More on The Right Wing War on Solar
December 5, 2013
Above, Rachel Maddow reports on the Right wing war on Solar, expanding what I covered below.
ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, which is currently busy trying to figure out ways to block solar installations, is also responsible for a number of other far-right-friendly laws around the country, including the “Stand Your Ground” laws that allowed George Zimmerman kill young Treyvon Martin and walk.
The blowback from that high profile case has caused an exodus of ALECs corporate supporters, especially, no doubt, in light of Mr. Zimmerman’s high profile and increasingly obviously psychotic behavior.
Supporting and enabling racist gun nuts is certainly all in a day’s work for the Koch-funded ALEC climate denialist crowd, but looks bad in a corporate year-end report.
In related news, my spies tell me that ALEC’s latest initiative will build on past successes. Under this proposal, in the future, if you install a solar panel on your house, George Zimmerman will come and kill you.
Climate Denial Crock of the Week 
December 5, 2013 at 6:38 pm
California passed the equivalent of Stand Your Ground not so long ago.
Prior, California citizens had a Duty To Retreat.
That’s right…prior to the change, if someone broke into your house and confronted you, you had a Duty to Retreat from your home and could only legally defend your home if you could prove that “retreat” was not possible.
December 5, 2013 at 8:02 pm
“Stand Your Ground” was never raised in Zimmerman’s defense. It was a pure self-defense case resting on 911 calls, eyewitness evidence of Martin pinning Zimmerman down and raining blows on him, and Zimmerman’s documented injuries. After the fact analysis of Martin’s record including stolen property found in his possession (covered up by Miami-Dade school police to keep their crime stats down) shows that he was a drug user, pot dealer and burglar. Ironically, if he’d been charged with burglary he’d likely never have been in Sanford to cross paths with George Zimmerman. De-policing was a significant factor in his death.
If you are really seeking truth you should repudiate agenda-driven narratives from all sides, not just the right.
Let’s see you be charged with murder for defending your life and hounded by the media even after aquittal, and see how the media spins everything they can learn about you. They don’t even have to invent a racial classification just for you, like they created “White Hispanic” for George.
Not when you’ve nearly made it a crime to get out of his car.
December 6, 2013 at 4:39 pm
Zimmerman & Trayvon were both headed for trouble, even if they’d never met.
But only one of them is still alive, and still packing heat.
“Charged with murder for defending your life”??
So Trayvon was going to kill Zimmerman by punching him to death?
The investigator determined that the statement about having his head slammed on the pavement by Trayvon wasn’t consistent with the evidence and Zimmerman declined medical assistance 3 times.
December 8, 2013 at 2:21 am
Zimmerman’s gated community was receiving trouble no matter what Zimmerman did. It had been the scene of a number of burglaries and a near home invasion robbery. It needed people to watch for crooks and sic the cops on them before they could pull anything. Zimmerman was part of the community’s eyes and ears, looking for trouble to help get rid of it.
Only one of them was the least bit trustworthy. Besides, George Zimmerman is a stand-up guy. He tutored Black children, and held a protest march when the son of a local policeman beat up a homeless Black man and was not charged. For some reason, his impeccable anti-racist credentials didn’t carry any weight with the Martins; it came down to straight racial allegiance, with right vs. wrong never allowed into the discussion.
No question mark: that is exactly what Martin intended to do. People have been killed by single punches to the head, like Jeffrey Babbitt just this year. I repeat: Trayvon Martin intended to commit murder that night. We have his intended victim’s word on that, and no credible eyewitnesses nor earwitnesses contradict him.
The investigator never examined Zimmerman. The testimony was part of the kangaroo court trying to railroad Zimmerman to curry favor with Benjamin Crump and the Black population of Sanford.
A lie. Zimmerman was treated at the scene by paramedics, and sought further treatment the next day.
Since so much of what you believe is true about Zimmerman vs. Martin is proven false by the record, you should reconsider both your position and the trustworthiness of your sources. People who mislead you about matters of life and death will only be too ready to let you be the next victim to advance their agenda.
December 8, 2013 at 2:47 am
Here’s what your link had to say – “Zimmerman was treated for a pair of black eyes, lacerations on the back of his head, a minor back injury and a ‘closed fracture’ of his nose”
That doesn’t translate to imminent danger of dying. It doesn’t translate to being very angry for getting your ass kicked.
I did see the pics of Zimmerman taken shortly after his arrest – except for the busted nose, I’ve had much worse, in fights I’ve WON – without use of a weapon.
