ClimateGate: Scientists Involved in Scandal Say They've Dumped The Data!

"Oh, gee, guys!  Sorry, but we dumped the data already!"  Can you believe this?  I've heard better lies from students explaining to me why their project isn't done yet or when they're caught cheating!

This from The Times Online

Climate change data dumped

Jonathan Leake, Environment Editor

SCIENTISTS at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have admitted throwing away much of the raw temperature data on which their predictions of global warming are based. 

It means that other academics are not able to check basic calculations said to show a long-term rise in temperature over the past 150 years.

The UEA’s Climatic Research Unit (CRU) was forced to reveal the loss following requests for the data under Freedom of Information legislation.

The data were gathered from weather stations around the world and then adjusted to take account of variables in the way they were collected. The revised figures were kept, but the originals — stored on paper and magnetic tape — were dumped to save space when the CRU moved to a new building.

The admission follows the leaking of a thousand private emails sent and received by Professor Phil Jones, the CRU’s director. In them he discusses thwarting climate sceptics seeking access to such data. 

In a statement on its website, the CRU said: “We do not hold the original raw data but only the value-added (quality controlled and homogenised) data.” 

The CRU is the world’s leading centre for reconstructing past climate and temperatures. Climate change sceptics have long been keen to examine exactly how its data were compiled. That is now impossible.

Roger Pielke, professor of environmental studies at Colorado University, discovered data had been lost when he asked for original records. “The CRU is basically saying, ‘Trust us’. So much for settling questions and resolving debates with science,” he said.

Jones was not in charge of the CRU when the data were thrown away in the 1980s, a time when climate change was seen as a less pressing issue. The lost material was used to build the databases that have been his life’s work, showing how the world has warmed by 0.8C over the past 157 years.

He and his colleagues say this temperature rise is “unequivocally” linked to greenhouse gas emissions generated by humans. Their findings are one of the main pieces of evidence used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which says global warming is a threat to humanity.

Let the investigations and prosecutions begin!

And check this out from FoxNews: The U.N. was greedily looking forward to expanding its reach and influence at the tables of the world powers:

Document Reveals U.N.'s Goal of Becoming Rule-Maker 

in Global Environmental Talks

Environmentalism should be regarded on the same level with religion "as the only compelling, value-based narrative available to humanity," according to a paper written two years ago to influence the future strategy of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), the world's would-be environmental watchdog.

The purpose of the paper, put together after an unpublicized day-long session in Switzerland by some of the world's top environmental bureaucrats: to argue for a new and unprecedented effort to move environmental concerns to "the center of political and economic decision-making" around the world — and perhaps not coincidentally, expand the influence and reach of UNEP at the tables of world power, as a rule-maker and potential supervisor of the New Environmental Order.

The positions argued in that paper now appear to be much closer at hand; many of them are embedded in a four-year strategy document for UNEP taking effect next year, in the immediate wake of the much-touted, 11-day Copenhagen conference on "climate change," which starts on Dec. 7, and which is intended to push environmental concerns to a new crescendo.

The major difference is that the four-year UNEP plan expresses its aims in the carefully soporific language that U.N. organizations customarily use to swaddle their objectives. The Swiss document makes its case passionately — and more important, plainly — than any U.N. official document ever would

The ambitious paper, entitled "The UNEP That We Want," was the product of a select group of 20 top environmental bureaucrats and thinkers, including UNEP's current No. 2 official, Angela Cropper. The document was later delivered to UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.

Those ideas are being espoused at a highly charged time. Both environmentalists and the entire United Nations led by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, are still fervently pressuring governments around the world to sign a legally binding and more global successor to the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas suppression, which expires in 2012. At the moment, that deal appears likely to be delayed, at least until next spring, as some wealthy countries, including the U.S., balk at the high cost and potentially crippling economic impact of targets to reduce carbon emissions into the earth's atmosphere, even though President Barack Obama supports an ambitious Copenhagen deal.

But UNEP's strategic plan, as well as the IISD document that grew out of the Swiss gathering, look well beyond the horizon of Copenhagen in suggesting the outlines of the world's environment-centered future, to what the strategic plan calls "the next phase in the evolution of UNEP."

The above article continues into a lengthy tracking of the story with a link to the UNEP's four-year strategy.

ClimateGate: The CRU Emails

You can go to this link to find a searchable database of the alleged CRU e-mails ("Climatic Research Unit" of the University of East Anglia).

UPDATE: Here's another online resource for the infamous e-mails ...
ClimateGate.org

And, did you see John Stewart's "scoop" on the elite media?



[I bet Stewart hated having to use FoxNews as one of his sources.]

ClimateGate: Scientists Caught in Scandal Agree To Publish Figures in Full

The UK's Telegraph reports that the scientists at the University of East Anglia, accused of manipulating research data to support their global warming theories, have agreed to publish their data in full.  Here's the story by Robert Mendick (emphasis added):

Climategate: University of East Anglia U-Turn in 

Climate Change Row

Leading British scientists at the University of East Anglia, who were accused manipulating climate change data - dubbed Climategate - have agreed to publish their figures in full.

The U-turn by the university follows a week of controversy after the emergence of hundreds of leaked emails, "stolen" by hackers and published online, triggered claims that the academics had massaged statistics.

In a statement welcomed by climate change sceptics, the university said it would make all the data accessible as soon as possible, once its Climatic Research Unit (CRU) had negotiated its release from a range of non-publication agreements.

...

David Holland, who describes himself as a David taking on the Goliath that is the prevailing scientific consensus, is seeking prosecutions against some of Britain's most eminent academics for allegedly holding back information in breach of disclosure laws.

Mr Holland, of Northampton, complained to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) last week after the leaked emails included several Freedom of Information requests he had submitted to the CRU, and scientists' private responses to them.

Within hours, a senior complaints officer in the ICO wrote back by email: "I have started to examine the issues that you have raised in your letter and I am currently liaising with colleagues in our Enforcement and Data Protection teams as to what steps to take next."

The official also promised to investigate other universities linked to the CRU, which is one of the world's leading authorities on temperature levels and has helped to prove that man-made global warming not only exists but will have catastrophic consequences if not tackled urgently. Mr Holland is convinced the threat has been greatly exaggerated.

...

Mr Holland, who graduated with an external degree in electrical engineering from London University in 1966 before going on to run his own businesses, told The Sunday Telegraph: "It's like David versus Goliath. Thanks to these leaked emails a lot of little people can begin to make some impact on this monolithic entity that is the climate change lobby."

He added: "These guys called climate scientists have not done any more physics or chemistry than I did. A lifetime in engineering gives you a very good antenna. It also cures people of any self belief they cannot be wrong. You clear up a lot of messes during a lifetime in engineering. I could be wrong on global warming – I know that – but the guys on the other side don't believe they can ever be wrong."

