If All You See…

By William Teach June 10, 2013 – 1:00 pm

…are glaciers that melted in the 1930’s because someone drove an SUV now, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Yid With Lid, wondering if Edward Snowden should be thrown in jail.

Read: If All You See… »

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CBS: Possible Coverup By State Department Of Misconduct

By William Teach June 10, 2013 – 10:50 am

The most transparent administration ever?

(CBS News) CBS News has uncovered documents that show the State Department may have covered up allegations of illegal and inappropriate behavior within their ranks.

The Diplomatic Security Service, or the DSS, is the State Department’s security force, charged with protecting the secretary of state and U.S. ambassadors overseas and with investigating any cases of misconduct on the part of the 70,000 State Department employees worldwide.

CBS News’ John Miller reports that according to an internal State Department Inspector General’s memo, several recent investigations were influenced, manipulated, or simply called off. The memo obtained by CBS News cited eight specific examples. Among them: allegations that a State Department security official in Beirut “engaged in sexual assaults” on foreign nationals hired as embassy guards and the charge and that members of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s security detail “engaged prostitutes while on official trips in foreign countries” — a problem the report says was “endemic.”

The memo also reveals details about an “underground drug ring” was operating near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and supplied State Department security contractors with drugs.

CBS takes great pains to avoid mentioning when all this was really occurring, and there could have been issued during the previous administration. I’d also like to note that I am not placing Blame on Mr. Obama for this specific issue, regardless of whether he’s POTUS or not, unless something comes out that shows he was notified of this cover-up. It is interesting to note, though, that his administration seems to have a very skewed version of “transparency”.

In one specific and striking cover-up, State Department agents told the Inspector General they were told to stop investigating the case of a U.S. Ambassador who held a sensitive diplomatic post and was suspected of patronizing prostitutes in a public park.

The State Department Inspector General’s memo refers to the 2011 investigation into an ambassador who “routinely ditched … his protective security detai” and inspectors suspect this was in order to “solicit sexual favors from prostitutes.”

Unsurprisingly, nothing was done to the ambassador.

Is this an Obama scandal? Only in terms of him being the Chief Executive and this happening on his watch. It is more a continuation of the problem with Big Government and its pattern of misconduct.

More: Hey, I wonder if Obama will soon say he first learned about this from media reports, and that he’s going to make sure everyone responsible will be held responsible…and given promotions? Anyhow, Bryan Preston writes regarding one of the primary players mentioned in the CBS article

Patrick Kennedy’s becoming famous. He was at the center of Benghazi, too. According to a report by Sharyl Attkisson, Kennedy is the State Department official who kept the Foreign Emergency Response Team (FEST) on the sidelines during the Benghazi attack.

Ed Morrissey mentions Kennedy, as well. Weasel Zippers: “Scandal-palooza rolls on.” Patterico: “In other words, another day in the Obama administration.”

BTW, Hot Air mentions yet another scandal featuring HHS employees engaging in insider trader.

Read: CBS: Possible Coverup By State Department Of Misconduct »

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Horror! CO2 Emissions Rise Could Doom World To 9 Degree Rise

By William Teach June 10, 2013 – 8:47 am

All hail the computer model!!!!!

(Washington Post) Global emissions of carbon dioxide from energy use rose 1.4 percent to 31.6 gigatons in 2012, setting a record and putting the planet on course for temperature increases well above international climate goals, the International Energy Agency said in a report scheduled to be issued Monday.

The agency said continuing that pace could mean a temperature increase over pre-industrial times of as much as 5.3 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit), which IEA chief economist Fatih Birol warned “would be a disaster for all countries.”

You really have to love these people and their doom-saying. It would be even funnier if politicians and policy wonks weren’t listening to these hysterics and conspiracy theorist and planning all sorts of legislation to control the lives of all citizens and private entities. The Earth’s temperature has gone up only 1.4F since 1850, despite the supposed rise of CO2. All the Warmist models fail. They can’t even be shown to produce past climate, even in the short term. None of them can produce the 15 plus year pause in temperature increase.

The energy sector accounts for more than two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions, so “energy has a crucial role to play in tackling climate change,” the IEA said. Its report urged nations to take four steps, including aggressive energy-efficiency measures, by 2015 to keep alive any hope of limiting climate change to 2 degrees Celsius.

And this kind of over-the-top, mad as a march hare prognostication leads politicians to do really stupid things, like recommending that electricity usage be reduced by 154 terrawatts. That’s 40% of the U.K. power needs. At this time. All for a non-existant problem invented in the minds of people who have money on the line.

