United States of (Sc)America

Ground Zero

2010-08-18T01:12:00.004Z

No, this isn't supposed to be a comment on the proposed mosque.

I doubt it'll be built. If it is built, I doubt it will remain standing for long. Either way, it's just another diversion the media uses on slow news days.

Back to the point:

The term "ground zero" had for decades been used to indicate the point of detonation of a nuclear device.

That all changed nine years ago.

We don't go around setting off nukes anymore. Still, folks must have hated to see that term go dormant, right? Now we misuse the term to describe the former site of the World Trade Center.

Unless there were nukes aboard those jets, calling the site "ground zero" is:

Idiotic!!!

Come up with something that makes more sense, morons!

Blame Jim Axelrod for starting the stupidity. Blame a few hundred million others for picking up that ball and running with it. Read more here.

Summer Vacation

2010-07-20T21:08:00.003Z

You five (5) loyal readers have probably missed me. I have to admit, I've been busy goofing off. Don't worry, I'll get back in the swing of things soon.

Although I use Yahoo! for their email, their "news" is just about 100% garbage. Today, they've got a little "story" about twelve (12) alternate uses for coffee filters. If you really care, read them here.

For some reason, they left off an obvious one. Maybe Ms. Bongiorno is superstitious and didn't want to have an unlucky list of thirteen suggestions.

Lucky you...I'll let you in on the use Bongiorno omitted:

When you're out of toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenex, corn cobs, and can't find your Sears catalog, grab a handful of filters before heading in to do your business...

Big Brother's in their backyard...

2010-05-06T18:04:00.003Z

...as well as their garbage.

Get used to being told what you can and cannot throw in the trash, Americans.

Canandaigua, New York has mandated recycling. Catch up here.

Now, Alexandria, Virginia - just a stone's throw from the U.S. capital - is about to do those western New Yorkers one better. Read more here.

The City Council added a mandatory $9 charge to its residents' annual waste collection fee.

That cash -- roughly $180,000 collected from 19,000 residents-- will pay for new larger recycling carts equipped with computer microchips, which will allow the city to keep tabs on its bins and track resident participation in the city's recycling program.

"If you know who's participating in the programs, you can focus your education and outreach to those who are not participating," said Stacy Herring, Alexandria's recycling coordinator.

The lone voice of reason on the City Council was Frank Fannon.

Councilman Frank Fannon, the lone City Council member to oppose the new recycling bins, said he was against increased government spending, not recycling.

"I thought this was just another fee that we didn't have to pass on to the residents," he said.

How much is being spent on personnel (recycling director?), fuel, sorting, etc. for this program? Wouldn't it be cheaper to make it voluntary?

I remember recycling glass and newspapers way back in the 60's and 70's. Nobody forced us to do it, we just did. We didn't need to hire recycling "specialists" to tell us how to do it.

People saved and bundled their newspapers. We Boy Scouts would go around town with a pickup and trailer to pick them up. It was then sold to the paper recycler as a little fundraiser for our troop.

Glass was actually fun to recycle. We'd help dad load up the back of the pickup and head for the dump. Our regular garbage got thrown off for the dozers to bury with everyone else's trash. The glass bins were the next stop. Huge dumpsters were labeled with the proper colors and we went to town. Nobody cared if you smashed glass there - as long as the green bottles got broken in the green glass bin, the brown glass in the brown glass bin, and the clear glass in the clear glass bin.

The town then sold the glass to recyclers.

Pretty danged simple, eh?

Why do our representatives have to make everything so danged difficult?

Isn't it sad that we have local, state, and federal representatives that don't listen to us? How is it that they are able to ignore the will of the people? Why are they called representatives when they don't represent us?

Oh yeah, they represent special interests!

Psychics

2010-05-05T01:32:00.039Z

If you were truly a psychic, wouldn't you make millions in the stock market next week?

Wouldn't you go to Las Vegas and get rich at the roulette wheel?

Don't you think you'd pick lottery numbers and win millions?

You'd think a true psychic would be independently wealthy, right?

So, why do psychics resort to charging for their "services" and con folks into paying to be "trained" by them?

There are obviously many who buy into this crapola. It sure must be difficult for the gullible to find a "legitimate" psychic or medium, right? Thank God there's a site called Best Psychic Directory!

