Monthly Archives: April 2019

Energy Plank

27 Saturday Apr 2019

Posted by in Energy, Oil Industry

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Energy Plank

As I continue my consideration of running for President in the “Chance for Sanity Party”, I am explaining my stance on certain critical issues.

This release of my views concerns the energy we need to run a modern and an evolving green economy and society. In the past we depended almost entirely on fossil fuels for power. Almost all our electricity was generated with coal or oil. Now we are 19% coal, 24% oil, 40% natural gas, 10% nuclear, 3% water, 3% wind, and 1% solar. In the immediate future we will be far less dependent on coal and oil and farther out, natural gas. I would support new generation nuclear which is less dangerous and leaves less used fuel to store. The new generation is sodium cooled and unlike one cooled with water, won’t melt down in case of some mishap. Water power is not only unlikely to increase it will probably decrease as dams are torn down. The green aspect of our rapidly increasing demands for electricity means we will be growing wind and solar plants as fast as possible while replacing fossil generation. Geothermal plants will need to be built to supply 20%. These will be in the volcanic areas in the West.

The increased demand will mainly come from electric and hybrid vehicles. Within 20 years over half of vehicles sold will be electric. Much of the increased vehicular electrical demand will be at night when the local wind power may not be available and no solar power. To overcome this shortage we will need to have a better grid to make use of where the sun is shining in the morning or evening and where the wind is blowing. Various electrical storage technologies will need to be developed for use at night. Natural gas units will be needed at peak times and when generation and storage are insufficient to meet demand.

We will need nuclear units for the next several decades to provide a green base load for a dependable and constant capacity. We must build a dependable direct current grid to move electricity around the country. Much of our current grid needs to be updated and new lines added to areas which are not sufficiently covered or lack redundancy.

We will need some petroleum for fuel and chemical uses for a few more decades but it is a finite resource and we should be starting to conserve it instead of selling it to other countries. The new methods we use to produce petroleum should be the least sensitive areas. Off-shore production has been shown to be disastrous and permanently damaging to the environment. A two percent revenue increase will be necessary for subsidies and guaranteed loans.

More planks will be coming to fill out the platform.

Climate Change Plank

27 Saturday Apr 2019

Posted by in Climate Change

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As I continue to explore running for President, I am putting forth parts of the “Chance for Sanity Party” platform. This time the plank concerns the most dangerous threat to Americans and all humanity. Although we humans have evolved to live on all parts of the Earth, we are mainly adapted to our regional conditions. The upcoming changes caused by the warming of the planet will cause great social upheaval and this plank explains my plans to reduce and compensate for it.

The most obvious change will be a general warming with the final rise unknown because it will not occur in this century or possibly the next depending on when we are able to start reducing the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Very likely warming will continue for a few decades after the reduction starts.
We are already over a third of the three degree’s target limit by 2100. How much higher it will go depends on us now.

The countries contributing the most gases from burning fossil fuels are United States, China, and India. China and India are slowing their release by building nuclear plants, wind farms and solar arrays. They are reducing consumption with energy efficient lights, appliances, and electric cars. China is the leader in designing and producing wind and solar generating equipment. India is starting to build green generation, too.

My plan is to continue to subsidize wind turbines and solar arrays, and to fund needed new technologies and equipment. Current wasteful technologies will be replaced. We have new safe designs for nuclear plants which may need to be either funded or guaranteed by the federal government. Yucca Flats storage facility will be opened to store used fuel and bomb materials for eternity.

Another source which is not yet in great use is geothermal. Power from massive geothermal projects can be moved to states east of the Mississippi River using more efficient direct current transmission lines.

Continuing to subsidize more efficient technology and utilization of it will cut the power need for existing uses such as lighting and appliances. The cost will be a three percent increase in revenue.

Rapid growth of electric vehicles will greatly reduce carbon emissions if we have other sources for generating green power to replace gasoline and diesel engines.

As the world’s population grows more power will be needed and reducing carbon emissions will be increasingly difficult and require dedicated leadership because of the massive disruptions in economies. The change will have as great an impact as horses to cars and create millions of new jobs while costing millions. We must quit subsidizing fossil fuels and jump into the future where we develop the technology instead of buying it from Europe and China as we do now.

