MaxRedline

$370,600 For Solar Panels

Great news! Tri-Met will save about $3,680 a year!

That comes to a whopping $92,000 over the projected 25-year lifespan of the solar panels.  That means that taxpayers pick up the remaining $278,600.

And no, that doesn't count maintenance. That's extra.

But look at them! So shiny, so "green", so "sustainable"! And you've got to admit - the little train's darned cute, too. Oh, but you can't burn coal to generate power forever. Very true: we only have enough coal in the continental USA to last 350 years. So we'd better quit burning it now. Natural gas and oil may only be around for another 500 years, so we need to quit burning it now.

Not counting hydro (which isn't a renewable resource) and not counting biomass like wood (which also isn't renewable), we only have around 850 to 900 years worth of things to burn in order to produce energy. So, really, it only makes sense to stop now.

Nope, it's time to get clean, green, and sustainable. So we need to buy gallium arsenide from China, with money we borrowed from China, so that we can build solar panels with a 25-year life-span that will take 67 years to break even on costs. It all makes perfect sense, if you happen to work in American government.

For You Sports Nuts

Give that big ol' flat-screen a heart-felt hug. The NBA is only gonna play because they ain't got no choice.

Let’s give it up for the real negotiator in the room between players and owners. Put your hands together for the one who got the deal done, the unheralded, impartial deal-broker behind the scenes that ensured the world of an NBA season.

Network television, you da man!

After nearly two years of bickering, NBA players and owners are back on the same side. 

Because your contract with the league starts on Christmas Day, a 66-game season was salvaged just past 3 a.m. Saturday. You and the NBA calendar helped make Commissioner David Stern and Billy Hunter, the head of the players’ union, come to their senses.

The Occupods have got to be beside themselves with rage: the NBA has a contract with Big Business, and they have no choice but to honor it. Funny how that all works in the real world.

 

Related articles

• NBA lockout: Is the season saved? (csmonitor.com)
• The NBA Players Who Thought It'd Be A Great Idea To Play In China During The Lockout Are Now Stuck There (businessinsider.com)

China Gets It

Image via Wikipedia

Perhaps our government - and people - can learn from the Chinese:

It is worth noting that realizing the best combination of the national dream and individual dreams has become vitally important since political ideals such as communism have moved away from our daily lives. 
The government cannot eliminate all the miseries in society. 

That last line is what Americans would do well to remember.

Monday Political Mix

Image via Wikipedia

Democratics appear to have finally dropped their long-standing pretense of being "all about the working folks" in favor of cementing a center-left coalition made up, on the one hand, of voters who have gotten ahead on the basis of educational attainment — professors, artists, designers, editors, human resources managers, lawyers, librarians, social workers, teachers and therapists — and a second, substantial constituency of lower-income voters who are disproportionately African-American and Hispanic.

It seems odd that so many blacks fall for the Democratic line, in view of the fact that Democrats have been primarily responsible for creating the circumstances in which so many blacks today find themselves trapped. But, the good news is that Democrats are at least starting to come clean about what they really are.

And in other news, Bawney has decided to bunch it. On the one hand, this is unfortunate, because he gets a gold-plated retirement rather than the jail cell he so richly deserves. On the other hand, at least he won't be remaining in a position from which he can inflict so much damage to our country.

Remember, as Chairman of House Financial Services Committee, he sat on his little throne and declared that Fannie and Freddy were in great shape, even as he was pushing them and other financial institutions into insolvency by demanding that they extend credit to unqualified "home-buyers". He, more than anyone else in D.C., is responsible for the financial ruin in thich this country now finds itself mired.

Good riddance, Bawney. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Related articles

• Wasserman Schultz: Frank a 'historic pioneer in American politics' (thehill.com)
• Rep. Barney Frank to retire closing long career (mercurynews.com)
• Rep. Barney Frank to retire from House (marketwatch.com)

Programming Note

For years, this site has had five slots filled in the "daily reads" section of the sidebar. And for years, Coyote's "Northwest Republican" site held the top spot. Unfortunately, despite the "stable of contributors" to the site, it has become inaccessible to most people - apparently because Coyote burned out.

It's unfortunate because the site had a great history of providing insight and rock-solid information. But since the site's essentially turned off, that link has been removed from the MaxRedline site.

Therefore, a new link will be added in the coming days to round out that top five daily reads slot. Apologies to those who came to rely upon NWR for a good read. There are a number of Northwest possibilities for placement into the vacant position, but it's being narrowed down.

