Attorney General Eric Holder made history yesterday. He is the first Cabinet member to be held in criminal and civil contempt of Congress. This vote could have been avoided, if only he had turned over the requested documents. His refusal puts the entire blame for this exercise on his shoulders, and his alone. Holder brought the contempt charges on himself when he chose to ignore the US Congress' legitimate demands for information to which they had every right. His contempt for the US Congress and the American people in this and other matters has now officially been reciprocated. One hundred democrats refused to vote, choosing instead to walk out. Seventeen democrats not only stayed to vote, but crossed the aisle and voted to hold Holder in criminal contempt. Twenty-one democrats voted to hold him in civil contempt.
Showing posts with label scandal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scandal. Show all posts
Friday, June 29, 2012
Monday, July 12, 2010
GRAYSON SUPPORTS THE TEA PARTY?
Today a gentleman from Alan Grayson's campaign knocked on my door. His purpose was to have me sign paperwork so that Mr. Grayson and his campaign could help me register to vote, because apparently I'm not capable of doing it myself.
Thanks, but no thanks.
I have been voting for many years now, and have never once had someone working for a candidate come to my door to offer to take care of registering for me. I prefer to register the legal way, all by myself. I find it difficult to trust the "congressman from ACORN" with my voting information. After all, the man is implicated in election shenanigans already:
Please note the use of Alinsky Rule #5 when deflecting questioning about the tea party allegations in an interview with CNN:
This rule seems to be his personal motto. Hopefully Alinsky meant he should make a complete ass out of himself in the process, because if so, Grayson nailed it.
Grayson denies any connection to this scandal, but he seems to think he is too smart by half and that Tea Party supporters are idiots, so why not try to pull the wool over their eyes? After all, he's been so very supportive of the teabaggers partyers in the past (warning: Joy Behar is in the linked clip - those with weak stomachs should not view). Why wouldn't they fall for it?
The question is, would he really stoop to such things? He can certainly afford it - he's the 7th richest member of the House (ranked 12th when you include the Senate). In addition, on a list of 30 vulnerable House seats, he ranks 13th. As an accomplished lawyer, there is a good chance he knows how to set up organizations and make it nearly impossible to discover who controls them.
That covers means, motive and ability. All that's left is a concrete tie to Public Opinion Strategies. Channel 6's Tony Pipitone seems tenacious, so hopefully he will find more information.
In the meantime, Grayson seems to be taking a two-pronged approach to this election. He understands his district is historically republican, so attempting to split the ticket by setting up and funding a 'tea party' candidate seems like a logical way to pull out a win in November. The 'Congressman from ACORN' is also apparently taking on the voter registration duties of the allegedly defunct organization now as well, if the door-to-door experience I had today was any indication. That's a scary thought.
With a little luck, Pipitone will uncover the missing link, and the story will get legs. Until then, please be sure to check out Grayson's legitimate opponents:
Patricia Sullivan, Bruce O’Donoghue, Dan Fanelli, Peg Dunmire, Kurt Kelly, Todd Long and Steven Gerritzen (Whig).
Thanks, but no thanks.
I have been voting for many years now, and have never once had someone working for a candidate come to my door to offer to take care of registering for me. I prefer to register the legal way, all by myself. I find it difficult to trust the "congressman from ACORN" with my voting information. After all, the man is implicated in election shenanigans already:
Please note the use of Alinsky Rule #5 when deflecting questioning about the tea party allegations in an interview with CNN:
5. "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon. It is almost impossible to counteract ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage."
This rule seems to be his personal motto. Hopefully Alinsky meant he should make a complete ass out of himself in the process, because if so, Grayson nailed it.
Grayson denies any connection to this scandal, but he seems to think he is too smart by half and that Tea Party supporters are idiots, so why not try to pull the wool over their eyes? After all, he's been so very supportive of the tea
The question is, would he really stoop to such things? He can certainly afford it - he's the 7th richest member of the House (ranked 12th when you include the Senate). In addition, on a list of 30 vulnerable House seats, he ranks 13th. As an accomplished lawyer, there is a good chance he knows how to set up organizations and make it nearly impossible to discover who controls them.
That covers means, motive and ability. All that's left is a concrete tie to Public Opinion Strategies. Channel 6's Tony Pipitone seems tenacious, so hopefully he will find more information.
In the meantime, Grayson seems to be taking a two-pronged approach to this election. He understands his district is historically republican, so attempting to split the ticket by setting up and funding a 'tea party' candidate seems like a logical way to pull out a win in November. The 'Congressman from ACORN' is also apparently taking on the voter registration duties of the allegedly defunct organization now as well, if the door-to-door experience I had today was any indication. That's a scary thought.
With a little luck, Pipitone will uncover the missing link, and the story will get legs. Until then, please be sure to check out Grayson's legitimate opponents:
Patricia Sullivan, Bruce O’Donoghue, Dan Fanelli, Peg Dunmire, Kurt Kelly, Todd Long and Steven Gerritzen (Whig).
