Kamala Harris Is Super Excited For More Gun Control

By William Teach November 20, 2018 – 7:02 am

I wonder if she can explain how it’s working in California?

Democrat Kamala Harris: Time for Congress to Pass More Gun Control

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) tweeted Sunday to claim no one is immune from gun violence and it is time for Congress to pass more gun laws.

Harris referenced Parkland, the site of the February 14 attack that killed 17 innocents, Chicago, the city of relentless violence and death, and Los Angeles, where 14 people were recently killed in an attack at the Borderline Bar & Grill.

Harris did not mention that Parkland was a gun-free zone, that Chicago has long been an experiment in gun control, and that the Borderline Bar & Grill is a state-mandated gun-free business.

She tweeted:

Ironically, Harris did not name a specific law that Congress should pass. But if we use the example of Los Angeles alone, it is hard to name a gun control that does not already exist.

For example, California has universal background checks, firearm registration laws, red flag laws, a requirement that would-be gun buyers first get a certificate of safety from the state, a ten-day waiting period for gun purchases, an “assault weapons” ban, a one-handgun-a-month purchase limit, a “good cause” qualification for concealed carry permit issuance, a ban on campus carry, a ban on carrying guns in places that serve alcohol for consumption, and controls for ammunition purchases.

Additionally, Los Angeles has a citywide ban on “high-capacity” magazines.

She literally has zero policy positions on either her older Kamala Harris for Senate page nor her official Senate page, so, we can’t figure out what she wants from there. The Democratic Party platform says

With 33,000 Americans dying every year, Democrats believe that we must finally take sensible action to address gun violence. While responsible gun ownership is part of the fabric of many communities, too many families in America have suffered from gun violence. We can respect the rights of responsible gun owners while keeping our communities safe. To build on the success of the lifesaving Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, we will expand and strengthen background checks and close dangerous loopholes in our current laws; repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) to revoke the dangerous legal immunity protections gun makers and sellers now enjoy; and keep weapons of war—such as assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines (LCAM’s)—off our streets. We will fight back against attempts to make it harder for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to revoke federal licenses from law breaking gun dealers, and ensure guns do not fall into the hands of terrorists, intimate partner abusers, other violent criminals, and those with severe mental health issues. There is insufficient research on effective gun prevention policies, which is why the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must have the resources it needs to study gun violence as a public health issue.

What part of that would have stopped those shootings? Despite all the massive gun laws in California, it didn’t stop the Thousand Oaks shooter. In fact, they didn’t use the Red Flag laws available. They do want to put gun shops and gun makers out of business through lawsuits, which would make it difficult for law abiding citizens to get a hold of weapons for protection. Heck, even for hunting and sport shooting.

So, what does Kamala want Congress to do? She won’t say.

Read: Kamala Harris Is Super Excited For More Gun Control »

Posted in 2nd Amendment, Democrats | 8 Comments | Trackback URL

Gov. Moonbeam: Skeptics Will Be Believers In Under 5 Years

By William Teach November 19, 2018 – 4:13 pm

Considering the authoritarian nature of the political left, is this a threat? Will we be forced to Believe? We’ve seen enough tweets and articles and statements and cartoons about forcing people to Believe, about jailing them, and even killing/executing them

Jerry Brown: ‘In Less Than 5 Years’ Even the Worst Climate Change Skeptics ‘Are Going to Be Believers’

Sunday on CBS’s’ “Face the Nation,” Gov. Jerry Brown (D) said the increasing wildfires in California meant that “in less than five years” the “worst skeptics” were going to be believers in climate change.

