Ongoing 'West Wing' Fantasies

Obama gave an inaugural speech intended to rally his liberal base and annoy the rest of us, and the NY Times is still aquiver.

Their latest installment of West Wing is here:

Obama Speech Leaves G.O.P. Stark Choices

By JONATHAN WEISMAN

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s aggressive Inaugural Address on Monday presented Congressional Republicans with a stark choice over the next two years: accommodate the president’s agenda on immigration, guns, energy and social programs and hope to take the liberal edge off issues dictated by the White House, or dig in as the last bulwark against a re-elected Democratic president and accept the political risks of that hard-line stance.

Obama spoke and the world shifted. Just like it did with health care. And more stimulus.

Mickey Kaus takes the Times to task for their packaging of the debt-ceiling maneuvering. The Times is also amusingly hopeful with this:

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, vowed Tuesday to put on the floor any gun control measures passed by the Judiciary Committee, inching closer to another showdown with the House.

A showdown with the House? As the Times editors noted last week, Reid is inching closer towards a showdown with a slew of unsympathetic Red State Democratic Senators, himself included:

The gun lobby is focused within the Republican Party, but Democratic lawmakers have also been to blame for failing to pass meaningful gun regulations. Already, some Democrats who should be strongest on gun controls are showing familiar signs of weakness.

Senator Pat Leahy, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, will be needed as a leader in this effort but has been mumbling about the need to hold extensive hearings. And Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, was making ominous, cowardly remarks over the weekend about tailoring whatever the Senate does to what he thinks could get through a House dominated by the far-right fringe of the Republican Party. He has started to wriggle away from the idea of an assault weapons ban, for example.

And in other reporting the Times noted yet another plot twist in their West Wing episode - the Keystone pipeline is back and Obama needs to figure out how to duck it again:

WASHINGTON — The governor of Nebraska on Tuesday approved a revised route through the state for the Keystone XL pipeline, setting up a decision for President Obama that pipeline opponents say will be a crucial test of his intentions on climate change.

Uh huh. If we don't take the oil Canada will sell it to China, so the impact on global warming of turning away this pipeline will be roughly zero. Still, liberals progressives will howl, so what will Obama do (other than blame Boehner and Bush?). Maybe another dramatic speech? Stay tuned...

 

Comments

[narciso]

This is what my wretched fishwrap packages it as;

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/01/23/180806/emotional-and-defiant-clinton.html

[NK]

WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE!!!

[Rob Crawford]

BTW, I'm not too concerned about the distaff side in combat roles. The way we're going with Zero, I doubt we'll be fighting anyone, anywhere soon.

Well, not outside our borders, at least.

[Extraneus]

Most of John Tyler's cabinet resigned for reasons of conscience or politics.

A native of Virginia, Tyler served as a state legislator, governor, U.S. representative, and U.S. senator before being elected Vice President in 1840. He was the first to succeed to the office of President on the death of the incumbent, succeeding William Henry Harrison. Tyler's opposition to federalism and emphatic support of states' rights endeared him to his fellow Virginians but alienated him from most of the political allies that brought him to power in Washington. His presidency was crippled by opposition from both parties, and near the end of his life he would side with the South in its secession from the United States.

Tyler was born to an aristocratic Virginia family of English descent, and came to national prominence at a time of political upheaval. In the 1820s, the nation's only political party, the Democratic-Republicans, split into factions, most of which did not share Tyler's strict constructionist ideals. Though initially a Democrat, his opposition to Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren led him to alliance with the Whig Party; he was elected Vice President In 1840 on the Whig ticket. Upon the death of President William Henry Harrison on 4 April 1841, only a month after his inauguration, a short Constitutional crisis arose over the succession process. Tyler immediately moved into the White House, took the oath of office, and assumed full presidential powers, a precedent that would govern future successions and eventually be codified in the Twenty-fifth Amendment.

As President, Tyler opposed the Whig platform and vetoed several of their proposals. As a result, most of his cabinet resigned, and the Whigs, dubbing him His Accidency, expelled him from the party. While he faced a stalemate on domestic policy, he still had several foreign policy achievements, including the Webster–Ashburton Treaty with Britain and the Treaty of Wanghia with Qing China. Tyler dedicated his last two years in office to the annexation of Texas. He sought re-election to a full term, but he had alienated both Whigs and Democrats and his efforts to form a new party came to nothing. In the last days of his term, Congress passed the resolution authorizing annexation, which was carried out by Tyler's successor as President, James K. Polk.

