I've been saying it for years, and luckily some scientists more interested in the truth than in pseudo-religious ideology making are saying it as well:
One of Australia's leading enviro-sceptics, the geologist and University of Adelaide professor Ian Plimer, 62, says he has noticed audiences becoming more receptive to his message that climate change has always occurred and there is nothing we can do to stop it.
In a speech at the American Club in Sydney on Monday night for Quadrant magazine, titled Human-Induced Climate Change - A Lot Of Hot Air, Plimer debunked climate-change myths.
"Climates always change," he said. Our climate has changed in cycles over millions of years, as the orbit of the planet wobbles and our distance from the sun changes, for instance, or as the sun itself produces variable amounts of radiation. "All of this affects climate. It is impossible to stop climate change. Climates have always changed and they always will."
His two-hour presentation included more than 50 charts and graphs, as well as almost 40 pages of references. It is the basis of his new book, Heaven And Earth: The Missing Science Of Global Warming, to be published early next year.
Plimer said one of the charts, which plots atmospheric carbon dioxide and temperature over 500 million years, with seemingly little correlation, demonstrates one of the "lessons from history" to which geologists are privy: "There is no relationship between CO2 and temperature."
Yep. That's right. Al Gore lied to us.
Who could believe a politician would do such a thing?
NBC Universal made the first of potentially several rounds of staffing cuts at The Weather Channel (TWC) on Wednesday, axing the entire staff of the "Forecast Earth" environmental program during the middle of NBC's "Green Week," as well as several on-camera meteorologists. The layoffs totaled about 10 percent of the workforce, and are among the first major changes made since NBC completed its purchase of the venerable weather network in September....
Forecast Earth was hosted by former CNN anchor Natalie Allen, with contributions from climate expert Heidi Cullen. It was the sole program on TWC that focused on global climate change, which raises the question of whether the station will still report on the subject. Cullen's future role at the network is not known.
It's good to see the "climate change" crowd take the professional beating they so richly deserve. Their political ideology masquerading as science show was an embarrassment. I'm only saddened by the fact that Cullen wasn't fired outright.
Dr. Cullen is famous - or infamous - for urging that “broadcast meteorologists be stripped of their scientific certification if they express skepticism about predictions of manmade catastrophic global warming.” Here’s Dr. Cullen’s December 2006 blog entry where she made her remarkable suggestion that climate change skeptics should be decertified by the AMS.
Cullen is a lousy scientist, which is the same thing as saying she is no scientist at all.
Maybe "Forecast Earth" will reappear on the SciFi channel. They like fantasy.
The Welsh language, spoken by 600,000 people, got a cultural boost on Thursday when it was heard, and interpreted, at the European Union for the first time.
...and I think, "Hey, I've got a copy of 'Teach Yourself Welsh' on my bookshelf! Maybe I should finally give it a try!"
Then I read...
"Efallai mai'r Gymraeg yw un o'r ieithoedd hynaf sy'n cael ei defnyddio yn y DU, ond mae'n parhau'n un o'r rhai mwyaf bywiog," he told them.
And I say, "Or maybe I'll just stick with something nice and simple, like Chinese or ancient Greek."
You know, I'm as much of a free market capitalist as the next right-wing nutjob, but I have to admit the way the whole "bailout" scenario has been playing out looks bad.
SCENE: Senator Bigwig's office in Washington, DC.
Aide #1: Senator, there are some gentlemen from Wall Street financial institutions in the outer office, hats in hand looking for a handout.
Senator Bigwig: Wall Street, eh? Let's see...hmm...lots of good fellows from the country club. They're OK....what about their employees?
Aide #1: Mostly white collar workers, sir. Lots of folks whose professional organizations have given generously to your re-election campaign war chest.
Senator Bigwig: I see. In other words, loyal upstanding Americans, who should not, NAY, must not be allowed to feel the cold sting of a free market correction. My campaign finances...uh um...I mean the very existence of our credit markets require we give them what they want. Yes, that sounds about right.
ANOTHER AIDE ENTERS:
Aide #2: Senator, some gentlemen from Detroit have just arrived claiming they need a helping hand.
Senator Bigwig: Auto makers, eh? That would mostly affect blue collar workers, right? Unions and whatnot...
