Monthly Archives: July 2010

Obama Science Czar John P. Holdren: “Trees Have Legal Rights”

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****a post I rescued from the great Google cache *****

Where did Obama find this guy? Via CNSNews.com:

Since the 1970s, some radical environmentalists have argued that trees have legal rights and should be allowed to go to court to protect those rights.

The idea has been endorsed by John P. Holdren, the man who now advises President Barack Obama on science and technology issues.

Giving “natural objects” — like trees — standing to sue in a court of law would have a “most salubrious” effect on the environment, Holdren wrote  the 1970s.

“One change in (legal) notions that would have a most salubrious effect on the quality of the environment has been proposed by law professor Christopher D. Stone in his celebrated monograph, ‘Should Trees Have Standing?’” Holdren said in a 1977 book that he co-wrote with Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich.

most salubrious*.…..What a pompous egg-head.

*I’ll admit it.  I had to look up the word ’salubrious’.  And no, I don’t plan on working it in to my daily vocabulary.

Per IMF Economic Model: Every $1.00 Spent On ‘Stimulus’ Creates $0.70 Of GDP

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Spend $1.00 of ‘Stimulus’ to create $0.70 in GDP is not exactly what I would call a very good ‘multiplier effect.’

Via Larry Kudlow:

In a watershed study, former Treasury economists Gary and Aldona Robbins argued a few years ago that tax cuts aimed at capital and business produced the biggest economic benefits. For example, for every tax-cut dollar on capital gains, $10.61 of new GDP is created. For every dollar of accelerated business-investment tax write-offs, $9 of new GDP is created. And for every dollar of corporate tax cuts, $2.76 of new GDP is created.

This bang-for-the-buck analysis contrasts sharply with estimates for increased government spending. According to the White House, every dollar of new government spending creates about $1.50 of new GDP — much weaker than the effects of business tax cuts. And the White House analysis looks like a stretch. The IMF has a model that says every additional dollar of government spending creates only $0.70 of new GDP. So you have to borrow a buck to get 70 cents back. Not a good trade.

Clearly, neither of these spending multipliers holds a candle to the benefits of lower business tax rates. Incidentally, for deficit worriers, corporate tax cuts pay for themselves, as do lower tax rates on capital gains.

Fred Smith, the CEO of FedEx, does not have a Nobel Prize in economics. But he founded from scratch a gigantic global transportation and delivery company that has employed tens and tens of thousands of workers, something the Nobelists have never done. And Smith argues that the best job-creating measure would be a significant reduction in the corporate tax rate and a move to full expensing for business-investment tax write-offs. He’s exactly right. (emphasis added)

I was in a ‘discussion’ with a liberal not too long ago about the economy.  I made the assertion that tax cuts are the quickest way to improve the economy. The Liberal rolled his eyes… Sighed…..Then went on the “tax cuts! All you conservatives ever offer is that old saw” rant.

Tax cuts might be an old saw, but they work. Every time. Just ask JFK:

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Mike Keneally- Self ‘N’ Other

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Mike Keneally…

Keneally auditioned for Zappa’s band in 1987 as a “stunt guitar” replacement for Steve Vai, and was hired as a guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist. The multi-instrumentalist would appear on some classic Zappa albums like Broadway the Hard Way and The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life, but little did he know that his lineup would be Zappa’s final touring band.

I love the hook from this song.

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Auto Round Up: Dodge Mopar 10 Challenger, Tesla Motors Stock Price Plunges and The Dodge Viper Ends its 18 Year Run

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Via Inside Line:

Mopar ’10 Challenger is based on a 2010 Dodge Challenger R/T, modified for a new look and greater performance. Equipment includes the Challenger’s 5.7-liter Hemi V8 engine concealed by a unique engine cover, along with a variety of other Mopar enhancements. A hood-venting system, a cold-air intake and a front strut tower brace with shock caps are part of the package, as is a rear strut tower brace to stiffen the chassis.

Available now for pre-order, the Mopar ’10 will arrive in August priced at $38,000 for the automatic transmission, and $39,000 for a manual tranny with pistol-grip shifter. Mopar will build only 500 of these models, available only in Brilliant Black paint with a choice of three different stripe colors: Mopar Blue, Red or Silver. Interior stitching on the steering wheel and seats will match the exterior stripe color.

Twenty-inch forged heritage gloss-black wheels, a black-chromed grille surround, a functional, vented T/A-style hood with vintage hood pins, a serialized dash plaque and Mopar logos galore round out the package.

Looks really cool… And its got a Hemi.

In related news, the more politically correct Tesla Motors Company stock prices have tumbled since its IPO:

Shares in the Palo Alto, Calif., company lost 16%, or $3.09, Tuesday to $16.11 in the Nasdaq stock market.

Tesla’s shares rose 40% in their first day of trading as excited investors bet on its future as a player in the electric car market. They pushed the stock as high as $30.42 on Wednesday, but prices began falling later in the week, closing Friday at $19.20.

