David Hinz's blog
Posted at 7:19pm on Jul. 10, 2008 TMR Spotlights Presents: Liveblog Q and A with Authors S.E. Cupp & Brett Joshpe
By David Hinz
You Are Cordially Invited
The Minority Report Network is proud to announce a new feature called TMR Spotlights™. TMR Spotlights™ will be a monthly liveblog event with special guests that gives you, the reader, a chance to ask questions and participate with our moderators in conducting the interview.
Please join us Thursday July 17th at 8:00 pm Eastern - 5:00 pm Pacific for this months installment of TMR Spotlights™ Liveblog Q and A with Authors SE Cupp & Brett Joshpe who’s new book “Why You’re Wrong About the Right” will be the topic for discussion.
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Posted at 9:07pm on Jul. 8, 2008 Energy Independence In Our Lifetime? Hell No! Energy Independence Now!
By David Hinz
This is excerted from a much longer piece by the same name at The Minority Report It occurs to me that this is a good time, with the energy discussion going on today, to bring it over here.
(First of two parts -- Part One Fuel)
From time to time we hear politicians paying lip service to American Energy Independence, and whether it can be achieved in our lifetime. The time has come to put our money where our politician's mouths are, and achieve energy independence NOW!
The lifeblood of the world economy is oil. Politicians will demagogue the situation with such statements as, "The United State is addicted to oil." This is on the same par as saying, "Americans are addicted to food." Take away food, and people will starve. Take away oil and the world economy will starve as well. And, if the world economy starves, so will the peoples of this world. It is a politically charged prElectric Cars and Hydrogen Fuel Cells
While the American public has been inundated with the charms and prospects of electric powered automobiles, and hydrogen fuel cells, the fact remains that either of these solutions are years away from any fruition. The problem with both is infrastructure. While an electric powered vehicle might well provide an answer for short commutes, the necessity of recharging the electric battery after even a short usage makes it prohibitive for anything longer. Hydrogen fuel cells, while promising because of their environmental strength, are decades away from common use. Again, the problem is infrastructure -- an infrastructure that cannot be built overnight.
While there is a gasoline station on every corner throughout the country, there are no hydrogen refueling stations. Entrepeneurs are unlikely to invest in the cost of building such refueling stations until the technology is proven. The technology is unlikely to gain widespread acceptance without the existence of refueling stations. As a result, even though the technology of hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles might well be the long-term answer to our energy needs, it will be decades before such technology is widely available or accepted.oblem, long on rhetoric, that has gone largely ignored when it comes to seeking answers.
The problem is not that the world is addicted to oil; that the world runs on oil; the problem is that the world is in short supply of oil. Whenever demand for a product exceed the supply of that product, the cost is going to go up. And when that supply is tightly controlled, and kept in short supply and high demand, the price will skyrocket. Such is the case with oil.
The time has come to stop with the demagogic rhetoric, and to seek solutions, rather than point fingers and assign blame. Punitive taxes and restrictive leasing will not bring in a single additional barrel of oil. Nor will increased CAFE standards on vehicles or other conservation methods increase the world oil supply. The United States, with a growing economy cannot conserve its way out of shortage. It simply cannot be done. The answer is more complicated than that.
Because the answer to meeting out ever increasing energy needs cannot be summed up in a 10-second sound bite on the evening news, or distilled into a 30-second campaign spot during American Idol, politicians continue to dodge the hard question of just what must be done to meet our energy future.
That energy future lies not with oil alone, nor with ethanol or with Biofuels. The answer is not solar energy, nor is it wind power. All of those are pieces, some large, and some small of a larger more complicated and comprehensive energy picture. Because it is complicated, our politicians refuse to tackle the problem, chosing instead to offer sound-bite fixes, and campaign ad bandaids.
