Are California Carbon Goals Kaput?

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Forbes  "In one fell swoop, the unnecessary closing of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in San Diego negated nearly all the low-carbon electricity generation from all the wind and solar installed in California.  The plant’s retirement is equivalent to rolling back the clock on twenty years of solar and wind deployment in the Golden State.

"Also lost were 1,500 local jobs and over $400 million in lost revenue and increased costs to Southern California. But that may be closer to a $billion if you add the three huge new transmission projects recommended to deal with the SONGS closure as well as the new pipelines to supply the new gas plants replacing SONGS (CAISO).

"Until now, California has led the country in progress toward a low-carbon energy future. The state has one of the nation’s most ambitious renewable energy mandates – 33% of its electricity must be carbon free by 2020 – and an even more ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction plan." . . .

Did Obama stop investigation that might have thwarted San Bernardino attack?

Constitution Rising

"Success at fighting terrorism breeds contempt and prompted a negative reaction from the Obama regime which oddly, one year into their productive investigation, paid a visit to Mr. Haney. Representatives of the State Department and the Homeland Security Civil Rights Division informed him that the tracking of the terrorists was “problematic” because they were Islamic terrorist suspects and Islamic groups. For that reason, according to Mr. Haney, the investigation, as productive as it was, was shut down.

"As a result, 67 of Haney’s records from his investigative efforts were deleted, including one that involved the Riverside mosque which was attended by the terrorist couple that attacked in San Bernardino. Haney believes that the attack last week could well have been prevented had the Obama regime not put a stop to his efforts."

"Watch below:

"Haney also notified Congress and the DHS Inspector General of his investigation being shut down and received a much different response than he expected. Rather than it being reinstated, as one might have anticipated, Haney was personally retaliated against, including having his security clearance revoked.

"Fox News attempted to verify that information directly with the Islamic terrorist enablers at DHS, but they refused to comment.

"Mr. Haney goes on to lay out a very credible story detailing his work, the terrorists he was tracking and the odd, obstructionist behavior of the agencies supposedly charged with securing the homeland and protecting the American people." . . .

US Officials Search For Missed Red Flags Ahead Of California Terror Attack   . . . "Asked repeatedly whether any hints could have led law enforcement to prevent the attack, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C. replied, “Explain to me how you do that without any bread crumbs that are obvious, without somebody that’s inside a mosque, that’s inside a person’s family that tips you off. In this particular case there was nothing like that that gave them a reason to look at this couple sooner than after the attack.' ” 

Which restaurant chains have gone halal in the UK – and why?

"The likes of KFC and Tesco are simply meeting demand. But consumers should be told what they are eating" 

The Guardian  . . . "For Pizza Express, as for the major food service companies that supply schools, hospitals and airlines, serving halal chicken across the board simplifies the supply chain and minimises the risk of complaints from customers who may unknowingly eat non-halal meat.

. . . 

"There is considerable confusion, however, about exactly what halal meat is. Islamic rules require the animal to be slaughtered while alive and healthy, that the appropriate Islamic blessing be recited, and, crucially, that it be killed by a single, quick cut to the throat and its blood allowed to drain out fully."

"That sounds bad. But banner headlines about "ritually slaughtered meat" conceal the fact that, according to a 2012 Food Standards Agency report cited by the RSPCA, 97% of cattle, 96% of poultry and 90% of sheep slaughtered using the halal method in UK abattoirs are stunned before being killed – a procedure that makes them insensible to pain and distress."

"That, of course, means that up to 10% of British halal meat may come from animals that have not been slaughtered in a way animal welfare experts consider humane: some stricter Muslims insist stunning is not halal, and some halal authentication bodies – of which there are five in the UK alone – deem it an offence against Qur'anic law and tradition."

Via Eva Small at Green Dragon Forum

Why Does Obama Call ISIS 'ISIL'?

Amil Imani  "Many who closely follow the dueling Islamic terror narratives emanating from the White House are mystified by Mr. Obama's inability (or deliberate unwillingness) to utter the phrase "Islamic terrorists."  Many are curious, too, about why he refuses to call ISIS "ISIS," steadfastly insisting instead that everybody in his administration call the terror group "ISIL."  What's the difference, and why is it important?  The agendas behind each diverge widely.  In fact, the variance between the two is elephantine in scale.
. . . 
That Obama uses ISIL in discussing the terrorists is extremely telling and chilling.  To those of us who keep our fingers on the pulse of Middle Eastern geopolitics, the distinctions separating ISIS and ISIL are by no means meager.  It's readily apparent that Obama considers both Israel and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, thorns in each of his sides.  Since 2009, his atrociously dismissive treatment of Netanyahu has been highly embarrassing, shocking, and outrageous, especially to those of us who cherish our relationship with the Jewish state.

' ' ' 
"ISIL, Obama's preference, stands for the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant."  According to glaphyridae.com, "[t]he Levant in its geographical sense comprises the following political entities: the west part of Syria, Lebanon, west part of Jordan, Palestine (West Bank and Gaza Strip), Israel and Sinai (Egypt)."  Other sources claim that it also encompasses parts of Turkey.  All of these states embrace Islam, with one very notable exception: Israel, our only "blood brother" ally in the region that all Islamic terrorists want gone, violently and forever."

