Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus

By William Teach December 25, 2019 – 8:05 am

Every Christmas, once everyone is up, Christmas greetings were made, hugs were exchanged, the presents were opened, and breakfast was being made, I would read this first in the paper (ye olde parental units get an actual paper, and they live in NJ). It is a Christmas classic that has always touched my soul. While some people outside of the Tri-State area have heard of it, rarely do papers outside of the NY-NJ-Conn area see it in print, and I always direct them to read it online. I humbly bring it to you, and hope it touches you as much as it touches me:

Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus

Editorial Page, New York Sun, 1897

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O’Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a sceptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus? Thank God he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

And a Merry Christmas from deep down in my heart to all my friends and visitors out there.

If you would like to know the background on the letter, you can go to the 2004 posting of this.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Read: Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus »

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Harvard Names “Climate Emergency” Word Of The Year

By William Teach December 24, 2019 – 2:58 pm

Who wants to tell them?

Say, will Harvard ban the use of fossil fuels to transport the kids to school? How about their athletic department? How about electricity for the school? From the link

Every year the publisher of the august Oxford English Dictionary peers into the zeitgeist and selects a “word of the year” whose sudden appearance or rising popularity tells us something about our collective mood or obsessions. The last three, for instance, have been toxic, youthquake, and post-truth. Take from those what you will.

This year’s word — in actuality a phrase — is “climate emergency.” The publisher Oxford Dictionaries said the choice was prompted by a 100-fold increase in usage over the previous year, a rise that reflected the rising heat of environmental activism and the growing guilt and angst over our role in the problem.

Along with climate emergency, Oxford selected a short list of other environment-related terms whose usage also grew noticeably. That includes some that will seem familiar to many — climate action, climate denial, climate crisis, net zero, extinction, and plant-based — and others newer to the tongue — eco-anxiety, ecocide, flight shame, and global heating, whose usage soared 18,358 percent.

They should have chose “Trump Derangement Syndrome”. Or, how about, climahypocrite? Anyhow, they asked several faculty members, including Gina McCarthy…yes, the one who worked for Obama

What I take away from this is that climate change has reached a turning point in the public consciousness. In 2019, people all over the world began demanding actions and solutions. We don’t have to worry so much about whether we use “climate emergency,” “climate crisis,” or “global heating.”

Yet, the majority of people, including climate cultists, refuse to spend even $10 a month on the “climate emergency”, nor change their own lives. Go figure.

Read: Harvard Names “Climate Emergency” Word Of The Year »

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If All You See…

By William Teach December 24, 2019 – 1:00 pm

…are an evil string of lights, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Daley Gator, with a post noting the left pretends criminals obey the law.

Read: If All You See… »

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The Kids Want To Be Taught ‘Climate Change’ But Schools Aren’t Ready Or Something

By William Teach December 24, 2019 – 10:30 am

Last time I checked, the adults (as much as you can call Liberals adults) were in charge of the school system, not the kids, and the adults should be in a position to understand what is truly important to teach kids

Students want climate change lessons. Schools aren’t ready

Not too long ago Coral Ben-Aharon, a 15-year-old sophomore at Granada Hills Charter High School, didn’t bother to use her school’s recycling bins — and didn’t know how plastic waste contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.

But then her friend Sarah Ali convinced Coral to join the science team. Now the two are trying to invent a creative way to recycle waste on campus by melting discarded plastic and making a bench with solar panels, where students would be able to charge their school-issued Chromebooks.

Their project exemplifies how California’s science standards are taking hold in classrooms as educators seek to follow curriculum guidelines that call for more relevant, hands-on lessons and stronger instruction on climate change and the environment.

However, widespread science teacher shortages and the lack of training among many current teachers on climate change threatens the goals of the curriculum that aims in part to prepare students to be environmental problem-solvers as they enter adulthood. It also hinders an opportunity for educators to capture a newfound passion among those teenagers who are eager to engage in a growing youth climate activist movement, science educators say.

Really, does it matter? Because a goodly chunk of these kiddies will end up getting silly degrees with little value when they attend college, not degrees in science or anything that has value.

To help address this gap, the University of California and California State University systems, which prepare 56% of the state’s pre-K through high school teachers, has launched a “Climate Change Literacy Project,” an initiative aimed at teaching teachers more about the topic and teaming them up with scientists to help.

Meanwhile, they fail to learn history, English, and real science.

