Chesapeake Energy, Barnett Shale & Their Spokepeople

Everytime I blog about anything that makes reference to Cheseapeake Energy and the Barnett Shale, I notice a big jump in blog readers from Oklahoma City, home of Chesapeake Energy.

Twice now a blogging has gotten a long-winded, off-point comment from an obvious Chesapeake person, employed to try and counter people's perfectly valid personal points of view. I got a new one today, again from someone anonymously calling him/herself B. Others, too, have gotten similar comments from this B person, regarding what they wrote about Barnett Shale.

This is an effort worthy of Joseph Goebbels and the Nazi Propaganda machine. Throw up a bunch of smoke, while personally attacking the object of your disdain, attack a bunch of straw men. And totally ignore the issue the person is raising or the point the person is making.

Don Young sent out an Urgent Alert letting people know that Chesapeake Energy had found a loophole in Fort Worth's rules that is allowing them to attempt to drill on the fringe of Tandy Hills Park, a nature preserve. Don Young does not believe it wise to drill in an urban setting, particularly near a nature preserve. It is Don Young's right to hold whatever opinion he wants about anything, and verbalize it anyway he wants. America is not Nazi Germany.

The Chesapeake Energy propaganda shill ignores what Don Young's actual issue is and, instead, like a good Nazi, attacks Don Young. Despite the Chesapeake Energy shill's insinuation, I have not heard Don Young say he is against drilling for oil offshore, or in Alaska. I have not heard Don Young say he is against developing alternative energy sources. I have not heard Don Young say he is against nuclear power. I have not heard Don Young say he is against conservation.

The reason Chesapeake Energy is losing in the battle for hearts and minds, in this urban zone, is precisely because of this type heavy-handed, thought control, disrespectful way of addressing people's perfectly valid concerns. That and their embarrassingly over the top advertising campaign. Which appears to be halted.

I've already lived less than a 1000 feet way from a Chesapeake Energy operation. It was not pleasant. I don't want to see one near my favorite place to hike. It is my belief that drilling in an urban zone should be an energy policy of last resort, after offshore, ANWR, the Gulf of Mexico, rural shale and all possible means of alternative energy generation have been exhausted. Then, maybe, start drilling in densely populated zones. But, until remote ANWR is tapped, it is my opinion, which I am intitled to, this being America, not Nazi Germany, that no drilling rig should be allowed anywhere near Tandy Hills Park. Or any other urban park.

Now below, the anonymous shill work from the Joseph Goebbels wannabe who calls him/herself B-----

I wonder how much it costs Don Young to fill up his Conastoga Wagon? Because if he’s driving an automobile, or using electricity to cool his home, or plugging in his computer to write a blog … if he’s doing anything that uses any produced energy, then Don Young defines hypocrisy.

It really is that plain and simple. I’ll get back to Don in a moment, but first, let’s take a look at the general hypocrisy of America’s energy policy.

In 1995, President Bill Clinton vetoed legislation to drill for oil in the Alaskan Arctic. If that bill had been signed, 1 million barrels of American oil – 27 million gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel – would be on the market today.

With all that extra American oil available, we would not be suffering from skyrocketing fuel and grocery prices today. Supply and demand. The greater the supply, the cheaper the cost.

But Clinton vetoed the bill and all that Alaskan oil remains untouched … right beneath the surface of our own feet. And out of our current 100 United States Senators, 72 of them have voted to keep that estimated 10.4 billion barrels of oil off the market.

“Not here,” those 72 Senators said with their votes. “Not here.”

But that hasn’t stopped the politicians from hijacking a microphone to complain about skyrocketing prices at the pump.

It’s time to pull the plug on the hypocrites. Because, as columnist George Will astutely pointed out a few weeks ago, “Don’t drill here seems to be our national energy policy.”

That sounds familiar, kind of like the loud minority of so-called “activists” who oppose development of the Barnett Shale. “Don’t drill here,” they say, even though the technologies of natural gas drilling and production are incredibly safe and unobtrusive. Even as our nation is in desperate need of affordable, clean, efficient energy … and it rests right beneath our Texas dirt, waiting to be produced. Even though this vast resource provides not just a tremendous boost to the Fort Worth economy, but a viable means of meeting America’s energy needs with less reliance on foreign oil.

And our reliance on foreign oil is a critical and growing problem. It’s not going away and it’s only going to get worse.

T. Boone Pickens recently pointed out to Congress that America is spending $700 billion per year for foreign oil. That’s more than the Iraq war is costing us! And with new demand for oil from nations like China and India, the price tag is only going to go up … until we do something about it, something for ourselves.

