I think he has one on Rachael Ray. This is the second or third time he's mentioned her in a column:
Rachael Ray is showing up in so many places on various television programs, on magazine covers, on boxes of crackers that the question must be asked: Are we sure that she is not twins, or perhaps triplets.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Next stop Willoughby!
Here. Seasons 1 and 2 of The Twilight Zone, as well as Star Trek (which I think Scooter noted some time back) and other stuff.
Ron Paul in Minnesota
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Ron Paul's supporters in Minnesota are having success nabbing GOP delegates:
Over the weekend, they captured six of a dozen GOP national convention delegates elected at congressional district meetings. The rebellion has left local party officials crying foul, even as state leaders downplay the importance of the unexpected result.
[skip]
In Minnesota, 38 Republican delegates to the national convention are selected in a multi-tier process that starts with precinct caucuses and ends with the state convention. Delegates have been selected in six of the state's eight congressional districts, with Paul supporters winning seven of the 24 seats chosen to date. Six more delegates will be selected in the remaining two districts, and the rest will be chosen at the state party convention next month.
They hope to get a speaking gig for Paul at the Convention in St. Paul.
Over the weekend, they captured six of a dozen GOP national convention delegates elected at congressional district meetings. The rebellion has left local party officials crying foul, even as state leaders downplay the importance of the unexpected result.
[skip]
In Minnesota, 38 Republican delegates to the national convention are selected in a multi-tier process that starts with precinct caucuses and ends with the state convention. Delegates have been selected in six of the state's eight congressional districts, with Paul supporters winning seven of the 24 seats chosen to date. Six more delegates will be selected in the remaining two districts, and the rest will be chosen at the state party convention next month.
They hope to get a speaking gig for Paul at the Convention in St. Paul.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Earmarks go soft
NYTimes reports today on "soft" earmarks.
But it turns out lawmakers can still secretly direct billions of dollars to favored organizations by making vague requests rather than issuing explicit instructions to government agencies in committee reports and spending bills. That seeming courtesy is the difference between “soft earmarks” and the more insistent “hard earmarks.
[skip]
In considering lawmakers’ spending requests, some committees in recent years have switched hard earmarks to soft ones, saying it gives agencies more flexibility. Critics, including Mr. Flake, suggest it is being done to avoid scrutiny.
“With the efforts to shine more light on the earmarking process,” he said, “I am concerned that we might see increasingly creative ways to steer funding to recipients of funding that members of Congress want to see it go to.”
So it might be the case that earmarks are not shrinking under the Democratically controlled (sort of) Congress since 2006. Nevertheless, we must keep earmarks in perspective: hard earmarks account for something in the neighborhood of 1% of the federal budget (very roughly $20 billion in a $3 trillion budget). The Times piece finds $3 billion in soft earmarks in one of 13 appropriations bill. So for guessing purposes, let's say there's $40 billion in soft earmarks on top of the $20 billion in hard earmarks; that amounts to something in the neighborhood of 3% of the federal budget.
What I don't understand about earmarks is why they're funded as earmarks. I mean, why wouldn't Congress want to open all these expenditures to bidding? Is it because it's slow and labor-intensive (i.e. costly) to oversee the bidding? or is it really all about funneling money to friends and political supporters?
But it turns out lawmakers can still secretly direct billions of dollars to favored organizations by making vague requests rather than issuing explicit instructions to government agencies in committee reports and spending bills. That seeming courtesy is the difference between “soft earmarks” and the more insistent “hard earmarks.
[skip]
In considering lawmakers’ spending requests, some committees in recent years have switched hard earmarks to soft ones, saying it gives agencies more flexibility. Critics, including Mr. Flake, suggest it is being done to avoid scrutiny.
“With the efforts to shine more light on the earmarking process,” he said, “I am concerned that we might see increasingly creative ways to steer funding to recipients of funding that members of Congress want to see it go to.”
So it might be the case that earmarks are not shrinking under the Democratically controlled (sort of) Congress since 2006. Nevertheless, we must keep earmarks in perspective: hard earmarks account for something in the neighborhood of 1% of the federal budget (very roughly $20 billion in a $3 trillion budget). The Times piece finds $3 billion in soft earmarks in one of 13 appropriations bill. So for guessing purposes, let's say there's $40 billion in soft earmarks on top of the $20 billion in hard earmarks; that amounts to something in the neighborhood of 3% of the federal budget.
What I don't understand about earmarks is why they're funded as earmarks. I mean, why wouldn't Congress want to open all these expenditures to bidding? Is it because it's slow and labor-intensive (i.e. costly) to oversee the bidding? or is it really all about funneling money to friends and political supporters?
Re: Common Ground?
Doubtful, unless you just mean opposition to her as the VP. I suspect our reasons for dislike are rather different. Unlike LJ, I thought she was stellar as NSA and don't yet see the "failed" Iraqi policy.
My beef is with her having sold out at State. To be fair though, I must assume she has done so at the instruction, or at least tacit approval of her boss.
My beef is with her having sold out at State. To be fair though, I must assume she has done so at the instruction, or at least tacit approval of her boss.
Re: Condi
You are correct Stephanie, I have recently, and often, spoken about my loathing of Condi. She was a disaster as NSA and she isn't exactly setting the world on fire as SOS. And let's be honest about why she would even be considered as VP - and I'll apologize up front for seeming to be insensitive - she would be chosen for her skin color. To offset the black vote for Obama. And, if by some miracle Hillary would be on the ticket (in either spot), to offset the female vote.
What exactly are her qualifications? Just because you serve in gov't doesn't mean you are good at it. I think she would be to much of a direct link to GWB and his failed Iraq policy She would have to spend too much time trying to explain those decisions and what happened in the past than to talk about what would happen in the future with a McCain administration. McCain seems to ( I think) have different ideas about Iraq, the Middle East, "stress" interrogation techniques than the GWB administration and I can't see how Condi could come across as sincere if she campaigned proposing and endorsing positions different than what is, and has, occurred under her watch.
What exactly are her qualifications? Just because you serve in gov't doesn't mean you are good at it. I think she would be to much of a direct link to GWB and his failed Iraq policy She would have to spend too much time trying to explain those decisions and what happened in the past than to talk about what would happen in the future with a McCain administration. McCain seems to ( I think) have different ideas about Iraq, the Middle East, "stress" interrogation techniques than the GWB administration and I can't see how Condi could come across as sincere if she campaigned proposing and endorsing positions different than what is, and has, occurred under her watch.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Frets on Fire
Tip for those with kids, nephews, nieces or too much time on your hands:
Frets on Fire is an open source (free) version of a game very similar to Guitar Hero. You don't need a pseudo guitar like GH has; you can hold your computer keyboard upside down, assign function keys and "play" your keyboard. You're not learning to play the guitar, of course, with either GH or FoF, but you do get familiar with guitar parts in a way that you might not have been, so it does have a little bit of music education value. And you don't shoot anyone.
Frets on Fire is an open source (free) version of a game very similar to Guitar Hero. You don't need a pseudo guitar like GH has; you can hold your computer keyboard upside down, assign function keys and "play" your keyboard. You're not learning to play the guitar, of course, with either GH or FoF, but you do get familiar with guitar parts in a way that you might not have been, so it does have a little bit of music education value. And you don't shoot anyone.
Condi striving for VP
Ugh. Four years ago, I would have been enthusiastic. No more.
Maybe, just maybe, if she's limited to Russian affairs. She'd have to be kept out of any Israeli discussions.
Maybe, just maybe, if she's limited to Russian affairs. She'd have to be kept out of any Israeli discussions.
Heston on Civil Rights, other than gun rights
Who knew? From the Houston Chronicle's website:
Even with all of his screen and stage work, Heston always found time for political activities and public service.
He headed the Hollywood delegation in the 1963 civil rights march on Washington. Before that, he'd participated in smaller, less publicized civil rights demonstrations and arranged a meeting between the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and officials of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees to discuss opening the union to blacks.
Even with all of his screen and stage work, Heston always found time for political activities and public service.
He headed the Hollywood delegation in the 1963 civil rights march on Washington. Before that, he'd participated in smaller, less publicized civil rights demonstrations and arranged a meeting between the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and officials of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees to discuss opening the union to blacks.
Public Education Katastrofy
Um, what's a kuhtastrofy?
From the Denver Post:
According to a new study by America's Promise Alliance, 17 of the nation's 50 largest cities had high school graduation rates lower than 50 percent. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, whose wife, Alma, chairs the alliance, calls it a "catastrophe."
This is up from 14 districts five years ago. This is more than disturbing. Regretfully, many Texas cities are really lagging. See this 2002-3 chart. I know that here in Texas much of this is due to the flight of the more well-off to the suburbs to escape the bad schools but less than 50%? That is abominable.
