MEXIFORNIA
By Victor Davis Hanson
This is a very important book to read by those in a position do solve the problems our country faces with the flood of illegal immigrants entering every day.
Mr. Hanson has the credentials to explore this subject. He is a life long resident of what was once a small town near Fresno, California. His family owns a small grape orchard and he holds a PhD and teaches Classics at the California State University at Fresno. He grew up with Mexican-Americans. He has them as nephews, nieces, sisters-in-law, and prospective sons-in-law as well as friends and neighbors.
This is not a hate book. It is a rational analysis of all the various factors involved in the process. He does strongly condemn the past and present government of Mexico for its lack of leadership in providing opportunities in Mexico for its citizens who are then forced to risk their lives trying to enter America so that they can better provide for their families left behind. It is estimated that $15 billion is sent back to Mexico every year. This is the greatest source of income even surpassing their oil industry. His research has shown that since 1990 the number of poor Mexican-Americans in America has climbed 52%, half of all births are illegitimate, half of all Hispanics do not graduate from high school, less than 10% nationwide have graduated from college with a bachelors degree.
When young Mexicans arrive they are exploited by all sorts of people including fellow Mexicans. It all starts with the Coyote cost to get here. He states most do hard work for cash at $10/hr. and most of that is sent home. They live frugally. Because they keep their cash on them they are sometimes robbed and there are all sorts of fringe players sucking their money from them. Once they reach the age of 45 the backbreaking work becomes more difficult and they become demoralized. It is no wonder that their children have no interest in following in their footsteps. Their children’s collective lack of a good education often leads to crime as their way out.
He blames much of the education problems to misdirected efforts which detract from learning the basics. Instead many feel good courses are offered which tend to create in their minds a feeling of being exploited and discriminated against; all the while vast sums are being spent but wasted. The single greatest detriment is their lack of knowledge of English. Finally States are beginning to immerse them in learning English which he hopes over time will correct this problem.
He tries to make the distinction between America which is a melting pot and bi-lingual nations. Over our 200+ years of existence many different cultures have entered and been assimilated. Almost always with difficulty and resentment from those already here, but it was done. A bi-lingual society wherever found in the world has difficulty maintaining continuity. Until these Mexican immigrants master the English language they will never really enjoy the benefits of living in America. The other major theme he espouses is the lack of instruction about our history. If they do not learn of the leaders who created our unique form of government and those who fought and died in the many wars to preserve our freedom, how can you expect them to feel apart of it all. In the various ways used to teach them their Mexican heritage, they cling to a fantasy of how wonderful Mexico is when in reality their parents fled from there to create a better life for their children. He singles out La Raza teaching in colleges and universities that California is an utterly racist state and that only thru protest, agitation and violence can changes be made.
He paints a number of scenarios on where all this may end up, most of them unacceptable. The huge increase in illegal immigration has only occurred over the past 30 years. With leadership, it could be restored to the orderly process that was the norm before this time. He is hopeful that this will occur sooner rather than later.
Please understand that I cannot in this short review cover the content of this book. You must take the time yourself. I am positive if you do you will have a clearer understanding of the scope of the problem and possible solutions. We always seem to throw up our hands and give up. That is not the American way, is it?
I always feel compelled to add my own thoughts when reviewing some one else’s work. Europe has open borders between countries that many times are smaller than our States. They do it by verifying legal status when applying for employment. We have the E-verify program which has proved its accuracy. Arizona requires employers to use it. Just this week President Bush signed an executive order making all contractors doing business for the Federal Government to use it as well. It has been reported that 69% of employers nationwide are now using it voluntarily. If this trend continues there will be no work for illegals and they will be forced to return home or fight for menial cash paying jobs. Of course there will be consequences as needed work will not get done. A verifiable guest worker program would fill the gap.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
June 10, 2008
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Censorship
Censorship is promoted by the editorial staff of the Arizona Daily Star
Ann Brown, the Editorial Page Editor published a major editorial today (6/8/2008) entitled, “Hispanic group right to stand up to hatemongers”. She attacks Mr. Lou Dobbs in particular and others including Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly and a local radio program on Tucson radio station 104.1-FM, “The Jon Justice Show”. What she advocates is that the owners of the networks put pressure on their talk show hosts and censure their comments.
