Jun

24

You Won’t Drill? It’s Gonna Cost Ya…

June 24, 2008 |  Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment

Barack Obama gave a speech in Las Vegas today entitled “A Serious Energy Policy for Our Future”. In the speech he talks about how the government has wasted effort in new technology and how it’s not being used by oil companies. He blames previous administrations and legislatures for $4 per gallon gasoline. What stood out in the speech, however, was this quote:

And before we hand over more of our land and our coastline to oil companies, I will charge those companies a fee for every acre that they currently lease but don’t drill on. If that compels them to drill, we’ll get more oil. If it doesn’t, the fees will go toward more investment in renewable sources of energy.

H/T to SIT for telling me about the quote.

I think this is a fine idea. All Obama has to do now is guarantee that oil will be found on every acre of land that they lease. Read the last sentence above. If they drill, we’ll get more oil. That sounds exactly like a guarantee to me.

I’m sure the oil companies are looking forward to this from Obama’s government. Taking away all that risk will surely make those profits go right through the roof!

Jun

21

They Don’t Want a Solution to AGW

June 21, 2008 |  Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment

When I was a kid I liked to read old Popular Science magazines. A house that my parents purchased had a finished basement (very rare in the SF Bay Area). The previous owner left all of his old PS magazines inside the built-in benches. I spent many, many hours down there reading about scientific breakthroughs in the 1950s and 1960s. I still enjoy reading them today, even though the editors often have a significant liberal slant to their worldview.

The July, 2008 edition is no exception. The title of this month’s magazine is:

The Future Of The Environment
ECO-TROPOLIS
A Blueprint For Fresh Air + Pristine Water + Cheap Energy

There’s another article in the magazine though, that caught my attention. The article is titled: CARBON DISCREDIT (Thompson, K, 2008, pp. 55-59, 91). The article is about a company that was created by Russ George, called Planktos Corporation. Originally a non-profit company, he was able to find investors and take the company public.

George’s plan was to seed sections of the ocean with iron, which when put into the ocean encourages the growth of plant life that consumes carbon dioxide. The Weatherbird II headed out towards his first target: a section of the Pacific Ocean over twice the size of Rhode Island west of the Galápagos Islands. Unfortunately, environmental groups became involved and began to strongly protest against their plan.

The usual scare tactics were used. Greenpeace Internation (the organization that the captain of Weatherbird II had worked with for 20 years) and Accíon Ecológica issued a press release with the heading Geoengineers to Foul Galápagos.

[Planktos's plans are a] risky gamble with sensitive marine ecosystems. Climate change is a real threat, but common sense should not be its first victim.

They got other groups involved and eventually stopped the project. They even picked up on the company’s website description of its iron particles as nanosize. They said,

The Planktos experiment may be the largest intentional release of engineered nanoparticles ever undertaken.

George was understandably incensed with these groups. He said,

calling Planktos a nanotech company was dishonest, a calculated attempt to raise unfounded fears in the public.

The Weatherbird II then sailed towards the Canary Islands, but was turned away when Spanish authorities radiod Captain Wilcox to tell him that they would not be able too dump their toxic waste in their waters.

The article goes on to detail their plans and discuss whether or not the concept would actually reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Oceanographer John Martin said in 1988 at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in MA,

Give me half a tanker of iron, and I’ll give you an ice age.

Other scientists say that when the plant life dies the carbon dioxide will simply be released back into the atmosphere. There is some question whether or not the plant life can be kept deep enough so that it won’t do just that. I’ll leave that to others to hash out.

I did, however, enjoy Russ George’s description of those that tried to stop him. He called them radical environmental groups. Among them were Greenpeace International, the World Wildlife Fund, Friends of the Earth, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

What stood out to me more than anything else in this article, was a statement attributed to these environmentalists by Thompson.

If society relies on quick techno-fixes to ameliorate global warming, people will stop putting in the hard work necessary to cut carbon emissions.

As we’ve known all along, these environuts aren’t at all interested in eliminating the problem of global warming. They want to take away your way of life, and send you back to the stone age.

