Is the President's credibility on the line in Syria?…Sorry, that was lost long ago

After almost five years of constant assaults on our sense of credibility, President Obama's chickens are coming home to roost…You can tell the end is near when television comedians start to make fun of his and his entire administrations, uneasy relationship with the truth.

Late night television host Jay Leno best summed up Americas feelings with:

“Despite what the critics say, President Obama says the lack of response to Syria so far does not threaten his credibility. And you know something? He's right. The economy, Benghazi, the spying scandal... that threatens his credibility, but this other stuff...no.”

Not only are Americans burned out by President Obamas chronic “misspeaks” and "Clintonesque" statements that require a legal definition of what the meaning of is, is…..

.......Americas sense of credibility has been assaulted by almost five years of White House underlings telling us not to believe our own lying eyes, but to believe the Obama administration.  

Stuttering and yammering professional spin doctors pose as White House press spokesmen, never giving a straight answer to questions asked.…the list stretches interminably.

But eventually the piper has to be paid for years of evading and when the President proclaimed,  just before the last election, Syria better not cross his “Red Line” by using chemical weapons, he unwittingly painted himself into a box.

His words came back to haunt him as chemical agents have been used in Syria to kill and disable.

The problem for President Obama is not so much that these chemicals have been used, but WHO is using them.The death toll in this civil war is over 100,000, chemical weapons have accounted for a miniscule amount of these deaths.

President Obama claims it is the evil regime of Bashar al-Assad, President of Syria who is gassing his own people in this vicious civil war. But Assad and his chief ally, Russias President Vladimir Putin, claim it is the rebels themselves who are using chemical weapons.

President Obama and Secretary of state John Kerry, who himself has a long history of stretching credibility, both claim Assads regime needs to be degraded as punishment for using chemical weapons, which would give a boost to the rebels who are fighting for control of the country. 

But Americans have taken a hard look at just who the rebels are in Syria and they don’t like the brutal images they are seeing. Jihadists from all over the world, including Al Qaeda, swell rebel ranks. See graphic video of Syrian "rebels" executing captured government hostages here.

Many in America wonder why we would be supporting the very forces who are intent on destroying America and western civilization? 

Americans are also leery of past foreign policy decisions by President Obama that opened the door for Muslim Brotherhood control of Egypt and by helping to kill the leader of Libya, plunged that once orderly country into Islamic chaos.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, no stranger to Islamic extremism,  has called secretary of State Kerry a liar.  Putin claims he has proof the rebels have used chemicals against the Syrian people in order to inflame animosity towards Assad.

So it is coming down to who are we supposed to believe? …and that is the crux of President Obamas problem as he asks Congress to approve his use of American military force against the Assad regime.

"Fool us once, shame on you, fool us twice, shame on us."

It is a sad state of affairs that Americans can no longer believe what their government  tells them anymore…and a leader of a former communist country and head of the KGB, has equal credibility with the White House.

Evidently congress is feeling the same after listening to Obama administration officials plea their case in front of them. Skeptical members of Congress asked scathing questions without regard to party affiliation.  A straw poll today reflected that feeling with 190 congress members saying they would vote against the president’s request.

Of course, typically,  President Obama is trying to deflect this and claim it is the international community who set the red line, but unfortunately for President Obama, there are video tapes of his now infamous statement claiming it was his red line…..confirming what our own lying eyes and ears already knew.

Europe and America are suffering from the tyranny of green energy policies

US President Barack Obama

President Obama and the hard left ideologues, who guide his energy policies, don’t seem to be paying attention to European economies staggering under the weight of years of “green.”

 In a new article called The Law of Unintended Consequences, Peter C. Glover details Europe’s difficulty in coming to grips with providing energy for a modern society:…. with the economic realities of actual paying for a green energy society:  

“If there is a message to be gotten across to Joe Public it’s this: there’s no such thing as ‘free’ solar, wind or any other ‘clean energy’ source. Someone, somewhere always has to pay for them. And they will always cost far more than hydrocarbons – don’t believe the green hype believe the physics. The bulk of that subsidized social levy is set to continue to be sustained by Joe Public, especially those forced into fuel poverty by costly renewable levies in their domestic bills.”

Europe is buckling under the weight of subsidizing green and the United States wouldn’t be far behind, except for the fact we have astronomical amounts of fossil energy on private and state lands, where it can’t be sealed off, or regulated away by federal edicts….yet.  

 But the Obama administration policies are punishing, non green energy producers and the resultant consequences mean unnecessarily higher costs to American consumers.

I asked Richard Storm, an energy expert and power engineer affiliated with Citizens for Common Sense Energy & Environment, for a snap shot into where clean coal technology is today and his thoughts on America’s energy landscape: Coal power is the source of almost 40% of Americas electrical energy:

"New coal plants are clean and efficient.  In most cases, the new plants replace older plants with much more efficient and much cleaner generation

These new, clean coal plants are likely to continue to produce reliable electricity for decades to come at the most reasonable rates, using America’s Treasure of Coal Energy.

Natural gas prices are likely to increase in the future as more demand for clean natural gas materializes.

 Let’s look at just one example: The Duke Energy Cliffside Unit #6, is one of the cleanest power generation plants in the world furnishing enough power for about 660,000 average sized homes

The new Clean Coal Plants are not only cleaner than any others in the world, but they are also more efficient and use about 10% less fuel per megawatt of electricity generated.

