Deepwater and media hype...

Roughly four years ago I stood at the 2010 Shad Planking handing out information and discussing with people the need for the United States to Drill for more oil here within the United States. There still remains solid reasons and benefits for us to pursue this option to secure our energy future and to improve the economy but the focus and discussions have changed...

The tent was busy and even with it being located away from the main aisle of the Planking event, there was good traffic and interest as well as a wind power booth not far away. Interesting how the focus has changed since then and there was little if any talk of "Fracking" for Natural Gas back then. In that short time Natural Gas use has increased considerably and many electric generation plants have changed from Coal to NatGas to make their electricity. A by-product of this change has been the reduction of CO2 gas which many claim is the reason for "Global Warming" and then "Global Climate Change". Our President has been quick to note the reduction of CO2 but fails to mention it is due to the increased use of Natural Gas via "Fracking" and the mainstream media is willing to avoid asking him the hard questions as they should....

Ironically during this event several of us were monitoring news reports of a offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that had a explosion and was still on fire. The "Deepwater Horizon" incident was to become a major environmental, political, and technological incident, regarding deep water drilling for oil and natural gas. Reports now put it at over 210 million gallons of oil released into the Gulf waters over several weeks and several attempts to "cap" the well.
 

Without a doubt the Deepwater Horizon incident was major and resulted in a detrimental impact to the environment but not anywhere near what the media predicted during and since. A U.S. Government report estimated the total discharge at 4.9 million barrels (210 million US gal) but that went into a substantial volume of water which diluted it greatly. The impressive thing is how “Mother Nature” took control of this “disaster” and repaired herself.


The Deepwater Horizon oil provided a new source of nutrients in the deepest waters," explained Hazen, who is with the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. "With more food present in the water, there was a population explosion among those bacteria already adapted to using oil as a food source. It was surprising how fast they consumed the oil. In some locations, it took only one day for them to reduce a gallon of oil to a half gallon. In others, the half-life for a given quantity of spilled oil was 6 days. This data suggests that a great potential for intrinsic bioremediation of oil plumes exists in the deep sea and other environs in the Gulf of Mexico."

 Oil-eating bacteria are natural inhabitants of the Gulf because of the constant supply of food. Scientists know that there are more than 600 different areas where oil oozes from rocks underlying the Gulf of Mexico. These oil seeps, much like underwater springs, release 560,000-1.4 million barrels of oil annually, according to the National Research Council.

"The bottom line from this research may be that the Gulf of Mexico is more resilient and better able to recover from oil spills than anyone thought," Hazen said. "It shows that we may not need the kinds of heroic measures proposed after the Deepwater Horizon spill, like adding nutrients to speed up the growth of bacteria that breakdown oil, or using genetically engineered bacteria. The Gulf has a broad base of natural bacteria, and they respond to the presence of oil by multiplying quite rapidly."
source:

Gulf of Mexico has greater-than-believed ability to self-cleanse oil spills

It is also evident that the Deepwater Horizon incident did considerable damage to the local economies along the Gulf coasts and States. Many vacations were canceled as well as industries experienced substantial damages. Owners of the Deepwater Horizon project (BP petroleum) is continuing to payout a total estimated at $42.2 billion in damages.

But one can only imagine the negative influence on this incident that the mainstream media caused with it's reporting practices. We all know that the media portrays the worst case scenario for in this day and age that is what sells the best in the media. Think back to all the dire reports and predictions during that period and compare them to what you hear now. I recall hearing a story of sport fishing guides returning to the docks after a productive day of fishing in the Gulf only to find the NEWS media not interested in how the day of fishing went only to flock to the boat that returned with oil samples brought back in mason jars.

When living in Key West back in September 1998 we had hurricane Georges come through town at a category three and did some damage to electric service and flooding, but the most damage came from the reporting by the mainstream media. I recall getting phone calls and friends looking to see if we were still alive after they saw the reports coming out of the Keys. Turns out everybody was watching the same NEWS video coming out of downtown Key West where there was a large tree toppled in the street and the NEWS casters used this for a backdrop for their video shoots. If people on the “Mainland” only knew that if the camera man was to pan in either direction they would have seen the crowds of locals standing on the curb in shorts, tee-shirts, flip-flops, and drinking beer while watching the Newscast.... Found this piece in the wikipedia account of the hurricane incident...

