The Progressive Puppy

Republican Lawmakers Authorize the Arrest of Filmmaker

This morning Republican legislators, presumably acting on the wishes of their corporate masters in the energy industry, ordered the arrest of respected filmmaker Josh Fox when he brought a camera to an open-to-the-public hearing on the environmentally-destructive practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.  Talia Buford writes on Politico:  Fox was led out in handcuffs by the Capitol police shortly after 10 a.m., before the hearing could be gaveled into order. The "Gasland" director was attempting to film the hearing looking into EPA's investigation of potential water contamination from natural gas drilling in Pavillion, Wyoming ... Fox has been charged with unlawful entry, according to Capitol police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider.  Fox is working on a sequel to his Oscar-nominated "Gasland."

Zach Carter reports for The Huffington Post: 

(T)urning away journalists is extremely rare on Capitol Hill. The rules requiring pre-approval for film crews are designed to prevent hearings from being disrupted by hordes of camera operators. That was not the case for this hearing. Only two cameras requested entrance to the event, which was not crowded.  Subcommittee Chairman Andy Harris (R-Md.) was unavailable for comment, but several Democrats on the committee voiced outrage with the GOP's press blackout.

"I was chair of the Subcommittee for four years, and we frequently had people show up the day of a hearing to film," Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.) told HuffPost. "We asked for their name, but they were told if they would not disrupt the hearing, they were free to record. A couple of times staff said, 'You're getting in the way, don't stand there,' but other than that, I do not ever recall anything like this. We certainly never turned anyone away for not providing 24 hours' notice."

"It's an outrageous violation of the First Amendment," Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) told HuffPost. "Here we've got an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker, and it's an important subject and the subject that he did his prior film on for HBO. And they put him in handcuffs and hauled him out of there. This is stunning."

Josh Fox issued the following statement to media outlets:

I was arrested today for exercising my First Amendment rights to freedom of the press on Capitol Hill. I was not expecting to be arrested for practicing journalism. Today's hearing in the House Energy and Environment subcommittee was called to examine EPAs findings that hydraulic fracturing fluids had contaminated groundwater in the town of Pavillion, Wyoming. I have a long history with the town of Pavillion and its residents who have maintained since 2008 that fracking has contaminated their water supply. I featured the stories of residents John Fenton, Louis Meeks and Jeff Locker in GASLAND and I have continued to document the catastrophic water contamination in Pavillion for the upcoming sequel GASLAND 2. It would seem that the Republican leadership was using this hearing to attack the three year Region 8 EPA investigation involving hundreds of samples and extensive water testing which ruled that Pavillion's groundwater was a health hazard, contaminated by benzene at 50x the safe level and numerous other contaminants associated with gas drilling. Most importantly, EPA stated in this case that fracking was the likely cause. 

As a filmmaker and journalist I've covered hundreds of public hearings, including Congressional hearings. It is my understanding that public speech is allowed to be filmed. Congress should be no exception. No one on Capitol Hill should regard themselves exempt from the Constitution. The First Amendment to the Constitution states explicitly "Congress shall make no law...that infringes on the Freedom of the Press". Which means that no subcommittee rule or regulation should prohibit a respectful journalist or citizen from recording a public hearing.  (Read the rest here.)

Obama Expresses Mild Concern Over Hydraulic Fracturing ...

... without actually mentioning the practice. 

Still, I guess something is better than nothing considering the GOP's hands-off approach to environmental disasters.

From President Obama's State of the Union speech last night:

"We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly 100 years, and my Administration will take every possible action to safely develop this energy. Experts believe this will support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade. And I’m requiring all companies that drill for gas on public lands to disclose the chemicals they use. America will develop this resource without putting the health and safety of our citizens at risk."

We already know which toxic chemicals natural gas companies are pumping into the ground (thanks in part to corporate files obtained by filmmaker Josh Fox for his award-winning documentary Gasland).  We already know that those same chemicals are contaminating the water table and causing cancer in human beings, farm animals, pets, and wildlife. 

The environmentally calamitous process is called hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking."  President Obama's SOTU remarks were a step in the right direction - but what he should have said is this:   "I’m requiring companies that drill for gas on public and private lands to disclose the chemicals they use - and if any of those chemicals are found to contain cancer-causing agents, federal permits to engage in hydraulic fracturing will be withheld until safety issues are resolved to the satisfaction of the communities involved."   (Everything else aside, carcinogens blasted into the ground have been known to pollute metropolitan water reserves.)

Needless to say, Republican presidential candidates (and certain Religious Right leaders) are opposed to any regulatory restrictions on energy corporations.  If the water of multi-millionaires is contaminated and flames start shooting out of their kitchen faucets, they can simply move to another area.  Most rural residents don't have that option.

Conservatives cling to the ludicrous notion that greedy corporate executives will, out of the goodness of their hearts, make sure that the American public is protected while they rape the environment.  But of course this would mean they value consumers' health over their personal profit - and everybody knows which greyhound wins that race.