Monday, February 22, 2010
THE ACORN CRACKS
In a don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it story today, Politico is reporting that ACORN is closing down across the country.
Don't pop the champagne just yet, though because, much like most Progressive ideas, this just won't die easily.
ACORN, in it's hydra-like way, is merely splintering into local groups, all with different names. You know those Progressives - when the message doesn't sell, just change the name and try again!
Sounds like they learned their lesson and are revamping their organization, right? Eh, not so much (emphasis mine):
What it really boils down to is that they were having a hard time getting funded as a national organization because of all of the attention they have gotten for their shady election work and the questionable practices highlighted in those undercover tapes. So, in typical progressive fashion, they will instead splinter into smaller groups that are only statewide, so they can then access state funding under their new names.
It's all about the dollars, baby.
But fear not:
Whew. What a relief to know that this will not stop ACORN from it's basic mission. Rest assured, too, that National ACORN is not yet dead, either - as a matter of fact, it seems the chapters that are peeling off (at least, so far) are the ones in states involved in those infamous videos, namely New York and California.
Go figure.
Don't pop the champagne just yet, though because, much like most Progressive ideas, this just won't die easily.
ACORN, in it's hydra-like way, is merely splintering into local groups, all with different names. You know those Progressives - when the message doesn't sell, just change the name and try again!
"Consistent with what the internal recommendations have been, each of the states are developing plans for reconstitution independence and self-sufficiency," said the official, citing ACORN's "diminished resources, damage to the brand, unprecedented attacks."
The new organizations, he said "will be constituted under new banners and new bylaws and new governance," he said, consistent with the recommendations of an outside panel.
Sounds like they learned their lesson and are revamping their organization, right? Eh, not so much (emphasis mine):
A person familiar with the New York reorganization said the new group has a new board, including some relative outsiders, like an official at the union Workers United, Wilfredo Larancuent, as well as most of the old leadership.
What it really boils down to is that they were having a hard time getting funded as a national organization because of all of the attention they have gotten for their shady election work and the questionable practices highlighted in those undercover tapes. So, in typical progressive fashion, they will instead splinter into smaller groups that are only statewide, so they can then access state funding under their new names.
It's all about the dollars, baby.
But fear not:
"As far as the work in the communities and policy campaigns, no one will notice the difference," the source said.
Whew. What a relief to know that this will not stop ACORN from it's basic mission. Rest assured, too, that National ACORN is not yet dead, either - as a matter of fact, it seems the chapters that are peeling off (at least, so far) are the ones in states involved in those infamous videos, namely New York and California.
Go figure.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
CLIMATE FALLOUT
I just found a great video about the ClimateGate scandal.
Check it out.
The wheels are really falling off the bus.
The fallout is reaching incredible proportions now. There is a new report about IPCC claims of African crops decreasing 50% being completely false. Claims of increased storm intensity is unsupportable. Now that scientists aren't afraid of being blackballed for skeptical results, there are more and more of them out there checking the IPCC/CRU data and finding it wanting. It seems that every day there is a new report of errors and fallacies in the Nobel Prize winning 2007 IPCC report on climate change.
The level of BS involved in the report is simply staggering.
The African crop projections were based on theories that directly contradicted the information gathered. Whole areas of the report were based on non-scientific magazine articles and unpublished student theses. More and more true scientists, who propose a theory and then attempt to prove or disprove it scientifically, are testing the CRU's and IPCC's theories on AGW and finding major holes in the 'science'.
Finally, disgraced 'scientist' Phil Jones of the CRU came out this weekend and admitted that there hasn't been any measurable global warming for the past 15 years. In addition, he admitted that temperatures during the Medieval Warming Period were higher than what we are experiencing now. What's more, those temperatures remained high for a period of about 500 years, from about 800 AD to about 1300 AD. The MWP ended with the Little Ice Age, a period of unusual cold that lasted until the early 1800's.
The MWP was a time of global prosperity. It was so warm that wine was grown in England and Iceland. The world's population exploded due to increased harvests of cereal grains, which are intolerant to cold, and warmer winters, which meant less illness and disease. Trade flourished throughout Europe and the Mediterranean and into Asia. The Vikings explored the ice-free Atlantic ocean in their longboats and discovered Greenland (which really was green then, thus the name), Nova Scotia and quite possibly northeastern America.
Times were easier in the MWP because of the added warmth. With full bellies and full purses, people were able to turn their attention from subsistence to leisure. There was an explosion of scientific discovery and artisitic achievement.
AGW alarmists tried to hide the MWP, to pretend that it didn't exist, because it's mere existence put the lie to man-made global warming. There were no cars or factories spewing CO2 into the atmosphere back then, and yet it was warmer than it is today. The MWP was a huge threat to AGW, and so they tried to revise history yet again and pretend that the MWP never happened. By the way, the Little Ice Age was possibly caused by the 'Maunder Minimum', a period of extremely low sunspot activity. We are possibly going through another period of extremely low sunspot activity right now. Coincidence? Well, what do you think the odds are that less activity from the giant superhot ball of gas in the center of the solar system might cause temperature changes in our atmosphere? I'd have to say the sun would have more effect on our climate than our exhalations and flatulent cows, but what do I know?
