Slugger's Blog

Obama Cartoon

2014-09-26T20:31:00.001-04:00

Reasons Why Hillary Shouldn't Have Bill Campaign For Her....

2008-01-27T19:38:00.000-05:00

BILL CLINTON MADE HISTORY.....

▪ Most number of convictions and guilty pleas by friends and associates.

▪ Most number of cabinet officials to come under criminal investigation.

▪ Most number of witnesses to flee country or refuse to testify.

▪ Most number of witnesses to die suddenly.

▪ First president sued for sexual harassment.

▪ First president accused of rape.

▪ First president to be held in contempt of court.

▪ First president to be impeached for personal malfeasance.

▪ First first lady to come under criminal investigation.

▪ Largest criminal plea agreement in an illegal campaign-contribution case.

▪ Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions.

▪ Number of Starr-Ray investigation convictions or guilty pleas to date: one governor, one associate attorney general and two Clinton business partners: 14.

▪ Number of Cabinet members who came under criminal investigation: 5.

▪ Number of individuals and businesses associated with the Clinton machine that were convicted of or pleaded guilty to crimes: 47.

▪ Number of these convictions during Clinton's presidency: 33.

▪ Number of indictments/misdemeanor charges: 61.

▪ Number of congressional witnesses who pleaded the Fifth Amendment, fled the country to avoid testifying, or (in the case of foreign witnesses) refused to be interviewed: 122.

▪ Guilty pleas and convictions obtained by Donald Smaltz in cases involving charges of bribery and fraud against former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy and associated individuals and businesses: 15; acquitted or overturned cases (including Espy): 6.

▪ Clinton machine crimes for which convictions were obtained: drug trafficking, 3; racketeering, extortion, bribery, 4; tax evasion, kickbacks, embezzlement, 2; fraud, 12; conspiracy, 5; fraudulent loans, illegal gifts, 1; illegal campaign contributions, 5; money laundering, 6; perjury, et al.

▪ Number of times that Clinton figures who testified in court or before Congress said that they didn't remember, didn't know, or something similar: Bill Kennedy, 116; Harold Ickes, 148; Ricki Seidman, 160; Bruce Lindsey, 161; Bill Burton, 191; Mark Gearan, 221; Mack McLarty, 233; Neil Egglseston, 250; John Podesta, 264; Jennifer O'Connor, 343; Dwight Holton 348; Patsy Thomasson, 420; Jeff Eller, 697; and Hillary Clinton, 250.

Believe it or not, this exhaustive list omits even lengthier lists – on public record – of crimes investigated, public officials and reporters intimidated, threatened and muzzled, and the raft of dead people associated with the Clintons who died by guns, knives, alleged suicides, etc. See http://members.tripod.com/~rcjustice/pres.html and http://prorev.com/legacy.htm.

Sign Holders Show Enthusiasm At N.H. Polling Places

2008-01-08T08:59:00.000-05:00

POLL WORKERS SHOWING INCREDIBLE ENTHUSIASM
ON PRIMARY DAY

poll workers chanting
"John McCain, John McCain, John McCain...."
Others respond with "Hillary, Hillary, Hillary..."

PREDICTIONS OF A MCCAIN AND OBAMA VICTORY
STILL STANDING STRONG!!!

SLUGGER'S BLOG PROJECTS MCCAIN & OBAMA WINNERS IN N.H.

2008-01-08T05:44:00.000-05:00

SLUGGER'S BLOG PROJECTS WINNERS
NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY!
DIXVILLE NOTCH, NH CASTS FIRST VOTES IN NH PRIMARY!

DIXVILLE NOTCH, New Hampshire (CNN) -- Citizens went to the polls in two small New Hampshire towns just after midnight Tuesday to cast the first ballots in a 2008 presidential primary. Rick Erwin tallies the nation's first primary votes in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. In Dixville Notch, they gave Sen. John McCain an early lead in the GOP race and Sen. Barack Obama a lead in the Democratic contest.

McCain garnered four votes, followed by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with two and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani with one.
Obama, fresh off a victory in the Iowa caucuses, took seven votes. Former Sen. John Edwards won two votes, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson got one.
Sen. Hillary Clinton drew no votes among the 10 Democrats casting ballots in Dixville Notch, a hamlet of about 75 people near the Canadian border.
In Hart's Location, population 42, Obama received nine votes, Clinton three and Edwards one, The Associated Press reported. On the GOP side, McCain received six, Mike Huckabee five, Ron Paul four and Romney one.
For the rest of the state, most polls open at 6 a.m.; the last close at 8 p.m.
Leading up to the primary, the top contenders were scrambling to nail down supporters among an electorate notorious for its independence.
Obama worked to turn an apparent boost in the polls after the Iowa caucuses into a second victory over his leading rivals, Clinton and Edwards. And McCain expressed confidence that he would win the day's Republican primary, a contest he won during his first White House bid eight years ago.
"We are going to prove that you can't buy an election in the state of New Hampshire -- and we are also going to prove that negative attack ads don't work either," he said Monday in a jab at Romney, his leading rival.

