"With one week to go, who will win the special election in Massachusetts to replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D) is still anybody’s guess. But before a single vote is counted, we can be sure of this: The Massachusetts race is already telling us a lot about how unhappy Americans are with the liberal, big government agenda in Washington.
On Monday, Scott Brown raised an extraordinary $1.3 million from over 16,000 donations averaging less than $80.
And a poll released earlier this week by the left-leaning polling firm Public Policy Polling shows the race between little known Republican State Senator Scott Brown and Kennedy’s anointed successor, Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley, in a dead heat.
Another poll by the Boston Globe released this week has Coakley up by 15 points.
There are reasons to trust the first poll more than the second, but the bottom line is that we don’t know what will happen in Massachusetts.
We don’t know if Scott Brown can win.
But there are some things we do know about what’s going on in Massachusetts -- and they are all bad signs for President Obama and his party.
Even if Brown Doesn’t Win, the Election is a Negative Referendum on Democratic Rule in Washington
First and foremost, we know that a combination of persistent unemployment, taxes, liberal health care reform and national security fears have made this race to fill the seat of the late liberal lion of the Senate, Ted Kennedy -- in a state in which Democrats outnumber Republicans by three to one -- closer than anyone would have dreamed three years ago.
The very fact that this race is even close is a sign of how unhappy Americans are with Democratic rule in Washington.
Brown has run hard on the kitchen table issues that Americans care about.
He’s highlighted the ever increasing salaries being paid to growing numbers of government employees with the tax dollars of recession-battered Bay Staters..."
When you take from Peter to pay Paul, you will always get Paul's vote
__________________
CNN) -- A year after the election of America's first African-American president, blacks in the United States are expressing optimism about racial progress not seen in a quarter-century, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center.
Thirty-nine percent of African-Americans said the "situation of black people in this country" is better than it was five years ago, nearly twice the 20 percent who said the same in 2007.
The optimism is not limited to the present, but covers the future as well.
I heard on the radio on the morning drive in that they have not had a major earthquake in that area in 200 years so there was no public consciousness that such a thing could occur, and, it being Haiti and all, they had no building codes. It must be hell on earth being there at the moment.
PLace has a hell of a past too. First the Taino get whipped out, slavey, smallpox, etc. etc, then black slavery etc, then independence around the time of the French Revolution, then Napolean sent somebody over to retake it, on his way to New Orleans, and they put up a big battle. Napolean said the heck with it. Upshot was they did us a hell of a favor, as it made possible the Louisiana Purchase.
Since Bob has been so fixated on MLD hopefully he won't have a stroke reading this little piece by an entertainment writer about his former infatuation object Sarah Palin:
"Who else but Fox News would have Sarah Palin? John Doyle: Television
Huge news in the TV racket in the last 48 hours. No not Leno, Conan and the late-night boys. That's old already.
No, not the news that the woman formerly known as Mel B., or “Scary Spice” will host a weight loss-dance competition show called Dance Your Ass Off . That's a totally who-freakin'-cares story.
I mean, of course, the news that Sarah Palin has signed a multiyear deal to work as a “contributor” to the Fox News Channel. Thing is, the number of people who watch Fox News in Canada is so tiny that it never even registers in the ratings here. This is a pity, really. Fox News provides an endlessly entertaining and enlightening view of things that are a' happening in the United States.
In fact, as I write this on Tuesday, Fox News is casting a cold eye on the matter of salt. Yes, salt. As in the salt that people put on their French fries and that comes in copious proportions in a great deal of prepackaged food. The stuff that's bad for you in large doses. We know this in Canada. It causes increased blood pressure, which leads to heart disease, the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S. As it happens, the mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg wants warnings about salt content in foods sold in his city and suggests that similar regulations be introduced, nationwide, by 2014.
Sounds reasonable, right? Healthier diet. Warnings on packaged food labels.
This is how Fox News spins it: “Do we really need to have the government step in and tell us what not to eat?” Seriously. The anchor on Fox said that. And directed viewers to a poll on the Fox News site asking that question.
We don't know Sarah Palin's position on salt. But we know where she stands on “government.” Less and less of it. Cometh the hour, cometh the woman and, obviously, that woman is Sarah Palin.
Palin fits in totally at Fox – standing up for ignorance and stupidity.
And I'm not using the term “ignorance and stupidity” without care. The buzz term right now in the U.S., as it contemplates the first year of Barack Obama, the future of the Republican Party, the Tea Party fringe-right (a creature nurtured and suckled assiduously by Fox News) is this: “the educated class.” Writing in The New York Times, this is how pundit David Brooks described it: “The public is not only shifting from left to right. Every single idea associated with the educated class has grown more unpopular over the past year. The educated class believes in global warming, so public skepticism about global warming is on the rise. The educated class supports abortion rights, so public opinion is shifting against them. The educated class supports gun control, so opposition to gun control is mounting.”
Since then, the term has become common vernacular in political discussion. I have little doubt that the “educated class” believes that the amount of salt in packaged food should be clearly labelled. Possibly, some of the educated class believe that regulations should be used to reduce the amount of salt in packaged food. And I have no doubt that because it's an “educated” class thing, a lot of people are against it. Especially Fox News.
We live in extraordinary times. In the U.S., being educated is out. Staying ignorant about things – like, say, the salt in your diet – is in. There was a time when we would only hear of this type of trend in the occasional newspaper report or magazine story. Now, all we have to do is watch Fox News and we see it unfolding, minute by minute, in front of us.
My advice to you is this – don't stay ignorant and uneducated about exactly what's happening to our fascinating neighbours to the south. Watch Fox News. Watch that Sarah Palin do her thing. As you are advised every day, check your local listings."
If you get him by the nuts, the "heart and mind" will Follow. Patton?
The "Nuts" in this case is "Gasoline." To get off imported oil we've got to get gasoline consumption down to about 2.25 Million barrels/day. That's what we can produce out of our Own oil production.
