Hey,
It was Born Free Weekend with all the action out at Irvine Lake, Santiago Canyon with bikes rolling in from all over the southland to check the new custom rides, the builders’ bikes and the bands. No Colors allowed, but we saw a Christian club hanging out.
It’s the best representation of our industry from parts to services. My mind is twisted with thoughts of the future a what the California Air Resources Board wants to do with us. The other side of that coin includes what we are going to do about it. We can’t ever give up fighting for our freedoms to ride.
Let’s hit the news:
NMA ALERT–Can the Proverbial Pothole Problem be Disrupted?
Nothing worse than hitting a pothole you can’t avoid on the road. Not only is it jarring and disruptive to your driving but it can also damage your car. AAA reports that American drivers pay an estimated $3 billion per year to repair cars damaged by potholes.
AAA Manager of Technical Services Michael Calkins said repair bills can range from $250 to more than $1000 for anything from tire punctures to bent wheels and suspension damage. He also says vehicle damage is not the only threat that motorists face when dealing with a pothole. “There’s a potential to lose control of your car. If it’s a big enough pothole and you’re going fast enough, you could have the steering wheel jerked out of your hands and end up hitting another car.”
Cities also struggle with the relentless onslaught of these neverending holes in the road. Collectively, potholes can be expensive to fix. Michigan DOT has a nice graphic on how potholes are formed called THE BIRTH OF A POTHOLE.
In March, the Pittsburgh City Council agreed to shift more than $720,000 to the streets budget.
Due to the freeze/thaw cycle over the winter, 3,700 potholes were reported. The city’s resurfacing budget for the year was already just over $16 million with repaving work to be completed for 67 miles of streets.
In early June, Governor Tom Wolf made a tour of bad roads and ended up in Pittsburgh to announce that the state Department of Transportation would provide an additional $23 million for local governments to make pothole repairs across the state by the end of June.
The thaw-freeze cycle was so bad this past winter that PennDOT District Executive Cheryl Moon-Sirianni said her workers have already used 5,000 tons of patching material for three counties. Last year, they only used 1,300 tons for the entire year.
In the near future, potholes might just meet their match with new technologies currently in development.
Road Sensor Technology
A University of NY-Buffalo joint venture with China’s Chang’an University is working on the ePave project, a network of self-powered wireless sensors which can provide city officials updates in real-time. Laying under the road surfaces, the sensors would harness piezoelectricity (powered garnered from the mechanical stress vehicles put on the roads) to monitor road conditions, the formation of potholes and other kinds of road breaks. This technology is in early-stage development.
Decision Tree Tool
University of Minnesota Duluth’s Swenson College of Science and Engineering has researched all different kinds of potholes and the different repair methods on how to best patch them. Researchers said in a recent report that a one-size-fits-all approach does not work and have put together a decision tree tool that can help DOT road crews match the best patching method to the pothole.
Reporting a Pothole
Many cities and state DOTs have pothole hotlines and now in some cities there’s an app for reporting a local pothole. Drivers in Omaha, Nebraska; Hartford, Connecticut; and San Diego, California can download and report to their city government. Houston actually has a Pothole Tracker app with a website that allows drivers to track the city’s progress in fixing a pothole. Google and Microsoft have also created apps that drivers use in their cars to detect potholes and alert other drivers.
Road Mapping, Predictive Analysis and Big Data
RoadBiotics works with 40 local governments by sending out drivers with phones placed on their windshields. An app is used to collect street video which is uploaded to the cloud. The company then uses artificial intelligence to analyze road surface and reports back findings to the city.
Kansas City uses predictive algorithms to determine where and when a pothole might occur. The project combines weather data, traffic volume and pavement conditions.
Syracuse, New York officials use data that track and visualize trends around potholes. Road crews use trucks with GPS that automatically log the data showing date, time and location the pothole was filled. Sam Edelstein, the city’s chief data officer said that Syracuse is trying to limit the number of times that crews are visiting a street. He added, “If they’ve been on a block three times in the last two months, why is that? Is there an underlying condition? Is there something wrong with the fill not lasting?”
The data may show that a quick fix does not work and the road needs to be repaved.
