In a statement released yesterday, a Washington-based think tank, the Institute for Science and International Security, said that the situation at the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in northeastern Japan ”has worsened considerably,”

The Institute was referring to a series of explosions that happened earlier in the day at the site and problems in a pool storing spent nuclear fuel rods. They went on to say that:

This accident can no longer be viewed as a level 4 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Events scale that ranks events from 1 to 7.

While saying that a level 4 incident involves ”only local radiological consequences,” it also announced that the ongoing crisis is ”now closer to a level 6, and it may unfortunately reach a level 7”. As you’ve probably guessed, a level 7 is a worst case scenario with extensive health and environmental consequences.  The Institute went on to advise that:

The international community should increase assistance to Japan to both contain the emergency at the reactors and to address the wider contamination. We need to find a solution together.

In a related story, Reuters News Agency has reported that:

Japan may seek direct U.S. military help to end a crisis at a quake-damaged nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan, the chief government spokesman said on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, on the Left Coast of the United States, Californians have stripped pharmacy shelves of Iodine tablets, reacting to the possibility that a nuclear cloud could float from the shores of Japan to their state.

State and county officials had their hands full Tuesday trying to keep the citizenry calm by telling them that getting the pills wasn’t necessary, but the, Obama’s United States Surgeon General stuck her nose in, saying that thee idea was a worthy “precaution.”

Kelly Huston of the California Emergency Management Agency disagreed. She countered , by saying that state officials, along with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the California Energy Commission, were monitoring the situation and that people don’t need to buy the pills.

So, what is the leader of the Free World going to do about this, you ask?

He and his family are heading to Rio.

Obama will arrive in Brazil on Saturday, where he will mix a little bit of business with a lot of vay-cay.

He’ll be in Brasília first, where he will focus on business of the visit. Globo has reported that Dilma and Obama will sign a bilateral agreement that will allow Brazilians paying Social Security in the US to count their Social Security earnings towards their retirement/Social Security benefits in Brazil, and vice versa for Americans working in Brazil. Obama will have a series of meetings with business leaders, which will also hopefully help ease trade tensions from recent years. They will also probably discuss Brazil’s attempt to land a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

In Rio, the First Family will visit the Christ Statue, and then will visit a UPP (a branch of the Military Police) in the Cidade de Deus favela, which was chosen for security reasons, since it is relatively flat with wider streets than other favelas that were proposed.

And, of course, what would a Foreign Trip by Scooter be without an opportunity to demonstrate how well he can read a teleprompter?

Obama is scheduled to a speech open to the public in Cinelândia, a historic site in Rio’s downtown. Of course, the speech will be aimed at “all Brazilians” and will have been translated into Portuguese.

Scooter will bring along his usual huge entourage and will, by necessity, have an incredible amount of security during the whole trip, particularly during the speech, and will have protection from not only the Secret Service, but the Brazilian Federal, Civil, and Military Police, the Brazilian armed forces, and BOPE (Elite Forces).

Besides his trip this weekend, Scooter tackled the important task of filling out his NCAA Basketball Tournament Brackets yesterday.

And, before that, last week, he and Moochelle hosted a White House Conference on Bullying, attended by an enormous crowd of 100 people.

Then, he had to play his 61st game of golf as POTUS last Saturday, and go entertain all the sycophants at the annual Gridiron Club Banquet that night.

So, you see, he’s just waaay too busy to get personally involved in a little thing like the Japanese Disaster.

After all, a man’s got to have his priorities.

I  have been putting off writing a whole lot about the horrible situation over in Japan, because:  1)  Everybody and their mother are reporting it and 2)  I ain’t no nuclear engineer. 

Jimmuh Carter was, but I digress. 

Having said all that, it is too important not to write about it.

The latest explosions at the Fukushima Power Plant have released low levels of radiation in to the atmosphere, which the wind is taking toward Tokyo. This is causing some people to get the heck out of Dodge and others to go into survival mode, stocking up on essential supplies.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has urged people within 18 miles of the facility north of Tokyo to stay inside their homes, while Japanese authorities try to deal with the world’s most serious nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine in 1986.

Radiation levels in Maebashi, 60 miles north of Tokyo, and in Chiba prefecture, closer to the city, were up to 10 times normal levels, according to Kyodo news agency. Only small levels have been found in the capital itself, which so far were “not a problem,” according to city officials.

