Bummer: Climate Change May Prevent Contact With Alien Civilizations

By William Teach June 12, 2014 – 10:55 am

Is there anything that Hotcoldwetdry can’t mess up?

(Phys.org) Enrico Fermi, when asked about intelligent life on other planets, famously replied, “Where are they?” Any civilisation advanced enough to undertake interstellar travel would, he argued, in a brief period of cosmic time, populate its entire galaxy. Yet, we haven’t made any contact with such life. This has become the famous “Fermi Paradox”. (snip)

So why don’t we see advanced civilisations swarming across the universe? One problem may be climate change. It is not that advanced civilisations always destroy themselves by over-heating their biospheres (although that is a possibility). Instead, because stars become brighter as they age, most planets with an initially life-friendly climate will become uninhabitably hot long before emerges. (snip)

However, the universe is immense and a few rare worlds will have had the necessary good fortune. It may just be that Earth is one of those lucky planets – a precious, fragile jewel in space. So, perhaps inevitably, will remain a bane of the continued existence of life on such planets.

via Anthony Watts.

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Liberal Media Are Very Concerned Over Cantor’s Primary Loss

By William Teach June 12, 2014 – 7:25 am

They are Very Concerned about the extremists taking over or something. Here’s the NY Times Editorial Board

The forces of political nihilism not only remain alive and well within the Republican Party, but they are on the rise. Witness the way they shook Washington on Tuesday by removing from power Eric Cantor, the House majority leader, who had been one of the most implacable opponents to the reform of immigration, health care and taxation. His crime (in addition to complacent campaigning)? He was occasionally obliged, as a leader, to take a few minimalist steps toward governing, like raising the debt ceiling and ending a ruinous shutdown.

For that he was pilloried in his Virginia district by a little-known resident of the distant extremes, David Brat, whose most effective campaign tool was a photo showing Mr. Cantor standing next to President Obama. By falsely portraying the seven-term incumbent as just another compromiser, just another accommodationist to the power of big government, Mr. Brat managed the unimaginable feat of bringing down a majority leader in a primary, and by double digits.

And here’s Charles Blow

While the beltway chatter grows over the political death of Eric Cantor, the first House leader to be unseated in a primary, it would be easy to lose sight of just how unsettling his demise is for our politics in general.

On one level, it is a glaring example — and condemnation — of the staggering levels of voter apathy that exist the further an election race is from presidential politics. (WT note: that would be a good reason to repeal the 17th amendment, which would cause citizens to pay way more attention State politics and politics closer to home. That’s different post on its own)

Blow goes on to show that he is Very Concerned with redistricting, which he claims to be a cause, and goes on to whine about Democrats being under-represented. Hey, elections have consequences.

We already have a deadlocked political system in Washington where doing nothing is viewed by many small-government — and some anti-government — conservatives as a victory. Stacking the deck against politicians who deign to compromise with their Democratic counterparts in general, and this president in particular, does not bode well for us as a nation.

In reality, a Republican compromise is usually an overwhelming Democrat win, because of moderates like Cantor.

Cantor’s defeat on Tuesday may now be the subject of schadenfreude and chops licking, but it may also be a terrible omen.

Yeah, it would be a real shame if non-squishy Republicans took over to push their agenda of limited government, reduced spending, reduced federal government interference in, well, everything, increased economic freedom, increased domestic energy production, protecting our borders, increased personal freedom, limited government spying on citizens, and following the Constitution. I wonder where Blow’s concern regarding hardcore, extremist Progressives taking over the Democrat Party is?

Here’s E.J. Dionne, who calls this a “purge”

Republicans who simply want to keep tacking right to maintain their power should also note that if the tea party helped mobilize support for them in 2010, it now threatens to reduce the party to a right-wing sect. (snip)

Appeasing the tea party could create a vicious cycle: The more the party is defined by a hard core, the easier it will be for the most conservative voters to dominate it in primaries involving only the most ardent. (snip)

What the tea party giveth, the tea party taketh away. Its energy in 2010 was directed against President Obama and helped Cantor become House majority leader. Now its sights are set on purifying and purging the Republican Party. But purges, as Cantor has learned, are painful. They can also be dangerous to a party’s long-term well-being.

