Year: 2015

Global warming advocates call for the prosecution of scientists who disagree with them

11:31 pm

Fascists: Twenty global warming scientists have written a public letter to President Obama demanding he prosecute those who challenge their claim that humans are causing the climate to warm.

We appreciate that you are making aggressive and imaginative use of the limited tools available to you in the face of a recalcitrant Congress. One additional tool – recently proposed by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse – is a RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) investigation of corporations and other organizations that have knowingly deceived the American people about the risks of climate change, as a means to forestall America’s response to climate change.

The very fact that these global warming scientists find it necessary to demand their opponents be prosecuted proves that their claims are invalid. If they had the facts on their side, there would be no need for them to call for the government to prosecute and possibly imprison those who disagree with them. They could simply cite the facts, using a willing press to spread the news, and the opposition of this small minority of skeptics would make little difference. The public would pay the skeptics no mind.

The public however is not stupid and has been following this story with great interest. They might not be convinced that the skeptics are right, but the public is also very doubtful about the claims of the global warming advocates. Instead, the public is aware that the science of the climate is very uncertain, and that more facts are required before they will be convinced about anything.

What this letter does prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, is that many important members of the global warming community are downright fascists, and do not believe in freedom and the first amendment.

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Audit finds Obama administration complicent in the Obamacare website fraud and cost overruns

10:17 pm

Finding out what’s in it: A federal audit has found that the Obama administration looked the other way, and in some cases even helped, while the contractors hired to create the Obamacare website committed significant fraud and negligence.

The investigation focused on nearly two dozen contracts considered to be most important to the operation of the website, which was supposed to create a marketplace that serves as a one-stop shop for health insurance. Instead, it’s had a multitude of problems that have been well-documented in the media. The deals to develop this federal insurance marketplace went mostly to eight politically connected companies that raked in north of $600 million, the IG’s report says. “As of March 31, 2014, CMS had identified 62 contracts that it had awarded to 35 different contractors to develop, implement, and operate the Federal marketplace,” the report states.

That means there are a lot of taxpayer dollars floating around for this cause. You’d think the government would select its finest employees to oversee the deals. Instead, CMS violated federal rules by assigning unqualified employees to oversee contracts worth more than $10 million, according to the audit. In one case an unqualified agency employee, who didn’t even have lower-level certification to supervise contracts over $25,000, oversaw a $130 million deal for more than a year. In a separate case documented by the IG, an unauthorized CMS worker allowed an eye-popping $28 million cost overrun that wasn’t even identified until the agency finally assigned a more knowledgeable staffer to take over the deal.

These atrocious examples are probably not the half of it because CMS couldn’t even provide investigators with routine documents that should have been readily available. That means there’s no telling the true magnitude of the damage. As for accountability, there appears to be none as is often the case in government. The Obama officials—former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and former CMS head Marilyn Tavenner—in charge of this boondoggle are both gone and it’s highly unlikely either will face any consequences.

Hey, what’s a little graft and embezzlement of tax dollars among friends? Besides, they are Democrats, and we always forgive Democrats for their corrupt practices. More important, it is never their fault. Bush and Reagan and that evil right wing conspiracy is obviously to blame.

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Philomena Cunk’s Moments of Wonder: Time

6:01 pm

An evening pause: This hilarious parody of BBC science documentaries, which are not much different than many American PBS science documentaries, captures perfectly the typical empty-headed interviewers that I myself have sometimes had to deal with during too many of my television and radio appearances. They are not only often ignorant of some basic science, they are also ignorant of their own ignorance. They think they know a lot, and thus are easily confused and defensive when suddenly confronted with that ignorance.

I especially like her description of “the famous Greenwich Marillion line.”

Hat tip to Danae.

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Saudia Arabia condemns 17-year-old to crucification for protesting government

11:58 am

The religion of peace: Saudia Arabia has condemned a 17-year-old boy to death by crucification for participating in anti-government protests.