Aide #2: Yes, sir. Plus most of the supporting industries supplying tool and parts tend to be blue collar workers as well.
THE SENATOR TURNS TO AIDE #1
Senator Bigwig: Hmm...they been adding to the campaign war chest?
Aide #1: Not so much.
Senator Bigwig: Yes, I see.
THE SENATOR TURNS BACK TO AIDE #2
Senator Bigwig: Well, there is absolutely nothing I can do I'm afraid. The free market must be allowed to work through these things. Why, if the government were to get involved whenever a sector of the economy started to feel the pinch, where would that get us? No. Creative destruction is the order of the day. Tell the boys from Detroit they are on their own. Now, on to other business...
Aide #1: But Senator...the gentlemen from Wall Street?
I write to inform you of the actions I will be taking during the lame duck session of Congress regarding the funding status of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Given the recent news about Secretary Paulson's execution of the TARP program, I firmly believe action is required by Congress. I plan to push for legislation that will require Secretary Paulson's plan for the remaining $350 billion in authorized TARP funds to be ratified by an affirmative vote in the U.S. Congress.
In my statement opposing the Paulson Plan last month, I laid out two primary reasons why I voted ‘no.' The first is that I wasn't convinced that asset-purchase program was the right way to do this, and the second is that it would lead to increased lobbying for handouts and bailouts by any industry facing financial trouble.
I stated at the time that my vote was against the Paulson plan - not against taking extraordinary action to provide necessary confidence to financial markets. I stated that "The Paulson plan would have Washington take $700 billion worth of toxic Wall Street assets from financial firms' balance sheets and put them on the balance sheet of the federal government.... I'm not confident in its success."
The critics were right. On October 14th, in a significant shift, Treasury outlined a plan to directly purchase equity stakes in of major financial institutions. The Wall Street Journal noted that "critics...say Treasury should have formulated a comprehensive plan earlier in the crisis." This past week, Secretary Paulson announced that he has completed a remarkable about face, as summarized by November 13th Investor's Business Daily front page headline, which read, "In Major Reversal, Treasury Won't Buy Bad Mortgage Debt." This is a complete reversal. Why did Paulson reverse course? Thursday's Los Angeles Times provides the answer. "Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson's decision to abandon plans to buy troubled bank assets shows that he has come to two conclusions about what was once the chief focus of the government's $700-billion bailout: The first is that it wouldn't work."
I know many of you have serious concerns about how Secretary Paulson has executed the financial rescue program and I share them with you. Congress abdicated its Constitutional responsibility by signing a truly blank check over to the Treasury Secretary. However, the lame duck session of Congress offers us a tremendous opportunity to change course. We should take it.
During the lame duck session, I will be taking the following actions. First and foremost, if Secretary Paulson submits his plan to Congress in order to access the remaining $350 billion while we are in session, a doubtful prospect, I plan to immediately introduce the disapproval resolution pursuant to Section 115 of the EESA and push for its enactment. I will also introduce and actively pursue enactment of legislation to do two things: First, it will amend Section 115 of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) to require an affirmative vote on the part of Congress to approve Treasury's plan for the remaining $350 billion, instead of the current statutory process which gives Secretary Paulson far too much latitude. Second, it will require a freeze on any remaining funds of the first $350 billion. It is imperative that we not allow that amount of money to be added to a deficit approaching $1 trillion this year without any input from the legislative branch.
Secretary Paulson stated in a CNBC interview at 2:00pm on Friday, November 14th that "the financial markets have been stabilized." If that is the case, it is Congress's duty to have a say in what happens with the remaining authorized amount of $350 billion. It is clear that it was a mistake to sign a blank check to one man for such a tremendous amount of money. Though there are still significant challenges in financial markets, it appears that the threat of a catastrophic financial crisis, which was the justification for the grant of such sweeping authority, has subsided. Perhaps the additional $350 billion should not be added to the deficit. Congress should have a debate.
A surreal scientific blunder last week raised a huge question mark about the temperature records that underpin the worldwide alarm over global warming. On Monday, Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), which is run by Al Gore's chief scientific ally, Dr James Hansen, and is one of four bodies responsible for monitoring global temperatures, announced that last month was the hottest October on record.