He’s right about one thing: what we giveth, we can taketh away. And when our Representatives, which we donated to, campaigned for, supported, and voted for fail to follow through on the Conservative agenda, we should vote them out. Another NY Times article notes, as many others have, that Cantor forgot his roots, and was ignoring his constituents in his district in favor of everything else. This isn’t a problem for just Cantor, but a good chunk of Republicans and Democrats. Elected officials too often forget why they were elected, and dismiss the concerns of their constituents, often in favor of national politics.

After carefully considering Cantor’s loss Tuesday, I’m not going to say that it was an “earthquake”, as many have noted. I’d bet that half who voted in the primary had no idea that he was the #2 in the GOP House. This isn’t a purge, this may or many not mean a populist revolution, there may or may not be national implications. What this did show is that Representatives should represent, not think they can say one thing to their constituents then do something else in Washington. That their constituents do not exist to simply re-elected said representative again and again. That Citizens matter. That the middle matters.

The middle? Yes, the middle. At the end of the day, fiscal conservatives/libertarians/Tea Party folks are in the middle of the political spectrum (I’m not including Social Conservatives, who are more towards the Classical Conservative spectrum). Political theory regarding the Democratic model has Socialism on the left, which features heavy control and ownership of the means of production as its primary focus. Classical Conservatism is on the right, which features no government involvement in the economy, along with heavy government involvement in social issues. Classical Liberalism is in the center, and lives by the phrase “the government that governs least governs best”. We believe that government should only get involved in the Moral (this relates to our private lives) and Economic cores when necessary. We are the Radical Middle. In terms of American politics and our Republic, we want more power returned back to the States, where it belongs. We are the Radical Middle, and are tired of the true extremists, both in the Democrat Party and the GOP establishment, taking the country off the cliff.

Anyhow, Cantor and the GOP establishment learned a valuable lesson: stop ignoring constituents.

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Criminal Investigation Opened For Phoenix VA

By William Teach June 12, 2014 – 6:45 am

It would have been nice to hear this from the Attorney General, announcing that he is Doing His Job. Alas, no

(Fox News) FBI Director James Comey confirmed Wednesday that the bureau’s Phoenix branch has opened a criminal investigation of the Veterans Affairs Department, amid mounting calls on Capitol Hill for the Justice Department to get more involved.

Comey confirmed the bureau’s involvement during a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. Officials previously made clear that federal prosecutors were helping in an inspector general investigation, but the probe by Phoenix FBI agents marks a new phase.

The additional probe comes as internal audits show the expanding scope of the scandal where thousands of military veterans endured long wait times for VA medical care, and VA officials apparently covered up those wait times in order to make their internal numbers look better.

Maybe they find criminal wrongdoing, maybe they don’t. Either way, there are so many problems with the Phoenix branch that outside agencies are needed to investigate the VA, and not just the Phoenix branch, but the entire Veterans Affairs Dept. The internal probe was certainly tough, finding a myriad of issues plaguing the VA. Yet, has anyone been found culpable and disciplined? Terminated? VA Secretary Eric Shinseki was finally forced to fall on his sword, but what of the people who were actually instituting the waiting lists?

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Good News: Katharine Hayhoe Wants To Convince Christians Of Climate Change

By William Teach June 11, 2014 – 6:39 pm

This actually continues a long running Warmist meme about Skeptics being religious fundamentalists, which they call “fundies”, not meant to be complimentary, but, hey, Lefties are all sorts of tolerant, eh?

(NPR) Last week, the Obama administration announced historic regulations to limit carbon dioxide emissions. Policies to address climate change have been a tough sell among some Republicans on Capitol Hill, but also in many Christian congregations around the country.

Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist and the director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University. She is also a devout Christian.

