Edwards Surge?

"Fighting for One America" Bus Tour - Portsmouth, NH, originally uploaded by John Edwards 2008.

I sense a change in the Edwards campaign lately, he seems to have thrown away the shackles of party politics and is really speaking from the heart. Hillary's campaign donation troubles may open a window and hopefully will unravel her campaign as people are reminded of her dealings with Chinese donors, the Lincoln bedroom for rent, Mark Rich pardon, etc.
There is still a lot of time, and hopefully smart Democrats will realize that Hillary is not the right candidate. America deserves better.

Pat Boone Loves Bush (no matter what)

Pat Boone had the audacity to fill one of his World Net Daily columns with one of those pass-along to your Republican friends' e-mail pieces, so I'm going to go through and make some points of my own (my points will be italicized like this):

The Speech George W. ought to give:

Normally, I start these things out by saying, "My fellow Americans."

Not doing it this time. If the polls are any indication, I don't know who more than half of you are anymore. (Pretty soon half us won't be Americans, not legal ones anyway thanks to your lack of border security and pimping to agri-interests)

I do know something terrible has happened, and that you're really not fellow Americans any longer. (Does that mean you're going to torture us, or just wiretap us?)

I'll cut right to the chase here: I quit. (Cheers from around the world) Now before anyone gets all in a lather about me quitting to avoid impeachment, or to avoid prosecution or something, let me assure you: There's been no breaking of laws or impeachable offenses in this office. (A-hem, OK)

The reason I'm quitting is simple: I'm fed up with you people. (The feeling is mutual, Mr. President)

I'm fed up because you have no understanding of what's really going on in the world (we have more in common than you might think, then!) – or of what's going on in this once-great nation of ours. And the majority of you are too damn lazy to do your homework and figure it out. (we really DO have a lot in common!)

Let's start local. You've been sold a bill of goods by politicians (Republicrats) and the news media (FOX News and Rush Limbaugh, for example. Certainly not lefties like Phil Donohue who was fired before the invasion because NBC didn't want to be seen as anti- war. Not when your guys were doing such a good job making everybody feel patriotic enough to go to war.) Polls show that the majority of you think the economy is in the tank. (Before the war, a majority of us thought Saddam was behind 911. Thanks for taking advantage of our stupidity that you are so well aware of) And that's despite record numbers of homeowners, including record numbers of minority homeowners. (Have you seen that your free-money lending cronies are now foreclosing on these poor folks at record rates?) And while we're mentioning m minorities, I'll point out that minority business ownership is at an all-time high. (Are these minorities the ones who are here legally?) Our unemployment rate is as low as it ever was during the Clinton administration. (Heck, a lot of these folks have two and three jobs!) I've mentioned all those things before, but it doesn't seem to have sunk in.

Despite the shock to our economy of 9/11, the stock market has rebounded to record levels, and more Americans than ever are participating in these markets. (Thanks to your tax cuts for the rich and record spending that the next generations will be paying for, good job!) Meanwhile, all you can do is whine about gas prices, and most of you are too damn stupid to realize that gas prices are high because there's increased demand in other parts of the world, and because a small handful of noisy idiots are more worried about polar bears and beachfront property than your economic security. (The only thing stopping your oil-rich buddies from building refineries is the fact that they want gas prices to be high, so they can make record profits like they have the whole time you've been in office. Why spend money on refineries, when that will only eat into their profits? We should be investing in new energy technologies, instead of planning more giveaways to your oil cronies)

We face real threats in the world. Don't give me this "blood for oil" thing. If I were trading blood for oil, I would've already seized Iraq's oil fields and let the rest of the country go to hell. (So instead, you don't control the oil fields, AND let Iraq go to hell, nice job!) And don't give me this "Bush Lied; People Died" crap either. If I were the liar you morons take me for, I could've easily had chemical weapons planted in Iraq so they could be "discovered." Instead, I owned up to the fact that the intelligence was faulty. (One Republican I battled with before the invasion said that was exactly what we should do if we didn't find them....with all the other lies, why not? I suppose all the supporters you have left DO think we found WMDs)

