ThinkFast AM: June 15, 2006
ThinkFast AM: June 15, 2006
The Pentagon reports the U.S. military death toll in Iraq has reached 2,500.
From 2000-2005, the 10 members of the House Ethics Committee and their aides “accepted about 400 such trips valued at nearly $1 million,” according to a new Center for Public Integrity Report. (The lawmakers spent the majority of the money.)
President Bush today “will create the world’s largest marine protected area,” a wildlife-rich collection of reefs and atolls that “will be larger than all of America’s national parks combined.” The decision “is a turnaround for the administration, which five years ago considered stripping more limited protections from the area.”
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) has been investigating “why FDA officials approved the sale of the antibiotic Ketek even after the government learned safety tests on the drug had been forged.” Yesterday federal health officials refused to give the senator information on the drug. “I smell a cover-up,” said Grassley.
“Emergency medical care in the United States is on the verge of collapse, with the nation’s declining number of emergency rooms dangerously overcrowded and often unable to provide the expertise needed to treat seriously ill people in a safe and efficient manner,” three new reports from the Institute of Medicine show.
“To me, the administration does not act like there’s a war going on,†Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest (R-MD) said yesterday. “The Congress certainly doesn’t act like there’s a war going on. If you’re raising money to keep the majority, if you’re thinking about gay marriage, if you’re doing all this other peripheral stuff, what does that say to the guy who’s about ready to drive over a land mine?â€
Yesterday, the Senate voted unanimously to “force President George W. Bush to submit a budget for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars instead of financing them in emergency bills that are pushed through Congress with minimal scrutiny.â€
George Washington University’s National Security Archive is suing the CIA over its “recent practice of charging Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) fees to journalists pursuing news.” Though journalists are supposed to be charged only copying fees, the CIA last year began charging additional fees if it felt the journalist’s request was “not newsworthy enough.”
And finally: A landmark victory for all American potbellied pig owners. The Colorado Springs City Council “has voted to allow potbellied pigs within the city limits in a 5-4 decision that came after a woman challenged a century-old swine ban in one of the state’s biggest cities.†Chrystal McEntee, who fought for the change said, “I’m going to go home and celebrate with my family.”
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments section.
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President Bush today “will create the world’s largest marine protected area,†a wildlife-rich collection of reefs and atolls that “will be larger than all of America’s national parks combined
If this is sincere, and not some neo-con definition for destroying more of the envorinment, by creating a cash cow for developers or something similar, then Bush will have, in 5.5 years accomplished one positive thing. But only one.
June 15th, 2006 at 9:19 amIf you’re raising money to keep the majority, if you’re thinking about gay marriage, if you’re doing all this other peripheral stuff, what does that say to the guy who’s about ready to drive over a land mine?â€
A Republican said this… Ouch!
Without the Democrats as real opposition, the Republican party is resorting to cannibalism…
June 15th, 2006 at 9:22 am#2
My take is that this is largely posturing for the November elections. But I’ll take any good news from this sh***y administration.
June 15th, 2006 at 9:23 amthe Senate voted unanimously to “force President George W. Bush to submit a budget for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars
This is a good news day for a change!
June 15th, 2006 at 9:24 amPresident Bush today “will create the world’s largest marine protected area,†a wildlife-rich collection of reefs and atolls that “will be larger than all of America’s national parks combined
The oil companies must have discovered that there is no oil in the that area.
June 15th, 2006 at 9:26 amMy take is that this is largely posturing for the November elections.
Of course…
But I’ll take any good news from this sh***y administration.
Comment by WC — June 15, 2006 @ 9:23 am
Perhaps why we aught to have elections for the reps more often… Keep them on guard and, for some of them, forthright…
June 15th, 2006 at 9:27 am#4
Yep…we’re 3 for 3. Creation of a wildlife refuge, Senate gets tough with Bush, and…drumroll, please….Bush apologizes for something within 24 hours.
June 15th, 2006 at 9:29 amZarqawi has been officially replaced. Didn’t take long… Like we said it wouldn’t. So, essentially, erasing the GOP’s “great victory” over the Taliban….
