Latest Excuse For The Pause: It’s A Fluke

By William Teach January 30, 2015 – 10:00 am

Does this make Excuse #67? There have been so many, and the excuses get thrown around in a willy nilly manner, that it makes it rather difficult to keep track. This comes via Yid with Lid

Are climate models really reliable?

There was a specific problem that puzzled Marotzke [Jochem Marotzke, director at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg] and his British colleague Piers M. Forster.

“We knew that the surface temperature of the earth has been stagnant for 15 years, whereas the models show progressive warming,” said Marotzke, referring to the problem.

Were the current climate models therefore wrong? Was there a systematic error in the models? Is global warming just a nightmare? Jochem Marotzke didn’t start this research to prove or disprove anything.

“We just wanted to grasp where this discrepancy between models and observations is coming from,” explained the meteorologist, when asked about the motivation for his most recent study.

Just a fluke?

The research team has just published his results in the journal Nature. With the help of a multi-step calculation, Marotzke and Forster ruled out systematic errors in the models. Instead, the researchers now blamed serendipity for the current lull in global warming. On the basis of their calculations, they say there is no reason to doubt current forecasts detailing strong global warming.

For laymen this may sound overly simplistic. Are the scientists just blaming chance because they can’t find another explanation? Marotzke has no problem with his latest findings.

“As meteorologists, we know that chance and chaos dominate the weather. You have to face the fact that chance plays a big role here.”

“It’s important that you can clearly distinguish between what happens randomly and what can be explained – which also improves our models,” he added.

Notice that the researchers are also essentially claiming that the models are correct, it is the observations of real data that are wrong. Something Dr. Roy Spencer noted almost a year ago.

Read: Latest Excuse For The Pause: It’s A Fluke »

Posted in Collapsing Science, Global Warming | 11 Comments | Trackback URL

NY Times: Say, Getting Rid Of The Ocare Medical Device Tax Is A Bad Idea

By William Teach January 30, 2015 – 7:03 am

In Liberal World, getting rid of any tax is a bad idea. This comes our way via the extremely well paid people who sit on the low diversity Editorial Board

No Case for Killing the Medical Device Tax

In seeking to dismantle the Affordable Care Act piece by piece, congressional Republicans have placed a high priority on repealing a tax on medical devices that would raise some $29 billion over the next 10 years to help ensure that health reform will not increase the deficit. Repealing the tax is a terrible idea that has been given a veneer of respectability by support from liberal Democrats in states with large concentrations of device manufacturers. They include Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken of Minnesota and Representative Ron Kind of Wisconsin, among others. President Obama ought to veto any bill that eliminates the tax.

I can think of one reason right off the bat: the costs of imposing the tax will primarily hurt low and middle class Americans, unlike those who get paid very well at the NY Times.

The health reform law imposes a modest 2.3 percent tax on sales of medical devices, to be paid by the manufacturers or importers. It applies to such products as X-ray machines, M.R.I. scanners, pacemakers and artificial hip and knee joints but not to eyeglasses, contact lenses and hearing aids. The $29 billion to be raised from the device industry is less than the amounts to be raised from insurers and drug companies, all of which will benefit from increased business under the act and should pay their fair shares of the cost. If the lost revenues from a repeal of the device tax are offset by reduced spending on other health care programs, as they might well be, many patients could suffer medical or financial harm.

Fair share, huh? The extra costs will be passed on to consumers in some form or fashion.

Some parts of the industry are thriving. In Warsaw, Ind., which bills itself as the “Orthopedic Capital of the World,” demand for artificial hips and knees and other orthopedic devices appears to be growing and companies are scrambling to hire more people.

“Some.” And any extra taxes on the devices increase the cost of the devices. Most taxes and “fees” tend to harm the lower and middle class American citizens. There is bipartisan support for repeal, including Nancy Pelosi. And it is doing harm to medical businesses, despite what is claimed in the editorial.

I bet if the tax was changed to, say, a 2.3% tax on sales of newspapers, which would be paid by the newspaper, you can bet that the Times would be against it in a heartbeat.

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Senate Passes Keystone XL In Bipartisan Fashion

By William Teach January 30, 2015 – 6:42 am

The most recent Keystone XL poll from November 2014 has the public favoring the project by a margin of 59% to 31%. 83% of Republicans favor it, as do 58% of independents, while even 43% of Democrats support. So, of course, Obama is dead set against it

(NY Times) The Senate passed a bill on Thursday to force approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which President Obama is certain to veto in his first official clash with the new Republican-majority Congress.

The five-year fight over the Keystone pipeline has become a proxy for far broader fights over climate change, energy and the economy, and for the conflict between Mr. Obama and congressional Republicans.