 America’s oil and gas production has increased during the Obama Presidency because of American innovation, risk taking and hard work by the oil and gas industry. With no help or encouragement from the Obama Administration.  In fact, the Keystone Pipeline is just one clear example of Obama’s administration fighting progress.  He is against literally all forms of energy except “Green, renewables”

How about shale gas?  Nope. Neither Obama or the allies in the Environmental extremists support shale gas either.  After the Sierra Club received  millions of dollars to fight coal plants from Chesapeake Energy, now they are against shale gas. So are the Dept. of Interior and the EPA.  One of the planned new coal plants for Oklahoma was stopped by the Sierra Club and Cheapeake Energy. As in other states, natural gas fueled plants were built as a substitute. This may be economical for a couple more years, but then gas prices are expected to rise. So will power costs because fuel is about 80% of the production cost of electricity.

A reminder, America runs on energy. 90% of America’s Energy comes from the traditional fuels of Coal, Oil, Natural Gas and Nuclear. Yes, 90%. When organizations are against these, millions of jobs are at risk as well as America’s energy security. Not to mention the fact that America has a high standard of living which is enjoyed by all.

 Who can be against America’s sustained strength? Here are a few answers. The Sierra Club, The Natural Resources Defense Council, PEW Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation,most of The Democrat Party and for certain, the Democrat leadership.

Come on America; let’s get back to making America strong again. I support the four E’s: Energy, Economic Prosperity, Education and Environmental protection. Yes, speaking for myself and every other power engineer in the business, I support clean air, clean water and a strong America. Who wouldn’t?"

Coal is no longer our parents energy…it is 21st century power

The backbone of our modern civilization is based on relatively cheap and abundant energy.  Coal has been the inexpensive and reliable engine of our economy for generations and up until the 70’s, billowing smokestacks were the sign of economic prosperity for the United States and other developed countries.

But we learned that cheap energy from burning coal and other fossil fuels came with a price tag to our environment and the dirty skies over our cities, proved to be hazardous to our health. The very fuel that powered our modern society was poisoning our environment.

In response, governments and the energy industry set about to enact new standards for energy production.  Soon the air in big cities started to clear up and you could even swim again in rivers that were once deemed too polluted to set foot in.

Smokestacks that once billowed thick black smoke, become steam stacks. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that air quality in major American cities is better now than at any time in the last two decades.

Human ingenuity is amazing and when pushed, great advances can be achieved. Coal which has been the poster child of demonization by environmentalists on the left has made tremendous advances in clean burning technology.  After 40 years of  advances, clean coal power is on the cusp of making new strides in providing the planet with relatively clean and massive amounts of energy.

See: Fueling the Future with 21st Century Coal by Gregory H. Boyce

Now is not the time to demonize coal but to nurture and support the new coal technology that can help power humanity out of poverty throughout the world.

Energy is looked upon as a human right; studies show that each tenfold increase in electricity is linked to a 10-year increase in life.   The United Nations linked life expectancy, educational attainment, and income with per capita energy use….So why deny the rest of the world the same life expectancy the US and other developed nations enjoy?

The developing world wants to step into the modernity of the 21st century too; they want lights, refrigeration, air conditioning television and modern medicine as well.  …..Clean coal power can be their answer.

Coal power lead the greatest mass migration from human poverty into prosperity as China became a manufacturing behemoth.  China is building more ultra modern supercritical and ultra-supercritical coal plants than any other nation in the world.  China has also said they will decommission their older power plants and adapt modern emissions control to the existing fleet of coal power plants.

Instead of punishing their main source of cheap reliable energy, China is embracing coal  to adapt and modernize….to make it a 21st century fuel that will bring clean economic prosperity to their 1.3 billion people.

Next-generation clean coal plants are capable of producing energy at near-zero emissions. With new technology at work to help coal become even cleaner and more efficient…..

Unless “renewable” forms of energy such as wind and solar, achieve significant breakthroughs in technology, they will never be able to compete with clean coal power on a level playing field.

Already countries such as Spain and Germany, which heavily invested in renewables, have started to have second thoughts as the bills come due for years of subsidizing these forms of energy.  Germany’s finance minister even declared solar was the path to bankruptcy. See story.  Spain under a new government is backing out of commitments it made to renewables and is actually going to make them pay taxes. See story

From the excellent piece  “The Fundamental Limitations of Renewable Energy” posted in the Energy Collective:  “It appears unlikely that we will see a large scale market driven displacement of fossil fuels by renewable energy in the first half of this century.”

 Coal is no longer our parents energy…it is 21st century power

Can you have economic prosperity and a Presidential “War" on Carbon Energy?

I have been writing on the need for America to take advantage of the vast energy resources it has below the surface in order to become completely energy independent.  Not only will this make our economy leap forward, it will vastly improve our national security by not having us dependent on foreign sources.

I invited Dick Storm to give us his perspective from an energy producers standpoint on the state of America's quest to become energy independent. Web: Citizens for Common Sense Policies

Dick is an expert in power generation.  He started out as a results engineer with Babcock and Wilcox (USA).  Over the next 30 years, he held several positions in the energy industry including Senior Service Engineer with Riley Stoker Corp., Principal Engineer-start-up and testing at Carolina Power and Light, and department head of Technical Services at Flame Refractories, Inc.,

In 1992 Dick founded Storm Technologies, Inc.,  a well established company of Engineers and Combustion Specialists that has worked around the world:

Beneath the average American Citizen’s radar are the ever increasing regulations that cause irreparable harm. For those of us productively employed in the energy industries, we know first-hand how President Obama and the Senate Democrats through federal agencies and their regulations, cripple America’s productive capacity.

