NY Times: Holder Won’t Leave Because That Might Embolden Obama’s Critics

By William Teach June 2, 2013 – 7:53 am

What this all shows is that Obama and his top people are more concerned with politics than doing what is right. The original headline, per the URL and the webpage header was “Goals to fulfill and foes to foil keep Holder going, changed to

Seeking a Fresh Start, Holder Finds a Fresh Set of Troubles

Over the course of four and a half years, no other member of President Obama’s cabinet has been at the center of so many polarizing episodes or the target of so much criticism. While the White House publicly backed Mr. Holder as he tried to smooth over the latest uproar amid new speculation about his future, some in the West Wing privately tell associates they wish he would step down, viewing him as politically maladroit. But the latest attacks may stiffen the administration’s resistance in the near term to a change for fear of emboldening critics.

The White House views the attacks on Mr. Holder as a “political agenda” and “would not hasten the departure of someone who’s competent and runs the department and is a friend because there’s a drumbeat,” said William M. Daley, a former White House chief of staff under Mr. Obama. “Whoever Barack Obama puts in there, these people will try to drumbeat him out of there, no matter what.”

Well, if they run guns to Mexico and the program results in the deaths of American and Mexican citizens, well, yes, we would try and run him out.

If he intentionally targets members of the media in a manner beyond anything ever done, then lies about it, yeah.

If his department says that people who criticize Islam, engaging in Free Speech, can be charged with “civil rights violations”, yeah.

When he and his department attempt cover ups on multiple fronts, including Fast and Furious, voter fraud, prosecutorial misconduct, when he is found in contempt of Congress, when he doesn’t seem to bother with the Constitution, and when he doesn’t seem to know anything that is going on, well, yeah.

But that does not mitigate the frustration of some presidential aides. “The White House is apoplectic about him, and has been for a long time,” said a Democratic former government official who did not want to be identified while talking about friends.

Some advisers to Mr. Obama believe that Mr. Holder does not manage or foresee problems, the former official said. “How hard would it be to anticipate that The A.P. would be unhappy?” the former official said. “And then they haven’t defended their position.”

Oh, but they have defended the position, in the same way that the other administration officials had, by claiming ignorance and uninvolvement. It’s what Mark Steyn calls the “Lois Lerner Defense“. Mark writes that you should try it with the IRS if they come calling. Better yet, try it with your boss if you’re ever called on the carpet, or even just asked to provide some information. “I don’t know“. “I can’t recall”. “I don’t have that information”. “I’m not sure”. “I was not the person involved”. And then consider that this is the person in charge of the entire Department Of Justice.

Under his leadership, the department scaled back a voter-intimidation lawsuit from the Bush era involving the New Black Panther Party, a decision that conservatives used to portray the black-nationalist fringe group as a political ally of the Obama administration. He reopened criminal investigations into the Central Intelligence Agency’s interrogations of terrorism suspects and tried to prosecute five men accused of plotting the Sept. 11 attacks in civilian courts rather than military tribunals, which provoked accusations that he was soft on terrorism. And he abandoned the legal defense of a law barring federal recognition of same-sex marriage that social conservatives viewed as a bulwark against attacks on the traditional family.

Despite the NY Times writers putting it in an anti-conservative manner, Holder is the Attorney General, and has certain duties, of which the above shows a profound lack of caring about The Law. Fortunately, you know, raaaaacism, per the comments

psk – From main-stream to lame-stream to blame-stream: how the American media (and certain members of Congress) refuse to respect African-American leaders and/or give them the benefit of the doubt.

Liberals are more concerned with politics and political power than with a trustworthy government that follows the law and Constitution, so find ways to change the topic.

