Are we “Global Warming” our way into a famine?

I have watched the “climate alarmists” spread the fear of global warming. At first, I was amused by the doom-sayers. As time wore on, though, I began to see people buying into the theory. I wondered how people could be so easily fooled, but I shrugged it off as unimportant. After all, there are always people promoting one odd theory or another….usually on the Speakers Corner with a hat full of coins at their feet. Somehow though, this odd, and totally baseless, theory suddenly gained traction. Our Vice-President was shouting it from the mountain top, and the media gobbled it up without so much as as a phone call to confirm it. The anti-big oil people jumped on….what a great way to drive a stake through the heart of big-oil. Animal rights people took up the banner as well…..I mean, did you see how sad those poor polar bears looked. Teachers added thier voices as well…..though I do not understand why. …perhaps it was the influence of anti-capitalist college professors who saw global warming as a tool to bludgeon our economic system.” We over consume!”, they chanted. “Go green”, “Reduce your carbon footprint”, “Save the Planet”. All manner of intellectuals joined in. What a cool thing it was to be “Green”

Then the policies came like a tidal wave, all created by well-meaning (but unfortunately not well-informed) politicians. CAFE standards, Ethanol mandates, Energy use taxes, Carbon taxes, Bans on drilling for oil, bans on coal power plants, Low flush toilets, even a ban on the evil incandescant lightbulb….dastardly minion of warming that it is. All well meaning ideas intoned by populist politicians who said that even the slightest possiblity that there is warming should be enough to act. After all, what possible harm could come of it?

What possible harm indeed.

We now stand at the precipice.

• Farmers have converted massive amounts of food production into corn for ethanol. The loss of the corn crop and the coversion of land that traditionally grew other products have put the squeeze on food costs.  Our food exports have fallen off as foreign grain, rice, and corn consumers have been unable to pay the new higher prices. Poorer nations are already seeing food shortages.
• Our economy has suffered from the loss of manufacturing and automoble production that resulted from myopic regulatory and taxation policies meant to stop the warming. Jobs have gone overseas to greener pastures leaving America ecomically weakened at a time when economic pressures are high.
• World economies are growing (unfettered by the chains that our politicians have applied at home) and their use of petroleum is soaring as thier people see some wealth and independance for the first time. America sits on massive deposits of oil, yet we are the only nation that has not not increased production.

      Prominent scientists are now being heard on the issue of warming. Research is beginning to show that though there may have been a temporary warm period of a few years, the earth could, in fact, be  at the start of a cooler period. The oceans are cooling, sea ice in the southern hemisphere is increasing, cool weather patterns in the northern hemisphere are prevailing. Even the sun (likely the source of any true warming or cooling) is cooling. It seems that it has entered a cyclical cool phase know as a “Maunder minimum”. A new Ice Age? Maybe the next Al Gore will sieze on that, but it is more likely that we just be seeing a period of shorter summers and colder winters. No climate cataclysm, but….

Could this be the start of a global famine? That may be a very real possiblity. Populations are growing. Energy prices are increasing while the energy supply remains stagnant. Food production is already anemic. What will happen when we heap  cooler weather and less productive climatic conditions on top of it? Add to that the problem that that western governments are heading in exactly the opposite direction…still preparing for warming that, by most reasonable accounts, stopped 10 yers ago.

A shortage in the food supply will lead to political instability overseas (and already has). Unstable governments are less able to deal with food production and disribution. All of these factors….converging on us at the same moment….may create a sort of perfect storm of famine. I suspect you will see civil wars and nations invading thier neighbors as a result of this pressure. Most of the great upheavals on earth have come as a result of a shortage of food. Hungry people are desperate people.

The puzzle pieces are falling into place and a picture is forming. I hope that the nature of the picture becomes clear in time for us to change it to something less haunting. 

 

Frustration and disappointment at Michelle Obama’s lack of pride

“What we have learned over this year is that hope is making a comeback. It is making a comeback. And let me tell you something — for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change. And I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction and just not feeling so alone in my frustration and disappointment.”