I certainly can agree that any group or individual can boycott as they wish. That is their right. I, in fact have a number of products, stores, stations and countries that I boycott. None of them are aware of my pitiful gesture, nonetheless I feel better for doing it and showing my concern.
What bothers me is the strident attack by the editor stating that Lou Dobbs has lied deliberately. I do not believe this for a minute. He may make a misstatement but I have heard him make a correction when brought to his attention. The truth of the matter is that illegal immigration is totally out of control and mostly from Mexico. You obviously have your mind made up but if you want to be considered an informed editor then you should read other points of view. I refer you specifically to a book entitled,”Mexifornia” by Victor Davis Hanson published in 2007. You will probably assume it is racist and hateful. I am half way thru reading it and I find he is very sensitive to the plight of illegals and how they are mistreated and cheated out of their hard earned wages by one and all.
Their only protection can come by having a viable foreign worker program to give them legal status to work in this country and be paid the going wage and pay all taxes accordingly as Americans must do, instead of cash payments which are the norm today. The policy of the Mexican Government is to export the lowest of their citizens, those with little education. In this way they defuse resentment and minimize the risk of rebellion for their continuing mistreatment in their own country.
How would you like it if the owner of the Star told you what to write in your editorials or worse read them before publishing and amending to their thinking? That is what you are asking CNN to do. Shame on you.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
June 8, 2008
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
Ann Brown, the Editorial Page Editor published a major editorial today (6/8/2008) entitled, “Hispanic group right to stand up to hatemongers”. She attacks Mr. Lou Dobbs in particular and others including Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly and a local radio program on Tucson radio station 104.1-FM, “The Jon Justice Show”. What she advocates is that the owners of the networks put pressure on their talk show hosts and censure their comments.
I certainly can agree that any group or individual can boycott as they wish. That is their right. I, in fact have a number of products, stores, stations and countries that I boycott. None of them are aware of my pitiful gesture, nonetheless I feel better for doing it and showing my concern.
What bothers me is the strident attack by the editor stating that Lou Dobbs has lied deliberately. I do not believe this for a minute. He may make a misstatement but I have heard him make a correction when brought to his attention. The truth of the matter is that illegal immigration is totally out of control and mostly from Mexico. You obviously have your mind made up but if you want to be considered an informed editor then you should read other points of view. I refer you specifically to a book entitled,”Mexifornia” by Victor Davis Hanson published in 2007. You will probably assume it is racist and hateful. I am half way thru reading it and I find he is very sensitive to the plight of illegals and how they are mistreated and cheated out of their hard earned wages by one and all.
Their only protection can come by having a viable foreign worker program to give them legal status to work in this country and be paid the going wage and pay all taxes accordingly as Americans must do, instead of cash payments which are the norm today. The policy of the Mexican Government is to export the lowest of their citizens, those with little education. In this way they defuse resentment and minimize the risk of rebellion for their continuing mistreatment in their own country.
How would you like it if the owner of the Star told you what to write in your editorials or worse read them before publishing and amending to their thinking? That is what you are asking CNN to do. Shame on you.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
June 8, 2008
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Douglass and Lincoln ( a book review )
Douglass
And
Lincoln
By: Paul Kendrick and Stephen Kendrick
This is a very informative book. I found it at the Tucson Public Library. It filled in a lot of blanks for me during the critical years of our civil war. I had known about Frederick Douglass but I was not aware of the great influence he had on President Lincoln.
He was born into slavery in Maryland, endured harsh treatment from his owners and at the age of 18 was finally able to escape and settle in New Bedford, Massachusetts with his wife Anna who he met in Baltimore. She had been freed and provided the funds to secure his freedom. He read everything he could get a hold of and developed oratory skills which he used everywhere he could reach an audience across the Northern States. He, of course, was an ardent abolitionist who could never be satisfied until the four million Negroes were released from slavery and allowed the advantages of citizenship equal with the white population. He lived a long life until 1895 and through all that time struggled to accomplish his goal without achieving it in total.
He was extremely disappointed with the incremental steps taken by President Lincoln. It was not because Lincoln abhorred slavery, as he did, but because of the tenuous situation of the Southern States breaking away after his election and before he even took office. His main goal always was to preserve the union. If that entailed a continuation of slavery he was willing to accept it. He would have tried to keep it from extending into the new Western States as they were formed with the idea that if contained then it would eventually die of its own accord. Once the Confederacy was established and war began again all of his efforts were directed to restore the country. One of Lincoln’s first concerns was to keep the Border States from joining the Confederacy. They were Slave States. Any move to eliminate slavery could have lost them and the North would not have had the people or the resources to restore the Union.