"Due to lack of law enforcement, those who stayed in Key West went through red lights, double-parked, and disobeyed traffic laws. Long-time Florida Keys citizens noted the solitude of the time and enjoyed the island for how it once was, rather than the large crowds of tourists"

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Old Farmer's Almanac vs. NOAA

I have an ongoing debate with a co-worker regarding what started out as man -made “Global Warming” until they had to change it to “Global Climate Change” once actual (lack of rising) temps did not match the predictions.  He has been very stern in telling me that the science is “Settled” regarding the debate and that I need to read the scientific publications to get the facts instead of the “Rhetoric from the Right” and that the media has mislead us all…

Unfortunately for my friend he has not been able to explain how just back in the 1970’s they were predicting a coming “Ice age” then just 40 years later the scare was the opposite with all of our Ice bergs melting.  But he claims that with the use of 10,000 year old Ice-cores they can tell me what the temperature change has been and with his scientific publications where we are headed.

I can’t wait to show him these tidbits that appeared in the Investors business piece today. The "Old Farmer's Almanac vs. NOAA

Last fall, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) predicted above-normal temperatures from November through January across much of the continental U.S. The Farmers' Almanac, first published in 1818, predicted a bitterly cold, snowy winter.

The Maine-based Farmers' Almanac's still-secret methodology includes variables such as planetary positions, sunspots, lunar cycles and tidal action. It claims an 80% accuracy rate, surely better than those who obsess over fossil fuels and CO2.

The winter has stayed cold in 2014, and snowfall and snow cover are way above average. USA Today reported on Feb. 14 that there was snow on the ground in part of every state except Florida. That includes Hawaii.

As Bloomberg notes, the CPC underestimated the "mammoth December cold wave, which brought snow to Dallas and chilled partiers in Times Square on New Year's Eve." The Almanac didn't, though Caleb Weatherbee, its prognosticator, apologized for being a few days off on two of the season's biggest storms.

The CPC seems to have completely missed the "polar vortex" that swept down and caused every state except Florida to experience snowfall and brought about 4,406 record low temperatures across the U.S. in January, along with 1,073 record snowfalls.

As John Christy, professor of atmospheric science and director of the Earth System Science Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, has noted, global temperatures collected in five official databases confirm that there's been no statistically significant global warming for the past 17 years — contradicting the predictions made by 73 computer models cited in the United Nations' latest (wrong) global warming report...

Read More At Investor's Business Daily: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/022114-690857-farmers-almanac-more-accurate-than-climate-models.htm#ixzz2uIRebHtK

Senator Webb can even see what would happen....

Even Democratic Party Senator Jim Webb understands what would happen to the gas prices we would face if they were to eliminate the government "subsidies" to the oil companies. There has been much talk about the profits that the oil companies have been getting but little follow up with the facts showing that the oil companies have one of the lowest profit margins when compared to other industries as well as the incredible amount of taxes already paid. Many tend to point to the profits made by the oil companies but yet avoid mentioning the Billions paid to federal and state governments at the same time...

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Unfortunately our President has decided to make this a campaign issue and practicing the art of only mentioning select data and avoiding the truth were needed to maintain the agenda. Fortunately Senator Webb saw that by eliminating "subsidies" for companies seeking out additional sources of energy would only raise the retail price of the product at the pump...

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Now if we could only get Virginia's other Senator, Mark Warner (D), to understand that Virginia needs to develop and provide the large resources of energy we have offshore...

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Additional info over at RollCall...

“Is this the best we have to offer folks who are staring at $4-a-gallon gasoline?” McConnell asked before the vote. “A bill that even Democrats admit won’t do anything to lower the price of gas? And a process that blocks any other idea from even coming to the floor for a vote?




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What the Oil\Natural Gas Industry means for Virginia.....

