Lizard to blame for oil prices?

Bensblurb # 605 4/30/11

High gas prices? Blame Industry, everyone else

“...[The] president condemned politicians who ‘score a few points’ by offering quick-fix solutions whenever there is a spike in gas prices. ‘The truth is, there’s no silver bullet that can bring down gas prices right away,’ Obama said...The White House unveiled a task force ...which would investigate ‘fraud or manipulation’ in oil markets that could affect gas prices.”--Politico blog (Aside: Bush and Clinton had tried the same thing, with zero effect.)
　
“...[On] July 14, 2008, oil prices suddenly plummeted from their historic high of $145 a barrel. Why? Because that was the day President George W. Bush signed an executive order lifting the moratorium on off-shore drilling in the eastern half of the Gulf of Mexico and off the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Overnight, the price per barrel of oil plunged...Obama could with the stroke of a pen sign an executive order telling his appointees at EPA, the Department of Interior and the Department of Energy to stop throwing up obstacles to increased U.S. oil and natural gas production.” --Washington Examiner

Obstacles? You betcha. For instance: The Fish and Wildlife Service is holding hearings in a huge West Texas oilfield on severely limiting activity there. Why? Because bureaucrats want to list the dune sagebrush lizard there as an endangered species. Peculiar, indeed. But it’s happened elsewhere too--an owl to shut down logging in the Northwest, a mouse to shut down wheat farming in Colorado, a minnow and rat to end vegetable growing in California, and more.
But you already knew the federal g
overnment’s power is just too awesome, from an example right here in the Harbour. Yes, we benefited from a wacky environmental directive, at a construction company’s expense.

In constructing the new Wilson Bridge over the Potomac River several years ago, the company was forced to compensate for destroying some mudflat acreage there, by creating newly sacred “wetlands.” Where? Right here on Aquia Creek, just past the end of Dewey Drive in section two. You can drive up to the elevated sea wall there and fish from it.

Contractors had dug out about an acre and a half there beside the creek, so its water would “naturally” soak it at just the right depth for the introduced weeds. Our land surrendered for the project netted us about $96,000.

Many thanks. Even so, I don’t know about you, but I say our all-powerful bureaucracy in Washington is too full of itself, and needs to be taken down a peg or two.

Also, "Growing the economy is simple. The key is that America’s citizens must push for policy-induced prosperity. Wouldn’t it be great if the federal government once again helped, instead of hindered?" --Newsmax Ben Blankenship
#########
　

Pray for us

Bensblurb #604 4/23/11

Pray for us
　
Blame industry, Wall Street, anyone else:

Politico: "Echoing a criticism he has made frequently in the past, the president condemned politicians who “score a few points” by offering quick-fix solutions whenever there is a spike in gas prices. “The truth is, there’s no silver bullet that can bring down gas prices right away,” Obama said.
On Thursday, the White House unveiled a task force called the Oil and Gas Price Fraud Working Group, which would investigate “fraud or manipulation” in oil markets that could affect gas prices." (Aside: Bush and Clinton had done the same thing, with zero effect.) “We will be vigilant in monitoring the oil and gas markets for any wrongdoing so that consumers can be confident they are not paying higher prices as a result of illegal activity,” Attorney General Eric Holder said."

But of course, the turbulent Middle East and its oil riches had nothing to do with our gas price hikes. Nor did Obama’s subsidy to Brazil to drill for oil offshore, and nor did the continuing stall on deep-water drilling in the Gulf. It’s plain as day, right?

Woe is us

“We are living in a bizarre moment in history. Our establishment–the press, the academy, all unions, most politicians, many in business who have skin in the Ponzi game–assure us that borrowing trillions of dollars to finance wasteful spending, while sticking our children with the tab plus interest, is perfectly sensible. On the other hand, believing that we should live within our means is? Crazy!”--John Hinderaker in Powerline.

Warning to Right-to-Work states: The NLRB is after you:

Washington Examiner: “Can federal bureaucrats tell a private company where to build a factory? Members of President Obama's National Labor Relations Board think they can... [A]complaint on behalf of the NLRB on Wednesday seeks to force the Boeing Co. to build an assembly line in Washington state instead of South Carolina. The NLRB action stems from Boeing's October 2009 decision to build a new factory for its new 787 Dreamliner airplane near Charleston, S.C. Boeing first sought to build the new plant near its existing facility in Puget Sound, but negotiations with the International Association of Machinists broke down when the union refused to agree to a long-term no-strike clause. The IAM had struck four times since 1989, costing Boeing at least $1.8 billion in revenue.”

Okay?

Now you can get ready for the Sunrise Services.

