In a unique experiment, The Guardian has published online the full manuscript of its major investigation into the climate science emails stolen from the University of East Anglia, which revealed apparent attempts to cover up flawed data; moves to prevent access to climate data; and to keep research from climate sceptics out of the scientific literature.

As well as including new information about the emails, we will allow web users to annotate the manuscript to help us in our aim of creating the definitive account of the controversy. This is an attempt at a collaborative route to getting at the truth.

...

It is a persuasive image. The "hockey stick" graph shows the average global temperature over the past 1,000 years. For the first 900 years there is little variation, like the shaft of an ice-hockey stick. Then, in the 20th century, comes a sharp rise like the stick's blade.

The IPCC put the graph in the summary of its 2001 assessment reports. Although it was intended as an icon of global warming, the hockey stick has become something else – a symbol of the conflict between mainstream climate scientists and their critics. The contrarians have made it the focus of their attacks for a decade, hoping that by demolishing the hockey stick graph they can destroy the credibility of climate scientists. And in the man who first drew the hockey stick, a young paleoclimatologist called Professor Michael Mann of Penn State University, they have found an angry, outspoken and sometimes vulnerable foe.

Damagingly for the mainstreamers, the Guardian has discovered that there was a vitriolic debate within the mainstream science community in 1999, during preparation of the IPCC report, about the validity of the graph. Mann and CRU's tree-ring specialist Dr Keith Briffa are often portrayed by their enemies as co-conspirators, but the CRU emails reveal that back then they were actually in competing camps. Mann promoted his hockey stick. Briffa was very dubious, especially about the prominence the IPCC wanted to give it.

The stakes were high. In the late 1990s, the heat was on to demonstrate the level of natural variability in climate change. In 1996, I visited Briffa at his lab at the CRU. He told me: "Five years ago, the climate modellers wanted nothing to do with the paleo community [scientist studying past climate]. But now they realise they need our data. We can help them define natural variability."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/feb/09/hockey-stick-graph-ipcc-report

The rest of The Guardian's report on the stolen emails in Climategate are definitely worth reading. They published their entire investigation of Climategate.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/hacked-climate-science-emails

Anti-Tea Party Web Site Part of Scheme to Funnel Funds

By Joseph Abrams

 - FOXNews.com

A new Web site targeting the tea parties is a part of a complex network of money flowing from the mountainous coffers of the country's biggest labor unions and trickling slowly into political slush funds for Democratic activists.

A seemingly grassroots organization that's mounted an online campaign to counter the tea party movement is actually the front end of an elaborate scheme that funnels funds -- including sizable labor union contributions -- through the offices of a prominent Democratic party lawyer.

A Web site popped up in January dedicated to preventing the tea party's "radical" and "dangerous" ideas from "gaining legislative traction," targeting GOP candidates in Illinois for the firing squad.

"This movement is a fad," proclaims TheTeaPartyIsOver.org, which was established by the American Public Policy Center (APPC), a D.C.-based campaign shop that few people have ever heard of.

But a close look reveals the APPC's place in a complex network of money flowing from the mountainous coffers of the country's biggest labor unions into political slush funds for Democratic activists.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/09/anti-tea-party-web-site-scheme-funnel-funds/

Obama Administration Admits It Wrongly Tracked Abortion Groups in Wisconsin
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 8, 2010

Madison, WI (LifeNews.com) -- The Department of Homeland Security admitted today that it improperly conducted a threat assessment on pro-life and pro-abortion groups in Wisconsin. The assessment came before an expected rally last year in response to the University of Wisconsin Hospital board decided to allow abortions.

In February 2009, pro-life advocates planned to protest the hospital's decision to open up a new Madison Surgery Center doing abortions.

The Associated Press reported today that the department said in a memo that it "destroyed all of the copies of the assessment after an internal review found it violated intelligence gathering guidelines about 'protest groups which posed no threat to homeland security.'"

http://www.lifenews.com/state4796.html

Verum Serum has the story:

Obama Referred to John Bolton as “Damaged Goods” after Bush Recess Appointment

Morgen on February 9, 2010 at 4:47 pm

All indications are that President Obama will utilize the upcoming congressional break to make one or more recess appointments of nominees currently held up in the Senate due to GOP opposition. Perhaps even controversial nominee Craig Becker, whose nomination for the National Labor Relations Board was effectively blocked today by a filibuster which included two Democrats in addition to the newest Republican, Scott Brown. So expect to see the White House use the “obstinacy” of Republicans, and the “need to govern”, as justification for a forthcoming decision by the President to proceed unilaterally with one or more appointments.

