Gas prices - Supply and Demand

My Senator Maria Cantwell is after price gouging oil companies. When you are chasing a demon you pay no attention to evidence the demon doesn't exist. Mary Katherine Ham asked Cantwell some questions about economics and oil prices and Cantwell pleads -- no, shows - ignorance.

ME: Do you recognize at all that high prices might simply be caused by the fact that Gulf Coast refineries have been wiped out, thereby depleting production, thereby depleting supply while demand stays the same or increases, which inevitably means that prices have to rise? Cantwell: But you see, we're going after price-gougers. ME: I understand that. What I'm suggesting is that it could be that none of the gas prices are price-gouging; they're just a natural market reaction to the depleted supply of gas brought on by Hurricane Katrina, which wiped out oil refineries in the Gulf Coast. And, if the prices are lowered by the FCC or Congress, we'll end up with gas shortages because the higher prices are an incentive for oil companies to produce and deliver a sufficient amount of gas even under conditions that are not ideal. If the profit incentive is taken away, they won't produce the gas and no one will have gas. Cantwell: (Furrowed brow) Could you say that one more time? ME: See, here's the deal. The supply of gas went down and demand stayed the same or increased. Therefore, prices went up. I'm suggesting that the rise in prices is NOT evil oil companies gouging anyone, but a natural market adjustment, which allows us to have plenty of gas even in rough times. Now, if gas prices get lower.... Cantwell: Who did you say you work for? Cantwell's Assistant: (pulling her by the elbow) Senator, we've got to move on. You've got a meeting.

We have a big job instructing that midget. Also. Charles Krauthammer observes: Less supply and more demand = higher prices

Cheaper Water in the Desert

In Buffalo, New York, they are astonished to learn that water in the desert in Phoenix is cheaper than any water district in their area adjoining one of the largest lakes in the world. Buffalo News reports the data:

An Erie County homeowner using an average 6,600 gallons a month will pay just under $18 to the county water authority or $23 to Buffalo's water department. But in the sprawling City of Phoenix, the same volume costs less than $10 a month, even with fees and sales tax added and even during the summer months when Phoenix jacks up its rates.

And the newspaper found the reason: Less government. People expect honest, streamlined government and they get it in Phoenix. In New York people accept layers of bureaucracy and some level of corruption.

"Mesa has a population of one-half million people but only one school system, one superintendent of schools, one superintendent of highways and one chief of police," he said. The governor, he points out, earns $95,000 a year - less than Buffalo's mayor, the county executive, or the official secretary of the Erie County Water Authority or any of its other top staff. Some part of the water price disparity can be chalked up to Western New York's payroll. The Erie County Water Authority - known to hire political functionaries and politicians in the pension-padding sunset of their careers - employs one worker for every 616 customers. Buffalo's system has a worker for every 680. In contrast, the Gilbert, Ariz., system has far fewer workers, one for every 890 customers.

Though there are other factors: cheaper electricity, the federal Colorado River project put in a lot of infrastructure. But also the declining population in the Buffalo area causes the costs to be spread over a smaller population. But my battery is running out....

Celebrate suffering on Earth Day

I attended the very first Earth Day at the big event in New York City. I took the day off of work and took the train from a commuter town new where I lived in Dover, NJ. I left the watermelon environmentalists long ago; actually I didn't join them at all. Today let's look at what the environmental movement is celebrating today - suffering. The BBC has elevated the suffering of subsistence farmers by giving them a high-sounding name - pastoralist. Yes, when you are an elitist you can stay far away from the suffering and feel guilty for your high-income life. Then you redeem your sins of consumption by rejoicing in the suffering of others. Does that make sense? No. But, remember what counts, your intentions, not the suffering you allow or even cause. When you can stay far from the smell of manure and avoid the dangerous mountain lions and bacteria, you can celebrate the pastoralists for the simple life they live. Yes, it's simple. They don't have the complications of going to specialist MDs for treatment. They just stay home, suffer and die. No-Pasaran captures this story today.

NY Union Celebrates Illegal Strike and Fine

Labor unions are a bar to economic freedom and growth. What they aided in the early 20th century is a memory that is fading fast. As industry has to compete unions in private industry have been shrinking. But state and local governments and other public agencies don't have to compete, so they can be generous with their workers and pass the bill on to you and me, the tax-paying suckers. And the unions raise barriers to new workers and cause inefficient work rules. Here is a glaring example in today's news. The New York Transit workers conducted an illegal 3-day strike in December, 2005. The union was levied a fine of $2.5 million and the union boss was sentenced to jail. Story. So the union boss Roger Toussaint - the term definitely applies here - held an expensive party to celebrate his going to jail, the New York Post reports.

