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DON'T BELIEVE LYING LIBERALS!
LET ALL CONSERVATIVES PUT ASIDE THEIR DIFFERENCES AND BAND TOGETHER TO
STOP THIS TYRANNY IN D.C.!
Remember what Ben Franklin said:
"We must
hang together, gentlemen...else, we shall most assuredly hang
separately."
Today’s music video is ‘Midnight In Moscow’ from Kenny Ball And His Jazzmen.
This song was written in 1955 by Vasily Solovyov-Sedoy and Mikhail Matusovsky, and originally titled ‘Leningrad Nights’. (translated from the Russian) The Soviet Ministry of Culture asked that the title be changed to ‘Moscow Nights’, or the more correct literal translation being ‘Evenings At Moscow Riverside’. It remains one of the most popular Russian songs outside of Russia. The song was picked up for a sports documentary inside Russia, where it went virtually unnoticed, but did gain some popular airplay. It was entered in a 1957 International Song Contest for the World Festival For Youth and Students, and, unexpectedly, it won that contest. After that, the song spread around the World.
This version is the biggest selling version of the song. It is done here by Kenny Ball And His Jazzmen, and was recorded in 1961.
Ball was one of the most successful band leaders in the UK, and for decades had a sterling career. He was instrumental in the revival of Jazz in the UK in the 50’s and 60’s. Along with Chris Barber and Acker Bilk, he was one of that ‘Big Three’ in the UK. This song was a million selling single both in the UK, and also in the U.S. and reached Number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and spent 3 weeks at Number One on the U.S. easy listening chart, this chart later morphing into the Adult Contemporary Chart. As big as Ball was in the UK, he remained a ‘one hit wonder’ in the U.S. He has however had 14 Top 50 hit singles in the UK, the most of any Jazz artist.
In 1963, Ball became the first non U.S. jazz artist to be made an honorary citizen of New Orleans, and now, approaching 80, he still occasionally tours. Along with his other big hit, ‘Samantha’, this version of ‘Midnight In Moscow’ remains one of the most popular songs in Dixieland and trumpet circles.
Memorial Day. A time for Americans to reflect upon our freedom and honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for defending it. It is the most solemn of holidays, and many celebrate the day with prayer vigils and remembrances.
Of course, there are also the thousands upon thousands of Americans who consider Memorial Day the unofficial start of summer. And with the start of the summer season comes the obligatory road trip to the beach. Last weekend, a select group of Beltway insiders loaded up the wood-paneled station wagon and made a beeline for the Jersey shore.
This is their story.
Friday, May 22, 9:00 am – Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi summoned the following people to her inner chambers: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Minority Speaker John Boehner, former vice-president Al Gore, and President Barack Obama. Sadly, First Lady Michelle Obama told the president that he was not allowed to attend because she had a Tupperware party scheduled and he would have to serve the hors d’ouvres. The leader of the free world would be missing the trip, because he was afraid of his wife’s 8-minute arms.
When the rest of the real men arrived, Madame Speaker explained the itinerary:
“Gentlemen . . . and Al, it is my pleasure to invite you to Congressional Beach Bash, 2009. We will be departing Capitol Hill at high noon. Our destination? Fabulous Atlantic City, New Jersey! Naturally, we will not be inviting New Jersey Gov. John Corzine. The man is so pasty that he makes Robert Byrd look like George Hamilton! We will be returning in time for Tuesday’s session. Let’s get packing.” Read the rest of this entry »
Intergenerational theft. A complicated phrase that can simply be described as borrow money now, force our children and grandchildren to pay later. We’ve heard it with Social Security, Medicare and, most recently, with the massive stimulus spending bill.
We can now add cap and trade to the list. The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis found that the Waxman-Markey bill would increase inflation-adjusted federal debt by 26 percent.
Over the 2012-2035 timeline, the negative economic impacts accumulate, and the national debt is no exception. This is 26 percent increase is above what it would be without the legislation and represents an additional $28,800 per person, or more than $ $114,915 for a family of four. To reiterate, these burdens come after adjusting for inflation and are in addition to the $450,000 per family of federal debt that will accrue over this period even without cap and trade.
