Party of NO - keeping us in the past

Your Conservatives/Republicans hard at work, creating today's problems:

FreedomWorks Nov 03, 2006 OFFSHORE DRILLING IN THE GULF OF MEXICO Good for the economy and good for the environment Most Americans understand the need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and provide the extra supply of oil and natural gas to lower our energy costs. The Mineral Management Services (MMS), an agency of the Department of Interior, estimates that the OCS (Outer Continental Shelf) contains enough natural gas to heat 100 million homes for 60 years or enough oil to replace current Persian Gulf imports for 59 years. Unfortunately the federal government has held back 80% of the country's OCS from oil and gas exploration and production. But despite these findings, there are those from radical environmental groups that oppose critical access to domestic oil and natural gas, claiming they are protecting the environment. Actually the facts tell us that offshore rigs and platforms can be beneficial to marine wildlife. Once in place, the platform's substructure acts as an "artificial reef," providing hard surfaces for encrusting organisms such as spiny oysters, barnacles, sponges, and corals. These creatures are the basis of the food chain in what becomes a new marine ecosystem for numerous types of fish, sharks, sea turtles, spiny lobsters, and sea urchins, so basically speaking,the rigs create critical two factors for marine life: Shelter and food. The food chain begins with the formation of barnacles on these structures below the waterline. This sets the stage for small fish seeking shelter and food that the steel legs provide. Many local Gulf coast scuba divers enjoy underwater visits to Gulf platforms to sight-see tropical fish and organisms normally associated with natural reef systems located in the Caribbean and far away places. Local divers call these trips "Rig Diving" because the word rig is commonly used in place of platform. The areas of the Gulf Coast that have access to the platforms have seen increased business due to the popularity of “rig” diving, that means the platforms are not only beneficial to the environment but also good for local economies, attracting new tourist to Gulf Coast towns. Also new technologies make platforms safer from oil leaks, automatic well-head cut-off valves keep oil under the seabed if the rig or platform breaks away. Investigations showed that there was no significant environmental damage from the offshore platforms despite two Category 5 hurricanes last year in the Gulf. Actually, the only oil spills after the hurricanes came from beached oil tankers damaged from the storms and not from the platform pipes themselves. Also, all proposed drilling areas would have platforms very far from the field of vision from coastal beaches as not to have any impact people enjoying their “day at the beach.” Allowing greater access to the outer continental shelf for new oil and natural gas exploration is a win-win for Americans; less dependence on dangerous foreign dictators holding us hostage with oil prices, and creating beneficial artificial reefs for marine wildlife.

And two years later George Bush lifted the executive ban on offshore drilling instituted 20 years earlier by.... his father!

In honor of our increasingly fractured and childish U.S. society, I give you a 4th of July Weekend Celebration Video:

See if you can find the scary part of this chart from Calculated Risk:

For your holiday weekend viewing pleasure, here's Monty Python explaining repression by the autocracy:

Race to the Bottom? California’s Support for Schools Lags the Nation Anyone trying to understand today’s headlines can find the story behind the story in a new CBP School Finance Facts released today. Race to the Bottom? California’s Support for Schools Lags the Nation shows that by almost any measure California ranks near or at the bottom with respect to the level of funding for public schools relative to that of other states. For example, even without adjusting for the state’s comparatively higher costs, California spends far less per student than the rest of the US – $2,546 less per student in 2009-10. That means California’s schools would have had to spend an additional $76,400 for each 30-student classroom to reach the per student spending level of the rest of the nation. Because California spends less to support public schools it has more students per classroom than any other state – averaging 21.3 students for each teacher in 2009-10, compared to 13.8 students per teacher for the rest of the US. While California’s support for public schools has lagged the nation during at least the past four decades, the state’s standing has declined dramatically during the last three years. As a result, an increasing number of California school districts are facing bankruptcy. Looming school district bankruptcies and a dramatic decline in the state’s education rankings should be seen as a reason to maintain support for California’s schools. Instead, Governor Schwarzenegger’s “cuts only” approach to balancing the budget would slash $1.5 billion more from general purpose funding for K-12 education. A more balanced approach won’t alleviate the need for spending cuts, but would leave California schools in a better position to recover when the state’s economy improves. – Jonathan Kaplan

From The California Budget Project

What a great campaign ad!