Let me remind you that the rest of the world thought Saddam had the goods, same as me. (Well, except for the inspectors. And here I was thinking you were smarter than everybody else!) Let me also remind you that regime change in Iraq was official U.S. policy before I came into office. Some guy named Clinton established that policy. Bet you didn't know that, did you? (And you agree with everything Clinton did, I see. Your Daddy was the one who thought it would not be prudent to invade Iraq, maybe you should have consulted with him, instead of ignoring him and his most trusted advisers like Scowcroft, Baker and Powell)

You idiots need to understand that we face a unique enemy. Back during the Cold War, there were two major competing political and economic models squaring off. We won that war, but we did so because fundamentally the Communists wanted to survive, just as we do. We were simply able to outspend and out-tech them. (And when we won and had a chance to re-shape the world, we could have chosen to take the high ground, instead we tried to rule with an iron fist. Smart!)

That's not the case this time. The soldiers of our new enemy don't care if they survive. In fact, they want to die. That'd be fine, as long as they weren't also committed to taking as many of you with them as they can. But they are. They want to kill you, and the bastards are all over the globe. (I thought they were all lured to Iraq, so we could fight them over there? )

You should be grateful they haven't gotten any more of us here in the United States since Sept. 11. But you're not. (Of course not, we want to be bombed so you'll look bad) That's because you've got no idea how hard a small number of intelligence, military, law enforcement and homeland security people have worked to make sure of that. When this whole mess started, I warned you that this would be a long and difficult fight. I'm disappointed how many of you people think a long and difficult fight amounts to a single season of "Survivor." (Your cronies also said it would be a cakewalk and we'd be greeted as liberators, and democracy would spread through the MidEast. Well, those democracies are electing terrorists, my friend. Good plan.)

Instead, you've grown impatient. You're incapable of seeing things through the long lens of history, the way our enemies do. You think that wars should last a few months, a few years, tops. (Maybe we should have avoided fighting the Iraq War. And you thought we could take over Iraq with a quarter of the troops your smart advisers suggested, with only England, Portugal, and Poland as our allies. Unless you still want to count Pakistan and "the General", you know, the country Bin Laden is hiding in, a place we can't possibly search for him because....Pakistan already has the BOMB. No wonder Iran wants one, too. Under your leadership, countries know that's the only way we won't invade. Brilliant plan.)

Making matters worse, you actively support those who help the enemy. Every time you buy the New York Times, every time you send a donation to a cut-and-run Democrat's political campaign, well, dang it, you might just as well FedEx a grenade launcher to a jihadist. It amounts to the same thing. (I see, the Democrats and the media are the real terrorists, let's send 'em all to Guantanamo!)

In this day and age, it's easy enough to find the truth. It's all over the Internet. It just isn't on the pages of the New York Times or on NBC News. But even if it were, I doubt you'd be any smarter. Most of you would rather watch "American Idol." (You told us to carry on like normal, don't let this war inconvenience your shopping habits, we have an economy to support. No need to sacrifice for your country, just keep on spending. Debt is good for us!)

I could say more about your expectations that the government will always be there to bail you out, even if you're too stupid to leave a city that's below sea level and has a hurricane approaching. (Ah, blaming the victims, nice!)

I could say more about your insane belief that government, not your own wallet, is where the money comes from. But I've come to the conclusion that were I to do so, it would sail right over your heads.

So I quit. I'm going back to Crawford; I've got an energy-efficient house down there (Al Gore could only dream) and the capability to be fully self-sufficient. No one ever heard of Crawford before I got elected, and as soon as I'm done here pretty much no one will ever hear of it again. (Unless they speak Spanish) Maybe I'll be lucky enough to die of old age before the last pillars of America fall. (I hope you're still around to take most of the blame)

Oh, and by the way, Cheney's quitting, too. (Did he tell you that? You still believe everything he tells you? Talk about dummy!) That means Pelosi is your new president. You asked for it. Watch what she does carefully, because I still have a glimmer of hope that there are just enough of you remaining who are smart enough to turn this thing around in 2008. (Which Republican candidate will be riding into office on your coattails, Mr. President?)

So that's it. God bless what's left of America. Some of you know what I mean. The rest of you, kiss off. ('Cause that's the American Way, George W-style, bring it on!)

Stop Hillary

A letter to the editor in the Star-News caught my eye, and in my battle to save the country by stopping Hillary Clinton, I thought I'd share some of it with y'all:

"Many syndicated pundits frequenting the Star-News pages are wriggling on their bellies to kiss Hillary Clinton's feet and crown her even before the election.

