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Open thread 10/20
- By Phillip Brownlee
- Posted Oct. 20, 2007 at 1:05 a.m.
- Filed under Open thread
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Wow! The Pentagon put the big smack down on this event.
Air Force Calls Nuclear-Armed Plane ‘Unacceptable Mistake’
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force says it will punish 70 airmen involved in the accidental, cross-country flight of a nuclear-armed B-52 bomber following an investigation that found widespread disregard for the rules on handling such munitions.
“There has been an erosion of adherence to weapons-handling standards at Minot Air Force Base and Barksdale Air Force Base,” said Maj. Gen. Richard Newton, the Air Force deputy chief of staff for operations.
Newton was announcing the results of a six-week probe into the Aug. 29-30 incident in which the B-52, inadvertently armed with six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, was flown from Minot, near the Canadian border, to Barksdale in Louisiana near the Gulf of Mexico without anyone noticing the mistake for more than a day.
The missiles were supposed to have been taken to Louisiana, but the warheads were supposed to have been removed beforehand.
A main reason for the error was that crews had decided not to follow a complex schedule under which the status of the missiles is tracked while they are disarmed, loaded, moved and so on, one official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.
The airmen replaced the schedule with their own “informal” system, he said, although he did not say why they did that nor how long they had been doing it that way.cont’d at FoxNews
Typical bush appointee.Questions remain about housing secretary By PETE YOST, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 7 minutes ago
WASHINGTON – During an investigation of his conduct last year, Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson defiantly defended his interaction with federal contractors doing business with the Housing and Urban Development Department.
ADVERTISEMENTJackson survived that investigation, but now he faces a new one stemming from the same forceful style that got him in trouble the first time.
The FBI and HUD’s inspector general are examining Jackson’s ties to a friend who was paid at least $392,000 in federal money after Jackson passed along the man’s name for a job as post-Katrina construction manager at the Housing Authority of New Orleans.
Jackson, 62, has spent much of his career working for housing agencies in several cities. He has a personal friendship with President Bush that dates to the late 1980s, when they lived in the same Dallas neighborhood.
Two weeks ago, within hours of news reports disclosing the criminal probe, the White House issued a statement saying the president supports Jackson.
Jackson was the first black leader of the housing authority in Dallas, where his integration efforts caused clashes with some local homeowners in predominantly white neighborhoods. “They don’t want people of color out there. It’s simple,” Jackson told a reporter.
Always outspoken, whether talking race or politics, Jackson triggered the inspector general’s inquiry last year when he told a minority group of commercial real estate executives in Dallas that he had revoked a contract because the applicant who thanked him said he didn’t like Bush.
“He said, ‘I have a problem with your president,’” Jackson told the crowd. “I thought to myself: ‘Brother, you have a disconnect — the president is elected, I was selected. You wouldn’t be getting the contract unless I was sitting here.’ … He didn’t get the contract.”
Jackson later told investigators “I lied” when he made the remark about taking back the contract — the only part of a lengthy interview where he was contrite.
The IG probe concluded after a four-month inquiry turned up no evidence of a canceled contract.
Yet the IG’s report also found what it called “some problematic instances” involving HUD contracts and grants, including Jackson’s opposition to money for a contractor whose executives donated exclusively to Democratic candidates.
Given the periodic corruption scandals that have punctuated the 42-year history of HUD, Jackson’s contacts with individual contractors have troubled department lawyers, last year’s investigation showed.
The Associated Press reviewed a copy of the 340-page report on the inspector general’s investigation, in light of law enforcement agencies’ renewed interest in the HUD secretary. The IG report has not been made public by the agency.
In his interview with HUD investigators on July 24, 2006, Jackson grew combative, saying HUD employees had grown too close to companies the agency is doing business with.
“Well, you know something?” said Jackson. “The staff basically gets involved with these companies.”
Jackson said “this has been a problem in the agency” and “I can tell you that one of the problems we have is that many of the people who service these contracts eventually go to work with many of these contractors who are doing business with us.”
On the question of possible favoritism, the department’s former acting general counsel told investigators that Jackson’s meetings with contractors were a matter of concern dating to the first term of the Bush administration, when Jackson held the No. 2 post at the department.
Former HUD acting general counsel Kathleen Koch told investigators her staff used to review the appointments schedule for Jackson’s predecessor, Mel Martinez, to advise if there were potential problems involving contractors. Potential HUD contractors would be kept away from Martinez, said Koch.
The schedule reviews “just petered out” after Jackson became secretary, Koch said, telling investigators that Jackson would meet with contractors or people who wanted to obtain contracts at HUD. “We warned him against it,” she said.
Jackson told investigators, “I have not advocated for anybody,” but said he simply explained to people who want to do business with HUD that they must get on a list of approved contractors before they can get work from the department.
The report made clear that during his nearly seven years at HUD he has had friction with individual contractors who have long been doing business with the agency.
The most detailed illustration of friction was a $4 million HUD grant awarded to Abt Associates Inc., a Cambridge, Mass., company. The IG investigators found over $33,000 in donations from Abt to political action committees of Democrats, none to Republicans.
After deciding in early 2006 to award the work to Abt, the department finally sent out award letters three months later.
The inspector general found that the Abt award was “blocked for a significant period of time due to Jackson’s involvement and opposition.”
