No Matter What: Nothing’s Gonna Change My World-View

“There are facts, and there are beliefs, and there are things you want so badly to believe that they become as facts to you.”

And here I thought the science was settled; now this: Scientists say solar system affects Earth’s carbon cycle.

What’s up with that?

"Our work shows that for the 18 million years or so in between the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction and the Toarcian oceanic anoxic event, Earth's global carbon cycle was in a constant state of change. Periodic changes in the shape of Earth's orbit around the sun impacted on the amount of energy received by Earth from the sun, which in turn impacted climatic and environmental processes, as well as the carbon cycle, on local, regional and global scales."

Energy…from the sun influenced the what!? “Climatic processes…” and the *shudder* “carbon cycle”!!?

Huh, and I thought that was the exclusive realm of coal, cars and cows.

Across shorter timescales, tectonic shifts and the eruption of large igneous provinces look like the primary drivers of shifts in Earth's climate. These factors work to drive the planet's carbon cycle, researchers of the new study said, but when Earth's carbon cycle is examined across larger timescales, the influence of larger planetary processes is revealed.

Well now, where does that leave us, not to mention all the Democratic presidential candidates? Are they now admitting that they shut down coal-fired power generation plants for nothing? That I don’t have to walk, bike or take public transportation to work? And that I can keep my plastic straws? Don’t be silly. In perhaps one of the best example of how true believers deal with cognitive dissonance climate warmists, like all true believers when faced with facts completely contrary to their belief, will double down.

According to the latest analysis, ancient carbon-cycle patterns suggest Earth today should be cooling. However, the influence of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions has overpowered the influence of the cosmos on Earth's carbon cycle, causing Earth to rapidly warm.

Don’t you love it when a plan comes together? Or in this case refuses to fall apart, despite all evidence to the contrary.

But that’s okay, you just keep on believing whatever you need to believe, solar system denier. I know I can’t change your mind so I’ll just dedicate today’s song to all you Global Warmists out there who are suffering from CCD (Climate Cognitive Dissonance) and I pray a cure will be discovered soon.

This is a great cover version, performed by Rufus Wainwright and featuring an impossibly young Dakota Fanning…where do the years go? Oh yes – “Across The Universe"

Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world

Life tip: let the balloon go.

Valentine’s Day Open Thread

Red clothes:

Flowers:

Sweets:

Special Effects:

Cards:

Sentiments:

Correct:

Incorrect:

Valentine’s Day: if you’re going to do it, do it right.

Throwback Thursday: Jane Fonda Edition

Not only is Jane Fonda, by definition, a throwback but from now on apparently her clothing will be as well:

As part of her fight against climate change, Jane chose to wear the long-sleeve, open back dress for a second time after originally debuting it at the 67th International Cannes Film Festival in 2014.

Nearly unrecognizable in her cosmetic quest to remain relevant

The activist also added a simple, yet powerful touch with her now-famous red coat. Back in November, she declared it was “the last article of clothing” she would ever buy. [liar]

“When I talk to people and say, ‘We don’t really need to keep shopping. We shouldn’t look to shopping for our identity. We don’t need more stuff,’ I have to walk the talk,” she said on Capitol Hill. “So I’m not buying any more clothes.” [liar] Since then, the coat has accompanied her to a handful of protests and subsequently, to jail. GH

I’m sure you remember how I documented Jane’s commitment to her cause last December:

It turns out she did not wish to disrupt her way of life too much while demanding that you do just that.

Speculation for the early departure revolved around Fonda being potentially slapped with a longer stay in jail after racking up a number of misdemeanors in a short amount of time. Last week, she spent the night in jail after her fourth arrest. She reportedly faced weeks this time around.

You see, here’s the inconvenient truth: as Jane explained to The Hollywood Reporter earlier last week, getting arrested for the 5th time would be quite inconvenient for her:

Fonda spoke about her night in jail and plans for her fifth week of demonstrations "I have to be careful not to get to a point where they're going to keep me for 90 days because I have to begin preparing for “Grace and Frankie” in January. So I'm not going to get arrested every time. They give you three warnings and so I will step away at the third warning," she said.