...

Ironically, the online page on which the article appeared had a link to click to encourage President Obama to sign the international climate treaty.  The enviro-terrorists are still pushing their agenda.

MSM Still Silent on ClimateGate

The ClimateGate scandal broke more than a week ago, and as I survey the MSM (i.e. "elite media", "establishment media", "state-controlled media", "dinosaur media" ... take your pick), the top news stories seem to be Tiger Woods' accident and nasty gossip surrounding him, the media whore couple that crashed the Obamas' Thanksgiving dinner, Sarah Palin drawing crowds (much to the dismay of Libs), the requisite collection of dreadful murder-on-Thanksgiving stories, Black Friday reports, and the "gee, we missed Osama bin Laden back in 2001 in Tora Bora." (Why the hell is that news?  We know that already.  Talk about re-runs!)  These stories are all distractions.


But, where are the reports on ClimateGate?!?  Why the hell is the press sitting on this?!?  I thought the press loved a good scandal!  Could it be that our in-bed-with-Obama-and-the-Left media are going to have to eat major crow?  I remember, for example, Ann Curry of NBC begging Al Gore to run for president.  She personifies our current agenda-driven press.

The scandal is breaking in other parts of the world, but here in the U.S. you only hear about it via the "non-news", such as FoxNews, bloggers, and Glenn Beck.  Our press is ignoring what foreign news agencies are reporting, such as this from RT:

                

In the interview, Peter Lilley, British Tory MP and physicist by training, makes some eye-opening comments about the scandal: that the climate scientists are determined to agree with each other, trying to change facts rather than change their theory, and feel morally superior, because they feel they're on a crusade to save the world.  Lilley reminds us, too, of the large government grants the scientists receive.  Lilley, though, believes that this scandal will be a big blow to the environmentalist movement and to their credibility; however, he cautions that the momentum and money are so large, it will take much more to derail the theory of climate change.

Here's a valuable exercise: Go to the various news websites and, in the search bar, type "climategate."  If that gets no results, which will be the case on most sites, then try "global warming."  It seems that most news sites don't even mention the hacked e-mails.  Some news sites just continue plowing headlong into promoting the global warming 'crisis' with nary a mention of the "real news."

Here's how Joseph Finlay on American Thinker describes how the story broke in other parts of the world while being blocked here in the U.S. ("ClimateGate: 'the stones cry out'"):

Note carefully the fact that this modern shot heard round the world first found a point of entry through Russia, then Saudi Arabia, and then Turkey - next Europe, and lastly the United States.

In other words, the traditionally supposed intellectual freedom and free speech climate of the West was "stoney ground" in comparison to the accessibility of outlets under the more repressive regimes of Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. Perhaps the greater story is the truth itself - and its indomitable will to reveal itself through even the most unlikely of conduits and efforts of even one individual arrayed against a worldwide apparatus of dishonesty.

Jesus, in Luke 19:40, when admonished to silence the truth, made a startling claim about the geological record that collided with accepted scientific notions in His day:

And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

It would appear that the repression of truth in the scientic community and the MSM in the west has indeed caused "the stones to cry out."

This will be another scoop the "non-news" entities will have that will undercut, yet again, the establishment media.  In the meantime, our Pravda-like press will continue spewing out distractions so the public will go unaware of ClimateGate.  The radicals and the Obama administration must pass Cap and Trade, right?  The taxpayers be damned!  Then entangle the U.S. in Kyoto Treaty nonsense, all to the detriment of America.   Full steam ahead!

St. Louis Tea Party: Great Crowd on Thanksgiving Weekend!

... and bee-YOOOO-tee-ful weather to boot!  One could not have asked for a more perfect day: sunny and 65 degrees with a cloudless, blue sky.  It was as if this tea party protest were supposed to happen given the previous days' gloomy, cold weather and this coming week's similar gloominess.

My fellow racist, swastika-carrying, astroturf of a mother and I headed downtown to Kiener Plaza donning our T.E.A. caps ("Taxed Enough Already") and tea party shirts.  We brought along our fascist flag-colored camp chairs and American and Gadsen flags.  The day was so lovely, we also brought along our lunch to enjoy outdoors on the beautiful plaza.

I hate to disappoint the race-baiters, but I saw NO questionable persons or signs.  The crowd was calm, obviously enjoying the weather and event, with a few folks debating and discussing the current shenanigans of the Obama administration.


There was a terrific line-up of speakers:  
• Dana Loesch

• Jim Hoft of GatewayPundit (check out his report on the event -- my camera was not working properly, so I only have these two photos to post.  Jim's site has more)

• Stephanie Rubach (nurse of 20 years' experience)

• Jay Steward - local conservative activist (one of my favorite speakers of the day!)

• Dave MacArthur of St. Louis' beloved MacArthur's Bakery

• Gina Loudon - of "buycott" fame

• Mike Carey of ACARE (American Council for Affordable and Reliable Energy)

• Bill Hennessy, founder and organizer of The St. Louis Tea Party Coalition

... and the hero of the day: James O'Keefe - the young video journalist who broke open the ACORN scandal with his partner Hannah Giles

GatewayPundit reports that there were some 4,000 people there!  That's an impressive number, especially when considering it was a major holiday weekend.

Just doin' my part to keep the pressure on Congress and the President!

Friday Funnies

As I was surfin' the Net this morning, I ran across some funny political cartoons ... just consider this your preview of the Sunday comics!

ObamaCare: Dean of Harvard Med School Gives It An 'F'

This opinion by Dr. Flier appeared last week in the Wall Street Journal (emphasis added):

Health 'Reform' Gets a Failing Grade

The changes proposed by Congress will require more draconian measures down the road. Just look at Massachusetts.

By Jeffrey S. Flier

As the dean of Harvard Medical School I am frequently asked to comment on the health-reform debate. I'd give it a failing grade.

Instead of forthrightly dealing with the fundamental problems, discussion is dominated by rival factions struggling to enact or defeat President Barack Obama's agenda. The rhetoric on both sides is exaggerated and often deceptive. Those of us for whom the central issue is health—not politics—have been left in the lurch. And as controversy heads toward a conclusion in Washington, it appears that the people who favor the legislation are engaged in collective denial.

Our health-care system suffers from problems of cost, access and quality, and needs major reform. Tax policy drives employment-based insurance; this begets overinsurance and drives costs upward while creating inequities for the unemployed and self-employed. A regulatory morass limits innovation. And deep flaws in Medicare and Medicaid drive spending without optimizing care.

Speeches and news reports can lead you to believe that proposed congressional legislation would tackle the problems of cost, access and quality. But that's not true. The various bills do deal with access by expanding Medicaid and mandating subsidized insurance at substantial cost—and thus addresses an important social goal. However, there are no provisions to substantively control the growth of costs or raise the quality of care. So the overall effort will fail to qualify as reform.

