1/11/2015

Thoughts On A Sunday

It's been relatively quiet here at The Manse. It's been just the regular chores needing doing, and that's suited me just fine.

We did go have breakfast with the WP Mom down at one of our favorite local eateries, something we haven't been able to do very much over the past year.

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Tom Maguire delves into Islam, al-Sisi's speech calling for Islamic reformation, and the New York Times finally taking notice, though it is still clueless.

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It's amazing what happens when one has nothing to lose.

In this case Dr. Terry Hughes, professor emeritus of earth sciences and climate change at the University of Maine, feels free to speak his mind about climate alarmism and the financial incentives driving it.

Apparently when science professors retire, they finally get to say what’s really on their mind.

“You will never read or hear any of this from the scientific and political establishments,” [said Hughes]. “I’m now retired, so I have no scientific career to protect by spreading lies.”

He said he thinks dire global warming predictions are really all about lassoing federal research funding and votes.

“Too many (the majority) of climate research scientists are quite willing to prostitute their science by giving these politicians what they want,” the glaciologist added.

How long have those of us amongst the “We're NOT all gonna die” camp been saying this?

(H/T Maggie's Farm)

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The New England Patriots defeated the Baltimore Ravens yesterday, 35-31, advancing them to the AFC championship. They'll be playing the Indianapolis Colts next week at home.

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We hear about the murder of French citizens and police officers in France by Islamic extremists, but not a word about the massacre of 2000 people by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram in Baga, Nigeria. They destroyed the town and 16 other surrounding villages and there hasn't been a mention by the MSM in the US except for Fox News.

I guess as long as it's only black people killing other black people, it's perfectly OK with the Lame Stream Media.

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Bogie tells us of the sleeping arrangements she and her cats, Tory and Fuzzy, have. That both of them appear to like settling down with their 'ma' was a peasant surprise for Bogie.

Minnie and Miss have similar arrangements with me, though occasionally Cole, Henry, and Pip will also hop up on the bed and settle in for sleep. That makes it interesting some mornings because I'll have as many as six cats on the bed, making it difficult to get up.

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It appears the hacker group Anonymous is seriously pissed off at the jihadists for the Charlie Hebdo attack and has vowed to shut down every jihadist website it can find in response.

That the jihadists are trying to kill free speech pisses off Anonymous more than just about anything else. If they can kill off the jihadists means of communicating with their followers by the Internet, it may lessen their ability recruit.

More power to 'em.

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Skip Murphy gives us a visual that certainly explains the applicability of certain college degrees in today's job market.

It's funny, too.

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Reliapundit has a take on Obama's proposal to make community college 'free': “It's not about what's affordable for students or the federal government. It's about proposing something that will make the GOP look mean when they oppose it.”

BeezleBub and I discussed this and he his thoughts on the matter took a somewhat different tack, that being that if it did indeed become free, then those without jobs who do not avail themselves of the opportunity to learn a new trade or earn a degree should lose any government benefits they're collecting. It has to be a carrot and stick approach otherwise there's no real incentive to better one's self.

But then we know the whole thing is nothing but a front, a cheap way to make Obama appear beneficent knowing it will never come to be. Then again, that's how he's been since he took office – make great promises but carry through with very few of them. It's easy to make promises, particularly when there's no intention of keeping them.

(H/T Pirate's Cove)

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David Starr reminds us that Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) really sucks at economics and business, particularly in regards to the Keystone XL pipeline. We must remember this is the same Chuck who caused a California bank to fail overnight by incorrectly stating it was in trouble, triggering a run on the bank and withdrawals of over a billion dollars in deposits.

Chuck should learn to keep his mouth shut when he doesn't know what he's talking about. But then that's never been his strong suit.

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where winter continues, the woodstove is running 24/7, and we'll have to break out the snowblower again.