Al Gore-Eat My Shorts

And the beat goes on. According to a Rice University press release, a new study demonstrates that scientists really don't have an adequate model to explain how the earth's temperature relates to atomospheric CO2 content. No duh! What's more, the government continues down its misguided path to Cap and Trade in a pell mell rush to get it done before the truth gets out. The computer models that we are going to commit our economy to are seriously flawed, yet our legislators turn a blind eye to the REAL science. It is a quest for power and control and they could care less about the truth.

What's really funny is that some of the weather blogs that publicised the Rice study seem shocked at the revalation that something could be wrong with the weather models. The science is settled right? The dissenters (labelled deniers) couldn't possibly be correct, could they? Raise hell about this with your legislators. We cannot be forced to pay for "the sky is falling" science.

I Think, therefore I am a conservative.

First, Let's Kill all the Weasel Words

There isn't a day that goes by where I am not amazed at the stupidity of politicians and the language they use. I am even more mystified by the voters that put these guys into office. I know one thing, a hell of a lot of them are attorneys and that explains a lot. But since this blog is devoted to Plain Talk, I thought I would spend some time on the language that corrupts the meaning of everything we do "weasel words". The usage of weasel words has become so pervasive you are sure to see me ranting more in the future. But for now....

Bock defines "weasel word" as any word or phrase that allows the user to subsequently change its apparent meaning in order to escape the consequences of having used it, or is vague enough to allow for multiple meanings. A "weasel sentence" is one that is sufficiently convoluted or vague to have a current meaning in context, but has potentially multiple meanings in the event of a speaker's retraction; see also, "spin".

A heavily used weasel word is "may". This is a favorite of attorneys. For example if you say; I believe he may be a child molester your are off the hook. You only said "may" which leaves the door open for he "may not" be a child molester. This is good because you can throw the crap out there and have plausible deniability later. People will only remember the crap not the retraction.

Then there are weasel phrases. I like these because they show the creativity of the speaker. Who doesn't remember "it depends on what is is"? Old Slick Willy knew his stuff (attorney of course). He was trying to carve out as much wiggle room as possible so his master spinners could convince the camp followers that he didn't really have sex with Miz Lewinski. Never mind the blue dress. Never mind that 99 percent of people who would say a blow job is having sex (the other one percent are dead people on Chicago's voter roles). Not to be outdone, Bill Clinton's courageous spouse Hillary has one of the best "weasel" phrases on record. It is remarkable for its sheer oilyness and for its cowardice. Perhaps you remember when Hillary was questioning General Petraeus about the USA's military progress in Iraq. She wanted ever so badly to call the general a liar, but that would have been too bold, too harsh and made for a bad sound bite. So what did Ms. Clinton say? She said, "general for me accept what you're saying requires a willful suspension of disbelief". Primo weaselness in a class by itself!

No analysis could be complete without considering our esteemed president Obama. Hmmm...also an attorney. When His Emminence was informed that his VP Joe Biden, speaking plainly unlike most other attorneys, had revealed that the whole administration had been caught by surprise by the depth of the recession. Mr. Obama saw fit to correct him by saying; "I wouldn't have said that, I would have said we didn't have enough facts". Masterful. Taking an outright admission of failure and turning it into a sympathetic scenario whereby the administration was victimized by a lack of information.

There is a little bit of Shakespeare that comes to mind when I hear all this doublespeak, spin and weaseling. It comes from the "Taming of the Shrew". Petruccio has to tame the mean tempered and rebellious Katherine. As a measure of his success he manages to get the willful Katherine to accept that it is the sun she is seeing when really the moon and visa versa. Welcome to the land of politics. Shakespeare also wrote in Henry VI, "first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers". Since we can't do that, let's just demand they speak plain English and stand behind what they say.

Will The Real Obama Please Step Forward !

