Rest In Peace Jeff Beck

Very sad

Growing up and playing guitar, this was the guy who ever professional guitarist said to listen to. One of the magazines would ask a pro every month to name their 5 essential guitar albums, and almost every single one would mention Beck’s Blow By Blow. If you play rock guitar, you are mandate by law to own that album, and, preferably Wired to go with it. This is the way you play guitar. This is how you put songs together. Beck could easily have made them all about him, but, no, he wanted compete songs, so, the bass guitar, drums, and keyboards featured heavily. There are lots and lots of keyboard solos.

And you can tell from all those big rock musicians tweeting out that he was beyond respected. He really is one of the greatest guitarists of all time, and one of the OGs, going back to the Yardbirds. Here’s a pretty good list of his top 10 songs, though it is missing People Get Ready. A lot of people who listen to rock would probably be surprised, not realizing it is Beck on stuff like

Blanket with Imogen Heap is pretty incredible, as well.

Read: Rest In Peace Jeff Beck »

We Can Totally Normalize Climate Cult Discussions Through Humor Or Something

Me, I’d think it would be about showing the science as performed via the Scientific Method, and Warmists doing their darned best to practice what they preach, but, meh, whatever

How to normalize talking about climate change? Through humor, says columnist

Comedy can be a useful way to understand and maybe cope with Earth’s bleak future. That’s according to Kasha Patel, a Washington Post writer and editor who covers climate change and the environment. She writes their “Hidden Planet” column.

“It’s very complicated when you talk about these big issues. … Sometimes the facts aren’t going to be the thing that appeals to other people because they’re basing it more out of emotion,” Patel tells KCRW.

They have to have facts to start with

She shares her best climate joke: “Climate change is one of the hardest things to write about, which is why I admire all the comedians who did it  here. But a quick joke for the audience is: My comedy career is a lot like climate change. It’s pretty unbelievable, even though there’s evidence of it occurring all around us.”

The best climate joke is that they’ve convinced a large swath of people that the Earth is doomed from a tiny increase in global temperatures, something that has happened many times, and been much warmer, but, this time it’s all the fault of Humanity. And we can fix this by taxing people and restricting their lives, putting government in charge of everything.

Beyond that, it’s a 12 minute podcast, which is rather nutty. So, flipping to that Washington Post piece

Comedy may not seem like a good vehicle to showcase grim news of our planet, but just because something is entertaining doesn’t mean it can’t be useful, too. Humor can provide many benefits in tackling serious subjects. Limited research shows that climate change memes can boost a person’s civic engagement. Good-natured comedy can also help process negative emotions about global warming and sustain hope. (A note: When I’m not writing about science, I’m also a stand-up comedian).

But the human-exacerbated deterioration of Earth is not easy to make funny, especially as some climate goals are seemingly impossible now. Additionally, poorly executed climate jokes can dissuade people from engaging in the topic.

Let’s look at a joke, like this from Michelle Wolf

“Climate change is a real big deal, and everyone says Mother Nature. And I do believe nature is a woman because she’s trying to kill us in the most passive-aggressive way possible. It’s not some sort of immediate fire or flood or cool explosion. She’s just like, ‘What? I raised the temperature a little. Oh, are you uncomfortable? Maybe I wouldn’t have if you’d taken out the recycling like I asked. I’m fine.’”

That’s a kneeslapper, right? Right? None of the others are remotely funny. These people need to listen to Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, Howie Mandel, even subtle stuff like Steve Martin and Robert Klein, to see real humor.

Read: We Can Totally Normalize Climate Cult Discussions Through Humor Or Something »

If All You See…

…is a wonderful urban jungle which will help save the planet, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Climate Scepticism, with a post on eating bandicoots to save the planet.

Read: If All You See… »

California University Bans Use Of Word “Field” Over Raaaaacist Connotations

Seriously, these people are nuts. The meaning of the word goes back thousands of years, in meaning, and to the middle ages for the German and English words

California University will no longer use the word ‘field’ over racist ‘connotations’

The University of Southern California’s School of Social Work will no longer use the word “field” because it “may have connotations for descendants of slavery and immigrant workers that are not benign,” according to a letter from the department.

USC’s Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work will make the change in order to ensure the use of “inclusive language and practice,” according to the letter.

“Specifically, we have decided to remove the term ‘field’ from our curriculum and practice and replace it with ‘practicum,'” the letter said. “This change supports anti-racist social work practice by replacing language that would be considered anti-Black or anti-immigrant in favor of inclusive language.”

“Language can be powerful, and phrases such as ‘going into the field’ or ‘field work’ maybe have connotations for descendants of slavery and immigrant workers that are not benign,” the letter continued.

The goal of the change was to “to honor and acknowledge inclusion and reject white supremacy, anti-immigrant and anti-blackness ideologies,” according to the letter.

