Infrastructure, not radiation is the real worry

And Victor Davis Hanson knows how to say it much better than I.

The Fragility of Complex Societies

Thoughts on Japan
There is no more ordered, successful and humane urban society than found in Japan. Like most Americans, these last few days I have been moved as never before by the courage and calm of the Japanese people amid such horrific conditions, as one of the most sophisticated and complex urbanized cultures on the planet in a split second is nearly paralyzed. I confess I do not quite fathom the constant American news blitzes about all sorts of China Syndrome scenarios. Radiation pollution is a serious worry, but right now no one has died from exposure and perhaps 10,000 have perished from the tsunami and earthquake. It seems to me the greater worry right now is not yet a meltdown, but the vast dangers resulting from disruptions in food, water, power, and sewage.

Odder still, it was almost crass to watch American TV heads lead in with shrill, hyped-up mini-dramas about possible radiation clouds descending here on the West Coast, even as their backdrop screens showed biblical disasters of earthquake, flood and human wreckage. Whether we are exposed to a chest-X-ray dose of radiation seems insignificant in comparison to the horrific conditions that millions of Japanese are now enduring.

Read it all here. He says it all so well.

A very good question from bookworm

Question of the day
posted by Don Quixote on Mar 13 2011

Why are so many people who are unwilling to do anything to stop Iran from getting and intentionally using nuclear weapons so freaked out at the possibility of a nuclear accident?

A very good question, indeed.  But I think we know the answer.

Texas Public Beaches Act

High court will revisit its ruling on beach access
Harris County among entities pushing the move
By ALLAN TURNER

Faced with a tidal wave of legal protests, the Texas Supreme Court Friday agreed to reconsider a California woman's lawsuit that ended in a controversial ruling last November that left public access to some beaches in question.

The court's decision to reopen the Carole Severance case — oral arguments will begin April 19 — came at the behest of Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson.

Harris County and the city of Galveston joined 18 other area counties, cities and chambers of commerce in submitting friend of the court briefs supporting Patterson.

"This is nothing less than a second chance for the Texas Open Beaches Act," Patterson said in a statement. "Public access to the beach is a Texas tradition that predates the Republic. Today's decision by the court to take another look at its decision in this case is great news."

Read it all here in The Houston Chronicle.

Brian de Palma is partially responsible for murders of American Soldiers

German Authorities Confirm that Frankfurt Shooter Viewed De Palma Clip
The combination of fictional American “atrocities” and radical Islamic preaching appears to have led Arid Uka to kill.
by John Rosenthal

According to the German wire service dapd, the German Attorney General’s Office has confirmed that the video clip viewed by the Frankfurt Airport shooter Arid Uka — and that allegedly provoked him to kill American soldiers — was indeed the rape scene from Brian De Palma’s fictional anti-Iraq War movie Redacted. Attorney General spokesperson Frank Wallenta confirmed the identity of the clip to the German television news magazine Spiegel TV.

Uka viewed the De Palma clip as part of a four-and-a-half minute propaganda video that was posted on a German-language YouTube page under the title “American Soldiers Rape our Sisters! Awake Oh Ummah.” The video was removed from YouTube shortly after the publication of a Pajamas Media report noting its existence and linking it. It can currently be viewed on The Daily Caller here.

In addition to the rape scene, the propaganda video contains three other scenes. One shows American soldiers breaking down the door of a family’s home and rushing into the home with guns raised; a second shows American soldiers touching Iraqi girls; and the third shows what appears to be an Arabic-language news report and attempts to revive a severely wounded pregnant woman who has been shot at an American checkpoint. The “reporter” is shown interviewing the woman’s fraught brother as attempts are made to save her life. The “reporter” then announces that the woman has died.

All four of the scenes are in fact fictional scenes taken from Brian De Palma’s film Redacted. Two shots of Arabic text, as well as some music and Arabic voice-over, have been added to the De Palma footage.

Read it all here.

Pajamas Media » Why Do Islamic Groups Fear Hearings on Islamic Radicalization?