Ali was initially held at a juvenile offenders facility, where he was denied access to lawyers. Evidence indicates that he was tortured and forced to sign a document which was tantamount to a confession. The signed document formed the basis of the case against him and he was convicted of the alleged offences by the Specialised Criminal Court (SCC). However, the trials failed to meet international standards. Ali and his family have strongly denied the charges against him, but, after the final appeal – which was held in secret and without Ali’s knowledge – was dismissed, there are few legal options remaining to oppose the sentence originally handed down on 27 May 2014. It is feared that Ali could be executed in a matter of days.

The case against Ali appears to be based on his familial connection to Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a 53-year old critic of the Saudi regime and a prominent religious leader in the Kingdom, who is his uncle. Mr Al Nimr was sentenced to death by crucifixion on charges including ‘insulting the King’ and delivering religious sermons that ‘disrupt national unity’. This week, it emerged that the authorities plan to execute Ali’s uncle on Thursday (17 September) sparking fears that his nephew will also be killed.

The article also notes that these arrests are not unique and are instead part of a larger crack-down in Saudia Arabia on any dissent, no matter how mild. It also illustrates the savagery and barbarism of Islam and the countries in the Middle East that practice it. Any civilized person with any sense of justice should be outraged by it.

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Students win lawsuit against university speech restrictions

9:46 am

Victory for free speech: Students at Dixie State University in Utah have won their lawsuit against the university’s attempt to outlaw their freedom of speech.

Students whose flyers were censored by Dixie State University in St. George, Utah, won their First Amendment lawsuit Thursday—on Constitution Day—when a settlement was reached restoring students’ rights to free speech. Three students filed the lawsuit after their flyers, with unflattering depictions of President Obama, former President George W. Bush, and Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, were banned by the university. Dixie State claimed no flyers that “mock” or “disparage” individuals were allowed.

As part of Thursday’s settlement, Dixie State agreed to revise campus policies to meet First Amendment standards. These include the university’s unconstitutional flyer approval process, posting policies, club event policies, and “free speech zone” policy. The university also must pay $50,000 in damages and attorney’s fees and provide training to administrators on the campus’ new speech policies. [Emphasis mine]

The broad speech rules set by the university were so vague that they literally could ban any speech they didn’t like, which they then did. This is the typical behavior of a fascist. I am also sure that they would be offended by my characterization of them as fascists, and would try to shut me up for doing so. Also the behavior of a fascist.

Read it all. The story demonstrates again that if people are willing to stand up against this leftwing state religion, they can win.

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Worker fired because lesbian was bothered by his Christianity.

9:06 am

Fascists: A factory worker in Ohio has lost his job merely because he talked about his Christian faith with a lesbian and she complained to management.

Rouston had spent the past 13 years as a material handler for Middletown, Ohio-based Precision Strip, and he was well known for sharing his Christian faith with everyone at the company. So it was not unusual that he did so in the form of a message to a new employee, who happened to be lesbian. Rouston and this particular colleague got into a discussion – outside work hours over Facebook – about whether Christians hate homosexuals, and in an attempt to demonstrate that Christians do not hate homosexuals, Rouston – who lives in nearby Monroe, Ohio – recommended that she see the film Audacity, which was actually produced for the purpose of addressing that very issue.

And that’s where Rouston’s trouble started, leading all the way up to his termination for making her “uncomfortable”: Routson was told that he was terminated not because of his faith, but for making his co-workers “uncomfortable.”

In other words, he was told by his boss that, because this was what the lesbian wanted, he was forbidden when not at work from discussing his religion with anyone. When he didn’t obey this absurd demand, he was fired. Do you think the company would have fired the lesbian if she had started advocating homosexual politics off work and a Christian complained? Not a chance.

Once again, we need to note that at no point did anyone prevent the homosexual person from practicing their lifestyle. All the Christian wanted was the freedom to express his opinion, as guaranteed by the first amendment. In today’s American, controlled by the leftwing state religion, such freedom unfortunately no longer exists.

