Hooray! Nearly 8K Young Warmists Travelled To Power Shift

By William Teach October 25, 2013 – 10:41 am

They needed more instruction in agitation and whining

(USA Today) Students from more than 720 campuses and communities attended Power Shift 2013 last weekend in order to discuss climate, energy and environmental justice issues.

Power Shift, hosted by Energy Action Coalition, is a biannual convergence of young activists that seeks to help further the movement to end fracking (the process of fracturing rock layers very deep within the earth in order to extract natural gas or oil), create a clean energy future and divest for fossil fuels.

For the first time, Power Shift was held in Pittsburgh rather than its usual location in Washington D.C.

The weekend offered workshops, keynote speakers and more than 200 panels on how to run campaigns that promote a clean and just energy economy on their own campuses or within their own communities.

Apparently, no one attending Power Shift noticed the hypocrisy.

https://twitter.com/WilliamTeach/status/391960907061796864

In all fairness, what they’re agitating for is for schools to divest from the same fossil fuels that the Young Deluded Warmists use to travel to and from class. And Power Shift.

Read: Hooray! Nearly 8K Young Warmists Travelled To Power Shift »

Posted in Climahypocrites, Global Warming | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

Insurance Cancellations Soar Above Obamacare Applications

By William Teach October 25, 2013 – 8:45 am

It seems to be a daily thing, finding out that some insurance company is sending out notices of cancellation due to provisions of the Affordable Care Act

(Daily Caller) Hundreds of thousands of Americans who purchase their own health insurance have received cancellation notices since August because the plans do not meet Obamacare’s requirements.

The number of cancellation notices greatly exceed the number of Obamacare enrollees.

Insurance carrier Florida Blue sent out 300,000 cancellation notices, or 80 percent of the entire state’s individual coverage policies, Kaiser Health News reports. California’s Kaiser Permanente canceled 160,000 plans — half of its insurance plans in the state — while Blue Shield of California sent 119,000 notices in mid-September alone.

Two major insurance carriers in Pennsylvania, Insurance Highmark in Pittsburgh and Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia plan to cancel 20 percent and 45 percent of their total plans, respectively.

Nearly 800,000 New Jersey residents’ health-care plans will not longer exist in 2014, forcing insurers to create new ones for individuals and small business owners that hew to the Obamacare’s new regulations, The New Jersey Star Ledger found in early October.

That’s just a portion of those who’ve seen their plans ended. There are cancellation notices going out all of the country. Multiple carriers in Colorado cancelled plans, catching Michelle Malkin in the crossfire.

More Americans have lost their individual health coverage in Florida and California than have gotten past the login screen on HealthCare.gov, according to The Washington Post, which reports that 476,000 applications have “been started,” but not completed. HealthCare.gov’s dysfunctional website has helped enrollment grind to almost a complete halt.

Of course, we do not know how many have actually obtained insurance through the Exchanges, both national and state run. The Chicago Tribune notices the same thing, and notes

That is far north of half a million lives dropped due to new ObamaCare regulations in just 3 states. That doesn’t even include recent reports in North Carolina of Blue Cross planning to cancel a sizable portion of their plans, or carriers doing the same in Illinois or Nebraska.

One has to wonder how many other carriers will soon be dropping the hammer on consumers. When all is said and done, 16 million Americans could lose their health insurance thanks to the Obamacare provisions. And that’s before we get to the time when businesses start dropping their own sponsored coverage prior to the employer mandate kicking in come 2015.

Read: Insurance Cancellations Soar Above Obamacare Applications »

Posted in Healthcare | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

DOJ Fails To Have Benghazi Suspects On “Reward For Justice” List

By William Teach October 25, 2013 – 8:22 am

Just a few days after the September 11, 2012 attack on our consulate, CIA annex, and people in Benghazi Mr. Obama had this to say

“What I want all of you to know is that we are going to bring those who killed our fellow Americans to justice,” Obama said at a campaign speech in Golden, Colorado referring to the death of four Americans including the US Ambassador to Libya.

