Exxon Lied, People Died. Or Overheated. Or Something.

Meanwhile, back on Shakedown Street:

Exxon Mobil Investigated for Possible Climate Change Lies by New York Attorney General

And why not? Politically, this can only be a winner in My Blue Heaven, reality notwithstanding. If I may step on my punchline, the NY State AG really ought to include Obama's Department of Energy in this investigation, because they, too, see oil, gas and coal in our future. Pressing on:

The New York attorney general has begun an investigation of Exxon Mobil to determine whether the company lied to the public about the risks of climate change or to investors about how such risks might hurt the oil business.

...

The investigation focuses on whether statements the company made to investors about climate risks as recently as this year were consistent with the company’s own long-running scientific research.

The people said the inquiry would include a period of at least a decade during which Exxon Mobil funded outside groups that sought to undermine climate science, even as its in-house scientists were outlining the potential consequences — and uncertainties — to company executives.

Well - I would need to know more before I could be confident of the Times' characterization implied in "outside groups that sought to undermine climate science". Are these groups challenging the underlying science by proposing different tests, different models and different statistical adjustments? That sounds sort of like science and the validation thereof, and proving such people veered into bad faith and that Exxon knew they had done so might be a real challenge. OK, maybe not to a jury of Upper West Siders.

Or are these groups that questioned the proposed policy responses developed in response to the science? That sounds like a legitimate political argument - Bjorn Lomborg, the Skeptical Environmentalist, has argued for years that climate change is just one of many problems afflicting primarily the Third World and that our resources would be better employed alleviating more pressing concerns.

The NY Attorney General's business model is the tobacco company settlements, but the Times mentions a few minor speed bumps on the road to a multi-billion dollar payday:

In the 1950s and ’60s, tobacco companies financed internal research showing tobacco to be harmful and addictive, but mounted a public campaign that said otherwise and helped fund scientific research later shown to be dubious. In 2006, the companies were found guilty of “a massive 50-year scheme to defraud the public.”

The history at Exxon Mobil appears to differ, in that the company published extensive research over decades that largely lined up with mainstream climatology. Thus, any potential fraud prosecution might depend on exactly how big a role company executives can be shown to have played in directing campaigns of climate denial, usually by libertarian-leaning political groups.

Left unmentioned - cigarette smoking is generally viewed as a presumably pleasurable choice, not a necessity (ask any nicotine addict!). One might argue that homes that heat, cars that move, and factories that hum are also merely pleasurable choices (those caves won't Occupy Themselves!) but few do.

So we ask again, what does "climate denial" mean relative to scientific and/or policy skepticism?

For several years, advocacy groups with expertise in financial analysis have been warning that fossil fuel companies might be overvalued in the stock market, since the need to limit climate change might require that much of their coal, oil and natural gas be left in the ground.

Well, sure, and maybe we should go long candles.

Exxon Mobil has been disclosing such [policy] risks in recent years, but whether those disclosures were sufficient has been a matter of public debate.

Last year, for example, the company warned investors of intensifying efforts by governments to limit emissions. “These requirements could make our products more expensive, lengthen project implementation times and reduce demand for hydrocarbons, as well as shift hydrocarbon demand toward relatively lower-carbon sources such as natural gas,” the company said at the time.

Anyone who has ever read any prospectus in which every imaginable risk (and quite a few unimaginable ones) are described is familiar with this genre. Or, if offering circulars aren't your light reading, watch any Sunday afternoon football game for the ads where the risks for various erectile dysfunction or blood sugar management medications are described. "If you collapse into unconsciousness contact your physician" - thanks for the tip!

But in another recent report, Exxon Mobil essentially ruled out the possibility that governments would adopt climate policies stringent enough to force it to leave its reserves in the ground, saying that rising population and global energy demand would prevent that. “Meeting these needs will require all economic energy sources, especially oil and natural gas,” it said.

