D.C. Council Targets Wal-Mart With “Living Wage” Bill

Wal-Mart has long been in the crosshairs of Democrats, mostly because Wal-Mart refuses to allow unionization, along with its employees constantly voting against unionization. They let that hatred override the fact that Wal-Mart employees lots and lots of people, many of whom move up within the company. The D.C. council is no exception

(Washington Post) D.C. lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to a bill requiring some large retailers to pay their employees a 50 percent premium over the city’s minimum wage, a day after Wal-Mart warned that the law would jeopardize its plans in the city.

The retail giant had linked the future of at least three planned stores in the District to the proposal. But its ultimatum did not change any legislators’ minds. The 8 to 5 roll call matched the outcome of an earlier vote on the matter, taken before Wal-Mart’s warning.

“The question here is a living wage; it’s not whether Wal-Mart comes or stays,” said council member Vincent B. Orange (D-At Large), a lead backer of the legislation, who added that the city did not need to kowtow to threats. “We’re at a point where we don’t need retailers. Retailers need us.”

Wal-Mart had pretty much stated that they will not build any stores in D.C. if the council passed this legislation, which was meant to specifically target Wal-Mart. Said stores were going to be build in the poorest areas, ie, slums, of D.C. No other companies will be really required to provide the higher minimum wage

The D.C. Council bill would require retailers with corporate sales of $1 billion or more and operating in spaces 75,000 square feet or larger to pay their employees no less than $12.50 an hour. The city’s minimum wage is $8.25.

While the bill would apply to some other retailers — such as Home Depot, Costco and Macy’s — a grandfather period and an exception for those with unionized workforces made it clear that the bill targets Wal-Mart, which has said it would open six stores, employing up to 1,800 people.

This violates the equal treatment under the law provisions of city code, as well as federal code (the law must pass a congressional review period). As DrewM points out

At some point you’d think liberals would learn a basic fact: wages are a reflection of how much an employer has to pay to get workers of a certain level of quality. Wages are not charity handed out to enable workers to live at a certain level. You want to make more money? Great, make yourself more valuable to an employer. But that’s too hard for too many hardcore Democratic voters so they want the state to impose an acceptable wage level on employers unrelated to their actual worth.

Wal-Mart would have provided lots and lots of jobs, and since so many of their new stores are superstores with fresh produce, would have given these poor citizens access to better food at low prices. And jobs. Did I mention jobs? Democrats care more about their politics than people.

Read: D.C. Council Targets Wal-Mart With “Living Wage” Bill »

NY Times Really Concerned About North Carolina Losing Its “Progressive” Cred

I’m devastated

(WRAL) A Wednesday editorial in The New York Times is the latest blow to North Carolina’s reputation as a progressive state.

Headlined “The Decline of North Carolina,” the editorial criticizes the “grotesque damage” created by the Republican-led General Assembly.

“State government has become a demolition derby, tearing down years of progress in public education, tax policy, racial equality in the courtroom and access to the ballot,” the editorial states.

“North Carolina was once considered a beacon of farsightedness in the South, an exception in a region of poor education, intolerance and tightfistedness. In a few short months, Republicans have begun to dismantle a reputation that took years to build.”

WRAL and the NY Times forget that this is what the People of NC voted for after decades and decades of mostly Democrat Party rule within the General Assembly and the Governor’s mansion. We were tired of the graft, incompetence, extreme politics, waste of public money, poor tax policy, unbalanced budgets, out of control spending, high unemployment, etc, all the things that come with Democrats. If the Times thinks NC is losing its “progressive” street cred, I say that’s a good thing, because we see what a mess other “progressive” states, such as California and NY, are in, along with the progressive mess made by (NMP) Obama and Congressional Democrats.

If the Times and liberals do not like what’s going on, which also includes requiring voter ID and common sense abortion restrictions, well, we have a saying “I-95 and I-85 run north and south. I-40 heads west. Y’all take care now, y’hear”.

Meanwhile, the NC House plans to vote on an updated abortion on demand bill today, which was softened slightly due to complaints by Gov. McCrory. The big change was in having the NC HHS to write rules for abortion clinics, similar to ambulatory surgery centers, but not requiring abortion centers to actually have the full ambulatory surgery centers regulations. Which upsets liberals, because they don’t think money should have to be spent upgrading abortion centers to make sure women are protected (hey, remember Kermit Gossnell?), they’d rather just spend the money on abortions in dirty clinics. That’s the only way I can read it.

