Monday, June 30, 2014
IRS spent $4.4 billion on IT over past five years � Hot Air
Apparently the I.R.S. has had plenty of money to spend on Information Technology.
But, somehow, it wasn't able to preserve emails.
That's really hard to believe...
But, somehow, it wasn't able to preserve emails.
That's really hard to believe...
At HotAir.com, Ed Morrissey digs into some I.R.S. claims:
"Over eight years, the IRS spent $5.3 billion on IT during the Bush years, making for almost ten billion dollars spent over the last 13 years. That’s an average of $746 million a year over that period, and $880 million a year during the Obama administration. With that kind of money, it’s difficult to explain why the IRS could afford the kind of data storage that the federal government requires publicly-held corporations to use in Sarbanes-Oxley regulation, and indeed what the IRS is required to do under federal law as well. And this data makes it very clear that budget resources were not 'declining' at all at the IRS, at least not in the IT budget, despite what Koskinen claims."
Whistle-blower: VA deaths were covered up - CNN.com
This bad story is turning out much worse than anyone could have imagined...
At CNN.com, Scott Bronstein, Drew Griffin and Nelli Black report on the Veterans Administration:
"Records of dead veterans were changed or physically altered, some even in recent weeks, to hide how many people died while waiting for care at the Phoenix VA hospital, a whistle-blower told CNN in stunning revelations that point to a new coverup in the ongoing VA scandal.
'Deceased' notes on files were removed to make statistics look better, so veterans would not be counted as having died while waiting for care, Pauline DeWenter said.
DeWenter should know. DeWenter is the actual scheduling clerk at the Phoenix VA who said for the better part of a year she was ordered by supervisors to manage and handle the so-called 'secret waiting list,' where veterans' names of those seeking medical care were often placed, sometimes left for months with no care at all."
Sunday, June 29, 2014
2014-06-29 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Saturday Reading - "27 Huge Red Flags For The U.S. Economy"
They ARE depressing; however, they aren't necessarily a guarantee of things to come.
That being said, they certainly don't give a warm fuzzy feeling...
On "The Economic Collapse" website, Michael Snyder posts:
"If you believe that the U.S. economy is heading in the right direction, you really need to read this article. As we look toward the second half of 2014, there are economic red flags all over the place. Industrial production is down. Home sales are way down. Retail stores are closing at the fastest pace since the collapse of Lehman Brothers. U.S. household debt is up substantially, and in 20 percent of all U.S. families everyone is unemployed. In so many ways, what we are witnessing right now is so similar to what we experienced during the build up to the last great financial crisis. We are making so many of the very same mistakes that we made the last time, and yet our "leaders" seem completely oblivious to what is happening. But the warning signs are very clear. All you have to do is open your eyes and look at them. The following are 27 huge red flags for the U.S. economy..."
Friday, June 27, 2014
Anti-Amnesty Group Asks Americans To Mail ‘Gently Used Underwear’ To Obama, Boehner � CBS DC
This is reported by Benjamin Fearnow on Washington, DC's CBS Local:
"The message concludes: 'Americans who want to help the illegals and Americans who are upset that John Boehner and Barack Obama are throwing the future for American children under the bus along with their Oaths of Office, the US Constitution, the outcome of our elections, and the current laws of Congress, are encouraged to mail their used underwear to Barack Obama at The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, and John Boehner at Office of the Speaker, H-232 The Capitol, Washington, DC 20515.'"
This Is a ‘Cheat Sheet’ Found at the Border to Coach Illegals on How to Stay in the U.S. | TheBlaze.com
It is human nature to be kind.
I guess it's also human nature to take advantage of those who are kind...
I guess it's also human nature to take advantage of those who are kind...
Sara Carter wrote about it on theBlaze.com:
"The notes, believed to be supplied by human trafficking groups, give pointers in Spanish on what immigrants should say when confronted by border authorities. One federal law enforcement official dubbed them 'illegal alien cheat sheets.'
A copy of one sheet obtained by TheBlaze lists a series of questions that U.S. authorities will consider in granting someone an immigration hearing."
