POWIP Piece of Work In Progress

It’s the Stupid Economy 3-26-11

In Forbes, there's an interesting article on the US funding for Petrobras'* deepwater offshore drilling. The author is at pains to state that the loan offer was approved under the Bush administration, and that it benefits Soros only tangentially. I urge you to read the piece, because it has rearranged some of my preconceptions of how the Obama administration has been involved with these projects.

As usual, though, what I find most interesting about this presentation is what's left out of it:

And what about offshore drilling? Petrobras has 200 oil drilling blocs in the Gulf of Mexico, and it was banned from drilling just as every other deep water driller in the Gulf following the BP oil spill last year. On March 17, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Enforcement at the Department of the Interior granted Petrobras a license to drill for oil and gas in their Cascade and Chinook wells. That oil and gas will come to the US. The ban on drilling for oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico was lifted late last year.

So if Soros profits off Petrobras, so does the guy on the No. 9 bus in Iowa who owns 100 shares of the stock in his 401k’s global growth fund. And if Petrobras ever does utilize the loan facilities provided by the Export Import Bank, it is good for US companies who will get orders for goods and services, and good for Petrobras who will use those goods and services to pump out more oil for Brazil, and the world. More oil from Petrobras is not just good for Soros and the shareholders of his hedge fund; it is good for the price of gasoline as well.

The US banned drilling in the entire Gulf because of the quase-nuclear [sic] disaster of the BP oil spill. And if there is ever such a spill at Petrobras’ newfound Tupi oil wells, and tar balls start washing up on the shores of beloved Ipanema and Copacabana beaches, the Brazilian government will stop drilling just as the US stopped drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Kenneth Rapoza was based in São Paulo, Brazil from 2005 to March 2010 as a staff reporter for Dow Jones Newswires. He is a contributing writer at Forbes.com.

There's a lot of context missing from this piece. For example, the permitorium (as meep calls it) has meant that US oil firms are moving their rigs to places where drilling is permitted. Given the very high cost of operation, staffing and maintenance, they really have no choice in the matter. A side effect is that it increases competition and lowers prices for Petrobras, while reducing domestic production and causing bankruptcies and unemployment in the domestic industry. I hardly think that Mr. Rapoza can be unaware of the economics and the consequences.

Remember, as well, that we are told ad nauseam that the Amazonian ecosystem is the most important on earth. That is why, for example, Greenies have in the past made a great deal of noise about McDonald's purchasing Brazilian beef, grazed on pastures that used to be rainforest. How many Rainforest Runs have your kids participated in? There is no doubt that the Horizon disaster was catastrophic. On the other hand, it's rather mind bending that Salazar and company have issued their first drilling permit since that ecological atrocity to a partner of BP. It's also telling, and typical of this administration, that they have ignored judicial rulings that the ban is unlawful. Moreover, the courts have discovered that the presentation of the analysis of the experts that were hired by the administration to report on Gulf Horizon has been fraudulent.

Is there an excuse for that, Mr. Rapoza?

Then again, there's the issue of ideology and alliance. Brazil has its first Marxist President. I'm sure that Mr. Obama is sympathetic, but it's not an encouraging development. Venezuela and Ecuador (who have successfully sued Chevron in their own courts), under their own leftist regimes, have cozied up to the Arab dictators in OPEC, including bringing Islamist operatives into the hemisphere. Cuba and China are partnering to drill for Gulf oil, and there's nothing in Obama's ban that prevents them from doing so, and nothing that constrains them to take on the safeguards that are imposed in "American" waters.

Yes, the Brazilian stock market has been going gangbusters. Much of that can be traced to capital flight from US firms, under the enlightened gangsterism of Obama and his coterie of leftist faculty advisers. Then there is the media. Had this disaster taken place under Bush, there would be a lot more hand-wringing over dead sea kittens and the poor fisheries industry people who have been ruined by, not just the oil, but the very toxic dispersants used to keep it from producing photographic opportunities for depicting "quasi-nuclear" disaster. And that's not to mention the way that various police agencies have been recruited to minimize the digging around of journalists and concerned citizens.

