Gov. Palin on Polar Bears, etc.

John McCain's VP nominee discusses energy independence, drilling in ANWR and polar bears with CNN's Glenn Beck during this interview originally aired in June of this year.



via Newsbusters

Update: I just watched a fascinating interview with Gov. Palin by Maria Bartiromo on CNBC. Partial video here.

One thing for sure, Sarah Palin is going to shake up this election campaign. She has real answers for America's energy questions. And she has a track record of dealing with the oil industry in a practical, ethical and environmentally conscious manner - all the while protecting the interests of her shareholders, the people of Alaska.

She's not solely focused on developing non-renewables like oil and natural gas. As Governor she has recognized the need for, and funded other sources of energy, particularly renewables like wind and tide.

The more I see of Gov. Palin, the more I am convinced that John McCain made the right choice for his VP running mate. She makes a lot of sense and could really shake up Washington. If her ideas and principles can applied on a national scale she could actually get the US moving towards energy independence.

Perhaps the ticket should be Palin-McCain.

To the polls

It now looks pretty certain that Canadians will also be going to the polls this fall to elect a new federal government. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to ask Governor General Michaëlle Jean to dissolve Parliament because it has become dysfunctional.

We could be voting by mid October, just ahead of the U.S elections.

Chantal Hébert has analysis:

The only reason the government is still in place is an extraordinary Liberal decision to abstain from key votes. But if a Parliament is about more than the government, then the Liberal failure to act as a full-fledged Official Opposition has made the dynamics of this one dysfunctional.

The dysfunction that is rooted in the current Liberal leadership predicament is in evidence even when Parliament is not sitting.

Looking at that party's body language since Harper set out to terminate his current mandate, it is as if a lobotomized brain governed the Liberals' right and left hands. While one hand has been pushing Canadians to vote the Conservatives out of office in a fall election, the other is trying to stop Harper from actually calling one.

It was just two months ago that Stéphane Dion unveiled his Green Shift plan to deal with climate change. At the time, the Liberal leader made no secret of the fact that he was using the summer to ramp his party up for a fall campaign. Since then, the Liberals have systematically revved up their anti-Conservative rhetoric.

In spite of that, there are lingering questions as to the Liberal election-readiness.

Stephen Harper seems ready to take on the Liberals and their shifty green shaft carbon tax.

Update and bump: related - Harper aims to crush Liberals

“Strategically, this is sort of a prolonged war of attrition.”

The greenest convention ever

Barry's got a little branding problem

I can see the bumper stickers now... Obama bin Biden 2008

Don't count Hillary out just yet!

In what was largely viewed as a symbolic gesture designed to pay tribute to Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign last week, Barack Obama allowed her name to be put on the ballot at the Democratic National Convention.

Turns out that this might have not have been such a good move for Barry.

Obama Sued in Philadelphia Federal Court on Grounds he is Constitutionally Ineligible for the Presidency.

By: Jeffrey Schreiber

A prominent Philadelphia attorney and Hillary Clinton supporter filed suit yesterday afternoon in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic National Committee and the Federal Election Commission. The action seeks an injunction preventing the senator from continuing his candidacy and a court order enjoining the DNC from nominating him next week, all on grounds that Sen. Obama is constitutionally ineligible to run for and hold the office of President of the United States.

Phillip Berg, the filing attorney, is a former gubernatorial and senatorial candidate, former chair of the Democratic Party in Montgomery (PA) County, former member of the Democratic State Committee, and former Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania. According to Berg, he filed the suit--just days before the DNC is to hold its nominating convention in Denver--for the health of the Democratic Party. "I filed this action at this time," Berg stated, "to avoid the obvious problems that will occur when the Republican Party raises these issues after Obama is nominated.".

Berg cited a number of unanswered questions regarding the Illinois senator's background, and in today's lawsuit maintained that Sen. Obama is not a natural born U.S. citizen or that, if he ever was, he lost his citizenship when he was adopted in Indonesia. Berg also cites what he calls "dual loyalties" due to his citizenship and ties with Kenya and Indonesia.

The Americans have high standards for their Presidential candidates. Canada's leader of the opposition Liberal Party, Citizen Dion, who has a remote possibility of someday becoming Prime Minister holds dual citizenship with France.

The Obama campaign maintains that their candidate was born in Hawaii and is a natural born U.S. citizen. But that birth certificate has been a matter of controversy with some claiming it is a forgery.