In discussions with dozens of health-care leaders and economists, I find near unanimity of opinion that, whatever its shape, the final legislation that will emerge from Congress will markedly accelerate national health-care spending rather than restrain it. Likewise, nearly all agree that the legislation would do little or nothing to improve quality or change health-care's dysfunctional delivery system. The system we have now promotes fragmented care and makes it more difficult than it should be to assess outcomes and patient satisfaction. The true costs of health care are disguised, competition based on price and quality are almost impossible, and patients lose their ability to be the ultimate judges of value.

Worse, currently proposed federal legislation would undermine any potential for real innovation in insurance and the provision of care. It would do so by overregulating the health-care system in the service of special interests such as insurance companies, hospitals, professional organizations and pharmaceutical companies, rather than the patients who should be our primary concern.

In effect, while the legislation would enhance access to insurance, the trade-off would be an accelerated crisis of health-care costs and perpetuation of the current dysfunctional system—now with many more participants. This will make an eventual solution even more difficult. Ultimately, our capacity to innovate and develop new therapies would suffer most of all.

There are important lessons to be learned from recent experience with reform in Massachusetts. Here, insurance mandates similar to those proposed in the federal legislation succeeded in expanding coverage but—despite initial predictions—increased total spending.

A "Special Commission on the Health Care Payment System" recently declared that the Massachusetts health-care payment system must be changed over the next five years, most likely to one involving "capitated" payments instead of the traditional fee-for-service system. Capitation means that newly created organizations of physicians and other health-care providers will be given limited dollars per patient for all of their care, allowing for shared savings if spending is below the targets. Unfortunately, the details of this massive change—necessitated by skyrocketing costs and a desire to improve quality—are completely unspecified by the commission, although a new Massachusetts state bureaucracy clearly will be required.

Yet it's entirely unclear how such unspecified changes would impact physician practices and compensation, hospital organizations and their capacity to invest, and the ability of patients to receive the kind and quality of care they desire. Similar challenges would eventually confront the entire country on a more explosive scale if the current legislation becomes law.

Selling an uncertain and potentially unwelcome outcome such as this to the public would be a challenging task. It is easier to assert, confidently but disingenuously, that decreased costs and enhanced quality would result from the current legislation.

So the majority of our representatives may congratulate themselves on reducing the number of uninsured, while quietly understanding this can only be the first step of a multiyear process to more drastically change the organization and funding of health care in America. I have met many people for whom this strategy is conscious and explicit.

We should not be making public policy in such a crucial area by keeping the electorate ignorant of the actual road ahead.

Dr. Flier is dean of the Harvard Medical School.

Al Gore to be Sued by John Coleman

John Coleman, the found of The Weather Channel wants to sue Al Gore for fraud!  You gotta love it!



Coleman deserves the Nobel!!!!!

ClimateGate: White House Connection?

Today, the Canada Free Press is reporting that Obama's "science czar" John Holdren might be involved in the unfolding "ClimateGate."  This from Dr. Tim Ball and Judy McLeod (emphasis added):

Obama's Czar John Holdren involved in unwinding "ClimateGate" scandal

Lift up a rock and another snake comes slithering out from the ongoing University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit (CRU) scandal, now riding as  “Climategate”.

Obama Science Czar John Holdren is directly involved in CRU’s unfolding Climategate scandal.  In fact, according to files released by a CEU hacker or whistleblower, Holdren is involved in what Canada Free Press (CFP) columnist Canadian climatologist Dr. Tim Ball terms “a truculent and nasty manner that provides a brief demonstration of his lack of understanding, commitment on faith and willingness to ridicule and bully people”. 

“The files contain so much material that it is going to take some time to put it all in context,” says Ball.  “However, enough is already known to underscore their explosive nature.  It is already clear the entire claims and positions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are based on falsified manipulated material and is therefore completely compromised.

“The fallout will be extensive as material continues to emerge.  Reputations of the scientists involved are already destroyed, however fringe players will continue to be identified and their reputations destroyed or sullied.”

While the mainstream media is bending into pretzels to keep the scandal under the rug, Climategate is already the biggest scientific scandal in history because of the global policy implications.  A throwback to the intro of the television series Dragnet, “Ladies and Gentlemen:  “The story you are about to hear is true, only the names have been changed to protect the innocent”, the innocent in Climategate have already been thrown to the ravening wolves.

“There is a multitude of small but frightening stories in the massive files,”  Ball writes.  “For example I’ve known solar physicists Sallie Baliunas and Willie Soon for a long time. I’ve published articles with Willie and enjoyed extensive communication. I was on advisory committees with them when Sallie suddenly and politely withdrew from the fray. I don’t know if the following events were contributing factors but it is likely.

“Baliunas and Soon were authors of excellent work confirming the existence of the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) from a multitude of sources. Their work challenged attempts to get rid of the MWP because it contradicted the claim by the proponents of anthropogenic global warming (AGW). Several scientists challenged the claim that the latter part of the 20^th century was the warmest ever. They knew the claim was false, many warmer periods occurred in the past. Michael Mann ‘got rid’ of the MWP with his production of the hockey stick, but Soon and Baliunas were problematic. What better than have a powerful academic destroy their credibility for you? Sadly, there are always people who will do the dirty work.”

Indeed, Holdren’s emails show how sincere scientists would be made into raw “entertainment”.

How the deed was done

“A perfect person and opportunity appeared. On 16^th October 2003 Michael Mann, infamous for his lead in the ‘hockey stick’ that dominated the 2001 IPCC Report, sent an email to people involved in the CRU scandal; “

Dear All,
Thought you would be interested in this exchange, which John Holdren of Harvard has been kind enough to pass along…” At the time Holdren was Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy & Director, Program in Science, Technology, & Public Policy, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government. He is now Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, and Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology—informally known as the United States Science Czar.

““In an email on October16, 2003 from John Holdren to Michael Mann and Tom Wigley we are told:

”“I’m forwarding for your entertainment an exchange that followed from my being quoted in the Harvard Crimson to the effect that you and your colleagues are right and my “Harvard” colleagues Soon and Baliunas are wrong about what the evidence shows concerning surface temperatures over the past millennium. The cover note to faculty and postdocs in a regular Wednesday breakfast discussion group on environmental science and public policy in Harvard’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences is more or less self-explanatory.”

The Wednesday Breakfast Group

“This is what Holdren sent to the Wednesday Breakfast group.

“I append here an e-mail correspondence I have engaged in over the past few days trying to educate a Soon/Baliunas supporter who originally wrote to me asking how I could think that Soon and Baliunas are wrong and Mann et al. are right (a view attributed to me, correctly, in the Harvard Crimson). This individual apparently runs a web site on which he had been touting the Soon/Baliunas position.”

