Minnesota Introduces Their Own Green New Deal, As Written By Kids

By William Teach April 15, 2019 – 6:56 am

Hey, AOC’s GND looks like it was written by kids with zero experience of the world, so, hey, why not. And, it is a bill, not a resolution like AO’s one (via Watts Up With That?)

Minnesota Introduces Bold New Climate Change Bill Crafted By Teens

Everyone always looks to California for climate action, but don’t sleep on the Midwest. On Thursday, Minnesota legislators introduced a sweeping new bill modelled after Alexandrio Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal.

But their bill and its rollout differs in one huge way: they let teens lead the way in crafting and introducing it, a first for climate legislation. The press conference and bill may be less visible than 1.5 million students in the streets, but it’s a landmark moment as young adults open up a new front in the push for climate action.

“This is our future, and we’re actually taking action on it,” Anna Grace Hottinger, a 16 year old sophomore who helped author the bill, told Earther.

Hottinger is part of the group Minnesota Can’t Wait, a youth-led climate advocacy group that has been pushing for climate action at the state level. The idea of a bill arose in the fall and the group has been meeting with Minnesota state legislators for months, including a January meeting Governor Tim Walz shortly after his inauguration.

What does it do?

The Minnesota Green New Deal bill represents a much more dramatic step. Introduced by state Representative Frank Hornstein and Senator Scott Dibble along with 17 co-sponsors, the legislation follows the outlines of the Green New Deal resolution introduced at the federal level earlier this year.

The bill requires the state to run on 100 per cent carbon-free energy by 2030 and puts a moratorium on fossil fuel permitting. It also requires commissioners of various state agencies to come up with plans for decarbonisation of different sectors, including transportation and agriculture, as well as divesting the state’s pension system from fossil fuels.

Throughout, the text nods to the need for getting input from a wide range of groups including unions, low income communities, people of colour, and tribes. Hottinger said those provisions were really important, and that Minnesota Can’t Wait reached out to trade unions and other groups who would be impacted for feedback on the proposed text.

So, it’s all about hardcore leftist SJW and identity politics? Huh. And, as far as being “a much more dramatic step”, the legislation would deny the construction of any “facility to transport, store, or process coal, crude oil or its derivative products, propane, or natural gas,” which would also mean that no new homes would be able to be constructed with the best option for a Minnesota winter, natural gas. Also, no new gas stations, and the legislation seems to imply that upgrades to existing gas stations would be disallowed.

Further

The bill is ripe with language on how the state can help facilitate a just transition to a clean energy economy, from jobs training to identifying any economic impact the shift could have on electricity rates.

“The Minnesota Green New Deal not only represents a bold agenda toward climate change, but also represents a new style of politics, one that values people over profits,” Tiger Worku, a junior from Minneapolis, said at the press conference announcing the bill on Wednesday.

This is about shifting away from capitalism into their Modern Socialist type system as run by Government. And good luck running the snowplows on solar panels.

It has zero chance of passing, though, since Republicans control the Minn. Senate.

Read: Minnesota Introduces Their Own Green New Deal, As Written By Kids »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Democrats, Energy, Global Warming | 26 Comments | Trackback URL

Brave Sir Booker Says Illegal Aliens Make Sanctuary Cities Less Safe

By William Teach April 15, 2019 – 6:41 am

It really is hilarious how Trump can send a tweet or two, maybe make a quick announcement, and Democrats rush to tell us how sanctuary jurisdictions are bad things and that they don’t actually want a ton of illegal aliens in them

From the article

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Cory Booker, of New Jersey, accused President Trump of trying to incite anger and divide Americans with his threat to release undocumented immigrants from the border into sanctuary cities. CBS News’ “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan asked Booker whether the president’s threat was an empty one — whether he was, perhaps, creating friction in order to jumpstart a Congress that has not acted on immigration.

“You say ‘friction’ — I say he’s trying to pit Americans against each other and make us less safe,” Booker told Brennan in an interview following his kick-off presidential campaign rally on Saturday in his hometown of Newark, a sanctuary city.

So, if Trump sent illegal aliens to sanctuary jurisdictions, it would make them less safe? Huh. Who would have thought it! Excitable Rahm Emanuel, mayor of Chicago, has declared that all of America is a sanctuary. Then there’s TDS infused Cher

Huh, that sounds rather like what Conservatives have been saying, that we should take care of our own first. Welcome to MAGA Country, Cher.

But, wait, here’s one that will give you “WTF” face all day

Trump revived attacks on sanctuary cities to distract from Mueller report release: report

President Trump reportedly publicly revived an earlier proposal to release migrants in sanctuary cities in part to distract from lingering questions about special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, according to The New York Times.