Those wonderful folks even warn you about scam artists:

Warning About Scam Artists!

People need to be careful of greedy scam artists who are pretending to be legitimate psychics or psychic mediums. These frauds are good at deceiving people, especially people who are grieving or going through a desperate time in life. NEVER give money to any psychic or psychic medium who promises to remove a curse or spell for a fee. Moreover, never give money to any psychic or medium who asks you to "wire" a large sum of money to purchase a candle, crystal or any product that they say is going to remove a curse, a spell or bad luck. You are not cursed. There is no spell. They are merely using fear to manipulate you.

Sounds like they really care, doesn't it?

Want to become a psychic or medium yourself? You're in luck!!

Later this month, you can travel to Kennybunkport, Maine for Psychic Mediumship Training! Sure, $399 for the workshop fee seems a bit steep, but it includes two buffet meals!

Enough already!!

Iceland Saves Earth!

2010-04-18T14:44:00.006Z

Seems that volcano those Icelanders set off the other day will result in a climate change that could save the world from global warming!

A cooling trend is certain to result from the ash spewed into the air. Early estimates show that the eruption has already pumped nearly the same amount of hot, worthless material into the atmosphere as came out of Washington, D.C. during the health care reform debate.

Concern in the White House is that this could actually lead to a reversal of our planet's warming. Saying he wants to "stay ahead of the curve," President Obama announced sweeping changes that will affect millions of Americans.

Monday, he'll sign an executive order that will penalize those driving cars and light trucks rated at more than 20 miles per gallon.

"We need to take drastic measures now, before it's too late!" said Obama. "Starting tomorrow, during each work day, all government vehicles will be required to be left idling when not in use. To pay for the fuel costs, we're going to have to tax every hybrid vehicle, as they're not doing their part to increase the carbon dioxide levels necessary to maintain the planet's current temperatures. I'm calling on all my fellow world leaders to issue the same directives in their countries as well."

When asked what we'll do about vehicles with gasoline and diesel engines that get more than 20 miles per gallon?

"I'd like every American - along with the tens of millions of illegal aliens driving in our country without licenses and insurance - to follow the government's lead on this. If their car or truck gets more than an EPA estimated 20 miles per gallon, they should leave their vehicles idling during the workday. We'll require employers to pick up the tab on fuel costs for all their employees."

Al Gore's already shopping a new book, This Time For Sure! The subtitle - the true story of an even less convenient truth - indicates he'll do an about-face from his previous work.

2010-04-07T01:50:00.001Z

51st State: Mexico?

2010-04-04T20:34:00.002Z

A couple of nights ago, late-night radio conman George Noory, host of Coast to Coast AM, suggested that the United States could solve the problem of illegal immigration by taking over Mexico and making it the 51st state of the Union.

We're already in debt up to our ears and can't possibly make good on our entitlement promises as it is. Why in the world would we want to take on even more problems?

I'm sure he'll get a lot of flak for that statement and will retract it any day now. He'll probably say he was "joking". The problem is, just about everything his show presents is a joke. It's pretty much a radio version of The National Enquirer.

For those of you unfamiliar with Noory, he's making a great living off the gullibility of the masses. He brings on guests like The Numbers Lady to prey on ding-dongs who can't see through even the flimsiest of stories.

Noory occasionally has a legitimate guest, but most of the time his guests are flat-out liars like Richard C. Hoagland.

A while back, he called out Truther/Conman, Alex Jones. It seems Jones had concocted a big, fat fib (Charlie Sheen's "interview" of President Obama) and Noory was distancing himself from nutcase Alex just as fast as he could.

It didn't take long, however, for them to reconcile. You see, fans, it's all about money - and how best to separate listeners from theirs.

Many miss the show's original host, Art Bell. Instead of pushing annexation of Mexico, he'd probably support the nuking of it...

The Recycling Myth

2010-04-04T20:16:00.002Z

An article by that title was posted back in 2008. Read it here.

The people of Sweden are thus forced to clean their trash before carefully separating different kinds of materials. This is the future, they say, and it is supposedly good for the environment. (What about the economy?)

No, this is not...

2010-04-01T16:43:00.004Z

...an April Fool joke...

