Debra J. Saunders: Green guv believes you can have it all

Schwarzenegger talks up a storm about global warming, but does little to conserve.

Debra J. Saunders

Published: April 20, 2007

When President Jimmy Carter wanted Americans to conserve energy in 1979, he set an example by wearing a sweater and turning down the White House thermostat. Today, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger boasts that he is a world leader in the fight against global warming -- but his advocacy shouldn't keep him from flying in private jets or driving a Hummer.

The gas-guzzling governator is on the cover of Newsweek. The Austrian Oak is now global warming's jolly green giant.

Last week at Georgetown University, Schwarzenegger explained how he was making environmentalism more attractive. The problem with enviros, he said, was that people thought they "were no fun" -- "like prohibitionists at a fraternity party."

Plan Arnold is to turn environmentalism from a phenomenon based on guilt to a successful movement "built on passion." Call it You-Can-Have-It-All Environmentalism.

Sure, the Republican governor told Georgetown students, enviros used to criticize (real) men like him for "powering my private airplanes. So it is too bad, of course, that we can't all live simple lives like the Buddhist monks in Tibet. But you know something. That's not going to happen."

Translation: Schwarzenegger can boast about signing a bill that calls for California to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent by the year 2020 -- but don't expect him to curb his own super-size emissions.

It was not that long ago that your average politicians did not want to be seen owning a few big SUVs while pushing for more stringent federal fuel-efficiency standards for American cars. They did not want to be branded as hypocrites.

Now Al Gore, who hyperconsumes energy in his Tennessee home, and Schwarzenegger, who is always jumping on a private jet after eco-friendly media events, can burn energy like the most flagrant energy hogs.

As long as they say they believe in global warming, they personally don't have to do much about global warming.

Spokesman Aaron McLear told me that the governor is looking into solar panels for his home and buys credits to offset his carbon footprint.

Schwarzenegger also converted one of his four Hummers to hydrogen power -- actually, GM converted the car and lets Schwarzenegger drive it when he wants -- and another to biodiesel.

"It's not the car," McLear explained, "it's the engine."

Also, Schwarzenegger does not drive much these days -- the California Highway Patrol drives him.

That's not enough. I do not expect Schwarzenegger to ride the bus. But he should not hype his GM-converted Hummer as "environmentally muscular." He should show some respect for fuel-efficient cars -- those we mere mortals can afford -- and try flying commercial.

Get out some, and meet a few real folk -- in first class.

Because, while Schwarzenegger boasted at Georgetown that California is "sending the world a message" on global warming, his behavior and his rhetoric send a different signal: Conserving energy is for girlie men.

I will receive many e-mails defending Schwarzenegger -- all along the lines that at least he believes in global warming. And he has signed bills to force other people to conserve in the future.

After all, no one really expects stars or rich people to sacrifice.

All the glitterati have to do is really believe in global warming, maybe ride in a hybrid to the Oscars -- and then their carbon trails (which are much larger than those of people who take the bus every day) won't stink.

It's laughable. Those who believe that global warming is caused by man -- I am agnostic on that score -- claim that they are on the side of Science. That's Science with a capital S.

Yet they applaud when a so-called leader on global warming speaks as if "environmentally muscular" technologies and carbon offsets can manufacture a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2020. They have this odd belief that the key to fighting global warming is not by cutting energy use, but by believing in global warming.

They embrace wishful thinking -- and call it science.

Debra J. Saunders' column is distributed by Creators Syndicate.

Bottineau Light-rail Transit

The wheels on the bus rapid transit (BRT) may not go round, depending on the results of a study requested by the Bottineau Boulevard Partnership.

At its March 23 meeting, the partnership decided to stop looking solely at BRT for Bottineau Boulevard (County Road 81), which is now being reconstructed.

A resolution was passed to take a look at light rail transit (LRT) and other alternatives for two years.

“I think we deserve the best new transportation alternative that’s available,” said Hennepin County District 1 Commissioner Mike Opat. “If that means we have to press the pause button and take a new look, then I think that’s what we should do.”

A number of changes have occurred, causing local officials, many of whom serve as partnership members, to look at the corridor differently.

“With BRT you can be more specific about how you move people around; with LRT you’re really moving people over greater distances,” Crystal Mayor ReNae Bowman said.

Opat said when looking at BRT lines around the country, there is no clear definition of what BRT means. In some cities, BRT lines are included within normal traffic, as opposed to the buses having their own lanes, he said.

On a trip to Los Angeles to review their BRT system, where there is no separate lane for the buses, it took 90 minutes to go 15 miles, Opat said.

“That’s not ‘rapid’ to me,” he said.

In comparison, “light rail is on its own right of way, faster, cleaner, more aesthetically pleasing, quieter,” Opat said.

The proposed Target Corporation campus is another factor to consider when looking at the option of LRT, said Brooklyn Park Mayor Steve Lampi.

The Target campus would require moving 20,000 to 30,000 employees in and out of Brooklyn Park every day, Lampi said, adding that LRT has the ability to move more people.

Development and redevelopment are other goals of the partnership, Lampi said.

“Development along the LRT line is significantly greater than along a BRT line,” Lampi said.

The Hiawatha Line, which connects downtown Minneapolis, the VA Medical Center, Fort Snelling, Minneapolis International Airport and the Mall of America, has also caused a lot of attention to be turn to LRT.

“It has been so successful and the ridership far exceeds what they thought it would be,” said Robbinsdale Mayor Mike Holtz.

Since 2000, the partnership has been working on “promoting commuting solutions” and “strategic redevelopment supported by transit,” according to their website, www.bottineaupartnership.org.

$20M from the Legislature

In 2002, $20 million was bonded by the Legislature to help fund “a complete stand-alone busway” along Bottineau Boulevard, said partnership counsel Louis Smith.

“We need to ask … our legislators to help us earmark some of that money to help us with the alternative analysis,” Opat said.

The partnership has suggested the Legislature dedicate $1 million in funding for an alternative analysis.

Because the bonds were not made available until 2005, the Legislature extended the bonding authorization until 2010, Smith said, “but it’s specifically for the busway purposes.”

The $20 million would be available for other uses, “only if the Legislature does something further to change that authorization,” Smith said.

High gas pump prices no longer deter U.S. drivers

By Clifford Krauss March 29, 2007

HOUSTON: Prices at the gasoline pump are rising again, much as they do every spring as oil traders bid up the price of crude ahead of possible summertime shortages. Possibilities for more conflict in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East are adding to the surge.

But there is something new this time, energy experts say, in how drivers are reacting - or, more accurately, not reacting, even as the price of gasoline has climbed during the past two months to a national average of more than $2.60 a gallon. Europeans have long forked out more than double what Americans pay. But per gallon costs topping $3 a gallon, or 79 cents per liter, in many parts of the United States, particularly along the Pacific coast, is rare for the U.S. consumer.

In the late 1970s, OPEC oil shocks and gas lines persuaded most Americans to sacrifice some of their pleasure trips and drives to the mall, ease up on the accelerator, and switch to the bus or train.

But as Americans enter the sixth year of rising oil and gasoline prices, their shift in driving habits this time has gone through a much less dramatic change. What's more, in recent weeks, gas consumption is going up, not down, and drivers are changing their daily driving habits only slightly.

"I don't think about gas prices at all," said Michael Machat, 48, a lawyer in West Los Angeles, where gasoline prices are among the highest in the country.

As he filled up his BMW with super unleaded at $3.39 a gallon this week, he added, "I guess maybe if it was $10 a gallon, I'd think about it."

