Right Mind

GMA Annual Membership Meeting

Tonight is the annual GMA meeting.

Don’t forget to RSVP to Tiffanie and show up!

PCUSA Head Optimistic of Growth Despite Exodus

What is it called when you deny all evidence to the contrary?

There’s a reason for the mass (and continuous) exodus from all mainline denominations. And the leadership of those denominations are in denial and committing slow suicide — as evidenced by this from the Christian Post:

As the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States sees a small yet continuous exodus of congregations, the head of the church body remains optimistic of growth.

The Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) said this week that the denomination "is in a potential tipping point of renewed growth and vitality," according to the Presbyterian News Service. His comments come after he had written a letter to discontent congregations asking them to stay.

Still, he expects "a relatively small movement out of the PC(USA), though it all hurts," he said. Kirkpatrick had indicated earlier that any exodus "is too many."

Last summer's 217th General Assembly, which had granted greater leeway for the ordination of homosexuals, resulted in the departure of some dissident Presbyterians and more are seeking a new home. The exodus, however, began in 2001 when the General Assembly would not affirm that Jesus Christ is the only way to God, according to the Rev. Dr. D. Dean Weaver, senior pastor of Memorial Park Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh.

Democracy or Liberty?

Checkout this article by Walter E. Williams over at Town Hall.

He argues that democracy is often the opponent of liberty.

Given the continuous eroding of liberty by the Left, you have to wonder where this will end — a central government power with no liberty for the people is called what?

Does democracy really deserve the praise it receives? According to Webster's Dictionary, democracy is defined as "government by the people; especially: rule of the majority." What's so great about majority rule? Let's look at majority rule, as a decision-making tool, and ask how many of our choices we would like settled by what a majority likes.

Would you want the kind of car that you own to be decided through a democratic process, or would you prefer purchasing any car you please? Ask that same question about decisions such as where you live, what clothes you purchase, what food you eat, what entertainment you enjoy and what wines you drink. I'm sure that if anyone suggested that these choices be subject to a democratic process, you'd deem it tyranny.

Liberty and democracy are not synonymous and could actually be opposites.

I'm not alone in seeing democracy as a variant of tyranny. James Madison, the father of our Constitution, said that in a pure democracy, "there is nothing to check the inducement to sacrifice the weaker party or the obnoxious individual." At the 1787 Constitutional Convention, Edmund Randolph said, "...that in tracing these evils to their origin every man had found it in the turbulence and follies of democracy." John Adams said, "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There was never a democracy yet that did not commit suicide." Chief Justice John Marshall observed, "Between a balanced republic and a democracy, the difference is like that between order and chaos."

…

In Federalist Paper No. 10, James Madison wrote, "Measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority." That's another way of saying that one of the primary dangers of majority rule is that it confers an aura of legitimacy and respectability on acts that would otherwise be deemed tyrannical. Liberty and democracy are not synonymous and could actually be opposites.

HT: Bill J.

Why liberals are right to hate the Ten Commandments

Michael Medved over at TownHall has a great article on why liberals are on a jihad against the Ten Commandments:

The left’s fiery obsession with removing Ten Commandments monuments from public property throughout the United States may seem odd and irrational but actually reflects the deepest values of contemporary liberalism.

In the last five years alone, the tireless fanatics at the ACLU have invested tens of millions of dollars and countless hours of legal time in lawsuits to yank the Commandments from long-standing displays in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Montana, Georgia, Iowa, Washington State, Nebraska, Texas, Pennsylvania and Florida. In one of the most recent battles, they delayed their litigation in Dixie County, Florida, because they couldn’t find a single local resident to lend a name as plaintiff in a drive to dislocate the tablets from the local court house.

Even for militant separationists like the ACLU, this ferocious hostility to innocuous and generally uncontroversial monuments looks excessive, even self-destructive. The overwhelming majority of Americans instinctively accept the Commandments as a timeless, cherished summary of universal moral precepts. A closer look at the specifics of the Decalogue, however, suggests that it makes good sense for leftists to hate The Big Ten: each one of the commandments contradicts a different pillar of trendy liberal thinking.

Medved continues the article by taking each of the Ten Commandments and showing why liberals are on the war path against each one.

This is well worth reading.

HT: Bill J.

