Georgia Republican Rep. Nathan Deal, formally requests copy of Obama’s Birth Certificate

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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Jan. 6, that Georgia Congressman Nathan Deal has sent a letter to the White House formally requesting a copy of Obama's birth certificate. Deal is the first Congressman to take such a step. Earlier last year, Rep. Bill Posey of Florida introduced legislation requiring future Presidents to produce birth certificates as proof of eligibility. Deal and 6 other Republican Congressmen have signed on as co-sponsors.

Deal is currently a candidate for the Republican nomination for Georgia Governor. He is often identified with the Tea Party movement, and is a relatively high scorer on pro-taxpayer and libertarian voting indexes. (He's received 5 awards as a Taxpayer friend from NTU).

Deal told the AJC:

"I have looked at the documentation [birth certificate] that is publicly available and it leaves many things to be desired."

Additionally, AJC columnist Jim Galloway reports:

The White House on Thursday confirmed receipt of a letter from U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal that formally asks Barack Obama to address questions about his place of birth – and thus, whether he is qualified to be president.

The letter arrived Dec. 10. Beyond that, no one is willing to say much.

The Post & Email blog, which was one of the first to report on the story, comments:

Now, what does this mean? This is probably the first time in 233 years of American history that a sitting member of the House of Representatives has officially challenged the legitimacy of a sitting president….one full year into his term.

This forever changes the public discourse.

2001chevy cavalier wont start

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I have had repeated trouble with this car.It has had a no start condition three times in five months.I have checked for air,fuel,and fire.The plugs smell of gas,but the ignition control module and coils check out o.k. I am stumped as to what to do any help would be great

Tim Minchin’s coming Storm | Bad Astronomy

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If you’re a skeptic, you probably already know about the comedy musician Tim Minchin. He is simply brilliant, writing fantastic music about critical thinking. He was at TAM London and basically owned the place.

Skepchick Tracy King is overseeing the creation of an animated version of Tim’s absolutely fantastic song "Storm", about a skeptic at a dinner party who runs into a woman who believes anything as long as it isn’t real. The song is incredible, and the animation looks to be as well: they just released the official trailer.

It’s notoriously difficult to know if a video will go viral or not, but keep your eyes on this. When it’s finished, it’ll be big.


Member

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Happy 2k10 all off you.

Could someone there advice: I have just rewired a residential house and inorder to control overcurrent and earth leakages, I installed all the circuits with Rcbos. And because the type of earthing used is a TT system, I have installed a RCD and MCB at the incoming mains.

Scott Brown on Hannity: Martha Coakley and Dems want to cut Military’s TriCare to help fund ObamaCare

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From Eric Dondero:

Republican State Senator and nominee for US Senate in the special election to replace Ted Kennedy, Jan. 19, appeared on Fox's Hannity show last night. Among the topics discussed Health Care reform. Sen. Brown vowed to be the 41st vote against the measure when it comes up for final passage, thus blocking the bill.

"I would actually stop it, and ask them to go back to the drawing board..."

During his comments he brought up an issue that has been highlighted here at Libertarian Republican in the last couple days - Military TriCare. Said Brown (approx. 2 minutes in):

"It's not good for Massachusetts. We already have 98% of our people insured. We're going to cut a half a trillion from Medicare, and then cut TriCare for Military people, and then have higher taxation, about a trillion-plus to pay for it..."

Lt. Col. Brown is a 30-year Veteran of the Massachusetts National Guard.

Oil products removal before reparing

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Dear All

As you know in petrochemical and refinery industry are used a lot of heat exchangers. Sometimes due tube leaks these exchangers need to be removed from the process unit to be repaired. Usual procedure say to be purged with steam before to start any mecanical activity for any exchanger

Live Coverage of Suborbital Scientist-Astronaut Training Course

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Environmental Tectonics Corporations The NASTAR(R) Center Commences Space Training for Prospective Scientist-Astronauts

"The Suborbital Scientist-Astronaut Training Course has been developed by The NASTAR Center and is organized by Dr. Alan Stern and Dr. Dan Durda of the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). This partnership provides an opportunity for the scientific community to become educated about the potential to perform low-cost, repeatable, hands-on projects and experiments in space in the near future. Dr. Alan Stern said: We are very much looking forward to the NASTAR course next week [Tuesday/Wednesday, 12-13 Jan], which will be our first dedicated spaceflight familiarization activity. Were already preparing research experiments for suborbital spaceflight and look forward to soon seeing these experiments scheduled for flight."

Keith's note: Miles O'Brien and I will be covering this training session on Tues and Weds at NASTAR. We hope to bring you live streaming video of suborbital scientists as they ride inside the centrifuge and engage in other training activities. In addition, we'll be twittering and blogging - as will the course participants. Information on training coverage will be posted on NASA Watch and also at OnOrbit.com/suborbital

- NASA Solicitation: Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research Program - CRuSR - Request for Information, earlier post
- List of Speakers Announced for the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference, earlier post
- NASTAR Suborbital Scientist Training Program Student Patch Contest, earlier post

Christmas Tree Rocket: Tannenbaum Goes Tannenboom [Rockets]

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I'll admit it: I haven't taken my Christmas tree down yet. I was feeling guilty, too, until I realized that just means I still have a chance to strap 32 rocket engines to it.

