The Human Side of Fracking

This is an interesting story about horizontal hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" for oil and natural gas. New York prohibits it; Pennsylvania allows it. The focus of the story, though, is that upstate New York, although it has the same geologic formations as eastern Pennsylvania, is losing population and becoming a depressed backwater while eastern Pennsylvania is booming with new high-paying jobs, cities gaining a new tax base, and generally doing much better than the national average economically. (Ed. note - see North Dakota too). 


This is a textbook example of how politics can screw up the economy. It is also a microcosm of what the Obama Administration is doing nationally by refusing to let the Keystone XL pipeline project proceed, shutting down drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, etc. Can our economy get going? Sure, but not with the current occupant of the White House or his cronies in Congress. 

finance.townhall.com/columnists/maritanoon/2012/01/23/the_human_story_of_hydrofracing

The Falklands - Here We Go Again?

Margaret Thatcher, 1982, the Falkland Islands off South America. The Argentinians miscalculated by attacking the Falklands, which had been a British protectorate since 1833. They were trying to distract attention from a terrible economy and thought this would be easy pickings. Not so much. Thatcher sent in the Royal Navy and Marines and after a short but sharp series of battles, the Brits prevailed. Of course, Reagan was in office and we provided satellite intelligence, the newest Sidewinder missiles, etc., to our friends the Brits.

Now Argentina is making noise about the Falklands again and for essentially the same reason. The difference, though, is that both Thatcher and Reagan are gone and the relationship between the Brits and Obama is not so good. In fact, the U.S. has already said via the State Department that this is for the two of them to hash out - we want no part of it.

Great way to get these guys into a shooting war again, Mr. President. You may talk peace, but everything you do causes nations to miscalculate and historically, whenever that happens, bad things follow.  Stand by for further developments.

www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/new-falklands-war_618882.html

Sad

I always liked the prayer cards that Alaska Airlines included with their meal trays. The tradition disappeared in coach in 2006 when meals did, but continued in first class. Now it is ending altogether and that's sad.

Supposedly growing discord from its passengers was responsible. That's possible, particularly in Alaska's home base of Seattle. More likely, though, it was a target of the bean counters who are dumping everything that can remotely be considered an extra from flying. I hear one airline is testing military-style web-mesh seats along the sides of the plane to save weight. Kidding, but I hope no airline exec is reading this. seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2017329706_alaska26.html

Higher Ed

But how does it make you feel?

www.kgw.com/news/national/Misspelled-Shcool-sign-replaced-in-NY-138068213.html

Try It - You'll Like It

Got an Android phone and lots of people to keep track of? Try the SoulCares app to organize your life.  It's a whopping $.99, easy to use, and really does work. Soon to come - SoulCares for iPhone. Try it - you'll like it! (Legal stuff: My son Matt and his friend Brian Smith designed this app. Way to go guys! This one is a keeper!)

DOJ - But What Country?

I got an e-mail forward recently that I thought it was one of the bogus ones always making the rounds. It said that the U.S. Department of Justice had adopted a new design for its website (red, white and blue to black) and the following words appeared on the masthead:

"The common law is the will of mankind issuing from the life of the people."


I took issue with the statement because that has never been the origin of English or American common law. Could it be? Off to the DOJ website I went and - sonovagun! - it was all true.


The author was purportedly one C. Wilfred Jenks.  Here is a little bit more background about Mr. Jenks from the American Spectator:
  
"... the quote originates from British lawyer, C. Wilfred Jenks, who back in the late 1930s and after World War II was a leading figure in the "international law" movement, which sought to impose a global, common law, and advocated for global workers rights. Jenks was a long-time member of the United Nation's International Labor Organization, and author of a number of globalist tracts, including a set of essays published back in 1958, entitled The Common Law of Mankind.


Most telling: Jenks, as director of the ILO is credited with putting in place the first Soviet senior member of the UN organization, and also with creating an environment that allowed the ILO to give "observer status" to the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and to issue anti-Israeli statements, which precipitated efforts by the U.S. Congress to withdraw U.S. membership from the ILO. The U.S. actually did withdraw in the mid-1970s due to the organization's leftist leanings."

