Government can't be given credit for organizing activity that took place before they existed. Agriculture predates organized government easily. Governments can be credited with added efficiency (BIG caveat - 'some governments') in certain areas. More often than not history has shown government to be a drag on innovation. When government regulates an industry innovation falls (sometimes not a bad thing: slowing the pace, saving the environment, protecting human rights). There are certainly exceptions to this (Roman Empire, Chinese Dynasties) but government as a whole is not over-credited with creating innovation for a reason. The only thing they can rightfully be credited with is the ability to create a larger scope of innovation and to organize civilization. To give credit for the existence of civilization is ridiculous and ignores history. People that ignore this have an agenda and want to revise history to suit there own political philosophy.

If you think government is the reason business exists you are sadly misinformed. Far more likely is government existing for the sake of business. Government doesn't develop any systems. They simply regulate existing systems at the supposed will of the people.

I really appreciate your rational point by point rebuttal. Perhaps you should go to the library and try finding a book called The Road to Serfdom by Hayek. Where I live, Gasland is considered environmentalist propaganda. Just because it won an Emmy (maybe even more so) doesn't make it factual or even right. Certainly no one has ever considered Hollywood biased in any way. Not to say that there aren't people who will ruin the environment given the chance but most of these sources are extremely one sided (Gasland, Huffpo, NY Times). If you read or watch the news they provide it is always fear, fear, fear. Usually very short on truth or fact. Please point me to any information that indicates that fraccing has polluted consumable ground water (not faulty well design, which is where you righteous indignation should be pointed) . The facts just don't back up the accusations and insinuation. I harbor no animosity towards government or corporations, after all they are each just groups of people just like you or me. The only problem I have is the idea that one is more responsible than the other. You can vote in a publicly traded company just as easily as you can vote for your government (at least in this country). The only difference seems to be that the vote you cast in a corporations seems to actually count. Our government has become much less representative of the people that are voting for them (as was seen in the health care battle) and more representative of the corporations that they are supposedly regulating. I find it unreasonable to think that more regulation from the government that is controlled by the people being regulated will solve anything. You cant have it both ways. As for my perception of reality, I live and work in a gas producing state so my reality might be just a little bit different than the guy who watched a movie about it. Twit

I did a little looking around and can't find any instance of anyone pumping antifreeze up from their well. Perhaps you could provide a citation. When I read the panicked articles about hydraulic fracturing and its possible side affects I notice lots rhetoric and very few facts. If you know anything about geology you will recognize that it would be almost impossible for contamination to reach the ground water being consumed by humans from the depths that gas companies are working at. Their have been instances of faulty drilling techniques being employed (bad casing cement seals) that have allowed drilling fluids to leak up the well bore and into surface waters. On the other hand, there has never been a documented case of fraccing causing contamination to consumable ground water to my knowledge. As for methane in the wells, the gas of any individual well is easily 'fingerprinted' with a gas chromatograph. If the gas coming out of a water well has the same makeup as the gas coming out of a nearby gas well then contamination is a given (doesn't happen very often, can only find about 15 cases out of 10s of thousands of gas and oil wells and it is usually pinned on faulty cement around well casing not fraccing). Methane is a naturally occurring substance (from decomposition) and is present to some extent in almost all water wells. Sometimes people aren't even aware of its presence until something makes them think to look (such as a gas company deciding to drill a well near their home).

Actually the ACF/CIO ejected the Teamsters because of excessive corruption. If you dont think there is rampant corruption in labor unions as a whole then you are not paying attention. In a true free market system labor unions would be unnecessary because true competition for talent would exist. Unions as a whole stand for people who are unable to adapt to changing economic and social realities. If your job becomes obsolete or is outsourced, it's up to you to find a new one. If your particular skill set is no longer needed or in demand its time to develop a new set of skills. People are free to make the choices of education and training (at least in the USA). You are also free to accept the results of these choices (unemployment, lower wages than you would like, being tied to a job you dislike). Labor unions just distort those choices by keeping people employed at jobs that are no longer needed and by forcing above market wages and benefits that make their employers less competitive. The answer by unions is that "if everyone was in the union then everyone would be competitive". The problem with this is we now live in a global economy and at no time will everyone (or even a majority of people) be in a labor union.

I sure hope Obama can find the time to veto this abuse of power. Sure seems like the rights of ordinary citizens are taking quite the beating the last few years. Surely the legislative branch of the government can't wonder where their low approval ratings comes from.

What you describe as "ancient" technology was anything but at the time. State of the art would be the way to describe it back then. Just as the technology we use to extract energy now is considered "state of the art". As for the cost, it looks cheap compared to what they use now, but Ill bet at the time it was considered very expensive to drill a well. There are still independent producers that drill wells all the time for relatively little money. Sometimes they are successful, sometimes not. Just like 100 years ago. Also, the 'other' alternatives you mention are very heavily subsidized as well.

I'm not sure that GM is the company that I would trust with any prediction of future needs or supply. Math doesn't seem to be among their stronger skill sets.

Really like the "non-Slashdot" caveat. Very funny :)

As close as I can tell, they are all drunk by step 2.

"Linux and Mac are basically unused in China. Every single computer is running Windows." That can't be true. I've read several posts lately about the amazing imitation Apple stores in China. Someone is running pirated Apple software on an imitation Apple computer somewhere near a fake Apple store in China.

I don't think Jobs will go that far. Maybe just some mild torture.

Very flawed analogy. Stimulus is like taking water out of one end of a lake and dumping it back in the other end and wondering why the level hasn't come up.

What right wing opposition? The Dems decisively controlled both houses and the White House when the stimulus passed. The Republicans couldn't have stopped it. The only real opposition they faced was in their own party and the public. And if you dont think that stimulus funds benefited the SEIU then perhaps you should read a little at their website (which you so helpfully posted) and see what they themselves thought about the stimulus and its benefits to their members. Read before posting about ignorance of political reality.

As I look around I see tea partiers trying to lower the oppressive tax burden that is stifling business and employment. I see a currency that has been driven into the ground by Liberal Keynsian economic philosophy in action (government stimulus will save the economy, to get money for government stimulus we will take the money from those who make up the economic engine of the country. Then we take 25% of that money for administrative costs of a bloated and corrupt government and send the rest to out favorite causes, political boondoggles, and contributors and call it "shovel ready projects". Presto, we made 25% disappear completely and the rest went to people we really care about like the SEIU. Huh, wierd. The economy is getting worse. Obviously we didn't take enough money out of the economy to give it back to the economy. That must be because of the evil Republicans trying to get us to quit spending the money we confiscated plus the money we borrowed from China. Oh well, blame the rich people. Oh crap, they where the ones who donated to our election campaigns in 2008. That's strange, they get mad when you blame them and start talking about taking their money away. Then they put it in the bank instead of investing in things that create jobs. Must be those evil tea partiers talking them into it. Guess well have to borrow more money from China. Oh wait, that lowers our credit rating. Stupid bond rating agencies fault now. That's weird because they voted for us too. Oh well, back to basics. Must be Bush's fault. Even though the president can't spend a dime without a spending bill that originates in the house which Democrats controlled from 2007 on. That really weird. The economy started tanking right after Dems took control of the nations spending. I give up. This just isn't working like we planned)