Massive ‘rare earth’ deposit found in North Dakota

 Regardless of your view on electric vehicles this is great news geopolitically for the United States:

Midterms Matter: For North Dakota Senate, please support Kevin Cramer

In a tight midterm race, North Dakota's current senate representation deserves a bit of scrutiny. Unfortunately it does not hold up well to that scrutiny.  There's been hypocrisy, self-serving decisions, and  self-serving politics.  That's not what any state needs.

You have a choice between that and someone who has always wanted to be accountable to the people he serves. 

If you know me, you know I have always preferred persuasion over power, humility over hyperbole, and candor over the cowardice of not saying what you think. I have never forgotten where I came from and I have always remained accessible through my town halls and continued outreach, which helps me remain accountable to you - the people of North Dakota. I will bring that same level of commitment to transparency, accountability and accessibility with me to the Senate.

-- Kevin Cramer

The choice seems simple and every vote counts when the race is this close.  Kevin Cramer needs your support.

Please support his efforts; volunteer, donate or at least check out his positions on his website.  And by all means - vote.

North Dakota senate: Rick Berg

North Dakota, this is why Rick Berg is running:

Super Tuesday Winners Ahead of Time

Not exciting.

I'm not all that excited about Super Tuesday because it could turn out to be the Romney show and guarantee his nomination.  I still believe he is the antithetical candidate for a Republican win against Obama in November.  Rich, out of touch and stiff, he'll be easy fodder for the Democrats to portray as a cardboard candidate without real values and without empathy.  He'll be demonized in the ceter, the same place Obama is trying to shore up his own credibility.  He's very, very vulnerable in November, and a Super Tuesday win for Romney is more likely than Santorum or Gingrich to seal the fate of the GOP chances of losing the presidency in 2012.

That is not an exciting prospect.  Super Tuesday has me as uninspired as a David Hasselhoff made for TV movie. It's not something I want to see, but because of all the hype, it's going to be on a bunch of channels.  Who knows, maybe the Germans will be excited about it.

All that said, here's how I see tomorrow playing out.

What oil exploration does for a local economy

Fort McMurray - once and future boom town.

Back a few years ago the oil deposits being recovered in Alberta Canada provided a massive boom to the local economy of small towns like Fort McMurray.  The town experienced everything from housing shortages, to donut shop jobs paying $20/hour in donut shops.  Oil means jobs.  As Alberta readies for yet another boom after a lull created by the financial crisis of 2008, leadership in the United States continues to waffle on whether to take advantage of the resources of a friendly neighbor that is anxious to sell, and indeed of it's own resources that are practically stopped compared to what they could be providing.  Why this great opportunity is going relatively unnoticed is not as puzzling as it is concerning.

Primary Day - VOTE

If you are in any of the following states, make sure your voice is heard in the primaries that are being held today.  The links below offer some interesting insights into the various races - if you are a political junkie, they are worth checking out.

California

New Jersey

Nevada

South Carolina

Iowa

Maine

Montana

North Dakota

South Dakota

Virginia

Predictions anyone?