May 23, 2019
And now for the Important news
Dana Mathewson
A NOTE FROM TIM:
You also get a bottomless glass of wine or up to four glasses of whiskey, according to this article.
https://www.simplemost.com/movie-theater-serves-wine-and-lets-you-bring-your-dog/
FROM FOX:
- PLANO, TEXAS - We all wish we could bring our dogs everywhere, and why shouldn't we? That's why a movie theater in Texas is allowing people to bring their furry best friends to enjoy their favorite flick together. K9 Cinemas in Plano provides a place for dog lovers to watch their favorite movies with their canine companions, and if for some reason you’re still not sold, your ticket comes with all the wine you can drink. The theater is as dog friendly as it gets with comfy sofas to lounge on and even delicious treats for your dog so you don't have to share your popcorn. Tickets are $5 for dogs, $9 for kids and $12.50 for adults, but there are a few rules: You have to clean up after your pet and you must bring papers proving that they are up to date on all their shots. Great idea. I wonder if the dogs get to review the films.
A NOTE FROM TIM:
You also get a bottomless glass of wine or up to four glasses of whiskey, according to this article.
https://www.simplemost.com/movie-theater-serves-wine-and-lets-you-bring-your-dog/
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May 22, 2019
Arriving at Wisdom Late on China
Timothy Birdnow
Newt Gingrich learns wisdom in his dotage.
From Fox News:
Well, better late than never, I suppose, but this fairy tale told by Progressives on both sides of the aisle - including "conservative" types like Gingrich - have allowed China to become a true superpower, and now we are in the inenviable position of having to fight another Cold War.
I remember when the Soviet Union collapsed, so many people like Gingrich argued that this was the end, ding dong the witch is dead! and we only had to export some tennis shoes and blue jeans to the Chinese to turn them into happy capitalists. I knew then it wouldn't work and I was not wrong.
Cold comfort.
Instead we exported technology to them, taught them how to build tech that could compete with our own, and gave them extremely favorable trade terms that allowed them to supercharge their industrial growth. Now we face a behemoth that really is starting to show it's fangs.
This could have been prevented had we isolated and squeezed the Chicoms. Instead, dazzled by the lust for selling coca cola and Nikes, we gave them what they needed to destroy us. Bill Clinton was especially guilty; he took Chinese money to win the'96 election and did some favors for them, like allowing Loral Aerospace to tell them how to fix their launch vehicles, making it possible for China to nuke the United States. Money and power, power and money. The lust for both will cost us dearly.
Hopefully America has awakened to the fact that China is not our friend and will act accordingly. I would argue the Chinese are in a far worse position than we, because they do much more trading with us than we do with them, so a trade war will be painful to us but catastrophic to the Chinese. And we have a larger nuclear arsenal. And more ships. But this is a very dangerous time.
But if we fail to act the Chinese will wind up pushing us into a "fortress America" scenario. It's what they want. And they have always said war with the United States is inevitable. I don't expect our friends to come to our aid aas they are obligated to do, either.
I never did understand how the Cold War was over when a quarter of the world still lived under Communism. Gingrich and the other Rooseveltian conservatives are finally starting to figure that out.
Newt Gingrich learns wisdom in his dotage.
From Fox News:
For decades, our diplomatic, economic, and security strategies related to China have been based on a set of key myths. We (myself included) sold ourselves an optimistic, American-centric, fantasy version of China that has never existed – and will likely never exist.
The real China is much more formidable and dangerous than we have wanted to believe.
[...]
Like many Western scholars and policy makers, I bought into the idea that open global markets and information sharing would bring China out of its communist-totalitarian past and into a global democratic (or at least open) future. We couldn’t have been more wrong.
In fact, China has always had its own agenda. It wants to reclaim its position as the Middle Kingdom – the center of world affairs. With its 5,000-year history, it is also deeply Chinese. It has no interest in becoming westernized. China is also deeply committed to its communist system – but its leaders have recognized that its people must be made prosperous to keep this system going.
Further, I’ve learned how concerted they are in their efforts to undermine the United States, and other democratized western nations, with a very specific plan for technological and economic global domination.
The real China is much more formidable and dangerous than we have wanted to believe.
[...]
Like many Western scholars and policy makers, I bought into the idea that open global markets and information sharing would bring China out of its communist-totalitarian past and into a global democratic (or at least open) future. We couldn’t have been more wrong.
In fact, China has always had its own agenda. It wants to reclaim its position as the Middle Kingdom – the center of world affairs. With its 5,000-year history, it is also deeply Chinese. It has no interest in becoming westernized. China is also deeply committed to its communist system – but its leaders have recognized that its people must be made prosperous to keep this system going.
Further, I’ve learned how concerted they are in their efforts to undermine the United States, and other democratized western nations, with a very specific plan for technological and economic global domination.
Well, better late than never, I suppose, but this fairy tale told by Progressives on both sides of the aisle - including "conservative" types like Gingrich - have allowed China to become a true superpower, and now we are in the inenviable position of having to fight another Cold War.
I remember when the Soviet Union collapsed, so many people like Gingrich argued that this was the end, ding dong the witch is dead! and we only had to export some tennis shoes and blue jeans to the Chinese to turn them into happy capitalists. I knew then it wouldn't work and I was not wrong.
Cold comfort.
Instead we exported technology to them, taught them how to build tech that could compete with our own, and gave them extremely favorable trade terms that allowed them to supercharge their industrial growth. Now we face a behemoth that really is starting to show it's fangs.
