Blatant Reality

I recently wrote an article published on Celsias.com giving reasons on why conservatives should support alternative fuels like algae. Here’s the article in its entirety:

Alternative fuels have been proclaimed as a way to help the environment and reduce our overall carbon emissions. However, while many environmentalists and liberals wholeheartedly support these new fuels, their approval oftentimes automatically makes conservatives suspicious of the alternatives. Also, supporters of alternative fuels have in some cases completely ignored the questions and concerns people have about these new fuels, further compounding the problem. However, if both sides were to toss away the politics for a moment, they would see that a new fuel source is everyone.

 

One of the most promising alternative fuels that would satisfy requirements from each side is algae. Environmentalists already support algae as an alternative fuel source for many reasons.

 

For example, algae biofuels are essentially carbon neutral, their growth has a very small impact on the environment, and algae can actually help to enhance wastewater treatment. Therefore, environmentalists aren’t the ones that need to be convinced about the benefits of algae. Conservatives and those skeptical of alternative fuels are the ones that need to be convinced of the benefits of algae. In order to do this, the following two issues will have to be addressed with regards to algae: how it will benefit national security and the economy.

 

First off, using algae as a fuel source will actually help strengthen national security in the following four ways.

 

1.      Algae can produce more fuel than any other biofuel source. The shear amount of fuel that can be produced by using algae will strengthen national security. With yields close to 6,000 gallons of fuel per acre per year, a country like the U.S. would only need the area the size of Maryland to produce 100% of its liquid fuel needs  , essentially ending its dependence on foreign oil and petroleum in general. Having the ability to produce all the fuel needed domestically will allow the country to offer greater protection to its domestic supply infrastructure than relying on the otherwise fragile world supply structure  .

 

2.      Algae production doesn’t take up any cropland. This eliminates the food-for-fuel dilemma   that converting food crops like corn and soybeans have caused. While countries like the United States have plenty of food, many have argued that increase corn ethanol production has caused destabilizing food riots   in other countries. This regional destabilization could threaten national security if it were to occur in a region vital to that country’s interests (IE the Middle East, China, or Mexico for the United States). Therefore, since algae can be grown on marginal land, it will eliminate the need to take cropland and convert it to grow crops for fuel.

 

3.      Algae can be produced practically anywhere. Since there are two methods of production, either closed systems like bioreactors or open systems like ponds, a technique can be adapted to any region or climate. This means that fuel production can be spread across a country and not centralized allowing local refineries to produce the fuel needed for the local population. The decentralization will also offer greater protection from attacks or natural disasters like Hurricane Ike which damaged multiple refineries   on the Gulf Coast causing gas prices in the southeast to soar. With a decentralized structure, If an attack or disruption does happen to one algae production/refinery plant, only that immediate region might suffer and not the whole country.

 

4.      Algae oil also offers many benefits for the military. For example, jet fuel makes up the majority (roughly 70%) of the U.S. Department of Defense’s fuel needs  . Unlike other alternative fuels like ethanol, algae can produce aviation fuel that is ASTM qualified   for current engines. In fact, several successful test flights   with algae as one of the key fuel components have taken place just in the past year. With these advances, the Department of Defense has already signaled that algae is seriously being considered as part of the U.S. national security plan by investing $35 million towards researching algae as a military aviation fuel  . Algae oil will ensure the U.S. military a constant supply of aviation fuel.

 

Algae biofuels also offer many economic benefits as well:

 

1.      Algae oil can essentially be refined into any comparable petroleum based product. This means that algae oil can be refined into aviation fuel for military or commercial planes or gasoline for cars. The best part is that the fuel refined from algae oil would be able to run in current car engines   without any changes to the engine structure. This would allow a seamless conversion to this new oil source without the economic disruptions converting to other alternative fuel sources like hydrogen would cause.

 

2.      Algae production can be coupled with other processes in a way to add value to previously viewed waste products. For example, many algae oil companies are considering coupling algae production with coal plant emissions  . This means that the CO2 which would otherwise be viewed as a waste product, will now have value. Another area where algae will be able to add value to ‘waste’ items is in wastewater treatment. By using algae in the wastewater treatment process, plants will have the ability to harvest and sell the algae used in the treatment or convert it into fuel to run the operations of the plant. One process developed by Algaewheel says that energy costs are 30% less by using their algae system as well as creating 95% less solid waste   which is both environmentally and economically friendly (less waste means lower costs in disposal).

