I can't believe I am citing The View for information on a political matter, but on today's episode a representative of the Clinton Campaign contacted them during the show to tell them to stop "reporting" the AP story as it was wrong and Clinton is not planning on conceding. I hope that she will concede soon, but I doubt it will be in the next couple of days. As for my defense of watching The View, they had Colin Firth on today and I have a major crush so I switched into the show on commercial breaks of a re-run of Gilmore Girls. Don't judge me, I was home due to illness and I was only up for passive entertainment. So there. (Yeah, I am ashamed.)
No, he shouldn't announce a VP until he has to that way people can speculate on who it will be. He really has been busy with campaigning for the past 18 months or so. I'm sure he has a short list of people and will consult with all of them but if we hear before August I'd be surprised.
Hillary could very well be his running mate. A couple of weeks ago, I would have thought that an Obama/Clinton ticket would have been terrible. However, she has performed very well in these last couple contests and I think that has highlighted his weaknesses with women and working class voters. Adding Clinton to the ticket will prevent most of her supporters from going over to McCain as well as help him in the swing states where she is doing well. I only see two potential problems with such a ticket; the first being that her message wasn't exactly one of change from the beginning - although I think that will be negligible. The other potential problem that I see would be Bill, he has had quite a temper in these past few months. He would also probably complicate things in the White House as well.
I think Edwards might make a good running mate, he seems to be doing the best in polls about potential matchups against McCain. He'll also do well with the working class.
I just pulled this from the text of Obama's speech tonight on the Drudge Report:
Maybe if he went to Pennsylvania and met the man who lost his job but can't even afford the gas to drive around and look for a new one, he'd understand that we can't afford four more years of our addiction to oil from dictators. That man needs us to pass an energy policy that works with automakers to raise fuel standards, and makes corporations pay for their pollution, and oil companies invest their record profits in a clean energy future -- an energy policy that will create millions of new jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced. That's the change we need.
This is an example of why Obama scares the shit out of me. When I read these words this is what runs through my mind:
I see all sorts of False Dichotomies in his speech. Obama is pressing for alternative energy (good idea) but he is also blocking oil drilling within the US and it's national waters. He is putting forth the false dilemma of "foreign oil addiction OR alternative energy" as if those are the only two choices. How about researching alternative fuel sources AND drilling for oil domestically as well as firing up some nuclear plants?
I looked over the speech and there are a shit-ton of these false dichotomies all over the damn thing! The sad thing is that many people will fall for his words and not bother to think things through.
If you just do simple math of available oil against energy needs, and understand that there is no technology coming down the line soon that will be able to replace oil as an energy source in the near future, especially for automotive vehicles, its clear that America can not be oil independent anytime soon. This is why politics make me sad. In a real debate a statement like above would get torn to shreds. Well, at least what hes stating is sorta impossible so unlikely to cause any major harm besides perhaps some funding into doomed projects. The major sink hole for America is in foreign affairs. If Obama performs better their hes the least of all evils and thats a start.
This is an example of why Obama scares the shit out of me.
I think I remember some other forum members opining on other's concerns over what a politician said and did. What did they say? What was it? It's on the tip of my tongue . . . Oh yeah: If you don't like something or if something concerns you, you are a crazy, paranoid, alarmist, bigot who espouses crazy conspiracy theories. Then some forum members will make a comic strip featuring a stereotypical crazy conspiracy theorist that purports to be you and then post it on their blog. One other thing: these forum members disdain ad hominem attacks.
But I agree with your fears. There is nothing quite as scary as alternative fuel. For instance, take this crazy, scary quote:
We must also change how we power our automobiles. We will increase our research in better batteries for hybrid and electric cars, and in pollution-free cars that run on hydrogen. We'll also fund additional research in cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol, not just from corn, but from wood chips and stalks, or switch grass. Our goal is to make this new kind of ethanol practical and competitive within six years.
that I found here. Scary. I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight for the night terrors.
I think I remember some other forum members opining on other's concerns over what a politician said and did. What did they say? What was it? It's on the tip of my tongue . . . Oh yeah: If you don't like something or if something concerns you, you are a crazy, paranoid, alarmist, bigot who espouses crazy conspiracy theories. Then some forum members will make a comic strip featuring a stereotypical crazy conspiracy theorist that purports to be you and then post it on their blog. One other thing: these forum members disdain ad hominem attacks.
Awww...did someone get some sand in their vagina this morning?
