As the Conservative Progresses

The study of the world’s surface temperatures by Richard Muller was partially bankrolled by a foundation connected to global warming deniers. He pursued long-held skeptic theories in analyzing the data. 

Stop the presses.  The end of days is surely upon us.

There is no reason now to be a skeptic about steadily increasing temperatures, Muller wrote recently in The Wall Street Journal’s editorial pages, a place friendly to skeptics. 

But beyond that is the thing he now says he is wrong about – this is practically the foundation of all things ‘conservative’: Climate Change!  Of course, there’s only so long that you can keep decrying the evidence before your legacy is that you were an idiot.  Eventually, even the most anti-progressive, evidence-ignoring conservatives among us finally conceded that maybe the Earth isn’t flat, after all.

Nothing makes a conservative happier than to say that Climate Change is just a bunch of hype.  Denying Climate Change is a core belief of the conservative.  You find a Republican and they can’t wait to talk about how Climate Change and Global Warming are totally fictitious inventions of the progressive mind.

Every time it gets cold my Republican friends can’t wait to be first to point out that Global Warming is a myth.  In the early portion of this year, we got snow.  What I heard that day: So much for Global Warming; Are these liberals gonna tell me about Global Warming now?; Yeah, Climate Change is real…whatever.  I can look outside and see that Global Warming is bullshit.  This is because it snowed….in the WINTER.  As unfathomable as that sounds, it snowed between December and March.

There is a large percentage who literally have no distinction between ‘weather’ and ‘climate’.  And will argue with you about it.  And their Hannity-inspired understanding of Climate Change is that it means there will never be another cold day on Earth.

So back to the story – another great part about it is that study was funded in large part by the neo-con Koch brothers:

One-quarter of the $600,000 to do the research came from the Charles Koch Foundation, whose founder is a major funder of skeptic groups and the tea party.

The Koch brothers, Charles and David, run a large privately held company involved in oil and other industries, producing sizable greenhouse gas emissions.

When I was a child, I remember learning about the Scopes monkey trial, and how the progressives ‘modernists’ of 1925 helped bring the conservative ‘fundamentalists’ into the modern era by illustrating scientific evidence, while keeping religious beliefs out of school.  Maybe they will re-learn that lesson next. Or maybe they’ll re-learn about the heliocentric system. Stay tuned for part 2 of the “As the Conservative Progresses”.

Hopefully between things like this combined with the completely ludicrous Conservative candidates for 2012, the USA can move forward again.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/30/richard-muller-global-warming_n_1066029.html?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl12|sec1_lnk2|108718

Running Up the Score

Yes, the Saints ran up the score.  It’s a bit distasteful.  It would have been better to put the 2nd string guys in and let them play.  And if the 2nd string runs it up, fine.  There’s something about that much superiority just dominating on so much weakness that we typically find – well, to reuse the word – distasteful.

Now that I’ve said that: Those Colts players…they go to the bank with the same paycheck whether they win or lose.  They get paid the same whether they fight or whether they lay down.  And the Colts have just destroyed other teams, too.  And certainly these guys make enough money that we don’t need to feel sorry for them.  So if you suck, you suck.  And if you can’t play, you’re gonna get your ass kicked out on the field.  Clearly the Colts management made some severe mistakes by thinking that Manning was indestructible. Clearly the team designed by Colts ownership is a total mess and this is their fault, not Sean Payton’s fault.  The Colts are terrible because they never planned for a QB injury.  If that’s the team Indy is going to roll out onto an NFL field….they’re going to get their ass kicked.  To be sure, most teams struggle when the starting QB is hurt, but not this bad.  And not when they have other talent on that team.  The O-line has always protected Manning.  The WR / TE group is better than most teams.  The RB committee is fairly talented, certainly serviceable.  With even a partially decent QB they’d be in better shape.

On the positive side, the harder they get their ass-kicked, the faster the heads start rolling and the sooner they can begin recovering.

As for the Saints starters who are out there, you can’t blame them for doing their best.  They have fans. Their stats are being recorded.  So this decision to leave the starters in falls to Payton. It would have been better for Payton to bench a couple of guys.  But I don’t feel sorry for the Colts.

When this group calls you hypocritical, you’re in trouble

If a 400-pound person says “Dang, you eat a lot of food”, then you really eat a lot of food.
If Darth Vader says you’re really a control freak, then you are really a…you get the idea.