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Five years into our 20-year lost decade
On his Legal Insurrection blog, William A. Jacobson opens with this “Decline is slow… but in the end as a nation, we are less well off and the way out becomes more difficult every year…., and then reports:
"Did you notice it?
Adjusted for seasonality, the labor force participation rate (LFR) has never increased — not once — under Obama! Normalized by month, the LFR has been on a non-stop ride to progressive Utopia (i.e., full unemployment).
This is a stunning repudiation of the Obama economic agenda. Stunning."
"India's Modi carries out pledge to downsize government"
This looks like a guy with ideas we could use here in America...
At AmericanThinker.com, Richard L. Benkin recently posted about some of them:
"Without even touching his people’s services or their quality, he began on his very first day in office fulfilling his promise to cut the size of his country’s bloated government. He began by swearing in only 23 cabinet ministers, combining several portfolios and eliminating others.
It was the smallest number of cabinet posts in 16 years.
Only five days later, the Prime Minister did away with an entire layer of government by summarily abolishing the country’s 30 'ministerial groups.'"
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
The Four Horsemen of Hobby Lobby | The American Spectator
Supreme Court rulings often cover such small aspects of an issue that it leads to future cases.
Hopefully, this ruling will be broad and clear...
Hopefully, this ruling will be broad and clear...
David Catron has the story at Spectator.org:
"The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its ruling in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby on June 26, and the closer we get to that date the more frantic liberals become. Their fear of a decision in favor of the arts and crafts chain, whose owners have challenged the constitutionality of Obamacare’s contraception mandate on the grounds that it violates their religious liberty, has reached such a pitch that they are making claims that transcend the merely portentous. Their warnings concerning the consequences of a high court win for the Green family, the company’s owners, have now become downright apocalyptic.
The supporters of Obamacare’s contraception mandate seem to believe that a ruling in favor of Hobby Lobby will turn the sun as black as sackcloth and the moon blood red."
California teacher tenure is struck down: Expect years of appeals - Los Angeles Times
Teachers unions are going to lose tenure without a major battle...
Howard Blume and Stephen Ceasar reported in the Los Angeles Times:
"The ruling Tuesday by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge that struck down job protections for teachers in California as unconstitutional will undoubtedly spawn a series of appeals that could last years before a final outcome is reached."
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Glow-in-the-dark roads make debut in Netherlands (Wired UK)
Liat Clark posted this on the U.K. Wired website:
"Light-absorbing glow-in-the-dark road markings have replaced streetlights on a 500m stretch of highway in the Netherlands. Studio Roosegaarde promised us the design back in 2012, and after cutting through rather a lot of government red tape we can finally see the finished product."
"On Fox, Greg Gutfeld Calls Out Media on School Shooting Stat"
Once again, the media has run with phony information.
I know they sometimes issue corrections, but the original story is what sticks in people's minds...
I know they sometimes issue corrections, but the original story is what sticks in people's minds...
At NewsBusters.org, Kristine Marsh recently called attention to this bum statistic and how the media handled it:
"Some facts are too convenient for the media to check, or retract. Earlier this week Newsbusters reported that the media hyped a statistic about school shootings that originated from Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun group 'Everytown for Gun Safety.’ There have been, according to the widely reported stat, 74 school shootings since Sandy Hook. The media dutifully repeated the number until it was debunked.
While CNN later retracted and amended their reporting of the questionable count to a much lower number, 15, NBC and ABC did not bother to correct their stories using that statistic. On last night’s ‘The Five’ Fox host Greg Gutfeld took issue with the media’s blatant blindness to the true data."
Monday, June 23, 2014
US Media Restricted at Border, Federal Agent Cites Safety Concerns
This appears to be really bad stuff taking place in America...
At Breitbart.com, Brandon Darby writes about the government's attempt to keep what's happening from the public:
"Spratte told Breitbart Texas that the Border Patrol agents are being placed under immense pressure in the crisis and that they have to follow their orders from above. He said, 'A supervisor in the Border Patrol can't just put out a policy, it has to come from above them in the chain, maybe even as high up as Washington.'
'I think the folks in Washington are embarrassed that we have so little control over what is crossing into our nation right now and they don’t want the American public to have pictures or video of this failure, and this ultimately hurts the public and limits the knowledge they have. The public has a right to know what is really going on here,' said Spratte."