Big Brother is watching you. He's also watching your trash. Read more here.

You'd better be using clear trash bags:

Opaque trash bags were not collected and instead left at the curb and tagged, and if they weren't removed by the owner within a week, they were tagged with an ordinance violation.

Here's an idea: What if they just put the black bag-o-trash inside a clear trash bag?

You'd better not toss that Dr. Pepper can:

This spring, the city will take another step in enforcing the collection of recyclable materials. Starting next week, warning notices will be issued to residents who do not put out any recyclables for collection. Also, the city may issue warning notices "where it is evident that recyclable materials have been mixed in with the garbage," said Kay James, city manager.

Watch the news video, Recycling Police, here.

How long before we have neighbors ratting out neighbors? When will children begin calling in tips that their parents' who aren't recycling? How did we get to this point in our country?

I've got a couple of dumb questions. Maybe the folks in Canandaigua can provide some dumb answers.

How much in non-recyclable/non-renewable resources will be used to enforce this ordinance?
Why not have all trash and recyclables collected by the same crews/trucks and sent to a central sorting facility staffed by welfare recipients working in exchange for their benefits?

Keep your friends close...

2010-03-30T14:29:00.003Z

...and your enemies closer. Scams and lies come from the left and they come from the right. Fibbers are everywhere!

Now that I'm up to ten (10) regular readers, let's assume that at least a few (three or four?) lean toward the political extremes.

Whether you're a right-winger or a left-winger, you cannot do your "cause" justice by reading only material written by others from similar viewpoints.

You must, at least occasionally, read material from the opposition.

Even though I don't often link to sites with views opposite mine, I do visit them and keep up with what the "other guy/gal" is up to.

You should too.

Think the health care bill signed into law last week was the greatest thing since sliced bread? Just so you'll know why a majority of Americans are opposed to the new law, you ought to take a look at last month's Imprimis article on the subject. Read it here.

Americans understand that the problems facing our health care system today, real as they are, can be addressed without nationalizing one-sixth of the American economy and moving us past the tipping point toward a European-style social welfare state. They know that we can solve these problems while at the same time remaining a free society and acting consistently with the principles that have made us the greatest and most prosperous nation on earth. It is our duty now as their representatives to come together and do so.
Unfortunately, health care reform was passed and good old Uncle Sam is in charge of yet another aspect of our lives...

F.Y.I.

2010-03-28T21:14:00.002Z

Here's a comment I just posted on this morning's "Dragging Us Down":

I understand that many of you are new to the site. My nine regular readers understand that I'm an independent that didn't vote for Bush. I didn't vote for Obama, either.

Both are liars who have managed to take away our freedoms. My rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness have been seriously damaged by the federal government under their watch.

This didn't start with Bush and it won't end with Obama. It's a system the two major parties have set up to keep the common man down. It will work as long as we continue to send our money to Washington and "hope" for something in return.

I've never attended a "Tea Party", nor will I.

My site is here to point out the scammers and liars that are damaging our way of life.

Whether it's something as minor as a bogus product like "Head-On" or as major as the government take-over of private businesses, it's all part of a pattern of lies and distortions.

I'll ask Dee this:

Do you think illegal immigration is a good thing for the United States?

It's a simple yes or no question.

Yes, or no?

Even the illegal aliens themselves know the answer is "no".

It's only logical that illegal immigration hurts any country, that's why almost every civilized nation on Earth has laws prohibiting it.

Legal immigration, on the other hand, is good for our country. That's why we have laws that allow/regulate legal immigration.

If you honestly think illegal immigration is okay, leave the front door to your home wide open and don't lift a finger to stop anyone from waltzing into your kitchen and eating you out of house and home.

Don't say a thing when someone else is in your bed. If someone opens up the garage and drives off with your Prius, just let them go.

If you're not willing to do things like that at your own home, you must be a racist, right?

Dragging Us Down

2010-03-28T12:59:00.007Z

Illegal immigration is eroding our standard of living here in the United States of (Sc)America.

Maybe you've been reading b.s. like this and this.

Maybe you think the people who broke into our country are going to "Rebuild the American Economy", right?

Maybe you think illegal immigration has actually improved our standard of living here and that bringing more immigrants into our country would be a good thing. Are you serious?