In his interview with investigators, Jackson denied interfering. “I never held it up, period,” Jackson said.
He blamed his aides for the delay.
He said he had problems with Abt over past poor performance. But he insisted nine times during the interview that it couldn’t have been more than three days between the time that he ordered an assistant HUD secretary to look into whether Abt should get the work and the time that he approved the award.
“I have to smile,” said Jackson. “These people take so long doing everything and if they want to use somebody as a convenient scapegoat they do.”
Several HUD aides disputed his account.
Chief of staff Camille Pierce told investigators that Jackson “sees red when he sees a contract to Abt.”
Pierce recalled that Pamela Patenaude, an assistant HUD secretary, “was about to sign this contract” with Abt. When Pierce and Patenaude went to Jackson, “he said, definitely, I do not want Abt to get this contract,” Pierce said.
“Pam would always come back to my office and she’d be frustrated and say I just don’t know what to do,” Pierce testified. The grant went forward only after HUD’s No. 2 official, Roy Bernardi, intervened with Jackson.
Gee’s, ever hear of links?
Synopsis and link please.
The public has been down on congress for a long time. Way before the democrats took over. The public still has little confidence in congress, and for a good reason. The republican controlled congress was one of the worst in history. They have left such a mess, and are still pissed off after losing control. They are still in denial, and are doing everything they can to stop the democrats from, cleaning up the mess the republicans left.
Typical of the republican led congress:
“The GOP’s “take that, bitch” approach to governing has been taken to the greatest heights by the House Judiciary Committee. The committee is chaired by the legendary Republican monster James Sensenbrenner Jr., an ever-sweating, fat-fingered beast who wields his gavel in a way that makes you think he might have used one before in some other arena, perhaps to beat prostitutes to death. Last year, Sensenbrenner became apoplectic when Democrats who wanted to hold a hearing on the Patriot Act invoked a little-known rule that required him to let them have one.
“Naturally, he scheduled it for something like 9 a.m. on a Friday when Congress wasn’t in session, hoping that no one would show,” recalls a Democratic staffer who attended the hearing. “But we got a pretty good turnout anyway.”
Sensenbrenner kept trying to gavel the hearing to a close, but Democrats again pointed to the rules, which said they had a certain amount of time to examine their witnesses. When they refused to stop the proceedings, the chairman did something unprecedented: He simply picked up his gavel and walked out.
“He was like a kid at the playground,” the staffer says. And just in case anyone missed the point, Sensenbrenner shut off the lights and cut the microphones on his way out of the room.”
Link to the rest of the story here: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12055360/cover_story_time_to_go_inside_the_worst_congress_ever/print
With the South in the grip of an epic drought and its largest city holding less than a 90-day supply of water, officials are scrambling to deal with the worst-case scenario: What if Atlanta’s faucets really do go dry?http://www.kansas.com/wireupdates/story/205157.html
Our own poster, KFG, has been whipping this issue to death here in Kansas. Think this can’t happen to us? Think again. Water has been a sleeper issue on the horizon for years. Only 2% of the water on the planet is potable, IIRC.
Maybe we should start listening a little more closely to folks like KFG.
Well gosh, XXX, thanks for the shout out!
And they have a LOT better chance of refilling their jugs in the southeast where, despite the drought, it does actually RAIN. But even at that, I heard today Georgia needs several MONTHS of rain to even get to normal water supply levels.
They get a lot of rain, but not usually sustained for that long.
That’s why we howled so long about Russell and Hays draining Cedar Bluff. It only refills about every fifty years, and that makes it a short term, but politically expedient solution to their LONG TERM water problems.
Problems compounded by Russell’s water sucking ethanol plant. And irrigators between Cedar Bluff and Hays.
Out here… When our water is gone, it’s gone. THEN what will Hays and Russell do? Not to mention the MANY folks in four counties who make a living out here from the Cedar Bluff traffic.
Wanna talk about jobs? Heheheh. Let’s talk about water first.
The water out in Atlanta is from a water shed drying up.
Out in Western Kansas it’s the aquifer, which took millions of years to develop and corn farmers and industry are going to suck it dry in less than 50 years.
Hell! Some places already have the water pumps drilled so deep to find the bottom inches left of the aquifer that the water is brackish.
So right, KFG.People scream bloody murder when gas hits $3 a gallon. I wonder what they’ll think when they have to pay that much for water?
I can see water issues going the way of Global Warming. Since it’s an environmental issue, republicans will be against it. Water depletion couldn’t be caused by man.
“Since it’s an environmental issue, republicans will be against it. Water depletion couldn’t be caused by man.”
No shit.
The freakin’ former city manager of Hays told me not to worry. It would rain again.
Big eye roll here. It hasnt rained enough in over 100 years to solve Hays and Russell’s eternal water problems. Why would it start raining enough to do so now?
The water issue is also one that is easy to escape by running out the clock. Push it off until the next admninistraion. And the next, and the next, and the next…
…until one day you, your kids, or you grandkids wake up and turn on the tap to brush their teeth…
…and nothing but air comes from the tap.
If I’m even alive then, I STILL wont feel good about being right.
It’s damn hard to drink “I told ya so”.
Since it’s an environmental issue, republicans will be against it.Posted by: XXX
Good Gosh! Can you not just state facts instead of picking sides.