And there is a way out of this mess. In his testimony, Pickens told Congress that if we converted America’s transportation fuel from gasoline to natural gas, we’d cut our dependence on foreign cabals by 38 percent. Get a calculator – 38 percent of $700 billion – we’d save $266 billion every year, just like that.

But there’s more good news. According to the prestigious scientists at the Colorado School of Mines, we have a 120-year supply of natural gas right here in North America, right under our feet. And natural gas is, by far, the cleanest burning fossil fuel known to man. It’s affordable, it’s clean, and it’s available right here at home.

Right here, at home in Fort Worth … right under our own feet.

But, “Not Here,” says Don Young. “Not Here,” say a small minority of “Not Anywhere Naysayers.”

But they still drive their cars. They still complain about the price of food that was shipped to their local grocer in gasoline- or diesel-powered vehicles. They still turn on the air conditioner or the stove at home.

And they still plug in their computers to declare “Not Here” in their blogs and emails.
Which brings us back to Don Young … and hypocrisy.

Don, if you were Amish, I’d understand. Because as New York Times reporter Peter Applebome wrote, the Amish “… live what they espouse.” They use no produced energy.

So, Don, if I see you around town in a horse-drawn wagon, I’ll wave and offer a note of respect.

But as long as you keep plugging in that computer to destroy America’s efforts to lessen our dependence on foreign oil … well, you’re just another “Not Here Hypocrite” that, frankly, isn’t worth the energy it takes to listen to you.

Star-Telegram Connections To Texas, Part 18

One of my 2 readers may remember me making mention of that Fort Worth paper that I continue to read, the constantly shrinking Star-Telegram, and its odd habit of making any possible connection, no matter how remote, to someone in the news, or on TV and Fort Worth or any other town in North Texas.

I've really not understood why this bugs me. Til today's example.

In the TV section, esteemed, likely sometime Pulitzer Prize nominated, writer, Robert Philpot, describing tonight's So You Think You Can Dance, wrote, "Fort Worth's Joshua Allen and Carrolton's Comfort Fedoke continue to represent for North Texas...."

And this, about tonight's Bravo show, Sheer Genius, Frisco's Daniel Lewis and Dallas' Matthew Tully continue to cut on this hairstyling competition..."

Okay. A few day's ago an awful show called The Bachelorette ended on ABC. I read about the finale in the Seattle P-I. A guy from the Seattle zone city of Kirkland, was one of the final two. And a guy from Breckinridge, Colorado.

The P-I's verbiage was like this, "Kirkland account executive, Jason Mesnick.....and Breckinridge, Colorado professional snowboarder, Jesse Csinsak....."

See the difference? The P-I does not describe the local as Kirkland's Jason Mesnick, as if the town possessed the guy. And the P-I identifies where the other guy is from. The P-I does not make it's frame of reference filtered thru a local prisim, instead the P-I just states the facts. One guy is from Kirkland, the other Breckinridge. Neither town possessing either of the guys.

Where, in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, it is always, "Burleson's Kelly Clarkson." Not "Burleson songstress, Kelly Clarkson."

It's like by turning something like this into a possessive, as in "Fort Worth's Joshua Allen," it just comes across as real, I dunno, ultra small townish. And, well, like Lulu said, pathetic.

Now, that I've finally figured out why this verbiage bugs me, I think this will likely be the last time I make note of it. Unless a particularly pathetic, amusing example crops up.

Fort Worth's Enviable Quality Of Life

Back in May I blogged about a weird announcement from the City of Fort Worth in which the city advertised that for the 3rd time in 45 years the city would hold a city wide conversation with its citizens.

In this morning's Fort Worth Star-Telegram there was a paid ad from the city of Fort Worth. I don't know if this counts as the Star-Telegram using the infamous "envy of" verbiage, due to this being a paid ad, but this is the first paragraph...

"In a recent city survey, residents agreed that Fort Worth is a great place to live, work and play. Such an enviable quality of life, though, is no accident."

The ad article goes on to talk about all the good the 2 previous city wide conversations accomplished . The 1963 conversation somehow resulted in Fort Worth's seldom used convention center and much used D/FW Airport. And resulted in Fort Worth being named an All-American City. Wow!

And then in 1992 Fort Worth's Ruling Junta Oligarchy deigned to listen to the citizens of Fort Worth again. This conversation resulted in a recycling program, the return of minor league baseball and the Bass Performance Hall. And once more, Fort Worth was named an All-American City. Wow, again!