From the Denver Post:
According to a new study by America's Promise Alliance, 17 of the nation's 50 largest cities had high school graduation rates lower than 50 percent. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, whose wife, Alma, chairs the alliance, calls it a "catastrophe."
This is up from 14 districts five years ago. This is more than disturbing. Regretfully, many Texas cities are really lagging. See this 2002-3 chart. I know that here in Texas much of this is due to the flight of the more well-off to the suburbs to escape the bad schools but less than 50%? That is abominable.
Compound Butter
Come join us!
Koresh was a home boy. Thanks, Houston.
Jeffs is an interloper from California originally.
And who can forget those zany guys at the Republic of Texas.
Koresh was a home boy. Thanks, Houston.
Jeffs is an interloper from California originally.
And who can forget those zany guys at the Republic of Texas.
Compound interest
What is with Texas and the crazed, pseudo-religious, wacko compounds?
And is anyone ever up to anything good in a "compound"?
And is anyone ever up to anything good in a "compound"?
Saturday, April 05, 2008
More Paradise
Shaky, I know but the only way I could capture the other end of the tunnel...full of bats by the way.
Just liked the trees.
A Glorious Day in the Hill Country
All of these are about 40 miles SSW of Austin after a horribly dry winter. We need rain. That's why I can't produce pics of bluebonnets this year.
Character hits
RJ Eskow, writing on Huffington Post, discusses how character assassination is easily accomplished:
If Martin Luther King were alive today there would be no need for gunfire. He died just as he began speaking out forcefully against the Vietnam War. Were he alive to speak out against the occupation of Iraq -- as he undoubtedly would -- it's easy to imagine how the the character assassins would conduct their hit.
First, an "unnamed source" in the Justice Department would start talking to friendly reporters -- off the record, of course -- about "evidence" that Dr. King was receiving money from suspect Middle Eastern sources. Then the FBI's recordings of Dr. King's private life would be leaked to a friendly media outlet -- probably Matt Drudge. After that, Fox News would scour all the available video of Dr. King's speeches, carefully editing them so that they sound more inflammatory and less peace-loving. They would then broadcast them in an endless loop, as the YouTube hits of these misleading clips reached into the millions.
That's a much more effective way to destroy someone than a gun. Bullets only kill the physical body, but character assassination destroys the person's reputation -- and their political effectiveness. Martyrs are a powerful force, but disgraced leaders can't threaten the status quo.
If Martin Luther King were alive today there would be no need for gunfire. He died just as he began speaking out forcefully against the Vietnam War. Were he alive to speak out against the occupation of Iraq -- as he undoubtedly would -- it's easy to imagine how the the character assassins would conduct their hit.
First, an "unnamed source" in the Justice Department would start talking to friendly reporters -- off the record, of course -- about "evidence" that Dr. King was receiving money from suspect Middle Eastern sources. Then the FBI's recordings of Dr. King's private life would be leaked to a friendly media outlet -- probably Matt Drudge. After that, Fox News would scour all the available video of Dr. King's speeches, carefully editing them so that they sound more inflammatory and less peace-loving. They would then broadcast them in an endless loop, as the YouTube hits of these misleading clips reached into the millions.
That's a much more effective way to destroy someone than a gun. Bullets only kill the physical body, but character assassination destroys the person's reputation -- and their political effectiveness. Martyrs are a powerful force, but disgraced leaders can't threaten the status quo.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Thursday, April 03, 2008
My Wal-Mart Fixation
David Freddoso at NRO on the $4.00 prescriptions:
In September of 2006, Wal-Mart rolled out its $4 generic prescription deal, which promised to provide a month’s supply of some 300 drugs (now 361) for less than the cost of a pint of beer. Several other chains — Target, Costco (which is now offering 100 drugs for $10), and Kroger’s, among others — lowered prices in order to compete. Wal-Mart announced last month that its program alone, enacted without any government compulsion, has saved consumers $1.03 billion in less than 18 months. If the other firms’ price reductions are included as well, the total savings could easily be twice as great.
In September of 2006, Wal-Mart rolled out its $4 generic prescription deal, which promised to provide a month’s supply of some 300 drugs (now 361) for less than the cost of a pint of beer. Several other chains — Target, Costco (which is now offering 100 drugs for $10), and Kroger’s, among others — lowered prices in order to compete. Wal-Mart announced last month that its program alone, enacted without any government compulsion, has saved consumers $1.03 billion in less than 18 months. If the other firms’ price reductions are included as well, the total savings could easily be twice as great.
Joseph J. Ellis's American Creation
I enjoyed it but not as much as Founding Brothers. It covered a bit too much for me to process in just 13 hours. It probably didn't help that my road trips were few and far between while listening.
I really did enjoy the elucidation of the two tragedies of the founding...slavery and the Native American issues.
Re: Advice Needed
Thanks for the opinions. Here is the before picture:
When I get my books in, I'll post an after picture.
When I get my books in, I'll post an after picture.
Old fart does Helter Skelter
Not sure what the message is here, but I'm pretty sure I don't like it. Some interesting video, though. Via Allah.
Michael Barone's breakdown of Texas (Dem. Caucus not included)
His Breakdown:
Clinton won her crucial victory in Texas, [that is a link to a very cool uselectionatlas.org] 51 percent to 47 percent.
Obama carried 24 counties, Clinton 226; one was tied, and three small counties in the northern panhandle cast no Democratic primary votes at all. Obama carried four counties with more than 60 percent of the vote—Travis (Austin: state capital, University of Texas), Dallas (blacks and upscale whites), and Fort Bend and Grimes (western suburbs of Houston, with rapidly growing black populations). Obama counties were concentrated in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, metro Houston, and a ring of counties around Austin, whose denizens seem to be spreading across the countryside (the hill country west of Austin is beautiful). He carried Jefferson County (Beaumont, with the highest black percentage in Texas) and Smith and Tyler counties (East Texas, Tyler, and Longview, where most whites are Republicans and most Democratic primary voters were very likely black). Obama got an impressive 44 percent of whites' votes, probably mostly upscale, and 85 percent of blacks' votes. But he got only 35 percent among Latinos, according to the exit polls, and ran far, far behind Clinton in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, where she got 73 percent of the vote in Hidalgo County (McAllen), 77 percent in Webb County (Laredo), and 69 percent in El Paso County. You also see Clinton getting more than 70 percent in some east Texas and central Texas rural counties with low black populations: Jacksonians.
Clinton won her crucial victory in Texas, [that is a link to a very cool uselectionatlas.org] 51 percent to 47 percent.
Obama carried 24 counties, Clinton 226; one was tied, and three small counties in the northern panhandle cast no Democratic primary votes at all. Obama carried four counties with more than 60 percent of the vote—Travis (Austin: state capital, University of Texas), Dallas (blacks and upscale whites), and Fort Bend and Grimes (western suburbs of Houston, with rapidly growing black populations). Obama counties were concentrated in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, metro Houston, and a ring of counties around Austin, whose denizens seem to be spreading across the countryside (the hill country west of Austin is beautiful). He carried Jefferson County (Beaumont, with the highest black percentage in Texas) and Smith and Tyler counties (East Texas, Tyler, and Longview, where most whites are Republicans and most Democratic primary voters were very likely black). Obama got an impressive 44 percent of whites' votes, probably mostly upscale, and 85 percent of blacks' votes. But he got only 35 percent among Latinos, according to the exit polls, and ran far, far behind Clinton in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, where she got 73 percent of the vote in Hidalgo County (McAllen), 77 percent in Webb County (Laredo), and 69 percent in El Paso County. You also see Clinton getting more than 70 percent in some east Texas and central Texas rural counties with low black populations: Jacksonians.
Re: Engagement
Uh, I actually will engage on one point. I've always heard that the Ohio Teachers Union Pension Fund is one of the nations largest which is why I mentioned it. While I certainly agree that a board of directors of Huge Co. is not going to care much about the vote of a single teacher who owns even some substantial interest (say a million bucks worth) of Huge Co., that board is going to care about the interests of the trustees of the Pension Fund (or the manager of a big mutual fund).
Update: btw, the point was not to say that corporations are pure. Nothing run by men can be. I'm a capitalist that believes in the markets; I'm not a corporatist. Left to their own devices, boards will always try to opt for monopoly or somehow otherwise put a competitor at a disadvantage for gain.
Update: btw, the point was not to say that corporations are pure. Nothing run by men can be. I'm a capitalist that believes in the markets; I'm not a corporatist. Left to their own devices, boards will always try to opt for monopoly or somehow otherwise put a competitor at a disadvantage for gain.
Re: Advice needed...
I go subject matter/genre and after that it is more just an aesthetic thing. What looks good next to what?
(Re: Hot Buttons. I mentioned in my first post that you and I had been down the corporate road before so I'm not going to engage but do appreciate your personal perspective.)
(Re: Hot Buttons. I mentioned in my first post that you and I had been down the corporate road before so I'm not going to engage but do appreciate your personal perspective.)
