ClimateGate: Roundup...

Peter Berkowitz links ClimateGate with the decline of our institutions of higher education.  Scary stuff.

The Institute of Physics defends its critique of the ClimateGate scientists.

A nice independent analysis of the temperature data from the world's second oldest continuously operating weather station.  No warming is evident.

The sun keeps surprising us, which just shows us how little we understand our main source of energy (and it has a huge effect on our climate).  Interesting new observations, a theory, and several mysteries...

Back To Work...

If you're over a certain age (about 40, I'd guess), you're gonna laugh your butt off when you watch this.  If you're younger, you're just going to go “Huh?”...

The Top 10 U.N. Slogans...

Excellent!  This graphic explores entirely new territory for me: UN Humor...

Consumer Credit Levels WAY Down...

The graph at right (click to enlarge) shows the change in consumer credit levels over the past 60 years.  Basically you see a variable, but always increasing, amount of credit per consumer – until this recession, when (for the first time since this was measured) credit levels are actually falling.

At first blush you might think that this is because consumers are saving more and borrowing less, but unfortunately this is not the case.  In fact, the entire decline is due to consumers walking away from their debt, both mortgages and credit cards.  This recession is the first time consumers have ever done that.

There's a message in that statistic.  I'm not entirely sure what that message is, but I'm pretty darned sure it ain't good.  The bottom line is that an interesting percentage of consumers no longer believe that they have a personal obligation to repay debt that they've incurred – and that there are no personal consequences of import when they do.  Lenders will have trouble making a profit in such an environment, which means credit will get tighter, which means that major purchases like homes, cars, etc. will be down.  Not good...

Via TigerHawk (and other analysis at several other sites).

Obama Akbar!

Michael Ramirez comments (in his graphical way) on what the ramming of Obamacare is doing to the Democratic Party...