Not All Nuts Grow on Trees

Jonathon Porritt, British nincompoop, prefers trees to people, Sarah-Kate Templeton, Times(UK):

The Optimum Population Trust, a campaign group of which Porritt is a patron, says each baby born in Britain will, during his or her lifetime, burn carbon roughly equivalent to 2½ acres of old-growth oak woodland – an area the size of Trafalgar Square.

Hat tip:  Ann Althouse, whom I prefer to any tree.  What say you?

I quess Sarah not a Bithead, yet, Sarah Baxter, Sunday Times(UK):

LESS than two weeks into his administration, President Barack Obama is being portrayed by opponents as a new Jimmy Carter – weak at home and naive abroad – in an attempt to dim his post-election glow and ensure that he serves only one term.

Gee that is the exact point I made 5 November last.

I’ve been teling you since… well, forever, that FDR made things worse not better…  So  along comes Harold Cole and Lee Ohanian at The Wall Street Journal this morning:

The New Deal is widely perceived to have ended the Great Depression, and this has led many to support a “new” New Deal to address the current crisis. But the facts do not support the perception that FDR’s policies shortened the Depression, or that similar policies will pull our nation out of its current economic downturn.

***

Why wasn’t the Depression followed by a vigorous recovery, like every other cycle? It should have been. The economic fundamentals that drive all expansions were very favorable during the New Deal. Productivity grew very rapidly after 1933, the price level was stable, real interest rates were low, and liquidity was plentiful. We have calculated on the basis of just productivity growth that employment and investment should have been back to normal levels by 1936. Similarly, Nobel Laureate Robert Lucas and Leonard Rapping calculated on the basis of just expansionary Federal Reserve policy that the economy should have been back to normal by 1935.

So what stopped a blockbuster recovery from ever starting? The New Deal. Some New Deal policies certainly benefited the economy by establishing a basic social safety net through Social Security and unemployment benefits, and by stabilizing the financial system through deposit insurance and the Securities Exchange Commission. But others violated the most basic economic principles by suppressing competition, and setting prices and wages in many sectors well above their normal levels. All told, these antimarket policies choked off powerful recovery forces that would have plausibly returned the economy back to trend by the mid-1930s.

This is, of course, merely one more repetition of the facts surrounding FDR and his anti free market meddling.  The real facts, of course.  Not the ones  fed us by the government school teachers who worship on the altar of FDR.  The fact is (And I say this yet again)  the governmental, anti-free market ‘solutions’ that he forced down America’s throat in a time of crisis, were exactly the wrong direction to go.  They ended up doing more harm than good.

And the sad fact is, we are still suffering from depression era governmental interference in the form of laws… Anti- free market laws, which still hold back our economic growth capabilities today.  The saddest part of all is, we have somebody in the White House who doesn’t understand any of that.  The policies he’s pushing, are pointing us toward a new depression.

Different subject, but apt never the less, John, Powerline, sums up Barack Obama’s basic problem:

Obama is going to have to learn, and soon, that governing is very different from campaigning. Vague and contradictory promises no longer cut it once you’re in office

Is Rendition an American Ideal.   BO campaigned the promise of absolute national safety with abolute Ameican ideals, Ed Morrissey, Hot Air:

Obama has had a sudden revelation as President that renditions are more necessary than ever, if the CIA can’t hold these subjects at Gitmo or its own secret sites

[…]

The CIA by law cannot bring the suspects back to the US. That leaves release, rendition, or assassination as the only three options left to Obama after all of the political posturing of the campaign

Is this just another broken campaign promise?   If so, it sure didn’t last long.

On the leftard front, Daily Kos, reports on BO”s restoration of Rendition:

Rendition will remain part of the government’s ammunition in its counter-terrorism arsenal, according to the Los Angeles Times. The program, which consists of abducting suspects from foreign countries and transferring them to other countries, began under the Clinton administration. It was originally developed and run from 1996 onward by now-retired CIA operative Michael Scheuer. The program, Scheuer said in 2005, included moving prisoners extralegally to countries without adequate human rights protections. It was greatly expanded after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States

Neither praise nor condemnation.   Interesting.  For BO  and the leftards the soaring campaign rhetoric meets the reality of the real world.   War is always a bad choice, but it sometimes not the worst choice.

The Bitsblog’s Whore of the Day is Nadya Suleman the single parent living at home who got hersefl knocked with eight babies and wants to whore her experience on Ophrah Winfrey for two million dollars, John Harlow, Sunday Times(UK):

THE single mother of octuplets born in California last week is seeking $2m (£1.37m) from media interviews and commercial sponsorship to help pay the cost of raising the children.