A grim-looking Prime Minister Kan said:

The possibility of further radioactive leakage is heightening. We are making every effort to prevent the leak from spreading. I know that people are very worried but I would like to ask you to act calmly.

There were two explosions on Tuesday at two of the reactors at the nuclear facility. Kyodo news agency has reported that the nuclear fuel pool at the No. 4 reactor may be boiling, which suggests that there is more danger to come.

Per Koji Yamazaki, professor at Hokkaido University graduate school of environmental science, says the atmospheric radiation is no big deal:

Radioactive material will reach Tokyo but it is not harmful to human bodies because it will be dissipated by the time it gets to Tokyo. If the wind gets stronger, it means the material flies faster but it will be even more dispersed in the air.

Tell that to this little girl, Professor.

10-year-old Lucy Niver of Egan, Minnesota, who was on holiday in Japan, said:

I’m scared. I’m so scared I would rather be in the eye of a tornado. I want to leave.

The Japanese Stock Market plunged 10.6 percent on Tuesday (our Monday). The worst two-day drop since 1987 was triggered by reports of rising radiation near Tokyo. This is an indicator that any further deterioration at the Fukushima nuclear plant could trigger more panic selling,led by hedge funds.

The yen dropped due to talk of intervention. At the same time, bond yields rose as scared investors sold debt to offset losses in the stock market. The rate and amount of the equity selloff, set a record volume for a second day running, forcing fund managers to sit on the sidelines.

After Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the risk of nuclear contamination was rising at the Fukushima Daiichi complex on Japan’s ravaged northeastern coast, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo,the Nikkei plunged 14 percent.

The two-day fall has wiped some $620 billion off the market.

Obama’s response?  He’s got top men on it.  Top men. 

U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos is President Obama’s top man on the ground. Shortly after the Tsunami struck, Roos let everyone know that he will be playing a lead public role as the United States determines how best to direct its resources toward saving lives, getting control of the country’s nuclear reactors, cleaning up the devastation and ultimately rebuilding.

Roos said at a press briefing Monday:

This is a time when our country needs to step up for the country of Japan.

So, we can all expect to see Roos as the Obama Administration’s public face concerning the horrible disaster in Japan.  In fact, Roos has been providing round-the-clock updates on disaster response efforts and efforts to track down U.S. citizens.

And his boss?

 Oh, he had a White House Conference on Bullying, a golf game,  the Gridiron Club banquet to attend to last week.  And now, he has a family vay-cay in Rio to deal with.  However, as soon as he gets time in his busy schedule, I’m sure he’ll roll up his sleeves and aim his legendary laser-like focus toward helping one of our greatest allies.

There has been an American “casualty” from this horrible disaster.

Aflac Inc. announced on Monday that it has fired Gilbert Gottfried, the fingernails-on-the-chalkboard-voiced comedian who has made a ton of money as the voice of the world-famous Aflac Duck since 2000.

The Liberal idiot lost the best job he’s ever had by posting a string of offensive, insensitive jokes about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan on Twitter over the weekend.

The Amos Family, who own Aflac, canned this clown because he put them in a unattenable position. You see, Aflac does 75 percent of its business in Japan. 1/4th of the Japanese population buys their health insurance from Aflac.

CEO, Daniel Amos, hopped a jet to Japan on Sunday to show support for the company’s employees and agents.

Aflac released a statement yesterday, saying that Gottfried’s jokes do not represent the feelings of the company, which had previously announced that it would donate 100 million yen ($1.2 million) to the International Red Cross to help with disaster assistance.

Aflac Chief Marketing Officer Michael Zuna proclaimed:

There is no place for anything but compassion and concern during these difficult times.

As of yesterday, Gottfried had removed his idiotic jokes from his Twitter Feed.

Instead of Aflac!!!, Gottfried should now be walking around saying: STUPID!!!

Maybe the Amos Family could hire Obama.  He’s not doing anything.

According to authorities, those killed in the largest earthquake recorded in Japan since 1900, an 8.9 magnitude, may exceed 10,000 in the prefecture of Miyagi, alone.

In the meantime, around 800 deaths had been confirmed so far in Miyagi and other areas in northeastern Japan, which were levelled Friday by the quake and a tsunami. there has been no word at all from the 10,000 residents of the town of Minamisanriku.

Am official in Fukushima said that about 90 percent of the houses in three coastal communities had been washed away by the tsunami.

