Southwest Virginia Blogs

I realize Mr. Fuhrman gets up early and publishes a lot of posts each morning, however, I could not help but notice that he put very little objective thought and research into one of his latest entries.

Today, via the Southwest Virginia Blogs aggregator¹, I happened to catch his post entitled “Boucher’s Big Plans,” in which he took some time to critique Congressman Boucher’s statements to the Coalfield Progress.

One of Mr. Fuhrman’s first points really caught my eye. He refers to Congressman Boucher’s statement regarding the economic benefits of a price floor on oil as “idocy.”

Mr. Fuhrman said:

A price floor. What that means is Boucher doesn’t ever want that gallon of gasoline you pay for to get too cheap. What’s with that? And, if he’s willing to set prices on gasoline at the pump, is he willing to set prices on milk? Aspirin? Diapers? PlayStation3’s? Water?

His averment that “Boucher doesn’t ever want that gallon of gasoline you pay for to get too cheap” is, of course, clearly and completely false.

In my opinion, the reason that Congressman Boucher would support a price floor on oil is the same reason that Republican Senator Lugar of Indiana does. They both – Boucher and Lugar – are concerned about our dependence on foreign oil and they want to improve the local economies of their constituents.

A price floor on oil, as Philip Gordon opined in this article for the Financial Times earlier this year, would be a “simple” way to get energy producers and consumers to “make long-term investment and consumption decisions in a way that makes little economic sense so long as price stability is not guaranteed.”

Gordon, I think, is on target when he says “Americans will not take long-term decisions to [invest in alternative energy sources (i.e., coal-to-liquid, ethanol)] unless they know that a future sharp fall in oil prices will not undercut them.”

In other words, Congressman Boucher, specifically, appears to looking for a way to reduce our dependence on imported oil while greatly improving the economy in the Coalfields of Southwest Virginia.

Sen. Lugar’s support for an oil price floor is based on the same reasoning, but his interest is in ethanol, as opposed to coal-to-liquid fuels.

Producers will not be able to attract the requisite investors necessary to develop and manufacture coal-to-liquid and ethanol fuels as long as there is still a chance the bottom will fall out of the oil market. A price floor would remove that concern.

As for what to do with the collected funds if the price per barrel actually ever fell below the floor, Gordon had some excellent ideas. Gordon suggested “[t]o make the proposal even more palatable politically, Washington could promise to spend the money on education, healthcare, homeland security and even tax cuts rather than use if for deficit reduction, a noble purpose but one that rarely excites voters.”

The reason I point this out is that, obviously, I am very concerned about the improvement of life here in the Coalfields. I do believe that the furtherance of coal-to-liquid transportation fuels will help our struggling economy. I further believe that a price floor on oil will be necessary if we want to see meaningful investments in coal-to-liquid development.

It would be very unfortunate if someone took Mr. Fuhrman’s post and knee-jerk reactions at face value, and used it as political fodder against Congressman Boucher’s efforts to improve the Coalfields of Southwest Virginia.

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¹ No blog has ever been removed from the Southwest Virginia Blogs aggregator, but the offensive content, which has recently been discussed at length, would certainly be a basis for removal.

After 630 odd posts, it might seem an odd time to do an “about me” post, but it’s been on my to-do list since I lost my Blogger profile in the transition to WordPress.

I’m a professional graphic and web designer currently working in SW Virginia. I’ve been doing graphic design for print almost fourteen years. Web design became a major part of my work two and a half years ago.

I grew up in a very small town, one of fifteen in my high school class. My family has a strong belief in the value of an education, with a large percentage of them being teachers, doctors, or artists. I was undecided on which path to take and ended up with a BS degree in Animal Science and a BA in Sculpture.

Graphic design, as you can tell from the subtitle on this blog (it currently reads “Random mutterings of a wandering cowboy turned graphic designer”) wasn’t my first career choice. My first job, when I was 14, was working with cattle from horseback. I loved it. I had every intention of spending my life working with horses… Time passes, things change.

I found I had to reevaluate my choices when, in my mid-twenties, I was preparing to get married. Breaking horses, as I’d been doing since my late teens, just wasn’t a viable profession any more. I’d had three concussions, a back injury, various torn ligaments, and some bones in my foot fused already and retirement wasn’t exactly looming near. I started looking for another career. Something that would allow me to fuse my education with my passion for art. I lucked upon a graphic design job with someone who liked to train his own designers. He recognized in me something I didn’t see myself, the designer. It was a fantastic stroke of luck, and I’ll be forever grateful for his training.

