Free Republic

Pity the poor Climategaters. The staid were played. Gentlepersons were violated. And the billion-dollar global warming science complex can't compete with spunky skeptics. Those are some of the complaints registered in newly disclosed emails among members of the National Academy of Sciences, whose messages were mysteriously made public last week via the Washington Times. Some call it Climategate II; Whinergate is more apropos. Among their electronically-sent lamentations: • "Most of our colleagues don't seem to grasp that we're not in a gentlepersons' debate, we're in a street fight against well-funded, merciless enemies who play by entirely different rules," said Paul...

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) now says he never intended to give his state special treatment in the Democrats' health care legislation. The moderate Democrat has been roundly criticized for a so-called "sweetheart deal" he struck with Democratic leaders in return for his support of the bill. In the deal, any expansion of Medicaid in the state of Nebraska would be paid for completely with federal funds, while other states would have to dip into their state budgets to meet the required expansion. Republicans called it the "cornhusker kickback." Now as Democrats in the House and the Senate work to merge...