Sunday, January 8th open thread: ‘Holiday’
Here is the open thread for Sunday, January 8th. Please feel free to post links to interesting articles and to discuss whatever issues arise during the course of the day. Nothing is off-topic here.
Last week we discussed 7 stories, did you miss any of them? If so there is an easy way to make sure it does not happen again. I understand that all of you are busy and cannot always find the time to check the blog for updates so why not subscribe to America’s Watchtower and receive email updates whenever I write a new post? That is the easiest way to follow the blog to ensure you never miss another post.
In addition to subscribing you can also follow America’s Watchtower on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the links on the right. But you will get more than that for I often post links to articles I probably will not be writing about so it is a great way to keep up with what is happening.
The Twitter widget in the sidebar is fully interactive. This widget updates my tweets in real time and allows you to respond to or retweet my tweets right from the blog. It also allows you to tweet me right from America’s Watchtower. How cool is that! If you do not have a Twitter account what better reason do you need to sign up for one!
The musical selection this week is one of my favorite Green Day songs. Here is the band’s anti-war anthem entitled “Holiday” as performed live in 2005.
For years we have been told that global warming was settled science, but this has been based on the 97% lie. The consensus is not what it appears to be, just follow the link above to learn the truth about the lie. Now one climate scientist has grown tired of trying to navigate the waters between science and politics when it comes to global warming and has decided to retire to keep her “scientific integrity.”
Here is more:
A climatologist at Georgia Institute of Technology resigned from her post because she could no longer navigate the stifling political orthodoxy on climate change.
Former chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech Judith Curry announced her resignation in a blog post on Tuesday. While he resignation is technically “a retirement event,” and she is “cashing out” to get her pension, Curry explained that “the deeper reasons have to do with my growing disenchantment with universities, the academic field of climate science and scientists.”
Curry is known for her scientifically astute explanations of the uncertainties in climate science. Indeed, she has been attacked as “anti-science” by other researchers who repeat the rote “scientific consensus” that man-made global warming is a catastrophic threat to humanity. In a cruel sort of irony, the universities — ostensibly the bastion of academic freedom — have become unsafe for those who, using good scientific methods, are skeptical of the received wisdom on climate change.
Here is more still:
Joe Biden shuts down the Democrats’ last ditch effort to stop the Electoral College certification
As required, a joint session of the Congress was held today to officially certify the results of the Electoral College vote and officially name Donald Trump as the President-elect. This is normally just a formality, however a handful of Democrats tried to protest the results and stop the certification but they were shut down by Joe Biden.
Here is a short video of the proceedings, I think you guys will enjoy this.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
The Right Take: ‘The Wrong Side of History’
The latest The Right Take video is out and it is entitled “The Wrong Side of History.” In this video Mark Tapson takes on the notion that people today are guilty for the sins of the past.
From the video:
“History is an evolution – usually two steps forward and one-and-a-half back. Sweeping changes don’t happen overnight. World-changing ideas need time to take seed and grow.
The Founders owned slaves but laid the groundwork for their ultimate freedom, which came remarkably quickly in historical terms.
As for Europeans conquering America, history is largely the story of endless conquest. Virtually every territory on earth, including what is now the United States, has been conquered at some point by invaders from other territories, some places more than once.
That may be a harsh reality, but it’s reality nonetheless. History is what it is, and there is no undoing it, nor is there any point in feeling guilt over it.
As much as social justice warriors today would like to hold white Europeans collectively accountable for the sins of their fathers, no one today is responsible for actions committed in the past by people who inhabited different moral universes from our own today.”
“There is no way forward from the past but to move on.”
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Chuck Schumer regrets that Democrats triggered the ‘nuclear option’ to end the filibuster
Now that Democrats are out of power they are beginning to show buyer’s remorse for their shortsightedness in invoking the nuclear option to end the filibuster in certain situations under Harry Reid a few years ago.
First Senator Chris Coons expressed regret over the decision and now Chuck Schumer has weighed in. Here is what he had to say:
Incoming Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says he regrets a 2013 decision by Senate Democrats, known as the “nuclear option” to decrease the number of senators needed to confirm Cabinet picks from 60 to 51 votes.
“I wish it hadn’t happened,” Schumer said in an interview with CNN, about the move that was triggered by former Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid (D-NV).
