Lag Time

A report from the International Telecommunications Union ranks the US as 16th in the world in broadband access. The sad thing is, that's the good news, the not so good?

The U.S. has the fourth highest level of students who have never used a computer, among these nations, exceeded only by Turkey, Slovakia and Mexico

For being the country that invented both the computer and the internet, that's not great company to be in. Why should we care? I'll let FCC Commissioner Michael Copps answer that one:

The reason is that we do not have a national strategy to get broadband out to our people. I think we're probably the only industrialized country on the face of the earth that lacks a coherent national strategy to build this infrastructure, and it's damaging for all Americans. It's damaging for small businesses who are unable to compete, and most of all, it's damaging for minorities and diversity communities, people who live in the inner cities and people who live in rural America, where the market, I don't think, is just going to automatically take all of this infrastructure.

More National Exposure

The American Enterprise Institute takes up the story of the imperiled Indiana Republicans. But I think its this quote that deserves noting:

In addition to the poor political climate, Democrats have fielded a very strong group of conservative Democrats. Baron Hill and Ken Lucas lost to Sodrel and Davis in 2004. In the 108th, Hill’s voting record was among the most 25 percent conservative for Democrats. Lucas was the fourth most conservative Democrat in the House. Hostettler faces elected sheriff Brad Ellsworth. Chocola faces a popular businessman Joe Donnelly. All are running significantly to the right of the national Democratic Party.

Remember all those Chocola ads calling Joe a liberal? Not so much, but what do you expect from somebody as desperate as Chris?

No ZZ Top isn't Holding a Tryout

Gary Weddle says he won't shave until Osama bin Laden is caught.

Makes you wonder how long it will get before he can cut it? If he can ever cut it. Anybody want to guess what the odds are we'll find Osama in Iraq?

Olbermann

If you have a broadband connection watch the video.

Ethanol production comes at a high price

Click here for the Rutland Herald, Vermont, aticle.

I am all for the local ethanol plant to be built here. However, this is no cure for our present dilemma of oil addiction. This article explains, in part, why. I advocate the ethanol be used within the region and locally. I fear the politcians advocating for these ethanol plants to be built have this big utopian scenario in mind. Wide-scale use, purchase, and consumption of our ethanol plant products will deplete many of the resources we have locally. As an alternative in thinking, each region in the United States should require its own regional-type of energy production in order to become more self-reliant within the region.

In the same manner as other addictions, sometimes the best way to stop an addiction is to go cold turkey. If one can't go cold turkey, the next best thing is to cutback. What does this mean in terms of oil addiction? Conserve, conserve, conserve! (bet you thought this "librul" would never say that word!) The worst thing one can do to combat an addiction is to replace it with another addiction that is unhealthy. Forfeiting the resource depletion of one form of finite energy for the depletion of multiple other locally derived finite resources is not the answer!

In the spirit of conservation and replacing one addiction with another, I support local biking trails whereas more people can cut driving and rather walk and ride bikes! Buy locally grown food rather than having it grown, shipped, and packaged 2000 miles away! Support local mass transit with things such as buses, light rail, and trolleys! These are healthy substitutes, people!

These things listed above are the REAL answers to oil addiction. Not subsidies given to special interests with taxpayer money. In other words, technically, we will be fitting the bill for these plants that will suck our aquafiers dry. If you don't want the cost of your water to skyrocket 10-20 years from now, then please understand what this article is saying. Water wars are already happening in other parts of the U.S.

Don't let the Chocola ads trick you. He really IS beholden to special interest groups , and he is a millionaire who has received lots and lots of money from the likes of Tom DeLay. I tried to call, write, and email Mr. Chocola concerning oil depletion 2 years ago and all I received was a response about drilling in ANWR and the wildlife refuge. He didn't have a clue of what I was referring to concerning oil depletion/dependency. He thought I was some enviromentalist who was concerned about the caribou or something. Seriously--he didn't listen to a word I wrote or the references I gave him to read. And I don't know for sure but isn't Mr. Weatherwax tied in with the Andersons that are building the ethanol plant here in Logansport somehow? Follow the money. Follow the money trail if you can.

