Friday, January 28, 2011

Draft EPA report: Biofuels threaten habitat, water quality

Draft EPA report: Biofuels threaten habitat, water quality - The Hill's E2-Wire
"A draft Environmental Protection Agency report concludes that expanded production of renewable fuels like ethanol and biodiesel carries an array of ecological risks in the U.S. and other nations, and calls for improved policies to mitigate these harms."

Obama channeling Reagan? Hardly

EDITORIAL: Obama channeling Reagan? Hardly - Washington Times
"Time Magazine asserted this week that “there is no mistaking Obama‘s increasing reliance on [Mr. Reagan’s] career as a helpful template for his own.” Just to keep this preposterous public relations ploy in perspective, we have compiled a handy list to remind people how little these two men have in common"

The United States Of Shame Map

The United States Of Shame Map someecards.com
"A map of what every state should be most ashamed of."

Twilight Landing At LAX (Cockpit View)

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Muskegon to honor former Congressman Pete Hoekstra at Feb. 10 event

Muskegon to honor former Congressman Pete Hoekstra at Feb. 10 event MLive.com
"The local delayed farewell celebration for former U.S. Congressman Pete Hoekstra has been scheduled for Feb. 10 at the offices of Revel, 900 Third, Suite 200.

The Muskegon Area Chamber of Commerce gathering for the 18-year outgoing congressman from Michigan's 2nd District was postponed in December because of lame duck sessions of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Feb. 10 event from 4:30-6:30 p.m. hosted by the Muskegon marketing firm is sponsored by L3 Combat Propulsion Systems.
It is a chamber Business After Hours event that is open to the public."

Gafftastic! Joe Biden stops by battery plant, calls Ener1 plant "Enron One," gets the gender of an Indiana Senator wrong

theblogprof: Gafftastic! Joe Biden stops by battery plant, calls Ener1 plant "Enron One," gets the gender of an Indiana Senator wrong

Major bozo alert...as if we needed any more.....

A SUGGESTION FROM MICKEY KAUS: Shouldn’t Republicans hold hearings on the general threat of Putinlike corporatism?

A SUGGESTION FROM MICKEY KAUS: Shouldn’t Republicans hold hearings on the general threat of Putin…

"Shouldn’t Republicans hold hearings on the general threat of Putin-like corporatism—i.e., an insidious alliance between big government and favored corporate and labor interests?

a) They could call GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt to testify and embarrass him about the myriad ways in which his slightly creepy role as CEO and presidential adviser might allow him to benefit his company and squash competitors;

b) They could grill the various regulators who might be tempted to favor the auto manufacturers that the government bailed out (and which, in GM’s case, it still owns about a third of).
Maybe some GM competitors would even be brave enough to testify.
(Exhibit No. 23: Will GM and Chrysler claim all the remaining billions of “green” retooling loan money from Obama’s Department of Energy? Entrepreneurial startups need not apply?)

c) They could question whether these bureaucrats and others are also doing favors for other Obama constituencies, like labor unions, or Google;

d) They’d appear transpartisan–this is an issue where left and right populists unite.
Do they love corporate-government alliances at Daily Kos?
It’s also one of the legitimate worries at the heart of TeaPartyism.

e) Hearings might help."

Federal Money Hasn't Bought Better Schools

Federal Money Hasn't Bought Better Schools - Investors.com
"American test scores and graduation rates are stagnant.
One in 10 high schools is a dropout factory.
And our students' performance in one of the most prestigious global math competitions has been so abysmal that the U.S. simply withdrew altogether."

First Lady Asks Businesses to Allow Employees to Spend Part of Work Week Mentoring Youth

First Lady Asks Businesses to Allow Employees to Spend Part of Work Week Mentoring Youth CNSnews.com
"First lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday said she was “thrilled” to announce a new program that asks U.S. businesses to allow employees to spend part of the work day volunteering with young people.
The program will be run by the federal agency tasked with overseeing volunteerism in the United States."

This is NUTS!
Since when does the government "ask" companies to do anything?

The 12 Worst Colleges For Free Speech

Greg Lukianoff: The 12 Worst Colleges For Free Speech
"In 2008, Michigan State University (MSU) was added to FIRE's Red Alert list after it punished student government leader Kara Spencer for e-mailing a carefully chosen list of faculty members to express concern about a proposal to shorten the academic year (without reducing tuition, of course).
Spencer was found guilty of 'spamming,' and following a national outcry--13 civil liberties organizations sent MSU an open letter protesting the decision--MSU dropped the charges.
Unfortunately, the school then enacted an overbroad spam policy even worse than the one used against Spencer.
As a result, every MSU student remains at risk of being punished for 'spamming'--simply for sending more than 10 friends, classmates, or faculty the same unsolicited e-mail within 48 hours."

We're # 7!

Public Employee Unions: Public Enemy No. 1?

Public Employee Unions: Public Enemy No. 1? - Capital Journal - WSJ
"“We have a new privileged class in America,” Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels told Politico.
We used to think of government workers as underpaid public servants.
Now they are better paid than the people who pay their salaries.”"

Soldiers Seize Drug Slingshot on US-Mexico Border

Soldiers Seize Drug Slingshot on US-Mexico Border
"In what seems like a scene straight out of a Monty Python movie, Mexican soldiers seized a giant catapult believed to have been used to fling drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border."