What's The Department Of No Energy Up To These Days ?

From the Department of Energy, which produces no energy, but produces tons and tons of fertilizer:

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Oh, a "five year plan".....Just like the Soviet Union of old.....No call for concern. None at all.

Go back to your American Idol and Top Chef, citizens. Nothing to see here. Move along, proles. Move along.


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And out of normal and healthy curiousity, what does the Department of No Energy's five year plan entail ?


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(This is from the same chart, continued)

Same chart, Con't

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And it goes on and on, for five more excruciating pages. I have my limits, and I'm sure you do as well.

If you have nothing better to do with your time, you can download this pdf at:

http://www.lm.doe.gov/default.aspx?id=1889


As we can plainly see, this "environmental justice" crap has nothing to do with the environment or justice. It's just the redistribution of wealth with a little bit of racism thrown in for good measure.

Here's what the EPA told the press (which they completely ignored) about about programs like the one illustrated above:

(All the juicy bits will have emphasis. My outrage will be in brackets.)

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"Obama Administration Announces Commitments to Protect the Health of Every American/ Agencies publish environmental justice strategies designed to ensure that all communities are protected from environmental harm and benefit from federal programs

Release Date: 02/27/2012
Contact Information: Alisha Johnson (EPA), johnson.alisha@epa.gov, Taryn Tuss (CEQ), 202-456-6998. En español: Betsaida Alcantara, alcantara.betsaida@epa.gov

WASHINGTON - Today, federal agencies, led by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), released environmental justice strategies, implementation plans and progress reports, outlining steps agencies will take to protect communities facing greater health and environmental risks. These strategies represent a significant step forward in the Administration’s commitment to integrating environmental justice into federal decision-making and programs in areas such as transportation, labor, health services, housing and others.

'Working together we have been able to make environmental justice a focus not just for EPA, but for agencies across the administration. Each of our federal partners plays a unique role in serving the American people, and each has a unique opportunity to ensure that our communities get the health and environmental protections they deserve,' said U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. 'If we aspire to build an economy and a society that works for every American, we can’t allow the heaviest burdens of pollution and health threats to fall on our poorest citizens. Bringing together our federal partners to tackle these challenges is a major step toward health, environmental and economic benefits in communities across the nation.' [Quick question: Where in the Constitution does it mention anything about building economies and societies ?]

'We know that all too often, low-income and minority families live in the shadows of some of the worst pollution, leading to higher rates of diseases and threatening the economic potential of their communities,' said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. 'With these environmental justice strategies, Federal agencies are following through on the Obama Administration’s commitment to reduce public health threats.'
The Administration believes that all Americans should be able to live in healthy communities, share in the benefits of federal programs and initiatives, and have a voice in the federal decision-making process. Yet too often that is not the case, particularly for low-income, minority and tribal populations. To make progress toward addressing these inequities, federal agencies have reviewed their portfolios to assess how their programs, policies, and activities may have disproportionately adverse health and environmental effects. Through this review, they have identified overarching strategies, as well as specific programs and initiatives, to reduce environmental or health hazards, ensure access to beneficial programs, and increase community participation in agency decision-making. For example:

• The Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Transit Administration is finalizing an environmental justice circular to help grantees determine whether there are any minority or low-income populations that may be adversely affected by a transit project or decision. DOT’s Federal Highway Administration is working with the National Highway Institute to revamp their course on environmental justice and Title VI.
• The U.S. Department of Labor is translating educational materials and hazard alerts into Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese to ensure that minority workers have access to information they need to avoid environmental hazards on the job.
• The U.S. Department of Energy’s Pueblo Project in Los Alamos, N.M., provides four tribal governments the opportunity to run pollution monitoring programs and provide technical input on National Nuclear Security Administration decisions.
• The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is helping to provide green jobs and workforce development opportunities for veterans in minority and low-income communities. [This is also called the redistribution of wealth since green jobs do not exist.]
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working with communities to use Health Impact Assessments, to help proactively address the potential impacts a policy or project might have on minority and low income populations. For example, in Baltimore, MD, work is under way to evaluate the human health impact of a vacant property redevelopment program. [What Enumerated Power does this come from again ?]

'Communities that have historically been the reluctant hosts to the country's environmental burdens have endured the consequence of poor public health, housing, employment and education inequities to name a few,' said Elizabeth C. Yeampierre, Executive Director of the United Puerto Rican Organization of Sunset Park and chair of EPA's National Environmental Justice Advisory Council. The Administration deserves praise for recognizing that these complex problems require a holistic approach.' [You want praise ? Fine. Seig Heil!]

'At the Department of Transportation, we are committed to working directly with disadvantaged groups to choose, plan, and build transportation projects that will create jobs and spur economic growth,' said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. 'When we talk about environmental justice, we don't just mean avoiding harm to disadvantaged communities: we want to invest in projects that will create healthy, vibrant neighborhoods, revitalize communities, and connect all Americans to jobs, housing, schools, and medical care.'

'The Department of Labor’s environmental justice strategy demonstrates our commitment to ensuring safe and healthy workplaces, and vibrant communities for the American workforce to call home,' said Secretary of Labor Hilda L.Solis. 'Environmental justice is a key component of my vision of Good Jobs for Everyone, and means making sure that the department’s programs and policies foster health, safety and adequate training for all people, including minority, low-income, and tribal workers.'
'At the Department of Health & Human Services we understand the important connection between our environment and our country’s health but we also know that our department cannot do this work alone.' said Secretary Sebelius. 'We look forward to our continued collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency and others to focus on building safe and healthy communities.'
The release of these strategies and implementation progress reports is a part of a broad effort the Administration has undertaken to reinvigorate the federal commitment to environmental justice. After more than a decade of inaction, the Administration reconvened the Environmental Justice Interagency Working Group and engaged more than 100 environmental justice leaders at a White House Forum on Environmental Justice. Throughout 2011, federal agencies participated in more than 15 listening sessions across the country to learn from stakeholders how the federal government can better partner with overburdened communities to reduce environmental and health burdens. Then, in August 2011, 16 federal agencies committed to finalizing environmental justice strategies and releasing annual implementation progress reports.

Federal agencies releasing new environmental justice strategies by February 2012 include: the Department of Agriculture, Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Transportation, Department of Interior, Department of Veterans Affairs and General Services Administration. The EPA and the Department of Energy published new strategies in 2011 and 2008, respectively, and released annual implementation plans last year. They both continue to take public comment on their strategies and will update each strategy, as appropriate. The U.S. Department of Justice recently released its annual implementation progress report. The Department of Defense released its strategy in 1995 and this year will be releasing an annual implementation progress report. The Department of Education, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Commerce have taken public comment on their draft strategies and are working to finalize their strategies and implementation reports. "


http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d/cd2d72a02dda6281852579b100516ff3!OpenDocument

More about agency strategies and implementation plans: http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/interagency/iwg-compendium.html

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God help us all.

