How Do You Ask An Ally To Send The Last Man To Die For A Mistake?

After months of dithering Obama is poised to announce something on Afghanistan, and apparently hopes our allies will change their view as well:

U.S. Seeks 10,000 Troops From Its Allies in Afghanistan
By ERIC SCHMITT and STEVEN ERLANGER

WASHINGTON — The United States is scrambling to coax NATO allies to send 10,000 additional troops to Afghanistan as part of President Obama’s strategy for the region. Those countries appear willing to provide fewer than half that number, American and allied officials said Wednesday.

NATO members and other foreign allies have expressed reluctance to send more soldiers because of the Afghan war’s growing unpopularity in their countries and increasing concerns over corruption in President Hamid Karzai’s government.

The Obama administration views a substantial contribution from its allies as a way to keep the American troop increase lower and blunt domestic political criticism of the Afghan war. It would also allow the administration to come close to the military’s request for 40,000 additional troops without relying totally on the already stretched American armed forces.

Hmm.  Maybe instead of blaming Bush for his eventual decision to quit in Afghanistan, Obama will blame our reluctant allies.

Comments

[Gmax]

Hate to go OT so quick out of the box, but a poster on the Kansas City Star site sums up the real impact of this AGW fraud:

The real problem with ClimateGate is that it renders the entire argument worthless, because there is no way to know deception from fact.

It no longer matters whether climatologists present real scientific fact or not, whether their models are adequate or not, their credibility is forever gone. A discussion that thought it was decided, now never can be. Unmitigated duplicity has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory

Once science crossed the seductive threshold of politics, its credibility had to be called into question. Once they conducted themselves in action as venal as demonstrated in the Climate Gate e-mails, any credibility was forever shot to hell.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

And if they don't he's got someone else to blame.

[Gmax]

And on this day of giving thanks I thought a quick exerpt from the Manhattan Declaration was quite appropriate:

We are Christians who have joined together across historic lines of ecclesial differences to affirm our right - and, more importantly, to embrace our obligation - to speak and act in defense of these truths. We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence. It is our duty to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness, both in season and out of season. May God help us not to fail in that duty.

May God help us all not to fail at this.

[jim,mtnview,ca,usa]

someone needs to explain the three envelope joke to obama.

[Gregory Koster]

The Once is going to learn the grim truth of the old gag that a ricochet is blame in the corridors of power...

Gmax is bang right about the damage the East Anglia fraud is going to do to the world. He's right: CO2 can be a greenhouse gas, and humans have been manufacturing the stuff by the megaton. But climate science is now in the Bullwinkle position of "This time for sure!" even while the rest of the world sex sure, sure and falls asleep. Luckily there is another reason to work on reducing CO2 emissions: the national security dangers of pumping all that oil money to the Middle East. But this means fission power, and no more bunk about "green" energy. Let the envionmental movement receive the decorations it deserves: silver bullets, sprigs of garlic, wooden stakes, sunlight, and running water. The time for serious discussion of energy independence can't wait on their nonsense any more.

[narciso]

Right, GK you don't think India and China, won't lap up that demand for Saudi, Sudanese,
Iranian petrol.Now we need our own oil fuel,
coal, nuclear what have you. I think the turning point was the 1969 Santa Barbara
oil spill, which foreclosed most OCS drilling while paradoxically making us even
more dependent on Foreign oil. 1973 and 1979, still taught the wrong lesson, and we continue down the path, now 40 years later

[anduril]

No logical thread to stick this in, so here it goes:

Potential Dubai Default Rocks Financial Markets, While Dollar Soars On Panic Buying

It's been well-known for some time that Dubai had found itself in a severe and precarious financial state.

In early October, for example, S&P warned that it was nearly out of cash.

But yesterday the once high-flying Emirate confirmed that it's reached zero-hour.

MarketWatch: Dubai late Wednesday said it would restructure Dubai World and announced a six-month "standstill" on repayments of the state-run wide-ranging conglomerate's debt. Ports operator DP World and its debt is excluded from the standstill plan.

....

"I don't see this as a massive issue but it's another warning to where the world got itself last year with loose monetary conditions [and] loose lending," said Naeem Wahid, market strategist at Lloyds TSB. "And, in a few cases, the problems are still out there and we could continue to see these kinds of nasty surprises" in the future.

Government-owned Dubai World is a conglomerate with interests in real estate, ports and the leisure industry. The firm carries around $60 billion in liabilities.

