Right-wing nutjob gunman holds hostages at Discovery Channel
And by “right-wing”, I’m obviously meaning “pinko moonbat environut”. Story here. Fortunately, Mr. Lee is in stable condition…he’s assumed room temperature.
The leftosphere is telling us not to link this loon to their side, that he was just a lone wolf and was in no way representative of liberals in general, even the moonbat variety of liberals. You know what? They’re correct. I do not, in any way, link Lee with your garden variety liberal. But (you knew there was a “but” coming, right?)…
Let this serve as a “teachable moment” to you leftards out there the next time you jump to conclusions about some nutbar’s political leanings the next time he/she goes off the deep end. Remember the NYC cabbie stabbie? Since that psycho asked the cabbie if he was Muslim and then attacked upon learning he was a Muslim, every left-winger and journalist (pardon the redundancy) naturally yet without evidence concluded that the assailant was a right-winger. Come to find out, he was a left-wing activist. Oopsies!
But will the left learn their lesson? I doubt it. They’re pretty stupid, and they’re highly irrational and emotional, devoid of logic or reasoning.
Anywho, the left jumps to conclusions about the ideological leanings of kooks who commit acts of violence, but now that there’s clear evidence that this guy was an environut, they want us to suspend judgment and to refrain from associating him with them? OK. Fine. It’s only fair. So we can expect the next time some wacko kills an abortion doctor, the left will return the courtesy that we are extending now and will not try to link said wacko to normal conservatives…right? Right?
By the way, here’s a true “LOL!” quote, because I literally laughed out loud when I read Ace’s note on this:
On his Yuku forum Lee lamented the fact that Al Gore wasn’t involved in his ’08 protest of Discovery:
There was a suggestion made today at the protest who said that if Al Gore were there, he could have drawn thousands of people and exerted the pressure needed to make this work if he wanted to. Not a bad idea at all. But most of people in his class won’t do stuff like that to a specific company, which confuses me. Can you imagine what a draw it COULD have been if I had his name in just ONE ad? Now, there would have been the crucial difference. But, it’s too late to go back and try to contact Gore (not that I would make in within one foot of him).
Ace weighs in:
Lee regretted not thinking to invite Al Gore to one of his protests.
Probably better that he didn’t. It would have snowed.
Obama’s “oil spill commission” has technical experience in a lot of areas…other than oil spills
Each passing day, this country of ours suffers greatly by the massively incompetent Carter clone occupying the Oval Office. Details:
The panel appointed by President Barack Obama to investigate the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is short on technical expertise but long on talking publicly about “America’s addiction to oil.” One member has blogged about it regularly.
Only one of the seven commissioners, the dean of Harvard’s engineering and applied sciences school, has a prominent engineering background — but it’s in optics and physics. Another is an environmental scientist with expertise in coastal areas and the after-effects of oil spills. Both are praised by other scientists.
The five other commissioners are experts in policy and management.
The White House said the commission will focus on the government’s “too cozy” relationship with the oil industry. A presidential spokesman said panel members will “consult the best minds and subject matter experts” as they do their work.
…
The commission has yet to meet, yet some panel members had made their views known.Environmental activist Frances Beinecke on May 27 blogged: “We can blame BP for the disaster and we should. We can blame lack of adequate government oversight for the disaster and we should. But in the end, we also must place the blame where it originated: America’s addiction to oil.” And on June 3, May 27, May 22, May 18, May 4, she called for bans on drilling offshore and the Arctic.
“Even as questions persist, there is one thing I know for certain: the Gulf oil spill isn’t just an accident. It’s the result of a failed energy policy,” Beinecke wrote on May 20.
Two other commissioners also have gone public to urge bans on drilling.
…
When the White House announced the commission, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and others made compared it with the one that investigated the 1986 Challenger accident. This one, however, doesn’t have as many technical experts.The 13-member board that looked into the first shuttle accident had seven engineering and aviation experts and three other scientists. The 2003 board that looked into the Columbia shuttle disaster also had more than half of the panel with expertise in engineering and aviation.
Iraj Ersahaghi, who heads the petroleum engineering program the University of Southern California, reviewed the names of oil spill commissioners and asked, “What do they know about petroleum?” (They know two things about petroleum: jack and squat. – Ed.)
But hey, don’t you go thinking he’s some left-wing ideologue who is far more impressed with academic credentials than actual real-world accomplishments, outside the cocoon of the ivory tower idealism detached from reality that academia provides!
Copenhagen climate summit proves that “climate change” cult is nothing more than activist anti-capitalists
I have maintained for years that the single biggest motivation of the global “warming” crowd is not an intense desire to “save the planet” from boiling away, but instead is a desire by anti-capitalist leftists to destroy capitalism under the guise of averting a planetary catastrophe.