A recent study co-authored by Christopher Knittel, an economics professor at the University of California at Davis, showed that every time gasoline prices went up 20 percent between November 1975 and November 1980, consumers changed their driving behavior by cutting their gas consumption by 6 percent per capita nationwide.

However, between March 2001 and March 2006, drivers reduced consumption just 1 percent when prices rose 20 percent.

Prices swung up and down seasonally during both periods, but Knittel said the two periods were comparable because regular gasoline prices increased in both periods by about 66 percent to $2.50 from $1.50 in real terms, set at 2000 dollars.

While more and more consumers around the country are buying smaller, more efficient cars and fewer SUVs, that trend is unfolding a lot more slowly these days than 30 years ago.

It was a very different era back then, when Congress was willing to enact tougher gasoline standards and when then-President Jimmy Carter called on the country "to live thriftily" and "find ways to adjust and to make our society more efficient."

According to Aaron Brady, an expert on gasoline refining and consumption at the Cambridge Energy Research Associates, a consulting firm, "One would think that with prices up over the last few years, people would drive less but that's not the case.

"Demand is up over the last year."

The Department of Energy reported Wednesday that gasoline demand for transportation during the past four weeks has averaged 9.2 million barrels a day, or 1.6 percent higher than during the same time span last year, when prices were a bit lower.

The rising use by consumers and businesses is putting further pressure on prices.

On top of that, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories fell by 0.9 million barrels in the week ending March 23, compared to the previous week. Spring is also the season when refineries retool their plants, producing slightly less gasoline.

Economists say the reasons for the increasing demand for gasoline and the muted reaction among drivers are based on many factors, which have enormous policy implications as the Bush administration and the U.S. Congress attempt to find ways to stem climate change and oil imports, which now supply about 60 percent of U.S. needs.

Experts note that people are driving longer distances to work because of suburban sprawl, the improvements in mass transit have fallen behind over the years, and the practice of driving to malls and ferrying kids around has become part of the U.S. lifestyle.

Some observers suggest that with more dual-income families, high gas prices mean less to many families than they once did, and the proliferation of credit cards has eased the immediate pain of consumers at the pump.

"Our preferences have changed over the years and we are much more willing to continue our driving habits in the face of price increases," said Knittel, who was studying driver response to gas prices increases.

"Unlike the 1970s when people did drive less, data shows people now are not taking the extra step to conserve."

Interviews with a sampling of drivers around the country show they are less than alarmed by the new run-up in prices, even if they aren't happy about it. And they still suspect Big Oil is fleecing them. Not surprisingly, higher-income drivers are particularly unruffled, but middle-income drivers also seem fairly tranquil.

Veronica Burgos, a 39-year-old bookkeeper, says she is not about to give up her aging, gas-guzzling Navy blue Ford Explorer to commute to work and shuttle her children around, even though gasoline prices in the Los Angeles area where she lives are now "ridiculous."

"With this SUV, you really feel it, but I have two kids so I need it," she said. "In reality my husband would probably rather that I don't drive the SUV so much but I still do and I drive quite a bit. With work and two kids and all their activities, especially on the weekend, we're more comfortable in the SUV.

"So what are you going to do?"

Across the country, prices of gasoline have been shooting up relentlessly for the past two months, with the Energy Department reporting earlier this week that the average retail price for regular

unleaded hitting $2.60 a gallon, the highest rate since last September and 11 cents higher than a year ago. According to AAA, the average national price hit $2.62 on Thursday, up from $2.37 just a month ago.

With crude oil prices rising in recent days after the Iranian detention of British military personnel last week, some experts say that retail gasoline prices may go up another 10 or 15 cents a gallon in the next couple of weeks before settling down. At just over $64 a barrel on Wednesday, crude oil has gone up about $6 in just the last week, and retail gasoline prices tend to follow not long after.

"The market rally in gasoline is like the Oscars," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service, an independent trade publication. "It gets moved up every year."

The immediate seasonal cause for the rise in gasoline prices is the annual slowdown in March in refineries, as they undergo retooling to switch from winter to summer oil blends. But this year, that has been accentuated by a flurry of recent refinery accidents, escalating political tensions involving Iran, and greater speculation by traders.

"The prices for unleaded gasoline are way overblown for this time of year," said Michael Rose, director of the energy trading desk at Angus Jackson in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. "The traders are just going along with a theory that we are going to have a gasoline shortage in the summer."

Most experts expect prices to ease sometime in April, as refineries resume full operation, before rising again during the traditional summer driving season.

But many are wondering why the demand for gasoline is going up this March, a month not usually known for heavy driving.

"Is it because the economy is stronger or because people are going back to their old driving habits?" Charles Drevna, executive vice president of the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, asked.

There had been signs that the high price of oil was beginning to have an impact on consumption. The International Energy Agency reported that oil consumption in its 30 member countries, including the United States, had declined 0.6 percent last year, the first drop in more than two decades.

Sales in sport utility vehicles peaked in 2002, and have fallen since then. Meanwhile sales of small cars rose 5.3 percent last year. But Knittel said that he found little change in the average fuel efficiencies of vehicles driven by motorists in the past five years.

"Our preliminary analysis is showing vehicle choice is less sensitive to gas prices today than compared with the 1970s," he said. "We might be buying fewer SUVs, but a lot of the shifting is to cars that are not appreciably more fuel efficient, such as minivans."

Lisa Munoz contributed reporting from Los Angeles, Nate Schweber from Westchester County, New York, and Micheline Maynard from Detroit.

American demographics

This table lists some major demographic groupings in the United States. Race, gender, ethnicity, religion, and other factors are factors in personal and group identity. This table is unusual in that it presents a merged list of these factors. This more accurately reflects actual American society, in which most people belong to more than one group. All individuals can be classified into multiple groupings below. This list is not comprehensive. Please write to suggest additional groups.

( My note - I think this list is inaccurate. But being part of the "outliers" in our society, perhaps I am biased to this viewpoint that my numbers aren't quite so small. Though, I think the "vegetarian" and "vegan" numbers are close to accurate. But we have 16M more people and our culture is diversifiying faster than any time in our history )

