Wednesday, April 30, 2008

CSW Dinner For Bloggers

So, now that I have some time...

Last night I attended a dinner at La Senorita restaurant in Lansing to hear Paul Chesser, the director of Climate Strategies Watch, talk about an organization called the Center for Climate Strategies. Basically, what this group does is go to state governors--they've gotten to about half of them already--and offer to put together an action plan for climate change. They can do this at almost no cost to the state, because they're funded by left-wing foundations like the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. CCS tells the governor to declare climate change a crisis and use an executive order to form a panel dominated by global warming alarmists that is structured to put together a platform that is nearly the same for every state: costly new regulations that hurt the state's economy. All the policies advocated for are considered to be endorsed at the outset; in other words, you have to actively disagree with the platform items. Mr. Chesser notes some of the interesting procedural rules for the panel: "participants will not debate the science of climate change," "participants are expected to support the process and its concept fully"... This is a back door attempt to force costly legislation on a state already reeling economically based on inadequate scientific data with no hint of cost-benefit analysis.

Let your state representative and state senator know!

As for the rest of the dinner, it was fantastic. I met some very nice folks who are also passionate about freedom, including Jason Gillman, Sr., the author of Michigan Taxes Too Much (soon to be included on the sidebar), as well as his son, Jason Gillman, Jr., whose blog is entitled Random Rants From An Airline Employee (also soon to be included). My buddy Chris Arndt of Apologies Demanded was there (already on sidebar!), as well as my friend Karen Post--soon to join the blogging community, and updates on that will be forthcoming. Rose Bogaert of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance attended; she is the one responsible for the appearance of the Boss Hogg video on my website. (Which: Watch!) Lastly, Representative Jack Hoogendyk, the impressive candidate against U.S. Senator Carl Levin this fall and writer of Core Principles Blog, attended as well. The event was held by the indispensable Mackinac Center for Public Policy, whose director of communications, Michael Jahr, helped host the event.

More later about the CSC; also more about the Center-Right Coalition meeting I attended this morning, though since it's off the record, strictly opinion from TW2!