All during the Obama campaign the Right made a big point of his Majesty's past associations; Bill Ayers and especially Rev. Jeremiah Wright. The key assertion of the conservatives what that these associations gave one a looking glass into the true soul of Obama, his predispositions, true feelings and biases. We know that didn't work with the KoolAid drinking faithful, nor did it seem to sway enough independents. Now, with Obama in office, the light is starting to shine through the cracks in his shell. We will ultimately see the real Obama, because it takes too much work and energy to maintain his facade. I only hope it happens in time.

Take the case of Henry Louis Gates Jr., a prominent Harvard Black Studies professor. He has had a much publicized dust up with a policeman from the Cambridge police department, officer Crowley. I don't know, call me stupid, but I tend to respect police, their job responsibility and I will ALWAYS give them the benefit of the doubt in disputes with "perps". As I read this Cambridge incident, you can get the details from The Smoking Gun website, Gates is just another black man unwilling to let racial equality express itself. He will never respect a white man in authority. He always has a beef and he will always have a "chip on his shoulder". Otherwise he's out of a job. Sadly, this man, along with other notables like his colleague Cornel West, teach the same distrust and suspicion they harbor against whites to their students, forever widening the chasm between blacks and whites, rather than shrinking it. Someone should make the incredibly funny Chris Rock video required reading for Harvard Students. If you haven't seen it please go to it below.



Enter Obama, who comes out incredulously with "I don't know all the facts"......"but the police acted stupidly" comment. Does this bit of Freudian speech by Mr. Obama tell you his true feelings? Even Bill Cosby freaked out. Seems Obama has a clear disposition to doubt the police even without the facts....kinda like a Mr. Ayers or a Reverend Wright wouldn't you say? Obama's anemic press secretary, Robert Gibbs, comes out the following day with a feeble retraction like; "we didn't mean to say the policeman was stupid". Really? Could have fooled me. Muted retraction aside, Obama managed to draw the ire of police organizations across the nation for his bigoted suspicion of the events he knew nothing of. He has reinforced the notion that all black men are immune from suspicion simply because they are black and are a protected class. How does Mr. Obama's biased analysis help keep our inner cities safe and our policemen safe too? Things will be a little dicier on the streets from now on.

As time passes, we ll see more of Obama's true colors. I believe that Obama really did attend a lot of Reverend Wright's most caustic and bigoted sermons and that they had a great impact on him. As the evidence mounts I don't think Obama can escape his well disguised biases and will ultimately alienate the independents that put him in power. I wouldn't be surprised if this whole Cambridge, Gates and Crowley incident doesn't shave another five points off his approval rating in the upcoming weeks. You can't change the leopard's spots.

One Trillion Dollars

Just a light break from the events of the day. If you don't quite understand the magnitude of the health care plan budget or the size of the deficit, this will wake you up.

Check out this little slide show. We are becoming numb to the scale of damage the dunces in Washington can really do if left unchecked.

Justice Sotomayor-You Said What?

One of the basic premises of this blog is to try and write clearly and simply. I want to keep that in mind for this short post.

Supreme Court nominee Sotomayor is now famous (infamous) for her statement about, to paraphrase, "her rich experiences as a Latina woman that would likely make her better able to judge than a white man". She used this line as part of a stock speech that was given about a half dozen times in front of various groups. In another case of foot in mouth disease Sotomayor was caught on video yakking about how apellate justices are able to set policy, a clear "thumb in the eye to the concept of Judicial Discretion.

Supreme Court justices are supposed to be divorced from their feelings toward litigants. They are also not supposed to oversstep the powers granted to the judicial branch of government by the constitution; and they are not supposed to say stupid things. Forget the technical issues, like reverse discrimination, empathy and racism when challenging Justice Sotomayor's confirmation. Why in the world did she say such stupid things, and not just one time? If she hadn't opened her yap she would be cruising. Senators like Jeff Sessions have every right in the world to doubt Justice Sotomayor's convictions, but of course the left has made clear that the examinors asking the real questions are all white males. You know you are getting somewhere if you get called a racist. That is the word that has been used to end all honest discussion. In fact most of the senators side stepped the part of her "wise Latina" line that included "white male". Why? For fear of raising the race issue, but they had little to worry about because everyone knows honest questions directed at a Latina woman, causing her discomfort and likely causing her to lie is racist. If you watched any of the confirmation hearings you could see it in her demeanor. There is no question in my mind she is lying, fabricating and misdirecting about how she plans to rule on the Supreme Court bench.

