When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
I'll give credit where credit is due. Thought I did, but I realize I didn't. If you want it on a shirt, you can go and order it...$14.95 for large or XL, then add $2 for each X up to 4X (an additional $6). http://www.mikechurch.com/joomla/index.php
Weak currency helping to exact revenge on America Froma Harrop
Paris was hardly empty of U.S. visitors last week. But there were far fewer American voices than in past years, and the ones you heard were saying things like, “It’s so ex-PEN-sive!” The U.S. dollar — which once carried the adjective “mighty” before it — is now a shadow of its former swaggering self. In 2000, one U.S. dollar could buy 1.21 euros, the then-new European currency. Now, one euro equals about 1.56 U.S. dollars. Another downhill marker was reached in March, when the combined gross domestic product of the 15 countries that use the euro passed that of the United States. Oil is priced in dollars, so when the dollar tanks, our cost of oil rises. Had the dollar stayed on par with the euro, Americans would be paying $80 a barrel for oil, rather than over $140. Because of the strong euro, Europeans haven’t suffered nearly the energy-price shock we have. Furthermore, Europe was cushioned by years of national policies discouraging oil use, mainly through high energy taxes. Traffic jams on the highways feeding Paris rival ours, but the vehicles inching along are small and fuel-efficient. And plentiful public transportation keeps many people out of cars altogether. Rising demand for energy in China, India and elsewhere have also forced up oil prices. That was predicted. But even unexpected national crises weren’t big enough to get Washington off its big rear end and push Americans to cut their oil dependency. The first Gulf War didn’t do it, even though America sent half a million soldiers to liberate Kuwaiti oil fields from Saddam Hussein. Sept. 11, 2001, didn’t do it, though petrodollars largely funded the disastrous terrorist attack. The current Iraq War hasn’t done it. Bill Clinton did try to raise vehicle fuelefficiency standards and impose an energy tax in the ’90s, but Congress stopped him. Despite all that happened before and since, the Bush administration has barely lifted a pinky to prepare the American economy for the inevitable surges in oil prices. Americans continued buying big cars and gigantic houses 30 miles from work. And that’s why Americans don’t have money, and the Europeans do. It’s why chichi New York stores, such as Bergdorf Goodman, are full of foreigners in ratty jeans saying, “Man, that’s cheap,” in 100 different languages. It’s why Asians and Europeans fly to Minneapolis to shop at the Mall of America as though it were a bargain basement. Now we know what it’s like to be a weakcurrency country. The airplanes that used to ferry middle-class Americans and a few rich Europeans across the Atlantic have become much more of a euro zone. How far have we fallen as dominators of the world economy? Listen to this story: Last Sunday afternoon, I landed at Boston’s Logan International Airport on one of five jumbo jets from Europe arriving at the same time. The line for those holding U.S. passports was short. The lines for foreign-passport holders snaked along for an hour. One aircraft was an Iberia Airlines jet from Spain and another, a Lufthansa jumbo out of Germany. They pulled into their gates right in the middle of the European Championship soccer match between Spain and Germany. As U.S. Customs disgorged them into the terminal hall, the Iberia and Lufthansa passengers ran to the bar, where the single TV screen was tuned to the soccer game. (Spain won it by one goal.) It happened that the Red Sox were playing at the same time, and during the soccer game’s halftime, some Americans requested a switch to baseball. Request denied. Imagine that. Sox fans overwhelmed by euro-waving visitors and in the heart of Bean Town, too. It didn’t used to be. Froma Harrop is a nationally syndicated columnist.