Rand Paul: 15 Reasons Obama’s Unqualified To Occupy the White House

http://comicallyincorrect.com/2015/12/10/obama-legacies/

Big Government  "The Obama White House has the nerve to say someone else is unqualified for office. After five years of acting like a King and ignoring our constitution, that takes a lot of nerve.

"I would like to put a mirror in front of the Obama White House and show them the top 15 things that make HIM unqualified:"

1. Tried to take over 1/6 of economy in Obamacare, wrecked the system and hurt patients and taxpayers.
2. Thinks an executive order is legislation and how you make law.
3. Fought an undeclared, unconstitutional war in Libya, turned it into Jihadist wonderland.
4. Fighting an undeclared, unconstitutional war in Syria, trying to put ISIS in Damascus.
5. Signed into law the indefinite detention of American citizens.
6. His copy of the bill of rights obviously goes from 1 to 3, skipping Second Amendment.
7. Court ruled his NSA spying on every American was illegal.
8. He has added more debt than anyone in history.
9. Appointed an attorney general who thinks speech against Muslims is a bigger threat than trorism.
10. EPA rules by executive FIAT trying to kill an entire American industry and way of life (coal).
11. Declared Amnesty through executive order.
12. Administration believes climate change is a bigger threat than, and somehow related to, terrorism.
13. It took a 13-hour filibuster before he would answer if he would kill American citizens on American soil with a drone.
14. Obamacare for everyone in America except those within the White House.
15. Sending billions of dollars in aid, F16 planes, and tanks to the Muslim Brotherhood when they were in charge in Egypt.

 

When it comes to un-American, nothing beats Progressives trying to shelter a bad idea:

Mark Steyn on Democrat politicians’ scary and disgraceful efforts to silence dissent

Obama’s speech highlights why it’s hard to have an intelligent political debate with Progressives

"I found myself in conversation today with a Progressive who thought that Obama’s oval office address was just wonderful.  “What did you like about it?” I asked him. “It was a very mature speech,” the Progressive replied, “and he said what I would have said.” Of course I asked, “What would you have said that he did say?”“That we’re doing everything we can against ISIL, but that almost a quarter of the world’s population is Muslim and they’re not all our enemies.”“That’s it? That’s what you got out of the speech?”

Hanson on California: The picture is bleak

By Carol Brown  "The Decline and Fall of California: From Decadence to Destruction, where Hanson paints a stark picture of California’s decline from a state that exemplified the American dream to one crushed under the weight of its utopian vision.

…Clearly modeled on famous British historian Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Hanson’s book makes it clear that the increasingly dystopian California has been the author of its own decline. A half-century of bad policy and failed ideology has reduced the Golden State to a shell of its former glory.
Hanson -- a college professor, a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and an expert in the classics -- is a product of many generations of Californians who made their home in the state’s mostly agricultural central valley. Few come closer to Thomas Jefferson’s idealized philosopher-farmer than Hanson, who is highly educated in history, warfare, and philosophy, yet runs a working farm like his forefathers.  

Full Article 

  

Amazon Review:

"The Decline and Fall of California: From Decadence to Destruction collects Victor Davis Hanson’s best writing on California’s crisis of culture. Focusing on three themes with enduring relevance—water, immigration, and the rural way of life—Hanson deftly dissects the ruins of the Golden State. California’s crisis is America’s crisis: the same policies and mental dissonance that have eroded California’s prosperity threaten the rest of the country if left unchecked. 
"In California, an out-of-touch liberal leadership has made life worse for average citizens of the state, both the poor and the shrinking middle class. For all the exalted talk about the people, the environment, and the proverbial “little guy,” few in government craft policies to help the majority of the state. In particular, on matters of illegal immigration, water policy, and culture, cocooned elites rarely face the logical consequences of their own ideology. The Decline and Fall of California unwinds the story of how California came to this moment, and offers insight into why the rest of the nation should be wary of the same influences in Washington, DC. 
" 'I moved to California to chase The Dream nearly four decades ago, experience the promise... and now the perils. No one but Victor Davis Hanson has the depth and savvy to clearly chronicle how the Golden State got to this point, and where we are now headed. There are lessons and warnings for the rest of America here, too. It's been said, 'As California goes, so goes the Nation.' This is essential reading." 
- Mark Larson KUSI TV Contributor & AM 1170 Talkshow Host 

Texas senator to lay out foreign policy views in Heritage speech

"Cruz: Obama is Ignoring Jihadist Threat"

Stephen F. Hayes  "Senator Ted Cruz will visit the Heritage Foundation Thursday to deliver a blistering attack on the Obama administration's handling of jihadist terror and the region that produces it.

"The Obama administration ignores "the reality that our nation is under attack," Cruz will say, according to an early draft of the speech obtained by THE WEEKLY STANDARD. "Americans no longer feel safe in their schools, workplaces, and cities. This should not be new standard."

