Mike Stark has an investigative piece on how the coal and oil industry used one solar company to run interference for them on funding for residential solar energy. Fascinating, these tricky little devils:

The PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program is simple and brilliant: Cities borrow money using their credit and then make that money available to homeowners who, in turn, use it to install solar systems and other green technologies. The money given to homeowners is paid back by special assessments on their property taxes.

By all accounts, the PACE program is remarkably successful: It’s been adopted by 23 states and the District of Columbia. It creates jobs, lowers utility bills for homeowners, cuts pollution and easily transfers to new homeowners when homes change hands.

It also holds promise for enabling the rapid scaling of home solar panel installation across America, which lags far behind Germany, the world’s solar leader, despite the fact that Germany has the sunshine equivalent of Alaska. PACE could make an enormous contribution to cleaning up America’s energy supply. And that created some enemies for the PACE program.

Utility companies saw a future hit to their bottom lines; so did the coal industry, which supplies 50 percent of fuel we now use in this country. Their reaction? Sic their lobbyists on any politician that’d take their dirty money and help them tank the PACE program.

The issue came to a head this year when the country’s biggest lenders decided to change their rules in the middle of the game. To the extreme surprise and dismay of the environmental and solar energy communities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, ostensibly private corporations, but nonetheless two of the largest recipients of government (taxpayer) largesse, decided that homeowner participants in the PACE program were in default on their mortgages (as if Fannie and Freddie needed even more foreclosures on their hands). Moreover, so long as existing PACE liens persist, Fannie and Freddie will not allow homeowners to refinance their mortgages. The legal terrain is murky, but the nut of the argument is that because the PACE liens assume a higher priority than mortgage notes, Fannie and Freddie are unjustifiably put at risk and must take steps to protect themselves.

After Fannie and Freddie changed their rules, Congress and the White House got involved. Several rounds of negotiation followed. According to Cliff Staton, a Vice President at Renewable Funding, Fannie and Freddie were ultimately offered a full government guarantee against any loss whatsoever from PACE liens.

Fannie and Freddie declined; they broke off negotiations and walked away from the table.

Go read the rest. It's really important that voters understand just how thoroughly corrupted by corporate interests our government has become, and just how all-pervasive the tactics they use to attack anything that means real progress for anything other than their own bottom line.

Rachel's absolutely right, this is not a contest one should want to win, yet disturbingly, we keep getting more and more candidates, don't we?

Arizona Congressman Trent Franks told blogger Mike Stark that African Americans were much better off under slavery. [..]

FRANKS: In this country, we had slavery for God knows how long. And now we look back on it and we say "How brave were they? What was the matter with them? You know, I can't believe, you know, four million slaves. This is incredible." And we're right, we're right. We should look back on that with criticism. It is a crushing mark on America's soul. And yet today, half of all black children are aborted. Half of all black children are aborted. Far more of the African American community is being devastated by the policies of today than were being devastated by the policies of slavery. And I think, What does it take to get us to wake up?

That pain that feels like an ice pick gouging your brain for being exposed to such utterly ridiculous and historically ignorant ramblings? I have it too.

First and foremost, the statistic of half of all black babies being aborted is one wholly made up by someone who doesn't grasp math, as BruinKid at DKos points out. And they're not babies, but pregnancies. But the privileged white man from Arizona--the same state who fought against a MLK Day--saying that compared to today, blacks had it so much better while being considered a non-human piece of property is stunning. Being separated from your family, beaten, raped, starved, and generally mistreated. Nor, apparently, did Franks consider how many black babies of white slave owners were aborted--or worse, victims of infanticide--by the slave women unwilling to subject another generation to the treatment to which they were forced to endure.

