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Since I am a capitalist, I only trade my money for things that will have value to me. Thus I read the online edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette because it is free.

I found this article the other day which made me wonder if the free version of the PG isn’t still overpriced.

Refinery Struggles Bruise NJ Communities

Harry Schaeffer was a toddler when his family moved in 1955 to National Park, where nearby Eagle Point Refinery had been turning crude to gasoline, heating oil and other products for years.

Schaeffer grew up near the towers and tanks and got a job at Eagle Point as a young man. He spent 34 years controlling the valves and switches that moved oil products around the 1,100-acre spread of giant tanks before he was furloughed indefinitely this month.

A tragedy to be sure, and I want to be clear that stories of closing factories and good people losing good jobs infuriates me. What absolutely puts me over the top, though, is that this article appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a newspaper which routinely vilifies business and industry and has never met a tax it didn’t like. This article is nothing more than a bone they’ve thrown to the seven actual factory workers who still read the PG.

What I find most interesting, though, is a little further down in the article.

Schaeffer and others at the Sunoco Inc. plant are among more than 1,000 workers who lost their jobs in the past few months in the refinery industry within 50 miles of Philadelphia, a bad sign for an enterprise that paid blue collar workers well for decades. And when the company hosted a job fair for workers facing furloughs or layoffs, the refinery positions available were far-flung — in Illinois and the Texas Gulf Coast.

That’s because the economic and regulatory environment is much better in the gulf coast states and even in Illinois than it is in New Jersey. Even Pennsylvania is better it seems.

In October, Sunoco announced its plan to idle refining operations and furlough some 400 employees, leaving a much smaller staff to handle already refined oil shipped in from overseas. The company has not announced a long-term plan for the plant. Refining functions remain at Sunoco’s nearby plants in Philadelphia and Marcus Hook, Pa.

Of course that’s a little like being the healthiest guy on death row.

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Earlier this month, the PA Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling which bars the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection from imposing its own set of mercury regulations on coal-fired power plants (more info on that here). This is good news. I say that not because I’m an evil conservative who likes pollution, but because these regulations would have been one more thing that put Pennsylvania industries, in this case power plants, at a competitive disadvantage compared to plants in other states.

“But,” you say, “I’ve heard mercury is bad, so shouldn’t we regulate it somehow?”

Good question. The answer to that is found in the information that is not in any of the articles you’ll find on the subject. The US Environmental Protection Agency is already working on regulations which address mercury emissions and other emissions like it. These regulations are called Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards and, as the name suggests, they are already pretty stringent. More importantly, these regulations will apply to virtually all power plants in the US, including those in Pennsylvania. The end result is that power plants in Pennsylvania are going to be regulated one way or another. The only question is whether or not they’ll have to meet federal AND state regulations or just federal regulations like most of the other power plants in the country.

Having spent most of my career complying with federal environmental regulations, I can tell you first-hand that EPA is not lobbing regulatory softballs at anyone. Environmental regulations, and MACT standards in particular, are very strict and very difficult to comply with; there are no loopholes. The state DEP with its limited resources isn’t going to come up with anything more protective of the environment. State regulations are, more often than not, nothing more than cover for politicians in Harrisburg who want to be seen as “doing something”. All they’re really doing is increasing the cost of doing business in Pennsylvania and continuing to drive jobs and people out of the state.

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WPVI:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the small amount of radiation detected at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant is not significant.

Specialist John White has told ABC News that there is no indication that radiation at the plant exceeded or even approached regulatory limits.

The commission sent investigators to the central Pennsylvania plant after a small amount of radiation was detected.

About 150 employees were sent home Saturday afternoon, but officials say there is no public health risk.

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Friends,

I am pleased to inform you that Philadelphia has been selected to host a monthly Center-Right Coalition meeting, following the hugely-successful model of Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR). We will be one of the few non-state capital cities to have such a gathering.

The kick-off meeting, which I will be hosting, will be Thursday, November 12 at the Union League in Philadelphia, with Mr. Norquist in attendance. Light refreshments will be served at 7:00 AM, with the program going from 7:30 to 9:00. The Union League is located at 140 S. Broad Street, just two blocks south of City Hall.

In Grover’s words, the objective is “to get everybody who is center-right to tell each other what they are doing, to share technology and tactics, and to tell stories” regarding issues facing Pennsylvania and the nation.

One key function, according to ATR, is to facilitate collaborative activities of coalition members, many of whom may have not previously known one another, and foster the potential for mutual cooperation.

The rules are simple: Anyone who so desires may speak for three minutes on current initiatives, answer questions, and pass the microphone to the next speaker.

The only prohibition is whining. It is a positive meeting, one that will unify southeastern Pennsylvania.

Attendees will typically include influential political, business, policy and grassroots leaders.

If anyone who would like several minutes on the agenda, please let me know.

