Who’s Up For A Climate Positive Burger?

By William Teach June 5, 2018 – 3:05 pm

Lunch with a side of cultism

The World’s First Climate-Positive Burgers: Max Burgers Now Help Fight Climate Change

This morning, from the main stage at SB’18 Vancouver, Max Burgers’ Chief Sustainability Officer, Kaj Török, announced that the Swedish burger chain is set to offer the world’s first climate-positive burgers. Török said that customers will soon be able to “take a bite that’s good for the planet as well as their taste-buds” when eating at the quick-serve burger chain, and urged other companies to join Max in going climate positive.

The climate-positive menu will be launched on the company’s 50th anniversary on the 14th June, across all 130 stores in Northern Europe and the Middle East. According to the company, customers will then be eating burgers that have 110 percent of their climate emissions offset — meaning every Max Burger sold will help fight climate change.

So, wait, Kaj took a long fossil fueled flight from Sweden to Canada? Huh.

“First, we measure all our emissions — from the farmers’ land to our guests’ hand, as well as lots of other things like waste, and consumer travel to and from the restaurant,” Török explained in a recent interview. “The second step is to make every effort to reduce emissions. We add new approaches and solutions all the time to find ways to make reductions, like the Green Family range. Thirdly, and only after making all the reductions we can, we plant trees to offset all remaining emissions. We then go a step further to capture the carbon dioxide equivalent of another 10 percent of emissions. That’s to ensure that we can contribute to reducing the overall levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. And all of this independently reviewed and done according to international standards.”

They’re also planting lots of trees. But, closing down because of all the energy and fossil fuels used isn’t in their plans.

In response to any criticisms about the climate-positive burger being just a ‘feel-good’ gimmick, Török replied: “Carbon offsetting doesn’t buy us a clear conscience. Instead, it is a self-imposed carbon tax that provides us with an incentive to continue reducing our emissions. Through our carbon offsetting, we take direct responsibility for our emissions while working hard to reduce our impact. It is both, rather than one or the other. Everyone must do as much as they can to contribute to meeting global climate goals.”

You can bet that the customers are paying for it.

Read: Who’s Up For A Climate Positive Burger? »

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If All You See…

By William Teach June 5, 2018 – 1:00 pm

…is a horrible can of either soda or beer containing evil carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Flopping Aces, with a post Democrats hating America.

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‘Carbon bubble’ Could Spark Financial Doom Or Something

By William Teach June 5, 2018 – 10:30 am

It’s always something with these people

‘Carbon bubble’ could spark global financial crisis, study warns

Plunging prices for renewable energy and rapidly increasing investment in low-carbon technologies could leave fossil fuel companies with trillions in stranded assets and spark a global financial crisis, a new study has found.

A sudden drop in demand for fossil fuels before 2035 is likely, according to the study, given the current global investments and economic advantages in a low-carbon transition.

The existence of a “carbon bubble” – assets in fossil fuels that are currently overvalued because, in the medium and long-term, the world will have to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions – has long been proposed by academics, activists and investors. The new study, published on Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change, shows that a sharp slump in the value of fossil fuels would cause this bubble to burst, and posits that such a slump is likely before 2035 based on current patterns of energy use.

Daffy Screwball photo DaffyScrewball.gif

It’s all based on reading tea leaves, er, computer models.

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NC Democrats Look To Ban Lots Of Handguns

By William Teach June 5, 2018 – 7:20 am

Remember, they aren’t trying to take anyone’s guns, and they just want common sense reform. They’re not going to infringe on the rights of law abiding citizens. They’re angels!!!!

Can NC ensure ‘safe’ guns? Democrats want to ban handguns with dangerous design flaws

A trio of Democrats want North Carolina to follow California’s footsteps in governing gun safety.

The “Ensure Safe Handguns” bill instructs the NC Department of Public Safety to prohibit the use of handguns that have design flaws endangering users. The bill instructs the department to use California’s Roster of Handguns Certified for Sale as a model.

California has prohibited the sale of hundreds of handguns, affecting popular brands like Beretta, Colt and Smith & Wesson.

The department would conduct firing and other tests to determine which firearms are unsafe. Antiques, theater props and guns designed for use in the Olympic Games would be exempt from testing.

The bill itself would require that anyone who owns one of the non-certified handguns turn it in or face a misdemeanor.

