Energy

Democrats’ Quiet Changes Pile Up – WSJ.com

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While President Barack Obama still faces stiff headwinds on a range of major legislation on his agenda, he has been signing into law a slew of smaller initiatives that had gathered dust on the Democratic wish list for years.

Many of the bills had been blocked by Republicans who considered the measures unnecessary expansions of government or too costly. But facing Democratic majorities in Congress, conservatives are picking their battles and in many cases letting the legislation roll through.

read the rest here… Democrats’ Quiet Changes Pile Up – WSJ.com.

Obama & Crew: Excellence Versus Nothing – HUMAN EVENTS

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It is no wonder to me why President Obama believes and does what he does: he has zero experience in the private sector, zero executive experience, and even very limited experience in government.

via Obama & Crew: Excellence Versus Nothing – HUMAN EVENTS.

The Cap and Tax Fiction – WSJ.com

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To get support for his bill, Mr. Waxman was forced to water down the cap in early years to please rural Democrats, and then severely ratchet it up in later years to please liberal Democrats. The CBO’s analysis looks solely at the year 2020, before most of the tough restrictions kick in. As the cap is tightened and companies are stripped of initial opportunities to “offset” their emissions, the price of permits will skyrocket beyond the CBO estimate of $28 per ton of carbon. The corporate costs of buying these expensive permits will be passed to consumers.

via The Cap and Tax Fiction – WSJ.com.

Glenn Beck – Who voted for Cap and Tax?

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Glenn Beck – Current Events & Politics – Who voted for Cap and Tax?.