Despite the issues being out there, financial markets, including Brazil and London (when it's open) are pulling back, the pound is tanking and -- uh-oh -- the greenback is rallying! That could be bad news when stocks open on Black Friday.

Dubai itself isn't necessarily huge, but that's not exactly the point. What people are most likely freaked out about -- as Rick Bookstaber might point out -- is that people who own Dubai World debt may be forced to sell something else in unison to raise cash, triggering a bigger reaction.

[PD]

Maybe after Obama works his persuasive miracle on our NATO allies, he can think about jawboning Iran some more:

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday his probe of allegations that Iran tried to make nuclear arms is at "a dead end" because the government is not cooperating.

After all, if a little talk from the golden pipes fails to turn the trick, surely more talk will succeed.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

rest of the world sex sure, sure and falls asleep

That used to really piss off my ex-wife.

[anduril]

Here is The Manhattan Declaration.

The Manhattan Declaration is undoubtedly well intentioned and proposes three "fundamental truths":

These truths are:

1. the sanctity of human life

2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife

3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

One of my sisters wanted me to sign on to that but I decided not to. I have a problem with #3. Rights of conscience and religious liberty are not absolute, as proposed here. They are, in given circumstances, the best way to achieve a reasonable degree of order in civil society, but they are based on preexisting agreements on other (here left unstated) fundamental issues: thus "rights of conscience and religious liberty" are not absolute in themselves. The fact that American society has fundamental and deep divisions on these underlying issues is a large part of the reason we're in the fix we're in as a society. I'm sure I'd prefer to be governed by people who accept the principles of The Manhattan Declaration, but important as they are they are not sufficient principles on which to base a truly human society.

The question of what is religion and under what circumstances human conscience must be respected are deep and difficult issues, which must necessarily be faced. Every vision of human nature and its significance is religious--including those views which seek the transformation (really abolition) of human nature. This declaration fudges on those issues, unfortunately, instead of forthrightly stating that certain religious beliefs and practices do not deserve protection because they are anti-human and therefore cannot serve as the basis for a human society.

[narciso]

You know it occurs to me, the main problem with the proponents of AGW, they have a quarrel with industrial civilization, Yes we tried air, and water, and the sun as our
main sources, when we just a mere fraction of our current population, it wasn't nearly
enough, and it led to a very restrictive social system in terms of class and gender, even the Renaissance and the Baroque era were typical of this. It is in this current
model where social mobility is a strong although not ways constant factor, that they
don't like.

[Gmax]

Gateway Pundit says another Obama Czar is rolled up in the CRU fraud. Can we tie this to Obama, not yet but I would guess the warming he will feel in Copenhagen wont be from the environment:

Canada Free Press editor Judi McLeod and Canadian climatologist Dr. Tim Ball reveal the involvement of White House Science Czar John Holdren (photo) in the Climategate Scandal. The picture presented of Holdren is not a pretty one:

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”.

[Buford Gooch]

jim,mtnview,ca,usa

Hello, Jim. Good to know there's more than one conservative here in beautiful Mountain View.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Following up on Gmax's comment about Holdren:

Climategate: White House Involvement in Scandal Will Make It Harder for MSM to Ignore

[matt]

This is and has always been about the accrual of power, in this country, by the left wing of the Democrats.

When I was a kid, science was a holy grail, where the truth was always the objective.Theories, my dad drilled into me, were not laws. With these scumbags, it is a means to an end and to profit through insider trading.

Basically, what were are looking at is an attempt at modern feudalism. In Washington, on Wall Street, and in academia.

But the good news is that the game is afoot and people are waking up. And for this I give thanks today.Happy Thanksgiving all.

[peter]

You know, there is a possibility that the scientists were guilty of fraud, and at the same time, some true evidence of Global Warming exists, just not enough to justify the type of legislation the left is seeking. What do I know? I'm a crunchy con.

[Gmax]

well for 11 years running its been no warming, and not a single model used to support the AGW predicted that or anything close. I think we probably have some cooling going on, where is Kim? We can count on getting the straight answer from the expert.

[DrJ]

Good to know there's more than one conservative here in beautiful Mountain View.

Not many, though, in my experience.