The Senate voted 62 to 36 in favor of building the pipeline. Nine Democrats joined 53 Republicans in passing the bill. The passage sends the measure back to the House, which passed a largely similar bill this month. House leaders are deciding whether to pass the Senate bill as is or to hold a conference merging the House and Senate versions into a new bill to be voted on by each chamber.

Those 9 Democrats represent 3 times the number of Republican Senator who voted for the Stimulus plan. In regards to Obamacare , well, zero times nine is still nine, zero being the Republicans who voted for Ocare.

What will O do now? The final bill will probably reach his desk next week

Mr. Obama, who currently retains authority to approve or deny the permitting of the pipeline because it crosses an international border, is expected to veto the bill because it would remove his executive authority to make the final decision. Senate Republicans said that if he vetoed the Keystone bill, they would add it on to another measure this year, like must-pass spending legislation or a broader energy bill.

He’s been playing games for years on this. He said he’d wait on State Department approval. That came in 2014. He said he’d wait on a Nebraska court case. That came through earlier this month. And this excuse and that excuse

Mr. Obama has also said that he wants to wait until a series of reviews by additional cabinet agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the departments of Defense, Interior, Homeland Security and Commerce, are complete.

The deadline for those reviews, aimed at determining whether the project is in the national interest, is on Monday.

Those documents seem to be solely political, so, people tend to do what the boss wants.

Senator John Hoeven, a North Dakota Republican who is a chief sponsor of the bill, said: “You’ve got Congress approving it on a bipartisan basis. All six states on the route have approved it. The Nebraska court decision is done. The American people overwhelmingly support it. The president has to consider all that when he makes his decision.”

Obama will only consider what his unhinged base wants. And what’s in Obama’s interest. And, in this case, manufacturing a fight with the GOP is probably tops on his list.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Bummer: “Climate Change” To Ruin Valentine’s Day

By William Teach January 29, 2015 – 4:31 pm

It’s not even February and Warmists are already trying to ruin yet another holiday

(UK Guardian) Environmental campaigners are calling for people to declare their love for the planet on 14 February – Valentine’s Day.

The Climate Coalition, made up of more than 100 UK organisations campaigning for action on climate change, is asking people to submit photos of things they love that they fear losing due to the effects of climate change. Submissions so far include photos of rivers, coral reefs, wildlife and “the changing of the seasons”.

photo worf-startrek-facepalm_zps01f51f46.gif

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Posted in Global Warming | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach January 29, 2015 – 1:00 pm

…is an evil plastic water bottle causing the atmosphere heat up and dump huge amounts of snow, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Nice Deb, with a post on the State Dept. hosting the Muslim Brotherhood.

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Good News: USA Has 78.9% Change It Will Survive Hotcoldwetdry

By William Teach January 29, 2015 – 11:20 am

Though, if you really want to survive, you’ll have to move to Norway, which has an 82.7% chance

The Countries Most Likely To Survive Climate Change In One Infographic

Climate change is real, and it’s coming. But we’re all going to be affected in different ways. How will your country fare?

The folks at Eco Experts put together a great infographic based on data from the Notre Dame Global Adaptation (ND-Gain) Index, an annual ranking of which countries are best poised to adapt to a warming world.

While the maps provide a great zoomed-out perspective of what’s going to happen globally as the earth warms, there are a few caveats to keep in mind when checking it out:

First, these maps are based on country rankings, not comprehensive evaluations of each country. In other words, the best-ranked countries are only as great as they seem compared to the countries that are performing less well.

Additionally, the ranking looks only at the level of entire countries. All of the state-specific, region-specific, or city-specific data gets somewhat lost in this zoomed out perspective.

Here’s part of the graphic. It’s huge, so you’ll have to hit the link to peruse the entire thing

Of course, not mentioned, is a third caveat, namely that Warmists are bat guano insane. Fourth, Mankind survived the previous Holocene warm periods, which were warmer than the prognostications for the warmth in 21o0. And Mankind did quite well during the warm periods.

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Posted in AGW Scaremongering, Global Warming | 8 Comments | Trackback URL

Now That Obama Has “Normalize” Relations, Cuba Gets Demandy

By William Teach January 29, 2015 – 6:52 am

We’re beginning a new chapter in our relationship, you know

(Wall Street Journal) Cuban President Raúl Castro demanded Wednesday that the U.S. return the base at Guantanamo Bay, lift the half-century trade embargo on Cuba and compensate his country for damages before the two nations re-establish normal relations.

Mr. Castro told a summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States that Cuba and the U.S. are working toward full diplomatic relations but “if these problems aren’t resolved, this diplomatic rapprochement wouldn’t make any sense.” (snip)

Cuba has said it welcomes the measures but has no intention of changing its system. Without establishing specific conditions, Mr. Castro’s government has increasingly linked the negotiations with the U.S. to a set of long-standing demands that include an end to U.S. support for Cuban dissidents and Cuba’s removal from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. (snip)

On Wednesday, Mr. Castro emphasized an even broader list of Cuban demands, saying that while diplomatic ties may be re-established, normal relations with the U.S. depend on a series of concessions that appear highly unlikely in the near future.