I'd like to point out that as Americans and as Christians, the majority of us shun the Westboro Baptist Church for their ugly radical behavior. We and American Islamics should be doing the same to the radical Islamics. This is a good place to start. You can't have a McCarthy witch hunt these days, the internet community doesn't allow it to happen. Why refuse to give radical Islam the same shunning as we give the WBC?

Pajamas Media » Why Do Islamic Groups Fear Hearings on Islamic Radicalization?

I missed this when it first came out, Texas wins!!!

Iowahawk can be very, very funny but sometimes he gets serious and puts out facts. Facts that he as a former professor can use to good advantage, this is one of those times. Because he is so thorough I am posting the WHOLE thing. Thank you, Iowahawk!

Longhorns 17, Badgers 1
Please pardon this brief departure from my normal folderol, but every so often a member of the chattering class issues a nugget of stupidity so egregious that no amount of mockery will suffice. Particularly when the issuer of said stupidity holds a Nobel Prize.

Case in point: Paul Krugman. The Times' staff economics blowhard recently typed, re the state of education in Texas:

And in low-tax, low-spending Texas, the kids are not all right. The high school graduation rate, at just 61.3 percent, puts Texas 43rd out of 50 in state rankings. Nationally, the state ranks fifth in child poverty; it leads in the percentage of children without health insurance. And only 78 percent of Texas children are in excellent or very good health, significantly below the national average.

Similarly, The Economist passes on what appears to be the cut-'n'-paste lefty factoid du jour:

Only 5 states do not have collective bargaining for educators and have deemed it illegal. Those states and their ranking on ACT/SAT scores are as follows:

South Carolina – 50th
North Carolina – 49th
Georgia – 48th
Texas – 47th
Virginia – 44th

If you are wondering, Wisconsin, with its collective bargaining for teachers, is ranked 2nd in the country.

The point being, I suppose, is that unionized teachers stand as a thin chalk-stained line keeping Wisconsin from descending into the dystopian non-union educational hellscape of Texas. Interesting, if it wasn't complete bullshit.

As a son of Iowa, I'm no stranger to bragging about my home state's ranking on various standardized test. Like Wisconsin we Iowans usually rank near the top of the heap on average ACT/SAT scores. We are usually joined there by Minnesota, Nebraska, and the various Dakotas; Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire...

... beginning to see a pattern? Perhaps because a state's "average ACT/SAT" is, for all intents and purposes, a proxy for the percent of white people who live there. In fact, the lion's share of state-to-state variance in test scores is accounted for by differences in ethnic composition. Minority students - regardless of state residence - tend to score lower than white students on standardized test, and the higher the proportion of minority students in a state the lower its overall test scores tend to be.

Please note: this has nothing to do with innate ability or aptitude. Quite to the contrary, I believe the test gap between minority students and white students can be attributed to differences in socioeconomic status. And poverty. And yes, racism. And yes, family structure. Whatever combination of reasons, the gap exists, and it's mathematical sophistry to compare the combined average test scores in a state like Wisconsin (4% black, 4% Hispanic) with a state like Texas (12% black, 30% Hispanic).

So how to compare educational achievement between two states with such dissimilar populations? In data analysis this is usually done by treating ethnicity as a "covariate." A very simple way to do this is by comparing educational achievement between states within the same ethnic group. In other words, do black students perform better in Wisconsin than Texas? Do Hispanic students perform better in Wisconsin or Texas? White students? If Wisconsin's kids consistently beat their Texas counterparts, after controlling for ethnicity, then there's a strong case that maybe Texas schools ought to become a union shop.

Luckily, there is data to answer this question via the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The NAEP is an annual standardized test given to 4th and 8th graders around the country to measure proficiency in math, science, and reading. Participation is fairly universal; if you've had a 4th or 8th grader in the last few years, you're probably familiar with it. Results are compiled on the NAEP website, broken down by grade, state, subject and ethnicity.

