Obama To Request $2 Billion For Border, Illegal Children

By William Teach June 29, 2014 – 8:22 am

This is an interesting turn of events for a guy and his administration who had essentially created the current situation at the border

(NY Times) (NM) President Obama will ask Congress to provide more than $2 billion in new funds to control the surge of illegal Central American migrants at the South Texas border, and to grant broader powers for immigration officials to speed deportations of children caught crossing without their parents, White House officials said on Saturday.

Mr. Obama will send a letter on Monday (he obviously couldn’t do that Saturday, cause golf) to alert Congress that he will seek an emergency appropriation for rapidly expanding border enforcement actions and humanitarian assistance programs to cope with the influx, which includes record numbers of unaccompanied minors and adults bringing children. The officials gave only a general estimate of the amount, saying the White House would send a detailed request for the funds when Congress returned after the Fourth of July recess that began Friday and ends July 7.

The president will also ask Congress to revise existing statutes to give the Homeland Security secretary, Jeh Johnson, new authorities to accelerate the screening and deportation of young unaccompanied migrants who are not from Mexico. Fast-track procedures are already in place to deport young migrants from Mexico because it shares a border with the United States.

Mr. Obama will also ask for tougher penalties for smugglers who bring children and other vulnerable migrants across the border illegally, the officials said.

This seems like a serious and reasonable proposal from Mr. Obama. One has to wonder what the catch is, considering that, as mentioned, it was his administration policies that created the “humanitarian crisis” in the first place. Perhaps he’s realizing that there is zero chance of any sort of amnesty, er, sorry, pathway to citizenship, passing Congress, particularly the House, as long as he is seen by Republicans as being weak on border security.

Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi headed to the border to meet with the Border Patrol and other law enforcement personnel, who are working hard to deal with the influx

(Breitbart) Saturday at a press conference from the Rio Grande Valley, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) discussed her tour of a border holding facility and addressed the humanitarian crisis of thousands unaccompanied minors flooding across the U.S.-Mexico border, which she called a “humanitarian opportunity.”

Pelosi explained, “We are all Americans — north and south in this hemisphere,” and urged America to see this as not a crisis but an opportunity “to be helpful.” She also said she wished she could simply “take home” the thousands of children temporarily housed in the overburden facilities.

Oh, wait, no, she met with the illegals, and rather than excoriate them for breaking the law, she called them Americans. Powerline notes that Nancy has plenty of room at her mansion which would allow her to take quite a few home with her. And her vineyard has lots of space. “As long as they don’t try to join a union, anyway: the Pelosi vineyard is strictly non-union.”

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Posted in Barry Obama, Illegal Immigration, Queen Nancy | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Army Clears Bowe Bergdahl Of Misconduct During “Captivity”?

By William Teach June 28, 2014 – 4:59 pm

Things that make you go “wait, what? Seriously?”

(The Wire) As the Army continues to investigate whether Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is guilty of deserting his unit, this afternoon they said there is no reason to believe that Bergdahl engaged in any misconduct during his five years in captivity.

In fact, that’s all that the Army said:

We have no reason to believe that he engaged in any misconduct.”

Bergdahl electrified the national discourse last month after he was freed in a prisoner swap involving five members of the Taliban held at Guantanamo Bay. As charges against his character emerged, the narrative quickly shifted from Bergdahl as POW to Bergdahl as despicable deserter, unworthy bargaining chip, unwitting endangerer of America, and worse.

How is this possible? The Army has yet to read him his rights. He hasn’t even been asked why he left his post. Is this the Army actually clearing him, as reported by The Wire, the Wall Street Journal, and other media outlets, or the Army simply giving a statement?

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If All You See…

By William Teach June 28, 2014 – 1:00 pm

…is an evil carbon pollution infused beer, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Bookworm Room, with a post on the dangerous progressive illusion that government makes us safer.

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UN Warns Of Likely El Nino, Media Bloviates

By William Teach June 28, 2014 – 11:12 am

This is one of the reasons we cannot have a legitimate debate on “climate change”: the news media doesn’t understand what climate is. Here are two articles, the first by Jonathan Fowler at AFP

The “El Nino” phenomenon, which sparks climate extremes around the globe, is likely to take hold in the Pacific Ocean by the end of the year and could even do so within weeks, the UN said on Thursday.

