Washington Post Very Concerned Over Scott Walker Leaving College Early

By William Teach February 12, 2015 – 7:08 am

These are the kinds of stories that will emanate from the Credentialed Media as the silly season, ie, primaries leading to the general election, approaches and gets in full swing, at least as how it applies to Republicans. There will be lots of concerned articles as well as “just wondering”, like how they wondered multiple times whether McCain was eligible to be president, since he was born in the Panama Canal Zone (he was). Or whether he had an affair (he didn’t). Or Romney’s dog on the roof, and haircut “outrage” when he was in high school. Of course, Democrats are mostly given a pass

As Scott Walker mulls White House bid, questions linger over college exit

Scott Walker was gone. Dropped out. And in the spring of his senior year.

In 1990, that news stunned his friends at Marquette University. Walker, the campus’s suit-wearing, Reagan-loving politico — who enjoyed the place so much that he had run for student body president — had left without graduating.

To most of the Class of 1990 — and, later, to Wisconsin’s political establishment — Walker’s decision to quit college has been a lingering mystery.

Not even his friends at Marquette were entirely sure why he never finished. Some had heard that a parent had fallen ill, or maybe there was some financial strain. Others thought he had simply had enough of school.

This is amusing for two reason: it is a thinly veiled hit piece ahead of Walker potentially running for president. Second, the Washington Post is one of the major outlets who utterly refused to take a serious look into Obama’s background, much less his college years. As ulyssesmsu writes in the comments

You damn hypocrites. You write an article this big about Barack Obama’s sealed college records first, and then maybe you’ll have the credibility to investigate Scott Walker. First Obama, then everyone else.

Do not expect any similar pieces on Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth (Fauxahontas) Warren, or other Democrats, expect as a way to explain the issues away. And, other than the Washington Post, who still has questions about Walker leaving college over 20 years ago?

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Posted in GOP, Wonky Media | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

Chapel Hill Murders Called “Hate Crime” By Father

By William Teach February 12, 2015 – 6:53 am

Chapel Hill police are pretty sure that the murders occurred over a parking dispute. Obviously, many are immediately jumping to this being a hate crime. Aren’t most murders rather about hate?

(Raleigh N&O) The news spread fast on social media, where many didn’t believe the killer’s motive could be explained by an argument about parking. Relatives were quick to call the slayings of three American Muslims a hate crime. “I mean, who would kill somebody over a parking spot?” said Abdel Kader Barakat, a cousin of Deah Barakat.

People are welcome to their own opinions, but not to their own facts, as the saying goes.

The women’s father, Dr. Mohammad Abu-Salha, who has a psychiatry practice in Clayton, said regardless of what prompted the shooting Tuesday night, Hicks’ underlying animosity toward Barakat and Abu-Salha was based on their religion and culture.

“It was execution style, a bullet in every head,” Abu-Salha said. “This was not a dispute over a parking space; this was a hate crime. This man had picked on my daughter and her husband a couple of times before, and he talked with them with his gun in his belt. And they were uncomfortable with him, but they did not know he would go this far.”

Abu-Salha said his daughter, who lived next door to Hicks, wore a Muslim head scarf and told her family a week ago that she had “a hateful neighbor.”

“Honest to God, she said, ‘He hates us for what we are and how we look,’ ” he said.

Is it possible that Craig Hicks hated Muslims? That would be rather inconvenient for Liberals, since he is a hard core Atheist and a big fan of Progressives. However, might it just be that the said parking dispute involved ugly language and behavior, as so many disputes do? Because of you think this murder is unbelievable, perhaps you should know that

That list could go on and on and on. In inner cities, everyone thinks that the majority of murders are about gangs and drugs. In fact, most murders tend to be “motiveless”, essentially being about “disrespect“. This applies to shootings and stabbings, as well.

If it is a “hate crime”, in other words, a thought crime, that would look pretty bad for Atheists and Progressives, eh? But, the simplest explanation is usually the most likely explanation, and killing over a parking dispute is, sadly, entirely believable. That Hicks was an Atheist and the victims Muslims is meaningless. The victims could have been Christians, Jews, heck, other Atheists, and had the same outcome. Of course, this wouldn’t be “worldwide news”, though.