That all said, keeping Holder around “emboldens Obama’s critics” even more than getting rid of him. Obama could choose to bring in a new AG who’s interested in following the law and Constitution.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: NY Times: Holder Won’t Leave Because That Might Embolden Obama’s Critics »

Posted in Barry Obama, Constitution, Current Affairs, Democrats | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

Minor Budget Cuts And Hotcoldwetdry Doom America This Hurricane Season

By William Teach June 1, 2013 – 3:48 pm

Like, super duper doomed!!!!!1!!!!, per Soros funded Climate Progress

How Climate Change And Budget Cuts Could Make This The Most Dangerous Hurricane Season Ever

The Atlantic hurricane season officially begins tomorrow and despite warnings of an above-average season and increasingly intense storms driven by climate change, key agencies are facing mandatory cuts that threaten their ability to prepare and protect at-risk communities.

Don’t you find it interesting that so much of Warmist propaganda syncs perfectly with the Far Left Progressive notion of bigger and bigger government and bigger and bigger spending? Add treating citizens like children who need Government to tell them what to do.

In addition, climate change is fueling more intense and destructive storms. As Kerry Emanuel, professor of atmospheric science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, explains, “Climate change is causing a greater number of intense storms. The total number of storms has remained constant, but the proportion of high-intensity events has gone steadily upward in most parts of the world. Scientific models and real-world observations both suggest that the frequency of intense storms is going up.”

Really? Not only is the US not seeing more intense hurricanes (no Cat 3 has hit the continental US since Wilma in October 2005, 2,777 days), we aren’t see them around the world. It’s been business as usual. In some cases, much less.

The National Weather Service, already cash-strapped and under scrutiny for sub-par computer modeling, will be grappling with a hiring freeze and mandatory furloughs as it heads into a potentially daunting hurricane season. The NWS office in Tallahassee, which typically has 18 meteorologists on staff, is down to 14 due to the cuts.

Oh, noes, 4 less? The horror! Must be tough looking at computers with 4 less employees.

And, of course, Superstorm Sandy is blamed on “climate change”. Warmists can’t help themselves.

Watts Up With That? has some thoughts on the current period of hurricane drought.

Read: Minor Budget Cuts And Hotcoldwetdry Doom America This Hurricane Season »

Posted in AGW Scaremongering, Global Warming | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

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

…is snow created by fossil fueled helicopters, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Riehl World View, with a post on Obamanomics.

Read: If All You See… »

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

Marshall Islands Foreign Minister: Climate Change Is Killing Us

By William Teach June 1, 2013 – 12:40 pm

It’s the number 1 threat or something

After a prolonged and unseasonable drought that began late last year, the severe lack of drinking water in our northern atolls led my government to declare a disaster area on May 7. This humanitarian crisis is climate-induced. About 6,000 people are affected by severe water shortages and are surviving on less than one liter of water per day. All of the affected communities have lost the staple crops that provide their daily food.

My people are not only thirsty and hungry, they are also getting sick. The drying water wells are contaminated with bacteria and salt. Diarrhea, pink eye, flu and other drought-related diseases are on the rise, particularly among children, and we are on the brink of a much wider outbreak. With no significant rain forecast until at least July, the situation is likely to get worse.

Gee, who would have thought fresh water would be so difficult on coral atolls, especially when you pollute them? But, hey, it has to be Hotcoldwetdry, right? Could not be anything else, right? So Other People have to be forced to give money and

While we struggle to respond to today’s crisis, we know that further crises lie ahead. Climate change has become the No. 1 threat to my country.

Seems like it would be to stop polluting your islands and.realize that they’re in the middle of the ocean, not the most conductive place to live.

I had really wanted to stop after the last excerpt and drop a facepalm GIF, but

In early September, we will host the 44th Pacific Islands Forum summit, bringing together leaders from the Pacific islands, Australia and New Zealand, as well as dialogue partners from many of the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, including the United States, China, the European Union, India, Japan and Canada…

So they say that “climate change” from GHGs is killing them, yet they’re going to host a conference to which people are going to take lots of fossil fueled flights?

Read: Marshall Islands Foreign Minister: Climate Change Is Killing Us »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

Will Obama Apologize For IRS Targeting Of Conservative Groups?

