THE EXTREME ZEALOTS AND TRUE BELIEVERS WHO SEE IN COAL THE "MAGIC BULLET" TOWARDS ENERGY SELF-SUFFICENCY FOR A "MORALLY SUPERIOR" AMERICA are, beyond a doubt, especially interested in rehabilitating (as it were) the concept of coal-fired turbine locomotives as but one step towards that goal.

And one particularly likely model would have to be none other than 4,500 hp @ 8000 rpm Norfolk and Western 2300, a/k/a "Jawn Henry," of Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton manufacture, vintage 1954, with a Babcock and Wilcox flash-tube boiler @ 900 psi and General Electric traction motors in a C+C-C+C wheel arrangement.

Judge for yourself, reader, if "Jawn Henry" had dorkiness written throughout solely because of its design:

In service for but three years until being scrapped in 1958, such encountered no end of performance problems, including coal dust shorting out the electrical wires, almost-constant problems with the feedwater heater and boiler controls and the turbine blades being damaged after backing onto heavy trains, thus consigning "Jawn Henry" to pusher duty on coal trains for the most part.

Not to be outdone, the Union Pacific, already attracting attention for their oil-turbine locomotives, was approached by the Bituminous Coal Institute to develop a coal-turbine locomotive prototype; as Wikipedia explains:

In October 1961, Union Pacific constructed an experimental GTEL of their own, using an Alco PA-2 as a cab, the chassis of a GE W-1 class electric locomotive (bought for scrap from the Great Northern) as the second unit, and a modified turbine prime mover from the 50 to 75 series. The setup was numbered 80, but changed to 8080 in 1965 to avoid conflict with the EMD DD35s being introduced. The consist had an A1A-A1A+B-D+D-B, wheel arrangement, i.e. 18 axles of which 16 were powered. A "centipede" steam locomotive tender was rebuilt with a coal crusher to pulverize and feed the coal to the turbine. Power output was estimated at 7000 hp (5.2 MW). The original diesel engine in the PA was retained and produced 2000 hp (1.5 MW) and the turbine produced the additional 5000 hp (3.8 MW). The blade erosion and soot buildup problems encountered in the earlier locomotives were magnified with the coal turbine. Grinding coal into fine particles was also troublesome. Any oversized coal particles could damage the turbine blades. Ultimately, the experiment was declared a failure and was scrapped. The conventional gas turbines each racked up well over a million miles in revenue service, by comparison the coal turbine prototype ran less than 10,000 miles before being stricken from the UP roster.

Again, judge for yourself if the following photo (via the Don Ross Collection, ultimately via Wikipedia) shows dorkiness in coal turbine-locomotive technology throughout: 

In any case: How sure can we be that coal-industry-sponsored front groups have learned well enough from past mistakes to give renewed attention to coal-turbine locomotion technology, especially considering the likelihood of newly-developed technology as may have eased the original reliability problems? 

19 hours old

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REV. JOHN HAGEE, ONE OF THE "SPIRITUAL ADVISORS" TO GOP PRESIDENTIAL PRESUMPTIVE JOHN McCAIN, claims that various anti-Catholic remarks attributed to him "have been mischaracterised" to discredit Hagee's pseudoministry.

As if that weren't good enough, Rev. Hagee's Christians United for Israel opposes Israeli land concessions for Palestinian Arabs in the name of fulfilling End Times Prophecy--which has attracted the ire of Rebbe Eric Yoffie, head of the Union for Reform Judaism, in calling upon its 900 affiliated synagogues to reject any overtures with Rev. Hagee's movement.

That, and taking exception to Rev. Hagee's anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic remarks.

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AND STAYING WITH JOHN McCAIN FOR THE NONCE, some video from his star-crossed 2000 Presidential bid has surfaced putting paid to his ignoring the issue of service in the Vietnam War in his Indecision 2008 campaign:

Media Matters for America, as is bringing this to light, elaborates:

In recent weeks, as Media Matters for America has repeatedly noted, various media outlets have either falsely suggested or asserted outright that Sen. John McCain has avoided references to his time in Vietnam in his prior political campaigns. In fact, McCain repeatedly highlighted his service in Vietnam during his failed 2000 presidential bid, as numerous news reports from the time show. Indeed, McCain's own 2000 presidential campaign released a biographical video of McCain, which prominently features McCain's time in the Navy during Vietnam. McCain himself appears in the video and discusses, among other things, the "[t]hree keys to a successful survivor in a prison camp, a situation such as I and my friends were in." Moreover, in 2004, McCain reportedly said that he had advised Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) not to talk about his military service and falsely claimed that "I didn't talk about" Vietnam because, he said, "I didn't need to."

