Pekin Prattles: June 2006

Friday, June 30, 2006

Then vs NOW! - Thanks Michelle!

Michelle Malkin.....Tells it in a new post from Hot Air...

Lest we forget!

Particularly on this, the 4th of July Weekend.....

Duke

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

AP Global Warming Story Refuted by Senate Committee!

No less than the United States Senate Committee for Environment & Public Works has issued a release refuting several aspects of both an AP story on "universal acceptance" of global warming, and Gore's own story and statements on the issue.

The release makes clear that Gore and AP's stories and statements are both full of holes, and there is no where near universal acceptance of such theories.

From the above link:

"Here is a sampling of the views of some of the scientific critics of Gore:

Professor Bob Carter, of the Marine Geophysical Laboratory at James Cook University in Australia, on Gore’s film:

"Gore's circumstantial arguments are so weak that they are pathetic. It is simply incredible that they, and his film, are commanding public attention."

"The man is an embarrassment to US science and its many fine practitioners, a lot of whom know (but feel unable to state publicly) that his propaganda crusade is mostly based on junk science." – Bob Carter as quoted in the Canadian Free Press, June 12, 2006

Richard S. Lindzen, the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Atmospheric Science at MIT, wrote:

“A general characteristic of Mr. Gore's approach is to assiduously ignore the fact that the earth and its climate are dynamic; they are always changing even without any external forcing. To treat all change as something to fear is bad enough; to do so in order to exploit that fear is much worse.” - Lindzen wrote in an op-ed in the June 26, 2006 Wall Street Journal

Gore’s film also cites a review of scientific literature by the journal Science which claimed 100% consensus on global warming, but Lindzen pointed out the study was flat out incorrect.

“…A study in the journal Science by the social scientist Nancy Oreskes claimed that a search of the ISI Web of Knowledge Database for the years 1993 to 2003 under the key words "global climate change" produced 928 articles, all of whose abstracts supported what she referred to as the consensus view. A British social scientist, Benny Peiser, checked her procedure and found that only 913 of the 928 articles had abstracts at all, and that only 13 of the remaining 913 explicitly endorsed the so-called consensus view. Several actually opposed it.”- Lindzen wrote in an op-ed in the June 26, 2006 Wall Street Journal.

Roy Spencer, principal research scientist for the University of Alabama in Huntsville, wrote an open letter to Gore criticizing his presentation of climate science in the film:

“…Temperature measurements in the arctic suggest that it was just as warm there in the 1930's...before most greenhouse gas emissions. Don't you ever wonder whether sea ice concentrations back then were low, too?”- Roy Spencer wrote in a May 25, 2006 column.

Former University of Winnipeg climatology professor Dr. Tim Ball reacted to Gore’s claim that there has been a sharp drop-off in the thickness of the Arctic ice cap since 1970.

"The survey that Gore cites was a single transect across one part of the Arctic basin in the month of October during the 1960s when we were in the middle of the cooling period. The 1990 runs were done in the warmer month of September, using a wholly different technology,” –Tim Ball said, according to the Canadian Free Press."

Just to darned bad the MSM seems incapable of reporting both sides of the story....in their presentations there is only one!

Duke

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Mr. Chair-man?

Instapundit has a new chair and wrote of its capabilities as both a folding chair and lay-back lounger.

The Duchess and I just went through the winnowing down of multiple chairs to a pair we bought for our new RV shown here in my RV blog story on our first trip from Tampa to Jacksonville. Does not the Duchess seem relaxed.

The chairs we got were $47.?? at Walmart, and now I find they are discounted to a couple of bucks lower.

We began looking at Camping World, a superstore at our "world's largest RV dealership" Lazydays here in Tampa. Their chairs, while nice and obviously a bit heavier (is that a good thing?) than ours, are in the $129 - $199 range. Not in my way of budgeting!

Our chairs make nice nap centers, and with a pair of small plastic folding tables beside them we can have coffee/beer/wine/newspaper/books at an easy reach. The chairs are at Camping World for $10....or on-sale at two for $10.

