Chicago Needs To Act Boldly On Climate Doom Or Something

By William Teach October 26, 2022 – 7:15 am

Right, this is the most important issue, per the Chicago Sun Times, as written by Alderman Matt Martin, Ald. Daniel La Spata, Ald. Mike Rodriguez and Ald. Maria Hadden

Time for Chicago to act boldly on climate change and bring back the Department of Environment

A decade ago, Chicago had a Department of Environment that was tasked with implementing our first ever Climate Action Plan. Released in 2008 with an end date of 2020, the plan was truly ahead of its time, showcasing how cities across the United States and beyond could take the lead in tackling climate change.

But in 2012, then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel disbanded the department, arguing that its work could be spread across multiple departments without impacting efficiency and effectiveness. Unfortunately, that assumption has proved incorrect. (snip)

By themselves, however, these new regulations and declarations won’t guarantee that Chicago meets the moment in its ongoing battle against climate change, which continues to disproportionately affect historically underserved communities. Indeed, time is running out for us to act boldly with our budget by re-establishing a Department of Environment.

In fall 2019, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the creation of the Office of the Environment to be housed within the mayor’s office. Unfortunately, that proposal included only one position — a proposal that was so out of step with the scope of the problem that some dubbed it a “cubicle” of the environment.

Several weeks ago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that the Office of the Environment would be renamed the Office of Climate and Environmental Equity and include six total positions. But this represents only one additional person beyond the five existing environmental policy team members, and is less than half the size of City Hall’s press office.

That’s two more than were killed in Chicago Monday. And 2 less than those who were shot.

In fact, a re-established department could ultimately save us money. Improved recycling and composting would mean less city funds being paid to landfills. An expanded tree canopy would lower neighborhood temperatures, thereby reducing the need for air conditioners. Improved stormwater management would reduce the frequency and severity of basement flooding.

In early 2020, City Council declared a state of climate emergency in Chicago and, in doing so, pledged to “work with the Mayor’s office and city departments to develop a budget that promotes urgent climate action.” A couple additional cubicles in the mayor’s office won’t cut it.

It’s time for City Council and the mayor to re-establish the Chicago Department of Environment.

They do realize they are members of the city council, right? And can submit legislation? Perhaps the upper middle class and rich folks in Chicago might care, but, how about all those Chicagoans who have to deal with the crime? There’s a 1 in 103 chance of being a victim of violent crime in Chicago, and a 1 in 39 chance of being a victim of a property crime. But, hey, go for it, do your climate crisis scam stuff.

Read: Chicago Needs To Act Boldly On Climate Doom Or Something »

Posted in Global Warming, Liberal World | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

NY Times Wonders If Their Democrat Comrades Can Survive Their Crummy Economic Record

By William Teach October 26, 2022 – 7:00 am

In fairness, the NY Times’ Jonathan Weisman and Neil Vigdor aren’t really working all that to carry Democrats water, probably not seeing a lot of point with so few days left, just going through the motions

Democrats Can’t Ignore the Economy. But Can They Survive It?

Democratic candidates, facing what increasingly looks like a reckoning in two weeks, are struggling to find a closing message on the economy that acknowledges the deep uncertainty troubling the electorate while making the case that they, not the Republicans, hold the solutions.

For some time, the party’s candidates and strategists have debated whether to hit inflation head on or to heed warnings that any shift toward an economic message would be ending the campaign on the strongest possible Republican ground. Since midsummer, when the Supreme Court repealed Roe v. Wade, Democrats had hoped that preserving the 50-year-old constitutional right to an abortion and castigating Republican extremism could get them past the worst inflation in 40 years.

That is looking increasingly like wishful thinking.

Hey, they dug that grave, but, come on, what actual record do they have?

On Monday, Democrats unveiled new messages that appeared to switch tacks, incorporating achievements of the past two years with expressions of sympathy on the economy and dire warnings for what Republicans might bring.

Former Rep. Steve Israel, who headed the House Democrats’ campaign arm in a strong cycle of 2012 and weak one in 2014, said the dispute over how to address voters’ economic distress was essentially being resolved in favor of trying to accomplish a political feat that he said would be the trickiest he has ever seen: Democrats would continue to hammer Republicans on abortion and their ties to former President Donald Trump to boost turnout among their core supporters, while simultaneously trying to win over undecided voters whose biggest concerns are inflation and crime.

Good luck with that. Even Democrats do not trust Democrats on the economy and crime.