Those to campaign against…

Vote District Representative
Arizona
Aye AZ-4 Pastor, Edward [D]
Aye AZ-7 Grijalva, Raul [D]
Aye AZ-8 Giffords, Gabrielle [D]
Arkansas
Aye AR-2 Snyder, Victor [D]
California
Aye CA-1 Thompson, C. [D]
Aye CA-5 Matsui, Doris [D]
Aye CA-6 Woolsey, Lynn [D]
Aye CA-7 Miller, George [D]
Aye CA-8 Pelosi, Nancy [D]
Aye CA-9 Lee, Barbara [D]
Aye CA-10 Tauscher, Ellen
Aye CA-11 McNerney, Jerry [D]
Aye CA-12 Speier, Jackie [D]
Aye CA-14 Eshoo, Anna [D]
Aye CA-15 Honda, Michael [D]
Aye CA-16 Lofgren, Zoe [D]
Aye CA-17 Farr, Sam [D]
Aye CA-18 Cardoza, Dennis [D]
Aye CA-23 Capps, Lois [D]
Aye CA-27 Sherman, Brad [D]
Aye CA-28 Berman, Howard [D]
Aye CA-29 Schiff, Adam [D]
Aye CA-30 Waxman, Henry [D]
Aye CA-31 Becerra, Xavier [D]
Aye CA-33 Watson, Diane [D]
Aye CA-34 Roybal-Allard, Lucille [D]
Aye CA-35 Waters, Maxine [D]
Aye CA-36 Harman, Jane [D]
Aye CA-37 Richardson, Laura [D]
Aye CA-38 Napolitano, Grace [D]
Aye CA-39 Sanchez, Linda [D]
Aye CA-43 Baca, Joe [D]
Aye CA-45 Bono Mack, Mary [R]
Aye CA-47 Sanchez, Loretta [D]
Aye CA-51 Filner, Bob [D]
Aye CA-53 Davis, Susan [D]
Colorado
Aye CO-1 DeGette, Diana [D]
Aye CO-2 Polis, Jared [D]
Aye CO-4 Markey, Betsy [D]
Aye CO-7 Perlmutter, Ed [D]
Connecticut
Aye CT-1 Larson, John [D]
Aye CT-2 Courtney, Joe [D]
Aye CT-3 DeLauro, Rosa [D]
Aye CT-4 Himes, James [D]
Aye CT-5 Murphy, Christopher [D]
Delaware
Aye DE-0 Castle, Michael [R]
Florida
Aye FL-2 Boyd, Allen [D]
Aye FL-3 Brown, Corrine [D]
Aye FL-8 Grayson, Alan [D]
Aye FL-11 Castor, Kathy [D]
Aye FL-17 Meek, Kendrick [D]
Aye FL-19 Wexler, Robert [D]
Aye FL-20 Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D]
Aye FL-22 Klein, Ron [D]
Aye FL-24 Kosmas, Suzanne [D]
Georgia
Aye GA-2 Bishop, Sanford [D]
Aye GA-4 Johnson, Henry [D]
Aye GA-5 Lewis, John [D]
Aye GA-13 Scott, David [D]
Hawaii
Aye HI-1 Abercrombie, Neil [D]
Aye HI-2 Hirono, Mazie [D]
Illinois
Aye IL-1 Rush, Bobby [D]
Aye IL-2 Jackson, Jesse [D]
Aye IL-3 Lipinski, Daniel [D]
Aye IL-4 Gutierrez, Luis [D]
Aye IL-5 Quigley, Mike [D]
Aye IL-7 Davis, Danny [D]
Aye IL-8 Bean, Melissa [D]
Aye IL-9 Schakowsky, Janice [D]
Aye IL-10 Kirk, Mark [R]
Aye IL-11 Halvorson, Deborah [D]
Aye IL-17 Hare, Phil [D]
Indiana
Aye IN-7 Carson, André [D]
Aye IN-9 Hill, Baron [D]
Iowa
Aye IA-1 Braley, Bruce [D]
Aye IA-2 Loebsack, David [D]
Aye IA-3 Boswell, Leonard [D]
Kansas
Aye KS-3 Moore, Dennis [D]
Kentucky
Aye KY-3 Yarmuth, John [D]
Aye KY-6 Chandler, Ben [D]
Maine
Aye ME-1 Pingree, Chellie [D]
Aye ME-2 Michaud, Michael [D]
Maryland
Aye MD-1 Kratovil, Frank [D]
Aye MD-2 Ruppersberger, C.A. [D]
Aye MD-3 Sarbanes, John [D]
Aye MD-4 Edwards, Donna [D]
Aye MD-5 Hoyer, Steny [D]
Aye MD-7 Cummings, Elijah [D]
Aye MD-8 Van Hollen, Christopher [D]
Massachusetts
Aye MA-1 Olver, John [D]
Aye MA-2 Neal, Richard [D]
Aye MA-3 McGovern, James [D]
Aye MA-4 Frank, Barney [D]
Aye MA-5 Tsongas, Niki [D]
Aye MA-6 Tierney, John [D]
Aye MA-7 Markey, Edward [D]
Aye MA-8 Capuano, Michael [D]
Aye MA-9 Lynch, Stephen [D]
Aye MA-10 Delahunt, William [D]
Michigan
Aye MI-1 Stupak, Bart [D]
Aye MI-5 Kildee, Dale [D]
Aye MI-7 Schauer, Mark [D]
Aye MI-9 Peters, Gary [D]
Aye MI-12 Levin, Sander [D]
Aye MI-13 Kilpatrick, Carolyn [D]
Aye MI-14 Conyers, John [D]
Aye MI-15 Dingell, John [D]
Minnesota
Aye MN-1 Walz, Timothy [D]
