If All You See…

By William Teach March 12, 2013 – 1:00 pm

…is an evil energy sucking smartphone, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Lonely Conservative, who notes that there’s no Sequester for White House big money makers.

Read: If All You See… »

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

Thomas Friedman: Warmists Should Go Crazy If Obama Approves Keystone XL

By William Teach March 12, 2013 – 10:44 am

This op-ed piece came the day before the NY Times editorial board decided to say they can’t support Keystone (via The Hockey Schtick and James Taranto)

No to Keystone. Yes to Crazy.

I HOPE the president turns down the Keystone XL oil pipeline. (Who wants the U.S. to facilitate the dirtiest extraction of the dirtiest crude from tar sands in Canada’s far north?) But I don’t think he will. So I hope that Bill McKibben and his 350.org coalition go crazy. I’m talking chain-themselves-to-the-White-House-fence-stop-traffic-at-the-Capitol kind of crazy, because I think if we all make enough noise about this, we might be able to trade a lousy Keystone pipeline for some really good systemic responses to climate change.

Taranto writes

Remember when the Times and some of its columnists were crusading to silence “uncivil” language by their political adversaries and media rivals? By contrast, directly urging unlawful activity is acceptable on the pages of the Times if it furthers a leftist agenda.

Say, I wonder when Thomas will give up his own fossil fueled travel?

Read: Thomas Friedman: Warmists Should Go Crazy If Obama Approves Keystone XL »

Posted in Climahypocrites, Global Warming, Unhinged Tools | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

Nanny Bloomberg Not Happy With Soda Ban Block, Vows More Nannyism

By William Teach March 12, 2013 – 7:49 am

In case you missed it, a judge has struck down Michael Bloomberg’s big sugary drink ban, partly due to Bloomberg sidestepping the city council, partly because it was “arbitrary and capricious” in what was banned and what wasn’t. Bloomberg vows to fight the ruling, because NYC has absolutely no other problems

(Newsday) New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said a judge was “clearly in error” for blocking the city’s ban on jumbo-sized sugary drinks and vowed a vigorous fight to overturn the ruling and highlight the “deadly” scourge of obesity as a public health problem that inordinately affects the poor.

“If we are serious about fighting obesity, we have to be honest about what causes it and we have to have the courage to tackle it head-on,” Bloomberg said during a City Hall news conference Monday after the State Supreme Court justice’s ruling in Manhattan.

Right, because instead of getting a big sugary 20 ounce drink (or bigger), people can’t purchase two 16 ounce instead. And could possibly end up drinking more. And who’s this “we”? That’s the problem with Progressives (fascists): they always want to tell you what to do.

“It’s not enough to talk and it’s not enough to hope,” Bloomberg said. “We have a responsibility as human beings to do something to save each other. While other people will wring their hands over the problem of sugary drinks, in New York City we’re doing something about it.”

In other words, he knows what’s best for you, so your freedom of choice should be taken away when it comes to drinks that are legal under the law everywhere but in his own mind. Perhaps Nanny B should spend more time trying to eliminate serious problems like, oh, say, gangs, rapes, drugs, and violence in NYC.

“I’ve got to defend my children and you and everyone else and do what’s right to save lives,” he said in response to a question. “Obesity kills. There’s just no question about it … It would be irresponsible not to try to do everything we can to save lives.

That way lies totalitarianism. For your own good. And Nanny B intends to spend lots of time fighting the ruling, because it’s not like he and NYC have other pressing issues, especially when they waste lots of taxpayer money on the judicial proceedings.

Read: Nanny Bloomberg Not Happy With Soda Ban Block, Vows More Nannyism »

Posted in Barking Moonbats, Liberal World, Nanny State | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

Bummer: Green Cars Not So Green

By William Teach March 12, 2013 – 6:52 am

I, and others, have posted material showing that electric cars and hybrids are not exactly environmentally nor hotcoldwetdry friendly. Here’s  another in the Wall Street Journal (h/t Dana)

Bjorn Lomborg: Green Cars Have a Dirty Little Secret

Electric cars are promoted as the chic harbinger of an environmentally benign future. Ads assure us of “zero emissions,” and President Obama has promised a million on the road by 2015. With sales for 2012 coming in at about 50,000, that million-car figure is a pipe dream. Consumers remain wary of the cars’ limited range, higher price and the logistics of battery-charging. But for those who do own an electric car, at least there is the consolation that it’s truly green, right? Not really.

For proponents such as the actor and activist Leonardo DiCaprio, the main argument is that their electric cars—whether it’s a $100,000 Fisker Karma (Mr. DiCaprio’s ride) or a $28,000 Nissan Leaf—don’t contribute to global warming. And, sure, electric cars don’t emit carbon-dioxide on the road. But the energy used for their manufacture and continual battery charges certainly does—far more than most people realize.

