Fourth Congressional Hearing

MAGE Institute's 4th Congressional Hearing - March, 2039

Scene length: 5-7 minutes

Setting

The MAGE Institute is close to eight years old now. The Institute has grown significantly and is now one of the most powerful voices for environmental action. That is not to say that this voice has much impact on those in power.

Senators may interject with questions and statements, as they wish.

Recent Events

2039 - Thousands of children born to women exposed to FRO suffer from deformations and cognitive defects, many of which are fatal.

Committee Members

• Senator Harold (TX): Ranking member of the Committee.
• Senator Wu (AK)
• Senator Sebastian (OK)
• Senator Winston (KY)

MAGE Institute Members

• Chris Carpenter
• Jamie Schreiber
• John Papadopoulos
• Andrea Skala
• Barry Magdalene
• Judah Isaacson
• Tamasa Valappil
• Philip Harrison
• James Papadopoulos
• Simone Cylima

Characters

Senator Harold (TX)

You allowed these fools back before your committee for one reason. You're going to challenge them and label them as the eco-terrorists that they are. It doesn't matter whether they, personally, were responsible for any of the incidents. These hippies are all the same.

- Two months ago there was a bombing of a construction site of a new regional headquarters for ExxonMobil in New Jersey. The cost of the damages are estimated as high as $6 million. Thirteen people were injured. How many MAGE Institute members or backers were involved?

- Last year, more than $13 million in damages were caused by arsonists targeting new housing constructions across 6 states in the west. How do these people think this sort of action is justified? And you won't let them get away with claims that they don't think it is justified.

- Three gas stations were bombed in Florida two years ago. When the perpetrators were caught, they claimed they were "defending the planet". Why do these hippies think they can get away with attacking society?

- The headquarters for a major logging company in Oregon was bombed three years ago. Their logging equipment was largely destroyed and close to $15 million in damages were reported. Were any MAGE Institute members involved?

Senator Wu (AK)

You were shocked when you heard that Senator Harold had personally invited this group back. You know he's going to be gunning for them in an entirely unfair way. You don't support them, but you don't want to see the sort of political hatchet job that he's going to unleash.

Senator Sebastian (OK)

This is getting out of hand. There is nothing good that can come of this hearing. Harold is going to do a hatchet job on these folks and you're sure that they are going to fight back. You're going to try to keep the fighting to a minimum and see if both sides can make it through without going too far.

Senator Winston (KY)

It is about time someone fought back against these wackos. Senator Harold has brought them here to lay them low with insults and accusations. You're going to support his line of questioning and fire off as many salvos as you can come up with.

You did a little digging and found out that Chris Carpenter seems to have come out of nowhere around ten years ago. Where was she before then? Is she a foreign agent stirring up trouble?

Chris Carpenter

You are deeply suspicious of this hearing. Senator Harold himself invited the MAGE Institute to testify. You've armed yourself with the facts on the illegal and shady business connections of the members of this Committee, and of more than two hundred members of Congress. If they want to open fire on the MAGE Institute, you've got the ammunition to fight back with.

Senator Harold - Senator Harold used to work for Texaco, the largest oil & gas business in Texas. In fact, he was a VP of marketing at one point. Since he jumped into the "public sector", Texaco and other oil & gas businesses have been his primary fundraisers and campaign contributors. Through your connections, you found out about more than $10 million from such businesses that have been illegally placed into offshore bank accounts belonging to the good Senator.

Senator Wu - Over the years Senator Wu has been in office, close to $1 billion has been channeled back into the coffers of Wu's top 3 campaign contributors in the way of earmarks. Senator Wu's family has good use of private corporate jets over the past dozen years, at no cost. Why, Senator Wu's daughters even went through college paid for by a private donor. The donor isn't so private anymore, it is Wu's top campaign contributor.

Senator Sebastian - According to covert investigation, Senator Sebastian receives twice as much in contributions from major energy corporations in Oklahoma, and across the country, than anyone else. Anyone. Perhaps Senator Sebastian can explain about the $5 million gift that Sebastian's spouse got to start a new business seven years ago. While it was supposedly an anonymous donor, you've tracked it back to his top campaign contributor... and the corporation that has received the most earmarks in Sebastian's legislation over the years. Senator Sebastian can't claim that there was no knowledge of this.

Senator Winston - Where to start on Winston? Winston's family is in the coal business and has been for generations. They've blackmailed and bribed more judges in Kentucky than even you could believe. They've had class-action lawsuits worth millions of dollars dropped even though tens of thousands of people were subjected to illness caused by terrible environmental practices. You know. You have proof of bank transfers to offshore accounts belonging to several judges.

Each person here is suppose to highlight one of the major incidents in the last ten years that you already testified on in past hearings. You're supposed to cap it off by talking about the deaths caused by FRO... tens of thousands of children dead. You only hope that you'll get a chance to address the matter.

Barry Magdalene

You're worried about this and you've let Chris know. Senator Harold is going to come out swinging. With some of your knowledge, and a lot of Simone's computer skills, you managed to dig up damaging information on hundreds of members of Congress. If Chris has to use them though... who knows where this will lead?

Each of you here is to highlight a given incident in the past decade, if everything doesn't go awry. You are *supposed* to speak on the now completely continuous red tides in the Gulf of Mexico that have made fishing and aquaculture impossible.

John Popadopoulos

The fact that Senator Harold called for this hearing has everyone worried. Each of you here is to highlight a given incident in the past decade, if everything doesn't go awry. You are *supposed* to speak on the Cane toads first spotted in CA in 2031. They rapidly spread throughout the Southern US, outcompeting local amphibians, poisoning local birds, and inconveniencing many people by their sheer numbers.

Tamasa Valappil

The fact that Senator Harold called for this hearing has everyone worried. Each of you here is to highlight a given incident in the past decade, if everything doesn't go awry. You are *supposed* to speak once more on the particularly bad year of hurricanes destroys Miami and several towns in Southern Florida and ravages Cuba and Puerto Rico in 2036. Your brother was never found following the tsunami in India the same year.

Jamie Schreiber

The fact that Senator Harold called for this hearing has everyone worried. Each of you here is to highlight a given incident in the past decade, if everything doesn't go awry. You are *supposed* to speak on the US being invaded by a South American species of louse in 2032 that is very difficult to exterminate, causing the closing of summer camps, daycares and even schools in a desperate attempt to isolate the affected individuals.

Andrea Skala

The fact that Senator Harold called for this hearing has everyone worried. Each of you here is to highlight a given incident in the past decade, if everything doesn't go awry. You are *supposed* to speak on the mouse population explosion in the American bread basket in 2033. Thousands of tons of grain were eaten and mouse borne diseases spread throughout the population. Wheat laced with poisons was used to kill the mice. While this succeeded, many birds, cats and dogs were also killed from eating either the wheat or the poisoned mice.

Judah Isaacson

The fact that Senator Harold called for this hearing has everyone worried. Each of you here is to highlight a given incident in the past decade, if everything doesn't go awry. You are *supposed* to speak on the tick-borne tropical cattle disease theileriosis arriving in the US in 2034. It quickly spread throughout herds in much of the Southern US. In some states, nearly 20% of cattle were estimated to have been lost.

Philip Harrison

The fact that Senator Harold called for this hearing has everyone worried. Each of you here is to highlight a given incident in the past decade, if everything doesn't go awry. You are *supposed* to speak on the Buruli ulcer, a painless but disfiguring skin ulcer that began spreading through the US in 2035. It was caused by a bacterium that has been spreading with an invasive water plant found in many lakes that contain swimming areas. All swimming areas in these lakes are closed, but new populations continue to pop up.

James Papadopoulos

The fact that Senator Harold called for this hearing has everyone worried. Each of you here is to highlight a given incident in the past decade, if everything doesn't go awry. You are *supposed* to speak on the pesticide resistant mormon crickets sweep through the American breadbasket, destroying most of the harvest for 2037 before being wiped out by a new pesticide called FRO. Chris will wrap things up talking about the effects of FRO.

Simone Cylima

The fact that Senator Harold called for this hearing has everyone worried. Each of you here is to highlight a given incident in the past decade, if everything doesn't go awry. You are *supposed* to speak on the rolling blackouts throughout much of the United States that are still ongoing.