If All You See…

By William Teach January 19, 2014 – 1:00 pm

…is lovely, lovely coffee which will spike in price to that of gold due to carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Legal Insurrection, with a post on bitter intra-feminist racial grievances.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach January 19, 2014 – 9:04 am

Happy Sunday! Another fantastic day in the Once And Future Nation Of America. Not sure who this pinup is by, but I gave it a wee bit of help.

What’s happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. The Lonely Conservative notes that most Obamacare signups previously had insurance
  2. Raised On Hoecakes covers a little league coach suing a player
  3. The Daley Gator notes that home invasion can be tricky
  4. Congrats to The Jawa Report on 10 years of fatwas!
  5. The Last Tradition isn’t impressed by Obama’s income inequality hustle
  6. The Other McCain covers an actress blackballed for supporting a conservative
  7. The People’s Cube has 50 ways to celebrate Michelle O’s birthday
  8. This ain’t Hell... notes that the media gets it wrong on gun violence
  9. Villainous Company has some odds and ends
  10. Yid With Lid thinks Chris Christie is in trouble, but not cause lane closures
  11. NoFrakkingConsensus notes the invisible Judith Curry
  12. Jo Nova brings up a skeptic paper that got a whole journal whacked
  13. American Power has Covered California twerk-a-thon
  14. Black & Right notes that death rays are here to stay
  15. And last, but not least, Capitalist Preservation notes fun things to do with swiss cheese
  16. And one to grow on: a 2nd post on The Jawa Report’s 10th blogoversary.

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 »

Posted in Patriotic Pinup | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

Surprise: Team Obama Delays Equal Coverage Provision

By William Teach January 19, 2014 – 8:45 am

Another week, another part of Obamacare delayed by unilateral executive fiat

It’s The Law

(Fox News) The Obama administration is reportedly delaying enforcement of another aspect of ObamaCare, one that prohibits employers from providing better health benefits to top executives than those being offered to regular employees.

According to The New York Times, tax officials said they would not enforce the provision in 2014 as they had not yet issued the appropriate regulations.

The Affordable Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare, says employer-sponsored health plans must not discriminate “in favor of highly compensated individuals” with respect to either eligibility or benefits, and provides a tax break for employer-sponsored insurance, while demanding employers not provide better coverage to higher-paid employees.

Yet Bruce I. Friedland, a spokesman for the I.R.S., told the New York Times that employers would not have to comply until the agency issued regulations or other guidance.

The penalty for this would be $100 a day for each individual who has one of these plans, charged to the company.

Interestingly, the NY Times article is buried on page A18 of the Sunday edition of the paper. It’s also buried on the web edition. It’s also buried on the website of the Washington Post, though it was prominent on the Android app. Anyhow, this line from the NY Times article is precious

But translating that goal into reality has proved difficult.

That could be a mantra for the “Affordable” Care Act. Things aren’t working out the way they should. The launch of the federally run website was a disaster, the same for quite a few of the state run websites. Getting the right mix of healthy people to sick people hasn’t worked out so well, along with getting young folks to sign up. The numerous delays of various parts of the law. Implementing a system for people to actually pay for the insurance. Getting them insurance cards. Showing that people are actually enrolled. All the waivers.

And we haven’t even truly hit the part where people try and use the insurance. Or when employers start dropping coverage in droves. Or when rationing starts occurring. When insurers need a bailout. The Independent Payment Advisory Board starts determining who gets what treatment, which would seem to be “unequal coverage”, discrimination, eh?

Why would Team Obama delay the insurance equal coverage provision? One is simply incompetence. As usual, they do not have their guano wired tight. Second, a lot of the companies and executives donate money to Democrats, and they won’t be happy to donate for the midterms if their companies are getting nailed with penalties and/or losing their high-end insurance plans. With Team Obama, never discount the politics nor the incompetence.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

Read: Surprise: Team Obama Delays Equal Coverage Provision »

Posted in Barry Obama, Healthcare | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

Belief That Global Warming Isn’t Happening Grows

By William Teach January 18, 2014 – 4:02 pm

Sending Warmists into apoplexy. Warmists like Chris Mooney

Global warming denial hits a six-year high

The latest data is out on the prevalence of global warming denial among the U.S. public. And it isn’t pretty.

The new study, from the Yale and George Mason University research teams on climate change communication, shows a 7-percentage-point increase in the proportion of Americans who say they do not believe that global warming is happening. And that’s just since the spring of 2013. The number is now 23 percent; back at the start of last year, it was 16 percent:

(it’s cute how Chris titled the picture “denial”)

The percentage of Americans who believe global warming is human-caused has also declined, and now stands at 47 percent, a decrease of 7 percent since 2012.

The number who believe global warming is mostly natural stands at 37%.

Mooney is upset that people have heard of the “pause”, and attempts to dismiss it

According to both Anthony Leiserowitz of Yale and Ed Maibach of George Mason, the leaders of the two research teams, the answer may well lie in the so-called global warming “pause” — the misleading idea that global warming has slowed down or stopped over the the past 15 years or so. This claim was used by climate skeptics, to great effect, in their quest to undermine the release of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report in September 2013 — precisely during the time period that is in question in the latest study.

