Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Women Are Difficult

I was reading about the educational attainments of strippers and came across a guy who said strip clubs had ruined him for "real" women.

Tuesday 31 August
By Jude

Sorry, degree or no degree, strip clubs are never worth it, and dating a stripper is nasty. I was broke in the past, because of going to strip clubs, and I feel like I cannot have a normal relationship with a woman, because of it. Damn strip clubs, do nothing but make us guys broke and go home with blue balls.
Uh. That is normal. You had some fantasy about regular sex and romance? Fuggedaboutit.

The guy has a lot to learn about women.

H/T Instapundit

Not So Bright

Overheard on the 'net:

Yamamoto thought picking a fight with America was madness; Obama ain’t as bright as Yamamoto.
What ever became of
The Smartest President Ever™?

Monday, August 30, 2010

What Say You?

My friend Eric is wondering what to say? Or what not to say. Or what to say about what not to say. There is of course no saying. Unless you say, "What?"

Sunday, August 29, 2010

It Is More Like Prostitution

I an article on age discrimination in the high tech industries a commenter came up with this analogy.

memomachine

Hmmmm.

Actually to me the software industry appears to have more in common with prostitution.

1. Time is money.

2. You can't be choosy about customers.

3. Everybody wants you on your back with your legs up.

4. Getting older and more experienced is not necessarily a positive development.
My advice? If you are good - become a contractor. No one cares about your age. Just if you can do your job.

H/T Instapundit

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Surviving In A War Zone

I was reading a post about economic collapse, H/T Instapundit, and the handle of the guy making the following comment got my attention. Then I read deeper.

by Gully Foyle
on Thu, 08/26/2010 - 17:24

In addition to the Argentinian survivor post above.

http://www.thepowerhour.com/news/items_disappearfirst.htm

From a Sarajevo War Survivor:

Experiencing horrible things that can happen in a war - death of parents and friends, hunger and malnutrition, endless freezing cold, fear, sniper attacks.

1. Stockpiling helps. but you never no how long trouble will last, so locate near renewable food sources.
2. Living near a well with a manual pump is like being in Eden.
3. After awhile, even gold can lose its luster. But there is no luxury in war quite like toilet paper. Its surplus value is greater than gold's.
4. If you had to go without one utility, lose electricity - it's the easiest to do without (unless you're in a very nice climate with no need for heat.)
5. Canned foods are awesome, especially if their contents are tasty without heating. One of the best things to stockpile is canned gravy - it makes a lot of the dry unappetizing things you find to eat in war somewhat edible. Only needs enough heat to "warm", not to cook. It's cheap too, especially if you buy it in bulk.
6. Bring some books - escapist ones like romance or mysteries become more valuable as the war continues. Sure, it's great to have a lot of survival guides, but you'll figure most of that out on your own anyway - trust me, you'll have a lot of time on your hands.
7. The feeling that you're human can fade pretty fast. I can't tell you how many people I knew who would have traded a much needed meal for just a little bit of toothpaste, rouge, soap or cologne. Not much point in fighting if you have to lose your humanity. These things are morale-builders like nothing else.
8. Slow burning candles and matches, matches, matches

http://www.survivalblog.com/2009/12/letter_re_the_bosnian_experien.html

I would advise that you don’t keep everything that you have in one location. I was forced to leave my house and take off with just my backpack and weapon. If you can, keep a bug out bag [cached] a few miles away from your house so that you could go to it, if you are forced to abandon your residence. Be prepared to not return to your home for years and try to have another place to live in another part of the country or even some other country. I was not able to go back to my home until years later. Stash as much ammo in different locations as you can. I did not have enough ammo in the first place and whatever I had was used or traded within first month of me leaving my home. Ammo was good trading currency and could get you a meal at any time. Local paper currency was basically worthless but if you had foreign currency, then you were in better shape. At that time German Mark was most popular currency in Europe and could get you anything in former Yugoslavia during the war. The Gold and Silver were good to have but it was harder to find someone that would accept gold and silver as form of payment .

People that lived in big towns also had their share of problems. If they lived in apartment buildings, they were dependent on central heat and when the things started to go bad, there was no more fuel to heat these apartments. Not that many people had wood burning stoves and the winters in Eastern Europe can get really cold. I would advise that if you don’t have a wood burning stove, to get one and store it somewhere until you need it. You will need it not just for heat but also for cooking. The people that had stoves or were able to obtain them or make them then had another problem, getting the firewood. If you live inside of city that is surrounded and you can’t just go outside of city and cut some trees down, obtaining firewood can become your daily battle for survival. Burning your furniture, books, park benches, trees from the parks and every other tree that you can find will be normal. I would advise that if you are going to have a stove either store at least one winter supply of firewood (if you have a place to store it at) or have a plan where you get that firewood when you need it. Another issue that people from the cities faced was the shortage of water. Some people ended up digging wells in the courtyard of their apartment buildings but majority of people who tried this were unsuccessful since they were digging where there was not water or old city utilities were under the places where they tried to dig. Most of the people were forced to make daily runs to water points and bringing the water back to their families. Water points were favorite targets for snipers. Having extra water jugs will help you minimize your visits to water points.

Since this is my first post, I will not make it too long and will stop here until the next time. - A Bosnian Survivor
For those of you not familiar with the Gully Foyle reference may I highly recommend:

The Stars My Destination (S.F.Masterworks)

I own three copies.

Lenny Bruce



He was a libertarian before it was cool to be a libertarian. I saw him in Chicago at the Gate of Horn (December as I recall - a couple of blocks from the Playboy Club where we hung out before the show - outside - we weren't members) with my then and first girlfriend Joan B.

Friday, August 27, 2010

State OF Control

It looks like another communist dictatorship is starting to sucumb to the lures of the free market.

...loosening state controls on commerce to let islanders grow and sell their own fruit and vegetables.

The moves, published into law in the Official Gazette on Thursday and Friday and effective immediately, are significant steps as President Raul Castro promises to scale back the communist state's control of the economy while attempting to generate new revenue for a government short on cash.
I think we have found the key to cracking the communists and their fellow travelers the socialists. If you want a growing state you will need a growing economy. And that causes contradictions. China is getting to the level that it is going to have to face them in the next decade or three. Interesting times.

