(A series of daily-ish roundups of the day's Climate news and commentary.)

This is by no means a comprehensive recap. The stories come from a variety of sources, and I highly recommend exploring the linked sites for more breaking news.

(after the break...) more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 01:29 PM | Comments (27)
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I presume it's unintentional, could just be stupidity.

After once remarking it was unimaginable that protesters would ever picture George Bush with a Hitler mustache, Gibbsy now says there's nothing to be gained by playing the blame game.

On the lack of bipartisan agreement on ways to stimulate the economy, Gibbs said, “Look, the American people have watched for decades the blame game, all right? If the blame game put people to work, we'd all be rolling in money. The blame game -- I'm glad some people want to continue playing the blame game. That doesn't work. That doesn't get anybody a job. It doesn't cut people's taxes.

What planet does Gibbs live on and do they suffer from Global Climate Change there? Has Gibbs ever heard of a guy named Barack Obama?

In case he hasn't let me introduce them. Obama is the guy who blames Bush for everything from financial meltdowns, record deficits, unprecedented spending, war, plague, pestilence, flatulence and an inability to get Michele Obama to put out a week ago Thursday (actually, that was a case where Bush did Obama a solid).

The idea that the spokesman for this whining, blame deflecting excuse for a President says this with a straight face is simply further proof that liberalism is nothing more than an advanced case of Projection.

Of course, no one in the Obamastream Media will notice.

Baghdad Bob (the original one) emails to say, "Dude, even I don't find you credible".

Posted by: DrewM at 12:57 PM | Comments (71)
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Last night Harry Reid said his Gang of 10 had reached a broad agreement on how to deal with the public option. Today he's vague statements seem to mean even less.

Sens. Lincoln and Landrieu, two key supposed swing votes, aren't exactly singing from Harry's hymnal.

"ThereÂ’s no specific compromise. There were discussions," Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) said at a press conference Wednesday.

...According to Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), sending the bill to the CBO was about all the 10 senators agree to do. "We got to a point where we couldnÂ’t go any further until we got scores," she said. "There are a lot of things on the table still and until, you know, we hear back from CBO itÂ’s going to be hard to see whatever I can support, for sure."

Indeed, Landrieu said, "Until the package that was sent [is] scored, we donÂ’t know whatÂ’s in it."

I think Landrieu's remark is code for, "Hey Harry, how about another pile of cash for the, uh, Big Easy?"

Joe Lieberman also wasn't very impressed with this supposed agreement.

As is the case with everything in the health care debate, every time you add a vote (or try to), you risk losing one or more.

No one seems to know what the hell this new plan would look like or cost (see Gabe's coverage here) and no one, except Harry Reid seems to be excited about it either. It might still be a game changer but right now it's not much of anything.

Posted by: DrewM at 12:13 PM | Comments (41)
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Money paid? Six million dollars

Jobs saved? 3

Paying off your former political rival's debt with public money? Priceless

Nearly $6 million in stimulus money was paid to two firms run by Mark Penn, Hillary ClintonÂ’s pollster in 2008.

Federal records show that $5.97 million from the $787 billion stimulus helped preserve three jobs at Burson-Marsteller, the global public-relations and communications firm headed by Penn.

...Republicans on Tuesday criticized the federal spending on the advertising project as a waste of taxpayer dollars. They noted that the advertising campaign took place on May 5, only 39 days before the digital television transition was scheduled (June 12)

GOP Sens. John McCain (Ariz.) and Tom Coburn (Okla.) held a news conference Tuesday to blast 100 “wasteful” projects funded by the $787 billion economic stimulus package Congress passed earlier this year, concluding that at least $7 billion of the $217 billion spent through November was wasteful and mismanaged

I find it hard to believe this kind of waste and corruption is taking place. Didn't Obama promise us Joe "The Sheriff" Biden was on the look out for fraud, waste and abuse. Or does this not qualify?

He's a 21st Century Barney Fife. Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Posted by: DrewM at 11:15 AM | Comments (91)
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What the hell?

