Sunday, January 29, 2012
Global Warming Taking a Long Holiday
Earth may be taking a 'chill pill', of sorts, according to the U.K.'s Mail Online.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Bonanza!
Today's front page at Faux News is a veritable gold mine of stories illustrating the unlimited capacity of government to do stupid stuff. There is so much bloggable material there, in fact, that I have decided to take all of it on in a 'quick thoughts' format.
So here goes...
1). The lead article is about the deteriorating situation in Syria. It's interesting to consider Mordor-on-the-Potomac's reluctance to aid the Syrian resistance, whereas they were comparatively eager to meddle in Egypt and Libya. This probably has something to do with Syria's very recent history of supporting Palestinian resistance groups. Assad is evil, to be sure, but at least he's a known quantity, not to mention a secularist. If he goes down, it's highly probable he'd be replaced by an unpredictable Islamist regime, and Damascus is closer to Jerusalem than Cairo, Tripoli, or Tehran. The stupid part here is that Mordor meddled anywhere in the first place. Not only do such actions violate the sovereignty of foreign lands, create instability, and lead to unforeseen repercussions for America, but intervention in country A leads the good folk of country B to expect they'll receive similar aid. We intervened in Kuwait, but not Kurdistan. Korea, but not Budapest. Saigon, but not Prague. Our continued boasting of promoting democracy around the world is given the lie when we so obviously pick and choose where we will promote self-determination based on our own not-very-well disguised strategic interests. And then the sheeple wonder why we encounter so much opposition around the globe when we're so obviously the 'good guys'.
2). (Echoes of Bowie's Space Oddity reverberate in the background.) Ground control to Major Newt. Ground control to Major Newt. America is broke. There is no money for your grandiose schemes for moon colonies and other black holes for government largesse. Please do us all a favor and drop out of the race now.
3). The U.S. Air Force's super-ultra-really-big bomb turns out to be not super-ultra-really-big enough to take out Iran's underground nuclear program. Notice the article says "...the only country known to have buried its nuclear weapons." I wonder if this is an honest slip (Iran has no nukes), or whether Faux is deliberately attempting to plant the thought into the uncomprehending minds of its usual blood-lusting readers that Iran already has nuclear weapons. Also interesting is the part that says, "Initial tests reportedly indicated that the bomb wouldn't be able to destroy some of Iran's facilities, although it was unclear if depth was a factor, or if Tehran had since added new fortifications to protect them." Really? We seem to know an awful lot about Iran's supposedly secret underground facilities.
4). This last article illustrates that the Feds don't hold a monopoly on government stupidity. California bureaucrats on the Air Resources Board passed rules requiring 1/7 of all vehicles sold in California to be electric or zero-emissions by 2025. When will the government learn that top-down, heavy-handed decrees like these never make life better for people? Consumers obviously want fuel-efficient vehicles; that's why the Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit is the third-best selling car of all time. I snort with disdain every time I see some car commercial on TV, especially for the much-touted hybrids, in which something in the slightly over 40 mpg range of fuel economy is loudly trumpeted. The original diesel-engined Rabbit got 57 mpg, and it wasn't alone in the 50+ mpg category. New cars these days can't approach that figure because they are encumbered with hundreds of pounds of government-mandated equipment. Why not let the consumers decide? Put your $25,000 hybrid up against a stripped-down $15,000 gasoline-powered car that gets ten additional miles per gallon, and see which one consumers flock to. Contrary to what the average economically ignorant sheep might think, the auto manufacturers actually support the new rules. Well of course they do! Because they know that, thanks to the new rules, there soon won't be any $15,000 cars to purchase. Everyone will have to purchase the expensive hybrids and electrics, and the auto manufacturers will laugh all the way to the bank. And the energy producers won't care one way or the other, because all that electricity the new cars use has to come from somewhere -- and in the U.S. that usually means a coal- or oil-burning electrical power plant. Government -- it tends to be goofy and inefficient at every level.
So here goes...
1). The lead article is about the deteriorating situation in Syria. It's interesting to consider Mordor-on-the-Potomac's reluctance to aid the Syrian resistance, whereas they were comparatively eager to meddle in Egypt and Libya. This probably has something to do with Syria's very recent history of supporting Palestinian resistance groups. Assad is evil, to be sure, but at least he's a known quantity, not to mention a secularist. If he goes down, it's highly probable he'd be replaced by an unpredictable Islamist regime, and Damascus is closer to Jerusalem than Cairo, Tripoli, or Tehran. The stupid part here is that Mordor meddled anywhere in the first place. Not only do such actions violate the sovereignty of foreign lands, create instability, and lead to unforeseen repercussions for America, but intervention in country A leads the good folk of country B to expect they'll receive similar aid. We intervened in Kuwait, but not Kurdistan. Korea, but not Budapest. Saigon, but not Prague. Our continued boasting of promoting democracy around the world is given the lie when we so obviously pick and choose where we will promote self-determination based on our own not-very-well disguised strategic interests. And then the sheeple wonder why we encounter so much opposition around the globe when we're so obviously the 'good guys'.
