NY Times: Don’t Blame Obama For Not Fixing Race Relations

By William Teach May 11, 2015 – 8:53 am

NY Times columnist Charles Blow is Very Upset that people, especially Rush Limbaugh, are criticizing Michelle Obama

Of Museums and Racial Relics

Recently, Rush Limbaugh lambasted the first lady, Michelle Obama, for bringing up the idea of diversity among museum visitors at the opening of the new Whitney Museum in New York.

According to Limbaugh, the first lady said: “Museums and concert halls just don’t welcome nonwhite visitors — especially children — the way they welcome white people.”

What the first lady actually said was:

“You see, there are so many kids in this country who look at places like museums and concert halls and other cultural centers and they think to themselves, well, that’s not a place for me, for someone who looks like me, for someone who comes from my neighborhood.  In fact, I guarantee you that right now, there are kids living less than a mile from here who would never in a million years dream that they would be welcome in this museum.”

Blow goes on to write

And, the first lady was right. A 2010 report by the Center for the Future of Museums (an initiative of the American Association of Museums) found that:

“African-Americans and Latinos have notably lower rates of museum attendance than white Americans. Why is that so? In part, it is the legacy of historic discrimination. A summary study of S.P.P.A. [Survey of Public Participation in the Arts] data from the 1980s on white and black attendance at arts events concluded that the measurable difference in participation could be tied to ‘subtle forms of exclusion.’ ”

Hmm, data from the 1980’s.

The report cited data that shows “historic patterns of segregation and exclusion as one reason that fewer African-American families instill museum-going habits in their young children. More recent studies have identified a distinct cultural psychology among African-Americans, rooted in historical and social experience, which has produced heightened sensitivity to stereotypes and real or perceived racism.”

So, why won’t Blacks and Latino’s go to museums in the 2010’s? Because of something that may (or may not) have happened 30+ years ago? Can anyone point to actual discrimination at museums? Does anyone think that lawsuits, protests, etc, wouldn’t occur if there was discrimination?

If it’s the content of the museums, which tend to be odes to the accomplishment of European Whites, along with things like, oh, simple natural history, then why do most of the “African-American” museums fail? Wouldn’t you think that Blacks would go to those? Almost no one visits the Underground Railroad Freedom Center. The Reginald Lewis Museum in Baltimore likewise has poor attendance. The Charles H. Wright museum in Detroit has very low attendance. This is repeated over and over again. You can’t blame Whites for racism, as Blow attempts, when Blacks won’t even go to museums dedicated to Blacks.

Here’s where it gets cute

Obama’s sin, using this line of logic, is that he failed to undo the system of oppression that he had no hand in constructing. It is that 400 years of damage was not undone in two terms. It is that he didn’t encourage silence about inequity so that its benefactors could enjoy the cumulative fruit of centuries of racial graft without current-day guilt.

Interesting. White people are blamed constantly for a “system of oppression” that they had no hand in constructing. There is not one person alive who own slaves in the United States. Well over 50% of the US population wasn’t even alive prior to the passage of the 1968 Civil Rights Act. A goodly chunk have no relatives who were even in the US when slavery was legal. Most of the others have no relatives who owned slaves. Yet, Whites are blamed for any perceived raaaaacism. Such as Blacks not going to museums and performing arts and concerts and stuff. Something that they can do if they want to.

And yet, all of America must face the reality that for as much progress as has been made, much remains to be made. America must face the fact that the electorate is an of-the-moment entity, but racial oppression is an of-the-ages monstrosity. It is a resilient relic. And it was never within Obama’s capacity to dismantle it. This structure must be demolished by its architects.

Is any White stopping any Black from going to any museum, concert, art exhibit? Of course, what Charles forgot to mention is that people feel that race relations haven’t been this bad since the 1990’s (weird how they seemingly got better in the Age Of Bush43, eh?).

If this is an issue that concerns Michelle O and Charles B, rather than whining about perceived racism in the past, they could have used the opportunity to challenge those in the Black community to go to museums, zoos, aquariums, plays, art exhibits, classical concerts, etc. Tell the parents to bring the kids. No one is going to stop them.

What is interesting is that so many in the comments at the opinion piece are simply assuming that most Blacks are too poor to afford the cost of attendance. These are Liberals, there is no doubt, based on the full flavor of the comments. If you want racism, why do liberals always assume Blacks are too poor too afford something, like driver’s licenses and the fee to attend a museum?

