The Green New Deal Is Everything That’s Wrong with Progressive Environmentalism

Cartoons added by TD

National Review

"Progressivism is the priority, not environmentalism."

"Ordinarily I wouldn’t write about a resolution introduced by a freshman member of Congress. But most freshmen don’t have 2.8 million Twitter followers, and most freshmen don’t have their first resolution covered by CNN, NBC, NPR, the Washington Post, Fox, USA Today, and virtually every other hard-news outlet in the country. It’s being talked about everywhere, so it’s worth addressing here.

"I’ve read it (it’s only 14 pages), and it’s a perfect symbol of the problems with progressive environmentalism. It’s a perfect representation of why so many Americans don’t heed alarmist warnings and why they reject the sweeping reforms demanded by the environmental Left.

"Why? Because when you read the document you quickly realize that progressivism is the priority, not the environment. In other words, environmentalism and progressivism are wrongly treated as fundamentally inseparable.

"Before we dig into the text, let me put my cards on the table. I believe that mankind negatively influences the climate (though the precise extent of that influence is debatable), that it is in our interests to prudently reduce carbon emissions — while also seeking economic development at home and abroad — and that sober-minded cost-benefit analyses of proposed environmental policies are often lost in the avalanche of alarmist rhetoric. Like many Americans, I’d call myself “climate-concerned.”

"And as a climate-concerned American, I find much of the most alarmist rhetoric around climate change facially unconvincing. Instead, it often looks as if the climate argument is pretext for justifying a host of other progressive policies, including progressive policies that have only the most attenuated relationship (if any relationship at all) to climate change. There are a few sure-fire tells — does the progressive climate-change policy inexplicably go after nuclear power? Does it move into condemnations of racism and sexism? Does it advocate redistributive economic policies?

"The Green New Deal hits the trifecta". . . . 

PoliZette The Pelosi Papers: What Exactly Was She Reading During Trump’s State of the Union?

I took it as studied disrespect. TD
Lifezette

Social media went wild with speculation about the speaker's nose-in-a-book demeanor

It’s likely this was the printout of Trump’s speech — after all, the president handed a copy of the address to Vice President Mike Pence and to the speaker at the start of the speech, as is tradition.
“A spokesperson for the California Democrat confirmed it was a copy of Trump’s speech, according to The New York Times,” as Fox News ^[1] noted in a piece on the topic." . . .

Nancy Pelosi shuffles papers, reads, and fixes dentures during SOTU. Tops it off with an ugly ‘F-you’ clap.

So very petty.

Tony Branco

‘Global warming’ is merely the latest environmental scare with the same solutions of wealth redistribution and central planning

Climate Depot  "Ocasio-Cortez is echoing the former UN Climate chief rhetoric. See: 

Flashback: UN climate chief Christiana Figueres seeks ‘centralized transformation’ that is ‘going to make the life of everyone on the planet very different’ in order to fight ‘global warming’

"But the “Green New Deal” is neither “green” or “new.” The environmental Left has been using green scares to push for the same solutions we see today — wealth redistribution, central planning, sovereignty limiting treaties — since the overpopulation scars of the 1960s and 1970s.

Ian Macfarlane

2019 Green New Deal proposed “solution”: FORMER OCASIO-CORTEZ CAMPAIGN AIDE CALLS ‘GREEN NEW DEAL’ A PLAN TO ‘REDISTRIBUTE WEALTH AND POWER’ FROM RICH TO POOR

Flashback: UN IPCC official admits UN seeks to ‘redistribute de facto the world’s wealth by climate policy’– ‘This has almost nothing to do with environmental policy anymore.’

Flashback 1974 proposed “solution” to battle environmental degradation: Different Environmental Scare, Same Solution: In 1974, future Obama science czar John Holdren proposed “redistribution of wealth” to battle environmental degradation. Holdren testified to the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, “The neo-Malthusian view proposes conscious accommodation to the perceived limits to growth via population limitation and redistribution of wealth in order to prevent the ‘overshoot’ phenomenon. My own sympathies are no doubt rather clear by this point. I find myself firmly
in the neo-Malthusian camp.”

2019 Green New Deal proposed “solution”: ‘Green New Deal’ Unveiled: Entire economy would operate it – Govt would have ‘appropriate ownership stakes’ in ALL Green New Deal businesses

Flashback 1974 proposed solution to overpopulation: Different Environmental Scare, Same Solution: Amherst College professor Leo Marx warned in 1974 about the “global rate of human population growth. All of this is only to say that, on ecological grounds, the case for world government is beyond argument.”