A 2012 comprehensive life-cycle analysis in Journal of Industrial Ecology shows that almost half the lifetime carbon-dioxide emissions from an electric car come from the energy used to produce the car, especially the battery. The mining of lithium, for instance, is a less than green activity. By contrast, the manufacture of a gas-powered car accounts for 17% of its lifetime carbon-dioxide emissions. When an electric car rolls off the production line, it has already been responsible for 30,000 pounds of carbon-dioxide emission. The amount for making a conventional car: 14,000 pounds.

Now, granted, the “carbon emissions” of an electric vehicle are half that of a standard gas vehicle, at least while run on battery power (wait, they have CO2 emission? That means they must be Evil like fossil fueled vehicles, and should be eliminated). The problem, as Bjorn points out, is that you have to drive it a lot on battery power to get ahead environmentally. Which also means stopping to recharge every 70 miles or so (depending on the vehicle, could be much less).

If a typical electric car is driven 50,000 miles over its lifetime, the huge initial emissions from its manufacture means the car will actually have put more carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere than a similar-size gasoline-powered car driven the same number of miles. Similarly, if the energy used to recharge the electric car comes mostly from coal-fired power plants, it will be responsible for the emission of almost 15 ounces of carbon-dioxide for every one of the 50,000 miles it is driven—three ounces more than a similar gas-powered car.

One would have to drive it considerably more and stay away from any coal fired charging points in order to save a tiny bit of CO2 output over a similar size 100% fossil fueled vehicle.

So, the obvious solution is for all Warmists to abandon not only their fossil fueled vehicles, but their EVs as well, and simply buy a bicycle to get to work and around town. Lead the way, Warmists!

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: Bummer: Green Cars Not So Green »

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

Next Dem Assault On 2nd Amendment: Big Taxes On Ammo

By William Teach March 11, 2013 – 6:56 pm

Don’t worry, they’re just trying to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. No need to be alarmed

(LA Times) Efforts are underway in Congress and at least half a dozen states, including California, to raise taxes on firearms or ammunition to pay for programs targeting gun violence.

In Congress, a group of Democrats, led by Rep. Linda T. Sanchez of Lakewood, is pushing for an additional 10% tax on handgun purchases that could generate tens of millions of dollars nationwide to fund gun buybacks, firearms safety campaigns and anti-violence programs.

Legislation that would impose taxes on guns or bullets has also been introduced in Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey and Washington state. In Sacramento, a bill by Democratic Assemblyman Roger Dickinson would impose a nickel tax on every bullet sold in California to pay for screening and treating young children for mental illness.

Let’s see: I typically pay about $2.50 for a box of 50 Winchester .22LR for my Walther P22. So, that would double the cost per box.

Massachusetts state Rep. David Linsky, who has proposed a 25% tax on the sale of guns and ammunition to fund mental health programs, police training and crime victims’ programs, said that gun owners bore some responsibility for funding mental healthcare because of the effect of firearms on public health and safety.

Interesting. Law abiding gun owners bear responsibility, but apparently Hollywood, the entertainment industry, and the games industry bear no responsibility. I bet Linsky feels that Obama bears no responsibility for anything that has happened during his presidency. Want to know who does bear responsibility? Democrats, and their soft on crime policies.

In Maryland, legislation has been introduced to impose a 50% tax on most ammunition and establish a $25 annual gun registration fee.

Nope, nothing to do with infringing on the ability of law abiding citizens to protect themselves.

Erika Johnson discusses a similar article on sin taxing bullets. Also available at Hot Air, we learn that Dem. Rep Jan Schakowsky wants to consider banning all handguns. But, remember, this is all about keep guns out of the hands of criminals. Or something.

Read: Next Dem Assault On 2nd Amendment: Big Taxes On Ammo »

Posted in 2nd Amendment, Democrats | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach March 11, 2013 – 1:00 pm

…is a field that would be perfect for a wind turbine farm (as long as it’s far away from your house), you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Troglopundit, with a post on Neanderthal killing bunnies…wait, what?

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Posted in If All You See | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

Fish Wrap Finally Decides They Don’t Like Keystone XL Cause Of Possible Hotcoldwetdry

By William Teach March 11, 2013 – 11:35 am

Now, if only the big wigs at the NY Times would reduce their own “carbon footprint” by turning the heat down to 50 degrees during the winter and up to 80 during the summer…better yet, why not simply turn the heat/AC systems off and open the windows?….along with reducing all fossil fueled Times travel, including distribution of their paper edition? Anyhow, here’s the editorial board

When to Say No

The State Department’s latest environmental assessment of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline makes no recommendation about whether President Obama should approve it. Here is ours. He should say no, and for one overriding reason: A president who has repeatedly identified climate change as one of humanity’s most pressing dangers cannot in good conscience approve a project that — even by the State Department’s most cautious calculations — can only add to the problem.