Bah! She should be tossed for simply saying such stupid things during her career. Americans deserve better.

Welcome to the Land of OZ

Is the honeymoon over? It's sure beginning to look like it. Obama's numbers are sliding. Dissenters are becoming louder and the legislative agenda is being slowed down. Rightfully so. When you get legislators admitting that they don't read the legislation, what kind of deal is that? That's why we are getting a lot of crap produced in Washington. The little sentences and paragraphs that no one reads comes back to haunt later and the perennial victim, US voters and taxpayers.

Enter the Ego. The Democrats realize they have their big chance, but did they miscalculate in pressing forward so aggressively? It has made people suspicious. It is causing scrutiny. Thank God (did I say that?) for the internet. Thanks to Al Gore, information is moving almost as quickly as the bad legislation and things might get sane real soon. However, Rahm Emanuel is a motivated guy. His job is to keep the skids greased and to keep the Obama agenda moving forward. What's the best way to do that? Throw the Bush Administration under the bus again.

Welcome to OZ. Pay no attention to what's going on behind the curtain; government health care, bailouts and crushing debt. The real problem is former Vice President Cheney and his secret CIA plan to kill Al Queda leaders after 09/11 (sounds good to me). Pay no attention to a floundering economy, North Korean missiles, government run business and trillions of dollars of debt. As the CIA story unfolds we will find that this is just another attempt to distract people looking for answers. Sadly the mainstream press has fallen into line with lead stories. The Looney Left will bask in the negative press. By the time this all sorts out and the media jocks have to eat their words, the damage will be done. You'll find the retractions, if any, on page D-12.

The time is soon coming when the Bush factor will no longer make good cover for the Democrats' gaffs. In the meantime expect more diversions to be trotted out to invigorate the faithful. Can you say war crimes? Rush Limbaugh made a good point today. He mentioned that judicial attacks on the previous administration by the ones in power is a characteristic of a Third World Banana Republic. The more I thought of it, the more it made sense. Discredit your predecessor and insure he doesn't come back. I am hoping that enough folks throw back the curtain and expose the little man pulling the levers. It's time to pave the way for Real Change in 2010.

When Tort Reform Hits Close to Home

Southern California burns. Who is responsible? In one case, a hunter. In lots of others that aren't publicized, illegal aliens, but it's OK, they are free to start fires and otherwise wreck the country, but I digress. However, to hundreds of other gamblers....er plaintiffs it is the local utility company who is to blame, San Diego Gas and Electric.

Let's see, this is the company that amazingly provides electricity and gas to millions in San Diego County. They say SDGE is a little pricey, but considering what they do, I'll take it. Well, someone got it in their head to sue SDGE for sparking lines, that MAY have contributed to one of several fires that started in the county. Seems that high winds blow down power lines no matter how well they are maintained. I even spot a little truck every month that comes around where I live (out in the sticks) and looks at every telephone pole and tags it as inspected. They even clean around it and clear away trees and obtructions. If a company does all that and makes a good faith effort to keep its lines safe, then any "blow down" resulting in fire is an "act of God" right? Wrong. It is a lottery.

We have reached a point where the concept of a "reasonable man"; that is, a person or company that took reasonable care in conducting his life or business and wasn't grossly negligent was not responsible for accidents. Somewhere in the last few decades, the legal system decided that every accident has a cause for which someone (Does 1 - 100) is liable. This concept has proven to be the gum in the engine of the economy. So much damn money is sucked out of the economy that serves only to reward those that have no reasonable expectation of enrichment. Justice is thrown out the window and the defendents usually pay up whether they are culpable or not.

