Skyder's Blog

Apparently Obama and Biden do. The following is a clip from CNN's investigative work.

DEWEY BEACH, Delaware (CNN) -- Although Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden routinely mocks his Republican counterpart, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, for her onetime support of the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere," Biden and his running mate voted to keep the project alive twice.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden campaigns in Washington on Tuesday.

Both Biden and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama voted to kill a Senate amendment that would have diverted federal funding for the bridge to repair a Louisiana span badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina, Senate records show.

And both voted for the final transportation bill that included the $223 million earmark for the Alaska project.

An amendment offered by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, would have stripped the money appropriated to connect the Alaskan coastal city of Ketchikan to its airport on sparsely populated Gravina Island and diverted the money to Louisiana.

But Biden andObama and 80 of their colleagues rejected the measure, an amendment to a massive 2005 transportation bill that funded thousands of projects across the country.

What say you now?

So the RNC kicked off to a semi-start this week, and what have the peace loving Democrats done to respond? They protested. 284 people were arrested with 130 getting popped with felony charges. Is this the best that the democrats in this country can muster? A bunch of thugs, and hoodlums with nothing better to do than trash police cars and public property. They don't even have a clue what they were protesting against. Seems to me a bit childish, and moronic.

I guess I am glad that the Republicans in this country are above the sophomoric actions that were demonstrated by supporters of the left. The best thing the Democrats have going for them at this time, is a sliver of a scandal, pointing fingers at Palin for having a human teenage daughter, and it's not even something that THEY dug up... it was a straight up admission on the RNC's part.

If I ever had any doubt on which way my vote would swing in November, your Democratic representatives in St. Paul, MN sure wiped away that doubt. I think it is clearly an indication of what to expect if Nobama wins (which I highly doubt).

Some time back, there was a contest on here to win an iPod for having the most blogs, or most responses to a blog or something. I can't remember ever seeing anything on it after that. So... who won it? I just gotta know

Blue Skies

Sen. John McCain supports allowing states to explore offshore drilling.

"The stakes are high for our citizens and for our economy, and with gasoline running at more than four bucks a gallon, many do not have the luxury of waiting on the far-off plans of futurists and politicians," McCain will say Tuesday in Houston, Texas, according to excerpts of his speech released by his campaign.

"We have proven oil reserves of at least 21 billion barrels in the United States. But a broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production. And I believe it is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions and to put our own reserves to use."

McCain's plan would let individual states decide whether or not to explore drilling possibilities.The proposal could put McCain at odds with environmentalists who say it's incongruous with his plans to combat global warning. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a McCain ally, is also opposed to offshore drilling.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist had expressed opposition exploring the coastal waters, but he said this week he supports McCain's plan to lift the moratorium and would not rule out letting his state choose to drill offshore.

"It's the last thing in the world I'd like to do, but I also understand what people are paying at the pump, and I understand the drag it is on our economy," Crist told the St. Petersburg Times. "Something has to be done in a responsible, pragmatic way."

Many officials from coastal states oppose offshore drilling because of the risk of oil spills that can spoil beaches. Environmentalists want offshore drilling to stop, to protect the oceans from further pollution.

"The next president must be willing to break with the energy policies not just of the current administration, but the administrations that preceded it, and lead a great national campaign to achieve energy security for America," McCain will say Tuesday.

McCain on Monday said incentives could possibly be provided for states that choose to permit exploration off their coasts, adding that "exploration is a step toward the longer-term goal."

Tuesday's discussion marks the first in a series of talks about America's energy security that McCain will hold during the next two weeks as he lays out his plan to reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil.

McCain does oppose drilling in some parts of the wilderness and says those areas must be left undisturbed.

"When America set aside the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, we called it a 'refuge' for a reason," he will say.

McCain on Tuesday will also criticize the energy policy of rival Barack Obama.

"He says that high oil prices are not the problem, but only that they rose too quickly. He's doesn't support new domestic production. He doesn't support new nuclear plants. He doesn't support more traditional use of coal, either," McCain will say.

"So what does Sen. Obama support in energy policy? Well, for starters he supported the energy bill of 2005 -- a grab bag of corporate favors that I opposed. And now he supports new taxes on energy producers. He wants a windfall profits tax on oil, to go along with the new taxes he also plans for coal and natural gas. If the plan sounds familiar, it's because that was President Jimmy Carter's big idea too -- and a lot of good it did us," he will say.

McCain will argue that a windfall profits tax will only increase the country's dependence on foreign oil and be an obstacle to domestic exploration.