So if Republicans are calling you an inconsistent flip-flopper…well, there’s not much doubt – you are really a flip-floppin’ hypocrite.  And if they’re calling you these things even though you are the GOP front-runner…ouch.  And throw in a reference to you being like Dukakis?  Wow!

Conservative mainstay George Will isn’t exactly jumping on the Mitt Romney bandwagon.

Writing in Sunday’s Washington Post, he bashes the GOP contender for failing to take consistent positions on many key issues. “A straddle is not a political philosophy; it is what you do when you do not have one,” Will writes.

Will calls Romney’s subtly shifting positions on ethanol subsidies, for example, “a policy pretzel.”

He also takes aim at Romney’s failure to express a clear opinion last week about an Ohio ballot initiative that would affect collective bargaining rights in the state.

Romney, Will continues, “is a recidivist reviser of his principles who is not only becoming less electable; he might damage GOP chances of capturing the Senate…Republicans may have found their Michael Dukakis.”

This is hardly the first time Mitt Romney has been accused of inconsistency, of course. His changing positions on healthcare, immigration, climate change, and more have made for frequent charges of hypocrisy from his GOP rivals, not to mention liberal critics like Jon Stewart.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/29/george-will-mitt-romney-pretzel-candidate_n_1065502.html?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl1|sec3_lnk1|108607

 

Stewart shows clips of a couple of Romney flip-flops, including the Ohio debacle:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-october-27-2011/indecision-2012—scared-mittless

But then Steward proceeds to say why Romney can do this in a look at the competition:  http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-october-27-2011/indecision-2012—scared-mittless

 

Tebowing is funny

‘Tebowing‘ (verb): to get down on a knee and start praying, even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different.

Good stuff.  Planking and Owling are now a memory as Tebowing takes the stage.  The site http://www.tebowing.com has some good photos, like Voldemort Tebowing (above), or one of my favorites – a cat Tebowing.

Good show.  And even if some people say “it’s the greatest show ever”, it’s gonna be funny to others.  Ask Lady Gaga.  And yes, it’s a show.  Even the pope doesn’t pray that often at work.  The first two images are amusing, but they don’t quite grasp the full meaning of Tebowing as well as this:

I like to think about the ridicule if someone did that several times a day at the office.  You’re walking down the hall to get some more coffee and the guy in front of you drops down and starts Tebowing.  Everyone gets up after a meeting and heads toward the door and someone Tebows every time they leave the conference room.  Maybe someone gets their Tebow going before every conference call.  “That Shelly, bless her heart, she gets down on her knees and prays before every conference call”.  It’d be great. I hope it catches on at work.

Of course, most of us already know that God doesn’t care about sports teams (except the Cowboys).  The score of a game is not swayed by who prays the most (yes, I’m completely sure).    He didn’t help you score a TD because you prayed more than the cornerback and safety.  Anyone who thinks that – should start up the God Football League.  Payers get into uniform, pads and helmets and all, and then go out on to their end zone and pray for the scoreboard to change.  At halftime, they switch sides (gotta switch sides).  After regulation, we check the scoreboard and see if we have to go to overtime.

Just remember that religion is like a penis.  It’s OK to have it.  It’s OK to be proud of it.  But…

UPDATE: Here’s some other good ones….

….Treebowing!

TeBarning!

Hey Tebow, you’re holding up the line!

Hunting season – for 700+ wolves?

This charity has a 4 star rating – the highest rating given by Charity Navigator. 

Still Sticking Up for Wolves in the Northern Rockies

Up to 1/2 of wolves in Northern Rockies to be killed

Dear Guardian,

Call us stubborn, but we just don’t like dead wolves. That’s why we’re in court for the third time this year to protect Northern Rockies wolves from Congress and state mismanagement.

The latest bout over wolves began last April, when Congress passed a legislative rider that contravened a judicial order and eliminated federal protection for wolves in Idaho, Montana, and parts of Utah, Oregon and Washington. WildEarth Guardians, Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Friends of the Clearwater sued. Scientists believe wolves are not recovered in the Northern Rockies. We contend they should still be protected under the Endangered Species Act.

The U.S. District Court in Montana upheld the rider in August, although Judge Donald Malloy wrote that, if not constrained by what he believed was poorly reasoned case law from superior courts, he would have ruled the rider unconstitutional.

http://wg.convio.net/site/R?i=3Js8XNshjMojHPqoQByxaQ

We appealed to the Ninth Circuit, which expedited the case for hearing this autumn, but not before Idaho and Montana announced new hunting seasons for wolves

http://wg.convio.net/site/R?i=LhK2sIOudQYlvzMKQ-c3Dw

that could eliminate one half of the Northern Rockies population – or more than 775 wolves. We have twice filed motions to stop hunting while the appellate court considers our case.

