Month: March 2011

2011 Anal-Ocity #15

They just keep coming fast and furious……why do those on the lunatic fringe have to speak and show just how moronic they really are and that anyone that takes them seriously needs to be committed to an asylum for observation?

Rick Santorum lost his bid for re-election and since his lose he has continued to spout total BS and now he seems to be positioning himself to run for the nomination of the GOP from the Tea Party fringe….everything he has been saying has not a single thread of truth to it….but does that stop him from making an ass of himself…..NOPE!  He talks and talks and shows his real thinking…..MORON!

This time Santorum was rattling on about Social Security and the problems that are perceived that the fund will have in the future……… and then out of the blue he said this about why there will be less money coming into the fund……

“A third of all the young people in America are not in America today because of abortion.”

I wanted to say something quiet clever….but after the disbelief and then the raucous laughter….the best I can say is….this guy is an IDIOT!

Safe, Clean Energy

That is what we are subjected to daily from the Nat. Gas people….they are pushing for more drilling in the US and selling the idea that it is cleaner then the alternative…..that it will be better for the environment……….is it?

From an article in Pro Publica……..

Advocates for natural gas routinely assert that it produces 50 percent less greenhouse gases than coal and is a significant step toward a greener energy future. But those assumptions are based on emissions from the tailpipe or smokestack and don’t account for the methane and other pollution emitted when gas is extracted and piped to power plants and other customers.

The EPA’s new analysis doubles its previous estimates for the amount of methane gas that leaks from loose pipe fittings and is vented from gas wells, drastically changing the picture of the nation’s emissions that the agency painted as recently as April. Calculations for some gas-field emissions jumped by several hundred percent. Methane levels from the hydraulic fracturing of shale gas were 9,000 times higher than previously reported.

Billions of cubic feet of climate-changing greenhouse gases—roughly the equivalent of the annual emissions from 35 million automobiles—seep from loose pipe valves or are vented intentionally from gas production facilities into the atmosphere each year, according to the EPA. Gas drilling emissions alone account for at least one-fifth of human-caused methane in the world’s atmosphere, the World Bank estimates, and as more natural gas is drilled, the EPA expects these emissions to increase dramatically.

But roughly half of the 1,600 gas-fired power plants in the United States operate at the lowest end of the efficiency spectrum. And even before the EPA sharply revised its data, these plants were only 32 percent cleaner than coal, according to a lifecycle analysis by Paulina Jaramillo, an energy expert and associate professor of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University.

So we see that the promise of clean safe energy source maybe what it sounds like….too goo to be true…..and we know what they say about that…….don’t we?  If I recall correctly back in 2008, the McCain/Palin ticket, had this plank that was basically “cap and trade”…….but now Palin is calling it cap and tax……see if you snooze you lose….it is virtually impossible to keep up with politics and its leap Right, if you only watch the news once a day….

And the dance goes on for alt energy….but can we have an energy source that does not include drilling the crap out of the earth?  We need a renewable source that is almost limitless…..nat gas does not meet that criteria……but yet the Prez thinks it is a good idea….why?

Can we please stop all this now?  NOTHING will be done!  You know…..I know it…..Obama knows it!

It Is All About Energy

Note:  I wrote this back in January and it has been in my drafts all that time……circumstances have prevented me from posting on the energy thing……but our Prez has just made a speech and now we will have a renewal of interests in the whole energy debate…..

Now that the election is over (for now)…..now that the new Congress has been sworn in…..now that thew State of the Union message has been given…it is time to start looking at some of the issues that will come to the floors of both houses……

I have predicted that one of the next big debates (if we can call the games a debate) will be on the issue of Energy……l.but does the GOP have an alternate plan to the Obama cap and trade or as the GOP calls it “cap and tax”?

They do…..but it may have to be altered a bit to win a victory….

There are a few bills with Republican support in Congress right now that are designed to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. They include Sen. George Voinovich’s [R, OH] “Enabling the Nuclear Renaissance Act” (S.3618) and Sen. Maria Cantwell’s [D, WA] “CLEAR Act” (S.2877). But these aren’t really comprehensive, and they don’t seem to have deep enough support to pass the divided Senate next year.

