Archive for the 'Global Cooli..er warm...er Climate Change' Category

Happy Valentine’s Day and (for tomorrow) President’s Day. As I listen to the icicles fall from my house, here’s what’s going on at home and abroad.

The U.S. Coast Guard conducts a humanitarian mission at an orphanage in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti.

A song to teach your children geography: Fifty Nifty United States. (What, not 57? )

The snows of February have collapsed the Blacksburg (VA) High School gym. Blacksburg is also the location of my alma mater, Virginia Tech.

Thank A Soldier’s Blog launches The Gratitude Project.

Road rage in Texas leads to a police chase – and a bomb investigation.

From The Long War Journal, U.S. unmanned strike aircraft attack a Taliban training camp in North Waziristan.

As U.S. troops fight their way into the Taliban stronghold of Marjah, some say the fighting is as intense as in Falluhah, Iraq. I certainly have respect for anyone who fought in both of those battles. More on the fighting in Marjah from Holger Awakens.

Some climate scientists, including former IPCC author John Christy, have doubts about global warming because of problems with the underlying data collection.

Why does the Tea Party movement exist? Glenn Reynolds explains. (H/T Blogs For Victory)

From The American Thinker, Adam Shaw faults Secretary of State Clinton for generalizing about “organized religion”.

At a surfing event in Half Moon Bay, California, two huge waves sweep away spectators standing on a seawall.

D’OH! A “tagger” tries to put graphiti on a door in an aquatic center in Commerce, California. On the other side of said door are 100 Los Angeles County cops.

For the second time this winter, my corner of the world has been covered by a large quantity of white powdery global warming (or climate change or whatever it’s called these days). Here at the unofficial Bigfoot weather station (consisting of a yard stick and the deck immediately adjacent my back door), the amount is 27 inches. This beats December’s storm, which yielded 19 inches. I can’t even remember the last time we had two snow storms of similar size during the same winter. But I can look at the bright side. Shoveling snow is good exercise.

Among those reporting on the storm are:
Capital Weather Gang at the Washington Post,
Associated Content,
Fox Weather Channel,
KMOX News,
the Washington Examiner,
WCBS Newsradio,
and a YouTube-savvy student at Catholic University.

Another weekend come and soon to be gone. This one featured about 4 inches of powdery white stuff, a small amount by this winter’s standards. Here in Maryland, every few years or so, we seem to get what I call “Winter in December”, where December is cold and snowy, but January and February are milder. This past December certainly fit the bill, but there’s been very little let-up in January, with a long spell of below-freezing temperatures early in the month, and a snow storm to close it out. It looks like this will be a real winter, from start to finish. Just stay in your hole, Punxatawney Phil. Looking for your shadow doesn’t seem to be worth the effort this year. Meanwhile, here’s a bit of what’s been going on:

Ice Age Now reports how NASA and NOAA have been “cooking the data” on global warming, er, climate change. Such climate monitoring is now what the Obama administration wants from NASA, instead of going back to the moon.

The Washington, DC Metro had a horrible year in 2009, as 24 people were killed in the system.

From Atlas Shrugs via Newsbusters: Eleventh graders at an Ohio high school get a chance to earn school credit by becoming interns for Organizing for America. Suggested readings include Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals.

According to Michael Medved, trying to emulate Truman will not work for Obama.

Want to take a ride on a military airplane, at taxpayer expense? It helps if you’re related to Nancy Pelosi.

Obama bows again! Not to a king or emperor, but to an American mayor. (H/T Snooper Report)

From Gateway Pundit: Illinois gubernatorial candidate Adam Andrzejewski, whom Duncan noted a few posts ago, has surged to within two points of the lead among Republicans vying for their party’s nomination. (Rock-n-roll trivia: Name the female vocalist whose maiden name is Andrzejewski.)

According to White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, the Obama administration is determined to have Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other terrorists tried in New York.

Oh the other hand, Bill Burck and Dana Perino, writing in National Review, claim that KSM and four others will instead be tried by military commission.

The Egyptian government has announced plans to reveal the results of DNA tests from the Pharoah Tutankhamun. I wonder if “King Tut” was anything like Steve Martin’s portrayal.

