Cape Wind Clears Hurdle

Via the Volokh Conspiracy:

"Yesterday the Minerals Management Service (MMS) released its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the proposed Cape Wind offshore wind power development in Massachusetts, concluding that the project will have no significant negative environmental consequences. Release of the final EIS clears the way for the MMS to lease a portion of Nantucket Sound to Cape Wind, but it hardly makes the project a done deal. Cape Wind will still need to obtain additional permits and clear additional reviews from the Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Coast Guard. Project opponents also promised litigation and other efforts to prevent the erection of wind turbines in the Sound. Senator Kennedy, for one, voiced his continued opposition and predicted any lease to Cape Wind would be overturned.

The Cape Wind experience illustrates how existing regulatory regimes are not particularly welcoming to alternative energy development. MMS offshore lease regulations, for instance, were designed for offshore oil and gas development, not windfarms. Cape Wind has had to face numerous regulatory reviews and overlapping requirements at various levels of government. If wind power and other alternative energy sources are to ever make a significant and cost-justified contribution to the nation's energy supply, the regulatory thicket will need to be cleared. The Bush Administration showed little interest in such an undertaking, despite its stated commitment to less onerous regulation and technological innovation. Perhaps the Obama Administration will recognize the need for innovation-enhancing regulatory
reforms."

The reason cape wind has made news at all is that all the rich folk over by the cape oppose it in what we true environmentalists call NIMBYism. (NIMBY - Not In My Back Yard) Amongst the elite opposing the project is the Kennedy family. Every member. All of 'em. Not just Ted Kennedy (anything in water tends not to mix with Ted for some reason). But Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also, who holds himself up as a world-leading environmentalist/activist. If you follow the link, you'll see RFK Jrs argument has mostly to do with the view out his window and other conveniences. But that's neither here nor there.

For my part, I hope that the Cape Wind project ends up getting built. As I teach in my classes, offshore installation is perhaps the best possible source of 24/7/365 wind power. Even here in Michigan the best possible wind areas are offshore (all along the western edge of the state, and the Lake Superior area of the Upper Peninsula). With wind turbines continually getting bigger, more efficient and quieter, it is an excellent source of power (note I didn't call it 'clean power' or 'green power' as there are plenty of environmental consequences in constructing these behemoths, but perhaps it's best to save that for a post in itself). In addition, I never understood the NIMBYs opposition to wind turbines. If you ever get a chance to see one up close, do so. They are massive and quite impressive. Always remind me of Jodie Foster looking down from a walkway upon "the machine' in the movie Contact (hit the youtube link here and go to the 6:55 mark). Just awesome and impressive as all heck. If I could I'd get a small one in my back yard (the homeowners association and township would surely be against it... Sigh...).

Senator Norm Coleman; Part Deux

Ron Carey over at townhall has an interesting column today regarding the senate election that former comedian (the guy stopped being funny somewhere around 1985) Al Franken is trying to steal. I wrote about this the other day here. Some of the shenanigans have been eye-popping for a state that is said to have the cleanest elections in the nation (not saying much I guess). In any case, Ron writes:

"...in recent days, Franken and his Washington legal team have seemed awfully desperate for a campaign that is trying to convince people they are winning. They have now tried to shove Al Franken onto the Senate floor through three separate venues – only be to be rebuffed and delayed because their effort clearly violates Minnesota law.

...Al Franken’s lead will disappear and Norm Coleman will be declared the winner when the following errors are corrected."

Amongst the list will be familiar items that showed up in my earlier post: double-counted ballots, counted missing ballots, wrongly rejected absentee ballots, newly 'discovered' ballots, etc. Sounds just like the situation in Washington State a few years ago.

More on Private Gump

As I wrote just yesterday in this piece, Tom Hanks Says Mormon Supporters of Proposition 8 'Un-American.'

Today, LaShawn Barber adds more: Will Tom Hanks Call Blacks ‘Un-American’?

"Why were they focusing on Mormons, when 70 percent of black voters in the state
voted YES on Prop 8? Curious, but not complicated. I made the observation, as did Thomas Sowell, that white homosexuals hadn’t dared and would not have dared “march” to black churches and harass black churchgoers, although it would have made more sense for them to head down to Watts or Compton or up to Oakland and express their disappointment. Can you imagine such a scenario? I’d pay good money to see that.

Now I’m wondering the same about actor Tom Hanks. Singling out Mormons for voting to protect traditional marriage, Hanks called them “un-American.” An overwhelming majority of blacks supported the measure. I suppose the same applies to them, yes? Perhaps Hanks is waiting until MLK’s birthday on Monday or Barack Obama’s inauguration on Tuesday to make his pronouncement. What do you think? I’d pay good money to hear that.

I concur with Michael van der Galien at Big Hollywood. “We the people” voting to amend a constitution is American. Legislating from the bench is not only un-American, it’s unconstitutional. Put down the scripts, Mr. Hanks (loved “Cast Away,” by the way), and pick up a copy of the Constitution. It’s a fascinatingly simple yet profound document."

I love the last part of that post. So much misery has come from judicial activism that I'm sure should Congress take a stand, and tell the judiciary "hey - WE THE PEOPLE over here make the law, not you!" that life would be much better. Of course, that rarely happens as judicial activism tends to benefit one party over another. And it is a nice way to insert legislation (or constitutional amendment in stealth) into the culture - legislation that would never stand at the ballot box.

Flattered & Blushing linkaround

A good linkaround from the Anchoress:

"Unfortunately, Embryonic Stem Cell Research WILL be opened to Government Funding (as will just about everything else - why not, money grows on trees) under President Obama and a congress full of people who don’t seem to care that the “promise” of Embryonic stem cell research is a gargantuan lie."

"Obama: No torture…except maybe when its’ necessary. Never forget that in 2002 Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats were briefed on torture and some of them wondered if waterboarding would be “enough”. It was later apparently decided that the best thing to do with waterboards was beat President Bush over the head with them as “a moral issue” until they got into power..."

"Just a wee reminder, because everyone always forgets: Rendition began under President Clinton - something perhaps Leon Panetta should talk about at his confirmation hearing. So did the policy of regime change in Iraq begin under President Clinton in 1998. Same year President Clinton declared that Saddam had nukes. We really need better intelligence."

"If I hadn’t already weaned myself of my Diet Pepsi addiction, this would do it for me. A family member who lives in DC writes, “this place is starting to feel like North Korea, with its “Dear Leader” vibe. I’m all for celebrating Obama’s inauguration, but I’ll be damned if I want to see his face on my soda with a “grapeful” message included.” "

"Former Senator Bill Frist who - aside from being a miserable racist Republican is also a physician with a deep commitment to the improvement of health standards in Africa, says George W. Bush has saved 10 million lives on that continent, with his AIDS and Malaria initiatives - the ones that no one ever wants to talk about. "

Lots of links. Lots of good reads. So go over and knock yourselves out.

