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2.02.2007

While the Administration's Education supporters run for the hills . . .

The National Review printed a "Run Away, Run Away" article about NCLB and the American Enterprise Institute resurrected Charles Murray (Bell Curve) to begin a measured retreat from the Bush education policy.

So when the entire world says the place is getting warmer, some of the Administration's REAL friends show their true colors in support. Washington is full of fair-weather friends, but with friends like Senator Inhoffe, you really don't need enemies.
Oklahoma Republican senator James Inhofe has been one of the lone bright spots in Washington when it comes to media accountability, specifically on the issue of global warming. He's continuing his hard-hitting approach Wednesday with a congressional hearing examining how the media has been been trying to scare the public into siding with climate change alarmists:

Sen. James M. Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican and chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, will hold a full committee hearing tomorrow (First week in December 2006) on "Climate Change and the Media."


Global warming, according to Senator Inhoffe, is bogus garbage foisted off on the public by a bunch of envronmentalists whose motivation stems from their mistaking the planet for GOD. The benefit they will derive from their interference in our lives? Some kind of stuff. Ahem. Well, something at the very least.

You can't simply say that the the people he quotes are all on the payroll of Exxon-Mobil and that simple fact makes them unreliable. I mean really! Look at those environmentalists, they are religious fanatics! That should be sufficient reason to doubt them. Just look at them. All nasty and healthy. Probably a bunch of lousy vegans.

By the way, you lousy vegans, his friend Pat Robertson is muttering about God and plagues.

1.31.2007

Bush's glass wastebsket

Kristen Hellmer, of the Council on Environmental Quality, part of the Executive Office of the US President, said the CEQ had been cooperating with Congress. When asked about allegations of political interference in scientific documents, she said: "We do have in place a very transparent system in science reporting."

Full article.

As to the force applied on people who speak out on global warming:

"After that speech and the release of data by Dr Hansen on December 15 showing that 2005 was probably the warmest year in at least a century, officials at the headquarters of the space agency repeatedly phoned public affairs officers, who relayed the warning to Dr Hansen that there would be 'dire consequences' if such statements continued, those officers and Dr Hansen said in interviews," the Times reported.

Full article Hansen works at NASA. You know, the place you can't say "Big Bang" without adding, "It's just a *theory*, you know."

Granted, New Scientist is not the source I would like it to be, but the articles are properly linked out to their sources.

1.30.2007

Believe in Magic:
"I did not alter that scientific report!"

"Snicker, snicker."
Last Friday night we went to see Frank Caliendo at the Palm Beach Improv. He does an awesome impression of the Decider.

Today Senator Waxman said the White House has documents that prove they have been deliberately altering documents that deal with scientists' professional judgments surrounding global warming.

"We know that the White House possesses documents that contain evidence of an attempt by senior administration officials to mislead the public by injecting doubt into the science of global warming and minimize the potential danger," Waxman said.
CNN

What's going on here? Didn't we find out about this back in June of 2005? Don't you remember the whistle blower who ratted on Philip A. Cooney, chief of staff of the White House Council on Environmental Quality for altering a report? The whole thing came out in the news and is well documented.

Maybe we believed the scientist Myron Ebell from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who defended the editing as necessary for "consistency." Ebell tried to offer a dodge saying that the report was cleared by several governmental agencies. Unfortunately a "whistleblower who resigned in March from the government office that coordinates federal climate change programs, made the documents — showing handwritten edits by Cooney — available to the Project on Government Accountability and, in turn, to news media."


Or maybe we believed the White House representative when she said, "He's not a cleared spokesman..."

Cooney was hired by Exxon within a week.

So what does this have to do with today?
This:
WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 — President Bush has signed a directive that gives the White House much greater control over the rules and policy statements that the government develops to protect public health, safety, the environment, civil rights and privacy.


The NYT

Need I say more? What's next? A government news agency called The Newserator.

1.29.2007

Expulsion Improves School Scores

A story at the Independent Online in Britain says some schools are allowed to get rid of troublesome students in order to improve their annual evaluation (like NCLB):
Ministers privately support the exclusion of large numbers of "challenging" pupils by Tony Blair's flagship academies, a senior government official has revealed.

Story here.

Of course we knew it was being done to us at my workplace. But nobody has ever acknowledged it or done anything about it. It seems Britain has a similar situation.

Why do I think it is happening? The signs? How about a December influx of new students with police records? We really didn't need to wait until report cards were printed to know we were being hustled again.

We may not be the brightest bulbs in the chandelier, but it is possible the advances our students made would be recognized by the community. The kids work hard and deserve a pat on the back.