Ben Blankenship
#########

American history ratcheer

Bensblurb #602 4/21/11

We’re brimful of American history, ratcheer

Today’s news sure is wacky, but wasn’t it ever so? Here in Virginia, a strongly pro-life state, we’ve seen President Obama in budget negotiations insist on saving Planned Parenthood, the abortion outfit supported by our tax dollars. He won. Some lost.

If you dislike my take on the subject, try this on for size: Virginia has long been a hotbed of pro-creation sentiments. It traces back to the Civil War, for sure. During that era, it’s no secret that Virginia was home to numerous slave-breeder farms.

We’ve come a long way, baby, even though California‘s Gov. Brown now says, “[The] country hasn‘t been this divided since the Civil War.”

Now that I have your attention, let me point out something about Stafford (Virginia of course): We’re brimful of our country’s fascinating history, right from the get-go. Pocahontas really started something there on the Potomac’s shore beside Aquia Creek. You can hardly find a spot that isn’t historical. Take for instance my favorite homeplace, Aquia Harbour.

Residents in our 2,500 homes are in the midst of our country’s history. And long before: A neighbor friend once found numerous Indian arrowheads in his backyard, claiming they were 3,000 years old. Another friend found remnants of a Union soldier’s rifle on a hill in the undeveloped tract once designated as a school site and still vacant. That was where some Union troops had encamped during the Civil War--and undoubtedly met their fate in the Battle of Fredericksburg, 20 miles south.

There also used to be a distinguished residence located somewhere along today's Washington Drive. It was an elegant English mansion that oversaw historic Stony Hill farm. John Peyton lived there before the Revolutionary War, and the Moncure family also had interests in the farm. The Yankees destroyed the place during the Civil War, like they did most everything else in Stafford County--except, thank goodness, Aquia Church, which once was part of the Church of England and now houses a sizable Episcopal congregation.

Then there was Woodstock, once perched on the hill where the Country Club now sits. It oversaw planted fields of tobacco below, in what we now know as the flats of Section 2. It was part of Giles and George Brent’s estate in revolutionary America. According to Jerrilynn Eby’s book, “They Called Stafford Home” (1997), the Brents, together with George Mason, William Fitzhugh and George Mercer, “formulated ideas...which became the foundation for the Bill of Rights,” and the Virginia and U.S. Constitutions.

Another historic place, just a stroll and a pedestrian bridge away, is the county’s fascinating Government Island. The sandstone quarries there and on the opposite side of Aquia Creek were one of Stafford’s major industries two centuries ago.

One of the earliest uses of the sandstone was for grave markers. According to Eby, one dating back to 1682 still sits in the Brent family cemetery near St. William of York Church.

Students who yawn over such ancient stuff will soon enough realize how young our country still is. I have lived over half the time since the start of the Civil War. A great-grandfather served in Mississippi’s Peach Creek Rangers for the Rebs.

Time quickly marches on.

Ben Blankenship, a long-time journalist, lives in Aquia Harbour. Reach him at Benblanken@aol.com
　
　

Nest Still Cozy

Bensblurb #602 4/7/11 This just in: Three stooges on late-night TV Shutdown riff: Obama, Boehner and Reid....“Progress made, and we hope you’ll stay tuned in for the finale of “Who Stiffs the Bureaucrats?” But seriously, “ [A shutdown] may not only threaten the country’s fragile recovery – which Obama needs to keep pace if he wants a second term – it could damage attempts to revitalize his own political brand, as the grown-up trying to bring order to a dysfunctional town.”--Politico. Me: A growunup? That’s too kind. Now, back to your regularly scheduled Bensblurb: Our nest is still cozy When my family moved to Stafford 33 years ago, it was to find comfort and quiet from the bustling pace of life in Falls Church. Luckily we found it, in a then-struggling Aquia Harbour recovering from an earlier bankruptcy of its developer, with homes for sale dirt cheap. It was a very good move, although alas, homes are again dirt cheap. And after several years here I was able to retire from my government job in D.C. before commuting got to be so much of a pain. Thus, except for a bad back, my sunny disposition endures, except of course with respect to the current White House. Both Aquia Harbour and Stafford have prospered, although for the first decade or so here, what happened outside our gated community was of little consequence personally. And now our community, essentially mature, remains quiet and pleasant. Smug? You betcha. Nothing’s better than my country, my state, my community--although Stafford frets it’s playing second fiddle to Spotsylvania and Prince William in business development. And now, here come the squabbles over urban development areas, which would have been laughable until recently. Even now, I’d say they’re of little moment, for mostly we remain a diverse and growing bedroom community. I’ve been happy with Stafford’s management, too. The most tangible indicator for me, the property tax, has stayed well within reason. And our security, under Sheriff Jett, has seemed competent and then some. Every year about now, we hear that our schools are falling short and we simply must spend more than our stingy county supervisors will allow. That’s as predictable as the lovely springtime blossoming of trees here--and especially when GOP supervisors are in charge. I have no dog in those school budget fights, so to speak, unless you count freshman grandson Jason. And luckily again, his genes being right, he’s unusually bright. Traffic congestion does bother even us old folks. Often it’s a matter of getting down I-95 to a doctor appointment on time. We’ve seen more of their offices locating close to the new Stafford Hospital nearby. But you know as well as I that driving around in the county remains a problem. It’s becoming a bigger problem for me. Age is taking its toll on my driving abilities. True, I’m happy to be outliving the average life span of my cohorts. But I expect my trusty 2004 Town Car to outlast me, with any luck. (You figure that out.) I am more concerned about my neighbors and relatives in the military, including our nearby heroes stationed at Quantico. They are stretched way too thin. We seem destined to fight wars from now on, while our troops are being sent back into battle zones repeatedly, surely wearing them down without good reason except that there are too few of them. The remedy? Bring back the draft. Our new generation of youngsters needs to learn the teamwork and discipline instilled by military service. And one final, prayerful note: I hope to vote for the next GOP president. --Ben Blankenship #############

