links for 2008-12-11

U.S. House lawmakers as early as today are likely to approve a $15 billion automaker bailout plan that will run into Republican stalling tactics in the Senate and the opposition of at least one Democrat.

“It will pass the House, the question is will Senate Republicans block this,” said Representative Earl Pomeroy, a North Carolina Democrat.

In the Senate, the Democrats aren’t completely united. Democrat Max Baucus of Montana, the chairman of the Finance Committee, said he will oppose the legislation.

The UN global warming conference currently underway in Poland is about to face a serious challenge from over 650 dissenting scientists from around the globe who are criticizing the climate claims made by the UN IPCC and former Vice President Al Gore. Set for release this week, a newly updated U.S. Senate Minority Report features the dissenting voices of over 650 international scientists, many current and former UN IPCC scientists, who have now turned against the UN. The report has added about 250 scientists (and growing) in 2008 to the over 400 scientists who spoke out in 2007. The over 650 dissenting scientists are more than 12 times the number of UN scientists (52) who authored the media hyped IPCC 2007 Summary for Policymakers.
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But but it is Al Gore and he invented the internet!

We haven't gotten the whole story on this. We know the Obama camp didn't want to play ball with Blagojevich, and that's reassuring. But who heard what from the corrupt governor? What was the response? Did anyone go to Fitzgerald or the FBI? And who gave Blago his answer that all he would get in return was "appreciation"?
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The tape what is on the tape?

From the evening of Nov. 10 until yesterday, Blagojevich, Obama, and his transition team acted in ways that are consistent with a knowledge of Blagojevich’s bribery attempt and a rejection of that attempt. What doesn't fit easily with the timeline is Obama's statement yesterday.

It should be noted that it is not a crime to fail to report a bribery attempt. The federal misprision of felony statute would seem to make it a federal crime to fail to report a federal felony…
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Smells like a cover-up.

Outraged by California voters’ ban on same-sex marriage, a new wave of advocates, shaken out of a generational apathy, have pushed to the forefront of the gay rights movement, using freshly minted grass-roots groups and embracing not only new technologies but also old-school methods like sit-ins and sickouts.
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More confrontational and less effective. The Yes on 8 campaign was very wired into new media. More so than gay marriage proponents.