390,000 people have fled their homes, many of them staying at the more than 1,400 emergency shelters set up in schools and community centers.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan has doubled the number of soldiers sent to stricken areas. However, rescue workers are having a difficult time reaching some of the affected areas, due to many of the access roads being blocked by debris.

The Prime Minister made an announcement, saying:

I ask for utmost efforts to save the lives of as many people as possible. We will put all-out efforts into rescuing people who have been isolated.

According to a top official, a partial meltdown was already likely under way at one nuclear reactor, as the nuclear plant technicians were frantically trying to keep temperatures down at the power plant’s other units, to prevent an unfathomable disaster.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano reported today that a hydrogen explosion could occur at Unit 3 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex:

At the risk of raising further public concern, we cannot rule out the possibility of an explosion. If there is an explosion, however, there would be no significant impact on human health.

More than 170,000 people had been evacuated as a precaution, but Edano said that the radioactivity released into the environment so far was too small to cause any health problems.

If the nuclear power plant were to experience a complete meltdown, meaning the collapse of a power plant’s systems and its ability to keep temperatures under control, it would release uranium and dangerous contaminants into the environment and pose major, widespread health risks. On the bright(?) side, officials say it would be smaller than the Chernobyl Disaster.

Yikes.

Edano admitted to reporters that a partial meltdown in Unit 3 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant was “highly possible.”

When he was asked if a partial meltdown had already occurred, Edano replied:

…because it’s inside the reactor, we cannot directly check it but we are taking measures on the assumption [that it had.]

Unit 3 at the Fukushima plant is one of the three reactors that had automatically shut down and lost cooling functions necessary to keep fuel rods working properly due to power outage from the quake. The facility’s Unit 1 is also in trouble, but Unit 2 has been less affected.

Yesterday, the walls of Unit 1 were destroyed by an explosion as operators desperately tried to prevent it from overheating and melting down.

Because the plant lost power, and with its pipes and pumps destroyed, authorities had to resort to drawing seawater mixed with boron to try to cool the unit’s overheated uranium fuel rods. Boron disrupts nuclear chain reactions.

Officials said the seawater will remain inside the unit, possibly for several months, rendering it unusable.

Per Robert Alvarez, senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies and former senior policy adviser to the U.S. secretary of energy, the seawater was a desperate measure:

It’s a Hail Mary pass.

So, yesterday, as one of our greatest allies faced nuclear peril, where was The Leader of the Free World?

No, not Sarkozy.  Obama.

One word:  Fore!

ABC News’ Tahman Bradley reported:

President Obama just could not wait for spring weather to arrive.

For the second week in a row, the most powerful man in the world stepped away from the White House to hit the golf course.

Even as his administration and the U.S. military help Japan recover from a devastating earthquake, and as the world worries about Fukushima’s nuclear reactor, the president could not resist taking advantage of the 48-degree weather in the Washington, D.C., area.

The president left the White House Saturday afternoon for a short trip to Joint Andrews Base in Camp Springs, Md.

With cloudy skies, it’s not the best weather for golf, but Obama loves to spend his Saturdays on the greens. Last fall, Obama went golfing darn near every weekend.

These are never quick “work on your swing” trips; usually the president plays 18 holes, as he did last week.

And, of course, Scooter never lets a small thing like a nuclear disaster get in the way of a par-tahy.

President Barack Hussein Obama performed at the annual Gridiron Club Dinner last night.

To quote The Washington Post:

Yes, America, it’s one of those Washington dinners: Where top politicians and media elite dress up in their finest — white tie, in this case — to eat, drink and lob passive-aggressive jokes at each other, celebrity roast-style, in a way that seems pointed and mean but only serves to feed the beyond-the-Beltway suspicion that They Are All In Bed Together.

For instance:   Mr. Truce, himself, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels joked that he got his duds from:

…the bearded guy at Men’s Wearhouse. Anyone else notice, you never see him and Wolf Blitzer in the same place at the same time?

Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Mitt Romney:

We have more in common than our hairstyles: We both used to think health care reform would advance our careers.

Al Hunt of Bloomberg feigning surprise that the absent Sen. Chuck Schumer would miss a chance to schmooze reporters:

It’s like Charlie Sheen missing a hooker’s convention.

So, while the world is imploding, our country’s citizens are struggling to feed their families, and Japan is in danger of a nuclear meltdown, the Leader of the Free World was out partying, doing his Rodney Dangerfield impression with the rest of the Beltway Elite.

