He's a Genius!
Corbett's plan to drill on college campuses just might save the day.
He's a Genius!
John Baer, Daily News Political Columnist
(A brief discussion twixt Baer & Baer's editor, a.k.a. BE)
JB: I think Corbett's being unfairly mocked for suggesting, as he did yesteday in Erie, that colleges facing his budget cuts should consider drilling for natural gas on their campuses.
BE: That would be a boon for geology majors, but it does sound a bit goofy.
JB: That's only because you aren't thinking it through. You need to take the idea and drill down on it.
BE: I don't like where this is going.
JB: Come on, dig in and ye shale see the light.
BE: It's getting deep.
JB: For starters, all those college quads are just wasted space. Think of the profits, not to mention educational grants and part-time jobs for students, if each had a huge rig on it.
BE: College cash for natural gas.
JB: That's the spirit. Now think about the teaching opportunities: the rigs and their industry can serve as living examples for economics classes, environmental studies, political science.
BE: Well beyond geology: Gas class.
JB: Exactly. All the Greek houses on campus can become Frackternities.
BE: And Sore-water-ties.
JB: Now you're cookin' with gas!
BE: Maybe naming rights, too.
JB: Sure. Slippery Rock University can be Shale Rock University; Mansfield University can be Marcellusfield University. Towns such as Frackville and Oil City and Wellsboro can get completely underwritten.
BE: When I worked in Schuylkill County, I once got fractured in Frackville. The guv's on a roll.
JB: And he's not backing down. Take his defense of his shale advisory commission which was tagged by an environmental group for being made up of representatives from drilling companies responsible for nearly half of all enivronmental violations in the state last year.
BE: He said they were "mistakes" to be learned from.
JB: Mistakes were made! Always a sound, no-blame-can-be-taken, defense for politicians. End of story. Now build the campus rigs and let them kids have some rigger parties.
BE: Rig-ger, Rig-ger! Oil and beer! He's a genius.
JB: Grrrr.
John, you owe me 1 minute. I wasted one minute of my life thinking you actually had something to say. Do you get paid by the word, per day? This was totally pointless.— psyrus- I agree with you about Baer and this drivel. He claimed a while back that he was an Independent. He's no more independent then his fearless leader. Have you ever read one of these vacuous paradies about a democrat? I'm sure you can find something about them, try the 57 States routine, or tell a paralized person to stand-up and take a bow, or about 7-11 Stores or about Schummer and the three branches of government. The material is endless. — junethe4th
John is the author of the book "On The Front Lines of Pennsylvania Politics: Twenty-Five Years of Keystone Reporting" (The History Press, 2012). Reach John at baerj@phillynews.com.
