Erica's Bible Study and Journal: News and politics

Something to Think About

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:35:11 GMT

Pardon me as I stray from my usual blogging fare. I realize this particular piece may be the type of thing you’d expect from Politically Incorrect. However, I was struck by the irony of this story.

What does it mean in the grand scheme of things when a man who has made a career in oil says the U.S. should lessen its dependency on it? I have no clue what his personal agenda is. However, if a multibillionaire who has made a great deal of money from oil says something should be done, maybe something should be done.

I have taken the liberty of shortening the article below, but you can read the full story by clicking the link below. Also those of you that receive those emails saying that we can effect oil prices by boycotting certain oil companies, please note the highlighted portion. Prices are based on supply and demand. Because we can’t get enough of this stuff, the price goes up. Sorry to disappoint you.

Legendary oilman Pickens promotes revamping U.S. power policy | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Business News

T. Boone Pickens has a plan to solve the country's $700 billion-a-year dependence on foreign oil.

Replace gasoline with natural gas. Replace natural gas-fired power plants with wind, solar, nuclear and clean coal. Basically, replace foreign oil with domestic fuel without straining those resources."We've gotten ourselves in a trap," Mr. Pickens said last week in an interview in his Dallas office. "The problem is, we said, 'Send us the oil, and never mind the cost.' "

"Things were fine until the price went vertical on us," said Mr. Pickens, who calculates that, at $140 a barrel for crude, Americans spend $700 billion a year on 5 billion barrels of oil from foreign countries. That amounted to about 65 percent of total U.S. supply last year.

Mr. Pickens will kick off a media campaign today to promote his energy policy ideas – which align perfectly with his business investments. He'll spend tens of millions of dollars on television and Web advertising and will make talk show appearances along the way.

He aims to make energy a central issue in the presidential election. He'll challenge the candidates to go beyond pandering on gasoline prices to create real energy plans.

"I feel like I'm going into a huge arena and tapping on the glass and asking people to listen," said the 80-year-old multibillionaire.

Would the Pickens plan work?

Some of the smartest energy analysts in the country say the U.S. cannot stop importing fuel.

Besides, cutting oil imports wouldn't necessarily reduce the price of oil, if Americans just replace it with domestic oil. Nor would switching to natural gas reduce our dependence on foreign fuel if the U.S. begins importing more liquefied natural gas.

Still, shifting to natural gas vehicles could cut transportation costs because natural gas costs less per British thermal unit than oil does. And moving to more renewable energy and nuclear power could reduce electricity prices and cut pollution. High natural gas markets have boosted power prices, particularly in Texas.

Of course, there are hurdles, Mr. Bullock said. They include building the infrastructure to dispense natural gas as a vehicle fuel, building new power plants to replace natural gas-fired plants, overcoming possible opposition from oil companies and politicians.

Mr. Pickens agreed that the shift to natural gas and renewable power will take time. He isn't trying to address current prices at the pump; Americans will have to find ways to live with expensive gasoline, he said.

And he acknowledges that building natural gas pipelines to every service station, erecting more wind turbines, and stringing the transmission lines to service them, would cost billions of dollars.

But with the U.S. spending $700 billion a year on foreign oil, investing several billion in wind turbines and new transmission lines would be an attractive trade-off, he says.

The legendary oilman, hedge fund manager and philanthropist is worried that U.S. oil consumption tends to support unfriendly Middle Eastern countries. He sounds mistrustful of members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

IceRocket Tags: oil,pickens,natural gas

Technorati Tags: oil,pickens,natural gas

Dad grounds daughter, but court ungrounds her

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 11:36:47 GMT

Dad grounds daughter, but court ungrounds her
'Parents are going to be walking on egg shells from now on'

Posted: June 18, 2008
10:01 pm Eastern
© 2008 WorldNetDaily (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=67479 )

A father in Canada grounded his daughter from a school trip because she disobeyed his orders to stay off the Internet, but a court overturned the punishment.

According to Agence France-Presse, Justice Suzanne Tessier in Quebec Superior Court ordered the grounding for the 12-year-old girl lifted, prompting the father's lawyer, Kim Beaudoin, to warn, "Parents are going to be walking on egg shells from now on."

The father had ordered his daughter, who was not identified by the report, to remain off the Internet. She didn't, chatting on websites her father had tried to block and then posting "inappropriate" pictures of herself online using a friend's Internet portal.

As punishment, the father refused to let her go on a scheduled school trip, so the 12-year-old went to Canada's judicial system to get her way.

Beaudoin told AFP the punishment was for her own protection, and he is pursuing an appeal.

"She's a child," Beaudoin said. "At her age, children test their limits and it's up to their parents to set boundaries."

The lawyer said she'll try to "re-establish" parental authority and to make sure the judge's opinion doesn't set a precedent.

"I think most children respect their parents and would never go so far as to take them to court, but it's clear that some would and we have to ask ourselves how far this will go," Beaudoin said.

Court records indicated the 12-year-old's violation of her home's Internet rules was just one in a list of instructions that she had violated. But Tessier said the punishment was just too much.

