Thursday - June 12, 2008

Some might see it in bad taste, others as funny and still others as both.

Posted by Drew458     on 06/12/2008 at 07:43 AM   
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   Wednesday - June 11, 2008

A little common sense?

I still think my plan is better. Not only does it cut the price of oil 80% over night, it scares the crap out of the entire planet. Hey, if they don’t respect you make them fear you. But in the meantime, please click over to NRO and read the rest of this piece. It’s about the uncontrolled speculation on the oil commodities market, which is responsible for a huge amount of the price of oil, and suggests several ways to limit that impact.

In my opinion the world needs to be on an oil standard. The same way that the world used to be on a gold standard when gold was fixed at $32 per ounce. What we are going through now is very similar to the Tulip Craze. PLEASE take 60 seconds to click the link and read up on that one if you aren’t familiar with it. The bottom line is that unchecked speculation leads to disaster. And we are currently on the very edge of the abyss, and a very large part of the reason why is another out of control speculation situation. We need some common sense ASAP. But lacking that, and the whole damn world seems to be lacking that, we need to put some brakes onto this runaway train as fast as we can.

An astonishing thing happened last Thursday and Friday: oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by almost $17 per barrel, or roughly 14 percent. At the same time, the wholesale price for unleaded gasoline added another $0.36 per gallon, or 11 percent.

Media and analysts were quick to blame this unprecedented spike on the declining value of the dollar, on brewing tension between Israel and Iran, and on increasing demand for oil in China, India, and other expanding economies. But this was a market event, not an economic or geopolitical one: Futures trading and speculation is unquestionably putting upside pressure on oil prices.

Those skeptical about investors’ role in rising energy costs should be persuaded by last week’s events. The time has come to consider new commodities-futures regulations in order to prevent an unnecessary speculative oil spike, with all the collateral economic damage that will attend it.

Nothing makes conservatives queasier than regulation, especially of financial markets. But oil’s meteoric rise from $50 in January 2007 to almost $139 on Friday calls for drastic measures that might solve this crisis without a measure as drastic as the gas tax Charles Krauthammer proposed on Friday.

In the past, energy price appreciations of last week’s magnitude have typically been caused by supply disruptions — like the 1973 OPEC embargo, or the 4 million barrels per day in lost production that followed the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, which restricted international oil supplies for several years and caused a spike in prices.

In this decade, though, world oil production has continued to rise, making it difficult for simple supply and demand to explain the explosion in oil’s price from $20 in 2002. The Energy Information Association reports that since 2002, world petroleum production has risen from 76.995 million barrels per day to 84.594 million barrels per day in 2007, a 9.87 percent increase. Over the same period, demand has gone from 78.036 million barrels per day to 85.354 million barrels, a 9.38 percent increase. So total world oil production actually rose faster than demand, but prices increased by almost 400 percent nonetheless. Kind of throws a monkey-wrench into blaming this crisis on China and India’s lust for crude, doesn’t it?

The fact is, the explosion in oil futures trading on the various exchanges around the world has unquestionably been a huge factor in the nearly 200-percent increase in oil prices since January 2007.
...
As a pure capitalist, I’m all for defending the free market. However, with food and energy prices going through the roof largely due to commodities speculation, calling these markets “free” seems a tad oxymoronic.

This article makes sense. If the children won’t behave, and they aren’t, then Mommy has to call a time-out, and change the rules of the games they’re playing. Because you don’t want to wait until Daddy gets home, especially if you put me in the Daddy roll. Please go read the rest and make up your own mind. Will this work, or not? Why or why not? Comments are open ...

Posted by Drew458     on 06/11/2008 at 07:21 PM   
Filed Under: • No Shit, Sherlock • Oil, Alternative Energy, and Gas Prices •  
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Dear Principal Christopher: BITE ME

When school officials in Rock Hill, South Carolina, tell graduation ceremony crowds to hold their applause until the end, they mean it — Police arrested seven people after they were accused of loud cheering during the ceremonies.

Six people at Fort Mill High School’s graduation were charged Saturday and a seventh at the graduation for York Comprehensive High School was charged Friday with disorderly conduct, authorities said. Police said the seven yelled after students’ names were called.

“I just thought they were going to escort me out,” Jonathan Orr told The Herald of Rock Hill. “I had no idea they were going to put andcuffs on me and take me to jail.”

Orr, 21, spent two hours in jail after he was arrested when he yelled for his cousin at York’s commencement at the Winthrop University Coliseum.

Rock Hill police began patrolling commencements several years ago at the request of school districts who complained of increasing disruption. Those attending graduations are told they can be prosecuted for bad behavior and letters are sent home with students, said Rock Hill police spokesman Lt. Jerry Waldrop.

All the cases, except for one that includes a resisting arrest charge, will be handled in city court and are punishable by a maximum of 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Orr said he thinks people should be allowed to cheer. { Drew458 - yeah, it’s called the First Ammendment }

“For some people, it might be the only member of their family to graduate high school, and it was like a funeral in there,” Orr said.

William Massey, 19, was arrested but said he plans to fight the charge. He said he simply “clapped and gave a little whoop” when his fiancee’s name was called. Massey said there were warnings before the ceremony but none that said he could be arrested.

