Hope and the lack thereof
By admin | August 6, 2008
Maybe it’s the political season, but have you ever stopped to wonder what does other country’s news looks like? Being a news junkie, I constantly scour the news to find what’s interesting, but in all seriousness, there is some crazy stuff going on in our country and I have to wonder, is it just us? In reading the very liberal Moscow Times, among other international newspapers, and for me, I don’t see the violence and just pure evilness there that pervades our society. Maybe this is what a pluralistic society generates, but I have to think that we as a country have seen better times. Living near Boston, I specifically remember going to a Catholic High School in Dorchester my freshman year. At that time, the economy, much as it is now, was in the tank. There was such rampant crime and violence, you sometimes felt scarred just to walk off the school grounds. Now, as was the case then, our economy is going the way that my poop went this morning…down the crapper. Read this. It’s just sad.
Topics: Quick Thoughts | 1 Comment »
More oil please? I’m still hungry.
By admin | August 4, 2008
The Republican’s haven’t had their fill yet for petroleum (or rather it’s money). So Republican’s are now staging a protest inside the House Chambers to demonstrate against the Democrats reluctance to allow an up or down vote on offshore drilling.
The typical argument goes, that by allowing to drill on our shores, it will demonstrate that the U.S. can rely on its own natural resources to continue economic expanision and preserving our “way of life”.
The Democrats argue that the decrease in price won’t be felt for at least a decade as it takes a vast amount of time to build the infrastructure and to bring the product to the market.
Sit on either side of the fence you want to, but one thing that amazes me is the lack of clarity of thought for either argument, and a new one must be devised.
For one, while yes, drilling off of our shores would indicate to the world our “energy independence”. But let’s take this a step further. Imagine, as the U.S. industrialized at the close of the 19th centuries to today, the billions of gallons of oil the U.S. has consumed during a very narrow time period. One of the reasons I suspect of importing oil oversees was the thought that we could no longer sustain our economy on this oil. Now, imagine if we start drilling off of our shores today. It is widely acknowledged that the amounts of oil to extract are a mere fraction of a fraction of a percent of what the U.S. currently devours. Not to mention, such a little amount would be depleted rather quickly. So, since the Republican’s want tax payers, via tax breaks for oil companies to drill, to foot the bill for this drilling, are we ready to commit ourselves to a “short-term” project? I say nay. It neither qualifies as a short term solution (since it wouldn’t be available for a decade) and neither a long-term solution (since it would be depleted, once on line, in less then a decade).
To the Dems, I say, you really eff’d this one up. In my previous post, I remarked on the rather terrible way bio-fuel production was initiated. Some more forethought would’ve been appreciated. Not to mention the clear indifference to the average person their messages seem to indicate. So Dems, what’s it gonna be? Instead of taking on the fight and insisting that the U.S. simply cannot rely on petroleum, they go home for the summer. The country needs debate on this topic.
And, I must conclude with another irrational thought by the Republicans…increasing nuclear power. In case anyone has forgotten, the byproduct of nuclear power, nuclear waste, has a far more dangerous and immediate affect on our environment(Chernobyl). Just read this by the New York Tims today:
VIENNA, Austria (AP) — The International Atomic Energy Agency said plutonium had leaked in one of its laboratories Sunday but no radiation escaped the building and no one was hurt.
The agency said in a statement the leak happened in the high security area of its nuclear lab in Seibersdorf, 35 kilometers (22 miles) south of Vienna.
Now the part that sends me reelling is the part that says it was a high security area that this happened. So if a radiation leak can happen in a “high security” area, what about those facilities, admittedly, most nuke facilities here in the U.S. where there is this potential (do the math and check with Homeland Security and notice the lack of all the nuke facilities on that list to be secured). It’s staggering to think that we should allow more nuke development without ensuring the safety for not just the U.S., but the World.
I think we can all agree that America is in danger of squadering our gifts, both intellectual and resource wise at the expense of its citizens to line the pockets of oil crooks and nuke gurus with yet more profits. Hey Exxon, what do you intend to do with your record $33B 2Q08 profit? Um, yeah, that’s what I thought, nothin’.
Topics: Politics | 2 Comments »
Well, isn’t that a kick in the…
By admin | August 4, 2008
I hate to start the week off in downbeat way, but maybe we need to start taking the time to assess the true situation in which we may find our economy to currently be in. Please read this article by Barrons. If you are unable to view because you don’t have a subscription, try the Raw Story version . Some sobering thoughts are shared there that may help to effectively gauge our economic futures.
Happy Monday everyone!
Topics: Economy | No Comments »