Toussaint and his fans were treated to an elaborate spread of Spanish and Italian food on balloon-adorned tables. DJ Willove mixed reggae from the TWU boss' native Trinidad with electronic and pop tunes that lured the big man onto the dance floor. The alcohol flowed at the open-bar party, which kicked off at about 6 p.m., and plenty of the labor-loving supporters stumbled out late into the night.

How will the union pay the $2.5 million? By levying the drivers who weren't invited to the party.

But the frivolities had some union workers hopping mad as they questioned where the cash was coming from to pay for Toussaint's bash. "We have millions of dollars of fines. He's going to jail. He's got to be out of his mind," said Local 1199 vice president Bill Pelletier, who was not invited. "Who's paying for this? It's probably coming out of the union budget." Despite several queries to union officials, The Post was unable to determine who paid for the party. Several uninvited union officials also cried foul over Toussaint's latest push to ask TWU members to donate up to $80 each to cover the $2.5 million fine a judge slapped on the union for December's illegal strike

Public companies have an inherent conflict of interest. The leaders can be generous without it costing them; they can pass the cost on to the public and be the heroes by being "generous." This results in unions like the Transit Workers Union of New York. Though in this case boss Toussaint went too far twice. Some illegal strikes are tolerated; but he managed to do one that was not tolerated by the public and the courts. And now he has flaunted his criminal behavior at the cost of his rank-and-file members, so they will remember him with every extra dollar they have to pay. And the judge did one thing that Toussaint can't celebrate or pass off on his members:

State Supreme Court Justice Theodore Jones also cut the flow of dues to Transport Workers Union Local 100 by indefinitely suspending automatic payroll deductions...

That cuts the money flow off. That does hurt Toussaint.

Give Carter credit for Iran, Venezuela and North Korea

Ex-President Jimmy Carter, the Georgia peanut farmer, is still out doing us "favors," that is, causing damage to our US interests. He has an award-winning record. When President Clinton had a major problem on his hands with North Korea ten years ago he sent Carter in. Carter announced that he had made a major breakthrough - that NK would give up its nuclear weapons program if we built nuclear power plants; and until the nuc power went online he generously offered them enough oil to generate electric power. He was ecstatic. He was the big peacemaker. And he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for it. And who paid for the expensive power plants and oil? You, the generous US taxpayers. But the very week that Jimmy traveled to Oslo in December, 2002, to be honored by all people who travel around giving awards to each other - the very week - North Korea announced that they had not stopped their nuclear weapons program at all. North Korea had continued developing bombs to send to us, while they received a huge amount of aid from us. Who is the fool here? The American public? Or the honored Jimmy Carter? Answer: both. We knew that he already had a track record of propping up tyrants. He crumbled on support for the Shah of Iran and invited the Islamic radicals to take over Iran. That saved them 10 years at least. Then he showed them that we would put up with them attacking us when he allowed them to invade our sovereign territory, our US embassy, and to hold US diplomats hostage for over a year. Michael Reagan has a good analysis of Carter's record at Frontpage Magazine. Update: I just read President Jimmy's Nobel acceptance speech. He doesn't even mention North Korea. I wonder why - he finally realized he made a mistake. No, he would never admit making a mistake. Uh.... the crafty North Koreans lied to him. He is half right there. Yes, they lied to him. His mistake 10 years ago was thinking they were telling the truth. What a fool. Previous post: Jimmy Carter Revealed

Smart Printer

I just discovered the hot features our latest printer has. I bought an Epson CX6400 printer with my Mac Powerbook almost two years ago. I paid about $15 extra for the model that can load a memory card from a digital camera. But I didn't want the features. I paid more because the printer's profile was about two inches lower. It has done a good job printing monochrome and color from the Mac and making photo copies. But I hadn't tried the memory card feature. I sure got a surprise. I put the 16MB SD card that came with our Minolta DImage into the printer/scanner today. This is a smart printer. It asked if I wanted it to print an index page. "That's a good idea. I can see all the pictures at once." And being only 16MB it only holds about 20 of them. When the index printed there was bubble next to each photo - a bubble intended for scanning, like a test or voting. Then there was a section to specify the type of paper you are using. And, this is the best part, at the bottom it said "Set the sheet to the scanner (sic) and press the Color button." Then I realized that the scanner/printer was going to do all the work. I just had to follow its instructions and feed it paper. Sure enough. I found photo paper my wife had bought, selected "glossy 5x7," then set the index sheet on the glass of the scanner and pushed the Color button and followed its directions to push it again. It took 5 minutes per page and they look good and sharp. My mother in law could do this! The big disadvantage is that you can't adjust the brightness or color to suit yourself. Maybe you can; I might want to read the directions. We can do the easy corrections using IPhoto. For the professional touch I have Macromedia's Fireworks. Not that I am going to take the time to learn one third of its features.