You Have Got To Be Kidding Me

We no longer live in times that allow us to shrug our shoulders and say, "Naaaaah, that couldn't happen here".  We now live in times that force us to say, "Well, I hope that's not true," as we tend to our crisis gardens and take inventory in our bomb shelters.

What I'm about to present to you is not an Alex Jones fantasy. There aren't Paultards discussing this between bong hits. This isn't a 9/11 Truther hallucination. This is a presentation of cold, hard facts. It is also a reminder of how close we are to complete economic, political, and social disaster in the United States.

In my last column, I wrote about the term environmental justice. For those of you who missed it, here's a quick review of what environmental justice is, courtesy of the commissars at the rogue Environmental Protection Agency:

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"Environmental Justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Fair treatment means that no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, governmental and commercial operations or policies. Meaningful involvement means that: (1) people have an opportunity to participate in decisions about activities that may affect their environment and/or health; (2) the public's contribution can influence the regulatory agency's decision; (3) their concerns will be considered in the decision making process; and (4) the decision makers seek out and facilitate the involvement of those potentially affected."

http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/basics/ejbackground.html


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Yep, it's a bunch of socialist psychobabble, but what does it mean in actual terms ? Let's ask, oh, I don't know, former "Green Jobs Czar" (and admitted communist) Van Jones:

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"Well, the only reason that we have the unsustainable accounting that we have right now is because incinerators, dumping grounds, and sacrifice zones were put where poor people live. It would never have been allowed if you had to put all the incinerators and nasty stuff in rich people's neighborhoods; we'd have had a sustainable economy a long time ago. We'd have had a clean and green economy a long time ago. It's the environmental racism that allowed the powerful people in society to turn a blind eye for decades to the downsides of the industrial system that got us to this point. So there's a direct relationship between environmental racism and the lack of sustainability of society as a whole. We were the canaries in the coal mines, crying for relief. Now finally the consequences are affecting everyone, with global warming and everything else. The other thing is that the environmental justice agenda is also changing. Before, it was much stronger on demanding equal protection from environmental bad. Now we are also demanding equal opportunity and equal access to environmental good. We don't want to be first and worst with all the toxins and all the negative effects of global warming, and then benefit last and least from all the breakthroughs in solar, wind energy, organic food, all the positives. We want an equal share, an equitable share, of the work wealth and the benefits of the transition to a green economy." 

(Emphasis added to the juicy parts.)

(By the way, it also behooves us to note that 'ol Vannie is also a crony of the Fuhrer himself, George $oros.)
http://motherjones.com/environment/2008/10/qa-van-jones


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Crazytown, right ? You don't know the half of it. This is official US government policy. Not a law, mind you, passed by elected CONgressmen and Imperial Senators. No sirree, this madness was brought to us via Executive Order 12898 by Bill Clinton (between sexual escapades, of course).

As a result, every federal agency must take "environmental justice" into account for every action they take, regardless of cost. After all, nothing must get in the way of invented civil rights.

When I say every federal agency, I mean EVERY federal agency.


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https://www.denix.osd.mil/references/upload/DoD-Environmental-Justice-Strategy-24-Mar-1995.pdf

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You're right, True Believer. That's the Department of Defense's "Environmental Justice Strategy".

Let's take a look-see inside shall we ? (For some weird reason, cut and paste doesn't work on the document, so please bear with me with the screen captures.)

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What does this have to do with defending the nation ? I dunno, hoping you knew, FRiend.

But this gets better. Oh, so much better.

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When governments seek to address "economic opportunities", it can only mean one thing: the redistribution of wealth, which also known as socialism.

How does the DoD intend to do this ?

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???????

"Deputy of  Under Secretary of Defense (Environmental Security) " ?

What in the hell ? (Juicy stuff has emphasis added, outrage is in brackets.)

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"Volume 12, Number 30

DoD Helps Protect Human Health, Environment

Prepared remarks by Sherri W. Goodman, deputy undersecretary of defense for environmental security, to the National Conference of Black Mayors, St. Louis, April 25, 1997.

Good morning. ... I am here today representing the Department of Defense. Many of the mayors here are very familiar with the many environmental and economic programs DoD administers because they have a DoD installation in their city. Those of you who are unfamiliar with DoD's environmental programs might be surprised to learn that we are the third largest landowner in the federal government. We have a great responsibility to protect human health and the environment, and we take this responsibility very seriously.

Environmental security includes pollution prevention, conservation, compliance, cleanup, the Explosive Safety Board and the Pest Management Board.

I would like to tell you about three ways DoD is supporting you and your communities: DoD's work to implement environmental justice; economic opportunities in the environment; and partnering with communities.

DoD's environmental justice strategy focuses on implementing institutional changes rather than one-time projects to ensure that a healthy and safe environment exists around DoD installations. DoD does not have the authority to issue grants or fund projects specifically for environmental justice. Rather, our approach is to identify opportunities within the day-to-day operations of our installations and in mission-related activities where environmental principles may be applied. By integrating environmental justice issues into existing policy and through the National Environmental Policy Act, we are ensuring that DoD is meeting our environmental justice responsibilities and changing the way we do business.

The military departments have issued or are in the process of drafting guidance for use in considering environmental justice issues. They are also educating and training their personnel on all aspects of environmental justice. [This is also called indoctrination.]

We are also putting the finishing touches on a training video that explains to all DoD military and civilian personnel the requirements of the executive order on environmental justice. Our goal is to increase awareness and infuse the spirit and intent of the executive order into DoD's decision-making process from the bottom to the very top.

We are making information more accessible to environmental justice communities through the Defense Environmental Network Information Exchange, or DENIX. We added a public menu, which has information on DoD's environmental justice initiatives. The Navy also hosts an environmental justice section on their home page for news and information.

We are also working to preserve the contribution of African Americans in the U.S. military through the Legacy Resource Management Program. [Whites, Hispanics, and Asians don't serve ? Since when ?] There are four projects currently under way. They are:

• A study of the African-American community on the lands of the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station [Va.] from 1865-1918;
• The black officer's club renovation and archival project at Fort Leonard Wood [Mo.];
• The Civil War African-American sailors research study;
• A report on the historic context for the African-American military experience. [Huh ? Wha--?]

These projects focus on military activities, but their significance is much larger. Through these projects, we can reconstruct history and raise awareness of the role African Americans played in the U.S. military. Author Dudley Taylor Cornish said, 'American military history, by the very nature of our society and the organization of our government and of our Army, is more nearly social and political history than mere military analysis.'  [Military analysis is what prevents us from being forced to wear burqas and speak Arabic.]

