For You Cynics Out There

For those of you who believe MSNBC is a hack news network, much like that of Fox News.

I have attached a link to the entire Obama vs. the GOP question and answer period.

It really is a very rare occasion for something like this to happen. And most say it is the first time it has ever been televised.

Something I'm sure the GOP will never allow again, at least not with this President.

On a side note, can you believe how much fun it would have been to watch George W Bush do the same.

click here

Batting 5th Jeb or is it Jim Hensarling from Texas

This part of the Q and A should be required viewing for all the Tea Party hacks, and people in general who do not understand how our nation got into the situation we are currently in.

Do you really believe our debt problem, has been because of the Stimulus? Really? Where have you been, in the last 9 years?

Our nation has been inflamed by idiots who think our current debt problem as been caused overnight.

Listen to Obama's answer to the question from the Congressman from Texas. His answer refutes everything you hear on Fox News.

Now ask yourself why did Fox News cut away from this once in a lifetime Q and A between the President and the GOP?

I know the answer, but you answer the question.

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Batting 4th Tom Price of Georgia

This guy spews the same lies about Health Care as Blackburn, listen to his litany of GOP health care plans they sound great right?

Until Price says they can do it all and it won't cost the American people a penny.

The Tea Party faction of the United States may be so desperate to believe things like this, but the fact of the matter is that Health Reform will cost money, and it needs to be spent now so we are not hamstrung by debt years from now.

The President does a great job shooting down Prices argument.

You decide

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Batting 3rd Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee

Good Lord, listen to the pseudo question from the congress-woman from Tennessee.

Her question is everything you hate about politicians, it was a long winded political infomercial, that was not only smug, but utterly incoherent at times.

She is constantly talking about the healthcare public option, that has been dead politically for months now.

What planet is she from? She says they can do all these wonderful things for health care and it won't cost a penny. Really?

Where is the Gong Show Gong when you need it.

You decide

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Batting 2nd Paul Ryan from Wisconsin

Paul Ryan from Wisconsin, probably was the most effective of all the GOP questionnaires today.

But Obama showed considerable skill, not only answering the question but shifting the subjects focus to make some broader points.

You decide.

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1st up for the GOP Mike Pence from Indiana

President Obama didn't just give a speech to the GOP at their Baltimore retreat yesterday, he answered questions from some of the nearly 140 GOP congressman men and women who attended the conference.

1st up was Mike Pence from Indiana, the leader of the conference and future GOP Presidential hopeful, asked a long winded, smug, question only a politician could craft, reminding us why we hate politicians so much, all while trying to pin the President into a corner.

But the Presidents response was refreshing and candid, and exactly what every supporter of the President wanted. A chance to refute the GOP and their campaign of obstruction and dishonesty.

Listen for yourself.

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The conclusion to the Mike Pence question

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The GDP Grows by 5.7% on the day Obama takes on The GOP

According to many in the Republican party the stimulus has been a colossal failure. But the simple chart to right, and GDP growth says otherwise.

NYT Article

Every economist who is worth his salt will tell you that Government spending is imperative if an economy is going to come out of a recession in a timely manner.

But telling a nation who is out of a job, and hurting, that their Government needs to spend billions of dollars to get its economy going again, is hard to swallow. But it is still fact, nonetheless.

But the political game will continue to prey upon the people who do not understand such complex issues, as economic policy. And the GOP has been taking advantage of this complexity to create a divide within our country.

This is nothing new in politics, but this approach is disingenuous to say the least.

President Obama met with the GOP today at their annual retreat, and frankly answered some tough questions, and in my opinion did so astutely.

If you love politics, and hate the way the GOP has been framing the current political landscape, you must watch President Obama take on the GOP at their retreat. It is must see TV.

C-SPAN coverage

This guy lives in a cave and he believes in climate change.

Osama Bin Laden is encouraging the nations of the world to rally against the United States for its contribution toward the worlds global climate problem.

You got to ask yourself if Bush and Cheney were in office, and wanted to put a price on carbon, would they say it is of vital national security interests to pass such legislation?

We all know the answer to that question, don't we?

article

Some Thoughts About The SOTU.