He said not everyone who cheered was arrested.

“There’s a lot more people that did it than six or seven,” said Massey, who graduated from Fort Mill last year.

Fort Mill Principal Dee Christopher says school officials don’t ask that offenders be arrested but that he plans to keep a police presence at future graduation ceremonies.

“We think it’s important for every graduate’s name to be heard and for every person in the arena to be able to see that student cross the stage. ... That’s why we have disruptive guests removed,” he said.

Posted by Drew458     on 06/11/2008 at 04:39 PM   
Filed Under: • Education • Stoopid-People •  
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Bohica, Bohica …

This should be the top story on every news site, on every newspaper, and on every TV and radio news program. America, fucked again by the Democrats. Bend. Over. Here. It. Comes. Again.

WASHINGTON — A House subcommittee on Wednesday rejected a Republican-led effort to open up more U.S. coastal waters to oil exploration. Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., spearheaded the effort. His proposal would open up U.S. waters between 50 and 200 miles off shore for drilling. The first 50 miles off shore would be left alone. But the plan failed Wednesday on a 9-6, party-line vote in a House appropriations subcommittee, which was considering the proposal as part of an Interior Department spending package.

With record oil prices and gas prices projected to hover around the $4 mark for the rest of the summer, Republicans have ratcheted up their efforts to open up oil exploration along U.S. coastline. But the long-sought change has so far been unsuccessful. Most offshore oil production and exploration has been banned since a federal law passed in 1981.

“We are kidding ourselves if we think we can drill our way out of these problems,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., said during the bill mark-up session.

Hey Obey, you Oasshole - getting to the oil and gas will take several years. Everyone knows that. That’s why we’ve been pushing for this kind of thing for 25 years. Remember when gas cost 89¢ a gallon? And we wanted to drill for oil offshore? And you said it wouldn’t help bring those prices down? You numb-nutted fucktard, it was today we were trying to protect against back then. What kind of rancid cum dribble are you anyway? Did you fail the test to get on Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? Is that why you took a career in government? Holy shit, you’re so fucking dumb we can’t trust you with a glass of milk unless you’ve got your safety helmet on.

For his part, Peterson said: “There is no valid reason for Congress to keep the country from energy resources it needs.” “I’m disappointed. I did not expect a partisan vote today. I felt we had a chance of winning this. A lot of Democrats have been talking favorably about my amendment. They know we have to do something. But today was an absolute show of Pelosi power, it was dealt from the top down,” Peterson said later, speaking with FOX News, adding he was open to other energy solutions, including wind and solar power.

Pelosi? Wasn’t she the crotch wrinkle who had a plan that was going to save us all? Why, yes she did!!

Pelosi Details Plan for Special Energy Committee

In a memo to House Democrats, Speaker Nancy Pelosi spelled out in more detail her plans to create a new bipartisan select committee to help raise the profile of energy independence and climate change issues in the new Congress. The California Democrat said her hope was to use the panel to “gather state-of-the-art scientific research, focus public attention on these urgent issues, and support the work of the authorizing committees” charged with writing actual legislation over the next six months.

Yes, this is the exact same FoxNews article I linked to earlier. Because it’s been updated. Because our HOPE for some intelligent CHANGE has been DASHED. So now America will continue to be the only country in the free world who has fuel resources but will not allow itself to go after them. Meanwhile, the fucking red Chinese are drilling OUR oil just 50 miles offshore of Florida. Ok, in theory it’s Cuba’s oil, but if we actually were a BIG BAD EMPIRE instead of a wet-my-pants nation of wilted flower holding Kumbayah singing spineless Obama-fainting fucking PUSSIES, it would be ours whenever we wanted it.

God damn. I am fit to bust. FOUR BUCKS A FUCKING GALLON and the Washington leftist shitwipes DON’T suffer an immediate public stoning for saying things like “drilling for oil is not the solution”. That’s right, because making an effort to get more of a “scarce” resource isn’t worth it. Because having more of it couldn’t possibly impact the “scarcity”. Who is this craven moron and how the fuck did he get elected? The price of gas has DOUBLED since Pelosi and her crew took over in 2006. And the worst thing they can see about this is that, in the words of their new LightWorker Messiah - “Discussing rising gasoline prices, Obama said: “I think that I would have preferred a gradual adjustment. “ - that the price increase hasn’t been gradual enough. Not that the price has increased to this level. Fuck no, that’s Ok. They’re happy with that. Totally. They just wish the price had gone up a little less quickly.

Dear America: You can go fuck, because the only important thing that truly matters is blocking any and all Republican legislation. We don’t care how good a plan it is, if it’s theirs, we are against it. Love, the Democratic Socialist Workers Party, aka the DNC. Blame Bush!!! PS - Allah U Akhbar!!!

Oh, and unless I missed it, or they’re all out on a latte break, there is not a single word of this on CNN or at their website. Could they be any more selectively biased if they tried?

Posted by Drew458     on 06/11/2008 at 04:01 PM   
Filed Under: • Oil, Alternative Energy, and Gas Prices •  
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Thank You America

a guest post by Rancino



WHAT DOES IT TAKE FOR THE DIM BULBS IN CONGRESS TO SEE THE LIGHT?