The video, which also covers McCain's family military history, goes on to discuss McCain's release from the prison camp, his return to the U.S. from Vietnam, and the remainder of his Navy career. At the end of the video, a disclaimer notes that the advertisement was "Paid for by McCain 2000, Inc."

Now what does The Terrible-Tempered Mr. Bang have to say over this new discovery?

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THE REGIONS OF SOUTHWEST MISSOURI AS INCLUDE THAT MECCA OF IDEALISED AMERIKANISCHER REALKULTUR, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS BRANSON, have been seeing no end of heavy snowfall this past winter.

And, in recent days, no end of heavy rain which translates, under the right circumstances, into major flooding, never mind where you've got Table Rock and Taneycomo dams in the immediate vicinity of Branson, plus Bull Shoals dam just inside the Arkansas line a few miles downstream.

Under the right circumstances, let's just hope for some flooding down Branson way as could serve the role of Divine Judgement and Wrath upon a misguided delusion of equally-misguided cultural conservatives in the Kulturkrieg camp (cf. frequent claims of Divine Judgement upon the United States levelled by the so-called "Westboro Baptist Church" during their now-banned "educational" picketing of certain funerals).

As in Branson being seen to be The One True and Pure Centre of Amerikanischer Realkultur "uncontaminated" by perceived "Jewish" or "homosexual" influences from the New York-Hollywood "Axis of Evil," with overtures reminescent of Nazi Germany's heavily promoting folk culture through the Kraft durch Frude ("Strength Through Joy") initiative for "patriotic" purposes.

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NOW IT MAY ACTUALLY BE POSSIBLE TO BLAME "GENES AND CHROMOSONES" FOR BEING A CHRONIC AND HABITUAL SMOKER, thanks to newly-released research from British cancer researchers appearing in this week's issues of Nature and Nature Genetics.

Who have spotted two variants in chromosone 15 which can only make the risk of lung cancer all the worse among smokers carrying either of both of these genetic variants in their genetic makeup.

And it makes you wonder whether the worst risk of carrying these mutations of chromosone 15 is among the Lower Classes and others deemed "chronic and habitual welfare cases."

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CNN IS REPORTING WHERE CONGRESS, BLIND AND @ ONCE OBLIVIOUS TO AN EVER-WORSENING NATIONAL DEBT BROUGHT ON BY HIS FRAUDULENCY'S MISADVENTURES against International Terrorism, is considering offering tax incentives to such purchasing foreclosed real properties in the name of G-d, Country and the Economy.

The lion's share of which tend to be concentrated in what may best be called culturally-deprived environments as were prime targets for "sub-prime" lending activity all the more, with real property values used to calculate property taxes perhaps exaggerated by a substantial factor out of warped and misguided pride more so than logic.

And you'll never guess who's especially interested in these tax credits: So-called "Christian Mortgage Lenders" advertising via "spam" e-mail all the more buying whole neighbourhoods of foreclosed properties en bloc and reselling them @ inflated prices (and equally-inflated mortgage rates bordering on the same "sub-prime" terms which aggravated the current market meltdown), said mortgages backed by unregistered debt securities offered to Low Church congregations and underwritten by several promiment "Prosperity Gospel" evangels under Congressional enquiry.

The whole designed, or so these "Christian" lenders hope, to "prevent further serious dilution of property values" by "sexually deviant, immoral and perverted elements" (as in homosexuals) "exploiting" low real estate prices all the more--but then again, the obvious target of these same "Christian Mortgage" companies is White Christian families tending to be poor, undereducated or homeschooled and easily-influenced ... and lacking decent credit histories as would qualify them for mortgages from more traditional lending channels.

Too, there's also the risk that these "Christian Mortgage" lenders won't report payment histories to the three national credit bureaux "for reasons you will understand," or so the likely patsy will come out.

And what guarantees are there that these unregistered debt securities won't go into default, with serious losses likely ensuing to these same Low Church elements falling for such as one with "Christian duty"?

All in all, something worth watching for danger of affinity fraud wholesale, and then some.  

WITH A TIP OF THE CHAPEAU TO DOWN WITH TYRANNY, YOUR CORRESPONDENT MAKES NOTE OF THIS LATEST SPECIMEN of just how far poor, undereducated and easily-influenced elements of society can be manipulated into voting Republican come Indecision 2008--itself raising questions on whether these remarks are somehow scripted or coached, knowing full well that the spokesperson is vulnerable or otherwise easily influenced:

And it makes you wonder just how hard-wired the GOP's electoral base can become--especially among certain classes of the community, in particular the lower such.

