More Personal Destruction

Woe be unto anyone who asks The Great Messiah a question he does not approve of.

Is this what you want from your government?

And yes, I'd be saying this if it were the other party.

Duh.

Saw this and had to post it. There's so much to comment on in this one article and I just don't have time. Of course she's a national political figure. She's the GOP VP candidate.

And don't get me started on the term, "nuclear waste dump". It's a perjorative term that brings visions of a Waste Management truck pulling up and crapping out a bunch of radioactive "stuff". Nothing is farther from the truth and the media has been seeling this garbage (no pun intended) to an uninformed public for nearly 40 years.

Aaaarrrgggghhhhhh!!!!!!!

The Beer: Both are in their secondary fermenters and will be ready to bottle this weekend.

The Bicycle: I got skills. I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I have operated and maintained both a naval and a commercial nuclear power system. I have professional certifications. I'm not an idiot. Really. SO WHY CAN'T I CHANGE A FREAKIN' BICYCLE TIRE WITHOUT SHREDDING THE TUBE?

The VRWC: The Barak-star was on TV tonight. I'm depressed.

Politics of Personal Destruction

The Beer: The Winter Ale is in the Primary and ready to transfer. The Liberty Ale is in the Primary and just starting to ferment. I'm guessing the corn sugars break down a little more slowly. I expect to bottle next weekend.

The Bicycle: I'm apparently not real good at changing tubes, but at the rate I'm getting "pinch flats", I'm going to get real good, real soon.

The VRWC: I was going to blame Bush for this, but I see the MSM has gone over to blaming Sarah Palin for everything now.

I see a pattern here. The Left so fears anyone who shows strong leadership or leadership potential on the Right that personal destruction becomes necessary as a survival tool. It's clearly an orchestrated effort between the Democrat party, the MSM, Hollywood elite and the intellectual elite.

Before 9/11, President Bush was labeled as "stupid" by the Left. Despite wide acclaim by both sides during his governorship in Texas, he was a dolt, by elitist Washington standards. He talked slow and he talked "funny". But he was thought to be generally harmless and could be marginalized easily. Rove and Cheney were the brains of the outfit. Post 9/11, he showed significant leadership skills and his popularity started to climb. Almost immediately, the Leftists began their campaign of personal destruction. Stories of his "immobilization" in front of a class of schoolchildren in Florida emerged. The runup to the Iraq war brought more criticism, the evidence be damned. 12 years of talking apparently wasn't enough. Iraq was invaded and Saddam removed. It was an exceptionally rapid victory and Mission Accomplished. And it was. But the MSM made sure to make fun of the photo op on the carrier and the Left began to bang the Post Vietnam anti-war drum. (as an aside, I notice every military conflict involving a Republican President is "another Vietnam". Can anyone tell me how long we've had troops in Bosnia and how much longer they will be there?) The vilification intensified and the Presidents' approval ratings fell. The President never fought back and that was his undoing. The destruction is now complete.

Now, the Left fears Sarah Palin. Once again, a candidate from outside Washington who talks funny. But she shows leadership potential and may challenge Obama in '12 or Hillary in '16. She must be destroyed. Read the stories in the MSM. It's already started.

Yum!

The Beer: Ingredients are on order for a Winter Ale and an ale using a recipe from the late 1700's. I should be brewing next week. I have already secured agreements in the Beer-for-Deer program. Either beer should go well with the spicy roasted pumpkin soup I prepared yesterday. Recipe as follows:

1 medium pumpkin
3-15 oz. cans of chicken stock (or as needed).
Seasoning to taste

Cut the pumpkin in half and seed. Place cut side down on a cookie sheet and roast at 200 degrees until soft (we took about 6 hours). When the pumpkin cools, scoop out the meat from inside - I don't know if you can use the skin or not. Place the pumpkin "meat" in a large saucepan and cover with the chicken broth (more or less to get the consistency you want). Add spices and bring to a simmer until very soft. I use curry, cumin, salt, pepper and a jalapeno (cayenne, banana or other hot pepper works fine). Puree with a hand blender or in a food processor. At this point, I add 2 bay leaves and a couple sage leaves. Allow it to simmer for a time and serve. I serve in a bowl with crostini and fresh cilantro.

The Bicycle: I did ride from work on Thursday. About 40 minutes. I'll do it again. But I admit to being a little creeped out walking throught the office in spandex.

The VRWC: No conspiracy today. There's just too much.

More Energy

The Beer: A fellow homebrewer at work went to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver recently. Said it was the best beer thing ever. Maybe I can go next year.

The Bicycle: Since it's getting cool and dark, I'm going to look at riding during lunch at work. With the new "digs", it should be pretty easy to get an hour-or-so in.