“I want people around the world to hear me: To all those who would do us harm, no act of terror will go unpunished. It will not dim the light of the values that we proudly present to the rest of the world. No act of violence shakes the resolve of the United States of America,” he vowed.

No one should be particularly surprised that the comments were made during yet another campaign speech post-Benghazi. He has since talked about “bringing them to justice” multiple times in the over one year since 4 Americans, including our Ambassador, were murdered by Islamic jihadis. Meanwhile (and wait till you get a view of the administration rationale)

(Fox News) The State Department’s “Rewards for Justice” program — which offers multimillion-dollar payouts for tips leading to wanted terrorists — does not include suspects in the Benghazi terror attack.

The State Department has not offered an explanation as to why those individuals are not on the list. Pressed by Fox News and The Associated Press on Thursday, spokeswoman Marie Harf suggested the important thing was that the Obama administration is resolved to find those suspects.

“This is nothing at all to do with politics. We’ve made crystal clear that we want to find these people and bring them to justice,” Harf said. “Whether we pay a couple million dollars isn’t the point — the point is we believe it’s a priority … and whether they are on a website or not doesn’t change that.”

That’s some amazing spin, wouldn’t you say? Glad to know that Team Obama is taking the murder of Americans so seriously. Adam Gadahn, the American born mouthpiece of Al Qaeda, has a $5 million price-tag on his head for information leading to his capture or killing. But, don’t fully blame Eric Holder for this one

The decision to include an alleged terrorist in the program is made by the State Department after consulting with the FBI, CIA, Justice Department and National Security Council staff.

Paging John Kerry. Will some intrepid reporter ask him why there are no Benghazi suspects on the Rewards for Justice program list? Kudos to the AP’s Matt Lee for asking Harf questions in the first place, and trying to keep her from playing the spin game

As Harf started to cite what President Barack Obama has said in the past, Lee interrupted her.

“Matt, come on,” she said. “Can I finish my sentence please before you try to interrupt me?”

“Well, the problem is you’re trying to answer my question by not answering it,” Lee shot back.

That’s just one portion of a reporter attempting to get an actual answer. The Washington Free Beacon has the full transcript.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: DOJ Fails To Have Benghazi Suspects On “Reward For Justice” List »

Posted in Democrats, War On Terrorism | 7 Comments | Trackback URL

Contractors Blame Team Obama For Website Failures

By William Teach October 24, 2013 – 3:27 pm

I watched some of the hearing this morning, but had to turn it off after too much bloviating from elected officials. One thing that came out

(AP) The leading contractors on the Obama administration’s troubled health insurance website told Congress Thursday that the government failed to thoroughly test the complicated system before it went live.

Executives of CGI Federal, which built the federal HealthCare.gov website serving 36 states, and QSSI, which designed the part that helps verify applicants’ income and other personal details, testified under oath before the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee.

The contractors said they each tested their own components independently but that the Health and Human Services department was responsible for testing the whole system from end to end. That kind of testing didn’t happen until the last couple of weeks before the system’s Oct. 1 launch.

What we were hearing is that no one was testing how the various portions would work together. Which, shockingly, was a big problem.

Let’s consider: there are supposedly 500 million lines of code for healthcare.never, er, .gov. To put that in perspective, it’s reported that the massively popular game Skyrim approaches 47 million lines of code. Skyrim is a massive game, with massive amounts of colors, clothes, weapons, characters, dialogue, choices, audio. You have trees, buildings, animals, grass, hills, mountains, weather. Moving water. Go take a look at some pictures or video of it. I’ll wait.

OK, you back? Great. All that mega-awesome is built on the Elder Scrolls series which goes back to 1994, with the release of the first game. And built on all the other games that the developers made. It’s a massive feat. And 46+ million lines of code.

Yet, healthcare.fail, er, .gov, is 500 million lines. Consider what it takes to just run Pirate’s Cove, or most other blogs.

