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.

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If All You See…

By William Teach January 17, 2014 – 1:00 pm

…is horrible CO2 infused beer, which further leads to people eating too much, causing the world to burn, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Powerline, with a post noting that Iran really loves the enrichment deal.

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Whew! Obama Curtails Spying On Foreigners

By William Teach January 17, 2014 – 12:50 pm

Not so much on Americans

(AFP) In a long-awaited speech outlining changes to programs exposed by Edward Snowden, Obama also said he had halted National Security Agency (NSA) spy taps targeting friendly world leaders.

He also proposed new protections for foreigners caught in US data collection programs, which harvest hundreds of millions of pages of data on telephone calls, Internet use and text messages across the globe.

“Given the unique power of the state, it is not enough for leaders to say: trust us, we won’t abuse the data we collect,” Obama said, in a speech at the US Justice Department.

Let’s go over to John Yoo

The first reform strikes me as ludicrous. Why should foreigners have any privacy rights against the United States government? Privacy is a constitutional right that a citizen has against his own government — I have no more a right of privacy against Saudi Arabia’s government than a Saudi Arabian should have against NSA surveillance. Under the Privacy Act, an American has the right to see the information held on him or her by the government — will Dr. Zawahiri, the head of al-Qaeda, have a right to request his government file now?

The suggestion shows that the Obama administration seems to worry as much about the rights of potential terrorist suspects as it does about the Americans who are their potential victims.

I have to disagree: Obama seems to worry way, way more about the rights of potential terrorist suspects than those of American citizens. In fact, the rights of American citizens was barely on the radar for these so called “reforms”.

DrewM notes

More from Obama’s speech:

Given the unique power of the state, it is not enough for leaders to say: trust us, we won’t abuse the data we collect. For history has too many examples when that trust has been breached. Our system of government is built on the premise that our liberty cannot depend on the good intentions of those in power; it depends upon the law to constrain those in power.Unless you know, Congress won’t let him to something he really wants to do.

Chutzpah, thy name is Obama.

Maybe we should all declare ourselves foreigners, then Obama will stop spying on us. Really, what is the point of the NSA other than to spy on foreigners, foreign leaders, and nations? Even friendly ones. It wasn’t meant to spy on Americans.

The Washington Post provides a gobbledygook article about how Obama is supposedly shifting the way the information is stored and accessed. When all is said and done, they still have our information.

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UN: Failure To Stop “Climate Change” Will Be Costly, So Spend Lots Of Money Now

By William Teach January 17, 2014 – 9:24 am

Interestingly, countries didn’t spend hundreds of billions into the trillions to stop Hotcoldwetdry before the 17 year pause

(NY Times) Nations have so dragged their feet in battling climate change that the situation has grown critical and the risk of severe economic disruption is rising, according to a draft United Nations report. Another 15 years of failure to limit carbon emissions could make the problem virtually impossible to solve with current technologies, experts found.

It’s a bit of a pet peeve, but I hate when they refer to CO2 as “carbon”. It’s unscientific. But, then, “climate change” is not about science.

A delay would most likely force future generations to develop the ability to suck greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere and store them underground to preserve the livability of the planet, the report found. But it is not clear whether such technologies will ever exist at the necessary scale, and even if they do, the approach would probably be wildly expensive compared with taking steps now to slow emissions.

The report said that governments of the world were still spending far more money to subsidize fossil fuels than to accelerate the shift to cleaner energy, thus encouraging continued investment in projects like coal-burning power plants that pose a long-term climate risk.

And then all these people writing the report jumped in their fossil fueled vehicles to head off to the pub after a hard day of spreading awareness.

This all comes for a “leaked” draft IPCC report, and what they obviously want is massive government spending on all sorts of “green” programs and government control of economies. Otherwise, they claim massive doom that might possibly kinda maybe sorta destroy the biosphere, despite CO2 levels being higher than today for a good portion of the Earth’s history.

Nations have agreed to try to limit the warming of the planet to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above preindustrial levels. Even though it will be exceedingly difficult to meet, this target would still mean vast ecological and economic damage, experts have found. But the hope is that these would come on slowly enough to be somewhat manageable; having no target would be to risk catastrophic disruption, the thinking goes.

