Poly Sci 101 The Way We Should have Learned it: Some Differences Between Democrats and Republicans Political Science 101 The Way I’d teach It, Some Differences between Democrats and Republicans.

Sunday, November 18, 2007 A little something I wrote back in 2007 It's posted at http://jimsworldblogspotcom.blogspot.com Poly Sci 101 The Way We Should have Learned it: Some Differences Between Democrats and Republicans Political Science 101 The Way I’d teach It, Some Differences between Democrats and Republicans. To begin, I don't think Democrats are bad people; ignorant or stupid maybe just a little funny in their beliefs. Democrats are much like Republicans. They work, try to pay their bills, provide a decent education and home for their children. They love their country. Like many Republicans, they don't have a great deal of time to pay attention to what our government is doing to us, rather than for us. Both parties are to blame. When we vote, often it's for the lesser of the two evils. We must remember the lesser of two evils is still evil. So it comes down to, what your belief system is, when did you develop it, and have you had the time to challenge those beliefs on both sides of the aisle. I believe that most of us are somewhere in the middle, yet the extremes of both parties seem to control who gets elected. The primary difference between the two groups is that Democrats tend to believe that the Government is the solution and should provide goods and services, and they have no problem with imposing additional tax increases. If elected to the Presidency and they pull enough new members to the Senate, in the 2008 election, Charles Rangel has promised the " Mother of all Tax Bills." (pinko alert) He has already told us he has a 3+ trillion dollar tax increase in store for The American Voter. He plans to ditch the Bush tax cuts and bring back the inheritance tax, crushing many small businesses, and putting the voters on the street without jobs. Democrats are the party of feelings and tolerance? But how can they put themselves out as the party of tolerance when they are also the arbiters of free speech and what “we are allowed to say or think?” Also their economic policy costs jobs? For example, no God and Country mentioned in our schools. They are clueless about what the Founding Fathers meant in the Constitution about the Division of Church and State. No in God We Trust on anything or they file a lawsuit. Let's do completely away with Christmas; because we may offend the multicultural immigrants, illegal or otherwise, that refuses to assimilate into our once great culture. Let's Balkanize the US. Why should these people learn to speak and read English? Hey, if they can't they will remain gardeners, painters, produce pickers, and never achieve the "American Dream," but they will likely become beholden to the Democrats and all their "free programs." Of course, these free programs are paid with our tax dollars. Of course they are for giving illegal immigrants driver’s licenses. Hey, while there at it why not stop off and let a government employee help you register to vote for the Democratic Party? Wait a minute you say, illegal aliens can sign up to vote? You say, “no way Jose.” I say all the way in one play. Rather than deal with the IRS, I'd rather have a couple of thugs show up on my doorstep with a paper bag and say, how much did you make this month, give us 20%. They could be armed with guns and calculators to help steal our money. It just has a more personal touch and adds the human element to the process of taxation. Be clear, I’m not against taxes, but let’s get back to taxation with representation. I’m for taxation for essential services and programs that keep America strong. Not tax increases to help a do-nothing congress or President get re-elected. Immigrants who came to this country through Ellis Island chose to assimilate, and that is one of the many things that contributed to the great culture in this county in the past. What made this country so great, the legal immigrants chose assimilation of different cultures, they could practice their religious beliefs, and culture unhindered. They learned to read and write. Not so today. Now we can't have Christmas cards without offending some in the Democratic Party. By this I mean largely the extreme left wing elements. Hello Earth to The House and Senate, the right wing of the Republican Party is just as bad. To quote the famous Black-American, Rodney King, "Can't we just all get along" ? Now we must have Holiday cards. Lowe's Department Stores in their 2007 catalog featured “family trees” instead of Christmas trees. What the hell is that all about? Their CEO immediately caved under pressure. What about silent prayer in school, a moment of silence? Led by the elitist morons at the ACLU, high school and college football players, as well as the student body, were not allowed to say prayers before a game or quietly to themselves. Have you ever noticed how many professional teams do this in the locker room or on the field prior to the start of