The “I”- “Me”, uh, Barack, uh, Oba, uh, ma

Barack Obama sits down to speak with the editorial board of The Military Times. Image Credit: YouTube Account, pe11201 - Video by M. Scott Mahaskey / Military Times Staff

The “I”- “Me” (monopolistic thinking of), uh, Barack, uh, Oba, uh, ma

Somebody please ask junior Senator Barack Obama what he means when he says that contract worker support of our war effort should be just used for kitchenwork and automobile repair. Does Barack Obama actually know what kind of invaluable service outfits like Blackwater perform in the support of our efforts in ferreting out zeolots who want to do harm to the Iraqi citizens we are trying to liberate?

This is what Barack said to The Military Times, July 2, 2008:

There is room for private contractors to work in the mess hall, providing basic supplies and doing some logistical work that might have been done in-house in the past. I am troubled by the use of private contractors when it comes to potential armed engagements... I think it creates some difficult morale issues when you've got private contractors getting paid 10 times what an Army private's getting paid for work that carries similar risks…

Does Barack even understand what Blackwater does ... they are NOT mercenaries. They do not replace the activity of our armed forces but actually complement the effort through special tasks best left to security professionals.

But Barack continued:

… When it comes to our special forces, what we've seen is that it's a potential drain of some of our best-trained special forces, and you can't blame them if they can make so much more working for Blackwater than they can working as a master sergeant. That, I think is a problem.

Q: Blackwater would argue that they're a bargain: that you get a higher level of ability, that they can put people there, they can keep top-level talent there perpetually.

A: I am not arguing that there are never going to be uses for private contractors in some circumstances. What I am saying is if you start building a military premised on the use of private contractors and you start making decisions on armed engagement based on the availability of private contractors to fill holes and gaps that over time you are, I believe, eroding the core of our military's relationship to the nation and how accountability is structured. I think you are privatizing something that is what essentially sets a nation-state apart, which is a monopoly on violence. And to set those kinds of precedents, I think, will lead us over the long term into some troubled waters.

Barack Obama doesn’t know… what he doesn’t know. What does he mean when he says I think you are privatizing something that is what essentially sets a nation-state apart, which is a monopoly on violence. WHAT?!

War is war and to be truthful, there is no monopoly of violence when bullets start flying or when people are strapping bombs to themselves to blow innocent citizens up. What does exist is an environment where specialized talents are placed into use to enable our effort to push back and win more efficiently and effectively. This is not much different than how American Rules football is put together, where specialized talent helps to move the ball down the field.

The same interview showed that Barack also does not understand the difference between an ally and an enemy.

He continued, And if you look at costs and benefits and if you look at the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, overall I think it was a bad decision on the part of our commander in chief.
----
Those are the kinds of decisions that are going to be coming up in the future.

We're going to have to make decisions about Iran, we're going to have to make decisions about Pakistan.

The capacity of the next commander in chief to forge alliances so that we can, when we act militarily, act in the ways that we did during the first Gulf War, a war in which, not only were our casualties kept low, but it effectively cost us almost nothing in terms of taxpayer dollars.

For us to think in a forward-looking way about energy, and understanding the strategic geopolitical implications of our failure to implement a serious energy strategy in this country.

Our ability to engage the Muslim world in a serious way so that we are tamping down anti-American sentiment even as we recognize that there is always going to be an element of extremism that can only be dealt with militarily.

Pakistan is an ally … Iran is an enemy. Also, what happened to Mr. Negotiation when he now comes out and says - Our ability to engage the Muslim world in a serious way so that we are tamping down anti-American sentiment … is this type of comment an example of his famous promise of “CHANGE”?

We, at MAXINE, must add that Barack has become increasing difficult to listen to . He used the “uh” transition filler eleven times in a single 90-second segment of this interview (as observed by Hugh Hewitt on his program this afternoon). I do not care if this becomes Obama's first term or Carter's Second Term if Barack gets into office ... four years of listening to him alone without a teleprompter will ruin the country.

The audio of this interview is very telling as to the level of what the junior Senator Barack Obama does NOT know.

Additional proof on how hard it is to listen to Senator Barack Obama - he says "uh" nine, or ten times in this fifty-five second clearification of his position on Iraq (some would say flip-flop).

Video Credit: YouTube account 3873uj201, added July 07, 2008

Quoted & Comments At Gateway Pundit:
Gateway Pundit: And, Here's Obama's Gobbly-Gook, Mumble-Jumble, "What the H*ll Is He Talking About?" -Video Clip of the Day#comments

O.C.D. In The D.N.C.?

Platters a plenty … as long as they are biodegradable, organic, locally grown, and have all the right and approved colors. Image Credit: sandwichmart.com

O.C.D. In The D.N.C.?

The fanatic level of control exhibited by the planners and leaders of the Democrat Party in the run-up to their convention in Denver is beyond belief ... almost obsessive. One is left to assume that this is exactly the level of control they would like to exert over ALL of our lives if they are given the chance.

As a natural rollout of events which began as “scare everyone” tactics initiated by the claim that Global Warming/Climate Change is created by human beings, the leaders are implementing and holding everyone (who will be attending the convention in Denver) to rules that set the “GREEN” bar very high.

Hundreds of free bikes will be available for anyone looking for an alternative to automobiles during the Democratic convention in Denver. From left, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, Director of Bikes Belong Tim Blumenthal, convention organizer Parry Burnap and Dan Oftedahl of Humana, which will provide the free bikes, announced the initiative in early May. Image Credit: Associated Press/Humana

From the strict policies and handling procedures regarding disposable food utensils, to the descriptions of the very colors of acceptable food items served, to strict definitions of what can be worn by service workers ... to the manufacturing composition of balloons to be used for the celebration, to an argument of whether to allow bottled water or not ... this would all be very humorous if this were a parody ... but, unfortunately, it's not.

It is widely assumed that Republicans want to control peoples’ lives, although Republicans staunchly support limiting government and maximizing self-determination. The truth is, the major control initiative over the last few decades comes down to the abortion issue. There, Republicans really only want to protect the unborn human by allowing every baby to be “brought” to term and have a life.

The Democrats, through this extreme approach to green initiatives during their 2008 convention, are making an interesting statement to Americans of all parties. This Democrat Party wants to be able to control every aspect of the lives of all citizens. The D.N.C. discomfort with many matters of self-determination by convention attendees is weirdly controlling ... and smacks of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Ms. Robinson says all the signs and placards will be made from post-consumer recycled or biodegradable materials. It will all be recycled after the event. Confetti and banners lay on the floor at the end of the 2004 convention in Boston. Image Credit: Associated Press

This found, excerpted, and edited from the Wall Street Journal and the Denver Post -

The Greenest Show on Earth: Democrats Gear Up for Denver
From Organic Fanny Packs to 'Pure' Trash, Party Planners Face Logistical Nightmare
By STEPHANIE SIMON - June 25, 2008; Page A1

As the Mile High City gears up to host a Democratic bash for 50,000, organizers are discovering the perils of trying to stage a political spectacle that's also politically correct.