The girl reportedly had access to the courts using a court-appointed attorney who represented her in her parents' custody dispute.

When I read this I was amazed! All children think their punishments are unfair. Too few parents discipline their children at all and now the ones that do have to worry about being punished themselves. With each passing day I am more and more grieved by the pitiful state of human affairs.

Technorati Tags: parents,father,daughter,court,grounded

IceRocket Tags: parents,father,daughter,court,grounded

States warn of homosexual "marriage tourism"

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:18:51 GMT

I receive daily updates from focus on the family regarding issues that help or adversely impact marriage, family, and my religious freedom. I thought some of you may be interested in their latest update.

Dear Erica,
We now have confirmation that other states are preparing for the repercussions of California’s homosexual marriage decision.
Last week, attorneys general from nine states filed an appeal urging the California Supreme Court to “stay” or suspend its ruling because they expect citizens from their states to travel to California, get married and return home with a legal claim to homosexual marriage. The attorneys general are calling this “marriage tourism.” Click here to read our report. In addition, the attorneys general of Texas and Pennsylvania filed a similar request for stay yesterday.
Less than two weeks until homosexual "marriage tourism”
These appeals join others filed by pro-family groups asking the Court to put its ruling on hold pending the vote of the people of California on a state marriage-protection amendment this fall. The amendment was certified for the ballot yesterday.
We are not “holding our breath” in anticipation of a favorable ruling from this Court, which seems likely to stand behind its blatant judicial activism. The deadline is June 16 for the Court to respond to these appeals, the day before same-sex couples are scheduled to begin marrying.
Special thanks to our friends
As a result, we are now headed into the most important season of legal and political battles for the future of marriage we have ever seen. That is why I am so thankful for the financial support of so many of our dear Focus Action friends who responded to my request last week.
Your help at this time will enable us to work on the front lines, especially in California, Arizona and Florida this fall. We are blessed whenever we are able to devote Focus Action resources to marriage-protection efforts, but occasionally also rely on Focus on the Family funds when necessitated by state and federal laws. Undoubtedly, however, without your generous support to Focus Action, we would be unable to defend man-woman marriage as effectively.
On behalf of our entire team, thank you so much for your support of Focus Action, and for your prayers for our nation.

Tom Minnery
Sr. Vice President, Government and Public Policy
Focus on the Family Action
P.S. There is good news to report on the pro-family front, including a new grassroots effort to challenge Planned Parenthood, as well as court victories in Tennessee and Wisconsin, upholding religious liberties and marriage. Click here for details.

© 2008, Focus on the Family Action^™, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Focus on the Family Action
Colorado Springs, CO 80995
1-866-655-4545
Founded in 2004, Focus on the Family Action is an action organization dedicated to the preservation of the moral and cultural values upon which our nation was founded. Contributions or gifts to Focus on the Family Action are not deductible as charitable contributions for Federal income tax purposes.

IceRocket Tags: homosexual,marriage,tourism,appeals,activist

Colorado Governor Signs Dangerous Legislation

Fri, 30 May 2008 01:32:41 GMT

The article below is from citizenlink.org. As a woman I can't imagine using a public restroom and having any man legally enter with no warning. And what about teenage girls in Colorado high schools. They can be in the restroom or locker room and any boy that wants to can come right in. THIS IS APPALLING. But I guarantee it will only get worse. God help us!

Dr. James Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, issued this statement late today after Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed SB 200:

“Who would have believed that the Colorado state Legislature and its governor would have made it fully legal for men to enter and use women’s restrooms and locker-room facilities without notice or explanation?

“Henceforth, every woman and little girl will have to fear that a predator, bisexual, cross-dresser or even a homosexual or heterosexual male might walk in and relieve himself in their presence. The legislation lists every conceivable type of organization to which this law applies, including restaurants, bathhouses, massage parlors, mortuaries, theaters and ‘public facilities of any kind.’ Those who would attempt to protect females from this intrusion are subject to a fine of up to $5,000 and up to one year behind bars.

“This is your government in action. It represents a payback to Tim Gill and two other billionaires who have essentially ‘bought’ state legislators with enormous campaign contributions. Coloradans deserve better!

“And by the way, because of the way this bill is written, it is not subject to the initiative process. There is no recourse.”

CitizenLink: Colorado Governor Signs Dangerous Legislation

IceRocket Tags: frightening,senseless,amoral,degrading

Colorado Legislation

Thu, 22 May 2008 00:00:51 GMT

I encourage anyone that visits this blog to visit the link below. There is nothing I can say to express my personal concern about what you will find here. I can only tell you that if you are a woman or a man with a wife, girlfriend, sister, mother, grandmother, daughter, or any female acquaintance, you should be very concerned for their safety. This is currently taking place in Colorado, but if it becomes law, it won't be long before it will find you where ever you are.

CitizenLink: Colorado Legislation 'Tramples Religious Freedoms'

IceRocket Tags: Colorado,outrage,concern