The executive order focuses attention on the environmental impacts on human health and the quality of life in minority and low-income populations. One of the ways we meet this requirement is through the Toxic Release Inventory. TRI details the toxic releases and waste management practices of DoD installations. In the first year, DoD's toxic releases went down 30 percent. We issued the TRI last year, and the next report is due in May. For example:

• The Lake City Army Ammunition plant, outside of Kansas City [Mo.], underwent a 200 percent reduction of pollutants.
• Robins Air Force Base, near Macon [Ga.], reported a 26 percent reduction.
• Norfolk Naval Base, [Va.] reported a 60 percent reduction.
• Norfolk purchased new equipment that uses water instead of chemicals to clean equipment and ship parts. The shipyard also replaced a number of paints that gave off fumes with lower-emission paints to greatly reduce the number of TRI chemicals emitted. The shipyard achieved significant reductions in TRI releases through its consistent use of the Consolidated Hazardous Material Reutilization and Inventory Management Program. The program, also called "Pharmacy" by the military services, limits distribution of hazardous materials to authorized users in small quantities only. Unused material is returned to collection centers for redistribution. These simple management steps greatly reduce the use of hazardous material and worker exposure to the material.

That's just the beginning. We hope to have even greater reductions as the program progresses. By using safer alternatives to certain chemicals, we can better protect communities near our installations.

As DoD downsizes, thanks to the end of the Cold War, the BRAC [base realignment and closure] program has focused on transforming former bases into viable economic and environmental assets by empowering local communities to chart their own economic futures.

In addition, many DoD installations are the last bastions for several endangered species and plants.

• Denver is home to two very important institutions: Mayor Wellington Webb and the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. A portion of the arsenal has been made into a wildlife refuge and hosts almost 300 species of wildlife. It is also one of the best examples of short-grass prairie left in the West. Fishermen cast for bass in the refuge's catch-and-release ponds, and school-children get their first close-up glimpse of a bald eagle. All of this activity on the largest cleanup project in all of DoD.
• San Francisco -- home of Mayor Willie Brown and the Presidio -- is another closure base which is being transformed. The Army transferred the installation property to the National Park Service in 1994. While the Army is performing cleanup activities there, the Park Service is playing a key role in the management and care of this beautiful landmark. This national treasure attracts visitors from all over the world and is a valuable asset to the city.
• DoD's Office of Economic Adjustment supports the formation and operation of local redevelopment authorities to promote economic revitalization. A successful reuse plan depends on a community's ability to form alliances that should include workers, businesses, civic leaders, local government, interest groups and traditional underrepresented populations.

The LRA's responsibility is to formulate a base redevelopment plan that reflects the community's prescription for economic recovery. The primary goal is usually job creation, balanced with the need to expand the tax base, diversify the local economy, promote environmental quality and meet affordable housing needs.

• The Office of Economic Adjustment tracks the number of civilian jobs created and lost at 48 (out of 97) BRAC bases. Since 1993, 30,892 new jobs have been created.
• President Clinton's five-part Community Reinvestment Plan emphasized fast-track cleanup at BRAC bases. After almost four years, we believe the program is working because DoD works in partnership with the community, the state, local government and other federal agencies to reach the mutual goal of economic reuse.

Around the same time the environmental justice executive order was issued, I directed my office to find new ways to increase minority business participation in our environmental programs. As a result, the two have become intertwined, but we didn't embark on this initiative because of a presidential directive, we did it because it was an area that we wanted to improve upon.

In 1994, I issued a memo to my counterparts in the military services encouraging them to maximize opportunities for small disadvantaged businesses in DoD contracts for environmental services. Since environmental cleanup is one of our largest programs, a small business work group was formed to improve access by small businesses to environmental cleanup opportunities.

• An environmental cleanup homepage was established on the Internet.
• Small businesses need exposure. For the past two years, we sponsored the Environmental Cleanup/Small Business Awards. Last year's recipients included a woman-owned business, Human Factors Application, Inc., and two minority business firms, Oarga Services, and the other, also headed by a woman, is Peer Consultants. [Can we say "crony capitalism" ? In the infamous words of Chairman Obama, Yes We Can!]

Finally, the statistics speak for themselves. The number of environmental contracts awarded to small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses and woman-owned businesses are all up compared to last year.

U.S. businesses received about $1.7 billion in cleanup contracts. Of that, small business received 16 percent, or $271 million; small disadvantaged business received 7.5 percent, or $128 million; and women-owned businesses received 3.5 percent, or $60 million.

(1995 Cleanup stats [statistics]: U.S. business received about $1.3 billion; small business received $194 million, or 14 percent; small disadvantaged business received $99 million, or 7.2 percent; and women-owned business received $25 million, or 1.8 percent.)

Community participation in DoD's cleanup program is key to our success. We take great care to keep the public informed and involved in environmental cleanup decisions which impact them. Restoration advisory boards are our primary outlet to foster this communication.

A RAB is a forum through which members of nearby communities can provide input to DoD's environmental cleanup program at active, closing or realigning installations and formerly used defense sites. RABs include members of the local community and representatives of the installation, the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency], the state, tribal and local governments.

It is DoD policy to have a balanced and diverse representation on a RAB to reflect the diversity of interests within a community. More than 250 DoD installations are participating on a RAB. I encourage every one of you who have bases in your cities to get involved with your RAB or to work with the public affairs office on the base to determine if there is enough community interest to establish a RAB.

As a side note, DoD is developing the Technical Assistance for Public Participation program to help community members of RABs participate more effectively in the restoration program at local installations. Through TAPP, community members will have the resources to obtain objective, independent analysis of technical cleanup issues. The Congress authorized DoD to spend $6 million for the TAPP program. We plan on having a final TAPP rule completed by the end of this year. (For more information, please visit our Web site [http://www.dtic.mil/envirodod/envirodod.html].)

In addition to RABs, another community-based partnership is with the Naval District Washington. The National Urban Tree House is a cooperative, community-based program involving natural resources education, urban forestry, outreach and research. The program includes education and outreach programs for at-risk youth living in the Anacostia-Congress Heights neighborhood of Washington. There are five research projects in progress, focusing on human and natural environmental relationships and cooperative planning research. [What does this have to do with national defense ? Just curious.]

I wanted to touch on the role of training and how DoD is integrating environmental justice training into our own internal community through education and outreach programs. We are in the process of developing a curriculum about environmental justice for incorporation into all DoD environmental training programs and for our senior leadership. [Well, at least no one was sent to a reeducation camp.] In addition, DoD administers the Environmental Scholarship, Fellowship and Grants Program, which provides environmental education and training partnerships among public universities.

DoD is supporting environmental training to disadvantaged young adults through the Clark Atlanta University and the Minority Institution Consortium. They also offer hazardous waste training courses and degree programs in environmental sciences and engineering.

