Patrick Henry - 23 March 1775

Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask
yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition
comports with those warlike preparations which cover our
waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary
to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown
ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be
called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves,
sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the
last arguments to which kings resort.
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the
price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know
not what course others may take; but as for me, give me
liberty or give me death!

Energy Use in the United States

Source Billion BTUs %
Crude Oil 8,050,680 36.7256%
Natural Gas 5,333,000 24.3281%
Coal 4,510,900 20.5778%
Nuclear 1,905,900 8.6943%
Biomass 886,400 4.0436%
Hydroelectric 612,300 2.7932%
Biofuels 352,700 1.6089%
Wind 159,100 0.7258%
Geothermal 85,200 0.3887%
Solar 25,000 0.1140%
Total 21,921,180 100.00%

Note that "carbon-based" use is 81.63%
Biomas through Solar is only 9.67%

Is a 1960s "space-age committment" to alternative energy - when
it is more expensive and risky and at a time of debt crisis - really
rational? We should instead open all sources of domestic energy
and stabilize and reduce our trade deficits!

Devaluing Money

I recently won a $1000 coin on an auction site. The $ is
pesos, not dollars (USD). As a result of hyperinflation in
Mexico, 1000 “old” pesos (MXP) became 1 “new” peso (MXN) in
1993. A savings of $1,000,000 (MXP) became only $1,000 (MXN).
Mexico was given loans and guarantees of $50B (USD) –
principally by the Clinton administration – in order to
survive the financial crisis.
Nations get money by taxing, by borrowing and/or by
printing it. If you are a debtor nation and unable to pay
your debt, then you can devalue the currency in order to make
it possible to pay the debt. This is done by spending more
than your revenues and creating – by borrowing or printing –
the difference. The effect is called inflation or monetizing
the debt.
To boil a frog, put the frog in cool water and gradually
raise the temperature until the frog has boiled to death.
What we (frogs) see is that an item costing $1000 (USD) in
1913 would cost over $22,354 (USD) in 2011. This works
exactly like a tax. The government makes it worse because,
if you sell the item, you will be taxed on the $21,354
“profit.”
Our coins no longer contain any gold or silver, and our
paper money is only as good as the world's faith in it.
If the world loses that faith, then our dollar becomes as
worthless as a Zimbabwe dollar!

Conservatives & Liberals

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college.
Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a
very liberal Democrat, and among other liberal ideals, was
very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government
programs, in other words redistribution of wealth.

She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch
Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the
lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional
chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for
years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he
thought should be his.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition
to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government
programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her
professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her
father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.

Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a
4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain,
insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load
and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go
out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even
have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many
college friends, because she spent all her time studying.

Her father listened and then asked , 'How is your friend
Audrey doing?' She replied, 'Audrey is barely getting by.
All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she
barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college
for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties
and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes
because she's too hung over.'

Her wise father asked his daughter, 'Why don't you go to
the Dean's office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and
give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will
both have a 3.0 GPA, and certainly that would be a fair and
equal distribution of GPA.' The daughter, visibly shocked by
her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, 'That's a crazy
idea, how would that be fair! I've worked really hard for my
grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work!
Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played
while I worked my tail off!'

The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, 'Welcome to
the Republican party.' If anyone has a better explanation of
the difference between Republican and Democrat I'm all ears.

If you ever wondered what side of the fence you sit on, this
is a great test!

If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat..
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products
banned for everyone.

If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
If a liberal is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to
better his situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches
channels.
Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion
silenced - unless it's a foreign religion, of course!

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is an emergency fuel store
of oil maintained by the United States Department of Energy.
Some clueless individuals are asking the Federal government
to release oil from the Reserve so that they will not have
to pay such high prices for gasoline. The Feds are in the
banking, car and insurance businesses already, why not the
fuel business?!
The Federal government created a “stimulus” package of
almost a thousand billion (trillion) dollars and spent much
of it for road resurfacing and bridges. I bet you don't
know what gas taxes are for! If you said roads and bridges
and “infrastructure” for highway transportation, then you
are correct. That means that the government has taxed gas
much less than the rest of the world, and intentionally let
our infrastructure deteriorate. Much was probably used to
subsidize windmills. Don Quixote would be proud!
We are in trouble because the Federal government is
incompetent to do central planning. We had a mortgage
“crisis” in the 1980s and early 1990s (S&L crisis). That
cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars. The movie
Wall Street depicted the times. Remember the “Greed is good”
line? The mortgage “crisis” of this decade has been blamed on
“greedy bankers.” The clueless Feds don't understand
capitalism. Greed is indeed a good incentive to risk capital
and create jobs – and we got a new Wall Street movie. Federal
incompetence is good fodder for Hollywood!
We have enough energy sources to be energy independent, but
the DOE does not like “carbon-based” fuel. They should drive
solar-powered, electrical cars. Chu is also anti-nuclear.
Obama cancelled the Yucca Mountain storage facility for
nuclear waste that utility customers had paid $14B for.
Governor Haley demanded that the Feds return the $2.6B to
South Carolinians. Hooray for Nikki! Meanwhile, China is
building a nuclear plant each week!
The Feds placed a moritorium on drilling in the Gulf of
Mexico and has stalled permits. At the same time, they loaned
$2B to Brazil-controlled Petrobras for deep-water drilling using
the U.S. Import/Export Bank.
If this is an “emergency”, then all known sources of fuel
should be made available. If new infrastructure is needed,
then the gas tax should be raised to pay for it.

Do Not Raise the Debt Limit!

The Unites States will soon reach the debt limit set
by the Congress. Only 218 of the 241 Republican
Congressmen need to vote NO for the debt limit to stay
the same. This will require spending to match revenues.
Liberals/progressives who want no limits on spending
will warn that the Unites States will default on the debt.
The cash flow for the Federal government is about
$200B/month. This is adequate to service the debt and
have enough left to pay for essential services – like our
military.
If our credit card is denied because we have spent the
limit, then the solution is NOT to get the spending limit
raised. It is to spend less.
The proposed $100B cut in spending is far too small.
If the deficit is $1500B each year and Congress cuts
spending by only $100B each year, the the United States
debt increases $1400B each year.
If you are spending $1010/month more than you earn and
you cut that to $1000/month more than you earn, then you
will soon be bankrupt.
The United States will reach its debt limit about 15
April. Our creditors are closely watching our actions. We
will hit the wall sooner if they sell our current debt and
permanently cease buying our debt.
Substantially cutting the Departments of Education, Energy
and Agriculture and phasing them out completely will achieve
the required spending cuts.
Jeff Duncan has pledged to vote NO unless both the House
and Senate pass a Balanced Budget Amendment. A Balanced
Budget Amendment is not likely! It will require a 2/3 vote
and then ratification by 3/4 of the states.

Anti-War Lyrics

Consider this anti-war song by Pete Seeger from the 1960s:
Where have all the flowers gone? Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone? Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone? Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone? Long time ago
Where have all the young girls gone?
Taken husbands every one
When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young men gone? Long time passing
Where have all the young men gone? Long time ago
Where have all the young men gone?
Gone for soldiers every one
When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?

Where have all the soldiers gone? Long time passing
Where have all the soldiers gone? Long time ago
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards every one
When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?

Where have all the graveyards gone? Long time passing
Where have all the graveyards gone? Long time ago
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Covered with flowers every one
When will we ever learn? When will we ever learn?

It is a beautiful song, but it is false!:
All the flowers were not picked.
All the young girls did not marry.
All the young men did not become soldiers.
All the soldiers did not die.
The absurd, futile cycle portrayed is false.