[Gregory Koster]

Narciso, should this nation develop technology that would wean us from oil, India and China would suddenly have to face the choice of sticking with oil, and its associated turbulence, or trying to find an alternative. What would they do? I don't quite follow you: you seem to be saying that unless the US can get the rest of the world to go along, developing alternative enegy sources is a mug's game. That's pure Once logic: against American unilateralism, getting the rest of the world to love us by being meek.

Let China be dependent on Middle East oil. If the US could supply its own needs using only the North American continent, I'd say let the Chinese take over the Middle East and its deranged Muslim pathologies. Think that would be profitable for the Chinese?

Nope. For all my doubts about Sarah Palin, I think she is the best qualified by far in pushing for energy independence. It's the strongest point in her resume. That won't be done by shoveling wagonloads of money to such swindlers as Good Al, all the while trilling about how "green" we are being. I say that China and India are studying how to wean themselves from oil, and not waiting for the rest of the world.

[Cecil Turner]

It's dangerous to assume the journos covering this have a clue, but if the strategy sessions are in fact centered around getting the perfect number of troops established (and outsourcing where feasible), then the NCA is truly out-to-lunch. In the first place, the actual deployment will take months, so the initial troop decision was always either go/no-go . . . and there seems to be little doubt it's "go," so the intervening delay is inexcusable. In the second, there is no "perfect number" of troops, and it's likely to be modified by availability and troop perstempo and opstempo anyway, so interminable meetings to refine the exact requirement are rather silly. Finally, the decision cycle is not without cost. Here's the most pertinent bit of the Times piece:

The British government is facing opinion polls showing that around 70 percent of the public favors an early withdrawal. That figure has nearly doubled in the past six months, as the country has sustained its worst casualties — 97 killed so far this year — since it first deployed troops to Afghanistan after the Taliban were toppled in 2001. [emphasis added]

That correlates rather well with the implementation of O's new strategy and the subsequent dither-thon.

[Jim Ryan]

Just when you thought the streams of mendacity and foolishness couldn't get any more intense, they combine.

Remember the Lancet? The journal that was "differently abled" when it came to statistics of Iraqi collateral casualties?

[matt]

there are 100 reasons to act more wisely on planetary issues, but the facts seem to bear out the suspicions of far too many of us that "if this game is rigged, what others are?"

The ethical foundations of society are under a complete and systematic assault.

[Steve C.]

If I were going to ask my allies for a more substantial troop commitment (and don't kid yourself 10K troops from NATO is a lot) I would have spent weeks or even months working the phones and doing whatever stroking was necessary to make that happen. Only after I had a concrete commitment from my allies would I even dare to make a national address committing another 30K of US troops to Afghanistan.

'Course that's just my opinion, I could be living in reality.

[Fritz]

I'm sure Poland will happily send more troops (except for that missile shield thing). I'm sure Germany will send more troops (except for skipping out the Berlin wall ceremonies). I'm sure Britain will send more troops (dissing Brown - incompatible movies, returning Churchill bust, ipod speeches to Queen). I'm sure Canada will send more troops (except for cutting Canada out of stimulus infrastructure spending contrary to Nafta).

Maybe instead of asking for troops from all of the countries O has dissed he should asked for troops from all the countries he has sucked up to - Saudi Arabia, China, Venezuela, ...

[Jack is Back!]

James Delingpole in today's Telly about the CRU kerfuffle. Reads like something PUK would write.

[jimmyk]

there is a possibility that the scientists were guilty of fraud, and at the same time, some true evidence of Global Warming exists, just not enough to justify the type of legislation the left is seeking.

If that were it there would be no real controversy. Note that you left out "Anthropogenic", which is one big point of contention, and included the key words "not enough to justify...." I'm guessing that most of us would be prepared to stipulate that and be done. But that eliminates cap & trade, Copenhagen, Al Gore, and all the other nonsense that's predicated on the "A" in "AGW" and on the belief that quantitatively it dooms the planet.

[btw]

Three years until our Big Eared Marxist-Moooslim is gone.

Go Sarah Go!

[Janet]

5 Aussie MPs resign in disgust over carbon tax! LUN via Drudge

...and the Washington Post isn't even covering this giant fraud. Unbelievable. The WaPo's radio ad tag line is "If you don't get it, you don't get it". It should be..."If you don't get it, no big deal".

[Rick Ballard]

First McIntyre Climategate Post

Good graph on what "hide the decline" actually means.

The death by a thousand cuts begins.