Related articles

• Northwaste News: Dr. No Returns, Northwest Republican Shuts Down (maxredline.typepad.com)

Newt's Ready

Interesting stuff. There's a reason why Perry, Mitt, and others are eating dust.

 You think he's who you want?

Think harder.

"Science" Lurches On

Cimategate v. 2.0 has been released, and although it's not a huge surprise to those who've been following the religious deception, some interesting material has cropped up. The latest dump very clearly demonstrates collusion between media and the "scientists" who at times actually vetted news stories prior to release. Particularly culpable in this latest round is the BBC:

... The emails – part of a trove of more than 5,200 messages that appear to have been stolen from computers at the University of East Anglia – shed light for the first time on an incestuous web of interlocking relationships between BBC journalists and the university’s scientists, which goes back more than a decade.

They show that University staff vetted BBC scripts, used their contacts at the Corporation to stop sceptics being interviewed and were consulted about how the broadcaster should alter its programme output.

In 2007, the BBC issued a formal editorial policy document, stating that ‘the weight of evidence no longer justifies equal space being given to the opponents of the consensus’ – the view that the world faces catastrophe because of man-made carbon dioxide emissions.

Of course, over here, the same situation is occurring: The Oregon American Meteorological Society’s event featuring Meteorologist Chuck Wiese, Climatologist George Taylor, and me on November 29 at OMSI was canceled at the last minute today due to pressure from local universities and others who were apparently upset that our skeptical perspective on Global Warming would interfere with their climate agendas and Federal funding. 

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). What a laugh. More like Oregon Center of Politcs and Religion.

 

Related articles

• OMSI Cancels Climate Conference due to inclusion of Global Warming Skeptics (5440fight.com)
• Climategate 2: Hacked emails released (newscientist.com)
• Did £10 Stand in the Way of Climate Science? (foxnews.com)

Introducing The MIED, From Government Motors

The Mobile Improvised Explosive Device (MIED) places GM at the forefront of cutting-edge technology. While only about 5300 of their Chevy Volt line have been sold nationwide, the government has been vigorously promoting deployment through a combination of propaganda and financial incentives.

To date, the average MIED driver takes home $175,000 per year, and receives a $7500 tax credit for the "green" purchase. The government says that it's "green", so it must be true.

Yeah, well...about that: after these spiffy little MIEDs are fully charged, they may be able to travel as far as 70 miles (depending on conditions, of course) before needing a re-charge. So, while we're waiting for the batteries to fill up, it's worth-while to ponder a couple of questions. Take your time; you have plenty of it while waiting for the batteries to drink up.

What makes the MIED so "green"? Is it because it runs on electricity? But over half of electricity produced in the USA is derived from burning coal, and a significant percentage is produced by burning what government erroneously refers to as "other fossil fuels" - like natural gas.

And how about the batteries? Just how "green" are they? Most hybrid and electric vehicles require around a dozen batteries, and most of them contain nickel. Most of that comes from mines in Sudbury, Ontario. Runoff from one such mine is shown: Nothing says "green and sustainable" better.

On the other hand, your basic MIED deploys Li-ion batteries, so less nickel is involved. The downside, which the feds are currently looking into, is that they may ignite if you happen to wreck your ride - sometimes a couple of weeks later. So there you are: your ride's in the shop. The batteries ignite, and the place burns down. Lawyers will have a lot of fun, sorting through that mess.

Damn, That Climate Scam!

Hurts their motors to go so slow.

Damn, that climate scam

So close to jamming it down your throat.

By the time they get home their grants'll be toast.

Damn, that climate scam.

Scanners

The playgrounds, hallways and cafeterias of Quebec's largest school board will soon be French-only zones as authorities move to silence other languages - even during recess.

Tolerance. The Left is always about tolerance.

"There will be no language police," she said. Instead, monitors who overhear children using their mother tongue during recess will simply remind them of the rules.

"If they are automatically switching to another language, (the monitor) will gently tap them on the shoulder - not on the head - to tell them, 'Remember, we speak French. It's good for you.'

Multi-culturalism is to be encouraged - as long as the correct culture is in charge.

As one wag noted, "Political Correctness is analogous to a man who never marries because he doesn't want to make some other woman jealous."

 

Related articles

• No recess from French as Montreal schools move to scan playground chatter (canada.com)