Free In Idaho!

Because if we weren’t having glowball warming, it might be snowing down here in the valley, instead of just up in the mountains.  Here are a couple of highway cam shots from this afternoon, one from Washington state, and one from Oregon.   It’s also snowing at Brundage, a ski area about 2 hours north of us, but the system that is bringing this stuff hasn’t really gotten us here in SW Idaho.  But today, instead of temps in the 80’s here, we’re struggling to hit 60 and there is a 30 mph “breeze” blowing.

Too bad B…S… isn’t an energy source, we’d have been independent a long time ago.

I’m sure your local newspaper didn’t cover this either, and it isn’t likely that it made your television yet either… we’ll have to watch later today and see if any of our professional media (bloggers don’t count, you know) give this event any coverage.  But then, it doesn’t fit in with what they want us to believe, and it certainly doesn’t fit the politicians’ agendas either.  But this is important

Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine (OISM)

Who: Dr. Arthur Robinson of the OISM

What: release of names in OISM “Petition Project”

When: 10 AM, Monday May 19

Where: Holeman Lounge at the National Press Club, 529 14th St., NW, Washington, DC

Why: the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine (OISM) will announce that more than 31,000 scientists have signed a petition rejecting claims of human-caused global warming. The purpose of OISM’s Petition Project is to demonstrate that the claim of “settled science” and an overwhelming “consensus” in favor of the hypothesis of human-caused global warming and consequent climate damage is wrong. No such consensus or settled science exists. As indicated by the petition text and signatory list, a very large number of American scientists reject this hypothesis.

It is evident that 31,072 Americans with university degrees in science - including 9,021 PhDs, are not “a few.” Moreover, from the clear and strong petition statement that they have signed, it is evident that these 31,072 American scientists are not “skeptics.”

CONTACT: Audrey Mullen, +1-703-548-1160, for the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine

/PRNewswire-USNewswire — May 15/

Somebody be sure to mention this to the four geniuses I named in the title.  I’m sure it won’t make the news today.

Awhile back I remember coming across a book asking where the jet packs were that we 50’s and 60’s kids were promised when we were growing up?  I said to myself, “Yeah!”

Well, it’s too late for me (I’d never ride it now), but someday, this would be way cool!

Too many things have gotten into my stack, so we’ll just present them as bite sized chunks, starting with a tidbit on the rice shortage and the amazing shrinking dollar

The best way to alleviate a shortage is to take stuff from where there’s extra, and send it someplace else that doesn’t have quite as much. Usually, this is done in exchange for currency. We call this process trade, and it works best when people can do it freely. And so how are governments responding to the rice “shortage”? By restricting trade — keeping their extras and denying it to those without. It gets worse. Even though “adequate rainfall and sunshine have boosted yields” in India, the government still won’t allow any exports. Jimmy Carter tried something similar with gasoline — mandating that all stations stay filled up, even rural ones where demand was low — resulting in long lines in high-demand urban areas. CommodityOnline’s Gary Dorsch says it’s not just rice, noting that “soybeans are up 83%, corn up 65%, wheat up 95%, sugar up 30%, coffee up 25%, gold up 36%, and rough rice is 125% higher from a year ago.” And the dollar is down to record lows against — well, pretty much everything. The Fed has destroyed the dollar’s international purchasing power, with the connivance of an eternally overspending Congress. And we’re shocked, shocked when a weaker dollar means higher prices?

…

Is the rice shortage real? It sure is, if only just barely; demand is expected to outstrip supply this year by less than 1%. But like most shortages, this one is being exacerbated by politicians ignoring the most fundamental of all laws — the one of unintended consequences.

That’s really rich… the law of unintended consequences. More often than not, micro-managing anything, but especially the American economy, will get you a first class review of the law of unintended consequences. Speaking of which, how’s that great ethanol deal doing these days? Not so hot, eh? The best response, if you’re a politician, is to jump out front in the new direction and pretend you were leading that way all along

Members of Congress say they overreached by pushing ethanol on consumers and will move to roll back federal supports for it — the latest sure signal that Congress’ appetite for corn-based ethanol has collapsed as food and gas prices have shot up.

