Virgin Islands AG Rescinds ‘Climate Change’ Subpoena

By William Teach May 23, 2016 – 10:12 am

The subpoena of all materials from climate skeptical organizations was an over-reach and an abuse of power. The Virgin Islands AG has revoked it. But, don’t think this issue is over

(Washington Times) Virgin Islands Attorney General Claude E. Walker has withdrawn his subpoena of the Competitive Enterprise Institute after a rash of criticism over his investigation into climate-change dissenters.

Still, CEI general counsel Sam Kazman said Monday that the free-market think-tank would still push the court for sanctions against Mr. Walker, one of an 17-member coalition of attorneys general pursuing fraud allegations against climate skeptics.

“We are doing so because Walker’s underlying Virgin Islands subpoena remains in effect and, as his local counsel expressly stated, Walker can reinstate the DC [District of Columbia] subpoena whenever he wants,” Mr. Kazman said in a statement.

“More importantly, his withdrawal only strengthens our claim that this subpoena was a constitutional outrage from the very beginning, violating our right to free speech and our donors’ right to confidentiality, and threatening the right of all Americans to express views that go against some party line,” Mr. Kazman said. “This was an abuse of process, plain and simple, and we’re determined to see that Walker faces sanctions for an action whose illegality he refuses to recognize.”

Again, what Walker and other Warmists AGs (who use lots and lots of fossil fuels and energy themselves) are doing is Lawfare, using the legal powers of Government to infringe on the Constitutional Rights of private citizens and groups. It is blatant intimidation, and tyrannical. The Cult of Climastrology doesn’t want to debate the issue, they want to force everyone to accept their views, even using the barrel of the Government powers gun. This was a fishing expedition, one which had no evidence, in an attempt to scare citizens.

Walker shouldn’t be sanctioned: he should be impeached, and possibly jailed for abuse of power.

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NY Times: Say, All That Leftism In South America Is Sure Failing, Eh?

By William Teach May 23, 2016 – 7:30 am

The Editorial Board of the NY Times is Very Concerned about the state of the nations in South America, noting just how bad it all is, thanks to Leftism

The Left on the Run in Latin America

In 2004, President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela and the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, launched the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of Our Americas, a regional alliance of leftist leaders designed to subvert a hemispheric free trade agreement that the United States had been pushing for a decade.

In the years that followed, Washington’s hope of a trade pact of 34 nations faded, and its clout in the region diminished as voters across much of Latin America put their faith in firebrand politicians who promised to spread the wealth of a commodities boom and topple old elites. The region’s exports to China increased 25-fold between 2000 and 2013, allowing Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Bolivia to bankroll generous welfare and social programs that lifted millions from poverty.

So, the Bolivarian Alternative started just 12 short years ago. Now?

But today, Latin America’s leftist ramparts appear to be crumbling because of widespread corruption, a slowdown in China’s economy and poor economic choices. For the most part, leaders failed to create diversified economies capable of withstanding slumps. The welfare and pension programs that kept voters loyal proved unsustainable. Leaders in Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia flouted democratic traditions by expanding or eliminating term limits and co-opted independent institutions with networks of patronage.

In other words, they instituted hardcore Progressivism (you can call it Socialism, Marxism, Communism, Leftism, whatever), vastly increased the power of their central governments, played games with redistribution and Promises to citizens, restricted this and that, enabled vast government interference in their economies, even nationalized certain sectors, and failed badly. Surprise! Let’s not forget that one of the worst, Venezuela, can’t even get toilet paper and beer, much less food. Yet, the nation is oil rich. Leftism fail.

Of course, now, many of those nations are looking back to the United States.

The United States can help its neighbors become more competitive and stable by promoting investment in technology, innovation and high-quality education. It can point to the security turnaround of Colombia, which has one of the growing economies in the region, as evidence of the potential of sustained security partnerships. Washington can do more to help Central American and Caribbean nations find sustainable sources of energy, now that they can no longer count on subsidized oil from Venezuela. It also can support anticorruption initiatives that citizens around the hemisphere are clamoring for.

So, the answer from the NY Times for South America’s ills are….more Big Government. Just US style Big Government.

Yet, a brighter future for struggling Latin Americans cannot depend on the United States. Ultimately, that will require leaders who are accountable to their citizens, are willing to invest in long-term prosperity rather than their political brands and stand ready to acknowledge the colossal mistakes of their predecessors.

Their colossal mistake was following Leftist principles and thinking they would work. They aren’t working too well here, where Obama will be the only president to never see yearly GDP growth of 3% in any year.