a game? Oh you say that's not government land? Again having a 5th grade understanding of what was meant by Separation of Church and State in our Constitution would end all this nonsense once and for all. How about crosses on public land, yep let's rip up all the grave markers at Arlington and military cemeteries the world over. The lefties are destroying this country as we sit by watching them. How about the useless court cases over the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag? Men and women die for the freedoms that the flag represents. The red stripes represent the blood they have shed to keep America a free nation. Democrats take this for granted, failing to understand that Freedom isn't free. Do we need laws allowing anybody to burn our flag? How about a law that any person that loves America beat the hell out of them if they try! The Democratic Party is largely locked into the 60's and is still fighting the Vietnam war. I say grow up, get a clue and start challenging your beliefs. Read something not written by Karl Marx, Che Guevara, Joseph Stalin, don't you think it's about time to get your collective heads out of your butts? To Republicans I say the same, educate yourself. It wasn’t just about the Iraq war that we lost Congress. You acted like tax and spend liberals and your party turned on you, justly so. The Bible thumpers, largely in the south hold the Republican Wanna Be's hostage to their beliefs on stem cells and abortion. But let's not forget , the left is the party of tolerance. We can no longer say the "F" word, the "N" word, in fact in LA County it's now against the law to say the "N" word. I believe political correctness is mind control by ignorant people looking to silence truth. We can't say so many things that I can't keep them straight. I pride myself in being as politically incorrect as possible, knowing full well that wimps won't challenge me to a discussion. So I guess I won't be saying the N word anymore; I'll just say Negro or spook. The F word, can't say that so I'll just say Fu*k it. Democrats are the feel good party. They typically will not conduct a fact based discussion with Republicans. This is understandable when the Democratic belief system is largely based upon falsehood , outright lies and well meaning fantasy. A couple of examples below: I’m very much interested in the fate of my country. I want to leave it a safer place for my daughter and granddaughter. I believe most Democrats do as well. Try to get a Democrat into a discussion about geopolitics, and you get, “politics and religion are personal and should never be discussed." Obviously a mantra from the Lefties. I understand, I wouldn’t want to go to a gunfight with a slingshot. "A country as rich as ours should provide health care to all of its citizens" Sounds great except our country isn't rich; it's the individual citizen that has wealth that the government must use to provide "free services." Why stop at health care, what about food? I hope you understand that the above thought process is directly from the teachings of Karl Marx. As is the quote, “ A lie told often enough is frequently accepted as the truth." How about "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer?” This is based on the false assumption that wealth is a zero sum game. Think of a pie, there is only so much pie, if I get more than "my fair share" than you get less. Who in the hell has determined what an individual’s fair share is? Wealth isn't a zero sum game, it as many pies as we bake. Can you say Microsoft? How many billions of dollars have Microsoft and its employees paid to the government in taxes? Add an additional 300 companies, not to mention small businesses to the list, and you have more pies than anybody but a tax and spend liberal can eat. And for you die hard lefties, the biggest lie you continue to perpetrate upon your voters is that The Clinton Admistration was one of the best administrations ever. Did we say anything about a lie repeated often enough being accepted as the truth? In order here are the facts: 1 Clinton promised not to raise taxes if elected. He raised taxes the largest of any President of his time passed by a Democratically controlled House and Senate. 2. Within two years of Madam Woo's failed, behind locked doors attempted take over of our health care system, the Democrats were kicked in numbers so large I can't count them on my fingers and toes even twice. 3. No for some strange reason the Clintonites, want to take credit for balancing the budget, when the Contract for America, got people off well fare and into jobs, taxes were cut, programs were cut, and Clinton while triangulating, signed virtually any thing that was sent to him to he could be elected. 