It is interesting, to me, that this 1992 city wide conversation resulted in the downtown Fort Worth Performance Hall. I thought the Bass family initiated that. I'm impressed, I tell you, impressed, that the Bass's built that hall after listening to the good citizens of Fort Worth verbalize their desire to have a good performance hall.

Now, the 2008 city wide conversation is under way. Maybe this time all the talking will result in recycling occurring in my zone of Fort Worth. I'm not sure that that All-American City thing is still in operation. If so, I'm sure Fort Worth will be an All-American City again after the wonders produced by this 2008 city wide conversation between Fort Worth's citizens and the Ruling Junta.

Flipping Out on Bravo

I've got a new favorite TV Show. Flipping Out on Bravo. I'd seen bits and pieces of this show last season and found it annoying. I've watched several episodes this season and find it amusing.

A good reality show is so much better than scripted TV. No one has the imagination to make up the lives some people lead. Or like the recent rescue in Columbia of all those hostages held for so long by the FARC rebels. That reality show played out like a tightly scripted, implausible Hollywood movie, with a very happy ending.

On Flipping Out you've got this guy, Jeff Lewis, with a bad case of OCD, which makes him obsess about the oddest of things. And he can say the most blunt, rude of remarks, caused, by his own admission, by his lacking of an empathy gene. He is in therapy, sees a therapist, a spiritualist and a psychic.

Yes, it is obvious this show is set in Southern California.

Flipping Out is so named because Jeff Lewis flips houses, has done about 50 flips and has a reputation for doing a brilliant job. Part of what is entertaining is seeing the transformations take place.

Jeff Lewis has several pets that he obsesses over. Three mutt dogs, one fat cat and, temporarily, 3 deer. The fat cat is a handful. Jeff Lewis had a psychic examine the cat so as to best determine how to make the move to a new house the least traumatic. One time the cat got acupuncture.

Jeff Lewis does not do any of life's mundane chores himself. He has a guy named Chris who is his house manager. Chris Elwood, the House Manager, has an assistant, also named Chris, as in Chris Keslar.

To my shock, I learned last night that Chris, the House Manager, is married to Lewis' Executive Assistant, Jenni Pulos. They are married, but don't share last names. I learned last night that the married couple rents a bungalow from Jeff Lewis. Jeff and Jenni dropped in to inspect the property. On the way there, Jeff had to slam the brakes, slightly. He reached out across Jenni's chest, which caused her to scream, "Get your hands off my boobs." He explained he was acting as a seatbelt backup. She then admitted her big boobs were hard to not touch, accidentally, in such a scenario, due to their size.

Regarding the mutt dogs, Jeff Lewis found a place that tested your dogs DNA to determine its breed mix. So, all his "people" worked with him to figure out the self-test. The results came back. One little mutt's supposed DNA indicated it was a Chihuahua/Poodle mix. Another one was a Cocker Spaniel/Doberman mix. This seemed ridiculous to Lewis, because the dogs bore no resemblance to those breeds. Lewis decided he'd been scammed. And at $200 per dog, he thought maybe he should get into the DNA Dog Test Scam.

The best drama of the night came about after Jeff's OCD Paranoia caused him to put a spy cam in his house. He was sure his House workers were taking advantage of him. As Jeff and Jenni drove along he had someone call his house. His people are instructed to answer in a precise manner, instead Jenni's husband answered and said "Bon Jour, Chez Lewis," or something like that.

Later, Jeff confronted Chris, who denied, vehemently his egregious breaking of the phone answering rules. Later Jeff saw that he had proof Chris had lied, when Jeff played back the day's spying.

In subsequent days, Jeff caught Chris on Jeff's computer for hours. Employees are banned from Jeff's computer, except for Jenni. Jeff caught Chris spending a lot of time text messaging. But the worst offense was Chris was caught going through Jeff's personal papers.

Next week's episode appears to deal with Jeff dealing with Chris' bad behavior. I'm sure much hilarity will ensue.

Chesapeake Energy, Barnett Shale, Tandy Hills Park & Don Young in Time

Time Magazine, online, published an interesting article about the new phenomenon of citizen's fighting back against the gas drilling industry's encroachments on their peace and quiet and property.

The article quoted Fort Worth's noted Eastside Rabble Rouser, Don Young. I'll paste the Fort Worth part of the article below. You can read the entire TIME article here.

