Wisconsin Governor Scott Walkerscored more than a personal victory in Tuesday's state recall vote. He delivered a psychological boost for theRepublicansand a blow toDemocratsthat could linger until the November 6 U.S. presidential election. Image Credit: Breitbart
Establishment Media Slinks Away From Reporting On Wisconsin (and California)
Funny how the old line forms of media choose to cover the massive
rejection of the POWER and PRIVILEGE of Public Sector Unions over the
citizenry in Wisconsin and other cities around the country.
The focus of most of the analysis centers around the amount of money
used to defend the Democratic attempt to oust Wisconsin Gov. Scott
Walker and not show that the same amount of money was spent by the
Public Unions to wage this political war on fiscal responsibility and
smaller Conservative principled management of Government.
This review excerpted and edited from Breitbart -
Mainstream Media Escapes From Wisconsin by Joel B. Pollak
Today’s New York Times is covering the Wisconsin recall election…on page 11. Not even the editorial page could be bothered–only op-ed columnists Joe Nocera and David Brooks weigh in. (Nocera laments the decline of unions; Brooks can’t quite bring himself to defend Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, calling his methods “obnoxious.”) A cause that fueled front-page headlines and editorial exhortations has been quietly abandoned.
As to the coverage itself, the Times focuses on the fatigue of
the voters. “I hope this all stops,” says the first person quoted in the
article on the recall election. Halfway through, the Times reminds
voters that the vote has something to do with unions and collective
bargaining. It meekly offers a suggestion that Democrats could actually
win, and cites “some” who “wonder” if the recall election could be close
enough to force a recount.
The ostensibly more conservative Chicago Tribune does even worse,
pulling a bait-and-switch on its readers. The front page refers to an
article about the Walker recall on page 9–which turns out to be a mere
two-paragraph sidebar that mentions the most favorable poll for
Milwaukee mayor and Democrat challenger Tom Barrett, putting him only
three percent behind the incumbent. A photo of former President Bill
Clinton and President Barack Obama at a fundraiser in New York City
leads the paper’s national news section.
The lead editorial celebrates
the “spirit of revolution”–in Egypt, where the radicals of the Muslim
Brotherhood have seized the moment. Nationally syndicated columnist
George Will takes up the Wisconsin issue, opposite a column
by local writer Dennis Byrne who laments the failure of Illinois
politicians to tackle pension reform–and does not spare the state’s
Republicans for failing to heed Scott Walker’s example. At least someone
gets it.
(Reference Here)
Then there is this reported item from the exit polls that is getting a
bunch of play as well from all of the establishment media on why this
vote in a “BLUE” state is not a 100% rejection of their progressive
agenda and point of view.
This exerpted and edited from National Review Online –
David Axelrod Reaches New Depth of Desperation in Spin By Jim Geraghty – June 5, 2012 11:45 P.M.
David Axelrod just Tweeted: “Bad night in Boston…WI raises big questions for Mitt.”
He points to this article: “According to early, partial exit poll results,
voters on Tuesday said by 51 percent to 45 percent that they would vote
for Obama if the presidential election were being held today.”
So, he’s pointing to exit polls that had it “too close to call”; at this hour, Walker is ahead by nine percentage points.
(Reference Here)
The article referenced goes on to point out that all of these
Wisconsin voters in exit polls have them favoring the re-election of
President Barack Obama in 2012 over Republican challenger Mitt Romney by
7%.
Remember, this is a state that Obama won by 14 percentage points in
2008 – that, in itself, is a 50% degradation of support if true.
Again, these are the same exit polls that told the establishment
media that this contest was going to be won by a razor thin margin which
ended up at near 8% (with establishment outlets stating in an unchallenged manner this final
result as a firm 7%).
Mitt Romney should be dogging Barack Obama as the President travels
to California today for 5 campaign rally events with Hollywood.
Mitt
should do what he can to challenge Obama and his agenda where ever the
President shows up to have the news cover the message that just came out
of Wisconsin … and California (San Diego and San Jose just voted by
over 60% majorities to restrict Public Union power and benefits from
attacking their civic budgets).
Voters don't want to be governed from the left, right or center. They want Washington to recognize that Americans want to govern themselves.
It is for this reason and attitude LA Conservative Examiner is posting this article on behalf of Merlin Froyd in the hopes of giving those who intend to vote on Tuesday, access to all of the information to elect the one representative post that controls the purse strings.
Merlin Froyd strikes a pose ala Tony Katz before embarking on a day of neighborhood canvassing to represent California's 28th District. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)
My neighbors all live in the California 28th District that has had the same representative for the last 14 terms … or 28 years. He has voted for the 16% increase in the spending (Stimulus and Omnibus spending bills) of all Federal Government agency budgets at a time our economy grew only 1.2% in the same 20 month time period.
Getting ready to canvass a neighborhood for Merlin Froyd. The effort on this street was engaged with a host of recently naturalized citizens from Italy, Lebanon, and Israel. Most were happy to hear that there was a choice at new representation. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)
As a concerned citizen and neighbor, LA Conservative Examiner is giving you all a “head’s up” on Merlin Froyd because we had the occasion to meet with him, observe him. We found him to be young, principled, and ready to represent the needs of our community in Washington D.C. with a fresh approach. He is a 27 year old man who was born in Minnesota, whose family moved to California, and works in middle management at our local Sunrise Ford dealership just up on Lankershim in North Hollywood and he really understands the needs of our uniquely drawn district.
Dressed to canvass a neighborhood with a Marlin Froyd campaign tee-shirt. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)
Simply stated, twenty-eight years of two-year stints is way too long to have a Congressman to hold only one post. In the summer of 2009, this representative refused to hold even one "Town Hall Meeting" and hear what the citizens of the district he represented for the last 27 years (at the time) had to say about what they thought about what was going on in Washington D.C.. It is time to move forward and consider a change for representative of our 28th District!
Based on data from the Intrade prediction market. 10-30-2010
2010 Senate Race For Republican Control Handicap - What To Watch For
A Republican Party politico in the thick of watching the races for the Senate on November 2, 2010, explained the simplest way to do the math, with 9 pickups meaning a 50-50 Senate and 10 giving Republicans control.
The Senate seats that seem to be Republican Party locks are Indiana, Arkansas and North Dakota. All-but-sure things, in this Republican's view, are Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Illinois. THAT'S SIX. Then start adding states where margins are razor thin.
His order is: Nevada would be 7; Colorado would be 8; West Virginia would be 9; Washington would be 10; California would be 11.