4. We all remember what happend then, Hillary traveled the world, and Bill held cigar smoking contests with Monica in the Oval Office. And let's set the facts straight before I leave you. It wasn't about sex. I mean far be if for me to doubt a fellow if he should fall down with his zipper down and land on a woman with her mouth open, followed by a cigar or 25. William Jefferson Clinton was impeached, because he committed purgery, suborned purgery, (meaning tried to get others to lie). These are felonies, that he committed. He was found guilty and lost is license to practice law for these crimes. That is why he was impeached. Mr. President W , and the once in control, Republican congress, you blew it. George, you aren't getting off with a little pistol-whipping here; you have spent OUR money like a drunken sailor, i.e., signed pork laden bills sent to you by a Republican-controlled Congress. You didn't veto anything. You Medicare prescripton program and was a total sell out to get re-elected. And George your love affair with LOST, Law of the Sea Treaty is not to be believed. You can take your NAFTA Superhighway and put it where the sun don’t shine. I’m a free trader, but I certainly don’t believe the Mexican Government holds up to their end of the NAFTA. I also don’t want Mexican Truckers driving on our highways unless trucks are inspected and they pass the equivalent of a drivers license in each of the states they plan to truck. George, your plans for illegal aliens are NOT WHAT THE People want. You are zero for two there. Let’s just call that Government By the People. I’m doing every thing possible to stop you and the LOST treaty. The Internet is a very powerful tool. I don’t believe for a second that most people who voted on the immigration bills read them. They were just voting to get reelected on both sides of the isle. It's the plan to sneak LOST trough in the dead of night. Well I'm hear to tell you, "You Don't Want to Mess with Jim" Jim Croce circa 1970. I could go on, but I'm sure you get it. Both sides say and do anything to get re-elected. According to Robert Ringer, in his book, “Restoring The American Dream,” there are three political realities: 1. Make promises to get elected 2. Keep most of those promises to stay elected 3. To stay elected you must steal from the taxpayer to pay for your promises. (he uses the words, extort through theft) I don’t want to make anybody cry here. Are Democrats really the party of tolerance or should the Republicans, when they get their act together, claim that mantle and just tolerate Democrats? I believe so! Republicans are actually the party of tolerance. So tolerant, that they put up with these whack jobs from the far left. They are leading us toward socialism. Can you spell Hillary Clinton? When asked at a debate if she was a liberal or a moderate, she replied, "I'm a new progressive." Any student of comparative economic systems knows the progressive party to be an offshoot of Marxism and the old Peace and Freedom party. Yep, I was a member of the Peace and Freedom party until I woke up. It was about the time I got my first real paycheck and asked, "Who in the hell is FICA?" I then began educating myself and rejected the leftward teachings of my economic professors. They taught me that deficit spending was great. HA! Great for running up the debt. Now how often do we hear Democrats screaming about the deficit, clue all the time, it’s election time, if they win, they will be happy to send the money. Republicans, do you really differ? Let’s just call it same whore, different dress. On the other hand, Republicans tend to believe in the things that made our country great, it's traditions. They largely believe as has been proven, that lower taxes empower more people to spend more money while creating more jobs and increased tax revenue. They believe that a smaller government with smaller programs, less programs, and less pork is the best way to keep America from becoming a socialist country. Oh yes, Republicans are in there to get their share of pork. We will become a much better government generating more monies to the treasury when the Republican Party returns to its roots. Before I let you go, I must share with you something that drives me nuts. What is it you ask? It's the hyphenated-American. African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, hell they can't even get it right; they once wanted to be called Mexican-Americans. Have you ever seen a hyphenated-American on our Olympic Team? Is the guy or woman getting shot at in a foxhole a hyphenated-American? Nope we are all Americans. Correction: It is politically incorrect to say, "fox hole;" the new term is IFP for individual fighting position. I know you think I'm making that up, but check it out for yourself, that's what Google is for. With women fighter pilots, I can see it now. Gone is the c**kpit to be replaced by the box office. O.K, I understand some of us have more energy than others so I looked it up for you so you wouldn't need to be bothered with the facts. 071-326-5703 (SL1) - Construct Individual Fighting Positions ... Standards: Constructed a hasty fighting position that gave frontal cover from enemy direct fire but allowed you to fire to the front and oblique.http://www.armystuyguide.com//content/SMCT_CTT_Tasks/Skill_Level_1/0713265703-sl1-construct-.shtml - 180k Posted by Jim Campbell at 9:44 AM

