Fires In Australia

Are going to be more likely in the future.

Victoria state police said that at least 84 people were killed in a series of wildfires that tore across the southern state of Victoria on Saturday, the country’s deadliest firestorm ever. Some died trying to escape the fires in their cars; others were caught up trying to protect their homes.

The death toll from the fires was the worst since the “Ash Wednesday” fires of 1983, when 75 people were killed and hundreds of homes destroyed across southern Australia.

My condolences to their friends and family.

Auto Maker Are Going To Whine

The Obama administration is going to make the EPA reconsider a waiver for California to regulate emissions. The Bush administration did not care about the environment or the law.

"EPA believes that there are significant issues regarding the agency's denial of the waiver. The denial was a substantial departure from EPA's long-standing interpretation of the Clean Air Act's waiver provisions," the agency said.

Automakers are against California's plan to cut emissions by 30 percent by 2016 because it would result in a de facto increase in automobile fuel efficiency, which currently is set by the federal government.

Manufacturers prefer a single fuel efficiency regulation approved by Congress and administered by the Transportation Department that is based on vehicle criteria -- not emissions.

The current proposal under consideration by transportation planners seeks to raise average fuel efficiency of the fleet by 40 percent by 2020. The California law would exceed that mandate years sooner.

The article is a little sloppy it is California and 13 other states. Those states make up 37.7 % of US population. A few other states are thinking of joining California. Those states take it to over 50% of US population. The car companies should just bite the bullet and make all their cars compatible with California emissions.

Sad To Hear

A hiker fell to her death in Arizona.

A 20-year-old hiker fell to her death Thursday on Camelback Mountain in Phoenix.

According to Phoenix Police, Tessa Worby left a main trail for an unmarked path sometime between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. and fell about 250 feet.

Rescuers discovered her body late Thursday at the base of a cliff, but high winds and darkness kept them from recovering her body.

My condolences to her friends and family.

Utah Is Nuts!

Legislators in Utah want to create a data base for people who drink in public. They want to scan your drivers license and keep the information on drinkers. That is nuts.
Via Blue Girl at They gave us a republic and we intend to keep it!

On The Edge

Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman.

It’s time for Mr. Obama to go on the offensive. Above all, he must not shy away from pointing out that those who stand in the way of his plan, in the name of a discredited economic philosophy, are putting the nation’s future at risk. The American economy is on the edge of catastrophe, and much of the Republican Party is trying to push it over that edge.

Wolverines

Unfortunately this is what the republicans are arguing.

Bipartisanship

Republican style.

I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is insane. Imagine trying to negotiate an agreement on dinner plans with your date, and you suggest Italian and she states her preference would be a meal of tire rims and anthrax. If you can figure out a way to split the difference there and find a meal you will both enjoy, you can probably figure out how bipartisanship is going to work the next few years.

Republicans Hate The American Worker

Cash for clunkers has been removed from the stimulus bill.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One proposal to help jump start U.S. auto sales was withdrawn late on Thursday and the fate of another was unclear, despite a vigorous endorsement from President Barack Obama, as Senate consideration of economic stimulus legislation accelerated.

Sen. Thomas Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, pulled an amendment that would have provided $16 billion in rebates to buyers of new fuel efficient vehicles who traded in their old, poor performing models.

Harkin said he would defer the so-called "cash for clunkers" proposal, which had strong support from U.S. automakers.

Lobbyists for those companies this week called it a genuine stimulus for a depressed market. U.S. auto sales plunged to a 27-year low in January.

There was no backing, however, for the plan from foreign manufacturers whose operations are clustered in states represented by conservative Republicans.

This would have helped the American workers and the environment two things republicans are opposed to.

Digby Rules!

Digby in her infinite wisdom says:

I think the administration thought they could be mediators between the two parties rather than leaders of the Democratic party. That just won't work, particularly when the Democrats aren't very good at battling the Republicans in close combat and the Republicans can make those who stay above the fray seem lightweight and insubstantial, which is what they've managed to do. They've showed they don't respect Obama and are unimpressed with his mandate --- the administration needs to accept that and strategize with that in mind.

He said today that bipartisanship for bipartisanship's sake is not desirable. He should just drop that whole schtick. He can have the cocktail parties and the get togethers and talk to them all he wants. And if they happen to have a good idea (very doubtful) then fine. But they are going to represent their narrow interests because that's what they believe their constituents want. That's the way the system works. They aren't partners, they're political adversaries and they remain adversaries even when there is an emergency at hand. Accept that and fight it out on the merits

Bold is mine. Republicans do not care about the American people. They are morally bankrupt.

