Mover Mike

Now California judges, have overturned the law passed by a vote of the people that banned gay marriage, saying in the 4-3 decision Thursday, "that domestic partnerships are not a good enough substitute for marriage in an opinion written by Chief Justice Ron George."

I think the people who passed the ban should stand up and say, "That decision is not good enough!"

The conflicted Senate yesterday voted to suspend any new additions to the strategic petroleum reserve.

Both Democrats and Republicans said such shipments make no sense when oil is costing more than $120 a barrel and could better be used to add supplies to a tight market.

In the second vote, the Senate rejected a Republican energy plan that promised to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration, an option that was part of an overall package to increase domestic energy development. Our leaders think they know the proper pricing of oil and will not do anything to increase the supply.

Meantime, our president is begging the Saudis to increase oil production. I am disgusted with them all!

Physics Today reports

The city of Chengdu has a population of 2 million, with another 9 million in the surrounding urban area, is about 90 km southeast of the epicenter. Many western companies such as IBM, Symantec, Microsoft, Intel, Fujitsu, NEC, Motorola, and Nokia have factories and offices in the region due to Chengdu's High-Tech Industrial Development Zone. None of these companies are reporting major damage to their staff or facilities.

Bush is in Saudi Arabia, pleading for increased production. Why don't we encourage more oil production here at home and stop paying for extravaganzas like this $4.8 Million diamond covered Mercedes?

map 2.1 2008/05/13 11:09:50 44.255N 118.234W 5.5 22 km (13 mi) S of Unity, OR

map 1.2 2008/05/13 04:42:55 45.127N 120.923W 17.3 14 km ( 8 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

map 1.3 2008/05/13 00:32:16 45.115N 120.968W 23.3 11 km ( 7 mi) SE of Maupin, OR

map 1.9 2008/05/12 23:16:44 44.237N 118.221W 4.8 24 km (15 mi) S of Unity, OR

map 1.6 2008/05/12 22:10:39 45.054N 122.537W 21.3 10 km ( 6 mi) E of Scotts Mills, OR

map 1.0 2008/05/12 17:01:20 45.731N 122.882W 31.1 3 km ( 2 mi) S of Scappoose, OR

map 2.0 2008/05/12 10:45:16 44.971N 117.952W 8.0 7 km ( 4 mi) N of Haines, OR

map 2.0 2008/05/11 11:59:37 44.256N 118.225W 8.3 22 km (13 mi) S of Unity, OR

Maupin Earthquake Oregon

My friend Mick is a little league baseball ump and has been for over 25 years. It is an unpaid and entirely selfless avocation, if you want to umpire in the world series. I am always entertained by his knowledge of the baseball rules and how they come into play in a game. He has to know instantly how to call a grounder that is fair when it goes bouncing fair past third base, but goes foul or a fly ball that is fair when it passes third, but goes foul. How to instantly react to base running situations is another puzzle for me, but not for him.

The other day a base runner slid toward home and the catcher tagged the runner on the arm as he was reaching for the bag. The tag moved the runner's arm. Mick called him out and just as quickly checked with the other ump, who also saw the tag and signaled out. Now the manager of the player tagged out, put up a fit and started yelling at Mick that this was the worst call he'd ever seen, that Mick was as blind as any bat, that the call was an injustice to all the good umps out there.

Mick calmly told the manager "that's enough, move away and return to the dugout."

The manager did turn away, but had to get one more dig in. "You are an abomination!"

Mick pointed at the manager and emphatically yelled, "You're out of here!"

The shocked manager said, "But blue, this is a practice game!"

I love baseball. Too bad, so many see this life as just practice.

Another way to look at the price of gasoline is to compare the price to Europe. When Bev and I went to Europe in 2000, gasoline was about $4.00 U.S. there, and the chart shows we were $1.50. Notice the nominal price of gasoline broke out the same time as Gold.

Speaking of Gold, look at this second chart of Gold and Oil in 2004 dollars. Both peaked in about 1981. In todays inflation dollars Oil was about $90 a barrel. This month Oil has traded at $126. The two commodities have tracked each other fairly well over the years, Oil bottomed in the late 1990s, Gold in 2001. Oil went on to better its inflation adjusted high. For Gold to do so, it would have to trade over $1,600 to equal its 1981 high. My guess is that most commodities are trading at inflation adjusted highs and Gold will get back in sync before you know it.