This was startling. Across the world there were reports of unseasonal snow and plummeting temperatures last month, from the American Great Plains to China, and from the Alps to New Zealand. China's official news agency reported that Tibet had suffered its "worst snowstorm ever". In the US, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration registered 63 local snowfall records and 115 lowest-ever temperatures for the month, and ranked it as only the 70th-warmest October in 114 years.
So what explained the anomaly? GISS's computerised temperature maps seemed to show readings across a large part of Russia had been up to 10 degrees higher than normal. But when expert readers of the two leading warming-sceptic blogs, Watts Up With That and Climate Audit, began detailed analysis of the GISS data they made an astonishing discovery. The reason for the freak figures was that scores of temperature records from Russia and elsewhere were not based on October readings at all. Figures from the previous month had simply been carried over and repeated two months running.
Yep. They were using September's numbers, from an out of the way spot on the globe they thought no one would bother to double check, in order to fraudulently claim "record heat."
Funny how their so called "honest random errors" always work out to make things hotter than they actually were. That's just a coincidence I guess.
The error was so glaring that when it was reported on the two blogs - run by the US meteorologist Anthony Watts and Steve McIntyre, the Canadian computer analyst who won fame for his expert debunking of the notorious "hockey stick" graph - GISS began hastily revising its figures. This only made the confusion worse because, to compensate for the lowered temperatures in Russia, GISS claimed to have discovered a new "hotspot" in the Arctic - in a month when satellite images were showing Arctic sea-ice recovering so fast from its summer melt that three weeks ago it was 30 per cent more extensive than at the same time last year.
Oh, good Lord. Now it seems "fake but accurate" is not just the new standard for journalists anymore.
A GISS spokesman lamely explained that the reason for the error in the Russian figures was that they were obtained from another body, and that GISS did not have resources to exercise proper quality control over the data it was supplied with. This is an astonishing admission: the figures published by Dr Hansen's institute are not only one of the four data sets that the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) relies on to promote its case for global warming, but they are the most widely quoted, since they consistently show higher temperatures than the others.
So, they are making "scientific" pronouncements based about data the reliability of which they know nothing. Indeed, the data set is chosen because it gives them the results they crave, and not because it is the most accurate or verifiable.
This new "learning" amazes me.
Yet last week's latest episode is far from the first time Dr Hansen's methodology has been called in question. In 2007 he was forced by Mr Watts and Mr McIntyre to revise his published figures for US surface temperatures, to show that the hottest decade of the 20th century was not the 1990s, as he had claimed, but the 1930s.
All of this begs a question: Why isn't Dr. Hansen being treated like Dr. Hwang Woo-suk?
I love the smell of desperation in the air, it smells of hypocrisy. It is as if Begala and the left have had the scales suddenly fall from their eyes and they’ve realized the depth of their vicious, hateful, nasty, venomous, personal and classless attacks over the last 8 years.
And they’re fearful that the right will engage in the same tactics of personal destruction and smear which has been their hallmark for so long.
They want to embrace Bush for a couple of months and that makes it all ok? You can’t help but laugh at such mewling claptrap.
...
In the meantime, to the left - STFU with all this hugging and loving nonsense. Your hypocrisy sickens me. And besides, I’d rather hug a porcupine.
Why is it that everyone Obama seems intent to hire for his new administration is the equivalent of a middle finger salute to the other side of the aisle?
So for now, let's put politics aside and celebrate this historic milestone. In his famous speech at the Lincoln Memorial 45 years ago, Dr. King said "I have a dream that one day my children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Let us now take pride that Tuesday we Americans proved that neither thing matters anymore.
Despite campaign trail promises that special interests wouldn’t be a part of his administration, President-elect Barack Obama’s has sent signals to the lobbyists that they can get jobs with him.
The Obama policy, which appears to be evolving...
I don't even need to hear more. I'm pretty sure I don't care about what policy he actually adopts, but I'm sure that isn't the point. Remember, this was the guy whose word was supposed to be so much different than any other politician's word. He was sincere.
At least I wasn't stupid enough to ever believe it.
Michael Crichton, the million-selling author who made scientific research terrifying and irresistible in such thrillers as "Jurassic Park," "Timeline" and "The Andromeda Strain," has died of cancer, his family said.
Crichton died Tuesday in Los Angeles at age 66 after privately battling cancer.
