Stalinist 25 year plans, then burn our ashes,“Clean Energy” and the Depressed Economy

Lots of Political Wind!

“Clean Energy” and the Depressed Economy | The Freeman | Ideas On Liberty

by William L. Anderson Mar. 2, 2011

The New York Times recently gave editorial space to four former governors to share their economic and political brilliance on how to revitalize our economy. While all four dazzled readers with their wisdom, I have decided to highlight the brilliance of Bill Ritter, Jr., the former Democratic governor of Colorado, who urges Americans to embrace “clean energy ^[1].”

Ritter claims clean energy will “re-energize the economy”:

Building this new economy starts with understanding how clean energy legislation can create jobs. During my four-year term in Colorado, I signed 57 pieces of clean energy legislation. In 2007, for example, we doubled the proportion of energy in the state that is required to come from renewable sources to 20 percent by 2020. In 2010, we increased that to 30 percent for our biggest utility. As a result, Colorado now ranks fourth among the 50 states in its number of clean energy workers per capita, and 1,500 clean energy companies call our state home — an 18 percent increase since 2004. Wind- and solar-energy companies that have built factories and opened offices in Colorado have brought in thousands of new jobs.

Ritter continues with more of his “accomplishments,” and then urges Americans to follow President Obama’s plans:

Last year we capped our clean energy work with a bill that required shutting down several dirty, inefficient coal plants and replacing them with cleaner energy fuels, principally natural gas.

President Obama’s goal to produce 80 percent of America’s energy from clean sources by 2035 is absolutely achievable. But as Washington ponders its next move on energy legislation, governors can and should lead the way.

Socialism Failed

Unfortunately, while the rhetoric sounds promising, everything he wrote is nonsense. Like most American politicians, Ritter fails to understand that socialism really is a failure, and that a 25-year plan for “clean energy” development has no more chance of succeeding than any of the infamous Five-Year Plans first hatched by Josef Stalin. Colorado and the U.S. government don’t send critics of their plans to the gulag, but the “clean energy” advocates do demand that the authorities use the iron fist of coercion to achieve their goals.

My question is this: If these energy sources are so wonderful and such great investments, why do all those ventures have to be subsidized directly by tax dollars or indirectly by government mandates? If these were the profitable and job-creating ventures that Ritter claims they are, why have private firms not jumped in without the government promise to backstop their losses?

[read the article at the above link]

Eric Holder: Black Panther case focus demeans 'my people' - Holder Demeans America!

Eric Holder: Black Panther case focus demeans 'my people' - Josh Gerstein - POLITICO.com

Attorney General Eric Holder finally got fed up Tuesday with claims that the Justice Department went easy in a voting rights case against members of the New Black Panther Party because they are African American.

Holder's frustration over the criticism became evident during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing as Rep.John Culberson (R-Texas) accused the Justice Dept. of failing to cooperate with a Civil Rights Commision investigation into the handling of the 2008 incident in which Black Panthers in intimidating outfits and wielding a club stood outside a polling place in Philadelphia.

The Attorney General seemed to take personal offense at a comment Culberson read in which former Democratic activist Bartle Bull called the incident the most serious act of voter intimidation he had witnessed in his career.

"Think about that," Holder said. "When you compare what people endured in the South in the 60s to try to get the right to vote for African Americans, and to compare what people were subjected to there to what happened in Philadelphia—which was inappropriate, certainly that…to describe it in those terms I think does a great disservice to people who put their lives on the line, who risked all, for my people," said Holder, who is black.

...In a series of questions and comments earlier in the hearing, Culberson insisted that race had infected the decision-making process. "There’s clearly evidence, overwhelming evidence, that your Department of Justice refuses to protect the rights of anybody other than African Americans to vote," the Texas Republican said. "There's a pattern of a double standard here."

More Bloat and Redundant Waste - Billions in Bloat Uncovered in Beltway - WSJ.com

Billions in Bloat Uncovered in Beltway - WSJ.com

By DAMIAN PALETTA MARCH 1, 2011

U.S. government has 15 different agencies overseeing food-safety laws, more than 20 separate programs to help the homeless and 80 programs for economic development.

