If Michael Sam Isn’t Drafted, Obviously It’s Because He’s Gay

The narrative was started months ago, and has coalesced perfectly

(HuffPo) Michael Sam is ready to make his NFL dream a reality. But is the NFL ready to embrace the reality of Michael Sam?

The former Missouri defensive lineman, named a first-team All-American after the 2013 college football season, is on the verge of becoming the first openly gay player in NFL history. For Sam to make history, he will need one of 32 NFL teams to give him a chance. (snip)

Through the first three rounds of the 2014 NFL draft at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Thursday and Friday, no team selected the 2013 SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year who announced that he was gay in February. The draft resumes on Saturday at noon with rounds four through seven. Since 2004, only one player to be named SEC Defensive Player of the Year was not selected in the first 33 selections of the draft. Louisiana State’s Chad Lavalais earned the honor in the 2003 season and was the 142nd overall selection in the 2004 NFL draft.

“For them not to select him would be very problematic,” Cyd Zeigler, the founder of OutSports.com, told NBC News ahead of the draft. “If he isn’t selected, it’s a public black eye on the league.”

See? It can’t be that most teams might find his abilities for the NFL to be lacking. Nope, it’s cause he came out. And if he isn’t drafted, I’ll make a prediction: the LBGT community and liberals will assault the NFL over this. Yeah, easy prediction.

Read: If Michael Sam Isn’t Drafted, Obviously It’s Because He’s Gay »

Preconceived Science: Looking For Clues In 2,000 Year Old Ice

This is how “science” occurs in the “climate change” bubble

(Reuters) Polar scientists who retrieved ice samples from the Antarctic say they are on the verge of unlocking 2,000 years of climate records offering clues to how global warming will affect our future.

An international team traveled to Antarctica’s Aurora Basin in a five-week project that began last December, to drill for ice samples needed to bridge a gap in knowledge of temperature changes over the last 20 centuries.

Using the latest technology to probe the secrets of the past, the scientists hope to gain information to improve climate models and give a sense of normal frequency and patterns now seen in extreme events such as droughts, cyclones and floods.

Taking a look at some ice cores to see how the climate has changed is not a bad idea. It might open some Warmist’s eyes….lol, made myself laugh. However, can you already see that the answers are already written? Let’s jump back to that in a moment

“This kind of thing is really big science,” Gales added. “It requires a lot of collaboration to get a whole lot of people and a whole lot of equipment hundreds of kilometers inland on the Antarctic continent.”

Um, doesn’t that require fossil fuels? Anyhow

The long time-series data from the ice cores, combined with other information, will improve understanding of extreme events, Gales said, by revealing how humans have influenced climate change through the burning of fossil fuels.

That’s Nick Gales, chief scientist of the Australian Antarctic Division in Tasmania, involved with this project. The answer is already preconceived. You know, science. Fossil fuels bad, and lots of fossil fuels used to get to the research site. I wonder how they will spin the results, which will show numerous changes in the climate prior to fossil fuels.

Read: Preconceived Science: Looking For Clues In 2,000 Year Old Ice »

Five Reasons Voters Call BS On Obama’s “Climate Change” Push

Hmm, it’s like the Washington Post’s Ed Rogers has been reading my stuff, at least in regards to numbers 2 and 3, in offering “five reasons voters don’t believe what the White House says on climate change:”

1. Overreach – The White House doesn’t just want it both ways, it wants it every way.

4. A lack of faith in foreign cooperation. (that’s no surprise: as I’ve mentioned several times, Obama hasn’t really spent time creating political friends, friendships, acquaintanceships, etc, with the leaders of foreign nations. Heck, he’s barely created anything amongst lawmakers in his own party)

5. This administration lacks credibility. (this about the failure of Team O to really get things done properly, such as the horrible rollout of the Ocare websites.)