That sounds like an, almost, impossibility; but it's much more doable than one might imagine. First off, 40 mpg cars ARE going to become the norm. Midsize cars like the Ford Fusion are there, already, by going hybrid, and small cars are there with the new ultra-efficient I4 engines. And, of course, the small diesels have been there for awhile.
This gets us down to about 5.0 Million bpd. Maybe even a little less, but we'll stay with 5.0.
So, to keep it simple we'll need 3.0 mbpd more ethanol than we're producing at present. That's an extra 45,990,000,000 gallons/yr of ethanol. For simplicity's sake, let's call it, oh, I don't know . . . 435 Billion gallons/yr. Why 435?
Why that's 100 Million gpy for Every Congressional District, by golly. What an Interesting Coincidence, eh?
We should be looking at about $50 Million per district. $10 Million, say, from the Feds, and "guaranteed" loans for the rest. Initial Federal outlay - $4.35 Billion. We spent that much on C4C.
A Congressional District in Manhattan, say, can utilize their Municipal Solid Waste, and Sewage, if they want, and enter into a partnership with a non-urban district to produce the rest of their "Quota."
Knew this longtime FBI CI guy when we lived in Georgia - Macon office field agent.
Before he came to Macon the stress and BS got to him and he quit to do something else.
He came back and worked for seven years or so - breaking a significant case there. But the stress and BS got to him again and he quit to own a bar in Hilton Head.
Turned out he hated the tourists (of which he had long been one) and he came back to the FBI. They told him that if he quit again, the Director would have to personally rehire him.
He's permanently retired now. Lucky for him. No more agonizing over it.
You would think that, with private enterprise being what it is, if there were a reasonable expectation of making a profit then folk would belly up to make that profit. If you could draw up a credible business plan then you should be able to finance it. I'm guessing that the prospects for profit are marginal at best at the current pricing hence the necessity of involving Congresscritters and the public money that their largess could provide.
David Brooks, like Hannity, Olberman, Matthews, et al are comfortable in their cocksure arrogance. The fact that there are those of like persausion who buy into their smug and turgid pronouncements should surprise no one.
No, Ash, it's the Enormous Political Power of the Sauds, and the Oil Companies. And, they own the "Distribution" System.
Ethanol is selling for $1.78 today. That is with NO subsidies in the chain to that point. The oil companies will eventually get a $0.45 subsidy to distribute the product, but that's an "unnecessary" gift.
Add $0.50 to the $1.78 for taxes and transport, and you're at $2.38/gal at the pump (+ whatever the jobber, and retailer can add on.)
The Oil Companies and their allies have done an incredible job misinforming the public, and fighting off biofuels. You MUST have the politicians on board or there's no hope.
"I bring my cousin into the story only as a forensic counterpoint to David’s fixation with the 'educated class.' America doesn’t really have a class system, but that fact makes it tough for people like David, who sometimes seem to wish it did. The traditional solution has been to attend an Ivy League school if possible—or just cop an 'intellectual' attitude if not—and then look down on the rest of America. When America was less of a meritocracy (and that was not so long ago), this solution was less damaging. Now that the country is run mostly by graduates of Ivy League schools, however, that they look down on the electorate is becoming not only vastly irritating to the electorate but also rather dangerous."
So as someone remarked recently, the Tea Party movement (Ayn Rand steps in: "All movement, no direction.") is animated at least in part by the suspicion or conviction that somewhere there is a Yale graduate laughing at you.
Sure, LT. The only "Possible" subsidy you could come up with at this point would be if you took some disaster relief payments, spread them out over the entire corn crop, and then carried them forward to the ethanol. In that case they might come out to Two, or Three Cents/Gal.
Trish, as a "child of privilege," yourself, you sound as silly as David Brooks. (the only way you could sound sillier would be to post on cooking "vegetarian" chili.)
Those tea-partiers are pissed about several things; but, trust me, the thought that a Yalie might be laughing at them never, ever crossed their collective minds.
Trish, absolutely, NOBODY in the fucking world gives a flying fart what "Yalies" think, except Yalies.
Rufus: Why that's 100 Million gpy for Every Congressional District, by golly. What an Interesting Coincidence, eh?
At least you've come around to Teresita's idea of every Congressional district rather than every county. Now try getting Seattle's Congressional district and "Baghdad" Jim McDermott to build one.
Lilith, Miss T, Teresita what difference does it make what name you put there? You're still here. And what's up with not coming back until this thing with Bob and MLD is over. There is no thing with Bob and MLD. And it's not Melody anymore? Maybe, I'll change it PMS.
And he has been behaving himself. And things are good around here now. He's a good man. And there's no need to worry, I called his wife the other night and told her to make sure he takes his lithium and if he doesn't she is put on the straight jacket I had mailed to him. :)
Well, let her have her pissy little temper tantrum with someone else. That shit don't fly with me, unless I've done something to deserve it. Which in this case I haven't. I even commented on her blog.
I'm just trying to get my legs equally smoothed and Sam's pubic hair just the right length.
Whole thing reminds one of the Great Lisbon earthquak of whenever, that rocked Europe's intellectual world of the day, how can a world governed by God do such a thing, allow such a thing to happen. Voltaire and all that.
Indeed it's hard to understand. Easy to see how people make a muck of things but harder to understand natural evil.
My wife wants to date all the four Idaho linebackers we have in our apartment, and I'm not supposed to deal with any of them anymore, after this visit. She'll take care of that unit, she says, service calls and all. And, they are four fine acting and fine looking young men, very proud of themselves today.
Next year we're going to have eight, it looks like.
I think I'd rather read Bob's Pottery than think about Sam's pubic hair.
Man, I feel like I need to go to Mass, or something. Maybe I'll just choke myself.
Could we promise to never mention that again? I know, when someone feels like mentioning that we'll just talk about something pleasant, like Trish's puppy's worm-infested poop. Okay?
I too live there In the land of lack With a man named Zais A voodoo priest Who forces his will on me I too wish I could leave And dwell among the blessed Dead And know what they know About the very best
Which strange image came to me early this morn, and I wrote it down, and I think it means, Haiti's always been the worst of places and always will be.
