All posts by Chief

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Today Chicago, tomorrow the Nation?

Chicago Public Schools’ cappuccino bill: $67,000

Chicago public school bureaucrats skirted competitive bidding rules to buy 30 cappuccino/espresso machines for $67,000, with most of the machines going unused because the schools they were ordered for had not asked for them, according to a report by the CPS Office of Inspector General.

That was just one example of questionable CPS actions detailed in the inspector general’s 2008 annual report. Others included high school staffers changing grades to pump up transcripts of student athletes and workers at a restricted-enrollment grade school falsifying addresses to get relatives admitted.

Isn’t B.O.’s designee for the Sec’y of Education coming directly from running the Chicago schools? Don’t look for anything effective, or efficient to come out of D of Ed if this is a sample of his management expertise.

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Diplomats Keep Yakking, Terrs Keep Rocketing

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Diplomats: Arabs and West agree on Gaza resolution

Key Arab nations and Western powers called for an immediate Security Council vote Thursday night on a Gaza cease-fire resolution, after they reached agreement on final wording of the draft, officials said.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband announced the agreement on the resolution calling for an immediate and durable cease-fire between Hamas militants and Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.

The UN actions are again up to its usual quality…like organizing a shuffleboard league on the listing Titanic.

The resolution was supported by the United States, Israel’s closest ally, and Arab nations that have close ties to Hamas. But it will be up to Israel and Hamas to decide to stop their military activities.

DUH!

The media’s most ignored fact in this whole situation is that there WAS a cease-fire in place, which was ignored by Hamas re-starting its rocket barrage of Israel…and as far as negotiating with them…why bother…recent interviews with Hamas leadership again confirms their basic promise that the only solution to the problem is to drive the Israelis into the sea. Hitler would approve.

Meanwhile B.O. is apparently willing to pursue relations with Hamas as though they were a rational organization.

Obama camp ‘prepared to talk to Hamas’

The incoming Obama administration is prepared to abandon George Bush’s ­doctrine of isolating Hamas by establishing a channel to the Islamist organisation, sources close to the transition team say.

The move to open contacts with Hamas, which could be initiated through the US intelligence services, would represent a definitive break with the Bush ­presidency’s ostracising of the group. The state department has designated Hamas a terrorist organisation, and in 2006 ­Congress passed a law banning US financial aid to the group.

If this plays out as reported…it will be indicative of an extremely poor situational awareness of the nature of the Hamas beast.

Defense Matters!, National Insecurity

Navy vs Pirates

New US-led naval force to battle Somali pirates

At first glance this sounds like a great step in the right direction, at last.

A new international naval force under American command will soon begin patrols to confront escalating attacks by Somali pirates after more than 100 ships came under siege in the past year, the U.S. Navy said Thursday.

But then, at second glance, it’s more of the same ole’ same ole’ pussyfooting around.

But the mission—expected to begin operations next week—appears more of an attempt to sharpen the military focus against piracy rather than a signal of expanded offensives across one of the world’s most crucial shipping lanes.

The force will carry no wider authority to strike at pirate vessels at sea or specific mandates to move against havens on shore—which some maritime experts believe is necessary to weaken the pirate gangs that have taken control of dozens of cargo vessels and an oil tanker.

Ah, so what’s the point if nothing actually changes policy-wise?

The new force underscores the urgency to act after a stunning rise in pirate assaults off the Horn of Africa last year: At least 111 ships targeted and 42 of them commandeered, including a Ukrainian cargo shop loaded with tanks and heavy weapons and a Saudi oil tanker with $100 worth of crude.

At two more ships have been hijacked this month, leaving about 15 vessels and about 300 crew members in pirate hands, according to the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center.

OK – so it “underscores the urgency to act…”, so why isn’t there an actual plan TO ACT? More “symbolism over substance” won’t address the problem.

“This task force does not does have any greater rules of engagement,” said Cmdr. Jane Campbell, a 5th Fleet spokeswoman. “It does, however, bring a greater focus to counter-piracy operations under one command.”

This only reinforces the above noted problem, with an open admission that there is no loosening of the R.O.E.

But it also carries the suggestion that it could one day take stronger measures. The force’s flagship, the USS San Antonio, is an amphibious ship capable of bringing hundreds of Marines ashore. This is the type of action needed to truly rattle the pirates, said Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center.

THIS would work! (All we’ve got to do is step up to the plate.)

“Right now there is no major deterrent,” he said. “The military maybe chases away the pirates, but they regroup and come back for another attack on another ship. Piracy will continue until their networks and bases are hit.”

Hopefully somebody in Washington will remember that action here would be a renewal of the the Navy’s oldest tradition…overseas suppression of Islamopiracy. It worked against the Barbary States’ pirates, it would work now too.

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Senator Frankenstein?

The dirty joke from Minnesota

This election and its aftermath has been as synthetic as the efforts of Mary Shelley’s fictional doctor, and the results is just as monstrous as the original monster who was widely known by the name of said doctor: Frankenstein!  It fits!

