February 18, 2021
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Good article. It's found here: https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/02/uses-and-abuses-of-texas-power-outages.phpSen. Ted Cruz is under attack for flying to Mexico while Texas is facing severe winter weather and power outages. Cruz explained why he went there:
With school cancelled for the week, our girls asked to take a trip with friends. Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon. My staff and I are in constant communication with state and local leaders to get to the bottom of what happened in Texas.
If true (and I’m unaware of any reason to believe it isn’t), this is a complete defense to the attack on Cruz. Those who suggest that he was derelict in his duty as a Senator should explain what the Senator could have done to help his state, beyond having his staff in constant contact with officials, during the brief time he was on this trip.
As one emailer put it:
What the heck was Cruz supposed to be doing, taking a gas powered hair dryer to every frozen windmill in west Texas?
The reference to windmills calls to mind the debate over the degree to which wind farms are responsible for the Texas blackout. The New York Times rallies to the defense of renewable energy with this story called, "No, Wind Farms Aren’t the Main Cause of the Texas Blackouts.†The Times notes that wind farms make up only about 7 percent of the power mix this time of year.
[...]
As Kevin Williamson says, "when 7 percent of your expected power represents 40 percent of your lost power, that is a significant fact.â€
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
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While I was shooting B-roll footage on the South Side of Chicago, a young man approached and asked what I was doing. I explained I was gathering footage for a short documentary on the new "Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards" that the Illinois Board of Education had approved and was on the verge of being ratified by the Illinois General Assembly. He boiled it down to, "A documentary on education?" He then told me that he had been kicked out of two high schools and never graduated. His mother worked two jobs to provide for him and his sister and he never learned how to read.
As a parent of two children, I asked him how this was possible. Didn’t his teachers in the Chicago Public School system know that he couldn’t read? He shrugged and asked me if I had any work to give him. He was in his mid-20s, looking for work in the middle of an icy, sunny day. I told him I was sorry and that I was leaving for the airport in two hours. Used to these kinds of turn-downs, he grinned and said it was all right. He then pointed to a mural on the side of an abandoned building and said that would be a good shot.
I set up the camera and thought of how far this man’s world was from the new standards that the education leaders in Illinois believed would uplift Blacks and shrink the performance gaps between Whites and Blacks. While most people certainly would have no issues with teachers being "culturally competent" and "responsive" to students, what struck me when I first read the new standards was there was no mention of the word "merit." These new standards would require teachers to subscribe to "progressive values" and "hold high expectations in which all students can participate and lead as student advocates or activists." (The rule-writers recently changed "progressive" to "inclusive" but every aspect of the new standards reflects progressive politics.) How would these "high expectations" help this young Black man out looking for work?
"Progressive values" indeed. They don't want people who can read, they want people whom they can boss around -- people who will be dependent upon the government for everything.
The article is here: https://www.foxnews.com/us/chicago-schools-illinois-progressive-politics-teaching-standards-inclusive
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
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A New York City waitress was fired after she expressed hesitation about taking the COVID-19 vaccine without knowing the effects it might have on women who are trying to get pregnant.
According to a report from the New York Post, management at Brooklyn restaurant Red Hook Tavern dismissed 34-year-old Bonnie Jacobson after she refused to get the vaccine "immediately†under her boss’s mandatory orders because she wanted to see more research about its compatibility with fertility.
"The way I see it, getting the vaccine is for me. It protects me. If I am not getting it, it’s my choice, and I’d only be hurting myself,†she said, a view that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention supports for expectant mothers. The CDC also says currently that the COVID vaccine is "unlikely to pose a risk for pregnant people.â€
Frankly, I'm with her. The CDC hasn't turned out to be the most trustworthy outfit.
Jacobson added that while she "fully supports†people getting vaccinated, she chose "not to get the vaccine because there just isn’t enough data or research at this point on its effects on fertility.â€
Bingo! There's a lot we don't know about the vaccines yet. And don't bother to ask Dr. Fauci about them.