UN elects Iran vice-chair

Would you believe - to the Disarmament Commission? True Brit Hume reports:

Iran, which is threatening the United States if it tries to block Iran's nuclear ambitions, has now been elected to — of all things — the leadership of United Nations' Disarmament Commission, which oversees international disarmament and security. At its annual meeting in New York, the Commission on Disarmament — part of the U.N.'s General Assembly — voted to make Iran a vice-chair of the commission, along with Uruguay and Chile. This comes as Iranian officials boast that they have successfully enriched uranium, and insist the U.S. won't try to stop them since "the consequences would be too dangerous."

Your saw it - Iran was elected to be vice-chair of the Disarmament Commission. And this was on the same day that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad promised his people "good news" about the country's nuclear program. Here is the same story at CNS News. Sorry, but the UN's web site doesn't admit the irresponsible thing they did. No surprise there. And... On Eye on the UN's home page see the section "UN-IRAN WATCH." It has the dirty story that it took the high-minded UN 980 days to recognize that Iran had violated its obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. And it has links to the whole time line of the sordid misdeed.

Criminal McDermott takes the offensive

My Congressman Jim McDermott is proud that he knowingly accepted and forwarded the illegal tape of a cell-phone conversation nine years ago. Here is his proud defense which ignores that he committed a crime. And of course he hides the fact that the people who made the tape were charged with the crime and pled guilty. But he is a mighty Congressman, so the laws don't apply to him. I sent this letter to the Seattle Times:

Editor, Seattle Times My Congressman Jim McDermott on 4/14/06 doesn't mention the seriousness of what he did so proudly nine years ago. The taping of the cell-phone conversation by the Florida couple was illegal. McDermott accepted the illegally made tape and passed it on. Then when asked about it by the New York Times he lied and said he knew nothing. The Florida couple John and Alice Martin who made the recording were not protected by the first amendment. They were convicted under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and fined $1,000. It was a crime. McDermott should mention those facts when he is telling how proud he is. Because he also committed a crime. If you or I had done what he did Janet Reno would not have protected us. We have the protection of the First Amendment for what we say, but not to protect us from criminal acts. Thanks to Congressman Boehner for persisting to insist on justice. Even Congressman McDermott is being held partially responsible for the wrong he committed. Truly, Ron Hebron

Menace in Europe - Claire Berlinski

I have never heard of Claire Berlinski before. But Instapundit Glenn Reynolds interviewed her and the podcast automatically appeared on my Mac (and iPod). She is a sharp and articulate journalist. We will hear more from her. Europe's problems are our problems, unfortunately. Europe made a mess and dragged us into World War I. 70 years ago and one month Hitler invaded the Rheinland in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. And the US had to mobilize the entire country and lose millions to save Europe again. But, even though that is true, we have to be concerned. Europe's wounds cause risk to us - Unassimilated Muslim immigrants allow/cause radical Islam to establish itself and support terrorism - Plummeting birthrates threaten Europe's prosperity. It gets worse: - long-repressed destructive instincts are suddenly reemerging - the death of religious faith has created a hopeless, morally unmoored Europe that clings to anti-Americanism, anti-Semitism, and other dangerous ideologies What caused this? WWI and WWII. Germany participated in acts of insanity for 13 years and it has not recovered from the horror and shame for what it did. It has embraced pacifism. But Germany is large and prosperous and therefore influential in Europe and has ambitions. But they can't reconcile the conflict between what they want and their shame. And... The Death of Christianity severed the moral foundation and resulted in hopelessness. She has a new book on the problem: Menace in Europe. Here is a sample of Berlinski's excellent work, "Paris Burning, Once Again." She just returned to the US after living in Paris. When packing up in Paris she hired movers to help her while the students were blocking the streets protesting against the law that would increase job opportunities for the young. The movers were Muslim immigrants and were disgusted by the well-off students protesting a law that was needed, not for the sons and daughters of the upper middle class, but for the young immigrants and other lower class who now have no job opportunities. And, even worse, France is not governable. The sophisticated President and Prime Minister were helpless to stop riots in the streets from dictating national policy. The well-off students won, but the unemployed lost. Just when more flexibility was needed in employment, the students fought for the status quo - the status quo of high unemployment, up to 50% among young immigrants.

