Oabama's AP team faults Palin for something she never claimed

Meltdown at full speed. From Obama's team at Associated Press. Gov. Palin went to visit Alaska National Guard troops in Kuwait and went to the border. She never claimed to have entered Iraq. But the AP is wetting their pants because "unnamed aides" say she did. Her people who speak on the record say she didn't enter Iraq. And Gov. Palin made no such claim. There is nothing here. See for yourself. Obama camp suggests lies over Palin visit to Iraq - USATODAY.com:

The newspaper said unnamed aides initially explained that Palin had visited a "military outpost" inside Iraq. The Globe said campaign aides and members of the Alaska National Guard subsequently explained that she did not venture beyond the Iraq/Kuwait border when she visited the Khabari Alawazem Crossing on July 25, 2007. Lt. Col. Dave Osborn, commander of the 3d Battalion, 207th Infantry of the Alaska National Guard, who was in charge of the 570 local troops serving in Kuwait and Iraq, said Palin did not cross in Iraq.

Unknown Hero of Democracy - Gene Sharp

A hero of democracy I hadn't heard of - American Gene Sharpe. He has done enough good to be high on the enemies list of all the dictators. American Revolutionary - WSJ.com:

In February, the Iranian government showed a fictionalized video on the dangers of foreign plots against the state. One of its stars: a mysterious American named Gene Sharp. In June 2007, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez publicly accused Mr. Sharp of stirring unrest in Venezuela. Last year in Vietnam, authorities arrested several opposition activists who were distributing a book written by Mr. Sharp. In 2005, fires destroyed two Moscow bookstores selling Russian translations of the same book. The target of all this intrigue and animosity is 80 years old and slightly stooped. He walks with a cane. Working from a modest house in East Boston, Mr. Sharp is nearly unknown to the U.S. public. But he is despised by many authoritarian regimes and respected by opposition activists around the globe. Mr. Sharp has had broad influence on international events over the past two decades, helping to advance a global democratic awakening. An aging academic, Mr. Sharp says he has no links with the government or any intelligence agency. He responded to Mr. Chavez's speech with an open letter suggesting that if the president is concerned about being overthrown, he should read "The Anti-Coup," a booklet Mr. Sharp co-authored. Spread via the Internet, word-of-mouth and seminars, Mr. Sharp's writings on nonviolent resistance have been studied by opposition activists in Zimbabwe, Burma, Russia, Venezuela and Iran, among others. His 1993 guide to unseating despots, "From Dictatorship to Democracy," has been translated into at least 28 languages and was used by movements that toppled governments in Serbia, Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan.

Wikipedia says his prime interest was nonviolence.

Obama mocks McCain because war injuries prevent him from typing

The Corner on National Review Online: Yep. The day after 9/11, as part of its "get tough" makeover, the Obama campaign is mocking John McCain for not using a computer, without caring why he doesn't use a computer. From the AP story about the computer illiterate ad:

"Our economy wouldn't survive without the Internet, and cyber-security continues to represent one our most serious national security threats," [Obama spokesman Dan] Pfeiffer said. "It's extraordinary that someone who wants to be our president and our commander in chief doesn't know how to send an e-mail."

Well, I guess it depends on what you mean by "extraordinary." The reason he doesn't send email is that he can't use a keyboard because of the relentless beatings he received from the Viet Cong in service to our country. From the Boston Globe (March 4, 2000):

McCain gets emotional at the mention of military families needing food stamps or veterans lacking health care. The outrage comes from inside: McCain's severe war injuries prevent him from combing his hair, typing on a keyboard, or tying his shoes. Friends marvel at McCain's encyclopedic knowledge of sports. He's an avid fan - Ted Williams is his hero - but he can't raise his arm above his shoulder to throw a baseball.

In a similar vein I guess it's an outrage that the blind governor of New York David Patterson doesn't know how to drive a car. After all, transportation issues are pretty important. How dare he serve as governor while being ignorant of what it's like to navigate New York's highways.