1105franken.jpg

A lot of the venal sins of Congress could be judged pornographic, both politically and otherwise, but we’ve never had an Official Senate Pornographer before. Sen. Chuck Schumer says Al Franken will fit right in.

“With the Minnesota recount complete,” he says, gleefully, “it is now clear that Al Franken won the election.” Actually, it isn’t clear at all, as Mr. Schumer well knows, even though the Democrats managing the recount declared Mr. Franken the winner yesterday. The Democrats in the Senate are eager to get Al seated quickly because once he’s seated among equals a bum is difficult to throw out. There’s honor among senators, similar to the honor among thieves. (The difference is that thieves often hold to higher standards.)

The gory details of the stealing of the election are obvious, brazen, and detailed in this column.  In the words of a Warren Zevon song:  “It ain’t that pretty at all.”

The thought of  Al Franken(stein) in the Senate is just about enough to make one truly sympathetic of the normally hideous Roman Emperor Caligula, who appointed his favorite horse as consul of the empire, as a means of showing his contempt for the feckless and corrupt Senate of his day.

With the Minnesota Border about 25 miles away, the Chief hopes that their state environmental agency has means to keep the slime on that side of the line if this buffoon is finally confirmed to the Senate, but Caligula would feel at home.

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Not really a surprise “…you know…”

Poll: Caroline Kennedy losing favor with voters

Caroline Kennedy’s popularity has suffered a “clear hit” as a result of her public campaign for Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Senate seat, while Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s positive ratings have shot up, according to a new poll.

In case there is any sensitivity in the reader about Ms. Kennedy’s interview outcomes, the Chief has decided to dedicate this posting to her, using her own modes of speech:

You know…ah…the Chief, you know, has 9th grade students, you know, that are more, you know, articulate and sensible that the interview bites that were, you know, on the news over the weekend.

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Cold War In Europe

Europe faces energy crisis as Vladimir Putin cuts Russian gas supply

As temperatures dropped below zero across much of Europe, the Russian prime minister instructed the head of Gazprom: “Cut it – starting today.”

The cut was ordered to punish neighbouring Ukraine, which Russia accuses of topping up its own gas supply by siphoning off energy meant for European consumers and sent through its pipelines.

But Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state-run gas company, said that it was European Union countries, including Britain, that would feel the effects of an increasingly bitter East-West energy row.

Not exactly too cooperative of Russia, but they sure got some attention from the Euros.

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Glowbull Warming Updates – cont’d

Holy smoke! Reality has broken through to the light on the Huffington Post of all places!

Mr. Gore: Apology Accepted

This writer goes through and pretty well demolishes AlGor’s climate bunko game. It’s well worth a look.

You are probably wondering whether President-elect Obama owes the world an apology for his actions regarding global warming. The answer is, not yet. There is one person, however, who does. You have probably guessed his name: Al Gore.

Mr. Gore has stated, regarding climate change, that “the science is in.” Well, he is absolutely right about that, except for one tiny thing. It is the biggest whopper ever sold to the public in the history of humankind. (Emphasis in original.)

To summarize the points made:

1. First, the expression “climate change” itself is a redundancy, and contains a lie. Climate has always changed, and always will. There has been no stable period of climate during the Holocene, our own climatic era, which began with the end of the last ice age 12,000 years ago.

2. Mr. Gore has gone so far to discourage debate on climate as to refer to those who question his simplistic view of the atmosphere as “flat-Earthers.” This, too, is right on target, except for one tiny detail. It is exactly the opposite of the truth.

There’s some discussion on this point that leads up to this:

… it turns out that there is an 800-year lag between temperature and carbon dioxide, unlike the sense conveyed by Mr. Gore’s graph. You are probably wondering by now — and if you are not, you should be — which rises first, carbon dioxide or temperature. The answer? Temperature. In every case, the ice-core data shows that temperature rises precede rises in carbon dioxide by, on average, 800 years.

Ooops. Another beautiful theory mugged by a vicious fact.

…the IPCC Fourth Assessment, like all the ones before it, is based on computer models that presume a positive feedback of atmospheric warming via increased water vapor.

4. This mechanism has never been shown to exist. Indeed, increased temperature leads to increased evaporation of the oceans, which leads to increased cloud cover (one cooling effect) and increased precipitation (a bigger cooling effect). Within certain bounds, in other words, the ocean-atmosphere system has a very effective self-regulating tendency.

In the original piece, there is a specific and detailed treatment of the very real effects of water vapor, (a HUGE factor compared to CO2) the sun, and even of cosmic rays on the climate. So what is what?

The ocean-atmosphere system is not a simple one that can be “ruled” by a trace atmospheric gas. It is a complex, chaotic system, largely modulated by solar effects (both direct and indirect), as shown by the Little Ice Age.

This ends with a final note concerning the much-ballyhooed sea ice situation.

