Tuesday, September 30, 2014
"The Stupendous Failure Of Big City Education: How The Philly Teachers Union Loots The Schools"
I wonder if this excerpt is enough to get you to read the article...
At ZeroHedge.com, Tyler Durden begins with:
"It’s that time of year again – when the little juvenile delinquents, future prison inmates, and functionally illiterate junior members of the free shit army pick up their 'free' backpacks and 'free' school supplies they will never use and shuffle off to the decaying prison like schools in the City of Philadelphia to eat 'free' breakfasts and 'free' lunches, while being taught government sanctioned pablum by overpaid mediocre union teachers."
No justification for White House manipulation of pool reports | WashingtonExaminer.com
I have to think every administration does this to some degree.
That doesn't make it smell any better...
That doesn't make it smell any better...
This is from the Washington Examiner website:
"Americans discovered last spring that the Justice Department had wiretapped the office and home phones of Associated Press writers and editors during a national security investigation. The same department later named a journalist in court papers as a co-conspirator to a crime, essentially for just doing his job. More recently, the AP has accused the administration of using Freedom of Information Act requests as a way for President Obama's political appointees to keep tabs on what journalists are investigating. Sign Up for the Politics Today newsletter!
This week, the White House has committed another, though less serious, outrage. The Washington Post's Paul Farhi revealed that Obama's staff has been effectively censoring pool reports written by members of the press."
Monday, September 29, 2014
Russia Says Arctic Well Drilled With Exxon Strikes Oil - Bloomberg
It seems like oil and/or ways to extract oil continue to be be discovered.
It's a good thing...
It's a good thing...
At Bloomberg.com, Ilya Arkhipov, Stephen Bierman and Ryan Chilcote combined on this report:
"The announcement was made by Igor Sechin, Rosneft’s chief executive officer, who spent two days sailing on a Russian research ship to the drilling rig where the find was unveiled today. The well found about 1 billion barrels of oil and similar geology nearby means the surrounding area may hold more than the U.S. part of the Gulf or Mexico, he said.
'It exceeded our expectations,' Sechin said in an interview. This discovery is of 'exceptional significance in showing the presence of hydrocarbons in the Arctic.'"
"Two Videos of American Airstrikes on ISIS That Should Scare Iran"
John Allen Gay explains some of that on the National Interest website:
"US Central Command has released several videos of strikes on ISIS facilities. Two of these videos demonstrate advanced bombing techniques that analysts have noted will be important in an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Writing in International Security in 2007, Whitney Raas and Austin Long dug into the technical side of a possible Israeli strike. Many of Iran’s nuclear facilities, such as the huge centrifuge halls at Natanz, are hardened and buried to make the attacker’s task harder. One bomb—even a 'bunker buster' designed for the task—might not be enough to dig through all the dirt and high-strength concrete. 'One method' for dealing with this, Raas and Long say, 'is to use [laser-guided bombs] targeted on the same aimpoint but separated slightly in release time to ‘burrow’ into the target.' A former Israeli Air Force general said that this method could 'eventually destroy any target.' But hitting the same spot again and again takes extreme precision."
Sunday, September 28, 2014
2014-09-28 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Samsung SGR-A1 Robot Sentry Is One Cold Machine | Ubergizmo
Technology is everywhere...
Edwin Kee describes this on the UberGizmo.com website:
"First announced in 2006 (where obvious improvements have been made since, and I am not surprised if much of it remained as classified information), this $200,000, all weather, 5.56 mm robotic machine gun also sports an optional grenade launcher. It will make use of its IR and visible light cameras to track multiple targets and remains under the control of a human operator from a remote location.
Basically, it claims to be able to 'identify and shoot a target automatically from over two miles (3.2 km) away'” Scary! When used on the DMZ, this robot will not distinguish between friend or foe – anyone who crosses the line is deemed as an enemy."
"Yellowstone Supereruption Would Cover North America in Ash"
Here's something for those that want to worry.
They do say it's "extremely unlikely"...
