Tammy Bruce: Environment Archives

Environment Archives

Let's Get Global Warming Back on Track

Three cheers for Global Warming!

Nature is doing the shenanigans and messing with the Global Warming. As an example, this last month was the coldest April in the last 100 years.

The average temperature in April 2008 was 51.0 F. This was -1.0 F cooler than the 1901-2000 (20th century) average, the 29th coolest April in 114 years. The temperature trend for the period of record (1895 to present) is 0.1 degrees Fahrenheit per decade.

Now that's just not right. What about that extra beach Algore promised and I was looking forward to? And the warmer winters, which will save people's lives?

Will Global Warming Save Lives?

Global Warming: A study done for the British government says that global warming will kill thousands. It also says lives will be saved due to warmer winters. OK, which is it? Or is it neither? A report commissioned by Britain's Health Department says that one blistering hot summer between now and 2017 could kill more than 6,000 Britons. The panel of scientific experts that compiled the study believes the chance of that is 25%...The panel also said global warming will bring warmer winters, which will cut down on cold-related deaths in Britain.

So should we fear human-created climate change or embrace it?

Surprisingly, the BBC stood out as one media agent that took enough care to balance its coverage. Under the Web site headline "Global Warming 'May Cut Deaths,' " it reported 20,000 deaths are linked to the cold each year in the U.K. and that those deaths fell 3% a year from 1971 through 2003...

While we are still skeptical of global warming claims, let us for a moment speculate what warmer winters — and a warmer world in general — would bring in addition to fewer cold-related deaths:

• Longer growing seasons and more land available for agriculture, two factors that will yield greater crop production.

• A reduction in respiratory and cardiovascular diseases that tend to be higher during colder months.

• Increased precipitation that will help the world solve its water scarcity issues.

• Lower heating bills by $12 billion a year, the Energy Department reckons.

I hate the cold. Can we just get Global Warming back on track please?

Nothing Like a Dirt Biscuit!

My favorite man, Mark Steyn, takes his saber pen to the issue of ethenol. You know, that genius plan of the Left to put food into cars in the name of Climate Change, only to cause a worldwide food shortage and the starvation of people in countries across the globe. Well, I suppose with fewer people that helps solve the Climate Change problem, too, since it's all brought on by pesky humans. Now if we could just get Al Gore to stop eating as much, maybe Italy wouldn't be having pasta riots.

Feed your Prius, starve a peasant

At least five people have been killed in food riots in Port-au-Prince. Prices have risen 40 percent since last summer and, as columnist Deroy Murdock reported, some citizens are now subsisting on biscuits made from salt, vegetable oil and (mmmm) dirt. Dirt cookies: Nutritious, tasty and affordable? Well, one out of three ain't bad.

Unlike "global warming," food rioting is a planetwide phenomenon, from Indonesia to Pakistan to Ivory Coast to the tortilla rampages in Mexico and even pasta protests in Italy.

So what happened?

Well, Western governments listened to the ecowarriors and introduced some of the "wartime measures" they've been urging. The EU decreed that 5.75 percent of petrol and diesel must come from "biofuels" by 2010, rising to 10 percent by 2020. The United States added to its 51 cent-per-gallon ethanol subsidy by mandating a fivefold increase in "biofuels" production by 2022.

The result is that big government accomplished at a stroke what the free market could never have done: They turned the food supply into a subsidiary of the energy industry. When you divert 28 percent of U.S. grain into fuel production, and when you artificially make its value as fuel higher than its value as food, why be surprised that you've suddenly got less to eat? Or, to be more precise, it's not "you" who's got less to eat but those starving peasants in distant lands you claim to care so much about.

Yes, of course, please link through and read the whole thing.

Posted by Tammy · April 26, 2008 03:46 PM · Permalink · Comments (9)
Environment | Incompetence | Leftists

OPEC Is Right

Oil is at its highest right now, in part, due to a fire at one oil refinery, a single event which can have a lot a of impact when one of your problems is so few refineries. Not exactly a situation we should be in as the best and most powerful nation in the world. Another debacle we can place firmly at the feet of the Left and the cowardice of politicians who pander to those pygmies.

