Patterico's Pontifications

6/14/2014

President Obama ‘Lights A Fire’

Filed under: General — Dana @ 7:30 pm

[guest post by Dana]

President Obama delivered a speech to UC Irvine’s graduates today in Orange County. His admonition to the class of 2014 was to fight global warming and not allow themselves to be influenced by “a stubborn status quo, people determined to stymie your efforts to bring about change.”

He hoped to “light a fire” underneath the young people so they would then go out and help save our ‘fevered planet’.

“When President Kennedy set us on a course for the moon, there were a number of people who made a serious case that it would be too expensive, that it would take too long,” he said. “But nobody ignored the science. I don’t remember anyone saying the moon wasn’t there, or that it was made of cheese.”

The president also stated that he believed young people have an obligation to act to save the planet because the overwhelming majority of the scientific community has embraced the science behind the warming planet and attributed it to manmade causes.

Further,

“The question is not whether we need to act. The overwhelming judgment of science, accumulated and measured and reviewed over decades, has put that to rest,” Obama said. “The question is whether we have the will to act before it’s too late.”

Climate change deniers were also addressed:

“There are some who duck the question by saying, ‘Hey, I’m not a scientist.’ Let me translate that for you: what that means is, ‘I accept that manmade climate change is real, but if I admit it, I’ll be run out of town by a radical fringe that thinks climate science is a liberal plot.”

And, he compared the potential for innovation and economic opportunities provided by the space race launched during the Kennedy era with those now provided because of global warming.

“We need scientists to design new fuels,” he said. “We need farmers to help grow them. We need engineers to invent new technologies. We need entrepreneurs to sell those technologies. We need workers to operate assembly lines that hum with high tech, zero-carbon components. We need builders to hammer into place the clean-energy age.”

“We can do this,” he exhorted the assembled students, but also speaking to the legions of other graduates streaming from U.S. universities this month to start their careers. “We can make a difference. You can make a difference. And the sooner you do, the better.”

And that’s our president, lighting a fire.

–Dana

Comments (88)

88 Responses to “President Obama ‘Lights A Fire’”

Ding. where is the Colonel to do a parody of the Doors “Light my fire”?
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 7:35 pm
this whole “our president” thing is highly questionable
happyfeet (8ce051) — 6/14/2014 @ 7:40 pm
You know that it would be untrue, you know that I would be a liar
If you could see my lips move by the light of that there fire
Come on, people, light a fire
So you can see that I’m a liar.

And it’s a Jose Feliciano song. I’d think a guy who calls himself felipe would know that.
nk (dbc370) — 6/14/2014 @ 7:41 pm
And on Puerto Rican Day, too.
nk (dbc370) — 6/14/2014 @ 7:43 pm
Not bad, NK, not bad!
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 7:52 pm
I heard something very very bad – not really that amazing – last Sunday about Obama and global warming. On Face the NAtion, Bob Schieffer was interviewing Thomas Friedman of the New York Times, and he had interviewed President Obama for a show that was going to appear on Showtime.

Well, I won’t summarize it. Here it is, toward the end ofteh show:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/face-the-nation-transcripts-june-8-2014-feinstein-chambliss-rohde/8/

BOB SCHIEFFER: Tom Friedman is maybe the hardest working reporter I know. He is just back from Kurdistan where he delivered among other things a commencement address in addition to doing — in addition to doing some reporting there. He also interviewed President Obama recently on this issue of climate change for the ShowTime series Years of Living Dangerously. I want to play just a part of that interview that will air later on ShowTime.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA (ShowTime): At least once a day you’ll see something on the national security side or domestic policy side that is impacted in some fashion by the possibilities of climate change. The area where we are most concerned is how climate change could end up having profound national security implications in poorer countries. We’re obviously concerned about drought in California or hurricanes and floods along our coastlines. All those things are bread and butter issues that touch on American families. But when you start seeing how these shifts can displace people, entire countries can be finding themselves unable to feed themselves. And the– the potential incidents of conflict that arises out of that, that gets your attention. There’s a reason why Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff identified climate change as one of our most significant national security problems. It’s not just the actual disasters that might arise. It is the– the accumulating stresses that are placed on a lot of different countries and the possibility of war, conflict, refugees, displacement that– that arise from changing climate.

