Natural Resources Conservation Service Has One Fossil Fueled Vehicle For Every 1.2 Employees

By William Teach August 11, 2012 – 2:28 pm

What’s the big deal? Well…..

(CNS News) The Natural Resources Conservation Service, a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, operates 9,516 vehicles even though it only has 11,605 employees. That works out to one vehicle for every 1.2 employees.

The service promotes itself, in part, as a component of the federal government’s effort to deal with climate change.

“Our goal is not just a sustainable, nutritious, abundant food supply, but also thriving ecosystems that support a diversity of life,” the conservation service says on its website. “In the next century, NRCS will not only continue to tackle familiar challenges like ensuring clean water and healthy soil, but will also rise to meet new issues, such as clean air, clean energy, climate change, and new technology.”

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) describes the mission of the NRCS as ensuring “private lands are conserved, restored, and more resilient to environmental challenges, like climate change,” and the NRCS argues on its website that human activity is producing greenhouse gases (GHG) that lead to climate change and that farmers can help solve the problem by reducing emissions.

Of those 9,516 vehicles, the vast majority are some type of truck or van, which we can all assume run on fossil fuels. But, remember, fighting climate change is something to other people/groups should be forced to do.

Read: Natural Resources Conservation Service Has One Fossil Fueled Vehicle For Every 1.2 Employees »

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

If All You See…

By William Teach August 11, 2012 – 1:00 pm

….is the flag of the evil carbon polluting USA, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Bunkerville, with a post on Obama welcoming illegal aliens.

Read: If All You See… »

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

OK, So Now Geothermal Energy Is Verbotan By Climate Weenies

By William Teach August 11, 2012 – 11:47 am

Remember how they wanted every alternative type of energy? Well, they block transmission lines for the “clean energy” projects, block solar and wind projects, don’t like hydrothermal because of a raft of reasons, and now, geothermal is evil

(Global Warming Policy Foundation) The most promising renewable energy of all is making pro-renewable Greens frightened and angry. It’s geothermal energy, which taps into the natural warmth below Earth’s surface, providing an abundant heat source. The problem? New geothermal techniques requires hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and environmental crusaders have convinced themselves that fracking is evil.

Geothermal exploitation used to be about finding and retrieving hot water – but new technology allows water to be sent into deep fissures several thousand feet down, where it meets hot dry rock, and comes out piping hot.

The problem? New geothermal techniques requires hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and environmental crusaders have convinced themselves that fracking is evil. Thanks to misleading propaganda such as the movie Gasland, campaigners fear contamination of the water table and apocalyptic earthquakes. (For some Greens, the world is a disaster movie set to loop.)

And because of fracking, at least one project, AltaRock in Oregon, has been cancelled. Warmists are for alternative energy in principle, but not practice.

Fortunately, Warmists are forcing coal fired plants (again, not my favorite type of energy) to shut down with nothing to replace them. I suggest we put tons of wind turbines throughout liberal suburban neighborhoods to make up for the lost power.

Read: OK, So Now Geothermal Energy Is Verbotan By Climate Weenies »

Posted in Collapsing Science, Energy, Global Warming | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

Washington Post Attempts To Dispell 5 Myths About Stimulus

By William Teach August 11, 2012 – 7:34 am

The Washington Post’s Michael Grunwald is spinning hard within the opinion section to tell us that Obama’s outsourced Stimulus program, which wasted $787 billion dollars for no real gain, and will certainly top a trillion dollars with the interest, was super awesome! These are the supposed myths

1. The stimulus didn’t create jobs. A year after Obama signed the bill, the percentage of the public that believed it had created jobs was lower than the percentage that believed Elvis was alive. But at its peak, the Recovery Act directly employed more than 700,000 Americans on construction projects, research grants and other contracts. That number doesn’t include the jobs saved or created through its unemployment benefits, food stamps and other aid to struggling families likely to spend it; its fiscal relief for cash-strapped state governments; or its tax cuts for more than 95 percent of workers. Top economic forecasters estimate that the stimulus produced about 2.5 million jobs and added between 2.1 percent and 3.8 percent to our gross domestic product.