Consider the fanny packs.

The host committee for the Democratic National Convention wanted 15,000 fanny packs for volunteers. But they had to be made of organic cotton. By unionized labor. In the USA.

Official merchandiser Bob DeMasse scoured the country. His weary conclusion: "That just doesn't exist."

Ditto for the baseball caps. "We have a union cap or an organic cap," Mr. DeMasse says. "But we don't have a union-organic offering."
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Convention organizers hired the first-ever Director of Greening, longtime environmental activist Andrea Robinson.
----
Ms. Robinson suspected modern-day delegates would prefer air conditioning. So she quickly modified the mayor's goal: She'd supervise "the most sustainable political convention in modern American history."
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To test whether celebratory balloons advertised as biodegradable actually will decompose, Ms. Robinson buried samples in a steaming compost heap.

She hired an Official Carbon Adviser, who will measure the greenhouse-gas emissions of every placard, every plane trip, every appetizer prepared and every coffee cup tossed.

The Democrats hope to pay penance for those emissions by investing in renewable energy projects.

Perhaps Ms. Robinson's most audacious goal is to reuse, recycle or compost at least 85% of all waste generated during the convention.
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To police the four-day event Aug. 25-28, she's assembling (via paperless online signup) a trash brigade. Decked out in green shirts, 900 volunteers will hover at waste-disposal stations to make sure delegates put each scrap of trash in the proper bin. Lest a fork slip into the wrong container unnoticed, volunteers will paw through every bag before it is hauled away.

"That's the only way to make sure it's pure," Ms. Robinson says.
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Here, a delegate eats a hamburger on the floor of the 2004 convention in Boston. Democrats' catering guidelines discourage fried food and push for organic or locally-grown ingredients. At least 50% of each meal should be made up of fruits and/or vegetables. Image Credit: Getty Images

No fried food. And, on the theory that nutritious food is more vibrant, each meal should include "at least three of the following colors: red, green, yellow, blue/purple, and white." (Garnishes don't count.)

At least 70% of ingredients should be organic or grown locally, to minimize emissions from fuel burned during transportation.

"One would think," says Mr. Matt Burns, a spokesman for the Republican convention, "that the Democrats in Denver have bigger fish to bake -- they have ruled out frying already -- than mandating color-coordinated pretzel platters."

Democrats say the point is to build habits that will endure long after the convention. To that end, the city has staged "greening workshops" attended by hundreds of caterers, restaurant owners and hotel managers. "It's the new patriotism," Mayor Hickenlooper says.
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Joanne Katz, who runs the Denver caterer Three Tomatoes, will take one for the green team by removing her fried goat-cheese won tons with chipotle pepper caramel sauce from the menu. But she questions whether some of the guidelines will have the desired earth-saving effects.

Compostable utensils, she says, are often shipped from Asia on fuel-guzzling cargo ships. As for the plates: "Is it better to drive across town to have china delivered to an event and then use hot water to wash it, or is it better to use petroleum-based disposables?" she asks.
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But it's almost inevitable that principles, politics and profit will conflict.

To wit: Coors Brewing Co., in Golden, Colo., will donate biofuel made from beer waste to power the convention's fleet of flex-fuel vehicles. A green star for the convention -- but it has rankled die-hard liberals, who boycotted Coors in the 1960s and '70s to protest hiring practices that they said discriminated against blacks, Latinos, women and gays. Heirs to the Coors fortune have long been active in conservative causes and Republican politics.
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No matter, grumbles Anna Flynn, a longtime union member from Denver who objected to the donation. "Any way you put it, it's still Coors," she says.
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Watching the greening frenzy from afar, Fred L. Smith Jr., president of the libertarian Washington think tank Competitive Enterprise Institute, suggested the Democrats could really shrink their footprint by staging a virtual-reality convention: "Just have everyone stay at home with their laptops, sitting in their pajamas, interacting through their avatars."

Ms. Robinson, the greening director, says big showy conventions are part of the American political tradition, and thus worth a few emissions here and there. Also, she hates to be a killjoy.

True, she did try (unsuccessfully) to get bottled water banned from the convention hall. But remember those balloons? She checked the compost heap last week -- and found them still intact.
----
So will the fanny packs -- made in the USA of undyed, organic fabric. Mr. DeMasse vows to get a union shop to print the logo, but he says the ink will be petroleum based. Unless, that is, he decides to get the logo embroidered -- with biodegradable thread.
Reference Here>>

There are always veggies left in bins after the weekend farmers’ market. You just can’t eat ‘em all. After a couple of days grace, the remains are off to the compost heap. Today, it’s a nice selection! Image Credit: Tiny Farm Blog

And This –

Caterers find eco-standards tough to chew
By Douglas Brown - The Denver Post - 05/18/2008 11:33:44 PM MDT

Fried shrimp on a bed of jasmine rice and a side of mango salad, all served on a styrofoam plate. Bottled water to wash it all down.

These trendy catering treats are unlikely to appear on the menu at parties sponsored by the Denver 2008 Host Committee during the Democratic National Convention this summer.

Fried foods are forbidden at the committee's 22 or so events, as is liquid served in individual plastic containers. Plates must be reusable, like china, recyclable or compostable. The food should be local, organic or both.

And caterers must provide foods in "at least three of the following five colors: red, green, yellow, blue/purple, and white," garnishes not included, according to a Request for Proposals, or RFP, distributed last week.

The shrimp-and-mango ensemble? All it's got is white, brown and orange, so it may not have the nutritional balance that generally comes from a multihued menu.

"Blue could be a challenge," joked Ed Janos, owner of Cook's Fresh Market in Denver. "All I can think of are blueberries."
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"I think it's a great idea for our community and our environment. The question is, how practical is it?" asks Nick Agro, the owner of Whirled Peas Catering in Commerce City. "We all want to source locally, but we're in Colorado. The growing season is short. It's dry here. And I question the feasibility of that."

Agro's biggest worry is price. Using organic and local products hikes the costs.

"There is going to be sticker shock when those bids start coming in," he says. "I'll cook anything, but I've had clients who have approached me about all-organic menus, and then they see the organic stuff pretty much doubles your price."

The document, which applies only to the host committee's parties, came after months of work that involved discussions with caterers and event planners along the Front Range, says Parry Burnap, Denver's "greening" director.
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"We are hoping that everything we are doing for greening (the convention) has some legacy value," she says.

The RFP, for example, will likely live on after the convention in a brochure the city will distribute widely to help guide local businesses interested in improving their green practices.
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"It takes some creativity because some of these things are more expensive," she says. "But we're at the front end of a market shift."
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Burnap acknowledged that figuring out what is most green can be difficult.
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"One we are talking about now is, is it better to compost or to recycle? If you are using a cup for a beverage, is it better to be (plastic) and back in the materials stream, or compostable, biodegradable waste and go into the waste stream or compost? There are no definitive answers."