They do say it's "extremely unlikely"...
In an article at Scientific Computing, the American Geophysical Union informs us:
"An improved computer model developed by the study’s authors finds that the hypothetical, large eruption would create a distinctive kind of ash cloud known as an umbrella, which expands evenly in all directions, sending ash across North America.
A supereruption is the largest class of volcanic eruption, during which more than 1,000 cubic kilometers (240 cubic miles) of material is ejected. If such a supereruption were to occur, which is extremely unlikely, it could shut down electronic communications and air travel throughout the continent, and alter the climate, the study notes."
Friday, September 26, 2014
FACT CHECK: Obama in UN speech spins statistics - Yahoo News
I found this Associated Press story by Dina Cappiello and Seth Borenstein on the Yahoo.com news site:
"A look at some of Obama's claims and how they compare with the facts:"
Thursday, September 25, 2014
"White House Security Breach: The Secret Service Thinks We Are Fools"
On the TIME.com website, Ronald Kessler writes about them:
"In protecting the White House, the Secret Service Uniformed Division officers and the Uniformed Division’s Emergency Response Team, armed with P90 submachine guns, are supposed to be the first line of defense. But they were either asleep or just not paying attention when Gonzales sprinted across the lawn. They thus failed to unleash the agency’s Belgian Malinois dogs, which are cross-trained to sniff out explosives and to attack an intruder and take him or her down."
Debunking the Anti-Fracking Fearmongers | RealClearScience
On the RealClearScience website, Alex B. Berezow discusses "fracking" issues:
"World events have made it quite clear to most Americans that we should develop more of our own energy sources. Reducing our reliance on foreign oil by exploiting the natural gas under our feet is not only smart foreign policy but also smart environmental policy: Natural gas burns cleaner than coal or oil, and it has already lowered our CO2 emissions. Natural gas is a win for America and the planet. But not according to anti-technology environmentalists, who have made all sorts of wild, unsubstantiated claims about the supposed harms of fracking."
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
"Study links changing winds to warming in Pacific"
Jeff Barnard reported this on the Associated Press website:
"The study compared ocean surface temperatures from 1900 to 2012 to surface air pressure, a stand-in for wind measurements, and found a close match.
'What we found was the somewhat surprising degree to which the winds can explain all the wiggles in the temperature curve,' said lead author Jim Johnstone, who did the work while a climatologist at the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean at the University of Washington.
'So clearly, there are other factors stronger than the greenhouse forcing that is affecting those temperatures,' he added."
"Environmental Researcher: Wind Industry Riddled with 'Absolute Corruption'"
You might remember recent solar energy performance failures and bankruptcies.
Now it's the wind industry...
At Breitbart.com, James Delingpole writes about it:
"A Mexican ecologist has blown the whistle on the corruption, lies and incompetence of the wind industry - and on the massive environmental damage it causes in the name of saving the planet."
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
"Creator Of “Your Baby Can Read” Program Settles False Advertising Charges"
If your are gullible, there's always someone to take your money.
Secondly, the desire to have successful children can override common sense.
As I read this, I wonder if the media promoted or was skeptical about this...
Secondly, the desire to have successful children can override common sense.
As I read this, I wonder if the media promoted or was skeptical about this...
Chris Morran brings us up-to-date on questionable program:
"Almost exactly two years after the Federal Trade Commission accused the people behind the popular 'Your Baby Can Read' training program of making deceptive advertising claims, the product’s creator has finally reached a deal to settle charges that he and his company made baseless pronouncements about the effectiveness of the program and that they misrepresented scientific studies to prove these bogus statements.
'Your Baby Can Read', created by Dr. Robert Titzer, raked in more than $185 million from the sales of its $200 kits. The program made claims in ads, infomercials, and on social media that it could teach babies to read as early as nine months out of the womb, and that kids who used YBCR could handle reading something as complicated as a Harry Potter book by the age of three or four."
"Assembly Complete for NASA’s First Orion Crew Module..."