P.S. One of the last, desperate canards proposed by climate alarmists is that of the polar ice caps. Look at the “terrible,” “unprecedented” melting in the Arctic in the summer of 2007, they say. Well, the ice in the Arctic basin has always melted and refrozen, and always will. Any researcher who wants to find a single molecule of ice that has been there longer than 30 years is going to have a hard job, because the ice has always been melted from above (by the midnight Sun of summer) and below (by relatively warm ocean currents, possibly amplified by volcanic venting) — and on the sides, again by warm currents. Scientists in the alarmist camp have taken to referring to “old ice,” but, again, this is a misrepresentation of what takes place in the Arctic.

More to the point, 2007 happened also to be the time of maximum historic sea ice in Antarctica. (There are many credible sources of this information, such as the following website maintained by the University of Illinois-Urbana: http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/IMAGES/current.anom.south.jpg). Why, I ask, has Mr. Gore not chosen to mention the record growth of sea ice around Antarctica? If the record melting in the Arctic is significant, then the record sea ice growth around Antarctica is, too, I say. If one is insignificant, then the other one is, too.

For failing to mention the 2007 Antarctic maximum sea ice record a single time, I also accept your apology, Mr. Gore. By the way, your contention that the Arctic basin will be “ice free” in summer within five years (which you said last month in Germany), is one of the most demonstrably false comments you have dared to make. Thank you for that!

Whew! The Chief is STILL flabbergasted that this turned up on HuffPo. Amazing!

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Revisited: “Liberalism is a Mental Disorder”

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This post is specifically stimulated by a comment on a previous post from Cory of the Madville Times.

Einstein defined insanity as repeating the same thing over and over again, and expecting to get a different result. By that definition, at least the Chief humbly submits that the above stated proposition concerning liberalism has validity, as illustrated by the following dialogue from American Thinker, shamelessly borrowed:

Let’s say my liberal friend Bob asks me: “Why are you a conservative, Chris?”

“Good question, Bob. In America today, conservatives believe, government is cruel, corrupt, unjust; and it just costs too much. And we conservatives just can’t stand there and do nothing.”

The current welfare state for which, usgovernmentspending.com tells us, the American people cough up $900 billion a year for government pensions, $950 billion for government health care, $875 billion for government education, and $470 billion for government welfare, every year, is an abomination. Never mind the corrupt patronage system so brazenly operated by Gov. Blagojevich and pals; let us think about the cruelty of a system that has destroyed the family in the underclass, the injustice of screwing the working poor and rewarding the non-working poor.

Again, at the risk of redundancy, the Chief again points out that these programs have been implemented starting back in the 30’s, and since then…and the problems they “attack” have only continued, or gotten worse. (Remember Dr. E’s comment about repeated behavior & the same result?) But to continue the dialogue:

“Liberals created this monster, Bob. Liberals believe that compulsory government programs are the way to help the poor and comfort the afflicted. But they are wrong. Government is not compassion. Government is force. You cannot solve social problems by force.”  (Emphasis added.)

This is the basic conflict between liberals and conservatives. Liberals believe you can solve social problems with government programs. Conservatives believe that you must solve them person-to-person, face-to-face. Compassion means, literally, “suffering with.” Getting paid to run a government program to help the poor with tax dollars isn’t “suffering with.”

This is the keystone point. DEPERSONALIZED compassion, is no compassion at all. And what’s worse is that the ONLY way to run it by government, is at gunpoint (the threat of the police power for failure to comply).

“Conservatives believe in society not as social force but as social cooperation. That’s why we must reform the welfare state into the welfare society. In the welfare society the American people, not liberal experts, will be in charge of their health care, their children’s education, the comfort of the afflicted, and the decent provision of pensions.”

Liberals believe in the welfare state; conservatives believe in the welfare society. That issues out of the basic conservative belief, initially voiced by Edmund Burke, that “To love the little platoon we belong to in society, is the first principle (the germ as it were) of publick affections.”

Conservatives want to appeal, wherever possible, to our better angels rather than fight with inner demons. Conservatives believe that “social problems” must be solved by people in their little platoons–family, neighbors, friends, associations, and charities–people influencing other people for good. That means no more of Mark Steyn’s adult adolescents. We can’t just pay our taxes and complain about the government. We have to get involved and help people, from the inside out. First you help family, then neighbors, and then your co-workers, fellow union members, fellow church members.

Again…to keep trying to achieve a good result by bureaucratizing the effort, is doomed to continual failure.

In this at least, continuing efforts to continue and expand the governmental approach to deal with these problems meets Dr. Einstein’s definition, and therefore, returns us to the proposition that “Liberalism is a Mental Disorder”.

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YouTube Knuckles Under to Islamo Censorship Demand

The IDF Video Censored by YouTube

See the video here.

The night video shows Hamas terrorists clearly loading Grad-type Katyusha rockets onto pickup trucks. Towards the end of the video, a great explosion and fire is seen as the IDF terminated the terrorist activity with extreme prejudice.

The above video and others were apparently taken down due to numerous complaints by pro-Arab viewers who “reported” the video as inappropriate.

Right. Inappropriate.

In other words, it catches Islamic TERRORISTS caught in the act of being terrorists, and taking the consequences.

