Obama's Heel.

John Fund writes in the Opinion section of WSJ.com about Obama's embarassing gaffes (beyond the most recent on Buchenwald) and goofball statements that would be a pillory for him in the hands of a less servile press. Fund writes: "He has large gaps in his knowledge base, and is just as likely to dig in and embrace a policy misstatement as abandon it".

Nathan Thrall and Jesse James Wilkins opine in the New York Times that Obama's enthusiasm for unconditional summits with tyrants indicates a naivete about how such high-level meetings work and the disasterous consequences that can ensue. Case in point: the Kennedy-Khrushchev Vienna Summit of 1961. There was no real agenda, no agreement nor understanding that needed to be formalized at the highest levels. It was just a "getting to know you" meeting at which Khrushchev bullied JFK and concluded that the United States was "too liberal to fight". JFK admitted that the meeting was a disaster and that the Soviets would assess that he was weak. What followed was the Berlin Crisis and the Cuban Missile Crisis, Soviet provocations that were based on their Vienna observations.

One could also discuss Jimmy Carter's numerous blunders in this manner, both official and post-official, but that is a treatise. It is sufficient to say that Mr. Carter is an addict of feel-good foreign policy gestures. Mr. Obama appears to likewise suffer this malady.

Hybrid Arithmetic.

If we are to wean ourselves from oil, the proposed solutions must make financial sense for consumers. Let's consider a hybrid vehicle, the Toyota Prius, compared to another Toyota offering with a conventional powerplant, the Yaris. The vehicle costs are based on vehicle configurations that a commuter would want (cruise control, radio, etc)*:

• Prius: Price = $24,950, Effective MPG = 46.4, 6-years fuel @ $5/gal = $10,360
• Yaris: Price = $15,600, Effective MPG = 31.7, 6-years fuel @ $5/gal = $15,140

Thus, after 6 years of use, choosing a Prius still has a premium of $4500 over the Yaris. This is also assuming that vehicle maintenance costs are equal, an assumption that probably favors the Prius.

$4500 is a stiff "green premium" to change to a hybrid vehicle. Perhaps a Prius is a hedge against an even higher gasoline price, if so, the breakeven cost of a Prius for six years of operation would require $8 a gallon gas. So is such a hybrid vehicle a realistic solution to offer consumers?

*Vehicle price also assumes: $2000 trade-in, 48 months financing @6.1%. Fuel costs assume 16,000 miles traveled per year with 45% highway travel.

The Politically Correct Mutation.


A&E presented a remake of The Andromeda Strain, the groundbreaking techno-thriller by Michael Crichton. This book has a very special place in our hearts here at Deaddrifts. We were given the book by our 7th-grade English/Social Studies (AKA "Block") teacher, the beloved Miss Wallace. It was the most captivating work of fiction that we had read, and remained so for many years. The book gives one a glimpse into the world of Apollo-era molecular biology, epidemiology, and space technology with a credible plot and engaging characters. It inspired science hobbies that lead to a career in science.


The original movie based on the novel (1971) was a quite satisfying and reasonably faithful adaptation, and achieved cult status in geekdom. A&E's promotional trailers promised an exciting update with forty years of advancement in the biological sciences, the birth and growth of "astrobiology", the maturation of computer technology, and the directorial mastery of Ridley Scott.


The remake of The Andromeda Strain does have all of that, but alas also carries such an immense weight of politically correct and conspiratorial baggage that it is a chore to watch, like a mandatory requirement of a platoon's political officer. The principal characters are so deliberately diverse (very, very diverse) it's as if A&E Market Demographics had dictated the makeup of the Wildfire Team (guys, you did miss putting a "little person" in the story somewhere). There is also the evil - really evil - invisible hand of the United States Government, working to the detriment of humanity, which appears to be a current requirement for the story of this film genre. Finally, there is the Hero Newsman, of course, fighting to Get The Truth Out.


These political ormanents are lethal to the enjoyability of this movie, because one is always being clubbed over the head by them, while precious little is shown of the process of scientific discovery, a central theme of the book. One never sees this highly talented team of scientists actually do some real science...the computer just gives them the answers. Otherwise they spend a lot of time hollering and hurling accusations, and spilling the beans to the outside world on their cell phones (or catching up with the family). What little "science" is portrayed with the typical Hollywood mangling into a grand game of "I've Gotta Hunch". The politics drags the film's pace so that any tension is anesthetized (and stretching the story into a four-hour, two-evening miniseries was a dose of Vallium on top of that).


The original movie has aged rather well, and is certainly more to the point without the ponderous ideology. Go rent it, or better yet, read the book. One observation is that there is no mention of the remake on Michael Crichton's website, and he is only credited in the remake as the author of book on which the film is based. I wonder if Dr. Crichton approved of the re-telling of his story in this manner.

Touchdown!

The Phoenix Mars Lander has landed on the polar plains of Mars! The first images of the landscape show polygonal network of depressions that are similar to arctic regions on Earth, perhaps indicating freezing and thawing cycles. Truly awe-inspiring!