Oil climbs toward $107

Oil prices rose half a dollar to a one-week high near $107 a barrel on Monday, extending last week's late rebound after the dollar fell and a fire hit a U.S. refinery...

Gains were also fuelled by news of a fire at Exxon Mobil's 150,000 barrel per day Los Angeles-area refinery in Torrance, California, which forced the closure of a hydrotreater, raising concerns about summer gasoline supplies.

As oil prices resume climbing toward their March 17 record high of $111.80, OPEC officials have stuck to their familiar refrain over the well-supplied state of the market.

"Oil supply to the market is enough and high oil prices are not due to a shortage of crude but rather it is because of the decrease in the dollar's value, shortage of refinery capacity and some political tensions in the world," OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri was quoted as saying by Iran's official IRNA news agency.

It's a rather pathetic and painful situation when you hear the truth from the Islamic beasts who run OPEC as opposed to our own government.

Why Gore is Not the Answer

Maynard weighs in and flirts with blasphemy

The Nobel Committee, again prioritizing politics above reality, has canonized our Goracle alongside previous luminaries Jimmy Carter and Yasser Arafat. And this time around, I'm not quite as unsympathetic as some of my fellow right-wing conspirators are.

The Nobel trend is certainly in the right direction. Arafat was a genocidally-inclined mass murderer. Carter is an enabler of genocidally-inclined mass murderers. Al Gore is a weatherman. As you see, the Committee is inching its way back toward respectability.

But setting that aside...Is it possible that Al Gore is right? Well, I'll skip that vital question, since everyone else is beating it to death. But I will go so far as to acknowledge that atmospheric carbon dioxide has jumped by about 40% since mankind started burning stuff in earnest. Common sense suggests this rise is caused by human activity rather than volcanoes or cow flatulence. It's reasonable to be concerned when we tamper with a fundamental environmental parameter.

Aside from the politics of eco-catastrophes and Western guilt, we've got good reason to start thinking about our dependence on fossil fuels. First of all, there's a limited amount of stuff we can burn, and we're using it up much more quickly than the Earth can create it. Even more importantly, we're becoming ever-more dependent on the creeps and villains who happen to control the bulk of the planet's raw oil. Oil is flowing to the West from the Middle East, from Venezuela, from Nigeria, from Russia...this should trouble everyone, regardless of political orientation. Even our oil-selling friends in Mexico and Canada aren't necessarily on our team when push comes to shove.

Energy dependence is also a big part of America's balance-of-payments deficit. We're leaking dollars into the world at fast pace, and this limits our options on the international stage. This is something to contemplate as you fill your imported car with imported oil while listening to a news report about China and Dubai buying our ports. And then you wonder why the moneymen of New York paint the Empire State Building green in respect of Damaramada.

There's no quick fix for any of this, but the subject is an important one. So maybe Al Gore's warning has its place in the scheme of things.

In discussing this question, it's vital to maintain perspective. How we prioritize reveals our fundamental values. Do we worry more about physical challenges (such as global warming) or ideological challenges (such as the rise of Islamo-Fascism)? Those who tilt Left seem more concerned with the former. "Conservatives" see human evil, rather than carbon dioxide, as our greatest threat.

I think history is on our side. The wars and mass murders of the twentieth century were driven by evil, not by chemistry. Our task is to keep Satan in his box. Climate change may indeed be a problem, but it's not THE problem. Our political leaders should listen to Al Gore, but Gore is not the answer.

Posted by Maynard · October 15, 2007 12:14 AM · Permalink · Comments (7)
Environment | Maynard Post | Politics

Burning Man Suffers Premature Inflammation

Oops.

Some hippie, probably naked and on drugs, thought it would be fun to set the Burning Man sculpture on fire (ahead of time) probably to commemorate the lunar eclipse. This is bad for all the naked goofs out there, but not as bad as that time when Burning Man was accidentally cut up with a chain saw when he was in storage. I hate it when that happens.

