Business and industry – Page 18

The results are in…

You may recall that back on Wednesday I took Fedzilla to task for soliciting additional public comment on whether to build barrier islands off Louisiana to mitigate the damage done by the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

In the 24 hour period they received only about 700 comments, many anonymously. I’ll grant I’m no scientist or geologist but the point I made in my comment (see page 166 here) was that the process is reversible. Given enough time and inattention, the islands would likely disappear on their own.

Look, every few years we pay millions to replenish the beaches in Ocean City and the Delaware resorts because the sand eventually leaches out to sea, so why not be expedient and try this solution? Barrier islands need not be permanent, and the failure of multiple efforts along the bottom of the Gulf to stem the tide means we’re learning about all this by trial and error anyway.

One last thing. Those on the left who want to punish BP and the rig operators for their transgressions against Gaia need to consider that containing and cleaning up this gusher is not just costing BP and the taxpayers directly in terms of the actual spill, but that thousands of barrels of oil won’t be sold by BP because they’re instead leaking into the Gulf of Mexico. At a conservative estimate of 12,000 barrels of oil per day multiplied by the going price (about $75 a barrel) each day the well remains uncapped costs BP nearly a million dollars – obviously the figure is much more if the 100,000 barrel a day leakage number bandied about at the high end of estimates is accurate.

Moreover, their market capitalization has taken about a 1/3 hit as stock which was trading above $60 per share before the incident now lies south of $40 per share. Add to that the implied threat from Washington – “we will keep our boot on the throat” of BP – and the question may become one of BP’s continuing to function as a business.

Obviously there’s a lot of ecological damage, but the economic damage may eventually be more widespread. Making oil into the villain and giving in to the desire for punitive measures may eventually cost us over a million jobs, and no one else is making the break from oil exploration. Perhaps they know something we don’t?

Friday night videos – episode 35

Oh yeah, this one should be good. I’m liking the way this is shaping up already.

I’ll begin with a leftover from last weekend. You know how I celebrated Memorial Day weekend, but my blogging friend Bob McCarty found one man’s ultimate tribute to the veterans in his family and across the nation – a restored 1971 Mustang.

I found this fascinating as well. You know, we’ve all been transfixed by the Deepwater Horizon disaster, but, as former Virginia Governor George Allen explains, we have other energy resources which are being ignored.

But it’s government regulation which keeps us from accessing our resources, and the unpredictability of Washington is scaring some investors. Businessman Steve Wynn was on CNBC recently making his case.

So he’s going to reallocate his operations because China – a nominally Communist nation – is more predictable and friendly to business than our nation. Shameful.

Then again, in this video from CEI we see government run amok. While they bill the video as humorous, is this really all that far-fetched?

The cold hard reality of our economic future is detailed in this short piece.

Yes, we are basically making money out of thin air, tangling ourselves hopelessly in a web of debt.

I referred to this video earlier today in an Examiner piece, but financial crunches are affecting government all the way down to the local level. While I find there’s a little too much grandstanding in this example, the problem is real.

Maybe we all should just say screw it and rock. Ballyhoo! is an Aberdeen-based band soon to embark on another national tour of clubs and the occasional opening slot for other artists. They’re already popular on the college circuit as this video from a University of Delaware stop shows (some language NSFW).

A nice, summery groove. Can’t be dead serious all the time, can we? Until next time, enjoy the weekend.

A ridiculous waste of time

If this doesn’t show you how government works, I don’t know what will. I was tipped off on this by a release from Americans for Limited Government, which noted in part:

Governor Jindal was joined by local Louisiana officials in submitting the barrier island containment plan and discussing it directly with the President on May 2, gaining what seemed like Presidential approval for an expedited approval process to contain the oil. One month later, President’s man on the ground is taking an Internet survey.

The question is whether to build a set of barrier islands off the coast to protect the more delicate areas from the effects of the continuing oil spill. Who knows, had this been done a couple weeks back there may have been containment already in place.

There’s no doubt we are swimming in uncharted waters regarding the entire Deepwater Horizon incident since the safety record of these rigs was previously exemplary.

In the government’s defense, comments are only being accepted until 7:00 p.m. our time so if you have something to say do so quickly. I say, “be like Nike and just do it!”

