#1
Looks like a hoax. Even the 'freepers' are calling it as one.
Lucianne pulled their copy of the story, too.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
05/04/2009 11:37 Comments ||
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#2
It was just a matter of time. The many tricks employed to secure his current position will soon come to light. The dems are a house of cards about to implode. Barry is as they said in the old days a slicker. He is a talker but my concern now is that he will divert attention with a dramatic act. The Emperor has lost his clothes but will continue on ignoring those who point and say you have no clothes on, he is oblivious to the truth. Like Hitler he will fight to the bitter end trying to control and do everything.
This is not about race this is about power but now and then your men of whit condesend to have of it.
TKY
Dale
#5
Unfortunately, my wife has a college classmate (college like in high school in the UK) who went to Occidental with The One. He was there under the name Barack Hussein Obama. Balloon bust! Which it was true but it isn't.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
05/04/2009 12:47 Comments ||
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#6
Hoax , April fools joke perhaps, but even if it were true this issue would receive the same treatment. Damage control, spin and whatever it takes to bury this will be utilized. This fellow has a history. Like I said before it's just a mater of time. How did he get the money for Columbia then Harvard. Harvard alone is over $50,000 per semester.
TKY,
Dale
CRAIG BOWEN'S SALARY during his final year as chief of the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District was about $221,000 a year. So how did he end up retiring in December with a tax-advantaged annual pension of $284,000?
The answer provides an amazing case study that highlights problems with public employee compensation and reveals tricks that allow workers to spike their pensions at the expense of their fellow employees and taxpayers.
The Bowen story has some similarities to the case I examined last month of Peter Nowicki, the chief of the Moraga Orinda Fire District who was able to turn his $185,000 annual salary into a $241,000 yearly pension. While each public agency has different rules that provide new ways to take advantage of retirement systems, many of the lessons can be applied across the board.
Continued on Page 49
#5
NB - I will receive a public pension in Cal. It is 2.5% at 55, maxed at 90% (i.e.: 36 yrs = 90%). We don't get any sweeteners to my knowledge as the Chief used. As an engineer, the retirement $ and health bennies was an incentive to accept the cut ($30-40K) between public/private, the lack of raises, and the security of a (supposedly - I put in more on my own) 40 hour work week with job security. There are all sort of horror stories like this guy out there (Fire Dept seems to be particular offender at my agency), but remember that there are offsets and balances before you throw the stones that I know will be coming. I signed contracts knowing what was offered and accepting known offsets.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/04/2009 20:32 Comments ||
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#6
OK Maybe Hellfish overreacted just a tad.
Of all of the careers one chooses Firefighter is among the most respectable.
That pension story did push me over the edge a bit - obviously.
#7
not a problem. I understand a lot of people have issues with public pensions, and the way some people play them (and they should on that last part. This guy Bowen's is a poster-child). Just trying to say there's a long history of gov'ts offering retirement sweeteners in lieu of raises keeping step with inflation, and many people (read "me") made a contractual decision to accept them. I will not now accept that I was "bad guy" for doing so, as I passed up other options in good faith. Craig Bowen's, however can go f*** himself
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/04/2009 21:33 Comments ||
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#8
and my employer has asked that I contribute more $ to fund that liability. I voted yes....then I paid. To those whose 401K's etc, have lost half its' value in the last year. I understand. Mine did too.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/04/2009 21:39 Comments ||
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#9
The Craig Bowen story is quite a shocker but please don't think it is true of all public employee's. As with Frank G. the State of Idaho says that the "generous" benefits will compensate for the lack of wages. Of course there are "pay for performance" programs that are never funded after the first year. The total retirement here is about 60% of the average of the last 3 years. No health. Both the State and individual contribute and the individual can also contribute to a 401K if they wish. I enjoyed the work (Transportation Engineering Tech) and felt the work was of benefit to the public (that hadn't a clue of what I did). As with Frank I knew what I was signing up for. When you criticize public employees please put down the shotgun with 00 buck and pick up the scoped rifle. There is plenty to shoot at as it is without going wild.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Saturday that it's time for the Republican Party to give up its "nostalgia" for the heyday of the Reagan era and look forward, even if it means stealing the winning strategy deployed by Democrats in the 2008 election.
