D's Diary of the Absurd

Really John Boehner?

2010-08-24T13:32:00.004-04:00

I just saw this blurb about John Boehner calling for Obama's economic team to resign.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2424344720100824

Really? Seriously? If the President were to do that what confidence do you have that he would replace it with people markedly differently than those who are currently there? What a stupid thing to say in front of cameras and/or reporters. It ain't gonna happen and the results would likely be worse than what we've got already. This is an idiotic comment that does nothing to advance the Republican Agenda (if such a thing exists) and only makes you look like a fool. How much time do you think Jon Stewart is going to spend mocking this comment and clip?

If you really want to taken seriously and become Speaker of the House, be a leader. Stop spouting this trite, political, soundbite nonsense, gather the best minds at your disposal, put together a group of proposals that address the current issues we're facing (a la Contract With America), run on it, win with it and pass it. Make the President sign it or veto it (a la Bill Clinton and The Contract With America, Welfare Reform, etc.) You've got 10 weeks until election day and the last time I checked, spending bills, etc. originate in the House of Representatives - not the 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

You have an unprecedented opportunity to run, get elected on and implement real change (not this statist, Marxist horse crap they've been repackaging and shoving down our throats for the last 18+ months.) Real dinner table issues that you can run on with common sense solutions (Immigration, Healthcare, Social Security, Government Waste, Corruption and Fraud, etc.) but the only thing in the echo chamber (i.e. "sock puppet mainstream media") that Republican's are getting traction on are the Ground Zero Mosque (and you've framed that situation so completely wrong and over played your hand to the point of sounding exactly like the closet Islamaphobe bigots that the sock puppet media and Democrats accuse you of being) and being obstructionist.

Bottom line - get serious, get real. The Democrat leadership (notice I differentiate between the leadership and all Democrats) are not your friends. They don't want to be your friends. They would sucker punch you with roll of quarters in their fist if they thought it would help them get re-elected and further their agenda. The sock puppets in the mainstream media aren't your friends (and don't want to be.) At this point Middle America doesn't trust any of you (for good reason) - but I believe they will get behind principled leadership and common sense solutions. Start there and see where that can take you.

A few thoughts on some hot and not so hot topics

2010-08-19T10:56:00.007-04:00

The Ground Zero Mosque

I really believe that this being politicized to the extent that it has is shameful.

First, from a principled perspective, these folks proposing to/building this mosque where they are is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution - The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion or impeding the free exercise thereof. The key part of that is the impeding the free exercise thereof - meaning the government is restrained by the Constitution from interfering with the free exercise of religion - any religion. Bottom line - these folks have the right to build this mosque here as long as they receive all of the necessary permits, etc. to do so and to deny them the ability to do so based solely on their religious beliefs is wrong. I do wonder however, if this is too close, how far away from Ground Zero is OK for them to build a mosque?

Let me be clear - I am not saying that I think this is a good idea or that it is not insensitive. I think it is a provocative stick in the eye and monument to the bloody nose that was given to the great satan on 9/11 and completely understand why people are hurt and upset over the plans. This is an issue that needs to be handled and addressed at a local level using existing laws and ordinances - not on a national level. I believe that the balance of the distinction between the rights of the builders and wisdom of doing so have been completely lost.

What bothers me the most though is the fact that so many national "political leaders" have seen fit to weigh in on this and exploit this emotional issue as a stick to beat on their opponents. Yes Republicans, I am talking primarily to you. It's fine for you to have an opinion and to express it but you guys are so overplaying your hand and trying to make political hay out of this that it makes me want to puke. Everywhere I turn (talk radio, television) there's some politician or talking head blathering about what a travesty this mosque is. I have yet to hear a single Republican or conservative make and express a distinction between the principled reason as to why the mosque should be allowed to be built versus the emotional and practical reason as to why it shouldn't. Is it because you think the electorate is too stupid to understand the difference? All I know is that the rhetoric around this whole issue has devolved to the lowest common denominator and is incredibly sad. The least surprising part of it is the fact that Nancy Pelosi showed her true colors by calling for an investigation into who is funding the opposition to this mosque.

Anyone think I'm completely nuts now?

