Poll: Americans Sour Further On State Of Country

By William Teach November 29, 2013 – 10:57 am

Hey, this is what you Democrats voted for

(CNN) Americans views on the state of the nation are turning increasingly sour, according to a new national poll.

And a CNN/ORC International survey released Friday also indicates that less than a quarter of the public says that economic conditions are improving, while nearly four in ten say the nation’s economy is getting worse.

Forty-one percent of those questioned in the poll say things are going well in the country today, down nine percentage points from April, and the lowest that number has been in CNN polling since February 2012. Fifty-nine percent say things are going badly, up nine points from April.

Who could have predicted the economy would be a mess with Obama in charge?

Looking specifically at the economy, 39% feel the economy is still in a downturn, up six points from April. Only 24% believe that an economic recovery is under way. Thirty-six percent are in the middle — they don’t think we’re in a recovery but they believe conditions have stabilized.

CNN does the best to spin this all away as partisan and regional divides, but this is just more bad news for President Carter, er, Obama. The breakdown is 31% Democrat, 23% Republican, 46% Independent.

Read: Poll: Americans Sour Further On State Of Country »

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Plastic Gun Law Sunset: The Next Big Fight?

By William Teach November 29, 2013 – 7:19 am

Democrats and Mr. Obama love to create a fight when things should be simple

(The Hill) Guns that cannot be detected by X-ray machines will no longer be banned if Congress does not renew the decades-old prohibition by Dec. 9.

The 1998 Undetectable Firearms Act will sunset that day, ending the prohibition at a time when new technology has made it easier than ever before to manufacture plastic guns with 3-D printers.

Gun control activists warn that a lapse would allow anyone with a few thousand dollars to build a homemade gun that would be undetectable at airports, government buildings or schools.

How dangerous are these guns? Well, let’s see. No one has been prosecuted over the 1998 law. There are no reports of the guns being used in crimes. The bullets and several components must be made of metal, otherwise no bang. And the AFT found that 3D printed guns were likely to blow up in one’s face.

Senator Sessions objected to a unanimous consent decree, and said they would be happy to take it up when the Senate returns on December 9th.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said it was Senate Democrats who were to blame for refusing to work with Republicans on a separate proposal reauthorize the law for either five or ten years.

“Congressional Republicans support a lengthy extension of the ban on firearms that cannot be picked up by metal detectors,” Grassley said Tuesday via a written statement. “The Senate Majority consciously and consistently rebuffed our efforts to continue the prohibition for five to ten more years.”

Unsurprisingly, Democrats attempted to add all sorts of gun control riders to the re-authorization

“We are looking at a world in which anyone with a little bit of cash can bring an undetectable gun, that can fire multiple bullets, anywhere — including planes, government buildings, sporting events and schools,” Schumer said in a written statement to The Hill.

“This ban cannot be allowed to expire.”

A little bit of cash being thousands and thousands of dollars, access to proper materials, and access to a 3D printing machine, all to make a gun that doesn’t work very well, and still requires metal, all when it would be easier to obtain a regular gun when someone has murder in their heart.

I suspect that this will turn what should be a simple re-authorization of the act into a big fight, with Democrats and Obama demagoging the issue, as they typically do, after they add all sorts of unacceptable riders to the legislation.

Read: Plastic Gun Law Sunset: The Next Big Fight? »

Posted in 2nd Amendment, Politics | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

Predictable: Medicaid Expansion Could Cause Bigger Doc Shortage

By William Teach November 29, 2013 – 6:54 am

As it is, there is already a dearth of doctors and medical facilities that accept Medicaid. Why?

(NY Times) Dr. Ted Mazer is one of the few ear, nose and throat specialists in this region who treat low-income people on Medicaid, so many of his patients travel long distances to see him.

But now, as California’s Medicaid program is preparing for a major expansion under President Obama’s health care law, Dr. Mazer says he cannot accept additional patients under the government insurance program for a simple reason: It does not pay enough.

And there it is. I know liberals like to think otherwise (except for those liberals who are in the medical profession), but medical professionals aren’t in business to lose money. They have huge costs to run their businesses, much less the student loans. They won’t stay in business if they lose lots and lots of money.

“It’s a bad situation that is likely to be made worse,” he said.

His view is shared by many doctors around the country. Medicaid for years has struggled with a shortage of doctors willing to accept its low reimbursement rates and red tape, forcing many patients to wait for care, particularly from specialists like Dr. Mazer.

Yet in just five weeks, millions of additional Americans will be covered by the program, many of them older people with an array of health problems. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that nine million people will gain coverage through Medicaid next year alone. In many of the 26 states expanding the program, the newly eligible have been flocking to sign up.