“Besides, George Zimmerman is a stand-up guy” – not for quite a while and especially not since being acquitted of murder.
“Trayvon Martin intended to commit murder that night. We have his intended victim’s word on that, and no credible eyewitnesses nor earwitnesses contradict him.”
And there’s the problem with Stand Your Ground – the other “credible” witness is your opponent and it’s in your best interest to “contradict” his testimony, with a bullet.
December 8, 2013 at 2:48 am
“It doesn’t translate to being very angry for getting your ass kicked.”
Should be “does translate” in this line.
December 8, 2013 at 8:09 pm
Self-defense does not require being in danger of dying. By your “standard”, no one without life-threatening injuries would be able to make a self-defense claim for use of deadly force. I suppose you prefer dead innocents to dead crooks. You can stuff that where the sun don’t shine.
Witnesses are unanimous saying that the victim of the assault was pinned by the assailant (one loon said it was Martin who was pinned, against all the evidence). Further, Zimmerman was NOT the aggressor, except maybe in the sick Black culture where anyone who “disses” you deserves anything you decide to give them.
Are you an idiot? SYG is irrelevant to the Zimmerman case. It was straight-up self-defense against an vicious, unprovoked attack by a doped-up thug and burglar whose record proves he ought to have been questioned about his bona fides just about everywhere he went. Trayvon Martin was destined for the morgue or prison (where, ironically, he would have had a better life expectancy than in “freedom”), and demonizing George Zimmerman for being the one who had to shoot the thug to stop an assault is such a blatant case of blaming the victim I cannot believe you are able to write it.
December 8, 2013 at 11:29 pm
Greetings from Virginia, one of the United States that is famous for the part it played during the era of slavery in the U.S., the Civil War, and “massive resistance” to desegregation during the civil rights era. I have been exposed to racism here from the late 60’s to the present, and have seen it in action go from the extremes of whites physically attacking blacks on the one end through the more subtle “coded” racism that prevails today. I have met a number of racists during those 40+ years, and have (unfortunately) seen a resurgence of racism here (and in the country at large) after the election of O’Bama.
I say all that by way of leading in to O-Log’s comments here regarding Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman. I was shocked to see O-Log says things like:
in the sick Black culture
a vicious, unprovoked attack
a doped-up thug and burglar
destined for the morgue or prison
had to shoot the thug to stop an assault
ought to have been questioned ….just about everywhere he went
O-Log concludes with a defense of Zimmerman as a “victim”, when he was actually an armed racist profiler vigilante who had been told by the police to back off and is really to blame for his own “injuries” and Trayvon’s death.
I’m wondering how O-Log gets along with the “people of color” in the UK?. I’m sure he would deny being a miserable xenophobe and racist, but on this side of the water we have a saying—-“If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then…..”
December 9, 2013 at 4:56 am
Believe it. I wrote it and I stand by it. And I foresee a lot of cowards provoking fights when there are no other witnesses and then shooting the opponent when he takes a swing.
And it’s pretty easy to figure out where the sun DOES shine.
December 9, 2013 at 12:40 pm
“I foresee a lot of cowards provoking fights when there are no other witnesses and then shooting the opponent when he takes a swing”.
To expand on that, cowards like Zimmerman are emboldened to “provoke fights” mainly because they ARE armed. The incident likely would never have occurred if Zimmerman wasn’t carrying a gun. Having a vigilante mentality that predisposed him to use it was not of help either.
December 13, 2013 at 5:40 pm
You mean, like the Black guy who pulled across a sidewalk nearly hitting a White man walking his dog, and then shot him to death? Oh, wait, it doesn’t fit your “White racist, Black victim” narrative, does it? Neither does the murder of Chris Lane in Oklahoma by a trio of “yoots” (none White) because they were “bored”. Maybe the murders of George and Nancy Straight? Oh, wait… Black perp, White victims. Again.
The audio of George Zimmerman’s call to the Sanford PD, which has been available on-line for 21 months already, tears your “provoking a fight” narrative to shreds. Martin ran as soon as he realized he was being observed. “The guilty flee where no man pursueth.” If Zimmerman was looking for a fight, he would
(a) not have called the cops… on himself, and
(b) would have had his gun drawn, so Martin never would have gotten within striking distance.
None of that passes the laugh test. George Zimmerman should be able to recover damages from you, for libel.
All you do is give cover to the assailants, robbers, rapists and murderers who now claim their motive is “justice for Trayvon”. You should be ashamed of yourself.
December 13, 2013 at 5:59 pm
And you, E-Pot, should run, not walk, to your nearest mental health professional.