Then there's the administration's commitment to ethanol, most recently expressed in a recommendation that blends be increased to 15%. It makes about as much sense as the Chevy Volt. Foremost among the environmental impacts are those on human environments. Conversion of foodstuffs into (poorly performing) fuels raises commodities prices, causes civil unrest, and increases fuel prices. It works like this: 1) corn prices go up; 2) food prices go up; 3) Arabs and others in poorer oil exporting nations (and it's amazing how many poor people there are in oil-exporting nations) take to the streets to topple their governments; 4) oil prices go up; 5) fertilizer and fuel prices go up; 6) back to 1 & 2.

So much for Rapoza. Now to VDH:

Consider the logic of the president's Orwellian declaration: The United States in the last two years has restricted oil exploration of the sort Brazil is now rushing to embrace. We have run up more than $4 trillion in consecutive budget deficits during the Obama administration and are near federal insolvency. Therefore, the United States should be happy to borrow more money to purchase the sort of "new stable sources of energy" from Brazil's offshore wells that we most certainly will not develop off our own coasts.

It seems as if paying lots more for electricity and gas, in European fashion, was originally part of the president's new green agenda. He helped push cap-and-trade legislation through the House of Representatives in 2009. Had such Byzantine regulations become law, a recessionary economy would have sunk into depression. Obama appointed the incompetent Van Jones as "green jobs czar" -- until Jones' wild rantings confirmed that he knew nothing about his job description "to advance the administration's climate and energy initiatives."

At a time of trillion-dollar deficits, the administration is borrowing billions to promote high-speed rail, and is heavily invested in the federally subsidized $42,000 Government Motors Chevy Volt. Apparently the common denominator here is a deductive view that high energy prices will force Americans to emulate European centrally planned and state-run transportation.

That conclusion is not wild conspiracy theory, but simply the logical manifestation of many of the Obama administration's earlier campaign promises. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu -- now responsible for the formulation of American energy policy -- summed up his visions to the Wall Street Journal in 2008: "Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe." I think Chu is finally figuring out the "somehow."

Go read that whole 'nother, too.

A "firestorm": given what happened on the Gulf Horizon, could you think of more incendiary rhetoric? Jeebus.

* Contrary to popular belief, not named after a character mentioned in Hamlet.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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The Cronon Brouhaha

You may recall that I took some swings at UW Professor William Cronon over his insipid and rhetorically vomitous op-ed in the NYT. Well, he's back in the news, because some people requested his communications regarding Walker and the unions, for which he apparently used his University account, which are fair game under Wisconsin's Open Records Law, proposed by I don't know what parties. I agree with Professor Jacobson wholeheartedly about this: it's disagreeable and malodorous, but compared with all of the related goings on that the press hasn't decided to don outrage over, this is pretty small potatoes.

I actually agree that just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. And in this case, it does seem that fishing through a Professor's e-mails just because the law allows you to do it is bad form.

But so too is running away to another state to use the technicalities of the quorom rules to nullify the vote of millions of Wisconsin citizens. And so too is invoking the technicalities of the Open Meetings Law to claim inadequate notice to Democratic Senators who had fled the state and had announced they would not return anyway even with notice. And so too is exploiting the technical distinctions between police acting in an official capacity and police acting in a union capacity to abuse the power of the police for political purposes. And so too was the takeover of the State House, though technically legal.

You see, in a political battle there are plenty of legal technicalities which the parties use to gain advantage. Democrats have not hesitated to invoke such technicalities to their advantage, even though some of the results were atrocious.

But . . . but . . . but, PERSONAL PRIVACY!!! Yes, all of you on the left were in fits of hysterical rage over the prying (illegal) that went on into Joe the Plumber's life when he had the temerity to ask Obama a question.

This is why I've been talking about all the bad precedents, you see.

So, shut up, please.

UPDATE: More drama (and technicalities) in Madison: collective bargaining law published on legislature website. Fitzgerald says that's publication in his book, and it goes into effect tomorrow.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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Ice Qadaffi?