This idea that governments won't force oil to be left in the ground sounds like a very sensible opinion on the likely intersection of political dithering, development of new technologies, and desired economic growth. Just as an extreme example, we are a long way from battery- or nuclear-powered airplanes, so hydrocarbons are likely to remain critical for that type of transportation.

But why ask me? Maybe in the course of investigating Exxon's failure to disclose the risk of a global government shutdown of their businesses the NY State AG could commence an investigation of Team Obama's Department of Energy. This chart is from their Annual Energy Outlook 2015, with projections of the US energy mix by source through 2040. The gist - hydrocarbons are here to stay (my emphasis below). Sue 'em:

Energy consumption by primary fuel

Total primary energy consumption grows in the AEO2015 Reference case by 8.6 quadrillion Btu (8.9%), from 97.1 quadrillion Btu in 2013 to 105.7 quadrillion Btu in 2040 (Figure 18). Most of the growth is in consumption of natural gas and renewable energy. Consumption of petroleum products across all sectors in 2040 is unchanged from 2013 levels...

Personally I am surprised we can't knock down coal a lot more - on the list of jobs I want to see saved, laying waste to hillsides or trudging deep underground to come up with coal and black lung ranks low. And the "growth" in renewables" in this chart seems comical. From the Executive Summary:

Renewables meet much of the growth in electricity demand

Renewable electricity generation in the AEO2015 Reference case increases by 72% from 2013 to 2040, accounting for more than one-third of new generation capacity. The renewable share of total generation grows from 13% in 2013 to 18% in 2040.

That is one subset of energy usage, electricity generation, so it does not include transportation, home heating, and other stuff which is no doubt explained elsewhere.

FULL DISCLOSURE: This is part of the Exxon Mobil risk disclosure from the prospectus linked by the NY Times. I like this:

Government and Political Factors

ExxonMobil’s results can be adversely affected by political or regulatory developments affecting our operations.

Access limitations. A number of countries limit access to their oil and gas resources, or may place resources off-limits from development altogether. Restrictions on foreign investment in the oil and gas sector tend to increase in times of high commodity prices, when national governments may have less need of outside sources of private capital. Many countries also restrict the import or export of certain products based on point of origin.

Restrictions on doing business. ExxonMobil is subject to laws and sanctions imposed by the U.S. or by other jurisdictions where we do business that may prohibit ExxonMobil or certain of its affiliates from doing business in certain countries, or restricting the kind of business that may be conducted. Such restrictions may provide a competitive advantage to competitors who may not be subject to comparable restrictions.

Lack of legal certainty. Some countries in which we do business lack well-developed legal systems, or have not yet adopted clear regulatory frameworks for oil and gas development. Lack of legal certainty exposes our operations to increased risk of adverse or unpredictable actions by government officials, and also makes it more difficult for us to enforce our contracts. In some cases these risks can be partially offset by agreements to arbitrate disputes in an international forum, but the adequacy of this remedy may still depend on the local legal system to enforce an award.

 

Regulatory and litigation risks. Even in countries with well-developed legal systems where ExxonMobil does business, we remain exposed to changes in law (including changes that result from international treaties and accords) that could adversely affect our results, such as:

  

 

·	increases in taxes or government royalty rates (including retroactive claims);
·	price controls;
·	changes in environmental regulations or other laws that increase our cost of compliance or reduce or delay available business opportunities (including changes in laws related to offshore drilling operations, water use, or hydraulic fracturing);
·	adoption of regulations mandating the use of alternative fuels or uncompetitive fuel components;
·	adoption of government payment transparency regulations that could require us to disclose competitively sensitive commercial information, or that could cause us to violate the non-disclosure laws of other countries; and
·	government actions to cancel contracts, re-denominate the official currency, renounce or default on obligations, renegotiate terms unilaterally, or expropriate assets.

 

Legal remedies available to compensate us for expropriation or other takings may be inadequate.

 

We also may be adversely affected by the outcome of litigation, especially in countries such as the United States in which very large and unpredictable punitive damage awards may occur, or by government enforcement proceedings alleging non-compliance with applicable laws or regulations.

