I have to laugh when politics becomes so hyperventilated the two sides lose all perspective. Case in point, the left want to highlight how Renewable Energy companies backed by Romney are also failing (miserably):

On Thursday, Mitt Romney campaigned at the headquarters of Solyndra — the first renewable energy company to receive a federal loan under the stimulus — and reiterated his debunked claims that its bankruptcy symbolized the corruption and cronyism of the Obama administration. But just one day later, a solar panel developer “that landed a state loan from Mitt Romney when he was Massachusetts governor” went belly up, the Boston Herald reports, creating an inconvenient storyline for the GOP presidential nominee.

This from the moronically named “Think Progress“!

Solyndra is one of many Obama campaign supporter backed energy comnpanies that got free tax payer money and lost it – while walking away unscathed financially themselves. These tax payer loans and grants were basically play money for left wing dunces to experiment with. And when they inevitably hit reality (which is the fact that renewable energy, like wind and solar, cannot provide sustainable levels of energy nor compete on price) these campaign donors left the tax payer to foot the bill for their mistakes. They obviously got to keep their salaries, etc.

Why this is so funny is how this plays to the Tea Party libertarians who are worried Romney will be just another Government-Solution-First leader, just like all the other GOP establishment pols. Romney’s weakness has been his belief not only in government solutions, but specifically in human-driven (CO2) global warming and government run health care. RomneyCare and Obamacare are bad enough. But the left wing efforts to control CO2 and de-legitimize gas, coal and nuclear power will literally destroy the western world through the destruction of our economies. This is a real threat to everyone other than the super wealthy. You think this last recession was bad (and the left’s inane solutions), wait to you see what they do with the world’s energy supplies.

These are two topics where Romney HAS TO distance himself as they relate to Obama – and to his own past.

So here comes a leftist’s article pointing out clearly why he must do this. If Romney is as deft as people claim he is, then he will use this to ‘learn his lesson” and chart a new path for America. A path of energy independence through energy exploitation here at home and market driven solutions for new energy technologies. No more play money lining the pockets of big contributors. If he does this, he will signal a change Americans do support – a change both from the current administration’s naive nonsense and his  own naive past efforts.

One thing Americans are fed up with is those busybody, know-it-all pols and bureaucrats (who on average are worse role models than the average American family). Apparently, in a desparate fit to be relevant somehow, the Mayor of New York City has decided to waste time and money creating the “Large Sweet Drink Police Squad” (can’t wait to see this yawner on a major network this fall).

In other words, it may soon be time to say goodbye to those Big Gulps, those Slurpees or even Venti at Starbucks, CBS 2’s Derricke Dennis reported.

“That’s okay,” one person said.

No it’s not, according to Mayor Bloomberg, who is set to propose a ban on sugary drinks over 16 ounces everywhere, all across the city.

“I disagree with it, because it’s the right to choose. If you want to drink a Slurpee, you should be allowed to drink a Slurpee,” said Jamie Sawyer, a tourist from Oklahoma.

Ah, but you see Mayor Bloomberg is smarter than everyone else in New York City (yet he apparently doesn’t realize a 2-for-1 sale of 10 ounce drinks will do the job just fine). The man is superior, and you will obey is decrees!

We can only conclude there are no other pressing matters for the Mayor, the legislature and law enforcement than the scourge of the large Slurpee!

Pathetic. Someone show the man the exit.

More news is out on the Trayvon Martin case, and it will be a test for all those ‘open minds’ who have decided Zimmerman is innocent in his killing of an unarmed 17 year old boy who was simply out walking and talking to his girlfriend. The news confirms my suspicions that Zimmerman was the aggressor (not someone defending himself) and is guilty of at least manslaughter (if not 2nd degree murder).

Zimmerman’s past includes well documented incidents of his hot temper and his desire to be  Enforcer of The Law (which sets him apart from those who look to law enforcement as a profession – versus the ego trip). Zimmerman has all the signs of wanting to be better than others and prove his superiority. His gun is not protection, but a crutch to his ego. I have seen his type too many times not to notice all the parallels. Age and experience do count at times.