Are 'sanctuary city' policies deadly?  We investigate.

Our interview with Andrew McCarthy, author of the new book Willful Blindness, on the nexus between terrorism and illegal immigration.

100% Preventable! Americans continue to pay the bloody price for open borders. When will the madness end?

Download the show for your Ipod here

Make sure to check out this weeks sponsor...

This has been the Blogs For Borders Video Blogburst. The Blogs For Borders Blogroll is dedicated to American sovereignty, border security and a sane immigration policy.

If you’d like to join find out how right here.  To sponsor a show send us an email here.

Technorati Tags: illegal immigration, deportation, open borders, invasion, insanity, gary weiss, steven hough, amy bartelmay, mario cadena, indiana, pedro ortiz, pedophile, child molester, sanctuary city, nick erfle, guadalupe, arizona, joe arpiao, anarchy, crime, maywood, california, lawlessness, andrew mccarthy, willful blindness, an old broads ramblings,

Now we have Mike Gallagher writing about the same thing in The Ultimate Conservative Nightmare?Gallagher quotes David Frum, RINO at the National Review Online who says the Republican party has changed.

He argues that a successful Republican presidential candidate will be the sort of person who demonstrates unshakable integrity, a willingness to shake off some of the previous conservative orthodoxies, and can challenge and even disagree with some of the cultural philosophies that helped define the Reagan Revolution. Frum makes the case that a successful GOP candidate will be the one who returns to fiscal conservatism, reigning in out-of-control spending, even if he or she wanders off the reservation over an issue like illegal immigration.

None of the three candidates wants the government to live within our means, secure our borders, and follow the Constitution. All theree are statists!

I say if McCain chose Clinton, he better have his will in order and call in a divorce attorney for the believers in the Reagan Revolution will never call themselves Republicans again.

In a recent post she accused some on the Portland City Council of "character assassination" regarding her husband and "Do-nothing Portland City Council of Mean White Boys." She even accuses them of being "evil-doers." She thought better of her post and pulled it. Now the web site is still there, but none of her posts are visible.

Advice, to Hansen: Never pull a post! You can revise or update a post or even strike through a post using , but never delete it entirely. Good bloggers stand or fall on their integrity and the words they post for all the warts. We are striving for accountability and credibility. No whereNowhere is their there a place for complete revision without comparison.

Update:

That's Obama's political mentor, 1960s terrorist Bill Ayers, whom Obamba described as just an English professor whose radical days were 40 years ago. That Ayers still has contempt and hate for America is shown by his stomping on the American flag in 2001. The picture epitomizes Obamba's contempt for America and its bitter-clingy people.

Was the image photo-shopped? Who can tell me?

Update:

The eruption at Chaitén volcano is causing authorities to worry that a collapse could trigger ash depths similar to Pompeii.

There is precedent for such concern, according to SERNAGEOMIN (Chile’s National Geologic and Mining Service) official who pointed out that similar volcanoes (in Mexico and the Philippines, for example) have collapsed on the seventh or eight day of continuous eruption.

“Pompeii is in some ways similar,” added Lara, referring to the Roman city famously destroyed in AD 79 by Mount Vesuvius. “There was a pyroclastic flow that resulted in the consequences we all know. That’s exactly the worst case scenario that we’ve defined here”.

About 600 animals, mostly horses, dogs and cats, are thought to be in Chaiten, with another 600 in Futaleufu, 45 miles south of the volcano.

The agriculture ministry has been moving animals from Futaleufu. There are 7,000 head of cattle there, 6,000 in Chaiten and 10,000 in Palena, the ministry said. There also are 28,000 sheep in the region.

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed sharply in March as demand for imports fell by the largest amount since the last recession was ending.

The Commerce Department reported Friday that the deficit totaled $58.2 billion, down 5.6 percent from February, a larger improvement than had been expected.

The smaller deficit reflected spreading weakness in the U.S. economy, which cut demand for imports by 2.9 percent, the largest one-month decline since December 2001, one month after the last recession ended.

