Too many people in WDC seem to share a significant literacy/comprehension problem ~ and yes, I'm INcluding the couple of Senate Dems who joined in this fantasy ~  ~ Sooz

December 07, 2011 8:45 AM
Bill addressing imaginary threat advances in House
By Steve Benen

There are plenty of actual, real-world problems Congress can and should be working on right now. Unfortunately, House Republicans have decided to invest time in imaginary problems.

The point of the House legislation is to restrict the EPA's ability “to regulate naturally occurring dust,â€

There's just one small problem: Republicans made this up. They're working on a bill to stop a “proposed regulationâ€

[i]“We might as well tell EPA not to regulate fairy dust.â€

In my neck of the woods, we have the provincial government building windmills along the shore of Lake Erie. The locals around here are predominately conservative and dead set against these mills and started protests to no avail. Residents around the towers complained of noise coming from the blades as they spin (slowly) but test after test detected no noise. So then the opponents came up with "the mills disrupt the paths of migratory birds". ... ... ... no dead birds are found anywhere near the towers, so back to the drawing board. Then they claimed that earthworms won't live in the soil around the mills because of the electromagnetism they generate. ... ... ... earthworm population around the mills is no different than anywhere else on the surrounding property. All of these protests prompted one city councilor to say "What's next? Are they going to say the mating ritual of the woodland fairies is being disrupted?" I laughed so hard I chocked on my coffee after reading that in the paper.

Seriously?  I want my tax money back.

Good on Rep Diana DeGette! ~  ~ we need 434 more just like her ~ Sooz

December 09, 2011 9:20 AM
‘A mad solution to an imaginary problem'
By Steve Benen

Following up on an item from the other day, House Republicans are still hard at work, tackling imaginary concerns.

[quote]

The House on Thursday approved legislation Republicans said was aimed at ensuring the EPA cannot regulate so-called “farm dust.â€