Romney has poured $8 million into television ads in the Granite State, outspending McCain 2-to-1, according to figures from TNS Media Intelligence/CMAG, CNN's consultant on television campaign advertising.
But a CNN/WMUR poll of likely voters released Monday night showed McCain leading Romney by a margin of 31 to 26 percentage points.
Change was the buzzword on all the candidates' lips Monday. Speaking in Nashua, Romney emphasized his experience in business and in shaking up the 2002 Winter Olympic effort rather than his experience in public office.
"If there has ever been a time we need a change in Washington, it's now," Romney said. "Because in my experience, what I've heard as I travel this country is that Washington is broken."
Romney also spent heavily in Iowa, only to be beaten by Huckabee. The former Arkansas governor won Iowa with extensive support from evangelical Christian voters, but was running third in more secular, libertarian New Hampshire with 13 percent, Monday's poll found.
"If we come in anywhere in the third or fourth spot, we are going to be doing great," he said on CNN Monday.
New Hampshire's independent voters, who make up about 40 percent of the state's electorate, could throw a surprise into the primaries, however.
McCain's 2000 victory came on the backs of a strong independent turnout in the GOP primary, but a CNN-WMUR poll Sunday found independent voters split almost evenly between the parties this year.
And more than 20 percent of respondents on both sides said they either had not yet made up their minds or are still open to changing their minds before voting.
Among Democrats, Monday's poll found Obama riding a 9-point lead over Clinton, 39 percent to 30 percent. Edwards, who edged out Clinton for second place in Iowa, ran third with 16 percent.
Obama's theme of "hope" has drawn crowds, but also criticism from rivals who suggest he will be too soft to deliver the change he promises. The first-term Illinois senator defended his message Monday, telling a crowd in Rochester that hope "is not blind optimism."
"Hope's the opposite of that," he said. "Hope's not ignoring the challenges and obstacles that stand in your way, it's about confronting them."
Meanwhile, he said, "The real gamble would be to have the same old folks doing the same old things over and over and over again and somehow expecting a different result."
Clinton has tried to turn the tide by emphasizing her record as a "change agent," as a senator and as first lady. She fought tears as she described the stakes in the campaign at a forum with uncommitted voters in Portsmouth, calling it "one of the most important elections America has ever faced."
"This is very personal for me -- it's not just political, it's not just public," she said in response to a question about the stress of the campaign. "I see what's happening, and we have to reverse it."
Edwards, meanwhile, sharpened his criticism of Clinton, blasting her for taking money from the pharmaceutical and defense interests the former trial lawyer routinely excoriates on the stump.
"What has been happening in America is it is big corporate businesses and big multinational corporations that have entirely too much influence on the policy," he told CNN.
Richardson, who was polling fourth among Democrats at 7 percent, said he has set his sights on the remaining undecided voters.
"With Bill Richardson, you get change and you get experience," the former U.N. ambassador and energy secretary told CNN. "You have to have experience to change things. I have a record."
Rep. Dennis Kucinich and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel also remain in the Democratic field.
Among the Republican pack, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson has virtually abandoned New Hampshire, while Giuliani has limited his campaigning in early states to focus on the Florida primary later in the month and the February 5 "Super Tuesday" contests.
Paul, an anti-war Texas congressman and onetime Libertarian Party presidential nominee, was drawing 10 percent support in Monday's poll, and a growing number of independents have told pollsters they are considering voting for him.

"The big trouble that we have over the last year was you know, getting our message out," Paul told CNN. "And now, the money is flowing in, the money comes in faster than we can spend it. Because when people hear this message, they get so excited about it."

Romney Campaign Workers Pluck McCain Signs, Replace with Their Own

2008-01-07T14:03:00.000-05:00

DESPERATION!

SIGN STEALING IN NEW HAMPSHIRE!

Nashua, NH

Romney supporters at school in Nashua where the former Governor was coming to speak for a town hall meeting, plucked signs out of the snow belonging to the McCain campaign. It was videotaped by McCain volunteers and is on youtube now.... check it out below...

Republicans Attack Each Other On Foreign Policy...

2008-01-06T10:09:00.003-05:00

AT THE ABCNEWS DEBATES... FOREIGN POLICY, IS ISSUE OF DEEP PASSION AND HEAVY COMPARISON.
"There were times when we gave the world the impression that we were going to ignore what they thought or what they felt," said Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee of President Bush and his foreign policy. Huckabee was forced into defending his earlier remarks about the president, one of which called the president "arrogant". Huckabee even went so far as to attack Gov. Mitt Romney and said the former Massachussetts governor supported a 'timid withdrawal of U.S. troops' from Iraq.

As usual McCain came out looking like the winner, at least on the foreign policy side of things, touting his initial calls for more U.S. troop deployment into Iraq, and his critisism of Rumsfeld. McCain even mentioned that the president deserved credit for the lack of a terrorist attack on U.S. soil since september 11th, 2001.

"I am the only one here that disagreed at the time; I am the only one that said at the time we have got to employ a new strategy. "We are succeeding now in Iraq ... As we blame the president for the failed strategy, we should give him credit for changing the strategy," McCain said in the debate. "I know how to lead, I have been involved in these issues and I know how to solve them," said McCain

TIME MAGAZINE: "Clinton Machine Shaken By Setback"

2008-01-06T10:00:00.001-05:00

The Time magazine article alledges, that Clinton advisors may be dropping out of the camp like flies so to speak. At one point they go on to say;

".....leaves them facing problems on two levels. The first, and easier one to grapple with, is how to deal with Obama. Even as the results in Iowa were still coming in, the Clinton campaign was mobilizing onto an attack footing. But it's possible that the most difficult problem is not Obama; it could be Clinton. How can she retool her message — and her identity as a virtual incumbent — to resonate with an electorate that seems to yearn more for change than any other quality?"

SUNDAY NEW HAMPSHIRE RASMUSSEN POLL:

OBAMA: 39%
CLINTON: 27%

look at the:
WAR-WEARY FACE OF HILLARY CLINTON IN N.H.

Rasmussen Reports: Obama & McCain ahead in N.H.

2008-01-06T06:11:00.000-05:00

Survey of 441 Likely GOP Voters
January 4, 2008

New Hampshire GOP Primary
John McCain	31%
Mitt Romney	26%
Ron Paul	14%
Mike Huckabee	11%
Rudy Giuliani	8%
Fred Thompson	5%
Some other candidate	2%

------------------------------------------------------

Survey of 510 Likely Dem Primary Voters
January 4, 2008

New Hampshire Dem Primary
Barack Obama	37%
Hillary Clinton	27%
John Edwards	19%
Bill Richardson	8%
Dennis Kucinich	3%
Mike Gravel	1%

Clinton, Obama Fight It Out Among Democrats As McCain Climbs

2008-01-05T21:47:00.000-05:00

Great News for John McCain!