Shortly after news broke that the administration had rejected the idea, Trump sent a series of tweets claiming it was still being considered. Trump has deliberately escalated his language to enliven his base since the Mueller investigation’s conclusion, according to the Times.

Once Attorney General William Barr delivers the redacted report, the White House reportedly plans to have aides speed-read it, skipping all sections related to potential criminal conspiracy and reading only the section on why Mueller was unable to determine whether Trump obstructed justice.

First, the NYT doesn’t say that. Second, it’s always amusing when Democrats trot out the “distraction” meme, because it means they are losing, and losing badly. Why won’t all these illegal alien loving jurisdictions take illegals?

Read: Brave Sir Booker Says Illegal Aliens Make Sanctuary Cities Less Safe »

Posted in Democrats, Donald Trump, Illegal Immigration | 11 Comments | Trackback URL

Pelosi: Era Of Big Tech Self-Regulation Should Be Over

By William Teach April 14, 2019 – 5:37 pm

Something else that Democrats want to fully control at the federal level?

Nancy Pelosi Says Tech’s ‘Era Of Self-Regulation’ Should ‘Probably’ Be Over

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) appears to be open to further regulation of big tech companies.

Speaking on journalist Kara Swisher’s “Recode Decode” podcast in an episode released Friday, Pelosi pointed to the U.K., where “they’ve said the era of self-regulation of these companies is over.”

Asked if she thought it was over in the U.S. too, the congresswoman for San Francisco ― the home of major tech companies like Twitter and Uber and to workers for Facebook, Google and others headquartered in nearby Silicon Valley ― said “it probably should be.”

“I think we have to subject it all to scrutiny and cost-benefits and all that, but I do think that it’s a new era,” she said on the podcast.

Major tech companies have come under increased scrutiny in recent years. Amazon has been criticized for tax benefits some see as unfair and for having its low-wage warehouse employees work long hours for little pay, all while fighting their efforts to unionize.

Uber has faced several drivers’ strikes, most recently in Los Angeles, for cutting drivers’ pay per mile ― all while drivers are categorized as contractors rather than employees, preventing them from unionizing or receiving benefits like health care or 401(k) retirement funds.

Facebook and Twitter have also notably come under fire for not doing enough to manage the spread of hate and misinformation on their platforms, and Facebook has experienced a seemingly endless series of privacy snafus.

Yes, they have a lot of power and a lot of problems. But, before you slam Pelosi, consider that many Conservatives have been slamming these same companies, and have even called for breaking them up, much like Elizabeth Warren has recommended.

Pelosi also spoke of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act ― a provision that gives online intermediaries like Google, YouTube and Reddit immunity from liability for any third-party content posted to or hosted on their platforms.

“[Section] 230 is a gift to them … and I don’t think they are treating it with the respect that they should,” Pelosi said of tech companies. “And so I think that that could be a question mark and in jeopardy.”

“They just love 230,” she added. “For the privilege of 230, there has to be a bigger sense of responsibility on it, and it is not out of the question that that could be removed.”

The threat is that if these companies do not toe the Democrat line even more they could end up having the Federal government come after them. This is a dangerous precedent, dangerous speech, where companies could pay the price for Wrongthink in allowing opponents of Democrats to have a free say. These tech companies may lean Liberal, but, do you want massive regulation by the government? Because your individual usage could be next.

Read: Pelosi: Era Of Big Tech Self-Regulation Should Be Over »

Posted in Queen Nancy, Web/Tech | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach April 14, 2019 – 1:00 pm

…is hazy air from too much carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Not A Lot Of People Know That, with a post on the fake walrus scare.

It’s golf week!

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach April 14, 2019 – 9:05 am

Happy Sunday! Another fantastic day in America. The plants are getting some rain, the birds are screaming for sex (otherwise known as bird song), and the NHL playoffs are in full force. This pinup is by Bill Randall, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. Yid With Lid notes Dem darling Stacey Abrams under investigation by Georgia State Ethics Board
  2. Twitchy covers the thumbs up gesture now being considered Raaaaacist
  3. Weasel Zippers notes Democrats rushing to defend Omar’s very bad 9/11 comments
  4. The Right Scoop notes the new words added to the Woke-dictionary
  5. The Other McCain discusses the collusion delusion boomerang
  6. The Last Refuge covers a horrendous Reuters headline
  7. The Daley Gator notes another Leftist calling for speech and media control
  8. Powerline discusses the spying by the FBI
  9. Political Clown Parade highlights winter coming for Hillary
  10. Patterico’s Pontifications notes Trump being blamed for incitement for firing back on Islamist Omar
  11. Pacific Pundit highlights Stop Socialism rallies on April 15th
  12. neo-neocon covers Ilhan Omar and the victimhood competition
  13. Moonbattery notes the media hiding a reason for a guy killing his family
  14. Maggie’s Farm has some questions on immigration
  15. And last, but not least, LL1885 discusses a taxpayer funded anti-Semitic conference at a UNC Chapel Hill

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.

