Yes, I know that many people have said this before (include Michael Crichton, very elagently I might add), but a recent conference in Australia is addressing the topic again.

TheAge.com.au's article on new congregation

Here's a good quote:

"Environmentalism has largely superseded Christianity as the religion of the upper classes in Europe and to a lesser extent in the United States. It is a form of religious belief which fosters a sense of moral superiority in the believer, but which places no importance on telling the truth. The global warming scam has been, arguably, the most extraordinary example of scientific fraud in the postwar period." [emphasis added]

As I always say, if we can't predict the weather 10 days from now, what makes you think we can predict the weather 10 years from now, let alone 100 years from now.

Get this! Florencio Bernal's truck overturns on a highway near Ceder City, UT. He goes home because his back hurts, takes some pills, falls asleep, figures he'll take care of his truck in the morning. Some time later (probably before dawn), nurse VerLee Hunt sees the truck, stops to see if she can help, and someone else traveling down the road slams into Bernal's truck, Hunt's car, and Hunt herself, killing the nurse.

What happens next? Bernal is sentenced to 18 months in jail for negligence homicide! I don't understand it! How is any of this poor lady's death his fault at all? Shocking!

Read the news story...

Normal I have little sympathy for illegal aliens, but in this case, this guy's getting a bum rap!

I was listening to NPR on the radio this morning, and they had a story about the Real ID Act and how opposition was mounting.

I found myself shouting at the radio again. Opposing the act?!? One of the recommendations of the 9/11 Committee that can actually help against terrorists attacking in America is receiving opposition? (it should be noted that the terrorists of 9/11 had obtained state id cards because a system like Real ID was not in place). As Pam discussed the pains that Driver's License agencies will experience with this program, it wasn't until almost the end of the piece that finally she mentioned the real reason for opposition. Illegal Aliens will find it harder to get Driver's Licenses...

I can understand some people's fear of this becoming a national ID card, but once you dig into the details of the bill, you find out it's nothing like that. It simply requires more "real" identification when getting a State ID, such as a birth certificate or a passport. Right now (though I could be swayed with enough arguement) I am persuaded to believe that this would be beneficial in protecting our country against terrorits.

How come terrorists have more friends here in America than anywhere else?

After the Chixie Dicks' sympathy grammy awards, is it any surprise that Al Gore's propaganda film won an Oscar last night?

Reuters report on the winning Grammy

What's shocking in all this is the free advertising Gore got as a politician. I mean, he didn't even win the award, the Director and Singer won (notice how he's holding nothing in the photo), and yet he was given air time to spread his political adgenda. Trying to make it a "morale" cause is a pathetic attempt at trying to make all counter-arguements non-valid (the left *loves* doing this, look at their immigration arguements, the welfare ones, etc).

But the worst of it is how much FREE air time he was given! I've run the calculations. An average 30 second spot ad was $1.7 million, according to adweek.com. When you take into account the speech and the song, especially with the hypocritical political messages blasted on the superscreen (like anyone in that audience was ever going to take public transit), I caculate roughly 7 minutes of screentime was given to Gore's propaganda machine.

7 minutes = 14 30second ad spots * $1.7 million = $23.8 MILLION

Translation, a whole lot of free ad time given to a political campaign. Gore almost announced his running for presidency, but ran out of time. Some people think it was a joke, I think he just didn't want to have to own up to all the free air time given with the campaign finance laws...

Blogging is wonderful, isn't it? The ultimate expression of free speech. Unfortunately, "free speech" doesn't exist in many countries, including Egypt. Want to blog in Egypt? Better watch what you say.

ITN News report about blogger trial.

Abdel Karim Suleiman, a 22 year old former law student in Egpyt, was convicted today for things he blogged about in 2004. Simple things, like saying some of Muhammad's companions were like terrorists, and comparing his leader to the old dictators of Egypt. Things people say all the time about Christian and U.S. leaders, stuff you wouldn't think twice about saying. But apparently in Egypt, it's a big no-no.

BBC has a good story on this as well: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6386613.stm

What gets me is all the people who vilify President Bush as evil, Hitler-like, etc, how these same people cannot understand the freedoms they take for granted living in America. If these same people were in Egypt, they'd be in jail now...

I've made a post like this before, but it deserves repeating again. Check out this article:

Christian Science Monitor reporting on the shrinking US Deficit

Here's a good quote:

"Tax revenues are rising much faster than spending, according to Treasury Department numbers released last week. The recent trend is strong enough that, were it to continue, the budget could move into surplus in barely a year, one economist calculates. " [emphasis added]

Reaganomics to the rescue! Why is it so hard to give credit where credit's due? The economy is thriving. The tax cuts have worked. When people and companies keep more, they tend to spend more. They are also motivated to earn more, and therefore pay more in taxes, even with a lower tax rate. Yet, every time you hear any news about our amazingly great economy from the mainstream media, there is always some sort of shadow cast upon the news. A whole "this is good BUT will be bad" for whatever reason.