Lake, in an interview Saturday, said Democratic strategists were “extremely concerned” that the wave of support the party saw over the summer was evaporating at the worst possible time. But she insisted there was time, with barely two weeks to go, to correct course.

“A lot of candidates aren’t really clear about what the economic message is,” she said. “What we need to do is set up a more vivid contrast. People are getting more pessimistic about the economy.”

Getting? They’ve been pessimistic for well over a year. And, under Democratic Party ownership of the Congress and White House, none of their concerns have been addressed.

In two years, the party has passed a trillion-dollar infrastructure bill, a generous tax credit for parents that brought child poverty to historic lows, legislation that made good on the popular, long-standing promise to allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, and the biggest investment in clean energy in history — all achievements that could be framed as helping people cope with rising prices.

None of those address inflation, rising cost of food and goods.

On Friday, four veteran Democratic strategists published a piece in The American Prospect, the liberal magazine, that pleaded with Democrats to find a new message that acknowledges the pain of rising prices and answers voter concerns. To do that, they argued, candidates need to convey their legislative successes while setting up culprits other than themselves: Republicans who voted against popular measures such as capping the price of insulin, and wealthy corporations that are jacking up prices and reaping more profits.

Voters “want to know you understand what is going on in their lives,” the strategists wrote. “They want to know you are helping with their No. 1 problem and have a plan. They want to know the difference between Democrats and Republicans when they cast their votes.” The piece was written by Patrick Gaspard, president of the liberal Center for American Politics; Stanley Greenberg and Celinda Lake, veteran Democratic pollsters; and Mike Lux, a senior White House aide under former President Bill Clinton.

I read that one, and almost blogged it. Because, really, Democrats do not understand and do not care what’s happening to the working and middle classes. If they did, they wouldn’t be telling people they could save money on energy by spending $20K+ on solar panels and $56K (average cost of an EV) on an EV. Biden going to Delaware or Camp David almost every weekend. Wouldn’t be opening up the border, wanting more low wage workers when the wages of Americans aren’t keeping up with inflation.

(Newsweek)…In a bit of loose-lipped candor, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, testifying this week before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, let slip his belief that “the more pain” Americans feel at the pump, “the more benefit” there is for electric vehicle owners.

Such astounding disdain and haughtiness from a Cabinet official, if it were to come under a Republican administration, would make headline-grabbing fodder for weeks. It would dominate the late-night shows, as Jimmy Kimmel poked fun at those nasty, “Gordon Gekko”-esque robber baron Republicans.

Americans, especially Independents and wishy washy Democrats, see this. Those wishy washy Dems may not vote Republican, they might just sit it out.

Read: NY Times Wonders If Their Democrat Comrades Can Survive Their Crummy Economic Record »

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AP: Most Americans Want More Government Action On Hotcoldwetdry

By William Teach October 25, 2022 – 3:00 pm

Strangely, most of the people responding that they want more action do not do much, if anything, in their own lives voluntarily

Most in US want more action on climate change: AP-NORC poll

Nearly two-thirds of Americans think the federal government is not doing enough to fight climate change, according to a new poll that shows limited public awareness about a sweeping new law that commits the U.S. to its largest ever investment to combat global warming.

Democrats in Congress approved the Inflation Reduction Act in August, handing President Joe Biden a hard-fought triumph on priorities that his party hopes will bolster prospects for keeping their House and Senate majorities in November’s elections.

Biden and Democratic lawmakers have touted the new law as a milestone achievement leading into the midterm elections, and environmental groups have spent millions to boost the measure in battleground states. Yet the poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 61% of U.S. adults say they know little to nothing about it.

Then they aren’t paying attention, and the news is doing a terrible job. But, let’s face it, most Americans care more on the latest from Kanye, the Kardashians, and all sorts of inconsequential stuff

While the law was widely heralded as the largest investment in climate spending in history, 49% of Americans say it won’t make much of a difference on climate change, 33% say it will help and 14% think it will do more to hurt it.

Well, those aren’t good numbers for the New Green Deal, er, IRA

Americans are generally more likely to support than oppose many of the government actions on climate change included in the law, the poll shows. That includes incentives for electric vehicles and solar panels, though relatively few say they are inclined to pursue either in the next three years.

So, people aren’t interested in paying through the nose for solar panels and EVs for themselves? Weird

Overall, 62% of U.S. adults say the government is doing too little to reduce climate change, while 19% say it’s doing too much and 18% think it’s doing the right amount.

