The Evening Wrap, 7/2

I don't think I had an E-cat post today. I did look around and found an article on Free Energy Truth. But a video is nicer to watch and hear, so I swiped this one



Thanks for coming by. Have a great evening.

Buchanan on Obama facing down GOP over debt ceiling: ‘He doesn’t have the cajones!’

The guy's premise here is that if there is no debt ceiling agreement, and Obama doesn't ignore the debt limit, he will have the opportunity to line item veto out any Republican favored spending.

Buchanan's response: doesn't have the nerve.

As for me, I don't know if it is nerve or what, but the idea that Obama will only spend on favored constituencies will not fly. That will be scandalous.

As for the blame falling on Republicans for a shut down, I think the Republicans can't be afraid of that. Let the chips fall where they may. One thing I am sure about, they were elected and put back into power in order to curb the very problem that they are dealing with. If they wimp out, they are definitely toast. If they hang in there, they just might survive politically. They have to hang in there.

Another argument for the Republicans to hang tough is look what happened last time. They caved last time and Clinton won reelection.

Diarrhea of the mouth

An example of this in political discourse is this piece of rhetorical doo doo by Steve Benen of the Washington Monthly.

Here is a PSA which shows some helpful strategies to deal with this malady:

Falcon XX

This may not be the case, because the Wikipedia says that it is unconfirmed. So, take it with a grain of salt. The speculation is that the Falcon XX may use a nuclear thermal upper stage, which is what almost took place in the Apollo program, which put 12 men on the moon.

The NERVA rocket would also be a nuclear-powered upper stage for the Saturn rocket (the Saturn S-N), which would allow the upgraded Saturn to launch much larger payloads of up to 340,000 pounds to Low Earth Orbit.

Also:

The engine was deemed adequate for Mars missions being planned by NASA. The facility was also deemed adequate for flight qualification and acceptance of rocket engines from the two contractors.

So, you see, NASA already had capability to get to Mars in the sixties, but the program was canceled.   If Spacex revives this, they just might make good on their plan to get to Mars in the next decade.  If the government really wants to get to Mars, why not contract with Spacex in order to get the job done?  Most likely, it can be done under budget and on time.

Pawlenty’s 5 percent solution

James Pethokoukis

I don't know much about Pawlenty, but this sounds like music to my ears. I saw one video of the guy, though, and he doesn't seem much like Ronald Reagan.

Really, the only way out of this mess is by economic growth, but the problem here is that the Democrats really don't believe in that. They are going to redefine prosperity to suit them and economic growth will soon take on the quality of a dirty word.

The trick for any pro growth strategy is to counter the no growth false prosperity mindset of the far left. If Pawlenty can do that, he just might have a shot.

Mordor?

This kind of video would have appealed to me not many years ago. It now troubles me, a lot.

The thing that the left loves to do is to demonize the opposition. The only thing that keeps the peace in our society is that the right has refused to go that route themselves. Do you see the right ever do this kind of thing? At one time, I said that they should. But to do so will take you to a very dark place.

What the left does and wants may seem pretty evil at times. But I would suggest, very, very strongly against taking such a judgmental frame of mind. I know it is tempting because that is exactly what they are doing to you, if you say you are on the right. Me? I am not on the right. I like to quote Reagan on that: There is no right or left, only up and down. Up to the ultimate in freedom consistent with order in a civilized society, or down to the ant hill of tyranny.

You see, the real choice is between freedom and tyranny. Don't get caught up in demonizing the opposition. It causes you to trust ideology, which I have stated before, I think this makes you stupid. Step away from this and continue to reason with the opposition until they force you to respond in kind with force. Until then, refrain from any suggestion that you may be thinking of this. In this video, it goes just a little too far.

Hypothetical scenarios

Last week, Geithner said something to the effect that the administration can ignore the debt ceiling.  This raises some questions in my mind as to their own thinking.  A few thoughts follow:

1. The administration has no intention of deviating from the current course.  They will make token gestures to the Republicans, but as far as making an substantive change, this means NO.
2. The Republicans, for their own part, do not appear to be deviating either.  So far as I know, there is no serious intention to downsize the military or to raise taxes.  If these two options were followed, or even offered to the Democrats, they would be hard pressed to continue as they are.
3. If neither side is willing to deviate from their current path, the likely outcome is a default, if Obama refuses to go Geithner's route, or a constitutional crisis if he does.  The constitutional crisis may possibly be resolved if the Republicans go to court.  Either the Republicans win, or they lose.  If the Republicans win, what's next?  Does that mean that Obama will obey the courts?  He may just decide not the obey the courts any more than the Congress.  If the people follow him, they are choosing dictatorship.  If not, Obama must go.
4. If the courts take Obama's side, it means that the Republicans must win greater majorities in both houses.  Especially the Senate, for in the Senate, they can forcibly remove Obama.
5. In all these scenarios, there must be clarity and resolution.  If there is continuing confusion, the situation may just dissolve into anarchy, and possibly civil war.
6. Here is a hopeful scenario:  
7. a) cut military spending by 1/2 and get equal cuts in entitlements.  This will result in 700 billion in cuts.  If Obama holds to his demand for 1/3 tax increase v budget cut ratio, then raise taxes by 1/3 of 700 billion.  That would be roughly 200 billion in taxes per year.  The total would be 900 billion in deficit reduction in a year.  The trouble with this is that neither side is willing to do anything like this.  They aren't even getting close.  If they did this, they may avert a constitutional crisis, but that doesn't solve the economic problems.  For that, you need a growth plan.  But as we have seen earlier, the only growth plan that the Democrats may be interested in is one with no growth at all.  I would suggest the mastery of fusion energy.  It wouldn't cost much and the payoff could be huge.  That should be the highest priority.  If that was accomplished, then the economy may have a chance to recover.

Soft energy path

Just ran across this idea during a Google search on the term "prosperity". Did you realize that prosperity has been redefined? It is like what Rush Limbaugh talked about on one of his shows many years ago. The left has taken over the language.

So, prosperity was once linked to economic growth, but not anymore.  Now, prosperity can be redefined without economic growth being a part of it.  A little more reading brings you to the soft energy path.  A little consideration here is in order.  Those who think they can bring prosperity in any sense of the word by a so called soft energy path have rocks in their head.   When you realize that 9 out of 10 calories we eat are directly related to fossil fuels- the idea that solar and wind power can replace that- should chill your bones down the very marrow.