Drones
Researchers at the University of Leeds in the UK say they are working a new technology that uses drones to search for and patch potholes. Their hope is that all the work would be done at night with one drone finding the problem and the second drone using 3D printing technology to patch the hole. Two big issues the researchers have not been able to tackle after three years of research—how a drone can transport the heavy material needed to patch the road and how a 3D printer could actually print the asphalt plug. Other than that, it is a good solution.
Fixing Roads for Pizza
Domino’s Pizza started this year a Paving for Pizza program. Domino drivers rack up 12 million miles each week delivering pizzas in the US and came up with a way to protect their pizzas and help other drivers.
The company’s national headquarters has dispensed grants of up to $5,000 to 20 locations across the US to help fill potholes and repair cracked roads.
Milford, Delaware City Manager Eric Norenberg said that the $5000 grant allowed three city employees to work full-time for six weeks doing nothing but fixing potholes. Milford, population 10,000, only has $30,000 to cover street repairs the entire year.
Dominos brands each pothole by spray painting their logo on each hole fixed, plus can contract with each city to brand the road crew truck and the cones used to stop traffic. The company hopes that other companies will get on the bandwagon to help fix potholes.
Perhaps this is not the kind of corporate investment for infrastructure that the country has been discussing, but why not? That’s the kind of public-private partnership we can get behind.
I was told recently that during Obama the feds passed an infrastructure bill, but the money wasn’t spent on infrastructure. Where did it go?—Bandit
BIKERNET UNIVERSITY ENGLISH DEPARTMENT TARDY STUDENT WORD OF SUNDAY–
backstairs
adjective
1.
secret, underhanded, or scandalous: backstairs gossip.
2.
associated or originating with household servants.
I say to Lord Hartington before you all, not by any backstairs intrigue and not by any secret negotiations, but in the face of this great meeting held in this great town and before all of England … “Come over and help us!”
Backstairs was first recorded in 1635-45. It’s the adjectival extension of the noun back stairs.
WILL THE ORIGINAL CHOPPERS MAG RETURN?—I ran into Cary Brobeck the new owner/editor of the old Roth Choppers Magazine, established in 1967. He tried to be involved in a couple of efforts to buy Easyriders and Tattoo magazines recently. “I couldn’t get investors to commit,” Cary said.
Cary hanging out at Born Free, was handing out mini-sample editions. He was hanging with Kim Peterson and Beatnik from Easyriders and still handing folks his Easyrider Associate Editor business cards.
He plans to launch the mini-mag quarterly. We also saw Dice mags, also quarterly, selling for $20 bucks a pop. Beautiful, they are almost art books.
Hang on for more reports in the near future. I hope Cary finds his motorcycle nirvana.–Bandit
QUICK, OPEN THE CHURCH OF BANDIT’S CANTINA--The minister started his Children’s Sermon with a question, “Who knows what a Resurrection is?
”Without missing a beat a young boy says, “If you have one lasting more than 4 hours call your physician.”
The pastor is still laughing.
–from Sidehack Jerry
POLITICAL COMMENT FROM A READER–I am working on the Republican Congressional campaign of Charlotte Bergmann. Charlotte is running to unseat entrenched liberal Steve Cohen of impeach Trump Fame.
We are sponsoring and I am planning a Bikers for Bergmann event in Memphis Tennessee on September 22, 2018. I would like to ask two favors, ok, three. Would you all like to participate in this fund raiser.
You could either ride here in Memphis or there locally but helping to raise funds to help us defeat Mr. Cohen. The riders will ride around Memphis for a couple of hours at a minimum and rendezvous at Bikers for Bergmann event taking place at Sidecar cafe at 1PM.
Please call me for more information at (901) 212-4596.
–Bill
LEGAL WEED COMES TO FLORIDA–Brevard’s first medical pot dispensary opens. Palm Bay facility busy even before ribbon cutting
Brevard County’s first medical marijuana dispensary officially opened in Palm Bay on Thursday.
And, thanks to word-of-mouth, Curaleaf was already a popular place even before its mid-afternoon ribboncutting event. More than 50 people, carrying medical marijuana cards, ventured into Curaleaf to purchase products ranging from capsules to oils to flowers.
Welcome to a new world of pain treatment on the Space Coast, where eligible patients have a new way of relieving everything from nausea and chronic pain to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Prior to the opening of Curaleaf at 1420 Palm Bay Road NE, the nearest medical marijuana dispensaries to Brevard were in Vero Beach to the south in Indian River County and Edgewater to the north in Volusia County.