June 15th, 2006 at 9:31 amYesterday, the Senate voted unanimously to “force President George W. Bush to submit a budget for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars instead of financing them in emergency bills that are pushed through Congress with minimal scrutiny.â€
Oh, I’m sure of one thing: if Bush has to do the accountability, he will “forget” to include a lot of related spendings not directly under the Pentagon budget, as Blackwater and other mercenaries, compensations to the countries of the “Coalition of the Willing”, undercover payments to Haliburton and the likes, lawmakers at home doing trips and speeches all around the country to promote the war…
June 15th, 2006 at 9:31 amPerhaps why we aught to have elections for the reps more often… Keep them on guard and, for some of them, forthright…
Comment by unbelievable — June 15, 2006 @ 9:27 am
And maybe for president. Not long ago someone suggested that we have one 6 year term for the president, the reason being that with the current 2 term system, the president spends most if not all of his first term preparing for re-election.
June 15th, 2006 at 9:36 amI gots to get to EBBCOTT to see this pro tected Ma rine a re a.
June 15th, 2006 at 9:36 am#7
Well, maybe 4 for 4. Forgot about the potbellied pig owners.
June 15th, 2006 at 9:38 am#2
June 15th, 2006 at 9:39 am“Let them eat each other!”
#6
Unb,
Speaking of elections, in a couple of counties voting on Tuesday to select the Democratic challenger to Sen. George Allen from VA, barely over 1% of the registered voters in each area turned out. Sad.
June 15th, 2006 at 9:42 amgood news for swine/republicans in Colorado today!
June 15th, 2006 at 9:46 amthe president spends most if not all of his first term preparing for re-election.
Comment by WC — June 15, 2006 @ 9:36 am
That’s a valid point. The president does spend the first term trying to get re-elected. So, we could let them run again – just not consecutively. So that if someone wanted a second term, they’d be running while out of office.
We also have to remove the Corporate money from it. Let there be public funds and resources available – and modify the campaigning time allowed. In teh long run, we pay for it anyway, so why not let us have a voice in how much of our money thatcan be spent for campaigning. We have to make this less about ‘politics’ and more about doing the job. Maybe even require them to state their views on the issues and post them all on a website where even the busiest people could compare the candidates before voting (would have more informed voters).
I’m sure someone would eventually muck up this system. But that’s why the systems should evolve like everything else on the planet. If it works for billions of years of existence, it can’t be wrong for systems employed by those who exist.
June 15th, 2006 at 9:49 am, barely over 1% of the registered voters in each area turned out. Sad.
Comment by WC — June 15, 2006 @ 9:42 am
Oh yeah, we should have multiple day elections that include a Sunday when most people have the day off…
June 15th, 2006 at 9:52 amHere’s something I’d like to add to today’s ThinkFast. It’s on dailykos.com; I’m posting clips from the thread:
The latest glaring example of willful GOP ignorance also came to me from YK [YearlyKos]. Rep. Brad Miller, (D-North Carolina) told me about his recently introduced ammendment to H. R. 5450–a bill that would codify the existence of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Miller Amendment is entitled Restoring Scientific Integrity to Research and Policy Making.
NOAA was originally created by an executive order issued by the Nixon administration in 1970. [Imagine that! An act from a REPUBLICAN that actually benefits people! 36 years later! - WC]. The mission of the fledgling organization was to “better protect life and property from natural hazards…for a better understanding of the total environment… [and] for exploration and development leading to the intelligent use of our marine resources…” .
Rep. Miller has long been concerned with the reports of ideologically motivated meddling coming from virtually every government science agency since Bush-Cheney took office. Regular readers will recall the illustrious George Deustch, a twenty-four year-old college drop out and Bush campaign crony who was appointed by the administration, allegedly to prevent NASA climate scientists from saying anything the Republicans might find inconvenient.
The Miller Amendment was needed because current whistleblower laws do virtually nothing to protect employees who disclose instances of tampering or censoring of scientific information within federal agencies. The recent Supreme Court decision in Garcetti v. Ceballos further limited the rights of government employees working to protect the public interest.
