Still a Long Way from Home

500 miles can be a long way.

About Time to be Home

Sometimes it gets lonely on the road




Enjoy Your Cake!

White Line Fever

Sometimes I find myself staring at the white line in the road...





Born down deep inside my soul...

Just About Everywhere Man

Been to most of these places. May have missed a few, but not many.






Heading to some of them right now!

Still on the Road – Rolling Along in New Mexico

I think this video speaks for itself about Papa.





Enjoy!

Time for a Road Trip

It’s time for a spring road trip again. It will be a little work, a little vacation, and lots of family time. This trip will take me through Arizona, into New Mexico and the Great Plains, then back to Colorado, and Utah.

Clint Walker played Cheyenne Bodie on Television in the 1950’s and 60’s. Cheyenne was the first 60 minute Western on Television. His adventures took him all over the West, but one took him to Washington where he worked in a show while involved in an investigation.

During this episode, he sang and danced. At 6’6” tall with a deep voice, he did quite a rendition of “Beautiful Dreamer”. I remember that this was one of my Grandmother’s favorite songs and we sometimes gave her music boxes for Christmas and birthdays. She loved the ones that played Beautiful Dreamer.

Enjoy the music, and I will have a few posts during the time I am away.

Trying to Fathom the Liberal Mind

Background

For more than two decades I have tried to fathom, to understand, to see some logic in the thoughts and minds of what now are commonly called liberals. Originally liberal meant open minded, tolerant of others, and favorable to maximum individual liberty.

Nowdays, liberal, especially in politics and social beliefs and policies, means exactly the opposite. Today liberals are for big government, intolerant of those who might disagree with them, and against individual liberties such as guaranteed in the First Amendment (for example, witness their suppression of free speech on university campuses and in the press, attempts to block talk radio and opinions different than their own, and to prohibit the free exercise of religion). Liberals also oppose the Second Amendment (witness their opposition the right to bear arms).

What we call liberal today has no relationship to the original definition. Today, the term liberal is synonymous with the terms leftists, radical leftist, socialist, and communist. I will use the term liberal interchangeably with these terms.

Here are the First and Second Amendments to the US Constitution

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Heads Up

To try and reconcile these strange and anti-American actions of liberals and to try and understand them, I plan to write a series of essays plumbing liberal politics and the liberal mind. I doubt that I as the essayist or you as the conservative reader can ever understand just how different, strange, and evil the liberals and the liberal mind really are.

Nevertheless, I will try to fathom liberal minds and see if we can gain some insight into their thoughts, bigotry, anti-American attitudes, and evil. This insight may help us understand what we are facing and what is needed to have freedom and equal justice under the rule of law in America. If I am lucky enough to be partially successful in this difficult challenge, then my time and yours will be well spent.

Please watch for these articles starting next month. And, thank you in advance for your comments and discussions which always point out my errors and help increase my understanding.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Top of the Mornin! Hope your day is a good one.

Here are some facts about St. Patrick source.

And, a picture of Ireland.

Senator Kyl Betrays his Constituents, Party, and Country Again, and Again…

Sen. Kyl ran for re-election on a strong pro-American and anti-illegal immigration platform and swore to support these policies and fiscal conservatism.

No sooner was he re-elected than he betrayed his constituents, the GOP, and America to join Kennedy, Bush, McCain, et al. on comprehensive immigration reform (Shamnesty). His election promises were outright lies. source. Also, please see here.

The word in AZ was that Bush had promised him a high judgeship for switching sides. After 2006 Bush was powerless to give Kyle much. So here Kyle is supporting the radical left. In a move to suck up to Obama, Kyl even said that snopes.com proved Obama was a citizen.

That is when I decided Kyl had probably switched sides again and is still looking for that high judgeship position. I don’t know what Obama and the Clintonistas promised Kyl to betray his Party and his country again, but it must have been something.

Following are excerpts from a recent article exposing Kyl’s dishonesty, and support for the anti-American, radical leftists. source.

Mark Twain once said, “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” There’s a corollary to that quote in the political context: “Never let policy interfere with your politics.” The corollary has no known author because too many senators claim to have made it up. Last week, however, Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl claimed at least partial ownership of the quote when he voted in favor of Elena Kagan’s nomination for Solicitor General.