Composting for the convention hasn't been entirely figured out yet, she says.
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The committee is working with other groups to develop a carbon-footprint "calculator" that will measure the environmental impact of each event and suggest an "offset" — a fee — that will go toward a fund helping to match carbon losses with carbon gains.

"That's a fun one," Burnap says. "If these event planners will calculate and offset, it will start to get the money flowing into the Colorado Carbon Fund, a fund that will reinvest in renewable energy here in Colorado."
Reference Here>>

Say hello to the green exchange, spearheaded by a leading cast of energy and environmental brokers -investors- who are launching a new exchange for trading credits that offset the global warming greenhouse gas emissions. Image Credit: triplepundit.com

So who really profits from such demanded activity?

It is time to re-think what we really wish for when we are deciding to change things up in the structure of our country.

The Democrats, through their own controlling management styles and behaviors, are showing all of the citizens here in the United States how a Democrat Party headed up by a Barack Obama presidency will be. Personal freedoms and choices will be reduced and/or eliminated.

We are already hearing it in the speeches, as Obama preaches that we all should be driving smaller cars while willingly paying continually increasing prices for fuel (no problem, they would like to see $10.00 a gallon gas if it were up to them), wearing sweaters instead of expecting warm homes, etc. It is a short Democrat drive to an America that can quickly feel like a third world nation given the expectations of our Democrat Party.

While in Denver, attending the "second coming" and coronation of the party's new leader, here’s hoping you enjoy your confetti-colored appetizer with your biodegradable fork. I hope the plate holding the meal of the day does not disintegrate, or fold in your lap!

A Secretary Of State For Carter's Second Term

Richard Danzig gives keynote speech at Red Herring conference, October 2000. Image Credit: PHC DOLORES L. PARLATO, USN

A Secretary Of State For Carter's Second Term

The more the things in our political landscape change ... they remain the same.

Barack Obama preaches change but many in his organization are high position retreads from the Bill Clinton Administration.

Take, for example, one Richard Danzig, foreign affairs consultant and aide to the Obama campaign for President nominated by the Democrat Party. Danzig served as Secretary of the Navy under Bill Clinton and may be tapped as National Security Advisor or even Secretary of State in a Barack Obama Administration.

In a speech delivered to the Centre for New American Security, Richard Danzig saw fit to evoke images from the book "The Complete Tales Of Winnie-The-Pooh" to illustrate a point he was trying to make – the point is irrelevant but the fact that he wants people to take him seriously through the references he sites – Is Relevant!

"The Complete Tales Of Winnie-The-Pooh" book cover - Image Credit: Amazon

It gets worse - this excerpted from the Telegraph (UK) -

Barack Obama aide: Why Winnie the Pooh should shape US foreign policy
Winnie the Pooh, Luke Skywalker and British football hooligans could shape the foreign policy of Barack Obama if he becomes US President, according to a key adviser.
By Tim Shipman in Washington - Last Updated: 2:04AM BST 17/06/2008

Richard Danzig, who served as Navy Secretary under President Clinton and is tipped to become National Security Adviser in an Obama White House, told a major foreign policy conference in Washington that the future of US strategy in the war on terrorism should follow a lesson from the pages of Winnie the Pooh, which can be shortened to: if it is causing you too much pain, try something else.

Mr Danzig told the Centre for New American Security: “Winnie the Pooh seems to me to be a fundamental text on national security.”

He spelt out how American troops, spies and anti-terrorist officials could learn key lessons by understanding the desire of terrorists to emulate superheroes like Luke Skywalker, and the lust for violence of violent football fans.
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Mr Danzig spelt out the need to change by reading a paragraph from chapter one of the children’s classic, which says: “Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump on the back of his head behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming down stairs. But sometimes he thinks there really is another way if only he could stop bumping a minute and think about it.”
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In a briefing which will inform Mr Obama’s understanding of terrorists, Mr Danzig said he learnt much from recent interviews with jailed Aum Shinrikyo terrorists who released sarin nerve gas on the Tokyo underground in 1995.

He said that even people who are relatively well off and successful can feel like failures and become alientated from their societies. He said one terrorist told him: “We have been raised on a theory of superheroes. We all want to be like Luke Skywalker.

"When we’re doing mundane things, we lose track of our ambition but when someone comes along, like Asahara, the head of the cult, and presents himself as a messiah and gives us a picture of progress that is ordained by heaven and that we are carrying out a saintly mission on earth that is for us extraordinarily evocative.”
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He said that another lesson about terrorists can be learnt from studying violent football fans. “One of the best books I’ve read on terrorism in recent years was not about terrorism at all,” he said. “It’s Bill Buford’s book Among the Thugs, which is a description of soccer violence in Britain.

“Buford became absorbed by soccer violence. He describes the most appalling examples of soccer violence by fans against fans. But he describes with relentless honesty how he finds sickening things attractive. He says violence lets the adrenaline flow; it’s like sex, you live in the moment.”
Reference Here>>

This is, pretty much, how serious a Barack Obama foreign policy would look after he assumes office. If one thinks the United States might be looking weak in the view of the rest of the world ... NOW ... just think how we would look under an Obama Administration with Richard Danzig as, say, Secretary of State (this would not be Jimmy Carter's second Secretary of State, Edmund Muskie ... but the first Secretary of State in the second coming of a Carter Administration which given policies and outcomes of the philosophies of Barack Obama, if implemented, we would certainly suffer)!

Whatever happened to being informed from books and materials that are delivered to us from the world's of NON-FICTION!

Again, this is the guy who advises Barack Obama, no wonder Barack is gaffe ridden, he’s nothing without a teleprompter and he is even less with the type advice he gets.

We, at MAXINE, can not believe that the Soros Left sold this puppet to the Democrat Party and they all BOUGHT IT!

Barack Obama does not know what he Doesn't Know and that makes him very dangerous.

Folks, we are just flyin' down the highway toward "Carter's Second Term"!

Democrats – Can’t See The Forest For The Trees

The day after it was revealed that former ABC News Capitol Hill correspondent Linda Douglass was going to be joining Barack Obama's presidential campaign, "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace said this was a perfect example of how liberal and biased the mainstream media are. Image Credit: NewsBusters

Democrats – Can’t See The Forest For The Trees

It is funny to pick up the paper, or turn on the computer and read what political reporters, writers, and political operatives have to say about each other and further, what they have to say about the landscape they operate in.

On one hand, they all speak in the highest deference about how they respect people who are able to draw the line between personal opinion and respecting the point of view of others, while on the other, they view the world as a mine field … even when they know the communications world is so totally committed to left focused politics.