"You can't beat something with nothing, and the other side has something. I don't like it, but they have it, and we have to be respectful and mindful of that," Mr. Bush said.
The former president's brother, often mentioned as a potential candidate in 2012, said President Obama's message of hope and change during the 2008 campaign clearly resonated with Americans.
"So our ideas need to be forward looking and relevant. I felt like there was a lot of nostalgia and the good old days in the [Republican] messaging. I mean, it's great, but it doesn't draw people toward your cause," Mr. Bush said.
"From the conservative side, it's time for us to listen first, to learn a little bit, to upgrade our message a little bit, to not be nostalgic about the past because, you know, things do ebb and flow."
The Florida governor joined former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and House Republican Whip Eric Cantor on Saturday at a small pizza parlor in Arlington for the inaugural event of the National Council for a New America (NCNA).
Mr. Cantor said meeting with ordinary folks is the key way "to begin a conversation with the American people" and explain Republican principles to anyone who will listen.
Mr. Romney, a failed 2008 Republican presidential candidate, said his party has got to do a better job of listening. "Let's not underestimate the people of America; let's make sure and listen to the people of America ... listen to what they're feeling and get their ideas," he said.
The NCNA - with a "national panel of experts" made up of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Mr. Bush and Mr. Romney - says the goal of the listening tour is not to recast the party.
"This is not about messaging, this is not about branding," Mr. Cantor told The Washington Times. "This is about trying to foster some discussion, because what's going on in Washington right now is not reflective of the mainstream of this country.
#3
The NCNA - with a "national panel of experts" made up of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Mr. Bush and Mr. Romney - says the goal of the listening tour is not to recast the party.
And there is the problem - too much diversity on the panel. There is no single, dominant PoV when it comes to "direction" or "philosophy". You can have a huge tent with only one pole. You do not need to have a liberal, moderate and right wing to compensate or balance out the Dems. What you need is a concrete, focused vision and mission - fiscal responsibility (and what that is made up of), energy independence, a meaningful immigration policy, national security and homeland defense, shrinking government, etc. etc. You do not have to have a division of different personalities.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
05/04/2009 8:07 Comments ||
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#4
The GOP must really have lost it's way if it can't see that what's needed is to present a single Leader with a consistent (republican) vision, who stands by that vision, yet has a background in touch with a large percentage of Americans.
i.e.
Not from an elitist dynastical political family.
Charismatic.
Self Made (Wo)Man, perhaps in any business except PR.
Consistent (even when the media say it's unpopular, it never is really).
But don't worry we have the same problem here in the U.K. we've got Cameron a wooly PR obsessed career politician who will only win because Gordon Brown is epically useless.
Obama's fluffy 'message' resonated with exactly 1% more of the voters than W's did in 2004. Even Dems will privately admit that O's support in 2008 was broad but not deep.
The Bush family has no fire in their belly. They have twice missed chances to use the bully pulpit to forever brand ideologies as evil the way Truman did to Naziism and fascism at the end of WWII. The first, Bush Sr., could have used the fall of the Berlin Wall as the a stump for demonizing leftism in our country - media, entertainment, and academia alike. If he had any communication skills at all, he was at the right place at the right time with the right instrument, as Gen. Patton would have said. And he did nothing.
Similarly, W had the opportunity to really put the hammer down on radical Islam. And he fumbled in the same way as his dad. Religion of peace, and all that.
Now Jeb Bush wants to throw in the towel of authentic conservatism and become Dem lite.
This family represents perfectly the out of touch upper class in this country, and the country club 'moderate' Repubs in particular. Beyond that, they are of the type of conservative who believes that just because the center-right has won the war of ideas on logic, that they don't need effective communication of those ideas in order to win elections. All the great notions in the world won't help unless you have people who can communicate them and mass media to distribute these communicators. It is unfortunate that we live in an age when this is the case, but there it is.