Zimmerman is also an easy liar – as he did in court when he apologized to the Martin family and claimed he thought Trayvon was much older (hinting he thought Trayvon was in his mid 20’s). Of course Zimmerman forgot he told the 911 dispatcher he had made Martin to be in his late teens when he went stalking the kid – supposedly because he looked ‘suspicious’. That ability to spew a falsehood to save his skin is an indicator, something not to be dismissed or overlooked. If that is part of his core nature, a lot of good people have probably put their faith in someone who does not deserve it.

After the incident it was clear no one immediately knew of witnesses nearby and the ear-witness on the phone with Martin (listening up to seconds before his death). George Zimmerman was especially ignorant of these people who could easily challenge a quickly concocted alibi.

As I noted before, Zimmerman’s statements are inconsistent. He claims to get out of his truck to find street names or house numbers, but then finds himself behind buildings where there are neither. He acknowledges being told to stay away from Martin until police arrive, but then somehow gets to a point behind buildings where he is ‘jumped’. Except the ear-witness on the phone hears Zimmerman talking to Martin. Clearly he was not ‘jumped’ once a dialogue is engaged.

All this led me to predict the case would be built around the ear-witness and holes in Zimmerman’s statements to police which will prove him to be untruthful (at best). Now the prosecution has confirmed my prediction:

“Defendant (Zimmerman) has provided law enforcement with numerous statements, some of which are contradictory, and are inconsistent with the physical evidence and statements of witnesses,” the prosecutors said in their court filing.

They said the statements by Zimmerman were admissible in court and “in conjunction with other statements and evidence help to establish defendant’s guilt in this case.”

Emphasis mine. Note how both testimony of witnesses AND physical evidence combine to prove Zimmerman lied in his statements to police about what happened. And why would Zimmerman lie? Because he knew he went beyond the bounds of lawful activity in stalking, confronting and killing Martin. He believed with all his twisted mind he had found a burglar in his community, and he was going to make sure this one did not ‘get away’. He was wrong.  Plain and simple. No racial issues, no gun rights issues. Just one person who was probably the wrong person to be armed and playing sheriff.

The evidence must be pretty damn good, or else the prosecutors would not want to keep out of the public square. The defense will not have a chance to try this part of the case in the news media. And in fact, the defense is already starting to cede ground:

In a separate court filing on Thursday, Zimmerman’s lawyer Mark O’Mara joined in the motion to keep his client’s statements out of the public eye for the time being.

“There is the possibility that these statements may be subject to motions to suppress, if there is a potentially involuntary statement elicited from Mr. Zimmerman,” O’Mara said.

Clearly the defense has realized some of Zimmerman’s own words are going to convict him, so now they have to try and keep those words out of court. Not likely to happen, but not surprising when your case is in this kind of hole.

So all those open minds who have acquitted Zimmerman based on partial information are challenged to prove they can learn as more information becomes available.  Here is a challenge to show how justice must work, even when our first impressions are wrong. Actually, the hardest part is making the change when our first impressions are wrong. But that is the sign of wisdom and fairness.

Or assessing recent polling data. A recent poll in a key battlegr0und state shows clear danger for Obama’s re-elect:

The Quinnipiac University poll shows Romney leading the president 47 percent to 41 percent among registered voters, a notable shift from a tie in Quinnipiac’s last poll of the state in early May, which showed them effectively tied.

That is not even among ‘likely’ voters, and Obama is already in the dead zone of 41%. Then there were those primary votes in the south, where Obama lost 40% of his own party:

President Obama lost more than 40 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s Arkansas and Kentucky Democratic primaries, despite little-to-no opposition.

Obama lost 42 percent of the vote to the “uncommitted” option in Kentucky and more than 40 percent to little-known attorney John Wolfe in Arkansas — the latest example of the incumbent president failing to win significant shares of votes in uncompetitive contests.

But it’s not the first time the president has taken less than 60 percent of the vote in a primary this year.

He ceded 41 percent of the vote in West Virginia to an incarcerated man in Texas named Keith Judd, and in Oklahoma, Obama lost several counties and won just 57 percent of the vote.

When your own party doesn’t want you, you will not win the general election. Sort of one of those obvious indicators the news media wants to ignore because it pains them so much.

