It Depends on What The Meaning of "Never" is!

Updated & Revised on 8/3/08
This is Part II of my commentary on the SP&T series titled “The Last Stand”.
Part I of my commentary is found here.

Quoting Mr. Brandon Gee (with emphasis mine):

“Throughout the continent, beetles are thriving in some
altitudes and climes like never before because of higher temperatures.”

Never? Really?
Please, Mr. Gee, stop with the alarmist hyperbole!

Quoting NASA Goddard (home to Al Gore’s pal James Hansen):

“1934 is the warmest year in the contiguous states”

NCPA better describes what Hansen only grudgingly admits:

“Six of the top 10 hottest years occurred before 90 percent of the growth
in greenhouse gas emissions during the last century occurred.”

If you wonder why so-called “journalists” have not
told you that, then you need to read this book.

The Next Four Charts WILL FURTHER
Put This MYTH to Rest.

Click the image to enlarge:

Click the image to enlarge:

Click the image to enlarge:

Click the image to enlarge:

The data used in the above charts are found in:

Ice Core Data to more than 420,000 years ago:
this file downloaded from this page (Petit et al. 1999 to 3310m).

The past 41 years at the same location as the Ice Core studies (Vostok):
This page.

To verify that the reference point for the Vostok Ice Core study is -55.5C, click here,
then click on “click to view full summary”.

Today, the mean temperature at Vostok is -55.3C,
0.2C warmer than the mean at the time of the study (1999).

The Holocene is the name for the current interglacial warming period.

The interglacial warming period which immediately preceded
the Holocene is known as the Eemian.

Some 8,000 years ago, the temperature was 2.06C warmer than
the mean temperature at Vostok at the time of the study (1999)
and 2.04C warmer than the present mean of -55.3C.

But, we can see from the second chart that there were many, MANY times
in the last 10,000 years when the climate was apparently warmer than today!

In this file, ANY number in the rightmost column greater than 0.2 indicates
a temperature which is higher than the current mean.

We can see that the temperature at Vostok was higher than the current mean
as recently as 190 years ago!

The highest known temperature during the Eemian was 3.23C higher than
the mean temperature from 1999 and 3.21C higher than the present mean.

The bottom line?
Unless the Mountain Pine Beetle first appeared sometime
AFTER 1934, then “never” is NOT the correct word in this case!

Of course, we KNOW this is NOT the case!
AND, we also KNOW that this beetle did MORE DAMAGE in the 1930’s!

Click the image to view a quote
from this source (page 3, Summary):

Click here for a search on countless sources verifying
that the Eemian produced warmer temperatures than today.

Click here for a search on countless sources verifying
that the Eemian produced higher sea-levels than today.

P.S.) We are currently experiencing one of the
3 coldest Ice Ages in the last 600 million years!

The Last Stand

SP&T is doing an interesting series titled “The Last Stand”. This is a very relevant topic and most certainly an issue of concern (primarily as it relates to fire and safety issues). One upside is that campers and backpackers will have much more fuel for their campfires!

So far, the SP&T reporting on this appears to be slightly more balanced than the CO2-centric propaganda offered by NPR on the same subject. But, I am not convinced that the reporting and associated commentary is entirely accurate and objective.

Click the image and read
the associated commentary
which I am commenting on here:

Image from Flickr and photographer Harley Mac

Is the pine beetle “epidemic” “unprecedented in its scope”
and not “the latest iteration of a cyclical natural phenomena”?

If so, where is the proof?
Or is this just more unproven alarmist rhetoric?

Click the image to view a quote
from this source (page 3, Summary):

Misguided forest management policies may (or may not) have resulted in larger absolute quantities of beetle killed trees. But, as a percentage of the overall total? Maybe. Maybe not. Show me the data!

Anybody concerned with the “gradual warming of the Earth’s temperatures” and what impact that may or may not have on the pine beetle issue should note the following per NOAA:

1) 2008, year to date, the mean temperature in the lower 48 was 48.42F.

2) From 1895 to 2008, the average mean temperature in the lower 48 for the same YTD period was slightly HIGHER at 48.47F.