....GAO examined numerous federal agencies, including the departments of defense, agriculture and housing and urban development, and pointed to instances where different arms of the government should be coordinating or consolidating efforts to save taxpayers' money.

The agency found 82 federal programs to improve teacher quality; 80 to help disadvantaged people with transportation; 47 for job training and employment; and 56 to help people understand finances, according to a draft of the report reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

... ineffective and unfocused federal programs can lead to a mishmash of occasionally arbitrary policies and rules, the report said.

...[Turf battle in the making] consider creating a single food-safety agency because of a number of redundancies. The Food and Drug Administration makes sure that chicken eggs are "safe, wholesome, and properly labeled" while a division of the Department of Agriculture "is responsible for the safety of eggs processed into egg products."

...there are 18 federal programs that spent a combined $62.5 billion in 2008 on food and nutrition assistance, but little is known about the effectiveness of 11 of these programs because they haven't been well studied.

five divisions within the Department of Transportation account for 100 different programs that fund things like highways, rail projects and safety programs.

One program that funnels transportation funds to the states "functions as a cash-transfer general-purpose grant program, rather than as a tool for pursuing a cohesive national transportation policy," the report said. Similarly, it chided the government over encouraging federal agencies to purchase plug-in hybrid vehicles while having policies that agencies reduce electricity consumption. It said government agencies have purchased numerous vehicles that run on alternative fuels only to find many gas stations don't sell alternative fuels. This has led government agencies to turn around and request waivers so they didn't have to use alternative fuels.

AND THE WASTE JUST SEEMS ENDLESS- go to the top link.

Reagan was right about Qaddafi - ‘The Mad Dog of the Middle East’ | The Weekly Standard

‘The Mad Dog of the Middle East’ | The Weekly Standard

MAR 7, 2011, VOL. 16, NO. 24 • BY MATT LABASH

As I sat transfixed in front of a television this week, watching the revolution unfold in Libya—it beats the hell out of House reruns—I was transported back to a simpler time in the history of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, as its leader prefers (Muammar Qaddafi isn’t wordy just in speeches). Long before the Day of Rage became a staple of the region, or “Thursday” as they now call it in the Arab world, I traveled to Libya at the end of 2009.

I tasted the fruits of Tripoli, though not the fermented ones. Libya, like so much of the joyless Maghreb and Middle East, is a country that survives on near beer. I strolled along empty plastic bottles, also known as the beach. The only other beachgoer I spotted was a fellow who was openly relieving himself in the Mediterranean, and from the look of the mounds of trash on the shoreline, this likely improved the water quality. I sampled the charms, such as they are, of the Old City. At least I think it was the Old City. It’s hard to tell sometimes in Libya, where everything, from the Soviet-bloc-style tenement architecture to the used toilet someone tried to sell me at the souk, has lived beyond its expiration date.

[Go to above link]

All Winter we were advised to use public transit to get to work, then were stranded - $590 Million to Increase Speeds by 2.7 MPH

Take the train to work in Manhattan we were advised by the local government suck-up news. Then get stranded.

The Antiplanner :: $590 Million to Increase Speeds by 2.7 MPH :: http://ti.org/antiplanner

Mar 1, 2011

Secretary of Immobility Ray LaHood proudly announced Saturday that the BNSF Railway has agreed to increase Portland-Seattle train speeds from their current average of 53.4 mph to 56.1 mph, saving just 10 minutes (3 hours 30 minutes reduced to 3 hours 20 minutes) over the 187-mile trip. This, said LaHood, is “part of the President’s long-term vision to give 80% of Americans access to high-speed rail in the next 25 years.”

...For the record, during daytime hours Horizon Airlines has half-hourly servicebetween Portland and Seattle at a one-way fare of $70 for a 50-minute flight. That’s more than the average fare-plus-subsidy for existing Amtrak trains (about $55 plus some unknown capital costs), but less than half the fare-plus-subsidy for the new riders of the so-called high-speed trains. Greyhound charges about $26 for a 4-hour and 5-minute bus ride. Both of these services are relatively unsubsidized.