So how does brokeass, dumbass, redneck Texas stack up against progressive unionized Wisconsin?

2009 4th Grade Math

White students: Texas 254, Wisconsin 250 (national average 248)
Black students: Texas 231, Wisconsin 217 (national 222)
Hispanic students: Texas 233, Wisconsin 228 (national 227)

2009 8th Grade Math

White students: Texas 301, Wisconsin 294 (national 294)
Black students: Texas 272, Wisconsin 254 (national 260)
Hispanic students: Texas 277, Wisconsin 268 (national 260)

2009 4th Grade Reading

White students: Texas 232, Wisconsin 227 (national 229)
Black students: Texas 213, Wisconsin 192 (national 204)
Hispanic students: Texas 210, Wisconsin 202 (national 204)

2009 8th Grade Reading

White students: Texas 273, Wisconsin 271 (national 271)
Black students: Texas 249, Wisconsin 238 (national 245)
Hispanic students: Texas 251, Wisconsin 250 (national 248)

2009 4th Grade Science

White students: Texas 168, Wisconsin 164 (national 162)
Black students: Texas 139, Wisconsin 121 (national 127)
Hispanic students: Wisconsin 138, Texas 136 (national 130)

2009 8th Grade Science

White students: Texas 167, Wisconsin 165 (national 161)
Black students: Texas 133, Wisconsin 120 (national 125)
Hispanic students: Texas 141, Wisconsin 134 (national 131)

To recap: white students in Texas perform better than white students in Wisconsin, black students in Texas perform better than black students in Wisconsin, Hispanic students in Texas perform better than Hispanic students in Wisconsin. In 18 separate ethnicity-controlled comparisons, the only one where Wisconsin students performed better than their peers in Texas was 4th grade science for Hispanic students (statistically insignificant), and this was reversed by 8th grade. Further, Texas students exceeded the national average for their ethnic cohort in all 18 comparisons; Wisconsinites were below the national average in 8, above average in 8.

Perhaps the most striking thing in these numbers is the within-state gap between white and minority students. Not only did white Texas students outperform white Wisconsin students, the gap between white students and minority students in Texas was much less than the gap between white and minority students in Wisconsin. In other words, students are better off in Texas schools than in Wisconsin schools - especially minority students.

Conclusion: instead of chanting slogans in Madison, maybe it's time for Wisconsin teachers to take refresher lessons from their non-union counterparts in the Lone Star State.

****
Update: a few emails complaining that I focused on NAEP 4th and 8th graders, and didn't address Krugman's "point" about Texas dropout rates. I would note that "average state dropout rate" (non-controlled for ethnicity) is as uninformative as "average state ACT/SAT." Some research suggests Hispanic students, for example, tend to have higher dropout rates than black students despite performing marginally better on standardized tests. But still, the level of Texas dropout rate claimed by Krugman (38%+) is rather disturbing, and it does seem rather odd that somewhere between 8th and 12th grade Texas students are attacked by an epidemic of stupidity.

So I decided to investigate.

Mr. Krugman (please note - I don't call anyone "Doctor" unless they can write me a prescription for drugs) doesn't mention where he gets his dropout statistic from. I suspect a database somewhere in his lower intestine. So I endeavored to find most detailed / recent / comprehensive state-by-state dropout table, which appears to be this 2006-7 report from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Event Dropout Rates for 9th-12th graders during 2006-7 school year:

White students: Texas 1.9%, Wisconsin 1.2% (national average 3.0%)
Black students: Texas 5.8%, Wisconsin 7.8% (national 6.8%)
Hispanic students: Texas 5.6%, Wisconsin 5.2% (national 6.5%)

White and Hispanic Texas students indeed seem to dropout at a higher rate than their counterparts in Wisconsin, although in both cases (a) the difference is not statistically significant; and (b) in both cases, both states are significantly below the national average. Among black high school students, Texans have significantly lower dropout rates than their national cohort and Wisconsinites. Black high school students in Wisconsin have significantly higher dropout rates than national.