Kagan is just one of a band of radical lawyers President Obama has nominated to lead the Department of Justice. These lawyers are the kind of leftist legal activists Andy McCarthy described as “Yale-educated and ACLU-trained.” Under their leadership, we could witness the most aggressive leftward shift in national legal policy in more than a generation. As Solicitor General, Kagan would easily be one of the most influential of the band.

Kyl knew that Kagan kicked the military off of Harvard’s law school campus during a war because she believed the military’s policy concerning homosexuals was “a profound wrong -- a moral injustice of the first order.” He also knew that when she challenged the military’s policy in the Supreme Court, the Court ruled against her position. Unanimously. Supreme Court watchers believe she is at least a top five contender for any vacancy. (Kyl’s approval should help her in that regard.) How does she view the current Court? She has questioned Justice Thomas’s qualifications and referred to Justice Scalia’s work as “ultimate wrong-headedness.” None of that moved Kyl.

SNIP

… he also voted in favor of Eric Holder’s nomination as Attorney General despite the fact that Holder once recommended the pardon of terrorists. Kyl also irked social conservatives by voting in favor of David Ogden for the role of Deputy Attorney General. Ogden -- now known as the name most likely to show up in the search when you Google “porn” and “lawyer” -- made a career out of advocating against laws regulating even the most offensive forms of obscenity.

Obama’s DOJ nominees, and Kagan in particular, put a spotlight on Kyl to exert the leadership required for the GOP whip, who is also a member of the Judiciary Committee.

Another RINO Worse than the Radical Leftists

Keep an eye on Kyl. There is no reason an avowed conservative such as Kyl would support illegal immigration, Obama’s claim to citizenship, and Obama’s radical leftists appointees unless there was something big in it for Kyl.

What makes a man gain a Senate seat by claiming to be a conservative Republican and then break every campaign promise he ever made? What would make Kyl lie repeatedly and deliberately support those radical leftists trying to change America to a socialist state?

There is evil in the world. None can doubt it when they see what is happening around the world and in the US Senate.

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Mark 8:36

More Americans Doubt Global Warming Alarmists

It seems that honest climate scientists have been standing up to the punishments and revenge of the global warming alarmists to speak up and the outrageous behavior of the alarmists have had an impact on public opinion. source, and hat tip to the Drudge Report.

PRINCETON, NJ -- Although a majority of Americans believe the seriousness of global warming is either correctly portrayed in the news or underestimated, a record-high 41% now say it is exaggerated. This represents the highest level of public skepticism about mainstream reporting on global warming seen in more than a decade of Gallup polling on the subject.

SNIP

Since 1997, Republicans have grown increasingly likely to believe media coverage of global warming is exaggerated, and that trend continues in the 2009 survey; however, this year marks a relatively sharp increase among independents as well. In just the past year, Republican doubters grew from 59% to 66%, and independents from 33% to 44%, while the rate among Democrats remained close to 20%.

Notably, all of the past year's uptick in cynicism about the seriousness of global warming coverage occurred among Americans 30 and older. The views of 18- to 29-year-olds, the age group generally most concerned about global warming and most likely to say the problem is underestimated, didn't change.

Perhaps the 18-29 year-olds are still under the influence of liberal educators and peer pressure.

Unethical and Confusing Property Tax Increases Lead to Prop 13 Arizona

Background

Arizona, its counties, and its cities are collecting fewer taxes because tax receipts are down in general. The housing foreclosure fraud and the recession are to blame.

As taxpayers cut back on frills as well as necessities over the past 2 years, until just recently there have been no corresponding cuts in government spending. Thus, with decreasing tax revenues and static or increasing budgets, projected deficits have soared. This is in spite of state laws requiring a balanced budget at the state and local levels. Former Democrat Governor Janet Napolitano got out in January 2009 without addressing the deficit problem by moving to be Sec. of the Dept. of Homeland Security. Now, budgets have to be balanced by June 30, 2009.

Last year the county tax assessor solved part of the problem by basing 2008-2009 taxes upon 2005 property valuations (a sneaky and crooked trick). This year assessed property values have fallen, but the tax rate was increased. The result was increased property taxes for the past 2 years so that politicians and bureaucrats could keep spending. The fact that taxpayers were suffering loss of real property values, job losses, and other damages from the recession was of no concern whatsoever to state and local politicians and bureaucrats.

