Chile Chooses Earthquake Over Clinton Visit

On hearing news of next week's planned visit fron U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,  the Chilean Government has taken a questionable step.

In an unprecedented act this morning, the Governing body of Chile unleashed an earthquake of 8.8 magnitude on it's people and infrastructure. "It's a necessary move." Said Chilean ambassador Mariano Fernández anonymously.

When asked if these types of slash and burn tactics were absolutely necessary, Chilean President Michele Bachelet said simply, "We are elected to make the tough decisions. The people must be spared the horror."

The Ambassador and President were of course referring to the 2009 September incident reported by The Onion News Network in which Hillary Clinton was used in an historic first strike against Pakistan, causing chaos and despair throughout the region.

When informed that The Onion is in fact a satirical online magazine and that the story they referred to is merely parody, the Ambassador replied "Satire? Really? I would have to ask the Pakistani people about that." President Bachelet, nonplussed, said "Are you sure? I saw it on the internet..."




MNR reporter iRoomba is on the ground in the capitol city of Santiago vacuuming up details of the quake: "The devastation is beyond anything I've ever witnessed. I remember first owner commenting on state of son's room once, saying "It looks like tornado hit this place." This is far worse than that. These guys are needing some serious cleanup. They may want to hire some maids. And a dumpster."

The people of Hawaii and the eastern coast of California are bracing for the resultant tsunami which could develop as a result of the 8.8 quake. Surfers are lining the beaches. Some have already begun to paddle out to get ahead of other thrill seekers anticipating the massive waves.  In a scene reminiscent of the movie Point Break, one excited young Californian was heard saying "It's a once in a lifetime event man! You would have to travel to the other side of the effin' world for a wave like this! Special order dude. Special order!" - We wish them luck.

Unfortunately, the move may not have the desired effect. Mrs. Clinton is said to still be planning her trip to the region. "We can't let this crisis go to waste. Those Chileans might have some groovy necklaces and stuff for sale. Prices would be really low right now."
Sources at Fox News:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to fly to Latin America Sunday for a weeklong trip, including a stop in Chile. Crowley said the department is "assessing, but no change yet."

In a prepared statement this morning President Obama's teleprompter reportedly said, "This tragedy could have been avoided. If we had seized the opportunity. If we had passed Health Care Reform, none of this would have happened."


MNR's on the ground reporter iRoomba remains on the scene and is currently at his docking station getting a much needed recharge. We'll bring you more when he unplugs.

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The President's Ash Tray...

or is that Ass Hat?
New one from No Sheeples Here. I just had to swipe it.

How does it that feel Joe? Looks like it hurt.
Reminds me of this.

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Friday Fun...

iOTW has some sheep that No Sheeples Here would be interested to see. Watch out for the lasers!

The Thinker has his eye on a new hybrid VW.

The Other McCain is grossed out for some reason or another...

and so is Snark and Boobs, who has video of the sticky situation.


The Troglopundit has made an offer to Sarah Palin to fill a position of some kind. Good luck with that.

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Texas Conservatives Battle EPA

And now for the next installment of:

The Peter Morrison Report:

Summary of this week's report:

There's some good news this week for Texas conservatives - Governor Rick Perry, Attorney General Greg Abbott, and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples are defying the feds, who are trying to saddle Texas with burdensome regulations in the name of fighting global warming, which is nothing but a hoax being perpetrated to stifle the economy and erode our freedoms.

Full report after the jump...
Sometimes it seems as if there's never any good news for Texas conservatives, and the endless litany of backsliding and betrayal on the part of our politicians can be downright discouraging.  That goes with the territory, of course.  Politicians these days find it much easier to play to the liberal media than to stick with their principles and remember why we elected them.  Fortunately, that's not the case this week - three Texas leaders are actually showing some backbone and are taking a stand to resist political correctness and federal encroachments on our state sovereignty.