At Real Clear Politics Romney is at 44% (43.8 if you are into mythical precision) and Obama is at 46% (or 45.5). This is a statistical tie, but it really is much worse than that. Most polls are still sampling voters or adults, not likely voters. Of the three sampling likely voters the average is Romney  46% and Obama 44%. Given that undecideds rarely break for the incumbent, this indicates Obama is heading for a bad election. He is sitting at 45% – which for an incumbent means near certain defeat.

I doubt I will be posting much on polls over the summer (unless Obama’s support collapses like his fundraising is) because I have been convinced since his Stimulus Packages screw up the man was toast. You don’t fix the economy and give people hope then you don’t get a second term. So more polls showing the same dire future are not going to be of much interest. But occasionally I may opine on the inexperienced community organizer failed as world leader for all to obvious reasons. And Americans noticed.

Boy, if you want to help President Obama win reelection, one of the best ways to do so is to park your brain and go full Birther – ignoring all other critical issues facing this country.

The state of Hawaii has responded to Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett’s request for proof that President Barack Obama was in fact born in the Aloha State.

The Hawaii attorney general’s office has reportedly told Bennett that there are steps he needs to take in order to confirm President Obama’s birth records.

Those steps include Bennett proving that he legitimately needs confirmation in order to update the records at his office.

This is so stupid, and it reflects stupidity on those trying to unseat this inexperienced liberal politician before he can do more harm to our economy and country. How does this affect the economy, jobs, the rising national debt, the crumbling family, our military, our health care, our education system,….? How?

Let me be clear here – President Obama is a US Citizen by birth. Why?

Because his mother was a US Citizen. No other aspect of the definition of citizenship comes into play because where you are born has no bearing over who your parents are. None.

There is no question of soil or location or statehood. A child born at sea, in Europe, Asia or Africa to a US citizen is a US Citizen. A child born in space or on the moon to a US Citizen is a US Citizen.

All those who explore beyond this fact are just being foolish. And since it was Obama’s mother who was the US Citizen (not the father where paternity issues could arise), there is no doubt about his lineage.

If you want to make Obama look good by allowing him to compare himself to confused and distracted fools – go right ahead. But don’t blame anyone else if Obama wins election because no one b0ught into the Bogus Birther Brouhaha.

Update: As predicted, the Birther die-hards are having trouble adjusting to reality. Here is a very interesting story about in vitro children born overseas:

She found that the U.S. State Department did not share in her joy when she went to the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv to apply for citizenship for her children.

An embassy staffer wanted to know whether Lavi got pregnant at a fertility clinic. She said yes and was told that her children were not eligible for citizenship unless she could prove that the egg or sperm used to create the embryo was from an American citizen.

“I was humiliated and horrified,” Lavi said. “We’re talking about the children I gave birth to. Of course they’re my children.”

The incident points out what critics say is a glaring inequity in U.S. citizenship regulations. A child adopted overseas by a U.S. citizen is eligible to become an American, and a baby born in the USA is American even if the parents are not.

But a child born to a U.S. citizen overseas through the increasingly common practice of in vitro fertilization with embryos from donor eggs and sperm is not American, unless an American is one of the donors.

Let me recap for the stubborn ones: If Obama was ADOPTED by his mother from Kenya he would be a US Citizen. So OF COURSE if she gave birth to him he would be as well. I mean – really??

I have a deep scientific and engineering background. I live and work on the front lines of both. In my job no truth is perfect, sacrosanct nor complete. It is simply a crude, current understanding of more to be discovered. When people establish their positions too early, glued together by supposition and assumptions, they are doomed to fail. In my business it is best not to establish immutable truths. They never survive.

NASA’s Challenger and Columbia accidents were partially due to a rush to consensus through mob-think. The few dissenting voices were drowned out by all those who had their minds made up. In both cases there was large amounts of contrary evidence around. But the ‘experts’ could not afford the publicity of being wrong, and went ahead with the mob. No one had time to stop and think.

My truths are shattered on a daily (if not hourly) basis. We do the best we can to aim true, but in science and engineering there are no bullet proof road maps, recipes, processes or known facts. In science, the only thing we know for sure is this: what we don’t know dwarfs what we have discovered to date. Science is the iterative process of establishing a new and better understanding of reality, only to replace it later with another one.

