ClimateGate, ClimateGate, ClimateGate

I wish I had time to read all of these and comment on them. Unfortunately, I don't have the time, so I'm just going to drop off these links that I saw on Drudge.

Climategate e-mails sweep America...

Pretending climate email leak isn't crisis won't make it go away...

Impression left is global warming game has been rigged from start...

AUSTRALIA: Five MPs lead the way by resigning in disgust over carbon tax...

ONWARD COPENHAGEN...

Gore: Time up for any short-term thinking...

Happy Thanksgiving

I thought you all might benefit from a little bit of nostalgia.

George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.


Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

George Washington

So I got to thinking, How far has our nation come in the 220 years since our first Thanksgiving Proclamation? Could we honestly describe our National Government as a "blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed"?

Let's be thankful that America is the greatest country in the world (or at least I think so), but let's not let ourselves get complacent and forget just how far the apple's fallen from the tree of liberty.

Lastly, a political cartoon from Gary Farvel.

Chronology: FOIA Requests and "Climate Gate" Emails

I can't take any credit for this.  I saw it on IBA (Infidel Bloggers Alliance).

If you are even the least bit skeptical that human beings are the sole cause for a change in climate (either warming or cooling), and heck even if you aren't you need to read this. 
IBA: "Chronology: FOIA Requests and the ClimateGate Emails"

And you can check out the post that IBA sourced it from The Unbearable Nakedness of CLIMATE CHANGE: "Willis vs. The CRU: A History of (FOI) Evasion"

Specter Sends Out Email Blast with hopes of Avoiding Senate Walk of Shame

Senator Specter send out an email the night of the vote to continue consideration of the "Health Care Reform" bill.

Dear Friends,

The Congress is continuing its work to try to get healthcare reform legislation, and I believe the prospects are reasonably good that we will produce a bill. I hope that the bill will have the public option - and a robust public option. We will have a cloture vote tonight and I believe that we should be able to get 60 Senators at least to agree to start the debate.

Click below to hear my take on healthcare reform

It would be my hope that my colleagues would not draw lines in the sand or stay in inflexible positions. We need to move ahead, and doing nothing is not an option. The problems of so many millions of Americans uninsured and the problems of the rising healthcare costs makes it imperative that action be taken.

I think that the bill which has been proposed is a very, very good start. It is obviously subject to amendments and some modification. But the total cost has come in at about $850 billion over 10 years and is projected to save about $130 billion to reduce the deficit. In the second decade it is projected to save even more, up to as much as $650 billion. President Obama has committed not to sign a healthcare bill which adds to the deficit, and I’m committed not to vote for a healthcare bill that adds to the deficit.

It is my hope that the bill will emerge with very strong provisions on preventative care. That includes annual examinations without additional costs and encouraging people to have the annual exams to catch many problems at their early stages, like heart disease or ailments, before they develop into debilitating and expensive chronic diseases. I disagree with the recent recommendations to cut back on mammogram screenings or pap smears. I think that early detection is vital and well worth the cost. I can tell you from my personal experience: an MRI detected a brain tumor the size of a golf ball between my skull and my brain back in 1993. It could have been a very, very serious matter had that early detection not occurred.

Healthcare reform is vital and we’re determined to get a good bill.

Sincerely,

Arlen Specter

I'm composing my response to the Senator now.

I have absolutely no reason to expect that he will retract his current position and support a sane, fiscally responsible, and NO-COST solution which will not grow the size or power of government for health care reform that the majority of Americans will support.

Barbie Celebrates 50 Years with Burka Barbie?

Wow, you all knew it was coming.

Let's all rejoice at the notion of Barbie embracing the symbol of oppressed women in Islamic society.

One of the world's most famous children's toys, Barbie, has been given a makeover - wearing a burkha.
Wearing the traditional Islamic dress, the iconic doll is going undercover for a charity auction in connection with Sotheby's for Save The Children.
More than 500 Barbies went on show yesterday at the Salone dei Cinquecento, in Florence, Italy.

Burkha Barbie: The iconic doll wearing traditional Islamic dress

Makers Mattel are backing the exhibition which is the work of Italian designer Eliana Lorena.

The auction is part of Barbie celebrations for her 50th anniversary this year. The UK's biggest Barbie fan Angela Ellis, 35, has a collection of more than 250 dolls. READ MORE>>

It's one thing to have Barbie in traditional Japanese or Indian dress, but a burka?

The embrace of the burka by the fashion industry is one trend that has not been received well.

Burka Hits the Catwalk

One fashion commentator poignantly adds (fashionindie.com--Take it off: Designers Exalt Burka):

And if pimping out religious and cultural symbols isn’t bad enough, the fact that a burka is a sign of women’s oppression in Islam picks up the slack. Since when is it right to glorify something that persecutes women worldwide?

This isn’t fashion. This is a cotton prison.

Dems Get Their 60 Votes

Democrats in the senate got the 60 votes they were hoping for keep their "Health Care Reform" bill viable.  They've used a few of their old tricks to rope in one wary senator.

However, Sen. Ensign doesn't believe this is the kind of 'reform' that we need.

..."It's a massive increase in government, as shown by this bill," Mr. Ensign told a reporter off the floor later, spreading his arms wide as if to encompass the stack of papers that comes in at more than a foot tall and, according to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, weighs in at more than 20 pounds.