Read: Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup »

Posted in Patriotic Pinup | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

Democrats Who Can’t Get Over Losing 2016 Formally Demand Trump’s Tax Returns, Part Two

By William Teach April 14, 2019 – 7:56 am

The late Robin Williams had a joke about British bobbies having no weapons other than a nightstick, in which he would mimic them saying “Stop! Or I’ll tell say stop again.” Having failed to obtain all of Trump’s tax returns, personal and business, with all sorts of explanations, by April 10th, Democrats are yelling “stop again”

House Democrats give IRS until April 23 to turn over Trump tax returns

House Democrats are giving the Trump administration a hard deadline of April 23 to turn over the president’s tax returns, pushing back against Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s skepticism over their request for the private records.

Rep. Richard E. Neal (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, on Saturday sent a two-page letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig rebuffing Mnuchin’s statement earlier this week that Treasury would miss House Democrats’ initial April 10 deadline for the returns.

Mnuchin’s concerns “lack merit,” Neal wrote.

Neal’s latest letter sets the stage for further escalation in the conflict between Congress and the White House, as legal experts have suggested that an outright denial of their request by Mnuchin could be followed by subpoenas or a lawsuit in federal court. Mnuchin so far has only postponed responding to Democrats’ request and said he would confer with the Justice Department, but he has not yet rejected it.

Well, good luck with this, Democrats who just can’t get over Hillary losing to Trump. Come April 24th, will we get an even more Strongly Worded Letter? They are never going to get Trump’s taxes in a legal manner, certainly by the the 2020 election day, and the more they push this attempt to get his taxes, the more they are going to show that this is political, personal, and unhinged

Congressional Republicans and Trump’s personal attorney, William S. Consovoy, have argued Democrats’ request risks weaponizing the IRS for partisan political gain, with Consovoy calling it a “gross abuse of power.” Mnuchin’s letter earlier this week said Neal’s request “raises serious issues concerning the constitutional scope of congressional investigative authority.”

There is no reason to see Trump’s taxes other than because Trump has told them “no” and Democrats are unhinged. They think they might find something illegal in there, but, do they think that the IRS wouldn’t have found it previously?

Hilariously, the NY Times’ Binyamin Applbaum thinks

Everyone’s Income Taxes Should Be Public

…

Almost a century later, it’s time to revisit the merits of universal public disclosure. Democrats in Congress are fighting to obtain President Trump’s tax returns under a separate 1924 law, written in response to related concerns about public corruption. That issue could be resolved, at least in part, if Congress embraced the broader case for publishing everyone’s tax bill.

Democrats wouldn’t care if Trump wasn’t president, and, of course, they feel the need to turn the amp up to 11 by calling for all returns to be released (can we start with Nancy Pelosi and a goodly chunk of elected Dems? How about Binyamin’s?)

Disclosure also could help to reduce disparities in income, as well as disparities in tax payments. Inequality is easier to ignore in the absence of evidence. In Finland, where tax data is published each year on Nov. 1 — jovially known as National Jealousy Day — people treat the information as a barometer of whether inequality is yawning too wide.

See? They’re going to take the TDS and use it for their SJW purposes. Funny thing, I don’t remember Democrats being as obsessed with transparency when Republicans were trying to get the information on Operation Fast and Furious, the Benghazi attacks, nor IRS targeting. They want to destroy privacy simply because they are, in fact, unhinged sore losers.

Read: Democrats Who Can’t Get Over Losing 2016 Formally Demand Trump’s Tax Returns, Part Two »

Posted in Barking Moonbats, Current Affairs, Democrats, Donald Trump | 51 Comments | Trackback URL

Might Deport Later

By William Teach April 13, 2019 – 2:49 pm

Read: Might Deport Later »

Posted in Donald Trump, Humor | 31 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach April 13, 2019 – 1:00 pm

…is a world flooded by too much carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Raised On Hoecakes, with a post on Excitable Maxine Waters and banks.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 43 Comments | Trackback URL

NYC Plans On Releasing It’s Own Green New Deal

By William Teach April 13, 2019 – 10:30 am

What could possibly go wrong?

NY is introducing its own Green New Deal

As Washington debates the controversial Green New Deal, New York City is forging ahead with its own measures in a bid to curb climate change.