Trent Franks has never been the brightest bulb in the House, sadly, so no one is particularly surprised with this latest egregiousness. This is the same man who pandered to the birthers and called Obama "an enemy of humanity" and suggests that having terror trials in NYC is akin to asking for a nuclear attack on the same city. He also worried about Muslims spies "infiltrating" Washington because some of the interns who worked on the Hill are *gulp* Muslim. However, as Mike Stark points out, Franks is authentic in his concern about the prevalence of abortions:

To be fair, Congressman Franks is as sincere as he is conservative. The issue of life never falls out of first place in his legislative priority list. I don’t believe for one second that he intends to insult anyone; I don’t think he sees the racism (or paternalism) in what he’s saying. Still… This is pretty bad.

Yes, yes it is.

Have you ever wondered what life would be like in an alternative universe where people lived their lives in the shadow of paranoid fantasies and incompatible superstitions, and acted accordingly?

Well… wonder no more! I went to CPAC and shot a bunch of video.

Unfortunately, I was only able to attend for a day, so I missed an awful lot of funhouse insanity. But… Friday was a day that will remain with me forever. There aren’t enough therapists in the world to scrub that experience out of my psyche.

I should have known better, but I was kind of hoping that CPAC would attract conservatives on the leading edge of their movement who would be intellectually prepared and eager to wield their razor-sharp rapiers in defense of all that is good… you know… God and Ronald Reagan and… uhm… whatever else there is.

Sadly, that wasn’t quite the case.

The first person I ran into was Daryll Issa. I tried to ask him about the stimulus and recovery; he wasn’t much interested in silly and irrelevant things like facts:

Later in the conference, I caught up with Mike Pence and Steve King. They had lotsa time to stand in the spotlight and bask in adulation, but when it came time to answer a question or two about policy and stimulus/recovery/pork… well… they suddenly had more pressing things to do as staff hustled them away, telling me they were in a very big hurry. Like Issa before them, they were simply hustled a few yards away to a place they could bask in more spotlight and adulation.

So… unfortunately, I do not have a lot to report on when it comes to elected officials.

I also ran into John Bolton, Kenneth Blackwell and John Ashcroft. I told each of them that in person, they look a lot less evil than they do in the blogosphere. They were each gracious and good humored, but I was unable to secure an interview with any of them.

I did run into Jonah Goldberg. We had met previously on the set of Reliable Sources and although I do not think he recognized me, he did give me a lengthy interview. First we talked stimulus and economic policy, then we turned to his book and his ideas regarding fascism.

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Mike Stark has been a regular member in the liberal blogosphere for a long time and has been on the Hill with his Flip camcorder getting pols on tape to answer questions that the media somehow never seems to get around to asking.

Digby, Howie and myself have joined with CREDO and are trying to generate some cash for him. I know it's tight out there. Advertising has been down for all of us and I may have to do another fundraiser soon for C&L, but if you can please sign Credo's petition that will send a coat hanger to every member of the pro-choice party that voted yes to the ugly Stupak amendment and a dollar to Mike. Blue America is collecting the money from CREDO and we decided to give it to Mike.

Here's Mike to explain:

And you aren't the only folks noticing this work. Blue America (Howie Klein, Digby, John Amato) and Credo Action/Working Assets have also been keeping an eye on my efforts. They realize that this work cannot continue without support (I have a family to feed, student loans and rent to pay, etc. etc.), and they know a movement cannot succeed without mutual support. With that in mind, they've teamed up to raise some money for me.

Credo Action/Working Assets has a petition set up. For every signature on the petition, they'll be delivering a coat-hanger to Representatives that voted for the ridiculously regressive ant-choice Stupak Amendment. In addition, for every signature, up to 5,000, they'll donate $1 to StarkReports. Right now they are at about 1800 signatures.

If you appreciate hard-hitting and tenacious reporting... If you like seeing powerful people asked tough questions... If you want a media that works for you... I can use your help. Please sign the petition (it costs you nothing but your time). Watch my videos. Visit (and bookmark) StarkReports.com. If you've got some extra cash, drop it in the donation box on the right-side nav bar...

In the meantime, I'll be asking more tough questions this week. I've got some doozies stored away; this is sure to be a productive week.