OK, I’ll agree it saved/created jobs. Of course, a good chunk of them were temporary positions, gone when the money dried up. It also kept public sector workers on the job, and then when the money ran out, those jobs were in danger, because the economies in quite a few of the states are pitiful, just like the economy. Michael does accede that it didn’t keep unemployment under 8%, but provides some spin, and says it “stopped the free fall”, which is why we’re still above 8% for 41 straight months.

2. The stimulus was full of waste, pork and fraud. Most of the Recovery Act consisted of straightforward aid to states and to the vulnerable, infrastructure spending, and tax cuts. Critics may call it “porkulus,” but the stimulus was also the first modern spending bill with no official legislative earmarks, the usual definition of “pork.” And after experts warned that 5 to 7 percent of the money could be lost to fraud, investigators documented only $7.2 million in losses through 2011, about 0.001 percent.

$7.2 million? Seriously? The US taxpayer lost more than that on Solyndra alone. How about $3 million for silly science projects, like the shrimp on a treadmill research? How about $10 million wasted on a turtle tunnel? Oh, wait, Michael plays a game by mentioning only 2011. How about almost $5 billion in waste, as mentioned by Tom Coburn, for the worst 102? The report didn’t even mention many projects that so many people thought were waste.

Two other myths are worthless, but it also mentions some myth that I’ve never heard that the Stimulus, unlike the New Deal, will leave no legacy

The stimulus was the biggest and most transformative energy bill in history, pouring an astonishing $90 billion into record expansions of every imaginable form of clean energy, from renewables to electric vehicles. It included $27 billion to computerize health care. Its Race to the Top was a landmark in education reform. Its high-speed rail program was the most ambitious transportation initiative since the interstates. It extended high-speed Internet to underserved communities, a modern twist on the New Deal’s rural electrification, and modernized the New Deal-era unemployment insurance system. And much more.

Michael is right, it will leave a legacy. Lots of painted bridges, re-paved roads that didn’t need paving, videos of shrimp on treadmills, high speed rail trains that have yet to be built with accompanying videos, oh, and a massive environmental cleanup at Solyndra. Among others. Oh, and let’s not forget the massive debt left to America’s grandchildren!

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: Washington Post Attempts To Dispell 5 Myths About Stimulus »

Posted in Barking Moonbats, Barry Obama, Economy, Liberal World | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

Everyone Pretty Much Saying Mitt’s VP Pick Will Be Paul Ryan -Confirmed

By William Teach August 11, 2012 – 6:52 am

Hmm, I thought I would be the first to know by downloading the smartphone app. Of course, there is no official confirmation of the pick, and supposedly Mitt will make the announcement today. Oh, well. ABC News says Ryan is a high risk high reward pick (if he’s the actual pick)

Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, who Republicn sources tell ABC News has been selected as Mitt Romney’s running mate, is young and politically tested.

Just 42 years old, he’s already been elected to represent Wisconsin’s 1st District seven times. Within the Republican Party, he’s regarded as a rising star, and conservatives would be delighted if he was added to the ticket. It’s no secret that the more hardcore factions of the GOP have had their doubts about Romney (see: Rick Santorum’s longevity in the primaries). Having Ryan riding alongside the candidate would ease the bulk of their concerns.

On the flip side, Paul Ryan is young, politically tested, and arguably more popular inside the Republican Party than Romney. Here’s a challenge: Name another vice presidential nominee with similar credentials whose ticket won the general election? Exactly.

Um, that seems more like a win win, not a on one side and on the other. ABC provides a few of the “negatives”, which includes

Against – He’s specific about how he would do it. However one feels about the “Roadmap” proposal, and people tend to feel rather strongly, there’s no doubt about what it would entail. The top tax rates would be cut to 25 percent from 35 percent; all taxes on capital gains, interest, and stock dividends would be eliminated; and, most controversially, the Ryan plan would privatize Social Security and Medicare.

So, it’s bad to have a specific plan to deal with the exploding federal budget? Did we enter an alternate universe while I slept?