"Oklahoma Joins Growing Rebellion Of States Against Common Core"
This Investors.com editorial tells us what's going on and why:
"Seventeen states have pushed back against Common Core — including Alaska, Nebraska, Texas and Virginia, which declined to sign on from the beginning. In Missouri, a bill to exit Common Core sits on the governor's desk for approval.
As former Rep. Allen West points out, 'With Common Core and the takeover of college loans, the federal government essentially controls your education from kindergarten on.' He reminds us that one of the 10 planks laid out by Karl Marx in "The Communist Manifesto" is the complete state control of education."
Sunday, June 22, 2014
2014-06-22 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, June 21, 2014
No Time to Fact Check, the NY Times Has Moral Panic to Cover | Mediaite
I wonder if it's their agenda, their rush to publish, or just plain incompetence.
No matter what, we are always wise to consider what they report could be questionable...
At MediaIte.com, Cathy Reisenwitz pounced on this New York Times story:
"But as it turns out, the story may not be true. An organization which worked with her, called Breaking Out, has indicated that their investigation into her story has yielded some major inconsistencies, and has made a public statement to that effect. It looks likely that Kim made up her story and used it to defraud donors out of money, and it took a non-profit aid organization, and not the national news media who covered her, to do actual reporting to find out the truth."
Saturday Reading - "The Disappearance of US Will"
On the FrontPageMag website, Caroline Glick begins with this and then makes a convincing case:
"The most terrifying aspect of the collapse of US power worldwide is the US’s indifferent response to it. In Europe, in Asia, in the Middle East and beyond, America’s most dangerous foes are engaging in aggression and brinkmanship unseen in decades."
Friday, June 20, 2014
IRS Scandal Just Got Much Worse | Gingrich Productions
On his website, Newt Gingrich writes about the I.R.S. scandal. He begins:
"We are watching the most significant crisis of constitutional order since Watergate, the last time an administration broke the law deliberately and repeatedly. And none of the current cases look more Nixonian than what has been happening at the IRS."
French rail company orders 2,000 trains too wide for platforms | Reuters
The Reuters News Service recently published this story:
"(Reuters) - France's national rail company SNCF said on Tuesday it had ordered 2,000 trains for an expanded regional network that are too wide for many station platforms, entailing costly repairs.
A spokesman for the RFF national rail operator confirmed the error, first reported by satirical weekly Canard Enchaine in its Wednesday edition."
Thursday, June 19, 2014
"Dick Cheney & Liz Cheney: The Collapsing Obama Doctrine"
Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney put their opinions in writing in the Wall Street Journal:
"Rarely has a U.S. president been so wrong about so much at the expense of so many. Too many times to count, Mr. Obama has told us he is 'ending' the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—as though wishing made it so. His rhetoric has now come crashing into reality. Watching the black-clad ISIS jihadists take territory once secured by American blood is final proof, if any were needed, that America's enemies are not 'decimated.' They are emboldened and on the march."
What Obama Hath Wrought | National Review Online
At NationalReview.com, Quin Hillyer writes about it and summarizes:
"Thus, America’s traditional strengths are terribly imperiled abroad while not just eroding, but being chipped away at, from within. Everything that made us what we once were is under attack. People feel it. They see it. They understand it. They fear it. And, in hushed tones, they talk about it. This is the ongoing legacy of Barack Obama."
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
IRS Has Lost More E-mails . . . | National Review Online
This "dog ate my homework" story keeps getting worse...
At NationalReview.com, Eliana Johnson reports about the latest:
"It’s not just Lois Lerner’s e-mails. The Internal Revenue Service says it can’t produce e-mails from six more employees involved in the targeting of conservative groups, according to two Republicans investigating the scandal.
The IRS told Ways and Means chairman Dave Camp and subcommittee chairman Charles Boustany that computer crashes resulted in additional lost e-mails, including from Nikole Flax, the chief of staff to former IRS commissioner Steven Miller, who was fired in the wake of the targeting scandal."
"Unearthed Audio: Hillary Discusses Defending Child Rapist"
This is actually what lawyers do.