If so, you are so far removed from reality that you can no longer be helped. Go immediately to the nearest nuthouse and commit yourself. Just like they're telling you about health care reform, it'll be for the good of the country...

Barack Hussein Obama and John Sidney McCain III are teaming up in the "path to citizenship" scam that will help turn our nation into a turd-world country.

People here illegally did not come to America to become Americans. They came to America to take advantage of Americans.

They've discovered that we will accept the lowering of our standards in return for the cheap, untrained labor they provide.

By hiring illegal aliens to mow our lawns, milk our cows, pour our concrete, and roof our houses, we're able to keep our young people out of those "menial" jobs, right?

That way they've got more time to update their Facebook pages...

Time to Lighten the Mood

2010-03-24T10:35:00.002Z

from xkcd

Distress!

2010-03-21T19:26:00.009Z

Our nation is no longer creeping toward socialism.

Rather, we are speeding toward it like a runaway Toyota!

Whatever your political views, you cannot deny this fact. It started with FDR and continued with LBJ. Now, final steps toward socialism are being put in place under BHO.

The health care reform package being rammed down our throats will:

result in lower quality health care,
allow your tax dollars to fund abortion,
grant coverage to tens of millions of illegal aliens,
raise costs for the average American,
grant special exceptions/privileges to a handful of states,
raise taxes for the average American,
increase dependency on the federal government, and
ultimately bankrupt our country.

It's likely this bill will pass. Once the president signs it into law, I think you'll see plenty of flags flying upside down around our country.

Americans who had hoped our country would reverse course are disgusted with this "final straw".

I'm calling on Americans to fly their flags upside down, not only as a protest against this bill, but as a sign of distress. Our republic is in peril.

Our nation is being led down a road that means the erosion of our freedoms and sentences our children and grandchildren to a life as servants to Big Brother.

Read more on flying flags upside down here.

Not Free Credit Report Dot Com

2010-03-19T21:56:00.003Z

If they weren't making money hand over fist, they couldn't afford to advertise, now could they?

So, how do they earn a profit with a name like FreeCreditReport.com? They sell you all kinds of extras you don't need! It's a brilliant scam, isn't it?

They sure don't want you to know uou can check your credit score three times each year - for FREE!

Time for the facts...pun intended.

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) was signed into law in December 2003. The FACT Act, a revision of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, allows consumers to get one free comprehensive disclosure of all of the information in their credit file from each of the three national credit reporting companies once every 12 months through a Central Source. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) was signed into law in December 2003. The FACT Act, a revision of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, allows consumers to get one free comprehensive disclosure of all of the information in their credit file from each of the three national credit reporting companies once every 12 months through a Central Source.

Each of the three (3) credit reporting agencies are supposed to give you a free annual report on your credit rating. If you're able to divide the twelve (12) months in a year into three (3) equal parts, you're all set. That's right, you can check with a different agency every four (4) months...free of charge.

For example, you might want to get a report from Experian in March, one from Equifax in July, and another from TransUnion in November.

It's all under one "roof" at AnnualCreditReport.com. Visit that site here and don't spend a dime to track your credit.

Occam's razor

2010-03-18T23:58:00.006Z

While it's not always the case, most of the time the simplest explanation is the correct one. Read about it here.

Do you really believe that extraterrestrials had nothing better to do than build pyramids on Earth?

Of course not!

Surely there are more exciting things to see and do in the universe than build stone pyramids in sand-covered Egypt, right?

Do you really believe that humans had such a limited knowledge of mathematics, physics, etc. that they could not have constructed these monuments themselves?

got geometry?

2010-03-16T23:14:00.004Z

Waiting for aliens to make crop circles in that wheat field down the lane?

I've got news for you:

Extraterrestrials are not going to travel across the emptiness of space just to create a work of art down in your back forty.

Repeat after me: If it is to be, it is up to me!

You and your buddies will need:

ropes,
poles,
boards
headlamps (you are working at night, right?),
a couple of hours (depending on your design), and
a plan.

Learn more here.

Forgot one more thing you may need.

Unless you have permission to destroy a farmer's crop, you may need bail money.

Must Buy!

2010-03-13T22:32:00.005Z

Ever wonder what the wack-job conspiracy theorists are doing to our country (and world)?