I was very concerned on how President Obama would address our energy situation, and the cap and trade fight ahead. I was very impressed with how he linked economic success with that of an new renewable energy economy.

I strongly believe our future economy hinges on actually producing, and innovating, energy technology, instead of creating wealth with investment bubbles, that grow our economy through artificial means, and eventually burst. Causing more pain to the middle class then the upper class, who create these mechanisms.

Energy has a real chance of getting some bi-partisan support for a change. Lindsey Graham said this today.

"The idea of not pricing carbon, in my view, means you're not serious about energy independence. The odd thing is you'll never have energy independence until you clean up the air, and you'll never clean up the air until you price carbon." entire article

It seems to me that Lindsey Graham gets that our long term economic success, largely depends on our nations ability to manufacture and innovate products, instead of making risky investment products from things like home mortgages.

But judging by their sophomoric response, the GOP would rather have Wall Street and the Banking sector think of new ways to increase our economic growth, risk be damned.

When you listen to the response on the video below, don't decide if you believe in Global Climate Change, think about the rest of the World that does, and the size of the Clean Energy Market that will be lost if we do nothing in terms of energy innovation.

It is obvious that the GOP believes the short sided science of Big Oil, Gas, and Coal, who pay for their own studies, and Senators to endorse their backward science, much like many of them did for Phillip Morris some years ago.

So when you hear them laugh at peer reviewed science, they are not only laughing off Global Climate Change Science, they are possibly laughing off our economic long term future.

Well, it is obvious a majority of the GOP doubt climate science, but they were also vocal on a number of other things during the SOTU.

They only clapped for Nuclear, and Off Shore drilling when talking about energy.

When asked for their GOP Health Care input Senator Boehner raised his hand like a fourth grader in response to the Presidents question. But does the Senator remember the GOP Health Care plan? You know the one that would leave 52 million non-elderly Americans uninsured by 2019 and over 50 million in 2010. That is some plan.

And of course, they clamoured at the mention of closing Guantanamo. But the party that believes in torture took that a step further today when Liz Cheaney and her minions put together the advertisement below.

I can't believe I used to be a Republican, the big tent party of ideas under Reagan, has been reduced to a small group of deniers. They deny torture, they deny science, they deny health care, and soon they will deny bank reform, and most will deny energy independence.

Long live the party of No.

Post-Racial?

Chris Matthews said something very interesting to me, and probably others, last night after the Presidents State of the Union.

He said;

I was trying to think about who he was tonight. It's interesting; he is post-racial, by all appearances. I forgot he was black tonight for an hour.

To begin, I would like to say that I don't think for a moment that Matthews was trying to be racist or controversial. I think he believes Obama is this figure that transcends race, and thus is what Matthews believes is a post-racial figure.

I truly believe this stance is a noble thought, or even wishful thinking. But it is not up to the African American President of the United States to make us post racial, it is up to White America.

The sooner political pundits, and Americans alike, don't say things like "I forgot he was black" or feel the need to communicate such things, then maybe, we are in a post-racial situation. But until then, why don't we let our first African American President lead, instead of saddling him with yet another American problem to fix.

Chris Matthews in his own words.

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Taibbi vs. Brooks II

In response to a David Brooks article, entitled The Underlying Tragedy in the New York Times I wrote this.

Then I found this by Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone who wrote this about the same article. Taibbi's translation of Brooks is classic.

Well it looks like he is at it again.

Ding, Ding, Round 2

Brooks wrote this Op-Ed on Jan 25th. Which he compares populism to racism in classic Brooks fashion.

Taibbi wrote a rebuttal to the Brooks Op-Ed piece today.

If your scoring at home.

Round 1: 10-8 Taibbi

Round 2: Down goes Brooks

You Decide.

State of the Union

Although I have not had the time as of yet to hear the entire State of the Union, here is some comments from the political players.

New York Times click here

Andrew Sullivan quotes most the major players here

Washington Post here

Nerd Alert!

The IPad was introduced today by Steve Jobs and Apple. It looks awfully a lot like the Ipod Touch but bigger.

Definitely could be cool in the morning instead of the newspaper.

But what do I know?