The Huffington Post, along with many abortion supporters, are very upset that the abortion bill was folded into a motorcycle bill, because that never happens in government or something. Also, that there is no public comment. The bill has been around for months. What this whole affair, along with what’s gone on in Texas, shows that Democrats are unwilling to allow even the most minor of restrictions on abortion.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: NY Times Really Concerned About North Carolina Losing Its “Progressive” Cred »

If All You See…

…are porn stars being kept down by the patriarchy, you’re certainly a liberal and surely a Warmist as well, and are trying to crush my birthday groove

The blog of the day is Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children, with a post on Facebook removing Conservative sites, including one about the Bill Of Rights (via Doug Ross)

Read: If All You See… »

Happy Birthday To Me!

That’s right, I’m (cough*mumble) years old today. Posting will be a little light today as the grog flows. Was going to head to the beach, but, supposed to be mostly cloudy, so we’re heading off to….the NC zoo!

Read: Happy Birthday To Me! »

Video: Obama Voters Psyched To Repeal Bill Of Rights

It’s all about helping Obama

(The Blaze) Author and activist Mark Dice on Monday released what may very well be the most depressing “man on the street” video for 2013 (possibly beating “College Kids Who Don’t Know U.S. History”).

In Dice’s new video, he successfully encourages a group of California beachgoers to sign a petition calling for the repeal the Bill of Rights.

You know, to help President Barack Obama streamline government and all that.

Dice is a big 9/11 Truther, and in to other conspiracy theories, such as New World Order and Illuminati, but that doesn’t diminish what these Californians do

Read: Video: Obama Voters Psyched To Repeal Bill Of Rights »

GOP Moving Away From Path To Citizenship For Illegals

Well, this should drive Democrats nuts

(Washington Times) House Republicans are meeting Wednesday to hash out their own strategy on immigration, but already one major difference has emerged between them and their Senate counterparts — they are far less enthusiastic about an eventual path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

Even many of the 32 Senate Republicans who voted against their immigration bill last month said they think a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants is necessary, and eventually likely. But in the House, that’s far from a majority stance.

“I believe any talk about a pathway to citizenship will only make the problem worse because our borders are open and you’re encouraging people to come here illegally,” said Rep. Lou Barletta, a Pennsylvania Republican who pioneered immigration crackdowns as a mayor before winning election to Congress.

He said the chief goal for Republicans when they huddle Wednesday afternoon to talk strategy should be to establish that immigration enforcement must come before anything else.

If there is any sort of a path to citizenship, it needs to come after strong border enforcement, implementation of methods to ensure that people are not overstaying their visas, and I would suggest a huge crackdown on those that hire illegals, implementing huge criminal and civil penalties. Couple this with allowing illegals to apply for temporary legal status, that has no more than a two year time frame. Then, offer a long term legal status for those who are willing to pay a fine and go through the citizenship process. Anyone applying must speak English, not just be enrolled in classes. The forms will be solely in English. They most have no high level misdemeanors on record, or any felonies, of course. They cannot be recidivists (in terms of being deported and coming back). They will not be allowed to bring their extended families. They will not be allowed any federal benefits.

Along with this, couple legal immigration for temporary workers to include making the hiring companies responsible for providing health insurance so our hospitals are not over-whelmed. Businesses, schools, etc, will be responsible for keeping track of the immigration status of temporary workers/students (hey, remember how that Saudi everyone thought was involved with the Boston bombing never ended up at his school?)

Of course, Republicans could go for the strictly enforcement route, and perhaps couple it with a temporary legalization method, and maybe even going for a DREAM act for kids of illegals, and tell Dems to go to hell,

For Democrats, the path to citizenship is non-negotiable as a part of the bill.

“Without a path to citizenship, there is not going to be a bill,” Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said as he emerged from a meeting with House Democrats.

This is all Democrats care about. Border enforcement, limiting new illegals who are either border jumpers or have overstayed their visas, protecting our sovereignty, enforcing the law, none of these matter to Democrats. They simply want new Democrat voters. Their bill would legalize up to 11 million of these “undocumented immigrants” while allowing upwards of 17 million of their relatives to come to the US. But are there just 11 million? In the past we heard numbers upwards of 20 million illegals.