 That is quite a statement for Mrs. Obama to make. She feels “frustration and disappointment”. Is that disappointment because she would have prefered Yale Law School to Harvard? Perhaps her frustration comes from having to settle for a job at the silk purse law firm of Sidley Austin (US 6th largest ) rather than the esteemed Kirkland & Ellis firm (US 4th largest)? Does her lack of pride stem from the fact that the daughter of working class blue-collar parents could only afford to attend Princeton rather than Wellesley College ? Her father was a city pump operator  and her mother worked for Spiegel’s Catalog as a secretary, yet they had two children who both attended Ivy league colleges…..sadly, this system is just not working for Michelle. I can see why she wants change. 

My parents were an immigrant family, arriving in the US during the 1950’s…….with a 4 year old child and six dollars. My father dealt with a language barrier, and strong anti-German sentiment. He struggled every day. He made his family a home…he actually constructed much of our house himself, finding time to build after returning home from working his regular job. My mother stayed at home and raised the kids. My brother went to a state college (the family actually paid the tuition….imagine that) and I joined the Army and work in public service. We both have enormous pride in our country. Neither of us feel frustration and disappointment, though we did not lead the charmed life of the beautiful, well-dressed, well educated, wealthy and well connected Michelle Obama.

There is a pride that we were taught at home in the accomplishments of our adopted Nation. It is a pride that came from watching my parents live the American Dream as they achieved success in life through hard work and determination. It is a pride I felt when I wore the uniform of an American soldier standing on the “one inch line” against the Soviets on the other side of the Iron Curtain. I felt that same pride when, in 1987, my President said “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” and a short two years later, down it came. I feel that pride when America rushes to the aid of victims of foreign earthquakes, floods, and tsunamis. That pride is in my heart every time I go to the polls to peacefully cast my ballot. The pride is there as I read America’s history (most of it written long before my family arrived here)….a history of good and bad deeds, but a history that shows a relentless march toward doing the right things.

I will teach that pride to my children, so that they do not grow up with the same hole in their hearts that Michelle Obama has lived with all these years. I will teach them to value the opportunity that America represents for them and to appreciate what they have.  I hope that my children will see the great things that America represents…..things like the success that Michelle Obama found for herself. Perhaps they will find the same treasures waiting for them, but if not, I hope they will have the wisdom not to covet the success of the Obamas or to jealously label them as privileged and use them as fodder for politically correct speeches about the gap between the rich and the poor. I hope that my children will see that America already has something for everyone who wants change….and is willing to work for it.

I was inspired to write down my thoughts after reading Michelle Malkin’s post on her website so it’s only fair to link to it. She comes to the same conclusions, she just says it better than I do.

The Family Guy on:

Vegans: If God did not want you to eat animals, why did he make them out of meat?

Democracy: Pure democracy is three wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.

Books: Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.

Journalists: “You know, I wanted to sit on a jury once and I was taken off the jury. And the judge said to me, ‘Can, you know, can you tell the truth and be fair?’ And I said, ‘That’s what journalists do.’ And everybody in the courtroom laughed. It was the most hurtful moment I think I’ve ever had.”
— Diane Sawyer on ABC’s Good Morning America July 12, 2007  following a report on people trying to avoid serving on a jury.

Hope: He that lives upon hope will die fasting.  — Benjamin Franklin

More to come as it pops into my head…….

Why vote for Barak Obama? This may help.

I have been discussing the merits (or demerits) of Obama with several folks. I have tried to find some nuts and bolts about his policies and failed. I even tried to understand why “change” is necessarily a good thing.

Now, at last, I understand what Obama has done for me. Thanks to Charlie Sykes for pointing it out.

You can just refresh this site over and over again (F5) for limitless feelgoodisms!

The definition of Democrat.

Now this is funny.  Hollywood needs to get back to its roots.

Watts Up With That?

Watts Up With That?

Well worth a look.

Great job nominating McCain; Now the choice is Obama or Clinton? Say it isn’t so.

Ok Republicans, you did it. You allowed John McCain to 1/3 his way to the GOP nomination for president. Overall, he came out with just over 1/3 of all republicans supporting him. I vote republican because I am a conservative. I believe in certain important conservative positions.