I’m not by nature a talkative type, my wife would tell you that I act like I have a lifetime quota on words and I’m trying not to run out too early. I do however, like to say what I think. I took up blogging because I have almost exclusively worked where I was one of few if not the only, designer. Blogging not only allows me a place to speak my mind, but also allows me to be a part of a community of people who have similar interests. While I’m often the lone designer at work, I’m one among many online. This is something that I’ve found that I appreciate.

While I make an effort to focus on design and design related subjects, I’m afraid that I often wander off topic. You’ll notice for instance, that I veer into discussing politics on regular basis. Bare with me, and I come back to discussing graphic and web design before too long.

I’m a problem solver by nature, I’m fascinated by almost any sort of puzzle. Trouble shooting design problems is a particular pleasure for me. I often find myself giving people unsolicited advice on how to fix problems on their sites that they aren’t even aware of. I’ve recently started a series on Design Review to take advantage of that. This series is intended to give people a look into how a designer sees design.

My restless nature, and my wife’s career choices, have moved us around the country in the last decade. From my native Washington, I’ve worked in Idaho, Maryland and now Virginia. I’ve designed things varying from newspaper ads to cookbooks and furniture. I even designed custom carpet for a while. I find print design the most interesting, though the technical challenge of web design has a strong appeal as well. I think I’ll pass on custom carpet in the future. I’ve enjoyed the the journey, I’ve enjoyed each place I’ve lived. While I’d like to find a place to settle down, another move is being considered as I write this. Where next? I don’t know yet, maybe the Midwest. We’ll see where this road leads.

Consider this post to be guest book of sorts. If you’re reading this, drop me a comment. Let me know who you are, and where you’re from. I’m always interested in seeing who stops by.

After 630 odd posts, it might seem an odd time to do an “about me” post, but it’s been on my to-do list since I lost my Blogger profile in the transition to WordPress.

I’m a professional graphic and web designer currently working in SW Virginia. I’ve been doing graphic design for print almost fourteen years. Web design became a major part of my work two and a half years ago.

I grew up in a very small town, one of fifteen in my high school class. My family has a strong belief in the value of an education, with a large percentage of them being teachers, doctors, or artists. I was undecided on which path to take and ended up with a BS degree in Animal Science and a BA in Sculpture.

Graphic design, as you can tell from the subtitle on this blog (it currently reads “Random mutterings of a wandering cowboy turned graphic designer”) wasn’t my first career choice. My first job, when I was 14, was working with cattle from horseback. I loved it. I had every intention of spending my life working with horses… Time passes, things change.

I found I had to reevaluate my choices when, in my mid-twenties, I was preparing to get married. Breaking horses, as I’d been doing since my late teens, just wasn’t a viable profession any more. I’d had three concussions, a back injury, various torn ligaments, and some bones in my foot fused already and retirement wasn’t exactly looming near. I started looking for another career. Something that would allow me to fuse my education with my passion for art. I lucked upon a graphic design job with someone who liked to train his own designers. He recognized in me something I didn’t see myself, the designer. It was a fantastic stroke of luck, and I’ll be forever grateful for his training.

I’m not by nature a talkative type, my wife would tell you that I act like I have a lifetime quota on words and I’m trying not to run out too early. I do however, like to say what I think. I took up blogging because I have almost exclusively worked where I was one of few if not the only, designer. Blogging not only allows me a place to speak my mind, but also allows me to be a part of a community of people who have similar interests. While I’m often the lone designer at work, I’m one among many online. This is something that I’ve found that I appreciate.

While I make an effort to focus on design and design related subjects, I’m afraid that I often wander off topic. You’ll notice for instance, that I veer into discussing politics on regular basis. Bare with me, and I come back to discussing graphic and web design before too long.

I’m a problem solver by nature, I’m fascinated by almost any sort of puzzle. Trouble shooting design problems is a particular pleasure for me. I often find myself giving people unsolicited advice on how to fix problems on their sites that they aren’t even aware of. I’ve recently started a series on Design Review to take advantage of that. This series is intended to give people a look into how a designer sees design.

My restless nature, and my wife’s career choices, have moved us around the country in the last decade. From my native Washington, I’ve worked in Idaho, Maryland and now Virginia. I’ve designed things varying from newspaper ads to cookbooks and furniture. I even designed custom carpet for a while. I find print design the most interesting, though the technical challenge of web design has a strong appeal as well. I think I’ll pass on custom carpet in the future. I’ve enjoyed the the journey, I’ve enjoyed each place I’ve lived. While I’d like to find a place to settle down, another move is being considered as I write this. Where next? I don’t know yet, maybe the Midwest. We’ll see where this road leads.

Consider this post to be guest book of sorts. If you’re reading this, drop me a comment. Let me know who you are, and where you’re from. I’m always interested in seeing who stops by.