Obama has stated that he will not go with the small bills version, he only wants a huge comprehensive bill (which he won’t read). And if Democrats do not want to take up the House legislation, so be it. Then there’s no reason why the House should bother with the Senate bill (which could be unconstitutional as it supposedly raises revenue).

Meanwhile

A new poll conducted by pollster John McLaughlin has found that 60% of Hispanic voters support amnesty only after the goal of stopping 90% of future illegal immigration has been achieved. Only 34% of Hispanic voters said they support an amnesty first plan similar to the Senate-passed S.744.

Weird, right?

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: GOP Moving Away From Path To Citizenship For Illegals »

#IfMyVaginaWasAGun…

I’d forgotten about this little hashtag from Monday till I was reminded via Ace of the poem

If my vagina was a gun, you would stand for its rights,
You would ride on buses and fight all the fights.
If my vagina was a gun, you would treat it with care,
You wouldn’t spill all its secrets because, well, why go there.
If my vagina was a gun, you’d say what it holds is private
From cold dead hands we could pry, you surely would riot.
If my vagina was a gun, its rights would all be protected,
no matter the body count or the children affected.
If my vagina was a gun, I could bypass security,
concealed carry laws would ensure I’d have impunity.
If my vagina was a gun, I wouldn’t have to beg you,
I could hunt this great land and do all the things men do.
But my vagina is not a gun, it is a mightier thing,
With a voice that rings true making lawmakers’ ears ring.
Vaginas are not delicate, they are muscular and magic,
So stop messing with mine, with legislation that’s tragic.
My vagina’s here to demand from the source,
Listen to the voices of thousands or feel their full force.

This is not really bad, but probably NSFW

Read: #IfMyVaginaWasAGun… »

If All You See…

…are evil beer cans infused with world boiling CO2 causing a massive droughtflood world, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Jammie Wearing Fools, with a post on Team Obama knowing for months that Obamacare wouldn’t work.

Read: If All You See… »

CO2 Making Deserts Bloom, And That’s Apparently A “Bad Thing”

Warmists could find and focus on the negatives of finding a huge gold deposit in their back yards

(Treehugger) One hypothesis about the effect of increasing carbon dioxide in our atmosphere now has significant supporting scientific evidence.

Scientists speculated that a “CO2 fertilization effect” would occur as CO2 levels rose. The fertilization effect proposes that additional CO2 in the air allows leaves to extract more carbon during photosynthesis at less water cost to the plant. (snip. I’m leaving out some relevant info, because I’m old school and refuse to excerpt most of the article. Make sure you read the whole thing)

Scientists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in collaboration with the Australian National University (ANU) have untangled these confounding influences with the help of mathematical models and satellite imagery of the earth’s arid regions. They found that an 11 percent average increase in foliage between 1982 and 2010 can be attributed to a CO2 fertilization effect.

Well, that sounds like good news, right? Deserts having more plants should be a Good Thing, right? Alas, not for Warmists

How will blooming deserts affect our planet? Lead scientist Dr. Randall Donohue observes:

On the face of it, elevated CO2 boosting the foliage in dry country is good news and could assist forestry and agriculture in such areas; however there will be secondary effects that are likely to influence water availability, the carbon cycle, fire regimes and biodiversity, for example.

God, but these are depressing people. But, um, wouldn’t more plant life be good for the “carbon cycle”, sucking more of that EVIL CO2 out of the atmosphere? Wouldn’t more plantlife be good for biodiversity, providing more food, shelter, the ability to capture dew which gives life more water, etc? According to Warmists, more plants are now Bad.

Read: CO2 Making Deserts Bloom, And That’s Apparently A “Bad Thing” »

We’re Apparently All Deniers Of The Third Kind Now

One of the things I adore when it comes to the “climate change” debate is that Warmists are always coming up with new ways to amuse me. Sure, Democrats/Liberals/Progressives (you can add in Marxists, Socialists, and authoritarians in, too) can be maddening, and Warmists are primarily made up of those people, but their unhinged pronouncements bring the frivolity on a constant basis. Oh, look, here’s Excitable Joe Romm, a paid flack who pushes “climate change” (let’s be clear, “climate change” means man induced Bad Weather per the Warmists) at far far left George Soros’ Climate Progress

