From Greg Pollowitz @ National Review Online
Investing and Climate Change
Greg copies & posts a bit of Avner Mandleman’s piece in The Globe and Mail. Reminds me of one of my previous posts on Albert Einstein…“beware the bandwagon.”
Here’s the rest of it:
Don’t Let ‘Climategate’ Melt Down Your Portfolio

The continuing efforts of a fringe group of conservatives to deny Obama his victory and to lay the basis for the claim that he is not a legitimate president are embarrassing and destructive. The fact that these efforts are being led by Alan Keyes, a demagogue who lost a Senate election to the then-unknown Obama by 42 points, should be a warning in itself.

This tempest over whether Obama, the child of an American citizen, was born on American soil is tantamount to the Democrats’ seditious claim that Bush “stole” the election in Florida and hence was not the legitimate president. This delusion helped to create the Democrats’ Bush derangement syndrome and encouraged Democratic leaders to lie about the origins of the Iraq war, and regard it as illegitimate as Bush himself. It became “Bush’s War” rather than an American War — with destructive consequences for our troops and our cause.

The birth-certificate zealots are essentially arguing that 64 million voters should be disenfranchised because of a contested technicality as to whether Obama was born on U.S. soil. (McCain narrowly escaped the problem by being born in the Panama Canal zone, which is no longer American.)

What difference does it make to the future of this country whether Obama was born on U.S. soil? Advocates of this destructive campaign will argue that the constitutional principle regarding the qualifications for president trumps all others. But how viable will our Constitution be if five Supreme Court justices should decide to void 64 million ballots?

Conservatives are supposed to respect the organic nature of human societies. Ours has been riven by profound disagreements that have been deepening over many years. We are divided not only about political facts and social values, but also about what the Constitution itself means. The crusaders on this issue choose to ignore these problems and are proposing to deny the will of 64 million voters by appealing to five Supreme Court Justices (since no one is delusional enough to think that the four liberal justices are going to take the presidency away from Obama). What kind of conservatism is this?

It is not conservatism; it is sore loserism and quite radical in its intent. Respect for election results is one of the most durable bulwarks of our unity as a nation. Conservatives need to accept the fact that we lost the election, and get over it; and get on with the important business of reviving our country’s economy and defending its citizens, and — by the way — its Constitution.

– Obama Derangement Syndrome: Shut Up About the Birth Certificate, National Review

Yesterday and Thursday leftists tried to paint Sarah Palin as a Birther.

–

If you have a favorite Horowitz quote you want to highlight for others then please email it to DavidSwindle {@} Gmail.com. Please include:

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Following up on the very ARTIFICAL outrage post.

From the preeminent conservative media outlet the National Review, we’ve got a lovely demonstration of exactly what I was talking about. As I wrote (all following emphaeses mine):

The code in question appears to “test the sensitivity of certain calculations to the presence or absence” of the post 1960 divergence problem in Briffa’s MXD archive. It does not appear to have been used in any published paper, figure, or data set… In spite of this, if you’ll find claims that this bit of code is in fact… fabricated warming in the global surface temperature record

This post really is quite perfect, as it also cries “hockey stick”, which I also discussed:

It’s odd how some (sticky? viral?) memes propagate through the denialosphere. The classic example is how “hockey stick” lost all of its original context, and soon there was very little that was not a “hockey stick” according to the denialosphere: from the temperature projections in the AR4 to pre-industrial vs. current CO2 levels. And through an apparent belief in sympathetic magic, all it took was the labeling of something as a “hockey stick” in order to discredit it in the eyes of a certain audience.

These geniuses have no idea what they’re looking at, but they are convinced, absolutely convinced, that it’s undeniable proof of Something Nefarious.

This is a snipit from HotAir commenting on an article written by John Goldberg.  One of the points states that politicians questing for the middle ground are usually the worse kind of representatives.  They have no solid beliefs.  Their principles go in the direction of convenience.

The article goes on to morph into health care issues and the massive mandates facing us.  It highlights something we have said here, “You must not debate the end of the country.”   If our country is to be based on the constitution, socialistic policies are impossible. 

The consent of the governed cannot be expressed solely through a semi-annual vote for elected representatives. It can only be respected by placing strict limits on what those representatives can vote for. Some would argue that requiring the consent of the entire population to authorize massive government programs would effectively render those programs impossible, because 100% agreement is virtually impossible to achieve. Exactly. The entire apparatus of socialist government is a Constitutional violation that would never receive the total support of those who are controlled by its regulations, or compelled to pay for its agenda. For this reason, its agenda should never even reach the serious discussion stage, never mind legislative implementation.