Needless to say, a run of the table would become not just an undeniable and historic change of power in Washington D.C. but a restraining order on the 16% growth of spending in Government budgets applied over these last 19 months at a time the economy grew only 1.2%.
So ... get out there on November 2, 2010 and not just vote for a Republican Party candidate, issue a restraining order!
Eric Odom, a conservative online organizer who played a key role in sparking the original Tea Party movement this spring, is unveiling Liberty First PAC. The goal, said Odom in an interview with TPMmuckraker, is to raise $1 million to defeat incumbents who supported health-care reform -- which he called "very dangerous to the fabric of this country" -- and to elect a new crop of lawmakers committed to small-government principles in 2010. Image Credit: TPM
The TeaPac Toll: Add Dorgan, Dodd, and Ritter - Ten for '10
Starting on Tax Day 2009, the Tea Party Movement showed its first signs of growing when over one-million people showed up halls and Federal Buildings throughout the country to protest the process and spending the Stimulus and Omnibus spending bills passed by Congress and signed into law by Barack Obama.
Over the summer, Tea Party rallies and town hall meetings were attended by millions of upset citizens wanting to have their representatives answer to them for their actions as opposed to voting in lock-step with the political party leadership ... especially if their representative did not read the legislation they were voting on to pass.
Democrats not wanting to face the music of their actions are now abandoning their political careers by dropping out of the next election cycle.Four top Democrats-including veteran Sens. Chris Dodd and Byron Dorgan - all prepared to pull the plug on their campaigns in a 24-hour period that began Tuesday, and in the process, offered an unnerving glimpse at the perilous election year ahead. With Dorgan's stunning retirement announcement Tuesday evening, Democrats are now facing their bleakest election outlook in years - and the very real possibility the party will lose its 60-40 Senate supermajority after the November elections.
On the House side, the prospect of heavy 20-30 seat losses is already looking as an increasing possibility. Dorgan's announcement was accompanied Tuesday by Michigan Democratic Lt. Gov. John Cherry's decision to end his floundering bid for governor, and by the revelation that both Dodd and Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter would announce today that they would not seek reelection.
The retirement announcements of two senior Democratic senators, and the suddenly altered landscapes in Michigan and Colorado, continue a wave of Democrat Political Party bail outs that began with a burst of retirements by veteran House Democrats representing competitive districts, followed by the stunning late December party switch by freshman Alabama Rep. Parker Griffith. ... Suddenly, the sad sack GOP is looking to have its best shot at being the party of change and representing the people's wishes in three election cycles and of making serious gains in November.'
TeaPac, the Tea Party Political Action Committees, may be our country's best beacon at finding candidates who wish to represent and protect citizens who want a country that listens to, and votes as the citizens they represent want them to vote. Less Government is better Government.
This excerpted and edited from California Tea Party Political Action Committee - Just as the original Boston Tea Party was fueled by excess taxes imposed upon American Colonists, the 2009 Tea Party Tax Revolt is inspired by unfair taxes imposed by the United States and California Government. American Citizens are fed up with the excessive taxation and spending proposed by the Obama Administration. Additionally, the residents of California are now subjected to the highest tax burden in the United States with the recent $16 billion dollars imposed by the California Legislature and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Mission:The California Tea Party PAC, a California Political Action Committee, is a non-partisan organization that works to channel the energy of the grassroot anti-tax political movement and apply it to current California legislation and create real government change. All proceeds collected by the California Tea Party PAC are used to support the return to a reasonable rate of tax for all California citizens and fiscal responsibility in California Government regardless of political affiliation. Reference Here>>
Back candidates that support Ten for '10 - a backbone of principles from which American governance can flourish.
This excerpted and edited from Laura Ingraham's website - 1) Taxpayers' Bill of Rights (TABOR). Limit federal spending growth to the percentage in population growth plus the rate of inflation; provide taxpayers the option of filing a post-card sized return using a low, flat tax rate of 15%
2) End Tax-funded abortions. Stop federal payments to Planned Parenthood and prohibit any taxpayer-subsidized health insurance plan from covering abortion
3) Defend American Borders. Complete America's border-protection initiatives using remaining funds from the so-called stimulus bill
4) King Dollar. Preserve a strong dollar so that Americans' savings aren't wiped out by inflation and the U.S. dollar remains the world's reserve currency
5) Empower American Business. Immediately slash corporate tax rates to 15% and scrap the capital-gains tax altogether
6) Defend America. Strengthen America to defend our homeland and fully fund an operational, layered missile-defense system
7) Statism Exit Plan. De-fund czars; immediately cease bailout payments to failed companies; ban future bailouts
8) End Generational Theft. As few believe America's entitlement programs will be able to pay benefits to future generations, provide younger workers the choice of diverting payroll/Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts
9) Restore America's System of Justice. Introduce penalties for frivolous lawsuits, where those who launch unsuccessful lawsuits are liable for the defendants' legal bills
10) American Energy Independence. All-of-the-Above strategy that embraces alternatives, expands and accelerates exploration and production of oil and natural gas, and jumpstarts dramatic increases in nuclear power Reference Here>>
Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, votes no as the Senate takes up the budget bills Sunday morning without success. Image Credit: Brian Baer/Sacramento Bee
Please show a Republican backbone, an Abe Lincoln (the one who abolished slavery - abusive taxes are slavery) backbone, a fiscal backbone, a Magan's Law type of backbone for ALL of the citizens of this fine state.
VOTE NO ON THE STATE BUDGET - NO ON ANY TAX INCREASES.
Thank you for your backbone - Living in Los Angeles, I do not have a Republican State Senator to speak for me ... so you are my only voice.
Regards, Edmund Jenks Managing Editor - MAXINE, Oblate Spheroid, Symblogogy Feature Page Editor/Reporter - NowPublic Blog Roll - Pajamas Media
"This will get done," Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg [pictured] told Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Penn Valley, who complained that the closed-door meetings were excluding the public. Image Credit: Carl Costas/Sacramento Bee
This excerpted and edited from the Sacramento Bee -
California lawmakers fail to pass budget deal By Steve Wiegand and Dan Smith - Sacramento Bee - Monday, February 16, 2009
California legislators tried and failed for a second day Sunday to close a $40 billion hole in the state's budget, still one Republican vote short of approving a package that contains $14.3 billion in tax increases.
State Sen. Abel Maldonado, a moderate Republican from Santa Maria, indicated in an interview with The Bee that he was willing to consider casting the decisive vote if he was satisfied with the final version of the tax proposal.
