« March 2007 | Main | May 2007 »

April 27, 2007

Poll: Even the French Hate the French

The New York Post mentions the results of a poll by the International Herald Tribune and France 24 TV showing that topping the list of people who hate the French are the French.

Fourty-four percent of French people think ill of themselves according to a poll by the International Herald Tribune and France 24 TV. Thirty-eight percent of Americans polled had a negative view of them, as did 33 percent of Brits, 29 of Spaniards, 25 of Italians and 14 of Germans.

Which makes me think of this.

April 26, 2007

"The Only Constant About Climate is Change"

Some more on the impending end of civilization as we know it and that facts that are irrefutable!

Carleton University science professor Tim Patterson said global warming will not bring about the downfall of life on the planet.

Patterson said much of the up-to-date research indicates that "changes in the brightness of the sun" are almost certainly the primary cause of the warming trend since the end of the "Little Ice Age" in the late 19th century. Human emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the gas of concern in most plans to curb climate change, appear to have little effect on global climate, he said.

Mr. Patterson puts it well when he says, "The only constant about climate is change".

On a side note, Spinal Tap has joined the global warming parade.

April 24, 2007

MEMRI: Permissibility of Praying for Mercy for Non-Muslim Victims at VTech

The MEMRI Blog details a debate over an email sent by a Muslim Virginia Tech student asking members of the school's Muslim student association to "pray that Allah have mercy on those killed and wounded in the shooting attack at the university".

According to Aafaq, the dean of student affairs at American International University, Abu Hamza Hijji, responded, writing that Allah the Most Merciful forbids praying for mercy for the non-Muslim dead, or even for the non-Muslim living, and that it is only permitted to pray that they be rightly guided. He added that what happened was a sad occurrence, but that does not give Muslims the right to transgress the laws of Allah the Most Merciful.

According to the entry, a student replied that he would pray for everyone explaining that "religion must bring people together, and not drive them apart, and that the brotherhood of humanity takes precedence over brotherhood of religion or of state".

 

April 20, 2007

Remembering Oklahoma City - April 19, 1995

Twelve years ago yesterday, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was destroyed by a truck-bomb claiming 168 lives an injuring five times that.  Prior to September 11, this was the deadliest act of terrorism on American soil.

My sympathies to the families of all the victims.

My friend, Bramble, has her thoughts on the nineteen children killed in the attack.

April 19, 2007

The Debate is Not Over

Last week I had the misfortune of watching Laurie David and Sheryl Crow push their "Stop Global Warming College Tour" on CNBC.  Newsbusters had a good piece on how, when challenged by CNBC anchor Joe Kernan, David and Crow dismissed opposing arguments as nonsense and political agenda.  The quote that caught my attention was delivered by Laurie David:

I mean, this is, again, isn’t my opinion. And the world has complete consensus on this. And I would just question who funded the documentary, and what their agenda is. I mean, I would ask that question, really. Because we, the debate, the debate is over.

Time and time again I hear non-scientist activists proclaim that the "debate is over".  Over?  there hasn't even been a debate! Which brings me to the following from Roy Spencer as quoted in The Huntsville Times.

Spencer contends there is not yet enough known about the Earth's atmosphere to understand exactly what occurs naturally to stabilize the earth's climate.

"I don't think we understand what happens. We can watch it happen on the (climate) models, we know it happens, but we don't know for sure how it happens," Spencer said.

Roy Spencer is a research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and former NASA scientist, and obviously in his eyes, the debate is not over.  And those like him say it is hard to voice their dissent.  Via Drudge.

April 17, 2007

Watch Out for the Pizza

Completely unprovoked.

 

April 16, 2007

Gunman Kills 20+ at Virginia Tech

A gunman has killed at least 22 and wounded over 25 people on the Virginia Tech campus.

At 7:15 a.m. Monday, a 911 call came in to the campus police department concerning an incident at West Ambler Johnston, a residence hall, and that there were multiple shooting victims, Steger said. While that investigation was underway, a second shooting was reported in Norris Hall, located at the opposite end of the 2,600-acre campus.

The number of dead is expected to rise.  This is a heartbreaking tragedy.

Hot Air is providing constant updates.

April 15, 2007

Quote of the Day

"I started counting the number of people giving me the finger, but I stopped when I got to 20."

Agitator extraordinaire, Sean Avery, on his reception at Phillips Arena, home of the Atlanta Thrashers.

Sean Avery was traded to the New York Rangers on February 5, and brought with him an edge and grittiness not seen on Broadway in a long time.  Players like Avery are the ones needed to win in the playoffs and the Rangers hold a 2-0 lead in the best of seven series.

April 13, 2007

Friday Funny

It's Friday and everyone loves a Friday.  While speaking with someone at work I thought of one of my favorite skits by The Kids in the Hall.  Enjoy.

 

April 11, 2007

Rookie Mistake by Obama?

As I'm sure you are just as sick as I am with this Imus story, it appears Barack Obama may have made a rookie mistake when throwing in his two cents.

"I understand MSNBC has suspended Mr. Imus," Obama told ABC News, "but I would also say that there's nobody on my staff who would still be working for me if they made a comment like that about anybody of any ethnic group. And I would hope that NBC ends up having that same attitude."

Such an open-ended statement is just asking for trouble.  Employees of Obama better be sure to keep everything they say clean, anything even marginal will cost someone their job.  Look slike this can of worms is officially opened.

