Don't forget to VOTE!

I know that it has been quiet lately on the blog, but a lot has been going on and I haven't had much time to write, but I wanted to take a moment to remind everyone to take the time to cast your ballot and VOTE!

I know that some of the lines will be really long, but in the end, it will be worth it. This particular election will go down in history and you can be a part of it by going to your local polling location and selecting the candidate of your choice, but before you do so, take a moment and really, REALLY think about who is going to make the biggest difference, who is going to reunite our country and help pull us out from the deepest, darkest times of this decade. Really, really ponder this decision before you go to bed tonight and especially just before you cast your vote, think about who has your best interests at heart. Who can make the change that we need to assist in providing jobs, health care, and the overall quality of life that has been missing from this country for quite awhile? Who has the best VP that will be there to give the president an educated and well thought out opinion on what really is right for this country? Really and truly think about your decision, because the next four years could be really great or continue down the path of our leaders forgetting about its own people. We live here too and pay our taxes, but if things don't change for the better, we're doing this all for nothing and what difference will it make. Just vote, but make an educated VOTE!

Obama in St. Louis on 10/18

For those of you interested, Barack Obama with be at the Change We Need Rally in downtown St. Louis, under the Gateway Arch at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (Memorial Dr. & Market St.) on Saturday, October 18th. Gates open at 10:15AM and the Program starts at Noon. The event is free and open to the public, with no tickets required. You can RSVP, if you would like at "http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/mobostlouis".

I'm almost certain it's going to be crowded, as it is estimated that there will be around 50,000 people there. I'm planning on being there and expect to have a really good time. I think it is going to be a once in a lifetime event.

For those of you in the St. Louis area, regardless of your views and opinions, come and see history taking place. I've personally never been to a rally and probably won't get many chances to, but I can definitely make this one.

Alfred E. Smith Memorial Roast with McCain and Obama

I was recently referred to the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Roast and found that both candidates did a fabulous job. They were downright hilarious and definitely worth a watch. Click on the links below to both of their comedic styles from MSNBC.com

John McCain's Standup
Barack Obama's Standup

A recent message from Russ Carnahan

Today, I received this email from the Missouri Democratic Congressman Russ Carnahan and it's looking like he's totally backing the Picken's Plan. Way to go Russ!

Dear MR Stulce:

Thank you for contacting me in regard to America's energy needs. I appreciate hearing from you and I welcome the chance to respond to you.

In order to address this energy crisis, we need to fundamentally change the way America powers itself. While the United States has almost 3 percent of the world's oil reserves, we use 24 percent of the world's oil. We have more oil wells than any other country on Earth. And no matter how many more we drill, we will never again pump as much as we did during the1970s. Even self-described oilman, T. Boone Pickens said, "This is one emergency we can't drill our way out of." I agree with this statement, and believe that we must address the root of the problem - America's addiction to oil.

As you are aware, Pickens has developed a plan calling for the replacement of 20% of our energy requirements, currently supplied by foreign oil, with wind energy. Using wind energy also frees up our vast stores of natural gas which can then be used to power our cars with significantly lower carbon dioxide emissions and allows us more time to develop new cleaner energy sources. His plan is consistent with the plans supported by the Democratic Congress - break the grip of foreign oil while developing our own vast natural renewable and clean energy resources. Developing our own energy resources keeps our money and our jobs here and makes America more secure.

Please be assured that since coming to Congress, I have been working hard for all of my constituents to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, bring down record gas prices, and launch a cleaner, smarter energy future for America that lowers energy costs while creating hundreds of thousands of good paying green jobs and securing America's future.

Please know that I will continue to support and encourage legislation that will achieve these goals. Once again, thank you for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future on this or any other issue of concern.

The FairTax Act

In researching everyone's take on the horribly miscalculated tax rebate plan for the $85 billion to bailout AIG, I ran across something that I think really needs to be considered.....The FairTax Act. This plan actually makes LOTS of sense and could possibly end a fair percentage of the corruptness which revolves around Federal taxation. Keep your entire paycheck and only pay taxes for the items that you purchase. A plan like this would allow the penny pinchers to invest the money that they would normally spend in income taxes. Not everyone has the willpower to due this, but those that do could definitely come out ahead and it could possibly increase small business development.

