Are You Psyched For Obama Speaking On The 5th Anniversary Of The Financial Crisis?

By William Teach September 15, 2013 – 7:35 am

If you thought his speech on Syria was bad, wait till you hear this one

(The Hill) President Obama will speak Monday from the White House Rose Garden to mark the five-year anniversary of the financial crisis and highlight his administration’s response to it.

In other words, he’ll try and fist bump himself, and perhaps pivot to the economy for the 20th time. He’ll probably talk about all the super duper great programs and initiatives he and Democrats rammed through.

In Monday’s speech, Obama is expected to pressure Congress to take greater steps to boost the middle class amid a lingering unemployment crisis. Democrats have promoted legislation they say will address the issue – including bills to hike infrastructure spending, increase taxes on companies that outsource and raise the minimum wage – but most of those are non-starters with GOP leaders in the House.

The GOP has passed dozens of pieces of legislation regarding the economy, which are languishing without a committee hearing nor a floor vote in the Democrat controlled Senate. Obama and the Democrats want more of the same that has so far failed. The Guardian noted 10 reasons why the US economy is stuck

  1. wages are falling
  2. the middle class is losing ground and getting hollowed out
  3. McJobs are taking over
  4. capital is hammering labor
  5. unemployment is twice what they say
  6. America is going part-time – and not for fun
  7. workers aren’t working
  8. union wages are harder to come by. Much
  9. the cost of college is skyrocketing
  10. inequality is getting worse

And those are from a heavily left leaning paper. Zero Hedge offer 40 frightening facts on the economy. Interestingly, most forget to mention “Obama” as a major reason why this is the worst recession recovery since the Great Depression. It’s not just his pitiful policies which might make sense in a college bull session, but fail in the real world. It’s what he threatens. All of this “I’ll take action unilaterally” stuff, the threats to raise taxes, the threats from him and his EPA to “do something” about “carbon pollution”, etc and so on, they all create a negative business environment, an environment where confidence has gone out the window. There’s always at least a bit of uncertainty in the private sector, but they do not need government turning it up to 11.

But, it’ll be interesting to watch Obama chest thump himself Monday. Fortunately, he’ll have plenty of people sitting at home, having given up on the jobs market in despair, available to watch his speech, which will also surely be long on self congratulation and Blamestorming others.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: Are You Psyched For Obama Speaking On The 5th Anniversary Of The Financial Crisis? »

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Good News: CFPB Will Only Monitor 80% Of Credit Card Transactions

By William Teach September 14, 2013 – 4:46 pm

Seriously, folks, what could possibly go wrong?

(Washington Examiner) Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officials are seeking to monitor four out of every five U.S. consumer credit card transactions this year — up to 42 billion transactions – through a controversial data-mining program, according to documents obtained by the Washington Examiner.

A CFPB strategic planning document for fiscal years 2013-17 describes the “markets monitoring” program through which officials aim to monitor 80 percent of all credit card transactions in 2013.

This apparently severely violates the scope of what is allowed under Dodd-Frank which created the CFPB, not too mention the possibility for all sorts of issues, depending on how much data they collect. Will they see the CC numbers, expiration data, and CV code? Will they track what people are purchasing? What will they do with the data?

But the hearing was dominated by charges of an agency operating beyond its legal authority, rife with conflicts of interest, and mismanagement.

Hensarling opened the hearing by noting that CFPB “is designed to operate outside the usual system of checks and balances that applies to every other government agency.”

Wait, a government agency acting in this manner? Who woulda thunk it? Don’t you feel better about your CC info in their hands?

Read: Good News: CFPB Will Only Monitor 80% Of Credit Card Transactions »

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If All You See…

By William Teach September 14, 2013 – 1:00 pm

…is an evil fossil fueled vehicle that is even worse because it is old, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Gateway Pundit, with a post on Democrats destroying a 9/11 memorial.

Read: If All You See… »

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

Having Solved Their Murder Problem, Chicago Takes On Big Energy Users

By William Teach September 14, 2013 – 12:37 pm

Guest Post by William Teach of Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.

