NY Post: 2014, The Year Of The Liberal Lie

Of course, every year is the year of the Liberal Lie, because, let’s face it, liberals must lie to get people to believe them. Some years are just worse than others

(NY Post) Bowe Bergdahl. The IRS’s missing e-mails. Lena Dunham. “Hands up, don’t shoot.” Jonathan Gruber. GM and that faulty ignition switch. Andrew Cuomo and that anti-corruption commission. The Secret Service and that White House intruder. Rachel Noerdlinger and her “disabled” son. Rolling Stone and gang rape.

2014 was the year when truth was optional. 2014 was the year when convenient fabrication was the weapon of choice for celebrities, activists, big business and politicians. 2014 was the Year of the Lie.

In each case, the liars used their powerful positions to intimidate, harass, marginalize or just plain bilk ordinary people who lacked access to a megaphone with which to shout back.

Mostly the liars didn’t suffer any repercussions for spreading falsehoods, and most didn’t even seem particularly embarrassed when they were exposed.

Liberals are rarely embarrassed by their lies. They often shift their lies to “fake but accurate”, when they aren’t ignoring that the fact that they are lying. Like with “climate change”

Activists told us Michael Brown, who was shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., on Aug. 9, was a “gentle giant” who had his hands in the air and was running away when he was shot.

Video images later showed that he had robbed a convenience store shortly before the police confrontation. Then an autopsy report confirmed that Brown was so close to Officer Darren Wilson that he had gunpowder residue on his hand, and that all of the bullets that hit him came from the front, none from the back. Nor where Brown’s palms raised, according to analysis by forensic pathologist Dr. Judy Melinek.

Protesters shrugged at all of this, declaring they would continue to honor Brown’s memory by chanting, “Hands up, don’t shoot.”

“Even if you don’t find that it’s true, it’s a valid rallying cry,” Ferguson protester Taylor Gruenloh told The Associated Press. If a few black-owned businesses get destroyed, and others are forced out of business by rising insurance costs, who cares? At least the protesters feel righteous.

The article goes on to discuss Lena Dunham, the UVA rape story, ex-chief of staff to the first lady of New York City, Rachel Noerdlinger (you’ll have to read the article for the full 411), GM and their ignition switch issue, BY Gov. Cuomo pulling the plug on an investigation, Jonathan Gruber, and, of course, the IRS

Where on earth could all of these people have gotten the idea that lying is acceptable? Maybe they’re all just marching to the cadence of the Liar in Chief.

Yes, then we get into all of Obama’s lies. And there are quite a few. Which is, quite frankly, expected. It’s one of the main things Obama does.

Read: NY Post: 2014, The Year Of The Liberal Lie »

Texas Has A Law Protecting People Who Say “Merry Christmas”

It’s amazing that we actually need laws to protect free speech

(Ft Worth Star Telegram) This is Texas.

So you can safely toss the generic holiday greetings out the door.

As students head into the final week before “winter break” and plan for their “winter parties” state lawmakers are reminding residents that they are free to use the greeting of their choice — “Merry Christmas,” “Happy Hanukkah” or “Happy holidays,” if you must.

“Our teachers and students are able to celebrate the upcoming holiday season without fear of retribution or punishment,” said Rep. Dwayne Bohac, R-Houston, who last year helped pass the Merry Christmas law.

The Legislature wanted to make sure that students can exchange traditional holiday greetings — and display Christmas trees, menorahs and Nativity scenes at school as long as more than one religion and a secular symbol are included — without fear of sparking a lawsuit.

The response from the ACLU is a hoot

“I think it’s stupid,” said Terri Burke, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Texas. “There is no ‘war on Christmas.’ There’s no need for this law.

“It is just such frivolity,” she said. “There are important things for the Legislature to work on, and this isn’t it.”

Yet, the ACLU is quite often involved in threatening lawsuits over Christmas trees, nativity scenes, and the like.

People have seemed to become afraid to give a traditional Christmas greeting over the past 20 years. Companies often put up generic wintery scenes. They freak out over Santa and Frosty and Rudolph in schools. They attempt to make kids feel bad over daring to say Merry Christmas. Yet, these same people are more than happy to get their paid day off, being that Christmas is a federal holiday.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

Read: Texas Has A Law Protecting People Who Say “Merry Christmas” »

If All You See…

…is an evil dog causing the seas to rise hundreds of feet sometime in the future, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is 1389 Blog, which starts off Christmas themed IAYS through the 25th, with a post on language mattering.