[Janet]

One commenter at the above article says there has been no coverage of this in Ireland. The emperor has no clothes, & still the crowd cheers & fawns over his important, beautiful outfit. I hate the media.

[Janet]

And from George Monbiots blog LUN -
"RealClimate reports that "We were made aware of the existence of this archive last Tuesday morning when the hackers attempted to upload it to RealClimate, and we notified CRU of their possible security breach later that day." In other words, the university knew what was coming three days before the story broke."

[Janet]

But still Monbiot has this to say about AGW deniers (from same blog article)-
"Their opponents might be scumbags, but their media strategy is exemplary.

The greatest tragedy here is that despite many years of outright fabrication, fraud and deceit on the part of the climate change denial industry,..."

We're the scumbags...yeah right.

[MarkJ]

George Monbiot (I think that's "Moonbat" in French) reminds me of the "zeks" in the gulags who still wept upon learning of Stalin's death.

Monbiot, I daresay, has won the victory against himself: against all odds and all contradictory evidence, he still loves Big Brother.

[PD]

Given the scorn that the Climate Scientologists have been heaping on AGW skeptics for years for being "deniers," it's interesting watching how they're in complete, total, and utter denial about the significance of ClimateGate.

[Jane]

My family is gone. At one point my mother, and Obamafan, asked the rest of us why we don't just leave the country.

It was ugly.

[PD]

Jane, wow.

[Janet]

Oh my goodness Jane! How sad.

[Pagar]

Jane, sorry to hear that. What is so sad about the whole Obama fiasco, is it is all built on lies/fraud. And yet there are people who believe it. Glad you're on our side.

[Jim Ryan]

WUWT has loads of stuff today.

[ROA]

Jane,

Senator Kent Conrad (D N.D.) said the same thing about people who didn't think civilian trials were a good idea for terrorists.

What happened to the idea that dissent was the highest form of patriotism.

LUN

[Extraneus]

Did you mention the island, Jane?

[matt]

Fast & loose with the science for $400, Alex!
LUN

[Jane]

What I said Ex, is that "we are certainly thinking about it".

My mother is not someone who admits being wrong about anything. And I think it is killing her that she is wrong about this, and she is digging in.

What I can't figure out is we grew up with nothing and she as a single parent, never ever ever encouraged us to put our hands out for anything. She raised us with conservative values which I so appreciate, yet she no longer seems to share them.

//off with the dirty laundry.

[Janet]

Thanks for the link Jim. Browsing over there I ended up watching a video of Stuart Varney of Fox interviewing Dan Wiess of Center for American Progress. WOW. That Stuart Varney is great.(we don't have cable, so I wasn't familiar with him)
Probably linked before on JOM, but here it is again...LUN

[Ann]

Sorry to hear that Jane. Sounds like what happens to my husband's family in Virginia at Christmas.

It was bad enough when we had President Bush.
I refuse to go this year and partake in the folderol.

Guess I might take up Charlie's idea and get put in jail. :) That was funny!

[Jane]

No need for jail Ann, we are getting an island.

[Janet]

and LUN is the video again of Ed Begley Jr. interviewed by Stuart Varney.
The Climateologists are behaving like cornered rabid dogs.

[Ann]

This is good:

When Obama pardoned those turkeys,hope he bowed to them and apologized for the turkey-icidal atrocities of the Pilgrims!

-snarkandboobs twitter

[Extraneus]

Hey, so I searched Google on "Michelle Obama prom date" a few weeks ago and the first listing was from some racist site called stormfront, I think.

Someone, I can't remember who, proposed a possible explanation: that Google might want to artificially direct hits to these sites, so that someday they can show how the hits to racist sites have increased since Obama became president. Anyway, here's google's official explanation:

"A site's ranking in Google's search results relies heavily on computer algorithms using thousands of factors to calculate a page's relevance to a given query," it said.

"Sometimes subtleties of language cause anomalies to appear that cannot be predicted," Google said.

Considering how many thousands of sites try hard to game these "factors" in order to get near the top of the list, it's an amazing coincidence that these particular sites were so successful.

[Janet]

"And I think it is killing her that she is wrong about this, and she is digging in."

There is really something to that Jane. When Obama won the Nobel Prize one of our neighbors went into a raving meltdown ranting about how great he is and what wonderful things he is gonna do and why doesn't everyone give him a chance. Just out of nowhere. Nobody had said anything political. She knew what a ridiculous fraud it was, and was insecure. Maybe like those Hillbuzz ideas you told us about...she and your Mom need someone/thing to blame.