3) The winter of 2007/2008 saw a mean temperature in the lower 48 of 33.18F.

4) From 1895 to 2008, the average mean temperature in the lower 48 for the same winter period was 33.06F (0.12F colder).

Perfectly natural forces result in the climate changing all the time. From 1934 to 1979 we saw a cooling trend. From 1979 to 1998, we saw a warming trend. Since 1998, we’ve been in another cooling trend. All this and more can be verified at this NOAA page.

For additional climate change observations,
click the image below:

"The recession of the national economy"?

“The recession of the national economy”?
Click image and read the assertion (from 3/12/08):

Click here and examine the facts.
Will SP&T EVER print a correction?

The “original sin” was the stealth embedding of opinion within “straight news”.

At this point, the data demonstrate with virtual certainty that the
economy was NOT in a recession at the time the article was published.

Therefore, it seems a virtual certainty that a correction is NOW
needed in order to correct, not just the stealth embedding of opinion inside
“straight news”, but the printing of a FACTUAL INACCURACY!

SP&T Proposed Reader Forum Changes

Updated 7/26/08
SP&T vs. “Yahoos”, Round Two
Click The Image & Recall Round One:

The Liberal Elite Never Learn!

The BIG Buzz Around Town
Steamboat Pilot & Today, (and the rest of the town) is talking about a new policy which would eliminate Reader Forum anonymity. If even one person in this small town knows your identity, you are no longer anonymous, PERIOD!

The Summary
Eliminating anonymity will do little or nothing to improve the discourse. Better moderation will. SP&T need only objectively and reasonably enforce their own written rules. Also see my expanded suggestions at the bottom of this post.

The History
Yes, the content of the Reader Forum has, up to now, largely been a sick, sad, pathetic, ad hominem joke.

But, it was extremely poor moderation which caused that, not anonymity. If the quality of the moderation does not change, neither will the content. If history is a guide, the quality of the moderation will not change, only the effectiveness of the [IMO] politically motivated censorship.

Historically, most posters who were, in my view, banned for purely ideological reasons, have created a new ID and resumed posting. After the electronic equivalent of a mass “book burning” of ALL of my entries, I opted to create a Blogger account instead (fool me once…).

Had SP&T objectively and reasonably enforced their written rules, there would have been no problem.

Then again, their rules are [IMO] designed to facilitate utterly capricious, politically motivated censorship. Quoting SP&T Reader Forum Rules:

“if you become a [ideological] problem for us or our site's other users we can and will ban you”

In practice, in my opinion, SP&T (AT BEST) did exactly what local politicians have done for decades (pandered to a tiny minority of very vocal whiners). If enough whiners complained about a given poster, the offending poster was summarily banned with no regard for whether the poster violated any of the written rules (other than the “if you become a problem [to our ideology]” clause).

Who, in our society, is most prone to whining?
Yep, you guessed it!

Net Result (Pun Intended)?
Conservatives Get The Ax!

Op/Ed Page vs. Reader Forum
SP&T correctly argues that they regularly print the views of those who oppose their views (including Ann Coulter). And, despite frequent censorship demands from The Left, SP&T has, to their credit, continued to print these opposing views.

But, in The Reader Forum, SP&T has [IMO] shown NO SUCH BACKBONE! In the Reader Forum, SP&T has, AT BEST, [IMO] routinely pandered to the whiners on The Left.

It is REALLY easy to print Coulter’s views when she is not directly challenging pet local SP&T projects like Socialist Housing (tyrannically imposed on an UNWILLING MAJORITY).

The Likely Effect
In my opinion, the ONLY effect of the proposed new policy will be to:

1) DRAMATICALLY reduce the number of Conservatives (and others) who post to the Reader Forum.

2) Make more permanent the censorship of Conservative posters. And that, in my opinion, is the PRIMARY goal!

My Own Experience
In my own case, it appears that I was banned for criticizing Brent Boyer’s editorial judgment. I say “it appears that” because, as usual, no reason was given (publicly OR privately) for my account being banned and everything I ever posted being deleted. However, my banning came directly on the heels of a criticism I offered regarding Brent Boyer’s editorial judgment.