A simple solution to the continued conflict with Israel and the Arab world and the U.S. boarder problem.

Why not move all of Israel to Mexico. Same climate, rebuild everything, use Mexican labor, have the Jews from Israel covert the Mexicans to Judaism, the won't be going out much at night. Israel has a gangbuster economy, just not enough people or land, Mexico solves that problem and our problem with illegal immigration.

Lee Iacocca - Inspiring Leadership

Lee Iacocca - Inspiring Leadership Note, that it was an american, William Demming,,,, that lead the Japanese to the quality levels in manufacturing...... too bad north americans don't follow that example 'Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes? He's now 82 years old and has a new book, 'Where Have All The Leaders Gone?'. Lee Iacocca Says: Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder! We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course.' Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America , not the damned 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!' You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the ' America ' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you? I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The Biggest 'C' is Crisis! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of leadership, with crisis being the first.) Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down. On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A hell of a mess, so here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way. These are times that cry out for leadership. But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point. Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throwing away our shampoo? We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened. Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time. Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it? Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry. I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? - that some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change? Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope - I believe in America . In my lifetime, I've had the privilege of living through some of America 's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: The 'Great Depression,' 'World Wars I and II,' the 'Korean War,' the 'Kennedy Assassination,'the 'Vietnam War,' the 1970's oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's this: 'You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a "Call to Action" for people who, like me, believe i n America '. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had 'enough.'

The Economy Needs a Real Stimulus

From the CATO institute and on the nails! by Jim Powell Jim Powell is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the author of FDR's Folly, Greatest Emancipations, and other books. Added to cato.org on December 21, 2008 This article appeared in the Washington Times on December 21, 2008 PRINT PAGE E-MAIL PAGE CITE THIS Sans Serif Serif AddThis President-elect Barack Obama's intention to blitz the economy with infrastructure spending will not be as effective as another option available to him: permanent, across-the-board tax cuts. The president-elect has a great deal of history to instruct him here. Mr. Obama's hero, Franklin D. Roosevelt, tried to spend America out of the Great Depression with infrastructure projects, and they were a costly disappointment; unemployment averaged 17 percent during the height of the New Deal, from 1933 to 1940. Consider the Tennessee Valley Authority, one of FDR's most ambitious projects: In the decades since TVA dams began operating, states with TVA-subsidized electricity like Tennessee have lagged behind non-subsidized Southern states like Georgia in economic growth and average incomes. Jim Powell is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the author of FDR's Folly, Greatest Emancipations, and other books. More by Jim Powell There are at least three reasons why Mr. Obama's proposed spending spree probably won't stimulate the economy as hoped, and why permanent and aggressive tax cuts might. First, "stimulus" spending is temporary, and, as such, has