I'm suspect we'll hear more about it...
I'm suspect we'll hear more about it...
At Townhall.com, Guy Benson has the story:
"A scoop from the Washington Free Beacon's Alana Goodman exploded on Twitter Sunday night, raising new questions about the most significant case of Hillary Clinton's relatively brief legal career. The brewing controversy is, in some respects, ancient history -- involving a mid-80's interview about a case from 1975. In short, young attorney Hillary Rodham elected to take a case defending a man accused of brutally raping a 12-year-old girl. Goodman reports, 'the recordings, which...have never before been reported, include Clinton’s suggestion that she knew Taylor was guilty at the time. She says she used a legal technicality to plead her client, who faced 30 years to life in prison, down to a lesser charge.'"
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
The Bluest State by Aaron M. Renn, City Journal Spring 2014
This is a long methodical article that links poor conditions to the governing policies of a certain party...
On the City-Journal.org website, Aaron M. Renn pens a major takedown of the policies ruining Rhode Island:
"'Rhode Island is in the midst of an especially grim economic meltdown,' a 2009 New York Times story began, 'and no one can pinpoint exactly why.' Five years later, the state continues to suffer from most of the same problems the Times story described: high unemployment, a crippling tax structure, dangerously underfunded state pension systems. But contrary to the Times’s claims, Rhode Island’s predicament is easy to explain. With no special economic advantages, the state has maintained an entitlement mentality inherited from an age of colonial and industrial grandeur. Rhode Island was once one of America’s most prosperous states, and its rate of higher-education attainment remains better than the national average. But the state’s key industries collapsed long ago, and its political leadership has refused to make adjustments to its high-cost, high-regulation governance system."
Monday, June 16, 2014
"How Obama’s media strategy unraveled with recovered POW"
I KNOW it's a version of "say anything to further your agenda"...
In the New York Post, John Podhoretz wrote about it and closed with this:
"More important for the president’s future fortunes is this lesson: You can only spin for so long before you start spinning yourself. Spin and spin and spin and soon you have a whirlwind to reap."
"Antarctic Glacier Melt Due To Volcanoes, Not Global Warming "
This does NOT fit the liberal media's agenda at all.
So, you can be sure it won't make any national news...
So, you can be sure it won't make any national news...
Michael Bastasch posted about this at DailyCaller.com:
"A new study by researchers at the University of Texas, Austin found that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is collapsing due to geothermal heat, not man-made global warming.
Researchers from the UTA’s Institute for Geophysics found that the Thwaites Glacier in western Antarctica is being eroded by the ocean as well as geothermal heat from magma and subaerial volcanoes. Thwaites is considered a key glacier for understanding future sea level rise.
UTA researchers used radar techniques to map water flows under ice sheets and estimate the rate of ice melt in the glacier. As it turns out, geothermal heat from magma and volcanoes under the glacier is much hotter and covers a much wider area than was previously thought."
Sunday, June 15, 2014
2014-06-15 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, June 14, 2014
2014-06-14 - Flag Day
The History of Flag Day...
This is from the USFlag.org website:
"The Fourth of July was traditionally celebrated as America's birthday, but the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as 'Flag Birthday'. In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as 'Flag Birthday', or 'Flag Day'.
On June 14, 1889, George Balch, a kindergarten teacher in New York City, planned appropriate ceremonies for the children of his school, and his idea of observing Flag Day was later adopted by the State Board of Education of New York. On June 14, 1891, the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia held a Flag Day celebration, and on June 14 of the following year, the New York Society of the Sons of the Revolution, celebrated Flag Day.
Following the suggestion of Colonel J Granville Leach (at the time historian of the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution), the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames of America on April 25, 1893 adopted a resolution requesting the mayor of Philadelphia and all others in authority and all private citizens to display the Flag on June 14th. Leach went on to recommend that thereafter the day be known as 'Flag Day', and on that day, school children be assembled for appropriate exercises, with each child being given a small Flag.
Two weeks later on May 8th, the Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution unanimously endorsed the action of the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames. As a result of the resolution, Dr. Edward Brooks, then Superintendent of Public Schools of Philadelphia, directed that Flag Day exercises be held on June 14, 1893 in Independence Square. School children were assembled, each carrying a small Flag, and patriotic songs were sung and addresses delivered.