My criticism centered around the following opening phrase from this 3/12/08 article:

“The recession of the national economy”

My argument was that this article violated the most basic standards of journalism (separation of opinion from “straight news”). I used this editorial to substantiate my point.

Even if we later learned that the economy was in recession at the time the article was published, there would still be no excuse for mixing opinion and straight news. But, at this stage, the data demonstrate that it is a virtual certainty that the economy was NOT in a recession at the time the article was published!

Therefore, it seems a virtual certainty that a correction is NOW needed in order to correct, not just the embedding of opinion inside “straight news”, but the printing of a FACTUAL INACCURACY!

To the best of my knowledge, no correction has been offered (or is likely to be offered). And, I have been banned from noting that in the SP&T Reader Forum.

My Suggestion
In my opinion, SP&T would do far better to examine their own failure to properly moderate the Reader Forum. SP&T should:

1) Educate themselves on the meaning of ad hominem. This is critical!

2) Unilaterally enforce a zero tolerance policy on ad hominem posts, unsubstantiated slander, etc.

3) Use the integrity they have shown in dealing with their Op/Ed choices as a guide to dealing with the whiners on The Left who simply seek to censor those whom, for want of evidence, they are incapable of effectively debating.

4) Leave open the option for FULL anonymity. This is especially critical in a town as small and politically polarized as ours. In my opinion, very few who disagree with anything coming from SP&T would trust ANYBODY at SP&T to protect their identity from others. I CERTAINLY would not!

If SP&T regularly, rigorously and unilaterally deletes ALL ad hominem posts, unsubstantiated slander, etc., they will have no need to ban the offenders. The offenders will be worn down and will move elsewhere.

Darkly Amusing

Could anybody, other than a dyed in the wool Socialist, say this with a straight face?

“Recent changes to the city’s community housing guidelines will result in higher costs to developers and increased affordable housing in Steamboat Springs”

Could ANYBODY say that with a straight face?

Here, in The People’s Republic of Steamboat Springs, the insanity never ends!

Recession? What Recession?

Click The Image And “Read all About it!”:

In Steamboat Springs, sales tax receipts for May 2008
were up 3.98% compared to May of 2007.

Sales tax receipts from restaurants were up 12.83%! Naturally, in the “special” world of so-called “journalism”, that did not warrant ANY MENTION outside of the sidebar.

Better still, the year-to-date receipts exceed the budget projections:

“the city had budgeted for a 4 percent increase in sales tax collections over 2007, Rolan said. The year-to-date increase stands at 4.66 percent after May”

Predictably, the overall tone of this “report” is very negative.

I say, if this is what a recession looks like, give me more!

Click here to learn more.

Salazar vs. Data

Updated 7/6/08

U.S. Representative John Salazar, (D-CO), is (correctly, or otherwise) quoted to say:

“Is the oil and gas industry manipulating prices? I would say so. My numbers show that production was at 80 percent during Memorial Day when it is usually around 96 percent this time of year”

The Data Say:
Refinery Capacity Utilization has been within a steady range since 1991
And, has not been at or below 80% since Hurricane Katrina Struck
Click the Image to Enlarge

I personally created and uploaded the above chart (and the next one).
The data used in both charts are found in this spreadsheet downloaded from this page.

Refinery Capacity Utilization is Slightly Lower Than Recent Years
(Note the impact of hurricane Katrina in September, 2005)
Click the Image to Enlarge

Click this link and learn why, thanks to Dems,
there is now less incentive to “crack” crude oil into gasoline.
Owing to the price of crude, many refineries are now operating at a LOSS!

Despite Lower Refinery Capacity Utilization,
US Gasoline Inventories in Q1 of 2008 Were Higher
Than at Anytime in the Last 5 Years
Click the Image to Enlarge

Source: Click here
The world demand for crude oil has, for some time, exceeded the world supply.
Prices will continue to rise until those two forces get back into balance.

Click the Image and Discover the REAL Problem:

Click here to learn more on the supply & demand issues.