California Says It Will Stop Buying Toyota, GM, Chrysler Vehicles Over Emissions Spat

By William Teach November 19, 2019 – 7:12 am

This begs the question “why are they buying fossil fueled vehicles in the first place when they hate fossil fuels?”

California to stop buying GM, Toyota and Fiat Chrysler vehicles over emissions fight

California said on Monday it will halt all purchases of new vehicles for state government fleets from GM, Toyota, Fiat Chrysler and other automakers backing U.S. President Donald Trump in a battle to strip the state of authority to regulate tailpipe emissions.

Between 2016 and 2018, California purchased $58.6 million in vehicles from General Motors Co , $55.8 million from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV , $10.6 million from Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> and $9 million from Nissan Motor Co <7201.T>.

Last month, GM, Toyota, Fiat Chrysler and members of the Global Automakers trade association backed the Trump administration’s effort to bar California from setting its own emission standards, which are significantly stricter than the Trump Administration proposal’s preferred option.

GM spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan said in a statement it was unfortunate that California will stop buying its electric Bolt.

“Removing vehicles like the Chevy Bolt and prohibiting GM and other manufacturers from consideration will reduce California’s choices for affordable, American-made electric vehicles and limit its ability to reach its goal of minimizing the state government’s carbon footprint, a goal that GM shares.”

So, what will they purchase? Honda doesn’t sell to government. You’re left with Ford, which doesn’t really make cars anymore, they are focused on SUVs and pickups. You could still go with the more expensive Lincoln and Buick. There’s also Nissan. Will the government of California start buying $125 thousand Teslas? Should they be buying any, though? How about Volkswagen?

Starting in January, the state will only buy from automakers that recognize California’s legal authority to set emissions standards. They include Ford Motor Co , Honda Motor Co <7267.T>, BMW AG and Volkswagen AG , which struck a deal with California in July to follow revised state vehicle emissions standards.

So, the list is down to Ford, which, again, really doesn’t make cars. Honda doesn’t sell to government in bulk or direct, though their Insight and Accord Hybrid would be perfect. BMW, which would be really expensive, and VW, which have high maintenance costs and cheated on emissions.

You also have to wonder why they are buying $100 million in cars yearly. Why are they not keeping the cars more than a year or two? Further, California is already having energy supply problems: how do they expect to charge the plugin vehicles?

Read: California Says It Will Stop Buying Toyota, GM, Chrysler Vehicles Over Emissions Spat »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

Narrative Fail: Majority Do Not Want Trump Removed

By William Teach November 19, 2019 – 6:50 am

After all these years of crying Russia Russia Russia and now Ukraine Ukraine Ukraine the Democrats have blown their narrative. They’re out there freaking out over a phone call which was simply normal, one looking to solve the corruption of the Russia investigation, running a sorta impeachment theater, they have the media covering for them, but…

Most Americans break with Trump on Ukraine, but just 45 percent think he should be removed: poll

A wide majority of Americans said that President Trump‘s actions involving Ukraine and former Vice President Joe Biden were “unacceptable,” but most do not want him removed from office, according to a new poll.

In an NPR-Marist College poll published Tuesday, 70 percent of respondents said that Trump was wrong to solicit a Ukrainian criminal investigation into Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, as the former vice president mounts a 2020 presidential bid.

Still, just 47 percent of Americans said that Trump should be impeached by the House, and just 45 percent said that the Senate should convict the president and remove him from office. Forty-four percent said that Trump should not be removed from office or that they were unsure, while 46 percent said that the House should not vote to impeach the president.

Think about that: the Democrats and their media allies have convinced a wise swath of Americans as to what the call was about, namely, Trump demanding that Ukraine investigate Joe Biden in order to get military aid, which, of course, was not what the call was about, nor the whole thing. They’ve managed to get citizens to not think “say, why would Joe need to be investigated? What was he doing with Ukraine, and how did his unqualified son get that job?” You know if the parties were reversed the focus would be on Joe, were he a Republican.

But, for all the focus, for getting people to believe the narrative, just 45 percent say he should be removed, which is pretty much the party breakdown for Democrats. The poll numbers are not going to go up: the Democrats have taken their shot, it’s been mostly a big nothingburger, and they have nothing else. Just farts on TV.

They have set a standard for the GOP to impeach a future Democrat president for minor things, though.