The bill contains the word "tax" 511 times and includes 18 tax hikes, according to Americans for Tax Reform, a conservative lobby group. It uses the word "require" more than 1,000 times, the word "shall" more than 3,500 times, and talks about studies required by the bill 150 times. READ MORE>>>

Liberal Churches Have Gone to the Dogs?

What happens when churches embraces a liberal theology? (Liberal theology is a theology which is characterized by "the movement away from traditional orthodoxy often in an attempt to harmonize biblical teachings with science, humanism, or other secular fields." (CARM)

It's a question which many theologians and Christians already know the answer. Once you remove the essential "biblical doctrines such as the Trinity, the deity of Christ, His virgin birth, His resurrection, and salvation by grace" you end up with a church which more closely remembles a Kiwanis club than the body of Christ.

They still have regular meetings; they do good things for their local communities; and often they give their members some sense of a purpose larger than themselves. However, they don't proclaim the bible as being the eternal; transformational; and living word of God. Additionally, they often take the road of compromise on hot topic moral issues such as a abortion; homosexuality; and gender issues (especially in regards to church leadership).

What results is a muddled and confusing view of Christianity and God.

As a result, we should not be surprised by news articles telling us about a church in Los Angeles which has started to offer worship services for dogs in order to boost church attendance.

AP: Gone to the Dogs: LA church starts pet service

I guess when you throw Matthew 28:19 out the window you can justify all manners of things to grow your church attendance.

After all, surely Jesus didn't literally mean that we should go to every tribe, every nation, and to every people group to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ in order to disciple and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit... I'm being facetious if you couldn't read my tone.

Albert Mohler has a good commentary on this trend among liberal churches which I'd recommend you read if you are intrigued.

As for me, I think the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the oldest love story ever written is enough to draw people into the church.

Customs "Legally" Seize Bongs?

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/11/christmas-bongs.html

Okay, this is something that irks me. Now, I know I'm not a lawyer but my understanding of "Drug Paraphernalia" has always been that paraphernalia are items which are "primarily intended" to be used for the consumption; sale; or distribution of illegal drugs.

My understanding was that if I wanted to smoke tobacco or legal herbs out of a glass pipe (such as the one pictured below) I would be in the clear since the pipe only becomes "drug paraphernalia" when there is a reasonable assumption that it will be/has been used for illegal purposes.

However, since the items which were seized weren't seized in close proximity to illegal drugs and there was no reasonable assumption that they would be used for illegal purposes why were they illegally seized?

Was it because the sender marked the contents wrongly as "Christmas ornaments"? Maybe, but does that mean that if you purchased a high end diet or culinary scale from overseas and the sender marked it the package wrong it'd be "drug paraphernalia"?

It seems to me like US Customs overstepped their bounds to get some positive media coverage. "Hey look at us, we busted a huge shipment of evil glassware..." Too bad they can't stop all the cocaine and heroin from coming into the country....

It just irks me. Good one US Customs, you just ruined a lot of stoner's Christmases.

You just made Santa's Naughty List.

Last minute add-on: Wow. Normally the Feds are really bad at estimating actual value, but wow are they off on this one. They estimate the value at 2.6 million, but some of those 'bongs' would retail for more than $100 easily. According to the math. 2.6million/316,000 = $6 and some change per glass piece. Unless the shipment consisted of mostly cheap crack pipes the value is much higher. I'd say the value could be much closer to 5-10 million dollars

Attorney General Holder Reveals Aggressive Gun Control In Response to Ft.

Brought to my attention by Mark Vanderberg of The Gun Rights Advocates Podcast.
Attorney General Holder Reveals Aggressive Gun Control In Response to Ft. [Hood Shooting]

It starts. Who was it that said "Never waste a crisis..."

Does anyone else see the contradictions here?
Attorney General Eric Holder defended his decision to give foreign national terrorists the same protections afforded to American citizens by giving them a civilian jury trial. Yet, he wishes to limit the rights of law-abiding citizens and even prohibit as many as 400,000 people from owning firearms based because they happen to be on a secret government watch list.

His two preliminary suggestions (and I say preliminary because anyone that thinks he will stop at these two is a fool) include:

• Holder wants a national, permanent gun registration system administered by law enforcement. A registration of honest citizens that have cleared the federal background check for gun purchases with those records permanently retained by and shared among law enforcement.
• Holder wants new federal authority to prohibit any person on the federal watch list (reported to be 400,000 names) from buying guns and supports confiscating guns from those on the list who possess them.

Now more than ever we need to be praying for our nation.

AMA Reverses Position on Pot

The American Medical Association reversed their previous ruling on marijuana earlier this week. They are now pushing for marijuana to be rescheduled so that further clinical trials can be performed regarding the usefulness of marijuana cannabinoids as medicine. Currently marijuana is a schedule 1 drug. It resides in the same classification as heroin, LSD, and MDMA.

According to the Controlled Substances Act, schedule 1 drugs have:

• High potential for abuse
• Currently no medical use in the United States
• A lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.

Read more about it on the NORML's Blogpost.

Our AMA urges that marijuana’s status as a federal Schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and alternate delivery methods. This should not be viewed as an endorsement of state-based medical cannabis programs, the legalization of marijuana, or that scientific evidence on the therapeutic use of cannabis meets the current standards for a prescription drug product.