“The exchange Holdren refers to is a challenge by Nick Schulz editor of Tech Central Station (TCS). On August 9, 2003 Schulz wrote;

“In a recent Crimson story on the work of Soon and Baliunas, who have written for my website [1 techcentralstation.com, you are quoted as saying: My impression is that the critics are right. It's unfortunate that so much attention is paid to a flawed analysis, but that’s what happens when something happens to support the political climate in Washington. Do you feel the same way about the work of Mann et. al.? If not why not?”

...
[Schulz] “We now know it was deliberately placed beyond the reach of the people by the group that he used to ridicule Soon and Baliunas. Holdren was blinded by his political views, which as his record shows are frightening. One web site synthesizes his position on over-population as follows, “Forced abortions. Mass sterilization. A “Planetary Regime” with the power of life and death over American citizens.”

“Holdren has a long history of seeking total government control....

[Note: Dr. Tim Ball is a renowned environmental consultant and former climatology professor at the University of Winnipeg.  Dr. Ball employs his extensive background in climatology and other fields as an advisor to the International Climate Science Coalition, Friends of Science and the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.]

[Click here to go to my July post "Holdren: Another Questionable Obama Appointment -- and Frightening!]

ClimateGate: NewsBusters Reports The MSM Continues to Ignore Scandal

Jeff Poor today over at NewsBusters is reporting that since "ClimateGate" broke on Friday, the mainstream media (now dubbed by many as the "state-controlled media") continues to ignore the scandal.  Here's Poor's report:

ClimateGate Ignored, Again -- Broadcast Nets Go with
State Dinner Menu, Sea Lions, and Pete The Moose

It probably won't come as any surprise, but coverage of the ClimateGate scandal, which involved the Climate Research Unit at University of East Anglia in Britain suffering a breach of data, was nowhere to be found.

Allegedly a hacker broke into the University's computer system and posted thousands of emails and documents showing an effort by scientists, some on the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), whose research has had a profound impact in shaping U.S. policy proposal on efforts to curb so-called anthropogenic climate change. Those emails and documents revealed an effort by some the scientists to manipulate data to exaggerate the threat of global warming and that has even prompted Sen. James Inhofe, Okla., the ranking Republican on the U.S. Senate's Environment and Public Works committee to call for an investigation.

Such a story would seem to be a no-brainer for the ABC, CBS and NBC to pick up on, but their Nov. 24 broadcasts failed to do so. What did they opt for instead? A sea lion glut in San Francisco, an orphaned moose in Vermont and the meal selection on the President's State Dinner. 

"Where does a 500-pound sea lion sleep? At San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf, just about anywhere it wants," CBS correspondent John Blackstone said.

But that was no match for NBC correspondent Norah O'Donnell's glowing account of the Obama White House's first State Dinner.

"Every detail meticulously planned: the purple flowers and green tablecloth a tribute to India's state bird, the peacock; the menu a tribute to the vegetarian guest of honor, the prime minister, meat-free," NBC correspondent Norah O'Donnell said. "But you do have a choice of prawns. For the entertainment - call it Hollywood meets Bollywood."

But ClimateGate got bumped on ABC for one really important story - Pete the orphaned moose, which Vermont authorities are arguing can't live on a farm.

"Finally tonight, the battle to save a moose," ABC "World News" anchor Charles Gibson said. "It's a story that might go unnoticed, except this battle to save this moose, his name is Pete, has come something of a cause celeb in Vermont. So ABC's John Berman went up north to check it out."

See my post from Sunday -- "Global Warming: The Hysteria Is Starting to Unravel."

FoxNews -- the, uh "non-news" or "faux news" station -- has been reporting on the scandal.  In fact, check out this report about Sen Inhofe (R-OK) calling for investigations into the scandal, followed by actor Ed Begley, Jr. heated discussion:



And check out FoxNews' John Lott's op-ed piece: "Why You Should Be Hot and Bothered about 'Climate-gate'

Thanksgiving Eve: St. Louis Scooter Guy Helps Take The Danger out of the Big Party Night

With Thanksgiving Eve now being one of the biggest party nights of the year, there will be many folks out drinking this evening.  Luckily, there's a local entrepreneur who helps take the danger out of the the holiday season -- and the drunk drivers off the road.   St. Louis Scooter Guy can be your "designated driver!" 



This from KSDK NewsChannel 5:

St. Louis Scooter Guy offers free designated driving service Thanksgiving Eve

KSDK -- Thanksgiving Eve has become one of the biggest party nights of the year.   However, even one drink of alcohol can affect a person's ability to brake quickly or change lanes.
 
That's why if you plan to drink at all you should have a designated driver and tonight the St. Louis Scooter Guy is offering to be yours free of charge.

The nice thing about this company is, it also allows you to get your car home, so you don't have to make plans to pick it up the tomorrow.

Heidi Glaus found out how it works this morning on Today In St. Louis. 

To learn more about St. Louis Scooter Guy click on the link to the right or call 314-255-1800.

What a clever idea! Drunk drivers have taken their toll on my family -- I've lost an aunt and uncle, their son was terribly burned in the accident, and I myself have been hit twice by DUI drivers.  We are just one of many families that have been tragically impacted by drunk drivers.  That's why I love to hear of such entrepreneurs who offer solutions and possibly save lives and prevent suffering.

Navy SEALs Capture Most-Wanted Terrorist: Charged Now with Assault

This is just absolutely appalling!  Again, Political Correctness "ties, binds, and blinds", preventing the military from doing its job and keeping criminals from coming to justice.  Remember the heinous act of Iraqi terrorists who murdered, mutilated, and hung four Blackwater agents from a bridge in Fallujah?  Well, one of those responsible was captured by some Navy SEALs, only now 3 of them are facing assault charges for allegedly punching the prisoner.  From Rowan Scarborough of FoxNews (emphasis added):

Navy SEALs Face Assault Charges for Capturing Most-Wanted Terrorist

Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.

The three, all members of the Navy's elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called an admiral's mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.

Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named "Objective Amber," told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.

Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers.
...

The three SEALs will be arraigned separately on Dec. 7. Another three SEALs — two officers and an enlisted sailor — have been identified by investigators as witnesses but have not been charged.

FoxNews.com obtained the official handwritten statement from one of the three witnesses given on Sept. 3, hours after Abed was captured and still being held at the SEAL base at Camp Baharia. He was later taken to a cell in the U.S.-operated Green Zone in Baghdad.

The SEAL told investigators he had showered after the mission, gone to the kitchen and then decided to look in on the detainee.

"I gave the detainee a glance over and then left," the SEAL wrote. "I did not notice anything wrong with the detainee and he appeared in good health."

Lt. Col. Holly Silkman, spokeswoman for the special operations component of U.S. Central Command, confirmed Tuesday to FoxNews.com that three SEALs have been charged in connection with the capture of a detainee. She said their court martial is scheduled for January.