Let There Be Light in a Bang

27 Saturday Apr 2019

Posted by in Religion, Science, Uncategorized

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A few years ago, I had a telescope and enjoyed watching the lunarscape, Jupiter and its moons, Saturn’s Rings, and many galaxies. I took an interest in Astronomy when I was a kid in Southern Illinois when the Milky Way could be seen. I read books and subscribed to Astronomy for years. I have discussed it with astronomers and so I could be considered as much a cosmologist as some of those Mr. Lemke cited. In the past he has cited “scientists” who knew global warming is baseless. Most of them had no scientific knowledge and those who have cannot get their names off the site.

Mr. Lemke claims to believe in a God so why can’t he blend his supernatural belief with science. If he believes the Bible is based on fact and not a book of fables and folk stories as Christian and Jewish funded archeologists have proven, then the Big Bang and everything after could be construed to be in the Bible. The Bible is full of metaphors and should not be taken as factual history but if Bob wants to think it is factual then he should use science to back up his belief.

Bob the light started when the Jews were allowed to go back home after being held by the highly advanced Babylonians. The returnees were smart and cultured hence the light to their tribe.

Lost Toddlers

27 Saturday Apr 2019

Posted by in Immigration, Uncategorized

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When the administration’s separating kids from parents was exposed, I remembered the disaster of 1940s England sending little kids to Canada and elsewhere during the Blitz. They sent thousands but got back a lot less. Some parents died, a couple of ships were sunk, and records were lost. Little kids didn’t know who they were or the name of their parents. It was years before the scope was discovered but hundreds were never returned.

All that sounds like excuses for losing immigrant kids in 2017 and 2018. Data was lost or not entered. Parents were deported without kids and vice-versa. Kids were sent to foster care and distant relatives around the country, but who went where is often unknown. How many are in limbo is really unknown. The administration said today the number could be more than six thousand! A judge says to give him the complete information within six months but the administration said it may take over two years to figure it out. Incompetence rises to the highest level of the administration.

Infrastructure Plank

15 Monday Apr 2019

Posted by in Politics

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As I said previously, should I decide to follow the urging of people to voice my opinions as a nominee of the “Chance for Sanity” Party for President of the United States of America, I will continue to put forth sane ideas on many issues.

The current administration talks about making America Great Again, but it is merely a facade. Our country’s infrastructure is literally falling apart and empty words are of no help. Our country and others destroyed Europe and Japan during World War II. Since then, they have built anew while we have water and sewer systems that were built a century ago or earlier.

Our streets and highways are beginning to resemble a lunar landscape. Our interstate highway system was supposed to have the German autobahn as its model but instead of building for longevity, Eisenhower decided speed and cost necessitated building cheaper roads. That trade off is why we keep repairing them every few years then repairing the repairs. We need to change our existing specifications to one of longevity and put the burden of repairs for shoddy work on the contractors.

We cannot expect this critical problem to be fixed in a few years. The rebuilding will take decades. We must fix the most dangerous situations first. Hundreds of our bridges may fall today, so rebuilding bridges must be first in line. Sewer and water systems must start to be repaired at the same time but in conjunction with the towns and cities. Much of those repairs are going to be under city streets so those repairs must be in concert with the city’s street repair program.

Both of these problems are critical and solving them will be costly. Gasoline taxes have been used in the past for funding America’s transportation system. The problem with that tax is we are in the early stage of an electric car revolution. Electric cars will use the roads but pay no taxes to repair them. Heavy electric big rigs are a future goal so we must find another way to fund the repairs. As cities became more congested and residents own fewer cars, public transportation will become even more critical to moving people around.

Currently public transportation is funded by gasoline taxes and rider fees. When those fees get too high people go to car ownership and it is now likely to be electric. We all need an excellent transportation system whether we get on a road or not. Our food and materials is road bound so eliminating the gasoline tax and instituting a five percent increase in the corporate and individual income tax would pay for all our infrastructure needs. States and local taxing bodies may still tax by the gallon.

More plans concerning critical issues will be forthcoming.

Deficit and Debt Plank

15 Monday Apr 2019

Posted by in Economy

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The most critical and important plank in my “Chance for Sanity” party is our current national deficit of nearly a trillion dollars this year and twenty-two trillion debt. Before any of the other critical changes can be addressed our Country’s finances must be put in order or at least started. Fixing this disaster will need to be spread over all Americans. Cutting taxes may get people to vote for a person but it is on a track that ends at an abyss without a bridge across. My financial plank gives us the bridge.