There's no doubt they've had a great influence on how the average person shapes - and lives in - his/her "reality".

David Aaronovitch has written a book about this subject called Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History.

Learn about - and order - the book on Amazon here.

Listen to Aaronovich's appearance on NPR's All Things Considered here.

An article with comments is here.

I know it's not a big deal, but...

2010-03-13T22:09:00.002Z

...a little scam I remember from years ago was the brainchild of the Proctor & Gamble company.

They sold Zest as a product (not a soap, mind you) that didn't leave a film like soap (supposedly) did.

Bullcorn!! I never felt as "filmy" as I did after using Zest.

I can't be the only one that didn't buy into their advertising scam, right? Right? Hello? Anyone out there?

Okay, back to more important issues...

Obamism?

2010-03-06T20:00:00.005Z

Thirty years from now, what will historians call this stage in our slide toward socialism?

It's a fact that our nation is moving rapidly toward becoming a socialist country.

It all started with Roosevelt's New Deal and really picked up steam with Johnson's Great Society. Now, we've got Obama taking over automobile companies, banks, insurance, and health care.

The founding fathers believed in freedom/independence. They fought to give us freedom/independence. We've squandered that gift. We should be ashamed of ourselves for that.

The saying used to be "Better dead than Red". We were going to fight the commies with everything we had, weren't we?

What's so different now? Isn't our own government behaving just like the Soviets? Those same Russians we were committed to nuking into oblivion?

We cannot claim to be free when we are dependent on the government for nearly everything.

If we continue down this road toward socialism, almost every American will one day need the government to control their lives from the cradle to the grave.

Health care, education, employment, and retirement needs will all be "dispensed" by the United States Government.

What's that you say? Yeah, we're pretty much already there...

Another Hatin' Lib

2010-03-06T19:26:00.003Z

There appears to be quite a contrast in how the "holier than thou" crowd talks versus how they behave.

Take, for instance, Mr. Smarty-Pants, a.k.a. Steve Bremner. His profile:

I run a lot. I get outdoors as much as I can. I read and I think. I love intellectual confrontation. I'm a liberal secular humanist atheist who speaks French (and German). I am the opposite of the "Christian Right".

"I love intellectual confrontation."

Really, Steve? I left a comment on your blog with a link to my post called "Al Gore..."

Your response? First, you failed to post my comment. Next, you sent me an e-mail that said:

Crap. You're an idiot.

"I read and I think."

Honestly, Steve? How much of the information I provided did you read and think about?

So much for the liberal secular humanist atheist that loves intellectual confrontation...

Al Gore...

2010-02-28T21:18:00.006Z

...need I say more?

Is the planet warming? Maybe.

If so, is it due to human activity? Maybe.

If so, what can the United States do about it? Nothing.

That's right, my fellow Americans - nothing!

You can drive all the Japanese Prius hybrids you can find. You can put up all the windmills you can build. You can kill off each and every farting cow roaming the pastures of Wisconsin.

And still, it won't make a dent - make that a dimple - in the "problem".

You see, my friends, we're a nation of around 310 million (probably 340 million, if you count illegals) and we can't possibly counteract the actions of 5 billion crazed carbon-burners now, can we?

Read Bound to Burn here.

Read an op-ed by ~~Chicken Little~~ Al Gore here.

United States Tax Code

2010-02-21T18:03:00.005Z

Hardly natural that someone would fly a plane into a building full of IRS workers, is it? Crazy, wasn't it?

What is natural - and not so crazy - though, is the growing frustration over our country's tax code. It's complicated. It's unfair. It's a source of frustration for millions of good people in our country.

What are the chances we will ever see meaningful change in the way we're taxed? Sadly, we all know the answer to that one.

Think of all the people with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.

Eliminating the income tax, and the IRS, would mean great things for our nation as a whole, but the idea would be fought - tooth and nail - by special interests.

Have you thought about what would happen if our country were to eliminate the income tax?

If, instead, we collected taxes on the consumption end - rather than on the earning end?

Wouldn't it be better to have a national sales tax, instead of an income tax?

What would happen to all those dependent on the current system?

