I'm not complaining by any means as it has allowed me to attend to things that were lower priority but that still needed to be done.
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Elizabeth Price Foley points us to a piece by Ace about the racial hypocrisy of Jon Stewart.As Ace writes:
On the other hand, this jackass is, like Seth Rogen, a reliable cheerleader for SJW attacks so long as they’re directed at other people; only when such attacks are directed at themselves do they suddenly feel that maybe this censorship-by-contrived-hypersensitivity is stultifying, anti-creativity, anti-thought and ultimately anti-human.Another case of privileged SJW “Do as I say, not as I do.”
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It appears the decades of effort put forth by the first, second, and third wave feminists to get women to minimize their time with their families and children (if they even have any) in favor of their careers has come to naught.They’re sometimes described as careerist and individualistic, but a certain group of them, at least—high-achieving women—actually prioritizes family over work to a greater extent than their mothers did.If the surveys that show this trend are reasonably accurate it may indicate that many women aren't buying the hype and actually want families and all that goes with it, even at the expense of their careers. While this applies only to the high-achieving women who have that option, it doesn't surprise me that many women affected by “economic inequality” may not have that choice.
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As I wrote about back in May, it turns out that lower gas prices have not automatically translated into higher consumer spending....a University of Michigan survey showed that throughout 2015, consumers have been convinced that there was a serious jump coming for gas prices, dampening their enthusiasm to go out and spend the savings from the pump.Like us, many Americans using these savings to pay off existing debt or putting them aside to pay for necessities later in the year. A good portion of what we saved from lower gas prices is going to pay for our firewood purchases for the upcoming winter, propane purchases from this past winter, and much needed repairs and maintenance to our vehicles. (Some of that was already accomplished when we replaced the brakes on the trusty F150.)
This fear of future higher prices, it seems, has simply kept consumers on the sideline, and prevented the economy from really taking off on the back of consumer spending as many had hoped.
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Ah, yes, the rise of the ”Social Justice Bullies”, indeed.And herein lies the problem — in attempting to solve pressing and important social issues, millennial social justice advocates are violently sabotaging genuine opportunities for progress by infecting a liberal political narrative with, ironically, hate.I've noticed that, and it isn't subtle. The MSM has tried to paint it as something else, but the SJW's seem to have no problems with saying one thing and then following up with the very thing they say the are against. It certainly weakens any moral 'superiority' they thought they had because from that point on most people see them as instigators and thugs. From that point on most people stop listening to them which of course drives them on to commit even more anti-social acts in an effort to make people pay attention. Anyone with a modicum of intelligence and common sense can see how that will end.
Many will understand this term I used — millennial social justice advocates — as a synonym to the pejorative “social justice warriors.” It’s a term driven to weakness through overuse, but it illustrates a key issue here: that, sword drawn and bloodthirsty, millennial social justice advocates have taken to verbal, emotional — and sometimes physical — violence.
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At least someone in California gets it.It seems that many people in California are barely hanging on, with a poverty rate that is now 31%.
What's driving the rising poverty rate?
A big cause, obviously, is the high cost of housing. According to a March analysis by the California Legislative Analyst, “Today, an average California home costs $440,000, about two–and-a-half times the average national home price ($180,000).”The problems in California are, for the most part, self-inflicted. It also doesn't help that across the board solutions are used to address problems that are really regional in nature, something that hurts those not having those problems. (This is also a lesson for The-Powers-That-Be in Washington because most problems are regional, yet Washington applies nationwide solutions that hurt more than help.)
Another big factor is the ongoing exodus from the state of decent-paying jobs for workers with few skills, Bill Watkins told us; he’s the executive director of the Center for Economic Research and Forecasting at California Lutheran University.
Unfortunately, ongoing government actions will make poverty even worse. Minimum wage increases statewide and in such cities as Los Angeles and San Francisco will destroy the crucial first jobs for many of the young and low-skilled. Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, continues to drive up manufacturing costs. Possible higher taxes, ironically, to deal with poverty, will kill more jobs.
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It looks like Vermont has taken a page from the California energy handbook and mandated all kinds of renewable sources as their primary source of electricity. Too bad they didn't bother to look at the actual cost and downsides to doing so.Some of the 'greener' supporters of renewable mandates are also advocating for the removal of electricity generating hydro dams.
Another clean source is the recently purchased Winooski Hydroelectric Dam, a small hydro project developed by environmental pioneer John Warshow, who died last month. The dam produces 7.4 megawatts.It is yet another example of “Do as I say, not as I do” environmentalism.
Ironically, while some environmentalists have been developing small dams, others have been campaigning to tear down small dams around the state. The Newport 11 dam was recently removed from the Clyde River and other small dams are under fire. The strategy resembles one pursued for years by the Sierra Club, which favors small dams globally but campaigns to tear them down locally. Warshow developed three other small dams around the state.
The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant was shut down not because it had reached the end of its life, but because the 'greener' Greens demanded it despite the fact that it provided up to half of the electricity used in Vermont. What's ironic is that Green Mountain Power has signed contracts with New Hampshire's Seabrook nuclear plant for electricity to replace some of the capacity lost when Vermont Yankee shut down. To say the 'greener' Greens were upset would be an understatement.
In a further bit of irony, it appears Vermont's electricity demand is growing even as its supply is decreasing. No one has yet divulged how the increasing power deficit within the state will be addressed, even in the Vermont Public Service Department's Comprehensive Energy Plan. Their chart of the available sources of power versus the demand shows in increasing power deficit.
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This just in:Chuck Norris has grizzly bear rug in his room. It's not dead, it's just afraid to move.
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One last item: It appears many of those benefiting from the new higher minimum wages in Seattle aren't benefiting at all. In fact, many are asking for fewer work hours because their new higher wages are putting them in danger of “losing public subsidies for things like food, child care and rent.”Another unintended side effect?
Some restaurants have tacked on a 15 percent surcharge to cover the higher wages. And some managers are no longer encouraging customers to tip, leading to a redistribution of income. Workers in the back of the kitchen, such as dishwashers and cooks, are getting paid more, but servers who rely on tips are seeing a pay cut.So like many actions taken by the I-don't-care-if-it helps-anyone-but-it-makes-me-feel-better-about-myself Left, it ends up hurting more people than it helps, doesn't really help the people it's supposed to, all while causing harm to the businesses that supply jobs and costing consumers even more money they don't have.