This could have been prevented had we isolated and squeezed the Chicoms. Instead, dazzled by the lust for selling coca cola and Nikes, we gave them what they needed to destroy us. Bill Clinton was especially guilty; he took Chinese money to win the'96 election and did some favors for them, like allowing Loral Aerospace to tell them how to fix their launch vehicles, making it possible for China to nuke the United States. Money and power, power and money. The lust for both will cost us dearly.
Hopefully America has awakened to the fact that China is not our friend and will act accordingly. I would argue the Chinese are in a far worse position than we, because they do much more trading with us than we do with them, so a trade war will be painful to us but catastrophic to the Chinese. And we have a larger nuclear arsenal. And more ships. But this is a very dangerous time.
But if we fail to act the Chinese will wind up pushing us into a "fortress America" scenario. It's what they want. And they have always said war with the United States is inevitable. I don't expect our friends to come to our aid aas they are obligated to do, either.
I never did understand how the Cold War was over when a quarter of the world still lived under Communism. Gingrich and the other Rooseveltian conservatives are finally starting to figure that out.
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Silent Ding(bat)
Timothy Birdnow
Rachel Carson - serial killer.
Yes, Carson may have meant well. But she was more of a creative writer than a researcher, and her apocalyptic prose moved the public in a profound way. Carson may not have realized what she was accomplishing, but she did it nonetheless. We know what is paved with good intentions.
There has never been a good substitute for DDT.
Rachel Carson - serial killer.
Carson caused the deaths of millions with her unproven and false claims.
From the article:
Carson made it clear that she wasn’t talking about something that might happen – she was talking about something that had happened. Our war against nature had become a war against ourselves.
In May 1963, Rachel Carson appeared before the Department of Commerce and asked for a "Pesticide Commission†to regulate the untethered use of DDT. Ten years later, Carson’s "Pesticide Commission†became the Environmental Protection Agency, which immediately banned DDT. Following America’s lead, support for international use of DDT quickly dried up.
[...]
Since the mid-1970s, when DDT was eliminated from global eradication efforts, tens of millions of people have died from malaria unnecessarily: most have been children less than five years old. While it was reasonable to have banned DDT for agricultural use, it was unreasonable to have eliminated it from public health use.
From the article:
Carson made it clear that she wasn’t talking about something that might happen – she was talking about something that had happened. Our war against nature had become a war against ourselves.
In May 1963, Rachel Carson appeared before the Department of Commerce and asked for a "Pesticide Commission†to regulate the untethered use of DDT. Ten years later, Carson’s "Pesticide Commission†became the Environmental Protection Agency, which immediately banned DDT. Following America’s lead, support for international use of DDT quickly dried up.
[...]
Since the mid-1970s, when DDT was eliminated from global eradication efforts, tens of millions of people have died from malaria unnecessarily: most have been children less than five years old. While it was reasonable to have banned DDT for agricultural use, it was unreasonable to have eliminated it from public health use.
Yes, Carson may have meant well. But she was more of a creative writer than a researcher, and her apocalyptic prose moved the public in a profound way. Carson may not have realized what she was accomplishing, but she did it nonetheless. We know what is paved with good intentions.
There has never been a good substitute for DDT.
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May 21, 2019
Lack of a Coherent Principle on Abortion
Timothy Birdnow
Daren Jonescu destroys the arguments being made to oppose the Alabama abortion bill.
From The View from Limbo:
Daren demolishes this simplistic, libertarian thinking on abortion.
Read the whole article.
Daren Jonescu destroys the arguments being made to oppose the Alabama abortion bill.
From The View from Limbo:
A celebrity pseudo-conservative of the twentysomething cool kid set, Tomi Lahren — think of her as a right-wing version of David Hogg, I suppose — is publicly objecting to Alabama’s new law, on the following grounds:
"I will be attacked by fellow conservatives for saying this but so be it, this Alabama abortion ban is too restrictive,†Lahren wrote. "It doesn’t save life, it simply forces women into more dangerous methods, other states or countries.â€
This is a perfect example of how today’s typical twentysomethings think. Making abortion illegal — that is, making it a crime to perform an abortion — simply "forces†women to abort their children in dangerous ways or in other jurisdictions. ("Dangerous†to whom, by the way? The baby is being killed anyway, so I guess it means dangerous to the person trying to kill her baby. Forgive me for not shedding a tear.)
On this same principle, we could make the following arguments:
Murder should not be outlawed, for this will simply force murderers to attempt riskier murders, such as sneaking over fences or attacking people in the dark, where they are more likely to injure themselves.
The laws against arson are simply forcing people to set fire to buildings in stealthier ways, which increases their risk of getting burned.
Making drunk driving illegal simply forces drunk drivers to drive faster and more carelessly in order to escape police detection, which means they’ll be more likely to ram their cars into telephone poles.
The Newsweek article linked above ends with this:
Lahren concluded her Twitter post with the comment that life shouldn’t be encouraged by way of "blanket government mandate.â€
A "blanket government mandate†to live? What would that mean? A blanket government mandate not to kill innocent human beings is already on the books; this Alabama law is merely bringing the case of abortion into line with those general laws against killing. Which part of this principle is Lahren objecting to? Of course, she has no idea, because she is a product of today’s mindless progressive hedonism, and is therefore oblivious to the very concept of principles, not to mention the concepts of rationality and personal responsibility.
