From the Department of Transportation, a news release, “U.S. Transportation Mary Peters Announces Steps to Delay Highway Trust Fund Shortfall, Calls on Congress to Pass Legislation to Address Problem“:

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters today directed the Federal Highway Administration to take immediate steps to protect the solvency of the highway account of the Highway Trust Fund and called on Congress to act quickly to finally address this long-predicted problem.

“Time and again, the President has warned Congress of the pending shortfall and submitted fiscally prudent budgets to close the gap,” said Secretary Peters. “Americans cannot afford to have Congress play ‘kick the can’ with highway funding for another year, another month, or frankly, another week.”

She called on Congress to provide immediate short-term relief by passing pending legislation, already approved by the House of Representatives, that would make an additional $8 billion available for the highway trust fund. She urged Congress, however, to avoid adding pet projects, new earmarks or unrelated provisions on the “must pass” legislation and to get the bill done by the end of next week.

The Secretary said the legislation was needed now because Congress had failed to heed over three years of warnings from the President and the Department about the long-predicted highway trust fund shortfall. She added that the recent and sudden decline in American driving and the resulting decline in gas tax revenue during the summer had accelerated the predicted shortfall.

More…

• US highway fund crushed by cutback in driving CNNMoney.com
• US Highway Fund Needs $8 Billion Bailout This Month (Update1) Bloomberg

The NAM was cosponsoring with the DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance a conference next Monday and Tuesday in Hollywood, Fla., the “Integrated Care Summit.” Hurricane Ike is seriously threatening the area, hence this announcement from DMAA:DMAA Postpones The Forum 08, Integrated Care Summit

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Sept. 5, 2008-Due to the potential threat to life and property Hurricane Ike now poses to South Florida, DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance has decided to postpone its Sept. 7 to 8 annual meeting, The Forum 08, and the Sept. 8 to 10 Integrated Care Summit. Although we regret the inconvenience this might cause our registered attendees and supporters, we believe the safety and welfare of our attendees must take priority in the decision on whether to move forward with these events.

As of the 11 a.m. forecast, Ike was on a five-day track toward the southern tip of Florida as a dangerous Category 4 storm. Additionally, computer models of the storm’s track appear to be coalescing around a South Florida landfall for Ike late Tuesday, Sept. 9, or early Wednesday, Sept. 10. This timing would not only place the personal welfare of our attendees in jeopardy but also severely disrupt travel from Hollywood, Fla., the site of our events.

We will remain in contact throughout the next several days regarding status of attendee registrations for the Forum, the Summit and our pre- and post-conference symposia. Exhibitors and Sponsors also will receive information soon on the status of their investments in the Forum and Summit.

DMAA will immediately begin the process for finding an alternative site for The Forum 08 and Integrated Care Summit and will keep you informed with regular updates on that initiative. Questions or concerns may be directed to staff@dmaa.org or (202) 737-5980. Please understand that due to the expected volume of feedback regarding this decision, you may not receive an immediate response to your query.

We’ve poked fun at the overreaction hereabouts to Tropical Storm Hanna, but Ike is certainly nothing to scoff at.

Looks like President Bush is not going to let Congress pretend there aren’t Free Trade Agreements that need action.

From the White House:

President Bush to Welcome President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia

President Bush will welcome President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia to the White House on September 20, 2008. Colombia is a strategic ally of the United States, and this visit underscores the deep friendship and extensive cooperation between the United States and Colombia. The two leaders will discuss a range of issues, including their shared commitment to the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, continuing to reduce violence and increase peace and security in Colombia, and strengthening democracy throughout the region.

Following this:

President Bush to Welcome President Martin Torrijos of the Republic of Panama

President Bush will welcome President Martin Torrijos of the Republic of Panama to the White House on September 17, 2008. Panama is an important friend and ally of the United States. The President looks forward to discussing a range of issues with President Torrijos, including our common commitment to the United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement, expanding free trade and strengthening democracy throughout the region, enhancing security cooperation, and strengthening cooperation in international fora. This visit, following President Torrijos’ visit last May, underscores the on-going deep friendship and cooperation between the United States and Panama.