March 2006 -62,178
March 2007 -63,035
March 2008 -58,200 vs last year down 7.6%.

For three months Jan. through March 2007 -178,620
For three months Jan. through March 2008 -179,480

<see chart>

One month doesn't change the pattern. The USD has been falling since 2002. It's going to take a much bigger USD fall to really cut into the trade deficit?

Number of 60 degree days from February through April.

Now I realize that this is just a small picture and it covers only the last five years, but it sure keeps me from getting excited about, sharp intake of breath, Global Warming!

A conservative Sacramento law firm, Pacific Legal Foundation, plans to join the fray over the fate of polar bears in anticipation of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife decision next week on whether the bears are endangered, according to the Sacramento Bee.

"This listing of the polar bear really isn't about the polar bear," said a foundation attorney. "This is a political ploy on the part of activist groups to try to hijack global warming policy from the hands of Congress and to put it into the hands of the courts."

You may be correct, but I think it is also possible we have a trading range.

We may even have seen the top for bonds and the low for yields. In other words, I think it is completely up in the air. I can't manage much conviction on any of this. I do agree with Bill Gross, the Treasuries have very little value at these levels. His comment was Treasuries are the most overvalued asset in the world. Seems a little strong, but makes a useful point.

Let's stand in the possibility that I'm correct, and the charts look more like I am than on April 30th, what is the treasury 2-10-30 year telling us. That's what fascinated me. In the light of record CRB and Oil and grains and weaker USD, shouldn't the treasuries be dropping, interest rates be rising??? Why aren't they?

A combination of flight to quality and recession talk, both of which might be short term.

Yet, Van Hoisington supports your view, and it has not paid to argue with them - and they are mostly fundamental. Confusing, but fascinating time; maybe the best in 70 or 80 years.

The Fourth Quarter Review and Outlook states:

The longest-dated Treasury bond ended 2007 at a 4.45% yield. This was 35 basis points below the 2006 close, and marked the lowest year-end interest rate on a long Treasury security in 42 years. The capital gain associated with this yield reduction, plus the coupon, generated a 10 ½% return for investors, well above the 7% total registered by the Lehman Aggregate Bond Index.

The Review continues

The beginning of what will surely be considered the greatest credit event since the 1930s emerged in 2007 with the discovery that derivatives multiply bad credit. The “seizing up” of credit markets resulted in a worldwide reduction of credit issuance from $2.5 trillion in the 2nd quarter to $1.3 trillion in the 4th quarter, a near 50% reduction according to a recent New York Times article. A supply shrinkage of over $1 trillion is enough to shift the supply curve to the left, resulting in a bond price increase and lower yields in high quality fixed income securities. This more than offset an increase in inflationary expectations, and was most likely the proximate cause of the sharp reduction in Treasury interest rates in the latter half of 2007.

First, investor desire for risk-free assets will increase at a time when default rates will be soaring on other fixed income securities. Second, the overall reduction in credit market instruments will mean fewer alternatives for those desiring a fixed rate of return. By the end of 2008 we would expect new record low yields in Treasuries for this cycle.

Thus, if this growth, or outright recession, ends in 2008, the low in bond yields will be some time in 2010. However, if we are in an extended growth recession that lasts into 2009 or 2010, as we suspect, and if rates are at record low levels, similar to the 1940s and 1950s, then the low in rates is likely to coincide with the end of the recessionary period.

I sat there mesmerized thinking we could be twins. Same Roman nose, same eyes, same eyebrows, same Italian look. I found out later, he's about six years younger. It was a weird experience. I examined his every move and thought that's me up there! Then when the movie was over and we walked out into the lobby, I wondered if the people were just being polite by not rushing me for an autograph.

For a while, when I would see Assante on the screen, I noticed he had put on a little weight, as did I, and we stopped being twins. People never did rush me or girls throw panties.

Lately, I find myself looking like someone else. My Father!

That's me or is that my father? I see him in quick glances in the mirror, I see him in my thumbs and the way I move my hands. We both, even, drove school buses. Dad was just chosen as Multnomah County's Volunteer of the Year. He works with Elders In Action, preparing the road for the Baby Boomers. We are both involved in our communities trying to move opinions and politicians.