What people don’t want to hear about the water situation is the territorial problems arising out of the not to distant water shortages. What happens when Supreme Court decisions affect the very existence of whole communities? Do you think they will go quietly into the night?
Now extend that into whole counties, or states for that matter. All that can be stopped with the right people running the program. KDHE Secretary Rod Bremby is a great start, but it will take more than just him to turn things around. Sadly, it might take a serious incident to make people see the real problem, and by then, it might be too late.
Walker has been on this issue longer than I. Better too, probably :)
“What happens when Supreme Court decisions affect the very existence of whole communities? Do you think they will go quietly into the night?”
Sigh. If they live in western Kansas they will indeed to quietly. Hell, they’ll go without even a whimper in most cases.
And as for the Supremes, the thing I saw on the news this morning showed all the dry lakes, boat docks, marinas, etc. that were caused by… wait for it…
Rulings that sent Georgia’s water to Florida. VT brought this up on another blog the other day. So… WTF makes FLORIDA more needy than GEORGIA?
Can you say “swing state”? Let the 08 race begin.
Unfortunately, we aint seen nothin’ yet. Wait until Ellsworth and Salina decide they want Hays and Russell’s share of the Smoky. Their rights are more senior as you go east.
And precident was set for Kanopolis/Ellsworth/Salina fights for the Smoky by the rape of Cedar Bluff via Hays and Russell.
I think governor leadership and joe “darth cheney” harkins will go down in history as the rat bastards responsible for the “rat buggering” of the deconstruction of water rights in Kansas.
Congratulations.
What happens when Supreme Court decisions affect the very existence of whole communities? Do you think they will go quietly into the night?Posted by: J M Walker
I think water may be more important than clean air simply because the effects of no water will happen faster.
What happens if Colorado decides to use all the water in the Arkansas to irrigate their farms? How long can Wichita, or Western Kansas, survive?
Wichita will survive. It has spent millions of dollars recharging their water. They also have plans for a new watershed after Cheney marshes out.
Wichita has been looking long term, Western Kansas is only concerned about the next corn crop or the next ethanol producing day.
From those water statistics I posted here the other day, the water in Kansas Aquifers is enough to cover the Entire Continental U.S. in two feet of water. I don’t think we are going to run out anytime soon. That’s more water than the biggest of the Great Lakes.
We should be concerned, but let’s not get ridiculous about the water issue.
“What happens if Colorado decides to use all the water in the Arkansas to irrigate their farms? How long can Wichita, or Western Kansas, survive?”
Hud, great question.
Hud, it’s happening right now. Kansas is in court with Colorado and Nebraska over water usage. If Kansas wins, and it appears they will, both other states farmers will have to reduce, or stop, using water. In Colorado, the state is starting to cut off farmers water rights.
With water rights comes responsibilities, and right now, those responsibilities are not even close to being met. When the increasingly limited farm land being used to produce fuel, rather than food, resources, and that same fuel resource being a water hog, we got real serious problems arising. Just ask the farmers in Colorado; I’m sure they’ll be glad to give an opinion.
Interesting history lesson on the Armenian genocide. But some folks never learn.
“Whatever may be said about the U.S. House of Representatives committee vote concerning the use of the term “genocide” in reference to Turkey’s atrocities against the Armenians during World War I, two facts are indisputable: It was gun confiscation that made the atrocities possible. And it was the possession of firearms that saved many Armenians.”
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=N2M4YWQxZjJjZDZiZTM2MTc0NmFjMTMzMzRlNWRlMzk=
Yer whistling past the graveyard Joe. Water runs from west to east and so do water shortages.
And right on cue, I found this:
Source: USA Today
“The Southeast’s worst drought in more than a century is forcing parched states and communities into crisis measures to conserve water and fight for access to more.
A region accustomed to plentiful rain from tropical storms and hurricanes is experiencing its second straight year of less rain in the summer and fall.
“This idea of wait-and-see, because some (rain) might be around the corner, can really suppress timely responses,” says Mike Hayes, director of the National Drought Mitigation Center.
Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2007-10-19-drought...
Gosh, this part:
“This idea of wait-and-see, because some (rain) might be around the corner, can really suppress timely responses,”
Sounds just like the assholes in Hays and Russell who told me to calm down, it would rain again.
Heheheh. OF course, Randy Gustafson is GONE as the city manager in Hays… WTF does HE care?
Life span of the aquifer in Kansas, the good news and the bad news.
http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Hydro/HPAC/Testimony/scholle2003.html
KFG,
Did you watch Bill Maher last night? His first guest was John Edwards. I listened, as I always do with the presidential hopefuls that have been on, and I agreed with him on pretty much everything he said. Until he reached his last point: Ethanol.
Somebody needs to educate him and others about what ethanol production will do and already has done to our water and food supply. While he did say ethanol was a short-term answer to decreasing our use of oil, and that we should soon after move into other forms of energy (wind, solar, etc.), I fear that “short-term” will do more harm than good and could very well last years and years and years and…
Later, I also enjoyed watching the hecklers in the audience get thrown out. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Bill get that mad. LOL
We cannot get hooked on ethanol like we are with oil.
The one thing that is positive for Kansas, is that we are building more wind generation farms.
