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Posts Tagged ‘taxes’

TCEQ Commissioners want Tax Breaks for Polluters, Tax Increases for Neighborhoods Near Refinery

Posted in Campaign Finance, Energy, Good Government, Toxics, tagged , , , , , , , on March 26, 2010 |

An eye opening story from KHOU earlier this week gave more insight into what’s the matter at TCEQ.  It’s worth your 5 minutes to watch the entire thing but here are the highlights:

Valero installed a pollution scrubber to create lower sulphur fuels in one of their Houston refineries.  The problem? According to TCEQ staff, the scrubbers actually create MORE local pollution, and to add insult to injury, the vast majority of the lower polluting fuel gets sold in California and New Jersey.

But Valero still wants a tax break specially designed for technology that lowers LOCAL pollution for installing this scrubber.  Because the tax cut would be retroactive, this would mean Houston area taxpayers would be on the hook to make up the deficit.  That means either a tax hike or layoffs for teachers, firefighters, and police. (more…)

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Texas Progressive Alliance Weekly Round Up

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 16, 2009 |

round upThe Texas Progressive Alliance is starting to feel an odd craving for can-shaped servings of cranberry sauce as it brings you this week’s highlights from the blogs.

TXsharon continues to follow the abuses of Aruba Petroleum in a Barnett Shale backyard and Wednesday the Wise County Messenger picked up the story. It’s all on Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is really p*ssed that some South Texas Democrats voted against women’s health care.

WhosPlayin posted an interview with Neil Durrance, the Democratic candidate seeking to unseat Michael Burgess in Congressional District 26.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on some of the talk this past week about raising the statewide gas tax. All that being said there are only two options to pay for transportation in Texas, which will we choose Taxes or tolls?.

McBlogger takes a look at Sen. Hutchison’s decision not to resign from her Senate seat.

Off the Kuff looks at a threatened outbreak of homophobic behavior in the Houston Mayor’s race.

The War on Christmas starts early at The Texas Cloverleaf, complete with a beach landing at WalMart.

Sue Schechter announced for Harris County Clerk last week and PDiddie at Brains and Eggs caught the press release.

With Thanksgiving almost here, Neil at Texas Liberal ran a picture of a sultry pilgrim holding a turkey, and included in this post information about the status of women in Colonial New England.

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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, cleaner cars, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.

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Pushback to Energy Citizens Rally in NC, State Rep Turned Away

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 21, 2009 |

Kudos to the North Carolina Conservation Network for rallying the troops for a real grassroots protest outside of today’s Energy Citizen company picnic in Greensboro. Fifty protesters turned out to show their support for clean energy and green jobs development, NCCN reports:

Local folks gathered on the sidewalks surrounding the coliseum to make sure that voices in support of federal action on energy were heard. While a drum corps provided the entertainment, the citizen-activists held signs and banners calling on Senator Kay Hagan (North Carolina) to support efforts in the US Senate to pass strong clean energy and climate legislation this year.

State Representative Pricey Harrison (from Greensboro) was there as well as representatives from clean energy businesses, labor and faith communities. State Representative Harrison along with U.S. Representative Howard Coble attempted to enter the event. While Representative Coble was allowed entry, Representative Harrison (who represents the district in which the event was held) was denied access. Also allowed into the event were activists from FreedomWorks, a right-wing group that has ties to big business and the oil industry.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy7ycMh7pKk&feature=player_embedded]

Rep. Coble was invited inside because he voted against the American Clean Energy and Security Act, but Rep. Harrison (who voted for it) was denied entry.  How completely ridiculous.  At least the “Energy Citizens” American Petroleum Institute has wised up enough to let their supporters from FreedomWorks inside — looks like they learned their lesson from the Houston rally, where anti-cap and trade activists were rudely turned from the door for trying to bring in American flags.

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Energy Citizens (Corporate Employees) Say the Darndest Things at API Astroturf Event

Posted in Campaign Finance, Energy, Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 20, 2009 |

Even though we were denied access, our intrepid Citizen Sarah was able to blend in with a crowd walking in and starting talking to energy company employees about climate change legislation.  You know, Energy Company Employees Can Say the Darndest Things:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gp6mVn0XWE]

Look for:

  • Global Warming Deniers!
  • People Who Have NO IDEA What is actually in the American Clean Energy & Security Act!
  • Misrepresentations about the bill–and our energy policy and energy sector– all spouted back like they got the memo of Big Oil’s talking points!
  • And…. a guy from a natural gas company who really understands what made the climate bill bad: too much special interest influence and lobbying! (irony, much?  But he does have a point….)

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Real Anti-Cap and Trade Grassroots blocked from Energy Citizens Rally

Posted in Global Warming, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 20, 2009 |

The Energy Citizens’ rallies company picnics, such as the one we crashed yesterday in Houston, have been getting a lot of attention through the Netroots, in national publications, and even last night on Rachel Maddow (where one of our videos was featured, even if credit was not given — no worries this time Rach, we love you anyway).

Though the Netroots has gotten the message loud and clear: these are really just company picnics, not uprisings of real grassroots support, there has still been some hedging on the part of the traditional media — who is still reporting that “many of the people attending the demonstration were employees of oil companies who work in Houston and were bused from their workplaces.”

But the truth is that the Houston rally was attended ONLY by energy company employees and retirees (at least that’s the way they wanted it).  It’s no big surprise that a few rabble-rousing enviros were kicked out, but when even those that oppose cap and trade were turned away– that should raise major red flags about the true nature of these events.  This isn’t even Astroturf anymore, this is asphalt.

But don’t take my word for it, listen to the anti-cap and trade folks from Freedom Works that were  from yesterday’s rally:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2Mv6bXJ8fQ]

Or watch the higher quality version on Vimeo:

[vimeo 6199393]

Here is another guy we caught up with outside who was also barred from entering– he[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hyuEIZVuhk] called it “a circus” and “a county fair”.

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