Trying to Deceive the Public

There is currently an advertisement running on Global Warming which claims that Category 4-5 Hurricane have doubled in the past 30 years. This is an attempt to influence the public to support the the Global Warming talks scheduled for Copenhagen, Denmark next week.

After my curiosity convinced me to verify this claim I was surprised to learn that this is not necessarily so. But sponsors always hope that their information will be believed even if it is not true. The basis of this claim was an article in Science Magazine in 2005 authored by Dr. Pete Webster of Georgia Tech University and Dr. Greg Holland of the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

However, Dr. Bill Gray of Colorado State University disagrees. He is famous for his successful long range predictions and nearly 50 years of research and forecasting. He stated that he does not agree with the claims that global category 4-5 tropical cyclone activity has been increasing accept in the Atlantic over the last 11 years and that can be attributed to conditions other than warming temperatures. He is supported by Dr. Chris Landsea, Science and Operations Officer for the National Hurricane Center and Dr. John Knaff, Hurricane Researcher at NOAA. The study concluded that because of a large disagreement among scientists, an agreement on such a claim was impossible. Even Dr. Webster agreed that a longer study of the global data record would be required and all scientist involved in the dispute agree that further study and reanalysis was required but there is no funding for such an endeavor.

Bottom line is that it is speculation, much as the whole theory of Global Warming. Recent events in that field may conclude that the United Nations, Al Gore and others may have tried to put a scam on the world for their own political ambitions.

The Name and Shame Game

I just finished listening to a report on the Fox News Channel about mortgage rates of as low as 2% for existing mortgages in trouble. I try real hard not to let news of the day get my dander up but this had me jumping out of the chair. So lets see if I can make this as clear and simple as possible.

This program was initiated last spring at the same time as the stimulus program. You remember, the "shovel ready" program that we now realize has really not produced any jobs! In the Stimulus program, the Obama administration set aside $75 Billion dollars to help out those people who were "underwater" with their mortgages and unable to pay. Many were forced with foreclosures. It does not matter why you need this help. You can have a decline in the value of your home, loss or decline of your income, or even if you had a separation or divorce.

The new plan would allow you to extend your credit up to 40 years. Refinance your loan as low as 2% interest rate. Change your adjustable rate loan to a fixed rate loan and waive all late fees and charges. The new twist is that the Treasury Department is releasing a list in December of those Mortgage Companies (known as "servicers") who are lagging behind in processing and helping these mortgages in trouble. As of this date, only 1700 families had

completed the process out of a possible 375,000 applicants.

Here is my problem. Some mortgages truly have run into trouble because of lost jobs and the economy. But there are way too many that fell into that group of mortgages that had no business being financed to begin with. You know the stories about applications that had little or no verification of incomes. The difference between an old payment at 7% on a $150K home at 30 years of $994.00 per month versus the 2% loan at $554.00 per month. Ultimately, this gift comes at the expense of the taxpayer. There is no screening in this loan modification program for weeding out the bad loans. Remember the claims by some that now that Obama is elected as President, " he will help me pay the mortgage?" Well this is about as close to a handout as possible.

Everybody Has Their Price

When I first thought about writing this I was going to title it "The Louisiana Purchase" because I felt the central figure Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) sold her vote. I have followed the news reports carefully and here are the facts. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid knew he needed 60 votes to put the Senate Health Reform bill on the floor for discussion. Senator Landrieu along with Senator Lincoln of Arkansas were the last holdouts. Senator Reid initially placed an addendum to the bill with carefully worded language that allotted $100 million dollars to Louisiana only, for restoration purposes. Sen Landrieu held out for her own reasons until Senator Reid countered back with a higher bid of $300 million dollars. This time, Senator Landrieu could not resist and accordingly announced support. With her vote, it was a done deal for Senator Lincoln to say yes rather than stand alone against her colleagues.

I said that I changed the title because it is important to establish there have been others who would sell their vote or their honor for the right price. In this case there was no law broken and it becomes a moral issue. We can recall not long ago when Congressman Jefferson of Louisiana was caught with $90,000 in his refrigerator. He has just been sentenced to 13 years prison for a felony bribe. A few years ago the country was shocked with "Abscam". The end result was the conviction of a United States Senator, five members of the House of Representative and a State Senator for bribery. One member of the Senate who still serves, Senator John Murtha (D-PA) was not prosecuted because of his "cooperation with the FBI in the investigation". Let me make it very clear. This is not Democratic or Republican. This is political and moral corruption.

Lord Acton is credited with a very famous saying which in this case could never be more applicable. He stated that "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely". I could not agree more but I also believe that our country has lost its moral compass. You only need to read the newspapers and listen to the news to recognize we have become a very sick society. Our country was certainly founded on solid ground by our forefathers. But, it seems to me that our very sacred liberties have also allowed some to exercise their own version in total disrespect of their neighbors, their fellow citizens and the country we love so much. Even more so, if the very people who we elect to represent us cannot

be trusted to honor the Constitution and the citizens who placed them in office than it is time to remove them by voting them out at the ballot box.

Do You Want this Kind of "Change" ?

Our left leaning Congress is about to ram Socialized Medicine down the throats of the people of the United States. This is in spite of numerous polls that show that our citizens are against this by a 60-40 margin. This clearly tells us that our Congress no longer represent us and have their own agenda. It is an arrogance unparalleled in American history. Term Limits is not the answer although a good idea. Many of these politicians have been in office for more than 30 years. Their campaign for reelection begins on the first day of the new term. The bottom line is these progressive liberals (Code for Socialists) will never vote themselves out of office. The only true answer is to vote them out at the Ballot Box. Voters finally saw the light in Virginia and New Jersey and believe me, these progressives do not like the sunshine because it exposes the truth. Why do they hurry legislation thru Congress without a full reading, discussion and weekend voting?

Unless you exercise your right to vote and take them out at the Ballot Box our country will become a second rate socialized nation. Thomas Jefferson said " All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent".

Habits Are Hard to Break