unrepentant old hippie

Stupid, pathetic and sooo busted

With the "surge" not going as well as hoped, and outrageous stories about the scummy conditions endured by injured war vets in Walter Reed Hospital (said soldiers now being silenced), the right had to find something to deflect reality. The next best thing to Bill Clinton is Al Gore, and since he just won an Oscar for his documentary "An Inconvenient Truth", the wingnuts got busy trying to dig up some dirt on him, as they put it, to see if he walked the walk.

The right-wing Tennessee Center for Policy Research thought they had Gore by the nuts when they discovered that his home hydro consumption was high. So the day after the Oscars they put out a news release claiming Gore wasn't doing enough to reduce his own energy consumption. You know, when you don't like the message and all that:

"The group said that Gore used nearly 221,000 kilowatt hours last year and that his average monthly electric bill was $1,359. Johnson said his group got its figures from Nashville Electric Service."

They all jumped on it like a pack of slavering hyenas. Gore was quick to respond, as a spokesman confirmed that he buys enough "green power" to offset his hydro usage 100%:

"Gore spokesperson Kalee Kreider said he buys enough "green power" – renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and methane gas – to balance 100 per cent of electricity costs."...

"Gore participates in a utility program that sells blocks of "green power" for an extra $4 a month. He buys 108 such blocks every month, covering 16,200 kilowatt-hours and helping subsidize renewable energy sources."

So not only is Gore walking the talk, but as far as the TCPR getting its' figures from Nashville Electric Service,

"... company spokeswoman Laurie Parker said the utility never got a request from the policy center and never gave it any information."

D'OH! So maybe it's time to stop fucking around and start actually doing something about those vets languishing among rats and mold at Walter Reed. I mean, if you really want to, you know, walk the talk.