That's about par for this Administration, especially Eric Holder. The "will of mankind"? The "people" as in lumpen proletariat ? What are we talking about here Comrade Holder? 

spectator.org/archives/2010/07/16/with-liberty-and-global-justic

(Tip o' the hat to Ray Ramsay)

Mr. President, Mr. President!

Columnist John Hawkins lists 15 questions that the media should be asking President Obama, but of course won't because they are too busy asking Republican candidates questions about contraceptives, affairs, etc. And besides, Obama is just awaiting his coronation.The questions are so good that I have reprinted them below.
townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2012/01/24/15_questions_the_mainstream_media_would_ask_barack_obama_if_he_were_a_republican

1) Numerous Mexican citizens and an American citizen have been killed with weapons knowingly provided to criminals by our own government during Operation Fast and Furious. If Eric Holder was aware that was going on, do you think he should step down as Attorney General? Were you aware that was going on and if so, shouldn’t you resign?

2) In 2010 you said Solyndra, which gave your campaign a lot of money, was "leading the way toward a brighter and more prosperous future." Today, Solyndra is bankrupt and the taxpayers lost $500 million on loans that your administration was well aware might never be paid off when you made them. What do you say to people who say this is evidence of corruption in your administration?

3) Unions invested a lot of time and money in helping to get you elected. In return, they gained majority control of Chrysler, the taxpayers lost 14 billion dollars on General Motors, and General Motors received a special 45 billion dollar tax break. What do you say to people who view this as corruption on a scale never before seen in American history?

4) Through dubious means, you and your allies in Congress managed to push through an incredibly unpopular health care bill that helped lead to the worst election night for the Democratic Party in 50 years. Since the bill has passed, many of your claims about the bill have proven to be untrue. For example, we now know the bill won't lower costs and despite your assurances to the contrary, big companies like McDonald's say they may drop health care because of the health care reform. Since the American people have rejected your health care reform and it doesn't do what you said it would, shouldn't you work with the Republicans to repeal it?

5) When you took office, gas was $1.79 per gallon. Since then, you've demonized the oil industry, dramatically slowed offshore drilling, blocked ANWR, and killed the Keystone Pipeline. Now, gas is $3.34 per gallon. How much higher do you anticipate driving gas prices?

6) Occupy Wall Street has been protesting against Wall Street and the richest 1 percent in America. You are in the top 1 percent of income earners in America and you have collected more cash from Wall Street than any other President in history. So, aren't you exactly the sort of politician that Occupy Wall Street wants to get rid of?

7) How do you decide which foreign leaders to submissively bow towards and why do you think that's appropriate for an American President?

8) If they could, don't you think the Nobel Committee would take back the Nobel Peace Prize that you were awarded?

9) You made bipartisanship one of the central themes of your campaign in 2008. Yet, you've worked to push bills through Congress with almost no Republican support, spent much less time negotiating with Congress than George Bush, and you've said things like, "But, I don’t want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking. I want them to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess. I don’t mind cleaning up after them, but don’t do a lot of talking." Why did you decide to break your campaign promise to pursue bipartisanship?

10) America lost its AAA credit rating for the first time under your watch. What do you think you should have done differently to have prevented that historic failure?

11) You cut more than 500 billion dollars out of Medicare to fund your wildly unpopular health care reform bill. Given that Medicare is running in the red already, don't you think it's irresponsible to cut money out of one entitlement program, that millions of seniors depend on -- to put it into a risky new entitlement program?

12) Back in July, you said, "Nobody’s looking to raise taxes right now. We’re talking about potentially 2013 and the out years." Since you plan to raise taxes if you're elected and you've had kind words for a value added tax, shouldn't every American expect a tax increase if you're reelected?

13) Why should the American people reelect you when your 10 year budget saddles America with more debt than all previous Presidents combined?

14) Your stimulus bill cost more in real dollars than the moon landing and the interstate highway system combined. What do we have to show for all of that money spent?