To hell with JB and his whole clan. They aren't fit to sniff the steam off Reagans socks.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
05/04/2009 8:31 Comments ||
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#6
"I paid for this microphone"
That's what the grassroots will repeat to those who think they're the Trunks-in-Charge. There's an old saying - "Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way". The Trunks-in-Charge obviously can't lead. That leaves them two options. Sen. Specter took option three.
#11
Because the Republicans didn't systematically tear down the unconstitutional federal edifice built over 75 years by the Democrats, but each time just accepted what had been added as set in stone, they now have to wait for the entire corrupt castle in the sky to collapse, which it very well may do. Of course, the Democrats will blame it all on the Republicans.
This is the penalty for always playing only defense.
At the State level, Obama took Chicago politics across the country, and with ACORNs help, twisted every open primary to elect McCain, instead of a Republican. Therefore, Republicans must reject open primaries henceforth, as they are a fatal flaw.
Republicans must also embrace payback. When entire oligopolies oppose Republicans, and yet the Republicans win, those oligopolies must learn the meaning of pain. When Republicans don't obey the party line, they must be disciplined. And when the Democrats in congress treat the Republicans like dogs, rewarding them with "bipartisanship" and "fairness" is nonsensical.
The Democrats have virtually the entire academic community on their side, most of the MSM, the unions, blacks and Hollywood. So why don't the Republicans regularly put them to the screws?
The Democrats have no problem sticking it to the Boy Scouts, the military, conservative organizations and religions. So why no payback?
#13
From where I sit, Republicans do need to clarify their image up to a more modern sheen. Where do they come down on issues like green technology and progress? Coal and gas chuggers seem awfully outdated and expensive with all the alternatives out there, I worry about Republicans associating themselves with these. Our national zeitgeist always seems to want to go in the direction of progress, so Republicans are shooting themselves in the feet if they can't get behind some solar, some compressed air CAT cars, some wind turbines, something. America wants to go green. So Republicans would do well to capitalize on that, and move forward.
Combine that with a balanced budget premise, and Republicans can win again.
No matter what anyone says, having Rush Limbaugh yelling is the wrong tool for the job. Bellicose, ruddy faced aging men like Rush as de facto spokesperson for the party dont appeal to many, even if what he says is dead on.
The masses are loathe to admit it, but they really, really want a suave, good looking man in office (yep, I said man, not woman, at least I'm being honest) like Reagan or now, our wonderful Obama. (smirk) This country is hugely prejudiced against two things: women as president and men as president that don't make their hearts go all a'twitter.
Right, the Dems villify the Repubs as jerks. Time for Repubs to villify Dems as Twig Tea drinkers without a lick of sense. But don't have Rush Limbaugh doing the scolding, its been done too much before and it's lost it's ooomph.
#16
Coal and gas chuggers seem awfully outdated and expensive with all the alternatives out there..
Really? The only practical alternative is either go nuke, regress economically, or use what we got. Since the Donks have chosen two and the Trunks would rather be PC than fight for one, I see that regardless of the talk we're stuck with what we have a generation or two. There is no 'breakthrough' that can be put in place for the time outside of that. The Donks just dumped and continue to dump any future capital for development and implementation to reward their base with the public Treasury. The 'free market' source isn't going to risk the amount of capital necessary to undertake any commitment beyond the 'image' stage that is so valued by those in power.
#17
Jeb lost any credibility w/me when he sided w/mccain on the amnesty issue.
"Republicans didn't systematically tear down the unconstitutional federal edifice built over 75 years by the Democrats"
BINGO & Thank you for bringing up this point.
If I was running the GOP show the platform would be this:
1. U.S. Constitution - getting back to its principles & adhering to it as per the oath of office every Serviceman or congressmen takes. Limiting the size and scope of Gov't as Reagan and the Founders way before him wanted.
3. Energy independence. Drill here, drill now, coal, air, solar - whatever works we will do.
4. Economy - Re-invigoration of the manufacturing base. We need to build something efficiently and effectively - cars, computers, energy exports - whatever - the service economy thing will not work forever.
