In case you have forgotten, Kevin Diaz of the Star Tribune reminds us
U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann hasn’t forgotten about the light bulb bill.
Under new GOP management in the House, the Minnesota Republican is reintroducing her signature “Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act,” a new iteration of legislation that went nowhere when the Democrats were in charge.
Her aim: Repeal the 2007 mandate which requires that traditional incandescent light bulbs be phased out in favor of those squiggly energy efficient compact fluorescent jobbies.
There was apparently another political event in Iowa yesterday. A chance for the top two current GOP stars to break bread together or something. Alas, it was too hectic for Mrs. Bachmann to do that, and she apparently had to cool her heels on her bus waiting for, well, light bulbs.
From MSNBC:
..NBC News' Jamie Novogrod reported. The stage was dramatically brighter following the change from the Perry campaign’s Tungsten lights to Bachmann’s HMI lights, witnesses said.
Not being a light bulb expert like Mrs. Bachmann, I asked myself, what the hell is HMI lights? Google and Wikipedia to the rescue:
Hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide, or HMI, is a Osram brand metal-halide gas discharge medium arc-length lamp manufactured for the film and entertainment industry. Hydrargyrum is Latin for mercury (Hg). The term HMI has become a genericized trademark for all similar high-quality metal-halide lamps made for film and entertainment, regardless of manufacturer.
An HMI lamp uses mercury vapour mixed with metal halides in a quartz-glass envelope, with two tungsten electrodes of medium arc separation. Unlike traditional lighting units using incandescent light bulbs, HMIs need electrical ballasts, which are separated from the head via a header cable, to limit current and supply the proper voltage.
More than I wanted to know, but this jumped out at me: made for film and entertainment Not to disparage Waterloo, Iowa or it's residents, but it's not exactly Broadway. Then again, Mrs. Bachmann is as close as Waterloo will ever get to seeing Lady Gaga; so, I guess they had to treat her like a real celebrity.
But what was wrong with those tungsten lights that were good enough for GoodHair? (Doncha love how these two sport the same shade of brown hair. Looks a lot like Saint Ronnie's and several Middle Eastern dictators.) Okay, slight confession, I didn't know what tungsten lights are either. wiki answers to the rescue
Tungsten lighting is a term used by photographers to distinguish from fluorescent lighting or strobe lighting. Tungsten is a type of incandescent lighting using a bulb with a filament made of the metal tungsten, as opposed to, say, carbon or platinum. Unless you have switched to compact fluorescents, most of the lighting in your home is tungsten. In still photography, tungsten lighting gave studio photographers greater flexibility than the classic north sky light. Tungsten lights reigned supreme for many years in commercial studios until the introduction of strobes (or speed lights) and some workers still prefer tungsten for its controllability (what you see is what you get). For television and cinematography tungsten is essential.
How about them apples? The Queen of the incandescent light bulb crusade demanded non-incandescent lights for stage show in Waterloo. And the Good Ship Hypocrisy sails on.