Unfortunately, in typical Rubber-stamp Republican fashion, the Miller Amendment was quietly rejected last week in a party line vote in the GOP controlled House Committee on Science.
June 15th, 2006 at 9:55 amThe Pentagon reports the U.S. military death toll in Iraq has reached 2,500.
Shameful, horrifying, and so very sad.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:01 am[...] As I read liberal blogs such as Think Progress, I’m continually amazed that so many people believe government is the answer to our problems, even when they point out how corrupt government is. I guess if Democrats were completely in charge, we would have a perfect government and everyone would be taken care of. Oh, wait. We’re they in charge for like 60 years? [...]
June 15th, 2006 at 10:08 amThe sites mentioned in this article are in Jefferson Parish, the large bedroom community just upriver from New Orleans. Jefferson Parish is separated from New Orleans by the 17th Street Canal. Some flooding resulted from rainfall while the pumps were unmanned. About 500,000 Americans lived in Jefferson Parish before Katrina.
Largest of levee projects to finish soon
Corps: Work to start at 3 other Jeff sites
The Times-Picayune
Thursday, June 15, 2006
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1150356658188590.xml&coll=1
…
June 15th, 2006 at 10:12 am“It’s important to remember that the walls out there now held during Katrina, and …,” said Mervin Morehiser, corps project manager for the Lake Pontchartrain vicinity hurricane protection project.
…
RE; marine protected area
June 15th, 2006 at 10:12 amoil found in newly protected marine area? or no hope of any oil? other valuable resources?,payback to a corporate donor(s)?,a privatized national park service on the adgenda?, $ involved…somewhere,somehow?
Sorry for the pessimism, but after 5 years……..
#20 – I see C Storms is back for more stuff for his blog, I guess he’s satisfied with the level of government we have now.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:14 amSorry for the pessimism, but after 5 years……..
Comment by Amy — June 15, 2006 @ 10:12 am
The skepticism of the Bush Regime has been earned. I question his intention on this as well. Seems he’s incapable of doing anything philanthropic just because it’s the right thing to do. I think he’s sociopathic, frankly.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:21 amI want smaller government, thank you very much. Bush has been a failure in this area, as far as I’m concerned.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:22 amI see C Storms is back for more stuff for his blog,
Yet, never the other way around. That amuses me. People like C and Seixon come here promoting their blogs, which slam us, but don’t get any acknowledgment from TP, as if they don’t even exist.. It’s often like they are the angry yippie dogs yapping at the ankles of indifference… Kinda funny to watch.
I guess he’s satisfied with the level of government we have now.
Comment by Zookeeper — June 15, 2006 @ 10:14 am
You think people like that can be satisfied? That if they got what they wanted, they’d just find something new to blame for their inner dissatisfaction?
June 15th, 2006 at 10:26 am#25 – Are there any other areas you think Bush has been a failure?
June 15th, 2006 at 10:26 amEarlier I had stated I didn’t think there was anything I supported this Administration on. Finally, there is one thing I do agree with from this Administration.
And a silent word of thanks to Jacques Cousteau and his son, Jean-Michael. Job well done.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:32 amI want smaller government, thank you very much. Bush has been a failure in this area, as far as I’m concerned.
Comment by C Storms — June 15, 2006 @ 10:22 am
And what programs would you cut or eliminate, and why? Who would pick up the slack?
June 15th, 2006 at 10:33 amSo that’s all it takes to get Bush on board? Someone should make him watch the news for an hour… Maybe we’ll have him wanting to end the violence in Iraq too!
June 15th, 2006 at 10:36 amHey Pot – Why did you call me black?
June 15th, 2006 at 10:36 amSigh….
Well, right on time, it looks like. A few months before the election, the rubber stamp Congress decides find a spine. Sad, really. Guess they ran out of ink.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:37 amWell, at least Bush has been fiscally responsible. Say, didn’t that “debt clock” blow its fuse because it simply couldn’t keep up?
June 15th, 2006 at 10:37 amI see the hypocrites with nothing better to do are playing with themselves again.
Unbelievable.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:38 amBEWARE OF PENTAGON PROPAGANDA !!