Put on your hiking boots, take your rod and reel, hike way up your favorite stream. Come back exhausted. Drink no coffee after noon. Read for a couple hours on your return.
Your right with everything except the honey because of the sugar and the hiking because exercise stimulates. And if you don't sleep for days a cup of chamomile tea isn't going to do the trick. Trust me, I don't sleep.
Doug:Even if Brown Doesn’t Win, the Election is a Negative Referendum on Democratic Rule in Washington
Obama canceled a scheduled speech so he could stay in Washington to monitor the earthquake...in Massachusetts, and how it might impact the House's deliberation on the language of the HC bill.
Three million people out of the total of nine million in Haiti might need medical treatment right now, and there's no way to get it to them. And pretty soon disease will rear its ugly head. This is a catastrophe of Biblical proportions. Pat Robertsons says they brought this judgment on themselves because they made a pact with the Devil.
Trish:America doesn’t really have a class system, but that fact makes it tough for people like David, who sometimes seem to wish it did.
In America we substitute movie stars and sports celebrities for royalty. It's even hereditary, to some degree. Nicole Ritchie? Drew Barrymore? Lately the entrance to this class structure is through reality TV as an American Idol or an Octomom, but sometimes it doesn't work and you get Balloon Boy.
SARAH PALIN/FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR/FORMER REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is nothing more important in my life than my relationship with God and my faith and in this past year especially -- past year and a half -- I have been so driven to my knees to pray for His guidance, for His wisdom, for His grace and for His Strength. And I'm never going to tell anybody else how to live, I'm never going to preach to anybody else and tell them you must do that.
...
PALIN: I believe that there are eternal ramifications based on what we do here.
GLENN BECK, HOST, "BECK": Does it motivate you?
PALIN: It motivates me, it does. It allows me to know that what I do, it's not about me, it's not even about my children's future; it's longer lasting than that.
PALIN: I would be perfectly happy to go back to Wasilla, Alaska, with my five children and my grandson and raise a happy, healthy family loving our great outdoors – doing the things we do in Alaska. But, if I believe that in some capacity I can help this great nation, I'm going to be willing to sacrifice and to change some things in my lifestyle in order to, in order to serve.
...
BECK: Are you a Republican?
PALIN: I'm a registered Republican.
BECK: How do you feel about that?
PALIN: There are times that I am tempted to bail from the party, there have been times in my political career -- um -- and just be an independent. But I recognize we are a two-party system.
Sharon: It is odd how society sees tings. Let's say if a guy sleeps with all these girls, 'he's the man!' or a 'stud'. But if a girl does, she's a total slut or whore. Is society sexist?
Brandon: Well think about it this way. If a key can open a bunch of locks, it's viewed as a master key, and is awesome to have. But if a lock is opened by a lot of different keys, well that's a pretty shitty lock if you ask me.
but wouldn't the blending be done at the refinery?
No, T, 99.99% of the time the ethanol is splashed with 2% denaturant, usually gasoline, and shipped to the "Blender." The Blender is where the truck goes to pick up the gasoline that he delivers to your local station.
Oh, the other 0.01% of the time the refiner actually blends the ethanol with somewhere between 15, and 30% gasoline and sells it to a local station directly. In that case the refiner Would get the tax credit.
The blender, right now, is the one that's in the "sweet" spot. The blender, as I said, is often an oil company. For instance, in the Memphis area virtually all of the gasoline is supplied by Valero (the local Oil/Gasoline refiner.)
Linear, I realize that Obama gave us a "stimulus" by reducing our withholding by 15 dollars a week or so, but not many people are going to remember that come April 15. The other person who lives in this house now greatly regrets voting for O.
U.S. President Barack Obama outlined a set of new policies Jan. 7 in response to the Dec. 25, 2009 Northwest Airlines bombing attempt, which came the closest to a successful attack on a U.S. flight since Richard Reid’s failed shoe-bombing in December 2001. As in the aftermath of that attempt, a flurry of accusations, excuses and policy prescriptions have emanated from Washington since Christmas Day concerning U.S. airline security.
...
At the heart of President Obama’s policy outline were the following key tactics: pursue enhanced screening technology in the transportation sector, review the visa issuance and revocation process, enhance coordination among agencies for counterterrorism (CT) investigations and establish a process to prioritize such investigations. While such measures are certainly important, they will not go far enough, by themselves, to meaningfully address the aviation security challenges the United States still faces almost nine years after 9/11.
For one thing, technology must not be seen as a panacea. It can be a very useful tool for finding explosive devices and weapons concealed on a person or in luggage, but it is predictable and reactive.
A China Air plane landed early Thursday with a search team, medical workers and aid, The Associated Press reported. Supplies also began filtering in from the Dominican Republic, as charter flights were restarted between Santo Domingo and Port-au-Prince.
But efforts to administer emergency services and distribute food and water were halting, and in some places, seemingly nonexistent. A few S.U.V.’s driven by United Nations personnel plied streets clogged with rubble, pedestrians and other vehicles. Fuel shortages emerged as an immediate concern as motorists sought to find gas stations with functioning fuel pumps.
Limbs protruded from piles of disintegrated concrete, and muffled cries emanated from deep inside the wrecks of buildings, as this impoverished nation struggled to grasp the grim, still unknown toll from its worst earthquake in more than 200 years. NYTimes
Some folks just never catch a break.
ReplyDeleteSaid to be centered only 5 feet deep!
ReplyDelete...didn't know that was possible.
Reports of cement dust still hanging over areas that once had buildings.
What's Going on in Massachusetts?
ReplyDelete- Newt Gingrich
"With one week to go, who will win the special election in Massachusetts to replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D) is still anybody’s guess. But before a single vote is counted, we can be sure of this:
The Massachusetts race is already telling us a lot about how unhappy Americans are with the liberal, big government agenda in Washington.
On Monday, Scott Brown raised an extraordinary $1.3 million from over 16,000 donations averaging less than $80.