Tyler essentially retired from electoral politics until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. He sided with the Confederate government, and won election to the Confederate House of Representatives shortly before his death. Although some have praised Tyler's political resolve, his presidency is generally held in low esteem by historians; today he is considered an obscure president, with little presence in the American cultural memory.[1]

There may be other examples that I couldn't find.

[Ignatz Ratzkywatzky]

--Oh, so I find out @ Climate Audit that Kellerman won't release the full data set for his 1993 study finding that home gun ownership tripled the chance of residents being hurt or killed. Another researcher has speculated that Kellerman's full data set vindicates the safety of home gun possession.--

I remember years ago McIntyre uncharacteristically criticizing John Lott as some type of Michael Mann when some pseudo-statistician, anti-gun dope challenged Lott's findings.
I believe he recanted when it was disclosed to him that Lott makes all of his data and methods open and available to anyone who asks.
Wonder why Kellerman won't: well actually I don't.

[Ignatz Ratzkywatzky]

--Didn't Reich also jump ship?--

Yes, after he found a step ladder.

[Pops]

Actually to liberals selling oil to china, just like coal, is actually MUCH WORSE for the environment because China doesn't have all the environmental controls on their power plants and combustion engines that we do. So a fossil fuel used in China is far worse than a fossil fule used in America.

I don't understand why noone seems to get the concept that if you cut back on US use of oil, the oil doesn't stay in the ground. The price drops and thrid world countries that can't aford it now will them buy the surplus supply and they will burn it far less effiiently than we woud.

So if you are for the US cuting back on fossil fuel use, you actually are supporting dirtier air and water.

[narciso]

Most everything in this admninistration, plays like bad fiction, like the West Wing, in it's most hagiographic;

http://legalinsurrection.com/2013/01/obama-reads-the-constitution-like-a-chinese-menu/

[Kevin]

Hi, Would you please consider adding a link to my website on your page. Please email me back.

Thanks!
Kevin
kevincollins1012@gmail.com

[Manuel Transmission]

Maybe the Secretary could also decree that since women are unlikely to be able to carry 200 lbs over their shoulder for 1/2 mile that there will be no more fallen comrades in need of carrying?

Our lovely, petite dil did just that in a training exercise and was rewarded with a blown out knee that she will suffer from for the rest of her life. Certainly could have been much worse if the bullets were flying.

[Jim Eagle]

Forget politics, AGW, gun control, Hillary's equivacation - nothing there - why? Because Die Hard is coming out Feb. 14th. I expect a dedicated Die Hard thread since we didn't get one for The Hobbit.

[Frau Fragezeichen]

Shalala's loyalty--to Clinton or ideology?-- trumped moral leadership. Did Colin Powell consider *anything* when he betrayed the president's trust.
Himself?
Lawrence "The GOP is racist" Wilkerson?

[Rob Crawford]

Shouldn't The Hobbit merit THREE dedicated threads?

[Rob Crawford]

For something completely different, for dinner tonight (and the rest of the week) I made Tava stew, a supposedly Turkish dish.

Now the house smells like roasting garlic, and I'm very happy. The recipe is SOOO simple I'll likely keep the ingredients around just because. LUN for the recipe (not the one I used; the one I used had twice as much cheese; that was too much cheese).

[Extraneus]

Sailors will be subject to random alcohol tests, Navy says

NORFOLK, Va. – The Navy said Wednesday it will conduct random blood-alcohol tests on its sailors in the United States starting next month, a sign of how concerned the service's leaders have become about the effects alcohol abuse is having on the force.

[Janet]

Perhaps we could do that to our politicians too?

[narciso]

I didn't go to see the 4th one, but I did catch on Cable, and the future Raylan Givens, made for a pretty good villain, in the LUN, another angle from the film,

[Extraneus]

Norway cheese fire shuts down road tunnel

OSLO, Norway (AP) -- A road tunnel in northern Norway will be shut for several weeks after a 27-ton truckload of sweet goat's milk cheese caught fire.

[snip]

Goat's milk cheese, a sweet delicacy with a high sugar and fat content, is an essential part of many Norwegians' daily diet.

[sailor]

It makes me physically sick to realize that Hillary has gotten away with all this. The Repubs with the exception of Johnson, Paul and Dana let her off. The muddle will vote for her for president, and she is delighted. She will spend the rest of the time before the election getting a real face lift,losing weight and preparing to be the first woman president. And, the muddle will all vote for her, and she will win. Woe.

