The absurdity grows:

The United Nations’ expert panel on climate change based claims about ice disappearing from the world’s mountain tops on a student’s dissertation and an article in a mountaineering magazine…

…In its most recent report, it stated that observed reductions in mountain ice in the Andes, Alps and Africa was being caused by global warming, citing two papers as the source of the information.

However, it can be revealed that one of the sources quoted was a feature article published in a popular magazine for climbers which was based on anecdotal evidence from mountaineers about the changes they were witnessing on the mountainsides around them.

The other was a dissertation written by a geography student, studying for the equivalent of a master’s degree, at the University of Berne in Switzerland that quoted interviews with mountain guides in the Alps.

The revelations, uncovered by The Sunday Telegraph, have raised fresh questions about the quality of the information contained in the report, which was published in 2007.

The data has been fake, at times and now it seems that some of the “data” was akin to “stuff I overheard at a party”.

As I’ve said before – people need to go to jail over this. Vast sums of money have been spent and a few con artists have made out like bandits – and all for a completely idiotic theory ginned up by people who wanted to scare us in to socialism. Enough is enough.

UPDATE: And now the global warming claims about damage to the rain forest are coming up bogus.

This is the must read economic article of the month. Read it, and know what is going on – fail to read it, and be ignorant. Its as simple as that.

Sorry, guys and gals, I’ve just got nothing in the brain worth writing about at the moment…have fun with this open thread and I promise something good for you in the evening (as long as “good” is defined by me, ok?). :o)

Oh, I know – we can do Super Bowl predictions! I’m rooting for the Saints…odd for an AFC man, like me, but I just love a Cinderella story…

UPDATE: Here’s something to talk about – the TEA Party moves to take over the GOP at the grassroots level.

Hey, its not just me saying it:

New York University Professor Nouriel Roubini, who anticipated the financial crisis, called the fourth quarter surge in U.S. economic growth “very dismal and poor” because it relied on temporary factors.

Roubini said more than half of the 5.7 percent expansion reported yesterday by the government was related to a replenishing of inventories and that consumption depended on monetary and fiscal stimulus. As these forces ebb, growth will slow to just 1.5 percent in the second half of 2010, he said.

“The headline number will look large and big, but actually when you dissect it, it’s very dismal and poor,” Roubini told Bloomberg Television in an interview at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. “I think we are in trouble.”

Roubini said while the world’s largest economy won’t relapse into recession, unemployment will rise from the current 10 percent, posing social and political challenges.

“It’s going to feel like a recession even if technically we’re not going to be in a recession,” he said.

Me: I think it will not just feel like a recession, but it will be one. My bet is that 3rd quarter GDP will show a contraction unless Obama and Co can find some other temporary things to put some lipstick on our economic pig. Might even contract in the 2nd quarter – but I’m betting the bogus stuff they’re feeding in to the GDP numbers will carry them at least until June.

We paid for $101,000 for Pelosi’s booze and food?

Now we’re up to 15 banks shut down in 2010, and that is it for January. 15 times 12 equals 180 – we’re on track to exceed last year’s bank failures. But the economy is all better, now.

Climate guy knew all about the glacier lies.

China is upset we’re selling arms to Taiwan. I approve of upsetting China in this manner.

In the battle between Christian Orthodoxy and Christianity Lite, Orthodoxy wins.

California researchers switching from pointless embryonic stem cells to worthwhile adult stem cells.

Reid has $8.7 million in the bank to lie about his record.

As Republicans gear up for the battles of 2010, we must remember that the enemy is on the left.

Feeling bad? Worried that we won’t be able to win and restore our nation? Well, quit whining and get to work.

The troubles in the Eurozone grow.

Ever wonder what a capitalist fat cat looks like?

The MSM gets it wrong, again. This time about O’Keefe – he of the famed ACORN expose’ – and his efforts to investigate Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-Reid’s Back Pocket):

…American journalists once cheered for those among their own who were brave enough to risk jail in the quest of exposing corruption and malfeasance. Yet when O’Keefe and his band of whippersnapper journalists went undercover, disguised as telephone repairmen in the hopes of exposing Senator Landrieu’s denying her own constituents phone access to her, the MSM fell all over themselves denouncing the young men.

