I have a new column up for Uncommon Wisdom Daily today. However, the column started out much longer and had a different theme. It changed in the editing process. Thanks to the magic of the Internet, I can offer you the longer, “director’s cut” version. Here is a piece of it …
I got to thinking about giant stone heads – the kind they made on Easter Island a thousand years ago – when I saw the GM “rescue plan” that the White House came up with. Like the Easter Islanders, Barack Obama and his administration are doing all the wrong things for all the right reasons.
Facing population pressures and a depletion of resources – especially wood – the people on Easter Island did more of what they knew, which was build giant stone heads to appease their gods. They built those stone heads right up to the very end, probably using their last trees to do it, before their society collapsed in a maelstrom of civil war, cannibalism and death.
Now, flash forward to today …
Read the rest of Giant Stone Head Economics by pointing your web browser to: http://tinyurl.com/o4qnkb
HOORAY FOR THE WEEKEND!
As usual, I can’t end the week without music. Last week it was the Rolling Stones. This week in the wayback machine, you might get a laugh watching Lawrence Welk try feverishly to be hip with that new kids’ music …
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Sean, the US oil reserves are much greater than you cited. Do include the ANVAR possibilities, the tar sands in Montana and Colorado, offshore possibilities. All of these should be explored and drilled, drilled, drilled; regardless of what Nancy Pelosi says. The conversion to the alternative sources, by the very nature of research and development, will be slow and long time coming. In the meantime we must drill, drill, drill! If we were to suddenly convert all our cars to electric, where are we going to get the electric power? Atomic power plants, none are planned at this time, take about 35 years from idea to being on line! In the meantime we need fossil fuels, oil and coal. Speaking of coal, we have plenty of it, let’s continue the development of the experimental clean coal power plant in Mattoon, Illinois.
As to rail, we need major improvements in existing tracks or build new ones that will handle higher speed trains safely. Improving existing tracks is a “shovel ready” project! It will not hurt anything even if freight trains can move faster. Let’s start with the tracks, so that the existing rail cars can move faster. I wonder if your comparison of the numbers of people employed in passenger train service in France vs. United States is valid. If we employ as many people on train service as in France, who will be able to afford to take Amtrack?
Sean,
enjoyed your radio broadcast promoting GM building train cars for Amtrak and thank you for the Lawrence Welk video clip!
Here’s one “Wonderful Night” that late late night talk show king Craig Ferguson did a great remake of:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IK7dr2nk5o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAvpSdfYAlI
Gotta have some release, relief, decompression from the pressure . . . . THank YOU! and the Martin Weiss Group!!!!!