This is an example of why Obama scares the shit out of me.
I think I remember some other forum members opining on other's concerns over what a politician said and did. What did they say? What was it? It's on the tip of my tongue . . . Oh yeah: If you don't like something or if something concerns you, you are a crazy, paranoid, alarmist, bigot who espouses crazy conspiracy theories. Then some forum members will make a comic strip featuring a stereotypical crazy conspiracy theorist that purports to be you and then post it on their blog. One other thing: these forum members disdain ad hominem attacks.
But I agree with your fears. There is nothing quite as scary as alternative fuel. For instance, take this crazy, scary quote:
We must also change how we power our automobiles. We will increase our research in better batteries for hybrid and electric cars, and in pollution-free cars that run on hydrogen. We'll also fund additional research in cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol, not just from corn, but from wood chips and stalks, or switch grass. Our goal is to make this new kind of ethanol practical and competitive within six years.
that I foundhere.Scary. I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight for the night terrors.
Joe, you just proved my point by falling for Obama's False Dichotomy. There is plenty of oil still inside the planet, we are only running out of the kind that is easy to get to. It's kind of like how you have some beer in your fridge and you know you can buy beer at the local corner store. Then Sunday hits and all the beer stores are closed. Now, if you run out of beer you have to either go to a friend's house or brew your own (or break into a liquor store). There is still beer to be had, just not easy beer.
Yes, Bush was pushing for those alternative energy sources in 2006. Since then we have discovered that ethanol costs more to produce than what you get out of it and hydrogen is still just as bad. The key difference between Bush's alternative energy policy and what Obama says is that Bush wants to increase domestic drilling until these new technologies are proven to work and come online.
Obama is complaining about foreign oil dependence (damn you Canada!!!) but omitting domestic drilling as an answer to the problem.
Joe, you just proved my point by falling for Obama's False Dichotomy. There is plenty of oil still inside the planet, we are only running out of the kind that is easy to get to. It's kind of like how you have some beer in your fridge and you know you can buy beer at the local corner store. Then Sunday hits and all the beer stores are closed. Now, if you run out of beer you have to either go to a friend's house or brew your own (or break into a liquor store). There is still beer to be had, just not easy beer.
Yes, Bush was pushing for those alternative energy sources in 2006. Since then we have discovered that ethanol costs more to produce than what you get out of it and hydrogen is still just as bad. The key difference between Bush's alternative energy policy and what Obama says is that Bush wants to increase domestic drilling until these new technologies are proven to work and come online.
Funny, I didn't see anywhere in that speech where your hero wanted to drill domestically.
Also, I challenge you to logically show how anything I said in that post "proved" anything you said. Other that that conclusory statement, "You proved my point.", you can't tie my post to anything you said.
The sad thing is that many people will fall for his words and not bother to think things through.
Yeah, that's you Steve: The thoughtful sage. Please, please tell us what to think about this Steve. We're so confused and lost. We need your keen insight and years of education and experience to show us the way.
Steve, isn't drilling domestically not just pushing off the issue? The larger problem isn't that people depend on oil from foreign sources, but depend on oil, period. Sometime even americas domestic oil will be used up, and what then? In addition, burning oil is also very wasteful and hazardous for the environment. Wouldn't it be better to switch to an alternative as early as possible?
Steve, isn't drilling domestically not just pushing off the issue? The larger problem isn't that people depend on oil from foreign sources, but depend on oil, period. Sometime even americas domestic oil will be used up, and what then? In addition, burning oil is also very wasteful and hazardous for the environment. Wouldn't it be better to switch to an alternative as early as possible?
Yes, the core problem is oil dependence. However, the oil is here now so why not drill for it domestically while working on alternative energy? Obama's argument excludes domestic drilling as a stop-gap measure until we can get other sources of energy online.
When switching from one thing to another you want the transition to be as smooth as possible so there are no interruptions. Domestic oil drilling allows us to move away from foreign oil sources while we work on bringing new sources online. I understand the faulty logic behind Obama's position of not even entertaining the idea of domestic drilling (give them no alternative and they have to do it my way) but it is the logic of the blind and the haughty. It's a "my way or the highway" argument and I expect better from the enlightened messiah of the Democratic party.
