I don’t think there is enough scientific data available from any source to justify the costs of governmental action to deal with the problem of global warming. The scientists who are working on providing that data might deserve a Nobel Peace Prize but Al Gore sure doesn’t.
The idea that Gore’s movie qualifies him for a share of the same award given to real scientists is asinine no matter what Ed says.
Hat-Tip: CATO
I have purposefully tried to stay away from commenting on foreign policy for quite a while on this site. I just find the subject too depressing to dwell on. On this day every year the topic of U.S. foreign policy is more significant to me than normal so I figured today I’d link to the most insightful blog post I could find relating to our nation’s present troubles then link to it and feel like I’ve fulfilled my quota on this topic for the next year or so.
He doesn’t know it but Frank Staheli, a veteran of the Iraq war and a Utah blogger, is one of my heroes. He is completely wrong on the latest Republican scheme to provide a new welfare entitlement for people who don’t need it in the form of tuition vouchers but that can be forgiven. Frank is absolutely correct in everything he says when he blogs on the topic of American foreign policy. If anyone ever needs to know what’s right for our nation in the post 9/11 years I’m happy to refer them to Frank. Here’s his post today…it doesn’t directly relate to America’s post 9/11 policies but it covers what I think are the most important points. I’m grateful that he is out there making the case for a more humble and thoughtful American foreign policy. It would sure be great if Utah’s politicians who hold national office would listen to him.
Read this commentary entitled Liberty, Equality, Mediocrity by Charles Krauthammer. Krauthammer perfectly analyzes and explains the current French unrest/riots and the root causes. Here’s a bit of it:
And now, in a new act of revolutionary creativity, the French are at it again. Millions of young people and trade unionists, joined by some underclass opportunists looking for a good night out, have taken to the streets again. To rise up against what? In massive protest against a law that would allow employers to fire an employee less than 26 years old in the first two years of his contract.
That’s a very long way from liberty, equality, fraternity. The spirit of this revolution is embodied most perfectly in the slogan on many placards: CONTRE LA PRÉCARITÉ, or “Against Precariousness.” The precariousness of being subject to being fired. The precariousness of the untenured life, even if the work is boring and the boss no longer wants you. And ultimately, the precariousness of life itself, any weakening of the government guarantee of safety, conformity, regularity.
That is something very new. And it is not just a long way from the ideals of 1789. It is the very antithesis. It represents an escape from freedom, a demand for an arbitrary powerful state in whose bosom you can settle for life.
I wonder what lessons America can learn from the complete failure of the French way of life? Read the whole thing.
Hat tip Instapundit.
I’ve always been interested in Russia. I studied a lot of Russian history and politics in college. Reading this interesting article at NRO on what is going on now politically and economically in Russia really made me miss Dr. LaRae Larkin’s classes at Weber State.
Happenings in the Russian Federation could definitely affect us here in the U.S.. If Russia were to fail as an alternate oil supply to the middle east we could be in for some economic trouble. Unfortunately I don’t know how to contact my friend Taber Johnson who knows all when it comes to the former Soviet Union and its current issues. I would love to hear what he thinks about what is going on there.
My good friend Brett sent me this link about what OPEC has been doing recently. They are claiming that they are imposing a restriction on oil production in hopes that prices will rise…but prices are doing the opposite. This is further proof that OPEC is being broken. There are several knives in their back…Russian cheating by producing more oil than they tell OPEC they will produce, Central and South America doing pretty much the same thing, and finally (and most deadly for OPEC) the U.S. troops sitting in the Iraqi oil fields.
I think OPEC is nearly meaningless now that the U.S. controls Iraqi oil. I don’t care what anyone says…getting control of Iraqi oil production was a definite objective of the war in that country. The U.S. is now a significant foil to OPEC as Iraq has been restricted from pumping all but a tiny portion of its oil for 12 years now and we can threaten to open the floodgates. It will be interesting to see what happens. Hopefully the price of oil will plummet and I’ll be able to use all the cheap gasoline I need. That new minivan we got goes through gas more quickly than I ever would have thought!!!
A last quick point…the U.S. can now threaten the Saudi monarchy where it really hurts…their pocketbook. The House of Saud is a slimy family of dictators who are the chief financiers of Islamic extremism (Wahabbism) throughout the world. Any money taken out of their pockets is money that is taken away from the wackos…this makes my family safer than they otherwise would be. I think its great that one of the chief aims of the Iraqi war was oil.
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