With gasoline prices here in Augusta County right at the $3.99 gallon point it's once again time to look at what this industry already means to the citizens of Virginia as well as the potential to all of us...

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API has come out with additional facts regarding the industry in Virginia and what more can be done...

More than 128,000 statewide jobs provided or supported – with an average salary of $57,281 for non-gas station oil and natural gas employees.

$6.5 billion contributed to
state labor income.

$11.6 billion contributed
to the state’s economy.

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Virginia already has a strong economy and low un-employment rate as compared to the rest of the country and this may be the result of a state government that aggressively looks towards developing its energy industries. This was obvious at the Virginia Energy Summit a few years back...

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Imagine where we could be now if we were allowed by the Federal government and the Obama administration to drill for the know Oil\Nat gas resources off the coast of Virginia as well as other energy sources?...

“You can stand with oil companies, or you can stand with the American people.”

Recently some of the best "Political" conversations have been in the break room at work where it is possible to sit with other "middle class" workers in varying economic situations and talk about current "political" events... It has been a pleasure to watch several of my co-workers who have been and some who are still JMU students, and were past supporters of Candidate\President Obama and now have a better understanding of the real "Hope & Change" he was selling as Candidate Obama...

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One of my friends sent me his observations of the recent speech by our President regarding the war he is obviously promoting between the evil oil companies vs. the people...

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A few weeks back in New Hampshire, President Obama said in a speech, “You can stand with oil companies, or you can stand with the American people.” A choice between oil companies and the American people? Hardly. President Obama should get an A+ for playing politics, however when it comes to leadership and economics, he deserves an F.

This administration will say and do almost anything to increase oil and gas companies’ tax rates. But the question is why would we ever want to do that? The oil and gas industry is one of the few areas of our economy supporting economic growth and lots of jobs, more than 9 million jobs in fact. The industry also pumps over $1 trillion into the American economy. Best of all, U.S. oil and gas companies are actually positioned to stimulate the economy in the future without having to use government IOUs.

So why do some people not understand that placing new taxes and regulations on this industry will have dangerous repercussions? It’s because President Obama continues to frame the issue as oil companies vs. Americans as if it’s a zero-sum game. This may sound good in a speech, but let’s think about that for a second. These oil companies that President Obama so openly vilifies are actually American businesses that employ millions of American workers and contribute to the American economy. Let’s not forget to mention they provide American energy so we can drive to work and transport goods.

Most troubling is that Obama’s agenda of higher energy taxes and more regulations disregards basic energy research. According to a statistic from the American Energy Alliance, repealing oil and gas sector tax provisions would reduce household earnings by almost $35 billion over the next 10 years. Another study from Dr. Joseph Mason at LSU shows that eliminating these provisions would bring in $30 billion in federal tax revenue at the expense of $341 billion in economic output.

The math clearly doesn’t match Obama’s rhetoric. More than 20,000 new jobs have been created by the U.S. oil and gas industry since the recession started, yet this president continues to use “oil companies” as a scapegoat for his own failed economic policies. American energy can help create more jobs and help turn the economy around, but it will take real leadership from a reluctant White House. It appears President Obama needs some more education on American energy and the vast potential it holds for our economy.

JMU Hockey and the "Hockey Stick" manmade global warming theory...

Went to the JMU vs. Radford Ice hockey game last night at the MainStreet Arena in Charlottesville and saw a good game along with reading about Michael Mann, author of the "Hockey-Stick" graph on man made global warming, being in town giving a enviro-talk to the students of UVA...

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Great game with Radford coming out and delivering two massive hits in the first 20 seconds of the first period to set the tone of play. Radford controlled the first period with what must have been a 3 to 1 shots on goal ratio and the first score in the first half of the period. JMU Dukes did get it together towards the end with a score 9 seconds before the end of the period...