Oh well. They’re learning the hard way that if you throw mudballs at a tiger, you probably will get eaten.

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Political Correctness Flourishing in UK Gov

Prisoners should not be called ‘inmates’, says MoJ

The current Labor Ingsoc government never ceases to come up with new examples of moonbattery.

Prison officers have been told not to refer to their charges as “inmates” because it might offend them. Ministers claim the age-old term is not appropriate if criminals are to be treated with “respect and dignity”.

!

Prisons minister David Hanson revealed the Ministry of Justice stance in a letter to an inmate in HMP Wakefield, in which he said: “Prison staff are expected to treat prisoners with dignity and respect and for this reason the term ‘prisoner’ should be used in preference to the term ‘inmate’.”

He went on to say the term “offender” was not inappropriate.

Hanson sounds like he’s so far removed from situational awareness that he would need the help of GPS, laser range-finders, and a police surveillance team to be able to find his posterior portions with both hands.

Fortunately for Merrie Old England, EVERYONE over there is not bereft of common sense (yet):

One prison officer leader attacked the move and warned jails have already become too soft as he called for a return to tough prisons in 2009.

Opposition MPs said it was “politically correct nonsense”.

In a scathing outburst, Brian Caton, general secretary of the Prison Officers Association, called for an end to the “namby pamby attitude” that has led to soft prisons.

“It never ceases to amaze me, the hypocrisy of politicians and senior civil servants,” he said. “On the one hand they say we are not going to have soft prisons but on the other phraseology that has been around for a long, long time suddenly becomes offensive to our dear charges. As far as I am concerned they are convicts, they are prisoners, they are inmates.”

“We should treat them fair and properly but prison should be tough. As we come to 2009, prisons should move away from being seen and actually being soft options to be challenging and demanding places of punishment. Without that we will continue to slide down in the views of the general public and will send people out of prison more likely to reoffend.”

Hear! Hear!

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Recession Hits Home

SD November jobless rate: 3.4 percent

South Dakota, with a November unemployment rate of 3.4 percent, has been in a recession since December 2007, according to Ralph Brown, University of South Dakota economics professor emeritus.

The economic decline should at least slow during the second half of 2009 if not recover, Brown said. The most recent long recessions – in 1973-75 and 1981-82 – both lasted 16 months.

The state Labor Department reports 15,055 South Dakotans were out of work in November out of a labor force of 446,045. October’s statewide unemployment rate was 3.2 percent.

Meanwhile, Sioux Falls, and Brookings seem to be beating the overall SD conditions, but not quite so well out in the Hills:

November jobless rates for South Dakota cities included 2.2 percent in Brookings, 2.4 percent in Vermillion and Aberdeen, 2.5 percent in Huron and Pierre, 2.9 percent in Mitchell, 3 percent in Sioux Falls, 3.1 percent in Watertown, 3.3 percent in Yankton, and 3.6 percent in Rapid City and Spearfish.

It sure beats the situation in Detroit, and other bigger cities.

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French Cooking

More than a thousand cars torched on New Year’s Eve

France’s Islamic street thugs were at it again to “celebrate” the new year.

The French press reported that the Interior Ministry released a final “verified” count of 1,147 vehicles burned in France over New Year’s Eve. The number is up 30.64% from last year’s total, 878.

Not to fear, the government is responding forcefully(?).

Sarkozy vows crackdown on car burners

President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed to crack down on France’s car burning after more than 1,100 vehicles went up in flames overnight on New Year’s Eve.

Sarkozy said he had asked authorities to be “uncompromising” with vehicle arsonists and said those caught burning other people’s cars should lose their own licences until the damage had been paid for.

Oooooooh! “This time we REALLY mean it! If we catch you, you’ll LOSE YOUR DRIVER’S LICENSE!” This must have them shaking in their shoes!

“There is no reason why honest people should have to pay the consequences of the behaviour of delinquents,” he said in an address to emergency service staff who worked over the evening of Dec. 31.

Car burnings are regular occurrences in France, where some 36,700 were recorded in the first 11 months of 2008, according to interior ministry figures.

“…regular occurrances in France…” This is as disgraceful an example of lily-lovered weak law enforcement as the U.S. urban phenomenon of the “known crack house”. What they need is a French Giuliani to straighten out their priorities…but then again, it IS the French…so it may well be beyond all hope. C’est la vie.

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GOP Conservatives Show Signs of Life

RNC draft rips Bush’s bailouts

Dang! Of all the unexpected political developments to have pop up, this is one of the most welcome in some time.

Republican Party officials say they will try next month to pass a resolution accusing President Bush and congressional Republican leaders of embracing “socialism,” underscoring deep dissension within the party at the end of Mr. Bush’s administration.

The Chief could question the wording here…is is really “dissension” to want the GOP to stick with it’s principles? Wouldn’t that be loyalism? But perhaps I quibble.