Democrats are more likely than others to think the federal government is doing too little on climate: 79% say that, compared to 67% of independents and 39% of Republicans. About three-quarters of Black and Hispanic Americans think there’s too little action, compared to about half of white Americans.

And about three-quarters of adults under 45 think there’s too little action on climate, significantly higher than the roughly half of those older who think that.

They can take action in their own lives, right? Oh, right, they want some of that sweet, sweet, redistributed cash, never considering if it will be their own cash.

The poll of 1,003 adults was conducted Sep. 9-12 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.

What’s also weird is there’s no link to the poll. I wonder why? 79% of Dems think not enough action, 67% of independents, and 39% of Republicans say the same. If we dig into the toplines, though, we see a D/R/I skew of  45/36/19 (page 20). That is one hell of an oversample.

This is also interesting

Looks like a lot of Warmists are upset that Other People are not willing to reduce their use of energy, not investing in solar and wind, and pay more for energy. Should have asked the questions “are you willing to reduce your own energy usage?” “Are you willing to pay more for energy?” “Are you willing to invest your own money in “renewables”?”

Read: AP: Most Americans Want More Government Action On Hotcoldwetdry »

Posted in Climate Cult, Global Warming, Wonky Media | 14 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach October 25, 2022 – 1:00 pm

…is a wonderful place out in nature that would be perfect for wind turbines, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is 90Ninety Miles From Tyranny, with a post on the state turning your children against you.

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Surprise: Democrats Are Having Trouble With Key State General Assembly Races, Too

By William Teach October 25, 2022 – 10:30 am

Liberal policies, like their soft on crime ones, are doing wonders

Key state legislature races favor Republicans despite massive Democratic spending

State legislatures are often overlooked in the heat of campaign season, yet the laws crafted there have as much impact, if not more, on the average person’s everyday life as the ones passed by Congress.

But for many Americans, ignoring elections for state legislatures is no longer an option. The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade this summer has them focused on state capitols, where abortion laws are now being decided.

But while Democrats are still trying to mobilize their efforts around state legislatures, controlling them has been a leading GOP focus for over a decade. Republicans launched an effort to take power in statehouses in the years leading up to the 2010 midterm elections, which in many cases allowed them to redraw congressional districts in their favor after that year’s census.

Who was vice president back then, when Democrats got blown out in the House, lost a few in the Senate, and lost quite a few in the state general assemblies? And lost more in 2012? And 2014?

And the GOP’s long-term effort is still paying off. Republicans currently control 30 state legislatures to just 17 for Democrats, according to the National Conference on State Legislatures. In addition, the GOP has control of 23 governorships in states where they also hold the legislature, which is referred to as a “trifecta.” Democrats have just 14 trifectas.

It doesn’t appear that Democrats will improve these numbers all that much this year.

Democrats told Yahoo News a year ago that they plan to make an organized push to elect more members of their party to state legislatures. And two outside groups are spending around $80 million to do so this cycle.

But so far, there has been little payoff for Democrats. Only 10 chambers out of 99 across the country were deemed to be competitive several months ago by one analyst, and that number has likely shrunk, according to the latest ratings.

They can say this, but, really, Democrats tend to focus on national politics, forgetting what’s happening locally. Just look at the local news outlets: you don’t see that much about the state general assemblies, but, you do see what’s happening in Congress. Of the four main local outlets in Raleigh, which is a Democratic Party run city, they do not mention general assembly happenings that often. The only one that seems to do this is the NJ.com, which is primarily NJ Star Ledger material.

Of the top five closest chambers, as ranked by CNalysis, four are currently held by Democrats and risk switching to Republican control. These four are the Maine House, the Minnesota House, the Alaska House and — somewhat shockingly — the Oregon Senate.

“Oregon is going to be interesting,” CNalysis executive director Chaz Nuttycombe told Yahoo News. The race for Oregon governor is tilting toward Republican candidate Christine Drazan, and CNalysis even gives Republicans a 26% chance of taking the House there, along with a 39% chance of either winning control of the state Senate or gaining a tie in the upper chamber.

I doubt the GOP will take it over. But, they will cut the numbers.

When it comes to threats to democracy from election deniers, the biggest one likely resides in Arizona, where control of the Legislature looks to be firmly in Republican hands already and unlikely to change, according to CNalysis.

