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There's plenty of cause to be skeptical of climate-change theology because global-warming advocates are secretive about their data. If climate-change research were all on the up-and-up, there would be no reason to hide it. So far, the spotlight has been on Britain's University of East Anglia and its refusal to release surface temperature data, which is by far the most comprehensive long-term data available on the subject kept anywhere in the world. In an effort to pooh-pooh the cover-up, global-warming activists are trying to reassure a curious public that this isn't a concern because some other data sources purportedly show...

It is well known that the Far Left and Islamic terrorists are in cahoots, as are liberals and “moderate” Muslims. Both sides are using the other as “useful idiots” to further their agendas—one ideological, and the other theological. One is using clandestine sabotage and subterfuge, while the other openly promotes global jihad. Their common enemy is the “Great Satan” of the United States of America, which they agree, must be destroyed in order for their plans to proceed. For the time being, they are in league with one another...

"...But this, which Tavernier fully describes, was by far the most sumptuous, and was specially distinguised by a peacock, whose outspread tail was made of blue sapphires and other coloured gems, and whose body was of enamelled gold studded with stones, and with a large ruby in front, whence hung a pear-shaped pearl, about 50 carats in weight, or 200 grains..."

.... pour used oil in your mouth. Well, not literally. But Congress might, if the EPA doesn't cut this crap out: The Obama administration is warning Congress that if it doesn't move to regulate greenhouse gases, the Environmental Protection Agency will take a "command-and-control" role over the process in a way that could hurt business. The warning, from a top White House economic official who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity, came on the eve of EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson's address to the international conference on climate change in Copenhagen, Denmark.Oh really? Did you forget, Lisa, where your operating budget...

A GOP counter-delegation is forming to undermine the Obama administration's work on an international climate change agreement in Copenhagen, warning that the president is poised to make commitments he can't keep and drawing heightened attention to controversial leaked e-mails. A GOP counter-delegation is forming to undermine the Obama administration's work on an international climate change agreement in Copenhagen, warning that the president is poised to make commitments he can't keep and drawing heightened attention to controversial leaked e-mails. At least a half-dozen Republican senators and representatives are planning to head to Denmark next week, as part of the overall U.S....

It appears the only thing worse in this world than a measly $500,000 salary is getting no salary at all. And that's exactly what is about to happen to AIG General Counsel, Anastasia Kelly, who before joining the bankrupt firm, was a GC at such reputable organizations as MCI/WorldCon (sic) and Fannie Mae. To paraphrase the objections against a very prominent Treasury Secretary recently, the question is not whether or not she will leave the job, the question is how she got it in the first place. Kelly, who recently was protesting the $500k salary cap imposed by Pay Despot...

Thursday, The Travis County Healthcare District Board, will vote on whether to continue to pay for abortions. If approved, county taxpayers would continue to spend $450,000 a year, paying for abortions for low income women. Emotions are expected to run high during Thursday's meeting at commissioners court. Opponents argue property taxes should not be used to fund abortions for low income women, while supporters say if the programs are taken away about 1 percent of the most vulnerable will have nowhere else to turn.

In a London preview of Wall Street's bonus nightmare, more than 1,000 investment bankers have quit Royal Bank of Scotland to work at rivals due to curbs on their paychecks, according to people familiar with the situation. Wall Street banks fear top talent would flee en masse for greener pastures if Uncle Sam's pay czar, Ken Feinberg, and Congress try to put more ceilings on bonuses and pay at financial firms. In the UK, the rules are modeled after US actions to curb pay at firms bailed out by the government.RBS will soon be about 84-percent owned by the British...

In case you missed it, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin called for President Obama to “boycott Copenhagen” in an op-ed in the Washington Post today. The piece has, predictably, got the blogosphere abuzz—both for what she says and the fact that she got to say it all. First, Gov. Palin’s piece takes aim at the Copenhagen climate talks by linking them to the “Climategate” email scandal, which she says undermines the science behind the meeting in the first place. Then she goes back to familiar ground, arguing that the Obama administration’s plan to curb greenhouse-gas emissions will poleax the U.S....

Imagine a team of clipboard-wielding, foreign bureaucrats fanning out across the United States to inspect and report on carbon emissions from American homes and hospitals, farms and factories, schools and power plants. Their reports feed into another batch of international bureaucrats sitting in Geneva, Brussels, or some other European capital. That committee's solemn charge: To pass judgment and slap penalties on the U.S. for any climatic shortcomings. For fans of national sovereignty, it's not a pretty picture. But the U.S. may well take the first step toward that unhappy future at the United Nations' Copenhagen Climate Change Conference this month....

