Category: Pennsylvania

I don’t think I’d pay $4000 dollars for a cat. I don’t like cats that much. But like all new technology, the price will probably come down. When it does, maybe I’ll be able to get a cat that Bitter can live with.

I owe someone a hat tip here, but I opened this yesterday and can’t remember where I saw it.

Pennsylvania is not going to grow its way to energy independence, no matter what Keystone State Democrats, including Ed Rendell and my representative, Chris King, think. Let’s examine for a minute why. First, a few facts about corn ethanol:

1. It takes 271 gallons of gasoline just to grow a hectare of corn.
2. It takes much more energy to mash, ferment, and distill the alcohol out of the corn than it takes to grow it.
3. Corn ethanol yields slightly less than 900 gallons of ethanol per hectare. This is about half what you get from sugar based processes.
4. Estimates are that ethanol production from corn either produces slightly more energy than it consumes, or produces less energy than it consumes.
5. Ethanol contains only about 70% as much energy per gallon as gasoline.

Now, let’s look at Pennsylvania’s corn crop:

1. Pennsylvania has roughly 600,000 hectares of land dedicated to corn production.
2. If Pennsylvania took it’s entire corn crop, it would be able to produce 531 million gallons of ethanol, which is energy equivalent to 372 million gallons of gasoline.
3. The energy profile of other plants that grow in our climate looks about as abysmal as corn.

The Democrats say we can make 900 million gallons of biofuels and make ourselves energy independent:

Replace 900 million gallons of the state’s transportation fuels over the next decade with alternatives, such as ethanol, biodiesel, or fuels derived from coal liquefaction processes equipped with carbon offsets. The 900 million gallons represents the forecasted amount of fuels that will be imported to Pennsylvania from the Persian Gulf 10 years from now.

Ah… there’s the dirty little secret. Coal liquefaction. Yes. Pennsylvania has enough coal to make 900 million gallons of fuel from it, and we probably also have the natural gas you need to make the process work. But is this a green process? Hardly. It produces more CO₂ than digging the coal out of the ground and burning it, or pumping and refining oil. It’s a viable alternative fuel, but selling it as green is disingenuous when part of the alternative energy appeal is carbon neutrality.  It’s also not a cheap process.

I am not against developing alternative fuel resources, especially those that would be generated from industrial or agricultural waste, if it makes economic sense.  But that’s only going to be a small part of the energy puzzle.  If Pennsylvania Democrats wants to get serious about energy policy, we need to start talking about reviving nuclear power in the commonwealth.  Coal liquefaction is a serious proposal, but it’s not economical without subsidies, and it’s not green.  Politicians want to sell us simple solutions to monstrously complicated problems.  It’s important to remember that politicians are mostly full of crap.

Looks like a deal has been reached with Rendell.

“Did we get everything we wanted when we wanted it? No,” said Gov. Edward G. Rendell at an 11 p.m. news conference. “There has to be some give and take. That was the case in this budget process.”

Good to know he didn’t get everything he wanted. But what about the energy tax Rendell wanted?

The two sides agreed to hold off on the issue that had been the most difficult: whether to impose a surcharge on electric bills to pay for alternative energy initiatives. Lawmakers agreed to take that issue up in a special session in the fall, Mr. Rendell said.

A special session? I think that’s the end of that issue. There’s no sure way to kill something than to have a “special session”. It looks to me like Rendell backed down. I can’t imagine this is going to please my state rep, who has been e-mailing regularly to tell of his steadfastness to have alternative energy funding be part of the state budget.  The Republicans wanted to slash $300 million from Rendell’s proposed budget.  No word yet on how much of that they might have gotten.

More to come, but later.

Politicians need encouragment when they do the right thing, I think.  I sent this along to my state senator:

Senator Tomlinson,

I writing to thank you for standing up for fiscal responsibility in the state budget, and to encourage you to continue to stand up to the Governor and his allies in the General Assembly on this matter.

Thanks,

Sebastian
Langhorne, PA

Even when I really would have like to have written this:

Senator Tomlinson,

I’m writing to thank you for voting to not raise my taxes and to keep state spending under control.   I know it’s hard when we have a tax and spend weasel in the Governor’s Mansion, and a bunch of newly elected worms in the General Assembly who seem to seem to lay awake at night counting not sheep, but new ways they can spend my tax dollars.  Keep up the good work, and if you see Governor Rendell, please give him a swift kick in the nuts for me.

Thanks,

Sebastian
Langhorne, PA

But it’s always better to be nice, I suppose.

Pennsylvania’s government is shut down except for essential personnel. Here’s how my day went. I got up, the sky was still blue. It was a hot day, but the AC in my car still worked. I drove to work, did all I needed to do there, came home to find UPS had delivered my new Houge grip sleeve for my Mk.III.