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- The latest WMUR/CNN tracking poll shows a close race on the Democratic side and one candidate gaining ground among Republicans.The poll shows Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama tied at 33 percent, followed by John Edwards at 20 percent. Bill Richardson has 4 percent support, followed by Dennis Kucinich at 2 percent.Among Republicans, John McCain has surged into a 6-point lead over Mitt Romney, 33 percent to 27 percent. Three days ago, polls showed the two tied.

Rudy Giuliani was third with 14 percent, followed by Iowa winner Mike Huckabee at 11 percent. Ron Paul was next with 9 percent, followed by Duncan Hunter and Fred Thompson, with 1 percent each.The polls have a 5 percent margin of error.

The Detroit News Endorses McCain

The Detroit News endorsed John McCain for President because he is best qualified to lead our nation and always puts the country ahead of partisan politics. Michigan's economic disorder is the biggest concern for the state's residents, as well as the war on terror, immigration, health care and environmental concerns. John McCain is ready to meet these challenges.

"He has broad appeal to the middle of the electorate, offering hope that the bitter partisan divisions that dominate Washington would diminish under a McCain presidency. He is a conservative who has worked across the aisle throughout his career to push for common-sense solutions -- most recently with pragmatic approaches to immigration and global warming." Click here to read the editorial.

The Detroit News joins over thirty other newspapers across the country endorsing John McCain.

Repost: Video of Hillary Clinton defending Lobbyists

2008-01-05T08:14:00.000-05:00

Prior to Iowa.. Obama Surges.. On to N.H. where the odds are near even with Hillary...

2008-01-05T07:46:00.000-05:00

OBAMA HAS WON IOWA, AND HAS EATEN AWAY HILLARY'S LEAD IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Obama trails Senator Clinton 32-26% according to the realclearpolitics data from the Zogby tracking poll among New Hampshire voters, conducted January 3rd 2008. Obama is riding his "surge" following his sweeping victory in the Iowa Caucus. New Hampshire voters will not be so easy to win over, and no candidate can claim an easy victory in New Hampshire. Obama hit the road using his retail politics techniques and showing an incredible upward climb in N.H. and is making the Clinton camp panic.

Obama addressing folks using some of McCain's language, is attempting to use the same mantle that McCain used in 2000 when the Arizona senator upset then-governor George W. Bush in N.H.

"If you know who you are, if you know what you believe in, if you know your principles, if you know what you are fighting for, then you can reach out to those you don't agree with," he told a crowd of more than 1,500, including students, assembled in a Concord, N.H., high school. "If they are Republicans and independents who are working with me, that makes us stronger."

With New Hampshire debates looming, Clinton and Obama have issued under-the-skin jabs at each other and are showing folks that it is crunch time. Clinton has said of Obama;
"I know that the next president will embody the hopes and dreams of all of us, but I also know that they cannot be false hopes. "We have to pick a president who is ready on Day One to do the job, the tough and difficult job," said Clinton, seeking to become America's first female president.

Obama tells New Hampshire voters; "You the people of New Hampshire can build the coalition that we have not seen in a generation," he said, implicitly contrasting his appeal with what critics say is Clinton's divisive image.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:

Obama appeals to N.H. independents
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Democrat Barack Obama appealed to New Hampshire's famously unaligned voters, embracing all political persuasions and borrowing language from Republican John McCain, a favorite of New Hampshire's independent voters eight years ago.
"If you know who you are, if you know what you believe in, if you know your principles, if you know what you are fighting for, then you can reach out those you don't agree with," he told a crowd of more than 1,500, including students, assembled in a Concord high school.
He said he would demand sacrifice from Americans when necessary and be frank about his goals and his approach to governing.
Then, lifting McCain's catch phrase, he added: "We need someone who exercises straight talk instead of spin."

The Real Mitt Romney...

2008-01-05T06:22:00.000-05:00

Let’s first look at Romney’s record। In recent years:

- Romney campaigned as pro-choice (Now, is pro-life)
- Romney campaigned as pro-gay rights (Now, is anti-gay rights)
- Romney employed Illegal Immigrants (Now, is against employing illegals)
- Romney raised taxes (fees and corporate taxes are taxes) (Now, is anti-tax)
- Romney had a job growth rate that was 49th in the nation (Says he can create jobs)
- Romney appointed an inmate appeasing social worker to run the prison system (Wants to be tough on crime)

I was viewing a c-span broadcast earlier today, featuring the former Massachussetts governor, campaigning in Manchester, New Hampshire। Following his "Ask Mitt Anything" session he was approached by an elderly gentleman who asked him squarely about his retirement benefits, and why are they taxed when veterans' benefits are not. Gov. Romney failed to make eye contact and then said "I'll Look Into That"... Then he walked off.

It wasn't a great display of "Ask Mitt Anything" as his slogan touts; but alas, it's common place with the majority of the politicians running in this election cycle. My observations of Senator John McCain at townhall meetings have been much more promising, he has taken the tough questions and still gives the best response that he can to each particular issue.

We need a president who is not made up for the glitz and glamour, the lights and television. We need a president who isn't afraid of what scrutiny he will be under if he makes a decision that he believes is the right thing to do. A commander-in-chief should never fear what is thought of him upon making a tough decision to benefit his country and/or achieve victory. It's the one lesson we should learn and take from the presidency of George W. Bush.

