The Triangle Needs Light Rail Because Of ‘Climate Change’ Or Something

By William Teach January 6, 2019 – 4:18 pm

Here in the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill area) they’ve been pushing for light rail or some sort of a localized train for 20+ years. It tanked over 13 years ago due to the insanity of the cost vs how many people would actually ride it, the former being high and the latter being low. Further, the route plan was silly, and if people did take it to work, well, how were they actually going to get to work from the stations? It would leave a lot of people needing to take a long walk or drive to the station, then a long walk or a fossil fueled vehicle from the station to their place of employment. Again, the route makes no sense, and for most people it wouldn’t be available for their use in practicality. But, they won’t give up

Durham and Orange can’t afford to miss this train to the future

We stand on the brink of an opportunity that comes along only rarely in the life of any community—the opportunity to make a transformational change that will improve the lives of our residents for generations to come.

It has taken us 20 years to get here, and now we face a very stark choice. In the next 25 years, Durham alone will grow by 150,000 residents. The Triangle region will grow by 1,000,000 people. We will either begin to build our transit system now, or in 15 years we will be the largest metropolitan area in the nation without a rail system. Our quality of life will die as traffic crawls along our bumper-to-bumper streets and freeways.

In April, GoTriangle, our regional transportation agency, will submit an application for a $1.24 billion federal grant to build the Durham-Orange light rail line, which will form the first critical backbone of a regional rapid transit system.

All the indications are good that these funds will be available to us. We have strong support from Sens. Tillis and Burr as well as from Rep. Butterfield and Gov. Cooper. Crucially, Rep. David Price is the new chair of the House committee that oversees transportation appropriations, and he is an ardent champion of the project. This is our time.

If the routes made sense, if they would bring people where they need to go and be easy, like, say, the metro in D.C., it would be fine. Not that many people will ride this.

We will be fighting the highway gridlock that threatens our quality of life, and we will be doing the single most important thing we can do locally to fight climate change.

You know why so many do not take buses to work? Inconvenient and take too long. Know why people won’t take this train? Inconvenient and takes too long, and, will leave them off far from work. But, hey, now they can add Hotcoldwetdry into the mix.

Read: The Triangle Needs Light Rail Because Of ‘Climate Change’ Or Something »

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

If All You See…

By William Teach January 6, 2019 – 1:00 pm

…is a sky full of carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is A View From The Beach, with a post noting that mowing your lawn and acting respectable is now raaaaacist.

It’s boots week!

Read: If All You See… »

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Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach January 6, 2019 – 9:15 am

Happy Sunday! Another lovely day in the excellent nation of America. The Sun is shining, the birds are singing, and Democrats are barking at the moon. This pinup is by Greg Hildebrandt, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. Climate Change Dispatch discusses the overblown and misleading issue of global warming
  2. Blazing Cat Fur notes how bad the ratings are for CNN
  3. Chicks On The Right covers the LA Times being fine with anti-Semites as long as they’re liberals
  4. Cold Fury discusses the British Army looking for snowflakes
  5. DC Clothesline notes that Trutherism is still alive, with a federal grand jury to hear “evidence” that 9/11 was a controlled demolition
  6. Doug Ross @ Journal covers CNN being upset over the latest jobs numbers
  7. Free North Carolina notes Hungary banning Gender Studies, as it’s not an academic study
  8. Geller Report covers more stabbings in Londonistan
  9. Hogewash has thoughts on women and STEM
  10. Legal Insurrection notes a Austrian woman charged with hitting the migrant who molested her
  11. Moonbattery digs into the cost for Medicare for all
  12. Pacific Pundit notes that the latest congress is first to feature a woman married to her brother
  13. Powerline covers Republicans pouncing!
  14. Raised On Hoecakes notes that the shutdown is because Democrats won’t discuss
  15. And last, but not least, The Last Refuge highlights the rebellion continuing in France

As always, the full set of pinups can be seen in the Patriotic Pinup category, or over at my Gallery page. 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 »

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Democrats Prepare Rollout Of Universal Background Checks Bill

By William Teach January 6, 2019 – 8:04 am

And it is totally bipartisan, because there is one Republican co-sponsor!