Soft energy technologies won't work.  Even if you could get them to work, they won't work as it is being described here.  We have already seen that with biofuels.  It is literally taking food out of people's mouths and burning it in internal combustion engines.  It doesn't work.  It may lead to civil unrest.  Mass starvation.  Bad stuff folks.

I'm all for greater fuel efficiency, don't misunderstand.  I've written numerous posts on the subject.  But there is no substitute for energy production.  No matter how efficient you may well become, you do need some energy production, and these soft energy technologies are inadequate for that purpose.

Morning Summary, 7/2

A little bump in traffic. Yay! It has become something of a broken record here, this sort of commentary.

By the way, I wonder how many people out there, particularly young people, understand the figure of speech "broken record"? It is an archaic term, in reference to how us old timers used to listen to music. On a turntable with a vinyl record, which, in comparision to CD's, was pretty big. There was a scene in Austin Power's first movie that showed Austin trying to play a CD on an old record player. Doesn't work. Yeah, and even CD's are going to be obsolete before long.

Austin Powers movies are over 10 years old now. Yikes!

The world changes all the time, and it just might be ready to change big time any day now. This allows me to segue into what I ended with last night, these debt limit negotiations. This is a pretty big deal, and I get the impression that most people just aren't interested. They will be when the excrement hits the fan, which is what is going to happen here soon.

If you check the polls, the direction of the country polls have been bad for a long time now. But it is as if Washington isn't paying attention. And the folks down home aren't paying attention either. There are some people, who do pay attention, but that number isn't large enough. When they do pay attention, they probably listen to the conventional wisdom, which is just as bad as not listening at all. What we need is a change, but it needs to be an intelligent change. Not change just for the sake of change. That's what we got in 2008. The results have been disappointing, if the polls are any indication.

It may be helpful if people started paying attention, but to what? Who do you trust? I don't think you can trust the traditional information sources. Those have been captured by the political establishment, which, as mentioned in the polls, no longer have the confidence of the public.

There has to be a reliable source of information that people can trust. If that can be achieved, something good may come from it. As it stands now, we are stumbling in the dark.

Yes, I am trying to shine a light in the darkness, rather than merely curse it. But it has been a tough sell. Nobody is interested. I may have to just close shop and concede defeat. This blog is going nowhere. While it is here, though, let me affirm once again, that this blog is about truth. At least about truth as far as I can reach for it. I am not here to BS anyone, or to be BS'd by anyone. I have always called them like I see them.

If there's no market for that, then truth doesn't have a place in this world. Now, that is scary.

Evening Wrap, 7/1

Bad things are happening, I fear. It looks like the negotiations will go down to the wire and the outcome may not be a good one. That is, with respect to the debt negotiations.

How much deficit reduction is enough? It doesn't look like it will anywhere near enough. The most I've seen is 4 trillion over 10 years. If they got that, it would be a start, but it would still leave a deficit that is much too high.

Another option is to get what you can now and go back for more if you can. This will throw it into the hands of voters who might do anything. But it would be a way out for politicians who don't want to face up to the necessity of doing things that will not be popular.

So, none of the options look good. This is even with a best case scenario, where they get the 4 trillion and other stuff, like a balanced budget amendment and caps on spending. It would seem that even if that was obtained, more will be needed.

If you can get it, then go for that, I'd say. You must obtain this at the minimum. Otherwise, it is pointless.

As for the worst case, the Democrats may decide to say to hell with the debt limits and try the courts. That's assuming the Republicans take them to court. That outcome is also uncertain. It could be a total cluster f&&k no matter how you slice it. You could have this whole thing in court just in time for the elections and the elections could turn out in an unpredictable way, along with the courts.

Bad stuff indeed.

Jack and The Beanstalk - Fractured Fairy Tales

Cracks me up! It does make you groan a little though at the end.

The Ultimate Sarah Palin is a MORON Video!

by velvethammer


Warning!!!  It's not what you think.  Nope.

Have you ever heard of Yo mama jokes?  Sounds a lot like Obama,  does "yo mama".  Instead of Palin, then of Yo mama.  Yuk, yuk.

When the going gets tough...

The tough get going... to the golf course.

What response to Geithner?

By Rudy Cajka

Geithner's threat to ignore the debt limit was a shot over the bow.  What to do about it?  I think there should be some type of response to this and not let it go unremarked.

They should stop all negotiations immediately, for starters.  It is pointless to negotiate if the negotiations are pointless.  The negotiations are pointless if the administration has every intention to go on doing what they are already doing.  The Republican caucus could just say the same, that until Geithner retracts his statement, they see little reason to negotiate.  And that would be absolutely right.  If they want to ignore Congress, what need do we have for a Congress?  And just go on a July 4th recess.  Obama wants them to stay.  Hell, no!  Leave and make a big deal of leaving.  He's "dissing" the Congress.  Diss his own ass right back.  He ain't dictator.  Not yet!  Don't cow tow to this "dick".

An offer to negotiate has already been turned down. McConnell already tried.  He shouldn't have.  But the evidence is already there.  Obama says "stay", but refuses to meet.  Got nothing to say?  Say it right back.  Don't take anything off this "dick".

Not only should I use "dick", everybody else should start using it.  It bothers them.  Then rubs in till it gets freaking raw.  It was one of their own who said it.  They can't even take that!  Say it, and stop being doormats.  They can't come off looking like doormats.  That don't look good, dudes.

This is all for "floor show".  But that matters.  If you look weak, you will be steamrollered.  If he violates the law by ignoring Congress, then we have a Constitutional Issue as well as an Electoral one.  Make it a freaking issue if he does it.  Take his threat and shove it right back down his throat.

The Republican caucus is being tested.  Crunch time is right around the corner.  Man up, or slither out of town.  It's one or the other.  Can't do both. 

DeMint to Obama: We'd Lift Debt Ceiling If . . .

By Martin Gould and Ashley Martella




There you go.

