When will this scam end?

I've covered this scam before, so I take special pleasure in reporting that many of Al Gore's claims about global warming have been shown to be false.


Gore claims that Himalayan glaciers are shrinking and global warming is to blame. Yet the September 2006 issue of the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Climate reported, "Glaciers are growing in the Himalayan Mountains, confounding global warming alarmists who recently claimed the glaciers were shrinking and that global warming was to blame."

Gore claims the snowcap atop Africa's Mt. Kilimanjaro is shrinking and that global warming is to blame. Yet according to the November 23, 2003, issue of Nature magazine, "Although it's tempting to blame the ice loss on global warming, researchers think that deforestation of the mountain's foothills is the more likely culprit. Without the forests' humidity, previously moisture-laden winds blew dry. No longer replenished with water, the ice is evaporating in the strong equatorial sunshine."

Gore claims global warming is causing more tornadoes. Yet the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated in February that there has been no scientific link established between global warming and tornadoes.

Gore claims global warming is causing more frequent and severe hurricanes. However, hurricane expert Chris Landsea published a study on May 1 documenting that hurricane activity is no higher now than in decades past. Hurricane expert William Gray reported just a few days earlier, on April 27, that the number of major hurricanes making landfall on the U.S. Atlantic coast has declined in the past 40 years. Hurricane scientists reported in the April 18 Geophysical Research Letters that global warming enhances wind shear, which will prevent a significant increase in future hurricane activity.

Gore claims global warming is causing an expansion of African deserts. However, the Sept. 16, 2002, issue of New Scientist reports, "Africa's deserts are in 'spectacular' retreat . . . making farming viable again in what were some of the most arid parts of Africa."

Gore argues Greenland is in rapid meltdown, and that this threatens to raise sea levels by 20 feet. But according to a 2005 study in the Journal of Glaciology, "the Greenland ice sheet is thinning at the margins and growing inland, with a small overall mass gain." In late 2006, researchers at the Danish Meteorological Institute reported that the past two decades were the coldest for Greenland since the 1910s.

Gore claims the Antarctic ice sheet is melting because of global warming. Yet the Jan. 14, 2002, issue of Nature magazine reported Antarctica as a whole has been dramatically cooling for decades. More recently, scientists reported in the September 2006 issue of the British journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Series A: Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences, that satellite measurements of the Antarctic ice sheet showed significant growth between 1992 and 2003. And the U.N. Climate Change panel reported in February 2007 that Antarctica is unlikely to lose any ice mass during the remainder of the century.

Call me Ishmael

My damn gout has flared up for about this past week or so. I'm not even sure why, since I've been pretty good about what I eat and drink. [Then again, the two weekends before that? Not so much, so maybe that's it]. So anyway, the shit won't go away. If I keep taking anti-inflammatories, I'm ok. I neglected to take one before bed last night, so I'm hobbling around work, like Captain Ahab, until the one I took this morning can start working and the inflammation goes down.
We had a pretty busy weekend, and you couldn't ask for better weather. Gorgeous!

On Saturday, we went to Athfest, which is the Athens Music Festival. Mrs S bought me a ring. It's titanium with a diamond-like stone. I bought her a set of pottery lamps.

On Sunday, we went to the Pride parade in Atlanta. It was also fun. We bought a dining room set from a craftsman. Very Cool set, but we set up plans to come back later with my pickup and somehow get it out. When I returned at about 6:30, I had no idea where the booth was. The vendors didn't know Atlanta, so they sent me on one goose chase after another. After about an hour of this, I called them back, very frustrated, and cancelled the order. The Missus is going to call them today to try and set something up.

UPDATE: The craftsman called and said he would deliver the furniture for free! We should have it this week.

Immigrants and TB...Again

I know, here I go again.

According to the Charlotte Observer, 131 workers at a chicken processing plant have tested positive for TB

the number of infected workers reflects a concern about a growing health threat: immigrants increasingly carrying TB to the U.S.
"It's become more of an imported disease," said Dr. Jason Stout, an infectious disease specialist at Duke University who serves as one of North Carolina's tuberculosis consultants.

Foreign-born residents accounted for 55 percent of TB cases nationwide in 2005 -- the last year for which statistics were available. The greatest number of foreign born cases, 25 percent, or 1,942 cases, came from Mexico, followed by the Philippines, Vietnam, and India. In 1993, foreign-born residents made up 29 percent of reported TB cases.

More than 60 percent of line workers in the chicken industry are Hispanic. And experts say most of the workers probably entered the U.S. already infected.

Tuberculosis Statistics

Nationally, the TB rate among Hispanics in the United States -- 9.2 for every 100,000 people -- was about eight times higher than that for whites, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
African Americans, at a rate of 10.1 for every 100,000 people, are more likely to have tuberculosis than Hispanics, as are Asians, at a rate of 25.5.
From 2005 to 2006, the number of foreign-born TB cases in North Carolina increased about 22 percent -- from 110 to 134, according to the N.C. Division of Public Health.