I think it's high time that we start to consider more than words, my friends.. Action more than apathy, and our nation and it's future more than ourselves: In this course, I implore you all to think about but do NOT act yet. I think it is high time that we start thinking about a TAX PROTEST (Civil Disobedience); aka a Tax Rebellion. Peaceful civil disobedience has been used throughout history to change the direction of a nation. I would like to ask you if the next step of the Tea Party movement might be a (peaceful) civil disobedience of...

The White House has been sitting on a preliminary review of the Fort Hood shooting since the end of November and refuses to share its contents with Congress, House Republicans say. printemailshare recommend (0) The White House has been sitting on a preliminary review of the Fort Hood shooting since the end of November and refuses to share its contents with Congress, House Republicans say. Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee have been pressing the Obama administration to either provide a copy of the review or brief them on it, arguing that it's important for relevant members to be in...

WALNUT CREEK — More than 40 employees at the downtown Target store quit their jobs after an internal probe raised suspicions about their immigration status, according to lawyers who have met with the workers. Managers summoned the overnight crew of the North Main Street department store to meetings last month and gave workers the chance to prove their eligibility to work in the United States by bringing in the proper documents, the lawyers and Target representatives say. Most of the questioned workers voluntarily resigned, Target spokeswoman Kate Gillen said. The Minnesota-based retailer would not say how many workers left the...

President Barack Obama said "the freed-up money can help reduce the record-high federal budget deficit and "invest in job creation on Main Street rather than Wall Street."

J. Storrs Hall writes: One thing that Climategate does is give us an opportunity to step back from the details of the AGW argument and say, maybe these are heat-of-the-moment stuff, and in the long run will look as silly as the Durants’ allergy to Eisenhower. And perhaps, if we can put climate arguments in perspective, it will allow us to put the much smaller nano arguments (pun intended) into perspective too. So let’s look at some ice. I’m looking at the temperature record as read from this central Greenland ice core. It gives us about as close as we...

Work on a West Virginia wind power project has been halted by a federal judge who sided with environmentalists' claim that the project would harm an endangered bat. U.S. District Judge Roger Titus issued the order Tuesday, citing potential harm to the federally endangered Indiana bat. John Stroud, co-chairman of one of the environmental groups that filed the lawsuit, Mountain Communities for Responsible Energy, said group members were "really delighted with the ruling." "We've been working on this for a while and the judge saw things our way, and we're really pleased," said Stroud, a rare book dealer who owns...

One of the more troubling aspects of the contentious debate over Net neutrality regulation is the way some proponents have sought to cast Net neutrality as “the Internet’s First Amendment.” As a die-hard free speech advocate, I find this truly outrageous and a complete contortion of the true purpose of the First Amendment. As I have argued here before, it is incredibly dangerous thinking that puts our real First Amendment liberties at stake by empowering a regulatory agency with more means of controlling online speech and expression. Simply stated, the Internet’s First Amendment is the First Amendment, not some new,...

Sean Hannity & Michelle Malkin Break Media Silence on Fistgate & Obama’s Dangerous Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings (Video) Wednesday, December 9, 2009, 8:58 PM Jim Hoft Sean Hannity and Michelle Malkin broke the media silence on Fistgate, GLSEN and Obama’s deranged Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings. Hannity says he won’t stop talking about Kevin Jennings until he is fired.

Monday’s declaration by the Environmental Protection Administration that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health is apparently a regulatory fraud. It was made after EPA regulators refused to consider a report from a leading EPA scientist rejecting the theory that emission of greenhouse gases causes global warming. The EPA’s highly-publicized action declared, “…GHGs [greenhouse gases] are the primary driver of climate change, which can lead to hotter, longer heat waves that threaten the health of the sick, poor or elderly; increases in ground-level ozone pollution linked to asthma and other respiratory illnesses; as well as other threats to...

An individual should be able to provide for his basic necessities-food, clothing and shelter, without having to pay a fee to the government to be allowed to do so. If I am not free to purchase food without paying a tax, I am a mere servant to a government that will allow me the privilege of eating only if I pay a fee. If I can live on my property only as long as I continue to pay a tax, the property is not mine, I merely rent it from the government. Consider also the exercise of our rights to...

BERKELEY -- The city of Berkeley mailed coat hangers to 20 members of Congress today in protest of the anti-abortion amendment in version of the federal health care bill.

