Monday, July 16, 2012

Headlines Lie. Read the story !

Some headlines even take pride in lying, taking statements out of context, and deceiving the people.  Fox News recently covered a speech by Barrack Obama with the headline “Obama to business owners: 'You didn't build that'.”  The point of the headline seems clear … Obama disses small businessmen.

In an appearance in Roanoke Virginia on the July 13th, Barrack Obama’s contempt for small business was finally exposed.  Obama finally, without a doubt, proved that he is a Soviet style socialist.

During his speech Obama address small businessmen in American.  According to Fox News television, he said to small businessmen everywhere:

“If you've got a business, you didn't build that, somebody else made that happen. The point is that, when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.”

… A direct attack on the American businessman.  Apparently Obama thinks that “success” can only be handed down by the government.

If Obama’s statement is true, what’s the difference between Bill Gates and a welfare mother with five kids and six different baby daddies?


Now that you’re incensed …

The above statements were in fact made by Obama, but they come from two different paragraphs and are surrounded by context providing sentences.  If you read the Fox News article on President Obama’s appearance even it tells a different story.

Here are the full paragraphs surrounding Obama’s criticizing small business owners:

“If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen,” he said. “The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.”

and

“The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.  There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don't do on our own.  I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service.  That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires.”

Only the first paragraph was included in the Fox News’ article.



What’s the real point of Obama’s speech?

I think Obama’s point certainly was not that American’s need to be nurse fed by the Federal Government.  His point was that we’re all more successful when we worked together; that every business relies on infrastructure, ingenuity, and attitude that come from America as whole, past present and future.

If you read the Fox News article, you can get an inkling of Obama’s point, followed unfortunately by some unrelated statements about the Democrats raising taxes.  If you continue to the speech itself, you can get his full point.

Obama said something entirely different from what he was alleged to have said, but you’ve got to read the whole article to get to the real point.
 

Next:  When you’re the owner, president, and CEO of a company doesn’t “the buck stop here”?

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Romney Doesn’t Understand Technology He’s Promoting

In a recent speech, former Governor Mitt (Willard) Romney referred to the oil flowing through the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

The pipeline is being touted as a solution to American oil needs.  The pipe would run from Alberta, where tar sands are mined, to Texas.

Tar sands are a petroleum precursor to oil, similar to oil shale found in the Rocky Mountains.  In both cases the substance must be treated to convert it from tar sands or oil shale into oil.  Then, the oil needs to be refined into standard petroleum products.

So, the obvious question, which Romney has apparently never asked is:  What exactly would be flowing through the XL pipeline?

It ain’t oil.

What would be flowing through the pipe is a substance called diluted bitumen.  Bitumen is the technical name for tar sands.  Bitumen will not flow through a pipe, so they dilute with a series of hydrocarbons (the composition of which they will not reveal to regulators), creating a fluid-type substance.  Coal is shipped through pipelines is a similar fashion.

Though it may seem trivial, when the President recommends an action, he should understand the basics of the technology behind it.

I don’t mind that a legislator or president doesn’t know how the substance is refined or the specifications of how it is pumped.  I do, however, mind when a legislator, president, of candidate makes a big deal out of something and doesn’t know the basics of it.

Any governmental official or governmental official wannabe who espouses a project should ask some basic questions:  In this case …
  • What is tar sand?
  • What’s going to go through this pipeline?
  • How much energy goes into making a unit of refined product?  More than contained in the refined product?
  • What are the environmental risks of the project?
  • What are the employment opportunities created from the project?
  • Where will the money for the project come from?
  • Where will the profits go?

When Willard tells us that oil will flow through the pipeline … Is he lying?  Is he lazy?  Is he not smart enough?  Is he just not curious?

Didn't we learn from eight years under a uncurious President?