 

Security concerns. Successful operation of particular facilities or projects may be disrupted by civil unrest, acts of sabotage or terrorism, and other local security concerns. Such concerns may require us to incur greater costs for security or to shut down operations for a period of time.

 

Climate change and greenhouse gas restrictions. Due to concern over the risk of climate change, a number of countries have adopted, or are considering the adoption of, regulatory frameworks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These include adoption of cap and trade regimes, carbon taxes, restrictive permitting, increased efficiency standards, and incentives or mandates for renewable energy. These requirements could make our products more expensive, lengthen project implementation times, and reduce demand for hydrocarbons, as well as shift hydrocarbon demand toward relatively lower-carbon sources such as natural gas. Current and pending greenhouse gas regulations may also increase our compliance costs, such as for monitoring or sequestering emissions.

 

Government sponsorship of alternative energy. Many governments are providing tax advantages and other subsidies to support alternative energy sources or are mandating the use of specific fuels or technologies. Governments are also promoting research into new technologies to reduce the cost and increase the scalability of alternative energy sources. We are conducting our own research efforts into alternative energy, such as through sponsorship of the Global Climate and Energy Project at Stanford University and research into liquid products from algae and biomass that can be further converted to transportation fuels. Our future results may depend in part on the success of our research efforts and on our ability to adapt and apply the strengths of our current business model to providing the energy products of the future in a cost-competitive manner. See “Management Effectiveness” below.

 

Comments

[henry]

Exxon's true crime? stopped giving to the Clinton Foundation.

[Beasts of England]

Who was harmed? If there was harm, how is it quantified?

[Captain Hate on the iPad]

Levin was all over this last night.

[henry]

Also, Obama cancelling Keystone in moments after Kerry denied the Transcanada request to suspend the application. (per Lurker radio scanning).

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Would be delightful to see Exxon do to these thieves what Chevron did to the Ecuadoran scamsters.

[narciso]

well prime minister zoolander helped out in his own way,

[narciso]

this is similar to what happened to Yukos under Volodya, and the fate of Berezovsky,

[Jack is Back!]

Maybe we can flip Belichick's coin and decide this once and for all.

[Buckeye]

I would love to see ExxonMobil use some of their considerable financial resources to squash the old hag like a bug.

[Algonquin]

Who is going to investigate Al Gore for--An Inconvenient Truth?

Or PPP for bad polling?

Or Al Roker for the weather?

[henry]

Or Hillary for Bengahzi?

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Hill's signed classified info form.

As the nation’s chief diplomat, Hillary Clinton was responsible for ascertaining whether information in her possession was classified and acknowledged that “negligent handling” of that information could jeopardize national security, according to a copy of an agreement she signed upon taking the job.

A day after assuming office as secretary of state, Clinton signed a Sensitive Compartmented Information Nondisclosure Agreement that laid out criminal penalties for “any unauthorized disclosure” of classified information.

[Algonquin]

henry wins.

[narciso]

well roker was never taken as a serious weatherman, in high school, I was with the meteorology club, and they informed me, on a given day, weather is 50 % observation, 50 guestimate, I further deduced some like Bryant Norcross, who predicted Hurricane Andrew was 60/40, with Willard Scott being 40/60

[narciso]

I was further speculating, re the silverstein piece on Sid, that his source was likely an official who is slated to be a green badger, private contractor for an outfit like Alphom, tied to the same networks,

[narciso]

networks are too busy, 'Goldsteining' Ben Carson, to pay attention to such things,

[Buckeye]

A few days ago I talked to a friend in SoCal about his annual trek to the SEMA show in Las Vegas.

He went with a friend on Tuesday for the opening day in his friend's Tesla Model S.

They stopped for "juice" a recharging station somewhere near the Cali/Nevada border and waited an hour and a half before there was an open spigot.