A Change is Gonna Come?

There has been a lot of news lately on how Indiana has become the epicenter of our chance to take back the House, and a lot of that attention is focused on how Joe is up on Chocola. What has bothered me is that all of these articles seem to always blame Chocola's problems on somebody else, take for example today's column from the South Bend Tribue:

Converging to threaten Chocola are some elements beyond his control, the angry winds whipped up by the Toll Road deal and daylight-saving time confusion. Gov. Mitch Daniels' high pressure system collided with a Washington low as shown by a dropping political barometer for President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress.

All of these articles seem to say the same thing, this isn't poor Chris' fault, its just happening to him.

Bull.

If Chris had taken care of his district this wouldn't be happening. If he had taken care of North Central Indiana on the transportation committee we wouldn't need to sell off the Toll Road to fund new highway spending. If he hadn't so blindly followed Bush he might have known to vote against going into Iraq when we hadn't finished the job in Afghanistan. If he meant what he says about being fiscally conservative, he wouldn't spend government funds franking mailings on government waste. And if he had the maturity to understand the causes of poverty he'd be fighting them, instead of saying incredibly stupid stuff like this. Hey Chris, one in three people living below the poverty line is a child, what choice did they make again?

Dancing with Tom DeLay

Apparently looking to practice his lobbying skills ahead of his big career as a paid shill (or ahead of his 18-24 months trying to not get shived) Tom DeLay has sent out an email asking for people to support Sara Evans (?) on Dancing with the Stars. To quote the Hammer:

One of her opponents on the show is ultra liberal talk show host Jerry Springer. We need to send a message to Hollywood and the media that smut has no place on television by supporting good people like Sara Evans.

Uh, isn't Sara agreeing to promote smut by appearing on the show with Jerry? I've heard about how hard the transition into retirement is, but come on Tom at least try the shuffleboard before you spring straight into crazy old coot.

National Coverage Roundup

Here is a roundup of national coverage of Joe's race to unseat Chocola.

Washington Post (reg. required)

MSNBC 9/6 8:18am

Bloomberg

New York Times (reg. required)

No Wonder They're Praying

After having spent $67,000 of public funds on his personal crusade to make the General Assembly pray his way, Speaker Bosma is now asking for private donations. Setting aside the idea that maybe he shouldn't have spent any public funds, let us focus on the thing the Speaker isn't focusing on himself:

Indiana leads the nation in foreclosures.

In 2005 Indiana's unemployment rate exceeded the national average

The number of Hoosier living below the poverty line grew 13% last year

More then three quarter of a million people now live below the poverty line

The poverty line is a poor reflector of how much income it takes to subsist, a better indicator is the Self Sufficency rate
A lot more people live below that line

Indiana has lost 100,000 manufacturing jobs since 2000

Indiana ranks 27th in Median Household Income

600,0000 Hoosiers have no health insurance

The fastest growing segment of the uninsured is the middle class ($50,000 to $74,999)

Though they still trail those making less then $25,000, 1 in 4 lacks insurance

But its not being able to say specific prayers that has Speaker Bosma spending public funds. He can offer prayer, just not the prayer he wants. All the Hoosiers who need good jobs, safer communities, and better education, and this is what the GOP has chosen to focus on. Praying may be the only thing that improves the above stats, the GOP sure isn't interested.

Not So Good News

You remember Afghanistan right? The Taliban, Osama, Al Qaida, any of this ringing a bell? Well the New York Times (reg. required) has a piece out today that paints a not so rosy picture of life in Afghanistan.

Some of the lowlights:

Across Afghanistan, roadside bomb attacks are up by 30 percent; suicide bombings have doubled. Statistically it is now nearly as dangerous to serve as an American soldier in Afghanistan as it is in Iraq.

Afghanistan now produces 92 percent of the worldÂ’s supply of opium poppy, the basis for heroin.

American officials said the country was more destitute than they had envisioned, yet the $909 million they provided in assistance in 2002 amounted to one-twentieth of the $20 billion allocated for postwar Iraq.

American officials calculated that six Afghan policemen were dying for every soldier in the National Army who was killed.

And this was supposed to be our success in the war on terror?