Click here let the real geeks tell you about it.

From Zero to Fox News Hero and Back Again.

The Most Trusted Name in News is oddly silent, since their golden boy James O'Keefe was arrested for possibly trying to bug the offices of Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu.

You may remember O'Keefe as the guy who dressed like a pimp, and tried to pull a sting operation, on Acorn offices in a number of cities. Fox News embraced the childish stunt as some sort of revolutionary new form of investigative journalism. But anybody who has seen the video can tell that it was sophomoric at best. However, that didn't stop 31 GOP congressman to try to pass a bill praising the actions of O'Keefe.

With that said O'Keefe tried another "under cover" stunt a couple of days ago and was arrested.

Click here for the story thus far.

Below is Fox News lack luster reporting on the story of their fallen American hero.

What a Prick!

Rush Limbaugh would be proud of Paul Shirley from the Flip Collective who wrote the following.

I haven’t donated a cent to the Haitian relief effort. And I probably will not.

I haven’t donated to the Haitian relief effort for the same reason that I don’t give money to homeless men on the street. Based on past experiences, I don’t think the guy with the sign that reads “Need You’re Help” is going to do anything constructive with the dollar I might give him. If I use history as my guide, I don’t think the people of Haiti will do much with my money either.

His continued flirtation with Limbaugh becomes blatant with this gem.

Dear Haitians –

First of all, kudos on developing the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Your commitment to human rights, infrastructure, and birth control should be applauded.

As we prepare to assist you in this difficult time, a polite request: If it’s possible, could you not re-build your island home in the image of its predecessor? Could you not resort to the creation offlimsy shanty- and shack-towns? And could some of you maybe use a condom once in a while?

Sincerely,

The Rest of the World

Another case of blaming the victim.

Comedy Central My Most Trusted News Network.

Somebody find me a more comprehensive accounting of the financial crisis then what was on Comedy Central the other night.

Fox, MSNBC, any of the Major News Networks?

America could learn a lot from Jon Stewart and Comedy Central, and have fun while doing it.

I know, I know, But Glen Beck is not trying to be funny, yeah he believes that stuff.

Our Political Dysfunction

Has anyone noticed how dysfunctional our nation looks as of late?

Take a moment and think of the origins of our dysfunction? I believe that our nations short term mentality is at the heart of our problems.

From Washington to Wall Street, from the President down to Main Street, we continue to make the same mistakes of trying to solve our short term problems at the expense of our long term goals.

It is well documented by myself and many others that our nations economic crisis can be blamed on a short term mentality. One that took the immediate profit at the expense of our long term economic security.

This short term mentality is most likely the cause of our political woes as well. We have a system that cares far to much about self preservation, then the people they are supposed to represent.

For instance, the GOP has been the party of "NO" ever since the President as been sworn into office. They have willfully ignored the need for health reform, by not forthrightly engaging in the debate for reform. In the words of Senator Jim DeMint they wanted this to be President Obama's Waterloo, as if he has been in office for years, making bad decisions, and needed to be stopped. This was simply a short term strategy for the gaining GOP seats in the 2010 election. How does this represent the people? 18,000 to 45,000 Americans die yearly because of lack of Health Insurance, yet the upcoming elections are more important.

The President is guilty of this as well as Thomas Friedman wrote today.

President Obama is so much better when he takes a heated, knotty issue, like civil rights or banking reform, and talks to the country like adults. He is so much better at making us smarter than angrier. Going to war with the banks for a quick political sugar high after an electoral loss will just work against him and us. It will spook the banks into lending even less and slow the recovery even more.

But it is a short term populist win before the State of the Union. Who cares if the banks may turtle at the possibility of reform, we can get some momentum to hold some Democratic seats in the 2010 election. That being said it is hard not to punish the banking system that was solely focused on short term growth, and a bonus structure that promoted that behavior. But that punishment can be done smarter, and with a eye on the future.

The dysfunction doesn't stop there, Friedman continues to make some valid points toward the entire system.