Twelve years ago in his breakout performance as an arrogant young genius in Good Will Hunting, struggling fresh-faced actor Matt Damon sneered at his Boston psychiatrist for “surrounding yourself with all the wrong f__kin’ books. You wanna read a real history book, read Howard Zinn’s People’s History of the United States. That book’ll f__kin’ knock you on your ass.” The political left loves shout-outs, and this was a direct one to Zinn himself, whom Damon actually lived next-door to as a child, and whose book apparently knocked the actor on his own behind. “Ben (co-screenwriter Affleck) and I were laughing...

The U.S. Air Force has acknowledged that it is developing and testing a new, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) — a drone with a sleek, stealth design that will be deployed for military reconnaissance and surveillance missions. Aeronautics fans have nicknamed the aircraft "The Beast of Kandahar," as it was apparently spotted over the skies of Afghanistan. Industry observers speculate it is sophisticated enough to gather aerial intelligence over Iran without detection, perhaps keeping track of the Islamic Republic's emerging nuclear program.

Republicans and conservative think tanks are calling for the Obama administration to revoke its declaration that carbon dioxide is a dangerous pollutant subject to EPA regulation on the grounds that the EPA's primary source of information for the finding was the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the source of the highly controversial "Climategate" e-mails. Newsmax has verified there are 34 references to IPCC information in the EPA's 25-page "Proposed Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases," which was published in the April 24 edition of the Federal Register (pages 18886-18910). This is the document the EPA used...

Probably not, but their candidate recruitment so far has been stellar. Democrats began the year as masters of the political universe, winning the White House and increasing their majorities in Congress. But the year is ending badly for them. Their top initiative, health care, is deeply unpopular. Congress's approval rating is 26%, Speaker Nancy Pelosi's is 28%, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's is an anemic 14%. Political currents are running against the party of Barack Obama. Democrats now trail Republicans by four points in Gallup's generic ballot poll. In 1994, the year the GOP took control of Congress, it...

Note: The following text is a quote: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, December 9, 2009 United States Transfers One Guantanamo Bay Detainee to Kuwait Fouad Mahmoud al-Rabiah, a Kuwaiti national, has been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the control of the government of Kuwait. As directed by the President’s Jan. 22, 2009 Executive Order, the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of this case. As a result of that review, the detainee was approved for transfer from Guantanamo Bay. In accordance with Congressionally-mandated reporting requirements, the Administration informed Congress of its intent to transfer...

A new tipline targets Sheriff Joe Arpaio The tip line, 1-877-613-2137, is in both English and Spanish. By KFYI News (KFYI News) The U.S. Department of Justice has set up a tip-line as part of its investigation of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The tip line, 1-877-613-2137, is in both English and Spanish and asks those with information about the sheriff’s department to leave their names and numbers. The USDOJ is investigating Arpaio and his deputies regarding possible civil rights violations related to crime sweeps, traffic stops and immigration raids.

Eerie turquoise light spotted over Norway has sparked a mystery, with suggestions it could be a missile test. The Norwegian Metrological Institute has received hundreds of phonecalls from confused observers but so far has been unable to identify its origin. Some experts have speculated that the phenomenon might have been caused by a Russian rocket launch. However, the Russian embassy insists such claims are completely unfounded. Neither meteorologists, astronomers, or the Armed Forces have offered a solution to the matter. The light was captured by amateur photographer Jan Petter Jorgensen while he was on his way to work at a...

The World Bank announced on Wednesday $US5.5 billion ($A6 billion) would be invested in solar energy projects in five countries of the Middle East and North Africa in a bid to combat climate change. The Washington-based bank's Clean Technology Fund approved financing of $US750 million ($A824 million) on December 2 to boost the use of concentrated solar power, an advanced technology that concentrates sunlight to harness energy. The fund's financing "will mobilise an additional 4.85 billion dollars from other sources, to accelerate global deployment of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP)," the development lender said in a statement. The Clean Technology fund...

As one who has made a career out of criticizing government and exposing the various predations of government, one would think I would be intelligent and wise enough not to expect that entity we know as "good government." In fact, given that I am quite familiar with the entire socialist calculation debate and have assigned numerous papers covering that subject to my MBA students, it should have dawned upon me by now that "good government" is an oxymoron at best and a delusional term at worst. Yet I must admit that whenever I see government doing something that is outrageous...

National aid budgets dedicated to reducing global poverty would be raided to establish a “climate fund” to help developing countries to adapt to climate change, under a British plan tabled yesterday in Copenhagen. Money earmarked for education or health would be diverted into projects such as solar panels and wind farms. The proposal has angered developing countries, which are demanding that all the money in the climate fund be additional to the 0.7 per cent of income that industrialised countries have pledged to give as overseas aid.