Turns out all it takes to launch your Douglas fir 100ft. into the air is a car battery, 32 engines wired in parallel, and a wee bit of differential calculus. It's like my grandpa used to say: the holidays aren't over until you say they're over, or until something explodes. [The Awesomer via The Daily What]



"The Fix is in" – Massachusetts Democrats will delay swearing in of Scott Brown to pass Health Care

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The Boston Herald is reporting that no matter what the outcome of the January 19 special election to fill the Senate seat of the deceased Ted Kennedy, Democrats will still pass the Health Care legislation.

From the Herald:

It looks like the fix is in on national health-care reform - and it all may unfold on Beacon Hill.

At a business forum in Boston today, interim Sen. Paul Kirk (photo behind Kennedy) predicted that Congress would pass a health-care reform bill this month.

“We want to get this resolved before President Obama’s State of the Union address in early to mid-February,” Kirk told reporters at a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce breakfast.

The longtime aide and confidant of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who was handpicked by Gov. Deval Patrick after a controversial legal change to hold Kennedy’s seat, vowed to vote for the bill even if Republican state Sen. Scott Brown, who opposes the health-care reform legislation, prevails in a Jan. 19 special election.

This smacks against precedent in the Bay State. In 2007, Rep. Nick Tsongas was sworn in two days after she had been elected in a special election for the seat of Rep. Martin Meehan. She was hurriedly sworn in to beat the threat of a Presidential veto by George Bush, ironically over expansion of the Children's State Health Insurance plan.

The delay is being pushed by both the Democrat-controlled Secretary of State's office, and from the office of Acting Senator Paul Kirk. Continuing:

Today, a spokesman for Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin... said certification of the Jan. 19 election by the Governor’s Council would take a while.

Another source told the Herald that Galvin’s office has said the election won’t be certified until Feb. 20 - well after the president’s address.

Since the U.S. Senate doesn’t meet again in formal session until Jan. 20, Bay State voters will have made their decision before a vote on health-care reform could be held. But Kirk and Galvin’s office said today a victorious Brown would be left in limbo.

The possibility of Democrat Martha Coakley being sworn in immediately if she prevails in the election, has been left open.

Lean Green War Machine

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With oil becoming more cost prohibitive everyday, all branches of the U.S. Military have been ordered to go green. Geothermal energy is the power of choice as evidenced by the China Lake, 270-megawatt geothermal power plant in California. The site, and others, will produce 600 MW annually according

The Coming California Bailout

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked for $6.9 billion in federal funds in his state-budget proposal Friday and warned that state health and welfare programs would be threatened without the emergency help.

Mr. Schwarzenegger's proposed $82.9 billion general-fund budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year would close a $19.9 billion gap over 18 months. In addition to the federal aid, he called for $8.5 billion in cuts and $4.5 billion in alternative funding to balance the budget.

"It's time to enact long-term reforms that will change the way the most populous state and the federal government work together," Mr. Schwarzenegger said. He and state legislative leaders plan to visit Washington to lobby for bailout money. White House budget officials weren't available for comment on the governor's request.

Federal bailouts of state governments are insane not just because they reward profligate state spending. These bailouts also come with strings attached - dictates on how states can run education, welfare, transportation, and so on - and thus quickly destory any remnance of federalism in the United States.

Ruben Hernandez: TSA Security Slacker at Newark Int’l Airport identified

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Transportation Security worker called a "model employee" by TSA Union Official

From Eric Dondero:

His name is Ruben Hernandez. No other information has been released yet on him, except that he lives in Newark. An unofficial representative from the Union seeking to represent TSA employees commented that he's been a "model employee."

Hernandez has been identified as the TSA Agent at Newark International Airport who left his post, and allowed an immigrant Chinese man to breach security. The incident led to a 6 hour lock-down of the busy airport during the Holiday Season. Flights were delayed. Passengers were stranded.

One report found that Hernandez was "talking on his cell phone," when the breach occured. Another media source described Hernandez as "chatting" with some ladies while the Chinese man lifted up the security rope and "hotfooted it" into the secure area.

From the NY Post:

The stunning breach was missed by TSA guard Ruben Hernandez, who left his post, but was called a "model employee" by a union official.

The NY Daily News reports:

The air-headed TSA guard who left his post was identified as Ruben Hernandez. He reportedly is on administrative leave and faces possible disciplinary action.