In the SDGE case, the prospect of mega legal settlements in wildfire cases has caused them to propose an emergency shutoff plan. Under the plan, when there are certain conditions met, the utility will shut off power. Well I am one of those lucky 150,000 or so that will have his power cut off when the fire danger is highest....all because of lawsuit intimidation. I will be rendered helpless at the most dangerous time for my home. I will have no power for up to 72 hours, I will not have electricity for lighting and refrigeration. Most importantly I will have no power for my well or my electric fire fighting pumps. To protect my home will require thousands of dollars of investment in non-grid power sources to fight fire and provide basic services.

If you are still following this, some stinking attorneys and their all too willing clients, in search of "legal lotto" are going to cost me thousands to simply protect my home by cowing SDGE into submission. I plan on asking SDGE to provide me with a diesel or propane whole-house generator and a gas or diesel powered fire fighting pump. Surely they will find this cheaper than my lawsuit if I get burned out by a wildfire and my power is gone....as a precaution.

It's all baloney and in various shapes and forms this little money dance is taking place all through the economy every day. Legal intimidation costs every man woman and child a hefty price for all his and her purchases every year. If the populace would smarten up a little, perhaps this would catch fire, no pun intended, and we could have meaningful tort and lawsuit reform instead of paying 200 percent extra for a ladder or extension cord.

Man of the Hour-Congressman John Fleming of Louisiana

Once of a while some fresh air comes along and you get a sense that not all of your legislators are your enemy. Take for instance, Rep. John Fleming of Louisiana. Rep. Fleming introduced a non binding resolution to require all legislators to participate in the impending government health care fiasco. The resolution is striking in its simplicity and for its common sense. Ask yourself why wouldn't Congressmen, Senators and the President be required (or compelled) to live under the instruments of their own creation?

I spend some time on discrimination in this blog and this falls into that category. Government officials are a coddled class and so insulated from their constituents by distance, deference and stature, that they forget where their power comes from. Once they are in Washington they easily forget that they were once "one of the masses". How could you not when you dictate your own pay and your own pension, virtually guaranteeing from the date of you election, comfort and security that most can only dream about? Why would you care if Social Security went bankrupt when you aren't required to participate in it? Why worry about government health care if you are exempt? If we are truly on the road to socialism where everyone makes the same thing economically, then it will be the politicians that are the elite class in the new order under Obama. Just like old Soviet Russia.

Although there are bumps in the road to passage of governmental health care, it is likely that something will be forced down our throats. I ask anyone reading this to remember that His Highness Barack, promised he and his family would be part of what ever health care plan was adopted. Let's make sure he keeps that promise. In the meantime, here is a link to the news report about Rep. Fleming's resolution. If you have the time, go to his website. He has a straw poll going on there and you can vote for his measure. Thank you Rep. Fleming, you made my day, but how about making it a "binding" resolution next time?

Beauty and the Beast

So much news today and every day since the Obama administration seems to be on "speed". In other items; Governor, and soon to be ex-governor, Sanford can't keep his pants on and can't keep his mouth shut; California has run out of money because the legislature can't spend within its means; Michael Jackson's corpse is headline news; and now we have a one-party system because the bozo Al Franken is a Saturday Night Live senator. The list goes on. Too much doom and gloom can make one sullen and cynical, so let's break out.

I have a hobby of desert gardening and here's what I found this morning by my front patio. It is the bloom of the Trichocereus "Flying Saucer" cactus. Don't ask me how it got the name "flying saucer". It is magnificent and the bees are fighting to get into its center.

Cacti are a strange lot for plants. Pretty plain looking, some very thorny and nasty, but a disproportionate number of them put out these incredible blooms. Just goes to show you that in a mean and nasty world, there is always time for beauty. Enjoy and take a rest from the maelstrom.