Even if Sen. Obama can prove his U.S. citizenship, Berg stated, citing the senator's use of a birth certificate from the state of Hawaii verified as a forgery by three independent document forensic experts, the issue of "multi-citizenship with responsibilities owed to and allegiance to other countries" remains on the table.

In the lawsuit, Berg states that Sen. Obama was born in Kenya, and not in Hawaii as the senator maintains. Before giving birth, according to the lawsuit, Obama's mother traveled to Kenya with his father but was prevented from flying back to Hawaii because of the late stage of her pregnancy, "apparently a normal restriction to avoid births during a flight." As Sen. Obama's own paternal grandmother, half-brother and half-sister have also claimed, Berg maintains that Stanley Ann Dunham--Obama's mother--gave birth to little Barack in Kenya and subsequently flew to Hawaii to register the birth.

Moreover, even if Sen. Obama could have somehow been deemed "natural born," that citizenship was lost in or around 1967 when he and his mother took up residency in Indonesia, where Stanley Ann Dunham married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian citizen. Berg also states that he possesses copies of Sen. Obama's registration to Fransiskus Assisi School In Jakarta, Indonesia which clearly show that he was registered under the name "Barry Soetoro" and his citizenship listed as Indonesian.

Barry might have thought the battle against Hillary was over. He's about to find out what it's really like to get into a good old down and dirty scrap with the Clintons.

This should be good for the Democratic Party!

George Obama: "It was like meeting a complete stranger."

Senator Barack Obama's brother George: "If anyone says something about my surname, I say we are not related. I am ashamed."

Of their second meeting, George Obama said: "It was very brief, we spoke for just a few minutes. It was like meeting a complete stranger."

Change we can believe in.

Monckton vs. Littlemore Debate audio

The much anticipated radio debate between Christopher Walter(the Third Viscount Monckton of Brenchley), a global warming skeptic and Richard Littlemore, a global warming alarmist took place just a while ago on the Roy Green show on the Corus Network.

The audio is at Liberty News Central.

Arctic ice refuses to melt as ordered

Steven Goddard writes in the Register:

Just a few weeks ago, predictions of Arctic ice collapse were buzzing all over the internet. Some scientists were predicting that the "North Pole may be ice-free for first time this summer". Others predicted that the entire "polar ice cap would disappear this summer".

The Arctic melt season is nearly done for this year. The sun is now very low above the horizon and will set for the winter at the North Pole in five weeks. And none of these dire predictions have come to pass. Yet there is, however, something odd going on with the ice data.

(...)

The Arctic did not experience the meltdowns forecast by NSIDC and the Norwegian Polar Year Secretariat. It didn't even come close. Additionally, some current graphs and press releases from NSIDC seem less than conservative. There appears to be a consistent pattern of overstatement related to Arctic ice loss.

We know that Arctic summer ice extent is largely determined by variable oceanic and atmospheric currents such as the Arctic Oscillation. NASA claimed last summer that "not all the large changes seen in Arctic climate in recent years are a result of long-term trends associated with global warming". The media tendency to knee-jerkingly blame everything on "global warming" makes for an easy story - but it is not based on solid science. ®

Stop the Carbon Tax

via www.stopthecarbontax.ca

Decade has had fewest 90-degree days since 1930

More evidence of global cooling via the Chicago Tribune:

August is the wettest and often the muggiest month of the year. Yet, summer heat continues in short supply, continuing a trend that has dominated much of the 21st Century's opening decade. There have been only 162 days 90 degrees or warmer at Midway Airport over the period from 2000 to 2008. That's by far the fewest 90-degree temperatures in the opening nine years of any decade on record here since 1930.

This summer's highest reading to date has been just 91 degrees. That's unusual. Since 1928, only one year—2000—has failed to record a higher warm-season temperature by Aug. 13.

the world's most expensive man

JR has the details over at Just Right.

Seniors speak out on shifty green carbon taxes

Al Hollingsworth posted 3 interesting letters yesterday at HalifaxLive from Canadian seniors who are frustrated with the newest form of taxation: the carbon tax.

The carbon tax lie

As the baby boomers retire, seniors in this country are about to hold the balance of power, a scary thought if you are a Liberal. This week an item popped into my email box with a message to “Pass this on to everyone in Canada.” A near impossible task but, with an Internet platform I can post it for all to see.