I took some online test once that said I would die at 68! Dad is going to be 87. I hope I'm like my father and stick around for quite a few more years.

map 2.3 2008/05/08 17:36:03 45.123N 120.962W 18.1 11 km ( 7 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

map 1.7 2008/05/07 11:08:26 45.119N 120.945W 18.8 12 km ( 8 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

map 1.9 2008/05/07 09:53:31 45.120N 120.926W 17.3 14 km ( 8 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

map 1.9 2008/05/04 05:24:08 44.096N 121.878W 3.2 34 km (21 mi) SW of Sisters, OR

map 1.4 2008/05/03 19:38:12 45.139N 120.930W 16.6 13 km ( 8 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

map 1.7 2008/05/03 12:00:11 45.124N 120.917W 13.3 14 km ( 9 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

map 1.6 2008/05/02 09:33:54 45.134N 120.928W 17.1 13 km ( 8 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

Maupin Earthquake Mover Mike

Update:

Georgia Power will pay approximately $6.4 billion to Westinghouse Electric to build its share of two proposed 1,100-megawatt nuclear reactors at the utility's Vogtle plant south of Augusta, the utility said Wednesday.

[...]

... the nation tries to lessen its dependence on natural gas and foreign oil as well as cut back on carbon emissions and other pollutants. Based on the state's expected growth, Georgia Power says it needs to add more than 7,000 megawatts of capacity and that nuclear energy is essential to achieving that goal.

One alternative is the Pebble Bed Modular Reactors which I wrote about back in 2005.

Jim Andrews or Nuestroclima

Chaiten Volcano Chile Volcano

The city faces a $16 million deficit in the 2008-2009 budget starting July 1 and unsuccessfully negotiated with its police, firefighter and electrical workers unions for contract concessions through 2012. Public safety salaries comprise 74 percent of the city's general fund budget.

Mayor Osby Davis said he believes the city should honor its contracts with the unions, but he was persuaded the city can't pay its debts at this time.

Now some are having second thoughts. Why fellow Democrat Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., said, "Our enthusiasm for corn ethanol deserves a second look. That's all I'm saying, a second look."

You're darn right it deserves a second look.

"Corn ethanol was presented as an almost Holy Grail solution," said Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa. "But I believe its negatives today far outweigh its benefits. ... We need to revisit this ... and back away from the food to fuel policy."

Update:

Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates's investment arm sold 1.1 million shares of Pacific Ethanol Inc.'s stock from April 21 to May 2, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday.

Oh, my! Isn't that an awful looking chart:

Surprised? I'm not! The new computer system was supposed to save tax payers money.

The new software program was originally estimated to cost $31 million, including $16.9 million promised to Ariston and millions more to pay quality-control consultants and buy the software, new servers and other hardware. Now city analysts expect it to cost $49.5 million.

But the firm's size quickly became a problem. Last summer, a consultant hired to do regular quality control updates told city managers that Ariston was working too slowly and that the city and the contractor lacked the kind of detailed plan necessary to get the new system working on time.

"...(Democratic) party leaders face a series of grim choices between now and their Denver convention in August.

They could and, for their own good, should prevail on their uncommitted superdelegates to make their choices clear before the convention.

But if that settles the dead heat problem, it does not solve the Michigan-Florida problem."

Isn't that rich. Their party is going to disenfranchise the voters in Michigan and Florida. They are going to disenfranchise blacks in those two states and they are going to disenfranchise Hispanic voters that they have worked so hard to bring on board. And don't forget women who voted for Hillary are going to be swept back to the time before emancipation.

In the end their nominee may be selected in a smoke-filled room by old white men.

Sen. Barack Obama Sen. Hillary Clintone Kate Brown

Bank of America Agrees to Buy Countrywide for $4 Billion The deal rescues the country's largest mortgage lender and expands the financial services empire of the nation's largest consumer bank. The transaction would value Countrywide at $7.16 a share.

Bank of America faces $20 billion to $30 billion in write-downs once the deal closes because it has to mark Countrywide's loan portfolio to market, according to Paul Miller of Friedman Billings Ramsey, who said in a research note Monday that Bank of America should cut its price from $7 a share to $2 a share or less.

