The World is Flat Update

Just spotted this article today from our friends down under. It was this scientist's job to prove that carbon emissions have caused global warming. Well guess what? After six years he came to the conclusion that it doesn't.

So we know for sure that carbon emissions are not a significant cause of the global warming.
..there are no observations by anyone that implicate carbon emissions as a significant cause of the recent global warming.
The satellites that measure the world's temperature all say that the warming trend ended in 2001.
..the past six global warmings over the past half a million years, the temperature rises occurred on average 800 years before the accompanying rise in atmospheric carbon.
The world has spent $50 billion on global warming since 1990, and we have not found any actual evidence that carbon emissions cause global warming. Evidence consists of observations made by someone at some time that supports the idea that carbon emissions cause global warming. Computer models and theoretical calculations are not evidence, they are just theory.

Read the entire article No smoking hot spot

I'm Just Saying - do you believe me yet?

Magical Mystery Tour

Did you know that another two senators are accompanying the great one on his campaign fund raising, uh, I mean "fact finding" trip around the world? I guess he needed someone to carry his luggage. Anyone who thinks that this tax paid boondoggle is anything other than him advancing his political agenda has already drank the Kool-Aid. Exactly what part of giving campaign speeches qualifies this as fact finding mission? I suppose we are also obliged to pay for all his talking heads that are telling him what to say as well.

Even the AP gets it right with a telling headline Today on the presidential campaign trail as they highlight his ostensibly fact finding tour.

Today was his much anticipated "Ich bein ein beginner" speech in Berlin. He is quoted as saying

"If we could win a battle of ideas against the communists, we can stand with the vast majority of Muslims who reject the extremism that leads to hate instead of hope."

To which I say, wouldn't it be nice if that majority wasn't so SILENT? You would think that if they shared that opinion at least ONE of them would speak up!

I'm afraid the barf bag had to come out on this one

"Let us resolve that we will not leave our children a world where the oceans rise and famine spreads and terrible storms devastate our lands . Let us resolve that all nations -- including my own -- will act with the same seriousness of purpose as has your nation, and reduce the carbon we send into our atmosphere."

gag, gag, gag...........

It was reported that his 27 minute speech was interrupted at least 30 times with applause so I'm anxious to watch the coverage tonight to see how many times they responded with a unified "Seig Heil" after one of his profound statements.

About the only thing the Germans know about B. Hussein Obama is that he is not George W. Bush.

I'm Just Saying - Someone forgot to tell them George is not running.

The World is Flat

OK, now that it is settled less move on to the next topic "global warming."

If the flat world theory had not been questioned where would we be today? In a real crowded Europe I guess. For some reason we are supposed to take the "experts" opinion from only one side of this debate. As far as the MSM is concerned there isn't even a debate because Mr. "green jeans" has told them what to think. In spite of AlGore's factoid movie the issue has not been scientifically proven. Facts are about the only inconvenient truth left out of this discussion.

British schools have started showing the fictional escapades of Gore's adventures to 11-14 year-old children to indoctrinate them with his leftist mantra. Although they acknowledge several errors in the film it is their belief that the premise is fact and should be taught as such.

There was a time when if something was fact it could be proven and any attempt to prove otherwise would be welcomed. But now any attempt to question the "global warming" hoax and you are automatically labeled a right wing loony and ostracized from society.

I'm Just Saying - just because Chicken Little warns us of impending doom doesn't make it true.

Source of US Oil Imports

According to the US Department of Energy the U.S. uses about 21 million barrels of oil per day. We import about 58% of it. Contrary to the "blood for oil" crowd the majority of it does not come from the Middle East. Here’s where we get the oil.

Canada 11%
Mexico 11%
Saudi Arabia 9%
Venezuela 8%
Nigeria 7%
Iraq 4%
25 other countries 8%

Most people don't realize that we get more oil from Canada or Mexico than we do from Saudi Arabia. Not that we don't have a vested interest in oil from the Middle East but ....

I'm Just Saying - if we wanted to start a war over oil it would have been a lot cheaper to invade Canada!

I'm Gonna Puke....