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said Democrats will use the pending farm bill to reduce the subsidy, while Republicans are looking to go further, rolling back government rules passed just four months ago that require blending ethanol into gasoline.

Coming a day after our local paper reported April as being 6 degrees colder than normal, and the water content of the area snowpack 10% over normal, I found this next one especially delicious. Didn’t I see AlGore on the cable last weekend, on a program about the 10 most likely ways the Earth will end? Global warming is #1, in case you hadn’t heard. He was explaining to the program hostess that there was NO disagreement, the science is settled, etc etc… it’s tough keeping your cool when you’re the Nobel prize winner for hot air. Maybe this will help

The allegedly warming earth is in for about 30 years of cooling according to NASA, one of the leading global warming theory advocates.

NASA has confirmed that a developing natural climate pattern will likely result in much colder temperatures, according to Marc Shepherd, writing in the April 30 American Thinker. He adds that NASA was also quick to point out that such natural phenomena should not confuse the issue of manmade greenhouse gas induced global warming which apparently will be going on behind the scenes while our teeth are chattering from a decade and a half long cold spell.

And hey, it’s May Day, fellow workers!

Given a little time, any one of these would be worth a post by itself. But today, it’s best not to dwell on any of these too long. I think it’ll make me crazy. er. I mean crazy-er.

I have been keeping an eye on the new Ben Stein movie “Expelled”, interested to see what the turnout might be this weekend for its opening.  In case you weren’t aware of it, “Expelled” is a movie that Stein made to expose the state of the debate between Intelligent Design and Evolution on college campuses.  The movie tries to show the complete lack of tolerance in the academic and scientific community for any inclusion of a Creator, to the degree that some scientists and teachers have been denied jobs, tenure, and even been “expelled” from their positions because of their acceptance of the idea that at some point “life” required more than just a random act of “poof in the goop” to come into existence.

None of this is new… in my lifetime, God has always been denied on campus.  My degree is in biology.  I will always remember my very first college class, Biology 101, forty years ago.  I was in a big lecture hall full of very nervous freshmen.  The prof was a small, crippled up man with a scowl on his face, and he walked across the platform in front of us, turned to face us, and with nary a greeting or an introduction said “There is NO GOD.  There will be no talk of God in this class.  Don’t bring it up again.”  Those were the first words I heard in my college education and in my incredibly naive, rebellious ignorance, I thought that was the most liberating thing I had ever heard. Over the next four years the indoctrination into atheism, Darwinism, and humanism was completed.  I use the term indoctrinated purposely, and not as hyperbole.  I wasn’t the only one who sucked it up willingly.

Ed Morrissey has a review over at Hot Air, which was written after an early screening in February and originally appeared on his other blog.  I mention it to point out one of the problems inherent in the whole subject of creation/evolution/faith/science/atheism.  Understanding what is being spoken about, what is being professed, and what is being attacked is crucial in this debate.  But it is where much of the disagreement arises, even before you begin discussing “the facts”.  Take for example, the meaning of the word “evolution”.  What does it mean?  What I understand the word to mean might be diferent than what you do.  Try this on for size, from Morrissey’s review.

I believe evolution is demonstrably proven in enough examples to say that its effect on variation in species cannot be denied. The example I used tonight in discussing this with another viewer (certainly not the only example) is antibiotic effects on bacteria. Antibiotics that kill 99% of bacteria eventually promote the survival and the expansion of the 1% that resist them, created superbacteria that require another set of antibiotics to cure, and so on.

