Energy

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Brief news items you may have missed

 

A prophetic statement by a president who was a leader

GWB, topnews.in

In 2007, a prescient President Bush told the world what would happen if we left Iraq before commanders agreed. (topnews.in)

“I know some in Washington would like us to start leaving Iraq now.  To begin withdrawing before our commanders tell us we are ready would be dangerous for Iraq, for the region, and for the United States.  It would mean surrendering the future of Iraq to al Qaeda.  It would mean that we’d be risking mass killings on a horrific scale.  It would mean we would allow the terrorists to establish a safe haven in Iraq to replace the one they lost in Afghanistan.  It would mean increasing the probability that American troops would have to return at some later date to confront an enemy that is even more dangerous.” – President George W. Bush, July 12, 2007

For the liberal media to provide coverage of this statement would reflect poorly on President Obama, who was only interested in fulfilling his campaign promise of getting out of Iraq. Now he doesn’t know what to do.  Feckless.

                                     NBC continues to carry water for President Obama

Most of us are outraged by the lack of leadership being exhibited by President Obama in the face of the ISIS threat in Syria and Iraq with his “I don’t have a strategy” admission. But then he sends a mixed message saying, on one hand, that the U.S. would “degrade and destroy” ISIS, but follows with the unbelievable claim that it was “a manageable problem.”

Brian Williams and the NBC Nightly News, Sept. 2, 2014, saw it quite differently as you might expect. “For all those who may be wondering if the U.S. is going to rise up, take the bait and get into the fight to root them out,” he said, “the answer today from both the president and vice president appeared to be clear and unambiguous.” Continue reading →

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Big government’s auto industry failures

For years I have criticized the government for its interference in the auto manufacturing business, from the ill-conceived café standards, the expediting of electric cars, the cash for clunkers program, and of course the auto bailout.  And, I have not forgotten CEO’s who became weak-kneed under big government pressure, put aside the free enterprise system and bowed to corporate welfare.

Two recent announcements appear to support my position.  On the heels of a study that labelled the Cash for Clunkers program a failure, comes a report that Cadillac can’t keep up with demand for its gas-guzzling Escalades, news that is sure to shake up environmentalists.

CFC (autodealerpeopple.com)

(Logo courtesy autodealerpeople.com)

A National Bureau of Economic Research working paper has revealed facts that the $3 billion, yes billion, two-month government Cash for Clunkers program subtracted between $2.6 and $4 billion from the auto industry.  The program offered $4,500 if people turned in their old cars for destruction and bought a new car.

You will recall that goals were to lift manufacturers during the recession by subsidizing sales, while mollifying “greenies” by putting more fuel-efficient cars on the road. The report from a group of Texas A&M economists, shows that the subsidy didn‘t really create any extra auto business since those who participated were likely to purchase a car during that period anyway, and any environmental benefits couldn’t be justified. Continue reading →

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Tip to newspaper skimmers

                              Study: Keystone Pollution May Be More Than Figured,

That headline in the USA Today* naturally caught my eye.  What have those whacky environmentalists come up with now to further delay this project?”

“The much-debated Keystone XL pipeline could produce four times more global warming pollution than the State Department calculated earlier this year, a new study concludes,” read the lead.… read more

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Obama’s dream world

“We have come a long way over the past five and a half years.  Our challenges are nowhere near as daunting as they were when I first came into office.” – President Obama, Aug. 1, 2014

I came up out of my chair when I heard the president say that during his pre-vacation press conference on Friday, but there wasn’t a sound out of the dutiful press corps in the audience.

Really Mr. President?

Obama aug 1 2014 press conf (voanews.com)

President Obama told the press that “challenges are nowhere near as daunting” as when he came into office during his Friday press conference. (voanews.com photo)

Let’s look at the economy.  You said, “The good news is the economy clearly is getting stronger.  Things are getting better.”  And you claim “we’ve recovered faster and come farther from the recession than almost any other advanced country on Earth.”  Wrong.  We are mired in the slowest recovery ever!

What about the four per cent drop in real median household income under your watch, Mr. President?  And how about those 11 million workers who quit looking for work … the 11 million who went on food stamps … the increases in prices (food, gasoline and electricity)?  Growth is sluggish.