On the California fires, Brown said, “Well, how they started is now the subject of investigation. The consultation occurs because the brush, the vegetation is so dry, and the humidity is so low. And when you have that and then the heat and years of drought, that gets it going. In paradise, there were a lot of buildings that also caught fire, and it just went from one to the other. So it’s a mixture of many things, and the president talked about how our forests are managed. That’s an element. But there is also the way the houses were built, the materials, what kind of vegetation is around, and then there’s also the changing climate and the increasing drought and the lowered humidity and water vapor. All of that is combining to create the tragic situation that we saw today in both northern California and here in southern California.” (snip)

He added, “The only way to assure the long-term forest health is not just, you know, cutting trees, it’s going to require reducing carbon emissions and eventually, sooner rather than later to zero. If we don’t do that, you’re going to see these fires not only continuing but getting worse by the year as they are. The last five years, the fires have never been this bad. This fire in Malibu is the worst we’ve ever seen. This fire in Paradise in Northern California is the worst in the history of California. So, yeah, you can mold the science, but I’ll tell you, every year it’s going to get clearer and clearer so that I think in less than five years even the worst skeptics are going to be believers.”

Interesting, since the cause of the fires have been things like down power lines and automobiles and camp fires and such. Not a tiny increase in atmospheric CO2 and global temperature.

https://twitter.com/BigJoeBastardi/status/1064319535795326976

Perhaps if Jerry would give up his own use of fossil fuels and make his life carbon neutral he might persuade me back into the fold. But, you can bet he’ll take a long fossil fueled flight to Poland for the upcoming UN IPCC climate change meeting.

Read: Gov. Moonbeam: Skeptics Will Be Believers In Under 5 Years »

Posted in AGW Scaremongering, Global Warming | 12 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach November 19, 2018 – 1:00 pm

…is a horrible old school kitchen which is not only sexist, but when CO2 was below the safe level of 350ppm, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Climatism, with a post noting that Paradise, California has not been experiencing drought.

Read: If All You See… »

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

NJ Library Limits Books Checked Out In Order To Increase Screen Time

By William Teach November 19, 2018 – 10:53 am

In case you haven’t figured it out, I read a lot. Sometimes as much as 2 to 3 books a week. Mostly science fiction, some fantasy, horror, a few mysteries. Anyhow, remember the days growing up, and checking books out at the library? Heck, you may still do this. All my books come via Kindle, but, my dad loves checking out all the libraries in his county during his retirement. I used to do the same here, and Wake County has a grade A library system. But, you can only check out so many at a time. You have to return some to get more, right? Not in this school system

Library is limiting book rentals to boost kids’ screen time. Parents are peeved.

Every week, students at elementary schools in Mahwah could take out books from the school library. That changed at the start of this school year, and parents are concerned as to why. Some are downright angry.

Under a policy shift to have students receive more technology instruction, students in grades K-3 now take out books every other week and students in grades 4-5 take out books every three weeks.

“We’re hearing a lot of words and they’re the right words,” said Matthew Park, a parent attending a board of education meeting last week.

“And we hear people talk about how much they love reading and how (they) don’t want to take books out of kids hands. What’s being said is not matching up with objective reality and the reality is kids are getting fewer and fewer books into their hands.”

Superintendent C. Lauren Schoen said the district does not devalue reading and the policy change to check out books was not done to get rid of the library and media program, or the specialist position or to deprive students of books or reading time.

“Students access to books has not been dramatically limited,” she said. “Students still have access to books.”

Just not very often, because the school system wants them playing on their technology devices. Ridiculous.

Read: NJ Library Limits Books Checked Out In Order To Increase Screen Time »

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You Can Talk About ‘Climate Change’ At Thanksgiving And Not Ruin It Or Something

By William Teach November 19, 2018 – 7:39 am

It’s that time of year where the media is giving all sorts of instructions on how to totally ruin the holidays by making it uber-political, which emanate primarily from liberal outlets, since Democrat voters need to be told what to say. And, because they’re pretty much the ones who ruin holidays. And what better than combining the talk with ‘climate change’? And where better to go than an “arts and leisure” section?

HOW TO TALK ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE (AND NOT RUIN TURKEY DINNER)

David Court gave a lecture on Wednesday night, something he does a lot as a professor of Geography at Santa Barbara City College, only this time his audience was at the Mammoth Brewing Company and was probably much more sober than he’s used to. 