Reducing the debt burden our children will incur is a concern for many policymakers but the same policymakers are largely the problem. Economist Michael Munger says,
Keynes said that Y=C+I+G. Borrowing money to raise “G” (government spending) will work, I suppose. But the cost to future generations is enormous. I am amazed by the hypocrisy of both sides. John McCain calls the stimulus “intergenerational theft.” Well, he’s right, but he came late to this wisdom. The Republicans have been just pouring out new deficit spending since 2002.
And then Obama says he doesn’t want to do tired old ideas, and failed economics. But he is doing exactly what the Republicans did: huge deficit-financed spending on largely useless or irrelevant programs designed to reward political friends. The only thing that’s different is the identity of the “friends.”
So, some of the spending may increase measured GDP slightly for 2009. But the price is increased inflationary pressures in 2010, and the squandering of the birthright of our children for decades.”
This man is part of a Firefighting Department with more than 350 members. He was among a group who sat for the promotion examination, a legally constituted written examination about aspects of firefighting. He then also underwent examination in numerous other areas as well, leadership, building construction, and other areas as well. He was among a small group who passed this whole process, and was then selected for promotion. The overarching Civil Authority tried to find reasons to have the process nullified because not enough of a quota of non whites were selected for this promotion. The selections were nullified and no one was promoted. A small section of those who failed the process took the matter through the legal process, and Judge Sotomayor was one of the judges who agreed with those who failed the process. All the promotions resulting from that original process did not proceed because of this decision. Watch the video, but more importantly read both pages at the Krauthammer link.
Man, if I have a fire in my area, I want guys who know best how to deal with the fire, not a group led by some guy who might have failed the process but got the job anyway to satisfy some quota.
Charles Krauthammer on the real case against ”wise Latina” Sonia Sotomayor – and for confirming Barack Obama’s pick for the Supreme Court:
Obama and Sotomayor draw on the “richness of her experiences” and concern for judicial results to favor one American story, one disadvantaged background, over another. The refutation lies in the very oath Sotomayor must take when she ascends to the Supreme Court: “I do solemnly swear that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich. . . . So help me God.”
Elections have consequences. Vote Democratic and you get mainstream liberalism: a judicially mandated racial spoils system and a jurisprudence of empathy that hinges on which litigant is less “advantaged.”
When the hearings begin, Republicans should call Frank Ricci as their first witness. Democrats want justice rooted in empathy? Let Ricci tell his story, and let the American people judge whether his promotion should have been denied because of his skin color in a procedure Sotomayor joined in calling “facially race-neutral.”
Make the case for individual vs. group rights, for justice vs. empathy. Then vote to confirm Sotomayor solely on the grounds—consistently violated by the Democrats, including Sen. Obama—that a president is entitled to deference on his Supreme Court nominees, particularly one who so thoroughly reflects the mainstream views of the winning party.
Andrew Bolt is a journalist and columnist writing for The Herald Sun in Melbourne Victoria Australia.
The elected representatives of ‘we the people’ were hard at work last week on our behalf. The new Obama administration churned out proposals and legislation on a variety of fronts including the environment, the economy, and the (former) war on terror.
In response to the Federal Reserve’s report of an increasingly gloomy economic forecast, with an expectation for higher unemployment and a steeper drop in economic activity, our public servants in Congress introduced the Paid Vacation Act, requiring companies with more than 100 employees to offer a week of paid vacation for both full-time and part-time employees after they’ve put in a year on the job.
In a boon to deadbeats, President Obama on Friday signed new credit card legislation and warned the American people to be fiscally responsible, saying “Some get in over their heads by not using their heads,” he said. “I want to be clear: We do not excuse or condone folks who’ve acted irresponsibly.”