And a poll released earlier this week by the left-leaning polling firm Public Policy Polling shows the race between little known Republican State Senator Scott Brown and Kennedy’s anointed successor, Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley, in a dead heat.
Another poll by the Boston Globe released this week has Coakley up by 15 points.
There are reasons to trust the first poll more than the second, but the bottom line is that we don’t know what will happen in Massachusetts.
We don’t know if Scott Brown can win.
But there are some things we do know about what’s going on in Massachusetts -- and they are all bad signs for President Obama and his party.
Even if Brown Doesn’t Win, the Election is a Negative Referendum on Democratic Rule in Washington
First and foremost, we know that a combination of persistent unemployment, taxes, liberal health care reform and national security fears have made this race to fill the seat of the late liberal lion of the Senate, Ted Kennedy -- in a state in which Democrats outnumber Republicans by three to one -- closer than anyone would have dreamed three years ago.
The very fact that this race is even close is a sign of how unhappy Americans are with Democratic rule in Washington.
Brown has run hard on the kitchen table issues that Americans care about.
He’s highlighted the ever increasing salaries being paid to growing numbers of government employees with the tax dollars of recession-battered Bay Staters..."
When you take from Peter to pay Paul, you will always get Paul's vote
ReplyDelete__________________
CNN) -- A year after the election of America's first African-American president, blacks in the United States are expressing optimism about racial progress not seen in a quarter-century, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center.
Thirty-nine percent of African-Americans said the "situation of black people in this country" is better than it was five years ago, nearly twice the 20 percent who said the same in 2007.
The optimism is not limited to the present, but covers the future as well.
Look at the second video. That is not cloud cover. That is cement dust.
ReplyDeleteDoug:
ReplyDeleteEven if Brown Doesn’t Win, the Election is a Negative Referendum on Democratic Rule in Washington
All the more reason for Donks to "go Kamikaze" and ram socialized medicine down our throats now, while they have a chance. They won't get it again.
Yeah,
ReplyDeleteIf he wins, the plan is to delay his entry into the senate until after the vote on O'care!
That should energize folks,
...to no avail, if they also make voters out of illegals before 2012.
Second vid no longer available.
ReplyDeleteGoogle threatening to abandon China.
FWIW
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/01/13/world/20100113-HAITI_index.html
ReplyDeletePhotos
I heard on the radio on the morning drive in that they have not had a major earthquake in that area in 200 years so there was no public consciousness that such a thing could occur, and, it being Haiti and all, they had no building codes. It must be hell on earth being there at the moment.
ReplyDelete5 feet deep?
ReplyDeleteHell, that couldn't be possible, that's topsoil.
They must have left some zeros off that report.
I think Brown is going to win. But, my predictions are always wrong. I called it Romney and Clinton, last time around.
There was a big earthquak in Montana back around the sixties sometime, changed the course of a river.
ReplyDeleteAnd WHERE have you been, Doug?
ReplyDeleteI was beginning to worry. Thought about putting out a Missing Persons last night.
PLace has a hell of a past too. First the Taino get whipped out, slavey, smallpox, etc. etc, then black slavery etc, then independence around the time of the French Revolution, then Napolean sent somebody over to retake it, on his way to New Orleans, and they put up a big battle. Napolean said the heck with it. Upshot was they did us a hell of a favor, as it made possible the Louisiana Purchase.
ReplyDeleteAnd WHERE have you been, Doug?
ReplyDeleteLavatube.
Lavatubing.
Since Bob has been so fixated on MLD hopefully he won't have a stroke reading this little piece by an entertainment writer about his former infatuation object Sarah Palin:
ReplyDelete"Who else but Fox News would have Sarah Palin?
John Doyle: Television
Huge news in the TV racket in the last 48 hours. No not Leno, Conan and the late-night boys. That's old already.
No, not the news that the woman formerly known as Mel B., or “Scary Spice” will host a weight loss-dance competition show called Dance Your Ass Off . That's a totally who-freakin'-cares story.
I mean, of course, the news that Sarah Palin has signed a multiyear deal to work as a “contributor” to the Fox News Channel. Thing is, the number of people who watch Fox News in Canada is so tiny that it never even registers in the ratings here. This is a pity, really. Fox News provides an endlessly entertaining and enlightening view of things that are a' happening in the United States.
In fact, as I write this on Tuesday, Fox News is casting a cold eye on the matter of salt. Yes, salt. As in the salt that people put on their French fries and that comes in copious proportions in a great deal of prepackaged food. The stuff that's bad for you in large doses. We know this in Canada. It causes increased blood pressure, which leads to heart disease, the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S. As it happens, the mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg wants warnings about salt content in foods sold in his city and suggests that similar regulations be introduced, nationwide, by 2014.
Sounds reasonable, right? Healthier diet. Warnings on packaged food labels.
This is how Fox News spins it: “Do we really need to have the government step in and tell us what not to eat?” Seriously. The anchor on Fox said that. And directed viewers to a poll on the Fox News site asking that question.
We don't know Sarah Palin's position on salt. But we know where she stands on “government.” Less and less of it. Cometh the hour, cometh the woman and, obviously, that woman is Sarah Palin.
Palin fits in totally at Fox – standing up for ignorance and stupidity.
And I'm not using the term “ignorance and stupidity” without care. The buzz term right now in the U.S., as it contemplates the first year of Barack Obama, the future of the Republican Party, the Tea Party fringe-right (a creature nurtured and suckled assiduously by Fox News) is this: “the educated class.” Writing in The New York Times, this is how pundit David Brooks described it: “The public is not only shifting from left to right. Every single idea associated with the educated class has grown more unpopular over the past year. The educated class believes in global warming, so public skepticism about global warming is on the rise. The educated class supports abortion rights, so public opinion is shifting against them. The educated class supports gun control, so opposition to gun control is mounting.”
Since then, the term has become common vernacular in political discussion. I have little doubt that the “educated class” believes that the amount of salt in packaged food should be clearly labelled. Possibly, some of the educated class believe that regulations should be used to reduce the amount of salt in packaged food. And I have no doubt that because it's an “educated” class thing, a lot of people are against it. Especially Fox News.