Obama’s funniest unintentional (or possibly, intentional) snark came when the Marine Band struck up “Hail to the Chief” to welcome the president. Obama waved them off, saying:

Play that song we talked about..

And they did: “Born in the U.S.A.”

The lackadaisical manner in which this poor excuse for a President has been carrying out his duties certainly makes one wonder…

The Saudi Arabian Government is firing on protesters, as is Libya’s Mercenary force hired by Moammar Kadhafi, as the Middle East continues to implode in scenes reminiscent of those in the Book of Revelation.

Back in America, the Wisconsin General Assembly passed Gov. Scott Walker’s budget-trimming measure to make state government union employees actually pay something toward their own retirement plan, as professional protestors, including the Reverhuuund Jacksooooon, had the world’s largest hissy fit, storming the capitol, and sleeping on the marble floor, like they were having a Woodstock flashback. Their temper tantrum was even more out of control than the one Charlie Sheen had.

Remember when former (thank you, Lord) Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, said this?

Where was all that faux concern yesterday, hmmmm?

At the same time, Rep. Peter King opened his hearings on the radicalization of American Muslims. If you listened to the Democrats as they whined and cried when they spoke, you would have thought Rep. King was tar and feathering the entire Islamic Religion.

And the way the Democrats treated the Muslim American parents who spoke out about their children being recruited by Terrorists, was disgusting.

Who do they think they are?

Then, we awoke this morning to find out that the largest earthquake in Jan’s history since 1900, an 8.9 magnitude, has produced a Tsunami which is barreling toward the Aleutians, Hawaii, and the Left Coast of the 57 48 states.

So, where was the Leader of the Free World? No, not Sarkozy. Obama.

He and the First Lady, Michelle (ma belle) were hosting a White House Conference on bullying.

Ol’ Scooter told his captive audience that his large ears and funny sounding name (Barry?) made him a target of bullying.

I have to say, with big ears and the name that I have, I wasn’t immune. I didn’t emerge unscathed.

I suppose his snotty, smart-aleck nature had nothing to do with it at all. But, I digress…

Obama went on to say that torment and intimidation must not be tolerated.

According to the White House, 13 million students, a third of all those attending school, are bullied every year. Academic experts say that puts them at greater risk of falling behind in their studies, abusing drugs or alcohol, or suffering mental or other health problems. Kids who are seen as different because of their race, clothes, disability or sexual orientation are more likely to be bullied.

Gee, Dinozzo.  Ya think?

And bullying is supposed to be something new?

Scooter pontificated:

If there’s one goal of this conference, it’s to dispel the myth that bullying is just a harmless rite of passage or an inevitable part of growing up. It’s not.

Bullying can have destructive consequences for our young people. And it’s not something we have to accept.

The Leader of the Free World spent his day speaking to more than 100 parents, students, teachers and others at the conference designed to “discuss the problem and share ideas for solutions”.

The issue of bullying  has become the cause celebre of the Liberally concerned.  Apparently, bullying has found its way to America’s new technology as texting, Facebook, Twitter and other technologies are being used to carry it out. The perceived problem has been named cyberbullying, a term made popular by the media coverage of despondent teens who have committed suicide after someone called them names, or harassed them.

Where were the parents?

Families of some of those youngsters joined Obama at the White House.

Obama proclaimed:

No family should have to go through what these families have gone through. No child should feel that alone.

You’re right, Scooter. But raising a child is the responsibility of family, friends, and the church.  Not the Federal Government.

According to Obama a “national attitude adjustment” is in order, because of the damage that bullying can do.

Obama is trying to make bullying a part of his education agenda. Posters urging students to report bullying can be seen in public schools throughout America.

That noted food and nutrition and education expert, Michelle Obama, said parents need to be more involved in their children’s lives, their schools and their activities since youngsters “don’t always tell us every little detail.” According to Moochelle, her youngest daughter, 9-year-old Sasha, often says “Nothing” in response to questions about her day at school.

That’s when you actually sit down and talk to your daughter, ma’am.

The First Lady also urged adults to set an example by treating others with compassion and respect, and giving each other the benefit of the doubt.

According to Mrs. Obama:

It sends a message to our kids about how they treat others.

Well, duuuuuh!