Advice Needed
I am putting out a call to my brethren for some guidance. As part of our home renovation, we had a bookcase made that will take up the length of an entire wall. It is being delivered/installed today. I've been going back and forth in my mind trying to decide how to arrange my vast book collection in said bookcase. By subject? By genre? Alphabetical regardless of subject/genre? Hardcover separate from paperback? Both intermixed?
The possibilities are endless....advice appreciated.
The possibilities are endless....advice appreciated.
Re: (Oil Price Regulation) or we know how to push each others "hot" buttons
I'm trying to refrain from using the phrase..."begs the question" throughout this post. We'll see how I do.
I'm reading the posts from yesterday and I see the corporate mantra..."The companies’ duties are to their families...the shareholders". I swear that if I read this/hear this again, I'm going to make a bee-line to Houston to go through my father's VAST arsenal of weapons and go postal. The ONLY shareholders companies care about are the board of directors and upper management - that's it. Why do most shareholder proposals never pass at corporate meetings? Management would have you believe that it's because they are whacked-out ideas from whacked-out shareholders and all of us little guys go along with the "recommendations" of the board on how to vote. Maybe, it's because the board and upper management own a majority of the stock and it doesn't matter how any of us little guys vote.
Let's not forget that I was a part of a major "shareholder family" and I was told that my 20+ years as a part of the "family" was no longer needed or wanted, just so the "family" could make even MORE money. Not a performance issue, not an age issue, not a race issue, not a gender issue, a more $$ issue. And, I should remember that losing my job, my retirement, my pension, my insurance was a GOOD thing for the shareholders. And since I was a shareholder, they were doing this FOR me, not TO me.
I know that intellectually the arguments that most of the pro-corporate folks, economists and the like make on this subject are factual and right. But I am, like most Americans, a simple person and has a difficult time understanding why corporations, of any industry, never seem to make enough money and why these huge profits never seem to make it down to the worker, at the time when the salary gap between the worker and upper management has never been greater. I know that the corporate mantra of always doing what's best for the shareholders will never go away - I'd just like to hear that that also includes the average employee shareholder, the one that is doing the real work FOR the shareholder; the one making the sacrifices FOR the shareholder.
I'm reading the posts from yesterday and I see the corporate mantra..."The companies’ duties are to their families...the shareholders". I swear that if I read this/hear this again, I'm going to make a bee-line to Houston to go through my father's VAST arsenal of weapons and go postal. The ONLY shareholders companies care about are the board of directors and upper management - that's it. Why do most shareholder proposals never pass at corporate meetings? Management would have you believe that it's because they are whacked-out ideas from whacked-out shareholders and all of us little guys go along with the "recommendations" of the board on how to vote. Maybe, it's because the board and upper management own a majority of the stock and it doesn't matter how any of us little guys vote.
Let's not forget that I was a part of a major "shareholder family" and I was told that my 20+ years as a part of the "family" was no longer needed or wanted, just so the "family" could make even MORE money. Not a performance issue, not an age issue, not a race issue, not a gender issue, a more $$ issue. And, I should remember that losing my job, my retirement, my pension, my insurance was a GOOD thing for the shareholders. And since I was a shareholder, they were doing this FOR me, not TO me.
I know that intellectually the arguments that most of the pro-corporate folks, economists and the like make on this subject are factual and right. But I am, like most Americans, a simple person and has a difficult time understanding why corporations, of any industry, never seem to make enough money and why these huge profits never seem to make it down to the worker, at the time when the salary gap between the worker and upper management has never been greater. I know that the corporate mantra of always doing what's best for the shareholders will never go away - I'd just like to hear that that also includes the average employee shareholder, the one that is doing the real work FOR the shareholder; the one making the sacrifices FOR the shareholder.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Gummint/IRS "Transparency"
The thing that really drive me nuts about the fuel tax (and those like it) in particular and corporate taxes in general is that these taxes are really opaque sales taxes on the ultimate consumers. If fuel prices were being marketed at say an average of $.50 less and then the receipts (does anyone even get gas receipts any longer unless getting reimbursed?) showed a sales tax of $.50 per gallon or $8.75 per tank (in my case), I think much of this demagoguery against corporations would have to stop.
This opacity is what gives rise to so much of that that the left (me, too) decries: lobbyists tweaking the tax code for the benefit of their clients. Very few have the time or inclination to sift through all the flotsam and jetsam of the code.
It's like the whole withholding thing. It's opaque. If we had to set aside every month one-twelfth of the amount of anticipated taxes for the year and then writing a big check every April instead of "escrowing" those taxes every month, people would be much more upset every April. Every one of us knows someone who is excited every January and file his return immediately because of the "refund" not realizing that he could have been earning interest on that refund (instead of having it devalued because of inflation).
This opacity is what gives rise to so much of that that the left (me, too) decries: lobbyists tweaking the tax code for the benefit of their clients. Very few have the time or inclination to sift through all the flotsam and jetsam of the code.
It's like the whole withholding thing. It's opaque. If we had to set aside every month one-twelfth of the amount of anticipated taxes for the year and then writing a big check every April instead of "escrowing" those taxes every month, people would be much more upset every April. Every one of us knows someone who is excited every January and file his return immediately because of the "refund" not realizing that he could have been earning interest on that refund (instead of having it devalued because of inflation).
Re: Oil price regulation
First, on the 9%, I just have to rely on those sources that I've seen around. I think that the Jacoby column had the average something less than that. But I think that it is the vertical margin he (and others) intends to address. It can't be completely vertical because Exxon/Mobile gets oil from some of its own reserves (at least I think it does) and some (I think the vast majority) from reserves owned by others.
As to the regulation of price, if you mean some governmental regulators out there setting price, then no. In Texas, the insurance industry is heavily regulated and often, as in title insurance, the prices are actually set by the state.
Excluding taxes, the prices are almost solely governed by supply and demand (with some effect that I don't pretend to understand by the speculators). In the 70's the spikes were triggered by the artificial decrease in supply by OPEC. Today, the spikes are due to our own increased demands as well as the increasing demands of two already huge, and growing, economies in Asia.
And why don't these folks rail against big Coca-Cola (a whopping 21% margin) or, what has to be much worse, big bottled-water or big Starbucks (I have no idea but $3.50 for a coffee seems outrageous to me)?
As to the regulation of price, if you mean some governmental regulators out there setting price, then no. In Texas, the insurance industry is heavily regulated and often, as in title insurance, the prices are actually set by the state.
Excluding taxes, the prices are almost solely governed by supply and demand (with some effect that I don't pretend to understand by the speculators). In the 70's the spikes were triggered by the artificial decrease in supply by OPEC. Today, the spikes are due to our own increased demands as well as the increasing demands of two already huge, and growing, economies in Asia.
And why don't these folks rail against big Coca-Cola (a whopping 21% margin) or, what has to be much worse, big bottled-water or big Starbucks (I have no idea but $3.50 for a coffee seems outrageous to me)?
More Senatorial Gasbaggery
Does this have to happen every year?
Per Reuters:
Republican Olympia Snowe of Maine and Democrat Jack Reed of Rhode Island said record energy prices have been a windfall for big oil companies and they need to share some of their profits with consumers who are in need.
Now, from the International Herald Tribune:
Consumers [in Pennsylvania] also pay state taxes of 32.3 cents per gallon on gasoline, 11th highest in the nation.
...
Fuel prices in Pennsylvania averaged $3.28 a gallon for regular unleaded gasoline and $4.33 a gallon for diesel on Monday, compared with $2.70 for regular unleaded and $2.84 for diesel a year ago.
Federal fuel taxes amount to 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel.
It appears that the full set of fuel taxes paid by Minnesotans are $.404 per gallon and $.384 for Texans as of January, 2008 per the API.
Of course, that does not factor in any of the corporate income taxes paid by importers or producers, refiners and transporters (to the extent they are different entities), and retailers. I never see any discussion of local sales taxes figured in theses categories so I suspect they are not charged or are not charged uniformly.
Yep, just went back to the API chart and it appears that there are no sales taxes on either end of I-45, but other states do charge them (or some kind of other tax).
What? How about a tax break for those consumers in need?
LJ and I have been down this road before and my recollection is that the profit margin for big oil is about 9%. In gross dollars it always sounds huge, even obscene; it is much better to analyze by way of looking at the margins. If a farmer sell 50 bushels of corn to an ethanol refiner in 2006 for $250 and fifty more in 2007 for $500, what is wrong with that farmer earning $22 in profit the first year and $45 the next (assuming a 9% margin). As the price goes up the farmer should voluntarily decrease her margin out of some sense of fairness?
What about the farmer’s duty to her family? What does she do during the drought years which will surely come? This is Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream stuff... skinny cows eating sleek cows and blighted grain eating good grain...followed by seven years of a 50% tax rate.