House lawmakers prepare rollout of gun control proposal

House lawmakers are planning to roll out a measure on Tuesday that would require universal background checks for nearly all firearms purchases, as House Democrats attempt to make good on their pledge to address gun control with their new majority.

The proposal, headlined by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chairman Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), is a bipartisan measure, with Rep. Peter T. King (D-N.Y.) serving as the lead Republican co-sponsor. According to an aide familiar with the package, the existence of which was previously reported in Politico, it will seek to impose universal background checks for the purchase and transfer of firearms, with some exceptions for hunting and family, but will not address an assault weapons ban.

For years, Democrats and several Republicans have been calling for Congress to take steps to better regulate gun purchases and possession, pointing to a spate of recent fatal mass shootings such as the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla., the 2017 massacre at an outdoor music festival in Las Vegas, the 2016 shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, and the 2012 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. and at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo.

Former congresswoman Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.), herself a shooting victim from a 2011 assassination attempt, plans to be in Washington on Tuesday to help unveil the legislation.

“Americans have spoken,” she said on Twitter. “It’s time to address our gun violence epidemic, and this new Congress will not sit silent.”

As I’ve written many times before, I do not have any problem with requiring a background check on all gun transactions, including transfers between family members. In at least one previous post within the last year I’ve written that I think there should be a background check on every firearm purchase. If you just made one last month, you’re getting another check this month. Things can change which would cause someone to fail a check. To me, getting a background check doesn’t interfere with one’s Right to the 2nd Amendment.

But it remains unclear whether such legislation could clear procedural hurdles in the Senate, which remains under Republican control. The closest that the Senate has come to passing gun control legislation expanding background checks was in 2013, following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, when 56 senators rallied behind a measure — four votes shy of what they needed to clear procedural hurdles.

Last time, four Democrats voted against it. And, yes, the NRA did oppose it

The NRA released a statement immediately after the vote that said the measure would have “criminalized certain private transfers of firearms between honest citizens.”

“As we have noted previously, expanding background checks, at gun shows or elsewhere, will not reduce violent crime or keep our kids safe in their schools,” NRA executive director Chris Cox said in a statement.

On one hand, I’m going to disagree with the NRA, for which I’m a member, on criminalizing transfers between family members. Just because they’re family doesn’t mean they should have a firearm for various reasons. On the other hand, what we see is a lot of shooters having passed background checks then going on a rampage. So, how do they help? Uber-gun grabbing California already has this in place, yet, still sees shootings, including by people who passed a background check.

But, you have to wonder what kind of poison pill will be included in the upcoming legislation. You know it will be there. Something that Democrats have no problem voting for, but will stop the majority of Republicans. That way they can say “look, we tried, but those darned Republicans!” I guess we’ll see on Tuesday.

They would all be best served if they worked on legislation to revamp the backgrounds check system to make sure it works properly.

Read: Democrats Prepare Rollout Of Universal Background Checks Bill »

Posted in 2nd Amendment, Democrats | 16 Comments | Trackback URL

Record Number Of Democrats Want To Leave The U.S. (But Still Won’t)

By William Teach January 5, 2019 – 4:44 pm

Just as we saw when Bush won re-election in 2004 and Trump won in 2016, Liberals promised to leave but won’t

from the link

More Americans than ever say they want to leave the country, according to a new survey.

A poll conducted by Gallup found that 16 percent of Americans it surveyed said they wanted to permanently move to another country.

Those numbers are the highest ever recorded by Gallup and coincide with President Trump taking office.

During the first two years of Trump’s presidency, 30 percent of Americans under the age of 30 said they would like to move, with 40 percent of women in that age group feeling the same way.

Gallup’s survey found that respondents view of Trump’s presidency was the single largest factor regarding their desire to leave the country, outpacing gender, age or income.

Canada topped the list of countries respondents said they would want to move to. Twenty-six percent of Americans surveyed said Canada was their top choice, compared to 12 percent who said the same in 2016. (snip)

Overall, 22% of Americans who disapproved of Trump’s job performance during his first two years said they would like to move, compared with 7% who approved.

So, leave. Go. Syanara. Hasta la get out.