You know, I was a little, sickly, asthmatic child with parents who were 40 years older than I was.  I was picked on constantly.  Then, one day, in 7th grade, as a bully about twice my size was picking on me, I smacked him right between the eyes with my size 2S drumsticks.  He left me alone after that.

Our Founding Fathers never meant for America to have a Nanny-state government.  Americans instinctively realize that, hence the results of November 2nd, 2011.

Given President Obama’s past history and predilection for wanting others to solve life’s problems for him, it’s no wonder that this Ship of State under Obama’s Capitancy is sailing so erratically.

Following a vote that will lead to Wisconsin Public Service Labor Union members having to contribute to their own benefit plans, a riot broke out in the capitol as an angry crowd of Union thugs threw rocks at the Capitol Building, breaking windows. Some attempted to enter the building itself through an open window, after being turned away at the front door.

Yesterday, in a brilliant maneuver, Gov. Scott Walker and the Wisconsin Republican State Senators bypassed the AWOL Democrat Fleebaggers, hiding out in Illinois, and voted to strip nearly all collective bargaining rights from most public workers.

After the bill passes the Republican-controlled State Assembly today, Republican Gov. Scott Walker will gladly put his John Hancock on this piece of legislation, much to the chagrin of the Progressives, Wisconsin’s Public Service Labor Unions’ Management and their allies in the nation’s Organized Labor Unions.

Within hours of the State Senate passing the bill, about 7,000 pouting Union members showed up outside the Senate Chamber, chanting:

The whole world is watching!

Yep.  And a lot of us are wildly applauding.

While most of them grew exhausted by their collective temper tantrum, and went home to their three bedroom, 2 car garage homes in the suburb, some of the oppressed (or bussed in ) wound up sleeping on the marble floor of the Capitol Building.

I wonder if chiropractic is covered under the Union Benefit Plan.

The vote ended a three-week stalemate, caused by the cowardly tactic of fleeing the state by the Democratic Senators. These noble public servants ran like scalded dogs in order to avoid the quorum needed to vote on Gov. Walker’s proposed legislation which would solve a $137 million budget shortfall.

The Senate decided late Wednesday afternoon to take all the spending measures out of the legislation and approved it minutes later, 18-1.

Let the whining begin.

First up, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller.

In 30 minutes, 18 state senators undid 50 years of civil rights in Wisconsin. Their disrespect for the people of Wisconsin and their rights is an outrage that will never be forgotten. Tonight, 18 Senate Republicans conspired to take government away from the people.”

And dereliction of duty doesn’t?

Democratic state Sen. Dave Hansen was surprised:

We didn’t believe that the Republican senators would stay with the governor and rubber-stamp his plan.

Well, I guess you shouldn’t have run away, huh?

Still in the midst of a hissy fit, Senate Democrats met late las night to decide on when they were going to sneak back into town.

According to State Senator Spencer Coggs (D) :

We are going to watch and see how the Assembly unfolds. There will be fireworks. There will be a lot of people at the Capitol and so it will be hard to get in and out of the Capitol.

The Wisconsin Democratic Senators must be working out their schedule with SEIU and the AFL-CIO. Wouldn’t want to interrupt those staged protests, y’know.

Speaking of which, Phil Neuenfeldt, president of the Wisconsin state AFL-CIO, whined about Republicans exercising a “nuclear option”:

Scott Walker and the Republicans’ ideological war on the middle class and working families is now indisputable.

Gov. Scott Walker issued the following statement last night:

I applaud the Legislature’s action today to stand up to the status quo and take a step in the right direction to balance the budget and reform government.

The measure stops most government workers from collectively bargaining for wage increases beyond the rate of inflation unless approved by referendum.   The bill will also make public workers contribute more toward their pensions and double their health insurance contribution, a combination equivalent to an 8 percent pay cut for the average worker.

Police and firefighters are exempt.

Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader, Scott L. Fitzgerald, released the following statement last night:

Before the election, the Democrats promised “adult leadership” in Madison. Then a month and a half into session, the Senate Democrats fled the state instead of doing their job.

In doing so, they have tarnished the very institution of the Wisconsin state Senate. This is unacceptable.

This afternoon, following a week and a half of line-by-line negotiation, Sen. Miller sent me a letter that offered three options: 1) keep collective bargaining as is with no changes, 2) take our counter-offer, which would keep collective bargaining as is with no changes, 3) or stop talking altogether.