Uh oh, just found a high-tax, anti-capitalist story in the Bible. I’ll just blame it on being in the Old Testament. Whose dreams are Snowe and Reed interpreting? And who’s enabling them to do it?
Do the federal or state governments reduce their "margins" because the price has increased? Why not do that for those consumers in need? Looks like in 2002 those consumers in need in Maine would save about $.419 per gallon of gasoline and those Rhode Island about $.494.
The companies’ duties are to their families...the shareholders. If they judge it a good idea to earn a little goodwill like Hugo Chavez did by offering a deal on heating oil to New Englanders, fine. BP has been running those green television spots for at least a couple of years now. Think that ad campaign’s being run to make the planet safer?
So the Senators know how to better spend that 9% than do the pension holders in the Ohio State Teachers Union? Better than me in my 70's when I’m trying to live off my 401k and what, the $1000 per month that Social Security will be able to send me?
Per Reuters:
Republican Olympia Snowe of Maine and Democrat Jack Reed of Rhode Island said record energy prices have been a windfall for big oil companies and they need to share some of their profits with consumers who are in need.
Now, from the International Herald Tribune:
Consumers [in Pennsylvania] also pay state taxes of 32.3 cents per gallon on gasoline, 11th highest in the nation.
...
Fuel prices in Pennsylvania averaged $3.28 a gallon for regular unleaded gasoline and $4.33 a gallon for diesel on Monday, compared with $2.70 for regular unleaded and $2.84 for diesel a year ago.
Federal fuel taxes amount to 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel.
It appears that the full set of fuel taxes paid by Minnesotans are $.404 per gallon and $.384 for Texans as of January, 2008 per the API.
Of course, that does not factor in any of the corporate income taxes paid by importers or producers, refiners and transporters (to the extent they are different entities), and retailers. I never see any discussion of local sales taxes figured in theses categories so I suspect they are not charged or are not charged uniformly.
Yep, just went back to the API chart and it appears that there are no sales taxes on either end of I-45, but other states do charge them (or some kind of other tax).
What? How about a tax break for those consumers in need?
LJ and I have been down this road before and my recollection is that the profit margin for big oil is about 9%. In gross dollars it always sounds huge, even obscene; it is much better to analyze by way of looking at the margins. If a farmer sell 50 bushels of corn to an ethanol refiner in 2006 for $250 and fifty more in 2007 for $500, what is wrong with that farmer earning $22 in profit the first year and $45 the next (assuming a 9% margin). As the price goes up the farmer should voluntarily decrease her margin out of some sense of fairness?
What about the farmer’s duty to her family? What does she do during the drought years which will surely come? This is Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream stuff... skinny cows eating sleek cows and blighted grain eating good grain...followed by seven years of a 50% tax rate.
Uh oh, just found a high-tax, anti-capitalist story in the Bible. I’ll just blame it on being in the Old Testament. Whose dreams are Snowe and Reed interpreting? And who’s enabling them to do it?
Do the federal or state governments reduce their "margins" because the price has increased? Why not do that for those consumers in need? Looks like in 2002 those consumers in need in Maine would save about $.419 per gallon of gasoline and those Rhode Island about $.494.
The companies’ duties are to their families...the shareholders. If they judge it a good idea to earn a little goodwill like Hugo Chavez did by offering a deal on heating oil to New Englanders, fine. BP has been running those green television spots for at least a couple of years now. Think that ad campaign’s being run to make the planet safer?
So the Senators know how to better spend that 9% than do the pension holders in the Ohio State Teachers Union? Better than me in my 70's when I’m trying to live off my 401k and what, the $1000 per month that Social Security will be able to send me?
Office walls
In follow-up to Scooter's post about what's on his office walls (quotes of Keynes and Greenspan) I've got a Faith Ringgold poster on my office wall:
Tar Beach: Woman on a Bridge Series Part I.
There's text in the white bands at the top and bottom. A little girl talks about lying on Tar Beach (roof top) and looking at the George Washington Bridge that her daddy helped build; she mentions that her daddy can't join the union because of his race. The original hangs at the Guggenheim.
Took me this long to post, as I was waiting on permission, now received, from Faith Ringgold's staff to post the image. (Have to take it down after 3 months.)
{Update: Image removed July 2, 2008.]
Took me this long to post, as I was waiting on permission, now received, from Faith Ringgold's staff to post the image. (Have to take it down after 3 months.)
The Autobiography of Henry VIII
I enjoyed it and would recommend if you have any interest in the period.
Re: Tammy Bruce
Heard about five minutes this morning and she sounded pretty right to me, railing on Barry for his silly gas commercial, execrating Carter, and praising Reagan.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Ickes channels Michael
Hillary's camp is trying to execute Michael's strategy for her, as reported by Greg Sargent at TPM:
In an interview with me this morning, senior Hillary adviser Harold Ickes confirmed that Reverend Jeremiah Wright is a key topic in discussions with uncommitted super-delegates over whether Obama is electable in a general election.
The comments from Ickes, who is Hillary's chief delegate hunter, are to my knowledge the first on-the-record confirmation from a Hillary adviser that the Wright controversy is a subject in conversations between the Hillary campaign and the super-delegates her advisers are trying to win over to Hillary's side.
In an interview with me this morning, senior Hillary adviser Harold Ickes confirmed that Reverend Jeremiah Wright is a key topic in discussions with uncommitted super-delegates over whether Obama is electable in a general election.
The comments from Ickes, who is Hillary's chief delegate hunter, are to my knowledge the first on-the-record confirmation from a Hillary adviser that the Wright controversy is a subject in conversations between the Hillary campaign and the super-delegates her advisers are trying to win over to Hillary's side.
Oil in North Dakota
According to The Institute for Regional Studies at North Dakota State University:
In 1928 exploration work was conducted in 1928 by Transcontinental Oil Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This work was done likely due to the wildcatting of the Big Valley Oil Company which sank a well in the Nesson Valley. In 1937 Standard Oil Company of California leased land and conducted surveys in the state, expending over $100,000. In November 1937 drilling commenced by Manning and Martin Company of Denver. When the well was abandoned in 1938 it had gone to 10,281 feet.
It was not until April 1951 that oil was discovered in North Dakota on the Clarence Iverson farm near Tioga by Amerada Oil Company. The discovery set off an oil boom in western part of the state. Oil production centered in Williams, McKenzie, Mountrail, billings, Bottineau and Burke counties. An oil refinery was constructed at Mandan, N.D. After a decline in oil production in the late 1960s and early 1970s there was a resurgence in oil exploration in the later 1970s. Beginning in 1986 there has been a decline in drilling and oil production, but the Williston Basin may still be under-explored.
In 1928 exploration work was conducted in 1928 by Transcontinental Oil Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This work was done likely due to the wildcatting of the Big Valley Oil Company which sank a well in the Nesson Valley. In 1937 Standard Oil Company of California leased land and conducted surveys in the state, expending over $100,000. In November 1937 drilling commenced by Manning and Martin Company of Denver. When the well was abandoned in 1938 it had gone to 10,281 feet.
It was not until April 1951 that oil was discovered in North Dakota on the Clarence Iverson farm near Tioga by Amerada Oil Company. The discovery set off an oil boom in western part of the state. Oil production centered in Williams, McKenzie, Mountrail, billings, Bottineau and Burke counties. An oil refinery was constructed at Mandan, N.D. After a decline in oil production in the late 1960s and early 1970s there was a resurgence in oil exploration in the later 1970s. Beginning in 1986 there has been a decline in drilling and oil production, but the Williston Basin may still be under-explored.
Sonny Bryan's
Is this still it in Big D?
Growing up, we were fans of Red's (Sonny's dad) but they are apparently all gone now.
Growing up, we were fans of Red's (Sonny's dad) but they are apparently all gone now.
Re: Film about ND Oil
But did they ever find it in the thirties? Pretty cool that they got members of the New York Philharmonic for the soundtrack. Finally had time to watch the whole thing.
I've got to think you're right about the wind almost never blowing westerly.
I've got to think you're right about the wind almost never blowing westerly.
Update: Obama takes Texas
Updating yesterday's Statesman story: per the radio this morning with 50% of the counties reporting, Obama takes the Democrat Caucus 58% to 42%.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Top ten reasons why McCain wins
3. Obama's frequently posited obliviousness and never-posited arrogance: It strains credulity to believe that Obama had little reason to believe that Rezko was a crook. Or that he didn't realize his self-narrated links to Selma and the Kennedy family were fabricated. Or that his pastor was an angry bigot and conspiracy theorist. Or that he didn't fill out that questionaire that had his handwriting on it. Throw in his Hillary "you're likeable enough" and stories like this from the John Edwards camp, and the non-partisan avatar of Hope and Healing seems a bit less likeable himself.
List here.
List here.
Not that I've given this any thought, but Denver Barbecue?