NH REPUBLICAN PRIMARY POLLING DATA.... (realclear politics)

2008-01-05T06:12:00.001-05:00

Poll	Date	McCain	Romney	Giuliani	Huckabee	Paul	Thompson	Spread
RCP Average	12/27 - 01/03	31.3	29.8	10.0	9.5	7.0	2.0	McCain +1.5
Suffolk/WHDH	01/02 - 01/03	25	29	9	13	8	2	Romney +4.0
Zogby Tracking	12/31 - 01/03	34	30	9	10	7	2	McCain +4.0
Franklin Pierce	12/27 - 12/31	37	31	10	5	6	2	McCain +6.0
CNN/WMUR/UNH		29	29	12	10	7	2	Tie

POLLS FAVORING A MCCAIN SURGE!!!!!

2008-01-05T06:02:00.000-05:00

Republican Presidential Nomination

Poll	Date	Giuliani	McCain	Huckabee	Romney	Thompson	Spread
RCP Average	12/14 to 12/30	20.2%	17.4%	17.0%	14.8%	11.4%	Giuliani +2.8%
Pew Research	12/19 - 12/30	20%	22%	17%	12%	9%	McCain +2.0%
FOX News	12/18 - 12/19	20%	19%	19%	11%	10%	Giuliani +1.0%
NBC/WSJ	12/14 - 12/17	20%	14%	17%	20%	11%	Tie
USA Today/Gallup	12/14 - 12/16	27%	14%	16%	14%	14%	Giuliani +11.0%
Rasmussen (Fri)	4 Day Tracking	14%	18%	16%	17%	13%	McCain +1.0%

ALSO, CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUP POLLING...
MCCAIN VS. SEN. CLINTON

Obama, Huckabee Win Big In Iowa... What's Next?

2008-01-04T04:42:00.000-05:00

What is next for the candidates that have stayed in the race past Iowa?

DEMOCRATS

Barack Obama:
Wins big in Iowa, now has to keep the charge up into New Hampshire, where Obama has lagged, but has still a pretty strong campaign.

John Edwards:
Has revived a campaign, and has resurfaced as a viable choice for voters nationwide. His campaign is re-energized, but look for him to fall back behind Clinton and Obama as the contests go on.

Hillary Clinton:
Received a huge blow from the Iowa caucuses, where she expected to do better than she ended up doing. Mrs. Clinton goes on limping into New Hampshire where where the ball appears to be in Obama's court to dig the saber deeper. Remember, Hillary polls very well in New Hampshire, and it's still hers to lose.

REPUBLICANS

Mike Huckabee:
Rode the surge built by the faction of the republican party that considers themselves "evangelical", still doesn't have enough sway with voters in New Hampshire and other yankee states, because of his controversial stands on immigration and tax/spending issues. Southern states will respond kindly to his message... Look for New Hampshire to deny him and south carolina to boost him back up again.

Mitt Romney:
This could spell disaster for the Romney campaign, the fact that he was the one that was supposed to win Iowa, and could not do it. His initial comments and attack ads have backfired on him and have made him look like a dirtier politician than he is. If McCain bests Romney in New Hampshire, Romney will be limping through the rest of the primaries across the country.

Ron Paul:
Ron Paul's candidacy has represented the "Maverick" group within the republican primary process, much like and unlike the 2000 candidacy of John McCain when he ran as the outsider. Paul's supporters are far more militant and enthusiastic than most any other candidate in either party for president, his message is a breath of fresh air... But will he be able to create his own surge. His numbers look decent nationally, but they will have to get a boost from somewhere, he needs to see the increase in New Hampshire, which is a state that responds well to libertarian idealogy.

Rudy Giuliani:
Not looking good at all, as expected. He bypassed the traditional first in the nation process and is pretty much skipping the starting gate and trying to leap onto the track. This strategy looks better on paper than it typically plays out. Momentum from a McCain or Huckabee win in New Hampshire could take all the wind out of Giuliani's sails. He is taking a political risk, and he knows it.

Fred Thompson:
Fred's charisma and hoopla from the initial rumors of his candidacy were not enough to make him take off. Iowa caucuses left him in a virtual tie with Sen. John McCain for 3rd place. A strong 3rd place showing is what he needed to power through the rest of the primary process, however he garnered a weak 3rd place showing pretty much tying with John McCain... Which makes Thompson's candidacy virtually dead in the water at this point.. he needs a miracle.

John McCain:
John McCain got exactly what he asked for out of Iowa caucus-goers; which was a strong, consistant showing in the outcome, without even campaigning much there and leaving that night to go back to New Hampshire. That alone, shows you the kind of clout that the Senator will provide across the nation as the primary process gets underway. His chances are still strong and climing, since he climbed atop national polling for the first time in quite a while, and recently just polled #1 in New Hampshire over former Massachussetts governor, Mitt Romney. The "Comeback Kid" as he has been dubbed recently, has the most promising upside going into New Hampshire, despite Huckabee's evangelical surge in Iowa.

Predicition:

McCain Wins New Hampshire

Clinton Wins New Hampshire

SluggerBlog Endorses John McCain For President

2007-12-19T16:04:00.000-05:00

If the primaries were held today, I would have to take a republican ballot and cast it for Senator John McCain of Arizona. Like many of my fellow New Hampshirites I value his outsider mentality and ability to work with the democratic party. On social issues I disagree with his stance on abortion, gay rights and immigration. But however on foreign policy I have come to find myself closely aligned with his viewpoints on the war in Iraq and the so-called "war on terror".

His belief that our nation's top priority should be a strong defense is something that I honor in selecting a candidate. His beliefs in holding business accountable yet keeping a competative environment for small businesses to grow and thrive is also a strong point for me in comparison to the other candidates in the field. Out of the current field of candidates; both democratic and republican, he is the man I would most trust to protect my family, friends and myself from attack but yet still maintain positive diplomatic relations. And also, in my view; being a veteran should be a requirement for the office of President and John McCain fills that requirement to the FULLEST.

So far no other GOP candidate has shown me that they would be better for America and bringing people together as much as the Senator from Arizona. So I am officially endorsing John McCain for president for the upcoming 2008 presidential primary and I urge my many friends and family from my home in New Hampshire to join me once again and vote for him.