About the little guys

Bensblurb # 601 4/3/11 I’m hoping Butler can win it all when they play UConn for the NCAA basketball championship. Sorry it wasn’t my favorite, Richmond’s Virginia Commonwealth U. But VCU’s enrollment, like most of the others, is huge. In contrast, Butler’s, at 4,800 in Indianapolis, is more like my home town’s Abilene Christian U. Cheer for the little guys. Speaking of a little guy, here’s an independent fed: 　 Bureaucrat strikes back: Alan Carlin, the federal scientist who was rebuked last spring by his EPA bosses when he publicly disagreed with its finding that CO2 is a bad gas, has now published his peer-reviewed research (WUWT, 4/3/11) on climate-change science and economics. He writes, “The paper is unusual from a number of different perspectives. From a policy perspective, the paper’s conclusions include the following:· · The economic benefits of reducing CO2 emissions may be about two orders of magnitude less than those estimated by most economists because the climate sensitivity factor is much lower than assumed by the United Nations because feedback is negative rather than positive and the effects of CO2 emissions reductions on atmospheric CO2 appear to be short rather than long lasting. · The costs of CO2 emissions reductions are perhaps an order of magnitude higher than usually estimated because of technological and implementation problems recently identified. CO2 emissions reductions are economically unattractive since the few benefits remaining after the corrections for the above effects are quite unlikely to economically justify the much higher costs unless much lower cost geoengineering is used. The risk of catastrophic anthropogenic global warming appears to be so low that it is not currently worth doing anything to try to control it, including geoengineering.” 　 Me, too: My letter to Free Lance-Star, published 4/3/11: “At a time when we have too many problems facing us--many of great consequence like high unemployment, an overwhelming national debt and endless war entanglements sapping our military--here comes another impassioned plea, oh yeah, to spend more money to adjust our climate. Forget about the folly of worrying about that instead of our mortgage mess and the mountain of foreclosed homes. Yet, authors love to sell their books and the long inflammatory op-ed piece by Mark Hertsgaard is the latest example in the Free Lance-Star. He attacks Republicans in Congress for keeping the nation from blowing more money on studies of global warming. Doesn’t that seem old-hat nowadays? That was the last decade’s hot topic. Now if anyone wants to worry about nature’s impacts on us, I would suggest more study of consequential impacts, like earthquakes. Ode to April 15 Mark Steyn (in Daily Caller): “We need to throw this stuff out. There shouldn’t be a 1099. Small business shouldn’t know the name of stupid government forms like that. It’s embarrassing that in a republic of free citizens there are millions of us marching around with all this meaningless government mumbo-jumbo numbers stuck in our head because we know that tax season – tax season, and that’s another problem right there by the way. Baseball should have a season......Tax should be a day.” 　 Reduce Wetback Arrests, Border Patrol tells Arizona Sheriff: Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever told FoxNews.com that a supervisor with the U.S. Border Patrol told him as recently as this month that the federal agency’s office on Arizona's southern border was under orders to keep apprehension numbers down during specific reporting time periods. “The senior supervisor agent is telling me about how their mission is now to scare people back,” Dever said in an interview with FoxNews.com. “He said, ‘I had to go back to my guys and tell them not to catch anybody, that their job is to chase people away.” Ben Blankenship #############