The U.S. established the military base in 1903, and the current Cuban government has been demanding the land’s return since the 1959 revolution that brought it to power. Cuba also wants the U.S. to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages for losses caused by the embargo.

True demands or negotiating tactics?

John Caulfield, who led the U.S. Interests Section in Havana until last year, said the tone of Cuba’s recent remarks didn’t mean it would be harder than expected to reach a deal on short-term goals, such as reopening full embassies in Havana and Washington.

In fact, he said, the comments by Mr. Castro and high-ranking diplomats may indicate the pressure Cuba’s government is feeling to strike a deal as Cubans’ hopes for better living conditions rise in the wake of Obama’s outreach.

“There is this huge expectation of change and this expectation has been set off by the president’s announcement,” Mr. Caulfield said.

One has to wonder when the leaders of Cuba have ever given a damn about pressure from anyone, other than the leaders of the Cold War era USSR. They certainly haven’t given a damn about any pressure from the Cuban people, because they would just throw those people in jail. At best.

This is, though, what often happens when you give up a lot for virtually nothing in return early in any negotiations.

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Want To Shovel Snow For Money? There’s A Permit For That

By William Teach January 29, 2015 – 6:34 am

A few entrepreneurial teens in Bound Brook, NJ, learned in a valuable lesson in government dominance

Bound Brook cops stop teens seeking snow shoveling work

School was closed for the blizzard that wasn’t, but there was still enough snow on the ground that two Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School seniors thought they could make a few extra bucks.

In the process, Matt Molinari and Eric Schnepf, both 18, also learned a valuable lesson about one of the costs of doing business: government regulations.

The two friends were canvasing a neighborhood near this borough’s border with Bridgewater early Monday evening, handing out fliers promoting their service, when they were pulled over by police and told to stop.

Bound Brook, like many municipalities in the state and country, has a law against unlicensed solicitors and peddlers.

Despite the rule, however, Police Chief Michael Jannone said the two young businessmen were not arrested or issued a ticket, and that the police’s concern was about them being outside during dangerous conditions, not that they were unlicensed.

You have two issues, first, this was mostly about stopping people from making money without a license. Anyone going door to door needs a license that costs $450 and is good for 180 days. Second, being told that you are not allowed to go outside and walk around? What nation are we living in?

“We don’t make the laws but we have to uphold them,” he said Tuesday after reading some of the online comments about the incident. “This was a state of emergency. Nobody was supposed to be out on the road.”

He’s right, they don’t make the laws, but, if President Obama can tell law enforcement to ignore the law regarding illegal aliens, the Bound Brook police can ignore some teens wandering around offering to shovel snow, especially when this goes to many people calling them to come.

The police say the story is about someone calling because they saw a “suspicious” person walking through yards, and that they were concerned for the safety of the teens. We’re quite a delicate society now, eh? Grandpa would like to let you know that he walked 5 miles to school in the snow. Uphill. Both ways. With an onion on his belt.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Bill Nye: Forget Deflategate, “Says ‘Give A F**k’ About Climate Change Instead”

By William Teach January 28, 2015 – 5:19 pm

Another great example of Climourettes, which is defined as the inability of people to stop themselves from interjecting “climate change” into every discussion (video at the link)

(Huffington Post)  Bill Nye is weighing in on Deflategate again, but this time he has a few props and a message to share about something far more important.

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick claimed atmospheric conditions and temperature changes could have caused footballs to lose air pressure during the team’s AFC Championship win over the Indianapolis Colts.

On Sunday, Nye said taking that much air out of a ball would require an inflation needle. But in a new video posted on Funny or Die, The Science Guy declared that “one test is worth 1,000 expert opinions,” and put some footballs into a fridge set to 51 degrees, or the temperature at the Jan. 18 game.

That’s where the video takes a very different turn.

“While we’re all obsessed with Deflategate, let’s keep in mind that there’s something about which you should give a fuck,” Nye said. “Yes, like Tom Brady, the world is getting hotter and hotter, and you know why? Because we humans are pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.”

Nye then began listing things that contribute to climate change — including long-winded Deflategate press conferences — and followed that up with a rallying cry.

Oh, you mean things like videos on the web that use lots of energy?

Read: Bill Nye: Forget Deflategate, “Says ‘Give A F**k’ About Climate Change Instead” »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Climahypocrites, Global Warming | 8 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach January 28, 2015 – 1:00 pm

…is a flooded world because Other People take fossil fueled trips, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The People’s Cube, with a post on the Warm On Women, ISIS style.

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