Remember we were attacked on September 11

We were attacked on September 11. Let's not forget it. They attacked Washington, DC and New York City because they are our capital and financial center. They attacked American and United Airlines because they are the US's largest airlines. The attackers were far-from-impoverished Muslims mostly from Saudi Arabia. Their Muslim faith drove them to plan to kill and to face their victims and kill in cold blood. Not all of Islam kills, but their faith was definitely involved. We need to remember those who died: mostly Americans, but many were Americans from other countries. And to remember those who killed and why. The phrase I most object to is "Islam is a religion of peace." It has proven over and over that it is a religion of war. A memorial to the victims of the attack on the Pentagon will be dedicated today.

To end having to evacuate for every hurricane

Move! And stop making me pay for your folly.

Law enforced against Rangel?

Do our tax laws apply to powerful Democrats? Maybe. But the penalties applied to you and me don't, his high-paid lawyer explains. RANGEL HAS A BAD CHAIR DAY - New York Post:

Embattled Harlem Congressman Charles Rangel is facing possible ouster from his powerful committee chairmanship as he scrambles to file new tax returns in a desperate bid to hold on to his job. The amended returns will reflect years of income he never bothered reporting from renting out his beachfront Caribbean villa, his lawyer said yesterday. House Republicans yesterday pushed Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to dump Rangel as head of the Ways & Means Committee, which writes the nation's tax laws. "Given Chairman Rangel's continuing ethical lapses, he cannot effectively carry out his duties," nine GOPers wrote to Pelosi. "It is in the best interest of the public and this representative institution for Rep. Rangel to step down from his chairmanship until his ethical issues have been resolved." Rangel, a 19-term Democrat, plans a news conference today to announce he'll submit amended federal, state and city tax returns, according to lawyer Lanny Davis.

With Lanny Davis is his corner you know he is one of the most partisan Demos. And crimes are defended by leadership, of course:

Pelosi defended Rangel. "The American people would be better served if Republicans would stop playing politics and allow the bipartisan Ethics Committee to do its job," said her spokesman, Brendan Daly.

We also want to hear more about his four (4) rent-controlled apartments.

Big-time Dem gets it - Palin floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee

This is the real Willie Brown. He is very liberal and very partisan, but still has a fun spunk in his words. He was the powerful speaker of the California state assembly until he was term limited, then mayor of San Francisco. He is totally establishment. If Willie Brown says they are in trouble, they really are. Palin floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee - San Francisco Chronicle

The Democrats are in trouble. Sarah Palin has totally changed the dynamics of this campaign. Period. Palin's speech to the GOP National Convention on Wednesday has set it up so that the Republicans are now on offense and Democrats are on defense. And we don't do well on defense. Suddenly, Palin and John McCain are the mavericks and Barack Obama and Joe Biden are the status quo, in a year when you don't want to be seen as defending the status quo. From taxes to oil drilling, Democrats are now going to have to start explaining their positions. Whenever you start having to explain things, you're on defense. I actually went back and watched Palin's speech a second time. I didn't go to sleep until 1:30 a.m. I had to make sure I got the lines right. Her timing was exquisite. She didn't linger with applause, but instead launched into line after line of attack, slipping the knives in with every smile and joke. And she delivered it like she was just BS-ing on the street with the meter maid. She didn't have to prove she was "of the people." She really is the people.

Thailand president kicked out due to cooking show on TV

This is not Scrappleface or the Onion. Thailand's prime minister forced to resign over TV cooking show - Los Angeles Times: BANGKOK, Thailand -- Thailand's prime minister was forced to resign along with his Cabinet on Tuesday after the Constitutional Court ruled that he had violated the constitution by hosting TV cooking shows. His supporters vowed to bring him back to power, indicating that Thailand is still not free from its deep political crisis that has virtually paralyzed the government, spooked the financial markets and scared away tourists. "The defendant has violated Article 267 of the constitution, and his position as prime minister has ended," the head of the nine-judge panel, Chat Chonlaworn, said. He said the Cabinet will remain in a caretaker position until a new administration is installed. The judgment, broadcast live on television and radio, was greeted with loud cheers and claps from Samak's opponents who have occupied his office compound since Aug. 26 to demand his resignation. Samak, a self-proclaimed foodie, hosted a popular television cooking show -- "Tasting and Complaining" -- for seven years before becoming prime minister. But he also made several appearances after taking office, breaking a constitutional prohibition on private employment while in office.