They've conveniently buried the commodity market and land development (deals) the Clintons were involved in, the political favors … and Bill's 140 pardons and 36 sentence commutations in the last hours of his presidency …
Marc Rich, who fled to Switzerland to avoid prosecution on tax evasion, was pardoned after his wife contributed $70,000 to Hillary's Senate campaign and even more to Clinton's presidential library.

The powerful Clintons escaped, though several of their partners went to prison. The Bush administration has cooperated with the Clintons by refusing to release unredacted Justice Department records regarding these matters.

Lastly, Clinton's advocacy and passage of NAFTA was the beginning of outsourcing and the end for America's manufacturing industry and good paying jobs.

Who wants the Clintons in the White House again - and why?

Stan Bozarth

Wilmington"

Now I'm no Clinton-hater, but my man Stan has some good points I'd like to elaborate on myself. Many of Bill Clinton's pardons at the end of his second term were a slap in the face to justice. I had hoped this meant that Hillary would never run for president, because they really let loose some evil folks who did bad things for the country while lining their own pockets, and the Clintons' campaign coffers. Money for pardons, basically.

NAFTA could have been worked to be favorable for our interests and Mexico's and Canada's too, but instead, it became a gift to big corporations who took advantage. Reagan's immigrant amnesty was tied to making NAFTA work, providing good paying jobs to Mexicans in Mexico, so they would not have to come here to make a decent wage, so they could build a strong economy and become a better neighbor. Instead, the NAFTA we got allowed companies to move down there, ignore environmental laws and pay lowly wages that only encouraged more of them to immigrate here. The Clintons bow down to big money just as much as the Bushies do.

Lastly, a point I have not seen elsewhere... I believe Hillary's run is against the spirit of the 22nd Amendment. That's the one about a two term limit. Sure, Hillary was not president, but she was part of the team. When they ran, Bill claimed that we'd be getting "two for the price of one". I suggest that Hillary has already served two term in the White House, and her attempt to regain control runs counter to the spirit of the 22nd Amendment. She's flaunting our Constitution, folks!

Do we really want Bush/Clinton/Bush/Clinton? 20+ years of the same bought and paid for leadership? Have they really been that good for the US? I submit that Clinton/Bush are two sides of an expensive coin, and we'd do better to toss that coin into a wishing well and elect a leader who will take us in a new, more moral and upright direction.

Hola! Roy's Got Vertigo

Roy Williams, Carolina Basketball Coach and all around good guy has been battling Vertigo:

From The Raleigh N&O:
""Right now, I'd say I'm 85-90 percent, but I can still feel it,'' he said. "... But I'm going to be fine. I don't think there's any doctors laying awake at night about 'Ol Roy, and I don't think they should."

Williams said that over the years, doctors in Chapel Hill and Lawrence, Kan., and at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., have diagnosed him with what's termed "benign positional vertigo."...

"I'm not as comfortable as I'd like to be, and when I get up, I get up slower,'' Williams said. "Early in the mornings, I'm a little more light-headed than I'd like to be.

"... But I'm still more fortunate than 99.9 percent of people in the world. That's the way I look at it."

The man has a good attitude. Catorce!

Global Warming Talk Overheated

How much CO2 do we humans add to the atmosphere? A lot less than Al Gore would have you believe.

From WND:

"Carbon dioxide is 0.000383 of our atmosphere by volume (0.038 percent)," said meteorologist Joseph D'Alea, the first director of meteorology at The Weather Channel and former chief of the American Meteorological Society's Committee on Weather Analysis and Forecast.

"Only 2.75 percent of atmospheric CO2 is anthropogenic in origin. The amount we emit is said to be up from 1 percent a decade ago. Despite the increase in emissions, the rate of change of atmospheric carbon dioxide at Mauna Loa remains the same as the long term average (plus 0.45 percent per year)," he said. "We are responsible for just 0.001 percent of this atmosphere. If the atmosphere was a 100-story building, our anthropogenic CO2 contribution today would be equivalent to the linoleum on the first floor."

Former Harvard physicist Lubos Motl added that those promoting the fear of man-made climate changes are "playing the children's game to scare each other."