The best candidate to take on someone like Hillary Clinton....

GLOBAL WARMING: When Are We Supposed To Warm Up Again?

2007-12-19T15:51:00.000-05:00

Since the mid-19th century, the mean global temperature has increased by 0.7 degrees Celsius. Antarctica is getting colder. Neither the intensity nor the frequency of hurricanes has increased. According to S. Fred Singer, a renowned Atmospheric Physicist;

"There is no proof that the current warming is caused by the rise of greenhouse gases from human activity. Ice core records from the past 650,000 years show that temperature increases have preceded—not resulted from—increases in CO₂ by hundreds of years, suggesting that the warming of the oceans is an important source of the rise in atmospheric CO₂. As the dominant greenhouse gas, water vapour is far, far more important than CO₂. Dire predictions of future warming are based almost entirely on computer climate models, yet these models do not accurately understand the role or water vapor—and, in any case, water vapor is not within our control. Plus, computer models cannot account for the observed cooling of much of the past century (1940–75), nor for the observed patterns of warming—what we call the “fingerprints.” For example, the Antarctic is cooling while models predict warming. And where the models call for the middle atmosphere to warm faster than the surface, the observations show the exact opposite.
The best evidence supporting natural causes of temperature fluctuations are the changes in cloudiness, which correspond strongly with regular variations in solar activity. The current warming is likely part of a natural cycle of climate warming and cooling that’s been traced back almost a million years. It accounts for the Medieval Warm Period around 1100 A.D., when the Vikings settled Greenland and grew crops, and the Little Ice Age, from about 1400 to 1850 A.D., which brought severe winters and cold summers to Europe, with failed harvests, starvation, disease, and general misery. Attempts have been made to claim that the current warming is “unusual” using spurious analysis of tree rings and other proxy data. Advocates have tried to deny the existence of these historic climate swings and claim that the current warming is "unusual" by using spurious analysis of tree rings and other proxy data, resulting in the famous “hockey–stick” temperature graph. The hockey-stick graph has now been thoroughly discredited."

Recent weeks have seen the return of unusually cold conditions to the Northern Hemisphere. On Dec. 7, St. Cloud, Minn., set a new record low of minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit. On the same date, record low temperatures were also recorded in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Extreme cold weather is occurring worldwide. On Dec. 4, in Seoul, Korea, the temperature was a record minus 5 degrees Celsius. Nov. 24, in Meacham, Ore., the minimum temperature was 12 degrees Fahrenheit colder than the previous record low set in 1952. The Canadian government warns that this winter is likely to be the coldest in 15 years.

Dec 7 05:55 PM US/Eastern
By CATHERINE TSAI
Associated Press Writer

DENVER (AP) - Bitterly cold air poured southward across the nation's midsection Wednesday, dropping temperatures to record lows from Montana to Illinois.

The mercury dived to a record 45 below at West Yellowstone, Mont., the frequently cold spot at the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park, the National Weather Service said. The old record for Dec. 7 was 39 below, set in 1927.
The cold even extended south to the Texas Panhandle, where Lubbock shivered at a record low 6 above zero, the weather service said.
The body of a homeless man was found huddled next to a fence in Denver, where the temperature hit 11 below Wednesday, and authorities were trying to determine if he froze to death. He apparently had shed his jacket in a phenomenon called "paradoxical undressing," where victims of hypothermia become disoriented and hallucinate, deputy coroner Amy Martin said.

The Denver Rescue Mission opened all available space for the homeless.
The coldest spot in Colorado early Wednesday was Hohnholz Ranch, 50 miles northwest of Fort Collins, which bottomed out at 37 below zero, the weather service said.
In Gunnison, Alec Solimeo tended bar at the Timbers Sports Bar & Grill wearing a couple layers of clothing Tuesday as a faulty heater let the inside temperature drop to 42 degrees. The outside temperature fell to 12 below early Wednesday, the weather service said.
"I'm keeping these travelers happy," Solimeo said, adding that his regular customers apparently stayed home. "They're playing pool, drinking some Irish coffee and doing some singing."
Temperatures read like baseball scores in northeastern New Mexico—zero at Las Vegas and 1 at Raton. "I'm sitting here in my office and it's freezing and we've got the heat on full blast," said Bill Cox, owner of the Hillcrest Restaurant in Las Vegas.
The cold follows a blizzard that blasted much of the Plains on Nov. 27-28, shutting down hundreds of miles of major highways across a half-dozen states and piling up snowdrifts 8 feet high in South Dakota.
Just two of the 157 South Dakota towns that had power problems after that storm snapped power lines were still without electricity Wednesday, but more than 3,600 rural customers were still blacked out, said Tom Dravland, state public safety secretary. Lows across the eastern part of the state dipped to as much as 20 below.
A winter storm warning was issued Wednesday in and around the Dallas- Fort Worth area, where the temperature fell from the low 40s before sunrise to the upper 20s by the end of the morning rush hour. Freezing rain and sleet fell Wednesday and up to 2 inches of snow was predicted by Thursday morning.
Elsewhere Wednesday, the weather service said record lows for the date included 28 below zero at Drummond, Mont., where the date's previous record was 21 below in 1971; 26 below at Seeley Lake, Mont.; 25 below at Laramie, Wyo., tying a 1978 reading; 17 below at Alliance, Neb.; 19 below at Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and 3 below at Lincoln, Ill.

What Is This About John Edwards & Rielle Hunter?

2007-12-19T15:23:00.000-05:00

ACCORDING TO NOOKIE REPORT LAST MONTH:

Last month’s National Enquirer story on John Edwards and his alleged affair with campaign staffer Rielle Hunter may or may not be total bullshit. One insider said “there’s a lot of smoke… no smoking gun,” while another said the tab has plans to publish e-mails containing damning details of the reported affair.
Enquirer editor David Perel wouldn’t comment on the recent speculation, telling Rush & Malloy “I never like to talk about what’s not published, but we are still doing the story. The original story was 100% accurate.” Meanwhile, Edwards says “the story disappeared because it’s made up.”