To summarize DoD's progress in implementing the executive order, we are focusing on four areas:

• Incorporating environmental justice issues into existing policy and guidance;
• Promoting economic opportunities in BRAC communities and small business opportunities for minority businesses;
• Encouraging impacted communities to participate in environmental cleanup decisions that affect them; and
• Training DoD personnel and raising their awareness of environmental justice."

http://www.defense.gov/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=647


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The rest of the DoD document introduced earlier is much like Inner Party Member Goodman's speech. I, like you, can only take so much and no more.

Before you call me a crackpot and tell me this is old news that happened years ago, let's fast foward to 2012:


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(Emphasis in italics, outrage in brackets.)


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" 'Even as orchestrated campaigns succeed in convincing a growing number of Americans to doubt the established evidence of climate change, the Department of Defense must remain committed to continuing its science-based efforts to address the expected dramatic and far reaching impacts of climate change on the military and on national security.'

That was the message of Dr. Naomi Oreskes, historian of science and author of Merchants of Doubt, How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco to Global Warming, during the opening plenary session of the annual Partners in Environmental Technology Technical Symposium & Workshop hosted by SERDP and ESTCP in Washington, D.C., November 29 – December 1, 2011. More than 1,200 environmental professionals from the military, government agencies, academia, private industry, and the regulatory community participated in this conference.
Dr. Oreskes, who is also a Professor of History and Science Studies at the University of California, San Diego, and an Adjunct Professor of Geosciences at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, cited SERDP for peer-reviewed research the program first sponsored in the early 1990s, which added to the scientific evidence of climate change.

Still, she cautioned that even as DoD moves forward in establishing policy and taking action on climate change, the ongoing efforts by certain groups aimed at sowing doubt among Americans and policymakers have succeeded in stalling wide-ranging federal action for the nation as a whole.
Regarding climate change, Americans in general have 'engaged in some magical thinking,' Dr. Oreskes said. 'We’ve denied, or at least doubted, the facts. We’ve persuaded ourselves that the matter is unsettled. But as Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously said, ‘we may be entitled to our own opinions, but we’re not entitled to our own facts’,' said Dr. Oreskes. 'And the facts of climate change are very clear. By denying those facts, we’ve put ourselves on a collision course with our own future.'
The successful efforts to spread doubt about climate change and its causes are similar to campaigns by a small group of scientists with connections in industry and politics to question the evidence linking smoking to lung cancer, CFCs to the ozone hole, and coal smoke to acid rain, Dr. Oreskes said. In Merchants of Doubt, Dr. Oreskes and coauthor Erik M. Conway detailed the long history of these groups’ campaigns.

'For climate change, they’ve applied the same strategy as they used for tobacco – to insist that the science related to these environmental issues was unsettled and it would be premature for the government to act,' Dr. Oreskes said. As with tobacco and its effects on public health, delaying action on climate change risks potentially devastating consequences for the environment and human health and well being.'

'This is why the facts of science still matter greatly, because we ignore the facts of nature at our peril,' Dr. Oreskes said. 'Denying them does not make them go away.'

Dr. John Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, [Chairman Obama's whack job Science Czar who thinks it's a good idea to put sterilants in drinking water to control population] described the wide-ranging effects of climate change on the most basic aspects of life and society in his address during the plenary session.

'Without energy, there is no economy. And without climate, there is no environment,' Dr. Holdren said. 'Without economy and environment, there is no material well being, no civilized society, no personal or national security. The problem is the world is getting most of the energy its economies need in ways that are imperiling the climate its environment needs. Much greater harm is ahead unless we move rapidly to reduce the offending emissions and adapt to the changes in climate that are no longer avoidable.'

The implications of climate change for DoD are profound, Dr. Holdren said. 'The United States’ dependence on oil and greenhouse gas driven climate change both pose significant national and international security challenges,' he said.

Climate change itself can have impacts on international tensions, [ ???]  Dr. Holdren explained. It can increase conflicts over scarce resources such as water, and it can have impacts on the types of missions, for example, those necessitated by instability from flows of environmental refugees. Climate change also can influence the effectiveness of troops in combat as in heatwaves or duststorms. And it can affect troop training and readiness as military installations, depending on location, are subjected to more frequent and varied weather extremes, such as storm surge, sea level rise, more intense hurricanes, or hotter and drier climate.

Regarding energy, DoD is both a major user of fossil fuels and a major emitter of greenhouse gases, Dr. Holdren noted. He praised DoD, and SERDP and ESTCP, for meeting both the energy and environmental challenges in several ways.

First, Dr. Holdren cited DoD’s extensive investment in science and technology to develop such innovations as advanced fuel systems, hybrid propulsion systems, high efficiency engines, lightweight components, and alternative biofuels for ships and aircraft. [Guess who's paying for this junk science ? You are, silly!]

Second, he noted the military’s early procurement of energy efficient technologies and clean energy, which can bring down costs and make these options more available for the nation as a whole. ESTCP’s Installation Energy Test Bed initiative is a good example of early procurement, Dr. Holdren noted. Through this initiative, DoD facilities throughout the nation are being used as energy test beds for innovative technologies. These test beds are validating performance costs and environmental impacts and enabling DoD to transfer lessons learned in design procurement across services and installations.

Third, Dr. Holdren cited DoD’s innovation and responsible operations at installations, including the use of clean energy, energy efficient practices, and environmental stewardship. Building efficiency, he noted, can reduce costs, improve reliability, and improve sustainability on installations. DoD, through SERDP and ESTCP, also is studying advanced electric power systems, which can reduce costs, improve resilience, secure power for critical loads, and reduce carbon emissions. Examples include utility-scale distributed power, wind, solar and fuel cells, microgrids, and vehicle-to-grid power.
'In short, the defense sector is a crucial player in the Obama administration’s national strategy of innovation to address energy and climate challenges,' Dr. Holdren told Symposium & Workshop attendees. 'What you are doing in this domain is immensely important. It is the leading edge, and the White House very much appreciates it.'

The Honorable Terry Yonkers, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Logistics, described during his plenary session address how SERDP and ESTCP have been instrumental in enabling the U.S. Air Force to make dramatic strides in the speed and effectiveness of environmental cleanup of harmful contaminants on current and former military sites.

'Under the auspices of SERDP and ESTCP, advanced technologies were developed that enhanced the natural degradation of some of the more troublesome contaminants,' Mr. Yonkers said. And advances in nanotechnologies, bioremediation, and chemical approaches are emerging that will help accelerate cleanup even more, he noted.

'Not only are these technologies leading to cost savings, but they are allowing us to meet regulatory standards and to close out sites and do it much more quickly,' Mr. Yonkers said. Sites that just a few years ago were projected to take 50 to 100 years to complete now are projected to be cleaned up in 8 to 10 years, he said.

