Perspectives

Game Over for Global Warming

2009-11-22T13:30:00.003-05:00

It is about time! Some of us have been blogging for years on the growing AGW scam. It just never made any sense. The numbers didn't add up and there was just way too much suppression of any logical discussion.

Hopefully we can get to the bottom of all of this, investigate those that have benefited from this and give them the appropriate penalties.

We are witnessing a re-birth of core American values and people are finally realizing that their apathy will cost them and will cost their children dearly.

We have only yet begun to fight to bring truth into the light of day and expose these frauds for what they are.

New Great American Holiday

2009-03-08T21:17:00.002-04:00

A picture says a thousand words

2009-03-05T09:00:00.003-05:00

This is our constitution the way the Obama and the Democrats in congress view it. This is what we need to fight for - the restoration of our constitution and what is stands for.

Our country is under attack from the inside just like the Kremlin predicted so many years ago.

It's time to pray for global warming, says Flint Journal columnist John Tomlinson

2009-01-19T13:20:00.002-05:00

A well written opinion piece that concisely explains the current state of global warming. Where is the media reporting on the meeting in December? Not a peep...gee I wonder why?

Time to take our country back from the raging left loon's!!!

Excerpt:
If you're wondering why North America is starting to resemble nuclear winter, then you missed the news.

At December's U.N. Global Warming conference in Poznan, Poland, 650 of the world's top climatologists stood up and said man-made global warming is a media generated myth without basis. Said climatologist Dr. David Gee, Chairman of the International Geological Congress, "For how many years must the planet cool before we begin to understand that the planet is not warming?"

I asked myself, why would such obviously smart guy say such a ridiculous thing? But it turns out he's right.

The earth's temperature peaked in 1998. It's been falling ever since; it dropped dramatically in 2007 and got worse in 2008, when temperatures touched 1980 levels.

Meanwhile, the University of Illinois' Arctic Climate Research Center released conclusive satellite photos showing that Arctic ice is back to 1979 levels. What's more, measurements of Antarctic ice now show that its accumulation is up 5 percent since 1980.

In other words, during what was supposed to be massive global warming, the biggest chunks of ice on earth grew larger. Just as an aside, do you remember when the hole in the ozone layer was going to melt Antarctica? But don't worry, we're safe now, that was the nineties.

Yuri Bezmenov and how he tried to warn us about Communism

2008-11-12T19:19:00.003-05:00

Yuri Bezmenov
Uploaded by onmyway02

In September 2007 Yuri tried to warn us about the rise of Communism in our country.

This is what is happening in our country!!!

We need to wake up.

More interviews with Yuri...

Congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama

2008-11-05T17:20:00.001-05:00

He staged a brilliant campaign with a boatload of money and he took his story to the American people with a big dose of help from the MSM. It was a combination that just couldn't be beaten. For his success he is due some serious congratulations.

Now we must look ahead to the next four years and we will see how far the left can push this country.

Dear Mr. Obama

2008-10-30T22:29:00.001-04:00

Some videos speak for themselves. We salute those that where our uniform and make us all proud and safe! God speed and may you return home victorious!!!

Tax Breaks at $250,000, no wait I mean $200,000, oh silly me it really is $150,000

2008-10-30T17:06:00.002-04:00

Barack Obama keeps sliding down the bar that defines the rich in his mind.

Remember he has NEVER voted to NOT raise taxes in the past 10 years.

The Obama/Pelosi/Reid trifecta is not a bet worth making!!!

Rev. Wright Big Time Mansion Off the Backs of Poor People

2008-10-29T22:27:00.004-04:00

The hypocrisy continues. How does someone like Wright afford a place like this?

For someone who truly hates America it seems America has done him well.

Would you?

2008-10-29T13:52:00.002-04:00

Web ad that explores a couple simple questions about Rev Wright..

Rev Peterson Has It Right About Obama and Black America

2008-10-29T10:28:00.002-04:00

Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson is a Great Black American!

This is a really great video. It is worth watching every single minute of it.

Nouriel Roubini: The Man Who Predicted Our Economic Crisis

2008-10-26T18:55:00.002-04:00

Unbelievable how accurate he was...

But it was a meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September 2006 that earned him his nickname Dr Doom.

Roubini told an audience of fellow economists that a generational crisis was coming. A once-in-a-lifetime housing bust would lay waste to the US economy as oil prices soared, consumers stopped shopping and the country went into a deep recession.

The collapse of the mortgage market would trigger a global meltdown, as trillions of dollars of mortgage-backed securities unraveled. The shock waves would destroy banks and other big financial institutions such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, America’s largest home loan lenders.

“I think perhaps we will need a stiff drink after that,” the moderator said. Members of the audience laughed.

Click the link to read more...

Who Knows if This is Legit...But it is Interesting!

2008-10-25T19:53:00.001-04:00

İstanbul / Kumburgaz UFO's and ALIENS ARE BACK in 2008! from fox mulder on Vimeo.

Positions Regarding Obama and Why You Should Care?

2008-10-24T11:27:00.006-04:00

Position: Barack is a socialist and is against capitalism
Reasoning:

He was a member of the New Party
His father was a Communist
The people he has the most in common pretty much hate America. (Ayers, Wright, Khadlidi, Khalid)
He probably received foreign aid while going to college
He supports far more progressive tax policy and income redistribution
He supports further nationalization of industry within our country
He believes a mortgage is a right in this country not something you have to work hard to earn
He believes in an United Nations solution even within the borders of the United States
He blames the ills of African Americans in this country squarely on capitalism

The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the name of liberalism they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation without ever knowing how it happened.
- Norman Thomas, six-time Socialist Party presidential candidate and one of the founders of the ACLU.

Position: The Media is in the tank for Barack Obama
Reasoning:

The media portrays negative reporting on McCain at least 2:1 to Obama
The media ignores serious issues about Obama that Americans want to know about
Organizations like the New York Times and MSNBC have abandoned their principles and have ultimately become corrupt just to manipulate the truth to directly aid in getting Obama elected – What country are we in anyway? Is this America or Poland?
The double standard and sexism displayed toward Palin is downright disturbing

If you don’t read the newspaper you are uninformed;
If you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.
-Mark Twain

Position: Obama is going to raise taxes on 100% of Americans
Reasoning:

The expiration of the Bush tax cuts raise taxes on 100%

Income Under Bush Under Obama Obama Increase
$14,000.00 $0.00 $1,200.00 $1,200.00
$50,000.00 $5,000.00 $11,460.00 $6,460.00
$100,000.00 $18,620.00 $22,395.00 $3,775.00
$250,000.00 $63,945.00 $72,434.70 $8,489.70
$1,000,000.00 $325,206.50 $428,825.00 $103,618.50

An increase in the corporate tax is directly passed onto consumers
In comparison to McCain’s plan our GDP will grow at about half the rate as it will under McCain’s plan and therefore is an additional tax on ALL Americans to the tune of over $200 billion a year.

I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity
is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself
up by the handle.
-Winston Churchill

Position: ACORN is a corrupt and illegal organization
Reasoning:

They receive millions of taxpayer dollars because of their non-partisan status, they are clearly partisan and therefore breaking the law
They have a 10 year track record of voter fraud convictions in multiple states
Investigations are currently underway in over 15 states where voter fraud registration has been found in staggering amounts. On average over 33% of all ACORN registrations have been found to be fraudulent
Ohio is reporting over 40% voter fraud with absentee ballots submitted and guess by who?
The founder of ACORN was one of the founders of SDS
ACORN was started to further the concept of creating re-education centers in this country to indoctrinate our nation’s youth to radicalism and anti-capitalism. Gee isn’t this what the brown shirts were all about?
Obama with Ayers helped ACORN and provided funding with clear knowledge of the ACORN agenda
The brother of the founder of ACORN embezzled over 1 million dollars (including taxpayer monies) and ACORN neglected to report the crime

A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
- George Bernard Shaw

Position: Obama belief of a bigger tax code and government is the answer is a fallacy
Reasoning:

Existing compliance and enforcement of our progressive income tax system hurts our economy
Over 3 million man hours a year is wasted on tax compliance, that is basically the entire life of over 9,000 people a year
Our GDP is reduced over $200 billion a year just in compliance issues
The cost of compliance is passed along to all consumers in the form of raised prices
Does anyone want to try to calculate the cost of lost opportunity each year with over 3 million man hours wasted?
The IRS is used as a political weapon and American citizens become targets of our government
The US government has shown time and time again it is the biggest waster of tax dollars
The crony system of quid pro quote and paybacks is corrupting our existence at the core
Does anyone want to calculate the cost of doing business inside our government because of the crony approach to buying votes and support?

Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.
-Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850)

The impact of an Obama/Pelosi tag team on our country will be a huge increase in spending and taxation and quite frankly our economy cannot handle it. It will wreak a level of economic loss we haven't seen in 100 years and will take decades to recover. It just isn't a formula that is going to work at this time.

In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.
-Voltaire (1764)

As far as voter fraud in any flavor we need to stomp it out and NOT allow any of it. I think our voter registration system is very important and our country needs to get serious about a uniform voting registration system for national voting. It is pure insanity to me that someone can vote in the majority of states within this country without having to prove who they are! Voting is as much a responsibility as it is a privilege and freedom. I constantly hear about it is too difficult for some to get an ID in this country - seriously those same people would have no problem getting an ID to buy liquor or get into club...Why do we continually have to keep lowering the bar in this country.

What this country needs are more unemployed politicians.
-Edward Langley, Artist (1928 - 1995)

Why aren't Americans demanding more from their politicians in the area of accountability. Joe you even said Barack's strategy of "not" voting, etc was a brilliant political strategy - just so the American voter cannot figure out the truth about Obama. Do you feel the same way about the manipulation put forward by someone pulling a long con?

Why is it we leave in an age where Americans are not voting on what people actually stand for? Everything is parsed and manipulated to cater to emotional hot buttons within voters - for one goal - win the election. Americans deserve better than that. Americans deserve to be heard and they deserve the opportunity to vote for candidate that actually agree and support their views not some manipulated perception because the candidate feels the end justifies the means.

Obama claims he will unify and bring together America. He has never worked across the aisle on anything substantial to demonstrate that he is even capable of that. The only unification he brings to the table is one of wild spending and taxation and the further bloating of a horribly inefficient and wasteful government.

McCain is the only candidate within our existing government that can claim he works to bring people together. He is as much of a Democrat as he is a Republican. America needs openness and passion for a stronger America right now not a candidate that is looking to further punish America because he has an agenda of solving the ills of America through legislation. You can't help a person until they are ready to help themselves.

Unfortunately the Democratic party continually ignores and hides its over 100 year track record of segregation and manipulation of Blacks in America. It is insanity to me that a party like that can stand up and say they are for something when their entire existence has been based on something else. The fact that Byrd is still in the party is the biggest slap in the face of such causes in America.

A government big enough to give you everything you want,
is strong enough to take everything you have.
-Thomas Jefferson

HOAX - READER BEWARE - WOMAN WILL BE CHARGED

2008-10-23T17:14:00.008-04:00

Ashley Todd who is shown in this photo has perpetuated a story that she was attacked by an Obama supporter. She claimed she was viciously attacked today at an ATM by an ardent Obama supporter. The attacker was outraged that Ashley had a McCain bumper sticker on her car. He attacked her with a knife, punched her, kicked her and carved the letter 'B' on her face and he fled with $60 that she has just taken out of the ATM.

Obviously this woman probably has emotional and mental issues. Hopefully she will be charged and will also get the help she needs to treat her issues.

Why Blacks Are Being Duped by The Liberal Left

2008-10-23T16:39:00.006-04:00

The hypocrisy from the far left is reaching all new levels. You may have heard MLK was a Republican - it is because he was a proud Republican. The Republican party shares over 150 years of standing up for Blacks in America. They are now being used as pawns by the Democratic party to assist in overthrowing American capitalism and to replace it with an "all controlling" government better known as Socialism!

It is really a shame that America doesn't have a great voice like Martin Luther King Jr today. He has been replaced by the America haters like Rev Wright and Farrakhan. For me personally all of this vitriol and hate toward America is beyond repulsiveness and the frequent screams of racist comments from the Left is mind boggling. I wish Blacks would return to the Republican party and stand strong with us and continue our 150 year tradition of equal rights for ALL Americans.

Here are some data points to consider what party is the party for Black America.

The Republican Party was formed in 1854 specifically to oppose the Democrats, and for more than 150 years, they have done everything they could to block the Democrat agenda. In their abuses of power, they have even used threats and military violence to thwart the Democrat Party’s attempts to make this a progressive country. As you read the following Republican milestones that span three centuries, imagine if you will, what a far different nation the United States would be had not the Republicans been around to block the Democrats’ efforts.

March 20, 1854 Opponents of Democrats’ pro-slavery policies meet in Ripon, Wisconsin to establish the Republican Party

May 30, 1854 Democrat President Franklin Pierce signs Democrats’ Kansas-Nebraska Act, expanding slavery into U.S. territories; opponents unite to form the Republican Party

June 16, 1854 Newspaper editor Horace Greeley calls on opponents of slavery to unite in the Republican Party

July 6, 1854 First state Republican Party officially organized in Jackson, Michigan, to oppose Democrats’ pro-slavery policies

February 11, 1856 Republican Montgomery Blair argues before U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of his client, the slave Dred Scott; later served in President Lincoln’s Cabinet

February 22, 1856 First national meeting of the Republican Party, in Pittsburgh, to coordinate opposition to Democrats’ pro-slavery policies

March 27, 1856 First meeting of Republican National Committee in Washington, DC to oppose Democrats’ pro-slavery policies

May 22, 1856 For denouncing Democrats’ pro-slavery policy, Republican U.S. Senator Charles Sumner (R-MA) is beaten nearly to death on floor of Senate by U.S. Rep. Preston Brooks (D-SC), takes three years to recover

March 6, 1857 Republican Supreme Court Justice John McLean issues strenuous dissent from decision by 7 Democrats in infamous Dred Scott case that African-Americans had no rights “which any white man was bound to respect”

June 26, 1857 Abraham Lincoln declares Republican position that slavery is “cruelly wrong,” while Democrats “cultivate and excite hatred” for blacks

October 13, 1858 During Lincoln-Douglas debates, U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas (D-IL) states: “I do not regard the Negro as my equal, and positively deny that he is my brother, or any kin to me whatever”; Douglas became Democratic Party’s 1860 presidential nominee

October 25, 1858 U.S. Senator William Seward (R-NY) describes Democratic Party as “inextricably committed to the designs of the slaveholders”; as President Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of State, helped draft Emancipation Proclamation

June 4, 1860 Republican U.S. Senator Charles Sumner (R-MA) delivers his classic address, The Barbarism of Slavery

April 7, 1862 President Lincoln concludes treaty with Britain for suppression of slave trade

April 16, 1862 President Lincoln signs bill abolishing slavery in District of Columbia; in Congress, 99% of Republicans vote yes, 83% of Democrats vote no

July 2, 1862 U.S. Rep. Justin Morrill (R-VT) wins passage of Land Grant Act, establishing colleges open to African-Americans, including such students as George Washington Carver

July 17, 1862 Over unanimous Democrat opposition, Republican Congress passes Confiscation Act stating that slaves of the Confederacy “shall be forever free”

August 19, 1862 Republican newspaper editor Horace Greeley writes Prayer of Twenty Millions, calling on President Lincoln to declare emancipation

August 25, 1862 President Abraham Lincoln authorizes enlistment of African-American soldiers in U.S. Army

September 22, 1862 Republican President Abraham Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation

January 1, 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, implementing the Republicans’ Confiscation Act of 1862, takes effect

February 9, 1864 Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton deliver over 100,000 signatures to U.S. Senate supporting Republicans’ plans for constitutional amendment to ban slavery

June 15, 1864 Republican Congress votes equal pay for African-American troops serving in U.S. Army during Civil War

June 28, 1864 Republican majority in Congress repeals Fugitive Slave Acts

October 29, 1864 African-American abolitionist Sojourner Truth says of President Lincoln: “I never was treated by anyone with more kindness and cordiality than were shown to me by that great and good man”

January 31, 1865 13th Amendment banning slavery passed by U.S. House with unanimous Republican support, intense Democrat opposition

March 3, 1865 Republican Congress establishes Freedmen’s Bureau to provide health care, education, and technical assistance to emancipated slaves

April 8, 1865 13th Amendment banning slavery passed by U.S. Senate with 100% Republican support, 63% Democrat opposition

June 19, 1865 On “Juneteenth,” U.S. troops land in Galveston, TX to enforce ban on slavery that had been declared more than two years before by the Emancipation Proclamation

November 22, 1865 Republicans denounce Democrat legislature of Mississippi for enacting “black codes,” which institutionalized racial discrimination

December 6, 1865 Republican Party’s 13th Amendment, banning slavery, is ratified

February 5, 1866 U.S. Rep. Thaddeus Stevens (R-PA) introduces legislation, successfully opposed by Democrat President Andrew Johnson, to implement “40 acres and a mule” relief by distributing land to former slaves

April 9, 1866 Republican Congress overrides Democrat President Johnson’s veto; Civil Rights Act of 1866, conferring rights of citizenship on African-Americans, becomes law

April 19, 1866 Thousands assemble in Washington, DC to celebrate Republican Party’s abolition of slavery

May 10, 1866 U.S. House passes Republicans’ 14th Amendment guaranteeing due process and equal protection of the laws to all citizens; 100% of Democrats vote no

June 8, 1866 U.S. Senate passes Republicans’ 14th Amendment guaranteeing due process and equal protection of the law to all citizens; 94% of Republicans vote yes and 100% of Democrats vote no

July 16, 1866 Republican Congress overrides Democrat President Andrew Johnson’s veto of Freedman’s Bureau Act, which protected former slaves from “black codes” denying their rights

July 28, 1866 Republican Congress authorizes formation of the Buffalo Soldiers, two regiments of African-American cavalrymen

July 30, 1866 Democrat-controlled City of New Orleans orders police to storm racially-integrated Republican meeting; raid kills 40 and wounds more than 150

January 8, 1867 Republicans override Democrat President Andrew Johnson’s veto of law granting voting rights to African-Americans in D.C.