Let’s move on to the two biggies

2. Hypocrisy. Voters notice that the founding father of the global warming movement, Al Gore, has become fabulously wealthy by selling out to Middle Eastern oil and gas interests. Voters notice the mansions, private planes and the super-wealthy lifestyle.  And Gore is not the only global warming hypocrite. I would guess that after he leaves office, President Obama will never again fly on a commercial airline – and he will probably be traveling by Global Expresses, Gulfstreams and the occasional large Falcon, not even on the more modest, smaller private jets. Voters are on to the fact that the global warming crusaders want us to pay more and live with less — but, of course, the rules don’t apply to the politicians who want everybody else to sacrifice. Not to mention, the people who insult and belittle anyone who has a question about the “science” of manmade global warming are often the same people who categorically dismiss the scientific proof of the viability, safety and reliability of nuclear energy. I have a little test for the global warming crusaders: If you’re not for nuclear energy and against ice cream, your commitment to the cause is questionable.

How long have I been flogging the climahypocrisy meme?

3. The global warming cause fits too nicely with the president’s left-wing political agenda. The prescriptions for dealing with climate change are the same policy objectives the left has promoted for other reasons for at least the past 25 years. That is, redistribution of wealth, higher taxes, anti-growth, anti-development regulations, etc. Because they don’t have much support from voters, the left has to advance its cause through surreptitious maneuvering rather than forthright advocacy of its specific global warming policies. The left never answers the questions of who pays, how much and for what result.

How long have I been noting that “climate change” fits in perfectly with the hardcore Progressive agenda? As I’ve noted many times, my focus is on the politics of “climate change”, with a smattering of science. Also, the insanity of the Warmists. I’ll leave the deep science to others, like Anthony Watts, The Hockey Schtick, and No Tricks Zone, among others. But, most Skeptics see the politics. Because that’s what the issue is, politics.

I ran across a few other articles on Yahoo News noting similar themes. Unfortunately, I did not save them. Regardless, it’s great that people are starting to notice that this is a politic issue, and that the folks who push it the hardest are hypocrites.

Read: Five Reasons Voters Call BS On Obama’s “Climate Change” Push »

Team Obama Tells Schools Not To Deny Illegal Aliens

The most lawless administration ever continues its march of pushing the U.S. from a nation of law to a nation of men

(NY Times) Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and Education Secretary Arne Duncan issued a strong warning on Thursday to public school districts nationwide not to deny enrollment to immigrant students in the country illegally.

The Justice and Education Departments jointly issued an update of guidelines they published three years ago, reminding districts that they “may be in violation of federal law” if they turn students away because the children or their parents do not have immigration papers. The guidelines clarify what documents schools can and cannot require to prove that students live in their districts.

“Sadly too many schools and districts are still denying rights to undocumented children,” Mr. Duncan said on a conference call with reporters. “That behavior is unacceptable, and it must change.” He added, “Our goal must be to educate, not to intimidate.”

I almost do not know what to say about this. Why are we educating people who should not be in the country in the first place? Isn’t there law about that? Doesn’t this contravene the law which says they should be deported? What about children who are citizens who have to put up with larger classes because of these illegals? Who have their classes disrupted because the illegals barely speak English? Who see their education marginalized? The American taxpayers are going to have to subsidize these illegals and potentially see their property taxes go up.

I wonder which laws I can break, and then have everybody feel so sorry for my plight that Congress and the President will consider special action to make everything work out just fine for me?

Of course, we do run into the problem that these children are anchor babies, born here in the United States, quite often with the express intent on manufacturing a way to tug on the heart strings of liberals to make sure the parents aren’t deported. As citizens, they are entitled to schooling. But, let’s also face the fact that these children are so often unqualified to be in school, and there are many, many demands that the school accommodate these kids who haven’t received education, putting them behind, and that they can barely speak English. Same with their parents.

During the last two years, federal officials examined more than 200 school districts in Georgia to make sure their enrollment practices met the requirements, said Jocelyn Samuels, acting assistant attorney general for civil rights. The Justice Department reached formal settlements with Henry County, Ga., as well as Palm Beach County, Fla., to change their practices.

