From the Washington Times:
A House committee has launched an investigation into whether EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson used an email alias to try to hide correspondence from open-government requests and her agency’s own internal watchdog — something that Republican lawmakers said could run afoul of the law.
The science committee has asked Ms. Jackson to turn over all information related to an email account under the name of “Richard Windsor,” which is one of the aliases identified by a researcher looking into the EPA.
The committee has also asked the White House’s lawyer and EPA’s inspector general to look into the matter and report back by the end of this month, saying that the secret email accounts could have been used to keep key information from official watchdogs as well as the public.
Full story:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/nov/17/congress-demands-epas-secret-email-accounts/
And who uncovered Richard Windsor?
The researcher who uncovered the “Richard Windsor” alias email, Christopher Horner, has repeatedly battled the administration over its global warming efforts.
Go Chris!
Help him out, buy the man’s book.
Christopher Horner is author of The Liberal War on Transparency: Confessions of a Freedom of Information “Criminal” (Threshold, October 2012).
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Dear @jim2 then if you truly believe “They would vote for Bozo the Clown if the Dims ran him.” you and the Republican party are forever destined to lose. The mindset of those who select the candidate needs to change and supporters such as your good self must stop blaming “them”. No surprise that today’s press is quoting Republican sources as saying Romney lost as he had a lack of “empathy” with the voters. Now where did I read that earlier?
Yeah, that guy’s rant was pretty pedantic.
_Jim says:
November 17, 2012 at 4:34 pm
Gail Combs says November 17, 2012 at 2:47 pm
…
Looks look at this in steps, shall we (instead of taking the ultra-simplistic view that Hooker is simply bad)?
____________________________________
_Jim, BEFORE, Love Canal Hooker Chemical’s reputation was so bad among chemists that head hunters would ask, “Aside from Buffalo NY, is there anywhere else you will not relocate to?” My boss had worked for Hooker and when the Love Canal story hit the news had nothing but scathing things to say about them. He was a Chem Engineer and the best boss I ever had so I think I will take his first hand account of the place over yours.
Some chemical companies have good reputations and some have bad within the industry. Hooker and the first company I worked for were well known as NOT a good place to work if you want a long healthy life. That and word recognition was why I picked Hooker.
That the local government and property developer were also part of the problem does not paint Hooker lily white. It was an all round Cluster…
Also speaking of War time dumping, there were ships with mercury and other chemicals sunk just outside of Rochester NY in Lake Ontario according to one old time chemist who worked there during WWII. I have sailed out of the mouth of the Genesee River when it ran different colors and stank to high heaven too.
MattS says:
November 17, 2012 at 6:13 pm
@Gail Combs
“Then think of the Supreme Court ruling a corporation is a person and therefore can contribute to campaign funds.”
Citizens United did not create corporate personhood. The idea of corporate personhood in US law goes back almost 200 years.
___________________________________
Matt, The law and courts have been splitting hairs since mankind settled in villages.
If you want to continue the idea of corporate personhood then why can’t GE or Monsanto vote? If they are not allowed to vote then they should not be allowed to influence elections by contributing to campaign funds. Heck why do we not go further and remove the right to vote from people and just give it to the corporations…. Oh, wait that is just what the EU and WTO did.
Oh and Matt, originally in the USA corporations only had a limited life.
Leaving for a while. I’ve stated my opinion. I stand by it.
Perhaps ‘muckraking’ is the business that’s engaged in with that local (your) boiler room operation, but reason is ours (here) … and for a BIGGER picture of what transpired regarding Love Canal Reason mag has an interesting and most-complete article including words from some of the the principles at the time (like the school board members).
NOTE TOO that Eric Zuesse (the author) does not paint the EPA (and their actions) in this case in very good light either. A quick read of the EPA’s website on this issue white-washes the actions of the local authorities too (kinda like you worked to do).
Article: http://reason.com/archives/1981/02/01/love-canal from Feb. 1981
Re: “Some chemical companies have good reputations and some have bad within the industry” note too that things have CHANGED considerably in industry; few recruits would choose working conditions as you offer-up in those second-hand accounts … Upton Sinclairs “The Jungle” comes to mind now (if you recall, he revealed conditions in the meat packing industry in the US in 1906)
How would you have liked to have worked in the meat packing industry in the early 1900’s?
Think of the stories you’d have to tell then?
PS. I think this is the booklet titled “Love Canal: The Facts” published by Hooker Chemicals in 1980 that Eric refers to toward the end of his article:
. . http://heartland.org/sites/all/modules/custom/heartland_migration/files/pdfs/4127.pdf
In comprehending all this, it would help to be ‘an adult’ with the capacity to understand the changes, the adaptations and improvements that have been made in industry as technology has advanced overall, employing better methods and techniques that result in less waste and in plants where living conditions don’t endanger the lives of the employees. I think Eric nails it in his article too: the responsible parties are the ones who FAILED to continue to propagate the warnings placed on the property deeds and did no service to those to whom they sold the property *as if* everything was okay and this was virgin land.