Aye MN-4 McCollum, Betty [D]
Aye MN-5 Ellison, Keith [D]
Aye MN-7 Peterson, Collin [D]
Aye MN-8 Oberstar, James [D]
Mississippi
Aye MS-2 Thompson, Bennie [D]
Missouri
Aye MO-1 Clay, William [D]
Aye MO-3 Carnahan, Russ [D]
Aye MO-4 Skelton, Ike [D]
Aye MO-5 Cleaver, Emanuel [D]
Nevada
Aye NV-1 Berkley, Shelley [D]
Aye NV-3 Titus, Dina [D]
New Hampshire
Aye NH-1 Shea-Porter, Carol [D]
Aye NH-2 Hodes, Paul [D]
New Jersey
Aye NJ-1 Andrews, Robert [D]
Aye NJ-2 LoBiondo, Frank [R]
Aye NJ-3 Adler, John [D]
Aye NJ-4 Smith, Christopher [R]
Aye NJ-6 Pallone, Frank [D]
Aye NJ-7 Lance, Leonard [R]
Aye NJ-8 Pascrell, William [D]
Aye NJ-9 Rothman, Steven [D]
Aye NJ-10 Payne, Donald [D]
Aye NJ-12 Holt, Rush [D]
Aye NJ-13 Sires, Albio [D]
New Mexico
Aye NM-1 Heinrich, Martin [D]
Aye NM-2 Teague, Harry [D]
Aye NM-3 Lujan, Ben [D]
New York
Aye NY-1 Bishop, Timothy [D]
Aye NY-2 Israel, Steve [D]
Aye NY-4 McCarthy, Carolyn [D]
Aye NY-5 Ackerman, Gary [D]
Aye NY-6 Meeks, Gregory [D]
Aye NY-7 Crowley, Joseph [D]
Aye NY-8 Nadler, Jerrold [D]
Aye NY-9 Weiner, Anthony [D]
Aye NY-10 Towns, Edolphus [D]
Aye NY-11 Clarke, Yvette [D]
Aye NY-12 Velazquez, Nydia [D]
Aye NY-13 McMahon, Michael [D]
Aye NY-14 Maloney, Carolyn [D]
Aye NY-15 Rangel, Charles [D]
Aye NY-16 Serrano, José [D]
Aye NY-17 Engel, Eliot [D]
Aye NY-18 Lowey, Nita [D]
Aye NY-19 Hall, John [D]
Aye NY-20 Murphy, Scott [D]
Aye NY-21 Tonko, Paul [D]
Aye NY-22 Hinchey, Maurice [D]
Aye NY-23 McHugh, John [R]
Aye NY-25 Maffei, Daniel [D]
Aye NY-27 Higgins, Brian [D]
Aye NY-28 Slaughter, Louise [D]
North Carolina
Aye NC-1 Butterfield, George [D]
Aye NC-2 Etheridge, Bob [D]
Aye NC-4 Price, David [D]
Aye NC-11 Shuler, Heath [D]
Aye NC-12 Watt, Melvin [D]
Aye NC-13 Miller, R. [D]
Ohio
Aye OH-1 Driehaus, Steve [D]
Aye OH-9 Kaptur, Marcy [D]
Aye OH-11 Fudge, Marcia [D]
Aye OH-13 Sutton, Betty [D]
Aye OH-15 Kilroy, Mary Jo [D]
Aye OH-16 Boccieri, John [D]
Aye OH-17 Ryan, Timothy [D]
Aye OH-18 Space, Zachary [D]
Oregon
Aye OR-1 Wu, David [D]
Aye OR-3 Blumenauer, Earl [D]
Aye OR-5 Schrader, Kurt [D]
Pennsylvania
Aye PA-1 Brady, Robert [D]
Aye PA-2 Fattah, Chaka [D]
Aye PA-7 Sestak, Joe [D]
Aye PA-8 Murphy, Patrick [D]
Aye PA-11 Kanjorski, Paul [D]
Aye PA-12 Murtha, John [D]
Aye PA-13 Schwartz, Allyson [D]
Aye PA-14 Doyle, Michael [D]
Rhode Island
Aye RI-1 Kennedy, Patrick [D]
Aye RI-2 Langevin, James [D]
South Carolina
Aye SC-5 Spratt, John [D]
Aye SC-6 Clyburn, James [D]
Tennessee
Aye TN-5 Cooper, Jim [D]
Aye TN-6 Gordon, Barton [D]
Aye TN-9 Cohen, Steve [D]
Texas
Aye TX-9 Green, Al [D]
Aye TX-15 Hinojosa, Rubén [D]
Aye TX-16 Reyes, Silvestre [D]
Aye TX-18 Jackson-Lee, Sheila [D]
Aye TX-20 Gonzalez, Charles [D]
Aye TX-25 Doggett, Lloyd [D]
Aye TX-28 Cuellar, Henry [D]
Aye TX-29 Green, Raymond [D]
Aye TX-30 Johnson, Eddie [D]
Vermont
Aye VT-0 Welch, Peter [D]
Virginia
Aye VA-3 Scott, Robert [D]
Aye VA-5 Perriello, Thomas [D]
Aye VA-8 Moran, James [D]
Aye VA-9 Boucher, Frederick [D]
Aye VA-11 Connolly, Gerald [D]
Washington
Aye WA-1 Inslee, Jay [D]
Aye WA-2 Larsen, Rick [D]
Aye WA-3 Baird, Brian [D]
Aye WA-6 Dicks, Norman [D]
Aye WA-7 McDermott, James [D]
Aye WA-8 Reichert, Dave [R]
Aye WA-9 Smith, Adam [D]
Wisconsin
Aye WI-2 Baldwin, Tammy [D]
Aye WI-3 Kind, Ronald [D]
Aye WI-4 Moore, Gwen [D]
Aye WI-7 Obey, David [D]
Aye WI-8 Kagen, Steve [D]