..if I have to watch one more "news" report of the democrat messiah's trip to the Middle East. The reporteretts (including the male ones) are fawning over every word from their saviours lips. Even when his words are identical to what GW has previously stated they take on biblical significance when the great one speaks. Have you ever noticed the camera shots never show his feet? That's because the press are washing his feet and kissing the hem of his garment!

I'm Just Saying - quick, bring me a barf bag.

Illegal?

Can you spot what's illegal on my H&K 45C?

Yeah, I didn't think so but according to the bleeding hearts in Washington DC my 45C would be violating at least 3 of their newly "revised" D.C. gun laws. The emergency legislation approved this week by the D.C. Council and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) shows a total disregard of the recent Heller vs DC Supreme Court ruling.

1.) My gun is a semi-automatic - the new rules would still ban any "bottom-loading" semi-automatic handgun. Supreme Court ruled that D.C. could not ban handguns.

2.) My gun is loaded - D.C. residents must keep their weapons unloaded and either disassembled or equipped with trigger locks until they are in imminent danger from an attacker in the home. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that the "prohibition against rendering any lawful firearm in the home operable for the purpose of immediate self-defense" violates the Second Amendment. Can't you just imagine this scenario as the burglar breaks in "Mr. attacker could you wait just a minute while I reassemble and load my gun?"

3.) My gun has not been tested by local police - every gun submitted for licensing must be test-fired by police ballistics experts. This violates a congressional ban on federal agencies creating any kind of gun owner registry.

Liberals are all to anxious to make up constitutional protection for their favorite cause of the day but eager to trample on real constitutional rights even after affirmed by the Supreme Court.

I'm Just Saying -

White Hole?

People in the Dallas area are very familiar with the legendary ignorance of Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, but thanks to his recent tirade his stupidity is now known across the nation. In a story worthy of the Onion Price seems to have outdone his previous efforts of idiocy with his recent comments.

Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield, who is white, said it seemed that central collections "has become a black hole" because paperwork reportedly has become lost in the office.
Commissioner John Wiley Price, who is black, interrupted him with a loud "Excuse me!" He then corrected his colleague, saying the office has become a "white hole."

Price should have remembered George Eliot's words, "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

His previous escapades have included;
assaulting a police office,
advocating restitution for slavery,
"parking" his DeLorean by just randomly stopping in a traffic lane downtown and then complain about police harassment when he got a ticket
whitewashing billboards to protest cigarette and alcohol advertising
threatened that blacks would take to the streets with M16s if the city hired a bigoted police chief
indicted on a rape charge but victim asked that the charge be dismissed because she said she feared death threats

I'm Just Saying - looks like the black hole of this story is Price.

PS: For a funny look at where this could lead read Black is Beautiful

...telling niggers...

These are not my words but those of a prominent black leader.

"Barack...he's talking down to black people...telling niggers how to behave." Jesse "Pimp Daddy" Jackson

Can you imagine the public flogging and hours of "sensitivity" training a white man would be subjected to if he used this word? Well actually you don't have to imagine it since comedian Michael Richards directed the word at a heckler during one of his routines.

We all know how that turned out. Not that I'm taking up for the idiot, his actions were despicable, but if you don't like him don't watch him. In fact I'm still wondering how he can make a living in comedy. Of course it was immediately labeled as HATE SPEECH by Jackson. The good reverend then called for a boycott of the DVD box set of the seventh season of the TV show “Seinfeld”. When told it would hurt Seinfeld more that Richards he said “Yeah, but he is a Jew.”

After Richards apologized for his actions Mr. Jackson was quoted as saying;

"A simple apology does not deal with the depth of the trauma. The first step is to acknowledge you're wrong. The second step is to be contrite about it, not arrogant. The third is, it takes time to regain or earn trust, and that's where the healing process begins."

Jesse also recently called for the firing of Imus for his "nappy head hoes" comment. It didn't make any difference that the same phrase can be found it in the lyrics of a number of hip-hop songs. And of course the race pimps managed to have Imus fired since a white man is not allowed to use the same words.

Now Jackson wants everyone else to “find room in their hearts to forgive him and move on.”