Jun

15

When Life Interrupts Interests

June 15, 2008 |  Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment

I’m sure many of you are wondering why it’s been so long since my last blog entry. Work has been especially busy of late, and I’m finishing up two classes at my University after completing another one a week ago. Between these two activities, I haven’t had any time to do the necessary research to write a quality article.

Other Colorado bloggers have been writing some excellent articles. There was an important vote in Fort Collins this past week on whether or not to allow collective bargaining for government workers. Ben has a good writeup on this at Mount Virtus. Worse yet, the local Republican candidate for the Colorado Senate 14th District Matt Fries held a press conference about this ballot measure, but was completely ignored by The Coloradoan as reported by NoCoPolitics.com.

Also last week, Rossputin started part series of articles

responding to three front-page articles in the Denver Post by reporter Michael Riley which attack former Congressman and current Senate candidate Bob Schaffer for a fact-finding trip Schaffer took to the Northern Marianas Islands (“CNMI”) in 1999.

Part 1 and part 2 are already published. I highly recommend reading these articles. It’s important to keep the traditional media responsible for the truth and reliability of their articles. Links to the original articles from the Denver Post can be found in Rossputin’s articles.

More information about the Shaffer vs. Udall campaign for the open U.S. Senate seat for Colorado can be found here. As time allows, I will be contributing to this website in the near future.

On Friday, June 27th I will begin an around-the-world business trip. I will be visiting Munich & Regensburg Germany; Turin, Sarego, Verona & Venice, Italy; Singapore; Penang, Malaysia; and Seoul, South Korea. I will be gone for almost a month. I will be posting a diary of my trip which will include quite a number of pictures.

After my trip, you can look for some articles on the Democratic National Convention that will take place in August in Denver. I’m sure it will be an event to remember.

Jun

8

CO-6 Wil Armstrong for Congress

June 8, 2008 |  Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Republican primary race for U.S. House, District 6 from Colorado is to replace Tom Tancredo who is not running for reelection. There are four candidates running for this seat, two of which are Mike Coffman and Wil Armstrong. This seat is safely in Republican hands, so whoever wins the Primary will be going to Washington. Both Coffman and Armstrong are solid conservatives, which makes supporting one over the other a difficult task.

Mike Coffman is the current Secretary of State for Colorado. This is an extremely important position right now, as he is the only high-level Republican in the current Colorado State administration. Coffman is a Marine Corps veteran who served in the Gulf War, and recently served in Iraq. He also has 10 years of experience in Colorado State government as a House member, Senator, State Treasurer, and now Secretary of State. His stand on the issues is solidly conservative, and would be a great addition to the U.S. House of Representatives. Coffman has the experience necessary to be successful, and would be the only Republican in Congress that has served in Iraq, something we desperately need. Here is Coffman’s first campaign commercial.

Wil Armstrong is an entrepreneur and businessman from Greenwood Village. Armstrong has extensive experience in the technology and banking industries, and has been involved with several volunteer organizations. He is the son of former Congressman and Senator William L. Armstrong from Colorado. He is also a solid conservative on the issues. Armstrong’s considerable business experience will be a welcome perspective in Congress. Here is Armstrong’s first campaign commercial.

Both candidates are solid and consistent on the issues most important to me, and either would be a great supporter of Republican and Conservative principles and values in Congress. We certainly won’t go wrong sending either of them to Washington. Yet, there are two reasons why I believe Wil Armstrong is the better choice.

1. Mike Coffman is needed in Denver right now. Will Governor Bill Ritter playing fast and loose with our taxes and having campaign finance issues, we need a solid Conservative in the State Government to keep a close eye on things. If Coffman doesn’t resign his post before the election, the Governor will be able to appoint his replacement, who will most certainly be another liberal. Several people in the Republican Leadership pleaded with Coffman not to run for this seat, but he decided to run anyway. I would personally have preferred that he wait until 2012 and challenge Ken Salazar for his U.S. Senate seat, or challenge Bill Ritter for Governor in 2010.

2. Wil Armstrong is the kind of Conservative we need in Congress at this critical time. I had the opportunity to meet Armstrong at the Colorado Republican Convention a week ago. He said something to me that really stood out in my mind that we so desperately need to hear from our Representatives.