According to the Competitive Enterprise Institute the total costs for Americans to comply with federal regulations reached $1.806 trillion in 2012. For the first time, this amounts to more than half of total federal spending. It is more than the GDPs of Canada or Mexico.

Then there are the obvious assaults on our domestic energy supply such as the Keystone Pipeline, the ban on offshore oil production, the sealing off of federal lands for energy production and the “War on Coal.”

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Since President Obama has been in office, over 100 coal plants planned to power America in 2008, have been canceled or delayed. These would have provided millions of jobs, not only in the construction of them but in the support and manufacturing sectors as well

In a classic example of how he ignores economic realities, President Obama during his recent trip to Africa, lectured Africans to not make our mistakes in using carbon based fuels.  Even though America has done pretty well using carbon based fuels, being the most advanced society in the world.

Today traditional Fossil fuels plus nuclear provide over 90% of America’s total energy. A clear example of Obama’s fecklessness on energy is to stand in front of a group and discuss the benefits of “Green Energy” when America and his administration depend so much on traditional fossil fuels.

The job killing poisons that are harming American public health are not the exhaust gases of power plants; it is the regulations that are spewing from Washington.  One of the greatest threats to the American lifestyle that we all came to enjoy is the Obama Administration and their “War on Carbon.”

Our challenge is to educate the general public, to make them aware of how Obama, aided and abetted by the Democrat’s in the Senate and Environmental Extremists, are weakening America.

Much of this will not be understood until it is too late. Once manufacturing capability and infrastructure is killed, it is very difficult to rebuild.

One energy equipment manufacturing example is the American Nuclear Industry. Once thriving and employing hundreds of thousands of highly skilled factory workers, engineers, technicians and administrative people. Now the nuclear industry in America is a bare skeleton of what it once was.

The great Westinghouse Nuclear division was sold off years ago to Toshiba.  Now, if a new nuclear power plant is built, most of the components will be “Globally Sourced”. That is code for, “Not Made in America.”

Take mining say for rare earth materials or copper, such as the Alaskan Pebble Mine.  Yes, the EPA is against these too. Did you ever hear of the UN Agenda 21? Well if weakening America and spreading your wealth to the rest of the world is the goal of Agenda 21, which just may be at the heart of the Obama agenda. It certainly is not the best interests for America.

As Texas attracts California companies, will Texas be Californicated?

Years ago, road signs at the border proclaimed: “Welcome to Oregon, Now Go Home” and: “Don’t Californicate Oregon,” met California motorists as they crossed into Oregon. Those signs are long gone as the process of transforming Oregon into a liberal blue state, have been completed.

California’s Apple Computer recently announced that expanding their Texas presence will make them central Texas’s largest employer.

Other large California corporations say they are transferring all or part of their operations out of the once formerly golden state.  California has been getting deluged with television ads from other states, particularly Texas, who invite them to set up shop in their business friendly environments.

Apple, Campbell Soup, Comcast, Chevron Oil, Google and countless others are just the public tip of the iceberg, as California is engulfed in an economic wildfire burning up its private sector with record high taxes and miles of government red tape.

But will Texas and other business friendly “red states” soon regret what they wished for as they woo California business to their fold?

California’s recessions of the 70’s-80’s saw an outflow of residents seeking jobs and more reasonable living conditions in neighboring states.  These new residents established themselves and invited extended families and friends to join them. 

Soon these new residents started to outnumber the native Oregonians/Washingtonians and Nevadans.  These former “red or red leaning states” with a rural flavor, started to see a distinct transformation of demographics, especially in their larger cities and urban areas. Today these states are reliable blue, or blue leaning states, supplying Washington DC, with an unending stream of liberal politicians who impose their values on the rest of America.

Google, another California company that has had Al Gore as one their senior directors, is a huge consumer of electric energy. Ironically/hypocritically, Google been quietly shifting operations to more energy friendly states/countries; translated: Fossil fueled energy states.  Recently Google announced it especially loved Irelands cool rainy climate, which they claim make it a more energy efficient location. Ireland’s energy sector is fueled mainly with fossil fuel.

Last month, George Lucas announced he had sold his Lucas Film operation to Disney for a whopping 4 billion.  Lucas had finally given up his decade’s long/multi million dollar battle with environmental zealots of Marin County California to expand his facilities.  Eventually these hundreds of jobs will be transferred out of Marin to friendlier business climates.  California’s film industry is already producing many of its films out of state where they are being wooed w/large tax credits.

California’s new main export seems to be companies and jobs that it once used to attract like a magnet.  But will this export of California prove detrimental to the very business friendly states that are attracting them?

Murray Energy, the canary in the mineshaft for America and its source of power

Robert Murray, CEO of Murray Energy, Americas largest privately owned coal company, has been a strong and articulate defender of his industry. 

Murray has over 3,000 employees and their families, who depend on his leadership and good judgment for their livelihoods.  Countless thousands of other jobs depend on support industries that rely on the shipping, handling and processing of what he produces……Millions of Americans depend on Murray Energy to light and heat their homes for a modest price.