An old adage says when you are in a hole stop digging it deeper. Every year we are digging it deeper. We must stop digging it deeper and start filling it in before we can address the other critical problems. Solutions for some of the other problems will require additional funding which would not be so disagreeable if the debt had not been allowed to accumulate in an effort to satisfy tycoons.

Reagan had cut taxes and the debt ballooned so he raised them. George H. W. Bush raised taxes
to reduce deficits and debt. Clinton raised taxes and almost eliminated debt. His budget had a $236 billion surplus to finish paying down the debt and fund Social Security when George W. Bush took office. When he left we had a $1.4 billion budget deficit. Obama couldn’t raise taxes because of the Great Recession recovery. Trump cut taxes and increased the deficit from $500 billion to almost $1 trillion and a debt now of over $22 trillion.

As much as I would like to start making payments to reduce the national debt, we first need to eliminate the trillion dollar deficit. Doing that will require increasing the income taxes from $2.9 trillion by at least 40% more to $4.1 trillion. The best way to raise that amount is to raise the top rate to 50% and adjust other rates higher while eliminating most deductions and exemptions. Another way is to bring the estate tax back to two million dollars. Reducing the deficit has to be the first priority. In 2018, we paid almost $290 billion in interest on the debt. Our 2018 deficit was 5.5% of our gross domestic product which was far greater than any of the other top 30 developed countries.

Most of our debt is owned by other countries, and much of that is owned by countries which might use it to extort us for concessions.

Additional taxes will be required to pay down the debt. It will take many decades to get us back to where our debt was before the Bush tax cuts. Other solutions to our many critical issues will require additional taxes.

Rethinking the Possibilities

15 Monday Apr 2019

Posted by in Politics

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After a response from friends here and around the world, I have decided to let them know what my plans would be if I chose to run for President of the United States. Because most Republicans have followed the crazier right wing of the Republican Party and the farther left wing of the Democratic Party has suddenly become attractive to many potentials, I have decided on a new centrist party. It would be called the “Change for Sanity” Party.

Unlike those running in the major parties, an independent party does not need to participate in primaries and waste money while destroying each other. An independent party can take ideas from both.

I would make sure my appointments were on the same centrist path as I am. Because a third party President will not have a natural support in the legislative branch, working with both on a bi-partisan basis is essential to doing what is absolutely necessary to balance the see-saw. Even little kids understand it doesn’t work if one kid holds the board down. Right now we have a lot of kids on the down side but less than before. Too many are not being paid attention to by either side and are either sitting in the middle on standing around looking for another game. The “Change for Sanity” independent party could put the center sitters and the large number of standers on another board which rocks back and forth a little.

We have made being President a personality contest with catering to the lowest common denominator being what wins elections. My policies would be to benefit the country as a whole instead of a few friends and donators to my campaign. When compared to the rest of developed world we’re only on top when comparing military power. When we are near the top in individual incomes and first in GDP we should be near the top in other categories and not at or near the bottom.

The country needs a President who can let others in the administration have most of the screen time and doesn’t tell a constant stream of lies, half-truths, and whacky ideas to get in front of the camera. My administration will be listening to scientists and those people with real knowledge and not what some talking head reading off a script says. I would dip heavily into the professionals in the state department for ambassadors instead of who donated the most or is a friend. The best examples of incompetent ambassadors are Joe Kennedy who supported and promoted Hitler and the woman who okayed Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait.

If any reader has a suggestion for Vice-President, send the name and reason for suggesting the person to the Editor.

Other planks will be forthcoming.

No Reparations for Slavery

15 Monday Apr 2019

Posted by in Reparation

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In 1974 Joe Biden said he was not responsible for the sins of his grandparents. He is right! My father’s bloodline stepped foot on this continent in the late 1600s and he nor any of his progeny owned any slaves. They were poor and John Johnson, who fought in the Revolution with Francis Marion’s guerilla band and his three sons were illiterate. As they moved to the 40 acres in Southern Illinois given to him for a war pension, he married a Cherokee woman who taught him and his family to read and write.