This stern warning came a full four days after it was reported that the US had set yet another record, entering into deficit spending in April, for the first time in 26 years. Oh, and the deficit will quadruple next year, and it now appears that America’s triple-A credit rating is at risk.
Exhibiting a firm grasp of the obvious, President Obama on Saturday boldly told Americans what 50% of Americans already know: “We’re running out of money”.
Left-wing groups in Washington, D.C., are panicked. The New York Times and other Team Obama whitewashers are downplaying the connection between the Obama presidential campaign, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and Obama’s old employer Project Vote (ACORN’s nonprofit canvassing arm). Alas, the truth keeps seeping out.
At a closed-door powwow hosted Thursday at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, activists discussed how to combat a relentless stream of corruption charges from ACORN/Project Vote whistleblowers. But it’s too late for a reputation bailout. Former Project Vote official and whistleblower Anita MonCrief has harnessed the Internet to crowd-source a massive cache of documents showing ties between Obama staff members and the supposedly “nonpartisan” ACORN operations.
Last fall, The New York Times abandoned an investigation into whether Obama had shared donor lists with Project Vote, a 501(c)(3) organization that is prohibited from engaging in political activity. Public editor Clark Hoyt earlier this month called it “the tip that didn’t pan out.” Critics suggested the donor lists could have been compiled through public records. But I have obtained the lists — not only of Obama donors, but also lists of Democratic National Committee, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry contributors. The records include small donors to the Obama campaign, who are not disclosed in public campaign finance databases. It’s information only a campaign could supply. Read the rest of this entry »
Southern women scattered spring flowers on the graves of both the Northern and Southern soldiers who died during the Civil War.
This was the origin of Memorial Day, which in 1868 was set on MAY 30.
In 1968, it was moved to the last Monday in May.
From the Spanish-American War, to World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, War against Islamic Terror, up through the present, all who gave their lives to preserve America’s freedom are honored on Memorial Day.
Beginning in 1921, every President placed a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The number 21 being the highest salute, the sentry takes 21 steps, faces the tomb for 21 seconds, turns and pauses 21 seconds, then retraces his steps.
Inscribed on the Tomb is the phrase: “HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD.”
In his 1923 Memorial Address, President Calvin Coolidge stated: “There can be no peace with the forces of evil. Peace comes only through the establishment of the supremacy of the forces of good. That way lies through sacrifice…’Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’”
Just yesterday, in this post, I canvassed the replacement of just one large coal fired power plant, and compared it, using an equivalent amount of money with plants using renewable sources. In that I used this same Nellis PV plant for the sake of comparison. Read that post to see just how ineffective this type of plant really is.
President Obama visits the Nellis Solar PV Plant.
Speaking at an Air Force base near Las Vegas, President Obama pointed to a field of solar panels and boldly declared, “The first is a solar energy technologies program that will help replicate the success of the Nellis project in cities and states across America.” Obama,
visiting Nellis Air Force Base between fundraising events in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, toured the largest solar power plant of its kind in the Western Hemisphere, a collection of more than 72,000 panels built on 140 acres, including part of an old landfill. The plant, a public-private venture that cost $100 million, generates about a quarter of the electricity used on the base, where 12,000 people live and work.
The president said the project created 200 jobs and will save the Air Force nearly $1 million a year while reducing carbon pollution by 24,000 tons a year — the equivalent of removing 4,000 cars from U.S. roads.”
Economist Russ Roberts responds: “A project that costs $100 million (though I’d guess this number probably doesn’t include the land costs) to save almost $1 million a year? There’s a name for that—a lousy investment. And creating 200 jobs? Not really. The project employed 200 people. Not the same thing.”
Also under the category of bad energy investments:
When Stephen Munday spent £20,000 ($31,857) on a wind turbine to generate electricity for his home, he was proud to be doing his bit for the environment. The turbine generated five kilowatts of electricity a day – the equivalent of boiling 300 kettles – and provided two-thirds of the family’s energy needs. It also saved them an average of £500 ($796) a year in electricity costs.”
