What does your dog whistle tell you to do here Todd?

Pure republican capitalists meet their people.



In their quest to cripple solar power and protect the profits of their fossil fuels-based businesses, the Koch brothers have run into an unexpected and potent adversary: tea party conservatives.

Recently, I wrote about how the billionaire Koch boys, conservative state legislators and big utilities are leading the charge in several states to force private citizens with solar panels on their homes to pay extra fees to be connected to the power grid. At the time it looked as if they had won a big victory in Oklahoma, where the Republican-dominated Legislature passed a bill authorizing just such a fee scheme.

It turns out all the hard work of the anti-solar forces was immediately blunted by an executive order issued by Gov. Mary Fallin. The order directs the state energy commission to impose solar fees only as a last resort and to continue making expansion of solar power a priority.

The question is how a Republican governor in a deep red state can go against the Kochs, the most notable financial contributors to right wing causes in the country. The answer is that among the thousands of people who are installing solar panels on their roofs (at an estimated rate of one new system every four minutes) are a whole bunch of independent-minded folks with strong libertarian impulses. They may or may not belong to the tea party, but they want to be able to fend for themselves without big government or big business telling them what they can and can’t do.

To these conservative-minded citizens, the extra fee being pushed by the Kochs and the utilities is the worst thing in the world: a tax.

“Monopoly utilities want to extinguish the independent rooftop solar market in America to protect their socialist control of how we get our electricity.” That assertion comes from the website of a group named TUSK, or Tell Utilities Solar Won’t Be Killed. It is a coalition of conservatives led by former California Congressman Barry Goldwater Jr. that, so far, has been very successful in beating back the energy industry attack.

Their next big fight may be in Arizona, where Goldwater’s father, the former senator and Republican presidential candidate, is venerated. There the utilities have managed to get a monthly $5 fee — or tax — slapped on the bills of ratepayers with home solar units. But the state’s largest utility company, Arizona Public Service, one of the many holdings of Pinnacle West Capital Corp., wanted so much more. They had sought a fee of $50 to $100 but got into trouble themselves by conducting a surreptitious campaign against solar users funded by “dark money” and then repeatedly lying about what they were up to. The Koch brothers are alleged to be among the sources of the mysterious funding.

Now Arizona Public Service is pushing a tax on solar companies that lease solar systems to homeowners. This new tactic could be blocked by another female Republican governor, Jan Brewer, who is sometimes called “the solar queen.” If she decides to step in she will have the backing of Goldwater and plenty of conservatives who like getting their power from the sun and not from some giant monopoly.

The Koch brothers must be befuddled. All this time they thought they had bought and paid for the loyalty of tea party folks. Now, it turns out they are dealing with genuine rebels who look at the pushy billionaires as just another manifestation of King George III.

Why aren't you out in Nevada with your people Todd?

When a bunch of American-hating thugs decided to help Cliven Bundy violently violate a Federal Court order they engaged in terrorist threats and terrorist activities against: BLM, Nevada Metro Police, Federal employees, National Park Rangers, Nevada State Police, News crews and Hotel clerks.

Within the past few days, local 8 News NOW received Police Reports and other information that show Bundy's Anti-American, Anti-Government thugs:

- "poured lighter fluid around" news trucks,
- Issued "bomb threats" against Hotels where Federal employees were lodging,
- told hotel staff they would be "dragged out in the parking lot and shot"
- Bundy thugs asked Metro Police Sgt Jenkins if "he was ready to die"

SHERIFF LOMARDO: "We were outgunned, outmanned and there would not have been a good result from it."

As is the case with many terrorist organizations who hold people hostage at gun point, terrorist leader Cliven Bundy issued "demands" to the United States government in exchange for releasing law enforcement from gun point and threats.
Cliven Bundy gave the US Government one hour to meet his demands and if the Government did not meet his demands his thugs would continue to terrorize law enforcement, federal employees, News crews and hotel staff.