By William Teach June 1, 2013 – 7:22 am

Don’t bet on it

(The Blaze) White House spokesman Josh Earnest couldn’t provide a direct answer when asked by a reporter on Friday if President Barack Obama would “apologize” to conservative groups who were unfairly targeted by the IRS.

Rather than saying the president is sorry or planned to apologize, Earnest said Obama was “troubled” by the IRS targeting scandal that “apparently occurred.”

“What the president has said, is he is troubled by the wrongdoing that apparently occurred at the IRS,” he said. “And he is committed that we get to the bottom of what exactly happened and make sure we have safeguards in place to prevent those kinds of things from happening again.”

If he had any thoughts of apologizing for the flagrant Constitutional violations, not too mention possible civil and criminal violations, by an agency and its employees who work for him, well, he’d have to apologize for his own words that helped create the situation. His constant attacks on Conservative groups, his denigration of them (calling TEA Party members “Teabaggers”), whining about the Citizens United decision, all these and others certainly gave IRS employees the notion that it was OK with The Boss to target Conservative groups.

And let’s not forget that some groups, such as True The Vote, saw their groups and unrelated businesses targeted by the FBI, ATF, and OSHA, among others.

But, hey, the spokesweasel says that Obama says anyone involved will be “held accountable”. Perhaps with a frown and a wagging finger.

Read: Will Obama Apologize For IRS Targeting Of Conservative Groups? »

Posted in Barry Obama, Current Affairs | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

DOJ Wants You To Know That Insulting Islam Means You Might Have Broken Civil Rights Laws

By William Teach June 1, 2013 – 6:44 am

Has anyone at the DOJ, especially the leadership, actually read the Constitution and the part about Free Speech?

(Judicial Watch) In its latest effort to protect followers of Islam in the U.S. the Obama Justice Department warns against using social media to spread information considered inflammatory against Muslims, threatening that it could constitute a violation of civil rights. (snip)

Does anyone think that the highly politicized Obama/Holder DOJ will take the same position when the religion under assault is Christianity, Mormonism, or Judaism?

Evidently that was a precursor of sorts for an upcoming Tennessee event (“Public Disclosure in a Diverse Society”) that will feature the region’s top DOJ official, who serves as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, and an FBI representative. The goal is to increase awareness and understanding that American Muslims are not the terrorists some have made them out to be in social media and other circles, according to a local newspaper report. The June 4 powwow is sponsored by the American Muslim Advisory Council of Tennessee.

The area’s top federal prosecutor, Bill Killian, will address a topic that most Americans are likely unfamiliar with, even those well versed on the Constitution; that federal civil rights laws can actually be violated by those who post inflammatory documents aimed at Muslims on social media. “This is an educational effort with civil rights laws as they play into freedom of religion and exercising freedom of religion,” Killian says in the local news story. “This is also to inform the public what federal laws are in effect and what the consequences are.”

What is social media? Pretty much most things on the Internet. It can be any website which provides interaction along with interaction. Digg, Fark, Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Del.icio.us, they would all be examples. So would any traditional news outlet that allows comments or even just tagging of the story. So would this blog. I could go ahead and do something like this

and if I close the comments and trackbacks and I’d be OK….oh, wait, there are those buttons to allow people to spread the story.

What this does, as Doug Ross points out, is institute Islamic blasphemy laws within the US justice system. Speaking ill of Islam or Mohammed, drawing and/or showing a picture of Mohammed, making fun of Islamic customs, and so much more on social media could get you in trouble with the DOJ.

This is not to say that all Muslims are bad. They aren’t. Most are good people just like you and me. But, many are Islamists, a term used to denote ones who push violent acts for Islam and/or the spread of the hardcore version of Islam that includes Sharia law, including through peaceful means. The latter are the most dangerous, because they have been pushing this for decades throughout the Western world slowly, using the language of the Left, and getting the Left to buy in. Any mention of this, any criticism, any highlighting of the truth and danger from radical Islam,  immediately receives a “you’re an Islamaphobe!!!!” response, especially from Liberals, who never seem to wonder or reflect on the fact that Islamism stands against everything Liberals stand for. One of the main points of the Muslim Brotherhood is to push Islamist doctrine peacefully, and they are aided and abetted by CAIR here in the US. And we have now have the DOJ aiding and abetting the Islamists.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: DOJ Wants You To Know That Insulting Islam Means You Might Have Broken Civil Rights Laws »

Posted in 1st Amendment, Democrats, Dhimmitude | 7 Comments | Trackback URL

How’s The Green Energy Initiative Working In Canada?