The OPEC minister will look you in the eyes and state: “ We are at war with you infidels. Have been since the embargo in the 1970s. You are so arrogant you haven’t even recognized it. You have more missiles, bombs, and technology; so we are fighting with the best weapon we have and extracting on a net basis about $700 billion/year out of your economy. We will destroy you! Death to the infidels!

While I am here I would like to thank you for the following:

Not developing your 250-300 year supply of oil shale and tarsands. We know if you did this, it would create millions of jobs for US citizens, expand your engineering capabilities, and keep the wealth in the US instead of sending it to us to finance our war against you bastards. Thanks for limiting defense dept. purchases of oilsands from your neighbors to the north. We love it when you confuse your allies.

Thanks for over regulating every segment of your economy and thus delaying, by decades, the development of alternate fuel technologies.

Thanks for limiting drilling off your coasts, in Alaska, and anywhere there is a bug, bird, fish, or plant that might be inconvenienced. Better that your people suffer! Glad to see our lobbying efforts have
been so effective.

Corn based Ethanol. Praise Allah for this sham program! Perhaps you will destroy yourself from the inside with these types of policies. This is a gift from Allah, praise his name! We never would have
thought of this one! This is better than when you pay your farmers NOT TO GROW FOOD. Have them use more energy to create less energy, and simultaneously drive food prices through the roof. Thank you US Congress!!!!

And finally, we appreciate you letting us fleece you without end. You will be glad to know we have been accumulating shares in your banks, real estate, and publicly held companies. We also finance a good
portion of your debt and now manipulate your markets, currency, and economies to our benefit.

THANK YOU AMERICA !”

Posted by Drew458     on 06/11/2008 at 03:44 PM   
Filed Under: • No Shit, Sherlock • Oil, Alternative Energy, and Gas Prices •  
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WTF?

Bush is giving the Saudis a nuke plant? Huh? The country with more oil than anything. The country with thousands of empty miles of desert where the sun shines all the time and it never even rains? The country that is literally pumping money out of the ground - these guys need US to buy them a nuclear generator?

Here’s a quick geopolitical quiz: What country is three times the size of Texas and has more than 300 days of blazing sun a year? What country has the world’s largest oil reserves resting below miles upon miles of sand? And what country is being given nuclear power, not solar, by President George W. Bush, even when the mere assumption of nuclear possession in its region has been known to provoke pre-emptive air strikes, even wars?

If you answered Saudi Arabia to all of these questions, you’re right.

Last month, while the American people were becoming the personal ATMs of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in Saudi Arabia signing away an even more valuable gift: nuclear technology. In a ceremony little-noticed in this country, Ms. Rice volunteered the U.S. to assist Saudi Arabia in developing nuclear reactors, training nuclear engineers, and constructing nuclear infrastructure. While oil breaks records at $130 per barrel or more, the American consumer is footing the bill for Saudi Arabia’s nuclear ambitions.

Saudi Arabia has poured money into developing its vast reserves of natural gas for domestic electricity production. It continues to invest in a national gas transportation pipeline and stepped-up exploration, building a solid foundation for domestic energy production that could meet its electricity needs for many decades. Nuclear energy, on the other hand, would require enormous investments in new infrastructure by a country with zero expertise in this complex technology.

Have Ms. Rice, Mr. Bush or Saudi leaders looked skyward? The Saudi desert is under almost constant sunshine. If Mr. Bush wanted to help his friends in Riyadh diversify their energy portfolio, he should have offered solar panels, not nuclear plants.

Ok, I know it’s politics. The Saudis want access to something with radiation because the crazy mullahs over in Iran have some. But the Saudis are the Wahabbi folks, a bunch of mullahs nearly as crazy. Sure, maybe, just maybe, I can see letting them have a nuke plant, but only if we run it, we fuel it, and we build in a bullet proof emergency shut down program worthy of Star Trek. Hell no, make it better. None of this last second defusing the self destruct sequence. Every employee is an American. A Talmud thumping engineer. With a remote. The slightest issue and the whole thing is shut down forever. You get the idea.

But gosh. If there was one place on earth where solar energy and wind generation should have a go, wouldn’t it be sandland? Especially since they have all the friggin money and can afford huge quantities of the very latest devices?

Something about this stinks. Ok, sure, part of the story is where it’s coming from: an attack from the Left. But W done gone and put his foot in it, just like with the Dubai ports deal a while back.

Posted by Drew458     on 06/11/2008 at 12:42 PM   
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Ants in the Pants

Where the heck is the SCOTUS decision on DC v Heller already? It’s the middle of June for crissakes. You don’t want to start a revolution in the middle of winter you know. Do it when the weather is still nice.

Posted by Drew458     on 06/11/2008 at 12:32 PM   
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Today in GOP History

On this day in 1924, Henry Lincoln Johnson, a prominent African-American lawyer, led the Georgia delegation at the Republican National Convention. Read the rest at Grand Old Partisan.

Well, imagine that. A black man. From Georgia. In 1924, the height of the second Klan era. Who’da thunk it?

Michael Zak, author of Grand Old Partisan, also has a book out on the history of the GOP. I have a copy on order, and I’ll do a review once it gets here. But if you like where he’s going, you could order your own copy anyway ....