Americans concerned about the size of their government should not be forced into a permanent defensive posture against an endless series of aggressive initiatives. If the needs and desires of some can transcend the liberty of others, then liberty itself is a meaningless concept. Freedom is not what you have left after everyone else is finished making demands of you. The need for your consent is not respected when your only hope of withholding it lies in historic midterm electoral victories and the rapid construction of huge Congressional majorities. The patriots who declared their independence from England perceived an essential truth

via The Greenroom » Forum Archive » The Consent of the Governed.

About a week ago, the email server used by climate scientists at the University of East Anglia was hacked, and emails dating as far back as 1996 were posted online.

National Review, the conservative magazine, “asked its environmentalism experts to weigh in” on the implications of the leak. One of the experts is Henry Payne, billed as “an editorial writer and cartoonist with the Detroit News.” According to wikipedia, Mr. Payne is a history major.

As a computer scientist and Chinese food enthusiast, I believe I am more qualified than Mr. Payne to discuss climate change, and I hope National Review will consider asking me to write a piece on the subject next time.

I just sat in amazement over two things a minute ago.  After I read this on Sarah Palin’s Facebook page:

Really? A tax on national defense? I hear liberal Congressional proposals and I, like most Americans, wonder if they’re serious. We’re going to put a price tag on security?

With Congress and President Obama spending money on everything at breakneck speed, it’s interesting that they are only now getting nervous about spending – but only when it comes to providing the necessary funds to complete our mission in Afghanistan. They don’t need a new “war tax” to fund a strategy for victory in the war zone. They simply need to prioritize our money appropriately.

I find it telling that the Pelosi-Reid Congress is only cost-conscious when it comes to our national defense. Scary. Nonsensical. Unacceptable.

- Sarah Palin

The things that gave me a moment’s pause and amazement:

• Sarah will tell it like she sees it, that is awesome in light of the sugar coated crap we are fed nearly daily from the current administration and congress.  The fact that she will do this is awesome.  I am proud that we are still people who refuse to pander to the politicians and will be a voice of the people.
• That the congress would actually consider this in light of what has been going on in our country.  Read this National Review article for more information on it.  This reaaaalyyyy discourages folks from making more money, what happened to the American dream?  Work hard, make money and take care of yourself and your family?  The land of Milk and Honey and Golden Opportunity seem to have been forgotten in the current administration!    It’s more of lets break you, tax you, make you dependent on us (so we can determine what is best)… If you are doing well we will tax you more so perhaps you’ll eventually fall in line.

People need incentives to make more money, not fear of taxes.  We need defense, just look at 9/11 and the state of the current affairs.  The Fort Hood massacre for example.  The most amazing thing is that our current leader is presenting America as a weak state in addition to his weakening of our economy and attempting to break the American Dream to promote socialism.

He thinks he may be winning, but he is fortunately wrong.  He is making choices that leaves appearing more vulnerable and weak.   The power of America did not come from a just a great president.  The power of America comes from the people and America is much stronger when the people are behind their president.  I believed that previous presidents, even flawed ones, did not attempt the kind of “fundamental change” that Obama is trying to impose.  Regardless of party, I have stood by either Democratic or Republic presidents, even if I did not vote for them.

However, I can’t in good conscience stand by the President.  I am sure I am not the only American who thinks this way.  A great president can bring together the people, instead ours is dividing them.  America needs to wake up, stand up and verbalize loudly, do not back down from your politicians. Write them all, call their offices, arrive at their legislative offices and if they are not present, ask to speak to an aide.  Keep them so overwhelmed with voices of displeasure that eventually, some of the brighter politicians will take note.  Fortunately, they appear to have the herd mentality, and if a few of them start swinging over to actually listening to their constituents, who knows, we might just have a stampede.  Demand to be heard.  Explain how their current direction and votes are NOT what you agree to.

The power still lies within the people, providing they are not lying down on the job themselves.

Until Next Time!

Y

P.S. Write Mark Begich, maybe he will respond eventually.  I still have not received my reply.  I think I will call next and ask for an appointment with him at legislative office here in town.  Think that will happen?  Haaa I doubt it.  But I sure would love to publish the rejection.  I think I will ask for their denial of an appointment in writing should they not listen to me and at least answer, in real answers, not vague misdirection.  Good thing I have skills in that I can use with the politicians, I work with criminal offenders.  There are some similarities between the two.  Entitlement and thinking errors are two things I can name of right off the bat.  Give me more time, I’ll come up with some more.

