...here are the five most egregious eco-myths, courtesy of reason.tv:
Friday, April 22, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
The Stupidity Of The Chevy Volt, Explained
McDaniel at PJM:
"What better market for a car no one wants than a government work force that is now at an all-time record of 2.15 million and constantly increasing? And what better way to provide the transportation needs for that artificially conjured market than “advanced technology” vehicles that will cost substantially more than comparable conventional vehicles? Forget not the astronomical additional cost of the huge charging infrastructure that will be, of necessity, installed at federal facilities throughout the nation. Mr. Obama will no doubt tout the plethora of jobs 'saved or created' in this pursuit, for the few weeks — or months — that they last.
"From where will come the extra electric generating capacity necessary to power this short-ranged but mighty green fleet? Has not Mr. Obama essentially shut down the construction of new power plants, despite his recent rhetoric seemingly to the contrary? The charging infrastructure alone will represent one of the most egregious cases of corporate welfare and cronyism in American history. Guess which corporation currently close to Mr. Obama’s heart and the taxpayers’ pocketbooks is already marketing EV charging stations? That’s right: General Electric. What a coincidence.
"Won’t the $7,500 rebate help? GM tried that already when it announced that it had paid off one of its government loans early — by using money loaned to it from federal TARP funds. The Obama administration is certainly not above financial chicanery, but taking money out of a left pocket only to transfer it to the right might embarrass even Timothy Geithner or Ben Bernanke.
"Whether the economic damage already wrought through action and inaction by Mr. Obama can be undone remains an open question. With his political wings clipped by a Republican House, Mr. Obama plainly intends to do by executive mandate what the law and legislature will not allow, and this end run around free enterprise is but a single recent example. With projects like this vehicular 'advanced technology' boondoggle, it seems ever more likely that economic ruin is the future — a future into which Mr. Obama is plunging the nation with advanced technology, at warp speed."
"What better market for a car no one wants than a government work force that is now at an all-time record of 2.15 million and constantly increasing? And what better way to provide the transportation needs for that artificially conjured market than “advanced technology” vehicles that will cost substantially more than comparable conventional vehicles? Forget not the astronomical additional cost of the huge charging infrastructure that will be, of necessity, installed at federal facilities throughout the nation. Mr. Obama will no doubt tout the plethora of jobs 'saved or created' in this pursuit, for the few weeks — or months — that they last.
"From where will come the extra electric generating capacity necessary to power this short-ranged but mighty green fleet? Has not Mr. Obama essentially shut down the construction of new power plants, despite his recent rhetoric seemingly to the contrary? The charging infrastructure alone will represent one of the most egregious cases of corporate welfare and cronyism in American history. Guess which corporation currently close to Mr. Obama’s heart and the taxpayers’ pocketbooks is already marketing EV charging stations? That’s right: General Electric. What a coincidence.
"Won’t the $7,500 rebate help? GM tried that already when it announced that it had paid off one of its government loans early — by using money loaned to it from federal TARP funds. The Obama administration is certainly not above financial chicanery, but taking money out of a left pocket only to transfer it to the right might embarrass even Timothy Geithner or Ben Bernanke.
"Whether the economic damage already wrought through action and inaction by Mr. Obama can be undone remains an open question. With his political wings clipped by a Republican House, Mr. Obama plainly intends to do by executive mandate what the law and legislature will not allow, and this end run around free enterprise is but a single recent example. With projects like this vehicular 'advanced technology' boondoggle, it seems ever more likely that economic ruin is the future — a future into which Mr. Obama is plunging the nation with advanced technology, at warp speed."
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Obama Playing Games On Iran
The Faker-In-Chief isn't even enforcing his own "sanctions" (WSJ):
"Yet the Administration has been consistently unserious about enforcing those sanctions. Last month the State Department completed a six-month review of investment in Iran's energy industry and opted to punish only one bit player, Belarusneft, a small government-owned firm from Belarus. So now Belarusneft can't do business in U.S. financial markets or with the U.S. government—neither of which it seeks to do anyway, as the State Department admits."
"Yet the Administration has been consistently unserious about enforcing those sanctions. Last month the State Department completed a six-month review of investment in Iran's energy industry and opted to punish only one bit player, Belarusneft, a small government-owned firm from Belarus. So now Belarusneft can't do business in U.S. financial markets or with the U.S. government—neither of which it seeks to do anyway, as the State Department admits."
