NC Media Watch

Cry me a river: Feinstein on the GOP and the Tea Party

Russ Steele

The Sac Bee Capital Alert has this report from the California Democrat Convention.

Feinstein praised fellow Democrats and President Barack Obama for standing up to GOP demands to cut funding for Planned Parenthood, but called the budget proposal for next year introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., the "next act in the assault on women, seniors and working people"

She cast the fundamental challenge of the country the conservative Tea Party movement's "singular mission to cut government so it cannot serve our people."

"In reality, the Tea Party has no plans for job creation and economic recovery. What they have is a radical, ideological agenda to dismantle the social and economic safety net of our country," she said.

I think you can grasp the Democrat talking points for the coming election from DiFi's Speech.  According to her the Republicans and the Tea Party are going to:

• assault women, seniors and working people
• cut government so it cannot serve our people
• dismantle the social and economic safety net

It sounds like the same old democratic pay book to me, more spending and no solutions.  If I were a reporter, the right questions to ask DiFi would have been  "How can the government provide a safety net for women, seniors and working people if it is bankrupt?  Broke, so deep in debt it can only pay the interest on the national debt. But, then again we do not have a thinking press only sycophants.

Cost of CARB: Rise in fuel prices leveling?

Russ Steele

The rise in gas prices have level off in Nevada County and California, while they are still rising in the US. Diesel prices have also leveled off in Nevada County and California, while there is a very slight down turn in US diesel prices.  These are most likely the result of reduced demand for diesel fuel as the economy continues to decline.





Exit Question: Why do you think that the rise in fuel prices have started to level off?

OMG, Apples's iPad App of the Week - Our Choice by the Goricale

Russ Steele

The global warmer's now have an app for their religion, 400 page of misinformation.

Developer Push Pop Press and Al Gore teamed up to create this groundbreaking digital book that examines the planet's climate crisis. With over 400 pages of interactive video, audio, photos, and infographics, Our Choice is a thought-provoking app that's sure to become one of your favorites.

I wonder of if this is one of the graphics on this app? (Click for a larger image)


I did not think so. As you can see there is not much correlation between CO2 and temperature, but a better one with the Pacific PDO changes from cool to warm to cool. We are now in a cool phase. Thanks to climate4you for the graphic.

Could "Leading from behind" be Obama's "Malaise" Moment?

Russ Steele

Some readers may not remember the Jimmy Carter Malaise Speech, in which he never actually used the word, but it became the label that characterized his Presidency. At least it did for all of old enough to remember the Jimmy Carter years of malaise.  Now an unnamed adviser may have given us an indelible label for the Obama Presidency - "leading for behind". Ryan Liza writes in the New Yorker:

Obama may be moving toward something resembling a doctrine. One of his advisers described the President’s actions in Libya as “leading from behind.”

The Polipundit has the details and the fallout here.  Being a Charles Krauthammer fan, here is what he had to say:

Leading from behind is not leading. It is abdicating. It is also an oxymoron. Yet a sympathetic journalist, channeling an Obama adviser, elevates it to a doctrine. The president is no doubt flattered. The rest of us are merely stunned.

One year for fathers day my daughters gave me this t-shirt.  It often comes to mind when listening to our President on TV try to explain how he is NOT leading the country, while we all recognize the path we are on can only lead to pain and misery for us all. We hunger for leadership and respond to those on the right who speak their mind, and demonstrate some real leadership skills. While we may not recognize malaise, we all recognize the lack of leadership. 

Before and After Satellite Images Show Path of Tornado's Destruction

Russ Steele

The New York Times has the interactive pictures.

Satellite images taken by GeoEye the day after storms blasted through the south show a nearly straight line path of devastation, most likely from one tornado, stretching at least 10 miles. Use the slider and zoom tools to compare images taken before and after the tornado.

  Access the the pictures here.