These guys appear to be doing ok. Two British brothers who came to the US and fell in love with barbecue. They founded Brothers Barbecue in 1998 while I lived there. The first store, I think, was at Monaco and Leetsdale not far from my old home and right on the way home from my old office.
They appear to up to about ten different stores.
The best part about their stores is that they toured Kansas, Missouri, Texas and the South to learn about barbecue and serve specialties from each region at their stores.
The Texas style was only ok but I found the other styles pretty good. Silly animated bit at lower right hand of home page if you want to see their story.
They appear to up to about ten different stores.
The best part about their stores is that they toured Kansas, Missouri, Texas and the South to learn about barbecue and serve specialties from each region at their stores.
The Texas style was only ok but I found the other styles pretty good. Silly animated bit at lower right hand of home page if you want to see their story.
Taylor is just a bit to the north of Elgin
And I drive past Louie Mueller's whenever I take the scenic route to Athens....wish he would open on Sundays.
There is just something wrong about these places having websites.
There is just something wrong about these places having websites.
Elgin Barbecue
Perfectly good words of which I tire:
surge..for the obvious reasons
transparency...though we could use a lot more of it still
normalcy...too Nixonian but apparently Harding caught a lot of flack for using it
commentator...one too many syllables, sounds like Samwise explaining to Gollum, "It’s a common ‘tater."
transparency...though we could use a lot more of it still
normalcy...too Nixonian but apparently Harding caught a lot of flack for using it
commentator...one too many syllables, sounds like Samwise explaining to Gollum, "It’s a common ‘tater."
Mustang Adoptions
Had hoped to make this my first cool, and extra-Texas video post but the video only allows me to copy the link as opposed to the embedded code.
From today’s Austin American Statesman:
ELGIN [about 20 miles east of Austin where I had a fantastic barbeque plate on Saturday]— Two hundred wild mustangs stamp and snort, eager to escape the 18-wheelers that have carried them on a two-day journey from rural Nevada to Central Texas.
With a clank and a rumble, the door at the back of one of four tractor-trailers rolls up. Fifty horses pause, curious. Then they charge down a ramp, pushing and shoving their way into a series of holding pens at Southwest Stallion Station, one of the largest equine breeding farms in Texas.
Here’s the link to the video. The little mustangs are awfully cute.
From today’s Austin American Statesman:
ELGIN [about 20 miles east of Austin where I had a fantastic barbeque plate on Saturday]— Two hundred wild mustangs stamp and snort, eager to escape the 18-wheelers that have carried them on a two-day journey from rural Nevada to Central Texas.
With a clank and a rumble, the door at the back of one of four tractor-trailers rolls up. Fifty horses pause, curious. Then they charge down a ramp, pushing and shoving their way into a series of holding pens at Southwest Stallion Station, one of the largest equine breeding farms in Texas.
Here’s the link to the video. The little mustangs are awfully cute.
Tammy Bruce
I was a little late getting to the office this morning and heard Tammy Bruce sitting in for Laura Ingraham. (My alternative would have been sports radio and listening to the report of the demise of the Horns to a much stronger Memphis team yesterday afternoon.) I read her The New Thought Police several years ago and while I enjoyed it, I was much more intrigued by the author. TNTP is essentially a book that could have been written by any number of conservatives as a rebuttal to what she (and I) perceives to be the left’s stifling (or desire to stifle) free speech. I can think of David Horowitz and Mike Adams as two who could have (and I think have) written similar books.
She was formerly the President of the Los Angeles NOW Chapter and while decidedly a Democrat, has some equally decidedly views from the right. From her website:
Tammy Bruce is an openly gay, pro-choice, gun owning, pro-death penalty, voted-for-President Bush authentic feminist. A lifelong Democrat, in the 1990s she worked to help elect Senators Feinstein and Boxer, and aided the Clinton for President campaign.
It’s been a while since I’ve thought about her and she seemed pretty good in the ten or so minutes I heard her substitute for Ingraham. If you’re in the car tomorrow or Wednesday, give her a few minutes.
She was formerly the President of the Los Angeles NOW Chapter and while decidedly a Democrat, has some equally decidedly views from the right. From her website:
Tammy Bruce is an openly gay, pro-choice, gun owning, pro-death penalty, voted-for-President Bush authentic feminist. A lifelong Democrat, in the 1990s she worked to help elect Senators Feinstein and Boxer, and aided the Clinton for President campaign.
It’s been a while since I’ve thought about her and she seemed pretty good in the ten or so minutes I heard her substitute for Ingraham. If you’re in the car tomorrow or Wednesday, give her a few minutes.
Obama takes Texas?
From the Austin American Statesman:
Obama won 2,471 delegates to the state convention, or 58 percent, in the Saturday caucuses, compared with 1,783 delegates, or 42 percent, for Clinton, according to an ongoing count Sunday by The Associated Press. More than 3,000 were still to be counted.
Obama's campaign predicted he would win the overall delegate race in Texas because of caucus support, even though Clinton won the popular vote in the March 4 primary
Obama won 2,471 delegates to the state convention, or 58 percent, in the Saturday caucuses, compared with 1,783 delegates, or 42 percent, for Clinton, according to an ongoing count Sunday by The Associated Press. More than 3,000 were still to be counted.
Obama's campaign predicted he would win the overall delegate race in Texas because of caucus support, even though Clinton won the popular vote in the March 4 primary
Barry - old style politico, ie, liar
"Once again, we have more evidence that Obama represents nothing more than the political winds. He has zero credibility, zero experience, and a penchant for telling people what they want to hear rather than any truth about what he actually believes. Either he lied to IVI or he’s lying now. In either case, it’s hardly the New Politics Obama has promised."
Sunday, March 30, 2008
To weight or not to weight
I'm watching an FSN show called Sports Science. They've just demonstrated that adding weights to a bat or a golf club for warm-up swings results in slower bat/club speed and less accuracy during subsequent unweighted swings.
Obama: Hold your forks
Contrary to Michael's assertion that Obama is done as a result of the flap over Rev. Wright, Gallup's Daily tracking poll shows Obama up by 10.
Of course, this is a snap-shot; it's national, rather than focused on states yet to vote, etc. Still, the trends are interesting. Obama's support looks stronger now than before the dust up.
Graph used by permission from Gallup. Their analysis is here.
HMMM
Just paste the embed code in this box but under the Edit Html tab? I see how easy it is to get the embed code but when I pasted the SNL code into the Edit Html field and then tried to compose, there was the code in the Compose tab field.
I'll play some more.
I'll play some more.
I grew up on government cheese; I prefer it
Testing embed from SNL:
[Update: I took movie embed out; it has served its test purpose, and I wonder whether it slows the loading of the SSJ page. Movie can be found here.]
[Update: I took movie embed out; it has served its test purpose, and I wonder whether it slows the loading of the SSJ page. Movie can be found here.]
Embedding trailers for movies
Here's a little blurb about embedding movie trailers. (I'm guessing that at least one of my blog brothers is thinking about posting trailers on occasion.)
The article notes that the trailers you find on YouTube are often pirated and likely to be yanked shortly after they go up. The author pleads for movie companies to make their trailers available for legal embedding, but as far as I can tell (from a cursory search of a few studios), it's still not common practice for the studios to make embed codes readily available.
The article notes that the trailers you find on YouTube are often pirated and likely to be yanked shortly after they go up. The author pleads for movie companies to make their trailers available for legal embedding, but as far as I can tell (from a cursory search of a few studios), it's still not common practice for the studios to make embed codes readily available.
Embedding movies is easy
Posting the movies is super easy. Don't be put off by unfamiliar lingo.
Html code is just text. It contains commands that are in the form of a word or letter ("tag") between less-than/greater-than signs. Because it's just text it can be selected, copied and pasted just like, well, text. The "embed code" is html code that will put a video in a web page.
For the videos, when someone posts a video on the web (in YouTube or elsewhere), it's common for the embed code to be made available too. Just look for the word "embed" somewhere on the page and then select and copy what's in that box or field. In YouTube, there's an "About This Video" box to the right of the video window, and the Embed box is at the bottom of that box.
In Blogger, when you compose, you have two options: "Compose" or "Edit HTML". Those are tabs on top of the composing box. Use the Edit HTML box and then just paste the embed code there. Voila.
With this method, the movie file doesn't reside on your computer nor do you upload it to Blogger. The embed code just references somewhere else on the web where the video is located.
It's actually less work than posting pictures.
(You can, of course, also post movies in the same way as pics, where the file is on your hard drive and you upload it to Blogger.)
[Update P.S.: Was everyone able to view the movies? I'm assuming it worked because it works on my computer.]
Html code is just text. It contains commands that are in the form of a word or letter ("tag") between less-than/greater-than signs. Because it's just text it can be selected, copied and pasted just like, well, text. The "embed code" is html code that will put a video in a web page.
