All posts by Rama Schneider

Hey weasel Welch … still waiting for that apology to ACORN and the rest of us [FLESHED OUT]



At least crawl out from under your putrid rock and apologize for going after a group who’s only crime was to empower those who our governments have dis-empowered … I’m still waiting … and no this is not going to go away.

You see, weasel, I know that as an attorney  you’re aware of the need for real evidence as opposed to outlandish and unsupported claims. And I know, weasel, that despite not having a scintilla of evidence you went along with your radical right wing buddies in DC to attack ACORN.

You are, welch, not only a weasel, but you are also a cowardly piece of crap.

Other pointers follow below (from oldest to newest, various authors, all GMD posts):

The Grand Ole Pitifuls …. or …

Why the fear? (has link to good article about good works of ACORN)

We found the voter fraud …

More stupidity from the DC Democrats …

This is not just about ACORN.

Totten Pimps for Welch (again)

Welch does the wrong thing on ACORN

Hey, maybe Welch’s ACORN vote WAS the right one after all…

ACORN’s Problems Are Very Real — But Conservatives’ Expose Is Clearly Biased (uh … actually, skeetervt, you too owe an apology for buying into the bullshit ala weasel welch)

Because these lies shouldn’t be left to grow …

Say what?

MICHAEL JACKSON TO BE EXHUMED FOR RE-BURIAL!

Open Thread

Post election grins and guffaws …

Hey weasel Welch …

I’m a tree hugger

Talking To Myself (Again)

More ACORNs for weasel Welch

Still wonder what they were thinking?

More nuts for the weasel …

A win for the weasel …

More nuts for the weasel …

So when do we hear an apology?

The Oak Tree shouldn’t be left to whither …

A lie is a lie ..

Weasel Welch still owes an apology (and other things) …

Vital lessons learned … I hope …

(This post is based upon this thread started by JulieWaters)

A funny thing happened when I searched for “Enexus” at Entergy’s corporate website. I learned some lessons about corporate malfeasance, and it was further ingrained upon my consciousness why we need to end corporate personhood for ever.

I landed this tidbit:

New Orleans, La. – Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) announced today it has selected Enexus Energy Corporation as the new name of the independent, publicly traded nuclear power company it plans to spin off later this year, and EquaGen L.L.C. as the name of the new joint venture Entergy and Enexus will co-own and which will operate the six nuclear reactors to be spun off.

(Louisiana Entergy press release, 4/25/08)

Yeah, dated and now without much relevance beyond lessons learned, BUT there certainly are lessons to be learned.

Interesting that Entergy was going to turn the old and breaking down nuclear plants over to Enexus, and then Entergy and Enexus would co-own yet a third corporation that would be actually running the nuke plants.

So Entergy would make money by selling the aged, breaking down plants to a highly leveraged (ie. totally in debt) corporation of Entergy’s creation, and Entergy would also continue to profit directly from those same plants by co-owning another corporation of Entergy’s creation … such other corporation being the operator of the aged, breaking down plants that Entergy sold to the highly leveraged corporation of Entergy’s creation!

Who said money can’t be fun?

All this on top of other apparent shenanigans: this post leads the way to … (I’ve taken the liberty of copying my own post from another thread verbatim below.)

One of the ways the Wall Street banker clique was able to game their books so we would all be convinced they were fiscally sound and prudent was to engage in short term trades. The process involved Wall Street Banker A borrowing money from Wall Street Banker B, and A would use their financial instruments commonly known as credit default options (CDOs) for collateral. Wall Street Banker A would then put all the borrowed cash on it’s books as an asset, A’s books would be gone over and A would look solid as hell.

Once A had been given a AAA rating A would return the cash to B and replace the asset cash with the known shaky and possibly negative value of the CDOs.

Now back to Julie’s third link above:

   In the wake of the Vermont Senate’s decision on Wednesday to shut down an Entergy Corp.-owned nuclear plant, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood is questioning the company’s recent transfer of $1.3 billion from its parent company that oversees operations in Mississippi to its troubled nuclear program.

   . . .

   Entergy Corp., in its 4th Quarter 2009 Earnings Report, noted that the nuclear side of the company had received $1.3 billion from the utility that provides service to Mississippi taxpayers.

   “My translation of the (transfer) means that the regulated utilities like Entergy Mississippi, which are subsidiaries of Entergy Corp., put $1.3 billion less in their pockets in 2009,” General Hood stated in a letter to Vermont Attorney General William H. Sorrell. “One of my claims in Mississippi is that Entergy Corp. has wrongfully transferred money from the regulated utilities to Entergy’s Nuclear businesses and that money should be returned to Mississippi ratepayers.”

(MS Attorney General Jim Hood continues to hound Entergy for money, WPMP, 02/26/10)

I’m wondering if this wasn’t an attempt to shore up the appearance of financial health for Louisiana Entergy’s nuclear division prior to that massive spin off they had been proposing. Once the spin off was created the money would of course have to be returned to Louisiana Entergy’s regulated Mississippi divisions … leaving a huge financial hole in the business plan that various state regulators would have already approved.

Let your imagination run from here ……….