Had a similar issue on the way back. Said he wished in the worse way he had offered to drive his 911.

Does anyone seriously think this is practical?

Does anyone seriously think holding Tesla stock is a long term play?

[Global tepidity.]

Climate goes to court.
Gaia gives a snort.
The science ain't settled,
But we've all been kettled;
However, the charcoal is short.

[narciso]

right up there with Theranos,

[Contempt of Congress coming.]

The Lamar Smith/NOAA battle is heating up. NOAA neglected more reliable buoy data for less reliable water bucket data in order to finagle the statistics and make it seem as if the 'pause' in temperature rising was not real. There is much suspicion about political interference in the massaging of the data, and, heh, of the message.

[Buckeye]

Yes Narc, I don't plan on calling my broker to buy Theranos either.

[Beasts of England]

Run away from TSLA.

[narciso]

if they could only get started on the ark reactor,

[Tom Maguire]

Does anyone seriously think holding Tesla stock is a long term play?

I know people who would like to hold Elon Musk stock, but I would bet on natural gas and fuel cells as automobile power sources ahead of batteries.

[Buckeye]

Of course the Administration is saying no to the Keystone pipeline.

Jobs? We don't need no stinkin' jobs.

Duda told us how peachy everything is on the jobs front just this morning.

[narciso]

meanwhile back on planet earth,

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/11978134/David-Cameron-is-right-to-be-cautious-over-Sharm-el-Sheikh-flights.html

[narciso]

turn those machines back on,

https://twitter.com/PeterNicholas3/status/662621221691875328

[GMax]

Hydrogen with water vapor as exhaust will one day power vehicle. It ain't next week, and the only person I personally know with a TESLA is a multi billionaire with a quite reasonable obsession with safety, and since the large array of batteries are beneath the seats, the car does have an extremely low center of gravity and corners effortlessly. That has nothing to do with it battery life and range which makes it impractical except for around town jaunts and big boy play toys...

[GMax]

The Democrats objecting to a government entity turning over government communications re NOAA, makes me certain that there is smoke and fire being hidden.

[narciso]

here you go marko,

http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/11/05/judge-clears-cia-in-jfk-records-case.htm

[Jack is Back!]

Again, I go back to labor participation theory that within the year we will have achieved full employment because all the air has been left out of the balloon. In fact we would get below 0% unemployment if more people decide to leave the workforce and quit participating. Now that is the ideal Dem/Prog/Communist solution to everything. No one works except The Koch Brothers and they pay for everyone.

I see no comment on my Belichick coin comment. Haven't you all heard?

[Jack is Back!]

Here's the "Coingate" story. Neat. We can move off deflated footballs to tricked-up coins.

http://nep.247sports.com/Bolt/Is-Coingate-the-next-Patriots-controversy-40829353

[narciso]

what's Goodell's part in this,

[Jeff Dobbs]

Oh why not...from 2008"

[Jack is Back!]

Looks like the cockpit voice recorder picked up the sound of an explosion and not secondary to an engine loss. Plus MI5 comms intel has picked up ISIL chatter on more bomb attacks in the region.

Aren't they all glad Bozo is no more flixible?

[Jack is Back!]

....is now more flexible.....

[Buckeye]

Bozo will offer up those 50 Special Ops guys to Putin to help with targeting.

Kind of a "peace" offering.

[narciso]

so wouldn't explosives even plastic ones, have reidue, or have they come up with a new formula,

[Jack is Back!]

narciso,

Talk I heard is that every issue of "Inspire" has new formulas, mixtures and ideas on how to blow up infidels.

[narciso]

I see, but if so how can they guard against it

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11978962/Russian-plane-crash-sharm-el-sheikh-stranded-British-tourists-latest-updates.html

[lyle]

http://www.hoover.org/research/religion-environmentalism

Worth your time.

[GUS]

Has the New York AG looked into the availability of Kevin Kennedy and John Chisholm?