Considering our current poorly planned dependencies on the Russians, this sounds like a step in a better direction...
Ken Kremer recently reported on this at UniverseToday.com:
"Orion is NASA’s next generation human rated vehicle and is scheduled to launch on its maiden uncrewed mission dubbed Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) in December 2014. It replaces the now retired space shuttle orbiters."
Monday, September 22, 2014
Leo vs. science: vanishing evidence for climate change | New York Post
Seems like a big week for global warming advocates.
As this article indicates, it's not "settled science" by a long shot.
It may even be "garbage" science...
As this article indicates, it's not "settled science" by a long shot.
It may even be "garbage" science...
In the New York Post, Tom Harris and Bob Carter take issue with a certain celebrity and his advocacy:
"DiCaprio is an actor, not a scientist; it’s no real surprise that his film is sensationalistic and error-riddled. Other climate-change fantasists, who do have a scientific background, have far less excuse. Science is never settled, but the current state of 'climate change' science is quite clear: There is essentially zero evidence that carbon dioxide from human activities is causing catastrophic climate change."
"After 30 Years Of Lies, NY Times Admits 'Assault Weapons Are A Myth'"
Those who are knowledgeable about guns have always known this.
Unfortunately, the disingenuous media chose to promote false information...
Unfortunately, the disingenuous media chose to promote false information...
The New York Times now admits this and Bob Owens wants us to know it. He writes on the BearingArms.com website:
"'Assault weapons' is a made-up term, used to scare citizens into thinking that military weapons were commonly being sold and used on the streets of the United States. Thanks to a dishonest and incompetent media, millions of Americans thought (and still think) that machine guns could simply be purchased at the local gun store. The reality that the Hughes Amendment to the Firearm Owners Protection Act outlawed the manufacture of automatic weapons for the civilian market in 1986, was always hushed up."
Sunday, September 21, 2014
2014-09-21 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Secret Senate handbook reveals rules - The Morning Call
I found this article by Laura Olson on the Allentown, PA, Morning Call website:
"Reporters at USA Today were able to get their hands on a copy of the Senate's secret handbook, a 380-page document that Senate officials have never released. For the most part, it centers around mundane aspects of running their offices, such as managing parking spots and getting ID cards for staffers. But it’s the minute details that provide a particularly interesting look at how the chamber operates."
Friday, September 19, 2014
"Google Maps Has Been Tracking Your Every Move, And There’s A Website To Prove It"
Our beloved (for most) high-tech world has an aspect that can work for us, as well as against us.
Thinking about criminal activity, most dismiss this as "so what" because they're not doing anything wrong.
They fail to worry that someone can know your habits, AND, the dates and times of those habits, not to mention where you actually go...
Thinking about criminal activity, most dismiss this as "so what" because they're not doing anything wrong.
They fail to worry that someone can know your habits, AND, the dates and times of those habits, not to mention where you actually go...
On the Junkee.com website, Elizabeth Flux recently posted this story:
"Today, Google is tracking wherever your smartphone goes, and putting a neat red dot on a map to mark the occasion. You can find that map here. All you need to do is log in with the same account you use on your phone, and the record of everywhere you’ve been for the last day to month will erupt across your screen like chicken pox."
"NOAA – 246 Low Max Records Broken or Tied From Sept 1 to Sept 10. Some records broken by 16F"
The "global warming" or "climate change" arguments continue.
I found this on the Sunshine Hours blog...
I found this on the Sunshine Hours blog...
I saw the info other places, but Sunshine Hours seemed to have a relevant map:
"A 'Low Max' means that the maximum temperatures for the day was the lowest it has ever been. This indicates daytime cooling. Below is a screenshot showing location and the biggest difference between old record and new record."
Thursday, September 18, 2014
"President Obama's ISIS Strategy Isn't Reality Based"
At theFederalist.com, Angelo Codevilla icludes this and much more in his writing:
"The American people watched videos of men like ourselves being beheaded by Muslim thugs with a knife who now dispose of a state, and who are drawing unto themselves God-knows-how many would-be beheaders of Americans. The American people reasonably demanded a real campaign to destroy ISIL. What Obama delivered was yet more fantasy. Alas, our ruling class couples their illusions with whatever they find it convenient to do, and call it 'strategy.' Thereby do they advertise their impotence."