There was an 80 percent likelihood that El Nino could start between October and November and 60 percent that it would do so between now and end of August, said the UN’s weather agency, the World Meterological Organization.

The El Nino phenomenon — which can lead to extremes including droughts and heavy rainfall across the globe — occurs every two to seven years, when the prevailing trade winds that circulate over surface waters in the tropical Pacific start to weaken.

It does not spark “climate extremes”. It can, and does, cause changes in weather patterns. Warmists like to point out that weather is not climate (except when they want to blame every weather event on “climate change”). In this, they are right. Climate is created by long term weather, and weather is going to do weather things. The very fact that El Ninos occur every 2-7 years is proof that it is not extreme, but, in fact, part of the overall weather patterns, which also means it is part of the normal long term climate.

Then there’s John Heilprin from the AP

There’s a strong chance an El Nino weather event will reappear before the end of the year and shake up climate patterns worldwide, the U.N. weather agency said Thursday.

The El Nino, a flow of unusually warm surface waters from the Pacific Ocean toward and along the western coast of South America, changes rain and temperature patterns around the world and usually raises global temperatures.

An update Thursday from the Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization puts the odds of El Nino at 60 percent between June and August, rising to 75-80 percent between October and December. It said the expected warming would come on top of the effects of man-made global warming.

Both writers were apparently reading from the same playbook, probably a press release from the UN. Again, this is not climate: the climate patterns will not be shaken up worldwide. The weather will be shaken up, but there is nothing unusual about it. How can we have a legitimate debate when the news media is comprised of idiots?

Of course, it may be that they are intentionally using the terms in this manner to scare people regarding climate change. That is serious possibility, when we get this from the AFP article

The two climate patterns are watched carefully by scientists who say that, while they are not caused by climate change, rising ocean temperatures stoked by global warming may affect their intensity and frequency.

“It is too early to assess the precise impact on global temperatures in 2014, but we expect the long-term warming trend to continue as a result of rising greenhouse gas concentrations,” noted (WMO Secretary-General Michel) Jarraud.

Notice how the Warmists fold in a natural event, which has been occurring for a long, long time, and isn’t understood very well, under the banner of their cult. You can see in the AP excerpt that the same was done, and it also has that same quote from Jarraud. More from the AFP article

Both (El Nino and La Nina) are significant markers of global climate fluctuations.

Again, it’s weather, not climate.

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Harry Reid Doesn’t Want Dems To Take Tough Votes

By William Teach June 28, 2014 – 7:07 am

It appears that he has serious concerns over losing his cushy spot as Majority Leaders

(AP) A fear of voting has gripped Democratic leaders in the Senate, slowing the chamber’s modest productivity this election season to a near halt.

With control of the Senate at risk in November, leaders are going to remarkable lengths to protect endangered Democrats from casting tough votes and to deny Republicans legislative victories in the midst of the campaign. The phobia means even bipartisan legislation to boost energy efficiency, manufacturing, sportsmen’s rights and more could be scuttled.

The Senate’s masters of process are finding a variety of ways to shut down debate.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., now is requiring an elusive 60-vote supermajority to deal with amendments to spending bills, instead of the usual simple majority, a step that makes it much more difficult to put politically sensitive matters into contention. This was a flip from his approach to Obama administration nominees, when he decided most could be moved ahead with a straight majority instead of the 60 votes needed before.

Holding fewer votes is nothing new during an election year, but Harry Reid and the top Democrats are taking this to new and higher levels.

Democrats privately acknowledge that they’re protecting vulnerable senators and don’t want McConnell to win on the carbon emissions issue. They also see hypocrisy in McConnell’s insistence on a simple majority vote for his top — and controversial — priority while he wants Democrats to produce 60 votes to advance almost everything else.

If vulnerable Democrat senators are being protected from tough votes, that should make every voter wonder just how extreme the Democrat agenda is.

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Obama Weekly Address: Virtually Out Of Ideas

By William Teach June 28, 2014 – 6:48 am

Barack Obama has a little over a year and a half left in his disastrous and failed presidency, and he is getting more and more whiny , above and beyond his normal whining. And his typical blamestorming and castigation. Here he goes again during the Weekly Address (video here)

Hi, everybody.  This week, I spent a couple days in Minneapolis, talking with people about their lives – their concerns, their successes, and their hopes for the future.