Of course, 100,000 people employed by the IRS would instantly be out of work. Don't forget the tax preparers that would also be out of business. It wouldn't just be H&R Block and TurboTax, either. Thousands of individuals that handle tax returns for a little extra cash would be finished, too.

Think of all the other jobs that rely on the American Sheeple to send in their tax returns every year! Even in the electronic age, printers still print the forms, postal workers still handle the returns, and folks in personnel still crank out W-2's each January.

How about when things go wrong and the IRS is breathing down your neck? You'll want a tax attorney, right? How about a CPA? If/when the time comes to settle up, will you use a tax negotiator?

Billions of dollars in income are untaxed in our country. Those folks who work "off the books" still have to consume, don't they? Can you imagine the boost in revenue if hookers, dope dealers, illegal aliens, etc. were actually taxed?

If we replace the income tax with a national sales tax, everyone - rich and poor - will have to pay their fair share.

Millions in our country don't pay any income tax whatsoever.

Hundreds of thousands depend on our current tax system for their livelihoods.

Wanna know what's really crazy? Isn't it a little bit crazy that so many of us are actually

hoping for change?

History Rewrite

2010-02-21T17:27:00.004Z

Isn't is amazing that history can be rewritten so easily? Take the new book, "The Last Train from Hiroshima" by Charles Pellegrino.

The claim is that the blast over Hiroshima was a "dud".

Some dud!

Pellegrino was duped by one Joseph Fuoco, who claimed an accident before the bombing run had resulted in Little Boy being about half-strength at the time of detonation. Read more here.

“I’m stunned,” Mr. Pellegrino said. “I liked and admired the guy. He had loads and loads of papers, and photographs of everything.”

The public record has to be repaired, he added. “You can’t have wrong history going out,” he said. “It’s got to be corrected.”

Good for Pellegrino! He's going to fix the error. How often does this sort of thing happen and it's never retracted/corrected?

A few hundred years from now, will children be taught that Jesus was gay? After all, Sir Elton John said so...

Overstimulated?

2010-01-24T13:45:00.007Z

We all know what happens when our elected officials and bureaucrats get hold of a giant pot of money, don't we?

That's right, out-of-control wasteful spending!

Whether it's a tax, a toll, a fee - you name it - they'll find a way to spend it in ways we never intended.

Check out this morning's Ft. Worth Star-Telegram article on how our transportation funds were spent. That's right, they were spent on everything but transportation!

One reason is that state legislators often require the Texas Department of Transportation to spend its enhancement dollars on pet projects by attaching last-minute "riders" to the department’s appropriation.

North Texans pay twice (or thrice):

Meanwhile, drivers in Dallas-Fort Worth, the nation’s fourth-most-congested metro area, are being asked to pay tolls on a growing number of roads and could face higher gas taxes in the coming years to make up for a shortfall of funds to expand highways.

Think it's just a Texas problem? Ask a senior citizen in New York state about the Thruway. Built in the 50's, it's the longest stretch of toll road in the nation and it was supposed to have become toll-free almost fifteen years ago. Instead, tolls continue to increase. Read more here.

So as this new toll hike takes effect, let's look at how they're spending the toll money.

For every toll dollar collected:

36 cents goes toward basic operating costs
49 cents goes toward thruway debt and capital
5 cents goes toward service areas and equipment

Your thruway dollars still support the canal, too. About 9 cents of every dollar supports the waterways.

Yeah, I wondered why it didn't add up.

That's about $80 million a year for a canal that most thruway drivers never use.

Canal directors say it's a better solution than simply taxing New York State residents to fund it.

I get it now.

Taxing New Yorkers might make the whole process more - as the double-talkers like to say - "transparent".

We can't have that, can we?

These folks are spending our money in ways we didn't approve. They're wasting our money in ways we find disgusting. Can you imagine what's happening with that stimulus money?

Check out The Mann Grant here.

It's just the tip of the iceberg...

Pass the Bark, Please

2010-01-03T16:11:00.003Z

It's difficult to understand what our politicians are thinking. Is getting re-elected more important than our country's future?

Don't these fools understand that billions of people on our planet aren't going to play along?

Think you and I can make a difference when it comes to cleaning up the planet?

Think again!

We're no match for about five billion crazed carbon-burners. Read more here.
We don’t control the global supply of carbon.

