This from Willis Eschenbach:

You know the claim that income inequality has been getting worse, and that the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer?

Turns out to be more of that famous modern item, fake news. When you add in the gains from government programs of all kinds, and the losses from takes, the GINI coefficient that measures income inequality has been basically unchanged for the last fifty years.

And another Democrat talking point goes aground on a reef of hard facts ...

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Warner Todd Huston

Well, expect the story of the man who killed a Capitol Police officer to quickly disappear. The attacker is a black Nation of Islam follower. He does not fit the media's hoped for "racist white terrorist" narrative.

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James Doogue

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Warner Todd Huston:

Why does any white person support any pro sport? ALL the pro sports think whites are irredeemably racist, in an evil country, that is filled with permanent hate. The only whites who support pro-sports are anti-American socialists who hate white people, or stupid ones who don't understand that their entertainment is dedicated to destroying white people.

Tim adds:

Trump called for a boycott of Major League Baseball. I support that.

We need to revisit the 1922 ruling by the Supreme Court that exempted Major League Baseball from Sherman Anti-Trust laws. That decision was entirely capricious, made up out of whole cloth by SCOTUS without any legal justification. Congress can fix that, and it's now clear they should (it'll have to wait for a Republican Congress, which may never happen.)

We also should revisit the free agency business, which made it possible for these players to thumb their noses at their fans because they don't face any real repercussions. The teams are afraid to discipline guys who do this stuff lest they simply move to another team.

Frankly, what MLB wants to do to Georgia is disgraceful and they should be punished. Georgia has options. They can sue, for example. The one thing they shouldn't do is take this lying down.

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This from Frederick Berry:

Wow! Taking advantage of weak America. We will see more of this around the world. They are testing the Biden administration, which so far is flunking prodigiously.

Russia Mounting Massive Show of Force in Russian Occupied Crimea and Ukraine

A word from Tim:

This was as predictable as the sun rising; the Russians know Joe Biden and his Demo-Left won't lift a finger to stop him. At worst they will perhaps suggest some sort of embargo, which the Russians can get around quite handily.

The point is to embarass US, to show we cannot and will not keep our promises. It is intended to make Europe rethink their alliance with America.

Now is a great time to do this. Not only has America castrated herself, but the price of oil and gas is rising and the Russians desire to profit off of that fact. Russian oil and gas have not been very competitive on the world market during the Trump years as prices have been low. But Biden has driven the prices up - by promising to get back into the Paris Accord, by promising to pursue alternative energy, by insulting and enraging the Saudis, by killing Keystone and threatening to end fracking. All of these things have conspired to drive up prices, and we are nowhere near the top yet. This is a prime time for the Russians to make out. And they will if they can secure the route west for oil and gas into Europe. Energy hegemony in Europe has been a long standing policy imperative for the Kremlin for decades now.

So it should surprise nobody this is happening.

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The Gospel accoording to Matthew

26When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2‘You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.’

3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4and they conspired to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. 5But they said, ‘Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.’
The Anointing at Bethany

6 Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,* 7a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. 8But when the disciples saw it, they were angry and said, ‘Why this waste? 9For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and the money given to the poor.’ 10But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, ‘Why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me. 11For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. 12By pouring this ointment on my body she has prepared me for burial. 13Truly I tell you, wherever this good news* is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.’
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

14 Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15and said, ‘What will you give me if I betray him to you?’ They paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.
The Passover with the Disciples

17 On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?’ 18He said, ‘Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, "The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.” ’ 19So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal.

20 When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve;* 21and while they were eating, he said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.’ 22And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, ‘Surely not I, Lord?’ 23He answered, ‘The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.’ 25Judas, who betrayed him, said, ‘Surely not I, Rabbi?’ He replied, ‘You have said so.’
The Institution of the Lord’s Supper

26 While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ 27Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; 28for this is my blood of the* covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.’

30 When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Peter’s Denial Foretold

31 Then Jesus said to them, ‘You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written,
"I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.”
32But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.’ 33Peter said to him, ‘Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you.’ 34Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.’ 35Peter said to him, ‘Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.’ And so said all the disciples.
Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ 37He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. 38Then he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.’ 39And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.’ 40Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? 41Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial;* the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ 42Again he went away for the second time and prayed, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.’ 43Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. 45Then he came to the disciples and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.’
The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him.’ 49At once he came up to Jesus and said, ‘Greetings, Rabbi!’ and kissed him. 50Jesus said to him, ‘Friend, do what you are here to do.’ Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him. 51Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 52Then Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? 54But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?’ 55At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. 56But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.’ Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
Jesus before the High Priest