"Through his books, Michael Crichton served as an inspiration to students of all ages, challenged scientists in many fields, and illuminated the mysteries of the world in a way we could all understand," his family said in a statement.
"While the world knew him as a great storyteller that challenged our preconceived notions about the Other-- and entertained us all while doing so -- his wife Sherri, daughter Taylor, family and friends knew Michael Crichton as a devoted husband, loving father and generous friend who inspired each of us to strive to see the wonders of our world through new eyes."
He was an experimenter and popularizer known for his stories of disaster and systematic breakdown, such as the rampant microbe of "The Andromeda Strain" or the dinosaurs running madly in "Jurassic Park." Many of his books became major Hollywood movies, including "Jurassic Park," "Rising Sun" and "Disclosure." Crichton himself directed and wrote "The Great Train Robbery" and he co-wrote the script for the blockbuster "Twister."
I enjoyed much of Crichton's work, although I hadn't followed his later fiction writing very closely. He could be wildly uneven, ranging from the wildly entertaining ("The Great Train Robbery,") to the thought provoking ("Jurassic Park" and "Sphere,") to the slightly paranoid ("Rising Sun,") to just plain awful ("The Lost World.") He was also prone to repetition (what is "Timeline" except a re-working of "Jurassic Park" with time travel filling in for dinosaurs?)
Still, I've spent many hours in his company, so to speak, and I was rarely bored. Crichton also had guts. He stood up against the Global Warming loons when it was a damn risky thing to do. His novel "State Of Fear" is not particularly good, even by Crichton's standards, but it contains much that needed to be said. His speaking out against the idea of "science by consensus" was an example of his courage and an example of his being in the right.
I have endured some criticism for saying that Barack Obama, with whom I disagree about almost everything, is a good man trying to do what he thinks is right for this country.
Some commenters have disagreed, citing Obama’s support for grisly forms of late-term abortion; his attendence of a church with a pastor who said anti-American things in some of his sermons; his relationship with unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers; his disturbingly close relationship with corrupt individuals such as Tony Rezko; his broken promises; and his many falsehoods about John McCain. They point to his campaign’s inappropriate use of the race card; his disabling of credit card verification checks; his minions’ attempts to silence free speech with threats; and much more.
There is something to all that, and I don’t think we should pretend these things didn’t happen, or give Obama a false halo. The fact is that John McCain did some things that weren’t too savory during this campaign as well, and as the saying goes, politics ain’t beanbag. Good men do bad things, and in the pursuit of ambition, they almost always do. Barack Obama is not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination.
What’s more, I think he will damage this country with bad policies. I’m not going to pretend otherwise. Inevitably, he is going to take actions that I think are disastrous, and somebody will come back and say: “Hey, Patterico! I thought you said Barack Obama was a good man!” Yes, but I never said he wasn’t going to do horrible things. It’s quite clear he will.
Well, I certainly hope Obama is a better man than the one I saw in this campaign. Whatever his positive qualities, I cannot help but see a combination of the weaknesses and character flaws that defined Presidents Nixon and Carter.
I'd love to be proven wrong.
But I'll note that Obama has picked Rahm "Republicans can go fuck themselves" Emanuel to be his chief of staff.
When I went to bed there were four undecided Senate races, and six hours later they are still undecided. (Who counts the votes in Oregon anyway? Some sort of tree sloth?) Republican, as of right now, lead in all four races. The hopes Democrats had of knocking Chambliss under 50% are gone. Coleman has held on and has a 700 vote lead with 99% reporting. Smith in Oregon has a couple percentage lead right now (but only 75% tree sloth counted votes in.) And, believe it or not, Stevens has basically won up in Alaska. The Senate stands, right now, at the Dems holding 56.
Over in the House races, the Dems have picked up 20 seats with 11 calls yet to make.
Neither of those numbers was as bad as I predicted. Interesting.
If you are actually reading this on election night...what the hell is wrong with you? First thing you should do is leave a comment explaining why you came looking for information here. Go on...do that first. I'll still be here.
12:33 AM: Everything has ground to a halt result wise. I'll see what happens tomorrow. Now its time to put Delano the hamster back in his cage. He's been rolling around in his ball having a grand ol' time.