Mr. Murray is a frequent guest on television shows who seek him out for his business acumen & expertise on what it takes to keep Americas economic engine fueled.…. he has never shied away from speaking his mind.

Mr. Murray and I have been communicating over the future of America’s energy industry and what can be done to keep America’s energy prices affordable. 

I was taken by surprise when Mr. Murray sent me an email  with an excerpt from his private staff meeting held yesterday.  What I read within alarmed me, because he is a strong, steady, intelligent leader, whose history is not one of making knee jerk reactions. 

On the corner of the attached email was a note to me in his handwriting, telling me to feel free to use this information as I feel fit to do.  As a result I have decided to post it in its entirety and share it with my fellow Americans.

In a sign of the gravity that Mr. Murray feels America has come to, he accompanied the notes of his meeting with a prayer, which I will also post.

What I foresee in America

Staff Meeting November 7, 2012

1. Drastically reduced economic activity

2. Reduced electric power consumption

3. Drastically reduced coal markets w/worse coal pricing

4. Total destruction of the coal industry by 2030

5. Enactment of 12 EPA regs alone, by the Obama Administration

6. Per Sen Imhoffe: 3 regs on greenhouse gas, MACT & coal ash will cost USA 600 billion

7. Likely a carbon tax will be forced to subsidize the government and  “receivers” (Obama supporters) in the total destruction of the coal industry, as early as 2030.

8. All coal companies are performing drastically worse than their CEO’s and boards want to report and this is understandable with their concerns for stock prices/refinancing.

9. Most public companies will not be able to continue to emphasize any positive they had, while avoiding the negatives in their statements and opinions.

10. The markets will soon take away this ability from these public CEO’s/directors

11. Of course private companies will abandon this industry

12. We must prepare for this today and we cannot bleed cash waiting for competitors to be eliminated.

13. We must totally go into survival mode and generate all of the cash that we can from whatever we have left that can help us.

14. We must tear down all structures of Murray Energy and reassemble them.

15. While putting Murray Energy into a survival mode, I will be fighting allegations from radical Obama supporters, that you know are blatantly false and were inspired  only to shut down opposition to them on behalf of our employees, your area and our country.

16. We must be passionate and austere in all that we do.

Robert E. Murray

Chairman, President and CEO

My Prayer

Dear Lord:

The American people have made their choice. They have decided America must change its course, away from the principles of our founders….And away from the idea of individual freedom and individual responsibility….Away from capitalism, economic responsibility and personal acceptance.

America is no longer America.  We are a country in favor of redistribution, national weakness and reduced standard of living and lower levels of personal freedom.

My regret Lord is that our young people, including those in my own family, never will know what America was like, or could have been. They will pay the price in their reduced standard of living and most especially, reduced freedom.

The takers outvoted the producers. In response to this I have turned to my Bible and in II Peter, Chapter 1 vs. 4-9 it says: “To faith we are to add goodness; to goodness, knowledge; to knowledge, self control, perseverance; to perseverance; godliness; to godliness, kindness; to brotherly kindness, love.

Lord please forgive me and anyone with me in Murray Energy Corporation for the decisions we are now forced to make to preserve the very existence of any enterprises that you have helped us build. We ask for your guidance in this drastic time with the drastic decisions that will be made to have any hope of our survival as an American business enterprise.

Amen

Robert Murray

Voters in Pennsylvania and Ohio will become rich states if they vote for Romney

Voters in Pennsylvania and Ohio have a unique opportunity to make themselves energy producing giants this Tuesday, if they vote for the right candidate. 

As geologists and energy experts probe what’s under the ground in these two states, it is becoming apparent they are sitting on huge reserves of natural gas.  In addition to gas, they already have huge reserves of other forms of fossil fuels.

But in particular, the gas is near the surface and easy to obtain.  If there is willing government cooperation  from Washington DC, these states will be booming due to energy production.  State treasuries would be overflowing with royalties from the billions in energy sold.

Thousands of jobs would be created on exploration, recovery, pipelines, transportation and infrastructure.  Long-term employment would necessarily increase as companies look for qualified employees to help in recovering & marketing these resources.   

North Dakota is a prime example of what a state can do when they pursue their energy resources. With a 3% unemployment rate, they are the lowest rate in the nation. 

Under the last four years of the Obama administration, there has been a concerted effort to wage war on our energy sector. One of the key Obama EPA administrators was caught saying he wanted to crucify the energy industry. One of the biggest foes of Americas fossil fuel reserves, Bill McKibben, has the Presidents ear and was said to play a key role in his rejection of the Keystone Pipeline.

See McKibben Epstein ultimate energy debate November 5, at Duke University

For the last 4 years, the Obama administration has been quietly crucifying and hamstringing our energy sector.

The stark, easy to see result of this policy,  is to pull into the gas station and fill up your car for 100.00, when it only cost 50.00 4 years ago.

Governor Romney has already promised he will encourage responsible recovery of our energy resources the first day he takes control of the reins of government.

We have already seen what 4 years of Obama policies have done to our energy sector.  Energy plant shut downs-Coal mine bankruptcies-Huge tracts of federally controlled land barred from energy exploration-Billions in losses on taxpayer funded green energy schemes. The next 4 years will be all of the above, but on steroids,  as he will not have to answer to the voters again.