I greatly hope this lady finds another job, with a more caring and compassionate boss, soon!Despite the restaurant’s policy providing vaccine exemptions to people whose "personal health or disability prohibits you from obtaining this vaccination,†Jacobson was still booted to the curb after working a 13-hour shift, in a "shocking†and "hurtful†decision by her employers, considering her commitment to working throughout the pandemic.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
03:08 PM
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This article is largely a photo essay, and the photos are spectacular. Mother Nature is flexing her impressive muscles here. https://www.foxnews.com/science/italy-mount-etna-erupts-twice-48-hoursTeams in Italy worked to clean up the area surrounding Mount Etna Wednesday after the volcano spewed lava, ash and volcanic stones.
Municipal teams largely anticipated activity from Etna, Europe’s most active volcano. Authorities shut down areas around the crater Tuesday, but the activity still forced the temporary closure of nearby Sicily’s Catania Airport.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
03:01 PM
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Folks it's going to be hit or miss for the next couple of weeks. I have some stuff on my plate that will tie me up quite a bit.
Please be patient.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
11:27 AM
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Dr John Christy has plotted the speculations of 39 major computer climate models vs actual observations. The results are a major embarrassment for the computer modelers who in spite of 40 years of tweaking and fudging data still cannot get things correct. The observations clearly show that there is no "climate emergency".
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
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China is exploring limiting the export of rare earth minerals that are crucial for the manufacture of American F-35 fighter jets and other sophisticated weaponry, according to people involved in a government consultation.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology last month proposed draft controls on the production and export of 17 rare earth minerals in China, which controls about 80 per cent of global supply.
Industry executives said government officials had asked them how badly companies in the US and Europe, including defence contractors, would be affected if China restricted rare earth exports during a bilateral dispute.
"The government wants to know if the US may have trouble making F-35 fighter jets if China imposes an export ban,†said a Chinese government adviser who asked not to be identified. Industry executives added that Beijing wanted to better understand how quickly the US could secure alternative sources of rare earths and increase its own production capacity.
Fighter jets such as the F-35, a Lockheed Martin aircraft, rely heavily on rare earths for critical components such as electrical power systems and magnets. A Congressional Research Service report said that each F-35 required 417kg of rare-earth materials
The Chinese
move follows deteriorating Sino-US relations and an emerging technology
war between the two countries. The Trump administration tried to make
it harder for Chinese companies to import sensitive US technology, such
as high-end semiconductors.
Beijing’s control of rare earths threatens to become a new source of friction with Washington but some warn any aggressive moves by China could backfire by prompting rivals to develop their own production capacity.
In a November report, Zhang Rui, an analyst at Antaike, a government-back
China’s foreign ministry said last year it would sanction Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Raytheon for selling arms to Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its sovereign territory.
The proposed guidelines would require rare earth producers to follow export control laws that regulate shipments of materials that "help safeguard state securityâ€. China’s State Council and Central Military Commission will have the final say on whether the list should include rare earths.
Rare earth minerals are also central to the manufacture of products including smartphones, electric vehicles and wind turbines.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
11:04 AM
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From the article:
He then entered the conversation (I don’t recall the specific subject) to explain about how the Bush administration had sent people down to Palm Beach more than once to change his mind on some issue. But he wouldn’t budge.
But that was Rush. He wasn’t a ‘political’ animal in the usual sense. He had specific conservative principles, and if the current Republican president violated them, Rush would not hesitate to call them on it.
Rush was the same person, on the air and off the air.
In the intervening years I would have hundreds of discussions with Rush, usually not on climate-related issues. I always marveled at his boundless energy… he always took time to find out what I wanted to say to him. Several times he would remember things I told him that I had forgotten I had told him!. Once I asked him, "How do you remember so much stuff?â€. His silly answer was, "It’s the boozeâ€.
