Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Ten Questions for Global Warming Alarmists

For a few years, I've had this list of questions regarding the alleged Man Made "Global Warming" a.k.a "Climate Change" and I've continued to elaborate on it and expand it. These are questions I like to ask warming alarmists who enjoy scaring people into submission on this issue, and who feel this is a proper tactic. I'm still awaiting answers.

My questions about Man-Made Warming/Climate Change:

1.   What is the OPTIMAL temperature for human survival and comfort? Is it the climate we have this year? What about the climate of 1820, during the pre-industrial Little Ice Age? Is it the arbitrary 1990 date selected by Warming Alarmists? Is it 2005? 1750? 1200? 4000 BC? The fact is, our climate ALWAYS changes, and always has changed. There is no "perfect" climate for humanity and never has been. But if there is one, shouldn't Alarmists be required to tell us what date that is, exactly, so we'll have a solid and clear goal?
2.   Why are some scientists attempting to cover up and/or minimize the Medieval Warming Period - a time during which it was FAR WARMER than today, and when humans were productive, and actually thrived like they never had before? In fact, it's also been far colder on Earth - during the Little Ice Age, for instance, or during the 6th Century, which was the middle of the Dark Ages and is a period of devastating drought and poor growing conditions. Warmer climates often signal greater prosperity for humanity, not doom and extinction. Why, then, should we fear a warming earth?
3.    Isn't adapting to change and accepting change as a constant BETTER than foolishly thinking humans can change eons of Climate Changes in just a couple of decades (for good or ill)? If vast swaths of farmland open up in the Dakotas and in Canada in the 2080's, is that not positive? Who are we to say? The Sahara, 12,000 years ago, was a rainforest. Again, changes happen and always have. Shouldn't we focus on adapting, rather than blaming ourselves or our political foes for changes that are clearly far out of our control?
4.    Rising sea levels have been cited as evidence of warming. But the estimates by the world’s climate change body (IPCC) for sea level changes have continually been revised DOWNWARD, from 20 feet (forecast in the early '90s) to just a few inches over 100 years (rising OR falling) in reports from the 2000s. (Most reasonable climatologists now admit they simply do not know, even as the most recent report goes hysterical again with outlandish predictions.) But even if we grant that sea level rise is the default symptom of warming, again, what is the OPTIMAL level of the sea? Today’s sea level? Who are WE to say this? Do cities like Venice - built IN the water – not to mention people who settled in nations located on islands in the Pacific Ocean that are at or below sea level - have a “right” to live there forever, despite the certainty that sea levels in the past were far higher, and also far lower, than today, and that new islands are ALWAYS forming and  old ones submerging back into the ocean?
5.    How much, exactly, are human beings responsible for the climate changing? 10%? 30%? 100%? (that last one being impossible.) If we don't know with certainty – and no scientist does – how do we know by how much we must decrease our emissions, and which ones do we decrease? Or is it all guesswork, as skeptics suspect?
6.    Are CO2 emissions the SOLE or MAJOR cause of warming? Or does it have marginal effects? Or, as some scientists suggest, do CO2 emissions FOLLOW climate changes throughout history?
7.   Why are the government-funded scientists working on the "Man-Made Warming" Theory ignoring or downplaying the role of sunspot activity, which directly correlates to past warming/cooling cycles, and does to this one, too? (In fact, sunspots have been “off” a bit this cycle – clearly not a man-caused event, but tellingly, the weather patterns have suggested this change perfectly.)
8.    Are scare tactics the best way to talk about science? Is the phrase "the argument is over" and the tactic of shutting down debate EVER acceptable in a scientific discussion? Is it healthy to politicize science, and compare opponents who question models (which were clearly wrong) to Holocaust deniers? Science isn't a religion, where there are "heretics" who must be shouted down. Why is it even necessary to remind Warming advocates of this basic fact?
9.    Why didn't scientists and Al Gore loudly and persistently condemn the film, "Day After Tomorrow," which depicted an overnight change in the Earth's climate, something that is literally impossible, but which fed into the worst kind of hysteria and panic, especially among the impressionable young?
10. NO European nation ever met the CO2 standards laid out in Kyoto. Why, then, are they seeking to impose NEW, tougher standards on the Western World? And if limiting emissions of CO2 is critical to ending climate change (and assuming that this is possible, and that this is, indeed THE problem) why are the world’s biggest spewers of CO2 and pollutants – China and India –being allowed to bypass any new standards with which Western nations will be forced to comply, at a cost of trillions of dollars in lost jobs and productivity as well as retrofitting costs? Note that this is a time when the West’s economies are collapsing and China’s and India’s have been growing rapidly.

