Baseball to the face

This morning we got up and went to the Museum of Nature and Science. There was an exhibit on space that the Mom and the boys wanted to see. It was kind of fun, except the parents spent a lot of time trying to keep track of the two littles who had a tendency to wander off through the crowd. Can love all of the fish and turtles in the NC wildlife exhibits. Dec loved the huge replica long-neck dinosaur.

When we got home I decided that I should go out and play with the boys. Dec and I played some catch with his new Christmas mit. He is doing really well at throwing and catching. Skills that will serve him well when he starts T-ball in a few weeks. Ok, it probably will not make much difference, since they do not keep score. Sul beat me in three straight times around the world. The sad part was that I was really trying to get the basketball through the hoop and he still beat me three times in a row. The trauma of the day was when Mads and I were playing catch and he did not quite get his mit up in time to stop the ball from careening off of his face. I felt really bad but I think that he felt worse. If you look really close you can see the marks from the laces on the ball and I think that there is a faint imprint of the word "Diamond" from the brand name label. I told him that he needs to come up with a really good story to tell everyone at school, because this will probably look pretty ugly tomorrow.

The myth of made-global warming

My sister-in-law was asking for some information on the myth referred to as "man-made global warming" and my response turned into the following long winded declaration of my view. I'm certainly not an expert on global warming and I don't know the "science" behind it very well. I quoted science because I think that there is at least as much political rhetoric being passed off for science as there is actual data. I am willing to concede that some level of
global warming may be occuring, but even if it is happening I find it hard to believe that it is the result of human activity. After all I've read and heard, the scientist in me says that the there really isn't enough solid data to draw a strong conclusion. There are too few data points to know what is really happening and the data collected just seems too indirect to provide reliable conclusion. The theory is based on a lot of computer models and my experience with computer models says that they mostly represent one of many possibilities, but are almost never completely accurate. The thing that really makes me skeptical about these computer models is that there is no way they can have reliable data for thousands of years worth of global temperatures and when you feed minimal amounts of data into a computer simulation, you can get wildly inaccurate output. In the end, my biggest concern with the whole idea is my gut, which tells me it is purely a political ploy/scare tactic, but I'm not exactly sure what is to be gained by it. It seems that the weak nations of the world think that they will benefit by making the US bend the knee to the global warming alarmists. I read something the other day about the Kyoto protocols that sounded pretty much on target. The Canadian Prime Minister said, "Kyoto is essentially a socialist scheme to suck money out of wealth-producing nations." I think that the idea is that if only the wealthy nations, (re. the US) are bled of their wealth by having to try and meet unachievable and very-very costly cuts in carbon dioxide emissions, then that wealth will flow to the poorer nations of the world. What the ignorant don't understand is that if the US gets poor,
the rest of the world gets poorer with it. The world prosperity is a direct result of US prosperity. Along these lines, Jacques Chirac summed things up by saying that Kyoto represents “the first component of an authentic global governance," which he thinks is a good thing. The sad thing is that the gullible masses in the US are buying into the media driven hype and scientific distortion and the left is adopting man-made global warming as a platform item because it fits well with their environmentalist, America is bad and needs to bring itself down to wallow in the mire with the rest of the world, lets get the world together under a single government where the US isn't the major power and none of the values that have made our nation great have any influence, agenda. There may be Democrats who
have actually bought into the overly politicized science (re. Tubbyt Al Gore) and so they truly think that they are trying to save the world by pushing global warming on the lemmings that follow them, but I'm sure that most of them are probably in on the "secret combination" to get wealth and power.

My opinion has been informed by many sources over the years, many of which I could not possibly remember. , Senator James Inhofe has made a number of informative statements on the issue and seems that summarize my thoughts pretty well. He used to lead the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works until the Democrats took over in January, and is a big opponent of the whole global warming scare. Some of his statements can be found here (this is a good one that has references to a lot of other web resources), here, and here. Also, a couple of recent blog entries that links to a number of other resources are here,
here, and here.

Also, Michael Crichton's book "A State of Fear" is a pretty accurate piece of fiction that is based on a lot of real research. He includes a long epilogue in which he explains why he believes as he does and I found this very insightful.

Update: Right after writing this I came across these quote in a global warming article about the recent UN report.

"global warming is 'very likely' caused by mankind and that climate change will continue for centuries even if heat-trapping gases are reduced."

"Despite the report's dire outlook, most scientists say the worst disasters — huge sea level rises and the most catastrophic storms and droughts — may be avoided if strong action is taken soon."