Rush had a a unique combination of talents that probably won’t come together again. In addition to his unabashed conservativism, he could articulate those principles in a way that resonated with his listeners. He had a quick mind, perfect timing on the radio, a great radio voice, and he knew how to run a business. He had a great sense of humor; many of Paul Shanklin’s parody songs came from Rush’s ideas, and one even came from me, and one from my wife. I also gave him some advice on how to make the show better (something that I told him was confusing for listeners), which he actually took and implemented.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
10:36 AM
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Here is what is being whispered in your child's ear:
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
10:11 AM
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To me this is much the same argument as made by those who say there are 26 sexes or whatever. It's a clear attempt to subvert what is clearly a biological definition. A fetus if left unmolested will be born and become a child, then a man or woman. That is true in the womb as well as out. I can see where reasonable people disagree (although I see it as disagreeing with the notion that an x and y chromosome make you a male) but it is absolutely impossible to disagree with the statement that a child born alive after a botched abortion is in fact a child. This is infanticide, plain and simple. IF sentiency is the determining factor, then many Democratic voters will be subject to early termination.
All of the Democrats except Bob Casey and Joe Manchin voted to murder born-alive infants.
Senator Sasse Reintroduces Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
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Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on Wednesday rebuked a claim made a day before by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that put the blame for that state's massive cold-weather power outage on the failure of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar.
In fact, extreme weather like the winter storm that swept across the country in recent days will become more likely as climate change worsens...
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
07:07 AM
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February 17, 2021
Rush Limbaugh, the monumentally influential media icon who transformed talk radio and politics in his decades behind the microphone, helping shape the modern-day Republican Party, died Wednesday morning at the age of 70 after a battle with lung cancer, his family announced.
Limbaugh's wife, Kathryn, made the announcement on his radio show. "Losing a loved one is terribly difficult, even more so when that loved one is larger than life," she said. "Rush will forever be the greatest of all time."
The radio icon learned he had Stage IV lung cancer in January 2020 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-President Trump at the State of the Union address days later. First lady Melania Trump then presented America’s highest civilian honor to Limbaugh in an emotional moment on the heels of his devastating cancer diagnosis.
"Rush Limbaugh: Thank you for your decades of tireless devotion to our country," President Trump said during the address.
He told Fox News on Wednesday afternoon:"There aren’t too many legends around, but he is a legend."
It was not clear exactly where Limbaugh died. He frequently broadcast his show from his home studio in Palm Beach, Fla.
Limbaugh is considered one of the most influential media figures in American history and has played a consequential role in conservative politics since "The Rush Limbaugh Show" began in 1988. Perched behind his Golden EIB (Excellence in Broadcasting) Microphone, Limbaugh spent over three decades as arguably both the most beloved and polarizing person in American media.
The program that began 33 years ago on national syndication with only 56 radio stations grew to be the most listened-to radio show in the United States, airing on more than 600 stations, according to the show’s website. Up to 27 million people tuned in on a weekly basis and Limbaugh has lovingly referred to his passionate fan base as "Dittoheads," as they would often say "ditto" when agreeing with the iconic radio host.
In his final radio broadcast of 2020, Limbaugh thanked his listeners and supporters, revealing at the time that he had outlived his prognosis.
"I wasn't expected to be alive today," he said. "I wasn't expected to make it to October, and then to November, and then to December. And yet, here I am, and today, got some problems, but I'm feeling pretty good today."
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
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February 16, 2021
Yeah; we all know how Shakespeare portrayed "People of Color" as inferiors in Othello...
Woke teachers want Shakespeare cut from curriculum: ‘This is about White supremacy’
The crown teachers once put on Shakespeare now lies uneasy upon his head as the English playwright comes under assault from teachers who fault his un-woke attitudes regarding race, sexuality, gender and class.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
02:02 PM
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State official says he wants to break America's will so that they will finally meekly follow his climate change demands.