Congress vs. the oil industry

It’s beyond question that the oil industry is down on its luck right now, and the black eye received from the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico is a shiner which will stay on its public face for quite awhile. And while radio host Stephanie Miller claimed the Gulf oil spill as proof that “God is a Democrat,” the Democrats who sit among us mere mortals in Congress are taking direct aim at what they sneeringly call “Big Oil” with two particularly punitive measures.

With Democrats’ first try at cap-and-trade (better known as Waxman-Markey) stalling in the Senate after a contentious House vote, last week Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman brought forth their version of energy legislation. Originally sponsorship crossed party lines when Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican, agreed to back the bill, but Graham withdrew his support when Senate leader Harry Reid decided to press for passage of immigration reform rather than this measure.

That’s not to say Graham would be staunchly against the proposal. But the sticking point he sees is that, “problems created by the historic oil spill in the Gulf…have made it extremely difficult for transformational legislation in the area of energy and climate to garner bipartisan support at this time.” Predictably, Democrats representing waterfront states like Florida, New Jersey, and Maryland are already coming out dead set against the additional oil exploration included in Kerry-Lieberman, a tradeoff intended to get Republicans to support a bill which would levy taxes on greenhouse gas emissions and, as studies have concluded, be a net job loser.

Moreover, Kerry-Lieberman gives a rare nod to states’ rights from the liberal side, allowing affected states more liberty to curtail or cease oil exploration off their shores. It’s a complete turnaround in one month’s time – only a few weeks ago the oil industry was cautiously optimistic about the Obama Administration allowing exploration in certain leaseholds to go ahead beginning in 2012. Needless to say, those ambitious plans are on hold after White House adviser David Axelrod warned, “no additional drilling has been authorized and none will until we find out what has happened (with the Deepwater Horizon).”

A second Congressional attack on the energy industry in the accident’s aftermath comes from their bid to bolster a little-known federal fund called the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF). Created by Congress in 1986, the OSTLF lay dormant until 1990, when in the wake of the Exxon Valdez tanker accident a per barrel tax was levied on petroleum produced or imported into the United States. Currently oil companies pay eight cents per barrel toward this fund. In addition, there is a limitation on liability of $75 million per incident for economic damages – companies already have to shoulder the actual cleanup costs.

But a new proposal would devastate small- and mid-size oil companies, forcing them out of business by increasing the prospective liability to $10 billion. Naturally, the OSTLF would be increased as well through the possible fourfold increase of the per-barrel tax to 32 cents, but the additional revenue may not necessarily go to the OSTLF – proceeds could be spent on other projects Congress deems worthy of funding.

These are just two of the more egregious examples of how Congress wants to punish Big Oil for the sin of having a tragic accident occur on an offshore platform. The federal government has done its part to assist British Petroleum in coping with the accident and its aftermath, so there’s no need for Congress to exert another pound of flesh from an apologetic industry.

Michael Swartz used to practice architecture but now is a Maryland-based freelance writer and blogger whose work can be found in a number of outlets, including Liberty Features Syndicate. This piece was made available to LFS clients on May 20.

Friday night videos – episode 33

Since I didn’t do this last week, I have a lot to choose from among what the internet has offered me – an abundance of stuff. Let’s begin with this one, which features the script GM should’ve really followed in its recent commercial.

Now this is a real commercial. If Maryland elected a Secretary of Agriculture I would hope he’d do a commercial half as good.

Speaking of Maryland, Montgomery County guaranteed itself more hard times by enacting a carbon tax. Watch this county councilman call the opponents ‘astroturf.’ But wouldn’t astroturf then be taxed because of its carbon footprint? Doesn’t matter, we’re all going to get it.

Perhaps the next scenario will soon occur in Montgomery County (and probably serve them right.) In the meantime, it’s yet another witty campaign spot from Vermont.

After last Tuesday’s big Kentucky win, Rand Paul was feeling pretty good about himself. Check out this call out.

I’ll say the same thing about Frank Kratovil – please, please, President Obama, come down here to the Lower Shore and campaign for flip-flop Frank. That oughta be a good time.

On a more serious note, one Maryland businesswoman detailed her struggles for a Bob Ehrlich campaign spot.

Just let her do the talking, Bob.

Hey, do you see a pattern here? Must be an election year, huh? Here’s a guy who doesn’t have to worry about that anymore – he can live on his generous pension and endorse Democrats now. Thanks Wayne.

Okay, enough politics. I wanted to find something to crank up so this should fit the bill. 13:1 does ‘Judgement Day’ at a show in Philly.