Gore Lives Carbon-Neutral, Fat-Neutral Lifestyle

From Scott Ott over at Scrapple Face:

Oscar-winning filmmaker Al Gore today expanded his call for Americans to reduce their output of greenhouse gases — the so-called carbon-footprint — adding a demand to cut the rate of adult-onset obesity, which he termed “your gluteal fatprint.”

Speaking to fellow Oscar winners who flew in to Nashville last night for a banquet at his 10,000 square-foot residence, Mr. Gore explained that Americans burn too much carbon-rich fuel, and eat too much fatty food.

While conservative groups have attacked Mr. Gore’s “hypocrisy” on the global-warming issue, since his Tennessee home burns 15 times the electricity of the average home and he often flies on corporate jets, Mr. Gore maintains that he lives a “carbon-neutral” lifestyle because he also invests in solar and wind energy projects to counterbalance his own substantial carbon-footprint.

“Many people don’t realize that I also live a fat-neutral lifestyle,” Mr. Gore said. “While the inconvenient truth is that I’ve gained a few pounds since I beat George Bush at the polls in 2000, I also makes large investments in companies that produce bran, sprouts and legumes, thereby reducing my “real feel” weight to around 175.”

Lawmakers say time is running out for water decisions

From the Associated Press:

Heading into this legislative session, lawmakers were bracing themselves for an expected Idaho Supreme Court ruling that could cut off water to thousands of acres of farmland across the state, dramatically affecting Idaho's economy.

With about a month to go until the end of the session, there's still no ruling. Now legislators say there might not be enough time to make any big decisions on water this year, even if the high court does issue an opinion before lawmakers wrap up their session, likely on March 23.

"The question we're all asking is, ‘what happens if the Supreme Court comes out with a decision on (March) 25th?' " said Sen. Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow.

Since the 1950s, new rights to Idaho water have been issued to hundreds of farmers and municipalities who have tapped the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer, a Lake Erie-sized underground reservoir in eastern Idaho that feeds the Snake River at the natural Thousand Springs area near Hagerman. But drought and overuse have drained the resource, pitting holders of newer rights against those who have claimed Idaho's water since the early 1900s.

The Supreme Court is mulling a lower court ruling that bars Idaho's water users who have so-called "junior" rights from pumping any water until those with older, "senior" rights get all the water they need.

These senior water rights holders — generally canal companies and irrigators — say they have priority.

Now, the big fear is that growing cities and farmers who get their water from deep beneath the ground could be forced to dry up their fields, face drinking water shortages and ban new growth.

Forum seeks solution to bus crisis; Time running out to save Wheatland Express, Moscow Valley Transit services

As reported in today's edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Rose Keller wants the University of Idaho and the Moscow community to find a way to save the region's public transportation - and fast.

Both the Wheatland Express and Moscow Valley Transit services could be lost when the UI stops providing its annual contribution of $100,000 this year.

. . . . .

Moscow City Supervisor Gary Riedner said the city is considering increasing its funding for the service from $40,000 to $60,000, but that development has not been guaranteed yet. Meanwhile, Moscow Transportation Committee Chairman Walter Steed said New Saint Andrews College has come forward with an offer to contribute a percentage as well.

Bierkatapult

The Beer Launching Fridge, by college kids with too much time on their hands.

Moscow may increase support for Valley Transit

As reported in today's edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Two members of the Moscow City Council have expressed interest in increasing the city's annual contribution to Moscow Valley Transit from $40,000 to $60,000.

Bill Lambert and John Weber were asked if they'd support an increase to help save public transit in Moscow during Monday's Public Works/Finance Committee meeting.

Lambert said there is no doubt Moscow needs to keep Valley Transit.

"We need to do whatever we need to do to make it work," he said.

Weber agreed.

"If others are using any financial leverage they have, the city should too," he said.

The University of Idaho has indicated it will not continue its $100,000 annual contribution to keep the Wheatland Express service between Moscow and Pullman running.

The money also is used as a soft match for grants that fund Moscow's public bus service, Moscow Valley Transit.

"We are working together to resolve this as a community problem," Valley Transit director Tom La Pointe said.

Moscow City Supervisor Gary Riedner said public transit in Moscow could be saved by an increased contribution from the city combined with potential UI student fees that would generate an additional $52,000 per year. Other contributions still would be needed.

