Lights Out for Climate Change

Here we go again. The World Wildlife Fund’s “Lights Out for Earth” much ado about nothing campaign to have everyone on the planet turn out their lights for one hour to raise awareness of climate change swept the world yesterday. While darkness fell on snowy Seattle, Al Gore was no doubt dimming the reading lamp on his private Lear jet enroute to yet another award ceremony honoring his scientfic achievements in climotology. Unfortunately, Gore’s popularization of Global Warming as the next predicted big disaster has caused the issue of climate change to be politicised thus ending any hope of rational discussion and research. Just try to get a study grant or article published in a peer reviewed journal if you don’t buy into humans as the major cause of climate change and carbon as the villian.

I’m all for reducing carbon based energy but not because it has anything to do with global warming. If in fact we could develop significant sources of alternative energy it would help solve two pressing problems. The first is the amount of money we send out of the country to buy oil and the second is where it is going and what it funds.

If the WWF and its ilk would spend half the effort wasted on world wide blackouts on support for nuclear electrical generation and battery technology for electric vehicles, they’d make a real contribution. Sorry folks, but wind and solar power, more efficient cars and appliances and corn ethanol are not enough to reach even modest goals to reduce imported oil. In the case of corn, by some estimates, it’s a net loser. Replacing foreign oil is years away and thanks to certain environmental types we have not exploited our domestic oil in time to forestall the energy supply caused economic and politcal crisis we face today. These same groups also oppose liquidfied coal fuel unless it emits 20 percent less carbon than conventional fuels. Nuclear remains as the only technology currently available today with any real chance of supplying a significant portion of our energy needs in the near term. Don’t be surprised, however, if the WWF opposses it too.

What we have here is a bunch of hand ringing Prius drivers who have decided what’s best for the country. They want to use the energy supply to inflict their vision on us by restricting our economy, extracting more taxes and forcing behavioral changes on the unwilling. Unfortunately, all three of the remaining major candidates for President give tacit support for this wolrd view. We can only hope that common sense will eventually emerge before it’s too late.

Barack Obama’s Middle Name

“Barack Obama’s middle name is Jimmy Carter.”

Steve Beren, Candidate for Congress, 7th
Congressional District, Washington State.

Could be. During Carter’s four years we saw the military weakened, double digit inflation, long gas lines, US support for replacing the Shah of Iran with a radical Islamist (favor repaid by seizure of our embassy), national malaise speech and canceled US participation in the Olympics. On the good side, he did lay the groundwork for Ronald Reagan.

Obama would have his own set of issues but his inexperience and naïve approach to foreign policy could result in a Carter style four years. The youthful JFK was tested by the Soviets and found wanting. The result of that was the Cuban Missile Crisis. Obama will almost certainly be tested by our enemies but at what cost to America, another 9-11 or worse?

He claims he wants to “bring us together” but his very liberal voting record indicates that his “together” is well to the left of center. This election is about change but it does not have to be a lurch to the left. We can vote for controlling spending and taxes, reigning in the nanny state and strong national security. We can vote for Republican candidates at all levels.

Yes we can! Yes we can!

Bush’s War – Oh Really

This is a powerful video (click on the blue link). It shows what chameleons Democrats are on Iraq. One wonders what they would be saying today if a Democrat President had launched the Iraq War.

WMD

Thank the Dems and GOP for Top Two Primary Mess

Great job Washington State Republican and Democratic parties! Rather than using the legislative process, you got the courts to approve replacing Washington’s blanket or open primary with a closed primary. Never mind that voters overwhelmingly opposed the change. As a direct result, a grass roots initiative was passed implementing a totally different type of primary. Once again you challenged in court what the people approved. Now thanks to a 7 to 2 decision against you by the US Supreme Court, we will be saddled with the worst of all worlds, the Top Two primary. Under this system, the top two voter getters will advance to the general election. It is possible that two Republicans or two Democrats could be on the general election ballot. Minor parties are effectively frozen out.

It is true that an open primary allows crossover voting and weakens the parties but at least in districts where one party has a large majority, the other party can still offer an alternative. Yes, a closed primary allows that too but in populist Washington, most people want the ability to vote for “the best candidate” in the primary regardless of party.

Better to have left sleeping dogs lie.

See the Seattle Times for a good report on the issue.

Prickly City in the Funnies

Prickly City is a great syndicated cartoon strip featuring a liberal coyote named Winslow and a conservative girl named Carmen. Winslow is running for president and has convinced Carmen to be on his ticket as vice president. Hence the two following e-mails between myself and the cartoonist:

Dear Scott Santis,

I am sorry to inform you but Article II, Section 1, subsection 3 of the U.S. Constitution provides that the President and Vice President may not be from the same state. Not that a coyote and a girl wouldn’t make a better ticket than Hillary/Barry or Barry/Hillary but the law is the law. Great cartoon by the way.

Warren Peterson
http://www.clearfogblog.wordpress.com

Warren,

GREAT point. I fancy myself a Presidnetial expert and I totally missed this point!

I will most definatley be using it as a story line in Prickly City. When I do, please contact me again so I can send you a copy of the series. I am very, very grateful to you for making me feel very, very stupid.

Thanks again,

Scott Stantis

Far from stupid, Scott is refreshingly unpretenious. It will be fun to see how he weaves in the new information. Look for Prickly City in the Seattle Times. Select a date from the drop down menu, click on “Click” and enjoy.

Sex, Politics, Race – 2008

The last few days have provided a cornucopia of fodder for talk radio and cable TV. Former Congresswoman and Walter Mondale VP candidate Geraldine Ferraro stirred up a hornet’s nest by suggesting that Barack Obama is leading the race for the Democratic nomination because he is black. Then we have the spectacle of Obama’s “spiritual leader” and pastor giving what many people believe are racist and un-American sermons. Hillary’s chutzpah in hinting that Obama could be her VP even though Obama has more delegates, the fight over Florida and Michigan delegates and doing the delegate math have dominated the political news.