We are finding many reasonable things for the coach.

Duke

Oops! Facts Seem to Make Murtha a Liar!

Mad Murtha has already tried, heard and convicted the Marines in Haditha.

One problem Murtha has is forgetting that actual facts might come out later...facts he did not have, and failed to consider as possible in his rants on deliberate mass killings, and coverups in Haditha.

Phil Brennan of NewsMax details the actual events...

"Inconvenient Facts" Indeed!

Support Murtha's opponent and get this old coot/deranged idiot out of there.

I suggest you also keep in mind he wants to assume high post in the Congress this fall, IF we allow the Democrats to win. You want him as a leader? Of course, he fits the Kosputin, Pelosi, Dean, Kerry mold.

Duke

Monday, June 26, 2006

G-R-R-r-r-r-r!!!! - NOW, Bring on the Charges!

Update Below!

G W Bush today spoke about as plainly as I have seen him speak, and as angrily as I have heard him in responding to a reporter's quite uninformed question about the financial tracking......

You have to SEE it as the words alone are not enough!

Go to Allahpundit's Hot Air take on this. Watch it and cheer.....then cheer more if it followed....

I sincerely hope and, yes, even pray this means the AG and whatever sources available are about to go after the "Very Old Grey Lady"......& all her cohorts!

Sic-em Fido!

Duke

Update: Michelle Malkin combines the refutation of the Keller response into a neat package...Check all the Links!

"The NYT at War With America"

Michael Barone, at Real Clear Politics issues this strong piece.

Indeed!

Meanwhile, I am still full of questions. Why, given a quite obvious violation of laws, has nothing been done and no is charged in either the NSA or financial investigation stories or any apparent action taken to stem this vile flow of information hampering us at every turn in stopping terrorists?

Is there no action that can be taken by anti-American entities such as the NYT that will trigger what should be an instant and intense reaction/investigation leading to arrests and charges on indictments?

Bush and his administration encourage this idiocy by their continuing non-action on most every issue. It seems to be a Bush pattern. No going after obvious violators of the law...from illegals crossing into the country to illegal exposures of protected information by our supposed own media.

Duke

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Perspective on NYT "Expose" & Trivialization!

The NYT is apparently playing the chicken game with the President and AG. They think they will be excused, forgotten or dismissed as too strong to tackle....despite an obvious action of sedition or near-sedition.

The entire thing hinges upon focus, and perspective. Jim Dunnigan at Strategy Page places the perspective: "Trivializing the enemy is another dangerous journalistic tactic. Many of the Islamic terrorists are basically amateurs. The bunch rounded up in Miami recently are starting to be portrayed as victims, rather than threats. However, if one or two FBI supervisors had zigged instead of zagged back in early 2001, and the 19 or 20 911 terrorists would have been rounded up. It would have been very easy for enterprising journalists to portray this as an overreaction by the FBI. After all, who could take seriously this plan to simultaneously hijack four aircraft and crash them into buildings? It was all too absurd, and another example of the excessive police power of the government.">

Dunnigan continues with a summation of the situation: "These traitors will continue to get away with it. Unless their activities are shown to assist terrorists in a particularly direct and obvious way, scary stories about potential perils will continue to protect those attacking the counter-terrorism effort. By blurring the line between legitimate dissent and active assistance to the enemy, political opportunism has sunk to new lows."

The time for action by the administration and Attorney General Gonzalez is NOW!

Read Dunnigan's entire piece here!

Damn this is really making about half the nation angry.....can we organize and direct that anger? Don't know!

Duke

Points for Maliki in Iraq....

“As long as there is an occupation and an illegitimate government, the resistance and insurgency will continue,” Thus the reply by 11 groups of terrorists to the offer by the Iraqi government to help them be reassimilated back into society. Of course their idea of a "legitimate government" is one in their mold....to hell with the desires of the people!

Captain's Quarters own Captain Ed has the explanation and some nice comments on how this reply may indeed cost the terrorists a great deal. Read it.

