Here is an excerpt from President Eisenhower's farewell speech to the American people in 1961 before John F. Kennedy took office as President.  This excerpt by President Eisenhower is relevant for us in the early twenty first century as the Military Industrial Complex that Eisenhower warned about in his speech is very much alive and well in our present government and political system.  Here are President Eisenhower's prophetic words of warning:

"A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction...

This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together."

Presently, many in our government have large financial holdings in the Carlyle Group which is heavily invested in national defense companies and multi-national corporations to the tune of 30 billion dollars.  So, the warnings of 1961 by President Eisenhower have indeed actually come to pass as our current Commander-In-Chief, his family, the Saudi Royal family and other extremely wealthy Americans are big stakeholders in the Carlyle Group.  War is just another business venture to them and citizens are easily swayed and influenced by the corporate controlled media.  Herman Goering during his trial at Nuremburg after WWII uttered some pretty profound words himself to that effect that still hold true today.   Herman's words are here for you to read, also:

So, the next time you read about or view some of our so-called servants of the people in the news, be very aware of what most of them are trying to do.  They want to exert control and influence over the citizenry to achieve their goals that may not be in America's best interests or yours for that matter.

Utilitiesman

 

 

Recently this new information about the real meaning of WWJD has appeared on the radar screen. You probably didn't know that these instances are recorded in the Bible? Well, I didn't either. Even the Almighty enjoys a little humor once in a while.

Most people assume WWJD is for "What would Jesus do?". But the
initials really have been changed to stand for "What would Jesus
drive?".

One theory is that Jesus would tool around in an old Plymouth
because the Bible says, "God drove Adam and Eve out of the
Garden of Eden in a Fury".

But in Psalm 83, the Almighty clearly owns a Pontiac and a Geo.
The passage urges the Jesus to "pursue your enemies with your
Tempest and terrify them with your Storm".

Perhaps God favors Dodge pickup trucks, because Moses' followers
are warned not to go up a mountain "until the Ram's horn sounds
a long blast".

Some scholars insist that Jesus drove a Honda but didn't like to
talk about it. As proof, they cite a verse in St. John's gospel
where Christ tells the crowd, "For I did not speak of my own
Accord..."

Meanwhile, Moses rode an old British motorcycle, as evidenced
by a Bible passage declaring that "the roar of Moses' Triumph
is heard in the hills".

Joshua drove a Triumph sports car with a hole in its muffler:
"Joshua's Triumph was heard throughout the land". And,
following Jesus' lead, the Apostles car pooled in a Honda...
"The Apostles were in one Accord."

Utilitiesman

This comes from today's news. Actions do speak louder than words. Our Commander-In-Chief surely knows this, right?

"While asking Americans and federal agencies to conserve energy, the White House said Bush was unlikely to curtail his travels."

"The president believes it’s important to get a firsthand account of the operations that are ongoing to provide relief to the people in need,” a White House spokesperson said."

President Bush has flown over the hurricane damage areas of Texas, and the Gulf Coast areas several times in Air Force One. How much jet fuel has this consumed? I would not be afraid to say, thousands of gallons at well over $1.50 a gallon. Note that the Executive Branch of our federal government gets a better discount on fuel than most of us, so $1.50 or there abouts per is probably pretty close to the cost of jet fuel which is actually lower in price than gasoline. The eye-opener in this is that the amount of fuel used.

"In the air, Air Force One, a four-engine Boeing 747-200 can hold 53,600 gallons of jet fuel, which presently costs $1.57 per gallon at military rates or $83,200 to fill it up. This jumbo jet costs more than $6,000 per hour to fly, according to the Air Force."

So, tonight or later in the week when you want to make that unnecessary trip to McDonalds or Wal-Mart, remember that our President wants you to conserve as we all have got to pull together as Americans. Thank goodness we as individuals don't burn up fuel at the presidential rate of $6000.00 per hour as Air Force One does.

Utilitiesman

The current energy crisis, the war on terror, homeland security and illegal immigration, they all are related to each other.   These are some of my thoughts on the relationship of all these issues confronting our country. If we are truly engaged in a war on terror, then why are the borders of the United States so open to illegal immigration?  Securing our borders is the number one way to minimize terrorists entering our country.  It may not stop all acts of terrorism, but it will minimize the threat of terrorism on American soil.  Not only will it minimize terrorism, it will help the citizens of the United States by lowering their tax burden as American citizens fund schools and many social programs that were intended to help American citizens, not illegals.  Illegals do not pay income taxes.  Also, if our country's finite resources and land areas are stretched to the breaking point because of too many humans, how are we going to avoid going the way of India which has so many people that the land and resources of that over populated country can't support the population?  The available resources of the United States also include our supply of oil and natural gas, even though we import much of it.  How much more importation of fossil fuels will be needed if we continue to have open borders that allow over a million illegals in every year?  Border control to a large degree means energy conservation and making every gallon of gas and cubic foot of natural gas go farther.  That is my take on these issues and I stand by them.  Feel free to disagree or agree.  I encourage your feedback. 

Utilitiesman   

 Here is a good article about depletion of crude oil.  You could actually apply this to any resource that is not renewable.  The kicker here is that if we run out of a resource such as granite, a substitute may be available for buildings and grave stones that could replace granite with some other mineral or rock that is available in the quantities needed to keep the market supplied and at prices that are affordable.  Well, oil is somewhat like the granite. It is a natural resource and is finite.  But, that is where the similarity ends.  Crude oil or rock oil as it once was called is a resource that once consumed by burning for energy to power cars, heat homes or make jets fly is not renewable.  Once it is burned to produce energy, it is not recoverable or renewable.  You can't recycle gasoline once it's been through you car engine or Jet Blue's jet engines.  So, this natural resource from the day that a caveman burned peat or a chunk of coal to heat the cave or cook his food started the depletion of fossil fuels.  At the caveman rate of depletion there was nothing to worry about concerning exhausting the resource.   Since about one hundred fifty years ago, when coal and then oil started being consumed or depleted by modern society on a worldwide and ever increasing scale, the depletion of the earth's fossil fuels started to appear on the world's radar screen.  Presently, world supplies are very tight because of this.  The world is reaching a tipping point on the amount of fossil fuels that are cheap to extract and consume.  The key point in this is brought up in this article by the Whiskey and Gunpowder financial folks. and it is explains oil depletion much better than I can.  So, read this article. The gist of the article pretty well tells all of us that we can take from Mother Nature, but not forever.

Here is the web link to click on or go to for the Whiskey and Gunpowder article referenced above:

http://www.whiskeyandgunpowder.com/Archives/20050926.html

Utilitiesman