My maternal side came over after the Civil War and never had a slave although they had the German prejudice. My grandfather’s third wife was a central Illinois Cherokee.

At the end of the Civil War the ex-slaves were given an opportunity to go west with a mule and a grant of 40 acres. Some took the opportunity as reparations, so further reparations aren’t needed. Many of the laws which were passed to equalize the races have given the poor of all races a chance to succeed. Our country still has many poor and if current administration doesn’t eliminate subsidies to build a fence, they will continue to be helped. Nothing special is needed from the vast majority of us who never had slaves.

Feeling that something is owed is counter-productive and holds people back from succeeding and having the life they want.

Buy the White House

11 Thursday Apr 2019

Posted by in Environment, Politics

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The President just made it harder for any government agency to interfere in building pipelines. Only the most egregious plans have a chance of being blocked now. One of Trump’s first executive orders was to allow the Dakota access pipeline to be built under Lake Oahu. The lake is the only water source for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Thousand had protested getting worldwide media and support. Many environmental groups had filed suit. His order to the Army Corp effectively eliminated the legal hold-ups.

Why did he allow it? The Energy Transfer Limited Partners was the builder and he was a stockholder and a close friend of CEO Kelcy Warren. One reason he doesn’t want his tax returns made public is the K-1 from ETP would show a conflict of interest and breaking the constitutions emolument clause.

ETP had invested hundreds of millions in a pipeline that Warren wouldn’t reroute a few miles. He thought every place had the Texas “Don’t Care” philosophy. Failure to complete on time was costing ETP millions. This ruling opens up the way for ETP’s Pennsylvania pipeline from the Marcellus gas fields and saving millions.

Packing the district courts with regulation adverse judges makes law suits harder to win. People are now being forced to have pipelines in their backyards without recourse in courts. American is criss-crossed by pipelines older than me. They are leaking.

Oh, Warren donated $100,000 to the Trump campaign and $250,000 to the inaugural. Who says you can’t buy the White House?

In full disclosure, I own some shares in ETP because it bought a company that bought the company I originally bought shares in long ago. Although the company’s morals concern me, a 16% tax qualified distribution is hard to sell.

Why Come to America?

05 Friday Apr 2019

Posted by in Immigration, Politics

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Every year during the cooler seasons thousands of people leave Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras and start north towards Mexico and the United States in hope of a better life. Many won’t make it to Mexico because of the crime and corruption around the Mexican border. Some will be caught and sent back by Mexican border guards while others will decide to stay in Mexico for various reasons. Some will have enough money or indenture themselves to coyotes to transit Mexico and the U.S. border. Estimates are less than one-fourth of those who started will make it without being caught or die in the desert. Many will come as a group for protection.

Latin America’s mess is mostly our fault because of our government’s actions and American’s addition to cocaine and marijuana. We have corrupted their governments, economies, and peoples. My best friend from the fourth grade through Junior College was employed by an arm of the CIA building “schools” where they were built with thick concrete walls looking more like block houses on Honduras’s border. He spent most of the 1980s and 1990s going from one of the three to another depending on which our government was backing that day.

We are the reason why the drug trade has destroyed the national, district, and local governments. The narco-terrorists bribe or kill those who try to arrest them or seize their drugs. We have trained the National Police in the methods we used in South Vietnam where we moved people from villages, burned their homes, swept in at night picking up people who complain and “losing” them. The gangs just lop off heads in front of families. With the army, police, narco-terrorists, and the gangs harassing, extorting, blackmailing, and murdering both the rich and poor, it’s no wonder they want to come north for safety. The rich hop a plane and the poor walk.

How did the MS-13 and the Barrios-18 gangs get started in the three countries becoming so dominant? We deported them from Los Angeles in the late 1980’s and 1990’s. When they arrived in Honduras they quickly organized, spread out to other weakened countries, and with imported weapons became the dominate groups they are today.

No wonder those people want to come to a “safe” country instead of living in a country where torture, indiscriminate murder, kidnapping, extortion, and “losing” are common. The more a business grows the more it is “taxed”. If people don’t pay family members die. Pre-teens may have to join a gang to save a relative. We have no concept of the life these people are running away from and our country is the primary cause because of our drug habit and poor regional strategy. Isn’t that karma?