Month: May 2010

Kudzu Kills: New Research Shows That the Vine That Won’t Die Also Releases Harmful Ozone Gas – But Is It a Scourge from God?

Jon Ponder

Left: kudzu up close; kudzu devouring a utility pole; kudzu in Raleigh takes shape Christ statue in Rio de Janero (inset); and kudzu eats a truck
Left: kudzu up close; kudzu devouring a utility pole; kudzu in Raleigh takes shape Christ statue in Rio de Janero (inset); and kudzu eats a truck
Kudzu is the vine that ate the South — or rather is eating the South, at the rate of 125,000 acres of fields, suburban backyards and city alleys per year. It is also one of the very few things Southerners of all stripes can agree on. Whether smart or slow, liberal or conservative; black, white or other; rich or poor; young or old; 15 generations in or new Yankee transplant — everyone agrees that kudzu is a scourge.

And while research shows that the nearly impossible to kill vine has medicinal properties — it is being tested for efficacy in treating migraine headaches, vertigo, cancer prevention, various allergies, gastrointestinal upsets and even potentially helping alcohol abuse — a new report suggests that kudzu emits a toxic gas:

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GOP Operative: Paul Campaign ‘Messed Up’ By Allowing Candidate to State True Positions on Maddow Show

Jon Ponder

HuffPost reports that Beltway Republican operatives are parachuting in to try to save tea bagger Rand Paul’s campaign for the Kentucky U.S. Senate. According to the pros, Paul’s big mistake was not lying about his true position on the Civil Rights Act:

A Washington-based Republican official, who has spoken with Paul’s campaign advisers, said the harsh national reaction to the nominee’s MSNBC interview on Wednesday “was like a wake-up call” to his inner circle.

“They know they messed up” by allowing liberal show host Rachel Maddow to draw out Paul’s thoughts on the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the official said. Paul told Maddow he abhors racial discrimination, but he also suggested the federal government shouldn’t have the power to force restaurants to admit minorities against their will…

“There’s lots of chatter, ‘we’ve got to get this guy some help,'” the official said, adding that he’s not convinced Paul realizes the danger of saying yes to so many interview requests.

Washington-based Republican strategists hope to strike a balance. They’d like to persuade Paul to be more selective and disciplined in his remarks but not lose the freshness and candor that appeal to voters seeking a change in Washington.

Verbatim

Buck Banks

What I don’t like from the president’s administration is this sort of ‘I’ll put my boot heel on the throat of BP.’ I think that sounds really un-American in his criticism of business. …. I think it’s part of this sort of blame game society in the sense that it’s always got to be someone’s fault instead of the fact that sometimes accidents happen.

— Rand Paul (TB-KY), criticizing President Obama’s criticism of oil giant BP, because in Paul’s world, it’s not lax regulation, poor oversight and purposeful negligence that caused the worst oil spill ever, it’s accidents.

Verbatim

Pensito Editors

I feel she destroyed the culture of my father’s company … To be fair to Carly, the HP board should have known better when it hired her. If you have a pet bunny and get a pet ferret, you can’t really blame the ferret for eating the bunny. That’s what ferrets do.

– David Packer, son of a founder of Hewlett-Packard, describing Republican California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina’s tenure as HP CEO.

Verbatim

Buck Banks

A free society will abide unofficial, private discrimination, even when that means allowing hate-filled groups to exclude people based on the color of their skin.

— Rand Paul (R), in a letter to the Bowling Green Daily News in 2002. After two tough interviews yesterday trying to explain his views, Paul claimed today that he would have supported the 1964 Civil Rights Act which outlawed that kind of discrimination.

Verbatim

Jon Ponder

Let me be clear: I support the Civil Rights Act because I overwhelmingly agree with the intent of the legislation, which was to stop discrimination in the public sphere and halt the abhorrent practice of segregation and Jim Crow laws. As I have said in previous statements, sections of the Civil Rights Act were debated on Constitutional grounds when the legislation was passed. Those issues have been settled by federal courts in the intervening years. My opponent’s statement on MSNBC Wednesday that I favor repeal of the Civil Rights Act was irresponsible and knowingly false. I hope he will correct the record and retract his claims.

– GOP Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul walking back earlier statements opposing provisions in the Civil Rights Act that made it illegal for white business owners to refuse service to African-American patrons on the grounds that the law represented government interference in private business. Paul’s Democratic opponent is Attorney General Jack Conway.

Among Senator McConnell’s most vivid memories and most formative events in his career was watching his boss Sen. John Sherman Cooper help pull together the votes to break the filibuster and pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He has always considered the law a monumental achievement for the country and is glad to hear Dr. Paul supports it as well.

– Don Stewart, spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), reacting to Rand’s statement. McConnell supported Rand’s opponent in the primary.