Here in Maryland, as in much of the United States, the cold snap continues. Meanwhile, across the pond, Great Britain is covered by snow. (H/T Ice Age Now)

Next up, a look at some liberals. Well, actually two looks. The British site Telegraph will be listing the 100 most influential American liberals, and has started with numbers 100 through 81. Back here in the states, John Hawkins at Right Wing News gives us the “20 most annoying liberals of 2009″.

Let’s not forget our liberal-in-chief. In The Minority Report, Ken Taylor calls Obama’s transparency “a transparency of lies”. (H/T ARRA News)

Speaking of alleged lies, in CNS News, Alan Caruba writes about “The Lies About Green Jobs”. Hmmm, that’s “3 letters: J-O-B-S”, isn’t it, Mr. Vice President?

Please excuse me while I roll my eyes over this one. Disgraced former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich calls himself “blacker than Barack Obama”.

From Canada Free Press, Daniel Greenfield tells us about “The Secret History of the Left”.

One more reason that crude oil and thus gasoline are getting more expensive: increased Chinese demand.

How well do you know the American Revolution? Take the quiz.

Bring out the asterisk. Nearly Nobody’s News reports that former major league baseball player Mark McGwire has admitted to using steroids back during his playing days. In 1998, McGwire hit 70 home runs, breaking the single-season record of 61 by Roger Maris in 1961, itself subject to an asterisk because Maris played in a 162-game season, whereas the Babe Ruth had hit 60 in a 154-game season. McGwire’s record, steroid-aided as it may have been, lasted only three years, as Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs in 2001, likely also a steroid-aided feat.

In a courtroom in East Boston, there will be no pussy-footing around with this potential juror.

As I contemplate the foot and half of white powdery global warm, er, climate change that fell down last weekend and now surrounds my house (and just about every house from southwestern VA to southern New England), I offer this little ditty, created by RFC radio.

The Big Picture feature at Boston.com has 120 photos looking back at the events (so far) of 2009: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
Meanwhile, in other news, opinion and humor:

The Fort Hood shooting suspect’s condition has improved, enough for him to be moved from intensive care into a private hospital room.

Andrew McCarthy at National Review explains why Gitmo, contrary to what the Obama administration and Sen. Dick Durbin might think, does not cause terrorism.

A nine-ton temple pylon from the palace complex of Cleopatra has been pulled out of the Mediterrean Sea near Alexandria, Egypt.

Communists and (other) socialists protest near the climate change conference in Copenhagen, proudly carrying red flags and even a bust of Karl Marx. I wonder if they stayed around for the snow storm.

Speaking of Copenhagen and socialists, the Obama administration appears ready to offer $100 billion to a fund that would help developing nations deal with climate change.

Closer to home, Obama might be asked to testify in defense of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, who is accused of scheming to sell or trade Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat, campaign fundraising abuses and other offenses.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. A family in Fort Belvoir, VA sends 1550 gift bags to Iraq.

Cops in Arizona apprehend 130 drug dealers and seize $7 million in contraband.

From ARRA News Service, Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) claims that Congress can force Americans to buy health insurance.

Political cartoon – What if Rudolph the red-nose reindeer were to meet Al Gore?

The massive spending bill known as “TARP” didn’t prevent the economy from going into the toilet. The massive spending bill known as the “stimulus” didn’t pull the economy out of the toilet. What, then, is Obama now proposing for the economy? Another massive spending bill.

Meanwhile, Obama has decided to cut short his trip to Norway to pick up his Nobel Peace Prize, to the consternation of some Norwegians.

The upcoming visit from Obama is not the only strange thing that Norway has had to put up with.

Back at the White House, cookies served at the Christmas party were shaped like acorns.

Over at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, Congress has decided not to re-authorize the Washington Scholarship Fund.

On the other hand, a House subcommittee has approved legislation that could force the NCAA to determine its football champion, in Division 1-Bowl Subdivision, via a playoff system. As if there aren’t more important matters.

Possible Darwin Award nominee. A 25-year-old Ukrainian man blows his head off – with exploding chewing gum.

Cue Van Halen. I remember Hot For Teacher, but not quite like this.

Global warming/climate change has been blamed quite a few unpleasant things, such as polar bears drowning as the Arctic ice melts under them. But now, it’s being blamed for polar bear cannibalism.