[narciso]

no they are doing the lord's work, vanquishing kulaks and other counterrevolutionaries,

[GUS]

Does Obama believe that stopping the Keystone Pipeline, will stop the oil being exported from Canada.
Obama is the biggest fuckwad I've ever seen.

[henry]

GUS, he doesn't care about that. It gets him Steyer money for his "library" (aka live like a dictator after office) fund.

[Rick Ballard]

XOM essentially funded Warmunist research and is now being castigated for not "acting" on the fairy tales produced by the funding.

Poor XOM - may you DIAF alongside the Vampire Squid.

[narciso]

well they might need to change their name again, I suggest Weyland/Yutani.

[narciso]

she found their one eye:

http://therightscoop.com/watch-carly-fiorina-return-to-the-the-view-and-shut-down-those-demented-harpies/

[lyle]

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-richest-nancy-pelosi-vineyard-story.html?abcd

Woman of the People.

[narciso]

nothing to see here,

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2015/11/obama-administration-will-no-longer-conduct-operations-against-taliban-they-are-our-friends-now/

[Rick Ballard]

Very well credentialed moron estimates on today's payroll numbers:

Bank of America 150K
BNP Paribas 150K
Morgan Stanley 165K
Deutsche Bank 175K
JPMorgan 175K
HSBC 175K
UBS 180K
Goldman Sachs 190K

Actual 271K

They didn't miss the bulls eye, they missed the friggen' wall to which the target was nailed.

[Rocco]

Coin Toss Gate, it's Sorcery I tell ya. Was that before or after Side Line Gate?

"During the week 7 matchup between the Jets and Patriots, the Jets’ Director of Security, Robert Mastroddi, contacted NFL security about the presence of ‘suspicious’ individuals standing near the Patriots’ bench. NFL security responded and questioned the three men, who are employees of Kraft Sports, which is also owned by team owner, Robert Kraft. Part of the three men’s responsibilities include controlling the in-stadium entertainment as well as ensuring the performance of the referee’s microphone. Mastroddi didn’t buy the latter reason and thought that the ref’s mic would be controlled by league personnel. However, Mastroddi was incorrect in his assessment as the NFL confirmed that ref’s mic is handled by team personnel and not the NFL."

http://sports.cbslocal.com/2015/10/31/jets-investigate-patriots-employees/

I'd post what his family members tweeted about Brady, but @larissmastroddi is protected now. (Wished him death)

[narciso]

they forgot to throw in the whole newt, not just the eye,

[daddy]

On the written notes found on the dead Merced stabber's body: "The document also included several references to Allah, the sheriff said. Warnke, however, stressed that there was “still nothing to indicate” Mohammad’s Muslim religion had anything to do with his motive."

Obviously we are in a "Bearded Spock Jack" Universe.

[Jack is Back!]

Mrs. JiB and I just listened to The Hags v. Carly. No contest. To think there are women out there so bored they watch this crap sandwich of a show ever day is more depressing than anything they can say about any of our candidates.

[new lurker]

Politico is scum. That is all.

[narciso]

they're journolist strigoi,

http://www.dailywire.com/news/960/no-ben-carson-didnt-lie-about-west-point-its-ben-shapiro

[Brett Bellmore]

Worth mentioning that the tobacco industry for many years won every lawsuit, not because they convinced juries that tobacco was safe, but because they argued that, no matter what they might say in their advertising, everybody knew anyway that tobacco was bad for you. They only started losing lawsuits when states passed laws to make that defense illegal.

That's the real threat, some clever tort lawyer persuading state legislatures that it would be profitable to make the truth no defense in court.

[narciso]

well I went classical in my earlier references,

[James D.]

Rick @ 1:29

Why would you think the 271K is an accurate number on any level?