Your first question is probably, "why do the union teachers in Wisconsin hate black students?" Sorry, can't help you there, I'm stumped too.

Your second question is probably, "why are these number so discrepant with the 30% dropout numbers I've always read?" The reason is these are event rates, representing the probability a kid will drop out in a specific year. For cumulative dropout rate, you would have to compound; for example if the 1-year dropout rate is 10% the 4 year survival would roughly be 0.9^4 =~ 65%.

Even the WAPO knows it is the same policy

Obama's new Gitmo policy is a lot like Bush's old policy
By Dana Milbank
It was another important moment in the education of Barack Obama.

He began his presidency with a pledge to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay within a year. Within months, he realized that was impossible. And now he has essentially formalized George W. Bush's detention policy.

With Monday's announcement that the Obama administration would resume military tribunals at Gitmo, conservatives rushed out triumphant I-told-you-sos. Liberal supporters again felt betrayed. Administration officials had some 'splainin to do.

We can only hope the 'splainin is that he finally learned something.

Purim in Wisconsin? - Page 1 - Marvin Olasky - Townhall Conservative

Once again, it is all about the comments. This is the clearest explanation of the lies of the big government push for the unions in Wisconsin that I have found. Read the article, read the comments.

Commenter Big_D_ Wrote:

"Wisconsin is leading the charge -
I had the opportunity to listen in on a Tea Party Patriots conference call this evening, where I listened to a couple of GOP House members and the WI lieutenant governor, as well as several others, speaking about the current fight over fiscal responsibility being waged in Washington and in several state capitols.
One speaker was Bob Williams of Sunshine Review, who framed the real issue being addressed in Wisconsin more succinctly than I have heard it before.

The Unions, the Democrats, and the Media have a narrative that this is about viciously depriving union members of their right to collective bargaining. (more detail at http://www.statebudgetsolutions.org/issues/detail/unions)

This is a lie (ok, it is a gross misdirection of attention).

The most important part of the Wisconsin bill is restoring the right of personal free choice to Wisconsin citizens who are in state government jobs (including teachers). It stipulates that public employee unions must hold an annual election to reaffirm the will of their members to be organized. This is similar to, but different than, “Right to Work” which allows individuals in a union shop to opt in or out of the union.

That is what the whiners and fleebaggers are so afraid of. They aren’t afraid of providing more employee contributions for benefits—they already offered to do that. They aren’t really so afraid of the limited restrictions that would be placed on “collective bargaining”—specifically that they could no longer collectively bargain for benefits, or for salary that would outstrip the CPI. Remember, they are “collective bargaining” with themselves, via the people they get elected with their union money (except, thankfully, last November). Their employer—the taxpayer—is not in the collective bargaining room. This is the fundamental difference between public and private employee unions. So if there wasn’t “collective bargaining”, they could probably get what they want anyway.

Now they are organizing recall campaigns against GOP state senators, who have been doing their jobs as their constituencies elected them to do, while their Democrat fellows have been hiding outside of extradition range.

I think that if everyone understood these facts, and the imperative facing most states to cut spending or be bankrupt, the public outrage at this travesty of the Democrat power-brokers would be deafening.

You know that several other states are in early stages of doing the same, or similar, things. If Wisconsin prevails, it will embolden additional states to take this difficult but necessary step toward fiscal recovery.

ON WISCONSIN!!"
Purim in Wisconsin? - Marvin Olasky -

Be Bold, or Go Home - - Mike Needham - Townhall Conservative

As you can probably tell from these posts, Townhall Conservative is one of the blogs I check out daily. Some days they really hit home, some days not so much. Today they are hitting home. Go take a look at them, they post some really good stuff.
Be Bold, or Go Home - Mike Needham - Townhall Conservative

A Word of Warning for Hill Republicans -- Carol Platt Liebau - Townhall Conservative

I agree that most politicians, be they Republicans or Democrats, STILL. DON'T. GET. IT.
We, the American people have had it. Enough. Either get to work on the deficit,or get out. Once again, the comments are the most telling part. Read the comments.
A Word of Warning for Hill Republicans - Page 1 - Carol Platt Liebau - Townhall Conservative

Yep, Obama's G-Men Are Part of the Mexico Problem

The ATF put a lot of guns in the hands of Mexican cartel killers -- who killed with them. This is another story that broke on the conservative sites and blogs a few weeks ago and the mainstream media wouldn't touch because it indicted their Golden Boy. But now it's on CBS, so even the Liberals have had enough here.