The MWP proves the theory of Climate Change, but not AGW, which is a very different thing. Climate Change is a natural, cyclical phenomenon that has very little to do with the activities of man. AGW, in contrast, blames man for everything. Humans are the plague of the Earth, bent on it's destruction, in the minds of AGW alarmists.
Yes, the climate is changing. It has always changed - the climate we have now is nothing like the climate of 10 million years ago, 10,000 years ago, or even a mere 1,000 years ago - a drop in the climate bucket. We may be in the midst of a warming period that may or may not be over - in about 100 years or so we will be able to look back over this newest cycle and have a clearer picture what was happening.
The AGW hysterics scream 'there's a difference between climate and weather, you know!' Yes, I do know. Do you?
The people who are claiming a few blizzards and some broken records doesn't mean it is getting colder are the very same people who jump all over a summer heat wave and claim that it proves global warming - see, it's hotter outside! They are also the people who touted the lack of snow a few winters ago in DC proved global warming as well. Now they are saying the cooler temps and major snowstorms are proof of global warming. To prove this theory, they have come up with a tortured, circuitous explaination involving the increased temps causing increased water vapor in the air resulting in more precipitation, but because it is happening in winter with colder temps, the precipitation shows itself as snow. Basically saying it is colder and snowier because the temperature is rising. They seem to have taken to heart the little adage "If you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with bullshit".
Even Donald Trump is calling AGW a hoax, and has called for Al Gore to be stripped of his Nobel Prize. Considering he got it in conjunction with the fatally flawed 2007 IPCC report, they should all be stripped. While they are at it, how about the Oscar, too?
Even liberal Penn State, home of Michael Mann, a leading climate scientist and crony of the CRU's Phil Jones and author of many of the incriminating emails released in December, has students that are demanding answers. The Young America's Foundation protested the bogus internal 'investigation' of Michael Mann, claiming it is biased. They are demanding the investigation be conducted by a neutral, unaffiliated, external group and that the findings be released to the public. Right now the review is being conducted by three Penn State employees and the findings will only be released to donors. By the way, Michael Mann just recieved $2.4 million in stimulus funds for his climate research - even in the midst of an investigation.
Our federal masters are refusing to waver from their AGW stance, and have even talked about reviving Cap and Trade. Tone deaf and crazy, right? No, more like politically expedient. The liberals seem to think that saying something often enough makes it true, so they are clinging on to their hysterical ranting about climate catastrophe. Let's face it - they have a lot at stake, and they'll be damned if they are going to give it up without a fight. Cap and Trade is a masterpiece of political money laundering. They will use it to pillage literally trillions of dollars from corporations, small businesses and taxpayers. They can put that money into a nice little slush fund and claim they are using it for carbon credit offsets and other such untraceable schemes. They have created such an illusion of major catastrophes that when they don't occur they can claim that their Cap and Trade scheme was a success and saved us from annihilation.
But now it's all falling apart.
As is usually the case with liberals, they pushed too hard, and their rhetoric just couldn't stand up to the facts. They tried to silence their critics, but that only works for so long. They have now resorted to name calling and claiming that any change in weather whatsoever is proof of their theory. Those are desperate tactics and are being seen as such by a rapidly growing majority.
There is no doubt whatsoever that the climate is changing. There is a great deal of doubt, however, that man is the cause. Our AGW Icaruses have flown too close to the sun and are now paying the price.
Better them than us.
Check it out.
The wheels are really falling off the bus.
The fallout is reaching incredible proportions now. There is a new report about IPCC claims of African crops decreasing 50% being completely false. Claims of increased storm intensity is unsupportable. Now that scientists aren't afraid of being blackballed for skeptical results, there are more and more of them out there checking the IPCC/CRU data and finding it wanting. It seems that every day there is a new report of errors and fallacies in the Nobel Prize winning 2007 IPCC report on climate change.
The level of BS involved in the report is simply staggering.
The African crop projections were based on theories that directly contradicted the information gathered. Whole areas of the report were based on non-scientific magazine articles and unpublished student theses. More and more true scientists, who propose a theory and then attempt to prove or disprove it scientifically, are testing the CRU's and IPCC's theories on AGW and finding major holes in the 'science'.
Finally, disgraced 'scientist' Phil Jones of the CRU came out this weekend and admitted that there hasn't been any measurable global warming for the past 15 years. In addition, he admitted that temperatures during the Medieval Warming Period were higher than what we are experiencing now. What's more, those temperatures remained high for a period of about 500 years, from about 800 AD to about 1300 AD. The MWP ended with the Little Ice Age, a period of unusual cold that lasted until the early 1800's.
The MWP was a time of global prosperity. It was so warm that wine was grown in England and Iceland. The world's population exploded due to increased harvests of cereal grains, which are intolerant to cold, and warmer winters, which meant less illness and disease. Trade flourished throughout Europe and the Mediterranean and into Asia. The Vikings explored the ice-free Atlantic ocean in their longboats and discovered Greenland (which really was green then, thus the name), Nova Scotia and quite possibly northeastern America.