“It’s very important to the residents due to the fact that many of them that suffer from the conditions that can be treated by medical marijuana have to drive many hours to pick up their orders,” said Michelle Terrell, director of sales and marketing for Curaleaf.
“This was a location that we definitely saw that needed a lot of attention,” she said.
Curaleaf representatives believe a competitor, Trulieve, will soon open a location on Malabar Road.
The new Curaleaf location was a welcome site for Chris Haver of Palm Bay.
Haver said he suffers from PTSD and he had been getting deliveries from Curaleaf in Edgewater. Accompanied by two service dogs, Haver had no problem explaining the benefits of medical marijuana.
“It’s 100 percent non-addictive,” Haver said. “And no one had ever died from it. It’s also an alternative to opioids.”
But for those thinking they can easily walk in and purchase a cannabis product at dispensaries like Curaleaf, they’ll be disappointed. Patients need to be seen by a certified physician who diagnoses the person as suffering from one of the 10 conditions covered under the state’s medical marijuana laws.
From there, patients must sign up with the state’s medical marijuana users registry.
After that it takes 10-15 days to receive a registration card/number. At Curaleaf, first-time customers have to show ID, and the registration number, and meet privately with a trained consultant on the available medical marijuana options.
All of it is based on the doctor’s recommendation.
Currently there are 13 doctors in Brevard licensed to give the OK on medical marijuana. That’s a number expected to grow each year, as likely will the number of dispensaries.
“For patients that have cancer, it has been helping with their nausea and vomiting and helping them increase their appetite,” said Dr. Bhavin Patel. “They’re getting their weight back. Their mood is better.”
Patel, who also runs Health Options Consulting, a medical marijuana physician education consultancy, said he and others want to help control the medical marijuana network in Florida so it grows in a responsible way.
Florida voters in 2016 voted in favor of the constitutional amendment, known as Amendment 2, to allow medical marijuana for certain medical conditions.
Brevard’s 16 cities and town have a patchwork of rules related to medical marijuana facilities, according to a Planning and Development Department analysts. Some have banned them entirely, while others have moratoriums in place.
Palm Bay, Rockledge, Satellite Beach and Titusville are among the Brevard municipalities that will allow such facilities.
In February, Brevard County Commissioners approved medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated Brevard
Contact Price at 321-242-3658 or wprice@floridatoday.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @Fla2dayBiz.
–Wayne T. Price florida today
Very Short Political Quiz
Answer what really matters and discover what politics to undertake
Take quiz at: https://www.theadvocates.org/quiz/
“The World’s Smallest Political Quiz is proving a revelation in Britain and America. For many it has exposed their true political leanings for the first time.” – The Sunday Times of London, (U.K.)
“I just took an online political quiz that you should try. It takes less than a minute, but it will help you look at politics in a whole new way.” – Joe Nicassio, Guerrilla PR Insights
Wayfarer@Bikernet.com took this quiz in 20 seconds and was given the result:
Centrist : Centrist prefer a “middle ground” regarding government control of the economy and personal behavior. Depending on the issue, they sometimes favor government intervention and sometimes support individual freedom of choice. Centrists pride themselves on keeping an open mind, tend to oppose “political extremes,” and emphasize what they describe as “practical” solutions to problems.
Attached Photo of the result
–Ujjwal Dey
Bikernet Bureau Chief, India
wayfarer@bikernet.com
TERRORIST ALERT-412 Michigan Muslims Arrested In Fed’s ‘LARGEST BUST IN U.S. HISTORY’ After Uncovering Deadly Hidden Secret.
The state of Michigan is quickly turning into a swamp, thanks to the reckless immigration policies of Obama over his 8 years. Not only are portions of Michigan being transformed into a “mini Baghdad,” but the state is also being overrun with rampant illegal activity, where the Muslim populace is constantly being busted in welfare fraud and disgusting mutilation practices on little girls.
Now thanks to the hordes of Muslims taking over the state, Michigan can add another “accomplishment” on their list, as the Justice Department is dubbing what just went down in this state the “largest scam in United States history.”