Read: Narrative Fail: Majority Do Not Want Trump Removed »

Posted in Barking Moonbats, Democrats | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

Extinction Rebellion Lunatics Protesting With Hunger Strike At Nancy Pelosi’s Office

By William Teach November 18, 2019 – 6:00 pm

They’re even taking vitamins!

You know what would help? Jobs. But, then, most obtained degrees in worthless disciplines, so, no one is interested in hiring them.

Read: Extinction Rebellion Lunatics Protesting With Hunger Strike At Nancy Pelosi’s Office »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach November 18, 2019 – 1:00 pm

…is early snow caused by greenhouse gases, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Raised On Hoecakes, with a post on why people need to be able to defend themselves.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 24 Comments | Trackback URL

Bummer: Hotcoldwetdry Isn’t On The Thanksgiving Menu For Most

By William Teach November 18, 2019 – 11:00 am

Yes, it is that time of the year when we start getting the articles on discussing ‘climate change’ at the Thanksgiving gathering (which will soon be about discussing it at Christmas parties and Christmas dinner)

Climate Talk Isn’t on the Thanksgiving Menu for Most People

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, which for many Americans means food, family and uncomfortable political conversations that could involve climate change for some adults this year.

While only about 1 in 5 adults expect to have a climate change discussion this holiday, 42 percent said in a new Morning Consult poll that they are now more likely to start a conversation with friends or family compared to a year ago. And almost half of adults (48 percent) said they have started a conversation about the issue with friends or family in the past year, according to the Nov. 6-8 poll of 2,187 U.S. adults, which had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

But the proportion of Americans that reports ever having initiated a climate conversation with various people in their lives is significantly lower than the share of Americans concerned about climate change, according to Morning Consult polling. A June survey found 71 percent of adults were very or somewhat concerned about climate change and its impact on the U.S. environment.

“Most people don’t perceive a social norm in favor of taking climate action, and so I think that sort of feeds into this reluctance to talk about it,” said Parrish Bergquist, a researcher at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. “This is a risky subject.”

Perhaps it’s just wise to stay away from conversations that can start fights, at least where most do not want to discuss it. Believe it or not, I generally stay away from discussing it at places like work, because it never goes well, and, my starting point when someone brings it up is “what have you done in your own life? Is that your fossil fueled vehicle right there?”

“How do you start potentially awkward conversations in a way that makes people comfortable?” posed Edward Maibach, a professor and director of George Mason University’s Center for Climate Change Communication. “I suspect most people are not expecting to start a conversation because they don’t know how to make people comfortable.”

You don’t. Unless your a climate cultist.

Read: Bummer: Hotcoldwetdry Isn’t On The Thanksgiving Menu For Most »

Posted in Global Warming, Holidays | 10 Comments | Trackback URL

Your Computer Is Really Bad For ‘Climate Change’ Or Something

By William Teach November 18, 2019 – 8:18 am

This is the next extension of the Cult of Climastrology scaremongering over the carbon pollution from streaming video

Climate reboot: Are computers among the causes of climate change?

Since the 1970s – the decade that gave us the creation of both Earth Day and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – people have become more mindful of the impact human civilisation is having on the planet.

After all, it’s the only home our civilisation has known and may ever know.

The concept of climate change has grown even hotter this decade, with increased temperatures in many regions and increasing attention on the subject. (snip)

The planet’s hidden killer

What about those phones that we are using to broadcast our climate protest engagement or the social networks we use to promote this activity to our family, friends, and strangers and enlist them in the cause?

These are questions rarely asked and even more rarely answered.

You won’t be gaining a lot of support, especially from the young kids, if you want to take away their smartphones, nor their streaming videos

A recent report in Fortune, however, did provide some kind of answer on the topic.

It found that the music video for Despacito – which became the first video to reach five billion views on YouTube – ended up burning as much energy as 40,000 US homes in a year on its way to five billion streams ‘served’.

This story did not get nearly the attention it should have.

As that Fortune report also pointed out, there is a whole infrastructure of data we take for granted when performing the simplest of internet activity: a typical Google search activates servers in six to eight data centres around the world.

Most of these servers eat up a tonne of energy just so they can stay at a cool enough temperature to remain functional.

When one internet video can potentially do as much damage to our planet as a small city does in a year, perhaps we’re missing a large part of the human-generated climate change equation.