Agent: I was ordered to let U.S. guns into Mexico
ATF agent says "Fast and Furious" program let guns "walk" into hands of Mexican drug cartels with aim of tracking and breaking a big case
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/03/eveningnews/main20039031.shtml

Union Contracts, Not Pay, Are States’ Problem

A fair and balanced story from the New York Times. (Even a broke clock is right twice a day...) It is encouraging to read the level-headed comments that agree and see that clarity sometimes comes even to readers of the Times.

". . .It has become conventional wisdom to say that public sector unions are inherently problematic because they can use their political influence to win lavish pay from politicians. But that’s not quite right. The real problem with most union contracts for public workers is not the money — it’s almost everything else. "

Read it here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/business/02leonhardt.html?_r=1

Collective Bargaining for Public Employees is Wrong

Time to review the simple truth: Collective bargaining for public employees is wrong because it is a conflict of interest.

Management is elected -- often because of huge donations from the union that management will end up negotiating with. So the unions put their money behind the candidate that will make them the best deals. It is about deal making, not about public service and fiscal responsibility. Public employees should not be able to strike either.

It has happened and is happening. And many unions' overly-lucrative pensions (which are drowning states in debt) are the evidence. Pensions negotiated with people they had a strong hand in electing. It is the fox guarding the hen house as much as any conflict of interest in the private sector. The conditions that allow it to happen should not exist. That means no collective bargaining for public employees. It is that simple.

Furthermore, Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin should say it loud and clear. Not hide behind his short-term budget goals.

Democratic congressman thinks the unions should ramp it up

Actually he says, "It's time to get bloody." From the NH Journal:

Dem Rep to unions: Time to get ‘bloody’
by Patrick Hynes

A Democratic Congressman from Massachusetts is raising the stakes in the nation’s fight over the future of public employee unions, saying emails aren’t enough to show support and that it is time to “get a little bloody.”
“I’m proud to be here with people who understand that it’s more than just sending an email to get you going. Every once and awhile you need to get out on the streets and get a little bloody when necessary,” Rep. Mike Capuano (D-Ma.) told a crowd in Boston on Tuesday rallying in solidarity for Wisconsin union members.
Capuano’s comments come at a time when there is heightened sensitivity to violent rhetoric in the wake of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ (D-Az.) shooting in January.
Capuano is considered a leading contender to take on Sen. Scott Brown in 2012.
This is not Capuano’s first brush with violent rhetoric. Last month Capuano said, “Politicians, I think are too bland today. I don’t know what they believe in. Nothing wrong with throwing a coffee cup at someone if you’re doing it for human rights.”

You will notice I am using red for highlights today, I am seeing red over this type of politics going on in my United States of America.

We need some recruiters for our cause to combat this

I've seen this in scattered readings this morning but I am presenting the LA Times article here.  It is one of the most bold, aggressives moves I have ever seen to be put forward to keep our "grand leader" in place. 

Obama recruits an army of community organizers to carry his 'movement forward for years to come'
The community organizer who became president has launched a massive pre-reelection year campaign to assemble and train an army of new community organizers to carry Obama's "movement forward for years to come."

Strengthening "our democracy" presumably has something to do with reelecting the revered leader in 2012.

However, the recruiting message says nothing about politics or election campaigns and strangely talks in military terms of "a grassroots program that aims to put boots on the ground and help foster a new generation of leaders -- not just to help win elections but to strengthen our democracy in communities across the country."