These immigrants continually prove that they have little intentions into assimilating into western civilization or adhering to our nation’s laws after arriving to America from their third world countries. Our generosity to these savages is frequently repaid by insolence, as many are constantly busted at the center of welfare fraud rings, as they seek to scam the very country, who has given them so much. In yet another case of blatant disregard for for our nation’s laws, a group of Middle Eastern doctors in Detroit have just been busted as the masterminds behind a $1.3 billion dollar fraudulent scheme, leading to the arrests of 412 people overnight, in the “largest scam” that the United States Department of Justice has ever seen.
The scam involves a scheme where Muslim doctors will write massive quantities of prescriptions for opioids. These drugs never land in the hands of patients however, as the Muslims will them make fraudulent claims to Medicaid and pocket the money.
Additionally, the drugs often wind of on the streets as part of a huge back-alley drug operation. The U.S. Justice Department is calling this prescription drug and health care fraud scheme the largest operation of its kind in American history, naming several Michigan doctors responsible for orchestrating this huge criminal enterprise to rip off Medicare. ClickonDetroit.com has more:
“Officials have made 412 arrests nationwide, including 56 doctors and targeting 200 clinics. The Justice Department said those arrested are responsible for $1.3 billion in fraudulent transactions.
–from Rogue
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NEW RETRO GIRL OF BIKERNET–
This year Miss MAFR gave off a little retro vibe. Meeting her and her boyfriend was a pleasure. They enjoyed the rally and the lifestyle of an old school rally. I talked to them several times and each time they were always having fun.
See her and read the whole tamale feature in the Cantina this week.–Bandit
Yamaha’s Star Venture Transcontinental Tourer Joins Longhaulpaul’s Million-Mile Motorcycle Journey–Paul Pelland’s Quest to Conquer Multiple Sclerosis Receives Continued Support from Yamaha USA
Yamaha Motor Corp., USA, today announced its continued support for former long-distance motorcycle-riding competitor, Paul Pelland (Longhaulpaul), and his “Chasing the Cure” million-mile journey to raise funds for the battle against Multiple Sclerosis.
After tallying nearly 300,000 miles on Yamaha Super Ténéré Adventure Touring motorcycles, Pelland received the keys to a brand-new Yamaha Star Venture outfitted with the Transcontinental (TC) Option Package.
“We are very proud to be a part of Paul Pelland’s Million-Mile Journey,” said Mike Doughty, General Manager of Yamaha’s Motorcycle Group in the U.S. “His incredible quest to help find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis deserves the highest level of support, and we are honored to have the Star Venture join the cause.”
In 2012, Paul Pelland made his Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis public and began documenting his “Chasing the Cure” million-mile motorcycle journey to raise awareness and funds. Over the last five years, he has documented over 300,000 miles across 49 states, speaking at over 250 events while raising awareness and over $100,000 for Multiple Sclerosis research. He has delivered dozens of motorcycle presentations and seminars, became a columnist for ABILITY Magazine and set two world records.
Pelland first began his journey on his Yamaha Super Tenere, CURECHASER. After logging more than 172,000 miles and setting a world record, the bike was retired in 2016 and is now on display at Barber Motorsports Museum in Leeds, Alabama.
“When I first decided to document a million miles for Multiple Sclerosis, I chose a Yamaha because I knew it would be a dependable tool for the job,” said Pelland. “MS is a progressive and often disabling disease, and quite frankly I don’t have time to waste.”
In support of Pelland’s effort to journey further, Yamaha has donated a brand new 2018 Star Venture, fully equipped with the TC Option Package for his Chasing the Cure journey. Yamaha’s Star Venture is a top-of-the-line transcontinental tourer combining powerful V-Twin performance with cutting-edge comfort and technology. The TC Option Package further enhances the rider experience with a range of options including GPS navigation, SiriusXM®, additional speakers, and Yamaha’s exclusive Dual Zone audio control.
Standard LED fog lights, additional onboard storage, and an alarmed security system round out the package.
When asked about the continued journey aboard his new bike, Pelland exclaimed, “For the amount of hours and miles I ride crossing the country, I’m pretty sure the Star Venture was built just for me!”
For more information on Yamaha’s Star Venture, visit www.yamahamotorsports.com.