Doubt it? Well, doubt no more.
Then President Chavez brought the house down.
When he said the process in Copenhagen was “not democratic, it is not inclusive, but isn’t that the reality of our world, the world is really and imperial dictatorship…down with imperial dictatorships” he got a rousing round of applause.
When he said there was a “silent and terrible ghost in the room” and that ghost was called capitalism, the applause was deafening.
But then he wound up to his grand conclusion – 20 minutes after his 5 minute speaking time was supposed to have ended and after quoting everyone from Karl Marx to Jesus Christ – “our revolution seeks to help all people…socialism, the other ghost that is probably wandering around this room, that’s the way to save the planet, capitalism is the road to hell….let’s fight against capitalism and make it obey us.” He won a standing ovation.
Your disguise has been foiled, you global “warming” frauds. You almost got away with it, though, didn’t you?
Quote of the day, “Babs Boxer’s selective English” edition
Tomato, to-mah-to…right? From Andrew Breitbart (video at link):
“You call it ClimateGate. I call it Email-Theft-Gate.”
Publishing the contents of the Pentagon Papers (which were leaked in violation of federal law) in order to shine the light of truth and end a war (Vietnam) was totally acceptable. Publishing the contents of e-mails between conniving junk scientists in order to shine the light of truth and blow the whistle on a multi-trillion dollar global fraud known as “climate change”, though, is soooooooo wrong.
Babs seems to be saying “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!”
Interesting, because as Ed Driscoll points out, Babs Boxer has sponsored the Military Whistleblower Protection Act. Plus, she held public hearings into whether or not Bu$hitler McHitlerburton tried to neglect greenhouse gas emissions. She’s been all about whistleblowing on defense contractors. But for some reason, she’s less enthusiastic about whistleblowers who expose global scientific fraud. Go figure.
Quips Jim Treacher:
Climategate is a story about computer hacking in much the same way Watergate was a story about parking garages.
Notes Allah:
Ace has been goofing on the shamelessness of this tactic since last week — leaks that help the left are always about the information obtained, leaks that hurt the left are always about the leak’s illegality — but it’s amazing to see someone as prominent as Boxer stoop to it. She could have simply taken the Jon Stewart route and said no, global warming isn’t in question, but yes, this is a scandalous betrayal of public trust. Doing so would have only helped her side, proving that she’s sincerely interested in the integrity of the science and not prone to the same squirrelly eagerness to ignore unhelpful information as the East Anglia boys. But she’s too stupid or corrupt to figure that out, so in the end the fake newsman has more credibility than a real senator.
Heh.
Al Gore: It’ll cost you $1,200 to shake my hand
Wow. That’s one expensive h@ndj0b, no? From Newsbusters:
…Think the Times is making this up? Think again, for here’s the announcement at VisitCopenhagen.com:
Have you ever shaken hands with an American vice president? If not, now is your chance. Meet Al Gore in Copenhagen during the UN Climate Change Conference in December 2009. [...]
VIP meeting with Al Gore
This is the book, on which Al Gore will base his lecture, when he invites Copenhageners and visitors to hear him speak about what can be done to solve the serious problems of climate change.
Tickets are available in different price ranges for the event. If you want it all, you can purchase a VIP ticket, where you get a chance to shake hands with Al Gore, get a copy of Our Choice and have your picture taken with him. The VIP event costs DKK 5,999 and includes drinks and a light snack.
If you do not want to spend that much money, but still want to hear Al Gore speak about his latest book about climate challenges, you can purchase general tickets, ranging in price from DKK 199 – 1,499 depending on where in the room you want to sit. There will be large screens, so that everyone will get a good view.
How much is DKK 5,999?
Well, according to TheMoneyConverter.com, a Danish Krone is currently worth 20.22 cents.
That means 5,999 Krones is about $1,213. …
Obviously, B.O. isn’t the only one who thinks highly of himself.
Treehuggers responsible for California wildfires
Story here. Excerpt:
Federal authorities failed to follow through on plans earlier this year to burn away highly flammable brush in a forest on the edge of Los Angeles to avoid the very kind of wildfire now raging there, The Associated Press has learned.
Months before the huge blaze erupted, the U.S. Forest Service obtained permits to burn away the undergrowth and brush on more than 1,700 acres of the Angeles National Forest. But just 193 acres had been cleared by the time the fire broke out, Forest Service resource officer Steve Bear said.
The agency defended its efforts, saying weather, wind and environmental rules tightly limit how often these “prescribed burns” can be conducted.
…
Some critics suggested that protests from environmentalists over prescribed burns contributed to the disaster, which came after the brush was allowed to build up for as much as 40 years.“This brush was ready to explode,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, whose district overlaps the forest. “The environmentalists have gone to the extreme to prevent controlled burns, and as a result we have this catastrophe today.”