I encouraged all of you to watch the Bill Moyers interview of the Yes Men the other night. Mike Stark called my attention to this diary he put up at dKos to help the Yes Men after it appears one of their targets tried to shut them up.

I have to credit Mike Stark for really helping speak for Spocko, who is understandably leery of exposing himself to any more attacks from the right (and before any right-winger scoff at the possibility, let me remind you of this)

Mike agreed to a "gentleman's debate" with Noel Sheppard of Newsbusters on the subject of Spocko's campaign against the hate speech on KSFO. I use quotes because I'm not as charitable as Mike was with the loaded nature of some of Noel's questions. However, as many of you commenters can attest, a true debate, devoid of ad hominems and insults, with a right winger on issues is a rare thing and something for which they both should be congratulated.

Read the Noel's questions and Mike's answers here.

The KSFO show is an obvious PR stunt. If they weren't worried there would be no special at all. 35,000 downloads so far and counting. We know what they're about and no special programming event will change that. Mike Stark catches Morgan engaging in a little astroturfing:

Melanie Morgan has been caught red-handed astro-turfing her own mea culpa show. She sent an email to a list of sycophants asking them to call her show in support. (please click the link. I's have simply posted the text, but it wasn't forwarded to me - the person with the scoop deserves the traffic)...read on

I've just started live streaming the show and it's nauseating. They call us vitriolic, crackpots and kooks and one of the fools said only anonymous bloggers have been attacking them. I think my name is on this post...Search Melanie Morgan on C&L and you'll see how rancid she is on 24/7 as well as on radio. gaelicstarover is following the case also...

UPDATE: David Brock wrote ABC...

On CNN Newsroom this morning, hosts Heidi Collins and Tony Harris were covering the incident at George Allen's speech yesterday, where blogger and constituent Mike Stark was physically assaulted by apparent members of Allen's staff. During their reporting they continually referred to Stark as a "protestor". This video also contains a different angle of the attack as well as better audio:

Download | play - WMV Download | play - MOV

At the end, Heidi Collins says: "The really scary thing I saw though - because you just don't know who you are dealing with anymore - because he had a backpack on". Of course only suspicious people would be wearing a backpack (or carrying luggage) in a place like a HOTEL!

Instead of CNN reporting off of what sounds like talking points from the Allen campaign, why don't they actually report and try to get Stark's side of the story. Here is a letter Stark has written, talking about what happened:

My name is Mike Stark. I am a law student at the University of Virginia, a marine, and a citizen journalist. Earlier today at a public event, I was attempting to ask Senator Allen a question about his sealed divorce record and his arrest in the 1970s, both of which are in the public domain. His people assaulted me, put me in a headlock, and wrestled me to the ground. Video footage is available here, from an NBC affiliate.

I demand that Senator Allen fire the staffers who beat up a constituent attempting to use his constitutional right to petition his government. I also want to know why Senator Allen would want his staffers to assault someone asking questions about matters of public record in the heat of a political campaign. Why are his divorce records sealed? Why was he arrested in the 1970s? And why did his campaign batter me when I asked him about these questions...Read On

Having his goons assault Mike Stark isn't typical campaign strategy I'd imagine, but the way Allen has handled himself--- can the voters of Virgina expect anything more from him?

Download | play -WMP Download | play -QT

Allen: "Things like that happen."

TP wrote out a transcription:

STARK: He’s my senator. I’m asking a question.

ALLEN SUPPORTER: You going to need to leave, now. Get out the door.

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Mike Stark, from Calling all Wingnuts was attacked by George Allen's camp today for basically asking him some tough questions after Allen finished his speech. He was not protesting or interrupting Allen in any way. The news report is wrong of course, but that's not a surprise. So nice to see a constituent of Allen's being treated in such a positive way.

Download | play - WMV Download | play - QT

Here's the download. Kos has more about the bizarre and violent behavior of Allen towards his sister and brothers.