McCain drums Obama at Saddleback forum.

It wasn't a debate, really. It was two candidates, interviewed seperately, by Rick Warren (author of 'A Purpose-Driven Life') at Saddleback Church in California.

Obama's answers were indirect, and full of nuanced 'thought' where he refused to actually make a stand any issues. McCain's answers were immediate and forthright, clear and conscise with explanation for why he answered the way he did following each and every answer.

McCain beat Obama so thoroughly that NBC's Andrea Mitchell hypothesized that he had to have cheated (an idea eerily similar to those found on DemocraticUnderground, OpEdNews, DailyKos, and other kook-fringe leftist sites). There was no way, after all, that their preferred candidate could've possibly looked so inept.

Investor's Business Daily gives the rundown:

The stark differences between the two came through the most on the question of whether there is evil in the world. Obama spoke of evil within America, "in parents who have viciously abused their children." According to the Democrat, we can't really erase evil in the world because "that is God's task." And we have to "have some humility in how we approach the issue of confronting evil."

For McCain, with a global war on terror raging, there was no equivocating: We must "defeat" evil. If al-Qaida's placing of suicide vests on mentally-disabled women and then blowing them up by remote control in a Baghdad market isn't evil, he asked: "You have to tell me what is."

Asked to name figures he would rely on for advice, Obama gave the stock answer of family members. McCain pointed to Gen. David Petraeus, Iraq's scourge of the surge; Democratic Rep. John Lewis, who "had his skull fractured" by white racists while protesting for civil rights in the 60s; plus Internet entrepreneur Meg Whitman, the innovative former CEO of eBay.

When Warren inquired into changes of mind on big issues, Obama fretted about welfare reform; McCain unashamedly said "drilling" — for reasons of national security and economic need.

On taxes, Obama waxed political: "What I'm trying to do is create a sense of balance and fairness in our tax code." McCain showed an understanding of what drives a free economy: "I don't want to take any money from the rich. I want everybody to get rich. I don't believe in class warfare or redistribution of the wealth."

To any honest observer, the differences between John McCain and Barack Obama have been evident all along. What we saw last weekend was Obama's shallowness juxtaposed with McCain's depth, the product of his extraordinary life experience.

It may not have been a debate, but it was one of the most lopsided political contests in memory. No wonder Obama wants to keep debate formats boring and predictable.

I've long made it clear that there is no way, ever, that I would vote for Obama. McCain was never 'my' candidate, either. But, after the 'debate' at Saddleback Church, I can actually see a scenario in which I'd pull the level in a vote for McCain rather than simply against Obama ...

Scientist: 'Mini Ice Age' to begin within two years.

Reuters is reporting that Mexican scientist is predicting that the Earth is not only not experiencing Global Warming but will, within two years, enter an extended cooling period that will lead to a mini Ice Age.

The following text is translated by Google, so the English is a bit rough, but you'll get the jist:

"At present, the world is going through a transition phase where solar activity diminishes considerably so that in two years or so, there will be a small ice age that lasts from 60 to 80 years," and the immediate consequence of this, he added, will be drought.

In particular there is the so-called "Little Ice Age", which refers to a cold period that lasted since the beginning of the fourteenth century until the mid-nineteenth century.

Analyses of the IPCC concluded that it was regional phenomena or accentuation local "Current evidence does not support globally synchronous periods of abnormal heat or cold in this timeframe," said his 2001 report.

I'm not sure, but I think I said the same thing back in February ...

Gen. Clark illustrates the absurd.

In an attempt to explain why McCain's experience doesn't necessarily qualify him to be the Commander-in-Chief, Gen. Wesley Clark told CBS' Face the Nation:

"In the matters of national security policy making, it's a matter of understanding risk. It's a matter of gauging your opponents and it's a matter of being held accountable. John McCain's never done any of that in his official positions. I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in the armed forces, as a prisoner of war.

"He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee and he has traveled all over the world, but he hasn’t held executive responsibility. That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded — that wasn’t a wartime squadron."