Times were easier in the MWP because of the added warmth. With full bellies and full purses, people were able to turn their attention from subsistence to leisure. There was an explosion of scientific discovery and artisitic achievement.
AGW alarmists tried to hide the MWP, to pretend that it didn't exist, because it's mere existence put the lie to man-made global warming. There were no cars or factories spewing CO2 into the atmosphere back then, and yet it was warmer than it is today. The MWP was a huge threat to AGW, and so they tried to revise history yet again and pretend that the MWP never happened. By the way, the Little Ice Age was possibly caused by the 'Maunder Minimum', a period of extremely low sunspot activity. We are possibly going through another period of extremely low sunspot activity right now. Coincidence? Well, what do you think the odds are that less activity from the giant superhot ball of gas in the center of the solar system might cause temperature changes in our atmosphere? I'd have to say the sun would have more effect on our climate than our exhalations and flatulent cows, but what do I know?
The MWP proves the theory of Climate Change, but not AGW, which is a very different thing. Climate Change is a natural, cyclical phenomenon that has very little to do with the activities of man. AGW, in contrast, blames man for everything. Humans are the plague of the Earth, bent on it's destruction, in the minds of AGW alarmists.
Yes, the climate is changing. It has always changed - the climate we have now is nothing like the climate of 10 million years ago, 10,000 years ago, or even a mere 1,000 years ago - a drop in the climate bucket. We may be in the midst of a warming period that may or may not be over - in about 100 years or so we will be able to look back over this newest cycle and have a clearer picture what was happening.
The AGW hysterics scream 'there's a difference between climate and weather, you know!' Yes, I do know. Do you?
The people who are claiming a few blizzards and some broken records doesn't mean it is getting colder are the very same people who jump all over a summer heat wave and claim that it proves global warming - see, it's hotter outside! They are also the people who touted the lack of snow a few winters ago in DC proved global warming as well. Now they are saying the cooler temps and major snowstorms are proof of global warming. To prove this theory, they have come up with a tortured, circuitous explaination involving the increased temps causing increased water vapor in the air resulting in more precipitation, but because it is happening in winter with colder temps, the precipitation shows itself as snow. Basically saying it is colder and snowier because the temperature is rising. They seem to have taken to heart the little adage "If you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with bullshit".
Even Donald Trump is calling AGW a hoax, and has called for Al Gore to be stripped of his Nobel Prize. Considering he got it in conjunction with the fatally flawed 2007 IPCC report, they should all be stripped. While they are at it, how about the Oscar, too?
Even liberal Penn State, home of Michael Mann, a leading climate scientist and crony of the CRU's Phil Jones and author of many of the incriminating emails released in December, has students that are demanding answers. The Young America's Foundation protested the bogus internal 'investigation' of Michael Mann, claiming it is biased. They are demanding the investigation be conducted by a neutral, unaffiliated, external group and that the findings be released to the public. Right now the review is being conducted by three Penn State employees and the findings will only be released to donors. By the way, Michael Mann just recieved $2.4 million in stimulus funds for his climate research - even in the midst of an investigation.
Our federal masters are refusing to waver from their AGW stance, and have even talked about reviving Cap and Trade. Tone deaf and crazy, right? No, more like politically expedient. The liberals seem to think that saying something often enough makes it true, so they are clinging on to their hysterical ranting about climate catastrophe. Let's face it - they have a lot at stake, and they'll be damned if they are going to give it up without a fight. Cap and Trade is a masterpiece of political money laundering. They will use it to pillage literally trillions of dollars from corporations, small businesses and taxpayers. They can put that money into a nice little slush fund and claim they are using it for carbon credit offsets and other such untraceable schemes. They have created such an illusion of major catastrophes that when they don't occur they can claim that their Cap and Trade scheme was a success and saved us from annihilation.
But now it's all falling apart.
As is usually the case with liberals, they pushed too hard, and their rhetoric just couldn't stand up to the facts. They tried to silence their critics, but that only works for so long. They have now resorted to name calling and claiming that any change in weather whatsoever is proof of their theory. Those are desperate tactics and are being seen as such by a rapidly growing majority.
There is no doubt whatsoever that the climate is changing. There is a great deal of doubt, however, that man is the cause. Our AGW Icaruses have flown too close to the sun and are now paying the price.
Better them than us.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YA....
Awesome.
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) is expected to announce Wednesday that he will be retiring at the end of his term and will not seek reelection.
This really comes as no surprise. He has been tanking in the polls and is embroiled in two scandals - sweetheart deals with Countrywide (in which a democrat-led ethics investigation surprisingly found nothing - I wonder how much they got for that finding) and suspiciously undervalued property in Ireland.
Another Corruptocrat bites the dust.
Hopefully the next up will be Charlie Rangel. Or Barney Frank.
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) is expected to announce Wednesday that he will be retiring at the end of his term and will not seek reelection.
