Fact-checking Tom Steyer on climate change
I continue to contend that “climate change” is a meaningless phrase because the climate obviously changes. But how? To what effect? It’s like saying “baby change” about an infant. How? Is he well and growing? Is he ill?
“Climate change” is useful for political activism because, unlike “global warming,” it can’t be tested.
Fortunately, even more liberal news outlets are checking the political contentions of Tom Steyer, the billionaire California hedge-fund investor and anti-climate change activist. NextGen is his political activism group. The San Jose Mercury New reported:
The Washington Post’s Fact Checker blog in January, however, awarded its dreaded “four Pinocchios” rating to a NextGen ad citing Chinese investment in Canada’s tar sands and claiming the controversial Keystone XL pipeline would produce oil only for other countries. The Chinese investment is small, the Post found, and NextGen took an oil executive’s words out of context to imply that no oil carried by the pipeline will remain in the U.S.
The ad “relies on speculation, not facts, to make insinuations and assertions not justified by the reality,” the Post said.
Last October, PolitiFact — a renowned fact-checking project run by the Tampa Bay Times — gave its “pants on fire” rating to a NextGen ad claiming Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, then running for governor, wanted to “eliminate all forms of birth control.” Cuccinelli has repeatedly said he has no interest in restricting contraception, PolitiFact noted.
This month, PolitiFact gave “half-true” ratings to a pair of NextGen ads attacking Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s ties to energy companies and polluters. FactCheck.org, a project of the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center, said it didn’t dispute the statement of critics that one of the Florida ads was “total fiction,” though the GOP response had “glaring factual problems” too.
And PolitiFact this month deemed “false” a NextGen ad accusing Iowa U.S. Senate candidate Joni Ernst of having signed a pledge that “protects tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas.” The pledge was a broad vow to oppose all tax hikes.
I would add that, if Steyer is so concerned about shipping jobs overseas, then why did he increase Californians’ taxes $1 billion in 2012 with his Proposition 39?
And why is he trying to raise oil taxes in California, an expense that inevitably would be passed on to drivers through higher taxes at the pump?
And why is he backing the new tax of up to 20 cents a gallon to be imposed on Californians next January from the state’s Cap and Trade program? The higher tax especially would hurt poor commuters. Which is why Assemblyman Henry Perea of Fresno and other Democrats with poor constituents tried to cancel the tax hike. Perea charged the money would be grabbed “out of the pockets of hard working Californians who drive to work or school and make necessary trips to the grocery store or doctor’s office.”
Steyer’s stances are useful because they show what Californians’ positions will be under extreme environmental rules: higher taxes breaking their budgets and seats in the back of the green bus.
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Not unlike the “duck and cover” nonsense of the 1950’s through 1970’s, the weather worshipers are only seeking control of the uncontrollable through fear of what may come. Like most religions the follower will have no reward if their rules and regulations are not employed at every turn. In the end the climate mantra is only about control and money! Just like the RAGWUS, just like religion. 🙂
Cui bono from all of Steyer’s machinations?
Well, clearly the Fossil fuel hungry Chinese did.
Taken in the context of this report:
http://www.thenewamerican.com/tech/environment/item/18864-lawless-billionaire-club-behind-green-scam-senate-study-finds
And in the context of all the green and enviro regs that have ravaged the US economy for the past decade or more, and due to the coordinated attacks by the billionaire club of ganGREEN, the only ones who really benefitted were our historical enemies.
China, Russia, and our 911 sponsoring ‘friends’ in the Middle East.
A strong and energy independent America competes and cuts against all these parties interests, be they commerce or wartime related.
The report above calls attention to a number of front/shell companies, that serve to conceal the identities of large donors to environmental causes and to predominantly DEMOCRAT causes and candidates.
Were these shell companies exposed, I think we would find either criminal money laundering and/or blatant skirting of us tax and election laws at the very least, to collusion and TREASON with foreign powers at worst.
That being said, Steyer’s efforts, whether they were intentionally beneficial to CHINA or not, have clearly benefitted them as they gained preferred access to our Canadian neighbor’s fossil fuel resources.
These billionaires have at the very least ignorantly aided our foreign competitors and enemies.
Their funds have been used to manipulate elections, dictate EPA policy, destroy our coal and energy industry, disrupt the oil and gas industry in some of the worlds largest and most promising gas shale deposits, and destroyed years of farm water supply by funding a fraudulent fish study and NRDC, which resulted in millions of acre feet being WASTED, close to 1 million acres laying fallow, a duster ours water crisis, and significant food inflation.