There are essentially 3 types of blogs: WordPress based, Moveable Type based, and Blogspot. For the first two, they can be self hosted on either a computer or through a company (I use Dreamhost), or via WordPress.com/Typepad (for MT). Like I said, I’m through Dreamhost, and use WordPress. Have since about 2006 or 2007. In order to run this blog, here’s how it works

  • There’s the server, owned and run by DH. Every once in a while, I have to reset it. For big things, I contact tech support. Lines of code for that
  • There’s the SQL database, and all it’s functions and code
  • The WordPress installation
  • The theme itself
  • The plugins
  • The widgets
  • The graphics. Some of those graphics are located within the Pirate’s Cove WordPress (WP) install, some from Photobucket, some from my Gallery website, also hosted at DH
  • Then there are videos embedded, usually from Youtube
  • Links to other websites

This all has to work together. For the WP install itself, there are over 30 files, mostly PHP ones. Then 4 different folders that contain the themes, plugins, some graphics, and more.

Now, I’m no computer or coding guru. I have been using computers since you had to use a 5 1/4 inch floppy disk which ran off a mainframe. I’m still pretty good. Consider the theme you see.

One of the reasons I moved from Typepad to a WordPress blog was control, making it look like I wanted. I’ve had lots of themes. Back in the more freewheeling early times (mid 2000’s) people changed their themes all the time. I did. I find a theme I like and tear it apart, changing colors, the header, the footer. It probably took me about 10 hours to make the current theme look like I want it to. I’ve done this many times with previous ones. Many of the colors are very different from the original theme. Here’s what Violator looks like originally. I like a fluid width 3 column theme. I want the main column, where the posts are, to load before the sidebar. That way, if something is wrong in the sidebar, or goes belly up, the posts are still readable. I’ve widened the sidebars. Had to change graphics to match. See the skull at the beginning of each blockquote? Added.

On the sidebars, they are mostly controlled by widgets. There’s code for those. Some code is controlled by a plugin, allowing me to do special things. See the ones that say “click for blogroll”? That’s a special script that requires a special plugin for the widget. And code in the header. It has to be done exactly right, or it doesn’t work.

See the graphic at the top right? That’s uses a random rotating code that gives random pictures. Around Christmas I’ll use a similar set of photos with Christmas themes. If I do not spell the name of the picture names exactly correctly, they will not show.

I used to have a really awesome theme called Fall Season. But, see, it was a 2 column theme. I tore it up, turned it into a 3 column. Then, WordPress made a big change, and it no longer worked. Had to change themes. Changes to WP cause some things to Not Work. I’m always leery about big WP updates, which can Break Things. I used to have a really great mobile version plugin, updated some plugins, now it will not work.

There are plugins that the reader never sees. Things like Akismet and Bad Behavior, which deal with spam. Banhammer, which bans certain things, including certain words, IPs, and email addresses. See those emoticons? That’s a plugin called Mona Lisa. Whenever I update it I have to take a screenshot, because it will wipe out the added code for the emoticons I added. If I don’t re-add them correctly, past usage will change.

I’ve used plugins for video embed in the past. If you go way in the archive, some vids will no longer work, because those plugins are deactivated, what with tech moving forward. There was a plugin for “lighthouse”, where if you clicked on a picture it would become large. Deactivated (used a lot of server resources).

I could go on and on and on, but I think you get the point. And I’ve gotten this post out of my head. If one little mistake is made, things Might Not Work. It could be that you don’t see a graphic. It could be that Things Get Broken. Maybe the whole site doesn’t load. It could be as simple as dropping a < or > or / or “. A misspelling. It takes quite a bit to keep any website working correctly. There are lots of interconnected parts. The reason I like the main column to load first is because sidebars have scripts that are run by other sites. Like those ads and some others. If they’re down, could stop the rest from loading, at least till they time out.

In order to properly document how all this works would take hours and probably more than you want to read. And more than I want to write. But, everything has to work correctly.