The one bill that seems to have deep Republican support that some Democrats could conceivably get behind as at least a step in the right direction is Sen. Richard Lugar’s [R, IN] “Practical Energy and Climate Plan Act of 2010” (S. 3464). Its co-sponsors include Sen. Lindsey Graham [R, SC], who was one of the central players in climate bill negotiations last year (though he ended up backing out), and Sen. Lisa Murkowski [R, AK], who has taken more money from electric, oil and gas companies than just about anyone else and typically leads efforts against any energy legislation that the utilities don’t like.

This bill’s designed to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, make energy consumption in the U.S. more efficient, and shut down some of the dirtiest power plants. Lugar estimates that it would accomplish “nearly half the president’s 2020 greenhouse gas emissions goal,” though there is no mechanism in the bill specifically for ensuring that any targets are met.

It would establish benchmarks for industries to diversify their energy sources away from coal, but it’s designed to be flexible and to allow states to grant temporary waivers to companies that say that they will catch up with requirements in the future. The baselines for diversification range from 15% by 2019 to 50% by 2050. Under the bill, diversified energy sources include solar, geothermal, wind and hydropower, but it would also allow some more controversial sources to qualify, including, nuclear, biomass, and “advanced coal.” Old fossil-fuel dependent plants would be allowed to opt out of the diversification requirements if the sign an agreement to cease operations by 2019. This could have the effect of exempting these plants for several years from any new EPA emissions requirements that could encourage them to shut down sooner rather than pay for the necessary upgrades.

In order to increase energy efficiency, the bill would set up a new federal-state partnership for helping energy-intensive industries finance transitions to more efficient technologies and processes. It would also set up new national minimum targets for energy efficiency in new building construction and help homeowners retrofit their homes.

Another major provision in the bill would revise vehicle fuel efficiency standards to be approximately in-line with recent EPA proposals. The bill would codify the Obama fuel efficiency standards proposal of May 2010 (a fleet-wide average of 35 miles per gallon by 2016), and then raise that standard by 4% every year thereafter. That would mean the standard would be above 40 mpg by 2020. However, the bill allows the Transportation Secretary to issue a waiver if they determine that the efficiency standards are unachievable, and with car companies already saying the proposed new EPA targets are impossible, it’s easy to imagine the waiver being issued under the pretense of helping the already struggling auto manufacturers.

These are the alternatives….but will any or all of these provisions remain in the final product?  If there is one, that is……

And The Prez Speaks……Again!

From the VOMITORIUM

I guess I will make today “Energy” day…….

Today Obama made his speech on energy….and hot damn we have a ….YAWN!  Will some please tell these people to stop all the damn lip service to our dependence on foreign oil?  He basically said the same crap that started with Nixon….and thanx to Politfact for the info……

Richard Nixon kicked off his 1974 State of the Union speech by commenting on how it was the first of its kind to feature energy as the No. 1 priority. He went on to say that even if the embargo is lifted, “conservation will continue to be necessary.” And private enterprise will “develop the new resources, the new technology, the new capacity America will require for its energy needs in the 1980s.”

Gerald Ford picked up the thread, calling in 1975 for more synthetic fuels, home insulation, efficient cars and the like. And in 1976 he advocated “technology to capture energy from the sun and the Earth.”

Jimmy Carter was an avid conservationist, and talked at length about the subject during his State of the Union speeches, such as in 1981 when he endorsed technology such as “photovoltaics, which generate energy directly from the sun.”

Reagan made very little reference to dependence (go figure)…..Bush I the same….Clinton was not that forthcoming with views on the dependency thing….and now Obama…..

Please stop it!  For nearly 50 years presidents have been pointing out that we are dependent on foreign oil and for 50 years NO one gives a sh*t….so why NOT just give it up…..as long as big oil has a control of Congress we will always be dependent….and if you think all that will change with domestic drilling…all I can say is…….HA HA HA HA HA!

It Makes Their Sphincter Tighten!

Inkwell Institute

Middle East desk

Tunisia…Libya…Egypt….Bahrain….Yemen….and on and on…..but there is a puckering of sphincters at some of the situations…..and who belongs to those sphincters?  Israel!