Of course, I definitely need to research this more, but wanted to mention it to those of you interested in alternatives to our current situation.

Palin's Interview with Katie Couric

Everyone needs to have a look at this interview. This is definitely not a good likeness for Sarah Palin. I'm very much concerned with someone of her caliber being so close to the helm of our country's leadership. Please review this video and give it some thought.

Psychology - What makes people vote Republican or Democrat?

In my pursuit to figure out what makes people vote Republican, I came across this article by JONATHAN HAIDT, an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia. It's kind of long winded, but it does give somewhat of a reason as to people's thinking. I've asked many people why they vote the way they do, but haven't gotten a lot of good reasons. So, my pursuit to the answer has taken me to researching it on the Internet.

On the same site as this essay, I also found a responsive article by various other sources with their opinions on the essay, which I found very interesting.

Here's another opinion of the essay from the blog labeled "Confessions of a Cooperator".

I also found an article titled "The Conservative Case for Voting Democratic" by Doug Bandow from the CATO Institute.

The biggest problem that I have found within the media is it is hard to find a completely neutral source. The idea of Republican or Democrat, based on past definitions, though, has completely changed. Both sides of the spectrum have changed, at least maybe somewhat, from their past ideologies.

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From Answers.com, the definition of a Democrat is:

1. 1. An advocate of democracy.
   2. One who believes in social equality or discounts distinctions in rank.
      

Philosophy Dictionary: democracy (Greek, rule by the people) In Greek thought, rule by the citizens in general (nevertheless excluding women and of course slaves) in contrast to government by the rich and aristocratic. In modern society the sovereignty of the people in general, expressed not directly by a vote on individual questions, but through representatives. Questions arise whether various mechanisms ensure that decision-making authentically answers to the people, or serves their interest (see also general will). The problem of delimiting a democratic constitution encounters these and other difficulties; critics suggest that political democracy is hollow unless accompanied by power in other spheres, and especially the area of economics.

From Answers.com, the definition of a Republican is:

1. a. One who favors a republic as the best form of government.
   

Philosophy Dictionary: republicanism An ideal of government that emphasizes the role of the active, participating citizen in government, often looking back to the role of the citizen in ancient Rome or Athens. Institutionally it aims at checks and balances to prevent the emergence of faction and majority tyranny, but also to the town-hall politics whereby decision-making has a bottom-up rather than a top-down structure.

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With the definitions in mind, the current U.S. government has a lot of corruption and greed and the people's representatives (most politicians) have completely forgotten about the people. The best chance we have is to find the lesser of two evils. Even back in the ancient Roman times, corruption was a very big problem. It is easy to understand how the corruption happens, but why is it allowed? Our government was built upon checks and balances, but most of the checks and balances don't necessarily seem to be worked. I won't say all of them aren't working, otherwise we would have complete anarchy.

I pray, regardless of how I personally vote, that whomever takes office will pleasantly surprise me and do the right thing by remembering about the people they're serving, restoring the checks and balances, pursuing equality and justice for all, fixing our economy and helping to provide jobs for everyone, fighting for health care for all of the citizens, performing peaceful diplomatic relations with other countries, promoting and pursuing alternative and renewable forms of energy and breaking our dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels in general, and pushing for the people to work as a United States of America!

My email to Jay Nixon

I decided to take a moment and spread the word to the Democratic nominee for Missouri Governor, Jay Nixon. Please do the same and email your government officials. If you have an idea, spread the word. This is the only way we can make a difference. Use your voice and your mind. Make educated decisions through research. Look for "neutral" and unbiased sources of information.

Please follow my lead.
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Hi Jay,

I'm really glad to hear that you're running for Governor. I think that you did a fantastic job as Attorney General and really hope that you take the win for the Governor's seat. With that said, I wanted to take this opportunity to write to you and offer some suggestions, which I have posted on my blog at "http://altenergypolitics.blogspot.com/".

The biggest idea that I REALLY think would clean up Missouri, would be to clean up our landfills and create commodities revenues through recycling materials during the cleanup process. According to a study, as quoted on my blog, there is the potential, in Missouri alone, to gather 1.9 million tons of recyclable materials over a year and have a possible value of $208 million. 45% of waste in our landfills is recyclable materials.