You can find out a bit more about Henry here, and about his wife, the rather famous poet Georgia Douglas Johnson, over here.

UPDATE: Even more history. Today is the day that Alabama Governor George Wallace, Democrat, in 1963, blocked the doorway to the University of Alabama to keep black students from registering. Thanks again to Grand Old Partisan for reminding us.

If you are too young to remember, or a product of government schools that neglected to tell you that Wallace was the Dixiest of Dixiecrat Democrats, here’s a link to more info.

Forty Five years ago today, Alabama Gov. George Wallace stood at the door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in a symbolic attempt to block two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from enrolling at the school. The drama of the nation’s division over desegregation came sharply into focus that June day. NPR’s Debbie Elliott reports.

It was the same year that civil rights marchers had been turned back with police dogs and fire hoses in Birmingham, Ala. { ya’ll remember Democrat Bull Connor, don’cha?} The year began with Wallace vowing “segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever” in his inaugural speech.

So when a federal judge { Drew458 - Republican judge Johnson, whom we mentioned the other day } ordered Malone and Hood be admitted to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa that summer, Wallace had the perfect opportunity to fulfill his pledge, Elliott reports.

the incident catapulted the governor into the national spotlight and he went on to make four runs at the presidency.

* that’s because they’ve seen the light and done been uplifted.

In October 1996, the George Wallace Family Foundation selected (Vivian Malone) Jones to be the first recipient of its Lurleen B. Wallace Award of Courage. Jet (28 October 1996) reported a meeting between Jones and Wallace in Montgomery prior to the ceremony, at which the former governor apologized. At the ceremony, Wallace said, “Vivian Malone Jones was at the center of the fight over states’ rights and conducted herself with grace, strength and, above all, courage.”

Wallace’s son, George Jr., later called Jones “a true American hero.”

So you can understand why they all went crazy when Obama got the nomination. Because it was all about the content of his character, not the color of his skin. Riiiiight. Guilt projection much?

Posted by Drew458     on 06/11/2008 at 12:05 PM   
Filed Under: • Republicans •  
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Is the GOP finally waking up?

With oil and gas prices reaching record highs and little relief in sight, Republican members of Congress are looking at a long-sought, but so far unsuccessful plan to open American shores up to more petroleum exploration.

Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa. is leading the charge Wednesday, when he’ll push for an amendment to a spending bill that would open up U.S. waters between 50 and 200 miles off shore for drilling. The first 50 miles off shore would be left alone.

“For 27 years, Congress has deliberately locked up vast offshore oil and natural gas reserves,” Peterson said, according to USA Today. “With the price at the pump increasing daily — with no end in sight — and the cost of natural gas trading at record levels, Congress needs to unlock these reserves.”

Most oil production and exploration has been banned since 1981.

“Tapping America’s huge reserve of deep ocean energy helps us fight terrorism and increases our domestic energy supply, which will help put downward pressure on gasoline prices,” Greg Schnacke, President of Americans for American Energy, said in a news release, adding: “With Americans suffering at the gas pump and with higher energy bills, it’s a no-brainer that the OCS should be developed.”

But the proposal has faced staunch opposition from environmental groups from states where the shorelines are under consideration for drilling, like Florida.

Sierra Club lands program director Athan Manuel told a House committee Wednesday that drilling has been unsuccessful in driving costs down.

“The disappointing part about some of the energy policies being promoted (is) that it calls for more drilling when drilling really is the problem. And all we’ve got to show for pretty aggressive (domestic) drilling for the last 35 years is, again, $4 for a gallon of gas,” Manuel said, adding “since the first Arab oil shock in the 1970s, the U.S. has produced almost 90 billion barrels of oil since then, so we’ve tried drilling our way out of the problem and it just hasn’t worked.”

Environment Florida spokeswoman Holly Binns told the Media General news group that offshore drilling has no immediate impact on prices.

“It would take anywhere from seven to 10 years to bring those resources to shore — to have any measurable impact on supply,” Binns said, advocating renewable energy sources.

Democrats are holding their own series of events on Capitol Hill Wednesday to focus attention on global warming and energy independence, but drilling is not on the agenda. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Tuesday ongoing calls for more drilling “is the Johnny One-Note of the Republican Party.”

Not surprisingly, the issue has spilled into the ream of presidential politics as well.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., criticized Democrats, including fellow Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., over recent comments Obama made regarding gas prices.

The comments that McConnell referred to were given during an interview with CNBC. Discussing rising gasoline prices, Obama said: “I think that I would have preferred a gradual adjustment. The fact that this is such a shock to American pocketbooks is not a good thing.

Obama also said that “if we take some steps right now to help people make the adjustment, first of all by putting more money into their pockets, but also by encouraging the market to adapt to these new circumstances more quickly, particularly U.S. automakers, then I think ultimately, we can come out of this stronger and have a more efficient energy policy than we do right now.

McConnell, honing in on Obama’s referral to “gradual” price increases, said Obama’s remarks are evidence that Obama believes “rising gas prices aren’t the problem. The problem, he suggested, is that they’ve gone up too fast. He said he would prefer a gradual adjustment.”