This really comes as no surprise. He has been tanking in the polls and is embroiled in two scandals - sweetheart deals with Countrywide (in which a democrat-led ethics investigation surprisingly found nothing - I wonder how much they got for that finding) and suspiciously undervalued property in Ireland.
Another Corruptocrat bites the dust.
Hopefully the next up will be Charlie Rangel. Or Barney Frank.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
THE FIRST CARD FALLS Updated
The house of cards that is AGW is slowly collapsing, no matter how hard the neo-pravda media, the Obama administration and the UN's IPCC are desperately trying to spin it.
The ClimateGate scandal has finally claimed it's first victim. Patient Zero, a.k.a. Phil Jones, director of East Anglia University's Climatic Research Unit is temporarily stepping down while an investigation is conducted.
A potential second victim is lining up, too. Michael Mann of Penn State is now under investigation by the university.
I would expect these two investigations to be just the tip of the iceberg.
Sen. Inhofe, for example, has asked Sen. Boxer to investigate a possible conspiracy among prominent scientists essential to the climate change debate.
Considering her 'green agenda' position on the matter and her tactics on forcing the liberal agenda, even to the point of breaking committee rules, the chances of a transparent, honest, thorough investigation are slim, at best. Let's hope Inhofe keeps a close eye on it.
There are other universities and distinguished scientific research centers that have been touched by this scandal and may possibly be investigated, such as the National Center for Atmospheric Research and NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
It's time to start following the money on this. As with most things these days, greed is a main motivator. The 'green' in the green movement is money, pure and simple. Universities are raking in money hand over fist with their climate research, and politicians the world over are looking at diverting trillions of taxpayer dollars to do with as they see fit. Al Gore, who so far has kept a low profile on this boondoggle (I wonder when he will be cancelling his book tour, after this and this happened, though) has got a major horse in this race, but will the High Priest of Gaia get caught for his fraud?
I'm sure if there were an email implicating him it would have come to light already, so the smoking gun would most likely be at the end of the money trail.
The bottom line on all of this is that the global warming alarmists are losing the PR battle. The house of cards is collapsing around their ears. They tried to spin it, they tried to marginalize it, they tried to pretend it didn't happen or that it isn't important, but the story is picking up steam. More and more Americans doubt the global warming theory, and have been for a while.
Now we need to watch the politicians and see if they are going to face reality and put their global warming cash cow out to pasture.
UPDATE: Well blow me down -
The ClimateGate scandal has finally claimed it's first victim. Patient Zero, a.k.a. Phil Jones, director of East Anglia University's Climatic Research Unit is temporarily stepping down while an investigation is conducted.
"What is most important is that CRU continues its world leading research with as little interruption and diversion as possible," Jones said in a statement. "After a good deal of consideration I have decided that the best way to achieve this is by stepping aside from the Director's role during the course of the independent review and am grateful to the University for agreeing to this. The Review process will have my full support.Please note the 'temporarily'. Because, of course, as soon as the investigation clears his good name of this groundless smear, he will be right back on the job. Either the fix is in, or the man is delusional. Considering his alarmist tendencies towards planetary doom even though he knows the science doesn't support that theory, I'd say it's the latter.
A potential second victim is lining up, too. Michael Mann of Penn State is now under investigation by the university.
"I would be disappointed if the university wasn't doing all [it] can to get as much information as possible" about the controversy, Mann tells the Daily Collegian.It will be interesting to see how these investigations progress. The universities in question must be aware that the world is watching, so hopefully the investigations will be thorough, in depth, and above board.
I would expect these two investigations to be just the tip of the iceberg.
Sen. Inhofe, for example, has asked Sen. Boxer to investigate a possible conspiracy among prominent scientists essential to the climate change debate.
Considering her 'green agenda' position on the matter and her tactics on forcing the liberal agenda, even to the point of breaking committee rules, the chances of a transparent, honest, thorough investigation are slim, at best. Let's hope Inhofe keeps a close eye on it.
There are other universities and distinguished scientific research centers that have been touched by this scandal and may possibly be investigated, such as the National Center for Atmospheric Research and NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
It's time to start following the money on this. As with most things these days, greed is a main motivator. The 'green' in the green movement is money, pure and simple. Universities are raking in money hand over fist with their climate research, and politicians the world over are looking at diverting trillions of taxpayer dollars to do with as they see fit. Al Gore, who so far has kept a low profile on this boondoggle (I wonder when he will be cancelling his book tour, after this and this happened, though) has got a major horse in this race, but will the High Priest of Gaia get caught for his fraud?
I'm sure if there were an email implicating him it would have come to light already, so the smoking gun would most likely be at the end of the money trail.
The bottom line on all of this is that the global warming alarmists are losing the PR battle. The house of cards is collapsing around their ears. They tried to spin it, they tried to marginalize it, they tried to pretend it didn't happen or that it isn't important, but the story is picking up steam. More and more Americans doubt the global warming theory, and have been for a while.
Now we need to watch the politicians and see if they are going to face reality and put their global warming cash cow out to pasture.
