Roanoke Tea Party

There are a couple of quick notes in the aftermath of the recent Roanoke County Board Meeting and a couple of other notes to send you off for a fun weekend.

• We have it on a good source that another FOIA request has been made to all of the board members. If the requester would like to publicize their efforts, we’d love to help.
• The local fish-wrap of record has an online article mocking our efforts and our “google” research. I never see them actually point out any specific points that are incorrect. Wonder why? Look for yourself here.
• I read through the Romney acceptance speech this AM. From the highlights I saw it seemed like a pretty good little political moment. I doubt many people that haven’t already made up their mind actually watched it. I maintain that most of this is just an exercise in ginning up the base.
• If you need a political fix this weekend, tune into the Virginia Tea Party Network on Fox Radio AM 910 at noon. Elizabeth and I will be there while you enjoy the weekend.
• Lastly, I post these comments form local political hack Gene M. and my response. Here is Gene.

Here’s to common sense prevailing at the BOS meeting tonight. Great job
Charlotte Moore, of articulating a reasoned, grounded and sane justification for remaining tied to ICLEI and the other communities concerned about sustainability – which is not a dirty word. Adam Cohen was great also… as an ICLEI/RC CLEAR committee member I can attest that we do not discuss world domination or telling people where they live. RC CLEAR is simply an educational tool, showing simple ways that everyone can help reduce greenhouse gases. The Tea Party arguments and others with the same viewpoints at the BOS meeting were silly, without merit and reeked of conspiracy theory. Badgering Mike Altizer didn’t work either. Don’t believe that the dozen or so opponents to ICLEI that showed up last night represent the sentiments of most Roanoke County citizens either. Seriously, I was waiting for the tin foil hats to come out! The Tea Party should go back to focusing on taxes and realize it probably wasn’t the “player” it thought it was.

Here is Chip…

Speaking of taxes Gene…How effective was the $50,000 dollars of tax payers money spent from the stimulus money RCCLEAR received? You spent $15k on advertising, handed out some flyers and did some energy audits. Was that good bang for the buck Gene?

How about the 400 + tons of carbon emissions that was claimed to have been reduced? Do you really think that printing out flyers saved 200 tons of emissions? How about the 200 or so tons that was claimed to be saved by the audits. Less than half of the survey respondents saw a decrease in their energy bills? Did these audits really accomplish anything constructive?

Why should my tax dollars go to tell someone to caulk their windows or upgrade their heat pump? Does RCCLEAR think the people of Roanoke are too stupid to do this on their own? Did ICLEI really reduce paper usage and MPG for the county? Can they impact the traffic on I-81?

While the long term goals of A21 are nefarious, I have no doubt the short term goals of RCCLEAR are nothing if not well intentioned. But the stated long term goal of every group you are affiliated with is the implementation of A21. Gene does RCCLEAR not want Local Agenda 21 implemented?

By focusing on the boondoggle of climate change, your group is wasting its time on issues instead of addressing legitimate environmental issues like smog, water issues etc.

As for the sentiments of the county, I can’t speak to that. All I know is that the ICLEI relationship is a waste of time, money and resources for a group tied to the hip with a UN agenda most folks find offensive. Hopefully I’ll be right here and new supervisors will be in place who won’t be so easily swayed by this silliness.

Looks like you have another “news” article to write for the paper at least.

Chip Tarbutton

Adam Cohen’s comments were condescending and juvenile and I found it interesting that the only speaker to insult members of the audience gets kudos from you and positive “body language” from the chair

Chip Tarbutton