RSSCBS hits 2 year low in Ratings
Variety reports. But look on the bright side of things, odds are 2 years from now it will be the two year rating high.
More Oil Refineries, HELL YES
It is easy to look at the escalating gasoline prices and say that the answer is a need for more oil and that oil producing countries like Saudi Arabia should just increase production. However, that would not solve our problem. We have to be able to refine it. As posted earlier, “The Environmentalist War on the Price of Gasoline”, environmentalist have paralyzed the oil refinement in the US to an all but standstill. It is incomprehensible that a new oil refinery has not been built in this country in 25 years. How can this be? How can an industrial nation like the United Stated allow this to occur? We need an energy policy in this country not only to keep cost down, supply a growing economy, but also to protect us from the dependence on foreign oil. There is no reason why this country does not maximize and create greater efficiency in the processing and refinement areas. There is a difference between existing and alternative energy. We need an energy policy NOW.
Ask and you shall receive. According to Reuters, President George W. Bush in another bold move will announce Wednesday the proposal of encouraging new oil refineries be built at closed military bases and jump-starting construction of new nuclear power plants.
Under pressure over high energy prices, President Bush on Wednesday will propose tackling the root causes of the problem by encouraging new oil refineries be built at closed military bases and jump-starting construction of new nuclear power plants.
In a speech, Bush will also propose giving federal regulators the lead authority to decide where to locate terminals for processing imported natural gas. States have increasingly been taking the lead on this issue.
And the president will propose adding vehicles that use clean-burning diesel fuel to the list of automobiles eligible for $2.5 billion in tax credits over 10 years to encourage further use of this technology. Other eligible vehicles are hybrids powered by gasoline and electricity and fuel-cell vehicles.
Senior Bush administration officials unveiled details of the president’s proposals on Tuesday night. It will be his second energy speech in a week.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll showed that less than half of Americans support the way the president is handling energy policy. Bush met Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah at his Texas ranch on Monday but reached no agreement that would lower gasoline prices in the near term.
Energy legislation is moving on Capitol Hill. The House of Representatives has passed a version, while the Senate will begin debate next month. Administration officials want to work with congressional leaders to include Bush’s proposals.
Speaking to small business leaders on Wednesday, Bush will call on federal agencies to encourage construction of new oil refineries at the sites of former military bases closed in recent years.
The agencies would work with states, local communities and potential investors to encourage the use of the sites, the administration officials said.
The lack of adequate refining capacity is frequently cited by experts as one reason why gasoline prices have surged dramatically in recent years. No new refineries have been built in recent years even though the demand for gasoline has risen.
On nuclear, Bush will propose offering companies risk insurance to mitigate the cost of delays due to any potential failures in the licensing process. The last generation of nuclear power plants was built in the 1970s and 1980s.
“There is a new and better licensing process. However, there is substantial uncertainty with potential investors about the ability to move through the new licensing process,” one senior official said.
Liquefied natural gas terminals take compressed, supercold natural gas shipped from overseas and warm it into usable energy. Only four such terminals exist in the United States amid increasing demand for natural gas.
Bush will propose the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission become the lead authority in granting licenses, overruling what has increasingly become state jurisdiction.
A senior official said there are 32 proposals to build new terminals, and Bush’s proposal would “provide some regulatory certainty” in order to get them built. Rules on the terminals vary from state to state, and California, for example, has not wanted to cede state authority.
Its about time. So what brilliant response will we hear from Democrats? Bush can’t do that, he’ll destroy all mankind because he’s evil. He’s just doing this for his oil buddies. I am sure that democrats will have no answers or ideas just complaints. Let Democrats explain to the American people that their obstruction to Bush’s energy plan was responsible for the publics continued high prices of gas.
It is obvious that any energy policy needs a present, short term and long term aspect to it. Energy production, oil refinement, alternative fuel sources, oil drilling as well as conservation. However, it must start somewhere and this is as good as any as we have a President who has the guts to make the tough calls.