Now, this is only a survey of 1,001 Americans, and only in English. And there are zero metrics offered to break this down by party affiliation. But, we can easily tell that it is mostly Democrats who want to leave just because Trump.

Now if only they’d leave. But, then, even the polite people in Canada do not want the unhinged leftists.

Read: Record Number Of Democrats Want To Leave The U.S. (But Still Won’t) »

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If All You See…

By William Teach January 5, 2019 – 1:00 pm

…is a wonderful low carbon bike, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is 357 Magnum, with a post on California not being able to outlaw supply and demand.

Read: If All You See… »

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Republican Warmists Is Super Excited To Do Something About ‘Climate Change’ While Jetting Around The World

By William Teach January 5, 2019 – 11:55 am

It just goes to show that not all Warmists are Democrats here in America, just like not all Democrats are pro-baby killing. And this has made the Washington Post’s fake Conservative (one of them) Kathleen Parker super giddy

This South Carolina Republican is off to tackle Everest — then climate change

Tom Mullikin is that guy — you know, the one who finishes Christmas dinner then takes off to scale Mount Everest, conducting business by satellite phone to check progress on his plan to build an ocean reef upon his return.

Yes, a reef.

But first, Everest. If Mullikin succeeds in reaching the summit, he’ll have met his modest goal of becoming the world’s only human to both dive the planet’s five oceans and scale its seven highest peaks. Why not?

Mullikin himself is remarkably modest given the breadth of his interests and goals — the aforementioned reef not the least of them. The idea, he explained to me over a recent lunch, is to create a coastline buffer that would help diminish the effects of flooding during severe weather. Anyone familiar with South Carolina’s seashore and hurricane history knows that somethingought to be done. But what?

To answer that question, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) authorized a state flood commission in October and named Mullikin its chair. In addition to being an adventurer, Mullikin is an avid environmentalist and eco-lawyer, a pro-business Republican (formerly a Reagan Democrat), as well as a former U.S. Army judge advocate general officer and the recently retired commander of the South Carolina State Guard. He’s also the creator and leader of Global Eco Adventures, a nonprofit educational organization through which Mullikin takes students and policymakers to ecologically fragile areas for a close-up perspective on global warming, a view best achieved, apparently, from the highest peaks and deepest dives.

Hmm, seems like Mullikin is a typical hypocritical Warmist, eh? Jetting around the world on fossil fueled vehicles and taking others with him.

Mullikin is that rare conservative who knows that climate change is real and that human contribution is part of it. He also knows that there’s no way to tackle the problem without a global approach. “We only have one atmosphere,” he says. That China’s toxic emissions have effects elsewhere may be an obvious observation. Less obvious, perhaps, is the State Department’s finding that 70 percent of the mercury deposited in the United States comes from global sources.

At one time he worked for Senator Al Gore, so, yeah, pretty much a Statist at this point.

BTW, Everest has pretty much been ruined, turned into a trash bomb, by people like Mullikin. Not very environmentally friendly.

Read: Republican Warmists Is Super Excited To Do Something About ‘Climate Change’ While Jetting Around The World »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Climahypocrites, Global Warming, GOP | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

“New Green Deal” Is Making Some Blue Dog Dems Rather Uneasy

By William Teach January 5, 2019 – 7:38 am

When we look at what goes on with Millenials and kids on college campuses, it often looks like they’re all nuts, right? Well, really, that is just because we are seeing the vocal minority in action, while the rest are just living their lives. Similarly, not all elected Democrats are stark raving mad Statist nutjobs. Some are just plain old liberals. Or at least pretend to be

BLUE-DOG DEMS GET ANTSY AS HOUSE PROGRESSIVES PUSH THE GREEN NEW DEAL

Blue-dog Democratic lawmakers are wincing as the leaders of their party continue adopting measures that some believe could be perceived as anti-business in states dominated by Republicans.

Democrats are haggling over how far to push climate change policies at a time when President Donald Trump is dominating American politics. Liberals are wanting to push the envelope, but moderate Democrats are blanching.

Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, who co-chairs the centrist Blue Dog Coalition, told reporters that he will talk with Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, a New Jersey Democrat, about the direction and scale of climate legislation.