Court, who also works at the Earth Research Institute in UC Santa Barbara and as a guide with Dave Miller’s International Alpine Guides in the summers, gave a presentation entitled “How To Talk About Climate Change and Not Ruin Turkey Dinner.” 

During the conversational lecture, Court debunked climate myths, offered facts that his audience could cite in conversation, and ran through some social psychology techniques that may make it easier to change your stubborn Uncle Bob’s mind at the Thanksgiving table.

Or, better yet, keep it to yourself rather than starting a fight at the table (or while people are just enjoying the day). Yeah, I know, that would be asking too much of Warmists

Myth #1: The Science is Not Settled

“If its cold outside, how can there be global warming?” your Uncle Bob might ask.

“It’s like Colbert said,” Court joked, “I just ate, therefore there is no world hunger.”

Court described climate as a personality and weather as a mood. Your grandpa might have a lovely personality, but when the Packers are losing he’s in a foul mood. So, too, does a cold day not preclude a warming climate.

It was this early on in the lecture that Court kicked the piece of paper he had been holding and said, “F*%k the notes.”

“There is consensus among 99.9% of scientists on anthropogenic [human-caused] climate change. Only one in 17,000 disagree, and that will always happen. It’s like the guy in [Monty Python’s] Life of Bryan who after Brian tells the crowd that they are all individuals says, ‘I’m not.’”

Oh, now it’s 99.9%. Love to see him prove it.

Myth #2: So what if the planet gets warmer? I like it warm.

If your Uncle Bob says he likes it a little warmer, Court said try to humor Bob and think of what benefits might come from climate change. It will be easier to explore the arctic. Crops will grow farther north, Russia will certainly have more usable land. Some even say there will be fewer winter deaths, but that doesn’t really make sense. That’s about it.

The ill-effects are slightly scarier and more numerous. There will be drought and famine, like there was recently in Syria, which will exacerbate migration crises. Rising seas will reduce beaches, and reduced habitat will kill many species of animals. Less of the planet will be habitable for humans. 

Oh, you mean like the famine during the Little Ice Age, like in, say, Ireland? A famine that was so bad across Europe that French nobles were trying to get the upper and middle classes to eat potatoes, a crop that was so low that even peasants didn’t want to eat them? But were easy to grow? Because there was no wheat for bread? How many civilizations were wiped out due to cold, like the Vikings in Iceland, the Mayans, and the Aztecs?

Myth #4: It’s not humans. It’s the natural changing of the climate.

There are some natural causes of climate change, i.e. volcanoes, which can put lots of sulfates into the air all at once. However, there are not enough volcanoes in the world to cause the amount of warming we’ve seen. Three-quarters of warming is anthropogenic. What can get confusing are the natural feedback loops that causes the earth to feed the flames of anthropogenic change. For example, warming causes the release of more water vapor which acts as a greenhouse gas. Also, as the ocean warms the thermohaline circulation of the oceans slows, which affects pretty much everything.

Oh, how nice, they put a percentage on it. My answer would be “prove it using the scientific method.”

There are a couple more, just more ways for liberals to ruin everything. That’s what they do. And you can bet they won’t debate, they’ll argue and scream and talk over people.

Read: You Can Talk About ‘Climate Change’ At Thanksgiving And Not Ruin It Or Something »

Posted in Barking Moonbats, Global Warming | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

Democrats Super Excited To Investigate Why Trump Wants U.S. Citizens Counted In Census

By William Teach November 19, 2018 – 7:21 am

You can already see the unhinged Trump Derangement Syndrome overreach in what Democrats plan to do come the next session of Congress with Democrats in control of the House

Democrats to Investigate Why Trump Wants U.S. Citizens Counted on 2020 Census

House Democrats are planning to “immediately” investigate the reason President Donald Trump wants American citizens counted on the upcoming 2020 Census.