The movements by the Coalition and the Iraqi Government seems to appear as an organized effort which may more-rapidly expose and eliminate the opposition.

Today we hear plans for return of several brigades of our soldiers to the USA...over time. HELLLLOOOOOO Democrats cut and run artists.....We are withdrawing...but in a logical sound way.

I'm encouraged, and wish I could be the same about a US solution to the illegals who flood our country and sap its social services without input to our economy... except possibly to those businesses ("Bush Buddies?") who utilize these illegals.

Sorry, that is a different rant!

Duke

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Thanks Michelle! - WWII Posters, Updated!

This is the updated WWII poster, reflecting the Ignorant, anti-USA attitude of the NYT (The Black Lady?) re: the financial LEGAL observations of the US Government!

HT: Michelle Malkin's contest for folks who photoshop some selected WWII posters to update them to the Times "Standard"....

My God, where are these NYT folks from, and to what pulse are they listening?????

More importantly, where are the feds on this obvious breach of so many laws it stinks?

Duke

Whoops! There Goes Another ACLU - Kerploop!

Yeppers! - It took only a day after the completely legal financial checks of the USA were unveiled by the Grey Anti-US Lady before the ACLU piled on with their rhetorical look at this completely legal program and stating their opposition to it.

This anti-Bush organization (for that seems to be their only program these days) is speaking from the depth of their souls about something they cannot find to be either illegal nor internationally objectionable.....

Captain Ed (Captain's Quarters), from his recliner as he recovers from back surgery, covers it with this statement...

"The ACLU enjoys a large membership of attorneys, many of whom work in specific Constitutional law regarding civil liberties. They have a vast wealth of talent from which to call for in-depth analyses. And yet, in reviewing their statement alleging criminality and abuse of power against the government, the ACLU cannot cite any statute or regulation violated by the Swift project. Not one. Why? Because, as the New York Times report explicitly states, it doesn't violate any laws at all. (my emphasis!)

Not only that, but anyone operating within the US banking system -- at least at those facilities insured by the FDIC and FSLIC -- the government has access to data on individual banking customers whenever it wants to access it. Any institution insured by the federal government has to give federal regulators access to their records during any extensive examination. Not only that, but since most accounts pay interest, the IRS also gets all of the information on these accounts, including taxpayer numbers and other private information.

However, in this case, the Swift project targeted only those people already indentified as terrorists or terrorist financiers, and the focus was on international transactions. The government brought in outside auditors to ensure that the information requested remained within the boundaries of their power. Most of all, George Bush told us on a number of occasions that the United States would track these transactions around the world to find terrorists and their enablers. The project itself has never been a secret; only the methods used remained clandestine."

There seems no end of the idiocy of today's ACLU.....an organization which I am now ashamed to admit I found necessary and useful 20 years ago. Shame on me! Perhaps its new name should be a combination title, given its completely unhinged leftist bias.....

How about the AKALU....... "American Kos Anti Liberties Union"

If they could just shut down that pesky constitution, then they could get this all organized in a true Socialist way.

Can you tell I am Pixxed off?

Duke

Dems & GOP Should Be Red-Faced On Kerry!!!

Man, but my feelings seem to always be a step behind the acute and incisive statements of Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit).....and once again he cuts thru the bullxxit and gets it right here....read it in his reference to the Investors Business Daily article....and his summation.

We, as a nation, seem bent upon repeating the sins of the former generation.... including sKerry and his crew.

This is in large part due the obvious bias of the MSM toward the "cut and run"/we are guilty as-a-nation/liberal viewpoint they espouse.

I am again....as I have said many time before....ashamed these days to say I was a radio/TV newsman/news director.....Of course my time was 30 plus years ago.... when "news" was news....and not editorial comment displayed as news.....We did our editorials labeled as such....and our news with BOTH sides presented fairly!

Wonder what would happen today if some media form would choose such a route (no, FOX does not...although they are more right-leaning than the MSM in general.....)

