Witty image provided by Salena.

Originally posted on my blog at http://www.candyforidiots.com.

Let me just set the record straight on my views of Global Warming. I believe that there is such a thing as climate change. We see it four times a year with our seasons. Throughout the history of earth, we see evidence in Ice Ages, etc. We see natural cycles and patterns that are irrefutable. I believe that it’s absolutely possible that our earth is going through a climate change right now, and that our planet might indeed be warming. However, I refuse to believe that mankind is responsible.

I have a fundamental problem with the “science” of Global Warming. Any scientific reasoning or experiment begins with something called a hypothesis. A hypothesis is defined as “a proposition, or set of propositions, set forth as an explanation for the occurrence of some specified group of phenomena, either asserted merely as a provisional conjecture to guide investigation (working hypothesis) or accepted as highly probable in the light of established facts.” A proposition is defined as, “the act of offering or suggesting something to be considered, accepted, adopted, or done.” The idea of man-made global warming is currently a hypothesis. It has been proposed as a reason, or excuse as to why the temperatures on our planet are rising. However, what’s being spoon-fed to us every day is that man-made global warming is scientifically proven and that if we don’t act now, our planet will be iriversably impacted. It is not proven. It’s not even close to being proven. For something on this scale, you will need generations and generations of data to even advance your hypothesis, let alone make a scientifically declared statement about the supposed fact.

Science can’t get it right. In the wake of hurricane Katrina, scientists were spewing the fact that global warming was causing these ”mega hurricane’s”.

[9/23/2005] Some people are pointing to global warming, saying that our use of fossil fuels has helped to heat up the planet and its seas, producing much stronger hurricanes.

Three new reports authored by prominent scientists—published in the journals “Nature” and “Science”—bolster that theory’s credibility.

“There’s good evidence to show that Category 4 and 5 storms indeed are becoming more common and a bigger part of the overall pictures of the hurricanes in the world,” said Kevin Trenberth, a scientist at the government-funded National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Trenberth is the author of one of the papers, which links stronger hurricanes to warmer seas and global warming caused by humans. Global warming, he says, has caused increases in sea levels and in the temperature of the oceans, which increases water vapor in the atmosphere and provides fuel for massive storms.

That story was from almost three years ago. In three years, we haven’t had a hurricane hit the United States. And in three years time, science is doing a 180° on the issue.

Global warming isn’t to blame for the recent jump in the number of hurricanes in the Atlantic, concludes a study by a prominent federal scientist whose position has shifted on the subject.

Not only that, warmer temperatures will actually reduce the number of hurricanes in the Atlantic and those making landfall, research meteorologist Tom Knutson reported in a study released Sunday.

Ever since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, hurricanes have often been seen as a symbol of global warming’s wrath. Many climate change experts have tied the rise of hurricanes in recent years to global warming and hotter waters that fuel them.

...They attribute the recent increase to a natural multi-decade cycle.

Science can’t even figure out what in the hell causes hurricanes. Whether it’s warm water, cold water, luke-warm water, they don’t know! In three years time, our logic behind what type of weather causes hurricanes has completely flip-flopped! How in the hell are we supposed to listen to these scientists, who are working on only a couple of decades of data to formulate a reason as to why our temperatures are rising? Why are we allowing our government to discuss legislation aimed at reducing our carbon footprint in the hopes of cooling the planet? But wait people, I’m simply not done yet…

Average global temperatures in 2008 are forecast to be lower than in previous years, thanks to the cooling effect of the ocean current in the Pacific, U.N. meteorologists say.

The World Meteorological Organisation’s secretary-general, Michel Jarraud, said it was likely that La Nina, an abnormal cooling of sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, would continue into the summer.

I thought our pollution is causing the temperature in the oceans to rise, thus causing the ice caps to melt? Or are the oceans dictating what our temperatures are? Who is lying to us? Which data should we take seriously? Who has the proof?