Um, yeah…

The way I remember it, I first met Rielle Hunter in a nightclub called Nells in early 1987, although the circumstances of our first meeting seem to be in dispute. In my defense I can only say that events of that decade are not always as clearly etched in memory as we might wish, and neither of us was living a very sober or reflective life back then. At that time Rielle’s name was Lisa Druck, and when she wasn’t out at nightclubs she was taking acting classes. We dated for only a few months, but in that period I spent a lot of time with Lisa and her friends, whose behavior intrigued and appalled me to such an extent that I ended up basing a novel on the experience. The novel was called Story of My Life, and it was narrated in the first person from the point of view of an ostensibly jaded, cocaine- addled, sexually voracious 20-year-old who was, shall we say, inspired by Lisa. I certainly thought of Alison Poole as a sympathetic and ultimately endearing character. One of her most striking traits was her obsession with truth-telling and her horror of being lied to, something that I certainly took directly from Lisa. When Lisa moved to Calfornia and got married I lost track of her, though I was reminded of her whenever someone would ask me, at book signings and lectures, what I imagined happened to Alison Poole after the book ended — whether I saw her as turning her life around or not. Through the grapevine I picked up occasional reports from the West Coast. I heard that Lisa had changed her name to Rielle, that she’d gotten divorced, and that she was increasingly engaged in various spiritual quests which she attempted to explain to me when I finally ran into her; all I could tell for certain was that she was a far happier person than I remembered. Recently she returned to Manhattan and one sunny afternoon in Washington Square Park, attempted to enlighten me on the subject of her own enlightenment.

above is information about Rielle taken from http://bigheaddc.com

McCain Melt Down

2007-07-15T17:41:00.001-04:00

John McCain was my choice for president for the upcoming republican primary set to kick off in 2008. Yes, if the election were held today, I would vote for him... if he was still going to be on the ballot. Ironically, I may have to throw my support behind Rudy Giuliani if McCain does indeed drop out of the running. The former NYC mayor, as you remember was the one I poked fun of on this blog of being a former drag queen. But the ethics of his former staff workers in no way tarnish my view of the distinguished senator from Arizona. McCain's numbers in Iowa, South Carolina, and New Hampshire appear to still be strong despite a recent drop. South Carolina to me being the most important of those big 3. South Carolina usually signals the candidate's staying power and momentum following the NH primary.

SOURCE: http://politics.wizbangblog.com

The latest ARG polls of likely primary voters in the early states shows Hillary Clinton and John McCain leading their respective fields in all three states. Full results at ARG.

In Iowa, Hillary garners 31% support over Edwards' 25% and Obama with only 11%. The only polls that show her at or over 30%, going back to last October, are ARG polls, though. They also show Obama with about half the support other recent polls give him.

On the Republican side, McCain is seen leading Giuliani with 25% to 23, as Romney trails with 16%. However, again: the only poll showing McCain at or above 25% since before Christmas are ARG polls.

The other states have a similar tale to tell:

In New Hampshire, the poll shows Hillary with a commanding lead of 34% to Edwards' 18% and Obama's 15%. Hillary's number is right about the RCP poll average, but ARG and Survey USA have consistently given Hillary high results, while ARG is alone in finding lower support for Obama than the other pollsters.