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Unself-Aware Kloppenburg Demands A Recount
At a cost to Wisconsin taxpayers of a million smackers (Allah):
"The point of this, of course, isn’t to seriously contest a 7,000-vote deficit. The point is to keep the left motivated by doing whatever possible to question the legitimacy of Prosser’s win. (Sample quote from a Wisconsin AFL-CIO official: 'This race was a dead heat before something questionable happened in Waukesha.') The angrier they get about a 'stolen election' that wasn’t stolen, the better liberal turnout should be in the coming recall elections they’re eyeing to flip the state senate back to a Democratic majorty."
"The point of this, of course, isn’t to seriously contest a 7,000-vote deficit. The point is to keep the left motivated by doing whatever possible to question the legitimacy of Prosser’s win. (Sample quote from a Wisconsin AFL-CIO official: 'This race was a dead heat before something questionable happened in Waukesha.') The angrier they get about a 'stolen election' that wasn’t stolen, the better liberal turnout should be in the coming recall elections they’re eyeing to flip the state senate back to a Democratic majorty."
Monday, April 18, 2011
Great Leader Heads Toward Another Foreign Policy Debacle
Max Boot in the WSJ:
"Contractors may be successful in training Iraqi forces but I have my doubts about whether they will be up to the magnitude of the task. Iraq has no fighter aircraft and no air-control system. It has only some 70 tanks and no artillery. Its army has almost no experience in combined-arms warfare, having devoted the last eight years, for understandable reasons, to counterinsurgency operations.
"In other words, Iraq is almost defenseless. That makes it easy prey for Iran, its historic rival. This doesn't mean that an Iranian invasion is likely. Yet Iranian bullying and influence-peddling is going on all the time, and if Iraq can't defend its borders, Tehran will have an extra element of coercive leverage.
"Under these circumstances, leaving Iraq entirely would be an act of folly. We are still in Kosovo, South Korea and other post-conflict zones that are far more stable. We need to be in Iraq too."
"Contractors may be successful in training Iraqi forces but I have my doubts about whether they will be up to the magnitude of the task. Iraq has no fighter aircraft and no air-control system. It has only some 70 tanks and no artillery. Its army has almost no experience in combined-arms warfare, having devoted the last eight years, for understandable reasons, to counterinsurgency operations.
"In other words, Iraq is almost defenseless. That makes it easy prey for Iran, its historic rival. This doesn't mean that an Iranian invasion is likely. Yet Iranian bullying and influence-peddling is going on all the time, and if Iraq can't defend its borders, Tehran will have an extra element of coercive leverage.
"Under these circumstances, leaving Iraq entirely would be an act of folly. We are still in Kosovo, South Korea and other post-conflict zones that are far more stable. We need to be in Iraq too."
Counter-Terrorism Ops In The Toilet
Here's an interview at PJM (Patrick Poole) that should blow you away:
"Last Thursday, I reported here exclusively at PJM on a DOJ memo dated March 31, 2010, from Assistant Attorney General David Kris to Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler. The memo effectively ended the prosecution of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) co-founder and Chairman Emeritus Omar Ahmad — in addition to the prosecution of other prominent American Muslim leaders — for helping support the Hamas terrorist organization. This decision, according to my source, was not made based on the overwhelming evidence that had been compiled over the past decade by the U.S. attorney’s office in Dallas, but was made due to potential political embarrassment for the Obama administration and out of fear of inflaming the American Muslim community.
"But another troubling claim came out during our interview: 'Muslim outreach' programs by U.S. government agencies to terror-tied Islamic groups have directly interfered with ongoing terrorism investigations."
Read the whole thing.
"Last Thursday, I reported here exclusively at PJM on a DOJ memo dated March 31, 2010, from Assistant Attorney General David Kris to Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler. The memo effectively ended the prosecution of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) co-founder and Chairman Emeritus Omar Ahmad — in addition to the prosecution of other prominent American Muslim leaders — for helping support the Hamas terrorist organization. This decision, according to my source, was not made based on the overwhelming evidence that had been compiled over the past decade by the U.S. attorney’s office in Dallas, but was made due to potential political embarrassment for the Obama administration and out of fear of inflaming the American Muslim community.
