Sweet poll-ey goodness

* 60 percent say ObamaCare increases deficit, 58 percent back repeal

"The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 58% of likely voters nationwide favor repeal, while 38% are opposed...

...Sixty percent (60%) of voters nationwide believe the new law will increase the federal budget deficit, while just 19% say it will reduce the deficit. Fifty-seven percent (57%) think the law will increase the cost of health care, while 18% believe it will reduce costs. Fifty-one percent (51%) expect the quality of care to decline, while 24% predict it will get better...

...Overall, 39 percent of voters nationwide believe the health care law will be good for the country, while 52 percent believe it will be bad...68 percent of voters not affiliated with either of the major parties (believe ObamaCare will increase deficits.)

* North Dakota House: Berg (R) 49%, Pomeroy (D) 45%

"A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in North Dakota finds Republican Rick Berg with 49% support, while incumbent Congressman Earl Pomeroy earns 45% of the vote. Two percent (2%) prefer another candidate in the race, and four percent (4%) are undecided. This is the third straight month that Berg has enjoyed a modest advantage over the long-term incumbent...

...Opposition to the health care plan in North Dakota remains high and, as in many states, helps the Republican. Thirty-five percent (35%) of North Dakota voters think the bill is good for the country, but 53% say it will be bad. Fifty-nine percent (59%) favor repeal of the measure, while 36% oppose repeal. These figures include 46% in the state who strongly favor repeal versus 28% who strongly oppose it."

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Stephen Hawking is an idiot.

From the Apr. 25 Sunday Times:

Don’t talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking

The aliens are out there and Earth had better watch out, at least according to Stephen Hawking. He has suggested that extraterrestrials are almost certain to exist — but that instead of seeking them out, humanity should be doing all it that can to avoid any contact...

...Such scenes are speculative, but Hawking uses them to lead on to a serious point: that a few life forms could be intelligent and pose a threat. Hawking believes that contact with such a species could be devastating for humanity.

He suggests that aliens might simply raid Earth for its resources and then move on: “We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet. I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach.”


Sir Hawking is dead wrong.

Any race advanced enough to master intergalatic light speed travel or travel through wormholes, has the technology to create energy without consuming massive resources. Heck, even our comparatively primitive civilization will never completely consume all of Earth's resources.

Man develops technology as he finds ways to conserve his resources, not consume more of them. Burning peat moss for heat and light gave way to whale oil and coal because they provided more energy with less mass. Whale oil gave gave way to petrochemicals, which wasw more plentiful and provided more energy with less mass. As technology advances, nuclear power is replacing petrochemicals because they provide more energy with less mass.

An alien race roaming the unconceivably expansive universe finding planets to completely strip of all resources, when it would be technologically easier to find ways to create energy and needed resources out of common matter, or to simply reconstitute spent resources? That's just silly.

And any alien civilization advanced enough to master the technology necessary for intergalatic travel would easily be advanced far beyond using premptive violence. Again, even we are almost to that point.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Grayson nabs 'Ted Kaczynski Award' for green bomb-throwing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Contact: Donny Ferguson, 703-200-3669 or donny.f@westerntradition.org

GRAYSON NABS ‘TED KACZYNSKI AWARD’ FOR GREEN BOMB-THROWING
Angry radical congressman recognized for fighting to defeat human progress

WASHINGTON -- Kicking off an annual Earth Day tradition, Western Tradition Partnership (WTP) announced Thursday Florida Congressman Alan Grayson is the first-ever winner of the “Ted Kaczynski Award.” The award will be given annually to a member of Congress who excels in hurling rhetorical bombs in the name of turning back the clock on human progress.

“When it comes to hurling bombs at those who believe in human progress, no one does it like lone nut Alan Grayson” said Donny Ferguson, WTP National Director of Media and Public Relations. “Whether it’s voting to destroy 127,775 Florida jobs or increasing the average Orlando-area family’s utility bills by $1,607.16 with a National Energy Tax, Alan Grayson is obsessed with turning back the clock on jobs and prosperity.”