Friday, April 26, 2013

Biography of Frank Fay Eddy, Unitarian Minister

I've been doing some searching for older Unitarians and have found one in some online news clippings. This one in particular is more of the modern Unitarian-Universalist bent. In fact, he served in both Unitarian and Universalist churches.

Frank Fay Eddy, born in 1870 in Charlott, Michigan, the son of Dennis and Harriet J. Eddy (brother of Ion, b. 1858. He earned a Bachelors in Divinity from Tufts University on June 21, 1899, and was a Unitarian minister in Halifax, NS, Salt Lake City, Utah and Eugene and Salem, OR. (Which means Unitarians were either more adventurous or in great demand at the time.) The Universalist Register of 1898 lists him as a registered minister in that faith as of 1896 in Neenah, Wisconsin. He resigned as pastor of the First Universalist Church in Waterville, Maine in late 1898. By 1905, he was living in Salt Lake City. He was in Wisconsin in 1908, where he had a son, Pylter with his wife Fanny (Gefford) Eddy (who was from Canada) on Sept. 1, 1896.

The "Pacific Unitarian" in March, 1921 reported that he had not preached "for some time" but was returning to active ministry in March, 1921 as pastor of churches in Eugene AND Salem at once. That August, he attended the Harvard Summer School of Theology. That same journal notes that he "develops every possible point of contact with student life" with students from the nearby University of Oregon, "and chooses his sermon themes to meet the problems in the mind of the thoughtful collegean."

He left the ministry around 1927 to become a freelance writer and publicist. He also tried his hand at ranching for about ten years before working as a reporter for the Bellingham Herald in Washington State, according to an article in the Eugene Register-Guard on Oct. 31, 1929. In 1928, he ran in the Republican (!) primary for Assessor. Not sure if he won or not.

Eddy and his wife and both appear in the 1930 Census for Eugene, OR, and the 1940 Census puts him in Port Orford, Curry, OR. (with their grandson, Arthur, b. ca. 1923, living with them) He died on May 30, 1940. She is mentioned in news reports as late as March, 1958. They had a child in Oakland, ME on July 16, 1900, but it's unclear if that child survived.

A 1905 article in a Catholic paper takes him to task, though (in a rather snarky manner) saying of Eddy's preaching about nature, "There is no need of scripture to enter into the usual Unitarian sermon. Unitarianism does not pretend to be a religious religion. It would not be displeased to be called a nature religion. Reflecting that Rev. Eddy has only recently returned from the forests, it might not be amiss to call it an out-of-door religion.

Therefore we are not astonished at the confession he makes of the inadequacy of the Bible to reach out and grasp the sublime ideas of the man turned loose upon nature. It's true that the stones preach sermons and the mountains proclaim the majesty of God. But ... these literary treats fail to fulfill the command for divine worship on the Sabbath." That article, and others, nonetheless acknowledge that he was an amazing orator and great writer of sermons.

At Easter services in 1905, Eddy, preaching at First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City, said of Jesus' resurrection: "When the spirit fled from the broken body of Jesus on the cross, to my mind, his life ended as absolutely as that of any man who arrives at the helm of death, and ends what we call mortal life. Some here may believe in the resurrection of Christ as a fact of stupdendous significance in human history. Others, like myself, may look upon it as a fondly cherished legend and as an unsubstantial basis for religious truth. Some may hold to the theory of bodily resurrection and others to that of a purely spiritual resurrection. it all depends on the temper of our minds and the light in which we view the evidence. But it is possible for us to consider a rising of Christ that will involve us in no sea of difficulties, about which there can be no wide difference of opinion. I speak  of that spriit of life which we have learned to call Christ-like, which is countless ages older than Christ and has been lived by an innumerable host of noble men and women, pagan and Christian, since his death."