Read: NY Times: Say, All That Leftism In South America Is Sure Failing, Eh? »

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The Donald Acknowledges Climate Change At His Irish Golf Course Or Something

By William Teach May 23, 2016 – 7:15 am

There’s an axiom for the Internet that the majority of people tend to read the first 3 paragraphs or for 30 seconds, so, get your main points in quickly. Here’s a perfect example, where Politico writer Ben Schreckinger, and whichever editor wrote the headline, attempt to set a Tone

Trump acknowledges climate change — at his golf course
The billionaire, who called global warming a hoax, warns of its dire effects in his company’s application to build a sea wall.

Donald Trump says he is “not a big believer in global warming.” He has called it “a total hoax,” “bullshit” and “pseudoscience.”

But he is also trying to build a sea wall designed to protect one of his golf courses from “global warming and its effects.”

Donald Trump says he is “not a big believer in global warming.” He has called it “a total hoax,” “bullshit” and “pseudoscience.”

But he is also trying to build a sea wall designed to protect one of his golf courses from “global warming and its effects.”

The zoning application raises further questions about how the billionaire developer would confront a risk he has publicly minimized but that has been identified as a defining challenge of this era by world leaders, global industry and the American military. His public disavowal of climate science at the same time he moves to secure his own holdings against the effects of climate change also illustrates the conflict between his political rhetoric and the realities of running a business with seaside assets in the 21st century.

That’s 5 paragraphs, 4 of them very short, or about 30 seconds of reading. And you’ll certainly come away with the opinion that what Donald says in public is different from what he does in private, right? That’s certainly what I came away with while initially reading this on my tablet. The next paragraph even features a quote from super squishy ‘climate change’ believing Bob Inglis (R-SC) exactly to that effect. One has to wonder if it is true. It certainly seems like Trump is backsliding a bit.

Trump bought the resort in 2014. The area was hit by some storms afterwards, causing some erosion, both things that have happened throughout the history of the earth, yet are now blamed on man-induced climate change. Trump tried to build a seawall for protection. Sea walls have been used for thousands of years by mankind to protect against storms and minimize erosion. He was turned down. So…

Earlier this month, after failing to win special approval from the national government for the structure, Trump re-submitted a planning application with the Clare County Council seeking permission to build the wall, which would consist of 200,000 tons of rock distributed along two miles of beach. As part of the application, Trump International Golf Links submitted an environmental impact statement — prepared by an Irish environmental consultancy — which argues that erosion is likely to accelerate as sea levels rise more quickly.

The application included an Irish study that was super concerned about sea rise from Hotcoldwetdry, and whined about erosion from bigger, more frequent storms. You know, the standard Warmist gripes, that haven’t really come to pass. Team Trump went all in on their application with ‘climate change’.

The question here is, was this done because Trump really believes or because they had to play the game in order to get the permit? Dublin shows just .07 millimeters a year sea rise, which is equivalent to .02 feet of sea rise over 100 years. Even looking at UK stations, they are all well below even a foot of sea rise over 100 years. Was this all just a game by Trump to get a permit? And, even if one has a minor concern about sea rise and changes in climate which cause Bad Weather, it could be concerns based on climate change being mostly/solely caused by nature.

So, is this the real position of Trump, or simply a business decision to take advantage of the beliefs of Warmists to get the sea wall permit? Someone should ask Trump. Perhaps they should have asked the Trump campaign for a response. Which Politico failed to do. It is interesting how deep the media will dig when it comes to a Republican politician, while not doing the same for Democrats.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Hillary Totally Wants Other People To Pay For Child Care

By William Teach May 22, 2016 – 5:09 pm

Over at the Washington Post today, a woman who charges $250,000 a speech to Wall Street corporations, who has made a ton of money along with her husband and child running a so-called charity, that is more pay-for-play, has her piece on the cost of child care, and other things, published

Hillary Clinton: Child care now costs more than rent. Here’s how to fix this crisis

…..

In every state in the country, child care for two kids now costs more than the average rent. You read that right — child care costs more than housing. And in many states, it’s even more expensive than college tuition.

How to fix this? Other People’s money and Government! Because it’s a crisis, and there’s nothing like more government taxation and regulation and control to fix it

Today’s families have it worse. Child care, college and housing costs have skyrocketed while incomes have barely budged. And workplace policies haven’t changed even though families have, with women earning more of the family income than ever and men doing much more to care for kids and aging parents.

Many workers don’t have paid family leave. Many women don’t even get a single paid day off to give birth. The pressures are so intense that some workers worry that taking an earned vacation day will be seen as slacking off. (snip)

As president, I would work to make quality, affordable child care available to all families.

I’m committed to increasing federal investments and incentivizing states so that no family ever has to pay more than 10 percent of its income for child care. This is a big idea, and I’m determined to fight for it.