Paul Valone, president of the gun-rights advocacy group Grassroots North Carolina, said the bill shows that Democrats “are trying to incrementally ban the ownership of firearms, one step at a time.” He thinks it would drive up the cost of handguns.

He’s not worried about the bill now, because he doesn’t think Republicans will even consider it.

“But people who value the 2nd Amendment should take note,” Valone said. “If Democrats win (control of the NC General Assembly this November), we would eat this bill and others just like it.”

True, it will die in committee now, because the GOP holds a supermajority. But, this is what the gun grabbers do: pass something, then expand on it.

Steve Oetzell noted in the Daily Breeze back in 2015

In 2000, California passed SB 15, creating the so-called Roster of Handguns Certified for Sale. This bill mandated that, in order to be sold in the state of California, all “pistols” (semi-automatic or not) shall be subject to a series of “drop tests” to determine the gun’s resistance to discharging when accidentally dropped. Additionally, it stipulated firing requirements to test the structural integrity of the gun.

This, presumably, was a good safety law, as the intent was to protect the public from poorly made guns. But rather than creating a much shorter list of unsafe handguns that are not approved for sale, the law created an all-encompassing list of “approved” handguns which, effectively, made all guns unsafe until the manufacturer paid a fee and submitted their handgun for testing. Once approved, a yearly fee was required to keep a handgun on the list. If the fee was not paid or the gun not resubmitted, it fell off of the list, once again, becoming an “unsafe” handgun.

Worse yet, one might argue that a citizen’s rights should not have an expiration date based on the expiration of a government fee. It also did not matter that nearly all firearms manufacturers already subject their product to testing and quality control far more rigorous than anything the state of California could ever dream up.

Guns have to be retested. But,

But that wasn’t enough. In 2003, California passed SB 489 requiring two very questionable “safety features” to be installed on any new handgun submitted for testing, approval, and addition to the list. These two features were the loaded chamber indicator (a device indicating that there is a bullet chambered in the gun) and a magazine disconnect (a device that will not allow the gun to fire if there is a bullet in the chamber when the magazine has been removed from the gun).

Suddenly, the list of laboratory drop tested firearms had been distorted into a vehicle used to enforce mandated “safety features.” This was not the intent of the original SB 15.

And then California required microstamping. And fewer and fewer handguns were available to the residents of California, who already had to deal with a huge amount of regulations and rules and laws that restricted law abiding citizens from using their 2nd Amendment Right.

Read: NC Democrats Look To Ban Lots Of Handguns »

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Hot Take: The Constitution Needs To Be Amended After Masterpiece Cakeshop Decision Or Something

By William Teach June 5, 2018 – 7:02 am

The Supreme Court decision on whether a cake shop can refuse to make a cake for a same sex marriage was somewhat settled by the Supreme Court in a 7-2 decision. It was a very narrow decision, and came down more to Colorado being anti-religion and in violation of the 1st Amendment, but it really didn’t solve the overall question. But, of course, this means a total freakout. There was Excitable Kamala Harris

Question for Kamala: does this mean that a gay baker could be made to make a cake celebrating Hitler’s birthday? Or what if one of those marriage places in Las Vegas was asked to marry multiple people to each other? Love is love, right? Why does the government discriminate against people who want to marry people? What if someone wants to set up a cake shop that only caters to same sex couples? Isn’t that discrimination? Then, hot take in the New York Times by Jennifer Finney Boylan

After Masterpiece, It’s Time to Change the Constitution

The Supreme Court has ruled on the Masterpiece Cake case — and on the surface, it would appear to be a loss for L.G.B.T.Q. Americans. The justices ruled 7 to 2 that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission violated the religious freedom of a baker, Jack Phillips, when it sanctioned him for refusing to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, Charlie Craig and David Mullins, in 2012.

“The commission’s hostility was inconsistent with the First Amendment’s guarantee that our laws be applied in a manner that is neutral toward religion,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority.

In spite of this, the ruling is relatively narrow. “The outcome of cases like this in other circumstances must await further elaboration in the courts,” Justice Kennedy wrote, “all in the context of recognizing that these disputes must be resolved with tolerance, without undue disrespect to sincere religious beliefs, and without subjecting gay persons to indignities when they seek goods and services in an open market.”