We, at MAXINE, don’t get it. Many, in the media communications field, think that tough questions are the bulwark of fairness, yet when these very same people make the decision to play a role where they may actually have to field a question, they invariably respond as though they are having to enter a war zone as opposed to actually respond with reasoned counterpoint … and fairness to the question and issue at hand.

CNN's Howard Kurtz, on Sunday morning's Reliable Sources, raised the accuracy of the story with Linda Douglass who covered Capitol Hill for ABC News until the end of 2005. Image Credit: NewsBusters

This example excerpted and edited from the Washington Post -

As Obama Aide, Reporter Dons Flack Jacket
By Howard Kurtz - Washington Post Staff Writer - Monday, June 16, 2008; Page C01

ST. LOUIS -- As Barack Obama started fielding questions at a hospital here last week, Linda Douglass stood off to the left, scribbling in a reporter's notebook, as she has in every presidential campaign since 1980.

It wasn't until 20 minutes later, when she shouted, "Last question!" that her former colleagues were reminded of her new role as a traveling spokeswoman who will be the public face -- a female face in this post-Hillary period -- of the campaign.

After three decades as a television correspondent, Douglass is now on the inside -- but still not getting all the answers. She recalls Obama telling her that he would not talk to her, let alone the outside world, about the vice-presidential selection process, saying: "We're locking it down, we're buttoning it up."

Which is fine with Douglass: "That was so the people who are trying to claw me every day won't get anything. I expect to be kept in the dark."
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Given her background, is Douglass, who covered John McCain's 2000 campaign, prepared to slam the presumed Republican nominee?

"I do like McCain and the people around him, and I consider him still to be a friend," she says. "But I have fundamental differences with John McCain on the issues and always have. I don't have any problem criticizing John McCain."

Describing her disagreements with the Arizona senator -- on the Iraq war, health care and the Bush tax cuts -- Douglass says: "It was no secret to the reporters around me that I have Democratic-leaning views. But they said I was always fair."
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It wasn't until a 45-minute job interview with Obama last month that she decided to leave journalism for good.
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At first, "I was afraid I'd slip into on-one-hand/on-the-other-hand mode. I think reporters are constantly struggling with themselves to suppress their own opinions." Because she believes in Obama's message, Douglass says, "for me this is really liberating."
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McCurry likens the switch to a film critic who is handed a camera and told to make a movie. "She wants to do it in a different way from the spinners of the past," he says. "She wants to get away from the rat-a-tat-tat back-and-forth and keep focused on what journalists need to get the job done."

GOP strategist Dan Schnur, a spokesman for McCain's 2000 campaign, says that Douglass was known for being fair but that the transition may be difficult. "The more us communication types are trained in spin, the more different we become from the reporters who are covering our candidates," he says.
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The Illinois senator may have unrealistic expectations about news management. In telling reporters on his plane that he would no longer discuss his search for a running mate, he said that if they heard "secondhand accounts, rumors, gossip about this election process, you can take it from me that it is wrong." Of course, details usually leak out, and they are sometimes accurate.
----
Douglass's first television appearance as a newly minted flack took place on her old network, ABC, the morning after Obama clinched the nomination.
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After saying, "All right, Linda, the niceties are over," anchor Chris Cuomo asked whether Obama might pick Clinton or another woman as his running mate. Douglass deflected the question -- "There is no short list, there is no long list" -- and pivoted to her talking points, ticking off "the very sharp contrasts" with McCain in "health care and whether the tax cuts go to the rich, as John McCain wants, or to the middle class, as Barack Obama wants, and getting out of Iraq."
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Behind the scenes, Douglass tries to dig out answers to reporters' questions. "I bug everyone all day.
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But there are limits to Douglass's clout, as she learned when she twice tried to end the news conference and Obama didn't stop taking questions.

"If he wants to keep talking, he'll keep talking," she says.

A Clintonite's Choice

Fox News's newest contributor, to be announced today, may surprise the liberal crowd: former Clinton White House lawyer Lanny Davis.

"Fox has always treated me with respect and given me a chance to express my point of view," Davis says of the network that the Democratic candidates refused to grant a debate out of concern that it favors Republicans. He will be a frequent guest, along with such Fox stalwarts as Karl Rove and Newt Gingrich.

A relentless surrogate for Hillary Clinton, Davis says, he felt "ganged up on" during appearances on the other cable channels. He says that Clinton was "demonized" by MSNBC's Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann, and that CNN's primary-night panels were tilted toward the Obama side.

"Does Fox have a conservative slant on some of their programs? Yes," Davis says. "They're giving me a chance to provide a counterpoint, and that's all I can ask."
Reference Here>>

As a citizen out here in the cable bill paying, and program viewing public, isn’t having viewpoints being given a chance to be expressed clearly all we can ask?

Given Lanny Davis’s view of most of the media landscape … the answer is sadly, NO.

The only communicative structure we are all aching for is an attempt at balance in the communication of viewpoints.

The Howard Kurtz piece on Linda Douglass (and Lanny Davis) puts a spotlight the on the reason why the media landscape will not change for the better anytime soon - Democrats can not see the forest for the trees.

The Truth Behind Oil Windfall Profits Tax Vote Failure

The world has a supply of oil, but will the United States ever be allowed to grow beyond being the third largest producer of oil in the world? Image Credit: Daniel Taghioff - Writing on the Wall

The Truth Behind Oil Windfall Profits Tax Vote Failure

Yesterday, all day, the news services were broadcasting and printing the following headline:

Republicans block Democrats' attempt to

impose windfall profits tax on oil companies

In several respects, this is not a clear picture of what really happened.

Sure, the Republican members of the Senate began debate on the Democrat proposal to impose a 25% tax upon the subjective “UNREASONABLE” profits of the five largest United States based oil companies – and the Democrats could not raise enough votes to stop the debate.

The truth behind the failure begins with the Democrats who hold a voting majority if all of the Senators showed up to vote, had seven additional Republican Senators willing to vote to stop debate.

One prominent Democrat that was not in attendance to vote with the majority was Barack Obama.

Senator Obama, the presumptive Democrat Party nominee for President issued a statement after all action on the bill was ended and one wonders, WHY? If one does not show up to participate and vote, do they really have anything constructive and informed by the process of failure to communicate?

Blah, Blah, Blah!

The Senate has 49 Democrats, 49 Republicans, and one Independent that votes Democrat, giving the Democrats the leadership of the Senate. If ALL Democrats had showed up to vote and all voting Democrats and 1 Independent voted for the bill, added to the 7 Republicans that crossed party lines and against the wishes of the Republican leadership … the vote would have been 57 Yes and (who cares) No … still not the 60 votes needed for the bill to pass – REGARDLESS.

This excerpted and edited from Associated Press -

Republicans block Democrats' attempt to impose windfall profits tax on oil companies
The Associated Press - Published: June 11, 2008

Republicans, however, have said the bill would do nothing to ease soaring gasoline prices in the United States.

