Friday, February 25, 2011

Drill Baby Drill!!!

We have millions out of work, gas prices are going up - around $4.00 a gallon in some places, inflation and higher energy costs are raising prices across the board, and the answers to our problems are right in front of us. Is it ignorance? Or have we actually elected people who are purposely against American prosperity? I truly hope that is not the case. Most Americans, including myself, want to think the best of our elected leaders, but in times like these, you wonder.

Just in the two years of the current administration, we have seen them lending money to Brazil for deep water exploration. A foreign, state-run oil company can drill and even receive US government handouts, but our own privately owned oil companies are prevented by this administration from drilling in the Gulf of Mexico in defiance of a court order.

But forget the politics for a moment a consider the economic impact. A study was just completed by the University of Alaska Anchorage together with Northern Economics on the economic impact of drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf of just two areas of Alaska.

Now remember, this is just two relatively small areas of North America, but the economic impact is staggering.

  • Over 50 years, drilling in the Beaufort and Chukchi OCSs would generate $97 and $96 Billion respectively in revenue to federal, state and local governments.
  • An annual average of 54,700 jobs nationwide, with a payroll of $145 Billion over 50 years.
  • There is an estimated 30 Billion barrels of oil and gas reserves in the Chukchi Sea alone.

The US imports a significant portion of its oil every year, sometimes from nations that aren't so friendly and use oil revenue to fund the very terrorists we fight. There is no reason to believe that if other areas of North America were opened to exploration and drilling, America would soon become an exporter of oil, not an importer. The jobs created, increased tax revenue, lease payments and royalties, along with lower energy costs, would be a massive stimulus to the economy. And these would be real jobs, not show up and do nothing government union jobs that drain the economy of productivity and capital.

It really makes you wonder exactly whose side the current administration is on.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Bieber Politics - A Lesson

If you don't know who Justin Bieber is, don't feel left out, neither did I. But apparently he is the latest teen beat heartthrob to come down the pike.

I don't pay much attention to what celebrities "think." But it does sometimes offer an opportunity to explore a topic. In this case, we revisit the joys of socialism.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, he calls the US medical system "evil" and then praises Canada's socialized medicine because "We go to the doctor and we don't need to worry about paying him."

It seems that, in typical liberal fashion, he has a bodyguard facing some high medical bills after a premature birth. What is odd, is that nothing in the story mentions why this person has no insurance and why on the same weekend that Bieber's film grossed $30 million is one of his employees faced with a lifetime of medical expenses. We can only assume that explanation is forthcoming.

I don't want to be too hard on the lad. He is only 16. Most kids that age should not be bothered with politics and using their brain for anything more than deciding what to eat for lunch.

But I did want to explore the whole socialized medicine debate from a completely different perspective. In a system like Canada, you pay exorbitant taxes that theoretically cover your medical expenses. Government bureaucrats determine what each procedure costs and in many cases forbid you to take certain medicines or tests for purely economic reasons. They also determine what health practitioners should earn. When demand is high, and health care providers few, the services are delayed and/or rationed. The incentive to find cures, new medicine or best practices does not exist - since there can be no profit motive in a socialized health care system.

Also, after spending 10 years in college/medical school/residency and a small fortune for the training, you may never see a real return on your investment. Having a steady government paycheck and being constantly overworked by people expecting the very best care for free, may not be worth it.

Now let's apply liberal logic to celebrity world.

Imagine that millions of Americans demand their rights to free music and free movies. Its in the Constitution, I swear! Some Democrat Congress critters agree and pass a law declaring that all movies and music will now be free.

Taxes are raised and every American can download music or go see a movie without paying a dime. In order to pay these actors/artists/producers, the government puts them all on a fixed income. And everybody is now happy, right?

Do you think Justin would work as hard if some government agency determined his income? Would he be as creative or innovative as every other artist/actor/producer on fixed government wages?

