Quite a few persons of note, received a piece in their mailbox which told them that they needed to call their congressmen in order to get Offshore Drilling passed now...

The Telegraph caught my attention with this post on the speculative side of oil..

But what about its political timing?  Why did gas prices start to drop minutes after Nancy Pelosi closed down Congress and went home for break without voting on offshore drilling?  That is just plain odd.

Minutes.  Was this entire gasoline emergency an artificial set up, meant to scare the American People into arm twisting Congress to acquiesce and finally allow off shore drilling?

The last 5 budgets of the United States of America,  hold entire planet's record for the 5 highest record deficits ever recorded by anyone in history, by anyone.

George HW Bush (41) is actually responsible for instigating the good years by requiring that any tax cuts must have equivalent cuts in spending.

Clinton added to good fiscal policy when he got passed the balanced budget amendment.

Throughout American history, every generation has endured hardship and has done whatever was required to better their children's future.  George Bush undid that .  Because of Republican tax cuts, and only because of Republican tax cuts,  we will be the first generation to give their children a world far worse than the one they inherited, because of the mantra once espoused by Republicans, that "deficits do not matter".

Biden's Delaware senatorial opponent, Ms. Christine O'Donnell's take on Sen. Biden's defense of "not drilling offshore", shows a flaw in the Republican's armor.  David Anderson provided a link (albeit in her defense), which proves that the whole argument, drilling to lower gas prices, is a bogus arrangement.  I'm afraid that after looking at all of the facts, one can only say that the Republican argument is being made by dumb people, for dumb people. (Dumb people:  my apologies, I did not mean to imply that you are all Republicans). And had I not been a student of energy over these past few months, even in all my wisdom (lol) (dumb person that I am) I might have thought drilling offshore would make sense....

To be honest, it could make sense if the oil drilled today would be in my car tomorrow.  Even by next week, or in maybe two.  The silver bullet which kills their argument dead, is that if Congressional approval is given, the first oil rolls out in 2019........  

Photo courtesy of State Symbols USA

So, it wasn't a tomato after all.  It was either a jalapeno or seranno pepper which caused the outbreak that completely shut down the tomato market for three weeks.  Florida growers alone estimate an economic hit of 47 million dollars.  

Today in Longworth House Office Building, the Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture held a Public Hearing on this outbreak. California Democrat Dennis Cardoza presided. .

To a chorus of "the economy is bad", "the economy is bad", we wake up every day... Yes, that may be true, but since most have already accepted it to be so, based on their own day to day experiences, what good does it do to harp on it?

I decided very little. Of course others can write reports on its demise and still others can read those accounts and weep. Whereas I will acknowledge that cries like this are very important before some actions are taken ie those actions leading us down dangerous paths, such as "let's deregulate bundled loans", or "let's decrease the money received by the Treasury by Tax Cuts during an expensive war"; once those actions are taken, comments, though well meant, have no other use except to say, "See, I told you so", and/or make Republicans wince.

Being vindicated may make one feel good, but it does little to alleviate the hardships being faced by all.

So as my title asks......how are we going to fix it?

There is something about a certain slant of light, that casts images in a different context from how one usually sees them.

It occurred to me as I read Tommywonk's Declaration of Independence in very familiar territory, that ominous parallels existed between then and now.....   Perhaps by not straining my eyes deciphering 18th Century handwriting i was assisted in the revelation, but in any regards, I decided to post how Bush/Cheney would have been eternally represented had Jefferson fast forward through time into today.

Keep in mind, just three years earlier, 1773, had their been an election, King George would have still had a plurality of support as well.

He has refused his Assent to Laws

No contest there.  If he doesn't like the law, he ignores it.  Add one to the   + column.

Editors Note:  Most of these references are local, but their implications are nationwide.

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This idea came to me while reading Nancy's excellent coverage of the Senate's consideration of the FISA bill which is under reconsideration after a weakened version was passed by the House.

Always a man of principal, Biden voted against it, because......it goes against the entire Constitution.

Likewise, always the political expedient.......Carper voted with the Republicans to push spying on American much further than at anytime in our history......

My initial thought was: what's wrong with those Republicans.....  Don't they know that Obama will become our next president and that they have given him unlimited access to all of their confidential information?

Then, from somewhere deep, or somewhere far away.....I don't know where...  It hit me....

Whoa.....    That may not be such a bad idea after all....

Whoever wins the White House will need bipartisanship to move Congress off its ass.  Like it or not, someone playing the center against the two parties, benefits America better than a very strong political profile, where everyone is in lockstep, and a single agenda is pursued.

How do I know this?

Because the latter is what we have had the last 8 years, whereas the former, is what we had during the last six years of the previous administration.  America has tumbled downhill during the last eight years, and has done so from from its peak which was achieved during the previous six...