MAN TO BE REBUILT AFTER FIRE

(Black Rock City - August 28, 2007) The Man at the center of Black Rock City will be rebuilt after an overnight fire which damaged the effigy at the center of the Burning Man event. Rebuilding is expected to take about two days.

An arson investigation is underway, and one arrest was made shortly after the fire was set. No charges have been announced, and the name of the suspect is being withheld. There has been no discussion of motive in the episode.

"We have the means and the will. The event continues on schedule, and the Man will burn on Saturday night," said Andie Grace, Communications Manager for Burning Man LLC.

The theme for this year's Burning Man is "Green Man" to highlight environmental issues. As their website notes:

The Art Theme for Burning Man 2007 is "The Green Man". Our theme concerns humanity's relationship to nature. Do we, as conscious beings, exist outside of nature's sway, or does its force impel us and inform the central root of who and what we are? Learn more about the greening of Burning Man in our new Environment Section and our Enviroblog.

There is no word yet on how burning up Burning Man twice will affect the ozone layer and the ever-fragile climate. The conventional wisdom is, two burnings will make things twice as hot and make twice as much smoke. The fact that no one is wearing clothes, driving to and from work, or doing anything else productive may create enough carbon offsets to make the difference, letting all the hippies off the hook.

Related Post:

What Is Burning Man?

Posted by Tammy · August 28, 2007 08:29 PM · Permalink · Comments (5)
Culture Note | Drugs | Environment

The End of the World!

A panic by Maynard

By the way, boys and girls, another collection of eco-catastrophes are heading our way. But nobody has bothered to tell you about this because they serve no political agenda.

The scientists are warning of the impending reversal of the earth's magnetic poles. This is a natural process, and it happens every 500,000 years or so, although not on a clockwork schedule. The strength of the magnetic field has been falling by 5% a century recently, which indicates we're heading for another shift a century or two down the road. This entails a long intermediate period where the magnetic field goes missing, thus exposing the earth to the full fury of solar wind and radiation.

Last year, the Sci-Fi channel ran a fear-inspiring documentary, Countdown to Doomsday. It laid out ten end-of-the-world scenarios:

Supervolcano (Yosemite is ready to blow)
Asteroid Impact
Global Pandemic
Mass Extinction
Giant Solar Flare
Nuclear Terrorism
Hot Air (better known as Global Warming; Al Gore is interviewed)
Gamma-Ray Burst
Machine Rebellion (remember "The Terminator" and "I, Robot"?)
Alien Invasion (space aliens, and it won't help to grant them Z-Visas)

These possibilities are all real and threatening, but I don't see much point in panic. This is not to minimize concerns about a human-driven rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide. But let's maintain some perspective and some wisdom. I'm worried more about human evil than I am about eco-catastrophes. I think history will back me up on this point.

Posted by Maynard · August 23, 2007 03:12 AM · Permalink · Comments (7)
Environment | Maynard Post

Global Warming Strikes Again

God help us all.

Arctic August: NYC Sets Record For Coldest Day

(CBS) NEW YORK Don't forget to bundle up if you're headed out in New York City today. After all, it is August 21. The city along with the rest of the tri-state region is feeling the chilly effect of a cold front sweeping through the region, accompanied by cool rain showers.

Tuesday's high temperature in Central Park was just 59 degrees. The normal high for today is 82 degrees. The normal low is 67.

Chinese Cloud of Crack Wafts Over California...Really

Well, perhaps not a cloud of crack specifically, but that's been one Tammy Radio explanation of why certain Americans, like politicians and leftists, have so completely lost their minds.

Little did I know the essence of my imagined scenario would come true so quickly. Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you (HT Drudge) another gift from depraved pit of Beijing: The Chinese Cloud of Poison, wafting over a city near you.