Those to thank…

Vote District Representative
Alabama
No AL-1 Bonner, Jo [R]
No AL-2 Bright, Bobby [D]
No AL-3 Rogers, Michael [R]
No AL-4 Aderholt, Robert [R]
No AL-5 Griffith, Parker [D]
No AL-6 Bachus, Spencer [R]
No AL-7 Davis, Artur [D]
Alaska
No AK-0 Young, Donald [R]
Arizona
No AZ-1 Kirkpatrick, Ann [D]
No AZ-2 Franks, Trent [R]
No AZ-3 Shadegg, John [R]
No AZ-5 Mitchell, Harry [D]
Arkansas
No AR-1 Berry, Robert [D]
No AR-3 Boozman, John [R]
No AR-4 Ross, Mike [D]
California
No CA-2 Herger, Walter [R]
No CA-3 Lungren, Daniel [R]
No CA-4 McClintock, Tom [R]
No CA-13 Stark, Fortney [D]
No CA-19 Radanovich, George [R]
No CA-20 Costa, Jim [D]
No CA-21 Nunes, Devin [R]
No CA-22 McCarthy, Kevin [R]
No CA-24 Gallegly, Elton [R]
No CA-25 McKeon, Howard [R]
No CA-26 Dreier, David [R]
No CA-40 Royce, Edward [R]
No CA-41 Lewis, Jerry [R]
No CA-42 Miller, Gary [R]
No CA-44 Calvert, Ken [R]
No CA-46 Rohrabacher, Dana [R]
No CA-48 Campbell, John [R]
No CA-49 Issa, Darrell [R]
No CA-50 Bilbray, Brian [R]
No CA-52 Hunter, Duncan [R]
Colorado
No CO-3 Salazar, John [D]
No CO-5 Lamborn, Doug [R]
No CO-6 Coffman, Mike [R]
Florida
No FL-1 Miller, Jeff [R]
No FL-4 Crenshaw, Ander [R]
No FL-5 Brown-Waite, Virginia [R]
No FL-6 Stearns, Clifford [R]
No FL-7 Mica, John [R]
No FL-9 Bilirakis, Gus [R]
No FL-10 Young, C. W. [R]
No FL-12 Putnam, Adam [R]
No FL-13 Buchanan, Vern [R]
No FL-14 Mack, Connie [R]
No FL-15 Posey, Bill [R]
No FL-16 Rooney, Thomas [R]
No FL-18 Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [R]
No FL-21 Diaz-Balart, Lincoln [R]
No FL-25 Diaz-Balart, Mario [R]
Georgia
No GA-1 Kingston, Jack [R]
No GA-3 Westmoreland, Lynn [R]
No GA-6 Price, Tom [R]
No GA-7 Linder, John [R]
No GA-8 Marshall, James [D]
No GA-9 Deal, Nathan [R]
No GA-10 Broun, Paul [R]
No GA-11 Gingrey, John [R]
No GA-12 Barrow, John [D]
Idaho
No ID-1 Minnick, Walter [D]
No ID-2 Simpson, Michael [R]
Illinois
No IL-6 Roskam, Peter [R]
No IL-12 Costello, Jerry [D]
No IL-13 Biggert, Judy [R]
No IL-14 Foster, Bill [D]
No IL-15 Johnson, Timothy [R]
No IL-16 Manzullo, Donald [R]
No IL-18 Schock, Aaron [R]
No IL-19 Shimkus, John [R]
Indiana
No IN-1 Visclosky, Peter [D]
No IN-2 Donnelly, Joe [D]
No IN-3 Souder, Mark [R]
No IN-4 Buyer, Stephen [R]
No IN-5 Burton, Dan [R]
No IN-6 Pence, Mike [R]
No IN-8 Ellsworth, Brad [D]
Iowa
No IA-4 Latham, Thomas [R]
No IA-5 King, Steve [R]
Kansas
No KS-1 Moran, Jerry [R]
No KS-2 Jenkins, Lynn [R]
No KS-4 Tiahrt, Todd [R]
Kentucky
No KY-1 Whitfield, Edward [R]
No KY-2 Guthrie, Brett [R]
No KY-4 Davis, Geoff [R]
No KY-5 Rogers, Harold [R]
Louisiana
No LA-1 Scalise, Steve [R]
No LA-2 Cao, Anh [R]
No LA-3 Melancon, Charles [D]
No LA-4 Fleming, John [R]
No LA-5 Alexander, Rodney [R]
No LA-6 Cassidy, Bill [R]
No LA-7 Boustany, Charles [R]
Maryland
No MD-6 Bartlett, Roscoe [R]
Michigan
No MI-2 Hoekstra, Peter [R]
No MI-3 Ehlers, Vernon [R]
No MI-4 Camp, David [R]
No MI-6 Upton, Frederick [R]
No MI-8 Rogers, Michael [R]
No MI-10 Miller, Candice [R]
No MI-11 McCotter, Thaddeus [R]
Minnesota
No MN-2 Kline, John [R]
No MN-3 Paulsen, Erik [R]
No MN-6 Bachmann, Michele [R]
Mississippi