Those pushing the resolution, which will come before the Republican National Committee at its January meeting, say elected leaders need to be reminded of core principles. They said the RNC must take the dramatic step of wading into policy debates, which traditionally have been left to lawmakers.

“We can’t be a party of small government, free markets and low taxes while supporting bailouts and nationalizing industries, which lead to big government, socialism and high taxes at the expense of individual liberty and freedoms,” said Solomon Yue, an Oregon member and co-sponsor of a resolution that criticizes the U.S. government bailouts of the financial and auto industries. Republican National Committee Vice Chairman James Bopp Jr. wrote the resolution and asked the rest of the 168 voting members to sign it.

Hear! Hear!

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Wishful Thinking from the KGB (or whatever)

The Chief has been watching the historical mini-series John Adams on DVD during the school break. It reminds once again how unique this American Republic is, and how much the Old World establishment would like it to disintegrate. This has been a recurring theme since the early 1800’s, and just like a bad chile, it keeps coming back up again.

Russian Professor Predicts End of U.S.
In Moscow, Igor Panarin’s Forecasts Are All the Rage; America ‘Disintegrates’ in 2010

For a decade, Russian academic Igor Panarin has been predicting the U.S. will fall apart in 2010. For most of that time, he admits, few took his argument — that an economic and moral collapse will trigger a civil war and the eventual breakup of the U.S. — very seriously. Now he’s found an eager audience: Russian state media. In recent weeks, he’s been interviewed as much as twice a day about his predictions. “It’s a record,” says Prof. Panarin. “But I think the attention is going to grow even stronger.”

Sounds like he’s got the nod from Putin on this.

Prof. Panarin, 50 years old, is not a fringe figure. A former KGB analyst, he is dean of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s academy for future diplomats. He is invited to Kremlin receptions, lectures students, publishes books, and appears in the media as an expert on U.S.-Russia relations.

Ahhhhh! A common background with Pooty-poot…both alums of the ultimate Soviet good ole boy network of the KGB.

’nuff said.

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Mid-East Dustup, Again

Hamas-cide
While condemned as “disproportionate,” Israeli attacks on Hamas in Gaza are the only appropriate response to daily terror. As the U.N. Charter says, when they shoot at you, you can shoot back.

This is good. One supposes that having weapons as inefficient as the home-brew (but still dangerous) Hamas rockets would restore some “balance”…but the Chief always though the whole idea in war was to do a better job of killing the enemy and breaking his things than he is able to do to you.

So why are they doing this? Hmmmm. (THINK. THINK.)

Hey, Hamas is an Iranian supported operation. Doesn’t this all conveniently distract everyone from the continuing Iranian nuclear project?

Much of Hamas’ imported weaponry, and the expertise with which it now produces the rockets it uses to bombard Israeli border towns and villages, comes from Iran. Dozens of its top commanders have received training in Iran.

Oh well. Hamas is learning again the hard way – if you want to run with wolves, you had better know how to howl.

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Big Brother – Alive and Well in Oregon!

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Kulongoski to pursue mileage tax

A year ago, the Oregon Department of Transportation announced it had demonstrated that a new way to pay for roads — via a mileage tax and satellite technology — could work.

Now Gov. Ted Kulongoski says he’d like the legislature to take the next step.

As part of a transportation-related bill he has filed for the 2009 legislative session, the governor says he plans to recommend “a path to transition away from the gas tax as the central funding source for transportation.”

How would this be managed? Fear not:

What that means is explained on the governor’s website:

“As Oregonians drive less and demand more fuel-efficient vehicles, it is increasingly important that the state find a new way, other than the gas tax, to finance our transportation system.” According to the policies he has outlined online, Kulongoski proposes to continue the work of the special task force that came up with and tested the idea of a mileage tax to replace the gas tax.

The governor wants the task force “to partner with auto manufacturers to refine technology that would enable Oregonians to pay for the transportation system based on how many miles they drive.”

The online outline adds: “The governor is committed to ensuring that rural Oregon is not adversely affected and that privacy concerns are addressed.”

Yeah, right. Privacy concerns? WHAT privacy concerns! How bourgeoise!

This has so many evil ramifications, that the Chief would go nuts trying to list them all.

Just one item: The system would be based (apparently) on a gas-pump register system of some sort. OK. So, a local chump loyal Oregonian decides to travel out of state. The first tank of gas bought on returning to the home turf would register the mileage driven…since the last Oregon gas purchase…before the trip! TA DA! All those out of state miles are counted! Ya gotta love the libs for ALWAYS figuring a way to make a bad idea worse.

There are MANY more problems…go to the original article and read the comments…it’s well worth it, and will give you lots of good arguments to use in your own states when your local moonbat LebDonk legislooters try to bring in something like this where you are. (You just KNOW they’ll try it!)

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Steam Driven Fusion Reactor?

Maybe so…

STEAMPUNK FUSION

The picture you see above is a steam driven fusion reactor. I know what you are thinking. This is some kind of joke. It is no joke. General Fusion has a design that I think has an outside chance of working.

A lot more information on this here, in a PopSci article.