ReplyDeleteWe live in extraordinary times. In the U.S., being educated is out. Staying ignorant about things – like, say, the salt in your diet – is in. There was a time when we would only hear of this type of trend in the occasional newspaper report or magazine story. Now, all we have to do is watch Fox News and we see it unfolding, minute by minute, in front of us.
My advice to you is this – don't stay ignorant and uneducated about exactly what's happening to our fascinating neighbours to the south. Watch Fox News. Watch that Sarah Palin do her thing. As you are advised every day, check your local listings."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/who-else-but-fox-news-would-have-sarah-palin/article1428760/
It is interesting the perspective one gets sitting just a short way across the border...
Sitting a short way across the border?
ReplyDeleteAsh, you wouldn't know a "tub of shit" if you were sitting IN it.
The "Educated" Class believes in "Global Warming."
ReplyDeleteI believe that about says it all.
further evidence of the utility of the being on the outside looking in rufus.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting the perspective one gets sitting just a short way across the border...
ReplyDeleteIt must be.
Like Linear said one time, rolling on the ground laughing, Ash, just rolling on the ground laughing.
Sarah will come along on Fox alright. Though I'm a little worried. It's probably going to cause me to buy a better TV.
Good for business.
News reports just!
ReplyDeleteChina is airlifting 20,000 relief workers to Haiti
The Arab League is promising 5 tankers of refined diesel and gasoline at no charge to be delivered at once....
In reality? The USA will do the heavy lifting..
Canada offers up to $5M for relief in Haiti (real)
France dispatched two planeloads of rescue personnel to Haiti, from Guadeloupe in the Caribbean and Marseilles.
Israel is sending emergency rescue squads with sniffer dogs
So far FoxNews has been a dumping ground for Republicans on the way OUT hasn't it? Snow, Rove, Hucabee...
ReplyDelete...Palin?
If you get him by the nuts, the "heart and mind" will Follow. Patton?
ReplyDeleteThe "Nuts" in this case is "Gasoline." To get off imported oil we've got to get gasoline consumption down to about 2.25 Million barrels/day. That's what we can produce out of our Own oil production.
That sounds like an, almost, impossibility; but it's much more doable than one might imagine. First off, 40 mpg cars ARE going to become the norm. Midsize cars like the Ford Fusion are there, already, by going hybrid, and small cars are there with the new ultra-efficient I4 engines. And, of course, the small diesels have been there for awhile.
This gets us down to about 5.0 Million bpd. Maybe even a little less, but we'll stay with 5.0.
So, to keep it simple we'll need 3.0 mbpd more ethanol than we're producing at present. That's an extra 45,990,000,000 gallons/yr of ethanol. For simplicity's sake, let's call it, oh, I don't know . . . 435 Billion gallons/yr. Why 435?
Why that's 100 Million gpy for Every Congressional District, by golly. What an Interesting Coincidence, eh?
BTW, 100 million gpy is one large ethanol refinery - or, 5 decent sized cellulosic refineries.
ReplyDeleteI'll let all this sink in for a moment.
Now, oil won't go away all at once, so we won't have to build it all out "all at once."
ReplyDeleteI'm proposing One small refinery for Each Congressional District, to Start.
Who pays to build and run the refinery?
ReplyDeleteWe should be looking at about $50 Million per district. $10 Million, say, from the Feds, and "guaranteed" loans for the rest. Initial Federal outlay - $4.35 Billion. We spent that much on C4C.
ReplyDeleteThe refineries MUST be Privately Owned.
ReplyDeleteBTW, ethanol is selling, today, for $1.78 on the CBOT.
ReplyDeleteAnd, Ford, GM, and Chrysler have committed to having half of their fleet "flexfuel" in 2012.
A Congressional District in Manhattan, say, can utilize their Municipal Solid Waste, and Sewage, if they want, and enter into a partnership with a non-urban district to produce the rest of their "Quota."
ReplyDeleteThe "Key" is that every Corruptocrat, . . . er, Congressman gets to "Bring Home some Bacon."
ReplyDeleteThat's important because Exxon, and the boyz (OPEC) will fight like hell to keep such a thing from happening.
ReplyDeleteAbout 100,000 Jobs will be created in the Construction phase, and about 15,000 Permanent jobs. (for the first round.)
ReplyDeleteIn 2012 we start "Round 2."
ReplyDeleteRepeat 5 times.
ReplyDelete"You missed it when you were flying home, Trish."
ReplyDeleteOh, not really.
Knew this longtime FBI CI guy when we lived in Georgia - Macon office field agent.
Before he came to Macon the stress and BS got to him and he quit to do something else.
He came back and worked for seven years or so - breaking a significant case there. But the stress and BS got to him again and he quit to own a bar in Hilton Head.
Turned out he hated the tourists (of which he had long been one) and he came back to the FBI. They told him that if he quit again, the Director would have to personally rehire him.
He's permanently retired now. Lucky for him. No more agonizing over it.
You would think that, with private enterprise being what it is, if there were a reasonable expectation of making a profit then folk would belly up to make that profit. If you could draw up a credible business plan then you should be able to finance it. I'm guessing that the prospects for profit are marginal at best at the current pricing hence the necessity of involving Congresscritters and the public money that their largess could provide.
ReplyDeletePalin will never again be in the running for elected office. And I can't see her getting an appointment.
ReplyDeleteI also don't see her as a long-running hit at Fox.
She's a dabbler.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
ReplyDeleteThe execrable Liz Cheney as VP candidate on the next go-round...
ReplyDeleteTHAT I can definitely see.
Mitt and Liz.
ReplyDeleteYou betcha.
Re: David Brooks, the "educated class", and the other pompous elitists.
ReplyDeleteIn Defense of Tea Parties
David Brooks, like Hannity, Olberman, Matthews, et al are comfortable in their cocksure arrogance. The fact that there are those of like persausion who buy into their smug and turgid pronouncements should surprise no one.
.