I'm Just Saying - Do you think he's ever heard the word hypocrite?

civilian national security force?

"We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."
Barack Hussein Obama from speech in Colorado Springs July 2

Isn't that what the "brown shirts" of Hitler were called?

Just as Powerful - Since we have the most powerful military in the world that would be quite an accomplishment.

Just as Strong - Can't wait to see those tanks coming down my street.

Just as well-funded - This one is going to be a stretch since the military budget for 2007 was just shy of $440,000,000,000. (lots of zeros there)

I try to keep up with the news but must have missed the network coverage of this back to the future speech predictions of Obama. Not only that but the MSM seems to have given him a free pass as they clicked their heels together and shouted "Sieg Heil." In fact they were afraid his words would be misunderstood and helpfully removed them from the published transcript of his speech.

I'm Just Saying - sign me up for one of the M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tanks

Chicken in Every Pot

I wonder if everyone believed Hoover when he said "A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage." While he doesn't actually say it, Obama eludes to as much with his nebulous change mantra. If recent polls are any indication of things to come he is quenching the thirst of the Kool-Aid drinkers.

They show Obama garnering 48% of the vote (to McCain's 45%) so his sheep are buying into this fairy tale (read BS). I believe the American public has been spending so much time watching the likes of 'American Idol' and 'Big Brother' they think this election thing is just a game. Perhaps when their matinee idol president lets the radical islamofascists set up a permanent base here in America and begin the slaughter they'll begin to realize that probably wasn't the CHANGE they were looking for.

Our political leaders have gotten us into the mess over the past 15 to 20 years by worrying more about their re-election than America. The hard decisions that should have been made to bring this country under fiscal control were avoided for fear of alienating the voter. We have now instituted a system that rewards complacency and re-elects self serving politicians that tell us what we want to hear instead of what needs to be said. We are not even allowed to vote on term limits since the ones in power control what you vote on.

I'm Just Saying - if this keeps up we won't even have a pot to put the chicken in!

Ball's in your court

After years of energy policy neglect by multiple administrations one of GW's last dying gasps is "Now the ball is squarely in Congress' court." It does make you wonder what the situation would be now if this much needed action had been taken eight years ago. The US Department of Interior estimates that there are 115 billion (yes, that's a B) barrels of potential oil reserves in these areas.


Now I know that may not seem like much to the Democrats but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that at the current US consumption rate of 20.7 million barrels a day, those reserves would power the US for 5,560 days. As Rush says "for those of you in Rio Linda" that's around 15 years.

I'm not saying we wouldn't have a problem now...

I'm Just Saying - there's a possibility that it would not be as bad.

Confederate Battle Flag

I see the N2ACP has their panties all in a wad because the Confederate Battle Flag is still being flown in South Carolina. Not happy with having it removed from the Capitol dome there, they are now after the one on Statehouse grounds near the Confederate Soldier Monument.

They probably don't know or care what the 13 stars sewn onto a blue cross even stood for. There is one for each of the 11 states that seceded plus one for both Kentucky and Missouri. Or that the blue background is known as a St. Andrew's cross named after Andrew (one of the first disciples of Christ) who was crucified by the Romans on an x-shaped cross.

Southern heritage and pride are only acceptable if your ancestors were black. Anything else is labeled as divisive and racist. It seems odd that we are asked not to judge the actions of all blacks because the criminal actions of some that were "less fortunate" than their white counter parts but we are judged just for being proud of our Southern roots.

For a group that totals less that %14 of the population they represent some alarming statistics. Black women have nearly 30% of all abortions, black men make up the majority prison population in most states (%77 in Maryland), they have an illegitimacy rate of %70, race pimps like Jesse Jackson keep pushing them into victimization, black hip hop artists spew hate and gang related activities as a badge of honor.

I'm Just Saying - you would think their focus would be on solving current problems instead of worrying about a 147 year old flag.

Oil as T. Boone sees it

In an editorial interview today in the Chicago Tribune with T. Boone Pickens he points out again how small the US oil companies are in relationship to the international oil market.