The VRWC: I noticed that since credit dried up, the price of oil has plummeted. It could be coincidental, since oil was on the way down anyway, but I think there is at least some connection between credit, speculation and price.

More Leftist uninformed drivel. The efficiency of a power plant is driven by physics and design, not by the fuel used. A biomass plant and a coal plant of the same capacity and design cycle will run pretty much at the same efficiency. And there is little-to-no reduction (and maybe even an increase) in carbon dioxide emissions. The comment below is made without attribution or explanation.

"Contrary to claims in the op-ed, there are plants currently operating and being proposed that far surpass the proposed Alliant plant's biomass capacity. In Wisconsin, Xcel will burn 100% biomass at its Bayfront plant in Ashland - more biomass capacity than Alliant's proposal. Better yet, Xcel will rely on 100% biomass for a truly renewable solution that actually will reduce global warming pollution."

It is simply stated as fact by the author. I'd like an explanation of how burning biomass is either more efficient or less polluting than any other fuel which is burned for generating electricity. What is the biomass? Dung? Trees? Trash? How much is required? Environmental Impact Statement? What calculations did the author use to make her claims?

Does anyone look at this stuff critically? People with knowledge of the subject should be beating this stuff to death. The Left is wrong. Dead wrong. They continue to lie about the largest energy supply in the world and we accept it as gospel.

Global Warming Economics

I'd think if Alleged Global Warming, pushed by Big Environmental were that important, the condition of the economy wouldn't matter.

But since it is simply a political ploy, .....

Questions Which Should Be Asked, But Won't

The Beer: I'm getting ingredients for Winter Ale. I'll use some of the batch in my "Beer-for-Deer" program. Papa Sierra and Juliette Lima are the best participants.

The Bicycle: I'm having some ankle problems that are going to suspend any riding for the forseeable future.

The VRWC: Questions everyone should be asking, but the MSM won't:

• If Sarah Palin is not qualified by experience to be Vice-President, how is Barak Obama qualified by experience to be President?
• What is the relationship between ACORN and the Obama campaign?
• Who is funding ACORN's voter registration program?
• Why does any mention of ACORN and their relationship to vote fraud in Milwaukee (and nationwide) only rate a page 6 column in the Milwaukee paper?
• Why is it not ok for Sarah Palin to fire a state trooper who is not (allegedly) a very nice person? He's a guy who (again, allegedly) tased his own child. What am I missing here?
• What is the relationship between Bill Ayres and Barak Obama? How would the MSM treat a similar relationship between John McCain and a member of a far Right revolutionary group?
• What is the relationship between Tony Rezko and Barak Obama?
• Why is it racist to vote against Barak Obama if one disagrees with his policies?

Throw more down if you got 'em.

I'm Depressed (But the Economy Isn't)

The Beer: I think everyone is drinking heavily these days. Pick your poison.

The Bicycle: My daughter has rediscovered the joy of bicycling. Now, to set the hook. ;-)

The VRWC: Here is why polls mean nothing. Asking the uninformed for their opinion accomplishes nothing. Nobody with any knowledge of the subject believes we're headed for a new Great Depression. We'll struggle a little, but it will be fine. I'll just never be able to retire.

"Climate Change", My @$$

With this being the 48th Anniversary of Sputnik and the advent of the Space Age, it's also a good time to talk a little about alleged "climate change".

Now, I realize that whoever wins the Presidency (pretty sure it will be an Obama landslide), we are going to get the full-court (unintentional, but apropos pun) press on draconian regulations to combat the alleged climate change. Big Environmental (use that term along with "alleged climate change" often) has the upper hand right now. It's pretty clear that the high cost of energy does result in a behavior change. They will be pushing for carbon taxes and any number of regulations to push us back to the days of long ago discredited mass transit (and the higher taxes that come with it) and urban living. The Left can't stand the idea of people making their own decisions and living where they wish.

Looking at this whole thing historically, Earth's climate has been in a constant state of change. It is only since the dawn of the Space Age that we have had reasonably good climate data. Prior to that time, data relied on ships at sea and remote locations for climate data, making it incomplete and unreliable. I don't think anyone can argue that good worldwide climate data has existed for more than 100 years and I argue that it has only existed for less than 50. With Big Environmental being the same people who claim the Earth is billions of years old (I happen to agree on this count), how can 50-100 years of data be a reliable indicator of a changing climate?

It doesn't pass the smell test.

More Mortgage Bailout

Stop in for more truth. It is no surprise that Democrats not only block any regulatory oversight of Fannie and Freddie, but will brook no criticism of the head of the organization. See for yourself.