Thursday, April 28, 2011

Tyranny of the Mob

Democracy: a Florida professor and a planeload of paranoiacs deciding what to have for lunch.

Amplify’d from www.disinfo.com

A Florida professor was arrested and removed from a plane Monday after his fellow passengers alerted crew members they thought he had a suspicious package in the overhead compartment.

That “suspicious package” turned out to be keys, a bagel with cream cheese and a hat.

Read more at www.disinfo.com
 

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Public Trust in Media and Government

A survey on public trust, main-stream media and transparency in government and the effects of WikiLeaks.

Amplify’d from www.kwiksurveys.com
The purpose of this survey is to measure public opinion and trust in WikiLeaks, the government and the mainstream media. It is anticipated the results will be collated, analysed and published as an Honours Dissertation as a partial fulfillment of a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree at Griffith University, Nathan Campus.
Read more at www.kwiksurveys.com
 

Monday, April 11, 2011

Reduce Oil Dependence-Open Fuel Standard

Promoting choice at the pump.

Amplify’d from www.hoover.org

To outmaneuver OPEC, the market needs to be able to react dynamically. That means giving purchasers of fuel the ability to choose a different fuel at the pump if it's cheaper that day than gasoline or diesel. Brazilians already have this option: During the oil price spike in 2008, with 90% of their new cars fuel flexible, they bought more alcohol fuel than gasoline.

An Open Fuel Standard would require new cars to include a $100 tweak that would allow them to run on a variety of liquid fuels in addition to gasoline. Such fuels would include methanol, which is easily made from natural gas and biomass (and, less cleanly, from coal). Enabling vehicles to use natural gas, whether directly or via liquid fuels that are made from it, allows consumers to benefit from the very large cost advantage that natural gas holds today over oil. As we move forward, vehicles like plug-in hybrids that provide 20-40 miles of electric range before shifting to a flexible liquid fuel tank can provide a highly competitive platform. By stretching gasoline with other liquid fuels and electricity, the car can use one gallon of gasoline for every 500 miles of driving.

Read more at www.hoover.org
 

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Government Job Monopoly

The job market can be a gamble, but the house always wins. State and Federal governments continue to dominate employment with guaranteed perks and pensions paid for by ever rising taxes.

Amplify’d from www.wallstreetjournal.com

Every state in America today except for two—Indiana and Wisconsin—has more government workers on the payroll than people manufacturing industrial goods. Consider California, which has the highest budget deficit in the history of the states. The not-so Golden State now has an incredible 2.4 million government employees—twice as many as people at work in manufacturing. New Jersey has just under two-and-a-half as many government employees as manufacturers. Florida's ratio is more than 3 to 1. So is New York's.

Read more at www.wallstreetjournal.com