Weasel Welch still owes an apology (and other things) …

(Many thanks to the Brad Blog for sticking with this story.)

In case nobody has noticed

California’s Attorney General has cleared ACORN of any criminality regarding those videos and associated lies that were presented to the public as proof positive that ACORN was a criminal institution. This comes on the heels of the Kings County, NY, District Attorney finding the same thing … tapes so heavily edited they had no bearing on reality.

You might remember those tapes … so heavily edited, cropped and otherwise staged that what was presented to us turned out to be an absolute lie … you may also remember those tapes were what weasel welch and his radical right wing buddies in DC used as evidence to attack ACORN (who’s only “crime” was to empower those who have been actively dis-empowered by the actions of our governments).

As Rachel Maddow calls it: “Let them eat fake” … how’s that belly of yours weasel welch?

So where’s that apology? Actually it should be apologies because weasel welch not only was perfectly happy using trumped up evidence to attack a low income advocacy group, but weasel welch also chose in joining the radical right wing to ignore reality, truth and impartial investigation.

Yes, they really did say that …


Entergy Nuclear has told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that its review of statements made to federal regulators for the past five years revealed no problems.

. . .

“The investigation also concluded that no one made any intentionally false statements in state regulatory proceeding,” the report stated.

. . .

“Accordingly, no corrective actions or compensatory measures are required,” McCann told the NRC.

(In-house review clears Entergy, Times Argues, 04/03/10)

Of course “corrective actions” aren’t included in the fact that “several top-level Entergy Nuclear officials were punished” (ibid) anymore than claiming buried pipes that don’t have direct contact with the dirt should be included in the list of buried pipes.

But hey … Louisiana Entergy tells us it’s so.

Oh, by the way …

Tests on the silt and debris in an underground pipe tunnel at Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor confirmed that the source of the cesium-137 is failed fuel rods at the reactor, and not fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster or above-ground weapons testing, both Entergy and the Department of Health said Friday.

. . .

Irwin said the cesium probably was in the bottom of the pipe tunnel, and was washed out into the environment via the same leak that led to the tritium contamination at Yankee.

(Yankee tests point to failed fuel rods, Times Argus, 04/03/10)

Lest we forget

Entergy Nuclear has found traces of cesium-137, a radioisotope, about 15 feet underground in the excavation trench where it is searching for the leak that has contaminated groundwater at the Vermont Yankee reactor for the past two months.

Entergy Nuclear said the cesium was found in trace amounts, and at background levels, a result of radiation from nuclear bomb tests and the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986, and was not the result of the tritium leak.

Entergy wouldn’t disclose the cesium measurements.

(New radioisotope found at Yankee, Times Argus, 02/26/10)

But then again … Louisiana Entergy says it is so.

Trading canards …

The Douglas administration is pushing for school consolidation in Vermont. Literally for years I’ve been asking for the numbers that would support this type of centralized command and control over our for now localized school system … and for years I’ve not been given or found them.

What I can commonly find is such as this

With those kinds of results for small schools and districts, it should come as no surprise that states whose students perform very well on the rigorous National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests tend to have decentralized governance structures. For example, only nine states (Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, Vermont, Nebraska) scored above the national average in both  8th grade mathematics and 8th grade science on the most recent test. All of these states have highly decentralized governance structures with many small local schools, many locally elected school boards, and many local superintendents.

(Alternative Ways to Achieve Cost Effective Schools, The Rural School and Community Trust, June 1, 2003)

Okay, 2003 is so … yesterday … but the leadership in Vermont’s education system hasn’t changed: see this site from the federal Dept or Ed for more.

So here’s what Douglas and buddies are willing to trade: they get more control while we get less results at no less and probably greater expense.

I’m going to ask again: where are the numbers?

The law vs. the NRC

The Barre/Montpelier is carrying a story this morning headlined Yankee officials set for closed-door talks that discusses next month’s now not so secret meeting regarding the newly open and transparent (yeah … right) Louisiana Entergy and their broken and breaking more Vernon, Vermont nuclear plant.


NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said Monday that the April 14 meeting was being held at the Keene Country Club in part to avoid the Vermont Right-to-Know Law, which requires that any meeting involving the majority of any elected board be open to the public and be legally warned.

Sheehan said the closed-door session was designed for elected officials and state regulators to ask their questions and get a briefing from NRC officials without the pressure of the press being present or the public listening.

Okay, so at least the NRC is open about the fact they don’t want us unwashed masses getting in on the facts. But so far I haven’t heard any Vermont officials saying they not only won’t but legally can’t attend such a meeting.

The law says …


§ 312. Right to attend meetings of public agencies

(a) All meetings of a public body are declared to be open to the public at all times, except as provided in section 313 of this title. No resolution, rule, regulation, appointment, or formal action shall be considered binding except as taken or made at such open meeting, except as provided under section 313(a)(2) of this title. A meeting may be conducted by audio conference or other electronic means, as long as the provisions of this subchapter are met. A public body shall record by audio tape, all hearings held to provide a forum for public comment on a proposed rule, pursuant to section 840 of Title 3. The public shall have access to copies of such tapes as described in section 316 of this title.

