Big Wind Hot Air

SUBHEAD: Will we be swayed by $195,000 of Big Wind hot air from the DBEDT coffers?  

By Larry Geller on 16 November 2011 for Disappeared News - 
  (http://www.disappearednews.com/2011/11/by-larry-geller-train-has-its-paid.html)

   
Image above: San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm looks a bit like plan for Lanai. From (http://factoidz.com/ten-major-disadvantages-of-wind-energy).
 
The train has its paid operatives, but we don’t have to be swayed by them. I no longer open emails from Doug Carlson, for example. So you see, we do have ways to resist corporate propaganda. We’re smarter now. We can even keep resistance movements such as Occupy going for months on end that takes quite a bit of savvy and skill. So the timing is good to resist this gross waste of taxpayer money.
It’s a shame that Hawaii will be shutting down social services while awarding a $195,000 non-bid contract to propagandize Big Wind.

Check out Ian Lind’s article, State targets Big Wind opposition (ilind.net, 11/14/2011). It’s great that Ian reviews the procurement files and is able to turn up capers like this.

Why not let the companies that will profit, should the project go forward, pay the propaganda bill?

Plus, why should taxpayers pay this fee to be convinced to pay higher, not lower, electricity costs should the project kick in? What exactly will we pay for those corporate profits?
Didn’t we learn anything from government indulgence in the Superferry fiasco?
Please read Ian’s article. He writes, in part:

The proposal has several aspects. There’s a “local, national, and international media campaign” aimed at developing “a broader media outreach network” to promote DBEDT energy projects, and “establish consistent communications channels” to report favorable stories on an ongoing basis. Not too hard in this age of compliant corporate media. The “issue management” component seems to have the most potential for additional mischief. It sounds an awful lot like it is aimed at burying opposition to the Big Wind project on Molokai and Lanai through both a PR blitz and manipulation/mobilization of both elites and “active, trusted, and engaged community members and groups who have a clear understanding of the benefits of clean energy” on each island.

I can hear state legislators lamenting that the state has no money for education or social services. Well, here’s $195,000 if they can figure out how to convince the Abercrombie administration that there are better ways to spend the people’s money. But somebody needs to do something now, before the money is spent.

.