2). (Echoes of Bowie's Space Oddity reverberate in the background.) Ground control to Major Newt. Ground control to Major Newt. America is broke. There is no money for your grandiose schemes for moon colonies and other black holes for government largesse. Please do us all a favor and drop out of the race now.
3). The U.S. Air Force's super-ultra-really-big bomb turns out to be not super-ultra-really-big enough to take out Iran's underground nuclear program. Notice the article says "...the only country known to have buried its nuclear weapons." I wonder if this is an honest slip (Iran has no nukes), or whether Faux is deliberately attempting to plant the thought into the uncomprehending minds of its usual blood-lusting readers that Iran already has nuclear weapons. Also interesting is the part that says, "Initial tests reportedly indicated that the bomb wouldn't be able to destroy some of Iran's facilities, although it was unclear if depth was a factor, or if Tehran had since added new fortifications to protect them." Really? We seem to know an awful lot about Iran's supposedly secret underground facilities.
4). This last article illustrates that the Feds don't hold a monopoly on government stupidity. California bureaucrats on the Air Resources Board passed rules requiring 1/7 of all vehicles sold in California to be electric or zero-emissions by 2025. When will the government learn that top-down, heavy-handed decrees like these never make life better for people? Consumers obviously want fuel-efficient vehicles; that's why the Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit is the third-best selling car of all time. I snort with disdain every time I see some car commercial on TV, especially for the much-touted hybrids, in which something in the slightly over 40 mpg range of fuel economy is loudly trumpeted. The original diesel-engined Rabbit got 57 mpg, and it wasn't alone in the 50+ mpg category. New cars these days can't approach that figure because they are encumbered with hundreds of pounds of government-mandated equipment. Why not let the consumers decide? Put your $25,000 hybrid up against a stripped-down $15,000 gasoline-powered car that gets ten additional miles per gallon, and see which one consumers flock to. Contrary to what the average economically ignorant sheep might think, the auto manufacturers actually support the new rules. Well of course they do! Because they know that, thanks to the new rules, there soon won't be any $15,000 cars to purchase. Everyone will have to purchase the expensive hybrids and electrics, and the auto manufacturers will laugh all the way to the bank. And the energy producers won't care one way or the other, because all that electricity the new cars use has to come from somewhere -- and in the U.S. that usually means a coal- or oil-burning electrical power plant. Government -- it tends to be goofy and inefficient at every level.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Quick Thoughts on the Florida Debate
Got home late and only saw half of the debate, so my comments pertain to only the second half of the festivities. Once again, in no particular order:
1). Ron Paul got stiffed on the face time again. He got completely passed over on two questions (Santorum was also passed over on one of the questions).
2). Lame debate format. The time allotted for responses allows for little more than sound bites. Very little of substance gets discussed, and virtually everything said by the candidates is old news. Letting the audience present the questions results in many narrowly-focused questions that are tantamount to asking for political favors. And please, asking the candidates why their wives would make the best first lady?
3). No matter how one feels about the Israel/Palestine situation, you have to feel sorry for the poor Palestinian-American guy in the audience. His question, which only Romney and Gingrich had a chance to answer, basically turned into a contest to see who could be the biggest cheerleader for Israel. Arab-Americans everywhere would have to be pretty oblivious to not notice that they were essentially told, "Screw you!" Way to reach out, GOP!
4). Santorum on the question of Cuba: sounds like if Santorum had the opportunity to nuke the Castro regime, he would. Which would finally put the Cuban people out of their misery. Forty years of poverty brought on by the American embargo, and how did that policy affect the Castro brothers? Not at all, except to drive them further into the arms of the Soviets, followed by any two-bit chump dictator that followed. Embargo is an act of war aimed at civilians. Embargoes invariably end up strengthening the regimes they are intended to weaken.
5). Brilliant answer by Dr. Paul on how faith would affect his presidency. He said it wouldn't, except for how his faith defines his character, and that his presidency would be bound by his oath of office and his promise to the American people. And since a man's character is defined not so much by what he says as by what he does, Dr. Paul clearly has the most Christ-like character of any of the remaining candidates.