"I will be attacked by fellow conservatives for saying this but so be it, this Alabama abortion ban is too restrictive,†Lahren wrote. "It doesn’t save life, it simply forces women into more dangerous methods, other states or countries.â€
This is a perfect example of how today’s typical twentysomethings think. Making abortion illegal — that is, making it a crime to perform an abortion — simply "forces†women to abort their children in dangerous ways or in other jurisdictions. ("Dangerous†to whom, by the way? The baby is being killed anyway, so I guess it means dangerous to the person trying to kill her baby. Forgive me for not shedding a tear.)
On this same principle, we could make the following arguments:
Murder should not be outlawed, for this will simply force murderers to attempt riskier murders, such as sneaking over fences or attacking people in the dark, where they are more likely to injure themselves.
The laws against arson are simply forcing people to set fire to buildings in stealthier ways, which increases their risk of getting burned.
Making drunk driving illegal simply forces drunk drivers to drive faster and more carelessly in order to escape police detection, which means they’ll be more likely to ram their cars into telephone poles.
The Newsweek article linked above ends with this:
Lahren concluded her Twitter post with the comment that life shouldn’t be encouraged by way of "blanket government mandate.â€
A "blanket government mandate†to live? What would that mean? A blanket government mandate not to kill innocent human beings is already on the books; this Alabama law is merely bringing the case of abortion into line with those general laws against killing. Which part of this principle is Lahren objecting to? Of course, she has no idea, because she is a product of today’s mindless progressive hedonism, and is therefore oblivious to the very concept of principles, not to mention the concepts of rationality and personal responsibility.
Daren demolishes this simplistic, libertarian thinking on abortion.
Read the whole article.
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California Scheming; Ban Internal Combustion
Timothy Birdnow
California is pondering a ban on gasoline automobiles, according to Selwyn Duke.
Writing in New American, Selwyn observes:
This despite the fact that electric cars are worse for the environment than gas powered vehicles.
Selwyn points out:
But liberals never let reality get in the way of their fancy.
Read the whole article.
California is pondering a ban on gasoline automobiles, according to Selwyn Duke.
Writing in New American, Selwyn observes:
California cities may be swimming in homeless, hypodermic needles, human waste, and garbage, but Golden State officials really truly do care about the environment, they tell us. In fact, they care so much that some have proposed banning gasoline-powered cars — even though reputable experts say that electric autos pollute more.
Oh, such a proposal is still a radical idea in what may be our most radical state, and it won’t become reality anytime soon, it appears.
Oh, such a proposal is still a radical idea in what may be our most radical state, and it won’t become reality anytime soon, it appears.
This despite the fact that electric cars are worse for the environment than gas powered vehicles.
Selwyn points out:
Electric cars may be a cure worse than the disease.
In fact, this is precisely the position of former plug-in advocate and General Motors engineer Ozzie Zehner. While he once built his own hybrid car that could run on electricity or natural gas and believed that creations such as his "would help reduce both pollution and fossil-fuel dependence,†he some years ago had to issue a perhaps painful admission: "I was wrong.â€
Author of the book Green Illusions, Zehner elaborated on electric cars’ problems in a 2013 piece entitled "Unclean at Any Speed.â€
Starting out simply, Zehner explained that while it’s "relatively easy to calculate the amount of energy required to charge a vehicle’s battery,†even the cleaner options for generating electricity (as opposed to oil or coal) have effects that are both real and hard to assess.
For example, "Natural gas requires burning, it produces CO2, and it often demands environmentally problematic methods to release it from the ground,†he wrote. "Nuclear power yields hard-to-store wastes as well as proliferation and fallout risks. There’s no clear-cut way to compare those impacts. Focusing only on greenhouse gases, however important, misses much of the picture.â€
In fact, this is precisely the position of former plug-in advocate and General Motors engineer Ozzie Zehner. While he once built his own hybrid car that could run on electricity or natural gas and believed that creations such as his "would help reduce both pollution and fossil-fuel dependence,†he some years ago had to issue a perhaps painful admission: "I was wrong.â€
Author of the book Green Illusions, Zehner elaborated on electric cars’ problems in a 2013 piece entitled "Unclean at Any Speed.â€
Starting out simply, Zehner explained that while it’s "relatively easy to calculate the amount of energy required to charge a vehicle’s battery,†even the cleaner options for generating electricity (as opposed to oil or coal) have effects that are both real and hard to assess.
For example, "Natural gas requires burning, it produces CO2, and it often demands environmentally problematic methods to release it from the ground,†he wrote. "Nuclear power yields hard-to-store wastes as well as proliferation and fallout risks. There’s no clear-cut way to compare those impacts. Focusing only on greenhouse gases, however important, misses much of the picture.â€
But liberals never let reality get in the way of their fancy.
Read the whole article.
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You Really Ought to give Iowa a try
David Dickinson
Politico's New York City Hall bureau chief, a woman named Sally Goldenberg, had this to say as she followed her hapless mayor around Iowa on Saturday. Note, this is not a joke, this is real:
My observations: When some Babe From Brooklyn says that you, a person in flyover country, are "extremely well-informed," she means she's shocked that you aren't a knuckle-dragging idiot like she and all her friends have always thought you were. Plus, what kind of person would prefer a ride in a filthy New York City subway car to driving in a real car on open roads with minimal traffic, even if some of those roads are - *gasp* - dirt?
Them there city slicker media types are not going to be caught unaware in 2020 like they were in 2016, they are going to rub elbows with one or two hicks in Yuckville to put their finger on the pulse of the nation, yes sir.