When reading Eric’s article, one also finds out that the school district moved and removed (for grading and leveling purposes) substantial amounts of earth around and from on top of the covered canal in the 1950’s … this was to have repercussions in later years as this allowed water to re-enter the canal especially in 1978 when heavy rains brought the problem to a head (and conditions in the canal proper became ‘liquid’ again).
.
@Gail Combs
” If you want to continue the idea of corporate personhood then why can’t GE or Monsanto vote? If they are not allowed to vote then they should not be allowed to influence elections by contributing to campaign funds. Heck why do we not go further and remove the right to vote from people and just give it to the corporations…. Oh, wait that is just what the EU and WTO did.\”
I am ambivalent on the issue of corporate personhood. When corporate “personhood” was first created by the courts it was explicitly understood to be a legal fiction for the purposes of contract and tort law. Somewhere along the line well before Citizens United was decided the understanding that it was a legal fiction got lost.
I am not trying to say that there haven’t been any negative consequences to corporate personhood. However dumping corporate personhood without a lot of care and planning just to reverse Citizens United could end up being far worse then the status quo.
Thank you Gail Combs says:
November 18, 2012 at 6:06 am
I had no online references. That first reference is 2002. Would that Congress had had the courage to require official tracking and publication years ago when they considered it.
Thanks again Gail Combs says:
November 18, 2012 at 1:27 pm
I didn’t know some of that, and I thought I was reasonably well versed in the subject.
Simply memory for this; I’ve long since lost my notes:
A woman publishing in a professional economics journal c. 1966 wrote that prior to WWI the U. S. had more international debt than any other country; the British had more capital investment here than we had in ourselves, and the Dutch had almost as much. Essentially, and somewhat over simplified, in the build up to, during, and immediately after WWI and WWII the Europeans liquidated, at bargain prices, their international holdings to finance the wars. The U. S. picked these up. After the late 1950s, when European industry was rebuilt the U. S. has been loosing ground, and continues to do so, now to Asia.
David Ball says:
November 18, 2012 at 12:06 pm
==================
I’ve got an hour or two left in me.
Pick on me.
What is your bitch ? anyway.
Be precise.
Re MattS says:
November 17, 2012 at 6:13 pm
and Gail Combs says
November 18, 2012 at 1:21 pm
… Matt, If you want to continue the idea of corporate personhood then why can’t GE or Monsanto vote? …
And, why don’t they pay personal income taxes. I’d like to see Bank of America’s 1040. Old idea; probably shouldn’t have brought it up.
Re MonktonofOz says:
November 17, 2012 at 3:03 pm
“… is your political system capable of producing a hands-on, common sense, practical president …”
As a U. S. citizen I entirely agree. Both major political parties are controlled by their extreme ideological wings, who are the most active enduring, and so influential, especially in primaries and between elections. The candidates merely say whatever they think will get them elected, then go on to the most radical agenda they are allowed to get away with.
I am amazed at the Republican’s response to Obama’s election. It was reasonably obvious, by inspection, two months earlier, and definite at least two days prior to the election. My personal evaluation at the time. I was going to vote “none of the above” as usual, but switched to Romney on the extremely slight chance my vote would reduce Obama’s majority. A single vote in any state is less than the voting errors natural and manufactured.
We’ve hijacked this thread. We’re talking about lots of things besides “EPA under investigation for skirting email transparency”. It is connected, I’m interested and partly responsible, but not on the original topic.
_Jim says:
November 18, 2012 at 3:22 pm
Perhaps ‘muckraking’ is the business that’s engaged in with that local (your) boiler room operation….
____________________________________
Good Grief,
Hooker Chemical was well known among chemists almost a decade BEFORE Love Canal. Were YOU a chemist back then? I was and I lived in the area and went to ACS meetings with other chemists. I heard the talk not you. I was the one given the warnings not to work for them, not you. I really don’t give a rat’s behind what is on the internet about that company. We have all seen just a few days ago how the “impartial BBC” was as crooked as they come when it comes to reporting news.
Given news stories or first hand reports by other chemists including my boss, I will take the SCIENTISTS word against what you dig up on the internet.
And for what it is worth I was at the scene for another long playing news story and believe me the “truth” on the internet doesn’t even come close to the actual facts.
Time to go on the offensive and change Climate Alarmists into Climate Liars and let them try to justify the ‘facts’ they present where more people can see they’re full of BS. Offense, not defense.
My bitch? Read the posts. What did I do but point out what happened. Back the eff up, people.
U.K./u.s. you got something to say, say it.
Jeff Alberts says:
November 18, 2012 at 1:08 pm
As was yours.
Lightrain says:
November 18, 2012 at 5:59 pm
Agreed 100%.