Now do 2000, 2004, and 2016 for Democrats. Sigh. Of course, it’s probably too late for Democrats to worry about the states. Maybe they want to rethink people voting so early and mailing ballots in so early.

Read: Surprise: Democrats Are Having Trouble With Key State General Assembly Races, Too »

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EU To Raise Climate Target In 2023, Putting Their Citizens Into More Energy Poverty

By William Teach October 25, 2022 – 7:15 am

Hey, enough of you Europeans, who’ve given up your liberty and sovereignty to the EU, wanted this with your votes. So, don’t complain when the price of food, housing, and energy skyrocket more. When you can’t afford to heat and cool your homes. Heck, when there’s not enough energy that you’re allowed to use

EU countries agree to hike climate change target next year

European Union countries agreed on Monday to raise their target to curb greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris climate agreement next year, as the bloc attempts to rally ambition among major emitters ahead of this year’s U.N. climate talks.

EU countries’ climate ministers on Monday approved their joint negotiating position for the United Nations summit in November, which was supposed to serve as a deadline for nearly 200 countries to hike their climate pledges.

Most countries have not submitted new targets. The 27-country EU, the world’s third-biggest polluter, pledged on Monday to upgrade its target “as soon as possible”, but said this could not be done until the bloc finishes negotiating a dozen new emissions-cutting laws.

EU countries agreed to wrap up those negotiations by the end of this year – a tight deadline for the dozen laws, which include a ban on new fossil fuel car sales by 2035 and an overhaul of the EU carbon market

EU officials told Reuters the bloc was racing to clinch deals on three policies in time for the COP27 summit on Nov. 7.

The EU’s current target is to cut its net emissions by 55% by 2030, from 1990 levels. EU officials hope it will be possible to nudge that goal higher, because the package of climate policies was designed in July 2021 to deliver the 55% emissions target – and parts of it have since been made more ambitious.

Well, have fun, Europeans. Well, you working and middle class Europeans, because the Elites will continue to live their modern lives to their fullest, while the peons suffer

Ministers also agreed on Monday that the EU would support putting “loss and damage” – the contentious topic of compensation for the damage floods, rising seas and other climate change-fuelled impacts are inflicting on the world’s poorest – on the agenda for the COP27 gathering in Egypt.

Ah, more redistribution. Guess who’s taxes will rise? It won’t be the Elites who pay.

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Democrat Strategists See Writing On Wall, Want Dems To Talk About Economy

By William Teach October 25, 2022 – 7:00 am

Hey, with the ride wave rising higher and higher, I bet Democrats are pretty upset with early voting and mail in voting, eh? If we all voted on election day, they might possibly maybe have a chance to mitigate some of the damage. Oops!

Steering the conversation toward the economy could actually help Democrats

Biden Brain SuckerWith just two weeks until Election Day, recent polling suggests that support for the Democratic Party is eroding nationally in the final stretch of the midterm campaign.

Republicans have gained more than four points in the generic ballot since last month. Democrats enjoyed a one-point advantage in mid-September, but the GOP now leads by over three points, per RealClearPolitics’ average.

Not only is support for Democrats declining overall — it is also weakening among the very constituencies that the party has been courting for months. Since mid-September, Democrats have lost 9-points in the generic ballot with independents, 13-points with women, and 32-points with independent women, per the latest NY Times/Siena College poll. While we should not extrapolate too much from one survey, this trend is largely reflected in other public polls.

Obviously, Democrats focused on abortion on demand, thinking that was the path to winning, but, they were mostly preaching to the choir, and even losing support from those who saw their price of living ever-rising

The same NY Times/Siena poll finds that 44 percent of voters cite economic issues — either the economy generally (26 percent) or rising prices specifically (18 percent) — as the main problem facing the country, while just 5 percent name abortion. The same trend is true of women and independents.

Pocketbook concerns are clearly dominant, and by not messaging on these issues, Democrats are letting Republicans’ economy-focused attack ads — which are largely concentrated in battleground states and swing districts — go uncontested. Indeed, tracking by AdImpact finds that Republicans have outspent and out-aired Democrats by a ten-to-one margin on ads mentioning inflation.

What have the Democrats really done? The jobs market has essentially gained back what was lost in the pandemic.

Moreover, when Democrats do discuss the economy, they largely aren’t talking about it in the right way, per veteran pollster Stan Greenberg. When the party touts strong macroeconomic metrics such as historically low unemployment rates and the passage of their spending bill — but avoids talking about rising prices — voters perceive it as disingenuous.