Just to be clear, the point of mentioning that Hicks is an Atheist yesterday was not to blame Atheists, but to point out media bias, since so many avoided mentioning his non-faith faith, unlike if he was a Christian, TEA Party member, Republican, etc.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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If All You See…

By William Teach February 11, 2015 – 1:00 pm

…is a horrible natural gas stove causing massive snowstorms, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is No Tricks Zone, with a post on Warmist organizations taking lots of money from Big Oil.

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Bummer: Snowmageddon Threatened “Climate Change” Conference

By William Teach February 11, 2015 – 12:38 pm

Of course, we must all remember that global warming is causing these massive snows (via The First Street Journal)

(CFACT) The record-shattering snow that has shut down Boston’s public transit system threatens to white out a global warming forum organized by Massachusetts Senate President Stanley Rosenberg (D, Amherst).

Rosenberg scheduled the forum for 1 PM Tuesday beneath the golden dome of the Massachusetts State House in Boston.

‘Rosenberg said the state has already seen how climate change is manifesting itself in the state with stronger storms, extreme temperatures, and a changing environment.’

Bummer

Inconveniently, Boston is in the midst of its snowiest winter in a century.  The city hit 73″ inches of snow on Monday placing this year on the top ten list for snowiest winters on record, surpassing the 72.9″ recorded during the winter of 1903-1904.

WCVB TV reports that, ‘Boston also set a record with the most snow in 30 days with 60.8 inches.’

Double bummer

Such events are, however, terribly inconvenient for the global warming narrative. In 2000 climate scientist David Viner of Britain’s Climatic Research Unit (CRU) famously proclaimed that snow was increasingly a thing of the past, saying “children just aren’t going to know what snow is.” Fourteen years later Boston’s schoolchildren have run out of snow days. Officials are considering cutting short their spring breaks to compensate.

Triple bummer. And, yes, it was officially cancelled

(MassLive) A legislative forum on climate change has been postponed, ironically, due to the weather.

“I hope these repeated, severe storms serve as a platform for some important conversations around bolstering our natural and built infrastructure against climate change once a new date has been set for this discussion,” said State Sen. Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton), who chairs the Senate Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change and organized the summit.

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Posted in Collapsing Science, Global Warming | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Hey, Islamist Apologists: Will You Take The Crusader Challenge?

By William Teach February 11, 2015 – 10:38 am

I blogged the Crusader Challenge before, but, let’s leave it up as a sticky note for a couple weeks, the better for Islamist apologists who yammer on about those evil Christians doing Bad Things to put their money where their mouths are. Michael Graham at News Radio 106.7 in Atlanta is willing to “set aside $100 for every death committed in the name of fundamentalist Christianity in the year 2015. You—the “The problem isn’t Islam” adherent—will set aside just ONE dollar for every death committed in the name of Islamist fundamentalism and violent jihad.” This runs through the end of 2015. Who will take up the challenge?

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Posted in Liberal World, War On Terrorism | 51 Comments | Trackback URL

Peaches The Cockatoo Mimics Previous Owners Spats

By William Teach February 11, 2015 – 10:31 am

Whoops

NY Post: This North Carolina cockatoo sure wasn’t living with any lovebirds.

Peaches, a Moluccan cockatoo, has become a YouTube sensation by spewing obscenity-laced tirades, mimicking her former owners’ marital spats.

Friends and family of Don and Elaine Sigmon claim to hear “get out of here” and f-bombs in minute-long daily diatribes thrown by Peaches. (snip)

“Trust me she is not mimicking me & Don but I was told the first owners separated and she was just acting out what she saw,” wife Elaine Sigmon wrote on Facebook. “All we know is she is hilarious and has brought so much joy to our family.”

You go, Peaches!

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Posted in Like, Gnarly, Dude | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

#MuslimLivesMatter: Man Kills Three Muslims In Chapel Hill

By William Teach February 11, 2015 – 8:02 am

Obviously, this is one of those horrible actions by evil Christians, right? (tweets via Twitchy)

https://twitter.com/neuroluv/status/565405142523322368

https://twitter.com/EdhiAbdulSattar/status/565476331098750978

(Raleigh N&O) Police charged a Chapel Hill man Wednesday with first-degree murder in the deaths of three Muslim students in a quiet neighborhood near Meadowmont just south of N.C. 54.

Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, is being held in the Durham County Jail on three counts of first-degree murder.

Hicks is accused of shooting his Finley Forest neighbors, Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, and his wife Yusor Abu-Salha, 21, and Abu-Salha’s sister, Razan Abu-Salha, 19, of Raleigh.

It very much was a horrible crime. But, something is missing

(UK Daily Mail) A man has been arrested after three Muslim students were shot dead close to a University complex.

Craig Stephen Hicks, who has previously posted comments criticising all religions online and describes himself as a supporter of atheism, has been charged with three counts of murder after the trio were shot dead in Meadowmont, close to the University of North Carolina campus.

Dentistry student Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, of Chapel Hill, his wife Yusor Mohammad, 21, of Chapel Hill and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, of Raleigh, were all found dead on Tuesday.

That’s right. Context is missing. It’s missing from the WRAL story, as well. Same with WNCN. Nor at ABC11.

On a Facebook page in his name Hicks published a number of anti-religion posts, describing himself as a supporter of ‘Atheists for Equality.’ A banner about ‘anti-theism’ sits prominently on his page and he appears to be a regular social media user.

Hicks posted a photo from United Atheists of America on February 8, which has the title ‘why radical Christians and radical Muslims are so opposed to each others’ influence when they agree about so many ideological issues.’

Just to be clear, I am not blaming atheists, but simply noting that the typical over-reaction that occurs in blaming Christians is wrong-headed. The thing is, we do not know why Hicks murdered the three people. Was it because they were Muslim? Was it over a disagreement, or some slight? We really do not know at the moment.

We do know that if #MuslimLivesMatter, perhaps they should stop killing each other so willy-nilly around the world. Maybe they could come more forcefully against things like ISIS beheading people, like another recent event where they took the heads of eight men accused of being members of Israel and Egypt’s armies.

More:

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Posted in Journalistic Malpractice, NC News | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

Smart Power: Team Obama Abandons Embassy In Yemen

By William Teach February 11, 2015 – 7:35 am

Well, at least they learned something from the Benghazi affair

(Fox News) The State Department announced late Tuesday that the U.S. Embassy in Yemen had been closed and evacuated after much of the country was taken over by Shiite rebels last month.

Hours later, Britain and France followed suit and ordered their citizens to leave Yemen as soon as possible.

The U.S. embassy had already been operating with severely reduced staff for several weeks. State Department spokesman Jen Psaki said remaining diplomatic personnel had been relocated “due to the ongoing political instability and the uncertain security situation.”

Yemen has been in crisis for months, with Iran-linked Shiite Houthi rebels besieging the capital and then taking control and forcing the resignation of the U.S. and Saudi-backed president and his government.

Hey, remember this from September 2014?

“But I want the American people to understand how this effort will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil. This counter-terrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground. This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years.”

Obama has done a good job in using drone strikes to play whack-a-mole against Islamic jihadis. Ted Cruz noted on January 25, 2015

In Yemen, as in so many places around the globe, however, this approach has left the United States with few good options and with our influence in shambles. We need to face the reality that Yemen is being torn apart by two sworn enemies of America and our first priority should be to secure any remaining U.S. personnel in the country. We must then explore how to defend our strategic interests in the region without benefiting either Iran or al Qaeda.

Back to Fox article

The embassy closure will also complicate the CIA’s operations in Yemen, U.S. intelligence officials acknowledge. Although CIA officers could continue to work out of U.S. military installations, many intelligence operations are run from embassies, and the CIA lost visibility on Syria when that embassy was evacuated in 2012. The CIA’s main role in Yemen is to gather intelligence about members of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and occasionally kill them with drone strikes. Both the CIA and the military’s Joint Special Operations Command run separate drone killing programs in Yemen, though the CIA has conducted the majority of the strikes, U.S. officials have said.

In all due fairness to Obama, this could have happened no matter what he did, with hardcore Islamist forces, some backed by Iran, fighting against each other for control of a nation that has a long history of being a hotbed of Islamic terrorism and extremism. Obama could have done everything perfectly, and the country still may have melted down. But, as said when George Bush was president “who’s president now?” Perhaps Obama should have more strongly supported the Arab Spring, particularly in Iran, with their Green Uprising, as well as not played footsy with Iran.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Have You Ever Read A Book That Seemed More Like A Newspaper Or Magazine Article?