No MS-1 Childers, Travis [D]
No MS-3 Harper, Gregg [R]
No MS-4 Taylor, Gene [D]
Missouri
No MO-2 Akin, W. [R]
No MO-6 Graves, Samuel [R]
No MO-7 Blunt, Roy [R]
No MO-8 Emerson, Jo Ann [R]
No MO-9 Luetkemeyer, Blaine [R]
Montana
No MT-0 Rehberg, Dennis [R]
Nebraska
No NE-1 Fortenberry, Jeffrey [R]
No NE-2 Terry, Lee [R]
No NE-3 Smith, Adrian [R]
Nevada
No NV-2 Heller, Dean [R]
New Jersey
No NJ-5 Garrett, Scott [R]
No NJ-11 Frelinghuysen, Rodney [R]
New York
No NY-3 King, Peter [R]
No NY-24 Arcuri, Michael [D]
No NY-26 Lee, Christopher [R]
No NY-29 Massa, Eric [D]
North Carolina
No NC-3 Jones, Walter [R]
No NC-5 Foxx, Virginia [R]
No NC-6 Coble, Howard [R]
No NC-7 McIntyre, Mike [D]
No NC-8 Kissell, Larry [D]
No NC-9 Myrick, Sue [R]
No NC-10 Mchenry, Patrick [R]
North Dakota
No ND-0 Pomeroy, Earl [D]
Ohio
No OH-2 Schmidt, Jean [R]
No OH-3 Turner, Michael [R]
No OH-4 Jordan, Jim [R]
No OH-5 Latta, Robert [R]
No OH-6 Wilson, Charles [D]
No OH-7 Austria, Steve [R]
No OH-8 Boehner, John [R]
No OH-10 Kucinich, Dennis [D] (*Explained)
No OH-12 Tiberi, Patrick [R]
No OH-14 LaTourette, Steven [R]
Oklahoma
No OK-2 Boren, Dan [D]
No OK-3 Lucas, Frank [R]
No OK-4 Cole, Tom [R]
No OK-5 Fallin, Mary [R]
Oregon
No OR-2 Walden, Greg [R]
No OR-4 DeFazio, Peter [D]
Pennsylvania
No PA-3 Dahlkemper, Kathleen [D]
No PA-4 Altmire, Jason [D]
No PA-5 Thompson, Glenn [R]
No PA-6 Gerlach, Jim [R]
No PA-9 Shuster, William [R]
No PA-10 Carney, Christopher [D]
No PA-15 Dent, Charles [R]
No PA-16 Pitts, Joseph [R]
No PA-17 Holden, Tim [D]
No PA-18 Murphy, Tim [R]
No PA-19 Platts, Todd [R]
South Carolina
No SC-1 Brown, Henry [R]
No SC-2 Wilson, Addison [R]
No SC-3 Barrett, James [R]
No SC-4 Inglis, Bob [R]
South Dakota
No SD-0 Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie [D]
Tennessee
No TN-1 Roe, Phil [R]
No TN-2 Duncan, John [R]
No TN-3 Wamp, Zach [R]
No TN-4 Davis, Lincoln [D]
No TN-7 Blackburn, Marsha [R]
No TN-8 Tanner, John [D]
Texas
No TX-1 Gohmert, Louis [R]
No TX-2 Poe, Ted [R]
No TX-3 Johnson, Samuel [R]
No TX-4 Hall, Ralph [R]
No TX-5 Hensarling, Jeb [R]
No TX-6 Barton, Joe [R]
No TX-7 Culberson, John [R]
No TX-8 Brady, Kevin [R]
No TX-10 McCaul, Michael [R]
No TX-11 Conaway, K. [R]
No TX-12 Granger, Kay [R]
No TX-13 Thornberry, William [R]
No TX-14 Paul, Ronald [R]
No TX-17 Edwards, Thomas [D]
No TX-19 Neugebauer, Randy [R]
No TX-21 Smith, Lamar [R]
No TX-22 Olson, Pete [R]
No TX-23 Rodriguez, Ciro [D]
No TX-24 Marchant, Kenny [R]
No TX-26 Burgess, Michael [R]
No TX-27 Ortiz, Solomon [D]
No TX-31 Carter, John [R]
No TX-32 Sessions, Peter [R]
Utah
No UT-1 Bishop, Rob [R]
No UT-2 Matheson, Jim [D]
No UT-3 Chaffetz, Jason [R]
Virginia
No VA-1 Wittman, Rob [R]
No VA-2 Nye, Glenn [D]
No VA-4 Forbes, James [R]
No VA-6 Goodlatte, Robert [R]
No VA-7 Cantor, Eric [R]
No VA-10 Wolf, Frank [R]
Washington
No WA-4 Hastings, Doc [R]
No WA-5 McMorris Rodgers, Cathy [R]
West Virginia
No WV-1 Mollohan, Alan [D]
No WV-2 Capito, Shelley [R]
No WV-3 Rahall, Nick [D]
Wisconsin
No WI-1 Ryan, Paul [R]
No WI-5 Sensenbrenner, F. [R]
No WI-6 Petri, Thomas [R]
Wyoming
No WY-0 Lummis, Cynthia [R]