A WORD FROM TIM:
What an arrogant snot! Oh, and I've traveled a a bit of south east Iowa and never encountered any dirt roads. A few gravel, maybe, but not dirt. Won't hold up farm equipment.
Also, I don't know about the whole state, but eastern Iowa isn't flat but rather has low rolling hills, and is quite beautiful. It would be a wonderful place to grow up. Too bad this snob didn't have an upbringing outside of the cesspool she has always inhabited.
Iowans are not amused. See here too.
Politico's New York City Hall bureau chief, a woman named Sally Goldenberg, had this to say as she followed her hapless mayor around Iowa on Saturday. Note, this is not a joke, this is real:
"Observations from Iowa – it is very flat, driving is monotonous, there is more unbuilt land in one block than NYC has in an entire borough, dirt roads are terrifying, no one carries almond milk and caucus-goers are extremely well-informed. I will never be so happy to step onto a subway again."
My observations: When some Babe From Brooklyn says that you, a person in flyover country, are "extremely well-informed," she means she's shocked that you aren't a knuckle-dragging idiot like she and all her friends have always thought you were. Plus, what kind of person would prefer a ride in a filthy New York City subway car to driving in a real car on open roads with minimal traffic, even if some of those roads are - *gasp* - dirt?
Them there city slicker media types are not going to be caught unaware in 2020 like they were in 2016, they are going to rub elbows with one or two hicks in Yuckville to put their finger on the pulse of the nation, yes sir.
A WORD FROM TIM:
What an arrogant snot! Oh, and I've traveled a a bit of south east Iowa and never encountered any dirt roads. A few gravel, maybe, but not dirt. Won't hold up farm equipment.
Also, I don't know about the whole state, but eastern Iowa isn't flat but rather has low rolling hills, and is quite beautiful. It would be a wonderful place to grow up. Too bad this snob didn't have an upbringing outside of the cesspool she has always inhabited.
Iowans are not amused. See here too.
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May 20, 2019
Outstate illinois wants to throw Chicago out
Timothy Birdnow
The citizens of Illinois want to throw Chicago out of their state.
There is a petition intent on doing just that.
Their idea is to make Chicago into a new state, thus freeing Illinois from her involuntary servitude to the corrupt, mob-run behemoth on Lake Michigan.
I don't know about making Chicago independent, but they could make it part of Wisconsin. Wisconsin is a very liberal state. Or they could severe the whole northern part of Illinois, including Rockford. Northern Illinois is more like Michigan or Wisconsin then the rest of the state.
It really is the only hope for the rest of Illinois. Southern Illinois is beautiful, and there are some good people down there, but they are strangled by the political power of the north. It's time.
It's better to part as friends than have a nasty divorce.
From Stateline, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts:
Read the whole article.
The citizens of Illinois want to throw Chicago out of their state.
There is a petition intent on doing just that.
Their idea is to make Chicago into a new state, thus freeing Illinois from her involuntary servitude to the corrupt, mob-run behemoth on Lake Michigan.
I don't know about making Chicago independent, but they could make it part of Wisconsin. Wisconsin is a very liberal state. Or they could severe the whole northern part of Illinois, including Rockford. Northern Illinois is more like Michigan or Wisconsin then the rest of the state.
It really is the only hope for the rest of Illinois. Southern Illinois is beautiful, and there are some good people down there, but they are strangled by the political power of the north. It's time.
It's better to part as friends than have a nasty divorce.
From Stateline, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts:
Halbrook blamed the impasse on Chicago-area Democrats.
"Everywhere I go, people say we just need to get rid of Chicago,†he told Stateline. "It gets rid of all of our problems. My constituency is serious about it. I’m trying to save the state.â€
Forty percent of the Prairie State’s 12.7 million residents live in Cook County, the county surrounding Chicago. The broader Chicago metropolitan area consists of 9.5 million people. Without the Chicagoland area, Illinois would have fewer people than Connecticut.
Democrats control both chambers of the General Assembly and the governor’s office, and most of them are from Chicagoland — including 62 of the 74 Democrats in the House. The rest of Illinois is largely agricultural and conservative, aside from the parts of Illinois near St. Louis in neighboring Missouri and pockets of central Illinois.
A July 2018 paper from the Simon Institute found that Illinois’ politics "are marked and marred by regionalism.†The idea of dividing Illinois has been around throughout Illinois’ history, the paper says, despite "how impractical it is.â€
"Everywhere I go, people say we just need to get rid of Chicago,†he told Stateline. "It gets rid of all of our problems. My constituency is serious about it. I’m trying to save the state.â€
Forty percent of the Prairie State’s 12.7 million residents live in Cook County, the county surrounding Chicago. The broader Chicago metropolitan area consists of 9.5 million people. Without the Chicagoland area, Illinois would have fewer people than Connecticut.
Democrats control both chambers of the General Assembly and the governor’s office, and most of them are from Chicagoland — including 62 of the 74 Democrats in the House. The rest of Illinois is largely agricultural and conservative, aside from the parts of Illinois near St. Louis in neighboring Missouri and pockets of central Illinois.
A July 2018 paper from the Simon Institute found that Illinois’ politics "are marked and marred by regionalism.†The idea of dividing Illinois has been around throughout Illinois’ history, the paper says, despite "how impractical it is.â€
Read the whole article.
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Exxon Mobile pulling out of Iraq
Timothy Birdnow
Exxon-Mobile is pulling out of southern Iraq.
https://www.westernjournal.com/ap-exxonmobil-employees-evacuating-oil-field-in-southern-iraq/
It sure does look like we're going to war with Iran.