Bit by bit as the war dragged on, the citizens in the North were able to accept incremental steps towards freeing the slaves. One of the first steps was to outlaw slavery in Washington, DC. This was another awakening for me as I did not know that slavery had existed in the North. Mr. Douglass deserves credit for continuing to speak and write. He finally came to understand Lincoln and became an ardent supporter. He met with the President on four separate occasions. He found Lincoln to be very open and doing all he could. Had the war been concluded before it did, with a settlement, it would be done with slavery still intact. In September 1862 Lincoln announced “The Emancipation Proclamation” which stated that effective 1/1/63, all those held in slavery within any State rebelling against the government would be “forever free.” It was a temporary solution at best as the Border States were excluded and any that re-entered the union would have their right to slavery restored. It also authorized Negros to be admitted to the Armed Services. Thus, as weak as it was, it was a huge step forward, which Douglass realized was monumental in scope.
During the first years the Union Army would actually return escaped slaves to the Rebels. Finally, a regiment was formed in Massachusetts in February, 1863, the 54th. If you have seen the movie, “Glory” it depicted the plight of these Negro recruits as they trained and then fought so bravely at the battle for Fort Wagner, S.C. From this beginning with Douglass’s urging more and more Negros enlisted, fought and died. It was now accepted that allowing slaves to enter the North accomplished two goals. The South was deprived of their labor and the North added those capable into the Army. As the war progressed finally Lincoln declared that all slaves who reached the Union lines and enlisted would be forever free. By the end of the war over 200,000 Negros were in uniform, roughly a fourth of the entire Army. Thirty Eight thousand gave their lives. If captured by the Rebels they were killed in brutal fashion. Lincoln threatened to retaliate in kind but could never do so.
Slavery came to an end in Maryland on 11/1/1864. Douglass immediately returned to the State where he had been a slave, looking for and finding relatives. It was a joyous time.
January 31, 1864, the House passed the 13th Amendment by the three fourths required. It would finally and completely eradicate slavery. There was no doubt that the States would quickly approve.
Lincoln won re-election; the war was winding down but not over when he gave his inauguration speech. It lasted only seven minutes. It was as powerful as the Gettysburg Address, in my opinion. He referred to the fact that both sides prayed to the same God for victory. He stated, he believed that “American Slavery” was an offence to God. He said,” God gives to both North and South, this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offence came.” He concluded with these powerful words,” With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who has borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a first, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.” Douglass was overwhelmed. Even in his highest expectations, he had not imagined Lincoln’s speech having this kind of power.
April 10th the war ended with General Lee surrendering to General Grant. Four nights later Lincoln was assassinated and with his death his fine words came to naught.
On April 14, 1876 there was a ceremony to dedicate a memorial, The Freedman’s Monument, dedicated to the martyred President. It depicted President Lincoln with a gentle hand on the head of a freed slave. Douglass was the only speaker. He began bravely by telling the mostly white audience that Lincoln was first and foremost one of them, a white man, and that he would have sacrificed the blacks if necessary to preserve the union but he finished by saying, “We came to the conclusion that the hour and the man of our redemption had somehow met in the person of Abraham Lincoln. See this man. He was one of you and yet became Abraham Lincoln.”
With the death of Lincoln his successor Johnson and the rest to follow in his lifetime did little to provide opportunity to the freed slaves. They were denied the right to own land, vote, have access to education and held down by every means possible. He died in 1895 with only a partial victory.
What is strange to me is that Negros were allowed to fight in the Civil War but never again until President Truman desegregated the Armed Services during the Korean War. It took Presidents Kennedy and Johnson to finally integrate the country. Their struggle for equality continues but great strides have been made. Frederick Douglass, I believe would be satisfied.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
June 4, 2008
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
And
Lincoln
By: Paul Kendrick and Stephen Kendrick
This is a very informative book. I found it at the Tucson Public Library. It filled in a lot of blanks for me during the critical years of our civil war. I had known about Frederick Douglass but I was not aware of the great influence he had on President Lincoln.