To blame Exxon Mobil for the price of gasoline being $4 a gallon is silly. The total amount of oil available every day in the world is 85 million barrels. That's it—that's blood, guts and feathers. That's the whole thing. And Exxon has 2.5 percent of that. That's all they have. Exxon is a peanut as far as owning oil in the global sense of things. Seventy percent of all the oil owned in the world today is owned by state-owned oil companies. The [U.S.] oil companies do not own the oil.

Of course his motives may be less than altruistic in nature since as pointed out in an article (also in the Tribune)

(he) could benefit from a sizable public investment in a nationwide transmission network he proposes for wind power. His Mesa Power has invested $2 billion in a wind farm in the Texas panhandle northeast of Amarillo.

Who says oil companies are not looking at alternate sources of energy? The son of a landman Pickens has been in the oil business since he formed Mesa Petroleum in 1956. It was once known as the largest independent oil company in the world so that should more than qualify him as an oil man. So if he is involved with wind power it just might have something to do with money!

I'm Just Saying - T. Boone sees the future 'Blowing in the Wind'

Learn Spanish?

Just to shore up his base of leftist American haters messiah Obama had to castigate everyone else for being so stupid. But some one must have turned off his teleprompter here since he seems to be having trouble spiting out a coherent sentence.

Understand this: Instead of worrying about whether … uh … immigrants can learn English […] you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish. […] You know, it's embarrassing […] it's embarrassing when, when uh … you … when Europeans come over here. They all speak English, they speak French, they speak German. And then we go over to Europe … and uh and all we's can say is, "Merci beaucoup." Right?

Boy, that sure makes me proud NOT to be a Democrat!

I recently read that the presumably ignorant President Bush speaks better Spanish than the new anointed one. So in addition to his apparent failure to master the English language he can not even keep up with GW.

The biggest embarrassment here should be for the Democrats running this fraud for president.

I'm Just Saying - Maybe he ought to learn English first!

Always By My Side

I just finished reading Always By My Side by Jim Nantz. I've always admired Nantz for his calm professional manner but never knew why until this book. He has the kind of integrity that my dad always believed in and it shows in his work.

He always enjoyed a great relationship with his dad and would often seek his advice and counseling. Of course being the great dad that he was his advice would always involve making Jim analyze the situation to be able to make his own decision.

The official book description is "an unprecedented sixty-three-day stretch from February to April of 2007 when Jim Nantz became the first broadcaster to call the Super Bowl, the Final Four, and the Masters." It is much more than that as it tells you how he got there from childhood through college. His interaction with other people from Freddy Couples to George H.W. Bush show how his life was shaped. You'll read stories that will make you laugh out loud and stories that will make you tear up. You'll recognize all the legends of golf, basketball, and football that he was able to meet, interview, and befriend over the years.

Some would say everything has gone right for him and his rise to the top of his profession was easy but when you read his story you see the struggles of dealing with his father's Alzheimer's. Unfortunately his dad was unable to be with him for this trifecta of broadcasting history so his accomplishment was somewhat bittersweet. It is a grim reminder for some of us but should serve as notice to others how quickly time passes.

As for any negatives about the book, it jumps around a lot while telling the story. I recognize that in a biographical tale of more recent events historical facts will put things in proper context but some of the "flash backs" lacked this connection. In my opinion it would be easier to read if events were more chronological.

Even so this book is a great read that I would recommend to anyone even if they are not a big sports fan since it is really more about father/son relationships than sports.

I'm Just Saying - Lots of fun but keep the hanky handy.

Coals to Newcastle

Just as Newcastle on Tyne in England was well known for coal mining and the UK's first coal exporting port, my Mother is world renown (in my mind) for her biscuits.

A very good friend gave us some homemade peach and strawberry jam Saturday night and yesterday morning I was required by law to make biscuits to go with the jams for breakfast. Although it was my first attempt ever to make them from "scratch" they turned out better that expected. Not as good as Mother's of course, but better that the hockey pucks my wife had envisioned. In fact wanting to share my new found talent as gourmet cook I humbly "carried coals to Newcastle" by taking Mother some along with a taste of the new jams.

