Someone once said that if you don't like the weather in Texas, don't worry because it will change. That's for sure. On Sunday it felt like summer. It was hot. We had the windows open in the house. I wore shorts. Today it's 17 degrees and it will probably snow tomorrow. Yes, the blizzard dubbed "the worst in decades" has hit Austin!
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For some reason, people like to crash their cars into electricity poles when it gets this cold. We had two blackouts in our neighborhood today. Please people, if you must crash, try to avoid the poles.
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I had to educate myself on the workings of a heating pump today when our house just wouldn't get warm. I turned the thermostat to 70 degrees and watched as the temp quickly dipped to 56. Why? Apparently, these heating pumps don't work their best when the temperature dips below 35. Once it gets really cold, the "emergency heat" kicks in and charges up the heating strips. Only problem was that the heating strips didn't work. Nice to find this out on the coldest day of the year. Luckily it was still under warranty and was repaired for free.
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Today is Chinese New Year. To celebrate, I decided to go to Yahoo! Travel to see how much a flight from Austin to Taiwan would cost for the 4 of us. The total came to US $10,142. If that were NT dollars, no sweat, we'd be on our way. But that price just seems insane. And that was the cheapest flight, believe it or not.
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Just watched the Oscar-nominated documentary "Gasland" on HBO recently and was surprised how angry it made me. It was about how drilling for natural gas using hydraulic fracturing (or "fracking") is contaminating our water wells. I always knew former VP Dick Cheney to be a heartless evil swine, but I didn't know he exempted Halliburton from the "Safe Drinking Water Act" in 2005 (also known as the "Halliburton loophole".) I'm generally a good hearted person, but I really hope this man visits the fiery pits of hell soon. This movie made me so mad that I wrote an email to president Obama, asking him to pass the "FRAC Act" which would close the loophole and heavily regulate this kind of drilling.
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For some reason, people like to crash their cars into electricity poles when it gets this cold. We had two blackouts in our neighborhood today. Please people, if you must crash, try to avoid the poles.
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I had to educate myself on the workings of a heating pump today when our house just wouldn't get warm. I turned the thermostat to 70 degrees and watched as the temp quickly dipped to 56. Why? Apparently, these heating pumps don't work their best when the temperature dips below 35. Once it gets really cold, the "emergency heat" kicks in and charges up the heating strips. Only problem was that the heating strips didn't work. Nice to find this out on the coldest day of the year. Luckily it was still under warranty and was repaired for free.
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Today is Chinese New Year. To celebrate, I decided to go to Yahoo! Travel to see how much a flight from Austin to Taiwan would cost for the 4 of us. The total came to US $10,142. If that were NT dollars, no sweat, we'd be on our way. But that price just seems insane. And that was the cheapest flight, believe it or not.
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Just watched the Oscar-nominated documentary "Gasland" on HBO recently and was surprised how angry it made me. It was about how drilling for natural gas using hydraulic fracturing (or "fracking") is contaminating our water wells. I always knew former VP Dick Cheney to be a heartless evil swine, but I didn't know he exempted Halliburton from the "Safe Drinking Water Act" in 2005 (also known as the "Halliburton loophole".) I'm generally a good hearted person, but I really hope this man visits the fiery pits of hell soon. This movie made me so mad that I wrote an email to president Obama, asking him to pass the "FRAC Act" which would close the loophole and heavily regulate this kind of drilling.
(Picture above) The feelings a lot of people are having about this winter storm, I suspect.
Oh for Pete's sake Ken,
ReplyDeleteHow exactly did VP Cheney single-handedly exempt Haliburton from the Safe Drinking Water Act? The SDWA was voted into law and amended by the U.S. Congress. Any exemptions were also granted by Congress.
In the same light, President Obama cannot pass the FRAC Act. That's the job of the U.S. Congress. President Obama can only sign it into law AFTER both houses of Congress vote on it and pass it. Don't waste your time writing to Obama. Write your congressman! Heck, you know this already. don't you?
There are laws on the state level in some parts of the country that close this exemption. It is actually a concern of individual states when it comes right down to it.
Really, you must stop watching these type of shows. They tell only one, alarmist, sensationalistic and often exaggerated side of the story. If you took into account the other side, you can take a few steps to somewhere in between and that is where the truth generally is.
I want to add that although you might dislike former VPOTUS Cheney and how he did things, he actually is not a heartless, evil swine. He has a family and children he loves as much as you love yours. Wishing him to burn in Hell... indeed! Jeezuz... if he was as evil and powerful as you contend, what could have possibly stopped him from pushing the envelope further? The answer is nothing. Think about it.
I have been reading about the Haliburton loophole for years. If everyone is smart enough to realized that an elected official manipulated the laws that were enacted to benefit a specific industry that he previously had and possibly now has ties to, why doesn’t someone launch an investigation into this and go after him. Clearly his actions on the Energy task force in 2005 were an abuse of his responsibility to the people of the US. Because of his direct actions the land of the US suffers, the EPA is powerless to investigate, and regular folks are falling victim to lies of gas companies that are single minded on executing a business model with no regard for human life.
ReplyDeleteCole, I have titled these particular blogs "Ramblings" because they are just that, ramblings. Of course I know that Cheney didn't single handedly destroy the environment. But he was the one who introduced the amendment to the 2005 energy bill, and managed to convice everyone that "fracking" was safe.