Since 1850 there rise has been a modest 1.4F, less than one would expect during a typical Holocene warm period. There has been a statistically insignificant rise during the 17 year pause, and no warming, and some data suggests a dip, during the 21st Century. Meanwhile, a good chunk of the “green” companies provided with taxpayer money from the Stimulus have gone bust. Most have provided few jobs. And while Team Obama and their minions are gung ho to try these economy killing projects, not so in Europe

The European Union, which for years has sought to lead the world in addressing climate change, is tempering its ambitions and considering turning mandatory targets for renewable energy into just goals.

The union’s policy-making body is also unlikely to restrict exploration for shale gas using the disputed technique known as hydraulic fracturing.

Europe has been turning away from all the “green” projects for years now, after going full bore post-Kyoto. As Spain learned, for every 1 “green” job created (mostly artificially), 3 real jobs were lost. One day these “clean” alternatives will be worthwhile. Not now. But Warmists, including those in the United Nations, want to keep the money train going, along with the prestige and power, so they will push hyperventilation inducing scare scenarios.

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Celebrities Who Certainly Won’t Sign Up For Obamacare Pimp Obamacare

By William Teach January 17, 2014 – 8:46 am

The other day I had a brief Twitter discussion pointing out that Magic Johnson was able to get health care for his HIV without Obamacare, that he wasn’t dropped, and that the person who pimped Magic Johnson pushing Obamacare, Valerie Jarret, isn’t getting her health insurance through the Exchange. Nor is Magic

(CNBC) Jennifer Hudson was able to win an Oscar—but can she win over young adults for Obamacare?

Obamacare advocates on Thursday set off a social media blitz to push young adults to sign up for insurance under the Affordable Care Act, using celebrities, humorous skits and social media platforms such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Vine to spread the word.

A six-hour-long, live-streamed variety show event and blogathon at www.tellafriendgetcovered.com is the centerpiece of the youth-oriented campaign, which comes days after Obamacare enrollment data showed a big gap between the sign-up rate for young adults and the target set by federal officials.

And

The federal agency that runs HealthCare.gov, the ACA exchange serving 36 states, on Thursday launched a campaign featuring two separate ads by retired basketball superstars Magic Johnson and Alonzo Mourning. The ads will air nationally on ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBAtv during NBA games as well as in local markets with large numbers of uninsured people.

And

Washington state’s Obamacare exchange on Wednesday announced a partnership with concert promoter Live Nation to do outreach efforts to young adults at concerts like that the Sasqautch! Music Festival there next month as well as online platforms including a Facebook sweepstakes, and through traditional media.

This is all meant to get the “young adults”, folks 18-34, to purchase insurance through the Exchanges, as well as be supporters and advocates for O-care. You know, a law that mandates that citizens obtain health insurance. Funny how Team Obama and all the little Progressive groups have to spend so much time pimping a law that they said everyone would love more and more after it was passed, eh?

Let’s not forget, none of the stars pimping O-care are actually going to purchase insurance through the Exchanges, and they’ll all have the super-highend plans….if they purchase health insurance at all. Lots of folks with serious money do not bother, because they can afford the costs.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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House Votes To Require Weekly O-care Updates

By William Teach January 16, 2014 – 2:42 pm

Do you think the Democrat led Senate will even consider this legislation?

(The Hill) The House voted Thursday to require weekly updates from the Obama administration about the implementation and operation of ObamaCare and its website, HealthCare.gov.

Members passed the Exchange Information Disclosure Act in a 259-154 vote. And while many Democrats criticized the bill as another GOP attack on ObamaCare, it won the support of 33 Democrats in the final vote.

This goes with last week’s vote in which 67 Dems defected on a bill requiring notification to people if their data has been hacked from Obamacare websites

The White House opposed both bills, saying they would impose unnecessary reporting burdens on the administration. But the White House did not go as far as saying it would veto the bills.