…
Obtaining the necessary permits is a complicated process, and such efforts often draw protests from environmentalists.Biologist Ileene Anderson with the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental organization, said burn permits should be difficult to get because of the potential damage to air quality. Clearing chaparral by hand or machine must be closely scrutinized because it can hurt native species.
“Our air quality, for a variety of factors, doesn’t need to be further reduced by these controlled burns,” she said.
Right, because the air quality is much better when raging fires get out of control like the current one.
Putting the “mental” in “environmentalism”!
Greenpeace typifies liberalism, admits emotions (not facts) govern
Those of you who have been here for any period of time know that I have defined modern liberalism as an ideology that is based on feeling, and not on thinking. Liberals have no use for facts, and the examples I have provided over the years have made that a point beyond debate (how do you like them apples, Al Gore? “The science is settled!” ).
Behold Greenpeace, having to defend being caught in a lie about all Arctic ice being totally melted in 20 years:
Although he admitted Greenpeace had released inaccurate but alarming information, Leipold defended the organization’s practice of “emotionalizing issues” in order to bring the public around to its way of thinking and alter public opinion.
“Yeah, we lied through our granola-riddled teeth. But what else were we supposed to do when facts didn’t bolster our argument?”
Also, I have always maintained that global “warming” cultists have never been as concerned about the environment as they are about destroying capitalism. Need more proof? Well, alrighty then:
Leipold said later in the BBC interview that there is an urgent need for the suppression of economic growth in the United States and around the world. He said annual growth rates of 3 percent to 8 percent cannot continue without serious consequences for the climate.
“We will definitely have to move to a different concept of growth. … The lifestyle of the rich in the world is not a sustainable model,” Leipold said. “If you take the lifestyle, its cost on the environment, and you multiply it with the billions of people and an increasing world population, you come up with numbers which are truly scary.”
Libs: impervious to facts and reason. That’s why they need to bring emotions into it, because science doesn’t back them up.
Obama’s economic illiteracy contributing to his sliding approval rating
The prez decided to take to the airwaves last week to sell us on his socialist piece of garbage he likes to call a “public option” health care plan. Bad move:
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows that 29% of the nation’s voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty percent (40%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -11. That’s the first time his ratings have reached double digits in negative territory.
…
The number who Strongly Approve of the President has remained unchanged since the press conference but the number who Strongly Disapprove has gone up by five percentage points (from 35% on Wednesday morning to 40% today).
That’s right. In addition to using that presser to slam the cops (despite, by his own admission, not having all of the facts), he laid out his case for socialized medicine, and he failed.
One of the biggest concerns over ObamaCare is the price tag. B.O. decided to address this concern by coming up with a key component to improve quality and contain costs. Google “Independent Medicare Advisory Council”, or IMAC. His budget director Peter Orszagsaid this component was “probably the most important piece that can be added” to the legislation. The “most imporant piece”, the CBO tells us, will result in at best a whopping 0.2% savings in cost. Therefore, The One has decided to wage war with the CBO, a classic “slay the messenger” case. At any rate, the poorly conceived IMAC idea appears to be deader than a Chicago Democrat voter.
Meanwhile, Ford decided not to be taken over by Team O, and as a result of not being run by the federal government, they actually posted a $2bn quarterly profit. I love my Saturn and have been a loyal Saturn customer over the years, but it will be the last GM car I ever own. Ford shows that it can function without governmental takeover, and if they ever ditch their unionized workforce, they can really soar into productivity. Uhhhh-bama had better hope that the economy turns around, otherwise the taxpayer-funded bailout of the unions…er, Ford’s competitors GM and Chrysler…will have been for naught.
Cap-and-tax? Americans say “not gay enough” “No, thanks, and I’ll thank you to stay out of my affairs!”
“Stimulus”? Americans say “not gay enough” it has done jack squat.
As a result of all of this, Zogby (take that for whatever it’s worth) has his overall approval rating among likely voters at 48% approve, and 49% disapprove. It is becoming increasingly clear that the Obamarxist in Chief is a functional illiterate when it comes to economics. One wonders how much more of his illiteracy the country can take.
MSM: Wishing Rush dead is funny, but lampooning treehuggers? Eh, not so much!
Remember the reaction from those in attendance when the allegedly funny Wanda Sykes called Rush Limbaugh the 20th hijacker who she desired to see die of kidney failure? Man, oh man, the MSM was giddier than Barney Frank in the Patriots’ locker room after a game. Oh, the hilarity of death and terrorism!
But now that there’s a show that mocks treehuggers (background here), the MSM appears to be a bit humor-impaired. Funny how that works, huh?
Nope…no liberal media bias!
New ABC show mocks treehuggers
From the creator of Beavis and Butthead, King of the Hill, and Office Space: the incomparable Mike Judge!