The Democrats failed, 51-43, to get the 60 votes needed to overcome a Republican filibuster — a procedural tactic to delay debate on a bill — and bring the energy package up for consideration.

The defeat affords Democrats another opportunity, going into the November congressional and presidential elections, to try to cast Republicans as siding with the oil companies at a time of record gasoline prices.
----
But Republican leaders said the Democrats' plan would do harm rather than good — and they kept the legislation from being brought up for debate and amendments.
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At the Capitol, Democratic leaders needed 60 votes and they got only 51 senators' support, including seven Republicans who bucked their party leaders.
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Republican opponents argued that little was to be gained by imposing new taxes on the five U.S. oil giants: Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., Shell Oil Co., BP America Inc. and Conoco-Philips Co.

While these companies may be huge, they do not set world oil prices and raising their taxes would discourage domestic oil production, the Republicans said of the Democrats' plan.

"In the middle of what some are calling the biggest energy shock in a generation ... they proposed as a solution, of all things, a windfall profits tax," Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky chided the Democrats. He called their proposal "a gimmick" that would not lower gasoline prices and only hold back domestic oil production.
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Neither Republican presidential candidate John McCain nor his Democratic rival, Barack Obama, were in Washington to cast votes on the energy issue on Tuesday.

Obama, in a statement, said Republicans had "turned a blind eye to the plight of America's working families" by refusing to take up the energy legislation. Obama has supported additional taxes on the oil companies [and did not attend the debate]. McCain is opposed to such taxes and has proposed across-the-aboard tax reductions for industry as a way to help the economy [and did not attend the debate].

Election-year politics hung over the debate. Democrats know their energy package has no chance of becoming law. Even it were to overcome a Senate Republican filibuster — a longshot at best — and the House acted, President George W. Bush has made clear he would veto it.
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In addition to the proposed windfall profits tax, the Democrats' bill also would have rescinded tax breaks that are expected to save the oil companies $17 billion over the next 10 years. The money would have been used to provide tax incentives for producers of wind, solar and other alternative energy sources as well as for energy conservation.
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After Tuesday's defeat, Democrats did not rule out pushing the issue again.

"This was politics at its worst," complained Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill. "This was a refusal to debate the biggest problem confronting the American people. ... That takes nerve."
Reference Here>>

The "real politics at its worst" (as stated by Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill) on this subject is the irrational support for the NO NUKES for power stance the environmentalists hold and the Democrats (and leftists) back without debate.

Let us, here at MAXINE, not mention the refusal to allow oil field exploration, drilling, extraction, transportation, refinement, and sale of any NEW OIL here in the United States ... for the last four decades.

If only we could restrict the world's oil supply and reproduce long lines at the gas pumps, then we could all experience what Barack Obama and the Democrat Party would bring to the country if elected ... Carter's Second Term.

Bimbo Eruptions vs Radical America-Hating Liberal Eruptions

Christopher Hitchens' latest column in Slate states: "In April 2004, Barack Obama told a reporter from the Chicago Sun-Times that he had three spiritual mentors or counselors: Jeremiah Wright, James Meeks, and Father Michael Pfleger -- for a change of pace, a white Catholic preacher who has a close personal feeling for the man he calls (as does Obama) Minister Farrakhan." Image Credit: Sweetness & Light

Bimbo Eruptions vs Radical America-Hating Liberal Eruptions

The last time the Democrat Party was placed under the societal microscope during a period of political consideration for the highest office in the Free World, it was Bill Clinton and the 1992 presidential elections.

Way back then, character was somewhat important to the voting populous and it seemed that everytime we flipped on the tube to get caught up on the events of the day, we were treated to the sexual indiscretions and behavior of Bill Clinton as recalled by Paula Jones, Gennifer Flowers, and Juanita Broadderick almost stopped the eventual Clinton era from happening. While in office, we all were treated to a disgusting display of philandering of the man and it tainted what would have been remembered as a mostly politically successful presidency – unlike the presidency of Jimmy Carter.

Bill Clinton was fully impeached while in office in his second term over his behavior. While he was not removed, he was stripped of his law license and the whole process made most people feel numbed to politics in general. Collectively we asked ourselves, why can’t people at least attempt to perform at their highest self as opposed to lowering the bar and live at a gutter level. Bimbo eruptions were the order of the day for the two-terms of the Clinton presidency.

In 2008, we all are, again, asked to ignore and accept the philosophical character of the current presumptive candidate the Democrat Party is putting up for the office of President of the United States. Barack Obama holds himself out to be a new type of politician … he is post-racial, a clean living and upstanding family man, and works hard for the betterment of ALL mankind. He is credited with ushering in a new brand of politics. The problem is, that when one begins to look at what has informed Barack Obama, at nearly 48 years old, for the last twenty years of his adult life, one sees a cast of characters that predominately Hate America, and express a separatist, racist attitude toward anyone other than the institutions they come from. Reverend Jeremiah Wright, William (Bill) Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn, and now Father Michael Pfleger have all surfaced and have either been held up and sited as friends or worse, mentors and lifesource guides by Barack Obama through his journey in adult life and Chicago area politics.

The latest of these eruptive episodes of discovery happened a little over one week ago when Father Michael Pfleger took to the pulpit of the church that Obama claimed as his own for the last twenty years (the one he was married to Michelle in, the one that his kids were baptized, and educated on “Christianity” in), and vividly mocked white people and called America “the greatest sin against God.”

Barack Obama’s response, after sitting in the pews of this church for the last twenty years, naming Reverend Jeremiah Wright and Father Michael Pfleger to his campaign steering committee and sighting them as spiritual advisors, was to hold a press conference to announce his family’s withdrawal of membership to the Trinity United Church of Christ.

We have to ask, does this automatically end the direction and education of Barack Obama for the last twenty year span of time and influence?

This excerpted and edited from The Weekley Standard –

Obama the Ditherer
Posted by Dean Barnett on June 2, 2008 08:39 AM

Over the weekend, Barack Obama gave his best Roberto Duran “No Más” impersonation and divorced himself from Trinity United Church, however belatedly. The proximate cause was a sermon given at the church last Sunday by his longtime friend, Father Michael Pfleger.
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Of course, the big question most people will ask is did Obama associate with people like Pfleger and the equally kooky Reverend Wright because he saw in them fellow travelers or did he do so out of political expedience. Personally, I go with the latter. Although I don’t care for Obama’s politics and consider him unprepared to be president, I believe the reports of virtually everyone who’s known him that he’s a decent guy.
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If Obama acted decisively on this matter 18 months ago, it wouldn’t be a major issue today. And yet he tacked the opposite direction with his racial reconciliation speech:

Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way….

Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety - the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-banger. Like other black churches, Trinity’s services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America.

With these comments, Obama wed himself to Trinity United for the duration of the campaign.

For better or for worse.

