This story could alternatively be title ” Al Gore’s Screeching Halt”, except there are so many people who have not bothered to update their knowledge of the increasingly clear indications that “Global Warming” is a non-issue.

A new study, published in the Geophysical Research letters by scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the Ohio State University shows that computer analyses of global climate have consistently overstated the warming in Antarctica, according to the ScienceDaily article.

The group found that observed Antarctica temperatures rose only by 0.4 F (0.2 C) over the past century, while the climate models simulated increases of 1.4 F (0.75 C). The computer models may have overestimated the amount of water vapor in the Antarctic atmosphere.

I wonder what other models are wrong? Oh - and don’t learn about how NASA cooked their climate numbers, again.

I consider myself an “average” American.  I live in an average town, doing an average job.  My background is unique, but it in no way makes me unique.  Having said all that (written actually) I find that I don’t really give a darn that Baseball players have been using any type of enhancing drugs.

Is it dangerous for them personally?  I suppose so, but what kind of life are they expecting after retirement anyway?

Does it set a bad example for our children?  Absolutely!  But as a parent myself, it is my RESPONSIBILITY to teach my children appropriate behavior, not the baseball player.

Is it illegal?  Most certainly.  The gub-ment believes it is in the common wealth’s best interest to outlaw any drug they deem dangerous (subjectively of course).

But to be blunt and honest…I DONT CARE if they took those drugs.  It doesn’t matter to me, during a time of war and terrorist attacks worldwide, that a small group of players decided they could market themselves better, if they put on 20 lbs of pure muscle, if they could throw faster and hit further or run faster.

I care that our gub-ment hasn’t secured our borders, I care that we are still paying enormous amounts of money to Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries that hate us.  Especially when we could be drilling for our own oil here in the states.

The fact that someone in the United States government signed off to have people investigate grown men who play a child’s game, instead of spending that time and money on security for our children, that is important to me.

On the scale, it doesn’t even register. 

Hat Tip: Right Wing News

Are you interested in the science, or just looking for a reason to rail against the machine?

This is an important question because if you are interested in science the ruling out of carbon dioxide as a culprit in climate change is going to be significant.

There are two pieces of information here that it is important for you to consume, if not believe. In fact, I don’t want you to believe it - research it yourself.

1. Carbon Dioxide - the greenhouse gas bogeyman - is not causing global warming
2. The globe is beginning to cool

I know, I know - this kills everything some people live for. It makes you wonder why people are in Bali right now, discussing how we might all avert this catastrophic global event. It makes Al Gore’s Nobel prize a little something different. But, don’t worry about it too much, they didn’t know any better because the data they are using is not very granular in scope and is a bit dated.

In August of 2007, data emerged showing none of the tell-tale signature of greenhouse gas inducing a global change in temperature. While earlier data allowed many to hold a belief that Greenhouse gases could be the culprit, today the data completely removes greenhouse gases as a source of global warming.

The statement has been made and shown in data - CO2 levels and temperature change rise and fall together, however the data now indicates global warming precedes CO2 level rises, not the other way around. The combination of these most-recent findings is turning many into skeptics about the reasons for global climate change.
Yeah - it’s true. 2006 and 2007 are cooler than 2005. Also, NASA made some errors in its data about global climate trends. And while the overall change is only 1/1000th of a degree since 2000, you might want to look at the overall change in the model.

correction of the mistake means that the temperature record now shows that 1934 was the hottest year since 1880 in the US, not 1998. It also means four of the top ten hottest years in the country were in the 1930s and only three in the last ten years.

That’s only important because the global warming politicians are saying:

The space agency’s temperature data are central to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s fourth assessment report released this year. The figures indicate that eight of the ten hottest years worldwide since the mid-1800s have occurred since 1990.

Also, the oceans are doing things, which are not convenient truths.

So, what does this all mean? Is global climate change just a big hoax? No, I don’t think so. I am sure that global climate change is as real as the nose on your face (you do have a nose, right?). However, we have got to remove some of our poorly-made assumptions, along with some of the agendas people have attached to the global warming debate. If you are truly interested in climate change, and not just as a means to further your own agenda, then the science is going to tug you back and forth from believer to skeptic until the scientific community agrees and is then proven right.

Cleaner fuel, cleaner living, more efficient automobiles, less plastic, being stewards of our natural legacy are all important things to discuss and act upon, in my book. But the shrill, hand-wringing over greenhouse gases has got to stop now. There is no longer any scientific evidence to support it. I understand this is like turning an aircraft carrier around - it takes a lot of time and space to do it. I promise to help as much as I can, believe me.

For those who will not accept that the quality of science is going to improve over time and reveal changes to what is accepted as the truth, you are ignoring the history of science as we know it, as well as the very essence of the argument for evolution. You simply cannot ignore credible science and then point to science to prove your case without having an agenda outside of a concern about climate change.