Online Again

I don't know what happened, but the home page of my blog was down for close to 24 hours. All other pages were OK. But there was no way for anyone to get to them without the home. I just checked my traffic report and it shows no break. Maybe everyone could get to my home page, but me!!

Racism at Bellevue Community College

A math professor at Bellevue Community College wrote an exam question that takes a vacuous swipe at Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. And the college doesn't appear to be bothered by it. Michelle Malkin has the story. She has a letter from Rev. Wayne Perryman of Mercer Island:

Dear Friends: The following sample math problem was given to students as part of their final exam at Bellevue Community College in Washington State. I was asked by black students to represent them in this matter. Some of these students attend my church. I am asking all of you and your friends to e-mail the school at the following e-mail addresses and express your outrage: Advising@bcc.ctc.edu, tpritcha@bcc.ctc.edu, and amatsumo@bcc.ctc.edu. The following is the math problem given to the students. Condoleezza holds a watermelon just over the edge of the roof of the 300 -foot Federal Building, and tosses it up with a velocity of 20 feet per second. The height of the watermelon above the ground t seconds later is given by formula h= -16t2 + 20t + 300 a. How many seconds will it pass her (she's standing at a height of 300 feet) on the way down? b. When will the watermelon hit ground? If they used this same problem and substituted Condoleezza's name with Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton, there would be mass protest and they would shut the college down. Because it was Condoleezza Rice, they wanted to ignore it until I showed up today. Please e-mail the college and express your outrage and your support of having me at the table to resolve this issue. I am demanding that the college to do several things to correct the problem. This is serious. Please do not let me down, I want thousands of e-mails to come from all across the country. A CBS affiliate, KIRO TV did cover this story. Rev. Wayne Perryman

And she has a letter from a reader/listener Gary M with information about BCC's response:

This is no joke. I listened to a radio interview with a school spokeman this afternoon on the John Carlson show here in the Seattle area. The spokesman denounced the question but accepted at face value the instructor's claim that it was an unintentional reference, and he defended the instructor's 1st Amendment right to say what he wants.

Did Perryman say to contact BCC? Update. 4/13/06 BCC President Jean Floten held a campus-wide open meeting on Wednesday.

The college declined to release the name of the teacher who wrote the question. Floten said the teacher has apologized and requested cultural-sensitivity training.

See the Seattle Times Anger, apology over "Condoleezza" quiz Update. 4/13/06 The Smoking Gun has a copy of the exam; follow the link at the bottom to page 4.

NY Times opposes job growth

"The worst job layoffs since the Great Depression" That's what the New York Times reporter assigned to cover the continued excellent growth of jobs in the United States found. Despite 31 straight months of job growth and the low 4.7 per cent unemployment.

... Louis Uchitelle calls for federal laws to restrict corporate layoffs, a policy even a liberal Berkeley economist questions. Uchitelle, did start off his April 8 article noting that the jobs gain suggested “that the economy has picked up speed and is likely to keep growing.” He soon hit the brakes, skidding his article into a pessimistic look at the strength of the economic recovery.

reports Ken Sheperd at FreeMarketProject.org.