5 lies that have shaped the Obama presidency | New York Post
For me, I've reached the point where "say anything to get elected", "too inexperienced", "few American values", "disengaged", "out of touch", "agenda blindness", and even "phony baloney" come to mind when I think about Mr. Obama.
I actually dare him to prove otherwise...
I actually dare him to prove otherwise...
Jack Cashill discusses them in this New York Post article:
"I’ve counted 75 significant lies since his campaign for president began, but that doesn’t begin to tally the casual fibs and hyperbole he spouts seemingly every day. Here are five that illustrate just how much Obama’s presidency is built on falsehoods."
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
The JV president | Power Line
Granted, politicians are likely to be less than perfect with the facts.
I think we all know that is purposeful to support their agenda.
This president seems significantly more political than we're accustomed to, and certainly more imperfect with the facts...
I think we all know that is purposeful to support their agenda.
This president seems significantly more political than we're accustomed to, and certainly more imperfect with the facts...
On the PowerLine blog, Scott Johnson shares some of his thoughts:
"Obama to the contrary notwithstanding, Obama characterized ISIS as the terrorist JV team in his interview with the New Yorker editor and Obama apostle David Remnick. The apostle David served up the gospel of his lord and savior in 'Going the Distance.' When White House flack Josh Earnest first peddled the line Obama took in his Meet the Press interview, it was judged false by Glenn Kessler in the Washington Post (rating: Four Pinnochios) and PolitiFact (rating: False). (In case you want to revisit the analysis, Kessler and PolitiFact both pull the relevant quote from Remnick’s gospel.)
Everyone who follows Obama knows that Obama was lying baldly when he peddled this line to Todd. Although Todd showed no sign of it, Todd himself is a leading example of the knowledgeable observer who knows Obama was lying. And Obama knows they all know he is lying.
One wonders why he would let himself be seen to be lying by all such observers. What is going on here? Here some speculation is required. Obama would prefer to be seen lying by the knowledgeable than admit to a significant mistake or misjudgment in an admission to be heard by all, for this is (at best) a spectacular misjudgment."
"Wendy Davis and the Age of Over-Sharing"
For me, the "over-sharing" word caught my eye.
In today's world, many seem obsessed with sharing everything.
When the phrase "anything you say can and will be used against you..." comes to mind, I believe many will regret that sharing...
In today's world, many seem obsessed with sharing everything.
When the phrase "anything you say can and will be used against you..." comes to mind, I believe many will regret that sharing...
On the RealClearPolitics website, Heather Wilhelm reports on it, as well as a politician's behavior along those lines:
"This week, in case you missed it, Wendy Davis—the Texas gubernatorial hopeful launched to national fame by her impassioned pro-abortion filibuster last year—released a new memoir. The book, called 'Forgetting to Be Afraid,' offers intimate details regarding Ms. Davis’s personal and political life, which no one in America has ever heard anything about.
Just kidding! If you’ve been following the news over the past year, you probably feel like you have personally given Wendy Davis a TSA 'enhanced security' body cavity search."
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
"Oakland Firefighter Plays Victim Card Until Police Release Video"
At PJmedia.com, Jack Dunphy relates how this event played out:
"Witness the case of Keith Jones, a firefighter in Oakland, Calif., who recently had a brief but mildly tense encounter with an officer from that city’s police department.
Jones, 43, was leaving an Oakland Raiders football game on Aug. 15 with his two sons, 9 and 12.
He had parked his SUV at Fire Station 29, which is a few blocks from the Oakland Coliseum, and when he and his sons returned to the station they saw that the doors to the apparatus bay had been left open, apparently by the on-duty crew that had gone on an emergency run. Jones, being a conscientious firefighter and good citizen, went inside to investigate."