“The Southeast’s worst drought in more than a century is forcing parched states and communities into crisis measures to conserve water and fight for access to more.”
The Southeast has the luxury of building de-salination plants all along the Gulf of Mexico if they need fresh water. Lot of Florida’s and the Southeast’s problem is that Environmentalist have over protected swamp lands and disallow pumping of water.
They have plenty of water to look at, but less to use.
The problem with water/corn can be solved very easily: Switchgrass: Switchgrass has the potential to produce the biomass required for production of up to 100 gallons (380 liters) of ethanol per metric ton. This gives switchgrass the potential to produce 1000 gallons of ethanol per acre, compared to 665 gallons for sugarcane and 400 gallons for corn.
Switchgrass is also a native plant, drought resistant, and can be grown without taking food resource land out of production. Turning CRP land into switchgrass production should be a no-brainer, but I’m afraid this government establishment runs contrary to common sense.
Maybe it’s time for a switchgrass movement to start taking hold. Using food for fuel, in a food starved world, just doesn’t seem to make much sense.
If the powers that be think Ethanol is the sacred savior of fueled vehicles, they should start taking a real hard look at what the use of corn is doing to this country’s bread basket.
Who’d want to be the Face of the Party? No wonder the position won’t be re-filled.Martinez quits as RNC general chairman By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer
Fri Oct 19, 5:05 PM ET
WASHINGTON – Mel Martinez, the public face of the Republican National Committee as its general chairman, announced Friday he was stepping down from his post after serving only 10 months.
ADVERTISEMENT”I believe that our future as a party and nation is bright and I have every intention of continuing to fight for our president, our party and our candidates,” the Florida senator said in a statement.
His resignation came months earlier than anticipated. Martinez wasn’t expected to step down until a Republican presidential nominee was selected, and the earliest that could occur is February.
The RNC said Martinez’ job would not be filled.
Martinez, a prominent Cuban-American who is up for re-election in 2010, said he was relinquishing the job to spend more time focusing on his Florida constituents. He also said the RNC had achieved the objective he set when he assumed the job in January.
“I would love to tell you that it was all a perfect world, but you know in a practical matter that it’s not, and sure, I think that the conflicting pressures and my always making the choice for the Senate, which is what I should and always did, at times caused frustration in not being able to get to an event or give a speech,” Martinez said in a conference call with reporters.
The RNC, which raised $61 million by the end of September, has been the only national GOP party committee to outraise its Democratic counterpart this year.
Though the party committee has done better than the Democratic National Committee in fundraising this year, Republicans have privately expressed concern that the RNC’s finances are not stronger. The RNC has not kept pace with the far more robust financial picture the party displayed in 2003, when it had raised more than $77 million by the end of September, and 2005 when it had raised about $78.5 million for the same period.
Martinez has shared the chairmanship with Mike Duncan, a longtime RNC official who has been responsible for the party’s day-to-day operations. Republican officials say with Martinez’ departure, the RNC will return to a traditional leadership structure with a single chairman.
President Bush named Martinez, who previously served in the Cabinet, as general chairman last November.
He had been reluctant to assume the role and did so only after repeated White House overtures. When he accepted the job, he had indicated to friends that he anticipated serving only about a year in the post.
“It was hard. It was more about me and my sense of being torn. At some point that wears on you a bit,” Martinez told reporters.
Several Republicans with close ties to the RNC said Martinez needed to focus on retaining his seat in Florida, where his job approval rating has fallen. A Quinnipiac University poll in September found that 38 percent of those surveyed said they approved of the job he was doing, down from 48 percent in February.
In addition, Republican officials say Martinez had grown frustrated with juggling his two jobs.
The first-term senator was brought on to be the face of the party, focusing on fundraising, outreach and travel to promote the GOP agenda.
In a statement, the president said Martinez “has effectively communicated our party’s commitment to addressing the issues most important to all Americans. His message of hope and opportunity has resonated throughout America and strengthened support for our agenda.”
Separately, Duncan called it an honor to serve with Martinez.
“Our party has effectively laid the groundwork for the 2008 Republican presidential nominee thanks in large part to Senator Martinez’s efforts,” Duncan said in a statement.
By tapping Martinez to be the party’s public persona a year ago, the White House had turned to a lawmaker who has been a staunch supporter of the president, including on the issue of comprehensive immigration reform, including a guest-worker program.
Martinez served as Bush’s secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2001 until 2003, when he resigned to run for the Senate seat left open by Democratic Sen. Bob Graham’s retirement.
___
Associated Press Writer Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington and Brendan Farrington
But really, bush is the face of the party they can’t run from.
Kansas – the curren drought in the southeast (my old home area) was predicted as the Ferrell-Hadley boundary migrates toward higher latitudes. Lakes are drying out as was predicted years ago. Unfortunately, as usual, nobody is listening.
As for desalination plants; it is a LONG way from Atlanta to the Gulf. And their isn’t much swampland around that thirsty city of several million.
“Hell! Some places already have the water pumps drilled so deep to find the bottom inches left of the aquifer that the water is brackish.”
Very true Joe! Too bad they still refsue to listen to the hydrogeologists!
Good Gosh! Can you not just state facts instead of picking sides.
Posted by: Hud | October 20, 2007 at 09:04 AM
What happens if Colorado decides to use all the water in the Arkansas to irrigate their farms? How long can Wichita, or Western Kansas, survive?