Rush to judgment? No. It was a stampede.

From MSNBC, CBS, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Talking Points Memo and others came shrill, utterly false headlines about “attempted bugging” and the “new Watergate,” which are now being corrected or retracted with but a faint whisper. MSM “journalists” in high-and-mighty places haven’t had this much egg on their faces since their coffee-klatch therapy sessions over the misunderstood, “non-jihadist” Ft. Hood terror attack.

Bravo Mr. O’Keefe, honey!

Writing as a boomer conservative, who was in my youth a raging leftist, I know well the forces at work against you now, and can only salute your willingness to go to the mat to expose liberal corruption, wherever you find it. Although, as an old mom, I would discourage you from carrying through with, perhaps, not-thought-all-the-way-through plans in the future, I still must commend not only your intentions, but also your guts.

Though you may pay personal consequences for your actions in the Senator’s office, you have succeeded in bringing two important items to light.

One, you brought necessary scrutiny to the charge that Senator Landrieu may have been, on purpose, blocking phone calls from her own constituents. You learned firsthand, evidently, that her phone system was not unable to receive calls as she was apparently telling her constituents…

Second, you have demonstrated in full public view – once again – why the MSM is literally drowning itself in its own leftist ideology.

ACORN leaped upon this story when it broke – when the MSM was immediately trumpeting it as “Watergate II – as a means of rehabilitating itself. While the MSM, itself, was gleeful over the prospect of O’Keefe – who scooped all of them – getting in trouble. But the story seemed odd, right out the gate. Why bug Landrieu? What did he hope to find out? That Harry Reid was bribing her with taxpayer money in return for her Senate vote?

As the days have gone on since the story broke, it has become clear that it wasn’t some nefarious plot but, once again, just O’Keefe trying to get at truth the MSM refuses to uncover. Now, it could still be that O’Keefe violated a law – if so, then he’s going to have to pay the piper; there are no free rides on the right side of the aisle. But the most important thing is that Landrieu was broadcasting what appears to be a flat out lie, and the MSM never made a move to uncover it. It takes a gutsy, independent journalist to go where MSMers fear to tread.

So, if O’Keefe sets up a legal defense fund, I’ll donate to it. God bless this young man and best of luck in the future.

Yeah, if you want to believe it. Mish’s has an excellent run down on the underlying weakness in the numbers (a real “must read”) and concludes thusly:

Digging beneath the surface there is nothing to cheer about in the GDP numbers. Moreover, this weakness is in the face of the largest stimulus measures the world has ever seen, not just in the US, but globally. Money supply in China is growing at 30% and housing bubbles are likely to pop in Australia, Canada, and the UK. Problems in Greece, Spain, and Iceland continue to mount.

GDP is a mirage of sand blowing in the wind. So is global growth. It is a mistake to believe government spending can possibly provide a solid foundation for a lasting recovery.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this “recovery” is all smoke and mirrors. 5.7% growth is consistent with a massive economic boom. What is booming in our economy? Someone tell me the sectors which are having a banner year? Outside of lobbying and government, no one is -and that tells the tale. We – and the rest of the world – are printing money and using it to put a false glow of health in the economic body.

Back last year, shortly before my father passed away, he was given a blood transfusion – and for a few days, he was in the pink…looked fabulous and he felt great. But it was a false spring…the internal bleeding and other issues where still there. Thus it is with our economy – we’ve given a blood transfusion to a dying man, but we have not the capability – while liberals run the show – of taking the steps which might actually cure the patient.

We need to start allowing Americans to make, mine and grow things – massive amounts of taxes and regulations have to be set aside so that we, the people, can get to work without government interference. Unless and until we do this, we won’t get any better – and if we keep printing and borrowing money to finance government deficits, we’ll actually be getting worse off, day by day. It is my contention that actual wealth continues to contract in the Untied States – that we are in a daily net loss as long as we are printing and borrowing like mad.