Charles Murray’s new book, “Real Education,” is now out. Murray is a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, known for taking on issues that some prefer to gloss over. From the AEI summary of the book:

Ability varies. Children differ in their ability to learn academic material. Doing our best for every child requires, above all else, that we embrace that simplest of truths. America’s educational system does its best to ignore it.

Half of the children are below average. Many children cannot learn more than rudimentary reading and math. Real Education reviews what we know about the limits of what schools can do and the results of four decades of policies that require schools to divert huge resources to unattainable goals.

Too many people are going to college. Almost everyone should get training beyond high school, but the number of students who want, need, or can profit from four years of residential education at the college level is a fraction of the number of young people who are struggling to get a degree. We have set up a standard known as the BA, stripped it of its traditional content, and made it an artificial job qualification. Then we stigmatize everyone who doesn’t get one. For most of America’s young people, today’s college system is a punishing anachronism.

Hal Tarleton, editor of the Wilson (N.C.) Times, wrote about Murray’s arguments the other day, noting North Carolina’s mistakes on vocational education. From his column, “College Isn’t for Everyone“:

North Carolina’s community colleges started out as vocational training centers but have morphed into stepping stones to four-year degrees. They teach the academic courses needed for transfer to the university level and have dropped the “technical” name as an outdated remnant of an industrial age that no longer exists.

Meanwhile, employers are complaining that they can’t find the skilled workers for their factories and service jobs.

Judging from the description of the book, Murray does more than complain, offering substantive proposals for educational reform and improvement.

More…

• An interview with Murray in EdNews.org
• Review by George Leef, Pope Center, “Questioning the Paper Chase“

From The Star-Tribune, Pittsylvania County, Virginia:

Danville Community College and Luna Innovations Inc. have entered into a partnership to provide nanotechnology technician training to Southside Virginia residents.

The partnership is being funded through a three-year, $638,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.

“This funding will help develop a curriculum that will not only provide students with technical skills, but includes hands-on experience in using scientific instruments,” said Dr. Kent Murphy, chairman and chief executive officer of Luna Innovations. “The new program will aid in building a workforce that will be ready to work in this promising new technology field.”

Headquartered in Roanoke, Luna opened its nanoWorks division in Danville in 2005 in a former tobacco warehouse that has been renovated into an ultramodern 24,000-square-foot manufacturing and research development facility.

Here’s the joint Danville Community College/Luna news release.

Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit often posts links about this or that breakthrough in nanotechnology, all interesting and encouraging.

But when you get to the point of training technicians, well, that tells you the technology has definitely advanced beyond theory and R&D to the practical,  commercial level.

P.S. Some of those Instapundit links:

• MAKING HYDROGEN FUEL with nanotechnology…….
• MORE TARGETED CANCER TREATMENT using nanotechnology…….
• CONTRASTING U.S. AND EUROPEAN APPROACHES to nanotechnology and related issues. I have some related thoughts here…….
• HARVESTING SOLAR ENERGY with nanotechnology…….
• TREATING CANCER WITH NANOTECHNOLOGY: “In a study with breast cancer in mice, a nanotech cancer therapy suppresses tumor growth with minimal side effects. Taking advantage of the fact that the blood vessels in tumor tissue are leakier than in normal……
• TURNING WASTE INTO ETHANOL, using nanotechnology…….
• KILLING DEADLY HOSPITAL BACTERIA with nanotechnology…….
• THE PUBLIC WEIGHS IN on nanotechnology for human enhancement. I say, bring it on. I need all the enhancing I can get…….
• NANOTECHNOLOGY UPDATE: Optimizing drug delivery with shaped nanoparticles…….

Today’s Wall Street Journal features a defense/explanation of Gov. Sarah Palin’s treatment of the oil industry in Alaska from James P. Lucier Jr., a managing director of the D.C. forecasting/consulting firm of Capital Alpha Partners, LLC. The column, “What Palin Really Did To the Oil Industry,” compares her approach to the previous taxing and economic development programs of Gov. Frank Murkowski, whom Palin defeated in the 2006 Republican primary.

As a new governor in 2007, Mrs. Palin stepped in to address the fiscal crisis and restore accountability. Working with Democrats and Republicans alike, she chose a 25% profits tax. But in lean years the state reverts to a 10% gross revenue tax on legacy fields that do not require massive continuing inputs of new capital.