C.N.N.s Barbara Starr is a complete pentagon stooge and shill.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:38 amYou can bet that this Egyptian Al Masri,the new leader of Al Q. in Iraq is already in costody and being preped to being put in a safe house to be blown up probably around election time.
Who say’s he’s the new leader? A bogus and questionable middle east web site.
WE are setting them up to knock them down.
Whats left out of the story (and the Repugnican noise machine will make sure its left out) is that the marine sanctuary in the northwest hawaiian islands was begun by Interior Secretary Babbitt in the Clinton Administration.
June 15th, 2006 at 10:40 amIf I remember things correctly, the protected marine area is in an area that has already been overfished and is pretty much dead.. (or maybe I’m remembered another places)
June 15th, 2006 at 10:42 amAnd finally: A landmark victory for all American potbellied pig owners. The Colorado Springs City Council “has voted to allow potbellied pigs within the city limits in a 5-4 decision that came after a woman challenged a century-old swine ban in one of the state’s biggest cities.†Chrystal McEntee, who fought for the change said, “I’m going to go home and celebrate with my family.â€
Hopefully they’re celebrating with a pig roast.
June 15th, 2006 at 11:03 amAll 535 members of CONgress are set to receive a 3300 dollar raise in January of 2007, so they are going to want to be re-elected. They’ll spend millions of dollars to campaign for a job that pays 168 grand per year. Think somebody is paying them off? Arms dealers maybe?
Those billionaire arms dealers that don’t want to pay inheritance tax to the US gov don’t mind making an extra billion dollars at the expense of the poor tax slave in murka.
On with the war and the killing.
June 15th, 2006 at 11:06 amHouse Reps give themselves a raise?
Thursday 15th of June 2006
by Jay Randal
It’s being reported in the News that Representatives, in DC, gave themselves a raise of $3,300 on Tuesday, so raised from $165,200 to $168,500 a year, but the minimum wage has not been raised for past 8 years!
Every American would like to vote themselves a pay raise every year too, but no corporation or business allows their employees to increase their own wage, so it is higly unfair for members of Congress to do it!
Most Americans work 40+ hours a week, and lucky to get a one week paid vacation a year, but the Congress is only in session for less than 100 days a year, which means 265+ days a year are vacation or non-working!
Millions of Americans have no health insurance, nor dental care, but every elected politician gets FREE health & dental care, and the BEST retirement plan which is paid by average working Americans taxes!
Most families in America live on less than 1/4th the income of a Congressman’s pay, so why do members of the House need a raise, but not average families?
( Jay Randal, political activist and writer in Stone Mountain, Georgia.)
June 15th, 2006 at 11:31 amOf course the E.R. rooms are overrun.
1) E.R. medicine is a very dangerous field for doctors as it is a favorite for loser lawyers to sue. Sadly, we can’t get the democrats to help pass better laws to safegaurd our doctors.
2) While it is ok to allow anyone into an ER for treatment regardless if they have Health Coverage, it is just dumb that ER doctors are forced to “treat” people that are found to not be in an emergency. My brother-in-law is a ER doctor in North Dakota. He screams about how it take most his time to “treat” people that come in because they have a cold or are worried they are pregent. These people cannot be refused. I say it is time for Democrats to come together to pass strong laws allowing Hospitals and Doctors the right to refuse treatment to anyone who isn’t in an emergency. It is time to get nonemergencies out of the ER’s. It would also help those without health coverage come to realize how important it is and take steps to aquire it. Yes, it might require them to sell one of the 2 family cars, take a different job, work 2+ jobs, get more training, or even realize it isn’t ok to buy a 4th TV this month. Either way, people without an emergency need to get OUT of the ER.
I think this would also help our Democrat leaders realize how important health insurance is. They would realize that it is very expensive right now for a few reasons they could clear up.
1) Stop huge lawsuits on Doctors. Limit lawsuits to federal court and set maximums that a lawyer can sue for.
2) Although Hospitals to refuse service to those that don’t have Health insurance unless it is a true Emergency. Forcing our burdened hospitals to treat non insured people for non emergencies cost the Health Insurance compaines TONS of cash. It needs to stop now.