President Barack Obama told House Republican leaders to "stop trying to frighten the American people" even as he and Democrats said they see a possibility for bipartisan cooperation on job creation legislation. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters that Obama made the admonition during a bipartisan meeting at the White House on Wednesday, producing a chart to show Republicans that "things are a lot better." Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said there was broad agreement on their side of the aisle about how to create jobs by aiding small businesses and boosting infrastructure spending. Pelosi said...

Barack Obama's trip to Oslo to pick up his Nobel peace award is in danger of being overshadowed by a row over the cancellation of a series of events normally attended by the prizewinner. Norwegians are incensed over what they view as his shabby response to the prize by cutting short his visit. The White House has cancelled many of the events peace prize laureates traditionally submit to, including a dinner with the Norwegian Nobel committee, a press conference, a television interview, appearances at a children's event promoting peace and a music concert, as well as a visit to an...

There's certainly an argument to be made that college football's Bowl Championship Series (BCS) isn't an ideal system, but just to what degree should the federal government come in an regulate this multi-billion dollar industry? According to Andy Staples, a writer for Sports Illustrated's Web site, SI.com who appeared on the Fox News Channel's Dec. 9 "Studio B," the industry should revamped from a regulatory aspect because of issue of "fairness." He was asked by host Shepard Smith why it is appropriate for Congress to be meddling in the college football. "It is funny because everybody says, ‘Why is Congress...

World's 2 biggest carbon polluters swap accusations at U.N. summit COPENHAGEN - The U.S. and China exchanged barbs Wednesday at the Copenhagen climate talks, underscoring the abiding suspicion between the world's two largest carbon polluters about the sincerity of their pledges to control emissions. U.S. chief negotiator Todd Stern urged China to "stand behind" its promise to slow the growth of the country's carbon output and make the declaration part of an international climate change agreement. China rejected that demand, and renewed its criticism of the U.S. for failing to meet its 17-year-old commitment to provide financial aid to developing...

Any fan of Cookie Monster on Sesame Street knows that "C" is for cookie. But at the Obama White House, "A" may be for acorn -- as in acorn cookies served at Monday's annual Christmas party. The chocolate cookies shaped like an acorn were quite a hit with Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa. "I didn't expect to see such stark symbolism," King said in an e-mail. President Obama worked with the community organizing group ACORN in the mid-90s. But now ACORN faces a host of allegations related to voter fraud in the 2008 election and has been weakened by an undercover...

THE powerful developing nation bloc has been split at the Copenhagen talks by a proposal from a Queanbeyan-based Australian representing the tiny pacific Island of Tuvalu. The split came just as it was beginning to flex its muscle and amid increasing accusations between rich and poor countries, leading Climate Change Minister Senator Penny Wong to declare that the talks had “got off to a difficult start� after she arrived in Copenhagen. “I do have to say some of the language is disappointing and unhelpful. We are going to have to move away from blame shifting and finger pointing if we...

Dems to lift debt ceiling by $1.8 trillion, fear 2010 backlash By: David Rogers December 9, 2009 07:24 PM EST In a bold but risky year-end strategy, Democrats are preparing to raise the federal debt ceiling by as much as $1.8 trillion before New Year’s rather than have to face the issue again prior to the 2010 elections. “We’ve incurred this debt. We have to pay our bills,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told POLITICO Wednesday. And the Maryland Democrat confirmed that the anticipated increase could be as high as $1.8 trillion — nearly twice what had been assumed in...

OSLO (AFP) – Helicopters buzzed through central Oslo's grey skies Wednesday as the city beefed up security on the eve of US President Barack Obama's visit to accept his controversial Nobel Peace Prize. Two military choppers circled above Obama's hotel while others flew over the city centre, their sound reverberating throughout normally-peaceful Oslo as Norway laid on unprecedented security measures for the visit. "All that noise we are hearing and everything we are seeing, it's a bit creepy," May-Britt Gundersen told AFP as she walked alongside barricades blocking the street facing the Grand Hotel, adding that for Norwegians such a...

ATLANTA, Ga. -- Questions are being raised about the son of Atlanta’s interim Police Chief George Turner. Atlanta police are investigating a Nov. 18 incident that happened at the home of Officer Tim Turner, between him and his wife. According to police reports, Officer Turner admitted to saying he accidentally threatened to kill his wife during an argument. The reports show Officer Turner’s wife called 911 after Turner said, "If we can't be married, I'm going to have to kill you." The report goes on to say Turner told the responding officer that during "the heat of the moment, he...