He continued: “Whether it’s shutting down domestic exploration in large areas both onshore and offshore, instituting a moratorium on oil shale development, increasing the gas tax, or refusing to pursue coal to liquids, Democrats long ago implemented a ‘gradual adjustment’ on gas prices that’s reflected today in the $4.05 Americans are paying for a gallon of gas.”

Let’s take a look ...
Ryan has bought himself a clue. His plan is basic, but it’s moving in the correct direction:

• Open up ANWR. Damn right. Screw the stupid caribou. Let the lefties bankrupt themselves with a humane relocation program. With any luck they’ll freeze to death in the process.


• Build more refineries. Gosh. Well, it looks like North Dakota is trying to get one. ONE. The first new one in 30 years.


• Reduce botique fuels. You know we have something like 40 different blends of gas in this country? That’s just stupid. And uneconomical

That’s a start Congressman. But you need to go further. A LOT further.



Washington, DC - Congressman John E. Peterson, R-Pa., along with the Republican Conference, unveiled a solutions based approach to solving our nation’s energy crisis, at a press conference on the steps of the U.S. Capitol this morning. Peterson, who has been sounding the alarm on a looming energy crisis for over six years, issued the following statement:

“With the price at the pump reaching a new record high daily and the cost of natural gas soaring, Americans are sick and tired of this do-nothing Congress. From rural America to the big cities, Americans are struggling to cope with the rising cost of energy. Americans deserve a solutions based approach – not the finger pointing Democrats are accustomed to – to help alleviate the burden on senior citizens, the working poor, small business, and middle-class America. House Republicans have waited 18 months for Speaker Pelosi to bring energy production legislation to the floor; yet, all we get is tax and blame legislation.

“The solutions based approach Republicans rolled out today hits all aspects of the energy spectrum: increased domestic production of oil and natural gas, clean coal and advanced nuclear technology, increased efficiency and conservation, expanded investment in renewables, and cutting the bureaucratic red tape in Washington to allow refining and infrastructure expansion to occur. Folks, as simple and realistic as this proposal sounds, there is extreme opposition from Speaker Pelosi to even debate these issues in committee or on the House floor.

“The American people should know that extreme environmentalists are holding the energy resources of this country hostage. These unfounded fears and the influence of a small minority continue to force the price of energy to record highs. The aforementioned approach, proposed by the House Republicans, invites all Americans, Republican, Democrat and Independents, to join us in urging the Democratic Leadership in both the House and Senate to bring energy production legislation to the floor for debate. 

“In my nearly four decades of public service, I am hard pressed to find an elected official or private citizen that wants to harm the environment. I am confident, that with current technology, the will of the American people, and a solutions based approach, America can overcome any crisis, including the one we currently face, and increase domestic energy production in an environmentally friendly manor. 

Good move. Let’s get away from the old bullshit rallying cry of “the Republicans want to rape the environment and turn the whole country over to big business while the old people starve!!!”. Because it isn’t so. And it has never been so. NOBODY wants to screw up the environment. Not even Republicans. Hello, we live here too. And we want to keep the old people alive, because they’re the ones who own all the stock in Big Oil. Just kidding.

The Change America Deserves: Lower Energy Prices
When it comes to energy production, while our global competitors are pursuing 21st Century technologies, America is stuck in the 1970s. On electricity production alone, for example, just to keep up with new demand, by 2030, the United States must build 747 NEW coal plants, 52 NEW nuclear plants, 2,000 NEW hydroelectric generators, and add 13,000 NEW megawatts of renewable power. The dire need to increase domestic oil and gas production is no different. Yet, the Democratic Majority refuses to lead.
Republicans are committed to a comprehensive energy reform policy that will increase the supply of American-made energy, improve energy efficiency, and encourage investment in groundbreaking research in advanced alternative and renewable energy technologies. With 21st Century technologies and the strictest standards in the world, America can and must produce more of our own energy right here at home and protect our environment at the same time. That’s the change America deserves.

How Washington is Broken:

The Democratic Majority’s “Just Say No” Energy Policy Darkens America’s Energy Future:

• No production of American energy resources, which increases reliance on unstable foreign sources such as Venezuela, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.


• No new oil refineries built, which increases gas prices and reliance on imported fuel.


• No new transmission lines, which hinders renewable electricity getting to consumers and reduces reliability.


• No new coal power plants, which increases electricity prices and stifles the economy.


• No new advanced zero-emission nuclear plants, which blocks one of the cleanest, most reliable energy sources available.


• No new zero-emission hydro-electric plants, which blocks reliable clean energy.


• No liquefied natural gas terminals, which increases prices and ships jobs overseas.


• Democrats’ prohibitions on producing American energy resources have made the U.S. more reliant on imported oil and natural gas.


• Democrats’ roadblocks on the utilization of energy from our North American neighbors, have made the U.S. more reliant on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).


• Democrats’ unfavorable tax rules have sent energy investment and production abroad.


• Democrats’ unnecessary red-tape and bureaucracy have made it nearly impossible to move forward on new clean power generation.


• Democrats’ 1970s-era energy policies have canceled dozens of power plants, reducing electricity supplies and increasing electricity costs to consumers.


• Democrats’ refusal to provide incentives for individuals and businesses has made it difficult to invest in efficient technologies.