Israel is having its problems with the rockets coming out of Gaza from their nemesis, Hamas…..and then there is the lunatic ravings coming out of Iran….and with all that to focus on…my bet is that someone in the bowels of TelaViv is watching and fretting over the occurrences in Jordan and Syria….two countries that border on Israeli territory….and if things go horribly wrong then the outcome of those protests could spell a disaster for any peace process…..

Syria……Anti-government protests in Latakia had started peacefully Saturday before several people were wounded in a hail of gunfire as security forces tightened their control on access to the city, witnesses said. However, presidential spokeswoman Bouthaina Shaaban told state media that it was an unidentified group of gunmen who opened fire at citizens and security forces.  And in the southern city of Deraa where protests have been raging for over a week…..Syria, which has a Sunni majority, is ruled by the minority Alawite sect. Fears of sectarian strife are one of the main stabilising factors for Christians, Druze and other minority groups. Despite the government’s claims, largely nationalist slogans have been heard.

Jordan is having its problems and the King has promised democratic reform, trying to stem off any more violent uprisings….but King Abdullah responded to the anti-government protests by sacking an unpopular prime minister last month and replacing him with Bakhit, a former intelligence general, in a step seen as dealing a blow to Islamist and liberal hopes for reform.

Dissent has built up and the opposition, disgruntled with the slow pace of promised political reforms, has become more vocal in its calls for change.

Islamist, leftist, liberal and tribal figures have staged protests and sit-ins over the past few weeks calling for a constitutional monarchy in Jordan.

The demonstrations have been smaller than others across the Arab world, but underlying tensions between Jordanians of Palestinian origin and the country’s indigenous “East Bank” population have resurfaced and could also threaten stability.

Okay, there you have a synopsis of what is happening in the two countries that border Israel…..a change in either one could put Israel smack dad in the middle of yet another region wide conflict…depending on the outcome of these protests and who emerges as the leadership……this could not be pretty to another in this region…..while American politicos spend their time trying to second guess the president, the region could burst in all consuming flames…..so spend your time doing worthless analysis of the president and pay the piper later…..smart move dipsticks!

2011 Anal-Ocity #14

Holy Crap!  The anal statements are just flying out of the mouths of politicos….it is like they cannot help themselves….that their lips are in control and cannot countered…..My newest anal statement is not wildly anal but it comes from a Washington insider who is suppose to be a smart, well informed person that has been a king maker for a couple of years now……

Today’s anal statement deals with history and Karl Rove should have known better, if he truly is the smartest guy in the GOP……but then he made his statement on Fox and they are NOT known for their grasp of history or for that matter ….FACTS!

ON the Hannity show on FOX Sean and Karl were discussing the situation in Libya and of course they were NOT very complimentary to the Prez…..at one point they were talking about who would take the lead on the “No-Fly” Zone once the US relinquishes the lead role……

“American troops have never been under the formal control of another nation.  Why should we start now?”

For being called a smart man he is an idiot about historical events…..

Polifact made my job a little easier……Basically, Rove is full of sh*t!

The Boxer Rebellion. U.S. forces took part in the “eight-nation alliance” sent to China after rebel forces known as “boxers” threatened westerners in the country. A 20,000-man force eventually captured Beijing, and the victorious powers imposed large reparations. According to the U.S. Navy, the first (and unsuccessful) offensive included 2,100 sailors and marines from the eight nations in the alliance — Great Britain, Germany, Russia, France, the United States, Japan, Italy, and Austria — under the control of British Admiral Edward Seymour.

• World War I. Vice Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly of the British Royal Navy oversaw an effort based in Queenstown, Ireland, to protect commercial ships off the coast of France and Great Britain. Among the assets under his control was a U.S. destroyer squadron commanded by Cmdr. J.K. Taussig.• Russian Revolution. Three U.S. battalions joined British, Canadian, Italian, Finnish and Serbian units near Murmansk that were under the command of a British general during the Bolshevik Revolution, according to CRS.

• World War II. The commander of U.S. forces in the China-Burma-India theater was British, though the personnel varied. Initially it was Gen. Archibald Wavell, the commander-in-chief in India. Then in 1943, Adm. Lord Mountbatten was named Supreme Allied Commander of Southeast Asia forces. Technically, U.S. forces in China were commanded by Chaing Kai Shek, the Supreme Allied Commander in China, though U.S. military leaders played an unofficial command role.