A Nuclear Planet (video)

Since 1945, more than 2,000 atomic bombs have been detonated worldwide.

Below is a video timeline depicting the history of nuclear weapons testing, via Daily Conversation:  

As the clip progresses you'll notice a counter in the bottom right hand corner.  By the two-minute mark, watch how fast that thing is going.  Unbelievably scary.

The Resurrection of our Farm Pond

Several months ago, Jon Stewart wittily noted that after Texas Governor Rick Perry made a public spectacle out of praying for rain, the Lone star State caught on fire.  It's a fair assessment.  This summer's drought and accompanying forest fires were described by NPR as the "worst in Texas history."  Deep in the wooded countryside, Art and I often smelled smoke and watched the sky darken before noon.  Thirsty trees toppled, branches fell, leaves shriveled, pasture grass died.

During all this, I was riddled with anxiety about our pond which was drying up fast.  We managed to re-route water from the pump house across the field and divert it into the pond, which didn't raise the water level much (evaporation was brutal) but it kept the pond from turning into a puddle.  We fed the fishes with pellets from the local Tractor Supply Store. 

Change of Seasons.  Once Rick Perry stopped beseeching God to fix the weather and he went off to embarrass himself and annoy voters in other states, the bountiful rains returned - and so has our pond! 

I proudly present these before and after photos.  Color me content.  (I'm ready for my ducks now, Mr. DeMille.)

How Rick Perry Sees Himself - and How We See Him

The first video demonstrates how Governor Rick Perry views himself, the second shows how most Americans view him (as portrayed by Alec Baldwin on SNL).  Both of these clips are pretty funny, for different reasons. 

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The Boston Herald reports that Rick Perry is making "modest" gains among conservative voters in Iowa.  (Maybe that's due to all those Tim Tebow references in his campaign ad?)

Rick Rape-the-Planet Perry Defends Natural Gas "Fracking"

Perry wants Americans to know that he supports the environmentally dangerous process of hydraulic fracturing.  Since he is the Lone Star State's chief executive, he's well-versed on all that energy stuff, dontcha know.  When a young college student named Carrie Kauffamn attempted to question The Guv about pumping untold tons of carcinogens into the earth, Perry rudely cut her off mid-sentence, scowling:  "No ma'am!  We can have this conversation, but you cannot show me one place where there is a proven - not one - where there is a proven pollution of groundwater by hydraulic fracturing."  (Not according to the EPA - but then Perry plans to dismantle that agency if he ever makes it to the White House.)  From CBS News:  When the audience began to voice support for the young woman, calling out, "it's false," Perry challenged them to bring him the study in question. A follow up conversation with Kaufmann revealed she was talking about a recent Environmental Protection Agency study out of Wyoming that showed chemical contamination of the area's groundwater was the likely result of fracking.  Perry's tone began to betray his frustration.  "I am truly offended that the American public would be hoodwinked by stories that do not scientifically hold up," he said, his voice rising...  The audience continued to protest, and he ended the exchange by challenging them to bring him evidence once again, and saying he would concede their point if they could do so.

Yeah, right.  Perry's tongue is so far up the ass of the energy industry I wouldn't be suprised if they asked him to plug wells for them.

Below is an eight-minute PBS news report about fracking ...

Why We Need That Third Agency (video)

That oh-so-elusive third federal agency Governor Rick Perry has vowed to dismantle is of course the Department of Energy.  Rachel Maddow explains why killing the DoE might be a bad idea.  Maddow's guest, Dr. Ed Lyman of the Union of Concerned Scientists, discusses Ohio's Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station where a thirty-foot crack in the plant's exterior wall was discovered, thanks to inspectors working at one of Perry's three targets for elimination:

Money Quote from Dr. Lyman:  "The larger context is that the Department of Energy oversees a complex of facilities, many of which are aging, they're Cold War-era facilities.  They were used for decades to process radioactive materials in the production of nuclear weapons - and the cleanup of those facilities, and the maintenance of that legacy is one of the huge burdens that the Department of Energy has.  This is one good reason why we can't abolish the Department of energy...  This is a problem.  We do have a wide variety of radioactive materials and aging facilities that need to be managed."  (Show of hands - Who thinks greedy industrialists are going to step up to the plate and clean up their own mess?)

On an marginally related side note, Rick Perry's campaign strategists have just purchased almost a million dollars in air-time on Faux News, where America's wingnuts go to get their information... and whatdya know?  Almost immediately, the network's resident ass-kisser (and Sarah Palin devotee) Greta Van Susteren snags the Texas Guv for a highly promoted softball interview.  The name of this cozy segment is - cover your keyboards - Rick Perry On The Rebound And Ready To Put America Back To Work.  (Million dollar title, no?)

(Damn, damn, damn.  When I typed "cover your keyboards" I neglected to cover my own and now there's a spray of coffee across the laptop.  It was an involuntary reaction to viewing that screenshot for a second time. )