Next question. What will it take to crack Islam? Of course the seeds of their own destruction are built in. Who (in the long run) will go for a religion that has to teach you how to wipe your ass?

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Beat Whitey Night

In news about all the post racial harmony we have heard so much about lately, there was a Beat Whitey night at the Iowa State Fair.

Des Moines police are trying to determine what led to a series of attacks outside the Iowa State Fairgrounds over the weekend that included the assault of two police officers.

At least three people were arrested Friday through early Monday morning. Other arrests may occur as officers investigate the incidents, officials said.

There are indications that some of the fights - which appear to involve mostly teenagers and young adults - were racially motivated, police said.

"We don't know if this was juveniles fighting or a group of kids singling out white citizens leaving the fairgrounds," Sgt. Lori Lavorato said. "It's all under investigation, but it's very possible it has racial overtones."

Officials announced last week that they were stepping up security outside the fairgrounds after a series of attacks Aug. 14 that included a pair of stabbings. Investigators are still investigating those assaults and victims intend to pursue charges.
Fifty years ago I was marching for civil rights. Well, I ain't marchin anymore.



I don't sing along to those kind songs anymore either. Nice sentiment though. If only we didn't have an alpha male problem. A problem with dominators. Whirled peas does sound nice though.

Here is a video report.



The report says there were three incidents on separate days. I'd say we have some people who are not satisfied with the way the country is run.

Wait. I know. They were Tea Party People.

Update: 26 August 2010 1803z

From the Beat Whitey link above.
Sgt. David Murillo stated in a report on Friday night, "On-duty officers at the fairgrounds advise there was a group of 30 to 40 individuals roaming the fairgrounds openly calling it 'beat whitey night.' "
and:
State Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad, D-Des Moines, who has worked to fight gang-related violence, said he doesn't have enough information to decide if the fights were racially motivated. He said police comments that race was involved could miss other factors, such as nonracial taunting.

"Unfortunately, like any other city, you have certain parts of town that individuals congregate in," Abdul-Samad said. "You have those that go into that area with no problem, and those who cannot."

He added, "We of course need to work on race relations. If anyone says we don't, they are playing games with themselves."
Mr. Abdul-Samad seems to be quite a gamer himself. Note: I have gone into the Zone (as my black friend calls it) from time to time when I lived in Chicago. I always went with an appropriately pigmented escort.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Commerce Claws



H/T Instapundit

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Free Lunch

Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing. - Albert Einstein

Monday, August 23, 2010

Who Are These Peopole?



H/T Jccarlton Talk Polywell

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Separation

Leave the matter of religion to the family altar, the church, and the private school, supported entirely by private contributions. Keep the church and state forever separate. - Ulysses S. Grant
I believe Grant was a Republican. I wonder if he could get elected these days.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Genetics And Trauma



I got the video from Reason Magazine via Instapundit. What is interesting is that two of his three key markers for psychopathy are: genetics and trauma or abuse. Those are the two markers that I have been saying for years are the cause of chronic drug use.

You can follow my trail some by reading these articles in order.

Is Addiction Real?

Heroin

PTSD and the Endocannabinoid System

Addiction Is A Genetic Disease

Now does this particular information prove my point? Of course not. I do think it means I'm on the right track and some further exploration is in order.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Friday, August 20, 2010

Total Loss

Seeking Alpha is taking a look at the problem with bundled mortgages. And they are huge. As in bigger than you can possibly imagine.

Mortgages bundled into securities were a favorite investment of speculators at the height of the financial bubble leading up to the crash of 2008. The securities changed hands frequently, and the companies profiting from mortgage payments were often not the same parties that negotiated the loans. At the heart of this disconnect was the Mortgage Electronic Registration System, or MERS, a company that serves as the mortgagee of record for lenders, allowing properties to change hands without the necessity of recording each transfer.

MERS was convenient for the mortgage industry, but courts are now questioning the impact of all of this financial juggling when it comes to mortgage ownership. To foreclose on real property, the plaintiff must be able to establish the chain of title entitling it to relief. But MERS has acknowledged, and recent cases have held, that MERS is a mere “nominee” — an entity appointed by the true owner simply for the purpose of holding property in order to facilitate transactions. Recent court opinions stress that this defect is not just a procedural but is a substantive failure, one that is fatal to the plaintiff’s legal ability to foreclose.
I see a lot of work ahead for lawyers.

Update: More at Stop Foreclosure Fraud

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Thursday, August 19, 2010

A Cell Phone Mandate

There is a bill pending in Congress to require FM radios in cell phones.

The FM chip mandate is an attempt to mollify the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters); under the terms of the Performance Rights Act, the [broadcast- ed.] industry would pay approximately $100 million to broadcast music on terrestrial radio. The inclusion of FM chips in all mobile devices would purportedly give broadcasters access to a wider audience. But it’s the consumer companies (and by extension, the consumer) who get the shaft in this deal.

This is little more than a government-mandated crutch for a legacy technology—no better than the EPA’s attempts to legislate a longer lifespan for incandescent lifebulbs. The high popularity of Sirius, XM, and internet radio shows where the market is headed. This new government mandate apparently removes a “competitive disadvantage” (to quote an EPA spokesman) for AM/FM Radio.

CEA President Gary Shapiro is furious, and rightfully so. “The backroom scheme of the [National Association of Broadcasters] and RIAA to have Congress mandate broadcast radios in portable devices, including mobile phones, is the height of absurdity,” he said. “Rather than adapt to the digital marketplace, NAB and RIAA act like buggy-whip industries that refuse to innovate and seek to impose penalties on those that do.” It’s understandable that Shapiro would feel blindsided, since the CEA (the very companies to implement the FM chips) wasn’t consulted.
Having worked in the music industry a long time ago: juke box servicing, juke box mfg., Chief Engineer at a radio station, I can tell you the whole industry is totally mobbed up. I was just discussing it with my mom who used to know a lot of the people in the industry in Omaha and she agrees.

And now the criminals get to whisper in the ears of our government. And just to get a political dig in: is it any surprise when the head of our government comes from one of the most mobbed up cities in the nation?

And who is going to pay for another chip that must be included in the cell phones? Well it is not going to be the music industry. Plus, I wonder if they have considered the antenna issues?

