Earth Day 2009

First the disclaimer before my blatant slap at enviro wackos. I’m firmly against polluted air, water, and land. As a Christian I think it’s our duty to be good stewards of the land God gave us to live on. I think toxic dumpers should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I evaluate every action that I could take that would make the planet cleaner.

That being said, I will always look at my actions in light of what makes economical sense. If driving a plug-in electric car or even hybrid made economical sense, I’d do it. If choosing a “green” electricity provider was as cheap or cheaper than the “regular” provider I’d do it. If riding the bus (And doubling my commute time to 40 minutes.) was cheaper I’d do it. If my living community provided recycle bins I would surely use them.

Right now the cheapest electrical provider in Houston is offering a 12 month locked-in rate of 10.6 cents a KWH. The cheapest “green” rate is 11.8 cents a KWH. That’s $144 per year based on a 1000 KWH/month usage. I think I’ll keep that difference. Plug-in electric cars either can’t go fast enough or far enough to make sense for me. And the payback period for that or a hybrid is way too long. I just purchased a 2007 vehicle with 13k miles on it, that gets over 30 mpg for $7000. Show me a hybrid around that price and we’ll talk. For me to take the bus to work, about double my commute time, and to break even on gas costs only gas would need to be about $2.75/gal. I think even at $3.00-3.50 I’d still consider driving just for the convienience. The point here, besides economical sense, is that these are MY choices. And don’t kid yourself, the environmental movement is NOT about choice.

The environmental movement is about controlling you and making you do what they want you to. It’s also about redistributing wealth. Like every liberal idea since they can’t win at the ballot box or legislature they use the courts. They stand in the way, using the courts, of new drilling and refining capacity. The sole purpose is to create a false shortage of oil and gas and to drive the price up in the hope that it will force you into an electric vehicle or hybrid. The problem is once they move you to an electric car they will have succeeded in driving up the price of electricity through Obama’s “Cap and Trade” program so much that it will cost more to “charge” your car than it would have cost to put gas in one. What they really want is for you to stay home.

I encourage you to think about the things you do or are forced to do now in the name of the environment. I can think of a few. Low flow toilets that you have to flush three times to get everything down. Changing out incandesant light bulbs for CFL and then going through hazmet like clean up procedures when one breaks. Higher cost emissions testing come inspection time for your car. Increased costs for oil changes, new tires, and new batteries. These are just a few and I could probably come up with a lot more given the time to think about it.

I unashamedly reject the notion of “anthropogenic global warming” (AGW). The earth is actually in a cooling period now. March 09 was the coolest since 1981 and here in Houston April has yet to see a 90 temperature. It’s been a lot of years since that happened. What you’re seeing now it the government rushing to put all these environmental programs in before the AGW hoax is realized by the majority of the people. Maybe the majority will figure out that it’s “the Sun stupid.” It’s up to us to make our voices heard and attempt to put the breaks on this.

So on this earth day 2009 I think I’ll cut down an old growth tree with a noisey, dirty 20 year old chain saw, I’ll fill up my gas tank (and top off) at about 2pm in the heat of the day, I’ll leave all the lights on in my home, I’ll throw away an aluminum coke can, and I’ll probably eat some beef.

Call me extreme

If being pro-life, pro-second amendment, pro-small government, libertarian leaning, anti-obscene spending, willing to put my life on the line for liberty and freedom, anti-illegal immigration, pro-self sufficiency, pro-national defense, and conservative makes me extreme; Then I wear “extremism” as a badge of honor.

Department of Homeland Security “domestic terrorism” report.

Silly laws breed disrespect for laws – Wi-fi logs for 2 years?

I read yesterday that a bill in both the Senate and the House will compel ISP’s and wi-fi users to keep usage logs for two years. There is no distinction between public and private wi-fi’s. Which basically means that I’ll have to keep traffic logs of my home network for two years. I don’t even know if that’s technologically possible with my wireless router.

This proposal is ridiculous and unenforceable. First, the shear amount of data that would have to be parsed would probably make it harder to track child predators than it is now. Second, since it covers voice over IP (VOIP) communicate it amounts to wire tapping without a warrant. I’m sorry but when “nanny-state” legislators pass laws that are perceived as unreasonable to the average law-abiding citizens, average law-abiding citizens begin to lose respect for the rule-of-law and their governing bodies. This is one of those unreasonable proposals. I can tell you right now that I won’t comply with this silliness.