July 19, 1867 Republican Congress overrides Democrat President Andrew Johnson’s veto of legislation protecting voting rights of African-Americans

March 30, 1868 Republicans begin impeachment trial of Democrat President Andrew Johnson, who declared: “This is a country for white men, and by God, as long as I am President, it shall be a government of white men”

May 20, 1868 Republican National Convention marks debut of African-American politicians on national stage; two – Pinckney Pinchback and James Harris – attend as delegates, and several serve as presidential electors

September 3, 1868 25 African-Americans in Georgia legislature, all Republicans, expelled by Democrat majority; later reinstated by Republican Congress

September 12, 1868 Civil rights activist Tunis Campbell and all other African-Americans in Georgia Senate, every one a Republican, expelled by Democrat majority; would later be reinstated by Republican Congress

September 28, 1868 Democrats in Opelousas, Louisiana murder nearly 300 African-Americans who tried to prevent an assault against a Republican newspaper editor

October 7, 1868 Republicans denounce Democratic Party’s national campaign theme: “This is a white man’s country: Let white men rule”

October 22, 1868 While campaigning for re-election, Republican U.S. Rep. James Hinds (R-AR) is assassinated by Democrat terrorists who organized as the Ku Klux Klan

November 3, 1868 Republican Ulysses Grant defeats Democrat Horatio Seymour in presidential election; Seymour had denounced Emancipation Proclamation

December 10, 1869 Republican Gov. John Campbell of Wyoming Territory signs FIRST-in-nation law granting women right to vote and to hold public office

February 3, 1870 After passing House with 98% Republican support and 97% Democrat opposition, Republicans’ 15th Amendment is ratified, granting vote to all Americans regardless of race

May 19, 1870 African-American John Langston, law professor and future Republican Congressman from Virginia, delivers influential speech supporting President Ulysses Grant’s civil rights policies

May 31, 1870 President U.S. Grant signs Republicans’ Enforcement Act, providing stiff penalties for depriving any American’s civil rights

June 22, 1870 Republican Congress creates U.S. Department of Justice, to safeguard the civil rights of African-Americans against Democrats in the South

September 6, 1870 Women vote in Wyoming, in FIRST election after women’s suffrage signed into law by Republican Gov. John Campbell

February 28, 1871 Republican Congress passes Enforcement Act providing federal protection for African-American voters

March 22, 1871 Spartansburg Republican newspaper denounces Ku Klux Klan campaign to eradicate the Republican Party in South Carolina

April 20, 1871 Republican Congress enacts the Ku Klux Klan Act, outlawing Democratic Party-affiliated terrorist groups which oppressed African-Americans

October 10, 1871 Following warnings by Philadelphia Democrats against black voting, African-American Republican civil rights activist Octavius Catto murdered by Democratic Party operative; his military funeral was attended by thousands

October 18, 1871 After violence against Republicans in South Carolina, President Ulysses Grant deploys U.S. troops to combat Democrat terrorists who formed the Ku Klux Klan

November 18, 1872 Susan B. Anthony arrested for voting, after boasting to Elizabeth Cady Stanton that she voted for “the Republican ticket, straight”

January 17, 1874 Armed Democrats seize Texas state government, ending Republican efforts to racially integrate government

September 14, 1874 Democrat white supremacists seize Louisiana statehouse in attempt to overthrow racially-integrated administration of Republican Governor William Kellogg; 27 killed

March 1, 1875 Civil Rights Act of 1875, guaranteeing access to public accommodations without regard to race, signed by Republican President U.S. Grant; passed with 92% Republican support over 100% Democrat opposition

September 20, 1876 Former state Attorney General Robert Ingersoll (R-IL) tells veterans: “Every man that loved slavery better than liberty was a Democrat… I am a Republican because it is the only free party that ever existed”

January 10, 1878 U.S. Senator Aaron Sargent (R-CA) introduces Susan B. Anthony amendment for women’s suffrage; Democrat-controlled Senate defeated it 4 times before election of Republican House and Senate guaranteed its approval in 1919

July 14, 1884 Republicans criticize Democratic Party’s nomination of racist U.S. Senator Thomas Hendricks (D-IN) for vice president; he had voted against the 13th Amendment banning slavery

August 30, 1890 Republican President Benjamin Harrison signs legislation by U.S. Senator Justin Morrill (R-VT) making African-Americans eligible for land-grant colleges in the South

June 7, 1892 In a FIRST for a major U.S. political party, two women – Theresa Jenkins and Cora Carleton – attend Republican National Convention in an official capacity, as alternate delegates

February 8, 1894 Democrat Congress and Democrat President Grover Cleveland join to repeal Republicans’ Enforcement Act, which had enabled African-Americans to vote

December 11, 1895 African-American Republican and former U.S. Rep. Thomas Miller (R-SC) denounces new state constitution written to disenfranchise African-Americans

May 18, 1896 Republican Justice John Marshall Harlan, dissenting from Supreme Court’s notorious Plessy v. Ferguson “separate but equal” decision, declares: “Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens”

December 31, 1898 Republican Theodore Roosevelt becomes Governor of New York; in 1900, he outlawed racial segregation in New York public schools

May 24, 1900 Republicans vote no in referendum for constitutional convention in Virginia, designed to create a new state constitution disenfranchising African-Americans

January 15, 1901 Republican Booker T. Washington protests Alabama Democratic Party’s refusal to permit voting by African-Americans

October 16, 1901 President Theodore Roosevelt invites Booker T. Washington to dine at White House, sparking protests by Democrats across the country

May 29, 1902 Virginia Democrats implement new state constitution, condemned by Republicans as illegal, reducing African-American voter registration by 86%

February 12, 1909 On 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, African-American Republicans and women’s suffragists Ida Wells and Mary Terrell co-found the NAACP

June 18, 1912 African-American Robert Church, founder of Lincoln Leagues to register black voters in Tennessee, attends 1912 Republican National Convention as delegate; eventually serves as delegate at 8 conventions

August 1, 1916 Republican presidential candidate Charles Evans Hughes, former New York Governor and U.S. Supreme Court Justice, endorses women’s suffrage constitutional amendment; he would become Secretary of State and Chief Justice

May 21, 1919 Republican House passes constitutional amendment granting women the vote with 85% of Republicans in favor, but only 54% of Democrats; in Senate, 80% of Republicans would vote yes, but almost half of Democrats no

April 18, 1920 Minnesota’s FIRST-in-the-nation anti-lynching law, promoted by African-American Republican Nellie Francis, signed by Republican Gov. Jacob Preus

August 18, 1920 Republican-authored 19th Amendment, giving women the vote, becomes part of Constitution; 26 of the 36 states to ratify had Republican-controlled legislatures

January 26, 1922 House passes bill authored by U.S. Rep. Leonidas Dyer (R-MO) making lynching a federal crime; Senate Democrats block it with filibuster

June 2, 1924 Republican President Calvin Coolidge signs bill passed by Republican Congress granting U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans

October 3, 1924 Republicans denounce three-time Democrat presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan for defending the Ku Klux Klan at 1924 Democratic National Convention

December 8, 1924 Democratic presidential candidate John W. Davis argues in favor of “separate but equal”

June 12, 1929 First Lady Lou Hoover invites wife of U.S. Rep. Oscar De Priest (R-IL), an African-American, to tea at the White House, sparking protests by Democrats across the country

August 17, 1937 Republicans organize opposition to former Ku Klux Klansman and Democrat U.S. Senator Hugo Black, appointed to U.S. Supreme Court by FDR; his Klan background was hidden until after confirmation

June 24, 1940 Republican Party platform calls for integration of the armed forces; for the balance of his terms in office, FDR refuses to order it

October 20, 1942 60 prominent African-Americans issue Durham Manifesto, calling on southern Democrats to abolish their all-white primaries

April 3, 1944 U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Texas Democratic Party’s “whites only” primary election system

August 8, 1945 Republicans condemn Harry Truman’s surprise use of the atomic bomb in Japan. The whining and criticism goes on for years. It begins two days after the Hiroshima bombing, when former Republican President Herbert Hoover writes to a friend that “[t]he use of the atomic bomb, with its indiscriminate killing of women and children, revolts my soul.”

February 18, 1946 Appointed by Republican President Calvin Coolidge, federal judge Paul McCormick ends segregation of Mexican-American children in California public schools

July 11, 1952 Republican Party platform condemns “duplicity and insincerity” of Democrats in racial matters

September 30, 1953 Earl Warren, California’s three-term Republican Governor and 1948 Republican vice presidential nominee, nominated to be Chief Justice; wrote landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education

December 8, 1953 Eisenhower administration Asst. Attorney General Lee Rankin argues for plaintiffs in Brown v. Board of Education

May 17, 1954 Chief Justice Earl Warren, three-term Republican Governor (CA) and Republican vice presidential nominee in 1948, wins unanimous support of Supreme Court for school desegregation in Brown v. Board of Education

November 25, 1955 Eisenhower administration bans racial segregation of interstate bus travel

March 12, 1956 Ninety-seven Democrats in Congress condemn Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education, and pledge to continue segregation

June 5, 1956 Republican federal judge Frank Johnson rules in favor of Rosa Parks in decision striking down “blacks in the back of the bus” law

October 19, 1956 On campaign trail, Vice President Richard Nixon vows: “American boys and girls shall sit, side by side, at any school – public or private – with no regard paid to the color of their skin. Segregation, discrimination, and prejudice have no place in America”

November 6, 1956 African-American civil rights leaders Martin Luther King and Ralph Abernathy vote for Republican Dwight Eisenhower for President

September 9, 1957 President Dwight Eisenhower signs Republican Party’s 1957 Civil Rights Act

September 24, 1957 Sparking criticism from Democrats such as Senators John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, President Dwight Eisenhower deploys the 82nd Airborne Division to Little Rock, AR to force Democrat Governor Orval Faubus to integrate public schools

June 23, 1958 President Dwight Eisenhower meets with Martin Luther King and other African-American leaders to discuss plans to advance civil rights

February 4, 1959 President Eisenhower informs Republican leaders of his plan to introduce 1960 Civil Rights Act, despite staunch opposition from many Democrats

May 6, 1960 President Dwight Eisenhower signs Republicans’ Civil Rights Act of 1960, overcoming 125-hour, around-the-clock filibuster by 18 Senate Democrats

July 27, 1960 At Republican National Convention, Vice President and eventual presidential nominee Richard Nixon insists on strong civil rights plank in platform

May 2, 1963 Republicans condemn Democrat sheriff of Birmingham, AL for arresting over 2,000 African-American schoolchildren marching for their civil rights

June 1, 1963 Democrat Governor George Wallace announces defiance of court order issued by Republican federal judge Frank Johnson to integrate University of Alabama

September 29, 1963 Gov. George Wallace (D-AL) defies order by U.S. District Judge Frank Johnson, appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower, to integrate Tuskegee High School

June 9, 1964 Republicans condemn 14-hour filibuster against 1964 Civil Rights Act by U.S. Senator and former Ku Klux Klansman Robert Byrd (D-WV), who still serves in the Senate

June 10, 1964 Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen (R-IL) criticizes Democrat filibuster against 1964 Civil Rights Act, calls on Democrats to stop opposing racial equality

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was introduced and approved by a staggering majority of Republicans in the Senate. The Act was opposed by most southern Democrat senators, several of whom were proud segregationists—one of them being Al Gore Sr. Democrat President Lyndon B. Johnson relied on Illinois Senator Everett Dirkson, the Republican leader from Illinois, to get the Act passed.

June 20, 1964 The Chicago Defender, renowned African-American newspaper, praises Senate Republican Leader Everett Dirksen (R-IL) for leading passage of 1964 Civil Rights Act

March 7, 1965 Police under the command of Democrat Governor George Wallace attack African-Americans demonstrating for voting rights in Selma, AL

March 21, 1965 Republican federal judge Frank Johnson authorizes Martin Luther King’s protest march from Selma to Montgomery, overruling Democrat Governor George Wallace

August 4, 1965 Senate Republican Leader Everett Dirksen (R-IL) overcomes Democrat attempts to block 1965 Voting Rights Act; 94% of Senate Republicans vote for landmark civil right legislation, while 27% of Democrats oppose

August 6, 1965 Voting Rights Act of 1965, abolishing literacy tests and other measures devised by Democrats to prevent African-Americans from voting, signed into law; higher percentage of Republicans than Democrats vote in favor

July 8, 1970 In special message to Congress, President Richard Nixon calls for reversal of policy of forced termination of Native American rights and benefits

September 17, 1971 Former Ku Klux Klan member and Democrat U.S. Senator Hugo Black (D-AL) retires from U.S. Supreme Court; appointed by FDR in 1937, he had defended Klansmen for racial murders

February 19, 1976 President Gerald Ford formally rescinds President Franklin Roosevelt’s notorious Executive Order authorizing internment of over 120,000 Japanese-Americans during WWII

September 15, 1981 President Ronald Reagan establishes the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, to increase African-American participation in federal education programs

June 29, 1982 President Ronald Reagan signs 25-year extension of 1965 Voting Rights Act

August 10, 1988 President Ronald Reagan signs Civil Liberties Act of 1988, compensating Japanese-Americans for deprivation of civil rights and property during World War II internment ordered by FDR

November 21, 1991 President George H. W. Bush signs Civil Rights Act of 1991 to strengthen federal civil rights legislation

August 20, 1996 Bill authored by U.S. Rep. Susan Molinari (R-NY) to prohibit racial discrimination in adoptions, part of Republicans’ Contract With America, becomes law

April 26, 1999 Legislation authored by U.S. Senator Spencer Abraham (R-MI) awarding Congressional Gold Medal to civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks is transmitted to President

January 25, 2001 U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee declares school choice to be “Educational Emancipation”

March 19, 2003 Republican U.S. Representatives of Hispanic and Portuguese descent form Congressional Hispanic Conference

May 23, 2003 U.S. Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) introduces bill to establish National Museum of African American History and Culture

February 26, 2004 Hispanic Republican U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-TX) condemns racist comments by U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL); she had called Asst. Secretary of State Roger Noriega and several Hispanic Congressmen “a bunch of white men...you all look alike to me”

Special thanks to RusterMaster over @ Freerepublic for the timeline...

Week 1 of the "Obama Presidency" - Be Very Afraid

2008-10-22T18:18:00.002-04:00

Latest video from TexasDarlin. Click the link above to go to TD Blog.

IOWAHAWK'S True Grit - Pure Genius

2008-10-22T01:05:00.003-04:00

Biden's Comments - They Are Serious And Worth Consideration

2008-10-21T09:34:00.012-04:00

UPDATE 10/22: Now Obama wants us ALL to believe that Joe Biden meant whomever the next President is...will be tested! Yeah I don't think so Barack funny how you guys say one thing to the public but as soon as your behind closed doors the truth comes out.

UPDATE: Madeline Albright agrees with Joe Biden's statements.

Obama supporters cheered when Biden was selected as the VP candidate because it helped minimized the lack of real world experience in Obama's life experience.

Now Biden has spoken what he believes is the truth and considering his foreign policy experience we need to take him seriously.

This is the most important consideration when deciding to vote in less than two weeks. Do you want this country tested?

If you want to encourage an international crisis when we are already extended in two wars and have troops deployed in several other hot spots, when our economy is so bad and unemployment rising quickly - then vote for Obama.

If not, then the choice is clear.

A vote for Obama is reckless, dangerous and irresponsible. Being patriotic isn't about paying more taxes it is about making choices that keeps our country safe and Americans proud!

The last time this happened we were on the verge of a nuclear war and we ended up with the Berlin wall and a much diminished president.

When you think about the this situation here is what Obama wants us to believe:

Obama will be ready for the crisis that he has caused!

Warming up for the party

2008-10-20T22:22:00.002-04:00

The Truth About Obama's and McCain's Economic Plans

2008-10-20T17:05:00.009-04:00

Rich Noyes over at NewsBusters has done a great job summarizing the McCain and Obama plans. This chart says it all. At the end of 10 years with McCain's plan we see an annual growth of GDP to just over $500 billion in contrast to Obama's plan which only achieves an annual growth rate of under $200 billion.

Why is this important? If you review my analysis below: GDP Analysis and Socialism.

You will see that our GDP per citizen in the United States is roughly $45,000 as compared to China with a GDP per citizen roughly $2500. Our total GDP is currently $13.8 trillion a year compared to China at $3.2 trillion a year. The entire world GDP is somewhere south of $60 trillion a year. It wouldn't take that much effort for China to increase their GDP to $6 or $7 trillion a year or more. As they move to a more capitalist marketplace their GDP will start to rise. Within 10 years it will be strategically important for the United States to have a strong annual GDP growth rate.

From Dr. Merrill Matthews, resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation

There are at least three necessary ingredients for jumpstarting a faltering economy. John McCain embraces all three; Barack Obama shuns them. It's just that simple.

Free Trade -- Economist Milton Friedman once said that of all the pro-growth policies a government should adopt, free trade is the most important. Former Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Alan Greenspan has said that taxing trade between countries makes no more economic sense than taxing trade between states.

McCain aggressively pushes free trade agreements. Obama, especially since pandering to the union vote in the Ohio and Pennsylvania primaries, talks like a protectionist and even opposes the Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

Low, simplified taxes -- McCain maintains the current tax rates on income, capital gains and dividends and cuts the corporate tax rate. Obama proposes numerous "tax cuts," many of which are nothing more than income transfers to people who don’t pay taxes. He would complicate the tax code and, because he's targeting the cuts, he gets to pick the economic winners and losers.

Reduced government spending and regulations -- According to the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, during the first session of the 110th Congress:

McCain sponsored or cosponsored 22 bills, which would have increased federal spending by $8 billion annually.
Obama sponsored or cosponsored 114 bills, increasing federal spending $75 billion annually.

That's a little more than $9 of government spending for Obama for every $1 for McCain.

Here are the key data points summarized by Rich. Please click the title above to visit his blog and read more.

GDP/OUTPUT

MCCAIN PLAN: GDP will be, on average, $283.7 billion higher over the 2009 to 2018 horizon. Real (inflation-adjusted) GDP growth is between 0.2 and 0.5 percent higher than the baseline. The expansion in the U.S. economy is largely due to the incentives to save and invest in productive capital and technology through reductions in capital gains and dividend taxes, and accelerated expensing of depreciation for capital purchases. These incentives are enhanced by a substantial reduction in the tax rate on corporate income, which lowers consumer costs and allows corporations to expand their investments.

OBAMA PLAN: GDP grows due to increased consumption. The level of output in the economy as measured by the GDP jumps by an average of $101.7 billion (after inflation) in Obama's plan. By 2018, the difference between baseline and the forecast is $187.2 billion in additional output, or about a 1.2 percent increase in the level of GDP. Nearly all of this increase stems from personal consumption expenditures. The consumption of households grows by an average of $146.9 billion, and government consumption expands by $6.6 billion. Indeed, household consumption outlays jump by $235.2 billion above baseline in 2018, and over the entire 10-year period average $146.9 billion above what they would have been without Senator Obama's plan. Net exports, however, fall by an average of $59 billion, indicating that imports (which subtract from GDP) grow more rapidly than exports did in his plan. Gross private domestic investment increases by an average of $4.2 billion.

JOBS/UNEMPLOYMENT

MCCAIN PLAN: Total employment increases an average of 2.13 million jobs over the next 10 years. Peak job increases over the baseline are 3.4 million additional jobs in 2018. The difference between the number of jobs Under the McCain plan and the baseline increases each year. The corporate income tax reductions and the incentives for saving and investment allow business owners to expand their operations and increase their investment in new equipment. Investment leads to expanded output that, in turn, increases personal incomes and employment.

OBAMA PLAN: Employment grows modestly. The Obama plan encourages job growth principally through boosting consumption. Average job increases equal 915,800 over the 10-year period. Private-sector employment averages 814,700 additional jobs. The difference between the two results equals public-sector employment growth above the baseline, or an average of 101,100 new government jobs per year. These numbers would have been bigger had the Senator not raised tax rates on upper-income taxpayers.

DISPOSABLE INCOME

MCCAIN PLAN: The McCain tax plan is projected to increase a person's disposable income as much as $2,438 above the baseline. A family of four is projected to have $9,750 more disposable income than the current baseline and an average of $5,138 more after-tax income than the baseline over the next 10 years.

OBAMA PLAN: Senator Obama's plan extends the Bush tax reductions for taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes below $250,000 a year, and this "hold harmless" provision in his plan causes higher after-tax incomes. For a family of four, disposable income (after inflation) rises by an average of $3,631 over the forecast horizon. By 2018, after-tax income has increased by $5,620.

PERSONAL SAVINGS

MCCAIN PLAN: McCain's tax plan provides support for greater levels of personal savings, a particularly important development given the tsunami of entitlement spending expected over the next five decades. The personal savings rate is 2.5 times higher than the baseline. In 2018, for instance, the baseline requires a personal savings rate of 2 percent of income. The McCain plan raises the rate to 4.9 percent of personal income. That increase in the rate translates to substantial increases in total savings. The baseline forecast requires an annual average level of personal savings of $3.1 billion (after inflation). The McCain plan raises that annual average to $212 billion, or a 68-fold increase over baseline levels.

OBAMA PLAN: The modest boosts to income stemming from the extension of the Bush tax reductions in Obama's plan lead to increased savings. Personal savings increase by an average $135 billion (after inflation) between 2009 and 2018.

Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights?

2008-10-20T14:15:00.010-04:00

An editorial from a Democrat from the far left of the country gets it. This is a great read and a breath of fresh air to read an honest and open viewpoint on the housing crisis and the state of journalism in the United States. I think it is important to remember that with an Obama election combined with a Pelosi controlled blank check Congress we are going to be faced with the resurrection of the Fairness Doctrine. That will only continue to erode the media and expand Government's influence on our media.

His article first appeared in The Rhinoceros Times of Greensboro, North Carolina.

Please click the link above to read more about Scott Card and the Meridian website.

Excerpts:

An open letter to the local daily paper — almost every local daily paper in America:

I remember reading All the President's Men and thinking: That's journalism. You do what it takes to get the truth and you lay it before the public, because the public has a right to know.

This housing crisis didn't come out of nowhere. It was not a vague emanation of the evil Bush administration.

It was a direct result of the political decision, back in the late 1990s, to loosen the rules of lending so that home loans would be more accessible to poor people. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were authorized to approve risky loans.

What is a risky loan? It's a loan that the recipient is likely not to be able to repay.

The goal of this rule change was to help the poor — which especially would help members of minority groups. But how does it help these people to give them a loan that they can't repay? They get into a house, yes, but when they can't make the payments, they lose the house — along with their credit rating.

They end up worse off than before.

This was completely foreseeable and in fact many people did foresee it. One political party, in Congress and in the executive branch, tried repeatedly to tighten up the rules. The other party blocked every such attempt and tried to loosen them.

Read the rest by clicking the title above.

Photo Credit: Bob Henderson, Henderson Photography, Inc.

Bar Stool Economics - Our Tax System Explained

2008-10-20T12:08:00.005-04:00

Over at Experimentum Crucis blog a post showed up on Friday the 17th about explaining our tax system through Bar Stool Economics. David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.Professor of Economics University of Georgia has a great way of explaining our tax system in this country. Here is the post but please click the title above to visit Experimentum Crucis.

Our Tax System Explained: Bar Stool Economics
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100.

If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.

'Since you are all such good customers,' he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.' Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers?

How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay. And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free.

But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

'I only got a dollar out of the $20,'declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!'

'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I got'

'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'

'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. - LOL

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks so the nine sat down and had beers without him.

But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works.

The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore.

In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier. David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.Professor of Economics University of Georgia

Joe Biden Say If You Vote For Barack Obama The USA Will Face a Major International Crisis By June 2009

2008-10-20T10:55:00.011-04:00

During a fundraiser in Seattle yesterday Biden made some incredibly insensate comments! Maybe these aren't just gaff's maybe Joe Biden's IQ isn't as high as he wants us all to believe!

First he predicted with 100% certainly that if America votes for Obama we will be tested by either the Middle East or Russia and in a most significant way. He says he has figured out at least 4 or 5 scenarios!

He goes on to tell the Obama supporters that Obama is going to need all their support during his first term and that many of the supporters will be wondering what the heck they did by voting for Obama since the polls about Obama's performance will be in the tank. He predicts that many in America will be wondering about Obama's decisions. He goes on to say that popular decisions are NOT sound!!!

He also goes on to claim we don't have the military capacity to dictate outcomes - which is basically Obamaspeak for we will come home as a defeated or compromised military. Biden in one sentence states our military is in-adequate but on the other hand wants to drastically cut military spending.

When Biden realized the media was in the room he stated: "I probably shouldn't have said all this because it dawned on me that the press is here"

Vote for Obama if you want the United States attacked in some way in the next 6 months guaranteed by Biden.
Vote for Obama if you want to accept unpopular decisions by our President - isn't that why we are voting for a new direction this time around? Is this a veiled indication that Obama plans on massive socialization agenda?
Vote for Obama if you want our military to approach situations with defeat as an option - that has to be most brilliant concept yet!!!

How can anyone in America hear these things and think Obama/Biden/Pelosi solution is good for this country?

We need to stop this socialist cabal before it's money sucking roots get any deeper in our country! Vote for proper change and change we can count on: McCain/Palin.

Can you imagine what the media would be saying if Sarah Palin said this?

Here are some excerpts from the article over at ABC News blogs. Kudos to ABC News for having the courage to report the truth.

Excerpts from article:
ABC News' Matthew Jaffe Reports: Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., on Sunday guaranteed that if elected, Sen. Barack Obama., D-Ill., will be tested by an international crisis within his first six months in power and he will need supporters to stand by him as he makes tough, and possibly unpopular, decisions.

"Mark my words," the Democratic vice presidential nominee warned at the second of his two Seattle fundraisers Sunday. "It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember I said it standing here if you don't remember anything else I said. Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy."

"I can give you at least four or five scenarios from where it might originate," Biden said to Emerald City supporters, mentioning the Middle East and Russia as possibilities. "And he's gonna need help. And the kind of help he's gonna need is, he's gonna need you.

He also quipped:
"I've forgotten more about foreign policy than most of my colleagues know, so I'm not being falsely humble with you. I think I can be value added, but this guy has it," the Senate Foreign Relations chairman said of Obama. "This guy has it. But he's gonna need your help. Because I promise you, you all are gonna be sitting here a year from now going, 'Oh my God, why are they there in the polls? Why is the polling so down? Why is this thing so tough?'

Then he continued...
"There are gonna be a lot of you who want to go, 'Whoa, wait a minute, yo, whoa, whoa, I don't know about that decision'," Biden continued. "Because if you think the decision is sound when they're made, which I believe you will when they're made, they're not likely to be as popular as they are sound. Because if they're popular, they're probably not sound."

Biden emphasized that the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border is of particular concern, with Osama bin Laden "alive and well" and Pakistan "bristling with nuclear weapons."

And then to cap it all off...
"We do not have the military capacity, nor have we ever, quite frankly, in the last 20 years, to dictate outcomes," he cautioned. "It's so much more important than that. It's so much more complicated than that. And Barack gets it."

And the best part...
After speaking for just over a quarter of an hour, Biden noticed the media presence in the back of the small ballroom.

"I probably shouldn't have said all this because it dawned on me that the press is here," he joked.

Click the title above to go to the original blog article over at ABC News...

Obama Breaks State Ethics Law as Senator - Where is the outrage?

2008-10-20T10:50:00.002-04:00

Over at Newsbusters they continue to do a great job exposing the media bias in this year's election. According to Obama's tax returns that were just recently released it seems he broke the Illinois State Ethics Law by taking payment for speeches while a serving as a State Senator.

Now we know how the media covered the Palin story...how come no one is hearing about this?

Apparently, as an Illinois state legislator through 2004, Barack was prohibited from taking honoraria for speaking under the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act

But what about Barack Obama’s 2000 and 2002 tax returns?

2000: On his 2000 Schedule C-EZ, Barack reported that he received $16,500 as a “Foundation director/Educational speaker.”

2001: On his 2001 Schedule C-EZ, Barack reported $98,158 from a Chicago law firm, Miner, Barnhill, for “Legal services/attorney” (and nothing for speaking)

2002: On his 2002 Schedule C, Barack reported $34,491 for “LEGAL SERVCES / SPEAKING FEES.”

These “speaking fees” are in addition to the amounts that Barack was paid as an employee, a lecturer at the University of Chicago, reported on the first page of his 1040s.

The videos that say it all

2008-10-19T14:57:00.011-04:00

All you have to do is watch these videos and make up your own mind.

A simple way to look at socialism compared to USA capitalism.

2008-10-19T10:57:00.019-04:00

A simple way to look at socialism compared to USA capitalism.

A non-scientific and very simple way to compare the impact of socialism by comparing nominal GDP, labor force and population of various countries. In my analysis I compare GDP (Gross Domestic Product), Population and Labor force between United States and 6 socialist countries. The choices were arbitrary but since we are always hearing France and Sweden are the models of socialism that work, I started researching there. I have included three of our most liberal states in the mix since they all have a lot of socialistic type programs and they are either failing or threatening to bankrupt the states. The states are California, Massachusetts and Hawaii.

I compare at a very high level the United States to China, Cuba, France, Norway, Sweden and Venezuela.

The following table defines the columns used in the following tables. I apologize in advance for the poor quality of the images - I was not able to covert my analysis document properly to html so I made image files out of my tables.

When you first compare the GDP per population and worker Norway really stands out as an excellent example of value. Two key elements of Norway to remember they are ranked 11th for QOL and they are basically the population size of Massachusetts. I have always thought that one of the biggest problems of socialism is the ability to scale to the size of the United States and to keep people incentivized to be productive and eager to succeed. When you look at how poorly China, Venezuela and Cuba are doing in regard to GDP and their QOL of standing it makes you wonder why they continue on their path.

France is an interesting example because on a comparison of GDP per worker they are on par with the USA and are 1 point ahead of us in QOL however when socialism is concerned it is more accurate to compare GDP to the total population since you have to take care of everybody. Once you do that then France takes a 16% hit on their GDP performance as compared to the USA. Additionally there population is twice that of California. When you compare California to France you start to see a bigger difference. Even though California is 50% the size in population to France when you look at the GDP between the two France is ranked 6th and if California were a country it would be 8th.

If our GDP was determined by France's GDP performance instead of having $13+ trillion in GDP we would be producing $11+ trillion. We would still be #1 in GDP however with our current deficits how would we ever make up an additional $2 trillion dollars?

If we would be able to scale Sweden or Norway there is a chance to increase our GDP under socialism however it is important to note that Sweden is 27th for QOL and Norway is 11th. Given the definite possibility that socialism cannot scale and cost to us all personally to have our QOL impacted so directly it probably just isn’t worth it.

As expected Sweden and Norway take a hit but that startling difference if China, Venezuela and Cuba adopted a capitalist approach to their markets it really gives you a sense in regard to China just how powerful they could become if they dumped their Communist ways. I think it is important to understand that socialism is the next step on the way to Communism so you can see the impact to our GDP if we move closer to a Euro-Socialist society like France and then ultimately into Communism.

This view is very simplistic but it gives you a bird’s eye view to the differences in GDP and QOL. If we had to scrap $2 trillion in our GDP to pick up 1 point in QOL to tie France, I think we all know the answer to that.

As we look at our upcoming election we have a clear choice. Do we move to a more tax intensive and blank check spending mentality we the Obama team takes us closer to a Euro-Socialist way of life or do we look to the McCain team to first fix what is broken on E Capitol Street and Wall-Street?

With this historic opportunity for the citizens of our great nation to affect change we could also push a McCain administration to seriously look at the FairTax proposal. It would be the greatest shift of power from our Government back to our people it would have a very dramatic effect on our GDP and economy as a whole.

One of most dramatic impacts of FairTax would be directly on our GDP. Our GDP would grow to a strong $23+ trillion dollar value that is a $9+ trillion dollar increase over our current GDP that is practically the entire deficit! We would be on par with Norway’s performance but with 6100% more population, we would be #1 QOL and #1 for businesses world-wide. This is what you call a no-brainer.

The choice is clear you have to pull the lever for McCain and then we all need to push the FairTax!

Information sources for post:

Colin Powell Plays The Race Card With His Vote

2008-10-19T09:56:00.005-04:00

Colin Powell has put his support behind Barack Obama today. Back in September while speaking at George Washington University, Colin Powell, the first African-American Secretary of State, said this afternoon that electing an African-American US president would be “electrifying” for the world.

He claims it isn't about race but obviously it is. I fully understand the excitement about the first African American candidate running for president but why is it called racial pride?

If Senator Byrd (D) said voting for a White American candidate would be "electrifying" for the world - what would that be called?

If 90% of the Whites in America voted for a "white" candidate what would that be called?

Until we can truly look past color including influential African Americans they will always perpetuate racism through their so called racial pride.

The fact of the matter racial pride is nothing more than racism - rationality through irrationality.

The irony of the Colin Powell decision is that if he had endorsed McCain he would have been called Uncle Tom by the same exact people he is supporting.

Unfortunately race has again dragged American politics down to a new low and lowered the bar to the point where we can see the election of these least qualified person ever to run for president who also happens to have deep and direct connections to American terrorist, Islamic radicals, Fannie Mae and ACORN.

In the same breath as saying Barack Obama would make a great president he couldn't pass up the opportunity to slight a white woman running for Vice President - Sarah Palin because he doesn't think she is ready to be president even though she has more relevant executive experience than Barack Obama does but she is missing the most important qualification: her skin color.

Obama connected to Sunrise Equities Scandal

2008-10-19T02:46:00.005-04:00

Tom Mannis over at the bench has released part 1 of his investigation into Sunrise Equities and Obama.

CHICAGO - Barack Obama has strong ties to a Chicago investment company that ripped off investors for a total of approximately $80 million. Sunrise Equities shut down in August when its CEO, Salman Ibrahim, and other top officers vanished. The money seems to have gone with them. Now, the Illinois Secretary of State and the FBI are investigating the scandal.

About 150 investors, mostly Muslim, learned in August that they had lost all of their savings to the Sunrise Equities fraud. Sunrise Equities, a shariah-compliant investment firm, targeted investors who were mostly Pakistani Muslim immigrants. Many the victims took out home-equity loans to make ends meet.

The Muslim Media Network (MMN) reported this on Sept. 11:

"According to latest reports coming from Chicago the management of Sunrise Equities and the affiliated Sunrise Constructions have disappeared after closing their offices. Sunrise CEO Salman Ibrahim, Vice President Amjed Mahmood, and Vice President (Community Relations) Mohammad Akbar Zahid are untraceable."

As financial scandals go, this one pales next to the implosions of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. However, to the hundreds of investors in Chicago who have been ruined by Sunrise Equities, the Fannie-Freddie mess might as well be in another galaxy. Salman Ibrahim and Sunrise Equities have ruined people here just as profoundly as any bank closing in the country has hurt others. Salman Ibrahim gained the trust of investors with the help of religious Muslim leaders, who approved of and even recommended investing with Sunrise Equities because it followed shariah rules, or Islamic law.

The Illinois Secretary of State and the FBI are investigating the scandal. Will Homeland Security be investigating this? After all, Ibrahim is a foreign national. Furthermore, he is rumored by many along the “Devon Corridor” of West Ridge to be a Taliban sympathizer.

The tragedy of Sunrise Equities has ripples throughout Chicago: A March 10, 2006 press release from Sunrise Equities bragged about a transaction in the nearby Uptown neighborhood:

"Sunrise Equities is pleased to announce the purchase of 4 parcels near the corner of Leland and Marine Drive. A yet unnamed project is under development and will be the largest project under the Sun Rise umbrella. The mixed use development plan will call for up to 150 condos and townhomes as well as community retail."

Click the link to read the entire story over at The Bench...

You also won't believe who is connected to sunrise Equities...yep Broadway Bank...now we come full circle with Rezko and friends...unbelievable

I AM JOE

2008-10-17T16:39:00.004-04:00

Latest from Iowahawk...

First, a pre-emptive apology for the intentional non-humor to follow. I promise that all future non-humor will be strictly unintentional.

We've all witnessed a lot of insanity in American politics over the last few years. Up until the last few days, none of it has seriously bothered me; hey, just more grist for the satire mill. But after witnessing the media's blitzkreig on Joe 'the Plumber' Wurzelbacher, I can only muster anger, and no small amount of fear.

Politicians -- Sarah Palin, Bill Clinton, et al. -- obviously have to put up with some rude, nasty shit, but it's right there in the jobs description. Joe the Plumber is different. He was a guy tossing a football with his kid in the front yard of his $125,000 house when a politician picked him out as a prop for a 30 second newsbite for the cable news cameras. Joe simply had the temerity to speak truth (or, if you prefer, an uninformed opinion) to power, for which the politico-media axis apparently determined that he must be humiliated, harassed, smashed, destroyed. The viciousness and glee with which they set about the task ought to concern anyone who still cares about citizen participation, and freedom of speech, and all that old crap they taught in Civics class before politics turned into Narrative Deathrace 3000, and Web 2.0 turned into Berlin 1932.0.

Godwin's Law! you say? if the jackboot fits, wear it.

If it's meta-memes and meta-meta-narratives these media headlice want, so be it. I hope you will join me in expressing a simple bit of solidarity with this guy, Spartacus style. I AM JOE. I am a Wal Mart schlub in flyover country who changes my own oil and unclogs drains without a license. I smoke and drink beer and toss the football in the front yard with my kid, and I figure I can fend my way without handouts from some Magic Messiah's candy bags. Most everyone in my family and most everyone I grew up with is another Joe, and if you screw with them, you screw with me.

Are you a Joe? Say it proud. Leave it on every goddamn newspaper comment section and online forum. Let these pressroom and online thugs know you won't stay silent when they try to destroy the life of a private citizen for speaking his mind -- because for every one of them, there are a million Joe Wurzelbachers. And for that we should all be thankful.

Special thanks to Iowahawk for his thoughtful insight on this situation!

McCain Defends the Plumber

2008-10-17T14:25:00.001-04:00

MCCAIN DEFENDS THE PLUMBER
REMARKS IN MIAMI, FL
Fri Oct 17 2008 13:45:02 ET

It's great to be here in Miami. Florida is a must-win state on November 4th, and with your help, we're going to win Florida, and bring change to Washington, DC. We had a good debate this week. You may have noticed-- there was a lot of talk about Senator Obama's tax increases and Joe the Plumber. Last weekend, Senator Obama showed up in Joe's driveway to ask for his vote, and Joe asked Senator Obama a tough question. I'm glad he did; I think Senator Obama could use a few more tough questions.

The response from Senator Obama and his campaign yesterday was to attack Joe. People are digging through his personal life and he has TV crews camped out in front of his house. He didn't ask for Senator Obama to come to his house. He wasn't recruited or prompted by our campaign. He just asked a question. And Americans ought to be able to ask Senator Obama tough questions without being smeared and targeted with political attacks.

The question Joe asked about our economy is important, because Senator Obama's plan would raise taxes on small businesses that employ 16 million Americans. Senator Obama's plan will kill those jobs at just the time when we need to be creating more jobs. My plan will create jobs, and that's what America needs.

Senator Obama says that he wanted to spread your wealth around. When politicians talk about taking your money and spreading it around, you'd better hold onto your wallet. Senator Obama claims that wants to give a tax break to the middle class, but not only did he vote for higher taxes on the middle class in the Senate, his plan gives away your tax dollars to those who don't pay taxes.

That's not a tax cut, that's welfare. America didn't become the greatest nation on earth by redistributing wealth; we became the greatest nation by creating new wealth.

This is the choice that we face. These are hard times. Our economy is in crisis. Americans are fighting in two wars. We face many enemies in this dangerous world, and many challenges here at home.

The next President won't have time to get used to the office. He won't have the luxury of studying up on the issues before he acts. He will have to act immediately. And to do that, he will need experience, courage, judgment and a bold plan of action to take this country in a new direction. We cannot spend the next four years as we have spent much of the last eight: waiting for our luck to change. We have to act immediately. I said it at the last debate: I'm not George Bush; if Senator Obama wants to run against George Bush, he should have run for President 4 years ago. We need a new direction now. We have to fight for it. I've been fighting for this country since I was seventeen years old, and I have the scars to prove it. If I'm elected President, I will fight to take America in a new direction from my first day in office until my last. I'm not afraid of the fight, I'm ready for it.

I'm not going to spend $700 billion dollars of your money just bailing out the Wall Street bankers and brokers who got us into this mess. I'm going to make sure we take care of the people who were devastated by the excesses of Wall Street and Washington. I'm going to spend a lot of that money to bring relief to you, and I'm not going to wait sixty days to start doing it.

I have a plan to protect the value of your home and get it rising again by buying up bad mortgages and refinancing them so if your neighbor defaults he doesn't bring down the value of your house with him.

I have a plan to let retirees and people nearing retirement keep their money in their retirement accounts longer so they can rebuild their savings. I will protect Social Security so that retirees get the benefits they have earned, and I will bring both parties together to fix Social Security so that it is there for future generations.

I have a plan to hold the line on taxes and cut them to make America more competitive and create jobs here at home.

Raising taxes makes a bad economy much worse. Keeping taxes low creates jobs, keeps money in your hands and strengthens our economy.

The explosion of government spending over the last eight years has put us deeper in debt to foreign countries that don't have our best interests at heart. It weakened the dollar and made everything you buy more expensive.

If I'm elected President, I won't spend nearly a trillion dollars more of your money, on top of the $700 billion we just gave the Treasury Secretary, as Senator Obama proposes. Because he can't do that without raising your taxes or digging us further into debt. I'm going to make government live on a budget just like you do.

I will freeze government spending on all but the most important programs like defense, veterans care, Social Security and health care until we scrub every single government program and get rid of the ones that aren't working for the American people. And I will veto every single pork barrel bill Congresses passes.

If I'm elected President, I won't fine small businesses and families with children, as Senator Obama proposes, to force them into a new huge government run health care program, while he keeps the cost of the fine a secret until he hits you with it. I will bring down the skyrocketing cost of health care with competition and choice to lower your premiums, and make it more available to more Americans. I'll make sure you can keep the same health plan if you change jobs or leave a job to stay home.

I will provide every single American family with a $5000 refundable tax credit to help them purchase insurance. Workers who already have health care insurance from their employers will keep it and have more money to cover costs. Workers who don't have health insurance can use it to find a policy anywhere in this country to meet their basic needs.

If I'm elected President, I won't raise taxes on small businesses, as Senator Obama proposes, and force them to cut jobs. I will keep small business taxes where they are, help them keep their costs low, and let them spend their earnings to create more jobs.

If I'm elected President, I won't meet unconditionally with the Castro brothers, while they keep political prisoners in jail, stifle free media and block free elections in Cuba. When I am President, we are going to pressure the Cuban government to free their people. The day is coming when Cuba will be free. I will open new markets to goods made in America and make sure our trade is free and fair. And I'll make sure we help workers who've lost a job that won't come back find a new one that won't go away.

If I'm elected President, I won't make it harder to sell our goods overseas and kill more jobs as Senator Obama proposes. I will open new markets to goods made in America and make sure our trade is free and fair. And I'll make sure we help workers who've lost a job that won't come back find a new one that won't go away.

The last President to raise taxes and restrict trade in a bad economy as Senator Obama proposes was Herbert Hoover. That turned a recession into a depression. They say those who don't learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. Well, my friends, I know my history lessons, and I sure won't make the mistakes Senator Obama will.

If I'm elected President, we're going to stop sending $700 billion to countries that don't like us very much. I won't argue to delay drilling for more oil and gas and building new nuclear power plants in America, as Senator Obama does. We will start new drilling now. We will invest in all energy alternativesÊ-- nuclear, wind, solar, and tide. We will encourage the manufacture of hybrid, flex fuel and electric automobiles. We will invest in clean coal technology. We will lower the cost of energy within months, and we will create millions of new jobs.

Let me give you the state of the race today. We have 18 days to go. We're 6 points down. The national media has written us off. Senator Obama is measuring the drapes, and planning with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to raise taxes, increase spending, take away your right to vote by secret ballot in labor elections, and concede defeat in Iraq. But they forgot to let you decide. My friends, we've got them just where we want them.

What America needs in this hour is a fighter; someone who puts all his cards on the table and trusts the judgment of the American people. I come from a long line of McCains who believed that to love America is to fight for her. I have fought for you most of my life. There are other ways to love this country, but I've never been the kind to do it from the sidelines.

I know you're worried. America is a great country, but we are at a moment of national crisis that will determine our future. Will we continue to lead the world's economies or will we be overtaken? Will the world become safer or more dangerous? Will our military remain the strongest in the world? Will our children and grandchildren's future be brighter than ours?

My answer to you is yes. Yes, we will lead. Yes, we will prosper. Yes, we will be safer. Yes, we will pass on to our children a stronger, better country. But we must be prepared to act swiftly, boldly, with courage and wisdom.

I know what fear feels like. It's a thief in the night who robs your strength. I know what hopelessness feels like. It's an enemy who defeats your will. I felt those things once before. I will never let them in again. I'm an American. And I choose to fight.

Don't give up hope. Be strong. Have courage. And fight.

Fight for a new direction for our country. Fight for what's right for America. Fight to clean up the mess of corruption, infighting and selfishness in Washington.

Fight to get our economy out of the ditch and back in the lead.

Fight for the ideals and character of a free people.

Fight for our children's future.

Fight for justice and opportunity for all.

Stand up to defend our country from its enemies.

Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. America is worth fighting for. Nothing is inevitable here. We never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.

Now, let's go win this election and get this country moving again.

2008-10-16T19:44:00.004-04:00

From ThePeoplesCube.com

Campaign poster by Gloucester over at Free Republic...this is very funny! Joe the Plumber is showing up everywhere! Now it is the campaign of Plumbers and Hockey Mom's.

Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, and Barack Obama -- Connecting the Dots

2008-10-15T14:21:00.002-04:00

Paul over @ powerline has a great post about Wright,Ayers and Obama. You can comment on it over at powerline just click the link above.

At one level, the connection between Jeremiah Wright (Barack Obama's spiritual mentor) and William Ayers (Obama's political ally) is apparent. After all, Ayers set out to bring "America's chickens home to roost" decades before Wright applied that phrase to 9/11.

But now Stanley Kurtz has demonstrated a more concrete connection, and one that implicates Obama directly, not just through "association." Kurtz's review of documents from the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC) -- the education foundation Obama and Ayers jointly led for a time during the 1990s -- has established that "Barack Obama knowingly and persistently funded an educational project that shared the extremist and anti-American philosophy of Jeremiah Wright."

There are two elements here: (1) the funding by the CAC of projects that shared Wright's anti-American philosophy and (2) Obama's knowledge that this was the nature of the projects his outfit was funding.

As to the first element, Kurtz found, among other things, that CAC funded teacher training programs based on the curriculum of the South Shore African Village Collaborative (SSAVC). Kurtz explains that the mission of SSAVC is to provide "a social and cultural 'inoculation' process that facilitates healthy, African-centered development among African American youth and protects them against the ravages of a racist, sexist, capitalist, and oppressive society." In this view, American values "have confused African American people and oriented them toward American definitions of achievement and success and away from traditional African values." This process has "proven to be dysfuntional and genocidal to the African American community." The answer, in part, is an adolescent rites of passage movement, designed "to provide African American youth with the cultural information and values they would need to counter the potentially detrimental effects of a Eurocentrically oriented society."

The connection between this philosophy and that of Rev. Wright is apparent. As Kurtz puts it:

We hear echoes of [the educational philosophy underpinning the SVVAC] in Wright's distinction between "right brained" Africans and "left brained" Europeans, in Wright's fears of U.S. government-sponsored genocide against American blacks, and in Wright's embittered attacks on America's indelibly white-supremacist history.

It is not surprising, therefore that prominent members of the "Afrocentric," rites of passage movement spoke at Wright's church during the late 1980s and 1990s. Obama missed church on these occasions, no doubt.

But Obama was right in the middle of the process through which tens of thousands of dollars were funneled by CAC into SVACC teacher training programs. In 1995, the year Obama assumed control of CAC, he publicly rejected "the unrealistic politics of integrationist assimilation," thereby embracing the Afrocentirc educational philosophy of the SVACC, Wright, and Ayers. And according to Kurtz, it is clear from the documents that Obama reviewed and commented on proposals to fund the training programs of SVACC, including the African rites of passage based programs. As one would hope, Obama encountered resistance from his own board to attempting to improve the education of African-Americans by orienting them away from "American definitions of achievement and success." But he managed to keep the money flowing.

We've noted in the past that CAC's own evaluators found that Annenberg-aided schools showed no improvement in achievement scores. The miracle is that scores did not decline.

In what I believe was his only stint running anything (other than the Harvard Law Review), Barack Obama wasted more than $100 million that could have been used to improve the education of disadvantaged students. And he did so in order to advance an extremist, anti-American agenda. The people of Chicago can only wish that Bill Ayers had just been somebody who lived in Obama's neighborhood and that Jeremiah Wright was just an eccentric uncle.

A picture worth a 1000 words

2008-10-15T12:21:00.002-04:00

Glenn Beck talks with McCain about ACORN

2008-10-15T12:01:00.003-04:00

EXCERPT - Click on link above for full article.

GLENN: We have Senator John McCain on with us now. Welcome, Senator, welcome to the program. How are you, sir?

SENATOR McCAIN: I'm just fine, Glenn. How are you?

GLENN: I'm very good. I noticed today, breaking news, that in Florida ACORN has registered Mickey Mouse. I'm wondering if you are going to go for the mouse vote.

SENATOR McCAIN: Well, frankly some people, having worked in congress for some period of time, I prefer Goofy. But the fact is this ACORN thing is something that's been done before in the 2004 elections and 2006 elections and other elections, and it needs a full and complete investigation, and Senator Obama's ties to ACORN need to be known to everybody as well.

GLENN: In the House and the Senate, the President signed it, a bill over the summer actually gives now 4% of our mortgages. If you sign a new mortgage, 4% goes to fund ACORN. How did this happen?

SENATOR McCAIN: The way these things happen, I don't know if you recall but when this first rescue plan or bailout bill, whichever one you call it, was first developed before I came back from Washington, ACORN was going to get something like 20% of the additional funds that would eventually be raised thanks to Chris Dodd and the Democrats who had protected Fannie and Freddie and have been advocates of this forcing banks to extend home loan mortgage money to people that couldn't afford to pay it back. That's one of the major, the major factors in this housing crisis which then, of course, led to this meltdown. People, the pressures, enormous pressure from congress, the Community Reinvestment Act which basically set corridors for lending money to people that couldn't afford to pay it back and mortgages which were sooner or later going to go under. Meanwhile their executives, as you know, took 10, 20, 30, $50 million in compensation. It's one of the great scandals in American history.

Obama Sued Citibank under CRA to Force it to Make Bad Loans

2008-10-15T07:30:00.004-04:00

Do you remember how we told you that the Democrats and groups associated with them leaned on banks and even sued to get them to make bad loans under the Community Reinvestment Act which was a factor in causing the economic crisis (see HERE ) … well look at what some fellow bloggers have dug up while researching Obama’s legal career. Looks like a typical ACORN lawsuit to get banks to hand out bad loans.

In these lawsuits, ACORN makes a bogus claim of Redlining (denying poor people loans because of their ethnic heritage). They protest and get the local media to raise a big stink. This stink means that the bank faces thousands of people closing their accounts and get local politicians to lobby to stop the bank from doing some future business, expansions and mergers. If the bank goes to court, they will win, but the damage is already done because who is going to launch a big campaign to get the bank’s reputation back?

It is important to understand the nature of these lawsuits and what their purpose is. ACORN filed tons of these lawsuits and ALL of them allege racism.

Thanks to the IUSB Vision Weblog for providing additional details of this story.

We pulled the docket down, but here’s a brief for your summary:

(CLICK LINK ABOVE TO READ THE WHOLE STORY AND SEE DOCKET)

Barack Obama's ACORN Tree

2008-10-15T07:23:00.001-04:00

The MSM's (Poll) Cooking Show

2008-10-14T16:42:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Titus over @ FR for putting together this information. It is an interesting read for sure.

I apologize in advance because this email may be a little longer, but it has some very important information that you need to know if you've been following the election in the MSM (mainstream media) even just a little. Please read this all the way through. If you've followed the news, by now you are aware that John McCain is down in the polls. Way down. Hideously down, so far down that he will never, ever, not in a million years possibly recover from the abyss into which his campaign has slipped. For the past two weeks, poll after national poll has shown Obama leading anywhere from 5-10%. Today's Battleground Poll has Obama up by 13 points. McCain's slipping behind in all the battleground states, and Obama is headed for a massive, Reagan-style landslide victory on Nov. 4. It sure looks hopeless for Senator McCain!

Right?

Wrong. What you are seeing is called "cooking the polls". And here's how it works.

We all know that the MSM - the conglomeration of major TV networks, newspapers, weekly news magazines, etc. - are very, very, very, very, very much in the tank for Obama this year. They're not even making a pretense at objectivity this time around. It's so bad that people from other countries, who basically know nothing about our political system, have commented to me that the media are overtly biased towards Obama and the Democrats. That's how bad it is. Well, the first thing to keep in mind is that pretty much all of the major polling houses - Rasmussen, Gallup, Zogby, Battleground, and so forth - are a part of this MSM conglomeration. Many times, they are headed by Democrats, or by people who at least sympathize with leftist politics, and nearly always they have a financial interest in providing the "right" results and keeping the news entities happy. The polling houses hook up with the media outlets, because the media outlets are the ones most willing to pay for polls to be produced - this generates a steady stream of reportable news every three-four days for the talking heads to analyse at length, which helps to keep interest (and viewership/readership) high. Did you ever notice how many polls include LA Times/CBS/NBC/Fox News/Chicago Tribune/ABC/Time or other news outlets in their titles? That's because of this MSM-polling house dance.

Now, since we know the MSM is in the tank for Obama, and since we know that the polling houses are often led and staffed by people sympathetic to Democrats anywise, and since we know that the polling houses are often hooked up more or less directly with the MSM, it stands to reason that there would be a certain slant to the polls being produced and reported by the MSM, would it not? And indeed there IS a slant - towards Obama and the Democrats.

But guess what? This isn't just my opinion, it's not just a hunch. It's verifiable from the polls themselves.

One lesson we should all learn about the polls we see reported in the MSM is to look at what are called the "internals" of the poll - the reported demographic and partisan breakdowns of the respondents, and the proportional weights being attached to each which are used to calculate the final "result" of the poll. While race and age are important as weighting factors, the one we see being monkeyed with the most in recent polling is the partisan breakdown. Essentially, what a pollster does is "weighs" the data he or she receives from the respondents who answer his or her questions. This weighting depends on what the pollster perceives to be the "right" partisan breakdown for a state or for the national scene. Usually, this just involves getting X number of respondents who are Republicans, Y who are Dems, and Z who are Independents, and using their data.

Seems logical, right? If I'm a pollster, and I want a more accurate poll, if I'm polling a state where the partisan breakdown is 35% D - 33% R - 32% I, then I will try to obtain a data set which mimics that breakdown as closely as possible (and will, at the same time, try to do the same thing with gender, age, and race for the target population). Well, it IS logical, and would work reasonably well - within the margin of error inherent in any statistical sample.

The problem - and this is my point - is that the polls we are seeing coming out with huge Obama leads, do not mirror demographic or partisan reality at all.

Newsbusters.org has an excellent article detailing with this sort of polling trickery, which I'll link to and also excerpt below:

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2008/10/02/cooking-ap-polls-radically-changes-party-mix-fabricate-obama-trend

---------------------------------------------------------

In the kitchens of the Associated Press, it's almost as if the wire service asked its chief cook -- er, pollster -- GfK Roper Public Affairs and Media, to do the following:

* Whip up a tasty, representative poll after the Republican Convention.

* Three weeks later, make the same dish, but this time adjust the mix of ingredients by radically oversampling Democrats and under sampling Republicans, thereby creating a false illusion of momentum in the campaign of Barack Obama, and of decline in John McCain's.

* Hope people don't notice the changes in the recipe.

Of course we don't know if the differences between AP-CfK's Sept. 5-10 and Sept. 27-30 results were created deliberately, but the results sure look suspicious (both polls are available at PDF links found at AP-GfK's home page).

The more recent poll shows Obama with a 7-point lead among likely voters, both with and without leaners; the earlier poll showed McCain with a 5-point lead with leaners, and 4 points without.

Almost all of this 12-point swing (11 points with leaners) is more than likely almost completely due to major differences between the two polls' samples:

---------------------------------------------------------

Blumer then proceeds to point out the huge change in partisan breakdown between the poll taken Sept 5-10, and the one taken Sept. 27-30, and shows the latter poll's internals for party as a picture in his article (click the URL to see). You may access the internals for both polls to see for yourself by clicking the link embedded in the portion I excerpted. Essentially, in the Sept 5-10 poll, the partisan breakdown was 33% D - 31% R, which is pretty accurate - even this year, the Democrats only have a ~2% advantage in voter registration, a trend which follows actual exit polls from 2006 and 2004.

Lo and behold, in the Sept. 27-30 poll, the partisan breakdown suddenly became 40% D - 29% R. What DIDN'T happen is that millions of people suddenly up and switched party affiliations. Rather, what DID happen is that the Associated Press altered the "mix" of voters whose data were included in formulating the poll. Essentially, the Republicans went from a 2% deficit (right) to an 11% deficit (wrong) in partisan affiliation.

The result - predictably - is that (with leaners included), McCain went from winning by 5% to losing by 7%. That's a 12% net change. Now, isn't it interesting how this 12% net change is almost exactly the same amount as the net change in party affiliation difference? Blumer calculates that, if the partisan ratio had been the same in the latter poll, that McCain would have been up 3-4%. Essentially, the AP invented a poll to show Obama way ahead.

Friends, that is the polling equivalent of Mama's home cookin'.

But guess what? This isn't the only poll that's found it's way through a MSM kitchen. I've looked at the internals for a NUMBER of different polls over the past couple of weeks, and they all seem to have the same trend - oversampling of Democrats and under sampling of Republicans. I've seen it so many times in the past week that it's a truism for me now. Let me point out one example from last Friday. Newsweek published a poll on 10 Oct which showed Obama with an 11 point lead (52%-41%). Click on http://www.newsweek.com/id/163337 to see the poll, there will be an Adobe acrobat file with the internals that will pop up automatically. The demographic profile on pg. 19 of the Adobe file is the information of interest. Notice that we see a partisan breakdown of 40% D - 27% R in registered voters who were polled. That's a 13% divide - a lot different from the roughly 2% divide that actually exists nationally.

Folks, this is why we're seeing the slew of terrible polling for McCain for the past two-three weeks. The media are trying to generate momentum for Obama. The MSM is trying to convince voters that the recent economic problems are causing McCain trouble and benefiting Obama, when (if the polls were actually accurate) this is probably not the case.

Just over the past two days, I've seen some pretty ridiculous polling claims by the MSM. They've claimed Obama is up by 15 in Pennsylvania, even though all the evidence on the ground says otherwise. They've claimed Obama is leading in WV, which is patently ridiculous. One poll came out today saying that Obama is leading in North Dakota - a state Bush won by 27% in 2004. A poll yesterday said Obama is leading in Missouri by 8%. Folks, I spend over the first two thirds of my life in Missouri, living in both rural and suburban settings, so I know the state. Obama is NOT ahead by 8% in Missouri.

There is MSM-driven poll cooking going on, folks, and the purpose is to try to demoralize people who would vote for McCain, trying to get us to not come out and vote on Nov. 4. Don't buy into it. The MSM is trying to hoodwink us, trying to make us think that Obama is "inevitable", when he is anything but. Please, get out and vote McCain on Election Day, get your friends and family to come out for McCain, get anyone you can who will vote for McCain to come out, even if you have to drive them yourself. We need to overcome the ACORN vote fraud, the Democrat dead people's vote, and the MSM poll-cooking and win one for the country!

HOW ACORN & ITS DEM ALLIES BUILT THE MORTGAGE DISASTER

2008-10-14T09:32:00.005-04:00

Hopefully the sheeple in this country will wake up and understand how we entered into this current financial disaster. If we don't understand how this happened and what we need to change to prevent it - it will just come back and bite us.

At the center of all the CRA driven bad loans is ACORN. This extreme activist organization supported strongly by the far left and specifically Obama has been a major factor in the destruction of our housing market. Their story goes back to 1995 with their extreme protests which put a lot of them in jail however the liberal left ran to their rescue:

The following is an excerpt from the article:

With the hearing interrupted and the demonstrators refusing to leave, Roukema called the Capital Police, who arrested Hurd and four others for "disorderly conduct in a Capital building" - a charge carrying a penalty of a $500 fine, six months in prison or both. As the police arrived, two of the protesters menacingly approached Roukema's desk, still demanding the hearing microphone.

Requests to the Capital Police to release the activists from Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass,) failed. Then Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) showed up at the jail and refused to leave until the protesters were released; the Capital Police relented.

Meanwhile, instead of repudiating ACORN's intimidation tactics, Rep. Kennedy berated Roukema for arresting one of his constituents and accused the Republicans of preparing for "an all-out attack on CRA." He also promised to introduce legislation to expand the CRA's coverage to mortgage bankers and large credit unions.

THIS little slice of political life from 1995 had a variety of ripple effects. Above all, ACORN's intimidation tactics, and its alliance with Democrats in Congress, triumphed. Despite their 1994 takeover of Congress, Republicans' attempts to pare back the CRA were stymied.

Instead, Democrats like Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Reps. Kennedy and Waters allied with the Clinton administration to broaden the acceptability of risky subprime loans throughout the financial system, thus precipitating our current crisis.

ACORN had come to Congress not only to protect the CRA from GOP reforms but also to expand the reach of quota-based lending to Fannie, Freddie and beyond. By steamrolling the GOP that March, it had crushed the last potential barrier to "change."

It is a good read and we need to understand how this happened so we an ensure it won't happen again.

'I've lost faith in The Messiah': How EDWARD HEATHCOAT AMORY lost his Obama-mania

2008-10-13T22:27:00.002-04:00

This is a story of how Edward was completely sucked into Obama-mania and then he got a chance to read David Freddoso's book "The Cast Against Brack Obama". Its a short read and it didn't take long for Edward to snap out his fascination with Obama.

I also hear Edward isn't putting on camo pants anymore and doing that crazy line dance chanting Obamaminations.

Nice to see someone waking up and returning from the land of the sheeple.

Timeline of Barack Obama's Radical Relationships

2008-10-13T14:31:00.003-04:00

UPDATE: Complete Obama Timeline

Special thanks to savvyguy over at FreeRepublic for putting the pieces together not withstanding some of his harsh adjectives. All in all it presents a pretty clear picture of what Obama has been doing and who truly influences his life.

1970, Obama’s grandfather introduced him to Frank Marshall Davis when Obama was ten, Obama had an admitted relationship with a father mentor figure, someone who was publicly identified as a member of the Communist Party USA. Obama never disputed this relationship.

1975-1979- Frank Davis was Obama’s mentor during the critical years. (AIM) 1980- Both terrorists William Ayers & wife Bernadine Dohrn were in hiding until December, 1980.

1979-1981- He attended Occidental college and tried drugs. It was at Occidental where he stopped being called “Barry” and became Barack . Professor Roger Boesche became Barack’s '1983's intellectual political mentor at Occidental.
Obama’s first public speech was at Occidental, sponsored by the Students for Economic Democracy, a branch of the Campaign for Economic Democracy, chaired by Radical Tom Hayden.

1981-1983.- Professor Steve Diamond believes the origin of Obama’s ties to Weatherman Underground terrorists William Ayers and his wife. could be traced back at least to Occidental College.

Is it just a coincidence that Obama and Ayers were at Columbia together? A plethora of anti-American rallies took place there. Both admit to attending these rallies. Ayers studying for his M.Ed in Early Childhood Education and Obama his B.A. in political science..They are LIKELY to have met.

There is strong evidence now that Obama’s DREAM was written by a ghost writer- Ayers! Similarity between their writings and phrases used! (Freerepublic) Early 1980s -Carter national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski became the candidate's "guru and controller" while at Columbia. Brzezinski is Obama’s foreign policy advisor.

In his “Dreams From My Father”, he reveals that at Columbia he “went to socialist conferences …in Brooklyn.”

1983, worked as Full time organizer in Harlem, New York 19851988- he began working as a community organizer in Chicago, working for an Alinskyite group called the Developing Communities Project. a subsidiary of Gamaliel, with McKnight as a board director. Alinsky was the “father of community organizing” and a notorious far-leftist. Later Obama himself taught workshops on the Alinsky method. Professor John L. Mckight, a Marxist follower of Alinsky, and former ACLU director, mentored Obama on the agitation tactics of Alinsky, who wrote the organizing manual, “Rules for Radicals,” which he dedicated to mankind’s “very first radical, Lucifer.” Under McKnight , Obama says he got the “best education I ever had, better than anything I got at Harvard Law School.” (remark in 2007 while campaigning in Iowa). “My views are not so much more refined than they were when I labored in obscurity as a community organizer,” Obama wrote in his 2006 autobiography.

Mid 1980s, Obama worked with ACORN and Project Vote. 1987 William Ayers links up with Obama in Chicago 1988 Ayers solicits Khalid Al-Mansour to raise money for Obama’s Harvard law School education

Fall, 1988- went to Harvard and took advanced training at the Industrial Areas Foundation, a group founded by Alinsky

1988- he joined racist, America hating Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s Trinity Church of Christ in Chicago and one Sunday was brought to tears by Rev. Wright’s “Audacity of Hope” sermon. Wright admittedly became his mentor and spiritual advisor for the next 20 years.

1988- The ABCs Coalition was coordinated by Bill Ayers, whose father was a key member of ABC. Another member of the ABCs was Obama’s Developing Communities Project.. The two must have crossed paths again.

1988- In his "Why Organize?" essay, Obama planned to politically organize "liberationist" black churches. He saw the black church as a slumbering giant in cities like Chicago.

1989 Tom Ayers (father) and William Ayers got Obama a summer job at Sidley & Austin (where he meets Michelle Obama); Ayers’ wife Dohrn also worked there the same time.
April, 1992- Obama, Ayers & Dohrn had their documented public gathering sponsored by the U. of Illinois, Chicago 1992 - Obama graduates from Harvard and returns to Chicago

1992, Obama became director of Project Vote, Illinois.

1992-New Party was founded- a Marxist political coalition whose objective was to endorse and elect leftist officials — mostly Democrats. They want to move the Democratic Party leftward.

1993-2004 worked as associate in Chicago Law firm. In time, the job would bring him support from slum landlords. Remember Rezco?

1993 Ayers places Obama on Woods Foundation, which gave sizable grants to ACORN, Rev. Wright’s church , etc. 1995 -publishes “Dreams From my father”

1995 Ayers made Obama Chairman of Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC)

1995-1999- Obama served as President of CAC

1999-2001- Obama served as Board of Director, CAC After CAC closed down, Obama served on a successor group called the Leadership Council of the Chicago Public Schools Education Fund. Ayers’ brother John and their father Thomas served with Obama. By now, news all over about Ayer’s boasts of his terrorist acts.

1995 Ayers hosts a coffee fundraiser for Obama’s political debut (Obama falsely claims this is when he first met Ayers when he has met him AT LEAST 8 years earlier!) -Chicago Times interview: 10-7-08 Lynn Sweet Obama’s advisor, Axelrod , claim that Obama did not know Ayers’ history when he went to his home (Fox interviews, Oct. 08)

1996-Ayers began to contribute money to Obama’s campaign. How is it possible that Obama in writing two autobiographies could ignore his 13 year-long association with Ayers if he were not purposely trying to hide it?

1996, Ayers played a significant role within the Democratic party in Chicago. Democrats were proud to be allied with him. ( Chicago Tribune, Aug 27, 1996) David Lytel, who set up President Clinton's Web site said,” There is a lot of room for different ideas in progressive politics, and we're proud to be associated with Bernardine Dohrn and Bill Ayers," Ayers & , Henry DeZutter consider themselves "The Progressive Wing of the Democratic Party hasn't gone underground. . . . We're on the Internet!"

1995- Obama, along with Rev.Wright, helped organize the Farrakhan’s famous Million Man March in DC. Farrakhan is a longtime friend of Wright and comrade of Michael Pfleger. Yeah, birds of the feathers flock together! It's evident that the liberationist preachers were also Obama’s valued political allies.
1995- he sued, on behalf of ACORN, for the implementation of the Motor Voter law in Illinois. ACORN later invited Obama to help train its staff on how to shake down banks.

1995- Obama sought the New Party’s (socialistic) endorsement for his 1996 state senate run. Democratic Socialists of America founded the "New Party" He got it and he used New Party volunteers as campaign workers. The New Party rigorously evaluated its candidate endorsements & Obama HAD to sign a contract that he agrees with its goals! The contract mandates that they must have a visible and active relationship with the NP

1997-Ayers published his radical book, A Kind and Just Parent, in which he brags of his terrorist acts

Dec 97, Obama wrote a positive review of Ayers's book in the Chicago Tribune the following month. He did not know Ayer’s past?

1997- another joint appearance with Ayer

1988- In his "Why Organize?" essay, Obama planned to politically organize "liberationist" black churches. He saw the black church as a slumbering giant in cities like Chicago.

1990’s-Obama was a card carrying documented active member, participant and a direct political beneficiary of the Chicago New Party and, importantly, the Chicago Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Newsletter said Obama “walked the walk & talked the talk” ( Newsletter , New Ground 45, March-April , 96.)
Democratic Socialists of America - as “the principal U.S. affiliate of the Socialist International,” DSA is the largest socialist organization in US. Weatherman Underground splintered from SDA in 1969
1996-when Obama ran with the blessings of the Marxist New Party and Chicago Democratic Socialist Party April 11, 1996- Obama attended membership meeting where he expressed his gratitude for their support.

1996-Obama was speaker at meeting of the Democratic Socialists of America (Sponsored by: University of Chicago Democratic Socialists of America )

1998- Connie Chung ABC interviewed Ayers & wife & they said,” We were young, idealistic, and We would do it (bomb) again. I wish we have done more!” This was HUGE news! Obama must have watched news!

2000- Obama was supported by leftist catholic priest, Rev. Michael Pfleger of Saint Sabina Catholic Church, in his House of Rep. race. He was another Obama’s spiritual adviser . 1995- 2001, Pfleger contributed $1,500 to his campaigns. Obama later sponsored a $100,000 earmark to help finance Pfleger’s youth center
2001- Ayers was photographed stepping on American flag and I guess Obama missed the news again? In his “Fugitive Days”, Ayers boasts that he “participated in the bombings of New York City Police Headquarters in 1970…” All told, responsible for some 30 bombings. Ayvers bragged, “I don’t regret setting bombs”, “I feel we didn’t do enough.” Was Obama blind, deaf, incredibly naive?

2001-2002, Woods Fund with directors Ayers and Obama, made grants of $40,000 and $35,000 to the Arab American Action Network, founded by radical Kashid Khalidi . Rashid is a professor at Columbia. he was strongly identified with the PLO. Khalidi hosted a fundraiser for Obama in 2000.

April-2002, Obama & Ayers spoke at another panel. 2002 through 2005, the two regularly exchanged emails and phone calls.

2004- the Communist Party USA campaigned to elect Obama to the US Senate (People's Weekly World 4-24-.04).

2004 interview-(Chicago Sun-Times) Obama described racist minister , Rev. James Meeks of Chicago’s Salem Baptist Church as an adviser to whom he looked for “spiritual counsel.” In 2007 Meeks served on Obama’s exploratory committee for the presidency

April 5, 2004- He came out and declared, “I am a Christian,”, “I’m rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power”, “I am a big believer in the separation of church and state.”

2007 Top Marxist praise Obama in article “Obama’s Audacious Foreign Policy, 6-18-07, Politicalaffairs.net, By Joel Wendland, managing editor Wendland is one the world's top Marxist-Leninists. He heaps praise on Obama. Is he sending a clear signal to thousands of Communist Party members that Obama is the party's favored candidate? It looks that way. Dec. 2007, Obama sought Rev. Wright’s counsel before formally declaring his candidacy in 2007. Wright was named as member of the campaign’s African American Religious Leadership Committee.

2007-2008 The structure of Obama’s presidential campaign increasingly resemble an Ayers-designed national “community organizer matrix” straight out of Maoist theory.

2008 Obama tells a national TV audience he was “six years old” when Ayers bombed federal buildings, and they are only casual neighborhood acquaintances. He was 40 when supported by Ayers for his Senate seat!. 2004 -Frank Chapman called Obama a communist mole? Chapman, a CPUSA supporter, has written a letter to the communist party newspaper hailing obama’s victory in the Iowa caucuses.

“Obama’s victory was more than a progressive move; it was a dialectical leap ushering in a qualitatively new era of struggle,” Chapman wrote,” Marx once compared revolutionary struggle with the work of the mole, who sometimes burrows so far beneath the ground that he leaves no trace of his movement on the surface. This is the old revolutionary ‘mole,’ not only showing his traces on the surface but also breaking through.”

2004 –present - ACORN and its sister group Project Vote ran nationwide voter drives, which were marred by voter frauds.

2005 - Obama purchases land from neighbor and now-indicted political fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko June, 06- Jim Wallis - A socialist “Christian” preacher and founder of Sojourners, Jim has long championed the cause of communism. On June 28, 06, Obama spoke at a Sojourners-sponsored Conference, calling Wallis, “my friend.”
2006 Obama flied to Kenya to campaign openly for his radical, leftist, pro-violence cousin Raila Ordinga. Obama never condemned the violence and bloodshed instigated by Ordinga after his narrow election loss. December, 2006, George Soros met with Obama in his New York office. Soros had hosted fund-raiser for him back in 2004. In 2007, within hours of Obama’s announcement of his presidential exploratory committee, Soros sent $2,100, the maximum amount allowable. Soros believe America is an oppressive nation.

April 2007- The Nation reported, “Today Obama continues his organizing work largely through classes for future leaders identified by ACORN and the Centers for New Horizons…” In Oct. 08, Obama denied his involvement in ACORN.

2008- Obama named Professor West of Princeton to his presidential campaign’s Black Advisory Council. A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, and a Marxist and admirer of Rev. Wright.

June-08-Mohamed Salim Al-Churbaji - a Syrian University student who served as a fundraiser and organizer for Obama’s campaign. His father, Mohammed Al-Churbaji, is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood with close ties to such terrorists as Abu Amatallah; leading mujahideen fighters Abu Rawdha; and Bassam Ahmad, the latter fought for Osama Bin Laden !

2008- Valerie Jarrett, Michele Obama's boss, became Obama's chief advisor and he doesn’t make any major decisions without first talking to her. She was born in Shiraz, Iran.

2008- Obama was forced to cut ties with Robert Malley, his foreign policy advisor after the latter told the Times of London that he had been in regular contact with Hamas.

January , 2008 on - Joyce & Tim Wheeler, known commusis campaigning for Obama! – Joyce is Baltimore’s longtime C Py activist. Both became prominent figures in his campaign, helping to organize local canvassing and visibility events for the candidate. Tim is a National Board member of the Communist Party (CPUSA). He chronicled his experiences on the campaign trail in a blog that appeared on the Obama campaign website.

4/25/2008 (Judicial Watch)-The chairman of an Islamic “charity” shut down by the U.S. government for funding Middle Eastern terrorists has dedicated himself to raising money for … Obama.”

September 23, 2008 – After pouring through thousands of pages of newly released documents from archives of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge , they reveal that Obama and Ayers were “partners” in a radical education program.

2008- Four Weatherman Underground leftists have signed and endorsed Obama online for Progressives for Obama, including Mark Rudd, a founders of the WU.

2008- The racist leader Louis Farrakhan who earlier lavishly praise on Obama, “this young man is the hope of the entire world”, “America will change and be made better.” Latest remarks at Nation of Islam rally (on U-tube), says “When Obama talks the Messiah is absolutely speaking.” and "I love my BROTHER and I want to see that brother successful. I don't want to say anything that would hurt that brother, and I don't want them to use me or the Nation of Islam."

Did Obama break the Logan Act?

2008-10-05T01:15:00.003-04:00

There is another major issue about Obama that is not being reported. According to the Iraqi Foreign Minister in a July meeting with additional people Obama pressure the Foreign Minister to not finalize a troop withdrawal agreement with the US until after the election.

Now if this is true this is just unbelievable! He says he wants to bring home troops right away but don't let anyone else do it first.

PAC Ad showing the issue

Interesting video about the meeting

The rise and fall of our housing market and how did it happen?

2008-10-05T00:15:00.007-04:00

This is a very high level overview of the pertinent facts. Please excuse my typos and grammatical liberties.

Ok we have heard a lot of talk back and forth on what caused the problems that led to the economic meltdown this year. We have heard that it is both party's fault and that the Democrats share the blame equally with others. Additionally people want you to believe that Glass-Steagal is the main cause here.

What I am going to try to do is provide the core facts of this scenario all the way back to 1938 when Fannie was created.

Before we start with the creation of Fannie Mae a couple of points need to be made.

MBS's are at the center of the problems with the sub-prime market. Mortgage backed securities have been created to combine risky loans into tranches which then as a bundle are sold as an investment instrument to various financial institutions.

It should be noted from a historic standpoint that between Civil War and WWII in this country there were six failures of mortgage security schemes within this country. Economists of all shapes and sizes if they just reviewed history and learned from it would have known we would have problems with this. MBS's as a financial instrument alone are not the cause - they need an enabler.

The enabler for this meltdown is Fannie/Freddie and several Democrats hell bent on protecting this scheme for their political gain.

After reviewing the facts you can decide on who is at fault and to what degree.

1938 Roosevelt (D) created the New Deal which Fannie Mae was created to provide an opportunity of credit in a financial market where the "housing" market didn't exist.

NOTE: Many Great Depression Historians based on review of the cause and effects now conclude with some level of certainty that the "New Deal" only prolonged the most serious effects of the Great Depression.

A lot of people have forgotten that the DOW did not return to its pre-Great Depression levels until 1954 - think about that - if that were today it would mean we wouldn't be above 10,000 until 2035.

1968 Johnson (D) along with a Democratic controlled congress created one of the largest expansions of government called the "Great Society" which included spinning off Fannie Mae as a quasi-private organization. Even though it was now to be considered private it was always understood that the government would back it - translation: Fannie could take higher risks than any other private company because of the government backing.

1970 Nixon (R) Freddie Mac was created to compete with Fannie Mae

1977 Carter (D) created the CRA (Community Reinvestment Act) which provided for strong oversight. Well that oversight was to force banks to extend credit to low income people regardless of risk.

During the 80's and 90's Fannie and Freddie continued to grow but a very interesting event occurred which was the beginning of the launch of bad people that Fannie and Freddie would hold.

A Thrift in Illinois wanted to merge with another bank. ACORN through legal means challenged the merger on the basis that the Thrift was not providing easy enough access for low income based loans. The Thrift countered in the lawsuit that it wasn't prudent business practice and the loans would jeopardize the bank. ACORN prevailed through the courts to force banks in Illinois to allow these low income loans to be made available regardless of how reckless it was in support of CRA.

You can only guess who was the attorney in Chicago who worked directly with ACORN to make this happen.

DING DING DING you guessed it - Barack Obama (D) himself.

This was actually a landmark victory for CRA because it literally opened up every Thrift in the country to legal trouble if it didn't adopt the reckless provisions of CRA. Sub-prime lending was born and one its parents is Obama.

During the 1990's Clinton (D) really blew the support for CRA wide open and lowered the bar even more for more reckless loan giving. During the last few months of his administration they literally mandated Fannie and Freddie were to increase the mix of high risk and reckless loans to the level of 50%. Yep that's right - 50% of their loans had to be crap.

Two of the biggest defenders for Freddie and Fannie for many years have been Frank (D) and Schumer (D).

4/2001 Bush (R) during the budget request for the following year raised the first alarm about Freddie and Fannie that there was potential trouble there. Dot.com has just busted and then 9/11 all eyes unfortunately were elsewhere.

During 2002 WSJ Editorial page started writing stories warning of the impending disaster of Freddie and Fannie. Each time the editorial staff attempted to interview the key people either in Freddie or Fannie or close organizations like CountryWide they were told to butt out and in some cases were threatened. One of editorials even stated that Freddie and Fannie was going to be our next Enron.

2003 Bush (R) called for significant oversight on Freddie and Fannie. John Snow even made a speech directly on the floor calling for strengthening of the oversight of GSE's particularly Freddie and Fannie. Barney Frank (D) led the charge to kill any oversight on Freddie and Fannie and using his now becoming famous lines - nothing is wrong with Freddie and Fannie.

2004 Freddie and Fannie were caught cooking their books which mean they were making things look a lot rosier than they really were which in turn allowed picaroons like Reins (strong D supporter) the ability to pocket 10's of millions of dollars in bonuses.

2/2004 Greenspan even called for oversight of Freddie and Fannie.

4/2005 Schumer (D) took major steps to block any new oversight on Freddie and Fannie - once again stating everything is great in the housing market - why does anyone want to legislate something that is working so well?

4/2005 Bush (R) pushed for more oversight on Freddie and Fannie - you can see the famous YouTube clips now of all the Democrats (D) blowing off ALL calls for any oversight of Freddie and Fannie.

The Senate Banking committee answered the call of President Bush (R) to adopt much stronger legislation which many view in hindsight that if this legislation had passed on the Senate floor it would have stopped the meltdown of this year.
The Senate Banking committee voted on party lines to adopt the legislations ALL Democrats (D) on the committee voted against the new legislation and all Republicans (R) on the committee voted for it.

When it went to the Senate floor the Democrats (D) successfully blocked a vote on it. - The legislation died.

2006 Another Republican bill co-sponsored by McCain (R) hit the floor with McCain specifically warning all members that Freddie and Fannie posed a significant threat to our financial markets and ultimately the taxpayer. He clearly warned them of the impending disaster.

The Democratic (D) controlled killed the legislation. The bill voted down party lines. Democrats (D) against, Republican (R) for.

By the time 2008 came around Freddie and Fannie held over $4 trillion dollars worth of mortgage paper.

In July 2008 Barney Frank (D) told everyone that Freddie and Fannie were fine and going forward everything was going to be great.

Then we had our meltdown. I think it should be noted that the first bail-out bill had over $20 billion earmarked for far left organizations and that is the primary reason that Republicans couldn't stomach it. The bill failed the house by 12 votes. If the Democrats really wanted to pass it they had the majority to do it. It should be noted that 12 Democrat (D) members of Barney Frank's banking committee voted against the bill. Even at our darkest hours Barney's boys were still in denial.

All you have to do is look at the facts and it is pretty clear who bears the majority of responsibility here. (CLUE: Democrats!!!) It is also clear that Republicans are not getting enough credit for trying to fix this time and time again.

According to economists and business school professors Freddie and Fannie and the lack of oversight on their reckless practices is the primary cause for our financial meltdown.

Anyone who tries to tell you Freddie and Fannie were NOT the major cause are not being honest with you. Any politician that is telling you that Freddie and Fannie were NOT a major cause is not dealing with reality.

All we need to do is review history and we can stop these things from happening. Remember Roosevelt (D) raised taxes during the Great Depression and unemployment was at 25%.

One thing is for sure - we CANNOT under any circumstance raise taxes and we CANNOT increase government spending or we will see the Greatest Depression on our shores - and it took WWII for us to start to crawl out of the last one. We are doomed to repeat history unless we get honest and use straight talk with each other.

If you want to look at the entire picture it seems to be clear to me that our meltdown is really a result of almost 100 years of bad government socialistic tendencies and programs which the Democrats seems to want to continue to shove down our throats.

One thing is for sure WE CANNOT LEGISLATE RECOVERY!

These videos are fun to watch...make sure you keep a bucket close by!
Video showing the Democrats in action protecting Freddie and Fannie

Burning Down The House:What Caused Our Economic Crisis?

Timeline of who defended Freddie and Fannie

Global Warming Debunked by Augie Auer

2007-05-19T13:13:00.000-04:00

Augie Auer steps up the plate yet another time and provides the basic calculations regarding carbon dioxide. Augie states that in five years time this man-made global warming controversy will be a joke. Kind of reminds me of the global cooling scare back in the 70's that ended up being quite the scam as well.

Augie presents a basic framework for understanding greenhouse effect on planet Earth. Basically without greenhouse effect our planet would be at minus 18 deg C instead of the plus 15 deg C that we enjoy now.

When you run his numbers it is pretty clear that even if we totally eliminated man-made carbon dioxide it probably would make any difference at all in regard to climate change.

Carbon dioxide makes up 3.6% of the greenhouse gases and the man-made carbon dioxide portion is only 3.2% of the 3.6% or 0.12% of the total of greenhouse gases. It seems to reason that 1/12 of 1% of anything is pretty much nothing.

So goes another chapter in the great Al Gore swindle of the century. How many of you think his rock concert for global warming is a good idea? I can imagine just how much carbon dioxide that concert will create...wish somebody would calculate that - but with Al Gore's new math he would conclude that it is only 1/12 of 1% of the daily carbon dioxide so it isn't a big deal, besides he can buy them away with carbon credits! Aye yi yi!

photo: nzhearld.co.nz (Herald)

Climate Momentum Shifting: Prominent Scientists Reversing Belief in Man-mad Global Warming

2007-05-16T09:42:00.000-04:00

The link goes to an interesting post about scientists that are now changing their previously stated positions on global warming and how they are now becoming skeptics of man-made global warming.

Of course the media is playing the climate alarmists tune the loudest and science seems to gaining a more realistic view of the impact of climate change on our planet. You can see more of the negative slinging toward the opponents of man-made global warming with statements from the U.N. stating it is "completely immoral" to doubt global warming fears!

A statement like that is irresponsible and just plain absurd. The whole purpose of the scientific process is to challenge any and all positions on a topic. To demonize someone for having an opposing view is just further evidence of how desperate and extreme the proponents are.

Of course the U.N. is constantly struggling to validate itself as a useful organization even though they are thoroughly corrupt and have ultimately failed on most of their endeavors - to them man-made global warming agenda is a financial windfall.

We need more open and public debate on the subject especially with trillions of taxpayers dollars at stake.

More Climate Alarmists Refusing to Change Their Ways

2007-05-16T09:26:00.000-04:00

Back in April in the spirit of Earth Day - Senator James Inhofe from Oklahoma challenged the outspoken climate alarmists celebrities to take the challenge and live up to their own environmental rhetoric by reducing their own personal energy usage - just like they want everyone else to do.

Of course they "elite" will hide behind carbon credit schemes not unlike the old Catholic indulgence which you could "purchase" to forgive you for an upcoming sin!

Can anyone out there say "Hypocrites!"?

As I continue to research more and more of the climate change issue it is becoming very clear that we really don't know what is happening or what is going to happen. One thing is for sure - our climate change is not being caused by mankind! Not to say we can't affect it, however, it is a very big stretch to implicate mankind as the cause of our climate change. There are other planets in our solar system that are experiencing similar trends in their climate change - common sense would indicate the most likely suspect is the Sun.

I just read another report where some more environmental extremists are claiming we only 5 years to save the planet - now if that isn't somebody with an agenda for their own personal gain - I don't know what is. To think for a second that anything we do in a five year span can impact our climate cycles on a planet that has existed for BILLIONS of year is completely and utterly absurd.

Mankind should accept some humility and understand there is very little we can do to change a climate change trend, however we are super at adapting and that is what we need to focus on. We need to create opportunities for every human on this planet the chance to adapt to the changes. After all in the grand scheme of things we are just guests on this blue marble and the planet earth will probably continue for billions of years after we are gone just like it existed for billions of years before we got here.

Personally I think we each have less than 100 years on this planet, we really ought to spend our time doing something more productive than any of the extreme measures and propositions in front of us. There is so much that is wrong with the world I think we can spend our time and energy on far more productive things.

Scientist who helped invent meteorology thinks the climate alarmists have it wrong!

2007-05-06T17:18:00.000-04:00

Reid Bryson the 30th person to receive a PhD in Meteorology has come out stating the current politically charged climate alarmists have it wrong!

Reid states there is no doubt that the climate is changing as it always is however, it is absurd to think climate warming is caused by man. Reid claims that our warming trend is a continued change of our climate as it came out of the Little Ice Age in the early 1800's.

Now Reid is 86 years old and has been working on the science and climate for most of his life. A lot of alarmists should really listen to his perspective - as it is unique from the standpoint he probably has more experience on the topic than 99% of the human race.

The article is a good read and it is nice to read a level headed response from such an authority.

Photo: Wisconsin Energy Cooperative

17 year old girl stoned to death in Iraq

2007-05-04T16:15:00.000-04:00

This is one of those stories that should absolutely outrage anyone that even thinks about something like this happening.

What is wrong with a world where people would willingly participate and seemingly enjoy stoning a helpless 17 year old girl? For what - wanting to have a boyfriend of a different religion?
I cannot image family members where part of this middle ages lynching!

This was sanctioned by the extremist religious leaders? There is so much wrong in the world today and a lot of this has to change if we want any possible chance to survive long-term.

These radical religious leaders need to be stopped at all costs. They are root of terrorism and have only one goal: complete disruption of any progress of the human race.

It is time for people in the world to take a stand. These religious fanatics have as much right to exist freely as does a serial killer - NONE!

There will be those that will argue that their perspective is just different and who are we to try to determine what is right or wrong and we shouldn't judge them. Any reasonable level of intelligence of an evolved species can tell you that there is no justification to publicly stone a 17 year old girl because has a boyfriend of a different religion. Religions of hatred and violence is pure evil and needs to be stopped.

People will want to blame this on the war in Iraq, etc. This abhorrent treatment and vile process of condemnation is rampant with the religious fanatics in the middle east. The world should show no quarter to any of this.

Can you imagine what it will be like when Iran has nuclear weapons? Their fanatic religious leaders - who are in power - will condemn Western civilization and will not hesitate to use nuclear weapons to carry out the sentence.

Make no mistake if we let the radicals continue to garner power and position - the end result is clear. Personally I am deeply sadened by this event and wonder if people really do care at all for what is right or wrong - or even if they know how to tell the difference?

Any and all who participated in that stoning should be brought to justice especially the members of the security force that just stood by and watched. It is time for some minimal reasonable level of sanity to prevail against this ungodly behavior by cowards who hide behind the shroud of something that should be so good - religion.

Unfortunately these groups only understand violence and it will be the only way to put a stop to this. How can any intelligent species allows this behavior and doctrine to exist?

Parting thought as horrible as it sounds...wouldn't the world be a better place without these extreme and evil religious leaders?

Climate change occurring on Mars similar to Earth's

2007-04-30T11:11:00.000-04:00

The Sunday Times on the other side of the Pond ran an interesting story about the climate change occurring on Mars. Mars has warmed about 0.5c since the 70's - about the same amount that Earth has warmed during the same period.

It is this kind of evidence that strongly suggests that Earth is experiencing global warming as a natural phenomena and not specifically caused by man. The Sun plays a much larger role in climate change than I think many of the alarmists are willing to give it credit for.

After all man-made global warming is a great way to guilt the human race into spilling trillions of their hard earned dollars into government programs that create wealth and power for the liberal elite!

Dr. William Gray: Oceans Cause Global Warming, Not CO2

2007-04-28T08:56:00.000-04:00

Renown hurricane forecaster Dr. William Gray came out swinging again yesterday. His voice of reason is really starting to resonate. He has been correctly predicting hurricane forecasts for over 40 years.

It is his belief that the current global warming trend is caused by the ocean currents and soon we will start to see a cooling trend.

He went after the Gore alarmists approach to global warming - the camp that states that humans are responsible for the current global warming trend. Gray summed it up nicely:

"They're blaming it all on humans, which is crazy," he said. "We're not the cause of it."

Gray also pointed out that politics and research into global warming have created an industry that unfairly scares the population and attacks dissenting voices.

He went on to say that the computer models used by the alarmist camp are unreliable and are just "mush". Gray noted that there are hundreds of factors that influence the weather.

Most of the scientific information I have digested indicates to me that the CO2 increases are actually a result of the global warming trend and not the cause of it.

Photo: Houston Chronicle

Industry caught in carbon ‘smokescreen’ - might be a scam - SHOCKER!

2007-04-26T08:44:00.000-04:00

Interesting article yesterday in the Financial Times regarding the ole Carbon Credits debacle. Looks like this whole "carbon credits" nightmare is looking pretty sketchy. This whole scheme reminds me of the Catholic Indulgences payment for sin scam!

The FT investigation found:

Widespread instances of people and organisations buying worthless credits that do not yield any reductions in carbon emissions.
Industrial companies profiting from doing very little – or from gaining carbon credits on the basis of efficiency gains from which they have already benefited substantially.
Brokers providing services of questionable or no value.
A shortage of verification, making it difficult for buyers to assess the true value of carbon credits.
Companies and individuals being charged over the odds for the private purchase of European Union carbon permits that have plummeted in value because they do not result in emissions cuts.

Where is Al Gore screaming about this? Why is it that people think they can always "buy" an excuse for their hypocritical behavior?

Interesting read but wholly not surprising.

Earth like planet found - The New Earth

2007-04-24T21:28:00.000-04:00

This is really amazing. An earth like planet has been discovered. Albeit 20.5 light years away but it has our same climate, water, gravity, etc. This is really a fantastic discovery.

I wonder how long before Al Gore tries to convince that planet that it is suffering from our man-made global warming!