It is these long-term consequences that Mr. Obama should focus on. Mainstream scientists are virtually unanimous in stating that the one sure way to avert the worst consequences of climate change is to decarbonize the world economy by finding cleaner sources of energy while leaving more fossil fuels in the ground. Given its carbon content, tar sands oil should be among the first fossil fuels we decide to leave alone.

The same problem delivery of the NY Times’ dead tree edition augments. And the fossil fueled travel used by its reporters.

In itself, the Keystone pipeline will not push the world into a climate apocalypse. But it will continue to fuel our appetite for oil and add to the carbon load in the atmosphere. There is no need to accept it.

Climate apocalypse!!!!!!1!!! We’re dooooooomed! But not doomed enough for the Times to give up its own use of fossil fuels and lower their own “carbon footprint.” Yeah, we’re basically talking about big shot Progressives who Know Better than you little people, and you should just accept that they Know Better and that your cost of living will rise dramatically, all why they jet off to exotic vacation spots to carp about hotcoldwetdry.

Don’t forget that the other big paper, the Washington Post, supported Keystone XL.

Read: Fish Wrap Finally Decides They Don’t Like Keystone XL Cause Of Possible Hotcoldwetdry »

Posted in Climahypocrites, Global Warming, Wonky Media | 44 Comments | Trackback URL

Earth Hour Wackos Use North Korean Dictator As Model Warmist

By William Teach March 11, 2013 – 10:10 am

We’re fast approaching yet another Earth Hour, where climate astrologers turn their lights out for a whopping 60 minutes (out of 525,949 a year), on March 23rd. These tend to be the same people who were freaking out over enforced earth hours after storms like Superstorm Sandy, the Derecho, and others. One would think they would be happy about reducing their “carbon footprint”.

Well, here’s some crazies who are supporting the World Wildlife Foundation’s (weird, they should spend time protecting animals, eh?) Earth Hour (via No Frakking Consensus)

(Do The Green Thing About Page) Do The Green Thing is an environmental charity that uses Creativity vs Climate Change to inspire people to be more sustainable.

In the five years since we launched, our films, posters, podcasts and products have reached over 11m people in 209 countries/territories and inspired our subscribers to save 2.5 times more CO2 than they otherwise would have.

How about if they simply went “carbon neutral”? Oh, wait, then they’d have to significantly reduce their own lifestyle.

Our latest campaign, in support of the WWF’s Earth Hour, involves creating 23 Posters with world-famous designers, artists and creatives, and publishing one a day from March 1st until Earth Hour on the 23rd.

Each poster inspires people to do one of the sustainable actions chosen by Do The Green Thing’s nine environmental advisors. And it does so using world-class creativity, which we believe is a brilliantly effective tool to seduce, provoke and persuade people to change their behavior for the better.

As Donna Laframboise at No Frakking Consensus points out

Changing other people’s behaviour. That’s what these folks are about. You and I are the unwashed, uninformed masses. We behave the way we do not because we’ve considered our options and have chosen the path that makes the most sense.

We aren’t intelligent beings making intelligent decisions. Rather, we’re eco-sinners. And the DoTheGreenThing folks are missionaries spreading the gospel.

In other words, these people are Progressives, ie, “nice fascists”, as Jonah Goldberg termed them in his book “Liberal Fascism“. They want Everyone Else to change their behavior, by the barrel of Government Law, Decree, and Regulation if necessary. But not their own. Websites aren’t exactly carbon neutral.

Anyhow, Donna tears apart the much of the Do The Green Thing talking points and posters. But, here’s one of the 23:

Evil by Joe Stephenson

Convincing people to turn things off properly was Joe Stephenson’s mission with this poster.

The Pentagram designer says, “The standby light embodies everything that’s wrong with the world: rather than walking two steps to turn the telly off properly, we just leave it on standby, sucking up electricity and driving up our energy bills. So I wanted to demonize those little red lights, by making everyone think of Kim Jong Il whenever they see one.”

It’s not the brutal dictator that’s evil, it’s refusing to unplug your appliances when not in use (vampire electricity). I understand his point, but, still, using Kim Jong Il is probably not the wisest, considering what North Korea looks like at night

Then again, that’s what Warmists want the world to look like at all hours….well, not their own residence, of course. Just everyone else’s. And Earth Hour is simply a means, per the WWF, to “signal concern” over hotcoldwetdry. But refuse to really do anything within their own lives.