Group	Number	Percent of U.S. population
Total 1	284,800,000	100.0 %
English-at-home speakers 6	245,497,600	86.2 %
Christian 2	217,872,000	76.5 %
White 1	211,460,626	75.1 %
Protestant 18	150,944,000	53 %
Female 1	145,532,800	51.1 %
Male 1	139,267,200	48.9 %
"born-again" or "evangelical" 9	125,312,000	44 %
Republican 8	90,950,000	33 %
Democrat 8	85,440,000	31 %
Catholic 2	69,776,000	24.5 %
Non-English speakers 6	38,087,127	13.8 %
Nonreligious 2	37,593,600	13.2 %
Hispanic/Latino 1	35,305,818	12.5 %
Black 1	34,658,190	12.3 %
Baptist 18	34,176,000	12 %
Evangelical (theologically) 16	22,049,360	8.0 %
Methodist 2	19,366,400	6.8 %
Spanish speakers 6	20,744,986	7.5 %
Southern Baptist 3	15,800,000	5.6 %
Lutheran 2	13,100,800	4.6 %
vegetarian 19	12,000,000	4.2 %
Asian 1	10,242,998	3.6 %
United Methodist Church 20	8,251,042	2.9 %
Presbyterian 2	7,689,600	2.7 %
Multiracial 1	6,826,228	2.4 %
Pentecostal 2	5,980,800	2.1 %
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) 15	5,503,192	1.93 %
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 3, 20	5,038,066	1.8 %
Episcopalian 2	4,841,600	1.7 %
GLBT (gay, lesbian or bisexual)5	4,300,000	1.51 %
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 3, 20	3,595,259	1.3 %
Judaism 2, 21	3,702,400	1.3 %
Eastern Orthodox 9	2,756,170	1 %
Assemblies of God 11	2,575,000	0.93 %
Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod 3, 20	2,512,714	0.9 %
Native American 1	2,475,956	0.9 %
Buddhist 13	2,400,000	0.87 %
Episcopal Church 20	2,333,628	0.82 %
French speakers 6	2,308,795	0.8 %
gay men5	2,000,000	0.70 %
Non-denominational 11	2,000,000	0.7 %
prison population	2,000,000	0.7 %
German speakers 6	1,851,418	0.7 %
Megachurch attendance 14	1,800,000	0.64 %
Jehovah's Witnesses 2	1,708,800	0.6 %
Chinese speakers 6	1,578,099	0.6 %
Italian speakers 6	1,565,165	0.6 %
Mennonite Church USA 11	1,525,000	0.55 %
Churches of Christ (non-instrumental / Corsicana, TX) 20	1,500,000	0.53 %
American Baptist Church in the U.S.A. 20	1,484,291	0.52 %
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church 20	1,430,795	0.50 %
Muslim 2	1,424,000	0.5 %
agnostic 2	1,424,000	0.5 %
bisexual5	1,400,000	0.49 %
United Church of Christ 20	1,330,985	0.47 %
Baptist Bible Fellowship International 20	1,200,000	0.42 %
atheists 2, 10	1,139,200	0.4 %
Tagolog speakers 6	1,008,542	0.4 %
Independent Christian Church, Churches of Christ (instrumental / Joplin, MO) 20	1,071,616	0.39 %
Hindu 13	1,000,000	0.36 %
Church of God (Cleveland, TN) 20	944,857	0.33 %
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 11	910,000	0.33 %
lesbians5	900,000	0.32 %
Polish speakers 6	865,298	0.3 %
Unitarian Universalist 2	854,400	0.3 %
Seventh-day Adventists 11	809,000	0.29 %
Neo-pagan (incl. Wiccans) 12	768,400	0.28 %
Korean speakers 6	749,278	0.3 %
Church of the Nazarene 11	608,000	0.2 %
Vietnamese speakers 6	606,463	0.2 %
vegans 22	591,468	0.2 %
Portuguese speakers 6	515,017	0.2 %
Japanese speakers 6	511,485	0.2 %
Pacific Islander 1	398,835	0.1 %
Reformed Church in America (RCA) 11	304,000	0.11 %
Libertarian party members 7	200,000	0.07 %
Baha'i 11	142,000	0.05 %
Native American Religionist 2	103,000	0.04 %

Glass vs. Cardboard

   I recently complained to the makers of my soymilk that
I wanted them to use more environmentally friendly  products.
It now makes me want to get a Soyabella to make my own!!

This is their response:

----------------------

Dear Kevin,

I have to say it makes me very happy to know that people are actually
thinking about these issues. Most people don't come near to considering
the details of their consumption and, as they say, the devil IS in the
details. So be patient while I bombard you with details!

In choosing our packaging, we apply a Life Cycle Analysis/Assessment
(LCA). You might have heard the expression "cradle to grave" analysis.
It's all the same thing. The goal is to examine and measure every step
of the packaging process. Besides being a tool for manufacturers to
evaluate their processes, it can be a valuable tool for consumer to make
informed choices. LCA introduces the idea that recycling is not enough.
LCA follows the manufacture of a products from extraction of raw
material, through the manufacturing process, including energy and water
used, through its use and then through its disposal. Gaseous, liquid or
solid residues are all evaluated since all have a different impact on
the environment.

Apply this to glass bottles. Material must be mined, and heat generated
and water used to form the bottle. Waste is generated from this process.
You now have a bottle that is relatively heavy, relatively bulky and
breakable, requiring extra sturdy (more weight) cases to protect the
package. Shipping these empty bottles requires more space and hence more
fossil fuel and even more fuel is needed to ship the filled bottle. Of
course, the final product must be shipped in refrigerated trucks, adding
to the fuel and energy needed. Although the bottle's average re-use is
about five times, plenty of hot water and sterilization agents are
needed to cleanse it for the next use. Finally, when it's recycled, it's
easily turned back into glass and can even be used as a food grade
package again.

Organic Valley milk cartons ARE recyclable, but only in certain places.
You'll have to call your trash/recycling company  and ask them if they
take the cartons. They might ask what they're made of and you can tell
them it's virgin, long-fibered paperboard sandwiched in micro-thin
Number 1 polyethelene. We use plastic polymer (#2, High Density
Polyethylene, HDPE) for our gallon-sized milk jugs. It is translucent
and has decent barrier properties (you have to keep the light away from
the milk). It's also tough but light and well suited for milk products
with a shorter shelf life. It is, however, a petroleum byproduct and has
waste problems.

Now that you're screaming STOP, STOP, too much information, I'll just
add that we're always searching for the best material to use in our
packaging, always testing new stuff, reconfiguring old stuff...anything
to lighten the footprint. Nevertheless I will make our packaging folks
in Research and Development aware of your plea, because they track all
suggestions assiduosly. If you have any further questions, or need
clarification on something, please let me know and I'll do my best to
help.

Sincerely,

Kimberly Kafka
Organic Valley/CROPP Cooperative
Consumer Relations  ext 3367
kimberly.kafka at organicvalley.coop

Oil Peak Could Catch United States Unprepared

WASHINGTON, DC, March 30, 2007 (ENS) - The U.S. government needs a strategy to coordinate and prioritize federal agency efforts to reduce uncertainty about the timing of an oil peak and to advise Congress on how best to mitigate consequences, finds a new report by the Government Accountability Office, GAO, the investigative branch of Congress.

The oil peak is that point when global production reaches its maximum and then can only decline.

The GAO report, published Thursday, says most studies estimate that oil production will peak sometime between now and 2040. But today, a Swedish scientist warned that the peak could come as early as next year.

Fredrik Robelius in the Department of Nuclear and Particle Physics at Uppsala University published his doctoral thesis today in which he says the rate of extraction from giant oil fields is a better indicator of the peak than oil prices.

"The reliability of the oil price as a single parameter can be questioned, as earlier times of high prices have occurred without having anything to do with a lack of oil," said Robelius.

"Instead," he said, "giant oil fields, the largest oil fields in the world, can be used as a parameter."

Future demand for oil is expected to increase annually by 1.4 to 1.7 percent, Robelius says.

"A worst-case scenario sees a peak in 2008, and the best-case scenario, following a 1.4 percent demand growth, peaks in 2018," Robelius predicts.

Texaco oil workers drill a vertical compound well. (Photo courtesy NASA)

The GAO says the range of estimates it found for the date of peak oil is wide because the timing of the peak depends on "multiple, uncertain factors" that will help determine how quickly the oil remaining in the ground is used.

These factors include the amount of oil still in the ground; how much of that oil can ultimately be produced given technological, cost, and environmental challenges as well as potentially unfavorable political and investment conditions in some countries where oil is located; and future global demand for oil.

Demand for oil will, in turn, be influenced by global economic growth and may be affected by government policies on the environment and climate change and consumer choices about conservation, the GAO said.

In any case, the GAO said, the federal government is not well prepared at this time. Federal efforts are spread across multiple agencies and are not focused explicitly on peak oil.