They are lying.

What Democrats should instead be doing, Greenberg argues, is making an effort in their advertising to inform voters that the party has a plan to lower the cost of living if reelected, while also highlighting how Republicans have opposed cutting costs for working people at every turn.

What plan? They control the House, Senate, and White House. They’ve had since January 20, 2021, to implement their plan. Let them try this, because that is what ever Republican will ask “why haven’t they implemented the plan? Where is it?”

How can Democrats counter the GOP’s cost-of-living hits? Run ads hammering Republicans for voting against capping insulin at an affordable level and opposing extending the child tax credit, which would have delivered $600 a month to working people. Ramp up attacks on GOP candidates who favor weakening broadly popular entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.

None of which brings down inflation. Doesn’t bring down the price of food, clothes, housing, vehicles, energy, etc and so on. I’d like to see them give it a whirl.

Read: Democrat Strategists See Writing On Wall, Want Dems To Talk About Economy »

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Climate Cultists Engage In Friendly Fire, Attack King Charles III Waxwork

By William Teach October 24, 2022 – 3:00 pm

Certainly, Charles has been a huge climahypocrite, but, he’s also been one of the world leaders pushing hard to Do Something about ‘climate change’. These people really are a cult

Madame Tussauds: Protesters throw cake on King Charles waxwork

Activists appear to have thrown cake into the face of King Charles’s waxwork at London’s Madame Tussauds.

Video footage posted on social media showed two protesters wearing Just Stop Oil T-shirts throwing cake in the King’s face.

The Metropolitan Police said four people had been arrested for criminal damage.

Madame Tussauds said: “At approximately 10.50am today (24 Oct), protestors entered the ‘World Stage’ Zone at Madame Tussauds London and appeared to throw what is believed to be cake at our figures of The Royal Family.”

“Our security team dealt with the incident quickly and we are working closely with the Metropolitan Police on this matter. The attraction remains open, with our Royal Family set closed temporarily.”

The PA news agency reported the protesters were calling for the government to halt all new oil and gas licences and consents.

How many of them took fossil fueled trips to Tussaurds? How many are wearing clothes and using smartphones that required fossil fuels to manufacture and ship?

Read More »

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If All You See…

By William Teach October 24, 2022 – 1:00 pm

…is a waterfall that will soon dry up due to ‘climate change’, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is 357 Mangum, with a post on 80% of Philly murder victims being black, so, of course this is called raaaaacist.

Read: If All You See… »

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Pelosi: “The fight is not about inflation”

By William Teach October 24, 2022 – 10:30 am

This is just days after Queen Nancy said that Democrats need to get better at talking about inflation

Pelosi says election fight ‘not about inflation’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Sunday said the midterm election fight should be focused on cost of living rather than the global problem of inflation.

“When I hear people talk about inflation… we have to change that subject. Inflation is a global phenomenon,” Pelosi said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” with Margaret Brennan. “The EU, the European Union, the UK, the British, have higher inflation rate than we do here… The fight is not about inflation. It’s about the cost of living.”

Inflation drives the cost of living. How do you drive down the COL without reducing inflation? Do you plan to simply give people monthly checks to offset the cost of living increases? And, yet, inflation is worldwide, thanks to the Chinese coronavirus, along with the responses to it. All those lockdowns did not help. The shuttering of businesses, especially food, energy, and chip makers.

“If you look at what we [Democrats] have done, to bring down the cost of prescription drugs, to bring down the cost of- of energy and the rest in our legislation, you will see that that has been opposed every step of the way by the Republicans, and they have no plan for lowering the cost of living or helping with inflation,” Pelosi added.

The prescription drugs thing only effects a small number of drugs and doesn’t kick in till 2023/2024 at the earliest, and much only applies to those on Medicare. Has anyone seen their cost of energy go down? Well, maybe if you can afford solar panels for $20K+ or a new EV. Of course, you spent more to eventually reduce your energy cost. No one on Face The Nation challenged her talking points. No one made her defend them with facts. The primary GOP plan to reduce inflation is to reduce energy costs, which starts with allowing more domestic drilling and allowing more refineries. Then you get things like reducing government spending

At the end of the day, Democrats have had control of Congress and the Executive Branch since January 20, 2021. What have they specifically done to reduce the cost of food and energy, two things that citizens will see, at worst, every couple of days?

Read: Pelosi: “The fight is not about inflation” »

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