"But another troubling claim came out during our interview: 'Muslim outreach' programs by U.S. government agencies to terror-tied Islamic groups have directly interfered with ongoing terrorism investigations."
Read the whole thing.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Source Of Mail Threat To Peter King Is A Radical Islamist Blogger
And she sent anti-Semitic mail to a New York State senator (Shepherd at NewsBusters).
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Efflorescence Of Arab Anti-Semitism
In response to Goldstone's retraction of his loathsome report (Hornik at PJM).
Not just from Gaza, but from Saudi Arabia! Quatar! The UAE! Jordan! Even Arabs in Britain!
But far be it from me to suggest it's a general Arab phenomenon.
Not just from Gaza, but from Saudi Arabia! Quatar! The UAE! Jordan! Even Arabs in Britain!
But far be it from me to suggest it's a general Arab phenomenon.
Thanks, Obamazoids!
What a leader!
Demagoguery, partisanship, calumny...what more do you want?
You have so much to be proud of, Obamatons!
Hinderaker:
"It is hard to imagine how a president could give a more mean-spirited and less substantial speech on a grave national crisis than Obama delivered today. Obama appears to be a man who understands little or nothing about business or the economy. For him, partisan politics is everything. We saw that today. It was a sad moment for our country."
Demagoguery, partisanship, calumny...what more do you want?
You have so much to be proud of, Obamatons!
Hinderaker:
"It is hard to imagine how a president could give a more mean-spirited and less substantial speech on a grave national crisis than Obama delivered today. Obama appears to be a man who understands little or nothing about business or the economy. For him, partisan politics is everything. We saw that today. It was a sad moment for our country."
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Obama To Lay Out Wealth Expropriation Scheme To 'Fix' Deficit
Sure, that'll work...for a year, if you take everything there is (Whittle):
To Dems, there is no real spending problem. Sure, a little waste here and there. That's to be expected when you you're doing great, colossal things. 'Sure, sure...we'll do our best to clean that up,' they say with a wave of their hands (while thinking: 'we have to appease the dumb unwashed, who can't understand the monumental vision of our minds.'). But the real action is in the people who 'don't pay their fair share.'
Their view of the world is distorted, rigid, and yes, at its core socialist (or more precisely, progressivist).
To Dems, there is no real spending problem. Sure, a little waste here and there. That's to be expected when you you're doing great, colossal things. 'Sure, sure...we'll do our best to clean that up,' they say with a wave of their hands (while thinking: 'we have to appease the dumb unwashed, who can't understand the monumental vision of our minds.'). But the real action is in the people who 'don't pay their fair share.'
Their view of the world is distorted, rigid, and yes, at its core socialist (or more precisely, progressivist).
Friday, April 8, 2011
Hamas Again
A bad (and predictable) consequence of the Egyptian 'revolution.'
Barry Rubin (who's contributions, BTW, are a great coup for PJM):
"But none of that is new. What is new is a shift in the strategic situation. The recent upheavals in the Arab world have emboldened revolutionary Islamists and Hamas most of all. Its close ally, the Muslim Brotherhood, can operate freely in Egypt. There is much support for Islamism in the Egyptian army. And even the 'moderate' presidential candidate Muhammad ElBaradei said that Egypt would go to war if Israel attacked the Gaza Strip."
Barry Rubin (who's contributions, BTW, are a great coup for PJM):
"But none of that is new. What is new is a shift in the strategic situation. The recent upheavals in the Arab world have emboldened revolutionary Islamists and Hamas most of all. Its close ally, the Muslim Brotherhood, can operate freely in Egypt. There is much support for Islamism in the Egyptian army. And even the 'moderate' presidential candidate Muhammad ElBaradei said that Egypt would go to war if Israel attacked the Gaza Strip."
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Richard Goldstone: Portrait Of An Idiot
Goldstone semi-apologizes for his notorious UN 'report' that vilified Israel for Operation Cast Lead.
Radosh:
"So whatever Judge Goldstone’s current obfuscations, and his intent to pass off his report’s failures as the fault of Israel’s non-cooperation rather than his own weaknesses and lack of impartiality, his current re-evaluation is more than welcome. Despite its limitations, Goldstone’s article today helps minimize the damage attempted by those like Adam Horowitz, Lizzy Ratner and Philip Weiss — the left-wing enemies of Israel who compiled the volume that Berkowitz reviews."
