Betzee said...

Betzee at 03:05 AM JST - 19th May

A no-nonsense response to the public hysteria over "activist judges and abnormal behavior":

The ruling by the California Supreme Court needs to be put into perspective. The ruling allows same-sex couples to marry, just as state laws allow opposite-sex couples to marry now. It does not require anyone to enter…

Posted in California's top court legalizes gay marriage at 03:05 AM JST - 19th May
Betzee at 12:30 AM JST - 19th May

The decline of the dollar has been evident for a while, it's not an overnight phenomenon. For a long time the Bush administration was indifferent or claimed it was a good thing because it made American exports cheaper. The thing is, the United States doesn't really export anything except in…

Posted in Bush fails to win Saudi help for oil increase big enough to cut high gasoline prices at 12:30 AM JST - 19th May
Betzee at 11:01 PM JST - 18th May

Furthermore, the Saudis only need a competitive price to be higher than that for extraction of their product, plus any refinement costs and a margin for profit, in order to keep their in-ground reserves useful. Presumably these criteria were met when oil was at $40 a barrel, so it seems…

Posted in Bush fails to win Saudi help for oil increase big enough to cut high gasoline prices at 11:01 PM JST - 18th May
Betzee at 10:52 PM JST - 18th May

This was written in late 2004 and the trend has only become more pronounced since then:

Oil prices and the dollar have made the news lately. Oil prices have risen, while the dollar has simultaneously plummeted against the euro....Because oil prices and the dollar have moved in opposite directions, the…

Posted in Bush fails to win Saudi help for oil increase big enough to cut high gasoline prices at 10:52 PM JST - 18th May
Betzee at 10:39 PM JST - 18th May

Muruku, You're right; gays who've conceived children the old-fashioned way are of an older generation when coming out of the closet was not an option. So they married someone of the opposite sex, had a family and then things broke down and they found someone of their own persuasion with…

Posted in California's top court legalizes gay marriage at 10:39 PM JST - 18th May
Betzee at 01:35 AM JST - 18th May

The Indian and Chinese ones won't, and those two countries are now, and will continue to be, the main reason for increased demand and higher oil prices.

This is the reason we can expect a long-term rise in price. But it doesn't explain what Americans have experienced since 2003, which…

Posted in Bush fails to win Saudi help for oil increase big enough to cut high gasoline prices at 01:35 AM JST - 18th May
Betzee at 12:10 AM JST - 18th May

"California citizens"

Incorrect designation. One is a citizen of a country and resident of a state. This court ruling will pump up tourism, which levies hefty taxes on things such as hotel rooms and rental cars, as gays flock to the Golden State to get married (considering the current state…

Posted in California's top court legalizes gay marriage at 12:10 AM JST - 18th May
Betzee at 11:08 PM JST - 17th May

I think there's an excellent chance U.S. troops will be able to leave Iraq by 2013

We got into Iraq because anyone who challenged the evidence that Saddam's WMD posed an "imminent threat" to the security of the US and our allies had their patriotism questioned. Now McCain, in tossing…

Posted in Obama criticizes McCain for 'naive' foreign policy at 11:08 PM JST - 17th May
Betzee at 10:51 PM JST - 17th May

That pin is a situation that Obama cannot win. If he fights it he will lose votes, period. It's just not worth it.

So he should do whatever it takes to get votes? Sorry, that doesn't make him an attractive candidate to me. Plus, his opponents will use his flip-flop…

Posted in Obama criticizes McCain for 'naive' foreign policy at 10:51 PM JST - 17th May
Betzee at 10:30 PM JST - 17th May

Do you understand how the law works? A gay couple must have filed suit claiming discrimination under existing laws. Just as the a black girl in Kansas claimed "separate was not equal" with respect to schooling. And the judges decided, after reviewing the law, they were right.

These were not…

Posted in California's top court legalizes gay marriage at 10:30 PM JST - 17th May