Cry Me A Puddle

One thing you may be seeing, if you look at conservative talking points these days, is a recurring theme about how the mean ol' Environmental Protection Agency wants to "regulate puddles". They're puffing out their chest and talking about how ridiculous it is, how badly the government is overreaching and can't wait to point out a roadside puddle that they're afraid the EPA is going to set up shop next to to "regulate". And here's a meme you might see (from Representative Marsha Blackburn's Twitter feed):

HR1732 will allow us to craft a sensible solution to protect our waters w/o a vast expansion of the fed gov’s reach. pic.twitter.com/Y6cUTgPUdZ

— Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) May 12, 2015

Gosh dangit! Is there anything the EPA won't do?!?!? I mean, look at the picture! That must be some family farm about to get "governed"! Hands off, Obama!!!!

As you can imagine... congressional Republicans don't give a shit about puddles. The main reason they hate the EPA... is that the EPA stands in the way of the very, very wealthy campaign donors they (and plenty of their friends across the aisle) get money from. Take the coal industry, for instance.

Have you heard of coal ash? Coal ash, as you can imagine, is a by-product of the coal & power industries. It's a toxic & carcinogenic mess mess full of heavy metals, often stored in lagoons. These lagoons aren't very well regulated. And sometimes, they leach heavy metals into the groundwater. Sometimes, the lagoons burst and contaminate rivers. Click here for a map of coal ash contaminated sites. So... these are the "spilt milk and mud puddles" Rep. Blackburn are talking about.

If you want to let Rep. Blacklburn know that she's being a disingenuous liar, here's a link to her Twitter account. I can assure you, I've made a stop by there.

.@MarshaBlackburn I have a suspicion this is more likely about coal ash ponds that threaten our actual health than "mud puddles".

— Randy (@kaffehammer) May 12, 2015

And while you're at it, take a look at her campaign funding. I find that's helpful. By the way, for your reading pleasure, here's more conservative outrage over "puddles":

The Blaze
Fox News
Cato Institute


~Randy

Heartless

Have you ever met a person so vile, that it just defies logic and reason? Republican Texas House Representative Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler) proposed an amendment that just makes you shake your head that such a heartless and despicable human exists. He wants to force pregnant women with non-viable fetuses to carry their pregnancies to term. Think about that...

Imagine that you are a young couple who has a planned pregnancy. You are truly excited to have a new addition to your family. Eager to see how your new child is progressing, you go to the obstetrician for an ultrasound... and find out some of the most earth-shattering news. Development isn't going well, or has stopped. The doctor gives you this news. I can only imagine the grief that people endure when this happens.

Enter Matt Schaefer. If the above situation happens in Texas with his amendment passing, that young couple would not only have to endure the horror of that happening, but the woman would have to carry the (possibly deceased) fetus to full term, and then birth it. What should have been one of the happiest days in our couple's life has potentially become the most tragic. This is what Matt Schaefer wants.

Matt Schaefer, I am having difficulty plumbing the depths of the English language to find words harsh enough to call you. Nothing I have come up with so far has been adequate to portray the level of monstrosity you have shown. So I will stop looking. You are a monster, plain and simple.

.@RepMattSchaefer You want to force women to carry nonviable fetuses? Perhaps you should be shackled to a dead relative for a few weeks?

— SJW Randy (@kaffehammer) May 6, 2015

Please consider popping over to Rep. Matt Schaefer's Twitter and sending him a message. Here are other ways of contacting him:

Rep. Matt Schaefer's website contact form

Mailing Address:
PO Box 7191
Tyler, TX 75711

District Address:
200 E Ferguson, Ste. 506
Tyler, TX 75702 - (903) 592-0900

Austin Address:
Capitol Office E1.406
PO Box 2910
Austin, Texas 78768-2910
(512) 463-0584

Email:
info@mattfortexas.org