2010-04-13T10:53:00.002-04:00

I know to skeptics my last post about how I see the college loan program potentially morphing into another heavy handed political/central planning tool might think I sound like a paranoid conspiracy theorist - but is it really hard to make the leap based on what is already being reported about the new Health Care law?

From the WSJ -
Proponents of the new health-care law say it does attempt to address the physician shortage. The law offers sweeteners to encourage more people to enter medical professions, and a 10% Medicare pay boost for primary-care doctors.

Read the full article here -

Medical Schools Can't Keep Up
As Ranks of Insured Expand, Nation Faces Shortage of 150,000 Doctors in 15 Years

Nuclear Posture Review Distraction and The College Loan Takeover

2010-04-09T09:53:00.004-04:00

The news cycle lately has been all about the Obama Administration's Nuclear Posture Review and everyone on the Right (and I can't believe how hard Republicans are falling for this) and Left are all atwitter with what this means to the US, our allies, etc. In my humble opinion this is all a diversion or a way to change the subject from an unpopular Health Care Bill, negative jobs report and what I think is the most underreported and analyzed piece of this Health Care Boondoggle - The Government takeover of the Student Loan Program. More on this later.

Nuclear Posture Review
I'm pretty sure this is a policy that does not require Congressional approval and is not binding - kind of like a college research paper. This change - from the Administrations point of view puts us in a better position of moral authority to deal with rogue nuclear states and wannabes. They believe that it projects integrity and to those countries who beleive in the rule of law and treaties, etc. it may - but to those that do not (those rogue nuclear wannabes - yeah I'm talking to you North Korea and Iran) - it projects weakness. Let's be honest here, in the Kabuki theater that is international relations Obama and his regime have already been projecting weakness - so this is no real change. Now they're doing a research paper and projecting more weakness - so what? I just don't get why everyone is spending so much time on this.

College Loan Takeover = BOHICA

Buried in the Health Care Reform Act is a provision for the Federal Government to take over the College Loan industry and it stinks to high heaven.

Here's an interesting economic argument against this program I found while researching this boondoggle.

Nevermind the Federal Government's track record when it comes to lending standards (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac anyone?), efficiency and responsiveness and aside from the fact that The Federal Government has no business or Constitutional Authority to take over this industry, it's not hard for me to imagine an administration (like our current one) that is so enamored with central planning, control and political correctness that it uses this program to provide incentives (offer better loans, rates, etc.) for people to go into certain fields or to certain schools. Uncle Fed decides we have a teacher shortage (or we need more members of the NEA or state teacher's unions) - OK we'll offer a 2% discount in the interest rate on student loans. More doctors, nurses, 2% for you and 2% for you! Police, Firemen, Lawyers (and members of the ABA)? Check, check and double check! Public Administration and Art? Hell yeah! Business, Finance, Economics? Not so much... You wanna go to UC Berkley, Harvard, Wisconsin-Madison? Great! Hillsdale, Liberty, Bob Jones? Not so much... I can even see offering certain repayment terms including x number of years of "public service" being credited towards repayment of student loans. Perhaps they could even target certain fields for certain states, cities, districts, etc. - wherever the data says we need it. Don't get me wrong, I could envision a more conservative administration using this bureaucracy similarly though not with as heavy a hand.

Bottom line - with our elected officials insatiable thirst for buying votes and constituencies with current and future tax receipts by way of ever expanding benefits and beneficiaries there is no way I can conceive that this will not end up being another bloated bureaucracy and underfunded entitlement program. This is will end up like Medicare and Social Security before it - a bankrupt government run Ponzi Scheme that's "too big to fail." BOHICA

Some random thoughts...

2010-03-17T15:50:00.003-04:00

On Tiger Woods at the Masters

First of all, I don't think Tiger should have been man whoring around married or not (but especially after he was married.)

Second of all, let's be honest, in this celebutard culture we live in, people who display various types of moronic, idiotic, dangerous, destructive and deviant behaviors end up with reality shows on MTV, VH1 or A&E. If Tiger were single his indiscretions would be relatively tame compared to these other clowns. The worst that would be said of him would be that he had questionable taste considering some of the skanks that have come out of the woodwork (and I don't know if I believe all of them are telling the truth either.)

Thirdly, I firmly believe that plenty of people in the media and press knew Tiger Woods was a man whore before and after he was married and simply didn't out him because they still wanted access to him for interviews, etc.