Yeah, and hitting up some fundraisers with 1%ers. And by “days”, he means getting there midday Thursday and leaving midday Friday. Cause he cares or something. Let’s get to the meat of the address

But as Rebekah also wrote in her letter, there are still too many middle-class families like hers who do everything right – who work hard and who sacrifice – but can’t seem to get ahead.  It feels like the odds are stacked against them.  And with just a small change in our priorities, we could fix that.

The problem is, Republicans in Congress keep blocking or voting down almost every serious idea to strengthen the middle class.  This year alone, they’ve said no to raising the minimum wage, no to fair pay, no to student loan reform, no to extending unemployment insurance.  And rather than invest in education that helps working families get ahead, they actually voted to give another massive tax cut to the wealthiest Americans.

This obstruction keeps the system rigged for those at the top, and rigged against the middle class.  And as long as they insist on doing it, I’ll keep taking actions on my own – like the actions I’ve taken already to attract new jobs, lift workers’ wages, and help students pay off their loans.  I’ll do my job.  And if it makes Republicans in Congress mad that I’m trying to help people out, they can join me, and we’ll do it together.

There’s nothing like being a jerk as a method to get people to work with you, wouldn’t you say? It’s surely the best method, eh? One might have thought Obama would have actually learned something about leadership and management during his 5+ years. Alas, no. Guess what? Republicans were elected to say no. What Obama really wants to do is position himself to act more like a king.

So rather than more tax breaks for millionaires, let’s give more tax breaks to help working families pay for child care or college.  Rather than protect tax loopholes that let big corporations set up tax shelters overseas, let’s put people to work rebuilding roads and bridges right here in America.  Rather than stack the decks in favor of those who’ve already succeeded, let’s realize that we are stronger as a nation when we offer a fair shot to every American.

Republicans in the House should immediately take advantage of Obama’s words and pass a whole raft of tax breaks that help out the middle class. Gas tax, income tax, payroll taxes, Obamacare taxes, federal fees and levies, small business taxes. And then point out to Obama that the Democrat led Senate mostly refuses to take up any economic bills passed by the House. They would go along with the dozens already passed and sent over that are languishing without a vote.

This also shows that Obama has virtually no new idea. Whining about “tax breaks for millionaires”, despite Obama taking advantage of all those same deductions. And he apparently thinks we’re all blue collar workers who will repave our roads and bridges. Say, whatever happened to all that $100+ billion for infrastructure per the Stimulus, which was above and beyond normal spending?

I’m going to spend some time talking about these very choices in the week ahead.  That’s because we know from our history that our economy doesn’t grow from the top-down, it grows from the middle-out.  We do better when the middle class does better.  That’s the American way.  That’s what I believe in.  And that’s what I’ll keep fighting for.

It’s like listening to a parrot. A very stupid and limited parrot which refuses to learn any new tricks.

If he really wants to help, perhaps he could work to bring down our energy prices. Gas has averaged well over $3 for most of Obama’s presidency. Our power bills are going up. Our food costs are going up. All thanks to his terrible policies.

Meanwhile, anyone want to bet that Obama plays golf today?

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Posted in Barry Obama, Economy, Unhinged Tools | 12 Comments | Trackback URL

Sargent: The GOP Is Now Officially The Party Of “Get The Hell Out” Or Something

By William Teach June 27, 2014 – 7:08 pm

If only Greg Sargent was right on this

The GOP is now officially the party of ‘get the hell out’

Exactly one year after the Senate passed an immigration reform bill that built a compromise on an exchange of increased enforcement for legalization for the 11 million, Republicans have now officially abandoned any pretense of a willingness to participate in solving the immigration crisis. Instead, they have committed the party to a course premised on two intertwined notions: There are no apparent circumstances under which they can accept legalization of the 11 million; and as a result, the only broad response to the crisis they can countenance is maximum deportations.

I’m sorry, I fail to see the problem with, you know, following federal law regarding people who have entered the nation illegally as well as overstayed visas. I wish the GOP Establishment really was saying “get the hell out”. Realistically, they do not trust Obama and the Dems to actually secure the border prior to any legalization. But, what is this really about? Paragraph 2

This means it’s now all in Obama’s hands to decide what he can do unilaterally to ease the pace of deportations and address the current unaccompanied migrant crisis.

In other words, Lefties are trying to build the nominal case for Obama acting like a potentate and decreeing “solutions” to the illegal alien problem.