By William Teach May 31, 2013 – 4:23 pm

About as you’d expect (via Tom Nelson)

(Wind Concerns Ontario) An “opinion” piece in the Toronto Star written by Kris Stevens of the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA) and Gillian McEachern of Environmental Defence (ED) extolls the wonders of the captioned Act on its fourth birthday. They ramble on about what it has done for the economy, the jobs it has created and how it’s “non-existent health impacts” are simply “fearmongering” by anti-wind groups! They also claim a myriad of hurricanes, droughts and heat waves are caused by “climate change” despite the IPCC and other climate scientists reversal of that claim.

The article is wrong on all counts but, because both of these entities were involved in helping to write the Act they believe in it!

In the four years since the Act passed ratepayers have seen the cost of electricity climb well beyond inflation; off-peak time-of use rates are up 60%, mid-peak 37% and on-peak 34%. Those increases don’t yet include the cost of the gas plants (to back up intermittent wind and solar generation) or the $585 million cost of their moves to Lambton and Bath.

This shouldn’t mean that we do not look towards alternatives/renewables: it means we need to implement them in a responsible manner that doesn’t cause massive price increases. Those same increases in energy costs ripple across the entire economy, raising the prices of everything else.

Read: How’s The Green Energy Initiative Working In Canada? »

Posted in Energy | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach May 31, 2013 – 1:00 pm

…is an evil CO2 infused beer causing the end of all species, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Five Feet Of Fury, with a post highlighting true idiocy regarding the atomic bomb defeating Japan.

Read: If All You See… »

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

Bummer: Hybrid Drivers Could Pay More In North Carolina

By William Teach May 31, 2013 – 12:55 pm

Gee, who would have seen this coming? (via GC from Raised On Hoecakes)

(News 14) North Carolina drivers who use hybrid cars could end up paying for it in the long run.

State lawmakers in the Senate have proposed drivers pay an additional fee if they drive a hybrid or electric car.

They are the car industry’s answer to going green. Gas prices are a big reason the hybrid cars have become more popular but if you own one in North Carolina it could cost you.

One item in the Senate budget calls for drivers to pay an additional fee when they renew their car registration. For hybrid cars the fee would be $50, electric cars the fee would be $100. Since hybrid cars use less gas supporters say the fees would help the state collect that money they lose from the gas tax back in order to fund road projects.

What’s happening is that the State, like most states and the federal government, rely upon the revenue stream from gas taxes (NC’s is one of the highest in the country). When people are using less gas that stream is reduced, so they have to make up the shortfall somehow. And this is one way to do it (I have an article somewhere back in the archives about this, sorry, no time to find it before work). It is a direct outcome of the Government’s policies for better CAFE standards and causing gas prices to rise. And then government complains about the dip in the revenue stream.

I will say that I disagree with this notion of higher fees: government needs to learn to do more with less, not penalize people for doing what government wanted them yo do.

Read: Bummer: Hybrid Drivers Could Pay More In North Carolina »

Posted in Energy, NC News | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Warmist: Global Warming Induced Cold Bad For Birds

By William Teach May 31, 2013 – 10:25 am

I bet Warmists can smell the color green. Or, possibly, “facepalm Red” (via Tom Nelson)

(Laura’s Birding Blog) This year’s exceptionally cold spring is exacting a toll on many birds. …

We can never blame any particular weather event, or any individual seasonal weather pattern, on climate change, but ironically, this freakishly cold spring is consistent with predictions for a steadily warming planet.

Read: Warmist: Global Warming Induced Cold Bad For Birds »

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