57 Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, in whose house the scribes and the elders had gathered. 58But Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest; and going inside, he sat with the guards in order to see how this would end. 59Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death, 60but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward 61and said, ‘This fellow said, "I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.” ’ 62The high priest stood up and said, ‘Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?’ 63But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him, ‘I put you under oath before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah,* the Son of God.’ 64Jesus said to him, ‘You have said so. But I tell you,
From now on you will see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of Power
and coming on the clouds of heaven.’
65Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy. 66What is your verdict?’ They answered, ‘He deserves death.’ 67Then they spat in his face and struck him; and some slapped him, 68saying, ‘Prophesy to us, you Messiah!* Who is it that struck you?’
Peter’s Denial of Jesus

69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus the Galilean.’ 70But he denied it before all of them, saying, ‘I do not know what you are talking about.’ 71When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, ‘This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.’* 72Again he denied it with an oath, ‘I do not know the man.’ 73After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, ‘Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.’ 74Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, ‘I do not know the man!’ At that moment the cock crowed. 75Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: ‘Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly.
Jesus Brought before Pilate

27When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death. 2They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor.
The Suicide of Judas

3 When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus* was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4He said, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent* blood.’ But they said, ‘What is that to us? See to it yourself.’ 5Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself. 6But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, ‘It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since they are blood money.’ 7After conferring together, they used them to buy the potter’s field as a place to bury foreigners. 8For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah,* ‘And they took* the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one on whom a price had been set,* on whom some of the people of Israel had set a price, 10and they gave* them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.’
Pilate Questions Jesus

11 Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Jesus said, ‘You say so.’ 12But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. 13Then Pilate said to him, ‘Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?’ 14But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.
Barabbas or Jesus?

15 Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. 16At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus* Barabbas. 17So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, ‘Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus* Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?’* 18For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. 19While he was sitting on the judgement seat, his wife sent word to him, ‘Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.’ 20Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. 21The governor again said to them, ‘Which of the two do you want me to release for you?’ And they said, ‘Barabbas.’ 22Pilate said to them, ‘Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’* All of them said, ‘Let him be crucified!’ 23Then he asked, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Let him be crucified!’
Pilate Hands Jesus over to Be Crucified

24 So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood;* see to it yourselves.’ 25Then the people as a whole answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ 26So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus

27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters,* and they gathered the whole cohort around him. 28They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ 30They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
The Crucifixion of Jesus

32 As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon; they compelled this man to carry his cross. 33And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 35And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots;* 36then they sat down there and kept watch over him. 37Over his head they put the charge against him, which read, ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’

38 Then two bandits were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39Those who passed by derided* him, shaking their heads 40and saying, ‘You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’ 41In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, 42‘He saved others; he cannot save himself.* He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. 43He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, "I am God’s Son.” ’ 44The bandits who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way.
The Death of Jesus

45 From noon on, darkness came over the whole land* until three in the afternoon. 46And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ 47When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘This man is calling for Elijah.’ 48At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. 49But the others said, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.’* 50Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last.* 51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 53After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. 54Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’*

55 Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him. 56Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
The Burial of Jesus

57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. 58He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth 60and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. 61Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
The Guard at the Tomb

62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63and said, ‘Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, "After three days I will rise again.” 64Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, "He has been raised from the dead”, and the last deception would be worse than the first.’ 65Pilate said to them, ‘You have a guard* of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.’* 66So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.

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Selwyn Duke

This is an excellent article, but there are two things:

Proving the vote fraud is great. But if authorities won't prosecute and judges won't hear the cases, there is no legal remedy.

Second, as I mentioned before the election, a source told me that the main fraud issue would be the discarding or deletion of millions of Trump ballots/votes. I'm certain this happened, but how do you prove it?

There may be a way, but I'm not aware of it.

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Timothy Birdnow

Having a discussion on Facebook about the Wuhan Virus and the need - or lack thereof - for continuing panic.

Nadeen Clasen Warren says:

From what I just read, because of the rapidly spreading, possibly more lethal, variants. The UK variant is causing a spike in cases in the US, and the South American variant may prove to be more lethal. People are letting their guard down. It’s a problem. The vaccine is new and we don’t know everything yet. We may need booster shots. We can frolic with those vaccinated in our family maskless. Not safe in public.

I reply:

Had we not gone this lockdown and scrub-down and social distancing route we would have achieved herd immunity before the virus had time to mutate so much. We were guaranteeing a long and nasty covid season by doing this, spreading the disease outward. Had we sheltered those who need sheltering (and most of those who have died were in poor health or aged) we could have nipped this in the bud - just as we normally do such illnesses. You can't hide forever from a virus like this. But we are trying, and surprised that this thing keeps mutating and won't go away. I predicted this very thing a year ago.