Huge Dust Plumes From China Cause Changes in Climate

One tainted export from China can't be avoided in North America -- air.

An outpouring of dust layered with man-made sulfates, smog, industrial fumes, carbon grit and nitrates is crossing the Pacific Ocean on prevailing winds from booming Asian economies in plumes so vast they alter the climate. These rivers of polluted air can be wider than the Amazon and deeper than the Grand Canyon.

On some days, almost a third of the air over Los Angeles and San Francisco can be traced directly to Asia. With it comes up to three-quarters of the black carbon particulate pollution that reaches the West Coast...

Posted by Tammy · July 22, 2007 09:19 PM · Permalink · Comments (2)
Environment | Health & Fitness

Carbon Offsets

A post by Maynard

Perhaps you've heard the Al Gores of the world justify their energy-intensive jet-set lifestyles by explaining how their carbon offsets render them carbon neutral. The idea is that CO2 creation should be balanced by CO2-absorbing activity such as planting trees. New York City is planning to plant a million trees in the next ten years to reduce carbon emissions.

I see the theory, but I'm skeptical about the practice. The fact is, we are burning fossil fuels much more quickly than the planet can create them. I don't see how we can plant trees fast enough to balance our fuel consumption. If this were possible, then the logical goal would be to stop burning oil and coal and gas, and transform the world into a wood-burning economy. That would truly be carbon neutral. It would also be impossible.

Another inconvenient fact is that planting trees doesn't necessarily fight global warming and may actually make things worse. The calculations are complex, but when you consider these questions, you have to take into account the change in surface color. A darker planet absorbs more of the Sun's heat energy, instead of bouncing it back into space. That's just as bad as adding greenhouse gas to the atmosphere.

As I've said before, I'm not going to dismiss concerns about climate change. The quest for sustainable energy sources is an important one, and I'd like to see us seriously grapple with it. But in my humble opinion, we're going to find answers in research laboratories and not at music festivals.

By the way, here's the website for Al Gore's environmentally-responsible investment company, Generation Investment Management (see also Wikipedia). I guess it's an upscale operation, because they don't seem to be soliciting investments from the common folk. Too bad; I actually might have been curious enough to break open my piggy bank and buy a share or two. (Hey, maybe one of you financial mavens out there can explain to me what this means.)

Posted by Maynard · July 11, 2007 02:40 AM · Permalink · Comments (15)
Economy/Economics | Environment | Maynard Post | Moronic Convergence | Science & Technology

Greens vs. Conservatives vs. Maynard

An inquiry by Maynard

A number of "conservatives" (I hate these labels) show a knee-jerk reaction against anything "green". I understand why: The outspoken "Greens" are often kooky human-hating tree-huggers, and their organizations end up co-opted by Leftists who view the threat of eco-catastrophes as an excuse to exert greater economic control over the individual. So when some of us hear "green", we assume the worst.

There's a long history of high-sounding crusades that end up pursuing ugly goals. Tammy speaks in detail of the hijacking of NOW by the Left, which ultimately got to the point that the national NOW leadership was tacitly working on the side of the woman-battering woman-murdering O.J. Simpson. A similar situation exists with the civil rights movements, and others.

Of course I oppose these hijacked movements, but I won't let my political enemies define my positions for me. I won't reject recycling and conservation and efficiency just because the greens advocate these practices. I feel an obligation to be a practical green, for the sake of the world and the nation. If I share a portion of Al Gore's agenda as a result, then I'll make the best of it.

One of my particular pet peeves is when "conservatives" shrug off concerns about the global oil supply. I've heard my fellow travelers confidently announce that "there's plenty of oil". This just isn't true. Go look up the proven and estimated global reserves, and you'll find that, to the extent that there's adequate recoverable oil, it's mostly in unfriendly hands. The oil states range from unstable to overtly evil. Aside from green considerations, it's in the national interest that we not send these creeps and kooks our dollars.