On the GOP race, McCain is seen ahead with 30% (his highest in any NH poll since January), with Romney at 23% (sharply down from other recent polls) and Giuliani at 21. The RCP average has Romney ahead with 30.0 to McCain's 23.7, so once again ARG is out of line with the others.

~~~~~~~~

In South Carolina, Hillary leads with 34% to Edwards' 30% and Obama with 18%. Obama has been polling in the mid-to-upper 20s here since February, and the support shown for both Clinton and Edwards is their highest of recently reported polls.

McCain is also the beneficiary of ARG in SC with 32%, where they have been the ONLY poll giving him over 30% since before Christmas. The RCP average shows him with a lead, but only with 24% over Rudy's 20 and Fred Thompson's 13.3, with Gingrich at 11.7 and Romney at 9.0.

It sure seems that someone at ARG likes Hillary and McCain, doesn't it?

GRASPING FOR STRAWS: Don Imus The Bigot

2007-04-11T14:10:00.000-04:00

Now it's been a hot minute since morning radio personality; Don Imus referred to the players on the women's basketball team at Rutgers:

IMUS: That’s some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos and –

McGUIRK: Some hard-core hos.

IMUS: That’s some nappy-headed hos there. I’m gonna tell you that now, man, that’s some — woo. And the girls from Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so, like — kinda like — I don’t know.

McGUIRK: A Spike Lee thing.

…ROSENBERG: It was a tough watch. The more I look at Rutgers, they look exactly like the Toronto Raptors.

Well I agree with Al Sharpton and his cronies on one issue. This comment was horrible and should never have been said and deserves the sincerest apology. However I disagree with him and his fellow radicalists when it comes to the whole "boot him off the air" crap. We live in a free society, we must allow the market to dictate whether or not Imus stays on the air. It is NOT our call. Why doesn't Rev. Sharpton and Rev. Jackson get their act together and deal with the real issues facing Black America? It seems their only job is to cry foul over anything and everything that takes place, but forget about the countless times where the term "ho" comes from and who it is most primarily used by. I don't see this a race issue as much as I see it as a gender issue. We need to quit getting up in arms over the small faux pas that plague our airwaves....

You didn't hear quite the same type of outcry when these words were uttered over the national broadcast on HBO: "More people in the world would live if Vice President Dick Cheney died", political commentator Bill Maher said on his HBO telivision show. Unlike Mr. Imus, Bill Maher spouted out something slightly more hatefilled and intentional... But where are the "White Civil Rights Leaders" defending white people who are victims of a "bad joke" over our telivision set or radio broadcast?

Maybe we need to get over ourselves as a nation and quit looking to only see things in black and white. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are living in this fantasy world where they believe they can keep African-American people down to a degree in which they are convinced they constantly need to be patrionized and apologized to. That is not the road to true equality, and that is something at least the Republican party has realized and has come to grips with.

Maybe here in America we need to quit being so bashful about talking about race. If you are racist then you should be shameful and be scared to talk about race. But if you see things as they are with no personal prejudice then you should get a dialogue going about this. Nothing makes Americans progress more with civil rights than keeping the activists out of the limelight and letting nature take it's course; Americans finding out on their own that skin color is not an indicator of a different heart that bleeds different blood. It's common sense people... This Don Imus crap is just another distraction from the real issues surrounding the African American community. Pay attention to self made people like Colin Powell or Condoleezza Rice... I would listen to their perspective alot quicker on this issue than Rev. Sharpton who feeds off of any publicity stunt he can find for his own political gain. Thank you all, and God Bless you Rutgers' Women's Basketball team, and God Bless you Don Imus, Only HE can know your heart.

A PARTY DIVIDED: Democratic Leadership Is Unwinding

2007-04-10T17:06:00.000-04:00

THE DEMOCRATIC TAILSPIN IS UNFOLDING

The
Associated Press: "Reid Says He'll Try To Cut Off
War Funds" (4/2/07)

The
Associated Press: "Levin: Senate Will Keep Paying For
War" (4/8/07)

Simply unbelievable.... yet so very typical of the leftists in congress. They are starting to crack inside their own political maneuvering.
"We're not going to vote to cut funding, period," Levin said. "But what we should do, and we're going to do, is continue to press this president to put some pressure on the Iraqi leaders to reach a political settlement." But the this democratic senator seems to be trumpeting for his party's leadership who has gone on record stating the opposite:

"We're not going to back up one second on this, on this veto threat," said Reid, pointing out that a report last week by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service concluded that the military does not need the new funding until July.

But again Sen. Reid, you have promised already not to cut off funds for the troops; at least that is what you stated upon gaining power as majority leader of the senate.

The Remarks Sen. Reid made on Nov. 30, shortly after Democrats won control of Congress. "We're not going to do anything to limit funding or cut off funds," he said at the time.

.....on the PELOSI FRONT:

An Editorial from the washingtonpost.com

Pratfall in Damascus

Nancy Pelosi's foolish shuttle diplomacy

Thursday, April 5, 2007; A16

....here is a clip:

Ms. Pelosi was criticized by President Bush for visiting Damascus at a time when the administration -- rightly or wrongly -- has frozen high-level contacts with Syria. Mr. Bush said that thanks to the speaker's freelancing Mr. Assad was getting mixed messages from the United States. Ms. Pelosi responded by pointing out that Republican congressmen had visited Syria without drawing presidential censure. That's true enough -- but those other congressmen didn't try to introduce a new U.S. diplomatic initiative in the Middle East. "We came in friendship, hope, and determined that the road to Damascus is a road to peace" Ms. Pelosi grandly declared.

Never mind that that statement is ludicrous: As any diplomat with knowledge of the region could have told Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Assad is a corrupt thug whose overriding priority at the moment is not peace with Israel but heading off U.N. charges that he orchestrated the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri. The really striking development here is the attempt by a Democratic congressional leader to substitute her own foreign policy for that of a sitting Republican president. Two weeks ago Ms. Pelosi rammed legislation through the House of Representatives that would strip Mr. Bush of his authority as commander in chief to manage troop movements in Iraq. Now she is attempting to introduce a new Middle East policy that directly conflicts with that of the president. We have found much to criticize in Mr. Bush's military strategy and regional diplomacy. But Ms. Pelosi's attempt to establish a shadow presidency is not only counterproductive, it is foolish.

GOP Message To Speaker Pelosi... GET BACK TO WORK!

2007-04-09T17:46:00.000-04:00

Source: Drudge Report

GOP SLAMS PELOSI: GET BACK TO WORK
Mon Apr 09 2007 10:28:28 ET

Today, GOP Leaders from both chambers urged Speaker Pelosi to call the House back into session immediately to finish its work on the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill for the troops. Speaker Pelosi neglected to appoint House conferees before the two-week break, further delaying negotiations on a final bill.

The joint letter to Pelosi is attached. Text follows:

Dear Speaker Pelosi:

We are writing to urge you to call the House back into session immediately so that Congress can finish its work on the emergency legislation to fund the Global War on Terrorism. This funding request has been pending since February 5, but your leadership team chose to leave town for more than two weeks rather than completing this bill. As a result, our troops have been put at risk.

