Yes, the global warming alarmists are offering the finest in logic here. AP writer Seth Borenstein offers up the latest gem in a story today:

"Ironically, 2008 is on pace to be a slightly cooler year in a steadily rising temperature trend line. Experts say it's thanks to a La Nina weather variation. While skeptics are already using it as evidence of some kind of cooling trend, it actually illustrates how fast the world is warming."

Someone must have missed the point where temperatures have been on the decline since 1998, when we peaked. If in the limited time we've been analyzing temperature data with any degree of accuracy is any indication, then ten years is definitely a trend.

Not only is 2008 cooler, but it is the coolest year since 1998. Going on a cooling trend doesn't illustrate the world is warming, but that it is...wait for it...COOLING!

They'll simply dodge the issue at hand saying things are being taken out of context etc...and that there is a consensus of scientists who have proved this and that we are simply believing the oil company propaganda or something similar. Using facts do nothing for the argument, as the only facts that count are those that help with the other side of the argument.

You can claim to save the earth by cutting back and living a green lifestyle because you genuinely care. You can also do the green lifestyle because it is a cash cow right now. Don't however tell us that the cooler weather somehow proves that global warming exists in an insult to our intelligence because the logic being used is too complicated for our simple peasant minds.

Global warming is only about two things now: Money and control. Not only is it extremely profitable to jump on the green bandwagon, but is also allows those involved to exert control on the rest of us. Watch - as soon as those involved realize that people are turning away from the sham purported will then somehow claim how by taking action early under their direction, we have stopped global warming - but we were a bit too zealous and have started a cooling process. To remedy this, we can do X, X, and X to get us back on the right track.

Control, money and an insult to the intelligence of millions upon millons of people.

I haven't read a book in quite some time. Frankly, I've been too busy to read much of anything other than the news. While listening to my normal radio routine over the last couple months, I've been bombarded with talk about Glenn Beck's new book - The Christmas Sweater.

My first reaction was along the lines of - The Christmas Sweater? It doesn't get any more lame than that. Not only do I not have time to read books, but if I am going to read one, it damn well isn't going to be about an article of clothing.

I have to applaud the marketing team Glenn has, however. The pseudo-commercials in the show for the book had other bestselling authors making fun of the book, along with Glenn's producer Stu. My favorite one was those making fun of the book by claiming that Glenn would write another book each year about other articles of Christmas clothing.

As I noticed it was a New York Times Bestseller, I kept an eye open for it in the stores. The local stores didn't seem to carry it, which irritated me a bit, if only because they had a "bestseller" section, yet didn't include the number 1 book. I didn't think it was a simple oversight either as the other bestsellers that came out that week were clearly on the shelf, with no ominous empty space left signifying that the book had indeed sold out.

In any event, I did see the book in the store eventually and decided to pick it up. The first thing I noticed was the production value of the book. It wasn't a simple hardcover book, but each page was artistically styled with a nice simple border that went above and beyond the standard text normally in books. In addition, a special paper was used which gave the book a unique feel. I'm not a paper expert so see for yourself if you want more detail than that.

As for the book itself, it started out somewhat slow,dealing with the life of a young boy named Eddie and how his perfect world was turned upside down. I'm not sure what Glenn's true intentions were for what the reader should get out of the book, but there were a couple strong messages throughout for me, namely The true meaning of Christmas / family and redemption. The story is loosely based on Glenn's childhood which explains quite a bit about the struggles he's gone through and how it has shaped the character of who he is today.

I was very happy to have read the book and recommend it to all. As long as he doesn't come out with The Christmas Boot next year, I've got no complaints. The book also has a stage show going from town to town, with a satellite broadcast in select theaters (similar to his previous stage show - Unelectable '08) which will be shown nationwide on this coming Thursday - December 18th. Hopefully I'll get a chance to see that and it will be as enjoyable as his last show.

I've seen some commercials on TV from a company calling itself "This is Reality" and speaking out about clean coal, with the logic being that no coal is clean.

The definition they use for "clean" is one that produces no pollution. That's nice in fairy-tale land, but in the real world, nothing is perfect. Absolute clean power isn't readily available yet in a form to power the country on a widespread scale.

While the organization is funded from global warming alarmist leftist groups such as the Alliance for Climate Protection, the Sierra Club, the National Wildlife Federation, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the League of Conservation Voters, they fall into the trap that most environmentalist groups do by going too far to the extreme.