The choice is clear for the voters in Ohio and Pennsylvania.  With Romney you have the opportunity to become energy rich and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.  At the same time you can help our country become energy self sufficient.

On the eve of a momentous environmental debate, a key scientific player falls from grace

Just days before the McKibben vs Epstein environmental debate, November 5, at Duke University, a bombshell rocked the environmental community. Read more: "Michael Mann Retracts False Nobel Prize Claims in Humiliating Climbdown."

See the entire debate here

The Nobel Prize committee declared Penn States Professor, Michael Mann, has falsely claimed to be a recipient of the Nobel Prize; He never received an award from them.  Both he and Penn State  have been claiming for years, his Nobel status to boost his scientific prestige and credibility.

To Mann, the litigious creator of the climate “Hockey Stick” graph, this is an extreme blow to any scientific credibility he may have had.  The "hockey stick graph" was used by Al Gore  and others to convince us we were on the verge of climate catastrophe,  One critic stated: “Michael Mann is another black mark against anyone involved in “climate science.”

Penn State, still reeling from a sex scandal that threatened its accreditation, suffers another huge blow to its reputation. But the taint of Penn States scandal will  now waft over the environmental movement, which has used Manns science to further its war against fossil fuels.  This latest scandal throws into question the validity of the science behind the “climate change” movement.

There is a huge, well funded, well coordinated movement throughout the United States, set on the goal of completely killing our use of fossil energy.  One of the main public spokesman and virulent foes of fossil energy is Bill McKibben.  McKibben recently stated fossil fuel is public enemy #1 and has vowed to destroy our fossil based energy industry, source of 85% of our power.

But the fossil energy industry is not without its defenders and Alex Epstein has stepped up to the plate to defend what he calls “The foundation of our civilization: abundant and affordable energy.”

 When Epstein read an article in Rolling Stone Magazine,  declaring McKibben’s intent to declare fossil fuels public enemy #1 and his plan to mount a major campaign to make them practically illegal….Epstein decided to challenge him in a public debate. Epstein said; The war against fossil fuels is societal suicide.”

Epstein is an energy expert and President of the Center for Industrial Progress, a think tank that champions energy growth.  With scientific facts of its own to bolster its pro energy argument and history as a  guidepost to the beneficial use of fossil fuels for mankind…Epstein is a formidable spokesman to stand toe to toe with one of the lefts most high profile foes of fossil energy.

McKibben is recognized as one of the key people influencing President Obamas decision to delay the building of the Keystone Pipeline.  When he publicly states he wants to make the use of fossil fuels illegal, it is a reflection of an overall strategy to fundamentally transform our society. 

In a Bill McKibben world, our energy would be supplied mainly by windmills and solar. Historically and at present technological levels, these forms of energy could not put a dent in the energy needs of our advanced society.  This means civilization would have to become more primitive and a large segment of our population would revert to manual labor focused on farming.

Alex Epstein totally disagrees with this vision.

“In this debate, I want the public to know the truth about what will benefit their lives and what will harm it.  My goal is to put a stop on the attack on fossil fuels & reverse this fight.  I want to create a new generation of energy champions.”

The militancy of the war on fossil energy, brings a huge price tag with it.  Already there are job losses in coal which is under assault.  Gasoline is double the price it was 4 years ago and utility rates will skyrocket as rate payers are forced to pay the subsidies given to "green energy," which McKibben and his allies want to force on society.

Epstein says:  "The last thing true scientifically is, we need to destroy our energy supply. That is the least scientific statement a human could make and is the most suicidal statement a human could make."  “Bill McKibben and his movement are free to make us an offer in the free market of ideas…. let them convince us.  But they don’t have the right to force us, or give us an order.”

This debate is a rare opportunity for the public to witness the clash of powerful ideas that are being used to re-shape our civilization.  With professor Manns  loss of stature in the scientific community, the climate change movement has a lot to answer for and we will expect answers November 5.

 

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Israel will be energy independent, can America follow their example?

America has huge reserves of coal, natural gas and oil, which can can gives us the ability to be totally energy independent without importing anything from foreign sources…If the will was there to do so.

There is not another country on this earth that has the amount of natural energy resources that we do and is not doing its best to exploit them for their own national security and economic health.  All countries look at the United States enviously for its great wealth in energy…yet we do not fully exploit them.   In some circles on the left, they seem even ashamed and actively try to destroy them, such as the “war on coal” being waged.

This is the 3^rd installment of my interview with Danny Danon, deputy speaker of Israel’s Knesset and major spokesman for his country.

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Parts 1 & 2 of exclusive Danny Danon interview

Israel's Danny Danon says Washingtons lack of leadership speeds Iran towards the bomb

Danny Danon says Irelands Freedom flotilla was funded by terrorists

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 Israel is very much an isolated nation when it comes to energy.  Until recently, Israel had virtually none of its own energy and was dependent on outside sources to even light a lightbulb.

This caused huge potential security problems for this small country. It imported coal and had an agreement with Egypt to supply oil and natural gas, making it vulnerable to changing and hostile Mid East political turmoil.

The recent removal of Hosni Mubarrak, Egypt's long term leader and friend of Israel, saw the reins of power change.  Almost immediately friction began between the countries.  The pipeline from Egypt’s natural gas fields to supply Israel was sabotaged more than 14 times, making it unusable.

In April, the new regime in Egypt, by now headed by the Muslim Brotherhood, decided to cancel the long term natural gas supply contract with Israel.

