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Sunday seems as good a time as any for another rant about media and the news. Like anyone else who struggles to keep up with what is going on in the world I have my routine. As much as it bothered me Google News was one stop regularly checked for a cross-section of stories from the MSM. Could they leave it alone. Of course not for as useless as it was to begin with they decided to make it worse.

I stopped relying on Google as a search engine with the advent of Ixquick. Seems we should spread the traffic around and while Ixquick is not perfect it is a reasonable alternative and may get better if we use it and submit suggestions for improvements.

This was another day in an effort to alter my news scanning routine. And it was the cause of another lament on the state of media or MSM and content. A roll of the dice so to speak selected USA Today as the first stop. Without a one stop aggregation of news to view from around the planet I was trying a few quick hits for headlines, etc.

Gannett, the owner of USA Today and too many other print sources allows their navigation bar on the main page to highlight part of what is wrong. While the top navbar features general categories of topics like news, travel and money the second navbar suggests what is ‘essential’.

Markets, scores, games, lotteries, video, photos, opinion, blogs, subscribe, classifieds and jobs make the list. After ‘markets’ which seems to indicate business information the rest is not essential nor necessarily worthwhile.

Hey, I have nothing against Chelsea Clinton and I hope she and her husband have a wonderful life. I honestly mean that. But when Chelsea is the obvious big splash on a typical MSM front page and the most popular reads for the USA fishwrap feature three stories about Chelsea and one about the disfunctional Jersey Shore television series something comes to mind. Actually many things come to mind but here’s the second one. (The first was who reads the MSM and why?)

87% Feel Media Covers Celebrities Too Much

Eighty-seven percent (87%) of Americans feel the media pays too much attention to celebrities, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. But 84% of Adults also admit that Americans pay too much attention to celebrity news and not enough attention to news that has real impact on their lives.

Just one percent (1%) do not think media outlets cover celebs enough, while nine percent (9%) say the coverage is about right.

That may explain why traditional media sources are failing. The one and nine percent figures above may reflect the number of people attracted to the trash most media outlets publish or broadcast.

BTW, the rest of USA Today’s front page was populated with other useless or redundant coverage on items that are common knowledge. And of course they offered unwavering support with their coverage of things Obama and liberal.

Fortunately I can get along with the critical content of my routine. The trustworthy sources I use for the bulk of what is important do not fail me. But trying to cover it all and make judgments about decisions to be made is still a challenge and too time consuming.

Too bad so many in the media world refuse to address this simple problem. But then that is not what most of them are about. If their biz model of catering to the lowest common denominator and filling that demand with cheap stories to present is no longer a golden goose you might expect they would change. Or maybe they’re just waiting for their bailout from the Obamanation.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

If you really thought government bailouts were a good thing for our nation you might want to reconsider that opinion. It is refreshing to have someone express Wall Street has nothing to do with this latest chink in the bailout armor.

Banks defaulting on arrangements related to acceptance of bailout funds, aka, taxpayer dollars may not receive as much criticism as the defaults of others where financial transactions are concerned.

Is there anything positive about taxpayer’s propping up failing enterprises whether they are public or private? Probably not.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Small banks a growing drag on bailout program
More than 100 have missed dividend payments to government

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department’s financial bailout has a growing problem on its hands, and this time it has nothing to do with Wall Street.

A new report from the agency shows that community banks continue to plague the program.

A total of 101 bailed-out banks - nearly all are small - have missed paying the government a dividend, which was a condition of taking the aid.

That number is up 25 percent since February and has nearly doubled since November.

Not like the report below from CNN is earth-shattering news. Ealier this year reports revealed significant growth in temporary employment. Then there is the fantasy world of President Obama who continues to maintain nanny state temporary census jobs in the latest monthly data demonstrate the recovery is in progress and the employment picture is rosy.

Many of the jobs employers are adding are temporary or contract positions, rather than traditional full-time jobs with benefits. With unemployment remaining near 10%, employers have their pick of workers willing to accept less secure positions.