[Jane]

In my family it is more personality than politics - but I thought of the exact same thing Janet. I went into a bit of a rave about how people were so angry at the media for misleading them.

[Ann]

Janet:

I hope everyone ends up blaming the media.

The media blog at NRO has this:
Palin: Only 700,000 Sales in the First Week?

But here's the sentence in the Associated Press report that has to be gratifying to Palin:

Few nonfiction books have debuted so well. In 2004, Bill Clinton's "My Life" sold more than 900,000 copies in its first week.

It's not the number, it's who she gets compared to. Yeah, she got outsold by a president of the United States, but the yardstick of comparison is ... a president of the United States. There's a fact that must send an unpleasant jolt of juice through the reptilian brain of the Democratic-media complex.

Don't ya love that!!!

[narciso]

I can't imagine an algorithm that would come to that conclusion, I mean it's a totally unpolitical search query, then again having
seen what a certain search query generates it doesn't surprise me.

I have developed very low expectations about this President, he somehow manages to under
perform them, this latest move on Afghanistan
seems to validate this point of view. On another note, I think Emmerich seems to have
become producers on the National Geographic
channel. They are promoting 'Future Earth
2025, well I do even need to bring up the
angle they will take; droughts and locusts
by the looks of it.

[Janet]

Yeah,the media is really the enemy... and speaking of Sarah Palin...our local Arlington Sun Gazette paper had an article on write-in candidates in the last election.
In our County Board race Sarah got 4 votes.
In our School Board race Sarah got ? votes (they only said a "smattering").
There was only Dems. or Greens running in the races....I voted for Sarah Palin in both.
I sometimes write in Joe Wurzelbacher.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

All of you probably have goofy holiday stories that you tell about years gone by. Those, "hey remember when xxx did yyy or zzz happened," and everyone has a good laugh.

We were talking at dinner this afternoon about how with just the three of us the last few years, we really have no funny stories to tell anymore.

My son rushed thru dinner since he had to go to work at 3 pm. Tonight, Penny fixed him a big plate of 2nds and a plate for herself plus the desserts he didn't have time for earlier. She took the food plates out, wrapped in foil, and laid them carefully on the floor of the passenger seat. She left the door open and ran back in to get her purse and the dessert dishes. While she was in the house her sister called and so it was about 10 min. before she carried the dessert out. When she saw her carefully prepared plates, the foil was ripped on each and every bit of the turkey was gone from both plates of food, just the turkey. She looked up and there was my cat, Cuddles, sitting on the driver's seat with a very satisfied look on her face as she licked her chops. Penny swears this is true and that Cuddles said to her, "hey, if you snooze you lose." Now, I can't verify the last part other than to say she is a genius cat, so I'm not dismissing the possibility out of hand. :)

[narciso]

BTW I paid for my copy of GR, at Borders, avoiding the 60% markdown at Amazon, the
free order with the NewsMax subscription.
She is certainly in the company of ex presidents in terms of book sales, speaking
fees, and hopefully other things.

[hit and run]

Go Cuddles Go!!!!

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

My son bought my copy at Wal-Mart. He said he did it just to piss off an ACORN member. They are always picketing our local Wal-Mart, although I don't understand why, since 90% of the customers I see in there are blacks, lower income seniors, or illegals. Seems Wal-Mart should be a perfect fit for democrats, and yet...

[Janet]

Extraneus - it was me, and I had been searching Google images for "kill the bill rally" and "tea party rally". All of the page 1 images were from stormfront.
LUN is an article from sweetness & light from Aug 2009 about the purported rise in site traffic at racist sites. Sweetness & light has lots of articles following this.

[Gregory Koster]

Jane this is late, but what your mother is doing to you is fierce. YOu don't want to hit back either. All that can be done is live through it. Stick to the US, your spirit is needed here.

Janet, I don't agree about Ed Begley being nutso. What he's doing in such interviews as the one you linked is just good old fashioned bullying, taught in any law school. To hell with facts or engaging with an opponent, intimidation is all. As The Once proves, such tactics are often successful on the Left. More, saying Ed is nuts implies that he isn't really responsible for his actions. No no no. He is.

[PD]

Speaking of Wal-Mart, they pioneered the $4 generic prescriptions, and started opening up low-cost clinics at their stores, both of which are now being copied by Walgreens, CVS, HH Gregg, etc.