Can we find a new arbiter of language?  Oxford seems to have gone off the rails.  FYI, OMG, I heart WAGs.  LOL.

Semper Fi, suckers.  The moral of the story, if you’re going to try smuggling immigrants in with Marine uniforms (or any uniform for that matter), do your homework first.   

Lautenberg is who we thought he was.  Can we put him back in the tool box?   

It’s wildfire season here in CO.  The average is 3 fires in March, and we’ve apparently had 20 so far.  Last year about this time, I ran into a fire at a local Lowe’s, where some idiot had tossed his cigarette into the landscaping mulch as he drove by.

Even having picked Duke to go to the Final Four does nothing to mitigate my pure joy at seeing them lose last night.  The only thing better would be if they had become the first #1 seed to lose in the first round.  Oh, and make no mistake, the first four play in games do not constitute a “round,” so last night’s games were third round games, not fourth round.

Is it me, or does Qadaffi look like Ice T 20 years from now?  Maybe they could get him to play a future version of Detective Fin Tutuola.

Adam Wells

Living life at 84 mph and 7000 feet. All I ask is that you don't block traffic, act like a professional, and don't act all surprised when your actions have consequences. Oh, and don't complain about the refs; trust me, they don't care if your team wins or not.

Rule 5 Beth Rowley 3-25-11

Lissome chanteuse Beth Rowley takes a star turn in An Education.

As you can see, accomplished cinematography. It's a Nick Hornsby script, but it's much better done than other stuff, including that one with that idiot American actor who can't spell on Twitter. It is told very much from the POV of the heroine, played by astoundingly great Carey Mulligan (the dark haired girl at the table), who is actually better than Alfred Molina, who is excellent as her feckless father.

The movie manages to reproduce the production values of the period (set in 1961) without being self-conscious about it, which is quite an achievement. Rowley is talented enough that we will probably never see more of her skin than we do here, but . . . isn't this enough?

Unlike . . . well, for example . . .

Richard McEnroe has Juliana Moreira. Even if you don't speak Spanish, I doubt you'll mind giving her a few minutes of your attention.

At POH Diaries, TWB has vintage Elizabeth Taylor.

King Shamus has a bevy of busty Brazilian beauties, including Morena Baccarin.

No Sheeples: Therapeutic Breast Staring at the Sweater Puppies of the Elite Eight

Bob Belvedere has and eye-full tower.

Yikes! Nation of Cowards has an enomous round-up, featuring the new Wonder Woman.

Maggie's Notebook with Bond Girl Olga Kurylenko and some beefcake for the ladies.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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Come On, Baby, Drive South . . .

with the one you love!

It is widely known that the 2008 financial crisis resulted in the vaporization of trillions of dollars in household wealth. But Federal Reserve officials said Thursday the new report offers a look at exactly how hard the recession hit families, and how they reacted.

The numbers paint a stark picture.

Families that owned stock saw their portfolios drop by more than a third to $12,000 from $18,500, on average. The value of primary real estate holdings decreased by an average of $18,700.

And families took on more debt, pushing median total debt levels to $75,600 from $70,300. They also made less money. Median household income dropped from to $49,800 from $50,100.

The Detroit Free Press reports:

More than 150 school districts and charter schools in Michigan are teetering on the edge of going broke, a situation that is likely to get worse under Gov. Rick Snyder's proposed cuts of $470 per pupil.

Great moments in public education.

Put News Alert on your RSS reader. Steve does a great job.

As I've mentioned before, Illinois is bewildered by shrinking tax revenues even as they raise taxes. Gee, I wonder why. And as I mentioned below, now the CBO is out with an analysis that supports new revenue from a mileage tax, which amounts to a tax on rural people. So, the government's solution seems to be that they should force rural folk to move to the city, where they can send their kids to failing schools.

Brilliant.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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Hey, Can You Jump Start My Leaf?

Via Stop the ACLU:

Consumer Reports doesn’t have good early reviews for Chevrolet’s flagship entry into electric vehicles. A top editor from the publication said the Chevy Volt, which has both a plug-in battery and a gasoline engine “isn’t particularly efficient as an electric vehicle and it’s not particularly good as a gas vehicle either in terms of fuel economy.” He concluded that it just “doesn’t make an awful lot of sense.”