a very limited impact on people's spending habits. As Nobel laureate Milton Friedman explained, people generally base their spending habits on their anticipated stream of income - their regular paychecks. The one-time "stimulus" checks mailed out earlier this year had negligible impact on the economy. Public works projects are unlikely to do any better. And the money that government gives to some people comes from taxing other people, borrowing money (which must be repaid from future taxes) or inflating the currency (another kind of tax). People take this into account when making spending decisions. Second, "stimulus" spending, particularly the kind of unprecedented program that Mr. Obama is calling for, tends to distort local spending priorities. For instance, Mr. Obama has suggested making money available to upgrade computers at schools. Schools will probably apply for computer-upgrade money rather than have it go someplace else, even if they don't need it and would spend any extra money differently. Third, there is waste because people tend to be less careful with other people's money than they are with their own money. Members of Congress are so careless with other people's money that they often don't even read the spending bills they vote for. Every year, the U.S. Treasury reports "unreconciled transactions" - billions of dollars of expenditures with little to no documentation or explanation. Maryland, for instance, lost track of more than $80 million received from the federal government. "Stimulus" spending is also likely to involve waste because government is a high-cost intermediary in transferring money from one group to another. Government overhead absorbs a hefty percentage of revenue collections so $1,000 of tax revenue doesn't mean $1,000 will be available for "stimulus" spending. This overhead includes 2.6 million federal employees, of which the Internal Revenue Service alone employs 100,000. Why will tax cuts be more effective than stimulus spending? Permanent, across-the-board tax cuts would probably do more than anything else to give employers, investors and consumers confidence that they could make plans for the future. Some of the most important rules of the game would become more predictable, not a subject of annual political scheming - a source of economic uncertainty and instability. That can only help the economy in the long run. Cutting taxes returns resources to private individuals, who are best placed to make the most effective spending decisions. Tax cuts enable private individuals to make spending decisions about more of the money they earn, which would help spur recovery in several ways. Private individuals are likely to be more careful with their money than politicians. Private individuals stand to gain from good spending decisions and lose from bad spending decisions. By contrast, there seldom seems to be any effective consequences for politicians who squander other people's money - as the "unreconciled transactions" worth billions of dollars demonstrate. Moreover, private individuals are more likely to be well-informed about their local circumstances than politicians in Washington. Private individuals know what is needed and what is effective, which is often very different from what politicians far away imagine. In addition, a tremendous amount of corruption would be avoided by keeping more money away from greedy, grasping politicians. Discussion about economic stimulus tends to be dominated by the question of how much money will be spent, but the effectiveness of spending decisions is even more important. The United States was a comparatively poor country two hundred years ago, but it became wealthy because decisions about allocating resources were made mainly by private individuals with strong incentives to make the most of what they had. Similarly, in recent decades the expansion of private decision-making has enabled hundreds of millions throughout Asia to emerge from poverty. Cutting taxes returns resources to private individuals, who are best placed to make the most effective spending decisions. Politicians would provide an effective stimulus by giving all of us an immediate and permanent pay raise - by letting us keep more of the money we earn now.