The train might be faster than the bus, but absent congestion you can drive from Seattle to Portland in under three hours at a cost (at 35 cents a vehicle mile, which is the average amount Americans spend) of about $60. Divide that by the number of people in your car and you can save lots of money as well as time. Of course, the roads, particularly in Seattle, aren’t uncongested, but we would be a lot better off putting that $600 million into something that would reduce congestion instead of something that takes no more than a few hundreds cars off the road each day.

By the way, George Will opines that “the real reason for progressives’ passion for trains is their goal of diminishing Americans’ individualism in order to make them more amenable to collectivism.” I strongly suspect that is true for many progressives, but others have their own reasons for supporting high-speed rail, such as overblown concerns about pollution or needless worries about urban sprawl....

[Rear the full article at the above link]

Tzarist Russia, Autria-Hungry, Prussia, Lenin-Stalin-Soviet Union, all controlled the mobility of their "citizens" by having separate train terminals for each outbound destination city. Collectivist control freaks haven't changed.

This is beyond outrageous - Danish family and crew snatched by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean · TheJournal

The time has come for private individuals to heavily arm themselves on the high seas. It is absolutely outrageous that people on the high seas are set up as sitting ducks for Somali Pirates.

The EU’s anti-piracy naval force said last week that pirates were holding a total of 31 vessels and 668 hostages.

Danish family and crew snatched by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean · TheJournal

A DANISH FAMILY including three children have been kidnapped by pirates who seized their sailing boat in the Indian Ocean last week, it has been reported today.

The Danish government announced that the incident happened last Thursday with two crew members also captured during the attack, according to the BBC.

The pirates who seized the boat are said to be heading for Somalia where piracy is a highly lucrative trade. Gangs can often demand millions of dollars in ransoms.

The Copenhagen Post reports that the three children are aged 13, 15, and 17, with the oldest writing a blog last Tuesday in which he said the family were halfway between the Maldives and the Arabian Sea and that everything was normal.

The ship managed to send a distress signal during the attack and the Danish warship ‘Esbern Snare’ is heading for the area, 300 kilometres off the Somali coast.

The EU’s anti-piracy naval force said last week that pirates were holding a total of 31 vessels and 668 hostages.

They reported only yesterday that a cargo vessel carrying a crew of 23 was hijacked in the North Arabian sea with no information on their condition so far forthcoming from the pirates.

Last week, four Americans kidnapped by Somalian pirates were shot dead as US forces attempted to rescue them.

Danger Room What's Next in National Security

Pirates Kill U.S. Hostages, So U.S. Forces Kill Pirates

• By Spencer Ackerman and Adam Rawnsley February 22, 2011

Herman Cain: "Identify Whole Programs To Cut"

Herman Cain: "Identify Whole Programs To Cut"

Herman Cain says the fight over cutting the budget is worth a government shutdown, although he would not recommend it. "You've to identify whole programs to cut out, that's the only way you're going to make big changes in terms of what we have to get rid of," Cain said on a CNN program on Monday night.

"Tinkering around the edges is not going to solve the problem that we face," Cain added.

Cain also discusses a "dramatic reform" of entitlement programs where the states would take control rather than the federal government.

Posted on March 1, 2011

Most Uninformed and Ignorant - Obama: Not Good When The "Rights" Of Public Employees Are Infringed

Not to mention none of his business, this is a State matter to be fiscally responsible, unlike Obama.

Obama: Not Good When The "Rights" Of Public Employees Are Infringed

"I don't think it does anybody any good when public employees are denigrated or vilified or their rights are infringed upon," President Obama said.

Federal Government Duplication

Coburn Newsletter - Federal Government Duplication

from Sen. Tom A. Coburn, MD

Last week, I focused on the rapid growth in federal bureaucracies and its many side effects. While those statistics are startling, I think it is even more important to discover the root causes fueling that growth. A major component is duplication. Federal agencies, at great cost to taxpayers and at the direction of Congress and the President, are creating new programs that duplicate existing ones within the federal government. ...

