Red State, Blue State, Green State, Brown State

The old Red-Blue divide represents a petty division of the past - the Green State/Brown State divide is the future!  Over to TigerHawk.

Comments

[Elliott]

PUK knows all about a Brown state.

[matt]

further evidence that the battle for common sense is lost.

[kim]

In June, Right Wing News republished something from a Texas energy journal by Vindal K. Dar that is the best summary of climate and energy politics in terms of economic and political geography that I've yet read, and he mentions in passing these delusions of the American coastal elites. Gore is wrongfooting us into being unprepared for cooling and Hansen is unnecessarily demonizing coal. At this point, any substitute for coal as an energy source is just about limited to nuclear and that will have a significant ramp-up time. The 'so-called sustainables' will all require mandates and subsidies in order to compete successfully in an energy market, for a while yet to come. Oil and gas have their place, but frankly the decades when our domestic production lead the world are creeping up on a century or four score or more ago.
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[bad]

Will the brown state stick around?

[noname]

I haven't been here lately but the new format is horrible - it makes it harder to have discussions. Can anyone help me with these questions?

1) I've heard that the first lady is supposed to buy her own dress for the inaugeral ball - can anyone confirm this? Also did previous first ladies take clothes from designers for free if they offer it to them? Shouldn't they be paying taxes on those clothes because they're considered gifts?

2) Can anyone explain what Geithner is saying about China and their currency? Isn't that what the Fed does here? Make decisions that change the value or our currency?

[kim]

Hey, anonyme, she should come as the coal miner's daughter in a gown fashioned from flour sacks.
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[bad]

The terms, "green state brown state" are assigned by the NYT which immediately makes them suspect.

BTW aren't labels divisive and just plain ol mean?

[kim]

They wanted to say 'Black State' but got edited. 'Brown State' evokes the brown-outs that the 'Green States' will get instead, by ironic happenstance and the laws of thermodynamics.
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[Extraneus]

If green means nuclear, that's a good thing.

[Rick Ballard]

Kim,

There must be something in the Northeastern environment that promotes 'faculty lounge stupidity' - the inability to differentiate correlation and cause, especially in cases where the capability to measure in ppm or ppb leads to conflation of the dangers of mercury and, say, plutonium.

PS - I hope everyone spends some time savoring your " The 'so-called sustainables' will all require mandates and subsidies in order to compete successfully". Very artful.

[Danube of Thought]

There are 104 nuclear power plants operating in the US today, generating 20% of the nation's electricity. Every one of these plants was approved before the release of the movie "China Syndrome" in 1979, and roughly a hundred have been cancelled since then. No nuclear plants have been ordered since 1978 and more than 100 reactors have been canceled, including all ordered after 1973.

US policy on nuclear energy has been characterized by nothing short of sheer madness. The country has long since sown the wind, and is now beginning to reap the whirlwind. It is hard to escape the conclusion that as a ntion we are simply getting what we richly deserve.

[Danube of Thought]

Sorry about the repetition of the hundred cancellations--the sentence repeating it was a cut-and-paste job.

[bad]

Every one of these plants was approved before the release of the movie "China Syndrome" in 1979, and roughly a hundred have been cancelled since then.

What a sad commentary on our nation.

[Neo]

... how changes in surface temperature, rainfall, and sea level are largely irreversible for more than 1,000 years after carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are completely stopped.

If, for a moment, we assume this report to be completely factual, we are left with 2 possible courses of action ..

1) spend the wealth of nations to roll it back the tiniest fraction
2) put the proverbial gun to our collective heads and “party like is 1999.”

… any possible 3rd way (& the 1st) is futile and wasteful

Effectively, the people of Earth is relegated to "hospice care".

"You matter because of who you are. You matter to the last moment of your life, and we will do all we can , not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die". --Dame Cicely Saunders

... it's option #2

[Stephanie]

Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez surrendered to state police Tuesday on bribery and other charges related to home renovations done by a contractor who has performed millions of dollars of work for the city.

Perez's attorney, Hubert Santos, told The Hartford Courant that Perez will also be charged with fabricating evidence and conspiracy to fabricate evidence.

We're almost averaging one democrat a day.... maybe we can attrit them out of office.

Cue the Queen... Another one bites the dust!

[RichatUF]

noname-

2) Can anyone explain what Geithner is saying about China and their currency? Isn't that what the Fed does here? Make decisions that change the value or our currency?

During his confirmation testimony and as a sop to the union vote, he called them a "currency manipulator". They are because the Chinese re-export industry labor force needs it. The fed among other things controls rates, but it would be the Treasury Department to undertake open market operations if they wanted the dollar to trade in some sort of band against other currencies. Anyway, as long as oil exporters tinker with there currency against a dollar-euro band, the currency market is going to do screwy things.