Let’s double our investment in programs I helped develop as first lady:Early Head Start and the Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership program. These programs bring an evidenced-based curriculum to child care and make sure kids get the best possible start in life, no matter how much money their families have. (there’s just too much to excerpt)

Under my plan, working Americans would earn up to seven days of paid sick leave each year. They would be guaranteed up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave to care for a new baby or sick family member or to recover from an illness or injury. And we can fully fund this program by asking the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share of taxes.

OK. Let’s ask Hillary and Bill and Chelsea, who have made some pretty good money running their “charity” and giving speeches, to pony up themselves.

Of course, what this is really all about is making people even more dependent on the federal government, while the same federal government will have even more control and power over day care and what the kids learn. And pandering to people by offering them “free” stuff, of course.

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If All You See…

By William Teach May 22, 2016 – 1:00 pm

…is a muddy wet world in places that aren’t bone dry, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Other McCain, with a post on feminist motherhood and transgender kindergarten.

It’s muddy girls week!

Read: If All You See… »

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Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach May 22, 2016 – 9:31 am

Gil Elvgren Patriotic Pinup

Happy Sunday! A fantastic day in America. The sun is shining, the mockingbirds are mocking the geese, and summer is fast coming. This pinup is by Gil Elvgren, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. Patterico’s Pontifications is not impressed by Donald’s Hispanic outreach
  2. Raised On Hoecakes is unimpressed with Hillary’s Venn diagrams
  3. Scared Monkeys covers the new polling on the Washington Redskins name
  4. White House Dossier has a list of celebs who promise to leave if Trump wins
  5. The Daley Gator notes that liberalism is an ideology of convenience
  6. The Last Refuge wonders why the motive of a guy who beheaded someone is a mystery
  7. Theodore’s World has Al Gore’s response on whether he’s voting for Hillary
  8. Vlad Tepes has discrimination in the name of Allah
  9. Independent Sentinel covers Hillary’s whoops moment on the 2nd Amendment
  10. Watts Up With That? covers another crazy Warmist claim
  11. Jo Nova covers the solar wind and ocean surface temperatures
  12. Blazing Cat Fur wonders if biological facts no longer matter
  13. Bookworm Room explains why Trump is probably not a fascist
  14. Capitalism Is Freedom exposes 9 laws you break without even knowing it
  15. And last, but not least, Chicks On The Right explains just how silly the anti-gunnites have become

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. (BTW, since someone asked, the reason I leave links for the previous week up (or you might see a *) is because they are place holders for later in the day or for next weeks. Easier than rewriting all the time. Also, the listing order has to do with how they are added over time, not how good a post is. I just copy and paste from the previous week, then edit. If you see one of the *’s, go ahead and check out the blog anyhow, see if there is an update. I cannot update with my Android during the day.

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Trump: Hillary Should Give Up Her Armed Security

By William Teach May 22, 2016 – 8:09 am

Over at the NY Times, we find that anti-gun Hillary Clinton is still all for limiting the rights of law abiding citizens to be armed in public. She apparently doesn’t believe that a good guy with a gun is safe.

“I love my daughter and granddaughter more than anything, and I worry about them as every mother does, and I want them always to be safe,” Mrs. Clinton said. “Parents, teachers and schools should have the right to keep guns out of classrooms, just like Donald Trump does at many of his hotels by the way.”

She’s all about the gun control, and, hey, since she is concerned about gun violence around her daughter and granddaughter, she should listen to The Donald

Donald Trump calls out Clinton over armed Secret Service protection

A day after Donald Trump told people at the National Rifle Association that Hillary Clinton would strip away their right to bear arms, the Republican seemed to suggest on social media that his opponent, who he thinks totes a hard line on gun control, should disarm her Secret Service team.

Hillary was having none of that, so, she provided a nice deflection tweet

The 33,000 figure is a lie (and also fails to note how many of them occur in Democratic Party run cities and states), but, really, she fails to address the fundamental question: if guns in the hands of good guys are dangerous, if arming teachers and school employees is dangerous, why is it OK that she and her family are surrounded by people carrying guns?

(Newsmax) Trump has consistently categorized Clinton as “the most anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment candidate to ever run for office.” And at the gun group’s annual convention on Friday, Trump called for the Democratic candidate’s secret service protection to disarm.

“Let’s see how they feel walking around without their guns and their bodyguards,” he said.

Let’s not forget that Hillary has said that looking at the Australian solution, ie, mass revocation of gun ownership rights, force confiscation, is “worth looking at.” But she won’t give up her own armed security, much like so many Leftists who call for massive gun control. Perfect Someone Else syndrome.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

Read: Trump: Hillary Should Give Up Her Armed Security »

Posted in 2nd Amendment, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton | 30 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach May 21, 2016 – 1:00 pm

…is a world flooding from too much carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is A View From The Beach, with a post on the world’s biggest bird scorcher scorching itself.