Read: If All You See… »

Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

Happy Sunday! Another gorgeous day in America, with Christmas fast approaching. A time for family, friends, and to remember the reason for the season. This pinup is by Bill Medcalf, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. The People’s Cube covers #JihadiLivesMatter
  2. The Other McCain notes feminists trying to save “rape culture”
  3. The Daley Gator features more law students struck with Offendetitis
  4. The Camp Of The Saints has the Madness Of King Leftist
  5. White House Dossier covers Obama’s upcoming well needed Hawaii vacation
  6. Right Wing News notes yet another fake rape story
  7. Raised On Hoecakes notes the real college sexual assault data
  8. Public Secrets has the latest thing climate change is blamed for
  9. Patterico takes a look at genders
  10. Neo-neocon notes the feminist POV on rape
  11. Legal Insurrection doesn’t think much of Jon Huntsman Part 2 Jeb Bush
  12. House Of Eratosthenes says you shouldn’t have to make that cake
  13. Flopping Aces features an incident between a white cop and a Black women that won’t be national news
  14. Fire Andrea Mitchel has the 411 on the Portland shooter
  15. And last, but not least, Fausta discusses white privilege

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

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 »

Warmists Reach “Bare Minimum” Deal At #COP20Lima

And the NY Times’ Coral Davenport is super pumped about this. I know she’ll be working hard to get the NY Times to come up with its own plan to reduce their carbon footprint, things like doing away with the use of fossil fuels to deliver their paper, stopping the use of AC and heat at the NY Times building, stopping the use of killing trees to publish their paper, and stopping the use of energy to put their paper on the web. So, essentially, no longer be in business.

Climate Deal Would Commit Every Nation to Limiting Emissions

Negotiators from around the globe reached a climate change agreement early Sunday that would, for the first time in history, commit every nation to reducing its rate of greenhouse gas emissions — yet would still fall far short of what is needed to stave off the dangerous and costly early impact of global warming.

“For the first time in history”. Because our forefathers were generally not this stupid. And that global warming? Stalled for 18 years and 2 months.

The agreement reached by delegates from 196 countries establishes a framework for a climate change accord to be signed by world leaders in Paris next year. While United Nations officials had been scheduled to release the plan on Friday at noon, longstanding divisions between rich and poor countries kept them wrangling through Friday and Saturday nights to early Sunday.

The agreement requires every nation to put forward, over the next six months, a detailed domestic policy plan to limit its emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases from burning coal, gas and oil. Those plans, which would be published on a United Nations website, would form the basis of the accord to be signed next December and enacted by 2020.

And, much like with Kyoto, nations would fail to stay with the plans. Virtually none of the signatories of the Kyoto Protocol were able to stay within their pledged CO2 output limits. And the “developing nations” did not want anything to do with having to report their own emissions.

The freshly struck agreement, the Lima Accord, sends the obligation of devising a plan to cut carbon emissions back to the nations’ capitals — and its success or failure rests on how seriously and ambitiously the parliaments, congresses and energy, environment and economic ministries of the world take the mandate to create a new policy.

Since when can the United Nations tell the United States what to do with our political and national policy? It actually doesn’t matter, because Team Obama is too lazy to put together more than a rough outline written on a cocktail napkin obtained from the 19th Hole, and the soon to be GOP controlled Senate will not approve any plan.

Some environmental groups criticized the compromise deal for watering down language that would have bound countries to more rigorous transparency requirements — such as using similar timetables and baseline years from which emissions would be cut. The accord recommends that governments use those metrics, but does not require it.

“It’s the bare minimum of what we need, but we can work with it to get the pressure on,” said Alden Meyer, president of the group Union of Concerned Scientists. Mr. Meyer and other experts said they expected outside nongovernmental groups, research organizations and universities to perform independent analyses of countries’ carbon-cutting plans in order to assess how all the plans stack up in comparison.

Gotta love that: “some environmental groups”. In fact, the so-called developing nations, which never seem to develop and rely on money from the 1st World nations, were very upset over this agreement, particularly since it did not include a mechanism to forcibly take money from 1st World nations and redistribute it to those developing nations, what is being termed “loss and damage”. The NY Times is trying to spin this as just a bunch of small complainers. Most knowledge that it is extremely weak, and many note that it could make it very difficult to come up with a real accord in Paris next year (bummer).

