Hey, look, a dark money environmental group has made the baseless allegation that "dark money" has funded opposition to Clean Line's Grain Belt Express.
The environmental group Renew Missouri championed the 7-0 Supreme Court decision as a win for clean energy.
“While this case has lingered in limbo for years as our neighbor states like Iowa and Illinois have passed us by, this puts the Show-Me State back on the map for wind energy by giving municipal utility companies all over the state more options in how they can best serve their customers’ power needs,” said Renew Missouri Executive Director James Owen.
Owen also indicated his organization thought contributions to opponents of the project had come from individuals or groups that purposely hid their identities.
“Lots of resources were poured into fighting off this progress,” Owen said. “We will probably never know who funded the efforts to defeat the Grain Belt Express or how much dark money was used. But the great thing about our state government is we have an appellate system untouched by unseemly political calculations.”
Well, isn't that the pot calling the kettle black... or dark in this instance. Where does Renew Missouri get its funding? We'll probably never know. But the organization's IRS 990 for 2017 indicated it received around half a million dollars of "grants" and other contributions. It doesn't say who they were from. In other words, the funders of Renew Missouri purposely hid their identities. Looks like Renew Missouri is funded by "dark money."
What does this have to do with the Supreme Court anyhow? Well, Renew Missouri makes the insinuation that the Court could be influenced by "dark money," although it was not. There's the one point we agree upon... the courts aren't influenced by dark money, from anyone. But what is the relevance, here, Owen? Why did you think it was appropriate to cast unfounded aspersions upon the opposition to Grain Belt Express?
Your accusations are completely unfounded and untrue. Opposition to Grain Belt Express has been funded by farmers and landowners affected by a proposal to take their land and impact their productivity and financial situation with absolutely no benefit to them.
This is just the latest and boldest ad hominem argument of failing environmental groups. By making false allegations regarding the financing of groups it doesn't like, the pious environmental group seeks to remove them from the argument as unworthy of being heard. It's a cheap, repugnant trick and only stupid people fall for it. Is that the kind of people you want to appeal to, Renew Missouri? Stupid people? Because your accusations are STUPID.
Guess what? It doesn't work and some day, some day soon, one of you sanctimonious scumbuckets is going to get slapped with a huge libel suit. I suppose that award could fund lots of opposition going forward.
I've been doing this for 10 years and in that time I have never seen a "dark money" donation made to a transmission opposition citizens' group. These groups fund their own activities through donations by affected landowners, businesses and ratepayers. They hold yard sales and bake sales, organize fund raising events, and engage in other fund raising means routinely used by schools or childrens athletic groups. This is how the average American knows how to raise funds, and they do what they are familiar with. There are no checks from the Koch brothers, fossil fuel companies, or other organized groups. All funds are raised by opponents trying to save their homes and businesses from the impacts of high voltage transmission lines.
The only groups with their hands out to take money with strings attached are environmental groups like Renew Missouri (a product of Earth Island Institute at one time, go ahead, look it up). Environmental groups are completely ineffective at raising the kind of cash they like to spend from ordinary citizens and individual donations. Instead, they graze at the grant trough, munching through millions of dollars every year of "free" money that comes with strings attached. Each grant requires the recipient to perform some task or other. Perhaps Renew Missouri would like to publicly list each and every grant it has received, along with the deliverable attached to each grant? Let's see who you REALLY serve, Renew Missouri!
If a business enterprise were interested in stopping a transmission line, they'd do the same thing you environmental snots do -- work in parallel with the citizens' group and try to hijack their efforts and energy to serve your cause. This is exactly what The Sierra Club did when it opposed certain transmission lines in the past. They didn't give any money to citizen opposition groups, so what makes you think other interests are eager to give their money away for other groups to use for their own purposes? Any environmental or other organization that dabbles in transmission support or opposition is only doing it to advance their own goals. The problem with that often is that said organization has no army of its own to achieve the kind of influence necessary to accomplish its goals. Therefore, it must find an engaged population whose energy it can tap to further its own goals. That's how it works, buddy, so shove it up your "dark money" hole and shut the heck up.
You truly disgust me. I doubt you could stoop any lower if you tried. Casting unfounded accusations against your fellow Missourians in order to serve your masters in Houston, and for no particular reason whatsoever except out of poor sportsmanship and meanness. Are you proud of yourself?
What does this have to do with the Supreme Court anyhow? Well, Renew Missouri makes the insinuation that the Court could be influenced by "dark money," although it was not. There's the one point we agree upon... the courts aren't influenced by dark money, from anyone. But what is the relevance, here, Owen? Why did you think it was appropriate to cast unfounded aspersions upon the opposition to Grain Belt Express?
Your accusations are completely unfounded and untrue. Opposition to Grain Belt Express has been funded by farmers and landowners affected by a proposal to take their land and impact their productivity and financial situation with absolutely no benefit to them.
This is just the latest and boldest ad hominem argument of failing environmental groups. By making false allegations regarding the financing of groups it doesn't like, the pious environmental group seeks to remove them from the argument as unworthy of being heard. It's a cheap, repugnant trick and only stupid people fall for it. Is that the kind of people you want to appeal to, Renew Missouri? Stupid people? Because your accusations are STUPID.
Guess what? It doesn't work and some day, some day soon, one of you sanctimonious scumbuckets is going to get slapped with a huge libel suit. I suppose that award could fund lots of opposition going forward.
I've been doing this for 10 years and in that time I have never seen a "dark money" donation made to a transmission opposition citizens' group. These groups fund their own activities through donations by affected landowners, businesses and ratepayers. They hold yard sales and bake sales, organize fund raising events, and engage in other fund raising means routinely used by schools or childrens athletic groups. This is how the average American knows how to raise funds, and they do what they are familiar with. There are no checks from the Koch brothers, fossil fuel companies, or other organized groups. All funds are raised by opponents trying to save their homes and businesses from the impacts of high voltage transmission lines.
The only groups with their hands out to take money with strings attached are environmental groups like Renew Missouri (a product of Earth Island Institute at one time, go ahead, look it up). Environmental groups are completely ineffective at raising the kind of cash they like to spend from ordinary citizens and individual donations. Instead, they graze at the grant trough, munching through millions of dollars every year of "free" money that comes with strings attached. Each grant requires the recipient to perform some task or other. Perhaps Renew Missouri would like to publicly list each and every grant it has received, along with the deliverable attached to each grant? Let's see who you REALLY serve, Renew Missouri!
If a business enterprise were interested in stopping a transmission line, they'd do the same thing you environmental snots do -- work in parallel with the citizens' group and try to hijack their efforts and energy to serve your cause. This is exactly what The Sierra Club did when it opposed certain transmission lines in the past. They didn't give any money to citizen opposition groups, so what makes you think other interests are eager to give their money away for other groups to use for their own purposes? Any environmental or other organization that dabbles in transmission support or opposition is only doing it to advance their own goals. The problem with that often is that said organization has no army of its own to achieve the kind of influence necessary to accomplish its goals. Therefore, it must find an engaged population whose energy it can tap to further its own goals. That's how it works, buddy, so shove it up your "dark money" hole and shut the heck up.
You truly disgust me. I doubt you could stoop any lower if you tried. Casting unfounded accusations against your fellow Missourians in order to serve your masters in Houston, and for no particular reason whatsoever except out of poor sportsmanship and meanness. Are you proud of yourself?
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