The Property Tax Burden and the Irresponsible Spending of State and local Governments Became too Much to Bear

The property taxpayers are now in revolt. Following California property taxpayers’ lead from a few decades ago (the Famous Proposition 13), there is now an initiative called “Prop 13 Arizona” being proposed for the 2010 elections. The initiative would include the following provisions. source.

Prop 13 Arizona features:

> Rolls back valuations to 2003 Full Cash Value for properties purchased before December 31, 2003, or purchase price for properties purchased on or after January 1, 2004. Going forward, only purchase price will be used as the basis for taxation. No more assessed values or need for appeals.

> Limits valuation increases to 2% per year.

> Caps total tax at 0.5% of valuation for all residential properties and 1% for all other real property (commercial property, vacant land).

> Eliminates overrides and exceptions to the tax caps.

Assessment of Impacts if Prop 13 Arizona if Approved by the Voters

1) Most likely none: Will probably be overturned by some liberal court.

2) If not overturned or otherwise eliminated, this could clean up a current system of property valuations, tax rates, and taxes that is arbitrary, inconsistent, subject to political manipulation (someone next door may be paying half your taxes if he has political influence and uses it), and subject to racial discrimination (some minority dominated neighborhoods have substantially lower tax rates than do white dominated neighborhoods for the same property values — Attorney General Holder, honest race dialogue as you requested).

3) Limiting property taxes will be great for the taxpayers; tax rates shouldn’t increase when the taxpayers’ property value is decreasing. However there will be some winners and losers.
a) Cleaning up the current system of crooked and inequitable tax assessments will help everyone.
b) Local governments that kept within their budgets and kept taxes low will pay for the sins of the uncontrolled spending of the irresponsible (the State, its biggest cities and counties, and others).
c) Welfare in general, health care, schooling, and welfare for illegal aliens, and other wealth redistribution agencies will continue to grow at the expense of police, fire, recreation, roads, and other beneficial services.

4) Similar limits on other taxes and fees (state income tax, license fees, auto taxes, etc.) will also need to be implemented somehow or the excess property tax burden will be shifted to other tax sources.

5) Therefore, the only solution is to shrink state and local governments so that they won’t need to keep raising taxes and depressing the economy.

Yucca Mountain Nevada High-Level Waste Repository Killed by Obama Administration

After a decade or more of searching, 20 years ago the US Dept of Energy designated Yucca Mt. as America’s site for proposed disposal of hi-level wastes from our nation’s nuclear power plants. For the next 20 years, Yucca Mt. was studied by the Dept. of Energy, our National Laboratories, federal agencies, universities, and contractors for its suitability. Several National Academy of Sciences studies also addressed safety and suitability of the Site.

After over 20 years of research and over $13 billion, the technical consensus was that the safest, long-term storage site in America had been found. Much work had gone into constructing underground tunnels in horizontal and vertical directions within the mountain. Although these tunnels were primarily for access and research on underground rock properties affecting potential nuclear waste migration, they also formed a multi-billion dollar start on the underground storage tunnels and cavities.

Background information on the Yucca Mt. Site is given here, here, and here. As can be seen in the links there has been a great deal of political controversy over Yucca Mountain.

In the meantime, Sen. Harry Reid had discovered that there were loony leftists in Nevada as well as across the nation. Well, being a typical Democrat he set out to exploit these loonies, scare the public, and gain campaign money and political support. He found the best way to do this was to oppose development of the Yucca Mountain Site, in spite of all the scientific studies and research data. Then, after the Democrats won the last two elections, Harry was in position to influence the Clinton holdovers (called Clintonistas) running the Obama Administration to cancel Yucca Mountain. source.

Now What?

As usual with obstructionists, loonies, and NIMBYs, no alternative waste disposable site was proposed. The objective was to stop Yucca Mountain; not to find a solution to our radioactive waste disposal problem. As in the stimulus spending; the Democrats offered no plans, no performance measures, and no alternatives. More change for the worst.

US Nuclear Policy Shifts Toward Radical Islam?

Obama’s first call as president was to the head of the Palestinian Authority (formerly called the terrorist PLO). His first interview as president was with an Arab television station. Sec. of State Hillary has renewed the drumbeat for a “two state solution” to the problems caused by Palestinian terrorism.

