Just finished 900 Miles, which was a really good zombie book about a man trying to get from NYC to Atlanta. He took a business trip which his 9 month pregnant wife did not want him to take. The focus was more about the quick breakdown in society, and morality, in just a few days.
Worth the read right up to the last 2 pages. Did not care for the ending.
Now on to Necropolis Now. Yeah, more zombies.
Read: Whatcha Reading? »
Just another law to protect you from you
(KTVN) Using your cell phone without a hands free device while driving has been illegal in Nevada for more than a year.
Assembly Bill 123 could take the law one step further.
If passed, the bill would make it illegal for pedestrians to read, browse the Internet, or text on wireless devices, if they’re crossing any state road, even in residential areas.
If approved, violators would get a warning for their first offense. A second offense comes with a $100 fine, and a third would be $250.
Hey, if we can save just one life, we should pass the law protecting people from being complete and utter dimwits and putting themselves in harms way. Some interviewed are against this law, some who love the notion of Big Government controlling ever manner of their lives love the law.
A couple points: 1st, I’m usually against the notion of “spreading awareness” campaigns, but it would make a whole lot more sense to use resources to show, and tell, people what fools they are when they text without situational awareness, including video of people getting hit by cars in crosswalks, rather than waste law enforcement time giving warnings for being stupid. There are some videos out there.
Second, this is criminalizing stupidity and controlling people’s lives. When you hear Conservatives discuss attempting to reduce Big Government, this is one of the things we’re talking about, in that Government insinuates itself in every aspect of our lives.
Third, of you’re going to do this, slap a real fine for the first offense. Because, on the flip side of controlling people’s lives, if someone gets hit in a crosswalk wall texting they will cause damage to someone’s motor vehicle, affecting someone else. But let’s not forget that the texter is being a dumbass when crossing with traffic coming in the first place.
It’s still the Big Hand Of Government at work, though.
Just for reference, there are apps for iPhone and Android that allow the devices to use the camera so that people can text while walking. Some even allow people to Tweet and post to Facebook. Alas, I’ve also seen asshats use these apps while driving.
Ft. Lee, NJ, has enacted similar legislation. No mention as to whether or not it’s actually working.
Read: Nevada Looks To Protect You From The Evils Of Walking And Texting »
No, really
(Politico) President Barack Obama offered a personal reflection on gun violence here Friday, tackling the issue not as a policymaker or parent, but as a black man himself who knew how close he’d come to a very different fate.
Obama’s talked frequently about gun violence since the Newtown massacre, but never in these terms. Straying from a speech meant to discuss initiatives from his State of the Union address aimed at supporting poor communities, the president reflected instead on the group of at-risk male teens he’d met with just before he took the stage.
“I had more of a safety net, but these guys are no different than me,†Obama said at Hyde Park Academy, where the teenagers are in school. “I had issues too when I was their age. I just had an environment that was a little more forgiving.â€
Speaking of the economic struggles and broken homes that he identified as the root causes, Obama talked about his own experiences as a young African-American man, causing trouble and, later, trying to affect change on the streets here.
“Don’t get me wrong, as the son of a single mom … I turned out OK … but at the same time I wish I had a father who was involved, around,†Obama said.
There’s quite a bit of difference between growing up on the streets of Portland, Jakarta, and Honolulu, before heading to Los Angeles and NYC for college, and finally ending up in Chicago as a grown adult to community agitate.
“Last year, there were 443 murders with a firearm in this city, and 65 of them were 18 and under. That’s the equivalent of a Newtown every four months,†he said. “That’s precisely why the overwhelming majority of Americans are asking for some common sense proposals to make it harder for criminals to get their hands on a gun.â€
Yet, none of his proposals will keep guns out of the hands of criminals: they’ll just turn the rest of the country into mostly into a camp of disarmed law abiding citizens left to the mercy of criminals.
“No law or set of laws can prevent every senseless act of violence in this country,†Obama said. “When a child opens fire on another child, there’s a hole in that child’s heart that government can’t fill, only community and parents and teachers and clergy can fill that hole. and “when a child opens fire on another child, there’s a hole in that child’s heart that government can’t fill,†he added, drawing on language he used during a 2007 speech in Anacostia, a poor and violent area of Washington.