This is an elegant idea. The Chief hopes it works, and wishes he had some serious money to invest in it.

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Reid to Repeat Daschle Example?

Sen. Reid Hits the Ground Running in Uphill Re-Election Bid

We in South Dakota demonstrated what can happen when a LibDonk Senate Majority Leader gets so involved in national politicizing that he loses touch with what the home state voters think is really relevant to them; which in OUR case resulted in the end of the Senatorial career of ex-Senator/now B.O. cabinet designee Tom Daschle.

Now may be Nevada’s chance to repeat the process:

Sen. Harry Reid will command the biggest party majority of any Senate leader in a quarter century when the new Congress convenes in January. But the Nevada Democrat is already worried about his own re-election fight in 2010.

Sen. Reid, perhaps the most-vulnerable Democrat who will face re-election in a midterm race that is likely to favor his party once again, began interviewing campaign managers last week. The Senate majority leader also recently stepped up fund-raising.

Will Nevada repeat the phenomenon of a sitting Majority Leader being voted out? One can only hope!

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Glowbull Warming Updates – cont’d

This from across the pond in the London Sunday Telegraph:

2008 was the year man-made global warming was disproved

Looking back over my columns of the past 12 months, one of their major themes was neatly encapsulated by two recent items from The Daily Telegraph.

The first, on May 21, headed “Climate change threat to Alpine ski resorts” , reported that the entire Alpine “winter sports industry” could soon “grind to a halt for lack of snow”. The second, on December 19, headed “The Alps have best snow conditions in a generation” , reported that this winter’s Alpine snowfalls “look set to beat all records by New Year’s Day”.

Easily one of the most important stories of 2008 has been all the evidence suggesting that this may be looked back on as the year when there was a turning point in the great worldwide panic over man-made global warming. Just when politicians in Europe and America have been adopting the most costly and damaging measures politicians have ever proposed, to combat this supposed menace, the tide has turned in three significant respects.

This is as about a concise a summary of this issue as the Chief has seen in one place:

First, all over the world, temperatures have been dropping in a way wholly unpredicted by all those computer models which have been used as the main drivers of the scare….After several years flatlining, global temperatures have dropped sharply enough to cancel out much of their net rise in the 20th century…..

Secondly, 2008 was the year when any pretence that there was a “scientific consensus” in favour of man-made global warming collapsed. At long last, as in the Manhattan Declaration last March, hundreds of proper scientists, including many of the world’s most eminent climate experts, have been rallying to pour scorn on that “consensus” which was only a politically engineered artefact, based on ever more blatantly manipulated data and computer models programmed to produce no more than convenient fictions….

Thirdly, as banks collapsed and the global economy plunged into its worst recession for decades, harsh reality at last began to break in on those self-deluding dreams which have for so long possessed almost every politician in the western world. As we saw in this month’s Poznan conference, when 10,000 politicians, officials and “environmentalists” gathered to plan next year’s “son of Kyoto” treaty in Copenhagen, panicking politicians are waking up to the fact that the world can no longer afford all those quixotic schemes for “combating climate change” with which they were so happy to indulge themselves in more comfortable times.

So…how long will it take the enviro-ideologues and Gaia-worshippers to lose their stranglehold on what is known as the “main-stream media”, especially in light of a profound ignorance of real science as opposed to junk science?

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Who REALLY owns B.O. (or at least his house)?

Rezko attorney ‘owns’ Obama mansion

An attorney for convicted fundraiser Tony Rezko is listed as the owner and taxpayer for Barack Obama’s Chicago mansion, according to records obtained by WND.

William Miceli is a lawyer at the Chicago law firm Miner, Barnhill & Galland, which also formerly employed Obama.

The controversy began when a website called News and Commentary for Thinking People published a 48-page document that lists Miceli as the owner of the Obama home at 5046 S. Greenwood.

Miner, Barnhill & Galland was Obama’s employer when he did extensive legal work for Rezko, who awaits sentencing after he was convicted in June of fraud, money laundering and bribery-related counts.

“The Chief is figuring out finally what is meant by “Change you can believe in”.

Every time you think you know something about B.O., it changes to something altogether different.

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Savage’s Hypothesis Confirmed

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Veteran psychiatrist calls liberals mentally ill

Here, several years after radio talker Michael Savage’s book Liberalism is a Mental Disorder, comes another book on the topic…this time from a non-political psychiatrist.

Just when liberals thought it was safe to start identifying themselves as such, an acclaimed, veteran psychiatrist is making the case that the ideology motivating them is actually a mental disorder.

“Based on strikingly irrational beliefs and emotions, modern liberals relentlessly undermine the most important principles on which our freedoms were founded,” says Dr. Lyle Rossiter, author of the new book, The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness.  “Like spoiled, angry children, they rebel against the normal responsibilities of adulthood and demand that a parental government meet their needs from cradle to grave.”

While political activists on the other side of the spectrum have made similar observations, Rossiter boasts professional credentials and a life virtually free of activism and links to “the vast right-wing conspiracy.”