My bottom line - I believe life is about redemption. We're all selfish defective vessels of clay who screw up and sometimes screw up really, really badly and in his case very publicly. It's what we learn and how we grow and move forward that defines us and illustrates our true character. I sincerely hope he's really learned something about himself, is honestly dealing with his demons and is willing to do what it takes to make amends in his relationships. As a fellow screw up I will be pulling for him as I think Augusta is the perfect place to continue his journey.

On "Healthcare Reform"

I like sausage but I've never wanted to see it made. I've occasionally heard this abomination of Bill referred to as sausage making and on that example alone I'm pretty close to swearing off of sausage... Deem and Pass only makes it that much more
unappetizing...

Iran aiding al Qaeda?

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/17/tehran-aiding-al-qaeda-links-petraeus-says/Really? This is news? Iran has been using terrorist organizations to wage proxy wars for decades. Not much of a secret there.

This just in, water is wet, the sky is blue and I am a sarcastic smartass...

Good clean fun

2008-06-20T10:28:00.002-04:00

There's been so much to be ticked off about in the news lately. Anyway I found this link on one of my normal stops around the web and thought I would share. You've probably seen some of it before but the Benny Hill music really makes it.

http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=31062

Good grief...

2008-06-11T13:58:00.002-04:00

John McCain continues to rail against private enterprise.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c0b00372-372b-11dd-bc1c-0000779fd2ac.html

Some of the more disturbing quotes from the article:
Senator McCain:
"Something is seriously wrong when the American people are left to bear the consequences of reckless corporate conduct, while the offenders themselves are packed off with another $40m or $50m for the road,” he said. “If I am elected president, I intend to see that wrongdoing of this kind is called to account by federal prosecutors."
He's clearly referring to the "Mortgage Crisis" here and I would love to see Senator McCain open an investigation into the legislation and regulations by the U.S. Congress that played a part in this mess. I won't hold my breath though.

John Diamond:
John Diamond, a tax policy expert at Rice University and an economic adviser to Mr McCain, said it was important for the senator to distance himself from the “corporate welfare” associated with the Bush administration. “Big business has seemed to really benefit from the past eight years and there is real public pressure to take some of those breaks away,” he said.
There's just so much wrong here I don't know where to begin. This guy might be a "Tax Policy Expert" (though I not sure what the criteria to be ordained such requires) but these statements are pure Populist nonsense. I get so infuriated when I hear this kind of nonsense coming out of any candidates campaign it isn't even funny. But it pains me no end to hear it coming from a "Republican" campaign adviser.

I swear I am just going to vote Libertarian.

Headlines that make my head hurt

2008-06-10T13:54:00.003-04:00

This is old (April 2008) under reported news here. I heard about this last night and Googled it today so I could read it for myself. Obama discusses investigating criminal behavior by the Bush Administration.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/Barack_on_torture.html

Here's an article from the American Thinker Blog that digs further into the topic.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/06/what_kind_of_war_crimes_trials_1.html

Memo to John McCain - I think that your proposals for lowering the corporate tax rate, expensing of new equipment in the first year (which I think would be huge boon for the economy), keeping capital gains low and getting rid of the AMT are all excellent proposals. However, it's none of your (nor the U.S. Government's) damn business how much money anyone in the private sector makes and quite frankly I don't know where you or the U.S. Government thinks you get the authority to regulate it from.

John McCain quote - "If I am elected president, I intend to see that wrongdoing of this kind (extravagant salaries and severance deals of CEOs) is called to account by federal prosecutors. And under my reforms, all aspects of a CEO's pay, including any severance arrangements, must be approved by shareholders," he will say.
Full article here: http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080610/usa_politics_mccain.html?.v=4

On a lighter note, 6 Aging Rockers Who Look a Lot Like Grandmas

More later, maybe...

Global Warming Nonsense

2008-06-09T15:07:00.004-04:00

It seems to me that there is at least as much disinformation regarding Global Warming as there is regarding Gasoline prices. If only we could convert hysteria into energy we'd be golden. Anyway, before you run off to give away more of your liberty and surrender your standard of living to a bunch of Chicken Little's, Proselytizing Marxist Politicians and charlatans, turn off Katie Couric and the rest of the Sock Puppets on your television and read a little - I've done a little bit of the work here for you. This isn't settled science and in fact I would argue that most of the "Man Made" part of Global Warming isn't science at all.

