So Al Gore gets nailed by some group who managed to get a hold of the energy bills for his Tennessee mansion. It turns out that he consumes more than 20 times what the average American household consumes. Last August he consumed twice as much in one month as the average house consumes in a year. Of course this makes for a rather inconvenient truth considering that he makes his living these days going around scolding other Americans for their extravagant energy consumption. To defend himself, Gore sends out spokesperson Kale Kreider who points out that Gore leads a “carbon-neutral lifestyle” and purchases enough energy from renewable sources to "balance 100% of his electricity costs."
Gore is not the first to trot out this defense when accused of hypocrisy (which is usually considered by liberals to be worse than murder.) This carbon credit thing comes in real handy at times. Flew your private jet across country to play golf? Purchase some carbon credits and you’re home free. It’s like it never happened. Buy some more and you can cancel out the all the carbon that your Hummer limo produces when you commute 50 miles a day. If you’re feeling especially noble, you can purchase enough carbon credits to give yourself a negative carbon footprint so that you are not only covering all your carbon, but also soaking up some that the guy down the street is spewing.
What, you say? You don’t quite understand how that works? Well that’s because it doesn’t. Energy consumption is not reduced at all. This is like putting eleven on the volume knob so you can be “one louder.” The only things that are reduced are your guilt and how much money you have. This is Pope Leo X selling indulgences. Yes, it’s a law of economics that people will tend to buy less of something at higher prices, and more of something at lower prices. That is the self-limiting role that prices play. YOU make the decision to buy less of something because while the price is high, you still need it. But what if you don’t really need it and are buying it for altruistic reasons? The price at which you buy less would be a lot lower I think. Not that I want one, but a universal individual cap on consumption is the only way this would work. After your nth ton of carbon we start taxing you.
The carbon credit system is an economic incentive to reduce carbon emissions. And economic incentives do have an effect on the way people behave. But as Al Gore demonstrates here, the desired effect is decidedly not achieved. Gore didn’t alter his lifestyle; he simply ponied up the “tax.” How is this any different than the rich guy who doesn’t care when gas goes to $4/gallon because he's got the money? Gore’s purchase of “renewable” energy would only be significant if he used it instead of the other energy, not in addition to. Some of the programs do things like plant trees to offset consumption, but wouldn’t those trees do a better job if you weren’t matching them up with new emissions? Those trees could scrub existing emissions instead of the stuff you just created.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
Rap Sheet
A short article in the Wisconsin State Journal last weekend was interesting for a couple of reasons. Basically it was about a “riot” that had occurred Sunday night at the High Noon Saloon. About twenty police officers were called to the bar to quell a melee involving up to 50 people. Twice in the article it was mentioned that marijuana was present, even going as far as to attribute the violence to it’s presence. Police spokesman Mike Hanson said “Marijuana mixed with alcohol fueled the aggressive atmosphere that led to the fights.”
I thought that was a rather curious statement to make since most people think that weed usually has just the opposite effect. I even remember an article a couple of years ago during that rash of soccer riots in Europe that one plan they seriously considered to control the hooligans was to make sure they had access to pot because they were far less likely to start some violence when under it’s influence. So Hanson’s comment made no sense to me and I wondered why he would say that. Reading on in the article I think I found the reason.
They interviewed a bartender and the bar owner, Cathy Dethmers, about the brawl. They both tried to downplay the seriousness of the fight naturally, although the bartender said it was "10 times worse" than any previous fight he'd seen at the High Noon. Dethmers then leaked the tidbit nobody wanted to mention. The article quoted her:
Dethmers said more than 100 customers were at the bar to hear a R&B disc jockey, and she expected it to be "a mellow kind of night."
Although the show also featured hip-hop, Dethmers said the fight had nothing to do with the music. But she said she did not intend to work with the show's promoter again.
"I've booked plenty of my own hip-hop and not had any problems," Dethmers said. "It was a handful of troublemakers that just happened to come to the show."
In the other Madison newspaper, The Crapital Times, the article was almost identical except that there was no reference to hip hop at all. (For those of you who may not know it, our two competing dailies have a somewhat incestuous relationship. They have a convoluted ownership arrangement involving a holding company that allows them to appear separate while they are actually the same entity. They do compete for readers, but they have divvied up things so that they don’t really step on each others toes. The State Journal does a morning edition and the Sunday paper and they are moderately conservative. The Capital Times does the afternoon edition and is wacko liberal. Often, identical news articles appear in each.)