Glenn Beck’s got a one hundred year plan (oh, shit):

“We need to start thinking like the Chinese.”

In other words, Glenn Beck thinks that focused, insurgent, belligerent, fanatically committed mass movement Maoism—with its disciplined cell groups, ideological purity, and relentless propaganda—is the right model, tactically, for the advancing of ”conservatism” in the 21st century. How ironic is that?

Reason? Seriousness? Dialogue? Maturity? Calm? Suspicion of mass emotion? Nah. Mao.

Mao! 

Here’s how Conor Friedersdorf puts Beck Zedong’s bright idea:

It includes a series of adult education seminars where citizens will be taught political activism, self-reliance, and the dread community organizing. The often tearful Fox News personality also promises a book that will include more specifics. “We need to start thinking like the Chinese,” Mr. Beck said at a recent rally. “I’m developing a 100 year plan for America.”

Andrew Sullivan rightly nails this latest inanity to come out of Teabagger Land:

[T]he vessel for rethinking will not come from proud ignoramuses and populist Elmer Gantrys. It will not come from reiterating propaganda but from confronting unpleasant facts about conservatism’s recent catastrophic failures and mistakes. They’re not thinking; they’re emoting. They’re not engaged in reforming conservatism; they’re engaged in escapist denialism about real problems. They are a sign of profound cultural sickness, not resurgent political and civic health.

The flies change but the shit is the same. If you wonder why the Republican Party is undergoing a purging of moderates from its ranks, this reading of Mao’s essay, “Combat Liberalism”, is helpful. It’s not hard to see how a person like Glenn Beck could find a monomaniacal person like Mao Zedong tactically informative:

It is quite interesting when you see how other people think, especially those people whose opinion differs from yours. I am writing this based on a conversation that I had on Facebook chat with someone.

I see America as divided into 3 categories. On one end of the spectrum are people who oppose Obamacare. The other side are those who want Obamacare. The middle, let’s say the undecided, apathetic or ignorant have yet to put in their voice. This is not to say that there are no ignorant folk on at least one end of the spectrum.

The chat I had, well it clearly showed that the person who was vociferously arguing for Obamacare had chosen to listen to the mainstream media, had never read the proposed legislation, either the house or senate version and honestly believes that if this bill does not pass, there will NEVER be healthcare reform. This person believed that the Republican party never submitted any legislation that offered a solution. (What about the one proposed by Republican House Minority Leader, John Boehner, that clearly addressed changes to insurance regulations, tort reform etc. that the Democrats did not even allow to be debated?)

The people who are pissed, on either side are getting more angry as opposition on either side grows. The middle, some are being swayed one way or another–some are just shirking their duty as a citizen to have a say in what the government does. They have the mentality that “the government will decide what’s best, I am not a politician so how could I know?”  This kind of ignorance just irks me.

This one issue is just one of many that is dividing the country.  Other points that are causing just as much concern and down right anger… Hmmm what could they be?

• How about allowing radical Muslims in our armed forces?
• How about treating the terrorists that killed so many Americans with the same rights as an American!
• Let’s see, how about gun control on our bases? How absolutely ridiculous is that?
• How about letting a radical Muslim work on a base with gun control and our soldiers die, unarmed?
• The economy, national debt, continuing increase in unemployment (but wait, some might say that is just an inherited problem–Obama put money into our states to create jobs.)
• Well what about those states, that received money for fictitious districts?
• How about the surveys that the federal government sent out, that asked employers to check a box, no other options, that there was a job saved or created. If there was no change, employers had to check “saved” since it wasn’t created.   How skewed is that?

United States of America has been reduced to a very divided country. Where politicians ignore constituents, and vote on party lines. I had to laugh when Rush Limbaugh stated that these politicians who were doing so, they were the equivalent of political suicide bombers. Nothing could be closer to the truth. I can assure you that I will not only be voting against some of my current legislators next election but also actively campaigning for someone else and actively disparaging and educating any voter I can speak to, to do the same. (Mark Begich take note! Oh wait you don’t even bother to respond to a constituent who asks for REAL clarification–hmm how’s that mission you are on treating you? You think your superman cape you wear, puts you above any naysayer? Loss of votes next election will surely have an impact, not on just Mark Begich but on so many that refused to listen to their constituents, especially the ones that are looking at pork and drooling).