Yes, our economy sucks, which is why we have low unemployment, great pay growth, booming housing markets, and record highs in the stock market. Sucks to be American...

And here we thought it was us gas guzzling SUVs that was causing Global Warming, turn out that COWS are worse than vehicles!

Cows, a major cause of global warming?

"Livestock are responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse-gas emissions as measured in carbon dioxide equivalent, reports the FAO. This includes 9 percent of all CO2 emissions, 37 percent of methane, and 65 percent of nitrous oxide. Altogether, that's more than the emissions caused by transportation."

This from an article from the Christian Science Monitor. Unsurprisingly, the argument isn't that mother nature itself produces many so-called greenhouse gases, long before man was around creating SUVs, but rather that man is mass producing cows for meat and we're all evil because we eat meat and should become vegetarians.

But don't believe them? Check out this article from MSNBC:

Mountain of Manure, burning our atmosphere?

Nebraska is burning all sorts of cow dung, adding to the normal methane problems of bovine manure. I mean, look at the size of that poo! The message is loud and clear. Until we all turn into vegetarians, don't even bother switching over to a hybrid...

I was listening to Meet The Press over the weekend, and I really started to feel for General Petraeus. Russert was interviewing Senators Reed and Hagel (two of my favorites, let me tell you) and a great question was posed:

"You voted to confirm General Petraeus to head the unit—oversee our troops in Iraq, along with Senator Hagel. Senator McCain asked this question: “Suppose we send you over to your new job ... only we tell you that you can’t have any additional troops. Can you get your job done?” Lieutenant General Petraeus: ‘No, sir.’” Why would you vote to confirm him and then oppose giving him the troops he says he needs to get the job done? "

General Petraeus is voted in unanimously, only to be denied troops later?

Their answer was pathetic. Garbage about this non-binding, gutless vote was against the President's plan and nothing to do with the General. And yet, it was the General who said he needed these troops to get his job done! Petraeus stated from the beginning that he needed the troops, he was going to ask for these troops, and without them he could not succeed in Iraq. Why on earth would these Senators vote him in if they didn't agree with this troop surge?!? Talk about your typical crap hypocritical politicians. 

If you want to see the Meet The Press transcript, go here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17168627/page/4/

I feel for you General Petraeus. There's nothing more frustrating than to be hired to do a job, but then denied the very tools necessary to get the job done...

Another quick post on Global Warming, a lot of computer models a while ago predicted temperatures in the antartic to rise with the rest of the world, which would cause ice sheets to slide into ocean, raise levels, blah blah blah.

Lose of ice = Cold temperatures?

But a recent report from the Ohio State University has found that the temperatures have not risen neither has precipitation. BOTH of which were predicted by computer models. Prof. David Browich says, ""It's hard to see a global warming signal from the mainland of Antarctica right now. Part of the reason is that there is a lot of variability there. It's very hard in these polar latitudes to demonstrate a global warming signal. This is in marked contrast to the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula that is one of the most rapidly warming parts of the Earth."

The giest of it? Computer Models SUCK! If they can't predict the weather 10 days from now, how are they supposed to predict it 10 years from now?!?

Browich makes a great point that we simply don't have enough data to make a good judgement on this. Oh, really? Tell that to the people at the U.N.

Reuters report on CIA trial in Italy

CIA agents are being held for trial in Italy for removing an Islamist cleric for questioning. The cleric claims to have been moved to Egypt and tortured. I have no idea what's true or not, but find it out right amazing the conditions surrounding this so called trial.

• Italy is denying the extradition requests from the US
• The lawyers "defending" the agents are not allowed to speak with them

Amazing. Our own allies aligning themselves with the terrorists...

Word has it that a recently planned screening of Inconvenient Truth had to be cancelled due to a snowstorm. I've not been able to find anything other than Drudge's reporting of it, but it's rather ironic.

At the same time, he's reported that a hearing scheduled for today about "Climate Change" is cancelled due to an ice storm.

Since Drudge tends to change his "flash" alerts a lot, I've repeated the information here:

HOUSE HEARING ON 'WARMING OF THE PLANET' CANCELED AFTER ICE STORM
HEARING NOTICE
Tue Feb 13 2007 19:31:25 ET

The Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality hearing scheduled for Wednesday, February 14, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. in room 2123 Rayburn House Office Building has been postponed due to inclement weather. The hearing is entitled “Climate Change: Are Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Human Activities Contributing to a Warming of the Planet?”

The hearing will be rescheduled to a date and time to be announced later.

DC WEATHER REPORT:

Wednesday: Freezing rain in the morning. Total ice accumulation between one half to three quarters of an inch. Brisk with highs in the mid 30s. North winds 10 to 15 mph...increasing to northwest 20 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation near 100 percent.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows around 18. Northwest winds around 20 mph.