(1 V.S.A. § 312. Right to attend meetings of public agencies per Vermont legislative site)

You will notice there is no provision for holding a meeting somewhere other than in Vermont. In other words this law is binding on all members of a Vermont public body regardless the location of the meeting.

If any such member of a Vermont public body attends this meeting they are knowingly and willfully violating the law.

Irony Today

(Update question: exactly what does “of Islamic decent” [sic] mean?)


At least seven people, including some from Michigan, have been arrested in raids by a FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana as part of an investigation into an Adrian-based Christian militia group [referred to as Hutaree below], a person familiar with the matter said.

. . .

Mike Lackomar, of Michiganmilitia.com, said both The Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia and the Michiganmilitia.com were not a part of the raid.

Lackomar said he heard from other militia members that the FBI targeted the Hutaree after its members made threats of violence against Islamic organizations.

. . .

One of the Hutaree members called a Michigan militia leader for assistance Saturday after federal agents had already began their raid, Lackomar said, but the militia member — who is of Islamic decent and had heard about the threats — declined to offer help.

(Seven arrested in FBI raids linked to Christian militia group, The Detroit News, 03/28/10)

In other news:

Louisiana Entergy said it would have no comment on it’s recent proclamation made in a closed door meeting that Entergy wanted to operate in an open and transparent manner. According to one Entergy lawyer the comments were made as part of an off the record policy meeting. “We need to make sure folks feel free to say what they mean and mean what they say,” began a prepared statement from Louisiana Entergy’s headquarters, “And to have an open and transparent discussion requires we allow people the leeway to say what they mean away from the glare of openness and transparency.”

Elsewhere Louisiana Entergy is accusing the Vermont Senate of undermining the ability of witnesses to say what they mean and mean what they say. In a prepared statement that was fondled lovingly by Vermont Governor Douglas, Entergy asked “How can we be sure of what we’re hearing every time the Vermont legislature forces the likes of the Gundersens to testify in public? How can we be sure the Gundersens aren’t being forced to mollycoddle some 1960s hippy era left wing anti-American agenda when they’d rather tell you the truth .. Entergy Yankee should be re-licensed for 200 years and Dick Cheney was a wonderful president?”

Vermont Lt. Gov. Dubie, who had said yesterday that secretive meetings were a bad thing, left a private meeting with Douglas and made this statement: “We need to have more closed door meetings. I don’t understand why, but there it is.”

A lie is a lie ..

and I don’t care if Peter “The Weasel” Welch continues to go with the lie … and yes … this is about ACORN.

And yes … I’m referring to how weasel welch gleefully joined his radical right wing buddies in the US House in using fabricated evidence to attack ACORN.

And the lies continue. In today’s Times Argus, Charges reduced in phone caper at senator’s office, an AP report talks about a pending plea deal involving the anti-ACORN slur video’s maker/producer. We find this little tidbit in the “news” story: “O’Keefe, a videographer famous for wearing a pimp costume in a stunt that embarrassed the ACORN community organizing group, …”.

Fact: O’Keefe the liar NEVER wore his pimp costume in the ACORN offices. As a matter of fact and reality (you paying attention weasel welch?) O’Keefe and his girl buddy specifically said they were trying to get the girl buddy away from a violent pimp. On top of that O’Keefe never tells ACORN workers he is a pimp .. instead O’Keefe tells them various stories of being a law student.

But better we mindlessly repeat lies … right weasel welch?

The Oak Tree shouldn’t be left to whither …

but that is exactly what Peter “The Weasel” Welch would have happen.

ACORN has officially announced that their national organization is closing down. According to a statement sent to The Brad Blog:


The ACORN Association Board met on Sunday March 21 and approved a set of steps to responsibly manage the process of bringing its operations to a close over the coming months. These include:

   * Closing ACORN’s remaining state affiliates and field offices by April 1st; and

   * Developing a plan to resolve all outstanding debts, obligations and other issues.

ACORN’s members have a great deal to be proud of–from promoting to homeownership to helping rebuild New Orleans, from raising wages to winning safer streets, from training community leaders to promoting voter participation — ACORN members have worked hard to create stronger communities, a more inclusive democracy, and a more just nation.

But Weasel Welch didn’t care about ACORN being an effective vehicle of empowerment for those across our nation who have been dis-empowered by the likes of Weasel Welch. After all he with great alacrity voted along side his radical right wing buddies in congress to attack and destroy ACORN based entirely on fabricated evidence.

Thankfully at least one individual with legal experience chose to make an impartial investigation.

And what was found?

Brooklyn  prosecutors on Monday cleared ACORN  of criminal wrongdoing after a four-month probe that began when undercover conservative activists filmed workers giving what appeared to be illegal advice on how to hide money.

While the video by James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles seemed to show three ACORN workers advising a prostitute how to hide ill-gotten gains, the unedited version was not as clear, according to a law enforcement source.

“They edited the tape to meet their agenda,” said the source.

(B’klyn ACORN cleared over giving illegal advice on how to hide money from prostitution, NY Daily News, 03/01/10)

So where is that apology Welch?

Did I say thanks yet to the weasel?