Oil
The sudden and for most Americans, shocking increase in the price of gasoline and diesel at the pump has finally stirred them to action. While their elected leaders have paid lip service to energy for the past four decades, all the while blocking any real increase in American supply, the people of this country have awakened to sticker shock at the pump, and have begun to demand of their government that oil companies be allowed to drill for more supply in this country. Areas put off limits by the Federal Government, including offshore drilling along the Continental Shelf and The Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) are suddenly receiving scrutiny from the public.
No amount of conservation is going to prevent shortages and increased prices as a result of those shortages.
Every American cannot go to their auto dealer and buy a hybrid today. While many major metropolitan centers have mass transit available, the infrastructure does not exist to dramatically increase public transportation in most areas of the country, nor is there a viable way for most Americans to use it. The Utopian dream of Americans commuting to work in their hybrid electric minicar, or riding their bikes to the train station for their daily commute, as is seen in Europe, is not going to happen in any great numbers in this country. Certainly, it is not going to happen in the foreseeable future.
The changes necessary to bring about such change would take decades to accomplish. Such a dream would require the collapse of the suburbs, as American commuters eschew the comfort of suburbia, to return to living in the cities where they work. Housing costs in cities, already inflated, would make this move prohibitively expensive, further eroding an economy that is increasingly in crisis.
Ethanol
If ever there was a case to be made for The Law of Unintended Consequences it is Ethanol. The boon to farmers who grow corn, the massive push by the Federal Government to turn corn into Ethanol for our automobiles, has been the single biggest disaster of the 21st Century.
Ethanol, as a fuel source has a number of disadvantages over other fuels. Ethanol is a particularly poor choice, as it results in at least a 15 percent decrease in mileage due to the lower BTUs availabe for energy. The cost of making Ethanol is greater than the benefit, resulting in the use of additional gasoline in the process. From the American Enterprise Institute:
Pimentel found that one acre of U.S. corn field yields about 7,110 pounds of corn, which in turn produces 328 gallons of ethanol. Setting aside the environmental implications (which are substantial), the financial costs already begin to mount. To plant, grow, and harvest the corn takes about 140 gallons of fossil fuel and costs about $347 per acre. According to Pimentel's analysis, even before the corn is converted to ethanol, the feedstock alone costs $0.69 per gallon of ethanol.
More damning, however, is that converting corn to ethanol requires about 99,119 BTUs to make one gallon, which has 77,000 BTUs of available energy. So about 29 percent more energy is required to produce a gallon of ethanol than is stored in that gallon in the first place. "That helps explain why fossil fuels (not ethanol) are used to produce ethanol," Pimentel says. "The growers and processors can't afford to burn ethanol to make ethanol. U.S. drivers couldn't afford it, either, if it weren't for government subsidies that artificially lower the price." All told, a gallon of ethanol costs $2.24 to produce, compared to $0.63 for a gallon of gasoline.
President Bush, in a recent speech, defended corn Ethanol, making the claim that the cost to the public has only been about 3 percent in rising food costs. Reports by the World Bank, however tell a different story, as estimates show Ethanol has caused food prices to skyrocket by as much as 75 percent worldwide.
Food riots in developing nations around the world punctuate the dismal failure of this policy of turning food into fuel. A national policy that promotes the American public to cause world famine is destined for disaster. The United States spends billions of dollars each year to aid developing nations economically, while this policy starves their people.
Electric Cars and Hydrogen Fuel Cells
While the American public has been inundated with the charms and prospects of electric powered automobiles, and hydrogen fuel cells, the fact remains that either of these solutions are years away from any fruition. The problem with both is infrastructure. While an electric powered vehicle might well provide an answer for short commutes, the necessity of recharging the electric battery after even a short usage makes it prohibitive for anything longer. Hydrogen fuel cells, while promising because of their environmental strength, are decades away from common use. Again, the problem is infrastructure -- an infrastructure that cannot be built overnight.
While there is a gasoline station on every corner throughout the country, there are no hydrogen refueling stations. Entrepeneurs are unlikely to invest in the cost of building such refueling stations until the technology is proven. The technology is unlikely to gain widespread acceptance without the existence of refueling stations. As a result, even though the technology of hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles might well be the long-term answer to our energy needs, it will be decades before such technology is widely available or accepted.