"I'm very concerned with the tax package," said Maldonado, who early Sunday had been quoted as saying he was adamantly opposed to the tax hikes. "We're still working on that. Everything's fluid. I don't like tax increases. … let me just work on the tax issue. I'm working on that. I don't want my state to go off the cliff, OK? I don't want that."
Senate President Pro Tem, Darrell Steinberg, seated, talks with fellow democrats at 5:25 a.m. as they attempt to get the one Republican vote needed to pass the budget plan in the Senate. Behind him from the left, are Senators Mark Leno, D-San Francsico, Christine Kehoe , D-San Diego, Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro and Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach. Image Credit: Brian Baer/Sacramento Bee
Legislative leaders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sought to find a way to persuade Maldonado to vote for the tax bill. ---- The Senate adjourned shortly thereafter, with plans to return at 11 a.m. today.
As all sides neared exhaustion, the delay was designed to allow Maldonado more time to mull over his choices.
"This will get done," Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg told Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Penn Valley, who complained that the closed-door meetings were excluding the public. --- I wish to God that you could deviate just a little bit," he told Aanestad, "just a little bit from your philosophy, from this endless mantra of no new revenue, no new revenue ever, and be participant and a partner with us in solving this problem." ---- The key bills in the package, which has been hung up since Saturday, require two-thirds approval of both the Assembly and the state Senate.
That means at least three Republicans have to vote for those elements with the 51 Democrats in the Assembly, and three Republicans would have to do likewise with the 24 Democrats in the state Senate. Most Republican legislators have taken pledges never to raise taxes, and fear that doing so could lead to their defeat in GOP primaries.
Even so, legislative leaders had said the three GOP Assembly votes were there. The hang-up was that there were only two Republican senators – Senate GOP leader Dave Cogdill of Modesto and Sen. Roy Ashburn of Bakersfield – willing to vote for the package.
Another GOP senator, Dave Cox of Fair Oaks, was widely believed to be the 27th vote, but made it clear Sunday he would vote no.
The budget-balancing aspect of the package takes a three-pronged approach, with $14.3 billion in temporary tax increases, $15.1 billion in spending cuts and $11.4 billion in borrowing. ---- The plan also relies on voter approval of five measures at a May 19 special election.
Voters would be asked to OK borrowing money from two voter-created special funds for mental health and children's health programs, changing constitutional language that covers lottery operations and school financing, and creating a spending cap. Reference Here>>
The latter five measure conditions that require a vote by the public on May 19th are provisions that have been voted on by the citizens before - passing by 70% - and now this group of legislators will be asking all of us to overturn our vote on the use of these monies in the State Budget.
Why don't we all vote to end taxation slavery and get a whole new bunch of legislators who know how NOT to tax and spend.
Mitt Romney Surge Seen In California (an observational commentary)
Conservative Republican’s may finally be able to send Arnold Schwarzenegger a message on how they feel about his liberal betrayal of the people who swept him into office.
Arnold endorses a man cut from the same cloth in Senator John McCain for President … California Republicans can bring the party back to its conservative principles with a vote cast for Mitt Romney.
This excerpted from the Sacramento Bee –
Turnout may set primary record Tight races, early election energize California's voters. By Kevin Yamamura - Sacramento Bee - Published 12:00 am PST Tuesday, February 5, 2008
With California poised to play a pivotal role in today's highly competitive Super Tuesday presidential contests, a record 8.9 million primary voters are projected to participate statewide, according to the Field Poll.
The election has energized voters because it is the first presidential primary since 1952 in which no incumbent or sitting vice president is running for the White House and neither major party has yet to settle on its nominee. ---- Republican turnout may be determined in large part by how successful candidates Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee are in spurring the party's conservative base to vote, DiCamillo said.
The projected 8.9 million voters would be a record for a California primary, but not for all elections – more voters have participated in past November presidential contests. Field Poll anticipates 38.8 percent of Californians eligible to vote will do so in this election, the highest percentage in a primary since 1980, when Republicans first nominated California favorite son Ronald Reagan.
The big turnout, a record number of absentee voters and recent changes in voting equipment will delay results, officials have said. The final tally of presidential delegates, based on outcomes in each congressional district, may not be known for days.
"You Have No Choice Friend" Image Credit: htfttf/YouTube
Candidates and their surrogates worked Monday to urge their supporters to vote – and to persuade the remaining high number of undecided voters to back them. Romney held an event late Monday in Long Beach. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had an event Monday for Sen. John McCain at a phone bank in Gardena.
In Sacramento, former President Clinton addressed a crowd of about 600 people at Cal Expo, urging supporters to persuade their friends to vote for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, particularly the 18 percent of likely Democratic voters who remained undecided as of Saturday. "All the surveys show, actually, there are still a fair amount of undecided voters out there, people you could reach between now and tomorrow," he said. ---- The Field Poll predicts a record number of absentee voters, an estimated 4.1 million, which is expected to represent 46 percent of the electorate.
According to the Field projection, Democrats are expected to constitute 45 percent of likely voters, and Republicans will be 37 percent. Independents and third-party voters will make up the remaining 18 percent. Roughly half the independents will vote in the Democratic primary. They can't vote Republican because the GOP contest is a closed election.
Unlike her predecessors, Secretary of State Debra Bowen did not release turnout projections Monday. She declined to make a prediction because of the unusual factors surrounding this contest. Those factors include this being the earliest primary California has held and the fact the races remain wide open, spokeswoman Kate Folmar said.
About 2,000 supporters greeted Romney near the Long Beach airport to hear the candidate make an election eve pitch for votes in what appears to be a tightening California primary.
"California is huge," Romney told reporters after the rally. "There's something happening here in California that's big. People in California are really concentrating on this race with renewed attention. … I'm getting greater support in California than I had a week ago, and we wanted to come back and put an exclamation point on the kind of support I'm getting here in California."
Kathy Kirchhoff of Long Beach attended the Romney rally with her husband and two children, drawn to the event by polls showing the former Massachusetts governor narrowing the gap in California against McCain. Reference Here>>
Statement released to the Laura Ingraham show via YouTube (click image). James C. Dobson, Ph.D., is founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, a non-profit organization that produces his internationally syndicated radio programs, heard on over 3,000 radio facilities in North America and in twenty seven languages in approximately 4,130 additional facilities in over 160 other countries. Image Credit: Focus On The Family
Dr. James Dobson, evangelical leader from Colorado Springs, Colorado, has released a statement exclusively to be read on the Laura Ingraham radio talk show this morning.