What would’ve been a 40 year investment for Stephen Munday (slightly less than the government’s 100 year investment), is now turning into a complete boondoggle: Read the rest of this entry »
Well this week has been quite a thunderous time in North Korea. Kim Jong-Il has been firing missiles left and right, hoping he’ll get the attention of the United States. Back in the 90’s, the Clinton Administration had a similar situation brewing. How did they handle it? They gave North Korea billions of dollars in aid money. The Bush Administration faced similar tactics. What was the response? Bush told North Korea to stuff it. Now we have a new admin, the Obama Posse, and he’s apparently got so much change in him, he’s following in Bush’s footsteps (so far). While Obama has not come out and told Kim Jong-Il to kiss America’s butt, his silence is deafening (and definitely golden).
Even the Huffington Post sees through this one. As writer John Marshall says in his satirical column, “Talks at the U.N. Security Council over possible sanctions were moving slowly. “That’s because we don’t give five sh*ts,” said a member. “We’re working on everything from terrorism to global warming. Kim Jong-Il’s cries for attention are as out-of-date as his Roy Orbison hair and John Denver glasses.”
China doesn’t seem worried, so what’s the problem?
It’s the same story, different decade. Sorry, Kim Jong-Il, go sell crazy somewhere else. Haven’t you heard? The US is in a recession and can only afford necessities. And you are not necessary.
On election day, two members of the New Black Panthers were caught on camera outside a polling location in Philadelphia, Pa. Both men were dressed in military-style clothing, one wielding a nightstick.The official claims against them said they used racial slurs and insults to scare off voters. A third man was inside the voting location and had apparently somehow gotten himself approved as a poll watcher.
When confronted by a man who identified himself as a member of the media from the University of Pennsylvania who told them he was a concerned citizen worried about them intimidating voters, the man with the nightstick began slowly pacing and giving short responses to questions.
The Philadelphia Police Department was called and arrived on scene. The officers talked breifly with the two men, then the cameraman can be heard saying “He has a billyclub in his hand.” At that point the officers ask the Panthers to come with them.
On April 20, the court issued a default verdict against the men. Yesterday, a Justice Department spokesman confirmed that the case had been dropped about May 15, but they had gotten an injunction to prevent the men from intimidating voters in the future. Apparently, the appointed political officials overseeing the Justice Department told the attorneys to change course – as in ‘don’t go after these guys.’ It has not been confirmed whether or not Eric Holder had been involved in this decision. Read the rest of this entry »
“The germ of dissolution of our federal government is in the constitution of the federal judiciary; an irresponsible body, (for impeachment is scarcely a scare-crow), working like gravity by night and by day, gaining a little today and a little tomorrow, and advancing its noiseless step like a thief, over the field of jurisdiction, until all shall be usurped from the States, and the government of all be consolidated into one.” –Thomas Jefferson
PATRIOT PERSPECTIVE
Marine Aviator’s Memorial Day Wave Off
Publisher’s Note: Alexander’s latest essay can be found at PatriotPost.US.
‘Justice’ isn’t blind this time
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
News From the Swamp: Obama Picks Sotomayor
When Supreme Court Justice David Souter announced his retirement earlier this month, the guessing game began as to whom President Barack Obama would pick to fill the seat. Tuesday, he answered that question with the non-surprise pick of appellate judge Sonia Sotomayor from the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Democrats and the media (but we repeat ourselves) immediately ran with their talking points about her “empathy” and her “compelling life story.” Indeed, blogger Michelle Malkin quipped, “Drinking game: If you take a shot every time you hear the phrase ‘compelling life story’ today, you should be out by lunch.”
It is Sotomayor’s judicial philosophy, however, that is compelling us to oppose her nomination. In 2005, Sotomayor was caught on tape articulating leftist judicial activism in a nutshell: “[A] court of appeals is where policy is made.” Knowing she had given away the game, though, she immediately clarified: “I know this is on tape, and I should never say that because we don’t make law. I know.” Read the rest of this entry »
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, coal fired power provides just on half of all the power consumed in the U.S. Those plants are cheaper than others to construct, there is a ready source of coal for them, in fact more than 200 years worth just in the U.S. alone, and they CAN supply Baseload power, an essential requirement for everyday life to continue in the U.S. in the manner we have become used to.