Cuellar’s concerns come after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday a new panel to address climate change.

His concerns, like many others, is in how far these super far left Democrats (technically, they would be super far right on the political scale, way over in the Authoritarian area) want to push the envelope with their ‘climate change’ policies. They aren’t idiots (just boobs) and understand what this would really do to the economy, and this would effect their own chances of re-election.

Newly elected Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York is one of the biggest proponents of the mission to force Democrats toward a more anti-fossil fuel message. Her strident objection to energy production does not appear to be winning her many converts among the middle-class union workers.

Terry O’Sullivan, general president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), took issue with her anti-oil mission during a phone conference in December.

“To me the Green New Deal is just a regurgitation of the keep it in the ground movement,” he said, referring to the so-called Green New Deal, an environmental push by Ocasio-Cortez. “What I’ve seen so far I’m not that impressed with. It scares the heck out of me.”

And the keep it in the ground movement won’t hurt the big moneyed donors to the Democrats, or to the mostly rich elected Democrats, but will hurt those middle class union members, along with all the middle and lower class American citizens. AOC figures the Green New Deal can be paid for with a tax on big earners

When asked by Cooper how to fund such a radical transformation of the country’s energy industry, Ocasio-Cortez pointed to past exorbitant tax rates for the super wealthy.

“You look at our tax rates back in the ’60s, and when you have a progressive tax rate system, your tax rate — let’s say from zero to $75,000 — may be 10 percent or 15 percent, etc. But once you get to, like, the tippy tops on your 10 millionth dollar, sometimes you see tax rates as high as 60 or 70 percent,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “As you climb up this ladder, you should be contributing more.”

Getting beyond the precious face Cooper, who makes over $10 million a year, made, a goodly chunk of these people make the money through capital gains, not income, and can easily shift the money they make both ways into shelters. Or overseas. They have the means to protect their earnings. And that could mean moving companies out of the U.S.

It also means, though, that those who aren’t in that $10 million bracket will also see their taxes go way up. Not exactly a winning recipe.

Read: “New Green Deal” Is Making Some Blue Dog Dems Rather Uneasy »

Posted in Democrats, Global Warming | 22 Comments | Trackback URL

Rep Bernie Thompson (D-Miss) Super Excited To Browbeat DHS Secretary Neilsen On Border Security

By William Teach January 5, 2019 – 7:02 am

See, now if it was a Republican calling a woman up to testify in this way, media outlets and Democrats would be Outraged about a man! daring to treat a Woman in this manner

House Homeland Security Committee chairman asks Nielsen to testify on ‘flawed’ border agenda

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the new chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen Friday requesting her to testify in front of the committee regarding the Trump administration’s border security agenda.

“As chairman, I intend to ensure the Committee on Homeland Security fulfills its constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight of your Department, including its implementation of President Trump’s border policy. In your year-long tenure, you have testified before the Committee only once. Another appearance is overdue,” Thompson wrote.

“The Committee’s first hearing will focus on critical border security matters, to include the border wall, metering of individuals seeking asylum at ports of entry, and the treatment of children in U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) custody. As such, I request your participation.”

Thompson ripped a presentation Nielsen submitted to Congress Friday defending the Trump administration’s immigration and border policies.

“Your border security presentation submitted to Congress today is yet another example of the misinformation and outright lies the Trump Administration has used to make the case for the President’s boondoggle border wall, defend the government shutdown, and distract the American people from a border policy so flawed that children have died in Department of Homeland Security custody,” he wrote.

If Sec. Neilsen is even allowed to speak during the committee meeting, rather than listening to Democrats bloviate during their entire time rather than asking questions, they might really not like the answers they are given. Thompson should remember that Republicans also sit on the committee, and will be able to ask questions that will allow Neilsen to provide information and facts and figures that Democrats will not like.

Of course, Neilsen testified before a House committee just two weeks ago, and has been speaking with Senators and Representatives in leadership positions over the last few weeks. One was Nancy Pelosi, who lives in Alternate Facts World

At one point during the meeting (on Wednesday), according to the Wall Street Journal, Pelosi interrupted Nielsen, who was citing statistics related to the border, including how many criminal illegal immigrants attempted to enter the U.S. last year.