Biofuels
Recent new developments in the production of biofuels, or biodiesel, have paved the way for a transition from current technology to the technologies of the future. Rapid advancements in the production of algae-based biodiesel looks to be the breakthrough necessary to propell the United States forward toward energy independence.
The American public, as a whole, has a prejudice against diesel. Large trucks run on diesel, shooting plumes of dark smoke into the air -- and it smells funny. Biodiesel, the process of creating diesel fuels from renewable based sources, has shown the most promise, even as it was rejected by a disinterested public.
Given the right conditions, algae can double its volume overnight. Unlike other biofuel feedstocks, such as soy or corn, it can be harvested day after day. Up to 50 percent of an alga’s body weight is comprised of oil, whereas oil-palm trees—currently the largest producer of oil to make biofuels—yield just about 20 percent of their weight in oil. Across the board, yields are already impressive: Soy produces some 50 gallons of oil per acre per year; canola, 150 gallons; and palm, 650 gallons. But algae is expected to produce 10,000 gallons per acre per year, and eventually even more.
New technology can now yield 100,000 gallons per acre.
The point is, there is NO SINGLE ANSWER, but an overall strategy to use all of our resources available to us. As I said before, read the entire article with links at The Minority Report
(Part Two - Electrical Power Generation)
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Posted at 12:42am on Jul. 6, 2008 Iraqi Army Defeats Al Qaeda in Mosul
By David Hinz
From the News You Won't Read In The New York Times Department:
With the support of the American 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment, the Iraqi Army has defeated Al Qaeda in Iraq, driving them from their last remaining stronghold in the northern city of Mosul. The offensive known as Operation Lion’s Roar has seen the Iraqi Army kill Al Qaeda leader Abu Khalaf, while capturing over 1000 terrorist fighters. The terrorist numbers once numbered more than 12,000.
“I think we’re at the irreversible point," American commander Major-General Mark Hertling told Times of London reporter Marie Colvin.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was openly optimistic in his assessment of the situation. “They were intending to besiege Baghdad and control it,” Maliki said. “But thanks to the will of the tribes, security forces, army and all Iraqis, we defeated them.”
The situation in Mosul, the last Al Qaeda stronghold in the country, has improved to much that Colvin was allowed to stroll through the streets with an Iraqi Colonel as house to house search operations were carried out.
Last Friday I joined the 2nd Iraqi Division as it supported local police in a house-to-house search for one such bomb after intelligence pointed to a large explosion today.
Even in the district of Zanjali, previously a hotbed of the insurgency, it was possible to accompany an Iraqi colonel on foot through streets of breeze-block houses studded with bullet holes. Hundreds of houses were searched without resistance but no bomb was found, only 60kg of explosives.
Read the rest posted at:
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Posted at 6:45pm on Jul. 4, 2008 Paul Krugman Gets It Wrong -- (Ok, I Realize This Is Not News)
By David Hinz
In an Op-Ed in today's New York Times entitled, Rove's Third Term, Paul Krugman does what he does best -- he completely gets it wrong on the issue of Gen Wesley Clark, Barack Obama and John McCain.
In true Klugman fashion he manages to see neither the forest, nor the trees, instead embarking on a fantasy cruise to Krugman Never-Never Land, where the Mainstream Media acts in coordination with Republican strategists to further the goals of the Right. If only Mr Krugman's Chimera bore some resemblance to fact.
Al Gore never claimed that he invented the Internet. Howard Dean didn’t scream. Hillary Clinton didn’t say she was staying in the race because Barack Obama might be assassinated. And Wesley Clark didn’t impugn John McCain’s military service.
The American people did not, in fact, see these Democrat luminaries spout these words on their television sets. The American people, confronted with the evidence of their own eyes and ears, were merely duped by a Rovian conspiracy.
