Guy Benson from the US: Trump White House Demonstrates How Not to Roll Out a New Policy

The White House has significantly altered President Trump's executive order to temporarily pause the influx of non-citizen entrants from seven majority-Muslim countries into the United States. 

It was revealed over the weekend that Team Trump failed to adequately consult with relevant lawyers and agencies prior to implementing the new policy, and that a small handful of political aides overrode the Department of Homeland Security's initial legal judgement that green card holders (legal permanent residents) should be exempt from the moratorium. The ensuing firestorm forced the new DHS Secretary -- who reportedly first reviewed the order's finalized content as Trump signed it into effect on television -- to retract the LPR overreach.

Matt Ridley: How Brexit is different from Trumpit

The big difference is that Britain seeks more, not less, free trade.

In the week that Theresa May reveals the trajectory of Brexit and Donald Trump enters the White House, these two “revolutions” are once again linked by coincidence of timing. For much of the rest of the world, and even in the minds of many people in Britain, the result of last June’s referendum and the outcome of last November’s presidential election are part of the same phenomenon: a revolt against globalisation by a forgotten, provincial, working class.

Lindsay Mitchell: Progress painstakingly slow

Latest benefit statistics show painstakingly slow progress on raw numbers. (Note the first MSD chart is mislabeled and should read "to December 2016")

GWPF Newsletter: Report: Germany’s Green Energy Policy ‘A Disaster In The Making’

€100 Billion For Nothing: German CO2 Emissions Keep Rising

In this newsletter:

1) Report: Germany’s Green Energy Policy ‘A Disaster In The Making’
The Daily Caller, 25 January 2017

2) €100 Billion For Nothing: German CO2 Emissions Keep Rising
Environmental Progress, 13 January 2017

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week we look into road safety and the drug testing of drivers, our NZCPR Guest Commentator, Mike Noon explains why the Automobile Association continues to call for the roadside testing of drugged drivers, and our poll asks whether you would support the introduction of roadside drug testing devices in New Zealand.

*To read the article click HERE.
*To register for the NZCPR Weekly mailing list, click HERE.  

Richard Epstein from the US: Scott Pruitt And The Environment

Scott Pruitt, Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, has raised more hackles among progressive Democrats than any other Trump cabinet nominee. Typical of the ferocious opposition to his candidacy is the screed prepared by the Sierra Club that deems him a mortal threat to the safety of the planet because, as Attorney General in Oklahoma, he has “spent his time in office working to allow big polluters to do whatever they want, rather than protecting the health, clean air and water of his constituents.” 

Democrats like Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii have insisted that his nomination is “a four-alarm fire” because Pruitt is a pawn of fossil fuel companies whose cardinal sin is denying the conclusion of “climate scientists” that human emission of carbon dioxide is creating a global warming crisis.

GWPF Newsletter: Trump Ends Obama Block On Keystone XL And Dakota Access Pipelines

‘Green Champion’ China Is Building Europe’s New Coal Power Plants

In this newsletter:

1) Trump Ends Obama Block On Keystone XL And Dakota Access Pipelines
Financial Times, 25 January 2017
 
2) ‘Green Champion’ China Is Building Europe’s New Coal Power Plants
Reuters, 23 January 2017

Ben Shapiro: Leftists Keep Saying The Richest People Are Wealthier Than Billions Of Other People Combined - here’s why that’s a stupid talking point

BuzzFeed headlined, “These 8 Men Own As Much Wealth As Half The World.”

This vital bit of information came with this supporting fact, courtesy of BuzzFeed special correspondent James Ball and UK editorial developer Chris Applegate: “The world’s eight richest men are worth $426 billion. The world’s poorest 3.7 billion people together own $409 billion -- $17 billion less.”

Those statistics come courtesy of Oxfam.

Bryan Leyland: Things you know that ain't so - 2016 was the warmest year

"Things you know that ain't so - 2016 was the warmest recorded year: global warming is real and dangerous".

Or so they tell you. But you when you examine the facts, you come to the opposite conclusion. It is a classic example of using half-truths to mislead.

They don’t tell you how much warmer it actually was. If they did, the myth would be exposed immediately. 

Frank Newman: Taxing landlords

There's a general election coming up so landlords can expect to receive more than their fair share of attention from politicians this year. They will, of course, be portrayed as greedy and unscrupulous, and the cause of homelessness, pestilence, and plague. 

We have been told countless times - and no doubt will be told many more times - that property investors receive favourable tax privileges they don't deserve. All of these condemnations are of course built on half-truths and envy. But the lie has be told so many times that many are happy to accept it as fact, buying into the idea that the punishment for those foolish enough to admit they own a rental should be public flogging and tomato throwing.