Nobody is legitimately saying that clean coal is the answer to every problem and that pollution will cease to exist. What they are saying is that it is a step in the right direction to making less polluting technologies and may not be the solution long term, but is at the very least, a short term bridge while new technologies are refined and developed.

Groups like this are so intent on issues like this that they have tunnel vision and fail to see the bigger picture. Until they do so, they won't be taken seriously by anyone outside the fringe groups that sponsor them.

So, as the title implies, I was on The Michael Medved Show this afternoon, nervously speaking - about a non-political subject, surprisingly. The topic being discussed was a recent study that showed that kids admitted, anonymously, to cheating in school, among other things.

I always appreciate Michael's takes on certain issues as he can debate better than any other talk radio host with his plethora of facts and historical anecdotes handy.

Here is the full audio, starting with Michael's lengthy introduction, then my call and his his thoughts:



My thoughts on the subject were two-fold - First, the definition of cheating has changed over the years. Back in the 1940s, when the Army had a cheating scandal with the football team, it was due to cadets in the afternoon class finding out what the questions were to the test given to the morning class. I'm unaware of any student who doesn't ask their classmates what to expect on upcoming tests.

Second, many of the teachers are unfortunately lazy. Year after year, they use the same test for classes. The majority of them at least change numbers around to make it somewhat different, but once those tests are available to the entire university, they can't expect students to not find out and use it to their advantage.

So while I didn't get my point across as eloquently as I would have preferred, cheating depends on how you define it. Getting the test and answers beforehand and then using that for an advantage is cheating. So is passing notes, texting, and talking to other students when the teacher isn't looking. However, gathering as much information as possible to succeed is simply smart.

Michael has a good explanation, in that the majority of students today are in a highly competitive battle for good jobs. Years ago, most students simply got a job out of high school, while a small percentage went on to college. So much is focused on having a high GPA and good grades that students will do anything, morality aside, to succeed.

This is essentially a preview of my upcoming video on Purple States. I know I'm jumping around quite a bit throughout, but the video is simply responding to a predetermined questions asked by the Purple States crew. Rather than list each question, everything just freeflows. Comments and thoughts are always welcomed...

Unfortunately, we’re driving right down the road to a depression. The economic challenges being faced make it harder on all of us. I’ve been very lucky so far, but the little things are what add up – Not going out to eat or to the movies as frequently; passing up an item you want in the store - because you don’t need it.

The state of Michigan is in a unique position with such a heavy reliance on the automotive industry, which also puts us at the forefront of talks in the news with the proposed bailout of the big three. This makes it a very interesting – yet very scary time for our state. What bothers me the most is not just the home foreclosures or creeping unemployment rate, but the reduction and taking away of benefits and insurance from retirees who’ve been promised care, only to have the terms changed when they need it most.

As I mentioned, Michigan relies heavily on the automotive industry. Unless this changes, or the auto companies come up with a newer, more efficient business model, then the economy here will remain as is.

The cause of the economic crisis can’t be pinpointed to one particular item, industry, state or even country as everything is being felt on a global level. On a local level, our woes are due to the automotive industry’s troubles. First, the business model of the big three is flawed. If it wasn't, then foreign automakers would also be having the same financial issues of this magnitude, which they are not. We can argue back and forth on what the actual causes are, but the fact is very simple that throwing money at companies who have a proven track record of losing money and making bad decisions won't simply cause that to do a 180 and become a profitable company.

The proponents of the bailout typically have a vested interest, by working for, or being affiliated with the automotive industry. The disturbing part is that local politicians, who took a stance against the financial bailout, have shown to have no backbone by supporting one for the automotive industry simply for a power grab to garner more votes from the local workers.

A bankruptcy to any of the big three would be a major blow to both Michigan, and the country in the short term. In the long term, it would allow them to restructure and do things the right way as has been the case with the airlines. Filing for bankruptcy doesn't mean everyone loses their jobs, contrary to what many would have us believe.

Let's not kid ourselves here either - the financial bailout, which was opposed by the majority of Americans, opened Pandora’s Box on this. Not only has the original bailout been a debacle beyond most of our worst fears, but there has been practically no oversight on it as well. The proposed intent of the bailout was to help stimulate the economy and assist with lending, but the major beneficiaries of the bailout have used that money to consolidate and purchase other banks, still making it very hard to get loans. The executives of the big three made a huge mistake by going to Congress on private planes and then holding out a tin cup asking for change.