How Republican Solutions Will Fix It:

• Fund R&D for better ways to find, get, and use the energy resources we already have


• Increase oil and gas production in the lower 48, in ANWR, and off the coasts, but do it without creating a mess


• Promote coal-to-gas and oil shale. We have enough oil in the oil shales to last for centuries. Let’s go get it.


• MORE NUKES!!


• Cut the Red Tape and streamline the permitting process for new exploration and production. Get rid of the policies that have forced the use of Botique Fuels


• Ease regulations and supply tax breaks to businesses and homeowners to upgrade to more efficient HVAC, insulation, and solar power

Here’s the latest EIA energy outlook paper. It is not a happy picture. We import 75% of our oil and are essentially hostage to the instability in the oil producing nations. No shit. It’s time to build a stronger America by building an freer America. I don’t like being a hostage, do you?




PS - you did get Newt’s email from Norway this morning didn’t you? Norway doesn’t seem to have an energy crisis. Norway has managed to balance off shore drilling with environmentalism. It’s a smart thing to do, getting a balance. Too bad the US has been mired in a seeming All Or Nothing miasma for decades, with the Nothing squad winning:

The U.S. Was Once a Leader in Offshore Drilling. Today Norway Is

The United States was a leader in the creation of the offshore drilling industry in the 1950s and early 1960s, but today it’s countries like Norway that are leaders in the field.

Norway’s annual output of 1.6 billion barrels of oil comes exclusively from offshore drilling. Oil and natural gas are transported through a network of sub seafloor pipelines. Norway is the home to the world’s largest natural gas drilling platform.

And the truly remarkable fact is that Norway has built this robust offshore oil and gas drilling industry alongside large and thriving fishing and tourism industries.

The Norwegian Model: Trust, Common Sense, and Green Conservatism

Norway has avoided the “everywhere versus nowhere” trap that has paralyzed U.S. offshore drilling through a common sense approach that is textbook Green Conservatism.

In Norway, strong environmental protections were part of exploration, drilling and transportation of oil and natural gas from the outset. This initial environmental emphasis has built the sense of trust necessary to allow Norway to move to a cooperative, performance-based model rather than a regulation-based model like we have in the U.S.

Norway has relatively few laws, regulations and government agencies that govern offshore drilling. Their equivalent of our Supreme Court - the Hoyesterett - reportedly declined jurisdiction over offshore drilling on the grounds that it lacks expertise!

The result is a policy in which environmental concerns are carefully balanced with energy needs. Norwegians have put some areas off-limits to drilling. In some areas, drilling is carefully circumscribed. But the point is that drilling occurs. Environmental concerns have informed - not pre-empted-Norway’s oil and gas industry.

The American Model: Distrust, Stalemate and Energy Crisis

Compare that to the United States, where a series of congressional prohibitions and presidential moratoria on offshore drilling - fed by public mistrust and largely unfounded environmental fears - have placed virtually all of the offshore United States off limits to drilling.

The United States is the only country in the world that so dramatically limits the exploration and development of its offshore oil and gas deposits.

The hysteria is so acute that both of our current presidential candidates even voted in 2005 in favor of willful ignorance about our domestic energy resources. Each voted for an amendment that would have removed from the energy bill that ultimately passed a provision for a comprehensive inventory of the oil and natural gas resources in the offshore continental shelf of the United States. Fortunately the amendment failed—even though one of the two candidates is still the sole sponsor of a bill to repeal the authorization of the inventory. You can read the inventory here that 44 U.S. Senators didn’t want you to read and learn that the U.S. Minerals Management Service estimates a mean of 85.9 billion barrels of undiscovered recoverable oil and a mean of 419.9 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered recoverable natural gas in the Federal Outer Continental Shelf of the United States.

I’m not suggesting that the United States adopt the level of government involvement in oil and gas that Norway has (its major petroleum producer, Statoil, is a public-private company). And I’m too much of a realist to think that the U.S. oil and gas industry and the environmental groups are going to suddenly sit down, hold hands together, and forget their differences.

What I am advocating is a more informed public making its demands of energy independence clear to our government.

New Poll Shows Broad, Bipartisan Support for Tapping Domestic Energy Sources, Including Offshore

Last week American Solutions released the results of new survey research dealing with energy security, coal and climate change. The adults surveyed made clear that Congress should prioritize increasing the availability of affordable energy over battling climate change.

In pursuit of the immediate goal of energy security, clear majorities of Americans of every political and ideological stripe advocated the U.S. tap into its voluminous domestic energy resources, including the oil located off its coasts and in Alaska and the coal deep within its grounds. Clean coal was particularly popular and Americans urged the swift building of zero emissions coal plants.

Americans prefer a greater use of domestic energy sources and an innovation-encouraging tax policy that rewards businesses for new energy solutions. While there were some political and ideological differences, for the most part, Americans stood united in favor of a smart, practical energy policy that would allow them to drive to work and power their homes without breaking their bank accounts. For additional information, including the survey results, click here.

A Vote to Watch: The Peterson Amendment to Lift the Offshore Drilling Moratorium

This week, Congressman John Peterson (R-Pa.) will offer an amendment to the Interior Appropriations bill that would lift the congressional moratorium on offshore drilling.