So, what should be done?

Collectively, individual users should start being mindful about their computer use, just as they are about recycling or taking public transport.

However, we can only expect so much of the single consumer.

It is a challenge to the entire computing economy, both producers and consumers, to create a new infrastructure of efficiency that might improve energy usage, computing resources and, ultimately, the carbon footprint created by the industry.

So, who makes this happen? Companies are not going to suddenly change everything voluntarily when it works. But, hey, we can have a conversation

Still, we need to at least start having a conversation about our overreliance on data, at least as much as we talk about our overreliance on oil.

Read: Your Computer Is Really Bad For ‘Climate Change’ Or Something »

Posted in AGW Scaremongering, Global Warming | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Pew Survey: Majority Want More Deportations, Better Security At Southern Border

By William Teach November 18, 2019 – 7:53 am

For all the caterwauling from elected Democrats, their pundits, and their pet media regarding illegal aliens, it seems that Americans are rather concerned with illegal immigration

Pew Research: 6-in-11 Americans Want More Deportations of Illegal Aliens

A majority of Americans say they want to see more deportations of illegal aliens and increased security along the United States-Mexico border, a new survey finds.

The latest Pew Research Center survey reveals that nearly 70 percent of all Americans believe increased security at the porous U.S.-Mexico border is very or somewhat important — including more than 90 percent of Republican voters.

Another 54 percent of Americans said more deportations of the nation’s 11 million to 22 million illegal alien population is very or somewhat important. Republican voters by a majority of 83 percent said increasing deportations of illegal aliens is important ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

The findings come as President Trump’s administration has constructed less than 80 miles thus far of border wall along the southern border, though officials have repeatedly said hundreds of miles of construction is on its way.

This information is certainly not helpful for all the Democrats who are refusing to fund the border barrier, putting a budget deal in jeopardy. It might help with the hardcore base, but, the majority of U.S. citizens are surely saying “why don’t the Democrats want to secure the border? Why are they willing to stop the federal budget over illegal aliens?”

These are who Democrats are protecting

That’s just a small portion of those affected by illegal alien crime. Oh, and as for the Dreamers?

Roughly 80,000 DACA migrants, or one-in-ten, have an arrrest record, says an updated report from the Department of Homeland Security.

Nearly 110,000 DACA requestors out of nearly 889,000 (12%) had arrest records. Offenses in these arrest records include assault, battery, rape, murder and driving under the influence.

Of approved DACA requestors with an arrest, more than 31% (24,898) of them had more than one arrest.

Of all DACA requestors, 218 had more than 10 arrests. Of those, 54 had a DACA case status of “approved” as of October 2019.

Of course, the Open Borders advocates will say that illegal aliens commit crimes at a lower rate than U.S. citizens, missing the point that illegal alien crime should be zero percent, since they shouldn’t be here.

Read: Pew Survey: Majority Want More Deportations, Better Security At Southern Border »

Posted in Illegal Immigration | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

Say, Why Is Venice Flooding? Climate Or Corruption?

By William Teach November 17, 2019 – 5:06 pm

Venice (the one in Italy) has been in the news lately because it has been flooding, and, of course, it is being blamed on man-caused climate change. It makes no difference to the climate cultists that it was built on a swamp, and has been flooding for centuries, and, there’s nothing new about a sea level increase during a Holocene warm period. Also, there are tectonic forces at play. But, what of corruption? This is rather surprising, coming from the left leaning Daily Beast

Venice Is Flooding Because of Corruption

In 1984, long before global warming and rising sea levels were common notions, Venice already was sinking. The future was so dire for the lagoon city that the local council voted to spend whatever it would take to study and then build a high-tech floodgate system to combat the rising Adriatic Sea.

It took nearly 20 years and a starting budget of $1.8 billion to come up with the so-called “Moses” plan. The project is an acronym for Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico or Experimental Electromechanical Module, and plays on the name of the biblical figure who parted the Red Sea.

Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s then prime minister, inaugurated the project in 2003 with the promise it would be completed by 2011, which was pushed back to 2014, which was pushed back to 2016, and, at last check, to 2021. Had the project been completed in time, Moses’ 78 massive mechanical gates might have limited this week’s devastating floods, which inundated 85 percent of the city with a tidal surge that topped six feet, causing millions of dollars’ worth of damage and putting ancient treasures at risk. Moses likely would not have completely kept out the surge, experts say, but it would have certainly done more than the alternative, which was to do nothing but tally the damage and wait for the next high tide.

