GaHillBilly

"A Boy Scout leader who is also the top police officer in the Missouri town of Fredericktown is facing statutory sodomy charges for allegedly having sex with children." [ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,582191,00.html ] GaHillBilly

"The cause of the bankin' collapse was deregulated gambling with other people's money, using highly leveraged derivatives on dishonestly packaged tranched and bundled bond instruments." Maybe. I gather you do know something about financial markets, somewhat more than you do about AGW. I don't know much about them, so I'm definitely not sure. I do know that GWB tried to reign in some of the MAE excesses and was blocked primarily by the Franks/Dodd axis of power. I don't know to what extent some of the MAE activities were a fundamental cause of the current financial collapse. I do

Ah, yah, well da Beavuh has spoken. So I guess all us dumb Southern hicks shud just shut up and lis'n to da man wid da advanced duhgrees who tahks funny. He's tellin' us, so we can unnerstand that any us dummies dat have da questions bout global warmin' are jus dummies, no, lemme get ud right: "da real fakers and fools are linin' up against global warmin'" We're not da dummies: we're da "fakers and fools". And, he's takin' his time to share his big money knowlej wid us, too. Dis money trouble our country is havin' is all da Republican's fault, and wuz caused by " Phil Gramm-s

Vol_scouter, I have a quote that may be useful in understanding the reception some of your recent explanations have received. When a wise man has a controversy with a foolish man, the foolish man either rages or laughs, and there is no rest. Proverbs 29:9

Answering my own challenge, here's a first attempt collection of news claiming that 'it's cold because it's getting warm'. I'm sure the really juicy quotes will come later, after climatologists have had a chance to 'analyze' the cold. I did find it surprising that the juiciest current quotes came from Chinese officials. I'd guessed the Chinese were quietly cheering Gore from the sidelines, given the enormous geopolitical benefit they stand to gain from cap-n-trade legislation. But, I was really surprised to see them do so publicly, given the chance that it might cause others to contempla

Hey, JoeBob; I think we should have a contest to see how many articles can be found which explain that the current cold weather is CAUSED by global warming! I'd bet anything that there will be some, though it may be harder to find them than it would have been before 'Climate-gate'. I can't find the link at the moment, but a few days ago I read an article about a group of indigenous Andeans who are dying off due to poverty and and repeated cold winters*. The writer explained that the repeated cold winters were due to glacial melting caused by . . . AGW! GaHillBilly * No

Vol_scouter, it's finally dawned on me that Merlyn is like an old, toothless and senile pit bull, gnawing on our legs: + too toothless to do any injury; + too nerve-damaged to recognize when he's been injured; + too stubborn to quit or let go. With a dog, the solution would be to put him out of his misery. With Merlyn, there is no solution. All we can do is leave, and leave him snapping and snarling around this thread by himself. There's no point to responding to him or trying to answer him -- he is alternately unable or unwilling to participate in a reasoned discu

The issue of understanding scientific statements and publications has been part of several ongoing threads here, so I thought this lexicon of scientific terminology might be helpful. The Dyrk Schlingman to whom this list is commonly attributed appears to now be a DVM in Oregon, but apparently is no longer publishing this list himself. Anyhow, on to the list: ============================================================================ Scientific Jargon by Dyrk Schlingman, Oregon State University After several years of studying and hard work, I have finally learned scientific j

Merlyn, in the recent past, over praising kids ("You're doing GREAT!"; That's so GOOD!"; "Fantastic job!") has been a staple of educational motivation concepts. Recently, the trend seems to be to back away from the BS, as it has begun to dawn on the "highly educated" teachers and professors with "advanced degrees", that when you praise a kid who's acting like a monster and learning nothing, the results might not be what you hope. It's too late for all the idiot children running around, who are confused as heck why, when they are "just so SMART!", they can't pass algebra. Us hillbilli

Dan, you specifically were NOT one I had in mind. I suspect we disagree on almost everything, but the impression I've gotten from you here is that you try to be honest and stick with the facts, at least as you know them. I should have made clear, and did not, that I don't think everyone here who has argued a pro-gay position has distorted facts, much less done so deliberately. And, I will certainly recognize that social scientists, in the (distant!) past, have distorted 'facts' about homosexuals, in a anti-homosexual way. But, it was wrong then, and it's wrong now. Apart from t

"And GaHillBilly thinks he has proven to us that homosexuals will exhibit abusive sexual behavior towards Scouts by telling us a story about what consenting adult gay people do when they meet up." It is incredibly disheartening to see Scouters repeatedly engage in deliberately dishonest distortion, as you have done here, HiLo. After PRE-qualifying, and excluding what you claim, you STILL lie about what I said, and inject thoughts into my head. There's no point in trying to argue with you -- I already stated that I did not claim ANYTHING other than what I described, though the be

"Quantum mechanics and general relativity conflict, and haven't been reconciled. " Merlyn, please name an area of engineering, particle physics, or astrophysics where scientists are unable to decide whether to apply quantum physics & the standard model OR the general theory of relativity, and thus are unable to perform the requisite calculations. Failing that, please have a generous helping of your own words for your New Year's meal Neither quantum theory nor general relativity are a Grand Unified Theory (GUT). Quantum theory and the standard model work very, very well

To the contrary, it has been repeatedly implied that homosexuals are no more likely to exhibit abusive sexual behavior than heterosexuals, and thus, constitute no more risk to Scouts. The case I described documents specific examples of a general and common homosexual behavior that is -- at the very minimum -- illegal. If it's really necessary, I'll dig back through prior posts and provide quotes. GaHillBilly.