And the whole reason was because he seemingly lacks the capacity for decisive action. He prefers talking to doing. And he prefers ambiguity to clarity.

These are not desirable qualities for a President.
Reference Here>>

Will Tony Rezko be the next “Radical Eruption” (his trial is set to end soon) to visit the campaign for Barack Obama … or is there another America Hating Priest or Terrorist waiting in the wings to take away the spotlight on Rezko’s apparent corruption of Barack Obama?

One has to ask … What in his life will Obama have to disavow or give up next in order to become President?

We are all just sitting here on the road to Carter’s Second Term!

The Misery News Network – MSNBC

Image Credit: msnbc.com

The Misery News Network – MSNBC

In the nineteen-nineties when Bill Clinton was president, many people began to tune out from CNN, the 24 hour cable news network, when the reporting “loop” from the channel ran stories that appeared to be unbalanced and favorable to the daily goings on of the Clinton Administration, and Bill Clinton. This observation became so universal that the nickname of CNN was the Clinton News Network.

CNN Logo - Image Credit: Depauw.edu

After catching another edition of the daily morning political news and discussion program on MSNBC, Morning Joe, it is becoming clearer what MSNBC should change its name to when the rumored separation between software giant, Microsoft, and the National Broadcasting Corporation, removes its association from “MS”NBC.

Just in time for Carter’s Second Term, the Democrat Party will be able to trot out the MNN, the Misery News Network.

This is a place where in today’s broadcast, the performance artists pontiffs rantings are not really news to analyze or understand as it relates to the insights on the background of Barack Obama, the suicide rates of military personal in Iraq requires exhaustive review, Scott McClellan, former press secretary to the Bush Adminstration, is hailed as a hero for his recently released book that political consultant, Dick Morris recently characterized as a tome for money that really adds insights to … nothing (paraphrased … “we already know all of this information about public relations efforts on behalf of the Iraq war effort – executive administration’s do this – what was the purpose of the “Gettysburg Address” for example?”), and health care (a Government fixed health care system) is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed in this next election cycle. This just in … a crane collapses in New York City, thank-you, broadcast producers, for the cut-away.

My Box is The Most Viralist Video! - I got lots of nice emails after last night MSNBC named my video the "Most Viralist Video." Thanks to MSNBC... and thanks for the emails!! Caption and Image Credit: myboxinabox.typepad.com

We see the second coming of the Misery Index and the perfect messenger of this broader attitudinal “groundswell” – The MNN. The cable news outlet for the decidedly liberal General Electric corporate broadcast property of the NBC network (featuring Jeffery Immelt, CEO/Who does business with the mullahs in IRAN, Keith Olberman, Sportscaster turned Political Pundit/”Reporter”, Chris Matthews, Political Pundit who gets a strange feeling in his leg when he thinks of Barack Obama – HIS WORDS, cipher Mika Brzezinski, Boston plagiarist, Mike Barnacle), and the voice for Carter’s Second Term.

All Hail To The MNN!

Barack Obama “Doubles-Down” On Ignorance

We believe in Barack as a great leader and we are committed to working together. Our goal: Get the best candidate, Barack Obama, to be President in 2008. Caption and Image Credit: Oregon for Barack website

Barack Obama “Doubles-Down” On The Level Of His Ignorance

In a speech given to a crowd of Democrat supporters in Oregon, Barack Obama proves how totally ignorant he is in his template thinking and point-of-view.

He believes that all he has to do once he is president is talk to hostile nation leaders without pre-conditions. He improperly sites the activities of past presidents in his argument without any proof of how their activities were able to be compared to his declaration of unilateral talks without conditions.

Where Obama doubled-down is he compared the size of the nation and threat posed by Iran to Communist Russia during the Cold War. That Iran, in comparison to the former Cold War Russia, is tiny … they spend only one one-hundredth on their military than we in the United States spend.

The basics of what the clueless and self-centered Obama misses are the obvious threats posed through asymmetric warfare.

Questions:

How much money and weaponry investment did the nineteen people who took down the World Trade Center, and attempted to take out the Pentagon have?

How much does planning, boxcutters, airline tickets and surprise cost the people who wanted to take down our freedoms and way of life?

But for a little error in the execution and the bravery of citizens on the plane that crashed into a field … our government’s central meeting house was spared an attack.

This edited and excerpted from the Washington Post’s, The Trail –

McCain Blasts Obama Over Iran Talks
By Peter Slevin – CHICAGO - Updated 2:57 p.m.

Obama has stuck firmly to his position that the president should be willing to talk with America's enemies as part of a return to a more open and ambitious use of diplomacy. He cites President Nixon's opening to China and President Reagan's negotiations with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. He frequently quotes President Kennedy's position during the escalating nuclear arms race that the United States should be willing to meet with its adversaries.

"So let us begin anew, remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness and sincerity is always subject to proof," Kennedy said in his 1961 inaugural address. "Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate."
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Obama did not use the word "tiny" to describe the threat, but to describe the size of Iran, Cuba and Venezuela compared with the former Soviet Union.

"Iran, Cuba, Venezuela -- these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don't pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us," Obama had said.

"And yet we were willing to talk to the Soviet Union at the time when they were saying, 'We're going to wipe you off the planet.' And, ultimately, that direct engagement led to a series of measures that helped prevent nuclear war, and over time allowed the kind of opening that brought down the Berlin Wall."

Obama went on, "Iran, they spend one one-hundredth of what we spend on the military. If Iran ever tried to pose a serious threat to us, they wouldn't stand a chance. And we should use that position of strength that we have to be bold enough to go ahead and listen.

"That doesn't mean we agree with them on everything," Obama concluded. "We might not compromise on any issues, but at least we should find out other areas of potential common interest, and we can reduce some of the tensions that has caused us so many problems around the world."

McCain said the United States should "communicate with Iran our concerns about their behavior" at an "appropriate" diplomatic level. But, he said, "a summit meeting with the president of the United States, which is what Senator Obama proposes, is the most prestigious card we have to play in international diplomacy. It is not a card to be played lightly."
Reference Here>>

McCain added his remarks to a prepared speech on economic policy. Before he turned to a discussion of jobs, taxes and trade, he said he wanted to respond to comments about Iran made Sunday in Oregon by Obama.

"Senator Obama claimed that the threat Iran poses to our security is 'tiny' compared to the threat once posed by the former Soviet Union," McCain said. "Obviously, Iran isn't a superpower and doesn't possess the military power the Soviet Union had. But that does not mean that the threat posed by Iran is insignificant."

Accusing Sen. Barack Obama of "inexperience and reckless judgment," Sen. John McCain blasted his likely Democratic opponent on Monday for being willing to talk with Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad without preconditions during his first year as president. McCain said such talks would only embolden "an implacable foe of the United States."

What we, at MAXINE, do not understand is why isn't the MSM able to back away from their absolute love of the presumed Democrat Party candidate for President and do the math on Barack Obama's level of ignorance?