There have been over 300 murders in Chicago this year, which doesn’t count all the attempted murders and other violence in the Windy City, and kids are scared to go to school as they pass through gang wars in safe passage areas, but, hey, priorities

(The Blaze) Building managers in Chicago are complaining they will be put through “public shaming” after the city council voted to require them to publicly disclose their energy use in the city’s bid to cut it by 30 percent by 2020, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Beginning next year, Chicago buildings will submit annual reports regarding their energy efficiency and could be compared to their peers.

Only buildings larger than 50,000 square feet will be required to report data to a program the Tribune compared to TurboTax run through the EPA, called Energy Star Portfolio Manager. (snip)

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel doesn’t see a problem with this.

“Do you check the mileage before you purchase a car? Do you check the energy-efficiency of a utility before you purchase it? Do you do comparative? What is wrong with providing people information?” Emanuel said, according to the Tribune.

Sure, there’s absolutely no problem with a dictatorial government forcing their beliefs on citizens and private entities and publicly shaming them, which could cause a loss in revenue and customers all while publishing private data which is none of Government’s business, and probably for the Cult Of Gore.

Read: Having Solved Their Murder Problem, Chicago Takes On Big Energy Users »

Posted in Democrats, Energy, Enviroweenies | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Lomborg: “Don’t blame climate change for extreme weather”

By William Teach September 14, 2013 – 7:09 am

I’m shocked that the Washington Post has allowed this op-ed to be published, which blows away so many of the myths of extreme weather and “climate change”, many of which have been exposed time and again by many Climate Realists

One of the most persistent claims in the climate debate is that global warming leads to more extreme weather. Green groups and even such respectable outlets as Scientific American declare that “extreme weather is a product of climate change.”

And the meme seems irresistible as a political shortcut to action. President Obama has explicitly linked a warming climate to “more extreme droughts, floods, wildfires and hurricanes.” The White House warned this summer of “increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather events that come with climate change.”

Yet this is not supported by science. “General statements about extremes are almost nowhere to be found in the literature but seem to abound in the popular media,” climate scientist Gavin Smith of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies said last month. “It’s this popular perception that global warming means all extremes have to increase all the time, even though if anyone thinks about that for 10 seconds they realize that’s nonsense.”

Global warming is real. It is partly man-made. It will make some things worse and some things better. Overall, the long-run impact will be negative. But some of the most prominent examples of extreme weather are misleading, and some weather events are becoming less extreme.

Lomborg isn’t exactly a “denier”. His take on anthropogenic causation is somewhat stronger than most who are on the Climate Realist side (as I’ve written many times, I figure Man takes a 10-15% responsibility, mostly through agriculture, landfills, and the UHI). Notice he thinks the long term impact will be negative. Is that true? Depends who you ask. Modern society grew during a certain range of temperatures, and warmer (and much cooler) weather could have negative impacts. Yes, we do need to adapt.

Global warming, in general, will mean higher temperatures. This causes more heat waves — more extreme weather. But it also causes fewer cold waves — less extreme weather. Many more people die from excessive cold than excessive heat, so fewer people will die from cold and heat in the future. By mid-century, researchers estimated in 2006, that means about 1.4 million fewer deaths per year. In the continental United States, heat waves in the past decade exceeded the norm by 10 percent, but the number of cold waves fell 75 percent.

Global warming will also cause more heavy rain; this is clearly more extreme. But warming will also help alleviate water scarcity — less extreme. About 1.2 billion fewer people are expected to live with water scarcity by the end of the century because of increased precipitation.

So he’s saying there is good and bad in AGW. He even takes the Warmist position that there will be fewer hurricanes but that they’ll be stronger. The fact is, climate has always changed (climate being the long term averages), and weather can change from year to year based on mostly natural conditions. Colorado flooding? We were told just a few years ago that there would be a permanent drought. Things change. When the climate eventually flips to a cool period the weather will do different things. Such is life on Earth.

Make sure to read the whole thing.

Read: Lomborg: “Don’t blame climate change for extreme weather” »

Posted in Collapsing Science, Global Warming | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Washington Post: Obama Isn’t A Catasrophic Mess, This Is All Standard Negotiation On Syria

By William Teach September 14, 2013 – 6:41 am

Here’s one of those articles I promised would be forthcoming which would show that no, Obama’s not a screwup, that he’s not getting played and owned by Putin and Assad, in fact, he’s super awesome and things are going according to plan

(Washington Post) Watching the maneuvering between the United States, Russia and Syria over the plan to remove Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s chemical weapons, it can look like a catastrophic mess. No one seems to be on remotely the same page, everyone is making crazy demands and it looks functionally impossible that everyone could actually reach an agreement.