Still, Mr. Yonkers acknowledged significant challenges remain for cleaning up contaminants such as chlorinated solvents and munitions at difficult sites. Regulatory agencies also are proposing stricter standards on a number of emerging contaminants. 'As we think about the future, we have to be conducting research that addresses a dynamic challenging regulatory cleanup environment with tighter standards,' he said.

Mr. Yonkers also discussed several other areas where progress has been made and challenges remain, including natural resources, sustainability, recycling, pollution prevention, and energy.
The Air Force is the single largest user of energy in the federal government, he said. In FY 2011, the service spent $8 billion on energy - $6.5 billion on jet fuel, $1.1 billion to run installations, and $400 million to fuel non-tactical vehicles. Fuel costs for the Air Force for FY 2012 are projected to exceed $9 billion, he said.

'At the same time we seek to reduce demand and the annual costs, we’re also pursuing energy security,' said Mr. Yonkers. 'Reliable uninterrupted energy is essential in meeting our critical infrastructure needs and hence our critical missions.'

'SERDP’s charter is no less critical today than it was 25 years ago, perhaps more so,' Mr. Yonkers said. In connection with ESTCP, he further indicated that bringing that innovation to the marketplace is key.

Project-of-the-Year Awards Showcase Program Successes and DoD Benefits

During the opening plenary session, SERDP and ESTCP announced
five Projects of the Year to recognize outstanding achievements and
technical advances with significant benefits to DoD. (Photo by Cassi Hayden)

Dr. Jeffrey Marqusee, SERDP and ESTCP Executive Director, and Dr. Anne Andrews, Deputy Director, presented four SERDP Project-of-the-Year Awards and one ESTCP Project-of-the-Year Award at the conclusion of the plenary session to recognize research and technology developments with significant benefits to DoD. Recipients of this prestigious honor follow. Descriptions of the award-winning projects are available at the links below.
SERDP Projects of the Year

• ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION: Assessing Vapor Intrusion at Chlorinated Solvent-Impacted Sites (Dr. Paul C. Johnson, Arizona State University)
• MUNITIONS RESPONSE: Advanced Signal Processing for UXO Discrimination (Dr. Fridon Shubitidze, Dartmouth College and Sky Research, Inc.)
• RESOURCE CONSERVATION & CLIMATE CHANGE: Forecasting the Effects of Multiple, Interacting Stressors on At-Risk Populations (Dr. Joshua J. Lawler, University of Washington)
• WEAPONS SYSTEMS & PLATFORMS: Combustion Science to Reduce Particulate Matter Emissions for Military Platforms (Dr. Mel Roquemore, Air Force Research Laboratory)

ESTCP Project of the Year

• Passive Sampling to Support Remediation Of Contaminated Sediments (Dr. Philip M. Gschwend, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Technical Program Delivers Timely Updates and Training Opportunities
Following the opening plenary session, attendees took part in the technical program, which offered a selection of 15 technical sessions and four short courses. Technical sessions highlighted research and innovative technologies that are helping DoD address increasingly complex environmental challenges such as energy efficiency and security, emissions from gas turbine engines, controlling munitions constituents on operational ranges, classification of military munitions, and climate change vulnerabilities and impacts.

Stimulating presentations encouraged audience participation and follow-on discussion throughout the technical program. (Photo by

Cassi Hayden)

Short courses in the environmental restoration and munitions response areas provided unique training opportunities on recent advances in science and technology.

Throughout the conference, attendees also took advantage of the many opportunities to meet with colleagues, exchange information, and tour the Exhibit Hall, which featured more than 450 poster presentations and 11 booths showcasing technologies and scientific advances from SERDP, ESTCP, and related environmental and energy research programs.

Presentations from the plenary session, technical sessions, and short courses are available at http://symposium2011.serdp-estcp.org. Coming soon to the web site are on-demand videos from the four short courses—Implementing Classification on a Munitions Response Project, Estimating DNAPL Source Zone Natural Attenuation, Thermal Treatment Technologies: Lessons Learned, and Field Methods to Distinguish between Vapor Intrusion and Indoor Sources of VOCs.
Planning is now under way for the 2012 Symposium & Workshop to be held November 27-29 in Washington, D.C. Watch http://symposium2012.serdp-estcp.org for details. The Call for Poster Abstracts will be released by the end of May with abstracts due July 31.

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Symposium & Workshop
November 27-29, 2012
Washington, D.C.

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Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP)
Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP)

Phone (703) 696-2127 | Fax (703) 696-2114

901 North Stuart Street, Suite 303Arlington, VA22203"

 

http://www.serdp-estcp.org/News-and-Events/News-Announcements/Program-News/Symposium-highlights-S-T-advances-and-challenges-for-the-environment-energy-and-security

 

 

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God help us all.

...And Environmental Justice For All, Comrades!

Hey, take a look at what I found on the EPA's website (Yes, I have a life. Really. I do. Promise.):

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"Environmental Justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Fair treatment means that no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, governmental and commercial operations or policies. Meaningful involvement means that: (1) people have an opportunity to participate in decisions about activities that may affect their environment and/or health; (2) the publics contribution can influence the regulatory agency's decision; (3) their concerns will be considered in the decision making process; and (4) the decision makers seek out and facilitate the involvement of those potentially affected."

http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/basics/ejbackground.html

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Hmmmm....environmental justice....environmental justice.....where did hear that before....? Dang, the 90's were such a blur...Oh, wait, now I remember!

***********************************

"Mother Jones: Can you briefly explain what "environmental justice" means to you?

Van Jones: Environmental justice is the movement to ensure that no community suffers disproportionate environmental burdens or goes without enjoying fair environmental benefits."

http://motherjones.com/environment/2008/10/qa-van-jones

************************************

Yep, that's the same Maoist who served as Chairman Obama's "Green Jobs Czar". ('till Glenn Beck exposed him and the Big Mommy Regime quietly fired him over the weekend. Ah....the days when Glenn Beck was still cool....No bizarre attacks on Newt Gingrich.....Ah, those were the days, weren't they ?)


No, really, the guy is a Maoist:

***********************************

"Recalling his brief incarceration, Jones says: 'I met all these young radical people of color. I mean really radical: communists and anarchists. And it was, like, ‘This is what I need to be a part of.’ I spent the next ten years of my life working with a lot of those people I met in jail, trying to be a revolutionary.'

"After leaving Yale in 1993, Jones relocated to San Francisco, where he helped establish Bay Area Police Watch, a hotline and lawyer-referral service that began as a project of LCCR and specialized in demonizing local police. In 1996 he founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, which, claiming that the American criminal-justice system was infested with racism, sought to promote alternatives to incarceration. Jones headed the Baker Center from 1996 to 2007. Between 1999 and 2009, the Baker Center received more than $1 million from......."

http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2406

***********************************

 From.....c'mon, take a guess......Yep. The Fuhrer himself, George $oros.