A giant oil field contains at least 500 million barrels of recoverable oil. Only one percent - 507 out of some 47,500 oil fields in the world - are giants, and the majority are found in the countries surrounding the Persian Gulf.

Fredrik Robelius is a PhD student in the Uppsala Hydrocarbon Depletion Study Group at Sweden's Uppsala University. (Photo courtesy Uppsala University)

Over 60 percent of the 2005 production and about 65 percent of the global ultimate recoverable reserve is from giant fields, says Robelius.

But giant fields are things of the past, the Swedish researcher says, since a majority of the largest giant fields are over 50 years old, many have begun to decline, and the discovery trend of fewer giant fields with smaller volumes is clear.

Robelius developed a model, based on past annual production and the ultimate recoverable reserve, to forecast future production from giant fields.

"In all scenarios," Robelius says, "peak oil occurs at about the same time as the giant fields peak."

The world's four largest oil fields are - Ghawar in Saudi Arabia, which produces 4.5 million barrels per day, Cantarell in Mexico, which produces nearly two million barrels per day, Burgan in Kuwait which produces 1.7 million barrels per day and Da Qing in China which produces one million barrels per day.

Oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana (Photo courtesy NOAA)

The most mature oil region, the continental United States, peaked in 1970, while the latest oil region discovered, the North Sea, peaked in 2001. Both regions continue to decline despite strong demand and high oil prices, which motivates high production rates, Robelius says.

"The declining trend in giant field discoveries suggests the good prospects are already drilled," he says.

In the United States, alternative fuels and transportation technologies face challenges that could impede their ability to mitigate the consequences of a peak and decline in oil production, unless sufficient time and effort are brought to bear, the GAO said in its report.

"Although corn ethanol production is technically feasible, it is more expensive to produce than gasoline and will require costly investments in infrastructure, such as pipelines and storage tanks, before it can become widely available as a primary fuel," the GAO said.

Key alternative technologies currently supply the equivalent of only about one percent of U.S. consumption of petroleum products, and the Department of Energy projects that even by 2015, they could displace only the equivalent of four percent of projected U.S. annual consumption.

In such circumstances, the GAO said, "an imminent peak and sharp decline in oil production could cause a worldwide recession."

Oil rig off the coast of Saudi Arabia (Photo courtesy Saudi Embassy in Washington, DC)

But if the peak is delayed, these technologies have a greater potential to mitigate the consequences, the GAO said.

To better prepare for a peak in oil production, GAO recommends that the Secretary of Energy work with other agencies to establish a strategy. In letters to the GAO, the Energy Department and Department of the Interior agreed with most aspects of the report.

The Department of Energy projects that the technologies could displace up to 34 percent of U.S. consumption in the 2025 through 2030 time frame, if the challenges are met.

"The level of effort dedicated to overcoming challenges will depend in part on sustained high oil prices to encourage sufficient investment in and demand for alternatives," the GAO said.

In its letter to members of Congress who requested the report, the GAO writes that U.S. consumers paid $38 billion more for gasoline in the first six months of 2006 than they paid in the same period of 2005, and $57 billion more than they paid in the same period of 2004, in large part because of rising oil prices, which reached a 24 year high in 2006 when adjusted for inflation.

Robelius writes that new oil discoveries are not likely to help ease consumers over the peak oil point.

"Although contributions from new field developments and deepwater is large, production from the 333 giant oil fields still dominates," says Robelius. "Despite optimistic production forecasts of the undoubtedly large resources of Orinoco and Alberta, their contribution is not enough to offset peak oil."

The Robelius study, "Giant Oil Fields - The Highway to Oil: Giant Oil Fields and their Importance for Future Oil Production," is online here.

Chaves / Chavis / Chavez Genealogy

I have done extensive genealogy research and it is evident that you
have done some also. You
mentioned in the Chavez Family website that you come from the Don Pedro
Gomez Duran y Chaves
lineage. I too, am from this very same ancestry; in fact conjoined
through multiple family lines. My
ancestry is Chaves and Sanches on my fathers side and Romero and Duran
on my mothers side.
This Duran y Chaves family was originally Rico and not Chaves; his
father was Hernan Sanches
Rico. The family Rico were Jewish traders and merchants that would
travel from Spain to France,
Italy, Greece and other parts of the Mediterranean Sea selling their
wares.

Some of my Chaves family ancestry takes a different twist and actually
comes from Chaves, Portugal
also.

Chaves; This family name is an ancient name from Portugal. Originally
called Flavis (Latin) by
Romans in Lusitania (Portugal). Original meaning was "healing waters".
Roman legions and even
Hadrian, Caesar, and other Roman personalities would go to the healing
waters of Flavis. The name
was a location not a person or family. Later, during the time when the
Portuguese language came into
its own, the spelling and pronunciation changed. All words with
Fl_____, were changed to Ch_____
but pronounced as if Sh____. So, Flavis became Chavis, same meaning
also. Some people still have
this spelling, particularly in Louisiana. After, the Roman occupation
the Portuguese language evolved
again. The name now took on a similar spelling, Chaves; but a new
meaning was tied to it. This
meaning you know, is, keys like Llaves in Spanish. The name was still
connected to a place not to
people. In about the 1200's the Moors, Catholics and Jews all occupied
Iberia and the Moors were
in a big uproar for control. In the region of Chaves, Portugal; the
Moors were ransacking and
causing general unrest. King Enriques of Portugal was very concerned
and was eventually driven into
war. He called upon the families of the region and found himself
compelled to request help from all
sources. He had cousins, the Lopes family. He called upon them for
help. The family responded
without hesitation. This Lopes family, four brothers and one sister
lead the battle and successfully
defeated and drove the Moors from the local of Chaves, Portugal. King
Enriques in all his
benevolence and generosity created the position of "Chaves" (similar to
the Order of Santiago of
Spain). The family were all knighted and made "Chaves", meaning "the
keys to the victory over the
Moors". The Chaves family is recognized all over the world as having
come from warrior clans. The
name, Chaves, symbolizes courage, royalty, honor, dedication to duty
and is easily recognized as
one of the most known Hispanic names in the world. The word Chaves is
pronounced with a distinct
sh, as in shoot or shout. Not the heavy ch that spanish words are
pronounced. The coat of arms is
displayed as five keys on the face with other ornate depictions, these
keys are symbolic of the five
original Chaves. Two of the brothers names are known; one brother was
named Rui(z) Lopes and
the other brother was Garci(a) Lopes. All these Chaves (Lopes) were
Jewish. Check out the
Judaica Encyclopedia at any synagogue.

Another view on the Chavez name. Some Chavez' ancestry is linked to a
person named Chavo. So,
people with the surname Chavez literally means "Son of Chavo". The ez,
is similar to other cultures,
sort of like Mc; Mac-Scottish/Irish or Ben-Hebrew or Bar- Arabic. Other
names with same
connotation: Sanchez, son of Sancho; Martinez, son of Martin; etc.

I have traced my ancestry interestingly enough to the Bentacurt and
Perdoma/o connection you
mentioned in the website as well. Both these people were in the Canary
Islands for very basic
reasons; they were Portuguese Jews hiding from the Spanish and
Portugese Inquisitions.

As much as the good Catholics of New Mexico would like to hide or
forget the past, the colonists
and others who came here were not originally Catholic, nearly all were
Jews; they came here seeking
freedom of religion after they were driven out of Spain and Portugal by
the "Edict of Expulsion".
They in fact paid Portugal and Spain many millions of cruzados (gold
coins) for their freedom. The
church ignored this and came after them anyway. The church demoralized,
broke down and crushed
the spirit of most of my ancestors, the church also held back food and
often times "bad" priests
would rape Jewish women in the process of cleansing them, and in many
instances would burn them
alive at the stake.

