The unknown computer hackers who raided the database of a globally-renowned British climate research center couldn’t have asked for a better haul …

In thousands of emails and documents dating back over a decade, some of the world’s foremost climatologists are exposed as petty, vindictive alarmists who are deliberately using fuzzy science to “trick” unsuspecting “idiots” on the issue of climate change.

The information was obtained from the database of the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, an institution that was embroiled in another recent scandal after it was forced to admit deleting much of its raw data.

Which is the first rule of science right?

Anyway, officials at the school have acknowledged the authenticity of the emails and documents, which have sparked a furor of the legitimacy of global warming.

The resulting dust-up could prove catastrophic to President Barack Obama (and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham)’s efforts to impose a massive new energy tax here in America.  It could also derail a global climate conference taking place under the auspices of the United Nations in Copenhagen next month.

One email lays bare the political calculation behind the “research” these “scientists” have been conducting.

“The fact is that we can’t account for the lack of warming at the moment and it is a travesty that we can’t,” writes Kevin Trenberth, a climatologist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Translation?

“Mr. President, we have a problem.”

Another email explains how to use a “trick” on a chart to “hide the decline” in global temperatures beginning in 1961.

Yet another features an influential member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) promising to “somehow” keep data out of a widely-cited report “even if if we have to redefine what the peer review literature is.”

We’ve always been iffy on the whole climate change thing, of course here in South Carolina, everyone knows that the best way to adopt a position on the issue is to simply take the current temperature …

After all, that’s what the head of the S.C. Wildlife Federation, Clinch Heyward, did … for realsies.

U.S. President Barack Obama’s approval ratings have dipped below 50% for the first time since he was elected, according to the results of two major polls released earlier this week.

On Wednesday, a Quinnipiac University survey showed Obama’s approval rating at 48% – the lowest of his Presidency.  On Friday, a Gallup poll showed Obama’s approval rating at 49% – also the lowest of his administration.

“Americans are concerned about the Obama administration’s reliance on government spending to solve the nation’s problems and the growing federal budget deficit,” Gallup said in an analysis of its poll.

Meanwhile, in the Quinnipiac poll, the percentage of voters who support Obama’s handling of the economy fell from a 47-46 split in October to a 52-43% disapproval in November.

“Millions of voters who sided with (Obama) last November because they thought he would bring change to Washington aren’t crazy about the kind of change he is trying to bring,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

After enjoying a 70% approval rating following his inauguration in January, Obama has been polling in the low 50% range for the last few months.

Also, off-year election results earlier this month – including two GOP gubernatorial wins in states carried by Obama a year ago (New Jersey and Virginia) – were also seen as rebukes of the direction in which Obama and Congressional Democrats are taking the nation.

Of course that doesn’t seem to be stopping them from moving full speed ahead in that direction, doesn’t it?

WEB EXTRAS

Gallup Poll
Quinnipiac Poll

Pic: Getty

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana) is one of four swing votes in the upcoming Senate deliberations on President Barack Obama’s socialized medicine proposal.

As such, she’s “solid gold real estate” for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid – who cannot afford even a single democratic defection if he intends to ram Obamacare through the U.S. Senate the way Speaker Nancy Pelosi narrowly pushed it through the U.S. House.

Reid’s solution?

Well, in addition to pimping fictitious budget and cost estimates related to the bill, he’s flat out bribing her.

On page 432 of the 2,074 page Senate Obamacare bill, there is a provision increasing federal Medicaid subsidies for “certain states recovering from a major disaster.”  Specifically, the subsidies apply only to states which “during the preceding 7 fiscal years” have been declared a “major disaster area.”

Hmmm …

This $100 million “mother of all kickbacks” is obviously intended for one state and one state only – Landrieu’s Louisiana.

Landrieu was originally scheduled to announce her position regarding the legislation Thursday, but then held off after news organizations began to report on this controversial provision.

