All prepared, get to the senate meeting room, and find out the committee will allow only 1 1/2 hours for the hearing. First up the proponents for killing wind energy programs in Kansas, 4 speakers, they got almost half the 90 minutes, next a neutral speaker got 12 minutes, now 10 or 12 opponents get the remaining 40ish minutes. Needless to say some of us a the end of the list had 2 minutes, blurt out 5% of what you came to say and sit down. Well it was good that we had so many supporting wind, but the proponents got time to ramble on, hardly fair, but, there is only 2 democrats on the committee, so!
First speaker was Chamber of Commerce, followed by Koch's Americans for Prosperity then a KU professor then some guy called Kansas for Liberty. The first guy said over and over they love wind, just don't want the state saying they love wind, Kochs boy was a rant of lies about wind, the professor was working for Koch, came with him, left with him, talked the same, the Liberty guy didn't make any more sense than I did when I got my turn, and he had 10 minutes more than me.
We had the President of Siemens wind energy, three Presidents of wind farm developers, articulate lobbyist, county commissioners and more, and me preaching about land owners and veteran jobs in wind energy. It did not impress, that committee is passing that bill, 90% of the state wants them not to, but they will, it will come out of committee tomorrow and go to the floor. I predict Kansas will pass it, and be the first state to cripple their own wind industry, in a state that has the 2nd best wind in the nation. These bastards hate anything that don't smoke. Kochs and the Chamber own this state.
How do they keep winning elections?
ReplyDeleteKev,
DeleteSee Sarge's sugar coated answer. Koch's ALEC Chamber oil and gas drillers and corporate farms run adds year round here. It never stops. Their are ads in paper, on TV all year against the EPA, the Justice Dept., against the UN, against tax, gun control,it never stops, it's like North Korea in that we have a constant enemy shown to us every week, someone or some law threatens us. This is what having to many billionaires is doing to Kansas, and it will do the same to the US, constant fear mongering and finger pointing as slick adds, almost entertainment. Lots and lots of friggin money....
And it sinks in to people who vote against themselves, what we use to call the common good is now a bad thing. If it continues we will soon close he libraries, and sell the streets to investors and be charged a toll to walk or drive, but that's good, businesses do things better than mean government.
DeleteMoney, Kevin!
ReplyDeleteLots and lots of friggin money....
Ron