Check out author Seymour Leibman and Cecil Roth or others like them on
the history of Mexico
and the discovery of the new world; check out inquisitional records
from Mexico City and Lima,
Peru. People with names like Trevino, Caravajal, Rodrigues, etc. were
brutally tortured, imprisoned
and eventually burned alive at the stake. I am an ancestor of many such
people and their progeny.

The Sanches family I am from is linked to Rodrigo Sanches; he was an
explorer and 100% full Jew.
He was on Christopher Columbus ships when they discovered the New
World. Sanches cousin was
the treasurer to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella; his name was
Gabriel Sanches a full Jew.
Gabriels' uncle was a man named Alazar Ussuf another full Jew.

The Duran family I am from is linked to Rabbi Moises HaLevy Duran; he
was a Jewish Talmudic
scholar.

If, you dig deep enough you may or may not like what you find.

I believe a truthful history should depict the facts, not a sugar
coated Catholic Church rendition
painted by Fray Angelico Chavez. He knew the truth but didn't want
problems with the church. In
his book, "Origins of New Mexico Families"; he neglected to edit out
one very important clue to the
past. In the listings of the family name Romero; he depicts the death
of a Romero man; this Romero
dies a strange death and has been accused of a minor crime (heresy and
witchcraft); the person
recording all accountings of the incident was none other than an
inquisitional scribe. The inquisition
was here to stop people from being Jews. The Spanish Inquisition
reached well into New Mexico; a
father Perea located at Quari Mission near Mountainair, NM was the head
of the Inquisition in NM
in the historical past.

My research has gone as far back in history as you wish it to go. Some
depictions are as long ago as
AD 70 in Spain and others reach back into biblical times in Jerusalem.
All of the people I have
discussed in this letter ancestrally came from Israel.

In the old testament; in the book of Obadiah it is written as a
prophecy that "the Jerusalemites shall
inherit Sepharad". I will explain; the Jerusalemites occupied Jerusalem
at the time of the Roman
conquest of Palestine (Israel/Judaea) AD 67-70 time frame. The
destruction of the second temple
took place at this time also. Odabiah prophesied that a group of people
would conquer Jerusalem;
those people of Jerusalem would inherit Sepharad. Sepharad is the
hebrew word for Spain. All of
the Jews from Jerusalem went to Spain for relief from the Romans as
prophesied by Obadiah.

Jews from Spain and Portugal are called Sephardic Jews.

Further back in time is a reference in the Book of Ruth on the
genealogy of Judah. A son of Judah
was named Perez; through him and his wife the people were called;
Perezites. Perez was the
grandfather of King David of Israel. Today, many Sephardic Jews still
bear the name of Perez.
Many Spanish and Portuguese names ending with es or ez can trace
ancestry back to King David
and Perez/Judah lineage.

My feelings on the history of New Mexico and the New World is that the
history was not and is not
still portrayed or written accurately at all and must be corrected.


Thanks, Keith Alejandro Chaves
Albuquerque, New Mexico

The mysterious great seal....

The great seal on the US $1 bill. Why is it there, what does it all mean? Source: US Government.

Resolution on Circus Animals in Minneapolis

I am proud to have been a part of getting this resolution passed. It means less animal cruelty for the sake of entertainment. All beings deserve to live quality lives. I hope the full city council approves this soon.

-Kevin

Resolution as follows:

5th Congressional District Green Party
March 17, 2007
Drafted by Eric Makela, Co-Founder, Green Party Animals
(612) 782-2118

WHEREAS, Circuses featuring wild animals are held every year in Minneapolis;

WHEREAS, the Green Party's endorsed Minneapolis City Council member, Cam
Gordon, actively supports a proposed ordinance which would ban circuses that
feature wild animals,

WHEREAS, circuses that don't use animals are available for hire by
organizations that normally hire circuses with animals;

WHEREAS, the Green Party of Minnesota's Platform states, "Animals used for
entertainment such as racing, gambling, zoos, circuses and the film industry
are subject to abuses that are often hidden from the public. Forcing
non-human animals to live lives that are unnatural or unhealthy to their
species for the sake of entertainment is unjust." (Sec N, Item 3);

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the 5th Congressional District Green Party of
Minnesota supports a proposed ban on wild-animal circuses that will be
introduced before the Minneapolis City Council.

-END-

The Great Global Warming Swindle: Response

The key argument mounted by Martin Durkin in the Channel 4 documentary, ‘The Great Global Warming Swindle’, was that the sun’s activity had more to do with global warming than levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We asked Dr Richard Betts of the Met Office Hadley Centre to explain the scientific evidence for why the sun is not to blame for current climate change. He responded:

Date:15/03/2007		Author:Richard Betts
"Although the sun can play a part in climate change, there is overwhelming scientific evidence that it is not the cause of the climate warming that we have seen over recent decades. There have been proposed 2 mechanisms for how the sun might might be influencing climate. The first is that changes in the amount of solar radiation given off by the sun might be to blame. Solar irradiance has been monitored continuously for the last 28 years, and although an 11-year cycle has been well-established, no significant long-term trend has been detected over that period. The warming trend in global temperatures over recent decades therefore cannot be explained by changes in solar irradiance, simply because there has been no overall change in solar irradiance over that time. Earlier records show an increase in solar irradiance in the early part of the Twentieth Century, followed by a brief decrease before the current period of no significant trend. Global temperatures also underwent a warming until around 1940 and a subsequent cooling until around 1950, but then warming set in again and became more rapid. Computer models of climate suggest that solar irradiance changes may well have been a significant cause of climate change until the mid-Twentieth Century. However, the correlation between solar irradiance and global temperature breaks down after the 1960s as temperatures rose while solar irradiance did not. Over tens and hundreds of thousands of years, the amount of energy received by the Earth from the sun has changed because of changes in the Earth's orbit and the tilt of its axis. These changes led to the coming and going of ice ages in the past and are part of a natural cycle of climate change. However, these changes take many thousands of years and are therefore much too slow to account for climate changes seen over a few decades. The other hypothesis is that changes in cosmic rays associated with solar cycles might affect cloud cover and hence influence climate. However, while cloud cover was reported to be correlated with cosmic ray fluxes some time ago, this correlation has broken down as more years of data have become available. The available data therefore do not support the cosmic ray hypothesis."

imperfect Mandazi recipe

Mandazi

1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 cups white flour
2 tsp. baking powder

Mix all the ingredients together, adding more flour if necessary. The dough should be soft, but not sticky. Roll the dough on a lightly floured board until it is about 1/4 inch think. Cut into triangles and fry in hot oil.

------

I didn't get this recipe from Phanice, but found online. This is the exact recipe I tried. Don't recommend it until I find a better recipe version!

Denying Unemployment Benefits - Susan Allen ( DFL ) vs. Michael A. Chung

Michael A. Chung, Relator, vs. SMSC Gaming Enterprises, Respondent, Department of Employment and Economic Development, Respondent.

Michael A. Chung, Relator, vs. SMSC Gaming Enterprises, Respondent, Department of Employment and Economic Development, Respondent. A06-179, Court of Appeals Unpublished, January 2, 2007.

This opinion will be unpublished and

may not be cited except as provided by

Minn. Stat. § 480A.08, subd. 3 (2004).

STATE OF MINNESOTA

IN COURT OF APPEALS

A06-179

Michael A. Chung,

Relator,

vs.

SMSC Gaming Enterprises,

Respondent,

Department of Employment and Economic Development,

Respondent.