Examples of not being adaptable and open minded are:

Continue Reading »

Tags: 911 Tapes, Trayvon Martin, Voice Analysis

Since everyone has made up their mind and is closed to new evidence and logic, this post is about useful as tits on a boar hog (one of my Dad’s favorite sayings). But in good conscience I need to point out why the evidence continues to point to a likely guilty verdict in any trial (jury or judge).

Remember that Zimmerman made his statements to police without realizing there was a witness on the phone with Trayvon, so he has put out statements now demonstrably false (assuming all testimony is of equal weight – which it is at this point). He wove a tale of self defense on the spot. The more holes in Zimmerman’s statements, the more credibility he loses while other witnesses gain or stay the same.

So let’s go to the first problem in Zimmerman’s statements – the lost house number:

Zimmerman claims he got out of his vehicle to find a house number to let police know where he saw the allegedly suspicious person, and while returning to his car was knocked down by a punch in the nose and attacked by Martin.

If this is an accurate portrayal of what Zimmerman said, he really is in deep trouble. In the map below we see where people think Zimmerman’s truck was parked (C) when he got out to chase Martin. There are tons of house numbers in view of his truck across the street, and then straight ahead before you go behind and in between the buildings. If Zimmerman did go to point E and then F, he was not looking for house numbers.

The most damning part of the evidence now released is how Zimmerman not only profiled and judged Martin in a split second (and here I do not mean racial profiling, but simply looked at the kid and determined he was a criminal from his clothes and the fact he was in Zimmerman’s neighborhood), but stalked him. An armed man stalking a kid based on fantasies concocted in his head.

Here is what Trayvon’s friend on the phone has stated happened:

An unnamed girl, the one identified by the Martin family attorney as Trayvon’s girlfriend, may be one of the case’s most important witnesses. She told prosecutors that she and Trayvon talked by cellphone on and off as he went to the store that evening.

She said Trayvon told her a white man in a vehicle was watching him. Trayvon started walking, and the call cut off, she said. When she called back, “he said this man is still following him.”

The girl said Trayvon started running, “and then he said he lost him [Zimmerman],” she said, adding that the teen’s “voice kind of changed … I could tell he was scared. And in a couple minutes, he said a man’s following him again.”

She said Trayvon asked, “Why are you following me for?” and a man’s voice said, “What are you doing around here?” Then she heard a noise, and the call cut off.

This does not fit Zimmerman’s statements whatsoever. Martin is scared and running from a man stalking him. He even loses him. But Zimmerman’s hunt for house numbers apparently took him far afield. Also note how Zimmerman is not ambushed. Martin tells his friend on the phone how the guy keeps coming TOWARDS him.

And this is where Zimmerman loses the right to self defense and becomes a reckless fool with a gun. The Florida  ‘stand your ground law’ has some very interesting exceptions:

While the law also states that the defense “is not available to a person who initially provokes the use of force against himself,” there are 2 exceptions. First, if:

“in good faith, the person withdraws from physical contact with the assailant and indicates clearly to the assailant that he or she desires to withdraw and terminate the use of force, but the assailant continues or resumes the use of force.”

The law does not allow someone to instigate an altercation, start to lose the altercation and then claim self defense. But moreover, it clearly states anyone wishing to withdraw has to be allowed to do so. The section I emphasized applies to Martin and Zimmerman equally. When Martin ran from Zimmerman and tried to lose him, it is clear he doing all he can to withdraw.

People naively think Zimmerman has all the rights to self defense here.

Martin has every right to be where he was:

A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.

This is where Zimmerman crossed the line (many times over). He thought he could confront Martin with the threat or use of force. He cannot. He was reckless and got into a fight because he was reckless. Without Zimmerman there  is not death.

Apparently there are witnesses the bolster the idea Zimmerman went gunning for Trayvon:

According to ABC News, the woman, only identified as witness 5, told investigators “I do honestly feel that he (Zimmerman) intended for this kid (Martin) to die… If you’re in self defense, shoot him in the leg. He’s a 17 year old, scrawny little kid. You get into a physical fight with him… I think the kid was running for help.”