My point here people is that before you go out an buy a hybrid car in the guise of global warming, take a step back. You know the old saying “you can’t believe everything you hear”? Well, don’t believe everything you hear when it comes to global warming. Because if you listen closely, you’ll hear a lot of different reasons, which contradict each other, for the same thing. Science doesn’t know why our temperatures are warming, or cooling, or staying the same. They don’t know what causes it. They have ideas and they have predictions, but the best that they can come up with is a hypothesis. A proposition. Global policy set by the United Nations and governments all around the world (including ours) is being shaped by something I believe is naturally occurring, something totally unproven, and that should perk up your ears and should cause you to raise your voice.

Originally posted on my blog at http://www.candyforidiots.com.

I found a post over at RachelLucas.com and thought I’d play along. The point is, if you were elected temporary supreme dictator of America, what laws would you pass, appeal, etc, and they would say in place after you left office. Let’s start, shall we?

1) Since the primary purpose of the Federal Government is to protect the citizens of this great land, I would double the size of the current military (yes, double) and double their salary’s. I would place about a quarter of all armed services on the borders (north & south) to eliminate illegal immigration.

2) I would build the double-layered fence along the border of Mexico, which is already law, and I’d also spring one up on our northern border, too.

3) I’d eliminate the Federal income tax, and go back to tariff’s and taxing imports and exports as our primary source of federal revenue.

4) Since #3 is going to bankrupt the country, I would eliminate 99.999% of all federal programs and allow the states to make their own decisions as to how they want to run their state, not the country. Because a large centralized government always leads to fascism/communism eventually.

5) I would IMMEDIATELY allow the expansion of drilling for natural resources (oil) in the United States, regardless of the geographical location, and I would also end the suspension of building refineries. Also in my energy policy, I would allow for the creation of at lease 500 Nuclear Power Plans all across the United States.

6) The Constitution will be reviewed by me, and I will elaborate on what our founding fathers actually meant in their writings and my further explanation will be law. Specifically the second amendment. And when an amendment is passed to negate a previous amendment, they’re simply going to cross each other out. How silly is it to have an amendment on the books, and then another one saying that the first one is null and void. Just get rid of the stupid thing. Geez!

7) Our educational system will be completely overhauled. Teachers will be paid based on their results. If the results don’t meet certain expectations, they will be fired. Parents will be responsible for their children’s results, too. If a child fails to graduate, his parents will be fined and incarcerated for up to 2 years. The child who failed will then be required to pay back the government for all of the money it cost to have them educated as he enters the work force.

8) There will be an abolishion of the minimum wage. People should be paid according to their abilities, and that’s it. Also, there will no longer be bankruptcies. You will be forced to pay back the money you owe people, or your wages will be heavily docked until that is completed.

9) Our foreign policy will focus on peace and order throughout the world, specifically pertaining to the protection of our allies. We will no longer be involved with the United Nations and most of our international aid will be ceased until the country we are providing that aid to conforms to a decent country, such as ours. You might say, “What about the children???” Yeah, what about them? If a country is starved because we’ve stopped giving them aid, then they will rise up and take their country back and establish a country with morals and standards and goals, and produce a better quality of life. Then we will help them with aid, technology, etc. We will stop supplying and financing regimes.

10) And finally, all hippies will be deported. I just don’t like hippies. They stink and drive stupid scooters.

Well, that was fun! What do you think of my supposed rule?

Listen, I know that everyone has their own beliefs. Some people believe in God, some people don’t. Some people believe in ghosts, some people don’t. Some people believe in aliens, some people don’t. And so on, and so forth. I don’t care what anyone believes in. Their beliefs and feelings are theirs, not mine and there’s nothing I can do to change them, even though I might feel like the world would be a beautiful place if everyone was like me. But seriously, believe what you want!