Profiles in Courage?

Well, not really. Mary Katherine Ham blows the lid off of some freshmen senators (HT: RedState).

"Of seven newly minted freshman Democratic senators, six voted for releasing the second half of the $700 billion TARP funds in what is being considered Obama's first major test of strength on the Hill. This would be rather uncontroversial had not five of them, to some degree or another, campaigned against the original, unpopular bailout bill to win their seats."

Ouch. this one is gonna hurt come the next election cycle.

Hope and Change!

Now THIS will be an interesting race

As if on cue, RedState has a piece related to my earlier post on the collapsing housing market. First, here's the video:

The the follow-up here. Turns out Peter Schiff will challenge Chris Dodd to his Connecticut senate seat. Plenty of political ammo on Schiff's side. He was right. Dodd was wrong. In addition to all of Dodd's ethical problems, it will be interesting to see if the seat can be turned red come 2010.

Video of Plane Landing in the Hudson River, NY

Saw this over at Youtube:



How long before the MSM blames global warming for disturbing the bird's migratory patterns?

WSJ: The Best Economic Stimulus: A Corporate Tax Rate of Zero

via taxprof: "Wall Street Journal op-ed: Leave the New Deal in the History Books; Cut Corporate Taxes to Zero and Create Real Jobs, by Mark Levey: By 1939 Roosevelt's own Treasury secretary, Henry Morgenthau, had realized that the New Deal economic policies had failed. "We have tried spending money," Morgenthau wrote in his diary. "We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work. . . . After eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started. . . . And an enormous debt to boot!" "

Ouch. Seems related to a post I had written yesterday. More:

"In addition to New Deal spending programs, a series of new taxes were introduced that crushed the innovation, risk taking, and growth plans of entrepreneurs, corporations and investors. From 1930 to 1940, the top marginal income-tax rate rose to 79% from 25% while the corporate income-tax rate doubled to 24% from 12%. In addition, Roosevelt tacked on an excess profits tax and undistributed profits tax. He imposed an excise tax on dividends. Even the new Social Security payroll tax added 2%. As a result, the New Deal forced the allocation of money away from the private sector. ..."

"The quickest way to strengthen the credit system and begin the end of this crisis is to get money into the economy for true job creation, and not into government work programs. The way to do this is to slash taxes. The U.S. corporate tax rate, currently the highest in the world, should be cut to 0% (corporate income would still be taxed, of course, when distributed to shareholders as dividends). The capital-gains tax should be cut further."

I couldn't agree more. Although I don't think the incoming administration will allow themselves to hear this argument (cover ears with hands. Say "lah, lah, lah" really loud. Rinse. Repeat).

ABC president blames NIELSEN for ratings woes...

A story via drudge. Isn't this like people blaming their scale for weight gain? Or blaming your pencil for writing down the wrong answer on a test?

Carter, Clinton, Obama - oh my! Part 2

"Obama: Bush a 'good man' but mistaken" An article I saw on Brietbart (via Drudge) had two sentences that stuck out to me, here's the second (the first was here):

"Obama flayed Bush over the Iraq war, accused him of taking his eye off the ball
in Afghanistan and accused him of favoring the rich and ruining the US economy." (emphasis mine)

So for Bush to have ruined the US economy, he would have had to cause the housing bubble. How did this happen? How did we get here? Let's start with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two democrat inventions (FDR the former, LBJ the latter) known as GSEs (government sponsored enterprises). In a nutshell, a GSE is "capitalist profits, socialist losses; " that is, when profits are made, the executives make huge bonuses. When bad, the taxpayer is on the hook for the losses (and the executives still make huge bonuses!). When Fannie and Freddie went down, the entire housing market went down with it. These two inventions got absolutely ginormous in the last decade, mostly on subprime loans. But let's back up just a bit.

Before Freddie and Fannie became ridiculously large, there was the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977 (Jimmy Carter). It was designed to make sure low-income residents of downtrodden neighborhoods received bank loans. Now the CRA by itself is not to blame for the current meltdown (although it was the beginning of government encouraging 'risky loans'). It had no teeth. It was a bunch of arm-twisting of financial institutions. And back in 1977 and so forth, there were no subprime loans advertised in papers (my parents bought a house then, and it was definitely not subprime). So how did the subprime loan business get so big?

Fast forward to 1995. Bill Clinton gave the CRA teeth (basically made affirmative action a banking requirement). The Glass-Stengal Act of the 1930s, designed to keep banks out of the speculation business following the bank failures during the Great Depression, was repealed. Banks no longer mitigated risky loans with savings deposits (so more risk, and less to back it up - read here). ACORN (yes, THAT ACORN) then launched campaign after campaign of intimidation coupled with protest to force banks to lower credit standards, which they subsequently did (a little). At the same time, Fannie and Freddie lowered credit standards (A LOT. They were pushed to do so by democrats in Congress at the urging of ACORN. yes, THAT ACORN again). Fannie and Freddie began to buy subprime mortgages on the secondary mortgage market while holding just 3% (or less) capital to back up the loans. This encouraged banks to offer more subprime loans, which they did. These loans were subsequently bought up by Freddie and Fannie. More were offered (greed begets greed). You can see where this goes. By 2006, subprime loans made up a full 30% of total loans (they were 2% back in 2002). By 2007, Fannie and Freddie guaranteed half the U.S. mortgage market (12+ Trillion (!) dollars). During this time, Fannie and Freddie were also cooking their books. Once caught, the entire deck of cards came tumbling down (see a good roundup here). These dots are not hard to connect (Ace Ventura would lay out the exact same case and say this).

And the Bush administration's role in this? The Bush administration warned of the danger in letting Fannie and Freddie get too big as early as 2002. See the report here. The administration called for more regulation (aren't dems blaming Bush for not enough, even though they fought all regulation on Freddie and Fannie?). They were blocked at every single turn by Barney Frank, Chuck Schumer, Chris Dodd, and the like. Hey, don't trust me on this. Hear it right from the mouths of the democrats responsible for oversight:

For the record, Obama's chief-of-staff-in-waiting, Rahm Emanuel, was a board member at Freddie Mac (appointed by Bill Clinton) during the book-cooking phase. And Fannie Mae's CEO during this time? Franklin Reines, Obama advisor. Freddie Mac's CEO? Jim Johnson, Obama advisor. By the way, Fannie and Freddie gave political contributions to politicians. #1 recipient? Chris Dodd. #2 recipient? Barack Obama.

