…are flowers that will soon grow in the Arctic because Someone Else refuses to turn the heat down to 60 during cold snaps, you might just be a Warmist
The blog of the day is Atlas Shrugs, with a post on the NY Times and global jihad.
Read: If All You See… »
Happy Sunday! Another gorgeous day in the Once And Future Nation of America. This pinup is by Earl Moran with a wee bit of help.
What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15
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
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 »
The Washington Post doesn’t have a “Humor” section, so I guess they had to put this article in “Politics”
Obama’s rough 2013 prompts a new blueprint
An internal White House assessment concludes that President Obama must distance himself from a recalcitrant Congress after being badly damaged last year by legislative failures, a government shutdown and his own missteps.
Obama has said that his fraught relationship with Congress, especially after Republicans won the House in 2010, complicated his ability to promote his agenda. But for the first time, following what many allies view as a lost year, the White House is reorganizing itself to support a more executive-focused presidency and inviting the rest of the government to help.
The new approach comes after weeks of internal White House debate over a single question: What went wrong in 2013? The answers will help determine the outline of the State of the Union address Obama will deliver Tuesday evening, as well as how he pursues a meaningful legacy in the remainder of his term.
Is it possible for Obama to distance himself any further from Congress? He barely talks with Congress Critters, even those of his own party. On those few occasions when he deigns to step down off the mountain, he tends to speak at them, not with them. When he gets involved with any sort of negotiations he tends to sour them. He constantly demonizes Congressional Republicans to the point where he insults Americans who voted Republican. His main contact choice is vinegar over honey. He can’t possibly get further away from Congress, except by physical proximity.
As for pushing his agenda, that’s why Republicans won the House in 2010 in a historic blowout. To stop the crazy agenda of Obama and the Democrats, especially Obamacare and the insane levels of spending, like with the failed Stimulus.
It’s nothing new that Mr. Obama wants to use the executive action route: he’s always been an authoritarian at heart. Don’t expect the agenda to change, it will be the same old Progressive playbook for 2014.
Among its conclusions is that Obama, a former state legislator and U.S. senator, too often governed more like a prime minister than a president. In a parliamentary system, a prime minister is elected by lawmakers and thus beholden to them in ways a president is not.
As a result, Washington veterans have been brought into the West Wing to emphasize an executive style of governing that aims to sidestep Congress more often. A central ambition of Obama’s presidency — to change the way Washington works — has effectively been discarded as a distraction in a time of hardening partisanship.
Except, that’s the way it works in a dictatorial government, not a Federal Republic. And, really, Obama had virtually no connections to anyone in Congress. He wasn’t there long enough (breaking his promise of serving in full his first term before running for President), he offered almost no legislation, he didn’t network. Even a benevolent dictator is still a dictator.
The White House postmortem also concluded that the administration suffered from a lack of focus in a year without an election.
Well, gee, having solved all of America’s problems, I guess there was nothing else to really focus on. Obama’s at his best when campaigning. He is a master at it, in all fairness. Actually doing the President thing? Not so much.
It’s no wonder so much of his agenda failed in 2013: he’s a distant, rather uninvolved President who still doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s abusive, abrasive, and condescending. He’s hyper-partisan, and can’t find it in himself to play nicely with those who disagree with him politically. He’s the ultimate narcissist. And he doesn’t seem to put in the necessary work. He was barely involved with the rollout of his signature legislation, the “Affordable” Care Act. He thinks spying on American’s is great. He created an atmosphere where the IRS thought targeting Conservative groups was A-OK. His Syria policy was a mess, he looked the fool when he didn’t back up his “red lines”, and Putin completely owned Obama. He has no real political friendships around the world, and few, if any, world leaders fear or respect him.
But, hey, distance from Congress or something.
Crossed at Right Wing News.
Read: Introspection Fail: WH Document Recommends Obama Distance Himself From Congress After Fail Year »
So, if I speed enough does that mean I’ve earned a Lamborghini?
(CNS News) Speaking at the United States Conference of Mayors on Friday, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said the approximately 11 million people who are in the country illegally have “earned the right to be citizens.â€>
“An earned path to citizenship for those currently present in this country is a matter of, in my view, homeland security to encourage people to come out from the shadows,†said Johnson, in what he remarked was one of his first public speeches since being confirmed as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief in December.