What's more, Mr Krugman, Sen Kerry never accused the US Military of committing war crime atrocities, Rep Murtha never accused the US Marines of cold blooded murder, and Barack Obama had no idea that his pastor of 20 years had ever uttered a single word in condemnation of the very nation he seeks to lead. And the American people did not see the evidence with their own eyes.
In your world of fantasy, it is Neo-Con idealogues like Karl Rove who lie and steal elections; the George Bush's of this world who deliberately lead this country into "illegal" wars of aggression in search of American Hegemony over the Middle East; and the Dick Cheney's of this world who diabolically pull the puppet strings behind the scenes. It is too bad that "Illuminati Bankers" can't find their way into your delusions, but that would be just too much self-loathing for even you.
In the world of Paul Krugman, as in much of the far lunatic left, their own candidates, and their out-of-touch-with-America ideas are simply misunderstood by the public; dishonestly portrayed by a press eager to mimic the Conservative message. Is it possible to be more wrong? I think not.
Come with me on a journey through Never-Never Krugman Land as I deconstruct Mr Krugman, paragraph by weakly constructed thought, turning his diatribe against Karl Rove and Sen John McCain back onto the left.
First posted at The Minority Report
Posted in 2008 — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 1:45am on Jul. 1, 2008 Homosexual Sets World Sprint Record
By David Hinz
Tyson Homosexual ran 100 meters in a wind-aided 9.68 seconds at the U.S. Olympic trials today, in what would have been world record time.
Or so read the headline on the American Family Association’s OneNewsNow website. The only problem is, the man's name is Tyson Gay.
Posted in Archived — Comments (136) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 1:14pm on Jun. 28, 2008 If A Volcano Erupts In The Arctic And Man Is Not There To Cause It, Is It Still Global Warming?
By David Hinz
This week two major stories that concern the Man Made Global Warming debate have come to my attention. The first, This summer may see first ice-free North Pole, has been widely reported with banner headlines, proclaiming that this is the first time the arctic will be ice free in "recorded history."
The second article, Volcanic eruptions reshape Arctic ocean floor: study has, for some unexplained reason, received much less publicity.
Posted in Life Issues — Comments (34) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 5:30pm on Jun. 23, 2008 Don Imus -- "What Color Is He?"
By David Hinz
Don Imus ended his radio career today with another stupid comment.
In December, when he returned to the radio after an eight month hiatus, he told his audience:
“I will never say anything in my lifetime that will make any of these young women at Rutgers regret or feel foolish that they accepted my apology and forgave me,” Mr. Imus told an audience that was listening in person at Town Hall in midtown Manhattan, and at home and in their cars on WABC-AM, his new radio home. “And no one else will say anything on my program that will make anyone think I did not deserve a second chance.”
Posted in Culture — Comments (2) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 3:55pm on Jun. 21, 2008 The Enemy Of My Enemy Is My Friend
By David Hinz
POLITICS AS WARFARE! CAMPAIGN 2008!
Usually attributed as an old Arab proverb, The Enemy Of My Enemy Is My Friend. is more than just an axiom of warfare, but of the philosophy of politics as well. Or, more accurately, as the philosophy of politics as warfare. It is a philosophy seen throughout history.
During our own Revolutionary War, the French had little reason to love the American Colonies. Those colonies had contributed mightily to the defeat of the French during the French and Indian War, just a few years before. Still, when the colonies revolted against Britain, the traditional and perennial enemy of France, the French became our staunchest allies; instrumental in our obtaining independence from England. The Enemy Of My Enemy Is My Friend.
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Posted at 9:30pm on Apr. 30, 2008 The Pyrrhic Presidential Campaign
By David Hinz
By David Hinz
In 279 BC the army of King Pyrrhus of Epirus faced the Roman army led by Consul Publius Cecius Mus at the battle of Asculum. The battle raged the entire day, and then well into the night. By the light of the following morning, King Pyrrhus surveyed the battlefield to find most of his elite troops dead, as well as most of his most trusted friends and commanders. In all, more than 15,000 men lay dead upon the field of battle.