In Scott County, Virginia, a church has its own zoo.

Some families of fallen troops will get an early Christmas present – a ride on the Snowball Express.

Damn the science: full speed ahead

According to a Fox News story today, the EPA is set as soon as tomorrow to “officially declare carbon dioxide a public danger, a trigger that could mean regulation for emitters across the economy”.

And since every living being is an emission source for CO2, coming soon, mandatory CO2 scubbers for every American man, women, and newborn? Or perhaps breathing taxes – and meters so that heavy breathers pay more?

Want to do those aerobic exercises? Or how about those erotic exercises, those night-time romps in the sheets? Be prepared to pay for those additional emissions.

Plus, the EPA will now have power to regulate every source of CO2 emissions, from power plants to industrial production to farming lawn mowers or backyard barbecues. Don’t you just love that enumerated powers section of the Constitution that gives an unelected Federal executive agency the power to control every waking moment of our lives?

The story also goes on to state this:

The announcement would also give President Barack Obama and his climate envoy negotiating leverage at a global climate summit starting next week in Copenhagen, Denmark and increase pressure on Congress to pass a climate bill that would modify the price of polluting.

How’s that hope and change, evidence-based EPA working out for you Obama voters? There’s no deliberate attempt to use science manipulate the political process here, is there? Nothing here about politics trumping science, right? It’s only Republican administrations that we are allowed to (wrongly) levy such charges against, now – got it.

With its remarkable sense of timing and “sticking its fingers in its ear and humming louder” – the EPA looks determined to respond to Climategate and previous accusations of suppressing scientific dissent among its staff by simply ignoring the evidence and proceeding to ram the icebergs dead ahead, since these icebergs really aren’t there according to the climate global warming models.

Well the only sure thing from here is that this EPA announcement will only exacerbate CO2 emissions by lawyers, while killing millions of CO2 mitigating trees for legal briefs. And we all lose with that.

Responsible environmentalism takes another, perhaps fatal, blow in the face.

I now interrupt my travelogue to bring you some news about what’s going on out there in the world.

A staffer for the House Ethics Committee has been fired for revealing the names of seven congresscritters under investigation.

Now that RINO Dede Scozzafava has withdrawn from the special election in the 23rd House district of New York, Intrade gives conservative Doug Hoffman a 65% chance of winning. While she has thrown her support to Democrat Bill Owens, her ex-manager now supports Hoffman.

While the NY23 race has shown some internal divisions in the GOP, with some endorsing Hoffman and others previously endorsing Scozzafava, the Democrats are also having some internal dissention, as fundraising for the conservative “Blue Dogs” has plummeted.

Columnist Star Parker gives her opinion of the “hate crimes” law, recently tacked onto the Department of Defense appropriation bill.

At Right Wing News, William Teach reports that the Senate climate change bill is “on life support”.

In what looks like an honor killing, a young woman dies after her father runs her down with his vehicle – not in Iraq, Iran or Saudi Arabia, but in Arizona.

The world’s largest cruise ship squeezes under a bridge in Denmark by lowering her smokestacks. She’s now on her way to Florida.

Over a year after an explosion shut it down, the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland is about to start operating again. According to the New York Times, two physicists have a strange idea about why it stopped working.

For some humor, from Viral Footage, the world’s worst burglar….

….and from Warming Glow, some drunk Ewoks on the Today Show.

A few months back, I posted two videos from The Nose On Your Face, that humorously depicted Teh One^TM carved onto Mt. Rushmore, talking with Honest Abe, Teddy the Rough Rider, Tom of the Declaration, and the Original George W. Yesterday morning, life imitated art, as activists connected with Greenpeace unfurled a 65-foot by 35-foot banner, just to the right of the carving of Lincoln.

Patriotic tourists visiting the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota on Wednesday found a fifth face displayed — and not as a compliment — next to the giant stone carvings of four legendary presidents.

A group of environmental activists connected with Greenpeace unfurled an enormous banner showing President Obama’s face and calling for an end to global warming.

Thankfully, they didn’t carve an image of Obama into the mountain, as jokingly suggested by videos. But the irony of environmental activists possibly causing damage to a mountain, and thus to the environment, is readily apparent.