[sbwaters]

Do you have a suggestion on another path for the RNC to gain the ability to secure the ballot?

Well, at the very least there is enough evidence that Democrats have committed voting crimes and ought to be restricted as well.

[matt]

As I recall the State Department admitted that they felt that it did have adequate funding for Embassy/Consulate security.

In testimony before Congress over Benghazi they felt they didn't need any more money for Embassy and Consulate security at the time.

I may be wrong, but the mid level bureaucrats were pointing fingers at each other for the bad calls.

What amazes me is that not one of the Solons had a list prepared by a staffer of the hard questions that needed answers.

I don't know, sailor. She's worn out from being the most traveled SoS in history. Her list of accomplishments reads like the list of Italian Military Victories.

There are also rumors of alcoholism. Bill's ticker is in no great shape. Now they may have to find a modus vivendi after 4 years apart. Hopefully they will devour each other.

[narciso]

This may explain why the gap between the 2008 Times story, and that in 2012, and it sounds tight out of Dan Silva's Portrait

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/23/one-eyed-terror-leader-s-government-connections.html

[sailor]

That will never happen, matt. They are both too opportunistic--they want the WH again.

[Captain Hate]

And frankly, he [Clinton] whacked her, let her have it," this source said. The president told Shalala that if her logic had prevailed in 1960, Richard M. Nixon would have been elected president instead of John F. Kennedy, the source said. After that, no other Cabinet member had anything critical to say, the participant added.

Can't you see the predator, half pouting and half enraged, bellowing at a woman half his size for having the nerve to hold that white trash-heap to any standards? Shalala knew how Juanita Broaddrick felt.

I've never wanted to stomp anybody into a pulp like this cowardly oaf.

[Clarice]

Ext--that's gjetost and I love it==it tastes like peanut butter. It's sliced paper thin and put on bread..sometimes, if you're lucky there's even some cloudberry jam to go with it.

[narciso]

Apparently, being associated with Scowcroft doesn't have the cache it once did;

http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/01/09/scowcroft_the_gop_left_me_and_hagel

[Clarice]

From the article narciso just linked--a close look at the sort of rat fink desert nothing we are at war with:
"
The jihadist leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar made a name for himself as far back as the 1990s as a successful smuggler earning him the nickname in some circles as “Marlboro Man” for his exploits as a cigarette smuggler. Last year, Belmokhtar broke away from al Qaeda’s North Africa affiliate after being passed over for promotion, and formed a new group called the “Signed in Blood” battalion"

[Beasts of England]

At the risk of hit and run surmising that I have an online persona, my older daughter called last night to ask me if I had heard of Cato. I said the Cato Institute? She said yeah. I told her, derh, of course. She said 'The Dad of one of my sorority sisters was the co-founder'. I said her last name is either Koch or Crane. She said 'How'd you know that?' I said derh...

Guess I'll be weaseling my way into a fellowship any day now!

Of course, when she pledged three years ago, she had (and has) a pledge sister whose Dad is a member at a really nice golf club in Georgia which hosts a very fine tournament every year in the Spring and I still haven't played #12...

[Janet]

What amazes me is that not one of the Solons had a list prepared by a staffer of the hard questions that needed answers.

I know, matt. It is SO frustrating. Any one of us could have asked better questions. Basic, pointed questions.

[pagar]

"http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-balan/2013/01/22/cbss-attkisson-obama-admin-has-stonewalled-benghazi-october"

They didn't even need to make a list, just copy off this reporters work.

"The CBS correspondent posted some of the questions that the Obama White House has failed to answer in 22 consecutive Tweets:

"What time was Ambassador's Stevens' body recovered, what are the known details surrounding his disappearance and death, including where he/his body was taken/found/transported and by whom?"

"Who made the decision not to convene the Counterterrorism Security Group (CSG) the night of the Benghazi attacks?"

"We understand that convening the CSG a protocol under Presidential directive ("NSPD-46"). Is that true? If not, please explain. [If] so, why was the protocol not followed? Is the Administration revising the applicable Presidential directive? If so, please explain."

"Who is the highest-ranking official who was aware of pre-911 security requests from US personnel in Libya?"

Unbelievable!

