BusinessWeek and others are reporting that the “First Ever” GHG fees I wrote about earlier today have been approved by Bay Area regulators.
Air pollution regulators in the San Francisco Bay area have voted overwhelmingly to approve new rules that impose fees on businesses for emitting greenhouse gasses.
A spokeswoman for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District says the agency’s board of directors voted 15-1 on Wednesday to charge companies 4.4 cents per ton of carbon dioxide they emit.
Experts say the fees, which cover nine counties in the Bay Area, are the first of their kind in the country.
It sure seems like just about everything can be blamed on anthropogenic global warming these days. From acne or the end of beer as we know it, to psychiatric illness and smaller brains, it all can and has been attributed to that evil global warming. And of course it’s all our fault for improving our lives through the use of energy. More specifically it’s all or mostly America’s fault.
As crazy as the alleged effects are, the causes are getting pretty absurd as well. We all know that CO2 is the alleged culprit. We are also told that we have to make drastic changes to the way we live - even pay taxes on the CO2 we are responsible for. But now we can add research to the seemingly endless list of human activities contributing to global warming. According to Hervé Philippe, a Université de Montréal professor of biochemistry, his own research produces more than twice the amount of CO2 than the average American. (44 tons vs. 20 tons respectively).
I did my PhD on nucleotide sequencing in the hope of advancing our knowledge of biodiversity, but I never thought that the research itself could have a negative impact on biodiversity,
he said, during a recent biology department symposium.
The solution?
For universities, he recommends having less frequent international conferences, increasing the use of video-conferences, avoiding research on well explored topics, reducing publications and evaluating the amount of CO2 produced by research projects
So there you have it: Global Warming is official caused by hot air from the researchers themselves.
University of Montreal (2008, May 7). University Research Contributes To Global Warming, Professor Discovers. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 8, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507155305.htm
I’ve decided to join the crowd of those that have a copy of Fitna posted. I’ll wait to see if I too get some persuasion from the “Religion of Peace” to remove it.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the video as an “offensively anti-Islamic film”, “hate speech” and “incitement to violence.”
Following is the text of the statement by UN SG Ban Ki-moon on the film Fitna:
I condemn, in the strongest terms, the airing of Geert Wilders’ offensively anti-Islamic film. There is no justification for hate speech or incitement to violence. The right of free expression is not at stake here. I acknowledge the efforts of the Government of the Netherlands to stop the broadcast of this film, and appeal for calm to those understandably offended by it. Freedom must always be accompanied by social responsibility.
The United Nations is the centre of the world’s efforts to advance mutual respect, understanding and dialogue. We must also recognize that the real fault line is not between Muslim and Western societies, as some would have us believe, but between small minorities of extremists on different sides with a vested interest in stirring hostility and conflict.
It baffles the mind to think that pointing out that Islam has violent roots in the Quran is considered an “incitement to violence”. If it’s untrue then how is it inciting violence from such a “peaceful” religion?
It’s sad to see the LiveLeak video pulled due to threats of violence along with a few others around the net. However, it’s encouraging to see the growing number of sites that have it posted in spite of (or perhaps due to) the threats and censorship elsewhere.
Update: As I’ve predicted the Officers involved in this incident have been cleared and are returning to duty. Take a poll here.
I’ve posted a few videos on YouTube concerning the Andrew MeyerTaser incident. Now I knew I would not be popular with my position on the incident. After all the majority of the YouTube users are young liberals, many of which love a good conspiracy theory. At least that’s been my experience. However, I was astonished at the response I have received. In addition to the obligatory “your a fascist”, “troll alert”, “you’re part of Skull & Bones” and “you’re a Bush lover” comments, I’ve also received a few dozen messages threatening my life. Now of course I don’t take these seriously, mainly due to the all caps and mangling of the English language.
Anyway, I’ll get to the point. Amongst all of the controversy, insults and now death threats I have had some productive conversations with a rare few. Some of whom have requested more information or explanations of the information I have presented. Rather then continue to try and provide a condensed version that fits withing the 500 character limit of the YouTube comments that also wont allow URLs to be posted, I have decided to simply post what I can here. With any luck someone will find it useful.
Michael Moore is many things, to some he is a champion of the poor fighting the oppression of the evil Right and the horrible corporate profit mongers. To others he is simply a skillful liar who pretends to fight for the little guy while making millions of dollars selling pseudo-documentaries and books to anyone gullible enough to pay for them. (If you think he is something else, that’s what the comments are for.)
Hannity interviews a man who was a childhood friend of Michael Moore. This man has made a documentary called “Shooting Michael Moore” which shows everyone who the real Michael Moore is: A Hypocrite and a Liar.
Michael Mooremovies sure do seem to have a following. For some reason it does not matter how much truth or more importantly how many half truths, misrepresentations, mis-quotes, or outright lies the movies have. I wont even try to get into the lies Moore portrays as factual in the many movies. This is just a post with a short look into one of the reasons his films might be successful. As an added bonus it also includes a glimpse of what socialized medicine could be like in the future. If your a Sicko fan or if you just can’t get enough of Roger & Me or Fahrenheit 9/11, then you probably should not even bother watching this.
9/11 Conspiracies…
The 9/11 conspiracies have been seemingly getting more and more far fetched. This could lead one to think of some sort ofgrandiose type delusional disorder being involved. I know what I think, but I would like to see what others think too.
[Poll=7]
I encourage you to comment on why you think they are or are not.
Oh how quickly Americans, particularly liberals forget. I remember Al Gore giving a speech criticizing Bush Sr. for not going to war with Iraq - now I have found the video of that speech here.