Memorial Day, 2008.

...that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion... - A. Lincoln

It is very easy us on the homefront to forget the mortal threat that threatens the civilized world, and grim task of our forces that defend us. Please find time today to say thank you to our vets, and pledge to help our soldiers and their families. An excellent organization that provides such assistance is OperationHomeFront.net. Cough up a few bucks and do your part.

The Equality of Misery.

Paul Krugman is the Sad Sack of the New York Times' opinion page. In one of his recent columns he laments the American expression of freedom in on-demand personal transportation. He tells us now the Great Reckoning has arrived for such audacious behavioir. He yearns for a more European style of living for Americans: the citizenry concentrated in cities, where cars are nearly extinct and trains and buses are the principal modes of travel for the citizenry. Quoth Paul: "I have seen the future and it works...if we’re heading for a prolonged era of scarce, expensive oil, Americans will face increasingly strong incentives to start living like Europeans — maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of our lives." Do the citizens ever leave their ghettos and see Yellowstone? Perhaps with permission from Commisariat for Transportation? But is it really necessary? Can't they just take the virtual tour in 3D-HDTV?

It's a pathetic vision that Sad Sack has for America as "Oceania", and it's very telling about how the Dystopians like Krugman and the Obamaniacs view America: so much unessential and antiquated expressions of personal liberty that lead to social and economic inefficiencies and threaten the Equality of Life. The Hard-Core Dystopians believe we have approached the limits of upward development of our society; we must now face that fact and manage society to create an equality of joy and misery among the citizenry...with more misery than joy as time passes. So stop grieving for long-gone freedoms and pass the Soylent Green and turn on the Obama Worship Hour.

Perhaps we should solve the problems of fueling personal transportation without restricting it. We're not sure that the Dystopians would like such an outcome, because they either don't recognize or accept how the American expression of life is different from that of the Old World.

The phrase "I have seen the future, and it works" was first uttered by Lincoln Steffens, an American journalist and an enthusiast for the Bolshevik Revolution, upon his return from the Soviet Union in 1921. Paul Krugman has brought this statement back from the dead, hoping for a different outcome. Let the dead rest, Paul.

Government, the Market-Wrecker.

We've discussed how Uncle Sugar Daddy's "Ethanol Initiative" has caused chaos in the grain markets while providing no competitive relief to increasing gasoline prices. The current Farm Bill is an even larger example of the catastrophic results when the government manipulates markets. The New York Times analyzes the current bill, and the inescapable conclusion is that once Government starts handing money out in subsidies (in this case cash payments to farmers), it becomes permanent, regardless of market conditions. Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, the champion of the continued payouts to the farmers, admits that the political pressure to continue the handouts is insurmountable, while fact that grain prices are at record highs now appears to be irrelevant.

Big Oil on the Hill.

The nation's oil companies are being summoned by the Congerscritters to explain why the shareholders (read you and me) should keep their risk rewards, and why the Gummint shouldn't shake them down for a lot of it. Congers could put it to such productive use; for example, another $200B+ farm bill.

Is Belief a Poor Sell?

If one goes to the home page of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America home page, and try to find the name "Jesus Christ" - you will get just one hit for "Jesus", mentioning the title of this year's youth assembly "Jesus, Justice, and Jazz". Going to the "What We Believe" page, one notices a deemphasis on God and Christ - there is more on "Social Issues", "Church and Society", and "Stewardship and Money". Any substantial mention of Jesus Christ is buried deep down in the doctrinal creed pages, past the "What We Believe" page.

What gives? Why is ELCA trying to hide belief in Jesus Christ? Have ELCA's image consultants recommended downplaying the "God and Jesus stuff" in favor of social justice and humanitarian themes?

The Ron Paul Update.

(cue - Wagner's Ride of the Valkuries)

Ron Paul's presidential campaign is, for all intents and purposes, dead. So what is happening to the gazillions of dollars that Herr Doktor Paul raised? Does he have any plans to give it back? A recent visit to the Paulian Website did not uncover a "I don't have a snowball's chance, here's your money back", press release. It's ironic for a guy who is on a jihad about government spending on foolish endeavours that he doesn't train that critical eye on the guy he sees shaving every morning.

Ron Paul Secret Society Members, set your decoder pin to G14 and be sure to watch for the next Ron Paul update. And be sure to drink your Ovaltine!

Some Guyz Get All Da Breaks.

If you need an escape from the lunatic promises of the Neo-Utopians (I know that I'm not the one I've been waiting for; there's a bit of causality problem with that), then go rent Pal Joey (1957). Great Rodgers and Hart songs that became branded by Frank and Nelson Riddle, and - of course - the traffic stopping beauty of Kim Novak, Rita Hayworth, and fifties San Francisco. Frank said he did not mind giving up top billing to Rita because that made for a Hayworth - Sinatra - Novak sandwich. Amen, Pal.

Death, Taxes, and Higher Costs for a College Education.