The initial offering raised $226.1 million after selling 13.3 million shares, despite the fact that Tesla has not had a profitable quarter since it was founded in 2003 and its cars sell for more than $100,000. Still, enthusiasm was high last week. Before the sale, Tesla expected to price just 11.1 million shares at $14 to $16 each.

“The euphoria has worn off,” Scott Sweet, senior managing partner of IPO research firm IPO Boutique, noted Tuesday. “In this market environment, people are not buying $109,000 cars.”

Sweet said the company was grossly overvalued as some investors believed that Tesla was the next Google. Elon Musk, Tesla’s high-flying CEO with a history of successful startups such as PayPal, put on a “spectacular” road show to drum up interest in the shares, he said. But Sweet predicts Tesla will find it difficult to make a profit.

So far, the company has sold only about 1,000 of its high-end electric cars. It currently sells just one vehicle, the $109,000 Roadster sports car, which is popular among celebrities and performance-car enthusiasts. (emphasis added)

Remember, people have been calling electric vehicles the future of transportation since 1911.

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It’s like the green people are trying to save the planet using turn of the century technology.

Lastly the really not politically correct Dodge Viper ended its 18 year production run on July 1st:

Today marks the last day of prodcution of the iconic Dodge Viper. Chrysler group is shutting the lights off at the Conner Avenue assembly plant and reassigning the workers elsewhere after an 18-year run.

The Viper’s July 4th holiday weekend is expected to be an especially long one, lasting at least two years, perhaps more.

If and when we see the Viper again it will probably speak some version of Italian because parent company Fiat while likely get involved in the project.

And to remember the Viper SRT-10:

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A Viper’s 150mph run on the Autobahn in Germany.

A Glimpse of Our ObamaCare Future

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Via Spiegel International:

Facing a projected shortfall of 11 billion euros for Germany’s health care system in 2011, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government agreed on Tuesday to increase contributions. But the plan is a far cry from radical reform, leading to calls for the country’s health minister to resign.

Germany’s government has been arguing for months about how best to reform the country’s chronically indebted health care system. On Tuesday, leaders of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition finally reach agreement.

The deal, presented by Health Minister Philipp Rösler — from Merkel’s junior coalition partner, the Free Democrats — calls for contributions to rise from 14.9 percent of employee income to 15.5. The contributions remain split 50-50 between workers and employers. In addition, additional charges demanded by insurers to eliminate shortfalls will no longer be capped at one percent of employee salaries.

“The expected deficit of €11 billion in 2011 will be cancelled out,” Rösler told reporters on Tuesday. He said he was optimistic that the new contribution regime would result in lasting stability for Germany’s health care finances, but added that the system for how contributions are made must still be reformed.

Rising costs have dogged Germany’s health care system for years, and multi-billion euro deficits have become the norm. As recently as 2006, Merkel — then in coalition with the center-left Social Democrats — proudly announced what she called “far reaching reform.

Remind me again how ObamaCare is going to reduce our debt.

Tuesday Night Links: The Old Time Baseball Edition

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Catching up on some great reading on this hot Tuesday evening:

Surveillance Monitors Conversations

Rule 5 for the Ladies – Guest Post… (be sure to read the comments)

Obama’s latest WTF??? moment!

Detroit Free Press: GOP efforts to tackle the deficit is making Americans victims or something

Shocking, Revealing FOX News Exclusive: Former DOJ Attorney on Dismissal of Black Panthers Case… “If This Doesn’t Constitute Voter Intimidation, Nothing Will” (video)

My endorsement of Mike Bouchard (Anna Lambert)

Some have said that he is forgettable; that he is not “electable”. That is why I am out here doing what I can to make sure he is not forgotten and that he is elected (or at least “electable”). Why should I, or anyone else, have to settle with an “electable” person who isn’t AS bad as the Democrat, when we could pick a candidate who stands for even more of what we believe to be right? Maybe you think Cox or Hoekstra or Snyder better represent your principals. That’s fine. Then vote for them based on that. PLEASE vote for your principals, and not for someone who is merely “tolerable and can beat the Democrat” (unless one of your core principals is “always win”).

I love Michigan and want to give her the best I can. So, as my mom would say, I’m doing what I can with what I’ve got.

So, Now I’m a “Nut” That Asks Stupid Questions

If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium

Via Politico, a guide to the Obama family’s favorite DC hangouts. I looked twice, but nope, the Oval Office wasn’t on the list.

Scaling Back the Fed Way Overdue

Miller: Palin critics suffer from fear factor

Iowa Is Becoming More and More A Nanny State

Government to Currency Users: Know Its Features So You Can Know It’s Real

Former Detroit Red Wing Bob Probert Dead at 45

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This is really sad:

Bob Probert, one of the most popular and rugged players in Red Wings history, died Monday at the age of 45.

Probert collapsed around 2 p.m. on a boat on Lake St. Clair in Windsor, Ontario.

Emergency crews performed CPR on Probert, then transported him to Windsor Regional Hospital, where attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.