NBC: Global warming is causing stronger tornadoes (Updated)

Russ Steele

I was watching NBC Dateline's Path of Destruction tonight, a program on the current outbreak of tornadoes with Brian Williams in Alabama.  He was discussing the power of tornadoes with Jim Cantore of the Weather Channel.  Williams ask Cantore, why are we seeing such powerful storm like we have never seen in a life time, we must be doing something to cause this.  Cantore said that is getting warmer and the warming is juicing up the jet-stream, which is producing the stronger tornadoes. 

What?  I used to admire Jim Cantore, but once NBC bought the Weather Channel I began to question the accuracy of his analysis. He should know that it is the clash of cold air with the warm air coming from the Gulf of Mexico that causes tornado activity. Cold air is an essential element for the creation of tornadoes.

Here is what Dr Roy Spence had to say about this clash of air masses.

MORE Tornadoes from Global Warming? That’s a Joke, Right?
by Roy W. Spencer, Ph. D.

If there is one weather phenomenon global warming theory does NOT predict more of, it would be severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.Tornadic thunderstorms do not require tropical-type warmth. In fact, tornadoes are almost unheard of in the tropics, despite frequent thunderstorm activity.

Instead, tornadoes require strong wind shear (wind speed and direction changing rapidly with height in the lower atmosphere), the kind which develops when cold and warm air masses “collide”. Of course, other elements must be present, such as an unstable airmass and sufficient low-level humidity, but wind shear is the key. Strong warm advection (warm air riding up and over the cooler air mass, which is also what causes the strong wind shear) in advance of a low pressure area riding along the boundary between the two air masses is where these storms form.

But contrasting air mass temperatures is the key. Active tornado seasons in the U.S. are almost always due to unusually COOL air persisting over the Midwest and Ohio Valley longer than it normally does as we transition into spring.

For example, the poster child for active tornado seasons was the Superoutbreak of 1974, which was during globally cool conditions. This year, we are seeing much cooler than normal conditions through the corn belt, even delaying the planting schedule. Cool La Nina years seem to favor more tornadoes, and we are now coming out of a persistent La Nina. The global-average temperature has plummeted by about 1 deg. F in just one year.

ooo

It is well known that strong to violent tornado activity in the U.S. has decreased markedly since statistics began in the 1950s, which has also been a period of average warming. So, if anything, global warming causes FEWER tornado outbreaks…not more. In other words, more violent tornadoes would, if anything, be a sign of “global cooling”, not “global warming”.Anyone who claims more tornadoes are caused by global warming is either misinformed, pandering, or delusional.

As for Brian Williams claim of the strongest in a life time, here is a historical listing to violent tornadoe outbreaks from Watt Up With That:

Historically, there have been many tornado outbreaks that occurred well before climate change was on anyone’s radar.  Here’s a few:
1908 Southeast tornado outbreak 324 fatalities, ≥1,720 injuries
1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak ≥380 fatalities, ≥1215 injuries
1925 Tri-State tornado ≥747 fatalities, ≥2298 injuries
1932 Deep South tornado outbreak  ≥330 fatalities, 2145 injuries
1952 Arkansas-Tennessee tornado outbreak 208 fatalities
1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak 256 fatalities
April 3-4 1974 Super Outbreak 315 fatalities

You would think that professional meteorologist Jim Cantore would know about this historic tornado activity and set Brian Williams straight.  Or, maybe that would not have fit the NBC global warming template.

Update (05-01-11, 11:45)  NBC’s Brian Williams tries to tie recent tornadoes to global warming … again

The Daily Caller has video evidence that Brian Williams has tried several times to tie recent tornadoes to global warming.  Details here.  The Caller also notes:

Although that seems like a harmless-enough question, late last year it was reported General Electric (GE), a stakeholder in Williams’ parent company NBC Universal, received $24.9 million in grants, much of it tied to so-called green energy technology, from the $800-billion stimulus President Barack Obama signed into law in 2009. Therefore, establishing such a link could serve in in GE’s interest some argue.