But, hey, those politicians, bureaucrats, non-governmental groups, and all sorts of folks, roughly 12,000 of them, had a good time, taking fossil fueled flights, partying, demonstrating, destroying a Peruvian national treasure, then taking fossil fueled flights home. All for a 4 page report.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

Read: Warmists Reach “Bare Minimum” Deal At #COP20Lima »

Warmist Calls For Hotcoldwetdry To Be Human Rights Issue

No one should ever be too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry. Nor have to deal with the wind, humidity, sunshine, or any weather condition that makes them uncomfortable or frizzes their hair. Personally, I’m getting tired of climate change induced cold and dry which creates lots of static cling

(ABC Australia) MARK COLVIN: The International Bar Association says climate change should become a human rights issue able to be challenged in a court of law.

It says the judiciary is inadequate for those suffering injustice because of global warming.

It will now attempt to draft a new model statute, or law, for people suffering the effects of climate change.

Usually, we can chalk this up to Progressives pushing for more governmental control, dominance if you will, over people. In this case, it appears more towards the ability of lawyers to generate more personal and corporate revenue from suits, based on junk science. By wrapping it into human rights, it makes it easier for them to win. Because, right now, they usually lose. Heck, they usually drop the suits after making a lot of noise.

Read: Warmist Calls For Hotcoldwetdry To Be Human Rights Issue »

If All You See…

…is a wonderful bike saving a very old city from changes in the weather, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Moonbattery, with a post on a brave GOP stance.

Read: If All You See… »

Seven Psychological Reasons We Aren’t Tackling Hotcoldwetdry

They aren’t the reasons I would use, but, hey, some of them actually make sense. Here’s the Washington Post’s hyper-alarmist, Chris Mooney

The 7 psychological reasons that are stopping us from acting on climate change

You may have noticed: We can’t act on climate change. Granted, very devoted people are in Lima, Peru, right now, trying to change that. But inaction has been the norm on this issue, especially in the United States.

Nothing says “we need to act on climate change right friggin’ now!!!!!!!!! like 12000 people taking fossil fueled flights all the way to Lima, eh?

When a gigantic threat is staring you in the face, and you can’t act upon it, it’s safe to assume there’s some sort of mental blockage happening. So what’s the hangup? That’s what a new report from ecoAmerica and the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions (CRED) at Columbia University’s Earth Institute — entitled Connecting on Climate: A Guide to Effective Climate Change Communication – seeks to help us better understand.

Here we go (I’ll leave it to you to hit the link for the full info)

  • Psychological Distance. “People have a hard time thinking about — or acting on — things and events that are perceived as far in the future, physically distant, happening to other people, or involving uncertainty,” (and Warmists tend to push their cult as things that are going to happen 50-100 years from now, usually because their prognostications for things that will happen now fail. Hence the reason they’ve come up with “extreme weather”)
  • Finite Pool of Worry. People, adds the new report, “are able to worry about only so much at any given point.” (doesn’t seem like Warmists are too worried about their own carbon footprints, eh? Just those of Other People)
  • Emotional Numbing. On a related note, we simply can get overloaded emotionally, especially by people constantly trying to make us feel fear and alarm. (90% of Warmist communication is meant to make us feel fear and alarm)
  • Confirmation Bias and Motivated Reasoning. People also have a tendency to “seek out or absorb only the information that matches their mental model, confirming what they already believe to be true,” (funny thing is, Warmists still fail to follow through and put their beliefs into practice)
  • Defaults. We’re also terribly biased in favor of the status quo, of doing things the way they’ve always been done. (silly us for not wanting to destroy our modern lifestyles for a phony political issue)
  • Discounting. Economists have long noted that when you introduce a time element into considerations, people value money differently. (they’re positing that people discount the dire, fear-mongering prognostications because this will happen in the future)
  • Ideology. Finally, researchers have increasingly focused on ideology itself as a psychological phenomenon. After all, political beliefs are deeply felt and highly emotional, and yet we rarely even know why a certain conclusion feels so right to us, even as another person can feel just as strongly about the opposite view. (Warmists rarely know why, they can rarely explain their positions, they just regurgitate talking points)

Interesting choices. I would certainly add

  • Why would I take action when Warmists won’t in their own lives?
  • Why should we take action when 95% of computer models have failed?
  • Why should we destroy economies and hand over our liberty based on junk science, emotionally based arguments, and disingenuous data?