Are you still with me? All of the foregoing was preamble. I'm leading up to a confession that will leave you challenging my conservative credentials, and my Americanism, and indeed even my manhood. Are you ready? Here goes:

I like small, efficient cars. I'd rather have a little car that gets me from here to there on a teaspoon of gas than a big turbo-charged Hummer that will do for zero to 130 in 4 seconds.

Of course, some argue that light cars are deathtraps if you get into an accident. They've got a point. But weight is only one factor of many in the choice of a car.

Anyway, the Smart Fortwo (see also Wikipedia), which has been around for several years in other parts of the world, will be coming to America in 2008. Here's a little video from Canada:

Mock me if you will, but I think this is neat! It's small, but it actually has plenty of headroom and foot room. And you can park it anywhere. If people started driving these things, our freeways could hold twice as many cars. I'll have to take a close look when they show up.

Posted by Maynard · June 20, 2007 01:20 AM · Permalink · Comments (10)
Environment | Gadgets/Toys | Leftists | Maynard Post

If the Amnesty Bill Passes...

Don't worry, I have a plan for Tammy Radio. Considering no one in Washington seems to have one clue what's going on in the country when it comes to the Twenty Million Amigos, I figure we can get away with adding three more.

Don, Tammy, and Nikki

Don, Moi, et Nikki (photoshop un cadeau de Kim)

Oops, that's French. But since English isn't an important amnesty issue, I suppose any language will do. And as Prozac would note anyway, Whatever.

Speaking of amigos, here's an email from a fellow that's been making its way around the internet. It's a letter to his senator asking how to turn in his American citizenship to become "illegal." This is a reaction to the senate's amnesty bill from last year, when the 'pay back taxes' concept was still around. Now with that removed at the urging of President Bush, there's even more incentive for all of us to want to become an Undocumented Amigo.

Becoming Illegal

(Actual letter from an Iowa resident and sent to his senator in 2006)

The Honorable Tom Harkin
731 Hart Senate Office Building Phone (202) 224 3254 Washington DC 20510

Dear Senator Harkin:

As a native Iowan and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue Service, I am writing to ask for your assistance. I have contacted the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to determine the process for becoming an illegal alien and they referred me to you.

My primary reason for wishing to change my status from US Citizen to illegal alien stems from the bill which was recently passed by the Senate and for which you voted. If my understanding of this bill's provisions is accurate, as an illegal alien who has been in the United States for five years, all I need to do to become a citizen is to pay a $2,000 fine and income taxes for three of the last five years. I know a good deal when I see one and I am anxious to get the process started before everyone figures it out.

Simply put, those of us who have been here legally have had to pay taxes every year so I'm excited about the prospect of avoiding two years of taxes in return for paying a $2,000 fine. Is there any way that I can apply to be illegal retroactively? This would yield an excellent result for me and my family because we paid heavy taxes in 2004 and 2005.

Additionally, as an illegal alien I could begin using the local emergency room as my primary health care provider. Once I have stopped paying premiums for medical insurance, my accountant figures I could save almost $10,000 a year.

Another benefit in gaining illegal status would be that my daughter would receive preferential treatment relative to her law school applications, as well as "instate" tuition rates for many colleges throughout the United States for my son.

Lastly, I understand that illegal status would relieve me of the burden of renewing my driver's license and making those burdensome car insurance premiums. This is very important to me given that I still have college age children driving my car.

If you would provide me with an outline of the process to become illegal (retroactively if possible) and copies of the necessary forms, I would be most appreciative.

Thank you for your assistance.

Your Loyal Constituent, Donald Ruppert
Burlington, IA

Get your Forms (NOW)!! Call your Internal Revenue Service
1-800-289-1040.

Please pass this onto your friends so they can save on this great offer!!!!

« Close It

Posted by Tammy · May 22, 2007 11:29 PM · Permalink · Comments (3)
Environment | Fashion | Multiculturalism

And It Was Such a Beautiful Day...