When I’m developing a new theme, or looking to make a big change, I do it on my development site. An upgrade to WP? I do it there, first. Some changes you may not even notice. But it all has to work properly, including all the interconnections.

One might think I’m defending healthcare.blowdup, er, .gov. I’m not. They didn’t test, the interconnection is crap, and there are too many shoddy parts. If you’re reading this in Firefox, go to top of webpage, click on Tools, Web Developer, Page Source. Before hitting post, there are 2197 lines for the front page. Now go to healthcare.gov. 1639 lines. For that little bit. My front page has all the posts, links (there are lots of links withing the open/close scripts.) And that’s not even getting into all the interconnections to IRS, DHS, etc. It’s no wonder the website is a mess.

Finally, consider that in practice Obamacare insurance is going to have massive amounts of interconnections. They can’t get a website to work. Think the insurance and health care will work well? 500 million lines of code. Good luck.

Read: Contractors Blame Team Obama For Website Failures »

Posted in Healthcare | 10 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach October 24, 2013 – 1:00 pm

…is warmth created snow, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Last Tradition, with a post on what Obama wants to do with Marine caps.

Read: If All You See… »

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

Happy Birthday, Hurricane Wilma! The Last U.S. Landfalling Major Hurricane

By William Teach October 24, 2013 – 9:39 am

Hurricane Wilma turns 8 years old today, and she has had no siblings ever since. She made landfall on Cape Romano, Flordia, on October 24th, 2005 as a Category 3 hurricane.

Roger Pielke, Jr, noted back on September 9th, 2013, the times between major hurricanes is growing

2,878 days. The US major hurricane drought continues. This length of time is almost exactly twice as long as the previous “drought” since 1915 (which was 1975-1979).

Most hurricane prognosticators called for anywhere from 2-5 major hurricanes for the 2013 Atlantic season . They weren’t predicting landfalling, just formation. There hasn’t even been a category 2 formed this year. In fact, only two systems made it to Category 1 status. After the huge 2005 season, Warmists were telling us that there would be more and more hurricanes, just like 2005. Then, when activity dropped off, they said there would not be that many, but that they would be huge major hurricanes. Now that that notion has been obliterated, they’re either ignoring hurricanes as part of their “climate change” hysteria or claiming that “climate change” will now cause fewer, especially landfalling hurricanes.

Let’s also not forget that the US has only been hit with one hurricane since 2008, and it could be argued that Issac had dropped below hurricane status at landfall. Sandy was not a hurricane. What made Sandy so bad was a ….. cold front.

Read: Happy Birthday, Hurricane Wilma! The Last U.S. Landfalling Major Hurricane »

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

Report: Congressman Darrell Issa Has A Plan For Illegal Immigration

By William Teach October 24, 2013 – 9:21 am

Things that make you go “hmmmmmm”. Supposedly, Darrell Issa (R-Ca), will release a plan to deal with illegal immigrants, somewhat offering a pathway to legal status, a “come out of the shadows” plan, which would provide that legal status for 6 years. Let’s skip to the nuts and bolts of the plan

(Politico) Issa’s forthcoming legislation takes elements from similar legislation he introduced in December 2003, the Alien Accountability Act. The six-year period is intended to whittle down the undocumented immigrant population into several categories, such as immigrants with family ties to U.S. citizens or immigrants who want to participate in a guest-worker program.

Bringing undocumented immigrants out “of the shadows” would also help the government identify undocumented immigrants with a criminal background, who would be deported from the United States, Issa said.

“If somebody has a nexus that would reasonably allow them to become permanent residents and American citizen, we should allow them to do that,” Issa said. He added: “Our view is that long before six years, people would be in those categories heading toward some other pathway, in a guest worker program, or of course, have left the country.”