I’ll leave you with that, see you next week.

Jobs that teens won’t do?

This item from the Center for Immigration Studies interested me. It’s a backgrounder called A Drought of Summer Jobs: Immigration and the Long-Term Decline in Employment Among U.S.-Born Teenagers.

While CIS has acquired a reputation as an immigrant-bashing organization, what I took from reading through the study wasn’t so much the immigration aspect (although it is significant) but the general decline in the number of teenagers working. Their theory is that older immigrants, who are at the requisite skill level for entry-level work but don’t have to work around schooling, extracurricular activities, and other pursuits, are taking these jobs in increasing numbers.

One conclusion of the study suggests that these teenagers are handicapped later in life by not getting work. By that they mean they don’t get the experience of being on time and adjusting to a work schedule, providing customer service, and other job-related skills they don’t teach in school. Obviously that’s true because, while schooling is good, there’s truly no substitute for the good old School of Hard Knocks. Just ask any manager or customer about the service in certain outlets and you may hear horror stories about this generation. (Then again, I’m sure if you asked my parents’ generation about their recollections of us starting out you would get many of the same complaints.)

I can’t see fault in CIS’s theories but I think there are other factors at work. One intriguing finding is that teenagers from lower-income families aren’t as likely to be working as those in the upper starta of income. Now you would think that poor teenagers would be helping out the family’s economic situation and perhaps that was so a generation or two ago, but apparently that’s not the case anymore.

Obviously I wasn’t here on the Shore a generation ago to see what the young population did during the summer; perhaps readers can help me out. As it stands now, there are a number of low- or semi-skilled positions available in the area which seem to be filled by nonnative workers – picking crabs, processing chickens, or other agriculture-related work was probably a stepping-stone job among the youths of an earlier time while my generation likely grew up with the rise of Ocean City from a sleepy seaside town to the regional resort it has become. Now those jobs in the agricultural, food service, hotel/motel, and amusement fields seemingly fall more and more to imported workers. Anymore you can’t walk in Ocean City without tripping over a worker here for the summer on a visa – even here in Salisbury a couple years back we had a charming young Slovakian lady who was the lifeguard at the apartment pool.

However, it seems from some anecdotal reports that the employment situation in Ocean City has changed a little bit – but it’s still not to the advantage of teenagers looking for work. They’re being bumped out by displaced older workers from other fields who are desperate to keep food on their tables and a roof over their heads.

So the CIS backgrounder isn’t necessarily surprising given what we know about the local situation, but it is worrisome. These days teens seem to have a lot of idle time on their hands; time which some fill with camps, classes, sports, or sitting in their living room playing video games. But too many who would like a job can’t get one, and that’s something which may affect their financial and employment status for the rest of their life.

Mention for the morning

Why not start out the day with good news on the blogging front?

My friend Jane Van Ryan was doing a roundup of reactions to the Deepwater Horizon disaster on her Energy Tomorrow blog and kindly cited my blog post/Liberty Features op-ed in the story. She’s probably going to be pretty pleased with the op-ed I wrote yesterday for LFS as well, since I again reference the Deepwater Horizon tragedy and the punitive measures Congress is considering for the oil industry. Why not stick with a hot topic?

You know, it’s funny that once in awhile when I bring up the subject of oil and write about my stance of “drill baby drill” I’m called a shill for Big Oil. Trust me, I pay the same amount for gasoline as everyone else around here – no sweetheart deals for me. And as far as I know, I have no relatives working in the energy industry who benefit either. (I used to own Exxon/Mobil shares but those had to go awhile back, as did my Sun Oil stock even earlier. There’s my nod to full disclosure.)

Maybe it’s my logical mind that sees the idea of sticking with the tried and true technology we’ve used for a century (yet is still evolving), an energy source which is quite versatile and can both move us around and heat our homes. Yes, I’m quite aware that there’s a finite supply but I’m also aware that solar panels are useless if the sun doesn’t shine and windmills need just the right wind speed to work. (Oh, and they aren’t too gentle with the birds which have the misfortune of flying into them either.) I always have to ask – if alternative energy is so great, why do we have to legislate our way to a market share for it? Must be because these options can’t make it on their own.

So thanks to Jane for her mention – it’s nice to know I’m appreciated. Don’t worry, I’ll keep up my end of the battle.

The end of the oil boom?

The Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico drew limited headlines upon its occurrence, with the biggest news at the time being the 11 workers missing after the rig’s explosion and fire. It wasn’t until the discovery that crude oil was leaking into the Gulf because of a faulty shutoff valve that the story moved to front-page headline status.

At a rate of perhaps 5,000 barrels per day, the spill – more properly described as a gusher akin to the proverbial Texas oil strike because of the pressure bearing from beneath the Gulf floor – may turn out to rival the amount of oil lost in the 1989 Exxon Valdez shipping accident. Obviously the immediate environmental damage from the oil spill will be severe and economic damage to the local seafood industry catastrophic; fortunately, we also know from the Exxon Valdez accident that eventually the region will be able to recover. Since crude extracted from the Gulf is relatively light in weight, the oil isn’t the thick black gunk most people think of when they think of an oil spill; rather, the result is a silvery sheen on the surface which may be easier to disperse through chemical means.

Long-term impact on the oil industry may be more disastrous. Needless to say, environmentally conscious Democrats called on Obama to drop his proposed offshore exploration program in the wake of the accident, and White House adviser David Axelrod agreed, saying, “no additional drilling has been authorized and none will until we find out what has happened here.” Axelrod’s response to the accident, ironically occurring on the eve of Earth Day, suggests the open-ended nature of the moratorium may lead to more regulatory hurdles for oil operations in the Gulf.

For decades, exploration in the Gulf of Mexico had progressed without incident, and the more than 3,500 platforms already producing in our portion of the Gulf routinely endured shutdowns brought on by approaching hurricanes and regular maintenance. In these cases the shutoff valves did their job, making the Deepwater Horizon incident an outlier. Nor can the prospect of sabotage or terrorism be ruled out given the enticing target presented by what was essentially a seagoing vessel tenuously rooted to a wellhead 5,000 feet below the surface. The Deepwater Horizon was one of only about two dozen rigs situated in a water depth more than 1,000 meters – the technology of deepwater drilling is still maturing.

Yet billions of barrels of oil lie entombed underneath the Gulf of Mexico. Undoubtedly there is an argument underscored by the Deepwater Horizon tragedy which says we need to back down, but when you compare the safety record of Gulf drilling to that of shipping 9 million barrels of oil per day for our use over many of those same waters and the prospect for disaster there, the risk is worthwhile.

As we stand right now, there is no perfectly safe or perfectly reliable form of energy out there and the Deepwater Horizon accident points out the possible (but historically unlikely) downside of oil dependence. But coal also has drawbacks and safety concerns as recent mining accidents remind us, while the pesky problem of waste and threat from radiation dogs proponents of nuclear power. Renewable energy is great in concept, but the reliability of solar and wind energy obviously depends on optimum weather conditions.

Accidents will happen, but there’s no reason to stop oil exploration after this tragedy. The record of safety is no longer unblemished but still exemplary, and on balance the benefits still outweigh the risks. Let’s get oil workers back to work.

Michael Swartz, an architect and writer who lives in rural Maryland, is a Liberty Features Syndicated writer. This op-ed cleared the LFS wire on May 4th.

Note: after a preliminary investigation, it sounds like the accident was a combination of faulty equipment and bad luck. Methane’s not something you want to mess with.

It’s not lucrative being green

Because my last column didn’t clear for publication last week and this one is more time-sensitive, you get two LFS op-eds today.

April presents both the onset of spring for most of a winter-ravaged nation and the odd calendar quirk of tax filing day being followed one week later by Earth Day. Both days affect one’s financial situation, but for different reasons.

Undoubtedly there’s an entire industry which profits from the annual taxation ritual, but the arrival of Earth Day always gives its own set of groups and industries their opportunity to seize the spotlight in an attempt to burnish their “green” bonafides – one of the most prominent and in-your-face examples being the NBC-Universal family of television networks (which includes the Weather Channel) going wall-to-wall with specifically themed episodes and constant reminders to reduce, reuse, and recycle for the good of Mother Earth. The Earth Day celebration has surely blossomed since the first one in 1970.

Despite what those on the Left seem to believe, in that forty year period we’ve come a long way in reducing the impact of pollution. Yet all this has come at great cost, and it’s a toll which is borne by those very people they were trying to help.

For example, the price at the pump or to heat your home is impacted by the $12 billion or so energy companies spend to conform with environmental regulations. On a larger scale, compliance with the byzantine layers of red tape in the environmental arena cost Americans over $220 billion annually according to a 2004 study by the Small Business Administration, and these numbers are sure to increase with legislation like the so-called “cap and trade” bill pending in Congress.