You are encouraged to bring any literature for distribution.

I hope to see you next Thursday.

For future reference, the monthly meetings will be held on the FIRST THURSDAY of each month at the Union League, with the same time format as above.

Feel free to invite colleagues and associates. All meetings are off the record.

Steadfast,

Christopher Freind
“Freindly Fire”
Audaces fortuna iuvat
610-659-0098
christopherfreind@hotmail.com (E before I in Freind)
CF@FreindlyFireZone.com

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The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has some photos from last night’s “Green” Jobs Rally/Concert/Propaganda Event at Point State Park in Pittsburgh. Fast Eddie was there, but here’s my favorite photo:

I don’t know what he’s saying there, but it’s probably something like, Only YOU can destroy save the American economy via Cap ‘n’ Tax and the EFCA!

Here’s a photo of the crowd of college students listening to one of the speakers:

They look very interested, don’t they? Some of them look like they’re about to say, Hey man, like, start the music. I’m starting to get wee-wee’d up here.

But, no, that’s not right. These kids are the future of America! They are the best and the brightest:

Or, not.

The good news is that at least there were some reasonable people at the rally:

Thanks for keeping our city safe, officer!

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National Association of Manufacturers had a bit in the Inquirer the other day.

In June, the House narrowly passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, sponsored by Reps. Henry Waxman (D., Calif.) and Ed Markey (D., Mass.). The complex bill attempts to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, and heavy costs will be attached to the effort. The legislation would place a huge burden on job creators by imposing restrictions on the type of energy they use and how they use it.

According to a recent analysis by the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Council for Capital Formation, Pennsylvania would lose up to 97,500 jobs by 2030 as a result of this bill – even when the “green jobs” created are accounted for. Nationally, as many as 2.4 million jobs would be lost.

These losses would be caused by lower industrial output due to higher energy prices, the high cost of complying with required emissions cuts, and greater competition from overseas manufacturers that enjoy lower energy costs.

Read the whole thing.

It doesn’t get any better.

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There will be an “Energy Citizens” rally in Chester, PA on September 3rd at 4:30PM. What’s an “Energy Citizens Rally”? Here’s video of one from Texas:

These rallies are the antidote to Al Gore’s green jobs tour. Leftists are denouncing these Energy Citizens rallies as being sponsored by the “energy-industrial complex”, because, you know, people who work in the energy field should play nice and let Al Gore put them out of business. It’s against the left’s rules for the people they are attacking to fight back.

For more information, go to EnergyCitizens.org

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Face to Face With Hurricane Bill: Freindly Fire Rides with the USAF “Hurricane Hunters”

11 Hour Mission Covered 3,000 Miles Over The Roiling Atlantic Ocean

BY CHRIS FREIND

“Jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft is not a natural act. So let’s do it right, and enjoy the view.”—Clint Eastwood’s U.S. Marine character in “Heartbreak Ridge.”

ABOARD A U.S. AIR FORCE WC-130 “HURRICANE HUNTER” — With all the celebrity status afforded “Bill,” being that he was the top story in newspapers and on television nationwide, it seemed like a good idea to make his acquaintance. After all, it’s not every day you get to meet someone, or in this case, some thing, with a magnitude as great as Bill’s. At least, that what I kept telling myself after receiving a call on a Friday evening from the U.S. Air Force “Hurricane Hunters” squadron asking if I could be at Andrews Air Force base in 24 hours. They had front-row seats to the Hurricane Bill show, and I was on the A-List.

******

A variation of Clint Eastwood’s words echoes in my mind as we sit on a rainy runway at Andrews AFB, just outside Washington, D.C:

“Flying a perfectly good aircraft into the heart of a hurricane is not a natural act.” It is midnight, and I keep telling myself that the crew will “do it right,” so I should “enjoy the view.”

The WC-130 is a venerable aircraft, so successful in its design that it is still being manufactured after 50 years. The four mighty turboprops that would carry us into the storm fired up, and we were ready to roll. Nothing could stop us now.

Except, of course, for a parade of ducks and ducklings that proceeded to cross – waddle, actually- in front of this mighty aircraft, without a care in the world. The eight-man aircrew, one of the most seasoned to ever fly a hurricane mission, were as giddy as little kids, even trying to snap photos of the unusual sight. I take this light moment as a good omen.

Moments later, after a surprisingly short sprint down the runway, we are airborne, heading east. Flying over the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, we pass over South Jersey, where my three little children are sleeping far below. A moment of brief anxiety sets in, because, for the uninitiated such as myself, it’s only natural to think about “worst case” scenarios. We are doing the complete opposite of what people do when a hurricane nears. Instead of fleeing, we are chasing. It was going to be an interesting night.