Posted by: hud | October 20, 2007 at 09:18 AM
*****
You can see why HUD is a RepubliCON.
Ignorance + arrogance = RepubliCON.
The Arkansas is dry west of Great Bend now already. It’s also dry between Great Bend and Wichita most of the year.
In other words, Colorado already IS sucking the Arkansas dry before it gets to the border for all practical purposes.
As far as “stop playing politics and deal with the issues,” what if RepubliCON politics are the issue?
You people are the problem. We can’t deal with the problem without talking about your political positions.
Finally, a Dem who talks like a CON–
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — Bay Area Representative Pete Stark told KCBS he refuses to apologize to Republicans after accusing them of sending troops to Iraq “to get their heads blown off for the president’s amusement” during a debate over a children’s health bill.
…
The scathing comments drew immediate condemnation from Republicans, who demanded he retract it. “Congressman Stark’s statement dishonors not only the commander in chief, but the thousands of courageous men and women of America’s armed forces who believe in their mission and are putting their lives on the line for our freedom and security,” said House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.
When asked if he would take back any of his statements, Stark told KCBS “Absolutely not. I may have dishonored the commander in chief, but I think he’s done pretty well to dishonor himself without any help from me.”
He added the real dishonor is that Republicans refuse to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. “The fact is that I do support the troops in Iraq. They’re there fighting to protect our children here,” said Stark. “I think (Republicans) owe the troops in Iraq an apology for not protecting the children that those troops left behind.”
Copy that Capn.
If the cons make a stink over this Speaker Nancy Pelosi needs to tell them to sit down and shut up.
There is two things going against switch grass.
1. It takes 3 years to cultivate.
2. It’s not a subsidized crop.
I’m with you JM! Switch grass and other left over biomass from other type of crop cultivation, including corn, wheat or other cereal grain stalks have great potential.
But farmers will not grow switch grass unless they are promised a subsidy. They don’t take risk.
Even better than switch grass – ‘random’ biomass. All we need are cellulose sources – a fairly decent fraction of our waste stream qualifies for that. Then ass ag waste.
As for the three years (a valid point BTW) the fact that it doesn’t require re-planting and lots of chemical inputs makes up for it. Use ‘marginal’ land to grow whatever will grow.
Then I would look at another bio-fuel – biodiesel. Not from raised animal feedstock but rather from waste – turkey guts for example. Turn a disposal problem into a feedstock.
You can get biodiesel from old french fry grease too. All you really got to do is clean it
Tom – agreed. I think that is what Wilie Nelson is doing at his truck stop.
Multiply the number of restaurants, fast food, grocery stores that produce oil waste, and convert it to diesel and you get a good cheap source of clean burning fuel.
Yep – and then add to that all the rendering wastes, dead animals from feedlots, etc etc etc.
basically what we need to be doing is to put together ALL of the possible feedstocks into both bio-alcohol and bio-diesel.
Ben,I agree with much of what you suggest, but the three years can work in the biomass future very well. Converting from a corn/ethanol, to a bio-mas, including switchgrass, would take some time. CRP would take about that long to get an adequate supply growing.
I really don’t think farmers would have to be subsidized concerning switchgrass. The payback in terms of fuel per acre would be tremendous. It is rarely affected by drought, and, as you say, needs little in the form of support. Farmers would have pretty much a guaranteed source of income, and the food crops would be the gravy.
But suppose they want subsidies? Hell, give it to them. The savings on crop land would pay for it. Plus, they could make far greater returns on the CRP land than they are getting now. With the prospect of 1000 gallons of ethanol per acre, as opposed to 400 for corn, the payback could be awesome.
It that way, crop land is used for food crops, and CRP land is used as a buffer until fossil fuels on the highway are a thing of the past. Everybody wins.
I could probably bio-fuel a few dozen cars according to my last cholesterol test. :)
Kansas — better stop eating at those high class Golden Arch Supper Clubs….
Since the Fed’s don’t seem all that interested in solving the energy/oil/coal/environment crisis, maybe the state should form a partnership between the universities,investors,and businesses to address the problems at a State level.
JM – I’ll add something. I would guess that the swithgrass land can also be used profitably for hunting.
kansas – I’d guess I could fuel a few dozen more! ;^)
Actually Kansas is a perfect state for being self reliant on energy. It has natural resources such as wind and lots of tillable land.
Furthermore, it is mostly flat which is idea for mass transit avenues. Imagine if you will (twilight zone theme) that a high speed train be built between Kansas City to Topeka to Salina to Wichita and to Winfield.
This could massive amount of people between cities and would be a great boost in saving transportation costs of all types. I would make the tracks a minimum of 3 wide, one each going in each direction and the other as a alternate overflow.
This would also solve the flight problems to Kansas City and vice versa.
I would also like to see a hybrid car/truck lane only with stops along the way for “recharging.” The idea would be to encourage the use of hybrids because of the faster access to points on the map.
Since Kansas has a lot of sunshine, I would like to see the legislature pass a law that X percent of new homes include solar panels for at least heating water and later on for home heating. This could be amortized out over a 20 year period. The goal would be to make energy independent homes and the materials used in making them cheaper. I would also would hope the legislature would give tax credits on said issues.