The city council will announce Thursday a batch of proposed legislation, dubbed the Climate Mobilization Act, that aim to curb carbon emissions in the country’s largest metropolis and would force landlords to cut emissions by 40 percent by 2030, according to HuffPost.

The most drastic measure would require landlords with buildings over 25,000 square feet to conduct retrofits like new windows and insulation that would make the building’s more energy efficient.

NYC has one of the largest carbon footprints in the world (this site ranks them #3). It is a city that depends on fossil fuels. Taxis, private vehicles, limos, buses, cop cars and fire trucks, ambulances, and all the trucks and ships which bring goods to and from the city. Think you can power all those skyscrapers with solar panels and wind turbines? Good luck.

And who will pay for all those retrofits? NYC is also one of the most expensive places to live: that will get worse. Who gets hurt the most? Certainly not the rich Warmists pushing this. And what happens with jobs? What happens when companies whose costs skyrocket leave, also taking their tax money with them?

Other measures in the act, which would be implemented by 2024, would require solar panels or plants to cover the roofs of some buildings, or install miniature wind turbines. A second batch of legislation, that is expected to be introduced in coming months, would require all school buses to be electric. [HuffPost]

Whelp, good luck with this, citizens of NYC. But, hey, you voted for this stuff. Now you can deal with the fallout.

Read: NYC Plans On Releasing It’s Own Green New Deal »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 15 Comments | Trackback URL

We Have To Change Economics And Design To Survive ‘Climate Change’ Or Something

By William Teach April 13, 2019 – 7:24 am

Funny how an issue we’re told is all about science always involves changing our system away from capitalism and having the government dictate changes to our lives, eh?

Surviving climate change means transforming both economics and design

What could be more important than sustaining habitable living conditions on Earth? Climate change, biodiversity loss and other environmental problems demand changes on an order of magnitude well beyond the trajectory of business-as-usual. And yet, despite accumulative social and technological innovation, environmental problems are accelerating far more quickly than sustainable solutions.

If all Warmists gave up their own fossil fueled lives and went carbon neutral, we could solve this! (not really, because it is mostly natural, CO2 is not the control knob, but, it would be amusing watching Warmists live like it’s 1499)

The design industry is one of many industries mobilising to address environmental imperatives. While sustainability-oriented designers are working towards change from many angles, addressing and other  on this scale demands much more dramatic transformations in economic ideas, structures and systems that enable – or disable – .

Put simply, designers cannot design sustainable future ways of living on scale without a shift in economic priorities. Human impacts on planetary processes in the Anthropocene require new types of ecologically engaged design and economics if the necessary technological, social and political transitions are to take place.

Design is crucial to this debate because it is key to the creation of future ways of living. Designers make new ideas, products, services and spaces desirable to future users. With the shape of a font, a brand, the styling of a product, the look and feel of a service, the touch of a garment, the sensation of being in a particular building, designers serve the interests of customers (generally, those with disposal income). They do so according the logic and modes of governance generated by what is valued by economic structures. Design is the practice that makes capitalism so appealing.

Well, they just can’t have capitalism, now, can they?

Contemporary  reproduce this tradition by rewarding individuals and companies for using (and often exploiting) resources to generate profit, regardless of the ecological or social consequences. The extractive and exploitative dynamics of capitalist economics generate economies locked into accelerating climate change, species extinction and other severe environmental and social problems. This economic system continues to produce ever greater degrees of crises as planetary boundaries are breached in ever more extreme ways.

Holy cow, phys.org sounds more like something put out by the Communist Party USA.

But there are economic alternatives. Heterodox economic theory (such as ecological, feminist and Marxist economics) challenges the assumptions of mainstream economics. It has shown how neoclassical and neoliberal economics produce unsustainable economies that consistently devalue the natural world, women’s work and the labour of other groups historically denied equal access to capital.

For example, the Iceberg Model depicts a feminist economic framework where non-market activities, including the unpaid labour that buttresses capitalist economics, are made explicit.

The challenges of the Anthropocene demand that we overcome the exploitative and anti-ecological biases in neoclassical and neoliberal economics. One popular alternative is Kate Raworth’s Donut Economics. This would prioritise both social justice and environmental sustainability to create a safe operating space for humanity. Unlike conventional economics, heterodox economics takes the ecological context and planetary boundaries into account – while also addressing the interests of historically disadvantaged populations.

Funny thing is, most of the same people who call for replacing capitalism refuse to do it in their own lives, because they want money, just like Bernie Sanders.

Read: We Have To Change Economics And Design To Survive ‘Climate Change’ Or Something »

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