“In Alan Grayson’s America, we’d all live in tiny primitive cabins without electricity, plumbing or jobs.”

While Grayson’s hostile, unstable rhetorical bomb-throwing launched him to the top of the nominees’ list, his 100 percent rating from a radical group calling itself “The League of Conservation Voters” clinched it.

LCV founder David Brower openly boasted of his prowess in destroying jobs, comparing timber workers to guards at Nazi death camps. Brower also declared human reproduction a threat to the planet and suggested it be allowed only to select people with proper government permits. According to Brower, LCV’s mission is to be among the most radical of extremist anti-capitalist groups.

“It says something about your commitment to radicalism when you get the highest-possible rating from a group obsessed with reducing the number of jobs in Florida,” said Ferguson. “Anti-progress activists are just ‘nuts’ about Alan Grayson.”

WTP, on the other hand, is committed to protecting jobs, property rights, energy development and human progress through the peaceful means of educating citizens and legislators.

Supported by grassroots members, WTP is a fast-growing, grassroots-supported non-profit organization advocating rational, responsible natural resource development and land use policy.  For more information, go to http://www.westerntradition.org.  For more information on this issue, or to schedule an interview, contact Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or at donny.f@westerntradition.org.

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http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Forty years later, Earth Day alarmism falls on deaf ears

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Contact: Donny Ferguson, 703-200-3669, donny.f@westerntradition.org

Forty years later, Earth Day alarmism falls on deaf ears
Opposition to the environmentalist agenda growing stronger

WASHINGTON -- Despite an all-out attempt by the environmentalist lobby and mainstream media to blame Americans for supposed man-made climate change new polling finds rational thought and scientific literacy are winning out on the fortieth anniversary of Earth Day, a grassroots advocate of property rights and economic progress warns officials Thursday.

“The ‘man-made global warming’ hoax is going the way of bloodletting and witch burning,” said Donny Ferguson, Western Tradition Partnership’s National Director of Media and Public Relations. “Americans know environmentalism is nothing more than discredited socialism hiding behind a mask of junk science.”

Rasmussen Reports polling released this week finds belief in so-called “man-made global warming” and support for the environmentalist agenda at all-time lows. The polls were conducted independently by Rasmussen and were not conducted or paid for by any group or individual.

A Rasmussen poll released Tuesday finds only 16 percent of adults say national leaders should focus on stopping global warming instead of creating jobs. A whopping 72 percent of adults say creating jobs is the bigger priority.

“This should be a warning to any public official considering voting for carbon taxes, land grabs or other environmentalist schemes. The American people are on to you. They know advocating capitalism and protecting private property are best for the Earth and humans,” said Ferguson.

The poll also found 59 percent of Americans are aware there is significant scientific disagreement with the politically-motivated theory of “man-made global warming.” Only 25 percent think scientists agree on the issue. Sixty-five percent of adults who consider themselves politically independent say there is no scientific consensus in favor of supposed “man-made global warming.”

Another Rasmussen poll released Monday finds the number of voters who consider global warming a serious problem has dropped eight percent from a year ago.

Rasmussen finds “43 percent now say global warming is not serious…the number who say global warming is not serious at all is at its highest level measured in regular tracking in over a year. The overall number of voters who question the seriousness of global warming crossed into the 40s for the first time in January. Forty-eight percent (48%) of voters say global warming is caused by long-term planetary trends, while only 33% blame human activity.”

The poll found 48 percent of voters say any climate change is the result of natural planetary trends, a statement backed up by billions of years of scientific data. Only 33 percent think human activity like lightbulb use can cause long-term, global-scale climate change.

“Belief that human activity is the primary cause of global warming has declined significantly. In April 2008, the numbers were nearly the mirror image of the current findings. At that time, 47% blamed human activity, while only 34% named long-term planetary trends as the reason for climate change,” Rasmussen reported Monday.

“Americans oppose the radical environmentalist agenda, and they want their public officials to agree with them,” said Ferguson.