I am sooooooo gonna watch this show!
Weekend in review
Here’s the haps from the weekend:
My county now has a case of the swine flu at one of the local schools. Friggin’ wonderful.
RIP Jack Kemp.
You know how I’ve been saying for the last five years that global “warming” nuts prefer to use the term “climate change” or other euphemisms when it’s cold and “global warming” when it’s hot? The NYT confirms this calculated effort by the environuts.
Finally, the Obamedia does some deep investigative journalism of the president. Excerpt:
Obamas take a walk, holding hands in the evening
WASHINGTON — The first couple took full advantage of the cool spring night.
After a date night out on Saturday evening, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama decided to take a stroll when their motorcade arrived back at the White House.So they began walking on the driveway of the White House South Lawn while holding hands. First they passed the West Wing, then their children’s swing set. They kept walking, swinging their hands together. …
The Obama administration threatened to use the power of the adoring “enchanted” press corps to destroy a Chrysler investment firm if it didn’t go along with Chavez’ Oprompter’s bankruptcy plan. Chicago thuggery at its finest, no? Paging Mr. Orwell!
Our ideologue president gets to pick a Supreme Court justice, since Souter is retiring. The balance of the court isn’t changing, since Souter’s a leftist anyway. But the odds-on favorite to be his replacement is a woman who says that “the courts are where policy is made“. But hey, why would you go thinking she might be a leftist judicial activist or something?
Napolitano is at it again. Yet another memo has emerged from her agency that describes a different breed of “extremists”: People who oppose giving drivers licenses, in-state tuition, medical benefits, or public schooling to criminal aliens. That pretty much paints the vast majority of Americans as “extremists”, no? Conspicuous by its absence from the list of “extremists”, however, is Muslim extremists. “Jewish extremists” is on the list, though, although for the life of me, I can’t recall an act of domestic terrorism perpetrated by a Jewish extremist.
Happy Earth Day!
Here are the top 10 things I plan on doing today to commemorate Earth Day:
- Drive a Hummer, several miles.
- Buy a can of hair spray, and since I won’t need it on account of being BBB (bald but beautiful!), empty the whole can into the atmosphere.
- Shoot a spotted owl.
- Grill a manatee.
- Take a Black and Decker chainsaw to as many trees as I can before sundown.
- Find a cow pasture and fart with some cows, since apparently flatulence leads to global “warming”.
- Start a bonfire with 1,000 copies of Al Gore’s “Earth in the Balance” manifesto.
- Leave every electric appliance on in my house until after midnight, so my home can show up on one of those nighttime satellite image thingies.
- Pee in the river.
- Take a firehose of gushing soap and water to those treesitters in Beserkley.
What about your plans?
Obama bound to destroy American auto industry
GM should be assuming room temperature by early next year. So what does the new president-elect have in store to help sotp the hemorrhaging of jobs and money from Motown’s auto industry? Oh, just reversing a Bush executive order that will now cost the auto industry tens of billions of dollars that they don’t have…no big whoop. Notes Open Market:
Since twenty-one percent of new cars are sold in California, this means that the auto makers would need to spend billions of dollars to comply. According to the WSJ, “The auto industry is the nation’s largest manufacturing sector, accounting for almost 4% of U.S. gross domestic product. It employs about 2.5 million people directly or indirectly, and spends tens of billions of dollars a year in research and development.” Yet granting California’s waiver would certainly significantly harm if not sink this industry, since actions to increase the CAFE standard in the past have caused many of the problems Detroit is now having.
So sayeth The One: “Hey, Michigan, thanks a bunch for your electoral votes! In return, I’ll take what’s left of your economically ravaged state and savage it on the altar of the Church of Mother Gaia. And you know what? You people will keep voting Democrat, won’t you? Say goodbye to the few jobs you had left here.” If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear that liberals are economic illiterates!
Michigan in general, and Detroitistan in particular, typify the definition of insanity: Doing the same things over and over yet expecting different results.
Obama: Yep, I’ll bankrupt coal plants and cause energy prices to skyrocket
The One on how he plans on helping out coal workers in OH, WV, and PA:
So, if somebody wants to build a coal plant, they can — it’s just that it will bankrupt them, because they are going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.
There’s a good way to jumpstart the economy in these already depressed regions, huh?
As Ed notes, coal provides about half of this nation’s energy source for electric plants. The end result? Just ask Uhhh-bama himself:
You know, when I was asked earlier about the issue of coal, uh, you know — Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad. Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it — whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.
Recession? Check. Killing coal that provide this country’s electricity? Check. Jacking up your power bills into the stratusphere as a sacrifice to Mother Gaia? Checkity-check-check.