******

The biggest difference between a WC-130 cockpit and that of a commercial airliner is the number of windows. While a typical passenger jet has four panes, our plane has 18, affording a view not just straight ahead and to the left and right, but above and below. As we progress out over the Atlantic, the first of what would be many contrasts strikes me. Peering up, the sky is crystal clear, with more stars than can be described. Hard to believe that in a short period of time, that view will be clouded over, literally, by a huge storm.

Among the various monitors and screens in the cockpit is one which depicts not just our plane’s heading, but everything in our flight path ahead. In short order, there he is, in all his glory. Bill’s familiar hurricane shape took form, and we are closing fast. It is showtime.

*******

The most common question asked by the public is how the Hurricane Hunters’ planes can withstand the power of a hurricane, since wind speeds can approach 200 miles per hour. As Major Jeff Ragusa, commander of our mission, explained, the ride is not usually as bumpy and one might expect. This is because the plane, as a moving object, is not subject to the same stresses of land-based structures. Stationary objects, such as trees, cars and buildings, either withstand a hurricane’s winds, or get blown away when they reach a breaking point.

Maj. Ragusa likened our plane to that of a swimmer in a strong current. Whether the current is 20 miles per hour or 40, the swimmer is not physically harmed because he isn’t stationary. He is simply moving with the water. Likewise, since the plane moves laterally in the hurricane’s winds, and does so at an angle, called “crabbing,” the turbulence from that force is minimal.

However, that doesn’t mean the flight is a cakewalk. The crew has to be constantly aware of extremely powerful downdrafts from the thunderstorms inside the hurricane.

For various meteorological reasons, the standard altitude for entering the hurricane is 10,000 feet, at which time the plane slows to 200 mph from its cruising speed of 320. There is another reason that the 10,000 foot level is one often adhered to by the crews – it provides a larger margin of safety.

In 2005, Hurricane Wilma progressed from a Category 1 to a Category 5 (the most powerful) faster than any other storm in history. It remains the most powerful hurricane on record, with the lowest pressure ever recorded. During a Hurricane Hunter flight into Wilma in which the plane was considerably lower than 10,000 feet, a downdraft slammed the plane 2,500 straight down in a matter of seconds. Having the ocean rush up that quickly, and be that close, is not something an aircrew wants to experience.

On Hurricane Hunter missions, the planes are an island unto themselves. Our navigator tells us during a briefing that we are the only aircraft remotely close to the storm. And since cargo ships avoid the shipping lanes affected by the hurricane, there are no surface vessels for potentially hundreds of miles.

Waves generated by Bill exceed an almost inconceivable 60 feet, and are clearly visible from our altitude two miles above the surface (upon entering the eye, the wind speed drops to zero and there is a clear view of the ocean below). Should the plane have to ditch at sea, the crew would be on its own for a considerable amount of time.

Since the Hurricane Hunters have never lost a plane (they have 10), and they have been through hurricanes’ fury countless times, I rest a bit easier knowing the odds are on my side.

*****

The Hurricane Hunters comprise the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (WRS) based out of Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi. According to the unit’s public affairs office, it is a one-of-a-kind organization in that it is the only operational unit in the world that engages in weather reconnaissance on a routine basis. An Air Force Reserve unit, its primary mission is to perform aerial weather reconnaissance of tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and the central Pacific Ocean. In a unique arrangement, the WRS is effectively directed not by the Department of Defense, but by the Department of Commerce’s National Hurricane Center. The squadron’s mission calls for the unit to be able to engage in continuous operations 24 hours per day, with the ability to fly into 3 storms at a time. Based on these requirements, the WRS is staffed with ten full-time and ten part-time aircrews.

Each aircrew includes a pilot, co-pilot, navigator, aerial reconnaissance weather officer, and a weather loadmaster. There are often several backup pilots and co-pilots, since typical mission duration is 11 hours, with some lasting 18.

The flight meteorologist acts as flight director, observing and recording meteorological data at the horizontal flight level, while the the loadmaster collects and records vertical weather data by using dropsondes, devices shot out of the airplane while inside the storm which measure temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and wind direction. Dropsonde information is relayed back to the plane twice per second, which, after being tabulated with the horizontal data via an advanced computer program, is relayed to the National Hurricane Center at regular intervals. Other weather instruments determine rainfall amounts, ocean temperature, and wind speeds at the sea surface.

An analogy often used to describe why Hurricane Hunters fly into storms is that hurricanes are like tumors. Their presence is known, but critical details must still be ascertained, such as size, whether it is growing, how it is spreading, and the precise type of entity being studied.

Hurricane forecasters use the Hunters’ data to determine if a storm is intensifying, and where it may be heading. The mission of the Hurricane Hunters is immensely valuable because it increases the accuracy of hurricane predictions by 30%. In addition to saving countless lives, the WRS saves millions of dollars, since it costs approximately one million dollars to evacuate every one mile of coastline.