Until some loser set off fireworks in the parking lot of some apartment building on Barham which started a fire in the Hollywood Hills. At least that's what the police think. We had lots of wind the last few days, which blows all the smog and gunk somewhere inland (Needles?). So we get days like this, and then it gets all screwed up with fire smoke. Pictures courtesy of Defamer. They also have great email reports from staff at the area studios. Apparently the tourists are nervous.

What looks like a little white strip on the mountain just under the smoke is the Hollywood sign, which is uncomfortable close to it all.

UPDATE:

Two teenagers turn themselves in; admit to starting fire. Whether or not they get punished is another story. As the death of right and wrong rolls merrily along, our world is increasingly one where there is obviously no repercussions to any bad act, whether you be an idiotic teenager from Illinois or a maniac in Iran.

Hillside fire threatens landmark, fouls the air

A fast-moving brush fire cut a path through bone-dry terrain in the Hollywood Hills on Friday, churning massive plumes of smoke across the region that slowed traffic, jangled nerves and for a time threatened the Hollywood sign. The 160-acre blaze, the largest in the heavily populated Hollywood Hills in nearly two decades, consumed brushland above the Warner Bros. Studio and Forest Lawn cemetery.

Witnesses told authorities they saw two teenagers setting off fireworks about 1 p.m. near the Oakwood apartments, a temporary housing village near several major studios frequented by people in the entertainment business.

Three hours later, two teenagers from Illinois who were visiting the Oakwood turned themselves in to police and admitted starting the blaze, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said. The boys, ages 16 and 17, were detained by LAPD officers on suspicion of reckless setting of a fire and then released to their parents' custody, pending possible prosecution.

Oh brother.

All-Chick Edition of Celebrities Bahaving Badly

Yes, after searching for a whole .01 part of a second I found some stories about the famous behaving, well, badly. Hey, it's Saturday and St. Patrick's Day!

Mrs. Sting: Global Warming For You, But Not For Me.
More monumentally hot and cloying hypocrisy from the Famous Set. This sort of behavior is going to destroy our world as we know it. If something isn't done soon by all us Carbon-footprinting American rubes, it's gonna get really, really hot. And muggy. But only for us, not for them.

Heather posing, not dancing.

Heather Mills Stuck on 911
The estranged wife of Paul McCartney apparently thinks everything is an emergency and has been calling England's 911 system a bit too much. So much they're asked her to stop. I think the last call involved the difficulty of trying to dance with one leg and hoping it won't fly off. Wanna bet on that?

I...suddenly...feel...a...little...less...critical.

Angelina Jolie Buys Another Trophy Kid
And must feel four-times more special and needed. Is it just me, or is there something wrong with what's she's doing? When she went to pick him up he cried. A lot. Didn't like the cameras and attention. Well, he better get used to it. She has now announced that she's going to stay home to get him used to being in his new family. Oh, and she's going to try to learn some Vietnamese so they can communicate. How nice.

But Wait, I thought It Was "Settled Science"

The Cartoon Algore

Caution urged on climate 'risks'

Two leading UK climate researchers say some of their peers are "overplaying" the global warming message and risk confusing the public about the threat.

Professors Paul Hardaker and Chris Collier, both Royal Meteorological Society figures, are voicing their concern at a conference in Oxford.

They say some researchers make claims about possible future impacts that cannot be justified by the science.

The pair believe this damages the credibility of all climate scientists.

Ya think?

This view is shared by Professor Hardaker, the society's chief executive.

"Organisations have been guilty of overplaying the message," he says.

"There's no evidence to show we're all due for very short-term devastating impacts as a result of global warming; so I think these statements can be dangerous where you mix in the science with unscientific assumptions."

"The Great Global Warming Swindle"

A post by Maynard

This provocative and comprehensive new British documentary has been uploaded to Google video and YouTube.

I hesitate to comment emphatically, because the technical arguments aren't fully understood by the scientists, not to mention the general public. Like all politicized issues, most of what we hear is agenda-driven propaganda. The Left wants to exert greater economic control over the individual, so the global warming scare serves their purposes. Likewise, the Right would prefer this not be true, because we don't want to be controlled. Somewhere behind the manipulation there's truth to be found. I can't tell you exactly what that truth is.