The auto-makers aren't all to blame however, as the government has a role in this as well. The efficiency standards for fuel and the pressure placed on the auto-makers has made business much harder. In addition, there are extremely efficient cars that the big three produce in Europe and Asia that aren't able to be imported here for various reasons.

The auto industry is in shambles, but can be compared to an operation to remove cancer. You can go through the procedure to remove cancer - which will be painful - but it sure beats dying, which is exactly what will happen if they don't file for bankruptcy. There comes a point where people need to be allowed to fail, otherwise they won’t learn from the past mistakes, since they’ll have Uncle Sam to prop them up at the first signs of trouble.

Giving individuals a tax rebate check doesn’t help to solve the problem either, since they money is coming from loans to the government, as evidenced by our massive and growing national debt. Rather, lowering the tax rates to give long term incentives to the market would be a better solution. A rebate check is simply a short term fix, that when gone, leaves the consumer wanting more like a junkie.

As far as the media is concerned, they’ve proved that they can’t be trusted. That isn’t to say that bloggers and the internet media are the answer either. All people should research the issues independently and double check the sources they are given. This may seem a bit surprising coming from someone with a blog, but most of us can’t be trusted any more than the media. Bloggers cover the most extreme sides of issues and do things like distributing chain emails that have been proven to be false and focusing on issues of no merit, such as the legitimacy of birth certificates and events that occurred over twenty years ago.

A short time ago, illegal immigration was one of the hot topics. With the economic meltdown being experienced now, there are much larger issues at hand. Is anyone going to try and argue that illegals are responsible for poor lending practices by the mortgage companies, or that they caused the big three to pay their workers a rate drastically higher than the competitors? Illegal immigration isn’t a necessary evil or anything like that. The mere fact that the name is illegal immigration, by definition, shows us that it is wrong. Once we’ve gotten the major issues taken care of, we can focus on issues such as that.

Well, I've been away for some time - busy with family, work and other important non-internet blogging related things. I wanted to announce however that I've been invited and accepted an offer to work alongside Purple States, in a non-partisan role as the Michigan correspondent to discuss issues facing us today. I've just finished shooting the first video regarding the economy - with some wonderful assistance from my wife, and they'll be putting the production gloss on it shortly, with it scheduled to air on the 26th. I'm sure they'll do a great job with the footage, and I'll update if there are any changes. You can check out the Purple States fine work at http://www.purplestates.tv

This doesn't mean I'm leaving the site or anything, if you really care! I'll be posting more on the video as it comes. Thanks for stopping by,

Anthony

A couple recent articles have me scratching my head. First, I know that many people are excited about the aspect of an Obama presidency, both in and out of the country. However, it seems that many folks are being caught up in sheer emotions and not looking at things from a big picture viewpoint.'

Barack Obama can be the best President, worst President or somewhere in-between, and he'll be in the history books simply for being the first African-American elected to the highest office in the country.

As with many famous individuals and great accomplishments, there is a surge of babies being named after President-elect Obama because of his historic victory in the 2008 election. Name your child what you feel is appropriate, for whatever reason. But shouldn't we make sure he's a good President first? I'm not saying that he will, but lets say he turns into some sort of pariah - there aren't too many babies named after other world leaders like Hitler. Please note that I don't believe Obama will be a fascist dictator, but the point is clearly that he could be someone who is extremely popular at first, that is remembered in not so nice terms in history. Let him prove that he's worth his salt before canonizing him as the next Saint.

In a similar story, a Kansas McDonald's is supporting plans to push forward a national holiday for Barack Obama, tied in with the 200th anniversary of President Lincoln's birth. Once again, he's done nothing to warrant this sort of attention. Let him serve out his four year term, and if the American public chooses, eight years, and then judge him on his merits. We already have a holiday called President's Day which takes into consideration all leaders in our country's great history. Putting one above that to have a day alone, before even starting the job, is rather foolhardy. With all due respect to President Elect Obama - There are other men in the office of President who are more deserving of a holiday of their own - namely George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Yes, I know they both had separate holidays which were subsequently rolled into President's Day due to a new holiday celebrating Martin Luther King Jr, but things need to be looked at from a historical perspective, not from blind emotions running wild.