Hilarious in Seattle
Mother Nature may have pounded my area last week, but she does have a sense of humor. From Seattlestan:
Only in Seattle could an event touted as a way to help the environment get washed out during what is supposed to be the driest time of the year.
Heh.
Treehugger: windmills cause global “warming”
If you ever need evidence that the environMENTALists are more governed by their anti-capitalist mentality than a genuine concern for the environment, look no further than this nugget from Kansas:
Windmills have dotted the Kansas countryside for well over a century. But now a bigger, more powerful breed is sprouting up. Steve Trent is concerned.
“There’s going to be people who make a lot of money off this and the rest of us are going to suffer,” Trent says.
That’s the first thing out of the environut’s mouth: someone’s going to profit. His foremost concern is that a buck will be made by someone other than his worthless backside. Continuing:
Trent lives next to a 100 turbine wind farm in Butler County. These things are touted as good for the environment because they create power without creating air pollution. But Trent says they harm the planet in other ways.
“There’s an environmental footprint that they make,” Trent says.
He says that footprint has stomped out the native prairie chickens which have disappeared. He says it’s also destroyed the area’s natural beauty. Now he’s wondering if that’s just the tip of the iceberg. …
Oh. My. Gaia. I really don’t know what I can possibly add to that steaming pile of bovine loaf.
Dem Senator: I don’t care if gas hits $10 a gallon!
And yet Americans are seriously considering adding more of these #sshats to the ranks of Congress? From Ed Morrissey:
How high will Democrats let the price of gas get before considering the option of drilling for more oil? Ken Salazar (D-CO) has set the bar in today’s action in the Senate. Gas can hit $10 per gallon and the Democrats still won’t act:
[Video clip here]
…
Republicans should use a very simple message. We have enough oil to satisfy American needs for at least the next 100 years, but Democrats won’t let you have it. They’d rather you pay $10 per gallon at the pump and watch food prices increase 250% rather than agree to drilling. If you don’t want $10 per gallon gas, vote Republican.
If the RNC had any brains and stones (which I seriously doubt), the RNC will run commercials like these until the cows come home. By the way, Ken Salazar ran in 2004 as a “moderate” Dem…my, how his true leftist colors shine through!
Obama’s “wear a sweater” moment
Barry O decided to borrow a page from Jimmah Carter’s energy expertise in the 1970′s. Carter felt the best way to overcome the energy crisis was to wear a sweater. The Obamessiah’s take? See for yourself:
Proper Tire Inflation? Great. How About the Other Two out of Every Three Drivers?
The RNC is chuckling over Obama calling for voters to make “sure your tires are properly inflated” because “we could save all the oil that they’re talking about getting off drilling if everybody was just inflating their tires.”
RNC spokesman Alex Conant responds, “Obama’s solution to America’s energy crisis is inflating tires?! Maybe he’s been out of the country too long.”
I’ll give Obama a smidgen of credit, in that yes, having properly inflated tires can get you a few more miles per gallon.
“Running a tire 20 percent underinflated – only 5 to 7 pounds per square inch (psi) – can increase fuel consumption by 10 percent. That can easily cost motorists two or three miles per gallon. Not only that, but running underinflated also reduces the tire’s tread life,” said Bob Toth, Goodyear’s general manager, auto tires.
However, this doesn’t mean everybody can inflate their tires and get more mpg tomorrow. Survey information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that about one in every three cars has a significantly under inflated tire. …
Ooooooooooookay then.
Barry thinks this man was an underappreciated pioneer in thoughtful energy policy
Dem House Whip: Why does global “warming” hate blacks?
Dude. No, seriously…dude!
Climate change is no longer just an environmental issue. It’s now an issue of race, according to global warming activists and policy makers.
“It is critical our community be an integral and active part of the debate because African-Americans are disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change economically, socially and through our health and well-being,” House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., said July 29.
Oooooooooooooo-kay then…
Madame Speaker Superwoman
You peons want lower gas prices because you’re feeling the pinch in your pocketbooks? San Fran Nan will have none of that kind of selfishness! From Politico:
With fewer than 20 legislative days before the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1, the entire appropriations process has largely ground to a halt because of the ham-handed fighting that followed Republican attempts to lift the moratorium on offshore oil and gas exploration. And after promising fairness and open debate, Pelosi has resorted to hard-nosed parliamentary devices that effectively bar any chance for Republicans to offer policy alternatives.
“I’m trying to save the planet; I’m trying to save the planet,” she says impatiently when questioned. “I will not have this debate trivialized by their excuse for their failed policy.” (Because Pe-loco’s policy, which doubled the cost of gas, has been a smashing success, right? – Ed.)
She could have just stopped at “I will not have this debate.” It would have been more honest.
Save the planet from what, exactly? The Bay Area Botox Batty Bimbo doesn’t tell us. But presumably, whatever it is that you want them to do in order to alleviate our dependence on foreign oil must be bad for the planet…so get used to $4+ gas.