(and remember, since you brought it up, the absolute defense against libel is truth)
PS The list of injuries that Zimmerman suffered is almost identical to those I incurred in a high school football game. And I was taken out of the game only long enough to stuff gauze up my nose to stem the bleeding. LOL
December 13, 2013 at 8:56 pm
Who are you replying to?
Where did I bring black / white into the Stand Your Ground discussion?
December 5, 2013 at 8:11 pm
If you want to know more about Trayvon and George:
December 7, 2013 at 10:54 pm
We’ve learned a lot more about the real George Zimmerman since his acquittal than we ever did after the shooting and during the trial.
In the end, Trayvon was a kid headed for trouble who could have turned his life around until Zimmerman murdered him because of cowardice.
Zimmerman, who had already been in trouble before meeting Trayvon, and who is well beyond being considered a kid, is supposed to be taking advantage of the lucky break he got that he forever took away from Trayvon Martin.
If Zimmerman were to ask “How am I doing?”, what would you say?
December 9, 2013 at 11:43 pm
I thank kingdube for posting this link. I watched it a couple times and found it quite informative, but as I analyzed it and pondered it, it’s just more right-wing internet that is just a biased as the news it is labeling as biased. Read my full writing, objectively I hope, and you’ll see why I believe Whittle is biased and making greater political statements.
I agree with Whittle, too many make a racial issue of the Zimmerman shooting of Trayvon events. Based on my 27 years of teaching a broad spectrum of students, and 22 years of dealing with multiple personalities, races, and cultures in the military, I have a good perceptiveness with people. I don’t see any conclusive or even circumstantial evidence that Zimmerman was racist. He was responding to the dress, and likely body language of Martin. I retired last June, but I saw students like Trayvon every day. I taught pre-engineering classes, manufacturing technology, and intro to tech courses. Every year I had 2 – 4 students in the top 10, and about the same number of drop outs. Usually I had 10% blacks, 20% Hispanics, cowboys and gangstas, preppies and goths, gays and homophobes, star athletes, forgotten bowlers and golfers, and robotics geeks. Because of my open, empathetic personality, I came to know most of my students likes/dislikes, prejudices, hot button issues, and about every aspect of human behavior and desires. It’s from these myriad of experiences and insights into human beings, I can’t see a racial side to Zimmerman’s action, but he overreacted based on appearance.
Now, in regards to this video that is put on by the right wing internet channel show “Afterburner” with Bill Whittle. It is factual, but says it is a reaction to clarify the racial biased by NYTimes or tv news. I see much of that was reporting was racially biased or pundits insightful spon it that way, but Bill Whittle is no less suspect in my opinion. Anyone who deals with 14 or 15 year boys on a daily basis, and really gets to know them, or men who honestly recall their 14 and 15 years, will know that posts of talk like those Trayvon made on Facebook, trying to sound like a “gansta” is pretty common. I had cowboys telling other boys how to get more of a buzz of chewing tobacco; kids trying to sound like big time drug dealers, or having the “inside” info on formulas for concoctions to get high. This does not make Trayvon a “big drug dealer”. Once at school, he had an empty bag of pot (yes, he probably smoked it), and wanted others to think he was makin’ “mo money” in a FB pic. Trayvon had stolen property and a “bugler tool” in his locker. Most anyone objectively looking at this would say yes, gives an insight into Trayvon’s character during this point in his life, but Mr. Whittle appears to take a view that infers Trayvon is a drug dealing thug, who brought on his own death. Additionally, Whittle makes reference to Trayvon’s martial arts training and relates statements to justify Zimmerman’s fearing for his life. Again, anyone dealing with a lot of 14-15 year old boys is deeply aware of the bravado and “tough guy” talk. Instead, Whittle tries to turn this into evidence that Trayvon had a violent nature equivalent to a loaded gun. I’m sure Zimmerman was scared, but he initiated this conflict. There was NO reason to aggressively stop Trayvon; dispatcher explicitly told him NOT to do so, and since the very brief timeframe from Zimmerman’s call and the shooting, indicates Zimmerman escalated this event much faster than a reasonable person would have.