CSU Chancellor Timothy White said the 23-campus system is “integrating climate and [environmental] sustainability courses across all of our academic disciplines” to help teachers enrolled in credentialing courses and other students.

In other words, it’s going to be about social justice, Victimhood, left wing politics, and Blamestorming other people.

Read: The Kids Want To Be Taught ‘Climate Change’ But Schools Aren’t Ready Or Something »

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Angry Tears Flow As Politicians Fail To Stop “Climate Darkness” In Madrid

By William Teach December 24, 2019 – 8:23 am

Perhaps they wouldn’t have so many tears if they weren’t taking long fossil fueled flights from half a world away?

Tears flow as politicians fail to dispel ‘climate darkness’

Standing before a captive audience at this month’s climate change conference in Madrid after entertaining them with a dance in her traditional Pacific island costume, 21-year-old Tabita Kaitamakin Awira Awerika’s smile turned to angry tears.

The student from Kiribati spoke of her anguish at the threat to her low-lying atoll nation from rising sea levels and ferocious storms – and the determination of her people not to let global warming chase them from their “beloved motherland”.

“I am very sad to say that as the youth of many developed nations are enjoying their daily activities, our fellow youth in Kiribati are worrying about what the future holds for us,” she told an event on the sidelines of the U.N. talks.(snip)

In Madrid, veterans of the “COP” meetings – known as a place where suited officials spar over complex agreements – said they had never seen such an outpouring of grief, anxiety and sorrow.

 

What’s the carbon footprint of a trip from Kiribati to Madrid?

Bill Hare, founder of climate science think-tank Climate Analytics, told U.S. news show “Democracy Now!” he had seen more tears in Madrid than at the previous 24 summits, dubbing it “the crying COP”.

Representatives of small island states were “almost panicking” at the prospect of their homelands disappearing under the waves, while young people were “angry and upset” at a lack of action by politicians, he said. (snip)

The climate change talks have experienced a “big shift” away from formality in recent years, said Ashlee Cunsolo, director of the Newfoundland-based Labrador Institute of Memorial University and an expert on “ecological grief”. (big snip)

In the absence of a collective push to act, however, the prospect of a ruined planet can lead to sadness and paralysis, he noted.

But, it doesn’t lead to the climate cultists not taking long fossil fueled flights.

Reporting by Megan Rowling @meganrowling; Editing by Claire Cozens. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, women’s and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking and property rights. Visit news.trust.org/climate

So, Reuters is not actually a news outlet anymore, they are an activist organization.

Read: Angry Tears Flow As Politicians Fail To Stop “Climate Darkness” In Madrid »

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Open Borders Advocates Attempt To Keep Murderer From Being Deported

By William Teach December 24, 2019 – 8:06 am

Remember the talking point from Open Borders advocates that they only want good immigrants, legal and illegal? Yeah, not so much

Refugee paroled in California murder case, detained by ICE

A Cambodian refugee who drew support from immigrant groups was released Monday from a California prison after being granted parole in a murder case, then immediately turned over to federal agents for possible deportation, his attorney said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom allowed the parole of Tith Ton, now 40, who spent 22 years in prison for killing a rival gang member.

“It’s deeply disappointing that the governor is choosing to work with ICE,” said Anoop Prasad, an attorney with the Asian Law Caucus. “It’s an unjust and illogical practice that is tearing apart communities in California.”

Immigrant rights groups want Newsom to end policies allowing the transfer of prison inmates to federal authorities despite California’s efforts to provide a sanctuary for immigrants.

Prasad argued that Ton had turned his life around in the past two decades and become a substance abuse counselor. In approving his release, Newsom must have agreed that Ton no longer poses a danger to the community, Prasad said.

Dozens of people rallied last month on the lawn of the state Capitol in support of Ton and others from Southeast Asia who face possible deportation.

Doesn’t matter. We let this guy in as a refugee, he joined a gang, then committed murder. Part of paying the penalty was always going to be kicking him out. He lost the right to stay. And the people protesting for him to not be deported are Useless Idiots. Let them take Ton and the other criminals into their own homes.

As far as Newsome goes, he and the others were probably surprised as heck when Ton was picked up. You can bet the only cooperation came from someone at the prison blowing off the requirement to not work with ICE and alerting them.