The document is comprised of three letters, written by Canadians in various parts of this vast land. It is fair to say that the opinion reflects the mood of most seniors I know. Only those with blind loyalty to a party, including those who inherited their political stripes through genetics, might differ.

Bravo to Hollingsworth for reprinting these 3 letters from Canadian seniors. I like the straight no nonsense language in their letters reproduced below.

Letter 1

Subject: The Carbon Tax

The rumble is now moving across the country and will gain force.

Please don’t let this happen any further in Canada. Canada emits only 2% of the world’s supply of greenhouse gasses and 52% of that comes from the Oil Sands Plants.

Automotive emissions are less than 20% of the 48% balance of Canada’s 2% of the world outcome. Do the math, it’s such an insignificant amount it’s a joke.

Our fuel prices are now $6.75 per gallon, equivalent to $6.00 per gallon U.S.. When Canadians realize what a jackpot the politicians can get us into by supporting a carbon tax, they will be out to get any politician that supports this cause. Dion, Campbell etc. will regret the day they devised this scheme. Americans are screaming at $4.00 a gallon. Our provincial and federal governments are ripping us off with high taxes on fuel now. This is such a cash cow they don’t want to stop. Stop excessive taxation and giving our money away abroad. We need more support and tax relief for our seniors and baby boomers now retiring and trying to find a fixed income level they can exist upon after working all their lives and paying heavily into the system.

And I am not a Liberal or NDP supporter. I am a senior and a middle-of-the-road conservative and we will be in the majority in Canada for the next 20 years, so politicians get smart and support us.

Do some hard thinking about the future and protect our seniors and all the population from the excessive costs we are facing now and in the future with more taxes. Technology will fix the oil sands problem as they are working on a fix now to reduce that source in the future. Why us with these programs at this time?

Brian Morris
A concerned senior and loyal Canadian
Kelowna, BC

Letter 2

Consider this from one person who has bothered to do the home work.

When a politician’s lips move, I know he’s probably lying. Mr. Dion says his carbon tax will be revenue neutral. So, I went online and found a carbon calculator and keyed in the annual energy consumption for our household and learned we produce 17 toms of greenhouse gas. Fully 60% of this usage is for electricity which we use to heat our home.

I have already improved insulation in my walls and replaced my windows and doors; use the new “twirley” lights and ensured that my appliances are all Energy Star products. In the past 20 years, these measures reduced my electricity usage from 24,000 KW hours per year to 16,000 KW hours per year last year. What is my reward for this improved efficiency? My power bill is unchanged from what it was 20 years ago. But, my power bill would attract a carbon tax of $104 in year one of Mr. Dion’s plan and $416 in year four. My power bill would rise from $166 per month to $210 per month in year four.

Since I live on a fixed income consisting of CCP and Old Age Security, my income tax bill runs at less than $200 per year. So, for my household, Mr. Dion’s revenue neutral carbon tax will cost me $416 per year, less income tax reductions of about $10 per year.

Revenue neutral? In a pig’s eye! This is a tax on seniors living on fixed incomes. Well, Mr. Dion, you haven’t got a snowball’s chance in hell of ever getting my vote. I hope everyone else takes five minutes to run the same calculations I did and vote to send this joker to the political bone yard.

Jon C. Coates
Halifax NS

Letter 3

Remember when they brought in the National Income Tax? They promised that it would remain in effect only until all of Canada’s World War 1 debt was repaid. Fooled us good! Debt was repaid, but the tax never came off and will be with us for eternity.

How about this lie. Trudeau imposed a 5% tax on every liter of gas in order to establish a National Oil Company called Petro Canada. He swore that this tax would come off as soon as Petro Canada was up and running. And so it came to pass Petro Canada was established. It was sold to private hands, the enormous cash windfall was frittered away AND HIS 5% (plus, plus) still adorns our pumps to this very day.

Now how is this for a con job? Take our BC premier (Gordon) Campbell, PULEEZE. He truly believes that most British Columbians are brain dead. You will keep paying a yearly escalating carbon tax at the pump and you receive a reduction in your provincial income tax. The new political buzz word is “revenue neutral.” Should this not be called what it truly is; “RECYCLING YOUR MONEY.” Just think folks, another bureaucracy eating up our hard earned cash to administer loser dreams.

