Tina Fey is great again as Gov. Palin

Chevy Volt - late 2009

Estimated fuel economy @ constant state of charge:

50 mpg during charge sustaining operation

Daily usage equivalent mpg:

@ 40 miles or less:

not applicable – no fuel used

@ 60 miles:

150 mpg

@ 80 miles:

100 mpg

0 to 60 miles per hour:

8 to 8.5 seconds

Top speed (miles per hour)

120 (limited duration)

All of this is from the GM-Volt Site. Not too shabby in my opinion. Considering my commute.

http://gm-volt.com/full-specifications/

Ah the Republican (but not Conservative) way of governing.

Too much Yin and not enough Yang.

Palin on Foreign Policy Experience, CBS interview.

Watch CBS Videos Online

She may be a nice person but she is in way over her head. She stumbles to come up with clear thoughts here. Not impressed.

Letterman goes after McCain

This was very funny to watch, it get even more critical as time goes on. After hearing that he went to dinner, meeting and interview with Katie Couric, Letterman gets pretty upset and really tears into him. At about 7 minutes he has Keith Olberman on and he goes to alive feed to the interview that Couric is doing on CBS - same network as Letterman.

Last night he was still angry and had a number of "jokes" regarding him being a coward and that he has changed. It was great.

Arnold on the Environment

I read a great column by Gov. Arnold in Portfolio Magazine (great magazine if you have never read it). The column basically boils down the US to a country that only cares about the bottom dollar and that we should take advantage of this time to make energy changes in our lives. All of this very true and its all been said before but coming from the Terminator himself it is well stated and shows how other nations have taken the lead on energy issues.

"We’re weeks away from knowing who our next president will be, but there’s one thing I already know with dead certainty. The president—whether he has an R or a D next to his name—must lead our energy revolution. It’s time to forge our energy independence once and for all. In fact, it’s way past time. Our security, our environment, and our economy are crying out for us to end our reliance on foreign oil.

This shouldn’t sound like news to anybody. We’ve known since 1973 that we are dangerously dependent on unstable and unfriendly regimes for our energy needs. Presidents since Jimmy Carter have called for “energy independence.” Sadly, we tend to change course whenever gas prices drop."

California under Arnold has taken steps to change and in time it will show in many ways. Any ways this is a good read and a great magazine. Article

http://www.portfolio.com/

Free Sarah Palin!

Top photos of the day

Sometimes its nice to start of the day with a few peaceful pics...

And a few funny ones...

The Paulsen Checkbook

Happy to see that Congress has not allowed the bill to pass without any oversight in it. To give someone the keys to our economy without any oversight sounds dangerous to me. Really hope this gets done soon if its needed but its always better to make the proper choice over the impulsive choice. Sen. Dodd and others are correct in this.

And you thought you were having a bad day.

Ouch!

Wall Street fail = tax payers fail.

This week has been tough for basically the entire financial world. Bailouts and bankruptcies have been happening almost everyday and the latest news is that the US Treasury has agreed to throw more cash into the mix to attempt to keep Wall Street from imploding. The numbers on this are staggering and they will just be added to the list of the money already been laid out:
200 Billion to Fannie & Freddie
85 Billion to AIG
29 Billion to Bear Stearn
168 Billion in Bush #1 Stimulus Package
50 Billion in Bush #1 Stimulus Package (proposed)

447 Billion Total

These numbers are before Sec. Paulsen talked today, what he said today will surely look good to the banks but very bad to anyone who thinks about where this money has to come from. He stated today that his plan to rid the banks of their bad investments will cost hundred of billions, which is on top of the 447 listed above.

China already along with Japan pay for almost 50% of the deficit that the US runs every year. So it only figures that with this almost 1 Trillion dollar loss on Wall Street the creditors will prosper.

This on top of the news that China is also in talks with Morgan Stanley (one of the few investment banks left) to buy 49% of the company.

Sounds like we are robbing from peter to pay paul in my opinion, but its not all good for China.
As a result of our Banking collapse:
"The central bank is in need of capital because of its roughly $1 trillion purchase of U.S. Treasury bonds and Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-issued mortgage-backed debt." -marketwatch,

Picture credit to:Elaine Meinel Supkis

UPDATE: now going top 700 Billion, yea!

Does anyone actually care about Sarah Palin's views?