As we have reported before, the notion of a global warming “pause” is, at best, the result of statistical cherry-picking. It relies on starting with a very hot year (1998) and then examining a relatively short time period (say, 15 years), to suggest that global warming has slowed down or stopped during this particular stretch of time. But put these numbers back into a broader context and the overall warming trend remains clear. Moreover, following the IPCC report, new research emerged suggesting that the semblance of a “pause” may be the result of incomplete temperature data due to the lack of adequate weather stations in the Arctic, where the most dramatic global warming is occurring.

Yet, Warmists cherry pick time frames, particularly using the time frame since 1980, which was the beginning of the most recent spike, after a 30 year pause/reduction. The very fact is that there has been no statistically significant warming since 1997, which completely contradicts what the Warmist computer models predicted. And the warming still wouldn’t prove anthropogenic causation.

“Even more likely, however,” Maibach adds, “is that media coverage of the ‘pause’ reinforced the beliefs of people who had previously concluded that global warming is not happening, making them more certain of their beliefs.”

In other words, Warmists are very upset that the media told people the truth. Because this is not about science, but politics.

Read: Belief That Global Warming Isn’t Happening Grows »

Posted in Global Warming, New Climate Deniers | 16 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach January 18, 2014 – 1:00 pm

…is horrible heat created snow, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Bookworm Room, with a post that is not impressed with Obama’s NSA “reforms”.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

EPA Head McCarthy Can’t Say If World Has Warmed

By William Teach January 18, 2014 – 11:20 am

I guess she was trying to avoid perjury charges

(Daily Caller) Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions asked McCarthy to confirm a statement made by President Obama last year that global temperatures were increasing faster in the last five or ten years than climate scientists had predicted.

McCarthy couldn’t answer the question, saying that she only repeats what the climate scientists tell her. Sessions was not satisfied with her response.

“Do I not have the right to ask the Director of EPA a simple question that is relevant to the dispute that is before us?” Sessions angrily asked. “Is the temperature around the globe increasing faster than was predicted, even 10 years ago [as the President claimed]?”

“I can’t answer that question,” McCarthy said.

“You are asking us to impose billions of dollars of cost on this economy and you won’t answer the simple question of whether [temperature around the globe is increasing faster than predicted] is an accurate statement or not?” Sessions shot back.

McCarthy is in now in charge of the EPA, which is slapping regulations around like mad designed to limit “carbon pollution”. Right now we’re waiting for regulations which could make it impossible to build a new coal fired plant in the name of “climate change”. Yet she refuses to say whether the world has warmed in the last 5-10 years. It hasn’t.

Read: EPA Head McCarthy Can’t Say If World Has Warmed »

Posted in Collapsing Science, Global Warming | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

P0rn Stars Leave California For Vegas Over Condom Law

By William Teach January 18, 2014 – 7:15 am

Laws have consequences. In this case, revenue and jobs are leaving California because of a law, something California should be used to

(UK Daily Mail) It is known as the City of Sin, so it is perhaps no surprise to find that the porn industry is moving to Las Vegas after LA passed a law requiring performers to use condoms.

As the industry struggles to survive in an age of free websites and amateur videos uploaded to the internet, producers looking to cut costs are also attracted by the cheap hotels, mansions and warehouses to use for their films.

In a worrying development, many adult film makers are also using the move as a way to get around stringent health checks imposed in LA, including a law requiring all male performers to wear condoms, brought in after several actors tested positive for HIV.

The number of permits requested to make porn films in Los Angeles County has declined by an estimated 95 percent since the law took effect, according to Film LA, a private nonprofit that issues the licenses.

The number of applications fell from about 480 in 2012 to just 24 through the first nine months of 2013.

This isn’t so much about the specific law, but about Government overall. They pass a burdensome law, which creates issues with the revenue stream. What does that industry/business do? If they’re lucky, they can simply pick up and move. Many gun and gun accessory companies, such as Magpul, have bailed on states which have passed onerous gun restrictions. What do we do when the laws are nationwide?

The star of both films, James Deen, a millennial porn icon who acted alongside Lindsay Lohan in ‘The Canyons,’ said moving the industry to Las Vegas is just a band aid.

‘The issue with running to Vegas is it doesn’t actually fix anything,’ he said, taking refuge near a stairwell at the convention hall to avoid interruption by a constant stream of fans.

‘We should explain to the people who put that law in place why it’s unnecessary, and appeal it the same way any community would appeal any asinine law.’

That is a prescription for all burdensome, asinine, idiotic, job killing, money killing laws, many of which appear because lawmakers are just trying to Do Something. That’s how we got Obamacare. They were trying to Do Something, and rather than implement wise legislation, they passed an asinine law, which seems to be so burdensome that Obama has unilaterally changed portions of it.