Don Young went from being a full-time glass artist to spending 50% of his working hours battling the energy companies via his website, FWcando.org (Fort Worth Citizens Against Drilling Ordinance). He first became alarmed at the exploration boom when a prairie reserve near his old, cherished Fort Worth neighborhood was threatened. He began the fight by printing flyers and distributing them to his neighbors, but he soon set up a website to keep the information flowing. It has not only been a clearinghouse for Fort Worth residents concerned about the impact of backyard gas wells, but it also attracts daily e-mail messages from groups across the country, Young says. His site links to other anti-drilling advocates from New Mexico and Wyoming to Pennsylvania, Arkansas and Michigan.

Young says some of his neighbors are attracted by the sort of Texas mythology that is woven into Fort Worth's cultural history, including legends portrayed in movies like Giant with the brooding poor ranch hand played by James Dean turning into a plutocratic wildcatter. But Young and other opponents insist the real Texas — the city's old neighborhoods and tree-lined trails, plus the rolling prairie lands and nearby small towns — are threatened. "The oil companies are acting like it's West Texas here, but it's not," Young says. "We're trying to put a brake on things."

For him the fight is personal, sometimes sadly pitting neighbor against neighbor. Young has turned down a $25,000 signing bonus offered for his own land. With daily headlines proclaiming new exploration moves, Young is now committed to focusing his neighbors' attentions on the impact that the accompanying pipelines and service roads will have. Says Young: "The war is not won by them or lost by us ... yet."

Hell's Kitchen Winner: Christina

I did not get hooked on watching Hell's Kitchen's latest trip to hell. The first season of Hell's Kitchen I watched it all. Hell's Kitchen is not a reality show train wreck like, well, The Bachelorette. You can learn some useful things on Hell's Kitchen. Like new swear words and how to ruin Risotto. I did not know what Risotto was til I watched Hell's Kitchen, so it is quite educational.
I find Chef Gordon Ramsey quite amusing. His other show, Kitchen Nightmares, put me off restaurants for awhile. The new season of that show starts soon. I'll likely watch some of it. And be put off of restaurants again.

The winner of Hell's Kitchen is determined by who Gordon Ramsey thinks did the best job of designing a kitchen, a menu and executing their restaurant operation.

Last week, the 2 remaining chefs worked on their restaurants and then were whisked off to New York City by private jet. In NYC they had to prepare their signature dishes in one of Ramsey's restaurants, to be judged by chefs from his restaurants around the world. There were 5 chef judges. 3 of the 5 liked the chef named Petrozza's steak better than the chef named Christina's steak.

Because Petrozza had the better steak when they got back to LA he got first pick of booted chefs to staff his restaurant. The episode ended with one of those cliffhangers that leaves you on the edge of your seat and wanting more. Who will Petrozza pick as his last chef? The bumbling buffon, Matt, or the lady with an attitude, Jen?

We'll find out tonight. And then Hell's Kitchen opens and Petrozza likely wins. I don't remember what the prize is.

UPDATE: Ooops! My guess was wrong, as usual. Christina won. The finale was actually pretty entertaining.

Turner Falls Park in Oklahoma

Until I visited Enchanted Rock State Park I would tell people that Turner Falls Park is the most scenic place I've seen in Texas. Even though Turner Falls isn't in Texas. It's across the border in Oklahoma.

I'd driven right by Turner Falls Park several times, not realizing it was worth seeing. It's only a few miles off I-35. When you are driving the Turner Falls Park zone of I-35 you see signs telling you that you are in the Arbuckle Mountains. But being a person from a land of actual mountains, I didn't know what they were talking about.

There is a scenic lookout exit from the freeway. I pulled off to see the scene. But to my eyes there was none. So, my first time to Turner Falls Park I had very very very low expectations. The first surprise is that almost immediately upon exiting the freeway the road does seem like a mountain highway. Twists and turns and steep drop-offs.

Then you come to an overlook built by the CCC, back in the Great Depression era. It is from that overlook you get your first look at Turner Falls. That's a zoomed view, from the overlook, you see in the photo above. The CCC also built a rock trail to the valley below, from this lookout.

You pay a fee to enter the park. There is a lot to do there. An underground spring created Honey Creek, which goes over a cliff creating Turner Falls. It is crystal clear water. And quite a pleasant temperature in summer. There are several swimming holes, including one right under the falls.

Turner Falls Parks has camping, cabins, a rock castle, lots of trails. And caves.

Go here to see photos from my first visit to Turner Falls and park info.

Go here to see a winter visit with better photos.

Go here for a map of the Turner Falls Park area.

Go here for a very short Turner Falls Park video.

Barnett Shale Pollution in Wise County

Wise County's best blogger, Texas Sharon, aka Bluedaze, on Sunday, went on a reconnaissance mission to a Braden Exploration drilling site about a mile from her abode.