These constitute indirect and possibly foreign funded attacks upon our energy, water and food resources, and has deepened and prolonged our economic malaise. Over 100 million people are now on FOODSTAMPS!
Consequently, these are now national security issues, and should be investigated accordingly.
Much of the damage has been done, but the sooner the ability to do this much damage to the US can be limited, the sooner we can begin to repair and revitalize.
Interesting that none of the ads cited by John even mention “climate change”, best as I can tell.
California’s Global Warming Initiative AB32 was passed in 2006 without a financial impact projection on its projected costs to the California economy. In 2010, following the recession, Prop 23 proposed delaying its implementation until the California economy could “afford” it, but it was soundly defeated in 2010. Cost of energy in California continues to rise and severely impacting the financially challenged that can least afford more expense to tread water. In 2015 the cost of implementation of other pieces of the law supported by the people is about to hit the pocket books of all Californians.
In 2006 California was contributing a miniscule 1% to the World’s Green House Gases, while the other Contrives and other States were contributing the other 99%. The other 49 States and foreign countries are watching California implode as they have backed away from an AB32 approach. Now, 8 years later, California continues to contribute a miniscule amount to the Worlds GHG, but we are successfully throwing the California economy under the bus for a crusade that has not produced results.
EVERY CALIFORNIA INDUSTRY is dependent on energy from the petrochemical sector as well as the by-products from oil for their existence to support the lifestyle and standard of living that we have become accustomed.
Extra costs resulting from government actions on businesses are a slight inconvenience to those making the big bucks. Those behind the over regulations, over taxation, and uncontrollable “fees” on businesses are mostly the highly compensated, and most with sweet defined retirement benefit packages waiting for them upon retirement, i.e., those that CAN afford the higher costs that trickle down to all citizens for products and services.
Those that earn less than $20 per hour, which includes virtually all those in the food and hospitality industries, are the ones that can least afford higher costs for power, transportation fuels, and food. There is minimal impact to those that can afford the results of our relentless business unfriendly efforts, but little hope for those that barely exist at today’s cost of living.
Ah, come on Ron.
Look on the bright side.
Brownie is going to get tens of billions for his bullet train to nowhere and other politicians are also going to get tens of billions to reward their friends and punish their enemies.
And crony capitalists like Steyer will make out like the bandits that they are.
Cui bono from all of Steyer’s machinations?
Well, clearly the Fossil fuel hungry Chinese did.
Taken in the context of this report:
http://www.thenewamerican.com/tech/environment/item/18864-lawless-billionaire-club-behind-green-scam-senate-study-finds
And in the context of all the green and enviro regs that have ravaged the US economy for the past decade or more, and due to the coordinated attacks by the billionaire club of ganGREEN, the only ones who really benefitted were our historical enemies.
China, Russia, and our 911 sponsoring ‘friends’ in the Middle East.
A strong and energy independent America competes and cuts against all these parties interests, be they commerce or wartime related.
The report above calls attention to a number of front/shell companies, that serve to conceal the identities of large donors to environmental causes and to predominantly DEMOCRAT causes and candidates.
Were these shell companies exposed, I think we would find either criminal money laundering and/or blatant skirting of us tax and election laws at the very least, to collusion and TREASON with foreign powers at worst.
That being said, Steyer’s efforts, whether they were intentionally beneficial to CHINA or not, have clearly benefitted them as they gained preferred access to our Canadian neighbor’s fossil fuel resources.
These billionaires have at the very least ignorantly aided our foreign competitors and enemies.
Their funds have been used to manipulate elections, dictate EPA policy, destroy our coal and energy industry, disrupt the oil and gas industry in some of the worlds largest and most promising gas shale deposits, and destroyed years of farm water supply by funding a fraudulent fish study and NRDC, which resulted in millions of acre feet being WASTED, close to 1 million acres laying fallow, a disastrous water crisis, and significant food inflation.
These constitute indirect and possibly foreign funded attacks upon our energy, water and food resources, and has deepened and prolonged our economic malaise. Over 100 million people are now on FOODSTAMPS!
Consequently, these are now national security issues, and should be investigated accordingly.
Much of the damage has been done, but the sooner the ability to do this much damage to the US can be limited, the sooner we can begin to repair and revitalize.