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Tipping Point



Reason Magazine is where I got the video. They have this to say:
Fichtner points out, three public policy trajectories converging. The medical marijuana movement is gaining momentum. People are increasingly wakening up to the fact that drug prohibition creates more public health problems than it solves. And, in the same way that the Great Depression caused people to reprioritize how we spend our public dollars, the current economic crisis has got people thinking that bringing the biggest cash crop in the US out into the open might not be such a bad idea.
Hard economic times are good for companies and governments. They force the rationalization of policies and expenditures. Alcohol was in part legalized because before prohibition the Federal Government got 1/3 of its revenue from taxing alcohol. The same dynamic (although not the scale) is at work with marijuana.

You can find the book mentioned in the video here:

Cannabinomics: The Marijuana Policy Tipping Point

Some other books on the subject:

Marijuana is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?

Why Marijuana Should Be Legal

William F. Buckley Jr. "A Conservative Look at Marijuana"

And if you want to get in on the boom it might be good to learn a little horticulture:

Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible

But get in early. Because like the microprocessor/personal computer industry eventually economies of scale are going to drive most small undercapitalized businesses out of the market. OTOH you might wind up being the Steve Jobs of the industry.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Targets

Your Enemy

If your enemy is quick to anger, seek to irritate him.--Sun Tzu

Stocking Up

It seems that Israel is stocking up [pdf] on gasoline and jet fuel.

WASHINGTON, August 5, 2010 – The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress today of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Israel of unleaded gasoline, JP-8 aviation fuel and diesel fuel for an estimated cost of $2 billion.

The Government of Israel has requested a possible sale of 60,000,000 gallons of unleaded gasoline, 284,000,000 gallons of JP-8 aviation jet fuel, and 100,000,000 gallons of diesel fuel. The estimated cost is $2 billion.
Uh. Oh.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

The Power To Do Good

What is the common thread between liberals and conservatives today? They are believers in the power of the state to do good. Or in the short hand form statists. Or in the common vernacular fascists.

All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state. Benito Mussolini
I have always been an enemy of the State. Not totally. But nearly so. In accord with our founding father:
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. Geo. Washington
Our founders thought the state should be on a very short leash. Chained to the deck with a VERY short chain. Most of what passes for politics today follows from: "there is no limit to the good that can be done by putting a gun to a man's head" liberals and conservatives alike. As a friend of mine likes to say: "we are doomed".

There are only Progressives in politics these days. In the early days of the Progressive movement Economics and Morality were combined. Now a days the movement has bifurcated. We have Liberal Progressives who want the state to "fix" economics and Conservative Progressives who want the state to "fix" morality.

In any case the Progressives are now in control of America left and right. Which is why you see Government "Conservatives" working with the left some times on economics and Government "Liberals" sometimes working with the right on morals. It is the common interest in the power of the state keeps them joined at the hip.

I like the Tea Parties (so far) in that they seem to be more libertarian oriented. And there seems to be an interest growing in libertarian politicians such as Rand Paul.

What encourages me in my war against the statists is that a little over half the country sees the Tea Party in a favorable light.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

The Power To Do Good

H/T




Video: 425/344 280/227Help me keep blogging at no cost to yourself. Order your Amazon purchases through this link: Amazon.I get a small percentage which helps me buy books and electronic maintenance items (like printer cartridges).

Monday, August 16, 2010

Fitting In

In a discussion of Black on Hispanic violence at Riehl World View I came across this comment:

The whole issue of where 'Hispanics' will ultimately fit in between whites and blacks has intrigued me for years. While some 'Hispanics', notably Puerto Ricans and Cubans, may be partly or wholly 'black' most of the Latin American 'Hispanics' and certainly the Iberian 'Hispanics' are either white or a mixture of white and descendants of the indigenous peoples who predated the Spanish conquest.

I have never forgotten a conversation between one of the leaders of Mecha (and affiliated with LaRaza) and his brother, home on leave from the Army, as a group of us sat drinking beer at a fiesta. The activist was talking about solidarity with blacks, and his brother called bulls**t on him, stating at length and heatedly that when push came to shove, blacks were as hostile to 'Mexicans' (his term) as to whites, that most whites he encountered (though not all) would give Mexicans a fair shot if they spoke decent English and didn't behave like 'pachucos', and that if push came to shove and it came to a race war between the blacks and the whites, he and the other Chicanos he knew in the Army would take the whites any day. His brother listened very thoughtfully. In over 2 more years of knowing him, I never heard him or any of the people he was close to speak of solidarity with blacks again.

Posted by: CatoRenasci Monday, August 16, 2010 at 09:37 AM
I have nothing to add.

H/T Instapundit

Compare and Contrast

The American Government






The American People


It Has Started

In response to my article The Karl Rove Plan about the potential Democrat Plan to use legalization initiatives to get out the vote a commenter has given me a heads up.

Fritz said...

Yep. And I am planning to throw some money at the "Just Say Now" campaign that firedoglake is pushing. Here in WA state we are committed to having our initiative on the ballot next year.

If Republicans were bright they would go for legalization. But, well, they aren't.
Of course I had to see what firedoglake - Just Say Now was up to. The site is impressive. They have polling data for the different states on legalization. If, like Fritz you want to donate here is the place to go. It is time to put an end to the culture wars. This is one Progressive program that has lived far beyond any conceivable usefulness. And it is way past time for my Conservative friends to stop being so Progressive. Get back to your American Conservative roots. Smaller government. Lower taxes. Let us together wipe out the $25 bn a year the Feds waste on making illegal drugs easier for kids to get than beer.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

The Karl Rove Plan

It looks like the Democrats may take a page from Karl Rove's playbook in the 2012 election. So what did Rove do?

Turning out an extra few percent can be the difference between winning and losing in swing states, a reality Karl Rove exploited in 2004 by papering the nation with anti-gay marriage initiatives.
Swell. Just swell.

Well the Democrats have a plan of their own.
Putting the question of marijuana legalization on state ballots in 2012 may be one of the most effective ways for a dispirited Democratic Party to get reluctant voters out to the polls. The wild card in the coming midterms and in 2012 will be the "surge" voters -- people who were driven to the polls in 2008 through a once-in-a-generation mix of shame at the outgoing administration and hope in a new, barrier-breaking candidate. Democrats are investing millions in figuring out how to get those voters out, and the marijuana issue is getting increasing attention from political operatives.