*******

The flight continues for hours, penetrating the eye eight times. We fly over Nantucket and as far north as Halifax, Canada. While visibility is limited flying through the storm, there are breathtaking views when the plane is out of the hurricane. Despite the raging seas and fierce winds so close to us, we witness a spectacular sunrise above the clouds and a rainbow for the record books. The views give an almost surreal feeling, as these tranquil scenes are occurring within sight of a savage hurricane.

After our last pass through the eye, we head for home, weary from the mission duration, the ever- present turbulence, the noise level (earplugs are worn at all times), and the utilitarian accommodations. The WC-130 is a workhorse, and it does its job flawlessly, but a comfortable airliner it is not. Metal-framed canvass seats with mesh backing are standard in the cargo hold, and there is a port-a-potty with a curtain for a bathroom. The “refrigerator” is a cooler strapped to the floor.

The WRS crew, underneath their friendly exterior, are no-nonsense, tough-as-nails airmen who face elevated risks every time they take to the skies. They perform their mission with the utmost professionalism and poise, knowing that what they do saves lives and property. Seasoned in a way unmatched by other airmen, they are the best of the best.

After sitting in the cockpit for a picture-perfect landing, I step out onto the tarmac with a newfound respect for solid ground under a clear blue sky.

While I encountered a hurricane but once, these airmen face substantial risks flight after flight. That’s true courage.

As I look back at the WC-130, thinking about the tempest we, and more importantly, it – just endured – Maj. Ragusa hands me a 53rd WRS squadron patch.

For 11 hours, I was a Hurricane Hunter – a truly unforgettable experience.

Chris Freind, author of “Freindly Fire,” is an independent columnist and investigative reporter whose home newspaper is The Philadelphia Bulletin. Readers hail from six continents, thirty countries, and all fifty states. He can be reached at CF@FreindlyFireZone.com

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On the birthday of the American oil industry (started here in Pa), here’s some news on what the Cap and Trade Bill, if signed by the President will do to one of our industrial sectors.

A study released this week by the American Petroleum Institute (API), the industry’s trade group, projects that the cap-and-trade bill in its current form could cause a 17 percent reduction in U.S. refinery output by 2030. The reduction would be made up by doubling fuel imports from foreign refiners, who may not face climate restrictions.

API said the analysis by EnSys Energy shows the “devastating” effect the American Clean Energy and Security Act would have on U.S. jobs and energy security. While the proposed bill would dramatically reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from U.S. refineries, there would be only a slight worldwide reduction as fuel production shifted overseas, the study said.

Refining is big business along the Delaware River. The seven refineries in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware employ about 3,000 people and can process 1.26 million barrels of oil a day, about 8.7 percent of the nation’s capacity.

The study was released as the Senate prepares to consider the climate-change bill, sponsored by Reps. Henry A. Waxman (D., Calif.) and Ed Markey (D., Mass.). The bill narrowly passed the House in June, and it is likely to be substantially amended by the Senate.

I was not aware that the Delaware Valley’s production was so high.

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Hello everyone. Long time…no see. I’ve been laying low over the last few weeks and enjoying a new job and the first couple of weeks of a very lovely and comfortable summer so far. Unfortunately, not everyone feels that these mild and gentle summer days are real and decided to send me an email, and about 100 of his closest friends, and lay out the facts on “Human made Global Climate Change” and the moral and religious necessity in addressing the issue.

The following was our exchange on the matter of the Earth and its temperatures ebb and flow. I have not changed any of the text from its original format, grammatical and spelling errors to make sure that the integrity of this communication remains intact.

First I will let you read his statement to everyone he emailed.

Subject: RE: Senate Alert !!
Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2009 11:49:27 -0400

Climate change is a moral and religious issue, not just a policy issue.  Whatever the merits of any particular bill, we all need to recognize:

1. Human-caused climate change is already adversely affecting people, especially poor people. 

2. Continued growth in global greenhouse gas concentrations will increase these adverse effects.

3. The longer we wait before addressing climate change, the greater the costs of addressing it will become.

4. Our children and our grandchildren will overwhelmingly bear the brunt of climate change if we don’t take serious action.

Cheers.

The following was my response to his lecturing of all the other recipients and myself.

John:
 
Nonsense. Prove that humans are causing it and then we’ll talk. Most scientists can’t agree on the subject, let alone the average citizen. There is no such thing as “scientific Consensus” in science. All of science is based on proveable facts, not a vote. It is or it isn’t. Not “50.01% of us” think so. That’s not science at all, that’s politics and I thought that scientists worked in fact, not opinion.
 
And as a side note, I thought these same scientists said when I was a little kid that we were going through “Global Coolilng” and if we didn’t do something right now we were going to be in another ice age. All this does is prove to me that scientists are either too stupid to know when they don’t know something or too arrogant to admit when they were wrong. Furthermore it shows that it was never true in the first place since the concept being pushed in either case is still that we must control what you and I do “For the Planets Sake.” 