[narciso]

One is tempted to wonder with a few exceptions, 'do they really want answers,' it's not at all clear,
Al Harzi is just one of the figures, that raise questions why he was released, Bouchef, (Abu Ahmed)
is another who seems to have some role, what has the Egyptian govt provided on him,

Although frankly when one looks in this AQ affiliate, more then most, you get a 'through the looking glass' feel to it;

http://mondediplo.com/2005/02/04algeria

[Frau Fragezeichen]

Lack of specific questions for Hillary!? Can it be that *all* of the Congressional aides are in bed with the Democrats? Aren't the aides the ones who are in charge? Arghhhhhh!

[Jim Rhoads a/k/a vjnjagvet]

If the GOP Congresscritters or Senators had any sense, they would appoint a questioner in chief to conduct the GOP side of interrogations like the one today. Forget the statements and other blather. The deal would be that each Congresscritter Senator would yield his or her time to the QIC who would continue the questioning from a script prepared only after doing the appropriate homework.

Imagine using the material Atkisson has developed as the basis for the script.

What a missed opportunity.

[Captain Hate]

Primary them all for being too lazy at doing their job. All they had to do was assign it to one of their multiple staffers to take time off from shaking the swells down and do some real work for the country. And then a half hour meeting to go over the questions. I'm not seeing that being an unreasonable expectation.

[Janet]

Great idea, Jim.

Forget the statements and other blather.
Big AMEN to this idea. The MFM can cut out or never play those statements again (even if they are good)...but tough questions & Hillary's answers would be hard to ignore.

[Threadkiller (Get off your couch and leave the GOP!)]

Never trust the staffers.

http://cdrkerchner.wordpress.com/tag/crs-memo/

[Danube of Thought iPad]

"Do you have a suggestion on another path for the RNC to gain the ability to secure the ballot?"

They could outsource the job to the Independent Party, whose ranks are swelling daily. The IP is going to be a real force, mark my words. Their flag will bear a likeness of John Anderson, a strong candidate for Outstanding Moderate of the 20th Century.

[Cheap Nike Air Max 2011]

Tale as old as time, true as it can be

[narciso]

So, Nossiter in the Gateway linked Times piece, has almost gotten up to speed, except toward the end it show Carlos Slim's dancing chimps, muddling up the story, which Egyptian jihadist were involved, were AAS involved,

[Ignatz Ratzkywatzky]

--The jihadist leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar made a name for himself as far back as the 1990s as a successful smuggler earning him the nickname in some circles as “Marlboro Man” for his exploits as a cigarette smuggler.--

Holy crap; I'm glad I'm not that dude.
The left may be largely unconcerned with jihadists sawing the heads off of Americans and a worldwide Caliphate but by God there's an HHS drone circling somewhere with a Hellfire that's going to put a stop to his days of spreading second hand smoke.

[Mark Folkestad]

Clarice, just a heads-up for a future visit, assuming that my Alaska move doesn't crash and burn. The high mountain meadows of Prince of Wales Island have cloudberries, which the locals seldom bother picking, given the huge abundance of other raspberry species, especially the favored salmonberries. You will never see what you see in Scandinavia, fistfights breaking out over the rights to pick a cloudberry patch. So you could perhaps try your hand with fresh cloudberries, if the timing is right.

[Mark Folkestad]

Extraneous, the thought of that much goat cheese burning up had me in tears.

[Randy Hudson]

The oil passing through the Keystone XL pipeline, and its fractions, will be sold to China anyway. That's why the pipeline runs to the Gulf Coast oil terminal. The only question is, what ports will it be shipped from?

[Melinda Romanoff]

Randy-

The point of the pipeline flow is to capture the Brent price, versus the Cushing price, a spread which is worth, at present, about $50/BBL, which, of course, will collapse over time.

[sbwaters]

I say let the goats keep their cheese.

[Danube of Thought iPad]

"...will be sold to China anyway."

I should think it would be sold to whoever buys it on the world market.

"That's why the pipeline runs to the Gulf Coast oil terminal"

From which point it can be shipped to the purchaser, whoever and wlherever he may be.

[Randy Hudson's fides, please.]

Gulf refineries can process the heavy crude. The products will go to the market. If we don't build the Keystone, the oil will go to China, probably as crude.
===========

[Melinda Romanoff]

DoT-

There's a little discussed oil price spread that few know about. The Cushing well head price, due to overflow from the Bakken fields, are far, far lower than the Brent prices which dictate our current gasoline prices. I wasn't joking when I said the difference, or "spread" is about $50 a barrel. Also, the Bakken Crude, is "light and sweet", as I also understand it, so it's far cheaper to "crack" it, which is the vernacular for distilling crude oil into various useable fuels.