Trust me when I say that the omission by the Cap Times was no accident. You see we’ve already been down this road before. Within the past year a popular downtown bar called the Majestic was forced to close when they experienced similar outbreaks of violence. This place had a rotation of acts throughout the week. They’d have old time burlesque one night, drag queens the next and “Late Night Catechism” the next. Of course the violence exclusively happened on hip hop night. They tried metal detectors at the door. They hired private security to supplement the substantial police presence that was now required each time they had hip hop. And when the cops did arrest somebody, invariably, the guy who got shot/stabbed/beaten would refuse to cooperate and the perp would be set free. Nothing worked and they were eventually shut down. And throughout the entire affair the hue and cry was “Hip hop does not cause violence. The music is not the problem.” They even had an editorial written by a young newspaper intern who said she could prove the music was not the problem. She liked and listened to hip hop, and she had never been violent! Case closed.
When Dethmers said “the fight had nothing to do with the music” she was right only in the sense that the thugs involved were probably not fighting over who’s better, 50 Cent or Snoop Dogg. Yes, I’m sure it was a “handful of troublemakers,” but they didn’t “just happen to come to the show.” They sought that show out and they will again the next time somebody puts on a hip hop show.
I thought that was a rather curious statement to make since most people think that weed usually has just the opposite effect. I even remember an article a couple of years ago during that rash of soccer riots in Europe that one plan they seriously considered to control the hooligans was to make sure they had access to pot because they were far less likely to start some violence when under it’s influence. So Hanson’s comment made no sense to me and I wondered why he would say that. Reading on in the article I think I found the reason.
They interviewed a bartender and the bar owner, Cathy Dethmers, about the brawl. They both tried to downplay the seriousness of the fight naturally, although the bartender said it was "10 times worse" than any previous fight he'd seen at the High Noon. Dethmers then leaked the tidbit nobody wanted to mention. The article quoted her:
Dethmers said more than 100 customers were at the bar to hear a R&B disc jockey, and she expected it to be "a mellow kind of night."
Although the show also featured hip-hop, Dethmers said the fight had nothing to do with the music. But she said she did not intend to work with the show's promoter again.
"I've booked plenty of my own hip-hop and not had any problems," Dethmers said. "It was a handful of troublemakers that just happened to come to the show."
In the other Madison newspaper, The Crapital Times, the article was almost identical except that there was no reference to hip hop at all. (For those of you who may not know it, our two competing dailies have a somewhat incestuous relationship. They have a convoluted ownership arrangement involving a holding company that allows them to appear separate while they are actually the same entity. They do compete for readers, but they have divvied up things so that they don’t really step on each others toes. The State Journal does a morning edition and the Sunday paper and they are moderately conservative. The Capital Times does the afternoon edition and is wacko liberal. Often, identical news articles appear in each.)
Trust me when I say that the omission by the Cap Times was no accident. You see we’ve already been down this road before. Within the past year a popular downtown bar called the Majestic was forced to close when they experienced similar outbreaks of violence. This place had a rotation of acts throughout the week. They’d have old time burlesque one night, drag queens the next and “Late Night Catechism” the next. Of course the violence exclusively happened on hip hop night. They tried metal detectors at the door. They hired private security to supplement the substantial police presence that was now required each time they had hip hop. And when the cops did arrest somebody, invariably, the guy who got shot/stabbed/beaten would refuse to cooperate and the perp would be set free. Nothing worked and they were eventually shut down. And throughout the entire affair the hue and cry was “Hip hop does not cause violence. The music is not the problem.” They even had an editorial written by a young newspaper intern who said she could prove the music was not the problem. She liked and listened to hip hop, and she had never been violent! Case closed.
