Quote of the Day: Governor Rick Perry

"There are certain truths that have to be agreed to. One is that economies grow when they are free from over-taxation, over-regulation, over-litigation, and they have a skilled workforce. Government is not difficult in theory, don't spend all the money, keep taxes low, have a fair and predictable regulatory climate, keep frivolous lawsuits to a minimum, and fund an accountable education system so that you have a skilled workforce available. Then get the hell out of the way and let the private sector do what the private sector does best. It's simple in theory, but it's difficult to accomplish. In Texas, we've implemented that theory, and it's produced an economy that has no match in America."
--- Texas Governor Rick Perry, Republican

This quote was published in the National Review article "Going Alamo" by Kevin D. Williamson, which talked about why so many people are moving to the republican controlled state of Texas: great economy because of great republican economic policies and limited government interference. Texas has a divided executive branch (Lt Governor and Governor have distinct powers)and a weak legislature because of strict constitutional limits, preventing government from causing too much harm :)

"The Texas experience suggests that the more government you say no to, the more investment you say yes to."
--- Kevin Williamson

Wind Farms: All hype and ill effects

The public or media enthusiams for wind farms (large tracts of land taken up by huge wind turbine towers, some 400 feet tall) needs to come to an end. Consider the following:

1. Property values in areas where wind turbines are visible decrease, negatively impacting everyone who lives within the line of sight of these ugly turbine towers.



2. Tourism in areas where their originally pristine natural views are changed by the installation of wind farms goes down. See study done in Scotland www.viewsofscotland.org/library/tourism.php



3. The air pressure difference in front of and behind a turbine blade are strong enough to cause lung blood vessel bursting in bats. Wind turbines are responsible for the killing of thousands of bats every year. A Tennessee windfarm study found an annual bat kill rate of 64 bats per turbine.



4. A study of Denmark windfarm industry found that the large wind turbines had serious negative environmental impacts, insufficient production reliability, and high production costs. Conventional power plants (ie coal powered) cannot be simply turned on and off as the wind comes and goes, so the wind farms have not led to any notable decrease in coal powered energy consumption.



5. Infra-sound emitted by turbines can pose a hazard to human health. I didnt believe this either until a european doctor started collecting data on cases of health problems for residents near turbines.



6. Lights on the turbine towers ruin night sky visibility for star gazers and astronomers.



7. Deforestation and/or the large footprint taken up by large numbers of wind turbine towers create terrible negative environmental impacts on local wildlife and recreational land users.



8. CO2 emission savings is only equal to one 18-wheeler truck PER TURBINE, that is it. Canadian study discovered this fact which all but makes wind farms appear to be a waste of time and money and land: www.aandc.org/research/wind_pec_present.html

Cartoon of the day

Obama apologizes for America's history