No offense to Pops, but he's off on this one. Randy, on the other hand, gets his market knowledge from BOR or Couric.

[Melinda Romanoff]

kim-

Distillates don't travel well, FYI.

[Melinda Romanoff]

And there are two distinct markets that the Keystone intends to provide service, connecting Albertan and Saskatchewan Tar Sand fields, as well as the Bakken fields.

Both are an anathema to the left's desire of controlling energy.

[Besides, it's jobs, jobs, jobs.]

Ah ha, My linda, I didn't know that but it makes sense. So a lot of that stuff will stay domestically.
===============

[narciso]

And it's like a direct challenge to the Gulf States, Venezuela, and all those other statelets,

[DrJ]

Mel,

it's far cheaper to "crack" it, which is the vernacular for distilling crude oil into various useable fuels.

"Cracking" refers to the catalytic process that lowers the boiling point range of the feed. In essence, a molecule is "cracked" into two or more parts. Distillation by itself only performs a separation -- it does not change the composition, which cracking does.

[Melinda Romanoff]

Maybe not, Crude CAN be shipped, as we know. There are a lot of moving parts that are about to make the Brent price collapse, barring intervention by "Other" parties, whomever they might be. The low Cushing delivery price is the lynch pin, rarely printed or shown, and the desperately desired Brent delivery price is what makes the "Contango Trade" pay off. The Cushing price is what will rule the land, in time. Just before the Marcellus and Utica gas prices make driving a natural gas powered car, de riguer, and at a rate of about $0.30 a gallon, at current dollar valuations.

[daddy]

Haven't read the thread, but Insty links an interesting story on sponsors bailing from a large Sporting Goods/Outdoors Show, due to anger at the shows apparent capitulation to the anti-gun looby pressure: Waiting on the Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show Statement:

We’ve covered the apparent collapse of the show pretty thoroughly, but it remains newsworthy to highlight just how our gun culture has really learned to stand up for one another in the last several years.
Last night, Pennsylvania’s Olympic Gold Medalist Jamie Gray – billed as the ESOS’s guest of honor – canceled her appearances at the show.

Perhaps the biggest news that doesn’t seem to be confirmed anywhere through a statement, but the official ESOS website now only lists one sponsor willing to be associated with them – Progressive Insurance.

Apparently sponsors have dropped like flies. What struck me about Progressive Insurance being their lone remaining sponsor, is that Progressive just crossed my radar screen in a rather nasty story at Glen Becks site. That got me googling around to find out more because of some of the comments and I find that the owner of Progressive Insurance, Peter Lewis is reported to have, along with George Soros, pledged 10 million to America Coming Together.

And then I also read somewhere that he recently gave 2 Million to Media Matters.

Anyhow, just throwing that out there for confirmation from you guys who know more than I, but I'm not giving any of my money to Flo at Progressive since she's a Soros stooge:

[daddy]

Captain and Marko,

If you guys are up. I can't figure out if they're going to allow all the ACC Teams to go to the NCAA Tourney, or none of the ACC Teams to go to the Tourney. Beats the heck out of me what's happening in the conference.

Just catching the unexpected demolishing of Dook on Sports Center following the dog walk. Was trapped on the path for about 25 minutes by an ornery Bull Moose who wouldn't get out of the way. D@#$ed Rascal.

[Melinda Romanoff]

DrJ-

My point on the "Cracking", a term I learned from the traders in the market, not from the "Field", is as follows: The grade of crudes, heavy versus light, sweet versus sour, make all the difference when it comes the amount of electricity it requires to distill, or "crack", the crude into useable distillates. How it's done, chemically? I've never sat down with the engineering to study it. I've always used the Market's rules of thumb. Which, of course, having said that, I have to go back and look at the math and re-evaluate them. Right after I finish my little translation problem on my other project.

[Captain Hate]

More specifically she's a Peter B. Lewis stooge.

Here's my last linked tribute to the Earl of Baltimore, written by Terry Pluto who co-wrote some of Earl's books. He's also written the hilarious history of the ABA, Loose Balls. Terry's a good guy who always responds to my emails. He also writes on faith issues at least a bit better than Sally Quinn does: http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/index.ssf/2013/01/earl_weaver_was_baseballs_mast.html

[Melinda Romanoff]

And, with that, I bid "Adieu!".

G'night all.

[narciso]

The NCAA fumbling the Nevin Shapiro investigation, I didn't know Goodell had branched out, it's even too dense for Stern, or could there be something else at work?