The primary “success” of Obamacare since the Exchanges went live is the huge number of people who have been put on Medicaid. They’re not getting traditional insurance as they apply, which is surely what most were attempting to sign up for. The number of docs who accept Medicaid is already low, and many will either refuse to accept any more Medicaid patients, or only accept a few. This means long, long waits to see medical professionals for Medicaid patients.

As for this being in the NY Times, now they tell us. But, who could have predicted that Obamacare would create long waiting lines and limited medical facilities? Oh, that’s right, everyone who cast a critical eye at the legislation.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

Read: Predictable: Medicaid Expansion Could Cause Bigger Doc Shortage »

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If All You See…(Turkey Day Edition)

By William Teach November 28, 2013 – 1:00 pm

…is an evil fridge holding an evil turkey which cause Bad Weather, you might just be a Warmist, and should spread awareness to all of your evil climate denying relatives as you eat the turkey

The blog of the day is 1389, with some Thanksgiving cartoons.

We also have, Thanksgiving-wise (these are what was posted when I wrote this early morning)

Now, go eat, drink, be merry, be thankful. But, be climate change conciseness. Remember, any Bad Weather is Your Fault!

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Hey, Should We Rethink Turkey On Thankgiving ‘Cause Climate Change?

By William Teach November 28, 2013 – 9:08 am

You didn’t think I would forget to find links between Hotcoldwetdry and Thanksgiving, did you? Silly you

Should we rethink Turkey this Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is almost here, bringing with it the usual choices about which foods to buy. These choices are most often determined by its price, taste, and whether or not it will impress our relatives. It rarely occurs to us to think about from where our turkey and other foods come—perhaps because, if we do think about such things, it makes us very uncomfortable.

But it should occur to us. Especially if we claim the name “Christian” and profess to care about how our actions impact others, especially the most vulnerable.

Yes, sadly this article is posted in the Washington Post’s “Faith” section

But if welfare of vulnerable animals isn’t enough to move you to resist factory farms, consider that our support of them also has devastating implications for human beings.

The recent typhoon which devastated the Philippines is being called the biggest storm in history—with the frighting expectation of even stronger storms to come. Why? Climate change is making our oceans warmer, and climate scientists predict that this increased energy will make our most powerful storms today seem rather ordinary.

Scary, right? This can move even the most skeptical person to change the way they live. Are you driving a fuel efficient car? Great. Taking fewer long distance vacations? Wonderful. But it is even more important for our world’s ecological integrity that you refuse to support factory farms. The emissions from such farms—including the colossal amount of feces produced by 50 billion animals—is worse for carbon levels than all the cars and planes in the world combined. Though it may be difficult to comprehend, there is a causal relationship between the meat we buy and eat, and the strength of the storms which pound the cities of developing countries 8,000 miles away.

We’re dooooomed because we you ate turkey. Have a good dinner, you evil deniers!!!!!

Oh, but I’m not stopping there, you Bad Weather creating deniers

Can You Talk Turkey With Your Climate-Change-Denying Relatives This Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is coming and you know what that means, folks: dinner with your climate-change-denying relatives. (snip)

But as unpleasant as it can be, and as much as you might want to avoid the topic, I’m a firm believer that you can find ways to have a discussion with even the most hardened skeptics of climate science. I don’t think you can do that by peppering them with the latest climate science. That’s not going to work. What you can do, however, is find ways to connect the issue to values that your relatives already hold.

The link provides some helpful tips and a video, all so you can annoy your family with “climate change” talking points once you get done annoying them with Obamacare talking points. Provided they haven’t banished you to a different room. Or a motel.

Read: Hey, Should We Rethink Turkey On Thankgiving ‘Cause Climate Change? »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming, Unhinged Tools | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Happy Thanksgiving Pinup!

By William Teach November 28, 2013 – 7:57 am

Read: Happy Thanksgiving Pinup! »

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When Presidents Lie

By William Teach November 27, 2013 – 2:12 pm

The Politico’s Gary Bauer has an interesting story about When Presidents Lie, which wonders if Obama can recover. The answer is “probably not”

For Richard M. Nixon, it was “I am not a crook,” for George H. W. Bush it was “Read my lips: no new taxes” and for Bill Clinton it was “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”

Big presidential lies take many forms. What they all share is the potential to sever the bond of trust between a president and the people he was elected to serve—and therefore to destroy a presidency.

And while it may lack the intrigue of Watergate or the Monica Lewinsky imbroglio, “If you like your plan, you can keep it” may very well have a similar effect on Obama: effectively ending his presidency more than three years before it officially concludes.