The fact that the democrats, and their allies in the mainstream media, have somehow hung this debacle around the neck of George W. Bush is a masterpiece of politics and deception. I somehow hold out hope that, someday, history will tell the true story of the out-of-control government influence responsible for this mess. Sure there's enough blame to go around, but the bulk has to reside at the feet of the democrats for introducing social engineering into the banking system.

Carter, Clinton, Obama - Oh my! Part 1

"Obama: Bush a 'good man' but mistaken"

An article I saw on Brietbart (via Drudge) had two sentences that stuck out to me. Here's the first:

"When he is sworn in on Tuesday, Obama will inherit two foreign wars and the
worst economy since the 1930s Great Depression with the budget deficit forecast
to hit more than a trillion dollars this year."

Why is the 'worst economy since the Great Depression' canard out there like this (I know, it's to pin everything on Bush)? Did everyone forget the Carter Presidency? The stagflation (the inflation rate was 12% in 1980!)? Double-digit unemployment (it was around 10% then, 7% now)? Interest rates at 21 percent (home mortgage rates were at 18% then, 5% now)? And forget the foreign policy front (Iran? 444 days? Defense budget cuts?). I distinctly remember as a child waiting in gas lines with my dad. He wasn't happy. There was this one time when, after waiting in the gas line for about 30 minutes, a guy came out of the garage and put a barrel in front of my dad's car. No more gas. I learned about every curse word I would ever know that day, right then and there (he got laid off in the prior weeks as well). So how is it that on the way back in time the great speed-bump of the Carter era is somehow unseen these days? And that trillion dollar deficit will look small when the 'stimulus' plan gets underway.

Inauguration hypocrisy

Anybody remember the anti-inauguration bandwagon the last presidential election cycle? The media, from East coast to West, wrote article after article deriding Bush for having an expensive inauguration during a time of war? Don't remember? Read here and here (HT: MM). Some excerpts:

"With the war in Iraq steadily claiming American lives and the world in mourning over the tsunami disaster, planners of the 55th presidential inauguration face an awkward challenge: how to throw the traditional four-day celebration without appearing to have too much fun."

"A few critics have called for cancellation of everything but the swearing-in because they find it unseemly to spend $40 million on shrimp, spirits, floats and frivolity while American soldiers must scrape together money for phone cards to call home."

"On the editorial page of Sunday’s Washington Post, Bernard Ries, identified in a different Post column as a former deputy chief administrative law judge of the National Labor Relations Board, objects to the expense of the upcoming inauguration"

"What gives me pause is the decision to spend some $40 million-plus at this moment in history. When I first began mulling over this expenditure, I thought it quite unseemly that, at a time when so many Americans and countless Iraqis "

So what has changed in 4 years? We're still in Iraq and have opened up the war in Afghanistan in recent months (Obama has promised more troops there as President also). Plus, we are in the midst of an economic recession that Obama himself said is the worst since the great depression (never mind that the Carter era recession had far worst unemployment, inflation and interest rates than we have now). So what has changed? Where are these nay-sayers wringing their hands in the media now that we are about to have reportedly the biggest, most expensive, most extravagant inauguration event in United States history? (crickets chirping)

So what has changed in 4 years? Well, 4 years ago it was Bush (in much better economic time by the way). Today it's Obama. That's. About. It.

Read more on this phenomenon from Michelle Malkin: "Where are all the Anti-Inauguration activists now?" Related post by AmericanPrincess. You'll have to read it here because you won't hear a peep about it from the MSM.

UPDATE: More from powerline: No media mudballs this time. The post lists the last half-dozen inaugurations and the MSM's narrative. Quite a patern there! "# 2005. Bush's second inaugural was met with far more hostility, with reporters attacking the $40 million price tag as obscene. "In a time of war and natural disaster, is it time for a lavish celebration?" ABC's Terry Moran doubted. The AP's Will Lester calculated that the money spent on Bush's inaugural could vaccinate "22 million children in regions devastated by the tsunami....Do we need to spend this money on what seems so extravagant?" (Obama's inaugural will cost $45 million.)

The day before Bush's swearing-in, ABC's Web site pleaded for tips of "any military funerals for Iraq war casualties scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 20." Sure enough, then-ABC anchor Peter Jennings got his wish to report how "just about the time the president was speaking, there was a funeral for a young Marine reservist: 21-year-old Matthew Holloway was killed in Iraq last week by a roadside bomb." Don't look for the networks to use such tactics to sour Obama's celebration. "

Ouch!

Gays and Atheists Joined at the Lip

That's the title of a good post by Burt Prelutsky over at Townhall. "Recently, I noticed a similarity between atheists and homosexuals that hadn’t occurred to me before. It has to do with the way they wage their wars. Basically, they erect straw men, put words in their straw mouths, and then engage in battle with these creatures they’ve cobbled together with spit and glue.
It just seems to me that it’s high time we began setting the record straight."

"Whenever atheists blame religion for causing most of the world’s mass murders, they merely prove that they’re not only bigots, but ignoramuses. While nobody knows exactly how many millions of innocent people have been butchered in the past 90 years, we do know that the vast majority died at the hands of Stalin, Hitler, Mao and Pol Pot, atheists all.

The only exceptions to that rule, of course, are those who have been gassed, beheaded and blown up, by the Muslim faithful. And yet Islam, interestingly enough, is the one religion that doesn’t seem to enrage atheists! Could the reason possibly be that, for all their huffing and puffing about how awful all religions are, even the atheists understand that Jewish and Christian martyrs will die for their beliefs, whereas Islamics will kill you for theirs? "

Darned good points. Especially the Muslim angle. How is it in California that gay activists are harassing Mormons and their temples for voting for Pop8, but not mosques? Or that Comedy Central will censor an image of Muhammed on South Park while, in the exact same episode, show Jesus defecated on. It's the same hypocrisy through and through. In any case, read the whole thing.

Hancock review by the science critic

That's right, my other hat - the science critic.

Watched the movie Hancock last night with the wife. (although watching it for free by borrowing it from the local library was nice, I've been on the hold list for this title since mid-November!) I give the movie about 5.5/10. It was 'OK.' And not for the inaccuracies in physics (more on that later). It was just so-so. Maybe it's that Will Smith, an actor that I like very much (good movies such as I,Robot, MiB, I am Legend were good only because of Will), just isn't cut out to play an unhappy, drunk superhero. And the plot holes (who ARE these people?) just didn't get filled to my satisfaction. And it was difficult to get a sense of whether this movie took itself seriously or not (I'd say not, but that wasn't apparent until well into the movie).

Any likability of this movie is directly a result of the likability of Will Smith. Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman were OK but the focus was all on Smith. I think the execution of the idea behind this film (a flawed superhero) wasn't as good as the idea itself. All-in-all, it was an alright movie.