Here's one theory which examines and correlates activity on the sun with rising temperatures - from a school of Atmospheric Science no less! Heretics and outliers shouts ManBearPig!

http://www-das.uwyo.edu/~geerts/cwx/notes/chap02/sunspots.html

Another theory proposing that perhaps Water Vapor could have a role to play - by Climate Change Scientist Roy Spencer. Charlatan! Shouts ManBearPig!
http://www.weatherquestions.com/Roy-Spencer-on-global-warming.htm

A Russian Scientist's theory on high altitude ice crystals. You're just not aware yells ManBearPig!
http://www.physorg.com/news11710.html

Galactic Cosmic Rays perhaps? I'll save you shrieks ManBearPig!
http://personals.galaxyinternet.net/tunga/

31,000 Scientists rejecting "Man Made Global Warming." Excelsior! says ManBearPig.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2008/05/18/31-000-scientists-rejecting-global-warming-theory-be-named-monday

If you want to see the entire South Park Episode making fun of Al Gore you can watch it here.

"I'll make oil companies like Exxon pay ..."

2008-06-09T14:44:00.002-04:00

a tax on their windfall profits, and we'll use the money to help families pay for their skyrocketing energy costs and other bills," the Illinois senator said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSWAT00963020080609?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=22&sp=true

Change is what we'll have left once this idiot Marxist is through with us.

I'm already sick to death of this empty suit spouting this moronic Marxist class warfare crap. The sad thing is he was spewing this nonsense practically in my back yard I'm sure to a rousing ovation.

Let's hitch our wagon to Ethanol!

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aQbf6P1pF8jQ

DOH! Maybe not...

Petition

2008-06-03T14:34:00.002-04:00

Here's a petition that Newt Gingrinch is encouraging people to sign to pressure the US Congress to lift the restrictions on US Oil Drilling/Exploration, etc.

http://www.americansolutions.com/

I'm not a huge Newt fan (nor am I a fan of petitions), I think he's a pretty sharp but not as smart as everyone thinks he is - but I kind of like the idea. If you think it's a good idea, sign it. If not that's OK too.

A good article on "climate change"

2008-05-30T09:45:00.000-04:00

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MDExMTEwZWVjZmI5MGFmNzgzYmM1MWVmNTc0MDMyYTU=

This guy sounds a lot like another crackpot I know

2008-05-29T16:46:00.004-04:00

I've been a huge fan of Ralph Peters for a pretty good while now. I read his book Red Army in the early 1990's and later Beyond Terror while I was in college after taking a class on Terrorism. I have a great appreciation for his background in military intelligence and the unique insight he brings to the topics he tackles. I was thrilled when I discovered that I could read his opinion columns online at the NY Post. He's one of the many sources I use to form my own opinions. Here's one from this week on the immigration issue.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05272008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/man_on_the_move_112672.htm

I found this article today...

2008-05-29T15:46:00.006-04:00

I never cease to be amazed at how our sanctimonious politicians always seem to meet the problems of their own creation by creating bogeymen out of private industries. A little different perspective here on the gasoline price "crisis" as well as the what Congress has done to help us become energy independent.
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2008/ss_oil0164_05_22.asp

Policy Brief from the Republican Study Committee - They make a pretty good case.http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2008/ss_oil0158_05_20.asp

A couple nuggets that I found interesting:

India and China subsidize oil imports for their consumers - feeding demand while undermining market forces.
American oil companies are forced to compete against national oil companies which are generally backed, subsidized and protected by their governments. In essence American companies are forced to compete on an uneven playing field for a scarce resource while being demonized by the very people who profit from it.
15% of the price of gas is taxes vs. 4% of oil company profits - strange how we haven't heard about any windfall tax revenues.

More later, maybe...

Vaclav Klaus vs. ManBearPig

2008-05-28T10:42:00.000-04:00

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/208338,czech-president-klaus-ready-to-debate-gore-on-climate-change.html

If you ever wondered

2008-05-27T16:38:00.010-04:00

what the "Global Warming" and "Carbon Credit" hysteria/nonsense was really about, here's your answer.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1021983/Every-adult-Britain-forced-carry-carbon-ration-cards-say-MPs.html

Don't think for one second that this wasn't what Al Gore (aka ManBearPig) and his cronies had in mind all along.