Now comes news that the liberal Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, denies Iran is currently capable of building an atomic bomb. Recall that Bush appointed Gates Sec. of Defense just after the Democrats took control of Congress in 2006. Rather than fight for a conservative and patriotic Sec. of Defense, Bush nominated a liberal Texan that the Democrat Congress would confirm.

And, it turned out that Gates was very liberal, liberal enough for the Clintonistas running Obama’s campaign and presidency to keep Gates as Sec. of Defense. They knew Gates would prove useful. And, as shown below, Gates is a suck up, a toady, a boot licking bureaucrat who is only too eager to please his masters in the White House.

The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, the IAEA, and Israel all have recently stated that Iran now has the capability to develop nuclear weapons source.

In a chilling indication that Iran's arms program is advancing steadily, Israel acknowledged for the first time that Teheran had mastered the technology to make a nuclear bomb on the same day that the Iranians announced they had successfully tested a new air-to-surface missile.

Iran has "crossed the technological threshold," and its attainment of nuclear military capability is now a matter of "incorporating the goal of producing an atomic bomb into its strategy," OC Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin told the cabinet on Sunday.

SNIP

Yadlin said the Islamic republic hoped to use the expected dialogue with the Obama administration to buy time to procure the amount of high-enriched uranium needed to build a bomb.

SNIP

Yadlin's assessment brought him into line with a similar assessment made last week by Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, who said Teheran had enough fissile material to build a bomb now.

But in an indication of just how subjective the question of Iran's progress toward a bomb has become, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates took issue with Mullen, saying the Iranians were not "close to a weapon at this point."

The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency also said last week that it had been mistaken in earlier reports and now had evidence that Iran had enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon.

Sec. of Defense, Gates, Adm. Mullen, Yadlin, and the IAEA all have Nearly Identical Intelligence Data

So how is it that our top military officer, Adm. Mullen of the US Joint Chiefs, Israeli Gen. Yadlin, and the IAEA all reach the same conclusion while Sec. of Defense Gates denies Iran’s nuclear capability?

My analysis is that the liberal Sec. of Defense Gates is toeing the Obama line on US nuclear policy and tilting rapidly to the Islamic side of the War on Terror (oh, that is officially over as far as the Obama Administration is concerned) and the war on Israel.

There could not be a more idiotic, foolish, or anti-American move than to tilt towards radical Islam and to support their nuclear threats and ambitions. Western countries and western civilization are at grave risk.

It has been made abundantly clear that President Obama is incompetent on domestic issues, and now it looks as if he is just an inadequate and foolish on grave matters of international nuclear terror and our national security.

More Evidence that Obama Lacks Sufficient Education and Experienced to be President

Besides the gaffs and lack of knowledge shown here, Obama is showing less and less fitness to be president. We all knew he was young, inexperienced, and had never worked for a living; that was enough for nearly half of the voters to go against Obama. Alas, many others were taken in, used typically twisted liberal logic, or believed the “something for nothing” rhetoric directed to the dependency class.

But now, even many of the latter must be disappointed and regret voting based on emotion rather than logic or rumor and herd mentality rather than facts.

Here is some new evidence that electing Obama was a huge mistake.

1. He Can’t make a Speech on His Own – Needs TelePrompter Crutch source.

Obama's safety net: the TelePrompter

Obama’s reliance on the teleprompter is unusual — not only because he is famous for his oratory, but because no other president has used one so consistently and at so many events, large and small.

After the teleprompter malfunctioned a few times last summer and Obama delivered some less-than-soaring speeches, reports surfaced that he was training to wean himself off of the device while on vacation in Hawaii. But no such luck.

SNIP

The president’s teleprompter also elicited some uncomfortable laughter after he announced Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as his choice for Health and Human Services secretary. “Kathy,” Obama said, turning the podium over to Sebelius, who waited at the microphone for an awkward few seconds while the teleprompters were lowered to the floor and the television cameras rolled.

Obama has relied on a teleprompter through even the shortest announcements and when repeating the same lines on his economic stimulus plan that he's been saying for months — whereas past presidents have mostly worked off of notes on the podium except during major speeches, such as the State of the Union.

Again this is hard evidence that his handlers (all the former Clinton Administration wheelers, dealers, and tax some cheats) are afraid to let Obama speak on his own. He lacks the ability to speak extemporaneously. He in not quick witted enough to think on his feet and engage in give and take dialogue.