The statement reads as follows:
“I’m deeply disappointed the Republican Party seems poised to select a nominee who did not support a Constitutional amendment to protect the institution of marriage, who voted for embryonic stem cell research to kill nascent human beings, who opposed tax cuts that ended the marriage penalty, and who has little regard for freedom of speech, who organized the Gang of 14 to preserve filibusters, and has a legendary temper and often uses foul and obscene language.
“I am convinced Sen. McCain is not a conservative, and in fact, has gone out of his way to stick his thumb in the eyes of those who are. He has at times sounded more like a member of the other party. McCain actually considered leaving the GOP in 2001, and approached John Kerry about being Kerry’s running mate in 2004. McCain also said publicly that Hillary Clinton would make a good president. Given these and many other concerns, a spoonful of sugar does not make the medicine go down. I cannot, and I will not vote for Sen. John McCain, as a matter of conscience.
“But what a sad and melancholy decision this is for me and many other conservatives. Should John McCain capture the nomination as many assume, I believe this general election will offer the worst choices for president in my lifetime. I certainly can’t vote for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama based on their virulently anti-family policy positions. If these are the nominees in November, I simply will not cast a ballot for president for the first time in my life. These decisions are my personal views and do not represent the organization with which I’m affiliated. They do reflect, however, my deeply held convictions about the institution of the family, about moral and spiritual beliefs, and about the welfare of our country.” Reference Here>>
UPDATE - February 6, 2008:
Super Tuesday did not deliver the strength of showing that Mitt Romney had hoped for. It did not help that in West Virginia the Huckabee forces were aided by the McCain camp on a second ballot buy-off and threw in with Huckabee to give him the 18 delegates. John McCain arranged for his delegates to vote for Huckabee by offering to give each of the delegates a Blackberry as a buy-off if they changed their vote. On the first ballot, Romney had outclassed the field by 9% but State Conventions allow for second and third ballots until over 50% for just one candidate is achieved.
McCain did well on Super Tuesday. It was speculated that McCain needed at least 600 delegates for him to claim anything more than just front runner status. The tally as it stands at the time of this update - McCain/613 - Romney/269 - Huckabee/190. The race is not over but special events, like a recognition of the conservative strength between Romney and Huckabee, will have to happen.
Boy, this sounds like an oxymoron - the Republicans want to have a "Big Tent" but isn't this a tent pole too far?
This excerpted from GOPUSA -
The Strange GOP Nominating Victory By Tony Blankley - February 6, 2008
Assuming John McCain gets the GOP nomination, it will show how whimsical history can be. It would be the first time in living memory that a Republican presidential nomination went to a candidate who was not merely opposed by a majority of the party but was actively despised by about half its rank-and-file voters across the country -- and by many, if not most, of its congressional officeholders. After all, the McCain electoral surge was barely able to deliver a plurality of one-third of the Republican vote in a three-, four- or five-way split field. He has won fair and square, but he has driven the nomination process askew.
This result reminds me of a nursery rhyme: "For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail."
In the current instance, the lost nail was a viable conservative candidate. And despite the crabby, orthodoxy-sniffing, slightly over-the-hill condition of the conservative Republican majority, it still could easily nominate its candidate. In fact, we had two strong conservative candidates, either of whom almost surely would have unified the party early, as George W. did in 2000. But through accidents of history, neither ran.
Consider the recently very popular, tall, attractive, smart, eloquent, conservative, successful two-term Republican governor of one of our most populous swing states -- married to a beautiful Hispanic woman, no less. In fact, he is the son of a former president. Unfortunately for him and the party, he is also the brother of the current president. If Jeb Bush's name were Jeb Smith, the former Florida governor easily could have kept the conservative two-thirds of the Republican vote united and won the nomination. But fate made him a Bush in the only election in the past 20 years when no Bush need apply.
Or consider the cheerful, handsome, solidly conservative Virginia senator expected to run as the son of Reagan. Unfortunately, he uttered three little syllables: Ma-ca-ca. He lost his re-election, and so adieu, Sen. George Allen. ---- So, the mischievous gremlins and elves inside the wheel of history have served up John McCain to lead Ronald Reagan's party into November battle. McCain is both the finest war hero since Eisenhower to run for president and the one senior Republican who has gleefully put his thumb in the eyes of his fellow Republicans and conservatives for a decade and a half. He is the apostate leader of a party tending toward ossified orthodoxy.
Conservatives, such as Rush Limbaugh, worry (with good cause) that this fluke of Republican history might permanently deflect the course of the party away from conservatism. And indeed, we came to power in the party through, in part, a fluke of history. In the nomination fight of 1964 (in which I was a youth coordinator for Barry Goldwater in California), Goldwater had been running even or behind all spring. (He lost New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey, West Virginia, Oregon and Pennsylvania. He won Illinois, Texas, Indiana, Nebraska and some caucus states.)
We were losing the decisive California primary until a few days before the vote, when Nelson Rockefeller's new young second wife, "Happy" Murphy Rockefeller, gave birth to little Nelson Jr. -- reminding social conservatives of his previous, presumed adultery. Goldwater won by a thin 2 percent.
We went on to the Cow Palace Convention in San Francisco, where we Goldwaterites and Rockefeller exchanged vulgar, angry epithets. Rockefeller, Mitt's dad, George Romney, and other moderates refused to support Goldwater. Some moderates formed "Republicans for Lyndon Johnson."
Would we conservatives have taken over the party if Goldwater had lost that California primary? Perhaps we had history's wind at our backs anyway, but I remember being very grateful at the timing of young Nelson Jr.'s arrival. History is made of such things.
If we conservatives sit on our hands this November, as moderates did 44 years ago, will we marginalize ourselves within the party (as the old Romney moderates did)? Or will we be saving the party for the grand old cause? Let's watch McCain's next moves. Reference Here>>
A team from the office of the California Secretary of State found that voting machines manufactured by Dibold and Sequoia have significant security vulnerabilities. A new round of testing that focused on the machines sold by ES&S found that these machines were just as insecure than the rest.
Image Credit: California Secretary of State
While we all would like to see honest and open elections take place here in the good ol” Golden State, we are not delusional. We know that being a conservative in California places us solidly in second place.
Why would any conservative fear insecure voting machines here in this state?