MEMO FROM THE BANDIT’S CANTINA BOARD OF DIRECTORS–All the members of the company’s Board of Directors were called into the Chairman’s office, one after another–until only Ted, the junior member, was left sitting outside.
Finally it was his turn to be summoned..
Ted entered the office to find the Chairman and the other four Directors seated at the far end of the boardroom table.
Ted was instructed to stand at the other end of the table, which he did.
The Chairman looked Ted squarely in the eye, and with a stern voice, he asked:
“Have you ever had sex with my secretary, Miss Floyd?”
“Oh, no, sir, positively not…!” Ted replied.
“Are you absolutely sure..?” asked the chairman.
“Honest, I’ve never been close enough to even touch her…!”
“You’d swear to that…?”
“Yes, I swear I’ve never had sex with Miss Floyd, anytime, anywhere…” insisted Ted.
“Then you fire her.”
–El Waggs
PETERSEN MUSEUM MEMO–Extended Hours for Summer!
10am – 8pm
It’s summertime, which means the nights are getting warmer, the days are getting longer, and there’s more time to while away. In light of this, we have extended our regular hours! Come and explore the museum for an additional two hours every Friday evening* from June 22 through August 31.
Stroll through our newest exhibit The Roots of Monozukuri: Creative Spirit in Japanese Automaking. This beautiful exhibit features rare pre-war cars, many vehicles from Japanese collections, and explores the origins of the Japanese automotive industry.
Experience The Porsche Effect, a thrilling showcase of the iconic Porsche brand, and explore the ways Porsche arrived as an international symbol of affluence and luxury.
Stop by Custom Revolution to view some of the most innovative and influential custom motorcycles in the world from renegade builders who push the boundaries of design and style.
Our Rob and Melani Walton Discovery Center will stay open for an additional hour, so your little racers can visit Lightning McQueen, learn about the inner workings of automobiles at our interactives, and spend the evening designing and racing vehicles at our new LEGO® build stations.
An additional Vault tour has been added at 6:45pm, so you can get an in-depth look at some of our more exclusive vehicles.
NEWS FROM CHOPPERTOWN
Summer Sale 50% off ALL DVDs
(While supplies last.)
Click to see our best-selling DVDs of all time.
KEEP THE BIKERNET BAD JOKE LIBRARY WIDE OPEN–One day the first grade teacher was reading the story of Chicken Little to her class. She came to the part of the story where Chicken Little tried to warn the farmer.
She read, “…. and so Chicken Little went up to the farmer and said, “The sky is falling, the sky is falling!”
The teacher paused then asked the class,
“And what do you think that farmer said?
“One little girl raised her hand and said,
“I think he said: ‘Holy shit! A talking chicken!'”
–from Sidehack Jerry
MRF RIDING FREE FROM DC REPORT–Your Weekly Biker Bulletin from Inside the Beltway
Your Motorcycle Riders Foundation team in Washington, D.C. is pleased to provide our members with the latest information and updates on issues that impact the freedom and safety of American street motorcyclists. Count on your MRF to keep you informed about a range of matters that are critical to the advancement of motorcycling and its associated lifestyle. Published weekly when the U.S. Congress is in session.
NEWS FROM THE HILL – See? Congress Does Work on Fridays! (Sorta)
The House Subcommittee on Environment held a rare Friday hearing today. Typically come Friday mornings, our lawmakers are already back in their districts or in the process of getting there.
Legislative business rarely happens on a Friday – much less a hearing, but in this case, it was warranted as the ethanol debate is RAGING in Washington, DC.
The hearing titled, “Advanced Biofuels Under the Renewable Fuel Standard: Current Status and Future Prospects” offered the opportunity for Republicans, Democrats, environmentalists, corn farmers, oil and gas industry reps, and truckers to get into a very public pissing match over ethanol.
Fun times! But like I said the hearing was necessary; there has been lots going on in this space from trade restrictions and duties to the imposition of new administrative measures, tax credits, compliance concerns and more. In short, it’s a ****ing mess.
The committee has already held 3 hearings on the issue since January (and yes, your MRF has been at all 3) and discussions on everything from sunsetting the issue entirely, to transitioning to higher octane fuels has been discussed. And yet, I can’t say any headway has been made. Today proved no different. And if you are reading this and saying to yourself, why should I care again??? Let me break it down for you in very plain speak:
A dozen years ago, with gas prices on the rise and a desire to stop buying oil from countries that hate our f**king guts, Congress passed a bill that required certain levels of ethanol to be injected into the nation’s fuel supply. Which is AWESOME if you are a corn farmer, because more ethanol = more $$$$ for you.