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Doom: Alaska May Soon Be The Last Bastion For Skiing

By William Teach May 10, 2015 – 6:32 pm

In the future, of course

Fairbanks may be stronghold for ‘last skiers’: Climate changing bringing uncertainty to winter sports

Interior Alaskans have often joked about global warming, especially in the middle of winter.

The cartoon above by local artist Jamie Smith is a joke, but it has a kernel of truth. It appears that temperatures will rise in Interior Alaska because of climate change. It also appears that rise will be slow enough to allow snow to stick around, at least through this century. That’s good news for those of us who love snow sports. And there are a lot of us in and around Fairbanks: cross-country and downhill skiers, snowmachiners, mushers, skijorers, snowshoers and snowbikers.

But in other places, such as Southcentral Alaska, the future looks grim. By the end of this century, people in Southcentral might be talking about snow sports in the past tense or as something you do on vacation.

I learned about all this after reading an article titled “The Last Skiers: Climate science points to dying winter sports in Southcentral Alaska” by Charles Wohforth. It ran in the Anchorage Press in January. The piece is sobering and depressing for anyone who likes winter sports. The grim winter Southcentral just experienced looks to be a sign of things to come.

Know what else is “sobering“?

“Children just aren’t going to know what snow is,” Dr. David Viner, a scientist with the climatic research unit at the University of East Anglia, told the UK Independent in 2000.

and

It’s been 10 years since scientists predicted the “end of skiing” in Scotland. An article from the UK’s Guardian in 2004 quoted scientists and environmentalists predicting the demise of Scotland’s winter sports industry, including more remarks from Dr. David Viner, who had already predicted the end of snow in Britain.

The DC notes 3 other failed end of snow predictions. Of course, Warmists are now blaming big snowstorms and snow totals on…you got it…climate change.

Read: Doom: Alaska May Soon Be The Last Bastion For Skiing »

Posted in AGW Scaremongering, Global Warming | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach May 10, 2015 – 1:00 pm

…is a wonderful field that would be perfect for a wind turbine farm, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Blogmocracy, with a post on cop’s lives matter.

It’s country girl week!

Read: If All You See… »

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Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach May 10, 2015 – 9:15 am

Happy Sunday! Another fantastic Mother’s Day in America. You remembered, right? This pinup is by, I believe, Arthur Sarnoff, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. Blazing Cat Fur covers yet more abhorrent behavior by ISIS
  2. American Clarion discusses why the Left hates entry level jobs
  3. A.P. Dillon (Datechguy) discusses exploding NC Democrat heads
  4. Director Blue covers leftists casting the victim as the person to be blamed
  5. Fausta discusses identity politics
  6. Fire Andrea Mitchell notes what Obama did Saturday
  7. Flopping Aces catches some Lefties doing something right
  8. Free North Carolina has a bit more on that Confederate flag picture
  9. Jihad Watch notes that the media is proving Pam Geller’s point
  10. Legal Insurrection wonders if hating Mother’s Day is anti-woman
  11. Moonbattery notes that the Obama admin won’t allow an Iraqi nun into the country
  12. Pam Geller notes an event featuring Geert Wilders was cancelled due to fear of Islamist jihadis
  13. Patterico has more insanity from feminists
  14. protein wisdom features Leftists freaking out in Britain
  15. And last, but not least, Public Secrets notes that small government is efficient

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.

Read: Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup »

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Did You Buy Flowers For Mother Day? Well, That’s Bad For “Climate Change”

By William Teach May 10, 2015 – 7:42 am

The Cult of Climastrology is renowned for linking virtually everything, including holidays, to “climate change”. Up till now, I don’t recollect them linking the mostly/solely political issue to Mother’s Day. Till now, as brought to us by Jennifer Grayson at the Washington Post (BTW, there are some actual ecological/environmental issues involved, beyond “climate change”)

Flowers may be nice for Mom, but they’re terrible for Mother Earth

How’s this as a gesture of love for the woman who bore you? Chop off the reproductive organ of a plant and send it to her in a box tied up with a pretty bow.

No, it’s not a weird botanical twist on the van Gogh woo-a-girl-with-a-severed-ear legend. It is what millions of us (67 percent of those celebrating the holiday) will compulsorily do to mark Mother’s Day.