In March, President Donald Trump’s administration announced they would put the citizenship question back on the census. It has not been included since 1950. For seven decades, all residents living in the United States have been counted on the census but have not been asked whether or not they are American citizens, making it impossible for the federal government to know the size of the citizen population versus the immigrant population.

Now, as Democrats are preparing to be the majority in the House after the midterm elections, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) — who will chair the House Oversight Committee — told Reuters he will investigate why the Trump administration has put the citizenship question back on the 2020 Census.

“There are certain things that mandate that we look at immediately,” Cummings said. “One of them is the census because that’s right around the corner.”

Cummings said the House Oversight Committee must “figure out why [the citizenship question is] there, because to be very frank with you, we have been told some untruths.”

It’s a very simple equation: people who are unlawfully present in the United States should not be counted for state apportionment nor for federal funding. You could even make an argument that those here on visas shouldn’t be counted either. If someone is here on a student visa or work visa, should they really be counted? They aren’t here more than temporarily. Those who aren’t citizens but are permanent residents or brought in as refugees should be counted, as we allowed them that status. Migrant workers should also not be counted.

Supposedly, this would change the makeup of the House as you’d be reducing the population of many coastal liberal enclaves where illegal aliens reside, and it would move to non-Democrat states. I seriously doubt it would change much, unless there are a lot more illegals than we’re being told, which is possible. It wasn’t that long ago, less than 20 years, that we were told there were over 20 million illegals. Suddenly, that number jumped down to 11 million or so. You also have them in Republican states like Texas, South Carolina, and North Carolina, as well as others.

But, do Democrats really want to do this? Hold hearings into a question that asks citizenship? That wants to exclude illegal aliens from representation? Where it would exclude members of, say, MS-13? This could be a big overreach.

Read: Democrats Super Excited To Investigate Why Trump Wants U.S. Citizens Counted In Census »

Posted in Democrats, Illegal Immigration | 17 Comments | Trackback URL

You Don’t Believe In ‘Climate Change’ Because We Measure In Fahrenheit Or Something

By William Teach November 18, 2018 – 9:03 pm

You’re just measuring things all wrong

Using Fahrenheit Can Obscure the True Severity of Climate Change

Americans are finally beginning to grasp the profound dangers of climate change. But with many still in denial, it’s important to understand the mental blocks that keep us from acknowledging the need for action.

New research pinpoints one unexpected barrier: the Fahrenheit temperature scale.

In a new paper, researchers report the scale’s central oddity—freezing happens at 32 degrees, as opposed to the more logical 0 degrees Celsius—makes it more difficult for people to grasp the significance of a projected rise in average temperature.

“Is it possible that a mere change in whether the information presented is in Celsius or Fahrenheit will influence one’s perceived concern about climate change?” asks Eugene Chan of Australia’s Monash University. “Our results suggest the answer may be yes.”

In the Journal of Environmental Psychology, Chen describes two studies that make that case. The first featured 332 American adults. All read a brief statement about the seriousness of climate change, followed by one of four sets of statistics.

See, we could totally solve this whole thing if we used Celsius.

Read: You Don’t Believe In ‘Climate Change’ Because We Measure In Fahrenheit Or Something »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 7 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach November 18, 2018 – 1:00 pm

…is people stuffing themselves which is bad for climate change, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is DC Clothesline, with a post on Acting AG Matthew Whitaker’s views on the 10th Amendment.

Read: If All You See… »

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

Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach November 18, 2018 – 9:03 am

Patriotic Pinup Zoe Mozert

Happy Sunday! Another fantastic day in America. The sun is shining, the geese are honking, Thanksgiving is almost here (which gives some people the vapors). This pinup is by Zoe Mozert, with a wee bit of help.