Not to mention reminescent of Monty Python's occasional recurring characters known as "pepperpots"--obnoxiously loud, shabbily-dressed old-age pensioners going for the absurd, in classic Monty Pythonic stylee--in perhaps their finest specimen, the Exploding Penguin Atop the TV Set:

IMHO, that "and now--" in the original ought best be followed by one of those "vox pops" from Surf's Up involving Arnold, Katie and Smudge discussing winning, surfboards, friendship ... even using urine to remove embedded bits of sea urchin from the foot.

IF THERE'S ONE THING THAT THE FREE-MARKET ZEALOTS AND TRUE BELIEVERS ON K STREET WOULD LOVE TO USE TO ADVANCE THEIR AGENDA, especially when the greater desire is "winning of hearts and minds" propaganda value, it would probably have to be the device of the "taxpayer lawsuit."

Especially such seeking to challenge the legality as much as the Constitutionality of certain "non-essential" or otherwise "counterproductive" Government agencies, institutions and schemes like State Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid on some of the flimsiest arguments known.

Which could get to be rather ugly to the point of tasteless when it turns out that some K Street group pushing the "taxpayer lawsuit" argument for nothing but attracting attention by highly questionable means wants to use some specimen of "trailer trash" as is obviously poor, undereducated or homeschooled and easily-influenced to act as "plaintiff" in the action.

And it turns out that the suit in question is as carefully scripted as the traditional Japanese kabuki and noh dramas--scripted, it turns out, by the "real" plaintiffs behind the "taxpayer lawsuit" in question, viz., the K Street element seeing free-market capitalism (and the defence thereof) being the defence of the "antient and pecuilar soverignty and soverign identity" of the United States, and vice versa.

With the "taxpayer" expected to act as plaintiff being nothing more than a parrot of K Street--a parrot deliberately conditioned into being a pawn of K Street solely for propaganda purposes rather than a sincere and genuine use of the courts for redress of taxpayer grievances--more than anything else.

Is it, perhaps, motivated by a desire to avoid "attracting unnecessary attention***to the wrong sort of people" in seeking to pervert the courts for the Greater Conservative Agenda's ends?

In any case, such should be challenged because of the potential for the insincerity and/or exploitation of the vulnerable for such questionable ends and means which K Street seeks to gain through the "taxpayer lawsuit" device--and with the "plaintiff" winding up, perhaps, emotionally unstable because of the attention expected to fall upon him, attention thus directed by the "sponsors" of the lawsuit.

Let alone the arguments expected to be advanced being rather insincere and incredible enough to dismiss such outright as frivolous and vexatious.

With the patsy/plaintiff being assigned court costs, fees and disbursements in the process, rather than the "real" plaintiffs behind such exercises.

ONE THING THE ZEALOTS AND TRUE BELIEVERS OF HYPERCONSERVATISM HOLD DEAR AS AN ARTICLE OF FAITH would have to be the "complete and final" elimination of "failed and failing" systems of State welfare and a new generation of the Lower Classes who willingly and consciously say No to charity of any kind, and accept such unswervingly and without question or compromise.

In other words, a hard-wired acceptance of any type of work available out of a zealous and conscious belief in industry, self-reliance and personal responsibility.

And towards such ends, you could just imagine whether certain specimens of conservative Zealotry and True Belief would love to "advise" schoolchildren from "chronic and habitual" welfare families to participate in School-to-Work programmes (as expects those graduating from high school to directly enter the workforce) for the sake of "Pavlovian conditioning" towards "accepting self-reliance and personal responsibility as American," concurrently accepting the dependency on welfare as "promoting Socialism and other dangerous un-American beliefs."

Such "advice" being more than likely tricked enrollment through forgery or deception based on various pathetic arguments lacking credibility.

And said School-to-Work initiatives tending to little more than drunken lectures reeking of Producerist and racist propaganda guaranteed to cause plenty of weeping and wailing and boohoohooing--even if the end result is psychoemotional harm translating into unsuitability for employment.

So: Just how many students from "chronic and habitual" welfare families are being "advised" to participate in School-to-Work schemes as part of the family's Social Contract?

How many are receiving little more than thinly-veiled bigotry and lectures having little or no resemblance to preparing them for the job and career market?

How many are winding up with serious emotional harm, or close to it?