For the videos, when someone posts a video on the web (in YouTube or elsewhere), it's common for the embed code to be made available too. Just look for the word "embed" somewhere on the page and then select and copy what's in that box or field. In YouTube, there's an "About This Video" box to the right of the video window, and the Embed box is at the bottom of that box.
In Blogger, when you compose, you have two options: "Compose" or "Edit HTML". Those are tabs on top of the composing box. Use the Edit HTML box and then just paste the embed code there. Voila.
With this method, the movie file doesn't reside on your computer nor do you upload it to Blogger. The embed code just references somewhere else on the web where the video is located.
It's actually less work than posting pictures.
(You can, of course, also post movies in the same way as pics, where the file is on your hard drive and you upload it to Blogger.)
[Update P.S.: Was everyone able to view the movies? I'm assuming it worked because it works on my computer.]
Saturday, March 29, 2008
SSJ
I'm officially the least capable of us four. You three are so much more savvy than I am. It's embarrassing but keep at it.
A movie test
I'm testing what looks like a different kind of movie embed. Picked a clip for Scooter:
Same process to put it here, though. Just copy the embed code; then paste it into the "Edit Html" window for creating posts.
From the Daily Show, Jan. 30, 2008.
[Update: taking movie down, in case having it embedded slows loading of SSJ page. But video of Peggy Noonan on the Daily Show can be found here.
Same process to put it here, though. Just copy the embed code; then paste it into the "Edit Html" window for creating posts.
From the Daily Show, Jan. 30, 2008.
[Update: taking movie down, in case having it embedded slows loading of SSJ page. But video of Peggy Noonan on the Daily Show can be found here.
Dims v Rethugs
This is a nice example of how they differ. Rethugs take positions based on big ideas; Dims cater to constituencies. Here's Gail Collins, silly Dim, on how she perceives McCain: "But give the man credit for telling it like he thinks it is. So far, he’s only alienated the homeowners, retirees and vacation-takers."
Friday, March 28, 2008
Film about Oil in ND (1953)
Part I
Part II:
This movie is in the public domain and is part of the Prelinger Archives.
Sandwich-eating for me. Apparently, the northwestern part of ND was settled by Norwegians.
[Update: But the movie says the winds blow west from the Great Lakes. I think they blow mostly from the west, northwest and north. So maybe it's wrong about the Norwegians, too.]
Part II:
This movie is in the public domain and is part of the Prelinger Archives.
Sandwich-eating for me. Apparently, the northwestern part of ND was settled by Norwegians.
[Update: But the movie says the winds blow west from the Great Lakes. I think they blow mostly from the west, northwest and north. So maybe it's wrong about the Norwegians, too.]
Re: Oil and Gas Jobs in ND
Regretfully, transportation is the area of my least experience. Pipelines can be really ugly when they leak. I can drive a truck, though. Driving around all day listening to right-wing radio sounds interesting. Not sure about a big rig with something extremely flammable.
Gosh, I've done O&G in TX, CO and WY, surely I can help in ND.
Gosh, I've done O&G in TX, CO and WY, surely I can help in ND.
Oil jobs in North Dakota
Posted on Monster.com:
POSITION INFORMATION
Company: Gas Transportation
Status: Full Time, Employee
Location: US-ND-Minot
Job Category: Energy/Utilities
POSITION DESCRIPTION
Sr. Business Specialist
Organizational Statement
Enbridge Liquids Pipelines, Inc., a leader in crude oil and natural gas transportation, gathering and processing, is currently seeking a Senior Business Specialist to be located at the Enbridge Minot, ND office.
Responsibilities
POSITION INFORMATION
Company: Gas Transportation
Status: Full Time, Employee
Location: US-ND-Minot
Job Category: Energy/Utilities
POSITION DESCRIPTION
Sr. Business Specialist
Organizational Statement
Enbridge Liquids Pipelines, Inc., a leader in crude oil and natural gas transportation, gathering and processing, is currently seeking a Senior Business Specialist to be located at the Enbridge Minot, ND office.
Responsibilities
- Provides the lead business development service for Enbridge Pipelines (North Dakota) LLC Market Development initiatives
- Identifies and develops specific liquid pipeline opportunities for Enbridge Pipelines (North Dakota) LLC
- Monitors market conditions and industry events along with political and business environments to assess the viability of business prospects.
- Markets prospective business ventures by promoting the Company's capabilities to governments and private companies. Must interface, negotiate and coordinate with customers, partners, agents and consultants.
- Develops project frameworks by preparing business strategies, negotiating preliminary contracts, providing letters of agreement and defining legal parameters.
- Coordinates technical, legal, tax, treasury and economic evaluations and models for contract development.
- Provides ongoing project support in the form of interpretation of contract detail and intent of agreement specifics to management, project partners, consultants and business unit operational staff.
- Develops and maintains a network of contacts within the producer, refiner and pipeline industry.
- Provides team lead on coordination of business development ideas amongst the Enbridge Pipelines (North Dakota) LLC groups such as Business Services, Engineering, and Operations.
- Assists the Business Service group on issues regarding Rules and Regulations, Oil Movements, and crude quality
Oil in North Dakota
Here's an excerpt from a NYTimes story about oil in North Dakota, from January 1, 2008:
STANLEY, N.D. — At dawn, people from faraway states huddle outside the Mountrail County courthouse here, the coldest ones leaving briefcases and books to secure their spots for the moment it opens.
It is a peculiar sight in Stanley, population roughly 1,200, one in a constellation of isolated and, in some cases, shrinking farm towns along North Dakota’s wide open western edge where few residents recall a traffic jam.
The early morning line hints at the sudden fortune that has arrived: Oil companies, saying that they located what may prove to be one of the largest recent oil finds in the United States, have begun drilling all through these parts. Fifty-two drilling rigs were at work in the state at the end of December; a count taken in October showed that 198 new wells had been drilled in a year, state officials said.
At the courthouse, the crush of people, known as landmen in the world of oil, spend their days scouring enormous old binders of deeds, each trying to sort out who owns the mineral rights to land that once seemed valuable mainly for growing durum wheat or peas.
There's been oil drilling in western North Dakota for as long as I can remember. In the North Dakota Badlands, outside of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, there are derricks (is that the word for the pumping thing or is that the word for the drilling thing?) sprinkled about, silently pumping away. I found them to be kind of beautiful. And the oil companies have built dirt roads in and through the badlands that are a hoot to drive and give you access to spectacularly beautiful land.
STANLEY, N.D. — At dawn, people from faraway states huddle outside the Mountrail County courthouse here, the coldest ones leaving briefcases and books to secure their spots for the moment it opens.
It is a peculiar sight in Stanley, population roughly 1,200, one in a constellation of isolated and, in some cases, shrinking farm towns along North Dakota’s wide open western edge where few residents recall a traffic jam.
The early morning line hints at the sudden fortune that has arrived: Oil companies, saying that they located what may prove to be one of the largest recent oil finds in the United States, have begun drilling all through these parts. Fifty-two drilling rigs were at work in the state at the end of December; a count taken in October showed that 198 new wells had been drilled in a year, state officials said.
At the courthouse, the crush of people, known as landmen in the world of oil, spend their days scouring enormous old binders of deeds, each trying to sort out who owns the mineral rights to land that once seemed valuable mainly for growing durum wheat or peas.
There's been oil drilling in western North Dakota for as long as I can remember. In the North Dakota Badlands, outside of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, there are derricks (is that the word for the pumping thing or is that the word for the drilling thing?) sprinkled about, silently pumping away. I found them to be kind of beautiful. And the oil companies have built dirt roads in and through the badlands that are a hoot to drive and give you access to spectacularly beautiful land.
200B barrels of oil in North Dakota?
This could be great news. H/t Michael Ledeen. Stephanie, let me know if y'all need an oil & gas lawyer. Does Texas have a reciprocal bar with ND?
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Re: Wright's car
Full disclosure: my former church in Denver (lily-white and rich) works very closely with an inner-city church there whose former pastor drove an older Rolls-Royce. I was disheartened by that (thinking this expenditure was perhaps not the best example of "good stewardship") until by chance I drove by the pastor's house. The house was quite humble and his car just appeared to be a, somewhat expensive, hobby.
I attended maybe three services at this church over five years. While I never heard any "liberation theology," I would not be surprised if it were preached there though I hope not to Rev. Wright's extreme.
I attended maybe three services at this church over five years. While I never heard any "liberation theology," I would not be surprised if it were preached there though I hope not to Rev. Wright's extreme.
Re: Unemployment rates
I recall from my college days that most economists consider 4% to be "full employment." Theory being that those last 4% are just unemployable for whatever reasons.
Minnesota's unemployment
We're not doing so well here.
Minnesota's unemployment rate for February was 4.6 percent, up one-tenth of a point from January. The labor force participation rate slipped two-tenths to 72.4 percent and the employment-to-population ratio dropped three-tenths to 69.1 percent. These are the lowest both measures have been in Minnesota since 1989.