“It is also, frankly, in my judgment, a matter of who we are as Americans,†he said, “to offer the opportunity to those who want to be citizens, who’ve earned the right to be citizens, who are present in this country–many of whom came here as children–to have the opportunity that we all have to try to become American citizens.â€
Let’s see: many are stone cold criminals. Many of them commit criminal acts while living in the US illegally. Many crossed our border illegally: the rest overstayed their visas, and know it. Many have caused problems to legal US citizens by stealing their Social Security numbers, personal information, and committing identity theft. Many are sopping up money, services, and resources that could be used for legal US citizens. Emergency rooms around the country have had to close thanks to being overwhelmed by illegals. Our prison system is chock full of them.
Many never bother to learn English, and they demand that we learn their language and cater to them. They demand that we accept them, but they won’t accept America and her laws. They demand we school them, that we give them health care, social services, jobs, and money. This is “earning the right to be a citizen”? What it should earn is a quick arrest and boot out of the country.
Yes, there are good ones. There are those who work hard. Quite frankly, I’d take lots of the illegals from Mexico over most liberals, in terms of work ethic. Those who have learned English and attempt to be a part of America. But, they broke the law. Period.
BTW, does anyone think DHS head Jeh Johnson and the Obama admin would offer the same praise to Conservatives?
Read: DHS Chief: Illegal Aliens Have Earned The Right To Be Citizens »
…is an evil fossil fueled machine needed to ride over snow created by heat causing fossil fueled vehicles, you might just be a Warmist
The blog of the day is Fire Andrea Mitchell, with a post on the progressive pattern of political moves and prosecutions.
Read: If All You See… »
OK, maybe not ever, but the challenge of our lives
(IBD) When Nelson Mandela formed the Elders in 2007 to promote peace and human rights across the world, he challenged us to be bold and to give a voice to those who have none. No issue demands these qualities more than our collective failure to tackle climate change.
Climate change is the biggest challenge of our time. It threatens the well-being of hundreds of millions of people today and many billions more in the future. It undermines the human rights to food, water, health and shelter — causes for which we, as Elders, have fought all our lives.
Says the man who looked the other way as the head of the United Nations while 850,000 Rwandans were systematically slaughtered.
What is needed to prevent this catastrophe has been established. Global temperature rises must be limited to less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. This means turning away from fossil fuels and accelerating the deployment of affordable renewable energies, for instance by setting an agreed price for carbon.
Writes the man who takes all sorts of fossil fueled trips around the world. Think he flies commercial?
The way forward must be to meet the timetable for a robust, universal and legally binding agreement on climate change next year, under which every country commits to phasing down greenhouse gas emissions.
Fortunately, without any sort of Big Government binding agreement the world’s temperature has been statistically flat since 1998. But, again, this is all about more Government control while instituting Progressive (nice fascist)Â politics.
Read: Kofi Annan: Climate Change Is Biggest Challenge, Like, Ever! »
You’re shocked, I know
(Fox News) A record high number of voters now oppose the 2010 Affordable Care Act and a record low number supports it, according to the latest Fox News poll.
In addition, a majority thinks the new law will increase their health care costs, while few think it will improve their quality of care.
The new poll finds 59 percent of voters oppose the health care law, up from 55 percent who opposed it six months ago (June 2013). The increase in opposition comes from both independents and Democrats.
Nearly a third of Democrats — 30 percent — oppose the law, up from 22 percent in June.
Opposition among independents went from 53 percent to 64 percent today.
Let’s break it down further
People disapprove of Obama’s handling of his signature legislation by 53-42. Please run on this legislation, Democrats, please.
Read: New Poll Shows Continued Drop In Support For Obamacare »
It’ll be a hoot if he does, making a push for legislation and executive action, mostly kingly executive action*, along with the typical hyper-partisan demeaning of Republicans?
(Daily Caller) President Barack Obama is expected to talk about fighting global warming in his upcoming State of the Union address next week, during what could be the coldest in State of the Union address in history.
The bitter cold that has hit the U.S. East Coast is expected to continue throughout February, and on Jan. 28 — the day of the address — the Mid-Atlantic region is expected to be hit with freezing cold air that could drive temperatures below zero in big cities along the I-95 corridor.