Image Credit: California Secretary of State
This excerpted from Ars Technica, LLC -
ES&S e-voting system used in California cracked wide open By Ryan Paul Published: December 05, 2007 - 09:01AM CT
Earlier this year, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen established strict new standards for electronic voting machines, requiring independent code audits, Red Team security testing, and support for paper records. The Red Team testing process primarily involves subjecting the machines to review by security experts who attempt to hack the software and bypass the physical security mechanisms. Recent Red Team tests of ES&S voting machines have uncovered serious security flaws.
The first round of tests focused on the physical security of the Polling Ballot Counter (PBC), which the Red Team researchers were able to circumvent with little effort. "In the physical security testing, the wire- and tamper-proof paper seals were easily removed without damage to the seals using simple household chemicals and tools and could be replaced without detection," the report says. "Once the seals are bypassed, simple tools or easy modifications to simple tools could be used to access the computer and its components. The key lock for the Transfer Device was unlocked using a common office item without the special 'key' and the seal removed."
After bypassing the physical security of the voting machines, the Red Team researchers were able to gain direct access to all of the files on the systems, including password files. "Making a change to the BIOS to reconfigure the boot sequence allows the system to be booted up using external memory devices containing a bootable Linux copy," according to the researchers. "Once done, all the files can be accessed and potentially modified, including sensitive files such as the password file which can be cracked by openly available cracker programs. New users may be added with known passwords and used by the same attacker or other attackers later." ---- The Election Loader System is populated with data from an Election Distribution CD, which is generated by a special Election Converter Application. The researchers were able to break the encryption used on the generated CD to "breakdown the CD, revise the election definition, and replace the CD with a new encrypted CD with an alternate election definition." The researchers note that this tactic could be used to alter vote tallies. ---- The results of the Red Team test, which demonstrate beyond doubt that the security of ES&S voting machines is utterly inadequate for use in elections, make it seem unlikely that ES&S will be able to continue peddling their defective products in the state. Reference Here>>
Image Credit: California Secretary of State
Liberals with socialist, bigger government leanings (read that Democrats and Decline to State) will always get elected by large margins ... and our state, which sports a 10 billion (with a “B”) budget deficit, will eventually sink from the lack of fiscal responsibility.
We, at MAXINE feel that having incorrect and corruptible automated voting results in California is a little like moving chairs on the Titanic. Who cares?
The Butler Peak Fire - Viewed from a location just South of the Village of Big Bear Lake - looking toward the West and North. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks, copyright 2007
UPDATED With Butler Peak Fire Incident #2 Reports Continuing After Original Post
Labor Day weekend in the mountains about 100 miles East of Los Angeles provides a bit of drama for those willing to travel out to beat the record heat that is gripping the Southern California basin and valleys.
Yesterday several fires broke out around the Big Bear Lake area in the San Barnardino Mountains National Forest. The largest fire, “The Butler Peak Fire”, is continuing to burn this morning and may prove to be a little pesky.
This morning about 8:15 am, I decided to go up on a mountain overlook just above Ironwood Estates, just South of the Village of Big Bear Lake (the location was formally known as and was part of the Snow Forest Ski Area) to see if I might get some photos and video and to learn where the fire is located. Just beyond the dam on the West end of Big Bear Lake down Highway 18 toward Artic Circle about three to five miles I coud see where the fire had originated.
A finger of the fire is burning toward some cabins near the dam on the North Shore of Big Bear Lake. This is a little unusal, in that the morning report issued by the experts mentioned that the fire would grow to the North and to the East. The location of the finger is to the East from where the fire started but these cabins and the direction of the burn is to the South. Excerpts from KBHR 93.3 FM and Socalmountains.com websites -
The fire has consumed 125 acres, and is 15% contained.
Large potential for growth to the north, and possibly to the east.
There is short mid-range spotting occuring.
A hard closure of Highway 18 remains in effect.
There is no immediate threat to any communites, including Green Valley Lake or Fawnskin.
Fire crews responding so far include 12 fire crews, 4 air tankers, 3 helicopters and a number of bulldozers with more assistance being called to the incident.
Three hundred firefighters have been on scene, with crews from the U.S. Forest Service, California Department of Forestry, San Bernardino County Fire, and the Big Bear City and Big Bear Lake Fire Departments.
In addition, there are a couple of small spot fires being reported on the hillsides south of the Big Bear Valley and fire crews are responding to them.
The cause of all the fires is believed to be lightning strikes due to thunderstorm activity on Saturday. Monsoonal flow and thunderstorms expected today will be aiding firefighters in suppressing the fire.
Monsoonal late summer clouds building up ... certain to bring moisture to the Big Bear valley and environs. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks, copyright 2007
UPDATE:
Butler Fire update as of 8:30am 9/2/07:
The Butler fire is 5% contained and has consumed 150 acres.
Humidity is high and currently the winds are light although the firefighters are concerned about thunder storm activity today and the erratic winds related to such storms.
There are 5 helicopters and 10 fixed wing aircraft assigned to this fire.
Highway 18 remains closed between Snow Valley and the Big Bear Dam.
UPDATE:
Butler Fire update as of 6pm 9/2/07:
The fire is located in extremely steep terrain 2 miles west of the Big Bear Dam.
There are no evacuations to any residential areas at this time. 350 personnel are assigned to the fire, including five helicopters and 4 airtankers15 engines, 12 handcrews, 6 dozers, 6 water tenders. John Miller of the US Forest service told KBHR news that the size of the fire has remained about 125 acres.
A thunderstorm passed over the fire area early this afternoon and actually helped the situation. The additional rainfall helped knock down some of the hot spots. They anticipate the containment to rise significantly from the 5% containment that is now being reported.
Because of the fire, SR-18 remains closed from Snow Valley Ski Area to the Big Bear Dam. There is a significant safety concern for firefighters and motorists due to the amount of debris, which includes rocks and trees that have come down onto the roadway.
Thunderstorms this afternoon resulted in four other small fires that were quickly knocked down by firecrews.
There were two fires near the Big Pine Flats area, one near Snow Summit, and one near Castle Rock.
Heavy rain earlier today also caused several mud & rockslides on Highway 38, one was located about 3 miles south of Angelus Oaks. SR-38 was closed for a short period of time in both directions, but quickly re-opened.
Caltrans is making an extra effort to keep Route 38, and Route 18 from Big Bear to Lucerne Valley, open to accommodate the large amount of heavy holiday traffic.