From the Minnesota Department of Employment
Minnesota's unemployment rate for February was 4.6 percent, up one-tenth of a point from January. The labor force participation rate slipped two-tenths to 72.4 percent and the employment-to-population ratio dropped three-tenths to 69.1 percent. These are the lowest both measures have been in Minnesota since 1989.
From the Minnesota Department of Employment
If it doesn’t hurt, you’re not giving enough
Stephanie’ post reminds me that I haven’t blegged for any of my for my favorite groups in a while. Links to each and text pilfered from their websites.
Secular:
Texas Lions Camp
Texas Lions Camp is a residential camping facility for children with physical disabilities, type 1 diabetes and cancer. The Camp is located on over 500 acres in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, and is designed to introduce the "Can Do" philosophy to children dealing with special medical conditions.
Children with special needs from all over the State of Texas are invited to attend one of 9 weeks, which we hope will become one of their life-long childhood memories. A week designed for fun, exploration and challenge.
Foundation Communities
Creates high-quality affordable housing and empowers low-income families and individuals with programs that educate, support and improve financial standing.
Not so secular ("sacred" always sounds so haughty):
Austin’s City School
The school provides a custom-tailored education that results in students who love to learn, learn to lead, and lead to serve. The school is accessible to students from most ability and income levels. City School parents and students are co-producers of a joy-filled education.
Community New Start
We are investing in the future of the St. John community by investing in the lives and families that live here. We believe that each caring relationship developed significantly adds to a community’s health. These relationships are built by expressions of service and commitment to the schools, churches, and people within the community. We use Biblical principles to guide us as we work to address the unique needs of the communities we serve, and these principles are constant. The methods have grown and changed through the past decade as we invest deeper into the strategies that have been the most fruitful.
Secular:
Texas Lions Camp
Texas Lions Camp is a residential camping facility for children with physical disabilities, type 1 diabetes and cancer. The Camp is located on over 500 acres in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, and is designed to introduce the "Can Do" philosophy to children dealing with special medical conditions.
Children with special needs from all over the State of Texas are invited to attend one of 9 weeks, which we hope will become one of their life-long childhood memories. A week designed for fun, exploration and challenge.
Foundation Communities
Creates high-quality affordable housing and empowers low-income families and individuals with programs that educate, support and improve financial standing.
Not so secular ("sacred" always sounds so haughty):
Austin’s City School
The school provides a custom-tailored education that results in students who love to learn, learn to lead, and lead to serve. The school is accessible to students from most ability and income levels. City School parents and students are co-producers of a joy-filled education.
Community New Start
We are investing in the future of the St. John community by investing in the lives and families that live here. We believe that each caring relationship developed significantly adds to a community’s health. These relationships are built by expressions of service and commitment to the schools, churches, and people within the community. We use Biblical principles to guide us as we work to address the unique needs of the communities we serve, and these principles are constant. The methods have grown and changed through the past decade as we invest deeper into the strategies that have been the most fruitful.
Re: Christian Capitalists
For Michael: Didn't I read that Rev. Wright drives a Porsche? There is no substitute.
Re: Christian Capitalism
As a Christian and a capitalist, I find these arguments (that somehow Jesus espoused capitalism) pretty weak.
Though not a very good Christian and no expert on economics, I’d have to say that the New Testament is pretty much neutral about economics.
Off the top of my head the only two economic concepts I can think of even being addressed are paying taxes and helping out the poor.
21"Caesar's," they replied. Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
21Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
I’d have to say that the best argument a Christian can make for capitalism is one of implication. It is the capitalist system that has created the most prosperous (bottom to top) nation on the planet, how can that not be the system that does the most to help the poor? I think of my earlier Wal-Mart post. Any arguments that the NT, or Jesus’ teachings in particular, are capitalistic really stretch credulity.
George Will’s recent column on charity (spanking Austin) is not really on topic but is at least somewhat related if it can be presumed that conservatives are generally more pro-capitalism:
Reviewing Brooks' book ("Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism") in the Texas Review of Law & Politics, Justice Willett notes that Austin — it voted 56 percent for Kerry while he was getting just 38 percent statewide — is ranked by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as 48th out of America's 50 largest cities in per capita charitable giving. Brooks' data about disparities between liberals' and conservatives' charitable giving fit these facts: Democrats represent a majority of the wealthiest congressional districts, and half of America's richest households live in states where both senators are Democrats.
While conservatives tend to regard giving as a personal rather than governmental responsibility, some liberals consider private charity a retrograde phenomenon — a poor palliative for an inadequate welfare state, and a distraction from achieving adequacy by force, by increasing taxes.
I quickly concede that much of that giving is church related.
Though not a very good Christian and no expert on economics, I’d have to say that the New Testament is pretty much neutral about economics.
Off the top of my head the only two economic concepts I can think of even being addressed are paying taxes and helping out the poor.
21"Caesar's," they replied. Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
21Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
I’d have to say that the best argument a Christian can make for capitalism is one of implication. It is the capitalist system that has created the most prosperous (bottom to top) nation on the planet, how can that not be the system that does the most to help the poor? I think of my earlier Wal-Mart post. Any arguments that the NT, or Jesus’ teachings in particular, are capitalistic really stretch credulity.
George Will’s recent column on charity (spanking Austin) is not really on topic but is at least somewhat related if it can be presumed that conservatives are generally more pro-capitalism:
Reviewing Brooks' book ("Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism") in the Texas Review of Law & Politics, Justice Willett notes that Austin — it voted 56 percent for Kerry while he was getting just 38 percent statewide — is ranked by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as 48th out of America's 50 largest cities in per capita charitable giving. Brooks' data about disparities between liberals' and conservatives' charitable giving fit these facts: Democrats represent a majority of the wealthiest congressional districts, and half of America's richest households live in states where both senators are Democrats.
While conservatives tend to regard giving as a personal rather than governmental responsibility, some liberals consider private charity a retrograde phenomenon — a poor palliative for an inadequate welfare state, and a distraction from achieving adequacy by force, by increasing taxes.
I quickly concede that much of that giving is church related.
Prosperous Touch Board Game
Sometimes I have a hard time understanding how capitalism jives with Jesus' teachings. I would say there's no reason it should, except that some people are enthusiastic about both so I seek to understand how this works.I've stumbled on a board game, described in U.S. Patent No. 7,021,626, that perhaps explains the connection. The Abstract describes that the game promises to be a "great blessing to believers of all ages, as it paints a real life picture of how trust in God and his principles can bring a person to a place of not only spiritual freedom but also financial freedom."
According to the rules of the game, one languishes in The Wilderness until one's passive income exceeds one's monthly expenses at which point one moves to The Promised Land where one's power to anoint [I'm presuming that means convert lost souls to Jesus] is multiplied.
"The first person to become financially free and win 100,000 souls to Jesus is the winner." Col. 6, lines 13-14.
A review of the board reveals a general, puzzling (to me) philosophy that souls can be purchased (and/or that there's a zero sum game between souls and money). Here's a sampling of the compromises a player must make between cash and souls (and an opportunity to teach kids to calculate ROI and make investments accordingly):
- "Start Christian airline" - 10,000 souls, cost $50,000
- "Start Christian version of MTV" - 20,000 souls, cost $350,000
- "Give church one million dollar check" -- 15,000 souls, cost $225,000 (hmmm)
- "Buy partnership in Christian fast food restaurant" - 5,000 souls, cost $125,000
- "Co-found Christian Amusement Park" - 100,000 souls, cost $500,000
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Not Peck's Chickens
Since I posted that one of Rev. Wright's sermons were inspired by something Admiral Peck had said, I'd best post this from HuffPo. Peck says he "would not endorse" Wright's sermon language and would have walked out. But, he says, there were "seeds of truth" in it, and he says he has only seen the clips of it and not the full sermon.
How is this even possible?
From the Chronicle:
LA JOYA, Texas — A La Joya woman believed to weigh at least 800 pounds has been charged with capital murder in the death of her 2-year-old nephew.
Myra Lizbeth Rosales initially told authorities she fell on Eliseo Gonzalez Jr. while he was left in her care. He was pronounced dead March 18.
This is tragic, if true (I'm not yet convinced), on a multitude of levels.Libraries
For several years, the Minneapolis libraries have been in a sorry state due to lack of funding. Many old neighbhorhood libraries were shut down, and all the rest have kept very short hours: each just 5 days per week, only open 6-8 hours at a time, and not open on SUNDAYS. Now, though, the city libraries have access to enough funding from a county-wide sales tax (that exists to build a new baseball stadium) to be open on Sundays.
How can you expect children to learn the art of procrastination if they can't go to the library on Sunday to write their reports that are due on Monday? I suppose kids don't need to use the sets of encyclopedias at the library to write reports these days, what with the internets.