"I'm all for recycling -- but it's better applied to paper and plastic than to the failed policies of the 1970s," he will say.

Obama on Tuesday blasted McCain for changing his stance on offshore drilling.

"John McCain's support of the moratorium on offshore drilling during his first presidential campaign was certainly laudable, but his decision to completely change his position and tell a group of Houston oil executives exactly what they wanted to hear today was the same Washington politics that has prevented us from achieving energy independence for decades," he said in a statement.

"It's another example of short-term political posturing from Washington, not the long-term leadership we need to solve our dependence on oil," he said.

Obama says a windfall profits tax would ease the burden of energy costs on working families. He also wants to invest in affordable, renewable energy sources.

During the 1970s, when many Arab nations launched an oil embargo, many U.S. officials pushed for the exploration of offshore drilling of the coastal U.S. Environmentalists responded by turning up the volume on their cries against offshore drilling.

So here you go... Obama fans... At least McCain is aware of America's plight and is willing to take steps to rectify it. Obama is content to side with the Arabs and allow OPEC to dictate what and how much we can have. That, to me, is highly unacceptable. McCain '08

I'm not real sure what the deal is with this promo, but if I remember right, it was something like: Create the most buzz with your blog, and win an Ipod. Or something like that. If that is the case, then I think it clearly goes to SallyMac

At the time of this posting, her blog on "Teachers lives turned public" has generated 101 comments. That is DEFINITELY the most I've ever seen on any one blog. I thought 40 something was a lot, but 101??? Wow.

I have seen a couple of blogs on here stating that the IRS will not be doing 'direct-deposit' if you used some sort of tax prep software. This is NOT the case.

I, personally, used Turbo Tax to prepare my taxes (same as every year), and when I checked my bank balance this morning, lo-and-behold, there was my stimulus payment, directly deposited.

So... if you are thinking you will get a paper check just because you used software to prepare your taxes, you will not. Unless maybe you did not get your refund via direct deposit.

This just in... I received an email from a friend who had a really good idea. I know there have been suggestions thrown out there to not buy gas on this day or that, but that's not going to accomplish anything. What we need to do, is stop buying if from one or two of the major companies. If everyone stopped buying gas from Exxon/mobile, and Shell Oil, they would be FORCED to reduce their prices, and the rest of the gas stations would have to follow suit just to compete.

So what about this... We all agree (and pass it on) to stop buying fuel from these companies, to really hit them in their pocketbooks. They know we rely on fuel for our cars to get by, but this is AMERICA... we can choose to buy it from whomever we so desire. Take your vehicle to Conoco, or Valero, or some other outlet, and continue to do this for several months. What would the big oil companies be able to do about that? Maybe buy out the smaller companies? If that were to happen, then we'd be stuck, but supposedly, the governernment doesn't allow large monopolies like that (yeah okay). Either way, this is the best idea I have heard of to date.

What do you guys think?

As promised, in line with Black History, and Hispanic Heritage, I think it's high time we started to pay homage to some of the White people throughout history that have made differences in all of our lives as we know them today.

First up on the list is Alexander Graham Bell.

Alexander Graham Bell (3 March 1847 – 2 August 1922) was an eminent scientist, inventor and innovator who is credited with the invention of the telephone. His father, grandfather and brother had all been associated with work on elocution and speech, and both his mother and wife were deaf, profoundly influencing Bell's life's work.[1] His research on hearing and speech further led him to experiment with hearing devices that eventually culminated in Bell being awarded the first U.S. patent for the invention of the telephone in 1876.[2]

Many other inventions marked Bell's later life including groundbreaking work in hydrofoils and aeronautics. In 1888, Alexander Graham Bell was one of the founding members of the National Geographic Society.[3] In reflection, Bell considered his most famous invention an intrusion on his real work as a scientist and refused to have a telephone in his study.[4] Upon Bell's death, all telephones throughout the United States "stilled their ringing for a silent minute in tribute to the man whose yearning to communicate made them possible."[

As anyone on here can tell you, I tend to respond to a lot of blogs. I agree with some, but not with others.

But... Here's something that has been buggin me. Have any of you noticed that there is usually a line going out the door of a Starbucks, with people dying to throw $4 and change at them for a measly cup of coffee, but complain about the cost of a gallon of gas.

Is it just me, or is this country seriously skewed on it's priorities?

Okay all you weather guys out there... I have a question regarding Wind Chill Factor and Heat Index.

At what point does the Wind Chill change to a Heat Index? Is there a certain temperature, or time of year when the change is made? Does Humidity play a role in that at all?

Thanks in advance

Skyder