5. Illegal immigration. Seal the border, incarceration, deportation. Nepalitano is an idiot.
That's it, K.I.S.S. - case closed. Sure, I'd like to see a lot of other things happen (term limits, tort reform) but these are the core issues (imho) that affect the majority of Americans from a big picture. Most issues can actually be left up to the states to figure out at their own level. The avg Amer generally knows better then the out of touch goofball in D.C. how to fix local problems. Most federal issues can be answered by looking at the U.S. Const - If the fed gov't gets off the back of the people entrepreneurship and innovation multiplies thus furthering a better quality of life. Pretty simple & as our Founders intended afaic.
#18
From where I sit, Republicans do need to clarify their image up to a more modern sheen. Where do they come down on issues like green technology and progress? Coal and gas chuggers seem awfully outdated and expensive with all the alternatives out there, I worry about Republicans associating themselves with these. Our national zeitgeist always seems to want to go in the direction of progress, so Republicans are shooting themselves in the feet if they can't get behind some solar, some compressed air CAT cars, some wind turbines, something. America wants to go green. So Republicans would do well to capitalize on that, and move forward.
To the extent that America really wants to go green, it's because America is a bunch of stupid people engaged in a mass spree of destroying their own industries.
The Americans, or the Democrapic Party half of the Americans, TALK about wanting to go green whenever someone wants to drill for oil, or mine coal, or manufacture aluminum or steel or plastics, or manufacture products made of aluminum or steel or plastics, (i.e. everything to do with industrial civilization) and works to throttle it.
RIGHT BEFORE THEY GO DOWN TO THE [DELETED] WAL-MART AND BUYS THE [DELETED] MADE IN CHINA, WHERE THEY BOUGHT THE REMAINS OF OUR CUT-UP STEEL MILLS AND MELTED THEM DOWN FOR SCRAP, AND HAVE NEW COAL PLANTS COMING ONLINE AT THE RATE OF ABOUT ONE EVERY TWO WEEKS.
THEN, they go down to the Murphy Oil Gas station in front of the Wal-Mart and they buy gasoline made from about 65% imported oil from places like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia oil.
For the last twenty-five years we've basically hobbled and destroyed the domestic energy industry in this country, not because we have a slavish devotion to oil, but because we've believed all we had to do was wreck it and alternatives would magically appear. Well, the only alternatives that have magically appeared have been imported-from-overseas oil and imported-from-China manufactured goods.
And the big plan to have everyone make their living from financial services instead has, in the last year or so, turned into a real disaster. It isn't going to work.
IF solar and wind worked as well as coal people would be using both of those more; one of the big Lies of Omission they haven't said about solar and wind is that turning over the base generation to that not only makes power more expensive, but the irregular output requires the presense of more load-leveling plants, most of them natural gas.
Germany is the perfect example of this. They decided to replace their coal plants with wind and solar and natural gas, because of the lesser amount of greenhouse gasses. You need the natural gas because it's the only sort of power plant that can come online in time to prevent interruption of service and other problems with wind and solar. But what they wound up with was replacing local coal with "Former" Soviet Natural Gas plus wind and solar around the edges.
It's made former KGB agents richer and more powerful, but it hasn't done anything for the environemnt or Germany's economy. Except made them more anxious to please their suppliers.
"Sure, Vlad, how many Georgians do you want to bring back into your servitute today?"
And the American public are stupid hypocrites too; they're not making their industry any cleaner, they're just moving it to China.
And given the choice between a conventional car made in China by a coal-powered factory at half the price of a compressed-air car made in a wind/solar powered factory here, they're goign to pick the Chinese car.
(With hybrids it gets even worse, because they take more energy to make than regular cars, with their big battery packs).
The Spot price for oil _right now_ in the West is $ 60.00/bbl. China has long term contracts with Russia for $ 20.00/bbl, to run their cars and trucks and trains, power their factories, and make plastics out of.
I've watched them wreck domestic production of oil for twenty-five years while they wished on windmills and compressed air. All it's resulted in is price differentials such as those, and the destruction of American heavy industry.