Fed Halts Sales Of Toxic AIG Sludge Upon Realization Any Balance Sheet Unwind Crashes The Market

by Tyler Durden

Three weeks ago, when discussing the failed (yes, failed) Maiden Lane 2 auction by the New York Fed, we said: 'Something quite disturbing happened during today's latest attempt by the Fed to sell $3.8 billion in face amount of Maiden Lane 2 assets: it had a busted dutch auction.

 Bad stuff going on here.   How long can they sweep it under the rug?  And Schumer is out there blaming Republicans.  For this???

 

Rush: MSNBC’s Response Would Have Been Different If Halperin Had Defamed Bush

But they aren't biased, no sir. They are totally objective. They just report the news, don't you know.

Harvard: July 4th Parades Are Right-Wing

By Paul Bedard


In the "you've gotta be shitting me" category of the news come this one.

"Fourth of July celebrations in the United States shape the nation's political landscape by forming beliefs and increasing participation, primarily in favor of the Republican Party," said the report from Harvard.

So, are we supposed to ban the holiday now?  What are they smoking up there at Harvard?  

 

S3X SL4VES LOVE ASHTON KUTCHER by Phillip Defranco

Notice the strange spelling? Is it wrong to spell it correctly? Has censorship started yet? It may be on the way. Look at the MSNBC business with Obama the
Dick yesterday. Just a matter of time.

Two short interviews recorded after Defkalion's press conference.

by Giacomo Guidi



Two short interviews recorded after Defkalion's press conference. from Giacomo Guidi on Vimeo.

Will Barack Obama Use The 14th Amendment As A Way To Get Around The Debt Ceiling?

As the deadline to raise the debt ceiling draws closer, many are now wondering if Barack Obama will try to go around Congress if a deal is not reached by August 2nd.

This may be a lot of "scare" talk designed to force capitulation on a principled stand.  I am not buying it that chaos results if they don't get the ceiling raised.

As for the issue of the 14th Amendment, that is just a fig leaf for a power grab.  The amendment gives no explicit authority for the President to start issuing debt on his own authority.  He doesn't have that authority.

The only justification here is for an emergency, but who gets to declare that and on what terms?  It could just turn into an excuse to do what they want to do anyway.

Worse case scenario is not a default. Worse case scenario is a dictatorship. You can recover from a default. Getting rid of a dictator could take a lot of time and perhaps a lot of blood.

Mika: Morning Joe Being Pressured To Invite More Pro-Obama Flacks

One party dictatorship on the way! That's what it means. Nobody, not even Democrats can say anything critical of "the one".

Morning Summary, 7/1

A double whammy recently.  Amazon notifies its associates that due to the attempts by California to tax its sales, it was shutting down its associates program.  It didn't affect me because, ahem, I have no sales.  But it does affect the Space Show.  Stuff like that will shut down the Space Show, if enough of it happens.

Then the business about the E-cat which reflects badly upon it.  Those two things are killers.  It like a dark cloud appearing on the horizon and its evil.  There was a write up linked from Instapundit on the Amazon thing that says California will lose money, not gain money, from this.  It reminds me of what Obama said about the capital gains tax.  He said he would be for raising the cap gains even if it didn't result in more money because of "fairness".  Talking about self destructive behavior.  Did California really do this expecting to raise money, or was some other agenda at work?

Yeah, take that and the E-cat and I wonder what's going on here.  Strange things happening.  It's like somebody doesn't want good things to happen and are deliberately trying to sabotage anything good that might happen.  It is deeply troubling.

Well, as I mentioned before, the blog isn't really going anywhere. With the E-cat news and this blog's dependence upon that for traffic, it would seem that there is at least an explanation for the drop off in traffic. People are losing heart because of this news. That is understandable. Keep in mind though, that not everything is what it seems, or is being presented as. Just because the E-cat has gotten some bad press doesn't mean all is lost.

I am going to keep posting, but on a reduced level.  I took off this week because I could and because I had another reason, which I won't mention here.  But it is back to a working schedule next week.  I guess that is the triple whammy, is it not?

The Evening Wrap, 6/30

I wonder what happens if the Rossi device is no good? There is some speculation in the comments of Krivit's blog that the reputation of LENR will harmed just as "cold fusion" was. If that happens, it would be tragic. But what can you do?

I think that fusion by some other than tokomaks is very likely. It may come by way of Rossi's device, if not, by some other. It could be polywell, or focus fusion, or some other method I am not familiar with yet.

As I wrote before, in order to have fusion, you need two things 1) energy and 2) confinement. It is also true that fusion itself is not that difficult. The difficult part is in controlling it so as to produce a net energy outcome.

I am not convinced that confinement has to be a super difficult task. Nor, is it inevitable that it too difficult to control a reaction.

Just today, I saw a fusion method being contemplated by a NASA scientist. I did some calculations on it and it appeared to be, for want of a better way to express it, disappointing. My calculations show that to burn enough hydrogen in order to consume 1 gram would take thousands of years. That doesn't mean that it can't work, but in its present configuration as described, it would seem not likely. There is the usual statement that many years of research is necessary in order to develop the idea. One sees this kind of thing often.

But the world needs results today. Does Rossi have the answers, or will it have to come from someplace else? There are solutions. The question is if we have the will to find them?

James R Stout's latest

An old high school friend made this video. I didn't ask if I could use it though. I just assumed I could because it isn't forbidden to do that. I suppose if he objects, I can take it down. In the meantime, here it is

Getting filled in by phillip defranco

MEGAN FOX vs ROSIE HUNTINGTON! phillip defranco


RIP LINDSAY LOHAN phillip defranco

Not looking good

Republicans who “say they are perfectly willing to default on our obligations rather than give a single inch,” Schumer said, are “testing the limits of these talks to see how possible it is to get a deal fully on their terms.”

“I think they are bluffing,” he said. “We have a good opportunity to prevail on our critical priorities.”

Bluffing?  They had better not be.  This is a train wreck if he's wrong.  Republicans are just going to have to suck it up.

Kudo’s to the Cardinal’s Darnell Dockett

From the Coyote Blog

You go Darnell. Everyone who stands up for his Constitutional rights makes it easier for the rest of us to do so.

That's fine for Darnell.  What if you a poor schmuck who can't afford to pay attorneys to help you out in case they decide to play rough?  They can put a lot of heat on you for not cooperating, you know.  If they decide to rip out all the upholstery of your car looking for drugs or something, and find nothing, do you think you'll get the damage fixed?