If you send me to Congress, I will not bring anything back for you. Too many politicians go to Washington promising to bring money back for their supporters. That means I have to take money from someone else to give it to you, and I don’t think that’s right. If that means I don’t get elected, or don’t get re-elected if you send me this time, I’m ok with that. I’ll just go back to running my three businesses.

What a refreshing perspective from a political candidate. Mike Coffman says he’ll go to Washington and bring money back for Transportation projects. This is the sort of things Armstrong says we need to stop doing, and I agree. Lower our taxes and we’ll take care of our own Transportation needs.

Pork-barrel spending by both parties in Congress has gotten out of hand. It’s not just the amount of money that’s being spent, but it’s because they continue to try to hide this spending from the public by secretely attaching it to bills that outrages me. All spending needs a public up or down vote to make sure it’s really needed and not just a payback for political support. Armstrong also strongly opposes Federal Government unfunded mandates.

This is why I’m supporting Wil Armstrong as the Republican candidate for the United States House, 6th Congressional District from the State of Colorado.

Jun

5

The 2008 Presidential Election: It’s About Life

June 5, 2008 |  Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment

November 2008 brings the eighth opportunity in my lifetime to vote for the leader of my country. Of the previous seven, only one was more important than the one before us. That was the 1980 election when the voters threw out the President that had caused more long-term damage than any before him.

As most of you are aware, John McCain was not my first choice to be the Republican candidate for President. He was actually my fourth choice. But I always felt that as soon as the primaries were over (for both parties) that I would get behind the Republican nominee. The reason I am doing this is because I believe this is the most important Presidential election in my lifetime.

Each Presidential election in history has had a primary issue that overshadowed all others, and this election is no exception. The single most important issue for this election is the issue of Life.

The protection of Life is the single most important issue to me, much more than any other. I’m not simply talking about abortion either, because Life is threatened in this world from many directions. I will address each of these that are most important to me.

Abortion

Over the past thirty years that I’ve been an adult, I’ve seen abortion go from being a move of desperation to one of the most commonly used forms of birth control. As a nation, we are decimating our families, and we are destroying our future. The ease with which we dispense with Life via abortion has affected how we value it in every other way.

The Roe vs. Wade decision was a major overstep by the SCOTUS. As we all know, this wasn’t an interpretation of the Constitution, it was quite simply legislating from the Bench. Unfortunately, that is now the branch of our government that has the greatest long-lasting control of our laws.

During the next four years, there is a high likelihood that one or two liberal Supreme Court Justices will leave the bench. Right now, the Court is split as evenly as it has ever been in my lifetime. For the first time in my lifetime we will have the opportunity to have a Court that will interpret, rather than make law.

I’m simply not willing to give up this opportunity for a protest vote, or by sitting this one out. This is no question at all in my mind that John McCain will appoint someone along the lines of Roberts and Alito. With the right SCOTUS, we can offset the worst liberal tendencies in the other branches of government, regardless of which party controls them.

Military

John McCain is a highly decorated and respected War Hero. That Obama’s camp would even think to question his commitment to the military shows how desperate they really are here. John McCain had the opportunity to leave Vietnam. He refused because there were others that had been there longer than he, and he suffered unthinkable torture as a result.

If there was any question before about his commitment to the military, this completely solidifies it. There is no question in my mind that McCain saved the lives of some of the other soldiers that were there. There is also no question in my mind that he will also save the lives of many of our current soldiers as Commander in Chief. Unfortunately, if Obama is elected, we will lose many of those lives.

Freedom

It is clear that the appeasement strategy by the liberals in our government of the tyrants in the world that would withhold freedom from its citizens and seek to kill ours has resulted in the unnecessary loss of Life. Over 3,000 of them were lost during the attack on 9/11, and many of the 4,000 soldiers lost in Iraq and Afghanistan is directly due to their strategy and the MSM’s propaganda campaign.