No, Ash, it's the Enormous Political Power of the Sauds, and the Oil Companies. And, they own the "Distribution" System.
ReplyDeleteEthanol is selling for $1.78 today. That is with NO subsidies in the chain to that point. The oil companies will eventually get a $0.45 subsidy to distribute the product, but that's an "unnecessary" gift.
Add $0.50 to the $1.78 for taxes and transport, and you're at $2.38/gal at the pump (+ whatever the jobber, and retailer can add on.)
The Oil Companies and their allies have done an incredible job misinforming the public, and fighting off biofuels. You MUST have the politicians on board or there's no hope.
Oops, let's go back to the "old" math.
ReplyDelete$1.78 + $0.50 = $2.28 not $2.38.
...That is with NO subsidies in the chain to that point.
ReplyDeleteNot trying to pick a fight here, Rufus, but are you sure of that "NO subsidies" statement?
.
...smug and turgid pronouncements...
ReplyDeleteYou mean like Trish discussing Sarah and Liz?
.
"I bring my cousin into the story only as a forensic counterpoint to David’s fixation with the 'educated class.' America doesn’t really have a class system, but that fact makes it tough for people like David, who sometimes seem to wish it did. The traditional solution has been to attend an Ivy League school if possible—or just cop an 'intellectual' attitude if not—and then look down on the rest of America. When America was less of a meritocracy (and that was not so long ago), this solution was less damaging. Now that the country is run mostly by graduates of Ivy League schools, however, that they look down on the electorate is becoming not only vastly irritating to the electorate but also rather dangerous."
ReplyDeleteSo as someone remarked recently, the Tea Party movement (Ayn Rand steps in: "All movement, no direction.") is animated at least in part by the suspicion or conviction that somewhere there is a Yale graduate laughing at you.
Exsqueeze me.
ReplyDeleteSmug?
AND turgid?
Trish: "He's permanently retired now. Lucky for him. No more agonizing over it."
ReplyDeleteI can't see Miss T coming back until this thing between Bob and MLD is way over. She pleads not guilty to "hitting on" MLD.
He's been trying to behave himself.
ReplyDeleteWith some success, I think.
ReplyDeleteSarah Palin is a nice lady and would make a fine cognresswoman. PERIOD.
ReplyDeleteI could see her becoming the next James Watt.
Sure, LT. The only "Possible" subsidy you could come up with at this point would be if you took some disaster relief payments, spread them out over the entire corn crop, and then carried them forward to the ethanol. In that case they might come out to Two, or Three Cents/Gal.
ReplyDeleteTrish, as a "child of privilege," yourself, you sound as silly as David Brooks. (the only way you could sound sillier would be to post on cooking "vegetarian" chili.)
ReplyDeleteThose tea-partiers are pissed about several things; but, trust me, the thought that a Yalie might be laughing at them never, ever crossed their collective minds.
Trish, absolutely, NOBODY in the fucking world gives a flying fart what "Yalies" think, except Yalies.
"...you sound as silly as..."
ReplyDeleteWell, there you have it. I am incorrigibly silly.
That chili, though, was awesome.
Rufus: Ethanol is selling for $1.78 today. That is with NO subsidies in the chain to that point.
ReplyDeleteThe subsidy is to refiners, and it was cut from $0.51 to $0.45 per gallon, but it's there.
Rufus: Why that's 100 Million gpy for Every Congressional District, by golly. What an Interesting Coincidence, eh?
ReplyDeleteAt least you've come around to Teresita's idea of every Congressional district rather than every county. Now try getting Seattle's Congressional district and "Baghdad" Jim McDermott to build one.
"During several months of 2009, Moscow police looked at fake pictures displayed on their monitors instead of what was supposed to be video from the city surveillance cams. The subcontractor providing the cams was paid on the basis of 'the number of working cams,' so he delivered pre-cooked pictures stored on his servers. The camera company CEO has been arrested."
ReplyDeleteT, please. The ethanol that is being sold on the CBOT is "from the refiner." At that point No Subsidies have been Applied.
ReplyDeleteThe subsidy to the blender comes Later in the supply chain. Try to keep up.
The $0.45 "Blenders Tax Credit" goes to the Blender, (usually owned by an oil company) not the refiner.
ReplyDeleteSomeone in Baghdad Jim's district will take advantage of the deal.
ReplyDeleteLilith, Miss T, Teresita what difference does it make what name you put there? You're still here. And what's up with not coming back until this thing with Bob and MLD is over. There is no thing with Bob and MLD. And it's not Melody anymore? Maybe, I'll change it PMS.
ReplyDeleteAnd he has been behaving himself. And things are good around here now. He's a good man. And there's no need to worry, I called his wife the other night and told her to make sure he takes his lithium and if he doesn't she is put on the straight jacket I had mailed to him. :)
Drudge says maybe 500,000 dead in Haiti. That makes me feel like I did on 9-11, a heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach.
ReplyDeleteMeLoDy: Lilith, Miss T, Teresita what difference does it make what name you put there? You're still here.
Bob has nothing to worry about anymore, Teresita wants nothing to do with MLD.
Why are you blaming me? What have I done to you.
ReplyDeleteMLD, don't sweat it, she's a space cadet with a long history of pissy little temper tantrums.
ReplyDeleteEt tu, Ash?
ReplyDeleteI am dense...
ReplyDeleteI thought T was gone...
Didnt have a clue who or what "lillith" was so I really wasnt reading any of her posts...
On Monday, Scott Brown raised an extraordinary $1.3 million from over 16,000 donations averaging less than $80.
ReplyDeleteI chucked in a few...
Go Brown
That works both ways WiO.
ReplyDeleteWell, let her have her pissy little temper tantrum with someone else. That shit don't fly with me, unless I've done something to deserve it. Which in this case I haven't. I even commented on her blog.
ReplyDeleteI'm just trying to get my legs equally smoothed and Sam's pubic hair just the right length.
WiO, get with the program.
Lilith, we hardly knew ye.