Republicans Want A Great Depression

That is why they are delaying the stimulus bill. Barack Obama should go on the TV and start ridiculing them for listing to the drug addled ravings of Rush Limbaugh. Who has said he wants Obama to fail. Republicans hate the American worker. Anyway, new jobless number is out and guess what? A new record!

New claims for unemployment benefits spiked to a quarter-century high of 626,000 last week, as businesses continued shedding workers to cope with the economic downturn.

The number represents a larger-than-expected increase over the 591,000 people who filed for benefits the week before, and sets the stage for another jump in the unemployment rate for January when it is released on Friday.

The number of people continuing to collect benefits also rose, to nearly 4.8 million, and is now at the highest point since recordkeeping began about 40 years ago.

What An Ass

Via Blue Girl we find some southern nimrod sheriff is trying to make a name for himself. The head nimrod would be Leon Lott. He is going to try to find a way to arrest Micheal Phelps for the picture of him holding a bong. If you look at the picture, you will notice there is no smoke in it. The nimrod, Leon Lott is wasting his time.

Alternate Fuel

From beer waste at my favorite brewery. This is awesome!

E-Fuel said Tuesday it reached an agreement with the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. to create high-grade ethanol fuel from discarded beer yeast.

Los Gatos-based E-Fuel, the inventor of the world’s first home ethanol system -- the Efuel100 MicroFueler -- and Sierra Nevada have agreed to house MicroFuelers at the brewery in Chico, enabling Sierra Nevada to manufacture its own ethanol using waste from its brewing process.

Testing will begin in the second quarter with a goal of achieving full-scale ethanol production in the third quarter, E-Fuel said.

On average, Sierra Nevada resells 1.6 million gallons of unusable “bottom of the barrel” beer yeast waste to farmers each year. Containing 5 percent to 8 percent alcohol content, the waste includes enough yeast and nutrients to enable the MicroFueler to raise that level to 15 percent alcohol, allowing for an increased ethanol yield.

Change we can believe in.

Traitors

The south is still full of traitors. The republican party has become the party of the south. The dixiecrats have died or become republicans. Digby has a great post about the party of NO! I think you would do well to read it in its entirety, but I want to highlight this.

Much like the southern confederates of Lincoln's time, the modern Republicans believe that until Democrats sign on to their ideology, openly and without any deviation, they must stop them, no matter what the consequences. When they are in the majority, they dominate without apology and when they are in the minority, they throw themselves into the machinery to obstruct anything that isn't part of their agenda. They are perfectly willing to destroy the country.

More later.
More: I could not remember a comment that described my brother in law a cheap labor conservative and lover of southern heritage.* From the Guerrilla News Network. Via Libby

The ugly truth is that cheap-labor conservatives just don’t like working people. They don’t like “bottom up” prosperity, and the reason for it is very simple. lords have a harder time kicking them around. Once you understand this about the cheap-labor conservatives, the real motivation for their policies makes perfect sense. Remember, cheap-labor conservatives believe in social hierarchy and privilege, so the only prosperity they want is limited to them. They want to see absolutely nothing that benefits the guy – or more often the woman – who works for an hourly wage.

Bold is mine. But describes my b/l.
* Southerners like to say "Heritage not hate" when defending the battle flag of the confederacy. But it is their racist heritage and their treasonous heritage they are defending.

Moving Forward

But are we moving forward fast enough?

LONDON (Reuters) - The United States overtook Germany as the biggest producer of wind power last year, new figures showed, and will likely take the lead in solar power this year, analysts said on Monday.

Even before an expected "Obama bounce" from a new President who has vowed to boost clean energy, U.S. wind power capacity surged 50 percent last year to 25 gigwatts (GW) -- enough to power more than five million homes.

Political and business leaders worldwide have urged "green growth" spending on clean energy to fight both recession and climate change.

German wind power capacity reached nearly 24 GW, placing it second ahead of Spain and fourth-placed China, which doubled its installed wind power for the forth year running, said the Brussels-based Global Wind Energy Council.

"Governments must send a strong and unequivocal signal that the age of fossil fuels is over," said Steve Sawyer, secretary general of GWEC.

There is no reason at this point to build another coal or nuclear plant in this country. We can meet all new demands with renewable energy sources and start to phase out coal.

Micheal Phelps

phelps_burrito, originally uploaded by Radical_Russ.

Hey he is entitled to a smoke now and again. Whoever took the picture was an ass.

Koko Crater Trail

Koko Crater Trail, originally uploaded by mizzelon.

Two men were stabbed on the Koko Crater trail yesterday. Ouch!

A man in his 20's was taken to the hospital in critical condition and a man in his 50's was taken in serious condition.

Police set up a perimeter around Koko Head Crater as they searched for the suspect.