He’s right when you consider the cost and performance of PEVs, starting with the batteries, which require major breakthroughs before they will be ready for prime time. A battery for a small vehicle like the Nissan Leaf can cost about $20,000 and still only put out a range of 80 miles on a good day (range is affected by hot and cold weather) before requiring a recharge that takes eight to 10 hours. Even then, those batteries may only last six to eight years, leaving consumers with a vehicle that has little resale value.

Hey, but it's only $32k for a new one. You probably only lose about $12k in value the moment you drive it off of the lot. The depreciation would be another thing that ACTUARIES! could tell us.

I wrote a piece elsewhere awhile back at another website about the actual economics of auto cleanliness, as defined by the EPA. It's not comprehensive, but it's a great deal more circumspect than most articles you'll read on the subject, I like to think.

Anyway, this crap makes no sense from an environmental impacts standpoint, either.

Now these idiots want to tax mileage. This really amounts to a tax on rural people.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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Zombie on the “Anti-War” Left

In another of Zombie's classic posts on protesters in California:

On Saturday, March 19 anti-war protests were held in major cities around the country to mark the eighth anniversary of the Iraq invasion. This has become an annual ritual, the Saturday closest to March 19 having by now evolved into a leftist holiday, the anti-July 4.

The San Francisco version of the rally was mostly rained out — only a handful of people braved a downpour to protest in the streets. So I have no report of my own. But fortunately Los Angeles had better weather, and fellow citizen journalist Ringo the Gringo was on hand to document the festivities. Several aspects of the full report just posted on his site “Ringo’s Pictures” reveal the malevolence and dementia at the core of the anti-war left.

Ready? We’re going to Hollywood!

Key take-away?

Masochism, when expressed sexually, is called a “fetish”; but when expressed politically it is called “liberalism.”

But obviously go over there for the full flavor, especially of the Black Hebrews, who are probably nowhere to be found in SPLC's worry lists.

Some punk-Americans appear to have gotten so bored with the AnswerLA that they're no longer bored with the USA.

Meanwhile, David Thompson is helping Australianists stick it to the Rave Hierarchy.

Just a remark about the James Cruckson coverage out of Wisconsin: Here's a post I did about Lawrencia "Bambi" Bembenek (which I misspelled, ugh!) when she died last year. Say whatever you want about the media coverage that she received in Wisconsin. I'm just struck by the contrast. Also, a link to the obit that a couple of commenters have linked in the previous post on this subject. There will be a wake today.

If you're going to steal chicks, don't steal them from Armed Geeks (NSFW)

I love stories like this: Mithraic altar stones discovered in Scotland. Mithraism was a religion popular with soldiers, and an early rival of Christianity. (via the wonderful A Blog About History)

From John Nolte at Big Hollywood:

The Hollywood Reporter delivers an absolutely terrific and in-depth look at some of the maddening behind-the-scenes nonsense that ended, quite incredibly, with the History Channel’s cancellation of a $30 million miniseries, a move that likely cost its parent company, A&E Television Networks (and its owners Disney, NBCUniversal), millions already invested in production and marketing costs. This from the same network that broadcast a two-hour love letter to Howard Zinn. But it’s obvious the powers-that-be chose to lose a bundle in order to stay in the good graces of the Kennedy family (and therefore Hollywood) in the same way Disney appeases the Clintons by refusing to rerun or release on DVD “The Path to 9/11.”

Oh, sorry. Post hoc segue: Sacrificed at the Altar of Political Correctness.

Many thanks to Maetenloch for not falling for my blandishments, though I think that if the post didn't have so much to do with Marizela Perez, he might have linked.

If only women had noses like mosquitos'. On second thought, that might make us redundant.

Yawn, hammock! and let slip teh kittehs of kinetic military action.

In olden days they called this thing a stale three-letter word
But in this new millenium I find that quite absurd.
My unabridge-ed thesaurus is dog-eared through and through,
One syllable seems pitiful when thirteen more will do!