Ben Smith at Politico quotes Sen. Clinton:

"We’re going to go right at OPEC," she said. "They can no longer be a cartel, a monopoly that get together once every couple of months in some conference room in some plush place in the world, they decide how much oil they’re going to produce and what price they’re going to put it at," she told a crod at a firehouse in Merrillville, IN.

The only way to get out from under the thumb of OPEC is to open up all prospective oil productive areas and be self-sufficient.

The only way to get out from under the tax of inflation and dollar ruination is to close the FED!

Sen. Clinton OPEC Federal Reserve

At the end of April, rice rationing was in the news, Sam's Club was limiting the purchase of rice to four bags at a time. Costco put on limits at some stores.

The Blue Square and Supersol supermarket chains have begun limiting purchases of rice, Israeli newspapers said yesterday. Supersol is restricting each customer to "three bags per type of grain product," the Jerusalem Post reported.

Relentless demand from developing countries and poor crop yields have pushed rice prices up 70 percent so far this year, raising concerns of severe shortages of the staple food consumed by almost half the world's population.

Myanmar TV reported last night: "The confirmed number is 3934 dead, 41 injured and 2879 missing within the Rangoon and Irrawaddy divisions."

It also said: "According to the information that we have as of May 5, there could be tens of thousands dead in Bogolay township and thousands more dead in Labutta township."

The storm which arrived with a storm surge between 10 and 12 feet made a direct hit on the Irrawaddy delta, Burma’s main rice producing region. While it is far too early to assess crop losses, they are likely to be substantial and generate yet more upward price pressure on the available supply rice.

MAP 4.6 2008/05/04 02:51:13 43.159 -126.356 12.1 OFF THE COAST OF OREGON

MAP 3.7 2008/05/04 02:41:05 43.015 -126.273 10.0 OFF THE COAST OF OREGON

MAP 3.6 2008/05/03 06:34:32 43.196 -126.433 10.0 OFF THE COAST OF OREGON

Oregon Earthquake Mover Mike

How about the competitors of Exxon?

I dion't see anytjing there that indicates we are getting ripped off.

Here's the WSJ:

This tiff over gas and oil taxes only highlights the intellectual policy confusion – or perhaps we should say cynicism – of our politicians. They want lower prices but don't want more production to increase supply. They want oil "independence" but they've declared off limits most of the big sources of domestic oil that could replace foreign imports. They want Americans to use less oil to reduce greenhouse gases but they protest higher oil prices that reduce demand. They want more oil company investment but they want to confiscate the profits from that investment. And these folks want to be President? (Emphasis added)

There's another policy contradiction here. Exxon is now under attack for buying back $2 billion of its own stock rather than adding to the more than $21 billion it is likely to invest in energy research and exploration this year.

It's worth noting that the Tuskegee study, launched under the New Deal, was symptomatic of arrogant liberal government.

Big government has not been kind to blacks. Take one example: New Orleans and Katrina. The Democrat governor refused help from Bush as storm drew near and the black Democrat mayor sat on his buses as people drowned.

Nau Inc. (pronounced "now") was a sustainable clothing e-tailer. It had plans to open 20 stores this year and 140 by 2010. Just two weeks ago it opened in Los Angeles. Yesterday, it closed its doors permanently.

Nau's appeal: With every sale we donate 5% to environmental or humanitarian organizations working to create positive change. Their partners are Conservation International, Heifer International, 1000 Friends of Oregon, Ecotrust and The Oregon National Desert Association. NAU also has a blog, The Thought Kitchen and an interesting post I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas, Part 1 NAU has four stores, one in Bridgeport, Boulder, CO, Chicago, IL and Bellevue, WA.

I believe a company's sole business is to make money and reward shareholders. Make so much money for shareholders that they can choose to spend their money funding bleeding heart causes, which are probably all anti-Capitalist, and, in turn, will try to kill the golden goose.

Which is better: Nau giving 5% of sales to environmental groups or growing the business to the point that hundreds of people work at Nau, get salaries and health and retirement benefits, and spend all the hard earned money in the communities, who, in turn, contribute to the art museums, and support plays and ballet and OPB, and feel so prosperous that they vote on funding for the schools?