Here’s the thing to understand: Everything that happens now between these three countries is a negotiation. Everything. The United States wants to see Assad’s chemical weapons removed as surely and as quickly as possible. Russia wants to protect Assad from Western military strikes and, if possible, from Western meddling of any form. Assad wants to keep the West uninvolved in his war.

Almost every single thing you’re seeing these three countries do right now, no matter how crazy it looks, is about getting as close to their desired outcome as possible. But these are high-stakes negotiations, which means they’re starting from maximalist positions, making crazy, unfulfillable demands, trying to game the process. That’s actually all normal. It’s just part of the game.

Put Max Fisher in the Obama Fan Boy Club, a club that is devoid of any sense of reality. He goes on to discuss Putin’s op-ed in the NY Times and how, no, it’s not giving Obama a massive wedgie followed by flushing his head in the toilet, it’s just an “act of public diplomacy”. How Russia supposedly backed off their own plan to get some horse-trading done (why would they do that when Obama seems perfectly willing to give Putin what he wants? Heck, he blew off Poland over the missile shield in a heartbeat). Then there’s Assad, who said he’d give up the chemical weapons if the US stopped arming the rebels (mostly made of Islamists). That’s not standard negotiation, that’s rubbing Obama’s face in the fact that Obama has made America very weak. No little pissant should be able to dictate terms to the USA.

And then there’s going to the United Nations, which Obama may or may not do, which Fisher finds to be Brilliant!!! And Obama is sorta keeping the potential for military strikes on (between rounds of golf) to pressure Assad.

The fact is, US Obama foreign policy is a mess, with contradictory messages from Obama and Secretary of State Kerry, and they’re always trying to play catch-up. They’re getting played by Putin and Assad. This is not standard negotiation. When Reagan gave his “tear down this wall” speech, that was not standard negotiation: that was a strong-arm tactic, blindsiding Gorbachev. Putin is not negotiating, he’s playing Obama while attempting to turn Russia into a powerhouse and diminishing America thanks to Obama’s weakness.

While a deal will probably get done (there’s a breaking news banner at Fox about the US and Russia reaching a deal on a framework), only a complete Obama zombie would think this is standard negotiation, and that Obama doesn’t come off looking weak and a fool internationally.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: Washington Post: Obama Isn’t A Catasrophic Mess, This Is All Standard Negotiation On Syria »

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Heat Pumps, Insulation Now Considered Bad For “Climate Change”, And Must Be Regulated By Government

By William Teach September 13, 2013 – 2:55 pm

You’ve probably read about air conditioning being deemed Bad for Hotcoldwetdry, at least in how it applies to Other People who live in 3rd World Shitholes Developing Nations wanting it. I’ve probably mentioned at some point that refrigerators are also Bad, but mostly I note that the ice maker in your fridge is Bad, just for the silliness factor. But, it gets even funnier, as now even insulation and heat pumps (often used with air conditioning, fridges, and pools) are Bad For “Climate Change”

Explained in 90 seconds: Your fridge is accelerating climate change — but it doesn’t have to

The outward statecraft of the recent G20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, was dominated by disagreements over Syria. But behind the scenes, leaders were busy agreeing on something they rarely find common ground on: climate change. Thirty-five nations and the European Union decided to curb hydrofluorocarbons, a set of powerful heat-trapping gases used in refrigeration, air conditioning, heat pumps, and insulation. This follows a deal earlier this year between China and the United States, in which President Obama and President Xi agreed to limit these greenhouse gases.

Warmists/Enviroweenies have already managed to get CFCs banned because of the supposed damage to the ozone layer, now they want HFCs banned, without any real replacement, other than living like it’s 1492, to stop the global temperature from virtually flatlining for over 15 years rising dozens of degrees by 2100.