So, it’s not done yet. What is the cost of it now?

In the 16 years since the Moses plan was put in place, the budget to finish the project has exploded to more than $7 billion and continues to bleed money at a dizzying rate. Some of the money has gone to bad management or corrupt contractors who have swindled the builders. In July, workers discovered that the 156 hinges—each weighing 36 tons—on the underwater barriers that were supposed to last a century are nearly rusted shut after just a decade under water. The job was awarded to a company called Gruppo Mantovani, which won the $275 million contract without there being a formal bid. La Stampa newspaper reports that the company used sub-par steel and is being investigated. Replacing the hinges will take a further 10 years and cost another $34 million, according to the Consorzio Venezia Nuova, which is in charge of the project.

And therein lies the problem with all the “solutions” that the Cult of Climastrology wants implement: they say it will cost X, but, the real costs will explode. Same with all the taxes and fees they demand be implemented. Well, one of the problems

More troubling still is that a lot of the money meant to finish the project has been siphoned away by rampant corruption. Several special funds fed by art lovers and patrons of the city that were meant to defray costs have disappeared into thin air. In 2014 after an investigation, Venice’s mayor Giorgio Orsoni resigned and 35 people tied to the project were arrested for bribery, kickbacks, extortion and money laundering. The investigation traced some $27 million that had disappeared from the Moses coffers to kickbacks from contractors and foreign bank accounts allegedly used to line the pockets of about 100 people.

How much graft and corruption did we see with the “green” portions of Obama’s Stimulus? Just mention the name “Solyndra.” Government is inefficient, irresponsible with The People’s money, and open to graft and corruption. And, as the article goes on to discuss, the Moses plan was poorly conceived, and even those parts that are operational do not work right. When some gates were tested they were so loud and vibrated so much people thought there was an earthquake.

Read: Say, Why Is Venice Flooding? Climate Or Corruption? »

Posted in Collapsing Science, Global Warming, Government | 7 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach November 17, 2019 – 1:00 pm

…is horrible carbon pollution heat snow, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is 90Ninety Miles From Tyranny, with a post on the official start of impeachment-palooze, via the Washington Post.

It’s snow week!

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 16 Comments | Trackback URL

Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach November 17, 2019 – 9:18 am

Gil Elvgren Patriotic Pinup

Happy Sunday! Another fantastic day in America. Winter is coming, the geese in the pond are honking, and my Devils have won two straight! This pinup is by Gil Elvgren, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. Althouse discusses the rumor of Trump having chest discomfort
  2. Climate Etc. covers the 10 year anniversary of ClimateGate
  3. Climate Scepticism discusses climate science scams don’t die of exposure
  4. America’s Watchtower notes Rashid Tlaib being investigated for diverting campaign funds for personal use
  5. American Elephants has more than you wanted to know about the climate crisis
  6. Chicks On The Right covers the shift from quid pro quo to bribery
  7. Common Cents Blog features Rep. Stefanik blowing away Adam Schiff
  8. DaTechGuy’s Blog notes how Democrat women are trying to win votes
  9. DC Clothesline notes that John Kerry and his family also go money from Ukraine
  10. Doug Ross @ Journal has an impeachment constructed of lies
  11. Free North Carolina covers public schools and LBGTQ propaganda
  12. House Of Eratosthenes notes the participation trophy crisis
  13. Jihad Watch discusses the 100 Reps and Senators who showed support for Hamas-linked CAIR
  14. Maggie’s Farm has a cool weather scientific survey for guys, wondering what you sleep in
  15. And last, but not least, MOTUS A.D. covers snowflakes invading America

As always, the full set of pinups can be seen in the Patriotic Pinup category, or over at my Gallery page (nope, that’s gone, the newest Apache killed access, and the program hasn’t been upgraded since 2014). While we are on pinups, since it is that time of year, have you gotten your “Pinups for Vets” calendar yet? And don’t forget to check out what I declare to be our War on Women Rule 5 and linky luv posts and things that interest me.

Don’t forget to check out all the other great material all the linked blogs have!

Anyone else have a link or hotty-fest going on? Let me know so I can add you to the list. And do you have a favorite blog you can recommend be added to the feedreader?

Read: Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup »

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