The message about what it calls the "Summer Organizing Fellowship" adds: "Effective organizing doesn't happen in a vacuum. It takes commitment, time, and hard work to build a movement around a cause." It does not specify what the "cause" is, other than promoting Obama and his agenda.

News of the community organizer drive went out in an e-mail to millions of supporters and past donors Tuesday night by the ongoing arm of the Obama campaign, Organizing for America.

It appealed for workers of all ages to volunteer to undergo professional organizational training this summer for stationing in communities all over the nation to drive President Obama's social and political agenda.

The cadres "will be assigned to a specific community," the message informs, "where they'll work to organize supporters street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood."

Their job will involve recruiting additional Obama workers, running Obama-related events, knocking on doors to talk of Obama "and lay new groundwork to carry this movement forward for years to come."

"In the end," the Obama campaign appeal says of the community organizer corps, "their work will take our grassroots power to an impressive new level."

The appeal cites as one role model Nikki Giancola who underwent the training, then quit her middle school teacher's job to become a regional Obama field director and the satisfaction she felt "in helping millions of people."

Another community organizer, Paras Patel, tells of one unforgettable moment actually meeting the leader for whom they all labor, President Obama. "He shook my hand," Patel recounts, "and told me that he was proud of me."

No mention of an Obama organizer flag, uniform -- or salute.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Americans, be afraid, be very afraid.

It looks like gov't unions have lost the Washington Post

Three editorials from yesterday do not support them.

Our fiscal paradox: Governments too costly to function
by Michael Gerson

....To fund commitments made to the providers of services, services must be cut. So piles of money go to government pensions and benefits instead of roads, education or mental health services. This is one of the primary reasons the public resists tax increases. A tax increase used to provide an actual public service might have a shot at support. But a tax increase to prop up a system that consumes endless resources while cutting services is a harder sell.

Government pensions, an obesity epidemic
by Richard Cohen (definitely not from the Tea Party) key points:

....
Like Reagan, Walker has tapped into a feeling of disgust - the always-dangerous sense that you and I have played by the rules and saved for our modest retirements, while government workers, on our dime, have run off with pensions they do not deserve. We feel we have been played for a fool.
To their credit, some union leaders have recognized that they have gone too far. They have - or will - agree to givebacks, and the teachers unions are acknowledging that they have to do something about incompetents. (Still, if there are cutbacks, it will be done by seniority - meaning some very good but young teachers will be let go.)
......
It was one thing when unions went after giant corporations run by guys who played golf at restricted clubs. But when it comes to government workers, we are the boss and we pay the bill. To quote what Sam Spade told the woman he loved in the "The Maltese Falcon," "I won't play the sap for you." When it comes to public-sector unions, my sentiments exactly.

Public employees must help rein in unaffordable pension and benefits costs
(they are really getting strong on the position in this editorial) key paragraph:

If the government-employee union movement wants to retain public sympathy and support, it must show definitively that it understands why so many people who are not Tea Party Republicans nevertheless worry about the cost of state and local pay and benefits. After all, Democratic officials - from Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo - have also targeted unsustainable personnel costs. No one should demonize public employees, who by and large are as hardworking as their private-sector counterparts. But efforts to rein in unaffordable public-sector compensation are not necessarily an attack on workers and their rights. Public-sector workers and their unions should help lead the national search for equitable, creative solutions to the fiscal crisis of the states and local governments.

Obama has shown his true colors in more than one way this week

The Wisconsin fiasco as orchestrated by the Democratic Party and approved by him has just about overshadowed what he was planning to do in the United Nations by comdemning Israel.  Here are some articles about both.

‘Class War is Here’: Video of Socialists Rallying in Wis. Supports Beck’s Theory - from Glenn Beck's The Blaze

Wisconsin Madness as Seen by the ‘Little People’
No longer basking in the glow of the Green Bay Packers Super Bowl victory, my friends on the other side of the Illinois/Wisconsin border are positively beside themselves at the insane behavior of their public servants. Pajama's Media

Obama and unions: Many in labor movement frustrated with president - read all of this one, they are frustrated not with his stance with the union but for overseas jobs. His
Wisconsin/Union stance is just fine.