12:17 AM: Believe it or not it is not my intention to work with Barack Obama. I'm an actual liberal...you know, the government is best which governs least...government is a necessary evil...all that stuff. I'm not going to abandon my philosophical and morals beliefs to enlist in whatever crusade he has in mind. And really he has no right to expect me, or anyone else to do so. I am fundamentally uninterested in being who Barack Obama wants me to be. A real liberal society allows everyone to become the person they want to be, and does not seek to limit them by claiming such a movement is "selfish." The ideals Obama espouses are antithetical to human liberty and I, for one, will not bow down before them. Live with it.
12:04 AM: America: More ageist than racist? Probably.
11:59 PM: Local TV showing Franken closing the gap. I should have learned from the Jesse Ventura debacle, but Minnesota people are kinda dumb.
11:53 PM: McCain has taken the lead in the Omaha area congressional districts. Looks like the EV's wont be split for the first time in history.
11:49 PM: Results have slowed WAY down, but it looks like Chambliss will win in Georgia. Coleman is leading in Minnesota, and Smith has a 50/50 shot out in Oregon. 43 looks possible. (My prediction.) My prez picks look shot, unless Ohio switches back.
11:42 PM: Down to 1% in Ohio. Very interesting.
11:28 PM: IMW Prediction sitting at 45 of 46. Shit. Damn you Nevada!!!!!!!!
11:14 PM: As usual The Onion has the only sane look at the election.
11:08 PM: Coleman is taking a lead from nutjob Franken. Thank God.
11:04 PM: Obama is a dog person. Figures.
11:00 PM: The only way to get rid of "red states" and "blues states" would be to outlaw Republicans. People do realize that?
10:59 PM: Ohio down to 2%. Interesting. Obama is blathering.
10:43 PM: Might Ohio have to be taken off the board? McCain is behind only 50,000 votes with 40% to be counted.
10:28 PM: IMW Prediction 45 for 45.
10:02 PM: IMW Prediction 40 for 40.
10:00 PM: Fox calls for Obama. CNN calls for Obama. Let the smug arrogance reign!
9:58 PM: Switching to vanilla creme soda, for a little bit at least. Feeling kinda full actually.
9:09 PM: IMW Prediction 32 for 32!
9:00 PM: Stupid overreach comments abound. Obama has 1% lead in the popular vote and this is a "realignment election." Dipshits.
8:55 PM: Mark Shields makes the scumbag argument of the night. "The Confederacy lives!" Asshole.
8:45 PM: PA 12th District voters are proving John Murtha right; they are nothing but dumb rednecks. THey are returning Murtha 59% to 41%. (19% reporting.)
8:41 PM: Big news! First beer poured! Tragic news, however. I just discovered it is my only beer. NO BEER NO PEACE!
8:11PM: Based upon CNN projections the IMW Electoral Prediction is 22 for 22.
8:02 PM: Fox accidently calls Ohio for Obama. Oops! Jim Leher has company.
7:57 PM: McCain takes lead in popular vote. (By 2,000 votes out of 19 million cast.)
7:52 PM: Because I feel like it and it makes me happy.
7:43 PM: CNN can stop patting themselves on the back about "waiting" to call PA. CBS called it a half hour ago and CNN waited until 1/100th of one percent of the vote counted. Yeah, that's a real big difference.
7:31 PM: Even with all of the hard core Democratic states being counted the national vote numbers are Obama 50%, McCain 49%. That must disappoint Obamunists.
7:26 PM: This hummus is making me thirsty. Quesadillas in the oven. In a shocker, beer still unopened.
7:07 PM: I find it hard to believe the networks cannot call Mississippi and Alabama the same way they called Maryland or Delaware.
7:01 PM: CNN has an annoying little *bling* noise. It might make me homicidal by the end of the night. Everyone's holding par.
6:54 PM: All the networks are boring me. Stop it!
6:39 PM: CNN is reporting votes for Florida while the polls there are still open. They shouldn't be doing that shit. We can all wait an hour.
6:35 PM: CNN is showing a bogus popular vote total with almost 2 million votes cast. Under 500,000 votes have been counted. Oops.
6:33 PM: McCain leading all of the states with returns going, except Vermont. Early moments yet, but still PBS seems to be wondering why McCain hasn't conceeded yet.
6:25 PM: Roast red pepper hummus time. Yum. Beer still being eyed.