With that letter, I realized that we’re dealing with someone who is stalling indefinitely, and doesn’t have a plan or an intention to return. His idea of compromise is “give me everything I want,” and the only negotiating he’s doing is through the media.

Enough is enough. The people of Wisconsin elected us to do a job. They elected us to stand up to the broken status quo, stop the constant expansion of government, balance the budget, create jobs and improve the economy. The longer the Democrats keep up this childish stunt, the longer the majority can’t act on our agenda.

And, as the Democratic Senators found out last night:  If you don’t do your job, somebody will be happy to do it for you.

Who is John Holdren and why does he freak people out?

John Holdren presently serves as “Science Czar” (an unofficial title) under President Barack Hussein Obama.   He is the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology (PCAST). He is Obama’s top adviser on science and technology, involved in the exteremely important national issues of homeland security, energy and the environment. Holdren casts all of the above as priorities.

So what has Holdren said and written that causes many, including myself, to shake our heads in stunned disbelief?

Holdren is a Global Warming fanatic, outspoken on the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He also naively believes the United States should sign the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty. In a 2008 New York Times op-ed, Holdren called climate change skeptics “dangerous” members of a “denier fringe.” Holdren, John P. “Convincing the Skeptics.” The New York Times, August 4, 2008 (1)Holdren, John P. “Convincing the Skeptics.” The New York Times, August 4, 2008

The extent of unfounded skepticism about the disruption of global climate by human-produced greenhouse gases is not just regrettable, it is dangerous. It has delayed – and continues to delay – the development of the political consensus that will be needed if society is to embrace remedies commensurate with the challenge,” Holdren wrote in the New York Times. “The science of climate change is telling us that we need to get going. Those who still think this is all a mistake or a hoax need to think again.

Here is Holdren on this subject:

Hold on, gentle reader.  We’re just getting started.

In 1977, Holdren authored a book, Ecoscience, that discussed possible population-control methods such as infusing drinking water with sterilants to prevent human conception.

According to Holdren, the sterilant must meet stiff requirements in that it must only affect humans and not livestock.

Holdren wrote, with co-authors Paul Ehrlich and Anne Ehrlich, that:

It must be uniformly effective, despite widely varying doses received by individuals, and despite varying degrees of fertility and sensitivity among individuals; it must be free of dangerous or unpleasant side effects; and it must have no effect on members of the opposite sex, children, old people, pets, or livestock.

Since then, Holdren has denied a belief in the application of such a heinous procedure.

Now, I’m really going to raise your blood pressure.

In that same book are found the following quotes:

Indeed, it has been concluded that compulsory population-control laws, even including laws requiring compulsory abortion, could be sustained under the existing Constitution if the population crisis became sufficiently severe to endanger the society.

…One way to carry out this disapproval might be to insist that all illegitimate babies be put up for adoption—especially those born to minors, who generally are not capable of caring properly for a child alone. If a single mother really wished to keep her baby, she might be obliged to go through adoption proceedings and demonstrate her ability to support and care for it. Adoption proceedings probably should remain more difficult for single people than for married couples, in recognition of the relative difficulty of raising children alone. It would even be possible to require pregnant single women to marry or have abortions, perhaps as an alternative to placement for adoption, depending on the society.

Involuntary fertility control…

A program of sterilizing women after their second or third child, despite the relatively greater difficulty of the operation than vasectomy, might be easier to implement than trying to sterilize men

The development of a long-term sterilizing capsule that could be implanted under the skin and removed when pregnancy is desired opens additional possibilities for coercive fertility control. The capsule could be implanted at puberty and might be removable, with official permission, for a limited number of births.

If some individuals contribute to general social deterioration by overproducing children, and if the need is compelling, they can be required by law to exercise reproductive responsibility—just as they can be required to exercise responsibility in their resource-consumption patterns—providing they are not denied equal protection.

In today’s world, however, the number of children in a family is a matter of profound public concern. The law regulates other highly personal matters. For example, no one may lawfully have more than one spouse at a time. Why should the law not be able to prevent a person from having more than two children?

Doesn’t China do that?

He also wrote in the book about the development of a fictional (so far) “Planetary Regime”:

The Planetary Regime might be given responsibility for determining the optimum population for the world and for each region and for arbitrating various countries’ shares within their regional limits. Control of population size might remain the responsibility of each government, but the Regime would have some power to enforce the agreed limits.

Of course, now, over 40 years later, Holdren says that the book was theoretical in nature, and that he does not advocate any of those theories.

