Global Warming

1/7/07

I thing the people in Colorado would be concerned about the idea that global warming might not be a fact. New York, on the other hand is sure that it is a reality. New York had temps in the upper 60’s and low 70’s this past week. Oh horror! That hasn’t happened since the 30’s. It must therefore be true. The question I ask is: Was it global warming in the 30’s? Of course not. I don’t know what is causing the temperature to increase now but it is NOT an isolated incident.
I have heard that the sun’s output has increased and that man is causing the increase. Who is right? I don’t know. I do know that the man made global warming advocates want us to give up the trappings of our lifestyle. The most enlightened and prosperous lifestyle ever. Most of these people are the same ones that see man as the most serious threat to the environment ever. (If you doubt that, see Al Gore’s book. Earth in the Balance. in which he makes that exact statement.)
I have a serious problem believing that a SUV could be killing the poor polar bears.
It is obvious that we need to lower our usage of foreign supplied oil. I would agree with even the kooks on that. My reasoning is much different, though. I think this country will sooner or later be placed in serious jeopardy because of that dependence. As we fight the poorly named War on Terror, the sorry fact is that most of the oil is in the hands of our enemies and their supporters.
We must take steps to lower that dependency. I do not agree with the concept of the government mandating that car makers increase gas mileage. I think that will happen on it’s own as the price of gas goes up. I think there should be drilling in all domestic locations that have significant deposits. By significant deposits, I do not mean Saudi Arabia volumes. I think we should be looking at alternatives. Ethanol is not THE solution but is a part of the whole. We need more refineries. We need more windmills. We need more of lots of different solutions. Fuel cells? I don’t know. We need to start now. I could be convinced that incentives from the government will help but not completely solve the problem.
Some people want only this way and other want that way. Let’s get together and find a lot of little solutions. Global Warming? If you believe mankind is causing global warming then this ought to at least be a start to you. If you believe mankind has little or no affect on global warming then this should at least be a start to you as well.
I have enjoyed the warmer temperatures but I know that a month or even a winter does not global warming make. Just remember, the temperatures have only been accurately taken for the last 100 or so years. The earth has been here a long time. Just have good sense when you examine the history of climate change.

Happy New Year!

1/1/07

It is 2007. Now what? The Democrats are in charge in the Congress. The Iraq war is still going on and President Bush is talking about how he will cooperate with the Congress on minimum wage and immigration. John McCain is considered to be the front runner for the Republicans and Hillary Clinton for the Democrats. Did you ever feel like you have no choices?
John McCain is a strong supported of the national defense and will, I think, keep us on the road to safety. McCain-Fingold is enough in and of itself to vote against him. Add in the defeated McCain-Kennedy immigration bill and you basically have more of the same. The other Republican candidates all seem to have problems. Rudy may be the best of the bunch but he has his own baggage.
Hillary Clinton is mostly unknown on national defense. So far, her votes seem to be more to satisfy the possible thought that a woman would be too soft to handle national defense. If her votes are truly her beliefs, that is a good thing. Unfortunately, we don’t really know. The Obama silliness will hopefully go away. He is perhaps the most liberal of the current bunch of candidates.
Saddam is thankfully a little longer in his coffin after having been stretched by the neck. If the mainstream media would show something other than bombings in Iraq, people might have a better idea about what is really going on.
Some changes need to be made in Iraq. I am not a general but it seems like the Ethiopians have learned from us the things to do when attempting to quash an insurgency. They said some of the fighters in the earlier hostilities might be pardoned but the leaders will be hunted down and killed. They will find and confiscate all weapons. None will be allowed weapons except for the official military and police.
No nation in the world has ever tried to do what we are so painfully trying. We are attempting to fight a politically correct war in which there are no collateral damage (accidental civilian deaths). As Mr. Sherman once so eloquently put it, "War is hell!" We tried to mitigate that but by so doing, we left a lot of combatants around to be problems over and over again.
If you look critically at any war, mistakes are always made. Remember, the enemy is also trying to win. In this case, they have had a tremendous assist in our media. They play the media extremely well.
I don’t know if a surge in troops will help or not but it is at least a new try that probably will not hurt. If they remove the arms from the militias, that would be a great first step. It should have happened 2 years ago but better late then never. I am sorry to see Rumsfield go but maybe that was needed to shake this dog of a war onto a new footing. If it does that, good.
I hope everyone has a safe and prosperous new year and that all of our troops in harms way return safely.