Various resources could be utilized to begin the cleanup process, such as Community Service programs (including welfare-to-work), Prison work programs, Volunteers, etc. I also feel that we need to have more recycling centers throughout the state and offer tax breaks to trash services who offer recycling pickup as part of their route, including providing recycle bins to their customers.

I feel that the money earned from this development could provide many benefits, including alternative/renewable energy research and development/deployment, K-12 & college education grants, and other needed programs.

Also, please consider the Pickens Plan.

Thanks for your time and good luck with the campaign. You will be getting my vote!

--Ken

Response from Congressman Russ Carnahan

Here's the response I received from Congressman Russ Carnahan:

Dear MR Stulce:

Thank you for contacting me in regard to America's energy needs. I appreciate hearing from you and I welcome the chance to respond.

When talking with people here in Missouri, I repeatedly hear about the pain at the pump. I, like you, grimace every time I fill up my gas tank.

In order to address this energy crisis, we need to fundamentally change the way America powers itself. While the United States has almost 3 percent of the world's oil reserves, we use 24 percent of the world's oil. We have more oil wells than any other country on Earth. And no matter how many more we drill, we will never again pump as much as we did during the1970s. In fact, our oil production peaked around 1970. Since 2000, the number of wells drilled on land has climbed about 66 percent - from 3,000 to nearly 5,000 - while the price of gasoline has more than doubled since 2001. Even self-described oilman, T. Boone Pickens said, "This is one emergency we can't drill our way out of." I agree with this statement, and believe that we must address the root of the problem - America's addiction to oil. With high gas prices crippling the American economy, this country needs a long-term energy plan to lower gas prices, make American more secure, create green jobs, and combat climate change.

While I am not against domestic drilling, I am against giving oil and gas companies more drilling rights, whether in ANWR, on the Outer Continental Shelf, or elsewhere on U.S. soil, when they are not drilling on the land currently available to them. I voted in favor of a bill to require the oil companies to drill on the 68,000,000 acres federal land that is already leased to them for drilling. Moreover, the areas with the vast majority of oil and gas are already open to drilling. According to federal government surveys, 82 percent of the area which contains natural gas in the outer continental shelf and 79 percent of the outer continental shelf with oil is available for leasing. Significantly, this was before Congress opened more space for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico in 2006.

While Americans are spending record amounts at the pump, oil companies are raking in record profits. This past quarter, the top 5 oil companies posted a combined profit of $44 billion in second quarter profits - up 42 percent more than last year. And this year, profits for the top five oil companies are projected to top $160 billion - far exceeding last year's record of $123 billion. Since 2001, the major oil companies have amassed close to $600 billion in profits. These record profits are not being used to invest in alternative and renewable energy, nor are they being used in such a way as to offset the price of gas for consumers. For example, in 2007, ExxonMobil spent only $10 million on renewable energy.

I believe we need to seek out short-term solutions to bring prices down while developing a long-term strategy to power our future with less oil. We have not sufficiently harnessed our renewable natural resources. Since coming to Congress, I have been working hard for all of my constituents to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, bring down record gas prices, and launch a cleaner, smarter energy future for America that lowers costs and creates hundreds of thousands of good paying green jobs.

In the short term, I, and other members of Congress, have been calling on President George Bush to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is almost filled to capacity. This has a proven track record of reducing the price of oil within weeks. When President Bush released a small portion from the Reserve in 2005, the price of oil dropped 9.1 percent.

While continuing to advocate for immediate relief at the pump, I have advocated for increased utilization of our enormous natural gas reserves, as we transition into a low carbon economy. In order to make this transition, we need more investment renewable energy such as solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and biomass waste, while upgrading our transmission power grid, so that more energy gets from its source to its destination without losing it. We can fund these bold renewable energy investments by repealing billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies for oil companies that are raking in record profits. Lastly, we must curb excessive oil speculation that is causing major market disturbances which prevent the market from accurately reflecting the forces of supply and demand in the energy commodity market.