• Cold War. While the Supreme Allied Commander-Europe (or SACEUR) has traditionally been an American, NATO war plans put Americans under sub-commanders who were British or German. In fact, the general in charge of managing the defense of western Europe in the face of a Warsaw Pact attack was traditionally a German general, said Andrew Bacevich, a career Army officer who now teaches international relations at Boston University.• Recent conflicts. The CRS report cites several recent examples of U.S. troops under foreign control. During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, a U.S. brigade was placed under operational control of a French commander. Beginning in 1992, the ground component of the U.S.-Republic of Korea Combined Forces Command was commanded by a South Korean general with a U.S. deputy. Hundreds of troops have served in the Multinational Force in the Sinai, which has been commanded by non-Americans, including a Canadian.

The Balkan conflicts of the 1990s offered several examples, according to CRS. The U.S. sent a 342-man Mobile Army Surgical Hospital to Zagreb, Croatia, for the use of a United Nations force under French command. In 1993, roughly 600 U.S. soldiers patrolled the Macedonian border under a Swedish commander. And at one point in the Kosovo conflict, 6,515 U.S. troops served under a French general in NATO’s Kosovo Force.

Sorry about the length but it had to be said……one of my biggest bitches is that some people try to re-write history to fit the American Exceptionalism….and when it is a LIE I feel I have to point it out……..GOD I hate STUPID!

I Have Some Libyan Questions

Inkwell Institute

Middle East Desk

We know that NATO is bombing the crap out of Qadafi’s force to prevent them from retaliating against the rebels in the East……with that given I have some questions that I would like answered and so far I have heard nothing on them……

What happens if the rebels take Sirte, the hometown of Qadafi that is full of supporters?  Will the rebels retaliate against the supporters?  If so, then what will NATO do to prevent the mass killings of people in the town, if there is a possibility?  Does it them become yet another perception of a genocide?

In his recent speech on Libya, Pres. Obama said that when this situation in the country is finished that the US would help the Libyans stabilize their country….just what the Hell does that mean?  Just what will be needed for this promised stabilization?  Could it have anything to do with a recent report issued by BP…..

According to the 2008 BP Statistical Energy Survey, Africa had proven oil reserves of 117,481 billion barrels at the end of 2007, or 9.49 percent of the world’s reserves. Five countries dominate Africa’s oil production, accounting for 85 percent of the total—Nigeria, Libya, Algeria, Egypt and Angola. But Gabon, Congo, Cameroon, Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ivory Coast also produce oil, and exploration is ongoing in Chad, Sudan, Namibia, South Africa and Madagascar.

Africa’s oil is of a high quality and easy to mine, often from offshore rigs, and is distributed through existing sea lanes. The continent is the location of more than a third of the world’s new discoveries since 2000 and could be the site of far greater reserves than now thought.

Since democracy does not seem to be a driving force behind the insurrection of the Eastern half of the country….just what will we help stabilize?  Maybe it will be their economy?  That would send the fat cats jerking off in the corner!

The stabilization thing is a non-specific spin which means whatever we do we can say it is stabilizing a ravished country and people.  Personally, I detest generalizations…..,I WANT specifics and the people of Libya should be demanding the same thing.

In their rush to eliminate Qadafi they could well be giving away their future for a few bullets……

The Afghan Hunting Club

When I was a young man in the war in South Vietnam, if you had 10+ confirmed kills you got to join what they called, “The Viet Cong Hunting Club”….at least it was so in the Mekong Delta around the 9th Infantry Division…..and now I see that tradition has NOT been put to bed….looks like they have an Afghan Hunting Club” in our conflict in Afghanistan….but there it seems you do not have to be a known insurgent to be counted…….

This piece is from Newser website……..

