"Climategate" Exposed

IS GLOBAL WARMING A TRICK?

Click here to go to part 2

That is what some saw in a large batch of e-mails and documents stolen from servers of the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia, in England, and put up anonymously on the web.

The result has been a field day for those intent on discrediting the idea of man-made climate change. Climate change skeptics have combed through the stolen emails, pouncing on isolated and out of context snippets that can be spun into some claim of scientific malfeasance. The spin climate change deniers are putting out is that the stolen emails reveal what they always claimed, an evil global liberal conspiracy.

"It's cold. So there's no Climate Change" Facts From The National Snow And Ice Data Center

The emails stolen from University of East Anglia servers reveal climate scientists discussing the perils of freely sharing their climate research with activist climate change deniers.

Climate scientists have become wary of activist climate change deniers because they consistently distort, misrepresent and deliberately falsify interpretations of climate research data and scholarly discussions.

The stolen emails, read in their entirety, reveal only that climate scientists have discussed issues related to protecting their research from false distortion and how to effectively and convincingly present their conclusive climate change data.

So, climate change deniers have used the stolen emails to distort, misrepresent and deliberately falsify climate research - thus proving why the stolen emails include discussions among climate scientists about protecting their research from activist climate change deniers and their dishonest tactics.

As Judith Curry, a climatologist at the Georgia Institute of Technology, observes, attacks [from activist climate change deniers] on climate scientists, sometimes paid for by carbon-emitting industries, have made many researchers in the field nervous and defensive. [The Economist]

Read fully and in context the stolen emails do not support claims that the science of global warming is faked, according to reviews by growning numbers of truly fair and balanced journalists.

[See The Economist "Climate Change Mail-Strom" and the AP "Science not faked, but not pretty, "Climategate" Exposed]

The current decade likely ranks as the hottest since temperature records began in the 1850s, the U.N. World Meteorological Organization announced today. On December 8th 2009, at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), reported that 2009 was likely to rank in the top 10 warmest years since 1850. He added that since 1980 every decade has been warmer than the previous one. He also stressed that greenhouse concentrations were highest now than at any time over the last 800,000 years.

While conservative Republican lawmaker continue to strongly deny all evidence of climate change, Military planners in the Pentagon have concluded that “global warming is now officially considered a threat to U.S. national security.” In its upcoming 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, Pentagon planners will report that climate change could result in food and water scarcity, pandemics, population displacement, and other destabilizing events that could create conflict.

“The American people expect the military to plan for the worst,” says retired Vice Adm. Lee Gunn, a 35-year Navy veteran now serving as president of the American Security Project. “It’s that sort of mindset, I think, that has convinced, in my view, the vast majority of military leaders that climate change is a real threat and that the military plays an important role in confronting it.”

New Election Precincts For The 2010 Election Cycle

Beginning in late December 2009 the Collin County Registrar's Office will begin sending out new Blue and White 2010-2011 voter registration cards to every "active" registered voter in the county.

Because Collin County's population has grown since the 2008-2009 orange registration cards were issued two years ago, a few of Collin County's election precincts have been split into two or three election precincts. As of January 1, 2010 Collin County will have sixteen new election precincts. (see table below) Voters living in the "redistricted" election precincts will find new precinct numbers on their new Blue 2010-2011 voter registration cards. (Collin County's interactive district maps tool / Redistricting Plan PDF / Click on image below for enlarged picture.)Here is a description of some of the fields on the voter registration card:

1. VUID – This is your 10-digit statewide Voter Unique Identification Number issued by the Secretary of State’s office. This number remains the same as long as you are a registered voter in the State of Texas regardless of the County in which you reside or if you move from one County in Texas to another.
2. Prec. No. – Your precinct is based upon your residence address and determines your Election Day polling location.
3. Valid from January 1, 2010 thru December 31, 2011. Upon expiration, new certificates are automatically mailed to voters with active registrations.
4. Name and Permanent Residence Address – Your name and address of residence as provided when you registered to vote. Your election precinct (polling place) is based upon this address.
5. X signature line. The "fine print" below the signature line says, "VOTER MUST PERSONALLY SIGN HIS/HER NAME IMMEDIATELY UPON RECEIPT, IF ABLE."
6. Voted in the ________ Party Primary. When voting in a primary election, you must state in which political party's primary you will vote. Your selection will then be stamped in this space on your registration card. This also helps ensure you will receive a ballot from the same party should a runoff election be required. If you did not vote in the initial primary but would like to vote in a subsequent runoff, you will be able to make your party selection at that time. You must vote in a party's primary election to qualify to attend that party's precinct, county and state conventions. You will present your stamped registration card when you check in for the precinct convention as proof that you did vote in the primary election.
   