US vetoes UN resolution on Israeli settlements- Washington Post

The U.N. veto and the real headline -Washington Post opinion by Jennifer Rubin
The final paragraph tells the whole story:
Sure, the U.N. once again has proven itself to be a hot-bed of anti-Israel rhetoric. But let's be clear what really happened this week. The U.S. representative, while reluctantly casting a veto, joined the pack of jackals that seek to make Israel the culprit for all that ills the Middle East. Shouldn't THAT be the headline?

About that oil and gas decision I just mentioned --

This was in the Washington Examiner.

Federal judge to Salazar: Stop stalling drilling permits
By: Mark Tapscott

Federal District Judge Martin Feldman today gave President Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar 30 days to act on five applications seeking permits to drill in the Gulf of Mexico submitted months ago by a Louisiana firm.

In issuing the directive to the government, Feldman, who sits on the District Court for the Eastern District of Louisian, noted that "it is undisputed that before the Deepwater Horizon disaster, permits were processed, on average, in two weeks’ time. In stark contrast, the five permits at issue have been pending from four to some nine months."

The permits were sought by Ensco Offshore, which is based in Broussard, LA. Virtually no new drilling has occurred in the Gulf since the Deepwater Horizon disaster, despite the fact the U.S. depends upon drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico for roughly a third of its oil and natural gas.

When that third isn't produced, it has to be replaced and that means more OPEC oil being imported by the U.S. and more of our dollars going to the international cartel. Unfortunately, Feldman doesn't seem optimistic that things are going to improve any time soon:

"It is also undisputed that these delays have put off indefinitely drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Ensco has incurred significantly reduced standby rates on its rigs and has been forced to move some of its rigs to other locations around the world. It is unclear when Gulf drilling will resume. The government’s assurances have been inconsistent."

Read more at the Washington Examiner

Equal Protection from the Obamacare bill

This is what I have been thinking since I first heard of any waivers from the law for certain states, then for certain people.  That is definitely not equal protection.  Dedroy Murdock addresses that issue in an article in National Review.

Unequal Protection You Can
Believe In
Obamacare waivers violate the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection.

Twenty-eight of these United States — encompassing 164 million people, 53 percent of America’s population, and 285 Electoral College votes — are suing the federal government to stop Obamacare. This litigation challenges the constitutionality of Obamacare’s mandate that individuals purchase health insurance. The U.S. Supreme Court is likely to decide, once and for all, whether the Constitution’s Commerce Clause empowers Congress to force Americans to conduct commerce.

Shattering the Obamacare Death Star, however, may require slamming it from multiple directions. Hence, an additional legal strategy should address this law’s apparent violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause — which explicitly applies to the states, but which the Supreme Court has more or less hitched onto the federal government as well.

Obamacare is not being enforced equally at all. As of February 9, the Obama administration had granted 915 waivers, mainly to influential organizations, major companies, and pro-Democratic labor unions. Those less lucky or less well connected have a different option: Obey Obamacare.

Read the whole article.

Do they really not understand the Vinson Ruling or are they just playing games.

I'm pretty sure they are just playing games.   They have ignored the ruling and know they have crossed a constitutional boundary in not just the Obamacare case but in the oil drilling debacle in Louisiana. Read this.

Feds ask Florida judge to clarify meaning of health care ruling

(NewsCore) - The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to clarify the immediate impact of his ruling last month that declared the new health care law unconstitutional, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

US District Court Judge Roger Vinson in Florida, considering a challenge to the health care overhaul by a group of 26 states, ruled Jan. 31 that the entire law must be declared void. Judge Vinson found only one part of the law unconstitutional -- the provision requiring individuals to carry health coverage or pay a penalty -- but he said it was impossible to disentangle that part from the rest of the law.

If I can understand that  part why can't the administrations lawyers?