Her call late yesterday informed me that she had them for supper and praised my culinary attempt bragging about how good they were. Since she has not done a lot of cooking recently there was nothing to compare them to though. Actually I know she would have been gracious and complimentary even if they had turned out like hockey pucks because that's what good Mothers do.

I'm Just Saying - You don't have to make world class biscuits for your Mother to love you!

Discriminate

discriminate - (from Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary )

transitive verb
1 a: to mark or perceive the distinguishing or peculiar features of
b: distinguish, differentiate
intransitive verb
1 a: to make a distinction
b: to use good judgment

I discriminate. So do you and everyone you know. I start each morning by discriminating which coffee, cereal, milk, toothpaste, clothes, etc, etc, - you get the idea. So when did discriminate become an exclusively racial idiom?

We are told that if you criticize Obama you are racist and discriminating against him because he is black (half actually, but who’s counting.) As you can see in 1b of the intransitive verb (look it up, I did) form of the definition it states “to use good judgment.” Well my good judgment tells me that I should be discriminating against him for his political views even if they are a moving target.

Certainly racial discrimination exist today although not to the degree it did in the past. More prevalent today is what some refer to as "reverse discrimination" better known as affirmative action. Call it what you want but it is still racial discrimination and not in better just because the colors are reversed.

Make your choices based on the distinguishing features, distinctions, or your good judgement - not skin color, I do.

I'm Just Saying - maybe we all should be a little more discriminating.

Flip Flops

Some of the Kool-Aid drinkers are beginning to choke on campaign promises of their messiah Obama as they are slowly being regurgitated. From the innocuous flag pin to the realization that our troops cannot just leave in the middle of a war his constituents are watching the Democrat party's presumptive nominee “shifting” (i.e. flip-flopping) his positions to more centrist views.

Here are his latest;

On Iraq, Obama said Thursday that his upcoming trip there might lead him to refine his promise to quickly remove U.S. troops from the war.

He now supports broader authority for the government's eavesdropping program and legal immunity for telecommunications companies that participated in it, after opposing a similar bill last year.

After the Supreme Court overturned the District of Columbia's gun ban, the handgun control proponent said he favors both an individual's right to own a gun as well as government's right to regulate ownership.

Obama became the first major-party candidate to reject public financing for the general election after earlier promises to accept it.

He not only embraced but promised to expand Bush's program to give more anti-poverty grants to religious groups, a split with Democratic orthodoxy.

He objected to the Supreme Court's decision outlawing the death penalty for child rapists, even though he's been anti-capital punishment.

Obama also said "mental distress" should not count as a health exception that would permit a late-term abortion, saying "it has to be a serious physical issue," addressing a matter considered crucial to abortion rights activists.

As Alex Conant, a spokesman for the national Republican Party said, "There appears to be no issue that Barack Obama is not willing to reverse himself on for the sake of political expedience".

I’m Just Saying – How long will it be until he also comes moves right of McCain?

Mowing Grass

Just got this in an email and had to post it for the 4th.

Here is a soldier in Iraq, stationed in a big sand box. He asked his wife to send him dirt (U.S. soil), fertilizer, and some grass seed so that he can have the sweet aroma and feel the grass grow beneath his feet. When the men of the outfit have a mission that they are going on, they take turns walking through the grass and the American soil -- to bring them good luck.

If you notice, he is even cutting the grass with a pair of a scissors. Sometimes we are in such a hurry that we don't stop and think about the little things that we take for granted.(Note his rifle nearby)

By the way, as I post this it's just after midnight in Baghdad and still 95 degrees.

I'm Just Saying - maybe we ought to be a little more thankful for the freedom that we have.

Disappointment

I sent the following to my county Republican chairman in reply to his latest update;

Thanks for the update. I'm very concerned about the fate of the Republican party and their abandonment of the conservative movement. I realize that the Northeast press had a lot to do with anointing McCain before the more conservative states had a chance to vote but the rest of our elected representatives are directly responsible for the run-a-way spending spree. To say I’m disappointed with our current Republican leadership would be an extreme understatement.