15) Members of your administration promised that the trillion dollar stimulus would keep unemployment under 8 percent. Instead, we've had 35+ months of 8% and above unemployment. Doesn't that mean we wasted a trillion dollars on nothing?

Fleet Admiral

This is really quite remarkable. 81-year-old Phil Warren from the UK has spent over 65 years building this incredible fleet of 432 ships. All vessels are built entirely of matchsticks & matchstick boxes. They are amazingly detailed. The collection includes nearly 370 American and 60 British ships. It makes me embarrassed to think how I use my spare time. (Tip o' the hat to Ray Ramsay)

Baby Solyndra

Solyndra is one of Obama's massive cash raids on the U.S. Treasury that gave over $500 million to politically-connected cronies and their solar power company that is now bankrupt. We have a Baby Solyndra brewing in Oregon. 


The nutshell of the story is that the Oregon Energy Department has made bad loans to various "green" businesses that have gone bad and Oregon taxpayers will have to pony up $20 million or so to cover loan guarantees. Sound familiar? The Oregonian reports that:


"The fund loaned $18 million to a Clatskanie ethanol plant that quickly went bankrupt, $12.1 million to a Linn County solar company crippled by plunging global prices, and $1.4 million to a glitzy central Oregon resort plagued by the real estate crash." 


The moral of the story is that government is a lousy investor. Venture capitalists have their own money at stake and become adept at vetting good projects from bad or they go broke. They get a premium for assuming this risk. Government, on the other hand, isn't spending its own money and thus often falls for something that looks good on paper but that someone with a little VC expertise could readily see that isn't so hot behind all the bells and whistles. Then, of course, there is political pressure to send money to influential big wigs. Even if a project goes well, government typically only gets repaid at a reduced interest rate. If we want to get a handle on government spending, this is one area that is ripe for change. Quit pushing trendy ideas and let the market decide what works and what doesn't.

www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2012/01/oregon_taxpayers_must_bail_out.html

Observation Point

"We are here on earth to learn and grow, but our prize is heaven. Only a moment of our existence is spent here, and yet most of the time, we look to the things of the world to satisfy our deepest longings. We do not even realize that we are hungering for heaven."

                                                                         Rebecca Barlow

                                                                                                                             

Happy Birthday Slim!

Slim Whitman hits 88 today. Famous for classic songs like Una Paloma Blanca (below) and I Remember You, Whitman's music was featured in the 1996 film classic Mars Attacks! Many happy returns Slim! 


Note: This is not Will Ferrell mugging. 

Heart of Gold

Warren Buffett is the liberals' favorite capitalist. He begs the President to raise his taxes, never mind that he can pay any amount he wants at any time, but doesn't. No, the liberals need a tame capitalist to exhibit. Here is a quote from a liberal journalist that illustrates the point:

"Buffett doesn't want to hobble capitalism. He just wants to give it a heart."

Yeah, right. I think Rush had it right when he said that Buffett puts on this little dog-and-pony show to stay in liberals' good graces in order to keep from getting taxed. Again Warren, if you really want to pay more, just do it! Otherwise, nice but not convincing acting job. 

news.yahoo.com/exclusive-warren-buffett-accepts-gop-tax-challenge-offers-121500308.html

(Tip o' the hat to Mark Samples)

Dummies

The arrogance of the Ruling Class is astounding. Here is the cover of this week's Newsweek. The magazine sold recently for $1 plus assumption of all their debt. Who are the dummies?

Happy 100th Birthday L.L. Bean!

Every once in a while you run across a company that just does things right. LL Bean is one of those companies and it is celebrating its 100th birthday. Whether on the phone or at its flagship store in Freeport, Maine, Bean's customer service reps have always been good to work with. Their products are well made and on the rare occasions that I have had a problem with something, they have made it good - no questions asked. That is such a pleasure compared to many companies that I have always come back to Bean's. Happy Birthday Bean's for a job well done!

www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2012/01/ll_bean_celebrates_100th_maint.html

Coals to Newcastle

The Port of Portland is shipping coals to Newcastle - actually 10,000 Fords to South Korea. A drop in the bucket compared to the countless Hyundais and Kias coming into the U.S., but it's nice that Oregon has a small piece of this symbolic gesture.

www.kgw.com/news/Port-of-Portland-to-ship-Fords-to-Korea-137184868.html

Drilling Goes Up; Prices Go Down.