Here’s a difference: the lies of Nixon and Clinton did not do actual harm to the American People. With Clinton, liberals were able to turn the impeachment around and increase his popularity a bit (remember, Clinton was impeached for lying to a federal grand jury, not his “sexual relations” comment, among other charges). Bush’s lie, which I won’t defend, raised people’s taxes a little bit. Obama’s lie involves most of the citizens of this country.

Also mentioned is Lyndon Johnson’s lie about the Gulf Of Tonkin.

Big presidential lies often prove fatal because, as Eric Alterman wrote in his book When Presidents Lie, “In almost all cases, the problem or issue that gives rise to the lie refuses to go away, even while the lie complicates the president’s ability to address it. He must now address not only the problem itself, but also the ancillary problem his lie has created.”

We can certainly expect the liberal MSM to let the lies die, but they will be back come the 2014 mid-terms, aimed at the Democrats who said the same lies, and linking all Democrats who voted for Obamacare directly with Obama’s lies (this is presupposing that Republicans have the cajones to push it).

Really, trust in Obama is gone, and by his own making. Sure, his Base will never give up on him, at least not till the lies come back and directly affect themselves. The big question is, will the media give up on Obama, and, if not turn on him, like they did with Jimmy Carter, at least refuse to carry his water.

PS: I wrote this post Tuesday morning, never got around to posting it, ans noticed that Ace is discussing how the MSM seem to be excusing Obama’s lies.

Read: When Presidents Lie »

Posted in Barry Obama | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach November 27, 2013 – 1:00 pm

…is horrible concrete, probably at Gumball’s house (hey, he’s the one who brought up concrete), which causes pre-Thanksgiving storms that never happened before CO2 went about 350ppm, you might be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Lonely Conservative, who really made me laugh with the Obamacare Rap, (which was surely deemed raaaaacist by liberals, who have no sense of humor, unless it involves violence against conservatives).

Read: If All You See… »

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

More Warmist Thanksgiving Madness

By William Teach November 27, 2013 – 11:12 am

The insanity continues. And, just think, they’ll be able to start whining about Christmas in less than a week!

3 Things To Think About Before Buying Your Thanksgiving Turkey

Thanksgiving is time for celebration of family, football, and friends, sandwiched between platters of turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. But when you head out to pick up those last minute ingredients for your Thanksgiving feast, you may want to consider just how much food won’t get eaten at your table.

3. Reducing Food Waste Brings Environmental Benefits

Improving the efficiency of food production and consumption will help people and the planet. Agriculture is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions—which is the main driver of man-made global warming–with nitrous oxide from fertilizer and carbon dioxide from plowing fields accounting for roughly 10 percent of global emissions.

One unexpected benefit of reducing food loss and waste would be to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. An FAO report from September found that food loss and waste are responsible for about 3.3 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year. That’s about one-half of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions (based on 2011 levels).

Read: More Warmist Thanksgiving Madness »

Posted in Global Warming, Liberal World | 7 Comments | Trackback URL

Supreme Court Accepts Obamacare Religious Freedom Suit

By William Teach November 27, 2013 – 8:23 am

This has driven Progressives to their typical barking moonbat level 10 status

(The Hill) The Obama administration faces a tough task in convincing the Supreme Court to rule in favor of ObamaCare’s contraception mandate, according to legal experts.

They say Chief Justice John Roberts’s court, which upheld the health law in a landmark 2012 decision, has generally set a high bar for limiting religious rights.

In addition, Justice Anthony Kennedy, often the court’s swing vote, authored a 1993 decision that exempted a religious group from following laws it said were contradictory with its beliefs.

The Supreme Court announced on Tuesday that it would consider the case, possibly in its spring term.

While Hobby Lobby and other businesses opposed to the mandate don’t have a slam dunk case, experts said it will be tough to convince the court that the federal government can order businesses to pay for contraception coverage that goes against their owners’ religious beliefs.

Many news outlets are framing this in terms of Citizens United and “corporate personhood”, but that has nothing to do with the issue

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The 1st is about what Congress cannot do. It restricts them. Nowhere is any difference made between citizens, groups, and companies.

https://twitter.com/WilliamTeach/status/405416642097594368

That’s an important point: if Team Obama loses this suit, it will not harm the “Affordable” Care Act in the least. Nowhere in the ACA is there a mandate for contraception, sterilization, nor abortifacients. These mandates were part of the rule making process, as the ACA gave the head of Health and Human Services enormous power and latitude to craft how the law works. If Hobby Lobby et al win the case, all this will mean will be that the rule has to be rolled back to not include any who have a religious objection, if not see the rule tossed completely. I’m going to place my bet and say that SCOTUS determines the former.

Read: Supreme Court Accepts Obamacare Religious Freedom Suit »

Posted in 1st Amendment, Healthcare | 1 Comment | Trackback URL
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