In other words, this is not some sort of massive “comprehensive” piece of legislation, which no one would have read, and would be so complicated and byzantine that no one would be really sure what it does, while also allowing the Executive Branch to make most of the decisions and regulations. In the case of the most recent “comprehensive immigration reform” bill, that would have resulted in effectively amnesty with little to no border security. This is more of a piecemeal type bill. Which Democrats do not want. The Politico story notes that House Dems have signed on to a bill similar to the Gang of 8 bill, minus any border security provisions.

Read: Report: Congressman Darrell Issa Has A Plan For Illegal Immigration »

Posted in Illegal Immigration | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Team Obama “Tweeks” Individual Mandate Due To Website “Glitches”

By William Teach October 24, 2013 – 9:03 am

This isn’t quite a case of a delay, as Republicans fought for as Plan B during Shutdown Theater

(Washington Post) The Obama administration confirmed to The Washington Post a little bit ago that it is indeed tweaking the way the individual mandate works as to not penalize anyone who purchases coverage during this first open enrollment period.

It’s not quite right to describe this as a delay of the individual mandate, or an extension of open enrollment. There will still be a requirement to carry insurance coverage in 2014, and open enrollment still ends on March 31, 2014 — two facts that are true now and were true yesterday.

Before getting to what the change is, two pieces of information are helpful to keep in mind. First is the open enrollment period: The health care law’s open enrollment period runs from Oct. 1, 2013 through March 31, 2014. During those six months, shoppers can purchase coverage through HealthCare.gov. On April 1 though, they’re out of luck — and have to wait until 2015 to purchase a health insurance plan.

Wait, wait, let’s stop there for a moment: what if someone wants to actually purchase health insurance in a different month? Are we being told they can’t? What if someone turns 26 in, say, June, and get kicked off their parent’s health insurance? Do they have to wait till January 1st, 2015? Which means they’ll be fined because they cannot get insurance through the Exchange.

(National Review) According to the Post, what the White House did, essentially, was to exempt from the individual mandate penalty anyone who enrolls in an acceptable plan by March 31 and maintains coverage for the rest of the year. The White House is claiming that the “timing hasn’t changed” and the “deadline for having insurance is March 31,” but this wasn’t the practical implication of the IRS’s final interpretation of the law.

This essentially extends the timing by 6 weeks. In contradiction to what The Law itself states. Oh, and it only applies to those who obtain insurance through the Exchange. So, if you get it elsewhere, you’ll be treated differently. Isn’t there something about equal protection under the law?

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: Team Obama “Tweeks” Individual Mandate Due To Website “Glitches” »

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

Was Fainting Human Prop A Fake?

By William Teach October 23, 2013 – 2:50 pm

Remember the lady who serendipitously fainted during Obama’s little infomercial? Patriot Lady contends it was all a bunch of mule fritters (via The Weekly Standard through Gumball Brains)

It is obvious that there are quite a few people involved in this latest fraud put out by the Whitehouse. Why did Obama think it was necessary to “catch” a fainting woman just when he said the words, “To free families from the pervasive fear that one illness….” And down she went? Well not actually down. She just weaved and wobbled a little and never quite fainted. And, consequently, Obama never actually caught her. He turned around and put his hand on her shoulder as if to steady her and turned back to the camera to make sure it got a clear shot of his “rescue” efforts.

Make sure to read the whole thing for her rational.

Is it a conspiracy theory? The “no, really, that’s nuts” type? Would anyone really put it past Team Obama to do this? The Lapdog Media certainly wouldn’t bother investigating or even “just wondering”. Team O had no problem spinning and concealing and confusing when it can to Benghazi. NSA. IRS. Fast and Furious. Spying on journalists. (Weird, 3rd time I’ve gone down this road today. Not planned).

What do you think? And for liberals, just think of all the theories you launched at Bush.

Read: Was Fainting Human Prop A Fake? »

Posted in Barry Obama | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach October 23, 2013 – 1:00 pm

…is a wonderful field that should be clear-cut and be replaced with solar panels, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is the Daley Gator, with a post on the top 5 Obamacare catastrophes the media refuses to cover.

Read: If All You See… »

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