3) Stop forcing Health Insurance Companies to pay for the uninsured. It just gets pushed to us policy holders making insurance much more expensive.
4) Tell all leaders to stop the retoric towards business’ that don’t have health insurance for their employees. This merely scares business’ to not employ as many workers. It also sends a message that the business community could be looking at less profits meansing less business investment by owners which slows our economy, reduces employment, and shifts even more burden onto tax payers.
Those steps are very easy to correct. Democrats should take the lead on these objectives. They could write legislation and most of their Republican counterparts would work with them on this. If anything, it would earn Democrat’s serious brownie points with mainstream middle america.
June 15th, 2006 at 12:25 pmSo unless Dubya sees a glossy Tee-Vee show about something and it catches his imaginaton, it’s not real?
Let’s hope he doesn’t watch “Enemy of the State”…. Or perhaps he did….
Cheers,
June 15th, 2006 at 12:42 pmIt is worth the lives of American soldiers to kill the terrorists. Even a ten of ours to one of theirs ratio is ok. We must kill the terrorists…live in fear, live in fear!
June 15th, 2006 at 1:04 pm#41
Please substantiate claim #1.
Point #2: the emergency room is, in many cases, the ONLY place an uninsured individual can get any form of medical treatment. Your solution to deny emergency room access to the uninsured would deprive them of medical care until their conditioned worsened to a true emergency costing far more to treat.
Points 3 and 4 are factually incorrect. Health insurance companies do not pick up the tab for the uninsured, federal, state and local government does.
Point 4. I agree, but for a different reason. Access to adequate medical care should be a fundamental right, not something reserved for people fortunate to have a job that pays for such benefits.
June 15th, 2006 at 1:35 pmPresident Bush today “will create the world’s largest marine protected area
Yeah, but only after an extensive study by Haliburton showed that there were no terists or oil located there.
June 15th, 2006 at 2:00 pmI never said we should give up the right to sue. I merely said we need to make the lawsuits for medical issues in Federal court instead of State. Furthermore, I never mentioned giving up the right to free speech. I am all for it.
And Briseadh your wrong. Insurance companies to pick up the tab for the uninsured. They break up the tab based on how many policy members they have in the specific goegraphic location. Either way, it cost American tax payers alot right now. Simple taking from one group to give to another really isn’t the point of government (at least not when it was formed). There is no easy solution to medical insuraunce, but to force Hospitals to treat non emergencies in the ER is just wrong. Hell, this website even reported how overcrowded the ER’s are right now. Would they still be overcrowded if we stopped seeing the non emergency cases? My guess is that it would free of space.
The cost of Insurance is REALLY high right now. Limited were lawsuits to Federal Court as well as putting a maximum on the lawsuit would help reduce costs. Stop making the Insurance companies pony up the bill for the non insured and you will see the rates drop off in a huge way (that would of course allow more business’ to get insurance for their employee’s which is a good thing).
I look at this like a child. When you give a child everything they want, they fail to ever realize they need to work for it themselves. Same with Health insurance. When we tell people that they won’t be helped anymore unless it’s an emergency, many (not all) will get the hint and get insurance. I remember college and watching how many of my friends simply didn’t have health insurance simply because they knew the hospitals would see them anyways. What is the point of insurance anymore anyways? Why do I have it I wonder? I get serious cash taking out of my pay check every 2 weeks. Couldn’t I just not get health insurance and just go anyways? Seems wrong on many levels.
Personally, this is a great issue for the Democrats in 06 and 08. If they got strong on Health insurance, it would be a big boon to them. If they simply come out wiht a message that says we just want to insure everyone by taxing everyone more, they will lose on the issue, but that isn’t hard to see. I know that doesn’t sit well with the far left, but the far left will vote for the Democrat regardless. They need the middle and if they craft policy like this, they win the middle.
June 15th, 2006 at 2:07 pm“There is no meaningful correlation between CO2 levels and Earth’s temperature over this [geologic] time frame. In fact, when CO2 levels were over ten times higher than they are now, about 450 million years ago, the planet was in the depths of the absolute coldest period in the last half billion years. On the basis of this evidence, how could anyone still believe that the recent relatively small increase in CO2 levels would be the major cause of the past century’s modest warming?”