 

3.      Products other than oil can be produced from algae as well. For example, the algal biomass remaining after oil extraction can be converted into feedstock for fish, poultry, pigs, or even cows helping to reduce the overall costs of food. Algae also has the potential to become a food source directly for human consumption. Algae, while unappetizing to many, is actually very nutritious and the Japanese have been eating algae in the form of seaweed for centuries  . Additionally, chemical or pharmaceutical products can be created from algae. One example is an $800/gallon chemical (propyl butyrate) that can be produced by feeding algae to microbes  . This particular use will be perfect for algae produced in wastewater treatment facilities that, due to the exposure to potentially harmful substances, might not be fit for feedstock or human consumption.

 

These few examples don’t cover every way algae production can benefit national security or the economy. However, hopefully these examples show that algae, an alternative fuel supported by environmentalist, also offers broad benefits to those with a conservative mindset as well.

Alright fellow Republicans, we got beat, not as bad as they were predicting since it looks like the Democrats might not reach the magical number of 60 seats in the Senate. Nevertheless, there is no possible way for us to even look at this past election as anything other than an utter failure for the GOP brand name.

But fear not fellow Republicans, for I have a plan. This election has granted us a unique opportunity not yet seen by Republicans in this country. For a long time, we have been “the man” either in Congress by holding the majority from 1994-2006 or as President from 2000-2008. During this time, technology has increased exponentially with YouTube, Blogs, and Podcasts reshaping the way the media and politics are conducted.

At the same time, liberals have attacked our leadership, always stating that things would be better if they were in charge. Out of this came a candidate who it can be argues that Barack Obama best used these advances to win the election (though if he used them legally is a completely different story) Well I have news for those liberals: Now you are “the man” and it is our turn to use the recent technological advances against your united government to ensure a conservative president next election.

How will we Republicans do this? Well I have a few ideas that should give us a little help come 2012.

They have a video of me saying what?

First off, you know what the one good thing about Obama being elected is? It’s that we know exactly who we will be running against come 2012. Articles have already started to come out predicting who his opponents will be but for my plan, this really doesn’t matter. While the Republican candidates focus on jostling and positioning themselves to become the next nominee, the RNC needs to focus on what Obama says, every single word.

Honestly, how often did Obama and Biden say something that was politically damaging to them over the past election cycle? Why not get a head start and begin to transcribe, categorize, and save every single speech, statement, and haphazard remark they make between now and the next election? Though his remarks might seem mundane now, down the road (aka the 2012 election) you may be able to find a statement that can be used in a campaign ad against him.

Seriously people, how much money would it take to hire a GOP staffer to transcribe/organize all of Obama’s public addresses and videos into a library of sorts? With websites like YouTube, you will even be able to get those remarks that were made without huge audiences. Why wait until the next election to get all this research done when we can have a very extensive database/dossier which people can instantly look up what he said about certain topics. Personally, I think this would be priceless.

Countering The Ministry of Truth

The next item deals with “change,” one of our Dear Leader’s favorite mantras. As you may be well aware, Obama loves change and his newest website Change.gov reflects this. In fact, this website has already experienced multiple “changes” and revisions since it was first put up just days ago.

What the RNC needs to do with this is keep a running list of all the “changes.” Hell, don’t even wait for the election to publish it; get it out there now and keep it constantly updated. The blogs will do most of the watchdog work for you so all that will need to be done is verification of the item in question and an assessment of whether or not the “change” is worth mentioning.

The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry

One thing that our illustrious leader has done for us is give the people over 280 pdf pages worth of pure “hope” (aka future plans) for our nation. Put another way, this is over 280 pages of promises that he will be unable to keep. While most candidates give just vague generalities for where they want to take the country, Obama gave very detailed plans with target dates and all. What the GOP needs to do is keep a list of all his failed promises, maybe publishing it in a quarterly magazine as the years go on. Then again, it might be more effective if the GOP waits until the 2012 election season and pulls a Martin Luther-esque stunt like nailing the complete list of Obama’s failures to the doors of Congress. Whatever they do, a list is a must and the GOP needs to start now.

You cannot run from your past forever

Along with all of this, it really wouldn’t hurt to delve more into Barack Obama’s past. Think about it this way: You have four more years to conduct opposition research without your opponent being able to reciprocate. I don’t know if it was just me, but it seems that there was a lot of “juicy” stuff coming out in the last week of the campaign. However, this stuff seemed to just be thrown out there without being developed.