"There is nothing new about the Green New Deal. “Global warming ” is merely the latest alleged environmental scare that is being substituted to push the same “solutions.” Instead of arguing the merits of the economic and political changes of the Green New Deal, they are using — in the words of Al Gore – a “torqued up” climate change scare to urge quick imposition of the policies to protect us from a climate emergency." . . .

Supporters of socialism in America's leadership

The only people more frightening to me than these are the voters who put them into office.

Lucianne is a great source of conservative material.

The Socialist That Could  . . . "The Republican Party has a secret weapon for 2020. It’s especially effective because it’s stealthy: The Democrats seem oblivious to its power. And the GOP needn’t lift a finger for it to work. All Republicans have to do is sit back and watch 29-year-old Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez . . . exist." . . .

Rep. Tlaib: "Library and The Post Office are Socialism"  "When President Trump said that America would never be a socialist country, he offended the socialists. And the socialists resorted to the usual excuses."
 And they stay in business thanks to our tax money and the non-competitive pricing of stamps.
"Rep. Tlaib probably understands the Koran better than she understands socialism."

Venezuelans Who’ve Fled To America Have A Warning About Socialism 

Backers of a Green New Deal Embrace Their Fantasies 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey hold a news

 conference for their proposed “Green New Deal” on Capitol Hill

. . . "It’s not a very serious proposal. The goal is to eliminate the fossil-fuel industry over a decade and, perversely, phase out nuclear power over a slightly longer period. All of the jobs dependent on these industries would be replaced by government-guaranteed jobs."

“We set a goal to get to net-zero, rather than zero emissions, in 10 years,” the backers explain in an outline, “because we aren’t sure that we’ll be able to fully get rid of farting cows and airplanes that fast, but we think we can ramp up renewable manufacturing and power production, retrofit every building in America, build the smart grid, overhaul transportation and agriculture, plant lots of trees and restore our ecosystem to get to net-zero.”

"Well, at least the plan isn’t too ambitious. Retrofitting “every building in America” can be done in 10 years, but eliminating all the gassy cows will take a bit longer. Maybe we’ll move them all to Hawaii, which with the near-abolition of airplanes will be effectively cut off from America anyway." . . .

Dem Senator Criticizes Trump For Attacking Socialism, Says It’s ‘Society Coming Together To Increase Standard Of Living For Seniors’
"Tell that to the folks in Venezuela eating zoo animals to stay alive." 

Ben Garrison

What inconvenience will be chosen to die next?

Rich Terrell

Supreme Court stays Louisiana anti-abortion law, Roberts sides with liberals

"The Supreme Court has granted a stay of the new Louisiana anti-abortion law, in a 5-4 vote with Chief Justice Roberts siding with the four liberal Justices. The law in question requires a doctor performing abortion to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, which critics alleged would result in only a single abortion doctor in the entire state.

"This is only a stay pending appeal, not an ultimate disposition of the case." . . .

"Kavanaugh wrote a dissent which provided in part:" . . . Full article here.

. . . "This Scotusblog tweet seems right:

Tonight’s injunction suggests that the Court is not poised to pivot hard in the direction of limiting abortion rights. Both the Chief Justice (in granting the injunction) and Kavanaugh (in saying he would deny it pending factfinding) seem inclined to hew to existing precedent.

"It’s also clear that Chief Justice Roberts is the new swing vote.". . . 

Roberts JOINS Liberal Justices as Supreme Court BLOCKS Louisiana Abortion Clinic Law  "The case is June Medical Services v. Gee."

House Democrats Once Again Block Bill Protecting Infants Born Alive After Abortion  
"Infanticide is Femi-Nazi for reproductive health."
"House Democrats have twice refused now to take up the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act for consideration.  The measure is “designed to ensure any infant born alive after an abortion receives the same protection of law as any newborn: mandating care and instituting penalties for doctors who allow such infants to die or who intentionally kill a newborn,” according to a statement from the office of its sponsor Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO)." . . .

Panera's Socialist Pay-What-You-Want Restaurant Implodes: Students, Homeless Mob The Place

Daily Wire

 "According to Eater, after nine years of being in business, Panera Bread's socialist pay-what-you-want restaurant, Panera Cares, will officially be closing shop on February 15 due to the business model's unsustainability.
"While Panera Cares billed itself as a "non-profit" restaurant designed to feed low-income people, the business model was anything but. Rather than create a charitable organization that distributes food to needy families or a discount outlet or even a $1 menu (like every other fast-food restaurant), Panera tried to create a socialist system in which meals were offered at a suggested donation price. That means some people would pay more while others would pay less based on what they felt like or could afford. By not simply offering ffood at a low price (hat-tip, Dollar Tree), Panera completely removed any incentive for patrons to meet even the lowest standards of consumer/retailer exchange. The result: some people paid their fair share while others enjoyed a "free lunch." . . .