Here’s a letter that I sent to one of my Senators:

Senator Cornyn,

About S.436. Are you serious? I would expect this feel-good, unenforceable legislation from the Democrats. But come on, from so-called conservative Republicans? Did the Republicans become “Nanny state” politicians while I wasn’t paying attention.

This bill will do nothing that it’s designed to do. Due to the vast amount of data it will only make it more difficult to track down child predators. Additionally, it will put more burden, and therefore, more costs on small businesses and individuals like myself who simply have a wireless router in my home. As far as I can tell there’s absolutely no provision in my wireless router to capture logs for more than a few hours let alone two years. I don’t like it and I’m angry with you for supporting this unreasonable legislation. When the government starts making silly laws the people start losing respect for the government and their laws. This is one of those proposals. Since this could be interpreted to cover “voice over IP” telephone communications it also amounts to illegal wiretapping.

Instead of putting the burden on me for crime fighting please just punish the ones committing the crime. Please reverse your course and come down on the side of the rights of the individual to be free from obtrusive government intervention and unreasonable record keeping.

Regards,
Jim Rector

We’ll see how he responds. I’ll report back when he does.

Thomas Jefferson – The Prophet

In light of the present financial crisis, it’s interesting to read what Thomas
Jefferson said in 1802:

I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.

Like the gas prices – Don’t get used to it

I just paid $1.46/gal. for gas to fill up my Chevy Blazer. I loved paying around $20 to fill it up compared to over $60 a few short months ago. If you figure five fill ups in one month that’s $200 bucks added to my bottom line for just that one vehicle. What a way to stimulate the economy!

If you, like me enjoy this, don’t get used to it. Barack Obama is putting together his ‘environment’ team and has chosen Steven Chu as Energy Secretary. This does not bode well for those of us who believe it’s better to have cheap energy and think going after our own resources is the right thing to do.

Consider these quotes:

“Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe,” Mr. Chu, who directs the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal in September.

And, considering that around 50% of our electricity is generated by coal, this comment by Mr. Chu is very troubling:

“Coal is my worst nightmare”

If the Obama administration, along with a complicit congress restrict the use of coal at all you’ll see your electricity rates jump 300-400%. Would you like your light bill that’s now $100 to be $400? Not me. How about $8/gal. gasoline? Shame, shame. The great thing about this country is that were NOT Europe. This is America and the great thing about this country is that since our inception we’ve been DIFFERENT from every other country and I want it to stay that way.

I encourage everyone to contact their Senator, especially if their Republican and encourage them to block this appointment. We don’t need enviro-wackos in the highest pinnacles of our government.

(HT/Armchair Energist)

Ok, after some more research I have to give Steven Chu some props for being for nuclear power. But I still don’t want someone who thinks gasoline needs to be $8/gal.

Random Stuff

Just thought I’d share a few interesting links. Some may interest you, some may not. One thing for sure, they do interest me.

Canon 5d Mark II should be in US stores today
Man do I have serious camera envy with this one. According to Ron Galbraith Shipments of Canon’s newest full-frame digital SLR should commence today. Announced back in September this is a ground breaking camera. It has over 21 million pixels, it’s full-frame (Image sensor the same size as 35mm film.), and 1080p video capabilities. The video samples are unbelievable.  Canon USA.

Self-destruct your laptop
Lenovo has come up with a unique way to foil laptop thieves. They’ve added technology to their Montevina laptop line that will allow you to text message a destruct code to your stolen laptop. The code will shut down the laptop and from there disk encryption will take over to protect your data. The only catch is the stolen laptop needs to be in a WWAN (wireless wide area network.) to receive the kill signal.

SBC: The widening divide
Tom Ascol has written SBC and Calvinism: Three events that widened the divide on the Founders Blog about three events that is precipitating the widening divide between Calvinists and Arminians in the Souther Baptist Convention. I won’t restate his article so head on over there and read it for yourself. It’s intersting no matter which side of the issue you fall on.