I suspect all of the hoopla surrounding an Obama victory will die down, only to be picked up around Inauguration Day. Once Inauguration Day comes to pass, it'll be time for the new administration to roll up their sleeves and concentrate on the issues at hand. God willing, I was wrong and we'll fix the major economic issues while maintaining the integrity of our country and the spirit in which is was founded.

Good ol' Chris Matthews. The elation of some on the left is beyond any hope of redemption - that is if those members are in the media. As a journalist, a certain sense of integrity is needed. That's where the line is drawn between being someone who reports the news, and someone who gives opinions. Reporters, and commentators. Chris Matthews, throughout the 2008 campaign, has clearly gone full bore into the commentators category. It wasn't over when he felt a thrill going up his leg, not by a long shot. The agenda of Matthews is more apparent than ever with his latest comments this morning:
No sir, your job is not to make sure that Obama succeeds, but rather that he, along with other politicians, are held to a standard which is beneficial to the country, rather than a specific political party or ideology. By making such an absurd statement, he removes any impartiality and takes away whatever credibility he had remaining during the next administration. This is because, no matter how fair he actually is, the stigma of him rooting for a particular side and going as far to claim it is his job to, essentially, give the new President a constant stream of good PR is not something that any thinking person can accept.

Chris Matthews obviously wants to voice his opinion loudly at every opportunity, but should face reality and call a spade a spade - he's stopped being a reporter much long ago and donned the commentator hat.

Barack Obama has won the Presidency tonight. Tomorrow starts a new day, and while Obama is not in office until January, we'll start with a clean slate, but keep a close eye on things. So for tonight, congrats Mr. Obama.

Some of us are disappointed (an understatement) but realistically know down deep the Republicans couldn't do anything this year. My head is kept high and I'm optimistic for 2010 and 2012. My hope is that my fellow conservatives stay somewhat normal rather than turning into the rabid fringe groups that the left has become.

There's other news culminating tonight. First, one of the best journalists is retiring after this election - that being Brit Hume. Second, as the election comes to a close, so does my favorite channel on XM - POTUS 08.

My wife expects things to settle down politically after the election. It may for some time, but I don't see that happening with a Democratic President and Congress.

I'm holding out a slim bit of hope that Obama moves toward the center and also doesn't get the opportunity to destroy the Supreme Court. Keep the chin up conservatives - with a full Democratic majority, they'll be unable (although they'll try) to blame problems on Bush in four years.

Will Obama keep the promise to withdraw from Iraq, and will that change any sentiment towards us from the Middle East? In addition, with the extreme budget shortfalls and a $1 trillion deficit slated for next year's budget, can he really keep any of the campaign promises? Will he send out checks to all of us, or once elected, will he realize that the cost is too high? Will the fairness doctrine be reinstated, thereby removing any conservative voice of dissent? Finally, will Joe Biden's comments on Obama being challenged come true.

This election, in my opinion, was won on three basic principles:

1 - The media was in the tank for Obama, as all independent studies have shown, and just as much against anything Republican
2 - Obama was able to in essence, buy the Presidency with the shrewd move to bypass public financing, regardless of promises broken.
3 - The Obama campaign was run much more efficiently than the McCain one. There was a clear strategy by the Democrats, where the Republicans simply hoped that McCain could be enough of a Maverick to defeat the Democrats in this election.

It will be interesting how the media reports the reasons for the election results. The major talk I've heard is that it will be blamed on Sarah Palin, attempting to trash her as much as possible, since they know she is an upcoming major player in the Republican Party and can stop her before she gets rolling.

On a state level, it appears that my home state has voted to allow medical marijuana and to expand stem cell research for public funding, both of which I opposed. Going further down on a local level, the results haven't come in yet, but there weren't any major issues on the ballot, although some of the township races could be close.

To my Democrat friends - Congrats again on the victory. Understand the mistakes Republicans made of being too cocky. Having a majority in both the legislative and executive branches ensures you'll be blamed for everything. Remember those who blamed Bush for 9/11 even though he wasn't even in office for a full year. The media will have a short honeymoon, but Americans will expect substantial changes and be extremely watchful.

I'll be posting some thoughts via twitter throughout the night...

http://twitter.com/anthonyfuller