 

Read: Seven Psychological Reasons We Aren’t Tackling Hotcoldwetdry »

Bolivian President Blames Capitalism For “Climate Change”

Many scoff when I and other Skeptics say “climate change” is primarily a political movement based on far left ideology, an ideology that despises capitalism (all while buying lots of stuff for themselves). A few Warmists have been honest, ones like Naomi Klein, who says specifically that capitalism must be destroyed to save Gaia from getting a fever. Here’s another

(Reason) Evo Morales, the president of the Plurinational Republic of Bolivia, is a superstar politician here at the 20th Conference of the Parties (COP-20) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The press gaggle follows him around like puppies and enthusiastically applauds his unrelenting diatribes against rich industrialized countries. The headline is a quotation taken from Morales’ response to being asked at a press conference if he was optimistic about the summit meeting here in Lima? “The deep causes of global warming are not being dealt with here. The origin of global warming lies in capitalism,” asserted Morales. “If we could end capitalism then we would have a solution.”

Morales has long been an enemy of capitalism, constantly yammering on about it and wanting to destroy it

Morales further observed, “After thirty years of negotiations, global warming is still going on.” He added, “So many people and countries do not act responsibly. They are only thinking about profits, luxuries, and markets. They are not thinking about life, but only of money and how to accumulate more capital.”

Say, I wonder how he traveled from Bolivia to Lima. He sure didn’t walk.

Morales is just expressing the opinion of so many Warmists, who are also primarily Progressives. We see these anti-capitalists show up at all sorts of Leftist demonstrations, such as Occupy Wall Street, the Ferguson protests, and the Eric Garner ones. And “climate change” demonstrations.

Read: Bolivian President Blames Capitalism For “Climate Change” »

It’s Official: Men Engage In Significantly More Risky Behavior Than Women

I think we all kinda knew this

(Washington Post) Here it is, scientific proof that a Y chromosome makes you dumb. (No, not really).

Every year, the British Medical Journal puts out an especially, shall we say, whimsical edition in honor of the holiday season. All of the studies therein are subject to the same standards as usual, but they tend to be a bit goofier than the prestigious journal’s usual fare. Previous BMJ holiday papers have included an investigation of how much James Bond actually drank (the conclusion: too much to be the sharp-shooting Don Juan we know him to be), a look at the genetic characteristics of magic in the “Harry Potter” series, and a study recording different responses to the sight of a man on a unicycle.

This year does not disappoint: On Thursday, BMJ published “The Darwin Awards: sex differences in idiotic behaviour,” a systematic (but tongue-in-cheek) evaluation of the balance in male and female recipients of the “Darwin Award.” For the uninitiated, this misanthropic award is given posthumously to those who have supposedly improved the gene pool by removing themselves from it.

Led by a group of (male) researchers, the study investigated “male idiot theory” (MIT) using the Darwin Awards as a subject pool. Sure enough, there were more male winners — significantly more.

Of 318 confirmed Darwin Awards, 282 were awarded to males. That’s 88.7 percent of the award populations. What a bias!

Here’s the abstract of this paper

Sex differences in risk seeking behaviour, emergency hospital admissions, and mortality are well documented. However, little is known about sex differences in idiotic risk taking behaviour. This paper reviews the data on winners of the Darwin Award over a 20 year period (1995-2014). Winners of the Darwin Award must eliminate themselves from the gene pool in such an idiotic manner that their action ensures one less idiot will survive. This paper reports a marked sex difference in Darwin Award winners: males are significantly more likely to receive the award than females (P<0.0001). We discuss some of the reasons for this difference.

There are some limitations to the study

However, this study has limitations. One of the weaknesses is the retrospective nature of the data collection. One alternative explanation for the marked sex difference in Darwin Award winners is that there is some kind of selection bias. Women may be more likely to nominate men for a Darwin Award, or there may be some selection bias within the Darwin Awards Committee. In addition, there may be some kind of reporting bias. Idiotic male candidates may be more newsworthy than idiotic female Darwin Award candidates.

And alcohol may be involved

In addition, alcohol may play an important part in many of the events leading to a Darwin Award. It is conceivable that the sex difference is attributable to sociobehavioural differences in alcohol use. Anecdotal data support the hypothesis that alcohol makes men feel “bulletproof” after a few drinks, and it would be naïve to rule this out. For example, the three men who played a variation on Russian roulette alternately taking shots of alcohol and then stamping on an unexploded Cambodian land mine. (Spoiler alert: the mine eventually exploded, demolishing the bar and killing all three men.) Unfortunately the data on alcohol consumption are incomplete and do not permit testing for sex differences after adjustment for differences in alcohol consumption between the sexes.

You can see a good list of Darwin Award winners here. Not mentioned is one of my favorites, where a suicide bomber fell down the stairs after strapping his vest on, setting it off and killing himself and housemates, prematurely taking himself out of the gene pool.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

Read: It’s Official: Men Engage In Significantly More Risky Behavior Than Women »

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