At the root, Ms. Boylan gets it right. But, Virtue Signaling

In other words, while Masterpiece is a loss for L.G.B.T.Q. people, the question of how to balance religious freedom with the rights of queer people remains unresolved, and will most likely continue to be explored and debated in the future, and by the Supreme Court not least.

And this, more than the case itself, is the greater loss for L.G.B.T.Q. people. We lose when our rights are considered debatable. Even if the Supreme Court had ruled unanimously against the baker, in fact, L.G.B.T.Q. Americans would still be considered second-class citizens in many aspects of civic life.

Going down the same road, the religious lose their rights when they are debatable. And, really, we’re talking about making a cake for a wedding. Nothing hugely massive of importance, except perhaps to the couple (why not group?!!!!) All they have to do is go to another cake maker. And, in the few cases this happens, the same sex couple is has usually been referred to another baker (or florist, or whatever). Having a custom cake baked is not a right. If I go over to Kroger or Food Lion or wherever and ask them to make a custom cake that says “Happy Birthday, Adolph Hitler”, they have every right to refuse service. Or if I request “Kroger Sucks” from Kroger.

Here it comes

The only thing that will truly enshrine equal protection under the law for all Americans, including L.G.B.T.Q. people, is an amendment to the Constitution.

Call it the Dignity Amendment. The text might read: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.” It’s the brainchild of Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and chief executive of Glaad (where I served as co-chairwoman of the board of directors for four years).

The Dignity Amendment would guarantee that L.G.B.T.Q. Americans are treated like all other Americans. It would send the message that we are part of the fabric of this nation. It would guarantee that our rights as taxpayers and as participants in the civic life of the country cannot be abridged because of our private lives.

It would essentially create a privileged class, when the Constitution already demands that all people be treated equally. And, it would mean that people who are opposed to same sex marriage, the gender confused, etc, could be prosecuted for Wrongthink.

In the meantime, Masterpiece is a defeat — a qualified defeat, to be sure, and a defeat that may well be revisited. But a bigger defeat is having to have one’s rights as a citizen challenged, discussed and put forth for debate in the first place. This is not just a matter of dignity. It’s a matter of common sense. We turn to the Constitution for deliverance, and for justice.

Sigh. Justice. It’s a cake. Just a cake. Which can be obtained at plenty of other bakers. Cake.

But, this does actually show something. Liberals cannot be trusted when we are talking about gun control, because they will take any little issue and magnify it to the extreme.

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“If The Oceans Die, We Die”

By William Teach June 4, 2018 – 5:05 pm

Here’s one of the things that disturb me: you take a real environmental issue, and then quickly move on to SJW/Warmist garbage

Margaret Atwood: ‘If the ocean dies, so do we’

The celebrated author Margaret Atwood has told a conference that humanity’s future is linked to the survival of ocean ecosystems.

Commenting on ocean plastic pollution, she said: “Something has to be done… If the ocean dies; end of us.”

Ms Atwood was speaking at the Under Her Eye summit in London.

Plastic in the ocean seems like a rather important, right? It’s in the headline. In fact, you have to scroll way down in the article before you get more information about this, because the article spends a lot of time on

The conference, held at the British Library, also heard that climate change disproportionately affects women on a global scale.

In addition, their voices are “too rarely heard” in top level climate change discussions.

Aiming to tackle key environmental issues “from a female perspective”, the event hosted a range of policy makers, artists and scientists.

Eventually, we get to

Also on the agenda were solutions to climate change and environmental issues that women are uniquely equipped to tackle.

Kath Clements, from UK company Mooncup which makes re-usable menstrual cups as an alternative to disposable sanitary products, cited the environmental impact of the “1.5 billion menstrual products flushed in the UK annually”.

Other organisations, like the Women’s Environmental Network, are moving to campaign for “periods without plastic” – seeking a reduction in the use of disposable menstrual products, and more education around reusable options.

Bloody Good Period, who donate sanitary products to asylum seekers in the UK, are also looking to use more environmentally friendly items says founder Gabby Edlin.

Ms. Atwood is very much in favor of banning plastic straws and says

“Something has to be done about plastic going into the ocean and it has to be done pretty quick… That’s where 60-80% of the oxygen than we breathe comes from,” she said.