No, Mr. President, the economy is not looking up.  The national debt continues to climb and seniors have learned that Social Security will go broke in 2030, seven years sooner than when you took office. Continue reading →

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You can’t make this stuff up

Newly found e-mails reveal Lois Lerner’s hostility toward conservatives

“So we don’t need to worry about alien terrorists.  It’s our own crazies (Republicans) that will take us down, “wrote Lois Lerner to a friend on Nov. 9, 2012.

“And I’m talking about the hosts of these shows.  The callers are rabid,” her friend responded.

Lois Lerner

Newly found e-mails reveal Lois Lerner’s hostility toward conservatives.

“Great.  Maybe we are through if there are that many (A) holes,” wrote Lerner.

“Well, you should hear the whacko wing of the GOP.  The US is through; too many foreigners suck the teat; time to hunker down, buy ammo and food for the end.  The right wing radio shows are scary to listen to,”  her friend continued.

Though seemingly trivial in nature, this e-mail exchange released Wednesday by the House Ways and Means Committee clearly reveals Lerner’s feelings toward conservative groups and singling them out for extra scrutiny.

“Lois Lerner’s exposed emails show the world she was and is a political hack driven by her own partisan agenda rather than a neutral public servant,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.

“This email shows that Ms Lerner’s mistreatment of conservative groups was driven by her personal hostility toward conservatives,” wrote Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder as additional input for a criminal referral.

And let’s not forget this infamous quote on the IRS scandal:

“Not even a smidgeon of corruption,” President Obama, Feb. 2, 2014 Continue reading →

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American auto industry “not” back

When the Treasury Department off-loaded its remaining stock in General Motors late last year, the president used the occasion to take a bow stating, “When I took office, the American auto industry – the heartbeat of American manufacturing – was on the verge of collapse.  Two of the Big Three – GM and Chrysler – were on the brink of failure … as president, I refused to let that happen.”

MaryBarra&JoeBiden

GM CEO Mary Barra and Vice President Joe Biden (GM photo)

“We bet on American ingenuity, we bet on you and we won,” Vice President Joe Biden said during last month’s Detroit auto show.

Of course there was no mention that taxpayers lost $10.5 billion on the GM bailout and, thanks to a deal with the Energy and Treasury Departments, Fiat of Italy was able to acquire majority control of Chrysler. Continue reading →

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We have become a “whatever” society

MinnTwnHall(hqdefalut.jpg)

Minnesota Town Hall (hqdefault.jpg)

Did you see the news clip of the town hall held in Minnesota last week?  As three Democrats, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Rep. Tim Walz and Rep. Collin Peterson were responding to constituent questions during an Agriculture Symposium, someone had the courage to ask a pointed non-Ag question.

“I thought the Affordable Care Act would save $2,500 per family,” a local resident asked, “what happened?”

Before Peterson could grab the microphone to pass it to Klobuchar, those in attendance broke out in uproarious laughter as Peterson said, “I voted ‘no’ so I’ll let these guys handle that.”

Walz tried to recover with feeble excuses for the troubles being encountered with ObamaCare, but made the mistake of commenting on health insurance in this country before ObamaCare saying, “Don’t pretend there was some type of safe harbor before this where everything was just peachy keen.”  How uniformed.

Pelosi (youtube.com)

Nancy Pelosi (YouTube.com)

In a letter to the editor I wrote to The Boerne (TX) Star in 2010, I cited a 2009 Gallup poll in which 87 percent expressed satisfaction with their health care and 81 percent were satisfied with the cost. There was no need for a comprehensive health insurance bill.

But, back to the uproarious laughter of the town hall crowd, because that’s the reason for this posting.  When are we going to stop treating everything happening to this country as a laughing matter?  Where’s the outrage? Continue reading →

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“Swift Boat Kerry” goes overboard

John Kerry(TheGuardian.com)

John Kerry (The Guardian.com photo)

“Climate change can now be considered another weapon of mass destruction, perhaps the world’s most fearsome weapon of destruction,” Secretary of State John Kerry said in a speech Feb. 16, in Indonesia.  That’s correct.  It’s no joke. Go ahead, read it again.

There’s more.  “When I think about the array of global climate – of global threats – think about this:  terrorism, epidemics, poverty, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction – all challenges that know no borders – the reality is that climate change ranks right up there with every single one of them,” he added.

Sounding more like Al Gore, Kerry said, “The science of climate change is leaping out at us like a scene from a 3D movie.  It’s warning us; it’s compelling us to act.” Continue reading →