A Great Use for Solar

Fox News reports that Nissan is launching a hybrid cargo ship, with 281 photovoltaic solar panels supplementing the vessel's massive diesel engines. 

Most cargo ships use diesel-powered electricity generators to power the thousands of electrical devices on-board - from radar equipment to lighting to coffee makers and iPod chargers. The solar panels render the generators unnecessary, thus significantly reducing the amount of diesel fuel burned on each trip.

This innovation is in addition to more conventional energy-saving elements like LED lighting throughout its hold and living quarters, and low-friction paint for the hull.

Look for more of these kinds of efficiency gains in the shipping industry. They realize it's a sound investment, and will help us stretch our finite natural resources.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/02/04/nissans-solar-powered-hybrid-cargo-ship/#ixzz1lVnuBD5W

Extortion on the Left

So now we know that if Planned Parenthood decides that it disapproves of a private organization's decisions, it will bring the full weight of its media machine to bear, painting it as evil and cowardly. How dare they?

Every day, private organizations chooses to fund or not fund initiatives, causes and other organizations. When the Komen Foundation made a corporate decision not to award a grant to Planned Parenthood, they did so based on their own policies and priorities. The uproar by those who felt slighted or offended was amazing to me. And what did Komen do? They caved. They said it was all a misunderstanding. How disgusting. They had an opportunity to show courage and strength. And they chose to show cowardice and weakness.

The Komen Foundation has done some good things over the years. The survival rate of women diagnosed with breast cancer has soared, thanks in part to the work of that organization. It's too bad that their legacy will soiled with the blood of innocent, unborn children.

The Useless U.N.

What is a resolution? In the parliamentary sense, it's a a body agreeing to make a statement, to declare its position. It is that group stating what it believes.

In the hands of a body with moral authority, it can be a weighty and substantial tool. In the hands of the the United Nations Security Council, it is yet another vapid expression of futility.

Even in a case so unambiguous as the legitimacy of Bashar Assad's presidency, China and Russia vetoed a resolution demanding that he step down. Of course, the UN has no power to enforce such a resolution ... at least not without the will and power of the United Status armed forces. But if it had possessed even the tiniest bit of moral standing, perhaps such a resolution would have been taken seriously. Since the UN has no moral standing, it may be just as well that the resolution failed to be adopted. The Devil of Damascus cannot defy a declaration that has never been made.

A Regressive President

Sometimes, it boggles the mind how something so blindingly obvious is utterly ignored by the intellectual elite.

The industrial age is ending, as the President himself acknowledged. Shouldn’t the administrative state be ending as well then? Instead, the President proposes more rules and regulations.
From Progressives and Regressives, Letters from an Ohio Farmer

The administrative state was created in response to the centralization of power in the hands of a few successful men (or, in the case of the Kennedys, Gores, Bushes and Daytons, their children). The administrative state has given us such gems as Sarbanes-Oxley, Frank-Dodd, the Great Society, the Social Security Act and McCain-Feingold. Haven't we seen enough?

Power ... political, economic, and even social ... is now more widely and evenly distributed than ever before. President Obama's desire to expand the administrative is simply an attempt to curtail this distribution, roll it back, and consolidate power in the hands of a few, privileged men.

The consequences of unions

The biggest problem with unions is that members rarely get properly rewarded for their behavior. Great teachers get paid about the same as mediocre teachers. Creating high quality parts doesn't create any more job security than creating defect-riddled parts. And conversely, it is just as hard to get rid of an inept firefighter is just as it is to get rid of a good one. 

And among the worst offenders are the police unions. They are notorious for looking the other way when one of their own breaks the law. But it goes even further. In Denver, the union is fighting to reinstate an officer who was dismissed after being convicted and sentenced for DUI and speeding. And by speeding I mean exceeding the speed limit by over 80 mph. 

This country needs to get rid of public employee unions. 

Hat tip: Instapundit 

Another nonsensical political act

The national news cycle was somehow dominated by Congress' negotiations over the payroll tax. This was a meaningless action, implemented for a meaningless period of time. And yet, politicians spent hours in front of the cameras discussing and defending their positions and plans. Could it be worse? Certainly. But isn't there enough noise already? Do we have to add even more political clutter to an already incomprehensible cacophony of posturing?

He misplaced the money ... check the sofa cushions

$1.2 Billion
$1,200,000,000

Let that number sink in for a moment. And then consider this statement from the former governor of New Jersey:

I simply do not know where the money is.

That is what Jon Corzine told Congress on Thursday, Dec 8, 2011. Can you imagine?

We are not talking about investments that failed. We are not talking about risk-capital put into play with the potential for reward. This is money that was simply ... lost.

And this not just a couple hundred thousand dollars. This man lost more money than the total output of 15 countries! Countries like Saint Lucia (GDP of $985MM in 2010), Grenada (GDP of $674MM in 2010), and Gambia (GDP of $1.08B in 2010).

The clients of MF Global may never get the restitution they are due. But Mr. Corzine deserves, at a minimum, to live some portion of his future days in abject poverty. He should have no fiduciary responsibility for any firm or government agency. And he should be convicted of criminal negligence.