and Goes...

Rob Rogers

And So It Goes

Tom Toles

There's no such thing as normal weather any more

Well its official “there's no such thing as normal weather any more”. This certainly explains how this year’s weather is going in my neck of the world…


Weird, wild weather a new norm
By OLIVER MOORE

Tuesday, July 12, 2005 Updated at 3:35 AM EDT

From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

It's official: According to Environment Canada, there's no such thing as normal weather any more.

From one end of the country to the other, Canadians have been facing extreme weather, from unusual cloudiness on the West Coast to heavy rain across the Prairies and oppressive heat in Southern Ontario and parts of Quebec.

Fog has created chaos for the Nova Scotia tourism industry, forcing the airport to close several times this month.

"We're out of superlatives to talk about this summer," said David Phillips, senior climatologist for Environment Canada.

"If I was writing the obituary on the summer so far . . . everybody has had something to curse or to bless," Mr. Phillips said.

"But there's been more cursing that blessing."

Environment Canada's models are predicting hotter-than-normal weather right across the country for July and August. But Mr. Phillips said that the extreme variability of the weather has made the job of forecasting more difficult.

The idea of typical weather is disappearing, he explained.

"There's nothing normal any more," he said. "Statistically, you should get more normal weather than extreme weather. Normal is what you expect. It's almost as if what nature's [giving us] is the ends of the spectrum.

"Weather seems to be presenting it to us in an extreme way," he added. "We've literally clobbered records, smashed them."

The hottest place in the country yesterday was Moosonee, Ont., the town at the southern tip of James Bay. In that community the temperature hit 36 degrees, or topping 40 degrees with the humidity.

Moosonee is only one of many places struggling with unusually oppressive weather, Mr. Phillips said.

Weather in the coastal areas of British Columbia has been particularly cool and cloudy, with two or three times the precipitation that might have been expected.

In the Prairie provinces there has been lots of rain, Mr. Phillips said, much more than on the coast.

Manitoba has been especially hard hit, with cloudbursts in several communities, close to 100 millimetres at a time in some places.

The bad Manitoba weather spilled into Northwestern Ontario, but the part of the province between Thunder Bay and Sudbury is hot and dry. It has been very warm in a large swath running from Timmins to Ottawa and on to parts of southern Quebec.

In Toronto there has been a record number of smog and heat advisories. There have been few extremely hot days but Torontonians have been hit with strings of unusually warm days. This past month was the city's hottest June ever and July is continuing the trend.

The city yesterday hit a record temperature of 34.2, which was higher than in Miami. The weather is expected to remain hot and dry through the week, continuing the near-drought of the last month -- Toronto has received just three millimetres of rain in 27 days.

The hot nights pose an additional problem: People without air conditioners have difficulty sleeping soundly, which prevents their bodies from recovering enough to face the rigours of the next day's heat.

The Maritimes have been spared the kinds of extended weather problems much of the rest of the country has received. According to Mr. Phillips, the eastern part of Canada has instead had "one-day wonders" of fitful weather.

Mr. Phillips also noted that Canadians' reaction to the weather -- as odd as it has been -- is shaped as much by their attitudes as by reality.

"Most people have very poor memories when it comes to the weather; they remember the extremes," he said. "People don't remember that 16 of the last 18 summers were warmer than normal. They just remember last year."

That may be making people in Southern Ontario notice the heat more. It has legitimately been hot and dry, but the contrast with last year's almost non-existent summer makes it seem more

Kelo vs. City of New London

Below are two articles regarding the recent "Kelo vs. City of New London" Supreme Court case. The decision just adds to the already “sad state of affairs” we are experiencing, though the second article is certainly a clever response.

Assoicated Press
Updated: 12:23 p.m. ET June 23, 2005
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that local governments may seize people’s homes and businesses — even against their will — for private economic development.

It was a decision fraught with huge implications for a country with many areas, particularly the rapidly growing urban and suburban areas, facing countervailing pressures of development and property ownership rights.

As a result, cities now have wide power to bulldoze residences for projects such as shopping malls and hotel complexes in order to generate tax revenue.

The 5-4 ruling — assailed by dissenting Justice Sandra Day O’Connor as handing “disproportionate influence and power” to the well-heeled — represented a defeat for some Connecticut residents whose homes are slated for destruction to make room for an office complex.

Those residents argued that cities have no right to take their land except for projects with a clear public use, such as roads or schools, or to revitalize blighted areas.

Under the ruling, residents still will be entitled to “just compensation” for their homes as provided under the Fifth Amendment. But residents involved in the lawsuit expressed dismay and pledged to keep fighting.

“It’s a little shocking to believe you can lose your home in this country,” said resident Bill Von Winkle, who said he would refuse to leave his home, even if bulldozers showed up. “I won’t be going anywhere. Not my house. This is definitely not the last word.”

Jobs, tax revenue cited.
Writing for the court’s majority in Thursday’s ruling, Justice John Paul Stevens said local officials, not federal judges, know best in deciding whether a development project will benefit the community. States are within their rights to pass additional laws restricting condemnations if residents are overly burdened, he said.

“The city has carefully formulated an economic development that it believes will provide appreciable benefits to the community, including — but by no means limited to — new jobs and increased tax revenue,” Stevens wrote.

He was joined by Justice Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.

O’Connor, who has been a key swing vote on many cases before the court, issued a stinging dissent. She argued that cities should not have unlimited authority to uproot families, even if they are provided compensation, simply to accommodate wealthy developers.

“Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random,” O’Connor wrote. “The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms.”

She was joined in her opinion by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, as well as Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

Thomas filed a separate opinion to argue that seizing homes for private development, even with “just compensation,” is unconstitutional.