You also have to remember, many of us have already been through one climate change scare in our lifetime. We’re still kind of worried about that one, what with the world in a cooling trend right now and all.

Apparently, human skin cells can be manipulated to grow into cells for other tissue. This obviates the need to create human embryos for the purpose of destroying them in research.

The New York Times has an article about this, but I am not certain they are getting the stem cell attributes correctly. The article states the cells can be made to mimic embryonic stem cells, but all that really means is that the skin cells can be made to have undifferentiated properties, as do embryonic cells.

Something interesting did catch my eye though - Arlen Specter:

“I really don’t think anybody ought to take credit in light of the six-year delay we’ve had,” said Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the lead Republican sponsor of the bill that Mr. Bush vetoed in July 2006. “My own view is that science ought to be unfettered and that every possible alternative ought to be explored.”

“You’ve got a life-and-death situation here,” Mr. Specter continued, “and if we can find something which is certifiably equivalent to embryonic stem cells, fine. But we are not there yet.”

Mr. Specter is being unclear.  There has not been a six-year delay in stem cell research. The debate regarding embryonic stem cell research has not been a question of whether the research is or is not conducted. The question has been, should government fund it? Any delay on the part of the medical industry is caused by a lack of confidence that anything will be found by pursuing embryonic research.

In regards to stem cell research, science is unfettered - if the pharmaceutical companies want to invest in embryonic stem cell research, they are welcome to do so. What Arlen Specter wants to do is actually fetter science with government bureaucracy.  I find it interesting that research entities have spent so much time looking into things like skin cells, if the medical value of embryonic stem cells is so high.

“certifiably equivalent to embryonic cells” - The golden nugget everyone is chasing here is the ability of a cell to be groomed or grown into a cell of a very specific kind. Since embryonic cells are not “pre-programmed” this makes them valuable. Except that embryonic stem cells have produced no - none - zero - new cures in all the time this research has gone on, while other cells have been used in actual medical applications. It is also interesting to hear Mr. Specter talk about life and death situations - since embryonic stem cell research is a daily practice in life and death. A human is created solely for its destruction in the name of research.

I wonder how the same people who would tear their hair out over someone testing shampoo on a rabbit, would advocate the destruction of a human in the name of science. But, that goes directly to my mantra about liberals in general - take their ideas out to the furthest logical conclusion and you end up nowhere at all or back where you started.

I will be away from the computer for a few days over the Thanksgiving Holiday, but I wanted to give my thanks to all of you out there in the ether. 

Thanks to the Liberals for all the great material you continue to give us.  Without your ‘half thought ideas’ and feeble attempts at leadership, what would we write about, Aliens?

Thanks to the Conservatives for your ill-advised decisions and questionable leadership.  Without you, what would we do with all of our free time (not fighting wars), look to the heavens for proof?

Thanks to the bloggers and newsgroup posters.  Ours is a special “brotherhood” (calm down Femi Nazi’s) of people who love to spew our ideas, rants, raves and loves across the internet for everyone to be exposed to.

Thanks most of all to this great country.  We have all been dealt a winning hand in this cosmic game of poker.  No where, and at no other time, have a group of people been faced with some of the greatest advancements in science and technology.  These advancements allow us to live longer and healthier lives.  These advances also allow us to speak our minds, without the fear of retribution.

You may not agree with your fellow Americans, but please respect their freedom to speak their mind…no matter how ridiculous it may sound.

Happy Thanksgiving!

With the recent push to re-open the UFO theory, we must ask ourselves…why wasn’t this done sooner?

Carter, Symington and Kucinich all admit seeing things in the sky they couldn’t identify. Why are they made to feel like sideshow freaks by our media outlets, and why isn’t our Government taking them seriously.

Other countries are open about what they find, namely Mexico. Their fighter pilots film and record sightings from as far back as the 70’s, and that Government is open and honest with its populace. Their local media groups also air this information without commentary or prejudice.

Is it possible that there is some conspiracy, created to hide the fact that “they” exist. Is it possible that the Military-Industrial Complex is being given special consideration in regards to technology and information by our visitors? Both are very possible.

We all know that certain energy sources, non-renewable energy sources, are fast running low. What better thing to do, then to allow our people to stay dependant on oil and coal, while they corner the market on the next version of propulsion. They suck as much money out of us as possible, until the pumps run dry, and then, low and behold, they have new exciting technology that allows us to run our cars and power our communities for ever. Instead of paying the old oil companies for oil, we now pay the new “Oil Companies” for our “Anti-matter” or “Dilithium Crystals”

The only plus I see in the whole situation…we will finally get our flying cars!