Ms. Angle is running for U.S. Senate in Nevada. She should consider applying for a job at The Onion after she loses to Harry Reid in November.

Bits for June 2010

I keep hearing that we may fall back into a recession, but when did we ever come out of it?
Finally, a Washington Talking Head who admits we really are entering another DEPRESSION
Where people are moving
"The US housing horror story is about to get even worse"
It's like watching a train head over a cliff and there's nothing you can do to stop it. And here comes the first one.
NOAA answers questions about the relationships between oil slicks and hurricanes.
Want your iPhone 4 to work correctly? Then you'll need to hold it incorrectly.
U.S. Health Care Ranks Low Among Developed Nations
Ten questions a true geek must be able to correctly answer
I wonder whose oily pocket this judge is in.
Sarah Palin has a solution to the Gulf oil spill.
Spiders on crack
Like pot but hate new brain cells? Then you're not going to like this news.
Cystic Fibrosis patient receives double lung transplant from 30-year smoker.
Why Illinois residents should flee their state
How oil spills affect our food chain
Meg Whitman (republican candidate for California governor) is a pusher.
The Perdido Spar: The next environmental disaster in the making
Pole Dancing (warning: safe for kids)

If you've been distracted by the gulf oil spill and Afghanistan recently, I recommend redirecting your attention back to the economy and government financial decisions. State government finances are still worsening. The Senate (courtesy of the Republicans) rejected extending unemployment benefits, which will affect over 1M people. The stock market is trending down. Too many foreign nations are implementing austerity measures which will in effect slow down or even reverse the currently meager worldwide economic recovery. The unemployment rate is not declining (remember when 6-7% unemployment was considered serious?). The Republican party is trying to stop anything the Democrats try to implement that would help the economy so that they (the Repubs) can campaign in November on the failure of the Dems to improve the economy. Oh, and the housing market is poised to start sliding down again as Alt-A and Option ARMs adjustments kick in, forcing another massive wave of foreclosures mixed in with the growing shadow inventory.

Not looking too good right now. Obama needs to reconsider his policy of compromising with Republican obstructionists (i.e. pretty much every elected Republican these days). And California needs to pass the measure in November that will eliminate the required 2/3 vote to pass state budgets.

From Clusterstock:

Reminder, The Deficit You're Freaking Out About Is Bush's Fault President Obama's administration has been blamed for reckless spending that has put America into its debt hole. But in reality, much of that spending emanates from policies of President Bush, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. They argue that Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Bush tax cuts (along with the economic downturn) are what is driving the U.S. deficit, not stimulus spending. The CBPP focuses on lower to middle income issues and may be directly involved with the Democratic Party. The chart presents the ugly truth.

In memory of Robert Byrd, here is an excerpt from his speech lambasting fellow Senators for supporting Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003:

The Social Security "Crisis"

"Well, first of all I want to thank everybody in my hood. I definitely want to thank my doctors ... my psychiatrist, she really helped me relax a lot." ---Ron Artest, who was the deciding factor in the Lakers' winning last night's NBA Championship

More Ron-Ron. And some more.

Here are many of the Lakers on the Jimmy Kimmel Show

Pau Gasol on The Tonight Show

What I was watching last night:


His eyes were at rim level, so he elevated four friggin' feet.... just amazing.

Also, if you ever wondered (and really, who doesn't) whether or not Luke Walton can sweat, watch this post-game interview.

Glenn Beck, the entertainer! Here he is making up total b.s. based on a comment Obama made in 1995:

Yes, there are still blatant racists in Congress:

If this trailer is any indication, this might be the funniest movie of the year: