Treehugger: Air Conditioning Is For “Entitled A**holes”

By William Teach June 29, 2012 – 2:36 pm

And it’s a menace to society

(Treehugger) The notion that air conditioning should be enshrined as a fundamental right is preposterous—there’s a difference between feeling entitled to a luxury and defending a human right, after all. The New York Times saw fit to host a debate on that topic last week anyway, and Lloyd promptly skewered the ‘we should treat A/C like clean air’ contingent.

Treehugger’s archive is loaded with posts about why air conditioning is a menace to society (abridged version: it encourages folks to live in hot, unsustainable areas, it nudges architects towards lazy, inefficient building design, and, obvs, it uses a shitload of energy). Getting that idea off the ground is uphill battle enough. So we rarely discuss why exactly it is people get so worked up when anyone suggests that it might be a good idea to wean ourselves off the habit of installing refrigerators in our windows.

They get worked up because they do not like being hot. But, you might wonder about the asshole part

Many are outraged by our recent articles about air conditioning, saying that people are entitled to be comfortable and we are sanctimonious. I’ve been getting it for years, and Brian got it in spades this morning, with his post titled “Air Conditioning is for Entitled Assholes” before it was edited, but also noting that “Unfortunately, we are all entitled Assholes.”

However, how many Warmists actually give up their A/C units?

And, yes, we can do better with design to reduce the energy needed to power our air conditioning. Nothing wrong with that. Who wouldn’t want to save money while being able to keep their domicile cooler? Adding a ceiling fan will help (make sure it is turning the correct way, and reverse it when it gets cold). I keep my shades down quite often, especially in the front. My townhome faces east-west, and the front (west) gets a lot of sunlight. But, Warmists are whining about the use of A/C, yet they only want others to give up use or jack the temperature up to the high 70’s, which kinda defeats the purpose. Mine is at 73.

Read: Treehugger: Air Conditioning Is For “Entitled A**holes” »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Enviroweenies, Global Warming | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach June 29, 2012 – 1:00 pm

…is the death of the Constitution, you might just want to consider voting Romney

(story on painting here)

Babe below the fold

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RNC Nails Obama, Dems On Broken Obamacare Tax Promise

By William Teach June 29, 2012 – 10:36 am

I have to give it to the RNC this election cycle: they are responding, and responding fast (though, if God forbid a GOP big sees thia post, please fix the horrible and outdated GOP.com)

Read: RNC Nails Obama, Dems On Broken Obamacare Tax Promise »

Posted in Barry Obama | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

Nancy Pelosi Flounders Over Brian Terry’s Name During Holder Contempt Hearing

By William Teach June 29, 2012 – 7:02 am

The question is, did she really not know his name well, or did she simply botch her reading of the speech? Via Newsbusters comes this video of Pelosi speaking during the Eric Holder contempt vote

NANCY PELOSI: I think we all also agree, I think we all very, very much agree that we are very sad and seek justice for the family of border patrol agent Brian Tay, Tay, Terry. His loss is a tragedy for all who knew him, for all of us who care about him, and we offer our condolences to his family. So sad.

Let’s consider: Pelosi is a long, long, long, long term politician. Anyone who wants to be a politician better be able to get people’s names correct. Did she just not read the speech, and stumble over the name? We’ve all surely mispronounced words while reading something, right? Of course, one would think that she would already know the name very well of the person she is expressing condolences over so that she doesn’t botch the name.

Meanwhile, the House did hold Holder in contempt, with Democrats whining walking off the House floor

(CBS News) The House took two votes, one on criminal contempt charges, which passed 255-67. The criminal contempt of Congress is likely not to go anywhere as the Justice Department, which Holder heads, is the department responsible for opening a criminal investigation.

The second charge, which passed 258 – 95, was a civil contempt charge, could move to federal court where it could take years to litigate. Though the action puts more pressure on the administration to abide by the subpoenas and provide requested documents.

The Democratic Party was split on the action. Seventeen members voted with the Republicans to hold Holder in criminal contempt while just under two dozen voted to hold him in civil contempt. But most, led by the Congressional Black Caucus, walked off the floor to protest the vote, which they called “appalling.”

The vote was more bipartisan than the Obamacare vote. And where was Holder yesterday? Asking Mickey Mouse for legal advice

(Red Alert Politics) On the day in which the U.S. House of Representatives has determined that Attorney General Eric Holder’s actions are egregious enough to warrant a criminal contempt vote, the AG has skipped town and headed to … Disney World.

According to the National Journal’s Daybook, Holder will be addressing the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) during a convention at a Disneyworld Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

I wish I could remember who Tweeted out the joke “Eric Holder, you’ve just been held in contempt. What now? I’m going to Disney World!”

