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Google Public Policy Blog: Finance clean energy, Mr. President: "Along with other entrepreneurs, investors and industry stakeholders, we wrote a letter urging President Obama to craft a jobs package that includes the creation of a Clean Energy Deployment Administration (CEDA). Swift enactment of CEDA will create jobs in 2010 and also position the U.S. as a global leader in the development and deployment of clean energy technologies for years to come."
Government financing usually makes something worse because it is so much less efficient that the market and its choices are usually political. For the sake of clean energy, please don't finance clean energy, Mr. President.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
FOXNews.com - Senate Democrats Propose $1.9T Increase to U.S. Debt Limit
FOXNews.com - Senate Democrats Propose $1.9T Increase to U.S. Debt Limit: "The record increase in the so-called debt limit is required because the budget deficit has spiraled out of control in the wake of a recession that cut tax revenues, the Wall Street bailout, and increased spending by the Democratic-controlled Congress. Last year's deficit hit a phenomenal $1.4 trillion, and the current year's deficit promises to be as high or higher. "
"'We have gone to the restaurant. We have eaten the meal. Now the only question is whether we will pay the check,' said Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont. 'We simply must do so.'"
No, it is more like you bought toys and the question is if you will return any.
"Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota immediately offered an amendment to end the bank and Wall Street bailout, officially known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Thune would prohibit further expenditure TARP funds and would require that all funds paid back be used to retire debt."
That would at least show some remorse for overspending.
"'We have gone to the restaurant. We have eaten the meal. Now the only question is whether we will pay the check,' said Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont. 'We simply must do so.'"
No, it is more like you bought toys and the question is if you will return any.
"Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota immediately offered an amendment to end the bank and Wall Street bailout, officially known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Thune would prohibit further expenditure TARP funds and would require that all funds paid back be used to retire debt."
That would at least show some remorse for overspending.
FOXNews.com - U.N. Panel's Glacier-Disaster Claims Melting Away
FOXNews.com - U.N. Panel's Glacier-Disaster Claims Melting Away: "Today, the IPCC issued a statement offering regret for the poorly vetted statements. 'The Chair, Vice-Chairs, and Co-chairs of the IPCC regret the poor application of well-established IPCC procedures,' the statement says, though it goes short of issuing a full retraction or reprinting the report.
Pachauri told Reuters on Monday that the group was looking into the issue, and planned to 'take a position on it in the next two or three days.'"
"'They are indeed receding and the rate is cause for great concern,' Ramesh said of the glaciers. But, he said, the IPCC's 2035 forecast was 'not based on an iota of scientific evidence.'"
"The speculative comments were not peer reviewed, and other reports have indicated that the glaciers are not retreating abnormally."
This just shows that IPCC is a political group -- not a scientific group. They didn't follow accepted scientific methods. So take their work as political statements and not scientific statements.
Pachauri told Reuters on Monday that the group was looking into the issue, and planned to 'take a position on it in the next two or three days.'"
"'They are indeed receding and the rate is cause for great concern,' Ramesh said of the glaciers. But, he said, the IPCC's 2035 forecast was 'not based on an iota of scientific evidence.'"
"The speculative comments were not peer reviewed, and other reports have indicated that the glaciers are not retreating abnormally."
This just shows that IPCC is a political group -- not a scientific group. They didn't follow accepted scientific methods. So take their work as political statements and not scientific statements.
Blogs, YouTube prompt campaign finance ruling | Politics and Law - CNET News
Blogs, YouTube prompt campaign finance ruling | Politics and Law - CNET News: "The New York Times endorses political candidates (in 2008, it endorsed Barack Obama). So does the New York Post (it chose John McCain).
Those endorsements on the eve of a presidential election were permitted under U.S. election laws--even though both newspapers are owned by corporations with market capitalizations in the billions of dollars. But the tiny nonprofit called Citizens United, funded mostly by individual donations, was barred from sharing its own political views."
Those endorsements on the eve of a presidential election were permitted under U.S. election laws--even though both newspapers are owned by corporations with market capitalizations in the billions of dollars. But the tiny nonprofit called Citizens United, funded mostly by individual donations, was barred from sharing its own political views."
Thursday, January 21, 2010
FOXNews.com - Supreme Court Removes Limits on Corporate, Labor Donations to Campaigns
FOXNews.com - Supreme Court Removes Limits on Corporate, Labor Donations to Campaigns: "In a stunning reversal of the nation's federal campaign finance laws, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Thursday that as an exercise of free speech, corporations, labor unions and other groups can directly spend on political campaigns."
Campaign finance laws aren't effective anyway -- they just shift how things are done while appearing to solve the problem.
"'In the context of election to public office, the distinction between corporate and human speakers is significant. Although they make enormous contributions to our society, corporations are not actually members of it,' he added."
Technically, corporations don't do anything either (speak, spend money, etc). It is the people who run those corporations who do those things.
Campaign finance laws aren't effective anyway -- they just shift how things are done while appearing to solve the problem.
"'In the context of election to public office, the distinction between corporate and human speakers is significant. Although they make enormous contributions to our society, corporations are not actually members of it,' he added."
Technically, corporations don't do anything either (speak, spend money, etc). It is the people who run those corporations who do those things.
Sitting Too Much Could Be Deadly, Experts Say - Health News | Current Health News | Medical News - FOXNews.com
Sitting Too Much Could Be Deadly, Experts Say - Health News | Current Health News | Medical News - FOXNews.com: "Scientists are increasingly warning that sitting for prolonged periods — even if you also exercise regularly — could be bad for your health. And it doesn't matter where the sitting takes place — at the office, at school, in the car or before a computer or TV — just the overall number of hours it occurs."