I expect that many folks would agree with that, and as far as the facts go, I do too.  But I don’t call that evolution, I call it adaptation, or selection if you must.  I don’t call that creation either.  The resulting “superbacteria” is not a different species, and it is not an example of the kind of “dinosaurs evolved into birds” and “man from monkeys” evolution that atheists like my first college professor want us all to believe in.  And it has absolutely nothing to do with the question of where did life come from in the first place?… and really, that is what the whole debate gets down to at the bottom, isn’t it?  Is there a God?  How do you know?  And why do you insist on calling your faith in the non-existence of a Creator logical and scientific, but dismiss my faith in the existence of that Creator as superstitious? Neither of us will ever be able to provide the other with belief changing, convincing proof.

My first biology prof knew that was what it was all about, and he got up on his little soapbox, or his bully pulpit if you will, and he abolished God from his classroom, and did his best to abolish God from the belief systems of his students.  And that is what Ben Stein’s movie is more properly about.  Whose belief system will be taught on campus, and whose will be “Expelled”? 

…the film does an excellent job of demonstrating atheism as a belief system. Atheism as represented by Richard Dawkings and others in this film gets exposed as exactly the kind of belief system they claim to despise. They can’t prove God exists — and they can’t prove God doesn’t exist. They make the common fallacy of arguing that absence of evidence amounts to evidence of absence.

The film is not so much about promoting one side or the other in the Darwinism vs Intelligent Design battle.  From all I can read about the film, the thrust is about academic freedom and the stifling, oftentimes the repression, of debate on campus today.  Judging from the angry and dismissive “reviews” I’ve read this morning from various MSM outlets, I’d say that Ben Stein has hit a nerve.  I intend to get out to see it.  But I suspect that having seen it over forty years, I will not be surprised by anything he has to show.  “The scientists have proven it, so that settles it, now shut up” is a club we see used in many places today.  I expect that what Stein shows in his movie will be quite similar to the kind of things we see from the glowball warming crowd.  AlGore has one of those clubs.  And in many ways, the debate there is the very same debate over whose belief system will prevail in the public square.  But perhaps that is a post for Earth Day.
 

Another loony symbolism over substance display, this time from the Gaia worshippers trying to raise our consciousness about global warming and reducing our carbon footprints

 (CNSNews.com) - Millions of people around the world are expected to turn off their lights for an hour over this weekend in a concerted global dimming campaign meant to draw attention to climate change. “Earth Hour,” an initiative of the World Wildlife Fund, begins in New Zealand at 8 PM local time Saturday, and then moves westward as cities in other time zones reach that hour. In Sydney, Australia — where the campaign debuted last year — municipal authorities have agreed to turn out lights on the city’s iconic Harbor Bridge and Opera House.

Give me a break.  The whole carbon footprint/carbon offsets deal is a scam of ridiculous proportions, but you can count on the usual folks to get behind this one

This year the initiative has been expanded, and 27 “partner cities” are named on the campaign’s Web site, including Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco and Phoenix.

The usual suspects, indeed.  And of course, the other usual suspects are calling BS on the whole thing, and calling for counter-measures

Bloggers skeptical about theories of human-induced global warming are promoting a counter-campaign, urging people to use as many lights and as much electrical equipment as they wish during the targeted time period.

Me…skeptical?  Full glow here boss.

Here’s one to think about, from the New Oxford Review (paid article)

Amid widespread confusion and skepticism about the subject, the chief goal of this article is to document a contemporary and clear-cut case of demonic possession. Even those who doubt such a phenomenon exists may find the following example rather persuasive. For clergy, or indeed anyone involved in the spiritual or psychological care of others, it is equally critical, however, to recognize the many and infinitely more common “counterfeits” (i.e., false assignations) of demonic influence or attack as well.

Saw the link in an article at World Net Daily, which has a few more quotes

“The exorcism began on a warm day in June,” Gallagher recollects. “Despite the weather, the room where the rite was being conducted grew distinctly cold. Later, however, as the entity in Julia began to spout vitriol and make strange noises, members of the team felt themselves profusely sweating due to a stifling emanation of heat. The participants all said they found the heat unbearable.