Image: Daily Mail

Mapping out the Blogosphere

2007-04-21T13:49:00.000-04:00

Wow this is cool! Mathew Hurst recently collected data and links for six weeks and produced a plot of the most active and interconnected parts of the blogging world.

Definitely worth taking some time to review and read about his efforts. These type of mapping exercises certainly put some perspective on the depth of blogging and its' potential impact on the world.

Thanks Mathew - interesting stuff!

Image: Discover Magazine

Scientist: Warming not caused by humans

2007-04-19T11:36:00.000-04:00

Wendy Reeves over at The Huntsville Times has a story about Roy Spencer, a principal research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and former NASA scientist.

Roy Spencer is another scientist stepping up to proclaim Global Warming is not caused by humans. Roy has recently testified to congress about Global Warming and Climate Change.

Roy also has a website: http://www.ecoenquirer.com/. Be prepared as the site is definitely a satirists view on Global Warming. Roy is not only an accomplished and respected scientist but he is pretty funny as well!

Photo: NASA

Top MIT Meteroligists Slams Alarmist Approach to Global Warming and States Their Perspective Has No Basis in Science

2007-04-09T08:52:00.000-04:00

Newsweek has an article in the upcoming April 16th issue that will certainly raise some eyebrows. Here is another example of a top scientist coming out against the alarmists approach to Global Warming.

Richard Lindzen MIT's top meteorologist has come out swinging against the media driven consensus regarding Global Warming. Specifically the earth is facing a crisis requiring urgent action - this statement has nothing to do with science. He goes on to further explain that there is absolutely no evidence to suggest anything close to a catastrophe.

He also makes a great point about predicting the weather. That somehow our warming forecasts for 30 years in the future is somehow more reliable than the forecast for next week.

Here is an interesting twist for you: Richard also suggest that a warmer climate could prove to be more beneficial than the climate we currently have. He blames the alarmist approach on their ignorance of what is normal for weather and climate.

This article is very worthwhile reading and really should cause people pause and take a moment to rethink and question what is being presented behind an extremists environmental or political agenda.

BTW: Richard receives no funding from any energy company.

Photo: mit.edu faculty photo

Top Hurricane Forecaster says Gore has it all wrong!

2007-04-07T09:17:00.000-04:00

Another voice of recent with impeccable credentials steps forward and calls Al Gore "a gross alarmist". Dr. William Gray the world's top hurricane forecaster thinks Gore is doing a great disservice and he doesn't know what he's talking about.

Is anyone really surprised? Al Gore is a politician, he is in it because it garners him political power and many opportunities to increase his personal wealth.

This article is a good read for anyone looking to debunk the alarmists approach to forcing normal folk into spending trillions of dollars.

GORE REFUSES TO TAKE PERSONAL ENERGY ETHICS PLEDGE

2007-03-22T09:55:00.000-04:00

Gore refusing to take a personal energy ethics pledge is a perfect example of what a poor leader he really is.

His personal home consumes 20 times more energy per year than the average US home. He hides behind carbon credits as his way of balancing his energy usage. Let's face it folks, carbon credits are as big a scam as donating a lot of money to the Catholic church to buy your way into heaven.

Gore asks us if we are ready to change the way we live? Who is making the sacrifice here? Gore wants to buy a pass with carbon credits which he pays for by money he makes off the Global Warming swindle! Doesn't anyone see through this veil of deception?

A good and strong leader sets an example by doing what he wants others to do. Gore wants to dictate change and then be exempt from it. Sounds like the creation of an elite class here and Gore is part of it and wants the lesser classes to have to bear the burden of the changes he wants to impose while he profits from these changes.

Sorry I am not buying it. I have to give credit to Sen. Inhofe for coming up with this pledge. This should have been a no-brainer for Gore to agree to if he really believed change was necessary.

Here is a link to the skeptics guide to debunking Global Warming: http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.Facts&ContentRecord_id=8f5c9829-c459-4d17-89bb-3e3b04d8d444&Region_id=&Issue_id=

Did anyone else catch the fact that Al Gore was allowed to submit his written testimoney to the GOP only 2 hours before he testified? Typically anyone who is going to testify needs to submit their written testimoney 48 hours before they testify. Dingle waived the requirement - if this Global Warming argument is so strong and foolproof why would they need to try to slide this through like this?

Also did you see one of the Democrats called Gore a prophet? Barbara Boxer said Gore has provided them hope?

image (AP)

Using solar energy to keep homes cool

2007-03-21T10:23:00.000-04:00

CNET has a great article today about a new solar powered A/C unit from SolCool. As they say in the CNET article this is an absolute no-brainer and I can't believe it has taken this long to reach the market.

These units need to be scaled to replace home A/C units as soon as possible. This unit could eliminate the electricity drain from air conditioning homes. It is the largest drain on our grid and this type of solution could really make a difference.

The unit even has battery backup and can run without sun from period of 12 to 24 hours depending on the battery size.

You can learn more about this at the CNET link above and the link to SolCool is: http://www.solcool.net/. They have several interesting products and ideas. Here is the link that goes directly to the two-ton Hybrid SolCool platform: http://www.solcool.net/solcool.htm

image: SolCool

Climate scientist sees cover-up

2007-03-20T13:24:00.000-04:00

This being reported by The Washington Times today...

Wow! James Hansen a director at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies is claiming he was muzzled by the Bush administration about speaking out on Global Warming.

He is one of the scientists behind Al Gore and his alarmist approach to the problem. Mr. Hansen claims the Bush adminstration block his interview on NPR because it is a liberal slanted outlet. Mr. Hansen claims it was an oral threat made to a public affairs person and then relayed to him.

Let's take a look at some interesting facts about Mr. Hansen.

Ironically he had a tough time reconciling the fact that during this time period he had participated in over 1400 other interviews with the press although he claims he was controlled by the Bush administration.

He was paid $250,000 in form of a grant from the Heinz foundation (controlled by Teresa Heinz AKA John Kerry's wife).

He is also a senior advisor to Al Gore and was a consultant (paid I am sure) to Al Gore's outrageous Global Warming docudrama "An Inconvenient Truth".

The fact behind his interview being blocked has nothing to do with politics but because of Mr. Hansen's repeated violations of NASA's policies regarding interviews. Mr. Hansen did not deny violating the policy. So he is paid by NASA and when hired and by accepting a paycheck agrees to NASA's policies. He violates the policy and get himself blocked from the interview but he somehow wants to blame the Bush administration.

It seems the only inconvenient truth here is the fact that James Hansen looks to be bought and paid for by liberal wing of the democrats which are jumping on the Al Gore view of science and Global Warming. It looks more like a democratic cover-up not a Bush cover-up.

But then again this kind of logic is consistent with the logic applied to the science surrounding human made Global Warming.

Oh and by the way Mr. Hansen also stated that the White House is making strides in the environmental agenda and claims "It is a success story" and Bush should be given credit for it.

Go figure?

Researchers Question Validity Of A 'Global Temperature'

2007-03-20T07:53:00.000-04:00

The Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen is analyzing the approach used to calculate a "single" average temperature and has come to the conclusion that basically it is impossible to assign a "single" average temperature to Earth.

That same "single" average temperature is what is being used to fuel the alarmists approach to the Global Warming argument. Bjarne Anderson explains that it is impossible because of the number of variables and complications that are connected to all the different areas of the globe.

He likens the scientific value of the "single" average temperature to that of taking the average of all the phone numbers from the phone book - it is an average, it is a single number but it is meaningless.

We need a lot more analysis and scientific study done to come to a reasonable conclusion on this issue. I find it very strange that scientists don't want their studies to come under peer review - isn't that what real science is all about? Scientists put forth their findings and other scientists work to replicate their efforts to validate it.

Tata planning to deliver compressed air car to market

2007-03-19T21:10:00.000-04:00

This car is really amazing. The car runs on compressed air and can travel over 100 miles on a tankful. Only costs a few bucks to fill the tank as well. From what I understand the automobile will cost less than $10,000.

I hope Tata really delivers on this capability and it could turn the entire automobile industry upside down!

We need solutions like this! They could use some improved styling on the car but hey this is their first version!

Here is a link to another article at Gizmag: http://www.gizmag.com/

Al Gore Challenged to International TV Debate on Global Warming

2007-03-19T20:34:00.000-04:00

Now this is something I would like to see. Lord Mockton has challenged Al Gore to a public debate on the topic of Global Warming and the science behind Al Gore's agenda.

Here is an excerpt from the article announcing the public challenge:

Monckton, a former policy adviser to Margaret Thatcher during her years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, said, "A careful study of the substantial corpus of peer-reviewed science reveals that Mr. Gore's film, An Inconvenient Truth, is a foofaraw of pseudo-science, exaggerations, and errors, now being peddled to innocent schoolchildren worldwide."

Remember Margaret Thatcher started the IPCC which is supporting Al Gore's position. I happen to agree with Lord Mockton and there are so many legitimate scientists finally speaking out against this.

Tenn. mine enriched Gore, scarred land

2007-03-18T21:25:00.000-04:00

Article in the Tennessean today discussing how Al Gore profits from industry that exploits and damages the environment. Al Gore received land from his father that he has leased to a mining company and has received some $500,000 in royalty payments during the lease. How Gore Sr. received the land to begin with is very sketchy as well - another one of the great deals that people in power seem priviledged to have access to. I wonder why that is?

This story presented today has been talked about since 2000 but it is timely as it is right before Gore has to face a grilling on the Hill tomorrow morning.

Here is a link to one of the earlier stories in the WSJ.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=65000070

Also on the Hill Gore will be facing off with Dingell and even though he is a staunch Democrat he has not taken to the Global Warming Cool-aid like the other drones. It will be interesting to see what questions are asked and how Gore will try spin the misinformation to answer them. Hopefully the media will have the conscience to relay the truth and not some politicized agenda.

As we learn that other planets like Mars, Jupiter and even far away worlds like Pluto are experiencing climate shift and change it is becoming clear that solar activity is the primary culprit behind Global Warming.

We need to get serious about the issue and do something tangible about it and move away from this new form of environmental extremism. Now that most of the globe agrees we need to be good stewards of our planet the environmental extremists need a new pony to ride and this is it - Man made Global Warming.

I personally would like to hear Al Gore's position on nuclear power plants as that is the quickest way to solve the majority of energy problems we face and will certainly move a long way to getting us off our foreign oil dependency.

Additional $20 billion in pork added to emergency WAR spending bill!

2007-03-14T23:26:00.000-04:00

This stuff is enough to make anyone crazy. Bad enough we have spend an additional $100 billion for the war effort and then to add insult to injury with a 20% extortion fee to get it approved its just plain wrong!

Where is line item veto? Why can't we adopt a policy that specifies spending appropriation is allowed only for item directly related to the spending bill?

Take a look at the article and read what they are spending the money on!

Does anyone else out there here the big sucking sound when these get passed?

Guess we didn't get any good change with the recent election!

Chiquita to Pay $25M in Terror Case

2007-03-14T23:16:00.000-04:00

It is being reported today that Chiquita Brands paid $1.7 million to a terrorist organization for protection in a volatile region of Colombia.

My question is: What would happen to any citizen that paid knowingly paid $1.7 million to a known terrorist organization?

A $25 million fine sounds like a lot but I think they stopped far short of what they should have done.

What kind of message is this? Hey go ahead and fund a terrorist organization and we will just fine you some more money!

Chiquita Brands should be banned from the United States for a year - or at least people should boycott their brand. No one should get away with any form of funding terrorist organizations - regardless of country or reason.

This is definitely one bad bunch of bananas and I hope they get crucified in the media!

Yellowstone Supervolcano Making Strange Rumblings

2007-03-14T17:19:00.000-04:00

Fox News has an interesting article about the Supervolcano that exists under Yellowstone National Park. It continues to have significant activity which is raising concerns, however the Boffins don't think it will blow its' top anytime soon.

As I was reading the article some of the data that they have been tracking really jumped out at me.They measure the rate of rise or sink the floor of caldera experiences. Granted they only have 17 years of data but the data is still interesting nonetheless.

During 1987 until 1995 the floor sank 4.4 inches or an average of .55 inches per year for the time period.

I have not looked at all the specific data to see if the caldera flucuated between rising and sinking.

Then from 1995 until 2000 the northwest rim of the caldera rose approximiately 3 inches or an average of .6 inches per year for the time period.

From 2000 until 2003 the rim rose another 1.4 inches or an average of .46 inches per year for the time period. During this same time period the main floor of the caldera sank a little more than an inch.

Then the surprise. During 2004 to 2006 the main floor rose almost 7 inches or an average of 2.3 inches per year for the same time period. That is a 433% increase in movement activity as compared to the recorded data starting in 1987 averaged out.

Some of the data is in relation to the rim of the crater but having the main floor of the caldera changing with that much change would have me questioning - exactly what is going on here?

Sounds like a bulge is building and that eventually means a big eruption. History tells us this Supervolcano has had several massive eruptions in the past and it will happen again.

Now as compared to the Global Warming threat - I think this is a much more serious issue and definitely needs attention. This kind of disaster is in the category of an Asteroid killer and we need to get up to speed on how to deal with these real immediate life-changing scenarios.

This is something that is definitely going to happen and when it does happen we know for a fact what the consequences are. Global Warming for example is an important and serious topic but the changes will occur over years, probably hundreds, if not thousands but we will find ways to adapt and survive that situation.

A Supervolcano or Killer Asteroid could literally wipe out human existence in 6 months. Why isn't there more serious discussion or funding going into this? Take the asteroid scenario, NASA just announced they don't have the funds to deal with all the NEO (near earth objects) -are these topics less politically helpful?

Where is the alarmist support for this? When this blows - that's it for the good ole US of A!

Bottom line the politicians are behind Global Warming because they can effect change which garners additional global power and a lot of money.

I would suggest we need to wake up to many real threats that are definitively on our doorstep and not ones that are based on questionable science and an agenda of power mongering and profiteering!

(photo: AP)

New way to look at news on the web! - Another hot thing today!

2007-03-13T16:34:00.000-04:00

Jonathan Harris has developed a unique and effective way to look at news and events from around the world (or universe as he likes to say) through his new search portal - UNIVERSE.

What is different is the way Jonathan has organized the information and connected the dots to every major noun involved in the story or event! There was a really cool music site that did this years ago and allowed you to traverse the "taxonomy" of the artist and where they derived their inspiration, etc. This will be very interesting to look at information and have a lot of the dots connected and displayed in a manageable and useful way.

The "past day" page link is going to be a popular destination for myself. I think this ushers in yet another perspective on how to look at everything happening around us.

This site has tremendous potential! Be Patient when you first access it - I am sure they are experiencing very heavy traffic.

This is hot!!! Verizon may soon realize the triple play with Fios!

2007-03-13T12:44:00.000-04:00

Now this is hot! The new Verizon Fios video phone. Coupled with incredible Internet speed, on-demand interactive TV and a video phone. Verizon is close to realizing the triple play dream.

The new phone is coming soon and will certainly be at the top of the list for us. The phone integrates news feeds and lots of other information as well as a memo manager and calendar.

Contact lists, call logs and voice mail are all integrated as well.

Hopefully each handset can be individualized for calendar and contact lists. Also an in-house video intercom would be an excellent feature.

How soon before they hook it up to your mobile service so you can finally have one phone number and have an intelligent system that can find you (if you want).

Verizon is starting to get really exciting! Nice job - I have to admit I am becoming more and more impressed with Verizon over the last couple years they are really getting their act together.

NYTIMES Calls for Al Gore to Cool the Hype!

2007-03-12T22:24:00.000-04:00

It starts right out with calling Gore's approach the "three alarm fire" approach.

This article is a must read.

I wish science would stick with scientists and ditch the politicians!

Global Warming Is Not a Crisis

2007-03-12T19:50:00.000-04:00

Wow ABC is running an opinion today contrary to the politically correct agenda of alarmist Global Warming.

The opinion makes several good and valid points.

Bottom line we just don't have enough information to make a clear determination on this issue. Should we bend to the alarmist position and waste trillions of dollars on fighting something that might not be or invest in a battle that we have no chance of winning with current thinking.

Sun Blamed for Warming of Earth and Other Worlds

2007-03-12T19:46:00.000-04:00

More evidence that the sun is the main cause of the global warming on Earth and other planets.

The article does a decent job of explaining a variety of different views on the issue and how the climate is changing on other planets as well.

Drudge is reporting today that the NY Times is going to run an explosive article claiming Al Gore's claims are exaggerated and really behind his political agenda.

What is interesting with a lot of these articles is the similarity to the Global Cooling articles during the 70's. It is such a shame that the Sheeple in this country have such a short memory.

What happened with Godaddy today?

2007-03-11T16:17:00.000-04:00

GoDaddy experienced a failure today with its' DNS services for websites and email hosting.

Their support site reported for hours that they were experiencing technical difficulties.

Their support call in line had a message stating that if you were having problems with your website and email that GoDaddy knew about it and was working on a solution.

Logging on to account maintenance produced many pages that came back "not found".

Of course Bob Parson's blog was still working and since he moderates his blog posts - don't expect any feedback from unhappy customers. Something about moderated reviewed blog posts just seem to take away from the whole concept!

Now the problem seems to be fixed but they were down for hours today. Was it a Daylight Savings glitch?

I sure hope they come out with a detailed status and do something for their customers.

*** UPDATE ***

Slashdot had this post. DNS is not something that should go down - EVER!

http://slashdot.org/articles/07/03/11/1853216.shtml

GoDaddy affected over 20 of my web resources today.

This is an official response from GoDaddy this evening:

This morning, March 11, some of our Go Daddy services came under significant and sustained distributed denial of service attacks resulting in intermittent disruptions of various services, including shared hosting and email.

Our Internet Security and Network teams immediately invoked counter-measures to respond to these large scale, sophisticated attacks.

After 4-5 hours of intermittent disruptions of various services this morning, including shared hosting and email, the attack was contained.

Our Internet Security and Network teams will continue to analyze and assess the nature of today's attacks and their characteristics to identify additional defense mechanisms that can be used in the ongoing efforts of Internet Security.

Go Daddy has made and will be continuing to make significant investments in our information security infrastructure to protect from these shifting types of attacks.

This in no way related to the switch to Daylight Savings Time, as some have speculated. With regard to DST, Go Daddy has been engaged in preparation and patching and worked closely with our vendors for some time leading up to the DST change. leading up to the DST change.

Neil Warner
Chief Information Security Officer
The Go Daddy Group, Inc.

posted on Slashdot thread reference above.

Global Warming detected on Mars!

2007-03-06T16:47:00.000-05:00

Michael Asher over at DailyTech has a good summary in his blog post about Global Warming. He brings together several different perspectives on the issue.

Bottom line: If Mars is experiencing Global Warming and there are no humans there - could it be possible that it is caused by other issues?

Take the time to review what he has posted he ask links to other information and an upcoming documentary.

