Oil

I have been amazed at the US involvement in Lybia. While waging two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it befuddled me to see a no fly zone being talked about, then enacted in Lybia. Apparently, Gadhafi is killing a lot of citizens in Lybia which is reason enough to involve ourselves in a war that is not ours....unless the country is Iraq and the leader's name is Hussein.

President Obama's words about 4 years ago seemed clear enough when discussing an attack on Iran: "The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation." What changed?

Things became a little clearer a couple weeks ago when we hear that Lybia has some of the best oil (light and sweet) in the world. One democratic lawmaker is now making this known.

Unfortunately, while talking about the fact that we are involved in wars because of oil, he calls for a renewable energy plan. Renewable energy will never succeed until the private sector embraces a solution. If the government would get out of the way, we could make some progress.

The renewable energy plan sounds good, but it is disingenuous. If we are really fighting a war because of oil, then finding new oil is the current solution. I hear there is a lot of it in Alaska and other places in the US, but certain people in Washington our preventing companies from accessing that oil. Doesn't make much sense to me. It seems that we could save a lot of oil by not waging wars over oil and simply dig it up from our own back yard.

A Glimpse at the Future...from the Past

I can't remember if I posted this clip previously, but it came on my radar again recently and I find it absolutely amazing. 50 years ago, Ronald Reagan is speaking directly to issues we are facing today; and to the dangers of liberalism. This proves to me that the principles of conservatism have remained largely unchanged and are as potent as they were when this great nation was founded. The mechanism of our increasingly large government is changing the landscape of this country, chiefly by removing our freedom under the guise of helping people. We need to return to the principles that our founders laid out, and empower people to succeed once again.

Listen to this powerful audio from one of the great leaders in US history.

Climate Change Again

Apparently, a small-scale nuclear war could cause 'unprecendented' global cooling, causing floods and famine. But I thought global warming was going to cause floods and famine?

Two conclusions:
- We need not worry about any climate change because we can clearly affect it in either direction
- We humans aren't really affecting things as much as we think

I totally agree with the science behind much of this...various chemicals and elements being able to warm and cool faster in various environments. I am very sceptical however that human activity is even close to warming/cooling elements that the earth itself is responsible for.

Quote

"Thinking that printing money will help the economy is like thinking that a thermometer will make it hotter outside." -Radio Commercial

A Bargain

I have to comment on the protests coming out of the public sector unions in Ohio and Wisconsin. To me this is very shameful, and I wish weren't even in this position. Which side am I on?

Comments from leaders in the public unions have criticized the republican governors and state representatives in these states for trying to take away the rights of the hard working teachers, firefighters, policemen, and all public workers. They couldn't be more wrong.

When these public unions are "negotiating" their wages and benefits, they are not squeezing every penny they can out of evil politicians, they are taking ME to the cleaners. Public sector unions are bargaining against every private sector worker in their county, city, state and country...their neighbors.

Don't let these protesters fool you into thinking that the state leaders are the ones to blame, we are all paying their way, and they need to stop and look at the reality around them.

I have zero sympathy for public sector workers who think they "deserve" anything...zero, zilch, nadda. I'm probably offending friends and family here, but I work hard and maintain my job on the merits and quality of my work.

The union rules for my local school district are ridiculous:
- guaranteed wage increases
- greater than 90% health benefits covered
- guaranteed pension benefits

It's pretty interesting looking at the salary database here for Ohio. The thought that those in unions are fighting against me for more pay and benefits makes me gag a little bit. My $3000 county property tax bill hard at work...protesting at the statehouse.

Quote of the Day

"To conserve resources, someone must own them." - Walter E. Williams

Who Said It?

"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. … Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better."

This quote is from 2006 when our national debt was just over $7 trillion.

...... March 20, 2006 - Senator Obama.

Go figure.