On the Apostle Paul, Eddy wrote (in the July 3, 1906 edition of the Deseret News) "I think of him a very much mistaken man, and I cannot but regard it as a misfortune to humanity that he succeeded in imposing his thought so mightily on the plastic early churches. The theology which was quarried out of the mine of Paul's thought is to my mind a misfortune. I certainly do not believe Paul to have been in any peculiar sense inspired. As for his conversion probably he had been long thinking about the new sect of Christians and on his way to Damascus suffered a sunstroke and superstition did the rest."

In one 1927 sermon, he spoke against American and British imperialism. Oh, how nothing changes. :-)

Monday, April 15, 2013

40 ways to make it big with a MicroBusiness

This remarkably timely eBook, "Forty Ways to Make a FORTUNE with MicroBusinesses" outlines 40 of the easiest businesses you can start for just a little cash.

In this tough economy, these are the businesses that stand the test of time and may very well get you through some tough economic patches. Start them as part-time business and develop an empire!

YOU CAN START YOUR OWN SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS FOR UNDER $500! THIS BOOK SHOWS YOU HOW.

This STRAIGHTFORWARD, ALL ORIGINAL, easy-to-read eBook evaluates 40 carefully selected MicroBusinesses that are in demand RIGHT NOW and are easy to start - on a shoestring budget, too.


Far more than just a "list of job ideas," this eBook offers amazingly useful details for each business concept, and estimates how much each will likely cost to start up (which isn't much - most are far lower than $500 to get off the ground!)



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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Abbott Retained to Promote The Jesus Followers



NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Stephen Abbott, Owner, Abbott Public Relations 603.341.0372 www.abbottpr.com
Thursday, January 31, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Abbott Public Relations Retained to Promote The Jesus Followers

NEW ENGLAND - Stephen Abbott of Abbott Public Relations, a New England-based Public Relations and Reputation Agency, will promote the Jesus Followers, a religious group seeking to form a church denomination within the next five years.
The Jesus Followers are a new organization, laying the groundwork to launch a movement dedicated to Jesus, the Anointed (that is, "Christ") - God's spokesman and Prophet. They plan to launch a revolutionary church dedicated solely to the revolutionary, relevant, timeless teachings of Jesus, and the God he revealed to the world through those teachings and his perfect life.
Along with maintaining an online presence for The Jesus Followers (who can be found on Facebook and their blog) Abbott has been actively writing sermons for the group and has entered the active ministry of The Jesus Followers to extend its mission.
Abbott said the group represents a unique counterpoint to current Christian denominations.
"The Jesus Followers approach Jesus as the sole voice to whom we must listen to obtain salvation and learn how to live," he said. "That alone makes The Jesus Followers unique and stand out as a special witness of Jesus, God’s Anointed One. Drawing attention to him as God's prophet and spokesman is also a different emphasis than many mainline Christians are used to. But there is a dire need for them, and the rest of the world, to hear these differing views, and that's what we will bring to them."
The group stresses the humanity of Jesus, his Prophethood, teachings and life; our ability to fully obey God and our duty to do Good Works; understanding the Scriptures in their historical context; and the use of our God-given Reason.
Abbott said he will promote the group and lay the groundwork for physical locations for church meetings that would eventually lead to churches planted around the world. The Jesus Followers can be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/theprophetjesus and their blog can be found at http://thejesusfollowers.blogspot.com.
Abbott Public Relations offers affordable written communications and social media services that build, strengthen and repair reputations. They can be found online at http://www.abbottpr.com and at 603.341.0372.

                                                                         ###

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Abbott ePublishing Announces Publication of "A Flash of Worlds - Sci-Fi Flash Fiction by Stephen Abbott"


Abbott ePublishing
Original, affordable electronic books.

Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013
CONTACT: Stephen Abbott, publisher(@)abbottepublishing.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“A Flash of Worlds - Sci-Fi Flash Fiction” by Stephen Abbott


NEW ENGLAND – Abbott ePublishing has published, “A Flash of Worlds - Sci-Fi Flash Fiction,” a new collection of Science Fiction writing by author Stephen Abbott.

The fifteen short-short “Flash Fiction” stories vary in length from 500 to 1,400 words, and feature time travel, alternate history, the paranormal, and the scientifically unexplained.