BOB SCHIEFFER: That interview airs Monday night–right, Tom–on ShowTime. What else did the President tell you?

THOMAS FRIEDMAN: Well, you know, I think the importance of– of the interview that he did, Bob, is that President really has never done a full-length interview on this subject.

BOB SCHIEFFER: Mm-Hm.

THOMAS FRIEDMAN: It’s always been a little bit of a hot potato. They have been worried, you know, about taking any attention away from jobs. And so I think the importance of this is– is threefold. First of all, you know, there’s no one who can change the conversation of the country, as you know, more than the President. And I’m a big believer to name something is to own it. If you can name an issue you can own the issue. You know, for so long green, you know, was really named by the people who hated it, and they named it liberal, sissy, girly man, unpatriotic, vaguely– vaguely French. What Obama is doing in this interview and I think with his EPA regulations is renaming green. He’s naming it geostrategic, geo-economic, innovative, patriotic. And one of the– he made two big points in the interview that I think will– I think began a whole different discussion. One is the International Energy Agency in 2012 came out with the study that said we basically have to keep roughly two-thirds of proven oil reserves, oil and gas in the ground because we can’t exploit them otherwise we’re going to burn up the planet. President talked about that, he agrees with that assessment. Over time we got to make that transition. And the other he said, I’m for a price on carbon.

BOB SCHIEFFER: All right. Well, Tom, we’ll look forward to that interview. And thank you for being with us this morning.

THOMAS FRIEDMAN: My pleasure.

BOB SCHIEFFER: We’ll be back.
Sammy Finkelman (97c2e3) — 6/14/2014 @ 7:53 pm
@ happyfeet,

this whole “our president” thing is highly questionable

Sorry, man, you’re in it with us.
Dana (9a8f57) — 6/14/2014 @ 7:55 pm
The Spanish speakers in my family (o.k., everyone) say “Jose’ Feliciano” in stead of “Feliz nuevo ano”. Heh.
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 7:57 pm
Now we are seeing war and refugees, but it’s not cvoming from changing climate. Even when environmental changes are afactor, it’s not voming from global warming.

The Turkish government had dammed up the Euphrates Rover and stopped all water from going into Syria. ISIS now has control of one dam on Tigris. None of that has anythingt o woith climate change.

Haiti is disforested, (in contrast to the Dominican Republic) and that does tend to be stimlatin g people to want to be refugees, but that was caused by poverty and an earthquake.

Theer are refugees coming from El Salvador and Honduras, and maybe Guatamala right now, but that was not caused by climate change.
Sammy Finkelman (97c2e3) — 6/14/2014 @ 7:58 pm
When I saw the title, I initially thought this post was going to be about the Middle East. That’s where Prom Queen has managed to light a fire.
Steve57 (5f0260) — 6/14/2014 @ 7:58 pm
He is an extraordinary small and simple man.
JD (ea1128) — 6/14/2014 @ 7:58 pm
Oh, and I don’t just call myself “felipe” – this happens to be my real life name!
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 7:58 pm
this won’t end well

but i put on my Jose F cd and I feel a little more better

he does a a nice “In My Life” cover on this one
happyfeet (8ce051) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:00 pm
And did you notice this from Thomas Friedman:

What Obama is doing in this interview and I think with his EPA regulations is renaming green. He’s naming it geostrategic, geo-economic, innovative, patriotic. And one of the– he made two big points in the interview that I think will– I think began a whole different discussion. One is the International Energy Agency in 2012 came out with the study that said we basically have to keep roughly two-thirds of proven oil reserves, oil and gas in the ground because we can’t exploit them otherwise we’re going to burn up the planet. President talked about that, he agrees with that assessment.

