Off Limits
With the recent comments on rape from a Colorado congressman - this time a Democrat - we have another topic that the Legitimate Media can no longer define as the exclusive domain of Republicans and use as a battering ram against them. Here is a partial list:
- Stupid comments on rape
- How many vacation days the president takes
- How much golf the president plays
- Detention of foreign jihadists
- How many press conferences the president has
- Unemployment
- The bad economy
Mr. Science
We just finished reading "The Universe Within" by Neil Shubin whose earlier book, "Your Inner Fish", we have also read and enjoyed. A dean at the University of Chicago, Shubin writes science in a manner that makes it entirely accessible and enjoyable for the layman. "The Universe Within" takes the reader on a broad tour of paleontology, biology, evolution, genetics and cosmology. In recounting the history of Earth, Shubin spends a lot of time talking about one of the prime shapers of the planet: climate. We have no idea where Shubin comes down on the issue of climate change as it is currently being argued. He wisely does not discuss it at all. His focus is the long view of how climate shaped the world that we know today. It has long been the opinion of RedStateVT that a better understanding of the historical patterns of climate can both help to educate people and to call into question the validity of the point-in-time focus of McKibben, Gore and the current crowd of climate alarmists. Here are some excerpts worth considering:
For most of its history, Antarctica was a paradise of life. Then, starting 40 million years ago, the entire continent went into the freezer and with it Antarctica witnessed the greatest and most completion extinction of any continent in the history of the planet. (pg. 144)
Volcanoes typically release huge amounts of water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases; by some estimates they send over 120 million tons of carbon dioxide into the air each year. (pg. 147)
In times on the order of thousands of years, Earth's orbit will wobble and change, thereby influencing the amount of sunlight that warms the planet. (pg. 164)
Climate at the end of the last glacial period, about 12,500 years ago exemplifies one of the riffs. At this time, when by all accounts things should have continued to warm, there was a dramatic shift to a sharp cold spell that happened in the blink of an eye in geological terms - over decades. The record from pollen, oxygen atoms and other markers implies a climate that changed 15 degrees in as little as a decade. (pg. 174)
Palms trees in the Antarctic, massive carbon dioxide emissions from volcanoes, a wobbly Earth, and a 15 degree temperature change in ten years....all before man showed up! There is a little "science" for the climate chaos crowd who claim to have science on their side.
Fighting The Good Fight
It has been an unnerving time for Senator Robert Menendez, a usually self-assured and even brash politician who prides himself on his long, hard climb through the brutal machine-style politics of New Jersey. (NYT, 2/20/2013)
The New York Times pens a thirty-one paragraph article on Democrat Menendez, the subject of possible ethics violations. We learn that the Senator is "shaken and angry." Not to worry though because he has "survival skills" learned from his "working class" upbringing. A fellow Democrat talks of Menendez's "internal strength." We learn that earlier in his career he ferreted out corruption in New Jersey. Also, he has the ability to "outlast his enemies." Other Dems call him a "diligent worker" and "adept at fighting." Twenty-six paragraphs in we finally get a few details about the nasty things that Menendez might have done. (Minor things like selling his influence...) The article closes with dark hints at the source of the accusations against Menendez: Cuban Communists!
To show our support for this righteous public servant in his fight against the commie scourge, RedStateVT will break with our long-standing policy and accept contributions for Menendez's legal defense fund.
Unclaimed
And it has claimed the political career of an ambitious cabinet minister, Chris Huhne, a Liberal Democrat who resigned his position as energy and climate change secretary in Prime Minister David Cameron’s coalition government and his parliamentary seat. (NYT, 2/16/2013)
Britain has a Secretary of Climate Change? Don't tell Liberals in the U.S.!
Watching The Detectives
Sandwiched between two doctors’ offices at a roadside plaza here is the headquarters of a small team of veteran Republican investigators, operating almost as a private detective squad, who since late last year have had a determined goal: bringing down Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey. (NYT, 2/16/2013)
"Inquiry on Senator Started with a Partisan Push" is the headline. Yes, in the end they found some icky stuff on Menendez, but the real story - the Times tell us - is that the inquiry was initiated by Republicans. Never mind that Democrats sent plane loads of lawyers up to Alaska to dig up dirt on Sarah Palin. The Times - you might also remember - is the same newspaper that encouraged readers to pour through the very same Sarah Palin's e-mails and report anything interesting that they find.