He was born into slavery in Maryland, endured harsh treatment from his owners and at the age of 18 was finally able to escape and settle in New Bedford, Massachusetts with his wife Anna who he met in Baltimore. She had been freed and provided the funds to secure his freedom. He read everything he could get a hold of and developed oratory skills which he used everywhere he could reach an audience across the Northern States. He, of course, was an ardent abolitionist who could never be satisfied until the four million Negroes were released from slavery and allowed the advantages of citizenship equal with the white population. He lived a long life until 1895 and through all that time struggled to accomplish his goal without achieving it in total.
He was extremely disappointed with the incremental steps taken by President Lincoln. It was not because Lincoln abhorred slavery, as he did, but because of the tenuous situation of the Southern States breaking away after his election and before he even took office. His main goal always was to preserve the union. If that entailed a continuation of slavery he was willing to accept it. He would have tried to keep it from extending into the new Western States as they were formed with the idea that if contained then it would eventually die of its own accord. Once the Confederacy was established and war began again all of his efforts were directed to restore the country. One of Lincoln’s first concerns was to keep the Border States from joining the Confederacy. They were Slave States. Any move to eliminate slavery could have lost them and the North would not have had the people or the resources to restore the Union.
Bit by bit as the war dragged on, the citizens in the North were able to accept incremental steps towards freeing the slaves. One of the first steps was to outlaw slavery in Washington, DC. This was another awakening for me as I did not know that slavery had existed in the North. Mr. Douglass deserves credit for continuing to speak and write. He finally came to understand Lincoln and became an ardent supporter. He met with the President on four separate occasions. He found Lincoln to be very open and doing all he could. Had the war been concluded before it did, with a settlement, it would be done with slavery still intact. In September 1862 Lincoln announced “The Emancipation Proclamation” which stated that effective 1/1/63, all those held in slavery within any State rebelling against the government would be “forever free.” It was a temporary solution at best as the Border States were excluded and any that re-entered the union would have their right to slavery restored. It also authorized Negros to be admitted to the Armed Services. Thus, as weak as it was, it was a huge step forward, which Douglass realized was monumental in scope.
During the first years the Union Army would actually return escaped slaves to the Rebels. Finally, a regiment was formed in Massachusetts in February, 1863, the 54th. If you have seen the movie, “Glory” it depicted the plight of these Negro recruits as they trained and then fought so bravely at the battle for Fort Wagner, S.C. From this beginning with Douglass’s urging more and more Negros enlisted, fought and died. It was now accepted that allowing slaves to enter the North accomplished two goals. The South was deprived of their labor and the North added those capable into the Army. As the war progressed finally Lincoln declared that all slaves who reached the Union lines and enlisted would be forever free. By the end of the war over 200,000 Negros were in uniform, roughly a fourth of the entire Army. Thirty Eight thousand gave their lives. If captured by the Rebels they were killed in brutal fashion. Lincoln threatened to retaliate in kind but could never do so.
Slavery came to an end in Maryland on 11/1/1864. Douglass immediately returned to the State where he had been a slave, looking for and finding relatives. It was a joyous time.
January 31, 1864, the House passed the 13th Amendment by the three fourths required. It would finally and completely eradicate slavery. There was no doubt that the States would quickly approve.
Lincoln won re-election; the war was winding down but not over when he gave his inauguration speech. It lasted only seven minutes. It was as powerful as the Gettysburg Address, in my opinion. He referred to the fact that both sides prayed to the same God for victory. He stated, he believed that “American Slavery” was an offence to God. He said,” God gives to both North and South, this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offence came.” He concluded with these powerful words,” With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who has borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a first, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.” Douglass was overwhelmed. Even in his highest expectations, he had not imagined Lincoln’s speech having this kind of power.
April 10th the war ended with General Lee surrendering to General Grant. Four nights later Lincoln was assassinated and with his death his fine words came to naught.
On April 14, 1876 there was a ceremony to dedicate a memorial, The Freedman’s Monument, dedicated to the martyred President. It depicted President Lincoln with a gentle hand on the head of a freed slave. Douglass was the only speaker. He began bravely by telling the mostly white audience that Lincoln was first and foremost one of them, a white man, and that he would have sacrificed the blacks if necessary to preserve the union but he finished by saying, “We came to the conclusion that the hour and the man of our redemption had somehow met in the person of Abraham Lincoln. See this man. He was one of you and yet became Abraham Lincoln.”
