This is what happens when I buy a car:

Here's a chart of gas prices over the last few years. They plummeted when the economy melted down but quickly recovered to a bit less than 3 dollars a gallon, which is where they stayed until last fall.


Here's the same chart with a red line to show when I bought my car:


The first tank of gas that I bought for the car was about $3.10/gallon. Two months later, the cheapest gas near my apartment in California is $4.30/gallon. I would like to personally apologize to each and every American for the dramatic increase in gas prices since I bought my car. I'm pretty sure that if I hadn't purchased it, gas would still be right around 3 dollars a gallon.

Arguing in Favor of Nuclear Power

This article is one of the most compelling arguments for nuclear power that I've seen. In particular, the costs of other forms of electricity, both fossil fuels and "green" energy, are significant. The lesson of the Fukushima disaster isn't that nuclear power is inherently bad, but rather that crony capitalism and disregard for safety regulations lead to disaster.

Soak the Rich to Fix the Deficit

The Wall Street Journal has a great article about the impossibility of fixing the deficit by only raising taxes on the rich. The reality is that we need to dramatically reform entitlements and cut spending. Merely raising taxes on "the rich" won't do it.

Of course, my uncle Josh beat them to it by almost two and a half years.

Interesting Fact About the Bush Tax Cuts

From the Wall Street Journal article on the truly terrible speech that Obama gave yesterday on his plan (or lack thereof) to reform entitlements:

Under the Obama tax plan, the Bush rates would be repealed for the top brackets. Yet the "cost" of extending all the Bush rates in 2011 over 10 years was about $3.7 trillion. Some $3 trillion of that was for everything but the top brackets—and Mr. Obama says he wants to extend those rates forever. According to Internal Revenue Service data, the entire taxable income of everyone earning over $100,000 in 2008 was about $1.582 trillion. Even if all these Americans—most of whom are far from wealthy—were taxed at 100%, it wouldn't cover Mr. Obama's deficit for this year.

Clearly the deficit crisis in this country can't be fixed merely by raising taxes on "the rich." Now, Mr. President, can we have a serious discussion about cutting spending and reforming taxes?

Incidentally, I've decided that it's better for my friendships to post my thoughts on politics on my blog rather than on Facebook. Apparently I'm a bit too blunt to appear in most people's news feeds.

"Step aside, Lance Armstrong"

I came across this rather amusing passage in the Gettysburg Times while doing some research for an article I'm writing:

As a sports reporter, it’s my job to watch great athletes and bring their triumphs to life in print, and I have witnessed my fair share of impressive feats.

All of those experiences weren’t as unique as the accomplishment I saw this past Saturday, however, and part of the reason for that is this particular athlete happened to be my wife. In addition, she completed her first-ever triathlon.

Step aside, Lance Armstrong and Michael Phelps. My wife covered both your sports, and then added a three-mile run to boot.

I realize that the author wrote those last couple sentences tongue-in-cheek, but even so, I feel that somebody should tell him that before Lance beat cancer and won the Tour de France 7 times in a row, he was the top ranked triathlete in the country.

Time to Change Immigration Law

If Obama, the Wall Street Journal, and I all agree that we need to increase immigration quotas for highly educated workers, it must be true. Enough said.