Would Honest Lefties Please Stand Up Climate Change?

No, they won’t because the truth would interfere with their agenda, even at the NC legislature. This in from Discovery Channel, not known for being anti-Climate Change (Global Warming).

Global Warming: On Hold?
Michael Reilly, Discovery News March 2, 2009 — For those who have endured this winter’s frigid temperatures and today’s heavy snowstorm in the Northeast, the concept of global warming may seem, well, almost wishful.
But climate is known to be variable — a cold winter, or a few strung together doesn’t mean the planet is cooling. Still, according to a new study, global warming may have hit a speed bump and could go into hiding for decades.
Earth’s climate continues to confound scientists. Following a 30-year trend of warming, global temperatures have flatlined since 2001 despite rising greenhouse gas concentrations, and a heat surplus that should have cranked up the planetary thermostat.

Here’s the serious, serious problem for Goristas. CO2 is still increasing and IF it is related to any warming, you can’t have it both ways. Thus there isn’t a coorelation, none, zero, not happening! You can’t have increasing CO2 and stable or decreasing temperatures and say it’s man made. Simple fact!

McIntyre Announces….

News from our congressman in Washington: Mike McIntyre announced on February 26, 2009 that school districts hereabouts will soon have extra cash: a “massive” $81 million for twelve Southeastern North Carolina mostly rural counties. It’s part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, sometimes referred to as the “stimulus package.”

No news from McIntyre on how this money will improve our economy, or even how it will improve education. Of course, neither of these public benefits are the purpose of the money. The cash is a down payment on the purchase of votes for Rep. McIntyre and his colleagues who dole out the money, or rather, who authorize printing it and put I.O.U.s in the federal treasury—to be handed off to future taxpayers.

It’s likely that few people have ideas for the best use of this windfall—notice, I said “best use.” Naturally, it will be spent. However, we will never know if it is spent wisely. Sadly, it’s almost certain that our children won’t be better educated after the money is spent.

It’s predictable, student knowledge, test scores and graduation rates will not improve. Politicians, teachers unions and school boards will continue to ask for more money. And McIntyre will bring back more cash—and federal mandates. Mindless spending is a terrible thing to waste.

Granting Wasteful Spending

Star-News staff writer Gareth McGrath (what happened to “reporters” and “journalists”?), recently wrote that Governor Perdue will transfer money from “special state accounts” to cover other government overspending.

Mr. McGrath’s report seemed sympathetic to one account called the Clean Water Management Trust Fund that has taken the “biggest hit.” Promised grants from this fund could leave some “projects in the lurch,” he wrote. McGrath tells us that this fund has been “raided” in the past by former Governor Easley. However, it’s worse this time because “cuts are deeper” and “inopportune.”

Gee, this must be awful for the people who bring us “clean water.” Will we now have dirty water because of this dastardly deed? Well, no. Spending from this fund has virtually nothing to do with clean water. It has more to do with the North Carolina chapter of The Nature Conservancy using taxpayers’ money on real estate deals to prevent land from being developed.

Our state and local political Heroes annually give away millions of tax money to “nonprofit” organizations, many that work against the best interests of the public. Thanks to generous taxpayers, these groups often use government grants to pad their accounts and make up for budget shortfalls. For example, the Conservancy borrowed money to buy 540 acres in Pender County, expecting Trust Fund money to repay the loan, according to McGrath.

Pender County officials also expected cash from the fund to build a new sewer plant. Now a county director of utilities claims “we won’t be able to proceed.”

The problems with grant-money, slush-funds are several. Much of it goes to unintended and unaccountable uses. The Nature Conservancy will not show how we would benefit with cleaner water when they spend millions to buy the “Mclean Savanna” tract in Pender County, or sand-bar islands along the Atlantic Ocean—nor could they.

Furthermore, these grants hide the actual cost of projects, allowing cover for politicians to spend more than taxpayers would accept. Pender County residents should pay for a new sewer plant themselves, if it’s needed.

Mr. McGrath is a competent writer, but, as with so many news people, he accepts without question the activities of sounds-good, do-good organizations. These writers would better serve the reading public with skeptical investigations and reporting on what’s behind the desires of those who work full-time to procure and spend public monies.

Phantom health care savings

State Rep. Carolyn Justice of Pender County is precisely correct to observe that a new state policy releasing inmates for medical care has drawbacks:

Justice also said she disagreed that the policy changes will save taxpayers money because many of those who are sick might qualify for Medicaid.

“This is going to come back on the taxpayers anyway,” she said. “Nobody could ever express to me that there’s a discernible savings. Then it’s going to be a drain on Medicaid funding.”

The Star-News piece leads off with a good example of the problem, a man released from the New Hanover jail so he could have heart surgery — which was paid for by Medicaid. The argument, I suppose, is that at least state taxpayers rather than local ones paid the bill. But if all the sheriffs’ departments do it, then it’s pretty much a wash.