BTW, someone asked if this was the 14th anniversary of doing this every Sunday, as this is the 728th edition. No, because I’ve used the Patriotic Pinup category tag for other posts, such as for Independence Day. The first ever use of a pinup was 4/3/2005. So I’ve been doing this same thing for over 13 years.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. Weasel Zippers notes that the gun grabbers are coming
  2. Watcher Of Weasels covers Sarah Sanders saying that the freedom of the press isn’t a freedom to be rude
  3. The Right Scoop discusses another wonderful illegal alien who tried to kill a cop on video
  4. The Political Hat notes SJWs infesting the workplace more and more
  5. The Other McCain offers reliable warning signs of craziness
  6. The Lid notes what a report says illegal aliens cost US taxpayers yearly for health care
  7. The Last Tradition covers Trump visiting California wildfire areas
  8. Watts Up With That? fact checks the NY Times fact checkers on the wildfires
  9. The Deplorable Climate Science Blog has your overheated atmosphere update
  10. The First Street Journal says Eric Swalwell is the stupidest member of Congress
  11. The Feral Irishman notes something interesting regarding Ca. wildfires and the high speed train route
  12. The Daley Gator notes the latest from the Forced Tolerance crowd
  13. Raised On Hoecakes covers Monopoly for Millennials
  14. Powerline notes the U.S. siding directly with Israel at the U.N.
  15. And last, but not least, Pacific Pundit covers the type of law and order you expect from Democrats

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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Republic, Washington Declares Itself Sanctuary City For Law Abiding Gun Owners

By William Teach November 18, 2018 – 7:37 am

We’ve already seen plenty of jurisdictions, primarily in Illinois, declare themselves sanctuaries against abusive state and federal gun control regulations, though a lot of that was in terms of potential gun laws, as started by Effingham County. Now in Deep Blue Washington

WASHINGTON POLICE CHIEF SAYS NO TO STATE’S NEW GUN LAWS

A Washington state police chief used a department Facebook account to declare his department’s intention to not enforce the state’s new gun laws.

Last Tuesday, over 60 percent of Washington voters approved a sweeping new gun control initiative that raises the age limit for semiautomatic rifle purchases, imposes a 10-day waiting period, and enhances background checks. The National Rifle Association, among other groups, was highly critical of the law.

The Republic Police Facebook post, written by Republic Police Chief Loren Culp and posted the day after the initiative was passed, stated that “no Republic Police Officer will infringe on a citizens right to keep and Bear Arms, PERIOD!” (snip)

Two days later, Culp posted a recommended “2nd Amendment Sanctuary City Ordinance” that would “prevent federal and state infringement on the right to keep and bear arms.”

It’s worth reading the entire Facebook post which is recommending a city ordinance, which starts out

An ORDINANCE of the City of Republic, which shall be known and may be cited as the “2nd Amendment Sanctuary City Ordinance.” To prevent federal and state infringement on the right to keep and bear arms; nullifying all federal and state acts in violation of the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and Article 1 Section 24 of the Washington State Constitution.

WHEREAS, the City of Republic believes that:

A. The 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as follows, “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

B. Article 1 section 24 of the Washington State Constitution reads as follows, “The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men.”

C. All federal and State acts, laws, orders, rules or regulations regarding firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition are a violation of the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article 1 Section 24 of the Washington State Constitution.

IMO, it goes perhaps a bit too far: there are some governing laws that make sense. I have no problem with requiring someone be at least 18 to purchase, nor properly run Red Flag laws. Limiting automatic weapons. Background checks (I’m betting the Chief is good with those, too). It might have been helpful had the Chief included the phrase “law abiding citizens.”

He also goes on to advocate for neighboring communities to do the same.

Some will say “what’s the difference between this and a sanctuary jurisdiction for illegal aliens?” The gun sanctuaries are supporting the 2nd Amendment rights of law abiding citizens. Sanctuary jurisdictions protect people who are unlawfully present in the United States, and are often involved in other criminal activity.

Read: Republic, Washington Declares Itself Sanctuary City For Law Abiding Gun Owners »

Posted in 2nd Amendment, Current Affairs | 7 Comments | Trackback URL
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