Just in Time for the Playoffs

Look who's back in Minnesota!

Eco-blackmail

Here's an idea for our eco-friends in St. Croix Falls:

King County Executive Ron Sims plans to introduce legislation that would allow the county to reject or modify development projects because of their effect on global warming.

As usual, evil developers could buy their way back into heaven with the purchase of indulgences.

Widespread Cooling

From DailyTech:

The total amount of cooling ranges from 0.65C up to 0.75C -- a value large enough to wipe out nearly all the warming recorded over the past 100 years. All in one year's time...it's the single fastest temperature change ever recorded, either up or down.

Jail the planet! It is ignoring the science!

Warmest Regards

I would be remiss if I didn't thank Rep. Jeremy Kalin for making his fall ouster much easier this week. His unflinching support of one of the biggest tax increases in state history puts to rest any future claims of "fiscal conservatism."

While taxpayers are hurting, paying more for everything because of rising oil prices, and entering an economic recession, he thought nothing of taking $500 a year from the average family to further enrich the state.

I sure hope he voted on principle, because it will be his only consolation when he loses his seat.

A Symbol For All Time

One begins to wonder if the Barack Obama assassination talk is more fantasy than simple prediction.

Seeing as how the last two attempts were of Republican presidents and only unhinged losers believe Paul Wellstone's plane crash was anything but an unfortunate accident, it begs the question: Is the left in this country looking for a president, or a martyr?

How Did I Miss This?

David Suzuki, on those who dare question the religio-science of global warming:

He urged today’s youth to speak out against politicians complicit in climate change, even suggesting they look for a legal way to throw our current political leaders in jail for ignoring science – drawing rounds of cheering and applause.

Talk of jail for dissenting speech met with "cheering and applause." No. There's nothing fascist about this movement.

Nothing at all.

UPDATE: Somebody better shackle these bastards:

...figures from the respected US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show that almost all the “lost” ice has come back.

Ice levels which had shrunk from 13million sq km in January 2007 to just four million in October, are almost back to their original levels.

Figures show that there is nearly a third more ice in Antarctica than is usual for the time of year.

This can't be global warming. There can only be one possible explanation: it's climate change.

Who Thought of That?

Try as I might, I could find nothing in the news today more humorous than John McCain's attempts to get out from under the campaign finance laws he worked so hard to create.

IMBY

The environmental guinea pigs across the river are getting a little competition for "greenest" city, from San Francisco:

Mayor Gavin Newsom recently created a $160,000-a-year job for a senior aide and gave him the ambitious-sounding title of director of climate protection initiatives.

Oh, it's on.

Megan McArdle, blogging at Instapundit, is hard put:

I am hard put to imagine what the city of San Francisco imagines it can do, all by its lonesome, to halt global warming--the nature of international oil supplies, and fixed infrastructure investment, mean that any energy not used in San Francisco will simply be purchased by someone else at a very modestly lower price.

Purchased, perhaps, by a neighboring community?

Further evidence that, while cities' attempts to "go green" are completely pointless in the larger sense, having your neighbor do so ain't half bad.

UPDATE: Disgruntled St. Croix Falls-ian checks in:

Why are we turning Main Street into a low cost housing project for starving artists?

I don't know, but can a spontaneous drum circle be far behind?

Check out SCF's blog, it might be on to something:

Wake up people of the world. Global Warming is a hoax. It is socialist behavior modification.

She Chooses Base

Nancy Pelosi's decision to kill the FISA bill rather than simply allow it to pass with a lock majority vote, has left us deaf:

Imad Mugniyeh, one of the world’s most-wanted terrorists, was killed in Syria last week. His terrorist network, Iranian-backed Hizballah, has threatened revenge against the US and Israel, but NSA is left nearly blind to new intelligence targets. Pakistan -- after the Bhutto assassination -- is holding an election this week that al-Queda and the Taliban want to disrupt. And they may, without NSA interference.

Hmm. Killing a vital program over assurances from other Democrats they would vote for the bill. National security? Or pleasing the base? A tough choice, that.

Bush Could Lose

Chuck Schumer on Meet the Press:

The great moral issue is defeating George Bush, John McCain, and coming up with a way that we can do--walk away from the convention unified.

The sad thing is it could actually happen. Here we are less than a year from the general election and Bush hasn't even started campaigning yet.

Experiment Concluded

Guilty of lesser charges.

If you stopped by and did some reading, I hope you found it interesting.

Day 11: Emergence

Well. That sucked.

It still sucks frankly, but proportionately less so. Pain is like the weather; it all depends on what you're used to.

The pronounced limp is gone and GD³ no longer gags when I change the dressing. So, that's got to be good.

This week has been extremely busy with the trial and I really do have better things to do than blog right now, but the incredible volume of e-mails from well-wishers was clogging the server.

It's a burn. I'm good. It's not gangrenous (Really Boz, it smells fine). Go back to your lives.

It has been a tough week to be out of the office, especially with bombshells like this dropping:

Canadian folk rock legend Neil Young said he has lost all hope that music can change the world,...

I miss one week and the whole damn axis shifts right under my feet.

Five Degrees of Agony

The progression of pain associated with a deep second degree burn:

1. "Please, please, just get me a cigarette." - Severe burning sensation, lasts a couple of hours

2. "Hey, this ain't so bad." - Late first day.

3. "It's hardly buggin' me at all." - Day two, into day three

4. "I feel good enough for some alone time with the Missus." - Day three, night

5. "Oh my God, this is excruciating." - Day four

I have a sinking feeling number five is going to be around a while (boiling ramen - spill - ankle - to gross too show online).

Eddie Shore-like

The Gophers and Sioux combined for 160 playoff minutes last night, during a game in which the post-game handshake had to be abandoned due to fighting.

It was probably the best game of the seasons for the Gophers, and they still couldn't get the win, settling for a one-one tie.

The "hit of the game" was the ref throwing a Sioux player into the box after one of the more exciting brawls.

And, oh ya, UND coach Dave Hackstol flipped off a ref.

God I love hockey.

The Dangers of Debate Drinking Games and Liveblogging

Nihilist at 7:35:

Hillary twists the tax and spend question back to health care. Hil baby, you’re starting to become a health care boor.

Nihilist at 8:35:

Hil you look cuty when you talk about surrenderinggg. You can surrenter to me baby,

Eww.

Now That's a Great Career

It's Super Bowl weekend, and with an undefeated Patriots team poised to make history, the inevitable "greatest ever" discussions are rampant, focused primarily on Tom Brady and the team as a whole. While I don't care to weigh in on those debates, it seems like a timely moment to remember the greatest career ever, in any sport.

Read this abridged list of accomplishments and dare to disagree:

- 2,857 career regular season points (the next closest is 30 short of a thousand less)
- Quickest to 50 goals (39 games)
- 61 goals in fifty games, not once, not twice, but three times
- Over a glorious 51-game streak, he averaged three points per game (153 points)
- 894 goals in 1,487 games
- 92 goals in a single season, more than one per game in an 80-game schedule
-47 points in a single playoff
- 1,963 regular season assists (1,487 games), more than one a game over an entire career
- Youngest player to score 50 goals (19 years, 2 months)
- 50 hat tricks
- 9 MVP awards
- 19 seasons as his teams leading scorer (all but one of a 20-year career)
- Four consecutive 70-goal seasons
- 10 assists in a four-game playoff series
- 137 points in his first year
- He reached 1,000 points in 424 games
- Quickest to reach, 50, 200, 400, 500, 600, 700, and 800 goal benchmarks
- On retirement, he held 61 NHL records (he still holds 60)

Wayne Gretzky. The Great One.