A survey making the rounds among strategists, which has yet to be made public, indicates that pot could be just the enticement many of these voters need: Surge voters, single women under 40 and Hispanics all told America Votes pollsters that if a legalization measure were on the Colorado ballot, they'd be more likely to come out to vote. Forty-five percent of surge voters and 47 percent of single women said they'd be more interested in voting if the question was on the ballot. Most of these were energetic, with 36 and 30 percent, respectively, saying they'd be "much more interested" in coming out to vote. Roughly half said it would make no difference. For Latinos, 32 percent said they'd be "much more interested" in voting and another 12 percent said they'd be somewhat more attracted to the idea of trudging to the polls.

Surge voters said they would support the measure by a margin of 63-35. Young single women would back it 68-31. Latinos, meanwhile, oppose it 52-46, according to the survey. "Whether it can pass or not is another question, but I think it's clear that a marijuana legalization measure has the potential to increase turnout among voting groups that are critical to Democratic success in November," said a Colorado Democratic operative, who, like most strategists employed by campaigns, prefers not to talk about marijuana on the record -- highlighting the difficulty Democrats will have threading the political needle.
Republicans could head this off in the legislatures if they had the smarts and the nerve.

What are the chances that the stupid party will Get Smart? I do not believe there is a number small enough to represent the odds of that happening. Maybe in an alternate universe.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

The Leave Us The F* Alone Coalition

Michael Tanner has a few things to say about big government "Conservatives". Let me start off with a headline:

Memo to Republicans: It’s Big Government, Stupid!


Then how about some meat:
Despite their repeated threats to stay home if Republicans deviated from a commitment to conservative social issues, it wasn’t the Religious Right that deserted Republicans in 2008 (or 2006, for that matter). Turnout among self-described members of the Religious Right remained steady from 2004 to 2008, and these voters remained loyally Republican. Roughly 70 percent of white evangelicals and born-again Christians voted Republican in 2006, and 74 percent in 2008, essentially in line with how they have been voting for the past two or three decades.

It was suburbanites, independents, and others who were fed up with the Republican drift toward big government who stayed home — or, worse, voted Democratic in 2008. Republicans carried the suburbs in both 2000 (49 to 47) and 2004 (52 to 47), but in 2008, suburban voters — notably wealthy, college-educated professionals, many of whom consider themselves moderate on social issues but economically conservative — voted for Barack Obama by a margin of 50 to 48. The switch among voters in the suburbs of Columbus, Charlotte, and Indianapolis, for instance, was largely responsible for moving Ohio, North Carolina, and Indiana into the Democratic column. Democrats also continued their gains in the more independent, libertarian West.
Here is my take on that. Let me start with one of my favorites:

DRUG WAR = BIG GOVERNMENT

And guess what? The libertarian West is anti-prohibition (just look at California). Doesn't give a rats ass about gay marriage. And they think that government has no place in their or their mate's vaginas.

Now are they a majority? Hell no. Are they the people who swing elections? Hell yes.

If the Rs go back to their culture war ways they will deserve to lose. I promise you this: I will vote Republican in the next election, probably the one after. But if the Rs get all Culture War on me I'm going to speak against them every chance I get. Just to ruin their days. Kind of like a bad haircut only worse. Because a bad haircut lasts only a few weeks. I promise to last as long as it takes to destroy them politically.

I'm a proud member of The Leave Us The F* Alone Coalition. I am not interested in government improvement or uplift. If any one is going to improve or uplift me it is going to be me.

Mr. Tanner has written a book:

Leviathan on the Right: How Big-Government Conservativism Brought Down the Republican Revolution

I found the reviews (mostly written in 2007) interesting from a historical perspective. Here is a good one:
Odysseus "A Traveller" (Virginia, USA)

Mike Tanner's book provides a valuable service for those believers in limited government who have been left wondering what happened to their values during a period of Republican control of both the legislative and executive branches of government.

Tanner explores and explains the roots of "big-government conservatism," influential thinkers within the Republican tent that were never really believers in limited government to begin with. Instead, these groups, which included religious conservatives, so-called "neoconservatives," "national greatness conservatives," and followers of former Speaker Newt Gingrich, among others, did not seek to arrest the growth of government so much as to direct it towards ends of which they approved. "Conservatism" thus came to mean many things unrelated to limiting the reach of government, encompassing the likes of Pat Buchanan and Gary Bauer, who spoke of conservative social values, but who often opposed addressing the factors (such as the increasing cost of federal entitlement programs) that cause government to grow. The goal of many of these thinkers (Gingrich being a prime example) was not to restrict the size of government, but to bolt new programs whose design they favored, on top of the old ones.
I intend to do my best to drive a stake through the heart of Republican Socialism and do my best to destroy Progressive Conservatives. If they stick with their claim that they are for limited government and fiscal responsibility and act on it, I'm with them. If not I'm going to be agin them. They could start with the Federal Drug War at $25 billion a year and go from there.

H/T Eric of Classical Values via e-mail

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Plan 9 From Outer Space

You can download a free legal copy of Plan 9 From Outer Space at Moving Image Archive. They have quite a few downloads available including the hilarious His Girl Friday which shows the popular press in quite an unflattering light. They seem no different from the press of today except that today there are citizen controlled alternatives. If you watch "Friday" you might want to look up Production For Use before getting into the movie.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Get Off The Plantation



You can find out more at runawayslavemovie.com.

Also there is a nice discussion at The Runaway Slave Movie: Truth That Must Be Heard For Our Survival .

H/T Jccarlton Talk Polywell

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Good Questions

In response to a Wall Street Journal article by Kim Strassel a Journal reader asks an interesting question.

JIm Altfeld wrote:

I am a fan of Kim Strassel and think she is a helluva good writer. I also think she and many others good writers are missing a very interesting point. Why now, in 2010, is the entire country up in arms and against re-electing any incumbent regardless of party ties (myself included), but not so during the FDR administration? FDR trounced Alf Landin in 1936 after 4 years of nothingness. Four years later, more of the same. Obama is virtually following FDR's playbook to a T and dancing as though he and FDR were Fred and Ginger. The interesting story is why now and why not then? Are we just more in tune? Are we just more disbelieving? Are we just more cynical? What!?! And why is it that FDR remains listed as the greatest president ever to hold the office, only behind Lincoln?!? Yet, Obama will probably end up somewhere right behind Jimmy Carter, our other totally Not Ready for Prime Time President of recent memory. If you get a moment, let me know YOUR thoughts on the matter. Thank you.
Any ideas?