“I reject your facts,” Pelosi told Nielsen

“These aren’t my facts,” Nielsen shot back. “These are the facts.”

Following the episode, Nielsen went to social media to criticize Pelosi and the Democrats for not wanting to hear about the issue of illegal immigration.

“I am disappointed that Dems did not want to hear from @DHSgov about the security & humanitarian crisis we are facing at the border,” Nielsen wrote. “They didn’t want to hear about criminal aliens, drug smugglers, smuggled & abused children or violent caravans trying to breach the border wall.”

What Democrats want, besides open borders, and they can all yammer on about how that’s not true, they just want “smart border security”, which is really just open borders but we get to watch on video as the illegals enter, is for Trump and the GOP to agree to the deal Dems passed in the House, which includes a lot more money for all things Leftist, such as more money for overseas abortions, and open the government. They pinkie swear that they’ll negotiate on border security after the government is open. We’re still waiting for the security from the amnesty Reagan agreed to.

Read: Rep Bernie Thompson (D-Miss) Super Excited To Browbeat DHS Secretary Neilsen On Border Security »

Posted in Democrats, Illegal Immigration | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Kids Who Are, Of Course, So Much Smarter Than Everyone Else Look To Sue Canadian Government Over ‘Climate Change’

By William Teach January 4, 2019 – 4:01 pm

Seriously, all their worldly experience makes them perfect to sue over something that “may” happen in 50-100 years, despite all the prognostications over the past 30+ years having failed

The kids aren’t alright

Millennials are blamed for all sorts of contemporary social ills, but there is at least one societal issue for which they can pin the blame on their elders: climate change. A group of youth based in Quebec are applying to bring a class action suit against the federal government at the Superior Court of Québec. The youth are claiming that the failures of successive federal governments to appropriately tackle climate change is resulting in charter rights violations.

Should the effort succeed, it would mark a significant shift in climate litigation in Canada.

The Quebec lawsuit follows the precedent of other citizen-led lawsuits and, in particular, a youth-led lawsuit that has been launched in the United States. In that one, American children are arguing that the under-regulation of greenhouse gases and subsidies made to the oil and gas industry are exacerbating climate change and thereby violating the youth’s constitutional rights, as delineated by the public trust doctrine.

Similarly, in Canada, Enjeu Québec outlines how both previous and present governments have failed to effectively legislate climate change, which they say, will result in charter violations. They criticize earlier governments for not setting ambitious enough targets and the present one for not implementing effective policies to meet current reduction targets.

The filing even goes so far as to suggest that the current government is hypocritical by claiming Canada is a climate change champion at international forums while domestically dodging the issue. Failing to adequately stem the rise of greenhouse gases will, the youth argue, affect their Charter rights, particularly the principle of fundamental justice as found under Section 7. “To limit in the very short term any economic loss is totally disproportionate in comparison to the gravity of the physical, moral and material harm that affects and will affect all members of the class in the short, medium and long term,” they write. They are also basing arguments on the right to a healthful environment as found under s.46.1 of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

They’ll also be the first ones to complain and caterwaul on social media when there are even fewer job opportunities for themselves, that the ability to afford someplace to live is even further out of reach, and that the cost of living has skyrocketed.

There are times when you almost want to see these nuisance suits succeed, just to see the reaction. Remember this on Ocare?

“I was laughing at Boehner — until the mail came today,”

“I really don’t like the Republican tactics, but at least now I can understand why they are so pissed about this. When you take $10,000 out of my family’s pocket each year, that’s otherwise disposable income or retirement savings that will not be going into our local economy.”

“Of course, I want people to have health care,” Vinson said. “I just didn’t realize I would be the one who was going to pay for it personally.”

“Of course I want to save the planet from a tiny increase in global temps. I just didn’t realize I would be the one who was going to pay for it personally after my lawsuit.”

Read: Kids Who Are, Of Course, So Much Smarter Than Everyone Else Look To Sue Canadian Government Over ‘Climate Change’ »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 8 Comments | Trackback URL
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