Read: Sargent: The GOP Is Now Officially The Party Of “Get The Hell Out” Or Something »

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Know What Is Destabilizing Iraq? Climate Change, Of Course!

By William Teach June 27, 2014 – 3:36 pm

It’s so simple!

(Slate) Could there be a connection between climate change and the emerging conflict in Iraq?

The short answer is a qualified yes, according to Frank Femia of the Center for Climate and Security, a Washington-based policy institute advised by senior retired military and national security leaders. He explained in a phone interview:

It’s far too early, considering this is happening in real time, to figure out what is motivating ISIS and its members. Certainly, the natural resource stresses in the region make things worse. Terrorist organizations can try to control those resources and gain significant influence and power. You can’t say climate change is causing ISIS to do what it’s doing, but it [climate change] certainly has a role to play in the region.

Increasing temperatures may also be playing a role in the recent uptick in violence. A study published last year in the journal Science showed a strong connection between high temperatures and political instability, like civil wars, riots, and ethnic violence, though the cause is not well known. A previous study has linked dehydration with decreased cognitive performance and increased levels of anxiety.

Obviuosly, it couldn’t be due to radical Islamist, nope, not a chance. (btw, the Center For Climate and Security is part of the Sustainable Markets Foundation, a radical, far left organization with all sorts of links to other radical Leftist organizations, such as 350.org and the NRDC)

This year’s major drought has coincided with the rise of ISIS, which has already used dams as a weapon of war, threatening downstream agriculture and electricity production during its march to gain control of vast swaths of territory in Syria and northern Iraq.

You have two things going on here. First, it’s a continuation of the cult, where everything is blamed on “climate change” for political purposes. Second, a complete denial of the root cause, namely, radical Islam, something Progressives are great at doing. Progressives have this aversion to seeing the reality of radical Islam. Maybe it’s their whole multiculturalism thing, maybe their hatred of America, maybe their hatred of President George W. Bush. Regardless, it’s dangerous. Even Liberal Richard Dawkins has called Progressives out on this.

Read: Know What Is Destabilizing Iraq? Climate Change, Of Course! »

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If All You See…

By William Teach June 27, 2014 – 1:00 pm

…is a sea that is rising up to cover the land that has been turned into desert, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Coyote Blog, with a post on the fabricated data kerfuffle.

Read: If All You See… »

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Know What We Need To Fight Hotcoldwetdry? Better Communication!

By William Teach June 27, 2014 – 10:37 am

No, seriously, you guys, because they haven’t been attempting to communicate for over 25 years on the subject

Improved communication between experts and the public key in winning battle to curb climate change, claims expert

Scientists need to become more humble and to completely re-think the way they communicate if the battle to curb climate change is to be won, one of the world’s leading climate experts has warned.

Lamenting what he calls a “mismatch” between the state of climate science and the needs of society, Professor Chris Rapley called on his colleagues across the world to throw off the shackles of tradition and engage in a radically different approach to their discipline.

Climate scientists need to be more critical about their own research, more open to the work and views of other people and to communicate much more clearly with the public, said Professor Rapley, of the University College London.

Wait, wait, that didn’t go quite the way I thought, via the headline. Professor Rapley is correct in that regard. Of course, Warmist scientists and “scientists” won’t listen.

At the same time, they need to defend their work more robustly against climate sceptics and, in a recommendation many may find surprising, rely less on scientific fact and more on narrative techniques such as personal anecdotes, emotion and rhetoric to make their points, he added. (snip)

The report (by Rapley’s group), entitled Time for Change, concluded that to communicate much more “powerfully” with the public, scientists need to personalise their story, drawing on emotions and expressing their opinions – an approach it concedes is “contrary to long-standing tradition” but which, with mainstream audiences, is more effective than piling on ever-more facts to make a point.

Now that is more what I expected. Science be damned, we have a narrative! We can preach it, baby!

Best comment

This is either a very condescending report (the general public are too thick to understand what we say), or its a very nice way of saying the science behind climate change has failed so now we have to put spin on it to keep the gravy train a rollin’.

However Marsinah, or Kependeal, or whatever the hell she’s calling herself these days likes to dress it up, if a researcher says they have to ‘rely less on scientific facts’ to put their argument across, then they are asking for faith in an idea. Which is more commonly known as a religion. You’ll forgive me for not bending my knee before this particular altar.

All of the above.

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