Below, my contribution to Lee Stranahan's piece on the proud, self-identifying 99ers.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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Random Thoughts (No More Anonymity)

Yeah, my brackets have been destroyed this year.  Really no different from last year when I had Kansas in the Final Four, but I actually had Pitt losing in the final game.  Time to whip out the Cubs mantra, “There’s always next year.”

Why Jamie Gorelick’s career isn’t over, I’ll never know.  If Obama appoints her to the FBI, his status as “in over his head” will be cemented into his legacy forever.  For pure entertainment value, however, I hope she gets nominated.

“Kinetic Military Action?”  Really?  When I first joined the Air National Guard back in the mid 90s, I had some NCOs talk about joining the “KMA club” when they got to 20 years service.  We can have some fun with this one, too.

Ikea is coming to Denver, and they like big signs.  Let’s just say if you can’t find it driving through Denver, you’re probably not in Denver.

Yes, I’ve decided to drop the pseudonym since it had become pointless, anyway.  If I want to be anonymous, I’ll have to pick a different nom de plume, “Snaqwells” was compromised a long time ago.

Ralph Nader really needs to stay out of sports.  In fact, he should just stay out, period.

The Denver Post reports that radiation, in the form of Iodine 131, has landed in CO from Japan.  It almost feels like, “Hey, look at us, we’re affected too.”

Regarding Libya, I’m generally inclined to be in favor of toppling dictators.  I do, however, find it peculiarly ironic that this president has entered into such conflict without the consent of Congress.  Nah, it’s just flat out hypocritical.

Adam Wells

Living life at 84 mph and 7000 feet. All I ask is that you don't block traffic, act like a professional, and don't act all surprised when your actions have consequences. Oh, and don't complain about the refs; trust me, they don't care if your team wins or not.

A lesson about negotiating from strength [UPDATE]

Don't get me wrong, I love The Zombies, but unions aren't exactly like shrieking fangirls.

Hope Brian Bolduc from NRO doesn't mind my stealing the whole thing:

Gov. Dannel Malloy (D., Conn.) takes a “slightly more intellectual approach” to negotiating with state-employee unions: He asks them for $2 billion in concessions over two years and leaves their collective-bargaining abilities unmolested.

The response — at least from the Connecticut State Prison Employees — is something less than gratitude. CT News Junkie has obtained a copy of AFSCME Local 391’s board-meeting minutes, and they belie the “good faith” the union has promised the Democrat:

2. Contract Negotiations: . . . Stance: Keep what we have, no givebacks! . . .

3. SEBAC Concessions: NO, NO, NO! The members have spoken and we have heard them loud and clear: NO! This is Local’s position, no ifs ands or buts!

4. Legislative Presence: . . . We will stay in our “friends” faces, testify at hearings and meet with Legislators. Our speaking points: we have already given and we are NOT giving more back, period. We will continue to call for the downsizing of management, tax the rich and to keep our prisons open!

Look at what else they considered:

7. Wisconsin Donation: $250.00 donation to the Union fighting to recall politicians who voted to end collective bargaining in their state.

The Capitol can honor Malloy with the “Clint Eastwood Award” for his “empathy and fairness.” But empathy and fairness work only when the other side is willing to listen.

Go check out the links.

Meanwhile, back in Wisconsin:

As attorneys debate the legality of Gov. Scott Walker's changes to public employee collective bargaining laws, some south Wood County municipalities are revisiting their union contracts.

Wood County finalized contracts March 8, preserving collective bargaining rights of six unions through the end of this year. Nekoosa and Grand Rapids also could take up the issue in their communities, officials said.

Governor Walker says law's pretty clearly on his side:

In an interview [Tuesday] night on Fox Business, Governor Scott Walker said he is sure the law is on his side when it comes to the passage of his budget repair bill that includes the removal of collective bargaining for many public sector union members.

As you may recall, a Wisconsin judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the state’s new collective bargaining law from taking effect.

*******

Governor Walker said he did what is right for those taxpayers in his state and the state obeyed the laws. “It’s pretty clear the law is on our side.” He also stated that he has an obligation to get his state back on the right track economically, as the electorate elected him to do.