Contrast this positioning with then Senator Obama’s reaction to the recess appointment of John Bolton to the UN by President Bush in 2005:

“To some degree, he’s damaged goods,” said Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “I think that means we’ll have less credibility and, ironically, be less equipped to reform the United Nations in the way that it needs to be reformed.”

It appears that Obama did not invent this “damaged goods” meme, which was echoed by numerous liberal politicians and media outlets at the time. But he certainly had no problem deploying it to advance his argument that bypassing Senate confirmation reduced the credibility of the appointment.

http://www.verumserum.com/?p=12118

Tuesday Snowstorm Shatters Local Records

Daily Record For February Broken When 12.6 Inches Fall At O'Hare

CHICAGO (CBS) ? The seemingly endless snowstorm is finally moving out of the area Wednesday morning, after leaving more than a foot of snow on the ground in many parts of the area and shattering a record for the date.

The official snowfall for Tuesday was 12.6 inches, measured at O'Hare International Airport, which set a new daily record snowfall for the month of February. The last record for daily snowfall for February in Chicago was 11.5 inches, set on Feb. 18, 1908.

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/snow.foot.chicago.2.1481078.html

Record Snowfall Closes Major Pa. Interstates

Snow Closes Highways, Schools And Shuts Down SEPTA

Pennsylvania shut down major highways Wednesday after the roadways were rendered nearly impassable by a winter storm that brought much of the state to a standstill.

Governor Ed Rendell ordered the closure of Interstate 76 and I-676 in Philadelphia, leaving the city of 1.5 million with only a single major artery, Interstate 95. The state also closed I-476 in suburban Philadelphia and I-83, I-78, I-176 and part of I-81 in central and eastern Pennsylvania.

http://cbs3.com/local/interstate.closure.blizzard.2.1484840.html

One emailer told me he thinks of this storm as a “Snowatomic Bomb”, and meteorologically he might be right.  The low pressure system responsible for the blizzard conditions today was a “meteorological bomb”, meaning the pressure dropped at least 1 millibar an hour for 24 hours.  Tuesday evening the low was a fairly weak 1005 millibar low developing on the coast of South Carolina.  This evening, 24 hours later, the storm is an intense blizzard with a central pressure near 976 millibars…a 29 millibar drop in 24 hours!

For Baltimore the storm has set several records:
Snowiest February 10th: 12.9″ (4.0″ on yesterday = two day total of 16.9″)
Snowiest Month: 46.6″
Snowiest Winter: 77.3″

To put it in perspective, as of today we are 65.2″ above normal snowfall for the winter. More than 5 feet above normal!  And there are weeks to go before the winter is over.

http://www.wbaltv.com/blogometer/index.html

Storm to depart, takes century-old record along

Second blizzard in days sets seasonal snow record

It's not often we witness a 100-year-plus record fall. Perhaps it's fitting it went out in such extreme fashion today. As reported here earlier, National Airport's preliminary (2 p.m.) snow total of 54.9" for the 2009-2010 winter thus far puts D.C. above the previous high mark of 54.4" set way back in 1898-1899. Baltimore has also broken its all-time record with this event.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitalweathergang/?hpid=topnews

N.J. Again Taking Brunt Of The Storm

Conditions To Rival Blizzard As Wednesday Progresses

Totals: 10 To 16 Inches For NYC And Most Of The CBS 2 Viewing Area

NEW YORK (CBS) ? A blizzard warning is still in effect for the five boroughs of New York City, Long Island and central, southern New Jersey, as authorities deal with a winter storm that forecasters said could dump about 10 to 16 inches of snow on the metropolitan area. Though the snowfall seemed to be fairly light for much of the early part of Wednesday, forecasters warned not to be fooled: the brunt of the storm came fast and furious during the afternoon.