"Why Didn't Ray Rice Get the Richie Incognito Treatment Right Away?"
At NationalReview.com, Charles Gasparino discusses treatments by the National Football League:
"Why did Goodell initially throw his support behind Rice after an obvious physical altercation with a woman but throw the book at Incognito for name-calling a 300-pound fellow lineman?"
Monday, September 15, 2014
Obama’s ship is sinking | New York Post
Is Mr. Goodwin saying fasten your seat belt and prepare for the worst?
You decide...
You decide...
Michael Goodwin offered his opinion in a recent New York Post column, including this:
"Obama’s fecklessness is so unique that our adversaries and enemies surely realize they will never face a weaker president. They must assume the next commander in chief will take a more muscular approach to America’s interests and be more determined to forge alliances than the estranged man who occupies the Oval Office now.
So Vladimir Putin, Iran, China, Islamic State, al Qaeda and any other number of despots and terrorists know they have two years to make their moves and advance their interests, and that resistance will be token, if there is any at all.
Throw in the fact that Europe largely has scrapped its military might to pay for its welfare states, and the entire West is a diminished, confused opponent, ripe for the taking. Redrawn maps and expanded spheres of influence could last for generations."
"Two Americas" - Bob Lonsberry
That "democrats are right" sucked me right into this article.
It turned out not to be true...
It turned out not to be true...
At Front Page Magazine is a reposting from Bob Lonsberry's website. It begins:
"The Democrats are right, there are two Americas. The America that works, and the America that doesn’t. The America that contributes, and the America that doesn’t. It’s not the haves and the have nots, it’s the dos and the don’ts. Some people do their duty as Americans, to obey the law and support themselves and contribute to society, and others don’t.
That’s the divide in America.
It’s not about income inequality, it’s about civic irresponsibility. It’s about a political party that preaches hatred, greed and victimization in order to win elective office. It’s about a political party that loves power more than it loves its country.
That’s not invective, that’s truth. And it’s about time someone said it."
"Obama losing the confidence of key parts of the coalition that elected him"
The Washington Post's Karen Tumulty recently reported this and more:
"Women surveyed said they disapprove of Obama by a 50 percent to 44 percent margin — nearing an all-time low in the poll. It’s almost the reverse of the 55 percent to 44 percent breakdown for Obama among female voters in 2012, according to exit polls. His approval rating among women has slipped four percentage points from a year ago and 16 points since his second inaugural in January 2013, when his approval was 60 percent among the group.
Among younger voting-age Americans, Obama’s approval rating stood at 43 percent. That marked an 11-point drop since June among those 18 to 29 years old. Voters younger than 30 supported Obama by 60 percent to 37 percent in 2012."
Sunday, September 14, 2014
2014-09-14 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, September 13, 2014
"U.S. threatened massive fine to force Yahoo to release data"
I just can't seem to get comfortable with the government's non-specific trolling for information.
Perhaps, you see it differently...
Perhaps, you see it differently...
Craig Timberg recently reported this on the Washington Post website:
"The U.S. government threatened to fine Yahoo $250,000 a day in 2008 if it failed to comply with a broad demand to hand over user data that the company believed was unconstitutional, according to court documents unsealed Thursday that illuminate how federal officials forced American tech companies to participate in the NSA’s controversial PRISM program. The documents, roughly 1,500 pages worth, outline a secret and ultimately unsuccessful legal battle by Yahoo to resist the government’s demands. The company’s loss required Yahoo to become one of the first to begin providing information to PRISM, a program that gave the National Security Agency extensive access to records of online communications by users of Yahoo and other U.S.-based technology firms."
Friday, September 12, 2014
"Don't Give the Masters of the Universe Their Amnesty"
Well, I'd like to know the answers, too.
I have no problems with allowing limited immigration of those who can contribute to the American way of life; but, I have big problems with allowing huge amounts of freeloaders...
I have no problems with allowing limited immigration of those who can contribute to the American way of life; but, I have big problems with allowing huge amounts of freeloaders...