WTP is a fast-growing, grassroots-supported non-profit organization advocating rational, responsible natural resource development and land use policy. For more information, go to http://www.westerntradition.org. For more information on this issue, or to schedule an interview, contact Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or at donny.f@westerntradition.org.

# # #

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Chicken Little Speaks at Press Conference about Michael Mann video spoof

Video Spoofing Michael Mann Removed by YouTube – Bogus Reason Given

Video Spoofing Michael Mann Removed by YouTube – Bogus Reason Given

St. Paul — At a Washington DC press conference yesterday, the No Cap and Trade Coalition announced a new video spoofing prominent ‘climategate’ scientist, Dr. Michael Mann and his infamous ‘hockey stick chart’ showing rapidly increasing global temperatures in recent decades. The video was posted on YouTube until Wednesday afternoon, when the Google-owned video site removed the video, citing non-existent copyright claims by Jib Jab as the reason. The video was produced in response to a cease and desist demand from Michael Mann’s attorney over an older video produced by Minnesotans for Global Warming. The original Hide the Decline video they created used some Jib Jab-provided animation, under their general license and with their expressed written consent, but the new video, recently removed by YouTube contains no such content.

Spokesman for the No Cap and Trade Coalition, Jeff Davis said, “It looks like Dr. Mann has gone into overdrive trying to hide ‘Hide the Decline,’ since the new video was launched and began to spread like wildfire across the internet.” In the span of less than a day, the video had been linked on over 1,000 websites, including News Busters, Junk Science, and the American Spectator. It was going viral fast and the press was calling when YouTube pulled the plug.

According to the No Cap and Trade Coalition, Jib Jab has no rightful claims on the new video, titled ‘Hide the Decline II.’

“They have no basis for this copyright claim. It’s outrageous that they would claim ownership of content we produced, if that’s indeed what’s happened, as YouTube claims in the removal notice,” said Davis.

Although YouTube has decided to stifle the popular new satirical video, it’s still available through other venues and can be viewed at NoCapAndTrade.com.

##

Minnesotans for Global Warming (M4GW) uses humor to illustrate the absurdity of anthropogenic global warming fears. Their slogans are “Turn your snow shovels into lawn chairs,” and “Nothing would be green without CO2.” - M4GW.com

The No Cap and Trade Coalition consists of over 40 state and national organizations that are opposed to cap and trade legislation. For more information, see NoCapAndTrade.com


http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Klein backpedals on 'sedition.' Or was it a flip-flop?

From Andy Barr's article in the Apr. 19 Politico

Rebutting attacks from conservative critics, Time columnist Joe Klein on Monday said he stands his assertion that Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin are coming close to being “seditious” in their attacks on President Barack Obama...

...“Let me be clear: dissent isn't sedition. Questioning an Administration's policies isn't sedition. But questioning an Administration's legitimacy in a manner intended to undermine or overthrow it certainly is.”


Follow up question for Joe. If "questioning an Administration's legitimacy in a manner intended to undermine or overthrow it" is "sedition," will you help arrest all the Democrats who claimed George W. Bush didn't really win the 2000 election?

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Obama 'stimulus' cash pipeline hooked up to party label, not unemployment figures

Sold as a program to keep the nation's unemployment rate under eight percent (now at 9.7 percent,) the Obama administration's awarding of stimulus funds does not follow unemployment rates or even variations in unemployment rates.

It does, however, follow the party of the congressman who is up for election in November.

Veronique de Rugy, senior research fellow at George Mason University's Mercatus Center, analyzing data from Recovery.org, finds Obama's "stimulus" program pours an average of 180 percent more funding into congressional districts held by Democrats than it does into districts held by Republicans.

De Rugy, finding the supposed unemployment funds do not correlate to unemployment figures, writes:

We should expect the government to invest relatively more money in the states that have the highest unemployment rates and less money in the states with lower unemployment rates....

Yet, with a few exceptions, the data show that this is not the case. Many higher-unemployment states are getting far fewer stimulus dollars than lower-unemployment states.