With the death of Lincoln his successor Johnson and the rest to follow in his lifetime did little to provide opportunity to the freed slaves. They were denied the right to own land, vote, have access to education and held down by every means possible. He died in 1895 with only a partial victory.
What is strange to me is that Negros were allowed to fight in the Civil War but never again until President Truman desegregated the Armed Services during the Korean War. It took Presidents Kennedy and Johnson to finally integrate the country. Their struggle for equality continues but great strides have been made. Frederick Douglass, I believe would be satisfied.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
June 4, 2008
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The Energy Non-Crisis by Lindsey Williams ( my review)
I learned of this book from an e-mail received which contained a video on this subject. It was intriguing enough for me to order a book from Amazon.com. I have just completed reading and now wish to share with others.
He is an ordained Baptist minister and an Alaskan. When the pipe line was just starting to be built in 1974 he requested and was eventually allowed to provide spiritual comfort and guidance to the men and women working on the project. He was not paid but was given executive status which allowed him to be privy to discussions by the oil men and to visit all sections of the construction areas. He does not profess knowledge of the oil business but in his mind was able to glean insight into the process.
Much of it tells of the hardships encountered and the roadblocks continually put in the way which impeded progress and inflated the original cost from an estimated $600 million to over $12 billion. The entire cost was borne by the consortium of oil companies called Alyeska. Specific instances to make his point were;
The detour of the road to Prudhoe Bay was stopped by the ecologists because of a nest of falcons. This would have delayed construction by a month so a by-pass was build at a cost of $2 million.
Toilets were provided at a cost of $10,000 each for remote locations. Refuse was incinerated rather than being disposed of by burying, all in the interest of protecting the tundra.
Permits were required for seemingly all aspects. Once granted some were withdrawn causing expensive delays until re-instated.
Fines of $10,000 or more were written for the smallest of incidences which made no sense to the author.
There were also problems with the unions. As an example he mentioned the need to replace a screw for a toilet paper dispenser. A carpenter, metal worker and laborer all refused on the grounds it was the work of a different craft. Eventually it was resolved by sending all three back together. Mr. Williams calculated the cost at $375.
All of the above were examples of the obstacles needed to be overcome by the oil companies as they fought the Federal and State Governments, unions, environmentalists and public opinion.
As the pipe line was nearing completion the government increased pressure by insisting the welds be re-inspected at enormous cost and placing additional burdens which the author felt were designed to keep delaying completion. It was as if our government leaders did not want the relief this additional oil could provide.
The above I found interesting but the major issue, if there is any credence in his writings, is his claim that our government since this project was started in the early seventies has kept free enterprise from doing its job of providing energy for America. He contends that there is oil on the North Slope exceeding that of Saudi Arabia. He mentions a find equal or greater than the pool presently providing 2 million barrels per day and that it could be easily extracted with minimal disruption to the environment or wildlife. This is at a location called Gull Island which is just off the shore at Prudhoe Bay. After discovery it was ordered to be capped off, not to be pursued. There is also the matter that natural gas by the trillions of cubic feet is returned to the ground instead of building a pipeline next to the current one and sending to America. He states that there are sufficient reserves to serve America for the next 200 years. He claims it could be completed in six months. I sincerely doubt the time schedule but not the fact that this gas could and should be used by America particularly now with costs going thru the roof effecting all households and business. All of this occurred during the presidency of Jimmie Carter. He opted for the more expensive option of a 3,000 mile pipeline thru Canada instead of 800 miles to Valdez. The great expense was more than the oil companies were willing to spend so to this day the gas is not being provided to America.
Those of you receiving this book review know that I am an envirmentalist and defender of wildlife and also that I believe in global warming. That being stated, I am also a realist. If, by using these resources which are in America,, we could eliminate sending exorbitant funds to OPEC which find there way to support terrorist cells, then we could at least diminish the loss of lives of our troops in this area of the world which is only of value because of their oil resources. The money saved could expand research into alternate forms of energy and speed up the timetable of reducing our carbon footprint.