Imagine if you will (twilight zone theme) that a high speed train be built between Kansas City to Topeka to Salina to Wichita and to Winfield.
Posted by Kansas.
Continue it to Oklahoma city, and down to Texas. But I think two tracks would be difficult to do, let alone one. This country is too addicted to both their cars, and instant travel gratification. And here I like nothing better than traveling by train.
But, damn, a six hundred mph mag-lev train would be awesome!
We should start demanding a resurgency of the Rails in this country… In WW II the Rails were an extremely important part of National Defense, and Security… Also, fairly cheap to operate, compared to airlines… even the Mag-Lev trains… I wonder if Bush would reject the idea, and not SEE the great opportunities to strengthen national defense…
During the Reagan years, I wrote numerous letters to the White House encouraging a return to rail service as part of the Defense budget, AND, as a means of mass transit at a lower cost than Air travel… more accessibility to smaller towns, etc.
Let me put something out for discussion:
Suppose a device were to be installed on all cars. This device is totally tamper proof and registers your true mpg. When you fill up at a gas station, the gas pump picks the mpg info from the car, and charges you at a pro-rated price for your gas. In other words, if you got a lead foot, a tank-sized SUV, or any high-gas use vehicle, you will pay more than a car getting, say, 40 mpg.
You would be charged a fair rate, governed by your mpg usage.
Any comments?
That would be theoretically possible, using computer chips… BUT, I think there would be a major outcry from SUV users who dont think they are doing anything wrong by having huge gas guzzler vehicles…
Of course the would, chas, that’s the idea: getting people to change their driving habits to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
Wind, solar, bio-fuels… Kansas could become the Saudi Arabia of alternate energy.
But Kansas businessmen tried to build, and will continue to fight to build a coal-fired plant at Holcomb.
Perhaps we need to rethink Cal Coolidge’s philosophy that “The business of America is business.” If you weren’t paying attention to the Enronb case, or the exportation of American jobs to 3rd World countries, or the internet bubble, or the sub-prime mortgage bubble… you might realize that the corporate model for enterprise may not be in the best interests of Americans. Or the planet.
The Holcomb plant is wrong because of water issues in western Kansas and air pollution issues that affect the planet. The only-est reason for building it is corporate profits.
Is that Chas, the Phony Preacher?
Long time no see!
Now your preaching about global warming?
LOL!
Beats the old days of drinking coolaid, getting the congregation plowed, and passing around the collection plate 5 or 6 times!
WEBLOG PLEASE CREATE A NEW BLOG CALLED “I HATE BUSH/CHENEY”.
The purpose of the new blog is:
1. Allow hatemongers to post more hate.
2. Allow Bush haters to call him and his staff liars.
3. Allow Republican haters to call them names, stereotypes, and dirty words.
4. Give Bush haters and lovers a place to creatively write:
He did to.He did not.Prove it.I can prove it.You can’t prove it.You are a liar.You @#%$@#.No you’re the @#$)#u*%I’m reporting you.You communist.I’m telling.Go ahead.That’s it you are banned.I’m back.You are still a liar.You are still a troll.Am not.Are to.
5. Finally, it might help to free up the other threads for people who might hate or love to discuss real events.
Another one for the OH, SH*T! File.
Valerie Plame outed for political payback of husband Ambassador Joe Wilson was working on stopping IRAQ from getting NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
Nice going, CONs . . .
******
CBS News has confirmed, in advance of a 60 Minutes interview with outed CIA agent Valerie Plame to be run this Sunday, that Plame “was involved in operations to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons.”
“Our mission was to make sure that the bad guys, basically, did not get nuclear weapons,” Plame told 60 Minutes. Plame also indicated that her outing in 2003 had caused grave damage to CIA operations, saying, “All the intelligence services in the world were running my name through their databases” to see where she had gone and who she had met with.
RAW STORY first revealed Plame’s Iran mission and the damage done to CIA operations by her outing in a February 13, 2006 story by Raw investigative editor Larisa Alexandrovna, titled “Outed CIA officer was working on Iran, intelligence sources say.” In that article, Alexandrovna wrote:
According to current and former intelligence officials, Plame Wilson, who worked on the clandestine side of the CIA in the Directorate of Operations as a non-official cover (NOC) officer, was part of an operation tracking distribution and acquisition of weapons of mass destruction technology to and from Iran.
Speaking under strict confidentiality, intelligence officials revealed heretofore unreported elements of Plame’s work. Their accounts suggest that Plame’s outing was more serious than has previously been reported and carries grave implications for U.S. national security and its ability to monitor Iran’s burgeoning nuclear program. …
Intelligence sources would not identify the specifics of Plame’s work. They did, however, tell RAW STORY that her outing resulted in “severe” damage to her team and significantly hampered the CIA’s ability to monitor nuclear proliferation. …
Three intelligence officers confirmed that other CIA non-official cover officers were compromised, but did not indicate the number of people operating under non-official cover that were affected or the way in which these individuals were impaired. None of the sources would say whether there were American or foreign casualties as a result of the leak.
A few months following Alexandrovna’s groundbreaking revelations, MSNBC’s David Shuster reported that he had also been told by his own sources of Plame’s involvement in an Iran operation and the damage done by her outing.
