How Insignifcant Man Is

Love this article from the UK Telegraph. I've touched on the topic of man made global warming before (here, here, here, here, and here), and am a firm non-believer. A warming athiest so to speak. The news keeps rolling in, doing far more damage to the globabl cultist than that silly Darwin has ever done to dislodge what we are hard-wired to know- there is a God.

2008 was the year man-made global warming was disproved
Looking back over my columns of the past 12 months, one of their major themes was neatly encapsulated by two recent items from The Daily Telegraph.

By Christopher Booker
Last Updated: 5:51PM GMT 27 Dec 2008

The first, on May 21, headed "Climate change threat to Alpine ski resorts" , reported that the entire Alpine "winter sports industry" could soon "grind to a halt for lack of snow". The second, on December 19, headed "The Alps have best snow conditions in a generation" , reported that this winter's Alpine snowfalls "look set to beat all records by New Year's Day".

Easily one of the most important stories of 2008 has been all the evidence suggesting that this may be looked back on as the year when there was a turning point in the great worldwide panic over man-made global warming. Just when politicians in Europe and America have been adopting the most costly and damaging measures politicians have ever proposed, to combat this supposed menace, the tide has turned in three significant respects.

First, all over the world, temperatures have been dropping in a way wholly unpredicted by all those computer models which have been used as the main drivers of the scare. Last winter, as temperatures plummeted, many parts of the world had snowfalls on a scale not seen for decades. This winter, with the whole of Canada and half the US under snow, looks likely to be even worse. After several years flatlining, global temperatures have dropped sharply enough to cancel out much of their net rise in the 20th century.

Ever shriller and more frantic has become the insistence of the warmists, cheered on by their army of media groupies such as the BBC, that the last 10 years have been the "hottest in history" and that the North Pole would soon be ice-free – as the poles remain defiantly icebound and those polar bears fail to drown. All those hysterical predictions that we are seeing more droughts and hurricanes than ever before have infuriatingly failed to materialise.

Even the more cautious scientific acolytes of the official orthodoxy now admit that, thanks to "natural factors" such as ocean currents, temperatures have failed to rise as predicted (although they plaintively assure us that this cooling effect is merely "masking the underlying warming trend", and that the temperature rise will resume worse than ever by the middle of the next decade).

Secondly, 2008 was the year when any pretence that there was a "scientific consensus" in favour of man-made global warming collapsed. At long last, as in the Manhattan Declaration last March, hundreds of proper scientists, including many of the world's most eminent climate experts, have been rallying to pour scorn on that "consensus" which was only a politically engineered artefact, based on ever more blatantly manipulated data and computer models programmed to produce no more than convenient fictions.

Thirdly, as banks collapsed and the global economy plunged into its worst recession for decades, harsh reality at last began to break in on those self-deluding dreams which have for so long possessed almost every politician in the western world. As we saw in this month's Poznan conference, when 10,000 politicians, officials and "environmentalists" gathered to plan next year's "son of Kyoto" treaty in Copenhagen, panicking politicians are waking up to the fact that the world can no longer afford all those quixotic schemes for "combating climate change" with which they were so happy to indulge themselves in more comfortable times.

Suddenly it has become rather less appealing that we should divert trillions of dollars, pounds and euros into the fantasy that we could reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 80 per cent. All those grandiose projects for "emissions trading", "carbon capture", building tens of thousands more useless wind turbines, switching vast areas of farmland from producing food to "biofuels", are being exposed as no more than enormously damaging and futile gestures, costing astronomic sums we no longer possess.

As 2009 dawns, it is time we in Britain faced up to the genuine crisis now fast approaching from the fact that – unless we get on very soon with building enough proper power stations to fill our looming "energy gap" - within a few years our lights will go out and what remains of our economy will judder to a halt. After years of infantile displacement activity, it is high time our politicians – along with those of the EU and President Obama's US – were brought back with a mighty jolt into contact with the real world.