Nadeen responds:

Herd immunity is about a herd of cattle. There is no "herd” in our world of mobility and travel. Too many people will die waiting for herd immunity that cannot happen in our world of travel.

Bob Clasen jumps in:

The current approach didn’t work. There is little difference between lockdown states and more open states, except the level of devastation to the economies.

I respond:

Nadeen Clasen Warren What do you think they are trying to do with a vaccine other than create herd immunity? That is the goal of vaccinations.

I would add that there are groups like the Amish who have achieved it without a problem and have low infection rates. Also, Sweden, which rejected lockdowns early and took a beating in the press because of initially high death rates, is now down to very low death levels.

You seem to think this is the first time something like this has happened. It isn't. We had worldwide pandemics in 1957 and '68 and we did not lock down and they ended. We had plenty of air travel at that time. In fact, the '57 pandemic was as bad as Covid if adjusted for population growth. We didn't shut the world down and it went away - because the public achieved herd immunity. Herd immunity is a real thing and epidemiologists speak of it about people all the time. I don't know why you think it only applies to cattle.

And again, this disease primarily effects the elderly and sick. We could have quarantined them and let the rest of the public get it and get over it. You seem to believe this is like smallpox or bubonic plague. It isn't. It's a COLD VIRUS. A nasty one that kills people, but then, the regular cold virus kills the sickly and the elderly every year too. This may be quite a bit worse, but it is hardly cause for the kind of panic that so many have advocated. Even with massive inflation of cases https://www.ratical.org/PandemicParallaxView/C19dataCollection-C+FL-HistPerspec.pdf  Also https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/05/29/us_covid-19_death_toll_is_inflated.html#!we are still not seeing the kind of deaths from it that were being predicted. The guy who started this panic - Neil Ferguson of London's Imperial College - had to admit his model was full of crap. 

And as Bob pointed out, there is no difference in infection or death rates between places that locked down or did not. Actually, the places that didn't lock down had better rates than those that did. https://sentinelksmo.org/covid-update-states-not-locked-down-have-better-outcomes/. This shows we should needed to allow this thing to run it's course. Your argument seems to be we all need to hide under a tree to avoid the rain; eventually the leaves get saturated and we all get wet regardless.

Which means we should have lived our lives free of fear and done what we could for the vulnerable. We didn't. We tried to hide from something that cannot be hidden from, and were surprised at the outcome. We were told "three weeks" back last year and we are still running from this. Some things have to be faced.

And of course, now that we have vaccines we are told there are new strains and the vaccines aren't going to end it. At what point do you stop hiding?

Herd immunity will be achieved, or do you think we are still in the throes of the Spanish flu?

(I would also point out that we had almost no flu season, which strongly suggests the seasonal flu was misdiagnosed as Covid.)

BTW How many deaths has the response to the Wuhan Virus caused worldwide? The poor are the most vulnerable to these lockdowns. https://www.aier.org/article/death-by-lockdown/  It also hit children very hard. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31647-0/fulltext

So what did more damage?

Again, what value will this fear have to us? Even if you are correct and there is no herd immunity, what of it? I would rather live life as a free man than as a coward hiding in my basement.

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Timothy Birdnow

Here is a great observation made on Facebook:

Mary Wilkinson

What I see is a nation that appears to like a leader that prefers other nations rather than their own. I had toxic parents, everyone else on the block was better than I. Well, it appears others had parents like me! Too many others. With the exception of a small percentage of presidents, most put industry and technological opportunity into the nations of others. America doesn't take care of America, like my toxic parents, everyone else was better. That is the fall of the American mind, America doesn't appear to like itself, most of us have had narcissistic and toxic backgrounds? My theory. Blast away, folks.

Tim adds:

That is an excellent point Mary Wilkinson! America seems to have an inferiority complex, and seeks to punish itself. It's almost a kind of masochism. I don't know why so many Americans feel the need to promote others at our own expense, or to denigrate our nation. It may have something to do with Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier Thesis (in which he argued the closing of the frontier would have profound effects on the American mind). It may be that at this same time America had a massive influx of immigrants from the more socialistic and despotic parts of the world and these people never experienced America as it had been. Or it may be that being thrust into a position of world leadership made some of us feel inadequate and seeking the approval of others - who will never give it to an upstart. I don't know. I think your thesis here is a brilliant observation. It's not unique to America; we see this in Europe as well, and in fact in all Western nations. I suppose it goes back to the fact that the West was once defined by it's Christian nature and having apostacized back in the 19th century the whole West now has an identity crisis. But it does seem unusually pronounced in the U.S.