6:24 PM: Why does PBS insist on feeding us historians instead of Political Scientists? (I hope my wife, an historian, doesn't read this.)
6:12 PM: Pita bread in the oven. First beer being eyed.
6:05 PM: Jim Leher called Virginia for Obama...incorrectly. Oops. Breathe deeply Jim. Pace yourself.
6:02 PM (CST - aka God's time): The noshing has begun. Queso has been consumed. Guac has been made, sampled, deemed tasty.
The real trouble with excluding conservative voices from college campuses is that it helps turn liberals into blithering idiots.
Take the case of Phil Busse, the moron college prof. who spent his free time destroying McCain/Palin yard signs, wrote an essay detailing his activities, and expected to soak up rapturous applause. What actually happened was quite different: St. Olaf prof resigns after election sign fiasco
Philip Busse, the St. Olaf College professor who admitted to stealing campaign signs in a national political blog read by millions, has resigned.
St. Olaf spokesman David Gonnerman issued the following statement Monday afternoon:
"The St. Olaf College administration first learned of Phil Busse's self-admitted theft and destruction of campaign signs on the morning of Oct. 31 as a result of his posting on the Internet.
"The St. Olaf administration immediately referred the matter to local law enforcement authorities and commenced an investigation of its own.
"Mr. Busse has tendered his resignation and is no longer affiliated with St. Olaf College.
"In a statement issued on Friday, the administration made clear that Mr. Busse's actions were in direct conflict with the college's values and mission and that the college did not in any way condone them.
"The statement also declared that St. Olaf College deplores unlawful interference with political campaigns and expression of speech.
St. Olaf obviously did the right thing in making clear that such behavior is deplorable and fundamentally not in keeping with the spirit of an institution of liberal education. The sad thing is Busse still doesn't get it.
In an e-mail correspondence with the News, Busse expressed remorse for stealing the signs, saying that the thefts were “immature and impetuous.”
“Writing the essay was an opportunity to explore and talk about political speech and the desire that most of us have to express our politics — both in mature and immature ways, and sometimes a mix of the two,” Busse said in the e-mail. “I’m disappointed that most readers seem to have focused on the thefts, and not on the larger thoughts.”
In the article, Busse likened his thefts to an act of civil disobedience and said that stealing the signs was “one of the single most exhilarating and empowering political acts that I have ever done.”
All this does is prove Busse has no idea what he is talking about. His acts have nothing to do with "civil disobedience" whatsoever. Had he read and understand the classic texts on the subject, Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" and Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from the Birmingham City Jail," he would see that real civil disobedience is directed towards the state, and not against the speech rights of fellow citizens. In fact, the only way this could be construed as civil disobedience is if his "larger thoughts" entailed the removal of First amendment protections for citizens who do not hold Mr. Busse's ideological prerogatives.
There is absolutely nothing noble about Busse's actions. Thoreau viewed his not paying taxes to the government as a blow against what he felt was an unjust war against Mexico. King Jr. took his actions because he was standing up directly against unjust law. All Busse did was express his hatred of John McCain, or Republicans in general, or all citizens who disagree with him politically, and in the most infantile manner possible. I'm sure he felt his personal experience in performing these acts was "exhilarating and empowering." The same was probably true of the brownshirts who participated in Kristallnacht.
The comparison is an apt one because Busse actions were not directed towards the government or an unjust law, but were instead directed against people he didn't like. The mere existence of McCain supporters is enough to enrage Busse to the point he will destroy their property. So what is the larger point there? Or how can we believe Busse's "larger points" don't mirror those of the brownshirst who also spent a night destroying the property of people they didn't like? And, what on God's green earth does Busse have to do with the high minded aspirations of Thoreau or Dr. King? The answer to the last one is apparent: Not a hell of a lot.
It's like something from another world. The left in California has released an ad attacking Mormons that would make Joe McCarthy cringe from the sheer brazenness and crudity of it all.
I don't know what America is becoming...but I want no part of it.
In case you were wondering where Barack Obama stands on Kelo v. New London, the Supreme Court decision that allows wealthy interests to take the property of poor people because, well, their wealthy, duh!...and, based upon how many times this site gets found via Google searches on the matter, I'd say it is more than a few...you'll be happy to know Obama supports Kelo in all its particulars.