Contrary to the $900 billion figure tossed out by the Congressional Budget Office, Republicans say the legislation will ultimately cost three times that amount.

“To characterize this bill as anything close to fiscal responsibility may be the largest game of bait and switch ever played on the American people,” U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-New Hampshire) told reporters in Washington Thursday. “This bill expands the size of government by $2.5 trillion when it’s fully implemented over a 10-year period.”

Landrieu is one of four U.S. Senators who are currently undecided on the legislation. The others are Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas (both Democrats), and Joe Lieberman, an Independent/Democrat from Connecticut.

UPDATE: Guess the bribe worked … (From the LA Times) “After a thorough review of the bill,” (Landrieu) said on the Senate floor, “I have decided there are enough significant reforms and safeguards in this bill to move forward but much more work needs to be done.”

Having narrowly been rammed through the U.S. House earlier this month, it’s now the U.S. Senate’s turn to shove a little socialized medicine up the collective American yin-yang …

Quick, somebody call our proctologist!  While we can still afford him!

Having introduced his 2,074-page, $900 billion (some say $2.5 trillion) plan this week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is now pushing for a vote to start debating the controversial measure – a vote which could come as soon as this Saturday.

Like the $1.2 trillion (some say $2.6 trillion) U.S. House plan, which narrowly passed earlier this month, Reid’s bill includes a public option that would allow the government to compete in the health care market – which it also regulates.  The proposal also includes sweeping government mandates on individuals and small businesses (complete with jail time for those who do not comply) as well as a massive expansion of Medicaid and numerous new taxpayer-funded subsidies.

Hence our accurate, albeit unoriginal “socialized medicine” description.

Saturday’s vote to open debate on the legislation will be an early indicator of the “hard opposition” the bill faces, as all forty Republicans are expected to vote against it.

That means Reid has zero margin for error, as it will take a 60-vote “super-majority” even to bring the legislation to the floor.

Sarah Palin just can’t win for losing with us … which we attribute to the fact that the GOP diva (currently in the midst of a major nationwide PR offensive) has become sadly emblematic of America’s anally PC, excessively-dramatic, “oh pretty pretty please offend me ’cause I’m dying to be offended” streak.

Seriously, people.  It’s like Palin is addicted to hearing herself whine – which we suppose is now par for the course in our Reality TV-addled culture, but nonetheless it’s not the sort of quality you’d expect to see exhibited so consistently from a professional politician.

We first noticed Palin’s proclivity for complaining back in January of this year, when she vindictively lit into the veracity of new media.

Of course, we noted at the time that we still wanted to make out with her … which we’d like to make perfectly clear remains true today.

After the blogger whinefest, though, there was Palin’s sanctimoniously-overplayed tit-for-tat with late night talk show host David Letterman, which ended well for her but once again showcased her whiny streak.

Also, it’s been noted that Palin’s new book, Going Rogue, devotes a disproportionate amount of ink to rehashing the insider battles that took place between her and certain members of former GOP presidential nominee John McCain’s staff during their disastrous 2008 campaign.

Enough already! Who cares!

Anyway, the latest example of Palin’s thin skin can be found on her Facebook page, where the former Alaska governor took fingers to keyboard to bash Newsweek magazine’s choice of a cover photo for this story.

The picture Newsweek chose should be familiar to FITS readers, as it is one of several that was taken for a Runner’s World magazine feature that we chronicled back in July.

In fact, here it is (click on thumbnail for a larger view …)

No big deal, right?

Wrong, according to Palin.

“The choice of photo for the cover of this week’s Newsweek is unfortunate,” Palin wrote to her 1 million-plus supporters. “When it comes to Sarah Palin, this ‘news’ magazine has relished focusing on the irrelevant rather than the relevant. The Runner’s World magazine one-page profile for which this photo was taken was all about health and fitness — a subject to which I am devoted and which is critically important to this nation.”

Sheesh.  But Palin wasn’t finished.