Find me the verse
Dan Phillps over on the Pyromaniacs blog has a good post Sanctification challenge: find me the verse. He asks four very direct questions looking for Biblical answers to these questions. His point is to:

(A) to make the simple and pointed still more simple and more pointed, and thus (B) better to serve those who serve the Body as pastors:

Civically Illiterate
Before things will get better in this country politically we must educate the masses. How to do that (You’d have to somehow go around the education system.) I don’t know. A post Civically Illiterate by Joseph Lawler at the American Spectator is telling and scary.

How can you vote responsibly if you don’t know the meaning of “free enterprise”?

That is the question posed in “Our Fading Heritage,” the survey on civic literacy released by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute Thursday at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. The report found that only 54% of college graduates can correctly identify a free enterprise system as one in which individual citizens create, exchange, and control goods and services.

Of course, this statistic reflects the civic understanding of college graduates. Those without a college degree fare even worse.

Most damning of all, perhaps, is that self-identified elected officials score lower on average than the general public. So not only are our politicians illiterate in matters of political history and economics, they are less knowledgeable than the already lamentably ill-informed average citizen. Fifty-four percent do not know that the Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war. They tested worse than everyone else in the subjects of First Amendment freedoms, international trade, abortion, and many more. “The blind leading the blind” has never seemed more appropriate.

Well, that’s all for now.

It’s all about the “Ice Cream”

This has been going around the net. I think it about sums it up.

It’s all about the Ice Cream
(anonymous)

The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade in 2003. The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest. I decided we would have an election for a class president. We would choose our nominees.  They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote.

To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members.

We discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have. We got many nominations and from those, Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot.

The class had done a great job in their selections. Both candidates were good kids. I thought Jamie might have an advantage because he got lots of parental support. I had never seen Olivia’s mother. The day arrived when they were to make their speeches Jamie went first. He had specific ideas about how to make our class a better place. He ended by promising to do his very best. Every one applauded. He sat down and Olivia came to the podium.

Her speech was concise. She said, “If you will vote for me, I will give you ice cream.” She sat down.

The class went wild. “Yes! Yes! We want ice cream.”

She surely would say more. She did not have to. A discussion followed. How did she plan to pay for the ice cream? She wasn’t sure. Would her parents buy it or would the class pay for it. She didn’t know.

The class really didn’t care. All they were thinking about was ice cream. Jamie was forgotten. Olivia won by a land slide.

Every time Barack Obama opens his mouth he offers ice cream, and fifty-one percent of America reacts like nine year olds. They want ice cream. They will milk the cow.

The other forty-nine percent know they’re going to have to buy the feed, feed the cow, milk the cow, deliver the milk, pay the taxes on the labor and the milk, and shovel the manure.

Obama’s statements have expiration dates

From National Review Online. A post titled All Barack Obama Statements come with an Expiration Date. All of Them. Be aware that anything Barack Obama says can and will be changed to fit the situation. Classic marxist dialectic.

From the article:

IRAQ

STATEMENT: “Based on the conversations we’ve had internally as well as external reports, we believe that you can get one to two brigades out a month. At that pace, the forces would be out in approximately 16 months from the time that we began. That would be the time frame that I would be setting up,” Obama to the New York Times, November 1, 2007

EXPIRATION DATE: March 7, 2008: Obama foreign policy adviser Samantha Power, to the BBC: “You can’t make a commitment in whatever month we’re in now, in March of 2008 about what circumstances are gonna be like in Jan. 2009. We can’t even tell what Bush is up to in terms of troop pauses and so forth. He will of course not rely upon some plan that he’s crafted as a presidential candidate or as a US senator.”

Also: July 3, 2008: “My 16-month timeline, if you examine everything I’ve said, was always premised on making sure our troops were safe,” Obama told reporters as his campaign plane landed in North Dakota. “And my guiding approach continues to be that we’ve got to make sure that our troops are safe, and that Iraq is stable. And I’m going to continue to gather information to find out whether those conditions still hold.”

STATEMENT: On June 14, Obama foreign policy adviser Susan Rice called the RNC’s argument that Obama needed to go to Iraq to get a firsthand look “complete garbage.”

EXPIRATION DATE: On June 16, Obama announced he would go to Iraq and Afghanistan “so he can see first hand the progress of the wars he would inherit if he’s elected president.”