"By the end of the (CO2) doubling, i.e. 560 ppm (parts per million) expected slightly before (the year) 2100 – assuming a business-as-usual continued growth of CO2 that has been linear for some time – Schwartz and others would expect 0.4 C of extra warming only – a typical fluctuation that occurs within four months and certainly nothing that the politicians should pay attention to," Motl explained.

NPR and other news outlets have stories on global warming every day, when any effects have been minimal at best. The human impact on global warming seems to be almost infinitesimal when you look at the big picture. The Chicken Little cries of "the sky is falling" are laughable.

We do need new clean energy sources, though. Not so much to protect us from global warming, but because our fossil fuel resources are going to run out someday. We need energy, and finding new sources should be a top priority. Many of the ideas of the global warming fans are ideas I share....conservation, clean alternatives to oil/coal/gas....but we need these things more to protect our economy than our atmosphere, in my opinion. I could be wrong, and I wish the global warming fans would admit as much.

image courtesy npr's flickr site

Citizen Watts, Global Warming Troublemaker

Anthony Watts decided somebody needed to check on the US's 1,221 ground weatherstations to see if they're measuring temperatures accurately. So far he's checked 227, and many of them do not meet NOAA specs, giving misleading warming information.

From Bill Steigerwald at Human Events:

"Citizen Watts may look like a troublemaker to NASA's experts but he's convinced he's on to something important. He's found no evidence that anyone except him has ever made an effort to verify the quality-control standards at every weather station site.

Until he finishes his project, Watts says, not even Jim Hansen will ever know for sure if -- as a recent scientific paper at the University of Colorado puts it -- "the use of the data from poorly sited stations provides a false sense of confidence in the robustness of the surface temperature trend assessments."

In English, that means Watts may be on the way to proving that the country is not as dangerously hot as we've been led to believe."

Interesting article, I'm sure this Watts guy is on the ball! Here's an interview with Watts from chicobeat.com

Buchanan on Bush/Rove

Pat Buchanan really sums up the blunders of Bush/Rove in another brilliant editorial:

"Sometime between Sept. 11 and his axis-of-evil address, Bush sat down and ate of the forbidden fruit of messianic globaloney. Consuming it, he got up and committed the greatest strategic blunder in American history by ordering the invasion of a country that had not attacked us, did not threaten us and did not want war with us.

The Bush-Rove rationale: For our survival, we had to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction that we now know it did not have.".....

"In seeking a new GOP majority, Bush and Rove rejected the Nixon-Reagan model. Instead, they embraced the interventionism of Wilson, the free-trade globalism of FDR, the open-borders immigration ideas of LBJ and the budget priorities of the Great Society. It was a bridge too far for the party base.

Now, Rove walks away like some subprime borrower abandoning the house on which he can no longer make the payments. The Republican Party needs a new architect. The firm of Bush & Rove was not up to the job."

Here Here!

Decline of Empire: Sound Familiar?

"Drawing parallels with the end of the Roman empire, Mr Walker warned there were “striking similarities” between America’s current situation and the factors that brought down Rome, including “declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government”.

“Sound familiar?” Mr Walker said. “In my view, it’s time to learn from history and take steps to ensure the American Republic is the first to stand the test of time.”

Mr Walker’s views carry weight because he is a non-partisan figure in charge of the Government Accountability Office, often described as the investigative arm of the US Congress."

Interesting article from the Financial Times of London....Mr. Walker is in a good position to talk about these sensitive matters, and it's patriotic of him to speak up, especially since it's a message we don't want to hear. They sky isn't falling.....yet, so we need to go ahead and face the reality of our situation now and make necessary changes, or face the cruel fate that our lessons in history have taught us.

Bono on a Train

Just heard from an old friend who lives in NYC and he writes:

"I just got out of the subway- was on the "6" train going downtown and on the train right beside me was your man Bono. Couldn't f'ing believe it."
Thanks for the tip, Stu!

This isn't Bono's first train trip...it seems he does this kinda traveling pretty often as Matt from @U2 writes in this column:

"Bono took Amtrak from D.C. to Philly the afternoon of the 21st on his way to speak with the World Affairs Council. I know, because @U2 reader Dan M. has a friend who works for Amtrak, and this friend tipped him off to Bono's arrival at 30th Street Station that afternoon, and Dan M. ended up with a brief but private audience with the biggest rock star in the world"

Read the story for the full version