Ten countries ruled by nasty people control 80 percent of the planet’s oil reserves—about 1 trillion barrels, currently worth about $40 trillion. If $40 trillion worth of gold were located where most of the oil is, one could only scoff at any suggestion that we might somehow persuade the nasty people to leave the wealth buried. They can lift most of their oil at a cost well under $10 a barrel. They will drill. They will pump. And they will find buyers. Oil is all they’ve got.

Poor countries all around the planet are sitting on a second, even bigger source of carbon—almost a trillion tons of cheap, easily accessible coal. They also control most of the planet’s third great carbon reservoir—the rain forests and soil. They will keep squeezing the carbon out of cheap coal, and cheap forest, and cheap soil, because that’s all they’ve got. Unless they can find something even cheaper. But they won’t—not any time in the foreseeable future.

We no longer control the demand for carbon, either. The 5 billion poor—the other 80 percent—are already the main problem, not us.

Climate change legislation could destroy the American way of life.

If environmental wackos have their way, farmers would do better by planting trees instead of corn. Read more here.

The legislation would give free emissions credits, known as offsets, to farmers and landowners who plant forests and adopt low-carbon farm and ranching practices. Farmers and ranchers could sell the credits to help major emitters of greenhouse gases comply with the legislation. That revenue would help the farmers deal with an expected rise in fuel and fertilizer costs.

Meanwhile, farmers around the world will be converting forests to farmland faster than we can do the opposite.

Allison Specht, an economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation, said other studies have largely confirmed the results of the EPA and Agriculture Department analysis.

"That's one of the realities of cap-and-trade legislation. The biggest bang for your buck for carbon credits is planting trees," she said.

I think I know who's behind all this. Could the tree-huggin' Breatharian lobby be pushing this?

Food? They don't need no stinkin' food!

An Insult to All 9/11 Victims

2010-01-01T17:49:00.000Z

There are numerous 9/11 "Truthers" out there, but the one with the largest following seems to be Alex Jones.

By sounding authoritative while spouting nonsensical garbage, Jones has managed to gain quite a few followers and make an excellent living at their expense.

This snake oil salesman has found his calling:

Jones uses things we know to be true and twists them. He takes listeners on a disjointed journey full of illogical leaps.

The sad part? Our country is loaded with Truthers who are in lock-step with frauds like Jones.

Global Warming Alarmists...

2010-01-01T17:20:00.002Z

...used CFC's as a springboard. It was a wise move. Like most, I believe that fluorocarbons were damaging to our atmosphere. If it was a scam, we bought it, hook, line, and sinker. Why, then, wouldn't we buy into the "we're cooking our planet and need to stop driving SUV's" movement, right?

The Global Warming vs. Next Ice Age debate seems different. Each side cherry picks data that "proves" their theory.

Read the latest here.

I said recently in my book The Climate Caper that most scientists simply cannot believe that their colleagues would deliberately oversell a scientific conclusion for the benefit of a political cause. Dishonesty of that nature would fly in the face of everything that the rather idealistic typical scientist has been taught about his profession.

2009-12-31T17:49:00.000Z

Nuttin' like them hatin' libs...

2009-12-29T02:42:00.002Z

...to spice things up!

Got a laugh out of a couple of comments on last post. Obviously struck a nerve with the libs.

They don't like to face facts:

1. Pro-health care reformers are losing ground.

2. The American people don't want this to become the law of the land.

3. Michael Ramirez speaks for the majority of Americans who do not want the "nanny state" that's been rammed down our throats for decades.

Putting two small piles of poop together...

2009-12-28T15:56:00.003Z

...to make one big pile of poop!

We call it health care reform.

Michael Ramirez drew this:

Learning-styles

2009-12-26T14:34:00.005Z

Wouldn't you agree that the education of our children is extremely important to the future of our nation?

Why, then, are so many crackpots allowed so much influence over it?

The latest scam to be exposed was pulled off by the "learning-styles" crowd. They claimed that we'd learn best if presentations/materials were geared toward our particular learning styles.

Sounds great, doesn't it? Unfortunately, there's no solid science behind it. As we so often find out - after the fact - studies that were supposed to support theories weren't at all scientific.