U.S. had chance to deal with its energy problem 30 years ago
It seems that not a day goes by when there isn’t a political speech, a column in the newspaper or letters to the editor decrying the current cost of energy. There is great talk about alternative forms of energy and how we should be working on it — along with the usual call for more drilling in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge and, now, more offshore drilling for oil. Where were these people 30 years ago, urging research on alternative energy sources or, indeed, putting them in place? In 1982, we had a solar hot water system installed in our home to conserve energy and utilize the power of the sun to heat water. In our climate we still need an electrical heating coil as backup when there is no sun or the solar collectors are covered with ice and snow. Nevertheless, the solar hot water system works very well. At that time solar development seemed very promising. We were told there was progress with turning sun power into heating power. With that in mind, our system was designed with purposely larger tubing to eventually allow heating assistance to be installed. Then what happened? Jimmy Carter was undoubtedly a very poor president, but he did have the prescience to establish an energy policy to look for alternative forms of energy. A system of tax credits was set up for those who used alternative systems of energy. Without the tax credit, we would not have been able to afford the installation of our solar hot water heater. There were also research and development grants for oil extraction from our large shale deposits and tar sands. There was also a real start on wind power exploration. Startup businesses in solar energy sprang up. There were at least three within the Saratoga area at that time. So what went wrong? Why did 30 years pass when great amounts of research should have taken place to reduce oil dependency? In 1984, during the Reagan administration, the tax credits for renewable sources of energy were eliminated and the research into other energy alternatives diminished or came to a complete halt. The three small, local solar companies here, and those in other areas, disappeared along with the tax credits. The price of gasoline went down and the oil embargoes and crises of the 1970s were all but forgotten. The gas guzzler had a resurgence and now, as they say, the rest is history. We are paying for this neglect and political indolence and irresponsibility now — big time. According to some analysts, the worst is yet to come. We can only hope that people are serious now, and that the necessary resources will be used for research and development of alternative energy sources to replace or greatly reduce our dependence on oil. ANTHONY P. DI ROCCO JUDITH A. DI ROCCO Saratoga Springs
We have enough oil deposits in this country to take care of all our needs for hundreds of years. There's shale oil in the north west, oil in ANMR, oil off the coast in the east, south, and west and we're all being denied because of the environmental lobby who care nothing about our quality of life. We should drill now and once the oil crisis is over look to alternative energy sources like nuclear, wind, methane gas, and hydrogen power. Common sense has got to come back into the equation and we have got to stop panicking every time someone comes up with a theory. The scientist behind the present global warming crisis was screaming that we're headed for an ice age back in the 70's so it just goes to show you how much he really knows about climate.
...On July 9, 1971, the Post published a story headlined "U.S. Scientist Sees New Ice Age Coming." It told of a prediction by NASA and Columbia University scientist S.I. Rasool. The culprit: man's use of fossil fuels. The Post reported that Rasool, writing in Science, argued that in "the next 50 years" fine dust that humans discharge into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuel will screen out so much of the sun's rays that the Earth's average temperature could fall by six degrees.
Sustained emissions over five to 10 years, Rasool claimed, "could be sufficient to trigger an ice age."
Aiding Rasool's research, the Post reported, was a "computer program developed by Dr. James Hansen," who was, according to his resume, a Columbia University research associate at the time...
those futures traders are a 'false market' making false competition for supply and demand....not to mention their cushion for retirement(they think) they are cashing in and demand payment----where does that $$ come from while at the same time the oil companies make billions(according to some, this is a drop in the bucket compared to other businesses?)......anyhow there are alot of forks in this wheel and we are at the center......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
by Ann Coulter (more by this author) Posted 07/02/2008 ET Updated 07/03/2008 ET
Well, I guess we're all pretty relieved we didn't drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge back in 2002. What a disaster that would have been.
The vote on ANWR was almost entirely along partisan lines, with all Republicans, except a handful of "moderates," voting for drilling, and all Democrats, except a handful of sane Democrats like Zell Miller, voting against drilling.
John McCain opposed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge because he polled soccer moms and found out they were against drilling. They thought it sounded too much like going to the dentist. McCain wanted to ensure that he remained beloved by the two pillars of his base: "centrists" and New York Times reporters.
Even Sen. Chuck Hagel voted for drilling in ANWR. But John McCain, "our" candidate, voted against it.
I guess we're beginning to see the problem of basing a political platform on the passing fancies of "centrists." These are people who have no opinions because they know nothing about national issues. They're the ones who check the "not sure/no opinion" box on polls regarding the legalization of cannibalism.
You can't blame them: They're not being paid to know something about national issues. Those people we call "senators" and "representatives."
But now, astronomical gas prices have forced even soccer moms to spend 10 minutes looking at a problem that their leaders were supposed to be thinking about for years. And the soccer moms are saying: Drill! Drill! Drill! Bobby, come down off of there! Stop hitting your sister! Where was I? Oh, yeah ... Drill! Drill! Drill!
Consequently, McCain recently switched his position to go along with the centrists. See, that's the downside of having chosen all your political positions by polling centrists: The moment they acquire any knowledge, they'll realize you're an idiot.
It's always the same argument. Year after year, the "moderate Republicans" so respected at The New York Times harangue us to dump the Christians, the conservatives, the Swift Boat Veterans, the "right-wing extremists," the gun-and-God clingers and the fanatical pro-lifers from our party so we can repel every American who voted for Ronald Reagan in order to win the votes of people like Christine Todd Whitman.