[Captain Hate]

I can't figure out if they're going to allow all the ACC Teams to go to the NCAA Tourney, or none of the ACC Teams to go to the Tourney. Beats the heck out of me what's happening in the conference.

I'm always here for you, daddy. This isn't a very good year for the conference. My Terps are lacking a point guard and haven't played well in conference play. NC State is really stinking up the joint after beating Duke and are generally being infuriating to their fans (which may get them to turn on Debbie Yow shortly; I can't wait). The Criminoles are probably good enough to make the big dance as is Miami. Your Holes are iffy on that. Wake upset iNCeST but aren't good at all. I doubt the Chokies are going anywhere. I know nothing about Klempsun other than they're probably not good; same with BC and the Hoos.

Did I miss anybody? I don't think anybody but Duke has a chance to do anything significant.

[Captain Hate]

Top Men, narc.

[daddy]

He also writes on faith issues at least a bit better than Sally Quinn

Can there be any fainter praise?

[Captain Hate]

Actually he's very good daddy.

Because I'm in a giving mood here's a Terp sports board game thread of the Miami/Duke game. Enjoy: http://maryland.247sports.com/Board/59410/DukeMiami-16103227/1

[DrJ]

Mel,

The grade of crudes, heavy versus light, sweet versus sour, make all the difference when it comes the amount of electricity it requires to distill, or "crack", the crude into useable distillates.

That's not right chemically.

Any crude oil has a certain composition. One variation is the boiling point range. If you distill a mixture you recover fractions that have certain boiling point ranges, from low to high. The "light" ones have a low boiling point, such as jet fuel or gasoline. The "heavy" ones are bunker oil or road tar ("residua").

"Sweet" or "sour" refers to its sulfur content. You have to remove the sulfur for it to be useful. Otherwise, you foul the catalytic converters if it is used as gasoline, or have to scrub the sulfur which otherwise would turn into sulfuric acid when emitted. That costs money.

A key part of all refineries is distillation, which separates the feed into whatever components you start with. If you have a heavy crude, you get a lot of bunker fuel and road tar and not much gasoline or jet fuel. You get much more gasoline or jet fuel from a light crude.

Refineries output a mix that is set by market prices. So they like to be able to adjust what they produce, and not have that coupled to the feed stream. The lighter components bring larger revenues, so it is in their favor to break the large, heavy components into lighter ones which ultimately are separated by distillation. That process is cracking.

In the old days cracking was done thermally, but the control of the product mixture is not good. Catalysts offer much better selectivity, which gives you more of the products you want and less of what you don't (if you crack thermally too much, you get CO2 or natural gas, which often is flared because it is not worth recovering).

Have I mentioned that I went to a petroleum-oriented Chemical Engineering school for my undergraduate degree? Our senior design project was to design a petroleum upgrading facility, where we would take a heavy crude, crack and distill it so that it could be used as a feedstock for a traditional light-crude refinery.

[daddy]

Captain,

Just got to your link to the NCAA FUBAR on the previous thread, and the first few graphs:

The NCAA, the arbiter of what is right and wrong in college sports, has announced that former members of its enforcement team were involved in improper conduct during its investigation into the Miami athletic department and allegations of improper benefits from booster Nevin Shapiro. That conduct may compromise the investigation.

Hear that? It's the sound of high fives from Miami. No, wait. It's raucous laughter from Penn State. Or is that coming from USC? Or Jerry Tarkanian's house? Actually, it might be from Ohio State or North Carolina. Hard to tell. Could be from a lot of places, really.

LOLOL!!!

Thanks for that link:)

[rse]

daddy-I was familiar with Lewis and progressive. That commitment is consistent with other priorities.

Would throw the Sandlers in there too. In fact their F is starting to sponsor bad ideas I am coming across in my work.

Night.

Scoundrels to catch tomorrow.

[DrJ]

Mel,

One more thing (and yes, I know you've checked out for the night). No refinery uses electricity for distillation. You always use a direct-fired boiler that uses coal, residua produced on site or natural gas. Electricity is too expensive for this purpose.

[Captain Hate]

daddy, the Yahoo sports guys more than make up for the dimwits writing politics, regularly scooping the legacy media clown.

[Melinda Romanoff on Kindle]

DrJ-

No offense, but the engineering of distiillation of crude and the economics of distilling crude are two entirely different things. We're talking across each other. My language is concentric to my field and is the back end result of your field. So, in simpler terms, we know different "knowns".

[DrJ]

Mel,

I'll let it go for the night, but I do not agree.