Contact your member of Congress today and urge them to support the Peterson Amendment to restore sanity and common sense to our domestic energy policy.

Every American should keep their eyes on the House Appropriations Committee this week to see whether members vote to support our desire for environmentally responsible increased domestic energy production, or whether they continue to bury their heads in the sand.

Posted by Drew458     on 06/11/2008 at 10:25 AM   
Filed Under: • Oil, Alternative Energy, and Gas Prices •  
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   Tuesday - June 10, 2008

Summer Bowling League Week 5

Arrggh. No, no pirates. Just frustration. I am so tired of trying to bowl properly and being a total Fail. Teh Suck. So I gave it up, and went back to my reverse rolling, ultra lofted, backspinning spaz throw, and improved my scores dramatically. Trying to bowl properly I threw a 125 the first game. Oil pattern was so long I backed up a full row of dots - 6 feet - on the approach, and I was just starting to get some motion at the pins. So I gave up and went back to my comedy bowling. I threw a 225 in game 2 and a 193 in game 3. Isnt’ that awful?

So we were up against team Trailer Park. Ok, that isn’t their name, but it sure was their look. The combination of a lack of IQ and a lack of soap, with a double D side order of floppy cleavage. And the women were worse! I was counting fingers, and I swear there were some extras. Even though we had to hand them 197 pins handicap, we still should have beat them. Hard. Especially since Daddy Trailer was absent, so we could’ve got a 10 pin penalty on that. But no. They found a sub. On summer league. I didn’t even know there were such things as subs for summer league. And the sub they found ... was Bret.

I know Bret. I’ve known Bret a looong time. Bret is a very good bowler. Good, like the way those two ladies in the yogurt ad describe good. I’ve seen Brent throw 840 series, and 300 games, more times than I can count. I’ve seen him win thousands of dollars in leagues and tournaments. Of all the lanes in all the alleys in the world, he had to sub on mine. Brent rolled a meager 238 to warm up in the 1st game, then a 268, then he screwed the pooch when the thunderstorm hit and conditions changed drastically, and tossed a 229 in the 3rd. Ouch. Not even a 750 series. Oh, the agony. Pbbbttt!!!

So once again, our team had to bowl it’s collective ass off just to lose by a little. But we won the 2nd game. Big. I’d like to say it was because of my 60 over game. But it was more like the Trailer Park squad throwing a 111, a 58, and a 129. Event with the mighty Hercules Bret, we still took that one by a good margin. Enough so that when they won the 3rd game by less than 20 pins we still wound up winning wood by 4. So, hurrah. And a whoop-dee-do.

I’m cleaning this damn ball and then taking the Abralon sanding pads to it. I’m going to cut the finish down to about 1000 grit, which should take several feet off the length of the hook. Expletive undeleted piece of goose poop. Friggin ball wants to go 200 yards before turning and the damn lane is only 60 feet long. GRRRRrrrrr.

Posted by Drew458     on 06/10/2008 at 08:56 PM   
Filed Under: • Miscellaneous •  
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You have Got to be Kidding Me

today’s email from the NRA/ILA:

New Jersey Assembly Committee to Consider Gun Ban Bill!
Bill is an Attack on Sportsmen, Collectors, and Target Shooters!

On Thursday morning, June 12, the New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider legislation that would ban the purchase, transfer, or inheritance of many popular hunting guns, historical American firearms, and large bore target firearms, based on alleged public safety concerns.  The bill would ban any rifle with a bore diameter larger than .50 caliber, including many modern and antique hunting and target firearms.

Touted as a ban on .50 caliber and larger firearms, AswGreenstein@njleg.org
Phone: 609-395-9911
Fax: 609-395-9032

Assemblyman Peter Barnes, III (D-18), Vice Chair
AsmBarnes@njleg.org
Phone: 732-548-1406
Fax: 732-548-1623

Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande (R-12)
AswCasagrande@njleg.org
Phone: 732-866-1695
Fax: 732-866-4262

Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-15)
AsmGusciora@njleg.org
Phone: 609-292-0500
Fax: 609-633-2179

Assemblywoman Amy Handlin (R-13)
AswHandlin@njleg.org
Phone: 732-787-1170
Fax: 732-787-0356

Assemblywoman Grace Spencer (D-29)
AswSpencer@njleg.org
Phone: 973-624-1730
Fax: 973-589-0716

Even in the lunatic state of New Jersey, does this bill even stand a chance? It’s going to lump large caliber rifles and pistols under the “destructive devices” category. Not because they’re used in crime. Not because they shoot explosive ammunition. Just because. Because the government has decided that a half inch or large hole made by a bullet is too big. Except, shotguns, which can fire bullets known as slugs, are very often larger than half an inch in diameter. Actually, shotguns are the only modern firearm you’re allowed to hunt deer with in the state of NJ, because rifles are a no-no. And we’re hip deep in deer.

So gather up the pencils and get out the phones. It’s time to take these idiots to task once again.

On the 3rd hand, this bill isn’t up for a vote in the Senate. It’s going into Committee. It could be in there forever, or never come out. So, is this just more scaremail from the NRA? Or is it necessary to watch these asswipes in Trenton like rabid hawks, and pounce and tear the very instant they get another dipshit idea in their empty little liberal heads?