Against – Ryan’s ability to raise money is tied to his reputation as the party’s foremost deficit hawk. But as a vice presidential nominee, he would be required to compromise some of his fiscal purity. Every running mate has to give a little up for the good of the ticket. The question for Ryan is whether giving up tailoring his brand to fit the current GOP platform will cancel out his initial appeal.

If Mitt is picking him, I seriously doubt that Mitt wanted Ryan to moderate, but, instead, bring real conservative cred to the ticket.

I guess we’ll see today if the AP, ABC, Washington Post, Fox News, et all are correct.

More: I suppose updating to note that Mitt’s pick is Paul Ryan would be in order. Received the official notification at 8am or so.

PS: it’s interesting to see all the liberal blogs, interest groups, and news sites already had their hit pieces tee’d up and ready to go. Can’t link the specific Memeorandum thread using Droid, but my goodness, the Barking Moonbats are out in force.

Read: Everyone Pretty Much Saying Mitt’s VP Pick Will Be Paul Ryan -Confirmed »

Posted in GOP, Romney | 10 Comments | Trackback URL

Lefties Petition Berenstain Bears To Pull Out From Chick-fil-a

By William Teach August 10, 2012 – 4:27 pm

It’s not enough for Lefties to simply refuse to eat at Chick-fil-a, because, let’s face it, they are hyper-partisan and intolerant of anything that diverges from their rigid dogma. No, now they are going wacky with their petitions

(WSJ) The publisher of the Berenstain Bears children’s books is being urged to cut ties with Chick-fil-A because of its president’s statements opposing gay marriage.

Three organizations said Wednesday they delivered petitions with 80,000 signatures to HarperCollins. The petitions demand the New York-based publishing house end the Berenstain Bears’ affiliation with the national fast-food chain and say the beloved bears teach the importance of standing against bigotry.

The petitions urge HarperCollins to follow the lead of the Jim Henson Co., which pulled its Muppet toys from Chick-fil-A kids’ meals. A similar campaign with Berenstain Bears is slated for this month.

Now, why would anyone suggest that Lefties are anti-free speech and anti-business?

Read: Lefties Petition Berenstain Bears To Pull Out From Chick-fil-a »

Posted in Current Affairs, Liberal World, Unhinged Tools | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Solar #Fail Today: Chu, Tax Credits, Selling To Themselves

By William Teach August 10, 2012 – 1:58 pm

Don’t worry, the Solydra loan was a good bet

(Business Week) U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu told President Barack Obama in mid-2011 that loans in the department’s clean-energy program were sound, two months before the bankruptcy of recipient Solyndra LLC.

A draft prepared by Energy Department officials for Chu to brief Obama on June 27, 2011, also pushed to continue the program, slated to expire three months later, according to documents released today by the Republican-led House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

How’d that work out? Gotta love how the Smartest Administration Evah! was so utterly clueless to the economics of the situation.

(Business Week) A tax break passed by lawmakers four years ago to spur investment in solar energy has become a more costly deal for the state than expected, siphoning millions of dollars from Louisiana’s coffers above what had been estimated.

When lawmakers passed the Wind and Solar Energy Systems Tax Credit in 2007, fiscal analysts said they expected lost state tax income to be less than $500,000 a year.

But in four years of the tax break, the state has shelled out $37 million for the tax credit — more than 18 times the maximum estimate, according to data provided to The Associated Press by the Department of Revenue.

I’m shocked that a government program ended up being over 18 times more expensive than originally estimated. Aren’t you shocked?

(Washington Examiner) President Obama, as part of his “we can’t wait” for congressional approval initiative, announced that the Office of Management and Budget will expedite approval of a Nevada project owned by a solar company with a history of using taxpayer subsidies to sell products to itself.

First Solar’s “Silver State South Solar Energy project is a solar energy generation plant proposed on 13,043 acres of public land,” the White House said in an announcement of the initiative. “If approved, it would produce an estimated 350 MW of clean energy utilizing photovoltaic technology– enough to power approximately 105,000 homes – and help the State of Nevada meet its renewable energy goals.”

