Month: July 2009

It looks like the scientists who have predicted unending global warming caused by CO2 emissions may be in serious error. No one knows exactly how much Earth’s climate will warm due to carbon emissions, but a new study this week suggests scientists’ best predictions about global warming might be incorrect. The study, which appears in…

I am so relieved that Chinese government has decided to stop “treating” sufferers of “Internet addiction” with electric shock therapy! BEIJING (AP) — China’s Health Ministry has ordered a hospital to stop using electric shock therapy to cure youths of Internet addiction, saying there was no scientific evidence it worked. Linyi Mental Health Hospital in…

Sarah Palin has a few words to say about climate change. There is no shortage of threats to our economy. America’s unemployment rate recently hit its highest mark in more than 25 years and is expected to continue climbing. Worries are widespread that even when the economy finally rebounds, the recovery won’t bring jobs. Our…

One of my objections to socialized medicine is that it would require people who don’t abuse the system to pay for people who do. Like Ricky Alardo: Ricky Alardo, a homeless alcoholic nicknamed Ricky Ricardo, swigs cheap vodka by day at his favorite corner in Washington Heights, then calls an ambulance to chauffeur him to…

I wish people would just calm down a bit and quit it with musical taste inquisitions. I realize that it is normal in high school to criticize the musical taste of your peers, and get all defensive about your own, but the idea that not liking certain music is racist just goes too far. Glenn…

Sarah Palin is upsetting the political apple cart by promising to support Republicans and Democrats who support her agenda. Here is an excerpt from the Washington Times posted at the above link. The former Republican vice-presidential nominee and heroine to much of the GOP’s base said in an interview she views the electorate as embattled…

Regular readers may recall that I have long considered John Dean to be one of the most despicable characters in American politics. Not that I’m alone in my assessment. For years the man has been called a rat, and while “weasel” might be more accurate, such terms do a clear disservice to the animals involved.…

The G8 last week decreed that the governments of the world were going to work real hard to prevent the global temperature from rising more than 2° C. When King Canute of lore wanted to teach his citizens a lesson, he set his throne by the seashore and commanded the tides to roll out. Canute’s…

I don’t know what readers might think, but I think what is happening here is a classic Machiavellian strategy: …[Attorney General] Holder, 58, may be on the verge of asserting his independence in a profound way. Four knowledgeable sources tell NEWSWEEK that he is now leaning toward appointing a prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration’s…

John Holdren, Obama’s Science Adviser has some advice for curing the ills of the globe and especially America. * Women could be forced to abort their pregnancies, whether they wanted to or not; * The population at large could be sterilized by infertility drugs intentionally put into the nation’s drinking water or in food; *…

I have long believed that anti-Zionism is basically a thinly disguised form of anti-Semitism. But what about Jewish anti-Zionism? Is that a rare thing? Maybe not. If these numbers are accurate, there is an undeniable contrast between the thinking of American Jews and the thinking of Israeli Jews. A contrast so large as to raise…

Well not actually. It was the 153 Anniversary of his birthday. So I’m a day late. No matter. Tesla is always interesting. If you would like to read some Tesla in his own words (plus some other really whacked out sh*t) I really like this book: The Fantastic Inventions of Nikola Tesla (The Lost Science…

Ian Plimer says human induced global warming is the biggest con trick in history. Imagine how wonderful the world would be if man-made global warming were just a figment of Al Gore’s imagination. No more ugly wind farms to darken our sunlit uplands. No more whopping electricity bills, artificially inflated by EU-imposed carbon taxes. No…

Glenn links another calorie restriction study, but I’m skeptical the benefits will extend to humans, even if we develop drugs based on these diets. These studies are all of things that live much shorter lives than we do. Most likely, the diet causes them to express genes that we express regardless of our diet, such…

Nearly everyone has been talking or writing about Sarah Palin, and while that makes me feel that I should write another post about her, the notion of “should” acts as a deterrent, and makes me want not to. But thanks to an email from a friend, finally my neurosis has waned a bit. I have…

When I saw the supplement to yesterday’s newspaper, I was taken by surprise. I thought maybe a local gay periodical had been dropped on my porch, and I didn’t remember subscribing to anything like that, so naturally I had to pick it up to investigate. It turned out it was just a Detroit Free Press…

This is getting to be to be a pattern. Last month it was President Obama’s mischaracterization of Muslim history and his assertion that we were in debt to Islam for Western culture. I wondered whether he really believed what he said, or was merely trying to imply it for political advantage. And now the president…

Paul Krugman says that another stimulus is needed to get the economy moving. (from July 2nd) O.K., Thursday’s jobs report settles it. We’re going to need a bigger stimulus. But does the president know that? Let’s do the math. Since the recession began, the U.S. economy has lost 6 ½ million jobs — and as…

Some interesting things are going on in New York State. During the long years of Republican control, the all-white GOP “conference” would regularly bemoan its lack of diversity, and make extra efforts to recruit minority Senate candidates and hire minority staff. During the first five months of this year, with the Senate under the control…

While I wouldn’t say that the story of Michelle Obama’s expensive alligator purse rises to the level of a scandal (much less a crisis), I have to say I’m glad to see it being reported: Earlier this week (while strolling the wooded landscape outside of Moscow), she carried a sexy black clutch, which Italian luxury…