At least it seems so. He has been cagey, shall we say, about the issue, but all evidence points to Obama supporting it. Obama's campaign website is silnet on the matter, but why wouldn't it be? He knows better then all you little people.
I've already got my Electoral Vote prediction up, but here are some others.
Senate: Dems get to 57 (including the two "independents.") House: Dems pick up 24. President popular vote: Obama %50.9, McCain %48.0, all others %1.1. Minnesota Senate: Coleman wins. Pennsylvania 12th House District: Murtha loses. World rejoices.
I know football fans will think me sacrilegious, but tomorrow is where it is at for me. Even though I'm fairly certain the wrong person to lead the country will probably win (Yeah Barack, I'm talking about you...now sit down and get back to work on your next lie), I still enjoy everything about election night.
So, if it akin to the Super Bowl, then I better get the snacks ready for a long night. This year I am forgoing dinner all together in favor of a serious appetizer binge. The wife and I are going with red pepper hummus & pita, chicken quesadillas, and queso dip & home made guacamole with tortilla chips.
I've not made up my mind about grain or grape. I'm leaning towards grain however. That would entail dopplebocks to start, and a nice Irish whisky to drown out the sorrows and toast the successes.
Maybe there will be no Obamaslide after all; so says Yale's Ray Fair:
The final economic values ("final" as of October 30, 2008) are 0.22 for GROWTH, 2.88 for INFLATION, and 3 for GOODNEWS. Given these values, the predicted Republican vote share (of the two-party vote) is 48.09 percent. So the prediction is 51.91 for the Democrats and 48.09 for the Republicans, for a spread of 3.82.
The current situation is unusual in that the economy since the end of the third quarter appears to have gotten much worse. People may perceive the economy to be worse than the economic values through the third quarter indicate, which, other things being equal, suggests that the vote equation may overpredict the Republican share. But for what it is worth, the final vote prediction is 48.09 percent of the two-party vote for the Republicans. The Republican share of the two-party House vote is predicted to be 44.24 percent.
Interesting. If McCain runs stronger in the states he has a shot in, it could turn out to be a late night after all.
It had been said that Sen. Barack Obama had once attended a dinner for professor Rashid Khalidi, a distinguished Palestinian academic.
Uh, no. It has been said that Obama has a long standing relationship with Khalidi, who was a frequent dinner companion of Obama. Chirst, is Hitchens so addle brained these days that he is going to give the ol' "He's just this guy who lives in my neighborhood" crapola?
It was further said that the Los Angeles Times, which had first reported the five-years-ago dinner in Chicago, was deliberately withholding a videotape of the evening
Yes, and do you know who said the LAT was withholding a tape? The LAT! It's not a matter of fucking opinion, its a fact.
...that would show Obama in the audience while tough criticism of Israel was being voiced.
That's right. Feting a mouthpiece for a terrorist organization whose avowed goal is the destruction of Israel equals "tough criticism." That's like saying the millions who died in Soviet gulags really only suffered "the mild displeasure of Stalin."
Here is how the Republican nominee for the presidency of the United States described the situation in a radio interview in Miami:
I'm not in the business of talking about media bias, but what if there was a tape with John McCain with a neo-Nazi outfit being held by some media outlet? I think the treatment of the issue would be slightly different.
I presume that in this fantastic piece of semicoherent Florida pandering McCain meant to imply the wearing of a neo-Nazi outfit rather than the membership of one,
Jeezus...now Hitchens is showing he can't read English either. Obviously, the term outfit is used in the sense of organization...you know:
Main Entry: out·fit Pronunciation: \ˈaut-ËŒfit\ Function: noun Date: circa 1769
1: the act of fitting out or equipping (as for a voyage or expedition) 2 a: a set of tools or equipment especially for the practice of a trade b: a clothing ensemble often for a special occasion or activity c: physical, mental, or moral endowments or resources 3: a group that works as a team : organization ; especially : a military unit
This is the kind of stupidity and lack of reading comprehension I expect from my college freshmen.
So why is Hitchens being so obviously moronic? Ah, it's because he wants to whitewash Khalidi.