I must end this year by again paying tribute to my readers for the wonderful generosity with which they came to the aid of two causes. First their donations made it possible for the latest "metric martyr", the east London market trader Janet Devers, to fight Hackney council's vindictive decision to prosecute her on 13 criminal charges, ranging from selling in pounds and ounces to selling produce "by the bowl" (to avoid using weights her customers dislike and don't understand). The embarrassment caused by this historic battle has thrown the forced metrication policy of both our governments, in London and Brussels, into total disarray.

Since Hackney backed out of allowing four criminal charges against Janet to go before a jury next month, all that remains is for her to win her appeal in February against eight convictions which now look quite absurd (including those for selling veg by the bowl, as thousands of other London market traders do every day). The final goal, as Neil Herron of the Metric Martyrs Defence Fund insists, must then be a pardon for the late Steve Thoburn and the four other original "martyrs" who were found guilty in 2002 – after a legal battle also made possible by this column's readers – of breaking laws so ridiculous that the EU Commission has even denied they existed (but which are still on the statute book).

Readers were equally generous this year in rushing to the aid of Sue Smith, whose son was killed in a Snatch Land Rover in Iraq in 2005. Their contributions made it possible for her to carry on with the High Court action she has brought against the Ministry of Defence, with the sole aim of calling it to account for needlessly risking soldiers' lives by sending them into battle in hopelessly inappropriate vehicles. Thanks not least to Mrs Smith's determined fight, the Snatch Land Rover scandal, first reported here in 2006, has at last become a national cause celebre.

May I finally thank all those readers who have written to me in 2008 – so many that, as usual, it has not been possible to answer all their messages. But their support and information has been hugely appreciated. May I wish them and all of you a happy (if globally not too warm) New Year.

Two Thumbs Down For A Christmas Story

I realize what I’m writing here, about a movie treasured by millions, may cause great anger and resentment from most people that happen to read this. I get the feeling, based on comments I’ve heard, that the movie “A Christmas Story” is a treasured Christmas favorite that has touched the hearts and funny bones of millions of people, and to criticize it is akin to standing in the midst of a Code Pink rally with a “Support our Troops and Make Our Country Safer! Win the War on Terror!” sign.

I can’t stand it.

I don’t know how, or why, but I totally missed this film growing up. It came out in 1983 (I was a junior in high school), and I don’t remember a thing about it. Last Christmas, some 25 years after its release, my family was visiting my sister Carla and B-I-L Josh’s house for Christmas dinner. When my sister found out I hadn’t seen the movie (she was absolutely aghast. Not only had I not seen it, I had NEVER heard of it), she suggested we all watch it together.

And so the movie started, on their killer new giant HD TV. I awaited a magical Christmas movie experience that I assumed would rival classic holiday films like “It’s a Wonderful Life,” or “Miracle on 34th Street.”

30 minutes in and I started to check the news on my Blackberry. That’s a bad sign. I also read up on the film and how popular it was (checked IMDBPRO.com to see its StarRating, comments, etc. It did seem that millions LOVED this movie).

I endured it, if only to be able to say I had seen the whole thing, and I was left wondering why. That pretty much sums it up. Why. Why do people like this movie? Why was it considered such a classic? Why do people think it’s funny? I just don’t get it. Its no “Elf.”

Will Apollos Now Water?

I watched a very interesting video clip last night of Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller fame). I’ve always enjoyed watching and listening to him, and find his often brash but humorous approach to various subjects refreshing.

I’ve also often cringed at his tirades about Christians during his atheism or faith oriented monologues. Why does he always seem to find, along with most others that are critical of followers of Jesus, the fringe representatives of the faith?

He certainly has been “fortunate” enough to run into a plentiful supply of religious wackos to provide him context for his critical thinking about those who profess to follow Jesus.

And that’s why I found this video clip so interesting…



So a stranger shows up at Penn’s show and hands him a Psalms version of the bible. They exchange a few kind words, something that probably happens to Penn a dozen times a day over the last 20+ years (doing some quick math, that would be about 87,600 short conversations with fans), and this one exchange is somehow impactful enough to get a spot on Penn’s video blog on Crackle.com?

And Penn states so matter-of-factly in the blog “I know there isn’t a God.” Well, let’s explore a bit of scripture that I think pretty accurately covers this incident:

“ …We each carried out our servant assignment. I [Paul] planted the seed, Apollos [contemporary of Paul’s traveling the region preaching about Jesus] watered the plants, but God made you grow. It's not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God's field in which we are working.”

