The woman is unhinged politically, a huge fan of the nastiest, most conspiratorial leftwing blogs, and a big fan of Amanda Marcotte. They say it was likely Elizabeth Edwards who recommended the Toxic Twins as Edwards' campaign bloggers. At the very least she was a strong supporter of the idea.

So this is not at all unexpected. Indeed, at some point, there's a fair chance she'll start making some Rosie-like noises about "the truth" about 9/11.

Elizabeth Edwards says she is scared of the "rabid, rabid Republican" who owns property across the street from her Orange County home -- and she doesn't want her kids going near the gun-toting neighbor.

Edwards, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, particularly recalls the time neighbor Monty Johnson brought out a gun while chasing workers investigating a right of way near his property. The Edwards family has yet to meet Johnson in person.

"I wouldn't be nice to him, anyway," Edwards said in an interview. "I don't want my kids anywhere near some guy who, when he doesn't like somebody, the first thing he does is pull a gun out. It scares the business out of me."

Apparently the Edwards claim he's keeping his property in a shabby condition just to spoil their views. It didn't seem to occur to them that perhaps Johnson is one of those living in the poorer part of the Two Americas John Edwards is always on about, and just doesn't have the money to build indoor swimming pools, basketball courts, and racquetball courts.

Johnson said he has lived his entire life on the property, which he said his family purchased before the Great Depression. He said he's spent a lot of money to try and fix up the 42-acre tract.

"I have to budget. I have to live within my means," Johnson said. "I don't have millions of dollars to fix the place."

Johnson [has] posted a "Go Rudy Giuliani 2008" sign on a fence just 100 feet from the entrance to the Edwards' drivewa....

"I thought he was supposed to be for the poor people," Johnson said. "But does he ever socialize with any poor people? He doesn't speak to me."

Nuance.

Posted by: Ace at 10:23 AM | Comments (65)
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Mostly stuff you've read before, but it's nice to see it out there.

Indeed, one overlooked mystery is why temperatures are not already higher. Various models predict that a doubling of CO2 in the atmosphere will raise the world's average temperature by as little as 1.5 degrees Celsius or as much as 4.5 degrees. The important thing about doubled CO2 (or any other greenhouse gas) is its "forcing"—its contribution to warming. At present, the greenhouse forcing is already about three-quarters of what one would get from a doubling of CO2. But average temperatures rose only about 0.6 degrees since the beginning of the industrial era, and the change hasn't been uniform—warming has largely occurred during the periods from 1919 to 1940 and from 1976 to 1998, with cooling in between. Researchers have been unable to explain this discrepancy.

Modelers claim to have simulated the warming and cooling that occurred before 1976 by choosing among various guesses as to what effect poorly observed volcanoes and unmeasured output from the sun have had. These factors, they claim, don't explain the warming of about 0.4 degrees C between 1976 and 1998. Climate modelers assume the cause must be greenhouse-gas emissions because they have no other explanation. This is a poor substitute for evidence, and simulation hardly constitutes explanation. Ten years ago climate modelers also couldn't account for the warming that occurred from about 1050 to 1300. They tried to expunge the medieval warm period from the observational record—an effort that is now generally discredited. The models have also severely underestimated short-term variability El Niño and the Intraseasonal Oscillation. Such phenomena illustrate the ability of the complex and turbulent climate system to vary significantly with no external cause whatever, and to do so over many years, even centuries.

That bit about expunging the medieval warm period from the record was, to me, one of the most egregious abuses of science that occurred in this religious crusade. It's incontrovertibly documented by both scientific temperature proxies as well as thick historical record, and yet the global warming catastrophists simply pretended it didn't exist because it was so very inconvenient.

That's science?

Global Warming Quiz: Fun little widget. Thanks to RobG for that.

Did you know...

The world's natural wetlands produce more greenhouse gas contributions annually than all human sources combined.

Well, now I "know" it, in the sense I read it on the Internet. If true, it sorta put things in perspective.

Destroy the world's natural wetlands. 1, they're destroying the world, 2, they're friggin' petillent swamps filled with mosquitoes and crocodiles.

Really Good Blog Post On All Of This: A round-up of criticism and links.

Here's very muddy and unclear gif of a chart comparing solar activitity with temperature change:

Here's a better one that's been floating around on the Internet for a while:

I assume "solar wind" is a proxy for solar irradiance (light/heat output). Seems to, uhh, correlate pretty well, huh?

Thanks to Larwyn.

Posted by: Ace at 10:14 AM | Comments (69)
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Hi kids.

Remember how a couple of weeks ago, I said that I'd have a big announcement next week? (Which is now last week, but never mind that.)

Well, I have this new blogging system up and running over at mee.nu, and I'm looking for some beta testers.

The deal is this: If you participate in the beta program, you get a blogging account with at least 1GB of disk space and 10GB of monthly bandwidth, for free, for as long as you want it. No ads, no fees, just you and your blog.

You don't have to be very technical to take part in the beta; you just need to be willing to poke around a bit and let me know if things break, or if you can't work something out.

The system is up and running right now for blogging - I've been using it for my blog two months now - though there are lots more features planned, and the documentation is... Pretty sparse. I'll be spending most of this week adding more documentation, so that should improve rapidly. We'll be adding features for creating your own forums, hosting podcasts, photo albums (I have a post up showing some of the photo album features), and lots more.