It isn't such a cut and dried thing to stand up for your rights.  If the government wants to harass people, they can do it.   Unless you want and are able to bear some pain, it wouldn't be advisable.  But I agree, Dockett did the right thing.  Only not everybody can.

Say it ain't so!

Is Obama a dick? Somebody said it and now must pay the price, by golly.

The guy who said is called Halperin, I think. Who the hell is he anyway? I would know if I watched this "news". He was suspended, by the way. Woo hoo! Bad asses as MSNBC.

Air Force Rocket Launches New Tactical Military Satellite

Air Force Rocket Launches New Tactical Military Satellite

Report #2 - Energy Catalyzer: Scientific Communication and Ethics Issues

This came to my attention via Al Fin's Energy Blog

Important Article on Rossi LENR Project

So, I checked it out and read it.  It looks bad, sure, but I am not convinced of anything.  Of course, this report has brought out the skeptics who started trashing the Rossi's idea with a relentless fury over at NextBigFuture.

I have said all along that I am neither a believer nor a skeptic.  I have stated, so far as my memory will not betray me, that I believe that there's a 90% chance that it will work.  As for the concept itself, I think there's a higher probability than that.  This does not mean, however, that I believe Rossi's device works.  I have no way of knowing that.

Rather, I have suggested an unambiguous demonstration.  Such as a device that is obviously not possibly powered by anything else but Rossi's device.  It should be so constructed as to permit no further doubt of its authenticity.  An analogous demonstration would be like the Wright Brothers demonstration of heavier than air flight, which was considered impossible in its time.  Seeing is believing.

Without such a demonstration, the critics will continue unabated and undeterred.

Worse than I thought

This business about ignoring the debt ceiling is getting more serious consideration than I thought.  Yeah, and if this happens, say goodbye to democracy, and hello dictatorship.

Where does it say anywhere in the Constitution that the President has the right to appropriate money? Definition of 'appropriate'

2. appropriate - take possession of by force, as after an invasion; "the invaders seized the land and property of the inhabitants"; "The army seized the town"; "The militia captured the castle"conquer, seize, capture
take over, usurp, arrogate, seize, assume - seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession; "He assumed to himself the right to fill all positions in the town"; "he usurped my rights"; "She seized control of the throne after her husband died"
carry - capture after a fight; "The troops carried the town after a brief fight"

I suppose in an emergency, the President might be able to do this, but this isn't necessarily the case here. There's a lot of back and forth about what it will mean if this deadline is blown. There will have to be something like a true crisis before they can pull the trigger on this one, and it will have to be a one off circumstance.

Another thought: That could mean that the Congress can repudiate any debts that the executive takes on while the debt limit was being negotiated. Try arguing around that one. If something is taken on without authorization, there is no legal obligation to honor it, I would think.

Hello, anybody home!

A Democratic senator facing a tough reelection next year said it would be “disappointing” if Obama does not call out Republican leaders in the next few days for playing “Russian roulette” with the economy.

There's no game unless two play, asshole!  If you want an agreement, you can have one, and avoid the Russian roulette, if that's what you are really worried about!

Here's the real deal.  They won't make any concessions because they feel like they've got all the cards.

“Republicans know they can’t take it all the way to a default because they will unquestionably be blamed for it, more than they would have been for a government shutdown,” said the aide. “Their fingerprints will be all over a catastrophic situation.” 

Easter Bunny v Genghis Khan

Epic rap battles of history! I like this series. If you want to be honest about it, which is a rare thing these days, this is close to the truth. At least in terms of argument. The left wants to be the Easter Bunny and they want to the cast the Republicans as Genghis Khan. Funny, that. If the "Rethugs" were anything like Genghis Khan, they friggin be on the menu! All the Repussyicans can do is to feel guilty and give the Rats what they want. That's how it works. And that is what Obama is trying to pull with his new conference BS and his base is eating it up. They love it. But what are they going to do if the Repussyicans grow a spine and really act like Genghis Khan? Why, call for a dictatorship of course! That's what the New York Times did yesterday. All of this is bullshit, of course. Let's see some really serious talk, people. Otherwise, you will have the bullshit walking and the money talking!

Has the Obama Rama Dama Ding Dong finally jumped the shark?

Looks like it.  He has no respect nor credibility left, if this is any indication.  Sure, it is from the "right wing".  But your enemies at least, need to respect you.  There's no respect for this guy anymore.

For those of you in "Rio Linda", here's what jump the shark means.

Update:

I might have spelled that better, as this video will show

Termination of Amazon Associates Book Sales With OGLF

Amazon has notified One Giant Leap Foundation that it is ending its Partner Affiliate Program for California Affiliates and non-profits due to California signing into law provisions to place a sales tax on all internet purchases including the Amazon payments to non-profits per the Affiliate Agreement.

Great!  Now, because of California's insatiable appetite for other people's money, a charitable organization may have to shut their doors.    Once they've eaten themselves out of existence, where are these parasites going to go next?  Unfreaking - believable!  Do these morons in California know what they are doing?   This is like eating your seed corn.  Once you've done that, famine is unavoidable.  No more seeds to plant for the next crop! Fools.

Morning Summary, 6/30

Looks like the numbers are taking a dump again.  Well, folks, I've given it my best.  For now on, I'm just going to stop worrying about it.   It sort of happened yesterday.  I got to thinking, why am I knocking myself out to get audience?  I put up nearly 20 posts.  Who the hell else does that?!  And I am struggling to get an audience?!  Are you freaking kidding me????

So, for now on, it is no more trying to please people who don't appreciate it.  I don't care if anybody gets huffy about this.  Screw it!  I am going to do what pleases me.  Yes, it did please me to a certain extent to put up stuff like the stuff I put up, but it doesn't do anything for me to keep running myself ragged over it.  There are other priorities, you know.

I see too much of this one way street kind of thinking.  People want something, but they don't want to give up anything in exchange.  It's gimme, gimme, gimme.  Hell, the whole problem that we have in Washington right now is that very thing.  You've got an entire country here that is thinking of only one thing, how do they get something out of somebody else.  At some point, the people paying are going to wake up and say, what the fuck am I doing this for?  Handle you own shit yourself, assholes.  My existence is not to further yours.