Since I'm an upper-echelon science geek, I would be remiss if not mentioning the inaccuracies in physics. I could go into great detail on all of Hancock's feets of strength (it would be great to have during Festivus), such as hurling a whale by it's tail (I'm a poet and I didn't even know it!), which would have ripped the entire tail fin off before the whale even budged, but I'll focus on just one - energy. Why energy? Because everything takes energy to do. It was apparent in the movie that Hancock ate food like a normal human (less food and more booz but anyway). To lift an SUV (weighing approximately 5000lb including 4 adult occupants) 1000 ft in the air, as Hancock did, would require 154,416 kcal of energy. That would have to be one heck of a meal! And that ignores traveling with it (kinetic energy), etc. Hancock would have to eat an absolutely ginormous amount of food to have such energy capacity. But who am I to question Hollywood's ignorance of the laws of nature? Now I know what you all are thinking - you're taking it too seriously. And you would be correct. But it was just a passing thought during the movie and didn't interfere with whatever enjoyment I received from its viewership. Now any Roland Emerich movie... oh never mind - that's for another post

Filing taxes electronically

Via the taxprof: "This year, the IRS and its partners are offering a new option, Free File Fillable Tax Forms, which opens up Free File to virtually everyone, even those whose incomes exceed $56,000. Free File Fillable Tax Forms allows taxpayers to fill out and file their tax forms electronically, just as they would on paper. This option does not include an “interview” process like the other Free File offerings, but it does allow taxpayers to enter their tax data, perform basic math calculations, sign electronically, print their returns for recordkeeping and e-file their returns. This “self-service” option may be right for those who are comfortable with the tax law, know what forms they want to use or don’t need assistance to complete their returns. Both the fillable-forms option and the previously available “full service” Free File offerings are available only through the IRS.gov web site."

I don't know why more people don't go this route, but I've been happy filing electronically (using TurboTax) since 1998. Love it!

Hope and Change!!!

From CNN’s Jack Cafferty: Why can’t the two parties work together? "Why can’t the Democrats and Republicans work together instead of against each other?"

I will answer Jack's question with one of my own: Where were you, Jack, when the democrats ran an obstruction campaign during the entirety of Bush's first term? Where were the cries for bipartisanship? Why ask the question now that democrats control the House, The Senate, and the Executive branch? (you can make an argument that they largely control the judicial branch as well)

Tom Hanks said what???

Tom Hanks Says Mormon Supporters of Proposition 8 'Un-American.' Oh, brother! I like Tom Hanks as an actor. Forrest Gump is just outside my top-10 movie list of all time (Saving Private Ryan is around there as well). And I watch Castaway whenever it's on the tube.

But outside the movie business, I get the feeling that these actors don't know much about anything. Kinda like the wheel is spinning, but the hamster's dead...

(HT: foxnews)

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin has more: "We were considered fascists for questioning theirs, but it’s patriotic for them to question ours."

More on teachers and students

More on the teacher scandal I commented about a few days ago. Via foxnews: Outrage Follows Ruling That Teachers Can Have Sex With 18-Year-Old Students. "A Washington court's ruling this week that teachers can legally have sex with their 18-year-old students is sparking outrage among parents, psychologists and sex therapists."

I can understanding the parents, and somewhat psychologists. But sex therapists?

"This shouldn't be OK," she said. "They are teachers. Every one of them should know better."

Yes they should.

Darth Pelosi?

Panel chairmen fighting mad over snubs by Pelosi. "As congressional Democrats take the lead in responding to the sinking economy, subcommittee and even some full-committee chairmen — who normally wield significant influence in writing legislation — have been forced to wait on the sidelines as monumental bills are written in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) office. "

"Senior House Democrats have a message for their Speaker: We’re mad as hell, and we’re only taking it this one last time." (emphasis mine)

This happens all the time and now it's 'one last time?' And here I thought Dick Cheney was supposed to be the control freak!

(via drudgereport)

Minneapolis' Star Tribune files Chapter 11

A sign of things to come (via drudge). Honestly, I can't even remember the last time I bought a newspaper. Of course the newspapers will blame the internet, rather than on their bias which shuts out 50% of their possible readership, but that's for another post altogether...

Cultural para-stimuli

Andrew Klavan has an excellent column entitled "Why We Fight." (HT: conservativegrapevine)

"Reflecting on the media’s disgraceful distortion of the characters of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Sarah Palin, he [Jay Nordlinger, Senior Editor at the National Review] wrote:

“It seems to me that the Left has won: utterly and decisively. What I mean is, the Saturday Night Live, Jon Stewart, Bill Maher mentality has prevailed. They decide what a person’s image is, and those images stick. They are the ones who say that Cheney’s a monster, W.’s stupid, and Palin’s a bimbo. And the country, apparently, follows.”

"No, no, no, no. What the right is experiencing at the moment is a phenomenon called “cultural para-stimuli.” You can read all about it in Tom Wolfe’s wonderful novel I Am Charlotte Simmons. It’s sort of like peer pressure on steroids. It was discovered by Nobel Laureate Victor Ransome Starling, who found that when he surrounded normal cats with cats whose behavior had been bizarrely altered by brain surgery, the normal cats began acting like the crazy cats all around them."

Rush brought this exact issue up on his talkshow yesterday, and it is spot on. read the whole thing. An excellent piece.

What are the best conservative movies of the past 25 years?

From HotAir (via conservativegrapevine): You can see the list here. I like this one the best for the explanation as to why it's on the list: "Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) - The trilogy should occupy one spot, but it’s an important one. In the fantasy realm, it speaks to true evil and the need to fight it, even to the death. The final battle, in which Aragorn attempts to sacrifice his entire army so that Frodo can complete the quest, has one of the most stirring battle speeches in film history. No one in this film argues for moral equivalency or the idea that Sauron might just be misunderstood."

'So help me God' cleared for next week's inaugural oath

Well, that's good! From the freep (via the AP). Some people just want to spend as much time as possible sticking their finger in God's eye (and His followers). "U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton turned down a request from a group of atheists and agnostics to force Chief Justice John Roberts not to add those words to the 35-word inaugural oath outlined in the Constitution. "

The first president to utter such words? George Washington. I'm pretty sure these atheist busybodies would think every speech that Washington and our founding fathers made were unconstitutional. What happened to 'inalienable rights' we were endowed with by our Creator? Is the Decleration of Independence now uncostitutional as well? (and wasn't the Constitution itself dated "in the year of our Lord?")

Oh brother - here we go again

From the freep: Lions roll dice again with untested coach. "Can Schwartz win after 0-16?"

Aren't the odds pretty good that they can win just one game with incompetence all around? Can we fire the Fords? Somehow?