Breaking Bad: Matt Ridley Exits Wall Street Journal Column As A Climate Science Denier Of the Third Kind

Hmm, Joe mixes up a few different entertainment shows. First he goes for the show about meth, Breaking Bad, then Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind (has anyone ever considered that the aliens are actually jerks? They kidnap a whole bunch of humans, some for decades, and a child during the movie. And during the timeframe of the movie they are screwing with people’s head’s, one of whom, being Richard Dreyfuss’ character, sees his family abandon him him along with losing his job because of the mental screwing)

A climate science denier of the first kind simply denies basic climate science, that, say the Earth is warming or that CO2 is a greenhouse gas. Given that both of those are basically “settled facts,” according to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, we tend to see fewer and fewer of the CSD1s, in part because the media doesn’t take them terribly seriously. Only very famous CSD1s, like Sen. Jim Inhofe, get much press these days.

I will note, as I have many times, that I will argue with anyone who states that the world hasn’t warmed since the 1850’s. As far as CO2 goes, first, it follows temperature increases, not precedes it. Second, if it is so bad, why are Warmists some of the worst “carbon offenders”?

Climate science deniers of the second kind say that they accept basic climate science — so they aren’t ignored by the media — but then just assert that it isn’t going to be a big deal. They usually latch on to some tiny subset of the recent literature to make this argument. You have to cherry pick your science very carefully to be a CSD2 since as 2010 research presented at the AAAS presentation “concluded“: New scientific findings since the 2007 IPCC report are found to be more than twenty times as likely to indicate that global climate disruption is “worse than previously expected,” rather than “not as bad as previously expected.” And, of course, you have to ignore the fact that if the world actually keeps listening to CSD2s and taking no serious action to reduce carbon pollution, then worst-case scenarios are all but unavoidable (see here). I would call Bjorn Lomborg the prototypical CSD2, except that he changes his position so often it’s hard to know what he really believes now.

To be clear, these are people who accept that Mankind is responsible for at least 50% of the warming since the Little Ice Age ended, but aren’t concerned about the effects and don’t think we should spend oodles of money while reducing people’s freedom, and should not be giving government more and more dictatorial powers.

A climate science denier of the third kind is the rarest of all. A CSD3 says that they accept basic climate science but then starts making arguments that effectively deny that science. Indeed a CSD3 who is rhetorically clever often says he or she used to believe in climate science, but then supposedly looked into the matter closely and was shocked, shocked to learn that they had been misled. The late Michael Crichton comes to mind.

Actually, this type isn’t rare at all: most of us are part of the 3rd kind. We understand basic climate science and see that those who believe that Mankind is mostly or solely responsible for creating the Modern Warm Period (or starting with whatever year is convenient for their argument) are full of bat guano. We use their own data against them. We understand that computer models are not real world data. We understand that Warmists continuously have to change the data and their arguments in order to keep their cult going.

The rest of the article is simply personal smears aimed at Matt Ridley, which I shall not repeat. But what of Climate Deniers Of The Fourth Kind? What would they be? Joe doesn’t say, so I’ll offer up…

Climate Science Deniers of the Fourth Kind are the penultimate worst kinds. These are people who buy into every pronouncement regarding Mankinds horrendous and evil role in making the Earth hotcoldwetdry. They believe that too much warmth causes it to get cold and snowy. They believe that the release of a trace greenhouse gas necessary for life causes earthquakes, volcanoes, Bad Weather, and virtually everything that happens. They smooth, normalize, spin, and falsify data in order to fit their preconceived notions, the very opposite of science. Their models fail in the real world but always give the answer the CDS4 folks want. The fail to follow the scientific model.

Their solutions revolve around more and more taxation and more and more Big Government, which creates more and more fascistic controls on people and economies. They mostly refuse to release their raw data, and when they do, the data fails. And they themselves refuse to practice what they preach. Yet they want everyone else to get the government “anal probes”, ie, higher taxes and control of their lives, such as what they can drive, what fuels they can use, what foods they can eat, what they must do with their homes and businesses to be “green”. Warmists always think the anal probes are for Someone else.

They’re also virulent racists and bigots, as they do not want people in the Third World to have the same benefits of modern lifestyle like Warmists themselves live.

Read: We’re Apparently All Deniers Of The Third Kind Now »

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