Interesting. Yet Team Obama has failed to enforced federal law regarding use of marijuana. And they are going easy on those who are in the country illegally. They’re picking and choosing which laws to enforced. Oh, BTW, 8 U.S. Code § 1324 – Bringing in and harboring certain aliens

(a) Criminal penalties
(1)
(A) Any person who—

(iii) knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law, conceals, harbors, or shields from detection, or attempts to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, such alien in any place, including any building or any means of transportation;
(iv) encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of law;

Why, yes, this can induce civil and criminal penalties, including up to 20 years in jail if the illegal has committed bodily harm.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

Read: Team Obama Tells Schools Not To Deny Illegal Aliens »

Perfect Pan Cooked Chicken Every Time

Something a little different. I bet you didn’t know I could cook, eh? I actually started out working in local restaurants during the summer. I ran a pizza place for a couple years in college, turning cheap products into good pizzas (and calzones for me and friends). BTW, if you want to make the best pizza, use whole milk cheese, not part skim.

Anyhow, here’s an easy one I’ve been doing for 15 years, similar to this link, for pan cooking chicken breasts

Use olive oil, more virgin the better. Pour in pan till covers about 3/4ths of bottom. The reason for this is if you use too much it can start almost frying, and will be nasty as a sauce.

Add about a tablespoon of butter or substitute. I use butter if it’ll be a sauce, Country Crock lite if using a pasta sauce.

Put some pepper, salt, a bit of garlic on the breasts. Let rest in fridge for about 15 minutes.

Turn the heat to medium high. Let butter melt. Turn to medium.

Sear each side of chicken for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, depending on thickness.

Turn to low. This would be about a 1 to 2 on stove dial. Add a bit of fresh lime squeezing and a bit of garlic powder to liquid. Can use fresh garlic, but have to spread it out.

Cover. Depending on thickness, cook for 10 minutes. Do not lift cover!

Uncover, flip, cook another 5 minutes. Cover.

Turn off heat, but leave on burner. Let sit covered another 5-10 minutes, based on tenderness.

Boom, done! And perfect.

Serve over rice, pasta, or stand alone. I use the pan oil for sauce if I’m not using a red pasta sauce.

Read: Perfect Pan Cooked Chicken Every Time »

WSJ: Obama’s Climate Bomb

https://twitter.com/WilliamTeach/status/464117851637284864

It was also called a bad work of science fiction by Tucano’s Perch. It’s actually worse (via The Hockey Schtick, where you can read the entire Wall Street Journal article, which is behind the paywall)

Obama’s Climate Bomb

Supervising the Earth’s climate—or at least believing humanity can achieve such miracles—may be the only political project grandiose enough for President Obama. So it shouldn’t surprise that after reforming health care and raising taxes, the White House is now getting the global-warming band back together, though it is still merely playing the old classics of unscientific panic.

On Wednesday the White House released the quadrennial National Climate Assessment, an 829-page report. The theme is that “this is not some distant problem of the future. This is a problem that is affecting Americans right now,” as Mr. Obama told lovable weather personality Al Roker. (snip)

But as a marketing exercise, the report has the feel of that infomercial footage of the people who can’t crack an egg or perform routine household tasks until they acquire this or that as-seen-on-TV product. The cautious findings of serious empirical climate literature are so obviously exaggerated and colored that the document is best understood as a political tract with a few scientific footnotes.

It’s been the coldest year on record for the US so far. Oh, wait, sorry, I forgot, cold is now caused by greenhouse gases. My Bad!

Anyhow, the NCA, when you actually read it, says things aren’t that bad. It even notes

But the fine print that few will ever read acknowledges the real uncertainties of something as complex as the planet’s atmosphere. “There has been no universal trend in the overall extent of drought across the continental U.S. since 1900,” the authors observe. We also learn that “trends in severe storms, including the intensity and frequency of tornadoes, hail, and damaging thunderstorm winds, are uncertain and are being studied intensively.” And so on.

Hmm, that’s weird. But, no weirder than proclaiming doom cause of Mankind’s release of CO2 and then coming up with 11 excuses as to why it is mostly nature that has caused the 17 year and 9 month pause.

The National Climate Assessment matters because it serves as the underlying justification for carbon-related regulations. Introducing bias into this primary source (though it does not make new analytic contributions) will distort the rule-making process across the government for years to come.

The report reveals less about climate than it does about the method of the President who described the night he won the Democratic nomination as “the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.” The White House is telling all and sundry that Mr. Obama wants to fill out his last two and a half years in office with action on climate change, but the report shows he doesn’t want an open or honest debate.