And I guess I didn’t touch on the health care rationing which is finally waking up some of the downright strongest voices in America, women. This health care (cough cough errr Death Panel) is clearly biased against women. I hear people say, “Oh well that’s just a panel. The panel has no effect.” This PANEL decides which care you get under the government plan. How powerful is that? I wonder how much opposition our legislators would have to this bill if they too were subject to the same stipulations, same unemployment rate etc? How many of them have to work with radical Muslims and not be able to have a gun? Makes you think huh?

Well, some could say that they do have to work with radical Muslims/Communists or dictators who want to destroy everything in the United States, hurt the American people and everything our soldiers have died for.

Let’s just look at the frequent flyer club at the White House.  Let’s look at all the money funneled into ACORN?  Look up CARE.  I have to LAUGH OUT LOUD when someone talks of Republicans and how they are corrupt.  But, according to certain people in high places, corruption is only okay if you are trying to fundamentally change the nation.  The end justifies the means.  I think that philosophy runs rampant in our current administration and sadly to a great deal, the American people.

Machiavelli stated that “absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  This is indeed true.  That’s why checks and balances were built into our government.  But lets not forget that Obama has these great Czars that are not part of the check and balance system.  Who are these Czars?  What is their political history and what they are fighting for?  What are their tactics? Why is it that his associations are not widely disputed as being associations of ill repute?

The end for some is being taken care of, instead of hard work.  Get off your asses and get to work, take the lower paying job.  Take two.  I have had to.  I haven’t lived off the government teat, in fact I have been paying into it since I got my work permit at age 14, roughly a quarter of a century.  I am tired of the “gimme gimme” mentality.  I am tired of the “I deserve it but am not willing to put in some elbow grease to get it.”  Go to school, keep your kids in school, attend parent teacher conferences, be involved in your community.  Get a job–keep it.  I have had health insurance since I was in my early twenties.  I have been a single mother, receiving WAY less than the required amount in child support, working a entry to mid level jobs and managed to make it work without being a leech on society.  It’s called hard work.  It’s called perseverance.  It’s called living within my means.  If I did not have a big screen TV, or an XBox 360 well that was just the way it was.  We had food, a warm shelter and some wants.  I am tired of the “Whats in it for me attitude” that so many Americans have been lured with.  You break people, make them dependent on you and you have got them by the balls. Who is holding yours?

The biggest CHECK is the American people and it’s time we let them know we have had enough.  Tell them you have had enough of the “fundamental change” and speak out loudly! It is clearly evident why Sarah Palin is so popular.  She is a leader of the people, real people–not the sly, devious fundamentally change driven, let me smile at you while you die of a preventable illness with early detection and tell you how good this change is!

Until next time!

Y

I just sat and read a publication by a union as well the the recommendations by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

I had to chuckle at the use of smoke and mirrors. What a fabulously coordinated effort for “fundamental change” that is being thrust upon American people. We are being barraged with disinformation/propaganda, being pushed–and being pushed hard. Well, NOW is the time to offer resistance. Many Americans I know are no longer content to bury their heads in the sand, allowing things to go by unnoticed.  The numbers of the people that are content with the propaganda are starting to wane.  In fact, the more that is shoved down our throats and thrust upon us simply provides ever growing clarity that the force and the urgency is needed because the majority of people ,if they truly understood what was “really” going on they would abruptly resist.  For those that are a little more easily swayed by the rhetoric, those simple and idealistic minds–if they were presented with the same information about similar goings on in another country, well “My God, we need to do something against the tyranny!”

After reading the first 17 pages of the bill, and taking the time to see what it really means I found astounding information.  YOU can be assured I will be looking in deeper to the bill and looking up what they refer to, just like I did with the USPSTF!

For example of the kind of management Obamacare is looking to provide:

IN GENERAL.—A group health plan and a health
insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage shall provide coverage for and shall not impose any cost sharing requirements for—(1) evidence-based items or services that have
in effect a rating of ‘A’ or ‘B’ in the current recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force;
‘‘(2) immunizations that have in effect a recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease  Control and Prevention with respect to the indi19
vidual involved; and
‘‘(3) with respect to infants, children, and adolescents, evidence-informed preventive care and screenings provided for in the comprehensive guidelines supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration.