Exxon-Mobile is pulling out of southern Iraq.
https://www.westernjournal.com/ap-exxonmobil-employees-evacuating-oil-field-in-southern-iraq/
It sure does look like we're going to war with Iran.
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The Rise and Fall of Beatnik O'Rourke
Dana Mathewson
Will they be writing this sort of stuff about "Mayor Pete" in six months?
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/05/from-beto-to-zero-in-six-months.php
From the article:
Will they be writing this sort of stuff about "Mayor Pete" in six months?
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/05/from-beto-to-zero-in-six-months.php
From the article:
So why wee there no skeptical or critical pieces about O’Rourke
when he was running for the Senate in Texas last year? Couldn’t be
media bias could it? Back then he was running against the hated Ted
Cruz, but now he doesn’t check off enough correct identity boxes and is
running against a field of much more entitled Democrats, so media
liberals have decided to trash him. Couldn’t be that, could it? You
mean it could?Vanity Fair,
which put O’Rourke on its cover a few months back to help him launch
his current ego trip, chronicles all the ways the media puffed up
O’Rourke last year, but now is treating him harshly. Along the way Vanity Fair confesses that this quick turnabout is the result of media bias
Fay Voshell adds:
Fay Voshell adds:
Beto
and the other couple dozen candidates have already lost the nomination
because Biden, backed by the Obama/Clinton syndicate want a toady of
their own making--but one who appears jolly and harmless. Biden gives
an avuncular appearance while embracing every idea of the radical Left,
including abortion on demand throughout the entire nine months of
pregnancy and beyond.
He
is the current puppet of choice for the puppet masters. If he won, he
would not be president. The puppet masters would be president.
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Why is Uranus so odd?
Timothy Birdnow
Uranus, in addition to being gaseous, is also a lazy planet, laying on it's side to the point where the pole points directly at the Sun on occasion. Why is Uranus so odd? Her magnetic field is out of shape, too, and the planet is much colder than it should be.
Here is a possible answer. Researchers, using computer models, think a planet larger than Earth may have struck the gas giant in it's infancy.
From the article:
Understanding the planets in our solar system will help us understand planets in other systems. There are a lot of Uranus-type worlds orbiting other stars.
Read teh whole article; it's interesting, to put it mildly.
Uranus, in addition to being gaseous, is also a lazy planet, laying on it's side to the point where the pole points directly at the Sun on occasion. Why is Uranus so odd? Her magnetic field is out of shape, too, and the planet is much colder than it should be.
Here is a possible answer. Researchers, using computer models, think a planet larger than Earth may have struck the gas giant in it's infancy.
From the article:
Scientists therefore suspect that Uranus was once similar to the other planets in the solar system but was suddenly flipped over. So what happened? Our new research, published in the Astrophysical Journal and presented at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union, offers a clue.
Cataclysmic collision
Our solar system used to be a much more violent place, with protoplanets (bodies developing to become planets) colliding in violent giant impacts that helped create the worlds we see today. Most researchers believe that Uranus’ spin is the consequence of a dramatic collision. We set out to uncover how it could have happened.
Cataclysmic collision
Our solar system used to be a much more violent place, with protoplanets (bodies developing to become planets) colliding in violent giant impacts that helped create the worlds we see today. Most researchers believe that Uranus’ spin is the consequence of a dramatic collision. We set out to uncover how it could have happened.
Understanding the planets in our solar system will help us understand planets in other systems. There are a lot of Uranus-type worlds orbiting other stars.
Read teh whole article; it's interesting, to put it mildly.
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Fighting Racism with Racism at DOE
David Dickinson
![]()
And on a more somber, over-the-top, stupendous, and outrageous note, there's this from Jack Kemp's hometown, New York:
What a splendid idea, fight racism with racism.
Dana Mathewson adds:
Dana Mathewson adds:
Yeah. They want to spend all their
time in a "conversation" rather than teaching, but I caught the real
crux of the matter, stated here:
"White supremacy is characterized by perfectionism, a belief in meritocracy, and the Protestant work ethic,†the exec said,
So, stated another way, it's a mark of a white supremacist to expect the kids to produce correct answers, spell words correctly, and to expect teachers to teach their subjects properly.
Did I get it right? I hope so. But then, I've never apologized for being a toxic white person.
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May 19, 2019
The Corrupt Bernie Sanders
Timothy Birdnow
In socialist countries some are more equal than others. Bernie Sanders is getting an early start.
for a guy who says money is the root of all evil he sure does like to acquire it for himself.
In socialist countries some are more equal than others. Bernie Sanders is getting an early start.
for a guy who says money is the root of all evil he sure does like to acquire it for himself.
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Better than the original
Dana Mathewson
Martha and I found this on Fox News (where else?) two days ago.
This kid's a real hoot. AOC impersonator strikes again, showing off 'electric car' while poking fun at Green New Deal
Martha and I found this on Fox News (where else?) two days ago.
This kid's a real hoot. AOC impersonator strikes again, showing off 'electric car' while poking fun at Green New Deal
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
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Race-Norming the SAT Scores
Timothy Birdnow
Race norming, they ycalled it. For decades the U.S. Government denied they did it, that they gave points to minorities simply because they were minorities on the Civil Service exams. But people noticed there were an excessive number of minorities getting "competitive" jobs and eventually the government, after having lied about it, said "yes, we do that".
Now we are going to witness "rac e norming" in th the SAT tests.