Relative to the old system, Mrs. Palin’s plan — called “Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share” (ACES) — improves incentives for developing new resources. It ensures the state does well in boom times — as it is doing now — when oil prices are high. But it also hedges against low prices in the future by ensuring that oil companies exposed to commodity price swings don’t face a crushing tax burden when commodity prices fall.

Her plan includes an escalator clause that gives the state a larger share of revenues when oil prices rise. This is common to production-sharing agreements all over the world.

For a more critical look, here’s a business reporter’s column from the Toronto Globe and Mail, “How Big Oil went from friend to foe in Alaska.” The column points out her experience on the powerful Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

Perhaps it’s inevitable in a campaign year with “change” as the mantra and populism as the default, but there are still political pitfalls to the McCain-Palin “we took on big oil” rhetoric. If one sector of the economy is defined as suspect, exploitative or evil, it becomes awfully easy to treat other sectors the same. “We took on Detroit. We showed the mining sector who’s the boss. Those manufacturers, we gave them what for. Corner convenience stores? We stuck it to them.” Populism debases.

Maybe all this is an overreaction to campaign rhetoric. On energy policy, it’s hard to beat the clarity and pro-energy realism of Palin’s convention speech, where she said:

Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America’s energy problems — as if we all didn’t know that already.

But the fact that drilling won’t solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.

Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we’re going to lay more pipelines … build more nuclear plants … create jobs with clean coal … and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal and other alternative sources.

We need American energy resources, brought to you by American ingenuity, and produced by American workers.

That’s right.

UPDATE (3 p.m.): The insightful, smart and almost always correct Kim Strassel also looks at Palin and the oil companies in her Potomac Watch column today:

Throughout it all, Mrs. Palin has stood for reform, though not populism. She thanks oil companies and says executives who “seek maximum revenue” are “simply doing their job.” She says her own job is to be a “savvy” negotiator on behalf of Alaska’s citizens and to provide credible oversight. It is this combination that lets her aggressively promote new energy while retaining public trust.

Tropical storm Hanna is due in the D.C. area tomorrow, bringing wind, rain and exaggerated news reports. A few pre-storm observations:

• People are definitely stocking up. Went into the CVS, and the shelves had been completely emptied of Bombast, Self-Importance and Feigned Sincerity. At least there was some Spin left.
• The single best German word is the verb for “to hoarde”: Hamsterkaufen, to buy like a hamster (evoking the cheek pouches). First heard it in connection with the East Germans jerking around free movement in Berlin. Better a tropical storm. 
• South Carolina will feel some of Hanna’s pique (that’s one level below a hurricane’s “wrath”). Did you know the South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture’s name is Hugh Weathers? 
• Apparently to save electricity in case of power outages, the D.C. Metro will turn off most of the system’s escalators. But how will we tell the difference?
• In the Hobbesian state of nature into which Chevy Chase will descend, years of self-defense lessons will finally pay off. The Brazilian martial arts system of “Copacabana” was until just recently very popular around here, until this fight appeared on YouTube. So that’s who bought up all the Self-Importance.
• Finally, an unrelated happy 79th birthday to Bob Newhart. He’s playing the Warner Theater just down the street from NAM HQ tonight. Class act.

UPDATE (11:30 a.m.): The latest report from the Virginia Pilot. 65 mph winds? That’s just a weekend blow on the Oregon coast.

Missed this from earlier in the week, a new survey released during a Consumer Electronics Association event at the Republican National Convention in Minnesota. From CEA:

Fifty-eight percent of those polled said they consider trade a good thing because it has reduced the costs of goods such as electronics and clothing while at the same time helping Americans to become more competitive with workers overseas. The survey released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)^® was conducted by Zogby International.

A vast majority, 69 percent, report that they personally benefit from trade. Support for trade has particularly been drawn from the technology and consumer electronics fields. Sixty-nine percent of Americans called said they support overseas trade in those sectors. In addition, 74 percent said that it was a “good thing” that overseas trade and global manufacturing had reduced the costs of consumer electronics goods in the United States. Fifty-seven percent said that America would not be the economic leader it is today without overseas trade. Only 25 percent disagreed with this statement.

“The verdict is in and the people have spoken. Now it’s time for Congress to grasp what the American people firmly understand – that trade benefits our country,” said CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro. “It’s time for Congress to listen to the American people and not the protectionists in the media and do what’s right for our economy, which is passage of trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.”