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Friday, August 13, 2010

Cast Your Fate To The Wind



By the Vince Guaraldi Trio. This a long version which I had never heard before. The short version of Cast Your Fate To The Wind was a Top 40 hit in 1963.

I was reminded of it by #3 son who was practicing it on the piano. (He is really into jazz and electronics). He was quite surprised that I had heard of it. You can find more Vince Guaraldi Trio on Amazon.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Sharing The Data



The video is a survey from the advent of man to the invention of the computer mouse and what it all means. Highly entertaining and well worth your time.

And just today Instapundit linked to an article exactly illustrates the concepts discussed in the video: Progress on Alzheimer’s.

And should you wish to delve further Matt Ridley has written a book:

The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves

H/T to Bishop Hill for the video.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Your Tax Dollars At Work



The one about prostitutes is interesting.

You can read more at Bankrupting America. And if you want the details about the project discussed in the video you can visit Real Or Fake.

H/T Instapundit

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Satellite Failure

It would seem that one of our satellites may have been misreporting Earth temperature data for as much as a decade.

US Government admits satellite temperature readings “degraded.” All data taken offline in shock move. Global warming temperatures may be 10 to 15 degrees too high.

The fault was first detected after a tip off from an anonymous member of the public to climate skeptic blog, Climate Change Fraud (view original article) (August 9, 2010).

Caught in the center of the controversy is the beleaguered taxpayer funded National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA’s Program Coordinator, Chuck Pistis has now confirmed that the fast spreading story on the respected climate skeptic blog is true.

However, NOAA spokesman, Program Coordinator, Chuck Pistis declined to state how long the fault might have gone undetected. Nor would the shaken spokesman engage in speculation as to the damage done to the credibility of a decade’s worth of temperature readings taken from the problematic ‘NOAA-16’ satellite.

‘NOAA-16’ was launched in September 2000, and is currently operational, in a sun-synchronous orbit, 849 km above the Earth, orbiting every 102 minutes providing automated data feed of surface temperatures which are fed into climate computer models.

NOAA has reported a succession of record warm temperatures in recent years based on such satellite readings but these may now all be undermined.

World-renowned Canadian climatologist, Dr. Timothy Ball, after casting his expert eye over the shocking findings concluded, “At best the entire incident indicates gross incompetence, at worst it indicates a deliberate attempt to create a temperature record that suits the political message of the day.”
Let me add that this error - if confirmed - will have no effect on the climate. It will, however, hugely affect the Global Warming debate. Except I think the science does not matter. After all it is the political agenda that drives things. Jeff Id agrees. Tim Ball seems to be leaning in that direction as well.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

A Wallet Extraction Scheme




Drug Prohibition is the Global Warming of the Right.



Tribute

Well known is that hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue.

But what is the tribute virtue pays to vice?

Indulgence.

Count me among the tributaries.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Are You A Big Government Conservative?



DRUG WAR = BIG GOVERNMENT



As seen at a Tea Party Rally.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Some One Else At The Controls

From the comments at Washington Rebel. Emphasis mine.

Well, there's no such thing as "conservatism", and hasn't been for a while. The clue is in the snarky references to marijuana.

Marijuana and cocaine are bad for you, and that's a fact; I don't want either, and I'm not promoting the use of the weed. I'm no libertarian, either; Government is both necessary and inevitable, and it's impossible to tell which is cause and which effect.

But if you're anxious to put together a gang of goons effective enough to put a stop to it on the grounds that it's bad for you, you're just a Progressive with a slightly different agenda. The same goon-gang has the power to stop you from getting a greasy hamburger, because that's bad for you too. All the whup-ass comes from the same can, and the spoons used to dig it out are interchangeable.

And if you're too self-satisfied to admit that a "police force" (or an "army") is a gang of goons with snappy clothes and a cool-sounding Mission Statement, you need to go register Democrat and join the O-fellators, because you're contributing to the problem rather than finding a solution. The whole thing starts with "my goals are Good and theirs are Bad, therefore I'm entitled to beat up on Them." Then you wake up one morning and discover yourself Them, and you resent it. F* you. You built the Machine; you got nothin' when somebody else takes the controls.

Regards,
Ric

Posted by: Ric Locke | 08/01/2010 at 03:27 PM
Themes I have been harping on for quite some time. I look forward to the day when we have conservatives untainted by Progressive Dreams - "With enough power we can FORCE people to do the right thing." As my friend above says: F* You to that.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Setting UP Win 7 Pro

I bought a copy of Microsoft Windows 7 Anytime Upgrade [Home Premium to Professional Upgrade]. Microsoft says the upgrade will be easy and it has an XP compatibility mode for all those old programs I need to run. Plus I can set up Virtual Machines for things like DOS, Win3.3, Linux, XP, and who knows what else my devious mind can conjure. Maybe a Z-80 partition and virtual machine. Microsoft says it is going to be easy and will take around ten minutes. They lie.

You start off going to the Windows Anytime Upgrade gizmo under the Start button and give them the secret code that came with your (almost)empty box. You then can go to the download page and Microsoft gives you the privilege of downloading 500 MBytes of code. My speed was on the order of 1.5 MBytes a second. Not too shabby. If you have nothing else to do for 4 or 5 minutes. Then you run the sucker. It restarts the computer (the shutdown dance) 3 times with varying delays and dead times. Give it at least a half hour before you give up on it while it is in one of its idle modes.

Then I went here to get the VFirtual Machine stuff. Another significant load for your ISP. Well fine. You can fool around with that and see if you can get it to work. Or you can Read The Effen Manual. Which I highly recommend.

So any way I get some insight in the process and then I find this page which seems to work better. Which then takes you to this other page where you can do the actual downloads.

Click on XP Mode download then run the program. You then have to do the shutdown dance. Again. Only once though.

