New Fires Coming in from the Left

It's hard to evacuate from a firestorm when the source of the flames come from your elected officials. I know it's hard to imagine, but can you believe that politicians are actually trying to use one of the worst natural disasters in the nation's history to score points?? I know, I could hardly believe it either.

Leading the way is Barbara Boxer and the rest of the radical left. As if we weren't already hearing enough dubious connections between these fires and "cause-of-everything" global warming, we now get to hear Senator Boxer and her ilk tell us that Bush's 'War in Iraq' is the reason the fires were so bad. I guess since the fires didn't effect her home-utopia of San Francisco, the rest of the state's woes were fair game to score political points against President Bush. Does she really think this kind of thing resonates with people? Especially her own constituent victims? It doesn't. Maybe we should be used to this kind of despicable opportunism from the left. It does, after all, happen with increasing regularity.

Another example: George Carlin. According to this comedian-turned-moron, the people who lost everything deserved what they got for building homes in a fire-zone. Really, George? Where were you when the victims were poor and living in the worst flood-zone in the country? Was that their fault, too? Even when they re-elected the same criminally negligent mayor who led them to disaster in the fist place? Oh, right... in that case it was Bush's climate policies that caused the disaster, Katrina. Now, it's the affluent people of San Diego County who are to blame for this disaster. What impeccable logic.

I suppose, though, some people are just bitter no matter what happens. I work for an association that represents first responders, and we, upon hearing of the President's disaster declaration, immediately sent a letter to our members explaining how they can get in contact with the federal government to receive financial aid, resources and information. Pretty basic stuff. Only, I get a reply accusing me of "blatant pandering" in the face of this disaster. Sigh. Honestly. I don't know, maybe some people are just a-holes. So instead of trying to make sense of such lunacy, I'll just lump Boxer, Carlin and the rest of the lyin' left into that group until they can show me otherwise. I'll likely be waiting a long, long time.

Amazing San Diego Wildfire Photos

The number of evacuees has reached 500,000 - including many family members and friends of mine. The picture below was taken by a friend as he drove on I-15 (the shot is facing north) in San Diego. Below that picture are AP shots of Spring Valley (another area in San Diego). They are incredible photos.

250,000 Evacuated in San Diego

Since San Diego is my hometown, I have been following these fires with increasing alarm. Looks like a few of my aunts, uncles and friends are under a mandatory evacuation alert. An evacuation of this size is unprecedented for San Diego. In fact, they've opened up Qualcomm Stadium as a shelter (another first). So far (luckily), my Mom and siblings have not been directly affected (they're closer to the coast).

I should be getting a few pictures from family shortly, once they're out of harm's way (the picture to the left is from the San Diego Union-Tribune). Once I do. I'll post them here. In the meantime, please keep the folks in San Diego, and indeed, the rest of Southern California, in your prayers.

The Goracle Has Performed a Miracle

He's almost a fully-fledged prophet, now! The ever-swelling braggart now has an Academy Award and a Nobel Peace Prize. A peace prize, you say? I know. I was confused, too. I thought maybe he had formally announced that he would be dropping the notion of man-induced global warming... that might bring some peace to his duplicitous soul. But nope, that wasn't it. He pulled off a miracle (of sorts)... the guy won a peace prize because of his work on climate change.

What?

Yeah, it confuses the heck out of everyone else, too. Can one come to the conclusion that this award is anything but politically motivated? As the UK Daily Telegraph spells out for those who still don't get it:

Climate change is a threat to the environment, not to "peace" and international order. The prize has gone to some sleazy recipients in the past, but at least you can make a case that their actions staved off bloodshed.

Wow. I think I might be qualified for this prize based on my work in finger painting. It's very good. It's so good, in fact, that I'm sure it could stop a war. Well, maybe a fist-fight between a couple of monkeys, at least.

How Am I Supposed to Ride in This?

I'm home now. Back from a way-too-short vacation (see pictures in previous posts) out west visiting the in-laws. Yep, that's right... I enjoy spending time with the in-laws! Anyway, since I'm not on vacation anymore, I've been excited to get back to the trails with my newly repaired mountain bike. Unfortunately, I have to deal with this (also see picture at left - keeping in mind it's almost 5 pm). What you don't see is the humidity level - hovering right at 50%. It feels like Caribbean Mexico. Hot and nasty - only without the great beaches.