Of course, such a move by any media entity would be greeted by the MSM as "Conservative-controlled media"....

Shame it is my friends.....

Duke

Friday, June 23, 2006

When Doves Imitate Hawks...

Two former Clinton advisors, William Perry and Ashton Carter, have offered their opinion that we should destroy Kim Jong Il's missle on the launch pad....

Gabriel Schoenfeld, in an op-ed for the LATimes, shows us they wore a different set of feathers when advising then-President Clinton.

More brave now that they don't actually have a say in things, or attempting to give advise they would themselves not follow?

Lots of Clinton advisors seem to have different answers today than when they were actually running things.

The real nugget in Schoenfeld's article goes beyond the comments by Clinton's advisors and addresses the real problem left behind by Clinton: "Two doleful lessons follow, both in the realm of ornithology. First, if we had acted like hawks in 1994, before North Korea had a nuclear capability, we might not be facing a potentially nuclear-tipped Taepodong missile today. Second, the case of Perry and Carter reveals that in the right political climate, it is possible to train doves to twitter like hawks. Getting them to fly like hawks is a far more difficult feat. "

Heh!
Duke

Thursday, June 22, 2006

A Nation of Immigrants - Legal/Illegal?

President Bush espouses the nation of immigrants rhetoric as if coming to the USA from Mexico, crossing illegally and remaining illegally is equivalent to those millions who came thru the door with compliance to all the rules and regulations.

Not only that, he expects we will not note the difference....Or, perhaps he does not care if we note the difference.

La Shawn Barber begins a planned three-part series on the illegal issues at Examiner.com.

It is as clear and concise a view of the entire picture as I have read.

Duke

Monday, June 19, 2006

The Message is CLEAR...Tell It!

With victory in Iraq awaiting, the Democrats are seething to insure we are given the message, assisted by the MSM, that we are failing......

The message is: "At the very moment that documents captured from the Zarqawi death site indicate that Al Qaeda feels it is losing its war against the Iraqi future and has become so desperate that its only hope to prevail is by embroiling the U.S. in war with Iran; at the very moment Iraq’s democratically elected government is establishing itself as a functioning regime, and its increasingly capable military becomes more successfully engaged against the insurgents —at this critical moment for the future of Iraq and the Middle East, more than three quarters of the House Democrats have voted against a resolution to “complete the mission.”...."

The entire message from Peter Collier and David Horowitz is here....

The time is ripe, the message MUST be spread by the blogosphere.....in numbers we have probably never achieved before......

Our message is needed to complete the exposure of the idiotic message of the so-called MSM.....

We need to let the world know their devious and ignorant messages which contradict the fact of things in Iraq!

Can we?????

I certainly hope so!

Duke

Friday, June 16, 2006

3rd Party?

Actually, to be fair, we have four parties already.....perhaps more....Libertarians, Greens, etc. However, there are only two "Real" contenders for party status.

I am amazed this is still true to such an extent.

Massive disbelief in both parties and their elected representatives; lack of any feeling of really being represented by anyone elected from your area; etc.

We have no faith in our government. We believe in our country. We believe in our constitution, however there is much to be done to bring us back as a people dedicated to that country. We have now a GOP dedicated to perpetuating their control and their "pork" baskets overflowing, all the while expanding government and budget instead of the supposed GOP mantra of reduce government and debt. We have a DEM party dedicated to extreme left "multiculturalism", and belief that we, as a nation, need to be more like the failed governments/economies/politics of Europe.

In my earlier piece on the rage growing in this country, I spoke of something intangible at this point which seems to be coming.....In the comments to that piece, Chris Muir commented succinctly...

"Man, we need more Parties"

AMEN! Why are we not hearing more about this?

Duke

"The Beginning of The End?"

A discussion.....or at least exchange of notes on the implications of recent Iraqi events....Zarqawi's death; the resultant raids on many homes/buildings and the recovery of an apparent vast informational treasure; as well as the crackdown on traffic and resistance ability to move about in Baghdad....is underway involving Hugh Hewitt and John Hinderaker (PowerPoint).