BUNDY: ...disarm the Park service -- and all Federal Parks the US Government claims they have jurisdiction over. Take your county bulldozers and tear down the entrance places -- the -- where they ticket us and where they - ah - entrance and make us citizens pay their fees. You get the county equipment down there and tear those things down this morning. You disarm those Park service people. You take a pick-up [truck] and I want those arms. [Facing the crowd of thugs] WE want those arms picked up don't we? Call Riley Disposal and go up here ta this compound [pointing at Bundy's compound] and we want all of those arms put in that compound taday! We want those arms delivered right here under these flags in one hour! And media -- are you here media? I want you to go to everyplace that they gotta central park service - ah - station and you watch those county machines tear down those -- those place taday in the next hour. And you [media] report back to these people -- we the people in one hour. If it's not -- if there's not done then we'll decide what we're gonna do from that -- this point on.

Within the last few days, Local 8 News NOW interviewed the law enforcement who were on the scene. Sheriff Lombardo described his thoughts as Bundy issued his terrorist demands:

LOMBARDO: "I mean, the hair was up on the back of my neck. There was the so-called militia surrounding the stage. There was a lot of firepower out there and it made me nervous. anything could happen,"
Lombardo went on to say
LOMBARDO: "Mr. Bundy, in my personal opinion, incited the crowd,"
Journalists Were Threatened:
8 News NOW reports their reporters were physically threatened

They were equally hostile to journalists covering the story. Pistol-packing militia men have blocked 8 News NOW's access to public roads. Some poured lighter fluid around our news vehicle while others got physical.

Law Enforcement Threatened:
In an interview with 8 News NOW Sgt. Jenkins said a Bundy thug asked him if "he was ready to die."

JENKINS: "Some of them, there's no doubt from talking to me, want it, to get a chance that day to fire upon a police officer or authority period. I don't think it mattered if it was BLM or us."

Jenkins went on to describe that he could not get the death threat off of his mind and said:

JENKINS: "You are standing there going, 'I just hope it doesn't hurt when it comes. That it's quick,' and it was real for us. It was real."
REPORTER: You thought you might die?
JENKINS: Yeah."

BLM and law enforcement's objective turned from enforcing and carrying out a Federal Court order (impound and remove Bundy's cows from Public Land) to defusing terrorist threats from Bundy's thugs.
Sheriff Joe Lombardo told 8 News NOW the Bundy thugs had law enforcement outgunned:

Hotel Bomb Threats & Death Threats to Hotel Employees:
Within the past few days, Channel 8 News obtained Police Reports that show:

Holiday Inn Express received at least nine threatening phone calls in April, after they allowed BLM rangers to stay in the hotel.
Workers were told to kick out the BLM or they "would not be standing in the morning."

8 News also reports:
One Mesquite hotel worker, who didn't want to go on camera, said he was told by an anonymous militia member that he would be "dragged out in the parking lot and shot".

When BLM and law enforcement left Bundy and his fellow domestic terrorists without arresting anyone I thought it was a mistake. Now, however, I think law enforcement did the right thing. They diffused the insane, hostile situation and are currently compiling evidence to issue arrests. Better still, the infighting among the Bundy thugs is so intense they are actually pulling guns on each other.

LOMBARDO: "Sometimes in public safety, it is hard to back down. We are not trained to operate that way, but they [law enforcement] took the better route, and it was the right way to go. It's all about lives. I mean, what is the better route to go? To be right or to be effective? "

After BLM and law enforcement left, Bundy and his domestic terrorist thug brethren turned their hate and paranoia on each other. They have been itching for a 'civil war' but I don't think they thought their 'civil war' would be against each other.

Meanwhile, if Bundy's thugs don't kill each other first, Sheriff Lombardo confirmed to Channel 8 that no matter how long it takes, Bundy and his thugs will be dealt with.

Fox News 5 is reporting that Bundy's armed thugs surrounded the City Council room and stood watch over a "standing-room only City council meeting" yesterday. Why did Bundy's thugs attend the City Council meeting? Were they there to intimidate?

Fox News is also is claiming that the "attendees gathered for the town hall had nothing but praise for" Bundy's thugs -- but I'm not sure they're correct as one woman sounds to be saying just the opposite.

"I called Metro, and their exact words to me were, ‘It's the BLM and Cliven Bundy's problem,' - and I should take it up with one of those two. There are my children and my community, and if Metro doesn't have the guts to come out and protect us – what are you here for? What are we paying you guys for?" another attendee said.

And I'm not sure if this is "praise" either?

COUNCIL MEMBER "I'm really disappointed in our sheriff for not being out here to protect the citizens who are out here."

OK Mark,

I ask again, what was that rate the economy has grown under Big Ears reign?
And no Mark, yet I consider myself a capatalist, free market kinda guy, I'd much rather see an actual number from the real world- like the rate of growth of our economy, instead of a mark set by greed, and made movies out of by Hollywood stars that are so far left, the're back on the right. Full circle

So Todd, is the reason you jump to so many Faux News dog whistles because of your overwhelming sense of personal insignificance? Impotent rage will do that.

Like a idiot i clicked here, and now i need to point out that:
These corporate news stories quoted here have heaps of fiction in them.
Bundy did pay his grazing fees to the State, but they were returned to him because the BLM claims to own the land.
So, the custodians, or BLM showed up in full swat type gear to collect fees? Speculation is that if the x-military snipers had not gotten a bead on the BLM's hired mercenary snipers, then there would have been a Waco type encounter.
Veterans standing up to corporate fascism is the way many are viewing this.
All across the west these so called feds are grabbing the land on the pretext of preserving some animal like a turtle, then they end up selling it cheap to developers, miners, ect. The story here being that harry reed had a deal with chineese solar farm developers.
Whatever the use was going to be, the hired goons came in to get those families off that land and they started out by tasering a pregnant woman. They also murdered cattle and buried them in shallow graves. By some coincidence blm had brought dozers, dump trucks, and heavy fire power to this exercise.
This is a real issue since there are quite a few states that are looking at getting free from the feds.
The spin of calling vets terrorists, when they are defending the last farmer in that area from being rolled over is just evil.

In the 20 months since four Americans were killed in the attack on the U.S. consulate and CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya, two official investigations have reached pretty much the same conclusions. The State Department Accountability Review Board (ARB) and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) looking into the tragedy found an opportunistic attack that should have been prevented but was not due to poor intelligence, inadequate security on the ground, and dismal information sharing between the U.S. military, the State Department and the CIA. There was no military response that could have been launched in time to save Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. And there was no cover up by the Obama administration.

But that just won’t do for a Republican Party determined to exploit the deaths to sabotage both President Obama and his possible successor, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. So on Friday, Speaker John Boehner announced he would appoint a select House committee to expand on Darrell Issa’s Benghazi inquisition that has already produced 13 hearings, 25,000 pages of documents and 50 briefings. That means the American people will be subjected to the spectacle of endless hearings, deceptive leaks, fabricated stories and altered emails through the November midterms and beyond, all because the GOP and its right-wing allies can’t handle the truth.

Which is why when President George W. Bush and his defenders found themselves besieged by real scandals, they didn’t turn to the truth as a defense. Instead, Bush and his minions turned to these 15 tactics (among others) to survive:

Accuse the Opposition of Slandering the President

Oppose the Investigation

Agree to Testify, But Not Under Oath

Ignore Congressional Subpoenas

Claim Executive Privilege

Threaten to Fire the Wrongdoers--and Then Don’t

Accuse the Opposition of "Criminalizing Politics"

Attack the Victim...

...And Attack the Victims' Families

Use a Popular Military Hero as a Human Shield

Say the Administration Lost the Emails Due to Buggy Software

Delay the Findings for Years

Give Rice Better Sound Bites

Declare That "Nobody Could Have Predicted" the Disaster

Make Fun of Your Mistakes That Killed Americans

Have you thought this up yet Todd?