ReplyDeleteOkay, my "burn in hell" comment might have been reactionary because of the film, but just because Cheney has a family that he loves doesn't make him a good man. A lot of mass murderers are also loving family men. As for Cheney, I could easily fill an entire blog with everything he and his administration did between 2001 and 2009 that most of the world would consider criminal, but I'm trying to confine my liberal rants to these smaller posts. It just seems as though the GOP always puts profits over people.
Okay, I understand that your "ramblings" are a stream of consciousness form of catharsis. I'll lay off. Sometimes, you just gotta say what you gotta say when you wanna say it.
ReplyDeleteIf you actually became personally aquainted with Mr. Cheney, you might find him to be a better man than you realize. Disagree with his actions as you may; you may be able to fill a blog about the things he supported as VPOTUS, but you would be hard pressed to prove in a court of law that those things were "criminal". Equating him with mass murderers is unfair; he is not a Hitler or Stalin. If there was a remote chance that his actions were actually criminal and there was irrefutable evidence supporting the act of his alleged "crimes", don't you think someone in the Justice Department or opposition would have stepped up to incriminate and indict him? If there was anything he did that was truly illegal, he would have been tried and convicted for it.
What the rest of the world considers criminal doesn't matter because if they were in a similar position of power as the U.S., they would certainly press their nation's interests before anyone else's. Use your imagination to imagine a North Korea in a position of great power. In this scenario, you would learn the truest definition of the word "criminal".
Most of what the world thinks about any U.S. administration is merely an extension and expression of jealousy at how colossal, far reaching and effective the power of the U.S. really is and will continue to be. Anything the U.S. does is viewed as "criminal" because they can't hope to match it.
In a nutshell, most of the complaints about Mr. Cheney's actions are nothing more than extreme disagreement that has devolved into vitriolic whining. Every president and administration has people who call them "criminal". But, Mr. Cheney is not a criminal. Not even close.
People like Cheney aren’t evil. They’re not doing what they do to get back at God. Rather, they are just greedy, opportunistic b*st*rds who will do whatever it takes to get the biggest piece of the pie and control who gets the rest. Then again, that’s probably evil.
ReplyDeleteIsn’t it funny that we have these misdealings and shenanigans EVERY time republicans get into the White House?
Had Al Gore been elected we would have probably NOT had 9/11 as he would have eliminated those who attacked the USS Cole, a group (the taliban) that Georgie Jr. invited into our country as guests a few months later. Had the airliners been seized under his watch, he would have had F-15’s shoot them down instead of sitting there like an ignoramus reading a children’s book. And ol’ Rush would have deconstructed his actions with the fervor of the true believing idiot scamming the rubes with snake- oil.
FTL,
ReplyDeleteI am almost always astounded that any intelligent person could be seriously serious enough to believe the type of ridiculous hyperbole you have expounded here.
Your post is a perfect example of the whining I wrote about in my previous post. It's negative conjecture and pathetically impotent; It goes absolutely nowhere. It's speculative imagination and that's a kind criticism, I assure you.
You may want to consider changing your moniker. Your post does not represent "free thinking". Constipated, perhaps. Free thinking, no.
I sincerely suggest that you step back from yourself and examine your misguided presumptions. I would also like you to include a sober observation of people and the world around us. If you haven't noticed, everyone on the planet, including yourself, is looking for a bigger piece of the pie and striving to get it. This sort of behavior is inherent in human nature and has been going on since the beginning of history. It isn't going to change any time soon, so don't hold your breath. Mr. Cheney is not unique. He is all of us.
In the meantime, get a grip on reality. Fight for your beliefs and convictions by writing your representatives in Congress, voting your heart and remaining positive in thought, word and action.
This is real power.
there is nothing wrong with capitalism….. except…when predator swine take over and ruin the whole system….by deregulation and inside fixing
ReplyDeleteDear Ken:
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing. I have heard from many Americans concerned about environmental issues, from recycling and pollution control to the well-being of our national parks and wildlife. I appreciate your perspective.
America's natural resources and landscapes are among our Nation's most precious treasures. We have an obligation to be responsible stewards of our environment and to protect these resources for future generations.
My Administration is taking action to protect and restore our land, water, and air. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which I signed in 2009, provides funding for hazardous waste cleanup, wastewater infrastructure construction, and projects that improve our Nation's parks and wildlife refuges. In March 2009, I also signed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act, the most extensive expansion of land and water conservation in more than a generation. It designates thousands of miles of trails under the National Trails System, protects more than 1,000 miles of rivers, and secures millions of acres of wilderness.
As individuals, we can all take steps to reduce our impact on our environment. Americans can walk, bike, and use public transportation; buy products with less packaging; recycle and reuse paper, plastic, glass, and aluminum; and teach young people about environmental preservation. Families can save money by purchasing energy-efficient products, turning off lights, and unplugging appliances. These small changes in our daily lives help build a cleaner, safer planet. To learn more about our environment and how you can make a difference, I encourage you to visit www.epa.gov or www.WhiteHouse.gov. For more information on ground water and drinking water, please visit: water.epa.gov/drink. To learn about America's Great Outdoors Initiative, visit AmericasGreatOutdoors.gov or read my 2010 Great Outdoors Month proclamation.
Thank you, again, for writing.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama