There is growing evidence that supports the “Deniers” like me. The latest bit of evidence is the sea ice. According to NASA satellites, sea ice has returned to levels recorded in the 1980s (It has only been recorded since 1979). Other data shows growing ice on Antarctica which has been experiencing a long term cooling trend.
“The models predict a warming ocean around Antarctica, so why would we see more sea ice?” Michaels adds that large areas of the Southern Pacific are showing cooling trends, an occurrence not anticipated by any current climate model. (LINK)
The inconvienant truth is that the debate is not over.
I don’t believe in the “trickle down theory”. I believe in free markets and freedom. We thrive as a nation when Americans are left to experiment and reap the rewards from risk taking. These freedoms allow the little guy to do great things.
The only thing dumber than the “trickle down” concept is the “trickle up” theory being touted by numerous Democrats. Granted, they aren’t calling it the “trickle up theory”. They have other names. Barack Obama says our economy needs to grow from the “bottom-up“. Dennis Kucinich says that money percolates up through the economy.
Does that make sense?
To simplify the economic picture, consider what it was like for the Pilgrims. The economy was simple when they landed in Plymouth. They had what they brought with them. Trading was limited. There were no banks or grocery stores. The Pilgrims had limited resources and their main objective was to stay alive.
The first order of business was food and shelter. Other luxaries could only be considered after these basic needs could be satisified. A great economic experiment was started in 1620. At first the Pilgrims thought that they could work together as a community and share the harvest. In essence, they started a socialist system and it failed miserably. They almost starved. Being hungry has a way of clarifying things. They soon realized that men would not work as hard if others were to benefit from their labor. William Bradford wrote in his log,
And for men’s wives to be commanded to do service for other men, as dressing their meat, washing their clothes, etc., they deemed it a kind of slavery (LINK)
They scrapped their socialist Utopia and gave men the freedom to work on their own behalf. The results were staggering. They went from near starvation to a bountiful harvest which we celebrate each year at Thanksgiving. It is a crime that this story is not told every year.
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Chester County, PA is currently experiencing budget difficulties (LINK). Revenue is shrinking and expenses must be cut. Republicans are working hard to avoid a tax increase.
The people of Chester County have voted Republican for years. The result is smaller government that still provides the county services. This has placed Chester County in a position to better to handle the economic downturn. Other PA counties, where big government policies expanded during times of prosperity, are going to find it much harder to deal with budget issues.
Chester County is one of the hotest areas in Pennsylvania. Small effective government is no small part of that.
Posted by: The Elephant Owner in
PA Politics on November 14th, 2008
There are two cases this week that highlight why the Main Stream Media (MSM) is losing the support of Americans
1) Bill Ayers ( an Obama “Family Friend”…link ) is being interviewed one week AFTER the election. Bill Ayers probably refused to be interviewed before the election, but that should have alerted the “right to know” press about the importance of this story. We heard Bill Ayers name, yet many people still know very little about Bill Ayers or his relationship with our President Elect. Just today, a twenty-something young man overheard a conversation I was having and he had to ask who Bill Ayers was.
Even if you believe “guilt by association” is not a valid argument…according to Bill Ayers, Obama lied when he said that Bill Ayers was “Just a guy in the neighborhood.” Didn’t we just go through eight years with a president who lied about his relationship?
2) MSNBC had to retract a story about Sarah Palin being dumb (LINK). The story goes that she thought Africa was a country, not a continent. Only someone who was already inclined to think she was a dope could believe such nonsense. My first thought was that she misspoke…just like Barack Obama misspoke when he said that he had been to 57 states. It turns out, the whole thing was made up and many news outlets jumped at it.
What do these stories tell us? I’m not going to jump to any conclusions and say the MSNBC is actively trying to hurt Sarah Palin. The MSM assumes the stories of Republicans gaffes are true and the gaffes are evidence of a lack of intellect. They also ignore gaffes by Democrats and assume that they are smart. Those assumptions show damage careers.
The damage caused by both of these issues has been done. Their late interview and retraction do little to mitigate the problems. The media likes to portray bloggers as being irresponsible (and many are), yet the ethics and impartiality of many in the MSM is questionable.
Posted by: The Elephant Owner in
Liberal Bias on November 14th, 2008
The precedent has been set. Big business is lining up in Washington to make the case that they are too big to fail. Today it is the auto industry. Who will it be tomorrow? The airlines? Newspapers? Big Oil (yeah right)?
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter is making his case for a Washington style bail out. I don’t think less of Mayor Nutter. He is doing what he thinks is best for Philadelphia. The financial crisis in Philadlephia can’t be blamed on his administration. He inherited a broken system from John Street and years of Democratic dominance. To his credit, the mayor has made difficult and unpopular decision. He has laid off some workers and eliminated weekend overtime for others. He has cut some services and reduced the scope of snow plowing for this winter. He has also putting off a planned tax cuts.
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Posted by: The Elephant Owner in
Free Markets on November 12th, 2008
Michelle Malkin has posted a coutdown (LINK) until the next bail-out…for the New York Times.
My head may explode if that comes to pass. The New York Times is failing because their business did not keep up with the times (hmm…pun not intended). They are failing because the hyper partisan positions are making it into their news stories. They are failing because the paper is a rag that at least 30% of the population won’t let their puppies use for training.
The NYTimes is not the only paper. The paper arrives on my driveway every day is stuggling too. In an attempt to save their sinking ship, the Philadelphia Inquirer has been cutting back for years. Many other newspapers, big and small, are having the same problems.