The blizzard warning, which the National Weather Service issued early Wednesday, is in effect until 6 a.m. Thursday, and wind gusts of up to 40 mph are expected.

http://wcbstv.com/local/blizzard.like.storm.2.1483705.html

An 'Earth-Shaking' Election in New Orleans    [Abigail Thernstrom]

Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu is the next mayor of New Orleans. The city is two-thirds black, and he will be the first white elected to the office since 1970, when his father, Moon Landrieu, won the seat.

The election was a true post-racial moment. Four and a half years after Katrina, black voters decided competence trumped race. The prospect of a white mayor would be “an earth-shaking event,” a politically active black lawyer told a New York Times reporter before the election.

In January 2006, when the first post-Katrina election was held, Mayor C. Ray Nagin took the occasion of Martin Luther King Day to declare that the city should stay "chocolate." God wants the city to be a majority black, he went on. "You can't have New Orleans no other way. It wouldn't be New Orleans."

Is New Orleans still New Orleans? Landrieu, who had run unsuccessfully for mayor before, got 70 percent of the white vote, and an amazing 63 percent of the black vote, winning all but one of the city’s 366 precincts. His total was roughly twice the total of the ten other candidates combined. He needed more than 50 percent to avoid a runoff; the second-place finisher came in at 14 percent.

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MGRlZWQxMGZhMTI2NGUwMzhhMDY3MDQzMWMzMjNhNGQ=

AP: Birmingham abortion clinic put on probation

MONTGOMERY, Ala.—A Birmingham abortion clinic that was targeted in an undercover sting by anti-abortion activists has been put on probation by the state.

State health officials tell The Associated Press that the Planned Parenthood clinic has until next week to present its plan to correct violations involving minors receiving abortions.

Investigators with the department said records at the clinic showed several minors aged 13-15 had received abortions without proper verification of parental consent since November 2008.

Activists with "Live Action," a California-based anti-abortion group, posed as a pregnant 14-year-old girl who needed a secret abortion. In an audio tape from the visit, an employee allegedly suggests that someone other than a parent or legal guardian could give consent.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14373272?nclick_check=1

Here is the video that prompted the clinic being put on probation:

(CNN) -- Former congressman Charlie Wilson of Texas has died at age 76, a Texas hospital said Wednesday.

Wilson's life was portrayed in the movie "Charlie Wilson's War," starring Tom Hanks.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/10/charlie.wilson.obit/index.html?iref=allsearch

Sen. Jim DeMint (S.C.) on Wednesday declined to endorse fellow Republican Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) in his GOP primary against conservative former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (Ariz.).

DeMint has been active in Republican Senate primaries across the country and has funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to his preferred candidates through his Senate Conservatives Fund political action committee.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/eyeon2010/2010/02/demint-wont-endorse-mccain-in.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=eye-on-2010

Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.) is set to announce her retirement, according to Democratic sources.

Watson's central Los Angeles district isn't expected to be competitive in the general election, as it carries a distinct Democratic advantage as a majority-minority district. President Barack Obama won it 87-12 in 2008.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/80575-watson-to-retire

In poll, Republicans gaining political ground on Obama

By Dan Balz and Jon Cohen

Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Republicans have significantly narrowed the gap with Democrats on who is trusted to deal with the country's problems and have sharply reduced several of President Obama's main political advantages, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The survey paints a portrait of a restless and dissatisfied electorate at the beginning of a critical election year. More than seven in 10 Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing, and as many say they're inclined to look for new congressional representation as said so in 1994 and 2006, the last times that control of Congress shifted.

Asked how they would vote in the November House elections, Americans split evenly -- 46 percent siding with the Democrats, 46 percent with the Republicans. As recently as four months ago, Democrats held a 51 to 39 percent advantage on this question.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/10/AR2010021000010.html?hpid=topnews

Toplines - Political Anger II - February 5-6, 2010

3* Generally speaking, would it better for the country if most incumbents in Congress were reelected this November or if most of them were defeated?

19% Better if most incumbents were reelected
63% Better if most incumbents were defeated
18% Not sure

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/toplines/pt_survey_toplines/february_2010/toplines_political_anger_ii_february_5_6_2010

Dan Coats Confirms Bid For U.S. Senate

By Ryan Elijah

Former U.S. Senator Dan Coats confirmed this morning that he will run for U.S. Senate. During a live interview with Charly Butcher on WOWO radio Coats said his campaign is "up and running, with thousands of volunteers on the ground".

http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/84004092.html