"Tomorrow, President Obama is going to do interviews with meteorologists all across the country about a new climate change report...I hope they ask him about Benghazi!"
— Fox News host Dana Perino

Don't worry, you will.

in this day of 24 hour news cycles, what else could they do to grab eyeballs (and therefore sell advertising)?

Maybe this?

Tennessee Republican state Sen. Stacey Campfield posted a message reading, "Democrats bragging about the number of mandatory sign ups for Obamacare is like Germans bragging about the number of manditory [sic] sign ups for 'train rides' for Jews in the 40s."

How long will it take Todd to hear this dog whistle?

meh... I'd rather watch House of Cards. BTW, when does season 3 come out?

Nice post, sozmeone that cuts thru the BS

Sozmeone??? At least it wasn't in all caps.

Imagine the outrage from the Right if the Black Panthers armed themselves, took over a housing complex in an inner city, and threatened locals while brandishing weapons and blockading public roads. Wait, it did happen. The response? The cops in Philly eventually bombed and burned down a city block.

And then there's this interesting conversation.



It’s the FBI infiltrators!! Are they setting up LZs for the Black Helicopters?



Why do I keep thinking of Camp Run-A-Muck when I see these videos?

Todd, you and Chumlee need to send the sagebrush (poop)kickers at the Welfare Queen Bundy ranch some money. They're looking for $100,000 and have only raised $170. Don't let The Invisible Hand of Capitalism slap them down. Maybe throw in a gift certificate to the Bunny Ranch down the road.

Bundy needs your help.


I wanna be a fundme Ranger

Live a life of made up danger

I wanna be a hypocrite

Ask for money and not do (poop)

Dick is your guy Todd. Do you love Dick?

Well, here's one from the complete lack of irony and self-awareness column.

After the Pheonix FBI memo that noted a group of guys trying to learn to fly planes but not how to land them, after the August 6 PDB which named potential targets in New York and Washington and indicated that hijacked planes might be used as weapons, after taking information that was gained either by torture (ibn Sheik al-Libi) or bribery (Curveball) which falsely claimed inspectors couldn't find Iraq's WMD because it was being carted around in mobile labs and that Mohammad Atta had been trained by Iraqi intelligence on the use of chemical weapons, after warnings from CIA European Chief Tyler Drumheller that Curveball couldn't be trusted were ignored, after both the State Dept and CIA said that the yellowcake documents were forgeries, which was further proven after Joe Wilson went to Niger to check it out, after CIA told the White House repeatedly that the Niger/Yellowcake claim wasn't solid - but still the 16 words were uttered - after the Energy Dept in the Iraq NIE said that the anondyne coating on the aluminum tubes made them unsuitable for use in a centrifuge, after Cheney's own Chief of Staff fed classified and false information on Iraqi WMD to the New York Times using Judith Miller and then revealed to her the ID of an undercover CIA operative (Wilson's Wife, Valerie Plame) as "political pay-back" for Wilson's criticism on the White House, after the Iraqi UN declaration which specifically said they had no more WMD's - which then Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice ignored because it didn't explain what happened to the yellowcake? - but was soon confirmed by the defecting head of Iraqi Intelligence Habbush who told us Saddam had destroyed his own WMD stockpile in 1991, yet instead of listening to him the WH - or someone whose perspective and goals were perfectly aligned with the WH - had him forge a letter which attempted to claim that all the lies about WMD, Nuclear Weapons and links between Atta/al Qeada to Saddam that were gained from the two people that couldn't and shouldn't be trusted, al-Libi and Curveball, were all "true"... and therefore the imminent invasion of Iraq was completely and totally "justified".

After all that Dick Cheney thinks that the person who needs to be held accountable for a deadly terrorist attack - is Hillary Clinton.

Yes, seriously.

Holly Crap ; i "Thought" this was a sailing forum ?

Bille