This is a company that, as The Washington Examiner’s Tim Carney reported, relies on taxpayer subsidies while selling products to itself.

Remember, First Solar recently laid off 2,200 employees

Oh, and there’s more which I’m adding after writing the above and saving the draft. Not solar related, but, related to Obama’s green energy fiasco

Reuters:

U.S. battery maker A123 Systems, which got a $249 million green technology grant from the U.S. government three years ago, said on Wednesday that a Chinese auto parts maker is looking to take an 80 percent stake in the faltering company.

So, after wasting all that taxpayer money, China will take most of it over. Great.

Read: Solar #Fail Today: Chu, Tax Credits, Selling To Themselves »

Posted in Energy | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach August 10, 2012 – 1:00 pm

…is a wall needed to keep the rising seas out, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Troglopundit, who provides a post about retirement not looking too good.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Kids In South Africa Won’t Know What Trampolines Look Like

By William Teach August 10, 2012 – 9:56 am

It’s probably your fault because you forgot to unplug your DVR when you went to work (via Tom Nelson)

(Planet 3.0) Yes, it is winter in South Africa, but the extent of the storm may be unprecedented.

“It is probably the first time ever that snow has fallen in all nine of South Africa’s provinces on the same day”

Snow up to 70 cm deep was reported.

The horror! Obviously, it was warm induced snow. Those poor kids!

Lots more pictures at the link embedded in the excerpt. Steven Goddard notices that global warming has hit S.A.

Read: Kids In South Africa Won’t Know What Trampolines Look Like »

Posted in Collapsing Science, Global Warming | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

Desperate Obama Campaign Releases Ad Suggesting Romney Paid No Taxes

By William Teach August 10, 2012 – 8:38 am

Despite many national polls going Obama’s way (and, for those who don’t understand who presidential elections work, the only polls of meaning are the state polls, as it is not a national referendum), the only explanation for this type of pathetic ad is desperation. Or possibly, that Obama is simply a nasty person who follows the Chicago way. Probably both

(The Blaze) Just when we thought the White House had backed away from Harry Reid’s wild, and unsubstantiated, claim that Mitt Romney hasn’t paid taxes for the last 10 years, the Obama camp has released an incredible ad suggesting the same thing.

In a new spot that is specifically endorsed by Barack Obama, an ominous voice wonders if Romney has paid below the 13.9 percent tax rate he claims, and at one point wonders if he’s paid “0%.“ It then goes on to say ”we don’t know” and that it’s time for Romney to “come clean.”

So, basically we can assume that there is collusion between Dingy Harry and the Obama sleazepaign. But, what else is Obama to do? He can’t campaign on his accomplishments, such as they are. Some may be popular with his base, but most have been dismal failures. Video at the link.

Meanwhile, after lying their asses off for a few days, Team Obama admits they were aware of Joe Soptic

(Politico) Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki acknowledged Thursday that the campaign was no longer pleading ignorance about the story of a man who has appeared in both a super PAC ad and a campaign ad.

“No one is denying he was in one of our campaign ads. He was on a conference call telling his story,” Psaki told reporters on Air Force One.

The first story dovetails nicely into the ending of the Politico story

UPDATE: Amanda Henneberg, a spokesperson for the Romney campaign, said this in a statement: “President Obama’s campaign has been caught lying about its knowledge concerning a vicious smear run by his Super PAC.  And now, they have doubled down with another dishonorable and dishonest attack. In 2008, candidate Obama said ‘you make a big election about small things’ when you don’t have a record to run on.  Since President Obama can’t run on record unemployment, falling incomes, and massive debt, he has decided to run a dirty campaign that is an affront to everything he claims to stand for.”

Really, Team Romney should hit back at Obama and blame Obama for presiding over the deaths of at least 2 federal agents and well over 200 Mexican citizens.

Read: Desperate Obama Campaign Releases Ad Suggesting Romney Paid No Taxes »

Posted in Barry Obama, Elections, Romney | 5 Comments | Trackback URL
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