Gas Taxes by State

A little map to show you as I sign off for the evening. It would appear that Texas does not have the lowest gas taxes, but not the highest either.

Thanks for coming by, and have a great evening.

Peter Foster: The demons in Krugmanomics

Paul Krugman’s affection for markets fell as he became obsessed with inequality, market instability and catastrophic climate change

Krugman doesn't speak for me.  Guys like him speak only for the kleptocracy otherwise known as modern liberalism.  They are self serving while pretending to care about the poor and downtrodden.

Just read about Obama's prospects for election. It was seen as an Obama strong point that economic conditions are better around Washington DC, which is where all the money is being sucked into these days. DC has twice the per capita GDP of the richest state. It's funny when they talk class warfare when they pockets are stuffed with the people's money. They vote their pocketbooks alright, they know which side their bread is buttered on.

Back to Foster:

Mr. Krugman’s affection for markets has declined as he has become obsessed with inequality, market instability and catastrophic climate change.

The inequality in DC as compared with the rest of the states? Market instability? What about mega budget deficits, which he champions? Climate change? Just evidence of mega egotism which runs rampant in DC who think that the rest of the world revolves around them and what they do. They can "lower the sea levels"- yeah , right.

Krugman is full of himself which is the liberal disease.

Obama press conference – false choices and demagoguery

by William A. Jacobson

This final quote in the piece was too good to pass up

Do not underestimate the ability of this man to appeal to our worst jealousies and envies, while telling us he is doing the opposite with a smile on his face.

Update: This is too precious, via TweetDrudge, Democrats were the ones who passed the tax breaks for corporate jets in 2009 as part of the Stimulus Package. Hey, can you blame him for not knowing it, he didn’t read the bill.

Yep!  Blame everybody but themselves even when they were the ones responsible.  Ha!

 

Matthews: Bush Caused Recession, But Let's Not Quibble Over Which Party Can't Get Us Out of It

By Noel Sheppard

Future headline: In the year 2032, after the USA has declared bankruptcy 10 times, President for life Barak Obama finally admitted that it wasn't all George W. Bush's fault. "No", he said, "Bush only started it, but I couldn't finish it. But he did mess it up so badly that nobody could fix it, even the Messiah."

Belittling Bachmann

IBD Editorials

How should a presidential candidate handle a snide, moronic question completely removed from the issues of the day?

I think she has handled herself reasonably well so far.  We're getting the petty stuff as usual.  Nobody is prepared to get serious these days.

Established Physics Has Another New Fusion Problem

Brillouin Energy Corp In Berkeley California has another Low Energy Nuclear Reaction (LENR) method in the development and proving stage. The new method comes at fusion from a different path than the Rossi E-Cat.

"A very different take on getting past the Coulomb barrier."

I started reading this pdf, but it looked a little too technical for me, so I stopped.  If it turns out that they are correct, then all power to them.  I still think that it is possible to get hot fusion on the nano scale.

 

Horrible 5 Year Auction Sends Treasury Complex Into A Tailspin, 5 Year Yield Surges 22 Bps In Two Days

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/28/2011

Sounds bad, but rates are so low that any move looks big.  Let's see if that continues.  At any rate, as I said before, I wouldn't buy bonds at all.  That statement was made months ago.

Could Obama Just Ignore the Debt Ceiling?

By CATHERINE RAMPELL, New York Times

That sounds revolutionary to me.  Ignore the law?  They are trying to say that they law is not the law.  If there is no such thing as a debt ceiling, what have they been doing all these years?

This could be the kickoff to civil disorder of the first magnitude.  You have to obey the law, particularly the President.  That's what his job is.  He took an oath to support it.  Now he gets to violate that?  If the Democrats think this is permissible, then anything is possible.

Morning Summary, 6/29

Technical difficulties this morning.  The other pic won't load for some reason. At any rate, yesterday was a good day.  Thanks for the support.

It seems that the E-cat news is what drives traffic here for the now at least.  There is a limit on the news though. Inasmuch as the adoption of the new technology will take time, it may be useful, or perhaps just entertaining to speculate on what is the best use for this device.

Perhaps it isn't the best use, but one that occurred to me is to use it for space propulsion.  Why?  It won't have any competitors.  If you try to compete with existing energy providers, you may just have a problem. They won't go down without a fight. It may be helpful, for the future of this new technology, not to take on the existing order directly.

This may not seem relevant to this post, but hang with me. Robert Zubrin was on the Space Show last night. It just so happens that I start to research him a little before the show and I came across something that he wrote about Mars. It was quite impressive, but I am still a bit doubtful that anyone should go there just now. But when someone does go, I would suggest the idea should be to stay for a long, long time. In other words, a one way trip.

In order to make a one way trip, you will have to take a sufficient number of people plus plenty of equipment to get started with a new colony.  Think of it like the New World settlements in the Pilgrim days of America. They aren't going to just to come back.  So, they will have to be ready for most anything.

More on that later.  I want to listen to the show because I missed it.

One more thing.  The reason to go to Mars is the same reason for not competing directly with the existing order.  Too much opposition.  You need to go where no one else is so that there won't be an army of opposition against you.  That place could be literally out of this world.

Evening Wrap, 6/28

I counted 19 posts, now that is definitely a record.  I could have done more, but I decided to slow down a bit.  At some point, you just reach your limit.  I figure I can put out maybe a thousand words a day.  I haven't counted them, but I figure 10 posts at the average of 100 words a post will get to a thousand.  Here, I could have averaged just a hair over 50 words per post and got the thousand words in.   Now, since there are over 1400 posts here now, that means as many as 140,000 words.  That's a good sized book by now.

Anyway, I hope something was here that was good enough to bring folks back.  Thanks for coming by and have a great evening.

Five Predictions For The Future Of Energy

By Ariel Schwartz Fri Jun 17, 2011

No mention of Thorium, nor of Fusion.  Neither hot fusion or "cold" fusion.  It must be that this author isn't aware of this possibility or is discounting it as improbable.  I think he is mistaken either way.

I predict that his predictions will be wrong.

Colonization is a bad word?

On a recent Space Show, Dr Space said that the word "colonization" implies oppression to some people.  I think that is rather silly.  It is only a word, but people do get hung up on words.  The "frontier" doesn't appeal to people in terms of space either possibly for the same reason.

