{"id":4996,"date":"2012-03-20T22:30:29","date_gmt":"2012-03-21T02:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=4996"},"modified":"2012-03-20T22:30:29","modified_gmt":"2012-03-21T02:30:29","slug":"the-daily-gouge-wednesday-march-21st-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=4996","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge, Wednesday, March 21st, 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s Wednesday, March 21st, 2012….but before we begin, to borrow a phrase from the great Thomas Sowell, we’ve several thoughts on the passing scene.<\/strong><\/p>\n

First, consider the stark difference in the treatment afforded by the government and MSM in the cases of Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, accused of killing the Afghan civilians, and Major Nidal Hassan, caught in the act of murdering 13 of his fellow soldiers and wounding 29 others?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Think about it: Bales, a twice-wounded combat veteran on his 4th tour overseas cracks up, and everyone is screaming, quite literally, for his head.\u00a0 Hassan, who quite literally screamed “Allahu akbar!” repeatedly while slaughtering his fellow soldiers, came about as close to combat as Bill Clinton; yet 2-1\/2 years after the fact, and despite irrefutable evidence as to his motive and guilt, he’s yet to stand trial.<\/strong><\/p>\n

No hypocrisy or double-standard here.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Next, why aren’t The Big Three treated with the same disdain Team Tick-Tock and the MSM accord Big Oil, Big Banks or any other large corporations comprising Big Business?\u00a0 Couldn’t have anything to do with the fact GM, Chrysler and Ford are all union shops….while the others are not.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lastly, yet another illustration of why it’s useless to introduce truth into discussions with a Liberal.\u00a0 We had dinner Saturday evening in Virginia with several couples from our old neighborhood, one of whom is patently Progressive.\u00a0 As the wife in particular takes personal offense at having her feelings challenged with facts, we generally avoid the subject of politics.\u00a0 But this evening, the issue of gay marriage came up as regards the petition drive to overturn the statute recently passed in Maryland.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The husband, a very well-educated (multiple advanced degrees) but otherwise useless aficionado of the Arts, refused to believe the power of judges was in any way limited by the Constitution.\u00a0 Hence, in his view, neither state nor federal jurists were beholden to the Law of the Land, possessing instead unlimited power to impose their opinions on the nation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If this supposed sophisticate’s grasp of one of the most important underpinnings of our freedom is so limited, should it come as a surprise the “unwashed masses” would willingly forfeit their liberty and birthright for what amounts to mere pottage?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

As TLJ would say….<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

….whatEVER!\u00a0 Now, here’s The Gouge!<\/strong><\/p>\n

We kick off the mid-week edition with another inconvenient truth from Rob Bluey writing in The Foundry<\/em>, courtesy of Conn Carroll and the Morning Examiner<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Production of Oil, Gas and Coal on Federal Lands Sinks to Nine-Year Low<\/span><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

Last fall the U.S. government\u2019s Energy Information Administration reported a 40 percent decline in oil and natural gas production on federal lands compared to 10 years ago. The White House and a prominent liberal in Congress protested. They said EIA, a trusted source for reliable energy information, was wrong. They complained that EIA hadn\u2019t accounted for all data from the Department of Interior.<\/p>\n

EIA released an updated analysis last week. And while the number isn\u2019t as drastic as originally reported, EIA confirmed the Obama administration is overseeing a sharp decline in fossil fuel production (coal, oil, and natural gas) on federal lands, which recently hit its lowest point in nine years.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The updated EIA report revealed a 12 percent decline in production for coal, oil, and natural gas on federal and Indian lands from fiscal 2003 through fiscal 2011.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

During this same period, production on state and private lands has increased, boosting overall production numbers for the United States.<\/strong><\/span> That\u2019s a point even President Obama will acknowledge: \u201cUnder my Administration, domestic oil and natural gas production is up,\u201d he said upon announcing his rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline.<\/p>\n

Obama is correct. He just can\u2019t rightfully claim the credit, since the vast majority of America\u2019s new oil and gas production is happening on private lands in states like North Dakota, Alaska and Texas<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The administration, meanwhile, has also taken several steps to limit production.<\/span><\/strong> Heritage\u2019s Nick Loris noted these four steps taken by the Obama administration:<\/p>\n

\n