According to that kind of thinking, where we have to leave 2/3 of current world oil reserves in the ground lest we “burn up the planet” ISIS getting control of oil fields is really a good thing, because they won’t be allowed to export it, and there’ll be less oil produced in the world (and the seas will start to recede and the planet begin to heal)
Sammy Finkelman (97c2e3) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:01 pm
Looks like UC Irvine was Strawman Central today.
elissa (c703ff) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:02 pm
Y’know, Steve? Obama would reply that “I didn’t start the fire. It’s been always burnin’ since the world was turnin'” – apologies to Billy J.. On second thought, belay that apology.
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:03 pm
Of course he lights a fire. How else does he dispose of his strawmen? Also, I like his “I don’t remember…” especially as TFG wasn’t even born when JFK made his announcement.
Gazzer (6a76d0) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:08 pm
==I don’t remember anyone saying the moon wasn’t there, or that it was made of cheese.”==

Oh Barack!!!!!! Who wrote that one for you?
elissa (c703ff) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:08 pm
“Oh Barack!!!!!! Who wrote that one for you”?

“He stuck in his thumb and pulled out a plum, and said ‘what a good boy am I'”!

Was that racist?
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:11 pm
Maybe some Lana del Rey instead,
narciso (3fec35) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:11 pm
This POTUS is a simpleton. Look a squirrel!
Jenny (ebf599) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:15 pm
Here’s Jose Feliciano singing an immigrant song, happpyfeet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J0eViyCVXA If you like it, maybe you can find the subtitled lyrics.
nk (dbc370) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:16 pm
Meghan’s coward daddy sounds as pouty on the issue lately as Food Stamp does

McCain: I’m still interested in it. And I think there are a lot of things that we can do like this transition that we’re making to natural gas thanks to our resources and I still believe in nuclear power as one of the big parts of the answers, and that’s almost impossible to get. And I think we need to address greenhouse gas emissions. But I try to get involved in issues were I see a legislative result… But there’s going to be no movement in the Congress of the United States certainly this year and probably next year. So I just leave the issue alone because I don’t see a way through it, and there are certain fundamentals, for example nuke power, that people on the left will never agree with me on. So why should I waste my time when I know the people on the left are going to reject nuclear power? I don’t believe that you can really succeed in reducing greenhouse gases unless you have a lot of nuclear power plants. They’re against them. Well, okay, I move on to other issues.

yes douche do move on
happyfeet (8ce051) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:17 pm
There was kind of a loser boy in my neighborhood growing up –Howard was his name–who always used to ask if we wanted to watch him light his farts. I don’t know why this thread made me all of a sudden think of Howard after all these years. But it might be Dana’s fault.
elissa (c703ff) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:17 pm
I don’t think he is a simpleton. He is very dangerous. I forget who said it, but basically if you set out to destroy America, would you be doing anything any different that he is?
Gazzer (6a76d0) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:19 pm
Elissa, LOL!
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:21 pm
“If you like your health care plan, you can keep it.” – Liar
Real American (f76ab7) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:22 pm
Gazzer, that is a question that Sammy is about to answer. Thanks, man./dirntst?
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:23 pm
i do like it but it’s old to where it doesn’t sit easy on a playlist cause the volume isn’t on the same scale as newer stuff

mostly these days i been playing with those new amazon prime playlists, what are free for me til end of year

i had to give up prime cause they started using this feeble “OnTrac” deliver service that can’t deliver anything – i even stayed home all day one day and they fumbled the ball

whenever i move i might give it a go again
happyfeet (8ce051) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:26 pm
25. Gazzer (6a76d0) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:19 pm

He is very dangerous. I forget who said it, but basically if you set out to destroy America, would you be doing anything any different that he is?

28. felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:23 pm

Gazzer, that is a question that Sammy is about to answer. Thanks, man./dirntst?