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In the 2nd period JMU came out like a new team and continued to crash the Radford net and this resulted in a 5 to 3 lead for the Dukes at the end of the 2nd period. There was a very interesting call where the Radford goalie performed a "Poke-check" in front of the net (No doubt the result of a prior suggestion by fellow hockey fan Chris Green to the Radford coach after a prior game) but lost his stick and pushing the puck away from the JMU player and the Ref granted the JMU a penalty shot which was stopped by the goalie.....

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In the 3rd Radford tied it up after the JMU goalie attempted a poke-check but ended up feeding the puck to the trailing Radford wing who promptly deposited it into the JMU goal. Radford ended up scoring the final goal and winning the game in front of a pretty good crowd of people gathered...

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During one of the intermissions I sat and read an article in the local C-ville about climate scientist Michael Mann had returned to UVA to give a keynote lecture regarding those who question his climate research and conclusion of man made global warming. "“Contrarians
or deniers, I think that there has been some tendency to give those who denythe scientific consensus far too much prominence in the public discourse.”

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Now I was in his backyard and old stomping grounds of UVA where he once was a climate scientist and eventually came up with the famous "Hockey Stick" graph showing the dramatic increase of global temperature that he concludes comes from man made gasses, and I was reading a local weekly C-ville paper, so what should I expect?...

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By Mann's and the C-ville papers definition, I am one of those "deniers" who continues to question the conclusion that global warming is caused by man made gasses. I do not dispute that there is global warming but do question that it is caused to the extent that some claim is responsible for much of the warming now being experienced.

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Anybody remember back in the 70's when we were told of the coming Ice age that would cover much of the U.S. ? If we have made such a dramatic swing in such a short period of time how do you think we could ever slow down or possible stop this "man made" warming? ....

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Guest Post: "President Obama, please put JOBS under the Christmas tree this year !!!...

Unless you have a high paying government job, and even if you do, you are probably well aware that the majority of American’s are deeply impacted by the ongoing devastation to the United States economy since President Obama took office.

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While overall the unemployment rate hovers close to 9%, minority unemployment remains consistently near 15% and these figures show no indication of significant improvement in the near future. Meanwhile, the current administrations lack of a positive Energy Policy is not only hamstringing companies that could add much needed AMERICAN JOBS to the economy; it is also compromising our long term national security and unnecessarily delaying our economic recovery.
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The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently released a report that shows the U.S. is on track to actually export a net increase in gasoline, diesel and other oil-based fuels in 2011 for the first time in 62 years. This is due to the fact that while our economy is stalled, the economy in emerging markets is booming. However these record exports are not forecast to continue. EIA is also predicting domestic oil production will fall 240,000 barrels/day through 2012, mainly due to the continued Gulf "energy freeze" imposed by our current administration.

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The United States has the highest standards for environmental protection in the free world. Other countries do not endeavor to protect the environment for future generations as we do, yet their lack of concern for the environment will affect all of us. We have the desire to be good stewards of the environment as well as the technology to extract our resources in a safe and efficient manner. The U.S. also has the most stringent work place safety requirements of any nation. We have the energy resources right here within our borders. If President Obama wanted to put American’s back to work he has an entire industry waiting for the green light to help him turn around our economy.

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I grew up in New Orleans and my Dad worked on the oil rigs. I can attest first hand that oil industry jobs keep food on the table, the lights on and the rent paid. If we simply used the God-given resources we have in our great Nation, many American’s would not be needlessly losing their homes and struggling to keep their lights on and their families fed.

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We still import over half of our oil and petroleum products. Instead of selling our debt to China we should be selling our OIL to China and reducing our national debt. We do not lack the resources in America. What we lack is leadership and the political will to demand our administration put forward an energy policy that is beneficial to Americans and the United States. Let’s start the New Year on the right path. It is time to resume drilling within American borders and stop exporting American jobs.

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Melody Himel Scalley is an entrepreneur and talk-radio show host in Virginia.

Newt tells it the way it has to be said if we expect to get anywhere..

Newt has very much been the whipping boy of the past week or so and many are coming out saying he has too much baggage and would not do well against President Obama if he is the Republican candidate...

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No doubt the man has "History" that tends to make some conservatives a bit nervous when they see him in action, but I am telling you he is out there saying what many of us believe and doing it the only way you will be able to beat Obama...