Oregon consumers and consumers nationally are enjoying the benefit of falling natural gas prices due to more domestic drilling. Imagine - supply goes up and prices go down! Who knew?

And the same thing would happen if the Feds changed policy and really let domestic oil drilling out of the regulatory shackles. We could have a healthy economy, but there isn't the political will in Washington. Remember this on November 6, 2012.

www.kgw.com/news/business/137391963.html

Another Sign of Spring in Egypt

The religious morality police in Egypt are now being equipped with Tasers. Yes indeed, when they see someone they think is indulging in immoral behavior, which appears to be about everybody but them, the morality police will "help" the miscreant with a little aversion therapy so they straighten up and fly right.  Yes sir, paradise on earth these Islamic republics!

www.wnd.com/2012/01/morality-police-getting-tasers/

Genie Out of the Bottle

You have heard no doubt about the bird flu. Nasty stuff. Fortunately, it is has not been highly contagious. Except that now, scientists in the U.S. and the Netherlands have genetically altered it to be highly contagious. Why? Do these scientists really think the genie won't get out of the bottle? All you have to do is ignore history. Ah yes - science will lead us to the great new world! Too bad it may be off a cliff.

abcnews.go.com/Health/highly-contagious-bird-flu-virus-strain-created-dutch/story?id=15198051#.TxCbzmNSTVc

A "Mistake" x 52 Million

January 22 is the anniversary date of the infamous 1973 decision in Roe v Wade. In an atrociously reasoned opinion, the Court first stated that no one could determine when life begins and then promptly did just that. Since then some 52,000,000 babies have been killed by abortion in the U.S.

The technology of death has evolved since 1973. Surgical abortions are being phased out and morning-after pills are taking their place. Polling indicates 61% of Americans are now against abortion for almost all reasons, but one wonders if the question is irrelevant. The revised phrasing might be, "Do you agree with taking a pill after having sex to avoid a mistake?" A "mistake"? Really? The One who counts is counting and I am quite sure that He does not view any of them as mistakes.

Choose life.

www.lifematterstv.org/abortioncounters.html

They Got It Right

Two - count 'em - two local stories on the front page this morning where public bodies did the right thing fiscally! It's not enough to criticize, so here goes with some props:

The Silverton School District not only came in under budget on its new high school, but is refunding the unspent surplus from the bond issue to taxpayers. A spokesperson for the district said they wanted to keep faith with the voters. How refreshing!
www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20120112/NEWS/201120336/Tax-payers-get-800-000-refund-from-Silverton-High-expansion?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home

The Oregon Department of Revenue decided not to spend $13M to fund a new computer system because of the crisis in state finances. Good choosing! At some point a new system will be necessary, but thanks for applying some discretion.

An interesting side note to this story is that this decision was made in conjunction with the state's new Chief Operating Officer (COO). All big private corporations have a COO and there are many corporations with more employees than the State of Oregon. In years past, there was no one person in overall charge of reviewing and planning operational decisions from a fiscal perspective. Having a COO could be a very good addition for the state and the taxpayers.
www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20120112/NEWS/201120328/Revenue-dept-postpones-92-million-computer-overhaul?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home

The Supremes Greatest Hits!

The Supremes are smokin'! The U.S. Supreme Court handed down a huge religious freedom case today that clearly sets out limits on government interference with churches. Legal observers say it may be the most important religious liberty case in decades. 


The 9-0 decision, which is unheard of in this area of jurisprudence, prohibits courts from hearing cases against religious organizations that are founded on statutory discrimination claims - in this case the ADA. Thus, the EEOC and all the other Federal agencies have to keep their mitts off churches and other religious organizations, no doubt to Attorney General Eric Holder's great consternation. Why do I say that?