This year, we will spend a collective $2.4 billion to buy Mom flowers. I understand the appeal. I’m a mom of two little girls, and my heart melts anytime they surprise me with a handful of dirt-clumped dandelions from our back yard. But while giving flowers may seem like a good way to show how much you love your mom, it’s a terrible idea if you care about Mother Earth. (snip)

The truth is that most flowers are organic only in the truest sense of that word: highly perishable and thus susceptible to decay, as well as vermin and disease. Up to 80 percent of the 5.6 billion stems of flowers sold in the United States each year are imported. Of those, 93 percent are grown thousands of miles away in production greenhouses in Colombia or Ecuador. And it takes an awful lot of energy and artificial tinkering to keep those flowers fresh.

To preserve the blooms once they’re cut, they’re stored in an energy-guzzling refrigerated warehouse, flown via cargo plane to the United States, brought to yet another refrigerated warehouse to await distribution, and — just to tack on a bit more to the carbon footprint — shipped via refrigerated truck to your mom or to the refrigerated display case at the supermarket or florist. There, the flowers lie in wait for a harried son or daughter to grab en route to Mother’s Day brunch, where still another bouquet of imported flowers makes up the table’s centerpiece.

Add in the cellophane wrap, those annoying little plastic stem tubes and the bouquet’s fate a week later, emitting methane in a landfill, and you may have gotten a gift with a bigger carbon footprint than if you’d driven four hours in a Hummer to visit Mom in person. While it’s difficult to calculate the carbon footprint of a single bouquet, experts estimate that sending 100 million roses (the number believed to be given in the United States on Valentine’s Day, another big flower holiday) produces some 9,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from field to florist. The average American household has a carbon footprint of 48 tons a year.

That schtick continues on throughout the rest of the opinion piece, but, I think you get the idea, namely that you, dear reader, are helping to skyrocket the temperature of the Earth (sometime in the next 50-100 years, of course, since there’s essentially been an 18+ year pause in warming) and killing Gaia, all because you purchased flowers for Mom. Warmists are especially Evil, since they constantly yammer about the threat of “climate change” but still do things like this which causes an increase in their carbon footprint.

In fact, the movement for local flowers is becoming so strong that this month, the Senate passed a resolution supporting domestically grown flowers for Mother’s Day. (And while it’s nice to see Congress getting involved in something mom-related, it’s too bad lawmakers can’t make any headway on what mothers really need: paid protected maternity leave — the United States is the only developed country without it — or a national fine for anyone who tries to kick a breast-feeding mom out of a restaurant or off an airplane.)

Isn’t it interesting how an article on Hotcoldwetdry includes links to other pet Progressive issues? It’s almost like “climate change” is actually all about Progressive (nice fascist) politics?

But why not sidestep commercial flowers altogether? This Mother’s Day, I sent my mother-in-law an online gift card for heirloom seeds to plant in her cherished garden, and I’m giving my mom what she really wants: quality time with her only daughter at a “girls” lunch. As for me, I’m more than thrilled with dandelions from my daughters and my husband’s promise that on Sunday, I’ll have the morning off to luxuriate in bed.

But, why not sidestep being a climate hypocrite altogether, and give up fossil fuels, energy usage, and anything else that creates a carbon footprint, Ms. Grayson? That gift card creates “carbon pollution” through energy usage. How are you going to travel to that “girls lunch”? Fossil fueled vehicle, perhaps? I hope y’all are eating vegan! She should call for the Washington Post to stop killing trees to publish the paper, stop using fossil fueled vehicles to distribute it, and, hey, stop publishing altogether, since it requires energy, including on the Internet.

This is all just another in a long line by Cult of Climastrology cranks, heavy on preaching, scolding, assigning guilt, and extremism, demanding that we Do Something because they are Offended. Bunch of cranks.

The comments are hilarious. Hard to pick my favorite, but, this one

Environmentalists seem to live in the fear that somebody somewhere is having fun.

That seems to be the view of most Progressives.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

Read: Did You Buy Flowers For Mother Day? Well, That’s Bad For “Climate Change” »

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If You Care About Baseball, You Have To Care About Climate Change

By William Teach May 9, 2015 – 3:06 pm

Yet another case of a Warmist having to link their pet cult with a completely different subject

Baseball, hot dogs and saving the planet

April has always been a significant month for me, and this past April was no exception. We marked the annual celebration of Earth Day, committing ourselves to being responsible stewards of the planet. But more important, April signalled the beginning of the baseball season.