Exactly. This is all about politics. As I’ve noted in reply to many politicians and Warmists flogging climate change

https://twitter.com/WilliamTeach/status/464566119345717248

The Journal wraps up with

The irony is that to the extent Mr. Obama’s agenda damages economic growth, he is leaving the country less prepared for climate change. Gallup recently reported that only a third of Americans worry about global warming and that the share that thinks the threat is exaggerated rose 15 percentage points to 42% over the last two decades. If liberals are wondering why the public is skeptical, one reason is because politicians are abusing science.

The reality is that the climate did flip to a warmer one in the mid-1800’s, after the very deep Little Ice Age. Which followed a warm period. And a cool period. And a warm period. Etc. The short term climate could continue in pause for years or decades. It could dip, like from the 40’s through the 70’s. It could start warming. It could flip to a typical Holocene cool period. Time will tell. No matter what, the climate changes, and the world is still currently in a warm period. There’s nothing wrong with many adaption schemes, nor alternative energy, regardless of your belief it is anthropogenic or not. What we do not need to do is piss away money in a political manner which accomplishes little, while destroying the economy. Not too mention the massive increase in fascistic, controlling Big Government.

Read: WSJ: Obama’s Climate Bomb »

If All You See…

…is a horrible refrigerator that helps cause the temperature to spike 6 degrees by 2100, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The First Street Journal, with a post on the minimum wage, job loss, and robots (OK, no robots, but, close enough for government work).

Read: If All You See… »

Obviously, We’re Doomed From Sea Rise

Of course, all the good little Warmists, from the big folks at the national and international media, to bloggers are losing their minds over the National Climate Assessment, because “climate change is here now”. Because there was no climate change before or something. Here’s one that has gone beyond losing their minds

Global warming has never been explained quite so beautifully

Climate change and the effects of global warming have been thoroughly and beautifully detailed on two sites. One is GlobalChange.gov, which features the White House’s National Climate Assessment report, and the other is WorldUnderWater.org, a website that uses Google Street view images to show users what their home cities would look under water.

The GlobalChange.gov site features rich graphics, plenty of high-quality images and even social integration, resembling a touch-optimized site that sells high-tech products online in the Post PC era more so than a site meant to provide quick access to a very serious report about climate change.

In addition to stunning visuals, the website provides lots of information about the current state of the climate, and how these changes will affect the planet in the future. For example, in the Oceans section – which can be directly tied to WorldUnderWater.org site – the report explains the changes oceans go through and what that means for their ecosystems, but also for the entire world.

Here’s the photo the article uses, which comes from the worldunderwater.org site (you may need Chrome to see the website properly)

Yes, that is the Arc de Triomph in Paris. Paris is roughly 80 feet to 485 feet above sea level. The Arc is around 301 feet above sea level. This is what makes Warmists beyond absurd: they imagine these types of insane occurrences. You will not need a boat to visit the Arc.

Other insane prognostications from that website show Moscow flooded, among others. If I look up Raleigh, it shows the same, despite being, on average 434 feet above see level. The site yammers on about a 6 foot rise by 2100. Obviously, math and science are not strong points amongst Warmists. Seriously, if you type in places like Denver, you’ll get the same.

Of course, their solution is to purchase carbon credits. In other words, they’re trying to scare people to make money.

Read: Obviously, We’re Doomed From Sea Rise »

Obama’s Day: Whine About Climate Change, Unveil Solar Panels At White House

Mr. Obama, already in California for a bunch of fundraisers with a bunch of hoity toity 1%ers, wrapped a few official functions around the fundraisers in order to avoid having to pay for use of Air Force 1. He ends the fundraising trip with

(Washington Examiner) President Obama will announce Friday that he is using executive authority to push through a slew of energy-efficiency and solar energy measures, a move that comes as the White House has sharpened its focus on climate change.

Obama will announce more than 300 public and private commitments have been made to expand energy efficiency and solar energy deployment, White House officials said. He will approve energy efficiency and renewable energy policies that advocates have called effective, low-hanging fruit to slash carbon pollution.

