it was mostly about the trash talking. I would like to think I would have felt almost the same way had it been any other country doing the talking. But Mrs. RF, almost as liberal as me, said it out loud how good it felt to beat THEM under those circumstances.

Anonymous said...

And speaking of rhetoric. If McCain is such good pals with President Saakashvili, why can’t he pronounce the man’s name? Not very reassuring when you combine that with all his confusion about other world issues. And this is supposed to be the guy’s strength?

Ken R said...

If public speaking gaffe's are the measure of a man Obama better run for the hills.

Seriously though, I noticed Russia did not seek U.N. approval for their invasion of Georgia. Does that mean the Democrats will do anything about that illegal war?

Anonymous said...

RF,

Good to hear that on the beating the Frogs thing.

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

RF:

The Dalai Bama thinks that, since the Russians invaded Georgia, we are now down to 56 states.

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