If you wish to be intellectually honest on the subject, this has nothing to do with the environment but about control. Its about how to get government intervention into every facet of all of our lives and remove our personal freedom to choose what’s best for ourselves. Its also about how to seperate you and I from our God given right to choose our own path and to keep what we earn through our own hard work. Politicians see this as a huge cash cow and they hear the “Moo” in the field.
 
Furthermore this about how to get a Socialist agenda point of “Equalling the playing field” and making the world more “Fair.” Translating that from Socialist to English means taking from me to give to someone else.
 
As if there is another country in the world that is more safe in its use of energy and more environmentally concious than the United States already. This is not to help “the Planet” but to help political parties gain and maintain power. Just like most Americans, I don’t waste where I can possibly avoid it for 2 main reasons, (1) I have limited resources and don’t wish to waste the resources I have available to me and (2) I was taught to be a good steward to that which I was entrusted with, whether it is the raising of my children to be good people or to leave my world a better place for my children when I’m gone. The main connecting thought you need to remember between both of these things is this…It is because I choose so, not because a government told me I had too.
 
So please don’t try to talk about all of the environmental claptrap or my responsibility to future generations. As a father and an American I know what my responsibilities are in life…and the last time I checked it was my right to decide what that was for myself.

Now, those of you that know me or have read my material in the past know that I’m not the kind of man to kiss and tell, but this gentleman kind of pushed my buttons and since by his addition of all of his contact information in an email sent to well over 100 more individuals gives me the impression is that this person has no problem announcing to the world who he is, so therefore I have no problem either. If you feel so inclined please feel free to contact him to relay your thoughts and feelings on the “Global Climate Change” hokum since he seems to be more than happy to receive emails on this matter.

John C. Dernbach
Distinguished Professor of Law

Widener University Law School
3800 Vartan Way
Harrisburg, PA  17106-9382
(717) 541-1933

(717) 541-3966 (fax)

http://ssrn.com/author=411559 (SSRN)

http://johndernbach.com/ (web site) 

I hope everyone appreciates this conversation as much as I did and I wish everyone enjoys our sunny and mild summer.

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Don’t be a Gore-bot. Vote for Civilization!

Turn your lights on between 8:30 and 9:30 tonight!

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Comcast and Rendell: A High-Octane Connection

Conflicts of Interest Pervade the Relationship

BY CHRIS FREIND

Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell’s recent decision to criticize the Sunoco oil company for laying off 750 workers raises a number of intriguing questions. While the governor saw fit to hold a press conference solely to excoriate Sunoco, calling the company’s decision “unconscionable,” he has been notably silent concerning 3,000 layoffs — four times the Sunoco amount — which Comcast has executed in the past year.

Since the governor’s election in 2002, SUN PAC, the Sunoco political action committee, has contributed $55,000 to Mr. Rendell, with Sunoco employees donating an additional $2650.

During that same span, Comcast’s PAC, its employees, and the spouses of its top executives donated $634,350 to the governor. Additionally, Comcast spent at least $100,000 on Mr. Rendell’s inauguration festivities in 2007, being designated “Benefactor” by the governor, the highest level of contributor.
The David Cohen Factor

The governor’s closest ally at Comcast is Executive Vice President David Cohen, who has contributed $80,000 to Mr. Rendell. Mr. Cohen is a longtime Rendell confidante and fundraiser, serving as Chief of Staff when Rendell was Mayor of Philadelphia. Prior to joining Comcast, Cohen was Chairman of the Ballard Spahr law firm, where Mr. Rendell worked while campaigning for governor. Ballard, which provides legal counsel to Comcast, has come under intense media and legislative scrutiny for the frequency and amount of secretive no-bid contracts it has received under the Rendell Administration. In addition, it received almost $800,000 for work on the Pennsylvania Turnpike without any contract.

Ballard Spahr LLP has contributed $481,000 to the governor’s campaigns, with its attorneys donating an additional half million dollars. Also, the Philadelphia Future political action committee (PAC), registered at the Ballard offices and whose treasurer is Mr. Cohen, pumped $471,000 into the Rendell coffers.

The address on Gov. Rendell’s campaign finance reports is the 51st floor of 1735 Market Street in Philadelphia. Ballard Spahr occupies the entire floor.

Cohen also serves as Chairman of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. Despite Mr. Rendell’s unprecedented intrusion into the private business sector by his attack on Sunoco, a major Philadelphia employer and Chamber member, no action was taken by the Chamber to defend the company.

The Comcast High Speed Money Connection

The Comcast money trail doesn’t end with Mr. Cohen. Ralph Roberts, Comcast’s founder, his son Brian, who serves as Chairman and CEO, and several other executives are strong Rendell backers. The elder Roberts contributed $52,500, and the son, $48,500. Comcast Chief Operating Office Stephen Burke donated $32,000.