Given the restrictions and burdens placed on employers from Obamacare who can blame them for hiring temps or treating workers as contractors? When the government mandates how you must manage your business if they haven’t already nationalized it there is little room for anything beyond closing the doors.

But hey, liberals can rejoice now that they are destroying the very economy that pays for all their entitlements. Well, it doesn’t really pay for them. It passes the debt on to the next generation. Current taxpayers are merely making what amounts to interest only payments on debt as far as the eye can see.

If the big spenders and program generators are thrown out of federal, state and local government starting in November 2010 we might be able to save our nation from the crippling agenda of the Democratic party majority.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Can’t help but display the image below once again…..

To that must be added the following image for contrast….

Another example of a misguided conclusion driven by politics features President Obama, space exploration and self-serving alliances. The report presenting this political nonsense is provided below.

Obama Space Plan ‘Vindicated’ by Private Rocket Launch, Builder Says
Clara Moskowitz
SPACE.com Senior Writer
Fri Jun 4, 7:15 pm ET

The successful liftoff of a new private rocket helps vindicate President Barack Obama’s plan to rely on commercial spaceships to carry cargo and possibly astronauts to orbit, the rocket’s millionaire owner said.

Commercial firm Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) blasted off its first Falcon 9 rocket Friday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

“I think this bodes very well for the Obama plan,” SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said after the launch. “It really helps vindicate the approach he’s taking.”

Why is this report political nonsense? First of all, the report and Elon Musk suggest this rocket is ‘private’ not ‘public’ in terms of funding. Not exactly.

Established in 2002 by Elon Musk , the founder of PayPal and the Zip2 Corporation, SpaceX has already developed two brand new launch vehicles, established an impressive launch manifest, and been awarded COTS funding by NASA to demonstrate delivery and return of cargo to the International Space Station.

Then there is the suggestion that private space travel is Obama’s plan. Like he developed it. Not exactly.

Burt Rutan of Scaled Composites and Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Group joined forces to develop a fleet of commercial spaceships and launch aircraft. Rutan is responsible for the following:

White Knight launched SpaceShipOne 14 times, including the first privately funded human spaceflight. The final launch, on October 4, 2004, won the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE.

Let’s give credit where credit is due. Rutan, Branson and others were moving toward private space flight projects well before Musk’s NASA-funded project or President Obama’s endorsement of it. However, Obama should get credit for favoring privately funded space exploration if he in fact does.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

As with any tragic circumstance there are always people, places and things forever affected. Reasonable people everywhere will be empathetic and often contribute to solving the problems encountered. This is when the best humans have to offer shines. The generosity and community spirit of many Americans excels when tragedy strikes. But there is a problem that can overshadow inspirational human action.

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is no exception. News reports are dominated by angry and otherwise emotional responses to the frustrating day to day events of this disaster in the making. Politicians are doing their dance and President Obama is no exception. Feeling the heat over what some call his Katrina the President lashed out at BP on his recent trip to the region and some have called for BP’s CEO to step down.

BP chief says not quitting over spill - newspaper

Chief Executive Tony Hayward has said he is not thinking of quitting despite the outcry in the United States over the scale of damage from a ruptured deep-sea oil wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico.

“It hasn’t crossed my mind. It’s clearly crossed other people’s minds but not mine,” he told The Sunday Telegraph in an interview when asked if he had thought of stepping down as head of the British energy giant.

All the angst and PR being displayed by so many is not helping. All involved should be doing what some are. Offering constructive suggestions and seeking solutions to the problem. Raising the emotional component of a tragic event does not contribute to solving the problem. There will be plenty of time for that for those interested when the problem has been resolved. Which may in fact be a very long time. But emotional outbreaks and political rhetoric will not make that day come more quickly. Quite the contrary, these actions will delay a positive outcome.

As for BP’s chief resigning, it makes about as much sense as McDonald’s chief resigning over the following:

McDonald’s pulls 12M cadmium-tainted Shrek glasses

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cadmium has been discovered in the painted design on “Shrek”-themed drinking glasses being sold nationwide at McDonald’s, forcing the burger giant to recall 12 million of the cheap U.S.-made collectibles while dramatically expanding contamination concerns about the toxic metal beyond imported children’s jewelry.

