Ethanol is creating higher prices for groceries part two:

What’s the connection between ethanol, the biofuel produced from corn, and a cherry vanilla ice-cream?

Answer: the first is responsible for pushing up the price of the other.

This month, the price of milk in the United States surged to a near-record in part because of the increasing costs of feeding a dairy herd. The corn feed used to feed cattle has almost doubled in price in a year as demand has grown for the grain to produce ethanol.

The rest of the story here.

Just because their opposition to the war is political in nature and has nothing to do with national security, doesn’t mean you attribute Lindsay Graham’s comments to politics. Obviously, after reading the polls Graham’s comments are clearly less “political” in nature. Webb’s been outed as a cheap shot artist and a phony.

…another Ted Rall hit piece.
Like calling US Soldiers and Allies no better than Nazis, Viet Cong, Taliban.

Interesting story in the Zero this morning about a new piece of equipment that would pick wine grapes in record time without scores of field workers. Strangely, the story is not so much a laudatory tale about man’s mastery over nature or necessity being the mother of invention or streamlining an old fashioned business. No this story is cautionary and borderline sad (not to mention pedantic on the part of the reporter). Why? Because this piece of machinery will put some ILLEGAL aliens out of business.
Plus, as a bonus part of the story, Oregonians for Immigration Reform is described as a “restrictionist” group. Wow, being against illegal behavior is now ‘restrictionist.’ Imagine being a group opposing drinking and driving, for instance. Would MADD ever be referred to as a “restrictionist group” because they wanted to enforce the laws against drinking and driving?
The following is an excerpt from the story and a picture of the new wine grape picker.

Suddenly, vineyard owners were calling Capps to schedule demonstrations, saying they couldn’t cope with worsening worker shortages — or immigration raids. Their concerns were heightened after a U.S. Senate immigration bill that would have offered legal status for up to 900,000 undocumented agricultural workers failed, and immigration officers detained nearly 200 workers at a Portland produce processing plant.

Oregonians for Immigration Reform, a restrictionist group, touted the European machine as a beacon of a future without illegal labor.

“As soon as word about this got out, the immigration issue was the first thing that came up,” Capps said. “The bloggers are all over it. They’re saying, ‘Finally, see? We told you that you could get by without all this immigration.’ “

The Shark at Sound Politics found that the man suspected of kidnapping and murdering 12 year old Zina Linnik of Tacoma is not only an illegal alien, pervert but a registered voter. Gosh, when they’re not sending dogs ballots they’re letting felonious pervert illegal aliens cast ballots. Lovely.

Data is from Secretary of State’s Voter Registration Database public release of Jan. 26, 2007

The Orb says the illegal alien pervert and suspected child kidnapper/murderer may be wanted in connection with other cases. Surprise!

The Shark at Sound Politics found that the man suspected of kidnapping and murdering 12 year old Zina Linnik of Tacoma is not only an illegal alien, pervert but a registered voter. Gosh, when they’re not sending dogs ballots they’re letting felonious pervert illegal aliens cast ballots. Lovely.

Data is from Secretary of State’s Voter Registration Database public release of Jan. 26, 2007

The Orb says the illegal alien pervert and suspected child kidnapper/murderer may be wanted in connection with other cases. Surprise!

It’s happening in Georgia. It could happen here too if our elected officials just had a little spine.

Earl Bluenauer

The Mercury is all over the story here and I thank them for these images.
Richard Prentice here was stopped by a cop while he was putting up that wanted poster. Multnomah county has decided not to charge him for ‘advertising on the street.’

Get the latest on Operation Phantom Thunder (the surge) here.
I’ll probably be taking a couple of calls but would prefer your questions via email at victoria@victoriataft.com.
She’ll be on at 7:05. Stream the show here.
John Bohner calls the Democrats, Smith, Snowe et al “wimps.”
The president spoke today:

In my address to the nation in January, I put it this way: If we increase our support at this crucial moment we can hasten the day our troops begin coming home. The real debate over Iraq is between those who think the fight is lost or not worth the cost, and those that believe the fight can be won and that, as difficult as the fight is, the cost of defeat would be far higher.

I believe we can succeed in Iraq, and I know we must. So we’re working to defeat al Qaeda and other extremists, and aid the rise of an Iraqi government that can protect its people, deliver basic services, and be an ally in the war against these extremists and radicals. By doing this, we’ll create the conditions that would allow our troops to begin coming home, while securing our long-term national interest in Iraq and in the region.

The fight in Iraq is part of a broader struggle that’s unfolding across the region. The same region in Iran — the same regime in Iran that is pursuing nuclear weapons and threatening to wipe Israel off the map is also providing sophisticated IEDs to extremists in Iraq who are using them to kill American soldiers. The same Hezbollah terrorists who are waging war against the forces of democracy in Lebanon are training extremists to do the same against coalition forces in Iraq. The same Syrian regime that provides support and sanctuary for Islamic jihad and Hamas has refused to close its airport in Damascus to suicide bombers headed to Iraq. All these extremist groups would be emboldened by a precipitous American withdrawal, which would confuse and frighten friends and allies in the region.