If you substitute "settlement" for colonization, it supposedly is a better word.  Guess what?  I am not going to do that.  Just because a bunch of leftists want to knock American history, it doesn't mean that I have to accept their stupid premise.  They are just a bunch of ungrateful slobs who probably work for the government and the taxpayers, while at the same time, are biting the very hands that feed them.  Maybe if the taxpayer pulls the plug on these parasites, they may find that they have a good thing and stop knocking it.

Babylon 5: A Call to Arms 1 of 10

I'm not familiar with this series, having not watched it before. It is available on DVD.

Asteroid eater

While musing about Space Colonization, I perused this article on wikipedia about Bernal spheres.  It so happens that the idea would be to get up to 140,000 people on this sphere.  So, I thought, what would these people do to support themselves?  There may be industry, sure, but what kind of industry?

Then the thought struck, which turned out not to be original, to have them consume asteroids.  In effect, they would be asteroid eaters!  Actually, this link was about computer games, but this would be real live asteroid eaters!  The big space colony would dock with asteroids and process them for their ores, and then trade with other colonies for their wares.  Thereby, creating a space industry that would be completely independent from the Earth.

They may even get richer than Earthlings, therefore causing great envy and resentment from the ground based Earthlings down below. Aw, shucks!

For the record, "Kardashevian" does not equal "Kardashian"

Just wanted to clear that up.  This is Kim Kardashian.  On the other hand, this is the wiki entry for Kardashev, and his Kardashev scale .

It may be easy to confuse the two because of the very similar spelling.  But as you can see, there are quite unrelated to each other.

Super sheds that put those ready-made shacks to shame

By Amanda Dematto of Popular Mechanics

Comes with a how to video, click on the link.

Hydrino Theory, Which Overturns Quantum Theory, Is In Turn Overturned By Doofusino Theory

by Scott Aaronson

This piece is meant to make fun of hydrino theory, and possibly "cold fusion".  Look, if there is anything that is going to shut this up, it will have to be some type of unambiguous test which cannot be denied.  Otherwise, it will be too easy to ridicule anything that is contrary to conventional wisdom.  Sadly, it is only through the new ideas that progress gets made.  If people are too scared to step out of the box, progress will stall.  Isn't that the thing that is happening nowadays?

Washington Journal: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood

Looks like a political advertisement for the Obama Administration.

WORLD'S UGLIEST DOG & Amy Pond Gets NEKKID!

phillip defranco

He doesn't mention E-cat? How can you be filled in if you haven't heard about E-cat? E-cat is cooler than cool! It's so cool, it's hot. And you can't get no cooler than that!

Weird Al Yankovic's Lady Gaga Parody 'Perform this Way'

I looked up 'gaga' on the internet. You know, it's definition? What does that word actually mean? Here's the definition

adj. Informal
1. Silly; crazy.
2. Completely absorbed, infatuated, or excited: They were gaga over the rock group's new album.
3. Senile; doddering.

This is all a big joke, right?






Update:

I've been looking at some videos and found something that is interesting, but don't know if I want to put it up. Somebody did a cover of a Lady Gaga video- and I only went to that video because the real one wouldn't load- maybe because it was too busy. I just realized how, ahem, old I am. The culture is different from the way it was before. If this is the future, well, I just don't know.

Ok, I'm putting it up.

Core Inflation Rises--Interest Rates May Follow

By JAMES C. COOPER, The Fiscal Times

When economists talk about core inflation, most people roll their eyes. That’s OK, they say, as long as you don’t eat or drive.

Well, prices would stabilize if energy prices stabilized.  If a new, revolutionary new energy source is found, which would make energy cheap and plentiful, it could be helpful, yes?

 

Low Energy Nuclear Revolution By Free Energy Truth

Another video I lifted off the Facebook page. It has plenty of English subtitles when the spoken part isn't English.

The Hill: What’s needed: A $4 trillion gimmick-free deficit deal in two parts

By Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson

What this country needs — and what the American people deserve — is a $4 trillion-plus, gimmick-free fiscal consolidation package that stabilizes and then reduces our debt as a share of the economy.

Bowles and Simpson served as co-chairmen of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.

Here's a suggestion:  Do a revenue neutral tax cut with the payroll tax.  I've seen that proposal elsewhere.  It changes the incentive structure so that people would be inclined to save money on taxes by changing their transportation habits.  Instead of using gasoline powered vehicles, use some other energy device instead.  This will help with the oil import situation.

Tbone Pearson: How to use Adobe After Effects Tutorial Part II

I must have missed Part I. This may be a project for his Spellfury series.

New Rhett and Link video

Happy Dogs, Sad Dogs

To me, they are crazy dogs.

Free Energy Truth now a featured like on Facebook page

It is now a feature like on the People for Space Colonization Page, which is also featured on the sidebar of this page. Now, I can swipe videos off that page and put them up here!

Andrea Rossi Arrives - In The Lobby Of The Conference Venue

Defkalion Press Conference Videos: Unofficial   via Free Energy Truth website

Oops! Forgot the title again! Morning Summary, 6/28

Obviously, the extra posting bumped my numbers.  All the same, thanks for your support.  I'll be posting here again today.

As I noted on the evening wrap, there appears to be a new post in the top ten.  That was Rossi doing the calculations for his E-cat demo for Mr. Krivit.   I think it shows the interest in Rossi's device better than anything else could.  I would like to spread the interest far and wide.  You know, get the message out.  That's the trick.

There ought to be more demos, and those demos need to be set up like show biz.  You could have celebrities and so forth and they would be there to witness it.  As for the demo itself, it could be like what I suggested before, an automobile going around a track continuously with no obvious power source except the E-cat.  I think such a demo could get a lot of people on board.

Evening Wrap, 6/27

Sixteen posts, must be a record.  The most popular one was of Rossi doing the calculations for the E-cat's energy production.  For just one day, it almost made the top ten list.

Here's how it stacks up in comparison with 9 and 10 on the list, first the 9th and 10th:

You see, it almost cracked the top ten in the first day.  Quite a showing for just one day.

Thanks for coming by and have a great evening.