Barack's berserkers lost the plot

This is choice. Here are some highlights, but read the whole thing.  From Nick Cohen in the UK. The Observer (UK)

... Democrats had only to maintain their composure and the White House would be theirs. During the 1997 British general election, the late Lord Jenkins said that Tony Blair was like a man walking down a shiny corridor carrying a precious vase. He was the favourite and held his fate in his hands. If he could just reach the end of the hall without a slip, a Labour victory was assured. The same could have been said of the American Democrats last week. But instead of protecting their precious advantage, they succumbed to a spasm of hatred and threw the vase, the crockery, the cutlery and the kitchen sink at an obscure politician from Alaska. ... And everything that could go wrong with the campaign against Palin did. American liberals forgot that the public did not know her. By the time she spoke at the Republican convention, journalists had so lowered expectations that a run-of-the-mill speech would have been enough to win the evening. As it was, her family appeared on stage without a goitre or a club foot between them, and Palin made a fighting speech that appealed over the heads of reporters to the public we claim to represent. 'I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion,' she said as she deftly detached journalists from their readers and viewers. 'I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country.' English leftists made the same mistake of allowing their hatred to override their judgment after the Iraq war. If they had confined themselves to charging Tony Blair with failing to find the weapons of mass destruction he promised were in Iraq, and sending British troops into a quagmire, they might have forced him out. They were so consumed by loathing, however, they insisted that he had lied, which he clearly had not. They set the bar too low and Blair jumped it with ease. 'When a man believes that any stick will do, he at once picks up a boomerang,' said GK Chesterton, and when the politically committed go on a berserker you should listen for the sound of their own principles smacking them in the face.

UW endowment $2.7 billion; lobbying for tax dollars

University of Washington is lobbying for tax dollars to upgrade Husky Stadium. And using our tax dollars to pay a lobbyist $175 an hour to do it. Washington Policy Center But the UW has one of the largest endowments of any public university in the country. Why spend our tax dollars to try to get more tax dollars? Christine Gregoire at her best. UW mulls adding more slots for freshmen:

Amid the talk of enrollment needs and budget requests the UW's Board of Regents paused Thursday to acknowledge the culmination of an eight-year fundraising campaign that has bolstered the university's endowment to $2.68 billion.

Obama plans criminal charges for Bush

The end of two-party government? It is a wonder of the world when the losing political party hands over power to the winner without a fight. But Senators Obama and Biden plan to bring that strength of our republic to an end. Then intend to bring criminal charges against President Bush. "Not out of vengeance..." Big lie. Come on, Senator Joe, we can see your lips moving: you are lying. Guardian (UK)

September 3, 2008 - Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden said yesterday that he and running mate Barack Obama could pursue criminal charges against the Bush administration if they are elected in November. Biden's comments, first reported by ABC news, attracted little notice on a day dominated by the drama surrounding his Republican counterpart, Alaska governor Sarah Palin. But his statements represent the Democrats' strongest vow so far this year to investigate alleged misdeeds committed during the Bush years. "If there has been a basis upon which you can pursue someone for a criminal violation, they will be pursued," Biden said during a campaign event in Deerfield Beach, Florida, according to ABC. "[N]ot out of vengeance, not out of retribution," he added, "out of the need to preserve the notion that no one, no attorney general, no president -- no one is above the law."

There is are ways to hold the president accountable - elections and impeachment. You are way off base, Joe.