Once again the libDonks are reminded that “reality is a bitch” sometimes.

Defense Matters!, National Insecurity

“Anchors Aweigh” for ChiCom Naval Deployment

Chinese Warships Set Sail for Pirate Fight

Chinese warships — armed with special forces, guided missiles and helicopters — set sail Friday for anti-piracy duty off Somalia, the first time the communist nation has sent ships on a mission that could involve fighting so far beyond its territorial waters.

The three vessels — two destroyers and a supply ship — may increase worries about growing Chinese military power. The mission will also challenge China’s ability to cooperate with other naval forces patrolling the Gulf of Aden, one of the world’s busiest sea lanes.

Warships from India, Russia, NATO and the U.S. are also cruising the Somali waters that have been plagued by pirate attacks in recent months.

This could be good news, or it could be bad news. One thing that it IS, unfortunately, is rational, at least from China’s point of view. The Chief commented in an earlier post that perhaps if the US and other western navies were doing the job, that the ChiComs wouldn’t feel as much of a need to get into the picture. On the other hand…maybe they would do it anyway…just to prove that they can.

Denny Roy, a senior fellow at the East-West Center in Hawaii, said countries in the region will view China’s mission off Somalia differently.

“For Japan and some in South Korea, this is another step in the unwelcome growth of the Chinese navy as a capable blue-water force, which has only downsides for Tokyo and Seoul,” said Roy, an expert on China’s military.

But he said most Southeast Asian countries may see China’s involvement in the anti-piracy campaign as a positive thing. It would mean that China was using its greater military might for constructive purposes, rather than challenging the current international order.

However, the analyst added, “The Chinese deployment gets at a question the U.S. and other governments have been asking: ‘Why the big Chinese military buildup when no country threatens China?’ Or more bluntly, ‘Why do the Chinese need a blue-water navy when the U.S. Navy already polices the world’s oceans?”‘

Roy said the answer is that China is unwilling to rely on the U.S. to protect China’s increasingly global interests.

Given what B.O. stated before the election about a desire to radically chop U.S. defense capabilities, perhaps it is only prudence that the ChiComs actively look out for themselves.

Beijing still believes it needs to enter the field, Roy said, and that leaves open the possibility of a China-U.S. naval rivalry in the future.

A rivalry? THAT would be an improvement over the supine attitudes of the current higher US Naval leadership.

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Rumors of War

Looks like the India-Paki pot may be getting ready to boil over – which COULD get very interesting indeed…since they both have nukie.

Pakistan cancels army leave as India tensions rise

Pakistan canceled army leave and redeployed some troops Friday in a sign of rising tension with India.

The United States urged both sides to refrain from further raising tensions, already high after India blamed Islamist militants based in Pakistan for attacks on Mumbai last month that killed 179 people.

The latest strains followed media reports in Pakistan and India that “several” Indian nationals had been held in the last two days after bombings in the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Multan.

The old game of tit-for-tat again.

The South Asian neighbors both tested nuclear weapons in 1998. They have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, and came to the brink of a fourth after gunmen attacked the Indian parliament in December 2001.

Although many analysts say war is very unlikely, international unease is growing.

How reassuring. “Commentators” said war was unlikely in August 1939, also.

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“…we all scream for ice cream!”?

The chief received the following from an e-mail correspondent who is a fellow educator:

Subj: Excellent analogy from a teacher in the Nashville area…

We are worried about “the cow” when it is all about the “Ice Cream”

The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade this year. The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest. I decided we would have an election for a class president.

We would choose our nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote.

To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members. We discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have. We got many nominations and from those, Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot.

The class had done a great job in their selections. Both candidates were good kids. I thought Jamie might have an advantage because he got lots of parental support. I had never seen Olivia’s mother.

The day arrived when they were to make their speeches Jamie went first. He had specific ideas about how to make our class a better place. Heended by promising to do his very best. Every one applauded. He sat down and Olivia came to the podium.

Her speech was concise. She said, “If you will vote for me, I will give you ice cream.” She sat down. The class went wild. “Yes! Yes! We want ice cream.”

She surely would say more. She did not have to. A discussion followed. How did she plan to pay for the  ice cream? She wasn’t sure.

Would her parents buy it or would the class pay for it. She didn’t know. The class really didn’t care. All they were thinking about was ice cream.

Jamie was forgotten. Olivia won by a land slide.

Every time Barack Obama opened his mouth he offered ice cream and fifty-two percent of the people reacted like nine year olds. They want ice cream. The other forty-eight percent know they’re going to have to feed the cow and clean up the mess.

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Bureaucracy expands to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy

Clinton moves to widen role of State Dept.

Even before taking office, Hillary Rodham Clinton is seeking to build a more powerful State Department, with a bigger budget, high-profile special envoys to trouble spots and an expanded role in dealing with global economic issues at a time of crisis.