In the coming weeks, Congress will continue to debate energy solutions to bring real relief to American families. Please know that I will continue to support and encourage legislation that will lower energy costs, decrease our dependence on foreign oil and protect our environment. Once again, thank you for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future on this or any other issue of concern.

Please voice your opinion and contact your congressperson today!

Response from Senator Claire McCaskill

In response to my letter to Senator McCaskill, I received the following reply:

Dear Mr. Stulce:

Thank your for contacting me about renewable energy. I appreciate having your comments and welcome the opportunity to respond.

My colleagues and I are looking for ways we can successfully use energy sources that are both sustainable and clean. Renewable energy like wind, solar, hydropower and biomass are all great alternatives to fossil fuels. Integrating them into the national energy plan would reduce the effects of global climate change and ensure a sustainable energy source for generations.

Just this past December, I supported an amendment to a comprehensive energy bill that would have encouraged utility companies to generate 15 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by the year 2020. Utilities could also earn credit towards that objective through efficiency measures that would reduce electricity consumption. Additionally, I supported a tax benefits package that would have encouraged utilities and homeowners to invest in new energy technologies. Though these measures were not included in the finalized energy bill that was signed into law, I am hopeful my colleagues and I will address them again later this year.

Once more, thank you for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to let me know of any other issue that is important to you.

All best,
Senator Claire McCaskill

Please contact your congressperson today and voice your opinion!

Contact your Congressman about alternative energy plans

Hi everyone,

Due to the massive influx of news about Alternative Energy, I have decided to take a stand and email my local Congressmen. Here's the message that I have sent:

Hi {Claire, Kit, Russ},

A friend of mine, Shannon Barbaglia, and I were discussing the other night the presidential race and both candidate's plans for their energy policy, including the push for alternative forms of energy. This conversation, as you can imagine, sparked quite a bit of fire and lots of ideas in both of us. We decided to put together a blog, "http://altenergypolitics.blogspot.com/" and have began posting various ideas of ways that the common person, those with higher contacts and lots of money, and those with major political influence can move forward with a plan to pull our country out of its current dilemma: dependence on foreign oil. Within our discussions and research, we have found someone who has one heck of a plan that I feel will work and I wanted to take a moment of your time to mention his name and contact information. The person that I'm referring to is T. Boone Pickens and the Pickens Plan. His website is "http://push.pickensplan.com/" and I feel that it would be well worth your time to take a look at his website, as I feel that it has a lot to offer. With your current contacts and influence within the Senate\House, I believe that once you hear his message and plans, I think that you will immediately decide to join his campaign and push his ideas all the way up the ladder and have them instated as policy.

I feel that with as many brilliant people that we have in our country, those highly skilled in the arts of science and technology, we should no longer be a slave to foreign needs. All the money that our country is giving away needs to be redirected inwards and invested in ourselves. I sometimes feel that the government has forgotten about the people it serves and that it needs to remember that without the people, it wouldn't exist. Our tax money needs to be spent wisely and with a little forethought. All of the free solar and wind energy needs to be harnessed, especially here in the Midwest, the heartland of America. Every farmer should have at least one wind turbine in their fields and all of the skyscraper-like buildings in the larger cities should have a roof lined with solar panels.

Look at what Germany has done with Solar power. If we did the same thing, the huge expense would quickly be recouped. If we harness all of the sun's power in our desert regions, there would be a huge surplus of energy to power our homes, businesses, and vehicles!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my message and please consider the resources that I have send and pass the message for Alternative Energy to every one you can.

Best Regards,

--Ken Stulce

Please take the time to do the same. The more you voice your thoughts, the more others will listen!

Alternative Energy and Politics - The Start

Last night, I had a very lengthy conversation with my good friend Shannon about Alternative Energy and Politics and SO MANY good ideas came from the conversation. We're both very passionate about Alternative Energy, Recycling, Politics and the like and we thought that this area would be a good medium to post some of our ideas. We feel that there has been a lot of discussion in the media about alternative energy by the political candidates, businesses, etc., but there isn't a true plan, just talk.

