GeologicalScienceBlog - subjects include Geology, Climatology, Environmental Science, NASCAR, Beer, Property Rights, Random Thoughts, & Politics from a Christian Conservative/Libertarian/pragmatist viewpoint. As a Dad & Grandad, I am concerned about the overgrowth of government at the expense of freedom. Background - two degrees in Geology (BS '77, MS '90), started studying Geology beginning Senior Year of high school (1971 - 1972) <68>

Saturday, January 30, 2010

On Properly Defining a Threat

By way of a Facebook post, on the Big Journalism blog, Kyle-Anne Shiver gives a great accounting of who George Soros is and what he has been up to the last few decades.

For those that pay attention to politics, many of us recognize that people with billions of dollars at their disposal can cause a great deal of economic havoc, if they know how to game the system. There are a significant number of people that believe that Soros has played a part in exaggerating the current financial problems we are experiencing. Perhaps he didn't start it, but once it began (perhaps through the over-heating of oil prices), he knew what to do, in order to make more money and gain more power.

Basically, Soros is one of the prime movers and shakers in pushing for a one-world government, a world where, if your vote has any impact at all, it would only be on a very localized basis, i.e., you can kiss our national sovereignty (and freedom) goodbye.

From this American Issues Project Fact Sheet:

Fact 8: Soros Wrote That To Preserve “Our Global Open Society,” The World Needs “Some
Global System Of Political Decision-Making” In Which “The Sovereignty Of States Must Be
Subordinated To International Law And International Institutions.”

[More will be added as time permits...]

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Posted by: on-the-rocks / 10:43 AM 0 comments
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Sunday, January 24, 2010

About Those Himalayan Alpine Glaciers...

from NewsBusters: "IPCC Scientist: Fake Data Used To Put Pressure On World Leaders", go read the above-linked article and the links within it.

Basically, if you haven't heard about this on the MSM or read about it in the paper, for the last week or so, there have been revelations - that the UN's statement that Himalayan glaciers will be gone by 2035 - are unraveling.

It seems that the Climategate revelations have caused scientists to take a second look at other data and it seems that there was nothing to back up the Himalayan glacier claim. It also seems that it was from a statement uttered during a phone call, not years of exhaustive study.

If the Russian solar scientists are right about the lessened solar activity over the next few years/decades, it would be better for humanity to determine how people will adapt and cope with the cold.

Warm is better for agriculture, warm is better for biodiversity, warm is better for life...than cold.

[If time permits, I will add some more links, later.]

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Posted by: on-the-rocks / 9:05 AM 0 comments
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Saturday, January 23, 2010

As the Climategate Issue Seems to be Spreading...

from the Strata-Sphere blog: "Stunning: NASA GISS Admits No Evidence of AGW In The US, Won’t Be For Decades!". Go read the blog post, I am too tired to write in-depth about this tonight.

As I mentioned in the comments in the previous post, ultimately, only the passage of time will show which "side" was more correct.

If this was only an academic discussion, passions would not run so high, but certain "power players" are using data from CRU, NASA GISS, et al, to try to justify ever higher taxes and more restrictions, i.e., it is a power play. Go back are re-read the Global Governance post, as I am trying to convey my concerns (and the concerns of others).

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Posted by: on-the-rocks / 8:25 PM 0 comments
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Thursday, January 14, 2010

Why Modern Liberals Ain't - Faux "Free Thinkers" and Intolerance

I have been mulling over how to address this issue since the new year began.

In late December, I noticed that some names and faces had disappeared from my Friends List on Facebook, this was after I had linked to some AGW-skeptic posts on this humble blog and elsewhere, including this one on using the AGW hysteria as an excuse for global governance. It seems that some of these "liberals" - two or three of which I had known for close to 30 years, from when I lived in El Paso - couldn't handle the the idea of someone disagreeing with them. I never posted anything confrontational on Facebook, I simply linked to the posts here and to pertinent articles that supported the viewpoint that the science "is not settled" (and added some short commentary). One of them objected to the use of the word "Eco-hysteric" in reference to the carbon dioxide phobia.

Another friend took issue with my opinions in the private messages part of Facebook. When I teased him about "didn't he learn to be skeptical about government when he was a young liberal", he blew up and sputtered something about not being a conservative or a liberal, but an "independent". OK, whatever.

During the eight years we worked together, I well knew of his political viewpoints, but I refrained from making an issue of my viewpoints, i.e., I chose to be tolerant, hoping that the passage of time might make a difference. I had, after all, metamorphosed from being a Classical Liberal. I hold out hope that others can do the same (and some have) when they receive and process more information, using logic and critical thinking. I took from his words an inference that Christians are not capable of being "free thinkers".

From my viewpoint as a Christian free thinker, some of the most important aspects of being a free thinker are: 1) Recognizing boundaries; 2) Having a sense of humility, a recognition that there are things beyond our understanding and well beyond our egos (and that we might be wrong); 3) Understanding that all free thinkers are not going to arrive at the same interpretations and opinions; and 4) Having the courage to change your viewpoints when presented with new information and given time to "digest" it.

This FrontPageMag article provided some examples as to the "appreciation" for tolerance, from the viewpoint of Canadian writer (and former leftist) David Solway, an award-winning author of over 25 books of poetry, criticism, educational theory, and travel. He underwent his metamorphosis after 9/11, as did actors James Woods and the late Ron Silver, and Clinton-crony Dick Morris. Solway is the author of The Big Lie: On Terror, Antisemitism, and Identity, which was a Canadian bestseller. From Solway's words:

..."Let me begin by distinguishing between the person and the writer. As a person, I’ve experienced my share of problems, like any conservative in today’s liberal-left culture. Long-standing friendships have gone by the board. Discussions become quarrels. The attempt to articulate one’s conservative principles meet with incomprehension, disbelief or outright ridicule—and even ostracism.

A few examples. When I expressed my skepticism of John Kerry during the 2004 American election, one of my very close friends started calling me “Bushy” and after the publication of The Big Lie, broke off contact altogether. A fifteen-year friendship bit the dust."...

Sound familiar?

Fortunately, some of my liberal friends have chosen to ignore my rants or at least are tolerant of them. I respect and appreciate them for that. Tolerance is a two-way street, but some folks have forgotten that. When I was a Classical Liberal, I considered listening to the opposition to be a duty. When I started seeing the logic in the opposition's viewpoints, I had the courage to admit I was wrong about some things and I had the courage to change.

Is that not a definition of a "Free Thinker"?

[Update, prior to shortening this post, I noticed that the former co-worker had sent me a link to a Richard Dawkins website. I don't know if he is doing this out of a sense of humor (to get under my skin) or if he really expects me to "be taken" by Dawkins' viewpoints. Will just have to wait and see. We may just have to come to an understanding that we can only talk about rocks and beer.]

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Posted by: on-the-rocks / 7:58 AM 0 comments
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