French minister finally admits defeat in battle against English

I attended a conference in Toulouse, France in 2000 that was entirely conducted in English. Even the vice-mayor of the city addressed our crowd in English. And that's when I learned one of the secrets of how the French and Germans were able to work together to make our competitor Airbus a success: They speak English in all meetings. Now France's top defender of la langue has admitted defeat. Daily Mail (UK) Online:

For generations, the French have fiercely guarded their language against the horreurs anglais. But France's education minister yesterday admitted for the first time that the secret to success is speaking better English. Xavier Darcos claimed poor English is now a 'handicap' because all international business is conducted in the language, and said French schools would offer extra lessons during the holidays. He also admitted that, because of globalisation, very few people outside France will being able to speak French in the future. Mr Darcos said he wanted to make it easier for all French students to learn English, saying that 'while well-off families pay for study sessions abroad, I'm offering them to everyone right here.'

Palin ran a state; Obama his own campaign

Poor Messiah Obama. He hasn't run anything. Nothing but his ego campaign.And he doesn't run that. He stays in front of the TV cameras while managers run his campaign. Budget: $30 million per month; about $360 million per year. Sarah Palin ran the state of Alaska the entire close-to 2 years Obama was running his own campaign. Alaka's budget: $11 billion per year. CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive

“My understanding is that Gov. Palin’s town, Wassilla, has I think 50 employees. We've got 2500 in this campaign. I think their budget is maybe 12 million dollars a year – we have a budget of about three times that just for the month,” Obama responded.

Note that he compares his experience to when she was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. Why not when she was governor? Because he loses big time. With her years of executive experience she is running for #2. Innocent Obama is running to be president.

Teacher strikes are illegal

State and local public employees, including teachers, have no legally protected right to strike. State statute establishes no specific penalties for unlawful public employee strikes; in some cases, courts may grant injunctive relief to prevent or end unlawful strikes. The Legislature could enact laws establishing penalties for unlawful public employee strikes, provided that such laws are consistent with protected free speech and other state and federal constitutional rights. Washington Attorney General Rob McKennal

But there is one large problem. There is no cost to the striking teachers. They still get full pay, because the school year must be 180 days. They lose some of their summer, but none of their pay.

Surging B.C. glacier threatens to block river

HIde the news that doesn't fit your story. Here is a computer-generated 50,000-foot view of the Alsek River, just west of Glacier Bay Natonal Park. Canada.com:

A mammoth-sized glacier is dangerously on the move in remote northwestern B.C., threatening to seal off the Alsek River and create a lake that would ultimately burst and pose a flood hazard to rafters and anyone else downstream. Glaciers are supposed to be receding in this era of global warming. But a buildup of water beneath the Tweedsmuir Glacier is causing it to surge ahead at a rate of several metres a day. It is now midway across the Alsek River. "There is a reasonable chance this glacier will seal off the route of the Alsek," Garry Clarke, a professor of glaciology at the University of B.C., confirmed in an interview. "The end result has got to be a big flood. It would render the whole river downstream quite dangerous." Clarke visited the site as recently as Aug. 1 and said the glacier's 65-metre-high face is calving off pieces of ice which are being carried downstream to the Tatshenshini River. He figures it's just a matter of time before the volume of ice exceeds the river's ability to carry it away, creating a temporary lake upstream. Because ice floats, the lake would eventually tunnel underneath the glacier with a giant rush of water, known as a jökulhlaup to Icelanders. River rafters already must watch out for floating ice, and would have to get off the river entirely once a reservoir is formed. About 350 rafters, both private and commercial, travel the river system every year. Federal NDP leader Jack Layton took a guided trip in July. The Tatshenshini River flows into Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, where authorities are developing an emergency plan to ensure notification of about 50 rafters, hunters, fishermen, and park staff who could be at risk from a sudden flood.

B.C. natural gas finds exceed production

More good news. At the end of 2007 British Columbia, Canada, had more reserves of natural gas than at the beginning.