Why an issue as important as this does not receive news coverage can be due to the fact that what he claims is bogus or everyone’s negative feelings toward the oil industry or collusion on the part of news organizations with federal officials or something else. It does seem strange that if there was truth to what he claims that Congress hasn’t acted. He experienced these events over 30 years ago. I am requesting that those interested receiving a copy of this letter check your own sources to see if there is a smoking gun here. I am also requesting that some of you take the time to listen to his speech. It lasts nearly one hour. He is persuasive. Go to; Http://video.google.Com/videoplay?docid=3340274697167011147
After completing my book report I was prompted to search further for answers. I first went to Snopes.com. I entered North Slope Oil and found that while at first oil was shipped to Japan that now all goes to the U.S. with current production down to 720,000 Barrels/day from the original 2, million as Mr. Williams reported. Then I went to Google, again asking about North Slope Oil. There were over 100 articles to read. According to these reports the initial estimate for the pipe line was $900 million with a final cost of $7.7 billion. Mr. Williams had said $600 million and $12 billion. Regardless the cost was far greater than expected due I am sure to some of the points he raised. Other interesting information I gleaned;
For three decades the North Slope has produced 20% of domestic oil production in the U.S.
Taxation has produced $50 billion in 25 years.
In 1999 production fell to 850,000 barrels/day. It is projected that useful flows will continue for another 40 years if other sources are not discovered and put into production.
Vice President Spiral Agnew cast the deciding vote in the Senate in 1973 which authorized the construction of the pipe line. Score one for the Republicans on this one.
In an article called, “Sizing up oil in Alaska’s North Slope,” it was stated that currently 35 trillion cu. Ft of gas is available and that 50 billion barrels of oil and 200 trillion cu. ft of gas are in undiscovered deposits.
The U.S. consumes 22 trillion cu. ft. per year. Mr. Williams’s claim that the North Slope would take care of our needs for 200 years is off the chart.
To this day leases are being granted with some results.
I could find no reference to Gull Island but his claim is inconsistent with the fact that leases continue to be granted. The gas pipeline has not been constructed due to its high cost on the route chosen across Canada. I believe Mr. Williams was right on this one. The much shorter route paralleling the current oil line if approved would get the gas to us whereas it may never happen as currently planned.
I found this exercise to be extremely interesting. I will not explore further unless spurred on by some of you.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
May 27, 2008
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
He is an ordained Baptist minister and an Alaskan. When the pipe line was just starting to be built in 1974 he requested and was eventually allowed to provide spiritual comfort and guidance to the men and women working on the project. He was not paid but was given executive status which allowed him to be privy to discussions by the oil men and to visit all sections of the construction areas. He does not profess knowledge of the oil business but in his mind was able to glean insight into the process.
Much of it tells of the hardships encountered and the roadblocks continually put in the way which impeded progress and inflated the original cost from an estimated $600 million to over $12 billion. The entire cost was borne by the consortium of oil companies called Alyeska. Specific instances to make his point were;
The detour of the road to Prudhoe Bay was stopped by the ecologists because of a nest of falcons. This would have delayed construction by a month so a by-pass was build at a cost of $2 million.
Toilets were provided at a cost of $10,000 each for remote locations. Refuse was incinerated rather than being disposed of by burying, all in the interest of protecting the tundra.
Permits were required for seemingly all aspects. Once granted some were withdrawn causing expensive delays until re-instated.
Fines of $10,000 or more were written for the smallest of incidences which made no sense to the author.
There were also problems with the unions. As an example he mentioned the need to replace a screw for a toilet paper dispenser. A carpenter, metal worker and laborer all refused on the grounds it was the work of a different craft. Eventually it was resolved by sending all three back together. Mr. Williams calculated the cost at $375.
All of the above were examples of the obstacles needed to be overcome by the oil companies as they fought the Federal and State Governments, unions, environmentalists and public opinion.
As the pipe line was nearing completion the government increased pressure by insisting the welds be re-inspected at enormous cost and placing additional burdens which the author felt were designed to keep delaying completion. It was as if our government leaders did not want the relief this additional oil could provide.
The above I found interesting but the major issue, if there is any credence in his writings, is his claim that our government since this project was started in the early seventies has kept free enterprise from doing its job of providing energy for America. He contends that there is oil on the North Slope exceeding that of Saudi Arabia. He mentions a find equal or greater than the pool presently providing 2 million barrels per day and that it could be easily extracted with minimal disruption to the environment or wildlife. This is at a location called Gull Island which is just off the shore at Prudhoe Bay. After discovery it was ordered to be capped off, not to be pursued. There is also the matter that natural gas by the trillions of cubic feet is returned to the ground instead of building a pipeline next to the current one and sending to America. He states that there are sufficient reserves to serve America for the next 200 years. He claims it could be completed in six months. I sincerely doubt the time schedule but not the fact that this gas could and should be used by America particularly now with costs going thru the roof effecting all households and business. All of this occurred during the presidency of Jimmie Carter. He opted for the more expensive option of a 3,000 mile pipeline thru Canada instead of 800 miles to Valdez. The great expense was more than the oil companies were willing to spend so to this day the gas is not being provided to America.