[clarice]

Decades ago I argued for nuclear power against the combined forces of Hollywood, Nader, numbskullery and lost..Now that there are barely any nuclear engineers and investors have lost big on nuclear power lant plays many enviros are switching their minds, as if we could suddenly gear up again. PHEH

[matt]

green = good
brown = bad

more environmentalist manipulation.

[Sue]

Did the people a thousand years ago worry about us? I don't think so. I vote party like it's 1999!

[Extraneus]

It is hard to escape the conclusion that as a nation we are simply getting what we richly deserve.

More like impossible, and we're about to deserve a lot worse.

(Hey, is everyone using the trick where you edit the URL where it says ...page/2/#comments and change the "2" to a "9" or some other high number? This gets you to the end of a thread, and all it takes is one click on the >> arrow from page 1 to get to that page/2 URL.)

[Extraneus]

Looks like you can also get to the end of a thread from the first page by adding ?cid=999999999 to the URL. For example, this thread's page 1 URL is:

http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2009/01/red-state-blue-state-green-state-brown-state.html

If you add ?cid=999999999 (apparently a comment ID higher than all others in the thread) to the end of that, it takes you to the last page of comments.

[Extraneus]

Well what do you know. Looks like all you need to add is ?cid=x and I guess it can't find comment #x, so it goes to the end.

[clarice]

I tried that without much success, extraneus.

[clarice]

OK--Now that IS working for me. If we can do that, why can't TP fix the software to do that?

[Enlightened]

I could give a carp about 1000 years from now. My son will be dead in a hundred years, his kids (if he even has any) in another 100 - that's good enough...

Right now, my earth footprint needs to grow a little(lot) bigger. I want a bigger house, bigger yard with more grass and trees, newer, bigger car (if I can afford one, I am getting a S55 or S63 AMG Mercedes with the sports package, more mini-vacations using BOATS/WAVERUNNERS/DIRT BIKES/CAMPFIRES/RV's/HOUSEBOATS and all and every other gas guzzling, emission spewing, noise making instrument of fun and pleasure I can get my grubby little hands on.

I'm not quitting smoking yet, not changing my fireplace to gas burning, replacing CFL's with mercury-free LED's, or halogens, or incandescents for as long as possible, still drinking alcohol, and if I'm too sore after all that fun, I score some medical marijuana somewhere here in the SF Bay Area. Like at one of the hookah bars that are popping up all over the place. ;o}

I'm very tired of assholes taking my money against my will and telling me what to do.

[Sue]

All they need to fix is when you click on the name at the sidebar it goes to that post. Like it did in the old program.

[Sue]

Well, alright JOMers, we now where to go to party!

[Stephanie]

So now we have a Treasury Secretary who can’t figure out his own taxes and a White House that can’t deal with e-mail. So much for competence.

And they are complaining because the Bush WH was smart enough not to update to Vista. Fools...

LUN

[Sue]

I hesitate to correct my typo but I'm not sure it is clear that *now* is *know*. ::sheepishly and avoiding Paul, if possible::

[Extraneus]

Really? Go to this this thread, which was pretty long:

http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2009/01/old-dogs-new-tricks-all-change.html

You'll be on the first page, with the last comment by AB from 1/26 at 2:36PM and a >> at the bottom. Go to the top and just add ?cid=x to the end of the URL and hit Enter. The new URL will be:

http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2009/01/old-dogs-new-tricks-all-change.html?cid=x

When I do it in IE7, it takes me to the end of the thread, with the last comment coincidentally posted by AB on 1/27 at 2:37PM and a << at the bottom.

You should be able to try it by clicking the links in this comment using the shift key to have them open in new windows so you don't lose your place here.

[Stephanie]

Enlightened:

The premise though goes farther... since hyperinflation is coming, should we just go ahead and blow our investments now since it isn't gonna keep up with the hyperinflation and use it to enjoy life now, or try to invest, conserve and then watch it get overtaken by devaluation? I'd much rather devalue it myself by spending it on a beach in Belize, but then I've always been a sucker for drinks with umbrellas...

[Bill in AZ]

Like:
http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2009/01/red-state-blue-state-green-state-brown-state.html?cid=x

now, if someone could just LUN that for the very first comment on each thread, we could easily get to the end of it. LUN

[Extraneus]

Good. I wouldn't be surprised if theres's a different parameter, not cid for "comment id" but maybe something like pagination=false that'll get to the old style. (No sense trying that one, it doesn't work.)

Anything after a ? in a URL tells the server to do some processing before sending you the data. If there's more than one parameter, you'll typically see a string after the ? with values and separated by & so that you can have multiple settings like parm1=value1&parm2=value2, etc.

[clarice]

Great idea, Bill!

[Bill in AZ]

...or even better, if TM could provide that at the bottom of his blog post... or best, if typepad would automatically post an "EndOfThread" link at the bottom of each of TM's posts.