Butler Peak Lookout - Close-up of the scorched earth aound Butler Peak lookout left over from the fire that burned through yesterday. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks - copyright 2007
UPDATE:
Butler Fire Update as of 9am Monday, 9/03/07:
The fire is situated in steep terrain in the Butler Peak area off Highway 18 at Arctic Circle, which is just west of the Big Bear Valley and three miles southwest of Fawnskin.
As of this morning, the U.S. Forest Service tells KBHR that they have remapped the area and the current assessment is that 85 acres have burned, including Saturday afternoon spot fires south of Highway 18.
Robin Prince of the U.S. Forest Service says, “Things went well yesterday. The rain was helpful and there were not significant winds to cause flare ups to the fire.” Crews from the U.S. Forest Service, CalFire, San Bernardino County Fire, the Big Bear Lake and Big Bear City Fire Departments, and the Arrowbear Fire Department remain on scene, including personnel from the California Highway Patrol, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department and CalTrans.
Approximately 300 personnel are at work to aggressively suppress the Butler Fire, and water drops will continue this morning. Helicopters will be taking water from the west end of Big Bear Lake, so boaters are advised to head east on the lake to allow for safe helicopter activity.
All drivers are advised to head east when leaving the mountain: both Highway 18 through Lucerne and Highway 38 through Mentone are open. Highway 38 was closed for a short time on Sunday, due to mud and rock slides, but CalTrans has made an extra effort to clean the roadway, and it is open to all traffic. Motorists are advised to exercise caution while navigating mountain roads, as thunderstorm activity and rains may cause sudden and unexpected road conditions. Again, to leave the mountain, please access Highway 38 and Highway 18 east through Lucerne.
Thunderstorms on Sunday did result in four other small fires in the Big Bear area: two near the Big Pine Flats area, one near Castle Rock, and a fourth near Snow Summit. Each of those four fires was quickly contained yesterday.
----
UPDATE: Sept. 14, 2007 –
Excerpts taken from KBHR 93.3FM and SoCalMountains
Butler Peak Fire flares up! Photo from an airplane looking West and slightly North from a point over Snow Summit Ski Area. Image Credit: KBHR 93.3FM
Butler Peak Fire Incident #2
At approximately 1:30pm this afternoon, a fire started in the Butler Peak area near where the fire started over Labor Day weekend. This fire is being called the Butler Peak Fire Incident #2 and was last reported to be 5 acres. A total of 6 aircraft have been called to the incident with 4 fixed wing aircraft, 1 large heli-tanker, 1 medium sized helicopter and fire crews. As of 2pm, highway 18 remains open but according to Caltrans that could change at any time depending on what happens with the fire. If possible, tune in to KBHR for more information.
As of 3:15pm, the Butler Peak Fire Incident #2 is up to 200 acres and is burning to the North. Camp Whittle and Hannah Flats have been evacuated. Highway 18 is still open at this time. No evacuations have been called for the Big Bear communities.
As of 4:10pm, according to John Miller, the Public Information Officier for the U.S. Forest Service, the Butler Peak Fire Incident #2 started at 1:21pm and the cause is under investigation. The fire remains at approximately 200 acres and is burning North. Only Camp Whittle and Hannah Flats have been evacuated. At this time, there has been no loss of structures. Three forestry roads have been closed and they are 3N16, 3N14 and 2N13. More assistance has been ordered to work on the fire. Currently there are 3 airtankers, 3 helicopters and numerous engines and hand crews on the scene. Highway 18 remains open at this time.
As of 5:40pm, the Butler Peak Fire Incident #2 is burning in a northerly direction towards the western end of Holcomb Valley. At this time, the fire is at least 200 acres. No evacuations have been called for the communities of Big Bear.
Image Credit: KBHR 93.3FM
Scanner Reports –
Friday 14 September 2007 - 18:28:05 per scanner ( winds have died down , some but the tankers were still sitting at the tanker base, spot forcast said winds will diminish tonite but poor humidity recovery.
Friday 14 September 2007 - 18:49:37 perscanner ( lead 23 an earlystart with tankers at 08:00 will really benifit the butler fire , if air attack 15 is still assigned , hell be out first, tomrrow and then we will come in to assist, for planning to get AA15 out of the fire then leasd planes as needed. H 534 has landed at heaps peak.
Friday 14 September 2007 - 19:03:17 per scanner fire is pushing towards 300 acres right now colume is bulding , winds are going to die down alittle but your still going to have easterly winds bravo 23 heading back to fox.
Friday 14 September 2007 - 19:27:48 According to CHP scanner, report of fire at Silverwood Lake.
Friday 14 September 2007 - 19:59:04 per scanner - fire is very visible from lake arrowhead due to the fact that the fire is at the top of butler peak.
Friday 14 September 2007 - 20:14:28 When we came down Onyx summit about an hour ago, we could see some serious flames (probably 50-75 foot flame lengths). Kinda Scary.
Friday 14 September 2007 - 20:15:49 The fire line is very frightening to view from Lake Arrowhead. I am on the north west side of the lake so the fire is very far from me, but to say that the fire is only 200 acres is the joke of the century.
Friday 14 September 2007 - 20:20:51 00:51:45 GMT UPDATE ON THIS FIRE IS 235 ACRES PER IC, RIGHT FLANK IS DOING GOOD, TANKERS ARE STILL DOING WATER DROPS HAVE BEEN WATCHING THEM.
Friday 14 September 2007 - 20:23:48 no about 500 now, per scanner.
Friday 14 September 2007 - 20:32:59 arrowhead fire is not seperate fire but extension from butler ic fire , per scanner.
Friday 14 September 2007 - 20:34:36 perscanner ( chp stationed at the bottom of 3n14 rim of the world drive in fawnskin.
End Of UPDATE for 9-14-2007
Smoke over the mountains looking over Grout Bay toward the village of Fawnskin on the North shore of Big Bear Lake. Image Credit: KBHR 93.3FM
UPDATE: Butler Peak Fire Incident #2, As of 7:00 am Saturday 9/15/07 –
Highway 18 is closed between Snow Valley and Big Bear Dam due to the fire. The fire has consumed approximately 2000 acres. The fire progressed north north east overnight toward the Holcomb Valley and the high desert due in part to low humidity and windy conditions. Report From KBHR 93.3FM
SoCalMountains Scanner/Chat –
Saturday 15 September 2007 - 07:15:37 something else to chew on from inciweb...not good news: Growth Potential=Extreme
Saturday 15 September 2007 - 07:35:58 quick update for everyone from inciweb: Highway closures--Hwy 18 is closed from Snow Valley Ski Area to Big Bear Dam. Drivers may not access Big Bear from Hwy 18 or from Hwy 330 in San Bernardino, but Hwy 18 is open from Apple Valley (the high desert). Drivers may also access Big Bear via Hwy 38 from I-10 in Redlands.