It should be clearly noted, that the United States Preventative Services Task Force JUST updated their current recommendations for breast cancer screening:

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

Screening for Breast Cancer

Release Date: November 2009

Summary of Recommendations / Supporting Documents
Summary of Recommendations

* The USPSTF recommends against routine screening mammography in women aged 40 to 49 years. The decision to start regular, biennial screening mammography before the age of 50 years should be an individual one and take patient context into account, including the patient’s values regarding specific benefits and harms.
Grade: C recommendation.
* The USPSTF recommends biennial screening mammography for women aged 50 to 74 years.
Grade: B recommendation.
* The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the additional benefits and harms of screening mammography in women 75 years or older.
Grade: I Statement.
* The USPSTF recommends against teaching breast self-examination (BSE).
Grade: D recommendation.
* The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the additional benefits and harms of clinical breast examination (CBE) beyond screening mammography in women 40 years or older.
Grade: I Statement.
* The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the additional benefits and harms of either digital mammography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) instead of film mammography as screening modalities for breast cancer.
Grade: I Statement.

Hmm, do you see anyyyyyyyy A or B recommendations on this?   Oh wait!  Just the one for screening services for a woman 50 to 75.   This is just the start of the “death panels” that some screamed as being ridiculous.  I guess if your sister, mother, daughter, niece or wife has a lump and they are younger than 50 or older than 75, you might just reconsider how Sarah Palin was dismissed so readily.  I think she was telling the truth and some people were so lost in the Democratic/Socialist rhetoric that it did not sink in.  For those that don’t see the impending health care rationing that we will be subject to if this passes, and you don’t speak up, perhaps that is not such a bad thing to improve the quality of the gene pool.

Let’s see, I found some more:

Screening for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Release Date: May 2008

Summary of Recommendations / Supporting Documents
Summary of Recommendations

* The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) concludes that the evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against routine screening for gestational diabetes.
Grade: I Statement.

So, there will not be any payment by this “plan” for screening for gestational diabetes! Imagine that. So you pay the government plan premium, and still have to pay out of pocket for expenses that the damn USPSTF doesn’t see as necessary. It’s amazing what they don’t see as necessary!!!

Oh there’s more! What about diabetes? Haven’t we heard for years how important early detection is? Well–it won’t be anymore according to Obamacare!

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

Screening for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Adults

Release Date: June 2008

Summary of Recommendations / Supporting Documents / Published Comment and Response
Summary of Recommendations

* The USPSTF recommends screening for type 2 diabetes in asymptomatic adults with sustained blood pressure (either treated or untreated) greater than 135/80 mm Hg.
Grade: B Recommendation.
* The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for type 2 diabetes in asymptomatic adults with blood pressure of 135/80 mm Hg or lower.
Grade: I Statement.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

Screening for Lipid Disorders in Adults

Release Date: June 2008

Summary of Recommendations / Supporting Documents
Summary of Recommendations

Screening Men

* The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) strongly recommends screening men aged 35 and older for lipid disorders.
Grade: A Recommendation.
* The USPSTF recommends screening men aged 20 to 35 for lipid disorders if they are at increased risk for coronary heart disease.
Grade: B Recommendation.

Screening Women at Increased Risk

* The USPSTF strongly recommends screening women aged 45 and older for lipid disorders if they are at increased risk for coronary heart disease.
Grade: A Recommendation.
* The USPSTF recommends screening women aged 20 to 45 for lipid disorders if they are at increased risk for coronary heart disease.
Grade: B Recommendation.

Screening Young Men and All Women Not at Increased Risk

* The USPSTF makes no recommendation for or against routine screening for lipid disorders in men aged 20 to 35, or in women aged 20 and older who are not at increased risk for coronary heart disease.
Grade: C Recommendation.

WHY are feminists NOT having conniption fits over this? I can’t believe that the people who have screamed for equal rights for years are not asking for this horrific piece of legislation to burned and anyone who proposed and or voted for it to lose their legislative seats!

So in addition to the premiums AND you pay the bills for the uncovered things, the uncovered things that they don’t see as necessary–”unnecessary” things like mammograms for women under 40, testing for type 2 diabetes if your blood pressure is not over 135/80, or even gestational diabetes, or even something as simple as high cholesterol if you are a WOMAN (They will check men over 30-how is that even acceptable?). If you don’t pay the government the premium, you could go to jail? You could pay fines? Even if you paid your medical bills! Just read this highly informative article about what the financial and criminal consequences the American public faces under Obamacare! You talk about ACCESSIBLE healthcare? You talk about AFFORDABLE healthcare? OH MY GOD! HOW do you TREAT these things, if they won’t SCREEN for them? More people will die, but that’s acceptable????? HOW is this NOT a death panel?

Until Next Time!

Y