[Stephanie]

Based on a complaint by an FBI whistleblower, Agent Chad Joy, the Stevens defense team claims that Mary Beth Kepner, the lead FBI agent on the case, had a personal relationship with Bill Allen, the CEO of an Alaska oil services firm and a witness against Stevens.

More troubles in Alaska. I'm losing track of the players, though... isn't Allen arrayed against the Palin "faction?"

Maybe Daddy could do a recap of the situation and show who is allied where?

I feel like a 60s housewife who missed a few days of "As the World Turns" and is having trouble catching up on the storyline...

LUN

[Thomas Collins]

The parties I attended in the mid-70s, Sue, were a lot more fun than the parties I attended in the late-90s. :-))

[Enlightened]

Ya know, I'm 52. I've just absolutely reached my limit with psychotic, crybaby, touchy-feely, bleeding-heart, liberal, democratic, nutroots screwing this country into the cesspool it has become. I'm not going to just stand here listening to them whine, in those sonorous, monotonous, holier-than-thou voices that just irritate the living carp out of me. I swear I cannot take more than 1 minute of KPFA or NPR before I feel like thowing my radio at someone's head.

So, better I go spend some money and have fun, before I lose my job, pay more taxes, lose more or all of my 401K and IRA, can't drive my car, can only smoke in my bathroom, have my heater remotely adjusted for me, (I think I heard they might do that with my washer and dryer as well) at which time - we sell it all and move to New Zealand or somewhere like that. Hopefully my parents will be long gone by then, because I really don't need them to go through this crap.

[Sue]

The parties I attended in the mid-70s, Sue, were a lot more fun than the parties I attended in the late-90s. :-))

Come to think of it...same here.

[Sue]

Enlightened,

We really need Jane to set up our island. New Zealand is a socialist country and is already where you don't want to go.

[Enlightened]

Ok, and I'm kind PO'd that I keep getting SENIOR jokes and AARP carp in the mail. I am doing everything humanly possible to make sure I keep my marbles.....

Today's Funny:

You are on the bus when you suddenly realize ... you need to fart.
The music is really loud, so you time your farts with the beat.
After a couple of songs, you start to feel better as you approach your stop.
As you are leaving the bus, people are really staring you down, and
that's when you remember - you've been listening to your iPod.

[Jane]

we sell it all and move to New Zealand or somewhere like that.

I'm in - and I'm already packed.

I can't believe I actually feel this way, but I do.

[Jane]

LOL Enlightened.

[clarice]

We could play loony leftist games and suggest the email breakdown is a fraud to avoid record being made of all the email on the Blago business.

[Enlightened]

OK - NZ is OUT! Pretty, but OUT!

I'm looking to move somewhere for the common good of - me.mine.ours.

[SunnyDay]

I vote Belize.

[clarice]

I have a cousin who moved there and is a real estate agent on Belize. Tell me when you're ready.

[Stephanie]

Belize has a large Expat community there already. Infrastructure's improving, and the market is ripe. Get enough of us over there and we can form a new government.

Of course, it occasionally gets the crap kicked out of it by hurricanes and mudslides, but then there are not many patchoulli types there, either.

My parents think I'm kidding. My kids are all for it. They see what's happening and my youngest asked... "why should I go to college here when they don't like people like me there?" They don't see a future in this country. Sad ain't it?

What serious answer do you give to that? I find their reasoning sound...

[sbwaters]

BTW, anyone check how much of the "stimulus" goes to ACORN?

[Stephanie]

From Gateway Pundit...

House Republican Leader John Boehner issued a statement over the weekend noting that the stimulus bill wending its way through Congress provides $4.19 billion for "neighborhood stabilization activities."

He said the money was previously limited to state and local governments, but that Democrats now want part of it to be available to non-profit entities. That means groups like ACORN would be eligible for a portion of the funds.

WTH are "neighborhood stabilization services?"

Coupled with the MaObama brownshits I don't really want to know. But I am prepared...

[SunnyDay]

neighborhood stabilization services = throwing elections

[Amused bystander]

Sunny: Brownshirts in Birkenstocks

[glasater]

I've been to Belize a couple of times and it is very nice. So is Costa Rica.
There is a lot of "tomorrow" in Belize and one should figure out beforehand what one will do with their time while there. And I think islands are for sale because of reefs that follow the coastline.
Healthcare is much better in Costa Rica.

[Pofarmer]

neighborhood stabilization services = throwing elections

Think of those nice fellows in the black and red at that polling place in, was it, Philly?

[clarice]

I love this explanation by TP of the change:
"It's simple -- commenting is a critical part of blogging, and we want to make the comment service on TypePad as robust as possible. We've listened to your feedback, scoured our wishlist and have planned changes that will provide more control to TypePad bloggers, more convenience to commenters, and more functionality for the readers who follow the conversation."

What are they smoking?