Then Virtual PC Mode - another shutdown. This is getting monotonous. And a lot longer than 10 minutes. And finally you get to do the Windows XP Mode update. Another restart. Yarghhhh!!!

Finally I'm done. More like an hour and a half or two later. Well there is the Virtual Machine Maker Icon under the Start menu. Excellent. I made a 2 GB virtual machine to see how it works. Looks good so far. I'm going to fool around some and see what I've got - by poking at it. Out of that 1 GB (roughly) of software there ought to be something useful. Like maybe I can use my schematic drafting program. After roughly three months without. But I do have about a fifth of a ream of schematic scribbles I have produced in the interim. Some transcribing is in order.

If I learn anything interesting or amusing I'll have another post. And if you would like the previous chapter of the saga you can go back to The Partitioning of An Area. Which has a link to the one before that.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Monday, August 09, 2010

The Partitioning Of An Area

Some times you have to divide things up to make them work better. At least in the computer world. Which is why disc users who work with legacy systems often partition their systems. What to do? And how to do it? Well I found the testimonial on this page very helpful. Well what does it say? Just this:

My four stars for "Paragon Partition Manager 10" are to reflect the quality of the product as I found it to be. I was tempted to give it only three stars due to the major limitation that I had with it, however went with four due to the overall effort that the developers put into it. It is four starts because "I like it", however I doubt that I will be using it in the future. Others will likely find also that it is a good program, but not needed as there are free alternatives ("Partition Wizard Home Edition", "GNU Parted") that completely fill their needed.

*** "Paragon Partition Manager 10": Works with Windows and (primary drive) Linux partitions. Sadly, does not work with Linux partitions on logical drives.

*** "Partition Wizard Home Edition": Free. Works with Windows partitions. Does not work with Linux partitions.

*** "GNU Parted": Free. Works with Linux partitions. Does not work with Windows partitions.

*** Having both "Partition Wizard Home Edition" and "GNU Parted" will likely do everything that you need.
Partition Wizard is free? I like that price. So I down loaded it from Partition Wizard Home Edition. And then I tried it out. I decided to allocate 10GB to a new partition. The software was simple. It asked me how many megs I wanted in my new partition. I entered a number and clicked. And I got back the usual warning: "Open programs - do you want to shut them down or change partitions during reboot?" I chose "reboot" as the preferred option. It seemed the safest. So I rebooted. I got one or two unexpected screens (transient) during the reboot and then everything was back. Whhheeeww (always backup before changing your fundamentals - you will be more relaxed during operations). So I checked. Sure enough 10 GB was now in an unallocated partition.

When I add Linux to the system I'll check out GNU Parted and give a report.

Let me add that this is part of my ongoing saga about a failing hard drive and this is actually where I planned to start if my hard drive had not started to go bad. As the saying goes: even if it does not profit me I have had a profitable experience. I learned something.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Chin Up





Cross Posted at Classical Values

Sunday, August 08, 2010

Skip The Numbahs

Consequently he who wishes to attain to human perfection, must therefore first study Logic, next the various branches of Mathematics in their proper order, then Physics, and lastly Metaphysics. - Maimonides
It seems the trend these days is to skip all the hard stuff like logic, math, and physics (including chemistry) and go straight for the metaphysics. It leaves out all that tiresome stuff subject to experiment and proof and goes straight for the ineffable. Which no one can possibly eff. Very convenient.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Saturday, August 07, 2010

Not Me

There is a bumper sticker going around saying:

Don't Blame me, I voted for the American
Well not me. My sticker would read:
Don't Blame me, I voted for the Alaskan
In case you were wondering.

Texas Is NOT Happy

I was reading Watts Up With That and came a cross this link to a pdf in the comments which describes the response of the State of Texas to the EPA intent to rule us by regulating CO2 production.

In order to deter challenges to your plan for centralized control of industrial development through the issuance of permits for greenhouse gases, you have called on each state to declare its allegiance to to the Environmental Protection Agency's recently enacted greenhouse gas regulations - regulations that are plainly contrary to United states law.
And that is just the first sentence.

Now catch this one:
On behalf of the State of Texas we write to inform you that Texas has neither the authority nor the intention of interpreting, ignoring, or amending its laws in order to compel the permitting of greenhouse gas emissions.
And that is with 5 1/2 pages to go. Read the whole thing. Some very nice intemperate language.

From the sounds of it you would think the government of Texas has gone over to the Tea Party movement in whole or in part.

Tea Party Difference

Click on the above image and learn how to spread it around.


Cross Posted at Classical Values

Friday, August 06, 2010

Had A SMART Event Lately?

As you may or may not know I was able to get a Gateway DX4831-01e thanks to the generous help of my readers. I LOVE the machine. If you can't get one locally Amazon has them.

About a month after I got the machine (a very nice one it is - Two eSATA ports [high speed external drive interface] and lots of USB ports plus various memory card readers) I started getting SMART Event reports. i.e. your hard drive is going south - do something quick. I backed everything up and went on using it. It has been another month now. The drive seems to be working fine.

So how good is this SMART stuff? Well I dunno. I haven't worked in that area. So how to find out? PassMark Software has a free tool that gives you a read out of the codes plus it tracks them to predict drive failure. What I found was that I was running out of spare sectors (they are used to replace failed sectors). So the dive is going to fail. From what I can tell, I have about 100 days or so to get the issue totally resolved (drive replaced). DiskCheckup™ is very nice tool that you should run at least daily.

Which brings me to backup. I tried using the Win 7 backup software and I found it useless. I had enough hard disk space for the backup but the Win software wasn't satisfied. Yaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrgh! I have used Paragon 9.0 on my old HP Box and I was very happy with it. It made my transition to the Gateway painless. Once I downloaded the free trial version of Paragon Backup & Recovery Free Edition (64 bit) 10.2 and used it to do an extraction of my saved files backup was relatively easy - well the menus are not exactly intuitive but the help files help and you can get through it. And why did I have to try the new version when I still had the old version? Well you see Win 7 (and I believe Vista - but I'm not sure) is not compatible with a lot of XP software. But not to worry. Intel has a Win 7 Upgrade.