All of this will come home to roost – Obama and his Democrats hope it won’t happen until after November and they will do everything they can – including manipulate the data – to make it seem like things are getting better. But the day of reckoning comes – and I’m actually more convinced now, with these new GDP numbers, that they can’t keep the ball in the air past March. I could be wrong – in fact, they could by some chance keep this rolling even for a year or two more…but the time will come when it can’t be sustained. Not here and not anywhere else, either. Then the piper will have to be paid – and the longer we delay good policies, the more he’s going to demand of us.

Yeah, he really wants to keep “bad” money out of politics:

While, Mr. Obama’s mistaken concern about foreign donors giving to American campaigns would be a result of the Supreme Court’s Citizen’s United decision, it should be noted that his own 2008 presidential campaign involved questionable donors.

For example, Newsweek ,in October of 2008, reported on two Palestinian brothers in the Gaza strip who managed to give $33,000 dollars to the campaign by buying a massive amount of Obama t-shirts through the campaign’s online store. The Obama campaign reportedly returned the money. However, one must wonder if smaller undetectable amounts of foreign donations from the online store found their way into the Obama campaign treasure chest. Untraceable Obama Campaign donations were also an issue reported on the trail in 2008.:

“The Obama organization said its extensive review has ensured that the campaign has refunded any improper contributions, and noted that Federal Election Commission rules do not require front-end screening of donations.

In recent weeks, questionable contributions have created headaches for Obama’s accounting team as it has tried to explain why campaign finance filings have included itemized donations from individuals using fake names, such as Es Esh or Doodad Pro. Those revelations prompted conservative bloggers to further test Obama’s finance vetting by giving money using the kind of prepaid cards that can be bought at a drugstore and cannot be traced to a donor.

The problem with such cards, campaign finance lawyers said, is that they make it impossible to tell whether foreign nationals, donors who have exceeded the limits, government contractors or others who are barred from giving to a federal campaign are making contributions.

‘They have opened the floodgates to all this money coming in,’ said Sean Cairncross, chief counsel to the Republican National Committee. ‘I think they’ve made the determination that whatever money they have to refund on the back end doesn’t outweigh the benefit of taking all this money upfront.'”

Two things are required in order to effectively void all restrictions on campaign finance:

1. You have to be willing to break the law.

2. You have to be a Democrat.

This is old hat – as is known by anyone who read Caucus of Corruption. As an example: Nancy Pelosi learned early on that its ok to break campaign finance laws – back when she was chair of the Northern California Democrat party, she deliberately violated the law as regards in-kind donations (in the matter of a union printing up campaign signs) and noted that, when caught, there was no move in the MSM to have her hounded out of politics and, of course, that the fine was far less than the benefit gained. She’s willing to break the law and she’s a Democrat – the “be a Democrat” part is vital because Republicans are always held strictly accountable on such things.

Given the massive amounts of questionable donations to the Obama campaign – not just the mentioned Palestinians but such things as a credit card number being used multiple times as the source of donations, while the account, itself, is only charged once (ie, disguising money that probably came in the form of cash) as well as all those odd donations – $153.47, or some such, eg – which indicate a conversion from foreign currency on a credit card charge – we can rely upon it that Obama and Co have also learned the lesson: be willing to break the law, and be a Democrat.

Given such things, it is the height of absurdity for any Republican – McCain, we’re looking at you – to advocate restrictions on campaign funding. Any restrictions will be rigorously applied to the GOP, and cynically ignored by the Democrats. Unless we can pass a law requiring the surrender of office for someone who’s campaign violated the law, there is simply no way to get Democrats to consistently follow the law. Well, truth be told, if the Democrat rank-and-file would start holding their side to account, that would work, too…but Democrats, on the whole, are too servile to work up the gumption to challenge their leaders. Campaign finance restrictions are unilateral disarmament on the part of the GOP.