Q. if you set out to destroy America, would you be doing anything any different that he is?

A. Plenty.
Sammy Finkelman (97c2e3) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:29 pm
thank god he’s one of them lazy pothead types
happyfeet (8ce051) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:39 pm
I rest my case. Sammy will be hitherto known as “old faithful”.

Sammy, that was unusually concise of you. I like it.
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:39 pm
But you got to admit it’s a great start. And sorry, Felipe, what was I thinking.
Gazzer (6a76d0) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:41 pm
No worries, Gazzer, if you hadn’t asked it, Daleyrocks would have.
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:44 pm
I was a adolescent during the initial green movement during the late ’60s and early ’70s. I have lived through so many dire warnings about global warming and global climate change that I’m a bit surprised to be alive.

For more than thirty years, and closer to forty, I have been told over and over that the Earth is at tipping point from which we can never recover.

My children will have to live their lives listening to this crap and probably their children also. Of course the climate is changing. However climate change does not happen during the blink of an eye that constitutes our existence.

I’m a bit tired of the whole “settled science” argument and the Luddites who spread it. Their whole argument is nothing more than a new religion with “settled science” as its doctrine along with a message of redistribution of wealth to forgive our sins.
Ag80 (eb6ffa) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:47 pm
We need workers to operate assembly lines that hum with high tech, zero-carbon components.

This is profoundly ignorant. Nearly all modern high-tech components contain carbon, some are entirely carbon (carbon-fiber, nanotubes, etc). The 787 Dreamliner, for example:

Each 787 contains approximately 35 short tons (32,000 kg) of carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP), made with 23 tons of carbon fiber. Carbon fiber composites have a higher strength-to-weight ratio than traditional aircraft materials, and help make the 787 a lighter aircraft. Composites are used on fuselage, wings, tail, doors, and interior. Boeing had built and tested the first commercial aircraft composite section while studying the proposed Sonic Cruiser nearly five years before; the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey military transport uses 50% composites, and the company’s C-17 transport has over 16,000 lb (7,300 kg) of structural composites.

Besides, carbon in material is carbon not in the air. But then Obama isn’t a scientist. Nor is he an engineer, mathematician (or even an arithmatician), of geologist. He is also a pretty crappy lawyer.
Kevin M (b357ee) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:47 pm
Dang, Ag80, that was well said.
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:50 pm
I agree, felipe.

Their whole argument is nothing more than a new religion with “settled science” as its doctrine along with a message of redistribution of wealth to forgive our sins.

There is nothing that can’t be made into a religion. And people being what people are, someone’s bound to assume the role of savior because every religion needs one.
Dana (9a8f57) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:59 pm
The president was a frickin’ year old when JFK made his promise. Of course he doesn’t remember the Green-Cheesers. What a tool. A broken tool, but a tool.
John Pomeroy (cf5855) — 6/14/2014 @ 9:00 pm
narciso, Lana del Ray… National Anthem…Money is the anthem, of success, so before we go out, What’s your address?
Dana (9a8f57) — 6/14/2014 @ 9:02 pm
36. Kevin M (b357ee) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:47 pm

He is also a pretty crappy lawyer.

I don’t think Mitt Romney would agree with that.
Sammy Finkelman (97c2e3) — 6/14/2014 @ 9:04 pm
These graduates will get a dose of reality when they are living in Mom’s basement after a year of no job in Obama’s economy.
Estragon (ada867) — 6/14/2014 @ 9:10 pm
What has being a lawyer to do with winning reelection? It would seem being lucky with hurricanes is a better skill.
Kevin M (b357ee) — 6/14/2014 @ 9:12 pm
No, Estragon, they will LOVE that scenario.
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 9:16 pm
Speaking, the Empty Chair flames on!
htom (412a17) — 6/14/2014 @ 9:18 pm
U.S people to Barack: Do you realize your policies are putting a noose around the neck of the country?