Hawkins submits four water rights requests; Development company seeks annual rights to 264 million gallons of water

And here comes the development in the corridor.

As reported in today's edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Boise-based Hawkins Companies has applied to transfer annual rights for 264 million gallons of water to its proposed 700,000-square-foot shopping center in Whitman County, just across the border from Moscow.

The development company recently presented the Whitman County Water Conservancy Board with four proposals to reallocate existing water rights to its proposed 110-acre development on the eastern edge of the Pullman-Moscow corridor.

If approved, the water rights would come from Colton, areas along Union Flat Creek and north of Pullman.

As part of the transfers, Hawkins is requesting the annual rights to 74.5-acre feet, or 23 million gallons, that currently flow in the South Fork of the Palouse River be switched to water the company could extract from its wells.

Wal-Mart protest stalls out

Tom Forbes mentioned yesterday about PARD’s attempt to have a press conference on Wal-Mart property.

Here’s the scoop, as reported in today’s Lewiston Tribune (subscription required). You just have to laugh at the fact that the “bad weather” kept these liberals from showing up. Poetic justice by “global warming”.

MOSCOW -- A scheduled protest at the Wal-Mart store here failed to materialize Monday after members of a "sweatshop tour" were delayed in travel, an organizer said.

But a man from India who makes pants, and a Colombian woman who cuts flowers for a supplier to Wal-Mart said later they're touring America to expose how Wal-Mart's low prices come at high human cost.

Members of the media had been alerted last week a "walking press conference" tour of the Moscow store would underscore "horrendous working conditions" experienced by employees of Wal-Mart's overseas suppliers.

The demonstration, in conjunction with a panel discussion Monday night, were sponsored by the Pullman Alliance for Responsible Development (PARD) and three Washington State University groups.

The two workers, Beatriz Fuentes, of Colombia, and Kotagarahalli Ramaiah Jayaram, of India, were ready to escort the media through the Moscow Wal-Mart and identify products made under "unacceptable pay and working conditions," according to a PARD news release. [DMC: I bet they are living high on the hog in the USA, mooching off of liberals who are feeding them, putting them up in hotels, etc. Quite a racket they’ve got going there.]

But Jennifer Holder, public affairs manager for Wal-Mart in Seattle, said employees at the Moscow store had been told to not let the tour take place. She said Wal-Mart and PARD are currently locked in a legal dispute over the proposed construction of a super center in Pullman.

"We are in litigation and it would be inappropriate to comment," Holder said. She said no one had alerted Wal-Mart to the planned tour. Members of the media had been asked to meet at 2 p.m. outside the Moscow Wal-Mart.

Contacted about 30 minutes later, PARD spokesman T.V. Reed of Pullman apologized for the delay and said there might be an attempt to reschedule. He said Fuentes and Jayaram were driving and had apparently been delayed by bad weather. The two have been part of a "Wal-Mart Workers Speaking Tour" throughout Washington and Oregon. The tour was organized by the International Labor Rights Fund.

Al Gore's Mansion Described As Energy Hog

“Do as I say, not as I do” mentality from the Left.

Of course, they are more than willing to impose the costs of their politics on everyone else, as long as they don’t have to live by it themselves.

And then you have the justification of such actions by the liberal acolytes:

Even if Al Gore drove a Hummer 50 miles a day for no other reason than to show off, heated his huge mansion with heating oil leaving the windows open in winter, powered his estate with electricity solely from a CO2 belching coal fired plant, flew a private jet across the USA on sin trips to Vegas to satisfy unspeakable passions every weekend, was heavily invested in Halliburton and Exxon/Mobil, and had gigantic bonfires on his estate fueled with huge vats of oil to hold satanic rituals, this would say nothing about the truth or falsehood of the scientific claims about global warming in "An Inconvenient Truth"…

The flip-side of this is that Gore clearly doesn’t believe his own propaganda. If he did, he would live like he does.

From CyberCast News Service:

Former Vice President (and global warming aficionado) Al Gore deserves an award for hypocrisy, says the Tennessee Center for Policy Research.

The group, which studied Gore's electric and natural gas consumption, says his mansion in Belle Meade area of Nashville "consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year."

In his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, Gore urges Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home, the group noted.

"The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) a year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh-more than 20 times the national average," the Tennessee Center for Policy Research said in a news release.

Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh -- consuming more than twice as much electricity in one month as the average American family uses in an entire year. Gore's average monthly electric bill topped $1,359, the research group said.

Likewise, the natural gas bills for Gore's mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 a month last year.

"As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use," said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson.

In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research said.

Ice shelf collapse reveals hidden world

This doesn’t address the underlying question: there clearly must have been a warmer period previously in earth’s history. 

But that would be an inconvenient truth…

From Cosmos magazine.

The collapse of two ice shelves in Antarctica has exposed an exquisite seabed ecosystem, including previously unknown species of crustacean and marine anemone.

The hidden marine world was revealed by the breakup of the Antarctic Peninsula's Larsen A and B ice shelves, 12 and five years ago respectively. Their collapse laid bare a 10,000-square-kilometre portion of the sea bed - an area almost the size of Jamaica - that had been roofed by ice for millennia.

Part of the area was explored by an unmanned robot, lowered from the German Alfred Wegener Institute's research vessel, the Polarstern (North Star), in a 10-week international expedition that ended on 30 January 2006.

"The breakup of these ice shelves opened up huge, near pristine portions of the ocean floor, sealed off from above for at least 5,000 years, and possibly up to 12,000 years in the case of Larsen B," said Julian Gutt, the expedition's chief scientist.

HT: Dave G.

Plan to restrict primaries faces opposition: Secretary of state among critics who worry it would hurt turnout

The following story of interest was in today's Spokesman Review (subscription required).

Idaho's top elections official joined citizen groups Monday to denounce a Republican-backed attempt to make voters pick a political party to participate in primary elections.

Opponents said the proposal to restrict Idaho's primaries would discourage moderate voters and independents. Supporters of House Bill 185, however, said it is needed to curb "tomfoolery" that occurs when partisans vote for the weakest candidate on the other party's primary ticket. [DMC: Like we had happen here in Moscow when a number of Democrats crossed over and voted for Schroeder in the primary in order to defeat his competition.]

Voters currently may request either party's ballot. The bill would close primaries to all but registered party members unless a party opts to allow independents to vote.

The Idaho Republican Party added closed primaries to its platform this summer after concerns that Democrats voted in a six-way Republican primary battle for the 1st Congressional District. But the GOP-dominated House State Affairs Committee earlier this month rejected similar legislation, and the new bill might need "a little bit of life support," said Rep. Thomas Loertscher, R-Iona, committee chairman.

Making voters choose a party will "keep honest people more honest" and might increase the state's low primary voter turnout, said bill sponsor Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian.

Bill to require consent for abortions advances

The following story of interest was in today's Spokesman Review (subscription required).

The Idaho Senate voted 23-12 on Monday in favor of Senate Bill 1082, a proposal from Sen. Russ Fulcher, of Meridian, to require parental consent for a minor to have an abortion.

Fulcher, a Republican, said he thought the bill would decrease the number of abortions in Idaho.

Idaho has passed several similar laws in past years only to have them overturned in court, costing the state hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.

The measure now moves to the House.

Panhandle senators split in the vote, with Sens. John Goedde, R-Coeur d'Alene; Jim Hammond, R-Post Falls; and Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, voting in favor; and Sens. Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle; Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint; and Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow, voting against.

Why vote for a Democrat when you can vote for Gary Schroeder?

Panel rejects day-care rules: House committee limits supporters; 2 members suggest mothers stay home

How positively medieval — to think that young children should be at home with their mother and that it’s not the state’s job to pay for the alternatives.

The following story of interest was in today's Spokesman Review (subscription required).

With some members saying mothers should stay home with their children, members of a House committee on Monday killed legislation to require minimum safety standards and criminal history checks for Idaho day cares.

"It's gut-wrenching for me," Rep. Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, said before the 6-5 vote against the bill. "What can we do to keep mom at home?"

Loertscher said he "cannot imagine" ever taking a child to a day-care center and said, "There is no substitute, there is absolutely no substitute for families taking care of children."

Rep. Steven Thayn, R-Emmett, said, "Being separate from your mother … there's reason to believe this could be harmful."

Federal Judge: No Room for Parents in the Classroom

• Additional Resources: Judge tosses suit by parents who objected to talk of gay marriage in classroom
• Order Your Copy Now: Homosexuality In Your Child's School

From the FRC:

According to a federal judge, public schools--not parents--have the right to control the curriculum to which children are exposed. Joseph and Robin Wirthlin sued Lexington, Massachusetts schools for allowing their son's second-grade teacher to read the homosexual fairy tale, King and King, to the class without prior notice to the Wirthlins. A couple FRC interviewed for Liberty Sunday, Tonia and David Parker, joined the suit when their son brought home a book about families that included two gay adults. Judge Mark Wolf sided with the school, saying, "...Under the Constitution public schools are entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become productive citizens in our democracy." Wolf continued by saying that if parents don't agree with the curriculum, they are welcome to send their kids to a private school. "It is increasingly evident that our diversity includes differences in sexual orientation." Clearly, this is not about diversity but a political agenda. Massachusetts law on homosexual marriages was imposed by judicial decree and is far from settled. The government seems bent on overpowering parents and dictating what's in the best interest of children. At the very least, the Parkers, Wirthlins and others deserved to be informed about the content of the curriculum and to have their kids exempted from lessons that violate their moral beliefs. School administrators argued that the books did not focus on human sexuality but family structures. If they truly believe that, Lexington officials must be living in the very fairy tales their schools are promoting. It's no wonder America is failing miserably to keep up with international test scores. Public schools are consumed with teaching not the basics reading and writing but the chic and the radical. Both couples will appeal the case to the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, where we can only hope that the inherent authority of parents will fare better.  

Restructured sewer rates hit city in pocketbook

Of course, it doesn’t help that Nancy Chaney is running businesses out of town and out of state.

6Where will she have to turn to in order to pay for her insatiable tax-and-spend appetite once businesses really start exiting to Washington?

As reported in today's edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Moscow wants to boost fees for ‘other commercial’ and ‘mixed-use’ customers

A $35,000 shortfall has forced the city of Moscow to get serious about restructuring its sewer rates for some customers.

The city has been considering altering fees for “other commercial” and “mixed-use” customers since last summer, when it uncovered a potential problem with a restructured rate plan that went into effect in late 2005. The change was necessitated by the city’s need to bring its rates in line with its cost to provide services.

Under the 2005 plan, the base rate was lowered for “other commercial” accounts and the price per cubic meter was raised. “Other commercial” customers include retail and office spaces.

A committee made up of different ratepayers decided last week that raising the rates to make up for money lost through 2006 was the most appropriate choice. A public hearing must be held on the matter before any action can be taken. A hearing date is expected to be scheduled in the next week or two.

If approved by the City Council, the new monthly base rate for “other commercial” customers would be $33, and $1.55 would be charged for every cubic meter used.

“Other commercial” customers currently pay a $12.50 base rate and $1.70 per cubic meter used.

“It will raise us to rates that should have happened in 2006 and 2007,” said Moscow Finance Director Don Palmer, who led the committee. “We looked at what it would take to stabilize the city’s revenue stream.”

Breaking ground: Construction begins on St. Mary’s Catholic School additions

As reported in today's edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

The expansion of St. Mary’s Catholic School began today after more than 50 years of waiting.

“It is finally happening,” said Sister Margaret Johnson, the school’s principal. “It’s a legacy now. Not just for these young people but for all the students that will come after them.”

When all phases are complete, St, Mary’s primary school students will have more space to learn and move around with a gym, a music room, two second-floor classrooms, a stage and an elevator.

“I am so grateful,” Johnson said.

Before the groundbreaking began, Johnson stood in the doorway of the existing multi-purpose room. She explained that it is used for the band, for physical education, for lunch, for assemblies, and any other full-building events.

“This is all we’ve got,” she said, nodding to the cramped space.

Johnson said the need for a gym goes back to 1956, when the school was originally built. She said a gym was supposed to be built after the main school was finished but the construction never happened. Different people continued to bring up the idea in the 1960s, the 1970s, and even the 1990s, but it wasn’t until 2002 that the school got serious about making something happen.

PARD Media Circus Alert

Tom Forbes alerts us to PARD’s attempt to have a press conference on Wal-Mart property.

If I were the Wal-Mart manager, I’d have them arrested for trespassing.

Founder of ex-Muslim group threatened

Dedicated to Nick Gier, who still cannot tell the difference.

Via United Press International:

COLOGNE, Germany, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- The founder of a group in Germany for former Muslims has sought police protection after receiving death threats.

Mina Ahadi, a native of Iran living in Cologne, said about three dozen people have joined the Central Council of Ex-Muslims.

"I happened to be born in a Muslim family, and I have decided not to be a Muslim," she told the magazine Focus.

Ahadi said she and other members of the group have been "terrorized" and have received death threats, most of them sent via e-mail.

In many Muslim countries, people who abandon the faith face the death sentence under Sharia law.

Ahadi said she hoped to represent the interests of former Muslims who do not practice the religion. She chose the name as a play on the Central Council of Muslims, which has about 800,000 members and is the largest Islamic group in Germany.

 

 

A cold shoulder to global warming: Climatologist to discuss findings

This isn’t going to play well in Peoria.

The following story of interest was in today's Spokesman Review (subscription required).

Unlike most scientists, Coeur d'Alene climatologist Cliff Harris believes snowshoes will be more useful than sunscreen in coming decades.

Yes, the climate is changing, Harris says. But he doesn't believe the planet is being transformed by manmade pollution. He also thinks an ice age is coming, not widespread warming.

"These cycles have come and gone for eons of time and they'll continue to do that," said Harris, 64. "Thirty years ago people were looking for an ice age. … In my opinion, this is another cycle that will come and go."

…

On March 2, Harris will be the keynote speaker at a seminar in Coeur d'Alene focused on profiting from these rapidly changing weather conditions.

The seminar is hosted by Randy Mann, a KREM-2 meteorologist and a weekly columnist for The Spokesman-Review. Mann also has doubts about the severity and cause of the earth's changing climate. The two will be joined by author Robert Felix, whose book "Not By Fire, But By Ice" warns "the next ice age could begin any day."

Harris and Mann, who together operate a climatology service, say they simply want to present their evidence and provide advice to businesses on how to profit during times of extreme weather.

In their view, much of the changes are driven by ancient, unchangeable cycles, as well as increases in solar activity such as sun spots, radiation bursts and volcanoes. Urban sprawl and a proliferation of heat-absorbing asphalt are also factors, they say.

"I'm not saying we're right. We're just trying to say there are other possibilities here," said Mann, who holds a degree in geography. Mann said he believes humans are likely playing a role in the changing climate, but that it's an exaggerated one.

Sliding into Gomorrah

• Judge orders homosexual agenda taught to Christian children: Rules kids need teachings to be 'engaged and productive citizens'
• Homeschool family told to give up 5 other kids: Officials suggest breakup would solve dispute over daughter's home education

HT: Chris W.

Coffee Quotes

"No coffee can be good in the mouth that does not first send a sweet offering of aroma to the nostrils." (Henry Ward Beecher)

"A morning without coffee is like sleep." (Author Unknown)

"Way too much coffee ... but if it weren't for the coffee, I'd have no identifiable personality whatsoever." (David Letterman)

"He was my cream, and I was his coffee; and when you poured us together, it was something." (Josephine Baker)

"I make my coffee so strong it wakes up the neighbors." (Author Unknown)

"Another way to say coffee? Break fluid." (Author Unknown)

"This coffee tastes like mud!
Well, it was ground this morning." (M*A*S*H)

"In Seattle we believe you haven't had enough coffee until you can thread a sewing machine ... while it's running." (Jeff Bezos)

Do the people who make tea get coffee breaks? (Mark Raymond)

"Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle of water." (Women's Petition Against Coffee, c.1674)

"Coffee smells like freshly ground heaven." (Jessi Lane Adams)

HT: Randy W.

Tim Ball Expands on Global Warming

I posted previously about Dr. Tim Ball — Chairman of the Natural Resources Stewardship Project, a Victoria-based environmental consultant and former climatology professor at the University of Winnipeg.

He has come under a lot of attack locally (in Moscow) for being a Holocaust Global Warming Denier.

He emailed the following to Jim Hollingsworth (who forwarded it to me).

I used to worry about extremists and wonder what their function was in society. I now realize that whenever a new "ism" or paradigm evolves the majority wonder how far to take it. Extremists provide those limits by taking it too far. We have reached that point as many people are trying to defend the indefensible. This situation arose because a hypothesis that human CO2 would cause global warming was accepted as fact before the research had started. Those who questioned as all good scientists must were labeled as skeptics and more recently deniers. Despite these attempts at thwarting the sceintific method it continue sot move forward and the overwhelming evidence is refuting the theory.