Donald Trump: Inauguration Address

Here is the full text of Donald Trump's inauguration address:

Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans, and people of the world: thank you.

We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and restore its promise for all of our people.

Karl du Fresne: The Lange legacy: a stream of borrowed one-liners, but not much else

Is it time for a reassessment of the David Lange legacy? I ask that question for a couple of reasons. The first was a speech that Sir Gerald Hensley gave late last year.

Hensley was head of the Prime Minister’s Department under Lange and thus uniquely positioned to observe him. The picture he painted of Lange’s behaviour during the showdown with the United States over nuclear warships was not flattering.

GWPF Newsletter: Trump Era Begins With Pledge To Eliminate Obama’s Climate Action Plan

President Trump Looks To Speed Up Radical Changes With Executive Orders

In this newsletter:

1) Trump Era Begins With Pledge To Eliminate Obama’s Climate Action Plan
USA Today, 20 January 2017
 
2 ) Trump Team Prepares List of Early Climate And Energy Policy Changes, Sources Say
Bloomberg, 20 January 2017

NZCPR: Politically Correct Madness

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

We start off election year by examining the scourge of political correctness, our NZCPR Guest Commentator, Dr Samuel Gregg, explains why the originator of these ideas is the most dangerous socialist in history, and our poll asks whether you believe political correctness is out of control in New Zealand.

*To read the newsletter click HERE.
*To register for the NZCPR Weekly mailing list, click HERE.  

GWPF Newsletter: The Trump Administration’s New Climate Consensus: ‘The Science Isn’t Settled’

Green Energy Scandal Brings Down Northern Ireland’s Government

In this newsletter:

1) The Trump Administration’s New Climate Consensus: ‘The Science Isn’t Settled’
U.S. News, 17 January 2017
 
2) Trump's EPA Nominee: We Will Change EPA So That It No Longer Ignores Congress
Washington Examiner, 18 January 2017

GWPF Newsletter: Trump Meets With Princeton Physicist Who Says CO2 Is Good For Us

William Happer: The Truth About Greenhouse Gases

In this newsletter:

1) Trump Meets With Princeton Physicist Who Says CO2 Is Good For Us
The Washington Post, 13 January 2017
 
2) William Happer: The Truth About Greenhouse Gases
Global Warming Policy Foundation

Lindsay Perigo: 2, 4, 6, 8 - Incinerate the Nanny State!

"How far can you oppress somebody?"

That's the fork-tongued question posed by an academic who used to support the punitive taxes imposed by the New Zealand government on tobacco, but is now wracked with qualms in the wake of the latest hike that will raise the cost of cigarettes to over $20 a packet.

Gerry Eckhoff: Trust

I’m not sure why a Christmas message on forgiveness and the negative impacts of anger from columnist Colin James is deemed by him to be more relevant during the festive season than any other time of the year. James writes of the need for trust and even forgiveness of gross harm as the way out of the depressive emotion of anger.  He (James) implies that only through learning to trust again and by being willing to rely on the actions of others and their institutions can society change for the better. 

I suspect very few today would agree with James of the need to perpetuate a failing system based on delegated authority. What however was entirely correct and even more relevant was the response to his article from Gil Elliot - (Otago Daily Times January 6 ) -  father of murder victim Sophie Elliot.

GWPF Newsletter: California Is Singing In The Rain, Climate Alarmists Make Fools Of Themselves

Heavy Rain And Snow End California’s 5-Year Drought

In this newsletter:

1) Heavy Rain And Snow End California’s 5-Year Drought
USA Today, 13 January 2017

2) California Is Singing In The Rain, Climate Alarmists Make Fools Of Themselves
Global Warming Policy Forum, 13 January 2017

Nicholas Kerr: Obama - The Great Disappointment

Every American ought to have had high hopes for Barack Obama’s presidency. An unsuccessful administration is bad for the country and, given America’s global status, it’s bad for the world too. That’s not to say you should have supported his entire agenda. Rather, as with Bill Clinton, you might have hoped the realities of governing would set in and to succeed he’d be forced to adjust accordingly.

The sad reality, though, is that whether you supported Obama’s policies or not, you’re justified in being disappointed with the results of his presidency.

GWPF Newsletter: The End Of Germany’s Energiewende?