Needless to say, Van the Maoist is very big on the whole concept of environmental justice. In fact he said this in 2008: (For craps and giggles, I'm going to add emphasis to certain words. Maybe we'll see a pattern of some sort emerge.)

********************************

"MJ: What's the relationship between environmental justice and sustainability ?

VJ: Well, the only reason that we have the unsustainable accounting that we have right now is because incinerators, dumping grounds, and sacrifice zones were put where poor people live. It would never have been allowed if you had to put all the incinerators and nasty stuff in rich people's neighborhoods; we'd have had a sustainable economy a long time ago. We'd have had a clean and green economy a long time ago. It's the environmental racism that allowed the powerful people in society to turn a blind eye for decades to the downsides of the industrial system that got us to this point. So there's a direct relationship between environmental racism and the lack of sustainability of society as a whole. We were the canaries in the coal mines, crying for relief. Now finally the consequences are affecting everyone, with global warming and everything else. The other thing is that the environmental justice agenda is also changing. Before, it was much stronger on demanding equal protection from environmental bad. Now we are also demanding equal opportunity and equal access to environmental good. We don't want to be first and worst with all the toxins and all the negative effects of global warming, and then benefit last and least from all the breakthroughs in solar, wind energy, organic food, all the positives. We want an equal share, an equitable share, of the work wealth and the benefits of the transition to a green economy."

http://motherjones.com/environment/2008/10/qa-van-jones

**********************************

Wanna see something really weird ? Let's go back to the EPA's website. Again, because I'm a "racist, homophobic, climate change denying, Zionist war-mongering Right Wing nutjob", I'm going to add emphasis to some words:

***********************************

"How Did the Environmental Justice Movement Arise? The environmental justice movement was started by individuals, primarily people of color, who sought to address the inequity of environmental protection in their communities. Grounded in the struggles of the 1960's Civil Rights Movement, this movement sounded the alarm about the public health dangers for their families, their communities and themselves.

Early in 1990, the Congressional Black Caucus, a bipartisan coalition of academic, social scientists and political activists met with EPA officials to discuss their findings that environmental risk was higher for minority and low-income populations. They alleged that EPA's inspections were not addressing their communities' needs. In response, the EPA Administrator created the Environmental Equity Workgroup in July 1990 to address the allegation that "racial minority and low-income populations bear a higher environmental risk burden than the general population."
The Workgroup produced a report, 'Reducing Risk in All Communities', in June 1992 that supported the allegation and made ten recommendations for addressing the problem. One of the recommendations was to create an office to address these inequities. Thus, the Office of Environmental Equity was established November 1992. The name was changed to Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) in 1994.

On Feb 11, 1994, President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations", to focus federal attention on the environmental and human health conditions of minority and low-income populations with the goal of achieving environmental protection for all communities. The Order directed federal agencies to develop environmental justice strategies to help federal agencies address disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of their programs on minority and low-income populations. The order is also intended to promote nondiscrimination in federal programs that affect human health and the environment. It aims to provide minority and low-income communities access to public information and public participation in matters relating to human health and the environment. The Presidential Memorandum accompanying the order underscores certain provisions of existing law that can help ensure that all communities and persons across the nation live in a safe and healthy environment."

http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/basics/ejbackground.html


************************************

Yep. The "fundamental tranformation" of America didn't start with Chairman Obama. It started under Bill Caligula. Now if I remember right, Bill had a Vice President named Al Snore, who, by sheer coincidence of course, would stand to make billions from this madness. You know what else ? Bill Caligula was also married to this woman, who, once again, this is just coincidence, just happened to have a mentor named Saul Alinsky. Yep, it's just Crazytown how that all worked out, huh ?

Creating a Marxist-Leninist command and control Soviet style economy isn't easy. (Just ask "Republican" Presidential Candidate Mitt Trotsky. Look how it blew up in his face in Taxachusetts.) You gotta have a plan, Comrade. You can't just come in and slaugher the bourgeoisie all Che Guevara-like. That's soooo late Twentieth Century. First, you have to have a cadre ready. For example, a person like this would be very helpful. True Believer, I'd like you to meet Nia Robinson. Ms. Robinson is member of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council at the EPA (AKA--the Empire Protection Agency.)

**************************************

"Robinson, Nia

Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative

Ms. Robinson is the Director of the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative (EJCC) in Washington, D.C. She was a 2003 Climate Justice Corps Fellow prior to joining EJCC. She was also an organizer and labor relations representative with Service Employees International Union [emphasis added] and a program organizer with the Earth Tomorrow Program of the National Wildlife Federation. Ms. Robinson co-authored the July 2008 report, A Climate of Change: African Americans, Global Warming, and a Just Climate Policy for the U.S."

http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/resources/publications/nejac/members-exec-council-bio-2010.pdf

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Not only do you need the right people to help out, you also need the political will to pull it off. (It also doesn't hurt when you're a rogue federal agency like the EPA that doesn't have to answer to those pesky voters and you get to make "regulations" that carry the same weight as laws.) Emphasis added where appropriate:

**********************************

"Dear Colleagues:

 Expanding the conversation on environmentalism and working for environmental justice are among my top priorities for our work at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. All too often, low-income, minority and tribal Americans live in the shadows of the worst pollution, facing disproportionate health impacts and greater obstacles to economic growth in communities that cannot attract businesses and new jobs.

 In 1994, President Bill Clinton issued an executive order directing all federal agencies to participate in a governmentwide effort to address environmental justice issues. To strengthen our efforts in anticipation of the 20th anniversary of that directive and to ensure that the EPA is setting a standard for all other agencies, I am pleased to share our comprehensive environmental justice strategy

Plan EJ 2014. Plan EJ 2014 builds on the solid foundation we have established at the EPA to expand the conversation on environmentalism. Since my first days as Administrator, I have traveled the country to meet with diverse communities and listen to their concerns. And I am committed to making environmental justice an essential part of our decision making. Plan EJ 2014 offers a road map that will enable us to better integrate environmental justice and civil rights into our programs, policies and daily work. The plan focuses on agencywide areas critical to advancing environmental justice, including rulemaking, permitting, compliance and enforcement, community-based programs and our work with other federal agencies. It also establishes specific milestones to help us meet the needs of overburdened neighborhoods through our decision making, scientific analysis and rulemaking. Every American deserves clean air, water and land in the places where they live, work, play and learn.

Through our implementation of Plan EJ 2014, the EPA will be leading by example in expanding the conversation on environmentalism and working for environmental justice – now and into the future. I am proud to be a part of this effort and ask you to join me as we strengthen our mission to protect the health of all Americans.

Sincerely,

Lisa P. Jackson [EPA Administrator]"


http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/resources/policy/plan-ej-2014/plan-ej-overview.pdf


***********************************


All kidding aside:

We are on the edge of complete and total economic, political, and social disaster.