Jason Whitlock on Imus

Jason Whitlock is quickly becoming one of my favorite journalists.  He first caught my attention with his piece on the NBA All-Star Game, and now he weighs in on the Imus drama.

At this time, we are our own worst enemies. We have allowed our youths to buy into a culture (hip hop) that has been perverted, corrupted and overtaken by prison culture. The music, attitude and behavior expressed in this culture is anti-black, anti-education, demeaning, self-destructive, pro-drug dealing and violent.

Rather than confront this heinous enemy from within, we sit back and wait for someone like Imus to have a slip of the tongue and make the mistake of repeating the things we say about ourselves.

Thanks to Hot Air for bring this fine article to my attention.

April 10, 2007

Caveat Emptor--Florida Property Taxes and the American Dream

There are a lot of colder climate folks (New Englanders, Canadians, Europeans et al) who work hard, scrimp and save to be able to retire to warmer climes in the Southeast as they get old – For some it’s part of the American Dream.  But, then, they find they’re not welcome in Florida unless they pay tribute to the locals.

The Florida land mania of The Roarin’ 20’s has been dubbed “the greatest real estate swindle in U.S. history.”  Back then, the swindlers were scoundrels selling swamp land to  that era’s unwary suckers.  More recently, real estate pro’s have said  that “ Florida has a murky past in its real estate dealings.  Stories from the 1980’s abound about swamp land sales and multiple buyers for single properties.”1

Florida real estate remains under a cloud.  Today’s suckers are Florida real estate buyers that, for one reason or another, can’t be ”homesteaders”.  The swindlers are Florida ’s officials and citizens who have excused themselves from paying the same escalating property taxes they charge the “foreigners.”  These taxes are often many times higher than the taxes paid by the locals.

Why don’t out-of-state property buyers simply become Florida citizens and get the homesteader’s benefits?  A few of many reasons are: 

·        Non-U.S. citizens would have to surrender their nationality;

·        Health insurance is often not portable from state to state;

·        Pre-existing occupational licenses are not readily transferred;

·        Contracts, wills and legal agreements can be muddled by changing domiciles.

There are many groups advocating reform of Florida ’s “loony” property taxes.  A new one The Committee for Fair Florida real Estate Taxes at www.comffret.com/forum/.   COMFFRET believes similary-valued properties should be taxed similarly—not based on when you bought or where you’re from.

They can use your support by signing up.

1. Mazor Realty, Boca Raton , FL

April 09, 2007

Iran Wants to be Bombed

Victor Davis Hanson speculates that Iran's recent behavior, in regards to taking 15 British sailors hostage, is part of an effort to entice an attack. 

Because of incompetence in their oil industry, the Iranian mullahs have achieved the impossible: Despite having among the world's largest petroleum reserves, their production is shrinking and they have managed to earn increasingly less petrodollars even as the world price has soared.

While the Iranian theocrats understand that the entire world, including many of their own citizens, is turning against them, they also know that this could change if a Western nation would just attack them. Their strategy seems to be to find a way to provoke someone to drop a few bombs on them, on the naive assumption that such an assault would be of limited duration and damage. Such an attack, they may figure, would earn them sympathy in much of the world.

I agree.  They are looking for a confrontation and want the appearance of self defense.  They're going to push and push, but if everyone keeps a cool head, and we work on isolating them, the internal pressures may be too much to bear.

April 05, 2007

Happy Easter

For those of you who celebrate the holiday, have a wonderful Easter. I'll be taking the weekend off to be with family so I'll see you on Monday. And as always, thank you for stopping by!

April 03, 2007

Jihad at an Iranian Soccer Match

Just another day at the park.  As Mel Allen would say, how about that!

 

April 02, 2007

$21 Billion Bribe - Rangel Admits It

I know it is a little late but I thought it necessary to post.  Here is a look at what it cost to buy the votes to pass the Iraqi supplemental bill.

Aquaculture Operations: Provides $5 million for payments to "aquaculture operations and other persons in the U.S. engaged in the business of breeding, rearing, or transporting live fish" (such as shellfish, oysters and clams) to cover economic losses incurred as a result of an emergency order issued by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on October 24, 2006.

Spinach: Provides $25 million for payments to spinach producers that were unable to market spinach crops as a result of the FDA Public Health Advisory issued on September 14, 2006.

Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) Program: Provides $283 million for payments under the MILC program, to extend the life of the program for one year, through September 30, 2008. MILC provides payments to dairy farmers when milk prices fall below a certain rate.

Peanut Storage Subsidies: Provides $74 million to extend peanut storage payments through 2007. The Peanut Subsidy Storage program, which is set to expire this year, pays farmers for the storage, handling, and other costs for peanuts voluntarily placed in the marketing loan program.

Tax Increases and Shifts: Implements several tax increases and shifts, including: denying the lowest maximum capital gains tax rate for certain minors and adults, extending the suspension of interest payments due to the IRS, and adjusting the deadlines for corporate estimated tax payments. Costs taxpayers $1.380 billion over the FY2007-FY2017 period.

The bill includes $21 billion completely unrelated to the Iraq War or Afghanistan, and Pelosi stood there with a broad smile calling this a victory.  I suppose they'll be celebrating at their well funded convention.

**Update**  And now Charlie Rangel admits it was a bribe.  Via Hot Air.