Evacuations--Camp Whittle, Big Pine Flat, Ironwood, Hanna Flat Campgrounds, Yellow Post campsites in the area, and Butler Peak Lookout.
Forest Road Closures--2N13, both ends of 3N14, 4N16, 3N16 at Crab Flats, Grays Peak Trailhead.
Resources on Scene--11 hand crews, 11 engines, 2 helicopters, 8 airtankers 4 watertenders.
Total Personnel: 597 Size: 1,400 acres Fuels Involved: Brush and Timber. Fire Behavior: The incident experienced active burning throughout the night.
Saturday 15 September 2007 - 08:05:13 perscanner ( winds guesting to 24mph.
Saturday 15 September 2007 - 09:00:00 From INCIWEB: Butler 2 Wildland Fire - San Bernardino National Forest – California - 0% Contained - 4,000 Acres, number one wildland fire priority in the nation.
Photo taken at 9:36 AM from the westside of Eagle Point north toward the Solar Observatory. Image Credit: Maschoochas Bros. - SoCalMountains Forum
Saturday 15 September 2007 - 10:06:32 perscanner ( weve got fire on both sides of butler peak, lookout road, lots of snags - were not going to be able to hold this thing, it's in this drain and if it takes a turn we are going to need some protection here, structure protection here in camp whittle having some issues on this side too, trying to find a place to start.
keep BE40 here just in case we need to gel these buildings (camp whittle?) strike team of federal here now - red cross rep heading to command post H 509 enroute have they checked in? - they are in san bernadino getting fuel - red flag warning until sunday.
Saturday 15 September 2007 - 10:35:03 per scanner ordering up structure protection for fawnskin as well as possible mandatory evacs - checking on s.o. resources to assist with evac
Saturday 15 September 2007 - 10:40:05 Per Scanner: Fire is about 3.5 miles from Green Valley Lake. Heavy Fuel between the fire and GVL. If I was in GVL I would also prepare now just in case.
Saturday 15 September 2007 - 11:21:15 guys and gals just spoke with the PIO at CDF (Butler #2 Fire Information) And was told that I should be very concerned in Big Bear City - Not trying to scare anyone just relaying what I was told - The gentleman said that the winds have changed to the east and the fire has blown up (his words)
Smoke Plume as posted today taken 9-14-07 from a location northwest of Butler Peak near Hisperia. Image Credit: Daniel Elliott - INCIWEB
Summary From INCIWEB– Saturday 15 September 2007 - 11:40:00 The Butler 2 Fire was reported at 1:30 pm on Friday northwest of Big Bear Lake. Several Campgrounds north of Big Bear have been evacuated. No communities are currently threatened or evacuated.
Highway closures--Hwy 18 is closed from Snow Valley Ski Area to Big Bear Dam. Drivers may not access Big Bear from Hwy 18 or from Hwy 330 in San Bernardino, but Hwy 18 is open from Apple Valley (the high desert). Drivers may also access Big Bear via Hwy 38 from I-10 in Redlands.
Manadatory Evacuations for Fawnskin--The fire is currently about 4000 acres and is burning to the north and east. Mandatory evacuations have been called for the Fawnskin area from the Big Bear Dam to The Discovery Center north of Hwy 38. An evacuatiion center has been setup at the Big Bear High School in Sugarloaf.
Voluntary Evacuations have been called for Lucerne Valley from Crystal Creek Road on the east to High Rd on the west and North to the Ptizer Buttes area.
This From KBHR 93.3FM - AS OF 11:45AM, HIGHWAY 38 IS CLOSED FROM THE BIG BEAR DAM TO STANFIELD CUT-OFF ALONG THE NORTH SIDE OF BIG BEAR LAKE. HIGHWAY 38 OVER ONYX SUMMIT TO REDLANDS IS OPEN AND HIGHWAY 18 TO LUCERNE VALLEY IS OPEN.
Photo taken of the Butler Peak Fire Incident #2 from the Westridge (Snow Summit) cam at about 2:00 in the afternoon 9-15-2007. Image Credit: Bear Mountian Resorts
Saturday 15 September 2007 - 13:23:22 Snow Valley, CA — Authorities are evacuating outlying camps in the vicinity of Green Valley Lake. According to reports, the fire is burning unchecked on the western flank. Incident commanders are discussing whether to use the emergency telephone system, TENS, to notify Green Valley Lake area residents, but no final determination has been made
Saturday 15 September 2007 - 14:09:51 2:01PM PER 101-L ARROWBEAR AT 18 FOR CHANGE OF CLOSURE^ 1:49PM PER 101-L HAVE ALL UNITS RESPOND TO THE COMMAND POST ON 18 AT SNOW VALLEY, THX 1:42PM PER 101-L GREEN VALLEY LAKE IS NOW MANDATORY EVACUATION, RECOMMENDED EVA FOR THE EAST END OF RUNNING SPRINGS
Satellite Image Link Here: http://sat.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/loopsat.php?wfo=&area=sw&type=ir&size=4 --- Posted At INCIWEB: New Evacuations--Sept. 15, 230 pm--The entire community of Green Valley Campground Lake is under mandatory evacuation orders. Evacuation center is at Rim of the World High School.
Voluntary Evacuations have been called for Lucerne Valley from Crystal Creek Road on the east to High Rd on the west and North to the Pitzer Buttes area.
New Voluntary Evacuations--Sept. 15, 300 pm—From Downtown Running Springs east to Arrowbear Lake. --- Sept. 15, 300 pm San Bernardino SUN - Inteview with forest service spokesperson, Judi McGuire - Burn Update: Fire splits and goes in two directions (northeast to Lucerne Valley and west toward Green Valley Lake). Acreage reset at 18,000 up from 4,000
View from the south shore looking from "Stillwell's" beach, north toward the Solar Observatory (15:10). Image Credit: Jordan L. - KBHR 93.3FM ---- Big Bear Valley as seen looking from the east over Baldwin Lake toward Fawnskin with smoke from the Butler Peak Fire Incident #2 (15:45 - 9-15-07). Image Credit: Mark Poster
Saturday 15 September 2007 - 16:06:57 perscanner ( hwy closures) hwy 18 closed from arrowbear lake to the bb dam- drivers may not accress hwy 18 or from hwy 330 in san bernadino but hwy 18 is open from apple valley ( high desert) drivers may also acress big bear via hwy 38 thru the I-10 mentone area
Converted DC10 Jet on a fire retardant drop at 15:30. The DC10 can drop enough retardant to cover 8/10ths of a mile. Image Credit: mountainmanor via SoCalMountains Forums
Saturday 15 September 2007 - 17:37:29 BBL mayor was just on NBC telling people there is no threat so come on up for Octoberfest and the event at Bear Mtn. ??????????