And that in a nutshell is what is wrong with socialized medicine. Without any motive to do better, or innovate, or generate more profit, quality drops and mediocrity becomes the norm. Instead of working hard to get ahead, just like unions have proven, everyone works as little as possible.

A true capitalist system is not evil. It brings out the very best of people. It gives them the freedom to succeed, or even fail, based on their efforts alone. It made the United States the most successful and powerful nation in the history of mankind in just a couple of centuries. There are nations that date back 5,000 years that have economies that are smaller than most of our states!

It really should be no surprise that virtually every major medical advance in the last several decades has come from the efforts of "evil" for profit companies here in the United States.

We have seen example after example of how horrible socialism is and how it retards everything it touches. And yet there are still, supposedly smart people in Washington, academia and Hollywood, that think it will work.

Now, where are my free movies!?


Oh Canada...

Visit link below for a story and video of a Montreal Hospital that is desperate for a renovation. The doctors posted videos on Youtube showing the poor state and complaining about lack of help from government.

LaSalle hospital doctors complain of shoddy work conditions

Friday, February 11, 2011

The Mother of All Charlatans...

I completely missed this little nugget as I was freezing my butt off, stuck at home under about 6 inches of ice and snow...in DALLAS, TEXAS! Not that we don't have a little wintry weather every so often in Texas, it usually does not hang around for a whole freakin' week!

Although I do remember, in the not too distant past, the winter of 1983 in Dallas. White Rock Lake froze and we spent 12 consecutive days below freezing. Not sure where Al Gore was back then, maybe he was releasing his chakra.

Now I don't want to be too hard on Al Gore. He did invent the Internet and failed out of divinity school before realizing that politics was where he belonged. And you can't find a better training ground for becoming the Mother of All Charlatans than the US Government, especially as a Democrat.

Some time during the 20 or so years he haunted the hallowed halls of Washington, he became an expert on global climate. We know that is the case because he reminds us every chance he gets. Even made a movie about it and won some prize I think.

In the midst of the week long freeze in Dallas, Al Gore wrote a blog 'splainin' all this cold weather to us nincompoops out here who reject his sky is falling folly. You see, when it gets warmer, it gets colder. So says the anointed prophet of doom himself. Peace be upon him. No linky for Al, simply search for blog al com for February 1st. Its short and ridiculous, kind of like its author.

I almost pursued a degree in meteorology. I decided against it at the last moment when it became obvious that I was too tall for the camera. Who wants a meteorologist having to point down at Maine on the weather map. But I have always been fascinated with weather and climate, so that makes me about as much of an expert in the field as Al Gore. Maybe I should make a movie?

Commonsense screams that if the climate is warming, you don't get colder weather. But don't just take wisdom's word for it. Let's go to someone who actually STUDIES climate for a living.

No serious climate researcher — including the ones I disagree with — believes global warming can cause colder weather. Unless they have become delusional as a result of some sort of mental illness. -- Roy Spencer, Ph. D.

Dr. Spencer has spent 40 years researching climate and has worked with NASA and the University of Alabama at Huntsville and is a personal hero of mine in the field. He is a man that tells it like it is as you can see by the above quote.

I could write yet another lengthy blog showing once again how ridiculous it is to assume that mankind, even if he wanted to, could change the global climate. But hopefully we are well past that point. The global warming hoax has been thoroughly debunked numerous times. There are only a few crooks and hacks still pushing this in hopes of enriching themselves. Chief among these of course is Al Gore.

I almost feel sorry for ManBearPig. He has lied so much that he actually believes his own lies. He has personally and immensely profited from his doomsday proclamations. Honestly, jail seems too good for him.

But what sets him apart from all the other crooks in the world, is that his nonscientific ramblings have been used to terrify school children all over the world. In my opinion, there is nothing worse than lying and scaring children to the point of making them think their parents are criminals for driving an SUV or using electricity. That crap was done to me in the 70s and I will never forget how angry I was that teachers had lied to me about an imminent ice age and frightened children unnecessarily. That is just plain evil.