Read: P0rn Stars Leave California For Vegas Over Condom Law »

Posted in Economy, Government | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

NY Times Joins The “We’re Concerned About Killer Suffering” Bandwagon

By William Teach January 18, 2014 – 6:53 am

Since the day stone cold killer Dennis McGuire was exectuted, many media outlets have expressed their concern. Now the NY Times, essentially the “paper of record”, joins in

(NY Times)  As the lethal drugs flowed into his veins in the Ohio death chamber, Dennis B. McGuire at first “went unconscious” and his body was still, his daughter, Amber McGuire, said Friday.

But a few minutes later, she said, she was horrified to see her father struggling, his stomach heaving, a fist clenching.

“He started making all these horrible, horrible noises, and at that point, that’s when I covered my eyes and my ears,” said Ms. McGuire, who watched the execution on Thursday at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, near Lucasville. “He was suffering.”

Mr. McGuire’s execution, conducted with a new and untested combination of drugs, took about 25 minutes from the time the drugs were started to the time death was declared. The process, several witnesses said, was accompanied by movement and gasping, snorting and choking sounds.

It has not been established whether Mr. McGuire was conscious of pain or whether the drugs that were used were responsible for his prolonged death. But at a time when the drugs once routinely used in executions are in short supply and states are scrambling to find new formulas, the execution is stirring intense debate about the obligations of the state toward those it kills.

Stirring debate, eh? The children of this stone cold killer plan on filing a lawsuit in federal court that this new cocktail of lethal drugs violates the Constitutional provision against cruel and unusual punishment. In fact, this was the wish of the killer. But, what about the victim?

But the family of Joy Stewart, the woman Mr. McGuire raped and murdered in 1989, said in a statement that whatever Mr. McGuire’s suffering, it paled in comparison with what Ms. Stewart went through at the hands of her killer. “He is being treated far more humanely than he treated her,” the statement said.

That’s all we get about Ms. Stewart. Thank you, NY Times, for being so detailed. Oh, wait

Joy Stewart, 22, of West Alexandria, a small town about 20 miles west of Dayton, was about 30-weeks pregnant when McGuire raped her, choked her, and slashed her throat so deeply it severed both her carotid artery and jugular vein. At the same point, her unborn child died, too, probably in the woods in the rural area of Preble County where her body was found the next day by two hikers.

“This has been a long time coming. Joy’s death was the hardest thing our family has had to endure,” the victim’s family said in a three-paragraph statement.

“There has been a lot of controversy regarding the drugs that are to be used in his execution, concern that he might feel terror; that he might suffer. As I recall the events preceding her death, forcing her from the car, attempting to rape her vaginally, sodomizing her, choking her, stabbing her, I know she suffered terror and pain. He is being treated far more humanely than he treated her.

Nice of the Times to shorten the quote about being treated far more humanely.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

Read: NY Times Joins The “We’re Concerned About Killer Suffering” Bandwagon »

Posted in Wonky Media | 9 Comments | Trackback URL

WordPress Upgrade Issues. Update: Comments Fixed?

By William Teach January 17, 2014 – 5:35 pm

Happy Friday. I did an upgrade to WordPress this morning, and the automatic installation program messed a few things up, most on the backend where you can’t see it.

However, I just noticed that comments are not posting. My apologies. Not sure how soon that will be fixed, I’m waiting to hear from Steamboat.

Update: the comments may be fixed. The comments dot php file was missing. I have a fresh copy of WP 3.8 downloaded, and added the file.

Anyone else see any issues? I’m left with three issues. First, there is abnormal latency in loading posts. Second, the WP Dashboard formatting is messed up, it’s like some script links are missing. And for the New Post module, multiple scripts are missing, ones that are rather necessary. But those same scripts work fine for an existing post, even if it is a draft. In order to create a new post, I have to go through a few hoops. I just do not know what is missing.

What I’d like to do is revert back to the previous install and whack this one, wait for the next WP upgrade.

Read: WordPress Upgrade Issues. Update: Comments Fixed? »

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments | Trackback URL

No One Should Be Surprised That Liberals Are Against Certain Free Speech

By William Teach January 17, 2014 – 3:22 pm

Kirsten Powers writes at the Daily Beast that anti-free speech zones (at abortion clinics) could come back to haunt liberals in the future. This is in terms of McCullen v. Coakley, which was just heard at the Supreme Court, a case in which the state of Massachusetts created a law that establishes a buffer zone of 35 feet near abortion clinics. This simply restricts pro-life proponents. She goes on to write

What is perhaps most disturbing is that the Massachusetts law was created by people who call themselves liberal. It is also being defended by an assortment of liberals from the ACLU to Planned Parenthood. Which raises an obvious question: Is it now liberal to oppose free speech?

Yes, yes it is, Kirsten. At least from the hard-cores, the Progressives, who do all they can to shut down speech they disagree with, even going so far as to pass laws. Calling people racists, name calling, ad hominem attacks, saying “the science is settled”, controlling the majority of the media, writing letters to news outlets telling them not to publish certain points of view, claiming offense, claiming “hate”, inventing a “right”, etc. Leftists do not like allowing people to disagree.

Read: No One Should Be Surprised That Liberals Are Against Certain Free Speech »

Posted in Liberal World | 5 Comments | Trackback URL
Pirate's Cove