"The speech comes as the threat from radical Islam has dominated headlines and the presidential campaign for weeks, following attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California. Recent polling shows terrorism and national security among the top concerns of Republican primary voters and several candidates have used the moment to offer proposals to change course from the Obama administration's passive approach." . . .

Arms and the President*

*With apologies to Sir Winston Churchill

This Is Not the Time to Demilitarize Police Departments, President Told

. . . "Police said Farook and Malik fired at least 65 shots in their attack, and they exchanged gunfire with police in the wild battle on a suburban street that eventually ended with their deaths.

“ 'Countless lives could be saved by equipping patrol officers with the appropriate weapons and giving them the training needed to engage terrorists immediately instead of waiting for specialized units to respond,” Lynch told the New York Post.

"He wants every NYPD patrol car to be set up as a “mini counter-terrorism unit.' ” 

"Of course, setting local police departments up with the weapons Lynch said are needed to battle highly trained and equipped terrorists is nearly impossible thanks to President Obama’s order to demilitarize police departments across the United States." . . .

"Hackel said if Obama really wanted to make police officers safer, “first thing tomorrow morning (he should) rescind that order.”' 

Top Cops Warm to Idea of Armed Citizenry to Confront Terrorists   . . . “A lot of Detroiters have CPLs (concealed pistol licenses), and the same rules apply to terrorists as they do to some gun-toting thug,” [Detroit Police Chief James] Craig told the Detroit News. “If you’re a terrorist, or a carjacker, you want unarmed citizens.' ” . . .

Simpsonville, SC Gun Shop Gives Props To Top Salesman… Barack Obama…

On Guns, Californians Practice ‘Irish Democracy’ and Ignore Bone-Headed Laws
. . . "the city of Sunnyvale demanded that residents hand over all firearms capable of accepting magazines holding more than ten rounds — effectively, everything except revolvers and some single-shot rifles — and the good men and women of Silicon Valley responded by turning in a grand total of zero firearms." . . .

Expect lawsuits if there was no banned firearms sign on the entrance of the San Bernardino shooting site.

The Galen Institute "[Ezekiel Emanuel] sings in what he calls “a growing chorus” that wants to require insurance companies and government programs to “pay for value.”  Value-based purchasing is not a cutting-edge idea.  It’s what you do every time you go to the supermarket and decide whether to pay $13 for an organic roasted chicken or $5 for the non-organic alternative.  “In the rest of the economy,” he writes, “we let individuals determine value.  They decide whether a new gadget is worth the expense.”

"But that won’t do in health care, Emanuel informs us.  Letting doctors and patients make medical decisions is a dangerous thing.  “It is not just patients’ perspectives we need to take into account.  Patients get the benefit, but all of us are paying the bill.”

"Decisions about clinical value should not be made in the clinic, Emanuel argues.  “Because we all pay, all Americans have to have a voice in determining value.”

"By “all Americans” he means government, guided by people of his academic pedigree.

"Dr. Emanuel offers a formula, borrowed from the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS), for “determining value” and thus for deciding whether your medicine, surgery or treatment is worth the price.  The NHS calculates “Quality-Adjusted Life Years” [QALY], a metric that takes into account both the quantity and quality of life generated by medicines and other treatments." . . .

Trump puts off Israel trip ‘until after I become president’ after Netanyahu rebukes him over Muslim ban call

UK Daily Mail

"The Israeli government confirmed the meeting yesterday and said it was scheduled before the billionaire announced his plan to bar Muslims from entering the U.S.

"The prime minister 'will meet with any candidate from any party who will be arriving in Israel and request[s] a meeting,' an Israeli official told The Washington Post.

"Netanyahu later issued a statement that said: 'The state of Israel respects all religions and strictly guarantees the rights of all its citizens.'

' 'At the same time, Israel is fighting against militant Islam that targets Muslims, Christians and Jews alike and threatens the entire world.'

"According to the Post, he said late last night on Twitter that he would keep the meeting, but he 'rejects Donald Trump’s latest comments about Muslims.' . . .

The UK does not want Trump at this time either.

Legal Insurrection obtains restraining order preserving records of anti-Israel 3rd Grade event

Legal Insurrection

"Ithaca Teachers union tells members not to turn over records on personal electronic devices and email."

. . . "In brief, and incredibly, the teachers union in the Ithaca school district appears to have instructed its members not to produce records responsive to my FOIL Request contained on personal electronic devices and email accounts.

"So I went to court and obtained a Temporary Restraining Order preserving records pending a court determination on the merits.

. . .  

"You will recall that my report on the event exposed the anti-Israel nature of the presentation, as the ICSD "Superintendent later acknowledged after his investigation.

The details are laid out in my post, Superintendent: Third Grade event “politically skewed, inflammatory” against Israel.

"Tamimi is the Palestinian activist best known for using children, including his own. to confront Israeli soldiers in the hope the soldiers will react and create a viral video and photographic moment."

On November 3, 2015, ICSD finally produce records pursuant to my FOIL Request, some of the documents were heavily redacted, and others withheld. I addressed this production in my post, New docs reveal Third Grade Anti-Israel event much worse than thought.