Sometimes when you’re sifting thru general news, you run across a couple of items with 6 degrees of separation that truly make you go “huh??”.  Such is the case in the legal battles of the proposed hybrid dry cooled coal-fired Desert Rock plant in New Mexico.

Early this year, the Navajo Nation and Sithe Global Power filed a lawsuit against the EPA for delays in issuing an air quality permit by the July 31st deadline for the proposed plant. New Mexico’s AG said it couldn’t be done because it would be in violation of the Endangered Species Act.

Desert Rock spokesman Frank Maisano said the lawsuit was filed because the EPA broke the law by not deciding on the permit within the required time. By law, the EPA must make a decision within 12 months of receiving a completed application. Desert Rock’s application was deemed complete in May 2004.

“That’s easy math - it’s more than three years overdue at this point,” Maisano said.

The EPA agreed to the July 31 deadline to decide on the permit as part of a settlement of the lawsuit, but the state entities decided to intervene because they believe the permit cannot be acted upon until other environmental reviews are completed.

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In a news release, Attorney General Gary King said, “This permitting process is truly putting the cart before the horse. We believe there are a number of regulatory issues that need to be addressed by the EPA before it can make a decision on this permit.”

The issues King’s office raised include the plant’s possible effects on fish and wildlife, carbon-dioxide pollution and compliance with federal standards for ozone pollution.

Read the rest of this entry »

Obama’s big argument against drilling is that it will take 10 years to see any oil. Go to about 1:40 and he flat out says it.

As if anything that would take that long is automatically out of the question, because . . . I guess, . . . we are too . . . impatient? By that rationale, nobody should bother to go to high school or college if you want a decent job. That’ll take at least 8 years and will cost a hell of a lot of money. Read the rest of this entry »

Today Barack Obama threw the American Spirit of Capitalism and Competition under the bus as he scoffed at John McCain’s proposal of a $300 million dollar prize for the development of a next generation car battery. Obama’s ridiculous mocking of the idea goes far beyond his typical rhetoric of criticism without solutions. Obama’s attack on the plan made clear his position that the Government, not the American people, will solve our problems. After 232 years of American Ingenuity driven by our modified capitalism, we are now considering the election of a president who clearly does not understand or appreciate the contributions of our predecessors.

In statements made today, Mr. Obama remarked, “After all those years in Washington, John McCain still doesn’t get it… I commend him for his desire to accelerate the search for a battery that can power the cars of the future. I’ve been talking about this myself for the last few years. But I don’t think that a $300 million prize is the way to go. When John F. Kennedy decided that we were going to put a man on the moon, he didn’t put a bounty out for some rocket scientist to win – he put the full resources of the United States government behind the project and called on the ingenuity and innovation of the American people, not just in the private sector but also in the public sector.”

Obama comparison to the space program certainly has patriotic undertones but in reality undermines his very own argument. John Kennedy never told the American people that the government should be committed to sending a man to the moon; he stated, “I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal”. Ultimately, the space program of the 60’s was extremely dependent upon the awarding of contracts and expertise of private firms such as McDonnell-Douglas, General Electric, North American Aviation’s Rocketdyne Division, Aerospace Corporation, Martin, and dozens of others. The space program was also based upon a progression of rocket technology that began more than 20 years earlier during WWII. Read the rest of this entry »

Uh-oh. Obama’s fringe-left credentials are really starting to show. When his good buddies in the MSM start liking John McCain’s ideas, something is really wrong. From a Washington Post editorial.

But if it is acceptable to drill in the Caspian Sea and in developing countries such as Nigeria, where environmental concerns are equally important, it’s hard to explain why the United States should rule out careful, environmentally sound drilling off its own coasts.

And do I smell the faint odor of approval of nuclear power?

But all this talk of drilling, squeezing oil out of shale, as Mr. Bush proposed, and pushing for more nuclear power is a welcome widening of a larger and necessary discussion.

This is the kitchen table issue this year, and if Obama has the Post backing the other guy’s proposals, he may be starting to circle the drain already.

Also find Bill Dupray at The Patriot Room

More proof of the radical nature of the modern Democrat Party, as exemplified by Barack Obama. Following up on this post, Don’t Tell Me Obama Isn’t A Marxist, we have House Democrats proposing the NATIONALIZATION of the oil industry. That means confiscation, just like Hugo Chavez and Stalin before him. From Hot Air.

A few day ago Maxine Waters had the same idea. Also from Hot Air.

This liberal will be all about socializing, uhh, uhh, will be about basically taking over, and the government running all of your companies.

Marxism. Pure and simple.

Also find Bill Dupray at The Patriot Room

Turns out McCain’s offshore drilling proposal is a big winner, at least in Florida.

First, voters believe more drilling will reduce the price of gas (that’s because they are not all retarded and know about the law of supply and demand - unlike some liberal Democrat nominees we know). On this issue, McCain is killing Obama. From Rasmussen:

Rasmussen Reports conducted a special Florida survey to measure the immediate impact of the offshore drilling issue on the Presidential race. As one part of the survey, respondents were told that McCain favored offshore drilling and said it would bring down the price of gas and oil. They were also told that Barack Obama opposed offshore drilling and said it would not bring down the price of gas and oil. After hearing the views of both McCain and Obama, most Florida voters agreed with McCain–61% said it was likely that offshore drilling would reduce gas prices. Only 34% disagreed and said that offshore drilling would not accomplish that goal.

The best part is that McCain gets three points for the drilling proposal alone. Read the rest of this entry »

Atta boy Johnny, you may just pull this thing off after all. McCain has previously said he supports individual states’ decisions to drill. See video here. Though he still opposes drilling in ANWR, he has followed the advice to make gas price reduction his issue. Today he came out with a great proposal.

As John McCain rolls out his energy policy this week, he called for a lifting of the federal moratorium preventing states from exploring for oil off of their coasts. “They have to be lifted so that states can make those decisions,” McCain said. “I’m not dictating to the states that they drill or they engage in oil exploration, I am saying that the moratoria should be lifted so that they have the opportunity to do so. By the way, I would also like to see perhaps additional incentives…in the form of tangible financial rewards if the states decide to lift those moratoria.” Read the rest of this entry »

I think most Democrats in Congress went to college, though there is seldom any outward sign of it. While there, they undoubtedly learned about the law of supply and demand. Unlike the Democrats’ opinions about the economy, it is called the law of supply and demand because it is not open for interpretation or opinion. It is what it is. You don’t get to spin it.

The booming economies in China and India are sucking massive amounts of oil, which causes the price to rise. Federal gasoline taxes cause the price to rise. The way to lower that price is to increase supply and cut the taxes.

The Democrats won’t do it. And there can be no other reason for it than to keep the gas prices high so the voters blame the Republicans for it in November. The Democrats (not surprisingly) are punishing the American people for their own political gain. Read the rest of this entry »