Those of you receiving this book review know that I am an envirmentalist and defender of wildlife and also that I believe in global warming. That being stated, I am also a realist. If, by using these resources which are in America,, we could eliminate sending exorbitant funds to OPEC which find there way to support terrorist cells, then we could at least diminish the loss of lives of our troops in this area of the world which is only of value because of their oil resources. The money saved could expand research into alternate forms of energy and speed up the timetable of reducing our carbon footprint.
Why an issue as important as this does not receive news coverage can be due to the fact that what he claims is bogus or everyone’s negative feelings toward the oil industry or collusion on the part of news organizations with federal officials or something else. It does seem strange that if there was truth to what he claims that Congress hasn’t acted. He experienced these events over 30 years ago. I am requesting that those interested receiving a copy of this letter check your own sources to see if there is a smoking gun here. I am also requesting that some of you take the time to listen to his speech. It lasts nearly one hour. He is persuasive. Go to; Http://video.google.Com/videoplay?docid=3340274697167011147
After completing my book report I was prompted to search further for answers. I first went to Snopes.com. I entered North Slope Oil and found that while at first oil was shipped to Japan that now all goes to the U.S. with current production down to 720,000 Barrels/day from the original 2, million as Mr. Williams reported. Then I went to Google, again asking about North Slope Oil. There were over 100 articles to read. According to these reports the initial estimate for the pipe line was $900 million with a final cost of $7.7 billion. Mr. Williams had said $600 million and $12 billion. Regardless the cost was far greater than expected due I am sure to some of the points he raised. Other interesting information I gleaned;
For three decades the North Slope has produced 20% of domestic oil production in the U.S.
Taxation has produced $50 billion in 25 years.
In 1999 production fell to 850,000 barrels/day. It is projected that useful flows will continue for another 40 years if other sources are not discovered and put into production.
Vice President Spiral Agnew cast the deciding vote in the Senate in 1973 which authorized the construction of the pipe line. Score one for the Republicans on this one.
In an article called, “Sizing up oil in Alaska’s North Slope,” it was stated that currently 35 trillion cu. Ft of gas is available and that 50 billion barrels of oil and 200 trillion cu. ft of gas are in undiscovered deposits.
The U.S. consumes 22 trillion cu. ft. per year. Mr. Williams’s claim that the North Slope would take care of our needs for 200 years is off the chart.
To this day leases are being granted with some results.
I could find no reference to Gull Island but his claim is inconsistent with the fact that leases continue to be granted. The gas pipeline has not been constructed due to its high cost on the route chosen across Canada. I believe Mr. Williams was right on this one. The much shorter route paralleling the current oil line if approved would get the gas to us whereas it may never happen as currently planned.
I found this exercise to be extremely interesting. I will not explore further unless spurred on by some of you.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
May 27, 2008
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Universal Health Care
Knowing that many countries provide health care to all citizens, this has been an issue I have pondered for some time. Last weekend I had an accident that raised my awareness due to my personal experience. On a hike I was leading, I slipped and in the process dislocated my right shoulder. It was extremely painful. Due to the distance from Tucson and other factors it took about five hours before I could be attended to. I have never experienced pain of this magnitude. I have insurance coverage by Medicare and my company so there was no financial concern. I was given excellent and thorough care. Had I been one of the reported 45 million other American citizens without coverage I can only imagine the financial tragedy that might entail. They would have been given the service but when the bills came due it could be devastating for them.
The companies in America pay most of the health care for employees and as in my case for retirees who are not contributing in producing goods and services as they once did. Our foreign competitors do not. How can they possibly compete with this albatross on their necks?