In 1894, the governor of New York directed that on June 14 the Flag be displayed on all public buildings. With BJ Cigrand and Leroy Van Horn as the moving spirits, the Illinois organization, known as the American Flag Day Association, was organized for the purpose of promoting the holding of Flag Day exercises. On June 14th, 1894, under the auspices of this association, the first general public school children's celebration of Flag Day in Chicago was held in Douglas, Garfield, Humboldt, Lincoln, and Washington Parks, with more than 300,000 children participating.
Adults, too, participated in patriotic programs. Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, delivered a 1914 Flag Day address in which he repeated words he said the flag had spoken to him that morning: 'I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself.'
Inspired by these three decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day - the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day."
Friday, June 13, 2014
U.S. Watches As Iraq Speeds Toward Disaster - Yahoo News
It's been quite a while since a war actually got finished.
Sadly, that leads to the disaster of lives having been lost in vain...
Sadly, that leads to the disaster of lives having been lost in vain...
PThe Fiscal Times' David Francis writes about Iraq:
"Christian Whiton, a former George W. Bush administration State Department senior advisor, said that the mishandling of Iraq dates back to the first President Bush. He added that President Obama’s desire to disengage from Iraq while reengaging in Afghanistan has led to troubles there.
'We defeated ourselves twice in Iraq,' said Whiton. 'For his part, Obama gave away the security and power that came from Bush's victorious surge of military forces in 2007. Obama intentionally failed to reach an agreement to keep some forces in Iraq and felt he was above dealing with Iraq's leaders as Bush had.'"
Thursday, June 12, 2014
"Worse Than They Thought: House Confirms HALF Of All Obamacare Applications Flawed"
I wonder if we'll ever get the true numbers about Obamacare enrollment...
On the Daily Caller website, Sarah Hurtubise recently reported this:
"At least 4 million Obamacare sign-ups have flawed applications out of the 8 million total applications, according to a report released Wednesday by House Republicans.
The Energy and Commerce Committee documents double the claims made in an Associated Press report released earlier on Wednesday, which found that according to a May 8 federal slideshow, 2.1 million Obamacare applications had 'inconsistencies' in income, immigration and citizenship data."
"Ex-border agents: Immigrant flood ‘orchestrated’"
Considering the direction the president has been going, this should not surprise us...
At WND.com, Bob Unruh reports:
"'This is not a humanitarian crisis. It is a predictable, orchestrated and contrived assault on the compassionate side of Americans by her political leaders that knowingly puts minor illegal alien children at risk for purely political purposes,' said the statement released by the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers."
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Obama is driving the country to ruin | New York Post
The main stream media is still not participating; however, I am seeing more and more articles like this...
Michael Goodwin begins his New York Post article with this:
"If you think of the United States of America as a store, its recent decisions and scandals resemble a sale, perhaps a fire sale. Or maybe even a 'Going Out of Business' sale. The list of dramatic markdowns is breathtaking. They include trading away five murderous terrorists for a likely Army deserter, an open invitation to tens of thousands of illegal immigrants to cross the Mexican border, and a decision to recognize the terrorist group Hamas as part of the Palestinian government. On the home front, environmental regulations will cost thousands of coal miners their jobs and drive up the cost of electricity for millions. The ObamaCare mess is hardly resolved, and the Veterans Affairs scandal keeps getting worse. The acting agency head reported the deaths of 18 more vets who were kept off the official waiting list in Phoenix."
"Hilarious graphs reveal how statistics can create false connections"
After reading this, you may pause a bit the next time you hear of a study that "connects" one thing to another...
Victoria Woollaston has more on this story on the U.K. Daily Mail's website:
"Scientists are constantly on the lookout for links between data to try and prove certain theories - but just because two sets of statistics match up, it doesn't necessarily mean they're are closely tied. To prove a direct correlation does not always mean causation, a Harvard student has plotted various spurious links between randomly selected statistics. These include a correlation between sour cream and motorbike accidents, Nicolas Cage films and swimming pool deaths, and divorce rates and margarine."