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Posted at 8:15pm on Apr. 27, 2008 Sending A Message To The Candidate -- Part Deux
By David Hinz
ATTEMPTING TO CREATE A MOVEMENT
By David Hinz
[Update: It has been brought to my attention that some of the Moderators believed my headline and the tenor of the post to be disrespectful toward Sen John McCain. That was not my intention -- and the headline has been changed accordingly. It is my contention that the candidate and the Republican Party will, at some time, find that they need the conservative base to win.]
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Posted at 8:36pm on Apr. 25, 2008 Bitter? Da**** Right I'm Bitter -- Sending A Message To John McCain
By David Hinz
by David Hinz
The Problem:
Famously, Winston Churchill once said, "Democracy is a very bad form of government. Unfortunately all the others are so much worse." And so it is for Conservatives with the 2008 Presidential election. John McCain is a very bad choice for President, but all the others are so very much worse.
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Posted at 1:16pm on Apr. 12, 2008 The Willing Suspension Of Disbelief -- Have I Been Working For Hillary?
By David Hinz
It would appear that I have been duped. I have willingly, although unknowingly, gone to work for the Hillary for President Campaign. I will admit, even though it was unknowingly, I did it with some reluctance and trepidation.
Allow me to explain.
Yesterday, having been pointed toward a story about Barack Obama that suggested that he both smoked crack cocaine in 1999, and engaged in homosexual oral sex with a drug dealer, I was of course skeptical. Digging through several sites on the internet, I finally decided that there was at least enough smoke (pardon the pun) to at least look for the fire.
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Posted at 9:55pm on Apr. 10, 2008 Did Obama Smoke Crack Cocaine in 1999?
By David Hinz
AND IF THAT CHARGE BY LARRY SINCLAIR IS TRUE -- HOW ABOUT THE REST OF HIS CHARGES!
Earlier today while searching through internet blogs, I was made aware of a story that Barack Obama bought, and smoked crack cocaine with Larry Sinclair in Chicago in 1999. He then, according to Sinclair, allowed Sinclair to engage in oral sex with him.
I have spent the better part of the day trying to find ANY mainstream media notice of this story, or even a well-known internet source that I would consider to be credible. I found several internet references to the story.
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Posted at 2:31pm on Apr. 8, 2008 Foreign Policy Advisers to Barack Obama
By David Hinz
Barack Obama has boasted that he has at least as much Foreign Policy experience as either Hillary Clinton or John McCain, based, in part, on the fact that he traveled to Pakistan while in High School. A more compelling argument could be made.
But, his comments do merit a look at the foreign policy advisers with whom he has chosen to surround himself. A brief look at his advisers, and both their own, and other people's thoughts about their expertise.
Denis McDonough
Denis McDonough is with the Center for American Progress -- Progressive Ideas for a Strong, Just and Free America. The name kind of says it all, don't you think? While with the CAP, he has done quite a bit of writing, expressing his thoughts on foreign policy. A Couple of excerpts on two major issues facing the nation, AGW and Iraq, follow:
Balancing Our Climate Debt: The Group of Eight Have an Obligation
The IPCC reports underscore the cruel irony implicit in climate change—that the overwhelming environmental costs of climate change will be felt in those countries least responsible for the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases and least able to deal with the consequences. The people least responsible for climate change will pay the biggest price, both in terms of economic costs and human costs.
Balancing Our Climate Debt
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Posted at 1:31pm on Apr. 7, 2008 The United States Is Preparing To Attack Iran
By David Hinz
Attacks Planned by Beelzebub (Dick Cheney)
The United States Government is conspiring with the state of Israel to attack Iran, according to various sources around the world. From such "unimpeachable" sources as Seymour Hersh, to The People's Voice, reports of American plans to attack Iran have surfaced repeated over the past five years.
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