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As in the past the Democrats will go ugly once they see their guy behind and loosing and the personal attacks, not just on Newt but all Republican\Conservatives, will be vicious and paid for with a Billion $$$ they are expecting to raise...

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The Democrats and Obama don't care about anything but being re-elected and the power it brings and will do what ever it takes. Look at the class-warfare they are using now...

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I fear the GOP will fold if they get to much public pressure on the payroll tax bill and will agree to the removal of the Keystone Pipeline from the bill as the President plays him game that will be trumpeted by the media...

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Newt is right that we need to send the bill to Obama and make him veto as he has promised. Then you send it again and make him veto it again and again until the public understands the real issue and how it effects them and our economy...

Contamination by use of "Fracking"?....

Fracking and how it is done....

If we really wanted to lower the unemployment rate and put Americans to work.....

Written by IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates and IHS Global Insight, the study shows that increasing the pace of permitting in the Gulf would boost employment opportunities in almost every state, enhance tax and royalty revenues, and help stabilize America’s energy security.



Specifically, the study shows that aligning the permitting process with the industry’s production capacity could result in:

230,000 American jobs;
More than $44 billion in US gross domestic product;
Nearly $12 billion in tax and royalty revenues for state and federal treasuries; and
$15 million reduction in the amount the US sends to foreign governments.


And that’s by the end of 2012.

"Worst Oil Spill ever"... Where did the oil go?....

“It cannot be repeated often enough,” says Louisiana marine biologist Jerald Horst. Crude oil is a natural substance; it’s biodegradable. It’s a feast for microbes. And these consumed most of it from the BP spill.” The horrid black goo that leaked into the Gulf of Mexico from the BP spill last year is certainly toxic - but so are broccoli, beer and salt. It all depends on the dosage. In fact, that horrid black goo has spilled naturally into the Gulf for millenniums - at the rate of two Exxon Valdez spills annually".

FONTOVA: From worst disaster to biggest embarrassment
Environmentalists and the press demolished their credibility hyping the BP oil spill

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The Washington Times has an interesting article regarding how the massive amounts of oil from the Gulf "disaster" and where it has gone...

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"Not all these gushers lie below the Gulf, however. In fact, one of Mother Earth’s biggest “spills” is off Southern California’s coast at Coal Oil Point, not far from the homes of “environmental activists” Leonardo DiCaprio, Charlie Sheen, Barbra Streisand, Brad Pitt, Ed Begley Jr. and many, many others of their ilk. This spill gushes an estimated 3,000 gallons of crude oil daily into the waters off Malibu beach. Yet none of the above “activists” appears overly agitated over this “disaster.”

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“Ah,” you ask, “but what about that poisonous chemical used as a dispersant for the oil?”

You probably ingested traces of this poisonous chemical compound with last night’s dinner, and other traces probably coat your pots, pans, cups, spoons and forks right now. Some people call the dispersant Corexit 9500 - and some call it soap. Essentially, it’s Dawn dishwashing detergent.

“Dispersants are not very toxic,” explains Robert Dickey, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Gulf Coast Seafood Laboratory. “They are detergents and solvents, and they become rapidly diluted. One square mile of seawater one foot deep is 200 million gallons. We added 1.8 million gallons in the whole Gulf.”

Local Newspaper assigns titles to "Letter to Editor" as they see it?....

The local newspaper printed my Letter to the Editor regarding the actual profit rates made by the oil\gas industry as compared to other industries. It also provided information on how much is paid to the government each day and it's about $86 million dollars a DAY. Unfortunately the newspaper chose to title the piece "Oil Companies have Consumers over a Barrel" instead of showing true theme of my letter.... Below is the submitted LTE and a link to the comments section online for the piece....

NewsLeader Section

Once again the drumbeat against oil company profits is getting louder with the release of profits and the high cost of gas to the consumers.

But let's get some info out there that you don't see in the attack ads or "targeted" reporting by some of the media outlets.