Solving two equation on the back of an envelope finds that British Columbia's 2007 production was about 27.3 billion cubic meters and new discoveries was 48.3 billion. On a flat line basis at the end of 2006 there was enough for 17 years like 2007. At the end of 2007 they had the reserves for 17.7 years.

Vancouver Sun:

Energy companies, in 2007, discovered almost twice the amount of natural gas as British Columbia produced during the year, raising provincial gas reserves to a new high. B.C. had almost 483 billion cubic metres of remaining raw gas reserves, compared with 462.4 billion cubic metres at the end of 2006, according to the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission's latest report on hydrocarbon and by-product reserves. Alex Ferguson, the commission's CEO, said high levels of exploration and technological improvements helped boost discoveries in 2007 that were 177 per cent in excess of natural gas production during the year.

No recession here - growth

Good news! The economic results have been updated: There was growth at 3.3 per cent in the second quarter. No recession. A recession is shrinking for two quarters in a row. For all the talk this has not happened; there has not been a recessions since President Clinton's last months in office. Did this lead the nightly news? Forbes.com: Digital Rules By Rich Karlgaard:

In case you missed this good news, the second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) was revised up, from 1.9% to 3.3%. Our friend Brian Wesbury was the only economist who got close to calling it. He had predicted 3%.

Back at work

I started back to work half time Monday 8/25. My energy is still low, so half time is all I can do. Today I put in 3 hours, then did my exercise and some errands. Then I needed 3 hours rest before I could do the last hour. I will continue part-time work until mid-November when Boeing's short-term leave will no longer provide help. I can now walk with full weight. But I have some pain and limp. (This is the most pain I have had since the day after surgery.) Getting even weight both walking and standing is high priority, so I use one crutch lightly loaded most of the time. I am still doing a bunch of exercises to help with range of motion and obscure little muscles no one knows exist. And for over a month I have been riding an exercise bike every other day at 70 to 80% max heart rate. It feels good to get some real exercise. I am doing everything I can for full recovery. I saw the orthopedic surgeon, but I didn't have my big picture questions ready. He told me no more check ups unless I have problems. So I didn't get to the questions I have been putting off to concentrate on more immediate concerns. - How much will I recover range of motion? - Will I be able to do big bike rides and rough hikes? I realize it's my problem and my recovery is up to me. The exercises the physical therapist has me doing will help with having the flexibility to handle rough ground and such. I just wish I had the road map. Thanks for your prayers and support. Broken pelvis

I would have made same mistake as Obama

Senator Barrack Obama gave up being president of the United States when he passed over the VP choice who would have helped him the most - Hillary Clinton. Millions of Democrat women are hopping mad over Hillary not being the nominee for president and doubly so for her not being the nominee for vice president. John McCain saw the opening Obama made and ran right through it, picking Governer Palin of Alaska to be his VP running mate. In his shoes I would have made the same mistake. Bill Clinton would not have let Obama do the job he was elected to. Clinton can't play second fiddle to anyone. Clinton would have been over Obama's shoulder every second of his 4-year term. I saw a cartoon showing Obama sitting at his desk in the oval office. But he can't do any work because Bill and Hillary are sitting on his knees doing the work and keeping him away. I too would rather lose than have to carry Bill Clinton on my shoulders for 4 years. I would have made the same mistake. It's going to be a long 10 weeks for Obambi. The media will make it look close, but it won't be. In 2004 the news media even manufactured polls showing a tie going into election day, when George W. Bush got 3 million more votes and the deciding state, Ohio, had a gap of over 100,000 votes.

Thermal storage of solar energy

The push for solar thermal | Videos on ZDNet: At the Intersolar Conference 2008 in San Francisco, Fred Morse, senior advisor at Abengoa Solar says, "Don't underestimate thermal storage." The veteran solar industry exec talks about the benefits of concentrating solar technologies and the reasons why utility companies are starting to back thermal storage. Convenience post.