If you think that is not a fair comparison consider this. There is no excuse for not knowing what is in a product you sell. There is no excuse for not knowing cadmium has toxic properties and is an element long thought to cause severe health problems. Whether it is or not one should not allow it to be used at least in products sold to the public.

In comparison to the BP oil spill the McDonald’s recall is on point. Another case where someone let a problem or its solution slip through the cracks. If you think the problems caused by the BP spill outweigh the risk to millions of children try making that case on the network news. Every liberal on the planet will skewer your life for all to see.

The real point here is leave the CEO of BP and the one at McDonald’s alone. Or at least wait until the story ends and we know where we are before you seek your pound of flesh.

Can we simply work on the problem and leave the blame game for another time? Probably not, but hey, I’m just sayin’…..

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

One sound bite or excerpt is probably as good as another regarding a recent backlash toward the ’social networking’ site Facebook. What appears to be a privacy policy may in fact be a default agreement to allow Facebook to exploit users’ personal information.

Facebook Privacy: How About Some Honesty?

You can say what you want about striving for granular this-that-or-the-other, but the truth is we all know what happens when you present people with a 5,830-word privacy policy and 80-gazillion intricate options: They say “screw it” and move on. Or adjust only a small handful of the now-defaulted-to-public-sharing options. And then, voila: Facebook gets to share their data with the world, opening new doors for advertising and profit.

As expressed on this blog before the author has no interest in things like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and the rest of the ‘wow’ fad sites trying to replace good old-fashioned communication between humans. That would be similar to the gripe on this blog suggesting wireless phones are anything but. Cameras, mobile internet access, bells and whistles, texting but sadly little in the way of reasonable performance for voice communications not to mention competitive pricing.

But then the public gets what the public wants from the market. Anything for any price as long as they think it’s cool. And the free market knows how to make you believe it is. Because most people make it easy for them.

How’s that for honesty?

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Earlier this year someone introduced me to the refreshing advice and commentary of Nicole Gelinas. Earlier this month at Roll Call Gelinas presented ‘A Simple GOP Plan for Wall Street.’ It is the subject of this post for two reasons.

First, it IS a simple plan and not just for the GOP although directing it toward them is helpful. Surely Democrats are not interested. And second, this blog has urged a return to a time before gutting Glass-Steagall, the attendant Gramm Leach Bliley and the sin of POLS at that time. The contract with America GOP and Bill Clinton set our course for troubles in the markets more than a decade ago.

According to Gelinas ‘Republicans should present to the public a clear goal — allowing free markets to govern Wall Street and a set of simple rules to get there.’

Republicans can say: Senators on both sides of the aisle want to end “too big to fail.” But the fatal flaw in Dodd’s bill is that it would try to decree an end to taxpayer bailouts, rather than create the conditions necessary to achieve that end.

Americans can understand that in a free-market economy, success in business doesn’t happen by decree. Instead, it is the result of a consistent, predictable set of rules that apply to everyone. Similarly, failure in finance can’t happen by government decree. It must be the result of consistent, predictable rules.

Follow the link to read the rest. You won’t be disappointed. Especially attractive are statements like this one. History shows that these rules work. That is what people usually mean when they use the words, ‘common sense’. Something sorely lacking these days.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Get a little thrill out of the stock market today did ya? Gee Barry, those nasty boys on Wall Street you keep talkin’ about probably didn’t cause this one. But it IS a safe bet you will try to influence opinion in that direction. Oops, the NYSE does not halt trading after 230pm ET if the market ‘free falls’ like it did today unless the dip is 20% or more.

Ooh, credit is given to ‘automated sell orders’ as reason for the market decline. Some say it is in response to the Greek debt problem going global. Whatever the reason, the liberals’ so-called ‘financial reform’ legislation will do nothing to eliminate wild swings as suggested by the President. But will today’s market activity cause the libs to add market halt requirements as well as limits on automated trading?