Here are some web pages starting with our own to provide a much wider range of information. 

I have two short term concerns.

1. I am concerned about the fact that large segments of society, social, political and economic, are being bullied into silence by a small group of extremists even in the land of the free. They have stolen the moral high ground so that anyone who dares to question is accused of not caring about the planet, the environment or the future of the children. People are also silenced by not wanting to show their lack of understanding of what is a very complex subject. Both fear and lack of understanding are being exploited

2. The credibility of science is in jeopardy. My concern is when the public realize the extent to which they have been misled, sadly deliberately in many cases, they will not believe anything they are told and real issues will not be dealt with. I wrote an article with the title "What happens when Chicken Little cries Wolf?" to summarize the problem.

A few sources you can follow include our own web page at, http://www.nrsp.com/

I also helped set up and remain an advisor behind the scenes for Friends of Science at http://www.friendsofscience.org/

Two other sites I recommend include a more scientific one at with much material on the global average annual temperature http://www.co2science.org/

If you want more in depth discussion about the manipulation of data visit the site of Steve McInytyre who exposed the "hockey stick" fraud. You will find extensive discussion here on the latest "adjustments to the temperature record, which, in my opinion border on malfeasance. 

http://www.climateaudit.org/ and a more general one at http://www.junkscience.com/

You can use the links provided on these sites to lead you to other material.

Here are ten excellent newspaper articles with good information.

• http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=22003a0d-37cc-4399-8bcc-39cd20bed2f6&k=0
• http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=1d78fc67-3784-4542-a07c-e7eeec46d1fc&k=0
• http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=ae9b984d-4a1c-45c0-af24-031a1380121a&k=0
• http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=b228f4b0-a869-4f85-ba08-902b95c45dcf&k=0
• http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=63ab844f-8c55-4059-9ad8-89de085af353&k=0
• http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=fee9a01f-3627-4b01-9222-bf60aa332f1f&k=0
• http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=17fad0e2-6f6b-41f3-bdd8-8e9eeb015777&k=0
• http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=9bc9a7c6-2729-4d07-9629-807f1dee479f&k=0
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When I began my climate studies the consensus was impending doom because of another ice age. In a book titled, “The Cooling” by Lowell Ponte (1976) wrote,

“It is cold fact: the global cooling presents humankind with the most important social, political, and adaptive challenge we have had to deal with for ten thousand years. Your stake in the decisions we make concerning it is of ultimate importance; the survival of ourselves, our children, our species.”

Change the seventh word to warming and we are hearing the same unjustified hysteria today. A more important change is the switch from global warming to climate change. Why? Because the world has cooled since 1998 while atmospheric and human CO2 has increased in direct contradiction to the theory. So we spend billions when a large section of climate scientists anticipate a much colder world by 2030.  

Regards
Tim Ball

Post 9/11, Islam flourishes among blacks

Via Reuters:

Islam is growing fast among African Americans, who are undeterred by increased scrutiny of Muslims in the United States since the September 11 attacks, according to imams and experts.

Converts within the black community say they are attracted to the disciplines of prayer, the emphasis within Islam on submission to God and the religion's affinity with people who are oppressed.

Some blacks are also suspicious of U.S. government warnings about the emergence of new enemies since the 2001 attacks because of memories of how the establishment demonized civil rights leaders Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.

As a result, they are willing to view Islam as a legitimate alternative to Christianity, the majority religion among U.S. blacks.

"It is one of the fastest-growing religions in America," said Lawrence Mamiya, professor of religion at Vassar College, speaking of Islam among black Americans.

He said there were up to 2 million black U.S. Muslims but acknowledged there are no precise figures. 

Traitors one and all

The following letter to the editor appeared in yesterday’s Lewiston Tribune:

John Murtha, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reed, along with most Democrats and some Republications, have yet again shown their utter lack of support for the troops by their vote on the nonbinding resolution against the troop surge in Iraq.

They don't have any better ideas, but never mind. We'll just show our lack of support for the troops.