These hidden taxes add up, but rarely get mentioned when politicians tout a bill to clean the air or address global warming by adding a few thousand more pages of regulations to the volumes already in place.

At times these products of bureaucracy can produce ironic results. One would think that BP Solar of Frederick, Maryland would be well-positioned to profit from the push toward more renewable energy. Instead, the manufacturing plant and its 320 jobs are being phased out because solar panels can be made more cheaply overseas. Similarly, do-gooders promoting the creation of green jobs through building wind farms are surprised when they find a large percentage of wind turbines are produced abroad as well.

Environmental advocates may argue all the overseas manufacturing is because those markets are more mature than ours, and they have a point. Europe in particular is bedeviled by a lack of oil and natural gas resources for their population, a shortage which forced them to find other means of energy production sooner. While Europe has a reasonably decent standard of living, it’s clear that having a larger percentage of their energy consumption come from clean sources hasn’t advanced their status beyond that which we enjoy here in the United States.

For an economy to thrive while maintaining a decent quality of life there needs to be a balance. Certainly we’ve learned over the years that our planet doesn’t have infinite resources and we can’t be wasteful with that we’ve been blessed with.

But there’s a danger with shifting the balance too far the other way; it’s a cost measured in the loss of freedom. Being too restrictive can have the same harmful effects on us as unfettered polluting once did. Before the pendulum swings too far in the wrong direction, we need to consider what the Earth Day zealots are doing to our wallets before we give in to their demands.

Michael Swartz, an architect and writer who lives in rural Maryland, is a Liberty Features Syndicated writer. This article came online at LFS on April 19, and I put it up today as we mull over our recent Earth Day celebration. Me? I went to a ballgame!

Pork in the Park 2010 in pictures and text (part 2)

Now for the more fun stuff. This isn’t going to make a point; it’s just pics I found interesting.

This was the back of the event shirt. Yes I bought one.

Obviously the idea of this festival is to promote tourism and the local economy. No question the ribs are the attraction, but other vendors hoped their wares were sufficient to make theirs a profitable weekend too.

It's not just barbecue-related companies showing up at Pork in the Park. Build a crowd and other vendors will come.

Aren't these guys from Boordy Vineyards at the wrong festival? They're regulars at the Autumn Wine Festival, and I find it interesting how the two largest county-sponsored festivals occur almost exactly six months apart on the calendar.

When I came to the Eastern Shore six years ago and attended my first Pork in the Park, I was expecting an event similar to that held in my hometown (Northwest Ohio Rib-Off) where 20 or so rib joints peddled their wares to the public. I was actually disappointed that only a couple places were actually selling ribs to eat.

But as this event grows more and more places are selling ribs to eat. These are some of them and aside from Florida Skin n’ Bones I believe many of these vendors are new this year.

The Chop Shop BBQ both competed and sold food, part of a growing trend I like seeing.

I actually meant to try some of these ribs but didn't make it over there. This Ohio-based company shows the regional reach of the event.

More and more competitors are selling their wares - a good sign for the viability of the event.

Like any good food event, you could get more than just ribs.

If the other other white meat is your thing, how about barbecued turkey legs?

Another new attraction came from Mountaire, oddly enough playing in Perdue’s back yard.

Mountaire is new to Pork in the Park, and they had a Chicken Pickin contest to determine who could root out the most meat.

There’s a few other interesting shots the two of us took. Some have a point and others are just for the “awwwwww” factor.

Aside from a few incidents where people had too many beers and maybe a lost child or two, these guys probably weren't too busy so they could find a little shade. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Maybe the reason Black Cat BBQ didn't win any awards was having the dog scare them away. Kim liked the juxtaposition of the photo and so did I. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Philly's Finest BBQ team is starting their help young. Isn't this young lady just too cute? Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

It can't be denied that competitors have a wicked sense of humor. We found this at the Carolina Beau booth. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Sunset on Saturday over Pork in the Park. I just liked the picture so I included it.

The games midway after dark. I took this during a break in the Battle of the Bands.

Can you tell we enjoyed ourselves Saturday? Probably wasn’t that great for the waistline but we did walk around a lot and rocked to the Battle of the Bands, if only to keep warm!

Next year’s event again retreats a little earlier on the calendar; the 8th Annual Pork in the Park is slated for April 15-17, 2011.

