Will we be allowed to drill?

You may have heard that the House just passed a silly bill taxing American Oil companies for their record profits with the pretense of easing the financial burden on the consumer and researching alternative energy. (never mind that the TAX on a gallon of gas is about 20-30 times the profit margin at any stage in the manufacturing and supply process)

Its funny.

No new drilling allowed in Alaska, no more nuclear power plants built, no hydroelectric plants... all because of the eco-hippies on the left, but now that oil is rising in cost, they are suddenly feeling sorry for the less fortunate Americans.

Then I read This Article on the incredible reserves which are being surveyed in the Dakota / Montana region. Reserves that could potentially drastically reduce, if not end US dependence on foreign oil.

Will the region be slapped with ecological protection laws? or will we be allowed to utilize our national resources?

Latch-key dog exerciser

I especially like it when about 1/2 way through the video the dog isn't really done chewing on the ball yet, but the machine goes into its launch cycle. He just doesn't really want to give it up quite yet.

I can see Kohl making good use of a machine like this, maybe in the yard, as I rock in my porch chair sipping sweet tea and smoking my pipe...

thanks to boingboing

Iraq war insights

In a fascinating NYT article, the insurgency in Iraq is being blamed for turning Muslims away from their faith. “Before, parents warned their sons not to smoke or drink,” said Mohammed Ali al-Jumaili, a Falluja father with a 20-year-old son. “Now all their energy is concentrated on not letting them be involved with terrorism.”

Evidently, the Iraqis are growing weary of not only the constant Iraqi on Iraqi violence, but also having to live under the harsh rule of Sharia law, having "found themselves stranded in neighborhoods that were governed by seventh-century rules. During an interview with a dozen Sunni teenage boys in a Baghdad detention facility on several sticky days in September, several of them expressed relief at being in jail, so they could wear shorts, a form of dress they would have been punished for in their neighborhoods."

The blame, it seems, is being squarely placed on the religious clerics of the region.

In two months of interviews with 40 young people in five Iraqi cities, a pattern of disenchantment emerged, in which young Iraqis, both poor and middle class, blamed clerics for the violence and the restrictions that have narrowed their lives.

“I hate Islam and all the clerics because they limit our freedom every day and their instruction became heavy over us,” said Sara, a high school student in Basra. “Most of the girls in my high school hate that Islamic people control the authority because they don’t deserve to be rulers.”

This story appeared 3/4/2008. As one commenter on Commentary Magazine's Contentions blog put it:

Like it or not, the NY Times sets the agenda for the entire left-of-center media and virtually all Dems. The piece is significant mostly for that reason, although whether other segments of the liberal media will push back remains to be seen. Hillary and Obama will ignore it, b/c their narrative of a failed war is central to their foreign policy ideas.

I won't hold my breath as I wait for this news to work its way through the mass media; moreover, the campaign. But the authority of the NYT is hard for the left to resist, and convenient for the right to laud when it serves our purposes.

I remain convinced that President Bush will be vindicated in the long run. Perhaps this article is just a crack in the mighty edifice of the anti-Bush rhetoric. As the Contentions blogger put it:

This Times piece represents a tectonic shift in the Iraq War and in the larger ideological struggle. From this date on, the War cannot be talked about in quite the same way. Those opposed to it can no longer snicker so easily when recalling the President’s assertion that people everywhere want freedom, and they may have to check their rage before declaring we’ve created more terrorists. There are some who understood that changing hearts and minds was the only way to triumph in the long run, but felt that Iraq was a huge setback in that pursuit.

Anyway, if this trend does in fact continue, it will bring interesting and significant changes to the region. Let's hope so, anyway.

Friday's Walk

(click on photo for greater detail)

Woe to the Middle Class!

This video I just found is a really interesting piece of work. Not full of enough facts and data to satisfy my skeptical nature, but interesting.

It makes me want to read that book...

The Dangers of "Touchy - Feely" Politics

It is quite interesting how all the democrats love Obama (well, half of them anyway), but he really has no track record at all. He can sure talk all sweet and pretty, but how do we know he isnt just all full of talk? He has no actions to support his rhetoric.

But a lot of people dont seem to care; they just like him because he is inspirational. A vague sense of doing good things for america...



Annnnd round 2...


people scare me sometimes...

And shouldn't we be a bit more critical of behavior such as THIS coming from a candidate for president of the US?

Biofuel Farce

This Article outlines the issues with the lofty eco-retarded idea that biofuels (ethanol, etc) are the answer to the world's energy needs. It highlights some interesting aspects that I admit I had not considered.

The Evil Exxon

According to Dr. Mark Perry, professor of economics at U of Michigan, at their 41% corporate tax rate Exxon contributed $27.9 billion to our tax coffers in 2006, paying

as much in taxes ($27 billion) annually as the entire bottom 50% of individual taxpayers, which is 65,000,000 people!

Now, we can point out their outrageous profits that year - $39.5 billion, bemoan the price of gas at the pump (which appears to be driven more by oil traders than Exxon - but that is a topic for another post), or debate the ecological impact their business might have, but rarely do we hear about how much they oil the engines of Washington - that is, apart from their evil lobbyists. I think we should give them their due as responsible tax paying citizens of our land.

btw, the comment section at the bottom of Dr. Perry's article provides interesting and further insight into the actual tax situation for Exxon by some obviously knowledgeable folk, as well as a few different perspectives on Exxon's moral standing by some outspoken embittereds...as is typical of most comment sections!




Thanks to Patterico for the story

Jesus abducted in Grand Rapids

"Jesus was gone..."

But a ransom note was received, reading, in part,

...we are holding Jesus ransom until you clean up the poopie from your weiners...

clean up all your weiner poopie if you want to see Jesus unharmed.

4 weiners; 2 feet of snow. Strikes me as nigh unto impossible to fully comply with the demands of the Jesusnappers. Does this then cast doubts on Jesus' imminent return?




Thanks soooo much to Ace

The World's Hottest Chili

It's 200 times hotter than the jalapeño. Workers handle it with goggles and face masks. And spicy-food lovers can't wait to get their hands on it.

By STAN SESSER
February 2, 2008; Page W1

Guwahati, India

The bhut jolokia chili pepper fires up the imagination, as well as the taste buds. The thumb-sized chilies are so potent they could be used in pepper spray, says the director of India's Defense Research Lab, R.B. Srivastava. "I've been told the U.S. and Israel have considered it for antiriot material," he says.

"Food scientists speculate that hot chilies have an unexpected side effect that boosts their popularity. A publication of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden in New York described it this way: "When capsaicin comes into contact with the nerve endings in the tongue and mouth, pain messengers, called neurotransmitters, are sent to the brain in a panic. The brain, mistakenly perceiving that the body is in big trouble, responds by turning on the waterworks to douse the flames. The mouth salivates, the nose runs and the upper body breaks into a sweat. The heart beats faster and the natural painkiller endorphin is secreted. In other words, you get a buzz."

It's similar to a runner's high, says Bruce Bryant, a researcher for the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, which specializes in analyzing taste. That may explain why plants shunned by starving animals end up in party bowls next to the chips. "We're about the only species who like hot peppers," he says. "You can't even train a rat to like them."

This is a good article - worth the read. Includes a video of a WSJ guy trying one.....