But by the time the Oscars rolled around Jane was back to her virtue signaling life-style of the rich and famous. She communicated her sacrifices to the world in this very special tweet:

Could you sound more elitist if you tried? I admit I don’t know what “ethically harvested gold” entails but  I find the use of “sustainable” with respect to anything that takes 3 billion years to form somewhat farcical. But if that’s her biggest concern she should give a hat tip to the De Beer’s cartel which for over a hundred years ensured the sustainability of diamonds by controlling the global market through supply manipulation.

I would also think that if you are so concerned about anthropogenic climate change due to the carbon footprint of the human species that you would eschew diamonds altogether; just leave those former chunks of carbon in the ground where they belong, next to all the oil and gas.

I suspect “off with her head” is a bit harsh, but I do wish the Red Queen would just shut up and act.

Or maybe just shup up.

May The Best Man Win

The New Hampshire primary results are in: Bernie-slightly-right-of-Karl-Marx-Sanders won, Pete-son-of-avowed-Marxist-Buttigieg takes second and Joey-DNC-safe-choice-Biden places, way back in the pack. A brokered convention is beginning to look more and more like the only way the establishment can keep control. You would think they’d be thrilled that several candidates freely supporting their progressive party’s ultimate objective are doing so well. Unfortunately for all of them the powers-that-be know only too well that even in 21st century America, after decades of brainwashing the youth, you still can’t win elections by being that transparent.

That’s why they’re panicking and that’s why they’re sending their reliable spokesmouths out to warn the faithful to stand clear of their own clown parade. First it was Rahm Emanuel, dispatched to write a WSJ editorial, Democrats May Be Blowing Their Chance, followed by the original lowdown, snake-bellied con man, James Carville, who had one of his infamous rants on MSNBC and again in a Vox interview.

Let’s start with Carville, who has always sounded unhinged and now looks the part as well:

Can never decide if his hat/glasses are cock-eyed or if it’s his head

Extracts from his rant and interview sound the alarm bell:

Look, the turnout in the Iowa caucus was below what we expected, what we wanted. Trump’s approval rating is probably as high as it’s been. This is very bad. And now it appears the party can’t even count votes. What the hell am I supposed to think?

We just had an election in 2018…And now it’s like we’re losing our damn minds…

We have candidates on the debate stage talking about open borders and decriminalizing illegal immigration. They’re talking about doing away with nuclear energy and fracking. You’ve got Bernie Sanders talking about letting criminals and terrorists vote from jail cells. It doesn’t matter what you think about any of that, or if there are good arguments — talking about that is not how you win a national election. It’s not how you become a majoritarian party.

Rule #1: never tell the people what you’re actually trying to do; they won’t vote for you.

We're like talking about people voting from jail cells. We're talking about not having a border. I mean, come on, people. Every day there are people out there struggling. We're trying to get votes."

Here’s another stupid thing: Democrats talking about free college tuition or debt forgiveness. I’m not here to debate the idea. What I can tell you is that people all over this country worked their way through school, sent their kids to school, paid off student loans. They don’t want to hear this shit. And you saw Warren confronted by an angry voter over this. It’s just not a winning message.

For some reason, I don't know why, (Warren) decided to chase Bernie's left tail all over the country and became known for exotic positions, to put it mildly.

We can’t win the Senate by looking down at people. The Democratic Party has to drive a narrative that doesn’t give off vapors that we’re smarter than everyone or culturally arrogant."

Rule #2: never, ever, tell people what you’re actually trying to do; they won’t vote for you.

The take away can be summed up in this exchange between Carville and the Vox interviewer:

“So your complaint is basically that the party has tacked too far to the left?”

“They’ve tacked off the damn radar screen!”

Then we have Rahm, tiny dancer, dispatched to wave the red flag and appeal to what’s left of the sane, intellectual members of his party:

Master of Adagio

Reform is often more effective than revolution…Progressivism isn’t a destination—it’s an orientation. Purists are anxious to box some of us out by narrowing the definition, but we all share in the mission of using government’s tools to serve those who have been left behind.

In other words, ‘listen up numbskulls, we have to at least pretend to work within the confines of the current limitations on our power.’

In an autocratic system, those in power have a free hand to enact an agenda without considering the electoral implications. But because the Constitution guarantees regular elections, progressives are compelled to build agendas that balance policy and politics.

