Gore got it right

Though corporate hacks are trying the "big noise" theory in attacking Al Gore and his presentation on global warming portrayed in the movie "An Inconvenient Truth," the press is doing a good job of cutting through the haze and treating the movie fairly. The AP contacted 100 climitologists considered the tops in the field (including those critical of Gore) and asked their opinion of the facts in the movie. The 19 who've seen the movie and responded gave Gore high marks, even while pointing out small factual errors or oversimplifications. Here's a link to the full story.

Plus, the press is pretty good at exposing the oil company hacks such as S. Fred Singer, who lies about his ties to big oil. They are actually researching these guys' backgrounds and telling it like it is. Maybe the press is indeed getting their teeth back.

Desperate, Aren't they? Part 2

The pathetic grasping of the Republican congressional leadership continues. Rick Santorum, the soon to be defeated Senator from Pennsylvania and Peter Hoekstra, the chairman of the House Intelligence committee urged National Intelligence Director John Negroponte to release a report that 500 weapons containing Sarin or mustard gas had been found in Iraq so that they could claim WMD had been found and thus our reasons for war were vindicated.

Problem is these weapons were Iran-Iraq war era and are so degraded that they cannot function as designed. Former weapons inspector David Kay went so far as to say the Sarin would be less toxic at this point than stuff found under most folks' kitchen sinks. The mustard gas might still produce nasty burns but probably isn't lethal anymore. And these weren't stockpiles, but rather weapons found in ones and twos over many years, obviously not part of the Iraqi arsenal even for the first gulf war in 1991, much less this war. They were probably squirreled away and forgotten. Even the insurgency didn't know about them.

Sources inside the CIA confirm what Kay said. These were not the weapons we thought Iraq had prior to the war, and there continues to be no evidence of a reconstituted WMD program. Santorum and Hoekstra don't know when to stop making fools of themselves. Here's a link to the full story.

Muckrakers Unite!

I found this very interesting item on the War Room at Salon.com. Since the regular media isn't doing it, a group of modern-day muckrakers (the Sunlight Foundation) is checking the financial disclosure statements of lawmakers and finding interesting "co-incidences." Dennis Hastert and a few Rep. California reps bought rural land in the middle of nowhere, then pushed earmarks to build roads nearby and then sold the land at an enormous profit. They still need help. Ever want to be an investigative journalist or a do-gooding muckraker? Go here to volunteer!

It's also a great source of info on the culture of corruption. Check it out.

Ann vs. Adolph

Fun little quiz on this site. Fourteen quotes about liberals on it and you have to decide if Adolph Hitler or Ann Coulter was the originator. I got 11 of 14. (And in looking back, I should have gotten two more. Oh well.) I hesitate to use the "F" word for Ann and the rest of the hysterical right-wing mob of flappin' gobs, but if the quote fits....

New Speak and Global Warming

An Inconvenient Truth has once again brought the naysayers out of their hidey holes and in large and loud numbers. You may have read some of the op-eds or heard some of the Oil-Comapany sponsored ads. They do a pretty good job of confusing the issue, which is precisely what they want to do. They want you to believe that climatologists have not reached concensus on the issue (which they have) and keep throwing out irrelevant "evidence" to sow the seeds of doubt.

Do not succumb. These issues are addressed by the scientists themselves. For the Climatolgists perspective, go to RealClimate. They address the so-called thickening of the Anartic ice sheet and sea level decline in the Artic and well as the PR campaign against An Inconvenient Truth, which they call "Thank You for Emitting," a reference to Thank You for Smoking, a book/movie about the lengths industry PR folks will go to to confuse the issues.

That site has numerous links to other good sites following Global Warming and other science sites. Check it out. Very good information there.

Haditha and, unfortunately, more

The truth, once covered over by the US Marines, is slowly dribbling out about the Massacre in Haditha in November 2005. See this British media report.

Lies. Lies. More lies. We couldn't give enemies better ammunition.

Sigh.

He was the best of Presidents. He was the worst...

Sorry Charlie.

Quinnipac University poll of American humans said Bill Clinton was both the 2nd best prez since 1945 and the 3rd worst. See the Boston globe story here.

Bill was just 3 points behind the sainted Actor/Prez Ronald Reagan as best Prez.

Bill was one point behind Nixon at 16 percent and was therefore third worst. The worst at 34 percent? The current occupant. See. It's not just me.

Signs that we might have a future as a nation? 40 percent of 18-29 year olds rate Bill the best. They see through Reagan's image and the right wing's 8-year political assassination attempt on Bill. Good for them.

Could it be Satan? ... uh I mean Cheney?

Check out this commencement address by Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten. As a former denizen of the fourth estate, I approve.