This is the system that all the munu blogs will be moving to soon, including this one, so you can actually get it before Ace does.

Drop me a line at beta -at- mee -dot- nu and I'll send you a beta key. Then you just need to go over to mee.nu and register.

Enjoy!

Update: Ran through the first batch of keys pretty quick. I've created another batch of keys, and I'll pick up again with the emails in the morning (it's just past midnight here in Sydney). We still have places free, so don't hesitate to ask.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 12:18 AM | Comments (52)
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Via Man of Substance at Innocent Bystanders. Follow the linkage therein.

Some in the West seem part of Iran's propaganda war; claiming that the release of the hostages was a victory that proves the Iranian dictatorship can be reasoned with. To misrepresent unpunished piracy as a victory is as Orwellian as the congressional mandate banning use of the term "the global war on terror." What are we — Reuters?

Absolutely superb.

Posted by: LauraW. at 01:40 PM | Comments (20)
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Nuance. Remember, these are the people who pride themselves on being so sophistiticated as to be comfortable with doubt as well as holding multiple, sometimes incongruous thoughts at the same time.

Ehhhhh... not so much, eh? Apparently if you're anti-war, nothing good has ever happened in it, ever.

Amid the deaths and the grim daily struggle bravely borne by Britain's forces in southern Iraq, one tale of heroism stands out.

Private Johnson Beharry's courage in rescuing an ambushed foot patrol then, in a second act, saving his vehicle's crew despite his own terrible injuries earned him a Victoria Cross.

For the BBC, however, his story is "too positive" about the conflict.

The corporation has cancelled the commission for a 90-minute drama about Britain's youngest surviving Victoria Cross hero because it feared it would alienate members of the audience opposed to the war in Iraq.

Remember, these are the people who are always calling for entertainment and art that "challenges people's beliefs."

Except their own, of course.

The BBC's retreat from the project, which had the working title Victoria Cross, has sparked accusations of cowardice and will reignite the debate about the broadcaster's alleged lack of patriotism.

Debate?

"The BBC has behaved in a cowardly fashion by pulling the plug on the project altogether," said a source close to the project. "It began to have second thoughts last year as the war in Iraq deteriorated. It felt it couldn't show anything with a degree of positivity about the conflict.

Thanks to dri.

Posted by: Ace at 12:12 PM | Comments (52)
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Old but still hysterical:

Thanks to see-dub posting over at Hot Air.

Posted by: Ace at 11:48 AM | Comments (3)
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Test post.
Test, test.

Posted by: LauraW. at 06:08 AM | Comments (16)
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Interesting.

Smokers said that consuming milk, water, fruits and vegetables worsened the taste of cigarettes. Consuming alcohol, coffee and meat enhanced their taste.

Science delivers! With yet another reason to avoid consuming milk, water, fruits and vegetables.

The Ace Of Spades Lifestyle™ is now clinically proven to help keep your smokes tasty.

The article appears to drone on and on, yadda-yadda, but it's time for my steak and a good buzz so I quit after the main point was made.

Posted by: LauraW. at 02:01 PM | Comments (15)
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shows an impressive amount of geek-fu.

For your enjoyment, I'll excerpt the relevant item.

'You Came in That Thing? You're Braver Than I Thought.'
The Associated Press reports from Gillette, Wyo.:

Leah Vader and Lynne Huskinson, a lesbian couple who got married in Canada last August, sent a letter recently to their state legislator decrying a Wyoming bill that would deny recognition of same-sex marriages. The lawmaker read the letter on the floor of the Legislature.

Soon after, the local paper interviewed the couple on Ash Wednesday and ran a story and pictures of them with ash on their foreheads, a mark of their Roman Catholic faith.

It wasn't long after that that the couple received a notice from their parish church telling them they have been barred from receiving Communion. . . .

Huskinson questioned why Catholics having premarital sex and using birth control are not barred from receiving Communion, too. But the parish priest said the difference is this: The other Catholics are "not going around broadcasting, `Hey I'm having sex outside of marriage' or `I'm using birth control.' "

Not being Catholic, we have no dog in this fight, but we were surprised to hear that Leah Vader is a lesbian. She seemed so happy with Han Solo!

Quick survey: In continuing the Star Wars theme, what character should be associated with Leah Vader's life-partner/significant other/insert your own euphemism for the "spouse" of a bogus same-sex "marriage" here.

Where are you Amish-Wan Kenobi? You're my only hope.

Posted by: Jack M. at 05:52 PM | Comments (77)
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If they're using our technology -- what hope do we have against them?!!?

That grim realization aside, it's a good video.

First, he notes the leftist media loves reporting on US casualties and yet never tells us about the casualties our heroes have inflicted on the enemy.

Second, he apologizes to the troops for the Democrats' and liberal media's (but I repeat myself) constant denigrating of the military, and offers them heartfelt thanks.

Thrid, and best of all, he does not reach through the computer screen, eyes flashing with savage abandon, and cut my face off with a prison shiv.

So, it's win-win-win.

White Knuckle Time: He seems to hail from Massachusetts.

Pardon me while I say a prayer.

"I know I don't talk to you enough, and only when I need something or I'm afraid, but if you can hear me: Please protect me from this scary brown person, Kevin McHale. Please box him out to keep him from driving into my personal key."

(And thanks to the Simpsons (the older, funnier version) for that joke.

Posted by: Ace at 12:21 PM | Comments (108)
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