Here is a concise summary of facts and myths.
At a recent neighborhood meet-and-greet for local candidate Dan Salzman, Dan spoke about his vision of building massive wind-farms in Central Oregon (delivering jobs and associated income to that depressed region, and energy to the still-growing West-side). It was great to hear a politician who gets it, and Dan got my vote (Karen voted for an opponent, for other reasons).
One of the things I found interesting is that, on the question of 'are wind farms ugly', the local folks who have them in their communities sure don't think so - an interesting reversal of the usual not-in-my-backyard syndrome, that affects most big public projects.
Barry:
ReplyDeleteGreat link. Now you won't believe this, but we do agree about reducing our dependence on foreign energy. This ultimately, for me, is a national defense issue. It is impossible for us to be truly "safe", while relying on products from folks who hate us. Market forces are moving us to use alternate fuels. This is a good thing for us, the environment, etc. I have always believed that once the price of oil got high enough, we would embrace alternatives that are economically feasible. This only makes sense.
Madmarine
Yes, it's such an obvious benefit for every aspect of the American economy. Too bad the fossil-fuel industry has had such a lock on matters, allowing the Europeans to corner the market on energy-innovation. We coulda been a contender - maybe still can.
ReplyDeleteAt least the Pentagon is trying to do its part: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/us/14fuel.html?ex=1305259200&en=35f7d3a2d3d9425d&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
ReplyDeleteEvery little bit helps. Just think, though, how much more could be conserved if we shut down our military-industrial complex, and devote our energies to simply saving this planet.
ReplyDeleteThe direct answer is 1.7% of total US consumption. Yeh, great idea. Why don't you sell that to folks trying to kill us! That's why we need folks that know how to use the pointy end of the spear.
ReplyDeleteMadMarine
1.7% of total US consumption! Cool - could you please point me to the source of this statistic?
ReplyDeleteJust out of curiosity, why do YOU think they are trying to kill us? I have my list but I am curious how you see it.
MadMarine wrote: "That's why we need folks that know how to use the pointy end of the spear."
ReplyDeletePosted without comment:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12838343/
barry wrote: 1.7% of total US consumption! Cool - could you please point me to the source of this statistic?
ReplyDeleteIn the article.
My list:
Democracy
Our culture
Our power
Charles Martel kicked their ass. End o' the expansion of Islam
And your "Posted with no comment"
It always facinates me that folks, who are clueless about what the military is and how they operate are "experts" in evaluating the outcome of an investigation prior to the end of the investigation. Why is that?
Mad
Hmmm - the battle of Tours (732) was the 'end of the expansion' of Islam? Tell it to the terrified citizens of Vienna, in 1529.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vienna
Yes, the Christian West sure showed the Muslims how to conduct an invasion (and what innocent civilians can expect from a motivated armed force).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_%281099%29
Now THAT was a Holy War, but this is getting off the subject.
If you read the very first sentence of the MSNBC piece, you'll note that the source of the charges are from a 'Pentagon probe'.
Farther down, we have:
"On Wednesday, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said the accounts are true.
Military officials told NBC News that the Marine Corps' own evidence appears to show Murtha is right."
Are you saying that you suspect the Corps of lying about this? Uh, oh.
Nope. All I was pointing out was that nobody, including Murtha, should pre-judge the outcome of the investigation. I'm sure if you were in the docket, you would feel the same way.
ReplyDeleteHow many times have the "sources" been bogus?
Let's wait for the results before going nuts. And, should it be true, I am comforted that the guilty will pay. Believe it or not, the military takes rules of engagement very seriously.