Pork in the Park 2010 in pictures and text (part 1)

On Saturday my significant other and I spent most of the day at Pork in the Park. It provides us the opportunity to enjoy good food, taking lots of pictures – which explains why I have two parts – and a chance to tell a story from perhaps a different angle from one you may have seen before.

During the awards ceremony, we were told that our humble little event has grown in seven years to be the second largest in the country and largest east of the Mississippi River. I guess that’s based on the number of participants, but it amazes me that something a lot of us guys take for granted has grown into a pastime which can take up most of a summer. Yes, leisure has become work for many, including what I presume is a local group called Smokin’ More Than Pork.

This group didn't have far to travel but spent a chilly and windy evening tending their fire. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Other groups come from farther away, and they have one thing in mind.

The Heavy Hitters sit and watch the world go by from their spot at Pork in the Park. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Obviously they didn't sit the whole time - their hard work garnered them a second place finish in the Whole Hog category. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Certainly slaving over a hot grill for hours on end can be demanding work.

Unfortunately, I don't recall who this competitor represented but it was a scene repeated all Friday night and Saturday. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

I found this shirt worn by the folks at Mook’s BBQ interesting. If you didn’t think this was big business, check out this ambitious “Inaugural Tour” schedule:

I would have to presume a number of these outfits are going to follow a similar schedule which takes them into the fall. Pork in the Park serves as the kickoff.

It also takes some funding to buy the equipment necessary to compete at the level, like these special trailers.

Chix, Swine, and Bovine had this tricked out trailer to help with their equipment. I would guess it comes in handy for catering jobs too. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Other competitors used items which were more 'off-the-shelf' but still serviceable. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Part of the marketing involves the bragging rights garnered from previous high finishes.

Butts Up BBQ has been here before and done well. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Others have various wares to sell to grilling enthusiasts.

If you want to rub your meat, it's obvious 3Eyz BBQ has just the stuff you need. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

This is the first time I've seen shirts put out by a competitor tailored to the event. I guess we've arrived. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

There were a few outfits using these Big Green Eggs but the manufacturer came by to sell some as well. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Others chose their distinctiveness in different ways.

If these guys walked anywhere, you could pretty much tell who they represented. But doesn't sauce clash with tie-dye? Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

In the end, though, the competition was about the money. All those trinkets and toys cost some coin, and top finishes in the seven categories won up to $1,000. The Grand Champion, Reserve Champion, and Maryland State Champion also won additional prizes up to $2,500 – needless to say this hobby isn’t lucrative unless you do some additional marketing or have it as an adjunct to a main food service business.

But here were your winners from Saturday.

The Reserve Champion for this year's event was the Serial Grillers. Clever name and obviously good work. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Considering they were both the Maryland State Champion and Grand Champion for the event, I believe Chix, Swine, and Bovine can afford the fancy trailer. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

You may have noticed Kim took most of these pictures. I tended to look at the event as a whole for its newsworthiness and as a comparison to past events. Most of my photography will come with Part 2 tomorrow as will the later coverage of the music as another volume of Weekend of local rock.

Friday night videos episode 29

Back after a one week hiatus, the focus shifts to fiscal responsibility and TEA Parties.

Obviously the GOP is critical of Barack Obama’s policies, and this video explains why.

The same goes for Reason.tv, which reminds us how California got into its financial mess.

Two filmmakers for Americans for Limited Government bring the green jobs fallacy home by looking at the closing of the BP Solar plant in Frederick, Maryland.

Now it’s time for a little bit of tea. But first, it’s interesting to note the tenor of counterprotests, as an alert reader sent me a video from another March 20 rally in Washington D.C. that had little to do with health care.

To echo one commenter, I bet you didn’t see this on the nightly news.

Fellow blogger and patriot Bob McCarty does yeoman’s work covering the TEA Party scene in the St. Louis area. Here I have two videos, one from their weekly (!) rally last weekend and one from their TEA Party Express 3 stop a week or so back.

Finally, here’s local TEA Party organizer Chris Lewis from yesterday’s Salisbury rally as I excerpted the conclusion of his speech. Good background music, too.

Speaking of music, there’s no local music to wrap up this week, but that’s intentional. Next Friday I’m doing another all-music edition of FNV and plan on making it a regular event every 10 episodes (along with placing a music video or two in most other editions.) I look forward to putting it together so hopefully you’ll enjoy watching!