I got that placed on the gun, packed up, and went to the range. The laws of physics still appear to be operating, even though my shooting wasn’t so hot. The Houge sleeve made the pistol grip nicely at least. Picked up some dinner on the way home. Internet still functioning? Yep, despite a cable going bad earlier. Gotta do a few posts while I finish up my laundry, and then go to bed.

So what’s so different about today than any other day? Well, nothing. Rendell can piss off. If this is supposed to cause my grief so I can pass it on to my legislators he’s gravely mistaken. The only people he’s hurting are state employees.

The Republicans and Democrats in our state are currently engaged in an epic battle over the budget.   The Republicans want to cut spending to prevent tax increases.   The Democrats want to get Rendell’s tax and spend plan through.  Needless to say, the Democrats can kiss my ass.

Shutting down the casinos is one highly publicized result of the ongoing, increasingly hostile budget standoff between Democrat Rendell and Republican senators. If a budget deal can’t be reached by Sunday night, it also would cause the shutdown on Monday of state parks, including Presque Isle State Park, a popular Erie destination in Ms. Earll’s district, as well as all other state parks, forests, museums, historical sites and other facilities.

This is pure political crap.  Here’s one thing I’m wondering.  Is Ed Rendell considering PICS essential?  It better be.  Start making that a pawn in budget battles, it might be worth a constitutional challenge against the whole system.  I’m guessing PICS, which is operated by the Pennsylvania State Police, which are considered essential, will remain up, however.  Nonetheless, this is another reason Ed Rendell can go to hell.

I have this to say about the looming shutdown: bring it on.   Apparently 24,000 state workers could be temporarily laid off if a compromise is unable to be reached on the budget.   I’m fairly certain that those workers have very little impact on my daily life.  I’m also fairly certain that things in the Commonwealth will largely hum on as usual in their absence.  Police will still be working, same with fire.  I’m assuming Penndot is largely essential, at least the parts that matter.

I can bear through the loss of state parks and what have you.  I want the Republicans in Pennsylvania to understand this completely: Hold out.  Do not give into the Governor.  I do not want my taxes raised.  It’s time to put a stop to his agenda here.  If that means the state has to shut down, so be it.

I’m glad to see the trucking industry coming out against the tolls.  It’s a stupid idea, and to add to the stupidity, they are studying the possibility of doing the same thing to I-95.

Currently, to see Bitter, in Virginia, I pay the 3-dollar tolls in Delaware, both ways (actually, I’ve been bypassing them now, it’s easy, actually), a 5 dollar toll one way in Maryland, and a 2 dollar toll both ways for the Fort McHenry Tunnel.  Grand total is 15 dollars in tolls.  That’s, of course, in addition to the $600 a year I fork over to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission just on my daily commute.

Pennsylvania ought to be ripping up toll booths, not looking for excuses to build new ones.  I’d be a very bad anarcho-capitalist, but I’ve always believed that tax money is well spent on public roads.  Everyone benefits, even people who don’t drive.  It ought to be a collectively borne cost.  There are some narrow instances where I think tolls make sense, but otherwise it’s too easy for state governments who are bad at managing cash to raise money through tolls as a back door method for taxation.

It’s not just Pennsylvania.   Delaware is talking about raising it’s 21 mile section of I95 to 4 dollars both ways, up from 3 dollars.  I’ve also heard they are considering putting a toll plaza on the 896 offramp to discourage people from shirking the toll on the back roads like I’ve been doing.  That’s 8 dollars to go through Delaware and back!  At some point I think the federal government needs to step in and tell the states enough.   The feds are eager to use their power to regulate interstate commerce for stupid crap that’s neither interstate nor commerce, they can damn well use it for what it was meant for!

It’s bad enough Virginia it trying to bilk its residents out of 3 grand per speeding ticket by making anything over 15 MPH over the limit as an automatic “Reckless Driving” rap, but now Pennsylvania State Troopers are being told to help the state make up some of the shortfall in the budget.

I, for one, welcome our new Democrat overlords!

Because I’m generally just pissed off at Pennsylvania state government right now, I’m angry at this too, even though I understand the rationale:

Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Nothhampton, said current law is a good first step but it doesn’t go far enough. She is calling for the passage of a bill that would allow police to ticket drivers for failure to clear snow or ice before they take to the roads. Violators would face fines ranging from $25 to $75.

The bill also would increase the maximum fine for commercial and non-commercial drivers in violation of existing law to $1,500.

A similar rule is being pursued in New Jersey.

Just the fact that New Jersey is considering this too means we should look double close.  We have one documented instance!  I’ve had tractor trailer ice hit me before, and it’s only resulted in a little foul language.  I’m tired of the government regulating every damned aspect of our lives, and lately, I just want to tell them to go to hell, even if what they are asking for might have a hint of reason.   Previously, I’ve only had a few things elevate to the level of writing my state reps, but lately, I just want to tell them “Stop!  I mean everything.  Just stop trying to do anything.  We’ll all be better off.”