Force has the better of the argument

Does this sound familiar?  It should, since I wrote it on Sunday.  It so happens that Brian D. Josephson had this to say about the rejection of "cold fusion"

Isn't that what I wrote above as the title of this post?

The pdf file linked above is titled Pathological Disbelief and has some connection to "cold fusion", but it is not about "cold fusion" per se.  Here is the concluding page of the pdf

If you want to change things, you may have to be ready to fight for what you believe because there are those who will not allow you to prevail no matter what the evidence says.

Newsletter - Edition 270 - 27 June 2011 By Christopher Laird

Here's the outline of his latest newletter, which is subscription based.  You can find the link to his newsletter on the Products page.

Before you read this, you may want a drink.

Crash Developing
Our Changing Times, Special report on technology and the world population bomb
Things are not like when we grew up
The most trying and dangerous time of all history
Technology and world population growth
Old order – destabilization – New order
Technical dictatorship
The 7 earths
The population crisis is on!
Bloody war for survival
GBP to USD transition
And the world will fall apart
Understanding is half the solution

Self-actualization

Carl Rogers similarly wrote of "the curative force in psychotherapy - man's tendency to actualize himself, to become his potentialities...to express and activate all the capacities of the organism."

The labeling of "cold fusion" as pathological science has led to consider if there isn't something like that at work, but not amongst the cold fusioneers, but the ones doing the labeling.

Sort of like the labeling of a woman as a nymphomaniac, which is defined as having a greater sex drive than the one calling her a nymphomaniac.

I've seen some discussion of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, but does this match what's happening? Not so sure about that.

I checked into some sites that discussed abnormal psychology, and that may be getting closer. I've speculated that the people running things tend to be either sociopathic or psychopathic. Such people can exude personality traits that make them appear appealing, but their lack of empathy for others make them a type of monster. Furthermore, they tend to feel less fear, which makes them appear braver. However, the bravery is simply a lack of emotional feeling- they do not fear because they do not feel much of anything at all. In order to make up for that emptiness, they seek sensations, and tend to do risky things.

There could be many other explanations of course. The human mind is quite complex. People are not easy to figure.

Just thinking that the people leading us don't really have our best interests at heart. That idea is so radical though, that people won't accept it. It is too terrifying. What's the first thing that happened after 9/11? After a severe failure of the government to provide the one thing that the government should provide, which is security, the people rally around the government. It seems crazy to me.

What's the first thing that the opponents of Bush said? That he let it happen, as if it were a deliberate act. But the simplest explanation was that Bush was no better nor worse than any president that preceeded him. The first thing I heard was something like "They let it happen" from a black lady at work. It seems that people believe that those in government have this god like power and knowingness that will allow them to see things that no one else will see. On the one hand, you have people trusting the government more, and on the other hand, there are those who believe the government can do anything.

My own questions here do not fall in those extremes, I hope. What I try to do is to show something based upon logic, reason and evidence. It is up to those I am trying to communicate to see what I am seeing, or what I think I am seeing. If I am wrong, I am happy to consider another explanation. Let me know.

Nobel laureate touts E-Cat cold fusion

The audio is a little off, but if you listen carefully, you will be able to hear it.

Dr. Brian Josephson, winner of the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on superconductivity, has recently released a YouTube video of an interview of himself conducted by Judith Driscoll, Professor of Materials Science at Cambridge University. via PESWiki.com

2001 - Then and Now ( in reference to the movie)

Q: What could put us back on a track toward the space accomplishment of 2001?

I think that we should immediately cease building any kind of space station. Instead, we should be building a moon base, so that we can occupy it and begin to learn how to live, work, and do scientific research off the planet.

He says in the article something to the effect that Nixon didn't want to do space.

The movie differs from present reality because the policy makers of the Nixon Administration decided to sidestep the territorial issue. In this way, they maintained more control over a space program that they had inherited from a previous administration and for which they has little enthusiasm.

So, when I say that the powers that be don't want something, I am not the only one who ever said it.  That includes an actual solution to the energy problem.  If you solve energy, you solve space.  (Somebody else said that too)

 

Stirling engine R/C model car

I first learned about Stirling Engines in 2004 or 2005. That was about the time that I became really concerned about the energy problem. If these people in Washington actually want to solve any problems, instead of making things worse, which is what they usually do, just hook one of these up to a heat source. You can run an automobile with one of these things.

During the so called "Energy Crisis" of the seventies, Ford experimented with Stirling Engines. They have a disadvantage in that they take awhile to warm up. But if you hook them up to a battery, they can charge the battery, you see. Then the car can be an electric Stirling hybrid.

Of course, you could also hook one up to an e-cat, which seems to produce energy.

Sterling Engines - these can save the planet! - not

This is a silly title, but the concept of using Stirling Engines is sound. All you need is a heat source. Take one of these Stirling Engines from this solar dish and connect to an E-cat. Then you will see something interesting, don't you think?

Note also, that the Stirling Engine is not too big to fit in an automobile. The E-cat is relatively small too. So, you see, a really convincing demonstration is possible.

Rossi and Focardi LENR Device: Probably Real, With Credit to Piantelli

By  Steven B. Krivit  Where Did the Idea Come From?
From what I know so far, the concept demonstrated on Jan. 14 by Rossi and his colleague Sergio Focardi, a retired physics professor from the University of Bologna, had been discovered by Francesco Piantelli, a retired professor of biophysics with the University of Siena.

The article has a Q&A at the end.   Here's one that is instructive:

Q. Are you claiming this to be “cold fusion” or some new kind of low-energy nuclear reaction?
A. I think that the definition “cold fusion” is wrong in itself. What I claim is a weak nuclear reactions energy. As you already know, I think that there is still much work and study to do on the theoretical field to understand exactly why this reactor works. This path is difficult, because all physics can say to help you is that these reactions are impossible (thank you very much), while in the books, you can find nothing. Also, the more important books (for me, Greiner and Cooks) do not give solutions. We have to invent from the base also in the theoretical field.

Budget and debt talks move to the White House

Talks aimed at raising the debt ceiling while cutting spending move to the White House

The Democrats are treating this like a negotiation, as if there is anything to negotiate. Didn't I write about this already? If you "spread the wealth" without creating it, you are going to go broke eventually. The government is broke, so in order for it to continue spending as before, it must get money from somewhere. Do they really expect the Republicans to just hand it over?