2008 was the year man-made global warming was debunked

2008 was the year man-made global warming was disproved Looking back over my columns of the past 12 months, one of their major themes was neatly encapsulated by two recent items from The Daily Telegraph. By Christopher Booker The first, on May 21, headed "Climate change threat to Alpine ski resorts" , reported that the entire Alpine "winter sports industry" could soon "grind to a halt for lack of snow". The second, on December 19, headed "The Alps have best snow conditions in a generation" , reported that this winter's Alpine snowfalls "look set to beat all records by New Year's Day". Easily one of the most important stories of 2008 has been all the evidence suggesting that this may be looked back on as the year when there was a turning point in the great worldwide panic over man-made global warming. Just when politicians in Europe and America have been adopting the most costly and damaging measures politicians have ever proposed, to combat this supposed menace, the tide has turned in three significant respects. First, all over the world, temperatures have been dropping in a way wholly unpredicted by all those computer models which have been used as the main drivers of the scare. Last winter, as temperatures plummeted, many parts of the world had snowfalls on a scale not seen for decades. This winter, with the whole of Canada and half the US under snow, looks likely to be even worse. After several years flatlining, global temperatures have dropped sharply enough to cancel out much of their net rise in the 20th century. Ever shriller and more frantic has become the insistence of the warmists, cheered on by their army of media groupies such as the BBC, that the last 10 years have been the "hottest in history" and that the North Pole would soon be ice-free – as the poles remain defiantly icebound and those polar bears fail to drown. All those hysterical predictions that we are seeing more droughts and hurricanes than ever before have infuriatingly failed to materialise. Even the more cautious scientific acolytes of the official orthodoxy now admit that, thanks to "natural factors" such as ocean currents, temperatures have failed to rise as predicted (although they plaintively assure us that this cooling effect is merely "masking the underlying warming trend", and that the temperature rise will resume worse than ever by the middle of the next decade). Secondly, 2008 was the year when any pretence that there was a "scientific consensus" in favour of man-made global warming collapsed. At long last, as in the Manhattan Declaration last March, hundreds of proper scientists, including many of the world's most eminent climate experts, have been rallying to pour scorn on that "consensus" which was only a politically engineered artefact, based on ever more blatantly manipulated data and computer models programmed to produce no more than convenient fictions. Thirdly, as banks collapsed and the global economy plunged into its worst recession for decades, harsh reality at last began to break in on those self-deluding dreams which have for so long possessed almost every politician in the western world. As we saw in this month's Poznan conference, when 10,000 politicians, officials and "environmentalists" gathered to plan next year's "son of Kyoto" treaty in Copenhagen, panicking politicians are waking up to the fact that the world can no longer afford all those quixotic schemes for "combating climate change" with which they were so happy to indulge themselves in more comfortable times. Suddenly it has become rather less appealing that we should divert trillions of dollars, pounds and euros into the fantasy that we could reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 80 per cent. All those grandiose projects for "emissions trading", "carbon capture", building tens of thousands more useless wind turbines, switching vast areas of farmland from producing food to "biofuels", are being exposed as no more than enormously damaging and futile gestures, costing astronomic sums we no longer possess. As 2009 dawns, it is time we in Britain faced up to the genuine crisis now fast approaching from the fact that – unless we get on very soon with building enough proper power stations to fill our looming "energy gap" - within a few years our lights will go out and what remains of our economy will judder to a halt. After years of infantile displacement activity, it is high time our politicians – along with those of the EU and President Obama's US – were brought back with a mighty jolt into contact with the real world. I must end this year by again paying tribute to my readers for the wonderful generosity with which they came to the aid of two causes. First their donations made it possible for the latest "metric martyr", the east London market trader Janet Devers, to fight Hackney council's vindictive decision to prosecute her on 13 criminal charges, ranging from selling in pounds and ounces to selling produce "by the bowl" (to avoid using weights her customers dislike and don't understand). The embarrassment caused by this historic battle has thrown the forced metrication policy of both our governments, in London and Brussels, into total disarray. Since Hackney backed out of allowing four criminal charges against Janet to go before a jury next month, all that remains is for her to win her appeal in February against eight convictions which now look quite absurd (including those for selling veg by the bowl, as thousands of other London market traders do every day). The final goal, as Neil Herron of the Metric Martyrs Defence Fund insists, must then be a pardon for the late Steve Thoburn and the four other original "martyrs" who were found guilty in 2002 – after a legal battle also made possible by this column's readers – of breaking laws so ridiculous that the EU Commission has even denied they existed (but which are still on the statute book). Readers were equally generous this year in rushing to the aid of Sue Smith, whose son was killed in a Snatch Land Rover in Iraq in 2005. Their contributions made it possible for her to carry on with the High Court action she has brought against the Ministry of Defence, with the sole aim of calling it to account for needlessly risking soldiers' lives by sending them into battle in hopelessly inappropriate vehicles. Thanks not least to Mrs Smith's determined fight, the Snatch Land Rover scandal, first reported here in 2006, has at last become a national cause celebre. May I finally thank all those readers who have written to me in 2008 – so many that, as usual, it has not been possible to answer all their messages. But their support and information has been hugely appreciated. May I wish them and all of you a happy (if globally not too warm) New Year. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherbooker/3982101/2008-was-the-year-man-made-global-warming-was-disproved.html

Why Jimmy Carter Will Always Be Remembered as the Worst President in Modern History Causing Much of Today's Woes

