yyz28

Research should be free-market driven, not mandated. Nobody really knows what "great promise" other types of ethonol may hold. We thought great things about corn and grain based ethonol before we put it into practice, now it's creating a world wide disaster.

Turko is great. He's been great for a few years. You can't expect him to shut everyone out. The offense has to score some goals. THAT is what has been missing in Dallas, not good goaltending. Modano and Morrow can't do it all. Richards is a GREAT addition and the young kids are playing way beyond their years. Detroit will be a test, but so far we've passed them all. Dallas has proved now in 2 series straight that what happened during the regular season doesn't mean squat in the playoffs. Let's hope that continues as we move on to face the Wings.

I saw the following article and thought of your response and this thread. What follows is an opinion piece by our Senior Senator from Texas, but it is a compelling and even headed case. I don't know if it adds to this debate or not, but it is interesting reading: Undoing America's Ethanol Mistake By SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON | Posted Friday, April 25, 2008 4:20 PM PT The Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman once said, "One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results." When Congress passed legislation to greatly expand America's commitment to biofuels, it intended to create energy independence and protect the environment. But the results have been quite different. America remains equally dependent on foreign sources of energy, and new evidence suggests that ethanol is causing great harm to the environment. In recent weeks, the correlation between government biofuel mandates and rapidly rising food prices has become undeniable. At a time when the U.S. economy is facing recession, Congress needs to reform its "food-to-fuel" policies and look at alternatives to strengthen energy security. On Dec. 19, 2007, President Bush signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act. This legislation had several positive features, including higher fuel standards for cars and greater investment in renewable energies such as solar power. However, the bill required a huge spike in the biofuel production requirement, from 7.5 billion gallons in 2012 to 36 billion in 2022. This was a well-intentioned measure, but it was also impractical. Nearly all our domestic corn and grain supply is needed to meet this mandate, robbing the world of one of its most important sources of food. We are already seeing the ill effects of this measure. Last year, 25% of America's corn crop was diverted to produce ethanol. In 2008, that number will grow to 30%-35%, and it will soar even higher in the years to come. Furthermore, the trend of farmers supplanting other grains with corn is decreasing the supply of numerous agricultural products. When the supply of those products goes down, the price inevitably goes up. Subsequently, the cost of feeding farm and ranch animals increases and the cost is passed to consumers of beef, poultry and pork products. Since February 2006, the price of corn, wheat and soybeans has increased by more than 240%. Rising food prices are hitting the pockets of lower-income Americans and people who live on fixed incomes. While the blame for higher costs shouldn't rest exclusively with biofuels — drought and rising oil costs are contributing factors — the expansion of biofuels has been a major source of the problem. The International Food Policy Research Institute estimates that biofuel production accounts for between one-quarter and one-third of the recent spike in global commodity prices. For the first time in 30 years, food riots are breaking out in many parts of the globe, including major countries such as Mexico, Pakistan and Indonesia. The fact that America's energy policies are creating global instability should concern the leaders of both political parties. Restraining the dangerous effects of artificially inflated demand for ethanol should be an issue that unites both conservatives and progressives. As a recent Time cover story pointed out, biofuel mandates increase greenhouse gasses and create incentives for global deforestation. In the Amazon basin, huge swaths of forest are being cleared to meet the growing hunger for biofuels. In addition, relief organizations are facing gaping shortfalls as the cost of food outpaces their ability to provide aid for the 800 million people who lack food security. The recent food crisis does not mean we should entirely abandon biofuels. The best way to lower energy prices, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil, is to accelerate production of all forms of domestic energy. Expanding biofuels while refusing to take other measures, such as lifting the ban on oil and natural gas production in Alaska and the Outer Continental Shelf, is counterproductive. We should be tapping into a broad portfolio of energy options, including clean coal, nuclear power and wave energy. The key is increasing energy supply. By taking these measures, we can enable biofuels to be part of the energy solution, instead of contributing to the energy problem. Congress must take action. I am introducing legislation that will freeze the biofuel mandate at current levels, instead of steadily increasing it through 2022. This is a common-sense measure that will reduce pressure on global food prices and restore balance to America's energy policy. As the Senate debates this issue, we must remain focused on the facts. At one point, expanding biofuels made sense for America's energy security. But the recent surge in food prices has forced us to adapt. The global demand for energy and food is expected to rise about 50% in the next 20 years, and the U.S. is well-positioned to be a leader in both areas. That will require a careful, finely tuned approach to America's farm products. By freezing the biofuel mandate at current levels, we will go a long way to achieving that goal. Hutchison is a member of the Senate Republican leadership and the senior senator from Texas.