Whittle presents his view “matter of factly”, and I am glad for the extra info which added to my insights and perspectives on the issue. He is correct in that many news sources leave facts out, from MSNBC to FOX. Trouble is, Whittle’s attempts to present evidence to justify Zimmerman’s shooting him, and Whittle’s evidence, although factual isn’t pertinent to Zimmerman’s initiating the conflict, and it is presented to racially profile Trayvon as a “dangerous, drug dealing” and robbing criminal who posed a threat to society. His reporting is beautifully done, seems so factual, but panders to anyone’s preconceived prejudices of young black male, who often act the thug. I often used to chastise many young adults for trying to act like something they see in movies, or rap videos, or to impress peers. This didn’t occur in a ghetto neighborhood where youth like Trayvon might be armed – it was in a gated community. The picture Whittle paints of Trayvon doesn’t take this into account, and that is purely intentional on Whittle’s part.
I think Trayvon was waling on Zimmerman, but “who started it?” Didn’t Trayvon have the right to stand his ground? Was Zimmerman fearing for his life? Probably so, but how can anyone have sympathy for someone who starts an altercation, then starts getting their ass kicked?
The clearest evidence that Whittle was making this a “racist” issue, despite his wonderful quote of MLK Jr, is putting MLK in Trayvon’s hooded sweatshirt without any clarification as to “why”. Plus, as Whittle is making his closing wrap up, he shows a picture of Obama smoking a joint. What the hell did that have to do with the story? Other that implying young black men all use drugs, what else did he mean to state? Just more right wing, everything ill in America can be traced back to Obama.
Whittle calls this trial the biggest sham in recent American history, because the picture of Trayvon he paints wasn’t presented to the jury. Of course it wouldn’t be because logical people who deal with youth know many of the things they say and do are not pertinent to their adult minds, nor should they follow them to be used against them. This is why there is juvenile court.
December 6, 2013 at 8:02 am
Pro and cons for solar panels:
+ it clean energy, the environmental cost of producing solar panels is relatively low
+ its safe, no spills or radioactivity
+ it make no sound
+ the fuel is free
+ its decentralized
– it lowers the income for the utility company
– high investment cost
– sun is not shining all the time, requires something else like batteries or electricity from utility company as a complement
– will sometimes provide more electricity than current demand, requires possibility to send it out on the net or store in batteries
December 6, 2013 at 8:56 pm
It’s all explained here:
http://mash.network.coull.com/activatevideo?video_provider_id=2&pid=8165&website_id=9871&width=640&height=390&embed_type=IFRAME&video_provider_url=http%3A//www.youtube.com/embed/Uif1NwcUgMU%3Fversion%3D3%26rel%3D1%26fs%3D1%26showsearch%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26iv_load_policy%3D1%26wmode%3Dtransparent
December 7, 2013 at 8:56 pm
Idiot!
December 7, 2013 at 9:10 pm
ALEC has many more sins to answer for than its involvement in the “stand your ground laws” and the Martin-Zimmerman case.. For years now, ALEC has been burrowing into state government everywhere in this country “helping” conservative legislators in red and even purple states write and pass some of the sneakiest and most regressive legislation imaginable. Immigration, environmental regulation and education (at the state level) are areas they are also interested in. Here in VA, they were involved in trying to get the state to push for more privatization of education and support private and for-profit schools and “colleges”.
There are many activist groups who have organized petition, email, and phone campaigns to get corporations to drop their support of ALEC, with some success. I suggest that anyone who wants to do something good for the country seek them out and participate. It takes little time and it is effective, but, as the Maddow clip shows, ALEC doesn’t quit easily—-“prodigal” indeed.
Unfortunately, ALEC is like a 600 pound semi-invisible gorilla with shadowy “friends” who feed it $$$ in the dark. It needs to be fought tooth and nail by all of us wherever it appears (remember Churchill’s statement—“We will meet them on the….”).
December 7, 2013 at 9:16 pm
PS CREDO Action is one of the groups I referred to This arrived recently in my inbox. Eli Lilly is one of the corporations that has resisted the call to drop support of ALEC. This takes less than a minute to do.
“Call Eli Lilly and demand the company stop supporting ALEC’s right-wing agenda. Click the link below for a sample script and the number to call:”
http://act.credoaction.com/go/2881?t=5&akid=9557.3828603.FjddTO
December 11, 2013 at 3:20 am
The good news is that solar installs in America appear to be picking up.
From ThinkProgress : http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/10/3042001/us-solar-record-installation/
Might surpass Germany for installations in 2013, 1st time in 15 yrs, almost 1 GW in 3rd quarter, 2nd largest quarter in US history and by far the largest for residential PV growth.
December 11, 2013 at 3:58 am
Check out this Solar Map from the Australian PV Institute:
http://pv-map.apvi.org.au/
You can animate it, deselect one or more regions, browse through days past, see a report for a given day by Performance, Contribution or Total Demand and has a list of best & worst days