2. Bad News and Negative Talk: Obama Does not Recognize He is Much of the Problem source.

Obama Policies Feed Market Panic

Since Barack Obama was sworn in as president on Jan. 20, stocks have tumbled to record lows — with investors losing an estimated $2.5 trillion in market value.

The trend continued Thursday, with the Dow closing down 281 points, a 4.1 percent drop for the day. Since Inauguration Day, the Dow has fallen 20.4 percent.

All week, negative headlines have competed with the slumping market ticker, including early news Thursday that General Motors might well go bankrupt despite billions in taxpayer loans.

SNIP

Plus, Obama revealed that he plans increase marginal tax rates on those earning more than $250,000.

The new taxes will yield more than $1 trillion in government revenues, but some economists believe the news of increased taxation will suck the wind out of any economic recovery.

In the middle of the market meltdown Thursday, Obama spent the day talking about a massive increase in healthcare spending, including a proposal in his budget that sets aside $634 billion in a 10-year reserve fund to pay for expanded care.

At a time when the country is looking for leadership Obama keeps using the tactics of threats and fear to push through his socialist agenda. Apparently it is not working on many who drive the economy. And not just the stock market, the general public has increased saving and reduced spending. Much of this has to do with the lack of leadership in the White House.

Those who supported and voted for Obama are learning the hard lesson that while it is possible to make a rock star overnight; the same is not true for a competent president.

What Do These Pictures Show?

These pictures were taken in New Mexico about 80 mi SW of Roswell in 2008.
They were taken with a Cannon Elph digital camera in mid-afternoon on a fine August day.

The first picture shows a hillside with something approaching it. The second picture was taken at a higher angle and does not include the hill. The small black spots in the picture are most likely dust on the lens. What are the orange disks in both pictures?

Leave your guesses and justification in the comments please.

Have fun!

How Long Can the Supreme Court Cover up for Obama?

Obama is either eligible to be president of the US or he is not.

It is simple matter of law. The relevant documents (real birth certificate, academic record showing if he registered as an American or as a foreign student, etc.) need to be subpoenaed and examined. Then, it is a simple matter of the Supreme Court making a factual ruling.

That Obama is hiding something is obvious by his refusing to make the requested documents public. There should be no doubt whatsoever that a president of the United States is constitutionally qualified for office. Everyone in America has the right to know that.

But, alas, the Court is half liberal and the latest two appointees by Bush may turn out to be liberals rather than the conservatives they swore to be. In any event, the liberal half would rule in favor of Obama if he were from Mars (so much for rule of law in America huh?). And the conservative half keeps ducking the issue and thereby ruling for Obama. As a result, the Supreme Court is dodging their Constitutional duty and letting the American people down over and over.

Now, Orly Taitz of the Defend our Freedom Foundation may have found a way to make it harder for the Supreme Court to cover up for Obama. Following are some excerpts from here.

More military officers demand eligibility proof
Plaintiff: 'In the worst case … it's going to be revolution in the streets'
Posted: March 02, 2009
8:18 pm Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Military officers from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines are working with California attorney Orly Taitz and her Defend Our Freedoms Foundation, citing a legal right established in British common law nearly 800 years ago and recognized by the U.S. Founding Fathers to demand documentation that may prove – or disprove – Barack Obama's eligibility to be president.

Taitz told WND today she has mailed to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder a request that he "relate Quo Warranto on Barack Hussein Obama II to test his title to president before the Supreme Court."

The lengthy legal phrase essentially means an explanation is being demanded for what authority Obama is using to act as president. An online constitutional resource says Quo Warranto "affords the only judicial remedy for violations of the Constitution by public officials and agents."

Requesting the action are Maj. Gen. Carroll Childers; Lt. Col. Dr. David Earl-Graef; police officer Clinton Grimes, formerly of the U.S. Navy; Lt. Scott Easterling, now serving on active duty in Iraq; New Hampshire state Rep. Timothy Comerford; Tennessee state Rep. Frank Nicely and others.

SNIP

WND has reported on dozens of legal challenges to Obama's status as a "natural born citizen." The Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, states, "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President."

Some of the lawsuits question whether he was actually born in Hawaii, as he insists. If he was born out of the country, Obama's American mother, the suits contend, was too young at the time of his birth to confer American citizenship to her son under the law at the time.