The light was captured by amateur photographer Jan Petter Jorgensen while he was on his way to work at a salmon factory.

"The light appeared for 2-3 minutes. I could not believe my eyes, and got the shivers and was quite shaken by it", Mr Jorgensen said.

Morten Kristiansen, who saw the light phenomena from Sortland in northern Norway, added: " A large ring appeared, and then spread out, sending a green beam down to earth, "says

More pictures of the light, form different vantage points here.

Clearly the Scandis are outpacing us in the next generation of laser light shows. We can not let this Laserium gap widen!

Actually, perhaps it's simply a cosmic sign designed to confirm that Obama is The Chosen One. I mean this light appeared over Norway, Obama is going to Norway to accept his Cracker Jack Nobel Peace Prize. Coincidence? I think not.

Update: Enhanced image shows true meaning of the light. more...

Posted by: DrewM at 10:23 AM | Comments (157)
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In Australia, Andrew Bolt notes:

There is something sick about a man who, having failed to convince the adults, feels his best option is to terrify their children.

He refers to Green activist Clive Hamilton's open letter to the children of the Oz. Well, specifically the children of stoop-shouldered, mouth-breathing SUV-drivin' parents.

Hi there,

ThereÂ’s something you need to know about your father.

Your dadÂ’s job is to try to stop the government making laws to reduce AustraliaÂ’s carbon pollution. He is paid a lot of money to do that by big companies who do not want to own up to the fact that their pollution is changing the worldÂ’s climate in very harmful ways.

Because of their pollution, lots of people, mostly poor people, are likely to die. They will die from floods, from diseases like dengue fever, and from starvation when their crops wonÂ’t grow anymore.

The big companies are putting their profits before the lives of people. And your dad is helping them.

There's a word for people like this. I think they prefer the word "Visionary". They'll settle for "Dictator" though, if it gets the job done.

You know. (wink/wink)

For the kids.

Posted by: Open Blog at 10:23 AM | Comments (53)
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See you stupid wingnuts, calling Obama a socialist is waaaayyyyy out of bounds. Besides He's only doing it to save the planet and that includes you idiots too.

But while administration officials have long said they prefer Congress take action on climate change, the economic official who spoke with reporters Tuesday night made clear that the EPA will not wait and is prepared to act on its own.

And it won't be pretty.

"If you don't pass this legislation, then ... the EPA is going to have to regulate in this area," the official said. "And it is not going to be able to regulate on a market-based way, so it's going to have to regulate in a command-and-control way, which will probably generate even more uncertainty."

Climate change legislation that passed the House is stuck in the Senate, but the EPA finding Monday was seen as a boost to the U.S. delegation in Denmark trying to convince other countries that Washington is capable of taking action to follow through with any global commitments.

The economic official explained that congressional action could be better for the economy, since it would provide "compensation" for higher energy prices, especially for small businesses dealing with those higher energy costs. Otherwise, the official warned that the kind of "uncertainty" generated by unilateral EPA action would be a huge "deterrent to investment," in an economy already desperate for jobs.

See, they'd prefer to destroy the economy through democratic means but if that doesn't happen, we'll they'll just be forced to take "command and control" actions.

Don't you feel better?

Between this, health care and unprecedented levels of debt and spending we are simply witnessing an attempt to destroy the United States as we know it. I really hate the paranoid style of politics but what else is it when you are looking at such massive government takeover and interference with the basic institutions and freedoms this country is built on?

It seems people, not just conservatives and not even the tea party folks, are waking up to this and saying No. Right now, we're simply fighting delaying actions in an attempt to stop the most dangerous of this garbage until the midterms next year.

Hold the line! Hold the line!

I'm really glad that whoever this administration official is they are so tone deaf. "Command and control" is not a focused group phrase designed to blur the real intention of the regulations. It's the kind of phrase that will make the hair stand up on the back of the necks of ordinary Americans who will be frightened by such talk. Of course, the apparatchiks in the Obamastream Media will simply refuse to report it but enough people will hear it.