Grad Student Chinese Immigrant to US identified as Culprit

The Post and other news sources are also reporting this morning on the Chinese man who caused the altercation:

Cops have caught the notorious kissing bandit who caused a major security scare at Newark Airport Sunday when he strolled through a checkpoint the wrong way to give his girlfriend a smooch goodbye, sources said.

Haisong Jiang, a 28-year-old Rutgers bio-medical research grad student, brought the busy airport to a standstill and sparked a weeklong manhunt, sources said.

Turns out he's a biology molecular "grad student," at Rugers University. He's been in the US for 5 years. His roomate said, he didn't "think it was such a big deal," so he purposely avoided turning himself in.

Then this priceless comment:

Hui said Jiang was giving a goodbye kiss to his girlfriend Qianqun, who was visiting him for Christmas break and was heading to LA to work as a statistician.

"We know that he's very excited to have a real woman," Hui said. "His girlfriend is very upset. I think she will be here in two days to face this with him."

Jiang is now facing a $500 fine for "defiant trespess."

Illegal Aliens working for TSA?

Curiously, the TSA has been completely silent on the immigration and/or citizenship status of TSA Employee Hernandez.

TSA has been criticized recently for hiring illegal aliens from Mexico and Central America. And the problem appears to be particularly accute in airports up in the Northeast.

From The Thinker blog:

In the latest of many shameful lapses, the federal agency in charge of securing the nation’s transportation system approved background checks for a dozen illegal immigrants working in sensitive areas of a busy U.S. airport.

The illegal aliens, from Central America and Mexico, worked in operational areas of Stewart International Airport, a 2,400-acre facility located about 60 miles north of New York City. Stewart is a major passenger airport for the state’s mid-Hudson region that also handles large quantities of cargo and serves as a military field.

The illegal aliens all had security badges approved by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the agency created after the 2001 terrorist attacks mainly to protect airlines. The TSA’s national background check failed to detect the fake Social Security numbers and other bogus documents provided by the illegal immigrants to obtain clearance.

Unionized, TSA empoloyees would be better protected from background searches and immigrant status. Republican Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina believes it would be disastrous to allow TSA to Unionize, for precisely this reason. On a recent segment of CNN the Senator commented:

"And many other federal employees, including those who deal with national security like border patrol agents and customs officers, have the right to collectively bargain..." And later added, "We do have 12 million undocumented aliens in our country..."

Clean Coal Myth Blown Away

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Coal mining does great harm to human life — not just in the mines, but in the surrounding communities.

In what may be a death blow to the coal industry, a large group of scientists tested water and studied peer-reviewed environmental and health data in Appalachia, and gave their opinions on coal mining last week in the journal Science. (Abstract here).  Science is a peer-reviewed publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and one of the top journals in the world.   Their findings explode the myth of “clean coal” and finds that mountaintop removal is so damaging it should stop.  The scientists said they were puzzled the media doesn’t report on this damage more often, despite the “debates”.

The 11-author study, “Mountaintop Mining Consequences” found in the conclusion that: Research priorities to reduce Appalachian health disparities should focus on reducing disparities in the coalfields. The human cost of the Appalachian coal mining economy outweighs its economic benefits. They also found that reclamation and reforestation of a mined site to pre-mined conditions has never happened, despite claims by coal mine owners.

Their recommendation amounts to: shut the coal mines down.   Coal mining is irreparably damaging the environment and harming, sometimes killing, the people of Appalachia;  men, women and children.  The health risks are across the board.  The environmental damage is permanent.  Their conclusion doesn’t even include the burning of the coal and the storage of the coal sludge waste, which are also toxic and very dangerous to human health.  A couple of excerpts of the paper follow.  First, in a press release titled, Eminent Group of Scientists Call for Moratorium on Issuance of Mountaintop Mining Permits:

“Based on a comprehensive analysis of the latest scientific findings and new data, a group of the nation’s leading environmental scientists are calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S Army Corps of Engineers to stay all new mountaintop mining permits. In the January 8 edition of the journal Science, they argue that peer-reviewed research unequivocally documents irreversible environmental impacts from this form of mining which also exposes local residents to a higher risk of serious health problems.

The authors — hydrologists, ecologists and engineers — are internationally recognized scientists, including several members of the National Academy of Sciences. They argue that the U.S. should take a global leadership role on the issue, as surface mining in many developing countries is expected to grow extensively in the next decade.

“The scientific evidence of the severe environmental and human impacts from mountaintop mining is strong and irrefutable,” says lead author Dr. Margaret Palmer of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park. “Its impacts are pervasive and long lasting and there is no evidence that any mitigation practices successfully reverse the damage it causes.”

One thing is clear (and was before this study) — coal is dirty and harmful to human health. We need to stop mining it and burning it because it’s killing [...]

Voltage drop

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Antorone

Maybe the answer could be a small Renewable Thermal Wind power systems over your staruture, this is a cone shape structure and can be made rather inexpansicvely than most think. Use the structures roof as a wind chamber that is with a covered area under it for outside storage with out