She’s right in that the majority of O2 comes from the ocean, particularly from planktons. And, we do need to do things to reduce ocean pollution as much as possible, including from plastics. You don’t have to be a Warmist or envirowacko to be an environmentalist.

Read: “If The Oceans Die, We Die” »

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If All You See…

By William Teach June 4, 2018 – 1:00 pm

…is a horrible steak from an evil moo cow which will kill all the plants from carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is American Power, with a post on a populist, anti-Establishment government takeover in Italy.

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Good News: Immigration Agents Double Number Of Raids, Causing Illegal Aliens To Afraid

By William Teach June 4, 2018 – 10:57 am

See, if we were talking about US agents raiding organized crime, there would be cheering. Because they’re criminals. And we’d want crime raids to make criminals afraid

US immigration agents double number of workplace raids, spreading fear and tearing families apart

…

Since President Donald Trump took office, ICE has put a renewed premium on workplace raids, and recently announced that it had “already” doubled the number of raids between October and May over the year before – a step towards its pronounced aim at quadrupling the rate practised by the previous administration.

While the president and immigration officials praise these developments, residents in the communities impacted by these raids are largely left to pick up the pieces on their own after the raids. Helping those who have lost husbands and fathers to make ends meet without an important source of income, while rushing to maintain the social fabric in smaller communities suddenly engulfed in fear and concern as the effects of lost workers ripples through the economy.

Between 1 October of last year and 4 May, ICE says that 3,410 “worksite investigations”, or raids, were opened, which led to 594 criminal and 610 administrative arrests. That’s compared to 1,716 such inspections in the fiscal year of 2017, when 139 criminal arrests were made alongside 172 administrative arrests. The raids have targeted communities across the country, including limo companies in New York City and 7-Eleven stores in California.

ICE contends that the raids are important in order to verify the legality of workers and ensure that undocumented people with criminal records are not in the American workforce, and to ensure that employers are not unfairly gaming the system – even though, as is the case in Tennessee, claims that the employers were violating the law have led to no arrests for those in charge and the plant is still running, according to people interviewed for this story.

“ICE is responsible for upholding the laws established by the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986, which requires employers to verify the identity and work eligibility of all individuals they hire,” Danielle Bennett, an ICE spokesperson, said when contacted about the raids. “These laws help protect jobs for US citizens and others who are lawfully employed, eliminate unfair competitive advantages for companies that hire an illegal workforce, and strengthen public safety and national security.”

Wait, they’re actually enforcing laws passed by a duly elected Congress and signed into law by a president? This is the price to pay for getting all those illegals amnesty back in ’86. Of course, that was a different time, when illegal immigration was much lower, and illegals were polite and contrite, asking “please” and wanting to be a part of America, whereas now they are demanding: demanding that they be given citizenship, demanding that they be given free education, medical care, jobs, places to live, money, demanding that we cater to their culture and language. And, let’s not forget how insulting and rude so many of them are. And criminals.

Meanwhile, here’s a whiny Democrat who didn’t complain when Obama was doing this

Yeah, he was pretty much just trying to Create An Incident In Order To Bloviate in favor of people who are unlawfully present in the U.S.

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Government Wants Government To Force Companies To Disclose ‘Climate Change’ (scam) Risks

By William Teach June 4, 2018 – 7:58 am

Funny how so much of this comes down to the use of government force to force compliance among the private sector, giving government more and more power

Government should force companies and pension funds to disclose climate change risks, say MPs

The government should make it mandatory for large companies and pension funds to report their exposure to climate change risks, a committee of MPs has said.

Current rules encourage short-term thinking while neglecting concerns such as sustainability, the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) said. It recommended that new rules on climate change disclosure should be in place by 2022.

Institutional investors are sometimes confused about the extent of pension trustees’ duty to consider environmental risks, the MPs said.

‘Climate change’ is not the environment, no matter how much the Warmists want to link it.

The report urges the government to lay down in law the duty that pension funds and other large asset owners have to consider the long-term value of their investment. In light of this duty, institutional investors should be considering environmental risks, the committee said. (snip)

Mary Creagh MP, chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, said: “We need to fix the incentives in our financial system that encourage short-term thinking. Long-term sustainability must be factored into financial decision making. (snip)

“We want to see mandatory climate risk reporting and a clarification in law that pension trustees have a duty to consider long-term sustainability, not just short-term returns.” (snip)

The government should require fiduciaries to actively seek the views of their beneficiaries when producing statements of investment principles, the MPs said.