The fact is that atmospheric carbon dioxide has been rising, and common sense suggests the massive burning of fossil fuels may be responsible for this rise. Common sense also cautions us against unnecessary tampering with the balance of a working system. So I won't casually dismiss the doomsayers.

On the other hand, the climate has always been changing. The factors are so complex that the process isn't fully understood. In the mid-1970's, the doomsayers predicted global cooling, with Time Magazine foreseeing "Another Ice Age" and Newsweek presenting a dire scenario of a "Cooling World".

Climate change is generally a bad thing, because our infrastructure is built to deal with current conditions. If you were to swap, for example, Minneapolis and Honolulu, both cities would grind to a halt for years. It's vastly inefficient to be forced to re-arrange farms and factories and roads and populations to make up for changing conditions. So we would rather face a stable climate. Don't let anyone tell you that a warmer earth would be a good thing. But the world is a dynamic system, and it will continue to change, just as it always has.

I've noted before that I'm more concerned about our growing dependence upon hostile foreign nations to meet our energy needs than I am about carbon dioxide. I'll argue that this alone is an excellent motivation to seek alternatives to oil.

Posted by Maynard · March 15, 2007 05:08 PM · Permalink · Comments (11)
Environment | Maynard Post

Teaching Kids to Live in Fear and Whine About It

A post by Maynard

Wow. Here's a macabre bit of trivia that caught my eye. This is anecdotal but sadly representative of a bigger disaster.

Twenty-six fourth-grade students at a Rhode Island elementary school (one kid for each letter of the alphabet) were honored by this page on the official state website for their artistic renditions of frightened, whining children. Twenty-six little drawings of sick and dying children; the victims of common everyday man-made eco-catastrophes such as factories and power plants.

Seems to me this exercise is really a form of child abuse. The teachers who perpetrated this travesty should be fired instead of paraded. They're telling kids to be afraid and to cry. It's apt that one of the selected examples above portrays a "Limp Lucas". That's what we're becoming.

We all understand the need to be good stewards of the planet. But this fear-mongering indoctrination is an insane assault upon gullible young minds. We live longer than we ever did, and most of our health issues are self-inflicted wounds. In this great and free land, we are masters of our own destiny, and not a sorry collection of petulant victims. Tell the kids to go easy on the garbage food and jog around the block every now and then, and shut up with this egregious nonsense.

Banning Dihydrogen Monoxide

A post by Maynard

I'm sure some of you know of the comedy duo of Penn & Teller (here's their web site and Wikipedia listing). These guys are a pair of iconoclastic troublemakers who will alternately amuse and enlighten and challenge and annoy and offend. I wouldn't say I exactly like them, but they compel us to address the underpinnings of our various faiths and dogmas, crossing the entire political and social and religious spectrums. It's a dirty job, but I'm glad to see somebody doing it in a take-no-prisoners approach.

Here's a clip from their ongoing Bulsh** documentary, which airs on the Showtime network. The boys have invaded an ecologically-oriented conference, and we see their agent making an impassioned and completely factual plea to ban the dangerous chemical, dihydrogen monoxide (which is better known to you and me as "water"). See how willing everyone is to get behind the bandwagon. It's funny and disturbing, when you consider that this is mentality that drives the political movements that set the course of the nation.

Ted Kennedy Tries, Fails to Break Wind

A post by Maynard

Wind farms are a popular contributor to "green" energy. They convert the endless breeze into electricity. That means we burn less fuel and put less CO2 into the atmosphere and pay fewer dollars to the oil Nazis. Who could argue with that?

Ted Kennedy, that's who. In Massachusetts, proposed wind farms off Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket have long been opposed by the local rich and (in)famous, including the Kennedys and Walter Cronkite. (Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket are islands off the Massachusetts coast that serve as playgrounds for the privileged. Chappaquiddick Island, where Ted Kennedy drove to glory in 1969, sits at the eastern edge of Martha's Vineyard.)