MIchele Bachmann: ‘Cap and trade’? More like ‘tax and spend’

Tickler Leave a comment

MIchele Bachmann: ‘Cap and trade’? More like ‘tax and spend’.

Incredible the sludge the left and oblivious apolitical will swallow in the name of global warming hysteria. I’d say “climate change” (which is and of itself is like saying “soft softness”) but that term is the out many fools on the dirt-worshipping left are using as an escape crutch from the obvious erroneous and embarrassing call on this and last decade’s “Global Warming”.

Global Warming: On Hold?

Tickler Leave a comment

Here goes… we told you so. Certainly not as contrite as required, climatology “scientists” are being pantsed soundly of late. This latest in an article on the Discovery Channel website…

March 2, 2009 — For those who have endured this winter’s frigid temperatures and today’s heavy snowstorm in the Northeast, the concept of global warming may seem, well, almost wishful.

But climate is known to be variable — a cold winter, or a few strung together doesn’t mean the planet is cooling. Still, according to a new study in Geophysical Research Letters, global warming may have hit a speed bump and could go into hiding for decades.

Earth’s climate continues to confound scientists. Following a 30-year trend of warming, global temperatures have flatlined since 2001 despite rising greenhouse gas concentrations, and a heat surplus that should have cranked up the planetary thermostat.

“This is nothing like anything we’ve seen since 1950,” Kyle Swanson of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee said. “Cooling events since then had firm causes, like eruptions or large-magnitude La Ninas. This current cooling doesn’t have one.”

Instead, Swanson and colleague Anastasios Tsonis think a series of climate processes have aligned, conspiring to chill the climate. In 1997 and 1998, the tropical Pacific Ocean warmed rapidly in what Swanson called a “super El Nino event.” It sent a shock wave through the oceans and atmosphere, jarring their circulation patterns into unison.

How does this square with temperature records from 2005-2007, by some measurements among the warmest years on record? When added up with the other four years since 2001, Swanson said the overall trend is flat, even though temperatures should have gone up by 0.2 degrees Centigrade (0.36 degrees Fahrenheit) during that time.

The discrepancy gets to the heart of one of the toughest problems in climate science — identifying the difference between natural variability (like the occasional March snowstorm) from human-induced change.

Princeton Professor Denies Global Warming Theory

Tickler Leave a comment

The latest in a very long line of sane to oppose The Cult of Gore Hippies.

Physics professor William Happer GS ’64 has some tough words for scientists who believe that carbon dioxide is causing global warming.

“This is George Orwell. This is the ‘Germans are the master race. The Jews are the scum of the earth.’ It’s that kind of propaganda,” Happer, the Cyrus Fogg Brackett Professor of Physics, said in an interview. “Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. Every time you exhale, you exhale air that has 4 percent carbon dioxide. To say that that’s a pollutant just boggles my mind. What used to be science has turned into a cult.”

How can you not like this guy?

…Happer served as director of the Office of Energy Research in the U.S. Department of Energy under President George H.W. Bush and was subsequently fired by Vice President Al Gore, reportedly for his refusal to support Gore’s views on climate change. He asked last month to be added to a list of global warming dissenters in a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee report. The list includes more than 650 experts who challenge the belief that human activity is contributing to global warming.