According to Department of State records, the spouses of Comcast executives also made high-dollar contributions to Mr. Rendell. Rhonda Cohen donated $156,000, and the Roberts’ wives, Suzanne and Aileen, respectively, combined for another $25,250. Gretchen Burke contributed $5000.

The Comcast Corporation PAC contributed $93,500 to Rendell campaigns.

Rendell: On The Comcast Payroll

In addition to his $145,000 salary as governor, Mr. Rendell has also worked as a part-time football commentator for Comcast, earning a reported $20,000 per year. This arrangement has led many to question the apparent conflict, but the governor simply brushes off such criticism. As governor, Mr. Rendell has also collected a paycheck from the University of Pennsylvania, where Cohen serves as the Chairman-elect on the Board of Trustees, for his services as a lecturer. The university is a recipient of substantial state aid.

Comcast Aid: An End Run Around the Legislature

In constructing its new Center City headquarters, Comcast executives lobbied the state government for financial assistance. The firm sought a Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ) designation for its building, which would have provided local and state tax relief. Despite the fact that KOZ’s are intended to spur development in areas of blight, not prosperous Center City locations, the $30 billion company almost succeeded with the help of Gov. Rendell. Had the Comcast effort prevailed, the company would have been exempt from state and local business taxes until 2015.

Ultimately, the Pennsylvania legislature defeated the efforts of Comcast and the governor.

The governor then made an end-run around the legislature, funneling nearly $43 million in taxpayer money to aid Comcast and pay for infrastructure near the Comcast building, prompting outrage from many. Comcast’s direct incentives were nearly $13 million.

The economic development funds equated to roughly 10% of the building’s cost.

A Cynical Public

At a time when political corruption trials, pay to play scandals and conflicts of interest are rampant, polls show a public with an increasingly cynical view of their government and elected officials. The Pennsylvania legislature has responded by introducing a number of bills aimed at how state contracts are awarded.

Under the Rendell Administration, over $1 billion in no-bid contracts have been awarded.

Chris Freind can be reached at cf@thebulletin.us

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Matt, I understand ignoring things like Earth Hour because they are useless gestures, however, the folks participating in these lame exercises think they are making a difference; they equate “raising awareness” with actually doing something. Besides, a gesture this futile and stupid on their part deserves one equally stupid and futile on my part; I refuse to drink the global warming kool aid.

I, for one, am not going to sit back and let Obama’s Green Shirt brigade of thermostat police dictate my levels of energy usage and events like this are just one part of the anti-civilization, anti-human policies of environmentalists whose methods range from meer bullying to sheer terrorism From Michelle Malkin’s blog today on the coming G20 riots:

The anarchists are reportedly using Google Streetview and Twitter to organize riots, hang businessmen in effigy at the behest of a university professor known as “Mr. Mayhem,” call for guillotining bank execs, and — get this — target London firms that fail to turn off their lights to commemorate that moronic “Earth Hour” event I wrote about earlier this week. If shops don’t worship at the altar of environmentalism, they will be broken into:

Sir Paul Stephenson said ‘old faces’ from British protest groups – thought to be behind earlier anti-globalisation riots – were also expected in London. Activists have dubbed April 1 Financial Fools Day and are planning to march on the Bank of England, the European Climate Exchange in Bishopsgate and the U.S. embassy. At least 2,000 demonstrators are expected. The first demonstration in London will come tomorrow with ‘Earth Hour’ – targeting City firms that fail to turn off their lights by 8.30pm. Organisers say every office block in London with lights on will be fair game and have warned that they are prepared to break in and put the lights out themselves. The protest group Climate Camp has already released a map of potential targets in the City for its demonstration on April 1, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, carbon offset and trading companies and ‘green-washing’ PR firms.

Think this madness couldn’t happen here? Think again.

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Lisa,

I saw a few things about this whole earth hour thing.  I put it in the same category with many other things that ask me to do something that I think is 1.) more PR than actual effect 2.) a feel-good “solution” 3.) has no real impact on anything, except to be an inconvenience to me.  I ignore it and live my life.  Anyone who thinks I’m going to sit in my house in the dark for an hour in the evening is crazy.  I’ve got too much other things to do.

If these people really want to make an impact on global warming – maybe they could give up their cars and start riding bicycles or give up heat in their house, or something that has a long term effect.

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I think my head is going to explode.

I just read on Foxnews.com an article by The Sunday Times about the Environmental impact of making Google searches on your computer. According to Alex Wissner-Gross, a Harvard University physicist that just 2, that’s right ladies and gentlemen, 2 Google searches are the equivalent CO2 released in boiling of a kettle of water. He says that this is because of the amount of energy used by Google’s server farms that is needed to run them in order to provide the almost 200 million searches conducted daily. This amount of energy usage is, in his words, “Provoking concern.” He also says that it is the way that Google operates its searches that causes the biggest environmental problems since it doesn’t send its search requests to one server, but to dozens or hundreds at the same time. These servers could be thousands of miles apart from one another and raises the energy usage. It provides faster response time with greater accuracy, but with higher energy usage and greater environmental impact.