New Deal Was a Raw Deal for America

Government Spending Didn't Work in 1930s, and Won't Work Now. "Liberals like to say the New Deal programs of their hero Franklin Delano Roosevelt saved America from the Great Depression. All of that government spending, they argue, gave Americans jobs and boosted the economy.

The numbers don’t tell the same story. As I explained last week, unemployment data from the 1930s — during FDR’s first two terms — remained above 20% despite New Deal spending. "

You know what they say about those that don't learn from history...

Biden: “I’m the most experienced vice president since anybody.”

Can you imagine if Dan Quale had said this? He would have been skewered! (and often was much much less)

In any case, Betsy Newmark writes I knew Joe Biden was going to be fun. "You'd think that a man who got into trouble for plagiarizing someone else's biographical speech and for arrogantly telling a man questioning him that his IQ was higher would refrain from such grandiose self-promotion. But he just can't help himself."

Ouch and double ouch.

More here from powerline: "He's also the first vice president "since anybody" pathetic enough to feel compelled to defend himself in this fashion, much less to claim that he knows as much or more as his predecessor. Moreover, Biden's experience -- decades in the Senate -- plainly does not compare to that of Cheney, who had been White House chief of staff, Secretary of Defense, head of a major corportation, and influential member of the House."

Academia says "eliminating affirmative action would be bad bad bad!"

You don't say! So discrimination against one race and for another is good for us, eh? Apparently so, say the diversifiles. Via discriminations: Inside Higher Ed discusses yet another study finding that eliminating affirmative action would be bad.

"... even if there are some dubious benefits to the use of racial preferences, they are overwhelmed by the costs: It is personally unfair, passes over better qualified students, and sets a disturbing legal, political, and moral precedent in allowing racial discrimination; it creates resentment; it stigmatizes the so-called beneficiaries in the eyes of their classmates, teachers, and themselves, as well as future employers, clients, and patients; it fosters a victim mindset, removes the incentive for academic excellence, and encourages separatism; it compromises the academic mission of the university and lowers the overall academic quality of the student body; it creates pressure to discriminate in grading and graduation; it breeds hypocrisy within the school; it encourages a scofflaw attitude among college officials; it mismatches students and institutions, guaranteeing failure for many of the former; it papers over the real social problem of why so many African Americans and Latinos are academically uncompetitive; and it gets states and schools involved in unsavory activities like deciding which racial and ethnic minorities will be favored and which ones not, and how much blood is needed to establish group membership.

Rosner’s response to the above? An attack on ... the Bush administration.

Lawyers have long been advised to argue the law if their facts are weak and to argue the facts if their law is weak. Now we have what might be called the Liberal Corollary to that sage advice: When your argument is weak, attack Bush."

Read the whole thing, but I like the way John sums it up in the end.

Hillary Clinton -- still ethically tone-deaf

Apparently so. Via powerline. "Hillary Clinton's confirmation hearing on Tuesday was something of a love-fest. Even the normally sensible Senator DeMint saw fit to assure Clinton "I have no questions about your integrity." Has DeMint forgotten Hillary's corruption during the 1990s, which led her to the brink of a deserved indictment?"

"Accordingly, Lugar argued that the Clinton Foundation should receive no foreign donations while Hillary Clinton is Secretary of State. Alternatively, he made a series of modest, and in the Post's words "sensible," recommendations... ...Clinton responded by praising Lugar (this was a love-fest after all) and ignoring his suggestions. Her answers, which basically refused to acknowledge the existence of the problem, suggest that she remains almost as ethically tone-deaf as she was during her days as First Lady."

Yikes.

Speaking of politics and havoc

This series of links at the drudgereport made me chuckle at first sight:

PELOSI PROPOSES $825B STIMULUS...

TOP DEM APPROPRIATOR: MIGHT NOT BE ENOUGH...

BOEHNER: 'OH MY GOD'...

Without hitting any of the links, doesn't this tell you pretty much all you need to know? (I read the posts. It pretty much does)

Frigid weather wreaking havoc on politics!

Headlines on Drudgereport:

Chicago has most consecutive days of snowfall since records began in 1884...

Flint, Michigan breaks 95-year-old record...

Blowing snow, frigid temps pound nation...

40 BELOW ZERO...Frigid air, perhaps coldest of winter...

And then, just to the side is this link with a picture of California congressman Henry Waxman:

Waxman promises quick action on climate...

Hit the last link and you get an article that has this: "Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., opening the new Congress' first hearing on the threats from global warming..." (emphasis mine)

Congressman Waxman! Go outside! Look around! It's cold! It's been cold! It's going to continue to be cold! Global temperatures haven't increased since 1998! It's going on 11 years now! Can you please do something more useful with our tax dollars? Well, scratch the last one. How about someone email Rep. Waxman the latest climatological data (via his interpreter). Better take the filter out of his goggles first. Then show him...

Professor of law Michael Stokes Paulsen at the U. of St. Thomas: "The Minnesota Recount Was Unconstitutional "

The Minnesota Recount Was Unconstitutional (via powerline): "You would think people would learn. The recount in the contest between Norm Coleman and Al Franken for a seat in the U.S. Senate isn't just embarrassing. It is unconstitutional."

"Consider the inconsistencies: One county "found" 100 new votes for Mr. Franken, due to an asserted clerical error. Decision? Add them. Ramsey County (St. Paul) ended up with 177 more votes than were recorded election day. Decision? Count them. Hennepin County (Minneapolis, where I voted -- once, to my knowledge) came up with 133 fewer votes than were recorded by the machines. Decision? Go with the machines' tally. All told, the recount in 25 precincts ended up producing more votes than voters who signed in that day."

This looks really bad. Sure is funny how every decision seems to benefit only one candidate, isn't it? Shades of Washington state a few years ago...

Obama: Geithner situation an 'embarrassment'

Well. yeah. Brietbart reports (via the AP) that "President-elect Barack Obama called disclosures about Treasury choice Timothy Geithner's tax problems an embarrassment Wednesday but said Geithner's "innocent mistake" shouldn't keep him from confirmation as the new administration's top official in urgent efforts to revive the economy. " (emphasis mine)

'Innocent mistake?' If you read just a bit further: "The revelations that Geithner had failed to pay $34,000 in taxes several years ago derailed Senate Democrats' plans to speed him to confirmation by Inauguration Day, but senators in both parties said the information was unlikely to torpedo his chances in the end. "

$34,000 and it's an 'innocent mistake?' Uh - haven't many people gone to jail over such 'innocent mistakes?' And this is the guy who is supposed to oversee the IRS? Would this guy have ever been seen again had he been a Republican, versus the Chosen one of THE One? And why is the mainstream media giving him a pass on this?

UPDATE#1: And so the other shoe drops: Michelle Malkin reports that Geithner was reimbursed for those taxes that he never paid! Read the whole report. Doesn't sound like such an 'innocent mistake' anymore, does it?

