Green hypocrisy on display in all-night talkathon

Senate Democrats kept the lights burning late at the U.S. Capitol to call attention to global warming. They held an all-night talkathon to call attention to the horrendous problem of global warming. I know you’re probably wondering what the heck they’re talking about given the unusually cold winter. So was I.

Aside from the obvious absurdity of doing business in the middle of the night, these so-called environmentalists needlessly burned untold amounts of energy at a building that is powered

by coal, the very essence of evil in their eyes.

It’s doubtful that many people stayed up to watch the proceedings, unless, of course, they were looking for a cure for their insomnia. If they did, they surely burned more energy than they otherwise would have by keeping their televisions running. Not to mention the countless coffee pots that were purring just to keep the viewers awake.

Majority Leader Harry Reid kicked off the marathon by listing a litany of natural disasters supposedly caused by we humans. Among those listed were droughts in the Midwest, wildfires in the West, lower-than-normal water levels in the Mississippi River, low temps in Georgia and mild weather in Alaska.

So, let me see if I have this right. If it rains it’s global warming. If it doesn’t rain it’s global warming. If it’s hot it’s global warming. If it’s cold it’s global warming. If the forest is on fire it’s global warming. What, no heartbreak of psoriasis? 

Understand one thing. All of this is garbage. No serious scientist believes this junk. Wildfires caused by global warming? Are the forests just spontaneously combusting? No. The National Park Service says 90 percent of wildfires are caused by humans, either through campfires left unattended, the burning of debris, negligently discarding cigarettes and intentional acts of arson. The other 10 percent are started by lightning or lava.

It is an insult to any intelligent person to say that global warming is causing high temperatures and low temperatures. I understand the greenhouse theory. Supposedly, according to the hysterics, we are pumping too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere causing a “greenhouse effect.” The theory goes that everything underneath heats up, as in a greenhouse. There’s absolutely nothing in the theory that points to record low temperatures. That’s something the proponents of this theory simply made up when the weather didn’t suit their cause.

There’s also no scientific evidence that global warming is causing more severe weather. In fact, we’re in the quietest period for hurricanes since the Civil War. In other words, none of this rot-gut is true yet these senators waste time, money and energy preaching to the rest of us about a subject of which they know absolutely nothing

These global warming types fall into two categories. The first is the sinister person who knows he or she is lying but continues the lie to perpetuate an agenda. That agenda can be personal or political. Al Gore is known for this. 

The second category is the group of people who have been lied to and believe the lie. Fortunately or unfortunately, most of the senators who attended the all night gab-athon fall into the latter.

Four Democrat senators facing tough re-elections were conspicuously absent from the spectacle. They were Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Mark Pryor (D-Ark.). If this were such a popular issue with the people, as the rest of the senate Democrats claim, why did these senators stay away?

Because the American people, blessedly, are beginning to wake up.

Phil Valentine is the host of the award-winning, nationally syndicated talk radio show, The Phil Valentine Show.

Government Shutdown: This ain't 1995

Harry Reid, Barack Obama and the rest of the Democrats made a gross miscalculation.  They thought no matter what happened the American people would blame a government shutdown on the Republicans.  After all, they were working off the template of 1995.  But the template from 1995 is obsolete.

In 1995 the issue was Medicare.  The Democrats had one talking point: "The Republicans want to cut Medicare and give a tax cut to their rich constituents."  You heard that from every Democrat at every turn.  Forget that it wasn't true, it was repeated so often and never challenged by the media that it stuck. The truth was the Republicans were merely trying to slow the rate of growth.  There was no cut in Medicare but that didn't matter.  What mattered was Speaker Newt Gingrich had become a lightning rod in American politics.  Even those who admired his guts and his leadership skills had a hard time dealing with his arrogance and his ego.  There is no Newt Gingrich to focus on in this current budget fight.

Secondly, the issue is dramatically different.  Medicare was an issue that resonated with everyone.  We all paid into the program and seniors were due what was coming to them.  To think that anyone would cut that (which they weren't) rubbed people the wrong way.  Couple that with the accusation that Newt and the boys were greasing the palms of wealthy donors with a tax cut (which they weren't) and you can see how they lost the argument.

The issue today is Obamacare, a program of which millions of Americans are terrified.  They've heard the reports of numerous companies cutting employee hours below 30 per week to get around the tremendous cost increases.  They've seen co-workers laid off in anticipation of its implementation.  They've witnessed the nightmare of the exchange launch.  They're happy with their health insurance now and they are frightened everything about it is going to change and change for the worse.

Like they did with their Mediscare tactics in 1995 the Democrats tried to create Obamascare.  It blew up in their faces.  Harry Reid was so sure a repeat of 1995 was inevitable that he got cocky.  A little too cocky.  He shot down every proposal for compromise from the House Republicans to the point that it became obvious he was the obstructionist, not the House Republicans.

Then came the kids with cancer.  Reid thought he had found the perfect photo op.  Kids with cancer were being locked out of clinical trials because workers from the National Institutes of Health were being furloughed.  He blamed the heartless Republicans of wanting to kill little children.  Then John Boehner outflanked him.  Boehner offered to fully fund the NIH with a stand-alone bill.  Harry Reid rejected the offer which led to a question from CNN reporter Dana Bash that encapsulated the whole government shutdown fight.

"But if you can help one child who has cancer, why wouldn't you do it?" Bash asked Reid.  Harry's response?  "Why would we want to do that?"

Wow!  Frying pan?  Meet fire.

Then there were the World War II veterans.  They flew into Washington on Honor Flights, a program designed to take veterans near the end of their lives on a final trip to pay tribute to their fallen comrades at the World War II Memorial.  The memorial is an open-air park that's open 24/7, regardless of whether or not park employees are around.  Obama sent barricades to keep them out.  They ignored the barricades and visited the memorial anyway.  As one veteran said, "Normandy was closed when we got there, too."

What a powerful scene.  Men from the greatest generation who fought to save the world from the Nazis were being played by an egotistical, spoiled brat who was on the verge of being stripped of the chance to force-feed his socialist agenda down the throats of the American people.  The initial confrontation was a PR nightmare so what did the president do?  He doubled down.  The next day he had the park service erect a fence to keep the veterans out, a move that obviously cost much more money in the midst of a government shutdown than allowing these men to pay tribute to their lost friends.  They stormed the fence, too, leaving park personnel with the unenviable task of arresting 90-year-old men in wheelchairs.  As one park police officer put it, "I'm not going to enforce the 'no stopping or standing' sign for a group of 90 World War II veterans," according to WND.com  "I'm a veteran myself."

They whipped fascism in their teens and in their 90s they may very well have whipped socialism.

What Democrats hoped would be a story of mean, ole Republicans shutting down the government ended up being Democrats with a nasty streak who were willing to deny kids with cancer the care they needed and World War II heroes a chance to say a final goodbye to friends they lost on the battlefield just to score political points.

Make no mistake about it, Government Shutdown 2013 is Obama's Katrina.

Phil Valentine is the host of the award-winning, nationally syndicated talk radio show, The Phil Valentine Show.