The event in Minnesota, which featured Commerce Secretary Gutierrez, was part of the CEA’s month-long “America Wins with Trade” bus tour. Washington Times story here.

From AFP, “Singapore says free trade talks with China concluded“:

SINGAPORE (AFP) — Singapore and China have successfully concluded negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement, the city-state said in a statement Thursday.

It said the bilateral deal builds on a free trade agreement already reached between China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to which Singapore belongs.

Granted, regional trade agreements complicate the global trading systems, introducing protections and complications even as they lower other trade barriers. The Economist comments in “A second best choice“:

On August 28th India agreed a free-trade agreement with the ten fast-growing countries in the Association of South-East Asian Nations. ASEAN also announced a second big regional deal, with Australia and New Zealand. Coming so soon after Doha’s collapse, the two agreements sent a powerful message. The global trade talks may have stumbled, but regional pacts are pushing ahead, particularly in the fastest-growing part of the world economy. According to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), over 200 regional and bilateral agreements are in place with many more under negotiation. More than 100 came into force during Doha’s seven exasperating years.

That is disturbing. Every trade deal should be measured on its own merits. But, for all their political appeal, bilateral and regional deals are never a substitute for progress at the WTO. Multilateral trade rounds are the foundation of the trading system because they are based on the “most favoured nation” principle—that any tariff cuts offered to one country must be offered to them all. Regional and bilateral deals are based on discrimination.

And here’s the third best choice, which equals the BAD choice: Do nothing, as so many in Congress — especially the House leadership — have decided is the best course of action on FTAs with Colombia, Panama and Korea.

UPDATE (4:15 p.m.): From today’s Asian WSJ, “Bilateral Trade-Off,” a column by trade thinker Bernard K. Gordon that takes the criticisms pretty darn far:

The latest sign that the postwar era of “multilateral” trade liberalization has ended came last week in Singapore. The event was an Association of Southeast Asian Nations ministerial meeting, where the 10-member grouping and India formally agreed to a “free trade” deal to take effect in January. At the same meeting, Asean leaders also agreed to establish yet another so-called “free trade agreement,” this one with Australia and New Zealand.

That brings to roughly 400 the number of regional and bilateral trade agreements that have been notified to the World Trade Organization. Meanwhile, another try to keep the Doha Round of world trade talks alive will be made in Geneva later this month. But the prospects are not bright, and all of this has been very predictable. Scores of observers — not only academics — have regularly warned that bilateral and regional trade pacts, which are in fact preferential rather than free trade agreements, are both a cause and a consequence of a breakdown of the WTO system.

 

Good review of the candidates’ positions on energy from the Heritage Foundation’s Morning Bell entry on it’s Foundry blog, “Palin Powers Party Today, American Consumers Tomorrow”:

The left says it wants to reduce American dependence on foreign energy, but many of them continue to demonstrate outright ignorance on the issue. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, for example, appears to be completely unaware that natural gas is a fossil fuel that requires drilling. Barack Obama is slightly better. He says he wants to drill for more gas and he says he wants to build a natural gas pipeline from Alasaka, but he never has actually done anything to make these dreams a reality. Palin’s record is different.

For years former-Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski tried to strike a deal with the major oil companies to construct a new natural gas pipeline. After Palin defeated Murkowski, she bypassed the oil companies entirely and struck a much better deal for the taxpayers with North America’s largest pipeline operator, TransCanada, a Calgary-based company. The pipeline is set to be completed by 2018 and will give Americans access to 35 trillion cubic feet of gas that need to be drilled from Alaska’s North Slope. The pipeline will ship 4.5 billion cubic feet of gas a day, through Canada, to U.S. markets. That represents about 7% of current U.S. demand. This pipeline will lower American consumer energy bills. As Palin said last night: “Families cannot throw away more and more of their paychecks on gas and heating oil.”

Palin wins definite points for being pro-development, pro-energy, pro-economic-growth.

And Heritage’s formulation of Alaska’s energy politics is one we prefer. Far preferable — rhetorically, politically and economically — to emphasize that you “struck a much better deal for the taxpayers” — than boasting about beating back the oil companies, the kind of talk that just feeds populist know-nothingism.