“The out-of-context Newsweek approach is sexist and oh-so-expected by now,” she continued. “If anyone can learn anything from it: it shows why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, gender, or color of skin. The media will do anything to draw attention – even if out of context.”

Wait … what? Sexist?

Please, Sarah.  Learn to pick your battles, girlfriend.

And while we hate siding with Newsweek over anybody with stems like Palin’s, the fact is that this picture was already published months earlier … and Palin had no problem whatsoever with it.

Sure, the argument is that such a laid back picture doesn’t fit the image she wants projected on a “news” magazine cover, but again – who cares?

For her to file such a “context” complaint now is ridiculous, and ironically makes us take her less seriously (no matter what she’s wearing).

Besides, when Palin runs around in smokin’ hot stripper boots and naughty monkey pumps, how exactly is she telling us that she wants to be perceived?

Live by the sexy, die by the sexy – just ask our founding editor.

Don’t get us wrong, Palin has done well lately in our book on the ideological front – making a gutsy endorsement in an Upstate New York Congressional race that nearly dealt the two-party establishment a stunning defeat.  But that positive ideological lean will be worth absolutely nothing unless Palin is able to locate a mute button for her whining.

U.S. President Barack Obama – who has a spotty record of protecting free speech here in America – got a taste of his own big government medicine (no, not that medicine) during a town hall meeting in Shanghai.

During a question-and-answer session, Obama called himself a “big supporter of non-censorship.”

“I can tell you that in the United States, the fact that we have free Internet — or unrestricted Internet access — is a source of strength, and I think should be encouraged,” Obama said.

Yeah right … that’s why the FCC is currently inhabited by the likes of Mark Lloyd, who has advocated for the communist-style suppression of media outlets that don’t tow the government’s line.

Anyway, Lloyd would have no doubt begrudgingly admired the Chinese government’s response to Obama’s remarks – which was to immediately scrub them from the Internet and ignore or downplay them on its television networks.

Thankfully, here at FITS, we have experience navigating the Chinese Firewall.

It’s called “copy, paste and send,” people.

Pic: Getty Images

U.S. Rep. John Spratt was one of at least sixty democrats in the House of Representatives to request a “pass” on voting in favor of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s socialized medicine bill, sources tell FITS.  If true, this would mean he was one of roughly twenty democrats whose request was denied.

Speaker Pelosi may have even threatened Spratt with the loss of his committee chairmanship if he didn’t tow the party line on the critical vote, sources say.  Spratt has served as Chairman of the House Budget Committee since 2007.

The U.S. House narrowly passed Pelosi’s $1.2 trillion (possibly $2.6 trillion) health care plan – which just so happens to be President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority – in a rare Saturday vote earlier this month.

After staking out an ambiguous position on the legislation prior to that “historic” vote, Congressman Spratt – a fourteen-term incumbent – joined Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) in supporting the proposal, a decision which has sparked outrage in his conservative Democratic district.

FITS first broke the news of the requests for passes yesterday, although Spratt’s office said our inquiry was the first it had heard of such a rumor.

“Sounds like fiction to us,” Spratt spokesman Chuck Fant told FITS.

S.C. Senator Mick Mulvaney (R-York) – who recently announced his candidacy for the Fifth Congressional seat – was not immediately available for comment regarding Spratt’s rumored “pass” request.

Mulvaney has previously criticized Spratt for the vote, which he called the “biggest expansion of government” in American history.

Sarah Palin appeared on Oprah Winfrey’s show Monday to promote her new book, Going Rogue, in which she attempts to place some additional distance between her ascending political trajectory and the stench of failure associated with U.S. Sen. John McCain’s atrociously-managed 2008 presidential bid.

Palin’s book also seeks to settle several old scores with former McCain staffers – people like campaign manager Steve Schmidt and communications adviser Nicole Wallace – who are said to have leaked stories critical of Palin following the conclusion of the GOP’s disastrous 2008 campaign.

Oh well … divas gotta do what divas gotta do, right?