…

“All the evidence I see is that the current warming of the climate is just like past warmings. In fact, it’s not as much as past warmings yet, and it probably has little to do with carbon dioxide, just like past warmings had little to do with carbon dioxide,” Happer explained.

…

“Their whole career depends on pushing. They have no other reason to exist. I could care less. I don’t get a dime one way or another from the global warming issue,” Happer noted. “I’m not on the payroll of oil companies as they are. They are funded by BP.”

…

Happer explained that his beliefs about climate change come from his experience at the Department of Energy, at which Happer… supervised all non-weapons energy research, including climate change research. Managing a budget of more than $3 billion…

“[Climate scientists] would give me a briefing. It was a completely different experience. I remember one speaker who asked why I wanted to know, why I asked that question. So I said, you know I always ask questions at these briefings … I often get a much better view of [things] in the interchange with the speaker,” Happer said. “This guy looked at me and said, ‘What answer would you like?’ I knew I was in trouble then. This was a community even in the early 1990s that was being turned political. [The attitude was] ‘Give me all this money, and I’ll get the answer you like.’ ”

Happer said he is dismayed by the politicization of the issue and believes the community of climate change scientists has become a veritable “religious cult,” noting that nobody understands or questions any of the science.

He noted in an interview that in the past decade, despite what he called “alarmist” claims, there has not only not been warming, there has in fact been global cooling. He added that climate change scientists are unable to use models to either predict the future or accurately model past events.

“There was a baseball sage who said prediction is hard, especially of the future, but the implication was that you could look at the past and at least second-guess the past,” Happer explained. “They can’t even do that.”

Happer cited an ice age at the time of the American Revolution, when Londoners skated on the Thames, and warm periods during the Middle Ages, when settlers were able to farm southern portions of Greenland, as evidence of naturally occurring fluctuations that undermine the case for anthropogenic influence.

“[Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration] was exactly the same then. It didn’t change at all,” he explained. “So there was something that was making the earth warm and cool that modelers still don’t really understand.”

The problem does not in fact exist, he said, and society should not sacrifice for nothing.

“[Climate change theory has] been extremely bad for science. It’s going to give science a really bad name in the future,” he said. “I think science is one of the great triumphs of humankind, and I hate to see it dragged through the mud in an episode like this.”

Bold added by Tickler

Read the whole article here, complete with deceptive but not-so-subtle staff writer spin in attempt to explain away certain aspects of the professor’s position.

Fact Checking the President: Take A Wild Guess

Tickler Leave a comment

The Associated-Press-as-cheerleader act is finally waning as they realize that election night euphoria is turning to a scorching case of buyers remorse, and they actually have a job to do.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama knows Americans are unhappy that the government could rescue people who bought mansions beyond their means.

But his assurance Tuesday night that only the deserving will get help rang hollow.

Even officials in his administration, many supporters of the plan in Congress and the Federal Reserve chairman expect some of that money will go to people who used lousy judgment.

The president skipped over several complex economic circumstances in his speech to Congress — and may have started an international debate among trivia lovers and auto buffs over what country invented the car.

A look at some of his assertions:

OBAMA: “We have launched a housing plan that will help responsible families facing the threat of foreclosure lower their monthly payments and refinance their mortgages. It’s a plan that won’t help speculators or that neighbor down the street who bought a house he could never hope to afford, but it will help millions of Americans who are struggling with declining home values.”

THE FACTS: If the administration has come up with a way to ensure money only goes to those who got in honest trouble, it hasn’t said so.

Defending the program Tuesday at a Senate hearing, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said it’s important to save those who made bad calls, for the greater good. He likened it to calling the fire department to put out a blaze caused by someone smoking in bed.

“I think the smart way to deal with a situation like that is to put out the fire, save him from his own consequences of his own action but then, going forward, enact penalties and set tougher rules about smoking in bed.”

Brilliant Benji. I’d have to say in this context we need to let him burn to get the stupidity out of the gene pool.

Similarly, the head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. suggested this month it’s not likely aid will be denied to all homeowners who overstated their income or assets to get a mortgage they couldn’t afford.

“I think it’s just simply impractical to try to do a forensic analysis of each and every one of these delinquent loans,” Sheila Bair told National Public Radio.