Maybe they should just stick to what they’re good at, talking nonsense and inciting the feeble among us, and leave the business of business to those who know something about it.

Here’s an excerpt of the WSJ’s take on today’s market action.

Traders described Thursday’s trading as driven largely by automated sell orders, which piled up after several technical barriers were breached, in particular the 1150 level on the S&P.

“A lot of people thought we had support around that level, so there was some disappointment that it didn’t hold,” said Phil Roth, chief technical analyst at Miller Tabak.

But he added: “The numbers themselves are a little less important than the manner in which the market gets there. The important thing is that we’ve had a very non-traditional bull market, without any major correction or several years of advances alternating with sideways periods. This could be the thing that sets off a real correction, but we’ll have to wait and see.”

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Shortly before publishing this post a news report gave credit for the market decline to a mistake that displayed P&G stock down 30% moving the market down 150 points which in turn led to the 988 point drop and 350 point closing decline.

A stop at Google News to see what the MSM offers today starts out with US considers Goldman Sachs criminal charges. You have to ask yourself if that includes suspects like former employees of Fannie and Freddie as well as their co-conspirators in Congress, then and now? The push to place everyone in a home of their own whether they could afford it or not started the whole mess. It took years of quiet meddling by POLS and regulators as well as those who made a bundle in the market to lift regulations designed to avoid such problems. But the liberals need a villain to cover their tracks and apparently Goldman Sachs will suffice for their witch hunt and slight of hand redirection of blame.

And you have to wonder if BP is stepping up to pay for the spill in the Gulf of Mexico now that the slick is reaching shore and conspiracy theories abound? And it is reasonable that the Obama administration would postpone offshore drilling plans due to the incident. But that delay plays well into the liberal agenda in the first place. Another set of villains to be targeted by the left for political purposes rather than pursuit of justice.

Economic growth is slower than expected according to a report at WaPo. Again you have to wonder who really expected it to be above a 3.2% annual rate in the first quarter of 2010? The public opposition to continued fiscal irresponsibility likely includes business leaders and those who do the hiring and manage the risk of whether or not to expand. That is if they even have access to the resources (funding) to do so.

You would be hard pressed to find examples exhibiting effective leadership in government these days. When the taxpayer via government entities should be partnering with the private sector to improve the economy and resolve issues across the board little evidence exists that anyone is prepared to do just that.

That leads well into a sentiment expressed frequently on this blog. Come November, throw the bums out. Continue natural term limits through 2012. Repeat as necessary.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

crossposted at Maggies’s Notebook

Oh my, let’s get all indignant on the topic of Wall Street and the liberal pursuit of villains to take the blame for choices made by others. Maureen (Moron) Dowd does her level best to support the Democratic party’s attempt to shift blame. She pans ‘Las Vegas metaphors’ used by POLS in chastising Goldman Sachs while ignoring a basic rule designed to remind consumers of the pitfalls in the marketplace - caveat emptor, let the buyer beware.

According to Princeton’s Wordnet, caveat emptor is described as ‘a commercial principle that without a warranty the buyer takes upon himself the risk of quality.’ Does it get any simpler than that?

From Dowd’s op-ed….

As Americans lost homes and lined up for jobs, Goldman made $13 billion in 2009, and Blankfein got a bonus of, as he haltingly admitted to McCain, “um, um, nine million.”

“The idea that Wall Street came out of this thing just fine, thank you, is something that just grates on people,” Delaware Senator Ted Kaufman told Blankfein. “They think that you didn’t just come out fine because it was luck. They think that you guys just really gamed this thing real, real well.”

Sure, let’s talk about the greed of Wall Street and the bonuses received by Blankfein and others. Never mind the greed of those who were stung by real estate investments they would never have purchased had they performed the due diligence required.

This is no different than the wailing and gnashing of teeth coming from Enron employees who lost their jobs when that house of cards imploded as well as retirement accounts exclusively or largely built around Enron stock. Though one should never place all their investment eggs in one basket, the meteoric rise of Enron stock enticed the greedy to ignore another simple and common concept. If it seems to good to be true it probably is.

