Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Computer Models

A noted climate scientist who is part of the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, now says computer models cannot predict future climate — and he says the IPCC is not in the climate prediction business.

Kevin Trenberth of the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research wrote on a nature magazine blog that the U.N.'s dire forecasts about the dangers of global warming are not climate predictions.

He says they are "what if" projections of future climate that correspond to certain emissions scenarios. And he admits the computer models don't even consider things such as the recovery of the ozone layer.

He writes — "The current projection method…can not work for many aspects of climate, especially those related to the water cycle...The science is not done because we do not have reliable or regional predictions of climate."

Conservative Alternative

Republicans are gearing up for a conservative alternative to the successful liberal organization called moveon.org.

The Politico reports that a pair of former White House insiders are spearheading the effort — which aims at bringing in even more money than the deep-pocketed moveon organization.

Veteran Republicans say that millions of dollars have already been raised for the group, which will be based in Washington and focus on long-term issues such as the War on Terror and confronting radical Islam.

There is no word yet on what the organization will be called. Its offices are expected to open in late fall or winter.

T-Shirt Law

A few weeks ago we told you that Arizona had passed a law forbidding an anti-war activist from selling t-shirts featuring the names of Iraq war casualties, after the families of the fallen reacted with outrage.

Now the Arizona chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit — contending that measure limits the man's First Amendment rights.

Dan Frazier has been selling bumper stickers and t-shirts online for four years. But when families of the troops complained, Arizona quickly passed the law, which was signed by the state's Democratic governor five weeks go.

A similar law was also enacted in Oklahoma.

Dog Days

And Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is getting dumped on by animal rights activists over an old tale of how he used to strap a portable kennel containing the family dog ... to the roof of the family station wagon for long trips.

The Boston Globe this week tried to illustrate Romney's cool under pressure — noting that during one 12-hour voyage the Irish Setter got diarrhea — and Romney's kids noticed a brown runoff coming down the back windshield. Romney simply pulled into a gas station and calmly used a hose to clean the car, along with the dog and the container.

The president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says — "If you wouldn't strap your child to the roof of your car, you have no business doing that to the family dog."

But Romney said yesterday that the dog loved the ride: "He scrambled up there every time we went on trips. He got in all by himself and enjoyed it."

—FOX News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.