UPDATE#2: Betsey Newmark follows up on Michelle's post - "he will have to answer the story in both National Review by Byron York and in the Wall Street Journal that the IMF actually gave American employees a tax allowance to cover what they were supposed to have paid. And Geithner received those reimbursements and signed a form acknowledging receipt of that allowance and promising to pay his taxes."

My reaction to update#2: I had no idea! NO IDEA! Geithner was an IMF agent! Wow, like dangling from wires like Tom Cruise. And succeeding in missions designated 'impossible.' Maybe we do need the IMF to tackle the economy, as it looks like mission impossible right now...

UPDATE#3: A good roundup on the topic from taxprof.

Is The Washington Press Corps Too White?

John Rosenberg over at discriminations: "Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post is worried (and he claims others are worried) that too many members of the Washington press corps look like him. "

"So, “racial progress” requires more black White House reporters? Why? In fact, since there is a finite pool of talented blacks (as of every racial group) and since it is inescapably true that every single black who decides to become a reporter thereby decides not to become something else, in Kurtz’s view it must be true that “racial progress” in White House reporting must mean racial regress, or stasis, in some other field."

"Here’s a closing thought experiment: if some of those Kurtzian “people of no color” who lament the woeful lack of “racial progress” in their field were fired so that they could be replaced by a “person of color,” would they praise their former bosses for the justice of their dismissal ... or develop a new appreciation for the principle that no one should be burdened or benefited because of his race? "

Read the whole thing (good).

UPDATE: more on the story by Sam Dealey, Thomas Jefferson Street blog (HT: conservativegrapevine) - Racial Media Bias Meets Liberal Media Bias. "With the inauguration of America's first black president less than a week away, it was inevitable that the self-obsessed media would insert their own diversity into the occasion."

"It feels like you would want to have black journalists there to bring a different racial sensibility," he says. Whoa, hold on a minute: Hasn't the mantra from media types all along been that journalists are objective?"

"If we accept that black reporters will have a different take from their white colleagues on Barack Obama, does it follow that one of those views is more "accurate" or legitimate than the other? And now substitute "conservative" for "black." " BINGO!

UAW on Concessions: Let’s Not Get Hasty

"Why the Lack of Urgency to Fix GM?" asks Brian Faughnan over at Redstate.



"Although the UAW has said it is ready to negotiate, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said Monday it is unclear what kind of reductions it will have to agree to. The Treasury Department has said GM must have a plan by March to become “viable” and have “positive net value.”


“We are still trying to figure out what that means,” Mr. Gettelfinger said in an interview. He added the union has heard little from the Treasury on what is expected. “We have no documents, no contact with the federal government,” he said. " (emphasis mine)



It's funny that Mr. Gettelfinger 'doesn't know what that means.' He seems to know the ins and outs of a 2,215 page UAW contract that weighs 22 pounds (see what it looks like here on video).

So without writing 2,215 pages to explain what that means, here it is in a nutshell:


Definition of viable (from the www):

- Able to live on its own; Able to be done, possible
- capable of being done in a practical and useful way
- the property of being viable; the ability to live or to succeed
- capable of growing or developing


I think you can see the commonality in all of these - that the entity (GM) will live and prosper (and not go bankrupt and shutter its operations).


Practically, what that means is employees that are not working do not get 95% of their pay (some for as long as three years!). It means compensation (wages+benefits) get brought in-line with the competition (Toyota). It means legacy costs must be reduced (currently adding about $3,000 to each vehicle off the line). Thus, golden parachute health benefits and pensions will have to be reduced.


None of these are painless, especially for retirees that had nothing to do with this (well, except that they kept voting for bigger and bigger contracts that has brought GM to this point). And this coming from the son of two UAW workers (who has seen both parents get paid vacations for several months at a time), one retired and one a couple of years away.

Pic of the Day

I laughed for a full 3 minutes before I could compose myself enough to post this.

(HT: Redstate)

A nutty phenomenon

Eat nuts, poop energy! Well, at least that's part of a theory involving the consumption of nutritionally-dense nuts without weight gain. (via Lyle McDonald at bodyrecomposition)

"...a fairly large body of research indicates that nuts don’t seem to impact body weight negatively, at all. That is, various research studies have provided some amount of nuts in addition to the normal diet to see what happens to body weight. In general, the addition of nuts has had limited or no impact on body weight. Phrased differently, despite the addition of calories from nuts, weight doesn’t change/isn’t affected. What’s going on?"

Pretty nutty I would say.

High Caffeine Intake Linked To Hallucinations

High caffeine consumption could be linked to a greater tendency to hallucinate, a new research study suggests. And who did they get to participate in this study? Why students of course!

And there's this: "Caffeine use can lead to a condition called caffeine intoxication. Symptoms include nervousness, irritability, anxiety, muscle twitching, insomnia, headaches, and heart palpitations. This is not commonly seen when daily caffeine intake is less than 250mg." (emphasis mine) Insomnia? You don't say... (and isn't that the point if you're a grad student?) (via ScienceDaily)

Americans Failing Taxes 101

Via TaxProf: "The H&R Block Tax Institute released a survey of over 1,000 adults showing that most Americans cannot answer basic tax questions. Among the findings:

84% do not know they can file an amended return to correct errors in a prior year's return
78% do not know what tax bracket they are in
76% do not list "knowledge of current tax laws" as important in picking a tax professional
70% do not know of recent tax legislative changes that may affect their returns
60% do not know the difference between a tax credit and a tax deduction"

No surprises here.

Analysis: Gloomy talk risks fear

Gee, do ya think? From the Detroit News: President-elect's warnings of worsening economy set his bar for success low, but could worsen market jitters. "In hard times, the man in the Oval Office usually is the cheerleader-in-chief, looking ahead optimistically. Not Barack Obama, who is taking office full of gloom and doom about the nation's economy, warning that situation is dire and bound to get worse."

Didn't they blast W for talking down the economy? Why yes, yes they did! (from the CNN transcript - PRESS: Is he being realistic? Or is it just a ploy to sell his policies? [emphasis mine] Hmmmmm...)

Surprise: Obama supported gay marriage in 1996

Via HotAir (entire post here): "...the Windy City Times rifles through some old file cabinets and strikes gold. Such was The One’s flip-flopping during the campaign (especially on this subject) that I couldn’t remember at first if we already knew this or not. Initially I thought we did, then realized that I was confusing this new questionnaire with a different questionnaire that he also filled out in 1996. Remember that one? Where he said he supported a total handgun ban, then claimed to Politico that a staffer had filled out the document unknowingly on his behalf, then got caught lying because a second copy showed his handwritten revisions on the document? Good times.

