Enough said......

With the election being the main focus for so long it's great to have the opportunity to speak with friends about issues we have supported and worked for all along. Received this from and friend and GOOD STUFF!!!

One of the chief benefits that the nation would receive under a Romney-Ryan administration is a return to what I call “energy realism.” By that I mean understanding that oil and gas are the key drivers of our national economic engine and will be for decades to come.

In sharp contrast to this view are the policies of President Barack Obama who has attempted to “remake” America’s energy reality through top-down, central planning strategies that chase after a pie-in-the-sky “green jobs” economy. He has piled on the tax increases, regulations and green subsidies for companies like Solyndra and others. Remember, Obama is the one who pushed hard for but failed to pass cap-and-trade, warned that he would “bankrupt” anyone who wanted to build a new coal-fired power plant, has done nothing to open up federal lands for oil and gas development, and killed the Keystone XL pipeline that would have connected U.S. refineries to vast new oil deposits in Canada. Makes you wonder if the president is running our energy policy for our country or for special interest groups.

It is really ironic when you have a president continuously advocating for “corporate welfare” for Big Oil when, as the Congressional Research Service pointed out in a report last year, the most expensive energy tax breaks are not for U.S. oil and gas companies but for renewable energy startups. Yes, and we’re always shocked -- shocked I say -- to find out that a lot of these green subsidies go to “investors” who are politically connected to the White House.

So when you hear Obama talking about an “all of the above” energy policy, he’s probably looking at a list of DNC-linked donors, bundlers and crony capitalists.

Here’s Obama in the Oct. 3 debate with Romney:

The oil industry gets $4 billion a year in corporate welfare. Basically, they get deductions that those small businesses that Governor Romney refers to, they don’t get. Now, does anybody think that ExxonMobil needs some extra money, when they’re making money every time you go to the pump?

Two major problems with this scapegoating of oil companies for Obama’s own economic failures:

The first is that there truly are no government “subsidies” or “corporate welfare” for Big Oil. What we’re talking about are for the most part legitimate tax provisions that apply to virtually all American manufacturers and producers.

The second problem is that, in truth, Obama fails to mention that his plans call for raising taxes on our biggest domestic oil and gas producers by more than $40 billion over the next few years.

Let’s see if I understand this. Obama wants to selectively raise billions in new taxes on one of the most productive sectors of the U.S. economy, one that employs more than 9 million Americans with good paying jobs? At a time when sluggish GDP growth has brought job creation to a virtual standstill?

The oil and gas industry also sends $86 million dollars a day to the U.S. Treasury, and many more millions daily to states like North Dakota, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and others enjoying an energy boom. Here in Virginia, where the energy industry amounts to an $11.6 billion sector, there are more than 128,000 jobs provided or supported – with an average salary of $57,281 for non-gas station oil and natural gas employees. Just think where we’d be today if Obama hadn’t put energy resources off the coast of Virginia on his list of “none of the above” places to develop.

What the White House also fails to see is that, if you want a technological solution to greenhouse gases, the free market is the best way to get there. The U.S. oil and gas industry invested $71 billion in greenhouse gas-reducing technologies from 2000-2010. That’s nearly twice as much as the federal government ($43 billion) and almost as much as all other investors combined ($74 billion). When private industry invests in green technologies, it does so with a market test in view. Not so with government planners, whose idea of a sure thing has ended in multiple failed businesses. But of course when you’re picking winners and losers in the economy, from the commanding heights of the Obama White House, you also get to hand out a lot of favors.

Voters will do us all a big favor on Nov. 6 by putting Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan in charge of America’s energy policies. And none too soon.

Mayor Bloomberg was to allow the NYC Marathon to proceed and use valuable energy assets and equipment while hurricane Sandy victims suffered from lack of fuel, electric, food, shelter, and security...

Mayor Bloomberg, you are NO RUDY GIULIANI !!!

Water tight integrity.....

W.W. Parrish "Porter and Ale" 1860 era bottle....

This past week I had the opportunity to Scuba Dive up in New Jersey with my Instructor and friend Chet at a favorite dive site in the Atlantic Highlands of New Jersey. We have been diving this river for 15+ years and continue to find bottles from the 1850's era and this was an interesting find....
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We had very poor visibility underwater 18-24" and at 20 feet down it was almost total darkness. many of the bottles found in this area are "encrusted" with marine growth such as sponge, etc. and while searching I came along this bottle covered with growth. As I moved it I felt the shape of a bottle so took a look. At first I saw the color and then cleaned off the neck to see the "blob" top which told me it was old. But the length was very short so I expected it to be a broken bottle like many we find in this area. (many people would throw broken bottles in the water to get rid of them) I then found that it appeared to be intact so kept it to look at it on the surface....
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Turns out this is a bottle from "W.W. Parrish Jersey City N.J." and has "Porter and Ale" on the backside. It is 6-1/2" tall and no chips or cracks with little sand scratches. It is from the 1860 period (civil war era) and called a "Pony" bottle.......