And if solar power ever becomes viable... the solar power plants would be made out of steel, and plastic, and aluminum, and maybe a little silicon, and obscure rare earths of the sort everyone else has more of because they can actually get permits to mine them.
Guess who's going to dominate the business for making solar plants? The people who actually built enough coal plants to have a viable heavy industry economy in their country.
Which right now and for the forseeable future, isn't the United States.
#19
Being demoicrat-lite is how to lose elections, 2006 and 2008 proved this. And it was hammered home by the special election in NY-20 where the GOP put forth another party apparatchik, soft on spending, soft of social issues, and he blew a 20 point lead.
The GOP leadership seems incapable of learning. Time for them to ALL go. The party has been wept out of office under their watch, they should be swept out of power. If they had any integrity they would resign in shame.
Its fairly simple: The GOP is falling apart because the interests of the "upper echelon" (as represented by McCain, Bush, Specter) are the same as the Democrat party: power, via the government.
Since Reagan, not one candidate or elected "mainstream" Republican has set out to reduce government intrusion and control of individuals - they all want to enlarge parts of the machine the liberals have built and use it for their own purposes. Reagan was the last US President to actually reduce the size of the Federal Register (i.e. the number and amount of laws the government has).
The GOP is dead form the neck up; its a zombie. The body is still moving but there is no life in it, and it has no brains.
Second. Green is a hoax. Simple as that. Man-made global warming simply is not supported by science. Its a creation of the elitists and their willing dupes who want to use it to force collectivism on people, and of politicians who benefit from it. The science is so dodgy that they cannot allow even *one* opposition voice at the kangaroo courts they hold. People who believe in it are willing fools. GO after it, hammer home the FACTS, go around, over and through the press.
That's just one result of a two-part monopoly the right needs to break: the press which continues to pump such stuff and the education system that indoctrinates people like GirThursday, instead of educating them in critical reasoning they can use to debunk such things when presented with them by an uncritical partisan press which misinforms the public.
#20
Energy independance can be our future, if we let it be.
http://www.mdi.lu/english
These cars appeared on Modern Marvels a few weeks back, they are pretty neat. I don't think championing anti-green technology is the way for Republicans to go. And its not about Global warming, its an energy independance thing. Solar, wind, and compressed air technology are cuddly and loveable whether you're a democrat or a republican.
#21
I agree with GirlThursday. The Republicans have done a poor job of connecting energy independence (being 'green') with national security. Of course, any environmental benefit that can be gained in pursuit of energy independence is welcome and encouraged (assuming it is not cost-prohibitive), but at the end of the day, protecting and securing our nation should be as important as protecting and respecting the environment. It could be a win-win type of situation if properly articulated and pursued.
#22
RIGHT BEFORE THEY GO DOWN TO THE [DELETED] WAL-MART AND BUYS THE [DELETED] MADE IN CHINA,
"China said around 20 million rural migrants were now out of work.." - Feb 2, 2009
Yep, that's what we need, an additional 20 million unemployed right here at home instead of in China, and on 'extended' unemployment benefits paid for by the government taxpayer. That would speed recovery.
#23
GirlThursday, I noticed you addressed absolutely NONE of my points, merely labeled them as "anti-Green" and stated that you think YOUR ideas are going to achieve energy independence BUT NOT SAYING HOW.
LET ME MAKE THIS CLEAR: WE'VE TRIED YOUR "NEAT-SOUNDING" IDEAS FOR THE LAST TWENTY-FIVE YEARS. WE'VE SHUT DOWN OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION IN THIS COUNTRY.
IT HASN'T WORKED. PRETENDING WON'T MAKE IT WORK!
Your basic form of argumentation is to blame all the industries you and your anti-industrialist co-religionists have crippled for all the bad effects that crippling them have caused.
You have exported the oil industry to Saudi Fucking Arabia, and simultaneously BLAMED them for the bad effects thereof.
It's worked. At least as far as power has gone.
But how are you enjoying YOUR two trillion dollar deficit?
ALL the compressed air cars you linked to can do is store energy.
THERE ARE NO COMPRESSED AIR WELLS.