Other challenges have focused on Obama's citizenship through his father, a Kenyan subject to the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom at the time of his birth, thus making him a dual citizen. The cases contend the framers of the Constitution excluded dual citizens from qualifying as natural born.

SNIP

Several of the cases have involved emergency appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court in which justices have declined even to hear arguments. Among the cases turned down without a hearing at the high court have been petitions by Philip Berg, Cort Wrotnowski, Leo Donofrio and Taitz.

SNIP

As Jerome Corsi, WND senior staff writer, explained, "The main reason doubts persist regarding Obama's birth certificate is this question: If an original Hawaii-doctor-generated and Hawaii-hospital-released Obama birth certificate exists, why wouldn't the senator and his campaign simply order the document released and end the controversy?

"That Obama has not ordered Hawaii officials to release the document," Corsi writes, "leaves doubts as to whether an authentic Hawaii birth certificate exists for Obama."

The Saddest part of All

What is so sad about this whole sordid affair of lies, cover ups, and arrogant disregard for the Constitution is that it is so easy to resolve. Furthermore, the longer our timid Supreme Court waits the more potential harm the country may suffer.

I suspect one of two courses will be taken by the Supreme Court.

One, they will continue to ignore all pleas for the truth and continue the cover up and in the meantime Obama’s agents will pull a “Sandy Burger” and destroy the original documents.

Or, the Supreme Court will obtain the information and decide that the truth is “so damaging to the American people” that it must be suppressed and withheld forever.

Global Warming Alarmists

Definitions of How the Words and Phrases Are Used

Global Warming: Rapidly rising global atmospheric temperatures caused by humans discharging carbon dioxide (CO2) from burning of fossil fuels such as coal, gasoline, and natural gas.

Global Warming Alarmists: People who believe man-caused global warming will destroy the planet because it impacts all ecosystems, their interactions, and thus, everything on earth. Furthermore, this destruction is underway, imminent, and near or past the point of no return. Well known global warming alarmists include scientifically uninformed politicians such as Al Gore and politician-scientists such as Drs. Hansen and Mann.

Global Warming Realists: Climate scientists, other scientists, and educated lay people who believe scientific facts and honest scientific methods should be used to study climate changes.

Climatic Variations and Natural Fluctuations: Weather (what we see and feel right now) varies from second to second, minute to minute, day to day, etc. Climate is the result of long term weather observations. So in a sense, climate is what you expect and weather is what you actually get. If one had to characterize weather with one word only, it would be “variable”. Therefore, it is fitting and proper, logical, natural, and inevitable that climate (made up of long-term weather) must itself vary and fluctuate. Climate varies through time and from place to place, therefore climate change and climatic variations are not only normal, they are inevitable.

It turns out that hundreds of thousands of years of ice core data (from Antarctica, Greenland) are available for analyses and the information from them can be used as indicators of past climate. The ice cores also indicate the past history of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere.

The latest and most comprehensive analyses of long-term ice core data show that changes in temperature lead in time (come before) changes in CO2 concentration. This is converse to the theory that CO2 changes come first and then affect temperature. See for example here and here.

The second link includes these statements.

The temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations have been correlated - see e.g. Petit et al., Nature 1999 - but we know for sure that the temperature was the cause and the concentration was its consequence, not the other way around.

And

The direction of the causal relationship can be shown in many ways: for example, it is not just CO2 but other gases such as methane that follow temperature. The hypothesis of CO2 as the primary reason wouldn't explain why these other gases are correlated, too. Also, we understand how oceans react to temperature changes by releasing gases. Finally, the gas concentrations lag behind the temperature by 800 years, see e.g. this 2003 paper in Science by Caillon et al.

Is the “Science” of Global Warming Settled?

As you can see from the above citations based on analyses of ice core data, it is not. Much is unknown and much needs to be learned.

Weather, climate, and CO2 concentrations have changed and varied over long periods of the earth’s history. They will continue to do so and the ice core data do not support the wild assertions of the global warming alarmists.

This is the way science works. You formulate a theory in the form of testable hypotheses. Data which agree with the hypotheses support it and increase its credibility. But all the positive data can never prove the hypotheses as true.

Conversely, good, sound data which disagree with the hypothesis prove it wrong. A theory can only be supported by empirical data agreeing with it. But, any data disagreeing with the theory refutes it.