Governor Rick Perry, Attorney General Greg Abbott, and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for declaring carbon dioxide (CO2) a dangerous pollutant.  If the EPA has its way and this ruling stands, the consequences for the Texas economy will be enormous.  Our oil industry may not be as robust as it once was, but it's still big business in Texas, and the EPA's action will take a huge toll on it, even as our nation is desperate for domestically produced gas and oil.  It's estimated that thousands of jobs could be lost, along with substantial tax revenue, all because of the misplaced fear over "man made global warming." 

Governor Perry made it clear that it's not only the oil industry that's at risk: "When the EPA recently declared carbon dioxide a toxic substance," he said, "they put countless businesses, farms, even large churches in their cross hairs."  The EPA's threats are even more outrageous in light of the fact that Texas has made substantial progress in reducing pollution without any federal abuse of state sovereignty.  We have our own state office for dealing with pollution - the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and even the EPA admits that TCEQ has done a good job at reducing carbon dioxide and ozone levels.  That's not enough for the power hungry DC bureaucrats, and they're actually claiming the right to usurp this state function and take over the TCEQ if Texas doesn't bow to their demands.

This isn't just an overzealous federal government trying to reduce pollution; it has nothing to do with concern for the environment at all.  The ultimate goal is government control over every aspect of the economy and even our personal lives, and concern for the environment is simply a ruse.  Decades ago radical socialists realized that they were never going to make any headway in America by being honest about their goal of a totalitarian central government and would have to pursue their agenda by other means. The environmental movement was chosen as one of the most promising paths to gradually turning America into a socialist country. Environmentalism and "global warming" hysteria have always been driven by far left-wingers, and that's no coincidence.

One of the biggest milestones on this path occurred in 1997, when the "global warming" hoax was just beginning to gain traction. That's when the Clinton administration signed America on to the Kyoto Protocol, which requires countries to fight "global warming" by taking stringent measures toward "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would minimize dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system." (Anthropogenic means caused by man's activities, as opposed to naturally occurring.)  It's precisely because of the Kyoto Protocol that the EPA is now going after Texas industries.  Many people believe the sole purpose of the Kyoto agreement was to stifle free enterprise and capitalism, and there are some good reasons to think they may be right.

If that wasn't the case, then it's a mystery why countries like India and Communist China are exempt from adhering to the Kyoto standards.  China is now the worst polluting country in the world, by far, yet it's exempt from these burdensome standards that are supposedly aimed at reducing pollution across the planet.  That's because the agreement unfairly targeted developed countries - America, England, Japan, Germany and most European nations.  The argument was that these prosperous nations, all of which have capitalist economies, had caused more pollution than "developing" countries, so we would have to make far more radical reductions in
CO2 than these "developing" countries.  Somehow Communist China was given a pass, even though they were one of the world's largest economies even in 1997.  Meanwhile, freedom loving nations are being forced to crack down on business and industry while China and India can pollute all they want.

It's outright hypocrisy, and it's clear that it's being done to punish Western countries, and move them toward socialism in the name of cleaning up the planet.  Now the EPA wants to start enforcing the Kyoto Protocol in Texas, to reduce greenhouse gases.  This nonsense has got to stop.  The "global warming crisis" is nothing but a hoax, and that's becoming clearer all the time.  It seems every day we read about a new scandal concerning lies, evasions, distortions, faked research results and obfuscation being employed to spread this leftist propaganda.  Not long ago we had Climate Gate and the leaked emails, and just last week one of the top "global warming experts" in the world admitted that  there hasn't been any significant warming since 1995, and that the planet may well have been warmer in the Middle Ages than it is now. 

It's clear that the leftist propaganda about man-made "global warming" is nothing but a house of cards, and it's quickly collapsing under the weight of the evidence.  It's outrageous that the EPA wants to burden the Texas economy with draconian regulations even as the whole theory behind them being necessary is being discredited.  Governor Perry, Attorney General Abbott, and Agriculture Commissioner Staples are right to defy this power grab, and stand up in the federal courts for the sovereign rights of the Lone Star State, and we need to show our gratitude.  I encourage everyone to let these men know how much we appreciate them bringing this lawsuit, and opposing Obama's plans to foist socialism down our throats under the ruse of concern for the environment.