By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Wednesday, September 10, 2008 4:20 PM Jimmy Carter became our 39th president at the young age of 52. He was a one-term governor from Plains, GA, where he managed the family peanut farm and taught Sunday school. He was also a graduate of the Naval Academy and served seven years in the Navy, leaving as a lieutenant. He came to power in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and the resignation of President Nixon. The public wanted change and someone new, and Carter was an ambitious, hands-on politician who promised better days. As good as his intentions were, however, the things he tried were not successful. In fact, he created far more serious problems than he ever solved. The centerpiece of Carter's foreign policy was human rights, and he did achieve one noble success-a peace treaty between Egypt's Anwar Sadat and Israel 's Menachem Begin. Unfortunately, that later led to Sadat's assassination at the hands of Muslim radicals. Many people felt Carter was a good man who worked hard and meant well. But he was naive and incompetent in handling the enormous burdens and complex challenges of being president. He wrongly believed Americans had an 'inordinate fear of communism,' so he lifted travel bans to Cuba , North Vietnam and Cambodia and pardoned draft evaders. He also stopped B-1 bomber production and gave away our strategically located Panama Canal . His most damaging miscalculation was the withdrawal of U.S. support for the Shah of Iran, a strong and longtime military ally. Carter objected to the Shah's alleged mistreatment of imprisoned Soviet spies who were working to overthrow Iran 's government. He thought the exiled Ayatollah Khomeini, being a religious man, would make a fairer leader. Having lost U.S. support, the Shah was overthrown, the Ayatollah returned, Iran was declared an Islamic nation and Palestinian hit men were hired to eliminate opposition. The Ayatollah then introduced the idea of suicide bombers to the Palestine Liberation Organization, paying $35,000 to PLO families whose young people were brainwashed to kill as many Israelis as possible by blowing themselves up in crowded shopping areas. Next, the Ayatollah used Iran 's oil wealth to create, train and finance a new terrorist organization, Hezbollah, which later would attack Israel in 2006. In November 1979, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other Iranians stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. Not until six months into the ordeal did Carter attempt a rescue. But the mission, using just six Navy helicopters, was poorly executed. Three of the copters were disabled or lost in sandstorms. (Pilots weren't allowed to meet with weather forecasters because someone in authority worried about security.) Five airmen and three Marines lost their lives. So, due to overconfidence, inexperience and poor judgment, Carter undermined and lost a strong ally, Iran , that today aggressively threatens the U.S., Israel and the rest of the world with nuclear weapons. But that's not all. After Carter met for the first time with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, the USSR promptly invaded Afghanistan. Carter, ever the naive appeaser, was shocked. 'I can't believe the Russians lied to me,' he said. The invasion attracted a 23-year-old Saudi named Osama bin Laden to Afghanistan to recruit Muslim fighters and raise money for an anti-Soviet jihad. Part of that group eventually became al-Qaida, a terrorist organization that would declare war on America several times between 1996 and 1998 before attacking us on 9/11, killing more Americans than the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . On Carter's watch, the Soviet Union went on an unrestrained rampage in which it took over not only Afghanistan, but also Ethiopia, South Yemen, Angola, Cambodia, Mozambique, Grenada and Nicaragua. In spite of this, Carter's last defense budget proposed spending 45% below pre-Vietnam levels for fighter aircraft, 75% for ships, 83% for attack submarines and 90% for helicopters. Years later, as a civilian, Carter negotiated a peace agreement with North Korea to keep that communist country from developing nuclear weapons. He also convinced President Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to go along with it. But the signed piece of paper proved worthless. The North Koreans deceived Carter and instead used our money, incentives and technical equipment to build nuclear weapons and pose the threat we face today. Thus did Carter unwittingly become our Neville Chamberlain, creating with his well-intended but inept, unrealistic and gullible actions the very conditions that led to the three most dangerous security threats we face today: Iran, al-Qaida and North Korea . On the domestic side, Carter gave us inflation of 15%, the highest in 34 years; interest rates of 21%, the highest in 115 years; and a severe energy crisis with lines around the block at gas stations nationwide. In 1977, Carter, along with a Democrat Congress, created a worthy project with noble intentions - the Community Reinvestment Act. Over strong industry objections, it mandated that all banks meet the credit needs of their entire communities. In 1995, President Clinton imposed even stronger regulations and performance tests that coerced banks to substantially increase loans to low-income, poverty-area borrowers or face fines or possible restrictions on expansion. These revisions allowed for securitization of CRA loans containing sub prime mortgages. By 1997, good loans were bundled with poor ones and sold as prime packages to institutions here and abroad. That shifted risk from the loan originators, freeing banks to begin pyramiding and make more of these profitable sub prime products. Under two young, well-intended presidents, therefore, big-government plans and mandates played a significant role in the current sub prime mortgage mess and its catastrophic consequences for the U.S. and international economies. Hardest-hit by the mortgage foreclosures have been the citizens that Democrats always claim to help most-inner-city residents who fell victim to low or no down payment schemes, unexpected adjustable rates, deceptive loan applications and commission-hungry salespeople. Now we're having to bail out at huge cost Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the very agencies that were supposed to stabilize the system. In time, this should improve the situation. But the party of Carter and Clinton that midwifed our mortgage mess now wants to be trusted to take over and have the government run our entire system of health care! And everyone is blaming Bush for our current problems.