Over the e-mail transom: SF Chronicle video prompts White House threat

Russ Steele

A regular reader sent me this link:

The White House threatened Thursday to exclude The San Francisco Chronicle from pooled coverage of its events in the Bay Area after the paper posted a video of a protest at a San Francisco fundraiser for President Obama last week, Chronicle Editor Ward Bushee said.White House guidelines governing press coverage of such events are too restrictive, Bushee said, and the newspaper was within its rights to film the protest and post the video.

The White House press office would not speak on the record about the issue.

Now we have an update to the orginal link, with this head line on Drudge: SF CHRONICLE: WH LYING

Update: In a pants-on-fire moment, the White House press office today denied anyone there had issued threats to remove Carla Marinucci and possibly other Hearst reporters from the press pool covering the President in the Bay Area.

Chronicle editor Ward Bushee called the press office on its fib:
Sadly, we expected the White House to respond in this manner based on our experiences yesterday. It is not a truthful response. It follows a day of off-the-record exchanges with key people in the White House communications office who told us they would remove our reporter, then threatened retaliation to Chronicle and Hearst reporters if we reported on the ban, and then recanted to say our reporter might not be removed after all.

The Chronicle's report is accurate.

If the White House has indeed decided not to ban our reporter, we would like an on-the-record notice that she will remain the San Francisco print pool reporter.

Your decision: Was the White House Lying? Why?

Annual ceremony recognizing California's top schools canceled

Russ Steele

I am not concerned that this ceremony was cancled at Disneyland due to budget issues, what I want to know is why are Nevada County Schools not on the list of 97 California Distinguished Schools, 209 Title I Academic Achievement recipients and 33 National Blue Ribbon nominees. Some schools won more than one award?

Oh, these were awards for years of work by school communities to improve student performance and to close the achievement gap.  I guess we did not have to improve any schools and achievement in Nevada County. However, our major competitor for the number one schools in California has been Marin County, they got some recognition for improvement.

Exit Questions:  Can some one explain why Nevada County Schools were not on these lists?

You can read the rest of the story at the Sac Bee Capitol Alert.

DMV puts the screws to hybrid commuters!

Russ Steele

The social engineers at CARB convinced the DMV they need to create an incentives to spur the growth of hybrid vehicles. Now that the hybrid sheep have been lured into buying a hybrid with special access to carpool lanes the DMV is pulling the plug.

Today the DMV inserted screw and by 1 July 2012 they will give it a swift spin, no more hybrid vehicle access to carpool lanes.  Here is the short story from the Sac Bee Capitol Alert:

The department said today it will mail 85,000 letters to owners of hybrid vehicles, warning them that they will no longer be able to use carpool lanes as of July. Early adopters of hybrid vehicles received yellow stickers granting them special access to those lanes.

Under legislation passed last year, DMV will create a new sticker by 2012 for 40,000 vehicles that meet stricter emissions criteria than many current hybrid cars.

Now what vehicles do you think will meet those new 2012 vehicles that will meet stricter emissions than current hybrids?  My guess is the full electric vehicles like the Nissan Leaf, Tesla Motors, and maybe the Chevy Volt, and other yet to reach the market. Another demonstration that the CARB and DMV social engineers are hard at work nudging us into buying more electric vehicles to save the planet from CO2.  

Exit Question: If your are a hybrid owner who is using the carpool lane, will you upgrade to a full electric vehicle to regain access to the carpool lane?

Stage being set for epic environmental battle

Russ Steele

According to an LA Time’s article the Supreme Court indicates it will dismiss 6-state global warming lawsuit, indicating that the EPA should be the final voice on the regulation of GHG, not single judges in seperate states.  This puts more pressure on the EPA to carry out the environmentalist mission of destroying the US economy.

On the other side the Republican House and the Tea Party that are not ready to let the environmentalist destroy our economy with out a fight.  This will be an epic battle between personal freedom and social engineering regulations.  If the Supreme Court gives the EPA the power to regulate, the Republican will have redouble their fight to preserve our open market economy and preserve our personal freedom to live as we chose, and now how some government bureaucrat thinks we should.

This will be one of the epic battles in 2011, leading up to the 2012 election. Stay Tuned.