Meanwhile, it's very important that Wisconsinites organize to re-elect Judge Prosser to the State Supremes on April 5. His opponent is Kloppenburg, friend of Judge Sumi (aka, Dolores Umbridge, see below), who blocked the bill and promptly went on vacation until March 28, allowing officials who'd like to retain union favors to sell out their voters in the meanwhile. Kloppenburg, also as outlined below, has taken donations from Sumi's husband, who also doled them out to three of the Fleebaggers. Sumi's son is a labor lobbyist.

It's probably as hard to dislodge a liberal from office in Dane County, where Madison is located, as it would be to get Feinstein fired from her job.

And, of course, the Chicago Machine have a significant interest in what happens in Wisconsin, not least because tax collection in Illinois is down for some odd reason, and because of all the boodle that would come from the high-speed rail boondoggle, were it to pass. Minnesota's probably in the bag, so that means Wisconsin stands in their way. Read the latest from Michelle Malkin on what's happened to the Inspectors General who've tried to get accountability regarding these projects.

Problem is, the Wisconsin GOP's in a bit of disarray since Priebus left to head up the RNC. And we know that unions and sympathetic leftists are looking to show their strength on April 4, the day before the voting.

That's why it's important that all you Wisconsinites who believe in representative government have to get out and canvass. Here's a good place to start looking for organizations in your area.

UPDATE: State Appeals Court declines to rule on Judge Sumi's ruling, sends it to State Supremes.

UPDATEx2: William Jacobson's analysis is interesting, and I recommend you read the whole thing with particular attention to the points regarding whether the judge can interrupt legislation in process, but the most important take away:

I'm not familiar enough with Wisconsin procedure to know what this means for the hearings scheduled next week before Judge Sumi, and whether such hearings can proceed while an appeal is pending. But if this indicates a long appellate process, during which the Secretary of State cannot publish the law or the State cannot implement the law, it seems that the Governor and legislature need to rethink the strategy, and re-vote if they still have the votes.

Reading through the relatively short decision, it is clear that this was a total punt by the Court of Appeals. Considering that the State will be harmed by the delay in publication, which interferes with the legislative process, the Court could have ruled on the TRO portion bases on the same likelihood of success standard employed by Judge Sumi.

Keep in mind that the rule that the Assembly and Senate relied on to pass the legislation without addressing the fiscal matters was drafted by two of the Fleebagging Senators. Now they wish to delay to see whether they can replace Prosser before the State Supreme Court takes up the case.

These are more dangerous precedents that the Dems are willing to create as they attempt to shape the field to their advantage.

Mind you, the Democrat Senators all fled and stayed out of state for almost three weeks, and Madison's Mayor conspired to delay publication of the bill, and the court's complaint is that it wasn't posted on the Capitol building bulletin board for long enough.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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Breaking Financial Bombshells

Who got served when banks bellied up to the federal discount window as the markets collapsed, and who didn't, and how were those decisions made?

Here’s a little secret the Federal Reserve Board doesn’t want you to know. On Sept. 24, 2008, while financial markets were collapsing, Morgan Stanley borrowed $3.5 billion through the Fed’s oldest lending program, the 98-year- old discount window.

The Fed has long claimed that releasing this type of data could trigger bank runs, public hysteria, death spirals at financial institutions large and small, and other horrible outcomes. Yet I’ve got a hunch Morgan Stanley somehow will survive this revelation. Mass panic will not ensue. The world will not end.

This is the kind of information the late Bloomberg News reporter Mark Pittman was seeking when he filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Fed in May 2008, nine months after the financial crisis began. Among other things, he asked for documents showing which banks had borrowed money under the Fed’s emergency-lending programs and the details of those loans.

The Fed blew off his request. Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, responded by suing the central bank. The company won both at the district court level and on appeal. This week, the Supreme Court decided to let those rulings stand. And so almost three years after Pittman sent his original FOIA letter, the Fed finally will have to comply with the law.

Read the whole thing. Well done, Bloomberg.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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