Read: Heat Pumps, Insulation Now Considered Bad For “Climate Change”, And Must Be Regulated By Government »

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

If All You See…

By William Teach September 13, 2013 – 1:00 pm

…is a sun that feels brighter because someone used hairspray, but still doesn’t drive climate, you might just be a New Climate Denier

The blog of the day is Victory Girls Blog, with a post on Putin schooling Obama.

Read: If All You See… »

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

Hooray! California OKs Licenses For Illegals, Restricts Gun Ownership

By William Teach September 13, 2013 – 11:30 am

It’s hard to believe what an upside down nation we have become, especially in the People’s Republik Of California

(LA Times) Laboring late into the night Thursday to finish their work for the year, state lawmakers acted to allow many more immigrants who are in the country illegally to obtain California driver’s licenses, a measure Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to sign.

The driver’s license measure would significantly expand the number of immigrants in the country illegally who could have such documents. Some young, undocumented residents are already eligible for licenses under state law, if they qualify for temporary federal work permits.

“This bill will enable millions of people to get to work safely and legally,” Brown said in a statement issued immediately after the bill passed. “Hopefully, it will send a message to Washington that immigration reform is long past due.”

I’m sure you’re thinking exactly what I’m thinking: there should be no need for them to get to work safely and legally, because they shouldn’t be in the country in the first place. Interestingly, the licenses will have a special designation of DP (drivers privilege) yet no one is pitching a fit, like they did for North Carolina’s plan.

Legislators also moved to expand the state’s already stringent gun controls, voting to outlaw sales of rifles with detachable magazines and enlarge the list of crimes that result in a 10-year ban on possession of firearms.

Under SB 374, by Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), those who already own assault weapons without fixed magazines would be required to register them by July 1, 2014. A second bill, by state Sen. Lois Wolk (D-Davis), would expand the list of crimes that could disqualify Californians from possessing guns.

The bill would restrict ownership of some 95% of rifles in production, ones which are rarely, if ever, used in crime, but used quite a bit for hunting. I’d love to tell you what the expanded list of crimes are, but the web address for the bill, and, the root address for the website to see all legislative action, is down. So is the website for the California legislature. And, the website for the California governor. Sheesh, it seems every website run by the government of California is down. I guess someone forgot to pay the bill.

Read: Hooray! California OKs Licenses For Illegals, Restricts Gun Ownership »

Posted in 2nd Amendment, Illegal Immigration | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Met Office: Hey, Did We Mention That One Year Of Arctic Cooling Isn’t Significant?

By William Teach September 13, 2013 – 9:01 am

You really do have to love Warmists. When one little weather event occurs, they hyperventilate and claim that this is proof, PROOOOOOOOOOOOF!!!!!!! that Someone Else driving a fossil fueled vehicle and flushing their toilet too much caused it. When things do not work out, their first step is to say “meh”

(Met Office)Arctic summer sea ice extent has a lot of year to year variability because it can be heavily influenced by weather patterns:

– temperatures naturally vary from one year to the next;
– the amount of cloud can affect the amount of surface melting;
– summer storms can also break up ice, which can accelerate the melting process;
– settled conditions can be more conducive to ice forming;
– winds may act to spread out the ice or push it together.

Due to this high degree of variability, it’s important to look past short term fluctuations in sea ice extent and look at the longer records.

Hmm, so nature can affect being colder, but not being warmer?

The seasonal minimum (September) ice extent has declined at the faster rate of 11% per decade, and this rate of decline has accelerated in the past 15 years.

Since there’s been a pause in warming for over 15 years, might there be something else at play?

So all the evidence suggests the long-term decline of Arctic sea ice continues.

2013 was supposed to be the year the Arctic was ice free. Warmists prognostication and “computer models” stated that this huge growth couldn’t happen. Step two will be to provide talking points stating that this is Arctic rebound was completely within what they predicted

“We know sea ice extent is going to vary from year to year due to weather conditions and that’s not at all inconsistent with the overall decline in extent. You wouldn’t expect to see records broken year after year, so this ‘recovery’ is not unexpected.

Step three will be to Blame Mankind when the ice continues to grow.

Read: Met Office: Hey, Did We Mention That One Year Of Arctic Cooling Isn’t Significant? »

Posted in Collapsing Science, Global Warming, New Climate Deniers | 1 Comment | Trackback URL
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