DEBATES

STATEMENT: May 16, 2008: “If John McCain wants to meet me, anywhere, anytime to have a debate about our respective policies in Iraq, Iran, the Middle East or around the world that is a conversation I’m happy to have.”

EXPIRATION DATE: June 13, 2008: Obama campaign manager David Plouffe: “Barack Obama offered to meet John McCain at five joint appearances between now and Election Day—the three traditional debates plus a joint town hall on the economy in July [on the Fourth of July] and an in-depth debate on foreign policy in August.”

IRAN

STATEMENT: “We can, then, more effectively deal with what I consider to be one of the greatest threats to the United States, to Israel, and world peace, and that is Iran,” Obama speaking to American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Chicago, March 5, 2007

EXPIRATION DATE:  “Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, these countries are tiny…They don’t pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us.” – May 20, 2008

STATEMENT: Question at the YouTube debate, as the video depicted leaders of the countries, including Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: “Would you be willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of your administration, in Washington or anywhere else, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea?…..”

“I would,” Obama answered. July 27, 2007

EXPIRATION DATE: May 10, 2008: Susan E. Rice, a former State Department and National Security Council official who is a foreign policy adviser to the Democratic candidate: “But nobody said he would initiate contacts at the presidential level; that requires due preparation and advance work.”

JEREMIAH WRIGHT/TRINITY UNITED

STATEMENT: “I could no more disown Jeremiah Wright than I could disown my own grandmother.”

—Barack Obama, March 18, 2008

EXPIRATION DATE: on April 28, 2008, cut all ties to Wright, declaring, “based on his remarks yesterday, well, I may not know him as well as I thought.”

STATEMENT: Obama said that his church, “Trinity United “embodies the black community in its entirety” and that his church was being caricatured on March 18, 2008.

EXPIRATION DATE: On May 31, 2008, Obama resigned his membership at Trinity United Church.

JIM JOHNSON

STATEMENT: Criticism of running mate vetter Jim Johnson loan from Countrywide was “a game” and that his vice-presidential vetting team “aren’t folks who are working for me.” June 10, 2008

EXPIRATION DATE: June 11, 2008, when Obama accepted Johnson’s resignation.

FISA

STATEMENT: Obama spokesman Bill Burton on October 24, 2007: “To be clear: Barack will support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies.”

EXPIRATION DATE: June 20, 2008: “Given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay. So I support the compromise, but do so with a firm pledge that as president, I will carefully monitor the program.”

NUCLEAR ENERGY

STATEMENT: “I am not a nuclear energy proponent.” Barack Obama, December 30, 2007

EXPIRATION DATE: The above statement actually was the expiration date for his previous position, “I actually think we should explore nuclear power as part of the energy mix,” expressed on July 23, 2007; the above statement expired when he told Democratic governors he thought it is “worth investigating its further development” on June 20, 2008.

NAFTA

STATEMENT:  Tim Russert:: Senator Obama . . .  Simple question: Will you, as president, say to Canada and Mexico, “This has not worked for us; we are out”?

Obama: “I will make sure that we renegotiate, in the same way that Senator Clinton talked about. And I think actually Senator Clinton’s answer on this one is right. I think we should use the hammer of a potential opt-out as leverage to ensure that we actually get labor and environmental standards that are enforced. And that is not what has been happening so far.” February 23, 2008

EXPIRATION DATE:  June 18, 2008, Fortune magazine: “Sometimes during campaigns the rhetoric gets overheated and amplified,” he conceded, after I reminded him that he had called NAFTA “devastating” and “a big mistake,” despite nonpartisan studies concluding that the trade zone has had a mild, positive effect on the U.S. economy.

Does that mean his rhetoric was overheated and amplified? “Politicians are always guilty of that, and I don’t exempt myself,” he answered.

“I’m not a big believer in doing things unilaterally,” Obama said. “I’m a big believer in opening up a dialogue and figuring out how we can make this work for all people.”

PUBLIC FINANCING

STATEMENT: “If I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election.” Also, a Common Cause questionnaire dated November 27, 2007, asked “If you are nominated for President in 2008 and your major opponents agree to forgo private funding in the general election campaign, will you participate in the presidential public financing system?”, Obama checked, “Yes.”

