Nov
30
Open Post 30th November
Filed Under Uncategorized | 17 Comments
In defence of science:
“He said it right.”
Nov
30
And Then There Were Three
Filed Under American Politics | 4 Comments
The potential 2012 GOP candidates have been falling by the wayside a little this past few months. Firstly, Mark Sandford went ‘hiking on the Appalachian Trail’ and killed any chance of running in the Presidential primary. then Newt Gingrich went with the wrong side in NY-23 and set himself against most of his own party and now Mike Huckabee may be seeing his chances of the nomination disappearing.
The Seattle Times reports that the man suspected of shooting four police officers in Washington State was granted clemency in Arkansas nine years ago by then-Governor Mike Huckabee.
Huckabee had reportedly pardoned the suspected shooter, Maurice Clemmons, because he was just 17 when his original crimes were committed. (Clemmons was still on parole, and should apparently have been sent back to jail in Arkansas more recently.) But it’s a tragic, and politically damaging story of the kind that, with the name Willie Horton attached, helped derail Mike Dukakis’s bid for the White House.
It will be interesting to see how damaging this is for him, but it’s perfect ad fodder for opposing candidates. He can hardly lay claim to the tough on crime plank during a campaign.
Though it might not be so damaging; from the same article:
And the story also recalls another act of clemency gone awry: Huckabee advocated for parole for a convicted rapist who — his allies said — had been railroaded by Huckabee predecessor Bill Clinton. The rapist, Wayne DuMond, was released; he raped and murdered another woman.
Mitt Romney made the DuMond story a centerpiece of his campaign against Huckabee in Iowa in 2007.
Mike Huckabee of course won the primary in Iowa. Still, four police officers will not sit well with the Republican base.
And this of course is a terribly sad story. four officers gunned down in cold-blood in an assassination style killing. Awful.
Nov
30
Climategate Part Two
Filed Under Uncategorized | 14 Comments
Via Mark Steyn at NRO:
SCIENTISTS at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have admitted throwing away much of the raw temperature data on which their predictions of global warming are based.
It means that other academics are not able to check basic calculations said to show a long-term rise in temperature over the past 150 years…
The data were gathered from weather stations around the world and then adjusted to take account of variables in the way they were collected. The revised figures were kept, but the originals — stored on paper and magnetic tape — were dumped to save space when the CRU moved to a new building…
In a statement on its website, the CRU said: “We do not hold the original raw data but only the value-added (quality controlled and homogenised) data.”
So we are reliant on data that the CRU have manipulated and filtered, assumedly to justify their own assumptions. Still, they’re scientists so they would have acted honourably and competently wouldn’t they? If you want a giggle and a window into the competency of the scientists at the Climate Research Unit, have a look at these excerpts from a programmer documenting his attempts to get to grip with the CRU’s data.
Nov
30
Whilst reading some comments at Realclimate.org, I saw a comment which for me sums up the quality of the debate on climate change and how advocates of AGW view sceptics. The comment was by a commentator CCPO and is comment no 179. Read it and weep at how real debate is no longer necessary when pushing a progressive agenda, it is now a case of having to accept liberal truth without the facility for criticism:
…it is neither in the interests of the cause of reducing CO2 emmissions, nor the greater cause of upholding science itself, to assume all skeptics are Denialists.
Why? They are. If they are so ill informed as to not know the very obvious, even as laypersons, perhaps they should not be posting, eh? Since the evidence is incredibly one-sided, and even the scientists here and elsewhere don’t dispute my contention posted here and elsewhere that there is not even one paper that in any way refutes any of the underpinnings of AGW, how can they be but a denialist?
Asking me to be “nice” will get you nowhere. We’ve been too nice, and the nuts are winning.
The only thing that will stop these pugilists is for them to have consequences. They need to find themselves in criminal or civil court.
Just as in the healthcare debate, it is unacceptable to the liberal nuttery for anyone to question their assertions. Because they are backed by ’science’, we peasants should just blindly accept their judgements. They are the modern catholic church, only allowing the chosen few to interpret their ‘religious’ texts. But 15th century Catholicism was challenged by a sceptical protestant revolution and todays sceptics are becoming more and more motivated by the dogmatic left to play that protestant role.
Nov
29
Open Post 29th November
Filed Under Uncategorized | 4 Comments
Do you watch a film every Christmas? What will you be watching this year? I’m going to watch Frost/Nixon. Has anyone else seen it, and do you rate it?
Nov
29
Science And Democracy
Filed Under General Politics | 2 Comments
Shockwaver linked to this article at American Thinker about the CRU scandal. He wanted in particular, to draw our attention to the final paragraph. I thought it interesting enough as a debate topic to elevate it to a post of it’s own in the hope it creates an interesting discussion.
the paragraph reads:
The collaboration between science and democracy is one of the great achievements of human history. It is now threatened by the behavior of people at the very heart of that collaboration. If it is destroyed, something of unparalleled value will have vanished, something that will be nearly impossible to replace. If the Western world wishes to continue its magnificent upward journey, we will have to save science from itself. An errant and corrupt climatology is the place to start.
I thought a general discussion on the relationship between science and democracy might be interesting, particularly in light of the elevation granted to science by progressives and the more sceptical nature of conservatives. Have they both set themselves on the extremes of scientific debate? Do progressives see science as an unchallengeable good, and do conservatives treat it with far too much scepticism?
Nov
28
Open Post 28th November
Filed Under Uncategorized | 10 Comments
Nothing today from me I’m afraid.
Nov
27
Screwed With Our Clothes On
Filed Under General Politics | 11 Comments
By Israel
Thanks to the wonders of mobile broadband and a certain company who l will not mention by name, but needless to say you won’t see me dancing at a train station or joining a sing-a-long in Trafalgar Square, l have been off line for a while and have been trying in vain to go back and check on things.