You have four years RNC, two and a half until the election cycle comes back around, so research his past. When you get some interesting tidbits from his past, link it to statements and actions he has made during his four years as president (Hint: This is where that video archive I discussed above would come in handy). For example, he has made a lot of socialist sounding statements in the past election cycle so your goal would be to link these statements to socialist sounding statements and actions he has taken while president. Form a crystal clear bond for the public to see that Obama is the exact same man he was when he was younger. Prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is the same man that would seek out Marxists and Socialists in college and domestic terrorists when he was older. All in all, I doubt this would be too hard to pull off.

Conclusion

So RNC, what are you waiting for? If you are worried about money to finance these operations, I doubt you will have to wait too long: soon people will be giving you all the change they can spare after they have experienced Obama’s “change.” So have faith fellow Republicans, we can still pull off a win in the 2012 election (along with gaining some seats in the 2010 election as well). If we play our cards right, start work now, and find a candidate that actually is a conservative to represent us, we might be able to end Barack Hussein Obama’s reign in 2012.

South Carolina State Representatives Nathan Ballentine, Jeff Duncan, and Nikki Haley all received stellar marks (A’s and A+’s) on this year’s South Carolina Club for Growth Scorecard. Not only are these three legislators excellent examples of fiscal conservatives, but they also have helped me out a lot with my other website, SC Statehouse Blog. Thanks again for all your help and keep up the good work. We are going to need some strong fiscal conservatives while the General Assembly discusses the South Carolina’s budget cuts.

This was very disheartening news to hear. It seems that the GOP is considering adding a ‘global warming is real’ section to our party’s platform.

The National Republican Party for the first time is expected to acknowledge global warming in its 2008 GOP Platform, according to a draft of the document.

 

“Increased atmospheric carbon has a warming effect on the earth,” the document said. “While the scope and long term consequences of this warming effect are the subject of ongoing research, we believe the United States should take measured and reasonable steps today.”

 

Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the party’s presumptive presidential nominee, is a strong proponent of tackling global warming and has co-authored legislation to address the issue.

 

In the GOP’s 2004 platform, the term “global warming” was completely absent.

Luckily, the party platform will have to be voted on at the RNC but even if this section doesn’t pass, McCain will still be the ‘maverick’ he is and push some crazy ‘cap and trade’ scheme on his own. Luckily, we conservatives have Palin to hinge all our hopes of sanity prevailing in the White House. All I can say is that  I sure hope she will be up for the task.

On a side note, the author of the article I quote above is none other than Jackie Kucinich, the daughter of Dennis Kucinich. Now I don’t know if she is as far out there (aka crazy) as her father but if she is, we might be able to right this storyoff as some wishful thinking.

A Boston Globe article today claims that such a phenomenon could exist.

“Barack Obama is no conservative,” Bacevich starts his article. “Yet if he wins the Democratic nomination, come November principled conservatives may well find themselves voting for the senator from Illinois. Given the alternatives — and the state of the conservative movement — they could do worse.

 

“The essential point is this: conservatives intent on voting in November for a candidate who shares their views might as well plan on spending Election Day at home,” Bacevich continues. “The Republican Party of Bush, Cheney, and McCain no longer accommodates such a candidate.

 

“So why consider Obama? For one reason only: because this liberal Democrat has promised to end the U.S. combat role in Iraq. Contained within that promise, if fulfilled, lies some modest prospect of a conservative revival.

 

“For conservatives, Obama represents a sliver of hope. McCain represents none at all. The choice turns out to be an easy one,” Bacevich concludes.

What? I can’t see how a conservative would be willing to trade in every other issue just to get us out of Iraq. Sure McCain is going to try to tax us on the Global Warming phenomenon but Obama would be worse. In fact, for a conservative, Obama is worse in everything.

McCain may not be a “true conservative” but he certainly isn’t the most liberal senator of 2007. Come on conservatives, we aren’t going to be happy with whatever the election results are but at least McCain has the potential to do something right once in a while.

John Hawkins from Right Wing News wrote an article that listed off the reasons for why he is a conservative. It’s a pretty awesome article and basically outlines why I am a conservative also. Here are some of the highlights:

* I don’t get upset that the federal government “doesn’t care about me.” In fact, I’d be pleased if it forgets that I exist.