…

He said Zimmerman was, “…more like, talking like he was having a hard time, looked like he just got his butt whipped… not like he was in shock, not like, ‘I can’t believe I just shot someone,’ but like, ‘Just ell my wife I just shot someone,’ like it was nothing.”

I too have had a real problem with where the shot was aimed. A shot to the leg or arm would be enough.

Finally, the small scrapes on Travyon’s knuckle (or knuckles depending on the story) cannot be from Zimmerman’s nose. More than likely Trayvon missed once or twice (I assume Zimmerman dodged his head) and hit the pavement behind him. Or he could have slipped if he was pushing Zimmerman’s head on the pavement. But the only way to rip knuckles is on teeth, and Zimmerman did not have any fat lip, etc.

And to the THC – forget about it. It makes people mellow. All the crap written about that aspect of this is just that – crap. It is no more a factor than a beer drank the day before.

Note: Follow the link for the above him (click it) to discover and interesting back story to the Python Dead Parrot sketch.

With his standing in most head-to-head polls hovering in the 43-45% range (a clear indication of electoral doom for any incumbent, but especially a sitting president) President Obama would be seen to be in enough trouble right now. With Obamacare starting to destroy our health insurance (best on the planet), our national debt skyrocketing and real unemployment over 10% (see here for why) things are bad enough for the inexperienced pol who swept into power in 2008. Add to that the 2010 insurgent voter backlash – which has been followed up with more house cleaning on the GOP side in surprise wins for Tea Party-Palin-Cain candidates – and the tea leaves are looking pretty bad for the Dems in 2012.

But when you now add into this already dismal picture an epic fail for the Obama budget, the writing is now blinking in neon lights on the wall:

Another day, another congressional shutout of O’s latest unserious gimmick. That makes three in the past year. The Senate torpedoed his last budget 97-0 in May 2011, then the House dropped a goose egg on him in March with a robust 414-0 tally. Now this.

610-0:

This observation includes the 99 votes against in the Dem-Senate rejection of Obama’s last-ever budget (hallelujah!):

A budget resolution based on President Obama’s 2013 budget failed to get any votes in the Senate on Wednesday.

In a 99-0 vote, all of the senators present rejected the president’s blueprint.

This has to be a record. 610 to 0?

Obama is now toxic on Capitol Hill. The budget is the prime mechanism for making things happen (or not happen) in the federal bureaucracy. And no one, not even the most left of greens, supported the President. He is just not a factor anymore.

Many will now attempt a new twist on Monty Python’s Dead Parrot sketch and try and convince everyone this lame duck is not an ex-president walking. Like the pet shop owner, they will try…

But clearly Obama’s re-election campaign as shuffled off its mortal coil.

“His campaign is not pining, it has past. This re-election effort is no more. It has ceased to be. The “Hope & Change” for 2012 has expired and gone to meet its maker. It is a stiff, bereft of life, it rests in peace. If you hadn’t have nailed him in front of the teleprompter he’d be pushing up Habitat for Humanity Homes. He’s rung down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-president!”

Update: I meant to note a great idea gaining steam in Congress. The ‘no budget no paycheck’ act:

Cooper’s bill stipulates that members wouldn’t get paid, even retroactively, if Congress doesn’t pass a budget by October 1st. The group has been meeting regularly to figure out their agenda and this is their first official piece of work together.

Sounds good to me.  Include their staff as well. Put to a vote in the states and it will become a Constitutional Amendment in no time.

Tags: 2012 elections, 99-0, Obama Budget

Update: Ed Morrissey has a good post and lots of comments at Hot Air – end update

News out of Nebraska in yesterday’s GOP senate primary is a good sign there is yet hope for this country. The Palin-Cain candidate took the honors in garnering another US Senate seat for We The People:

Nebraska state Senator Deb Fischer pulled off a surprise upset victory against Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning in the state’s Republican Senate primary Tuesday, marking the second contest in two weeks in which an establishment favorite was upended by a dark horse candidate in a Senate primary.

…

Fischer secured the endorsements of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and former presidential candidate Herman Cain, and she also got a boost from Joe Ricketts, the owner of the Chicago Cubs and founder of TD Ameritrade

I am glad to see more and more establishment candidates failing. We don’t need any more deadwood in DC right now. We need change. Palin change.