Bluedaze was dazed by the bad stench and fumes. And appalled to see the amount of pollution on the ground, this being near a creek that flows into Denton Creek which flows into Lake Grapevine and then into people's homes.

Go here to read Texas Sharon's account of her unwelcome, messy neighbor, and more photos.

The Fort Worth Way

An interesting letter to the editor, this morning, in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, reinforced, for me, what's been my observation after seeing Fort Worth in operation during my years of exile here.

Fort Worth is basically an oligarchy. That's where political power rests with a small elite of society, distinguished by wealth, family or military powers, or a combo of all three. In Fort Worth wealth and family can put you in the oligarchy, a Greek word which means "rule by few."

Below is the letter to the editor that sort of discusses the Fort Worth oligarchy and how it operated during the recent Tarrant County College, Radio Shack Headquarters Debacle Boondoggle.

Recognize the Fort Worth way

In retrospect, the grand plan for the downtown Tarrant County College campus failed because outsiders had no understanding of how Fort Worth operates. Neither architect Bing Thom nor Chancellor Leonardo de la Garza are native. They chose to operate unilaterally rather than get consensus and approval of the local power structure. Result: fiasco.

Arrogantly they forged ahead without going through historical power channels. For the first half of the 20th century that meant Amon Carter. Nothing important got done without Carter’s blessing.

After Carter’s demise, the power shifted to a group of businessmen loosely referred to as the Seventh Street Gang, mostly bankers and utility executives. When federal deregulation sapped their power, the young Bass brothers took over and reshaped the city.

Always working quietly behind the scenes, they have been the force to be consulted with regarding city development for a couple of decades. TCC disregarded this, and has flopped spectacularly regardless of the merit of its plan. Bass opposition to the Thom plan should have been a signal to proceed with caution.

Solution: Rather than proceed with a “split campus” as proposed, turn the bluff property east of the courthouse over to the innovative Bass family to develop. They would come up with a suitable project that Fort Worth can be proud of, and which will enhance the proposed Trinity Uptown development.

— Jack White, Fort Worth

ABC's The Bachelorette Getting Married to a Snowboarder

I tried, really I did, but I could only make it through a little over an hour of last night's bizarre Bachelorette show.

In that hour The Bachelorette, DeAnna Pappas, desperate for a husband, took the boys to meet the family, including Papa Pappas.

The family seemed as desperate as DeAnna for her to find a husband. Greek family's must be big fans of getting the daughters married off.

The boys did the predictable asking the dad if he'd approve if they proposed. Papa Pappas approved, with the stipulation that Jesse the Snowboarder get his hair cut shorter.

I quit watching soon after the Dallas guy, Jeremy, who DeAnna said bye-bye to last week, showed up at her door and begged her to re-consider, going on about their shared bond of having dead moms and how deeply he'd fallen in absolute powerful all-encompasing love during the few weeks he's known her and the couple of dates they'd been on.

But, it was all in vain. with tears running down her cheeks, DeAnna gave poor lovesick Jeremy the boot again.

In the next hour, apparently Jason made DeAnna a board game, while Jesse made her a "Book of Thoughts," which was a photo album of their long courtship.

And then it came time for DeAnna to break someone's heart. Jason Mesnick, the account executive with a kid, got down on his knees to propose. DeAnna quickly yanked him back vertical and told Jason that "...even though I'm falling in love with you, I'm in love with someone else."

The above said, to the shock of millions of viewers, as they realized she was dumping the responsible adult, described in the Seattle P-I as "Perfect: clean-cut, tall, dark, handsome, self-assured, someone who wanted Pappas to complete his family, " for Jesse Csincsak.

The P-I described the Husband Hunter's choice thusly, "Csincsak has longish locks, an Owen Wilson nose and clothes that can be Mars Volta-concert loud. He's still searching for what's after snowboarding, but he did start a nonprofit for disadvantaged kids. (It revolves around snowboarding.)"

In the hour that followed an "After the Final Rose" show ran another hour, during which DeAnna and Jesse announced their wedding date as a year in the future. Yeah, I bet that's gonna happen.

Comments on ABC's Live Blog verbalized total disdain and disbelief that she chose the greasy-haired, short snowboarder.

The Survivor Sucksters were typically more colorfully opinionated. Here is one choice example. (Pardon the language)

"At first I was pissed she'd reject such a sweetheart like Jason but then again she deserves to breed with that prick Jessie and produce retarded offspring. Jason and Jeremy can do better than that dumb bitch."

Below is a video of the bizarre visit to Seattle where DeAnna got to meet Jason's family and kid. The best part of this video is the good look at good-looking Seattle.