On Global Warming

Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) is a theory (hypothesis). It is an unproven theory. What you do with theories is put them to the test with scientific observations. Let's see what data points we now have: 1) Average annual temperatures have not surpassed 1998 (NOAA) (University of Alabama) 2) Average annual temperatures are now trending downward since 1998 (NOAA) (University of Alabama) 3) Ocean temperatures have not risen since 2000 when the 3000 Argo buoys were launched. The buoys even show a slight decrease in ocean temperatures 4) The Arctic ice froze to February levels by December 07, there are 1mm more sq km than before (previous was 13mm sq km) 5) The Arctic ice is 20cm thicker than "normal" (whatever that is) 6) All polar bear pods are stable or growing (NOAA/PBS) 7) Mount Kilimanjaro is not melting because of global warming, rather "sublimation" 8) The Antarctic is not "melting", it is growing in most places, the sloughing off at the edges is normal as the ice mass grows 9) The majority of the Antarctic is 8 degrees below "normal" (again, whatever that is) 10) The coveted .7 degree rise in temperatures over the last 100 years has been wiped out with last years below "normal" temperatures (NOAA coolest winter since 2001) 11) Al Gores film was just deemed "propaganda" in a court of law in the UK as many points could not be substantiated by scientists 12) It was also just reveled that some of the footage in Als film was CGI. The ice shelf collapse was from the movie The Day After Tomorrow (ABC) 13) One of the scientists that originally thought that CO2 preceded the warming has now found with new data that the CO2 rise follows the warming (Dr David Evans) 14) August 2008 was the first time since 1913 there were no sun spots. 15) The Medieval Warm Period was warmer than the 20th century (no SUVs) 16) Many scientists are now predicting 30 years of cooling. 17) The greenhouse effect is real, our small contribution to it cannot even be measured 18) Several publications, including those that are warmist have recently written that the natural cycles of the earth may mask AGW. Give me a break

Political Axioms

Political axioms 'If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed; If you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.' -Mark Twain Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress.... But then I repeat myself. -Mark Twain I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -Winston Churchill A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. - George Bernard Shaw A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man which debt he proposes to pay off with your money. -G. Gordon Liddy Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. -James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994) Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries. -Douglas Casey Giving money and power to the government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. -P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. -Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850) Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. -Ronald Reagan (1986) I don't make jokes... I just watch the government and report the facts. -Will Rogers If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free! - P.J. O'Rourke In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. -Voltaire (1764) Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you! -Pericles (430 B.C.) No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session. -Mark Twain (1866 ) Talk is cheap...except when Congress does it. -Unknown The government is like a baby's alimentary canal: a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other. -Ronald Reagan The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. -Winston Churchill The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. -Mark Twain The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. -Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903) There is no distinctly Native American criminal class ...save Congress. -Mark Twain What this country needs are more unemployed politicians. -Edward Langley, Artist (1928 - 1995) AND THE BEST ONE. A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. -Thomas Jefferson