You have to know it's a crock if an MSM outlet can't even resist calling it a "scheme" (though "scheme" may have a different connotation in the Queen's English - it seems to sum it up pretty well for me.) It sends a cold shiver down my spine whenever I hear words/phrases like best, fairest and without penalising the poor as that's generally Marxist speak for wealth redistribution (aka bohica) or the further confiscation of individual liberties.

Excelsior!!!

On a lighter note...

2008-05-27T15:48:00.001-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92wr1UfMN_w

A few ideas...

2008-05-22T10:12:00.007-04:00

I've been a Republican for most of my life. Lately however it seems as though I'm shifting (or that the Republicans are shifting away from me) and I find myself identifying with Libertarians. I was reading an article the other day about what the Republican Party can do to improve it's fall fortunes.

http://www.house.gov/hensarling/rsc/doc/an_action_plan_for_house_republicans.pdf

I keep hearing about "re-branding" which just sends me over the edge because I that implies that there's nothing wrong with the product or idea - just the packaging. Well I am here to tell you that it's the product. This country needs bold, honest, leadership (three things that seem to be antithetical to politics anymore.) Here are a few ideas I had in the shower.

Illegal Immigration - Secure the southern border with a physical barrier and buttress it with electronic countermeasures. Once complete then and only then a comprehensive reform of the immigration process will be undertaken and a guest worker program and path to citizenship will be established. Any illegal immigrants convicted of a crime and their families are to be deported. We welcome law abiding productive members of society.

Economic Stability and Federal Spending - To encourage pro-growth economic policies, restrained spending out of Washington and the formation of capital in the private sector.

Eliminate the income tax and replace it with a flat tax and require a Super Majority to raise that percentage. See http://www.heritage.org/Research/Taxes/bg1866.cfm

Limit Federal Deficits to a percentage of GDP (except in times of war or natural disaster which then will require a Super Majority of Congress to raise it.) Though in principle I would prefer a balanced budget I think this would be a reasonable compromise. I don't have the exact percentage off the top of my head but I feel certain I can get one and make an argument that it's a good one. Anything that puts boundaries on Congress ability to spend I am generally in favor of and this should at least provide Congress with an incentive towards economic growth oriented policies to feed their urge to splurge.

Terms Limits for all members of Congress - 12 years. If the President is limited to 8 years I see no reason why legislators shouldn't be limited as well.

Social Security - is a pyramid scheme and would likely be illegal if run by any entity other than the U.S. Government. How do you sell this to voters? Be honest about about Social Security - it's been a give-away slush fund for politicians and a revenue source for the Federal Government's General Fund for years when there was a Social Security surplus - while there were more people paying into it than taking out. Due to the U.S. birthrate, and the impending retirement of the Baby Boomers, etc. the inverse is true and Social Security is insolvent. There is no way short of economic ruin the current obligations of Social Security can be met - we can either really reform it or allow it to bankrupt the country. The status quo is not acceptable but the details are negotiable starting with Phased Individual Private Accounts. Start by allowing 10% to be diverted to private accounts (which can be invested as the individual chooses) and work up to 100% over the next 20 years. Get the Federal Government out of the "Retirement Account" business. Imagine what that kind of investment capital hitting the private sector could do...

Energy Policy - Let's be honest with the American people - no matter how bad you want to be free of our reliance on oil, the alternatives and technologies are not currently viable replacements and even if they were the infrastructure isn't there for a comprehensive replacement. Face it, our reliance on foreign sources of oil - which sadly seem to be in chronically unstable parts of the world - OPEC (Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela), Russia, Mexico, etc. - makes one of the pillars of our economy (transportation) and ultimately our national security and freedom inherently vulnerable and unstable. Until such time as we have a suitable replacement I would propose the following:

Aggressive adoption of nuclear power
Fast track approval of domestic oil exploration and production by opening closed lands (ANWAR, North Dakota, etc.)
Fast track approval of additional refinery capacity (we haven't built a refinery in the US since ~1976)
Incentives and grants for investment in alternative energy technology and research.
Tax incentives for business to adopt cleaner/alternative technologies.