Nadya Suleman, 33, plans a career as a television childcare expert after it emerged last week that she already had six children before giving birth on Monday. She now has 14 below the age of eight

I suppose after delivering fourteen children, posing for Christie Hefner is out of the question.   Suleman is going  have busy changing nappies and will be hard pressed to pay for a dipper service after her fifteen minutes of fame expire, in fourteen and a half minutes.  

In a better world, women think about who will support their children before they concieve then, not after.    A husband would come in nice but what man wants an instant familyof fourteen children with mentally deranged mother?   

Am I being needlessly mean to Suleman?   So what.   She has fouteen childdren and seems to expect me to pay for them.

Addendum: 

Added photo.

After years of planning and billions of dollars spent on new equipment, including those $50.00 digital TV converter boxes, the government is currently trying to figure out whether not actually wants to follow through on the timetable it originally proposed for the conversion.

As Art Smith over at the Conservative Reader asks about the effort to delay the switch;

Why is this bill a problem?

Well, we understand and accept the fact that, ahem, 4% of households have not yet switched to the digital format (most simply needing a $50 converter box that the government has been providing a $40 coupon for now for over a year now.  Evidently, part of the issue is the sudden delay in sending out coupons.  According to the Wall Street Journal:

Republicans say the extra money isn’t necessary because the Commerce Department has only spent half of the $1.5 billion allotted for coupon program. They say the waiting list could be eliminated more easily by waiving an accounting rule barring Commerce from sending new coupons before older, unused ones have expired.

But what I don’t get is this: we have been knocking into people’s heads now for YEARS that this was coming.  It didn’t sneak up on us, just on the few that evidently don’t watch TV anyhow, because if they did, they’d already know about this and have done what was needed by now!

The reluctance to face the reality of that deadline approaching, brings to mind the spectacle of watching the entirety of New Orleans sat on its backside for four days whilst Katrina headed directly for them.  Then despite being warned to get themselves out of the area, the residents complained bitterly that the White House wasn’t moving fast enough to help them .  Interestingly enough, this was by and large the same group of people who manage to get 2 million in and out of Washington DC under freezing conditions, and subzero wind chills, that could not in four days get themselves out of New Orleans.  One can only assume that the reluctance to make the switch was a conscious choice.

Seems to me, that if you wanted to get spending going, it would be relatively simple to do; simply stay on schedule make the switch, enforce those stragglers into buying the receivers with the new standard.

It should be pointed out, that there are many television stations around the country who have already made the switch for various reasons.  Among them, aging analog equipment which was no longer up to the drill.  A few stations had their analog equipment destroyed by fire and storm and whatnot.As an example, Scott Fybush at Northeeast Radio Watch said last week:

“Rhode Island PBS,” aka WSBE-TV, has gone digital-only – but not by choice. The station’s analog channel 36 transmitter on Neuticonacanut Hill in Johnston – the last one ever delivered from RCA, we’re told – suffered “major catastrophic failure” on January 15, and rather than attempting an expensive repair to keep the analog signal on the air for just a few more weeks, WSBE officials decided to shut it down for good.

The week before, Scott listed a few others doing the same.

Meanwhile up in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre market, another analog TV signal will go dark today. WOLF-TV (Channel 56) follows sister station WSWB (Channel 38) in going digital-only, one of the increasing number of stations making the digital flip regardless of whether Congress decides to extend the analog-shutoff deadline beyond Feb. 17.

All of these stations decided that it wasn’t worth the amount of money that would be invested to keep their analog signals on the air for another month and a half to two months, when the transmitters in the vast majority of cases would end up being a outright replaced.  A television transmitter of any vintage, after all, is not an inexpensive proposition. Even assuming the upfront costs were zero, you’re still looking at the majority of analog transmitters costing on the order of  $10,000.00 to $20,000.00 a month to maintain broadcast service.

The problems surrounding any government actions are exemplified  with this whole digital TV transition .  It is impossible, given the government’s meddling in the process, while constantly rethinking its position, to maintain good business continuity.  The large, messy, and expensive (And politically motivated) argument over AM stereo a few years ago, and the constant changes in direction in that whole scenario, should’ve been the clue of what we were going to be dealing with in this case. Similarly, the FCC’s botched handling of IBOC based digital broadcast radio on AM.  Given the political leanings of the current administration, this entire situation shows no sign of being cured .

To make matters even more comical, we are about to enter the realm once again of the “fairness doctrine” . That, too, is political motivation in full force.The results will be equally disastrous for both consumers of broadcast media, and its producers.

The detachment from reality that the government has managed to show us in these cases, would be enough to create envy in any fantasy author. And yet we keep giving these miocromanagers the power to do this to us, each time.

Why?

Yes, to answer a few E-mails, I’ve seen the back and forth at Pajamas Media.