At NationalReview.com, U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions asks:
"How did we get to the point where elected officials, activist groups, the ACLU, and global CEOs are openly working to deny American workers the immigration protections to which they are legally entitled? How did we get to the point where the Democratic party is prepared to nullify and wipe away the immigration laws of the United States of America?
Just yesterday Majority Leader Reid wrote in a tweet something that was shocking. He said: 'Since House Republicans have failed to act on immigration, I know the President will. When he does, I hope he goes Real Big.'
Let this sink in for a moment. The majority leader of the Senate is bragging that he knows the president will circumvent Congress to issue executive amnesty to millions, and he is encouraging the president to ensure this amnesty includes as many people as possible. And the White House has acknowledged that 5 to 6 million is the number they are looking at."
These 5 Facts Debunk U.S. Jobs Recovery Myth - Investors.com
I'm old enough to have experienced previous recoveries.
For me, this doesn't feel the same at all...
For me, this doesn't feel the same at all...
This is from a recent Investors.com opinion column:
"• For all recoveries since World War II, cumulative job growth has averaged 12.5% (see chart). This time, job growth is just 6.2%, the worst on record. Based on this, we would need 8.19 million more jobs just to reach 'average.' That's not a real job recovery at all.
• The labor force shrank 64,000 in the most recent month, pushing the participation rate to 62.8%. The last time it was that low, Jimmy Carter was president."
Thursday, September 11, 2014
2001-09-11 - A Day to Remember
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Letter: Holder Aide Accidentally Calls Issa Staff for Help Spinning IRS Scandal
This is for those who are naive about how the system works...
Jonathan Strong reported this at Breitbart.com:
"The aide, Brian Fallon, is a former senior aide to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and a well-known personality on Capitol Hill. The letter describes Fallon as 'audibly shaken' when he realizes his request to leak documents to help get ahead of news stories about them was mistakenly made to the very office he was seeking to undermine. Issa believes the call was intended to be made to Democratic Rep. Elijah Cumming's staff, the ranking member on the oversight panel, the letter said. "
"POLL: 95 Percent of BBC Viewers Think Multiculturalism Has Failed"
Perhaps, it is exclusive to that country; or, and remaining to be seen, if that attitude extends to other places.
For what it's worth, I think multiculturalism can work until it becomes too much and too fast...
On the Breitbart.com website, Donna Rachel Edmunds reports on this subject:
"A whopping 95 percent of respondents to a BBC straw poll have said that they think multiculturalism in Britain is a failure. The poll was taken yesterday morning during the BBC’s Saturday Morning Live show, and asked 'Is multiculturalism working?' Just 5 percent said 'Yes'; 95 percent said 'No'."
Tuesday, September 09, 2014
Please Stop Helping Us - Walter E. Williams
At Townhall.com, Walter E. Williams writes about some of Jason Riley's new book:
"While reading the first chapter of Jason Riley's new book, 'Please Stop Helping Us,' I thought about Will Rogers' Prohibition-era observation that 'Oklahomans vote dry as long as they can stagger to the polls.' Demonstrative of similar dedication, one member of Congress told Vanderbilt University political scientist Carol Swain that 'one of the advantages and disadvantages of representing blacks is their shameless loyalty. ... You can almost get away with raping babies and be forgiven. You don't have any vigilance about your performance.' In my opinion, there appear to be no standards of performance low enough for blacks to lose their loyalty to their black political representatives.
Riley says that between 1970 and 2001, the number of black elected officials skyrocketed from fewer than 1,500 to more than 9,000, but black poverty has remained roughly the same. Between 1940 and 1960, when black political power was virtually nonexistent, the black poverty rate fell from 87 percent to 47 percent."
Monday, September 08, 2014
"The Insiders: The Obama economy is not working for the Democrats"
As this writer notes, the president says things that are demonstrably NOT TRUE.
Unfortunately, the media usually fails to question what he says...
Unfortunately, the media usually fails to question what he says...