Barack: Who do you think bought the rope?
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 9:21 pm
Did the President ever practice law? I know he is a lawyer with a law degree. Has he ever contested a case before a judge or advised people about the law other than in the classroom? I really don’t know and I’m not really interested in reading however many autobiographies he has written to find out.
Ag80 (eb6ffa) — 6/14/2014 @ 9:22 pm
The twist is: YOU DID!
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 9:23 pm
43. Kevin M (b357ee) — 6/14/2014 @ 9:12 pm

What has being a lawyer to do with winning reelection? It would seem being lucky with hurricanes is a better skill.

Debate skills. Arguing before a jury. I wouldn’t say Obama would make agood solicitor, but a barrister, maybe.
Sammy Finkelman (97c2e3) — 6/14/2014 @ 9:23 pm
No, I do not believe the POTUS is a barrister.
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 9:24 pm
Somebody school Sammy on the difference between a solicitor and a barrister.
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 9:25 pm
That’s in England.

But he has those kinds of skills.

Except that he tends to fall flat on his face when he attempts to elaborate.
Sammy Finkelman (97c2e3) — 6/14/2014 @ 9:27 pm
A barrister is a speaker.

Now he might not do so well, writing arguments for a judge. He might do oK supervising the writing of the legal arguments.
Sammy Finkelman (97c2e3) — 6/14/2014 @ 9:28 pm
No, Sammy, he does not have those kinds of skills.

You may now elaborate your point.
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 9:30 pm
Sammy, only a barrister may argue a case before a judge – a “trial” lawyer.
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 9:33 pm
There is a rule in the Federal Court for the Northern District of Illinois requiring a certain amount of experience before a lawyer can try a criminal case solo, but otherwise there is no distinction between a lawyer and a barrister that I know of. Even in England, solicitors can try cases in the lower courts.
nk (dbc370) — 6/14/2014 @ 10:02 pm
no distinction between a lawyer and a barrister that I know of in the United States.
nk (dbc370) — 6/14/2014 @ 10:05 pm
Right, nk, in the U.S. now, sit down, nk, before you hurt yourself.
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 10:09 pm
Hah, and I cannot tell my elbow from an oboe!- Squidward.
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 10:11 pm
The question was NOT the diff between a lawyer and a barrister (ssssss), but a solicitor and a barrister!
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 10:14 pm
“…I’m a bit tired of the whole “settled science” argument and the Luddites who spread it. Their whole argument is nothing more than a new religion with “settled science” as its doctrine along with a message of redistribution of wealth to forgive our sins.
Ag80 (eb6ffa) — 6/14/2014 @ 8:47 pm”

– – – – –

Amen, Ag80. “Preach it, brother!!”
A_Nonny_Mouse (8bd285) — 6/14/2014 @ 10:18 pm
I second the Amen! Ag80 for President again.
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 10:20 pm
NK, I love the fire song parody you wrote above. I would add a bit of an update

You know that it would be untrue, you know that I would be a liar
If you could see my lips move by the light of my pants on fire
Come on, people, watch my pants on fire
So you can see that I’m a liar

I think the data is still out on the whole global warming thing but it is looking less and less likely as more data comes in. It is funny how Obama projects the people questioning obedience to the ONE and his carbon money generating faith as the totalitarians when it is the global warming people that are the flat earthers.
summerwarmth (44603a) — 6/14/2014 @ 10:22 pm
I think the data is still out on the whole global warming thing…

Freudian slip much?
felipe (960c75) — 6/14/2014 @ 10:30 pm
I certainly hope that that fire he’s sparking isn’t under some carbon-based life-form, because that would involve spewing additional CO2 into the atmosphere, bringing about further AGW, Climate Change, whatever.
askeptic (8ecc78) — 6/14/2014 @ 11:17 pm
Barry the Dimwitted is a special kid of stupid.

and President Joe Biden would be a significant improvement over his dumb a55, if for no other reason than that Joe is “lazy stupid” and not “active stupid” like the First Failure.
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 6/15/2014 @ 12:25 am
Nillson Schmillson
Jump into the Fire

Harry was the best.
mg (31009b) — 6/15/2014 @ 2:27 am
mg, you are right on the money!
felipe (960c75) — 6/15/2014 @ 3:04 am
How can so many sit idle?
As the traitorous president and his oafs rape the world.
mg (31009b) — 6/15/2014 @ 3:37 am
sit down, nk, before you hurt yourself.