Personally, I have no issue with ethanol – it’s a cheaper alternative at the pump and it makes us less dependent on foreign oil. And if given the opportunity, I would use in my car which is a 2012 Toyota Highlander…. which can take ethanol-gasoline like a CHAMP. BUT, where I wouldn’t use ethanol-laced gasoline is in my motorcycle. Why? BECAUSE IT IS ILLEGAL. Yes. Illegal.
And, for most motorcycle manufacturers it voids your warranty. Why? Because it can severely damage the engine. So, here we are. Ethanol = bad for motorcycles, boats, snowmobiles, etc. and yet, more and more is getting introduced into our nation’s fuel supply because of this law that was passed a dozen years ago.
And now we are trying to make everybody happy, and judging from the tone of today’s hearing, it. just. isn’t. going. to. happen. So, who wins and who loses?
That my friends, is why you have me. I’m trying to get a little relief for you all – relief through a stronger misfuelling mitigation program, better consumer education surrounding E15, and the guarantee that we will never be at a gas station faced with the choice of walking home, or voiding your bike’s warranty. Much more on this in next week’s bulletin. I’ve got some things cooking….
EXECUTIVE & REGULATORY UPDATES – Threats from Oil & Gas, Plus FHWA Coming to a City Near You….
Okay so its Friday afternoon and they haven’t done it yet, but the EPA was aiming to roll out its proposed rule setting new ethanol volumes for 2019. But after EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt was criticized this last week over waivers he granted to small oil refineries allowing them to not meet their ethanol requirements, it seems the agency may be rethinking its path.
Reportedly, the upcoming rule may reallocate the waiver that small refiners got to larger refiners for next year. Basically, big oil and gas companies would have to blend extra volumes to compensate for the small refiners’ hardship waiver exemptions. So that’s going to make Shell and Exxon SUPER HAPP—NOT!
Here’s Chet Thompson, President of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers with his take: “To say that we would be livid were this deal to move forward would be a gross understatement” Yikes. Game On.
The Federal Highway Administration recently announced a National Dialogue on Highway Automation and is in the process of holding a series of meetings across the country. They want to “engage a diverse group of stakeholders” (hoping that means bikers?!) to facilitate information sharing, discuss the implications of automation on the roadway infrastructure and other areas of interest to the highway community. The purpose of all of this is to help inform FHWA research, policies, programs, and support the development of a national transportation community around automation.
Next up? A stop in Philly where your MRF will be represented (hat tip to Andy Kelly). But if you’re not in the Philly area, you have a chance to participate if you live near Seattle, Chicago, Phoenix, or Wisconsin. Want more info or care to register to attend? Link below…
https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/automationdialogue/index.htm
RIDE FREE-
–Megan Ekstrom
Vice-President of Government Affairs & Public Relations
The Motorcycle Riders Foundation
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CLIMATE DEPOT REPORT–Excerpt from ‘The Politically Incorrect Guide to Climate Change’:
In 2009 NASA then–lead global warming scientist James Hansen endorsed a book called Time’s Up! An Uncivilized Solution to a Global Crisis, which ponders “razing cities to the ground, blowing up dams and switching off the greenhouse gas emissions machine” as possible solutions to global warming.
“The only way to prevent global ecological collapse and thus ensure the survival of humanity is to rid the world of Industrial Civilization,” the book explains. “A future outside civilization is a better life; one in which we can actually decide for ourselves how we are going to live.”
Hansen declared on the book’s Amazon page that author Keith Farnish, “has it right: time has practically run out, and the system is the problem. Governments are under the thumb of fossil fuel special interests—they will not look after our and the planet’s well-being until we force them to do so, and that is going to require enormous effort.”
Remember, Hansen was NASA’s lead global warming scientist, in charge of the temperature dataset, endorsing a book suggesting the solution of calling for ridding the world of industrial civilization. Hansen is a hardcore activist who has been arrested multiple times protesting climate change.
He has accused climate skeptics of “crimes against humanity and nature.”