Wolf Hunting to Commence

http://wg.convio.net/site/R?i=Qn_vPF39HlP6bws1kYrhkQ

The court is considering our current request. Meanwhile, Montana and Idaho have
issued more than 36,000 licenses to hunt wolves this fall and the kill rate is likely
to accelerate as snow falls in the Rockies and the animals become easier to
track.

http://wg.convio.net/site/R?i=ghq5WFSxpXbEAx9dKAyNmw

So what’s next, and how can you help?

Our legal team is preparing to present oral arguments in two weeks for what may be our last chance to restore protection to wolves in the Northern Rockies. We seek to preserve wolves and their critical role as ecosystem engineers. We want to protect the public’s interest, YOUR interest, in wolf conservation and the enormous
investment in the 16-year wolf recovery program. And we hope to overturn misguided legislation that harms wolves and sets a bad precedent for Congressional meddling in endangered species management.

Thank you for your continued support for WildEarth Guardians’ Wolves in the American West Campaign, through activism, and through your generous financial gifts – we hope you will consider making a donation today.

http://wg.convio.net/site/R?i=Xnh4y98ZnVwF9nvr28Gq4w

We’ll continue to keep you posted as events unfold.

For the Wolves,

John Horning
Executive Director
WildEarth Guardians

Donate
http://wg.convio.net/site/R?i=K0mc5X8WB8ls5sACYiIdlA

You Tube
http://wg.convio.net/site/R?i=G9ckJMyG2adgvw34qu-Xbg

http://wg.convio.net/site/R?i=Yq9jooygMIhDZ7M93LAs0A

Charity Navigator 4 Star
http://wg.convio.net/site/R?i=nPwuGcCPFGCEaQZafXDa_w

War Fail

One-in-three vets say Iraq, Afghan wars were not worth it

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44777299/ns/us_news-life/#.Toxa6skk6so

About half (51 percent) of post-9/11 veterans say that the use of military force to fight terrorism creates hatred that breeds more terrorism; 40 percent say it is the best way to defeat terrorism. These views are nearly identical to those of the general public.

Hank Williams Jr stuff

Some Hank Williams Jr tweets!

Hank Williams Jr new song: “Are you ready for retirement??”

Hank Williams Jr, says President is his enemy – compares President to Hitler, says the #TeaParty is unfairly labeled as extremists.

Hank Williams Jr, commonly seen on confederate flags, says he & the #TeaParty are unfairly labeled as racist. 

 

if we’ve learned anything from hank williams jr comparing obama to hitler it’s that you can’t ask a guy in a cowboy hat about black people

@HankJr says POTUS is his enemy. Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong Il, Chavez, Castro, & late Bin Laden all agree. @espn wisely removes him from MNF.

Fox News to Hank Williams Jr.: “so you gonna run for office?” Fox News on Dixie Chicks: “Natalie Maines BLASTS President”

Does @995thewolfdfw still not play artists like Hank Williams Jr. who criticize the President? Hi @1NatalieMaines.

 

Small Central Government

Republicans want to move back to a time where the states had all the power and the federal government had much less power.

The USA has already tried a limited federal government.  After the Revolutionary War, the USA had a weak federal government with a lot of power left to the states, known as the Articles of Confederation.  The government of the United States failed in less than a decade. The government was rebuilt with a strong federal government under the US Constitution.

Here’s a great (fun) explanation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3wdJghPudk

—

It’s in the bible

Stop using the argument that “it’s in the bible”.   Here’s all I can think of when I hear “it’s in the bible”….slavery rules, stoning disobedient teens, marrying captive women.

Exodus 21

New International Version (NIV)

Exodus 21

 ¹ “These are the laws you are to set before them:

Hebrew Servants

 ² “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. ³ If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. ⁴ If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free. ⁵ “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ ⁶ then his master must take him before the judges.^[a] He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.

 ⁷ “If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do.

²⁰ “Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, ²¹ but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property.

Deuteronomy 21:18-21

King James Version (KJV)

  ¹⁸If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:

 ¹⁹Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;

 ²⁰And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.

 ²¹And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

 

Deuteronomy 21:11 NIV
New International Version
If you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife.