Settled Science: The Planet Is No Longer Warming

At least at the moment. What will happen next is anyone’s guess. Will we see the temperatures creep up again? Will we see a big dip like from the late 40’s to late 70’s? Will they fluctuate up and down like during the past 15-17 years? What we do know is that the Warmist prognostication that CO2 is the primary driver which would have meant that global temperatures should have continued to clime is dead wrong (via Climate Depot)

(Quadrant Online) The IPCC report of 2007 came and went, failing to detect – or at least failing to acknowledge – that global warming was no more. On the contrary, “it’s worse than we thought” was the rallying cry throughout the lead-up to the COP15 at Copenhagen.

But the prevarication couldn’t last forever. Three years ago, CRU’s Phil Jones admitted to the BBC that there had been no statistically significant warming since 1995.

The pace picked up when the UK Met Office models surreptitiously projected a 20-year standstill on Christmas Eve 2012; and then James Hansen – oft described as the father of global warming – confirmed “a pause” of a decade or more. Now the whole house of cards finally tumbled, with Rajendra Pachauri, official spokesman for the IPCC, confirming in Melbourne that global temperatures had plateaued for 17 years.

Will global warming ever start again? Nobody knows.

Now, Climate Astrologers will say that 15, 16, 17 years is not long enough to make policy on a trend or even to notice. We already know what the actual data says about the trends. What about Warmists?

The 1992 Rio Conference founded a major international treaty on a warming trend that was 12 years old. Hansen’s 1988 launch of the DAGW campaign was little more than a decade after scientists had feared the beginning of a new ice age.

Barry Brill, the post author, points out that many organizations and Warmists, including NOAA and Gavin Schmidt, have said that 15 years is a trend. Warmists can throw up their little chart in an attempt to show that there is this constant upward tick on the global thermometer, but that’s not the way science works, nor is it representative of what the climate has actually done.

The statistical fact is that the late 20th century warming trend is history. It is over. It is so yeterday. As Monty Python’s immortal “Dead Parrot” sketch illustrates so vividly, there is a vast gulf between  “resting” and “dead”.

Remember, we on the Climate Realist side are not arguing whether or not the world has warmed, we are arguing causation. If it was primarily caused by CO2 increases we’d see a continued upwards trend. Yet, 15-17 years of a flat global trend, and only a .28F increase since 1990.

Read: Settled Science: The Planet Is No Longer Warming »

Maddow: “Rights are not supposed to be open to popularity contests”

In arguing in support for same sex marriage, Rachel Maddow‘s blog (the post is actually written by Steve Benen) actually makes the case that The Government, and we’re looking at mostly elected Democrats, should back off on gun control

Rights are not supposed to be open to popularity contests. Throughout American history, if all contentious decisions over civil rights were left solely to popular will and the political process, progress would have been very slow, indeed. It’s precisely why Americans have turned to their last available option — the courts — as a way of ensuring their rights are protected.

What Benen’s referring to is Justice Samuel Alito’s “provocative” question on whether the Court should be ruling on same sex marriage, as there is no data on whether it is good or bad, since it is “newer than cell phones and the Internet.” Well, guns are a lot older than any of those, as is the Right as written in the Bill Of Rights, and the Right is not subject to a popularity contest into restricting that Right.

And, really, marriage of any form is not in the Constitution. One could look towards the Declaration of Independence to see “pursuit of happiness”. Now, I’ve always said that I support civil unions for same sex marriage: this is America, founded on the principles of Classic Liberalism, where if it isn’t harming you, there’s no reason it shouldn’t be legal. Why should people who love each other be denied the ability to be recognized as joined in the eyes of the law? Leave marriage, a religious institution, to the religious organizations.

That said, if gay marriage wins, will The Government require churches to perform them, an obvious violation of the 1st Amendment? Will churches, mosques, synagogues, pastors, priests, clerics, etc be held liable for criminal and/or civil penalties if they refuse to perform a gay marriage? Would one be charged with a “hate crime” if they refuse?

Second, if gay marriage is OK, why not polygamous/bigamous marriage? One of the main arguments for same sex marriage is that it denies the right of equality to same sex couples. Yet, those who want to voluntarily engage in a polygamous/bigamous marriage have been denied under law for hundreds of years. It is a felony to be married to more than one person at a time. What if these people love each other? Is it hurting anyone else? Where’s the equality? You may think that’s a specious argument, but, it shows that certain forms of marriage have been banned under the law.

BTW, Megan McCardle says same sex marriage opponents should understand that this is the best it’s going to get

…this is a landmark victory for the forces of staid, bourgeois sexual morality.  Once gays can marry, they’ll be expected to marry.  And to buy sensible, boring cars that are good for car seats.  I believe we’re witnessing the high water mark for “People should be able to do whatever they want, and it’s none of my business.”  You thought the fifties were conformist?  Wait until all those fabulous “confirmed bachelors” and maiden schoolteachers are expected to ditch their cute little one-bedrooms and join the rest of America in whining about crab grass, HOA restrictions, and the outrageous fees that schools want to charge for overnight soccer trips.

Oh, and keep your filthy hands off my guns: my rights are not open to polls and popularity contests.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: Maddow: “Rights are not supposed to be open to popularity contests” »

German Paper Warns Of Coming Ice Age

Like I’ve said many times, I’ll believe it when I see it. Eventually the Earth’s climate will flip back into a cool period (like it’s been doing back and forth since the end of the last glacial age), and, yes, there is the potential for going back into a true glacial age. Doesn’t mean that this current warm period, which is primarily caused by natural processes, will end shortly. Or, it might. Anyhow

(No Tricks Zone) Mentioning the lethal “100-year, record-smashing” spring cold and snow spreading across Europe over the past month has for the most part been avoided like the plague by Germany’s mainstream media. The silence over the record cold and frost, which has killed thousands and cost billions, has been ear-ringing.

Yet some leading dailies are breaking ranks, and have begun to examine the phenomenon critically and openly.

For example veteran journalist Ulli Kulke at German flagship daily Die Welt today has stunned the rest of the German mainstream media with a piece titled Scientists warn of ice age.

The information in the article is based on a peer-reviewed paper from two Russian scientists, who looked at the real world data and trends, as well as the solar processes, and say that this could lead to a climate similar to the Little Ice Age (PS for Warmists: it’s not just about sun spots, but the overall activity of the Sun along with its magnetism).

Again, to be clear, until it happens, it’s all conjecture. Just like the notion that this current warm period is caused by Mankind. Well, except that the climate does switch between warm and cool.

Read: German Paper Warns Of Coming Ice Age »

If All You See…

…is a flooded world which is droughty somewhere else, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is No Frakking Consensus, with a post regarding “thinking of the children”.

Read: If All You See… »

Surprise: Environmental Groups “Lack Diversity”

In other words, they’re pretty darned white

(Washington Post) Minorities in the nation’s largest environmental organizations said in interviews that they feel the same way.

In fact, they say, the level of diversity, both in leadership and staff, of groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Sierra Club and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation is more like that of the Republican Party they so often criticize for its positions on the environment than that of the multiethnic Democratic Party they have thrown their support behind.

Or like MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN, NY Times, Washington Post, if the WP wants to play that game. And many of the independent groups that back the Democrat party. But, I like the way WP writer Darryl Fears attempts to deflect.

Around the time that Tutman, now 54, was certified as a riverkeeper, the African American Environmentalist Association issued a report card for 26 environmental groups based on their diversity for 2003-2004. Eighteen declined to respond to the request for the makeup of their staffs, and most of the others received poor scores.

The association hasn’t issued a report card since because it was an exercise in frustration, McDonald said. “We moved on.”

In other words, a bunch of white liberals pushing their agenda. As the story goes on to show, these uber-white environmental groups have often ignored the plight of minorities when it comes to fighting for environmental issues.

This comes via Junk Science, which discussed how the NRDC was mostly white ….. almost a year ago.

Read: Surprise: Environmental Groups “Lack Diversity” »

Thinking Amnesty Is Winning Issue, Obama Pivots Back To Immigration

So, what we can expect for the next month or so is massive hyperbole, blamestorming, fear-mongering, and denigration of opponents, at least till he gets bored

(The Hill) The White House hopes to bolster President Obama’s political standing by shifting attention from the bruising budget battles of the last month to immigration reform and gun control.

Democrats welcome the pivot after watching Obama’s standing in polls fall amid fights with Congress over the budget and the automatic spending cuts known as the sequester.

They see immigration and gun reform as a better playing field for Obama that could provide political wins for the president.

Anything to avoid the disaster that is the US economy and government spending policies, eh, champ? This will be a typical Obama campaign, long on yammering and short on leading, which, if things hold up according to his pattern, they’ll have a deal done and then Obama will end up scuttling it by demanding more.

But, hey, we should treat illegals nicely, right, because it is a victimless crime, as Democrats say. Right? Right?

(WRAL) For almost 12 years, a Houston elementary school teacher and an illegal immigrant living in Topeka have engaged in a tug of war to claim the identity of Candida L. Gutierrez in a case that has put a face on the growing crime of “total identity theft” in the United States.

On Monday, the real Candida L. Gutierrez saw her identity thief, Benita Cardona-Gonzalez, for the first time. Their encounter came inside a federal courtroom in Wichita, where Cardona-Gonzalez, a Mexican national, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for possessing fraudulent identification documents.

The plea deal Cardona-Gonzalez struck with prosecutors in January gave her less prison time, but guaranteed she would not contest her deportation. She pleaded guilty to an aggravated felony, which typically results in automatic deportation.

When Gutierrez’s identity was stolen, the thief didn’t stop at opening fraudulent credit and bank accounts. Cardona-Gonzalez assumed Gutierrez’s persona completely, using it to get a job, a driver’s license, a mortgage and medical care for her children. She even put the stolen name on the birth certificates of her two U.S.-born children in the spots where they list who’s the mother.