In spite of Kennedy's legal battle to keep anything from obscuring the view from his yachts, the Cape Wind project has been given the go-ahead by the state high court.

While Teddy works against domestic oil-free energy, his nephew Joseph Kennedy is doing oil deals with Venezuela's ruling thug Hugo Chávez. On the surface, this appears to be a charitable action, providing discount oil to America's poor. But there's a dark underside to this arrangement. Chávez, ally to America's enemies, is buying goodwill for himself and poking a finger in America's eye, and he's doing this at the expense of his own repressed and impoverished people. Joe Kennedy expresses an uncomfortable degree of admiration for this evil man. Another case of Bush Derangement Syndrome? It does look that way.

Posted by Maynard · December 21, 2006 01:54 AM · Permalink · Comments (5)
Environment | Maynard Post | Tyrants

Now That the Dems Have Taken Over America...

The world has turned its anger management problem on Australia. Secretly. Oh, and the sky is falling down there, too, and Australia is going to turn into one big desert if something isn't done soon.

Oh, Australia already is one big desert. Sorry. Then, the world hates them, and there'll be flooding and pestilence. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Posted by Tammy · November 9, 2006 06:14 PM · Permalink · Comments (1)
Environment | Leftists

The Toad Less Traveled

Lady contemplates her addiction

The private life of a cocker spaniel is, well, more sordid than we could ever have imagined. This is indeed a cautionary tale for all who will listen.

The Dog Who Loved to Suck on Toads

"We noticed Lady spending an awful lot of time down by the pond in our backyard," Laura Mirsch recalls. Lady would wander the area, disoriented and withdrawn, soporific and glassy-eyed..."Then, late one night after I'd put the dogs out, Lady wouldn't come in," Laura Mirsch says. "She finally staggered over to me from the cattails. She looked up at me, leaned her head over and opened her mouth like she was going to throw up, and out plopped this disgusting toad."

It turned out the toads were toxic -- and, if licked, the fluids on their skin provided a hallucinogenic effect.

"We couldn't keep our dog's addiction a secret any longer," Laura Mirsch says. "The neighbors all knew that Lady was a drug addict, and soon the other dogs weren't allowed to play with her."

In the end, Lady seems to have found a way to manage her problem.

"She seems to have outgrown the wild toad-obsessed years of her youth," Mirsch says, "and now only sucks on weekends."

Wow. Do you think it was her horrible childhood? Low self-esteem? Being teased all the time for being a "dog"? Or perhaps, do I dare suggest it? She just liked the feeling and there was no good reason whatsoever to be a drug addict except for the fact that she was bored, had nothing else to do, it was fun, and knew someone else would take care of her? Lady could have just said no, but she didn't. Say no that is. She did--say no to no. She said no to the wrong thing is what I'm trying to say. She said "yes" to toads, "no" to, uh, no.

Yes, you see, this is the end of the toad, er, road for those who have absolutely no reason to develop any personal responsibility or independence. Lady's childhood was fine, even idyllic. She was confident and happy. Until she put a frog on her mouth. All it takes is that one time. And then you'll be reduced to being thrilled about doing it "only" on the weekends.

Isn't that the way it always happens?

And one last thing--dogs weren't getting high until George W. Bush became president. Think about that.

A Relatively Unrelated Post:

Legends of the Green Faerie

Global Warming Strikes Again

It just snowed in Chicago.

The first winter storm of the season brought record snowfall to parts of Michigan today and the earliest snowfall in Chicago since record-keeping began in 1871, according to the National Weather Service.

"It just reminds me of the holidays coming up," said Wisconsin native Kris Koller, 25, who works from home in downtown Chicago. "It makes me happy."

I bet it doesn't make Algore happy.

Posted by Tammy · October 12, 2006 12:43 PM · Permalink · Comments (10)
Environment | Leftists | Political Correctness