Saturday 15 September 2007 - 18:28:46 There is a threat to Fawnskin, hence the evacuation orders. So far they're doing a hell of a job painting a line. ---- KBHR 93.3 UPDATE 19:00:00: Fire Information Officer Jim Wilkins tells KBHR that the Butler #2 Fire has burned 18,000 acres, and is 5% contained. CalFire's DC-10 has been added to fire suppression equipment as of this morning.
Mandatory evacuations are in place for Fawnskin, and east to the Discovery Center on Big Bear Lake's North Shore. Evacuees are being directed to the Red Cross Evacuation Center at Big Bear High School (on Maple Lane in Big Bear City). As of 6:30pm, just two outbuildings at Camp Wittle have burned. No homes in the Fawnskin area have been burned.
Mandatory evacuation orders are also in place for residents of Green Valley. An evacuation center has been established at the Jerry Lewis Center in Highland. Voluntary evacuations are in place for Running Springs, Arrowbear and Lucerne Valley. Evacuees of the Lucerne area are being directed to Victor Valley Community College in Victorville. (Please note that pets are not allowed at Red Cross evacuation centers.)
Highway 18 through Lucerne is open at this time. Highway 38 over Onyx Summit is open. Highway 18, down the front way, is open to those leaving the mountain, but is closed to up-bound traffic from Snow Valley to the Big Bear Dam. ---- From Rim Of The World.Net: Butler 2 Update - 7:00 PM Running Springs, CA -- As the sun sets, some changes in localized wind direction will cause some to drift to areas previously unaffected. Residents in areas of Running Springs through Lake Arrowhead may smell some drift smoke from the fire.
As of 6:40 pm, there have been no changes to the evacuation orders. So far news reports indicate that one structure -- possibly an outbuilding -- has been lost at the YMCA owned Camp Whittle. One firefighter suffered minor injuries after tripping on a pothole. ---- Saturday 15 September 2007 - 19:58:00 per USDA Forest Service - acreage is at 13, 829 acres 5% contained 600 primary structure theatened 1,085 ffs on scene observed fire behavior: running crowning and spotting planned actions: continue to provide structure protection and direct and indirect line cost to date: $ 1,500.000.00
Better biofuel: Stephen del Cardayre, a biochemist and LS9's vice president for research and development. Image Credit: Saul Bromberger and Sandra Hoover
Microbe Petrol For Better Living
What would happen if technology could deliver a renewable way of creating gasoline in relative minutes as opposed to the millions and millions of years it takes to create the base of gasoline we pump out of the ground (you know, the type that comes from dinosaur remains?
Well, if companies like LS9 and Amyris Biotechnologies have their way, we all will be pumping gas into our tanks that is created through having bacteria make hydrocarbons.
If this technology conversion can be made viable, it would lend a new interpretation to the expression – “Man, that car is SICK!”
Making Gasoline from Bacteria A biotech startup wants to coax fuels from engineered microbes. By Neil Savage, Technology Review - Wednesday, August 01, 2007
The biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That's the hope of one biotech startup that on Monday described for the first time how it is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum.
LS9, a company based in San Carlos, CA, and founded by geneticist George Church, of Harvard Medical School, and plant biologist Chris Somerville, of Stanford University, had previously said that it was working on what it calls "renewable petroleum." But at a Society for Industrial Microbiology conference on Monday, the company began speaking more openly about what it has accomplished: it has genetically engineered various bacteria, including E. coli, to custom-produce hydrocarbon chains.
To do this, the company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants, and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy. Fatty acids are chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms strung together in a particular arrangement, with a carboxylic acid group made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen attached at one end. Take away the acid, and you're left with a hydrocarbon that can be made into fuel.
"I am very impressed with what they're doing," says James Collins, codirector of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology at Boston University. He calls the company's use of synthetic biology and systems biology to engineer hydrocarbon-producing bacteria "cutting edge."
In some cases, LS9's researchers used standard recombinant DNA techniques to insert genes into the microbes. In other cases, they redesigned known genes with a computer and synthesized them. The resulting modified bacteria make and excrete hydrocarbon molecules that are the length and molecular structure the company desires.
Stephen del Cardayre, a biochemist and LS9's vice president for research and development, says the company can make hundreds of different hydrocarbon molecules. The process can yield crude oil without the contaminating sulfur that much petroleum out of the ground contains. The crude, in turn, would go to a standard refinery to be processed into automotive fuel, jet fuel, diesel fuel, or any other petroleum product that someone wanted to make.
Next year LS9 will build a pilot plant in California to test and perfect the process, and the company hopes to be selling improved biodiesel and providing synthetic biocrudes to refineries for further processing within three to five years. (See "Building Better Biofuels.")
But LS9 isn't the only company in this game. Amyris Biotechnologies, of Emeryville, CA, is also using genes from plants and animals to make microbes produce designer fuels. Neil Renninger, senior vice president of development and one of the company's cofounders, says that Amyris has also created bacteria capable of supplying renewable hydrocarbon-based fuels. The main difference between the companies, Renninger says, is that while LS9 is working on a biocrude that would be processed in a refinery, Amyris is working on directly producing fuels that would need little or no further processing. ---- LS9's current work uses sugar derived from corn kernels as the food source for the bacteria--the same source used by ethanol-producing yeast. To produce greater volumes of fuel, and to not have energy competing with food, both approaches will need to use cellulosic biomass, such as switchgrass, as the feedstock. Del Cardayre estimates that cellulosic biomass could produce about 2,000 gallons of renewable petroleum per acre.
Producing hydrocarbon fuels is more efficient than producing ethanol, del Cardayre adds, because the former packs about 30 percent more energy per gallon. And it takes less energy to produce, too. The ethanol produced by yeast needs to be distilled to remove the water, so ethanol production requires 65 percent more energy than hydrocarbon production does.
The U.S. Department of Energy has set a goal of replacing 30 percent of current petroleum use with fuels from renewable biological sources by 2030, and del Cardayre says he feels that's easily achievable.
