Saturday, November 12, 2011

Moore Leaving?

Back on Nov 12 I received an email that originated with Evanston aldermen reporting our Alderman was selected as the Director of the Illinois EPA, subject to Senate confirmation.  In following up on that I heard back from our Alderman that the announcement was premature.  An interesting assertion since the email in question quoted Mr. Moore as stating he had been selected.  Now Crain's has confirmed that our Alderman is being considered although it doesn't state unequivocally that he is The One.

Friday, November 04, 2011

The Fossil Fuel Messiahs - Or Not

The 'drill baby drill' crowd operates out of the belief that unrestrained drilling for oil, shale gas, or natural gas, will somehow keep the party going indefinitely.  Gail Tverburg just put up a post at The Oil Drum questioning the Department of Energy's latest effort at priority setting.  The article is, as usual, thoughtful and well reasoned.  Gail is an actuary by trade, and evaluating risks and mitigations is her life.  However, it is in the comments section where the real conversation occurs.


Once again, Rockman does not disappoint.  He is a driller by trade, and in the field at least 30 years and likely longer.  When a driller starts giving back parts of his budget because no one is giving him a site to drill, then it might be time for the 'drill baby drill' crowd to sit down and shut up, if only to get schooled.  Class is now in session.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Where the jobs are.......


The Huffington Post has an article discussing the impact of Alabama's immigration law on agriculture.

A friend sent it to me as an example of American indolence.  I think he overstates that case, although it's evident that contemporary Americans may not be up to the physical rigors of field work.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Defining a "person"

My previous post resulted in another (extended) family member de-friending me on Facebook.  Such is the price for questioning the role of authority, including religious authority.  The issue was the effort by Mississippi to use a ballot initiative to define a fertilized human egg as a person.  I have already noted the potential issues arising from that, but I didn't discuss the issue of what constitutes person-hood, which is the elephant in the room.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

When Is A Person a Person?

Mississippi is attempting to define human person-hood as legally starting at the moment of fertilization of the human ovum.  This being pursued via a ballot initiative.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Occupy Wall Street, & Chicago, &....

I struggle with the Occupy movement.  In less than a month it has gone from a single location to multiple sites worldwide.  The NYC location was visited recently by CNN and the reporter described food distribution, donated clothing distribution and more.  What began as a largely unfocused effort is manifesting the self organizing principle of life, which evolves from the simple to the ever more complex. If it lasts another month, what will it look like?

Monday, October 03, 2011

Fair and Balanced? Or Not?

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.