Unfortunately, the current Administration has done little to counter those voices, so the killing continues. There is no question in my mind that John McCain will loudly and frequently counter these people, and put the nations on notice that we quite simply will not tolerate our people being killed, either here or abroad. And for those that will stand with us, he will protect them too.

I have heard many say,

Four years of Jimmy Carter gave us eight years of Ronald Reagan.

Rather than respond to this statement, I’d like to add a couple of my own.

The protest vote in 1976 gave us four years of Jimmy Carter.

The protest vote in 1992 gave us eight years of Bill Clinton.

Four or eight years of President Obama will make us long for those days. There are times for protest votes. This quite frankly just isn’t one of them. There is way too much at stake. I’d caution you to remember this if you’re considering a vote for no one, or anyone but John McCain.

The Life you save may be your own, or that of someone you love.

Jun

1

Colorado Republican Convention

June 1, 2008 |  Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

I had a good time covering the Republican Convention in Broomfield, Colorado. Bloggers were given press credentials this time, so I was there with other Rocky Mountain Alliance v2.0 bloggers, Ben from Mount Virtus and El Presidente from Slapstick Politics. We live-blogged part of the festivites at The Minority Report. Video of the major speeches can be found at Slapstick Politics.

I arrived late to the event because I had to go into the office. There is some significant electrical work being done on the site, so I had to move power connections to temporary power. Once I arrived, I realized that I didn’t miss much. Most of the first hour filled with procedures. Ben was at the 2004 event, and had a great seven signs this isn’t the 2004 Convention.

1. Bill Owens seconded the nomination of Bob Schaffer for U.S. Senate.
2. The event is running on time. Amen!
3. The George W. Bush video on the big screen was dead-time filler, and almost no one was paying attention.
4. No signs that any cases of sunburn or heat stroke are imminent.
5. The name Barack Obama not only means something to attendees, it serves as the primary foil for many of the speechmakers on the stump.
6. I received a flyer advertising a Bob Schaffer fundraiser sponsored by Pete Coors.
7. Bloggers are given seats (and Wi-Fi) at the Convention press table.

There was a lot of enthusiasm at the convention, including quite a number of very vocal Ron Paul supporters. Fortunately, the disruptions were kept to a minimum. I won’t go over what was said by the candidates, you can see that for yourselves in the videos linked above. Two things were obvious to me. The first one is that Colorado has some good people running for office against some very entrenched democrats for the statewide offices. The second thing I noticed was, regarding the 2006 election results, some still don’t get it, but some do. I waited until today to write this blog, because I wanted to convey what really stood out in my mind from the candidates.

Bob Schaffer, the Republican candidate for the open United States Senate seat, gets it. The three of us had an opportunity to meet with Rep. Schaffer. Unfortunately, our interview was cut short after only one question. Ben reports,

“Republicans cannot propose to the voters of Colorado that we can keep doing the same things and inspire confidence” - He has not been pleased with where party has gone in recent years, having drifted from its core values since about 2003 … “we’ve got to be the party of change by applying freedom-based solutions to real problems, the reform I’m calling for has to do with finding courage to make tough choice, honest choices about future.”

Two things really jump out from this. Rep. Schaffer understands that our Republican representatives in Washington have drifted away from our core values, and we have to get back there. The other thing is that we are the ones that can offer real change, if we’ll only get back to those values. Solutions must be freedom-based.

The other thing he said just as we were leaving is that he understands that we have a tough road ahead of us. There are no easy solutions to the problems we face, unlike what the opposition is saying. It’s going to take hard work by everyone to find these solutions, but we will all be better off if we do.

This is by far the most important race affecting Colorado in 2008. One Senate seat is already in Democrat hands, and this race is a real toss-up right now. Mark Udall is a moveon.org-type liberal from Boulder, but is doing everything he can to present himself as a moderate. Bob Schaffer is a principled conservative; the kind we really need in Washington.

While walking the floor, I had the opportunity to meet with Wil Armstrong, Republican candidate for the United States House of Representatives for the 6th Congressional District in Colorado. This is the House seat that is currently occupied by Tom Tancredo, who is not seeking re-election. The real race here is the primary election. This seat is securely in Republican hands, so here’s an opportunity to get a real believer as Armstrong puts it in Washington.