I’m embarrassed to confess I am a Philadelphia Phillie fan. Someone has to be. So I eased my pain by listening to the classic Abbott and Costello routine “Who’s On First?” But this led me to another Abbott and Costello skit and how we must save the planet.

So here is Bud Abbott chewing out Costello for refusing to put mustard on his hot dog. “Don’t you realize,” Abbott pointed out, “if too many people stop using mustard, the people who work in these factories will lose their jobs. And the people who make the bottles for the mustard, their jobs will be gone, too.”

But that wasn’t all. “Do you care about baseball? All the vendors selling hot dogs — where will they get the mustard for those who want it? And then they will be out of work.”

By the time Abbott was through, Costello had caused a full-blown depression. But the skit led me back to thinking about the future of our planet. For there are indeed unintended consequences of the choices we make. This is particularly true of our reliance on fossil fuels and its impact on climate change.

And what is the solution?

But here in Oregon, we have an opportunity to take bold and meaningful action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution from fossil fuels — the primary cause of climate change. The Oregon legislature is now considering House Bill 3470, known as the Climate Stability and Justice Act. If passed, this bill will set up an action plan to reduce greenhouse gas pollution 10 percent by 2020 and 75 percent by 2050.

That’s right, more Government. You know what I’m thinking about practice and preach, right?

Read: If You Care About Baseball, You Have To Care About Climate Change »

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

If All You See…

By William Teach May 9, 2015 – 1:00 pm

…is a rising sea from too much carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Chicks On The Right, with a post on Tina Fey stripping down on Letterman.

Read: If All You See… »

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Tolerant Warmists Seek To Strip Skeptic State Senator Doug Ericksen Of His College Degree

By William Teach May 9, 2015 – 10:55 am

Warmists/Progressives are very tolerant of all points of view as long as they fully agree with the Warmist/Progressive point of view

Concerned about climate change, WWU students seek to revoke ‘climate agnostic’ Ericksen’s degree

This isn’t an election year for state Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, but challengers do seek to wrest something from him — not his elected office but rather one of his college degrees.

A group of students with ties to Huxley College held a meeting at 5:30 p.m. today, Thursday, May 7, on campus, to start what promises to be an uphill — if not Quixotic — battle to convince university administration to strip Ericksen of his diploma.

Representatives of the group who sat down for an interview — Chiara D’Angelo, Evelyn Kennedy and Emily Krieger — understand that an action that serious typically requires a serious breach of the university’s trust, say proof of plagiarism or some other form of academic cheating.

This is the degree he paid for, and earned. But, Ericksen holds the Wrong Views on Hotcoldwetdry.

Why try to revoke his degree?

“It gives students a point of agency, some kind of power,” Kennedy said. “People want to know more and want to know our vision for this campaign, what we want to get out of it.”

So, in order to have “some kind of power”, they are going to attempt to pull Ericksen’s diploma, because of Thought Crimes.

The Western student group would agree. By next week, the group will be seeking petition signatures to have Ericksen’s degree expunged.

Mob rule. Of course, WWU would have to be monumentally stupid to actually pull the degree, as they would immediately be the recipients of a lawsuit. But, this is the state of the Left today, where Thought Crimes must be punished.

Read: Tolerant Warmists Seek To Strip Skeptic State Senator Doug Ericksen Of His College Degree »

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Know What We Really Need To Solve “Climate Change”? A New Song!

By William Teach May 9, 2015 – 7:25 am

It’s a Love-a-lution!

UNFCCC Newsroom presents a new entry in our special section Climate Song for Paris COP 21 which was kindly submitted by Diana Lindley. The song Love-a-lution- RIGHT NOW! was written and recorded to mark last September’s events in New York around the UN Secretary General’s Climate Summit and the Global Day of Action on Climate Change when more than 300.000 people marched in the streets of Manhattan and many more people did the same in cities around the world.

Love-a-lution- RIGHT NOW! (lyrics below) was performed by Oscar Riley (speech narration), Arlene Richardson (steel drum), Jonah Mamakeesic (drums, bass and production) and Diana Lindley (vocals, words and music).