Conveniently, Dowd also ignores the role of many politicians steering Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, banking regulators and other government entities toward real estate disaster. A long history of accommodating the notion that everyone should own a home whether they can afford it or not led to ‘no docs’ loans and banking interests scurrying to unload bad mortgages they would not have produced on their own.

While POLS ‘grill’ Goldman Sachs in the US Senate and call for ‘Wall Street reforms’ take a look at Fannie and Freddie now and tell me anything has changed. As for those facing foreclosure since taking a mortgage they cannot afford or others lured by greed during the recent real estate ‘bubble’ POLS advocating more bailouts for bad decisions should be retired in November 2010.

It’s about time people begin taking responsibility for their own failures. Crying foul when you end up on the losing side of a transaction and expecting others to take the blame is childish. Some forget that transactions on Wall Street between buyers and sellers are a zero sum game. For each transaction there is a winner and a loser. Someone posts a gain and someone posts a loss. Get over it or get out.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Conservative talkers point to one of many subtle tactics used by liberals regarding their legislative reform proposals. That is beyond the point that they call their legislative agenda, ‘reform’. This week’s propaganda centers on what liberals refer to as ‘wall street reforms.’ They even have the media doing it.

This points to an old and trusted tactic by liberals to manufacture a villain right after creating a crisis. Rahm Emanuel has been quoted as saying, ‘never let a crisis go to waste’ or something similar. That would be especially true if you create the crisis. You might want to ask the Obama Chief of Staff where he acrrued most of his net worth. You can add the Senator from Countrywide, Chris Dodd, to that list. Follow the money, the committees and other congressional career paths to understand what caused the so-called financial crisis.

President Obama and other Democrats would like you to believe that Wall Street is the villain for economic turmoil around the planet over the last few years. Nothing is that simple. But it is a simple idea to create a crisis, invent the villain and pursue the rest of your liberal agenda by convincing the public you are gettin’ the bad guys.

Try this for a simple explanation. Changes were made after the Crash of ‘29′ to ensure what led to the Great Depression never happened again. You might want to study something called Glass-Steagall which was passed in 1932 and repealed in 1999 by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and President Clinton.

You might also consider the Community Reinvestment Act as well as other actions by Congress and the FDIC and Fannie and Freddie, etc. over time. The list can get quite long and like any whodunnit it takes some effort to sort out the mess. Nothing is as simple as Wall Street did it. But President Obama would like you to believe that. So would his cronies who share the blame for much of what happened. And the GOP is certainly not without fault in this. Neither is the general public.

“After a recession that stole eight million jobs, this is going to take some time,” he said. “And this will require that we continue to tackle the underlying problems that caused this turmoil in the first place. In short, it is essential that we learn the lessons of this crisis, or we risk repeating it.”

Barry from DC sounds pretty good in that quote. But then he fails.

Mr. Obama says it is necessary to end taxpayer bailouts of private companies and make financial deals more transparent. “That is how we will restore trust and confidence in our markets,” he said. “That is how we will help to put an end to the cycles of boom and bust that we have seen. And that is how, after two very difficult years, we will not only revive the economy, but help to rebuild it stronger than ever before.”

Look for the phrase ‘help to put an end’ when referring to ‘cycles of boom and bust.’ That’s right Mr President. You may help but it won’t eliminate up and down cycles. And some say your legislation will make things worse not better. One of these days POLS may get the message that when you muddy the waters with politics you have to slow down to prove what you’re saying.

While the GOP may be opposing Dems on general principle if only by accident they have been correct lately.

“It is time for Democrats to put away the political playbook and simply say publicly what they are suggesting privately: that this bill still needs some work, that both parties should come together to do that work on behalf of the American people,” she said.

A little too much political fluff in that statement but we get the point. And the larger point is legislators need to bring proof of concept to the table not just political or any other kind of rhetoric.