In other words, they've done more via capitalism to help people with health care costs than Our Mighty Congress.

[centralcal]

Jane: This year my oldest daughter, her husband and family decided to host Thanksgiving (a first!). After the meal, and well before serving dessert, most left the table and wandered off to watch football.

Only me, my son-in-law and his mother (early 70ish) remained, sipping our wine. The talk turned to the sorry state of our country and Obama. His Mom is a die hard, old school democrat. The bailouts. George Boosh (she hisses through gritted teeth.) The economy tanking (same reply, George Boosh). Jobs? Bank takeovers? Afghanistan? Global warming hoax. Always the same two word answer from her - George Boosh. (She is Portugese, so there is always the pronunciation Boosh, rather than Bush).

Calmly, each time, each subject, her son looked at her and said, "No, Mom." Then he and I would tell her why. Because this son is her favorite son, you could see the conflict she felt. She had no arguments, no reasoning, no rationale to support Obama, other than to say "George Boosh."

I know we wore her down and she was outnumbered. Still, it does amaze me how easily people see/hear only what they want to.

My Mom is long gone; a fanatical, die hard Republican to her core, way more involved in politics than I ever thought was healthy. I feel lucky, though, that we never had real opposition or conflicts between us in our base beliefs/tenets.

It must be so hard, Jane, when it is your Mom.

[Ann]

Go Cuddles Go!!!!

Sara:

You would of loved my cat named MealTicket who sat in front of the refrigerator until I gave her some milk.

Or the cat we named Catfish because she caught fish out of our pond.

I think Cuddles needs to be renamed Turkey-icidal just for the occasion.

And then you too can have fun at the Vet when they ask for your pets name. Ha!

[Jane]

It must be so hard, Jane, when it is your Mom.

Aww Centralcal, my mother is a weird and tough duck, always right about everything. This is a woman who has never apologized in her entire life. It's not tough, it's just her, and I have sympathy at this point for how stuck she is. But I will never give in on these issues - ever.

[anduril]

Back from our big family Thanksgiving do. Since half the family are refugees from Muslim oppression, everything went swimingly, as always. These are people who love America and know what the war is, or should be, about. And they know instinctively what liberals are trying to do to this country.

[Ann]

Oh, cc:

That is so true. When it is your mom, it is the hardest thing to do! Sister-in-laws not so much. :)

I am glad you brought that up for Jane. She worked so hard to bring her family together.

[anduril]

my mother is a weird and tough duck, always right about everything. This is a woman who has never apologized in her entire life.

heh. this describes my (just turned) 89 year old mother to a "T". somehow i didn't inherit those traits. she's pretty mellow now, in her old age, but she was a holy terror most of her life. well matched, however.

[Melinda Romanoff]

I'll briefly share my Thanksgiving story about my mother, a supporter of Obama since his community days, AND a force within the Garden Club of America as a proponent, and, to my surprise, a major financial sponsor of the AGW scheme.

I dreaded any news about the CRU, and now golbal, fabrication of data, and said nothing.

One by one, all my brothers came up to me and privately worried that this would emotionally destroy her when it got out, and would I, being the only local, be around to pick up the pieces.

They KNEW it was going to be ugly. They have been playing a game and acquiescing to all her whims, while I argued myself blue in the face.

It was a bit refreshing, knowing that they knew, but let me wage the battles. I thought I was on an island.

Jane, I can almost understand that kind of zealotry.

Off to the rack, it's a work day tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

G'night.

[narciso]

My mother is a very strong willed person, although a very gracious person and my late grandmother was no shrinking violet either.

Anduril, as you know more readily yourself, there is no particular provocation needed for Islam to strike out, which kind of makes
appeasing Salafi/Hambali/Wahhabism a mugs game. That doesn't mean war on Islam, or
total unengagement either, a little more nuance is involved

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

My Mom was like that too, but unlike Jane, who I feel for a in big way, she was a straight ticket Republican so politics was one of the few areas where we didn't butt heads. In fact, I don't think I ever knew a democrat until I went to work for the San Diego paper and I was in my late twenties. All my friends, church, sports, school were Republican. Even as a young adult, everyone around me was a Repub. Of course, as a young bride I didn't get much exposure to the "enemy" camp. There weren't a whole lot of Carterites milling around a navy town like San Diego. It wasn't until the UT that I first heard from the rabid other side. It was during the Watergate hearings when all the rats were deserting and testifying and suddenly I was surrounded by hippies in corporate camouflage and Nixon haters. It was culture shock for me at the time.