Whereas I feel that way about most things, the one issue I can’t look past is global warming. People believe this faux religion and are being guided by the self satisfaction they get because they think the little things they do are saving the world. Well, I hate to break it to you, global warming crowd, but that light bulb you use now, and that casket on wheels you drive, and that house hold cleaner that you use that got a new “all green bottle” isn’t going to do one single thing to save this world.

But don’t tell that to the 85-year-old American who just gave up his search for the Loch Ness Monster.

LEGENDARY Nessie hunter Robert Rines is giving up his search for the monster after 37 years.

After almost four decades of fruitless expeditions, he admitted: “Unfortunately, I’m running out of age.”

World War II veteran Robert has devoted almost half his life to scouring Loch Ness.

He started in 1971. The following year, he watched a 25ft-long hump with the texture of elephant skin gliding through the water.

Despite having hundreds of sonar contacts over the years, the trail has since gone cold and Rines believes that Nessie may be dead, a victim of global warming.

I believe in God, I am a Christian. I know there are wack jobs that call themselves Christians and I have no excuse for them and it doesn’t change the way I believe or how I feel and my convictions. But dude, you morons (no offense) who believe in global warming have this guy on your side. Someone who thinks that the Loch Ness Monster—THE LOCH NESS MONSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!—was killed by global warming. It’s time to abandon ship. 

That’s going to give me nightmares…

From what I understand, his ears are so big that things naturally gravitate towards them. Unfortunately, his finger got a little too close…

Could parts of Chattanooga, East Ridge and other cities on the Tenn-Georgia border become, in fact, parts of Georgia? The Georgia legislature has passed bills on both their house and senate to take back Tennessee land that they claim is theirs. All the way back in 1818, a Georgia surveyor laid out the borders on the north side of the state of Georgia. From then until today, this has been known as the border between Tennessee and Georgia. What the Georgia government now claims is that the survey made in 1818 came up a mile short of what it should have been, and they now want that land (which they never had) back.

But what’s really going on is Georgia, specifically Atlanta, is having increasing water supply problems, and the state of Georgia wants to tap into the Tennessee River to supply their most populous city with an abundance of water. So because GA feels is if they were wronged 200 years ago, by their own surveyor, they can just go and take what isn’t theirs. People who live in that proposed 50-square mile land grab would go from being Tennesseans to Georgians, against their will. They will go from paying no income tax to paying Georgia’s income tax. They will go from contributing their tax money to the schools of Tennessee to the inner-city schools of Atlanta. They will go from having Tennessee drivers licenses to GA drivers license, all because the state of Georgia wants to take something they’ve never owned and steal Tennessee’s water. People who work as government officials in these border cities (such as Lookout Mountain, Tenn.) will go from being Tennessee state employees to Georgia state employees.

Hopefully this travesty will be stopped.

Even though I’m a young adult (the ripe age of 25), I still enjoy the fun things in life. I love toys and even purchased a remote controlled helicopter just before Christmas which broke the second time I flew it. Regardless, it was fun and I got a bit of joy for the 13 minutes I played with it. But more than kids toys, I love techy toys. Every day, it seems, some computer or electronics company is coming out with some awesomely cool gadget which either makes life easier or makes life more fun. But when a toy comes out which completely infuses technology and entertainment, it becomes my favorite toy ever!

That toy for me is the AppleTV. I’ve had an AppleTV for several months and I liked it from the get-go. I was able to sync my music and TV shows to my TV and watch them in near Hi-Def. Then Apple pushed an update a few weeks later that enabled you to search and watch YouTube videos on your TV. It was so awesome, I didn’t think it could get much better.

I was wrong. Last week, Apple pushed an update out for the AppleTV which enables you to buy music, buy TV shows and rent movies directly from the comfort of your couch, without ever touching a computer. Everyone knows that the iTunes Store has an impressive collection of music. They even carry most TV stations and most shows. But their movie collection is incredibly impressive as well, and even have a good number of rentable movies that can be viewed in standard definition or high definition, enabling you to make the most out of your HDTV without having to spend $500 on a BlueRay or HDDVD player!