One idea that comes to my mind is to setup a desk (or a few) at standing height. The computer would be setup with remote desktop so that employees using it could connect back to their workstation and do work as if they were at their desk. That desk could then be reserved like a conference room so that employees could use it for a few short periods during the day. Optionally, the cube could have a tread mill right in front of the computer so that employees could also walk while working.
One idea that comes to my mind is to setup a desk (or a few) at standing height. The computer would be setup with remote desktop so that employees using it could connect back to their workstation and do work as if they were at their desk. That desk could then be reserved like a conference room so that employees could use it for a few short periods during the day. Optionally, the cube could have a tread mill right in front of the computer so that employees could also walk while working.
Muslims Angry Over U.S. Military 'Jesus' Rifles - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com
Muslims Angry Over U.S. Military 'Jesus' Rifles - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com: "Markings on the Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight, which is standard issue to U.S. special operations forces, include 'JN8:12,' a reference to John 8:12: 'Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, 'I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life,'' according to the King James version of the Bible.
The Trijicon Reflex sight is stamped with 2COR4:6, a reference to part of the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians: 'For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,' the King James version reads."
"'I don't have to wonder for a nanosecond how the American public would react if citations from the Quran were being inscribed onto these U.S. armed forces gun sights instead of New Testament citations,' Weinstein said. The foundation is a nonprofit organization opposed to religious favoritism within the military."
"'This situation is not unlike the situation with U.S. currency,' said the spokesman, Air Force Maj. John Redfield. 'Are we going to stop using money because the bills have 'In God We Trust' on them? As long as the sights meet the combat needs of troops, they'll continue to be used.'"
The Trijicon Reflex sight is stamped with 2COR4:6, a reference to part of the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians: 'For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,' the King James version reads."
"'I don't have to wonder for a nanosecond how the American public would react if citations from the Quran were being inscribed onto these U.S. armed forces gun sights instead of New Testament citations,' Weinstein said. The foundation is a nonprofit organization opposed to religious favoritism within the military."
"'This situation is not unlike the situation with U.S. currency,' said the spokesman, Air Force Maj. John Redfield. 'Are we going to stop using money because the bills have 'In God We Trust' on them? As long as the sights meet the combat needs of troops, they'll continue to be used.'"
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Baldwin Bulletin Baldwin Wisconsin: Raise fish and growing lettuce
Baldwin Bulletin Baldwin Wisconsin: St. Croix EDC Names Top Businesses for 2009: "They plan to raise lettuce in an aquaponics system in an arrangement in which fish effluent will be used as fertilizer for the lettuce
Terms used in the operation include: aquaculture which means fish farming; hydroponics which is growing plants without soil; and combined to be aquaponics which is both.
The fish produce waste products from eating which is broken down to nitrate and used by the lettuce. The lettuce breaks down the effluent in the water and it can then be recycled back to the fish."
Cool!
Terms used in the operation include: aquaculture which means fish farming; hydroponics which is growing plants without soil; and combined to be aquaponics which is both.
The fish produce waste products from eating which is broken down to nitrate and used by the lettuce. The lettuce breaks down the effluent in the water and it can then be recycled back to the fish."
Cool!
Oil-Rich Nations Fall Far Short in Haiti Donations - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News - FOXNews.com
Oil-Rich Nations Fall Far Short in Haiti Donations - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News - FOXNews.com: "if you personally have donated money to help the earthquake-stricken people of Haiti, then you have contributed more money than the governments of Saudi Arabia and Iran, whose combined dollar donation is a big fat zero."
The article doesn't list private donation totals per country and I would be interested to see those numbers. Private donations (people giving their own resources) are better than government donations (officials giving their citizens' resources).
The article doesn't list private donation totals per country and I would be interested to see those numbers. Private donations (people giving their own resources) are better than government donations (officials giving their citizens' resources).
College Football Very Taxing | Neal McCluskey | Cato Institute: Commentary
College Football Very Taxing | Neal McCluskey | Cato Institute: Commentary: "many bowls receive generous taxpayer subsidies. According to Mark Yost, author of Varsity Green, seven bowls received more than $21.6 million in government aid between 2001 and 2005. And the majority of bowls are tax-exempt, supposedly because they're good for local tourism. That bowl executives often make big money and corporate sponsors get prominent advertising is apparently irrelevant.
Then, while playing in a bowl comes with a minimum payout of $750,000 for participating schools, many institutions end up spending much more than that to participate -- losses that taxpayers bear."
"legislators in New Jersey had sent millions of dollars in special grants to Rutgers for football-related capital improvements and stadium expenses. In Connecticut, state taxpayers bore the full, roughly $100 million burden for constructing UConn's Rentschler Field, which opened in 2003.
And this year, the University of Minnesota played its first season in its brand-new TCF Bank Stadium, for which state taxpayers are shelling out about $137 million."
Then, while playing in a bowl comes with a minimum payout of $750,000 for participating schools, many institutions end up spending much more than that to participate -- losses that taxpayers bear."
"legislators in New Jersey had sent millions of dollars in special grants to Rutgers for football-related capital improvements and stadium expenses. In Connecticut, state taxpayers bore the full, roughly $100 million burden for constructing UConn's Rentschler Field, which opened in 2003.
And this year, the University of Minnesota played its first season in its brand-new TCF Bank Stadium, for which state taxpayers are shelling out about $137 million."
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