Take Michigan, for instance. Michigan’s 15.2 percent unemployment rate is the highest in the country. So far, it has received $403 per person in stimulus funds. That’s above the average stimulus per person across all states ($326). However, it’s lower than the $409 per person that the state of Vermont, a state with relatively low unemployment (6.8 percent), has received so far. Michigan's per-person take is also much lower than the $707 per person the District of Columbia received. D.C.'s unemployment rate is 9.9 percent.

Now look at the state with the lowest unemployment rate in the country: North Dakota. It’s getting $253 per person with a 4.3 percent unemployment rate. Many other states are receiving roughly the same amount of stimulus funds per person despite much higher rates of unemployment.


It's starting to look like Obama's "stimulus" program is nothing more than another plan to purchase a Democrat-controlled Congress using funds borrowed from future taxpayers, much like the bailout of the United Auto Workers, the Cornhusker Kickback of Sen. Ben Nelson and the Louisiana Purchase of Sen. Mary Landrieu.

Rather than provide jobs for Americans who need them, Obama appears to be in the business of buying jobs for Democrat politicians who don't deserve them.



http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Democrats' promised post-HCR 'bump' becoming a black hole

A Rasmussen poll released Saturday finds 53 percent of voters "now say they trust Republicans on the issue of health care. Thirty-seven percent (37%) place their trust in Democrats. A month earlier, the two parties were essentially even on the health care issue."

Despite proclamations Americans would accept ObamaCare once the president signed it. the 54 percent who want it repealed is virtually unchanged over the two weeks since it was signed into law. Two weeks ago, 50 percent of Americans said the bill was "bad for the country." That figure has now risen to 52 percent.

They go on to report, "the economy remains the top issue of voter concern as it has been for over years. On the economy, Republicans are trusted more by 49 percent while Democrats are preferred by 37 percent. That’s a big improvement for the GOP following a five-point advantage last month."

Meanwhile, a Rasmussen poll released today finds among voters not affiliated with either major political party, 50 percent say their views are closer to the Tea Party while 38 percent side with the President.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

We need lose only 40 more jobs for recovery to begin

Democrats often say a rising unemployment rate, defined as those in the labor force looking for work, is a sign of Obama's success, as it means people are optimistic and are re-entering the labor force.

Let's assume a rising, or in the current case stagnant, unemployment rate is a sign of faith in Obama's economic prowess.

If you then include those who have given up looking for work or cannot find full-time employment, which would decline if the Democrat theory were true, the nation's unemployment rate increased to 16.9 percent last month, despite what is supposed to be the most robust job growth in three years (inflated with temporary government paychecks.)

And why are White House economists floating stories that unemployment will stay around nine percent, or higher, for a long time?

For one, to lower expectations for a president whose done a wonderful job of that anyway.

And second, to prepare people for the spike in unemployment that will follow the massive increase in costs to employers posed by ObamaCare, forcing them to lay off even more workers or delay hiring to make up the costs.

And that's before you get to the billions of dollars heaped on employers in even more taxes should Obama succeed in ramming his national carbon tax program down the throats of an unwilling American people.

Recovery will come, as it always has. The question is when, and to what extent it should have occurred already.

The employment situation is bleak and recovery that should have occurred months ago will be delayed further because of White House policies bent on punishing employment activity.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Still more bad news for Democrats...

* Rasmussen finds 49 percent of Americans think Obama's plan to give the federal government total control over student loan programs is a bad idea. Among independents, 49 percent say it's a bad idea. Only 37 percent like the idea. Again, 49 percent of independents also believe Obama's claim it will save money is false.

Even among those with loans or with a family member with a loan, more think it's a bad idea than a good idea.

* USA Today/Gallup, which traditionally leans Democrat, finds 50 percent of Americans say Obama does not deserve reelection, with 46 percent saying otherwise.

* "The poll shows that 26 percent of 1,033 adults polled nationwide said Obama deserves a “great deal” of blame for the nation’s economic problems, double the percentage that said the same last summer..."

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com