So how does one find bipartisanship?  One looks for one who works with the other side, (sort of the opposite of what McCain says he would do with Syria and Iran if elected)...  In this capacity Biden brings tremendous resources to the table....

I am taking a break from discussing wind power and just how much it will save for each of us, in order to talk about another topic which has hit the news recently.  Of course, based on my pocketbook, dropping every American's electrical rates is very important.  But it pales far less than whether or not we have a country left, or more appropriately, whether like Humpty Dumpty, the pieces are splintered too tiny to even bother picking them up and patching them back together.

As you know, Dennis Kucinich proffered the Articles of Impeachment on the floor of the House and they are now in the Congressional Record for every historian to read.....  There is some question where my Congressman Mike Castle stands on the issue, which of course is what brought that topic into the arena of the local blogosphere.

Oh no...., he's not black....He's half black......which means... he's half white just as well....

Photo courtesy of Utah Senate Site

For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

<span class="georgia md">The Senate will decide this week whether to follow in California's footsteps and pass legislation requiring cuts in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change.</span>

<span class="georgia md">Lawmakers are set to vote Monday to begin debate on a bill that could reshape the U.S. economy by requiring industry to pay to emit carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases.</span>

<span class="georgia md">Opponents call it a new tax on industry that could raise gas prices and energy bills for consumers. </span>

Now before I knew anything about wind power coming to Delaware, I would be apprehensive about taxing carbon and "increasing the costs to power plants, distributors, and consumers.......

But knowing what I now know, that all carbon prices are about to go ballistic as did our automobile and truck fuel, the faster we leave a carbon based economy, the faster we will pull out of this recession.

With your focus on the Democratic presidential race, you may have missed a major development in the field of renewable energy.  Global warming was a hot topic before the election season began.  Just check out last summer's archives if you were not around to remember........

But if you lived in the second smallest state of Delaware, you would be watching daily for any new development in Bluewater Wind's proposal to supply a large segment of that state's residential needs with offshore wind power.  What makes this story newsworthy, is that this deal is so close to being done.

As this battle unfolds there is a part that includes you dear reader, no matter where you call home.  for you too can participate in making this happen, should you feel so propelled......   If you personally care about global warming even slightly, here is an opportunity to tell your progeny that you too played a big part at that industry's equivalent of the Battle of Yorktown, settling the score once and for all between carbon fuel producers of energy, and the next century's renewable energy conglomerates........

Nothing is worse they sharing an apartment with several guys and one TV.

Of course ABC is out due to the national boycott being exercised by Americans still possessing "honor".  But with Pennsylvania  going wild over the primary election, the Flyers, and the 76'er's,....we probably should have rented two extra TV's to keep peace within the house.

But this three way fight gave one great insight into  American politics.   Over the past week we have tested out this hypothesis on unsuspecting citizens.

What we discovered was that Obama appealed to basketball fans.  He masters his game with deft moves, always within the guidelines outlined by the rules.  Hockey fans love Hillary. Screwing the rules, lashing out in anger, trying to kill the other team, were highly prized traits which they value in their candidate.

You know, we could all sit back and complain about the media.  But then again, we could all do something about it.  There are quite of few of us out there.

As I watch and re-watch the oft talked about debate replayed over and over, I start to get angry. Fuming in fact.  In what many were saying may be the last  great debate, among what many would agree are two of the very best the Democratic Party has had to offer in quite a while.....we watched a golden opportunity get wasted.  

This country was pumped to hear substantial debate, and instead, all those watching it transpire, felt cheated.  Lapel pins?   Get real.

And it is not just ABC that causes the problem. All network news wants to propagandize instead of reporting the facts.  There are far too many opinions out there.  What we need are facts, at which upon learning, we can form our own opinions, thank you very much.

Today in a conference room off the first floor of the Senate building,  a small discussion about large things will take place......very large things.   The GAO will present their findings surrounding their investigation of the PBGC fund.  What will be said about this small fund, should stab a stiletto into the heart of any future discussion about privatizing Social Security.  Sure, if one is young, with no assets,  and just beginning to invest, privatized Social Security initially sounds like a "grand" idea.  Everyone assumes:  "Wow, will I be rich when I retire!"

McCain won Florida. Despite the Romney campaign spitting out this.

I  have chastised several Mitt supporters by telling them that this ad does a lot to elevate McCain to "hero" status.  A man so beloved by both parties hasn't happened since George Washington left office.

What the hell were they thinking by showing it?

Apparently Florida thought the same way I did, and went for McCain by 4.9%.  (Only Zogby came close with a 4.0 prediction.  All the other pollsters, well.... to be polite let us just say that from now on they've got credibility problems.)

Listening to conservative talk shows was actually fun today.

April 4th, 2008 will be the 40th anniversary of Dr. King's death.  Has time gone by that fast already?   Where is the "Negro" today and what is his current state of affairs.