Today she went on about how Iran should not be allowed to acquire the technology to make nuclear weapons. She said the McCain and her would do everything possible to keep that from happening. She was invited to a rally at the UN about this issue but the organizers have come to their sense and withdrew her invitation because they felt it would look to partisan. As a result of Palin's invitation, Hillary Clinton withdrew from the event likely because it would only serve to legitimize Palin which I hope Clinton will continue to fight.
In this situation and many more to come, Palin has nothing new to say or do because she knows nothing about the situation other than what her tutors are telling her. BTW, her tutors are former Bush aides that now are being paid to get this woman ready for the spotlight.
The organizers of the event went on to ask the Obama camp if they wished to have Biden attend but they were not interested. I can see why they would stay away from this as Palin doesn't deserve any hand outs at this point. She hides from interviews and dodges reporters at events. And of course McCain used this situation to make this statement:

"Governor Palin was pleased to accept an invitation to address this rally and show her resolve on this grave national security issue. Regrettably that invitation has since been withdrawn under pressure from Democratic partisans. We stand shoulder to shoulder with Republicans, Democrats and independents alike to oppose Ahmadinejad's goal of a nuclear armed Iran. Senator Obama's campaign had the opportunity to join us. Senator Obama chose politics rather than the national interest."

He sounds more and more like a warmongering Republican now and less and less like the Maverick that he might have been.

Wind & Solar maps

Great Place for maps of the Solar & Wind resources in North America.

http://firstlook.3tiergroup.com/

Surprisingly, this area of North Carolina has some great spots for wind, who knew?

Best Places for Alternative Energy in the US.

Some may not surprise you. I for one heard first hand of a family member's plans for wind turbines in Alaska. After seeing this it makes perfect sense. Below is the Wind Map for Alaska showing how it is the #1 state for potential Wind Energy.




Nevada rules for Geothermal, guess its not just the dry heat in the air in Nevada.



Solar is coming along in that its becoming more and more cost effective to use. Arizona is the king in this category.



To read today that China spent $10.6 Billion on Green Technologies in 2007, its beginning to look like we are going to lose this industry before we even get it going. They will begin to manufacture the Green Tech in the same cheap mass produced way they do for everything else. All in my opinion because of Oil Companies and their lobbyists.

Is McCain a Liar? Sounds like it.

You know your struggling when Fox News asks serious questions to a McCain spokesperson. That in itself would be bad but this follows Karl Rove himself saying that the McCain camp went too far in its ads.





I know politicians are known for stretching the truth but when even your own most loyal pawns are beginning to question your actions its time to reevaluate your campaign.

People are Crazy! Daredevil Skate Boarders

Adam Kimmel presents: Claremont HD from adam kimmel on Vimeo.

2 Best Episodes in a long time.

With the hypocrisy of politics its easy for John Stewart and his crew to come up with some great material. The two shows to me were the best of the bunch, admittedly because I do not like Palin and think McCain has sold out his Maverick ways to appease a certain segment of the Republicans.

PS - the worst moment of the RNC was Giuliani mocking community organizers.

But back to the funny stuff.

Sen. Biden fires back.

The RNC was all about getting to know McCain (whom everyone knows) and Palin who in time people may not want to know.
Joe Biden fires back to say that there was no substance to the RNC. Bring on the debates.

T. Boone Pickens - Patriot or Tycoon

I am all for all of his ideas, I think they are the best path for American Energy independence. The messenger however is not always as good as the message. Upon hearing that he was a primary sponsor of the Swift Boat ads in 2004 I had to rethink how I felt about his plans.  After thinking about it, the overall good that he can do now far outweighs how horrible he was in 2004. 

The energy opportunity that we have in the US can help on all fronts. Pickens and others see this opportunity in two ways, one to help the country and the other to make big money on these new initiatives. The benefit to the country will be great as long as the Govt. promotes these changes and aids in the upfront costs. This could happen in the same way we did in the past, in the Manhattan project was one time where we invested money in new technology and the other was the space race with Russia. Both instances we prospered as a direct result of the Govt. investment.

The plans has many facets, many people think its just wind and CNG but please read it to see the full plan. Pickens Plan

Still the White Guy Party? Yes sir.

Only 36 of the 2300 Delegates at the Republican National Convention were Black. That is shocking to me, I know that Barack Obama is going to dominate the African American votes but still the Republican Party can only get 36 to be delegates? Thats sad. To say that your not out of touch and then to see the overwhelming whiteness of the delegates is horrible.