NY Dem solves energy crisis
Who says the left doesn’t have any ideas to deal with the current energy crisis? Rep. Nadler (D-NY) has just the idea. From Red State:
Bless his heart, Rep. Jerry Nadler is trying to understand the woes of Americans facing the high cost of gasoline.
Venturing outside the comfortable confines of his Manhattan and Brooklyn district, the liberal Democrat was spotted Monday in the Upstate New York city of Utica talking about transportation and energy policy.
“We should take a hard look at reviving the canals,” Nadler said. Rail transport is cheaper than truck transport, and canal transport is even cheaper than that, he said.
Yes, you read that correctly. The liberal New York City congressman wants to invest government resources in the nearly 200-year-old New York canal system to solve the “energy crisis.”
As someone who grew up just miles from the canal, it’s safe to say Jerry Nadler has no idea what he’s talking about. I don’t question the facts. I’m sure it would be cheaper to transport goods on the canal. But with a maximum speed of 10 mph and a system of locks to slow down boats, it might be faster to employ a pack of donkeys. …
And they call themselves “progressives”?
Hey, while we’re at it, how about we cut back on carbon emissions from the postal service by utilizing messenger birds and horseback delivery? Maybe we can give the electric grid a break by using smoke signals instead of the telephone. Perhaps go back to horse-drawn carriages in lieu of our automobiles? The possibilities are endless!
Global “warming” breakthrough?
Let’s pretend for a moment that you are an irrational believer of that junk science fad known during the warm months as “global warming” and the cold months as “climate change”…come on, just for a moment. Work with me, people!
Anywho, picture this: You have your autographed Al Gore “Earth in the Balance” book that you keep beside your biodegradable beanbag chair in your studio apartment. You’re relaxing in the beanbag, kicking off your Birkenstocks, donning your Che t-shirt, lighting your zero-carbon incense, and debating with yourself as to whether or not to get your weekly shower tonight or put it off until tomorrow. You turn on CNN or Al Jazeera to see that a device has been created that would allegedly remove excess CO2 from the atmosphere. Details:
It has long been the holy grail for those who believe that technology can save us from catastrophic climate change: a device that can “suck” carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air, reducing the warming effect of the billions of tonnes of greenhouse gas produced each year.
Now a group of US scientists say they have made a breakthrough towards creating such a machine. Led by Klaus Lackner, a physicist at Columbia University in New York, they plan to build and demonstrate a prototype within two years that could economically capture a tonne of CO2 a day from the air, about the same per passenger as a flight from London to New York.
The prototype so-called scrubber will be small enough to fit inside a shipping container. Lackner estimates it will initially cost around £100,000 to build, but the carbon cost of making each device would be “small potatoes” compared with the amount each would capture, he said.
Sweet Mother Gaia, the “climate crisis” has been solved! If you were an environmentalist, you’d be happier than Barney Frank at a “Boston Firemen 2009 Calendar” photo shoot…right? I mean, environmentalists really care about the planet and aren’t just a bunch of anti-capitalists who get off on restricting Americans’ way of life, right? Yeah, right:
Scientists at Columbia University are developing a carbon dioxide (CO2) scrubber device that removes one ton of CO2 from the air every day, says the Heartland Institute.
While some see the scrubber as an efficient and economical way to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide, many environmentalists oppose the technology because it allows people to use fossil fuels and emit carbon in the first place.
According to Columbia University physicist Klaus Lackner, who is leading the research team:
- Producing a large number of CO2 scrubbers can keep to a minimum any rise in atmospheric CO2 without the economically painful elimination of inexpensive energy sources.
- This technology would allow people to use fossil fuels, which they will be using anyway, without destroying the planet.
Environmental activist groups such as Greenpeace have consistently opposed similar technologies, such as carbon capture and sequestration, because they do not address what they see as the root of the problem, says the Heartland Institute.
“This is just one more piece of evidence that environmentalists aren’t concerned about solving a problem,” said Sterling Burnett, a senior fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis. “Every problem, as they see it, is one way to restrict people’s lifestyles, and if you come up with a technological fix that can solve a problem but doesn’t require sacrifice and lets us go about our business the way we were before, they’re not happy about it, even if it solves the problem.”
The science is settled: the environMENTALists don’t give a wet fart on a dry January Monday about the environment, as much as they do about preventing the perceived evils of capitalism and the American way of life.
Senate GOP: Drill, or we’ll block everything else
Where were these nads when they ruled the chamber? From The Hill:
Senate Republicans have threatened to block nearly all other bills pending before the August recess if Democrats refuse to vote with them on expanding offshore drilling.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said bills that do not pertain to energy can wait until after the August recess, with gas prices now surpassing $4 per gallon. McConnell and top Republicans indicated Wednesday they would oppose any procedural votes to take up other legislation, which require 60 votes to succeed.