United States Central Command declined to discuss the detainee, but a legal source told FoxNews.com that the detainee was turned over to Iraqi authorities, to whom he made the abuse complaints. He was then returned to American custody. The SEAL leader reported the charge up the chain of command, and an investigation ensued.

The source said intelligence briefings provided to the SEALs stated that "Objective Amber" planned the 2004 Fallujah ambush, and "they had been tracking this guy for some time."
...

The four Blackwater agents were transporting supplies for a catering company when they were ambushed and killed by gunfire and grenades. Insurgents burned the bodies and dragged them through the city. They hanged two of the bodies on a bridge over the Euphrates River for the world press to photograph.
...

Why the charges were even given serious consideration is beyond me!  A punch doesn't even come into the same galaxy as the murder, burning, mutilation, and dragging bodies through the streets.

Interesting how the prisoner, after being turned over to Iraqi authorities, then made the abuse complaint.  I bet he did that so he could get returned to American custody, knowing full well that his imprisonment would go far better with the U.S. than with the Iraqis.

Homegrown Terror Found in Philly

Another case of federal authorities setting up schemes and netting terrorists in Philadelphia.  From the AP (emphasis added):

Grand Jury Indicts Four Men for Alleged Plot to Support Hezbollah

A grand jury in Philadelphia indicted four men Tuesday for an alleged plot to support the Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah through illegal schemes, including buying the group more than a thousand machine guns.

The indictment comes just a day after officials in Philadelphia said they disrupted a similar scheme to acquire anti-aircraft missiles and send them to Syria — though in that case, authorities have yet to accuse anyone of trying to help a specific terror group.

The indictment filed Tuesday says two suspects sought to provide roughly 1,200 Colt M4 machine guns to Hezbollah, but their efforts were thwarted by an undercover operative. The plotters allegedly sought to purchase the weapons in Philadelphia and ship them to a port in Syria where they would eventually be routed to Hezbollah.

The indictment charges eight others with lesser offenses related to schemes to traffic in stolen or counterfeit goods.

In total, authorities say 13 suspects are in custody and 11 more are being sought.

...

In the case announced Monday, federal authorities said a separate scheme to transport stolen cell phones, laptops and video game systems grew into a plot to ship anti-aircraft missiles to Syria.  According to court documents, the chief suspect in that case — who was arrested Saturday — paid $20,000 cash to an undercover operative in July as a deposit on machine guns and shoulder-fired Stinger missiles, and traveled to Philadelphia last week to inspect the merchandise.

I'm sure the MSM will ignore this, chalking it up to exaggeration and fear-mongering on the part of the federal government.  There's no real danger out there, right folks?

The Alavi Foundation: Ties between Iran, Clinton, and U.S. Universities

The month of November has seen some fascinating developments come to light, showing that an Islamic foundation, allegedly linked to the Iranian government, has made generous donations to several U.S. universities and one "infamous" foundation -- The William J. Clinton Foundation.

Background on The Alavi Foundation

The Alavi Foundation is a New York-based non-profit that claims to devote itself to promoting Islam and the Persian language and culture, contributing millions to schools, mosques, and Islamic center [source].  For years, it has been under FBI surveillance for alleged ties to Iran, resulting in the FBI and federal prosecutors filing a civil claim on Nov. 12th seeking forfeiture of Alavi's $650 million in assets, among which are a Manhattan skyscraper and various properties in the states of Maryland, Texas, Virginia, and California. Four mosques are included in the seizure.  In addition, Alavi's president Farshid Jahedi was indicted on charges of destroying documents related to a grand jury investigation.  [Source]

Alavi's Donations

In December 2008, The foundation donated between $25,000 and $50,000 to the William J. Clinton Foundation.  Rachel Ehrenfeld of Forbes creates an interesting timeline of Iran's interactions with the U.S. government and its donation to the Clinton foundation (emphasis added):

Clinton's Iranian Connection 

On Dec. 19, 2008, at 2 p.m., the New York-based Alavi Foundation, which supports Iranian causes, contributed between $25,000 and $50,000 to the William J. Clinton Foundation. This can be best described as the ultimate chutzpah, for on the very same day, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York indicted the president of the Alavi Foundation, Farshid Jahedi, "on a charge of obstruction of justice for allegedly destroying documents required to be produced under a grand jury subpoena concerning the Alavi Foundation's relationship with Bank Melli Iran and the ownership of a Manhattan office building."

Alavi's contribution to Clinton came just two days after the Treasury Department also designated Alavi's partner, the New York-based ASSA Corp., as a terrorist entity, and the New York Southern District's attorney seized and forfeited its assets. According to the Treasury Department, "Assa ... continued to provide services to Bank Melli by maintaining Melli's interest in 650 Fifth Avenue Co. and transferring income from 650 Fifth Avenue Co. to Bank Melli." ASSA owned 650 Fifth Avenue Co. together with the Alavi Foundation. Incredibly, the government seized only 40% of the 36-story building controlled by ASSA, leaving the Alavi Foundation in charge of the remaining 60%.

• Rutgers University: Between 2005 and 2007, Rutgers has received $351,600 from the Alavi Foundation.  From The NY Post (emphasis added):

Between 2005 and 2007, the Alavi Foundation donated $351,600 to the Rutgers Persian language program, a spokesman for the school acknowledged. The university would not comment further.
...

"This is all about Iran laundering their policies through academe," said Michael Rubin, an Iran expert at the American Enterprise Institute think tank. "And the ivory tower is prostituting itself for money."

But Amirahmadi disagreed. "Grants from Alavi are made to the universities, not to the professors," he told The Post.

• Columbia University: received $100,000 from Alavi after its highly controversial 2007 agreement to host Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  Columbia drew heavy criticism when John Coatsworth, the dean of the School of International and Public Affairs, said that just about anyone, except for leaders of countries at war with the U.S., would be invited to speak at Columbia -- even pre-WWII Hitler.  Oddly, this is the same campus that has banned the ROTC and has invited and uninvited Jim Gilchrist of the Minutemen Project [source].

Other universities that have received donations from Alavi are Harvard, Portland State [source], and Sacred Heart [source].


Could this Iranian-linked "charitable" foundation been paying universities to ally themselves with Iran's causes?  Isabel Vincent of The New York Post thinks the deep-pocketed organization has aggressively bought sympathetic professors:

UNIVERSITIES FOR SALE
The Alavi Foundation — a charity that law-enforcement officials believe is a front for the Iranian government — has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund professorships at Columbia and Rutgers universities. These professors have been apologists for the Iranian government:

Gary Sick, professor, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia: He [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] made it very clear that, whether he is talking about ‘wiping Israel off the map,’ or ‘erased from the pages of time,’ or whatever the quote is, what he means is that there should be a free referendum among the peoples of the Palestine that existed to the partition in 1948 to vote about the kind of a government they should have. He is confident that, in a free vote, Israel and Israelis would lose that vote and it would turn out to be something else: a unitary state, probably run by the Palestinians.
 