El Paso Zoo will name a cockroach after your ex, then feed it to a meerkat on Valentine's Day

PETA will angrily respond in three...two...one...

10TV

. . . "You can message the zoo on Facebook with your ex's name, then wait patiently for February 14 to watch the roach get devoured during the "Quit Bugging Me" meerkat event, which will live-stream on Facebook and the zoo's website. The names of those exes will also be displayed around the meerkat exhibit and on social media starting February 11. The zoo calls it "the perfect Valentine's Day gift.' " . . .

Moody’s Warns Illinois Raising Taxes Causes Rich to Leave

Chriss Street  "Moody’s Investor Services warned Illinois’ Democratic governor’s that his plan to more than double income taxes on the rich could create a bigger state deficit if they leave.

"Democrat J.B. Pritzker successfully ran for governor of Illinois on a campaign that it was “Not Impossible” for a state with a $7,871,602,484.87 payment backlog to 91,099 vendors and the worst credit rating in the nation, to cut taxes while implementing a $15 minimum wage, expanding education and healthcare, and creating more jobs. 

"With Illinois already having the 2^nd highest effective property tax rate of 2.32 percent and the 5^th highest average sales tax of 8.64 percent, Pritzker was expected on February 20 to ask both Democratic-controlled houses of the state legislature to dump a 3.75 percent flat-rate state income tax for a progressive Fair Tax that would more than double the state income tax rate to 7.65 percent on incomes over $225,000.

"

Pritzker’s social justice allies claim the Fair Tax regime would also allow 61,700 more students to enroll in public colleges; 22,000 more seniors to get home delivered meals and transportation; 24,000 more admission for addiction treatment; 47,000 more childcare assistance and 7,800 more beds for domestic violence victims." . . .

In Ocasio-Cortez’s District, MS-13 Kills While She Calls To Disband ICE

The Federalist

Ocasio-Cortez's deeply unserious call to abolish ICE is an invitation for more murder and crime in her own backyard. 

"Last Sunday, a stunning murder on a subway platform occurred in Elmhurst, Queens. The shooting, captured on video, was committed by members of the MS-13 gang, against members of the 18th Street gang. Both gangs, though created decades ago in Los Angeles, have deep roots in Central America. Police announced this week that the shooter, who is in custody, is in the United States illegally, and had prior arrests.

"One would assume that lawmakers in the neighborhood would want to crack down on these violent gangs, but its most famous legislator, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, seems far more interested in destroying Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), one of the agencies charged with deporting dangerous criminals such as Sunday’s shooter.

. . . 

"Amid all of this, Ocasio-Cortez should have the good sense to realize that her deeply unserious calls to abolish ICE are doing far more harm than good in battling her district’s problems. If ICE really is involved in widespread human rights abuses, the proper course is congressional oversight, not abolition.

"Furthermore, Ocasio-Cortez has been completely unclear about what she would replace ICE with or whether a new organization should be in place when ICE is abolished. This is madness. Federal authorities have not only the right, but also, the responsibility to control our borders and to investigate multi-state criminal syndicates." . . .

What ever happened to the "greatest legislative body on earth"?

What Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 60 Minutes Interview Actually Reveals
"Media attention has focused on her comment that President Trump is a racist. But the more revealing exchanges centered on her plans for changing the Democratic Party." . . . 

SNL Predicted Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2013



Here she shows off her economic acumen

Here she relishes punishing those who hire the rest of us

The Return of Ancient Prejudices

Victor Davis Hanson

This time, the bias is more subtle, and it can be harder to address than traditional racism against non-white populations.

. . . "The stereotyped hatreds were battled by the melting-pot forces of assimilation, integration, and intermarriage. Civil-rights legislation and broad education programs gradually convinced the country to judge all Americans on the content of their characters rather than the color of their skins or their religious beliefs. And over the last half century, the effort to end institutional bias against African Americans largely succeeded.

"But recently, other ancient prejudices have been insidiously returning. And this time, the bias is more subtle, and it can be harder to address than traditional racism against non-white populations. The new venom, for example, is often spread by left-wing groups that claim victim status themselves and thus, by their logic, should not be seen as victimizers." . . . . . 

"The Democratic senators who questioned the morality of judicial nominees’ religion likely would not treat a Muslim nominee in the same manner — although one could make the argument that contemporary Islam has had as many or more problems with gender equity than Western Catholicism has.

"Calling any other ethnic group other than Jews “termites” might have earned Representative Johnson congressional censure. And if professional football and basketball franchises turned away talented but “over-represented” African-American athletes to ensure greater diversity in the same manner that universities now systematically discriminate against Asian Americans, there would be a national outcry." . . .

Tony Branco