Celebrate freedom...with a riot

What is it about black folks in crowds?
In Milwaukee, it was Juneteenth Celebration.
It ended in a riot, including plenty of vandalism and beating innocent bystanders.
Here's video.

I think I'd be hitting the gas and mowing down a path before I let a mob stomp on my car and pull me out for a beating.

UPDATE: There are other incidents from other Juneteenth celebrations across the country. You can google it to find them. Here's a doozy from Syracuse, NY:

Police shut down the Juneteenth celebration in Clinton Square shortly after 8 p.m. tonight after fights began in the crowd and hundreds of people ran through the square and the streets surrounding it.
There were two stabbings and 14 people, 13 adults and one juvenile, were arrested, Deputy Police Chief Frank Fowler said.

The Great Diamond Ripoff

I'm of the opinion that diamonds are a huge ripoff. When we got married, I got Mrs Schwartz an engagement band, then we decided that it was idiotic to spend tons of money on a useless, shiny rock, so we got a fake diamond for the wedding ring.
Those of you who have spent more than a few days with a woman know where this is going.

No sooner were we back from the honeymoon, then Mrs Schwartz started whining about how everybody has a big, beautiful diamond, but her. Even good, fake diamonds don't hold their sparkle over time; they get dull-looking.

I was steadfast; diamonds are a stupid waste of money. I could buy a car for what most people spend on a stupid rock that does nothing.

When we hit our 5th anniversary, she jacked up the nagging. I responded that I didn't mind blowing money, but I'll be damned to blow it on a stupid rock, who's only considerable value was dictated by the industry that's selling it to you. How moronic is that?
I [happily] bought her an antique piano. We now have a century-old piano, that neither of us can play. Ya know what? I like that piano. We have a couple of friends that CAN play. When they come over, we have a great time. No regrets.

Well, we've worked out a bunch of bad history recently. Our marriage is stronger because of it. The future is bright. In a moment of emotion and weakness, I said that, hell, I guess it's time we got you a wedding ring. Well, she's clamped down on that like a pitbull with lockjaw.
There's no going back. We went diamond shopping yesterday. Honestly, it's killing me to fork over this much cash for something worthless.
All I'm thinking is that I could get a new washer, dryer, stove, and cabinets, for what I'm blowing on this stupid rock.

UPDATE: WooHoo! She has decided that she wants to wear a family heirloom instead. She previously didn't like the design (probably still doesn't), but she has decided to go with that. The best part is that I didn't say a word about it; she decided on her own.

News Bytes

Michael Moore Claims he is a victim of Bias.
No further comment needed.

After botched raid, Atlanta drug warrants drop.
Yeah, it's so much harder to get the warrants when you don't just make up a story for the judge.

NYC Teen Tormented Because His Name Is 'Osama'
You're thinking how crual children can be, right?
Osama says the students at his school did not participate in the tormenting. In fact, he says they often sympathized with him over the treatment he was receiving from his teachers."The students were more understanding than the teachers. The teachers are the ones who called him names -- bin Laden, terrorist. One of the teachers told him not to bother to come to class because no matter what he did he's not gonna pass,'"

The 54th

I just finished watching Glory. I've seen it before but it's a good enough movie to see several times.
Being the big softy that I am, I was crying through a good piece of it. Keeping in mind the historical setting, the most moving parts of the movie for me were actually pretty subtle. When the black soldiers are allowed guns; when they are given uniforms; when they march through town with the other soldiers and make eye contact with the blacks in the crowd. You can see that this is not only a first, but a milestone. You feel the importance of it.
As they march through the south, the black folks line up along the road to watch them.

At the end of the movie, they have to attack fort Wagner, which involves crossing about a quarter mile of open beach with the confederate cannon pointed down at them. They know they are going to take heavy casualties.

There's one scene that I wish they had, but they didn't. It would go like this:
SGT (Morgan Freeman): What are you here fighting for?
Soldiers: Our Freedom!
SGT: No, you're not. Let me tell you. Whether we win or lose; whether you die or live; you are not fighting for your freedom, because, no matter what, you will not get your freedom.
Remember those little black children that lined up along the road?
You are fighting and dying for their freedom.

UPDATE: How sweet is this? After the movie ended, I woke up Mrs Schwartz to give her time to get ready for our fancy dinner. On the way to the restaurant, I was recounting the movie to her and how powerful it is. At one point she said that it's very upsetting, I responded with "I know! You should have seen it!"
Just as we parked in front of the restaurant, she said she couldn't go in. HEARING about the movie had made her so upset, that she was nauseous. After a time, we went into the restaurant, but she couldn't eat any of her meal and had to duck into the ladies room three times, because she felt sick. We boxed up her food and ate it the next day.
Remember, this is just from hearing about it from me!