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.

Read: House Votes To Require Weekly O-care Updates »

Posted in Healthcare | Comments Off on House Votes To Require Weekly O-care Updates | Trackback URL

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.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

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

Read: What Say To Climate Change Burlesque? »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

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.

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

Posted in Collapsing Science, Global Warming, Liberal World | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

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.

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

Posted in Barry Obama, Democrats, Liberal World | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Man’s Pet Parrot Rats Him Out At Alcohol Checkpoint

By William Teach January 15, 2014 – 3:20 pm

Sounds like someone is having poultry for dinner

(News Republic) Police in Mexico City made a drunk driving arrest after a man’s pet parrot betrayed him by squawking, “he’s drunk!”

Guillermo Reyes, 49, was driving his blue Chevy by an alcohol checkpoint in Mexico City. As he stopped at the checkpoint, a voice from the car said, “he’s drunk. He’s drunk!” according to Mexican newspaper El Universal.

Traitor.

Read: Man’s Pet Parrot Rats Him Out At Alcohol Checkpoint »

Posted in Like, Gnarly, Dude | Comments Off on Man’s Pet Parrot Rats Him Out At Alcohol Checkpoint | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach January 15, 2014 – 1:00 pm

…is horrible horrible snow that was a thing of the past till heat started making more, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Public Secrets, with a post on what raising the minimum wage will do.

Read: If All You See… »

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

UN Climate Chief Bummed About This Whole Democracy Thing

By William Teach January 15, 2014 – 10:53 am

Should anyone be surprised that a Warmist, and one working for the United Nations, no less, is less than enthused about democracy?

(Bloomberg) China, the top emitter of greenhouse gases, is also the country that’s “doing it right” when it comes to addressing global warming, the United Nations’ chief climate official said.

The nation has some of the toughest energy-efficiency standards for buildings and transportation and its support for photovoltaic technology helped reduce solar-panel costs by 80 percent since 2008, Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said yesterday in an interview at Bloomberg News headquarters in New York. (snip)

China is also able to implement policies because its political system avoids some of the legislative hurdles seen in countries including the U.S., Figueres said.

Key policies, reforms and appointments are decided at plenums, or meeting of the governing Communist Party’s more than 200-strong Central Committee. The National People’s Congress, China’s unicameral legislature, largely enforces decisions made by the party and other executive organs.

The political divide in the U.S. Congress has slowed efforts to pass climate legislation and is “very detrimental” to the fight against global warming, she said.

Here’s what former Harvard Physicist Dr. Lubos Motl had to say about Figueres (via Climate Depot)

I hope that this story will open the eyes of many people who will be lucky to learn about it and who will realize that the actual goal of the climatism is to liquidate democracy, freedom, and prosperity in the world.

It’s the very ability of the one-party system to neutralize the opposition of any kind that is so intriguing for Ms Figueres and thousands of champions of the climate alarmism. It’s what their talk about the “consensus” and the dissatisfaction with the “contrarians” is all about.

The goal of these people is to stop democracy, freedom, and prosperity regardless of the fate of Nature, the temperatures, or the CO2 concentrations.

Warmists will tell you that that is all poppy-cock, that they love democracy, yet, they do everything in their power to shut down Skeptics, to stop free speech, freedom of the press, scientific inquiry, all opposition. Progressives want one party rule. Period.

Read: UN Climate Chief Bummed About This Whole Democracy Thing »

Posted in Global Warming, Liberal World | 11 Comments | Trackback URL

Obama Once Again Proposes Caps On Charitable Giving

By William Teach January 15, 2014 – 7:06 am

Which has caused the United Way and other groups to hit Washington

(Daily Caller) Leaders of the charitable coalition the United Way swarmed Capitol Hill Tuesday to lobby against the Obama administration’s proposed cap on the charitable deduction in the federal tax code. Lowering the charitable deduction has long been an Obama policy objective.