…
This year 1988, was also the year of NASA scientist James Hansen’s dramatic testimony to Congress about the urgency of global warming. This was the key moment when Hansen warned, “the greenhouse effect is here.” As the New York Times reported at the time, “‘Global warming has reached a level such that we can ascribe with a high degree of confidence a cause and effect relationship between the greenhouse effect and observed warming,’ Hansen said at the hearing today, adding, ‘It is already happening now.’”
Hansen’s testimony as NASA’s lead global warming scientist was a huge media sensation. But one of Hansen’s former supervisors explained that Hansen’s dramatic testimony was not well received at NASA. Retired senior NASA atmospheric scientist Dr. John S. Theon explained in 2009, “We were somewhat appalled. We were certainly embarrassed,” by Hansen’s testimony.
“Hansen was never muzzled even though he violated NASA’s official agency position on climate forecasting (i.e., we did not know
enough to forecast climate change or mankind’s effect on it),” Theon wrote. “Hansen thus embarrassed NASA by coming out with his claims of global warming in 1988 in his testimony before Congress,” Theon added. “I probably would have been removed if I had tried to cut off Jim Hansen’s funding, after all, he had Al Gore…on his team.”
It wasn’t until nearly two decades later that we learned the extent to which that testimony was staged to manipulate the public—exactly
like so much of the climate change “science” we have been bombarded with ever since. The theatrical hearing was orchestrated in
part by Senators Al Gore and Timothy Wirth, as was revealed in a 2007 PBS Frontline special, which reported on the “stagecraft” employed at the Hansen hearing to facilitate the transition from cooling fears to warming fears.
PBS correspondent Deborah Amos reported that “Sen. Timothy Wirth was one of the few politicians already concerned about global warming, and he was not above using a little stagecraft for Hansen’s testimony”:
TIMOTHY WIRTH: We called the Weather Bureau and found out what historically was the hottest day of the summer. Well,
it was June 6th or June 9th or whatever it was. So we scheduled the hearing that day, and bingo, it was the hottest day on record in Washington, or close to it.
DEBORAH AMOS: [on camera] Did you also alter the temperature in the hearing room that day?
TIMOTHY WIRTH: What we did is that we went in the night before and opened all the windows, I will admit, right, so that the air conditioning wasn’t working inside the room. And so when the—when the hearing occurred, there was not only bliss, which is television cameras and double figures, but it was really hot.
[from the 1988 hearing] WIRTH: Dr. Hansen, if you’d start us off, we’d appreciate it.
TIMOTHY WIRTH: The wonderful Jim Hansen was wiping his brow at the table at the hearing, at the witness table, and giving
this remarkable testimony.
But in 2015, Senator Wirth was seemingly pressured to recant his version of events. Hansen accused Wirth of fibbing about the stagecraft.” “He just made these up later to make it seem interesting,” Hansen said. Wirth suddenly remembered that his stories about the behind-the-scenes machinations of the hearing were totally made up! Wirth now says he was in error: “Some myths about the hearing also have circulated over the years, including the idea that windows were left open or the air conditioning was not working. While I’ve heard that version of events in the past and repeated it myself, I’ve since learned it didn’t happen.”
It’s hard to believe that global warming science can be “settled” when major players behind promoting it can’t agree on basic events surrounding their biggest day.
In 1988, NASA’s James Hansen was the authority trotted out before a U.S. Senate committee to launch the global warming panic. But sixteen years earlier, in the global cooling scare era, “a computer program developed by Dr. James Hansen” had been applied by other scientists to the question of “the carbon-dioxide [that] fuel-burning puts in the atmosphere.”
They found “no need to worry” about the carbon dioxide, but warned that other particles from burning fossil fuels “could screen out so much sunlight that the average temperature could drop by six degrees” in fifty years, bringing on a new ice age by 2021.
…
In 2015 NASA’s former lead climate scientists James Hansen released a study projecting sea level rise of up to ten feet in the next fifty years and warned that unchecked climate change is shaping up to be “highly dangerous” for the world.
“Science by press release: Journalists received ‘summary’ of Hansen’s paper via PR firm,” noted Meteorologist Ryan Maue. Even Hansen’s fellow climate change activist scientists found Hansen’s skewing of the science over the top. UN IPCC lead author Kevin Trenberth said
Hansen’s study was “rife with speculation . . .many conjectures and huge extrapolation based on quite flimsy evidence.”