“Julia at first had gone into a quiet trance-like state. After the prayers and invocations of the Roman Ritual had been going on for a while, however, multiple voices and sounds came out of her. One set consisted of loud growls and animal-like noises, which seemed to the group impossible for any human to mimic. At one point, the voices spoke in foreign languages, including recognizable Latin and Spanish. (Julia herself only speaks English, as she later verified to us.)

“The voices were noticeably attacking in nature, and often insolent, blasphemous and highly scatological. They cursed and insulted the participants in the crudest way. They were frequently threatening – trying, it appeared, to fight back – ‘Leave her alone,’ ‘Stop, you whores’ (to the nuns), ‘You’ll be sorry,’ and the like.

Did you ever see “The Exorcist“?  I mean the first one, not the ridiculous sequels.  It is the only film that has ever affected me quite so strongly.  Four of us saw it at the theater right after it came out.  It was the first time in my life that I had been confronted with an overwhelming depiction of evil, and it scared me silly. To this day the music, Tubular Bells, makes the hair stand up on my arms.  Major creeps.

Have you ever had the opportunity to talk at length with a missionary come back from an overseas post? Ever heard some of the unexplainable stories of things they have seen? You will not likely dismiss out of hand the idea that real evil exists. And I’m not talking about the stuff you see the so-called reverends on TV doing, exorcising “the demon of smoking” from some poor sap.  That is all bogus. 

But when I hear fools like Jeremiah Wright calling down God’s wrath and damnation on America, it makes me shudder all the way to my soul… brother, you’d better be on your knees praying God DOESN’T damn America. You think we have problems now? You haven’t seen anything… how dare you pray FOR it!  Evil exists.  A blind man denies it, but only a fool calls for it to be turned loose.

This is a wonderful thing, and it’s too bad Mr Reagan didn’t get to see it

A missile fired from a U.S. Navy warship hit a defunct spy satellite in space to try to prevent its toxic-fuel tank from crashing to Earth, the Pentagon said yesterday.

The SM-3 missile was fired from the USS Lake Erie in the Pacific Ocean at about 10:26 EST and hit the bus-sized satellite about 133 nautical miles above the ocean, the Pentagon said in a statement.

“A network of land, air, sea and space-based sensors confirms that the U.S. military intercepted a nonfunctioning National Reconnaissance Office satellite, which was in its final orbits before entering the Earth’s atmosphere,” it said.

This marks another success for the development of a missle defense system.  Do you remember back to all the whining and pooh-poohing during the Reagan years, about “Star Wars” and how it would bankrupt the country, start a world war, and besides that, not work at all?  Wrong on all counts.  Why can’t folks be proud of such accomplishments?  Of course, when China knocks down a satellite, it barely registers, either as a scientific accomplishment or as a threat to world peace.  But when we do it, we have to listen to this

Russia and China have expressed concern about the operation. The Russian Defense Ministry said it could be used as cover to test a new space weapon.

Washington has insisted the operation is purely to prevent people being harmed by the satellite’s fuel load.

“Cover to test a new space weapon”?  Cover, my tush, it was right out there where you can see it Vladimir my friend… and all that bit about folks being harmed by the fuel was simply to try to calm down the green-weenies here at home.  Global warming, harming the environment and all that.  Only trouble is, we just don’t have a good cover for the “ban all guns” bozos, who want to make space the next big Gun Free Zone.

“The potential political cost of shooting down this satellite is high,” said Laura Grego, an astrophysicist with the Union of Concerned Scientists. “Whatever the motivation for it, demonstrating an anti-satellite weapon is counterproductive to U.S. long-term interests, given that the United States has the most to gain from an international space weapons ban. Instead, it should be taking the lead in negotiating a treaty.”

What is it about women named Laura?  Here’s another one talking about a weapons ban, with the same faulty logic.  I’m sure the members of the Little Dictators With Missles can hardly wait for America to declare space a Gun Free Zone.  Well, Union of Concerned Scientists, we appreciate your concern.  But you’re wrong.  Individuals and countries have a right to defend themselves from others who would do them harm.  And sometimes, in order to stay sharp, you have to go to the range and practice.  Sorry if the target practice makes you qweeeezy… And you Little Dictators can just keep waiting, because we aren’t planning to stop.  Bozos… all of you.