You can see the lyrics in full at the link. Here’s how it starts

CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECTS EVERYONE …

Come,
Come,
Join this Love-a-lution
Warriors heed
The calling of your hearts
Come,
Come,
Be part of the solution
Wherever you are …
It’s the place to start
Come on, come on, come on, come on
RIGHT NOW!
Come on, come on, come on

So exciting!!!!!!! Actually, the music and tempo is about as depressing as the people pushing the issue. But, hey, it’s a Love-a-lution! And a……government policy issue

This is a government policy issue …
The fate of ALL people is at stake!
Decisions that are being made by world leaders
Will decide the future of life on Earth.
According to the latest science,
We must ACT NOW
To begin our transition
To a 100 percent carbon-free
Clean energy economy.
To ensure our future …
We can and must
Decrease our carbon emissions
Starting NOW!
We absolutely must
STOP burning fossil fuels
In the coming decades
Humanity has fallen
Out of balance
With Natural laws…

Huh. Perhaps we could start with all Warmists giving up their own use of fossil fuels. Most especially, all those who are going to take long fossil fueled flights, including all those who’ll fly private jets, to Paris for COP21 (Conference on the Parties).

It is interesting that all solutions seem to involve Big Government, don’t you think?

Read: Know What We Really Need To Solve “Climate Change”? A New Song! »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Kathleen Parker: Pam Geller Totally Abused Free Speech

By William Teach May 9, 2015 – 7:07 am

Over the course of time, you’ve had those that defended Pam Geller’s free speech, and those who are wringing their hands. Even some Republicans, such as Bill O’Reilly (who gets schooled here) went squishy. Of course, Replica Republican Kathleen Parker had to chime in

Pamela Geller’s abuse of free speech

The recent spectacle of Pamela Geller, the erstwhile journalist who organized a provocative contest in Texas of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, gives pause to even the most passionate defenders of the First Amendment.

No, just the squishy folks gave pause. And many liberals. And most Islamists. Think about that. What company are these people keeping when they have the same views on Free Speech as hardcore Islamists?

Not since Westboro Baptist Church’s “God Hates Fags” message and Florida pastor Terry Jones burning the Koran has the principle of free speech been so sullied and abused.

Huh. I’m missing the part in the Constitution and the Federalist Papers where Free Speech is supposed to be sanitized and Approved. If you notice the subhead in my blog, it reads “If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all”. That’s actually from uber-lefty Noam Chomsky. We don’t have to approve of or like the expression, but, we have to allow it.

Waging a one-woman crusade against the Muslim world, Geller says she wanted to draw a line in the sand and demonstrate to terrorists that, when it comes to free speech, America bows to no one. Okay, we get your point. It’s an American point, actually.

First, she has been passionately against hardcore Islam, not Muslims overall. Parker is abusing her free speech on that. Second, “it’s an American point”? Perhaps she would prefer the Muslim point. In Egypt, 4 teens and their teacher face long jail terms for insulting Islam. It would be easy to find many other examples.

And Geller’s contribution to these protections and our unwavering dedication to its preservation is, exactly, what? A taunt. Shouldn’t one at least aspire to some originality? It’s been done. And each time, the result is the same. You haul out a picture of Muhammad; “they” haul out a fatwa. Cat puts out cheese; mouse gets eaten. What does one expect?

Nice. A bit of victim blaming.

This is certainly the way Geller thinks, as her comments confirm. She has declined to apologize for instigating this unnecessary clash — remember when we preferred to take the fight to the terrorists over there? She even claims to have saved lives by luring two terrorists to their deaths. Geller baited the field, in other words.

Remember how the Founders apologized for their free speech?

As an operating principle, mightn’t we try less incendiary means of problem-solving? I don’t know, maybe something less likely to lead to violence?

No. Period.

Sometimes the messenger really is the problem. And oftentimes, the medium is, too.

So, we’re now allowed to say that a women in a really short skirt sans bra, buzzed and flirty, is the problem, according to Parker (and the rest of the hang wringers). I wonder how they would respond if the woman who is sexually assaulted gets blamed? Oh, right, I forgot, they avoid this whenever it happens in Islamic countries.

Our Founding Fathers bequeathed not only the freedom of religion and expression from government tyranny but also the freedom to think as the enlightened progeny of some of history’s most creative, inventive and philosophical minds.

It is easy to imagine their disappointment at the character of today’s debate.

Yes, I could easily see them being disappointed in how so many wring their hands over certain Free Speech being denigrated. And being called “abuse”. Ms. Parker is more than welcome to her free speech, and doesn’t have to agree with Pam Geller’s. Ms. Parker, though, apparently wants to stop Pam Geller’s free speech.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

Read: Kathleen Parker: Pam Geller Totally Abused Free Speech »

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