Hinderaker's theory is this is the beginning of the end for the terrorists. His comments center, of course, on Iraq and should be read by you!

Hugh believes the issue is far beyond Iraq, and encompasses the terrorist activities globally.

I think the issues are separate. The Iraqi situation is changing for the better from any viewpoint. Perhaps one of the best views is from within Iraq, by Iraqi Mohammad.

The facts seem clear that the corner is turned in Iraq....The new governmental control effort of checkpoints doing serious checks of vehicles in Baghdad is having an impact according to Mohammad, and the crushing of Zarqawi's team has left them calling for a leader from a team in the far South of Iraq....much removed from the local goings-on, and obviously out-of-touch with the central team....or whatever is left of it.

I feel elation which I firmly believe is not premature.

Perhaps most interesting to me is the gloom and doom picture still being painted of Iraq by the Democrats in yesterday's showdown over troop levels and their continuation. The vote was a smashing 93-6 to NOT try to impact those levels, yet the rhetorical content of several prime Democratic Senators was full of woe and sorrow over the imagined massive quagmire (a favorite Democratic word on Iraq, Katrina, or ethics).

This IS the beginning of the end! Soon the only efforts left will be the broader world-wide picture...a not-diminuitive task, but impacted by the successes against organized, well-armed, and in many cases locally-supported Iraqi Terrorists. The prospect of similar efforts by the coalition in other parts of the world must send shudders through the terrorists at this point.

Duke

Thursday, June 15, 2006

No Child Left Behind - Except In Florida!

A "War of Bushes?" Jeb vs George?

Nah! - Just a different view.

This morning's Tampa Tribune, and writer Marilyn Brown, exposes some profound differences between US & Florida State education ratings.

By State of Florida standards 75% of the state's schools rate an A or B grade.

By Federal standards 72% of the state's schools FAIL to meet their standards.

What?????

Governor Jeb Bush was ecstatic according to Brown: "In Tallahassee, Gov. Jeb Bush declared victory, skimming over details of schools failing his brother's federal measure.

'This is an outcome-driven process, and we are getting great outcomes....' Bush said."

What of the schools rated A or B in Florida, but failing to meet federal standards? Well the state, with agreement from federal officials, has labeled them "provisional" schools.

The problem is, the federal rules apply for any aid to be given Florida. The annual steps taken for schools still failing under the federal guidelines include:

Transfers available to students in schools not meeting federal standards....
Private tutoring of students in those schools....
Eventual take over by the state and operation by a Charter or private concern....

These levels take several years, but some schools in Florida are already into the required changes.

Meanwhile one official, Sam Whitten, Hillsborough County director of school testing, labeled the A-B schools which failed to meet federal standards as, "A Zero with a bow wrapped around it."

Hummmm...

Duke

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Al-Zarqawi Dead!

Break from vacation just long enough to comment on the demise of the terrorist who killed Americans, Iraqs of all parties, and anyone else who happened to get in his way.

The killer had escaped by the skin of his teeth several times, and taunted the US and others.

While his death certainly does not end the terrorist activity in Iraq, it also does not bode well for the Al Qaeda in Iraq. Citizen tips led to the killing of this evil person. The tips flowed from citizen apparently through Iraqi security forces and then a combined force bombed the terrorist and seven of his lieutenants.

I suspect the death of the killer of many will impact the terrorists more than is being admitted by our sources. The reason is simply the elimination of their leader who had appeared to be impervious to capture/death. With the Iraqi people offering them up for capture or death the end game for major terrorist activity may well be afoot.

Hopefully!
Duke

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

VAY-KAY-SHUN!

Sorry for the quiet folks, but the Duchess and I are vacationing in our 1st RV trip.....

I'll be posting some, but also posting pics, etc. at my RV blog: & Then I Bought An RV!

Having a great time in Illinois!

Duke

Pekin Prattles