My Mom hated Carter. She had just retired when all of a sudden the interest she counted on went down, while interest was going sky high on payments. The only thing I ever heard her say about Clinton was, "doesn't that man own a pair of long pants?" She was tired of seeing him over and over in his phony jogging photo ops. As economist and Personnel Director, she would be appalled at Obama, I have no doubt on that, although she would have been very hopeful when he was elected as I know she would have celebrated electing a minority, even if he is only 1/2 AA, and in her mind a Columbia/Harvard education would move him out of what she would think of a "the minority." She was a believer in the tenet that education is the great leveler for the less fortunate.

[Ann]

Jane:

It seems I am a dollar short and a comment late tonight for you.

I admire you so much for having your family get together at your house for Thanksgiving. Maybe, I should re-think Christmas. I am just tired of the bullying.

If you, Charlie, and cc can handle it maybe I should try again too.

However, I would much prefer checking out the islands for JOM.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Well, Ann, most all I had to deal with was Mom getting shitfaced falling-down drunk, and after all these years I'm kinda used to it.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Oh, Charlie, that makes me sad for you. Been there, done that with a close family member, it is very destructive to the one left to deal, the drunk never cares.

[Pofarmer]

"Palin: Only 700,000 Sales in the First Week?"

Weren't there something like 1.5 million early sales? All of those are conveniently unmentioned.

[Ann]

Sara:

You have such a gift at writing and so much first hand knowledge of the Vietnam War that I think there is a book there just waiting to be published. And I think your mom would expect it of you.

Go For it, Sara! I would buy one and wait in line.

[hit and run]

Far be it from me to note that the Cowboys won today and the Giants lost (GO BRONCOS*!!!).

Well.

Happy Thanksgiving.

-----------
*hit and run jr was born in Rose Medical Center in Denver)

[centralcal]

anduril, what a wonderful little snippet describing your family. Uncharacteristcally brief (grin) and, actually, quite lovely.

[Ann]

Sorry Charlie:

That is so sad to hear. I shouldn't of made a joke of it. But it was funny. I feel the same way at Christmas.

I will send you a facebook message to clear it up!

[centralcal]

Ann: Before I say g'night, I just can't imagine anyone bullying you! I had a mother in law who had ways of attempting to do that to me. Fortunately, my father in law always stuck up for me.

I found the best way with bullies is to talk softer - at a lower volume than them (forces 'em to listen), speak clearer by enunciating carefully, and briefly state my sincere convictions. It usually left them fuming, instead of me! (wink)

And, if all else fails, I always know how to "waltz off to the castle," heh heh.

[hit and run]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/25/climate-czar-says-e-mails-dont-change-anything/>Czar Shrugged:

Obama administration climate czar Carol Browner on Wednesday rejected claims that e-mails stolen from a British university show climate scientists trumped up global warming numbers, saying she considers the science settled.

Ms. Browner said the only people who still doubt global warming is happening and that humans are to blame are "a very small group of people who continue to say this isn't a real problem, that we don't need to do anything."

She also said the e-mails are only trickling out, and that the entire set hasn't been released.

Ms. Browner initially shrugged when asked about the e-mails, saying she didn't have a reaction. But when a reporter followed up, she said she will stick with the consensus of the 2,500 climate scientists on the International Panel on Climate Change who concluded global warming is happening and is most likely being pushed by human actions.

[hit and run]

Reader Beware: that is NOT!!! the title of the article in the original publication.

[Ann]

Fortunately, my father in law always stuck up for me.

♥ so did mine cc!

[Jim Rhoads a/k/a vjnjagvet]

Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a good night. I overate (and overcooked.) God bless one and all, and especially our friend and faithful colleague, PUK.

[Pofarmer]

"she said she will stick with the consensus of the 2,500 climate scientists on the International Panel on Climate Change who concluded global warming is happening and is most likely being pushed by human actions.

Unfortunately, the 2500, is more like 53, documented somewhere at ClimateAudit or Wattsupwiththat.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Ann: Thank you for your faith and compliment. Although I've had times in my life of great interest, activity, and drama, I have also had many years, like those 9 in Indiana, where the most exciting thing in my life was having the bulbs I planted in the Fall turn into bright yellow daffodils in the Spring. And years earlier in San Diego, my life was work, run to football/baseball/cheerleader/carpool duty, do laundry, fall into bed, work, etc. It is maybe 15 years of nothing but long freeway commutes and practically living either at my desk or in my car going to or coming from some kid's activity. Very mundane and humdrum.