Also, President Obama tried to create a bipartisan commission to come up with a plan to reduce the national debt — a plan that would inflict pain on both parties by cutting some programs and raising some taxes. But the Republican leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, said the G.O.P. would not cooperate with any commission that proposes raising taxes. And some liberal Democrats rejected cutting their favorite programs. Way to take one for the country, guys.

Then let’s look at the unions — hardly paragons of sustainable thinking for the country. We all know they got more than their fair share in the General Motors settlement and in the Obama health care proposals because they could shake down the Democrats in return for votes.

And, finally, don’t forget both the Democratic and Republican senators who have decided to get a quick populist boost by turning one of the few adults we have left — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke — into a piñata. No, Mr. Bernanke is not blameless for the 2008 crisis. But since then he has helped steer the country back from the brink and kept us out of a depression. He absolutely deserves reappointment

It is hard to deny the facts, that every aspect of our political life is becoming based on short term success as well. Breaking this cycle may be the most important thing our nations leaders can do to move our country forward, out of this fragile economic situation, and into a sustainable economy that thinks long term.

But for this to happen our nations leaders need to identify that we have a problem. An unemployment problem, a health care problem, an energy problem, an education problem, a campaign finance problem, and then a debt problem.

Of course we have more issues that need to be addressed, but if a stay at home dad can identify these core needs, and our leaders in the House and Senate can't even agree that these issues need a bi-partisan fix, then why are they in office to begin with?

A Sign Of The Apocalypse?

I know there is some strong anti-establishment sentiment out there to say the least.

But, Fox News was named most trusted News Network?

Click here

Just think how trusted they would be if he didn't work there? Wait, what? He is one of the most trusted? Oh shit I'm moving to Canada.

There must be Something in the Water

First, South Carolina Governor, Mark Sanford is said to be missing, then his aides say he is hiking the Appalachian Trail, when he is in fact visiting his mistress in Argentina?

Then Lindsey Graham is harassed for being to liberal, by tea party activists? Lindsey F-ing Graham?

Now listen to what LT. Governor Andre Bauer had to say the other day in South Carolina.

This is outrageous, I think Rush Limbaugh has found a new home state.

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My Academy Award Winner

Before I begin I can count on two hands how many movies I have seen this year, and many of them included cartoon characters.

But simply put, Up in the Air was by far the best movie of the year. It was a movie about people and feelings, and real stuff. Things that are all to often not available in film today.

George Clooney plays a corporate hatchet man named Ryan Bingham, who travels the nation downsizing the American corporation during a time of recession, providing a real life back drop to the film.

Look I'm not a movie critic, but I'm convinced the major players of this film we be nominated for an Academy Award with Clooney being the shoe in for an Oscar.

Take your wife you will not regret it.

Click here for a real movie critics point of view.

5 Good Minutes (or less)

The State of The Union

A Smug Angry Democrat.

Ben Bernake, Christine Romer, Paul Volker, all immensely respected economists and scholars in terms of studying the great depression, yet Rachael Maddow seems to think the administration is going to adopt a philosophy that an economics 101 student knows will not work, in an attempt to appease the right.

She compares the action to be taken by the Obama administration, to that of the 1937 Hoover administration, yet ignores the fact that a 250 billion dollar freeze on spending over ten years is only 15 billion dollars a year. Hardly Hoover-esque, ignoring the fact that this is not a across the board spending freeze, it is simply a tightening of the budgetary belt, similar to what was proposed last year by the administration in terms of cuts, 11.5 billion, but congress only ratified 3/5 of what was proposed.

Essentially Maddow is comparing our Government to a lean New York Strip that can't possibly be improved upon, in terms of spending, seeming to say every Governmental dollar spent is essential to our recovery. When the fact is, a good butcher could spend the greater part of an hour pairing the fat from our Governmental strip steak.

Maddow usually comes off as a pragmatic progressive in my eyes, but really came off as smug and quite frankly elitist last night. The obvious disappointment over health care reform, has simply infuriated commentators like Olbermann, and now Maddow, who see every political decision by this White house, as some sort of appeasement. She overlooked an important Obama budget initiative, and tried to make it sound like a right wing initiative, that will sink us into a deeper recession.