Read: Nancy Pelosi Flounders Over Brian Terry’s Name During Holder Contempt Hearing »

Posted in Barking Moonbats, Current Affairs, Democrats, Queen Nancy | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

States In No Hurry To Implement Health Insurance Exchanges

By William Teach June 29, 2012 – 6:42 am

Most states have been lollygagging on creating the health insurance exchanges, ie, government sponsored insurance plans that include government mandates on coverage offered through governmentally approved insurance companies that everyone and every company must move to if they make any changes to their existing plans, and plan on continued lollygagging

(WRAL) North Carolina lawmakers said Thursday that they have no plans to meet a deadline to create a new one-stop shop to help individuals and small businesses find affordable health insurance despite a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

State Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger said senators do not intend to take up legislation to create a health benefit exchange before they adjourn next week. The 2010 federal health care overhaul requires all states to have an exchange. Legislation passed the state House last year.

State plans for the markets are due to the federal government by this fall. The federal government will create exchanges for states that don’t have them by 2014. Only 14 states and Washington, D.C., have adopted a plan for carrying out the law creating exchanges that steer middle-class households to private plans.

In fact, while some 14 states and DC have plans to create exchanges, almost none have actually implemented those plans.

(Wisconsin Radio Network) Despite the Supreme Court upholding the law, Governor Walker says Wisconsin will not take any action to implement health care reforms until after the election. He says the legal challenge was only the first step, and Republicans reclaiming the White House and Congress could still stop if from taking effect. Walker says “only after each of those two has been exhausted will we consider what the state will do.”

That sentiment is echoed by many, many states. Missouri residents voted once to say Heck No!!!! to Obamacare in 2010, and will vote again come November on the ballot, so the state is doing nothing to implement any Obamacare measures.

Then you get stuff like this

(LA Times) California’s new insurance exchange is seeking about $190 million in additional federal money as it prepares to help millions of consumers shop for health insurance.

That’s on top of the hundreds of millions Brokeifornia is already appropriating to this crazy law.

(Civsource) Two of the biggest states in the union – California and Florida are moving forward with plans to build health care exchanges. California has chosen Accenture to build out its health exchange – CalHEERS, the biggest system and biggest contract award of its type in the country. Florida is choosing Xerox for its efforts.

Actually, Florida is unsure how they will proceed. Here’s where it gets really good

The (California) contract includes about $183 million for the initial development and implementation of the system. Another $176 million will be paid out over the remainder of the three year contract for later phases of the build out. The state estimates that approximately 4.4 million residents will have been helped through the project by 2016.

In Florida, Florida Health Choices, a corporation established by the state to improve access to health care, has selected Xerox (NYSE: XRX) to administer its Insurance Marketplace. The nine-year contract is valued at $68 million.

Sure seems like it’s costing quite a bit of money at both the state and federal levels just to set up the exchanges, eh? I thought this was supposed to save money. Should be interesting to see how much it actually costs to run them. And all on top of massive tax increases on the middle class.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: States In No Hurry To Implement Health Insurance Exchanges »

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AGW Today: Trees Are “Scary”

By William Teach June 28, 2012 – 6:58 pm

We’re doomed or something

(Guardian) The African savannas appear peaceful but beneath the wings of birds and the hooves of mammals, a millennia-long battle is being fought. This struggle determines whether vast regions of the tropics and subtropics are covered in grasslands, savannas or forests. But a new study shows that rising concentrations of CO2 are shifting the odds to favour trees over grasses, suggesting that large regions of Africa’s savannas may be forests by the end of this century.

Oh, no, not trees….hmmm, grasses evolved tens of millions of years ago, when the atmospheric CO2 content was much higher.

This study, conducted by Steven Higgins, a professor of Applied Physical Geography at Goethe University and a researcher at the Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F) in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and Simon Scheiter, a postdoctoral researcher at BiK-F, investigated how increasing CO2 levels could influence tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas and forests — dynamic ecosystems that the authors refer to as the “savanna complex”.

Historically, the savanna complex has always fluctuated between grasslands, savannas and forests due to local variations in temperature, fire and rainfall. But CO2 concentrations also affect this age-old struggle between grasses and trees.

“[A] study by a team based in Cape Town, South Africa showed that savanna trees were essentially CO2 starved under pre-industrial CO2 concentrations, and their growth really starts taking off at the CO2 concentrations we are currently experiencing,” [Kgope, Bond & Midgley (2010)] explained Professor Higgins in email. “The upshot is that savanna trees stand to profit enormously from the CO2-rich atmosphere [that] industrial activity is producing.”

Aren’t trees good? Oh, that’s right, I forgot that in Warmist world the environment is never supposed to change.

Carbon mitigation actions notwithstanding, I think this study’s findings are scary. Whilst rewriting and editing the manuscript for publication, I mentioned my concerns to Professor Higgins about what appear to be catastrophic ecosystem shifts and the potential effects these could have on Africa’s unique but already threatened floras and faunas.

The environment changing is “scary”. Even though the environment is always changing. It wasn’t that long ago, in geologic terms, that those savannahs were something else. The Sahara was under an ocean. The ocean circulatory patterns were different till an area in Panama closed off direct access between the Pacific and Atlantic about 5 million years ago. Go back 20,000 years ago and vast glaciers covered much of North American. These people need some Prozac.