Hooshang Amirahmadi, director, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Rutgers: Unfortunately, a large part of the problems between Iran and the US are not based in reality, but are based on myths. The problem of terrorism is a true myth. Iran has not been involved in any terrorist organization. Neither Hezbollah nor Hamas are terrorist organizations . . . The Iranian president’s problem is with Israel, not with America.

Hamid Dabashi, professor of Iranian studies and comparative literature, Columbia: That monstrosity that [director Zack] Snyder pictures [in his film “300”] marching towards Thermopylae is the American empire — and that band of brothers that stood up to that monstrosity are those resisting this empire: They are the Iraqi resistance, the Palestinians, Hezbollah.

The Alavi Foundation: Scrutinized for Years

Amidst accusations that the foundation is doing Iran's bidding here in the U.S. and that it is essentially controlled by Tehran, many are shocked at how the group could own such huge property right in downtown New York City, despite the questions that have circled around Alavi for years.  From FoxNews:

In 2002, David Cohen, a former top level CIA official and current chief of intelligence for the NYPD, claimed in a court document that "The Alavi Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization ostensibly run by an independent board of directors but totally controlled by the government of Iran ." He also claimed the foundation "funds a variety of Anti-American causes."  ...

In May, the District Attorney of Manhattan, Robert Morganthau, testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He told Chairman Senator John Kerry that "we were looking at the Alavi Foundation, this major Iranian foundation in New York and found money going to suspect people, and then we were looking at their banking transactions."

In December, the FBI carted out 100 boxes of records from Alavi's headquarters, all part of an investigation that has ensnared the foundation's former president, Farshid Jahedi. He is a 54-year-old executive who was ordered by prosecutors not to destroy any documents relating to the federal investigation in December. But prosecutors say that instead, he shredded paperwork involving Assa and the Fifth Avenue building, and dumped the torn documents in a garbage can in his hometown of Ardsley, N.Y. He apparently didn't know that the FBI was watching.

Jahedi has been charged with obstruction of justice. His lawyer, Barry Berke, protests his innocence, saying his client couldn't have been obstructing justice because federal prosecutors have copies of the material Jahedi was allegedly trying to destroy. "Mr. Jahedi did not have the intent to obstruct an investigation," he told the court, "because the documents allegedly destroyed contained information that is identical to the documents" authorities have.

The above article has a link for downloading Alavi's tax records.  

Other resources:
• More info on the Jahedi indictment here and here

• The FBI's webpage regarding its seeking of assets forfeiture, making connections between Iranian government and Alavi as well as detailing more on Jahedi's involvement here.
• Information regarding Alavi from The Terror Finance Blog

The Wilding of Sarah Palin: The Liberals' Public Rape of Palin

American Thinker today has a very gritty op piece posted by Robin of Berkeley, described as a psychotherapist and "a recovering liberal." Her words so incisively explain what I have always felt about both Hillary Clinton's and Sarah Palin's treatment in the press ... most ironically among Liberals (emphasis added):

What finally woke me up were the utterances of "bitch," "witch," and "monster" toward Hillary Clinton and her supporters early last year. I was shocked into reality: the trash-talk wasn't coming from conservatives, but from male and female liberals.   

I finally beheld what my eyes had refused to see: that leftists are Mr. and Ms. Misogyny. Neither the males nor the females care a whit about women.

Women are continually sacrificed on the altar of political correctness. If under radical Islam women are enshrouded and stoned and beheaded, so be it. 

My other epiphanies: those ponytailed guys were marching for abortion rights not because they cherished women's reproductive freedom, but to keep women available for free and easy sex.  

And the eagerness for women to make good money? If women work hard, leftist men don't have to.  

Then along came Sarah, and the attacks became particularly heinous. And I realized something even more chilling about the Left. Leftists not only sacrifice and disrespect women, but it's far worse: many are perpetuators.

The Left's behavior towards Palin is not politics as usual. By their laser-focus on her body and her sexuality, leftists are defiling her. 

They are wilding her. And they do this with the full knowledge and complicity of the White House.

The Left has declared war on Palin because she threatens their existence. Liberals need women dependent and scared so that women, like blacks, will vote Democrat. 

A strong, self-sufficient woman, Palin eschews liberal protection. Drop her off in the Alaskan bush and she'll survive just fine, thank you very much. Palin doesn't need or want anything from liberals -- not hate crimes legislation that coddles her, and not abortion, which she abhors.

Palin is a woman of deep and abiding faith. She takes no marching orders from messiah-like wannabes like Obama. 

And so the Left must try to destroy her. And they are doing this in the most malicious of ways: by symbolically raping her.

Just like a perpetuator, they dehumanize her by objectifying her body. They undress her with their eyes.

They turn her into a piece of ass.

Liberals do this by calling her a c__t,  ogling her legs, demeaning her with names like "slutty flight attendant" and "Trailer Park Barbie," and exposing her flesh on the cover of Newsweek.

And from Atlantic Magazine's Andrew Sullivan: "Sarah Palin's vagina is the font of all evil in the galaxy."

Nothing is off-limits, not actress Sandra Bernhard's wish that Palin be gang-raped or the sexualization of Palin's daughters.

As every woman knows, leering looks, lurid words, and veiled threats are intended to evoke terror. Sexual violence is a form of terrorism. 

...

The wilding of any woman is reprehensible. But defiling a mother of five with a babe in her arms, and a grandmother to boot, is particularly obscene. It is, of course, Palin's unapologetic motherhood that fuels the leftist fire.

Because as a mother and a fertile woman, Palin is as close to the sacred as a person gets. She is not just politically pro-life. Her whole being emanates life, which is a stark contrast to the darkness of the Left, the life-despoilers.  

These "progressives" are so alienated from the sacred that they perceive nothing as sacred. And they will destroy anyone whose goodness shines a mirror on their pathology. The spiritually barren must annihilate the vital and the fertile.

It has been almost two years since I woke up and broke up with liberalism. During these many months, I've discovered that everything I believed was wrong.

But the biggest shock of all has been realizing that the Democratic Party is hardly an oasis for women. Now that it has been infiltrated by the hard Left, it's a dangerous place for women, children, and other living things. 

In the wilding of Sarah Palin, the Left shows its true colors. Rather than shield the vulnerable, leftists will mow down any man, woman, or child who gets in their way. Instead of a movement of hope and change, it is a cauldron of hate.

Amen, Robin of Berkeley!!  Be sure to read the whole posting -- it's excellent!

