The first Republican Reich in the US was hatched when Wisconsin became the Republican Fascist Plutocracy of Fitzwalkerstan, headed by Fartfuhrer Scott Walker.  Other Republican Reichs have followed.  We have the Republican Fascist Plutocracy of Brewerstan, whose Fuhrer is Death Angel Jan Brewer, and the Republican Plutocratic Theocracy of McCrorystan, headed by TEAfuhrer Pat McCrory.  The last has been grabbing the headlines, but Fartfuhrer Walker refuses to be outdone.

A small GOP lobby shop tied to the Tea Party and David Koch's Americans for Prosperity, and which was active in the state's recent recall elections, was awarded $500,000 in taxpayer dollars in what some are calling a backdoor, sweetheart deal cooked up by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) State Chair, outgoing Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder.

The United Sportsmen of Wisconsin Foundation was the only applicant for a newly-created grant to promote hunting, fishing, and trapping in the state, despite the organization having no record in outdoors training. The grant was slipped into the budget bill by Suder and barely advertised, and other outdoors groups with more experience in the area were largely excluded. Suder has ties to United Sportsmen, and announced last week he would be leaving the Assembly for a higher-paying job in Walker administration.

The organization's record, thus far, appears to be that of a lobbying organization for an array of Republican priorities, from mining to the "Castle Doctrine" — neither of which has anything to do with hunting or fishing — and working with Americans for Prosperity to organize events and support Republicans in the 2011 recall elections… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <PRWatch>

You might think that the Koch Brothers, have enough of their own money to finance stealing the election, without having to steal the money to do it.  And the Koch sucker, who pulled it off for them, Suder, gets a reward.  He gets a staff job for the Fartfuhrer.  We need a sign to post: Republican Criminals at Work!

Barack Obama has said that the only way he will approve Keystone XL is if it can be shown that it will not significantly increase atmospheric carbon.  So the State Department, which is, by the way, Hillary’s domain, hired a contractor with ties to TransCanada Corporation, and they produced a bogus report.  Now we have evidence that the Canadian government knows that it’s bogus, because they know Keystone XL will increase carbon pollution.  Here’s why.

Ever since President Obama said in June that a litmus test for the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada was whether it would “significantly” worsen global warming, Canadian government officials have insisted it would not.

They reasoned that because the pipeline would not have any major effect on rate of development of Canada’s oil sands, as a State Department environmental review concluded in March, it would not significantly raise the amount of carbon emitted.

But documents obtained by a Canadian environmental group suggest that the staff at Natural Resources Canada viewed Keystone XL as an important tool for expanding oil sands production. The documents were released to the Pembina Institute, a group based in Calgary, Alberta, after a request made under Canada’s Access to Information Act.

Briefing notes prepared for the natural resources minister, Joe Oliver, before a trip to Chicago to promote Keystone XL in March, noted that “in order for crude oil production to grow, the North American pipeline network must be expanded through initiatives, such as the Keystone XL Pipeline project.”

Clare Demerse, director of federal policy for Pembina, said in an interview on Saturday that expanding crude oil production in Canada is synonymous with developing the oil sands. Canada has 168 billion barrels of oil sands reserves compared to about 4.1 billion barrels of conventional oil reserves… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

Photo credit: Earth Times

The bottom line requires no rocket science.  If Keystone XL would cause oil sands production to grow, more crude oil of the dirtiest kind would be refined and used, and that would increase carbon pollution.  QED.

On rare occasions, I actually get to say something good about a Republican.  Sadly that usually happens only when the Republican is one that the others hate.  That said, Colin Powell visited the Totalitarian Corporate Plutocracy of McCrorystan and blasted the state for its racist policies right to TeaFuhrer McCrory’s face!

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell was the keynote speaker at the CEO Forum in Raleigh, North Carolina, Wednesday evening. After introductory remarks, Republican Gov. Pat McCrory left the stage to listen to the retired general from the audience. Last month, McCrory signed into law new voter restrictions that will make it harder for the poor, disabled, student and minority voters to cast ballots. He did not address the law in his remarks. Powell said:

"I want to see policies that encourage every American to vote, not make it more difficult to vote," said Powell, a Republican, at the CEO Forum in Raleigh.

"It immediately turns off a voting block the Republican Party needs," Powell continued. "These kinds of actions do not build on the base. It just turns people away." […]

"You can say what you like, but there is no voter fraud," Powell said. "How can it be widespread and undetected?"

Powell, who served under President George W. Bush, also said the new law sends the wrong message to minority voters. "What it really says to the minority voters is … ‘We really are sort-of punishing you,’" he said…

…Please join Daily Kos by urging Congress to save the Voting Rights Act by creating a new preclearance formula. [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Daily Kos>

I would rather Powell been more direct in his approach, but his meaning was still clear.  The Republican War on Voting will hurt them in the long run, and hurts us all now.

One person, One Vote!

Down with McCrorystan!