One of the first prominent scientist promoting human caused Global Warming - NOW A SKEPTIC

2007-03-05T08:51:00.000-05:00

The National Post in Canada has an article about Claude Allegre a French scientist who was one of the first promoting the idea of human caused Global Warming.

What is interesting is he publicly changed his position back in September but it never really hit the mainstream media - hey what's up with that? :)

He wrote an article about the natural causes behind Antarctica ice gain and Kilimanjaro's shrinking ice caps. Now if one of France's leading socialists can step out from behind the political agenda behind Global Warming - why can't everyone else?

We need serious and complete research performed on Global Warming and it is going to take many years before we really know anything.

The Great Global Warming Swindle

2007-03-04T15:55:00.000-05:00

Channel 4 in the U.K. is about to air a controversial but much needed documentary countering the politically correct view that man is the main cause behind global warming.

Now maybe some serious scientific discussion will ensue. Let's face it - we need to do a lot more research on this topic before trillions of dollars are committed and countless new laws are imposed.

It is my position that we just do not have enough information to make a solid assessment that man is to blame for climate change. I think people are more afraid to learn that it may NOT be man-made and we will not be able to adjust to a different existence than we are used to.

Also a recent article seems to document that Mars is facing similar temperature changes that we are - last I heard there weren't any people living on Mars affecting their climate change? Of course maybe all those man-made unmanned space vehicles visiting the planet could have caused it! :)

Another link to another summary of the Great Global Warming Swindle can be found here:
http://www.lse.co.uk/ShowStory.asp?story=CZ434669U&news_headline=global_warming_is_lies_claims_documentary

Bloggers Key to the Future of Journalism?

2007-02-16T16:14:00.000-05:00

Digitial Trends has an article today about the impact Bloggers are having with Journalism specifically in the USA.

Here is a key excerpt from the article:

55% of Americans believe bloggers are important while 74% said citizen journalism will play a vital role.

Good article to read.

Guide to Flickr Tools

2007-02-16T11:34:00.000-05:00

Digital Trends has compiled a fantastic guide to Flickr. This compilation guides you through add ons available for the Flickr community.

If you are a user of Flickr this is a must read.

Here is a linkback to Joe Duck for focusing my radar on Flickr in the first place. Thanks Joe!

http://joeduck.wordpress.com/2007/01/30/fred-flickrs-frickin-fantastic/

Meet the iPhone Killer!

2007-02-16T10:46:00.000-05:00

Now this is a multimedia phone. Nvidia's Quark Smartphone really looks to be the player for 2007.

The following link has a video of the user experience with the Quark and needless to say it establishes a new bar for user experience! It is even better than the PSP accoriding to Gizmodo! Thanks Gizmodo for your outstanding coverage!

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/nvidias-quark-smartphone-shows-its-ui-237215.php

This phone will be at the top of my list as soon as it is released and available in the USA!

Antarctic temperatures disagree with climate model predictions

2007-02-16T01:17:00.000-05:00

Just another example of why the Global Warming issue needs a lot more scientific study! We need to better understand all of this before the politicians spend trillions!

Time for the politics to take a backseat and let science do its thing!

This article points out that the current temperatures in Antarctica are not jiving with the forecast models that are the ones supporting the Global Warming argument. If the recent and current REAL data for the area is different than the forecast model then what variable, assumption needs adjustment?

We really need to get to the bottom of this and not become sheeple just jumping on what we think is the next politically correct bandwagon. There is just too much at stake here.

World's First Commercial Quantum Computer

2007-02-14T23:16:00.000-05:00

DailyTech has a great article tonight about D-Wave's 16-qubit processor and the first commercially viable quantum computer.

The pictures are fascinating and when I look at them I can't help but think what people were feeling when they say the first photos of main-frames.

This computer marks a milestone in the next evolutionary step of computer processing. The promise of quantum computing will certainly change our existence.

D-Wave founder has a blog as well which can be found here: http://dwave.wordpress.com/ (Geordie Rose)

Check out the article - DailyTech did a great job on this report!

What's up with Google today? Renamed to Googe?

2007-02-14T16:53:00.000-05:00

This is a screenshot I took of Google today. Either they are trying to be cute with the stem of the strawberry to be the L in their name or somebody has really messed up.

Either way this will be fixed soon so I have captured the screenshot so you can see...

Does anybody know what's up with this?

WOW - Mobile Networks Powered By Wind

2007-02-13T15:25:00.000-05:00

This is a fantastic idea and one I have been pushing for! All they need to do is add WiMax to the solution and you really have a home run here!

This would be perfect to roll out in areas like Oregon and other parts of our vast wilderness!

I am sure SAR related agencies would welcome this level of technology to their areas. Can you imagine the difference in can make in finding someone?

Also there is tremendous commerce opportunity for states to interact with tourists in remote areas as well including advertising coupled with multimedia history of the area.

ABSURD - 73 Great Grandmother Elks Lodge Bartender Faces up to 1 Year in Jail for $50 Football Pool!

2007-02-12T22:34:00.000-05:00

This story just takes the cake! How absurd will our society get when our LE has the time to deal with this! Aren't there some serious perps out there that need apprehending?

73 year old great grandmother who tends bar at the local Elks Club in Lake Elsinore was arrested after a tip of a football pool being run at the club! The football pool envelope had 10 - $5 bills in it! A massive $50 pool and the seasoned criminal had an accomplice - a volunteer waitress!

The real story is who and why would tip authorities over something like this...sounds like a plot for a Seinfeld comeback! Someone should find out who filed the tip and they should be vetted out in this process.

Wow they probably put Thelma and Louise to shame! The two face up to a $5,000 fine and one year in jail and the Elks may lose their liquor license. Of course one would hope a judge would just dismiss this. However, this happened in California after all and I will never understand the decisions the judges make in that state.

Maybe Arnold can step up and pardon these two after they convicted and thrown in jail.

A new satellite could see shadow of extra dimensions

2007-02-12T17:45:00.000-05:00

David Shiga over at New Scientists reports on a new satellite to be launched next year that could possibly detect theoretical dimensions beyond the common 3 we are familiar with.

The satellite might be able to detect the hint of the extra dimensions in the afterglow of the big bang. The afterglow is from the cosmic microwave background that describes the structure of the universe from about 370,000 years after the big bang. But hey what's a few hundred thousand years when you are talking about billions!

This is fascinating as the extra dimensions are key to string theory which is attempting to unify everything into a single theory of everything. 2007 looks to be an exciting year for science (as long as we can keep the politics at bay!) as the Large Hadron Collider is to go online by the end of the year and will provide our first real glimpse into the reality of string theory. If it proves out it will change everything and we will all have to face the fact that there just might be unlimited parallel universes!

CO2 being pushed deep into the oceans

2007-02-12T17:40:00.000-05:00

New Scientist has an interesting article discussing the absorption rate of CO2 by our oceans. While it may seem to be good news as far how much of the greenhouse gas can be absorbed by our oceans it isn't such great news for the marine life that has to deal with the added CO2 levels which leads to ocean acidification.

Once again another major variable in the climate change discussion that you don't hear much about. We truly know so little about our planet and its resolve to survive no matter what we throw at it. I just can't help but think the planet has survived for billions of years and will figure out a way to survive for many more.

More research needs to happen in regard to climate change and somehow we need to remove politics from the equation - yes I know a pipe dream but wouldn't it be great if that happened.

Global-warming skeptics cite being 'treated like a pariah'

2007-02-12T12:40:00.000-05:00

Eric Pfeiffer over at The Washington Times has a follow up article regarding the scientists that are ostrasized who are bucking the current politically correct Global Warming consensus.

All serious science needs checks and balances and scientists are supposed to challenge each other but in the case of Global Warming they are making it a political agenda and unleashing all of the negative flurry associated with opposing political viewpoints. That fact alone makes the current science behind the Global Warming consensus suspect.

How are to believe what we are being told is in any way accurate and the truth? With most political agendas there is typically a grain of truth but sadly that's all - just a grain.

It seems scientists are more eager to jump on the bandwagon that will lead to more grant money instead of looking at the scientific ramifications of these assessments and eventual supporting decisions.

I just read another article about Geo-engineering where scientists are trying to promote projects that will shield our planet from sunlight to help curb global warming - doesn't anyone out there think that some of these suggestions could be ultimately disastrous for our planet?

We need to shun the politicians taking advantage for political gain on these important issues. Doesn't it seem ironic that people like Al Gore probably produce more emissions in one year than the average person does in their lifetime? Maybe if they start practicing what they preach the rest of us can start believing them.

Remember what happens to people that just blindly drink the kool-aid!

Personal dishmaker in your home!

2007-02-11T23:57:00.000-05:00

Leonardo Bonanni has invented the personal dishmaker. It literally will create all the dishes you need within minutes and guess what - you don't ever have to wash dishes again. You can recycle the dishes.

The acrylic templates can be recycled and shaped into new dishes about 100 times before degrading the quality of the material.

This project has great promise and is really an amazing idea and invention. The whole machine takes up similar space as a dishwasher.

Check out the website for this is a youtube video that is a must watch.

Leonardo bring this product out!

Man-made climate change may be happening at a slower rate than claimed!

2007-02-11T23:38:00.000-05:00

There are so many variables at play here with the Global Warming issue. Controversial new research is upsetting the apple cart!

Over the pond at the Telegraph is an article discussing the impact of cosmic rays that are creating the global warming when they hit our atmosphere.

Another key read in this current argument!

Science behind Global Warming argument must be challenged

2007-02-11T23:36:00.000-05:00

Article in the TimesOnline in the UK today discussing the issues behind the science regarding the current Global Warming consensus. A must read for anyone serious about this issue.

We need to fully understand this before trillions of dollars are spent on this - we can spend the money on better things.

"Night Wind" aims to maximize energy produced by the wind

2007-02-11T08:48:00.000-05:00

Roland Piquepaille discusses a brilliant idea on his blog this weekend.

Basically a test is being conducted where energy that is being created by the wind will be stored in refridgerated warehouses through a method of increased cooling during the night and decreased cooling during the peak daytime hours. Esenttially allowing the extra energy to be used during peak.

The project is being reported at Nature but Roland does a much better job at describing it and uses an energy consumption chart to illustrate the idea.

It is these incremental ideas that will make the biggest difference in our energy usage and will work to cut our ongoing emissions into the atmosphere. The time has come for wind energy.

Latest search information regarding Jim Gray

2007-02-08T16:27:00.000-05:00

Check out this blog to get the most up to date information on the search for Jim Gray. They can use your help if you can spare some time!

He has been missing since the last week of January when he set out alone in his 40 foot sailboat Tenacious to deliver his mother's ashes to the Farallon Islands.

NY Times publisher: Our goal is to manage the transition from print to internet

2007-02-07T19:30:00.000-05:00

Very interesting article regarding the struggles the NY Times is facing and the reality of the changing landscape for print newspapers.

They face several uphill battles and this is one to watch to see the transformation and transition. Good to see they are being open about the challenges they are facing.

Lesson for all of us as other traditional businesses are going to face similar changes in the relatively near future.

Good luck to NY Times!

FishCam gives worm's eye view

2007-02-07T14:50:00.000-05:00

Ah now this is a great invention! Now you can add the fishcam to your fishing experience and actually find the fish and dangle their prize right in front of their eyes!

This is progress, now if they could add motion detection to the unit so that you could be catching the latest episode of 24 while your fishing and have it automatically pause and switch to fishview when your dinner is near.

Of course the purists are up in arms about this but hey get over it! This looks like it will actually make fishing that much more fun - isn't that always the case when gadgets are used!

Dutch scientist says software can cut car fuel use

2007-02-07T14:47:00.000-05:00

This is an example of an incremental change easily implemented that can cut fuel use anywhere from 2.5% to 6% and on a global level that would amount to a lot of fuel saved and emissions reduced.

It is too bad that the automotive manufacturers are still stuck on combustion engines. We really need to switch sooner rather than later.

Delaware scientist's view on climate change criticized - because he doesn't agree with the current assessment!

2007-02-07T11:07:00.000-05:00

Another scientist being attack and demonized in the media for not supporting the current assessment that humans are responsible for global warming.

The argument tends to be in the line of, well these opposing scientists have been funded by the major oil or auto manufacturers so they can't be right - but who is to say the scientists that are getting funding from Greenpeace and other leftist organizations are right?

It really seems odd to me that a group of scientists can take less than 100 years of data (or even take 10,000 years of data) and how they can conclude that humans are responsible for the current Global Warming trend? There just isn't enough data and analysis to back it up. The earth has gone through thousands of transformation over the last 4.5 billion years and it just seems absurd to me that a conclusion can be drawn like they are doing today with Global Warming.

I am sure it is true that human generated emissions can impact Global Warming but I don't believe we can impact it enough either way to make a difference long-term. Of course people convincing themselves that they are going to save the planet is a great high-five club!

Take a look at the impact of volcanic eruptions. I think we face a more immediate and direct threat from large volcanic eruptions (could be the rebirth of the great Global Cooling panic of the '70's) - the point is there are so many things that could ruin our day from asteroids to nuclear war.

I think we can find a much better way to spend our money. Interesting how history repeats itself - back in the '70's the big panic was Global Cooling and that didn't quite work out like all the scientists predicted.

I also think it is prudent to be a good steward to mother earth but this alarmist and political approach to influence legislation and create an avalanche of new laws (don't we have enough laws now that don't work?) will just hinder progress, create higher costs, etc...

We have a bigger issue regarding available resources on this planet - I think we will deplete available resources a lot sooner than we could impact climate change long-term.

We should definitely work to curbing our emissions - here is an idea - take the trillions of dollars that are going to be wasted on the Global Warming agenda and put it toward creating FREE energy and then make unlimited energy available to the entire planet!

That would pretty much eliminate all of the industrial emissions - IMO that is a worthwhile effort!

If catastrophe strikes tomorrow, are we ready?

2007-02-07T09:35:00.000-05:00

Interesting article on CNET today about our preparedness of first responders to major catastrophes.

The real issue is communication and how to get all of the various agencies and groups working together quickly to maximize the benefit of the deployed resources and to do it quickly.

Depending on the level of catastrophe the initial response can make a difference of how long and the depth of suffering will incur to those affected.

We have seen similar issues in personal catastrophes like the James Kim story and there seems to be a strong need for a centralized communication hub that allows immediate coordination of response scaling from a local level all the way up to national and eventually globally.

Depending on the magnitude of the catastrophe there could be massive interference with our current communication infrastructure and capabilities. A robust and hardened solution is necessary and a worthwhile investment for the American public.

Another seemingly wasted resource is the army of volunteers that are eager to help out and lend assistance. Typically in the past this has been mainly recognized by the level of financial support that people have donated during and shortly after a crisis.

Today we are seeing a new type of support where people through the internet are banding together to provide ideas, clues, and actually do legwork to assist. The current search for Jim Gray is a prime example of thousands of volunteers teaming together on Amazon Mechanical Turk scanning and processing over 500,000 satellite images covering 3,500 sq miles of ocean and it was completed in 5 days!

Granted the current state of organized collaboration tools is primitive but I believe this is the beginning of a new wave of tools about to reach the Internet.

One individual I mentioned a lot is Joe Duck in Oregon who IMHO has really led a new beginning in blog communication to assist in a new way for national media grabbing search and rescues stories.

The James Kim story really took hold over at Joe's blog (http://joeduck.wordpress.com/) and literally every major figure involved in the story has commented there (over 10,000 posts so far). It could be argued whether the thread over at Joe's had any impact during the search (personally I think it did) but it surely had a major impact with the aftermath and allowed a lot of people, a place to express their opinions and brought closure to many issues that people were interested in and passionate about. Finally it has created a lot of ideas to help in future searches and it will be interesting to see what spawns from the efforts over there.

Governor of Oregon to fire state's climatologist because he doesn't agree with Global Warming

2007-02-07T00:37:00.000-05:00

George Taylor is going to lose his job as the State of Oregon's Climantologist because he doesn't agree with the current Global Warming assessment.

Dr. Ball in Canadian made this prediction that scientists who opposed this massive political agenda would start to lose their jobs.

Again if the facts of reality fly in the way of achieving the State of Oregon's goals of reducing greenhouse gases then heads must roll!

I am sure Joe Duck (http://joeduck.wordpress.com/) from Oregon will chime in and give us his two cents on this...seems kind of an extreme reaction especially firing someone with 16 years experience.

It is time to eliminate the DayLight Savings Plan

2007-02-06T20:45:00.000-05:00

Let's spring the clocks forward this year and then forget about it! Time to retire the old daylight savings switchback in the fall!

It would just make things a lot easier.

About time - Steve Jobs wants to actually eliminate DRM!!!

2007-02-06T20:42:00.000-05:00

Wow Steve Jobs wants to eliminate DRM from the music scene! I am a firm believer that copy protection just hurts legitimate buyers. In fact it was iTunes on many occasions losing my purchase rights and I literally had to re-purchase songs that was the main reason I ditched the iTunes platform.

I typically go through a lot of hardware and software upgrades during the year and iTunes really had a lot problems with that. In fact every time iTunes would want to upgrade itself I used to worry about what songs I would lose.

On top of that I burned through several iPods over the years (hard drive and battery problems), same problems kept occurring at almost the exact same time when I got replacements and of course they were out of warranty.

If they really are going to move to this type of environment I think it would be a good reason to look at the iTunes platform again however WMP11 is pretty decent.

Steve Jobs also makes other good points and explains very well the up and downs with DRM and why they did it in the first place.

Democrats overwhelmingly supporting Global Warming agenda as a centerpiece to gain more power

2007-02-06T19:45:00.000-05:00

Interesting summary of where the Democrats and Republicans stand on the issue. I believe that the Democrats are forcing Global Warming as an agenda pusher and election winner. I can only imagine the type of oppressive legislation that will evolve as a result of this.

For some reason they love to spew the fear doctrine to get all the sheeple aligned. But this agenda involves trillions of dollars and that money could be applied to many better things that will improve our existence for the long-term.

There are credible scientists on both sides of the Global Warming issue and quite frankly we have not been here on earth nor have we tracked the changes in climate long enough to fully understand and forecast how much of an impact we are having with global warming. In fact I can't even stand it that we are capitalizing the words now! The earth survived just fine for 4.5 billion years before we arrived and will survive for billions of more years after we have been replaced here.

One major volcanic eruption spews more emissions than the combined emission of the entire human race since the beginning of time. Now if you accept that and you can go back and research how many major volcanic eruptions that have occurred - how can it be possible the we are having any discernible impact on global warming? It just doesn't add up.

We definitely need to curb our emissions and not because we need to stem global warming, we need to do it because it is the right thing to do for our health. We also need to focus our energies and monies on breakthrough energy technologies and quickly eliminate our dependence on foreign oil.