Great.  Then why did he feel compelled to publish that book in the first place?

 

Per The Washington Times, Rep. Peter T. King, R-NY, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, will begin hearings this Thursday about the radicalization of Muslims in the United States of America.

According to Rep. King , al Qaeda terrorists are targeting Muslim youth in America.

He said in an interview yesterday:

The overwhelming majority of Muslims are outstanding Americans, but at this stage in our history there’s an effort … to radicalize elements within the Muslim community.”

It’s there, and that’s where the threat is coming from at this time.

Appearing to support Rep.King’s call for a national discussion on this issue, the Obama Administration sent its deputy national security adviser, Denis McDonough, to the mosque of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society. They are listed as one of the largest Muslim communities in the United States, with seven branches serving more than 5,000 families, per its website.

The Muslim Society is an outreach partner of the FBI. Its executive director is a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council’s Countering Violent Extremism Working Group.

McDonough spoke late Sunday at an interfaith meeting concerning how the administration is dealing with domestic radicalization.

Rep. King thinks that Muslims are hesitant to cooperate with law enforcement:

I don’t believe there is sufficient cooperation. Certainly my dealings with the police in New York and FBI and others say they do not believe they get the same — they do not give the level of cooperation that they need.

Meanwhile in New York City, the site of the worst Islamic Terrorist attack in the history of America, a group of 300 people, including Hip Hop mogul Russell Simmons and Ground Zero Mosque Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, held a rally against Thursday’s hearings.  The definition of ignorant dhimmitude was demonstrated for all to see by the beautiful train wreck known as Kim Kardashian, who tweeted Sunday that she stood with Simmons in “promoting love and compassion”.

Sweetie, if brains were dynamite, you couldn’t blow your nose.

Their reason? It will send the wrong message to U.S. Muslims by “demonizing” them.

Yeah.  After all, it was those mean ol’ Southern Baptists who killed the 3,000 innocents in the Twin Towers, wasn’t it?

Political Correctness will be the death of us all.

Rep. King and his committee have not released a witness list yet for the hearing.

Meanwhile, Scooter and his minions have tried to walk a fine line on this issue of National Security. They have been spinning their wheels, trying to figure out a way to look like they are on the hunt against homegrown Islamic extremists without offending the Muslim world, which Obama appears to hold in such high regard. His Administration has been steadfastly attempting to build stronger relationships with Muslims, both internationally and the leaders of those living in the United States.

Scooter’s problem is, he cannot ignore the fact that militant Islamic propaganda has been a factor in recent terrorist attacks and the attempts to attack by Muslims that were stopped by law enforcement officials in America.

For instance, Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Muslim behind then 2009 shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, was inspired by the Internet postings of violent Islamic extremists. So was Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani who pleaded guilty to terrorism and weapons charges, after trying to blow up a car full of explosives in New York’s Times Square.

And, in a Lt. Frank Drebin (Naked Gun), Nothing-to-see-here-move-along moment…

Rep. Keith Ellison, Minnesota Democrat, who happens to be the first Muslim elected to the House, proclaimed that while it’s proper to investigate radicalization, he thinks it is wrong to single out one religion:

To say we’re going to investigate a religious minority, and a particular one, I think is the wrong course of action to take. I don’t want them to be able to stand up and claim, you know, see, we told you, America is at war with Islam. That’s one of their main recruiting arguments.

According to Rep. Ellison, Congress needs to be careful about how it addresses the issue in investigative hearings. Appearing with Mr. King on CNN’s “State of the Union,” he had to admit that it makes sense to speak with people in the Muslim community about efforts by extremists such as radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki to encourage Muslims to wage attacks against the United States.

But, then he turned around and argued that Muslim-Americans have worked with authorities to report suspected terrorists within their community. It’s important, he said, to engage Muslims, not frighten them.

Rep. King was not deterred by Rep. Ellison’s statements:

It’s an international movement with elements here in the United States, and to me, that’s a real distinction. There’s always going to be isolated incidents, isolated fanatics, isolated terrorists even. But an organized terrorist effort, to me, is different, which requires an investigation unto itself.

Rep. Ellison.  I agree that there are some wonderful Americans, who just happen to be Muslim.  However, excuse me and the rest of Americans, if we choose not to forget September 11, 2001, and remain vigilant.