As best I can gather it, (And frankly, what I’ve gotten is online… I’ve not managed to get ahold of anyone yet to confirm this) it looks like the only thing that’s going to be missing is the ad network, which BitsBlog was never a part of anyway.  The pages themselves will continue to be there, and as I understand it they’re going to be moving to more vid content. But that’s not to suggest the exclusive content over there will disappear.

Where that added vid conent leaves me in the long term, given that I have a face explicitly made for radio, or text, I’m unclear on.  But based on what I see in various places, I suspect that the pages and their exclusive content will continue, at least for now.

I’ve only started submitting to them just recently, and so have not been involved with some of the arguments back and forth. And I’m certainly not inclined to comment on the overtly personal back and forth I’m finding at some places. Even if I’d had enough time and information to form an opinion, there’d be nothing in it I’d find worth commenting on, frankly.  It simply doesn’t interest me.

I’ll be watching, but based on what In know at the moment, I  fully expect my next offering to be posted at PJM shortly.

Millions are without power in Kentucky, forty-three are dead.   Does Barack Obama care?  Is Obama even vaguely aware of the situation?

More, Anchoress

Addendum: (Bit)

So much for global warming.

And where is FEMA? Bob McCarty writes:

Five days after being hit by the storm, more than one million Americans in the Midwest are without power, socked in by snow and ice.  Reports of fresh water being in short supply and power outages that may last for weeks has many in the region fearful.  And citizens are growing frustrated, according to an Associated Press report today:

Local officials grew angrier at what they said was a lack of help from the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

How can that be in this era of hope and change?

After all, isn’t this the same crew that screamed bloody murder over NOLA, and FEMA’s supposedly slow response there? Funny, what happens when they’re faced with reality.

Congrats to the RNC for making a fine choice for Chairman.

Michael  Steele is a great voice for and a great believer in our cause, as I have always said, here. I wonder if Biden will find him to be ‘clean and articulate’.

From the mailbag:

How can 2 million blacks get into Washington DC in sub-zero temps in 1 day when 200,000 couldn’t get out of New Orleans at 85 degrees with four days notice?

Welcome, one and all to the most intense nightly read anywhere on the ‘sphere… BitsBlog’s Nightly Ramble

Quite a bit going on, today. Let’s get to it. And while we’re at it, let’s try something new with the formatics of these Rambles:

• PIGS: You guys keep screaming that you want more evidence of this ‘stimulus’ package being pure pork. Here’s one more they don’t say much about. The Washington Times… the only real paper inside the loop, in my view… is reporting thatthe bill as passed by the house provides 2.25 billion for the National Parks Service.  First of all, I’m a little skeptical that this has anything to do with our economy.  This is stuff that should ahve gone through the usual appropriations process. That it did not and instead gets stuck in a ‘we gotta do something in a hurry’ bill, is bad enough on it’s face. But go deeper. Turns out the head lobby type for the National Parks Conservation Association, the group that’s been the biggest backer of this kind of money,  is none other than the son of House Appropriations Committee Chairman and all around Democrat, David Obey.   Trust me; this is political payback, not stimulus. Is this stuff anything new? I mean, we were told this was a new day in Washngton. How does Washngton  spending money like drunken sailors, constitute change, exactly? How does lobby types directly infleuncing where money gets spent constitute change? How, exactly, does kicking government money to a family member, constitute positive change, exactly? Heck, folks this has been going on for deacdes, and usually under Democrat rule.. The difference? The Democrats are doing it at record levels. This constitutes ‘change we can beleive in?’ I’ll tell you this; Obey is exactly the type of person who is going to be looking at William Jefferson and Charlie Rangel, to name two.  Are you getting the picture more clearly, now? Welcome to life with Democrats.
• Stunning Hypocrisy:Ed Morrissey  posts a vid of Rep. Jim Clyburn, who is one of Obama’s bestest buddies in Congress, scoffing at the 16 month withdrawal timetables.  This is simply more of what we saw with Obama himself, backing away from his leftist rhetoric, and being forced to face reality. Which is all to the good. But as Ed points out:
  

  .He voted in favor of withdrawal timetables during the Bush administration. Clyburn also made headlines by lamenting the possibility of progress in Iraq, as it would impede his party’s attempts to impose timetables for withdrawal. Now, suddenly, Clyburn (and Obama) care about the recommendations of the generals on the ground and have no use for artificial timetables.

  I wouldn’t even mind that, if they’d admit they were wrong in their positions during Bush’s administrations. Of course, they’ll never do that.