As an example let's just say your electricity bill has doubled in the past year. You want to investigate putting solar panels on your house as way to get around paying the electric company. Do you cut off the main breaker to your house as a way to motivate yourself to get those solar panels installed pronto or do you leave the main breaker on until after you have your solar array installed and tested? Further do you test the amount of solar energy available to you based on the location of your home before embarking on the project? It might be that a windmill is better for you based on your location. It would be real stupid to pull the main breaker and spend too much getting those solar panels installed only to find out once you power them up that you can't get enough power out of them.
Now you find yourself in a position of turning that main breaker back on and using the solar array to supplement your power needs. Meanwhile you spent months living without power when you did not have to.
Increased domestic drilling should be a part of any sane energy policy. Funny how a certain New York Senator claims that Saudi Arabia increasing its oil output by a million barrels a day would drop the price of gasoline by 50 cents yet he also thinks that drilling in ANWR would only result in the price dropping a penny a gallon.
Mr. Jason, I would be a lot happier with my cartoon alter ego if he didn't have a silly moustache. Is it possible that he could shave before his next appearance? At least the moustache? The shadow is fine and fairly accurate, at least for weekends and weeknights. Other than that, this particular strip is pretty accurate. I'll admit that I can sometimes get caught up in the wrath.
Steve, your solar energy comparison is really really bad. Of course Obama isn't going to shut down the main breaker before the solar panels are installed. But the main breaker in this case is the foreign oil, not the domestic oil. In your example the domestic drilling plan would be to employ a different power company that is slightly cheaper while pushing off installing the solar panels.
Another point would be that alternative energy sources will become competitive eventually, and rather soon. When this transition happens you basically ended up spending money on accessing oil you don't need anymore and will never use again. The question is just when it will happen, at it would be a whole lot cheaper if it happened sooner than later and of course you would save a lot of money if you didn't more or less waste the money on the domestic drilling plan in the first place.
You sound like someone who should be listening to lots of death metal.
I wonder which genre has more references to The Devil, Blues or Metal? The Devil appears in quite a number of Blues songs, but from its reputation, you'd expect Metal to win hands down.
Mr. Jason, I would be a lot happier with my cartoon alter ego if he didn't have a silly moustache. Is it possible that he could shave before his next appearance? At least the moustache? The shadow is fine and fairly accurate, at least for weekends and weeknights. Other than that, this particular strip is pretty accurate. I'll admit that I can sometimes get caught up in the wrath.
Really? No mustache? I always picture you with one. I was trying to give you a van dyke, but Bitstrips is not van dyke-friendly.
Another point would be that alternative energy sources will become competitive eventually, and rather soon. When this transition happens you basically ended up spending money on accessing oil you don't need anymore and will never use again. The question is just when it will happen, at it would be a whole lot cheaper if it happened sooner than later and of course you would save a lot of money if you didn't more or less waste the money on the domestic drilling plan in the first place.
Yes, they are becoming more and more competitive as the price of oil rises. The problem with that is what happens if you invest in an alternative energy source that replaces oil at an effective replacement cost of $100 per barrel and then the price of oil drops below that price point.
Why is everyone always harping on OPEC to increase the supply of oil? What about Canada and Mexico? Why does no one ever try and strong arm them (US Government people) into supplying us with more oil? Could it be that OPEC is easier to demagogue?
Why can't we just start building nuke plants and better batteries? Why go halfway with hydrogen and ethanol? Ethanol is just a political vote buying system. Nukes are where we want to go. In fact, rather than research better batteries how about researching a safe nuclear plant the size of an automobile engine? I still want my Mr. Fusion!!!
Jason - I don't have freckles and chipmunk cheeks. In fact my beard covers my mouth.
Why is everyone always harping on OPEC to increase the supply of oil? What about Canada and Mexico? Why does no one ever try and strong arm them (US Government people) into supplying us with more oil? Could it be that OPEC is easier to demagogue?
Really? No mustache? I always picture you with one. I was trying to give you a van dyke, but Bitstrips is not van dyke-friendly.
Mr. Joe has an awesome hat though. If the pictures are still online you can check those few reference pictures he posted about his volunteering job at the museum. At least.. was it a museum? I forgot, all I remember is awesome hat and pipe.
For people without vaginas, they make pretty good music. ^_~
Why the hell does that sound so hilarious?
Either way, WOOOT bitstrips master Jason. As for the 'wrong' avatar, could we write it off as Joe's less-'evil' twin?
Either way, WOOOT bitstrips master Jason. As for the 'wrong' avatar, could we write it off as Joe's less-'evil' twin?
It's a question: There's no reason Jason needs to know what everyone looks like, but if he wants to put them in his strip, shouldn't the strip characters bear some passing resemblance to the people they supposedly represent?