For those that don't know, riding mountain bikes in the mid-Atlantic in August is a bit like sitting in a sauna with a sweater on. It's brutally debilitating and a tad bit retarded. However, it's manageable with plenty of water and a slower pace. Why do I do it? Because, it's that much fun. Kind of like writing mindless posts like this...

The Problem With Theories Based on Lies

Global warming. Give me a break. The number of hurricanes forecast for this season has just been reduced because of "cooler than usual ocean temperatures." Now, before the environmentalist lunatic fringe tries to tell you that ocean cooling is a sign of global warming, just remember their dire predictions during the active 2005 hurricane season, which was unusually warm. They told us of the coming ecological apocalypse - hurricanes so frequent that we would run out of letters of the alphabet to name them! Please.

This highlights yet another example of how utterly ridiculous the arguments in favor of global warming have become. If you listened to their rhetoric, we would be led to believe that any variation from perfect is an argument for global warming. I've touched on this before. It's the perfect argument. If it's too hot - well obviously - it's global warming! If it's too cold - well, that's a sign of global warming, too! If you disagree with them, you're labeled some kind of capitalist polluter (or worse). Can you tell I'm frustrated by this lunacy?

Real climatologists (not the biologists interviewed in Gore's fictional horror movie) have been telling us that these kind of fluctuations have been going on for centuries. Besides, one erupting volcano puts more crap into the atmosphere than even the most energy-hungry country could ever dream possible.

So, before we start legislating away our freedoms based on faulty, knee-jerk science, let's at least have an open and honest debate! A debate where global warming skeptics will not be castigated and dismissed just because being "green" is currently en vogue.

Can Someone Recommend a Restaurant...

...in Seattle?

I'm leaving the nasty humid wonderland (it's 93 at 10am) of Washington, DC for 4 days to attend a conference in the beautiful northwest. True, I'm good at finding restaurants on my own... but I've never been to Seattle (it's the biggest US city I haven't visited), so I really don't know where to start. I crave seafood (that narrows it down, doesn't it?). So I turn to you, blogosphere, for help in satisfying my culinary itch.

Stay tuned here for pictures, live, from my trip!

It's 102 Degrees, So It Must Be...

...Global Warming! Yep, that's right. If man weren't on the Earth, today's summer temperature would be 75 degrees and perfect. Oh, wait... when it's cooler in the summer, that actually means that the Earth is getting warmer, too. So, I'm confused. Is it global warming when it's too hot, or too cold? That's right - it's both! In other words, the Earth would never change temperatures at all if man wasn't here! What a perfectly circular argument! You can't lose if you believe all of the global warming hype. It's the perfect wagon on which you can hitch your political career, because it also has the added bonus of being based on fear!

So, we have a scary theory that means the world is ending unless we enact all kinds of crazy laws that limit personal freedom, it's based on fear, and no matter what: anything horrible that happens in the world can be attributed to it! Just like the Rock, it can never lose!

Jeesh... the madness! Can't it just be freakin' hot anymore?

Global Warming? A Matter of Fact Manipulation

Apart from the latest clamor about the Earth headed for catastrophic global cooling, the arguments supporting global warming have been pretty straight forward: If it's 1 degree hotter in Dallas than last year, it's global warming. If one iceberg melts north of Greenland, it's global warming. If a big hurricane strikes land, it's global warming. You get the picture.

So you can imagine my surprise when I came across this article on CNN. I could tell the authors and scientists quoted in the discovery were desperate to find some way, any way to pin what happened on global warming, but the facts just couldn't be manipulated that way. It's laughable. Does anyone doubt that if this story were a matter of the lake rising, that it wouldn't have been used by a propaganda tool of the leftist, global warming psychopaths that treat every glitch in nature as a reason for you and I to give up living as individuals? Of course it would.

Oh, the irony that this lake just disappeared... How do you explain that? Oh yeah, it's global SHAKING!