There is something else I want to ask you about as well. If the American people are so sick and tired of this war, and they are, if they’re sick of the wanton killing by al qaeda and extremists, don’t you think they would be even more disgusted, angered, and unwilling to have that kind of violence in the United States?
From the press conference this morning occured this exchange:

Toby.

Q Mr. President, in addition to members of your own party, the American public is clamoring for a change of course in Iraq. Why are you so resistant to that idea, and how much longer are you willing to give the surge to work before considering a change in this policy?

THE PRESIDENT: First, I understand why the American people are — you know, they’re tired of the war. There is — people are — there is a war fatigue in America. It’s affecting our psychology. I’ve said this before. I understand that this is an ugly war. It’s a war in which an enemy will kill innocent men, women and children in order to achieve a political objective. It doesn’t surprise me that there is deep concern amongst our people.

Part of that concern is whether or not we can win; whether or not the objective is achievable. People don’t want our troops in harm’s way if that which we are trying to achieve can’t be accomplished. I feel the same way. I cannot look a mother and father of a troop in the eye and say, I’m sending your kid into combat, but I don’t think we can achieve the objective. I wouldn’t do that to a parent or a husband or wife of a soldier.

Earl Blumenauer

It’s happening in Georgia. It could happen here too if our elected officials just had a little spine.

Earl Bluenauer

The Mercury is all over the story here and I thank them for these images.
Richard Prentice here was stopped by a cop while he was putting up that wanted poster. Multnomah county has decided not to charge him for ‘advertising on the street.’

Get the latest on Operation Phantom Thunder (the surge) here.
I’ll probably be taking a couple of calls but would prefer your questions via email at victoria@victoriataft.com.
She’ll be on at 7:05. Stream the show here.
John Bohner calls the Democrats, Smith, Snowe et al “wimps.”
The president spoke today:

In my address to the nation in January, I put it this way: If we increase our support at this crucial moment we can hasten the day our troops begin coming home. The real debate over Iraq is between those who think the fight is lost or not worth the cost, and those that believe the fight can be won and that, as difficult as the fight is, the cost of defeat would be far higher.

I believe we can succeed in Iraq, and I know we must. So we’re working to defeat al Qaeda and other extremists, and aid the rise of an Iraqi government that can protect its people, deliver basic services, and be an ally in the war against these extremists and radicals. By doing this, we’ll create the conditions that would allow our troops to begin coming home, while securing our long-term national interest in Iraq and in the region.

The fight in Iraq is part of a broader struggle that’s unfolding across the region. The same region in Iran — the same regime in Iran that is pursuing nuclear weapons and threatening to wipe Israel off the map is also providing sophisticated IEDs to extremists in Iraq who are using them to kill American soldiers. The same Hezbollah terrorists who are waging war against the forces of democracy in Lebanon are training extremists to do the same against coalition forces in Iraq. The same Syrian regime that provides support and sanctuary for Islamic jihad and Hamas has refused to close its airport in Damascus to suicide bombers headed to Iraq. All these extremist groups would be emboldened by a precipitous American withdrawal, which would confuse and frighten friends and allies in the region.

There is something else I want to ask you about as well. If the American people are so sick and tired of this war, and they are, if they’re sick of the wanton killing by al qaeda and extremists, don’t you think they would be even more disgusted, angered, and unwilling to have that kind of violence in the United States?
From the press conference this morning occured this exchange:

Toby.

Q Mr. President, in addition to members of your own party, the American public is clamoring for a change of course in Iraq. Why are you so resistant to that idea, and how much longer are you willing to give the surge to work before considering a change in this policy?

THE PRESIDENT: First, I understand why the American people are — you know, they’re tired of the war. There is — people are — there is a war fatigue in America. It’s affecting our psychology. I’ve said this before. I understand that this is an ugly war. It’s a war in which an enemy will kill innocent men, women and children in order to achieve a political objective. It doesn’t surprise me that there is deep concern amongst our people.

Part of that concern is whether or not we can win; whether or not the objective is achievable. People don’t want our troops in harm’s way if that which we are trying to achieve can’t be accomplished. I feel the same way. I cannot look a mother and father of a troop in the eye and say, I’m sending your kid into combat, but I don’t think we can achieve the objective. I wouldn’t do that to a parent or a husband or wife of a soldier.

Earl Blumenauer

The Cato Institute ‘outs’ Portland’s fraud as a livability mecca. Find the report here.
Here are the Five Myths as pointed out in the report:
Myth #1: Portland “loves” transit
Myth #2: Transit Oriented Development (doesn’t happen unless the government builds it)
Myth #3: Development Oriented Transit
Myth #4: Portland “curbed” sprawl–they just went to Vancouver, Beaverton and Gresham!
Myth #5: Portlanders “love” planning!

Earl Blumenauer