Come visit us at our new web site: www.interestingitems.org Leave your thoughts, comments and opinions. We look forward to hearing from you. Interesting Items Alex Gimarc [email protected] Monday Apr 30, 2012 Howdy all, a few Interesting Items for your information. Enjoy – In this issue:
1. Fish 2. Crucifixion 3. Special Session 4. Apple 5. Farm Rules 6. Svensmark 7. Planetary Resources 1. Fish. The bogus environmental reporting following the BP Macondo blowout last year in the Gulf of Mexico continued last week with a story about sick fish trapped in oil along the Gulf Coast . The reportage was intended to paint a picture of environmental destruction continuing over a year later in Louisiana . It turns out that the fish trapping took place a year ago in locations that had not yet been cleaned up. Note to self: when you trap fish in the middle of an oil spill, they will have oil on them. So will the traps. A correspondent in Louisiana pointed me to the inside story from Louisiana where the environmentalists are conspiring with the national media to lie about existing conditions. As of this writing, cleanup is all but complete with fish populations and fishermen doing well. 2. Crucifixion. The Obamaoids are feeling their oats and pressing forward with some of the nastiest enforcement seen in decades. The vast majority is arbitrary and capricious. Last week a 2010 video of EPA Regional Administrator Richard Armendariaz was released by James Imhoff’s office. It has the Regional Administrator for Texas proudly describing their technique for enforcing compliance with new clean air and clean water rules. Here is the money quote: It was kind of like how the Romans used to conquer little villages in the Mediterranean . They’d go into a little Turkish town somewhere, they’d find the first five guys they saw, and they would crucify them. And then you know that town was really easy to manage for the next few years. . . . So, that’s our general philosophy. Note that at the time of Rome , there was no Turkey , but that is another matter. Of course, this sort of heavy-handed, in your face, arbitrary and capricious enforcement will trigger its own backlash. What the EPA has been doing is targeting smaller energy companies who do not have the resources to fight an extended court fight, driving them either out of business or into consent agreements that will ensconce for all time their bogus new rules and interpretations of law. Shortly after the speech, Armendariaz’s office filed a complaint against Texas-based Range Resources and closed down their exploration work with an emergency order that found that fracing was contaminating ground water in Texas . The Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees all in state oil and natural gas regulation found no such problem. And a federal judge this spring slapped the EPA with a requirement to actually do some science before shutting down a company via emergency order. Being unable to justify its actions in Texas , the EPA withdrew its order and the case in federal court in March. Perhaps next time around they will have to find a smaller company to go after. Imhoff’s office noted that the EPA had taken similar bogus actions in Wyoming and Pennsylvania . The EPA is a rogue agency, implementing Obama’s and the green’s war on domestic energy using every excuse in the book. The fact that costs will spike with no noticeable improvement in air or water quality is not a bug, it is a feature. Time to shut this down via the old Carthage method: Perhaps crucifixion of EPA leadership is also in order, though I would be just as happy with a tall tree and a length of rope. This must end. 3. Special Session. Governor Sean Parnell (R, AK) called a special session of the Alaska legislature to consider three pieces of legislation left over from the regular session this spring. The most important legislation was a change in taxes on existing fields that would make Alaska more competitive with oil and natural gas production in the Lower 48. The democrat led Senate majority has been stonewalling this for the last two years. This year, their union supporters ran a series of anti-giveaway ads that beat the Governor about the head and shoulders. The Governor lost this one on the public relations end, as there was nothing done to counter the bogus claims of the union funded campaign. When it became apparent that there was not going to be any progress, Governor Parnell pulled the oil tax legislation from the Special Session. In a fit of pique, the democrats adjourned less than 24 hours later, leaving an important bill in support of an in-state natural gas line hanging in the breeze. They did not even notify the four-member minority caucus (all conservative Republicans) that they were calling a vote to adjourn. The stage is set for a very nasty campaign for state senate and state house this fall. We must turn at least three of those seats to good, solid conservatives and retain the strong conservative majority in the house. Fight’s on! 4. Apple. Governor Rick Perry (R, TX) continues to do what he does best – bring new jobs to Texas . In this one, Apple Computers is set to build a $306 million new campus near Austin , bringing over 3,600 new jobs into central Texas ( Austin ). In return for bringing in the new money, taxes and jobs, they wanted tax concessions from Travis County officials. In Texas , Travis County is one of the most liberal counties, and the county government reflects that worldview. Travis County commissioners, instead of agreeing and getting the new investment in their county underway are busily levying new requirements on Apple. For instance, they want Apple to hire the “disadvantaged” for their new plants. Of course, a successful, world class corporation is not a welfare program for liberals and Apple balked. In return, Travis County commissioners have slow-rolled the tax changes requested. Apple is now getting frustrated and has started negotiation with Phoenix for relocation of their new plant. Never let democrats anywhere close to any business, as they will kill it simply by looking at it. 5. Farm Rules. Obama’s Department of Labor headed by Hilda Solishas been a nest of pro-union, anti liberty thieves since Solis took over in 2009. Their latest attempt to unionize everything was a set of new rules aimed at children working and living on small, family farms. Not only would the chores done by children of farm owners be regulated via child labor laws, but the same regulations would all but prohibit them working on any farms of relatives, other family members of friends. The new rules would apply the entire OSHA treatment to family farms, essentially driving them out of business. The uproar was incredible and Solis relented last week, pulling the rules likely until after the election in November. Regardless of whether Obama is reelected, expect to see this inflicted in mid-November. 6. Svensmark. Last week, an interesting paper showed up in Watts Up With That attempting to connect close supernovae frequency with warm and cold spells in geologic history and also with the diversity of life in the shallow oceans. The theory builds upon the observed effect of cosmic ray connection with weather here on earth. The higher the flux, the more condensation nuclei for cloud formation and the more clouds we have. More clouds create cooler temperatures via reflecting incoming solar radiation. Fewer cosmic rays create fewer clouds and end up with warmer temperatures. Supernovae are a source of large quantities of high energy particles, including cosmic rays. Svensmark attempts to trace the effect back nearly 500 million years; or about two orbits of the solar system around the center of the galaxy. It was an interesting way to attempt to tie some observations together. The problem is determining long past supernovae, as their remnants tend to disperse quickly. The comments and discussion was most pointed and highly skeptical. Might be worth a read if you like this sort of thing. 7. Planetary Resources. The commercial space world got a boost last week with the announcement by a new company – Global Resources – that they would be looking into commercial asteroid mining. This is great news, and demonstrates the agility and vision of newSpace. The founders include a number of dot-com billionaires, so they will have the money available to make a go of this. Find out more at: http://www.planetaryresources.com/ More later – - AG "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." - Samuel Adams, speech at the Philadelphia State House, August 1, 1776. 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