Current Affairs General US politics (ie, not POTUS related)

[LinekersLegs]

 

[SteveSC]

The irony of him complaining about Trumps treatment of her and pretending to be her white Knight when he is also a douchebag and himself using her for his own gain.

 

[DanEFC92]

 

[DanEFC92]

 

[LinekersLegs]

Paul Ryan unwilling to admit that his party’s immigration restriction/attempts to gut healthcare/SALT deduction elimination might be wildly unpopular in California, instead prefers to insinuate that there is something sketchy about the vote tallies - although being his usual spineless weasel self refuses to back it up with any data or even an official complaint.

 

[Huyton Layne]

GOP getting ratioed to fudge

 

[Prevenger17]

Paul Ryan unwilling to admit that his party’s immigration restriction/attempts to gut healthcare/SALT deduction elimination might be wildly unpopular in California, instead prefers to insinuate that there is something sketchy about the vote tallies - although being his usual spineless weasel self refuses to back it up with any data or even an official complaint.

Of everyone in American politics, I think I loathe him the most. Which is incredible considering the competition

 

[abelard]

Still, in its own way, "Hide behind a wall and kill them all" is a more coherent response to global warming than anything liberals so far have to offer

I think that a bit too sweeping a statement mate, for instance California has put in quite a lot of measures to try and address climate change ranging from cap and trade, high fuel efficiency standards and encouraging use of electric cars, trying to switch all electricity to carbon neutral sources and mandating solar panels on new homes.

You can question the measures effectiveness or whether they go far enough but it is a far more constructive approach to address the problem than “hide behind a wall and kill them all”.

 

[abelard]

the real comet pizza...

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article220097825.html

 

[LinekersLegs]

That glib comment by Obama did annoy the hell out of me. Doesn’t even make sense as it happened despite some of his policies, rather than because them, and is based on the rise of shale oil on private lands rather than federal ones.

the real comet pizza...

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article220097825.html

I find it bizarre that this story hasn’t been discussed more over the years, hopefully with the new court case some of the enablers will be called to account for their actions.

 

[LinekersLegs]

 

[abelard]

That glib comment by Obama did annoy the hell out of me. Doesn’t even make sense as it happened despite some of his policies, rather than because them, and is based on the rise of shale oil on private lands rather than federal ones.

it's not just Obama... liberal golden boy dream boat Justin Trudeau said essentially the same thing to the same people.

Liberal climate change policy is not much more than virtue signalling to allow Canadians and Californians to still feel good about themselves. It functions like PR for the fossil fuel industry, providing just enough cover to allow them to keep pumping carbon out of the ground. We have ten years to get serious, and we're obviously not going to do anything more than shuffle deck chairs.

And, you're right - revealing though it is that Obama's chosen to boast about this, he's not even really entitled to it. The fracking boom was only made possible by the Fed effectively eliminating interest rates, then jolting the moribund economy back to life with trillions of dollars from thin air.

Of course, the oil industry immediately managed to create such a glut that the global price collapsed (prompting Albertans to resort to their real realm of competitive advantage, which is blaming Ottawa for their idiotic resource management while whining for even larger bailouts). Good thing we're capitalist, and therefore by definition live in the best of all possible worlds...

Coherent climate change policy, on the other hand, would have taken the QE money and invested it in something actually productive and sustainable, like renewable energy.

When cost-effective renewable energy inevitably arrives (far too late, of course) it is certain to come from China, which unlike the West, takes the technology seriously and invests accordingly. For every Tesla, there are probably at least five more sophisticated Chinese companies, though we don't know about them here because their CEOs don't amuse the media by pretending to be Ayn Rand protagonists on twitter.

This is not out of the goodness of Beijing's heart, mind, but because they aren't too captured by lobbyists, like our political class, to seize the stupendous strategic advantage that renewable energy represents. If you're a developing country, why bother with the Saudis, or worse still, the Americans, if Beijing can offer you all the energy you need, import free?