Anyway, this one’s different. And we did, sort of, already know it was true: The Windy City Times reported in October that its 1996 election guide listed Obama as pro-gay marriage, but since the questionnaire on which it was based had been lost, there was a chance they’d simply misinterpreted his position. Well, now it’s been found; see for yourself how unambiguous it was."

Bigh OUCH! And where was the MSM on this? (Crickets chirping)

Oh Brother - Move to repeal presidential term limits started

HotAir reports. Hope and Change: Move to repeal presidential term limits started. "Maybe I’m just being too cynical, but somehow I doubt that Rep. José Serrano introduced HJ Res 5 in order to allow George W Bush to run for a third term in office." Dya think?

Wasn't W accused by the left of defying our constitution and was predicted to grab more than 2 terms for himself? Why yes, yes he was!

In any case, didn't Obama worry that McCain would run for W's 4th term? Why yes, yes he did!

Cherry: I'll run on Granholm's record

That's a shocking headline today over at the Ivory Tower (The Detroit Free Press for the out-of-towners). I'm not a politician, and maybe I don't know as much about it as Lt. Gov. Cherry, but he must know something I don't. From the time Gov. Granholm was sworn into office, Michigan has lost jobs every single year (!). "I think she's got a strong record," he told the Free Press editorial board Tuesday (emphasis mine). Now we all know the economy is front-and-center on everyone's concern list, so let's take a look at the economy during Granholm's tenure: Worst state economy in the union (50 out of 50), worst unemployment rate in the union (almost 10%), plus the $1.5Billion tax increase heaped on us last year with talks of more tax incraeses this year. Here are the labor statistics (from the Bureau of Labor Statistcs shown by Nick at rightmichigan):

Michigan Employment Net Gain Year-over-Year

2003: -63,800
2004: -3,100
2005: -28,100
2006: -79,500
2007: -67,300
2008: -30,400 (Jan-Apr)

And the 2008 numbers were before the bottom fell out (estimated at -81,000 here). Projections for this and next year:

2009: -108,000
2010: -24,000

Maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't come within visual site of these numbers should I be the Lt. Gov. coming into the 2010 campaign. It's going to be too late to blame Bush (the national economy gained several million jobs over his tenure even with the dot.com recession, 9/11 attack and the housing bubble burst this last fall). OK, maybe not. And then there's Engler, Michigan's former governor (republican). Some democrats here are still (!!!) blaming him.

Should Lt. Gov. Cherry run on Granholm's record, there's one thing that he won't be able to get away from: this. That 5 year promise will come due just in time for the election. Ouch!

UPDATE: more on this at rightmighigan here.

Detroit pension trustee wanted payoff

From the annals of the ivory tower: "An Alabama businessman claims in paperwork filed recently in a federal lawsuit that he was asked to provide free jet transportation, a job, cash for political campaigns and a contribution to former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's legal defense fund in exchange for a sizable investment by Detroit's two pension funds in his airline."

How is this different than Blago's pay-to-play scandal? Also, further down in the article, who shows up but Jeremiah "chickennnnnns have come home to rooooost!" Wright. Hmmmmm...

Justice delayed?

From La Shawn Barber: Supreme Court to Hear Firefighters’ Case. "Last month I mentioned that the fire department in New Haven, Connecticut, threw out test results and canceled promotions because too few black firefighters scored high enough to receive promotions. The department was concerned about promoting too many whites, a clear case of racial discrimination." I would say it's a clear case also, although activist judges and diversifiles tend not to think so.

UPDATE: Plenty more discussion here. "See more on this case by Randy Barnett, pointing to discussions by Ed Whelan here and here describing troubling “Second Circuit Shenanigans,” what a dissent by the respected Clinton appointee Judge José Cabranes suggests was a “judicial effort to bury the firefighters’ claims.” "

The left is NOT going to like this!

From the Drudgreport: FLASH: FOXNEWS 'HANNITY' debuted big at 2.9 million viewers -- beating MADDOW & KING COMBINED...

Washington Court: Teachers Can Have Sex With 18-Year-Old Students

Are they kidding me? Guess not. Of course, this happened in Seattle. So there's that.

Another PDS Alert

Palin Derangement Syndrome, that is. Palin Fascination, Scorn Shows No Sign of Receding. "The left certainly has targeted her and I think they see her as a potential 2012 Republican nominee." Gee. Do ya think? One lasting result of this election is that the left of the political spectrum has shown its true colors. And it wasn't pretty.

Colts introduce new coach Caldwell

An article from ESPN: "INDIANAPOLIS -- Jim Caldwell wants the Indianapolis Colts to be his team. Even with most, if not all, of Tony Dungy's guys."

I don't think the Colts were ever Tony Dungy's team. They've been Peyton Manning's and will continue to be so into the foreseeable future.

That being said, I have great respect for Tony Dungy. He's been one of the best coaches in the NFL during his tenure. It's because of Tony that the Bucks are still a contender. You remember the Bucks before Tony, don't you? Perennial losers. Kind of like the Lions right now. Speaking of - can Ford get Tony up in Detroit? Pretty please with sugar on it?

Why Homeschooling Will Continue To Grow

Dr. Melissa Clouthier writes in this article "U.S. News reports that homeschooling is increasing overall but the percent of evangelicals homeschooling is declining..." And "I homeschooled last year and put my kids back in school this year. Despite my worries, they were two years ahead academically. The biggest problem with public school is curriculum. Far too much time is spent on tangential silliness."

I agree. The junk they throw at kids these days is beyond the pale. Instead of math, they write about how they feel about math. Social studies has been entirely replaced with propoganda. Check out a youtube video on the state of mathematics here.

Of course, none of this would be happening if we had school choice. Bad schools would die. Good schools would thrive. And I'm positive this junk would not form the basis of the curriculum. Of course, that will not happen anytime soon as too many politicians are bought and paid for by school unions whose only interest is permajobs for their membership regardless of competency. How do you think a government run Home Depot would function if you had to shop there based on where you live? Or the local grocery store? Want to shop somewhere else? No soup for you!

The Food Champion!

Let Me Tell You What Your "Food Champion" Can Do With That Clipboard. "God help our British cousins. Christianity is nearly dead there, militant Islam is on the rise, they've lost pride in their once great culture, criminals have more rights than their victims and they're creating a busybody nannystate that may be unsurpassed in the annals of human history,..."

Never saw that coming. Actually, yes. Yes I did.

A Message To Christian Churches

Use New Technology To Promote A Timeless Message. "Over the last few years, I've criticized the Republican Party many times for failing to use new technology. However, there's an even more important institution that has the same problem: that's the Christian church."