United Way US CEO Stacey Stewart and 45 local United Way CEOs hit the Hill to urge “Support for the charitable deduction and expanding incentives for charitable giving in the U.S. tax code,” according to a press release issued on United Way’s behalf. The CEOs were also pushing to strengthen the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit.

Obama proposed a cap on charitable deductions in his 2014 budget proposal in April, and it is currently being debated in Congress. The proposal would cap charitable deductions with a 28 percent limit, down from its current 39.6 percent limit on high earners. Obama has tried every year since taking office to set a 28 percent cap.

“The President’s proposal, as you know, includes the provision that would cap deductions for wealthier Americans at 28 percent—a very common-sense proposition,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said of the administration’s proposal, which directly affects those in the top tax bracket but could indirectly affect those in the bottom.

Obama’s not the only Democrat to propose reducing charitable deductions; this has gone on for quite some time, mostly because Democrats are upset that “rich” people give money to organizations instead of Government, which, in Liberal minds, should be the entity providing charity. And liberals tend to be less charitable than Conservatives when it comes to “giving back”. As one of the comments at the story notes “Charitable giving is about people deciding for themselves how their tax money is going to be spent.” Liberals do not like that. They do not like charities in direct competition with Government. They do not like that people can choose which charities they give to. Hey, there are two charities, one mentioned in the story, I refuse to give to, because they use too much for overhead and non-helping activities. I’ll give elsewhere. My choice.

Read: Obama Once Again Proposes Caps On Charitable Giving »

Posted in Barry Obama, Taxation | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

White House Delays Yet Another Deadline Of “It’s The Law”

By William Teach January 15, 2014 – 6:50 am

It’s good to be the king

(The Hill) The Obama administration announced Tuesday that it was again extending the ObamaCare enrollment deadline for people with pre-existing conditions.

The administration said it will extend the Pre-Existing Conditions Insurance Plan (PCIP), slated to end January 31, until March 15.

“As part of our continuing effort to help smooth consumers’ transition into Marketplace coverage, we are allowing those covered by PCIP additional time to shop for new coverage while they receive the ongoing care and treatment they need,” Health and Human Services spokeswoman Joanne Peters said in a  statement.

The deadline was originally at the end of December, but last month the administration pushed it back through January because of the problem-plagued HealthCare.gov website.

The PCIP covers around 30,000 Americans, who don’t seem too enthused to jump from PCIP to full Obamacare insurance, and are taking their sweet, sweet time in signing up through the now somewhat functional Marketplace websites. Jammie Wearing Fools notes that HHS head Kathleen Sebelius stated on December 31 that there would be no more delays. Viking Pundit decides to go with a Princess Bride reference.

On another note, one estimate has 25 million Americans losing their health insurance in 2014

(NY Post) It now looks like ObamaCare will hurt twice as many people as it helps — because the law isn’t nearly done with canceling people’s insurance.

The 5 million-plus Americans who’ve seen their health plans canceled thanks to ObamaCare will be joined by millions more this year — because the Affordable Care Act makes their employer-provided policies illegal, as well.

This goes to those in small group plans which were renewed prior to getting hit with the requirements of free contraception and stuff. The cost of these “one size fits all” plans will increase costs by $1.79 per hour per full time employee, which not offering insurance will cost companies $.98 an hour

So a conservative estimate is that 25 million people, out of the 60 million in small group plans, get dropped in 2014. Add that to the 5 million or so whose individual-market already canceled on Jan. 1, and you have a lot of losers.

Let’s not forget all those who see their plans replaced with much more expensive ones come signup time in 2014 and 2015, along with all those who will simply lose their health insurance offerings from large (50+ employees) employers. Will Obama delay the employer mandate again?

Crossed at Right Wing News.

Read: White House Delays Yet Another Deadline Of “It’s The Law” »

Posted in Healthcare | Comments Off on White House Delays Yet Another Deadline Of “It’s The Law” | Trackback URL
Pirate's Cove