Alemanical
German politicians decided it would be nice if 35% of the country's electricity came from renewables by 2020. German politicians, after Fukushima, decided it would be nice to phase out the country's nuclear plants. German politicians decided factories should be protected from any increase in electricity prices. In their home districts, politicians thought "factory" should be extended to cover any large and influential employer.
Now the green future has arrived and German voters are in revolt over rising power prices. "Fuel poverty" has become a buzz term as thousands have been shut off for nonpayment of bills. Politicians have begun trying to claw back subsidies from companies that say the subsidies are the only reason they're in business. A scandal seems to emerge weekly over some big-name company illicitly benefiting from subsidized electricity rates. (Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., WSJ, 2/15/2013)
There is a line of thinking among conservatives depressed about the re-election of Obama and the further implementation of his Liberal agenda that says not to worry, Liberal policies are flawed and they will implode. Be it the rising cost estimates for Obamacare, the moribund domestic economy or worsening relations with Russia, there is plenty of evidence to support this position.
Meanwhile, the German example shows Vermonters what their energy future will be:
The Shumlin administration wants 75 percent of the state’s power to come from renewables by 2032. Electricity from Hydro-Quebec would account for 40 percent of that total. (Vtdigger.org, 5/3/2012)
Intervention
Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey intervened with federal health officials on two occasions in the last four years in an effort to help a close friend in a billing dispute with Medicare, federal investigators said Wednesday. (NYT, 2/7/2013)
The New York Times finally writes an article about the allegations surrounding Robert Menendez (who we learn seven paragraphs in is a Democrat). Alas, the story focuses on a friend of Menendez who may have had some questionable business dealings. The seventeen paragraph story makes no mention of the other allegations. You know, the ones about Menendez and the underage prostitutes.
In fairness, writing a story about the allegations involving Menendez and underage prostitutes would be akin to....what? Writing a story about allegations that George H.W. Bush had an affair? Or that John McCain had an affair? Or that George W. Bush did not report for his final two weeks of National Guard duty? Or that 50 years ago, Mitt Romney may have bullied a kid in middle school? Those stories would never be written. Just kidding!
Familiarity Breeds
"President Barack Obama's speeches have a familiar ring these days--no matter if it's guns, immigration or the budget," Politico reports:
Tout what he's already done. Say the public's in his corner. Demand Congress do something. Lament Washington dysfunction. Lay out his own plan. Avoid details. Urge voters to keep up the pressure. Warn it won't be easy. Bask in the applause.
It's the fill-in-the-blank approach to selling a presidential agenda: same template, just adjusted for the topic. (WSJ, 2/7/2013)
POLITICO? Wow, a deliciously incisive indictment!
The second Obama term is only days old and already the bloom is off the rose. Call it "Obama fatigue."
Manifest
And what do you know, Chris Dorner, the former-police officer suspected of being behind the murder rampage presently unfolding in Los Angeles, has apparently left behind a manifesto addressed to America that the media's already selectively reporting on to leave out the more inconvenient portions. You see, there's no political upside for the media to reveal the politics of this suspected madman.
What's being reported as Mr. Dorner's manifesto not only endorses Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 and vigorously defends Barack Obama and the Democrats' current gun control push, he also savages the NRA's Wayne LaPierre and expresses all kinds of unabiding for some of the biggest stars in the left-wing media -- by name. (Breitbart.com, 2/7/2013)
It's hard to imagine what we would do without Breitbart. Because of them, we learn that the ex-LA cop wanted for multiple murders is a Liberal. So RedStateVT will now be the first to issue a national warning about the dangers of .... Left Wing Militias. We call upon the Department of Justice to investigate immediately!
Land Of Confusion
Democratic partisans might be confused. They considered Bush a threat to America’s liberty because of his defense of his war powers, yet their hero stands on similar ground. How to resolve the contradiction? Easy. Conclude that they were wrong the first time. (Rich Lowry, POLITICO.com, 2/6/2013)
In an article entitled "Dick Cheney's Revenge" Rich Lowry echoes RedStateVT's recent post about Obama and drone assassinations. Will Liberals take Lowry's advice? Will they say "Cheney was right before as Obama is right now?"
When asked, Liberals responded: "We must do something about the threat of climate change...."