The problem with coal fired power is that environmentalists have effectively hijacked the argument for them to continue in operation, as they endlessly try to spin the argument that the emission of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is causing what they tell us is catastrophic Global Warming Climate Change.
What this has led to is that the vast number of those coal fired power plants, 1400 of them are aging, and aging fast. The average age of all these plants is now approaching 40 years, and the best effective operating life for them is around 50 years. However, if that average age is 40 years and if there are some ‘younger’ plants, then there must be quite a few that are indeed considerably older than those 50 years. They can have their operating life extended, and because not many large new plants are being constructed, then those plants are having their life extended, and the increasing age can only lead to extended maintenance periods causing down time, problematic in that the overall power grid total runs to relatively fine tolerances, so extended down time places pressure on other plants not specifically designed to run for extended continuous periods of time, and the possibility of brown outs is approaching the area of probability.
So, then let’s do a theoretical task and canvass the construction of just one new coal fired power plant, and after that, we’ll extrapolate the theoretical task out to a comparison with plants that use the renewable sources.
New generation coal fired plants are much better than those older plants on numerous fronts. Electrical technology advances mean that the generators themselves can be smaller than the older ones for the same production of power. Turbine technologies have also advanced considerably, so that smaller turbines can drive the generator unit. Older plants can have this turbine/generator unit weighing up to 450 to 600 tons, and as you can imagine driving something of that weight is a pretty big thing, so if the same power can be produced from smaller units, then there are advantages that go along with that. Furnace technology has also increased with better heat transfer.
Coal is pulverised to feed the furnace. The heat transfer boils water to steam which then drives the turbine which drives the generator. If heat transfer is more efficient, then it stands to reason that less coal needs to be burned to achieve this, and such is the case with the newer critical furnace/boiler units on new coal fired plant technology. A greater efficiency in converting coal to heat means that the steam can drive the turbine more efficiently, so considerably more power can be produced for less coal being burned, and the less coal burned, the less the CO2 emissions are.
New coal fired plants also have much better emissions controls on them, and the only thing yet to be sorted out is what is erroneously called ‘Clean Coal Technology’ which is the capture of the emitted CO2 for storage, somehow. That somehow is the problematic part of this equation, and this technology, if it can ever be proved to work is still in the realms of 20 to 30 years off into the future.
New coal fired power plants can be constructed with the capability to have this technology retrofitted, but to wait until it is proven before constructing new coal fired plants is tantamount to suicide.
So then let’s build one of these damned things then.
Awarded the Navy’s medal of heroism during World War II and the Pulitzer Prize for his book Profiles in Courage, he was the youngest elected President, serving just over 1,000 days before being shot.
This was John F. Kennedy, born MAY 29, 1917.
Kennedy stated in his Inaugural, January 20, 1961: “I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forbears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago. The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life.”
John F. Kennedy continued: “Yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe – The belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.”
Writing to Brazil’s President, Janio da Silva Quadros, January 31, 1961, John F. Kennedy stated: “Once in every 20 years presidential inaugurations in your country and mine occur within days of each other. This year of 1961 is signalized by the happy coincidence. At this time, each of us assumes challenging duties…To each of us is entrusted the heavy responsibility of guiding the affairs of a democratic nation founded on Christian ideals.”
Hello reader(s). Here’s all the news fit to print:
County Threatens Couple Over Home Bible Studies. It seems San Diego County officials are threatening a couple with escalating fines if the couple continues to hold Bible studies for approximately 15 couples in their home.It goes without saying this couple wouldn’t have these problems if they were (a) hosting gay, transgendered, or bisexual couples, (b) hosting orgies for swinging couples, (c) hosting couples worshiping Satan, or (d) a combination thereof (this would probably give them a tax credit).