As surprising as the Spring Peepers in the spring, the University of Michigan With The Huge Endowment has announced that room and board will increase above the rate of inflation for the 2008-2009 academic year, with the following blabber to justify it:

“Our commitment to supportive and dynamic residential experiences is at the heart of our mission for the students,” says Carole Henry, assistant vice president for student affairs and director of University Housing. “We are creating new living spaces that respond to the needs of today’s and future students — not only personal comforts, but also places for community and learning opportunities. That we can strengthen the connection of social and academic vitality for our students has tremendous value.”

Ye Gods, we are doomed. Any of that Wild Turkey left?

The Academic Circus.

Long gone are the days of a college professor relishing a vigorous debate with her students on a lecture thesis. Now you sue your students for anti-intellectualism and violating your civil rights. The Wall Street Journal has the details here. Pass us the Wild Turkey, would you please?

The Ethanol Disaster.

Does one need more evidence that government meddling in markets yields miserable consequences? Take the "ethanol initiative", a federal mandate to increase the production of the biofuel to 15 billion gallons a year by 2015. Ethanol is extremely costly in both energy and greenbacks to bring to the market, and has skewed the production and distribution of food grains causing higher prices and shortages. A political Frankenstein brought to life in the laboratories of the agribusiness and farm lobbies, it's unstoppable during the current election cycle (despite Republican intiatives to restrain it) and could very well be immortal. And the intiative's part in our energy strategy? The 15 billion-gallon target is insufficient to supply a 15% (E15) mixture to our current annual consumption of gasoline. The response of Big Ethanol of this critcism is to push for a 36 billion-gallon target by 2022. Corn-based production of this target would result in chaos in grain markets, risks to arable land management, severe inflation in food costs, no finanical relief for energy costs, and a minimal bottom-line reduction in overall oil consumption.

So are transportation biofuels a bust? Our opinion is that stupid ones like grain-based ethanol are, but others such as cellulosic ethanol, and non-farmed biodiesel and methanol sources are certainly viable. Methanol production costs are a fraction of ethanol (about a third), does not compete with food production (it can be made from coal, or natural gas from either geological deposits or from landfills and digesters). Methanol-gasoline mixtures can be used in vehicle engines that now burn ethanol-gasoline formulas. Biodiesel has more challenges, in providing economic and widescale production, as well as the changing puzzling prejudice that the American vehicle market has had against diesel passenger cars.

The Typesetter Gets the Final Word.

Michiko Kakutani produced a scathing review of Martin Amis' "The Second Plane", a collection of essays about "the global confrontation with the dependent mind" - Islamofascist terror. However, the typesetter for the Ann Arbor News (or perhaps the person at the Times that emailed the review off to subscribing papers) seems to have had the final word about Kakutani's abilities in reviewing Amis' essays, for the Kakutani's byline in this morning's paper reads "New York Times incompetent".

Perhaps Amis' book is worth a look?

Beyond "Pro-Choice".

Nat Hentoff, no Bible thumping theocrat, reviews Obama's record on abortion and renders the following observation:

...on abortion, Obama is an extremist. He has opposed the Supreme Court decision that finally upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act against that form of infanticide. Most startlingly, for a professed humanist, Obama — in the Illinois Senate — also voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. I have reported on several of those cases when, before the abortion was completed, an alive infant was suddenly in the room. It was disposed of as a horrified nurse who was not necessarily pro-life followed the doctors' orders to put the baby in a pail or otherwise get rid of the child.

How The Same These Unique Times Are.

...we have sunken so low where we will actually believe a nightclub comic is telling more truth about any given world situation then, say, the State Department attache'. Fascinating! - Jean Shepherd, 1963.

Dystopia Day.

Yes, it's May Day, the International Day of Socialism, where we remember Man's desires to create Heaven on Earth - with the killing, torturing, imprisoning, and impoverishing hundreds of millions. Yes We Can!

A Sound Call for Change at Exxon-Mobil.

The Rockefeller family has called for increased development of "alternative fuels" at Exxon-Mobil, citing the risk of declining profits in the future. We applaud not only this position, but also the manner of it and motive for it: speaking as shareholders, the owners-in-part of the corporation, and looking for the long-term financial reward of the shareholders, rather than some vague bloviation about excessive profits and class warfare schtick of the Left. All we are saying is - give capitalism a chance.

Brutal Opener.

Perhaps the forest fire that swept south of Grayling on Thursday was an omen; certainly the howling storm that followed on Friday night, "Opener Eve", was a precursor of what proved to be a tough and brutal Opening Day of trout fishing. The night's rain, coupled with a 25-degree drop in temperature and howling winds made The Last Saturday in April a very slow day on the Manistee. One nice fish did repeatedly rise and slash at a #8 Light Spruce, providing the only excitement for the day. The next day on the North Branch of the AuSable provided some relief, with a small ensemble of brookies and browns willing to play along.

The comraderie provided by fellow fishermen, however, was superb.