How did the US Army’s self-proclaimed “kill team” get away with murdering unarmed Afghan civilians for so long, with little to no intervention by officers? That’s the question Hurt Locker screenwriter Mark Boal addresses in a lengthy Rolling Stone article on the murders and the cover-ups, in which no officers or senior officials have yet been charged. Boal traces the evolution of the plot, from the moment Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs joined the 5th Stryker Brigade’s Bravo Company as squad leader for the 3rd Platoon. Gibbs, who replaced a squad leader whose legs had been blown off by an IED, was already “an extreme version of a relentless attacker,” writes Boal. His new squad was suffering from low morale, and Gibbs had a solution: Hatch a plot within the troops to avenge their losses by killing civilians and hiding the evidence.Gibbs has been portrayed as a “crazy” sociopath, but Boal reports that Gibbs was actually well-liked by those both above and below him in the ranks. The article tracks the platoon’s actions from the first kill last January—a teenage boy in the isolated farming village of La Mohammad Kalay, whose finger Gibbs sliced off as a trophy—through those that followed over the next four months, claiming at least three more innocent lives. The soldiers involved were never disciplined or punished, and they got bolder as leadership continued to seemingly ignore their activities, despite warning signs and suspicious details. Boal shows that, far from the “rogue unit” the Army framed it as, the “kill team” actually operated quite openly, and the murders were common knowledge among the platoon. Furthermore, he writes, there is “evidence that the killings of civilians went beyond a few men in 3rd Platoon.” Click for the full piece, which also includes newly released—and very graphic……

A disgusting story……and it looks like the US cannot find a way from the accusation that we are on a crusade in Afghanistan……this type of stuff is some of the same occurrences that were reported during the crusades of years gone by….it is sad and disgusting….the things that we humans are capable of doing…

2011 Anal-Ocity #13

While reading the blog of Jonathan Turley, a brilliant constitutional law professor, I found yet another anal statement made by a promising (only if you are a deluded redneck) presidential candidate….the Newt-ster…..Newt Gingrich.

What can I say…..hardly a day goes by without someone making a complete ignorant and anal statement, mostly from those on the Right (sorry guys, but the Left seems to be able to talk without making too many anal statements)…..

Like I said this edition of 2011 Anal-Ocity is from everybody’s waffling politician, Newt……

“I am convinced that if we do not decisively win the struggle over the nature of America, by the time they’re my age they will be in a secular atheist country, potentially one dominated by radical Islamists and with no understanding of what it once meant to be an American.”

OK, after about 3 minutes of side splitting laughter, I came to the realization that the more moronic of his supporters will believe this to be gospel (sorry, no pun intended)……what does that mean?  And where is his proof?  Could it be that because our Constitution allows the freedom of religion that Christianity is so weak that it cannot withstand competition?

This is Bullsh*t!  If you have half a brain……you know it….and Newt KNOWS it!

He Talked And Talked…….

Daily Agitator

I was not going to comment on Obama’s long anticipated speech on Libya……but all that changed after reading and commenting on a few blogs (most notably Spinny Liberal…go to blogroll and visit….SOON!) and decided that maybe I should have my opinion known to my readers….

Personally, the speech was a waste of time!  I did NOT learn anything new…nothing that has not been picked apart endlessly for a week or more….I found it to be a typical political tap dance….he (Obama) reiterated that the US entered into this to stop a massacre in the making…..and to stop an illegitimate regime….huh?

As with any presidential speech I look for something that makes no sense and is a spin by the admin and I found it….an illegitimate regime!

First of all, this potted history fails to explain why it is that over the past decade successive US administrations established ever closer—and more lucrative—relations with the Libyan “tyrant.” In the wake of September 11, 2001, his secret service became one of the most important regional allies of the CIA in the so-called “global war on terrorism.” Bush’s national security advisor, Condoleezza Rice, flew to Tripoli to cement the US-Libyan alliance.  (thanx to Bill Van Auken for the quote)

Does not appear that we are treating the regime as an illegitimate one to me….how about you?

And then there was his point about the emerging democratic feelings across the Middle East…

“The democratic impulses that are dawning across the region would be eclipsed by the darkest form of dictatorship, as repressive leaders concluded that violence is the best strategy to cling to power,”

That is true, to a certain point……but Libya is not one of those….the call is for Qadafi’s head….the democracy thing is not as loud as it was in Egypt……so when Obama said “Qadafi Must Go!” he was echoing the people and it does NOT necessarily mean that democracy will break out the moment he is gone…whether figuratively or physically…….

My views are well known to my readers and I need not go on and on….I stop here before I bore the pants off my readers……like I said….Nothing New!  A Waste Of Time!  If you watched looking for something to explain things….you already had your answers….the political spin has told you all you need to know…..