Murtha is the worst because he served in the Marines and shows no regard for the troops. He is hated and reviled by those now serving, and I have heard many say they consider him a traitor.

Now he wants to curb their ability to prosecute the war by gutting the defense budget and depriving our troops of what they need to fight. He was caught on tape saying so. He is a despicable human being.

By cutting funding and material replacements as he wants to do to get his way is a recipe for disaster for our troops.

The Democratic leadership cares more about sticking it to George W. Bush than they do about taking care of and supporting our young Americans who have repeatedly volunteered to fight terrorism.

I call on all American -- Democrats and Republicans -- to let Congress know they will be held accountable for their actions. If you agree with their position, then you and they will be murdering our own troops and you will not deserve to call yourselves Americans.

Don Meyer
Moscow

Not so global?

The following letter to the editor appeared in yesterday’s Lewiston Tribune:

Global warming? I wonder if the citrus growers across the south would agree. Well, maybe those in the Midwest. OK, maybe those in the Northeast. Hmm, maybe the warming isn't global. Rev. Algore believes that he knows what the ideal temperature should be and that the Earth's temperature shouldn't vary, contrary to climate history.

Maybe there is good news, even though Rev. Algore refuses to acknowledge it. In the early 1970s we were warned about the coming "global cooling" and its devastation. The alarmists (Gore's early parishioners) said that the only solution was more government regulation, and the politicians obliged. Now today, we're warned of the coming devastation brought on by "global warming." The alarmists again recommend more government regulation as the only solution.

It's obvious that the main cause of "global warming," from 1970 to present, was more government regulation. To reverse this trend, politicians should resist the current desire to enact more regulations However, some around here can't control themselves.

Jim Fisher (column, Feb. 11) suggests more government regulation in the form of a tax on carbon. He even goes so far as to call us "taxophobes," as if we're not taxed enough. Nothing prevents a taxpayer from paying more -- go for it, Jim. Apparently, he forgets that every source of carbon (gas, oil, natural gas, heating oil, etc.) is already taxed many times. Maybe what he's referring to is a tax on the carbon we exhale.

Varnel Williams
Moscow

IRD Commends Primates, Calls on Episcopal Church to Meet Requests

From the Institute on Religion and Democracy:

Washington, DC--The leaders of Anglican Communion provinces (called “primates”) concluded a nearly week-long meeting on Monday, February 19, with a strongly-worded communiqué that looks to the healing of the Anglican Communion and makes several requests of the Episcopal Church toward that end.

IRD Director of Anglican Action Ralph Webb said

“We commend the primates for calling the Episcopal Church to an unequivocal, wholehearted repentance marked by an end to both all authorizations of same-sex blessings and all consents to the consecration of bishops in a same-sex relationship.” - Ralph Webb, IRD Director of Anglican Action

We at the IRD commend the primates for their long, diligent work in preparation for and during the meeting. The final communiqué was released only after much effort, and we are grateful for their perseverance in completing it.

We commend the primates for their strong reaffirmation of the Anglican Communion’s standard of teaching on marriage: that it is a permanent union between one man and one woman, and that Christians are to be abstinent outside of marriage.

We commend the primates for their pastoral concern for all Anglicans—including those in the United States who have either left the Episcopal Church for other Anglican jurisdictions or who remain within the denomination but find themselves at odds with either their bishop or the Episcopal Church’s presiding bishop.

We commend the primates for calling to an end to all lawsuits over property issues.

We commend the primates for calling the Episcopal Church to an unequivocal, wholehearted repentance marked by an end to both all authorizations of same-sex blessings and all consents to the consecration of bishops in a same-sex relationship.

We urge the Episcopal Church to meet the requests of the primates out of a clear conscience concerned with the healing of the Anglican Communion and adhering to orthodox faith and social witness.

Yet another indicator of Global Warming

From MyWay:

A huge winter storm barreled toward the East Coast on Sunday after dumping more than a foot of snow on the Upper Midwest, causing seven traffic deaths in Wisconsin and closing major highways in the Plains.

Parts of Wisconsin could get 18 to 24 inches of snow before the storm passes, said Tom Zajdel, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sullivan, Wis.

The storm knocked out power to more than 100,000 customers, mostly in Iowa, where freezing rain coated trees and power lines. Outages were also reported in Oklahoma, Nebraska and Ohio.