I had gone to bed before you typed that. We don’t all wake up at noon and are still fresh at midnight. Solicitor is sometimes used for lawyer in the United States (DuPage County Courthouse for one) but mostly it’s attorney. The rank of barrister is not recognized, it’s practically a joke when used in reference to a lawyer in the United States. So is notary.

My nephew is studying law in Greece. They have the Civil Law system (Roman/Napoleanic Code). He will have to make a choice between the notary (literally “contract-writer”) path and the judicial (trial lawyer) path. In the United States, there’s no such licensing distinction, it’s how the lawyer himself picks his clients and cases. There is “extra”-licensure for the Patent Office I’ve heard, but that’s administrative not judicial, and I did not need to be licensed for the U.S. Supreme Court as long as I met their minimum years of practice requirement, but I would have had to pay the licensing fee for each pro hac vice appearance.
nk (dbc370) — 6/15/2014 @ 5:50 am
So, Benedict Obama doesn’t remember anyone saying the moon wasn’t there, or that it was made of cheese. Which is quite a change from what others remember, or don’t remember, like where he was during the Benghazi attack and who called off rescue operations, or who in the White House authorized the IRS to target the TEA Party, or who told Eric Holder to sell AK-47s to Mexican drug cartels.

Some of us remember Saint Benedict quite clearly claiming profound humility and knowledge of his own limitations while bragging about his limitless faith in the capacity of the American people and that if we would but work and strive we would look back on his election as the moment we began to provide care for the sick (veterans excluded) and good jobs for the jobless (but delivered food stamps instead) and that this would be the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planed began to heal.

Such a profound display of humility as the world has ever witnessed.
ropelight (af89aa) — 6/15/2014 @ 6:33 am
Prezzydent==National Mascot.

Talking smack, being cool and Not.Giving.A.F@ck all day long.
gary gulrud (46ca75) — 6/15/2014 @ 7:10 am
A real possibility?

I have to wonder if the man is hoping to goad his opponents into impeaching him. Such spectacular neglect of duty, fiddling as it were as the nation implodes, should infuriate the friends and relatives of our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines currently risking their lives in Afghanistan and elsewhere in our defense. As Iran moves steadily toward the nuclear Armageddon it openly seeks and the bulwark against it we fought for in Iraq collapses, President Obama makes clear he will not even disrupt his leisure activities to take action. And we have two and half years more of this ahead.

My intuition here might be timing. Ibn Dunham, antiChrist really does sweat his lack of power to effect change, his power vs. the march of events. Total chaos around upcoming elections may work as effectively as early voting did in 2012. Martial law, DOJ lawsuits against states, Federal swat teams in place of poll workers.
gary gulrud (46ca75) — 6/15/2014 @ 8:24 am
Obama said: We need farmers to help grow them [new fuels].

No. We need farmers to grow FOOD!
Dilligas (cc8ddb) — 6/15/2014 @ 8:58 am
If you think this sorry narcissistic SOB is a problem now, just wait until he’s an ex President. He’s going to make Jimmuh Carter look like Francis of Assisi.
Skeptical Voter (12e67d) — 6/15/2014 @ 9:02 am
Well, thank you, Sammy. I stand corrected. I thought “green” was just an excuse to take over the economy. Now I see it’s an excuse to take over the military too. No wonder he’s been so busy firing generals!
Patricia (5fc097) — 6/15/2014 @ 9:12 am
Now we have, Obama saying last Monday, on Showtime (recorded before last Sunday – this excerpt was broadcast on Face the Nation last week:

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA (ShowTime): At least once a day you’ll see something on the national security side or domestic policy side that is impacted in some fashion by the possibilities of climate change. The area where we are most concerned is how climate change could end up having profound national security implications in poorer countries. We’re obviously concerned about drought in California or hurricanes and floods along our coastlines. All those things are bread and butter issues that touch on American families. But when you start seeing how these shifts can displace people, entire countries can be finding themselves unable to feed themselves. And the– the potential incidents of conflict that arises out of that, that gets your attention. There’s a reason why Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff identified climate change as one of our most significant national security problems. It’s not just the actual disasters that might arise. It is the – the accumulating stresses that are placed on a lot of different countries and the possibility of war, conflict, refugees, displacement that– that arise from changing climate.