Massachusetts climate official proposes targeting regular people who heat their homes: 'We have to break your will'
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
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What could go wrong?
First 'Sun Dimming' Experiment Will Test a Way to Cool Earth
Now, here we are having record colds and these idiots want to cool the planet! What will that do to agriculture? Warmth is much better for agriculture than cold, you dopes!
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
01:05 PM
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Adam Creighton 'The Australian'
He explains The West is suffering from a mass psychogenic illness because of a scare campaign over a virus which is mostly harmless.
Currently globally only 0.4% of those infected suffer any serious symptoms. That means 99.6% of those infected are asymptomatic or suffer mild cold and flu-like symptoms.
The median age of those who die from Covid-19 is over 80 years.
But the media and politicians talk about outlier, cases to scare us into thinking we are all vulnerable to this disease. When they do that media benefit from higher ratings and politicians popularity goes up. The more restrictions the government introduces. The more convinced the public are, they are being kept safe from a deadly disease.
This is why lock-downs receive great media and public support while they wreck businesses, and people's lives and futures. Government handouts and stimulus spending won't last forever. All these chickens will come home to roost.
Adam Creighton is interviews by Alan Jones in the linked video worth watching. He wrote:
"The West, and Australia and New Zealand in particular, are suffering mass psychogenic illness, where only sociology, psychology and the perverse incentives of large welfare states, can explain the ongoing obsession with COVID-19 and our medieval responses to it after almost a year of improved treatments and new information," Creighton writes.
"Australia and New Zealand have incurred costs equivalent to a world war - and more than any other nation has - fighting a pandemic that has killed not even 1000 people, with a median age in the mid-80s, between them. And this is widely seen as brilliant."
Creighton argues the lockdowns have imposed an "extraordinary economic, psychological and social cost" on both countries - and have come at the expense of civil liberties.
"Our leaders should level with voters that we can't remain an open liberal society without incurring further deaths and cases from COVID-19. Let vulnerable groups be vaccinated, and let everyone else get on with their life," he adds.
"Unfortunately that's not an option in Australia or New Zealand, where the freedom's taken for granted before 2020 - to come and go, see whomever, and privacy - have been sacrificed to the god of 'public health'."
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
12:55 PM
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This lock down is killing people, and damaging their psyche. There untold costs of this lock down that we can’t talk about. Surprised big tach let’s this one out there.
'What's the Point' Young People's Despair Deepens as Covid Crisis Drags On
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
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Solar Power is down on account of snow.
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/other/world-s-solar-and-wind-capital-freezing-due-to-snow-blanketing-millions-of-solar-panels/ar-BB1dF9Dp?fbclid=IwAR1mY-TY16DZrsWxL4Qnf40_4EfZqQXrlWNhRgzXFdbrKjRIlNb2z3Dn3MU
It's not just in Germany. I imagine here in Missouri solar power is kaput.
BTW they just announced rolling blackouts are coming here thanks to the snow and cold. I can't blame that on "renewables" exactly but I suspect it's the case.
Ameren U.E. brags:
https://www.ameren.com/company/environment-and-sustainability/renewables#:~:text=Ameren%20Missouri%20built%20the%20state%27s%20largest%20investor-owned%20solar,various%20solar%20power%20systems%20in%20our%20bi-state%20area.
They've also committed to wind power and other "renewables". https://www.nrdc.org/experts/ashok-gupta/ameren-missouris-future-clean-energy
If they had stuck with gas or coal power plants (or the truly carbon-neutral nuclear) would we be facing power outages when the temperatures rival those in Siberia?
There is blood on the hands of the global warming Nazis. People are going to die from this.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
12:16 PM
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With Trump gone the cockroaches are creeping out from their holes again.
Rocket Attacks on U.S. Coalition Forces in Iraq Injures U.S. Troops, Kills Civilian Contractor
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
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