Yes, by all means let's clear out all that deadwood and pave the way for a 49-state landslide! (For the Democrats.)
McCain followed the Times' strategy to a T. He called Jerry Falwell an "agent of intolerance." He called the Swift Boat Veterans "dishonest and dishonorable." He has denounced every Christian minister who tries to endorse him. Over the years, McCain has ostentatiously attacked every issue of importance to conservatives and embraced every crackpot liberal idea, including the left's latest plan to exterminate the human race, called "global warming."
Two weeks ago, McCain skipped the capitol prayer breakfast in California, instead appearing with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger at an environmental event in nearby Santa Barbara. Schwarzenegger's absence marked the first time a governor skipped what has come to be known as "the governor's prayer breakfast." I guess in the world of moderate Republicans an environmental event qualifies as a religious observance.
The keynote speaker at the breakfast, Hollywood producer Mark Joseph, quoted a recent cover article in Christianity Today by professors Daniel Taylor and Mark McCloskey that said:
"In premodern times, the courage of a leader often had to be physical. In the last 500 years it is more often moral. Moral courage is the ability to do what's right even when it is deeply unpopular, even dangerous. Courage is only found where there is the genuine possibility of loss -- loss of friends, reputation, status, power, possessions or, at the extremes, freedom or life."
No wonder McCain and Schwarzenegger skipped it.
Moderate Republicans like McCain have taken to heart liberals' admonition that Ronald Reagan's appeal had absolutely nothing to do with his conservative philosophy. Don't be like him! You'll lose the soccer moms! Liberals assure us that Reagan won landslide elections because Americans were mesmerized by his sunny disposition and corny jokes. If that's true, why isn't Al Roker president?
The irony is, the only people McCain can count on to vote for him are the very Republicans he despises -- at least those of us who can get drunk enough on Election Day to pull the lever for him. In fact, we should organize parties around the country where Republicans can get drunk so they can vote for McCain. We can pass out clothespins with his name as a reminder and slogan-festooned vomit bags. The East Coast parties can post the number of drinks necessary for the task to help the West Coast parties. For more information, go to getdrunkandvote4mccain.com.
Not being ignorant "centrists," we know what a world-class disaster B. Hussein Obama will be. Meanwhile, the centrists McCain spent years impressing with his outraged denunciations of conservatives, Swift Boat Veterans and Christians will be voting for Obama. They think he's cute.
How many times do we have to run this experiment?
Taking the advice of Democrats, Republicans ran "moderates" for president in 1944, 1948, 1976, 1992 and 1996. All lost. Republicans also ran a "moderate" for president in 1988, but that was unwittingly -- both to us and, fortunately, to the voters. In other words, in the language of the market, the best tip on "moderate Republicans" is: SELL!
But now, apparently, we have to run the experiment again. This year, moderate Republicans have hit the jackpot. John McCain is the Platonic ideal of a "moderate Republican."
To paraphrase Richard Nixon on George McGovern in 1972: Here we have a situation where moderate Republicans finally have a candidate who almost totally shares their views. Now we'll see what the country thinks.
This is an actual dicussion going on right now on a Continental Airline crew forum- NO MORE HOT FUDGE SUNDAYS IN FIRST CLASS- cutting down on weight thus saving fuel.
July 2, 2008, 06:49 PM CALFLYBOY Super Crewmember Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: California Posts: 1,669
I guess the company is taking off sundaes for all routes except intl. BusinessFirst and Transcon. But there is a real possibility that even Transcon will see the demise of the Sundae. Supposedly, the weight of the sundae is necessitating the change.
Take a look at the whinertalk website, though some are glad the sundaes are going away, most of the elites are having a meltdown about the loss of sundaes. Some of their hysterics border on hilarious. One poster even went so far as to request the company to impose weight restrictions on FA's so sundaes could be brought back.