Well, Chicago’s gun laws sure aren’t preventing anything, particularly in the case of criminals getting and using all manners of guns. But, hey, let’s slap the same restrictions on the rest of the country. And, after he gave his speech about know the mean streets, Obama’s off on a ritzy vacation, with Michelle going her own way, which includes $1,000 an hour golf lessons.
Meanwhile, in companion Politico article, Illinois Rep. Danny Davis tells us exactly where Obama and the Dems really want to go with gun control
“One of the best things we can do is reduce the number of guns on the streets, in our possessions, and to make sure that nobody except military personnel and some law enforcement people have access to these weapons of mass destruction that people are walking up and down the streets with,†Davis said.
There you go: no private ownership of weapons. On The Government would posses them. Except, of course, criminals who do not follow the law. So that the country looks much like Chicago.
Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.
It’s been awhile since we visited with Grist’s resident GINK (green inclinations, no kids), and she’s really, really, really excited about the new notion of sharing one’s children
And now the latest addition to the list of shareable items: kids. Yes, people are using websites and Facebook pages to find like-minded people with whom to share children. From The New York Times:
[A] new breed of online daters [is] looking not for love but rather a partner with whom to build a decidedly non-nuclear family. And several social networks, including PollenTree.com, Coparents.com, Co-ParentMatch.com, and MyAlternativeFamily.com, as well as Modamily, have sprung up over the past few years to help them.
And why are they looking for this “child sharing”? Did you say “love”? Silly you. No, it’s due to all those inconvenient pressures of being a single parent, often by choice, things like those darn kids getting in the way of having fun, using up the money that might have otherwise gone towards having fun, and realizing that perhaps they got in over their heads. Which interferes with having fun.
Having a kid is by far the most carbon-intensive activity a normal person is ever likely to engage in. Think of the climate benefits if more broody singletons shared those munchkins instead of each having their own. And why just singles? Couples could get in on the fun too. And parents who already have kids and want to
dump them at someone else’s house for a few daysgenerously share them with other nurturing adults.
I’d be great if all Warmists would take themselves out of the gene pool.
Read: Warmists Really Excited About Sharing Children, ie, Little Carbon Footprints »
…is a drought world by a fossil fueled vehicle, you might just be a Warmist
The blog of the day is NoFrakkingConsensus, with a post about her 500th post.
Read: If All You See… »
Will CNN anchor and climate astrologer Deb Feyerick take to the airwaves today wondering if Russia was just hit with “climate change”?
(Reuters) More than 500 people were injured when a meteorite shot across the sky and exploded over central Russia on Friday, sending fireballs crashing to Earth, shattering windows and damaging buildings.
They’re actually talking about 900-1000 being injured, but most aren’t serious, fortunately.
If you think I’m kidding about Warmists creating a link, alas, no. Here’s Think Progress’ Andrea Peterson, who’s discussing the budget cuts to NASA (which doesn’t seem all that interested in space exploration these days. Outreach to make Islamists feel good is more in their targets)
It’s a rough time for science right now:The U.S. is facing serious negative impacts on long-term economic competitiveness due to research and development cuts and politicians deemed “saviors†choose to ignore the evidence of climate change. But maybe today’s headlines will be enough to spur the nation’s leaders to have a serious dialogue about investing in space research.
Space research is a worthy expenditure. Perhaps NASA could do a little research also on that big nuclear furnace at the center of the solar system.
Read: Was The Russian Meteorite Strike Caused By Globull Warming? »
I’m guessing Fury Young forgot to read the memo that his own usage of fossil fuels is causing the planet to boil
I’m a bus organizer for 350.org’s Forward on Climate rally. I’ve been on board with the protest for months now.
“Why is it important to protest climate change?†you might ask me. Because I feel it’s my civic duty as an earthling.
Whether or not you believe in global warming, it’s impossible to deny that the climate is changing. The 12 warmest years on record since 1850 have all occurred in the past 14 years. This past year broke the record by a wide margin. The planet is experiencing a wave of droughts, wildfires, storms, and floods. The cost of damages of just one of these disasters, the recent Hurricane Sandy, was $70 billion. The United Nations has estimated that the economic cost of such catastrophes, on a worldwide scale, could reach $600 billion annually by 2030.