I really have no words to describe this story from the Telegraph…

Nearly 13 years after his body was sliced in half when he was struck by a freight truck, Peng Shuilin is making the most of life, thanks to an assortment of mobility aids.

The Chinese man - who measures just 78cm - was discovered in two pieces after a road accident in the town of Shenzhen in 1995.

Medics realised his lower half was beyond salvation but a series of operations closed up his bottomless torso.

Skin was transferred from his head to the underside of his severed body to keep his organs alive and away from the damaging effects of outside exposure.

I appreciate that the British press can easily slip over the line from “serious journalism” into “Weekly World News” tabloid stuff at the drop of a crumpet.  But I read this story, and look at the pictures, and I can hear my Dad’s voice in my mind saying “Fella, if you think you’ve got it hard today, just take a look around…”

This one will stay with me for a very long time.  And coming a day after reading  this post  and this post over at Breda’s… there’s alot to ponder in those posts.

Do you remember “The Island of Doctor Moreau“, or the ’30’s movie version “Island of Lost Souls“?  Forgive me then, if that is the first thing that pops into my mind when I read an article like this, from the island of Once-Great Britain

British scientists have today have been given the go-ahead to create part-human, part-animal embryos.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) granted licences to conduct research using hybrids – made from animal eggs that have had their nucleus replaced with human genetic code.

Researchers will now use the technique to create embryonic stem cells in order to study the causes of and develop treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cystic fibrosis, motor neurone disease (MND) and Huntington’s.

Just because you can, doesn’t mean that you should.  One of the traits that mankind has that sets us above the rest of Creation is a sense of right and wrong, a sense of ethics.  But when you believe that life is an accidental, random happening billions of years ago in the primordial goo, it becomes easier to believe that you are the center of the universe and that you’re entitled to do whatever you want.  Ethics?  “Ethical is whatever we say it is”.  Including mixing animal embryos with human genetic material… 

… “What?  You have a problem with that?” 

Dr Stephen Minger and colleagues at King’s College want to use the cloned hybrid embryos from cow, rabbit, sheep and goat eggs to create embryonic stem cells carrying the defects responsible for a range of serious diseases.

Dr Lyle Armstrong and Dr Majlinda Lako at the North East England Stem Cell Institute in Newcastle plan to insert human skin cells into cow eggs to study how eggs can reprogramme adult tissues into more primitive cells.

“While scientists may prefer to use human eggs, these are in short supply and preference should rightly be for their use in treating infertility.”

Recent developments in stem cell research indicate that embryonic research and cloning is unnecessary, because they have found that great things can be done with adult stem cells, which do not require the destruction of human embryos.

Reports from four of the leading international laboratories working in ES cell research have shown that pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be induced from adult mouse and human cells. These iPS cells have been shown to have all the properties previously attributed to ES cells, and thus provide a means of preparing individually tailored pluripotent cells without the ethical problems involved in therapeutic cloning.

To this must be added the fact that iPS cells can readily be prepared, whereas human therapeutic cloning has never been achieved. If it ever had been, it is such an inefficient process that it would always have required unacceptably large numbers of egg donations by women. The recently published first success with therapeutic cloning in a primate required 304 monkey eggs to be provided in order to produce two ES cell lines.

Ethics is a difficult subject from the start.  I believe it becomes impossible when your starting place is primordial goo.  Laugh at me all you want for my belief in the Creator and His requirement that our stewardship of His creation be according to His rules (yes, “ethical”).  Money, fame, scientific curiosity, and technical ability are poor foundations for making decisions concerning meddling with the intricacies of life.  Comes a time when you reach a point you should fear to go further.  I think we’re there, but no one seems to care.