Climategate’s Michael Mann admitted Hansen’s estimates were “prone to a very large ‘extrapolation error.’”
Related Links:
Move over Rachel Carson! – Morano’s Politically Incorrect Climate Book outselling ‘Silent Spring’ at Earth Day.
Order Your Book Copy Now! ‘The Politically Incorrect Guide to Climate Change’ By Marc Morano
KEEP THE BIKERNET BAD JOKE LIBRARY WIDE OPEN– Reportedly the Democrats are furious that President Trump isn’t doing more to help Guatemala as they deal with a volcanic eruption with has killed hundreds of that country’s citizens. They demanded that he send them aid right away.
President Trump, moved by the news, immediately dispatched ICE to sanctuary cities across America and is preparing to ship the first load of replacement Guatemalans back to that country this week.
And for some reason, the Left is still mad, proving that there’s just no pleasing the Left.
–from Sidehack Jerry
WEEKEND CANTINA QUOTE
We are here on earth to do good unto others. What the others are here for, I have no idea.
~ WH Auden
–from Sam Burns
GAS PRICES ANALYZED–This is priceless! Never gave a thought to any of this makes you stop and think!
All these examples do NOT imply that gasoline is cheap; it just illustrates how outrageous some prices are.
You will be really shocked by the last one (at least, I was)!!!
Think a gallon of gas is expensive?
This makes one think, and also puts things into perspective.
Diet Snapple, 16 oz , $ 1.29 … $10.32 per gallon!
Starbuck’s Reg. Coffee 16 oz, $2.10… $16.80 per gallon!
Lipton Ice Tea, 16 oz , $1.19 … $9.52 per gallon!
Gatorade, 20 oz , $1.59 …. $10.17 per gallon!
Ocean Spray, 16 oz , $1.25 .. $10.00 per gallon!
Brake Fluid, 12 oz , $3.15 …. $33.60 per gallon!
Vick’s NyQuil, 6 oz , $8.35 … $178.13 per gallon!
Pepto Bismol, 4 oz, $3.85 . $123.20 per gallon!
Whiteout, 7 oz , $1.39 …….. $25.42 per gallon!
Scope, 1.5 oz , $0.99 ….$84.48 per gallon!
Evian water, 9 oz , $1.49 ..$21.19 per gallon! $21.19 for a gallon of WATER!! and the buyers don’t even know the source!! (Evian spelled backwards is Naive.)
Ever wonder why computer printers are so cheap? So they can hook you for the ink. Someone calculated the cost of the ink; you won’t believe it but it’s true: $5,200 a gal.
$5,200 A GALLON!!!
So, the next time you’re at the pump, be glad your motorcycle doesn’t run on water, Scope, Whiteout, Pepto Bismol, NyQuil or, God forbid, Printer Ink!!!!!
–from Rogue
THEY ARE NOT FORGOTTEN
Members of the Patriot Guard Riders and other motorcycle groups salute the urns of fellow veterans. “You Are Not Forgotten” is a ceremony organized by the Missing In America Project, where 21 veterans and a spouse were laid to rest at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery on Saturday.
They were among the ashes left unclaimed, some for several years, at Cox-Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home & Crematory in Vero Beach, which wanted to find a dignified resting place for these heroes, as well as a veteran’s urn found abandoned by a BCSO Deputy.
–Rogue
LIFE IS TWISTED—So, here’s the deal for this week. As you know, we have a new girl of Bikernet headed your way from Dangerous Dave.
I’m going to meet with an old ER staff VP about the ER sale effort. Also next week with contain local shop visits with Michael Lichter, maybe. Maybe I’ll meet with my Congresswoman’s staff regarding my Wilmington Waterfront sculpture effort and a notion for infrastructure help.
I want about three or four projects off my plate so I can get back to my sculpture effort and screenplay project. I know it’s going to be an exciting week. Then Michael Lichter and his son will jam back to Boulder, Colorado and I’ll make a decision about my run to Sturgis. I’ve sorta made a plan, but I need to talk to Sugar Bear around his museum project.
Hang on for next week.
Ride Free Forever,
–Bandit