We are especially troubled by the House's failure to appoint conferees. The Senate appointed conferees on March 29, moments after passing its bill, but the House never did so despite passing the bill a week earlier. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told the Senate that he hoped the House-Senate conference would begin on March 30. That hoped-for progress has been thwarted by your failure to act.

It should go without saying that our military leaders are in the best position to know the needs of our troops, and they have left no doubt that this funding is needed urgently. General Peter Schoomaker, United States Army Chief of Staff, has written that, "without approval of the supplemental funds in April, we will be forced to take increasingly draconian measures which will impact Army readiness and impose hardships on our Soldiers and their families." Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has also emphasized the dangers of delay: "This kind of disruption to key programs will have a genuinely adverse effect on the readiness of the Army and the quality of life for soldiers and their families."

Our troops need this funding, and they need it soon. The Senate is in session and ready to work. We respectfully request that you cancel the remainder of your break, call the House back into session, appoint conferees promptly, and work in good faith to pass a clean supplemental funding bill that the President can sign as soon as possible. Every day we don't fund our troops is a day their ability to fight this war is weakened.

Missile-Defense System Test Succeeds

2007-04-08T02:44:00.000-04:00

By AUDREY McAVOY

Source Article Here

HONOLULU (AP) - The military shot down a Scud-type missile in this year's second successful test of a new technology meant to knock down ballistic missiles in their final minute of flight, the Missile Defense Agency said Friday.

A ship off Kauai fired a target missile before 9 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time Thursday. Three minutes later, soldiers with the U.S. Army's 6th Air Defense Artillery Brigade launched an interceptor missile from Kauai that destroyed the target over the Pacific, according to the agency.

The military says it already can shoot down missiles in their last stage of flight by using Patriot anti-missile batteries. But the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system would be able to protect larger areas than the Patriot system because it intercepts targets at a higher altitude, said agency spokeswoman Pam Rogers.

The new system had its first successful test last year at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. It had another successful test Jan. 27 at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai.

A September test at White Sands failed when the target missile failed after launch.

The Missile Defense Agency moved its testing for the Terminal High Altitude Defense system to Hawaii because the New Mexico range was not large enough for the military to do the testing it wanted, Rogers said.

The military also uses the Pacific Missile Range Facility to test Aegis technology that's designed to shoot down ballistic missiles midway through their flight.

National Missile Defense Agency Site

Coverage of the Missile Defense Plan Video
Missile Defense System News Archives

Giuliani: Personal life doesn’t affect career

2007-04-05T13:10:00.000-04:00

Ok... I have been accused already of attacked Giuliani by my fellow republicans. I am not ANTI-Giuliani... However, I am asking questions and so should you as well! I really am not happy with the current field of possible republican nominees, and I will continue to be vocal about it. And to those of you have decided to email me and complain about my negative Giuliani coverage... Get a damn life, this is my take on the former mayor, who seems way too liberal to be in the republican party. And this is coming from me; "a moderate war-hawk".

Giuliani: Personal life doesn’t affect career

By KEVIN LANDRIGAN

Telegraph Staff

Nashua Telegraph, Nashua,NH

SOURCE ARTICLE

NEW CASTLE – Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani said public confrontations with critics and the breakup of his second marriage at the end of the 1990s did not affect his job cutting taxes, fighting crime and creating jobs as New York’s mayor.

During a wide-ranging interview with The Telegraph on Tuesday, Giuliani said questions about his personal life and temperament come as no surprise in this 2008 campaign and voters should carefully evaluate successes and failures he had in public life during those years.

“The issue about somebody’s personal life and temperament comes down to how do they perform their job. I’ve been an employer for a long time. And that’s how I look at those issues,” Giuliani said after speaking to a packed house of the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce at the Wentworth By The Sea.

“My analysis is, if it’s being fair, is how did it affect their work?”

Giuliani’s tenure as mayor of New York from 1990-2002 was marked by success cracking down on street crime, reducing the welfare caseloads, cutting several city taxes and ultimately helping the city rebound from unforgettable tragedy with the terrorist attacks Sept. 11, 2001.

His critics point during those years to personal struggles, such as the breakup of his second marriage with Donna Hanover.

Giuliani announced a separation the same day in 2000 the New York Daily News reported he was having an extramarital affair with his now-third wife, Judith Nathan.

Throughout his tenure, Giuliani’s strong personality won plenty of enemies.

Former Mayor Ed Koch summed it up after activists questioned Giuliani’s repeated defense of New York Police officers after shooting incidents involving minority residents.

“Blacks and Hispanics . . . would say to me, ‘He’s a racist!’ I said, ‘Absolutely not, he’s nasty to everybody,’ ” Koch said at the time.

Giuliani said with political, and yes, sometimes personal controversy swirling around him, he still did well one of the most difficult jobs in America.

“If they think I had issues in my personal life, did it distract me in any way in reducing the level of crime in New York by 50, 60, 70 percent?” Giuliani asked rhetorically.

“Even as mayor of New York, I made mistakes. When you look at those, you say how many failures and did the successes far outweigh the failures?

“If that suggests the level of success versus failure might be pretty good in a president, maybe I am your candidate.”

Giuliani, a social moderate, denied he’s deliberately refusing to talk about his support for abortion rights, gay rights and limited gun control.

“My position on social issues have been articulated over and over again. On abortion, I oppose abortion, I think it’s wrong. I would counsel people not to have an abortion, but ultimately, I believe that is an individual choice and you can’t put somebody in jail for it,” he said.

On gay rights, Giuliani said he supports marriage as only between a man and a woman but would support laws granting some legal rights to gays and lesbians.

The former mayor and federal prosecutor said he believes the Second Amendment in the Constitution gives individuals the right to bear arms and he would appoint judges who agree with that interpretation.

Giuliani touted his record of cutting city taxes 23 times in New York while Democrats dominated the City Council, a record as a fiscal conservative he claims no GOP primary rival can match.

“I would not make a pledge. I would just ask people to do something more important than take a pledge. Look at my prior record,” Giuliani said.

This Day in History > April 5th

2007-04-05T12:56:00.000-04:00

Winston Churchhill Resigns April 5th

April 5th Believed to be the date Noah's Arch grounded.... This image claims to be of Noah's Arch after it was found, courtesy of:mmmgroup.altervista.org

April 5th in History
0: Noah's ark grounded, Mt Ararat (acording to scholars' estimate)
1895: Writer Oscar Wylde is arrested for "Gross Behavior"
1951: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg sentenced to death for allegedly giving American atomic secrets to the USSR
1955: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill resigns
1981: The Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev goes to Czechoslovakia to discuss Polish crisis
1982: A British Naval Task Force leaves for the Falkland Islands, which have been invaded by Argentina

April 5th birthdays
1588: Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher
1649: Elihu Yale, Founder of American Yale University
1900: Spencer Tracy, American actor
1908: Bette Davis, American actress
1916: Gregory Peck, American actor
1920: Arthur Halley, British author

SOURCE FOR THIS ARTICLE HERE