Democrats in the Oregon State Senate could not reach a quorum to vote on a climate change bill because 11 Republican state senators walked out of the senate and some even left the state.  The Republicans could stop the debate and the vote, but they could not stop climate change.

Fred Girod was one of those senators. He refused to come back to the senate for a full month.  So the cap and trade bill never got a discussion or a vote.

Fred Girod’s house burned down.

Girod, a 69-year-old state senator, made an impromptu trip Sunday into his sprawling district that includes many of the most hard-hit areas decimated by wildfires that have now burned more than 1 million acres across the state and killed at least 10 people.

‘It hurts,’ Girod said, hands in his dark denim jeans.”

Well, damn, it’s the first time Girod’s hands have been in his own pockets.

Thanks to Larry for the heads up.