One of the things l have not needed the net to follow is the incredulous decision by the UK Supreme Court (the fact l was oblivious to us having one here is a moot point, as l thought that was what the High Courts were for. Go figure) that the Office Of Fair Trading, which has broken up monopolies in shopping with the Supermarkets, stopped banks from becoming one huge entity and along with Europe forced Sky to share the games from the Premiership with another company, do not have the right to investigate whether or not a bank charging you £35 for being overdrawn by £6.99 due to a mistake with a direct debit then charging you another £25 on top for sending you an automated letter informing you of said charges is fair or not!!
Full disclosure here, l do have a dog in this hunt and frankly it came, after working it out, to a few thousand pounds, which is one of the reasons for me putting in the claim. I’m just gutted l didn’t do it sooner.
The original OFT decision to halt all claims was a major factor in this massive screwover especially in regards to the fact that they came to an agreement with the banks without the input of those making the claims. In my opinion at the time it felt like a deal had been made by someone high up in the OFT or someone had been given a bit of a talking too from the city as there was no real reason to not include the claimants.
What this means now is that the banks can carry on regardless, charging extortionate fees, closing down accounts with impunity and confiscating any monies saved as payment.
The banks knew that they would have to pay back millions, but if you look at the large amounts we have to pay in taxes to bails them out you would think that there would be someone out there looking out for the common man not siding with the corporate entities, something which will happen more and more if we have the misfortune of having Norman Lamont’s teaboy Dapper Dave as PM along with the rest of the Bullington Boys and their ties to the city who knows just how much worse this current crisis would have been with Dapper Dave and his bunkmate Osbourne looking the other way as their schoolmates ploughed through the financial sector like a articulated lorry going through a herd of cows?
This was a pretty depressing decision and was only tempered by the large dose of schadenfreude l felt watching the saddos from the cesspit end of the East Lancs Road bomb out of the Champions League under the leadership of the fact challenged Spanish waiter.
In a letter l sent to one of the banks involved in this case l stated the fact that in my view the only difference between Dick Turpin and them was the fact that Turpin had the common decency to wear a mask!!
This decision has done nothing to change my viewpoint.
Nov
27
It’s Not Just The South
Filed Under American Politics, Polling | 14 Comments
Sorry that this is another polling post, but there have been a number of polls out in the last week that I find, admittedly gleefully, interesting because they support the idea that Obama’s approval ratings are really suffering.
It is suggested on the left, that much of Obama’s falling approval has a southern factor attached, that the south have really turned against him, but that other regions of the country haven’t lost faith with Obama. Gallup finds that this isn’t the case, his fall in support is almost exactly uniform across the country:
Between Inauguration Day and today, Obama’s approval has fallen:
In the east by 19%
In the south by 18%
In the midwest by 17%
and in the west by 14%
And if you look at his current approvals on a by-state analysis, even in strong blue states, his support is edging towards, or at parity with disapproval. SurveyUSA via race42008:
Alabama 38/59
California 53/38
Kansas 38/58
Kentucky 38/58
Missouri 38/58
New York 53/39
Oregon 47/47
Virginia 37/60
Washington 48/48
He’s, to no surprise being killed in red states, but those purple states, like Virginia and Missouri in which Obama either won or nearly did, are giving him red state level approval ratings. And to be level in blue states like Oregon and Washington must be disappointing too.
Still, he can rely on the youth vote surely. Well he still has the majority there, 61%, but even then his approvals have dropped 13% amongst 18-29 year olds. And if the Wisconsin youth are a guide, then his troubles with that age group must be worrying for him:
Support for Bailouts:
* 18 to 29: 18% Support, 82% Opposition
* 30 to 45: 23% Support, 61% Opposition
* 46 to 65: 22% Support, 60% Opposition
* 65+: 13% Support, 69% OppositionSupport for Stimulus:
* 18 to 29: 14% Support, 50% Opposition
* 30 to 45: 35% Support, 49% Opposition
* 46 to 65: 31% Support, 58% Opposition
* 65+: 25% Support, 60% OppositionGeneric Congressional Ballot: among 18 to 29:
* 40% Republican
* 36% Democratic
Let’s remember, 2008 Presidential exit polls showed that 18-29 year old Wisconsin voters overwhelmingly supported Obama:* 64% Obama
* 35% McCain
I’m not prepared to put any money on a Republican win in 2012 yet, far too much can change, but I once believed that barring something very dramatic, Obama would almost certainly win in 2012. I no longer believe that. He is certainly vulnerable and if the economy doesn’t drastically turn around, or if Republicans can put up a quality candidate, then I think he is very beatable as all Democrats are when they can’t rely on their core voter groups to shore up their often depressed support amongst white and middle-class/middle-aged America.
Nov
27
A Partisan Thanksgiving
Filed Under Uncategorized | 7 Comments
Because of Thanksgiving yesterday, there’s not a lot going on in the American blogosphere except for a number of posts wishing people a Happy Thanksgiving. I do find it interesting how those on the right and left often give thanks for different things. Here’s Ed Morrissey at the right wing Hotair:
What will be the blessings I keep in mind for today, and for which I will thank our Lord? Of course, first and foremost will be our families and friends. After that, as always, I will thank Him for the good fortune to live in this nation where men and women can be free to pursue their dreams. I will thank the Lord for the men and women who safeguard that liberty and security, whether they be in Iraq, Afghanistan, on the seas, in the air, or in our local police and fire stations, ready to risk their own lives to secure ours.
And then there is diarist Bill In Portland Maine at The Daily Kos:
Evolution
Electric cars
Bullet trains
Unions
Diversity
NASA
Public works projects
Stem cell research
To each their own, but boy, do the different sides of the political spectrum see things from very different angles.