The fossil fuel lobby is panicking. Kansas was recently the site of a bold repudiation of coal -- Roderick L. Bremby, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, established a new precedent by denying a coal plant permit on the basis of CO2, with the full backing of Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius.

Look at the slime Big Coal put out in several Kansas newspapers today:

Lovely. Nothing like a little overt xenophobia to liven up the energy debate.

The ad was placed by a group called "Kansans for Affordable Energy," which according to the AP is partially funded by Sunflower Electric Power Corp. -- the very company whose permits were rejected by Bremby.

Sebelius called the ads "over-the-top nonsense." That's a rather kind way of putting it. Click on the image above to see the full ad.