After almost I year, this book still bothers me. Not because I expect the threat is especially likely, but because it would be the smart way for an enemy to attack us. One single warhead detonated outside the atmosphere over the US could destroy virtually the entire computer and electric infrastructure in North America. One single bomb. Even if the bomb was not followed by any enemy attacks whatsoever, it would have doomed the majority of us to very unpleasant deaths as food, water, and medicine could no longer be harvested or delivered until we rebuilt our infrastructure. Any vehicles that depended upon computer chips (pretty much anything with a fuel injector or everything built in the last 20 to 30 years) would no longer work. Power plants would not work. Jets would fall out of the sky like rain as they ceased to function, but those who died immediately would probably be the fortunate ones as everyone else would be instantly plunged into a preindustrial lifestyle.

Forstchen wrote his book as a warning so technology could be designed to protect our infrastructure from such an attack (for example, new surge protectors would be need to operate a million times faster than they currently do - the EMP pulse travels much faster than standard threats such a lightning strikes). Apparently, I'm not the only one who was influenced by the book. While they did not credit the book, the liberal Huffington Post has an interesting summary of EMP pulses, including a video from National Geographic.

Warner Brothers has apparently bought the rights to make a movie from the book. I hope they do. This should be required reading (or viewing) for all politicians and other decision makers.

I especially enjoyed Sammon's discussion of the unethical behavior of other media, such as when CBS deliberately presented falsified information on the air in an attempt to get Kerry elected (remember Rather's "fake, but accurate" claim?). This is where Sammon's book really shines, the author's insider knowledge as a member of the media really comes into play - anyone who wants specific examples of how the media abuses the public trust should read this book.

I also found the discussion on one of Bush's larger mistakes, the nomination of Harriet Miers, particularly timely as Obama's nomination of Elena Kagan is very comparable - except that Kagan makes Miers look like Supreme Court material... Of course, we should probably expect a president with no former executive experience to nominate a candidate with no judicial experience. Click here for more information on Kagan.

So far, I've just played the game itself which I downloaded for $19.99. If you want to try it, a link is below:

Sins of a Solar Empire (Digital Download)
$19.99

The programmers have come out with two expansions for the game that I'm going to purchase shortly. You can buy the pair for $19.95.

Sins of a Solar Empire Expansion Bundle
$19.95

You can also buy all three at once, but I wouldn't suggest that. First try the original game. Then if you like it, buy the expansion packs later. My twelve-year-old son really enjoys the game too and has reached the point he can give me a good game.

I like the game so much, I made the programming company (Stardock) my first affiliate for this website. You can use their services to buy a host of games and download them directly to your PC. The best part is that they remember what you bought, so if your hard drive crashes (or if you just replace your PC), you can then download all the games you already bought at no additional cost.

The legal issues are interesting, but morally I blame the radical environmentalists (who have much more political power than the oil industry, even under the Bush administrations). The safest place to drill oil is on land. The second safest is in shallow water. The most dangerous place to drill oil is in deep water. Where do we drill? In deep water.

Why? Because stupid foolish environmentalists placed so much pressure on politicians that we have outlawed vast areas with massive oil (such as huge chunks of Alaska) that could be very safely obtained (animal populations have actually increased after the Alaska pipeline was built, animals apparently liked the warmth of the pipeline). We no longer drill for new oil in shallow water (the second safest place to drill) because of environmental laws.

So out of necessity, oil companies are forced to drill in the most dangerous way possible - in deep water. Then we blame them when an accident occurs and they struggle to fix the problem. Every single environmentalist who opposes drilling on land and in shallow water is to blame for the current problem.

The current problem will be eventually resolved, but will cause many short-term hardships in the area to both people and wildlife. Next time some you are debating some wacko environmentalists (one who argues with feelings and ignores facts), blame him or her for this disaster and tell them it was their policies that caused the problem.