This could have been a devastating blow, possibly forcing a war for energy, a nations lifeblood.  But in a dramatic, almost biblical turn of events, Israel had been rescued from the Egyptian decree by the discovery of huge natural gas fields off its coast.

The size of this discovery turns Israel into a long term, energy independent country.  They have more than enough gas to become an energy exporter.  This is game changing and history making at the same time…..As though a hand again parted the water to rescue the Israelis.

When I asked Danny Danon about this huge turn of events, his response was: “We were very lucky when we found the gas and within a year we expect to be transferring the gas from the sea into our power grid".

Danon expects to see his country become a major exporter of gas to its neighbors, as well as Europe.  Israel will no longer need to import coal or gas for its power. Danon "hopes that Israel’s cutting edge technology companies will find a way to get it off the use of oil to power its cars."  His aim is to "have the tech able to transform the countries fleet of cars to electric power and not have to import a drop of oil, since they will have an abundance of electric generation."

Danon calls Israel a “start up country” because it is home to so many high tech companies. A perfect blend of a country with leaders willing to aggressively pursue energy independence because they know that is the key to a country’s national security and economic security.  But also with leaders wise enough to allow its private sector to provide the technology, intelligence and know how to achieve breakthroughs to harness this energy independence.

Perhaps America’s leaders can learn from this and watch how energy independence will improve the standard of living for all of the citizens of this country.

Read Mr. Danons excellent book:  "Israel, The will to Prevail"

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Richmond refinery fire puts the spotlight on what's wrong with America

The spectacular oil fire at the Chevron refinery in Richmond California, was still burning as cadres of lawyers blanketed the surrounding communities.   Wherever plumes of smoke drifted, you could find a lawyer knocking on doors and handing out cards.

As I watched the spectacle on nationwide TV and web news, it brought me back to the time when a minor bus accident occurred in San Francisco. The bus with no more than 15 passengers on it had a minor collision with a car.  As the passengers exited the disabled bus, they mingled with pedestrians on the sidewalk.  Pretty soon ambulances were dispatched to the scene and over 40 bus “passengers” were taken to local hospitals with assorted neck and back pains.

To be sure, each one of those “passengers” received some sort of settlement from the taxpayers of San Francisco, along with their lawyers.

The Northern California oil refinery at Richmond California has been in its present location for more than 100 years.  Perched next to the San Francisco Bay, it is in an excellent location to receive crude oil from ocean tankers where it can refine the oil into different blends of fuels to be used by consumers.   It is the largest refinery of its kind in this part of California and serves the needs of millions of cars, trucks and airplanes

When the refinery was first built,  it was in an isolated, rural location.  But over the past hundred years San Francisco’s urban sprawl has spread its tentacles around the facility. 

But this is just like the story of airports that get built on the outskirts of town eventually getting encased in urban sprawl.  When the occasional accident happens, there are calls for more stringent rules,  the inevitable call for the airport to be shut down, or moved and the prolific lawsuits filed.

But there hasn’t been a new oil refinery built in the United States for the past 30 years.  Environmental lawsuits, not in my back yard mentalities and a PR campaign by the far left to demonize fossil fuels have made it extremely difficult to build new ones.  So America has been at the mercy of fewer refineries to fulfill its growing energy needs and at the mercy of what a lack of competition does for price at the pump.

The entitlement mentality refuses to acknowledge self responsibility; it is a victim mentality looking for a cause and is aided and abetted by those who feed off of it.

Already the Chevron Refinery has set up a facility to process claims by those who say they were injured by the effects of the fire.  But the caveat is that the “victims” have to show they lost work because of the fire or show an expense from a Dr., pharmacy, or some other legitimate loss.

Since air testing showed levels to be healthy in 8 different samples, it is hard to fathom what sort of claims will be made. There was a shelter in place warning sent out to the community immediately when the fire first started. Perhaps some folks in the community lost work hrs. due to that.  No structures outside of the refinery were burned, or damaged, except with the exception of some soot that will have to be cleaned off.  So what possible claims will these pods of lawyers be able to conjure up?

The oil refinery is certainly a fat, juicy, target. The left would love to see it shut down and trial lawyers would love to get a piece of it.  But it is a major employer in the community and the economy of the whole west coast relies on its products.

What is a sure bet though, is hundreds, perhaps thousands of lawsuits will be filed against the refinery and this will cost the company millions in lawyer fees to defend, not to mention the costs if they lose or settle out of court. 

No matter what the eventual costs of this fire, the loser in this legal debacle will be the end consumer who pays for fuel in his gas tank, or buys products in the store that uses trucks to transport those goods.

To a normal person who looks at this from a purely logical point of view…Let the lawsuits emanate from those who were living in the area prior to the construction of the oil refinery.  They truly are the ones who wouldn't know there was going to be an oil refinery in the neighborhood they were living in.

There is no reason to be living near an oil refinery to not know they smell and have an occasional fire from time to time.  That is a fact,  if you don't like it, move.

The most unique gifts: Time capsules in American and world history: http://lifemagforsale.com/

For other points of view visit Carroll Standard: carrollstandard.com

Current power outages: A glimpse into America's future under the EPA and 0bamacare?

The recent storms that plowed through the east caused widespread power outages.  They are offering us an example of what it is like to have a society without electricity. To make matters worse, the outages are occurring during record heat, compounding the misery of millions of Americans.   But if this was happening during winter under record cold, it could be disastrous.