As I’ve been doing one-on-one outreach, many subway riders and cafe denizens have asked me, “What are the protest’s specific goals?†I start with the macro, easy-to-grasp objective; that President Obama must enact policy to combat climate change. This flows into a more specific demand: to deny the Keystone XL pipeline’s construction.
Surprisingly, none of the groups goals include pledging to make their own lives “carbon neutral” in order to save Gaia from the weather. Because the climate has never changed during the past 4.5 billion years. Ever. Not once. It has always been stable in the fevered minds of climate astrologers.
Fortunately, there will be plenty of buses to take people to the rally in D.C. on February 17th, where they expect to make a human chain around the White House. They expect this to be the “largest climate rally in US history“, with a whopping 20,000 showing up. You can guess what the Earth has planned for the climate astrologers, right?
The average February daytime temperature for D.C. is 47F. Oh, wait, sorry, my bad, I forgot that current Warmist theology states that cold and snow are also caused by emissions from fossil fueled buses.
Read: Fossil Fueled Bus Driver Tells Us Why We Should Protest The Weather (And Enjoy The Gore Effect) »
And typically unhinged
(The Hill) House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that she opposes a cut in congressional pay because it would diminish the dignity of lawmakers’ jobs.
“I don’t think we should do it; I think we should respect the work we do,” Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol. “I think it’s necessary for us to have the dignity of the job that we have rewarded.”
The sequestor would cause a reduction of pay for lots and lots of federal workers, including those in Congress.
“It’s a hard question to ask me because most of my colleagues are the breadwinners in their families,” she said. “A pay cut to me doesn’t mean as much.”
Call me old fashioned, but serving in Congress was supposed to be a privileged and a duty, as well as a sacrifice, not a permanent job designed to enrich oneself. The average American household income was a bit over $60,000. Congressional electees receive $174,000 a year. Plus all the perks and ability to make lots of moola just by being a federally elected official. Meanwhile, out here in the real world, lots and lots of American citizens are taking pay cuts thanks to this Democrat run economic malaise. With the coming full implementation of ObamaCare, of which Pelosi was instrumental in passing, many Americans are seeing their work hours cut.
Scott Ott has some ideas about dealing with Congressional pay, including
Peg Congressional pay changes to changes in the median household income — down about 8.24% since 2007 — putting their pay at about $159,663. Of course, if they really wanted to identify with the people, we could set their pay AT the median household level, a cut of roughly $110,000. Members who serve inner-city districts could have their’s set to local rates.
When Nancy P regained control of the House, the country went into a deep, deep recession from which it has yet to recover. Incomes are down, the deficit is high, debt is now over $16 trillion, etc and so on.
Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.
Read: Queen Nancy Really Upset About A Possible Congressional Paycut »
Polish a turd and rename it and it’s still a turd
(SFGate) Sen. Barbara Boxer plans Thursday to co-sponsor a radical plan to control carbon dioxide emissions modeled on Alaska’s rebates of oil royalties to residents.
The California Democrat is a marquee draw for an otherwise obscure bill by Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont liberal and independent. Called “fee and dividend,” the legislation is an unusual variant on a carbon tax. It would impose a fee on carbon emissions at their source, such as coal mines, raising the price of fossil fuel energy.
Perhaps Babs should discuss how well this went the last time Democrats brought it up, when, with control of the House and Senate it couldn’t pass. Oh, and she should ask how well this worked for the Queensland, Australia Labor Party, which enacted similar legislation and subsequently lost the next elections so badly that they aren’t even a recognized political party.
But instead of giving the proceeds to the government, three-fifths of the money would be refunded to U.S. residents.
Yup. This will supposedly raise $1.2 trillion over 10 years. And, sure, we’ll see that money back as our cost of living skyrockets
…is an evil fossil infused beer bottle foreshadowing a sea that will rise up over a drought world, you might just be a Warmist
The blog of the day Proof Positive, with a post on the reality of raising the minimum wage.
Read: If All You See… »
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