OK so I tried the latest Paragon and I got all my old files back. After a couple of months I saved enough to get the Paragon Backup & Recovery Suite 10so I could backup my Win 7 box. But I had a leetle problem. You have to uninstall the free Paragon Backup 10. Not too tough. The Uninstall worked fine. But then you have to look for an errant directory entry or two and delete them. With the usual reboots and other time wasters. Well all is well that ends well. The software is up and I'm doing daily backups (the drive is failing) which take 4 hours 14 minutes to backup 720 GB (it gets compressed to about 570 GB on the drive). I used the eSata interface instead of USB in order to speed up the transfer. But you do need special cables for that. I used Tripp Lite P952-003 eSATA to SATA Signal Cable, 7P-M/7P-M - 3ft. Everything went well, with transfer speeds on the order of 50 M bits a second (total read and write). With indicated speeds (the Paragon has a nice window where you can watch the action) of around 145 M bits a second. Judging by the time it is about 3 G Bytes a minute actual transfer speed. Not too shabby.

Now I have to erase my spare drive and find some tools I can use to partition it with. I need places for Linux, XP, and even DOS. I'll report on that when I make some progress.

I have been using this tool: Cables To Go 30504 USB 2.0 to IDE or Serial ATA Drive Adapter (Black) both for its USB interface and just for its power supply when I was using the eSATA connection. I have found it to be invaluable for working out my current issues and for reading out those old hard drives you have laying around. I'm told you can get them cheaper on eBay but I like the security of having recourse with Amazon. YMMV.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Thursday, August 05, 2010

In Transition

There are labor troubles in China.

The wave of strikes rippling through China's southern manufacturing heartland have forced the country's officially sanctioned unions to try something novel: speak up for workers or risk being permanently sidelined.

Migrant workers, wary of company unions seen as ineffective or allied with management, chose to shut them out altogether when they made demands for higher wages and better benefits. It was a wake-up call for the umbrella group, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, and their patrons -- the communist leaders who thought they could rely on it to help keep a tight leash on labor unrest.
So where is China headed?
"It's a very pivotal time. China must change the mode of economic development or it will meet difficulties. You can't sacrifice workers to drive the economy any more."

Reformers within the union body are pushing for change, and they're finding support in the upper ranks of the ruling Communist Party who hope a more vigorous national union will placate worker frustration as China attempts what could be a rocky transition from being a predominantly low-wage manufacturing economy.
Japan made the transition from a low wage economy beginning about 20 years after the end of WW2. China has taken a little longer. About 30 years from the start of the Deng Xiaoping economic liberalization era. China started from further behind than Japan and in addition had the handicap of Communism and Mao's Great Leap Backwards. So they are not doing too bad.

My Experience Is Similar

From a comment at Dr. Helen's.

Dr.D said...

The only schools that offer some hope of being conservative, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, are engineering colleges. Those where the faculty are regularly in contact with industry, particularly if they come and go between industry and academia, tend to be quite conservative. This is not true for schools where the faculty have little or no exposure to actual industry.

The contact with industry, with the constant demands for schedules, the need to produce an acceptable product at an acceptable price, the concerns for safety, etc. all of these things make engineers, and engineering faculty very conservative people. The focus is on what is possible, what will work, what can actually be accomplished as opposed to imaginary theory of what would be nice. The continuing effects of economic reality are extremely important in all of this, something of which people in liberal arts and humanities often seem to be unaware.
I can't say much about engineering school (I never went to one or finished college), but my experience in industry (aerospace engineering) is that most engineers tend to be libertarian/conservative with the libertarian faction predominating. That would be the socially liberal, economically conservative faction. Colloquially referred to as the pot smoking faction of the conservative movement. Also with a tendency to be gay friendly. Engineers don't care. Can you do the job faster than schedule and below budget is the only concern. Even meeting schedule and budget is considered a very good thing. Compare and contrast that with government.

And then my friend Eric had this to say in the same thread.
Eric said...

I am considered a conservative by liberals. But there is a problem in my saying "I am a conservative" because at that point my argument will not be with liberals, but with conservatives.
I have noticed the same thing. Conservatives and I agree that government should be a good steward of the economy. The goal should be to reduce the friction without giving up minimal required controls (like enforcement of contracts). Now where I disagree with Conservatives and Progressives is that government can be an improver of men. Government can keep criminals off the streets (I should add has been traditionally empowered to) and create an environment conducive to honest dealings (contract/business law). But government can not bring into being the New Socialist Man, The New Libertarian Man, The New Conservative Man, The New Christian Man, etc. Why? Because the ideal can't exist. Why you ask? Well it is a principle supposedly enshrined in Conservative thought. Self interest. And you know this may come as a surprise - my estimation of my self interest may not coincide with your estimation of my self interest. This may be for various reasons. One could be you are right and I am wrong. OTOH I could be right and you wrong. The principle of maximum liberty dictates that if you are not scaring the horses in the street or stealing then the very maximum deference should be given to the person closet to the "problem". The self whose self interest is in question.

Evidently this used to be called the night watchman theory of government. I think that was in the era of Peace Officers. Before the era of Enforcers.

The founder of a certain religion was against using law for moral uplift. You have to wonder how so many who claim to be followers can square that circle? About all you can say is that humans is very interesting creatures. I aspire to be one some day. Well maybe not. I try to treat people in a way they prefer (individually) to be treated. An idea that seems to be rather unfashionable these days. Every body (well almost) has an agenda for the other guy. I don't see how they can do it. I can barely manage my own agenda. I can do without busy bodies and the "it is all so unfair" folks adding to my load. I am certainly not interested in moral uplift at the point of a gun.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

bama Hates Black People



H/T Gateway Pundit via Instapundit

I Have A Feeling

Reason Magazine has excerpted part of the Prop. 8 (gay marriage ban) decision from the judge who gave the decision:

At oral argument on proponents' motion for summary judgment, the court posed to proponents' counsel the assumption that "the state's interest in marriage is procreative" and inquired how permitting same-sex marriage impairs or adversely affects that interest. Counsel replied that the inquiry was "not the legally relevant question," but when pressed for an answer, counsel replied: "Your honor, my answer is: I don’t know. I don't know."…

Despite this response, proponents in their trial brief promised to "demonstrate that redefining marriage to encompass same-sex relationships" would effect some twenty-three specific harmful consequences. At trial, however, proponents presented only one witness, David Blankenhorn, to address the government interest in marriage. Blankenhorn’s testimony…provided no credible evidence to support any of the claimed adverse effects proponents promised to demonstrate. During closing arguments, proponents again focused on the contention that "responsible procreation is really at the heart of society's interest in regulating marriage." When asked to identify the evidence at trial that supported this contention, proponents' counsel replied, "you don't have to have evidence of this point."
Evidence is so passe when strong feelings are involved. The "Conservatives" arguing in favor of the ban are nothing more than Progressives in disguise. And lest you think I'm a proponent of gay marriage - no. But I'm not bothered by it either.