I can't gussy it up.

I can't make it sound palatable.

God help us all.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency



A Very Personal Message To Barack Hussein Obama

Recently, our Failed Messiah, Barack Hussein Obama had this to say about the Trayvon Martin fiasco:
(Don't worry. This column is NOT about the Creepy Left's new Horst Wessel. Enough electrons have died needless deaths on him.)


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"All of us have to do some soul-searching to figure out how does something like this happen. And that means that we examine the laws and the context for what happened as well as the specifics of the incident."

***********************************

Really, Barry ? I mean, really ? I need to do some soul searching ?

In my entire life, I've never (in no particular order):

• hung out in a "church" led by a lunatic who hates Jews and whites.
• associated myself with domestic terrorists like Bill Ayers or international terrorists like Rashid Khalidi.
• associated myself with a scam artist like Tony Rezko.
• supported an uprising that resulted in a military dictatorship, as you did with Egypt.
• gave a speech at a Catholic university with the Crucifix covered.
• signed a bill to allow mentally ill homosexual perverts serve openly in the United States military.
• fought to defend the infanticide that is partial birth abortion.
• ordered US forces to attack a country for no discernible reason as you did with Libya.
• attempted to force Catholic institutions to provide contraception against their religious teachings.
• attempted to bribe anyone to drop out of Senate primary races as you did with Joe Sestak and Andrew Romanoff.
• gone to another country and called America "arrogant and dismissive".
• bowed to a foreign monarch while acting in an official capacity.
• speak ill of our troops while they're fighting in Afghanistan.
• never made fun of the Special Olympics on national TV. 
• forged a birth certificate to "prove" I'm eligible to be the President of the United States.

We could go on and on, but I'm getting sick to my stomach just thinking about the last four, horrible years.

See, Barry, We the People are waaay better than you. We the People (or at least the majority of us) run our lives in an ethical and moral way. We don't go around attempting to create class warfare or racial division like you do. (In fact, the vast majority of us don't think about race or class at all.) We don't don't try to silence those with whom we don't agree with like you do. We don't take money from a Nazi collaborator or crooked unions, either.

We the People don't need to do any "soul-searching". It's YOU needs to do crap loads of "soul-searching". A hundred years from now, when the history books are written, you're going down as the most morally bankrupt president this country has ever had. (You even make Bill Caligula look like a choir boy, and that's saying quite a bit.) Never has there been a more scandal ridden presidency in US history. Can't blame that on Bush. Can't blame the Republicans for that. You did it to yourself.

Do us all a favor, Barry. This is very personal and straight from the heart. This is something that someone should have told you DECADES ago, instead of telling you how brilliant and special you are. Please forgive my crassness, but this has been a long time coming:

SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY!!

"He Was The Governor Of A Bright Blue State! What Do You Expect ?!"

Every time I decide to waste my valuable time on God's green and cooling Earth talking to a Mittiot (A rabid follower of former Taxachusetts governor Mitt Trotsky),  the following intellectually dishonest and lazy argument always comes up, especially when discussing Romneycare(less).


"He was the governor of a bright blue state! What do you expect ?!"


To me, the above statement is just as annoying as hearing a Paultard whine "Ron Paul is the only...." or "Only Dr. Paul....". It's like Wolverine's claws on Glenn Beck's chalkboard. Use of a statement like that shows that person using it is utterly incapable of doing any deep thinking. (Yes, Ann Coulter and Matt Drudge, that means you, too.)


See ladies and gentlemen, being a Conservative is not just talking the talk, it's also, more importantly, about walking the walk. It doesn't do anyone any good to give a speech at CPAC and call yourself "severely Conservative". You have to live it and breathe it everyday. It has to be who you are. The values of Conservatism must guide your every action, from the mundane arguing with liberals to vetoing a piece of legislation like Romneycare(less).

A true Conservative would have vetoed Romneycare(less) without giving it a second thought. A true Conservative wouldn't have given a damn about being re-elected or what the slobs in the arrogant and lazy media thought or said. Principles must come first. In other words, one must do their best Ronald Reagan or Scott Walker imitation at all times, especially if elected to office.

Another reason why the "He was the governor of a bright blue state! What do you expect ?!" statement should make you grind your teeth is the fact that it blatantly admits that Mitt Trotsky is not a fighter. Oh sure, he'll team up with Jew hater Ron Paul and viciously tear into Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, (The media hates them anyway.) but will he do that to the popular with the media Chairman Obama ? Will he fight if he loses the Senate and the House two years into his term, as many first term Presidents do ? Will he go ahead and repeal Obamacare(less) with Katie Couric interviewing the folks it supposedly helped ?


"He was the governor of a bright blue state! What do you expect ?!"

A Conservative. Nothing else is acceptable.

A "Tribute" To Government Run Healthcare

In honor of the second anniversary of the bloated leviathan known as Obamacare(less) and its grandpa, Mitt Trotsky, I've decided to put together a little tribute to government-run healthcare. Without further ado:


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"CROW AGENCY, Mont. - Ta'Shon Rain Little Light, a happy little girl who loved to dance and dress up in traditional American Indian clothes, had stopped eating and walking. She complained constantly to her mother that her stomach hurt.

When Stephanie Little Light took her daughter to the Indian Health Service clinic in this wind-swept and remote corner of Montana, they told her the 5-year-old was depressed.

Ta'Shon's pain rapidly worsened and she visited the clinic about 10 more times over several months, before her lung collapsed and she was airlifted to a children's hospital in Denver. There she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, confirming the suspicions of family members.

A few weeks later, a charity sent the whole family to Disney World so Ta'Shon could see Cinderella's Castle. She never got to see the castle, though. She died in her hotel bed soon after the family arrived in Florida."


http://www.gazette.com/articles/health-56520-indian-care.html#ixzz1q5m7e0w3


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You'll never guess who runs Indian Health Services. C'mon, take a guess. I'll give you a hint: It's really, really big. It robs you every payday. It robs you every April 15th. It builds bridges to nowhere and fish ladders. Yep, that's right, our Overlord,  the federal government, runs Indian Health Services.

Ta'Shon's story isn't unique. In fact:

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"On some reservations, the oft-quoted refrain is, 'don't get sick after June,'  when the federal dollars run out. It's a sick joke, and a sad one because it is sometimes true. Officials say they have about half of what they need to operate, and patients know they must be dying or about to lose a limb to get serious care.

Wealthier tribes can supplement the federal health service budget with their own dollars. But poorer tribes, often those on the most remote reservations, far away from city hospitals, are stuck with grossly substandard care. The agency itself describes a 'rationed health care system.'