I'm sorry to see Nau go under. I really like their clothes even though they seemed pricey. The good news: one more time a goody-goody concept bit the dust and their clothes and accessories are 50% off, while supplies last!

Sterns concludes,

There was a line near the end of the Houston Chronicle article which sums up my thoughts, “I can't fathom any reason why he would be running from the police because he is the police,” There has to be a lot more to this than came out in the initial investigation; news at eleven. (emphasis added)

...Agent Carnaby was tasked by his superiors to meet with the recently convicted D.C. Madam Deborah Palfrey in her Florida home, and who had reported to the CIA that her life was ‘in danger’ over her threatening to release her secret files that would detail the high-level US Government Officials who utilized her prostitution services.

"Apparently, the ABC-owned radio station did not like our report that Disney/ABC, under pressure from the White House, killed the DC Madam's list story. The two morning radio hosts also did not like our report that Vice President Dick Cheney is on the list from his time as a part-time resident of McLean, Virginia while he was President and CEO of Halliburton."

These FSB reports continue by stating that with the War Leaders in the US currently in their last weeks, or days, of expanding their current wars to engulf the entire Middle East, and with their time in office running short, they could ill afford yet another scandal, of which the secret files of the D.C. Madam would certainly ignite.

On Friday, the bedding and home furnishings chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware -- just two weeks after its vendors required "cash before delivery" payment and three weeks after the company hired Financo to look for a buyer.

Linens 'n Things will ask the bankruptcy court to let it close 120 of its 589 stores, including five of its 20 Georgia stores. The stores will close over the next few months, a spokeswoman said.

[...]

Linens 'n Things blamed the current bad economy, but signs of trouble began when it was taken private by three investors in 2006. Saddled by debt from the $1.3 billion transaction, Linens 'n Things never caught up to rival Bed Bath & Beyond in terms of sales per square foot.

May Day 2008: Chicago!

Our coverage of the third annual Pro-amnesty tantrum here in Chicago. This is the official blogburst for the week, we plan on taking the weekend off and enjoying the heck out of it!

Our other May Day coverage: When Socialists Attack!

May Day or Che Day? You Decide.

Chicago May Day March: A Pictorial

This has been the Blogs For Borders Video Blogburst. The Blogs For Borders Blogroll is dedicated to American sovereignty, border security and a sane immigration policy. If you’d like to join find out how right here.

Technorati Tags: illegal immigration, chicago, may day, open borders, may 1st, may first, march, protest, invasion, socialists, communists, anarchists, lowlifes, scumbags, flip video camera,

map 2.3 2008/04/30 16:58:29 43.741N 123.152W 3.9 9 km ( 6 mi) SW of Cottage Grove, OR

A federal judge has ordered the Interior Department to decide within 16 days whether polar bears should be listed as a threatened species because of global warming.

[...]

The ruling is a victory for conservation groups that claim the Bush administration has delayed a polar bear decision to avoid addressing global warming and to avoid roadblocks to development such as the transfer of offshore petroleum leases in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska's northwest coast to oil company bidders.

The Bush administration should stop playing around with the truth!

She looked up to watch her ball pass over fence and missed first base. As she headed back to hit the base, she stopped and dropped to the ground in pain.

Due to game rules, teammates could not touch Tucholsky or she would be out. A player could be substituted for the down player at first base...

Central entered Saturday's doubleheader one game behind Western Oregon in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference race. At stake was a bid to the NCAA's Division II playoffs. Western won the first game 8-1, extending its winning streak to 10 games. Central desperately needed the second game to keep its postseason hopes alive.

John Canzano asks would men have acted this way?

Now Rev. Wright gave another speech and Sen. Obama has finally had enough and disavowed his relationship and condemned the words of the Rev. Now The Oregonian opines: "At some point, the views of Barack Obama's old friend and pastor become irrelevant."

David Reinhard writing on the same subject nails it with the reminder: "You are judged by the company you keep." "Birds of a feather flock together." "You cannot choose your family, but you can choose your friends."