“We think there is nothing more important that we can do right now than to deal with the Number One issue of the country,” McConnell said. “This is the biggest issue since terrorism right after 9/11. People are pounding on their desks, saying, Why don’t these people get together and do something about this problem?”
The hardball tactics reflect Republican confidence that they can pull off a major election-year victory with gas prices at record highs, after they have been battered at the polls and have lost on several recent high-profile legislative battles. …
Good luck with that.
Boehner: Dems in bed with treehuggers
Finally, a Republican with the stones to call it like it is. From Politico:
The war of words over skyrocketing gas prices intensified Tuesday on Capitol Hill, as House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) accused Democrats of “worshiping at the altar of radical environmentalism” in their drive to block access to domestic oil drilling.
In a sign of just how politically charged the issue has become, Democrats immediately fired back, directing Boehner to a “use it or lose it” energy bill set to be taken up on the House floor this week, that would require oil and gas companies to drill on the millions of acres of leases they already hold. (Oh, you mean the less-than-3% of the available acres the feds will let them explore? – Ed.)
House Republicans continued their drive to get their energy proposals released from committees on Tuesday, as Rep. Randy Kuhl (R-N.Y.) said he would file a discharge petition to release a bill that would repeal a federal ban on acquiring alternative fuels for government vehicles.
“Republicans want to put everything on the table,” said Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), the bill’s sponsor. “The Democrats somehow believe that you can either beg your way, sue your way, tax your way or castigate your way into lower energy prices.” …
Alas, I don’t see Americans waking up to that reality anytime soon. They still labor under the misconception that Dems know a thing or two about economics, and that’s just pure lunacy.
Quote of the day
From Ed Morrissey, regarding the left’s and right’s approach to energy:
…What we have is two different approaches in economic policy. The Democrats, and especially Barack Obama, believe in constricted supply and so want to regulate demand. Conservatives believe in boosting supply through open markets and deregulation rather than leaving resources in the ground, while encouraging the innovation that will bring the next era in energy production. The Right also wants to use nuclear power, which even Europe’s Left has managed to survive without getting a case of the vapors.
But it’s the difference between the politics of scarcity and the politics of abundance that most defines the two parties. It’s why the Democrats have been such pessimists about, well, everything, and why Republicans like Ronald Reagan have optimism about America’s economic future. It didn’t hurt that Reagan turned out to be correct as well as Right.
The left is all about the equal distribution of misery, bringing everyone down instead of bringing everyone up.
NASA nut: Put oil company execs on trial for fostering doubt about global “warming”
When he’s not busy cooking the books with false global “warming” data, James Hansen likes to pass his spare time being a though-police enviro-Nazi. And the right is supposed to be the thought police? From the Guardian:
James Hansen, one of the world’s leading climate scientists, will today call for the chief executives of large fossil fuel companies to be put on trial for high crimes against humanity and nature, accusing them of actively spreading doubt about global warming in the same way that tobacco companies blurred the links between smoking and cancer.
Exit question: if Big Oil execs are the perpetrators of such a “crime”, then wouldn’t 31,000+ scientists who use that crazy new-fangled contraption known as “science” be an awful lot of co-conspirators?
Dems’ proposals for gas prices?
What little we’ve heard about how the Democrats plan on doing about the gas price problem has been laughable…except it’s not funny.
The most common comeback they have to normal America’s calls to get more oil (such as offshore drilling, drilling in ANWR, oil shale, building more refineries, etc.) is that “drilling won’t bring the cost of gas down today.” Had we begun drilling in ANWR (which was land set aside for the express purpose of oil exploration) in 1995 when Clinton vetoed the bill that would have allowed it, the oil would have been flowing to us by now. Thanks, Bubba.
Anywho, let’s look at some of their proposals, shall we?
- Development of alternative energy sources. Will that lower energy prices today?
- Increased CAFE standards on automobile mileage. Will that lower energy prices today?
- A “windfall profits tax” on oil companies. Will that lower energy prices today?
- A Venezuelan-style takeover of the oil companies and/or refineries. Will that lower energy prices today?
- Cutting back on our energy usage…”conservation”, if you will. We’ve been doing that for the last 12+ months, and has that lowered our energy prices today?
Yes, we need to develop alternative energy sources. When it comes to cars, many automakers are moving in that direction (the Chevy Volt, for example). Nuclear energy is the most powerful and one of the cleanest form of energy production out there, but treehuggers get their Birkenstocks in a puddle over that suggestion. Why, if I didn’t know any better, I’d swear the environuts and their surrogates in Congress don’t want progress on the energy front…especially if it means someone’s going to make a buck off of it!