When Dethmers said “the fight had nothing to do with the music” she was right only in the sense that the thugs involved were probably not fighting over who’s better, 50 Cent or Snoop Dogg. Yes, I’m sure it was a “handful of troublemakers,” but they didn’t “just happen to come to the show.” They sought that show out and they will again the next time somebody puts on a hip hop show.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Slim Tuesday
Well last night was a series of disappointments. First, the UW Badgers lost a tough game at Michigan State. All Big Ten road games are tough, and the Spartans were sky high with the newly minted No.1 team in the country visiting. They had a guy who hit six three-pointers and they took us completely out of our game. At the end, we were reduced to exclusively shooting threes, which we CAN do, but it's not our forte. And it's probably the worst aspect of Alando Tucker's game (next to his free throw shooting.) So when you saw him heaving them from downtown at the end, you knew we were in trouble. And to make matters worse, ESPN had Brent Freakin' Musburger doing the broadcast. I can't stand him. Among the annoying things he does is say WIS-con-sin instead of wis-CON-sin. I know, Bob Griese saying WES-con-sin is worse, but just barely. Then half way through the game he says "Wow, WIS-con-sin is a much better team than I thought they'd be." Hey you moron, they're ranked No.1, that should tell you they're REALLY good shouldn't it? But what he was really saying was, "I've never seen this team play, but they're WIS-con-sin so I assumed they were lousy." Then he reads off his little note cards with trivia about the various players to give you the impression that he really knows these teams intimately.
So after the game Mrs. Rant and I head out to celebrate Fat Tuesday. Our first stop is my bar, which shall remain nameless (because I am there all the time.) A few guys had beads on, but we were the only ones wearing masks. They had a decent band but the crowd was small and pretty sedate. So after a couple of beers, we decided to find something a little more exciting. We headed to The Club Tavern in Middleton. Now The Club Tavern has developed a reputation for Mardi Gras. They have multiple bands and lots of beads, that you have to earn the old fashioned way. Rumour has it that the owners "salted the mine" in years past. That is, they hired "professional" flashers to insure that the guys were not disappointed. I don't know if they still do that, because I've not been able to even get in the building on Fat Tuesday and this was no exception. The line at the door (all guys) was probably 30 at 9 o'clock and they appeared to be metering them in as people left. The side streets looked like Camp Randall on a football Saturday with cars parked on lawns and every other conceivable space. There was a cop car parked on the corner and it was a traffic hassle just to drive by and turn around.
So, we tried Irish Waters just down the road. As we walked in, about ten guys were walking out in a group. One of them says, "You guys can take over now." As we came through the doors I saw what he meant. They had been the only ones there and the entire place was empty now. So we headed to Gray's Tied House in Verona. On the way there, I encountered doofi (plural for doofus) on the highway. The first idiot was in the lane next to me and aggressively trying to race ahead of me and get into my lane, which was the inside lane of two left turn lanes getting onto the beltline. The second idiot was in front of him. The arrow was red but the second idiot was anticipating it turning green as he approached. Consequently, when it didn't change, he wound up in the middle of the intersection with the cross traffic trying to get around him. That's when he threw it in reverse and slammed into idiot number one just as the light turned green. My guess is they were both drunk and now had to deal with a wreck and possibly the cops. I laughed all the way to Verona. The Tied House was a morgue as well, but after driving that far we decided to stop for one. I regretted that right away when I noticed the bartender was the same arrogant jerk I'd had before. If you've ever been there you probably know the guy I'm talking about. Think "snotty bitch." If you didn't know better you might think he owns the place. He's got an attitude and a smart mouth. His comments are actually quite snippy and hostile, but when he makes them, he follows it with a laugh that's supposed to say "I'm just kidding." Sort of like the Dwight Yokum character in "Slingblade."
Anyway, I tried to convey the idea that maybe the Club Tavern might have figured out how to cash in on Mardi Gras while these other places were missing the boat. He looked at me like I was from outer space and said something dismissive. So I tried to make the point more personal by saying "Well, no offense, but look at your place" making a sweeping gesture at the almost empty bar. Instead of acknowledging my point, he walked away in a huff. Two things are obvious here. One, Gray's does not have ownership present at that site, and some people should not be in any type of service job.
So after the game Mrs. Rant and I head out to celebrate Fat Tuesday. Our first stop is my bar, which shall remain nameless (because I am there all the time.) A few guys had beads on, but we were the only ones wearing masks. They had a decent band but the crowd was small and pretty sedate. So after a couple of beers, we decided to find something a little more exciting. We headed to The Club Tavern in Middleton. Now The Club Tavern has developed a reputation for Mardi Gras. They have multiple bands and lots of beads, that you have to earn the old fashioned way. Rumour has it that the owners "salted the mine" in years past. That is, they hired "professional" flashers to insure that the guys were not disappointed. I don't know if they still do that, because I've not been able to even get in the building on Fat Tuesday and this was no exception. The line at the door (all guys) was probably 30 at 9 o'clock and they appeared to be metering them in as people left. The side streets looked like Camp Randall on a football Saturday with cars parked on lawns and every other conceivable space. There was a cop car parked on the corner and it was a traffic hassle just to drive by and turn around.