Mrs. Clinton is recruiting Jacob J. Lew, the budget director under President Bill Clinton, as one of two deputies, according to people close to the Obama transition team. Mr. Lew’s focus, they said, will be on increasing the share of financing that goes to the diplomatic corps. He and James B. Steinberg, a deputy national security adviser in the Clinton administration, are to be Mrs. Clinton’s chief lieutenants.

Well, a Clinton, is in the end…a Clinton. When in doubt go for more power.

National Insecurity

“Liberalism is a Mental Disorder”

This is a PRIME example of the above proposition.

Carter laments: Terrorists lack ‘defense’ against Israel

The Lebanese Hezbollah terrorist organization lacks missiles to “defend” itself from Israeli aircraft, former President Jimmy Carter claimed upon returning from a trip last week to Lebanon.

“The general showed us a graph of the many flights of Israeli planes over all parts of Lebanon, averaging about a dozen each day. Neither Hezbollah nor the Lebanese Armed Forces have any anti-aircraft weapons for defense,” wrote Carter in a first-person report posted on his Carter Center website.

This is just crazy.

Firstly, the Hezbos are certifiably a hard militant Islamoterr group.

So…Jimmy Peanut cries crocodile tears for them that they don’t have Stinger missiles to shoot down the Israelis? HUH!

Apparently Carter forgets about the penchant that terrs have general mayhem and destruction. Now, what could they do with anti-aircraft. (Think, think!) Have terrs ever been known to go after COMMERCIAL aircraft? Like the Pan-Am that was blown up over Scotland, as an example?

With anti-air, they wouldn’t even have to worry about trying to sneak something past that pesky airport security, and, they might even have a pretty good chance of getting away using “shoot and scoot” tactics.

Carter had his head where the sun doesn’t shine even when he was President 30 years ago. In his case age hasn’t brought wisdom…quite the contrary!

Which brings us back to the opening header of this posting which the Chief shamelessly borrowed from the title of a Michael Savage book.

Q.E.D.

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Animalistic Wierdities

For some reason, these wierd animal items all all popped up at ppretty much the same time.
At least this gives a lot of grist for the mill of the “Crypto-news” department of the late-night talk show COAST-TO-COAST AM.

Yeti ‘photo-fit’ shows ‘potentially explosive’ evidence of elusive mountain beast

Yeti ‘photo-fit’ shows ‘potentially explosive’ evidence of elusive mountain beast

Wildlife painter Polyanna Pickering was shown what is believed to be a 100-year-old yeti scalp at a remote monastery in the Himalayas. At least one expert believe it could be the most important proof yet that the giant apelike beast is more than mere folklore.

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Ms Pickering was gathering material for a new exhibition in the remote Bhutan region of the Himalayas when she made her chance discovery

Next, from the Jersey shore:

Montauk Monster: Mystery animal corpse becomes web sensation

A fearsome sea monster that has trawled the depths of the oceans without discovery for millennia, or just a dead dog?

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Not much comment. Read the story…the Chief inclines towards a decaying dog hypothesis.

Ever wonder who collects the “data” for those studies on bovine digestive gas emissions cow farts that the envirowackos are talking about taxing?
This picture from the London Telegraph is worth 1000 words…or something else, like a scientific grant renewal.

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There are possible early reports of gay activists and P.E.T.A. issuing conflicting opinions as to whether  or not this constitutes animal cruelty, or an acceptable lifestyle choice.  Any further word on this will be watched for.

The Chief is sure you will agree that this story has a somewhat different shading:

Purple squirrel baffles experts

A purple squirrel which appeared at a school has baffled experts who are unable to explain its colour.
Teachers and pupils at Meoncross School in Stubbington, Hants, were amazed when they saw the creature through the window during a lesson.

Since the squirrel, now nicknamed Pete, was first seen, it has become a regular fixture at the school but no one has been able to say whether the animal has fallen into purple paint, had a run-in with some purple dye, or whether there is another explanation.

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No, really! ThisIS  a real news story!

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Glowbull Warming Update

Frankly, the Chief is pleased and rather surprised to see this coming from CNN.

CNN Meteorologist: Manmade Global Warming Theory ‘Arrogant’
Network’s second meteorologist to challenge notion man can alter climate.

Unprecedented snow in Las Vegas has some scratching their heads – how can there be global warming with this unusual cold and snowy weather?

CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers had never bought into the notion that man can alter the climate and the Vegas snowstorm didn’t impact his opinion. Myers, an American Meteorological Society certified meteorologist, explained on CNN’s Dec. 18 “Lou Dobbs Tonight” that the whole idea is arrogant and mankind was in danger of dying from other natural events more so than global warming.

“You know, to think that we could affect weather all that much is pretty arrogant,” Myers said. “Mother Nature is so big, the world is so big, the oceans are so big – I think we’re going to die from a lack of fresh water or we’re going to die from ocean acidification before we die from global warming, for sure.”

Myers is the second CNN meteorologist to challenge the global warming conventions common in the media. He also said trying to determine patterns occurring in the climate would be difficult based on such a short span.

There’s more detail in the original article. Read it if you’re interested in this….if not, you’ve got the gist of it above.