Antarctic sea ice increases despite warming - earth - 12 September 2008 - New Scientist Environment

Antarctic sea ice increases despite warming - earth - 12 September 2008 - New Scientist Environment: "The amount of sea ice around Antarctica has grown in recent Septembers in what could be an unusual side-effect of global warming, experts say."
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No matter what happens, it supports the global warming theory. Hot weather, cold weather, more ice, less ice...big storms, small storms...whatever. The debate is over and that's that. I suppose that is true in the sense that most of the public is no longer listening to the global warming alarmists. Their last stronghold is the public school systems, where the environmentalist brainwashing kids are subjected to is astounding. It is no wonder so many kids are depressed. They keep hearing that the world is ending. With my generation is was the fear of nuclear war, but at least we were told we could duck and cover under our desks.

The Friday Flyer, September 12, 2008 - Article: Council candidates answer questions on their campaign

The Friday Flyer, September 12, 2008 - Article: Council candidates answer questions on their campaign: "Carl Armbrust: My campaign platform is to maintain the economic viability of Canyon Lake and its continued existence as a gated community."
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That is every single word of the campaign platform of a candidate for the City Council of Canyon Lake, CA, which is in Riverside County. Pretty simple, I'd say. In answer to another question, he elaborated as follows: "I want to ensure that Canyon Lake remains the paradise I believe it to be," by which I think he may have been referring to that whole "gated community" thing.

You will find that the other candidates had a bit more to say about other mundane issues such as development, city revenues, fiscal responsibility, open government, and a few other minor matters. Busybodies!

islandpacket.com | Island fourth grader suspended for using broken pencil sharpener

islandpacket.com | Island fourth grader suspended for using broken pencil sharpener: "A 10-year-old Hilton Head Island boy has been suspended from school for having something most students carry in their supply boxes: a pencil sharpener.The problem was his sharpener had broken, but he decided to use it anyway. A teacher at Hilton Head Island International Baccalaureate Elementary School noticed the boy had what appeared to be a small razor blade during class on Tuesday, according to a Beaufort County sheriff's report. It was obvious that the blade was the metal insert commonly found in a child's small, plastic pencil sharpener, the deputy noted. The boy -- a fourth-grader described as a well-behaved and good student -- cried during the meeting with his mom, the deputy and the school's assistant principal. He had no criminal intent in having the blade at school, the sheriff's report stated, but was suspended for at least two days and could face further disciplinary action."
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Anybody who thinks that utter and complete stupidity is the province of HOA and condo boards hasn't spent enough time looking at what public school officials do every day. School vouchers, anybody?

The Next Little Thing? - NYTimes.com

The Next Little Thing? - NYTimes.com: "Mr. Janzen has become interested in the small house movement, whose adherents believe in minimizing one’s footprint — structural as well as carbon — by living in spaces that are smaller than 1,000 square feet and, in some cases, smaller than 100. Tiny houses have been a fringe curiosity for a decade or more, but devotees believe the concept’s time has finally arrived."
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The New York Times has discovered a nonexistent trend. The "small house movement..has finally arrived"? I think not.

SPORTSbyBROOKS » LA Rejoices As Scully Says He’ll Be Back In 2009

SPORTSbyBROOKS » LA Rejoices As Scully Says He’ll Be Back In 2009: "And now this news from the LA TIMES: legendary announcer Vin Scully says that he’ll be back next year for his 60th season of Dodger broadcasts."
Best baseball announced who ever lived. Way to go Vinny.

Hunting season brings gunfire to quiet suburbs | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "DALLAS — Reports of gunfire bombarded 911 centers in the typically peaceful northern suburbs of Dallas last week. The shots rang in the start of hunting season — which, as many surprised North Texas families are learning, is legal in their rural cities under a 2005 state law. Police in cities like McKinney say they're now trying to educate neighbors about the right hunters have to fire shotguns or rifles under certain conditions, at the same time planning to lobby state lawmakers next year to tighten the rules."
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Yee haw. I like hunting and shooting as well as the next fellow, but I don't think I want to be cleaning shotgun pellets out of my rain gutters.

Washington Wire - WSJ.com : Ron Paul Plans 'Special Announcement': "Rep. Ron Paul, the former Republican presidential candidate who excited a multitude of young voters during the primaries, announced a “major” news conference in Washington Wednesday."
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I imagine legions of Ronulans booking a last-minute flight to DC National right now. In the morning they will emerge from their parents' basements like a swarm of cicadas and head for the airport. And history will be made by The Ron.

HOA Wants Man To Tear Down Home Rebuilt After Airplane Crash - Orlando News Story - WKMG Orlando

HOA Wants Man To Tear Down Home Rebuilt After Airplane Crash - Orlando News Story - WKMG Orlando: "SANFORD, Fla. -- A Sanford man whose wife and son were killed when an airplane crashed into their home may have to tear down his rebuilt house because a homeowners' association said he is breaking their rules.

Joe Woodard's wife and son were killed in the July 2007 crash, and he's been building a new home on the same lot for the past year."
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They don't like the shingles, and the house extends a few feet farther back than they allow. They want him to rebuild exactly what he had before the crash. He doesn't want a reminder of the place he used to share with his wife and son.

You can't make things up that top what associations really do. People used to say, "Would your mother be proud of you if she knew what you are doing?" But questions like that assume that people are capable of feeling shame, which it seems not everybody is, these days.

CATS: ALL YOUR MORTGAGE ARE BELONG TO US!!! Government takes control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: "WASHINGTON - The Bush administration’s seizure of troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is potentially a $200 billion bet that it will help reverse a prolonged housing and credit crisis.

The historic move announced Sunday won support from both presidential campaigns, but private analysts worried that it may not be enough to stabilize the slumping housing market given the glut of vacant homes for sale, rising foreclosures, rising unemployment and weak consumer confidence.

Officials announced that both giant institutions were being placed in a government conservatorship, a move that could end up costing taxpayers billions of dollars...The companies, which together own or guarantee about $5 trillion in home loans, about half the nation’s total, have lost $14 billion in the last year and are likely to pile up billions more in losses until the housing market begins to recover.

The Treasury Department said it was prepared to put up as much as $100 billion over time in each of the companies if needed to keep them from going broke, in exchange for senior preferred stock."
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I think we can call this a massive deprivatization in the sense that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are no longer being operated as private companies. To say it "could" cost taxpayers "billions of dollars" is merely stating the obvious. Undoubtedly it will cost billions. If we start talking about what it"could" cost, think in terms of hundreds of billions. And this bailout gives the federal government more control over the housing market than they may know how to handle, if you ask me. I realize they had to do something because shares in these companies had plummeted from around $70 per share to about 5 bucks, and there was no end in sight. But I don't see this as a rescue. I see it is a desperation measure. The real fix here is for the housing market to level off, and I hope that the feds can make that happen, now that they have half of its value in their hands.

Free Real Estate Articles » Real Estate Values Fall As Home Owner Associations Avoid Insurance Liabilities
First time I've heard of this. The author says associations are getting rid of swing sets and playgrounds so they don't have to pay so much for liability insurance, but in doing so they reduce the value of the properties.

MINI gets into fight with gated community on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

MINI gets into fight with gated community on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
From the photo I would give this round to the gate.

Democratic National Convention - Yahoo! News Photos

Democratic National Convention - Yahoo! News Photos
I wonder if we will be seeing this photo a lot between now and the election. Check out the bottom right corner...that object lying on the floor next to Biden's foot.