Richard Garnett, a law professor at Notre Dame, comments:

"... the Supreme Court affirmed what the overwhelming majority of lower federal courts and state courts in the United States have already ruled, and rejected the well-outside-the-mainstream view advanced by the Obama administration’s lawyers. This last point is worth emphasizing: The administration’s lawyers had pressed an extreme view — one that no other court, and few scholars and experts, had embraced — and they convinced no one."


Thank God! But this again points out the importance of the 2012 Presidential election. Any administration that would articulate the position it did in this case does not understand the Constitution at all and is a danger to the country and its people. 

www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/287858/win-religious-freedom-richard-garnett

Here is BIG Government

Obama says he will stand by the EPA and defend it from scurrilous Republican attacks, blah, blah, blah. Note to POTUS: the EPA deserves the attacks and it ain't just Republicans.

thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/203383-obama-pledges-to-stand-by-epa

A case was argued in the U.S. Supreme Court this week that left even liberal members of the Court agog. The facts are that a couple bought a subdivision lot in Priest Lake, Idaho that already had sewer and water connections for $23,000. There was a small creek running across the property, so before buying it they checked with the Army Corps of Engineers to see if there was a wetland issue. They were assured there was not, so happily they closed the sale and began to dig out and pour the foundation footings. Then arrived the Man from the EPA!

"You can't do that," he thundered, "it's a wetland!" They tried to tell him that the agency had made a mistake and the Corps (which delineates wetlands in the first place) said there was no wetland. Of course that did not suffice and the EPA went on to order them to tear out the footing and to restore the property to its original condition except for some non-native plants that the agency thought would look nice - all at a cost of $250,000. And, if these miserable serfs waited for 10 years, the EPA might discuss a building permit. Hmmph! So there!

Naturally, the owners thought the agency was being a little, well Nazi-like, so they sought judicial review of the order. The EPA's response was that under the Clean Water Act it had exclusive jurisdiction and thus there was no judicial review. This is an interesting argument to make to a judge, but since it was an argument that would fool only a lawyer, the Federal District Court in Boise and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals of course bought it. Fortunately, the Supremes appear to have seen through the brilliance of the government's argument.

Chief Justice Roberts set the tone when he asked the EPA's lawyer whether he was familiar with the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution which prohibits government from depriving citizens of, among other things, property without due process of law. Perhaps this might trump even the almighty EPA? Then there was the concept of judicial review itself, which has been around since 1803. Clearly the justices were not amused by an agency setting itself up as a kingdom unto itself. Questioning from the other justices was along similar lines, even from liberal Justices Kagan and Breyer. Justice Alioto said that most Americans would not have ever thought that a case like this could happen here. Amen, but all of us would be wrong.

Court observers expect the Supreme Court to reverse the lower courts and send the EPA packing. It cannot come too soon and I hope massive attorney fees are awarded against the agency for its arrogant and un-American actions in the Sackett case.

This case also illustrates what is at stake in the Presidential election. The EPA here is Big Government and what it did is what Big Government always does - it was not an aberration. Big Government manages to be both arrogant and incompetent at the same time. Obama and the Democrats want to take the U.S. down this path - such cases are a small price to pay for the level of centralized control that they want. Heaven help us if they get away with it.

washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/2012/01/constitutional-right-due-process-stake-epa-case/2078316

Granny the Loady

Germany is increasingly concerned about drug-using Gramps and Grannies. In some cases, these senior citizens are dealing big time, complete with guns and other dealer accessories. This makes it hard to take care of them in the conventional senior care system.

Can the U.S. be far behind? As the article points out, Willie Nelson is already there. Whatever. I'm not going to worry about it. Hey dude, don't hog the bong!

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/stoned-seniors-germany-faces-epidemic-of-hippy-pensioners-6283352.html

The Local Bridge to Nowhere?