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Hawaii arranges to schedule next TMT protest

8:34 am

The Hawaiian government, after allowing the protesters of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) to live for months on Mauna Kea in defiance of an emergency order closing the mountain, has agreed to give the protesters advance warning when TMT plans to restart construction so they can get there to block it.

The short article spins things to favor the protest and to hide the fact that the state is acting as their supporter. Similar media spin here. Because of this, the protesters have decided there is no need for them to continue their 24 hour vigil on the mountain. They left without removing their structures, and the state has said it will likely not remove them. How convenient!

As I’ve said earlier, it is time that the TMT seriously consider other sites for this telescope. Hawaii doesn’t want them.

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Ted Cruz, Sitting Pretty

10:11 pm

Link here. The author makes a strong case for Cruz’s smart strategic positioning during the campaign, as I have. Right now, should the other outsiders Trump or Carson or Fiorina falter, Cruz is in exactly the right place to pick up their supporters. Moreover, unlike the others he has been very carefully building support within the organizational base of the Republican Party, which has been as disgusted with its leadership as the voters have been.

A lot can happen in the next year, but I must say that I continue to be impressed with Cruz’s campaign work.

I say this not as a partisan Republican advocate. I do not trust any of these politicians, including Cruz. They want power, which makes me always suspicious of everything they do. However, I as a voter have to try to pick the best candidate who can also win the election. Cruz’s politics since his election in 2012 have been right on the money, while his smart strategy in the campaign speaks well for him as a candidate.

Best of all, imagine him debating Hillary Clinton in the main election. His calm but intelligent thoughtful debating style will eat her alive!

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Students defy school restrictions on free speech

3:48 pm

Defiance: Students in two high schools in Virginia and Texas this week pushed back against school officials who punished them for wearing flag emblems the school disapproved of, specifically the American and Confederate flags.

In the case of the American flag, the student was threatened with suspension because he was wearing a shirt with the flag on it and the school insists shirts must be solid. When he and his family questioned the suspension, the school backed off.

In the case of the Confederate flag, it appears the students had organized a protest against the school’s ban of that symbol.

“This is nothing about racism. This is about where we come from, what our ancestors did and what everybody here’s family has fought for, the right to do what we want,” Christiansburg High senior Andrew Love said.

Rules at Christiansburg High School and three other county schools do not allow students to display the Confederate flag because it’s considered offensive. Last month students were told to remove Confederate flag bumper stickers from their cars.

The issue here has nothing to do with racism. It has to do with free speech. The school has no business telling anyone what they can say or cannot say, even if that statement is contained in their clothes. That the school had the nerve to demand that the students remove bumper stickers on their cars is beyond outrageous and illustrates that this has nothing to do with maintaining discipline in the school The administrators want to stamp out opinions they disagree with.

Kudos to the students for fighting back. We need more courage like this.

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New images from Pluto

3:32 pm

Mountains and glaciers on Pluto

Cool image time! As expected, the New Horizons team has made its weekly press announcement, though on Thursday instead of Friday, releasing new images taken by the spacecraft during its July 14 flyby.

The image above has been cropped and reduced by me to fit. Make sure you look at the full resolution image.

Just 15 minutes after its closest approach to Pluto on July 14, 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft looked back toward the sun and captured a near-sunset view of the rugged, icy mountains and flat ice plains extending to Pluto’s horizon. The smooth expanse of the informally named Sputnik Planum (right) is flanked to the west (left) by rugged mountains up to 11,000 feet (3,500 meters) high, including the informally named Norgay Montes in the foreground and Hillary Montes on the skyline. The backlighting highlights more than a dozen layers of haze in Pluto’s tenuous but distended atmosphere. The image was taken from a distance of 11,000 miles (18,000 kilometers) to Pluto; the scene is 230 miles (380 kilometers) across.

The mountains are made of ice, the glacier flows of nitrogen.

The main takeaway so far is that Pluto might have a “hydrological” cycle like Earth’s, but instead of water cycling from ice to water to gas to rain, it appears it is nitrogen and other strange materials.

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