Filed January 2, 2007

Affirmed Willis, Judge

Department of Employment and Economic Development

File No. 1631905

Michael A. Chung, 14805 Hallmark Drive, Apple Valley, MN  55124 (pro se relator)

Susan L. Allen, S. "Chloe" Thompson, Olson, Allen & Rasmussen, LLC, 8200 Humboldt Avenue South, Suite 200, Bloomington, MN  55431 (for respondent SMSC Gaming Enterprises)

Linda A. Holmes, Department of Employment and Economic Development, First National Bank Building, 332 Minnesota Street, Suite E200, St. Paul, MN  55101-1351 (for respondent Department)

            Considered and decided by Peterson, Presiding Judge; Willis, Judge; and Wright, Judge.

U N P U B L I S H E D   O P I N I O N

WILLIS, Judge

            By writ of certiorari, pro se relator challenges the decision of the unemployment-law judge (ULJ) that relator was discharged for employment misconduct and is therefore disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits.  Because substantial evidence supports the ULJ's findings and those findings support the conclusion that relator was discharged for employment misconduct, we affirm. 

FACTS

Pro se relator Michael Chung was employed by SMSC Gaming Enterprises (SMSC) as a player-services representative at a casino from September 23, 2004, to October 5, 2005.  SMSC's player-services representatives are required to have valid gaming licenses.  This requirement is set forth in the SMSC employment application that Chung completed.  And Chung was aware that criminal convictions could affect his gaming license.   On February 8, 2005, a police officer issued Chung a ticket for careless driving and for making an improper lane change, and Chung ultimately pleaded guilty to careless driving, a misdemeanor.  In September 2005, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Gaming Commission held a hearing, apparently to address Chung's careless-driving conviction, and voted unanimously to revoke Chung's gaming license.  The gaming commission is an entity entirely separate from SMSC, Chung's former employer.  On October 5, 2005, SMSC discharged Chung from his employment because he no longer held a valid gaming license.  Chung sought unemployment benefits.

            An adjudicator from the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) determined that Chung was qualified to receive benefits.  Mistakenly believing that Chung's gaming license had been revoked by his employer, the adjudicator determined that Chung was discharged for reasons other than employment misconduct.  SMSC sought de novo review of that determination by an unemployment-law judge (ULJ).  The ULJ held a hearing on November 28, 2005, and issued findings of fact and a decision on November 30, 2005, reversing DEED's initial determination and holding that Chung was disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits.  The ULJ found that SMSC has "the right to expect that its employees will avoid committing illegal acts that may result in the revocation of a gaming license," and, therefore, "by driving his vehicle in a careless manner that resulted in a misdemeanor conviction, Chung's conduct clearly displayed a serious violation of the standards of behavior that an employer has the right to reasonably expect of its employee."  The ULJ concluded that Chung was discharged because of employment misconduct. 

            Chung filed a request for reconsideration with the ULJ under Minn. Stat. § 268.105, subd. 2 (Supp. 2005).  Before changes made by legislation in 2005, an applicant or employer could obtain de novo review of an unemployment-law judge's decision by filing an appeal with a senior unemployment-review judge (SURJ),  previously called a "commissioner's representative."  See Minn. Stat. § 268.105, subd. 2 (2004).  Now, an applicant, an employer, or the commissioner may make a request for reconsideration, asking the ULJ who made the initial decision to reconsider that decision.  Minn. Stat. § 268.105, subd. 2 (Supp. 2005); see 2005 Minn. Laws, ch. 112, art. 2, § 34, at 704-10 (rewriting the former appeal provisions).  Because the ULJ who conducted Chung's hearing and issued the November 30, 2005 decision was no longer employed by DEED, a second ULJ considered the request, as provided for by Minn. Stat. § 268.105, subd. 2(e).[1] 

The second ULJ affirmed the findings and decision of the first ULJ.  The second ULJ found that "Michael Chung knew he was required to maintain a license in order to work for the employer.  He did not do that, it being revoked by a separate entity, the Gaming Commission."  Chung appeals by writ of certiorari, asking this court to review the second ULJ's order affirming the decision that Chung is disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits because he was discharged for employment misconduct.          

D E C I S I O N

Chung makes three arguments on appeal: (1) that the second ULJ improperly based his decision on the "false assumption" that Chung's driver's license had been revoked; (2) that his gaming license was improperly revoked; and (3) that his careless-driving conviction does not constitute employment misconduct. 

First, Chung asserts that the second ULJ improperly based his decision on the false assumption that Chung's driver's license had been revoked and that the decision was therefore "factually and legally incorrect."  Chung is simply mistaken.  The ULJ did not base his decision on such an assumption or even make such an assumption.  The language in the second ULJ's decision to which Chung likely refers is: "This is no different than if Michael Chung's job required that he maintain a driver's license and the driver's license was revoked and, therefore, he could no longer legally perform his job."  The ULJ was comparing Chung's situation to one in which a driver's license had beenrevoked, not stating that Chung's driver's license had in fact been revoked.  Other than this mistaken assignment of error, Chung disputes no finding of fact by the ULJ.

Second, Chung argues that SMSC improperly revoked his gaming license and that the second ULJ erred when he declared that the evidence that Chung presented regarding the proper grounds for revocation of a gaming license was not "directly applicable."  The evidence that Chung presented appears to be an excerpt from a Mystic Lake Casino Hotel Gaming Department handbook setting forth the grounds on which the gaming commission might revoke or deny an employee's gaming license, and the second ULJ was correct when he determined that the quoted language is not directly applicable to the issue of whether Chung was discharged for employment misconduct.  Chung mistakenly argues that his former employer violated this standard and unlawfully revoked his gaming license.  As the second ULJ noted, the gaming commission, which revoked Chung's gaming license, is an entity separate from SMSC, Chung's former employer.  SMSC did not revoke Chung's gaming license, unlawfully or otherwise; it discharged Chung because he no longer held a gaming license. 

The appropriateness of the gaming commission's decision to revoke Chung's gaming license was immaterial to SMSC's decision to discharge Chung on the ground that he no longer held a gaming license.  And neither the transcript of Chung's hearing before the gaming commission nor an explanation of the commission's basis for its decision to revoke Chung's gaming license was available to the ULJ, or to SMSC for that matter.  The only evidence as to what happened at the gaming-commission hearingand in fact the only evidence that it was indeed a careless-driving conviction that prompted the commission to revoke Chung's gaming licensewas Chung's own testimony at the hearing before the first ULJ.  Under the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux (Dakota) Community Gaming Ordinance, the proper procedure for appealing a decision of the gaming commission is to appeal to the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux (Dakota) Community's Tribal Court.  There is no evidence that Chung exercised this right of appeal.              

Finally, Chung argues that his careless-driving conviction does not meet the definition of employment misconduct.  The issue before this court is not whether Chung's careless-driving conviction was employment misconduct but whether Chung's loss of his gaming license was employment misconduct, for that was the basis for SMSC's decision to discharge Chung.  DEED and SMSC argue that Chung engaged in employment misconduct when he lost, through his negligent conduct, a gaming license that was required for his employment. 

A person who is discharged from employment because of employment misconduct is disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits.  Minn. Stat. § 268.095, subd. 4 (Supp. 2005).  "Employment misconduct" is defined as   

any intentional, negligent, or indifferent conduct, on the job or off the job (1) that displays clearly a serious violation of the standards of behavior the employer has the right to reasonably expect of the employee, or (2) that displays clearly a substantial lack of concern for the employment.