Choosing to ignore, the expansion of the child tax credit to families earning $85,000 and less, as well as protections for citizens paying back student loans, and 50 billion dollars worth of incentives that she dismissed as to small. Can you see why the Massachusetts election was a disaster?

Paul Krugman had a similar response as Maddow today, and quite frankly has given me pause, because I trust his judgement immensely. But I think they are missing the point, maybe because of political frustration, which I also suffer from. But, the proposed cuts are specific frozen areas within our budget, not an across the board freeze on spending. I find it hard to believe that 10-15 billion dollars a year can't be paired from our budget without sinking our economy into an abyss. But hey I'm just a stay at home dad.

Example of Maddow's simplification of a complicated budget announcement.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Here she makes the budget cuts seem like an appeasement to the right, making them look like the only party that is fiscally responsible.

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Paging Manny Harris

Anyone who has played a team sport knows the difference between a Team Leader, and a Go To Guy.

The Go To guy gets you buckets when needed, and the Team Leader, gets the ball to the Go To guy under extreme circumstances, all while making sure the rest of the team is executing correctly.

The University of Michigan is missing the team leaders that guided the Wolverines to a tournament victory last year over Clemson.

C.J. Lee is currently prepping for a career in politics, while David Meritt is leading a different team, a team he put together when he opened his own company last August. The two were Team Leaders last year, something that is painfully missing with this years squad.

Andy Katz put it best the other day;

Beilein said Lee and Merritt were the type of players that were leaders in the locker room and during practice. They were the coach on the floor that a head coach desperately needs.

"Basketball is a flow sport where play continues," Beilein said. "It's not like football where you can have the quarterback huddle everyone up after a dropped pass."

Beilein said that Lee and Merritt didn't let last season's team drift.

Drift may be a nice way of saying, I'm sick of watching this team implode in front of my very eyes. The Michigan Wolverines are 10-9 and 3-4 in the Big Ten with quality wins against Ohio State and UConn. The question that needs to be answered is, can Manny Harris lead this team in something besides scoring? If Harris can put aside his noticeable frustration, which spreads like a cancer to the younger players on the team, and play through adversity as opposed to playing with adversity. The Michigan Wolverines my have a shot an an NCAA birth.

The next 6 games, including a game vs. Michigan State on Tuesday should be make or break time for the Wolverines. We should know if this is a NCAA Team or NIT Team, in the next two weeks. But what we will also find out, is if Manny Harris is more then just a Go To guy.

Time will tell.

click here for ESPN's Andy Katz article.

The Onion and Rush Limbaugh

Before all you Ditto Heads think Rush is going to kill himself. The Onion is a American News Satire Organization.

Today they printed an Op-Ed piece from the fat man himself.

Here is my favorite paragraph;

The irony is that, even if I did die, the hell I would surely be sent to could not possibly be any worse than the bottomless pool of excrement I already paddle around in like some demented, shit-covered walrus. In fact, every time I hear my voice coming through the headphones I nearly gag, and I think, "What the fuck am I doing?" Why would I say that Michael J. Fox is faking his Parkinson's symptoms? Why would I find it funny to play a song called "Barack the Magic Negro"? Why would I tell people not to give aid to Haiti?

What the fuck is wrong with me?

Click here for the entire article, it's harsh, very harsh.

Save the Dolphins!

Before you make up your mind.

watch this.

then this.

9 Seconds

What if I told you every 9 seconds, a High School Student drops out.

With all the challenges our nation faces, this might be the most apocalyptic. Every 9 seconds adds another soul to possible abject poverty, or worse.

Which if not dealt with will have dire consequences to our nations economic long term future.

As if President Obama didn't have enough on his plate, with two foreign wars, a great recession caused by the bursting housing bubble, and 1.3 trillion dollars of debt before his first day of work. The crisis in our nations public schools has the potential to drag down our economy for a generation.

Thomas Friedman writes about how our nation should be focusing on innovation, which could have a two-fold effect on our economy and school age youth alike.

He writes;

What the country needs most now is not more government stimulus, but more stimulation. We need to get millions of American kids, not just the geniuses, excited about innovation and entrepreneurship again. We need to make 2010 what Obama should have made 2009: the year of innovation, the year of making our pie bigger, the year of “Start-Up America.”