Social Issues - Here is how I think these traditional wedge issues can be addressed in a principled way while not necessarily alienating both core and swing voters.

Abortion - We believe that Roe vs. Wade is bad law and that abortion should be left up to the individual states to determine. However we do believe that as long as Roe vs. Wade is the law of the land that there should be a Parental Notification requirement for minors and Partial Birth Abortion should be illegal except in the rarest of instances (danger to the life of the mother.)
Gay Marriage - First of all we believe that marriage is by definition between a man and woman. However, we also believe that there should be no impediments to consenting adults engaging in binding contracts. Therefore if consenting adults of the same sex want to engage in binding contracts under the law equal to those of traditional marriage so be it. However neither private nor public entities should be compelled/required to recognize or extend benefits to parties engaged in such contracts.

Health Care - Require all Members of Congress and their staffs to use the VA Medical System. If it's good enough for our troops who risk far more in daily in PT than the ubiquitous papercut that most of our Legislators and their staffs brave, then it is good enough for them as well.

Just a few thoughts. Probably more later...

The price of oil

2008-05-20T14:33:00.003-04:00

Here's the latest bee in my bonnet (metaphorically speaking.)
For you conspiracy theorists who think it's all about "Big Oil" making George Bush and Dick Cheney filthy rich you might want to go somewhere else. Unfortunately it isn't that simple. I see it as a multi-dimensional problem and a perfect storm of events. They are in order of relevence and priority:

The Global Supply and Demand Problem (the first is a well written article that outlines most of the fundamental problems driving up the cost of oil)
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080520/oil_prices.html?.v=8
http://www.energyandcapital.com/articles/domestic-oil-production/617

The Devalued Dollar Problem
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/12/AR2007111201075.html
http://www.fundmasteryblog.com/2007/09/29/how-far-has-the-dollar-fallen-and-why/

The International Relations/Geopolitical Stability Problem
Saudi Arabia
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05052008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/saudi_stick_up_109492.htm
Venezuela
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1807217,00.html?imw=Y
Nigeria
http://allafrica.com/stories/200805200165.html

The Speculation Problem (for those of you who don't understand Futures - here's an intro to the fundamentals)
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/gas-price.htm
http://www.investopedia.com/university/futures/

So let's review.

The US is dealing with a supply problem due to increased global demand supported by Asia's demand for diesel including China's apparent stocking up for the Summer Olympics. We're also dealing with a short term shock as China's demand for diesel has increased during earthquake recovery efforts.
The relative weakness of the dollar (versus other international currency) due to (what I believe are artificially) low short term interest rates which the Federal Reserve has used to try and keep the economy growing. Of course this means our dollar today buys less oil than last year.
The Saudi's refusal to increase supply for defying them regarding Iraq
Geopolitical instability in Venezuela, Africa and Mexico
All of these factors are fueling speculation on high demand versus supply which drives the value of futures contracts for oil higher and higher with every little bit of negative news in any of the areas listed above.

There you have it. Do I have any solutions? No, not really. The short easy answer is increase domestic supply. Unfortunately is isn't that easy for a host of reasons and it would likely be years before we saw the benefits. Alternative fuels aren't viable alternatives for a lot of reasons right now - from delivery infrastructure to supply. We're just scratching the surface of alternative technologies at this point in time - the biggest issue is and has always been power source. The battery technology just isn't there and even if it were available tomorrow we're still likely looking at 20-30+ years of weaning ourselves off of our existing petroleum based infrastructure (cars, trucks, boats, etc.) Bottom line, big oil isn't our problem.

That's all for now. More later maybe.

Stranger than fiction...

2008-05-19T14:51:00.005-04:00

The Dark Lord of the Sith received a suspended sentence on May 13th.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24604338/
Rumor has it he has to shovel up Ewok poo on Endor for 12 months.

Here's the video of the attack. Unfortunately it isn't as funny as the article above or the images it conjures - until you look at how "Darth Vader" is dressed. It's at that point that you can really appreciate the comment about "having drunk the better part of a 2 1/2 gallon box of wine beforehand."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LHjL5EvfKs&feature=related
I'll bet he was Force Vomiting later or perhaps shooting Dark Explosive Diarrhea.