Look at it this way. Let your theory be that all human beings are honest. Let your hypothesis be that a particular person is always honest, always.

He may tell the truth a hundred or a thousand times in a row, but this does not prove that person is always honest. It supports the belief that he probably is.
But, catch that person in a lie just once, and it proves beyond all doubt and forever that he has lied and therefore you have proven that he cannot always be honest. You have refuted a testable hypothesis.

What does this say about your theory that all humanity is honest? It destroys the theory and you start over based on what you have learned—that at least one person has lied.

If ice core data show that temperature causes changes in CO2 rather than vice versa then the global warming alarmists’ theory is destroyed.

In conclusion, by their actions and statements, global warming alarmists have proven that these scientific concepts are beyond their reasoning ability or that they are charlatans. Solid data refute their main hypothesis.

Mexico a Failed State – More Evidence

There is evidence that the “brain drain” is accelerating in Mexico and even the Mexican government may be recognizing it. Please see the excellent site here.

The exodus of Mexican talent abroad, which reaches 575,000 citizens with degrees in higher education, has cost the country more than 100 billion pesos, a quarter of the budget of the Secretary of Public Education (SEP). Presently 20,000 qualified professionals abandon the country annually. In addition, studies have shown that half the Mexican students who pursue higher degrees abroad remain in those countries due to positions offered there. The SEP points out that students educated through the public school system in Mexico, at the cost to all Mexicans, and then leave, “not only represent a bleeding of human capital, but also of investment in developing those students.”

Several important Implications

First, Mexico’s intellectual capital is fleeing the country leaving those of lesser ability behind. Long-term implications for Mexico are a decreasing number of intelligent, educated people and a degrading gene pool and the resulting increase in incompetence, corruption, socialism, and barbarism. I say intelligent-educated because they are smart enough to succeed in their education (Mexico’s education system is not crippled by affirmative action as is ours). Thus, educational achievement is a much stronger function of intelligence and hard work in Mexico than it is in the US.

Second, much of Mexico’s educational system is similar to that in the US in that it is dominated by extreme, radical, left wing, communists and socialists in the faculty and student body. They revere Castro the way Obama reveres Marx and Lenin. The self absorbed leftists are more likely to flee than their more patriotic, conservative counterparts. Pity the poor nations that take in these fleeing educated Mexicans. They will be accepting a cancer of socialism and cultural destruction. Alas, even the more conservative and patriotic elite are also leaving.

Third, when people of this elite class flee a nation, it is a sure sign that they have given up on their country and hold little hope of its success. They are voting with their feet (or in this case airline tickets) and we would do well to consider it as a sign of accelerated decline in Mexico and a warning of the moral and political caliber of those wishing to come here.

Finally, if Mexico is ever to come out of the barbarism, drug culture, and near complete corruption, they will have less native talent to utilize as leaders. Therefore, Mexico’s decent into anarchy and all that follows will be very, very difficult and costly to reverse.

The Third Clinton Administration

Obama, having never received a proper education (as will be shown below) and never having worked an honest job, has neither the education nor the experience to be President. He is an illegitimate “figure head” president being managed and directed by hundreds of Clintonistas telling him what, when, where, and how to do things and what to say as well as when and where he is to say it. The Obama Administration is packed with so many ex Clinton officials and wheeler dealers that for all intents it is a third Clinton Administration.

Once in a while (on stage for example or in the absence of a teleprompter) he is free of the managers and states his own thoughts and beliefs. It is not a pretty thing, it is truly embarrassing. It is doubly embarrassing to think so many millions of Americans voted for him. The President? Scary.

The Gaffes and some Facts

There is a source for some of Obama’s gaffes here. Go to the link and read them, they are funny, and, there are also many examples of lies and broken promises by Obama.

"And I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it."

He should check with the Germans and see what they think of that.

Wait a second, the automobile was invented in Germany. source.

“Obama waves and learns the door on Marine One is much shorter than he is, and bumps his head ...ouch! he is getting used to Marine One.”

When President Ford tripped or banged his head the leftists made a big issue about it, in fact, Chevy Chase nearly made his career. But I guess they realized that Ford had more to lose, with his thicker skull it would take much more to hurt Obama.