ReplyDeleteWhole thing reminds one of the Great Lisbon earthquak of whenever, that rocked Europe's intellectual world of the day, how can a world governed by God do such a thing, allow such a thing to happen. Voltaire and all that.
ReplyDeleteIndeed it's hard to understand. Easy to see how people make a muck of things but harder to understand natural evil.
My wife wants to date all the four Idaho linebackers we have in our apartment, and I'm not supposed to deal with any of them anymore, after this visit. She'll take care of that unit, she says, service calls and all. And, they are four fine acting and fine looking young men, very proud of themselves today.
Next year we're going to have eight, it looks like.
She even insisted I buy 'her boys' the biggest most expense superdryer, just to please her, and them, to replace the one that failed.
ReplyDeleteWhich of course, I did.
I'll have the lithium and straightjacket, both, and now.
ReplyDeleteHow's the dotter doing, bob?
ReplyDelete1755 Great Lisbon Quake
ReplyDeleteAnd, does anyone know what one can take, to get some sleep, without going to the doctors, I'm serious.
I'm exhausted. Three full days, and counting, and much to do.
Dotter's good, papa's falling apart.
ReplyDeleteBut, she's what counts.
Her mother's run away
With four young men to play
Leaving papa in the lurch
Thinking all that's left is church
Are you shitting me?
ReplyDeleteI think I'd rather read Bob's Pottery than think about Sam's pubic hair.
ReplyDeleteMan, I feel like I need to go to Mass, or something. Maybe I'll just choke myself.
Could we promise to never mention that again? I know, when someone feels like mentioning that we'll just talk about something pleasant, like Trish's puppy's worm-infested poop. Okay?
Go to the Doctor, Bob.
ReplyDeleteNice vet, BTW. And efficient as hell.
ReplyDeleteWe are good to go.
Melatonin, Bob, it's in the vitamin isle.
ReplyDeleteI too live there
ReplyDeleteIn the land of lack
With a man named Zais
A voodoo priest
Who forces his will on me
I too wish I could leave
And dwell among the blessed
Dead
And know what they know
About the very best
Which strange image came to me early this morn, and I wrote it down, and I think it means, Haiti's always been the worst of places and always will be.
And it's not my puppy.
ReplyDeleteTrish, with long childhood experience, would never, ever acquire a Husky. They're flamboyantly retarded.
Trish does mutts. (Possibly more than two parents, a bonus.)
Melatonin doesn't even touch it, Melody.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter has a friend, gay as a goose, with liquor really loose, his father is a doctor, retired.
I think I'll call Kevin, maybe he can help.
He and I get along good, though he talks way too much, like most of us.
Nah, she didn't run away Trish, but I wonder if she would, given the chance? And the fourfold attraction.
We do have one guy on the team from Idaho, Native American, from Lapwai. I didn't know that.
So these four guys were one red, one black, two whites.
And all really well behaved, too.
Later, headin' for bed.
Chuckle, chuckle.
ReplyDelete"more than two parents, a bonus..."
You're crazy! :)
Google Iris Robinson...
ReplyDeleteHere's to you, Mrs. Robinson....
ReplyDeleteor Mrs. bobinson.
ReplyDeleteKlonopin...Bob, go to the doctors.
ReplyDeleteTry two or three benadryl.
ReplyDeleteDon't try tylenol pm it made me feel crappy in the the morning.
ReplyDeleteMy mother-in-law was a night-shift neonatal nurse for a couple of decades. Hell to sleep through the day.
ReplyDeleteHalf a Benadryl.
Everyone's a little different and wouldn't guarantee it, but I've done it to decent effect.
There was an excellent Melatonin on the market until about 2002. Worked for us but no longer available.
Two or three Benadryl? OMG, whit.
ReplyDeleteNonononono.
If you need that, you need an echt prescription.
valerian...5-HTP...passionflower...Hops (Humulus lupulus)...St Johns wart...
ReplyDeletegoing to shave the other leg now.
ReplyDeletePut on your hiking boots, take your rod and reel, hike way up your favorite stream. Come back exhausted. Drink no coffee after noon. Read for a couple hours on your return.
ReplyDeleteRepeat on following days until symptoms are gone.
You'll soon sleep.
Stay away from the drugs, OTC or Rx.
Roast turkey leftovers for bedtime snack, if you must. With a nice relaxing herbal tea, sweetened with honey.
ReplyDeleteAvoid blogs.
ReplyDeleteWe. Have. Hot. Water.
ReplyDeleteYour right with everything except the honey because of the sugar and the hiking because exercise stimulates. And if you don't sleep for days a cup of chamomile tea isn't going to do the trick. Trust me, I don't sleep.
ReplyDeleteBob, how are you going to drive to Ohio through Vegas if you haven't slept?
ReplyDeleteDoug: Even if Brown Doesn’t Win, the Election is a Negative Referendum on Democratic Rule in Washington
ReplyDeleteObama canceled a scheduled speech so he could stay in Washington to monitor the earthquake...in Massachusetts, and how it might impact the House's deliberation on the language of the HC bill.
Three million people out of the total of nine million in Haiti might need medical treatment right now, and there's no way to get it to them. And pretty soon disease will rear its ugly head. This is a catastrophe of Biblical proportions. Pat Robertsons says they brought this judgment on themselves because they made a pact with the Devil.
ReplyDeleteTrish: America doesn’t really have a class system, but that fact makes it tough for people like David, who sometimes seem to wish it did.
ReplyDeleteIn America we substitute movie stars and sports celebrities for royalty. It's even hereditary, to some degree. Nicole Ritchie? Drew Barrymore? Lately the entrance to this class structure is through reality TV as an American Idol or an Octomom, but sometimes it doesn't work and you get Balloon Boy.
I did appreciate MeLoDy posting to my blog. I wish everything could go back to the way it was, with everyone.
ReplyDeleteWell who can resist Alyssa Milano?
ReplyDeleteWhit: Try two or three benadryl.
ReplyDeleteWeird stuff, makes my skin dry and I'm still drowsy in the morning.