According to API (American Petroleum Institute) the 2010 earnings of the oil\gas industry was 5.7 percent net income per dollar of sales. Compare this to 21.7 percent for the Beverage\Tobacco industry or 17.3 percent for the Computer equipment companies. In fact the average for All Manufacturing industry is at 8.5 percent ....

Some claim that we need to tax more and\or cut "subsidies" to the evil oil\gas companies but the truth is they pay 41.1 percent income taxes as a share of net income as compared to 26.5 percent of the non-oil S&P industries. They also pay over $86 million every day in rents, royalties, bonuses and income tax to the government.

It seems the ever-hungry government is looking for even more money and the oil\gas industry is a favorite target of many in the government. The truth is affordable and easily available energy is important to our economy and national security and let's not forget the 9.2 million jobs that the industry provides and with that income tax paid by those individuals.

Fortunately Gov. Bob McDonnell understands the importance of developing the numerous energy sources we have here on land as well as the offshore potential of windpower and oil\gas resources.

Obama will try to make Big Oil "Profits" a four-letter word...

2011 Shad Planking....

The "Planking of the Shad" event for 2011 had a smaller attendance than many in the past but those who came out enjoyed nice weather and good conversation. Shad Plank 2010 had rain and a somewhat larger crowd with numerous familiar display tents missing this year but the 2011 shad event was still enjoyable...

Governor Bob McDonnell, Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, and Senate Candidate George Allen were in attendance and Governor McDonnell was the guest speaker...

Shad Planking speeches tend to be less serious and a opportunity for the speaker to take the familiar "Jabs" towards opposing political parties, their Representatives, Candidates, and of course the Shad itself....

Governor McDonnell spoke for about 15 minutes and had some good lines that got the applause he was looking for from the crowd. I particularly liked the one about the practice of cooking the Shad over the open fire pit and how it was fortunate that the EPA was not aware of the event and what was being done to the Shad. For the true name of the EPA is "Employment Prevention Agency" which is so true if you look at the history of this agency.....

Governor McDonnell took the usually opportunity to talk about the actual Shad fish and stated that he wished the members of the U.S. Congress had as much backbone as the Shad "This country would not be in such a mess"..... Oh, so true......

He also talked about how when he became elected as Governor of the State of Virginia he moved into the house that both former Governors Tim Kaine and George Allen once lived in and left items behind. It appears George Allen left a autographed football signed by himself and Tim Kaine left a $2 Billion tax hike when he left office.... Both items have been removed by the present Gov.....

Former VA Governor and now Senate candidate George Allen....

Virginia Tea Party tent...

The Tea Party has become a valuable asset for it keeps pressure on both parties and their representatives to address and make the necessary changes that are needed in government. It has become the voice of the people that the "Inner Beltway" representatives have learned to ignore in the past and now listen to for the numbers have grown, organized, and are now LOUD enough to get attention.....

Ben Marchi

Unfortunately one of the familiar tents that I missed from not being there was the Virginia Energy Independence Alliance tent which I have visited in the past and have enjoyed the conversation and information they provided...
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This year I found the "Va4wind" booth which is a organization of several environmental groups including the Sierra Club who's representative was manning the tent when I got there. I was encouraged and interested in seeing the support of Wind farms off of the Virginia coast but was disappointed when I found the main effort being made was to get people to sign a petition urging Dominion Power to develop, construct, and maintain the desired wind farm project. Seems I recall the Sierra Club jumping ugly with Dominion Power in the past?....

Also found after a little research that the Sierra Club had a year ending revenue (2008) of $56,313,595 and that maybe they can throw a little bit of this towards the development of wind farms instead of petitioning the "Evil Energy Companies"...

I stopped back at this booth several times to join in and listen to the conversations regarding placing wind farms off the Virginia coast and there were numerous good points made by those stopping by the booth. I left once the Sierra Club representative mentioned how disappointed she was in President Obama but she was still going to support him in the future...

Did I mention gasoline prices were $3.89 for regular in the Wakefield area?.....
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Virginia Lt. Governor Bill Bolling...

Senator Mark Warner...