Hayhoe has spent the last few years trying to convince other Christians that climate change is real, and that caring about the issue is one of the most Christian things you can do. She told NPR’s Rachel Martin of the difficulties of spreading that message among Christian congregations.

“The people we trust, the people we respect, the people whose values we share, in the conservative community, in the Christian community, those people are telling us, many of them, that this isn’t a real problem — that it’s a hoax,” Heyhoe says. “Even worse, that you can’t be a Christian and think that climate change is real. You can’t be a conservative and agree with the science.”

Heyhoe says what Christians often question about climate change is if God is in control, how could this happen? Another argument she hears is the idea that humans could change climate threatens the sovereignty of God.

“The answer to that is pretty simple: It’s free will,” she says. “God gave us the brains to make good choices and there’s consequences to the choices that we make.”

It’s not about trying to convince people, in this case Christians, that the climate changes, it’s about convincing Christians (and, really most people), that it is mostly/solely caused by Mankind.

Sadly, what she is also doing is positioning “climate change” as an environmental issue. Christians care heavily about the environment, but “climate change” is not an environmental issue.

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Americans Support Increased Energy Prices To Fight Hotcoldwetdry

By William Teach June 11, 2014 – 2:12 pm

Here’s one for the Warmists

(Bloomberg) Americans are willing to bear the costs of combating climate change, and most are more likely to support a candidate seeking to address the issue.

By an almost two-to-one margin, 62 percent to 33 percent, Americans say they would pay more for energy if it would mean a reduction in pollution from carbon emissions, according to the Bloomberg National Poll.

While Republicans were split, with 46 percent willing to pay more and 49 percent opposed to it, 82 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of independents say they’d accept higher bills.

Australians were also willing to pay more to combat “climate change”. That is, until the laws were actually passed and the rising prices and personal restrictions became reality, then they threw the ruling Labor party out on their ears.

A majority of Americans see climate change as a threat, with 46 percent classifying it as a “major” threat and 27 percent as a “minor threat.” Half would like the federal government to adopt policies to combat it in the next decade.

What’s not mentioned in the article is that only 5% see “climate change” as a the most important issue facing the nation, per the poll results.

The public also is split on the scientific underpinnings of climate change. Forty-eight percent say they “trust” warnings from scientists about the problem, while 43 percent say scientists “manipulate their findings for political reasons.”

That’s pretty damning that it’s almost an even split on trust/distrust of climate scientists.

What’s not included are the study samples. Regardless, when it’s not just Other People paying the price for “climate change” policies, but the people who say they are willing to pay more getting hit, their opinions will change in a snap. We already see that most Warmists are not willing to pay the price now.

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If All You See…

By William Teach June 11, 2014 – 1:00 pm

…is a beach that will be swamped by sea rise because Someone Else refused to increase the AC temp, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Daley Gator, with a post on a Good Guy with a gun stopping a Bad Guy.

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Obama Suggests Banning All Automatic And Semi-automatic Weapons

By William Teach June 11, 2014 – 8:40 am

Strangely, he doesn’t suggest that the huge number of people who protect him who carry automatic and sem-automatic weapons should be disarmed

(Daily Caller) President Barack Obama Tuesday suggested that the U.S. government should follow Australia’s example in dealing with shooting sprees, which involved strict gun bans on semiautomatic and automatic weapons.

“Australia had a mass shooting [in 1996] similar to Columbine and Newtown, and just said, ‘That’s it, we’re not seeing that again,’ and basically imposed very severe tough gun laws and they haven’t had a mass shooting since,” Obama said, after he was asked for his reaction to recent shooting episodes in California and Oregon. Those laws included the confiscation of nearly all handguns and rifles.

“We can have respect for the Second Amendment and responsible hunters and sportsmen can have possess weapons,” Obama told an audience of students during a broadcast on the Tumblr website.

But the country needs “commonsense rules in place that make a dent in what’s happening,” he said, after an emotional appeal to the students and young people who were watching the Tumblr broadcast, which was advertised as a question-and-answer session about student debt.