So now we are a bunch of wasteful evil S.O.B.’s if we search for a topic on our very own computers. This professor has decided that a better environmental model for business is a more inefficient one. The reason Google is the #1 search engine is because of it efficiency and speed of its search returns. This Brainiac is saying that we should all reward those less efficient, slower search engines because they are less efficient and therefore use less energy. Ergo they are the better choice because they obviously love Gaia, our mother earth, far more than those Capitalist Pigs over at Google that provide a better product to their customers.

I’m guessing that his alternative to Google would be all of us going to the library. But wait, what about the cost of operating and maintaining the library, and staffing it, and the energy to keep it open, and the energy to get the employees there in their, once again, evil gas operated vehicles. Never mind. Let’s do Morse Code. We could all learn Morse Code in the Government sponsored Re-Education Camps opening in the parking lots of all of those former Evil Wal-Marts the Government help shut down because they were too efficient and to environmentally unfriendly too.

Maybe we should just all go back to what the Great Apes do in the forest and bang logs against tree trunks so we can be heard for a few miles. No no no no. That won’t work. The EPA would be all over us for attacking a poor innocent tree and damaging its trunk (Fining us of course for a hefty sum) and then asking us a series of questions as to where we got the log from. Did we cut it off of another tree (Here’s another fine) or did you find it as deadwood along the forest floor (please insert fine amount here). My fellow Americans in California will be unable to participate in this type of communication since they are not allowed to clear out or touch their dead brush for fear of the environmental impact it would have. (Cue Arnold Schwarzenegger Terminator music.)

I heard from my parents the phrase “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” Apparently the new phrase we should all start teaching our children is “If it’s not broke then there is obviously something evil about it and it must be made a pariah of and extolled to the world how it’s going to kill us all and we must look for the Eco-friendly version of it.” Please pass the government cheese.

Obviously if you asked this man what we should do, he would tell you that we need to have a Government panel drawn up sponsored by a several Hundred million dollar grant to study the environmental impact of his study.

Does anyone else hear a “Cha-Ching?”

Anyone that isn’t wearing blinders can see that this is nothing but a bunch of Lib’s trying to do what Lib’s do best and that’s control everyone else’s actions. This is all about money and control, plain and simple. Now that they have a Lib coming in charge they see that the way, for the next 4 years, is clear for them to try to Micro-manage the rest of us and place themselves in seats of power in order to achieve their end game desires. That End-Game is the destruction of America as we know it, since if you ask them they will tell you that this world would be better off and safer without American throwing its weight around. If they can get rid of America’s power then we would all be “Equal” and better off.

I don’t remember boarding the train to Crazy-Town, but I want the Hell off. I certainly don’t want my kids on this train either. What kind of country will I be handing them if we allow this Insanity to continue.

Oh ya….that’s right. There won’t be an America by the time their old enough to inherit it. And that‘s exactly what these crazy Lib’s want.

I hope enough American’s wake up soon. That way there is enough of us to storm the front of the train, knock the conductor out, and steer us back to Sanity. If not then well…I’ve read enough H.P. Lovecraft stories to know that you don’t want to know what monsters lie ahead.

God help us all.

(We heard that. No “God” talk here. Here’s another fine!)

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Here’s a letter to the editor in the Post-Gazette today from a paragon among men:

In a Sept. 22 editorial “Think, Baby, Think,” the Post-Gazette declared that support for more domestic drilling amounts to an “unthinking cry.” You went on to say that “T. Boone Pickens has it right.” Really? In Mr. Pickens’ third TV commercial, he states:

“The big debate in Washington now is whether or not to drill. I say, ‘drill, drill, drill,’ but the debate misses the point. Either way, we’ll still be dependent on foreign oil.”

Mr. Pickens goes on to talk about developing renewable fuels. In fact, Mr. Pickens’ plan to make use of all sources of energy to break our dependence on foreign oil sounds very similar to what John McCain said in his speech at the Republican National Convention:

“We will attack the problem on every front. We will produce more energy at home. We will drill new wells offshore, and we’ll drill them now. We will build more nuclear power plants. We will develop clean-coal technology. We will increase the use of wind, tide, solar and natural gas. We will encourage the development and use of flex fuel, hybrid and electric automobiles.”

In light of your lack of knowledge of the energy plans of both Mr. Pickens and Sen. McCain, I was not surprised to see an editorial in yesterday’s PG complaining about Mr. McCain’s decision to put our country first and temporarily suspend his campaign to go do his job in the Senate (”McCain’s Move: He Cheats the Voters With His Campaign Ploy,” Sept. 25).