I believe:

• Taxes are the bane of a good economy.
• Global warming is, at best, an unproven and shaky theory. At worst, it is a fabrication supported by loonies, socialists, and flim-flam men.
• Abortion is wrong. It should be reserved for rare cases (related to serious health concerns or cases of rape). Killing a fetus (an unborn human) for parts is equally wrong.
• Illegal immigration is wrong. It should not be rewarded with drivers licenses, mortgages, free tuition, or amnesty. Employers who take advantage of illegals should be punished.
• Businesses create jobs, not the government. They are not evil. They should not be taxed and regulated to extinction.
• Drilling oil in the US will make us energy independant. Turning our food into an inefficient fuel substitute will clearly fail. It is bad for food prices, the environment, car engines, and the economy. The oil companies are not the enemy.
• Using the same law-enforcement tools on terrorists that we use on organized crime is a good idea (That is, in essence, The Patriot Act)

These are all things that John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama DO NOT believe in. So, who do I vote for? If I vote democrat, at least it would be likely that the GOP will see a mid-term upsurge and maybe conservatives will be able to unite behind one candidate 4 years from now. So it looks like I should consider voting democrat? That just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. So, McCainiacs….explain to me why I should vote for this man who has thumbed his nose at my beliefs for so many years. Go ahead….I’m listening….really.

Obama is no Kennedy

This “Obama is Kennedy” thing seems to be happening all over. At first, I saw it on a small scale recently ,(though I admit I have not been paying overly much attention up till now. I really assumed it would be Mrs Clinton) but now, I see that it is a prevailing wind that blows at the back of Camelot’s New Knight .

It’s odd that some would compare Obama to Kennedy as they had such opposite stances on many major issues:

• Obama wants taxes raised across the board
• Kennedy was the author of the largest tax cut in the past 60 years.
• Obama says total withdrawal from Iraq, and no unilateral military action
• Kennedy invaded Cuba and got us involved in Vietnam to stand against communism
• Obama stands to raise tax on business and reduce defense spending.
• Kennedy lowered business taxes to spur growth and increased military spending.

There are some big issues that have no comparison. Civil Rights, for instance, which stood for something very different in Kennedy’s time or Energy Policy which really was not an issue at all in 1960. Gun Control was not purposefully on anyones agenda until after two Kennedy’s were killed. No way to know what JFK would have thought.

On abortion, well, also not a really public political football in JFK’s time, though I would note that Kennedy was a strong Catholic and he did appoint Justice Byron White to the US Supreme Court. Justice White dissented in both Miranda vs. Arizona, (a 1966 decision in which the court required police to advise suspects in custody of their rights) and Roe vs. Wade in 1973 (one of only two dissenting votes)

And that’s just a few major points. It seems to me that, at least on those issues, McCain is more in line with JFK. Now, if all that really matters is having an exciting and inspirational populist leader, then I suppose Obama is your man. In that case, of course, (I hereby invoke Godwin’s Law  on Nazi references….my apologies to the whole internet!) we could mention a German leader who was an exciting and inspirational populist who failed to really spell out his policies for the people. “Freiheit und Brot” (Freedom and Bread) was his slogan……way different from “Change we can believe in” I suppose….

And before anyone blows a gasket, I am just pointing out that unspecified change is not always a desireable outcome. I do not think Obama is Hitler. I also do not think he is JFK

Now we have global cooling again?

So the Al Gore (the Goracle) says that there is consensus on warming. Anyone who dares to speak out against that fact (orthodoxy?) is declared a global warming denier (a heretic?) who has been subverted by the big oil (the devil?). Now what do we do when some scientist from liberal Canada comes out with the opposite opinion. He thinks that we are headed toward global cooling. It’s like that whole Martin Luther 95 theses thing all over again.

Where’s the heat?

Well, it’s snowing, and snowing, and snowing. Looks like we are in the middle of what may become one of the top 10 snowstorms of the last 100 years. China has seen a similar storm recently.  Here in Wisconsin, we have already exceeded our average yearly snowfall total and it just keeps getting deeper.

 Al…..Al Gore….HEY! Where is my warming? You took the initiative in inventing the internet, and I am using it now. You also took the initiative in inventing Global Warming, so where is it? Where’s the heat?