Agreed. I've got a similar car (Z28 w/ 6 speed) Sweetspot is north of 70MPH. Engine is darm near idling at 60 in 6th gear. Power + Gearing have a lot to do with that equation. This is why under computer control many V8's today can achive mid to high 20's milage on the highway.

I'd rather send San Jose to Detroit. That is the only team left who has a good shot of taking Detroit down. I am afraid that Detroit simply has the Stars' number, and we can't get past them, though I think we can handle San Jose (or anyone else who is left...)

VERY happy to be wrong about that one. This series (I was at Game 4) was one of the best in many many years. AAC actually got as loud as Reunion used to. It was a GREAT game to be at. GO STARS!!! If they can keep this up, they can beat ANYONE!

Wow, this thread is entertaining - You have a lot of things causing this problem right now, most of which are governmental. They can be categorized as Regulation and Taxes. Taxes on gasoline are in orbit. Politicians from both side of the isle like to bitch and moan about these winfall profits the oil companies are making, but they live in a glass house. From 1977 to 2004, the Federal and state governments made $1,343,100,000 in taxes. The Major US oil companies saw $643,000,000 in GROSS (not net) profit during that same period. It was Monday of this week for the first time that a politician (McCain, you can choose to believe if he really thinks it is a good idea or if he is pandering for votes) actually suggested suspending taxes on Gasoline during this crunch to help out the economy that is in a crunch because of Credit fears and High Energy prices. Regulation comes in many forms. The inabiltiy to build more refinement capacity is part of the problem. The inability because a bunch of environmental whacko mental midgets are afraid we might disrupt the humping cycles of the majestic Moose in ANWR, and because individual states have the right to stop drilling in federal waters off their coasts. We have a great deal of resources still right under us, we should be working to put them into production, and stop concerning ourselves with the rare snail we might kill in the process. ...then each state has different blends they allow, which increases costs a great deal, and then each year the refineries have to shut down and re-tool to make the summer blends. The other thing that is pushing fuel prices higher are pimple faced dweebs in their underwear sitting at home in their underwear trading comodities all day long. (they call it Craps in Las Vegas, but I digress). Allowing the General Public who doesn't know sh!t from shinola about world politics, energy pressures or even how to spell economics are in huge part pressing up the cost of oil, and they act and react on the daily news like the supply of oil is going to tank overnight somehow because the Iranian government waved its collective prick at us today. Ethonol is not the answer. I don't care what you grow to produce it. You still have to use land. Land being used to produce fuel isn't being used to produce food. Ethonol is inefficiant compared to Gasoline, and even with swtichgrass or other meathods, we can't produce enough of it to really replace gasoline. Hydrogen appears to be the best bet for long term mobile power. It is easy to obtain, easy to produce and the exhaust is water and oxygen. It is really the perfect fuel. Hydrogyn Fuel Cell is going to be the long term answer moving forward. We can take the demand off of our fossil fuel resources if we would follow the european example and build more nuclear power plants.

Ducks in 6 guys... sorry. ...The Dallas 1st Round Choke curse continues. ...and we'll be seeing it again shortly when the Mav's start their playoff run...

Jerry Jones further destroying the Cowboys... Sad.

Woah... You don't see that every day...

I love the idea of using the stands in Fouts to build our Baseball future. ...maybe even carry the namesake to the new baseball park?

NT hands down. We may not be the best team in the 'Belt this year, but we're going to put some people on notice for 2009. I expect .500 performance for the same reason mentioned here more than once... a defense with a pulse would have tipped 4 games in our direction that we lost last year. I have to assume that the Offense is better with an extra year under everyone's belt, so that should make a strong case for a VERY different season this year.

I noticed the same thing. What a crock.

Thanks... I think. or... not... um...

Done... Thanks for pointing it out, Rick!

since we're posting about things that just won't happen, let me whip this one on ya... What if that happens? HUH? C'mon, we should consider the possiblity! NOTE - Smitty, since you are the Photoshop God, if you want to make one of those little guys an Albino, that would be cool...