My main point, though, is not to call attention to the bullying and demagogy of McCain's attack. It is to observe how completely it undermines any claim on his part to foreign-policy experience. Khalidi has been known to me for some time and can easily be read and consulted by anyone with the remotest curiosity about the Israeli-Arab dispute. He is highly renowned, well beyond the borders of his own discipline, for his measure and care and scruple in weighing the issue. If he is seriously to be compared to a "neo-Nazi," then the Republican nominee has put the United States in the unbelievable position of slandering the most courageously "moderate" of the Palestinian Arabs as a brownshirt and a fascist.
Moderate? What the hell is Hitchens talking about?
Dr. Khalidi was a director of the official PLO press agency WAFA in Beirut from 1976 to 1982. During this time the US State Department considered the PLO a terrorist organization and the PLO was involved with terrorist attacks. WAFA was not an independent, unaffiliated news organization. While it is true that the PLO has moderated over time and moved in the mainstream of Palestinian politics, that is not the point. What we are talking about is perception. Dr. Khalidi, notwithstanding his current work, cannot pretend he was some outsider with no ties to the policies and practices of the PLO in the late 70s. That point will be seized on by Republican strategists. I am not saying this is right or fair, but it is reality. So deal with it.
...
And here is a shocking development–Dr. Khalidi has some strong opinions. During an appearance on Al-Jazeera (note, I also have appeared on Al-Jazeera, so that does not mean one is a reflexive anti-Semite) Khalidi said the following about the Washington Institute:
By God, I say that the participation of the sons or daughters of the Arabs in the plans and affairs of this institute is a huge error, this Israeli institute in Washington, an institute founded by AIPAC, the Zionist lobby, and that hosts tens of Israelis every year. The presence of an Arab or two each year can’t disguise the nature of this institute as the most important center of Zionist interests in Washington for at least a decade. I very much regret the participation of Arab officials and non-officials and academics in the activities of this institute, because in fact if you look at the output of this institute, it’s directed against the Palestinians, against the Arabs, and against the Muslims in general. Its products describe the Palestinians as terrorists, and in fact its basic function is to spread lies and falsehoods about the Arab world, of course under an academic, scholarly veneer. Basically, this is the most important Zionist propaganda tool in the United States.
Talk about "code words." There is no way this rant isn't anti-Semitic in effect and intent. This may be the sort of thing that Hitchens is comfortable with, or maybe even actively supports, but that doesn't make it "moderate."
Khalidi has called Israel a racist, apartheid state that was used U.S. supplied "weapons of mass destruction" against Palestinians.
This is the asshole Hitchens want to protect. (And the sort of ideas Barack Obama finds interesting.)
Alright, I'm still sticking with my "final" Electoral Count prediction (released on Saturday), but when I ran the numbers today Florida had switched back to McCain, and Nevada had gone to Obama. That would make the tally:
Obama: 311 McCain: 227
Still sticking with my Saturday as "official" but I'm just being a bit of a weasel.
The problem is, uh, can you get the American people to say, “This is really important,” and force their representatives to do the right thing? That requires mobilizing a citizenry. That requires them understanding what is at stake. Uh, and climate change is a great example.
You know, when I was asked earlier about the issue of coal, uh, you know — Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad. Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it — whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.
Gee, would that be the same "Global Warming" which ceased back in 1998?
Hey, maybe after people start to complain about "skyrocketing" energy costs, Obama can calm fear by nationalizing the energy industry.
On Monday, journalist Joel Mowbray published an article looking at the state representative race between Republican incumbent Josh Mandel and Democrat Bob Belovich. Mandel won the Ohio 17th seat in November 2006 in a longshot bid in a heavily Democratic district, but he had to take a leave of absence from the legislature when he was called up for a second tour in Iraq, which he completed earlier this year.
According to Mowbray’s research, Belovich has openly criticized Mandel for his military service during the legislative term, with his wife, Barbara, saying publicly that Mandel “went AWOL” on his constituents by returning to Iraq. ...
To make matters worse, Bob Belovich added that Mandel was elected in 2006 because of his “blue sign” and his “Jewish name.” When Mowbray spoke with Belovich, he defended his openly anti-Semitic remarks by launching into a five-minute diatribe about the voting habits of Jewish voters in his district.
I would be happier if I could honestly say any of this surprises me. There are actually people who believe "Jews orchestrated the Iraq war" or some variation of that moronic belief system.
You can find such insanity at all levels of the social ladder these days, and the Democratic party is increasingly offering fertile ground for hate as a growth industry.