Governor Rick Perry
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711-2428
Phone: (512) 463-2000
Fax: (512) 463-1849
Email: http://www.governor.state.tx.us/contact/


Attorney General Greg Abbott
Office of the Attorney General
PO Box 12548
Austin, TX 78711-2548
Phone: (512) 463-2100
Fax: (512) 475-2994
Email: greg.abbott@oag.state.tx.us


Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples
Texas Dept. of Agriculture
P.O. Box 12847
Austin TX 78711
Phone: (512) 463-7476
Fax: (888) 223-8861
Email:  pub.info@TexasAgriculture.gov


Sources:

http://www.texasinsider.org/?p=22001

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123894530

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/02/if_at_first_you_dont_s eceed_sue_the_epa_texas_guv.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol#Ratification_process

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1250872/Climategate-U-turn-Aston ishment-scientist-centre-global-warming-email-row-admits-data-organised. html


The Peter Morrison Report
http://www.PeterMorrisonReport.com
http://www.facebook.com/morrisonreport

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Thursday Link Roundup

Things that beg your attention...

Washington Rebel dealt out some hump day happiness and graciously linked the Robot. Thanks Reb! Bet you didn't know I'm a Leo. I'm diggin' that masthead you've got there.


Gateway Pundit exposes Safe School Czar Kevin Jennings' obscene budget and pay raise for evidently doling out, well, what can only be described as an obscene agenda to America's students.

Despite the runaway federal spending and record budget deficits, Barack Obama is including $410 million in the 2011 budget for his "safe schools" czar Kevin Jennings. This is an increase of $45 million over last year’s budget. Obviously, some things are more important than others. These funds ought to buy a whole mess of fisting kits, leather bar guides and child porn books. And, the  money will come in handy for the sexual indoctrination of teens and pre-teens.

When is this scumbag going to lose his job? Read the whole thing here.
 

Also from Gateway Pundit, the St. Louis college Wash U Student paper has evidently gone all "Penthouse Letters" on them (NSF children).


Don't overlook a great read on Libertarianism from the Classic Liberal.


MAinfo has the Health Care swing vote listed out for all to see.
Say hi to Opus#6 for the Robot when your there. She's a really nice lady.

Jamie Jeffords has a thing or two to offer on the Health Care Dog and Pony Show over at Eye of Polyphemus.

How many paid-off Congresscritters does it take to take down an auto company? Left Coast Rebel has a clue...

For some interesting factoids, on the old Blogosphere, check out The Presurfer.

If your still hungry, there's always Doug Ross who has an ever-present list of worthy reading material.

Cheers!

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A Libertarian Leaning Conservative...

attempts to dance with the two philosophies.

I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. ~ Ronald Reagan

Cue the music...

I am coming to define my inner Libertarian as meandering to the federal side of things and my inner Conservative leaning to the local in that I see Libertarianism as the absence of moral law and in some points of Conservatism the desire for a certain amount of it.

Put another way, Libertarians wish for no laws restricting their freedoms in any way, a group of Conservatives might decide on a set of standards for their community, and conversely, Liberals, would know capriciously which, what, and wherefore a law should be applied but would refuse to enforce it until a Conservative happens to cross the line. --> Ha! Gotcha! Hypocrite!!!

Therefore, I aim to let the Libertarian side of me vote in State and National elections, the Conservative vote in the local and the Liberal side be subjected to ridicule and scorn for the rest of my days for he has distorted the logic of governance in total. --> Baaaad Liberal. Down boy. Sit. Stay. Play dead.

For instance, in terms of alcohol, smoking, drug use or gambling, one might say that at the federal and state levels they should be legal and only at the local level could they be outlawed. Let each community decide. This, it is becoming clearer to me, was the founders' intention, or nearer to it. The more prohibitive the laws become, the closer to home they should be. That being said, the community stops at my front door. My home is my inner sanctum and shall not be compromised. I hear you knockin' but you can't come in...