Pashier, McDaniel, Rohrer, and Bjork have called out the learning-styles camp here.

Our review of the learning-styles literature led us to define a particular type of evidence that we see as a minimum precondition for validating the use of a learning-style assessment in an instructional setting. As described earlier, we have been unable to find any evidence that clearly meets this standard. Moreover, several studies that used the appropriate type of research design found results that contradict the most widely held version of the learning-styles hypothesis, namely, what we have referred to as the meshing hypothesis (Constantinidou & Baker, 2002; Massa & Mayer, 2006). The contrast between the enormous popularity of the learning-styles approach within education and the lack of credible evidence for its utility is, in our opinion, striking and disturbing. If classification of students’ learning styles has practical utility, it remains to be demonstrated.

Idealists promote ideas like learning-styles because it seems like it would be a great idea. How wonderful it would be if it were so, right?

Realists, on the other hand, see learning-styles theory for what it is: just another "feel good" education scam.

I don't dispute that we have different learning styles. However, I do think we've done children a great disservice by trying to teach them with a focus on those styles.

Try ordering at a fast-food restaurant without repeating yourself. What are the chances your order will be correctly filled? If the young person taking that order was a "visual learner", the chances aren't good.

You see, we've taught to their learning style by giving them written instructions. When we must give them verbal instructions, we make certain to repeat them until they understand.

Once is not enough...

Balloon Boy

2009-12-24T14:24:00.003Z

The latest on the Balloon Boy story is here.

Put the blame for the hoax squarely on the parents' shoulders. What a pair of losers!

He portrayed the Heenes as growing increasingly desperate as their pitches for a reality TV show kept getting turned down by networks—and the family fell deeper into a financial hole. Lewis said the Heenes set in motion the balloon hoax in early October as a way to jumpstart the effort and get some attention.

They chose Oct. 15 because the weather was cooperating and the kids were home for school with parent-teacher conferences, allowing the Heenes to report that 6-year-old Falcon had floated away, Lewis said.

Once the parents were brought in for questioning, Richard Heene feigned sleep during the lie-detector test, claiming it was some sort of diabetic episode, Lewis said.

Of course, they wouldn't have had a snowball's chance in hell of getting their hoax off the ground if it weren't for our country's rabid media. They jump on any and every "story" the second it "breaks".

Twenty-four hour news channels seemed like a good idea at first. There are so many now, though, that there's just not enough solid news to go around. They've resorted to tabloid-type journalism and it's out of hand.

Not Just Yet

2009-12-21T16:56:00.005Z

I'll post rant upon rant for a quite while before I can get to the Global Warming scam.

Give me some time - there are so many that got here "first".

Take the "We never walked on the moon!" crowd. It's absolutely sickening that young people today would even think about buying into that one. You might be surprised at how many believe it was all an elaborate hoax.

Ten years ago, a Gallup poll showed the 89% of us believed the moon landings were real. Six percent thought they were faked, and five percent were undecided. A Time/CNN poll in 1995 showed a shift to 83% believed, 6% didn't, and 11% weren't sure. Read about it here.

While I find those numbers disturbing, it gets worse. About.com has a newer poll here. While it's probably not as scientific as the others, I spot a trend.

Even with my vote for "real", that choice was picked by only 78%. Nineteen percent think we never walked on the moon and another one percent aren't sure. Check out current results (15,598 votes up to now) here.

Where's the respect for the thousands upon thousands of people who made the landings a reality?

How are the scammers who profit from the hoax theory allowed to get away with it?

We have laws that prevent criminals from capitalizing on their "fame". So, why are these jackasses allowed to get rich by smearing heroic Americans?

It's Getting Worser and Worser

2009-12-19T20:45:00.006Z

I laugh at characters like Dale Gribble. Paranoia and stupidity can be funny.

Unfortunately, the world has become overpopulated with humans that can't tell the difference between reality and fantasy.

They're taking over, folks. The Dale Gribble's are in the majority.

You know Lee Harvey Oswald killed John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Still, scammers suck millions of dollars out of y'all with books, films, shows, and sites that try to tell you otherwise.

The Kennedy assassination happened over forty-six years ago. Since then, more and more nutcases have found larger and larger audiences.

It's getting worser and worser...