The United States was one of the few relatively bright spots in the report. Switches from coal to shale gas accounted for about half the nation’s 3.8 percent drop in energy-related emissions, which fell for the fourth time in the past five years, dipping to a level last seen in the 1990s. The other factors were a mild winter, declining demand for gasoline and diesel, and the increasing use of renewable energy.

Wait, so mild winters are good?

Emissions also climbed in developing countries outside the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, especially in the oil-rich Middle East, where fuel prices are heavily subsidized.

And Warmists really don’t like that those in the 3rd World might have a chance at a decent life through the use of power. Dare I say that they are racists, since so many of these people are Black? Yes, I dare say it.

Oh, wait, I forgot that the warming is hiding in the deep oceans or something. Because Warmists always have an excuse for why their models fail. Yet they, for the most part, refuse to make big changes in their own lives to account for their beliefs. Meanwhile, parts of Europe have had the coldest spring in over 50 years. The US has had a very cool spring. We’ve seen Alaska cool 2.4F since 2000. Winter in Europe and….eh, what does it matter? Warmists do not listen to hard facts, only what hypocritical Warmist doctrine leaders tell them.

Read: Horror! CO2 Emissions Rise Could Doom World To 9 Degree Rise »

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Mukasey: If You Don’t Give Up Your Privacy The Terrorists Win

By William Teach June 10, 2013 – 8:14 am

Ever since the NSA programs were revealed we’ve seen a steady stream of Big Government elitists coming forward and telling us things like “everything’s OK, it’s no big deal”. And “we’re not listening to your phone calls.” And “it’s called protecting Amerika.” Things like “we have to do everything and anything necessary.” And here’s Michael Mukasey, who served as US attorney general

Leaking Secrets Empowers Terrorists

Once again, the tanks-have-rolled left and the black-helicopters right have joined together in howls of protest. They were set off by last week’s revelations that the U.S. government has been collecting data that disclose the fact, but not the content, of electronic communications within the country, as well as some content data outside the U.S. that does not focus on American citizens. Once again, the outrage of the left-right coalition is misdirected.

Good move, Mike: referring to American citizens who do not like to be spied upon as nutjobs. Great way to bring people to your side.

Regrettably, those best positioned to defend such surveillance programs are least likely to do so out of obvious security concerns. Without getting into detail here, intelligence agencies, with court authorization, have been collecting data in an effort that is neither pervasive nor unlawful. As to the data culled within the U.S., the purpose is to permit analysts to map relationships between and among Islamist fanatics.

Yet, the vast majority of American Citizens, who are supposed to be protected by the 4th Amendment, have nothing to do with Islamic fanatics. Furthermore, we have no idea what Government will do with the data that they gather. We do not like that all this metadata is kept, showing our movements. We do not like that The Government can capture in real time every keystroke. We do not like our emails and Tweets being captured.

The Founders were practical men who understood the need for secrecy. Indeed, they drafted the Constitution with windows and doors closed against prying eyes and ears even in sweltering summertime Philadelphia, lest their deliberations be revealed—not only prematurely, but at all. They realized that the free exchange of ideas was crucial to the success of their awesome project, and that it could only be inhibited by the prospect of disclosure, whether future or present.

Nice strawman. Because they were meeting in secret, not gathering data on fellow citizens.

Even zealots do not dispute that the Patriot Act, as amended, authorizes the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that was established under FISA to grant permission to gain access to the information at issue here. As to intercepting the content of foreign communications, I think it is best put starkly: The Constitution and U.S. laws are not a treaty with the universe; they protect U.S. citizens. Foreign governments spy on us and our citizens. We spy on them and theirs. Welcome to the world.

Nice deflection. Most citizens could care less if we are spying on foreigners. We expect our government to do that. The problem is the spying on US citizens.

Real damage was done last week by Edward Snowden, who on Sunday claimed credit for leaking the secrets he learned while working for NSA contractors. Every time we tell terrorists how we can detect them, we encourage them to find ways to avoid detection.

Surely terrorists, or at least their leaders, knew that America was going to do all we could to spy on them. Now they know that the US Government is more than willing to violate the 4th Amendment and treat the citizens like prisoners in a jail, to treat them in the same manner as terrorists.

I’m sure Mukasey would have no problem with the government getting a warrant to search his home daily, in secret, without ever notifying him about it, just to have some data in case Mukasey breaks the law at some point in the future or a friend does something wrong. Right? Right?

According to Rasmussen, 59% oppose the secret collection of phone data. 26% approve, 15% only watch Entertainment Tonight, er, are unsure.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: Mukasey: If You Don’t Give Up Your Privacy The Terrorists Win »

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Watcha Reading?