EXPIRATION DATE: June 19, 2008: Obama announced he would not participate in the presidential public financing system.

WORKING OUT A DEAL ON PUBLIC FINANCING

STATEMENT: “What I’ve said is, at the point where I’m the nominee, at the point where it’s appropriate, I will sit down with John McCain and make sure that we have a system that works for everybody.”Obama to Tim Russert, Febuary 27.

EXPIRATION DATE: When Obama announced his decision to break his public financing pledge June 19, no meeting between the Democratic nominee and McCain had occurred.

WELFARE REFORM

STATEMENT: “I probably would not have supported the federal legislation [to overhaul welfare], because I think it had some problems.” Obama on the floor of the Illinois Senate, May 31, 1997

EXPIRATION DATE: April 11, 2008: Asked if he would have vetoed the 1996 law, Mr. Obama said, “I won’t second guess President Clinton for signing” it. Obama to the New York Times.

GAY MARRIAGE

STATEMENT: “Barack Obama has always believed that same-sex couples should enjoy equal rights under the law, and he will continue to fight for civil unions as president. He respects the decision of the California Supreme Court, and continues to believe that states should make their own decisions when it comes to the issue of marriage.” – campaign spokesman, May 5, 2008

EXPIRATION DATE: June 29, 2008: “I oppose the divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution, and similar efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution or those of other states… Finally, I want to congratulate all of you who have shown your love for each other by getting married these last few weeks.” — letter to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club

PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION

STATEMENT: “Now, I don’t think that ‘mental distress’ qualifies as the health of the mother. I think it has to be a serious physical issue that arises in pregnancy, where there are real, significant problems to the mother carrying that child to term.” – Interview with Relevant magazine, July 1, 2008

EXPIRATION DATE: July 5, 2008: “”My only point is that in an area like partial-birth abortion having a mental, having a health exception can be defined rigorously. It can be defined through physical health, It can be defined by serious clinical mental-health diseases.” statement to reporters.

DIVISION OF JERUSALEM

STATEMENT: “Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided.” — speech before AIPAC, June 4, 2008

EXPIRATION DATE: June 6, 2008: “Jerusalem is a final status issue, which means it has to be negotiated between the two parties” as part of “an agreement that they both can live with.” – an Obama adviser clarifying his remarks to the Jerusalem Post.

Or you could just listen to his own words. Obama v. Obama.

Don’t forget: Obama says inconvenient grandchildren are a “punishment,” should be killed

Another reason I would never vote Obama:

NeverFindOut.org

HT: Dan Phillips

The Obamassiah will “take care of my gas and mortgage”

In 1953, Ezra Taft Benson was appointed U.S. Secretary of Agriculture by President Eisenhower.

In the 1960s he stated to the BYU student body:

“I have talked face to face with the godless communist leaders. It may surprise you to learn that I was host to Mr. [Nikita] Khrushchev for a half day when he visited the United States, not that I’m proud of it. I opposed his coming then, and I still feel it was a mistake to welcome this atheistic murderer as a state visitor. But, according to President Eisenhower, Khrushchev had expressed a desire to learn something of American Agriculture — and after seeing Russian agriculture I can understand why. As we talked face to face, he indicated that my grandchildren would live under communism. After assuring him that I expected to do all in my power to assure that his and all other grandchildren will live under freedom, he arrogantly declaired in substance:

“‘You Americans are so gullible. No, you won’t accept communism outright, but we’ll keep feeding you small doses of socialism until you’ll finally wake up and find you already have communism. We won’t have to fight you. We’ll so weaken your economy until you’ll fall like overripe fruit into our hands.’

“And they’re ahead of schedule in their devilish scheme.” (Ezra Taft Benson “Our Immediate Responsibility.” Devotional Address at Brigham Young University. circa 1968.”)

Contrast that with an Obama supporter after watching his “infomercial” on Wednesday:

VOICE: It was the most memorable time of my life. It was a touching moment.

VOICE: Why?

VOICE: Because I never thought this day would ever happen. I won’t have to work on putting gas on my car, I won’t have to work on paying my mortgage. You know, if I help him, he’s going to help me.

Here’s the video:

I could comment but read Glenn Beck’s comments. They sum up what I’m thinking. Where’s our country heading?