Barry just isn't ready for PRIMETIME!

You know, he only hears the responses from the 70,000 person adoring crowd that is in front of him (he is so self-absorbed and clueless) but he can't hear the reaction of the 750,000, or so, people that are listening to him on the radio or television that understand the depth of the ignorance of his statements.
(ht: Hugh Hewitt)

Google Shareholders On Human Rights: Not So Much

The starting view in Google Earth. If one were to type in an address in Denver, Colorado, USA, one can zoom in and out from 1600 Curtis St. and watch it disappear into a satellite view of the Earth and then zoom back in as if one were falling onto 1600 Curtis St. from space; and if one were to click on "Forbidden City" in the "Sightseeing" column, one would see what it would look like to fly Superman-style from 1600 Curtis St. in Denver to the Forbidden Palace in Beijing, China. Image Credit: Google Earth™ mapping service via How Stuff Works

Google Shareholders On Human Rights: Not So Much

It wasn’t long ago when the business information and technology airwaves were filled with human interest stories about the emerging search engine powerhouse, Google, and how the company should be held out as an example of what a socially conscious corporate society should be.

The Google campus boasted a multitude of social services like gyms, flex-time, in-house medical services, an accommodating and understanding rules infrastructure with staffing to help employees with everyday human life problems … in short, a social/corporate wonderland.

Apparently, this commitment to recognize the plight of the human condition does not extend or apply outside of the walls of the corporate environment.

In recent votes on proposals that would have the search engine giant recognize and adhere to policies that would help to enforce human rights agendas, the shareholders voted down moves in taking a stand.

This excerpted from IDG News Service via Computerworld -

Google grilled on human rights
Google shareholders voted down two proposals that would have compelled the search giant to implement more stringent human rights policies
Nancy Gohring (IDG News Service) 09/05/2008 10:57:04

Google's shareholders, following the advice of the board, voted down two proposals on Thursday that would have compelled the search giant to change its human rights policies, but the issue dominated the company's annual shareholder meeting nevertheless.

Sergey Brin in participation at a Web 2.0 Conference Q & A. Image Credit: James Duncan Davidson/O'Reilly Media, Inc. (2005) via Wikipedia

Sergey Brin, cofounder and president of technology for Google, abstained from voting on either of the proposals. "I agreed with the spirit of these proposals," Brin said. But he said he didn't fully support them as they were written, and so did not want to vote for them.
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Google has come under fire for operating a version of its search engine that complies with China's censorship rules. Google was criticized for launching a search service in 2006 aimed at Chinese users that blocks results considered objectionable to the Beijing government. Google argues that it's better for it to have a presence in the country and to offer people some information, rather than for it to not be active in China at all.

In March Google's board of directors indicated they opposed a ban on Internet censorship as well as the creation of a committee that would review the company's policies on human rights, according to the company's proxy statement filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and released publicly Tuesday.
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The proposal, presented by an Amnesty worker, suggested that Google institute a series of policies to protect freedom of access to the Internet. The policies should include using all legal means to resist demands for censorship, informing users when the company has complied with requests for censorship, and hosting information that can identify users only in countries that don't restrict the Internet.
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Google is participating in an initiative to develop voluntary guidelines for how Internet companies should respond to censorship demands in countries like China, said Tony Cruz, the Amnesty International member who presented the proposal. While that's a step in the right direction, he said, Google still hasn't made any improvements since its launch in China.

"We've seen little more than talk and defensiveness from Google since the problems emerged," he said. "Nothing precludes Google from taking steps to ameliorate this problem while conversation about the standard goes on."

Harrington Investments submitted a related proposal that was also voted down. It would have created a human rights committee at Google to review the implications of company policies on human rights.

Brin defended Google's activities in China. "Google has a far superior track record than other search companies with respect to making information freely available," he said. He may have been referring to Yahoo, which turned over information to Chinese authorities that led to the imprisonment of a writer.
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That explanation didn't seem to placate everyone in the room. Another Amnesty International member said he appreciates the difficulty of the situation in China, but Google hasn't gone far enough.
Reference Here>>

This lack of action toward the issue of human rights may give a whole new twist on the expression "Google Earth".

So what do we, at MAXINE, think about Google Corporation's recent activities and moves to absolve themselves from being a responsible player on the world's human rights front?

Ahhhh, Not So Much!

At Xerox, It's Here Today ... Gone Tomorrow!

Graphic showing the "invisible ink" effect of the Xerox "photochromatic compound" transient document process. Image Credit: Xerox Corp.

At Xerox, It's Here Today ... Gone Tomorrow! - Originally posted 2/24/07

Just when you begin to think that paper documents are about to be a thing of the past ... "Everything is going digital!" ... Xerox reveals that it still is applying R&D assets on hardcopy processes.

That's right, there is an identified need to have a printed (on a sheet of paper) document that has a ticking-time value for its intended use. The image is applied to the paper, then, after about sixteen hours, the image disappears.

We at MAXINE will define the document derived from this process as a "Workday Lifetime Document" or WLD.

Output from a Xerox inkless printer. Images last only about one working day. Image Credit: Xerox via TFOT

Excerpts from PC Pro (United Kingdom) -

Xerox reveals transient documents
By Alun Williams – PC Pro - Originally published Thursday 7th September 2006, 11:04 AM

Xerox has lifted the veil from some of its research and development work in the field of printing. The cutting-edge research highlighted at a press event involved current projects that are expected to see the commercial light of day within 18-months, including a twist on the theme of invisible ink.

Mario Jarmasz, an engineer from one of the company's R&D centres, in Grenoble, was speaking at the launch of the Xerox's entry-level A4-only multi-function printers. As well as a looking at 'print infrastructure mining', which brings the techniques of data mining to enterprise print logs to better optimise the flow of print jobs around an organisation, he also demoed the very intriguing 'transient documents'.

This offers the prospect of reusable paper in the sense that the content is automatically erased after a period of time, ready for fresh printing. Inspired by the fact that many print outs have a life-span of a few hours (think of the emails you may print out just to read, or the content you proof read on the train journey back home), the specially prepared paper will preserve its content for up to 16 hours.

XRCC researcher Peter Kazmaier with erasable paper output in the lab. Image Credit: Xerox via TFOT

The paper has a photochromic compound that changes from a clear state to a coloured state under ultra-violet light. This can create the print face, which will duly fade with time. Further research is being undertaken to give the option of subsequently preserving the content if the user desires, which might literally involve warming up old data through the heating of the paper.
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Jarmasz also demonstrated the company's work on mobile document imaging, for example capturing data from business cards through a process of OCR compression and then transmission. Possible developments of this work include expanding email interfaces to incorporate handwritten input and the management of distributed forms.