I wonder if these people bothered to ask any blacks or illegal aliens if the word bothers them? Overall, the faculty for the School of Social Work is pretty darned white. Seems rather racist/bigoted for them to make this assumption, wouldn’t you say?

Additionally, the USC’s School of Social Work states that the “bedrock” of its values and principles is “to work together to train social work students today who understand and embody social and racial justice.”

So, their values and principles is to patronize all the black and brown folks that they think are going to be the primary recipients of their work? Huh.

Read: California University Bans Use Of Word “Field” Over Raaaaacist Connotations »

Biden’s Agencies Want To Redesign Communities To Get Everyone To Walk And Bike

Yes, they do want to force the peasants to give up their fossil fueled travel and keep them from traveling

Biden wants you to walk, bike more to eliminate transportation emissions by 2050

If the Biden administration gets its way, carbon emissions emanating from transportation sources will be near zero by 2050 in part because people will be doing a lot less driving and a lot more walking and biking.

The Departments of Energy, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, along with the Environmental Protection Agency, released a “blueprint to decarbonize America’s transportation sector.” While that blueprint said most environmental benefits will come from spending billions of dollars on electric vehicles that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, it also called for a sweeping effort to redesign communities all around the country so that walking and biking become more viable options.

The plan called for more “investments” in walking and biking infrastructure and said land-use planning will “tackle the problem at the root and make it appealing and practical for people to take fewer or shorter trips, or to walk or bike on those trips where that is feasible.”

It anticipated more spending on “green infrastructure – trees and planted areas along streets, parking lots, and other paved areas,” which it said “makes walking and biking more appealing.” It also called for re-imagining the way cities and towns are laid out in order to make walking a more popular option.

It’s a lot easier for government to control people when they can’t really go far, eh? But, remember, this is all about “science”, not politics and authoritarianism, right?

BTW, when is Biden going to start traveling in EVs instead of fossil fueled limos?

Read: Biden’s Agencies Want To Redesign Communities To Get Everyone To Walk And Bike »

GOP Approves Resolution To Probe Weaponization Of Government

This makes the people who weaponized the federal government to go after Republicans and average American citizens very unhappy

House GOP approves resolution to create panel to probe ‘weaponization’ of federal government

Republican lawmakers on Tuesday gave their approval to a new House subcommittee designed to probe the “weaponization” of the federal government, giving the panel access to sensitive intelligence and the power to oversee ongoing criminal investigations.

The resolution passed in a party-line vote, 221-211.

Of course Democrats would vote against this

The subcommittee, part of the House Judiciary Committee, is expected to be chaired by the full panel’s chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

Such a move would give broad authority to Jordan, an ally of former President Trump who has railed against current and prior investigations of the former president.

“This is about the First Amendment, something you guys used to care about. And I’d actually hoped we could get bipartisan agreement on protecting the First Amendment — the five rights we enjoy as Americans under the First Amendment,” Jordan said during debate on the House floor Tuesday.

“We don’t want to go after anyone, we just want it to stop. And we want to respect the First Amendment to the Constitution that the greatest country in the world has. That’s what this committee is all about, and that’s what we’re gonna focus on, that’s what we are going to do,” he later added.

But, now we wait to see how hardcore the GOP goes after the FBI, DOJ, etc. Will they be asking pointed questions, holding people accountable, or simply bloviating too much, as members of Congress tend to do? Will they be demanding answers when federal employees try to skate around the questions?

For his part, Jordan pushed back against arguments the subcommittee was purely political.

“A ploy? It’s not a ploy when the Department of Justice treats parents as terrorists,” he said, referencing a memo that asked the FBI to consult with school boards as members faced an increasing number of violent threats.

“It’s not a ploy when the Department of Homeland Security tries to set up a disinformation governance board because we all know that the Department of Homeland Security can tell what’s good speech and what is bad speech,” he added later.

We’ll have to see how it goes.

Read: GOP Approves Resolution To Probe Weaponization Of Government »

Bummer: PRC Gov Newsom Proposes Climate Crisis (scam) Program Cuts

It’s a real shame when the real world intrudes and the money is drying up to deal with a scam, eh?

Newsom proposes cuts to climate change programs amid cloudy economic outlook

Facing a projected $22.5-billion budget deficit in the upcoming fiscal year, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday announced plans to reduce investments in the state’s move to zero-emission vehicles, make cuts to other climate change programs and delay funding for 20,000 new child-care slots as California transitions from a time of economic surplus to shortage.

The governor’s administration blamed high inflation, the Federal Reserve raising interest rates and volatility in the stock market as the major forces causing state revenues to drop well below projections from last summer when he anticipated an $100-billion surplus in the current budget year.