“Yet another Arctic air outbreak is destined to move into the Mid-Atlantic region on Sunday and then, after a less harsh Monday, an absolute brutal air mass will invade the central and eastern US on Tuesday and Wednesday,†according to the The SI Weather blog. “That particular Arctic blast has its origins in Siberia and it promises to feature some incredible cold (more details below in the video discussion). Siberian air masses are often quite noteworthy as they have in the past produced some record-breaking cold in this part of the world.â€
Tuesday is expected to be a brutally cold day from the mid-West to the East Coast. The projected high in D.C. for Tuesday is 19, with the temp dropping to 8 overnight. There will be below average temperatures all the way down the Florida Keys. And this cold weather is expected to last into February.
Does this disprove global warming, anthropogenic or otherwise? No. But Warmists told us this was not supposed to happen anymore, before their climate models fell apart, and they decided that greenhouse gases caused not just heat but brutal cold, too. The optics of yammering on about “climate change” while snot freezes below your nose and iguanas fall frozen from trees in Florida are terrible. But, then, the Cult Of Gore won’t care. This isn’t about science, but far-left politics.
“President Obama should rank the battle against climate change as one of his top priorities in his State of the Union address next week,†said Center for Clean Air Policy President Ned Helme. “He should reaffirm his commitment to the aggressive timetable and agenda he laid out a year ago, especially with regard to regulating greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants.â€
“The president should also use his address to encourage the American people to take action on their own,†Helme added.
Now, that last part is one I can partially agree with. Obama should encourage Warmists to modify their own behaviors to match their rhetoric. Start by giving up fossil fueled travel. Of course, Obama has the largest carbon footprint in the world, at around 41,000 metric tons. The average American’s is 19 metric tons. Obama should start by reducing his on footprint.
*How many times will we hear “If Congress won’t act, I will”?
Crossed at Right Wing News.
Read: Will Obama Discuss “Climate Change” During The 2014 SOTU? »
Yeah, that whole “this is a cult” thing is coming a bit more into focus (via The New Nostradamus of the North)
(USA Today) The top climate official at the United Nations has described her role in pushing nations to contain the Earth’s climate as a “sacred” job.
“We are truly defining the quality of life for our children,” Christina Figueres, the U.N.’s executive secretary for climate, told USA TODAY on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“We have to do everything we can because there is no plan B because there is no planet B,” she said.
“I fully intend my grandchildren and great-grandchildren to be able to live on this planet. This job is a sacred responsibility,” Figueres said.
This was after she took a fossil fueled flight to the exotic vacation spot of Davos. Anyone think she flew commercial? I didn’t think so.
“Cumulatively we have already invested over a trillion dollars into renewable energies such as solar and wind but that is still far from where we need to get. We need to be investing a trillion every year,” Figueres said.
Well, perhaps the cult should pony up their own money, instead of always wanting to take it from the pocket of Other People.
(graphic from Deesillustration.com)
I think he’s forgetting that little thing that the Congress makes the laws, and they determined that it is illegal for banks to do business with drug dealers
(Politico) The Obama administration will soon announce regulations to make it easier for banks to do business with legal marijuana sellers, Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday.
“You don’t want just huge amounts of cash in these places. They want to be able to use the banking system,” Holder said during an appearance at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. “There’s a public safety component to this. Huge amounts of cash—substantial amounts of cash just kind of lying around with no place for it to be appropriately deposited is something that would worry me, just from a law enforcement perspective.”
While Holder spoke twice of new “regulations” that were being prepared, a Justice Department spokesman said later that the attorney general was referring to legal “guidance” for prosecutors and federal law enforcement. Such a legal memo wouldn’t be enforceable in court and would amount to less than the kind of clear safe harbor many banks say they would want before accepting money from pot businesses.
What this looks like is that the lawless Obama admin is once again going to ignore the law. I’m betting most financial institutions are still going to refuse to business with marijuana companies. No one ever knows if Team Obama will turn on them.
Regardless of what they want, marijuana is still a Schedule I drug, and no amount regulation or guidance will override the federal drug banking Las.
Read: Holder: We’re Going To Make It Easier For Banks And Pot Industry »
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