…in order to incrementally eliminate the barriers to our power by fundamentally transforming the Constitution. Only then will we, too, ‘have a free hand to enact an agenda without considering the electoral implications.’

So the DNC has a lot of work to do, clearly Sanders is not their guy; he’s way too upfront about his socialism. They thought Warren was their stealth candidate but then she wandered off the reservation. The convention is bound to be – interesting.

It’s clear the old elite guard is desperate, so desperate that they themselves may have pulled the curtain back a bit too far. They are going to have a battle royale on their hands to decide which wing of the Democrat party prevails: the old corrupt wing or the new insane wing. May the best man win. And I really mean that.

Gameday. Deadline New Hampshire.

I overslept – it’s 6:30 AM here. So get your gameday faces on, I’m handing it off to you today.

Let’s hear it for your favorite Dem hopeful!

May the best he/her/she/him win!

The Silver-Tongued Devils of Tinsel Town

I won’t say much about the Oscars as I didn’t watch them again this year. All I know of the baboons and baboonettes (not racist as I understand the Academy once again snubbed POC) speechifying is what I read in the fake news.

But if the “acceptance” speeches were especially good this year - i.e. anti-Trump, pro-progressive causes - you can thank Obama’s former homeboys, head speechwriter Jon Favreau and Tommy (“Dude, that was like two years ago...”) Vietor. They’ve followed the natural career progression from D.C. policy wonk and propagandist to Hollywood PR wonker and propagandist.

Barack Obama’s former head speech writer, Jon Favreau, with fellow former staffer Tommy Vietor speak to David Gregory

Yeah, these two cool, classy dudes:
Jon and Tommy, feeling up a cardboard cutout of then Secretary of State Clinton. No wonder she lost.

Fenway Strategies is a speechwriting and communications firm founded by former Obama administration officials Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor. Although the firm’s most obvious connection is to the political arena, helping speakers prep TED talks or United Nations addresses, Fenway has branched out into Hollywood. And over the last few years the firm has helped ghostwrite awards acceptance speeches for a number of A-list clients; you definitely know them but their identities are protected by non-disclosure agreements…

“Writing for actors is a speechwriter’s dream come true,” says Koppelman. “Because unlike politicians, who are not professionals at memorizing lines or delivering them in compelling and charismatic ways, actors actually know how to deliver the lines.” (Who’s he kidding?) - New York Vulture 

If you’ve ever had any reason to doubt the intelligence of Hollywood actors, and I know you haven’t, the fact that without a script they can’t even write their own acceptance speech should seal the deal. But I have to hand it to the Obamabots who found themselves out of a job “unexpectedly” in 2017: taking their awesome skills as fantabulists to Hollywood and reinventing themselves as spokesmen for the rich and famous was brilliant. I think those clever devils deserve an Oscar for monetizing a skillset that, outside of politics, is useful only in Tinsel Town.

But They’re Worried About Plastic Straws and Grocery Bags…

Behold the greening of America:

A wind turbine’s blades can be longer than a Boeing 747 wing, so at the end of their lifespan they can’t just be hauled away. First, you need to saw through the lissome fiberglass using a diamond-encrusted industrial saw to create three pieces small enough to be strapped to a tractor-trailer…

The municipal landfill in Casper, Wyoming, is the final resting place of 870 blades whose days making renewable energy have come to end. The severed fragments look like bleached whale bones nestled against one another.

Wind Turbine Blades Can’t Be Recycled, So They’re Piling Up in Landfills –

Tens of thousands of aging blades are coming down from steel towers around the world and most have nowhere to go but landfills. In the U.S. alone, about 8,000 will be removed in each of the next four years…

Built to withstand hurricane-force winds, the blades can’t easily be crushed, recycled or repurposed. That’s created an urgent search for alternatives in places that lack wide-open prairies. In the U.S., they go to the handful of landfills that accept them, in Lake Mills, Iowa; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Casper, where they will be interred in stacks that reach 30 feet under.

Damn, it sucks being green.

And speaking of hypocrites, I see the Academy Awards aka “the Oscars” will be presented tonight. Don’t forget not to watch.