7. Various Election Districts
   • CONGRESS - U.S. House of Representative District Number
   • STATE SEN. - Texas Legislature - State Senate District Number
   • STATE REP. - Texas Legislature - State House of Representatives District Number
   • COM - Collin County Commissioners Court Precinct
   • JP - Justice of the Peace District
   • CITY - City
   • CITY DIST. - City District Subdivision
     
   • ISD - Independent School District
   • ISD DIST. - Independent School District Subdivision
   • SBOE - State Board of Education
     
8. Cert No. - This is your Collin County Voter Unique Identification Number.
9. BARCODE – This is an internal tracking number which should be electronically scanned by poll workers at a polling location to check-in voters. Please DO NOT cut the bar code off of the card!!
10. Mailing Address – Just below the Bar Code is your Mailing Address provided by you indicating where you wish to receive your mail. This address is not used in determining your precincts or in which races you will be eligible to vote.

Old Pct Comments Split Into New Pct 006 Along ISD lines 168 014 Along major roads 167 017 Along major roads 172 025 Along ISD and City lines 165-Parker 166-WISD 027 Along major roads 174 029 Along major roads 178 045 Along ISD lines 179 055 Along City of Dallas lines 164 056 Along City of Sachse lines 170 111 Along major roads 177 116 Along major roads 176 126 Along McKinney ISD lines 169 140 2 splits - top absorbed into 155 173 157 Along major roads 171 159 Along major roads 175

Texas election code (Section §42.006) says that a county election precinct may not contain more than 5,000 registered voters.

Last spring the Collin County Commissioner's Court approved a request made by the County Registrar's Office to split several existing election precincts to form new precincts, effective January 1, 2010.

The table (right) shows the old precincts that are giving part of their 2008-2009 geographic area over to the new 2010-2011 election precincts.

If you do not received your blue 2010-2011 Voter's Registration Card by late January 2010, call the Collin Co. Registrar's Office to check on your voting status.

If have moved or you have not voted in an election in Collin County during the past two years, your voter registration record may have been suspended or even canceled. Check your registration status here.

If your voter registration record has been suspended or canceled, or you have never registered to vote in Collin County you must take action to be properly registered by February 2, 2010 in order to vote in either the Democratic or Republican Party March 2, 2010 Primary Election. Voter Registration Applications must be post marked on or before February 2, 2010 in order to become properly registered to vote in the primary.

Have you ever registered to vote? In general, you are eligible to vote in Collin County if you are a United States Citizen, a resident of the county, will be 18 years old before election day, are not a convicted felon and have not been declared mentally incapacitated. For specific information and to determine your eligibility, click here to visit the Secretary of State’s web site and read the pamphlet on Texas Voting. Check whether you are already registered to vote here and if you are not yet registered to vote, get your Voter's Registration application here.

Please remember to take your Voter's Registration Card with you to the polling place when you vote. Several forms of identification (in place of your voter registration card) are acceptable, but early voting election clerks can use the bar code on the registration card to electronically verify your voter registration status. This makes the early voting lines move much faster for everyone!!! Please DO NOT cut the bar code off of the card!! Click here to find forms of identification, other than your voter registration certificate, that you may use to vote.

Insurance Coalition Bribes Internet Users To Oppose Health Bills

HuffingtonPost — Internet users looking for gift cards and other free merchandise are being steered to Web pages inviting them to send e-mails to Congress expressing their views on President Barack Obama's push to reshape the country's health system.

In one instance, people looking for rewards are taken to a Web page run by Get Health Reform Right, a coalition of 10 insurance industry groups that opposes Obama's health overhaul effort. That page lets opponents of the Democratic drive quickly generate a letter to their member of Congress expressing their view.

In another, those applying for gifts can end up on the Web page of the American Medical Association's Patients' Action Network, where they can express support to lawmakers for expanding health care coverage.

The ads could give the impression that someone has to send an e-mail to Congress to get free goods. But based on fine print appearing in the ads, it appears sending the e-mails is optional and would not affect whether people receive the gifts they are seeking.