To jump start this entrepreneurial spirit he recommends President Obama to stimulate the market with tax incentives.

He writes;

Obama should make the centerpiece of his presidency mobilizing a million new start-up companies that won’t just give us temporary highway jobs, but lasting good jobs that keep America on the cutting edge. The best way to counter the Tea Party movement, which is all about stopping things, is with an Innovation Movement, which is all about starting things. Without inventing more new products and services that make people more productive, healthier or entertained — that we can sell around the world — we’ll never be able to afford the health care our people need, let alone pay off our debts.

Obama should bring together the country’s leading innovators and ask them: “What legislation, what tax incentives, do we need right now to replicate you all a million times over” — and make that his No. 1 priority

While our economic recovery may hinge on innovation, our long term sustainability hinges on our youths educational system. Friedman highlights two Obama initiatives that are having great success, National Lab Day, and The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.

The NFTE primarily works in low income areas, and has recently produced a film that Friedman and myself believe is truly inspirational. I saw the film today, and believe it should be required viewing for children across the nation. The film is called ten9eight and tracks the lives of 12 students competing in a national entrepreneurial competition. If you are one of the people who do not believe in our countries youth, this film will change your mind.

What the film told me was we have an un-tapped potential in this country that is being ignored by an educational system that is underwhelming to say the least. With a 30% national dropout rate this is more important then the war on terror, health care, and banking reform combined. Our nations long term survival may be at stake, because an un-educated, un-employed, un-motivated future populist, could not only be a drain on our economy, but begin a viscous circle that our nation may not be able to break without comprehensive education reforms.

Click here is a preview of ten9eight.

Is Nasa part of the Global Warming Conspiracy?

The last decade was the warmest in recorded history. Yet many deny that human consumption and output has anything to do with the rising global temperature.

Nasa reports;

"There's always an interest in the annual temperature numbers and on a given year's ranking, but usually that misses the point," said James Hansen, the director of GISS. "There's substantial year-to-year variability of global temperature caused by the tropical El Niño-La Niña cycle. But when we average temperature over five or ten years to minimize that variability, we find that global warming is continuing unabated."

A magic bullet shot by many skeptics, is that sunspot activity is the cause for the increased global temperature.

According to Nasa;

Warmer surface temperatures also tend to occur during particularly active parts of the solar cycle, known as solar maximums, while slightly cooler temperatures occur during lulls in activity, called minimums.

A deep solar minimum has made sunspots a rarity in the last few years. Such lulls in solar activity, which can cause the total amount of energy given off by the Sun to decrease by about a tenth of a percent, typically spur surface temperature to dip slightly. Overall, solar minimums and maximums are thought to produce no more than 0.1°C (0.18°F) of cooling or warming.

"In 2009, it was clear that even the deepest solar minimum in the period of satellite data hasn't stopped global warming from continuing," said Hansen.

It's hard to argue with NASA.

Food for thought.

Entire Nasa article.

Will we get Health Reform?

Politico is reporting that the Dems, may finally have realized that the only way to pass health reform, is for the House to pass the Senate Bill as is, and use Reconciliation to fix their major issues.

Politico Article:

WTF Moment.

The Fat Man steps in it again. Could he be back on the Oxy?

Last week Limbaugh race baits when discussing the Haiti tragedy, Now when discussing Bank reform, he perpetuates the oldest stereotype in the book on the Jewish Community.

Mel Gibson sends his regards.

Glenn Beck is an Idiot.

I know most of you know this already. But I watched his pod-cast today and it made me laugh.

First I understand Green Technology has not been scaled for everyday use as of yet, although tremendous strides are being made daily. I also know that it is more expensive then non-green products.

But Mr Becks assumptions are outrageous in this clip.

I would also like it to be known that I spent 6 minutes finding the information to refute Becks claims.

Lets begin by listening to his add for Goldline, what a shill. I mean he is doing a podcast from his guest bedroom and he shills for Goldline. I wish Toyota would sponsor his rants so we don't have to hear his short sided arguments about hybrid vehicles, and technology.

