Turning self-mockery into an art form

by David Safier

Tea Partiers don't like cap and trade. Most of the rank and file don't know what it is, but they've been told it's government fascist intrusion that will make prices go up, and we'll all have to drink green tea or something. Or wait, maybe it's a communist intrusion. It's probably both!

So they protested in Scottsdale where

about 75 top executives from major utilities, including Arizona Public Service Co., conducted a private quarterly board meeting of the Edison Electric Institute, including a presentation from Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson.

The Republic described the demonstration as a "crowd of about 60 protesters." You know, when the "top executives" outnumber the protesters by 15, maybe the protest isn't really a newsworthy event.

Be that as it may, I'm glad they covered it, because it allowed me to read the quote below from  Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, who addressed the crowd. If you remember, Allen made a statement on the Senate floor that the world is 6000 years old — then she repeated it to make sure no one thought she had misspoken. The video went viral and landed her on Olbermann's Worst Person in the World segment (The Senate speech and Olbermann clip are below).

An Edison Electric Institute spokesman had said earlier, "The science issue [concerning global warming] is fundamentally settled. Let's get engaged in the solution." Here is Allen's response.

"Coal is clean, our technology is phenomenal," said state Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, who addressed the crowd of about 60 protesters. "Those utilities should be helping us fight this battle and should not be saying to me the debate (over global warming) is over. It is bad science."

Bad science, says Allen. You gotta love her.