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Easy "Cheap" credit the problem?....

As I sit here watching the Summer Olympics a commercial comes on telling me how GM General Motors has had one of their best quarters and sales of GM vehicles have been thru the roof. Funny because last week it was reported that GM motors has a new finance company that are making car loans to just about anybody walking thru the door and the majority of the loans are made to those who are on the lower end of the credit rating scores.

Commentators were quick to point out the double benefit of this practice being that GM is able to report increased sales of automobiles, thus making a flashy commercial to broadcast during the Olympics, and the resale of relatively “New” vehicles once they reposes them from those who obviously could not afford them in the first place…

I am also reading for the second time “The Big Short” by Michael Lewis which explains a lot of what went on with the subprime collapse and it appears we are headed right back in the same direction as evident with the GM financing to those who can’t afford the cars they are buying. Another example is one provided in “The Big Short” regarding the practice of providing “Free Checking” by the banks…   

And he explained that they avoided free checking because it was really a tax on poor people—in the form of fines for overdrawing their checking accounts. And that banks that used it were really just banking on being able to rip off poor people even more than they could if they charged them for their checks.”

Lewis, Michael (2010-05-12). The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine (p. 20). Norton. Kindle Edition.

So here you have it. Many have always made profit off of lending money to those who need it or those who want it to improve their status. The dangerous one is the guy who uses credit to “keep up with the Jones”, get that new smartphone, or make that major purchase to have that house comparable to what took generations before us decades to be able to afford…

But is it the fault of the person doing the lending or the person spending by use of credit to make purchases that will take months\years\decades to pay off? Many people get caught up in the experience and rush of shopping and even justify this overspending by use of special credit promotions that make it almost foolish not to take advantage of these promotions. I have seen people walk around the store looking to spend another $100 to put them over the $299 minimum required to get that 12 months no interest offer. Seems like a good idea in taking advantage of “interest free money” but already the consumer is in the hole for spending the unnecessary $100 to get the offer and if the total purchase is not paid off in the 12 month period full interest is required. Fault of the “lender” or the “borrower”…

Many of my Liberal friends are quick to point out that wages have not increased across the board for everybody as it “Should” in their perfect world. First let me say that I look at CEO’s pulling down millions in bonus as incentive programs are eliminated to temporally raise stock prices and quarter bottom lines, but what happens to long term productivity? It has become evident that many in the “Middle class” have dealt with little wage increases by way of cheap credit to get the “Toys” they wanted before they could actually afford them. With that many people have gotten themselves in trouble and never really able to get ahead as they should.

Do people really need the new Smartphone that can do more than what many computers could do just a short time ago? Technology is a great thing and very valuable if you can make it work for you. I see friends who can run their companies with these phones and make very nice money by being smart with these phones. I take grief at work for being the guy still with a “flip-phone” but without running a business with it all I need is a portable phone and the smaller monthly phone bill…

More to come (?)…..

Staunton VA 4th of July Parade ~2012~

Nice sunny day for a 4th of July Parade in Staunton VA and had a good turnout even with it being the middle of the week...

Military personnel got standing ovations all along the parade route as well as several people stepping up to shake their hands and show appreciation for their service to our country...
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Congressman Bob Goodlatte walking the parade route in Staunton VA...
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I walked the parade route several times looking for the Democratic Party parade float and did not see anyone marching in support of the party or it's candidates. I also could not find or identify any campaign workers for any of the Democratic party candidates running this November. I eventually found the Staunton\Augusta County Democratic Party table along the parade route with a surprising small amount of campaign literature and support items (ugly Tim Kaine signs). This in stark contrast to the 2008 election cycle where the DNC and Obama sent  considerable amounts of money and support into the Shenandoah Valley...

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This also being in stark contrast to the representation provided by the Shenandoah Valley Tea Party who had a impressive showing by citizens who organized themselves and supported themselves along with help from other citizens in the valley.

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"Unions" just another form of government?...

I saw this sign out front of one of the major distribution centers here in Stuarts Draft encouraging workers to sign the "Union card" calling for a union to be formed at this location. Here we have a force which claims to represent you but infact takes money from the paycheck that you earned, spends it as they see fit claiming they know  better than you what is good for you, and restrict your ability to grow and improve yourself...

Ironic...

This the day after the federal government grew it's ability to do the exact same thing to us because of the ruling passed down by the Supreme Court regarding "Obama-care"...

Also Ironic is the low popularity of private unions as well as the low popularity of Obama-care with the true workers (private sector) of the United States...





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