UPDATE: Well blow me down -
Leaked e-mails allegedly undermining climate change science should be treated as a criminal matter, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Wednesday afternoon.Is anyone surprised that she is talking about investigating the hacking, not the widespread fraud revealed in the emails? I'm having ACORN flashbacks. It's getting to be more and more trouble to be a whistleblower these days. I feel like I'm in a 1930's film noir sometimes....
Thursday, November 26, 2009
THE ONLY PLACE GETTING HOTTER IS EAST ANGLIA
The heat is on at East Anglia University's Climatic Research Unit. According to the UK's Mail Online, the pressure is on for the head of CRU to resign due to his role in the ClimateGate scandal. A leading environmentalist, George Monbiot, is calling for Phil Jones to quit.
So far, Jones has refused calls for his resignation, stating,
There is also a possibility that the emails were released because of the FOIA requests. The had apparently been assembled by East Anglia staff. Why were they actually released and why is Jones saying they were hacked? Well, maybe they accidentally released the stuff they were supposed to bury, and are trying to say it was a crime in order to make themselves the victim and try to distract from what the emails contained. Or maybe they really were hacked, and the accidental release is just another rumor.
At least we know the emails are real now.
And things are starting to happen. Like investigations. Hopefully the British authorities will check into the much larger crimes perpetrated by those scientists, and not just if or who hacked the emails.
As Pat Michaels so aptly put it, "This is not a smoking gun, this is a mushroom cloud."
'I am now convinced that they are genuine, and I'm dismayed and deeply shaken,' he said. 'There are some messages that require no spin to make them look bad.
'There appears to be evidence of attempts to prevent scientific data from being released, and even to destroy material that was subject to a Freedom of Information request.
'Worse still, some of the emails suggest efforts to prevent the publication of work by climate sceptics, or to keep it out of a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.'The head of the unit, Phil Jones, should now resign. Some of the data discussed in the emails should be re-analysed.'
So far, Jones has refused calls for his resignation, stating,
'We absolutely stand by the science we produce here at the University of East Anglia and it has been peer reviewed and published.Hmmm...really? Is that your final answer, Mr. Jones? You might want to rethink it. No, technically they didn't delete it - they just lost track of it. Not that he didn't try to get some of them deleted.
'Some of the emails probably had poorly chosen words and were sent in the heat of the moment, when I was frustrated. I do regret sending some of them. We've not deleted any emails or data here at CRU.
'I would never manipulate the data one bit - I would categorically deny that.;
There is also a possibility that the emails were released because of the FOIA requests. The had apparently been assembled by East Anglia staff. Why were they actually released and why is Jones saying they were hacked? Well, maybe they accidentally released the stuff they were supposed to bury, and are trying to say it was a crime in order to make themselves the victim and try to distract from what the emails contained. Or maybe they really were hacked, and the accidental release is just another rumor.
At least we know the emails are real now.
And things are starting to happen. Like investigations. Hopefully the British authorities will check into the much larger crimes perpetrated by those scientists, and not just if or who hacked the emails.
As Pat Michaels so aptly put it, "This is not a smoking gun, this is a mushroom cloud."
Friday, November 20, 2009
THE HOAX REVEALED? Updated
Christmas sure came early this year! Instead of elves, though, we have hackers to thank for it.
I've been dying to post on this all day.
Hackers got into email accounts for a major climate change research center in the UK, the East Anglia Climate Research Unit. When it comes to climate change research, they are one of the biggies. But now a decade's worth of emails have been leaked from this highly regarded facility onto the web, and boy, is it juicy.
The emails discuss manipulation of climat change data, because apparently the data wasn't supporting the theory. Now, I'm no scientist, but I thought the data was supposed to either prove or disprove theories. This blatant manipulation of data to force it to support a theory is a lot of things, but science it is not.
You know what's great about all of this? What it must be doing to the people behind such posts as this one. Oh, how I would love to be a fly on the wall in Al Gore's mega CO2 footprinted mansion. He has a new book out right now, and so there is a wealth of material from the past month or two of him talking about how passing climate legislation is practically guaranteed to bring down the temps. Maybe because he knows it's just a matter of showing the real numbers? More fun about the book tour in a minute.
East Anglia is coming out swinging, though. The spokesperson said, ""We are aware that information from a server used for research information in one area of the university has been made available on public websites. Because of the volume of this information we cannot currently confirm that all this material is genuine. This information has been obtained and published without our permission and we took immediate action to remove the server in question from operation. We are undertaking a thorough internal investigation and have involved the police in this inquiry.""
They are attempting to plant the seed of doubt, and mentioning the police instantly turns them into a victim. Which they are, considering their files were hacked. But if these emails are true, then the real victims are the taxpaying citizens of the world who have been forced to comply with government mandates costing billions of dollars.
Thank God this came out before the Copenhagen summit. That summit could potentially cost us trillions of dollars and possibly our sovereignty. Hopefully this scandal will at least cause people to take a step back from the cliff and take a good long look at what's going on.