Update: From AP, Bush Gives Energy Plan Amid High Prices
“This problem did not develop overnight and it’s not going to be fixed overnight. But it’s now time to fix it,” he said. Bush said the problem is that energy supplies are not growing fast enough to meet the growing demand in the United States and in other countries
“See, we’ve got a fundamental question we got to face here in America,” Bush said. “Do we want to continue to grow more dependent on other nations to meet our energy needs? Or, do we need to do what is necessary to achieve greater control of our economic destiny?”
America has not ordered a new nuclear power plant since the 1970s. Bush said that France has built 58 plants in the same period and today France gets more than 78 percent of its electricity from nuclear power.
“It’s time for America to start building again,” he said.
Bush urged using closed military bases as sites for new oil refineries. The Energy Department is being ordered to step up discussions with communities near such bases to try to get refineries built. He said the United States has not built a new oil refinery since the 1970s.
Added to OTB’s Beltway Traffic Jam
This story is sad, but I am sure there was a bet involved
between the two gentleman. What are the odds, otherwise?
Two Men Hunting Together Die of Apparent Heart Attacks
WENATCHEE, Wash. (AP) – Two elderly men who had gone turkey hunting together died from apparent heart attacks just minutes apart, authorities said.
Elmer Sapp, 78, and Alfred Hurd, 70, were hunting south of East Wenatchee on Monday when Hurd got out of a pickup truck and chased a bird down an embankment.
Sapp followed and found his hunting partner lying on the ground, according to Chelan County Sheriff Mike Harum. Sapp then went back to the pickup, flagged down a motorist, told the motorist what happened and then collapsed.
Autopsies were to be performed on both men.
Clifton Sapp, Sapp’s 56-year-old son, said his father had suffered heart problems for several years.
“Al and Dad were just good friends. To lose a friend and a father, it’s just crazy,” Clifton Sapp said.
My prayers go out to their families, but I bet they both said that would be the way they would want to go out at least once in their lives.
So This Is What a College Education Gets You
Let’s just hope the The University of California, Berkeley student who was suspended was an instate student and not paying out of state tuition. Oh yeah, suspended for … hazed a pledge by repeatedly firing a BB gun at him.
Chrenkoff has a masterpiece up tonight
He covers the paucity of comment from Senator Kennedy over the anniversaries of the successes in Iraq, while he opens his bilious mouth to attack us on Abu Ghraib.
He ends it with the brilliant line he attributes virtually to Taranto, “Mary Jo Kopechne could not be reached for comment”.
This is a great follow up to these article by Jay Tea over at Wizbang;
Here’s a movie plot:
A man, ambitious for political power, makes a deal with the devil: in exchange for power and success through his sons, he will surrender his soul.
The first son is killed in war.
The second son achieves the presidency, and the father suffers a crippling stroke that leaves him virtually unable to communicate.
The second son is assassinated.
The third son is well on his way to the presidency when he, too, is assassinated.
The fourth son accidentally/negligently gets a young woman killed, forever denying him the presidency.
Falstaffian role, ill-suited and ill-trained for the role destiny thrust upon him. And yet he muddles on, flailing from one scandal and misstep to another, constantly chafing under the ill-fitting crown given him as the champion of liberalism.
Edward Moore Kennedy, Sr., was the last of nine children of an incredibly powerful and driven man, and from the outset it was clear little was expected of him. The fourth of four sons, he could tell from the outset his father — the legendary Joseph P. Kennedy — set far more stock in his older sons. First came Joseph P. Junior, the old man’s namesake and heir presumptive. Then came John Fitzgerald, named after his maternal grandfather, legendary Boston politician John Francis “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald. Robert further honored Honey Fitz by bearing his middle name. Ted grew up knowing he was named after the family’s long-loyal chauffeur, Eddie Moore. Joe’s plan was for Joe Junior to become the first Irish Catholic president, to be succeeded by Jack. Robert would help his older brothers, and Teddy would… well, they’d find something to keep him out of trouble.
Jay Tea deserves a great deal of credit on these posts, they are some of his best work yet!
What a week for Senator Kennedy, Jay Tea and Chrenkoff nailing him. God Bless America!