Or… “we’re too lazy (and it’s frankly not in our interest) to do any analysis whatsoever, except when it comes to which incomes can be fleeced with higher taxes, then we’ll analyze ’til the donkeys (jackasses) come home.”

——

OBAMA: “And I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it.”

THE FACTS: Depends what your definition of automobiles, is. According to the Library of Congress, the inventor of the first true automobile was probably Germany’s Karl Benz, who created the first auto powered by an internal combustion gasoline engine, in 1885 or 1886. In the U.S., Charles Duryea tested what library researchers called the first successful gas-powered car in 1893. Nobody disputes that Henry Ford created the first assembly line that made cars affordable.

——

OBAMA: “We have known for decades that our survival depends on finding new sources of energy. Yet we import more oil today than ever before.”

THE FACTS: Oil imports peaked in 2005 at just over 5 billion barrels, and have been declining slightly since. The figure in 2007 was 4.9 billion barrels, or about 58 percent of total consumption. The nation is on pace this year to import 4.7 billion barrels, and government projections are for imports to hold steady or decrease a bit over the next two decades.

——

OBAMA: “We have already identified $2 trillion in savings over the next decade.”

THE FACTS: Although 10-year projections are common in government, they don’t mean much. And at times, they are a way for a president to pass on the most painful steps to his successor, by putting off big tax increases or spending cuts until someone else is in the White House.

Obama only has a real say on spending during the four years of his term. He may not be president after that and he certainly won’t be 10 years from now.

——

OBAMA: “Regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market. People bought homes they knew they couldn’t afford from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway. And all the while, critical debates and difficult decisions were put off for some other time on some other day.”

THE FACTS: This may be so, but it isn’t only Republicans who pushed for deregulation of the financial industries. The Clinton administration championed an easing of banking regulations, including legislation that ended the barrier between regular banks and Wall Street banks. That led to a deregulation that kept regular banks under tight federal regulation but extended lax regulation of Wall Street banks. Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, later an economic adviser to candidate Obama, was in the forefront in pushing for this deregulation.

——

OBAMA: “In this budget, we will end education programs that don’t work and end direct payments to large agribusinesses that don’t need them. We’ll eliminate the no-bid contracts that have wasted billions in Iraq, and reform our defense budget so that we’re not paying for Cold War-era weapons systems we don’t use. We will root out the waste, fraud and abuse in our Medicare program that doesn’t make our seniors any healthier, and we will restore a sense of fairness and balance to our tax code by finally ending the tax breaks for corporations that ship our jobs overseas.”

THE FACTS: First, his budget does not accomplish any of that. It only proposes those steps. That’s all a president can do, because control over spending rests with Congress. Obama’s proposals here are a wish list and some items, including corporate tax increases and cuts in agricultural aid, will be a tough sale in Congress.

Second, waste, fraud and abuse are routinely targeted by presidents who later find that the savings realized seldom amount to significant sums. Programs that a president might consider wasteful have staunch defenders in Congress who have fought off similar efforts in the past.

——

OBAMA: “Thanks to our recovery plan, we will double this nation’s supply of renewable energy in the next three years.”

THE FACTS: While the president’s stimulus package includes billions in aid for renewable energy and conservation, his goal is unlikely to be achieved through the recovery plan alone.

In 2007, the U.S. produced 8.4 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, including hydroelectric dams, solar panels and windmills. Under the status quo, the Energy Department says, it will take more than two decades to boost that figure to 12.5 percent.

If Obama is to achieve his much more ambitious goal, Congress would need to mandate it. That is the thrust of an energy bill that is expected to be introduced in coming weeks.

——

OBAMA: “Over the next two years, this plan will save or create 3.5 million jobs.”

THE FACTS: This is a recurrent Obama formulation. But job creation projections are uncertain even in stable times, and some of the economists relied on by Obama in making his forecast acknowledge a great deal of uncertainty in their numbers.

The president’s own economists, in a report prepared last month, stated, “It should be understood that all of the estimates presented in this memo are subject to significant margins of error.”

Beyond that, it’s unlikely the nation will ever know how many jobs are saved as a result of the stimulus. While it’s clear when jobs are abolished, there’s no economic gauge that tracks job preservation. The estimates are based on economic assumptions of how many jobs would be lost without the stimulus.

All I can say is wow. Read the full article here.

Video: Escaped The Plantation, Voting McCain

Tickler Leave a comment

Perhaps the best speech given during this entire campaign cycle.

The O-Team
More genius by ZO. See more great clips here