-1 Corinthians 3:5-7 (The Message)

Let’s call this stranger at Penn’s show “Paul.”

And Paul has most certainly planted a seed with Penn. Now who will come to water him? I suspect somebody will as this encounter and resulting impact in Penn’s life is not chance in my opinion. These types of encounters and discussions happen countless times a day all over the world- we just happen to have a little window into this because of the platform Penn has to share about what’s going on in his life.

A few observations from the video clip:

The stranger, Paul, seems to have made a real impact on Penn for a few reasons. He was kind and reasonable (Penn refers to this as “sane,” calling him that 3 different times), he was polite (2 times), he looked Penn in the eye (that’s a strange one, isn’t it? Three times mentioned), he seemed to “care about me,” was honest, and a good man (2 times, with the second preceded by "very, very, very”).

A few times Penn seems to be struggling to find the right words, which is not something common for such a rapid-fire fluid communicator.

The most amazing moment in the clip is when Penn all but urges, firmly, Christians (at least those that are “good” people that are also kind and polite- as in, the sane ones) to hurry up and get out there and spread the Good News. Time is running out. There’s a huge truck bearing down on the people of the world and everlasting life or death hangs in the balance.

Who would have ever thought God would use Penn Jillette to prompt believers to get out there and fulfill the great commission?

“How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? I mean if I believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe it, that truck was bearing down on you, there’s a certain point where I tackle you, and this [eternal life] is more important than that. ”

- Penn Jillette, 12/8/08

Don’t Make Me Your Escape Goat

One of my favorite bits from Friends was when Joey said “…this is all a moo point.” Unlike some language purists and English professors that get their panties in a wad when people abuse the language, I find it endearing and hilarious. I’ve been guilty myself of mixing metaphors and assaulting analogies.

I know and love my own Joey. A friend of mine just can’t help but have these jumbled word and thoughts pour out of him, and I LOVE to hear them. I never correct him, preferring to keep the opportunity to hear them again in a phone call or meeting. The down side is I find myself actually disengaging from the meat of the conversation and keeping my ear out for the next misused word or phrase.

Some of my recent favorites:

“I’m telling you, they way they’re talking about this project its all gonna get blamed on me. They’ll make me the escape goat and move on to the next thing.”

Yesterday it was this…

“I just said some things that were cuff, whatever popped into my head.”

And while he hasn’t used the classic Joey line exactly, he has said…

"The whole thing is a mute issue. No one wants to talk about it.”

Love him.

Confirmation, Finally, For John And Revé Walsh

In 2006 I had the distinct pleasure of working for 3 very fine people. Julie and Bill Clark (Julie is the founder and creator of The Baby Einstein Company) and John Walsh.

Together, Julie, Bill and John launched a child safety company named The Safe Side, focused on creating fun and informative safety videos for kids.

During that time I worked closely with Julie and Bill to launch the company, and communication with John was infrequent. Mostly faxes to his home as he doesn’t like to use email.

On one occasion I was able to spend some quality time with John during an extended dinner at the hotel we were all staying at in Washington DC. We were attending the annual National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Hope Awards benefit and congressional breakfast where John was keynote speaker.

During dinner he shared all about the horrible experience he and his wife Revé went through in the immediate aftermath of Adam’s abduction, the challenges he faced working with local law enforcement, and his certainty, though the police would not confirm it, that Ottis Toole was responsible for the crime. The announcement yesterday by police that the case has been closed and Ottis Toole confirmed as the abductor and killer of Adam is a much needed “period” to the awful chapters to date in their life. John said yesterday though that there’s not really closure. His mission and life’s purpose is still ahead of him.

I will never forget that dinner with John- It was heart wrenching listening to him recount the details (I kept thinking what I would have done had it been one of my four precious kids). Both the pain he showed as he told the story, and the determination that flowed out of him to have the case closed and to do everything he could to prevent another family going through what he went through was very motivating. I left that time together wanting to brandish a sword and chop something or other off every child abuser I could find.