 

(…)

 

* Having a government that is too involved in our lives is far more of a threat than a government that isn’t involved enough.

 

* My priorities are God, family, and country, in that order.

 

* Our tax rate is too high as it is and if it’s not producing enough revenue for Washington, D.C. then they should start trying to live within their means instead of asking us to pony up more money.

 

* Life begins at the moment of conception and we have an obligation to speak up for the children that are being exterminated via abortion since they can’t speak up for themselves.

 

(…)

 

* I believe in equality of opportunity, not equality of outcomes.

If you’re a conservative or on the fence about what you are, it has a lot of very good reasons why a person is a conservative.

Glenn McCall was the first African American chairman to lead the Republican Party in York County, SC and now he has declared that he is running for one of South Carolina’s two seats in the RNC. If he wins, he will be the only African American to sit on this 100-person board that decides party platforms and such. Why might you want to support McCall? Well, for one thing, he helped to mobilize support against the immigration bill last year. Because of this, one of his goals is to bring about more party accountability.

“I’m not here to be a yes man,” he said at the time. “I’m here to do what’s right for the party. There are folks saying if this happens, they’ll never vote Republican, they’ll never vote for him. And that’s not what we need.”

 

When he became chairman, McCall made clear that one of his top priorities would be keeping closer watch on the voting records of Republican elected officials. Many party faithful have complained to him that their representatives don’t work hard enough to advance the conservative agenda.

 

“There is an attempt in our party to water down what we believe and stand for,” he said Thursday. “We have been victorious over the past 25 years for standing for those things that most Americans want and believe in.”

 

Asked for examples, McCall mentioned lower taxes, strong national defense and the idea that life is sacred.

He sounds like a winner to me. Read the rest of the article for some of his prior accomplishments.

John Hawkins from Right Wing News conducted an interview with Thomas Sowell about his new book Economic Facts and Fallacies. Sowell is the author of such books like The Vision of the Anointed which discusses the incorrect views of those who view the world as just a series of problems and solutions and not one of variable trade-offs. In this interview, Hawkins asks several interesting questions concerning many of the modern “facts” about poverty and the economic disparity between races. Here is just one of the questions he asks and the answer he gets:

The subprime mortgage crisis has been in the news quite a bit of last. Tell us what caused the subprime mortgage problems and what we should do to fix them.

 

There were any number of things that contributed to it. One of the things was that the Fed lowered the interest rate by a tremendous amount, down to about 1% and under those conditions, many people thought that they could afford to buy a house and in fact, they could afford to buy a house so long as the interest rates remained low and the housing prices kept rising. (However), markets go up and down and have for centuries, so those who got themselves out on a limb, got themselves in deep trouble in part because of that.

 

The government was also, at the same time, leaning on lenders to lend to people they would not lend to otherwise, particularly under the Community Reinvestment Act, that empowered politicians to tell lenders that they ought to put so much money here rather than there — as if politicians know better, which they don’t.

 

Between those two things, you had a lot of people out there in very dicey situations and now the politicians are saying that they want to ride to the rescue. Well heavens, they created the problem and I can only imagine that they’re going to make it worse, the more they intervene.

It is a pretty interesting interview with a lot of the questions directly relating to current economic issues. I would definitely recommend reading the whole article.

Right Wing News posted today the Top Conservatives of 2007 and, surprisingly, Mike Huckabee made the list.

Mike Huckabee: At the beginning of the year, he was practically an unknown nationally and by the end of the year, he was in the hunt for the presidency. He may or may not win the nomination, but he has vaulted to prominence, he probably isn’t going away, and you can be sure other conservatives will adopt his rhetoric on a number of different issues.

Its quite interesting to see Huckabee put on the list with other big conservative names like Rush Limbaugh. Don’t hear me wrong, I totally agree that he should be on this list, but Huckabee is the only presidential hopeful on it which I find interesting.

UK’s The Telegraph is in the process of publishing their picks for the top 100 conservatives and liberals. The surprising part is that many democrats are considered conservative and republicans and considered liberal.

 Although there are many Republicans on the conservative list and many liberals on the Democratic list, not all 200 are aligned with a party. The key to inclusion was the term “influence” – which people do, and will, most affect American politics both in terms of ideas and the enactment of policy.

This list is comprised of many different people from politicians to actors and bloggers. As of today, the top sixty in each category have yet to be published but will be published in the coming days.