Those who refer to universal health care as being free are of course not correct. Nothing in life is free, but I do believe if the insurance companies need for profit was removed huge amounts could be removed from the process. Care not profit should be the goal. The current health provider companies could still handle paperwork required but the screening process to deny care would be removed. If I could make the decision, I would just expand the current Medicare program to cover all. Patients should be free to choose their doctor or hospital. The best doctors and hospitals would get the highest traffic. This competition should be an incentive to provide the best service. All bills to be paid by the Federal Government. Those with means would be free to add to this as their assets allowed.
Sadly none of the candidates for president will consider my suggestion. They will just tinker with the present profit motivated companies and if others are covered the cost will be astronautically huge.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
May 25, 2008
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
The companies in America pay most of the health care for employees and as in my case for retirees who are not contributing in producing goods and services as they once did. Our foreign competitors do not. How can they possibly compete with this albatross on their necks?
Those who refer to universal health care as being free are of course not correct. Nothing in life is free, but I do believe if the insurance companies need for profit was removed huge amounts could be removed from the process. Care not profit should be the goal. The current health provider companies could still handle paperwork required but the screening process to deny care would be removed. If I could make the decision, I would just expand the current Medicare program to cover all. Patients should be free to choose their doctor or hospital. The best doctors and hospitals would get the highest traffic. This competition should be an incentive to provide the best service. All bills to be paid by the Federal Government. Those with means would be free to add to this as their assets allowed.
Sadly none of the candidates for president will consider my suggestion. They will just tinker with the present profit motivated companies and if others are covered the cost will be astronautically huge.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
May 25, 2008
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
Friday, May 9, 2008
A book review- The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
I have just finished reading this book. I felt I should since he is nearing his goal of receiving the required delegates to win the nomination as the Democratic Party’s candidate for President of the United States. Prior to this I read a book about Hillary Clinton and also two books written by John McCain the Republican candidate for the highest office.
I have been debating with myself on whether I should attempt to produce a review of the contents. Whatever thoughts that do emerge will probably not do justice to the author. He wrote about himself and his life history to date. He also describes in great detail the life of an elected official including his current position as Senator from the State of Illinois. He expresses anguish over the time spent away from his wife and his two daughters. There can be no doubt about the demands for his time particularly at this time while running for this new office. As sympathetic as I should be, at the same time I believe that when you aspire for lofty positions then you need to sacrifice all other interests in pursuing to the best of your ability the work before you that is important to your constituents.
There are chapters describing the differences between the two major parties, the Constitution, values, politics, opportunity, faith, race, family and the world beyond our borders. He is articulate and shows his intellect. There is a lot of detail to cover each subject. I tried my best to be interested but no matter how factual his writings might be I just couldn’t, as I have with other political books I have read in recent years. After reading a few pages I found myself nodding off at which time I would put it down and do something else. I am really sorry to say this as I deeply admire the man and believe he could be the one to rekindle the spirits of Americans. Either my age is showing or I have saturated my brain with this stuff and it is rebelling. I will say this, I found him making many of the same points I did in my last book. To that end I am more in tune with his hopes and dreams than the other two. Those of you receiving this review I would hope would make the effort to read. Perhaps you are better equipped to read heavy material as is contained therein.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
May 5, 2008
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
I have been debating with myself on whether I should attempt to produce a review of the contents. Whatever thoughts that do emerge will probably not do justice to the author. He wrote about himself and his life history to date. He also describes in great detail the life of an elected official including his current position as Senator from the State of Illinois. He expresses anguish over the time spent away from his wife and his two daughters. There can be no doubt about the demands for his time particularly at this time while running for this new office. As sympathetic as I should be, at the same time I believe that when you aspire for lofty positions then you need to sacrifice all other interests in pursuing to the best of your ability the work before you that is important to your constituents.
There are chapters describing the differences between the two major parties, the Constitution, values, politics, opportunity, faith, race, family and the world beyond our borders. He is articulate and shows his intellect. There is a lot of detail to cover each subject. I tried my best to be interested but no matter how factual his writings might be I just couldn’t, as I have with other political books I have read in recent years. After reading a few pages I found myself nodding off at which time I would put it down and do something else. I am really sorry to say this as I deeply admire the man and believe he could be the one to rekindle the spirits of Americans. Either my age is showing or I have saturated my brain with this stuff and it is rebelling. I will say this, I found him making many of the same points I did in my last book. To that end I am more in tune with his hopes and dreams than the other two. Those of you receiving this review I would hope would make the effort to read. Perhaps you are better equipped to read heavy material as is contained therein.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
May 5, 2008
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