Without power generation, it's worse than useless.
There is no energy independence upside to stopping oil drilling here. We've been trying it for the last twenty-five years, and every one of those years we walk around shocked and suprised as the Saudis get richer.
#25
The 2006 and 2008 elections had more to do with war fatigue than anything else. Americans always get tired of their wars after a few years.
That said, I think he scale of Republican reversals was increased by Bush and the Big Government Republicans. They acted like Democrats and were properly scorned as such.
"Hope" and "Change" is not a message -- it is the complete absence of a message. Why Republicans would want to embrace that sort of campaigning is beyond me. It is a fall back move -- when there is absolutely nothing positive to say about your candidate then you say nothing.
Finally, repeat for emphasis everything Anonymoose said.
#26
"You have exported the oil industry to Saudi Fucking Arabia, and simultaneously BLAMED them for the bad effects thereof."
The the way forward to energy alternatives lies with oil companies. Like BP, EXXON, etc? They are not allowing technology to come onto the market. They are no saints, those companies have hydrogen, air, all of it wrapped up in a hermetically sealed box none of us little people can get to. How do I know? Because I used to work for an oil company awhile back.
When they do allow compressed air and hydrogens and crap onto the market, they want to control the profits just like they do now. Ditto for some other crapola I dont know about.
Those f-ers have a choke hold on supply so they can gain profits at every turn. Can we install a SUBWAY SANDWICH AT EVERY SUNOCO IN THE USA? you betcha.
Can install compressed air at the gas stations? No, No, No not until the oil companies say its okay to.
If they can put a Subway sandwich at every Sunoco on america's soil, they can put a compressed air well. Bam. Ditto for solar power, they already have ones in Spain that can supply electricity for hundreds of thousands of people. Point is, they won't because the companies refuse to.
#28
The the way forward to energy alternatives lies with oil companies. Like BP, EXXON, etc? They are not allowing technology to come onto the market. They are no saints, those companies have hydrogen, air, all of it wrapped up in a hermetically sealed box none of us little people can get to. How do I know? Because I used to work for an oil company awhile back.
And they told you all about their secret plan to suppress compressed air?
Where's the compressed air wells? The hydrogen wells?
THOSE ARE JUST ENERGY STORAGE MECHANISMS! NOT ENERGY GENERATION MECHANISMS!
You know where most of the hydrogen used in industry and whatnot, including rocket launches, comes from? Natural gas.
You know where the natural gas comes from?
Drilling.
I think you're pulling this stuff out of your ass.
Every green job created with government money in Spain over the last eight years came at the cost of 2.2 regular jobs, and only one in 10 of the newly created green jobs became a permanent job, says a new study released this month. The study draws parallels with the green jobs programs of the Obama administration.
IF solar power were really all that it would not need the massive subsidies from both Spain _and_ Germany to make it work.
And remember, Spain is selling most of its output to Germany, which penalizes other forms of power besides the pseudo-renewables. ANd makes up the shortfall between all the "green" power schemes and reality by giving Gazprom a veto over their economy.
Complain about the oil companies all you want, your side is the one funneling stuff to foreign oil companies.
Those f-ers have a choke hold on supply so they can gain profits at every turn. Can we install a SUBWAY SANDWICH AT EVERY SUNOCO IN THE USA? you betcha.
Can install compressed air at the gas stations? No, No, No not until the oil companies say its okay to.
If they can put a Subway sandwich at every Sunoco on america's soil, they can put a compressed air well. Bam. Ditto for solar power, they already have ones in Spain that can supply electricity for hundreds of thousands of people. Point is, they won't because the companies refuse to.
If it worked, and were profitable, they'd be doing it.
Frankly, people like you have successfully changed companies like Sunco from energy producers to retailers of Hugo Chavez's and the House of Saud's energy instead. Twenty years ago we still made 60% of our oil here. Now it's just 35-30%.
And yes, they can make a deal with Subway pretty fast. They have to be quick and agile on the retailing end, they've got anti-production idiots like you with y'all's feet on their neck on the production end.