First, they don’t have to worry about the legislation even making it to Obama’s desk, as the Senate will surely not even vote on the bills, and second, funny how Team Obama doesn’t worry about reporter burdens for all the companies and people ruled by Obamacare.

Unfortunately, while the bill requires lots and lots of reporting information, it doesn’t require reports on how many people have actually paid.

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If All You See…

By William Teach January 16, 2014 – 1:00 pm

…is a flooding drought world, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Lonely Conservative, with a post noting what happens when a “living wage” is governmentally enforced.

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What Say To Climate Change Burlesque?

By William Teach January 16, 2014 – 11:19 am

What can be imagined can never be un-imagined

(Grist) Una Aya Osato has been performing since she was 2 years old — she landed her first part after chatting up a casting director in a Chinese restaurant — and she’s been political for almost as long. As a New York City teenager involved in Reclaim the Streets, a social justice movement that transformed city blocks into dance parties, all she wanted for her 17th birthday was a bullhorn. But before she had a chance to really use it, she was arrested, for sound production without a permit.

Burlesque, it turned out, brought together all the elements of performance that interested Osato — theater and dance and storytelling and politics. Particularly Brown Girls Burlesques’ style: sexy, yes, but smart, campy and feminist, too — the sort of burlesque that’s seen a revival in the past few years. She thought, “Oh, yeah, I could try that.”

As “the exHOTic other,” Osato began creating burlesque pieces on everything from gentrification to U.S. nationalism. Working with her sister Michi (who performs with Brown Girls Burlesuqe, too, as “sister selva”), she created burlesque and clowning acts that grappled with questions about the Earth, destruction, and human rights.

Osato’s newest, “PolarBare,” tackles one of the biggest issues of all: climate change. She performed it for the first time this past winter as part of a Brown Girls Burlesque show in New York.

What can be seen can never be unseen

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Interesting: The Same People Pushing Climate Change Also Want To Legalize Pot

By William Teach January 16, 2014 – 8:46 am

Think about it. Here’s the Boston Herald’s Howie Carr discussing Gov. Deval Patrick wanting to hire an official state weatherman to deal with “climate change” (via Tom Nelson)

Wait a second, some of you may be saying, that Tim Murray snowstorm was in October, so how can it be global warming? If anything, it’s global cooling.

Which is why the moonbats changed the name. The latest iteration is “climate catastrophe.” You remember the movie “Apocalypse Now”? Climate catastrophe is Apocalypse Down the Road.

So the way it works now is, if it’s hot, it’s climate catastrophe. If it’s cold, it’s climate catastrophe. If it rains a lot, or if it’s not raining — well, you get the picture.

Why do you think the same moonbats pushing climate catastrophe also want to legalize pot? It’s a lot easier to put this three-card monte game over on couch potatoes who are so stoned they can’t remember what happened 10 minutes ago.

Come to think of it, they sound a lot like Deval’s voters.

Now, not all who want to legalize pot are climate hysterics. Certainly, there are some Libertarians who advocate legalizing pot (and most drugs). There are some, like myself, who couldn’t care less one way or the other about legalizing pot. Yet, it is certainly liberals who are pushing hard to legalize it. But, really, the main point is that Warmists have determined that everything is “climate change”.  Man caused. Because you drove a fossil fueled vehicle to work instead of biking 20 miles. And forgot to unplug every appliance at home. And used hair spray. And took a 5 minute shower. Used more than 2 pieces of toilet paper. Your fault. Not the fault of Warmists who do the same, because they “spread awareness”. Your fault that there was a big snowstorm in October.

Interestingly, these same leftists are pitching a fit over the use of electronic cigarettes at the Golden Globes, like they did with cigarettes. Yet, they want pot to be legal. Which is weird, because people get the munchies while stoned. And want food like pizza. Which makes people fat. And fat people are Bad for “climate change”.

Wayne Lusvardi writes

The term (climate change)  is used with such vagueness that it could never be used in a scientific experiment to meet Karl Popper’s test of falsifiability. The term has been made so politically correct that it has become Orwellian doublespeak.