When you realize how much we take for granted such simple tasks as keeping the food in your refrigerator cool, operating your air conditioner, turning on the street lights, operating the electric fuel pumps at the gasoline station...Or charging your electric car, we are dependent on power.

Estimates for restoring power to the many millions without, range from a few hours to over a week. 

During past major power outages affecting America, statisticians have pointed out a spike in birth rates 9 months later, showing that television and electronics have a  birth control quality about them....Will 0bamacare show it's value by focusing in like a laser beam on women's contraception?  Time will tell.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been waging war on our nations sources of energy.  Since the beginning of the Obama administration, this war has escalated with the appointment of far left activists who are committed to getting us off of "fossil" fuels as a source of energy and replacing them with so called "renewables" of solar-wind.

Of course if past performance of "renewables" is any indication of future performance, the current power outages in the east are a good indicator of what's in store for us.  How would windmills fare under the assault of hurricane force winds, or even strong erratic winds?  Here's what's happening to some in the UK:

Wrecked by gales again as wind farms get 300,000 to switch off..... in high winds

Recent EPA rulings and regulations will force many energy producing coal fired plants out of business.  These plants cannot afford the drastically expensive retro fitting the EPA is forcing upon them and will drop from the power grid. It's not going to take many of these coal fired plants to drop off line before we see problems with energy delivery.

Video shows how cheap and abundant energy brings prosperity to the world

Gas fired power plants are being hailed as a good replacement for coal plants, but these are also "fossil" fuel and deep down there is resentment against this power source as well.

Time will tell what our brave new energy future will be under the guidance of the EPA.  Many people think expensive energy and energy shortages will be the norm.

The most unique gifts: Time capsules in American and world history: lifemagforsale.com

For other points of view visit Carroll Standard: carrollstandard.com

Obama's energy policy pushing America back to the future

Americas reliable energy resources are being attacked on all levels.  When was the last time a nuclear power plant was built in America?  Even hydro electric dams are under assault & being torn down in the name of environmentalism.  Energy Secretary Steven Chu said he would like to see our gasoline prices the same as Europeans.  Of course  environmentalists on the left have been waging war on coal, oil and gas for years.

This mindset couldn't have been any more apparent when I was attacked for writing a column about governments "war on coal".

An environmentalist had his simplistic answer to my column on the war on coal. He just claimed that "coal kills" and people needed to revert to a simpler lifestyle,  use less energy and make that energy "green".  He bragged how he used wood to heat his home, along with wind and solar.  He tried to stay "off the grid" as much as possible, in the rural lifestyle he enjoys.  Of course on further questioning, he did admit to the use of "auxiliary power" in order to supplement his off the grid lifestyle for cooking and refrigeration.

He suggested people move out of cities to get closer to nature and live off the grid.  It was certainly interesting listening to him with his simple answer to stave off the pending "climate crisis" and save the world....All of the simple answers without thinking about the consequences to society.  In Washington,  that same mindset of government planners who know what's best for us is on vivid display. They are not afraid to let reason stand in the way of their Utopian plan.  Their plan will, like in the movie, take us "back to the future"

For the millions of people who don't have access to firewood, or govt subsidized solar, or wind systems to supplement their power needs, there is still the need for plentiful cheap power.

The world has seen other Utopian dreamers in the past.  China's Premiere, Mao, ordered his "great leap forward" to modernize China.  Reports are that over 60 million people died of exposure and starvation in 4 years. 

Americas engine of prosperity is powered by cheap and nowadays relatively clean energy, this is the backbone of American might. We are still a great manufacturing country in spite of  inroads by other countries.  But our new high tech information age, is requiring the use of even more power.

Companies such as Google and Apple use the power equivalent of small cities in order to keep their data centers providing vast amounts of information.  Many of these power hungry companies, although waving the "green banner,"  are quietly moving their data centers,  to other states that have lower cost electricity powered by coal.

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We have already seen a great migration of American companies to foreign shores, due to lower labor costs, less taxation and far less regulation.  How long will it be before the next impetus for Corporations to leave our shores is due to high energy prices? President Obama already said his policies would necessarily make our utility prices skyrocket?  I believe he was telling the truth

I asked Janet Gellici,  the CEO of the American Coal Council, to give me an idea of  the assault her sector of energy producers was under by the Obama administration:

She said "The Obama Administration’s intent has been to increase the cost of coal in an attempt to level the playing field for more expensive energy resources, i.e., renewables.  They have been doing this primarily through excessive regulation of coal utilities and coal producers ~ in the process of attempting to bankrupt the coal industry, he’s contributing to the economic demise of our country".

The bulk of our electrical energy production is from coal and natural gas, with nuclear and hydro electric farther down the line.  "Renewables" such as wind and solar, provide a tiny fraction of Americas energy needs in spite of billions thrown at them by the social engineers in Washington DC.

The free market has a way of determining winners and losers, in spite of government meddling.  Let the energy industry compete to determine what the cheapest & cleanest source of energy will be. Due to private sector technological advances, we have abundance of natural gas.  We also have an abundance of cheap coal reserves that can fulfill our energy needs for hundreds of years.