If you jail Bernie Madoff for his Ponzi scheme, surely there will be an appropriate punishment for the Mother of All Charlatans very, very soon.

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Dan Democrat

This is in response to a blog that I read praising all the "great" things liberals have done to make our lives better. I am not going to link to it. Simply imagine all the Barbra Streisand ever written by liberals dumped into one blog. You know what I am talking about - Republicans want dirty air, poisonous water, untested medication, kill old people and minorities - the usual bilge from the left.

Here is the story of Dan Democrat.

Dan is unemployed now because liberals raised taxes and increased regulations to the point that Dan's employer could not compete with the rest of the world. And now that drilling is verboten in the US, and Federal spending is out of control, inflation will wipe out whatever savings he has managed to squirrel away. Maybe Dan could retire early? Nope, Social Security, the mother of all Ponzi schemes is bankrupt, so he can't count on that. His 401K plan was his last hope, but liberals have been scheming for years to nationalize those to shore up Social Security and union pensions that are also bankrupt. Only a matter of time - I mean it is for the good of the country right?

Dan would like to start his own business, but government red tape continues to prevent him from realizing his dream. Between permits, regulations, union corruption, and lawsuits, the risk is too great and the rewards all taxed away.

Education? Yea, Dan found that studying multiculturalism, socialism and being filled with a deep hatred of the US and western culture doesn't get you far in life - unless he wants to read the news on MSNBC or run for office as a Democrat. 60 years of liberal/union control of schools has produced some of the least educated graduates in the industrialized world, even after spending an average of over $9,000 per year, per student. Dan does think it odd that students taught in the home, by the 8th grade, are as much as four grades ahead of their peers in union-controlled, state run indoctrination centers, even with so much of a disparity in spending per student. But he feels guilty questioning government or Liberal orthodoxy.


In a moment of wisdom, Dan thinks that we could offer vouchers to students and free them from this academic slavery. Liberals are for choice when it comes to destroying life, right? But we can't have choice when it comes to education now can we. Have to keep those union bosses well compensated and those administrators enjoying the very best hotels and luxuries at their conferences. He quickly turns on CNN and switches back to drone mode.

Maybe he could get a green job? Nope, no money there either as Spain has found out. Might as well flush money down the toilet. Except we have to flush several times because liberal-mandated low flow toilets don't do the job effectively, wasting gallons of water with every flush. We already have "invested" billions of taxpayers’ $$$ in green energy for over 30 years and still can't figure out how to make a windmill or a solar panel drive a car or light a house without massive government subsidies.


All this stress has Dan feeling a little ill. Unfortunately, Obamacare has caused a massive flight of doctors out of the country and the profession. Although he feels pretty bad, its still not an emergency, so it will be three weeks before he can see a nurse. It will take up to five weeks to see an MD. Hopefully, its just a cold that will run its course and not something serious. But he takes some solace in the fact that all Americans, except those liberals in power, suffer from the same medical delays. But at least they have "free" health care.

Fortunately for Dan, it was just a cold this time. He never saw a doctor or nurse, but he still has his appointment scheduled - just in case. He did miss out on a few job opportunities that were filled by illegals while he was recovering. Liberals believe in open borders. It doesn't matter if Dan was harmed by unrestricted illegal immigration. Whether its fraud, or granting the right to vote to millions of criminals, Liberals simply lust for power and can't win with honesty. Besides, Dan knows the end justifies the means.

It looks like Dan is stuck on some sort of government handout. Like millions of Americans, many of which are liberals or vote for liberals, he will be totally dependent on a government check. Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer "rich" Republicans left to tax and the Chinese will probably get tired of lending money at some point, or even worse come to collect it all back by force. Dan doesn't mind, Keith Olbermann is back on TV...somewhere.

Yep, now Dan's got it made - the gubmint gravy train. And any day now the government will start taxing the air he exhales, all in the name of "saving the planet." Life is grand living on the Liberal plantation. Al Gore be praised!