[Ralph L]

Where are Brent, Bakken and Cushing? I saw something about WTI crude which I assume is West Texas Something?

[jimmyk]

I believe Brent is North Sea, Bakken is North Dakota/Canada, and Cushing is Texas. That's West Texas Intermediate. I confess I don't fully understand the big gap between WTI and Brent, other than some vague idea that the markets aren't integrated, despite all the explanations. I presume the lower price will be the one that dictates before long.

[Danube of Thought iPad]

"...despite all the explanations. I presume the lower price will be the one that dictates before long."

Isn't that how the arbs make their living?

[jimmyk]

Isn't that how the arbs make their living?

Yeah, but if it was really arb those big differences wouldn't persist so long. There's something keeping them from closing the gap, presumably some kind of transport issue that keeps WTI from driving down the price Brent.

[Kat]

Little botox and filler do not take 3 months to heal. The poor woman is overdue for some major plastic surgery; at least she could try to find a decent hair stylist.

[Extraneus]

Forbes is a case study on how conservatives lose institutions

Can anyone cite an example of where a prominent liberal publication has brought in a conservative in a leadership position and allowed the conservative to turn the publication on its political head? I can’t think of an example.

This is one of the reasons we lose.

[rse]

Forbes was an important 'get' in a world where there is an organized attempt to blur the lines between the public and private sectors and adopt a Dirigiste policy and pretend it is necessary to deal with an ecological crisis.

It's how 2008 gets sold as a crisis of capitalism that merits ever more governmental control. Basically everyone allowed to speak meets the test of being an Interested Oligarch. But people visualize Forbes as the mouthpiece of a Rep candidate for President. So its writings become the accepted bipartisan view.

David Brooks now and Gergen before played the same role before their bias became unmistakeable.

[rse]

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/338613/wrong-women-warriors-heather-mac-donald

She points out that there is no move afoot to require women on professional football teams. Showing what the priorities are on keeping certain sectors pure vs shifting them to an ideology base.

[Jim Eagle]

Re: The discussion late last night on domestic crude production and pricing.

One reason is the gap between domestic v. imports is narrowing significantly. Some of it is the economy, no doubt, but increased production (like Bakken) is also a factor. In 2005 the gap was 60%, in 2010 it narrowed to 45% and by 2035 they believe it will be around 37%.

But if you opened up public lands, the Gulf, the Atlantic, offshore Alaska, etc. you could probably get to net exporter within 10 years. And if they would allow increased development of refineries you could easily become a net exporter of refined liquids which is the money maker.

[Melinda Romanoff]

jimmyk-

Brent is heavily overweighted in the GSCI, the prominent commodity index that all HFs mimic for their exposure. There are other delivery games that go on that are far too numerous to delineate. Also, Cushing, Oklahoma is a delivery terminus for the WTI futures contract, due to the pipelines.

[NK]

JiB-- raises a very important point. Obamanomics and the fed Gov't spending/entitlement disaster are major drags on the USA economy. My guess is that they have cost 2-3Percentage points from employment, and reduced GDP growth by 1/3rd. That said, the USA economy needs the next new 'thing' for value added economy growth. Energy production (both raw materials and refined products) is that next new thing. It is a game changer from so many perspectives-- reduced energy costs for consumers and USA manufacturing, jobs, and EXPORTS. Exporting energy products is vital to replace exporting T-Bonds. Add-in the fact that USA energy production will reduce the windfall profits of Russian Oligarchs and Middle East Islamists, and it's a complete virtuous cycle for the USA. That's why the Obamaniacs are desperate to screw it up-- it puts business and workers in the driver's seat, not corrupt and tyranical politicians.

[Melinda Romanoff]

Richard Cordray to get re-nominated. Yippee!

[Captain Hate]

Am I the only person who considered Steve Forbes barely preferable to Trump?

[Melinda Romanoff]

CH-

No.

[Jim Eagle]

Isn't Forbes more libertarian than conservative?

If you to their website here is the Thought of the Day:

Forbes Thought Of The Day
“ Silence is argument carried on by other means. ”
— Che Guevara

It seems to me that "evolution" they talked about is now complete.

[Melinda Romanoff]

Sheesh, JiB. Malcom must be spinning at about 3500 rpm.

[rse]

NK-you are exactly right. Controlling energy gets you control over both people and the economy. We have a wanna-be mandarin class that wants to neutralize any potential bases of resistance. So you bad mouth Fox and the Tea Party and run an advertising campaign in the months before Romney began his GE advertising so enough of the relevant voters never tuned in this fall. Apart from the fraud.