Clark then went on to illustrate Barack Obama's distinguished military career, and his intense ambiguity on 'the grave, but not serious' threat Iran poses shows that Obama is the only candidate in the race prepared to actually deal with the ...

No, wait.

All Clark wound up doing was illustrating that, while McCain's military experience may not be enough to qualify him to be Commander-in-Chief, it was still far more extensive experience than Obama has ever had and that Barack's inability at gauging even his own advisors ought to speak volumes about his ability to gauge enemies.

In Memoriam of George Carlin.

Unless you've been living under a rock the past week, you're sure to have heard that counter-culture comedian and satirist George Carlin passed away.

In memory of George, we'd like to post one of his routines regarding Global Warming titled 'The Earth is fine.'

We're so self-important. So self-important. Everybody's going to save something now. "Save the trees, save the bees, save the whales, save those snails." And the greatest arrogance of all: save the planet.

What? Are these f---ing people kidding me? Save the planet ...

I'm getting tired of that s---. Tired of that s---. I'm tired of f---ing Earth Day, I'm tired of these self-righteous environmentalists -- these white, bourgeois liberals -- who think the only thing wrong with this country is there aren't enough bicycle paths.

People trying to make the world safe for their Volvos.

Besides, environmentalists don't give a s--- about the planet. They don't care about the planet. Not in the abstract they don't. Not in the abstract they don't. You know what they're interested in? A clean place to live. Their own habitat. They're worried that some day in the future, they might be personally inconvenienced. Narrow, unenlightened self-interest doesn't impress me.

Besides, there is nothing wrong with the planet. Nothing wrong with the planet. The planet is fine. The people are f---ed. Difference. Difference. The planet is fine.

Compared to the people, the planet is doing great. Been here four and a half billion years. Did you ever think about the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion years. We've been here, what, a hundred thousand? Maybe two hundred thousand? And we've only been engaged in heavy industry for a little over two hundred years.

Two hundred years versus four and a half billion. And we have the conceit to think that somehow we're a threat? That somehow we're gonna put in jeopardy this beautiful little blue-green ball that's just a-floatin' around the sun?

The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us.

Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles, hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worldwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages ...

And we think some plastic bags, and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference ... ? The planet isn't going anywhere. We are! ...

You wanna know how the planet's doing? Ask those people at Pompeii, who are frozen into position from volcanic ash, how the planet's doing. You wanna know if the planet's all right, ask those people in Mexico City or Armenia or a hundred other places buried under thousands of tons of earthquake rubble, if they feel like a threat to the planet this week. Or how about those people in Kilowaia, Hawaii, who built their homes right next to an active volcano, and then wonder why they have lava in the living room.

The planet will be here for a long, long, long time after we're gone, and it will heal itself, it will cleanse itself, 'cause that's what it does. It's a self-correcting system. The air and the water will recover, the earth will be renewed, and if it's true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new paradigm: the earth plus plastic ...

See I don't worry about the little things: bees, trees, whales, snails. I think we're part of a greater wisdom than we will ever understand. A higher order. Call it what you want ...

It doesn't punish, it doesn't reward, it doesn't judge at all. It just is. And so are we. For a little while."

Lessons on 'life' from the animal kingdom.

MSNBC.com tells us an interesting story from the animal kingdom.

Biologists have known that shortly before hatching, crocodiles make noises within their eggs. A new study, which involved playbacks of the pre-hatching calls, reveals these calls from the egg tell siblings it's time to hatch and tell moms it's time to uncover the nest.

Why is this interesting?

Well, were they humans, the young alligators would still be considered just 'parasytic' a clump of cells right up until the point that the mother uncovered the nest and they poked their heads through the shell.

However, it's clear that they're alive -- and able to communicate -- before they're 'born'. And, from the story, it's clear that the scientists involved consider these young reptiles 'alive' ...

You have to wonder why we don't grant the same consideration to our own 'pre-hatched' children.