[Rocco]

Maybe this will work...classy huh?

http://cdn.barstoolsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/03/Screen-Shot-2015-11-03-at-12.22.41-PM.png?8b81f6

http://cdn.barstoolsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/03/Screen-Shot-2015-11-03-at-12.22.47-PM.png?8b81f6

[narciso]

nothing to see here,

http://babalublog.com/2015/11/06/secret-washington-postcastro-connection-finally-exposed/

[Rocco]

The son of the Jets Security Director wishes Tom Brady death on social media!

http://cdn.barstoolsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/03/Screen-Shot-2015-11-03-at-12.23.26-PM.png?8b81f6

[sbw]

Just sat through the Carly interview on the View and it shows why proper ventilating of issues can only happen when words are nailed to the page.

[JimB]

From this article linked by the BBC, a failed prediction.

"Present thinking," he wrote in the 1978 summary, "holds that man has a time window of five to ten years before the need for hard decisions regarding changes in energy strategies might become critical."

http://insideclimatenews.org/news/15092015/Exxons-own-research-confirmed-fossil-fuels-role-in-global-warming

[henry]

in 78 the problem was global cooling.

[Trimalchio]

If I were Exxon, here's what I would do.

1. Announce that I will not cooperate in any way, that the allegations have no basis in any law known to man, welcome Schneiderman to sue me, and declare that I will immediately move for sanctions against him should he do so.

2. Move every job in NY out of the state. Cancel all contracts with anyone in NY. Take any asset that isn't nailed down out of the state. If it is nailed down, demolish it, then take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

3. Initiate civil RICO proceedings against Schneiderman personally in federal court.

2.

[James D.]

Re: the vile Politico article mentioned @1;44

There is one way to stop this. The RNC needs to go after the writer of the article, or his editor. Personally. Hire detectives. Dig through their lives. Find out everything - finances, drug use, sexual history, health issues, all of it. Whatever's most damaging, get it in front of their families and friends and coworkers. And the local DA if relevant. Blow up their marriage. Shame their parents. Get them fired. Wreck their life.

And if there is absolutely nothing, invent it. Hire homeless guys to fall down In front of their car and pretend they were hit. Hire hackers to mess up their life and plant incriminating info on their computers. Hire teenage girls to claim the reporter sexually harassed them. Whatever it takes.

I'm dead serious. Treating them like human beings doesn't work. Appealing to the truth doesn't work. Negotiation doesn't work. What else is there but total war?

The RNC probably wouldn't even need to do it more than a few times before reporters started getting the message.

[narciso]

Well you the mr duranty bezos employs, actually it's like a yagoda son in law.

[Jeff Dobbs]

You know what, TM? That was a fantastic post. It was so good I thought it was mine all the way to the end until I didn't see the Link to Last Page of Thread.

/sarc

Oh, and I see henry's comment makes it on insty on a Driscoll post.

[Jack is Back!]

JamesD,

10-4. Rush calls it political assaination. Only the voters and donors can beat this. Already picked up by the MFM and its all over the map. Another lynching of a successful black man like Thomas and Cain.

Back to the plantation, Doc.

[henry]

Yike, I didn't dress up for the inevitable paparazzi!

re that comment, Trimalchio needs to add Hilligula and the CFI to the RICO suit.

[narciso]

Kneecapping is what they called it in the Armagh.

[daddy]

What I'm noticing now is all these Talking Head TV libs saying "Ben Carson had such an amazing biography" "that this West Point lie is terribly destructive to him, etc..."

Interesting now for them to finally be capable of saying how wonderful he is when I don't recall hearing them trumpeting that about him before.

FWIW, I didn't go to the Academy, but as I understand it, anyone who did go to West Point, or any of the other Service Academies, gets a full ride. And I recall my dad telling my older brother that he could get a full ride to West Point when he was a senior in High School if he wanted to. (Pop was Chief of Staff at Ft Leavenworth at the time.) That I remember Pop saying that to older brother John, (I was probably 13) meant it obviously had an effect upon me as a young know-nothing kid, as an amazing deal. It would not surprise me in the slightest if a young black kid in inner city Detroit or Baltimore or wherever Carson's from had heard some General say something like "You could easily get into West Point "and if you did you'd get a full Free Ride Scholarship" and him, like me, thinking "Wow," he said I could get in and that I'd get a full Free Ride Scholarship."