Glacier National Park - Quicktime VR

Off topic, but I found a great resource. It's toward the bottom, but you will want to read my experience first. I love Glacier National Park in Montana, though Mt. Rainier 100 miles from me has far more area of glaciers. And my best experiences there have been bicycle riding the "Going to the Sun" highway twice. It is a cyclists' dream throughout the US. In 1997 our son David and I did a 5-day ride on almost every paved road in the park and into Canada to Waterton with Backroads, a commercial outfit. When we checked in with them at the Apgar campground - this was a camping trip - on a beautiful sunny afternoon, they informed us that they would be getting us up at 5:30 or 6 the next morning because all riders must be at the top before 11 am!! Furthermore, early the next morning I was greeted in the dark by on of the staffers telling me I had a flat tire to fix! It was a great ride. David took the van part-way, but not me. We enjoyed a sunny lunch at the top and hiked up the meadows for a mile or so; this was July, so the meadows were open. Then we zoomed down a great descent and along Upper St. Mary lake for another 20 miles. I remember during the descent thinking ""Someone is going to make this illegal because it is too much fun!" In 2003 I celebrated my 58th birthday during an 803-mile bicycle ride from Elliot Bay in Seattle to Cut Bank, Montana. I also missed my 40-year high school reunion, since I was in Spokane, WA, on this ride. All the other riders wer from out of state and were very impressed by Washington - Stevens Pass, Leavenworth, the Columbia River Gorge, Lake Chelan, the Columbia again, Grand Coulee dam and Spokane's Riverfront Park. Sand Point Idaho and along "haning ears" lake. This route along the Clark Fork River avoids the 5500-foot pass that I-90 goes over at the Montana-state line. Up the Clark Fork to Trout Creek and Thompson Falls, Montana (yes, David Thompson had a trading post here). At Plain over a pass to one of my favorite areas - the large open valley that depressed Hot Springs, Montana, is in. To Flathead Lake, then Kalispell. It sure is beautiful in summer. We reached Glacier Park after about 700 miles and had a rest day camping at West Glacier and some rain. Starting up the mountain - Going to the Sun - his was June, so there was snow everywhere! And snow melt crossing the highway in places that would be bone dry 2 weeks later. I was riding with a tiny Japanese-American woman from New York City. If she had been my wife I would have been shouting at her. Naturally enough when at the edge of the pavement it dropped off first 1,000, then 2,000 feet she was uncomfortable. So she rode in the center of the pavement, blocking traffic! Traffic wasn't that heavy, so I let her be. As we got higher we had wind, then rain. We got to the top wet and cold. BTW we were early enough in the season that the 11:00 drop-dead hadn't taken effect yet, so we did this at a more reasonable time of day. At the top of Logan Pass we stumbled inside the visitor's center and it was about 3 degrees warmer than outside. BRRR. Then on to St. Mary at the east entrance to Glacier Park, which is one of my favorite spots. The descent wasn't nearly as much fun while freezing, just hoping to get lower, drier and WARMER. Riding that mountain highway is an experience! And you can't take a photo that shows what it is like. Any photo just shows a tiny portion. Then you have to string several together and wave your arms... You just can't picture how huge the scene is. This is the best I have found. The National Park Service has a Quiktime VR, which is a 360 degree photograph, that you scan around to get a feel for your self. This is up pretty high on the climb, but before the valley starts closing in toward the top.

Quicktime VR

Wow! It is around points of interest 7 and 8 on the map on this page. Skip the links at the top. Go about 1/2 down the page for the map with labels. And notice how the slope drops away over 1,000 feet to the valley floor. Now imagine how it feels riding a bicycle where you are higher than the guard rail and looking over it!! It's quite an experience. I hope to do it again.

Great Economy

[I lost two days to the flu!] It wasn't on the front page in my village. I guess they would have to blame President Bush for the good news. OK, it's today's news and they wait until tomorrow to not print it. Unemployment, after a small tick upward returned to the very low level of 4.7 per cent. This is good news for everyone, except those who want only bad news. Businesses are actively seeking to hire. Fox News reports:

Businesses are regaining confidence to the point where they are now actively hiring new workers," said Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Bank of America's Investment Strategies Group. Employment was stronger in March than economists were expecting. Before the release of the report, they were forecasting a gain of 190,000 jobs and they said they believed the overall civilian jobless rate would hold steady. Good news on the economy, however, hasn't been helping Bush in the eyes of the public. Bush's job-approval rating of 36 percent is at its lowest level in an AP-Ipsos poll.

Maybe the strong economy hasn't helped Bush's approval ratings because the news media don't report it. Or if they do they search far and wide for one possible side effect and trumpet the small negative part, while down playing the huge good that benefits everyone.

"I think the Fed wants the unemployment rate to stop going down pretty much immediately, and if it doesn't the Fed will keep tightening," said economist Jim O'Sullivan of UBS Securities in Greenwich, Conn.

-- Reuters, who also said this happened "unexpectedly." President Bush deserves some credit for this good news. He gives credit to the tax cuts he put in place in 2001. Some of them are set to end unless they are extended very soon. In fact, I think some have already ended, but the economic decision makers think they will be extended retroactively to cover this year. If that is not done, then the economy will take a hit. And let's have a hand for the top 10 tax cutters in Congress - at Human Events.

Economists tend to the right

At TCS Daily Tim Worstall asks why most economists at to the right politically.