For example:

• The US Department of Education maintains more than two dozen different study abroad grant sources or programs.
• The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found 69 overlapping early child education programs scattered at 10 different agencies.
• There are over 200 distinct federal programs to assist or encourage students to enter science and math career fields, maintained at 13 different federal agencies. These programs spend about $3 billion annually.
• There are at least 21 federal programs that support efforts to combat childhood obesity located at various federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Education.
• There are 44 job training programs at nine federal agencies, operating at a cost of $30 billion.
• The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), a federal agency, operates half a dozen duplicative programs to address the nation’s nursing workforce shortage.
• The Department of the Interior has at least four overlapping climate change wildlife adaptation programs, including the US Geological Survey, which is now launching Regional Climate Change Response Centers around the country. This does not include new climate change programs at the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or the US Department of Agriculture.
• Seven agencies within the Department of the Interior operate overlapping invasive species programs, with the US Fish and Wildlife Service accounting for eight programs with an invasive species component. Outside of Interior, six other federal agencies administer their own invasive species programs. Finally, the federal government has created four separate councils to better coordinate various federal invasive species programs. In total, the federal government is spending a minimum of $1.4 billion annually on these overlapping programs.
• The federal government has a minimum of 16 programs at three federal agencies aimed at addressing homelessness.
• There are 23 federal programs with a senior housing component.

In response to widespread duplication within the federal government, I have recently offered the following:

• An amendment to force the first comprehensive and regular audit of federal programs to identify duplicative federal agencies and programs. The audit will also include an estimated cost to taxpayers and recommendations for consolidation. The Senate approved this amendment in January and it is now public law.
• An amendment to consolidate hundreds of duplicative federal programs throughout the federal government. The Senate rejected these modest cuts that would have saved taxpayers over $20 billion annually.
• An amendment to return an estimated $100 billion in unspent, unobligated funds held by federal agencies to the Treasury, thereby offsetting the need to further raise our national debt limit. At the end of fiscal year 2009, federal agencies had unobligated balances of $657 billion. The Senate rejected this amendment by a vote of 37-57.
• I have also offered numerous amendments that will delay or halt implementation of new programs until existing obligations are met. I routinely object to (“hold”) any new legislation that creates a program that already exists in the federal government. These objections have eliminated hundreds of new duplicating programs, averting billions in new and unnecessary expenditures.

Let’s keep spreading the word!

Scum Power, By the Numbers - You are not equal!

Union Power, By the Numbers - By Kevin D. Williamson - The Corner - National Review Online

By Kevin D. Williamson

Posted on February 28, 2011 5:59 PM

Responding to my piece, Jonathan Chait writes that unions are paltry players compared to the big, bad business lobby when it comes to buying influence in Washington and state capitols.

Here are the ten largest donors in U.S. politics as of February 7, according to OpenSecrets.Org:

ActBlue: $51 million

AT&T: $46 million

AFSCME: $43 million

National Association of Realtors: $38 million

Goldman Sachs: $33 million

American Association for Justice: $33 million

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers: $33 million

National Education Association: $32 million

Laborers Union: $30 million

Teamsters Union: $30 million

That’s five unions to two businesses and three other groups. Five out of ten is half, by my always-suspect English-major math. And who are those other groups? ActBlue is a Democratic clearinghouse, the trial lawyers are super-lopsidedly Democratic, and four out of five of the Realtors’ top campaign-cash recipients are Democrats.

Put another way, the list reads:

Democratic/Union Goon proxy: $51 million

Death Star, Inc.: $46 million

Union Goons (public sector): $43 million

The Committee to Re-Inflate the Bubble by Electing Democrats: $38 million

The Bankers Who Elected Barack Obama: $33 million

Democratic trial lawyers: $33 million

Union Goons: $33 million

Union Goons (public sector): $32 million

Union Goons: $30 million

Union Goons: $30 million

An important difference not reflected by the gross numbers: The union goons, especially in the public sector, are near-monolithic in their political interests. (See if you can spot the red on AFSCME’s party-split chart. Or play “Spot the Republican” on its list.) The business lobby is not: FedEx and UPS both do a lot of lobbying, but it is in the course of each trying to hose the other. The public-sector unions are a uniquely problematic special-interest group.

— Kevin D. Williamson is a deputy managing editor of National Review and author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Socialism, just published by Regnery. You can buy an autographed copy throughNational Review Online here.