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Offenders who are freed early from prison commit 1,600 crimes a week | Mail Online
I figure it's pretty likely that there are similar statistics in America...
Emma Glanfield and James Slack write about the issue in the U.K. Daily Mail:
"Ministry of Justice figures reveal number of crimes by newly-freed prisoners
An average of 10 burglaries are committed every day by previous offenders
Criminals freed in 2011 committed a total of 84,598 in 12 months after release
Ministers warned latest data shows danger of releasing criminals too early"
Monday, June 09, 2014
Surrender without honor� - NY Daily News
This New York Daily News editorial tells it like it is:
"President Obama betrayed the highest obligation of his office — safeguarding national security — in trading five hard-core Taliban for the American serviceman who appears to have deserted in Afghanistan."
"Vodafone admits governments use 'secret cables' to tap citizens' phones"
Clearly, surveillance technology has advanced to an all-seeing place.
ou, your phone calls, your messages, are open books to those who have the desire and resources to see them...
ou, your phone calls, your messages, are open books to those who have the desire and resources to see them...
In the U.K. Telegraph, Matthew Sparkes has the story behind this:
"Gus Hosein, executive director of Privacy International, said: "While governments have starved this debate over surveillance by saying nothing and denying everything, some companies have acted more responsibly by bringing data to the table. Vodafone is taking a commendable step by taking this issue on at an international scale. And they are trying to identify the legal basis for governments' claimed powers. What we are now discovering is that the picture is even more bleak than previously thought. Governments around the world are unashamedly abusing privacy by demanding access to communications and data, and alarmingly, sometimes granting themselves direct access to the networks."
Sunday, June 08, 2014
2014-06-08 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, June 07, 2014
Alabama Ruling Lights a Fire For Pro-Life - Joanne Moudy
Joanne Moudy gives the details and possible implications at Townhall.com:
"On April 18, 2014, when the Alabama Supreme Court issued its stunning ruling in the case of Sarah Janie Hicks v. State of Alabama, not many seemed to notice and mainstream media all but ignored the Court’s actions. Yet it’s possible that this brilliant 8-1 decision has set the tone to lead the charge against the inhuman crime of eliminating children because they’re an inconvenience or unwanted. Should other states be so inclined to follow suit, all they need to do is follow the prescription set forth by the Alabama legislature and have a State Supreme Court willing to do battle with poor public policy. The succinct ruling could, in fact, be the impetus to encourage other states to bravely move toward a more humanitarian, pro-life mentality, and here’s why."
Friday, June 06, 2014
"Climate Models Fail"
Every weather issue is blamed on climate change.
Well, the climate has been changing forever, and historical charts show the same conditions long before coal-fired electricity generating plants and SUV's...
Well, the climate has been changing forever, and historical charts show the same conditions long before coal-fired electricity generating plants and SUV's...
At AmericanThinker.com, Sierra Rayne compares projections and reality:
"Back in February, there was a public dust-up between the Obama administration and the climate science community.
Obama blamed the current California drought on climate change – let's be precise: on anthropogenic climate change – while the climate scientists generally pushed back and said California's current drought is likely due to natural climate variability.
When the New York Times weighed in on the dispute, it provided us with this synopsis of the always present scientific consensus: 'In fact, the most recent computer projections suggest that as the world warms, California should get wetter, not drier, in the winter, when the state gets the bulk of its precipitation. That has prompted some of the leading experts to suggest that climate change most likely had little role in causing the drought.' So climate models indicate that anthropogenic climate change should lead to wetter winters in California. Is that what we observe in the pesky place called reality? No chance."
Thursday, June 05, 2014
"President Barack Obama's national security flops just keep coming"
Daily Caller's Matt Lewis writes about Barack Obama's foreign policy for the U.K. Telegraph:
"Ultimately, Obama’s problem is that he lacks a coherent foreign policy. He is overly fond of theorising, but the hard worldly realities defy his attempts to resolve the messy issues on his desk.
And his foreign policy doctrine is unprecedented in modern America, somewhat arbitrary, ill-conceived, and utterly lacking in moral clarity. More and more, it appears he has reverse engineered a foreign policy, based primarily on doing the opposite of George W. Bush did, as opposed to overtly crafting a wise and coherent foreign policy strategy going forward."
