Free Republic

File these vignettes among the endless list of political inanities that would be uproariously funny if the potential economic fallout were not so toxic. Yesterday, in honor of Earth Day, House Energy & Commece Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) held an interminable hearing on global warming legislation that he and Rep. Ed Markey (D-CA) have drafted. Ranking Member Joe Barton of Texas today issued a press release providing some comedic highlights from the proceeding. A grim green award goes to anyone who can read it without laughing.

... I warn this honorable House that any proposal to inflict billions of dollars of new taxation on all citizens by charging selectively-disfavored industries for arbitrarily-rationed permits to emit a harmless and beneficial trace gas that is necessary to all life on Earth and has little effect on its surface temperature will fall cruelly and disproportionately upon the poor, will threaten their very lives, will gravely diminish the liberty that is the glory of your great nation, will render difficult if not unlawful the pursuit of happinessy ...

Photographs from the 2 Mar 09 District of Columbia power plant protest provided on C.E.I. blogs.

Before taking office, President Barack Obama pledged to cut government waste: "We cannot sustain a system that bleeds billions of taxpayer dollars on programs that have outlived their usefulness." Yet after signing the $410 billion omnibus (the largest annual increase in 30 years) on top of the gargantuan $787 billion spending package with questionable items to "stimulate" the economy, it seems like what is bleeding is that promise's credibility.

University of South Florida associate vice president Addul Rao who was caught on videotape stealing a student's bicycle last week with tbe aid of an accomplice who has an extensive criminal record, Vernon Waiters, says he will resign his post Friday. This is the same university that employed Sami Al-Arian, who was sentenced to 57 months in prison for conspiring to violate a federal law that prohibits making or receiving contributions of funds, goods or services to, or for the benefit of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

You have to wrap up well against this global warming. Over the past 48 hours the temperature has fallen as low as -12C in Dorset, with the sea at Poole Harbour frozen up to 20 yards from shore, and parts of Britain colder than Greenland. Phew, what a scorcher! Might be a good idea to start up the car (if it will start) and pump some more CO2 into the atmosphere before we freeze to death. What did the media warn us about climate change?

I'm seeking to compile refutations to the Obama-is-smart mythos. Especially anything funny ... and can be verified by reference to an internet link.

I think it was revealing that McCain allowed Sarah Palin to twist in the wind for days before finally voicing a tepid defense. If only the McCain staffers had gone after Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, Frank Marshall Davis, Bernardine Dohrn, Rashid Khalidi, etc., with as much enthusiasm as the went after Sarah then they might not be such losers.

Gore Entourage's Lincoln Town Car Outside Global Warming Speech Idles w/ AC Cranking for 20 Minutes!

In meetings at Hokkaido, Japan, the leaders of the G8 made a breakthrough on climate change when they agreed to adopt a goal of at least halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, according to a draft communique.

Internal World Bank study delivers blow to plant energy drive. Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75% - far more than previously estimated - according to a confidential World Bank report obtained by the Guardian.

Our good friends over at Democrat Underground have (thus far) successfully FReeped a Presidential Election poll. It's not too late to play.

Environmentalists are stunned that their global warming agenda is in collapse. Senator Harry Reid has all but conceded he lacks the vote for passage in the Senate and that it's time to move on. Backers of the Warner-Lieberman cap-and-trade bill always knew they would face a veto from President Bush, but they wanted to flex their political muscle and build momentum for 2009. That strategy backfired. The green groups now look as politically intimidating as the skinny kid on the beach who gets sand kicked in his face.

Sir Paul McCartney was furious when his new eco-friendly car was delivered by jet. The £84,000 hybrid Lexus limousine - a gift to the former Beatle from the manufacturers to thank Paul for promoting green cars - was flown from Japan to Britain, creating a carbon footprint almost 100 times bigger than if it was shipped.

Whether you are driving, riding the bus, taking the train or hailing a cab, it's a must to bundle up and leave plenty of extra time to get to work, with snow on the ground and temperatures 40 to 50 degrees lower than they were 24 hours ago.