L.A. Prom Queen Is A Guy. Fairfax High School students elected Sergio Garcia as their prom queen this year. Sergio is reportedly an aspiring hairdresser and choreographer (of course), who reportedly plans to major in “Advanced Multicultural Sodomy.” His parents are no doubt beaming!
Woman Forced To Remove U.S. Flag. An Arlington, Texas woman was forced to remove a U.S. flag she had displayed in her office before Memorial Day after another supervisor, an immigrant from Africa, found it offensive. I guess that sounds about right….
Maybe I’m reading too much into these stories, but they seem to have something in common. I can’t quite put my finger on it.
Hey, let’s have a margarita and worry about this later!
The pursuit of Truth in todays mish mash world of people out for political gain. Interesting. Here is one for you.
Abington Township Pa. Commissioner Lori Schreiber, along with Josh Shapiro, and Joe (taj Ma)Hoeffel have decided it to be a great idea to take a property in Roslyn Pa., thru eminent domain and build a 3 million dollar library when the Abington Library is less than one mile away and funded with 2 million dollars of taxpayer money. How do you spell BOOKMOBILE????
This is a Landgrab for political gain and needs to be stopped!!!!
Why all the millions of dollars to be spent on a couple of kids from Roslyn that can take a bus that goes by the proposed location four times a day to the Main Branch!!!
This is a bigtime Government Fraud that should be nationally exposed!!!!
Elizabeth Patane, 80, owner of the property and vacant building at 1180 Easton Rd, Roslyn, PA, is a widow currently living in Florida. She was contacted by Abington Township officials about leasing the property for the new library. In response, Mrs. Patane hired the Quinn and Wilson firm to handle the lease negotiations. The next thing Mrs. Patane knew, the township was trying to impose eminent domain power over her property.
Abington officials approved the land–grabbing motion by a single vote. The Township Manager, Burton T. Conway, is said to have testified at the hearing that he made a good faith effort to purchase the Patane land for fair market value. The funny thing is how in situations like these, the FMV of the property tends to be considerably lower to town officials than if it were actually sold on the real estate market, essentially voiding all of Mrs. Patane’s rights of ownership and destroying any opportunity for her to sell the land and building for gain. It is of note also, that the property is not up for sale, nor is the Patane family owing in backtaxes or any other legal debt with regard to 1180 Easton Road. Commissioner Lori Schreiber (D) ran for the office on the promise to clean up blight in the area. I guess taking advantage of the elderly is her way of clearing blight – or, she just wants to keep her seat.
“The consciousness of having discharged that duty which we owe to our country is superior to all other considerations.” –George Washington
Every week, the greatest challenge I face as editor of The Patriot Post is determining which subject among all the current news and policy issues concerning liberty and constitutional integrity should be the target of an essay. I mention this because deep into this week’s treatise and just a few hours ahead of deadline, I received a message from one of our Patriot readers that offered a far more powerful perspective on where we are as a nation than anything I’d been writing.
That message was from Mike McGinn, and began: “Only under the administration of a former ‘community organizer,’ a product of the corrupt Chicago political machine, who never served a day of his life in uniform, could a 20-year retired Marine Corps Officer be prohibited from visiting the Arlington National Cemetery resting place of his father, a 30-year retired Marine Corps Officer with distinguished combat service, on the most hallowed of days for our fallen and deceased military servicemen and women — Memorial Day.”
He left Yale for four years to fight in the Revolutionary War.
After graduation, he became a lawyer and taught school in New York. Dissatisfied with the children’s spelling books, he wrote the famous Blue-Backed Speller, which sold over one hundred million copies.
After twenty-six years of work, he published the first American Dictionary of the English Language.
His name was Noah Webster, and he died MAY 28, 1843.