It will be interesting to see how this all pans out. Stay tuned!
Oh, I almost forgot - the Goracle, on his media blitz for the new book, is touting geothermal energy. It's hard to take him seriously, though, when Mr. Science misstates the temperature of the earth's core. By a few million degrees. Hey Al - according to the Dept. of Energy's Ask a Scientist webpage, the earth's core is considered to be between 3,000 and 5,000 degrees Celsius. If it were 'several million' degrees, earth would be a star, not a planet.
Seems like the High Priest of Gaia needs to brush up on his science.
Better not do it at the CRU!
UPDATE: Sorry, the Hadley Centre is not one and the same with East Anglia's CRU. The Hadley Centre gets its information from the CRU and the emails in question are from the CRU. I have changed the post to reflect that.
UPDATE II: Not only were the CRU 'scientists' falsifying information, they were apparently also throwing their well respected weight around making sure scientists with differing opinions were not given a forum for their papers to be published - and then scoffed at their lack of published papers as proof they and their scientific opinions were not taken seriously. According to Pajamas Media, "The emails suggest the authors co-operated covertly to ensure that only papers favorable to CO2-forced AGW were published, and that editors and journals publishing contrary papers were punished. They also attempted to “discipline” scientists and journalists who published skeptical information."
I highly recommend you read the whole article. It includes links to the actual emails as well as a summary of the scandal.
I've been dying to post on this all day.
Hackers got into email accounts for a major climate change research center in the UK, the East Anglia Climate Research Unit. When it comes to climate change research, they are one of the biggies. But now a decade's worth of emails have been leaked from this highly regarded facility onto the web, and boy, is it juicy.
The emails discuss manipulation of climat change data, because apparently the data wasn't supporting the theory. Now, I'm no scientist, but I thought the data was supposed to either prove or disprove theories. This blatant manipulation of data to force it to support a theory is a lot of things, but science it is not.
You know what's great about all of this? What it must be doing to the people behind such posts as this one. Oh, how I would love to be a fly on the wall in Al Gore's mega CO2 footprinted mansion. He has a new book out right now, and so there is a wealth of material from the past month or two of him talking about how passing climate legislation is practically guaranteed to bring down the temps. Maybe because he knows it's just a matter of showing the real numbers? More fun about the book tour in a minute.
East Anglia is coming out swinging, though. The spokesperson said, ""We are aware that information from a server used for research information in one area of the university has been made available on public websites. Because of the volume of this information we cannot currently confirm that all this material is genuine. This information has been obtained and published without our permission and we took immediate action to remove the server in question from operation. We are undertaking a thorough internal investigation and have involved the police in this inquiry.""
They are attempting to plant the seed of doubt, and mentioning the police instantly turns them into a victim. Which they are, considering their files were hacked. But if these emails are true, then the real victims are the taxpaying citizens of the world who have been forced to comply with government mandates costing billions of dollars.
Thank God this came out before the Copenhagen summit. That summit could potentially cost us trillions of dollars and possibly our sovereignty. Hopefully this scandal will at least cause people to take a step back from the cliff and take a good long look at what's going on.
It will be interesting to see how this all pans out. Stay tuned!
Oh, I almost forgot - the Goracle, on his media blitz for the new book, is touting geothermal energy. It's hard to take him seriously, though, when Mr. Science misstates the temperature of the earth's core. By a few million degrees. Hey Al - according to the Dept. of Energy's Ask a Scientist webpage, the earth's core is considered to be between 3,000 and 5,000 degrees Celsius. If it were 'several million' degrees, earth would be a star, not a planet.
Seems like the High Priest of Gaia needs to brush up on his science.
Better not do it at the CRU!
UPDATE: Sorry, the Hadley Centre is not one and the same with East Anglia's CRU. The Hadley Centre gets its information from the CRU and the emails in question are from the CRU. I have changed the post to reflect that.
UPDATE II: Not only were the CRU 'scientists' falsifying information, they were apparently also throwing their well respected weight around making sure scientists with differing opinions were not given a forum for their papers to be published - and then scoffed at their lack of published papers as proof they and their scientific opinions were not taken seriously. According to Pajamas Media, "The emails suggest the authors co-operated covertly to ensure that only papers favorable to CO2-forced AGW were published, and that editors and journals publishing contrary papers were punished. They also attempted to “discipline” scientists and journalists who published skeptical information."
I highly recommend you read the whole article. It includes links to the actual emails as well as a summary of the scandal.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
BATTLING THE HYDRA
The ACORN video scandal is picking up speed. Today, the House voted to defund the organization, which is following on the heels of the Senate vote two days ago. Now we need a combined bill that can be sent to the President to sign. I'll be interested in the reaction by ACORN if that happens.
Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) scurries like a cockroach from being questioned about his ACORN vote by Fox News. I foresee a lot of scurrying in the coming months! I wonder how many on the Hill are popping Xanax like Tic-Tacs these days....I know these developments have put a major damper on re-election efforts for many democrats. If I had a say in things, I would investigate the 7 senators and 75 congresspeople who voted against defunding, to see how closely they are tied to ACORN. But, considering our 111th Congress won't even launch an investigation into Rangel's well documented misdeeds, I'm pretty sure they won't look into congressional ACORN ties.