6). One of CNN's people mentioned that Romney has a new debate coach. Did anyone ever doubt that Romney had a debate coach? Does anyone believe Dr. Paul has a debate coach?
1). Ron Paul got stiffed on the face time again. He got completely passed over on two questions (Santorum was also passed over on one of the questions).
2). Lame debate format. The time allotted for responses allows for little more than sound bites. Very little of substance gets discussed, and virtually everything said by the candidates is old news. Letting the audience present the questions results in many narrowly-focused questions that are tantamount to asking for political favors. And please, asking the candidates why their wives would make the best first lady?
3). No matter how one feels about the Israel/Palestine situation, you have to feel sorry for the poor Palestinian-American guy in the audience. His question, which only Romney and Gingrich had a chance to answer, basically turned into a contest to see who could be the biggest cheerleader for Israel. Arab-Americans everywhere would have to be pretty oblivious to not notice that they were essentially told, "Screw you!" Way to reach out, GOP!
4). Santorum on the question of Cuba: sounds like if Santorum had the opportunity to nuke the Castro regime, he would. Which would finally put the Cuban people out of their misery. Forty years of poverty brought on by the American embargo, and how did that policy affect the Castro brothers? Not at all, except to drive them further into the arms of the Soviets, followed by any two-bit chump dictator that followed. Embargo is an act of war aimed at civilians. Embargoes invariably end up strengthening the regimes they are intended to weaken.
5). Brilliant answer by Dr. Paul on how faith would affect his presidency. He said it wouldn't, except for how his faith defines his character, and that his presidency would be bound by his oath of office and his promise to the American people. And since a man's character is defined not so much by what he says as by what he does, Dr. Paul clearly has the most Christ-like character of any of the remaining candidates.
6). One of CNN's people mentioned that Romney has a new debate coach. Did anyone ever doubt that Romney had a debate coach? Does anyone believe Dr. Paul has a debate coach?
More Window Dressing
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has proposed a plan to cut "nearly a half-trillion dollars" from the U.S. offense defense budget.
Over a ten-year period, naturally (what is it with the magical ten-year number?).
Pffft -- please! Enough with the sham cuts already! $500 billion in "cuts" over ten years is $50 billion per year. That's less than 10% of the current annualoffense defense budget. I've said it before, so I won't belabor the point: a 10% cut in offense defense isn't enough to stop the train wreck in the making that is U.S. federal spending.
Call us back, Panetta, when you come up with some real cuts.
Over a ten-year period, naturally (what is it with the magical ten-year number?).
Pffft -- please! Enough with the sham cuts already! $500 billion in "cuts" over ten years is $50 billion per year. That's less than 10% of the current annual
Call us back, Panetta, when you come up with some real cuts.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Sweet Deal
Ask yourself, what would happen to you if you went on a rampage that resulted in the deaths of 24 innocent people, including ten women and children and a man in a wheel chair? If you are a U.S. Marine in Iraq, the answer is, you get off with a slap on the wrist and an apology to the victims' families.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Military Spending in Perspective
USA accounts for 55% of the world's military spending, and the neocons can't find anywhere to cut something? Anything?
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Winners & Losers
The South Carolina results are in, and Ron Paul lost, right?
I don't think so. The big loser is Rick Santorum. In the contest to determine who would be the neocon's Not-Romney, Santorum just took a big hit, coming in a distant third. That's two poor showings in a row, and potential campaign contributors are likely to take notice. I predicted Santorum wouldn't last much longer, and for sure he must be feeling the icy grip of defeat closing in this time.
Ron Paul came in fourth, this is true, but Paul isn't like the other candidates. He isn't campaigning for an office, but for an idea. And he still has money -- relatively lots of money. Soon, one more voice of deception will be gone on the neocon side, and Dr. Paul's message of liberty will get even more face time.
The Revolution rolls on!
I don't think so. The big loser is Rick Santorum. In the contest to determine who would be the neocon's Not-Romney, Santorum just took a big hit, coming in a distant third. That's two poor showings in a row, and potential campaign contributors are likely to take notice. I predicted Santorum wouldn't last much longer, and for sure he must be feeling the icy grip of defeat closing in this time.
Ron Paul came in fourth, this is true, but Paul isn't like the other candidates. He isn't campaigning for an office, but for an idea. And he still has money -- relatively lots of money. Soon, one more voice of deception will be gone on the neocon side, and Dr. Paul's message of liberty will get even more face time.
The Revolution rolls on!
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