That being said, I think that his Rym is pretty good, but I don't get how he thinks his Scott character looks anything like Scott.
Why is everyone always harping on OPEC to increase the supply of oil? What about Canada and Mexico? Why does no one ever try and strong arm them (US Government people) into supplying us with more oil? Could it be that OPEC is easier to demagogue?
Comments
I think Edwards might make a good running mate, he seems to be doing the best in polls about potential matchups against McCain. He'll also do well with the working class.
But I agree with your fears. There is nothing quite as scary as alternative fuel. For instance, take this crazy, scary quote: that I found here. Scary. I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight for the night terrors.
Yes, Bush was pushing for those alternative energy sources in 2006. Since then we have discovered that ethanol costs more to produce than what you get out of it and hydrogen is still just as bad. The key difference between Bush's alternative energy policy and what Obama says is that Bush wants to increase domestic drilling until these new technologies are proven to work and come online.
Obama is complaining about foreign oil dependence (damn you Canada!!!) but omitting domestic drilling as an answer to the problem.
Also, I challenge you to logically show how anything I said in that post "proved" anything you said. Other that that conclusory statement, "You proved my point.", you can't tie my post to anything you said. Yeah, that's you Steve: The thoughtful sage. Please, please tell us what to think about this Steve. We're so confused and lost. We need your keen insight and years of education and experience to show us the way.
When switching from one thing to another you want the transition to be as smooth as possible so there are no interruptions. Domestic oil drilling allows us to move away from foreign oil sources while we work on bringing new sources online. I understand the faulty logic behind Obama's position of not even entertaining the idea of domestic drilling (give them no alternative and they have to do it my way) but it is the logic of the blind and the haughty. It's a "my way or the highway" argument and I expect better from the enlightened messiah of the Democratic party.
As an example let's just say your electricity bill has doubled in the past year. You want to investigate putting solar panels on your house as way to get around paying the electric company. Do you cut off the main breaker to your house as a way to motivate yourself to get those solar panels installed pronto or do you leave the main breaker on until after you have your solar array installed and tested? Further do you test the amount of solar energy available to you based on the location of your home before embarking on the project? It might be that a windmill is better for you based on your location. It would be real stupid to pull the main breaker and spend too much getting those solar panels installed only to find out once you power them up that you can't get enough power out of them.
Now you find yourself in a position of turning that main breaker back on and using the solar array to supplement your power needs. Meanwhile you spent months living without power when you did not have to.
Increased domestic drilling should be a part of any sane energy policy. Funny how a certain New York Senator claims that Saudi Arabia increasing its oil output by a million barrels a day would drop the price of gasoline by 50 cents yet he also thinks that drilling in ANWR would only result in the price dropping a penny a gallon.
Media Miss Schumer's OPEC Oil Production Versus ANWR Drilling Gaffe
Mr. Jason, I would be a lot happier with my cartoon alter ego if he didn't have a silly moustache. Is it possible that he could shave before his next appearance? At least the moustache? The shadow is fine and fairly accurate, at least for weekends and weeknights. Other than that, this particular strip is pretty accurate. I'll admit that I can sometimes get caught up in the wrath.
Another point would be that alternative energy sources will become competitive eventually, and rather soon. When this transition happens you basically ended up spending money on accessing oil you don't need anymore and will never use again. The question is just when it will happen, at it would be a whole lot cheaper if it happened sooner than later and of course you would save a lot of money if you didn't more or less waste the money on the domestic drilling plan in the first place.
Join the dark side, Joe. We're here to help, really.
Let me get the mustache out of my system, then:
Why is everyone always harping on OPEC to increase the supply of oil? What about Canada and Mexico? Why does no one ever try and strong arm them (US Government people) into supplying us with more oil? Could it be that OPEC is easier to demagogue?
Why can't we just start building nuke plants and better batteries? Why go halfway with hydrogen and ethanol? Ethanol is just a political vote buying system. Nukes are where we want to go. In fact, rather than research better batteries how about researching a safe nuclear plant the size of an automobile engine? I still want my Mr. Fusion!!!
Jason - I don't have freckles and chipmunk cheeks. In fact my beard covers my mouth.
Either way, WOOOT bitstrips master Jason. As for the 'wrong' avatar, could we write it off as Joe's less-'evil' twin?
That being said, I think that his Rym is pretty good, but I don't get how he thinks his Scott character looks anything like Scott.