“I argued against it at the time,” Schumer said. “I said both for Supreme Court and in Cabinet should be 60, because on such important positions there should be some degree of bipartisanship. I won on Supreme Court, lost on Cabinet. But, that’s what we have to live with now.”
The House of Representatives moves to repeal Obamacare
In one of its first actions after reelecting Paul Ryan as Speaker of the House the House of Representatives began to set in motion the repeal of Obamacare. Here is more:
Republican U.S. Senator Mike Enzi introduced on Tuesday a resolution allowing for the repeal of President Barack Obama’s signature health insurance program, which provides coverage to millions of Americans, Enzi’s office said in a statement.
The move by the Senate’s budget committee chairman on the first day of the new Congress set in motion the Republican majority’s promise to repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, as its first major legislative item.
Republicans have said the repeal process could take months and that developing replacement health insurance plans could take years.
Of course the House has voted to repeal Obamacare dozens of times in the past but that was only symbolic, however this time they may actually be able to do it through budget reconciliation because they will not need a single Democratic vote and Donald Trump is supposedly in favor of a repeal.
The Republicans are using a budget resolution to provide for Obamacare’s repeal, allowing them to act without any Democratic votes. Budget resolutions require a simple majority to pass in the Senate, instead of the 60 votes normally required to clear procedural hurdles. There are 52 Republicans in the 100-seat chamber.
The budget resolution contains so-called reconciliation instructions, directing committees to dismantle Obamacare as part of reconciling taxes and spending with the budget blueprint – and to report back to the budget committee by Jan. 27.
Before the Democrats cry foul over this maneuver they should remember that this same process was used to pass Obamacare without a single Republican vote in the first place, possibly setting the stage for this repeal attempt.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Paul Ryan wins reelection as Speaker of the House
Paul Ryan has won reelection as Speaker of the House; this of course does not come as a surprise however I think he margin of victory is a little surprising as there was only one Republican defector. Here is more:
Lawmakers reelected Paul D. Ryan as House speaker Tuesday, choosing the Wisconsin Republican with a fraught history with President-elect Donald Trump to serve as Trump’s chief legislative partner.
Ryan won the support of all but one Republican, winning with many fewer GOP defectors than when he first won the speakership in 2015. The vast majority of Democrats voted for Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who was reelected as party leader last year despite an abortive effort among some colleagues to oust her after November’s disappointing election results.
For all of the (justified) talk of a possible civil war within the Republican party the result of this vote shows us the Republican might actually being to coalesce after a brutal election cycle.
The near-unanimous vote for Ryan stands as a strong show of Republican unity as the party embarks on an ambitious legislative agenda that, for the first time in eight years, has a real chance to be signed into law.
On a side note Nancy Pelosi lost the votes of four Democrats.
The Republican party as a whole appears to be united with the exception of John McCain and Mitch McConnell and they could have a major impact on the agenda if they side with the Democrats. I am not happy with the job Paul Ryan has done thus far as Speaker of the House but we are beginning to see signs that the Republican party is starting to become unified. It is going to be interesting to see how this all plays out once Donald Trump is sworn in.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Newt Gingrich appeared on This Week earlier today and he stated he was worried the Trump regime would “lose their nerve” once they get to Washington and realize how bad the problem really is. Here is more:
When asked what he fears the most during the Trump presidency Gingrich said,”That they will lose their nerve. I mean, look, they’re going to arrive in Washington and for them to be successful, they have to stake out positions that Donna will not like and the left will hate. My deepest concern is that they’re going to arrive, you’re going to have the greens going crazy over at EPA and Interior. You’re going to have the government employees going crazy about civil service reform. You’re going to have the teachers union going crazy over school choice. And these are pretty nonnegotiable. I mean, if you’re serious about school choice, there is no agreement with the teachers union.”
He added, “I’m worried when they realize how big the problem is that they decide that they’re just going to do the best they can and give in.”
Happy New Year
I would like to wish everyone a happy New Year. It is hard to believe another year has gone by but it has. 2017 is already shaping up to be an interesting year and I hope that this year brings you joy and happiness.
With 2016 fading away here is Joy Division playing “New Dawn Fades” live from 1980. There is very little live video of this band so I had to settle for the audio.
frui diem
America's Watchtower 