[Jack is Back!]

I am certainly not a climate scientist or even have the needed scientific curiosity, like Chaco, to devote significant time (even though I am an engineer) but I have been visiting Climate Audit and its mirror site for the last 2 days.

Talk about a "voice in the wilderness" that is now being heard. Which gives ripping muscles to the impact one man, one blog can make. My hat is off to Mr. McIntyre for his unrelenting intellectual, non-emotional skepticism and realistic study of so-called fact versus equivocation. I am impressed - he is like a hound dog on a ham bone. And the fact that he is considered a pariah by the AGW community of scientific larceny makes it even more credible. Go, Steve, Go!

[Jack is Back!]

Paul Krugman, call your office.

[Jack is Back!]

While everyone else is sleeping, it is 0950hrs here in Antwerp. Surfing the UK papers, especially The Telly, reminds me of a thought I once had: PUK wrote the captions for Matt, the Telly front page minimalist cartoonist.

Big news in the UK is the "inquiry" into the lead up and prosecution of the Iraq War This is very modern British - having inquiries into everything that has come to pass. Matt is spot on.

[peter]

The NY slimes laid off another 100 workers, but managed to find a job for Pinch Sulzberger's nephew, A.G. Sulzberger. Nepotism. Question: why don't the union thugs scream bloody hell when the Times lays of its workers?

[Sue]

Hmm. Maybe instead of blaming Bush for his eventual decision to quit in Afghanistan, Obama will blame our reluctant allies.

Not unless it polls well.

Happy belated Thanksgiving to our dear leader and all JOMers.

[Extraneus]

Thanks, Janet. I went to the Sweetness and Light link you posted, and he shows a chart of traffic stats from Alexa.com, indicating that stormfront's hits haven't grown at all. Yet, check out the Alexa site itself. The default view just shows the past month. Use the pull-down to view the "Max" chart and you will see a steady rise from dead flat since about March. Their hits are up 64% in three months -- no doubt helped by Google's thousands of factors.

This will obviously be spun as a rise in racism, targeted at Obama. Smells like a rat.

[Pagar]

A must read article, by Lloyd Marcus, selected from the top 10 must read articles at American Thinker right now.

" My efforts are targeted solely on stopping Obamazilla."

If we believe Obamazilla is not good for America, we all need to get on the same page.

[Jane]

I will take the last word on the Holiday:

The long family nightmare is over.

Let us go forth and prosper!

[Charlie (Colorado)]

That is so sad to hear. I shouldn't of made a joke of it. But it was funny. I feel the same way at Christmas.

Sure you should make jokes about it, that's what jokes are for.

The long family nightmare is over.

Exactly.

[Pagar]

Is this a joke? or a report from the Death Panels.

" Turns out Big Spender hospitals have been wasting scads of money, not to mention plaster of Paris and x-ray film, on broken bones that will, researchers now reveal, heal themselves!"

LUN

The Obama Administration seeks to reverse all medical advances since leeches to insure that all Americans have access to medical leeches.

[Extraneus]

Jack Cashill at AT: The Competing Narratives of Barry and Sarah

[jimmyk]

The long family nightmare is over.

I do my best to steer clear of politics in my family gatherings, given that they are all solid left-wing Democrats. Somehow we manage to get through the whole 5 hour gathering without anyone saying how wonderful Obama is, how awful Sarah Palin is, etc., and we end up having a pleasant time. I always feel like we're one stray remark away from a food fight, but so far it hasn't happened.

[Rocco]

I voted for Reagan as a democrat then switched to the GOP for the Weld Revolution. I may be switching parties again!

[Jane]

I did the exact same thing Rocco.

[peter]

We had four Obama voters (out of a total of 15 adults) at our dinner table last night. I mentioned that the coffee I was serving was from Indonesia, which was where our President was from. The consensus at the table was nobody wanted to get into a political discussion. But my feeling is that those in my family who did vote for Obama, are slowly waking up to the realization that he is a dud. I have to google Clarice's piece on how to talk to a liberal. It is hard for people to admit they were hoodwinked, a fact con artists often rely upon.