After being in charge for 10 years they not only failed to rein in spending they expanded government to unbelievable largess. Not only the pork Democrats had approved in the past began to pale by comparison they also expanded government health to include a prescription benefit that is unsustainable and seems to help the pharmaceutical companies more than the intended. I thought ethics violations, big government, moral failures, and cronyism where a platform to the Democrat party, not ours. Pete Olson’s association with Delay and Graham are certainly not going to help in this year’s election especially since on top of everything else we have the Blue Dog Democrat coalition to be concerned with as they appear to be moving right of their Republican opponents.

For example, here in District 22 as you know, we have Nick Lampson that seems to be moving farther right with each newsletter he issues. I assume you subscribe but his latest newsletter can be read here and notice he does not even mention the fact that he is a Democrat. Here are a few excerpts;

(See I've Seen The Enemy)

Our finest Republican representatives couldn’t have said it any better. Between these Blue Dog Democrats and the overwhelming apathy felt by conservative Republicans I’m not looking forward to the next four years.

I'm Just Saying - Is it already too late?

I've Seen The Enemy

To keep an eye on the “enemy” I signed up for my Congressman’s newsletter. Nick Lampson (D) is part of the conservative Blue Dog Democrat movement started in 1994 to give more conservative members of the party a unified voice. He was a congressman in Texas’s 9th congressional district from 1997 to 2005. He lost his seat after the big controversial redistricting and returned in 2007 after the Tom Delay (1985-2006) debacle. I’ve watched as he increasingly moves to the right on each of the major issues and I believe that he exemplifies the reason that Democrats will probably remain in power after the next election. It seems that more of them are moving to the right of Republicans (including McCain) although that certainly would not be difficult to do.

The entire newsletter can be read here and doesn’t even mention the fact that he is a Democrat. Here are a few excerpts;

I urged them (Democrat leadership) to allow debate and votes on legislation to increase domestic energy production…

I have consistently voted against proposals to raise taxes on domestic energy producers…

I have called on Speaker Pelosi to allow genuine debate and a vote on this issue…

I believe that we will not be able to accomplish anything, let alone lead our nation to energy independence, if we are unable to have a civil debate and are unwilling to allow all options on the table.

I’m Just Saying – do they really mean it or is it just a ploy to get/stay elected?

Perfect Storm

Looks like it’s shaping up as the “perfect storm” for oil.

Due to the red tape involved it’s been over 30 years since a new refinery has been built in the US. For example, Arizona Clean Fuels, has been trying to build a small refinery outside Yuma for almost 10 years. It took five years just to get air-quality permits. Now they hope to be operational in 2010, 15 years after they started the project.

The more expensive sweet crude is in short supply while currently we have a good supply of sour crude but the sulfur content makes it considerably more expensive to refine.

More taxes are paid to the federal government than oil companies make in profit.

Officials at OPEC and the IEA say oil production is decreasing in 54 of the world’s top 60 oil producing nations.

The US is competing with the nationalized foreign oil companies that control 75% of the world’s oil and we rank 14th in petroleum reserves.

Worldwide increased demand, China has 1.6 billion people and its growing economy is putting more of those people in a position to afford an automobile.

Democrats and a handful of RINO’s (including John McCain) have been blocking any attempt to drill the known reserves in ANRW for years.

And yes the oil speculators do have a part in driving up the price, albeit less than what our legislators imply.

Then on top of that something I never really thought about was the value (devaluing actually) of the dollar as pointed out in this excerpt from an online article;

……….

David T. King, a former chief of the New York Federal Reserve’s Industrial Economies Division, noted on the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal earlier this year, when oil prices were at around $120, that last August the dollar price of oil was $70. King points out that the current spike in oil and other commodity prices coincides almost exactly with the Fed’s decision to turn on the monetary spigots to save Wall Street.
The day that the barrel price of oil in dollars was exactly the same as in Euros was in 2002, when both were about 25, King notes. Since then oil has risen by 50 Euros in the past five and a half years. It now stands at 75 Euros, triple what it was then.
But check this out: in the US, the price is over $120, about five times what it was then, King says. He says that the collapse of the dollar exchange rate explains at least half of the increase in the pump price of gas over the past five years.

……………..

I’m Just Saying – When you add it all up I don’t see it getting better anytime soon.