I’m reminded of Mark Twain’s description of Teddy Roosevelt shortly after his brief encounter with the 26th POTUS: “Clearly, the man’s insane.”

Mercedes-Benz 170V Holzvergaser. At least, in those days during and immediately after the war, people in Germany clearly saw just how inadequate alternative sources of energy were.

Summing up Germany's rushed shift to renewable energy, a commentator at NoTrickZone writes:

At least the old-style 5-year-plans were aimed at heavy industrial production and modernization; and after the “Thaw” there were pockets of the so-called “Goulash communism” to provide at least a minimum of poultry and vegetables (in 1962, the “dachas” comprised 3% of the USSR’s agriculture and supplied 50% of the victuals). This sounds more like the Great Leap Forward with local windmills instead of backyard smelting yards, backed up by AGW instead of Lysenkoism, with Arcadia as the new collectivist paradise.

From the below report on the forcible transformation of the energy supply system, get an idea of the totalitarian habits mushrooming all over Germany under the aegis of environmental alarmism:

Germany’s energy transformation has already failed. For Germans, the outlook is bleak. …the planned mismanagement is heavily damaging the economy and will fail spectacularly some years later because its economic and social costs will have become unbearable. The question remaining open is how many billions of euros will have to be destroyed before a new energy policy (a new energy transformation?) picks up the shattered pieces.

The source.

In a heavily toned down way, the image captures a bit of the spirit of Obama, and his model of America.

Peter Schiff on more Obarrassment.

See also Misinformation ...

Alex Epstein tells the story of a green, anti-capitalist prejudice of genocidal proportions:

Think for a moment about the last time you had a bad case of the flu: the headaches, the chills, the vomiting, the congestion, the depressed mood, the inability to function normally for days. But imagine it felt 10 times worse, and lasted for months or years, robbing you of anything resembling a truly human life.

That is life for the hundreds of millions of people who live with–and often die from–malaria.

The malaria parasite is one of nature’s cruelest torturers. Acquired from the bite of the common Anopheles mosquito, this parasite enters the bloodstream and, left to its own devices, wreaks havoc on the lives of its human hosts.

In its milder forms, the malaria parasite leads to cycles of different symptoms including fever, sweat and chills, muscle pains, shock, and breathing problems. More dangerous variants lead to liver failure, coma, and brain damage. And, of course, there are the deaths–millions and millions of individual lives ended prematurely, usually after enough suffering to make death a relief. The most common malaria deaths afflict the most vulnerable–children under 5, pregnant women, and individuals who are already weakened by malnutrition or other diseases.

When you hear of “living in harmony” with nature, remember this: nature gives us unmitigated malaria, while human ingenuity and industry gave us the ultimate weapon against malaria–the industrial, “artificial” chemical DDT. As the National Academy of Sciences said in the 1970s, “[T]o only a few chemicals does man owe as great a debt as to DDT…in little more than two decades, DDT has prevented 500 million human deaths, due to malaria, that otherwise would have been inevitable.”#

Read the entire piece.

See also The Sport of Facile Killing - A Democratic Pastime.

The Republican Party managed to accomplish three amazing things last week, in the course of two debates and one election.  It revealed a bloodlust that easily trumps concern for personal character and social morality.  It scorned a fundamental teaching of Jesus Christ.  It showed that the only thing that really matters to the party is the perceived ability to beat Barack Obama in the November election.

… The trajectory of empires is pretty standard.  We’re overextended and going broke.  We’re crumbling at home.  We’re morally bankrupt.  But, as one front man among many for the crackpot realists who administer our foreign policy, Santorum condescendingly smirks and shakes his head while Paul tells the truth during debates.

… Sanctimony is not sanctification.  In moments such as these, the Southern Baptists (and others) in South Carolina are far better Americans (in the corrupt, imperial sense of the word) than they are Christians.

…Yes, the crowd actually booed the golden rule of Jesus Christ.  …  The apostle Paul, archangel Michael, or Jesus himself could have been on the stage and they would have gotten the same reaction.  It was the message, not the messenger, that outraged the audience.  The crowd reaction to the militaristic, hateful pandering of a group of  chicken hawks was shameful in the extreme.  Sadly, it’s the norm for purportedly Bible-believing Christians so it barely raised an eyebrow.

… Let’s turn to the winner of the latest election.  The new darling of the Religious Right is the thrice-married bloviator and million-dollar Freddie Mac historian Newt Gingrich.  An unlikely pairing in some ways, but quite likely in others.

… Gingrich is a master of righteous indignation although he’s far better at being indignant than being righteous.  Like his political twin Bill Clinton, Gingrich is a good liar because he’s shameless.  There are few politicians who can lie with more vigor.  It’s a trait that convinces the clueless.

… When I went to bed at the end of South Carolina primary day, I was depressed.  I wondered, with Jeremiah, “Why do the wicked prosper?”  Of course, the answer is no secret.  It is as old as Paradise Lost.  If Christians are going to participate in politics, we should not only pray the Lord’s prayer but mean it.  We should avoid temptations concocted by the unscrupulous, ameliorate the effects of sin, and practice Kingdom principles on earth.  If we’re not up to the challenge, let’s stick to our pews and prayer closets—and stay away from debates and voting booths.

I now consider myself a Jeff Taylor dittohead.

Be sure to read the rest.

Daniels is not an ideological libertarian in the Ron Paul mode, nor is he naturally as instinctively libertarian as Gary Johnson—in my opinion.  But, he does appear to be a “pragmatic libertarian.”  After reading his book (see link below), I found myself something of a fan, and imagining what might have happened had he run for President. 