AP: Clinton acted on concerns of husband's donors

A story for the Associated [de]Press[ed]: "Secretary of State nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton intervened at least six times in government issues directly affecting companies and others that later contributed to her husband's foundation, an Associated Press review of her official correspondence found." I predict she will win confirmation regardless. (HT: Drudgereport)

It's Really, Really Cold Out There!

Related to my earlier post. "2008 is being recorded by many as the year when global warming theory died. " I wouldn't hold my breath just yet. The narrative has already morphed from global warming to 'climate change.' Since climate has always changed, these fear mongers will be in business for the foreseeable future.

Sun-Times: Journalists Being Shut Out by Obama

Via Drudge: Sun-Times: Journalists Being Shut Out by Obama.

"According to Sun-Times columnist and long-time Chicago journalist, Carol Marin, journalists at Barack Obama news conferences have come to realize that Obama has pre-picked those journalists whom he will allow to ask him questions at the conference and many of them now "don't even bother raising" their hands to be called upon.

One wonders why journalists are allowing this corralling of the press? Would they have allowed George W. Bush to pre-pick journalists like that? Would they meekly sit by and allow themselves to be systematically ignored, their freedom to ask questions silenced by any Republican? Would journalists so eagerly vie with one another for the favor of Bush like they are Obama's?"

Hope and Change!

UPDATE: Obama’s WH Press Corps: “Deferential, eager to please, prepared to keep a careful distance” "The “Obama honeymoon,” as it is being referred to by the Chicago Sun-Times, is getting some help from an incredibly compliant White House press corps that seems to be taking tight management and an unresponsiveness to questions not just in stride, but with a tingly-legged eagerness to offer the incoming President whatever support and sycophantism he needs to look as good as possible on the podium.

The Sun-Times contrasts Obama’s treatment with that of impeached Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich..."

Nice...

Abolish the Minimum Required Distribution Rules

via taxprof: "I propose a simple fate for the MRD rules: Abolish them permanently." Sounds good to me!

Texas A&M Faculty Protest $10k Bonuses Based on Student Evaluations

Yeah, I know, you're all shocked by this. "Texas A&M faculty are protesting plans to give $2,500 - $10,000 bonuses to the Top 15% of faculty solely on the basis of student evaluations." I will tell you from personal experience at my University that merit pay of any kind is frowned upon by the majority of the faculty here. It is why our latest faculty contract has nearly universal across-the-board pay raises with a small pittance to merit. Of course, one could always get better evaluations by becoming a 'creampuff' and giving out easy grades, but that will only go so far. On average, good teachers will always get better evaluations than those that are bad. Thus the protest.

Here's a dubious quote: "I don't think faculty are going to pander to students for a few thousand dollars," said Traci Carte, an associate professor of management information systems." Uhhh... actually yes. Yes they would.

BCS Declares Germany to be the Winner of WWII

"After determining the Big-12 championship game participants, the BCS computers were put to work on other major contests and today the BCS declared Germany to be the winner of World War II. " Funny, but sadly true, and the biggest reason I don't watch college football. How does Florida 'win' the national championship with the Utes at #2 with an undefeated record? I'll stick with the top 3% of collegiate football athletes that make it to the NFL and watch that, where they settle championships on the football field, not in a computer statistic calculator.

And in local news, L-E-A-D-E-R-S-H-I-P

Macomb must learn from Oakland. "Macomb County Commissioners are laying off county employees and preparing to raise citizens’ property taxes to close a $20 million budget deficit. Meanwhile, Oakland County has a balanced budget, no pending layoffs, and no tax hike planned. Why the difference? Leadership."

Why such disparity between two neighboring counties? Here's the key phrase from the article: "For more than a decade, Oakland County leaders have stood up to government employee unions..." And as Forrest Gump would tell you - "that's all I have to say about that."

Battle back against bitter cold

FIGHT! FIGHT WITH ME!!! The arctic thing I mentioned this morning. I wonder why they didn't mention anything about earring and other jewelry?

The name's Monella. Sal Monella

Officials: Toss salmonella-linked peanut butter. Do ya really think so?

A tax increase on the way in Michigan (again?!?)

Possible if you read this. I sure hope not. We've been hemorrhaging Michiganders for a few years now. At least 20% of my graduating class in high school is out of state now (that I know of). Higher taxes will not help the exodus.

Arctic air coming to metro Detroit

"Arctic air will be filtering in throughout the day, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Considine."

I blame global warming.

Tapping the Detroit River for Alternative Energy

From the pages of the Ivory Tower: "U-M to tap Detroit River's current to create energy." "This is VIVACE, a device to harness energy in slow-moving water currents across the globe and turn it into electricity. VIVACE, which mimics the way fish swim in currents, is to debut next year in the Detroit River, powering the light for a new wharf between Hart Plaza and the Renaissance Center." "...It's one of a handful of new techniques -- the first in more than 100 years -- to use water to create clean, renewable energy." (emphasis mine)

My take on this: All of these people need to let the public know the truth - "clean" energy is a myth. There is cleaner energy, but nothing is 100% clean (the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics forbids it). As nice as this idea sounds on paper, these devices will have to be manufactured, which itself is inherently non-clean, non-green. So there's that. Why do these reports always ignore the energy and materials it takes to build these devices? Why not look at the big picture - the entire life cycle of the device? How much energy do we get out versus how much energy (and chemicals, materials, waste, etc.) went in? And then look at the ratio.

Now onto the technique here (you can see a picture of the cylinder array here), which is a novel one where upright cylinders in water sway back and forth in a slow-moving current (due to vortex shedding on the sides of the cylinders such as happens in air. You can see a computer-simulated visual here. This shedding induced vibrations, or the swaying back-and-forth of the cylinder). However, when I think of anything swaying back and forth in a repetetive, oscillatory manner, fatigue failure comes to mind. How long will these devices last? They will need maintenance, as the article indicates. Plus there's the biofouling factor in the Detroit river (versus clean laboratory water - albeit I'm sure the researchers took this into account). I doubt the claim in the article that they will be cheaper than wind power (solar maybe). In any case, it will be interesting to see the results from the initial trial, especially on the economic feasibility front.

Killer mouthwash!

"Mouthwash 'causes oral cancer' and should be pulled from supermarkets, say experts." According to the scientist "...they should only be available with a prescription..." Could you imagine asking your doctor for a prescription for mouthwash? Me neither.

Yet another teacher sex scandal

Via Drudge. What is it with teachers these days? Teacher allegedly seduces boy, 13. From the article: "McCallum and the boy had unprotected sex in the shower, on the kitchen floor and the living room floor on a green shag rug that was seized yesterday as a result of a search warrant, court documents say." Shaggin' on a shag rug. Will the shag rug be the star witness? The 'Monica's blue dress' of the investigation? Calls to the shag rug were not immediately returned...