Just how right wing are economists? A serious question, not a joke. If you look around at some of the favorite liberal or left wing ideas, or policy proposals, you see that most economists start sucking their teeth, muttering under their breath and generally, well, at best, not supporting the ideas. Even those who share the goals of a more egalitarian society, even economists known to be left wing politically, tend not to support some policies on their economic arguments. Why is this? Why is it that economists, to liberal viewers at least, all seem to be right wing? Simply to state that the Right is right, while tempting, isn't really enough. ... Fortunately, a real economist (rather than I, interested amateur that I am) has actually addressed this problem: Gebhard Kirchgässner on "(Why) Are Economists Different?" He starts by defining what he means by what I have called "right", preferring the word "conservative" and quotes George Gilder: "I shall mean by a conservative in economic matters a person who wishes most economic activity conducted by private enterprise, and who believes that abuses of private power will usually be checked, and incitements to efficiency and progress usually provided, by the force of competition."

In the recent years I have been noticing how much I agree with the Nobel Prize winners in economics, as opposed to the sorry bunch of leftists getting the Anti-Peace prize and the prize for literature. And Kirchgässner has analyzed the situation and found the same conclusion.

Cost of Appeasement - France

The government of Domenique De Villepan in France is backing down from its common-sense update of labor laws that will cause more jobs for young people.

French President Jacques Chirac announced on Friday he would sign a controversial youth job law despite weeks of protests, but promised it would be amended right away to weaken two of its most disputed reforms. Trade union and student leaders promptly rejected his proposals as insufficient and vowed to press on with their protests, including a nationwide action day next Tuesday.

The anarchists are ready to take advantage of the weakness shown by the appeaser. No-Pasran reports.

"EHESS, the elite center of postgraduate sociology, citadel of the ideology that drives the students who protest the evil CPE, was invaded last Monday. Taking advantage of an open-door policy for all who wished to discuss the nefarious precarious work contract, a crowd of anarchists, underdogs and assorted outlaws slipped in and kicked everyone else out. Those abstract victims of ultraliberalism that EHESS loves to study materialized, and expropriated the expropriators. Dismayed professors carrying trendy Apple computers rushed out of the elegant premises. When the police finally evacuated the squatters five days later, they found the building sacked, defiled, covered with filth and graffiti: Death to Democracy, F -- You, and the inevitable Jewish star."

I want freedom and growth everywhere, in every country. I want France to prosper. I get no satisfaction from their misery. But I can observe that it is self-inflicted. The young complain that they can't get jobs, then riot when changes are made that will increase the employment of the young! They poison themselves then blame George Bush. No they blame the international media.

Jimmy Carter Revealed

Ex-president Jimmy Carter misses no opportunity to oppose the United States. I just can't respect a man who when he earned the highest office in the country took the oath of office as "Jimmy." Rush Limbaugh draws a bead on him. This is straight history and it hurts. How did we allow one man to do so much damage? Jimmy Carter caused some of the very problems he is now complaining about.

• There would be no flap over domestic wiretapping if Carter hadn't signed the "patently unconstitutional" 1978 law requiring the president to get a warrant to conduct surveillance within the U.S. "According to the Constitution, the president is commander-in-chief; no sitting president has the authority to surrender those powers," Limbaugh stated. "But Jimmy Carter did."
• Until the Carter administration, the CIA had been paying off the mullahs in Iran who opposed the shah, an American ally. Carter ordered these payments stopped.

  "You remember the rest: The storming of the embassy, the botched rescue attempt, and murder on a scale that made the shah look like Mr. Rogers," Rush reports.

  Limbaugh quotes Charles Scott, an Army attaché at the American embassy in Iran, who said: "Iran walked away with no cost in blood or treasure. It was a green light to terrorists worldwide - a sign that the U.S. will let you off scot-free. That's the reason for the birth of organizations like al-Qaida."
• Carter's perceived weakness emboldened the Soviet Union to invade Afghanistan - "the end result of which was the Taliban," Rush noted. "Another consequence of the shah's fall was the Iran-Iraq war. Thanks to that, Saddam invaded Kuwait. Which brought us Desert Storm, which was a catalyst for Osama bin Laden."
• What's more, Iran - "now being led by one of the thugs who held our people hostage - is about to go nuclear."

Updates

I updated my links - added The Long Tail and "Union Facts." I had to remove one that reneged on the link exchange that they requested; and they didn't tell me when they removed me! I updated the books I am reading; OK, I already finished both of these. But I recommend them highly. Take a look down the left column.