The sad fact is an old fact. The U.S. has an obligation, based on a 1787 agreement between tribes and the government, to provide American Indians with free health care on reservations. But that promise has not been kept. About one-third more is spent per capita on health care for felons in federal prison, according to 2005 data from the health service."


http://www.gazette.com/articles/health-56520-indian-care.html#ixzz1q5twPS6z


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Then, there's the Veterans Administration that takes care of the brave men and women who have sacrificed life and limb to keep us free:

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"The VA sent letters to more than 3,000 veterans who had colonoscopies at the Miami VA hospital informing them that improperly cleaned equipment might have exposed them to hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. Similar problems arose at VA hospitals in Tennessee and Georgia with more than 11,000 veterans potentially exposed to the unsanitary equipment.

The 74 patients should have been included when about 2,400 former Miami VA patients were notified in March 2009 to get tests for HIV, hepatitis and other infections.

At least two Miami patients have already been reported to have contracted HIV after having a colonoscopy at the Miami VA hospital."

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Hospital-Administrators-Deserve-discipline-VA-Board.html


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Now, to be fair to the Federal Regime in DC, there have been some successful attempts at running health care programs. There are some who get the best possible care that money can buy. For example, our CONgress Critters and other useless bureaucrats are well taken care of:


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"Like other large employers, the government pays a large share of the cost of coverage. On average, the government pays 72 percent of the premiums for its workers, up to a maximum of 75 percent depending on the policy chosen. For example, the popular Blue Cross and Blue Shield standard fee-for-service family plan carries a total premium of $1,120.47 per month, of which the beneficiary pays $356.59. Washington, D.C.-based employees who prefer an HMO option might choose the Kaiser standard family plan. It carries a total premium of $629.46 per month, of which the employee pays only $157.36. [Do you pay $157.36 per month for your health insurance ? I'm willing to bet the answer is "No way in hell!".]

In addition, members of Congress also qualify for some medical benefits that ordinary federal workers do not. They (but not their families) are eligible to receive limited medical services from the Office of the Attending Physician of the U.S. Capitol, after payment of an annual fee ($491in 2007). But services don’t include surgery, dental care or eyeglasses, and any prescriptions must be filled at the member’s expense. [Oh, the horror!]

House and Senate members (but not their families) also are eligible to receive care at military hospitals. For outpatient care, there is no charge at the Washington, D.C., area hospitals (Walter Reed Army Medical Center and National Naval Medical Center). Inpatient care is billed at rates set by the Department of Defense."


http://www.factcheck.org/2009/08/health-care-for-members-of-congress/


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You know who else gets top notch care ? The Islamo-Nazi scumbags at Club Gitmo:


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"NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, Feb. 18, 2005 – In every case, enemy combatants held here receive medical care that is 'as good as or better than anything we would offer our own soldiers, sailors, airmen or Marines,' the general in charge of the U.S. detention facility here said.

Army Brig Gen. Jay Hood, commander of Joint task Force Guantanamo, said medical personnel at the detainee hospital here have helped detainees recover from 'some very significant war wounds.' [Just like the VA hospitals that gave our veterans hepatitis and HIV, huh ?]

Active-duty U.S. Navy medical personnel care for detainees as both inpatients and outpatients from a dedicated facility at Camp Delta, the main detainee- holding facility here. Most routine medical care is administered by corpsmen who visit each cellblock every two days or whenever a detainee requests care. [Perhaps Ta'Shon would have gotten some attention if she wanted to enslave us to Shariah law.]

More serious health concerns among detainees are treated at the small, state- of-the-art medical facility dedicated to their care. A senior administrator at the facility called it 'equivalent to a community acute-care hospital.'
 
The facility is equipped with 19 inpatient beds (and can expand to 28), a physical-therapy area, pharmacy, radiology department, central sterilization area, and a single-bed operating room. More complex surgeries can be performed at the base naval hospital, which also is equipped with an intensive-care wing."

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=25852


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Yep, government run healthcare....It's to die for!

Artsem, Anyone ?

  
When liberals hiss and scratch at Conservatives in defense of their favorite perversions, the phrase "I don't want the government in my bedroom" always seems to rear its ugly head, often backed up by another bumper sticker sentiment, "Speak truth to power." After this intellectual vomit is spewed, the lib usually thinks it won the debate and goosesteps to the nearest bong.


The funny thing about the above is this: the lib has it all wrong. They shouldn't be screaming those catch phrases to the heavens, Conservatives should. After all, it's the Authoritarian Left that wants government in the bedroom and, more often than not, it's the Left that's the power, regardless of election results or the consent of the governed. Nothing proves my point more than recent attempt by the Obama Regime to force Catholic institutions to pay for contraception, AKA the Obamacareless Rubber Mandate.


When you get past the fact that the Obamacareless Rubber Mandate is a vicious persecution of Catholics and one of the most blatant violations of the First Amendment in recent memory, the Big Government Willies set in. The fascists in the Regime are no longer content in just telling us what lightbulbs to use or how much water per flush your toilet is allowed to use, now they're involving themselves in our sex lives. I don't know about you, but I don't want or need a deviant homosexual like Bawney Fwank to have any say in my sex life, nor do I want the grotesque leviathan known as Barbara Mikuluski to have any say in it, either. I'm willing to bet, Dear Reader, that you're in the same boat.


Another thing to fear about this situation is the fact that the federal government, like alcoholics who let young girls drown to save their career in the Imperial Senate, don't know when to say when. A tsunami of regulations and utter nonsense is headed our way. Soon, we'll be hearing from HHS on what positions we should use and how often we should get frisky. Millions will thrown away on funding condom recycling studies at Berkley. Maybe Sandra Fluke will become the Slut Czar. (Assuming she gets out college by age 60, of course.)


Or perhaps, we'll get this:


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"The aim of the Party was not merely to prevent men and women from forming loyalties which it might not be able to control. Its real, undeclared purpose was to remove all pleasure from the sexual act. Not love so much as eroticism was the enemy, inside marriage as well as outside it. All marriages between Party members had to be approved by a committee appointed for the purpose, and – though the principle was never clearly stated – permission was always refused if the couple concerned gave the impression of being physically attracted to one another. The only recognized purpose of marriage was to beget children for the service of the Party. Sexual intercourse was to be looked on as a slightly disgusting minor operation, like having an enema. This again was never put into plain words, but in an indirect way it was rubbed into every Party member from childhood onwards. There were even organizations such as the Junior, Anti-Sex League, which advocated complete celibacy for both sexes. All children were to be begotten by artificial insemination (artsem, it was called in Newspeak) and brought up in public institutions. This, Winston was aware, was not meant altogether seriously, but somehow it fitted in with the general ideology of the Party. The Party was trying to kill the sex instinct, or, if it could not be killed, then to distort it and dirty it. He did not know why this was so, but it seemed natural that it should be so. And as far as the women were concerned, the Party's efforts were largely successful." ---George Orwell, 1984