Selwyn Duke has the story:
Race norming, they ycalled it. For decades the U.S. Government denied they did it, that they gave points to minorities simply because they were minorities on the Civil Service exams. But people noticed there were an excessive number of minorities getting "competitive" jobs and eventually the government, after having lied about it, said "yes, we do that".
Now we are going to witness "rac e norming" in th the SAT tests.
Selwyn Duke has the story:
Got adversity? If so, kid, you’ll be advantaged when your Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) score is assessed. That is, if you’ve experienced "adversity†as the social engineers define it.
It’s all part of a new scheme to increase "diversity†in college admissions and in what bachelor degrees are associated with: prestigious careers and higher-income brackets.
At issue is the new "adversity score†adopted by the College Board publishers of the SAT, as the New York Times explains:
The company announced on Thursday that it will include a new rating, which is widely being referred to as an "adversity score,†of between 1 and 100 on students’ test results. An average score is 50, and higher numbers mean more disadvantage. The score will be calculated using 15 factors, including the relative quality of the student’s high school and the crime rate and poverty level of the student’s neighborhood.
The rating will not affect students’ test scores, and will be reported only to college admissions officials as part of a larger package of data on each test taker.
more...
It’s all part of a new scheme to increase "diversity†in college admissions and in what bachelor degrees are associated with: prestigious careers and higher-income brackets.
At issue is the new "adversity score†adopted by the College Board publishers of the SAT, as the New York Times explains:
The company announced on Thursday that it will include a new rating, which is widely being referred to as an "adversity score,†of between 1 and 100 on students’ test results. An average score is 50, and higher numbers mean more disadvantage. The score will be calculated using 15 factors, including the relative quality of the student’s high school and the crime rate and poverty level of the student’s neighborhood.
The rating will not affect students’ test scores, and will be reported only to college admissions officials as part of a larger package of data on each test taker.
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Global Warming makes plants happy
Timothy Birdnow
Photosynthesis is increasing in plants worldwide, according to Global Warming hacks, er, researchers.
According to this article in Hans-India:
That is exactly how it works; negative feedbacks keep the system in homeostasis. Plants LIKE warmth and carbon dioxide. They flourish in it. That is why you can grow things in greenhouses; greenhouses often increase co2 levels to help the plants flourish, and provide extra warmth to nurture them. If the world is warmer and more, uh, carbony, then the plants will naturally grow better, removing co2 from the air in the process.
It's what we've been saying all along.
Of course, we can argue about whether this is a matter of human caused warming or a natural variable. I would argue the latter, but even if it is the former we have to remember that warming from carbon dioxide is logarithmic, for every doubling of co2 you get a halving of temperature rise as the wavelength saturates, and two degrees is all you are going to get from it. The catastrophic nightmare that the IPCC and other Gang-Greenous hysterics present as Gospel is based on the notion that there are all of these positive feedback loops, which simply don't comport with observations. Climate alarmists ignore increased plant growth, preferring to concentrate on the places where plants may stop growing due to drier conditions. But that is at odds with the whole theory, because it is of necessity a warming which leads to increased water vapor, which is the real greenhouse gas. If this is happening you would have a hotter, wetter world - ideal conditions for plant growth. There are reasons why the greatest forests on Earth are located in places with lots of rainfall and in tropical climates.
The bad times for humanity - and every other creature - is when it is cold. A warm biosphere is a happy biosphere. This idea that we are somehow "destroying the planet" is ridiculous and is driving us to monumental foolishness. We are not only wasting time and money trying to solve a non-problem, but we are terrifying children, and in the end will fundamentally reorder our society to the detriment of everyone to stop something that is actuall\ly good for us. oh, and it will increase poverty, something proven to kill people. Air rarely kills people.
Photosynthesis is increasing in plants worldwide, according to Global Warming hacks, er, researchers.
According to this article in Hans-India:
According to the study published in the Journal of Trends in Plant Science, terrestrial plants are currently absorbing more CO2 than it released into the atmosphere through the combination of fire, decomposition, plant respiration, and human-related emissions.
This is commonly known as the land carbon sink, and we know it's currently slowing the rate at which atmospheric CO2 is increasing. What we don't know is how strong that response is, and how long we can count on it. Associate Professor Cernusak, a terrestrial ecologist measured the strength of the terrestrial biosphere's response to increasing CO2.
They focussed on photosynthesis, the process in which plants capture energy from the sun and use it to synthesise carbohydrates from CO2 and water and examined terrestrial gross primary productivity (GPP), a measure of global photosynthesis.
Their modeling and analysis revealed that, since the beginning of the industrial era, photosynthesis has increased in nearly constant proportion to the rise in atmospheric CO2. "We expected the two would correlate since CO2 stimulates photosynthesis, but given the complexity of plant and environmental interactions we were impressed by how closely they have kept pace," Cernusak said.
This is commonly known as the land carbon sink, and we know it's currently slowing the rate at which atmospheric CO2 is increasing. What we don't know is how strong that response is, and how long we can count on it. Associate Professor Cernusak, a terrestrial ecologist measured the strength of the terrestrial biosphere's response to increasing CO2.
They focussed on photosynthesis, the process in which plants capture energy from the sun and use it to synthesise carbohydrates from CO2 and water and examined terrestrial gross primary productivity (GPP), a measure of global photosynthesis.
Their modeling and analysis revealed that, since the beginning of the industrial era, photosynthesis has increased in nearly constant proportion to the rise in atmospheric CO2. "We expected the two would correlate since CO2 stimulates photosynthesis, but given the complexity of plant and environmental interactions we were impressed by how closely they have kept pace," Cernusak said.