How can you expect children to learn the art of procrastination if they can't go to the library on Sunday to write their reports that are due on Monday? I suppose kids don't need to use the sets of encyclopedias at the library to write reports these days, what with the internets.
Coyotes, real coyotes, not smugglers, in Austin
Poor Thor, poor Mr. Jingles.
From the Austin American Statesman:
Thor, a Chihuahua, barked as he charged out to his Shoal Creek backyard about 3 a.m. on a January morning. That was the last time his owner, Kay Aielli, saw him.
"All I heard was the dog yipping, and I could tell he was being carried down the bank of the creek and off to the other side," she said.
She said her other Chihuahua, Mr. Jingles, must have run out the door at the same time as Thor. He was also never seen again.
They may not be as pesky as Michael's feral hogs, but don't tell that to Thor.
From the Austin American Statesman:
Thor, a Chihuahua, barked as he charged out to his Shoal Creek backyard about 3 a.m. on a January morning. That was the last time his owner, Kay Aielli, saw him.
"All I heard was the dog yipping, and I could tell he was being carried down the bank of the creek and off to the other side," she said.
She said her other Chihuahua, Mr. Jingles, must have run out the door at the same time as Thor. He was also never seen again.
They may not be as pesky as Michael's feral hogs, but don't tell that to Thor.
Also on my office wall next to his picture...
"The fact that our econometric models at the Fed, the best in the world, have been wrong for fourteen straight quarters does not mean that they will not be right in the fifteenth quarter."
Alan Greenspan (1999)–Speech to the IMF
Alan Greenspan (1999)–Speech to the IMF
My Favorite Keynes Quote
"It is astonishing what foolish things one can temporarily believe if one thinks too long alone, particularly in economics...."
John Maynard Keynes (1936)
A General of Employment, Interest and Money
It hangs on my office wall next to his picture.
John Maynard Keynes (1936)
A General of Employment, Interest and Money
It hangs on my office wall next to his picture.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
The Sparrow
I'm pretty sure Scooter is talking about The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell. My book club just read it a few months ago. Liked it pretty well. (There's a sequel, Children of God, that I have not read. The main priest who survives in The Sparrow returns to the planet.)
M.D. Russell recently wrote a forward for a reprinting of A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr., a book Michael read, and had me read, about two decades ago. It's vaguely similar to Sparrow in that it's sci-fi involving priests. I encouraged my book club to read Canticle largely because of Russell's enthusiasm for it (because they'd loved her WWII Italian resistance novel Thread of Grace), but they didn't enjoy it. I loved Canticle because it explores juicy themes about sin, redemption, cycles of violence, responsibility, religion, science, the quest for knowledge and its consequences.
[Update: I just realized Scooter said he read the second of a pair, so maybe he read Children of God.]
[Update: I just realized Scooter said he read the second of a pair, so maybe he read Children of God.]
Re: Book Club post...(kinda)
Stephanie's post got me thinking about a book I read while in a club in Denver (I was the only guy).
It was actually a book that was second of a pair. Set on another planet and authored by a woman whose name escapes me. My recollection is that the planet was inhabited by kangaroo type creatures. The planet was being visited by, I think, Catholic priests who were also astronauts. This sounds ridiculous but was very well written and I remember being appalled by the depictions of violence.
Does this ring any bells with anybody? I quickly scanned my liberry and can't seem to locate it.
It was actually a book that was second of a pair. Set on another planet and authored by a woman whose name escapes me. My recollection is that the planet was inhabited by kangaroo type creatures. The planet was being visited by, I think, Catholic priests who were also astronauts. This sounds ridiculous but was very well written and I remember being appalled by the depictions of violence.
Does this ring any bells with anybody? I quickly scanned my liberry and can't seem to locate it.
Global jihad got you down?
Cheer up with Paul Johnson’s ruminations on Russia and China:
Watching the run-up to the U.S. presidential elections from proud and self-indulgent yet weak and cowardly Europe, I am disturbed that so little attention has been paid to electing a President who will have the courage to provide leadership — and, if need be, resolute action — in an increasingly dangerous world.
...Which of the leading U.S. presidential candidates is likely to provide the kind of firm, consistent and cerebral policies that will contain and render safe this newly invigorated Russia? From a European viewpoint this is the key question of the election. It is linked to other factors that have been looming but are now moving to the center on the world chessboard: the burgeoning economies of China and India. What policies should the U.S. adopt regarding them, separately and together?
Watching the run-up to the U.S. presidential elections from proud and self-indulgent yet weak and cowardly Europe, I am disturbed that so little attention has been paid to electing a President who will have the courage to provide leadership — and, if need be, resolute action — in an increasingly dangerous world.
...Which of the leading U.S. presidential candidates is likely to provide the kind of firm, consistent and cerebral policies that will contain and render safe this newly invigorated Russia? From a European viewpoint this is the key question of the election. It is linked to other factors that have been looming but are now moving to the center on the world chessboard: the burgeoning economies of China and India. What policies should the U.S. adopt regarding them, separately and together?
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
I'm in a neighborhood women's book club. The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid, was a book club pick.
I keep re-writing this post to describe the book, but I didn't think much of it and have decided not to bother you with a plot summary and instead just note its style.
It's written as a monologue by a Pakistani man speaking to an American (who may or may not be carrying a gun; who may/may not be CIA; may/may not be trying to assassinate him) in a cafe in Pakistan.
The narrator occasionally notices and comments on the American's discomfort: "I see this makes you tense..." In my head, the Pakistani narrator was speaking English with a bad accent (since I can't do accents). Partly because of the bad accent, partly because of the discomfort of the American, partly because of the verbosity and creepiness of the narrator, I kept being reminded of Christopher Walken's Saturday Night Live character, the Continental. That pretty much ruined the suspense the novel promised to deliver.
Re: Re: Economic Stimulus Notice (cost)
The cost? Per Larry Kudlow:
By the way, this little IRS letter cost the taxpayers a cool $42 million.
A drop in the bucket, sure, but what a waste.
By the way, this little IRS letter cost the taxpayers a cool $42 million.
A drop in the bucket, sure, but what a waste.
So happy to have voted for her
Misspoke? Misspoke? We called them whoppers when I was a kid.
From ABC:
...Clinton said, "No, I went to 80 countries, you know. I gave contemporaneous accounts, I wrote about a lot of this in my book. You know, I think that, a minor blip, you know, if I said something that, you know, I say a lot of things -- millions of words a day -- so, if I misspoke, that was just a misstatement."
From ABC:
...Clinton said, "No, I went to 80 countries, you know. I gave contemporaneous accounts, I wrote about a lot of this in my book. You know, I think that, a minor blip, you know, if I said something that, you know, I say a lot of things -- millions of words a day -- so, if I misspoke, that was just a misstatement."
Monday, March 24, 2008
Reconsidering Jimmy Carter
At the time, as someone who really believed in the ideals behind the Olympics, I thought JC's boycott of Moscow short-sighted. I really believed at the time that those ideals could have great effect. I was naive.
I suppose I need to get ready to eat a 30 year old sandwich as I contemplate Tibet and China. I'm not really calling for a boycott but Bush should not go.
I suppose I need to get ready to eat a 30 year old sandwich as I contemplate Tibet and China. I'm not really calling for a boycott but Bush should not go.
David Freddoso echoes Scooter on the Stimulus Notice..
Steroid Testing at Texas High Schools Began Today
From last year's Statesman:
Legislative budget planners have set aside $3 million, which will allow the University Interscholastic League to test between 20,000 to 25,000 of the state's estimated 740,000 student-athletes. Those tested will come from a randomly selected pool of 30 percent of the state's 1,246 public high schools, making Texas' steroid-testing program the largest in the nation.
Why exactly is this a good expenditure? I know that kids on 'roids is a bad thing but why should taxpayers pay for this. If some high school golfer (I'm not kidding, they're testing all sports and both sexes, er, genders) wants to 'roid up so he can hit it a full 200 yards, shouldn't the parents be the ones who notice the huge head and emotional outbursts and spring for the test. Some reports today are saying that the statistics obtained from the early tests will determine how this is funded. Anybody operating under the assumption it won't be the taxpayer?
Legislative budget planners have set aside $3 million, which will allow the University Interscholastic League to test between 20,000 to 25,000 of the state's estimated 740,000 student-athletes. Those tested will come from a randomly selected pool of 30 percent of the state's 1,246 public high schools, making Texas' steroid-testing program the largest in the nation.
Why exactly is this a good expenditure? I know that kids on 'roids is a bad thing but why should taxpayers pay for this. If some high school golfer (I'm not kidding, they're testing all sports and both sexes, er, genders) wants to 'roid up so he can hit it a full 200 yards, shouldn't the parents be the ones who notice the huge head and emotional outbursts and spring for the test. Some reports today are saying that the statistics obtained from the early tests will determine how this is funded. Anybody operating under the assumption it won't be the taxpayer?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