The Second Amendment was never meant for hunters and sportsman, but for Citizens to protect the nation from those who would attack it, and to protect themselves from a tyrannical government, a government that disregards the law, our Constitution, and our Rights. One that harms its citizens.

“My greatest frustration so far is that this society has not been willing to take some basic steps to keep guns out of the hands of people you know who can do just unbelievable damage,” he said.

And where is gun violence the greatest? In those liberal run areas which instituted draconian gun regulations. I do enjoy how he’s “frustrated” that people just won’t listen to him. He always seems to be disappointed and/or frustrated that citizens aren’t interested in so many of his hardcore Progressive, fascist policies.

“We’re the only developed country on Earth where this happens. … Our level of gun violence is off the charts. There’s no advanced developing country on Earth that would put up with this,” he said.

Says the guy surrounded by federal agents who carry weapons that are banned for private citizens. And, of course, he has to demonize the NRA

(SMH) “Most members of Congress — and I have to say to some degree this is bipartisan — are terrified of the NRA. The combination of, you know, the NRA and gun manufacturers are very well financed and have the capacity to move votes in local elections and congressional elections. And so if you’re running for office right now, that’s where you feel the heat,” he said.

The Australian also notes this, which wasn’t included in the other articles

“The country has to do some soul searching about this. This is becoming the norm, and we take it for granted in ways that, as a parent, are terrifying to me,” Mr Obama said.

Again, says the guy surrounded by agents armed with automatic weapons not allowed for private citizens, and who will have government supplied armed protection for 10 years once he leaves office. We’ve done some soul searching, and feel that his policies are Bad. Charles C.W. Cooke notes

In other words, the president of the United States just praised a government for forcefully removing all semi-automatic firearms (i.e. a remarkable number of the guns in America and the majority of those sold today) from its citizenry.

Let me be clear, as Obama likes to say: You simply cannot praise Australia’s gun-laws without praising the country’s mass confiscation program. That is Australia’s law. When the Left says that we should respond to shootings as Australia did, they don’t mean that we should institute background checks on private sales; they mean that they we should ban and confiscate guns. No amount of wooly words can change this. Again, one doesn’t bring up countries that have confiscated firearms as a shining example unless one wishes to push the conversation toward confiscation.

Liberals like Obama very much support confiscation of most guns from the citizens. Of course, none of them think restrictive and confiscatory laws should apply to themselves. Just Other People.

* Photo from MrConservative.

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Attorney General Holder Has Hissy Fit Towards Boy Scouts

By William Teach June 11, 2014 – 8:09 am

Apparently, Eric Holder has nothing else to do other than insult private citizens and their organization. You’d think he’d be too busy redacting all the documents House panels want. You’d also think that the Attorney General of the United States would understand that this kind of conduct violates the spirit of the First Amendment, that whole freedom of association thing, along with other provisions

(LA Times) Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. said Tuesday that the Boy Scouts of America perpetuates “the worst stereotypes” by barring gay people from becoming Scout leaders.

“The continuation of a policy that discriminates against gay adult leaders – by an iconic American institution – only preserves and perpetuates the worst kind of stereotypes,” Holder said in a speech to the gay civil rights group Lambda Legal in Washington.

Holder did not announce any legal action against the Boy Scouts. A Supreme Court decision 14 years ago said the Scouts, as a private entity, had a right to discriminate against gays.

The very fact that the LA Times article, which comes from the wire services, even mentions that Holder “did not announce and legal action”, immediately makes one wonder if Holder is planning some sort of legal action against the BSA. It’s also in there to make Low Information Voters and Liberal Idiots think that the BSA are doing something legally wrong

Boy Scouts spokesman Deron Smith issued a conciliatory statement in response to Holder’s speech.

“We recognize there are many opinions on these matters,” he said. “The Boy Scouts of America believes that to disagree does not mean to disrespect; we remain focused on delivering the nation’s foremost youth development program.”

So the BSA is going to be more adult than the AG of the USA. It’s entirely unsurprising that Holder would choose to be nasty and disrespectful. The BSA should probably expect an investigation and an IRS audit shortly.