Last point. Anybody recall the name US Grant. He went to West Point on a full ride, and if you read his bio, he was not initially offered the slot. Instead he was advised that a slot was open since a local kid who had the slot dropped out, so Grant's old man pulled strings and got him in. So just for interest, here's a long paste from Us Grant's Memoirs: West Point—Graduation (Chapter 2)

{IN the winter of 1838–9 I was attending school at Ripley, only ten miles distant from Georgetown, but spent the Christmas holidays at home. During this vacation my father received a letter from the Honorable Thomas Morris, then United States Senator from Ohio. When he read it he said to me, Ulysses, I believe you are going to receive the appointment.” “What appointment?” I inquired. To West Point; I have applied for it.” “But I won’t go,” I said. He said he thought I would, and I thought so too, if he did. I really had no objection to going to West Point, except that I had a very exalted idea of the acquirements necessary to get through. I did not believe I possessed them, and could not bear the idea of failing. There had been four boys from our village, or its immediate neighborhood, who had been graduated from West Point, and never a failure of any one appointed from Georgetown, except in the case of the one whose place I was to take.

He was the son of Dr. Bailey, our nearest and most intimate neighbor. Young Bailey had been appointed in 1837. Finding before the January examination following, that he could not pass, he resigned and went to a private school, and remained there until the following year, when he was reappointed. Before the next examination he was dismissed. Dr. Bailey was a proud and sensitive man, and felt the failure of his son so keenly that he forbade his return home. There were no telegraphs in those days to disseminate news rapidly, no railroads west of the Alleghanies, and but few east; and above ail, there were no reporters prying into other people’s private affairs. Consequently it did not become generally known that there was a vacancy at West Point from our district until I was appointed. I presume Mrs. Bailey confided to my mother the fact that Bartlett had been dismissed, and that the doctor had forbidden his son’s return home.

The Honorable Thomas L. Hamer, one of the ablest men Ohio ever produced, was our member of Congress at the time, and had the right of nomination. He and my father had been members of the same debating society (where they were generally pitted on opposite sides), and intimate personal friends from their early manhood up to a few years before. In politics they differed. Hamer was a life-long Democrat, while my father was a Whig. They had a warm discussion, which finally became angry—over some act of President Jackson, the removal of the deposit of public moneys, I think—after which they never spoke until after my appointment. I know both of them felt badly over this estrangement, and would have been glad at any time to come to a reconciliation; but neither would make the advance. Under these circumstances my father would not write to Hamer for the appointment, but he wrote to Thomas Morris, United States Senator from Ohio, informing him that there was a vacancy at West Point from our district, and that he would be glad if I could be appointed to fill it. This letter, I presume, was turned over to Mr. Hamer, and, as there was no other applicant, he cheerfully appointed me. This healed the breach between the two, never after reopened.]

A great read, (even for a Southern kid:)

[Rick Ballard]

"Why would you think the 271K is an accurate number on any level?"

James D.,

I don't. The choreography of the monthly labor lie is generally managed better than it was this month. The banks were closer to the ADP number so it may well be that Census/BLS got carried away with their data massage and it culminated in precisely the Happy Ending required for the Fed to heed Jimmy's advice, lay down the ZIRP gun and come out with a December rate increase.

[daddy]

Ted Cruz doing a great job discussing his Tax Plan on FOX Business, and beating back Trish Regan's counter-arguments. She's cute, but probably a Lib.

IMHO Cruz is doing a great job and I agree with Charlie Gasprino's earlier comment, that harm to Ben Carson is positive for Ted Cruz, as Cruz is the likely place for Ben Carson supporters to turn to if Carson is seriously wounded or drops out.

The rare morning dog walk, so if you'll excuse us...

[boatbuilder, Esq., Lord of All He Surveys]

James D--You seem to be making the assumption that the RNC has some sort of interest in defending Carson. I would question that.

