environment Politics: Arnold Schwarzenegger James Cameron Koch Brothers Proposition 23
by Warren
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Month 10, Day 29: The Auteurial Imagination….
The Modesto Bee, a small California paper, notes that film director James Cameron has come out against the odious Proposition 23.
That is to say:
It’s good to hear James Cameron joining Governor Schwarzenegger in opposition to Proposition 23 in the last few days before the election, when the Koch brothers and their collaborators from the extractive industry sector are pouring surreal quantities of money into the campaign to suspend AB 32, California’s excellent climate change law. We recognize these conscienceless billionaires in two of Cameron’s creations: they occupied the Titanic’s most luxurious staterooms, and they’re the principal shareholders of “Avatar’s” RDA Corporation. These latter-day robber barons ignore the crucial truth that global climate change is likely to trigger a “domino effect” of infrastructural collapse, which would surely be bad for business. The worst-case scenarios suggested by climatologists can be summed up in one word: Venus. A film based on that planet would challenge any directorial imagination: hot and empty. Nobody to buy oil. A defeat of Proposition 23 will benefit the Koch brothers and their allies, too.
Warren Senders
environment Politics: Koch Brothers Proposition 23
by Warren
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Month 10, Day 20: Small-Town Paper Makes Good?
A column in the Marysville, California Appeal-Democrat outlines the issues facing Californians and includes a paragraph on Proposition 23. The Appeal-Democrat is a small paper with a daily circulation of 23,000. Maybe they’ll print this. If anyone is in their circulation area, please keep an eye open.
It’s harrowing, watching corporate groups spend millions of dollars to pass Proposition 23 and neutralize California’s powerful emissions law. The strongest such law in the country, AB 32 is a model for other states to emulate. The arguments made by Proposition 23’s proponents are full of fear-mongering and faulty logic, but that hardly matters — they’re backed by the unlimited financial resources of oil billionaires who are unwilling to sacrifice a few points of profit in the interests of the planet. Yes, this election is an important one, all right. As a Massachusetts resident, I have no voice in California’s politics — but as an environmentally aware citizen, I am watching this election with considerable apprehension. To end AB 32’s effectiveness with a spurious economic argument would be a devastating blow to hopes for similar legislation elsewhere in the country. That’s what the Koch brothers believe, too.
Warren Senders
environment Politics: Koch Brothers Proposition 23 scoundrels
by Warren
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Month 9, Day 6: Foulness, Foulness, Foulness.
It’s probably too late for this letter to be published, but I wanted to lend my voice to what I hope is a chorus of outrage triggered by Frank Rich’s description of the unmitigated vileness perpetrated by the Koch Brothers.
Frank Rich’s takedown of the Koch brothers does not go far enough. In their disregard for the continued health of our democracy, these arrogant billionaires reveal themselves as fundamentally anti-American. Even worse is their readiness to disseminate misinformation which is overwhelmingly likely, not just to mislead the the American populace, but to endanger the planet. Their recent donation of a million dollars to the proponents of the anti-environment Proposition 23 in California is an example of their long history of close engagement with the denial of the human contribution to catastrophic climate change. At this time in history, our continued national inability to grasp the genuine science of global warming has profound moral implications. The continued survival of our species is placed at risk by the Kochs’ continued readiness to fund an ideology that rejects robust scientific evidence in favor of fiscally expedient ignorance.
Warren Senders