So when I see a new movie out which I just can’t wait to see, I don’t have to run to BlockBuster anymore. I flip over to the AppleTV, search for the newest flick, and download that baby in HD, making this toy my favorite toy ever! If you have a nice TV, the AppleTV is the best accessory you could possibly buy for it. So go buy one. Now!

No it’s not.. it didn’t do squat last night.  Okay, maybe there was a little snow, but not enough to keep me out of work, so what’s the point really?  Meteorologists suck.. they shouldn’t even tell us when it’s going to snow because it just gets our hopes up for nothing.  I’m sick of it.  I bet Bi-Lo appreciates it though.  However, I must admit- a snowflake landed on my nose last night and with it came a brief moment of pure joy.  There’s just something about a snowflake landing on your nose....  Anyway, hope everyone stayed safe in the ‘hazardous’ conditions. 

I started back school this week, so the next 14 weeks will be hectic for me.  I’m looking forward to the day I have a degree, but in the meantime I’ll just have to deal with it because I ain’t stopping til I’m done. 

Not really related to the previous post concerning the governments ban of incandescent light bulbs, but to follow up on the hoax that is Global Warming comes this story from a place you might not expect to have snow: Baghdad.

After weathering nearly five years of war, Baghdad residents thought they’d pretty much seen it all. But Friday morning, as muezzins were calling the faithful to prayer, the people here awoke to something certifiably new.

For the first time in memory, snow fell across Baghdad.

Although the white flakes quickly dissolved into gray puddles, they brought an emotion rarely expressed in this desert capital snarled by army checkpoints, divided by concrete walls and ravaged by sectarian killings—delight.

“For the first time in my life I saw a snow-rain like this falling in Baghdad,” said Mohammed Abdul-Hussein, a 63-year-old retiree from the New Baghdad area.

“When I was young, I heard from my father that such rain had fallen in the early ‘40s on the outskirts of northern Baghdad,” Abdul-Hussein said, referring to snow as a type of rain. “But snow falling in Baghdad in such a magnificent scene was beyond my imagination.”

Morning temperatures uncharacteristically hovered around freezing, and the Baghdad airport was closed because of poor visibility. Snow is common in the mountainous Kurdish areas of northern Iraq, but residents of the capital and surrounding areas could remember just hail.

That damn George W Bush and his Global Warming causing wars!!! Another sign that, in one of the hottest regions on this planet, Global Warming is a no-show.

By the way, what ever happened to the scientist predicted record hurricane seasons for the past two years? Not a single hurricane has hit land since hurricane Katrina. We really put a lot of wasted stock in these scientists, if you ask me. 

Back when I was around 10 or 11, I read a quote from a psychic who said that the world would end sometime in 2007.  I’m happy to say she was wrong.  I honestly cannot believe it’s 2008.  I was flipping through the channels the other day and came across an old ER episode in which they were preparing for Y2K.  People were freaking out about it- it certainly turned out to be very anticlimactic, I think. 

I have a few New Year’s resolutions.  My main one is to budget my money, and not spend any unless necessary.  I also would like to be more thankful for the things I have - such as a nice place to live, a good job, family, friends, etc.  Oh, and lastly, lose a little bit of weight - but I guess that’s a pretty standard one for women.  Does anyone else have any resolutions?  If so, post them in the comments.  Do it now!

Wow.  They sure are a fertile bunch. 

I guess that’s what happens when your 16 year old daughter has a live-in boyfriend. 

Lynn Spears’ parenting book has been put on hold- but I’m sure it’s for reasons totally un-related to this.

Thankfully, I haven’t been cursed in the way this man has, but if I was his friend or a family member (hehe, I said “member"), I’d tell him to chalk this one up for a loss, and to keep his personal “situation” to himself.

A flasher is expecting to go to jail after failing to persuade a court his penis is too small to be exposed.

Michael Carney, 41, showed the jury photographs of his genitals in an unsuccessful bid to prove his point.