HUNTINGTON -- Bar owners are worried about what a smoking ban would mean for business. We stopped by some establishments in downtown Huntington this evening to ask bar owners about a recent USA Today article that showed bar owners all over the country ignoring smoking bans because paying customers outweigh local fines. Although many like the idea, they're not willing to lose their business for the sake of smoking. Cabell County is on a dwindling list of West Virginia counties that allow smoking in bars. Rivals Sportsbar and Grill bartender Kristan Johnson said she hopes nothing changes. "I think it's...

As the Climate-gate controversy continues to grow, amid charges of hiding and manipulating data, and suppressing research by academics who challenge global warming, there is one oft-repeated defense: other independent data-sets all reach the same conclusions. "I think everybody is clear on the science. I think scientists are clear on the science ... I think that this notion that there's some debate . . . on the science is kind of silly," said President Obama's Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, when asked about the president's response to the controversy on Monday. Despite the scandal, Britain's Met, the UK’s National Weather Service,...

State Sen. Dan Foster says he'll propose an increase in the West Virginia cigarette tax again this year. CHARLESTON W Va-- State Sen. Dan Foster, D-Kanawha, said he always pushes for a cigarette tax increase. Foster calls a dollar-a-pack hike a good idea for two reasons. "It raises revenue for the state, in the sort-term, greater than $100 million a year," he said. "And, it decreases the number of smokers which has the potential to decreases our long-term health care costs." And, if you believe two-pack-a-day smoker, Dylan Pugh, it might work. Pugh said a dollar increase might be enough...

Junk Science: The Environmental Protection Agency's sneak attack on the U.S. economy and our freedoms, curiously timed for the opening day of the Copenhagen climate charade, won't go unchallenged. Nor should it. (snip) EPA administrator Lisa Jackson, in a conversation with Sen. James Inhofe, ranking Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has in effect admitted the finding was based on the junk science and data manipulation practiced at Britain's East Anglia Climate Research Unit (CRU). "She told me that EPA accepted those findings without any serious independent analysis to see whether they were true," Inhofe said. Dr....

MYFOXNY.COM - A vote to legalize marriage for same-sex couples in New Jersey has been postponed. Fox 5 News has learned that Democrats backing the measure don't have the votes they need to pass it. The bill is being sent to the Assembly Judiciary Committee instead to move toward a vote in the lower house. The Senate vote was expected to take place on Thursday. It would have been the first time lawmakers in New Jersey had voted on the issue. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill 7-6 late on Monday night. Lawmakers took the committee vote after nearly...

Egypt has begun constructing a huge metal wall along its border with the Gaza Strip as it attempts to cut smuggling tunnels, the BBC has learned.When it is finished the wall will be 10-11km (6-7 miles) long and will extend 18 metres below the surface. The Egyptians are being helped by American army engineers, who the BBC understands have designed the wall.

Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) announced his retirement early this evening. “The time has now come to pursue other options, other ways of serving. Hence, I am announcing today that I do not intend to seek reelection to Congress in 2010,” the six-term congressman said in a statement. “This is not an easy decision to be sure, but I believe it is the right decision at the right time.” Baird is the third Democrat to officially retire after Reps. John Tanner (D-Tenn.) and Dennis Moore (D-Kan.) recently announced their departures. Six Democrats are leaving their seats to run for another office.

Who’s In Charge? – The Regulators Big Brother is alive and living in Washington, D.C. but he is not well. A malaise of weaknesses and failures, unearthed during the recent credit crisis, continues to permeate through various regulatory agencies such as the Federal Reserve Board, as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and threatens the very survival of the American financial system. The U.S. Federal Reserve System was established by an Act of Congress in 1913, directly as a result of the banking crisis and stock market crash of 1907. While Congress had no constitutional authority to pass...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is upset by the comments Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made about opponents of the pro-abortion Senate health care bill. Reid compared opposition to the bill, which funds abortions, to the 19th-century debate over slavery. Reid on Monday said Republicans opposed to the bill were displaying the same mindset as those who supported slavery.“If you think you've heard these same excuses before, you're right,” Reid said. “When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said, ‘Slow down, it’s...

On Today's Show... December 9, 2009 Snowstorm Algore Sweeps the US Every time Gore pops up, cold weather follows him. (Rush 24/7 Members: Listen) GOP Must Fight Twin Hoaxes of Climate Change and Obamacare The Republican leadership is not effectively fighting these two lies pushed by Democrats. Dingy Harry is far away from a deal on health care, but Republicans have nothing to do with that. They have no strategy for stopping liberal plans to remake this country. (Rush 24/7 Members: Listen)   "It's clear that the Senate Republican leadership doesn't know how to deal with the health care...