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Article by John on August 19th, 2008 at 9:55 am A letter to the editor in The Columbian today: Can we afford change? President Bush has been in office for approximately 7½ years. During the first six years of his presidency the economy was fine. Consumer confidence stood at a 2½-year high; regular gasoline sold for approximately $2.19 a gallon; the unemployment rate was 4.5 percent; the Dow Jones hit a record high at [...]
Article by missy on July 16th, 2008 at 12:02 pm There is so much lying, bullying and bad grace in Bush’s presser from yesterday that I can hardly repudiate him any better than to just let the moron whiner speak for himself. Bush is the drunk who drives his car through a pedestrian crosswalk, up onto a sidewalk and into a street fair, killing or maiming all in his path, and then sues [...]
Article by missy on October 12th, 2007 at 1:12 pm The boss is going in for some minor, but unplanned, surgery on Monday, so my desk runneth over. In the meantime: • The ACLU wants us to tell our Senators and Congresspersons to RESTORE pre-Bush FISA, but with teeth: Please, call your representative right now. Tell him or her to only pass a FISA modernization bill that has individualized warrants for people in the [...]
Article by Rich on April 12th, 2007 at 6:19 pm I remember first hearing about ethanol as a possible way of buying more time for our SUV, drive-through lifestyle and had my own doubts. Sounds like more people are, too:
Exposing the Corn-Based Ethanol Hoax as a Solution to Peak OilCorn lobby’s tall tale of a gas substitute
America is swooning over ethanol, the renewable fuel which, in the US, is derived from corn. President Bush predicts ethanol will replace gasoline. Congress has mandated nearly doubling its production. But so far, ethanol is more politics than promise. Over the next five years, $5.7 billion in federal tax credits will support the ethanol market – a boon to Midwest corn growers who are certainly no hayseeds when it comes to lobbying members of Congress. But just what do US taxpayers get in return for these silo-sized subsidies? A renewable biofuel that reduces greenhouse-gas emissions, yes, and a safe substitute for dangerous gasoline additives. Overall, though, the net energy gain from corn-based ethanol is modest, and there are serious issues to consider in making it widely available at America’s gas stations. Currently, it accounts for just 3 percent of the nation’s fuel. Supporters of corn-based ethanol promote it as one way to cure America’s fossil-fuel addiction. That’s an exaggeration as high as an elephant’s eye. The libertarian Cato Institute says it takes the equivalent of seven barrels of oil to produce eight barrels of corn-derived ethanol. Argonne National Laboratory, which studies ethanol for the Department of Energy, is more generous: for each unit of energy to grow, process, and transport corn ethanol, it yields 1.35 units of energy. True, this high-octane fuel gives engines a kick, but it gets significantly lower miles per gallon, necessitating more frequent fill-ups. Ethanol’s also more expensive than gasoline, and, as a blend, contributes to its high price. Read more. I also remember hearing somewhere that growing corn (they were talking about the food grade type, but we can assume there’s a negligible difference) takes an insane amount of nutrients out of the soil per bushel. How long would it take to render a formerly arable region into an arid dustbowl? Continue reading The Corny Alternative Fuel Hoax
Article by Rich on November 11th, 2006 at 1:08 pm Sorry I’ve been so distracted….
…I’m a little overjoyed at this point. Y’know what I mean?
I can’t believe things turned out the way they did. It seems like the last six years have one depressing revelation after another. The last two were especially f**king bleak. We saw the dissolution of nearly everything that made America great. The death of Habeas Corpus and the utter indifference towards it by the Generican people seemed to sound the death-knell for Democracy and individual freedom in my eyes.
But now, despite widespread indy-grapevine reports of voter tampering, harassment and the apparent support of the neocon agenda on the part of the mainstream corporate media, the Democrats have won the Senate, House and many Governorships.
Our spoiled, middle-aged fratboy and the oily businessmen who pull his strings now have something that they rarely encounter – accountability.
But that says maybe. We’ll have to see what the Dems are capable of pulling off and how much they’re willing to stand up to the insanity of this state/corporate juggernaut that’s bearing down on apocalypse. But it seems like every aspect of the post-911 consensus reality is being questioned. Rummy’s gone to nearly unanimous approval. Bolton’s set to get a rabies shot and perhaps put down. Really – making that man ambassador to the UN is like making Adolf Eichmann a diplomat to Israel. But now everyone seems to see that. I saw a MSNBC (owned by General Electric) poll that had 87% (as of Friday) think that Bush should be impeached.
 Listen to that, madam speaker. Despite what you said on 60 Minutes, listen to the voice of the people. You have a mandate. Not a fake, 2% mandate like Georgie in ’04, but a resounding ass-wuppin’ of the neocon right. We wouldn’t have voted you guys in if we didn’t think you’re capable of it. Continue reading Celebration Weekend | Local TV Connect with Facebook |
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