Global Warming: Iowahawk's Mockumentary

Iowahawk is always good for some belly laughs

Iowahawk Geographic: The Secret Life of Climate Researchers

Narrator
Our very planet depends on them. Yet they remain nature's most elusive scientific species, inhabiting some of the world's most delicate and daunting academic environments. But thanks to new breakthroughs in high speed cameras and email files, metascientists are finally beginning to understand their mysterious behaviors and complex social interactions. Tonight on Iowahawk Geographic: step inside the Secret Life of the Climate Researchers.

French Horn Fanfare Theme

Fast-cut montage of walrus mating with polar bear, astronomer peering through telescope into neighbor's window, cheetahs chasing penguins on the Serengeti, scientists filling out NSF grant proposals

Dah dat dat DAAAH dat, dah daht duh dah dee-dah dee dah-dah!

Narrator
This is the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom, home of one of the largest nesting populations of climate scientists in Europe.

Gentle ant's-eye scene of idyllic campus lawn, strewn about with drunken mating undergraduates

Each year it attracts magnificent migratory flocks of graduate students, adjuncts and visiting faculty from across the northern hemisphere.

Shots of jumbo jets landing at Heathrow; herds of climate researchers busily milling at Duty Free shops, retrieving baggage, phoning for prearranged limo service

Within minutes of arriving on campus, the migratory researchers approach the entrance of the Climate Research Unit and perform the secret credential dance, fiercely displaying their prominent curriculum vitae. This signals to the security drone that they can be trusted with the sacred electronic lanyard badge that will grant them entrance to the hive's inner sanctum.  

During the upcoming research season, this hive alone will produce over 6 million metric tons of grant-sustaining climate data guano, but until recently little was known about the elusive genus of homo scientifica living inside. Where do they come from? What strange force draws them here year after year? In order to unravel the mystery, Iowahawk Geographic documentary filmmaker David Burge undertook a painstaking one-week project to finally capture the climate researchers in their native habitat.

In this exclusive footage, Burge warily approaches the hive's security drone, disguising himself as smelly graduate student. Burge has theorized that as a member of the lowest stratum in the hive's social system, the drone likely enjoys partying. He reaches into his backpack and offers the drone a pint of Guinness and a small bag of weed in exchange for the hive's internal security tapes and email files. Success.

The never-before seen security tapes obtained by Burge provide a rare glimpse into the inner working of the climate research hive and its amazing guano production. In this sequence, we see one group of researchers entering the hive each carrying a datum they have retrieved from a distant climate measuring station. This is the cause of much excitement among their colleagues, who buzz around in a grant-writing frenzy.

Infrared heat map film of highly agitated researchers

But there's a problem: as the worker researchers attempt to store each raw datum into the neat honeycomb hockey stick structure provided by the hive's Alpha Grantwriter, they discover that few will fit. The infrared shows them growing cool with fear. This signals the climate researcher's instinctive behavior to begin viciously beating, rolling and normalizing the data into submission. According to Dr. Nigel V.H. Oldham, professor emeritus at Oxford University's Centre for Metascience, this violent data dance is what makes climate researchers unique among breeds of scientists.

Professor Nigel V.H. Oldham
Like other species in the order homo scientifica, the climate researcher gathers and organizes data to lure grant money to the hive. In contrast to those other species, however, the climate researcher has evolved a set of complex violent behaviors to insure any data leaving the hive is perfectly adapted to nature's most lucrative and sweetest grants. It really is a marvel of natural selection, and explains why the climate researcher continues to thrive in any kind of weather condition.

NarratorMany of those behaviors are on display in the security film, as we see a sexless group of drone graduate students processing a raw datum with saliva, sawdust and Fortran code. After each iteration the time series is presented to the Alpha Grantwriter to see if fits inside his graph. Several graduate drones die of exhaustion, but the data eventually fit the template.

Next the Alpha Grantwriter flies to an international climate research conference with the completed PowerPoint template, where he will share his guano with other Alpha Grantwriters over cocktails in the hotel lounge. This is a process metascientists refer to as "peer review."

Professor Nigel V.H. Oldham
Among climate researchers, peer review seems to serve three purposes. First, it rewards the hives that have the most successful data torturers. Second it singles out mutant hives for elimination. Third, it allows the Alpha Grantwriters to expense drinks.

Narrator
The Alpha Grantwriter in our hive has been very successful indeed. He has earned three publications, a keynote address, and attracts the attention of a suitor from the symbiotic grant-giving predator genus Lucra Ecologica Hysterica. The suitor's grant bags are bulging with carbon credits and tax revenues harvested using the hive's last graphs, and the pair once again engage in their annual cross-pollination ritual. They relax with a cigarette, and return to their respective hives: the Grantwriter with fresh money, the Grantgiver to Washington or Brussels with new carbon tax proposals. The circle of life is completed.

But life is not always so easy inside the hive of the climate researcher. Occasionally the sanctity of the hive is breached by a predator from the species Methodica Skeptica Scientifica, who threatens the hive with demands to see their raw data.

security film of ominous skeptic infiltrating the hive

In this rare footage, the invading skeptic is repelled by a swarm of drones before he can reach the entombed data. He makes another attempt, but the Alpha Grantwriter has called in reinforcements from the grantgiver hive and the New York Times.

Climate Researchers
Hissssss hisssssss hisssssssss

Narrator
The ear-piercing screech of the swarm warns the intruder that they will cut off his peer review unless he retreats.  But the the hungry skeptic is not so easily dissuaded, and returns to the hive with a Freedom of Information Act form demanding a copy of the hive's raw data.

This sends the climate researcher drones into a wild frenzy as they scramble to find and conceal the scent of the preprocessed data. To bide time the Alpha Grantwriter offers the skeptic a copy of the hockey stick graph. The skeptic threatens a lawsuit with his stinger. Thinking quickly, the Alpha Grantwriter performs an elaborate dance, communicating that the original data has been eaten, possibly by graduate drone. He presents the skeptic with the dead bodies of 10 drones as a peace offering.

Finally stymied in his efforts to reach the data, the skeptic flies away. The hive lives on.

Professor Nigel V.H. Oldham
The climate researcher is in some sense a milestone in evolutionary biology. Ever since Darwin, we have understood that a particular species adapts to its environmental reality. Now for the first time, we are seeing evidence that environmental reality is adapting to a particular species. It's not really rocket science. Well okay, I suppose it's really not science at all.

NarratorJoin us next time on Iowahawk Geographic, when we go in search of the outer limits of the economic galaxy with "Stimulus-X: The Black Hole of the Beltway."

Be sure to check out his spoof of Newsweek's "Headlines Roundup" that follows where Iowahawk skewers the Ft. Hood murderer Hasan and all the nitwits who tried to explain away his actions.