You use education to shut down the ability to think itself. I was working on some research yesterday that certainly puts the ICT and Digital Native focus into further perspective. The idea that if you can catch children at the level of their everyday habits you can prevent that independent sense of self from ever arising. Literally the point is to sculpt what is desired at the unthought, unconscious level.

Power and control and where decision-making will reside. It's a historical struggle over the centuries. And it is red hot now. It's also why there is such an official desire to try to control technology lest paradigm breaking ideas slip through unapproved.

[Captain Hate]

Not to overly repeat myself, rse, but what you're saying about education is borne out by the university physics prof who told me that his mediocre students can recite individual facts but they're unable to tie them together to solve problems.

[Jim Eagle]

Here is the reason, I never carry change in my pocket but put it in a special tray at home and look at every coin later in the day.

Haven't been this lucky yet but I have had some success.

Coin worth 72 million times its original value sells for $335K at auction.

Don't use coins - collect coins.

[pagar]

rse, Many commenters seem to think the latest edict is simply to further downgrade the US military.

http://www.blackfive.net/main/2013/01/needs-of-the-service.html#more

"And what do you think is going to happen when Senators Feinstein, Boxer, and Snowe get a look at what Infantry OSUT at Ft. Benning REALLY looks like? How long do you think it will be before the Commander of TRADOC is sitting in a hearing room staring at CSPAN cameras explaining why this training is necessary while these three are tut-tutting him about how abusive it is and how they have letters from concerned mothers regarding how their little precious bundles are being treated by those terrible drill instructors, who as it turns out, are male (because they are in the Infantry)"

Every effort by the Obama Regime appears aimed at degrading the fighting ability of the US military, IMO.

[narciso]

This puts an interesting spin on the Turkish ambassador's visit with Stevens, who is a relation of the Foreign Minister, Quataris and Erdogan are strategic alllies, perhaps tactical rivals;

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/qatar-leaks-business-foreign-affairs?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29

[Janet]

Just FYI -
Here's Hillary's Statement on Benghazi from Sept. 11, 2012

a bit ~ "Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet. The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others."

This was -
Statement on the Attack in Benghazi
Press Statement
Hillary Rodham Clinton
...not a statement about all the embassies being attacked around the world.

[narciso]

The fact that the school in Tunis, and the Bastion in Afghanistan, were part of the same assault, what I dubbed the Shawwal offensive, rarely gets notice

[marlene]

JiB,I went thru my change jar the other day and separated out all the Loonies.One of the joys of living in Maine!
pagar's link above mentions Sen. Snowe.She's gone, we now have "independent" Sen.King.

[Mark Folkestad]

McCain was just quoted as trusting Kerry to carry out Obama's foreign policy agenda. That is PRECISELY why he is so scary!

JiB, fascinating coin story. I remember when a couple of kids came into my aunt and uncle's grocery store and bought a lot of candy with very old silver coins, in the late Sixties. The newest of the coins were standing Liberty quarters, with many Barber dimes, quarters and halves. There were a couple of seated Liberty coins. One of the checkers raced back to the office and called the parents, while I went outside and watched what store on the main street the kids went into next. In short order, the parents grabbed the boys, had to raise hell to get the next merchant to surrender the silver coins and came back to our store to get our portion. But many coins were still missing, and after the boys confessed everything, the other merchants claimed they knew nothing. The coins weren't worn out "bullion value" coins. They were choice collectors items.

[Old Lurker]

Funny this Forbes attention has come up.

Just a week ago I canceled my 30 year subscription after realizing the mag had ceased in depth reporting and now resembles people magazine filled with "scorecards" of who is ahead of whom on some list or another. The style is now all short term attention crap...sort of a printed version cable TV screen with bands and trailers cluttering it all up.

The old man would be sad.

[Danube of Thought iPad]

It always pained me to watch Steve Forbes speak.

Almost all of the TV we watch is playing back material that has been recorded on DVR. Even with the NFL, I'll let about an hour accumulate before I start the playback. This allows me to fast-forward through the commercials.

When I am watching in real time, the single most annoying commercials I see are those Progressive ones, with the all-white theme and that horrid girl.

[Clarice]

The waPo front page is a real fluffer job on Hillary's testimony yesterday. Do not read it without pepto bismal at hand.

[fdcol63]

"Do not read it without pepto bismal at hand."

Or a barf bag.