Read: Earth Hour Wackos Use North Korean Dictator As Model Warmist »

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

Democrats Mostly Against Any Obama Grand Bargain

By William Teach March 11, 2013 – 9:39 am

Unless it includes lots of tax increases and sharing the wealth policies (though none of them have been willing to send a check to the IRS themselves)

(Politico) President Barack Obama may be thinking about a “grand bargain” to address spending and the federal deficit, but there’s a key constituency he has to persuade to come along.

Democrats.

The talk of any deal with congressional Republicans — and for now, it’s just that: talk — has liberals worried the White House will give in to changes to safety net programs including Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. (snip)

One hundred and seven of the 200 House Democrats signed a letter to Obama threatening to vote “against any and every cut to Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security benefits — including raising the retirement age or cutting the cost of living adjustments that our constituents earned and need.”

Instead, they want the White House to “rely on economic growth and more fair revenue-raising policies to solve our fiscal problems,” like getting rid of subsidies for big businesses and raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

How are those Democrat/Obama policies on economic growth working so far? Even after dumping what will be over a trillion dollars (with the interest on the borrowed money) through the stimulus, all the small stimulus bill, all the pivots to jobs ever few months, the economy is in stagnation. It’s moribund. The US borrows 43 cents for every dollar it spends. Democrat policies are essentially against economic growth. And Dems aren’t willing to look at any entitlement reform, despite the $27-$180 trillion (no one really knows) in future unfunded liabilities.

A second letter, spearheaded by Reps. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) and Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and supported by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, simply states they pledge to vote against any proposal they see as a benefit cut.

The letter has been signed by 25 other members of the Democratic Caucus.

Many others are saying “no changes. Period.”And here’s Fauxahontas

“Chained CPI is just a fancy way to say, ‘Cut benefits for seniors, the permanently disabled and orphans,’” Sen. Elizabeth Warren told Salon. “Our Social Security system is critical to protecting middle-class families, and we cannot allow it to be dismantled inch by inch.”

And what happens when SS and other entitlement programs are insolvent? Because that is coming. Anyone who fails to acknowledge the structural and fiscal defects is a fool. We cannot tax and spend our way to prosperity.

Nor do many of the GOP plans make sense. Here’s what Paul Ryan had to say in Sunday’s interview with Chris Wallace

WALLACE: In your last budget, you cut spending about $5 trillion over 10 years. How much do you cut spending in this new budget?

RYAN: Basically the same, about $5 trillion. Instead of growing spending at 4.9 percent a year, which is the average under the current path we’re on, we grow spending at 3.4 percent, each year, over the next decade. That gets us on a path to balance, and results in about a $5 trillion spending cut.

WALLACE: So, when you talk about cuts, you’re talking about cuts in the rate of growth, not actual, absolute cuts?

RYAN: Exactly. Instead of spending $46 trillion over the next 10 years, we’ll spend $41 trillion. That’s means we’ll grow spending on average 3.4 percent a year instead of growing it an average 4.9 percent a year, which is the path we’re on, which takes us from ever balancing the budget which produces a debt crisis.

With all due offense, Paul, that’s mule fritters, bat guano insane. All this does is slow the growth of spending increases, not reduce what the federal government is spending now. Nor does it reform nor tackle discretionary spending, wasteful spending, and spending that the government should even be involved in. If even one of the staunchest fiscal conservatives in Congress isn’t willing to make the hard cuts in order to reduce spending, America has a problem. Dems want massive tax increases. Republicans only want to slow spending growth. America is doomed.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: Democrats Mostly Against Any Obama Grand Bargain »

Posted in Barry Obama, Democrats, Economy, GOP | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

Watcha Reading?

By William Teach March 10, 2013 – 8:50 pm

OK, since last Sunday I’ve finished Dark Legion (The Lockman Chronicles #2) by Rob Cornell, a nice follow up to Darker Things. Vampires! Werewolves! Ghosts! Mystery! Action! Can’t wait till the 3rd book this summer.

Also, Plague Zone by David Wellington. A different type of zombie book, not really zombies, but people who have caught a virus that turns their brains to mush causing them to attack and eat humans. Which turns many into these zombies, or, as they’re called, droolers, since they aren’t actually dead. It’s about one man’s quest to get home to Seattle and kill the drooler which got his wife and child, which he watched on TV while at a conference in Chicago. Rather an abrupt ending, though.

Now on to the newest Bob Moore book by Tom Andry, Hostile Territory. So far, as good as the other two.

Read: Watcha Reading? »

Posted in Books | 1 Comment | Trackback URL
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