Innovations in the clean burning of gas, coal and oil have made remarkable advances in recent years, to the point that when you look at a modern coal fired power plant, it is hard to tell whether it is on or not.  Let's use our ingenuity to find even cleaner and more efficient ways to use our energy natural resources.  Lets encourage these industries instead of punish them.  After all,  if our energy prices "necessarily skyrocket" many of us might be forced to "live off the grid." and we all might end up "back to the future."


The most unique gifts: Time capsules in American and world history: lifemagforsale.com

For other points of view visit Carroll Standard: carrollstandard.com

Will Hillary Clinton's image be stained by Keystone Pipeline rejection?

Leaks out of Hillary Clinton's State Department suggest they will reject the rerouting of the Keystone Pipeline, which means the pipeline project itself is rejected. This important conduit of new energy would have brought Canada’s tar sands oil directly down to US refineries efficiently and safely by pipeline, rather than rail, barge or truck. Ironically the pipeline would be a much more environmentally safe way to transport oil, if it is brought down to the US.

The proposed route would have bypassed the Ogallala aquifer, this removed one of the main environmental objections in the first place. Foes had said the chances of leakage by the pipeline could have tainted water supplies for millions. Proponents of the pipeline said they have many safeguards in place to prevent such an occurrence and there are hundreds of thousands of miles of pipelines in place that will attest to that safety record.

Responsibility for the rejection of the pipeline falls firmly on the State Departments shoulders. If any of the cabinet departments should know how vulnerable we are to terrorism and blackmail by outside providers of oil, the state Department should know. Witness how Iran is using its quest for nuclear weapons, by threatening the Strait of Hormuz, the most important oil shipping lane in the world.

It is also noted that Venezuela, another one of the foreign sources we rely on for our oil, is ruled by a dictator who hates America and is becoming allies with Iran. It has been reported Iran and Venezuela are teaming up to install ballistic missiles on Venezuelan soil from which they can target American cities. True or not, it is beyond comprehension that America is allowing itself to be blackmailed by powers that hate us.
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The lame excuse this administration is using as cover for this rejection is that they don't have enough time to study it. In reality they have had over three years to study this pipeline, time enough to ponder this critical piece of infrastructure that can keep America’s economy humming. All bets are that the pipeline will have miraculous approval from the Obama administration, as soon as the November Presidential election has occurred.

Already labor unions that are so critical to Obama’s re-election plans are up in arms, decrying this rejection. Union leaders were counting on the estimated 20,000 new jobs the pipeline would have created, to help buoy the crippled construction industry.

It appears the rejection of the Pipeline by the Obama administration via Hillary Clintons’ State Department, is for political purposes rather than what’s best for our country’s security. If the house of foreign cards our country's energy dependence is built upon collapses, there will be more than finger pointing when it comes to next Novembers elections. Those that had a hand in forcing our country to depend on overseas foreign sources of oil, will carry that decision around for the rest of their political careers.

For the most unique gifts, time capsules in American and world history: lifemagforsale.com

For other points of view visit Carroll Standard: www.carrollstandard.com

US Coal industry under attack -do they need the Molly Maguires?

The American coal industry, which fostered the beginnings of Irish American muscle in the the labor movement, is under assault. In the 1860-70's early Irish Americans shed blood in the battle for workers rights, workers safety, unionization and collective bargaining in those coal fields. Today some people in the industry think there needs to be a modern day version of the secret society known as the Molly Maguires, to defend their livelihood and the nations main source of energy.

But this time the threat to their livelihoods, way of life and standard of living, is not at the hands of a cold-hearted industrialist, but at the hands of government regulation designed to crush their industry.

Back in the 1860-70's Irish Catholic immigrants, fresh off the boat, flocked to the coal fields of Pennsylvania where they toiled in hard scrabble unsafe existences to eke out a living. Exploited by unscrupulous mine owners, the Molly Maguires rose up amongst the Irish ranks and battled back, which finally lead to organizing and unionization http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_Maguires

Today's conditions in our nations coal fields and mines are infinitely safer and wages have risen to make it an honorable occupation. Many say these positive changes in the coal industry stem from the battles of the Irish Molly Maguires.
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President Obama said, as candidate Obama, he was going to necessarily make energy prices skyrocket. Maybe most Americans were not aware of that statement, or the main stream media didn't widely report it, but the President was serious when he said this. The President said one of the ways he was going to make energy prices skyrocket, was to attack the very core of Americas power source: Coal

President Obama said that he wouldn't outlaw coal but he would make it so prohibitively expensive to burn coal as a power source, it would "necessarily bankrupt them to build a coal fired power plant. New EPA regulations will force a significant number of coal-fired power plants to close, resulting in a major reduction in electricity supply.

Interestingly enough it is estimated America has a 500 year supply of coal. Over the last 30 years, contrary to popular belief, the air in North America has gotten cleaner. Advances in scrubbing technology in power plants and new efficiencies have made the environment cleaner, not more polluted.

The Presidents attack on the coal industry is meaning a loss of jobs for hardworking Americans in an industry that supplies the fuel for almost 50% of the nations power. This attack is also making Americans utility prices rise at a time when many are out of work or under employed.

Americans are subsidizing alternative energy experiments(Solyndra) to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars, which are put in your taxes and heaped on top of your already expensive utility bills.

Is it time for a modern day version of the Molly Maguires to say enough?

For the most unique gifts, time capsules in American and world history: lifemagforsale.com

For other points of view visit Carroll Standard: www.carrollstandard.com

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