Palin, who has come off as whiny and high maintenance (i.e. prima donna-ish) ever since the end of the 2008 race, did score some points with us earlier this month when she bucked the GOP establishment by supporting a fiscal conservative candidate in a special Congressional election up in New York.

Of course, Palin also scores some points with us every time she wears a skirt above the knees, people – or wears those smokin’ hot stripper boots.  Or naughty monkey pumps.

Anyway, if Palin decides to stop whining about the past and start using her popularity to take similarly principled positions on political races in the future, then there might be some hope yet for the Republican Party …

The GOP can use all the Palins and all the Jeri Thompsons it can get its hands on (editor’s note: pun intended).

Asked about the prospect of running for president herself, Palin said in the interview that a 2012 campaign “wasn’t on (her) radar.”

“I am dealing with so many issues that are important, and what I am finding, clearer and clearer every day, what I am seeing is that you don’t need a title to make a difference,” Palin said.

True that, although the publicity blitz and nationwide book tour both suggest that Palin is indeed very interested in building her national profile … and making some bank in the process.

Palin also told Winfrey that she prays for her grandchild’s father, Levi Johnson – who has leveled all sorts of allegations against her in recent weeks – but she did say that it was “a bit heartbreaking” to see the road that he has taken, a road Palin says is “not a healthy place to be.”

All in all, Palin seems to be getting it together a bit … which is good to see.

“My dad’s quote sums it up better than I sum it up,” Palin told Oprah. ” ‘She’s not retreating; she’s reloading.’ ”

Way to go, “President Badwrench …”

Two weeks after Ford Motor Company posted a billion dollar profit and forecast sustained profitability in the years to come … “Government Motors” posted a $1.15 billion loss and reduced its sales projections for 2010.

GM is spinning this is as good news, of course, considering how the “company” lost $2.5 billion (and burned through $6.9 billion in cash) during last year’s third quarter.

“We have significantly more work to do, but today’s results provide evidence of the solid foundation we are building for the new GM,” said CEO Fritz Henderson, who took over GM when the US government essentially fired his predecessor, Rick Wagoner, in March of this year.

GM also says it will pay back $1.2 billion in government aid, although the money being used to pay back that amount comes from unused government loans, not vehicle sales.

Meanwhile Ford – which refused taxpayer-funded bailout money – has beaten expectations in back-to-back quarters, benefiting from a leaner workforce and consumer goodwill.

GM and Chrysler have received an estimated $65 billion in bailout money over the past year – and that’s not including the $3 billion “Cash for Clunkers” bailout.

In related news, can we just say how much we are amused by GM’s “May the Best Car Win” ad campaign.

Morons.

The best cars already won.

U.S House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is said to have received roughly sixty written requests from House Democrats asking for permission to vote against a controversial socialized medicine proposal – or twenty more requests than she could handle.

That’s when a pitched battle allegedly began within Pelosi’s Democratic Caucus, with Pelosi using a mix of bribes and threats to cajole twenty reluctant Democrats into voting for the bill – which is the top domestic priority of U.S. President Barack Obama.

Obviously, Pelosi’s efforts paid off – as the House passed a version of Obama’s socialized medicine proposal earlier this month by a 220-215 vote.  Had even three lawmakers switched sides, the $1.2 trillion (some say $2.6 trillion) measure would have gone down in defeat.

FITS is just beginning to gather all the details surrounding this scam, but our sources in Washington say that the arm-twisting behind closed doors was positively Nixonian, with pet projects, committee chairmanships and campaign commitments all leveraged to achieve the desired outcome.

Assuming the information we’re receiving from multiple, independent sources is correct, last week’s “historic” vote can now be viewed through a decidedly different lens. Apparently, had all Democrats voted the way they wanted to vote, the Pelosi-Obama socialized medicine bill would have been defeated by a healthy 235-200 margin.

Finally, FITS is informed that there is a South Carolina connection to this story – one that we will be following up on with special interest.

Stay tuned …