Posted by Drew458     on 06/10/2008 at 08:46 PM   
Filed Under: • Guns and Gun Control •  
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Chucky the Cheapskate

Heir to the throne Prince Charles on Tuesday paid off a family debt incurred more than 350 years ago—but was spared the accumulated interest that could have run into tens of thousands of pounds.

Charles handed over 453 pounds and 15 pence (572 euros and 20 euro cents, 885 dollars and four cents) which King Charles II failed to pay to the Clothiers Company in Worcester, central England, in 1651.

The king had commissioned uniforms for his troops to fight the republican forces of Oliver Cromwell at the Battle of Worcester the same year.
...
“It seems that members of the Clothiers Company have a long memory,” he said. “By long I mean nearly 400 years. Nevertheless, as a gesture of good will I come today prepared to honour this debt of 453 pounds and three shillings.

“I suspect that it will not have escaped your notice, however, I am resisting the immense temptation to pay the debt with full interest. I was not born yesterday.”
...
If interest was taken into account, 453 pounds and three shillings in 1651 would have been worth approximately 47,500 pounds in 2007, the BBC website said, citing the Institute for the Measurement of Worth.

So great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandpa hires some clothing company to sew uniforms for an entire battalion and then “forgets” to pay them. Along comes Chucky all these years later and pays off the debt at face value. “not born yesterday”. Cuz, ya know, he’s poor. And his old mum is on the dole too. I bet he had 47,500 pounds in one pocket. What a cheap old bastige. You’ll notice he stiffed them on the tip too.

Update: Boy did he ever screw them big time. And the Institute is wrong. The debt itself is worth what they said, without the interest.
Converting that old debt into gold, and using Newton’s 1700 exchange rate of 84 Shillings, 11 1/2d per ounce ( a rate that held for 200 years in GB ), and converting Old Money (£1 = 20 Shillings, with 1 Shilling = 12 Pence ) into New Money ... the debt for the uniforms was 106.65 troy ounces of gold even without any interest. Seeing as gold is trading for £444 today, that’s £47,352.60, or $92.465.42. Now if you add in a simple interest of 5%, you’d get another £6301, which would work out to ... a whole LOT of money.

Posted by Drew458     on 06/10/2008 at 03:13 PM   
Filed Under: • Fun-Stuff •  
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Chicken Hawk or Coyote Bomber?

Authorities in Connecticut are wondering who stuffed a raw roasting chicken with a pipe bomb and left it on a roadside.

Simsbury police Capt. Matthew Catania says a motorist noticed the chicken Friday morning. He says the bomb was large enough to harm a person if it went off.

The road was closed while the Hartford Police Department’s bomb squad came and blew up the chicken.

Nobody was injured. No arrests had been made Monday night.

A chicken. A CHICKEN???? Oh, Sam.

Seriously, was this some really strange social statement trying to be made by some Obamaloonie, or was it somebody out to get one of the local dogs, cats, or coyotes?  It could go either way. And you’ll notice they didn’t use any of Peiper’s boozed up barbeque sauce either.

Posted by Drew458     on 06/10/2008 at 03:08 PM   
Filed Under: • Stoopid-People •  
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Very puzzling news

SYDNEY, Australia - A judge aborted a drug conspiracy trial Tuesday after some jurors were found to have been playing the puzzle game Sudoku while evidence was being given.

Sydney District Court Judge Peter Zahra ended the trial Tuesday for two men facing a possible life sentence for drug conspiracy charges. The trial had been running for 66 days and had cost taxpayers an estimated 1 million Australian dollars (US$950,000).

The judge was alerted after it was observed the jurors were writing vertically, rather than horizontally. It had been assumed they were taking notes.

“Yes, it helps me keep my mind busy paying more attention,” the jury foreman told the judge Tuesday. “Some of the evidence is rather drawn out and I find it difficult to maintain my attention the whole time, and that doesn’t distract me too much from proceedings.”

Jurors in the trial are anonymous and no action can be taken against them for the puzzle playing.

The foreman admitted to the judge four to five jurors were playing puzzle games for up to half the time the trial had been going.

“Jurors are sort of the judges of the facts and it’s very disappointing they weren’t giving our clients a fair trial,” said Robyn Hakelis, a lawyer for one of the defendants.

A new trial is expected to begin in a few weeks.

Jury duty? Oh sod that. I’ve got to find some excuse. Oh no, I’m stuck, and they picked me. For foreman!! There go the holidays.  (time passes) SIXTY SIX bleedin days? What is this, another OJ trial? I’m going out of my mind here. Somebody stab me please, just so I can stay awake. And these guys on trial ... they’ve been staring at me the whole time. They’re killers, that’s for sure. Well, maybe they aren’t on trial for killing anybody, not this time, but they’re drug racketeers. The charges are so immense they could get life. Which means they have lots of dirty friends. Angry, vengeful, violent dirty friends. I’ve got to get off this damn jury!! Maybe if they catch me doing these puzzles ... hey, that’s a great idea! I’ll tell all my mates here in the jury room about it in the morning.

Posted by Drew458     on 06/10/2008 at 02:58 PM   
Filed Under: • Crime • Stoopid-People •  
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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

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It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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