Xerox, of course, is legendary for its Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), which claims credit for developing Ethernet and laser printers as well as the first personal computer. Having developed the machines, the researchers then wanted to connect them and then to print, and the rest is history.
Reference Here>>

Okay ... so, what do you think about this technological document imaging "breakthrough"? MAXINE would like to hear your thoughts. The lines are open!

And this, from an interview posted at The Future Of Things 2-15-2007 -

To learn more about Xerox's inkless printer technology, an interview with Dr. Paul Smith, laboratory manager at the Xerox Research Centre of Canada provides updated insights.

Q: When did you start working on the erasable paper technology and what was the motivation for the project?

A: We began work on erasable paper about three years ago. This followed extensive research by our work practices team from PARC who spent time with customers in offices. People still like the feel and look of paper—it is one of the best ways to communicate and show information. But our customers told us they would like to use a little less paper, so we began working on ways to create paper documents that could be reused.

Q: Did you have a Eureka! moment during the development?

A: The Eureka moment really came during the discussions with customers when we determined that two of every five documents are only used for as little as a day or even for less than a minute. Individuals might print their calendar or memos for a meeting or even the header sheet that goes with networked printers that tells who the document belongs to. You use that literally for only a minute and then put it in the recycle box.

Q: How does the erasable paper work? Could it be used to print in color?

Dr. Paul Smith with inkless output from two different runs. Image Credit: TFOT

A: The erasable paper is not really printed. The paper is coated with a coating of only a few microns. This overlay contains chemicals that are activated by a light bar in the printer or multifunction device that creates the image. At this time the image is black or a dark purple color. It is conceivable that color could be created, but we are not working in that area now.

Although on the surface it may appear simple to develop a paper that can be imaged using UV light alone and then fades at a specified rate at room temperature, in practice there are many complex elements which must come together to make this a viable technology. Erasable paper technology is based on a photochromic concept similar to transition sunglasses which turn dark in bright sunlight and are seen through in a dark room. In the case of sunglasses the photochromic molecule, normally from a class of molecules such as spiropyran, reversibly converts from a colorless form to a colored form. In the case of the erasable paper, the compound that is present within the paper also turns from a colorless form to colored when exposed to a specific wavelength of light. The compound then gradually reverts back to its original colorless form over a period of time.

The end result is a reusable paper which feels very much like regular paper and is not at all like the older, waxy fax paper. The reusable paper technology has been developed from scratch but does incorporate elements which have been disclosed before. With respect to the light source, it is just beyond the blue end of the visible light spectrum. The intensity required is directly related to the writing speed that one would like to support.

Q: Can we describe what you have developed as an inkless printer?

A: People normally associate printing with inks and toners which are deposited onto the paper to make the image. This in fact is an inkless printer. The media itself creates the image after exposure to light.

Q: How many write-rewrite cycles did you perform with each paper?

A: We have been able to rewrite on the paper as many as fifty times.

Q: What printing resolution did you achieve?

A: We currently use 150 dpi, but this is not a limitation, this is just due to the resolution of the image bar that we use. This resolution is more than adequate considering the documents that are being considered for use with transient documents such as cover sheets and e-mails. We could have a much higher resolution if required.

Q: Since the paper is sensitive to U.V. radiation, what happens if you leave paper near the window or even outside on a sunny day?

A: This paper responds to a specific wavelength of light and requires a certain intensity level to change color. The intensity required is higher than the intensity observed in sunlight.

Q: Many other technologies developed in the past by Xerox failed to materialize and were later introduced by other companies. Do you fear a similar fate for the erasable paper?


Xerox's erasable paper—gradual disappearance over time. Image Credit: Xerox via TFOT

A: It is sort of a Silicon Valley myth that Xerox has not been successful in bringing technology products to market, yet we are a $15.7 billion company based on technology that we created ourselves. Our researchers invented the Ethernet, the first laser printer, the first plain-paper fax machine and the graphic user interface. There have been more than 40 successful spin-outs and startups based on Xerox technology. We are confident, based on our extensive focus groups, that there is customer interest in this project and that we will be able to develop a successful product.

Q: Can the erasable paper be used for security purposes?
A: There are many potential applications and a large amount of interest for this technology. Xerox is currently considering all potential commercialization avenues.

Q: When do you predict the erasable paper to reach the consumer market, and what obstacles do you still face in its development?

A: This is a very early research project that is several years away from reaching the market. We will be looking at a number of elements related to quality of image, length of time for the image to fade and more. There is a great deal more work to be done before this will be a product.

Q: How much do you predict the erasable paper will cost when launched?

A: Because erasable paper is still in the research centers, there is no way to speculate on what the cost of the paper will be. However, I want to clarify that this may not require a stand-alone special printer. In our prototypes, we use it as an added feature in existing Xerox multifunction devices. The erasable paper would be in one of the three or four paper drawers that these devices typically offer.

Q: What are the current limitations of the erasable paper technology? Will you be able to control the time it takes for the text to disappear?

A: Currently the image fades in about 16 to 24 hours. We do expect further research will be able to control how long the image lasts. You can also immediately erase the paper and use it again by applying a heat source or putting the paper right in the machine to be reprinted.

Q: Do you fear people will mix regular paper and erasable paper and print important documents on erasable paper? Will it be possible to allow future printers to recognize the type of paper as erasable or regular and notify the user accordingly?

A: The way Xerox multifunction devices are set up, you can currently select what type of paper you wish to use, based on sizes, color, transparencies, and so forth that are loaded into the drawers. So it will certainly be an option that you will be able to tell the printing device when to use erasable paper.
Reference Here>>

Originally Posted At Symblogogy (updated 2-24-2007) September 8, 2006

UPDATED 5-2-2008:

Xerox touts erasable paper, smart documents
The hi-tech paper can be reused up to 100 times
By Agam Shah - April 29, 2008 (IDG News Service)

Xerox Corp.'s research arm yesterday showcased its latest innovations, including erasable paper and tools that make documents "smart" by adding a deeper meaning to words and images.

Since its establishment in 1970, the Palo Alto Research Center Inc. (PARC), funded by Xerox, has created numerous technologies now available on PCs, including Ethernet, the graphical user interface (GUI) and the computer mouse. The laboratory, with other Xerox research facilities, is now trying to help its parent company and other start-ups by focusing on printing and other innovations to access, use and secure electronic documents.

Scientists demonstrated paper that can be reused after printed text automatically deletes itself from the paper's surface within 24 hours. Instead of trashing or recycling after one use, a single piece of paper can be used a second time, and reused up to 100 times, said Eric Shrader, area manager at PARC.

Predictions that paper would disappear in the 1970s in favor of electronic documents were wrong, Shrader said. As the number of electronic documents produced increases, about two to five pages are printed in the office for daily use, like e-mail messages and Web pages, which are discarded or recycled after being read. Reusable paper reduces waste, is environmentally safe, and helps reduce overall printing and paper costs, Shrader said.
Reference Here>>