Galactic Warming

Global warming has been taking place on Mars at the same rate it has been taking place on Earth since the 1970's. I wonder if the Martians are only using one square of toilet paper, too? I mean hey, Galactic Warming affects everyone - Earthlings and Martials alike! Think Galactic, Act Solar Systemly!

The Sunday Times reports:

CLIMATE CHANGE HITS MARS

Mars is being hit by rapid climate change and it is happening so fast that the red planet could lose its southern ice cap, writes Jonathan Leake.

Scientists from Nasa say that Mars has warmed by about 0.5C since the 1970s. This is similar to the warming experienced on Earth over approximately the same period.

Since there is no known life on Mars it suggests rapid changes in planetary climates could be natural phenomena.

The mechanism at work on Mars appears, however, to be different from that on Earth. One of the researchers, Lori Fenton, believes variations in radiation and temperature across the surface of the Red Planet are generating strong winds.

In a paper published in the journal Nature, she suggests that such winds can stir up giant dust storms, trapping heat and raising the planet’s temperature.

Fenton’s team unearthed heat maps of the Martian surface from Nasa’s Viking mission in the 1970s and compared them with maps gathered more than two decades later by Mars Global Surveyor. They found there had been widespread changes, with some areas becoming darker.

When a surface darkens it absorbs more heat, eventually radiating that heat back to warm the thin Martian atmosphere: lighter surfaces have the opposite effect. The temperature differences between the two are thought to be stirring up more winds, and dust, creating a cycle that is warming the planet.

In their zeal to have you change the way you live your life, the "green" advocates put it at risk by ignoring other strong evidence that suggests our current approach to dealing with global warming may be dead wrong (and will limit your freedom in the process).

Killer Frogs from Outer Space (San Franscisco)

How do PETA-loving, everything-tolerating, San Francisco environmentalists handle this one? Man, I love slow news days. At least it's 75 degrees outside.

"Meat-eating killer frogs have invaded a pond in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, leaving environmentalists wondering how to stop their deadly march before they move on to bigger waters."

So We're Causing Global Warming on Mars, Too, Eh?

This just goes to show how absolutely silly the global warming arguments have been getting that stipulate that humans are the cause. We have been told by climatologist after climatologist that global warming is a normal, cyclical pattern that occurs naturally over thousands of years on the Earth (especially since we are technically coming out of an ice age). The Goracle and his biologists have been claiming otherwise (as if biologists know better than climatologists). The Goracle's aim is to have you change your lifestyle (first through his lies, then through government intervention and compulsion) to one that is in conflict with free market society.

Now, according to the National Geographic - a nationally recognized scientific magazine, mind you - the same thing is happening on Mars where there is absolutely zero human presence (except for a few electric rovers that roam the planet). I quote:

In 2005 data from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor and Odyssey missions revealed that the carbon dioxide "ice caps" near Mars's south pole had been diminishing for three summers in a row.

Habibullo Abdussamatov, head of the St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory in Russia, says the Mars data is evidence that the current global warming on Earth is being caused by changes in the sun.

"The long-term increase in solar irradiance is heating both Earth and Mars," he said.

How long do you think it will take the secular progressive movement to utterly bury this article, the scientist who published it, and the editor at National Geographic who approved it?

Remember, according to The Goracle, there is no way to think except his way. If you think I'm wrong, just try to tell a secular progressive that humans aren't the cause of global warming. Just try it, and see what happens....

Calm Down Everyone, It's NOT Global Warming

Yes, I realize it's 60 degrees today and will be 70 this weekend. But that doesn't mean all of the predictions by liberal soothsayers and zealots will surely come to pass! It's a mild fluctuation, nothing more. Besides, remember how last year was the coldest winter on record? Probably not.

AP Reports:

"Meteorologists say the warm spell is due to a combination of factors: El Nino, a cyclical warming trend now under way in the Pacific Ocean, can lead to milder weather, particularly in the Northeast; and the jet stream, the high-altitude air current that works like a barricade to hold back warm Southern air, is running much farther north than usual over the East Coast.

The weather is prone to short-term fluctuations, and forecasters said the mild winter does not necessarily mean global warming is upon us. In fact, the Plains have been hit by back-to-back blizzards in the past two weeks."