FIAF- Where’s Winter? Edition

Another group of scientists speak out against the Global Warming movement.

Alarmism over climate is of great benefit to many, providing government funding for academic research and a reason for government bureaucracies to grow. Alarmism also offers an excuse for governments to raise taxes, taxpayer-funded subsidies for businesses that understand how to work the political system, and a lure for big donations to charitable foundations promising to save the planet.

The biggest argument against Teh Global Warming crusade has been the LACK of actual, you know, warming in the last ten years. We are in the midst of a larger warming trend unrelated to CO2, or man’s activities; trends that have been experienced throughout man’s existence on earth. From the late 1770s:

“A change in our climate however is taking place very sensibly. Both heats and colds are become much more moderate within the memory even of the middle-aged. Snows are less frequent and less deep. They do not often lie, below the mountains, more than one, two, or three days, and very rarely a week. They are remembered to have been formerly frequent, deep, and of long continuance. The elderly inform me the earth used to be covered with snow about three months in every year. The rivers, which then seldom failed to freeze over in the course of the winter, scarcely ever do so now. This change has produced an unfortunate fluctuation between heat and cold, in the spring of the year, which is very fatal to fruits. From the year 1741 to 1769, an interval of twenty-eight years, there was no instance of fruit killed by the frost in the neighbourhood of Monticello. An intense cold, produced by constant snows, kept the buds locked up till the sun could obtain, in the spring of the year, so fixed an ascendancy as to dissolve those snows, and protect the buds, during their development, from every danger of returning cold. The accumulated snows of the winter remaining to be dissolved all together in the spring, produced those over flowings of our rivers, so frequent then, and so rare now.” (From observation 1772 to 1779)

Read the whole thing – it’s pretty darn interesting.

And, next time you find yourself listening to someone complaining about how “the weather now” is “scary”, just laugh and laugh and laugh at them.

I have no idea what this poat is about

I think this stuff is just too confusing for Obama voters – from the WSJ:

The Buffett rule is rooted in the fairy tale that taxes on the wealthy are lower than on the middle class. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office notes that the effective income tax rate of the richest 1% is about 29.5% when including all federal taxes such as the distribution of corporate taxes, or about twice the 15.1% paid by middle-class families. (See “How Much the Rich Pay,” January 23, 2012.)

Obama is a big believer in “fairness” through the tax system, which is an indirect way of saying he is a socialist progressive. He wants to take from the rich, and give to the poor the government.

*****

I liked Keith Doffler’s wrap-up on the SOTU address.

At a time when the budget deficit threatens to bring the whole house of cards tumbling to the table, Obama was talking about buying more windmills. With the economy still fragile, Obama wants to raise taxes and fund new spending programs.

He’s such an asshole.

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How thick is your bubble? Mine isn’t so thick. Take the test. (fixt)

Kinda interesting, in a totally useless way.

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Liam Neeson may convert to Islam. Uh, good luck with that.

The actor, 59, admitted that Islamic prayer “got into his spirit” while filming in Istanbul.

He told The Sun, “The call to prayer happens five times a day, and for the first week, it drives you crazy, and then it just gets into your spirit, and it’s the most beautiful, beautiful thing.”

Yea, just beautiful.

*****

Momma, don’t let your babies grow up to be like Miley Cyrus.

Same old, same old …

Ba ha haaa haaa ..

That is just pitiful.

More on this speech:

The president described the government’s bailout of the Detroit automakers as a roaring success and then said “What’s happening in Detroit can happen in other industries. It can happen in Cleveland and Pittsburgh and Raleigh.”

*blink blink*

Did he really utter those words? What’s happening in Detroit? I mean, I heard him say it, but I assumed it was all the wine I had consumed.

****What’s happening in Detroit can happen in other industries.****

I don’t even know where to start. I mean, here is a good place. Or here.

If you missed the Obama Campaign State Of The Union Speech, the White House has released this – the “enhanced” version.

Creepy.

EMs

Today in NRO, Michael Auslin visits the issue of Michigan and it’s Emergency Financial managers. He’s, how you say, not a fan.

Is the dictatorial path the way of the future? What will happen when Illinois, New York, and California declare bankruptcy? Will legislatures believe the only way out is to appoint EMs for their own states? And how long before Washington, D.C., finds some pretext in the “penumbras” of constitutional powers to allow the federal government to appoint state dictators so as to ensure the equal rights of all citizens and the public welfare?

At issue, of course, is that for years in Detroit (the city currently the topic of disccusion) you have an electorate that is unable to elect accountable, competent leaders. Leaders able to make the hard choices.

I mean, Detroiter’s elected Martha Reeves. Martha Reeves.