Obama can talk a great game of cleaning up politics but for a Chicago pol to claim he’s going to clean up the joint is like, well, a Chicago mobster claiming he’s going to clean up organized crime. Ignore Obama on this issue – and ignore any GOPer who says he wants to get money out of politics. Money will be in politics, forever – it isn’t the money which causes the problem, just as it isn’t the gun which causes the murder. Corrupt people are corrupt and will find the person willing to bribe them. Elect honest men and women – and ruthlessly punish those who violate public trust – and we’ll have clean politics no matter how much money floats around. Fail to elect honest men and women, and all the laws in the world won’t do a bit of good.

UPDATE: A challenge Obama will not accept – appoint a special prosecutor to look in to foreign contributions to American politics.

Interesting given how much propaganda in favor of immorality our young people face every day:

According to a recent poll conducted by the Marist Institute for the Knights of Columbus, young Americans are increasingly doubting the nation’s ethical standards in business as well as the government’s ability to handle the economy.

“A year into the Obama administration, we find that Americans – and younger Americans – are having a crisis of confidence,” said Carl Anderson, CEO of the Knights of Columbus, on Thursday.

The poll found that American adults and Millennials (those between 18 and 29) are worried about their careers in this economy, opposed government regulation and business greed, and even felt that the country is headed in the wrong direction morally.

“People are increasingly pessimistic about the government’s ability to handle the economic crisis and a majority believes that increased government regulation will hurt the economy,” said Anderson…

…On the issue of the moral status of the nation, 67 percent of American adults and 60 percent of Millennials believe the country is headed in the wrong direction…

Here is a generation betrayed – a generation which knows that things are wrong and is disturbed to its core about what is going on. But, as young people, they are probably just waiting for the call. A lot of them probably thought that Obama was “it” – and they are clearly increasingly disappointed in what they got. On the plus side of this disappointment, the mask is now torn off the mushy-headed, liberal/left propaganda which has appealed so strongly to youth – youth which desires to serve and believe, but which lacks experience and judgment to always see through a clever scam. Like Obama.

Now is the time for the Truth to be told – boldly. If we can tell the young that their faith should be in God, family and the America of the Founders, then we can have the fire to rescue ourselves from our current morass. We must, though, be good enough for the young – we must discard any allegiance to the bankers and bureaucrats who brought us here. We must show ourselves more faithful in our vows than we’ve ever been before – youngsters can be fooled, but once they see a hypocrite, there’s no chance of convincing them a second time.

Youth is always at our service – full of fire and self-sacrificial zeal. The question is always about who will lead the youth? We can, if we prove ourselves worthy. The old, false gods of liberalism have failed – if we can bring the truth and act upon our beliefs, we can win this generation, and restore America.

Because the Culture of Death simply wants us to shut up:

Dr. Kevin Roberts, executive director of the Catholic grassroots advocacy group, Catholic Families for America (CFA), announced his organization’s sponsorship of a nationwide petition drive in support of CBS’ decision to air the pro-life advertisement featuring Tim Tebow during the Super Bowl.

“It doesn’t take long for the pro-abortion crowd to mobilize their members,” Roberts said, “so those of us on the pro-life, pro-family side need to be sure we do the same.” Roberts continued by describing how his organization would rally its members and those of similar groups to attract several thousand signatories.

The petition can be accessed at www.ipetitions.com/petition/prolifead.

Catholic Families for America is a nationwide grassroots organization run by lay Catholics, with offices in Austin, Texas, and Washington, D.C.

Medved had one of those pro-abortion fanatics on his radio show the other day – when he asked her “is life better than death”, she answered “I don’t think that’s the issue”. Just horrible that someone can think like that.

The thing about this is that the ad is not anything overtly anti-abortion – it just has the Heisman trophy winner and his mother pointing out that life is good. This, of course, gets the Culture of Death in a snit – they are worried that some young, frightened mother out there might take heart and decide to keep her child – something just too horrible to contemplate, for the pro-abortion people.

I just don’t get it – I don’t understand why anyone would defend a “choice” to kill an unborn child, or have any problem with a woman deciding to do the right thing. Shows how inhuman we’ve become after a century or two or liberal “humanism”.