Read: AGW Today: Trees Are “Scary” »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

Stimulus Recipient Abound Solar To File For Bankruptcy

By William Teach June 28, 2012 – 4:32 pm

Well, the Stimulus is creating jobs for lawyers and people who handle companies closing down

(Businessweek) Abound Solar Inc., a U.S. solar manufacturer that was awarded a $400 million U.S. loan guarantee, is closing its doors and filing for bankruptcy, according to the U.S. Energy Department.

Abound, based in Loveland, Colorado, borrowed $70 million against the guarantee, the Energy Department said today in a statement.

More taxpayer money down the drain.

Read: Stimulus Recipient Abound Solar To File For Bankruptcy »

Posted in Energy, Global Warming | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach June 28, 2012 – 1:00 pm

…is a world killing plastic water bottle, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler.

Read: If All You See… »

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

SCOTUS Finds Mandate Constitutional As A Tax

By William Teach June 28, 2012 – 10:08 am

It looks like the Mandate was shot down as the Commerce Clause applies, but was upheld as a tax. It seems that the court may have punted, 5-4 with John Roberts joining the liberals, the decision down the road to 2014 when the Mandate goes into effect

(CNN) Question: Can the court decide the constitutionality of health care now, or does it have to wait a few years?

To answer, the court had to decide whether a penalty the law imposes on people who do not have health insurance amounts to a tax.

A previously obscure law mandated that the legality of a tax cannot be challenged until it is imposed, and the health care law doesn’t call for penalties until 2014.

There are other parts of Obamacare that have been shot down and others upheld. That said, the ruling on the Mandate is not necessarily a win for Obama and the Democrats. Calling the Mandate a tax will not sit well with the American people, who already hate the legislation. People do not like to be taxed. Liberals say they love taxes, but only as long as that guy over there is getting taxed. They don’t like taxes for themselves. And, overall, people surely do not want to be taxed for economic inactivity, and certainly not for simply being born in America.

Look at the silver lining: (NMP) Obama and the Democrats will have a tough time campaigning on taxing people for being born American. Not a winning campaign talking point. Especially since Obama argued that it wasn’t a tax.

And this decision will, in fact, fire up Republicans and conservatives to win the Presidency and Senate in November.

Interestingly, according to SCOTUSblog live feed and other reports, Justice Kennedy voted to kill the whole bill. Ace is reporting that when it comes to the medicaid expansion, the Federal government cannot penalize States for not accepting the expansion.

We’re going to have to wait throughout the day for the full details of the decision to be digested.

You stay classy, Democrats

Patrick Gaspard is the executive director of the DNC.

Ed Morrissey: It’s an interesting argument, but one that should have Americans worried.  Basically, this is a tax that you have to pay to private companies.  For all of the screaming the Right did over single-payer — and for good, outcome-based reasons — at least the taxes raised to fund it would go directly to government.  The Supreme Court has signed off on what is, in very practical terms, a tax levied by the insurance industry on Americans simply for existing.  It’s an amazing, and fearsome, decision that really should have both Right and Left horrified.

Doug Powers: This doesn’t mean we’re stuck with Obamacare forever — it means that November 6th just got much more important, and I didn’t think that was possible.

Read: SCOTUS Finds Mandate Constitutional As A Tax »

Posted in Healthcare | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

Romney: Obamacare Is A “Moral Failure”

By William Teach June 28, 2012 – 8:22 am

Mitt doesn’t hold back

(MSNBC) Mitt Romney reserved some of his harshest criticism of President Barack Obama’s health care reform law for the eve of the Supreme Court ruling that will decide its fate, labeling the law as “moral failure” by a president who chose to focus on healthcare, rather than jobs, at a time of national economic crisis.

“His policies were not focused on creating jobs. They were focused on implementing his liberal agenda. There’s nothing wrong with people having an agenda, but when the country’s in crisis, you have a moral responsibility to focus on helping people come out of that crisis,” Romney said at a rally here Wednesday evening. “It was not just bad policy; it was a moral failure to put forward a piece of legislation that wouldn’t help Americans get back to work, and to focus the energy of the White House on Obamacare.”

Let’s not forget that Democrats spent 10+ months putting that travesty of a bill together instead of dealing with the inherent instabilities in the economy. The Stimulus wasn’t helping people obtain long term work. The economy was just sputtering along despite the recession having officially ended in June 2009. And no one who voted for Obamacare actually read the legislation.

Romney went on to preview, as he did at a campaign stop in southern Virginia on Tuesday, his response to the court’s possible action on the law. The former Massachusetts governor said that if the law is upheld, he would work to repeal it as president, and if it gets struck down, he would replace it with “real reform.” Romney did not specify what such reforms would entail.

No, not during a campaign stop. But, would it be so hard for the media to head to Mitt’s campaign page and learn a bit? Much like the media says the GOP has no plans, when they do.

Read: Romney: Obamacare Is A “Moral Failure” »

Posted in Barry Obama, Healthcare, Romney | 3 Comments | Trackback URL
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