My wife has a CHL. Bring it.

Pure Brilliance.

Classic!

Eli's better. LOL!

Gotta be the best post of the day, going for post of the week status. Can it make it to Post of the month? Stay tuned, and find out!

...wish I read this before I made a comment on his blog. ...So he was stunned, not banned? ...I take back my comment about Banning being Gay then since you didn't ban him. ...I understand why people are up-in-arms about certain people who shall remain nameless, and how that is hard to balance with the need to stay friendly with the AD, but when one person has such a focus on his/her back for negativity, the AD should be made aware of the feelings of those who by and large support the program, IMHO.

Way too early is right. Until we see us some spring ball, it seems silly to venture a guess even... therefore, I'm going to do it. Aug 30th @ Kansas State: 35-21 L I don't see a blowout here, and with our team on a "what can we do?" high vs. Kansas State being on a "worst in the Big XII low", we should be able to play a ballgame here. Remember, NT beat a better Tech Team TWICE with teams with less talent than we have today. Sept 6th vs Tulsa: 28-21 L The a$$whipping of a couple of years ago doesn't hit close to home with most still on this team, so won't be much of a factor. This game on the 2009 schedule, we win - but this early in the season, DeLoach doesn't have enough time to turn the D around in time to pull this one off. Sept 13th @ LSU: 45-21 L Simply too much for our guys to handle. However, I see a repeat of the Texas game a few years back when we hung in there strong for the first half. We will not get rolled the way we did by OU last year. Sept 27th @ Rice: 45-42 W Shootout - Coming off what will be a hard losing streak, this game COULD be a letdown, but the X's and O's say we win. Let's hope I'm wrong and DeLoach's D never allows this many points to anyone other than LSU. Oct 4th vs FIU: 28-7 W The Revenge Troll appears during this game and kicks FIU's QB in the nads. Solid win. Oct 25th vs Troy: 28-21 L Troy, despite rolling into town with a first year starter, still appears to be the class of the belt. If they could find consistancy, Troy would dominate like UNT did for 4 years. We play well, but not good enough. Nov 1st @ WKU: 41-20 W Still pissed about how this team behaived on our field last year, Vizza and the team are on a mission. This is a blowout. Nov 8th @ FAU: 24-20 W Upset of the Year - We're due to beat this team. We ride in 2-1 in conference and ride out in control of our season. TBD @ ULM: 28-10 L Brickwall - ULM's Solid OCC performances last year were not a fluke and they will be a contender for the title this year. I think we come in a little too much on a cloud 3-1 on the season in conference play and stub our toe. TBD @ MTSU: 38-21 W The STFU Bowl. We beat 'em, and solidly. No good football reason as to why we should win this game, but I feel good about whippin' some raider butt this year. TBD vs Arkansas St: 17-14 L Our young team comes in a little undiciplined after beating a team they shouldn't have last week and lose to a team they should this week. Should be a close game, but our youth shows through here. TBD vs ULL: 28-17 W Should be an easy win for NT this year if everything comes together and we see constant improvement on both sides of the ball all year. 6-6, but at 5-3 in conference, we won't be in the hunt for the title yet this year, and based on the success of Sunbelt teams getting a bowl nod, I'm guessing our season ends on a high note with a win at Fouts. I admit, I've been drinking the cool-aid, but I have to go back to last year. The team we watched play all year will be better on offense and should have at least an average defense this year. That team would have been .500 last year too.

PEOPLE ARE OFFENDED BY A BANNER THAT ADVERTISES DICK JOKES?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!! Let me give you a hint. ...if that is the level at which shit starts to offend you - You're doin' pretty friggin good in this world. Is that where we're at? Really? Are we that friggin' sensitive? To the person who complained - Please make sure you notify the right people... ...and as a quick reminder, in case you forgot... ...wait. Now I'm feeling guilty. You know, I went too far. I'm afraid I might have hurt someone's feelings. You know, I should slow down and think before I type. As a gesture of good will, I hope you accept the following - ...hope this helps.

The Britney Spears Fan Video may be amoung the funniest videos I've ever seen. Thanks for that find. ...the NT vid is cool. Stop hatin'. Nice work Boomer!