So, we tried Irish Waters just down the road. As we walked in, about ten guys were walking out in a group. One of them says, "You guys can take over now." As we came through the doors I saw what he meant. They had been the only ones there and the entire place was empty now. So we headed to Gray's Tied House in Verona. On the way there, I encountered doofi (plural for doofus) on the highway. The first idiot was in the lane next to me and aggressively trying to race ahead of me and get into my lane, which was the inside lane of two left turn lanes getting onto the beltline. The second idiot was in front of him. The arrow was red but the second idiot was anticipating it turning green as he approached. Consequently, when it didn't change, he wound up in the middle of the intersection with the cross traffic trying to get around him. That's when he threw it in reverse and slammed into idiot number one just as the light turned green. My guess is they were both drunk and now had to deal with a wreck and possibly the cops. I laughed all the way to Verona. The Tied House was a morgue as well, but after driving that far we decided to stop for one. I regretted that right away when I noticed the bartender was the same arrogant jerk I'd had before. If you've ever been there you probably know the guy I'm talking about. Think "snotty bitch." If you didn't know better you might think he owns the place. He's got an attitude and a smart mouth. His comments are actually quite snippy and hostile, but when he makes them, he follows it with a laugh that's supposed to say "I'm just kidding." Sort of like the Dwight Yokum character in "Slingblade."
Anyway, I tried to convey the idea that maybe the Club Tavern might have figured out how to cash in on Mardi Gras while these other places were missing the boat. He looked at me like I was from outer space and said something dismissive. So I tried to make the point more personal by saying "Well, no offense, but look at your place" making a sweeping gesture at the almost empty bar. Instead of acknowledging my point, he walked away in a huff. Two things are obvious here. One, Gray's does not have ownership present at that site, and some people should not be in any type of service job.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Do You Consult Your Dentist About Brain Surgery?
The scientists listed below comprise the Board of Directors of AAAS, the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They issued a statement on 2/18/07 that basically amounts to taking a shot at George W. Bush for what they consider foot dragging on global warming. On their web site they claim AAAS “serves some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals.” While I’m not sure what constitutes “serving,” I’m pretty sure they don’t speak for ten million individuals. In fact, this statement was generated by the Board of Directors listed below. What is interesting here is that there is not a single expert in Climate Change. Much like the impressive list of scientists who lent their names to Al Gore for his film, there is a noticeable lack of experts in the actual field they are writing about. Don’t get me wrong, I’m impressed that Dr. Dowling has an MD (from Harvard no less) AND a PhD in Biology, but why weren’t they talking to the premier Climatologist in the country, or at least the top Climatologist at Harvard (where the majority seem to have a connection.) And I wouldn’t mind if they were on the board along with some climate experts. You know, to add some “diversity” (God, I hate that word!).
The worst part is that the thrust of their statement is “It’s time to end the debate.” And that seems to be the chorus these days. Just admit they are right and we can all move on to solving this problem that they alternately say is unsolvable and irreversible. But PLEASE can we just stop talking about it! The glaciers are retreating! No, not all of them and no, we really don’t know why some are advancing. No we don’t have all the answers and we certainly don’t have a solution. But, damn it, it’s time to stop the debate. You must be one of those global warming deniers.