That is exactly how it works; negative feedbacks keep the system in homeostasis. Plants LIKE warmth and carbon dioxide. They flourish in it. That is why you can grow things in greenhouses; greenhouses often increase co2 levels to help the plants flourish, and provide extra warmth to nurture them. If the world is warmer and more, uh, carbony, then the plants will naturally grow better, removing co2 from the air in the process.
It's what we've been saying all along.
Of course, we can argue about whether this is a matter of human caused warming or a natural variable. I would argue the latter, but even if it is the former we have to remember that warming from carbon dioxide is logarithmic, for every doubling of co2 you get a halving of temperature rise as the wavelength saturates, and two degrees is all you are going to get from it. The catastrophic nightmare that the IPCC and other Gang-Greenous hysterics present as Gospel is based on the notion that there are all of these positive feedback loops, which simply don't comport with observations. Climate alarmists ignore increased plant growth, preferring to concentrate on the places where plants may stop growing due to drier conditions. But that is at odds with the whole theory, because it is of necessity a warming which leads to increased water vapor, which is the real greenhouse gas. If this is happening you would have a hotter, wetter world - ideal conditions for plant growth. There are reasons why the greatest forests on Earth are located in places with lots of rainfall and in tropical climates.
The bad times for humanity - and every other creature - is when it is cold. A warm biosphere is a happy biosphere. This idea that we are somehow "destroying the planet" is ridiculous and is driving us to monumental foolishness. We are not only wasting time and money trying to solve a non-problem, but we are terrifying children, and in the end will fundamentally reorder our society to the detriment of everyone to stop something that is actuall\ly good for us. oh, and it will increase poverty, something proven to kill people. Air rarely kills people.
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and not a tube of Preperation H around
Jack Kemp figures out what's wrong with Bernie Sanders:
"I'm feeling the Bern...it's my damned hemorroids again"
"I'm feeling the Bern...it's my damned hemorroids again"
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1/3 of Migrant Children unrelated to "parents"
Timothy Birdnow
No less than one in three children accompanying adults seeking asylum in the U.S. are unrelated to the "parents".
According to the Daily Mail:
So, these children are being used to get people into the country. What happens to them after tehy have served their purpose? For teh girls it is likely prostitution and an early death, for the boys it is a life of crime and membership in MS13 or some other violent gang, and an early death.
As always, the social justice warriors are given a pass; they had good intentions. We know what is paved with those.
Furthermore, it makes America look like a bunch of patsies, of saps, people who are so gullible you can sell them the Brooklyn Bridge. Is that what we want our nation to be? Even if these "refugees" are benign now, how long before our enemies see an opportunity? Weakness begets attack. This is a serious danger for America, even if the Progressives refuse to accept that. But then, you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.
No less than one in three children accompanying adults seeking asylum in the U.S. are unrelated to the "parents".
According to the Daily Mail:
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement pilot of new rapid DNA testing at the border has found that nearly a third of those tested were not biologically related to the children in their custody.
ICE conducted the pilot for a few days earlier this month in El Paso and McAllen, Texas, finding about 30 per cent of those tested were not related to the children they claimed were their own, an official told the Washington Examiner.
The official said that these were not cases of step-fathers or adoptive parents.
'Those were not the case. In these cases, they are misrepresented as family members,' the official said.
ICE conducted the pilot for a few days earlier this month in El Paso and McAllen, Texas, finding about 30 per cent of those tested were not related to the children they claimed were their own, an official told the Washington Examiner.
The official said that these were not cases of step-fathers or adoptive parents.
'Those were not the case. In these cases, they are misrepresented as family members,' the official said.
So, these children are being used to get people into the country. What happens to them after tehy have served their purpose? For teh girls it is likely prostitution and an early death, for the boys it is a life of crime and membership in MS13 or some other violent gang, and an early death.
As always, the social justice warriors are given a pass; they had good intentions. We know what is paved with those.
Furthermore, it makes America look like a bunch of patsies, of saps, people who are so gullible you can sell them the Brooklyn Bridge. Is that what we want our nation to be? Even if these "refugees" are benign now, how long before our enemies see an opportunity? Weakness begets attack. This is a serious danger for America, even if the Progressives refuse to accept that. But then, you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.
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May 18, 2019
Illegal Alien People Mover
Timothy Birdnow
The Trump Administration is seeking a private company to move a quarter of a million illegal aliens into the heartland of the united States.
According to Fox News:
If we're going to move these people why not back where they belong?
The Trump Administration is seeking a private company to move a quarter of a million illegal aliens into the heartland of the united States.
According to Fox News:
The Trump administration is looking to hire a private contractor that will be responsible for transporting approximately 225,000 migrant children and families to shelters across the country over the next five years as they wait for their asylum claims to be processed.
ICE (the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency) is seeking the services of a "highly responsible†contractor that "fully embraces the philosophy†of treating all unaccompanied minors (UACs) and family units (FAMUs) with "dignity and respect,†according to a federal procurement document dated May 13.
The private company will be hired to transport approximately 60,000 people a year. It will work to arrange commercial flights and ground transportation for migrant children up to age 17 as well as adults with children and will provide food, clothing and hygiene products during transit.
"Sometimes the contractor will have to plan commercial or charter flights in a period of less than 24 hours,†the document states, highlighting an increased need for "on demand escort-services†as the Trump administration addresses a large influx of migrants from Central America who come to the U.S.-Mexico border to claim asylum.