Support of gays in the BSA has been repeatedly argued here with various forms of the assertion that homosexuals, apart from their sexual preference itself, behave no differently than heterosexuals. Over the holidays, I had occasion to be reminded again (and again) of at least one characteristic homosexual behavior is not duplicated by either heteros or (AFAIK) lesbians. Now, since King Merlin and Voyageur seem to embrace mis-interpretation as a legitimate form of argument, let me qualify before I assert: 1. I'm not claiming that the behavior I'm going to describe is pedophilia.

Anthropogenic carbon dioxide is the putative cause of anthropogenic global warming (AGW). You can read the abstract below yourself, but for those not versed in statistical science-speak, => the bottom line is that the data shows no increase in atmospheric CO2 over the last 150 years.

"a heterosexual boy abused, molested or otherwise inappropriately touched a younger scout, he would most likely get away with it, but if there was evidence that the perpetrator was homosexual, he'd be expelled in a heartbeat?" A heterosexual boy would NOT abuse a younger Scout sexually -- by definition. If he did so, he would be functionally homosexual. (I'm well aware that many functional homosexuals consider themselves hetero. But men or boys who have or seek sex with men or boys, they are homosexual in my definition and, I think, within the BSA's definition. And yes, I know what

Merlyn, You certainly are stubborn. But one of the problems with a debate in a forum like this is that there are no judges. => If this were a fist fight, you'd be down and out. => If this were a judged debate, you'd be down and out. But here, you just go on and on. You don't even seem to understand enough of the technical aspects of this discussion to realize that you've been knocked down. You are like one of those pop-up puppet clowns. You get knocked down, but pop right back up, looking just as silly as you did before. I know you are used to 'winning'

OGE, I would request that you go back and read my posts, and compare them to Merlyn's remarks. If you still think I'm being unfair to him, I'll happily request that you delete what I said. But, I think you'll find that he's not paying attention to what has been said, and is ducking and sniping, rather than responding to the arguments. His remark suggesting that the phrase "sensitive dependence on initial conditions" was something I manufactured because it was "sciency-sounding" was simply asinine. You can easily confirm this yourself if you follow the search link I posted for that e

Merlyn, it would make this easier if you could hold more than one thought or fact in your mind at time. I'll answer you, but it's probably futile, because then you'll respond ONLY to what's in this answer, rather than the complete thread. + Regarding my opinion vis a vis AGW: I have voiced the same opinion about AGW throughout this thread, and that opinion is entirely consistent with not knowing what CO2 levels have been. That opinion is that GW is probable, but unproven; and that AGW is unproven AND improbably. (If you like, you can replace "proven" with "demonstrated by the pre

Merlyn, you really don't get it, do you? CO2 levels may, or may not have changed. I gather that they have been measured recently (over the past 40 years) and have increased. Before that, it's my understanding that CO2 was not measured directly. So, you have short period with relatively accurate atmospheric CO2 measurements, and much, much longer period over which they were estimated in a variety of ways, the accuracy and reliability of which is being questioned. Beyond that, the integrity of the data regarding BOTH CO2 and temperature measurements is seriously in doubt, due to the re

To the contrary, Calico, I for one am well aware that gays are among the Scouts today. You may recall I even pointed out -- only to have my comments pooh-poohed by guys on YOUR side of the issue -- that having first gay experiences in Scouting apparently has a somewhat iconic character in gay lore. But, it appeared to be gay lore with some basis in reality. Again, speaking for myself, I was very cautious about an SPL who I already knew to be a bully, when I encountered some evidence that he might be also gay. I specifically warned my son not only to avoid being alone with him, but come to

Merlyn, instead of endlessly sniping, why don't you explain what proxy measurements are, why they are germane to discussions of AGW, and how they add to the uncertainty of any predictions or models which rest on them. Do so in a factual way, and you'll not only demonstrate that you have a clue (as opposed to a bad case of Gore-worship), AND you'll help a lot of people here on both sides who don't understand what proxy measurements are or why they are an issue. Beavuh, if Murh-lun ducks da kwest-shun, perhaps ya can fill en for him, since ya got all dose advance duhgrees and all.

Merlyn, I'm not sure if you read and understand what HICO wrote. But, I've noted that few here seem to have any idea what any of the following are: + proxy measurements + order of magnitude + statistical linkage etc. These are all concepts that are critically germane to the debate about AGW and the CRU. Whether HICO is right or wrong, he shows considerable evidence of understanding key concepts in the debate. Can YOU explain why the dependence of the ANY complex model on "proxy measurements" as a primary data input raises serious doubt about the validity of the model?

Voyageur, there's not much we seem to agree on, but I found this post both informative and interesting. As my sons approach adulthood, I'm increasingly aware the impact of 'main stream media' and main stream 'infotainment' on their view of the world, society, and science. Fortunately, they are getting the message. My older son's first reaction now, to a new natural history guide book, is to see how many errors and mis-identifications he can find in it. We've reached the point where we no longer make plant or animal ID's based on a single text: there are just too many errors in the p

Just in the FYI category: "South African Epidemic Of Schoolboy Sexual Abuse" [ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080728192809.htm ] Not sure what to make of it, but it seemed relevant. (BTW, the article ID's adult woman on adolescent boy sex as the primary problem, there.) GaHillBilly