Wil Armstrong is a solid conservative. He will flat-out tell you that he will not go to Washington to bring something back for you. He is adamantly opposed to pork spending. He owns three businesses, so he understands what small business owners deal with on a regular basis. Talking with him, I could just tell he really gets it.

There are three other candidates running in this race. Right now, it’s a two-man race between Armstrong and Mike Coffman, the current Secretary of State for Colorado. Coffman has held a few offices, but has never completed a term in any of them. Each one seems to be a stepping stone to the next one, which really concerns me. Armstrong has this to say about that tendency,

We have a Congress with too much political posturing and too little principled leadership. Climbing the political ladder has become the top priority. Delivering solutions to our most pressing problems is not.

I really believe these are the types of leaders we need in Washington right now. If you’re looking for a campaign in which to contribute, these are two that can really make a difference.

After Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech on behalf of John McCain, the press had the opportunity to attend a question and answer session with Mitt Romney and Bob Schaffer. Video is available at the link above. One of the things that caught my attention was the discussion about energy. Mitt Romney made it clear that what separates McCain from the Democrat candidates is that he knows we need to use all types of energy available to us. Bob Schaffer had a great answer for this.

It is ridiculous to think we can change to plugging into only alternative energy starting tomorrow. We’re going to need to utilize all available methods of generating energy while we develop renewable sources.

I encourage you to watch the videos of the speeches and read through the live-blog at The Minority Report. I had a great time at the Convention which was my first opportunity to attend an event as a representative of the press. I’m looking forward to more opportunities in the future. I wanted to say a final thanks to Ben and El Presidente for their assistance and joining in on my live-blog. They’ve been doing this for much longer than I have, and I’m hoping to continue learning from them.

May

29

Colorado GOP Convention

May 29, 2008 |  Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment

From the press box at the Broomfield Convention Center

Bob Schaffer has accepted the nomination for the open U.S. Senate seat from Colorado.

Don’t forget to visit TMR for the live blog.

———

I’ve received press credentials, as have others in the Rocky Mountain Alliance v2.0 (RMA) and will be at the Convention this Saturday beginning at 9:30am MDT. I don’t have the ability to Live Blog on my personal blog here, so I’ll be live blogging the event at The Minority Report blogsite.

Feel free to stop by there or other RMA blogs. I’m sure at least a couple of them will also be live blogging the event.

You should also see more postings from me after two or three more weeks. I’m taking three classes right now at Regis University, so my free time is very limited. In July, I’ll be going on a round-the-world business trip, so look for some blogs on international travel (pictures included).

May

23

Tornadoes Hit Northern Colorado

May 23, 2008 |  Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Northern Colorado was devastated by tornadoes yesterday. One of the hardest hit areas was the town of Windsor, which is only five miles southeast of where I work in Fort Collins.

Tornadoes are not that common in this area, but they do happen. A very good friend of my wife and former co-worker of mine lives in the area that was hit very hard. The house next door was completely destroyed. 9 News Colorado has some video and a slide show of the tornadoes & the aftermath. The damage of our friend’s house is shown in these pictures of her neighborhood.

Windsor Tornado #74

Windsor Tornado #82

Over 100 homes were damaged or destroyed yesterday, and there was one life lost. My friend and her family are all ok, but have a difficult few months ahead of them as they struggle to recover.

The 9 news webpage listed above has contact information for those that want to provide assistance. Please be in prayer for the victims of this tragedy. We thank God that it wasn’t worse than it was.

May

21

Musgrave Leads Charge to Support Farm Bill

May 21, 2008 |  Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

According to U.S. House Representative Marilyn Musgrave’s (CO-4) website, she plans to lead the fight to override President Bush’s veto of the the recent Farm Bill. The bill passed, but there appears to be a technical issue that will require a new vote by both the House and the Senate, then another override by both Chambers.

Rep. Musgrave champions the provisions for food stamps and food banks.

There will be many more people will be eligible for food stamps, and I think that’s a very positive thing. I’m proud of the work we did for food banks.

