One wonders if such things are just coincidence, or copycat deaths. Two Reagan administration officials have died in as many days. First, Lyn Nofziger yesterday, and today (according to Fox News–no link yet) Cap Weinberger, one of the architects of the downfall of the Soviet Union. RIP in both cases.
Green Accounting
Al Gore and David Blood write in the Wall Street Journal today:
Our current system for accounting was principally established in the 1930s by Lord Keynes and the creation of “national accounts” (the backbone of today’s gross domestic product). While this system was precise in its ability to account for capital goods, it was imprecise in its ability to account for natural and human resources because it assumed them to be limitless.
They go on to advocate environmental accounting which would favor Gore’s carbon tax from Earth in the Balance. This is good public policy, but rather than showing we are “operating the Earth like it’s a business in liquidation,” a sensible green accounting would show laws have curbed the dirtiest polluters, disease has subsided, pesticides and herbicides have fewer side effects, beautification campaigns have made our cities prettier and our parks more accessible, and our toxic sites have been cleaned up. In short, the Earth is now the best place to live it has ever been. Before the industrial revolution there was very dirty heating and lighting fuel, poor water sanitation, air filled with animal and human waste smells, poor food sanitation, poor isolation of pathogens, poor measurement and science of environmental hazards and few resources for transportation to or improvements of parks.
Taxing petroleum and especially coal when energy prices are on an uptick is politically tone deaf. A subsidy for carbon offsets might play OK. These would harvest additional greening without the heavy hand of central planning. But if they are written right, they might cheer the glad capitalists more than the sullen environmentalists.
I do think that it is wise for space enthusiasts to support green accounting–without it, it is unlikely that space solar or He-3 will ever be economically viable (which is not to say that they will be with it).
New Global Warming Theory
It’s not caused by CO2–it’s caused by H2O.
That nasty dihydrogen monoxide. Is there any evil it’s not capable of, any problem of which it’s not, at root, the cause? It’s got to be the most deadly substance on the planet.
How many more must die before we get the message? We must wean ourselves off it as soon as possible.
Where’s Duane Allman?
Here’s a list of the top ten (rock) guitar solos. I’m only familiar with about half of them (I largely quit listening to pop music in the eighties), but as the post title indicates, I think there’s a notable absence there.
Where’s Duane Allman?
Here’s a list of the top ten (rock) guitar solos. I’m only familiar with about half of them (I largely quit listening to pop music in the eighties), but as the post title indicates, I think there’s a notable absence there.
Where’s Duane Allman?
Here’s a list of the top ten (rock) guitar solos. I’m only familiar with about half of them (I largely quit listening to pop music in the eighties), but as the post title indicates, I think there’s a notable absence there.
Good News For Free Speech
The FEC has decided that campaign finance “reform” doesn’t apply to the Internet.
Bloggers would be entitled to the same exemption from the campaign finance law that newspapers and other traditional forms of media receive.
“There will be no second class citizens among members of the media,” Toner said.
I fearlessly predict that McCain and Feingold, and some “members of the media,” who do in fact think of the unannointed as “second-class citizens,” and don’t want to give up their monopoly on political speech, will be up in arms to get new legislation to end this “loophole.”
“Moved To Syria”
This is an interesting pre-war Iraqi document, if the translation is accurate:
He mentioned that a meeting in Beijing in the beginning of this month was held between the Prime minister of China and the German Chancellor Schroeder in the occasion of the opening project for the fast train and the latter was asked about the information that was obtained by the Chinese intelligence and it says that Iraq has moved his mass of destruction weapon to Syria and the German Chancellor told him that the German intelligence did indicate this. And after two days the US state secretary went to Damascus to check on this with the Syrian government that in turn denied this news…
Well, the fact that they denied it provides no information as to whether or not it’s true.
[Update at 11:20 AM EST]
Colonel Gordon Cucullu writes about the tipping point of truth:
Reams of documents
“Moved To Syria”
This is an interesting pre-war Iraqi document, if the translation is accurate:
He mentioned that a meeting in Beijing in the beginning of this month was held between the Prime minister of China and the German Chancellor Schroeder in the occasion of the opening project for the fast train and the latter was asked about the information that was obtained by the Chinese intelligence and it says that Iraq has moved his mass of destruction weapon to Syria and the German Chancellor told him that the German intelligence did indicate this. And after two days the US state secretary went to Damascus to check on this with the Syrian government that in turn denied this news…
Well, the fact that they denied it provides no information as to whether or not it’s true.
[Update at 11:20 AM EST]
Colonel Gordon Cucullu writes about the tipping point of truth:
Reams of documents
“Moved To Syria”
This is an interesting pre-war Iraqi document, if the translation is accurate:
He mentioned that a meeting in Beijing in the beginning of this month was held between the Prime minister of China and the German Chancellor Schroeder in the occasion of the opening project for the fast train and the latter was asked about the information that was obtained by the Chinese intelligence and it says that Iraq has moved his mass of destruction weapon to Syria and the German Chancellor told him that the German intelligence did indicate this. And after two days the US state secretary went to Damascus to check on this with the Syrian government that in turn denied this news…
Well, the fact that they denied it provides no information as to whether or not it’s true.
[Update at 11:20 AM EST]
Colonel Gordon Cucullu writes about the tipping point of truth:
Reams of documents