Abbott says his fiction writing is inspired by new scientific research into alternate realities and multiple universe theory, as well as his love of classic science fiction.

“There are places here you won't recognize, and mind-bending twists in SpaceTime that will make you wonder what's happening,” says Abbott. “The entire field of astrophysics and new theories of time and space have opened the fiction genre to new possibilities. The fact that many of these stories may actually have a basis in science FACT make the fiction even more incredible.”

This unique collection of Flash Fiction is offered at the low, introductory price of $1.99 at the Abbott ePublishing  website, abbottepub.com/flashofworlds.html. Payment is via PayPal.

Abbott ePublishing was launched in 2009 as a New England-based publisher of original, affordable electronic books. They can be found online at www.abbottepub.com.

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Thursday, January 17, 2013

Five Great Ways to Re-Boot Our Calendar


Is our calendar perfect? Few would argue that it is. The number of days in each month are uneven, its quarters are unequal, and it's impossible to determine when on which day any random date will fall.

But it turns out, there are many, many other - arguably better - ideas to reform it.

For instance, there's the 13-Moon Calendar. Inspired by the ancient Mayan Long-Count calendar, this proposal to reform the current Gregorian calendar re-names all the months, and introduces other innovations, including an extra month, which approximates many ancient calendars.

The Symmetry454 Calendar is a proposal by a Toronto university professor. It features four exactly equal quarters of 28-, 35- and 28-day months, making it easier to compare fiscal quarters. It's beautiful symmetry contrasts with the chaotic Gregorian.

The 13-month "Sol" Calendar updates an Old Idea - the 13- month year tied to the lunar cycle. This calendar's 13 months are all 28 days long, making it easy to remember the length of months. A leap year is added to the last month, December, and a new month, Sol, is added between June and July.

The New Earth Calendar is a bit of a hybrid - mixing the best elements of proposals like the Symmetry454 calendar and the 13 months of the Sol calendar.

Finally, the 30x11 Calendar is what its creator calls a "Gentle Update" of our current calendar. All of its months are 30 days long, except December, which rounds out the 365 or 366-day year with 35 or 36 days. It makes it incredibly easy to determine what day number each day on the calendar holds, and makes it easy to remember days.

All of these calendars - and MANY MORE - can be found EXCLUSIVELY on the new Abbott ePublishing eBook "A New Calendar for The World" available on the Abbott ePublishing website.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Caseworker Exposes Flaws in Welfare System


NEW HAMPSHIRE - Author Deb Shorter of New Hampshire worked in Human Services for a decade. This experience as a case worker provided her with valuable, first-hand insights into how the American Welfare System works - and how it doesn't.

Her first book, "Giving Away Your Tax Dollars - An Eye Into Welfare," delves into the twisted, turbulent and troubled world of the Welfare System, exposing who gets help, and who doesn't, and the reasons why. In the interview room of a caseworker, she hears client’s troubles and works her way through the government policies that determine if aid will be distributed.

"Readers will run the gamut of emotions as they read this book," she says. "They'll laugh, they'll cry, and they'll get angry. Then, they'll want to fix the system."

This entertaining and informative book offers ways to do just that, spelling out Ten Easy Solutions to America's budget problems within Human Services, especially Social Security.

Born in Amesbury, Massachusetts in 1961, Deb moved frequently as a young girl, first to Newton New Hampshire, and when her parents separated, to Haverhill, MA. She likes to say, "I worked my way up the state and back into New Hampshire, and kept heading further north!" She now lives in New Hampshire's beautiful North Country with her husband Ron. She writes in lovely a cabin in the woods called "The Pen Den." She is a grandmother of seven children, six boys and one girl.

She loves to hear from her readers, and enjoys their reactions to her work.

"They are my enthusiasm," she says. "It's weird how so many people love the emotional roller coaster I send them on - and that is EXACTLY what I wanted!"

An Eye Into Welfare: Giving Away Your Tax Dollars is available in an affordable print edition from Amazon Createspace for $12.99 at https://www.createspace.com/4067938 and as a Kindle eBook for $2.99 at http://amzn.com/B00AQ3KRRM. For more information, visit www.debshorter.com.