On the other hand, even if the Republicans hand it over, this doesn't solve the problem. The problem is that you are spending more than what you are taking in, and unless you can turn that around, merely spending until you are really broke accomplishes nothing.

Mr. Rossi calculates the E-Cat’s energy

From Cold Fusion now website

Comment: I'd like to hook that up to a machine that will produce electricity and power a vehicle around a track until it ran out of fuel. Then we will know one way or another if this is for real. Seeing is believing.

Life on Mars?

Brandenburg's book is amazing. Not only does he make a case for past life on Mars, but also for present life. That's not all. He also postulates that life may have transited from Mars to Earth and seeded the Cambrian Explosion.  Hold on to your seats, but there's more.  He is also suggesting a nuclear explosion, as in a malicious event, you know, like a war.

The search for life doesn't interest me much.  This explains all the fascination with Mars, though.  Maybe the face means something!

Yahoo Breakout: Bipartisan Budget Talks Breakdown

Breakout and Yahoo Politics: A Summit Meeting

1. Game of chicken, who is going to break down first?
2. Wrestlemania scenario, deadline real?
3. Adults will win out, there will be a deal, but enormous pressure from Tea Party
4. Clinton statement about default jumped on, cleaned up
5. What gets paid first, and who?
6. Worse to do bad deal than deal
7. Trillion in cuts so far, another trillion?
8. Taxes going up?
9. Constituency opposed to cuts- not even minor changes 
10. Bond market not concerned, bondholders paid first, but political disaster
11. Obama failing miserably, not leading
12. His party wants more aggressive stand, he's not doing that
13.  Want higher taxes, can't get it

Applying The Weiner Test To The WI Sup Ct Scuffle

There are many young adults who probably don't remember this because they are too young. The term that I'm thinking of is culture war. The culture war is on, and it's main front is out there in Wisconsin.

What's the culture war? Actually, it is a Pat Buchanan phrase which he brought into the public square back during the 1992 Presidential primaries. He was running against the elder Bush, George Herbert Walker Bush, and that appears to have weakened Bush enough to cause him to lose to Clinton later that year.

Social Conservatives seem to be losing that war, as gay marriage passed in New York this past week. Yes, that is what culture war is, the great cultural rift between the social conservatives and the social liberals.

In Wisconsin, it doesn't appear to be social issues, but economic ones. But they are comparable due to the respective factions that support each side. It is political, as the left sees its power base challenged and is fighting back. It would seem that they can't vote out Prosser, now they will try to scandalize him out. They can't get rid of Walker yet, but they will try as soon as it becomes possible. Recall efforts are underway, and will continue. For the left, we are not broke. But, who are "we"? It is a wide gulf between capitalism and socialism, and the idea that property is communal is the one chasm that cannot be bridged. If it cannot be bridged, the only other way is conflict of one kind or another.

If the left is successful, they will get increasingly aggressive towards property. If "we" are not broke, it must follow that they will begin seizing private property. They will begin taking property, because "we" means there is no distinction between anyone's property, it is held in common by all. What property might that be? Just about any kind that you can imagine, but the one that I hear about from time to time is private pensions. If it looks like they will make a grab at that, look out below for these types of investments. There will be a mad dash to get out of them before the government starts grabbing them.

Once that fails, they will get increasingly desperate. There is no way out, but to just stop spending what you don't have. This hasn't sunk in for the left yet, but it will eventually. It must because they won't stop until "we" really are broke. In such as case as that, say goodbye to wealth and prosperity. The left doesn't know how to create it, but they sure know how to redistribute it.

Change in plans

I'm not up to going out today, so I'll be blogging instead.

Morning Summary, 6/27

I'll be reading  John Brandenburg's book about Mars today.   It should be fairly busy, so I don't know how much time I'll have to post.  If I can get in a few, I will.

Evening Wrap, 6/26

Today was a day to get caught up on the Space Show.  Didn't listen to them all, but I did listen to five of them.  I figure that the "cold fusion" folks can team up with the space enthusiasts.   The thing that they have in common is that they are not favored currently by those in power.  Perhaps in the future, these brilliant leaders of ours may find a use for these.

Storing Hydrogen Safely

Metal hydrides could potentially play a leading role in a hydrogen economy. By Virginia Heffernan

I got the idea to do this from an earlier post about the ratio between hydrogen and nickel. That is, if the ratio is 1 to 1 in terms of atoms, then it would be effectively much higher pressure per volume of the solid nickel ( according to the Ideal Gas Law). So, I find this article, and it gives a number, but it is not entirely clear what it means.

Many alloys form hydrides with up to 9% hydrogen but will release the gas only at extreme temperatures.

Does that mean by weight or what?  At 9% by weight, it would be greater than 1 to 1 because hydrogen is only about 1/30th the mass per mole ( and even that takes into account the fact that hydrogen bonds with itself, so the true ratio would be 1/60th).  That could mean multiple atoms of hydrogen per nickel atom.

As Spock would say on Star Trek:  "fascinating".  This means the equivalent of very high pressures, I would think.  It would mean up to six moles of hydrogen per mole of nickel, with the nickel occupying only a tiny fraction of the volume that would have been the case with hydrogen alone.  This gives a very high theoretical pressure per volume, per the Ideal Gas Law.

You may recall the equation for the gas law:  pv=nrt.   As temperature increases, so must pressure.  If it approaches a billion degrees kelvin and is still inside the nickel, the pressure would be very high indeed.  Each side of the equation would have to rise proportionally, you see.  A billion degrees is 10^9th.

So, Huizenga doesn't think this can cause fusion?  It almost seems comically false to me.  He's gotta be pulling somebody's leg. 

Space Show, 6/3

John Brandenburg was on, and he talked about life on Mars. He says some amazing things, like there was abundant life on Mars, even before multicellular life existed on Earth.

He says stuff that may not be popularly accepted by modern science. But, isn't that conventional wisdom?

Some other things that got said confirmed a suspicion that I have expressed here that the powers that be don't want you to know such things. This information may have been suppressed to some extent. Does that sound familiar?

I am going to buy Brandenburg's book through the One Giant Leap Foundation. They will make a contribution to the Space Show.