• Boom times in Alaska:  Mt. Redoubt looks like it may be providing us some serious volcano footage, soon.
• Directed Data Losses?  I’ve no doubt that this will be sold as a lone employee, reacting to getting fired.  But frankly, there’s an awful lot of people who would rather not have a lot of the Fannie Mae data available for forensics. Frank and Dodd, as well as the prominant Democrats who ran Fannie Mae, Franklin Raines among them. It seems logical to ask if there wasn’t more than one employee’s reaction going on. It would also be logical to mount a serious investigation. Because it’s logical, and because there’s a chance of whatever slimness that Democrats might get caught at something, I think I can fairly well say flatly,  such an investigation will never occur.
• Not so bad after all? Turns out, the GDP wasn’t as bad as all that.  Of course it’s still an emergency requiring us to funnel billions of money we don’t have  to ACORN and the US Parks service, and contraception.
• Oil is down; You’re going to hear alot about how much Exxon made last quarter today.  What you’re not going to hear much about is by how much their profits are down, and how little their profit margin actually moved, in recent days. Remember too, as I mentioned yesterday, Shell Oil’s actually losing money of late.
• Funny Pic: A second place at OTB’s Caption Contest.
• Baby Pic: Oh, speaking of OTB, James has more baby pics up.

The reason you’re not hearing much from Davos is that the building consensus among western political and business leaders makes Barack Obama look like a fool. Financial experts from all over the globe are standing up at the Davos economic summit and stating flatly that Obama’s plan, bill passed by Congress and now waiting approval from the Senate, won’t solve the issue.

Example, Bloomberg:

It’s “delusional” to expect the U.S. fiscal stimulus plan crafted by President Barack Obama to “jump start” the economy, Stephen Roach, Morgan Stanley Asia’s chairman, told a panel in Davos today.

The executives polled by PricewaterhouseCoopers survey don’t see a turnaround soon.

OK, granted that it’s also turned into a “See I told you so” session for Crazy Uncle Hugo, and his ilk… but that kind of nonsense is to be expected. they’re socialists, for Pete’s sake… they don’t understand anything else.  But Western business, bank and stock market types from all over the planet are telling Obama what he’s offering won’t work.

It’ll be interesting to see how things play out in the G20 meeting, come April.

From the mailbag:

An airline captain was breaking in a very pretty new blonde stewardess. The route they were flying had a stay-over in another city, so upon their arrival, the captain showed the stewardess the best place for airline personnel to eat, shop and stay overnight.

The next morning as the pilot was preparing the crew for the day’s route, he noticed the new stewardess was missing. He knew which room she was in at the hotel and called her up wondering what happened to her. She answered the phone, sobbing, and said she couldn’t get out of her room.

“You can’t get out of your room?” the captain asked, “Why not?”

The stewardess replied, “There are only three doors in here, “she cried,” one is the bathroom, one is the closet, and one has a sign on it that says ‘Do Not Disturb’!”

I know I make it a habit to ridicule Susan Estrich.    She deserves it and I enjoy it.   However Estrich is for from stupid    Her problem is that she  blinded by the victimology of gender feminism.   She ventures outside of the confines of gender femimism,  Hartford Courant:

 In 2005, for the 60th anniversary of the liberation, the United Nations designated Jan. 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

And so it was certainly not a coincidence that the official spokesman for Iran’s government chose Jan. 27, 2009, to make a statement denouncing the Holocaust as a “big lie” used to justify the existence of the state of Israel. “The Holocaust is a concept coming from a big lie in order to settle a rootless regime in the heart of the Islamic world,” Gholam Hossein Elham said at a conference on Gaza held in central Iran’s religious city of Qom.

Iranian leaders are well known for their embrace of the real “big lie.” In 2005, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denounced the Holocaust as “myth” and said that Israel was doomed to disappear.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has vowed to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth, and Barack Obama has promised to negotiate with Iran without preconditions.   Estrich sees the problem.   Can anybody is Mrs. Clinton’s Foggy Bottom also see the same problem and get the message to the one?   Don’t hold your breath.

From the office of Representative John Carter, Texas Thirty One:

 All U.S. taxpayers would enjoy the same immunity from IRS penalties and interest as House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY) and Obama Administration Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, if a bill introduced today by Congressman John Carter (R-TX) becomes law.

Texas judge, today introduced the Rangel Rule Act of 2009, HR 735, which would prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from charging penalties and interest on back taxes against U.S. citizens. Under the proposed law, any taxpayer who wrote “Rangel Rule” on their return when paying back taxes would be immune from penalties and interest

 Hat tip:  Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review.

My reading of the Fourteenth Amendment is not so much as it enshrines a specific set of rights, but rather that it prohibits classes of citizenship.    That is the state can not have one rule for citizen who not congresscritters and another rule for those who are congresscritters.   Or to coin a phrase, what good for the goose is good for the gander.