It all sounds a little too convenient that this catastrophe will already have effects for centuries, yet the worst disasters can be avoided by quick action, mostly from the US. If the global disaster ball, yes think on a global scale, is already rolling, can anything we do stop it? It just gets more frenzied and ridiculous every time they open their mouths or pick up their pens.

Anti-war Lefty Arrogance

I didn't get a chance to post about this Washington Post article by William Arkin, but its probably better because it made me very angry. A few quotes:

"These soldiers should be grateful that the American public, which by all polls overwhelmingly disapproves of the Iraq war and the President's handling of it, do still offer their support to them, and their respect.
Through every Abu Ghraib and Haditha, through every rape and murder, the American public has indulged those in uniform, accepting that the incidents were the product of bad apples or even of some administration or command order."

"But it is the United States, and the recent NBC report is just an ugly reminder of the price we pay for a mercenary - oops sorry, volunteer - force that thinks it is doing the dirty work."

"America needs to ponder what it is we really owe those in uniform."

We owe them everything. If you are too comfortable in you peaceful home and city to recognize that, then you need to stop writing any old bit of drivel that slips out of your mind and start reading about our country's history. We have the liberty that we do because our fathers and forefathers were willing to sacrifice their lives and comfort to provide it for us. If you can't recognize why you live in such peace and comfort, you should be strapped to the front of a Humvee and taken on a tour of Iraq.

Anyway, his response to all of the abuse (obviously only written and verbal, which is better than he deserves) that he has received is as arrogant and ignorant as his first article.

"These men and women are not fighting for money with little regard for the nation. The situation might be much worse than that: Evidently, far too many in uniform believe that they are the one true nation. They hide behind the constitution and the flag and then spew an anti-Democrat, anti-liberal, anti-journalism, anti-dissent, and anti-citizen message that reflects a certain contempt for the American people."

How dare he talk like he and his ilk are "the American people." Just because polls say that the majority of Americans are not happy with the war and the way it is being handled, doesn't mean that they hold is cowardly, anti-military opinions. I'm very comfortable that more Americans would agree with me than him.

"Again, I understand the frustration of those in uniform and the supporters of the war. But these are not the only people who have a valid opinion, and there is great danger for the nation - as Bush-Cheney and company have already demonstrated - when people arrogate to themselves the sole determinant to make a judgment about national security."

It seems to me that there was an election in November of 2004 in which the majority of the American people gave President Bush, as Commander-in-Chief, the authority to make the final decisions on national security. That doesn't mean his decisions will always be popular with all, or even a majority of Americans, but he certainly didn't "arrogate" the authority to himself. Children, or the childish, do not always agree with the decisions their parents make in trying to care for and protect them but that does not make the parents wrong.

Mr. Arkin complains that he should be allowed to have voice his opinion without being criticized for it but if his opinion hurts our nation or it soldiers, as it truly does, then he needs to keep it to himself or at least he needs to refrain from spewing it into the public square. We revere freedom of speech in this country, but sometimes irresponsible freedom of speech should result in consequences or the irresponsible party. In the very least, Mr. Arkin should find himself in the position of seeking another source of employment, but of course, the Washington Post probably will not do anything about him.

Update: A new post by the arrogant one.

"Note: On the advice of my editors, this is the last column I will post for awhile on this subject."

Kyoto a socialist scheme to bleed wealthy nations

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper:

"Kyoto is essentially a socialist scheme to suck money out of wealth-producing nations"

reported here.

Sounds to me like he hit the nail on the head.

Images - Feed the Ducks

While we were hiking at Harris Lake Can kept wanting to feed the ducks. We had bread to feed them, but these ducks weren't as tame as the ones at the local pond. I kept thinking that if Grandpa was there he could have told us what kind of ducks these were. (taken 1/15/07)

Wrong to let a boy grow up to be a man. Huh??

I thought that was the natural course of things. From a recent news story out of Germany:

"A boy of 12 is believed to have become the world's youngest sex change patient after convincing doctors that he wanted to live the rest of his life as a female. The boy - originally called Tim, but now known as Kim - has started to receive hormone treatment, in preparation for the operation that will eventually complete the sex change."

The line that really got me:

"It would have been very wrong to let Kim grow up to be a man."

Obviously somebody doesn't understand the meaning of right and wrong. How can it be wrong to let a boy grow up to be a man. That is just how things work. Next thing we know they will be saying it is wrong for a human baby to grow up to be a human. Lets make it grow up into a cow instead. What a messed up world we live in.

Images - Reflection

A pond adjacent to Harris Lake. (Taken 1/15/06)