Dan Parkinson, Probert’s father-in-law, said in a news conference at the hospital Monday evening Probert developed a “severe chest pain” before collapsing.

“This is a tragedy for the family and totally unexpected,” Parkinson said at the news conference.

The family took no questions at the news conference.

Probert spent nine seasons with the Red Wings seven with the Chicago Blackhawks. One of the most feared fighters in NHL history, Probert accumulated 3,300 penalty minutes with 163 goals and 384 points and played in 1988 All-Star Game.

Bob Probert vs. Ty Domi

The Bruise Brother Bob Probert and Joe Kocur

Funny Clips: Rodney Dangerfield

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I drink too much. The last time I gave a urine sample it had an olive in it.

Rodney Dangerfield

My Friend Mr. Wang:

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How ’bout a lift home?

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USA Today ‘Green House’ Writers Avoid Reality

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Via USA Today ‘Green House’:

China, which is closing inefficient coal plants and making more fuel-efficient cars, is often seen as the world’s superpower in developing wind and solar energy. But despite these eco-efforts, will its surging demand for consumer goods worsen climate change?

Yes, suggests an interesting article in today’s New York Times. It says “the billionfold demands” of Chinese consumers, eager to improve their standard of living, are overwhelming the world’s “most rigorous national energy campaign.”

Ummm, not exactly. Energy companies in China are finding that even with their significantly lower cost structures, lax environmental regulations, free land and nearly perfect wind conditions, they can’t turn a profit:

The only opportunity to turn a profit is when electricity is sold to the grid. Even then, say industry insiders, the ability to make money depends on national tariff-setting policies and subsidies: “If there’s no subsidy, there’s no hope of a profit,” one says.

This creates conflict. The high costs of wind power have long held back growth of the sector. But the grid operators, for their own reasons, are also unwilling to buy wind power.

Electricity generated by wind in Jiuquan is currently sold to the grid for about 0.53 yuan (US$0.08) per kilowatt hour, higher than the 0.20 yuan (US$0.03) and 0.35 yuan (US$0.05) paid for coal and hydropower respectively. In Inner Mongolia, Hebei and the north east of China, the wind-power tariff has risen to about 0.60 yuan (US$0.08) per kilowatt hour and, in Jilin, to about 0.70 yuan (US$0.10), creating an even bigger gulf between the price of wind and that of coal and hydropower. (emphasis added)

Costs are not the biggest problem with ‘renewable-green energy’, contrary to the USA Today ‘Green House’ crew’s assertions,  large scale projects don’t work. Even on the tiny island of Eigg off the coast of Scotland is demonstrating that fact that green energy doesn’t work.

Nations that have made big pushes for green energy such as Denmark and Germany have not closed a single coal power plant. Furthermore, Germany is adding additional coal power plants as ‘back up’ to  ineffective ‘green energy’ initiatives.

Green Energy Failure: Windmills, Solar Panels and Hydro Project Can’t Reliably Provide Power For 87 People

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The tiny island of Eigg off the coast of Scotland made a big push for ‘green energy’ recently. They designed their system to provide 95% of the electrical needs for the 87 residents of their island. This should be fairly straightforward, since the residents of the island are not big users of electricity to start with. They only received regular electrical service in February 2008.

The new ‘green energy’ system the residents of Eigg installed was designed to provide a meager 5kW (max.) of power per household. Via the Daily Mail:

Right now, however, their award-winning and highly complex eco-energy system, which allows each household access to a maximum of 5kW of energy at a time (enough to power a washing machine, a small heater or a kettle, but not all at once), is lying largely idle.

So the wind turbines are still and silent. The hydro turbines in the rivers and dams are quiet. And toasted teacakes and hot tea are off the menu at the Eigg Tearooms.

So what on earth’s going on? Have the Eigg eco-innovators been victims of some act of jealous vandalism? Has their award- winning electricity system blown a fuse?

Er, no. It turns out that when the good people of Eigg put their faith in strong winds and pounding rain to provide all their electricity needs, they overlooked one possibility – a spell of lovely weather.

Go figure, no rain or wind and the solar panels are not cutting it. Of course this is not a big deal to the residents of Eigg, but imagine how chaotic this would be in a large US City.

We’ve never taken electricity for granted,’ says Maggie, 61, has lived on Eigg for 34 years and has a daughter and granddaughter living nearby.

‘Until a couple of years ago, I was supplied by a tiny hydroelectric generator that produced a maximum of 1kW of power. Which powered my lights, TV and computer, but not a washing machine, electric kettle, toaster or anything like that. And I was one of the lucky ones.’

A few of her neighbours had no running water and others relied on their own generator which had to be turned on every morning by hand.

‘So if you got up for a pee in the middle of the night, you had to take a torch with you or fumble about in the dark,’ she adds.

‘And the noise was terrible. If you walked round in the evening, you’d hear a terrible thumping of generators.

If green energy can’t reliably provide power for 87 residents (who are not big consumers of electricity) how do supporters of ‘green energy’ propose we are going to power large US cities using windmills and solar panels?

Scenic, isn’t it..