“The consequences of today’s decision are not difficult to predict, and promise to be harmful,” Thomas wrote. “So-called ’urban renewal’ programs provide some compensation for the properties they take, but no compensation is possible for the subjective value of these lands to the individuals displaced and the indignity inflicted.”

Homeowners refused to budge
The case involves Susette Kelo and several other homeowners in a working-class neighborhood in New London, Conn., who filed a lawsuit after city officials announced plans to raze their homes to clear the way for a riverfront hotel, health club and offices.

The residents had refused to budge, arguing it was an unjustified taking of their property.

“I’m not willing to give up what I have just because someone else can generate more taxes here,” said homeowner Matthew Dery, whose family has lived in the neighborhood known as Fort Trumbull for more than 100 years.

New London contends the condemnations are proper because the development plans serving a “public purpose” — such as boosting economic growth — are valid “public use” projects that outweigh the property rights of the homeowners.

The Connecticut Supreme Court agreed with New London, ruling 4-3 in March 2004 that the mere promise of additional tax revenue justified the condemnation.
----

Free Star Media
Below is our letter to begin the development process.
Read our letter starting the project here.
Press Release
For Release Monday, June 27 to New Hampshire media
For Release Tuesday, June 28 to all other media

Weare, New Hampshire (PRWEB) Could a hotel be built on the land owned by Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter?
A new ruling by the Supreme Court which was supported by Justice Souter himself itself might allow it. A private
developer is seeking to use this very law to build a hotel on Souter's land.

Justice Souter's vote in the "Kelo vs. City of New London" decision allows city governments to take land from one
private owner and give it to another if the government will generate greater tax revenue or other economic benefits
when the land is developed by the new owner.

On Monday June 27, Logan Darrow Clements, faxed a request to Chip Meany the code enforcement officer of the
Towne of Weare, New Hampshire seeking to start the application process to build a hotel on 34 Cilley Hill Road.
This is the present location of Mr. Souter's home.

Clements, CEO of Freestar Media, LLC, points out that the City of Weare will certainly gain greater tax revenue and
economic benefits with a hotel on 34 Cilley Hill Road than allowing Mr. Souter to own the land.

The proposed development, called "The Lost Liberty Hotel" will feature the "Just Desserts Café" and include a museum,
open to the public, featuring a permanent exhibit on the loss of freedom in America. Instead of a Gideon's Bible each
guest will receive a free copy of Ayn Rand's novel "Atlas Shrugged."

Clements indicated that the hotel must be built on this particular piece of land because it is a unique site being the
home of someone largely responsible for destroying property rights for all Americans.

"This is not a prank" said Clements, "The Towne of Weare has five people on the Board of Selectmen. If three of
them vote to use the power of eminent domain to take this land from Mr. Souter we can begin our hotel development."

Clements' plan is to raise investment capital from wealthy pro-liberty investors and draw up architectural plans. These
plans would then be used to raise investment capital for the project. Clements hopes that regular customers of the hotel
might include supporters of the Institute For Justice and participants in the Free State Project among others.

You Lied

Attention here is a new song release “You lied”

Words & music by Signs of the Times

with a little help from the famous “Away With the Fairys”
Streaming audio version
Download

You lied words & music by Signs of the Times

You told the world Saddam had chemical bombs
To kill us in our homes, and on our farms
You said he sent his men into the heavens
big planes crashing down, September 11

You lied, You lied,
People died, When Bush lied

I've got some questions, wipe that smirk off your face
Betraying your people, that's a real disgrace
See I'm having a hard time finding that plane
that you said hit the Pentagon, bursting into flames
Vapourising the aircraft, didn't leave no remains
But the bodies appear not to burn quite the same

More lies Yeah, yeah, more lies
America died, When Bush lied

And talk about mir'cles, did you see how they fell,
the three towers in New York, those charges worked well
Flattened out in a straight line, just like it was planned
Did you think we were so stupid that we wouldn't understand
And it's a pity about the folks there on Flight 93,
Just as they took back control, you blew them to smithereens

You lied, You lied
Heroes died, when Bush lied

You say Osama is living in a place you have traced
But you don't go and get him, it seems such a waste
Could it be it's because he's still one of your men
A C-I-A asset just like he was then
He endorsed your campaign in a last minute pitch
Is he just one more man who has gotten quite rich

From your lies, Your lies
Freedom died, from your lies

How about those Israelis dancing to their success,
On the rooftops of Jersey, they created a mess
So you sent them back home with a slap on the wrist
Told the cops not to bother, 'cause they don't exist

It's a lie, You lied
Justice died, when you lied

Now people are dying through your crimes in Iraq
You've killed more than Saddam, though you don't care to keep track
Cause they're only some Arabs in a faraway land
That Yahweh has promised to his chosen band
While Sharon and his cronies pull on your strings
When he opens his mouth your whole government sings

His lies, His lies
Palestinians die, With Bush lies

Next time you talk to your God, I've got a question for him
What side is he on or does it change on a whim
'There's a whole lot of people, suff'rin here in his name
What kind of pyscho is he that he's playing this game
It sounds more like the devil is guiding your hand
Destruction and death are the plagues of the land

of your lies, your lies
Children die, When Bush lies

You see, Mr President, there's something amiss
Two elections you lost, but you overcame this
By rigging the vote, not counting the blacks
You've ensured two full terms, the dry drunk is back
And now they're changing the laws to get you a third
The brown shirts are charging at the front of the herd

of your lies, your lies
Democracy dies, When Bush lies

The question remains what can we do about this
Most people refuse to consider this list
They're lost in illusion, can't recognise proof
so we offer this song to all who stand for the truth

No more lies, No more lies
Must we all die, Because of your lies

No more lies, No more lies
Must we all die, Because of your lies

Your lies...