With that said, the Jack Bauer wannabe says it costs $30,000 to $40,000 dollars for solar panels on your home. With Mr. Wizards solar calculations he has decided that it would take 58 years to pay for the technology.

I took me 3 minutes of research to find this price breakdown of adding solar panels to your home today in California.

Price Breakdown

Everyone in America receives a 30 percent tax credit on solar equipment purchased and installed by the end of 2010. State incentives can further compound the savings.

Price per unit /// Between $717 and $787 before the 30 percent federal tax credit. Afterward, the price drops to about $500.

Price per watt /// $4.50. Andalay Solar CEO Barry Cinnamon expects imminent price reductions to pull that number closer to $4.10 per watt. With the 30 percent federal tax credit, the price works out to about $2.87 per watt.

Kilowatt-hours per year /// A single panel puts out 175 watts under optimal conditions. Averaged through the year under variable conditions, the panel puts out 1.43 kilowatt-hours per watt, or about 250 kwh per year.

Payback period: The Energy Information Administration lists average U.S residential electricity prices at 11.23 cents per kwh, as of February 2009. A panel that puts out 250 kwh a year saves $28.08 annually at that price, making the payback period just under 18 years on a $500 panel. (The rebate, which everyone receives, lowers the payback period from over 25 years at $717 or 28 at $787) In San Francisco, the top-tier electricity rate is 44 cents per kwh, shortening the payback period to just under five years.

Wow that took long. and look it says the payback period with incentives could be less then 5 years. Mr. Beck that actually seems reasonable, and just think if the power of the American Market got behind these technologies? Innovation and demand could easily make this much more affordable. I bet we could even manufacture these products here and export them to China and around the World to those dumb countries that believe in Global Climate Change. We could pull the Goldline scam on them.

Then Mr. Beck shifts his focus toward Hybrid Vehicles, an obvious scam to the insane. I love when he says he read a study and then says it would take 18 years of owning the vechile to get the savings.

You got 3 more minutes? So I look up the price of a Toytoa Prius, and the price of the Nissan Altima. Well he was right the Prius was more expensive. It cost $22,400 for the Hybrid that gets 51 mpg. and the Altima cost $19,900 and gets 23 mpg, a $1500 difference. The Toyota based on 15000 miles a year has an average gas cost of $750 dollars a year, and The Altima cost is, wait for it, $1,325.

Which is a $2875 dollar difference over a five year term. So if you take away the extra cost of the vehicle you save approximately $1375 over a five year period.

Beck is so dumb he does not even consider you have to own another vehicle if your going to compare costs, it must have slipped his mind. But the Prius argument is the exact one for solar and wind power. Once the market is stimulated, like the Prius did to the car market, the sky is the limit. Innovation and economies of scale kick in and then boom, we have a new energy technology era. Where in the not so distant future not 1/3 of the cars will be hybrid, or plug in hybrids or something, But 90% of them will be, that coupled with a energy plan that includes renewable energy sources, and a smarter energy grid. The United States could severely decrease its dependence on non-renewable energy, such as Oil, Gas and Coal.

Now I know why he has a fruit cellar.

I got to put these kids to bed.

Listen to Curly from the three stooges in his own words. Well I ought a.

WTF Moment.

I stole this from Andrew Sullivan's, the Daily Dish.

An exhibition piece entitled 'Mask II' is seen ahead of the opening of the new Ron Mueck exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria on January 21, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia. The exhibition will feature 12 of Mueck's hyper-realistic sculptures from the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art, along with 4 new works. By Raoul Wegat/Getty Images.

A Message to the House of Representatives.

This is what I have been saying for about 6 months now.

Does the National Enquirer deserve a Pulitzer?

I heard Howard Stern talking about this yesterday, don't worry the kids were not in the car.

If you think about it, if this was the New York Times, or Detroit News for that matter, they would surely be considered.

I know the same newspaper says Dick Cheaney had an alien baby, or was an alien, something like that.

But with that said, you can't just dismiss them, because they got it right. They showed us all what an egomaniac this guy had become, and they did it with amazing investigative reporting.

So yeah, they should at least be considered.

Emily Miller makes a good point.