This one is probably going to get me in trouble. Oh well. The City of Salem has approved a new pedestrian bridge to Minto Island. It has already agreed to pay the tourist sternwheeler $250,000 not to poke its bow into the slough so the bridge can cross. Quoting from the city's own website on the project:


"Design, permitting, and construction of both Bridge and Trail is expected to cost approximately $8,500,000."
                                                      www.cityofsalem.net/mintobridge

Today's paper reported that the same City of Salem is trying to partially shut down a new fire station in West Salem because of budget problems. The city manager reports that the city is $10.5 million in the hole. 


Am I missing something? We are building bridges for joggers and hikers and shutting down fire stations? I don't care what the funding source is ("It's Federal money; it's state money...) the problem is that government at all levels is spending too darn much money. I like this project and would no doubt use it if and when it is built, but c'mon - this is exactly the wrong time to do it!

Venture Socialism

Columnist David Harsanyi has coined a great new name - "venture socialist." I like it. President Obama is one. As Harsanyi notes:

"They enjoy 'investing' your money in exploding electric vehicles, bullet trains and other highly unprofitable but morally satisfying economic misadventures. Venture socialism is certainly empathetic."


Indeed. And the cool part is that they don't have to worry about any "return" on their investment, excepting of course campaign contributions. Solyndra got over $500,000,000 in public funds and I would love to see how much of that came back as campaign contributions. The poor American taxpayers? Let them eat cake.


townhall.com/columnists/davidharsanyi/2012/01/11/the_gops_creative_destruction

Observation Point

"Mercy is not something that God has but something that God is."
                                                                                   A.W. Tozer

Happy Days are Here Again - Part Deux!

Despite the economic happy talk I have been reading about the economy, what we have been seeing with clients since last October has now been verified by the U of O Index of Economic Indicators - we're going down. Yup, for the fourth consecutive month the indicators are down significantly for Oregon. In the past, this has usually meant the "R" word - recession. In November alone it was down 2.75%. UO economist Tim Duy said:

"For all the ups and downs, U.S. job growth has been increasing this year while Oregon’s has not,” Duy said. “So either we’re mismeasuring Oregon’s job growth and all this will go away, or there’s something a little bit different here.”

Well OK,  after all we do things differently here. 

www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2012/01/oregon_economic_index_falls_fo.html

Speaking of seeing things differently BTW, did you see that Gov. Kitzhaber's vaunted health plan savings will be less than half of what was projected to the Legislature when the budget was being formulated? I'm going out on a limb here and predicting that at the end of the 2-year budget there will not only be no savings, but a deficit to be covered! A donation is already being requested from the Feds, who themselves are awash in money. It's Chinese, but they are awash in it.

The problem with health care "reform" is that politicians want to run the system and "give" care to everybody to buy votes and the system is too big and too complex for them to do so and do it even halfway well. The single biggest cost is personnel and unless doctors and nurses agree to work for peanuts, the numbers will never balance. Ditto for the cost of medicine and medical equipment.  Politicians keep running into the truth that there is no free lunch. That doesn't bother most of them. They just keep screwing things up and "giving" us more of what we "want." I wish they would just go home and drink.

www.ktvz.com/news/30178498/detail.html

Why Mitt is Having Trouble with the Base

I think Mitt Romney is a decent guy. I think he is honest, has good managerial skills per his straightening out of the Salt Lake City Olympics, is solid on foreign policy, but... It is this "but" that kept Republican voters in the Iowa caucuses from voting for him at more than 25%, which means that 75% of Republicans preferred someone else. If this trend continues, and I suspect it will, it does not bode well for him or the party. To beat Obama - and it is imperative to beat him - it will take an enthusiastic Republican electorate that really goes all out for the Republican nominee. What is behind Mitt's tepid support?  Well, it is articles like this.

National Review reports that when Romney was governor of Massachusetts, he basically never met a tax increase that he didn't like. In fact, he proposed a huge increase in corporate taxes that the Democratic Legislature scaled back. In Taxachusetts! He also passed a smorgasbord of new fees ($432M) including $10 for a "Certificate of Blindness." This is Mitt's idea of a Republican approach to governing?