Global Warming: "Hide the Decline"

Minnesotans for Global Warming have created a funny video "tribute" to the current global warming scandal (tip from Noel Sheppard of Newsbusters.org):

Obama's Thanksgiving Dinner: So Much for Bi-Partisanship!

At this point, the White House has not officially released its guest list for Thanksgiving dinner; however, word has begun leaking out with regards to who is not invited -- leading Republican lawmakers.  Here's the story from The Washington Times (emphasis added):

Top Republican lawmakers not invited to State dinner

While the White House is mum about who will be among the 300 or so lucky invitees to President Obama's first state dinner Tuesday night, word is already leaking out about who's not on the A-list.
Chief among the non-attendees: top Republican lawmakers. 

House Minority Leader John A. Boehner won't be there; he's on Thanksgiving break and home in Ohio. His deputy, Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, also didn't get an invitation to the dinner.

The president didn't invite his 2008 rival, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, even though Mr. Obama the candidate pledged a post-partisan presidency. 

Most senators will be back in their home states during the holiday break, and few Republicans want to return to Washington for a party packed with Democrats. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell received an invitation but decided to skip the dinner.

"Sen. McConnell is with his constituents this week and will be at Kentucky events tomorrow and tomorrow night," Don Stewart, the senator's communications director, said Monday.

Some top Democrats also found themselves out of the loop. Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, who turned out to be a pivotal player in Saturday's health care vote, didn't rate an invitation. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana, who wrote the first draft of the bill, also didn't get the vaunted engraved invitation to the black-tie dinner.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Democrat turned independent who will be crucial to the fate of health care reform, won't be attending the dinner. He prefers to stay in Connecticut.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was invited to Monday night's session in the White House Situation Room to discuss Afghanistan but not to the dinner on Tuesday. Although Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will be there, her husband, Bill - a fierce Obama critic during his wife's campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination - will not. 

There's much speculation about who will attend. According to rumors, talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, who endorsed Mr. Obama during the campaign, will be attending. Reports emerged Monday that Hollywood will be in the house: DreamWorks partners David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, along with Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman Michael Lynton and WME Entertainment Agency co-CEO Ari Emanuel, will attend, according to deadline.com.

Fascinating how it's rumored (again, I emphasize "rumored") that top Hollywood folks are invited, such as Oprah and movieproducers and exectuives.   I wonder if Obama's guest list will be made up of those "useful idiots" who will help crank out yet more "we-love-Obama" proganda in order to keep the people hopeful.  I wonder if some of his questionable associates will be attending as well.

Who knows ... maybe the Right is being defensive and too quickly jumping to conclusions.  Maybe it's Obama's inability to make a decision that's delayed the release of the guest list.  Perhaps he's meeting with advisors and seeking their input before making such touch choices.  I wonder, then, if the dinner will be delayed more than the near 90 days it's taking Dear Leader to decide on Afghanistan.

St. Louis Tea Party: This Saturday, Nov. 28th!!

This Saturday's Tea Party Line-Up continues to grow.  Here are the latest developments from Bill Hennessy of the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition:

Let Off Some Steam Tea Party Lineup

by Bill Hennessy on November 23, 2009 · 0 Comments
in Headline

Your hard work all summer deserves some love from national celebrities and experts–from people who really know to turn on a crowd. We didn’t really go out and get these people as much as they came in and got us.

We have GIGANTIC names in

• Hard core SUPPORT THE TROOPS
• Brilliant analysis CAP AND TRADE DEBUNKING
• Internationally known CORRUPTION BUSTER
• St. Louis’s own Tea Party Line-up

So, are you READY FOR THE NAMES??????

Pat Dollard has spent a huge chunk of his adult life living in combat zones.  His documentary movie “Young Americans” premieres on Thanksgiving Day.  He’s here in St. Louis to tell the Tea Party about the men and women on the front lines of the war on terror, the dedication and terror they face, and the Hollywood left who HATE DOLLARD for LOVING WARRIORS.  In his own words:

Pat Dollard:  “Young Americans“

I had about 15 employees, a wife, a daughter, and no one believed I was going to lock horns with Al Qaeda, especially because my only motivations were to keep more American civilians from dying, and to honor those who were already risking their lives for that very reason. Who does such a thing? But go I did, and like Kurtz, when I got back from the first three months, I sold the house, sold the kids, sold the car. Well, not the car. I love my H2. But I got out of the Hollywood agenting game, at a cost of about $10,000,000.00 in future income. And I had no savings. But I had to go back, to finish the work, to finish the story. There was nothing in the civilian world that provided the same sense of purpose. There was never a time when I felt like my life had much of a purpose, other than making money and indulging myself. Except for parenting. But some of us find jobs to be done that demand we not be home. I did.

Pat Dollard’s ACTIVE action teams have been INSTRUMENTAL in St. Louis’s summer of resistance.  Let’s thank Pat for his work for the troops and his work for freedom.

Mike Carey

Being the true advocate he is Mr. Carey most recently helped form American Council for Affordable and Reliable Energy (ACARE) in 2009 when he saw that misinformation and lies were beginning to shape the political landscape on coal and global warming.  Mr. Carey knows firsthand the importance of reliable and affordable energy and what it means to getting our economy back on track.

Prior to joining the Ohio Coal Association, Mr. Carey has served both as a staff member and as a volunteer for several officials.  Mr. Carey held several staff positions in Congressional offices, where he acted as a liaison between the office and other government agencies and was responsible for management of the district staff.

From 1989-1999 Mr. Carey served the United States as an officer with the United States Army Reserves.  His education includes a Bachelor of Arts in History from The Ohio State University and Associate of Science Degree in Economics from the Marion Military Institute.

James O’Keefe

James O’Keefe is an investigative journalist and filmmaker. He filmed and produced a 2009 investigative report that helped expose corruption within ACORN, including ACORN employees providing individuals they believed to be involved in an international under-age prostitution scheme with advice on how to break the law. Congress voted to defund ACORN shortly after the videos were released.

James began his career as a journalist as the founder and editor-in-chief of The Centurion at Rutgers University. He has helped start over a dozen campus newspapers nationwide. His past projects include an investigation of Planned Parenthood, where his reporting exposed the organization’s willingness to ignore apparent instances of statutory rape and eugenics-based racism. He is currently working at VeritasVisuals.com and blogs at BigGovernment.com.’

Stephanie Rubach, Nurse and Activist

Stephanie Rubach has become the free market start of the healthcare debate in the St. Louis area this summer.  Most recently, Stephanie addressed the Million Med March in Clayton, Mo, on November 21.

Stephanie will share her perspective with the St. Louis Tea Partiers on Saturday, November 28, in Kiener Plaza.

PLUS . . .

Conservative activist Jay Steward, Activist and Business Owner Dave McArthur, Dana Loesch, Jim Hoft, Dr. Gina Loudon, and master of ceremonies, Bill Hennessy.