My bitch; I have children and I have many friends that have children in the current school system. The vast majority, especially among the boys, are being tagged with the ADHD label. A classic case of over-diagnosis. The narrow minded view taken by the schools and teachers in particular who engage in a socialist view that these children fit into their ideal little box is asinine. It will eliminate any possible future Einsteins or Mozarts. It eliminates individuality or original thought. Conformity. Sad. My son is 8 years old. He acts like an 8 year old boy does. A fart in a jar, lol. He explores, experiments, catches frogs, ants, bugs of all manner, builds imaginary spaceships out of lego ( he particularly like symmetrical spaceships, but has strayed from that after watching and enjoying Star Wars). We encourage imagination, study of his surroundings and ask him the hard questions. He is far ahead of the curve in math, reading,geography, and art. He understands large concepts such as the vastness of space and is not intimidated by anything intellectual. He loves history, particularly historical structures, the Taj Mahal being a current favourite. He has stated that he would rather go to Machu Picchu than disneyland. The scholastic system is dreadfully boring for someone like that, and this is a challenge to his teachers. Especially the ones who are not that bright. Some teachers have been fantastic and recognize his skill and intellect, but the majority cannot cope with those outside their little box. I had them, you probably had them. The west will suffer in the future, and it is being seen at the university levels where many cannot even string a sentence together, yet get a passing grade. High school does not prepare students for university at all, let alone the simple ability to balance a check book. A tougher concept of interest rates have most people believing they can pay off credit cards making minimum payments in an average lifetime. Catering in schools to the lowest common denominator is a socialist mindset and flawed to the core.
That is my “bitch”, not that I owe anyone here an explanation for anything. [snip]
David Ball says:
November 18, 2012 at 6:01 pm
==============
There is a certain facet of commenters that I enjoy.
Don’t mess with it.
Have I said something ?
u.k.(us) says:
November 18, 2012 at 6:50 pm
Is that some sort of veiled threat?
I will say what I like. If anyone doesn’t like it, they don’t have to read it. Last I recall, Anthony and the mods say what flies and what doesn’t around here. So whatcha gonna do?
David Ball says:
November 18, 2012 at 6:41 pm
“My bitch; I have children and I have many friends that have children in the current school system. The vast majority, especially among the boys, are being tagged with the ADHD label …”
I have a brother who is a retired tenured professor who still reads almost all theses and dissertations at the college where he taught. He is an expert in education, testing, and research methods. He agrees with you. He strongly disapproves of amateur diagnosis of ADHD, and over diagnosis by professionals with little actual knowledge of what actually constitutes ADHD. This misdiagnosis is particularly prevalent among teachers, especially young females, who have little experience with children, particularly boys, and those who have a dislike of boys. Some professionals are also “pill pushers”; some schools train them to be. This results in the “medication” of far too many who are merely behaving normally.
I have a nephew who would have met this fate had his parents not strongly intervened. This caused a continuing series of problems with his correct work being counted wrong or lost entirely, test scores being recorded incorrectly, etc. This persecution continued for years. I am not reporting what he or his parents said, but my own knowledge. The original teacher had an obvious prejudice against all males, and was known for it.
Boys will be boys. Tom Sawyer is a far better exemplar than a boy reduced to behaving like a prissy, overly controlled, little girl or turned into an emotionless robot.
Has it escaped anyone’s attention that “Sit down. Be quiet. Don’t run.” is entirely at odds with the natural behavior of children, and, intentionally or not, encourages “couch potatoes”.
@Robert A. Taylor,
Corporations do pay income tax in the US and in most of the world, although it’s at a different rate than for individuals. In fact US corporate income tax rates are among the highest in the industrial world.
What you want is form 1120 not 1040. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1120.pdf
You probably can get these for publicly traded companies if you know where to look. Try the SEC.
Many large US corporations end up paying no US corporate income tax because most of their profits are from foreign operations. I don’t know if this is unique to the US or if it is common around the world but under US law Corporations don’t have to pay corporate income tax on foreign profits if those profits were taxed in the country they were earned in.
Something similar applies for individuals at the state level. If you live and work in different states you owe state income tax to the state in which the income was earned unless the two states involved have a reciprocal tax agreement.
David Ball says:
November 18, 2012 at 7:34 pm
I will say what I like. If anyone doesn’t like it, they don’t have to read it. Last I recall, Anthony and the mods say what flies and what doesn’t around here. So whatcha gonna do?
============
Don’t mess with our girls.
MattS says:
November 18, 2012 at 8:12 pm
“Corporations do pay income tax in the US …”
I know; I have prepared corporate tax forms. It seems I didn’t make myself clear. What I was saying was If business corporations are persons, they should pay personal income tax, form 1040, the way actual persons do. I was being factious.
Wonderful I wrote “factious’ for “fatuous”. Maybe I’m too tired. Maybe it’s funny the way I originally wrote it.