“Obama was trying really hard to open a window !! Couldn't he see that there is not a handle there? Can you imagine if Bush had done this?”

Most preschool children can draw pictures that show differences in windows and doors. But Obama was trying to open a window to get in the White House. Maybe his Chicago roots go deeper than we thought; bad habits are often hard to break.

Michelle Malkin also presents some interesting Obama Gaffes here.

Following is a sampling, please read her entire article for comments and interpretations of what some of these gaffes mean.

Last May, he claimed that Kansas tornadoes killed a whopping 10,000 people: “In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died — an entire town destroyed.” The actual death toll: 12.

This is comparable to Nancy Pelosi’s statement that 500 million Americans were losing their jobs every month—hard to do in a country of just over 300 million.

Earlier this month in Oregon, he redrew the map of the United States: “Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go.”

The average 4th grader knows the states and their capitals. Those school children sure know better than to claim there are 57 states with one left to go.

Last week, in front of a roaring Sioux Falls, South Dakota audience, Obama exulted: “Thank you Sioux City…I said it wrong. I’ve been in Iowa for too long. I’m sorry.”

Typical Democrat doesn’t know where he is or how long he has been there. And this guy has the brains to comprehend trillions of dollars and the vast government he is supposed to run? About as much chance as deep sea fishing in Iowa, or was that South Dakota?

Last March, the Chicago Tribune reported this little-noticed nugget about a fake autobiographical detail in Obama’s “Dreams from My Father:”
“Then, there’s the copy of Life magazine that Obama presents as his racial awakening at age 9. In it, he wrote, was an article and two accompanying photographs of an African-American man physically and mentally scarred by his efforts to lighten his skin. In fact, the Life article and the photographs don’t exist, say the magazine’s own historians.”

Lying used to be Ok for Democrats unless they got caught. But now we have CHANGE; you can lie all you want and the irresponsible propaganda machine of the mainstream media will cover for you. But only if you are a radical leftist; if you are a conservative or the average American citizen they call it BS or perjury depending upon the location where the lying is done.

And in perhaps the most seriously troubling set of gaffes of them all, Obama told a Portland crowd over the weekend that Iran doesn’t “pose a serious threat to us”–cluelessly arguing that “tiny countries” with small defense budgets can’t do us harm– and then promptly flip-flopped the next day, claiming, “I’ve made it clear for years that the threat from Iran is grave.”

Is you is or is you aint a tiny little country? Or maybe “better late than never” would be a better comment assuming he retains what his handlers tell him.


So What Does All this Mean?

It means if you liked Bill and Hillary Clinton and their Administrations, you should be somewhat happy.

It means if you don’t work, or never have, you are in very good company.

It means we shouldn’t worry too much about growth and recovery because the United States has grown by 7 or 8 states already.

Tiny countries can’t do us harm.

Some Reports from CPAC May Mean More GOP Trouble

The Conservative Political Action Convention (CPAC) straw poll on Feb. 28 sent us some mixed, but mostly, negative signals. It appears CPAC leadership, and perhaps a large chunk of the rank and file, still has that “inside the beltway” state-of-mind. Gov. Romney took the straw poll as the favorite candidate for 2012. source.

I think Romney was the best GOP candidate in 2008 (not counting those that never had a chance, such as Tom Tancredo). But, I doubt that the man who gave us the Massachusetts socialized health care plan (which like all other socialized health plans is failing or has failed) and who is the former governor of one of America’s most liberal states is the best conservative choice for the future.

Secondly, the focus on the presidential race in 2012 spells trouble for 2010. We can’t rescue America from socialism using “within the beltway thinking”. It seems many who live or work within the beltway loose focus on America and think more and more of Washington as the solution to our problems. Mild cases of Potomac Fever do not leave one immune to the disease; rather, it usually increases one’s lust for power and personal gain. If conservatives want to take the White House in 2012, they must also focus on electing conservative governors, representatives, and senators in 2010. And this means a grass roots or bottom up resurgence of conservatives; not one driven from within the beltway.

Finally, I don’t think it is any accident that CPAC is in Washington, DC. Having their convention in DC automatically biases the discussion, speakers, and state of mind to a Washington, DC focus. I wish CPAC would remember Ronald Reagan’s words “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Oklahoma City would have been a fine venue. Oklahoma did bring in the strongest Republican (and presumably conservative) vote in the last few elections. source.