A webcam streaming live from Basnight’s $25 million fishing pier in Nags Head is now up and running. Check it out here, hosted by the Division of N.C. Aquariums. For just $3,000, the web camera, cabling and software was purchased by the Aquarium Society and linked to the existing state-funded N.C. Aquariums web site.
Be sure to watch in the coming weeks as the remaining concrete piles are driven and three 90 foot wind turbines are installed.
Just a side note, depending on your bandwidth, the “slow pan” might seem a bit choppy.
One of the recurring criticisms of those who don’t swallow the Climate Change kool-aid is that we often mention weather related events as examples of faulty change rhetoric. I don’t contest the criticism as weather incidents are not climate. But the other side has, for years, utilized the same tactic without eliciting the same reaction. The most famous example I can think of was when Algore says, “and then came Katrina” as an example of Global Warming’s wrath. Truth is Katrina was powerful at sea but came ashore as a Category 3 storm which is NOT unusual.
But the media is catching up and the IPCC (the UN’s organization that produces the bible of climate change dogma) is bearing the brunt of the criticism.
THE United Nations climate science panel faces new controversy for wrongly linking global warming to an increase in the number and severity of natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods.
It based the claims on an unpublished report that had not been subjected to routine scientific scrutiny — and ignored warnings from scientific advisers that the evidence supporting the link too weak. The report’s own authors later withdrew the claim because they felt the evidence was not strong enough.
(and the president goofs as well) Barack Obama said last autumn: “More powerful storms and floods threaten every continent.”
The IPCC report continues to be dogged by folks that are finally starting to fact check it. The tipping point on truth is apparently on hand. All of this amidst new calls for “Climate Change” legislation before the truth comes out.
I just returned from Ruffin Poole’s initial appearance in federal court before U.S. District Judge Terrance Boyle. Poole, advisor to former Governor Mike Easley, was led into the courtroom with his hands cuffed behind his back. Boyle read a summary of the 64-page indictment that refers to Poole as the “Little Governor” because of his role as Easley’s right-hand man.
The 51 charges against Poole include extortion, mail fraud, and money laundering, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years plus fines; bribery and monetary transactions in criminally derived property, each carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years plus fines; and racketeering, carrying a maximum sentence of five years plus fines. All parties agreed on the terms for Poole’s bail–$50,000 unsecured bond, that he surrenders his passport and any firearms, and that he restrict his travel to the states of NC, VA, and MD.
The entire court appearance lasted less than 15 minutes. The press outside the courthouse waited longer for Poole to appear and be whisked away by his attorney.
It is never justified to equate abortion rights with segregation and ethnic discrimination. For many obvious reason, the situations are too dissimilar. Roe v. Wade created a woman’s right to an abortion. The case overturned 40 plus state and federal laws aimed at protecting the developing child in the mother’s womb by restricting a woman’s right to an abortion. Classifying the case as an example of oppressive government is a political statement and a gross misreading of history and law. Asking students to group the cases together is indoctrination of the worst kind. Upholding rights against oppressive government? This situation might be a better example for students to study.
Sheldon Richman points out that Obama’s recent State of the Union speech further eradicated any doubts about the President’s vision for our economy: corporatism.
The upshot? In Obama’s mind, the way to make America (the entity) — us — No. 1 is to have the central government coordinate economic activity, to set goals, and to construct incentives to carry out its objectives. We will do this. Hey, you! Back in line and keep quiet.
Behind the “U.S.A! U.S.A!” is an economy guided by a coterie of politicians, bureaucrats, and their colleagues in what is quaintly still called the “private sector.” Call it what you will, it is not a free market.
…..
If we don’t get the analysis right, we won’t get the response right. Despite what some popular right-wing talk-show hosts claim, Obama is not pushing Marxism, revolutionary or otherwise. The threat is not from socialism in the sense of State ownership of the means of production, much less a proletarian uprising. Rather, he’s pushing good old American progressive-corporate elitism, or corporatism.
In other words, rather than allowing for the economy’s scarce resources to be allocated by the free, undistorted decisions of consumers and entrepreneurs voluntarily interacting millions of times a day; Obama and his ilk use the force and coercion of government policy in an attempt to direct resources to achieve their goals. Such a policy substitutes the preferences of a small political ruling class for the preferences of millions of unique individuals.
Here in North Carolina, we see a healthy dose of corporatism being implemented by our state rulers.
It always makes me chuckle when left-wingers accuse free market advocates of championing the evils of corporatism, all the while being the first ones to scream uncritical support for Obama’s corporatist policies.
One must wonder when Al Gore and Bin Laden might just hold a joint press conference. From Bin Laden’s latest release.
In the tape, aired in part on Al-Jazeera television Friday, bin Laden warns of the dangers of climate change and says that the way to stop it is to bring “the wheels of the American economy” to a halt. He says the world should “stop consuming American products” and “refrain from using the dollar,” according to a transcript on Al-Jazeera’s Web site.
Bin Laden has seen the light, America is evil and he must stop global warming. Just as the rest of the world is waking up to realize the sham that is the climate change political movement, a guy who lives in a cave jumps on board . Makes me want to drive an SUV.
If you wanted to increase travel efficiency between Raleigh and Charlotte, what is the better use of $520 million?
1. Upgrade a rail line (but not fully) that serves a few hundred people per day that could possibly grow to a couple of thousand people per day.
2. Replace the Yadkin River Bridge ($300M) and have $220 million left over to widen I-85 in Cabarrus, Rowan and Davidson Counties from 2 lanes to 4 which in some sections has a daily traffic count of 110,000 cars per day and is consistently the cause of traffic jams and accidents. (And as all you greenies out there know, traffic congestion leads to global warmingglobal cooling climate change.)
If you missed the monthly poll luncheon yesterday at the Clarion, you missed out on probably the most interesting poll finding we’ve had in our nearly 5 years of polling.
We asked voters if they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of our good friend, Dallas Woodhouse:
And interestingly enough, Dallas is actually more popular among Democrats than he is among Republicans.
The Heartland Institute reports that a penalty included in both the House and Senate health care bills could result in premium increases to low and middle income married couples of up to $2,000.
Those couples whose combined income exceeds 400 percent of the federal poverty level will receive limited subsidies and have no caps on their insurance premiums – the same penalty will not apply to individuals. The penalty would affect those who would purchase insurance through new exchanges created in the bills, an estimated 17 million people, and possibly millions more as more businesses shift to government exchanges to reduce costs. No penalty applies to unmarried couples living together.
These types of discriminatory penalties, although deeply hidden in dense health care legislation, could have long-term adverse effects on the future of marriage, family, and society.
The Mercatus Center and George Mason University Professor Russ Roberts along with filmmaker John Papola have created a rap video about the economic crisis – Fear the Boom and Bust. How does one convey the importance of the battle of ideas that have steered economic policy for decades? More importantly, how do we make it relevant to the next generation? Not with books or charts, instead, one rap song at a time. Hayek and Keynes as you’ve never seen them before.