In his 1788 essay, “On the Education of Youth in America,” printed in Webster’s American Magazine, Noah Webster wrote: “Select passages of Scripture…may be read in schools, to great advantage. In some countries the common people are not permitted to read the Bible at all. In ours, it is as common as a newspaper and in schools is read with nearly the same degree of respect.” Noah Webster continued: “My wish is not to see the Bible excluded from schools but to see it used as a system of religion and morality.”
In his book, The History of the United States, published in 1832, Noah Webster wrote: “All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible.”
A successful counterterrorism operation led by the FBI and the New York City Police Department ended with the arrest of four New York City men in connection with plots to bomb Jewish synagogues and gun down military planes in upstate areas.
According to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly the suspects, identified as James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen, allegedly “wanted to commit Jihad.” A first reading of the material made available by authorities and statements issued by officials help us ask several questions and raise a number of points for debate.
A Victory for Law Enforcement
The first thing to acknowledge is the success of the operation conducted by the counterterrorism agencies to stop a “Jihadi” attack against the country.
According to the Associated Press, the arrests came following a nearly yearlong undercover operation that began in Newburgh, N.Y., roughly 70 miles north of New York City. The patience, professionalism and sophistication of the law enforcement procedures in engaging the “cell” until it is trapped tell us that the first lines of defense are efficient. Since the 9/11 attacks the New York task forces have been able to arrest suspects in a number of plots, including those against the Fort Dix New Jersey military base, John F. Kennedy Airport, the Herald Square subway station in Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge.
This leads us to realize that in fact both New York and the nation have been attacked but so far, the shield has worked well. The dismantling of the first cell of 2009 is certainly good news and an additional victory to be credited to the counter-terrorism units but it should be a stark reminder that we – as a nation – are still under attack, eight years after the September 11th massacres. And if we are under attack, it only means that we are still at war, a real one, not a “man-made disaster.”
In this current hysterical climate of anthropogenic global warming, that has now had its title changed to Climate Change, where the emissions of Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse gas are being blamed for every ill known to mankind, I’m going to shine a light directly on what is perceived as the culprit, those coal fired power plants. I’m going to canvass replacing just one of those large plants with what we are being told is the only way we can proceed, that is replacing them with plants that use renewable sources to generate that electricity, those two being Wind power, and the two versions of solar power.
The electrical power currently provided from coal fired power plants makes up just a tick under 50% of all the electricity used in the U.S. You may think that is a large amount, but by World standards that percentage is in fact considerably lower than for the rest of the electricity supplied on Earth. For the rest of the World, that percentage is up around 85%, and even though the U.S. consumes one quarter of all the electricity produced on Earth, that remaining three fourths is virtually all produced from coal fired sources.
The reasons for this are numerous, but it is mainly due to the fact that coal fired plants are able to be brought on line quicker than for most other plants, and by that I mean from the first thought bubble, through all the planning, the construction, and up to the time they actually start delivering power to the grid. They are also cheaper to construct, in fact the cheapest of all the forms of power plant construction. True there are the ongoing costs of the steaming coal they use, but that coal itself is readily available in such vast quantities, and the cost of the coal is relatively cheap, and despite some price spikes in recent years, the price remains competitive enough for those coal fired plants to remain viable. Current coal reserves in the U.S. alone are enough to cover every contingency (including coal fired power plants) for 200 more years.
However, the main reason that those coal fired plants are so attractive is that they can supply Baseload power. This one word, ‘Baseload’, is perhaps the most misunderstood word by those who are not actually trained in the electrical field. Power is used in different areas, the three main areas being Residential, Commerce and Industry. Each consumes around one third of the total power. The Residential area power consumption is mainly in the area called ‘Peak power’ and this is centred mainly around two time periods, those being the two hours in the morning when everyone gets out of bed, and ready for school, work, etc, and the second time period is from around 4PM through to 8PM in the evening when everyone gets home, and has their evening meal etc. These periods provide two spikes in power consumption and these are called the ‘Peaking Power’ times.
The remainder of the time is the Baseload requirement. This is the power required for those other two sectors, Industry and Commerce, and also that part of the residential power that keeps all your stuff at home humming along, the fridges etc.