Dominated until a huge bombshell exploded over Albany. Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Democrat of New York, admitted patronizing a very high priced prostitution ring and was forced to resign. The story has been covered from just about every angle from who’d pay $4,000 for an hour with a hooker to Dr. Laura blaming the victim, Silda Spitzer, for not meeting her husband’s sexual needs.

No doubt there is more to come. What did Mrs. Spitzer know and when did she know it? Who set Eliot up with the call girl ring? Was it Bill Clinton or did he find it on Craig’s List? If Gov. Spitzer is Client #9 and, allegedly, a British billionaire is Client #8, who are clients 1 through 7? Bill Clinton, Bill Clinton, Bill Clinton, Bill Clinton, Bill Clinton, Bill Clinton, and Bill Clinton? OK, I may be a little too cynical about Bubba but the scandal does bring back some distasteful memories. You can bet there are no prominent Republicans on the list or the New York Times would have headlined it on the “All the news that’s fit to print” front page.

Give kudos to Senator John McCain for trying to keep the 2008 presidential campaign above board and on the issues. Unfortunately, judging from the Democrats and the Clinton-Obama contest, we may all have to wear latex gloves when we vote.

Boeing Tanker French Fried in Congress

While we Washingtonians certainly wished Boeing had won the tanker contract, one has to chuckle hearing the reaction from our powerful Democrat dominated Congressional delegation lead by defense hawk Rep. Norm Dicks and Senator Patty “Wave the Flag” Murray who said she was “frustrated, angry and in shock at this announcement.” (The award to Northrop-Grumman and EADS – European Aerospace and Defense Systems.) She added “You can put an American sticker on a plane and call it American, but you can’t call it American made. They are clearly going to be made overseas, and that is a factor we all have to be thinking about, whether we want American planes built overseas.” Never mind that the plane will be assembled in a new plant in Mobile, Alabama by American workers and that the prime contractor is also American but located in California, not Washington or that the losing Boeing 767 is an international airplane also with parts from various countries. Even Congressman for Life, Baghdad Jim McDermott expressed concern. Most galling, no doubt, is that a Red State with a Republican governor and two Republican senators and five out of seven Republican House members gets to tout the win rather than the bright Blue Soviet of Washington.

Danny Westneat wrote a great column on the subject in the March 5th Seattle Times. Click on his name to read it.

A Suggestion for Anti McCain Conservatives

The anti-McCain conservatives have a theory. It goes something like this. Let the Democrats win the White House and as with Jimmy Carter, the public will be so disillusioned they will vote for a conservative in 2012. A new Reagan will arise from the mist to not only win the presidency but also lead the conservative movement to a permanent majority. Carter begat Reagan, Bill and Hillary begat a Republican House and Senate and Barack or Hillary will open the door to Reagan II, or so the thinking goes.

But what if Obama is elected President and also assumes the leadership of a resurgent liberal movement? The Left will claim Bush begat Obama and they could be right. Obama’s oratorical skills and his warm and fuzzy message of hope and change appear to resonate with Democrats, independents and confused Republicans as well. Playing on the stressful times in which we find ourselves, voters may fall for the Democrat’s “we will take care of you” siren song. Eight years from now we could find a majority of voters more dependent than ever on the government, a leftist one at that. The only way to preclude such a permanent shift to the left is a McCain victory in November.

So how do anti-McCain conservatives back off their rhetoric and support his election? Here’s a suggestion. Look at McCain as a one term President (He’ll be 72 in 2009). Recognize that he is conservative enough (83% rating from the American Conservative Union) to hold the line against liberal policies for four years. Use those years to find and vet a new leader of the conservative movement and 2012 presidential candidate. If such a person is known today, why not exchange strong conservative support for McCain for the Vice-President spot.

Even the Gipper said that someone who supports him 70% of the time is my friend. John McCain was not my first choice but he is clearly the best choice we have now. Conservatives need to lead the charge to elect him President. If the Senator from Arizona wins without conservative support, they risk being considered irrelevant in 2012. If McCain loses a close race, conservatives could be blamed. Better to be a team player, win or lose.

For more on this issue, see my post of February 6, 2008.

Clinton & Obama, The Saga Continues

According to Real Clear Politics, including pledged Super Delegates, Clinton trails Obama by 109 delegates as of Super Tuesday II. But at 1,573 delegates for Obama and 1,464 for Clinton, neither candidate is close to the magic 2,025 delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination. Twelve states plus Guam and Puerto Rico with 611 delegates loom ahead. Still up in the air is the status of Michigan and Florida, both of which were stripped of their delegates by the Democratic National Committee for violating party rules by holding early primaries. Add into this brew about 350 Super Delegates who may not have committed to either candidate yet. Then a dash of the unexpected and this contest could go all the way to the convention in Denver next August.

If it comes down to just a handful of delegates separating Clinton and Obama, the horse-trading, promises, threats and outright bribes will all be in play. Promises of ambassadorships, federal jobs, threats to reveal some embarrassing information, stays in the Lincoln bedroom, maybe even cash or equivalents, whatever it takes to nail down that 2,025th vote.

Yes, I know, it is unfair to impugn the ethics of any delegate without proof but remember it is the presidency and the Clinton legacy at stake. Nor is it fair to speculate that the Obama camp would not engage in such activity too but if one were to guess which candidate would, well, the Clintons seem a safe bet.

Compare Your Views with Candidates

The below link will give you ten questions and match your answers with the positions of the remaining presidential candidates. It’s easy and may surprise you.

Vote Chooser