By William Teach February 10, 2015 – 7:43 pm

In all my years, I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that unintentionally mimicked a newspaper or magazine article. I’ve read, and enjoyed (and not enjoyed) fiction books that were intended to be like a non-fictional account, such as Zombie War by Nicholas Ryan (his 3 other zombie books are damned good, too). However, The Gray Ship was just strange, and read the way the first few paragraphs of so many news stories read. You know, where they bring in the human interest? Things like “The captain is seated at the far end of the table. Ashley Patterson runs a tight meeting. She asks questions, listens to the answers, and will not tolerate political sideswiping.” It just seems stiff, rather than flowing, and I kept expecting the meat of the investigative journalism story to show up.

Perhaps you would need to read it yourself to understand. Me, I gave up at 5%, which is a shame, because the premise, namely that a modern day U.S. warship is transported to the 1861, right before the battle of Ft. Sumter, is something that I really love. A good time travel story with history. Oh, well.

Interestingly, this is the third straight book I’ve abandoned. The previous two were at around 50% and 40%, because they just kept plodding on without really going anywhere. Viva la Kindle Unlimited!

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Major Snowstorms Are Cause For “Climate Change” Concern

By William Teach February 10, 2015 – 3:25 pm

I’d wonder if Warmists are trolling Skeptics with this kind of insanity, but, no, they really do believe this

Major snowstorms in B.C. prompt climate-change worries

Warm weather and rain linked to the Pineapple Express weather system is forcing Mount Washington Alpine Resort on Vancouver Island to shut down its winter operations as of Monday, a rare situation that comes as industry operators fear the impact of climate change.

While too little snow put the brakes on ski season in one region of the province, Kitimat Village – a First Nations settlement near the town of Kitimat in northern British Columbia – was reeling from a major snowstorm that compelled Haisla First Nation to order the evacuation of the community’s 800 residents on Sunday. Kitimat and Terrace have received nearly two metres of snow this week from that same Pineapple Express system, which knocked out power for days and required at least one person to be airlifted to hospital.

The so-called Pineapple Express is something that has been going on for a long time, and has nothing to do with Hotcoldwetdry, much like El Nino’s, mentioned later in the article.

He added he thinks climate change is a factor in the industry’s woes, though the resort’s business director, Mr. Sharpe, said things are not that clear cut. The resort, he points out, had its deepest snowfall on record two years ago.

“It’s all over the map,” he said. “For us, it doesn’t appear that there’s an ongoing trend. It just so happened that we had a warm spell that wiped out all the snow that we did have.”

So, maybe yes, maybe no?

The Canada West Ski Areas Association, representing 135 ski areas and 153 industry suppliers, has a sharply different view, with plans at its annual convention in April to have five presentations on climate change and the environment. Part of the association’s posted climate-change policy includes diversifying into summer businesses such as ziplines, gondola rides and mountain biking.

“Climate change and adapting to climate change is a big issue for the industry,” David Lynn, association president and chief executive officer, said in an interview on Sunday.

Interesting: an industry that relies on people taking fossil fueled trips, along with vast amounts of energy to run the business, has an issue with “climate change”. So they want to diversity and make sure people use more fossil fuels and industry uses more energy during other times of the year.

Anyway, despite the hysterical headline, there really is no attempt to specifically blame “Climate Change” for big snow storms, beyond hinting. But, good news, USA Today gives it a shot with a bit of quibbling

Buried in Boston? Blame it on climate change — maybe

What’s going on? Although no individual storm can be directly linked to climate change, Boston’s snowy winter could point to weather patterns affected by global warming.

“The environment in which all storms form is now different than it was just 30 or 40 years ago because of global warming,” said Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.

Higher temperatures warm the oceans and allow the atmosphere to hold a greater amount of water vapor, said Brad Johnson, a meteorologist with the University of Georgia. “Both of these factors, among others, contribute to stronger storms in general,” he said.

Johnson also said scientists are not able to attribute just a single storm or series of storms directly to climate change.

So “zoMyGod we’re doomed!!!!” with a splash of ass covering. The Washington Post gives it a shot, too. Climate Crocks digs deep into the idiocy.

Just to wrap up, here’s insanity from the Detroit Free Press

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Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 11 Comments | Trackback URL
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