CBS states further that Plame “was involved in one highly classified mission to deliver fake nuclear weapons blueprints to Tehran. It was called Operation Merlin, and it was first revealed in a book by investigative reporter James Risen.”
Risen’s book, State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration, was published in October 2006, eight months after Alexandrovna’s initial reporting. Risen discussed Project Merlin in the book but did not mention that Plame had been part of it.
Reached on Saturday morning, Alexandrovna said she had known of Project Merlin when she wrote her 2006 article but was not allowed to discuss the operation, as per her agreement with sources, just the country involved. “I cannot confirm or deny that Plame was connected with Project Merlin, only that I was aware of it,” Alexandrovna told Raw.
But at least they made Joe Wilson PAY for criticizing Bush.
That’s they way they do it . . . petty revenge, interests of the country be damned.
Hey J M,
What a screwed up idea!
Let’s say that you have a little Japanese piece of crap that you drive all over town. You’re single and you are always alone in the car. You get 40 mpg.
Now we have Sally Suburban. She drives her suburban to work and routinely carpools with her friends. She voluneers at the church and routinely takes four or five to Sunday morning services. there is seldom less than four or five people in her car.
Now your idea would punish people like Sally Suburban and encourage five people to buy small cars, drive to work separately and use more gas than people that car pool.
Hank
BUSH should be tried for treason.
And hung.
I hit the send button a little too fast, I really should have thought about that last statement a little bit first.
JM I’d go train as long as they put in a smoking car.
Hank,It’s just an idea, so look at it another way: Sally drives 25 miles everyday to work. She drives alone, and in a suburban, getting 14 mpg. Joe drives 25 miles everyday to work, alone, and drives a geo-metro, getting 45 mpg. Who’s polluting more? Who’s using more natural resources?
Ever been to the big city? Like Kansas City, Los Angeles? What do you find as the most predominant transport seen on the freeways? SUV’s, suburbans, and a wide assortment of gas guzzlers.
If gas were priced at a mpg rate, I’m sure quite a few drivers would switch to high gas mileage cars. Where’s the problem there?
The higher the gas mileage, the less foreign oil used. Tell me how that’s a bad thing.
Screwed up idea? Come on Hank, ideas are for discussion, not slamming. You brought something to the discussion. Keep it civil:-)
Ditto that PMom… Last train I was on did have a smoking car… It helped out a lot!
JM W — it isnt so much what you posted, as it is who posted it..
Seems to be the mood right now…
Yeah Capn-True Lib-Galahad-Blank-The Finger,
Plame probably signed a daily briefing document that talked about Iran and nuclear weapons – that’s how she claims she was involved. She can make up all sorts of crap now and hide behind the wall of secrecy and convenient memory.
EARLY CHRISTMAS SHOPPING:
http://whitehousegiftshop.org/
There’s even a lot of stuff for Democrats / Liberals — it is a must see !! You will not believe your eyes
Heh heh,
The fundies aren’t gonna like THIS!http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071020/ap_on_en_ot/books_harry_potter_11
Huh,
Bad link.
Anywho, author JK Rowling of the Harry Potter series has decided that the head wizard at Potter’s school is gay.
Gay wizards?
I wonder when the book burnings will start.
O K,
Maybe I’m a little testy because I have a motor home and a full size Chevy truck.
Now, I just bought a 2005 Pontiac Sunfire to pull behind the motor home. I’ll fit it with a 40 gallon tank, fill it every Monday morning and drive it to work all week.
At the end of the week I’ll pump the gas that’s left into my gas guzzling motor home and pickup! Cheap gas for the motor home!
Hank
The fundies already hate Harry Potter. He’s a Wizard, they already started the burnings forever ago.
Just got home from Luciano’s in Mulvane. Worth the trip, a very nice little Italian restaurant. Luciano’s sister flew in from Italy yesterday and she made apple cake for desert. Joyce had the tiramisu.
Coffee was great too!
Hank
I’m a fundie and I loved Harry Potter. Read all the books.
Any story where good wins over evil is fine by me!
Hank
My sister is about as fundamental as you can get and loves Harry Potter.
So much for that theory.
The difference is, she knows it is fantasy and treats it as such. Not as some ideological goal post.
Two facing court martial in the Hadiatha killings. Is this the one that Nathan claimed Al-Quida staged everything?
——————————————————————————–
Two Marines face Haditha courts-martial By Adam Tanner
Fri Oct 19, 8:09 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A U.S. battalion commander and an enlisted man will face courts-martial on charges related to the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha, Iraq, in 2005, the Marines said on Friday.
ADVERTISEMENTThe two men are the first to be referred a court-martial in a prosecution that has lost some momentum, with charges dismissed against four men since it began last December.
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani was one of four officers initially charged in the killings that sparked international anger. He is charged with dereliction of duty and failing to report accurately and investigate the incident.
The Marines also announced on Friday that Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum would face a court-martial on involuntary manslaughter and other charges, dropping original charges of murder against him.
Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command, referred the charges against the two men after reviewing evidence presented in pretrial evidentiary hearings known as Article 32 proceedings.
“Lt. Gen. Mattis made his decision after consideration of information developed from investigations by Marine, Army and Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigators, as well as evidence produced during an Article 32 investigation hearing,” the Marines announced in a statement.