Here’s Gore in 1992, telling America that George H. W. Bush needed to rush to war in taking out Iraq’s terrorism-linked, wmd-seeking Saddam Hussein. I’m pretty sure this substantially proves that liberals will blindly follow whatever supports their preconceived ideas, i.e “I support Gore because the media says he’s smarter,” when all along they support Gore regardless. The knee-jerk reaction is to always see what supports our ideas and to downplay that which contradicts them. You can’t reason with a bigot; no matter what the issue is, you’re darned if you do and you’re darned if you don’t.
From RightLinx.com
My response to that is this collection of quotes from a few people.
Since the original post I have found this video that does a pretty good job of getting the point across.
Years before George W. Bush became our president, most prominent Democrats wanted Saddam Hussein’s head on a platter.
Now those same Democrats say that George W. lied to us and Hussein never had any WMDs, and the only reason president Bush went into Iraq was for the oil.
The next time one of these “Demon-crats”, masquerading as a politician, start spewing their Verbal Weapons of Mass Destruction; send them a copy of this web page.
“One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line.” President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998
“If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction program.” President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998
“Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biologicalweapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face.” Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998
(Actually signed by: Carl Levin, Joe Lieberman, Frank R. Lautenberg, Dick Lugar, Kit Bond, Jon Kyl, Chris Dodd, John McCain, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Alfonse D’Amato, Bob Kerrey, Pete V. Domenici, Dianne Feinstein, Barbara A. Mikulski.
Thomas Daschle, John Breaux, Tim Johnson, Daniel K. Inouye, Arlen Specter, James Inhofe, Strom Thurmond, Mary L. Landrieu, Wendell Ford, John F. Kerry, Chuck Grassley, Jesse Helms, Rick Santorum) ~ Malagent
“Hussein has … chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies.” Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999
“There is no doubt that… Saddam Hussein has reinvigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies.”
Letter to President Bush, Signed by Joe Lieberman (D-CT), John McCain (Rino-AZ) and others, Dec. 5, 2001
“We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandated of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them.”
Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002
“Iraq’s search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power.” Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
“I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force– if necessary– to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security.”
Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002
“We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction.” Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002
“[W]ithout question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime … He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation … And now he is miscalculating America’s response to his contin ued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction … So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real …” Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003
For the first time since 1997 the minimum wage in the United States will be increased. The current federal minimum wage in the U. S. is $5.15, before the end of this summer it will be increased $0.70 an hour to $5.85, in 2008 it will rise another $0.70 and buy the end of 2009 the minimum wage will be $7.25 an hour.
Take a few moments to understand what his means to everyone. Unskilled workers at fast food restaurants will be making over $7 an hour. Have you been to a fast food restaurant lately? Have you ever worked at one? There is no way this work is worth $7 an hour. Think about what this will do to the cost of a hamburger, it is already about $1 for a lousy hamburger. Think of how many more illegal immigrants will get work at much lower wages than legal citizens due to this legislation.
For many years it has been a matter of conventional wisdom among economists that the minimum wage causes fewer jobs to exist than would be the case without it. This is simply a matter of price theory, taught in every economics textbook, requiring no elaborate analysis to justify. Were this not the case, there would be no logical reason why the minimum wage could not be set at $10, $100, or $1 million per hour.
Minimum wage legislation artificially inflates the value of the work and the worker. The entire economy suffers in the form of increased cost, lower overall quality & value, and reduced customer service of the goods and services purchased. Companies are forced to raise the prices they charge and also must reduce their cost of goods sold. They do this by using fewer workers to perform the work which results in fewer overall jobs. This increases unemployment among low-wage workers, harming rather than helping the poorest workers. A greater number of workers are willing to work at the higher wage while a smaller numbers of jobs will be available at the higher wage. Companies can and will be more selective in who they employ thus the least skilled and unexperienced will typically get excluded. A simple classical economic analysis of supply and demand implies that by mandating a price floor above the equilibrium wage, minimum wage laws should cause unemployment.
Effects of Minimum Wage:
Reduces demand for workers. This may manifest itself through a reduction in the number of hours worked by individuals, or through a reduction in the number of jobs.[1]
Hurts the least employable by making them unemployable, in effect pricing them out of the market.[2]
Reduces profit margins of business owners employing minimum wage workers, thus encouraging a move to businesses that do not employ low skill workers.
Increases prices for customers of employers of minimum wage workers, which would pass through to the general price level.[3]
Reduces economic growth by skewing factor-choice incentives away from the optimum choice.[4]
Minimum-wage legislation, by its very nature, benefits some at the expense of the least experienced, least productive, and poorest workers.”[2]
Is a limit on the freedom of both employers and employees. Minimum wage laws make it illegal for employers to pay workers less than the minimum wage. This also prevents workers from being able to provide labor or services for less than the minimum. For example, during the apartheid era in South Africa, white trade unions lobbied for the introduction of minimum wage laws so as to exclude black workers from the labor market. By preventing black workers from selling their labor for less than white workers, the black workers were prevented from competing for jobs held by whites.[5]
Although it is the employer who is fined and/or imprisoned for violations, the workers also lose their freedom, albeit indirectly.
Decreases opportunities for low-skilled workers to gain the training and responsibility they need to move up the wage ladder.
Increases the cost of government social programs due to assistance programs aiding the laid-off/unemployed workers.
Is less effective than the Earned Income Tax Credit at targeting the truly needy, and is more damaging to businesses.
Decreases human capital by encouraging people to enter the job market instead of pursuing further education.
Reduces the international competitiveness of a nation by raising the cost of factor inputs, and therefore output, relative to the level of other countries. It is argued that this is particularly problematic in developing economies.
Minimum wage laws are a self contradictory policy. Let the employees and employers decide what a job is worth.
. I’ve seen most of his 