I believe the U.S. car manufacturers are starting to get on-board with creating vehicles for the population that start to get a decent MPG rating, though, we are far behind other countries in this race for lessening our need for oil. Electric, Wind, Hydro, etc., needs to be the main direction we take in order to get away from paying billions and trillions of dollars to Middle East. This thought is great, but we need to have a plan!

Throughout this blog, both Shannon and I will post some of our ideas and strategies that we feel could be a decent start for both the general public and those with the full money coffers that could drive our country back to where it once was, a great leader of technology and advances for human-kind!

Here are a few ideas to start:

• Recycling - If every household begins a recycling campaign, we can then lessen the enormous excess dumped into our landfills and at the same time have an over-abundance of resources to begin cheaply developing alternative energy methods. Below, I will list some links to sites that list how various recyclable materials are made and the materials that they're composed, and how they can be recycled:
  

1. Recyclable Materials: {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recyclable_materials}
   
2. Plastics: {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic}.
   
3. Glass: {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass}.
4. Aluminum: {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminum}.
5. Oil: {http://www.recycleoil.org/}.
6. Tires: {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_recycling}.
7. Paper: {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper}.
8. Batteries: {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_(electricity)}.

• Electricity: The biggest thing that a home-owner can do to save money with our low economy is to conscientiously save on the electricity that they use. Simple things that can be done for this process are:

1. Turn lights off in rooms that are no longer being occupied. Waste Savings!
   
2. Change incandescent light bulbs (ILBs), after they've expired, with Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFLs) {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent}, as they last 8-15 times longer (6,000-15,000 hours versus 750-1,000 hours) and consume 50-75% less energy. Since your homes lighting typically accounts for approximately 9% of electricity usage, using CFLs could reduce your bill by 7%. The bulbs may initially cost more, but the savings far outweigh the expense.
3. Caulk, weatherstrip, and insulate your home to save on wasted heating/cooling costs.
4. Replace your thermostat with an newer, programmable model, which changes the temperature to a less ideal setting when you're away from home, during the day time hours, and returns it to the ideal setting just before you get home.
   
5. See the Edison Electric Institute's (EEI) article on "How to save electricity in your home" and EnergyStar.gov for additional tips on saving electricity in your home.
   

• Solar Power: This is a prime resource that needs to be harnessed to decrease the amount of dependency for foreign oil. It can be used to power your home, cars, etc., and it's free, though a cheap and easy way needs to be developed for the average home-owner to harness its potential! Here's is a link to a Wikipedia article of Solar Power which explains its various types and uses. For those inventive types out there, you could buy a cheap marine battery and a small, fairly inexpensive solar panel and begin to harness the sun's energy.

• Politics: This is where it starts! The public can only do so much on a limited budget, so we rely on our politicians to help find ways and resources to overcome our energy crisis. Here's an article that I found on CNN's website detailing both McCain and Obama's energy plans. I will try my best to be very neutral minded, but the way I see it Obama has the best plan to reduce our dependency on foreign oil, whereas McCain's plan seems to increase our dependency. I believe that internal, alternative methods is our best bet. "Invest in our own country" should be our motto. The U.S. has invested SO much money in other countries and in our time of crisis, we need to start helping ourselves, as no one else will!
  

This year, I have taken a politics and oral communications class for my degree, that I am trying to finish up, and my wife and I have also began to start a recycling campaign for our household. We've found that we have a local recycling center close to home, though, our trash service does not offer recycling pickup, but at least we can begin to do the right thing. The great part about the recycling center is that we don't necessarily have to sort everything ourselves, as paper, plastic, and metals can be thrown into the same bin at home and then taken down to the center, which makes it easier on us. Also, I have a metal recycling plant very close to home and I recycle aluminum, copper, brass, etc., which I can get paid for, which is an extra incentive. We recently did some home remodeling, which required the old copper drain pipes to be replaced with PVC, and by recycling the copper, I regained a lot of the money used to purchase the new materials!

We have also begun to purchase fabric bags and take them to the grocery store versus getting paper/plastic bags and recycling those. The bags typically only cost $1.00 each and can be purchased from places like Walmart, Schnucks, Dierbergs, etc. Yes, recycling does take a little bit of effort, but after you start, it becomes second nature. Do your part, you know it's the right thing to do!

More to come, please stay tuned!