The Marines relieved Chessani of his command in April 2006 after a Time magazine story detailed the November 19, 2005, killings that followed a bomb attack that killed a popular young Marine.
Chessani passed on a letter from the Haditha town council asking for a probe of the killings but did not begin an investigation.
Testimony in military court has shown that Marines in the unit shot dead five unarmed men after ordering them out of a car, then killed other 19 people, including women and children in two nearby houses.
Tatum was one of the Marines who “cleared” the homes in the incident, according to testimony. Lance Cpl. Humberto Mendoza said in August that Tatum told him to shoot a group of Iraqi women and children he found on a bed in a closed room.
The Oklahoma-native Tatum was serving his second tour of duty when the Haditha killings occurred. During his initial tour, he saw heavy fighting at the battle of Falluja in 2004.
“…LCpl Tatum did not commit any crime, and we will take the fight to the courtroom,” his lawyers Kyle Sampson and Jack Zimmermann said in a statement.
“We will vigorously challenge the government’s case, and nothing will be left undone in defense of this fine young Marine.”
Mattis has not yet announced a decision on whether to go ahead with a court-martial against Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, the unit leader who has admitted to shooting some of the Iraqi civilians. The Marine said he acted in a response to attacks.
An evidentiary hearing against one other Marine is scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.
Hank
Tell your friends – neighbors —-
Not that Luciano’s is hurting for business. But it’s a great little place, nice atmosphere.
Did you think it was overpriced?
I think they’d make a killing if they opened in ICT somewhere, but they’d have to bring in more family from Naples to keep the quality up ….
How many stars out of 5?
JM
Wouldn’t it make more sense for the car makers to make suv’s etc that get 35 – 40 mpg. Bill Bradley in his book indicated that if we raised it to 35 our reliance on middle east oil would disappear — I didn’t check his math.
SUV’s etc are already paying a premium because of their relatively poor fuel efficiencies — kind of like burning money — but they seem to have it.
A bigger issue for me is the lack of an effective, unifying energy policy — been promised an energy policy to get us off foreign oil since the Carter years, 30+ — consequently we will always be fighting for oil, and the folks in the big rigs (with some exception) rarely if ever, think of any consequences of it. As long as we have people who are willing to fight for oil, there will always be gas guzzling rigs ……….
The auto makers could make vehicles more efficient if they really wanted to.
Think about cruise control. It’s 20 + year old technology.
The average American drives a daily commute.
Unfortunately, the brain of the car is still a human being.
Computerization could slimline daily commuting. Same route, same basic speed. All the driver really needs is the brakes.
An intelligent vehicle could eliminate jack rabbit starts and hurrying to red lights.
Hey ken,
I don’t know, I’d rate it about 3 stars maybe. I think it was a little over priced. But then, I’m an old fart.
Joyce is a little Italian girl. She is a wonderful cook, I get the best Italian in town right at my house!
The tiramisu was the best I’ve had recently. We weren’t real hungry, just too lazy to cook at home tonight, working around the house all day. We’ll go back from time to time.
We found a little Italian restaurant in NYC a few years ago that we always go to when we are there. It’s the best I’ve ever found in the States. So, three stars from me is pretty good!
Hank
Hank, Kansas…I’m impressed. I thought ya’ll did everything Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell told you to.
“Now, I just bought a 2005 Pontiac Sunfire to pull behind the motor home. I’ll fit it with a 40 gallon tank, fill it every Monday morning and drive it to work all week.
At the end of the week I’ll pump the gas that’s left into my gas guzzling motor home and pickup! Cheap gas for the motor home!”
Posted by: Hank Price | October 20, 2007 at 09:46 PM
And the system that knows the Sunfire’s mpg would not notice the huge “40 gallon tank”? Uh-huh…
J M Walker’s idea admittedly needs work.
It is workable.
As noted before, Hank brings no ideas, only attacks on others ideas.
“At the end of the week I’ll pump the gas that’s left into my gas guzzling motor home and pickup! Cheap gas for the motor home!”
Two things wrong, Hank. First, you would be violating both the intent and spirit of energy consumption; second, when you went to fill up your sunfire, those missing gallons will translate to a major jump in mpg of the car, hence, higher gas price.
But I guess it makes sense if you look at it from a republican point of view:-)
J M Walker,
Or the system could consider Hank Price’s additional gallons above the Sunfire’s normal capacity as FRAUD, and bill them at a much higher rate. Maybe 10, or 20 times?
Good Night; Good Luck; and God bless; whatever you conceive God to be!!
Blessings all!!
P. S. — DNFTUglyT
Hank, Kansas…I’m impressed. I thought ya’ll did everything Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell told you to.
Posted by: political_mama | October 20, 2007 at 10:59 PM
I’ve always been interested in the Environment and Science.
I’m just not for half-baked Global Warming alarmism, when there is solid, peer-reviewed observational science that is being ignored by the Alarmist community because they don’t know how to put it into their computer models.
Maybe the software is incompatible???
Dear political_mama,
I’m sure that if you get to know me I would impress you in many ways!
The last few times that I saw Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell on TV they really weren’t speaking about the Bible or my salvation. I fear they are more interested in the politics of religion instead of spreading the Gospel.
I may be wrong, but my salvation has nothing to do with politics or which fairy tale happens to be in vogue at the time. A person can appreciate good fiction and still be saved.
Hank