(Holder) said the Scouts’ policy is “a relic of an age of prejudice and insufficient understanding.”

I think they understand sufficiently that while most gay adult males are good people, with no danger, there will be enough that will join because they are pedophiles. How many stories have we heard about teachers being child predators? It’s surely a small percentage, but these crop up every few weeks. The Boy Scouts would prefer to avoid that.

“Today, courageous lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals routinely put their lives on the line as members of America’s armed services. They inspire us, they protect us, and they defend us. And if these men and women are fit for military service, then surely they are fit to mentor, to teach and to serve as role models for the leaders of future generations.”

Many surely are. And many surely aren’t. The Boy Scouts have decided that they will avoid the drama. Unfortunately, Holder has decided to be a jerkwad. Maybe he should be more concerned with his department running assault weapons into Mexico, the IRS illegally targeting Conservative groups, the IRS illegally sharing taxpayer information with Holder’s FBI, with potential criminal misconduct in the Veteran’s Affairs department, illegal use of marijuana in Colorado, among other states, and a raft of other issues.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Surprise! Study Finds Western Antarctica Melting Mostly Due To Geothermal Processes

By William Teach June 10, 2014 – 2:32 pm

Jo Nova wondered when the original DOOOOOM story about Western Antarctica melt was released whether it could be due to volcanic activity. Surprise? Today she writes

Only last week I wondered if West Antarctic volcanoes had something to do with the Antarctic warming and pointed out this strange coincidence below where almost all the warming seems to occur over the volcanic area which is part of the hot “Pacific rim of fire”. I also wondered why some parts of the media don’t seem to mention the volcanoes. Wait and see if this story gets picked up. So far, Fox, and Business Insider have it.

On to the press release from the University Of Texas at Austin

Thwaites Glacier, the large, rapidly changing outlet of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, is not only being eroded by the ocean, it’s being melted from below by geothermal heat, researchers at the Institute for Geophysics at The University of Texas at Austin (UTIG) report in the current edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The findings significantly change the understanding of conditions beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet where accurate information has previously been unobtainable.

The Thwaites Glacier has been the focus of considerable attention in recent weeks as other groups of researchers found the glacier is on the way to collapse, but more data and computer modeling are needed to determine when the collapse will begin in earnest and at what rate the sea level will increase as it proceeds. The new observations by UTIG will greatly inform these ice sheet modeling efforts.

Using radar techniques to map how water flows under ice sheets, UTIG researchers were able to estimate ice melting rates and thus identify significant sources of geothermal heat under Thwaites Glacier. They found these sources are distributed over a wider area and are much hotter than previously assumed.

The geothermal heat contributed significantly to melting of the underside of the glacier, and it might be a key factor in allowing the ice sheet to slide, affecting the ice sheet’s stability and its contribution to future sea level rise.

The cause of the variable distribution of heat beneath the glacier is thought to be the movement of magma and associated volcanic activity arising from the rifting of the Earth’s crust beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Knowledge of the heat distribution beneath Thwaites Glacier is crucial information that enables ice sheet modelers to more accurately predict the response of the glacier to the presence of a warming ocean.

 

Well, that’s strange.   Watts Up With That?

Well, never mind. From the University of Texas at Austin  and the “you can stop your wailing now” department, comes this really, really, inconvenient truth.

Lest Warmists think this is all some Skeptic conspiracy, even Discovery notices this as serious science. Of course, this is nothing exactly new: NBC News noticed volcanic activity under Antarctica as recently as November 2013. So did many other news outlets, ones which are decidedly leftist.

Might there be some warming causation helping? Of course. Is it anthropogenic? Probably not. Otherwise, Warmists would get off their duffs and stop using fossil fuels. Their very inaction gives rise to the thought that they don’t believe what they say.

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If All You See…

By William Teach June 10, 2014 – 1:00 pm

…are lovely wind turbines which should be erected far away from where you live, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Real Science, with a post on how 2014 is shaping up, temperature wise.

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