There was a day when Conservatives were directed by reason. They had much better arguments than "tradition" And if tradition is so important how do you explain their support for the Progressive supported (back in the day) untraditional Drug Prohibition?

So let me ask. Of the points those who favor the ban suggest "will be proved" [pdf] is there any thing that would actually pass as proof? Or is it as I suspect another version of the Progressive refrain: "I have a feeling". Followed by that other Progressive refrain: "something must be done".

My advice to conservatives? If you really don't like Progressives why not stop following in their footsteps? Why not elevate reason over feelings? That would be a really different brand of politics.

And I found this an especially amusing addendum to the whole controversy. Reagan-Appointed Judge Strikes Down Gay Marriage Ban.

H/T Instapundit

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Global Warming Enhances Erectile Function

In a soon to be unreleased paper the journal Nature will announce that Global Warming Caused by CO2 is statistically connected with increased erectile function in human males. One participant in the study was especially enthusiastic. "With another doubling of CO2 I could go all night." His sorely taxed partner was unavailable for comment.

Prompted by this comment.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

A Reduced Standard

Obama Care has an interesting standard for the care of the elderly in minority communities.

Section 2046 (b)(3) grants the secretary of HHS the discretion to waive substantial penalties (i.e., fines of up to $300,000 and debarment from federal programs) for failing to report elder abuse and other crimes committed against residents of long-term care facilities that serve racial and ethnic minorities. Obviously, this could increase the probability that residents of such facilities won’t receive the same level of protection as residents of nursing homes that serve non-minority populations.
I guess that is part of the new post racial America I keep hearing so much about. Or maybe it is just the first step in Andrew Breitbart's plan to bring back slavery.

The Veneer Of Civilization

Historian Will Durant wrote in his book The Story of Civilization:

"The Mohammadan conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization is a precarious thing, whose delicate complex of order and liberty, culture and peace may at any time be overthrown by barbarians invading from without or multiplying within."
You have to wonder what Islam has in store for the rest of us.

The above quote and its preface shamelessly cribbed from: Trembling Fingers

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Monday, August 02, 2010

Less Power More Control

The EPA under rules developed during a Republican administration has a plan that will shut down up to 20% of the coal fired electrical plants in the nation.

In March 2005 the federal EPA issued two new rulings that mandate significant reductions in air pollution and mercury pollution. These federal regulatory requirements will have significant impact on utilities in the US. The timeframe for these emission reductions will take place in two phases with the first phase occurring during the next five years and the second phase being completed within the next twelve years.
And the rules for the first phase will do what exactly?
Some plants could have a hard time meeting the proposed cap, which could push domestic cement production into countries with even less stringent environmental standards, said Andy O’Hare, vice president of regulatory affairs with the Portland Cement Association.

The proposal comes at a down time for the cement industry. Three plants in the Great Lakes region shuttered in December 2008 and January 2009, according to Portland Cement Association records. The Alpena plant announced in March a 45-day kiln shutdown.
Ah. So it is just another plan to ship jobs to China.

But wait. It is not just coal fired cement plants. It is also coal fired power plants.
[The rules] would force utilities to invest tens of millions of dollars on technologies to remove the substances. Many of those plants are about 50 years old and are already inefficient. "Those investments are just not going to be justifiable," said Dan Bakal, director of electric power programs at Ceres, a group of environmentalists and institutional investors.

Francois Broquin, a co-author of reports on coal by Bernstein Research, said the combined rules could push as much as 20 percent of U.S. coal-fired electric generation capacity to retire by 2015. "Obviously that will have an impact," he said.
So where are the shut downs going to be concentrated?
The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed a new federal plan to reduce the pollution from electric power plants that wafts hundreds of miles across state lines.

The new rule would require pollution reductions in 31 states and the District of Columbia — most of the Eastern half of the U.S., from Texas and Minnesota to the coast.

To make the cuts, power plants would be required to install new equipment or use lower-sulfur fuels.

The plan is one of the most significant steps the EPA has taken toward cleaning the air for millions of Americans who live in areas where the quality of the air doesn't meet national standards.

It comes after many months of planning since a federal court ordered the EPA to revise its 2005 Clean Air Interstate Rule . Coincidentally, it was announced in the middle of an Eastern heat wave, when smoggy air was at unhealthy levels from North Carolina to New York state.
So the East Coaster will have no choice. Cleaner air so important to a few (and very important for them) but no air conditioning in the summer for tens of millions. Who ever worked out the political calculations didn't do their homework. Let me add that the East Coast electrical grid infrastructure is not in the best of shape and if the shut downs are concentrated in that area the loss for the area could be much more than 20%. Let me add that with the current grid power does not ship well over distances longer than about 300 or so miles. And if the grid is already congested with power flows from inside the area? Dark energy will be a proven reality.

So how about nuclear power to replace the power that will be lost? Well enviros hate nuke plants. Especially East Coast nukes. They stopped the Shoreham nuke plant. And Vermont Yankee and Indian Point are being targeted.

I wonder what the marginal price of electricity will have to be to make supply and demand come into balance on a hot day on the East Coast? And how are the residents going to feel about it? You would think the California experience would be a cautionary tale for the political classes. You would be wrong.

And in case you hadn't guessed about the title: You get less power. They get more control. All this enviro wackiness is a bubble. And the bubble is going to burst. When it does things are going to get ugly. Attacks on power plants will not go over well.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Sunday, August 01, 2010

My Political Source

I like to get my politics from engineers. Engineers are schooled in:

"What can possibly go wrong? In truth just about everything."
While the general electorate dreams of:
"Laws? We just pass them and the words (and government guns) will give us what we are dreaming of."
You can't bust that kind of thinking with reason. It is pure faith.

Cross Posted at Classical Values