It’s just Big Government for your own good, you know. Because they know better or something.

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Guy Goes To Gun Show, Learns You Can Get A Flamethrower. And That People Are Nice. And He’s Been Told Lies

By William Teach June 4, 2018 – 7:47 am

Craig McCarthy of NJ Advance Media decided to check out a gun show to see what really happens, and learned that things aren’t quite what he read about via anti-gun propoganda. Good on him for going through with the article, because so many other reporters would have either spun this in a gun grabber manner, only discussing The Worst Ever, or just spiked it

‘Can I buy that flamethrower?’ and other burning questions I had at my first gun show

In the back of the Allstar Family Fun & Events Complex in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, past the skeeball tables and arcade games, dozens of dealers are set up in the 48,000-square-foot space, and all of them are trying to put a firearm in my hand.

Handguns are locked in glass cases and a handful of matte-black AR-15-like rifles, advertised as Jersey-legal, sit innocently on stands pointing out toward potential buyers.

There are hundreds of bolt-action and semi-automatic rifles and shotguns tied-off with zip ties, all carefully laid-out and meticulously arranged on sturdy folding tables, topped with camo, black, red or blue tablecloths.

The sellers and I talk about “scary” guns, the “stupid” laws that limited accessorizing rifles and how not feeling a black holster on their belt makes them feel unsettled, unsafe or anxious.

And I listen to it all — the unsolicited takes on the presidency of Donald Trump, the headlines that have dominated news cycle after news cycle, Russians and the deep state.

Then I saw it: A flamethrower.

Yeah, someone was actually selling a flamethrower. It was $999, and is actually legal in 48 states. It also looks like a colossal waste of money, and certainly not any good for personal or home defense (unless you have a spider). But, then, how many signed up to purchase Elon Musks’s so-called flamethrower?

Why’d I go? I feel undereducated on the pro-gun side of the contentious national debate, so I convinced my editors to let me take the drive.

I really want to understand the gun culture.

At the show, I tell the sellers, “I am shooting a gun for the first time next week.”

“So, you are coming over to our side?” asks Bill Green, one of the vendors who welcomes me.

“Oh, you’re going to love it,” Norsela Cole says with a smile before reminiscing about the first time she shot a gun: her husband’s .22 in their backyard.

Sounds like they were being pretty nice. Anyhow, Mr. McCarthy offers up a few quotes from those right wing gun folks, even going so far as to write that this is the “antithesis of Childish Gambino’s country featured in his recent music video.” But, the important part is that he wanted to see about buying guns, since NJ is super restrictive (depending on the list, NJ is always somewhere in the top 7) on guns, and does not allow gun shows.

In Pennsylvania, gun shows are an extension of a licensed seller’s shop.

“You are in my store right now,” John Tidd says.

Background checks are required by law for every purchase from a business with a Federal Firearms License, often referred to as an FFL.

Sellers are responsible for knowing all the different laws in each state. They say, if they sold one in error, they would be tasked with retrieving the gun from that buyer from where ever they live.

McCarthy finds there is no gun show loophole, at least in Pa., and in particular at this gun show, because everyone is a dealer, and would be risking their ATF license, their business license, and felony charges if they didn’t follow all applicable laws. He also learns that it would be rather difficult to purchase a handgun for use in New Jersey, and there’s no way around it. Further, many dealers just plain refuse to sell handguns to people outside of the state, particularly NJ.

Oh, and he could buy a long gun. Because he already had his firearms identification card from his municipal police department. But, quite a few do not have NJ approved rifles (mags that only hold 15, no flash suppressor, no adjustable stock.

When I leave, I feel as if I understand the gun culture more, at least in this area, after the open and friendly conversations.

They all agree background checks are important, and they agree there’s an issue that needs to be addressed with gun ownership and mental health.

He also learns that gun owners want a dialogue, but, that can’t happen in the current political environment. Which is surely doing a soft shoe dance, because 2nd Amendment supporters can’t give in on even minor things, because the gun grabbers will just want more and more and more.

Read: Guy Goes To Gun Show, Learns You Can Get A Flamethrower. And That People Are Nice. And He’s Been Told Lies »

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