Climate change has little to do with science and the scientific method. It provides for no falsifiability. It is circular logic. Ask any Warmist what conditions would disprove “climate change”. So far, they haven’t provided specific conditions. Wayne goes on to fully define “climate change”

Karl Marx was right about one observation. People use ideologies as covers for economic conflicts, although such conflicts are not the sole driving force of history.

Climate change is an ideology in a trade war between a cartel of basin topography states with smoggy cities that don’t want to depend on imported fossil fuel and electricity and plains states that rely on indigenous abundant fossil fuels and can export it to basin states.

“Climate change,” unpacked, is an ideological smokescreen from the reality of this trade war and used to gain political legitimacy for uneconomic alternative energy.

I’m not sure I fully agree with his conclusion as such, but it is true that “climate change” is a trade war between the Left and Right, with the left using the notion of Hotcoldwetdry to institute hardcore Progressive (nice fascism) economic, political, and social ideals on Everyone Else. Not on themselves, of course.

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Rachel Maddow: Christie Issue Means We Need More Dogged Local Journalists

By William Teach January 16, 2014 – 8:15 am

Investigating Republicans, of course. How cute. A nominal Republican is having a bit of an issue, so now she’s all for hardcore investigative journalism. Locally. Democracy demands it

Democracy needs dogged local journalism

(Multiple paragraphs regarding “lane closures” to start)

It’s one thing for public officials to subject one another to that kind of low-level, neener-neener harassment, but in New Jersey, reporters have been targeted too. Wildstein snatched up and redirected ShawnBoburg.com after Boburg wrote a (not terribly unflattering) profile of the intensely private Wildstein last year and an article on Christie’s patronage hiring.

Interesting. Remember how Team Obama went overboard investigating James Rosen and his family through the Justice Dept? And the Associated Press? Seems they were targeted for reprisal. How about the IRS scandal, which is also part of Obama’s 1st Amendment violation pattern?

If it weren’t for the dogged local press corps, Christie would still be ridiculing this story, attacking the legislators investigating it and persuading most of the national press to dismiss it.

Where’s that dogged local, state, and national press corps when it comes to the actions of Team Obama? Where’s Rachel and her crew, along with the employees of MSNBC, in investigating Team Obama?

She also mentions John Rowland, gov of Connecticut, and Mark Sanford, and how “local” reporters drove them out. Also, the EVIL Exxon and some old pipes or something. Weird that there’s no mention of Democrats like Anthony Weiner, Eliot Spitzer, and Fithly Bob Filner.

Most of the time, national news happens out loud: at news conferences, on the floor of Congress, in splashy indictments or court rulings. But sometimes, the most important news starts somewhere more interesting, and it has to be dug up. Our democracy depends on local journalism, whether it’s a beat reporter slogging through yet another underattended local commission meeting, or a state political reporter with enough of an ear to the ground to know where the governor might be when he isn’t where he says he is, or a traffic columnist who’s nobody’s fool.

Where are the reporters digging up the dirt on Team Obama? I’m glad that she demands hardcore journalism: when will she practice it?

It’s annoying to pay for information — I know. But if you don’t subscribe to your local paper or pony up to get behind its online paywall, who’s going to pay reporters to cover the news where you live? A free press isn’t that kind of “free.” An accountable democracy doesn’t work without real information, gathered from the ground up, about people in power, everywhere. Be inspired by the beleaguered but unintimidated reporters of Chris Christie’s New Jersey: Whatever your partisan affiliation, or lack thereof, subscribe to your local paper today. It’s an act of civic virtue.

And there you have it: one of the leading “Progressive” voices on TV, who virtually determines how most of MSNBC runs, is telling you that the media should get their behinds out there and investigate, investigate, investigate. So, according to Rachel Maddow, reporters should be working hard to uncover what happened with Fast and Furious, Benghazi, IRS, Pigford, Eric Holder’s perjury, influence peddling, and so much more, and if they don’t, they aren’t doing their jobs. I doubt that’s what she mean when she wrote the opinion piece, it was most likely intended just to keep the Christie “lane closures” issue going, but her unintentional points are valid, and I look forward to all the investigative journalism regarding Team Obama that should be coming from MSNBC starting now.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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