And, of course, he wants more money for this and training programs, because the previous tens of billions of taxpayer money worked so well. Then he’s going to jump in his massive fossil fueled caravan to head to the airport to take a cross country fossil fueled flight. But, it doesn’t look like he’ll be there for the unveiling of the White House solar panels

(Politico) The solar panels are back on the White House roof.

Three decades after Ronald Reagan had Jimmy Carter’s solar panels tossed into the energy dustbin, the White House has finished putting sun-powered electricity back on top of the executive mansion in a small but symbolic gesture, according to the White House.

“Continuing President [Barack] Obama’s commitment to lead by example to increase the use of clean energy in the U.S., the White House has completed installation of American-made solar panels on the first family’s residence as a part of an energy retrofit that will improve the overall energy efficiency of the building,” White House spokesman Matt Lehrich said in a statement.

This actually surprises me. I thought they were already re-installed. He made a Big Announcement in 2010 about putting them back up. They wouldn’t do much, mostly heat a bit of water for the White House, but, hey, the Warmists were nagging him, and he finally relented. The only solar panels since were the ones President Bush 43 installed to heat the WH swimming pool.

When asked by ABC News about the status of the panels (in September, 2012), the White House said “they are in the procurement phase.”

Government work at its most normal. Serious government work

The White House will soon be one of the newest — and certainly most high profile — home in D.C. with solar panels.

A White House official confirmed to the Washington Post Thursday that installation had begun on fitting the President’s residence with solar panels, an effort the official said was “part of an energy retrofit that will improve the overall energy efficiency of the building.” The panels will be American-made, though the official did not confirm which company they would be purchased from.

That was Joe Romm’s Soros funded Climate Progress back on August 15, 2013. It took them 8 months to install the panels once they “procured” them. Well, we do have to factor in the very cold and snowy D.C. winter, seeing snow even late into March. Obama announced the solar panels on October 5, 2010. It took him 3 years and 7 months to make good on that announcement. In the private sector, people would have been fired for such a lag, and the board would have questioned the leadership of a person who couldn’t get a simple job done. This is Obama competence. Leading from behind. If installing a few solar panels in a timely manner is too much for him, it’s no wonder his foreign and domestic policies are a mess.

Read: Obama’s Day: Whine About Climate Change, Unveil Solar Panels At White House »

BCBS: Lots Of Older And Sicker Sign Up In North Carolina

There’s a little bit of good news for Democrats regarding the federally run “Affordable” Care Exchange here in North Carolina, but, not much

(WRAL) The people who signed up for health coverage with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina through the Affordable Care Act’s online marketplace are older and sicker than expected, which could mean higher premiums in the future, the insurer said Thursday.

Blue Cross was one of only two companies to offer plans in North Carolina through the online marketplace, and as of May 1, 232,000 people were on Blue Cross marketplace plans. Seventy percent of them didn’t have coverage through Blue Cross previously, the company said.

That 70% number is the only bright spot. Sort of. Because Dems can spin that they had no insurance. Of course, 160,000 North Carolina BCBS customers lost their coverage thanks to Obamacare. That doesn’t count all those who had policies with other companies, obviously. One has to wonder where they all went.

Initial Blue Cross projections called for 50 percent of the marketplace customers to be 34 years old or younger, but after the enrollment period ended on March 31, the company found that only 32 percent of the people who signed up under the federal health care law fit that profile. Forty percent are ages 35 to 54, and 29 percent are 55 or older. (snip)

Thirteen percent of enrollees ages 18 to 34 reported experiencing chronic pain as part of a Blue Cross self-assessment, compared with 8 percent for the age group as a whole. Seven percent have diabetes, compared with 4 percent of the group as a whole, and 24 percent said they have depression, compared with 14 percent for the group as a whole.

What does all this mean? A problematic pool of customers, sicker and/or older, which will send premiums much higher. Pair that with deductibles which are already pretty high. Here in Wake County, the deductibles are between $5,200 and $6,600. BCBS also has a concern that the enrollees will simply keep coverage to the medical issue is taken care of then drop the plans. Remember, Obamacare insurance companies were already making noise about having to raise premiums for 2015 because of the poor mixes on the exchanges.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

Read: BCBS: Lots Of Older And Sicker Sign Up In North Carolina »

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