What Rep. Musgrave doesn’t address is the problem that’s created by getting people dependent on government handouts. Charity should be done by the local community through charitable organizations, not by the federal government.

Rep. Musgrave also champions the farm provisions of the bill.

In the 4th Congressional District, we are poised to be leaders in the nation in renewable energy, and while we’ve had record prices recently, we just came out of a horrific drought. This is the safety net for rural America that we talk about. I’m glad that we have this done.

Renewable Energy is the latest buzzword for turning food into fuel. There have been many stories written recently about the dramatic increase in the cost of basic food staples, and it is largely due to the fact that so many farmers are now growing corn that other crops are in short supply. When supply goes down and demand remains the same, prices go up.

Musgrave, a self-proclaimed conservative, should understand this basic concept. Add to this the fact that the government continues to pay farmers to not grow crops in their field. This just exacerbates the problem by reducing the supply even further. Since food and fuel are basic commodities used by most everyone, it hits the poor even harder. But that’s ok, because they’ll get more food stamps now.

The bill does, however, contain tax breaks for the rich. Farmers who make up to $750,000 are eligible for the subsidies. I guess all that blustering by the Democrats about opposing tax cuts for the rich only applies when the Republicans are doing it.

The we’ve already been doing it defense seems to be the excuse for supporting the bill. Rep. Musgrave says,

For people to get on their high horse now after they’ve been spending and spending is amazing to me.

Apparently this bill represents a drop in the federal budget compared with the previous bill. I don’t think I want to look up how much the previous one cost us. The fact is, the Republican-led congress spent money for six years like they were printing it…umm, yeah. The Democrat-led congress has picked up where they left off, which leaves us with a massive budget deficit and an ever decreasing dollar.

Finding a true conservative in Congress these days is like finding a farm growing anything other than corn…or Renewable Energy as it is now called.

May

17

Colorado GOP Candidates and Technology

May 17, 2008 |  Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

United States Senate candidates Bob Schaffer(R) and Bob Udall(D) have begun their advertising campaigns this past week. Bob Schaffer’s television commercial started with a thud. The Denver Post reports on the commercial. In the advertisement there is a picture of a mountain in the background.

The image was supposed to be Pike’s Peak (bottom), but instead they had an image of Mount McKinley (top). The ad was pulled quickly, but several media outlets have already picked up on the gaff, giving negative coverage to Schaffer’s campaign.

The lack of technological prowess on the GOP side in Colorado is unfortunate. As more and more people turn to new media to obtain information about current events, it becomes increasingly important to lead in this space. I’ve been frustrated for some time at the lack of information available at Bob Schaffer’s campaign website. By comparison, Mark Udall’s campaign website is light years ahead. I’ve already seen bumper stickers for Udall around town, yet as far as I can tell, you cannot even obtain items for Bob Schaffer. This puts his campaign at a significant disadvantage.

Political campaigns are a battle in the realm of ideas. It is therefore, extremely important that those ideas are distributed in as many ways as possible. Liberal politicians continue to offer more and more government programs and services to people. To combat it, conservatives need to communicate not only that government handouts are bad for people, they need to communicate why.

Visually pleasing presentations are important to capture the attention of the reader. Bob Bacon(D) is the State Senator for the 14th district in Colorado. His re-election website is a good, functional webste. Information is easy to obtain, and follows logically. Matt Fries in the Republican candidate, but unfortunately his campaign website has significant problems. The picture at the top does not display, and there is only a single page with limited information. State House District 53 Republican candidate Donna Gallup’s website has more information, but the primary contact information for her is via traditional mail.

I’ve tried to contact many of these campaigns and offer new media resources (blogging, interviews, etc.), but have not received a response. For Bob Schaffer’s campaign I’ve written a couple of articles, but like the information above it’s obtained through traditional sources. I’ve so far been unable to obtain any information about these other local candidates.

So long as the Republican candidates in Colorado are behind the technological curve, they will continue to struggle to get their message out. As more and more Democratic candidates win contests in Colorado, this becomes increasingly important. We simply must win the war of ideas, or we will lose the ability to govern.


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