On Foreign Policy:
As to the Libertarian side, I still have a problem being too isolationist (as in Ron Paul). I believe it is folly to think that we should leave the middle east to fester, having no influence there when we have allies in that region that need our presence and vice-versa. Russia and China would certainly take advantage of the vacuum were we to leave that portion of the globe alone but for a second. Even as we are there, they openly and secretly aid and abet our enemies. Such activity would just increase if we were to vacate the premises.

There is a quandary though in foreign policy. How do I judge that which cannot be judged? That is to say, how does one wisely decide on issues of conflict and war as a mere citizen when he has no relevant information? My government must, I'm sure, withhold certain matters of strategy and resultant policy from me because of security and intelligence. So, I must trust, to a certain extent, that they know what they are doing. Although in the case of certain politicians I will never be able to grant enough trust and as to the government in general even the most trusted is never fully so.

It suffices to say that when my country goes to war, I pray it is just. When my brothers kill others I pray God had the final say and it was righteous. I pray we are on the side of God and that we are the tools achieving his goals. Faith is needed here, for without it I am despaired.

Let it be known though that if I cannot be on God's side, then I would chose to not be on any side and hope that we as a country would hold that policy.

============

This essay contains some things I have learned and refined about my personal political views in the past few months. My Libertarian friends and Conservative friends might see these things differently than I. That is why we have these little bloggy discussions no? If not you, then definitely me. If my understanding of a political view is mistaken, then by all means let me  know. I'm still in the ebb and flow of my own political discourse after all.

LC

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Musical Interlude:

Speaking of drummers...



Thanks to They Say/We Say for the idea.

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Two-fer Tuesday! Robot Drummer:

Robots and drums in the same post. How you ask?

Instapundit's robot fetish points us to a human/robot interface using two Wii remotes. It can improvise as well. Too cool.

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You Can't Reconcile Corruption

It's time once again to melt the phones!
Obama, Pelosi and Reid have made their historic deals behind very opaque closed doors and now are ready to pass health care reform under the reconciliation tactic. Reconciliation simply means they will add the Senate version of the bill to a budget bill that will only require 51 votes (a simple majority).

The American people have overwhelmingly opposed this monstrosity and the corruptocrats are bound and determined to ignore our desires. Call you Senators and Congresscritters today, tomorrow and every day this week. Keep letting them know that this out of control government takeover of our health care system is not what you want. Tell them in no uncertain terms that you will vote them out come November if this passes.

The 19 key Democrats who have pledged to vote for this are...

Bennett (CO)
Boxer (CA)
Brown (OH)
Burris (IL)
Feinstein (CA)
Franken (MINN)
Gillibrand (NY)
Kerry (MASS)
Lautenberg (NJ)
Leahy (VT)
Merkley (OR)
Mikulski (MD)
Reed (RI)
Sanders (VT)
Schumer (NY)
Shaheen (NH)
Udall (NM)
Whitehouse (RI)
Specter (PA)


HT MAinfo
MAinfo has more suggestions in another post here.

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CPAC 2010 - Glenn Beck Keynote Speech

After you check out the awesomeness that is Glenn Beck at CPAC, The CL is urging a "Come to Jesus" moment over at Washington Rebel.
Also, some hot babe is fixing the jobs problem over at The Classic Liberal.

UPDATE: More from CPAC TheBlogProf has MUST SEE video of George Will's speech here.




More after the jump.

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Beware Wolves in Sheep's Clothing

More excellent Photoshoppery in evidence over at No Sheeples Here along with an urge for conservatives fight harder for their core values.

I agree.

Let's council our representatives not give in to Obummer and his fake olive leaf proposal and the associated political chicanery coming Thursday in the form of the Health Care Beer Summit.

Now is the time to dig in. I don't understand how the Republicans can even entertain the idea that our Flounder in Chief is going to listen to them. This is just a carnival attraction with a trap at the end. I hope they don't play into it.

In the words of Nancy Reagan: "Just Say NO."

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