As a final note for this post, if Chris Dodd had anything to do with it, throw it out.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

This video report is not breaking news in the usual sense. The tax on indoor tanning salons as a result of Obamacare has been a known quantity for weeks. Other reports on this story are widely available. What is ‘breaking’ about this story is the effect on American business. It is breaking them. And this story is just the beginning.

The decision to bypass this story for a post on this blog was maintained until today. Here’s the reason why. For this blog author tanning salons are viewed as a peculiar entity. No participants here. Not a fan. Don’t use them or run one. But that is exactly the point. That Obama is targeting specific businesses to pay a huge price for his entitlement should be a wake up call.

Your business will be next. What? You thought they would stop with tanning salons? That is why it matters even if you have no personal interest in what a business offers as a product or service. All taxpayers will pay for this. Which means about 47% of the US population will not. And the liberals expect us to believe this is not redistribution of wealth or socialism.

You don’t have to be wealthy to have wealth or have someone redistribute it for you. If you are an employee or run your own business and are surviving or getting along under current circumstances you have wealth. That is if you consider what your situation would be without it. If you understand that you should understand Obamacare will not help you. It will not even help those who are struggling right now. Because just like the other entitlements you cannot simply have something without paying for it. Someone will have to pay for it. And the costs will exceed our ability to pay. Guess what that means?

Obamacare is still a liberal dream as it cannot be accomplished in a practical manner. This story about tanning salons and a 10% tax because of Obamacare demonstrates what is wrong. Obamacare does not solve healthcare problems. It creates more of them. Targeting taxpayers to pay for the healthcare of others as a grand plan to fix healthcare is no different than the impractical entitlements of social security, medicare and medicaid.

In the early years there were perhaps 30 or 40 workers paying in that covered each social security recipient. It would not be a surprise if that ratio has declined to one to one. But it is certainly less than 30:1 and as the CBO reminds us the trust funds are accounting mechanisms and nothing more. The money to pay the entitlements has to come from increased taxes and borrowed money.

Obamacare is the same kind of fraud only on a much larger scale. And some of the first casualties will be the jobs Obama claimed would be coming. The tanning salons are in the first wave of many to come.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

One of the champions of increasing quotas for H1B visas is none other than Bill Gates who has testified before Congress at least once on this topic. A common refrain when hearing commentary from American business concerning sending jobs offshore or importing foreign workers to replace Americans points to low wages as the primary incentive.

But fine folks like Bill Gates suggest that is not the case. Instead they claim an earnest desire to find the best and the brightest and often reference the stale notion of global everything. Beyond the arrogant insult toward Americans, that dog won’t hunt.

Here is one example of why American business prefers importing workers rather than hiring Americans.

On the outskirts of China’s capital Beijing is a bustling ghetto dubbed the ant colony - a vast community of young professionals forced to live in tough conditions because of a tight job market and rocketing property prices.

And what do you suppose those ‘professionals’ earn? ‘…the average wage for a university graduate is around $320 a month.’ Like you couldn’t have guessed it. Conditions may not be so wonderful in the world’s most talked about emerging economic power.

Tangjialing has become an example of the paradox of China’s fast-paced economy.

After expanding universities in the 1980’s, China now has more than six million graduates a year, but there are not enough well-paid jobs to go round.

Considered over qualified in their hometowns, the graduates flock to the big cities like Beijing and Shanghai - only to discover they must share bunk beds and rent Spartan rooms to survive. Their dreams of the urban middle-class lifestyle are put on hold.

So maybe all the hype from business leaders like Gates is exactly that…. hype. Do you suppose residents of the Ant Colony would be interested in coming to the US to work? With millions of graduates every year China is a valuable resource to tap for low cost labor. And importing that labor to the US can be a boon for the bottom line. That is, of everyone except the American who loses their job because of it.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Poor Pluto. No, not the Disney character or mythological god but the planet that science demoted from its planet status. Sort of like science being demoted from its former status as something higher than current regard given the AGW scandals. And given this report from earlier in the year it should be no surprise why interest in exploration or organizations like NASA has fallen.