           

Minn. Stat. § 268.095, subd. 6(a) (2004).  The legislature recently restated the standard of review that this court applies to ULJ decisions:

The Minnesota Court of Appeals may affirm the decision of the unemployment law judge or remand the case for further proceedings; or it may reverse or modify the decision if the substantial rights of the petitioner may have been prejudiced because the findings, inferences, conclusion, or decision are:

(1) in violation of constitutional provisions;

(2) in excess of the statutory authority or jurisdiction of the department;

(3) made upon unlawful procedure;

(4) affected by other error of law;

(5) unsupported by substantial evidence in view of the entire record as submitted; or

(6) arbitrary or capricious.

Minn. Stat. § 268.105, subd. 7(d) (Supp. 2005).

Whether an employee committed misconduct is a mixed question of fact and law.  Schmidgall v. FilmTec Corp., 644 N.W.2d 801, 804 (Minn. 2002).  Whether the employee committed a particular act is a question of fact.  Skarhus v. Davanni's Inc., 721 N.W.2d 340, 344 (Minn. App. 2006).  Findings of fact are reviewed in the light most favorable to the ULJ's decision, and deference is given to the  ULJ's determinations of credibility.  Id.  This court will not disturb the ULJ's factual findings when those findings are supported by substantial evidence.  Id.; Minn. Stat. § 268.105, subd. 7(d)(5).  But whether an act by the employee constitutes disqualifying misconduct is a question of law, which we review de novo.  Schmidgall, 644 N.W.2d at 804.

SMSC argues that Chung's conduct was "negligent and/or indifferent" under Minn. Stat. § 268.095, subd. 6(a).  We agree.  Because the record supports the finding that Chung knew that his employment required a gaming license and he knew that a criminal conviction could result in the revocation of his license, Chung's conduct that resulted in a criminal conviction was "negligent" or "indifferent," or both. 

To constitute "employment misconduct," Chung's conduct must also display clearly either "a serious violation of the standards of behavior the employer has the right to reasonably expect of the employee" under Minn. Stat. § 268.095, subd. 6(a)(1), or "a substantial lack of concern for the employment" under Minn. Stat. § 268.095, subd. 6(a)(2).  SMSC argues that Chung's conduct satisfies either definition.  We agree. 

SMSC is required by law to employ as player-services representatives only individuals with gaming licenses.  SMSC had the right to reasonably expect Chung to maintain his licensed status.  Chung failed to meet that expectation when the gaming commission revoked his license.  Failure to meet SMSC's reasonable expectation that its employees maintain a valid gaming license is a "serious violation."  Thus, Chung was discharged for "employment misconduct" under Minn. Stat. § 268.095, subd. 6(a)(1).   

SMSC and DEED argue that Chung's behavior also qualifies as a "substantial lack of concern for the employment" under Minn. Stat. § 268.095, subd. 6(a)(2).   As did the second ULJ, DEED compares Chung's situation to cases in which an employee's job requires a driver's license, and the employee engages in conduct that leads to the revocation of his driver's license or otherwise affects his ability to drive.  SMSC asserts that because Chung knew that he was required to maintain a gaming license to keep his job, his failure to do so demonstrated a substantial lack of concern for his employment. 

SMSC relies on Markel v. City of Circle Pines, 479 N.W.2d 382, 385 (Minn. 1992) (concluding that the employee's "conduct in driving drunk, thus putting at risk his ability to drive his employer's vehicles due to loss of his driver's license, is misconduct . . . because it showed an intentional and substantial disregard of his duties and obligations to his employer" and noting that this was particularly true when the employee understood the risk he was taking).[2]  We agree with SMSC that the present case is more similar to Markel than to other caselaw involving minor traffic offenses affecting an employee's ability to drive a motor vehicle required for his employment. 

In Markel, the employee's license was revoked for a year, and he was unable to secure the right type of limited license for work purposes, which rendered him completely unable to perform his duties and thus constituted a "substantial disregard" of his duties to his employer.  479 N.W.2d at 383, 385. In contrast, this court found no employment misconduct in Peterson v. Fred Vogt & Co., in which the employee's license was revoked for only 90 days, and the employee would have been able to secure a limited license for work purposes if his employer had cooperated.  495 N.W.2d 875, 877, 879 (Minn. App. 1993); see also Swanson v. Columbia Transit Corp., 311 Minn. 538, 539-40, 248 N.W.2d 732, 733 (1976) (finding no employment misconduct when a bus driver's three on-duty accidents did not render him unable to perform his duties); Eddins v. Chippewa Springs Corp., 388 N.W.2d 434, 434-36 (Minn. App. 1986) (finding no employment misconduct when an employee's numerous off-duty traffic tickets caused his employer's insurer to refuse coverage but did not result in the loss of the employee's driver's license, so the employee was still able to perform his duties).  Here, the revocation of Chung's gaming license renders him completely unable to perform the requirements of his job. 

The record shows that Chung knew that his employment required a gaming license, and Chung concedes that he was aware that a criminal conviction could affect his gaming license.  Chung's loss of his gaming license is employment misconduct under Minn. Stat. § 268.095, subd. 6(a)(2).  Because Chung was discharged for employment misconduct as defined in Minn. Stat. § 268.095, subd. 6(a), we affirm.               

            Affirmed.

[1] SMSC asserts that only the findings of the second ULJ, and not the findings and decision of the first ULJ, are reviewable on appeal.  It is true that, under the pre-2005 appeal provisions, this court reviewed the SURJ's (or the commissioner's representative's) decision rather than the ULJ's decision.  Tuff v. Knitcraft Corp., 526 N.W.2d 50, 51 (Minn. 1995).  Under the current scheme, typically, the same ULJ will issue both the initial decision and the decision on reconsideration, and the ULJ may choose to simply affirm his initial findings.  But here, a second ULJ reconsidered and affirmed the first ULJ's findings and decision.  Because the second ULJ's decision, although brief, contains findings sufficient to sustain the conclusion that Chung was discharged for employment misconduct, we need not determine whether the first ULJ's findings could have been reviewed on appeal if the findings of the second ULJ had been insufficient.

[2] SMSC also relies on Chin v. Little Six, Inc., No. C2-01-919, 2002 WL 15794, at *1 (Minn. App. Jan. 8, 2002).  Although Chin is an unpublished opinion, we find its reasoning persuasive and note that it also involved the revocation of a gaming license and affirmed a finding of disqualifying employment misconduct because the employee failed to renew her gaming license, which she knew was required for her continued employment.  Id. at *2. 

Polygamy in Kenya

“Make Polygamous Families Compulsory” Say Nairobi Polygamists

Our Nairobians.Com team was shocked to meet Nairobi men who feel very strongly about the decriminalisation and legalisation of polygamy in the country. A polygamous family typically involves one man and two or more ‘wives.’ The Kenyan legal system recognises only monogamous marriages – it is illegal for a person to be married to more than one person at the same time. You might think that a pro-polygamy Nairobi man has a pot belly and grey hairs, but these men are in their twenties and thirties, and many feel that it is only lack of money that prevents them from being polygamous.

Blaming ‘Nature’

Salim Nganga of Shauri Moyo believes that nature bears the answer to the question of polygamy, pointing out that women outnumber men: “Kenya kuna wanawake wengi zaidi ya wanaume. Kwanini wanawake wengine wasiwe na wanaume? Watajiokoa namna gani? Wanachukua wanaume wa watu, wanawanyanganya.” Even if women outnumber men, the fact that not everyone on the planet wants to get married means that people never lack spouses out of a shortage of the opposite sex; there are many spinsters in Nairobi who love being single and don’t care for marriage.