The PG asks for more “debate,” but you are clearly not interested in anything that John McCain has to say.

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I hope everybody here has already signed Newt Gingrich’s Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less petition.

From now until September 15th, there’s another way to add your input to the debate. Jane Van Ryan of the American Petroleum Institute has informed me about this opportunity:

Right now the Minerals Management Service (MMS) is collecting comments on its next five-year offshore leasing plan. The MMS – the federal agency responsible for administering the offshore oil and natural gas program – considers the size, timing, and location of the areas to be considered for federal leasing, and it bases its recommendations on the public’s comments. The plan is reviewed by Congress and approved by the Secretary of the Interior.

MMS is accepting public comments on its 2010-2015 plan until next Monday, September 15th. Apparently several anti-drilling groups have called on their members to flood MMS with comments. Therefore, the majority of comments oppose new leases. Considering that numerous national polls have shown Americans support increased drilling, their comments do not reflect the nation’s sentiments.

Liberal Democrats oppose drilling largely because they view oil as “evil”. I, however, think that we need to do everything we can in the face of this energy crisis. We need to do more with solar, wind, and nuclear power. We need to try to develop more alternative sources of energy. Most importantly, America needs to lead on this issue before we are left behind, and that includes drilling for more oil. And unlike our Marxist friends, I don’t care if oil companies make money through bringing us all the oil we need.

So if you want us to finally start drilling for more of our own oil, be sure to Contact the Minerals Management Service and tell them that you want them to make all offshore areas available for exploration and drilling.

Partnership for America’s Energy Security

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Energytomorrow:

A new survey finds that 63% of Pennsylvania voters support increased access to domestic oil and natural gas resources.

It seems that the rest of the country shares the same view. Polls from Pew, CNN, Zogby and others indicate that the majority of Americans from coast to coast are in support of more energy exploration in the United States.

This is a critical shift in public opinion, and one that our leaders in Washington need to recognize. According to federal government data, the United States has enough oil to fuel more than 65 million cars for 60 years and enough natural gas to heat 60 million homes for 160 years. But current policies restrict access to 85% of the outer continental shelf and 83% of onshore federal lands.

Remember when Quaker State oil was actually made from Pennsylvania oil?

How about Pennzoil?

I don’t.

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The recent change in the polls boosts my hope a little bit:

Latest Zogby poll: McCain 42%, Obama 41%

Latest Rasmussen poll: McCain 47%, Obama 46%

It’s time for McCain to start leading on energy. He has a real opportunity to take a commanding lead over Obama, and he shouldn’t let it pass him by. The Democrats under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have proven that they don’t care that Americans are paying $4 a gallon for gasoline – that’s not going to interrupt their vacations. Make them pay for taking it easy while America suffers, McCain!

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Yesterday I received an email from Bobby Casey explaining his plan to lower gas prices:

The Senate is currently considering the Stop Excessive Energy Speculation Act of 2008 which aims to shed light on undisclosed and unregulated trading of oil that many experts say is contributing to higher gas prices. Last week, I spoke on the Senate floor in support of this bill and about how rising gas prices are adversely affecting Pennsylvanians.

You can watch my speech here.

See if you can stay awake through Casey’s speech – it’s not easy. In the second half of the speech, Casey informs us that it would take several years to drill for our own oil. Yeah, so? So does that mean anything that takes time to accomplish isn’t worth doing? Don’t go to school, because you don’t get a diploma on Day 1? Don’t look for a spouse, because you don’t get married after the first date? And yet, had we started drilling for oil years ago, we would have it now, wouldn’t we, Bobby?

A letter in today’s Pittsburgh Tribune-Review rightly slammed Casey for his do-nothing attitude:

When I recently telephoned Sen. Bob Casey’s office in an effort to ascertain his position on drilling for oil in ANWR and in our coastal waters, I was flatly told that he was against both.
So I guess this is how the party of the little guys treats the little guys. If you are paying $4 a gallon for gasoline and still vote for members of the party of the little guy, you have no right to complain.

Just keep voting for Democrats but keep your mouth shut about gas prices.

If you still believe that the Democratic Party is for the little guy (at least on the national stage), you are living in the 1960s.

The Democratic Party is in the pocket of more special-interest groups than Carter has little liver pills. There aren’t any more Jack Kennedys or Hubert Humphreys, only Harry Reids and Nancy Pelosis and Bob Caseys.
Speaking of Pelosi, before she ascended to the throne of speaker of the House, she proclaimed that the Democrats had a plan to reduce gas prices; I’m still waiting for that plan. How about you?

I have been a registered Democrat since I first voted almost 40 years ago. But seldom, if ever, do I vote for a Democrat at the national level.

As the late Ronald Reagan once said, “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party, the party left me.” I can’t wait for Bob Casey to come up for re-election; I am itching to vote against him. See you on Nov. 6, 2012, Bob.

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