Companies begin quest for oil, gas Other coastal states could follow Florida BY MELISSA NELSON The Associated Press
PENSACOLA, Fla. — Oil companies once viewed drilling in the deep waters off Florida as cost prohibitive. Politicians feared even the slightest sign of support would be career suicide. No more. Record crude oil prices are fueling support for oil and natural gas exploration off the nation’s shores. In Florida, movement was underway even before President Bush called on Congress last month to lift a federal moratorium that’s barred new offshore drilling since 1981. The early activity here stems from a 2006 congressional compromise that allows drilling on 8.3 million acres more than 125 miles off the Panhandle — an area that had been covered by the moratorium, which was enacted out of environmental concerns. In exchange, the state received a no-drilling buffer along the rest of its beaches. Florida may turn out to be a prelude for other coastal states. If oil or natural gas deposits are found in the newly opened region, experts say it could further the push to explore other once-protected areas everywhere. It also could be a rallying point for critics, who say the new exploration isn’t a license to expand exploration. With gas topping $4 a gallon, recent polls show Americans, Floridians included, more supportive of drilling in protected areas. Some politicians — including Gov. Charlie Crist — have switched sides. “We think the public is way out ahead of the politicians on these issues. People are more open to [offshore drilling] now,” said Tom Moskitis, spokesman for the American Gas Association, a trade group. At the same time, oil companies, driven by the record energy price, are more willing to risk $100 million or more to begin exploring new regions. The Interior Department estimates there could be 18 billion barrels of oil and 77 trillion cubic feet of natural gas beneath the 574 million acres of federal coastal waters that are now off-limits. Drilling activity off the Florida Panhandle has started and sputtered for decades. Some companies had leases to drill off the Panhandle before the 1981 moratorium. They were grandfathered in when the moratorium passed because they were already actively exploring in their lease areas. They continued their activity off and on into the early 1990s. In March, four companies — Australiabased BHP Billiton Petroleum Deepwater Inc., Houston-based Anadarko E&P Co., Shell Offshore Inc. and Italian oil and natural gas company Eni SpA — purchased leases on 36 Gulf of Mexico tracts under the 2006 compromise. Jeb Bachmann, an analyst with New Orleans energy consultant Howard Wiel, said officials for the four companies understand the shifting political and financial realities. “It gives you an indication that some of these companies believe there is some light at the end of the tunnel,” Bachmann said. “There is higher pricing and a belief that higher prices are going to ultimately drive some changes.” Anadarko bought seven of the recently opened tracts south of Pensacola because of their proximity to its Independence Hub, a major natural gas field off Alabama that supplies 1.5 to 2 percent of the natural gas consumed in the United States every day, said Stuart Strive, the company’s vice president of exploration for the eastern Gulf. The newly leased tracts are between 50 and 75 miles east of the Independence Hub. But finding and producing natural gas in the new site will be expensive. Three-dimensional mapping of the ocean floor, which must happen before any drilling, could take up to two years, Strive said. If a promising site is found, engineers must drill up to three miles below the ocean surface to extract the oil or natural gas. And it will take years before the company begins producing anything at the site — and there is no guarantee of success. A company can have as much as $4 billion invested and a wait of up to five years before seeing any return on the investment, Strive said. “We typically will have $100 to $200 million invested in a project before we know if it is an economic venture or not,” he said. “Then, if you know you have made an economic discovery, you spend a billion dollars or more on a facility.” The 1981 moratorium — enacted out of environmental concerns in response to a massive oil spill off the Santa Barbara coast a decade earlier — has prevented the Interior Department from spending money on offshore oil or gas leases in virtually all coastal waters outside the western Gulf of Mexico and in some areas off Alaska. But politicians who once supported the ban are changing their minds. U.S. Sen. John McCain supports lifting the ban and allowing states to decide whether to approve drilling of their shores. Crist, Florida’s Republican governor and a possible vice presidential candidate, reversed his long-standing opposition to lifting the ban last month.