Dr. Gilbert S. Omenn – MD & PhD Genetics
Dr. John Holdren – Engineering & Physics
Dr. David Baltimore - Biologist
Dr. David E. Shaw – Computer Scientist
Mr. William T. Golden – Not a scientist, but did give AAAS $5.25 million
Dr. Alan I. Leshner – PhD Physiological Psychology
Dr. Rosina M. Bierbaum – BS Biology, PhD Ecology & Evolution
Dr. John E. Dowling – MD & PhD Biology
Dr. Lynn Enquist – Molecular Biology
Dr. Susan Fitzpatrick – Health Risk Management
Dr. Alice Gast – Chemical Engineering
Dr. Thomas D. Pollard - MD
Dr. Peter R. Stang - Chemistry
Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan – BS Earth Sciences, PhD Geology
The worst part is that the thrust of their statement is “It’s time to end the debate.” And that seems to be the chorus these days. Just admit they are right and we can all move on to solving this problem that they alternately say is unsolvable and irreversible. But PLEASE can we just stop talking about it! The glaciers are retreating! No, not all of them and no, we really don’t know why some are advancing. No we don’t have all the answers and we certainly don’t have a solution. But, damn it, it’s time to stop the debate. You must be one of those global warming deniers.
Dr. Gilbert S. Omenn – MD & PhD Genetics
Dr. John Holdren – Engineering & Physics
Dr. David Baltimore - Biologist
Dr. David E. Shaw – Computer Scientist
Mr. William T. Golden – Not a scientist, but did give AAAS $5.25 million
Dr. Alan I. Leshner – PhD Physiological Psychology
Dr. Rosina M. Bierbaum – BS Biology, PhD Ecology & Evolution
Dr. John E. Dowling – MD & PhD Biology
Dr. Lynn Enquist – Molecular Biology
Dr. Susan Fitzpatrick – Health Risk Management
Dr. Alice Gast – Chemical Engineering
Dr. Thomas D. Pollard - MD
Dr. Peter R. Stang - Chemistry
Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan – BS Earth Sciences, PhD Geology
Friday, February 2, 2007
Invested In Defeat
A most disturbing situation has developed amongst Democrats, particularly those with presidential aspirations. Politically, they are heavily invested in defeat in Iraq. Ask yourself what is the worst thing that could possibly happen to the political future of Hillary, Biden, Obamba, Kerry and Harry Reid? A clear cut victory in Iraq in the next two years. Of course, they can't appear to actually take that position, so their posture is that we have already lost, and NOTHING can change that. If they can convince you that it's already over, they don't have to address what they want the outcome to be. And clearly, they want us to lose. Or more specifically, they want George W. Bush to lose, and that doesn't happen if he has success in Iraq.
Now I realize that it's possible to actually believe that Iraq is a lost cause and therefore not worth one more casualty. But the Democrats' actions belie that notion. A little over a year ago, Hillary, Biden and Kerry all criticized Bush for not sending enough troops. Harry Reid thought a surge was a good idea just a couple of months ago. The about face came as soon as Bush decided to heed their advice. Once he was for it, they had to oppose it. And that is what they are all about, knee jerk opposition. If you are trying to ride Bush's unpopularity to the White House, you cannot afford an upswing in his poll numbers. From where I stand there are only a few individuals who are actually willing to have the courage of their convictions. And they are at different ends of the spectrum. When asked about his unique stance of wanting even more of a troop surge than Bush, John McCain stated that he'd rather lose an election than a war. On the other end, Russ Fiengold is willing to suffer the consequences of cutting off funding for the war in order to force capitulation. As repugnant as that idea is, you have to admire his courage in taking that position. (Although, he does have the comfort of knowing his proposal doesn't have a chance, at this point.) I wish we could hook them all up to a polygraph machine and simply ask them, "Do you want to win this war?"
Now I realize that it's possible to actually believe that Iraq is a lost cause and therefore not worth one more casualty. But the Democrats' actions belie that notion. A little over a year ago, Hillary, Biden and Kerry all criticized Bush for not sending enough troops. Harry Reid thought a surge was a good idea just a couple of months ago. The about face came as soon as Bush decided to heed their advice. Once he was for it, they had to oppose it. And that is what they are all about, knee jerk opposition. If you are trying to ride Bush's unpopularity to the White House, you cannot afford an upswing in his poll numbers. From where I stand there are only a few individuals who are actually willing to have the courage of their convictions. And they are at different ends of the spectrum. When asked about his unique stance of wanting even more of a troop surge than Bush, John McCain stated that he'd rather lose an election than a war. On the other end, Russ Fiengold is willing to suffer the consequences of cutting off funding for the war in order to force capitulation. As repugnant as that idea is, you have to admire his courage in taking that position. (Although, he does have the comfort of knowing his proposal doesn't have a chance, at this point.) I wish we could hook them all up to a polygraph machine and simply ask them, "Do you want to win this war?"
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