The six men and six women at Teesside Crown Court were not moved by the evidence and convicted him on seven counts of outraging public decency.

During the three-day trial, the married father-of-two said of his penis: “It causes embarrassment to myself, even to the point where it is with my wife.”

“I wouldn’t want myself to be seen in public like that,’ he said. “My genitalia are underdeveloped and it is so much smaller than average.”

I would take the sentence in order to never be known as the “flasher with the severely under developed genitalia”.

n0ia reminded me in the comments of my last post that I didn’t post about my most fantastic camping trip.  I guess if I’m going to build something up, I need to follow up. 

So Friday, immediately after work we began the hour long journey to the Hiawassee and 2 1/2 hours later we arrived.  We had several stops to make, what can I say. 

I rode with my friends Emily and Megan.  We got to the campsite, where Emily’s husband Brian had already gotten the fire started and some other things set up.  Megan was my ‘tent mate’ so we proceeded to set our tent up- or maybe we just supervised while Brian and another guy did it.  Then we got our air mattress and tried to inflate it.  That was my job, and it was obvious that I don’t have much experience with air mattresses.  First, I left the plug in the hole while trying to inflate.  THEN, I took the plug out, after letting the pump run for 5-10 minutes, realized that pump was on deflate, rather than inflate!!  What the heck?  All I can is that it was dark outside.

So anyway, after the air mattress debacle, we were basically set for the night so we proceeded to sit around the campfire and chill for the night.  At this point, we had about 15 people at our campsite, so there was lots going on.  We probably hung out til about 2 or 3 in the morning, then headed to bed.  I was quite warm and comfy on Friday night. 

Saturday morning came and I did not want to get up.  At some point, Brian decided it would be funny to start banging on our tent with a stick - I couldn’t get too mad because it was around noon at this point.  One of the guys made us bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches, which were quite delicious.  A couple of the guys went kayaking and biking, but the majority of us just hung out around the campfire.  It was a really nice day.  A little chilly, but with a light jacket on it was quite comfortable.  It was a really relaxing day.  I took a shower around 3 (we had a bath house at the campsite) and then decided it was about time for a nap.

I probably laid around til about 5, at which point I got up and decided it was time to start eating.  I snacked for most of the morning, but around 6, everyone started cooking.  We had chili, pork chops, grilled zucchini, squash and onion, salmon, grilled pineapples and hamburgers… We all sampled a little bit of everything and it was all DELICIOUS!!!  Those people know how to camp, that’s for sure.  Anyway, after eating, we all sat around the campfire til bedtime.  I think everyone was in bed by about midnight, so it was quite an early night.  I thought I was prepared for the cold, but Saturday night was FREEZING!!  I could not get warm.  My feet felt like blocks of ice.  I thought I was prepared for the cold, but apparently not.

Anyway, we got packed up the next morning, and left for home around 11:30 Sunday morning.  It was a nice, very relaxing time and I met some really fun people.  I hope I am able to go again before it gets too cold. 

GRR!  I was sick a couple of weeks ago, which I posted about.  Well, I feel fine these days except for this incessant cough that will not go away!!  I have never had something linger like this before, and it’s driving me nuts.  It’s keeping me up at night, because, of course, that’s when it’s the worst.  Okay, enough with that.

So, I went to the dentist last week for the first time in..... well, awhile.  We’ll just keep it at that.  Anyway, turns out all 4 of my wisdom teeth are coming in.  So, I’ll have to get those taken out in the next couple of months, because there is definitely not room in my mouth for them.  Now I need someone to volunteer to take care of me and feed me pudding and chicken noodle soup for a couple of days after I get them out.  Any takers?  I’ll pay with gratitude- and all you can eat pudding.

IMAO has a long list of Daily Fred Thompson Facts but this one takes the cake!

Fred Thompson was initially confused by conservatives’ opposition to “the Fairness Doctrine” since that’s the name of one of his guns.

Classic!