On this occasion, Ed Rogers does question him in a Washington Post article:
"At Milwaukee Laborfest in Wisconsin this past weekend, President Obama spoke about how he and the Democrats believe the American economy has strengthened over the last six years. The president told the crowd that 'by almost every measure, the American economy and American workers are better off than when I took office.' That just isn’t true. And a trove of new analysis proves my point."
Electric vehicle sales are running out of gas - LA Times
We have to remember that electric cars and their batteries are relatively expensive.
We also have to remember that the electricity used for charging still comes to us the old fashioned fossil fuel way...
This is part of an article by Charles Fleming in the L.A. Times:
"'The whole automobile market has grown,' Caldwell said. 'We’re not seeing electric vehicles as part of that growth.' The numbers are surprising, Caldwell said, to automobile forecasters. Five years ago, analysts thought that electric vehicle sales would continue to expand as more manufacturers put more electric vehicles on the road and as the vehicles' cost came down. That hasn't happened. Electric vehicle sales have slowed while prices have come down and dealers have been offering increasingly better deals on financing and incentives."
Sunday, September 07, 2014
2014-09-07 - Words of Wisdom
Saturday, September 06, 2014
"Chicken Littles can't cluck away climate facts"
TribLive.com posted this within their story about the soon to be released U.N report on climate change:
"But even the loudest clucking can't drown out contrary facts. U.S. temperatures haven't risen in a decade. Global temperatures have been flat for 17 years. Prior warming was within natural variability. The IPCC's main greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, isn't a pollutant. And humanity's climate impact is negligible, so top-down 'solutions' are pointless and economically harmful, as shown by Australia repealing its carbon tax in favor of voluntary clean-energy incentives.
Still, there's value in this draft report. It shows how much at odds with reality the IPCC is — and how far climate science is from being 'settled.'"
Friday, September 05, 2014
"Bonjour, Malaise"
At WashingtonExaminer.com, Noemie Emery reports on the president's current circumstance. Here's just some of it:
"Obama himself skipped class some weeks later, when he went AWOL from most of his serious duties after the flood of bad news got to be too much. Calling himself 'the bear,' he broke from his pen to stroll hither and thither while dropping in at fast-food joints to nosh. He spent more and more time with the rich and the glitzy. On a trip to the West, he avoided the border while finding time to shoot pool and drink beer.
"\'He’s kind of giving up on his job,' said The Hill’s A.B. Stoddard. 'He’s planning his post-presidency ... having lots of dinner parties where he doesn’t talk about policies or politics but the NBA playoffs. Anything but his job.' On Aug. 20, he interrupted his vacation to extend his regrets to the parents of James Foley, the American journalist whose beheading had been shared with the world by his killers. Minutes later, Obama was filmed in his golf cart, laughing his head off with friends.
With this in mind it made perfect sense when he appeared last week, tan suit and all, to say he had no idea how to deal with a menace his own appointees had said posed a critical threat to his country. By this time, no one expected one of him. They would have been shocked if he had one."
Thursday, September 04, 2014
Flashback: What’s Happened Since President Obama Released the Head of ISIS 5 Years Ago
On the IJreview.com website, Jennifer Van Laar recently called attention to this one:
"It’s time we learn the lesson that cold-blooded murderers who deliberately target innocent civilians do not abide by the same civilized rules as the rest of the world. When the U.S. captures and releases a hardened terrorist, he will simply come back another day, even more highly motivated to commit ruthless acts of vengeance."
"Obama named in RICO lawsuit"
That being said, in our current world of so many lawsuits, it's sometimes difficult to know which ones will actually prevail...
Bob Unruh posted about this one on the World Net Daily website:
"Seeking $1.5 billion in compensatory damages as well as punitive damages, it accuses the global figures of 'laundering U.S. dollars' to Hamas, which is officially designated by the U.S. government as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
'This money has been foreseeably used to buy rockets and construct tunnels to attack Israel and terrorize and kill American and dual American-Israeli citizens who reside or are located in Israel,' Klayman said in a statement."