It should be clear that they are running bad businesses. All of these papers were struggling while the rest of the economy was growing. Bailing out newspapers would be like the federal government redistributing money to radio station after of the rise of TV. Business must be allowed to fail and these decision are better left to markets, not to political calculations.
PA Attorney General Tom Corbett was re-elected last week. This is good news. This means that “Bonusgate” will proceed.
I was told by someone in Harrisburg that we can expect Bonusgate to be expanded after the election. It is widely expected that the scandal will take down some Republicans as well many Democrats.
Anyone who used tax dollars to get re-elected should go down. I’m tired of our politicians using our money for their selfish purposes.
According to the national temperatures recorded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), October was a cold month for our nation. From the chart below, you can see that recent temperatures are several degrees below the October temperatures recorded in the 40′s and 50′s.
Obama and the Democrats better hurry up and penalize us for carbon use before their whole argument falls apart.
Here is what a spokesperson for Norm Coleman says:
“Not content to allow the recount process to move forward as prescribed by law, the Franken Campaign and its supporters are attempting a campaign of undue influence. The increasing questions about unexplained and improbable shifts in vote counts, coupled with Franken Campaign antics over the past 24 hours, compelled us to seek legal action to protect the rights of Minnesota voters. We had an election. Senator Coleman won. And we now must have a legal and transparent process conducted in the light of day – and that is our goal and intent.
“Late last night, after another unexplained shift in votes occurred when the Secretary of State’s Office closed, new ballots have suddenly appeared from a heavily Democratic precinct. These ballots have been unsecure since the election, yet the Franken Campaign is demanding they be stuffed into the ballot box, attempting to change a vote count that was already finished. Minnesota election laws provide specific rules for reviewing and counting ballots. Today’s legal proceeding is an effort to ensure that a transparent and orderly process be in place. The Franken Campaign should be joining us in this action, not seeking to push the process outside the bounds of the law.”
Hat tip to Power Line Blog
Posted by: The Elephant Owner in
Election on November 8th, 2008
President Elect Obama has signaled that he plans to bail out the struggling auto industry. He wants to provide them with low interest government loans so that they can keep people employed while re-tooling for the next generation of cars. I can see why some would think this is a good idea. I don’t.
My problem with this plan is that it deals with the symptoms without acknowledging the problem.
The U.S. automakers are going bankrupt in part because of slumping sales, but this is not unique to U.S. manufacturers. Other automakers have down graded their profit projections. GM has announced a HUGE loss. The problem for GM is their long term commitments to benefits. The unions have demanded and received generous benefits for years. Those benefits (pensions and healthcare plans) are now driving the automaker into the ground.
You can be sure that this will never be discussed. I would bet that part of the loan guarantees is a requirement that the automakers continue to pay high wages and provide generous benefits. The unions may even demand more now that the government has thrown money their way. The loans may get the automakers some time to get through a rough patch, but it does not deal with the problem. Our car companies can’t be competitive in a world market where they have higher taxes and higher employee costs.
The next issue that will be ignored by those on the left is the surplus of cars. For years we have been buying or leasing new cars. Most of my neighbors have been through a handful cars in the last ten years. Personally, I am on my second vehicle since 1992…but that is not the norm. When was the last time you saw a rusted out pile of junk or broke down on the way to work? Cars last longer today. My unscientific observation is that we must have plenty of good cars around. It only makes sense that people will hold on to their current car feeling that an economic slump headed our way.
The unintended consequences of government participation are never considered. We will soon have an over abundance of cars when the government pumps up the automakers. We don’t need more cars. It may sound cruel or heartless, but we should let these companies fail so that the resources used to produce cars can be diverted to an enterprise that we do need.
I’m sure a lot of people think Obama is very smart. Is he smart enough to know all the intricacies of market manipulations? People who spend their lives studying the auto market don’t have the capability of determining future markets, why on Earth would we expect President Elect Obama with a lawyers training to have any success at such a foolish endeavor. Obama won’t stop with just the auto makers. He also wants to manipulate the housing market, the electric power markets and the healthcare markets. These markets make up a large percentage of the overall economy. Each one of these markets alone is beyond the ability of government to wisely manage.
We will soon be learning the lessons (the hard way) of unintended consequences.
Posted by: The Elephant Owner in
Economics on November 7th, 2008
I just took a brief look at change.gov and it appears to be nothing more than a continuation of the Obama campaign.
Posted by: The Elephant Owner in
President on November 7th, 2008
Here is a run down of the pollsters
Rasmussen and Pew were the most accurate.
Newsweek and the CBS/Times polls were the least accurate.
17 out of 23 overestimated Obama’s strength.
…Read more
Posted by: The Elephant Owner in
Election on November 6th, 2008
It was a very long day today. Let’s hope it’s not a very long 4 years starting today.
Posted by: The Elephant Owner in
Election on November 5th, 2008
Do you think this election is important?
The last time the Democrats held the Presidency, the House and a 60 seat majority in the Senate was 1977. What followed was recession, high unemployment, historically high interest rates and an energy crisis. The good news (sarcasm) is that Barack Obama is even more liberal than Jimmy Carter.
Posted by: The Elephant Owner in
Election on November 3rd, 2008
13
The total US military fatalities in Iraq has dropped to 13 in the month of October. Last October the total was 38 and in 2006 it was 106. This is great news with important implications for the elections, and that is why the media is ignoring it.
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