– Carleton University paleoclimatologist Professor Tim Patterson
June 15th, 2006 at 2:10 pmJerad, this is the claim I asked you to support:
Where is the research that shows E.R. medicine is a favorite for loser lawyers to sue?
Think about which doctors you want to protect: those that commit negligence causing harm to their patients. Who should bear the cost of the doctor’s malpractice, the doctor, the patient, or the taxpayer?
Health insurance companies are out to make a profit. If you reduce their costs, there is absolutely no guarantee that they would reduce thier premiums. The “solution” of limiting malpractice awards shifts the burden of a doctor’s malpractice to the victim.
If someone injures you, should that person pay for the harm s/he caused?
Should the person’s liability be any the less because the person is a doctor?
Before you try to change the current system, you need to look at it from all perspectives.
June 15th, 2006 at 2:34 pmGood morning, I-RIGHT-I, care to link the research?
Oh, and I thought Creation Science proved that the earth is only a few thousand years old? How can some people try to foster Creation Science being taught in the public schools, and then cite research indicating the earth is really millions upon millions of years old in order to refute research on global warming?
June 15th, 2006 at 2:48 pmwell, it’s still morning in my time zone….
June 15th, 2006 at 2:49 pm#50 – Confusing the issue with those pesky facts…
#51 – Mine too, for a few minutes…Good morning!
June 15th, 2006 at 2:53 pmBriseadh,
My brother-in-Law is an ER doctor. He told me that ER doctors malpractice insurance is the second highest in the field of medicine (OBGYN’s are the Highest). You are right, that information could be false because I only have one source.
Anyways, your post was interesting.
Quote:
“Think about which doctors you want to protect: those that commit negligence causing harm to their patients. Who should bear the cost of the doctor’s malpractice, the doctor, the patient, or the taxpayer?”
You asked who should bear the cost? The answer is easy. It is always the tax payer. When you sue a Doctor, do you really think he is paying you? They all have malpractice insurance and most doctors get it paid for as part of the contracts they sign with the Hospitals. Now Hospitals don’t just swallow the cost of those premiums. They simply increase the price of all their services to get it paid, thus it all comes back to tax payers. On the other side of it, Insurance companies need to charge huge rates for malpractice simply because lawsuits can run millions of dollars. My brother-in-law has never been sued before and his malpractice insurance is $106,000 per year. Now I never said we need to not let people sue. I merely said we need to set limits and make all medical suits happen in Federal court. And by limits, I am not talking a small number. My guess would be 1-2 million as a limit. This alone would drop malpractice insurance premiums alot. With premiums decreased, hospitals would decrease there price and Health insurance would come down.
Your next Quote:
“Health insurance companies are out to make a profit. If you reduce their costs, there is absolutely no guarantee that they would reduce thier premiums.”
You are correct kinda. While any publicly traded company need to focus on optimizing their profits, they cannot simply just sets prices to whatever they want and expect policy holders to keep paying. If you take care of the proplems I stated, it would save Health Insurance companies a great deal of cash (all health insurance companies).
Now if Company A doesn’t reduce the price of their insurance while companies B,C,D,E,F,etc. all reduce theirs….. Company A either gets their butt in gear and reduces theirs as well or they go out of business. We are Americans afterall. The free market system is beutiful and will force any competitor to get as competetive as they can or risk losing customers. Either way, you should be happy they are getting a profit. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t be in business and no one would have the choice to get coverage.
You quote:
“If someone injures you, should that person pay for the harm s/he caused? ”
Answer: YES, no question. The current problem is that the injured seek way more compensation then what was needed to make up for the lose (in most cases). This is due to terms like “emotional stress” etc. In my system, the legal system would be set up to help the victum get exactly what is needed to cover their lose. While a 1 million dollar cap wouldn’t be enough in all cases, the only people that the cap would hurt is the rich as any lawsuit seek damages partially based on how much work the client missed, etc. The middle class and the poor don’t make enough to ever have a problem with a 1 million cap. And maybe 1 million is to low, just set a maximum regardless of what it is.
Anyways, do you at least see where I am coming from?
June 15th, 2006 at 4:26 pmGood morning, I-RIGHT-I, care to link the research?
Email the guy and ask him yourself.
Danny Patterson
Geography and Environmental Studies
Tel: (613) 520-2600 x2567
danny_patterson@carleton.ca
Oh, and I thought Creation Science proved that the earth is only a few thousand years old?
Comment by Briseadh na Faire
That’s what you get for thinking.
Patterson contends that the sun is the reason why the 20th century has experienced some of the hottest temperatures in recent history.
“My own research shows that, on all time scales, there is a very good correlation between the Earth’s temperature and natural celestial phenomena, such as changes in the brightness of the sun. The fact that the sun is now brighter than it has been in 8,000 years should have a major impact on climate.â€
http://magazine.carleton.ca/2005_Spring/1535.htm
June 15th, 2006 at 4:46 pm[...] Think Progress [...]
June 15th, 2006 at 5:03 pm#53 – Denny, I don’t know why you feel this is important. I have no problem with you; and I have no problem with unbelievable. It’s clear to me that neither of you has any use for the other, but I can’t be part of that. This is so awkward for me…
June 15th, 2006 at 5:18 pm“My own research shows that, on all time scales, there is a very good correlation between the Earth’s temperature and natural celestial phenomena, such as changes in the brightness of the sun. The fact that the sun is now brighter than it has been in 8,000 years should have a major impact on climate.â€
http://magazine.carleton.ca/2005_Spring/1535.htm
Comment by I-RIGHT-I — June 15, 2006 @ 4:46 pm
I guess your nut, I mean ‘expert’ didn’t realize that the sun is actually burning itself OUT! Yep… that’s how we get light and heat – by the sun fusing hydrogen atoms into helium atoms and losing electrons that create light and heat (no god necessary). This means thatthe sun is shrinking as it loses mass (4 hydrogens @ 1 a.u. VS 1 helium at 2 a.u.). But I guess he slept through 7th grade science class…
I have been trying to get this link out of Seixon the fanatic for months. Thanks IRI. He wouldn’t post it. Probably because i said it had to be valid science. I’ll go research your boy after dinner. I bet he graduated from an “Intelligent’ Design school and works with the junk science zealots who twist science to try to prove noah’s flodd and a 6004 year old earth… Sat tuned…
June 15th, 2006 at 5:51 pmThis is so awkward for me…
Comment by Zookeeper — June 15, 2006 @ 5:18 pm
Don’t let it be. It’s just a silly thing. Not worth worrying about. More productive, if you’re gonna worry to find out about Sharon… I am concerned. Not like her to be silent for so long.
June 15th, 2006 at 5:57 pmMore productive, if you’re gonna worry to find out about Sharon… I am concerned. Not like her to be silent for so long.
Comment by unbelievable
I’m ashamed to say that I did an internet search for an obituary on her. I didn’t find anything, but I’m not an expert on that sort of search. If she shows up here again, you better not tell her I did that. ;)
June 15th, 2006 at 6:16 pmJerad,
I see where you’re coming from. But you’re still working from a false premise that a further limiting of medical malpractice suits would result in significant savings to the medical consumer.
And I guess I really took exception to your “loser lawyer” phrase. Heaven forbid you should be the victim of malpractice and need the services of a plaintiff’s attorney. Medical malpractice actions are expensive to the plaintiff’s attorney as expert witness must be retained. The caps on medical malpractice are for one real purpose. The underlying purpose is to restrict access to attorneys. How? Because cases are expensive, difficult and the outcome uncertain. These attorneys take the case on contingency. If they lose, they don’t get paid. But when caps are placed on the amount of damages, when they win, they won’t make enough to justify the time and the effort.
Remember, the Hospitals and their insurance companies have the deep pockets, they can spend whatever it takes to defend a lawsuit. The victim cannot compete with their resources. And if you restrict what the attorney can make, neither can the victim’s attorney. Net result? Fewer malpractice lawsuits and more uncompensated victims.
My solution is far more radical than yours: take a look at the other industrialized countries. Find the best model available for universal health care. See if it can be made even better by incorporating the best features of all models. Then impliment that program here. Compensating victims for malpractice can be part of that system.
oh, and thanks for well-written replies. It is so much better than the reciprocal name calling that goes on far too much.
June 15th, 2006 at 6:23 pmAs promised:
IRI, you quotes a link from – as you call them – Kana-duh?
The guy you reference said this:
“My own research shows that, on all time scales, there is a very good correlation between the Earth’s temperature and natural celestial phenomena, such as changes in the brightness of the sun. The fact that the sun is now brighter than it has been in 8,000 years should have a major impact on climate.â€
Should? Should. Not very a scientifical conclusion.
In stars, it is COLOR that has to do with heat. Blue-white stars are the hottest (and youngest) while red stars are the coolest and therefore oldest. Our sun is yellow – therefore middle temperature in the middle of its life span. Unless that changes – which is unlikely because stars cool don’t grow younger by burning all their fuel – until they get to the end of the fuel source and die (how depends on the type of the star).
BRIGHTNESS has to do with size and temperature. They are related. So, in order for the sun to become hotter, it would also have to get bigger. Not possible, since, as I previously stated, it is shrinking via nuclear fusion..
Sorry, I’m not impressed by your weatherman…
June 15th, 2006 at 9:11 pmIf she shows up here again, you better not tell her I did that. ;)
Comment by Zookeeper — June 15, 2006 @ 6:16 pm
As long as she doesn’t read the archives :)
I hope she’s okay. It occured to me a couple weeks ago that we never know what happens to people when they stop posting… Kinda unfair. If something happens to a real world friend, someone you both know calls you. Here – you’re guess is as good as anyone else’s…
June 15th, 2006 at 9:14 pmnatural celestial phenomena
P.S. Would this be the part in the Bible where god makes the stars after the star light?
June 15th, 2006 at 9:17 pm# 57 Zookeeper:
I agree and I’m sorry.
# 58 unbelievable:
I’m not M.A..I’ll take that as a compliment,even though I’m not a right winger like her,I like the way she scuffles.If you’re talking about the ’spinster’ comment;I did get that from her.
June 16th, 2006 at 2:00 amI’m not M.A..I’ll take that as a compliment,even though I’m not a right winger like her,I like the way she scuffles.If you’re talking about the ’spinster’ comment;I did get that from her.
Comment by Denny — June 16, 2006 @ 2:00 am
You’re a liar, so that means you are lying about this. I’ve been talking to you to get proof. Now that I have it, I have nothing to say to you. Nor do I care what you have to say. You’re assinine, ignorant and you have nothing even slightly interesting to say.
You’re incapable of offering an intelligent thought, cannot grasp reality with both hands, and are seriously demented. You’ve been 100% wrong in every observation you’ve made – and in all your accusations as well. You’re not witty, bright or even remotely interesting on any level. You attack others over very petty nonsense when you really should be focusing all your energy on yourself in therapy. You have a lot to fix before you have any room to critize anyone else. A whole lot! You are the epitome of a loser. And you’re in such denial about that that you can’t handle the truth or anyone who points it out. You’re definitely demented.
At best you are obnoxious, ill-informed, juvenile and petty with no sense for logic or reality. Talking to you is like having walked into a pile of excrement. So, now that I have the parallels to show you are one of Mighty Mouth’s split personalities, I’ll wipe my feet off. I’m done with you, like toilet paper. Good-bye and good riddance.
June 16th, 2006 at 8:14 amOh, and MA routinely accuses people of being more than one poster. She accused RightPunch of being Ryan even though everyone told her she was wrong, including Ryan and RightPunch. Denny did the exact same thing in the exact same manner with us.
MA is Sybil and Denny is one of her personalities. I’d bet on it.
Okay, enough about the trash – back to the issues…
June 16th, 2006 at 8:39 am”-back to the issues”
unbelievable,I’t looks like you and/or betruthful have made me the issue.
June 17th, 2006 at 1:29 amI’m really feelin’ the obsession and lovin’every minute of it.
Oh yea,and both of you can kiss my beautiful ass.
June 17th, 2006 at 4:12 am