"Missing Libyan Jetliners raise fears of Suicide Airliner Attacks on 9/11"
Well, this sounds disheartening, to say the least...
On the Washington Frtee Beacon website, Bill Gertz is reporting:
"Islamist militias in Libya took control of nearly a dozen commercial jetliners last month, and western intelligence agencies recently issued a warning that the jets could be used in terrorist attacks across North Africa.
Intelligence reports of the stolen jetliners were distributed within the U.S. government over the past two weeks and included a warning that one or more of the aircraft could be used in an attack later this month on the date marking the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against New York and Washington, said U.S. officials familiar with the reports."
Wednesday, September 03, 2014
15 Qassam Rockets intercepted At Once By The Iron Dome - YouTube
"Rant - Education: the media are afraid to tell the truth"
This writer seems to make quite a good case...
On a website name RantRave.com, Bruce D. Price offers this and much more in his "rant":
"American public schools are full of failed theories and dysfunctional schemes. In a phrase, there is a lot of bunk and junk. For example, Rudolf Flesch wrote a famous book in 1955 explaining why Johnny can't read if you teach him with sight-words. But here we are 60 years later and children in elementary schools are being taught in that same way. Think about that for a moment.
New Math, which the country laughed into oblivion around 1965, came back with multiple variations under the heading Reform Math and now Common Core Math. The common denominator is inefficiency. In short, the Education Establishment has a total affection for clunkers.
And now in almost every classroom, the dominant teaching method is called Constructivism, which dictates that teacher shouldn't teach and children should forage in the intellectual forest for themselves. With teachers not teaching, you will surely get a lot less learning."
"US Hurricane drought still in record territory"
They say you can make statistics say anything'.
I don't know if this one is pure or not.
Those on the East coast likely remember a 2012 storm called "Sandy", which spanned 1100 miles, and was "only" a Category 2 when it approached the Northeastern coast of the U.S. ...
I don't know if this one is pure or not.
Those on the East coast likely remember a 2012 storm called "Sandy", which spanned 1100 miles, and was "only" a Category 2 when it approached the Northeastern coast of the U.S. ...
So, for whatever it's worth, Mark Johnson has reported this on NewsNet5 in Cleveland, Ohio:
"Its been almost nine years since the last major hurricane struck the US Mainland. That's 3,230 days. Remember, we are talking MAJOR hurricanes, of Category 3 strength or higher. The last major hurricane was Hurricane Wilma which hit Florida on October 24, 2005. This is unprecedented in the hurricane record since 1900. Its a full 2 1/2 years ahead of the second-longest US hurricane drought ever recorded."
Tuesday, September 02, 2014
"Why spammers persist despite filters and well-informed users"
Just in case you wanted to know...
On the PC World website, Lincoln Spector recent posting tells us this:
"It doesn’t take many suckers to make spam profitable. I’ve read estimates claiming that for every million spam messages sent out (including the majority stopped by filters), only three people fall into the spammer’s trap.
That sounds like a very bad business model, but it’s actually a very lucrative one. There are tens of billions of spam messages sent each day—possibly an many as 100 billion. That means 300,000 suckers a day."
"Truth We Won’t Admit: Drinking Is Healthy"
In our agenda driven world of marketing expertise and media malfeasance, it's difficult to really know about things like this.
Perhaps, the behavior of moderation in all things is the best position...
Perhaps, the behavior of moderation in all things is the best position...
On the Pacific Standard mag website, Stanton Peele posted quite an interesting article on the subject of alcohol consumption. This is the part that got me thinking:
"Driven by the cultural residue of Temperance, most Americans still view drinking as unhealthy; many call alcohol toxic. Yet, despite drinking far less than many European nations, Americans have significantly worse health outcomes than heavier-drinking countries. (For example, despite being heavily out-drunk by the English, we have almost exactly twice their levels of diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.)"
Monday, September 01, 2014
2014-09-01 - Labor Day Observance
Labor Day, observed the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers.
It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country....