Posted by: DrewM at 09:37 AM | Comments (121)
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Well, that's not going to happen but Palin's Op-ed is a good primer of the ClimateGate scandal. Most interesting to me is not her recap or call for Obama to stay home but a few paragraphs on her personal experience with the issue.

This scandal obviously calls into question the proposals being pushed in Copenhagen. I've always believed that policy should be based on sound science, not politics. As governor of Alaska, I took a stand against politicized science when I sued the federal government over its decision to list the polar bear as an endangered species despite the fact that the polar bear population had more than doubled. I got clobbered for my actions by radical environmentalists nationwide, but I stood by my view that adding a healthy species to the endangered list under the guise of "climate change impacts" was an abuse of the Endangered Species Act. This would have irreversibly hurt both Alaska's economy and the nation's, while also reducing opportunities for responsible development.

Our representatives in Copenhagen should remember that good environmental policymaking is about weighing real-world costs and benefits -- not pursuing a political agenda. That's not to say I deny the reality of some changes in climate -- far from it. I saw the impact of changing weather patterns firsthand while serving as governor of our only Arctic state. I was one of the first governors to create a subcabinet to deal specifically with the issue and to recommend common-sense policies to respond to the coastal erosion, thawing permafrost and retreating sea ice that affect Alaska's communities and infrastructure.

But while we recognize the occurrence of these natural, cyclical environmental trends, we can't say with assurance that man's activities cause weather changes. We can say, however, that any potential benefits of proposed emissions reduction policies are far outweighed by their economic costs...

If nothing else, this is a prime example of the power of ClimateGate. Palin never would have gotten a Climate Change op-ed piece published without the news hook of the scandal. Yes, the coverage has been less than stellar and honest at times but the embargo is broken and we have a breach in the narrative ("the science is settled") we can exploit.

Naturally the left is freaking out that the Post gave Palin this platform. Funny but they are never that upset when the Post or NY Times turns their Op-ed page over to terrorists.

All in all, a solid piece from Palin that annoys all the right people. What's not to love?

Posted by: DrewM at 07:45 AM | Comments (188)
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Special coverage from Forbes, the 67 Most Powerful People in the World. Because power is better.

No surprise to see Obama in the top slot, and Hu Jintao right behind him. I'm a little surprised to see Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke ahead of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett (a little surprised, not hugely surprised).

Pope Benedict XVI is in the top 20, check, also various heads of state. I had no idea the CEO of Telmex is the world's 3rd richest dude. Hillary is listed as is Bill (but she's #17 and he's #31).

Check this dude out at #41, Joachin Guzman. Mexican druglord edges out the President of Russia.

And finishing up at an impressive #67, everybody's favorite burrito-head sammichscarfinbutterbean*, Hugo Chavez. The article says Forbes decided a major contributing factor was not only to have power, but to actively use it. See Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

* mea culpa

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 07:18 AM | Comments (70)
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So the rumor is that the Senate is dropping the public option in favor of (1) tightly regulated nation-wide nonprofits which are technically private-owned, but akin to publicly-regulated utilities; (2) a massive expansion of Medicare by lowering the eligibility age; and (3) a massive expansion of Medicaid.

That sounds an awful lot like publicly-controlled healthcare to me. It has all the special disability for consumers that you get from tightly-regulated utilities and an expensive barrier to entry for private insurers. That's a recipe for single payer.

The OPM is supposed to "shepherd" these tightly-regulated nonprofits into existence, but I don't see how that happens without a healthy dose of subsidy. (These hypothetical insurers don't existence because there's no call for them in the marketplace.) So it's not like this "solution" cooked up by Democrats solves the problem that private insurers won't be able to compete with government-subsidized insurers.

More: Dave at Garfield Ridge has an interesting thought, one that, well, I should have had. Can you think of any other "tightly regulated nation-wide nonprofits which are technically private-owned, but akin to publicly-regulated utilities"? Dave did:

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Welcome to political micromanaging for health outcomes. And Democrats leveraging the government-sponsored health insurers to interfere with the private market. 'Cause I need a healthcare meltdown like I need to get shot in the face. Oy.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:47 AM | Comments (84)
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