By William Teach June 9, 2013 – 6:19 pm

reading books

Finished up Deep into Under Foot (Outside Context Problem) by Christopher Nuttall, a nice 489 page book, well worth the $3.00. Now about 32% into book 3, The Slightest Hope Of Victory (Outside Context Problem). Which, at 784kb, is probably around 500 page. I think it’s worth the $3.99.

What’s up next? Heck, that is probably about 4 days away.

Also, as I’ve mentioned for the past few weeks, I’ve also been slowly reading The Mad, Mad, Mad World Of Climatism. I’ll provide a write up once I finally finish, but, let me say that this should be the one book that every Warmist, and those on the fences, should read. Heck, even if you do not buy into “climate change”, you should read it. The facts and figures, along with the history, of “climate change” is put in an excellent format that anyone can easily understand. I should finish it this week, not that much left. You should buy it.

Read: Watcha Reading? »

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Sad: Kelly Ayotte Goes Full GOP Squish On Immigration

By William Teach June 9, 2013 – 3:02 pm

She stood tough on the 2nd Amendment, but, is giving us the same complete pantload of mule fritters arguments we get from Rubio, McCain, Graham, and other squishes

Everybody agrees that America’s immigration system is broken, threatening our security and holding back our economy. The combination of porous borders and lax enforcement has made us a magnet for illegal immigration.

In her first two sentences she proves that it isn’t the system that is broken, but the government that is broken.

For too long, politicians on both sides of the aisle in Washington have failed to lead on this issue. And no doubt there will be naysayers in this debate who will continue to make excuses for inaction. But I ran for the Senate to make tough, independent decisions to strengthen our country, and that’s what it will take to solve our nation’s immigration problems.

So you enforce the current laws and strengthen them. Interestingly, when several states, including Arizona, North Carolina, and Georgia, attempted to push tougher anti-illegal laws, Los Federales pushed hard to stop them.

We need to stop the flow of illegal immigrants, and we need to bring undocumented people out of the shadows to separate those seeking economic opportunity from those seeking to harm us (who must be deported). Here’s how this bill does that:

If they want economic opportunity, they can come here legally, rather than flouting our laws.

It starts by finally securing our southern border. Consistent with my priorities, the legislation includes more border agents, more fencing, and better surveillance technology. And during the upcoming debate, I will support strengthening the legislation’s border security measures even further.

The legislation also includes strict requirements for those illegal immigrants who are already here. Before any of these 11 million could earn a green card, they would go to the back of the line, not receive means-tested federal benefits and Obamacare subsidies, and they would be required to pay fines, pay taxes, and pass background checks, learn English, and secure a job. The minimum most immigrants would have to wait to earn a green card would be ten years – and 13 years for naturalization. And this timeline is dependent on first meeting border security and employment enforcement measures.

Does she really believe that any of that will happen? Democrats will gut/ignore all those provisions that get in the way of turning all these illegals, even the criminal ones, into new (Democrat) voters, and bringing roughly 17 million family members to the US, making them new (Democrat) voters, as well as paying lip service to not only border control, but the roughly 35-40 of illegals who blew off their visas.

Obviously, this thrills Progressives and pro-amnesty Republicans.

Read: Sad: Kelly Ayotte Goes Full GOP Squish On Immigration »

Posted in Idiot GOPer's, Illegal Immigration | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach June 9, 2013 – 1:00 pm

…is unsustainable fishing because slight increases of CO2 means that life won’t reproduce, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Other McCain (smitty), with a post on #OccupyResoluteDesk

Read: If All You See… »

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Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach June 9, 2013 – 9:06 am

Happy Sunday! Another fantastic day to remember the America where we didn’t have our government spying on citizens. Not sure who did this pinup, which is a painting, figured it didn’t need anything added.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. The Jawa Report highlights dhimmitude at a Paris museum
  2. Jo Nova discusses the $39 billion climate aid program
  3. Bookworm Room has progressive logic
  4. Bob Owens discusses a redeclaration of Independence
  5. Doug Ross has the top 10 political jokes of the month
  6. Fausta discusses a kidnapping in Venezuela , and how it work
  7. Fire Andrea Mitchell has information on the Santa Monica shooter
  8. Flopping Aces has the Obama enemies list timeline
  9. Maggie’s Notebook features anti-Sharia in Oklahoma
  10. ne0-neocon highlights a contradiction in the narrative
  11. Political Clown Parade has Old McBama’s Farm Of Scandals
  12. Political Realities wonders how much secrecy is enough
  13. protein wisdom discusses presidential “ethics”
  14. Watts Up With That? highlights expensive wind energy
  15. And last, but not least, Rhymes with Right has hopenchange for Obama voters
  16. And one to grow on: Victory Girls offers a few ways to avoid NSA spying

As always, the full set of pinups can be seen in the Patriotic Pinup category, or over at my Gallery page. While we are on pinups, since it is that time of year, have you gotten your “Pinups for Vets” calendar yet? And don’t forget to check out what I declare to be our War on Women Rule 5 and linky luv posts

Anyone else have a link or hotty-fest going on? Let me know so I can add you to the list. (BTW, since someone asked, the reason I leave links for the previous week up (or you might see a *) is because they are place holders for later in the day or for next weeks. Easier than rewriting all the time. Also, the listing order has to do with how they are added over time, not how good a post is. I just copy and paste from the previous week, then edit. If you see one of the *’s, go ahead and check out the blog anyhow, see if there is an update. I cannot update with my Android during the day.