CAPITAL REGION ‘Free gas’ is music to our ears Merchants turn to fuel as a perk BY JASON SUBIK Gazette Reporter
As businesses in the Capital Region struggle to survive stagnant economic growth and rising energy prices, some have turned to a unique solution: use the high price of gasoline as a sales incentive. Jay Scott, the program director and on-air radio personality for Latham-based Magic 100.9 FM, said he’s heard more and more companies use gasoline giveaways as part of radio advertising sales pitches. He said his station is running a contest where listeners of the Jay & Ben morning show who call in with the correct title of a song can win a $10 gas card as well as car wash and oil change at Hoffman Car Wash. Scott said the high price of gasoline has become such a concern for people that a mention of free gas is being used as a tool to get customer’s attention. “It certainly perks people’s ears up,” Scott said. “We’re finding a lot of commercials that are being run by car dealers are giving away gas as an incentive for people to purchase cars.” Last week, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the Capital Region was around $4.20, according to AAA Northway. Some local retailers, like Rotterdam-based supermarket chain Price Chopper, have begun testing the potential for tying sales to gas savings. Price Chopper spokeswoman Mona Golub said Price Chopper has experimented with programs linking grocery purchases to re- ductions in gas cost at some of its stores in outlying areas, including one in Watertown. “[We wanted to see] how appealing it would be to consumers and how well it would work systematically. I would say overall it’s worked well,” she said. Golub would not comment on whether Price Chopper would attempt a groceries and gasoline program in the Capital Region. Officials at Saratoga Springs-based Stewart’s Shops said the company has discussed gas savings programs internally but has not yet used one. NEW CARS, FULL TANKS Car dealers, wracked by sales losses, have been quicker to look to gas as a sales tool. Thomas Flynn, a sales manager at Fogg’s Automotive & Suzuki in Glenville, said American Suzuki Motor Corp. has provided its new car customers who finance purchases through American Suzuki with gasoline debit cards ranging in value from $355 to just more than $500, depending on the model. “[Customers] like it, but I don’t think they come in because of it,” Flynn said. “What we see, generally, is an upswing in the number of people just wanting to have a newer, inexpensively priced, fuelefficient vehicle.” Some dealers are also using gas giveaways to help sell used, lowmileage vehicles. Jim Rosamino, a car salesman at Metro Ford on State Street in Schenectady, said his dealership is using gas cards redeemable at Mobil gas stations, valued up to a maximum of $1,000, to help sell used Ford Explorers. “That’s something we’re doing at the dealership level. Ford hasn’t done anything like that [for the new cars],” Rosamino said. “It’s nice and appealing to have a gas card you’re only going to use on gas. You can’t spend it at Home Depot or anywhere else. It’s nice because people who tend to buy [sport utility vehicles] take long trips to the Jersey Shore or other vacations.” COME VISIT — IT’S ON US Fear that people won’t be willing to drive far for vacations was part of the motivation for the Residence Inn in Saratoga Springs to offer $50 gas cards, coupled with $50 coupons from Saratoga’s Downtown Business Association. The gas cards are for guests of the hotel who book two-night stays from now until the start of the horse racing season July 23, said Bob Herrold, the inn’s general manager. He said his hotel’s ownership group is so concerned that gas costs have cut consumers’ willingness to travel that Residence Inn is also offering an additional $25 gas card for every night stayed beyond the two-night package. “At this point, we haven’t had anybody who’s booked the package yet, which I find a little bit surprising,” he said. “The season so far, year to date, is off. We’re geared more to the extended-stay market, with people who are doing projects. I would say that aspect of the business in this area is down compared to the year before by about 10 to 15 percent.” Many small businesses share the fears of Residence Inn. According to a survey by the National Federation of Independent Business released last week, 42.3 percent of small business owners nationwide rank the cost of natural gas, propane, gasoline, diesel and fuel oil as a “critical” concern, up from 26.1 percent on the previous survey, conducted in 2004. Greg Dixon, the tourism vice president for the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber has held off on using any gas giveaway promotions because they anticipate that the unique draw of horse racing will overcome consumers’ concerns about high gas prices. He said the high cost of gas may make it cost-prohibitive for some companies to offer meaningful incentive packages. “It may not make any sense fi - nancially for certain attractions if their admission cost may be less than the total of, say, a $25 gas card, whereas a hotel stay is going to cost more in general,” Dixon said. Herrold said Residence Inn’s booking pace for the horse race season during July and August is on par or slightly ahead of past years. NEARBY GETAWAYS Luisa Craige-Sherman, the executive director of the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce, said her chamber has given away about 15 $100 gas cards at tourism travel shows around the U.S. “People registered to win it, and that’s how we collect names and emails to send them vacation information,” Craige-Sherman said. Dixon and Craige-Sherman both said tourism in the greater Capital Region may benefit from the higher gas prices because it’s centrally located within a three-hour drive from major population centers in Montreal, Boston and New York City. “What may happen is instead of traveling to Virginia Beach or [Cape Cod], where you might sit in extended traffic for an hour, people may choose to come here because we’re an easier destination to get to,” she said. If this past weekend is any indication, businesses dependent on tourism have reason to worry. AAA spokesman Eric Stigberg said Thursday that for the first time in 10 years, AAA is estimating a decline in the number of motorists expected to travel for the July Fourth weekend. He said AAA expects 34.2 million motorists nationwide to travel, down 1.1 percent from last year, and 5.7 million motorists to travel in New York state, down 2 percent.
BARRY SLOAN/FOR THE SUNDAY GAZETTE Jim Hamblet hangs a gas incentive banner on a car at Fogg’s Automotive in Glenville Thursday afternoon.
Now is the time to buy a Hummer folks. Betcha you can get those babies cheap now.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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