“Wakati wa Census ya 1989 ilikuwa inasema kwamba, ili wanawake watoshane wanaume, wanastahili kuoa wanawake watatu na nusu. Watatu na nusu haiwezekani. Inastahili kila mtu awe na wabibi watano, ili tuweze kutoshana,” continues Salim, “Sasa mimi nasema ikiwa hata ni lazima, ipitishwe kama law, kwamba kila mwanamume awe na wanawake watano.” But can people’s personal lives be governed by Census statistics?

Blaming Western Culture on outlawing of Polygamy

Evans Owiti of Kamukunji argued that polygamy was only outlawed when white people arrived in Kenya: “Mzungu anakuelezea ati hiyo ni bigamy lakini yeye anakuwa na mistress, huyo mtu mwenyewe ana bibi mwingine ni vile tu anamuita na jina lingine, then Kenya tunaambiwa kuwa bibi wengine ni dhambi. Kwanza kuwa na bibi wengi ni njia ya kupunguza HIV kwa njia haraka kabisa.” But how can polygamous marriages lead to reduced HIV infections, when polygamy involves multiple people – if one person strays and contracts the virus, everyone else will get it, including the children born. Worse still, they might not use condoms because they believe they are in a marriage.

Salim Nganga of Shauri Moyo also believes that: “Hii Government na hao watu ambao wanakudanganya kwamba ni lazima uwe na bibi mmoja. Ni nani kwa historia ambaye alikuwa na bibi mmoja? Tumepoteza utamaduni, tukadanganywa na mzungu, tunafuata mzungu kwa mambo ambayo tusiyoyajua. Mimi ni Mwafrika naona haja kuoa bibi wendi. Hata bibi mmoja ni hasara na ni haramu hata kwa Mwenyezi Mungu.”

But monogamy protects the rights of women in multiple ways, and it ensures that people cannot set up families willy nilly, without having the legal obligation to provide for them. A woman in a legally recognised marriage has protection from the law in the event of abandonment or neglect, in terms of child support and alimony, but without a legally recognised marriage she would be at the mercy of the man or his family, and she could be left with no wealth or child support entitlement.

Wealth and Polygamy

The fact that polygamy is illegal does not mean that people have stopped practicing it in Nairobi, and those men who practise it usually marry one wife in church (or in a civil ceremony), then they ‘marry’ the rest by giving dowry and proclaiming theirs a traditional marriage. But that situation often requires substantial wealth on the part of the man, to give dowry, to keep more than one home, and to ‘maintain’ more than one family. Bill of Huruma argued that poverty makes such traditions unworkable: “Mtu anawezaaje kuishi room moja, sijui mguu mbili kwa mguu mbili. Eh? Hata mtu analala, mguu unaonekana huko nje. Sasa, mko na bibi na watoto, hiyo story ya mila hauwezi kugaanda mila kama uko maskini.”

The lack of multiple houses appears to inhibit would-be polygamists. Salim Nganga confesses that he has only one wife: “Mimi namke mmoja. Lakini kwa mke mmoja ananifinya kwasababu pengine hata anaweza kunifanya niwe na stress kila wakati. Saa ingine sasa kama nakuta amekasirika, inanilazimu hata mimi pia nikasirike. Sasa kutoka kazini nikimsalimia, yeye mwenyewe hajibu kwa hasira. Kama ningekuwa na bibi wengi, mimi mwenyewe hatungeweza kujibiana, ningehama hapo kwake pole pole niende hiyo nyumba nyingine. Hasira yake ikiisha, nirudi, hatungekuwa na shida.” However, polygamy cannot be the answer to marital problems because leaving one wife’s house to go to the other’s does not mean that the problem with the first wife will solve itself.

The lack of land is also something that other would-be polygamists feel inhibits them. Maina of Githurai said: “Haswa, mzungu alifanya watu kuabudu pesa. Saa hii hata mimi naweza kupenda kuwa na bibi wengi, but angalia situation ya maisha, hakuna shamba, watu ni masquatters, hawana chakula.” Maina also felt that the lack of resources is a barrier to fulfilment of conjugal duties: “Kama mwanamume hakuli vizuri, na sasa unamwambia aoe bibi wengi, arudi kwa hizo mila, na hakuli vizuri na hiyo sex ni lazima anakula vizuri ili anapata hiyo joto kwa mwili, ataweza aje kuliisha hao bibi wengi? Lakini unaona hao viongozi wetu haswa wana bibi wengi juu wanaweza liisha hao mabibi. Lakini ukiambia mtu kama mimi ambaye nimezaliwa Mathare, wazazi wangu sikukuta wakiwa na hata ploti, hiyo mambo ya bibi wengi, nitailipia aje?”

Polygamists view women as commodities

It seems that polygamous men view women as commodities to be possessed, or looking to be possessed. Evans of Kamukunji believed that in ancient Africa every woman got the ‘chance’ to get married: “Kitambo wanawake ambao hawakuolewa walikuwa wangepata nafasi ya kuolewa kama ni bibi wa pili, tatu au nne.”

It’s true that Kenya is full of single women lamenting the absence of their Mr. Right, and fretting about being single and childless by the age of thirty or forty. What does that say about their desire to be possessed, and how does it challenge streotypes about women ‘needing’ to get married in order to find an ‘owner’? We don’t necessarily hear of Kenyan men frantically searching for a woman to marry, so perhaps women in Nairobi need to ask themselves whether they are perpetuating negative stereotypes about themselves.

Salim bizzarely believes that women can handle infidelity if they know the other woman: “Hata nifaida ukiwa na bibi wengi wanajuana na kila mmoja anajua huyo ni bibi mwenza, hakutakuwa na matatizo.” Women in polygamous situations are arguably in helpless positions – some may have been forced into the marriage by their families upon dowry exchange, they may have been lied to, or financial circumstances may make the woman feel that it’s preferable to poverty. In any case, an existing wife may not have the financial means to leave the situation with her children when a man says that he’s going to get a co-wife, so just because she stays does not mean that she accepts the polygamy.

It was very ironic that one polygamy fundamentalist cannot bear the thought of his woman straying, and he views polygamy as a way of keeping tabs on a woman: “Lakini ukiwa na bibi wa siri, inaweza kuwa hasara,” declared Salim Nganga of Shauri Moyo, “Hata huyo yule walala na yeye kule na anajificha inaweza kuwa hata yeye tunashare na jamaa kama Chalo, ama jamaa mwingine kama Mutiso ama Kolil. Lakini kama angekuwa wako nyumbani, huyu bibi hangeweza kuenda na Chalo, kwa sababu anajulikana ni wangu direct, hakungekuwa na matatizo.”

Maybe Kenyans need to rethink the system of dowry, since it perpetuates the falsehood that women are commodities to be purchased. If a groom’s family wants to give the bride’s family gifts as a symbol of their new union, that’s fine, but the bride’s family must also give the groom’s family gifts. Think about the last dowry negotiation that you attended or heard of, and think about the cold, hard bargaining or extortion that takes place, initiated by the bride’s family, as if they are selling something. By the time the groom and his family have finished taking out loans and selling things to pay for the dowry, they will be seething with resentment or feeling that they now own something new.

So can women marry multiple husbands?

What irony that polygamous men expect their women to be monogamous! Why don’t they call for women to have multiple husbands? In some African tribes that was and still is done. The problem with the polygamy argument is that it is all about the selfish wishes and desires of a roaming man, but if the tables were turned that man cannot handle a taste of his own medicine

source: http://www.nairobians.com/family.html