Read: If All You See… »

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Portland Schools Ban All Climate Skeptic Material

By William Teach May 21, 2016 – 11:02 am

Having problems getting people to believe what you’re telling them? Well, you could show them convincing evidence based on facts and science. Or…

(Portland Tribune) In a move spearheaded by environmentalists, the Portland Public Schools board unanimously approved a resolution aimed at eliminating doubt of climate change and its causes in schools.

“It is unacceptable that we have textbooks in our schools that spread doubt about the human causes and urgency of the crisis,” said Lincoln High School student Gaby Lemieux in board testimony. “Climate education is not a niche or a specialization, it is the minimum requirement for my generation to be successful in our changing world.”

The resolution passed Tuesday evening calls for the school district to get rid of textbooks or other materials that cast doubt on whether climate change is occurring and that the activity of human beings is responsible. The resolution also directs the superintendent and staff to develop an implementation plan for “curriculum and educational opportunities that address climate change and climate justice in all Portland Public Schools.”

This is the authoritarian, fascist penchant of the Cult of Climastrology, part of the overall Progressive movement. Censorship and outright banning of anything that doesn’t conform to their narrow political dogma. Education? For Progressives it’s about brainwashing and forced compliance, not teaching kids to evaluate all the material and make up their own minds.

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Posted in Global Warming, Progressive Goals | 13 Comments | Trackback URL

Obama Discusses His Overtime Rule In Weekly Address, Shows He Doesn’t Understand Economy

By William Teach May 21, 2016 – 7:56 am

We’ve already seen the news that Team Obama plans on changing OT rules for salaried private sector employees, utterly failing to understand that things do not stay the same in response to government regulations. Today, O speaks on this

(White House) Things like the 40-hour workweek and overtime are two of the most basic pillars of a middle class life. But for all the changes we’ve seen in our economy, our overtime rules have only been updated once since the 1970s. Just once. In fact, forty years ago, more than 60 percent of workers were eligible for overtime based on their salaries. But today, that number is down to seven percent. Only seven percent of full-time salaried workers are eligible for overtime based on their income. (he mixed in two different metrics)

That’s why this week, my Administration took a step to help more workers get the overtime pay they’ve earned. The Department of Labor finalized a rule to extend overtime protections to 4.2 million more Americans. It’s a move that will boost wages for working Americans by $12 billion over the next 10 years. We’re more than doubling the overtime salary threshold. And what that means is, most salaried workers who earn less than about $47,500 a year will qualify for overtime. Or, their employers can choose to give them a raise so that they earn more than $47,500. Or, if employers don’t want to raise wages, they can let them go home after 40 hours and see their families or train for new jobs. Any way you slice it, it’s a win for working families. And we’re making sure that every three years, there will be an automatic update to this threshold – so that working families won’t fall through the cracks for decades at a time ever again.

This is the single biggest step I can take through executive action to raise wages for the American people. It means that millions of hardworking Americans like Elizabeth will either get paid for working more than 40 hours, or they’ll get more time with their families. Either way, they win. The middle class wins. And America wins.

Except, things won’t work out the way this guy, who has never had to actually run a business, thinks, as Andy Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants and a member of the Job Creators Network, tells us

(Forbes) The real world is far different than the Labor Department’s Excel spreadsheet. This new rule will simply add to the extensive regulatory maze the Obama Administration has imposed on employers, forcing many to offset increased labor expense by cutting costs elsewhere. In practice, this means reduced opportunities, bonuses, benefits, perks and promotions.

Perhaps the biggest consequence of the rule is that it will cause some employers to reclassify salaried employees as hourly, and set schedules so they can more easily track hours worked and avoid excessive claims for overtime. For example, taking a manager’s current salary and allocating it across 45 hours (with 5 hours of overtime pay) will result in no increased labor expense or increased salaries. However, it would mandate five hours of overtime, rather than allowing managers to take advantage of the flexible schedules they currently enjoy.

Flexible schedules, you say?

For example, he testified that there were times when “local events – such as conventions – provided significant business opportunities with significantly higher customer demands.” Williams was able to allocate more time to his restaurant and “take advantage of that opportunity” because he managed his own schedule unconcerned about getting approval for working the overtime hours the business required. On the personal side, there were also “times when business was slow” and he “was able to spend additional time with [his] family, raise [his] three daughters, attend school functions, work with [his] church, and take vacations.”

That kind of flexibility will go away. These people will be on the clock. The salaries will be reduced to cover the OT potential, and perks will disappear. As Puzder ends “you cannot regulate your way to economic prosperity.” This will hurt Middle Class folks.

Read: Obama Discusses His Overtime Rule In Weekly Address, Shows He Doesn’t Understand Economy »

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