Said illegal ruined the life of Ms. Gutierrez, turning it into a living hell. She and her husband had to fight every year with all sorts of government agencies, with banks, she was turned down for a mortgage, she has to deal with creditors and credit agencies on a constant basis. She even applied for a new Social Security number because of this identity theft. Well, so did Cardona-Gonzalez. SS turned Gutierrez down, but gave it to Cardona-Gonzalez. Gutierrez is even dealing with the issue of being responsible for the home that is in foreclosure that Cardona-Gonzalez purchased.

Extreme? Yes. But Americans have to deal with identity theft by illegals every year.

Read: Thinking Amnesty Is Winning Issue, Obama Pivots Back To Immigration »

Massive Obamacare Application Asks About Registering To Vote

Should anyone be surprised that the humongous draft application for Obamacare health insurance delves into areas it shouldn’t?

(Washington Examiner) The 61-page online Obamacare draft application for health care includes asking if the applicant wants to register to vote, raising the specter that pro-Obama groups being tapped to help Americans sign up for the program will also steer them to register with the Democratic Party.

On page 59, after numerous questions about the applicant’s identity and qualification for Obamacare, comes the question: “Would you like to register to vote?” The placement of the question could lead some to believe they have to register to vote to get health care.

In the introduction of the document, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services declare: “This document-the ‘questionnaire’-represents each possible item that may need to be asked for successful eligibility determinations.”

There are lots of problems with asking the question, including the ones mentioned in the excerpt, as well violating the Paperwork Reduction Act and not being authorized by the (non-affordable) health care act, but let’s consider this: the application, at least in draft form, is 61 one freaking pages long. How is this supposed to make it easier for people to obtain health insurance? And since this is a draft, the final version will, according to the way government works, mostly likely be longer. And it will, once all the blank spots, particularly when they finally get around to deciding what determines eligibility 3 years after the crappy legislation was passed.

Obviously, it asks lots and lots and lots of questions about earnings and gets in your personal business.

It also asks questions about citizenship, and never says “If you aren’t a US citizen, stop here. You’re not entitled to American taxpayer subsidized health insurance”. Though it does seem, at least in draft version, to exclude most illegal aliens, since they would have no actual immigration documents.

Near the end, after filling out all this information, one finds out if one is eligible. This is a section that will certainly increase the size of the document tremendously.

Related, Betsy McCaughey writes that Obamacare will doom Democrats in 2014.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: Massive Obamacare Application Asks About Registering To Vote »

Obama: $500 Million To Palestinian Authority

Sequester shmester, if this is true (via Newsbuster)

(Al Arabiya) Following the visit of U.S. President Barack Obama to the West Bank and Israel this week, the Palestinian Authority was granted access to almost $500 million that was frozen by U.S. Congress for months.

A top U.S. official said Friday that the frozen funds have been quietly unblocked after Obama and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with top Palestinian and Israeli leaders during his visit this week. Kerry has pushed for the funds to be released since taking up his post on Feb. 1.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters that the Obama Administration notified Congress late February that it was seeking a further $200 million to fund U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs for the Palestinians.

Hey, we can give quasi terrorists money but can’t give tours of the White House. Priorities.

Read: Obama: $500 Million To Palestinian Authority »

If All You See…

…are evil dogs putting out lots of CO2 causing the world to become a desert, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Strata-Sphere, with a post on Sequestration drama.

Read: If All You See… »

Wunderground’s Dr. Ricky Rood Tackles Question “What Can I Do” About Hotcoldwetdry

Dr. Rood forgets to actually answer the question

Setting Up the Discussion: What Can I Do? (1)

This is the start of a series in response to the question, “What can I do about climate change?” This is a question that always comes from the audience when out giving talks. There are some canned answers. There are many websites that have lists. I will summarize this basic information, and I intend to synthesize this information and look beyond the canned answers.

In class, I always start this discussion with the most basic decision – whether or not to do anything. This is not meant to be flippant. There are those who for reasons of belief, priority, cost or uncertainty who think that the right decision is to do nothing. Readers of my blog know that I think that the decision to do nothing is irresponsible because the do-nothing decision increases risk and places us at an economic and technological disadvantage.

After that comes lots and lots of blather. Perhaps he’ll answer the question in future posts. Probably not.

At the top of the list for what to do, individuals have a lot of opportunity to make a difference with choices about efficient use of energy. Examining the options, there is also the opportunity for collective behavior to accelerate the impact of individuals. There is the potential of impact both at home and in decisions about commercial spaces and transportation. There is opportunity to organize neighborhoods, communities, and cities. Hence, following the decision for personal action, the next place a person can make a difference is in organizing collective behavior.

In other words, do what you want, but make sure you agitate for The Government to slap lifestyle changing requirements on Other People. The whole “collective behavior” is typical leftist take for Progressivism, ie, nice fascism.

If you ask me, I could answer this without 9 paragraphs and an unreadable chart: Warmists should practice what they preach. Give up fossil fueled travel. Install solar panels and such on their homes, getting off the grid. 2 minute showers. Only buy local. Stop eating meat. Do not have kids (please, as a Leftist, do not have kids). Walk the talk. Weird that Warmists can never get to this point.

Read: Wunderground’s Dr. Ricky Rood Tackles Question “What Can I Do” About Hotcoldwetdry »

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