I guess I shouldn't have expected better, since the Grammys are coming from California, but for some reason I thought that the Grammys were supposed to hail the aclimations of music and not be another outlet for liberal politics. Two awardees jump to mind:

Dixie Chicks win Grammys

In case you haven't heard, the Dixie Chicks won quite a few Grammys over the weekend, 5 in total, including best Album and best Single. Unfortunately, it has little to do with talent or popularity and everything to do with politics. This was only awarded because the Dixie Chicks (or Chixie Dicks as my wife calls them) love to bash Bush, and anyone who does that is a-ok in the entertainment industry. To think they beat out the Chili Peppers! The article I link to above from (of course) the NYTimes describes it all. They claim the public rejection of the Chicks was "radio censorship", and even quote one of the Grammy voters voting only for that reason. For some reason, not liking a band's attitude is non-American...

The second roll-your-eyes-award went to the worst President in a century, Jimmy Carter.

Jimmy Carter wins a Grammy for reading his book.

This really shouldn't surprise me considering the past winners:

• 2006 Barack OBama
• 2005 and 2004 Bill Clinton
• 1998 Hillary Clinton

See a pattern anyone?

P.S. I need to thank The Might Dustblogger for his picture of the Dixie Chicks and Saddam Hussein. Beautiful picture and sums everything up without needing to say much. The blog with the picture is at http://www.dustinmhawkins.com/wordpress/?p=50.

I just read an op-ed in the Boston Globe by Ellen Goodman about "climate change" and was shocked when I read this paragraph:

"I would like to say we're at a point where global warming is impossible to deny. Let's just say that global warming deniers are now on a par with Holocaust deniers, though one denies the past and the other denies the present and future."

Excuse me? I'm now a Holocaust denier? Because the "science" that exists points very little towards any kind of global warming, I'm now the same as radical islamists? The whole statement is laughable with the ending "denies the present and future." How on earth can anyone deny or confirm the future?!? It hasn't happened yet! What's to deny?!? Then her comment that the reason most Republicans don't believe that "global warming" is man made is because of "the science-be-damned-and-debunked attitude of the Bush administration and its favorite media outlets" just throws her whole argument out the window. The media outlets aren't promoting global warming? What media is she watching?

If you really want to, you can read her article here: http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/02/09/no_change_in_political_climate/

A better article to read though might be this one:

http://www.businessandmedia.org/specialreports/2006/fireandice/fireandice_execsum.asp

A very insightful article about how "scientists" have always had dire predictions of the future and the media has done it's job by wonderfully blowing things way out of proportions, and in turn the politicians start acting on junk science. Don't believe the article? Check out Wikipeida's entry on Global Cooling, and I quote, "Thirty years later, the concern that the cooler temperatures would continue, and perhaps at a faster rate, can now be observed to have been incorrect. More has to be learned about climate, but the growing records have shown the cooling concerns of 1975 to have been simplistic and not borne out." What will 30 years from now tell us about global warming?

As I've said before, if weathermen can't predict next week's future, how can climatologists predict next century's future?

For some reason, same sex marriage advocates feel that the only reason people are against gay marriage is because they cannot have children. So, in Washington, a ballot initiative is being put forward that would require anyone getting married to have children within 3 years or have the marriage annulled.

Washington News Article attacking traditional marriage

Quote from the article:

“For many years, social conservatives have claimed that marriage exists solely for the purpose of procreation ... The time has come for these conservatives to be dosed with their own medicine," said WA-DOMA organizer Gregory Gadow in a printed statement. “If same-sex couples should be barred from marriage because they can not have children together, it follows that all couples who cannot or will not have children together should equally be barred from marriage."

They just don't get it. The argument of procreation for marriage is the last argument "conservatives" use against gay marriage. The whole "besides, why get married if you can't have kids?" is thrown out at the end. The reasons against gay marriage is for the sanctity of the family, the preservation of of father AND mother figures, the sanity of children growing up, and the less-spreading of promiscuous lifestyles (which straight promiscuity can be thrown in there as well). "Family" vs. "having children" are two different topics.

Conservatives have to draw the line somewhere, and when the very foundations of marriage is belittled by confused activists, then that's where the line gets drawn.

I'm watching Superbowl and right after the Bear's punt, the image from CBS froze! Horrible! I'll post an update when it comes back in.

Update: It's back on, right before the Colts scored a touchdown. Missed the whole Colt's drive (second quarter, brought the score up to 16 to 14 Colts in the lead).

Update: It froze AGAIN! This time during a commercial right before the end of the first half during one of the timeouts before the Colts tried kicking a field goal. Fortunately, it came back before the kick so I could see one of Vinatieri's few misses. 3rd freeze for the evening!

Final Update: Rest of the game went without any incidents, well, if you don't include the fumbles. Man, that was one wet game!

Still makes me wonder if a frivolous lawsuit will come of this, or if someone's going to get fired...

I won't normally post non-political stuff here, but found this tidbit on the Drudge Report and was so amazed that felt it worthy to repeat here.

"Marine park staff caught the 1.6 metre (5 ft) long creature, which they identified as a female frilled shark, sometimes referred to as a "living fossil" because it is a primitive species that has changed little since prehistoric times. "