Wednesday, June 04, 2014
Scientists : Polar Bear Numbers 'Qualified Guess' | The Daily Caller
The polar bear population has been a focal point of Global Warming claims.
Now, we have this.
If nothing else, it should make us very skeptical about other agenda driven claims...
Now, we have this.
If nothing else, it should make us very skeptical about other agenda driven claims...
Michael Bastasch has the story at DailyCaller.com:
"PBSG has for years said that global polar bear populations were between 20,000 and 25,000, but these estimates are likely much lower than how many polar bears are actually living in the world.
“Based on previous PBSG estimates and other research reports, it appears there are probably at least another 6,000 or so bears living in these regions and perhaps as many as 9,000 (or more) that are not included in any PBSG ‘global population estimate,’" Crockford wrote on her blog.
'These are guesses, to be sure, but they at least give a potential size,' Crockford added. PBSG disclosed this information to Crockford ahead of the release of their Circumpolar Polar Bear Action Plan in which they intend to put a footnote explaining why their global population estimate is flawed."
Eco-warriors found paying people to protest Chevron � Hot Air
The environmental movement is not honest...
Jazz Shaw has the story on the HotAir.com website:
"So rather than angry, environmentally conscious activists, Chevron was actually 'protested' by unemployed actors looking to make a few bucks as extras in what they thought was a film project. Nice. What’s even better is the accidentally hilarious description of the advertisement to hire the actors provided by Ms. Gilbert herself."
Tuesday, June 03, 2014
"Reagan vs. Obama: A Tale of Two Economic Recoveries"
At WesternFreePress.com, John Walker writes about who's policies worked better for a quicker recovery:
"Reagan was handed a bigger mess than Obama. When Reagan took office, unemployment was 10.8 percent; inflation was 13.5 percent; the prime interest rate was 21.5 percent. The economy was on the ropes. When Obama took office, unemployment was 7.7 percent; inflation was 2.7 percent; the prime interest rate was 3.25 percent."
"Floating wind-turbine generator doubles up as phone mast"
In the U.K. Daily Mail, Victoria Woollaston recently wrote about this clever idea:
"Our homes could soon be powered by floating generators that double up as mobile phone masts. Massachusetts-based Altaeros Energies has teamed up with the Alaska Energy Authority to power homes across the northwest state using its Buoyant Airborne Turbine (BAT). The BAT is a wind generator that sits at altitudes of 1,000ft (305m) - where gusts are stronger and more consistent - and is capable of reducing energy costs by up to 65 per cent."
Monday, June 02, 2014
"GM Sure Recalled A Lot Of Cars Right After The Feds Sold Their Shares"
Skeptical me thinks this is no coincidence...
AT theFederalist.com, Sean Davis recently posted about this:
"The U.S. government officially bailed out the automaker in December of 2008. Throughout the five-year period of U.S. government ownership, nothing was done to address the deadly switch. According to one timeline of events, GM’s new CEO, Mary Barra, claims she did not even learn of the problem until December of 2013, which just so happens to be when the federal government sold its final shares of GM stock (at a loss of $10 billion, naturally).
Even though the company had data demonstrating a faulty ignition switch for years, it didn’t initiate a full investigation or recall until February of 2014, two months after the government sold its stake in the company."
"'Best-before' labels on rice, coffee and pasta reach their sell-by date"
This issue is not isolated in Europe.
That being said, can we not know or learn when and what we should not eat, as previous generations did?...
That being said, can we not know or learn when and what we should not eat, as previous generations did?...
In the U.K. Telegraph, Bruno Waterfield writes about this issue:
" The European Union is poised to scrap compulsory 'best before' labels on coffee, rice, dry pasta, hard cheeses, jams and pickles to help reduce the estimated 100 million tons of food wasted across Europe each year.
Officials of the European Commission will table proposals next month allowing national governments to extend the list of foods that do not require best-before dates, in a move which they believe will mean 15 million tons less food a year is discarded by households wrongly worried that it is no longer fit for consumption. "