His $297-billion budget plan for 2023-24 relies on delaying multi-year investments and shifting funding to bonds to offset the shortfall. Newsom said he was careful to preserve the state’s rainy day fund and its other budgetary reserves given warnings about a nationwide recession and possibility that California’s financial problems could become more dire in the months and years ahead.

But, since California has mismanaged itself from a budget surplus to a deficit

The governor said he was hopeful that federal funding would supplant the cuts proposed to climate programs and he promised that those reductions would be restored in the future if the state’s revenues turn around.

LOL. Good luck with the GOP House giving you money for your scam, Gavin. Anyhow, Gavin realized that there are real world things, like the massive amount of homeless people, that need dealing with first.

Read: Bummer: PRC Gov Newsom Proposes Climate Crisis (scam) Program Cuts »

If All You See…

…are horrible carbon pollution infused drinks, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Geller Report, with a post wondering when the FBI will raid Biden’s home.

Read: If All You See… »

Enviro Group Wants Wind Turbine Construction Halted Over Whale Deaths

The same people who Demand renewables replace fossil fuels also demand the projects be stopped

Groups seek probe of NY-NJ whale deaths amid wind power prep

Environmental groups and opponents of offshore wind energy want a federal investigation into the deaths of six whales that have washed ashore in New Jersey and New York in little over a month

Groups seek probe of NY-NJ whale deaths amid wind power prepBy WAYNE PARRYAssociated PressThe Associated PressATLANTIC CITY, N.J.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — As the stench of a dead whale hung in the air, environmentalists and opponents of offshore wind stood on a beach where the marine mammal lay buried Monday and called for a federal probe into a spate of whale deaths in New Jersey and New York.

Groups from the two states wrote President Joe Biden requesting a probe of the deaths of six whales that washed ashore over the last 33 days in areas being prepared for large-scale offshore wind farms. They also are asking for a halt to site work until the causes are determined.

Cindy Zipf, executive director of New Jersey-based Clean Ocean Action, called the rate of whale deaths in the two states unprecedented.

“Is it an omen?” she asked. “Is it an alarm? Never before have we had six whales wash up in 33 days.”

Oh, they wrote Biden? Like he’s ever going to see it. They think a little highly of their little groups.

And a federal agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said that to date, no humpback whale — the species accounting for most of the recent whale deaths in New Jersey and New York — has been found to have been killed due to offshore wind activities. (snip)

Orsted, the Danish wind power developer that will build two of those three approved projects, said its current work off the New Jersey coast does not involve using sounds or other actions that could disturb whales.

First, the extreme-enviro groups won’t care. Second, they couldn’t use an American company?

At Monday’s news conference, the groups said offshore wind developers have applied for authorization to harass, harm or even kill as many as 157,000 marine mammals off the two states.

So, next comes the lawsuits to stop these projects. Renewables seem to be popular in theory for these extreme groups, not in practice.

Read: Enviro Group Wants Wind Turbine Construction Halted Over Whale Deaths »

Say, Are The California Storms Climate Doom?

This keeps happening. There’s some sort of storm, the Usual Cult Members blame it on ‘climate change’, and then the media comes along to say “it’s complicated” afterwards

Are California’s storms normal, or is climate change making them worse? What experts say.

climate cowCalifornia faces a “parade of storms” over the next several weeks, on top of recent deluges that have killed at least 12 people, caused flooding, knocked out power and forced evacuations and school closures up and down the coast.

Given the Mediterranean climate of the state’s coastal areas, wet winters and dry summers are a natural part of California’s weather patterns going back millennia.

But are this year’s storms something out of the ordinary, and something that can be attributed to climate change? In a state home to almost 40 million people with a $3.6 trillion economy – on track to be the fourth biggest in the world – the weather matters.

Here’s what to know. (snip)

Are California’s storms normal?

California’s coastal climate is naturally marked by wet winters and dry summers but that pattern contains a large amount of variability. The historical record as well as paleoclimatological studies looking over millennia show periods of severe drought and periods of extreme wetness.

So, yeah, normal.

What does climate change have to do with the California storms?

It’s too soon to say if this spate of winter storms is part of a larger climate change-driven shift or were just the luck of the draw. However, climate scientists are clear that overall, the state’s weather is becoming more variable and more intense, which is very much a long-predicted effect of global warming.

The natural variability of the state’s climate has masked the increases, said Swain.

Climate scientists in California are calling this “precipitation whiplash,” where when it rains, the rains are heavier and more catastrophic at the same time that droughts can become longer and more intense.

That’s because the overall heating of the atmosphere creates greater variability. Since the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, the world’s temperature has already increased by about 1.7 degrees Fahrenheit, with more increases coming.

It’s too soon to say, but, they’ll blame it on anthropogenic global warming. Surprise! Even though the records, such as they are, show extremes in the past.

Read: Say, Are The California Storms Climate Doom? »

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