It was actually good to see one of our U.S. Senators from the Democratic party at the 63rd Shad Planking. It was asked and pointed out many times how former DNC Chairman and now Senate candidate Tim Kaine was not at or represented at the Shad Planking. No signs. No people. Nothing.

Being the former Governor of Virginia and the history of the Shad Planking over the years you would think it would have made it onto the "To Do List" for somebody campaigning in Virginia?....

All together it was a good event and it is also beneficial to see who is out there running for what. A great opportunity to meet and talk with those of familiar and same opinions and beliefs as well as to speak with those of opposing opinions and beliefs.
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Also a great opportunity to get out there and talk with familiar people from the past and to catch up on what is going on in Virginia politics now and on the horizon. Informal gatherings such as the Shad Planking provides a valuable opportunity to catch up on current events, talk "politics", and to provide truth and facts regarding the "Spin" that is out there and surly to come in the upcoming campaign season....

(Such as)

"Spin"

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Representative Maxine Waters (D)... Watch the people sitting with her at the end....

Obama worried about those Gas prices?.....

Maybe the Chief has something to worry about?....

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WASHINGTON, April 5 (Reuters) - White House officials are increasingly worried that rising gasoline prices, and disruptions to the global oil supply, threaten not only the fragile U.S. economic recovery but the re-election prospects of President Barack Obama.

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White House aides are particularly concerned that if gas prices surpass a national average of $4 a gallon -- and if oil passes $125 a barrel -- the economic and political fallout could dominate next year's presidential campaign and drown out Obama's message of economic recovery.

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"Paper or Plastic"?... TAKE the Plastic!!.....

"A new study by the Environment Agency of England finds that those thin plastic bags have a smaller carbon footprint than reusable plastic or cotton satchels as well as disposable paper bags. According to "Evidence: Life Cycle Assessment of Supermarket Carrier Bags," you'd have to reuse a fashionable cotton bag at least 131 times to equal the low carbon footprint of a simple plastic bag. If you reuse a plastic bag — as a wastebasket liner perhaps — they pull even further away as the most green technology."

Besides what happens if you lose one of those "Save the Planet" reusable bags before you use it the minimum 131 times to make it worthwhile?

"Also, as other studies have shown, those trendy reusable bags provide a wonderful breeding ground for E. coli and other bacteria. That is, unless you wash them regularly. But if you do that, as my American Enterprise Institute colleague Ken Green notes, all that bleach, soap and hot water expand their carbon footprint as well."

The oil in our own backyard.....

"If allowed to proceed, it would eventually transport more than a million barrels of crude each day — more, according to Heritage Foundation analyst David Kreutzer, than we now import from either Saudi Arabia or Venezuela, our two largest suppliers after Canada and Mexico."

Whole article.....

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So why is Obama outsourcing our jobs?... "Obamalogic"?...

So now we have President Obama striving to outsource our oil\natural gas exploration, drilling, and production jobs to Brazil while his administration continues to block such jobs right here in America by continuing the moritorium...

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“It is beyond comprehension the administration would encourage trade for Brazilian oil while obstructing U.S. oil and natural gas development, eliminating related jobs here at home, and decreasing oil and natural gas revenues to the U.S. Treasury when the government is trillions of dollars in debt. The message from the White House to America’s oil and natural gas workers: we’re going to outsource your job.

“The administration is missing the obvious: what makes sense for Brazil also makes sense for the United States. Like every other nation, we should be developing our own oil and natural gas resources. It’s good for energy security, good for the economy, good for jobs, and it will help bring down our deficit.

“The administration says it supports more oil and natural gas development here in the United States, then at every turn discourages it. And today, the White House is making a deal with Brazil for the oil it is not allowing companies to produce here. There’s nothing wrong with buying Brazilian oil, but there’s a big problem when we’re forced to because we’re held back from producing our own.”


WASHINGTON, February __ – API President and CEO Jack Gerard said the administration’s offer to exchange batteries for oil from Brazil reflects its inadequate and illogical energy policy:



Just another example of "Obamalogic"?...