ICE (the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency) is seeking the services of a "highly responsible†contractor that "fully embraces the philosophy†of treating all unaccompanied minors (UACs) and family units (FAMUs) with "dignity and respect,†according to a federal procurement document dated May 13.
The private company will be hired to transport approximately 60,000 people a year. It will work to arrange commercial flights and ground transportation for migrant children up to age 17 as well as adults with children and will provide food, clothing and hygiene products during transit.
"Sometimes the contractor will have to plan commercial or charter flights in a period of less than 24 hours,†the document states, highlighting an increased need for "on demand escort-services†as the Trump administration addresses a large influx of migrants from Central America who come to the U.S.-Mexico border to claim asylum.
If we're going to move these people why not back where they belong?
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De-Oxygenating Octopodes?
Timothy Birdnow
Now they are saying octopodes may go blind from global warming!
This is become farce.
Read it at Live Science:
So, we're making blind Octopodes (yes, that is the plural,). Maybe we need to set up octo-optomotrist shops in the deep for these critters? Get in on the ground, er, ocean floor, folks!
So, what was the methodology"
more...
Now they are saying octopodes may go blind from global warming!
This is become farce.
Read it at Live Science:
So, we're making blind Octopodes (yes, that is the plural,). Maybe we need to set up octo-optomotrist shops in the deep for these critters? Get in on the ground, er, ocean floor, folks!
So, what was the methodology"
To find out whether these daily swings in oxygen affect the animals' vision, McCormick attached small electrodes to the eyes of each one of her test larvae, none of which measured longer than 0.15 inches (4 millimeters). These electrodes recorded the electrical activity in each larva's eyes as its retinas reacted to light —"kind of like an EKG [electrocardiogram], but for your eyes instead of your heart," McCormick said.
Each larva was then placed in a tank of water and made to look at a bright light while the water's oxygen level was steadily decreased. Levels fell from 100% air saturation, oxygen levels you'd expect to find at the surface of the ocean, down to about 20% saturation, which is lower than what they currently experience. After 30 minutes of this low-oxygen condition, the oxygen levels were increased back to 100%.
While each of the four species showed a slightly different tolerance, all four took a marked blow to vision when exposed to the low-oxygen environment. Overall, each larva's retinal activity dropped between 60% and 100% in low-oxygen conditions. Some species, particularly the market squid and the rock crab, proved so sensitive that they started losing their vision as soon as the researchers started decreasing the oxygen in the tank.
"By the time I reached the lowest oxygen levels, these animals were almost blinded," McCormick said.
Each larva was then placed in a tank of water and made to look at a bright light while the water's oxygen level was steadily decreased. Levels fell from 100% air saturation, oxygen levels you'd expect to find at the surface of the ocean, down to about 20% saturation, which is lower than what they currently experience. After 30 minutes of this low-oxygen condition, the oxygen levels were increased back to 100%.
While each of the four species showed a slightly different tolerance, all four took a marked blow to vision when exposed to the low-oxygen environment. Overall, each larva's retinal activity dropped between 60% and 100% in low-oxygen conditions. Some species, particularly the market squid and the rock crab, proved so sensitive that they started losing their vision as soon as the researchers started decreasing the oxygen in the tank.
"By the time I reached the lowest oxygen levels, these animals were almost blinded," McCormick said.
However, McCormick said, rapid deoxygenation caused by climate change could make it harder for these species to adapt. According to a 2017 study in the journal Nature, total ocean oxygen levels have declined by 2% globally in the last 50 years and are projected to decline by up to an additional 7% by the year 2100. Climate change is a significant factor driving these losses, the Nature study found, especially in upper parts of the ocean, where the larvae McCromick studied tend to spend most of their lives.
more...
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A pair of Selwyns
Timothy Birdnow
Our very own Selwyn Duke has a couple of great articles thig morning, one at the New American and one at American Thinker. Both are whorthwhile reads.
At New American Selwy takes on the thought police and their censorship of classic movies. From the article:
Read the whole thing!
At American Thinker Selwyn discusses judicial precedent and how this is ruining the nation. Don't miss it.
Our very own Selwyn Duke has a couple of great articles thig morning, one at the New American and one at American Thinker. Both are whorthwhile reads.
At New American Selwy takes on the thought police and their censorship of classic movies. From the article:
Yet to be nixed a work doesn’t have to be unfashionable, just associated with the "wrong†person; and as in past cultural revolutions (Mao’s China, Khmer Rouge Cambodia, etc.), the "wrong†person doesn’t actually have to be a bad person. For the slightest perceived blemish in a long career can justify airbrushing an individual from history.
For example, Toto mentions how the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Flyers purged from their programming legendary Kate Smith’s iconic rendition of "God Bless America,†and a statue of her has been torn down. Why? Because among her perhaps countless performances on radio, TV, and stage, she recorded two 1930s songs currently deemed Racist™. Never mind that she called for racial tolerance in a now forgotten 1945 radio address.
For example, Toto mentions how the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Flyers purged from their programming legendary Kate Smith’s iconic rendition of "God Bless America,†and a statue of her has been torn down. Why? Because among her perhaps countless performances on radio, TV, and stage, she recorded two 1930s songs currently deemed Racist™. Never mind that she called for racial tolerance in a now forgotten 1945 radio address.
Read the whole thing!
At American Thinker Selwyn discusses judicial precedent and how this is ruining the nation. Don't miss it.
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