#29
And nothing is stopping you from building your own compressed air station if you can make money at it. Anyone can buy an air compressor and a tank; their supply is not constrained by the big oil companies.
#35
"THOSE ARE JUST ENERGY STORAGE MECHANISMS! NOT ENERGY GENERATION MECHANISMS!"
Thing, how dare you quote the Second Law of thermodymanics?
That's so mean and judgemental and patriarchal, 'n stuff.
Cuz science is for poopheads. My professor told me so.
/sarc off
Posted by: no mo uro ||
05/04/2009 14:47 Comments ||
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#36
In an economy you have energy efficiency and time efficiency, and often they over-lap but sometimes they do not.
Greens would force you to literally waste your time. A lot of "green" ideas aren't even energy efficient from a big picture, they are more about making the little people say "How high" when told to jump.
I suspect that the GOP could do well with a rational energy efficiency, but NOT at the expense of time efficiency (AKA the economy).
#38
I'd have voted for Jeb in 2000 but not now. I think the Bush family has more than had their time in office. Same with the Clinton's. Chelsea may turn out to be god's gift to politicians some day but I'm done with Clintons.
#39
GirlThursday, no alternative energy solution currently exists thats as cheap in terms of extraction, production and usage as natural gas, coal and petroleum. Even nuclear power is expensive initially (long term it can pay for itself but NIMBY prevents that). All other sources of alternative energy are not as cost efficient, energy efficent or extraction efficient as the first 3 I mentioned. It is easier in terms of resources to make a power plant running on natural gas or coal more efficient to get more power than it is to make a solar power planet more efficient.
#40
Girl thursday, I've been interested in all the alternatives, and it all boils down to one thing, and onething only.
WHAT'S THE CHEAPEST?
and right now that's oil, water power (Dams on rivers) and existing power grids, all others fall squarely into the category of "VERY EXPENSIVE DREAM.
That's why the whole ECO movement is so well publicised, without a pressing sense of "Panic" people simply won't pay higher prices to (Sample) drive to get groceries, and note the
All Natural' veggies and such costs more.
You want to chuck it all and garden, that's some of the hardest, poorest paid work you'll ever do plus when you go and buy the shovels, hoes, rakes trowels etc, just try to "Buy American.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/04/2009 18:34 Comments ||
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#41
FOX's GLEN BECK SHow > "TEA PARTIES" topic > BECK tried to depict to an audience member a chalkboard linear scale wid TOTAL ANARCHY versus TOTAL BIG GOVT on opposite ends. IIRC After the audience member expressed his belief that the curr US GOVT-NPE was in the CENTER = "MODERATE", Beck told him that he was WRONG + THAT BOTH THE GOP-DEMS WERE TO THE LEFT-OF-CENTER, STEADILY SLIDING/MOV TOWARDS TOPTAL BIG GOVT END, AND GETTIN' "LEFT-IER", read MORE SOCIALIST + TOTALITARIAN-ABSOLUTIST.
Also IIRC, BECK > The GOP-RIGHT WILL LOSE 2010 + BEYOND BECUZ [2012.2016. etc.] THE AMER MAINSTREAM VOTER SEES NO DIFFERENCE BWTN IT AND THE DEMOLEFT, + TOLERATES THE LATTER ACTING RINO IN ORDER TO COVERTLY ACCOMPLISH THE LEFTIST-SOCIALIST AGENDA.
IOW, BECKY in 2009 has just publicly affirmed the covert premises of 1990's CLINTONISM = BILLARY-ISM.
#44
RJ: You want to chuck it all and garden, that's some of the hardest, poorest paid work you'll ever do plus when you go and buy the shovels, hoes, rakes trowels etc, just try to "Buy American.
The Chinese tried gardening on a national scale in the 1950's, after they spent all the loot they had "liberated" from the most productive people in the country (about a million of who were shot) in 1949. They starved by the tens of millions.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Saturday that it's time for the Republican Party to give up its "nostalgia" for the heyday of the Reagan era and look forward, even if it means stealing the winning strategy deployed by Democrats in the 2008 election. 