And remember, once a government gets addicted to a tax grab, and you let them get away with it, you have handed them a Carte Blanche ticket to impose new taxes, to keep raising others and use it to buy your votes to boot.

If we condone all this, then Premier Campbell is right in assuming that we are all brain dead in British Columbia.

Walt Grochmal
Vernon, BC

h/t: Newsbeat1

Dion's shifty green carbon tax claims first victims

And appropriately they're Liberals. Robert Morrissey has withdrawn his name as the Liberal's star candidate in the riding of Egmont in Prince Edward Island.

Robert Morrissey is clearly feeling the heat on the carbon tax and doesn’t want to campaign on raising the price of gas, home-heating fuel and groceries, says the federal Conservative Party’s director of communications.

Ryan Sparrow was reacting Wednesday to the surprise announcement by the star Liberal candidate that he was withdrawing his name as the nominated candidate in Egmont.

Morrissey won that nomination in front of a crowd of more than 1,300 last November in Woodstock. He defeated former P.E.I. premier Keith Milligan and Angie Cormier, a Cap-Egmont businesswoman, to win the nod.

“The Liberals can deliver their talking points all they want but everyone knows the deal. You don’t win a hotly contested nomination meeting for a long-held Liberal riding and then just quit,’’ Sparrow said from Ottawa.

“Morrissey is clearly feeling the heat on the carbon tax and doesn’t want to campaign on raising the price of gas, home heating fuel and groceries.’’

And now there's late breaking news that another Liberal candidate is stepping down, this time in Saskatchewan.

If there's to be a federal election this fall, the Liberals will need to get a candidate in Palliser.

Long-time nominated candidate Gary Oledzki is stepping down for personal and professional reasons.

The party is now on the search for a replacement.

All this comes as Dion claims he's ready to take on Stephen Harper's Conservatives in an election. Right. And Dion's shifty green carbon tax is all about the environment and not higher taxes and redistribution of wealth.

Liberals are being left in the dust by Conservatives when it comes to raising cash. They're in the same ballpark as third-place New Democrats.

It appears that the wheels are falling off Stephane Dion's election bus - even before an election has been called.

Gunter: Environmentalism is causing global warming

Lorne Gunter in today's National Post, All the news that's fit to scare

And what of the study, released in July by Switzerland's Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, that shows European temperatures, at least, have risen in large part because of efforts over the past 30 years to clean the continent's skies?

Christian Ruckstuhl and 12 coauthors found that of the 1C rise in temperature in Europe over the last three decades, "at least half of the warming" is attributable to a reduction of aerosols, such as sulphur dioxide and black soot particles. As Europeans have cleaned up their smokestacks and tailpipes, and as dirty old Soviet-era East European plants have been modernized to Western standards, more sunlight has penetrated the continent's atmosphere and warmed things up a bit.

In other words, environmentalism is causing global warming. As ecoadvocates have won tighter clean-air regulations, their efforts have been rewarded with brighter days (a good thing), but also warmer temperatures.

Gunter also comments on the recent news stories about warming in the Canadian Arctic:

Fear that melt water from the park's glaciers might lead to flash flooding and landslides has been reported by everyone from AFP to the BBC as proof of the adverse side-effects of man-made climate change.

Meanwhile, it is barely reported outside Alaska that America's northernmost state is having a record cool summer.

If it reaches 19C in Anchorage today, it will be just the eighth time that's happened this summer. Indeed, this could be the first summer ever that Anchorage never hits 24C.

Auyuittuq is at 66 degrees north; Anchorage is at 61.

The Baffin story may be more significant than the Alaska one. But why are we hearing all about one and nothing about the other? You can bet that if Anchorage were suffering a record hot summer, it would be all over the news and presented--as the Baffin temperatures are -- as yet further proof of the dangerous impacts of global warming in the north.

Once more, the mainstream media ignores news stories that do not fit with its bias towards global warming alarmism.

Arctic ice greater than normal

Next time a global warming alarmist tries to tell you that arctic ice is at record lows, you can correct their misinformation by referring them to this article by Piers Akerman in the Daily Telegraph.

It seems that in fact there is "more ice than normal in the Arctic waters north of the Svalbard archipelago" these days.

Ed: the above link and quote corrected.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Jennifer Marohasy has posted a link to this pdf copy of Ian Wilson's excellent presentation with an alternate explanation for climate change.

Great Jupiter! I think he might be onto something here!

h/t: the Daily Bayonet.