CA Governator Schwarzenegger has called for a statewide investigation into ACORN, along with MN Governor Pawlenty. No comment from NY Governor Paterson, but at least his Attorney General, Cuomo, is on the ball. Interesting how there are no calls for investigations in Maryland or D.C., where it all started - well, aside from a call to investigate the journalists.
All of this bruhaha over the housing branch has overshadowed the original investigations on ACORN - the voter registration investigations. There are investigations ongoing in 14 states, but the one to keep an eye on is the one in Nevada. Where, interestingly enough, Harry Reid is tanking in the polls. Huh. What are the odds? Anyway, in Nevada, they are taking the allegations of a '21 Club' very seriously. Their investigation looks to be the first to go to trial, and will be a test case for the others.
But what about the rest? ACORN is closely tied to over 200 other organizations, such as CCI, which is the funnel that pours taxpayer dollars into the money laundering machine that is ACORN. In a report by Republican investigators to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, they state:
""Operationally, ACORN is a shell game played in 120 cities, 43 states and the District of Columbia through a complex structure designed to conceal illegal activities, to use taxpayer and tax-exempt dollars for partisan political purposes, and to distract investigators," the report said. Structurally, it is "a chess game in which senior management is shielded from accountability by multiple layers of volunteers and compensated employees who serve as pawns to take the fall for every bad act.""
ACORN is like the Hydra of Greek mythology. When you cut off one part of the organization, two more step up to take it's place. Cut off funding to one area, and it will draw money from another. Hercules finally defeated the Hydra by cauterizing the stumps after he cut off the heads. That is what we need to do, and our government has taken up the firebrand by voting, in both houses, to cut off funding. The states are starting to fight back, too, but there needs to be a comprehensive attack on all branches of ACORN and all of its affiliates with a combination of investigation and defunding.
ACORN is trying to get out in front of this scandal by implementing their own 'investigation', in hopes that it will keep anyone else from doing it. This must not be allowed to be the only investigation of ACORN. This is a classic case of the fox guarding the hen house.
There are over 200 heads on this hydra, so the job won't be easy or quick, but it must be done.
The beast is wounded; now is the time to finish it off.
Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) scurries like a cockroach from being questioned about his ACORN vote by Fox News. I foresee a lot of scurrying in the coming months! I wonder how many on the Hill are popping Xanax like Tic-Tacs these days....I know these developments have put a major damper on re-election efforts for many democrats. If I had a say in things, I would investigate the 7 senators and 75 congresspeople who voted against defunding, to see how closely they are tied to ACORN. But, considering our 111th Congress won't even launch an investigation into Rangel's well documented misdeeds, I'm pretty sure they won't look into congressional ACORN ties.
CA Governator Schwarzenegger has called for a statewide investigation into ACORN, along with MN Governor Pawlenty. No comment from NY Governor Paterson, but at least his Attorney General, Cuomo, is on the ball. Interesting how there are no calls for investigations in Maryland or D.C., where it all started - well, aside from a call to investigate the journalists.
All of this bruhaha over the housing branch has overshadowed the original investigations on ACORN - the voter registration investigations. There are investigations ongoing in 14 states, but the one to keep an eye on is the one in Nevada. Where, interestingly enough, Harry Reid is tanking in the polls. Huh. What are the odds? Anyway, in Nevada, they are taking the allegations of a '21 Club' very seriously. Their investigation looks to be the first to go to trial, and will be a test case for the others.
But what about the rest? ACORN is closely tied to over 200 other organizations, such as CCI, which is the funnel that pours taxpayer dollars into the money laundering machine that is ACORN. In a report by Republican investigators to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, they state:
""Operationally, ACORN is a shell game played in 120 cities, 43 states and the District of Columbia through a complex structure designed to conceal illegal activities, to use taxpayer and tax-exempt dollars for partisan political purposes, and to distract investigators," the report said. Structurally, it is "a chess game in which senior management is shielded from accountability by multiple layers of volunteers and compensated employees who serve as pawns to take the fall for every bad act.""
ACORN is like the Hydra of Greek mythology. When you cut off one part of the organization, two more step up to take it's place. Cut off funding to one area, and it will draw money from another. Hercules finally defeated the Hydra by cauterizing the stumps after he cut off the heads. That is what we need to do, and our government has taken up the firebrand by voting, in both houses, to cut off funding. The states are starting to fight back, too, but there needs to be a comprehensive attack on all branches of ACORN and all of its affiliates with a combination of investigation and defunding.
ACORN is trying to get out in front of this scandal by implementing their own 'investigation', in hopes that it will keep anyone else from doing it. This must not be allowed to be the only investigation of ACORN. This is a classic case of the fox guarding the hen house.
There are over 200 heads on this hydra, so the job won't be easy or quick, but it must be done.
The beast is wounded; now is the time to finish it off.
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