The problem we face is government spending, not a dearth of revenues. The Feds have melted down the credit card and are now unwilling to take the tough steps to put our financial house in order. We don't need a continuation of this mindset from a Republican President - people don't want to be snookered. Unfortunately, with his state record on taxes/fees and Romneycare, the precursor of Obamacare, the evidence seems to point to a chameleon in Brooks Brothers clothing. People and even politicians can change. I hope so because the last thing the United States needs now is more of the same, whether from Republicans or Democrats.

www.nationalreview.com/articles/287415/romney-s-tax-hikes-deroy-murdock

Check; Checkmate

The area in the box on the right side of the map is the Strait of Hormuz. To the south lie all the major oil terminals of Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq. To the north lies Iran, which has recently threatened to shut the Strait and "disinvited" an American carrier from returning to the Persian Gulf on the west side of the Strait. Normally this would be laughable, except that Iran could potentially do it from a multiplicity of land-based missile positions under the control of the ever unpredictable Ahmadinejad and the Mad Mullahs. The missiles incidentally have been supplied by the Russians, Chinese, and North Koreans. At the very least, the U.S. Navy would take substantial casualties from a missile barrage. What to do?

Did you know that Iran does not refine its own gasoline? True story. If incoming gas and diesel were cut off, it could be tough to get around in this fairly large country. It is also worth noting that oil storage tanks and pipelines are hard to hide and make excellent fixed targets for cruise missiles. Did I mention that just one of our our converted ballistic missile subs in that area has 132 cruise missiles aboard? Finally, cities and nuclear facilities alike need electrical power and power generating stations also make big fat fixed targets. I am sure that there are other targets of interest. Just thinking out loud. It would be most unfortunate if all this came to pass.

Oil and a House Divided

A lot of U.S. oil comes from the Middle East, particularly the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it is important to understand something of these countries, particularly Saudi Arabia. In that regard, the key fact to remember is that Saudi Arabia is a house divided and eventually, a house divided falls.

An excellent article in The Weekly Standard sets out the problem: King Saud and the House of Saud are moderate reformers while Crown Prince Nayef and the House of Ibn Abd Al-Wahhab are 5th century types. Note the name of the latter - it is where the word "Wahhabi" comes from, as in Osama bin Laden. These two families have intermarried for centuries and if you thought court intrigue was the sole province of Elizabethan England or Louis XIV, guess again.

King Saud is 87 years old. Recently he issued a decree that allows women to vote for the first time in local elections without a male "guardian." This is not a very big step by our standards, but it is huge in Saudi Arabia and the Wahhabists are not happy. They recently sponsored a conference that makes it clear that if they come into power, they will drag the country back to the "good old days" where women know their place.

The Saudis have managed this balancing act for a long time, but how much longer they can do so is anybody's guess. In any event, remaining dependent on Saudi oil to the extent that we are is foolish. We need to be looking at energy independence for the U.S. and not put ourselves in jeopardy when it is  both so predictable and so avoidable.

www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/saudi-king-s-reform-step-vs-crown-prince-s-ambitious-wahhabism_615104.html

A Generous People

On top of a report that American charitable giving was up 4% in 2011, a new report says that Americans are the most charitable people in the world. The WSJ reports:


"The World Giving Index 2011 measures generosity on three levels: giving money as a percentage of income, giving time, and helping strangers. Only the United States ranked in the top 10 nations of the world in each category. Charities Aid Foundation director Richard Harrison praised American charitable giving: "This research confirms that when we look at giving in a rounded way, including the extent to which we volunteer and help strangers, America is the most generous country in the world. America is the only country that ranks in the top ten globally on each of these three perspectives, and this first place ranking should be seen as source of real pride for people across America."


The article also notes media carping about how "ungenerous" we are because we don't let ourselves be taxed even more to fund government's idea of how our dollars should be spent. Imagine Americans wanting to give their money to churches and schools and the Salvation Army instead of Solyndra, building oil fields for Brazil, or payoffs to Goldman Sachs! 


Way to go America! Keep up the good work!


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