Thursday, February 07, 2008
Things Like This Don’t Help
It should be noted that this piece of McCain Derangement was not penned by his Imperial Nastiness, Misha I, however, it really doesn’t matter who wrote it, since most of the people who are going to vote for McCain will read it and think all of us who aren’t probably think this way.
For the record: We do not.
As far as conspiracy theories go though, I give it a solid B+. 
Senator McCain’s Speech To CPAC (UPDATED)
Captain Ed has a live blog of it. For the most part I agree with Ed, McCain said what he needed to say and that overall the speech was an excellent one - and this is from someone who has no intention of voting for McCain in the general - and perhaps could change the minds of more than a few McCain skeptics.
On the other side, Dan Riehl wasn’t all the impressed.
UPDATE: Michelle Malkin makes a good point:
I don’t for a minute buy his claim that he “respects the opposition” of his staunchest opponents, especially the anti-amnesty crowd. These are folks he has cursed and likened to Bull Connor-style bigots. He has done nothing to rid his campaign staff and finance board of the most extreme open-borders zealots.
That part of McCain’s speech rang more than just a little hollow for me as well.
Political Tone Deafness
What a smart idea...
The McCain Campaign reportedly sent Senator Lindsey Graham to woo Sean Hannity.
I don’t particularly like Hannity, and view him, as well as his peers in talk radio, as more necessary evils than anything else, who probably shouldn’t be courted by anyone - the more they’re ignored the better it is for everyone in my opinion. But sending Lindsey Graham to talk to Hannity? That shows an astonishing amount of “not getting it” by the McCain camp.
Who Couldn’t Have Seen This Coming (UPDATED)
It’s been known on the conservative side of the blogosphere, pretty much ever since Senator McCain won Florida, that the Democrats would start attacking him, the only question was when would they start, well today DNC Chairman Howard Dean let everyone know that the day has arrived:
John McCain will be the Republican nominee—he’s the only one with a reasonable path to the nomination.
So how do we beat him? We stand up—right now—start fighting, and show the American people that he’s not who they think he is.
John McCain is a media darling, but don’t trust his carefully-crafted image - he’s worked for years to brand himself. From Iraq to health care, Social Security to special interest tax cuts to ethics, he’s promising nothing more than a third Bush term. (emphasis added)
Of course now the question becomes will conservative bloggers stand up and actually fight for a man who has done very little except spit in the collective faces of them and spit on their principles for the better part of a decade?
Some will, some won’t, and a few will only defend him when it’s blatant Democratic distortion. For the record I probably fall into the last category.
UPDATE: And now Hillary Clinton gets in on the act:
“It appears as though Senator McCain will be the Republican nominee,” Mrs. Clinton said, speaking to hundreds of students at a suburban high school here. “And I have the greatest respect for my friend and my colleague Senator McCain. But I believe that he offers more of the same, more of the same economic policies, more of the same military policies in Iraq.”
She added that Mr. McCain ”said recently he could see having American troops in Iraq for 100 years,” while she wanted them to start coming home “in 60 days.
Mrs. Clinton referred to Mr. McCain later in her speech, suggesting that she is more qualified to help the country out of a recession. ”Senator McCain has said he doesn’t know much about the economy,” she said. (emphasis added)
Going to be a long 200 days.
Solar Activity Has An Effect On Earth’s Climate
Al Gore’s head just exploded
Every day, scientists hoping to see an increase in solar activity train their instruments at the sun as it crosses the sky. This is no idle academic pursuit: A lull in solar action could potentially drive the planet’s temperature down, or even prompt a mini Ice Age.
For millennia, thermonuclear forces inside the star have followed a regular rhythm, causing its magnetic field to peak and ebb, on average, every 11 years. Space weathermen are watching for telltale increases in sunspots, which would signal the start of a new cycle, predicted to have started last March and expected to peak in 2012. “When the sun’s active, it’s a little bit brighter,” explains Ken Tapping, a solar researcher and project director for Canada’s National Research Council.
So far, Tapping reports no change in the magnetic field strength, as measured by radio telescopes. On the more positive side, last month NASA reported a small, earth-sized sunspot with a magnetic field pointing in the opposite direction from those in the previous cycle; qualities that designate the spot as a signal of a new upturn in activity. At the solar maximum, scientists expect to see between 75 and 150 such sunspots per day.
Tapping oversees the operation of a 60-year-old radio telescope that he calls a “stethoscope for the sun.” Recent magnetic field readings are as low as he’s ever seen, he says, and he’s worked with the instrument for more than 25 years. If the sun remains this quiet for another a year or two, it may indicate the star has entered a downturn that, if history is any precedent, could trigger a planetary cold spell that could bring massive snowfall and severe weather to the Northern Hemisphere.
The last such solar funk corresponded with a period of bitter cold that began around 1650 and lasted, with intermittent spikes of warming, until 1715. While there were competing causes for the climatic shift—including the Black Death’s depopulation of tree-cutting Europeans and, more substantially, increased volcanic activity spewing ash into the atmosphere—the sun’s lethargy likely had something to do with it. (emphasis added)
Via Protein Wisdom.
And Then There Were Two (UPDATED)
He’s expected to make the announcement at CPAC later today.
Usually you have to wait until the general election to make the choice between the lesser of two evils, the states that have yet to hold primaries get it earlier this year.
It’s like Christmas in February!
UPDATE: Watched Romney’s speech from CPAC, the one question I have is just where was that man during his primary campaign? I voted for Romney on Tuesday but I pretty much had to hold my nose to do so, which made it interesting when I actually said yes to Romney during the caucus, came out more like “nses”. Had it been the Romney I saw today I would have been more enthused about my vote for him.
UPDATE: Yes, I do realize that Ron Paul is still in the race, but seriously it’s Ron Paul.