The posts do take a long time, so, if you want to send me your links for Rule 5 babeage or links, use ye olde email in the header bar (remove the NOSPAM part). Preferably, create the html link so I can copy and paste how you want it to read.

Read: Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup »

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Lawmakers: Nope, We Haven’t All Been Briefed On NSA Spying Programs

By William Teach June 9, 2013 – 8:13 am

As the UK Guardian continues to release information on the NSA programs (such as Boundless Informant), Obama and his team attempt to deflect attention away, including say “hey, they’re just modest encroachments on privacy, liberty, your 4th Amendment rights”. DNI James Clapper whined about the “rush to publish“. And then there was the notion that all lawmakers were briefed regarding PRISM

(Politico) President Barack Obama’s chief defense of his administration’s wide-ranging data-gathering programs Friday: Congress authorized them, with “every member” well aware of the details.

Not so, say many members of Congress — Democrats and Republicans alike.

Typically, members of Congress “don’t receive this kind of briefing,” Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told POLITICO Friday. They wouldn’t have known about the programs unless they were on an intelligence committee, attended special sessions last held in 2011 or specifically asked to be briefed – something they would only know to do if they were clued in by an colleague who was already aware.)

Essentially, only certain members would get the briefings. Which, apparently, were mostly worthless

And Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) told POLITICO that the classified intelligence briefing sessions he’s attended haven’t disclosed details on the two data-gathering programs as were unveiled this week.

“I can assure you the phone number tracking of non-criminal, non-terrorist suspects was not discussed,” he said. “Most members have stopped going to their classified briefings because they rarely tell us anything we don’t already know in the news. It really has become a charade.”

The Most Transparent Administration Evah!!!! is anything but.

President Obama’s explanation allows him to sound a nothing-to-see-here note that paints the programs as both prosaic and innocuous. After all, if all 535 members of Congress knew about them, how bad could they really be?

“These are the folks you all vote for as your representatives in Congress, and they’re being fully briefed on these programs,” said Obama. “And if, in fact … there were abuses taking place, presumably those members of Congress could raise those issues very aggressively. They’re empowered to do so.”

That was nothing less than a typical Obama attempt to shift attention, and Blame, to Someone Else, in this case, Congress. And even those who knew about all, or some of it, couldn’t do anything, otherwise they would have been revealing secret programs in violation of the law, so a catch 22 in terms of passing legislation.

We The People are not happy about these intrusions on our privacy. When Bernie Sanders (D) and Rand Paul (R) sound the same, we have a problem. And Team Obama, along with some Republicans and Democrats, including elected ones, say the programs are lawful, We The People do not care. We want it stopped. And they can say it’s lawful all they want: the Constitution overrides laws.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: Lawmakers: Nope, We Haven’t All Been Briefed On NSA Spying Programs »

Posted in Barry Obama, Constitution, Current Affairs | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

The Arctic Death Spiral Is Apparently The Biggest Story Of Our Time

By William Teach June 8, 2013 – 5:10 pm

Not spying on Americans, not Islamist terrorism, not governments spending way more than they take in, not the tens of trillions in unfunded liabilities, nope. Here’s Joe Romm

(Climate Progress) The biggest story of our time is the collapse of Arctic sea ice and its impact on our extreme weather (see “CryoSat-2 Confirms Sea Ice Volume Has Collapsed“).

“Death spiral” is the right visual metaphor, as the latest monthly update of sea ice volume by creative tech guru Andy Lee Robinson shows:

Except, as Steven Goddard shows with actual data, there’s a disturbing normalcy in the Arctic.

If recent volume trends continue, many experts say we will see a “near ice-free Arctic in summer” within a decade.

Gotta love how the Warmists abandoned their “ice free Arctic in 2013” predictions.

Recent research finds that may well usher in a permanent change toward extreme, prolonged weather events “such as drought, flooding, cold spells and heat waves.”

If you’re blaming cold spells on global warming, you’re a fool and in it for the politics, not the science.

Read: The Arctic Death Spiral Is Apparently The Biggest Story Of Our Time »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 3 Comments | Trackback URL
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