Read: Open Borders Advocates Attempt To Keep Murderer From Being Deported »

Posted in Illegal Immigration, Liberal World | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

Canadian Parents Were A Bit Upset About “Santa Goes Green” Play

By William Teach December 23, 2019 – 3:03 pm

Nothing like indoctrinating the little kiddies in government run schools into the Cult of Climastrology

From the link

A Saskatchewan school division has apologized after parents raised concerns a Christmas concert last week had an anti-oil agenda.

On Thursday, the Oxbow Prairie Horizons School’s annual concert featured a show titled: “Santa Goes Green.”

This didn’t sit will with some audience members, as Oxbow is a community where a good number of workers are in the mining and resource industries. In fact, the town’s logo prominently contains a pumpjack.

Mike Gunderman, whose daughter was in the show, took to Facebook to express his concerns about the play, saying the concert was a “kick in the groin” to anyone working in the struggling oil industry. The post has since been shared more than 650 times.

“It wasn’t even a Christmas concert at Christmas time,” he said. “It was blatantly just an anti-oil protest.”

The school claims there was no political agenda. Riiiiiiight. The school should try operating without fossil fuels, see how that goes in the Saskatchewan winter. That imagine in the tweet comes directly from the holiday show’s book of music.

Read: Canadian Parents Were A Bit Upset About “Santa Goes Green” Play »

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If All You See…

By William Teach December 23, 2019 – 1:00 pm

…is horrible heat snow because Other People used wrapping paper, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Moonbattery, with a post on Woke Nike.

Read: If All You See… »

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Climate Crisis Today: Menlo Park, Ca., Soon To Add Electric Fire Truck

By William Teach December 23, 2019 – 10:30 am

Say, did they bother asking the actual firefighters whether they needed or wanted this truck?

A $1.1 million electric fire truck will soon be operating in Menlo Park, California

Menlo Park Fire Protection District has reserved an all-electric fire truck that cost $1,112,900 after shipping and inspection.

The truck —  created as a rescue vehicle with pumps, tanks, and recovery equipment — was designed by Austria-based Rosenbauer Group and was created with the intention of tackling shifts in firefighting, the environment, and ergonomics.

“Based on the megatrends in firefighting, Rosenbauer is already designing the firefighting vehicle of tomorrow – today,” Rosenbauer wrote on its website.

Its maker claims the truck was built with predicted shifting trends in gender and age for firefighting. Other predicted shifts that were taken into account when designing the vehicle also include connectivity, urbanization, and migration.

So, not only ‘climate change’, but gender and stuff? Where are they getting the power to charge it? California is against fossil fuels, nuclear, and coal. What about when the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining? The truck, which looks smaller than a typical fire truck, has lots and lots and lots of features, including WiFi and a driver’s seat that buzzes when danger is close, and

The truck has two electric motors that can power water pumps for 30 minutes. There’s also a diesel-powered extender along with the generator for longer truck use that is quiet and has lower emissions than a typical truck engine.

The battery can power the truck about 30 kilometers, about 18.6 miles.

A typical fire truck costs less than half what this one does, can operate much longer, can be refueled quickly, and are planned to last at least 20 years. How long till the expensive batteries on the electric one need replacing? The Cult of Climastrology and the Woketards are sacrificing safety.

Read: Climate Crisis Today: Menlo Park, Ca., Soon To Add Electric Fire Truck »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 20 Comments | Trackback URL

We’re Saved: Extinction Rebellion Nutters Remix Christmas Carols In Calgary

By William Teach December 23, 2019 – 7:54 am

Nothing like annoying people with this kind of stuff around Christmas to get them to change their minds, right?

‘We wish you a steady climate’: Christmas carols remixed by climate activists

A group of about 20 concerned citizens took to the streets in Kensington to sing Christmas carols with a twist.

The group, Extinction Rebellion, advocates for climate action.

Members hope their renditions of ‘Let it Snow,’ ‘Frosty the Snowman,’ and ‘We Wish you a Steady Climate’ will catch the attention of government officials.

“We are already seeing action taken now at the citizen level as more and more people are becoming concerned and they are engaging in civil disobedience, and not violent, direct action techniques,” said group member Geoffrey Szuszkiewicz.

Well, the article doesn’t have them actually singing, but, they were good enough to tweet out

Their Facebook has the words

Yeah, yeah

The group wants to see net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, for Ottawa to admit how serious the climate crisis is, and for the federal government to create a citizens’ assembly on climate justice.

Funny, because Canadians have started rebelling against the Governments ‘climate change’ policy push.

Read: We’re Saved: Extinction Rebellion Nutters Remix Christmas Carols In Calgary »

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