It’s Monday, monday …

Prepping myself for tomorrow’s SCOAMF’s SOTU address. Yes, I need this much time. WSJ:

Previewing Tuesday’s address to supporters Saturday, Mr. Obama said: “We can go in two directions. One is towards less opportunity and less fairness. Or we can fight for…building an economy that works for everyone, not just a wealthy few.” I

What are these two directions? Honestly – I want to know how Republicans (assumedly) want to create less opportunity? Gaaa. Strawmen.

A November Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that 76% of Americans said the current economic structure in the U.S. is “out of balance and favors a very small proportion of the rich over the rest of the country.” Among independents, 79% agreed, as did 62% of Republicans.

You who the current structure favors? Those with friends and connections in Washington. Those with government jobs or government contracts or grants. The way to get ahead, today, is to get yourself a job in DC. Run for office, then become a lobbyist. Favored university administrator, to presidential aid, and back again. Then they all rig the game against the rest of us, with regulations and taxes.

Obama explains why he needs your money:

Investments. Like … Solyndra.

Saturday Reads

Environmentalism and the Leisure Class. Or, why the wealthy are just fine about halting progress. They’re not going to experience a black out during a power shortage.
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And, of course, Saturday means a new Mark Steyn article, which asks the question – Is it all a big metaphor?

Since the economic downturn of 2008, the Titanic metaphor — of a Western world steaming for the iceberg but unable to correct course — has become a little overworked, the easiest cliché for any politician attempting to project urgency. But let’s assume they’re correct, and we’re heading full steam for the big ’berg. When we hit, what’s the likelihood? That our response will be as ordered and civilized as those on the Titanic? Or that we will descend into the hell of the Concordia?

Women and children first? Or well men knock down little old ladies, mothers, and children in their dash for the lifeboats?

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Offered without comment From the Corner:

If Romney is the nominee, Rob Portman and Bob McDonnell will be the two VP finalists.

FIAF

I LOVE Disney World.

So, yesterday Obama took over Disney World for the optics of giving a speech with the Magic Kingdom in the background. But this is what it looked like when he gave his speech.

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Getty Images

More here.

To give this speech,of course, all the PAYING visitors had to be evacuated from the area, and herded to other parts of the magic kingdom. So, who did Teh One could give is speech to? Oh, here they are:

So … he closes Main Street in Disney World, for HOURS, so he can give a 13 minute speech to a handful of people in suits, with the castle in the background? From The Stir:

In front of a crowd of roughly 300 Disney employees and invited guests, Obama discussed his plans to make the U.S. the “top tourist destination in the world.” The only problem is … did he have to shut down Main Street in Disney World to make that point? The irony is almost too thick to stand.
While the President gave his speech, tourists, with pockets full of money and screaming children just begging for toys and treats, were relegated away from “downtown” Disney and were sequestered in back lots of the park usually only seen by employees. They were diverted away from Main Street and were forced to start their Disney adventure in Tomorrowland.

Those are just little people. A 13 minute speech with good optics is much more important than the diverted vacation plans of taxpayers and lost revenue for Disney World. It’s an election year. Duh.

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I just discovered that the HuffPoo has a “black voices” section. huh.

*cuts self

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Here’s Obama singing-

Didn’t like that?

Ok, here’s something else-

Ok, let’s just all take a deep breath, forget I posted that stuff, and watch THIS –

Sweet Sohita shared this with me a bit ago, and I just love love love it.

Just heard on Rush

What sacrifices has Obama made?

For him, the presidency was a pathway to wealth.

Discuss.

Just Watch

Darleen sends this along from Protein Wisdom.

Back from a little long weekend – not ready for politics

So … now that JayZ is a parent (of a baby girl) he’s no longer going to throw around the “b” word.

“Before I got in the game, made a change, and got rich/I didn’t think hard about using the word b—h,” he wrote. “I rapped, I flipped it, I sold it, I lived it/Now with my daughter in this world I curse those that give it.”

The poem was released a week after he gave the world Glory, a song which featured baby Blue’s first sounds and earned her a spot in Billboard history. Jay is certainly taking this parenting thing seriously and his devotion is capturing everyone’s attention.

“No man will degrade her, or call her names,” Jay-Z continues in his poem to Blue Ivy. “I’m so focused on your future, the degradation has passed. I wish you wealth, health and insight. Forever young you may pass. Blue Ivy Carter, my angel.”

It looks as though parenthood has helped the hip hop star to turn a new leaf and judging by these heartfelt gestures, Jay-Z’s going to be a great dad. I wonder how many other rappers are going to follow suit?

Uhm, great. Thanks. Now that YOU are a parent. How about when the rest of us little people were parents and you were singing about bitches and niggas and hoes?

The easiest thing to do is to become a better person when it affects YOU. Did he care when his songs affected the minds of others?

Nope.