Rufus:
The $0.45 "Blenders Tax Credit" goes to the Blender, (usually owned by an oil company) not the refiner.
Well, thanks for the correction, but wouldn't the blending be done at the refinery?
I never did find anything that hepled me sleep for more than four hours except Allen Greenspan on c-span.
ReplyDeleteHow much longer than four hours did Allen Greenspan help you to sleep?
ReplyDeleteHalf hour?
ReplyDeleteI sleep 9 hours.
ReplyDeletesix makes me happy.
ReplyDeleteI bet it does.
ReplyDeleteOops...I didn't mean that the way it sounded.
ReplyDeleteSARAH PALIN/FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR/FORMER REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is nothing more important in my life than my relationship with God and my faith and in this past year especially -- past year and a half -- I have been so driven to my knees to pray for His guidance, for His wisdom, for His grace and for His Strength. And I'm never going to tell anybody else how to live, I'm never going to preach to anybody else and tell them you must do that.
ReplyDelete...
PALIN: I believe that there are eternal ramifications based on what we do here.
GLENN BECK, HOST, "BECK": Does it motivate you?
PALIN: It motivates me, it does. It allows me to know that what I do, it's not about me, it's not even about my children's future; it's longer lasting than that.
PALIN: I would be perfectly happy to go back to Wasilla, Alaska, with my five children and my grandson and raise a happy, healthy family loving our great outdoors – doing the things we do in Alaska. But, if I believe that in some capacity I can help this great nation, I'm going to be willing to sacrifice and to change some things in my lifestyle in order to, in order to serve.
...
BECK: Are you a Republican?
PALIN: I'm a registered Republican.
BECK: How do you feel about that?
PALIN: There are times that I am tempted to bail from the party, there have been times in my political career -- um -- and just be an independent. But I recognize we are a two-party system.
God and Faith
If you think Barack Obama is unpopular now, wait until people do their taxes... I just did both of ours and CURSE BARACK OBAMA!
ReplyDeleteThe federal 1040 "booklet" just arrived in today's mail. It's approaching the heft of a mid-sized city's telephone book.
ReplyDeleteSharon: It is odd how society sees tings. Let's say if a guy sleeps with all these girls, 'he's the man!' or a 'stud'. But if a girl does, she's a total slut or whore. Is society sexist?
ReplyDeleteBrandon: Well think about it this way. If a key can open a bunch of locks, it's viewed as a master key, and is awesome to have. But if a lock is opened by a lot of different keys, well that's a pretty shitty lock if you ask me.
but wouldn't the blending be done at the refinery?
ReplyDeleteNo, T, 99.99% of the time the ethanol is splashed with 2% denaturant, usually gasoline, and shipped to the "Blender." The Blender is where the truck goes to pick up the gasoline that he delivers to your local station.
Oh, the other 0.01% of the time the refiner actually blends the ethanol with somewhere between 15, and 30% gasoline and sells it to a local station directly. In that case the refiner Would get the tax credit.
ReplyDeleteThe blender, right now, is the one that's in the "sweet" spot. The blender, as I said, is often an oil company. For instance, in the Memphis area virtually all of the gasoline is supplied by Valero (the local Oil/Gasoline refiner.)
ReplyDeleteRufus: No, T, 99.99% of the time the ethanol is splashed with 2% denaturant
ReplyDeleteThere is no "T". "T" does NOT post here.
Linear, I realize that Obama gave us a "stimulus" by reducing our withholding by 15 dollars a week or so, but not many people are going to remember that come April 15. The other person who lives in this house now greatly regrets voting for O.
ReplyDeleteDon't Tax Me BrO.
Sam, I Got A Brand New Pair Of Roller Skates, You Got A Brand New Key.
ReplyDeleteU.S. President Barack Obama outlined a set of new policies Jan. 7 in response to the Dec. 25, 2009 Northwest Airlines bombing attempt, which came the closest to a successful attack on a U.S. flight since Richard Reid’s failed shoe-bombing in December 2001. As in the aftermath of that attempt, a flurry of accusations, excuses and policy prescriptions have emanated from Washington since Christmas Day concerning U.S. airline security.
ReplyDelete...
At the heart of President Obama’s policy outline were the following key tactics: pursue enhanced screening technology in the transportation sector, review the visa issuance and revocation process, enhance coordination among agencies for counterterrorism (CT) investigations and establish a process to prioritize such investigations. While such measures are certainly important, they will not go far enough, by themselves, to meaningfully address the aviation security challenges the United States still faces almost nine years after 9/11.
For one thing, technology must not be seen as a panacea. It can be a very useful tool for finding explosive devices and weapons concealed on a person or in luggage, but it is predictable and reactive.
Vexing Problem
Nice one, Lil.
ReplyDeleteSam, thanks for calling me Lil. It doesn't take much to make me happy.
ReplyDeleteI waited until the nighttime quiet:
ReplyDeleteAndrew Sullivan at the Atlantic has the best Haiti run-downs I've come across.
FYI.
Heartbreaking.
Ms T may no longer post, but she still is here.
ReplyDeleteAn avatar is not real, we'll call you what we will. It is not for you to decide what your nick name is, Ms T.
Although we may not like to admit it, many of the sleep problems we experience are the result of bad habits and behaviors.
ReplyDeleteTop Ten sleep tips
A China Air plane landed early Thursday with a search team, medical workers and aid, The Associated Press reported. Supplies also began filtering in from the Dominican Republic, as charter flights were restarted between Santo Domingo and Port-au-Prince.
ReplyDeleteBut efforts to administer emergency services and distribute food and water were halting, and in some places, seemingly nonexistent. A few S.U.V.’s driven by United Nations personnel plied streets clogged with rubble, pedestrians and other vehicles. Fuel shortages emerged as an immediate concern as motorists sought to find gas stations with functioning fuel pumps.
Limbs protruded from piles of disintegrated concrete, and muffled cries emanated from deep inside the wrecks of buildings, as this impoverished nation struggled to grasp the grim, still unknown toll from its worst earthquake in more than 200 years.
NYTimes