Hubble sees Pluto changing color, ice sheet cover

The report states ‘newly released photos’ but that is only because astronomer Marc Buie waited to announce his ‘findings.’ It is difficult to tell from the AP account if the delay was from fear of being wrong or if it took all that time to perform the analysis. Which raises the natural questions of what do scientists get paid for and how do they perform their tasks relative to the rest of us?

Yes, it’s so unfair. Wondering why photos taken in 2002 took until 2010 to be included in an astronomer’s evaluation of them? But what troubles most people about science is for all the money spent what practical solutions does it serve? Even conceding the point that scientific research is necessary and discoveries or knowledge acquired can take many years to produce, it is just as reasonable to be a little suspicious of how things are done.

For one who has been supportive of science for much of the past as well as a former fan of NASA and other scientific endeavors frequent criticism of the scientific community cannot always be ignored. One simple example should suffice.

Given health issues are dominating the public debate these days one aspect of the topic is rarely discussed. If it is true that American healthcare is the best in the world or second to none why is it that cures for disease are seldom produced yet drugs and procedures to battle human ills litter the landscape?

Although that was largely a rhetorical question here is one answer. If you cure a disease the profit potential diminishes dramatically. It is more profitable to address the symptoms and other temporary conditions than offer a one time cure.

Humans don’t take very good care of themselves and could be to blame for much of their own health problems. The medical industry often expresses prices are great in order to recoup the cost of research. Yet much of that research comes from institutions outside the corporate door. And many other factors influence the state of healthcare.

The final question of this post is for the scientific community. So where are all the cures?

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Nothing like singleness of purpose to inspire others by demonstrating that hard work and determination lay the foundation for success. Who better to display those attributes than the King of Altruism, the man who invented the internet and is deeply devoted currently to saving our planet, Al Gore.

Last weekend with continued support from the NYT fish wrap former US Vice-President Al Gore presented an op-ed once again extolling the virtues of his own personal crusade. To express his concern for those who reject his money making venture this political doormat and newly minted snake oil salesman offered the following sentiment:

I, for one, genuinely wish that the climate crisis were an illusion.

But just as Mr Gore’s incompetence derailed his bid for President of the United States in 2000 it once again exposes his worldwide scam to profit from a crisis of his own making. Not an unusual strategy for a liberal. Attempt to create panic, fool the willing and laugh all the way to the bank in your corporate jet while criticizing others for destroying the planet.

Some more of Mr Gore’s ‘phrases’ will be supplied here demonstrating his folly. Of course libs will object to out of context use but then they are free to follow the link, search for the phrase and read the whole laughable thing for themselves. Why make everyone else suffer through Gore’s feeble pitch for his own wealth building scheme.

From Mr Gore:

-It is true that the climate panel published a flawed overestimate… (read the rest for yourself)

-But the scientific enterprise will never be completely free of mistakes.

-Because these and other effects of global warming are distributed globally, they are difficult to identify and interpret in any particular location.

In each of the examples above Mr Gore admits his case for AGW is flawed. He has drawn an absolute conclusion from vague, ambiguous or simply flawed data. And on that thin or non-existent evidence he expects the world to act on his recommendations. His position for personal gain from investments and partnerships points to the hypocrisy of his quest.

Hey Al, if you want to make a boatload of money on eco=business knock yourself out. But don’t expect the rest of us to buy what you’re selling, literally. The financial turmoil of the last few years and what may last for some time is nothing compared to the economic destruction your holy war would cause if we let it. Your money connection to your environmental crusade betrays your claim of genuine concern. As does your personal choices for producing the carbon mess you describe. You’re simply not believable. Nor are your cronies in the pseudo-science game. They’re in it for the money too.

Are there problems to solve with regard to ecology and the environment? Certainly there are. And good folks have been quietly working on them for a long time without the help from Al Gore’s personal search for the Holy Grail. Gore’s personal agenda will do more to harm those efforts than any other source. When you lose the public trust through selfish motivation support for otherwise noble endeavors declines.

Thanks for nothing, Al Gore.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

BTW, it is interesting that Gore chose the word ‘enterprise’ to describe science.