Wars and refugees are NOT caused by envioenmental disasters, and envioronmental disaters are NOT caused by global warming/climate change, and global warming/climate change can NOT be prevented, even according to the warmists, by measures such as Presdident Obama is taking, but rather, as Thomas Friedman says,

we basically have to keep roughly two-thirds of proven oil reserves, oil and gas in the ground because we can’t exploit them otherwise we’re going to burn up the planet </blockquote according to a study by the International Energy Agency in 2012.
Sammy Finkelman (97c2e3) — 6/15/2014 @ 9:13 am
President Obama is not lying about the Defense Department saying climate change as one of our most significant national security problems. Ex-president Clinton has said the same thing – that’s that’s the threat from China. Except that Clinton has know this is baloney.
Sammy Finkelman (97c2e3) — 6/15/2014 @ 9:17 am
@36– and, Kev, you left out the really important things with carbon: golf club shafts and fly rods….
[I apologize of this has been addressed already in the intervening comments.]
Gramps, the original (c15c43) — 6/15/2014 @ 10:25 am
I think ISIS has taken this “light a fire” thing literally.
Or something.
Elephant Stone (e0f7b5) — 6/15/2014 @ 5:40 pm
nk (dbc370) — 6/15/2014 @ 5:50 am

I greatly appreciate your comment, nk, thank you. I am seldom awake after the late hours, so I know what you mean.
felipe (960c75) — 6/15/2014 @ 5:41 pm
By the way, I’m sure that “light a fire” has a special connotation in Alinsky-speak.
Or whatever.
Elephant Stone (e0f7b5) — 6/15/2014 @ 5:41 pm
Switzerland’s last second goal to defeat Ecuador was simply amazing.
What a great World Cup this has been.
Elephant Stone (e0f7b5) — 6/15/2014 @ 5:48 pm
#67… yep, mg, he was outstanding… another talent whose life was cut short by very bad habits.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 6/15/2014 @ 6:02 pm
Barry the Dimwitted is a special kind of stupid.

if hew as all that het up about carbon and the rest of the AGW BS, he wouldn’t have flown out here to #Failifornia in AF-1, just to give a BS speech when he could have done it over a video link instead.

i’ll believe the hype about AGW when they lying bastages pushing it start acting like they actually believe it themselves. say, for instance Al Gore tearing down his multiple mansions, so the land can return to nature, and he lives in a 600 square foot apartment, in a building with only stairs, no elevator, taking public transportation everywhere, instead of an SUV convoy and attending world meetings via video rather than flying out in a private jet.

also, i’d have to see some hard evidence the planet is actually warming, not apparently cooling.
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 6/15/2014 @ 6:18 pm
I like Barack Hussein Obama. In case you did not know, he is the First African American President of the United States of America. Remember that while he golfs and goes to fund raisers while people in Iraq have their throats cut by the same individuals he gave military support to when they were in Syria.
highpockets (62f056) — 6/15/2014 @ 7:41 pm
Obama’s not afraid of hard work. He can sit down right next to it and watch NCAA basketball.
nk (dbc370) — 6/15/2014 @ 8:21 pm
All the same bullshit, and none of it has come true, even after five long years.
Dirty Old Man (4ec992) — 6/17/2014 @ 9:43 pm

6/14/2014

President Obama ‘Lights A Fire’

88 Responses to “President Obama ‘Lights A Fire’”

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