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University professor compares Malthusian population explosion scare to climate change extremists

“Reducing our consumption of fossil fuels will not make bad weather and extreme natural events go away.” – Pierre Desrochers, author and academic

Faithful readers of this blog know my position on climate change. Yes, it is taking place; it’s cyclical. And, yes, we have experienced a very slight warming, but we cannot do anything to change that trend.

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University of Toronto professor Pierre Desrochers compares climate change extremists to Malthusians. (montrealgazette.com)

In an interesting writing by University of Toronto associate professor of geography Pierre Desrochers, recently excerpted in the Wall Street Journal’s regular Notable & Quotable column, I found his observation of those who believed that the means of human subsistence (Malthusians) were so similar to climate change dooms day catastrophists.

Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) argued that human population would increase to the maximum extent permitted by human fertility, that the means of subsistence wouldn’t keep up, and that the unavoidable result would be poverty, starvation, war, diseases and population crashes. Continue reading →

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GSA and VA team to waste money on artwork

“These artworks enhance the civic meaning of federal architecture and showcase the vibrancy of American visual arts.” – GSA website.

Just when you think you have heard everything about the Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals with the mishandling of cases involving our warriors who put their lives on the line for us, new scandals have surfaced.

Rock Sculpture

This sculpture, “Aggregate,” by Phillip K. Smith, was purchased for $483,000 for the courtyard of the VA hospital in Palo Alto, California. (Rep. Jeff Miller/Wash. Post)

Thanks to Rep. Jeff Miller(R-FL), the story of rampant wasteful spending on artwork for VA facilities, has been uncovered.

A $483,000 rock sculpture, meant to evoke “a sense of transformation, rebuilding and self-investigation,” has become part of a $1.3 million courtyard at the VA’s Palo Alto, Calif. Hospital.

At least $6.3 million has been spent on art and consulting services in the Palo Alto Health Care System, including $4, 190, 356 at the Palo Alto Medical Center, $1, 879,521 at the Monterey Health Care Center, and $280, 000 in other budgeted projects. Continue reading →

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Democrats still want to kill Gowdy’s Select Committee on Benghazi

How often have you heard a Democrat exclaim that there have already been six (or more) hearings on Benghazi and in each case former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been exonerated? It’s usually followed by a statement decrying the millions of dollars that have been spent to pin it all on Hillary Clinton.

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For insight on Rep. Trey Gowdy and his Select Committee on Benghazi, read the Wall Street Journal article referenced in this blog. (rickwells.us)

“It is true that other panels conducted Benghazi inquiries. It is equally true they failed to interview dozens of key witnesses, failed to access all information and inexcusably missed Clinton’s exclusive use of private email on her personal server for official business,” wrote Rep. Trey Gowdy, Chairman of the Select Committee on Benghazi, in a USA Today op-ed yesterday. His committee has reviewed some 50,000 documents not seen in the other investigations. Continue reading →

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U.S. pulls the plug on ill-advised rebel training program

In my Sept. 25, post, “Our military on “hold” until January 2017,” I wrote about the Obama administration’s continued failures in foreign policy, and called your attention to the embarrassing testimony of Gen. Lloyd Austin. He was forced to report that just four or five trainees were active as a result of our Syrian rebel training program.

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The Defense Department has pulled the plug on its fawed Syrian rebel training program. (defenseone.com)

I have to give him credit for his appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee. As the head of U. S. Central Command, he could have ordered someone in his command to draw the short straw. Continue reading →

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One of the best quotes of the day

Fox’s “The Five,” featured a clip from Tuesday’s White House press conference, during which spokesman Josh Earnest was asked if Russia was playing checkers or chess with its strategy in Syria. Earnest said, checkers, followed by an incoherent explanation. During a discussion among the show’s co-hosts, the quick-witted Greg Gutfeld jumped in with, “Russia’s playing chess and we’re playing Yahtzee.”… read more

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The drip, drip, drip of scandal around Hillary continues

While Hillary Clinton’s e-mails dribble out, the FBI continues its investigation surrounding her e-mails and information on “pay for access,” to the secretary of state or the possible next president through Clinton foundation contributions, a new scandal has surfaced.

Clinton personally signed-off on the deal in 2012 that let her top aide, Huma Abedin, simultaneously work for the State Department and a private New York firm, the Teneo Group, with deep ties to the Clinton family.… read more

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Climate change profiteers want deniers punished

Have you heard about those who have called for the execution, strangling and a sort of Nuremberg war crimes trial for climate change deniers?

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Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) wants legislation to punish climate change deniers.(likesuccess.com)

It began with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s (D-RI) calling for the criminal investigation of people and organizations seen as global warming deniers, using perhaps the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

In an op-ed by Walter Williams, the esteemed John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University (GMU), he wrote of a letter signed by 20 signatories calling for the president to use RICO to punish those who dispute the “consensus” of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Six of those who signed the letter are GMU faculty members. Continue reading →

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Hillary flip-flops on trade pact

If ever there was an example of a politician putting a finger in the air to see which way the political wind is blowing, it was obvious when Hillary Clinton, speaking on the Pacific Trade Agreement said, “I can’t support this agreement.”

This is the same Hillary Clinton, who as secretary of state, backed the pact, calling it the “gold standard” for trade deals during her 2012 trip to Australia.… read more

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General Campbell takes principled stand on Afghanistan

“Based on conditions on the ground, I do believe we have to provide our senior leadership options different from the current plan we are going with.” – Gen. John Campbell, Oct. 6, 2015

I have frequently been critical of President Obama’s “lead from behind” foreign policy and his decision to fulfill his campaign promise to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan regardless of advice he gets from the Pentagon.

imageGen. John Campbell (stripes.com)

Gen. John Campbell (stripes.com)

At the same time, I have been critical of those generals who salute and obey the orders of the commander-in-chief to protect their careers. My Sept. 25, post, “Our military on “hold” until January 2017,” was my most recent piece on this subject.

Yesterday, however, Gen. John Campbell, our top commander in Afghanistan, told the Senate Armed Services Committee, that our long-standing plan for troop reductions there should be revised in favor of a larger U.S. presence. He referred to the changes on the ground  over the past two years, since the president last issued his plan for troop removals. Continue reading →