Rex Tillerson Says Climate Science 'Inconclusive'

In this newsletter:

1) The End Of Germany’s Energiewende?
Energy Post, 10 January 2017

2) German Government Considers Fixed Licence Fee To Finance Green Energy  Subsidies
Bizz Energy, 8 January 2017

Kevin Donnelly: Canadians can learn from Australia about advantages of choice

Canada’s Fraser Institute is investigating the world’s education systems to identify and analyse the qualities and characteristics that can be used to strengthen and improve the nation’s province-based education systems.

As Australia and Canada are both federal systems with two levels of government, it makes sense to look at Australia and learn from our experience, especially given the similarities in our history, economy and the multicultural nature of our societies.

GWPF Newsletter: El Niño Does Not Mean The End Of The ‘Pause’

‘Knives Sticking Out Of My Back’: Judith Curry On Why She Left Academia

In this newsletter:

1) David Whitehouse: El Nino Warming Does Not Mean The End Of The ‘Pause’
The Spectator, 6 January 2016
 
2) Global Losses From Weather-Related Disasters Is Sharply Declining
The Daily Caller, 4 January 2016

Ross McKitrick: Ontario electricity has never been cheaper, but bills have never been higher

The more the wind blows, the bigger the losses and the higher the hit to consumers.

You may be surprised to learn that electricity is now cheaper to generate in Ontario than it has been for decades. The wholesale price, called the Hourly Ontario Electricity Price or HOEP, used to bounce around between five and eight cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), but over the last decade, thanks in large part to the shale gas revolution, it has trended down to below three cents, and on a typical day is now as low as two cents per kWh. Good news, right?

GWPF Newsletter: Death Of Global Temperature ‘Pause’ Greatly Exaggerated

2016 Not Statistically Warmer Than 1998, Satellites Data Shows

In this newsletter:

1) Death Of Global Temperature ‘Pause’ Greatly Exaggerated
The GWPF Observatory, 5 January 2016
 
2) 2016 Not Statistically Warmer Than 1998, Satellites Data Shows
Dr Roy Spencer, 3 January 2017

Graeme Edgeler: Three Strikes five years on - now with accurate numbers!

A month ago, I retracted a piece I wrote in 2015 looking at the first five years of the three strikes sentencing regime for serious violent crime, attempting to see how the first five years after three strikes compared to the five years before three strikes.

As detailed in that retraction, the comparisons I then made were invalid. The two sets of data I was comparing were not comparable. I now have this data, following contact by the Ministry of Justice after my retraction (and Nikki Macdonald’s excellent work in the Dominion Post) was published, and the Ministry apologised for falling short of the high standard they set for themselves, and offered to provide comparable data if I still wanted it.

GWPF Newsletter: Fossil Fuels Will Provide Nearly 80% Of The World’s Energy Demand In 2040

Exxon’s 2040 Outlook: Fossil Fuels Aren’t Going Anywhere

In this newsletter:

1) Fossil Fuels Will Provide Nearly 80% Of World’s Energy In 2040, Exxon Projects
Kallanish Energy news, 3 January 2016
 
2) Exxon’s 2040 Outlook: Fossil Fuels Aren’t Going Anywhere
OilPrice, 30 December 2016

Mike Butler: Poles apart on Waikato conflict

Two books published recently on the armed conflict in Waikato from 1863 to 1864 are poles apart in their viewpoint, with one trying to analyse events within the context of their time and the other seeking to reconcile you and I with “terrible” events that took place close to where we live.

The Kingite Rebellion by John Robinson looks at the “complex and messy way” in which settler and Maori culture collided from 1800 through the 1860s wars. Robinson views the emergence of the Kingitanga as a response to excessive caution by the British government which left Maori communities alone when many Maori were calling for governance, law and order.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: Ode to the Methuselah generation

Happy New Year! And may you enjoy many more. 

Many of us should, for the average life expectancy in many of the more developed Western countries (including NZ) has now exceeded 80. So most of us can now expect to outlive Methuselah.

But Methuselah lived to a thousand, or so some claim. 

Karl du Fresne: One of those years when the world changed

There have been a few momentous years in my lifetime. I don’t mean for me personally, although obviously there have been those too.

I’m referring to years when you got a sense that history had suddenly lurched in a different direction; that a new era was starting which would be significantly different from the previous one.

Matt Ridley: Free movement of genius was crucial to Europe’s prosperity

The Italian referendum and close-shave Austrian election are symptoms of a continent that may be teetering on the brink of political disintegration. It’s just possible that an empire may be collapsing before our eyes, as the Habsburg and Ottoman empires did before it, in or around the same neighbourhood.

With the rise of nationalist parties in Italy, Austria, Hungary, Poland, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Britain, the possibility that the Brussels union has fomented, rather than suppressed, nationalism can no longer be dismissed.