[boatbuilder, Esq., Lord of All He Surveys]

The fact that the term "Climate Denier" is apparently OK to use in polite company or NYT articles and is not considered the equivalent of an accusation of witchcraft or religious apostasy is a truly sad commentary on the current state of affairs.

[henry]

I think Westmoreland sponsoring Carson would have gotten him in (he got into Yale), just as my grandfather sponsoring me would have gotten me into West Point* (I too got into Yale). And yes the "full scholarship" was how people talked about no tuition.

* formally a local congresscritter would have done the sponsoring, but the West Point grads with stars have there ways with these things.

[Jack is Back!]

daddy,

Service academy appointments are all tuition free. Even those special ones for the jocks who can't qualify on straight academics and community service. I can see Carson calling that a scholarship since for an 18 y.o. that's what it is.

[Jane]

Henry got Insta-launched:

MEANWHILE, BACK ON SHAKEDOWN STREET: Exxon Mobil Investigated for Possible Climate Change Lies by New York Attorney General.

The first comment on Tom Maguire’s Just One Minute blog nails the backstory: “Exxon’s true crime? Stopped giving to the Clinton Foundation.”

[jimmyk on iPhone]

What Politico article is being referred to? Feel free to use donotlink.com if you don't want to give them clicks.

[Buckeye]

I'm with James D.

Actually I would prefer to see the bastards swinging from lamp posts, but since taking that action is both illegal and immoral, I will defer to James D's better judgement:)

[maryrose]

What was the September revised number
I bet October will be revised as well

[daddy]

in 78 the problem was global cooling.

Walter Cronkite: "A New Ice Age."

[Beasts of England]

James D @ 2:19 - Exactly right. Do this to a dozen of those creeps and things will gradually change. Nothing short of that will be successful.

[narciso]

My 145 link rayshields it.

[Beasts of England]

Way to go, henry!! Woot!

[Old Lurker]

Buckeye, I grant you illegal, but would challenge you on immoral.

[narciso]

Embedded with is.

[narciso]

But they might consider that a reward.

[Wild Bill]

Will the prosecutors have to prove that AGW is real in the first place? As a AGW skeptic, I look forward to the alarmists having to prove their case in a court of law.

[Daddy on the new iPhone]

Just caught top of the hour talk radio news. They did the story about the Merced stabbed and his evil motivations. What's the one bit they left out?

Any mention of Islam or Allah.

Anyone surprised?

[Rick Ballard]

"I look forward to the alarmists having to prove their case in a court of law."

Wild Bill,

You want to hand this to the Nine Monkeys specializing in a level sophistry and casuistry which turn penalties into taxes (or was that vice versa?) and celebrates the union of sodomist and sodomite as marriage?

A swearing contest among credentialed whores would be as fascinating as a multi car collision on the freeway but I shudder to think of living with the result.

[clarice]

Iggy at 11:09--precisely what I said to my husband this morning.

[James D.]

You seem to be making the assumption that the RNC has some sort of interest in defending Carson. I would question that.

I do, too. But what the geniuses at the RNC refuse to ever understand is that while today it's a guy they're just as happy to see attacked, come next spring it's going to be their guy. Just as it was with McCain and Romney, whom the MSM loved right up until it actually counted, and then they began sticking the knives in.

If the genuises actually got that, they'd realize the time to send some serious messages to the MSM is now, not then when it'll be too late.

[narciso]

Yes they haven't come out for the right to arm bears, but give them time.

[Daddy on the new iPhone]

Good to see Team Carson fighting back. Rush hour 3is good on this

[narciso]

Barry Bennett is not a top man, although trying to explain anything to politico is a quixotic gesture.

[Buckeye]

Mrs. Buckeye has been spending lots of time researching her genealogy.

Last night she discovered she and the Sundance Kid are cousins.

I told her that was no big deal, I come from a LONG line of scofflaws, just ask anybody:)