Would his libertarianism have been as satisfying as a Ron Paul victory?  No.  But I do think he would have been an acceptable choice for many of us.  He seems comfortable and sincere talking about free enterprise and liberty.  And—as he alludes to, he’s willing to treat citizens as adults.

If you’re interested in the book, you can get it Amazon via our link, and RSE will get a few cents in return.

*Note: Void where prohibited.

Four more years of Obama in the Oval Office would be better, in my view, than four years of Gingrich there: each man is mad for power; each man’s Promethean opinion of himself is quite the opposite of what a realistic self-opinion would be; each man is a font of economic idiocy; and each man’s principles are such that each would – recalling Mencken’s description of FDR – fatten up a crew of missionaries on the White House lawn for slaughter if he thought that endorsing cannibalism would get him more votes.  Yet the countless nutty and destructive policies that Pres. Gingrich would likely implement would inevitably be described by our crack mainstream press as “laissez faire” – thus creating more public misunderstanding.  (Of course, four more years of Obama in the White House might also be better than four years of Romney there….)

The source.

I tend to think that the stereotypical augury about the lesser evil has hardly more substance to it than the fact that it does help to keep the system going. What is left out of the picture is that there is more than one way for politicians to produce intolerable levels of damage. Both Obama and Gingrich are sure to maintain those levels.

Take a rest from the slime and the slimeballs, Rep. and Dem. Enjoy a nice piece of kinetically supported music:

PS

Actually, as a child I did see, smell, and touch this kind of sea foam on our visits to South African sea resorts. It looked just like this:

Image credit.

"Obama signed a bill that EXTENDED the right of gun owners"

This was in response to a 2nd amendment comment against Obama made by a republican. Now, isn't that the way of politics? Here you have a democrat who, most likely, is for gun control yet goes out of the way to promote the president as pro 2nd amendment. Would any republican believe that? Probably not, but what about independents with pro-gun attitudes? Would this sway them into the Obama camp? It might if they took it at face value.

However, when one looks into the facts behind the statement it becomes clear that, like most things political, there's more to it. The particular bill being referred to was introduced to impose new restrictions on credit card companies. The gun-friendly measure was added to the democratically popular bill and the votes were such that it would have almost certainly withstood the veto test. So, is Obama pro gun? It's very doubtful he would have endorsed the gun allowance on its own merits.

Because of the nature of lawmaking and the all-encompassing soup that these bills become, politicians can be everything to everybody as lawmakers toss in their personal ingredients. Voting for or against most bills can be construed as anything one wishes depending on what one focuses on, no matter how ridiculous it sounds. Notice that the democrat commenter didn’t point out that Obama was against credit card companies. Another point to consider is how little the presidents control the lawmaking. While they can stump for or against certain particulars, the reality is if you don't like certain laws, you have either a group of red or blue politicians to thank… and many times both.

Do people even know what they stand for anymore? I get the feeling that the democrats and republicans duking it out on that page would embrace anyone with the proper letter behind his name. Take last Saturday's primary for example. As a political enthusiast, I can only marvel at a scenario wherein a bible-belt state cheers death, boos the golden rule, then overwhelmingly votes for an adulterer who left office under ethics violations. But he's a republican!

Politics is the country's blood sport. The teams are mostly the same but, hey, on game day you’ve gotta' root for somebody. Right?

That is, of course, Bubama's puck.

Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas released the following statement Monday evening regarding his absence from the Bruins' visit to the White House this afternoon:

"I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People.

This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government.

Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL.

This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic. TT"

The source.

Image credit

The recklessness and nonchalance with which authorities and highly elevated dignitaries - like the president of the USA - spread politically convenient misinformation takes on ever more alarming proportions. The public is constantly bombarded with untruths that portray the holders and enforcers of power as benign servants of the public when in fact their actions are either not productive of improvements or even detrimental to the commonweal.

The Institute for Energy Research (IER) looks at a number of untruths concerning domestic energy production advertised by the Obama campaign, and concludes in stark contradiction to claims and insinuations of the campaign:

Politicians taking credit for something good happening on their watch is nothing new, but as we have shown, the reduction in oil use is because of economic dislocation visited upon millions of American families by the longest sustained economic downturn since World War II, while the increase [sic] domestic production is occuring [sic] on state and private lands, while production on government lands over which he has control is going down. In this sense, the president’s claims are simply breathtakingly [sic] in their apparent assumption that no one will bother to fact-check his numbers.

For a detailed refutation, read the entire, brief article.

See also Anti-Energy Madness, The Myth Junkie Society, and (1/2) The Obamatised Nation - The Long March.

Why the GOP Establishment Fears Gingrich

Michael Crowley: "To the extent Newt threatens the Establishment, it's because of his electability-or lack thereof. The GOP's mandarins see Gingrich's nomination as a sure way to blow their chance of deposing Barack Obama. They see Gingrich as the political equivalent of a Fukushima nuclear plant worker, with polls showing him to be lethally irradiated by his negative approval ratings. Whereas Mitt Romney is running about even with Barack Obama in head-to-head polling, Newt loses by double-digit margins. Sure, those numbers could change if Gingrich beats Romney and wins the nomination, with all the accolades it entails. On the other hand, his grandiosity syndrome may kick in, as it has before, and render him a laughing stock. Hence the many Establishment Republicans now saying things like, 'Newt means losing 45 states.'"

via politicalwire.com