UPDATE: first picture submitted at right from Matt Dempsey
The Winter of their Discontent: Keystone XL activists to protest global warming ahead of SOTU in freezing cold.
McKibben’s 350.org nutters say they will be protesting the KXL pipeline (but really global warming) today out by the capitol ahead of Obama’s SOTU speech. It will be interesting to see how many show up in the freezing cold. Anyone who has pics of these folks in cold weather gear protesting should provide links in comments.
A few reality points to consider:
· Keystone XL activists are outside fighting global warming on the coldest state of the union in history.
· Today’s forecast from the Capital Weather Gang: “Bitter cold today, slight snow chance tonight”: “Today will be another super-cold day (15-20 degrees below normal even before factoring in a brutal wind chill) as a frigid air mass continues its glide across the Midwest, South, and East.”
· Americans are not concerned about global warming: In a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll 91 percent said creating jobs should be a top priority while only 27 percent said that addressing global warming should be a top priority. A Pew Research Center poll found that 29 percent want global warming to be a top priority. Ben Geman has the full story here.
· So it’s not surprising that they’ve had pretty sparse attendance – and ironically extremely cold temperatures – at their previous protests. For pictures and details of their poorly attended protests, click here.
· After the New York Mag and several news outlets called out activists for making a “huge environmental mistake” focusing all their efforts on Keystone XL, The New York Times published an article which twists the focus from defeat to arguing that the Keystone XL fight “lifts” the environmental movement: “Although some critics say the environmental movement has made a strategic error by focusing so much energy on the pipeline, no one disputes that the issue has helped a new breed of environmental organizations build a mostly young army eager to donate money and time.”
· Keystone XL activists began their protest at the Folger Shakespeare Library – coincidentally it’s opening night for Richard III. “Now is the winter of our discontent!”
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Any thoughts about the purpose of the black tarp on the sidewalk? At first, I thought it was designed to be a shelter of sorts, but it doesn’t appear to be wide enough. Maybe it’s a sign?
Several people in the photograph have made poor choices in cold weather clothing. I hope they erect a tent heated by a large Kerosene heater.
I suspect that “tarp” is actually plastic, and will be inflated, to simulate the pipeline. I have seen similar, albeit inflated, in other 350 protests.
Black tarp to protect the grass.
“In many ways you have to admire their commitment.
Not their rationality, obviously, but they do have passion.”
So, I can’t help thinking, do terrorists. I’m reminded of Yeat’s brilliant poem, “The Second Coming”
“The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity””
I think a much more appropriate comparison, in many ways, would be to Jehovah’s Witnesses. There’s always been a significant segment of the population which hungers for a passionate emotional catharsis, divorced from any connection with reality or even rationality.
That’s 118% so far. What’s the top priority for the rest? Which is, uhm, like minus 18%?
I suppose votes of negative people should be subtracted on polls from those given to a candidate by ordinary ones or something. Makes ballots cumbersome.
Yeah, when you enlarge the photo, you can see the fan they will use to inflate the tube.
nutso fasst says: @ur momisugly January 28, 2014 at 8:42 am
That 29% could believe that “global warming” should be a top priority of government is scary.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Actually it is not.
March 28, 2013 58% Favor Building the Keystone XL Oil Pipeline
July 21, 2013 38% Think Government Is Best Bet for Alternative Energy Development
September 03, 2013 Economy, Health Care Are Still Most Important Voting Issues
“Seventy-five percent (75%) of Likely U.S. Voters consider the economy Very Important in terms of how they will vote in the next congressional election…”
Seems like you have 29% hardcore extremist/econuts/brainwashed.
US total population: 308,745,538 (2010) link
20 to 24 years 21,585,999
25 to 29 years 21,101,849
The brain washed of voting age who are under the age of 30 is 42,687,848 = 14%
You then have to add in your academics and bureaucrats and the odd overaged hippy. (24,155,500) gives you another 8% for a total of ~ 22% link
So 29% hard core is not unreasonable. Lets hope there are a lot like Dr Moore who wise-up over time. (And yes I know I am making assumptions)
plotted demographics: link
I can’t offer a photo because I’m about 2,400 miles to the WNW. Best I can do is this:
In case you wonder whether or not this cold in DC is “unprecedented” there is a NOAA page to be looked at and saved before dear leader makes it disappear:
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/lwx/winter/DC-Winters.htm
Funny thing is, some of these storms are named!
I’ll just list the first few dates but there are names and descriptions.
1772, 1779, 1857, 1863, 1880, 1888, 1899 (more in the 1900s)
The February 1899 Great Arctic Outbreak doesn’t rhyme with “now” (name?) but there is a resonance.
Stay warm.
Thanks for the dope Les!
Err …. To quote Shakespeare more fully: “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this sun of York, and all the clouds that lour’d upon our house in the deep bosom of the ocean buried”. Rather apt – just like the missing heat 🙂
Statist media can make Obama president, but they can’t control the weather (let alone climate).
“… eager to donate money and time.”
Doesn’t matter whether the movement is based on reality, only that it generates money.
@Tom J
@Rob Ricket
I think the “tarp” is actually a large plastic sleeve. I’m guessing they intend to inflate it with the fan to be their “evil pipeline” prop.
“Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York;
And all the clouds that lour’d upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.”
Shakespeare knew.
Woops! My bad. See what happens when you don’t refresh before you post.
Maybe they mean well, but the original saying is “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
Gary Pearse; wise words.
We have two major political parties in the UK, Conservative and Labour. Without exception, whenever Labour have been in power it has been a disaster for our economy. Why? Because they are more interested in redistributing wealth than creating it, therefore the economy suffers and then of course so do the people, so we get a Conservative government. After a few years of prosperity, the population become complacent and with a misguided sense of benevolence vote for Labour and the problems return.
The one thing you can rely on with socialists and communists is that they make the same mistakes over and over again, which is why they are not fit to govern!
Gary Pearse says: @ur momisugly January 28, 2014 at 9:16 am
If I may introduce the Pearse Paradox:
If there ever was a mathematical formula…
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
As far as I can tell you have four types of people.
Producers
Predators
Parasites
Defenders (hopefully)
When the Predators and Parasites gain control your civilization will collapse.
The name of the game is for the Producers and Defenders to short circuit that cycle. Unfortunately the Predators seem to be intent on collapsing our civilization and have plenty of money to bribe the Parasites.
The Predators are intent on coming up with a system of bondage that keeps the Producers productive and docile. Communism did not work so they let the USSR collapse. This is their currently favored model.
They may have to build some snowmen to help hold that thing up.
Plenty of photographs here, if you have the stomach for it. It would seem that the inflatable pipeline has already made a tour.
http://350.org/
They must be freezing their bums off. It is 15.9 °F (-9 °C) at 1:00 PM. They are lucky because it is not windy. (5.0 mph) It is supposed to get cloudy and colder in the afternoon… maybe.
If they stand around for long they are going to really feel the cold.
Forget sporting events, I’m willing to pay-per-view for a chance to watch them shiver in a live webcam event.
Instead of a safe pipeline, we get oil carried in unsafe railroad cars. One major beneficiary of this policy is key Obama supporter Warren Buffett, whose railroads carry the oil to refineries.
This part of the NyMag Keystone article is golden:
A quote from the 360 Twitter feed:
“Get up, get down. Keep #fossilfuels in the ground!”
LOL- these people are clueless! tweeted while wearing nylon clothing and holding a 200 foot plastic bag.