The ads attracting letter writers with incentives, first reported by Gawker.com, were provided to a reporter by Dan Porter, CEO of OMGPOP, a company that runs a Web site that combines multiplayer Internet games with social networking.

The ads are aimed at people seeking a reward, such as a gift certificate to a retail chain, that they would receive after providing their e-mail addresses and other information. Such ads could also be aimed at people who play online games and would like to earn virtual currency they can use to purchase items they can use in games, Porter said.

After people provide information about themselves, they are taken to a series of Web sites that ask them questions. One of the pages asks people if they want to "tell Congress to get health reform right!" If they check "yes," they are taken to GetHealthReformRight.org, where they can quickly send a prewritten e-mail to their member of Congress expressing opposition to a government-run insurance plan. Another asks people to answer "yes" or "no" to the statement, "Now is the time to make your voice heard on health system reform."

Letter To The Editor From Alicia Bergfeld

Barbara Oldenburg, who has served on the Texas State Democratic Executive Committee as one of the two Senate District 8 Representatives for several years, has resigned effective January 1, 2010. (Dist. Map PDF) As specified in the Rules of the Texas Democratic Party, "When a vacancy occurs on the SDEC, the vacancy shall be filled by the majority vote of the members of the SDEC. The new member shall be an eligible person of the same sex and from the same senatorial district as the vacating member. The Senatorial District Committee of the affected district shall meet to nominate a person for such position." The following letter to the editor of the DBCC is from Alicia Bergfeld, who has announce her candidacy to fill Ms. Oldenburg's vacancy:

Letter To The Editor by Alicia Bergfeld My name is Alicia Bergfeld and I am running to be the State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC) member from Senate District 8. I will be the first to admit that I am not very well known in Collin County…yet. When I first heard about this vacancy, I was given a brief description of the SDEC and its responsibilities. I was interested immediately: A chance to be involved with the State Democratic Party? Sign me up, I thought. Conveniently, the SDEC was having a meeting in Austin five days later. I traveled to Austin to attend this meeting, and while there, I solidified my desire to join the SDEC. While in attendance at the SDEC General Meeting, I was struck by a very interesting visual. I was sitting in the back of the room facing the entire SDEC, and I noticed that my demographic, young and female, was not fully represented. Yet those like me are the future of the party, a party that is on the edge of real change. I am committed to engaging the younger generations and bringing them into the fold because whatever change is starting now, my generation will be the ones to continue the progress. I can bring new energy to the state party, and I can help move this party forward into its exciting future. The Democratic Party in Texas, and in Collin County in particular, is on the cusp of a really important breakthrough. It is truly a tangible feeling among many Democrats. The SDEC is such an important part of the momentum in the County and in the state as a whole. As a member, I would support the Democratic Party wholeheartedly. I would devote as much time (and more) as is necessary to propel Texas Democrats into the forefront. I want to support the Party from the inside. I want to serve Texas well by building the Democratic brand and putting Collin County on the map. I will b e there every step of the way to make sure our party continues to be the party of the people. I would like to think I have always been a Democrat. I always seemed to be aware of the needs of others and I would try to help in any way possible, even if that meant giving the shoes off my feet (literally). I grew up knowing that I could be anything that I wanted to be, yet at 12 years old, my father told me there were two things that I could never be: a method actor or a Republican. I did not pay much attention to this edict at the time, but as I attended high school and college, I realized that I could not be a Republican. I cared too much about the wellbeing of others. I would absolutely not pass their Reagan-esque litmus test, nor would I want to. And so I have made it my goal in life to help people and to make a difference in this world. I cannot think of a more appropriate avenue to accomplish this than to help crank the wheels inside the Texas Democratic Party. I may not have been born a Texan, but it is my chosen home. Help me make it the best home it can be.

Alicia Bergfeld currently resides in Plano, TX and works for a non-profit in Dallas that has served the community for nearly 35 years. Alicia earned a Masters of International Relations from Webster University in Geneva, Switzerland. She is an active member of the Texas Democratic Women of Collin County, as well as a dedicated volunteer for Planned Parenthood of North Texas. She is actively trying to establish a Young Democrats group in Collin County, and recently participated in the Campaign Training Series held at Collin College Frisco Campus.


Disclosures: The editor of this blog is an active member of the Democratic Campaign Development Coalition that sponsored a Democratic Campaign Training Education Series, which Ms. Bergfeld attended.