About three and a half hours later -- police located the suspect.

He was hiding in a tree and was naked.

Look how steep the trail is.

Update: The stabbing suspect Benjamin Davis has been caught and is under mental observation.

He was hiding in a tree and was naked.

Springsteen

Backpacker Magazine is reporting that the Boss has a new song out that has the Appalachian Trail in it.

The song is “Outlaw Pete” on Springsteen’s latest, “Working on a Dream.” It’s a ballad about a gunslinger that rides west to give up his lawless days. But first, he raises hell back east:


He was born a little baby on the Appalachian Trail
At six months old, he’d done three months in jail
He robbed a bank in his diapers and his little bare baby feet.
All he said was “Folks my name is Outlaw Pete”

No word on whether Baltimore Jack is thinking about changing his trail name.

Herbert Hoover Lives

Frank Rich has a good column on the economy tanking.

HERE’S a bottom line to keep you up at night: The economy is falling faster than Washington can get moving. President Obama says his stimulus plan will save or create four million jobs in two years. In the last four months of 2008 alone, employment fell by 1.9 million. Do the math.[...]
What are Americans still buying? Big Macs, Campbell’s soup, Hershey’s chocolate and Spam — the four food groups of the apocalypse.

It is a good article worth reading in whole.
Also, via Krugman

“Say I’m a banker and I created $30 million. I should get a part of that,” one banker told The New York Times. And if you’re a banker and you destroyed $30 billion? Uncle Sam to the rescue!

Better yet, are you going to pay some of that back? Once again privatize the profits and socialize the losses. Socialism for the rich.

Missing Hiker

In North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest.

BREVARD, N.C. -- Searchers in the North Carolina mountains will resume their search Monday morning for an Asheville woman missing since she told her roommate she was going on a day hike on Sunday.Investigators said that the woman left her home around 11 a.m. Sunday, but left a note telling her roommate she'd be gone for the day to the Pisgah National Forest, but would be back by dark.Crews have centered their search in the Turkey Pen Trail area of the Pisgah National Forest. Searchers suspended their efforts at 3 a.m. Monday morning, but planned to resume at 9 a.m.
The woman's note didn't specify which trail she was hiking, but her car was found early Monday near the trailhead of the Turkey Pen Trail.

Lets hope she makes it out fine.
Update: Alive and well. She apparently spent the night in a shelter. I saw reports this morning that said rescuers looked until 3 in the morning. Why did they not check a shelter within five miles of the road?

MILLS RIVER - Lindsey Pfundstein, 22, who was lost overnight in Pisgah National Forest, walked out of the woods at 11:15 a.m. today.

The woman, who had been missing since Sunday night, walked into the parking lot at the trailhead where she had left her car.

"Are you searching?" a reporter asked.

"No, I think I'm the one they're looking for," she said.

She emerged from the forest out of breath but otherwise in apparent good health.

She wore hiking boots, a sweater and sleeveless jacket and was carrying a good-sized backpack. She walked up to a forest ranger, who asked her if she needed water and if she was OK.

I mean she walked out from the shelter down the trail to her car. Where exactly were they looking. I would send people down the trail from her car first.

Update 2: Lindsey's father Mark explains in comments what threw the searchers off. I did not really mean to criticize the searchers too much. I hope I did not offend the first responders. It is hard to figure out what happened from the news articles I read. It just seamed strange to me. Any way I am glad Lindsey made it out OK. She had enough skills to keep warm over night. It is hard to self rescue when out alone and things do not go right. I have been there.

Honey Laundering

Tainted Chinese honey is being mislabeled and sold in the US.

Concealing discoveries of contaminated imported honey is immoral, unethical and often illegal -- and it happens far too often, U.S. honey producers say.

"It doesn't take a wizard to determine whether there are bad things in the honey we handle, nor a hero to do what it takes to keep it from our food supply," said Mark Brady, a Texas beekeeper who sits on the National Honey Board.

"If we buy Chinese honey, as we do far too often, we know it may contain chloramphenicol or some other antibiotic that is illegal in any food product," said Brady, who produces about a million pounds of honey a year. "To find it and not report it is criminal."

Two-thirds of the honey Americans consume is imported and almost half of that, regardless of what's on the label, comes from China, the Seattle P-I reported last month.

The newspaper's five-month investigation into honey laundering -- the intentional mislabeling of the country of origin -- found that tons of Chinese honey coming into the U.S. is tainted with banned antibiotics.

I have said it before and will say it again, do not buy food from China. When it is mislabeled it is hard to avoid. Buy from as local a source as you can find.

Via Toby at the Oxdown Gazette who has a great discussion in comments that is worth reading.