Radosh:
"So whatever Judge Goldstone’s current obfuscations, and his intent to pass off his report’s failures as the fault of Israel’s non-cooperation rather than his own weaknesses and lack of impartiality, his current re-evaluation is more than welcome. Despite its limitations, Goldstone’s article today helps minimize the damage attempted by those like Adam Horowitz, Lizzy Ratner and Philip Weiss — the left-wing enemies of Israel who compiled the volume that Berkowitz reviews."
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Another Fine Example Of That Famous Progressivist Science-Love
In California, where they pass regs based on crap promoted by charlatans (Morrissey):
"What about Tran and Nichols? They both still have their jobs. Tran got a 60-day suspension and a demotion, but still works as an air pollution specialist for the state despite his record of fraudulent representation. Nichols still chairs CARB. Froines, after a brief departure, returned to CARB’s scientific advisory panel to chair their toxicology committee, after voting to fire Enstrom at UCLA. The only person who lost their job from Enstrom’s whistleblowing was Enstrom himself."
"What about Tran and Nichols? They both still have their jobs. Tran got a 60-day suspension and a demotion, but still works as an air pollution specialist for the state despite his record of fraudulent representation. Nichols still chairs CARB. Froines, after a brief departure, returned to CARB’s scientific advisory panel to chair their toxicology committee, after voting to fire Enstrom at UCLA. The only person who lost their job from Enstrom’s whistleblowing was Enstrom himself."
Friday, April 1, 2011
Anti-Israel On The Campuses Of Norway
The Dersh, shut out (Goodman, at Contentions):
"According to Dershowitz, the sustained effort at Norwegian schools to initiate an Israeli cultural and academic boycott has resulted in a 'de facto' boycott of Jewish pro-Israel speakers. 'Moreover,' writes Dershowitz, 'all Jews are presumed to be pro-Israel unless they have a long track record of anti-Israel rhetoric.' ”
Well, good. I hope I'm 'presumed' to be pro-Israel. It means I'm 'presumed' not to be an idiot.
But I kid. What Dersh really means is that Jews are 'presumed' to be tribal bigots, by virtue of their pro-Israel stance. In this he is undoubtedly correct, and correct to view this Norwegian academic attitude as deplorable. Where he is wrong is in implying that any given Jew's "long track record of anti-Israel rhetoric" buys him or her respected status on the campuses of Norway as homo sapiens rationalis exaltus.
More like homo sapiens lackey utilitas, I'd say.
"According to Dershowitz, the sustained effort at Norwegian schools to initiate an Israeli cultural and academic boycott has resulted in a 'de facto' boycott of Jewish pro-Israel speakers. 'Moreover,' writes Dershowitz, 'all Jews are presumed to be pro-Israel unless they have a long track record of anti-Israel rhetoric.' ”
Well, good. I hope I'm 'presumed' to be pro-Israel. It means I'm 'presumed' not to be an idiot.
But I kid. What Dersh really means is that Jews are 'presumed' to be tribal bigots, by virtue of their pro-Israel stance. In this he is undoubtedly correct, and correct to view this Norwegian academic attitude as deplorable. Where he is wrong is in implying that any given Jew's "long track record of anti-Israel rhetoric" buys him or her respected status on the campuses of Norway as homo sapiens rationalis exaltus.
More like homo sapiens lackey utilitas, I'd say.
The Times-Dem, Unmasked
Hinderaker nails 'em in a lie:
"Let's pause for a moment on those "Democratic power brokers and unions." The truth is that if the Times is unhappy with big money in politics, it is barking up the wrong tree. The Republicans are the grassroots party; it is the Times's own Democratic Party that is the beneficiary of the vast majority of fat cat donations. This is from my post Who Are the Demons Here?...
"...You have to get down to number 19 before you find a big-time donor that gives significantly more to Republicans than Democrats. And the Koch brothers are not even on the radar screen.
"The New York Times represents a new low in American journalism, especially in its editorials. The paper isn't even original--it gets its content from slimy, billionaire-funded, radical web sites. It doesn't fact check, it just repeats smears--and in some cases, it baselessly amplifies them. Its parroting of those smears is so slavish that it is close to plagiarism. If there is a news outlet less worthy of respect, I can't think what it would be.
