Archive for November 12th, 2009

Wave!

Thanks to Ryan, I am an early adopter of GoogleWave, which, as I posted a couple of weeks ago, looks like it could be the death of e-mail.

I don’t have invite privileges yet, but if Google rolls this out the same way they did with Gmail, I should soon. And if they give me 100 invites, like they did with Gmail, I will let all of you know, and I’ll give them all away quickly.

Anyway, if you are an early adopter, look me up. lamarw at googlewave dot com.

Update: After just a couple of hours of using GoogleWave, I am even more convinced in its potential to replace your e-mail client within the next six months, at least the client you use at work.

Update II: Here’s a screenshot:

Mother Jones: Senator David Vitter, R-Formaldehyde

Earlier today, Mother Jones published a revealing article about Louisiana Senator David Vitter’s ties to the formaldehyde industry and the reasons he is now single-handedly holding up President Obama’s appointment to lead the EPA’s Research and Development division.

Quoting:

Instead of the EPA ruling on formaldehyde now, Vitter wants the agency to let the National Academy of Sciences review formaldehyde’s risk, a process that could take a year or more and that might favor industry supporters, environmentalists say, because the NAS review would use industry-based reports. Likewise, blocking Anastas’ nomination is another way of slowing the EPA’s movement on formaldehyde. (An EPA official told Mother Jones that agency head Lisa Jackson met with Vitter to ask him to let the nomination go through, which didn’t happen.) And though a Vitter spokesman’s recent comments that the FEMA-trailer debacle, which exposed thousands of displaced Gulf Coast victims living in government-issued trailers to high formaldehyde levels, demonstrated the need “to get absolutely reliable information to the public about formaldehyde risk as soon as possible,” Vitter’s position ensures the EPA won’t be rolling out formaldehyde guidelines anytime soon.

So why is Vitter so sympathetic to the formaldehyde industry? Campaign finance records show that many of Louisiana’s big formaldehyde polluters happen to be—you guessed it—Vitter campaign donors. He’s received $9,000 from Dow Chemical’s PAC, $5,000 from Monsanto’s, $5,000 from ExxonMobil’s, and $2,500 from the American Forest and Paper Association’s. The American Forest and Paper Association is also a member of the Formaldehyde Council, an industry group whose views align with Vitter’s (it’s lobbied for an NAS review, too).

Hook, Line, and Sinker: Part Two

I didn’t expect the strong reaction I have received since I posted Part One of Hook, Line, and Sinker, but I sincerely appreciate the comments and advice I’ve received during the last 24 hours.

I did, however, expect that Greg Aymond would respond, in his own way, on his blog, considering his publication of my initial correspondence with Ms. Underwood.

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