A Note From KJ:  By popular demand, here is a link to the first of a 4-part series that I wrote about President Barack Hussein Obama titled The Great Disconnect, tracing him from birth to his nomination as Democratic Presidential Candidate.  I hope you enjoy it:

https://kingsjester.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/the-great-disconnect-part-1/

Are you having “Road Rage” when you pull up to the gas pump?

Welcome to the party,pal!

As I, being the good husband that I am, put gas in our car last night, I tried not to cry as I noticed the price here in the Mid-South: $3.39.9 per gallon! It seems like just the other day that the price was $2.78.9 per gallon.

What is even worse, is the fact that these increases in gasoline and other fuels could be around for months to come.

The national average is $3.43 per gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service.

The price of oil has gone up 21 percent since Feb. 15, when the Libyan revolution began. Libya controls the largest oil reserves in Africa. Even though America imports only a small amount of our oil from Libya, we’re still getting hammered at the pump.

We are now paying 29 cents more for a gallon of gas since the Libyan crisis started, an increase of about 10 percent. Americans are now having to spend an extra $108 million a day for gas.

Consumers will not only get slammed at the gas pump. Food merchants, airlines, shipping companies and other businesses will also pass along their higher costs to us.

According to retail consultant John Haber, online florists, pizza delivery companies, trash collectors, cruise lines and taxi drivers raised rates in 2008 as gasoline and diesel jumped above $4 per gallon. The rise in oil this year “is going to trigger the exact same type of behavior,” said Haber, a partner at NPI.  Diesel fuel, used by truckers, railroads and cruise ships, is up to $3.78 per gallon.

Already, the impact can be seen at the grocery store, where consumers buy lettuce, onions, strawberries, avocados, eggplant, and other produce shipped from Mexico and California, Haber said.

You know what the stupid thing is?  America has more than enough oil to supply our needs. 

America is sitting on top of a super massive 200 billion barrel Oil Field that could potentially make America Energy Independent and until now has largely gone unnoticed. Thanks to new technology the Bakken Formation in North Dakota could boost America’s Oil reserves by an incredible 10 times, giving western economies the trump card against OPEC’s short squeeze on oil supply and making Iranian and Venezuelan threats of disrupted supply irrelevant.

It was not until 2007, when EOG Resources of Texas started a frenzy when they drilled a single well in Parshal N.D. that is expected to yield 700,000 barrels of oil that real excitement and money started to flow in North Dakota. Marathon Oil is investing $1.5 billion and drilling 300 new wells in what is expected to be one of the greatest booms in Oil discovery since Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1938.

The US imported about 14 million barrels of Oil per day in 2007 , which means US consumers sent about $340 Billion Dollars over seas building palaces in Dubai and propping up unfriendly regimes around the World, if 200 billion barrels of oil at $90 a barrel are recovered in the high plains the added wealth to the US economy would be $18 Trillion Dollars which would go a long way in stabilizing the US trade deficit and could cut the cost of oil in half in the long run.

Plus, there are new techniques available to get at hard-to-reach oil:

A new drilling technique is allowing oil companies to harvest vast fields of previously out-of-reach oil in the western United States. This, if allowed, will dramatically reverse a two-decade decline in domestic production of crude.

At present, oil companies are investing billions of dollars to tap oil deposits scattered across North Dakota, Colorado, Texas and California. All the experts say that by 2015, these new fields could yield as much as 2 million barrels of oil a day. That is more than the entire Gulf of Mexico produces now.

The new drilling technique is expected to raise U.S. production by at least 20 percent over the next five years. Within 10 years, it could help reduce oil imports by more than half.

Something America’s governmental experts and professional bureaucrats have failed to do…for whatever reason.

Engineers for the oil companies are applying a method developed in recent years to tap natural gas trapped in underground shale. They drill down and across into the rock, then pump water, sand and chemicals into the hole in order to crack the shale and allow gas to flow up.

Due to the scientific fact that oil molecules are sticky and larger than gas molecules, engineers thought the process wouldn’t work to squeeze oil out fast enough to make it economical.  However, drillers figured out that by increasing the number of cracks in the rock and using different chemicals, they could access the oil deposits at low cost.

Aubrey McClendon, chief executive of Chesapeake Energy, which is using the technique, is pretty excited:

We’ve completely transformed the natural gas industry, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we transform the oil business in the next few years, too.

If the Obama Administration-backed Environmentalist Wackos don’t purposefully stand in the way.