Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
Try, Try Again
It may be back to the drawing board for the world's climate scientists. In the wake of mistakes, errors and apparent cover-ups surrounding global warming research, Britain's Meteorological Office is suggesting a do-over.
The proposal was presented Monday to about 150 climate scientists and obtained by Fox News. It suggests the compilation of new data by methods that are fully documented in peer reviewed literature and open to scrutiny — a set of independent assessments by independent groups using independent methods, and comprehensive audit trails to deliver confidence in the results.
Lap of Luxury?
Private jets, limos, fancy catering, and fresh flowers; those are just some of the lavish expenses attributed to Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele that are frustrating some major GOP donors.
Politico compared last year's expenses with those from 2005, the last year preceding a mid-term election. It found the committee's payments for charter flights doubled, the number of sedan contractors tripled, and meal costs went from just over $300,000 to almost $600,000.
One longtime GOP fundraiser calls Steele an imperial chairman. The RNC released a statement saying it costs money to make money. It also drew spending comparisons with the Democratic National Committee.
Follow Your Heart
Canadian Provincial Premier Danny Williams says he does not regret coming to the U.S. for heart surgery despite the controversy it caused in both countries.
Williams tells the Canadian press: "This was my heart — my choice. I did not sign away my right to get the best possible health care for myself when I entered politics."
Of course the irony is that Canada's publicly-funded health care system is held up as a model by many supporters of universal healthcare here in the U.S.
Despite his run to the border for private care, Williams says he has the utmost confidence in his country's public system.
Olympic Whiner
And Russian figure skater Evgeni Plushenko is still upset about coming in second last week in Vancouver. But he's found a silver, make that a platinum lining to it all.
The skater's official Web site said earlier today that he won silver in Salt Lake, gold in Torino, and platinum in Vancouver. The only problem is, that last one doesn't exist.
A few hours after we saw that, the platinum reference was removed.
— Fox News Channel's Lanna Britt contributed to this report.
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