 

[LinekersLegs]

it's not just Obama... liberal golden boy dream boat Justin Trudeau said essentially the same thing to the same people.

Liberal climate change policy is not much more than virtue signalling to allow Canadians and Californians to still feel good about themselves. It functions like PR for the fossil fuel industry, providing just enough cover to allow them to keep pumping carbon out of the ground. We have ten years to get serious, and we're obviously not going to do anything more than shuffle deck chairs.

And, you're right - revealing though it is that Obama's chosen to boast about this, he's not even really entitled to it. The fracking boom was only made possible by the Fed effectively eliminating interest rates, then jolting the moribund economy back to life with trillions of dollars from thin air.

Of course, the oil industry immediately managed to create such a glut that the global price collapsed (prompting Albertans to resort to their real realm of competitive advantage, which is blaming Ottawa for their idiotic resource management while whining for even larger bailouts). Good thing we're capitalist, and therefore by definition live in the best of all possible worlds...

Coherent climate change policy, on the other hand, would have taken the QE money and invested it in something actually productive and sustainable, like renewable energy.

When cost-effective renewable energy inevitably arrives (far too late, of course) it is certain to come from China, which unlike the West, takes the technology seriously and invests accordingly. For every Tesla, there are probably at least five more sophisticated Chinese companies, though we don't know about them here because their CEOs don't amuse the media by pretending to be Ayn Rand protagonists on twitter.

This is not out of the goodness of Beijing's heart, mind, but because they aren't too captured by lobbyists, like our political class, to seize the stupendous strategic advantage that renewable energy represents. If you're a developing country, why bother with the Saudis, or worse still, the Americans, if Beijing can offer you all the energy you need, import free?

I’m broadly in agreement although (perhaps as a Californian who wants to feel better!) still think that CA getting to 1990 levels four years ahead of schedule with some additional measures still to be implemented to hopefully bring it down further/faster is at least going in the right direction which iirc is a reduction of 40% from 1990 levels.

Doesn’t help though that Manchin, who has literally shot at a cap and trade bill, looks like he will head Senate Energy committee, hopefully Bernie Sanders takes the post instead.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/28/bernie-sanders-manchin-senate-energy-995388

 

[Walken]

it's not just Obama... liberal golden boy dream boat Justin Trudeau said essentially the same thing to the same people.

Liberal climate change policy is not much more than virtue signalling to allow Canadians and Californians to still feel good about themselves. It functions like PR for the fossil fuel industry, providing just enough cover to allow them to keep pumping carbon out of the ground. We have ten years to get serious, and we're obviously not going to do anything more than shuffle deck chairs.

And, you're right - revealing though it is that Obama's chosen to boast about this, he's not even really entitled to it. The fracking boom was only made possible by the Fed effectively eliminating interest rates, then jolting the moribund economy back to life with trillions of dollars from thin air.

Of course, the oil industry immediately managed to create such a glut that the global price collapsed (prompting Albertans to resort to their real realm of competitive advantage, which is blaming Ottawa for their idiotic resource management while whining for even larger bailouts). Good thing we're capitalist, and therefore by definition live in the best of all possible worlds...

Coherent climate change policy, on the other hand, would have taken the QE money and invested it in something actually productive and sustainable, like renewable energy.

When cost-effective renewable energy inevitably arrives (far too late, of course) it is certain to come from China, which unlike the West, takes the technology seriously and invests accordingly. For every Tesla, there are probably at least five more sophisticated Chinese companies, though we don't know about them here because their CEOs don't amuse the media by pretending to be Ayn Rand protagonists on twitter.

This is not out of the goodness of Beijing's heart, mind, but because they aren't too captured by lobbyists, like our political class, to seize the stupendous strategic advantage that renewable energy represents. If you're a developing country, why bother with the Saudis, or worse still, the Americans, if Beijing can offer you all the energy you need, import free?

Damning, but pretty accurate

 

[BirkenheadBlue]

So it ended up +40 then.

#notawavethough