SamSaid!

The watchword of the Obama campaign was “Change”  –  BIG change.  And his efforts are now being put to the test. “Change ” is a good word. It conveys a positive connotation. ” I am for change, change is good, so vote for me”. And he rode the wave of change all the way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Gotta hand it to him.

Fundamentally, there are two ways of achieving major political (governmental) change. The quick route is by force. Overthrow the status quo  –  seize power by force –  suppress or suspend individual freedoms  –  enhance the role of big government  –  limit the power of the press  –  create the police state.

THAT’S CALLED REVOLUTION

The second way to implement major change  is more gradual and more peaceful but just as devastating.  Control Congress and the court system.  Enlist a friendly media. Downplay individual freedoms and rights. Stress the “common good”. Dominate the TV and written media sources.  Attack the successful people and criticize wealth. Apologize for our competitive successes. Share the wealth and redistribute income.

THAT’S CALLED TAXATION

Sound familiar?  We are witnessing a major try at Choice # 2

It was a surprise when Sarah Palin resigned as Governor of Alaska.  It was not a surprise when Big Media jumped all over her and her family for doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.  Still acting on the campaign strategy of  “Destroy Sarah at all costs” they could not resist the temptation to further attack and belittle her and her family members in the press and TV.

All people do things for a reason.  Sometimes a good reason, sometimes not.  Sometimes several reasons  –  good ones and bad ones. Maybe she cited all of her reasons, and maybe we will have to await  further explanations from her.  In the meantime our public word merchants continue to criticize and show that their main source of exercise is jumping at conclusions.   But we haven’t heard the last of Sarah. Lost among all of the criticisms of the Lady is the plain fact that she struck a responsive chord in much of the populace –  women and men, and Reps and Dems.

I think I”ll wait. Time is on my side.  Sic em,  Sarah.

To many people, Michael Jackson was a larger than life entertainer and public figure and the ceremonies and rallies following his death are understandable  –  at least up to a point. While conceding his talents, there are many others who think that 5-6 days of saturation TV are a bit much.  To many of us who can either take or leave his showmanship, a week of glorification is about 3-4 days too long. At best, his legacy will be a mixed bag, notwithstanding the current attempts to smokescreen his eccentricities.

Let’s all give him his due, and bring down the curtain.

A few days ago I ran across an interesting article on the Business Page of the AM newspaper.  It seems that Valero, the largest refiner of oil in the USA, has made a sizeable investment in a windmill farm to generate electricity. For years the Greenies have sung the song of clean power from air –  windmills. And recently, T Boone Pickens spend a small (maybe not so small) fortune exrolling the virtues of wind power.  So, the Greenies would understandingly support the idea of a member of Big Oil investing in wind turbines to generate electricity.

But it turns out that there is more to this story than meets the eye. The power to be generated by Valero wind turbines is not for general utility purposes; rather, the wind turbine power is to be used to supplement the needs of the refinery and thus make the refining process more efficient. Imagine  –  Big Oil using wind power to supplement the electricity produced from fossil fuel.

Most energy experts consider wind power as a supplememt to our basic sources of energy. Not a replacement  –  just a supplement. The Valero experiment would seem to make the case   –  at least to most sensible people. Oh yes, wind turbines now provide maybe 2% of our current energy needs.  If the Greenies are cheering, what are they cheering about??