"UPDATE: Following up on this post, I have requested that the Times issue a correction."
"Let's pause for a moment on those "Democratic power brokers and unions." The truth is that if the Times is unhappy with big money in politics, it is barking up the wrong tree. The Republicans are the grassroots party; it is the Times's own Democratic Party that is the beneficiary of the vast majority of fat cat donations. This is from my post Who Are the Demons Here?...
"...You have to get down to number 19 before you find a big-time donor that gives significantly more to Republicans than Democrats. And the Koch brothers are not even on the radar screen.
"The New York Times represents a new low in American journalism, especially in its editorials. The paper isn't even original--it gets its content from slimy, billionaire-funded, radical web sites. It doesn't fact check, it just repeats smears--and in some cases, it baselessly amplifies them. Its parroting of those smears is so slavish that it is close to plagiarism. If there is a news outlet less worthy of respect, I can't think what it would be.
"UPDATE: Following up on this post, I have requested that the Times issue a correction."
Making The Case
Hey, I hold no brief for Terry Jones, the pastor who almost burned the Koran.
But I must take note of the irony of semi-sentients protesting what they claim to be a defamation against the Koran (to the effect that the Koran promotes mayhem and murder)...
...by rioting and cutting the heads off people.
Addendum:
For the record, it appears Jones did get around to burning a Koran a short while back (Allah), and actual decapitation hasn't yet been absolutely confirmed to have happened.
But I must take note of the irony of semi-sentients protesting what they claim to be a defamation against the Koran (to the effect that the Koran promotes mayhem and murder)...
...by rioting and cutting the heads off people.
Addendum:
For the record, it appears Jones did get around to burning a Koran a short while back (Allah), and actual decapitation hasn't yet been absolutely confirmed to have happened.
Confusion
Even as the Obama team stumbles and gropes toward the right policy in Libya, it clings to the usual failed kow-towing in Syria. Why?
Simple. The President doesn't understand what he is doing. Left-winger that he is, he possesses no coherent policy or principle by which to conduct his foreign policy. When he does approximate a correct impulse, as in Libya, he doesn't know why. He himself cannot distinguish between Libya and Syria. Therefore, he is deathly afraid that any inkling of criticism of Assad can be used to compel the U.S. to take military action against him.
Bring on the 'smart power,' Obamazoids! Thanks a million!
Krauthammer:
"Another abject failure. Syria has contemptuously rejected Obama’s blandishments — obsequious visits from Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry and the return of the first U.S. ambassador to Damascus since the killing of Hariri. Assad’s response? An even tighter and more ostentatious alliance with Hezbollah and Iran.
"Our ambassador in Damascus should demand to meet the demonstrators and visit the wounded. If refused, he should be recalled to Washington. And rather than 'deplore the crackdown,' as did Clinton in her walk-back, we should be denouncing it in forceful language and every available forum, including the U.N. Security Council.
"No one is asking for a Libya-style rescue. Just simple truth-telling. If Kerry wants to make a fool of himself by continuing to insist that Assad is an agent of change, well, it’s a free country. But Clinton speaks for the nation."
Simple. The President doesn't understand what he is doing. Left-winger that he is, he possesses no coherent policy or principle by which to conduct his foreign policy. When he does approximate a correct impulse, as in Libya, he doesn't know why. He himself cannot distinguish between Libya and Syria. Therefore, he is deathly afraid that any inkling of criticism of Assad can be used to compel the U.S. to take military action against him.
Bring on the 'smart power,' Obamazoids! Thanks a million!
Krauthammer:
"Another abject failure. Syria has contemptuously rejected Obama’s blandishments — obsequious visits from Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry and the return of the first U.S. ambassador to Damascus since the killing of Hariri. Assad’s response? An even tighter and more ostentatious alliance with Hezbollah and Iran.
"Our ambassador in Damascus should demand to meet the demonstrators and visit the wounded. If refused, he should be recalled to Washington. And rather than 'deplore the crackdown,' as did Clinton in her walk-back, we should be denouncing it in forceful language and every available forum, including the U.N. Security Council.
"No one is asking for a Libya-style rescue. Just simple truth-telling. If Kerry wants to make a fool of himself by continuing to insist that Assad is an agent of change, well, it’s a free country. But Clinton speaks for the nation."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)