The left’s solution is clear: suffer, lower your lifestyle standards, and get by with much less. In essence, “wear a sweater.” Well, with all due respect, I offer a diplomatic “Screw you” to the environuts getting in the way of normal America’s progress.
Dems responsible for $4.00 gas
From CNS News:
As expected, gasoline prices keep rising, and Republicans are placing the blame squarely on the Democrat-led Congress. Republicans apparently see “pain at the pump” as a key election issue.
As of Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline stood at a record $4.00. The price has zoomed above $4.00 in a number of states.
“As a result of this dubious milestone, motorists will pay on average $1.67 more per gallon than they were when the 110th Congress began. This represents a 71 percent increase during Nancy Pelosi’s speakership,” said Rep. Adam Putnam (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Republican Conference.
Putnam said on the Democrats’ watch, “America has become a nation of $4 gasoline. This expensive milestone arrives two years removed from an endless stream of assurances by Democrat leaders that they had their hands on a ‘commonsense plan’ to lower gas prices,” Putnam said Sunday in a news release.
…
In April 2006, Democrats promised the American people a “commonsense plan” to bring down gas prices. But the plan does not include drilling for U.S. oil reserves. (See earlier story)
…
“Every American has a right to ask: What will it take for the Democrat-controlled Congress to finally take action and help ease the pain of the Pelosi Premium on behalf of struggling families and small businesses? Speaker Pelosi has the power to schedule a vote on our plan to begin breaking America’s costly dependence on foreign sources of energy. She should not wait another day to do so.”Republicans are reminding the American people average gas prices under the Democrat-controlled Congress have risen from $2.33 a gallon on January 4, 2007 — the first day of the Democratic Majority — to the current $4.00 a gallon.
There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever. The Dems have been in bed with the treehuggers for decades now, and as a result, we cannot even access our own energy resources. Instead, our economy and way of life are dependent on Islamofascist weirdbeards and on South American socialist tinpots. Nicely done, you leftist bedwetters.
Krauthammer: Environuts are commies
I’ve been saying that for a while now, but Charles Krauthammer is much more intelligent than I am and thus lays out a compelling case against the global “warming” Chicken Littles and their treehugging commie brethren. Excerpt:
For a century, an ambitious, arrogant, unscrupulous knowledge class — social planners, scientists, intellectuals, experts and their left-wing political allies — arrogated to themselves the right to rule either in the name of the oppressed working class (communism) or, in its more benign form, by virtue of their superior expertise in achieving the highest social progress by means of state planning (socialism).
Two decades ago, however, socialism and communism died rudely, then were buried forever by the empirical demonstration of the superiority of market capitalism everywhere from Thatcher’s England to Deng’s China, where just the partial abolition of socialism lifted more people out of poverty more rapidly than ever in human history.
Just as the ash heap of history beckoned, the intellectual left was handed the ultimate salvation: environmentalism. Now the experts will regulate your life not in the name of the proletariat or Fabian socialism but — even better — in the name of Earth itself. …
Read the whole thing. It’s brilliant.
After the fall of communism and the demonstrable collapse and failure of socialism, displaced leftists had to have somewhere to go in order to perpetrate their misery on humanity. That new home is the modern environmentalist movement.
Euros: Plants have rights, too
Seriously, did the bunnyhuggers at PETA think that their barbarism would go unnoticed? The senseless slaughter of arugula has left untold gallons of chlorophyll on your hands, you PEAT punks!Snicker…Karma’s a female dog, ain’t it? From the Weekly Standard:
You just knew it was coming: At the request of the Swiss government, an ethics panel has weighed in on the “dignity” of plants and opined that the arbitrary killing of flora is morally wrong. This is no hoax. The concept of what could be called “plant rights” is being seriously debated.
A few years ago the Swiss added to their national constitution a provision requiring “account to be taken of the dignity of creation when handling animals, plants and other organisms.” No one knew exactly what it meant, so they asked the Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology to figure it out. The resulting report, “The Dignity of Living Beings with Regard to Plants,” is enough to short circuit the brain.
A “clear majority” of the panel adopted what it called a “biocentric” moral view, meaning that “living organisms should be considered morally for their own sake because they are alive.” Thus, the panel determined that we cannot claim “absolute ownership” over plants and, moreover, that “individual plants have an inherent worth.” (Oh, I see! Human individualism is bad, but plant individualism is good? Got it. Thanks for the clarification. – Ed.) This means that “we may not use them just as we please, even if the plant community is not in danger, or if our actions do not endanger the species, or if we are not acting arbitrarily.”
No, it’s not a hoax. This is another case of Euros doing what Euros do best: wallowing in moonbattery.
Exit question: We’re not supposed to eat animals, and now we’re not supposed to eat plants…so just what in the blue hell are we supposed to eat? Paint chips?
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