Last night we also got to watch the Palin documentary “The Undefeated“:

All I can say is please, please, please watch this movie to understand what we are up against, and what kind of candidates we need to fix this country. The movie had me a bit blue, after being reminded of how much Palin stood for that is right and at the core of the Tea Party movement. I am still frustrated we lost that moment, and many others since. As the documentary indicates, it was Palin who really produced the flame that lit the 2010 election results. She was the first Tea Partier.

I only wish she had not bowed out this round.

As a shorter reminder, I also suggest people listen once again to her acceptance speech in the 2008 convention. While we have been derailed by a spineless GOP leadership in Congress and a pathetic Democrat led Senate (which has taken “do nothing” to a whole new level), we must occasionally reconnect to the core message of Palin and the Tea Party.  We cannot lose site of the end goal here, because it will take years to achieve.

Tags: GOP Senate Primary, Nebraska, Sarah Palin, Tea Party

This should be the last post on the Trayvon Martin case for a while – unless some details pop out this week from the discovery. As I was doing my last round of news searches, something came out last night from the Zimmerman camp that caught my eye, and confirmed my suspicions (that it would be the testimony of Martin’s girlfriend that seals Zimmerman’s conviction). The source of the enlightening comment? Zimmerman’s father (apparently a judge):

He [Zimmerman’s father] believes medical records and photos – released to the defense on Monday – will prove his son was injured by Trayvon [1] when the two met in a gated community’s dark pathway. He said voice tests will show George Zimmerman didn’t lie and an eyewitness will back up his account. The girl who claims to have been on the phone talking to the teenager when the incident occurred will be proved a liar [2], Zimmerman insists.

Oh good Lord – this is how they plan to win a trial? First off, no one disputes the physical altercation or that George Zimmerman got some scrapes and bruises. The issue is who instigated the confrontation, who pushed this to a head. And in this situation we have ear-witness testimony that the instigator was Zimmerman, contrary to his statements to police. Here is what little we know about the girlfriend’s testimony:

In a dramatic press conference on Tuesday, the Martin family’s lawyer Benjamin Crump detailed how the unnamed girl – a minor who was so traumatised by Martin’s death she was taken to hospital at his wake – was talking to him on his cell phone in the minutes leading up to his death, and heard the altercation with his killer.

…

Crump said that during the final phone call with his girlfriend, who was back home in Miami, Martin told her that a stranger was following him, according to an affidavit she recorded. Martin had then tried unsuccessfully to get away from the stranger.

“He says: ‘Oh, he’s right behind me. He’s right behind me again,'” Crump said the girl told him. “She says: ‘Run.’ He says: ‘I’m not going to run, I’m just going to walk fast.’

She then heard Martin saying “Why are you following me” and another voice saying “What are you doing here?“ She told Crump they both repeated themselves, and then she thinks she heard Zimmerman push Martin “because his voice changes, like something interrupted his speech.” She heard an altercation and then the phone call was cut off, Crump said.

This does blow Zimmerman’s statement made to police at the time out of the water. I would suspect Zimmerman had no idea Martin was on the phone and someone was listening in. So he makes up a story about being ambushed from behind to augment his self defense claim. Little did he know a 3rd person was there that night – virtually.

This testimony is in complete contradiction to Zimmerman’s, and it is powerful (and of equal weight to anything Zimmerman claims). It indicates Martin tries numerous times to get away from Zimmerman who stalks the kid (armed of course). It indicates Zimmerman was not ambushed, but came up to Martin and challenged him. And it also implies Zimmerman started the physical altercation.

If Zimmerman’s father believes the defense will prove her a liar (which is way too harsh) and that will save his son – he is being foolish. She is going to be an unimpeachable witness. She is going to provide details Zimmerman thought he could cover up when he concocted his story.

And it is clear from the elder Zimmerman’s harsh statement it is the girlfriend’s testimony that is most dangerous to his son’s defense.

Zimmerman is now caught in a lie, and somehow must prove to judge or jury the girlfriend made up her testimony. Won’t happen. There is no motive. The defense has relied on this all about Zimmerman being attacked. Now we have confirmation it was Martin who was attacked.

And under stand your ground he had every right to beat Zimmerman’s head against the ground in self defense.