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Chester McAteer

Those who, for whatever reason, arm the State by disarming themselves, are forever at the mercy of the State. In such a position, there can be no other appeal against the enforced Sovereignty or the will of the State, whether it is popular or not, beneficial or not. At which point there can be no control over its edicts even when they are deemed harmful to the citizenry.

How is it possible that people are willing to take a gamble that the State will always act within the best interest and to the benefit of the citizens? I know of no such faith that can soundly be placed in politicians nor the State in which they seek to orchestrate control when the most corrupting temptation of all is the grasp of the reigns of power.

It is difficult to understand what possible condition that might induce a rational person to relinquish all remaining means of self preservation into the hands of the powers of coercion that are found in an all-powerful State nor the politicians that are assumed good and honest stewards of such power, to disarm themselves in favor of the State is and always has been a very dangerous proposition, as history teaches.

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Timothy Birdnow

The Maunder Minimum ended in 1715, but was followed by the Dalton Minimum which ended in 1830. Between the two we had the Little Ice Age. In 1859 we saw the Carrington Event, which would have ended civilization if it were to have happened today. One must wonder if we aren't heading into another Maunder Minimum, or at least a Dalton, and if the Sun won't get much more active after. Maybe we should start putting everything in faraday cages.

Frank Lasee forwards this:

Interesting we are in a period of low sun spots. Why it matters is that less sun spots equals a little less warmth from sun.

From Electroverse:

Today, the Sun (once again) looks like an orange billiard ball--featurele

ss with no sunspots. A farside sunspot is expected to rotate into view soon; but until then, flares and other forms of solar activity are unlikely, and SC25 remains illusive

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From Willis Eschenbach:

Calling the Democrat pork-laden monstrosity an "infrastucture" bill is a felony crime against the English language.

Our roads and bridges are falling apart, and Biden and his girls want to spend more money subsidizing rich people's coal-fired electric sparky cars than fixing the roads and bridges that everyone uses ... Democrats, famous for making the already wealthy even wealthier.

Then there's Amtrak, well-known for never making a profit. Out of 21,000 miles of routes, about half of its revenue comes from about 475 miles of track in the Northeast. So what's the brilliant Biden plan? Cut back on money-losing routes?

Get real, that's far too logical. 10% Joe's plan is to waste $80 billion trying to expand Amtrak routes everywhere except South Dakota ... presumably because they don't like the Republican governor there. It's the epitome of economic ignorance.

Depressing.

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Timothy Birdnow

I found this on Facebook. It is by Carl R. Franklin:

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Selwyn Duke

https://www.selwynduke.com/2021/04/lockdown-folly-lockdown-averse-amish-may-now-have-covid-herd-immunity-says-health-official.html

No COVID-19 regulations, no masks, no social distancing, plus sharing communion cups and "holy kisses” equals — herd immunity? This may very well be the case with a Pennsylvania Amish community, according to a health official. It also may indicate where the wider society has gone wrong.

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This from Jim Church

When global warming alarmists make their wildly inflated claims about wind turbines and solar panels they are blatantly lying to the public. Not only are wind and solar intermittent, meaning they need 24/7 very expensive backup INSTANTLY available - usually natural gas or coal fired power plants - but they simply do not overall deliver as advertized. The graph below is from Europe in 2019 showing the facts. Would it not be better, and more efficient, to have only one electrical system which is reliable all of the time and can be adjusted according to need - a system consisting of natural gas, efficient coal, nuclear and hydro - powered electricity generation. These would have the historically added benefit of not needing extensive tracts of land being laid to waste, not needing excessively long transmission lines, not killing birds and bats to the point of extinction, not needing a lot of rare earth elements which are highly toxic and destructive of the environment and human health, etc. This would in turn tend to lower the costs of electricity for even the most impoverished of peoples and nations on the earth, would raise everyone's standard of living and be the most beneficial for the greatest number of humanity on the earth.



Chester McAteer adds:

It appears that Germany's experience with "Green Energy" is such an utter disaster that the German Federal Court of Auditors said it could, "endanger Germany as a business location and overburden the financial sustainability of electricity-con

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Timothy Birdnow

In another installment of the argument about atheists making government their god, a woman named Alicia took umbrage. She said:

So then why do the religious people want to legislate their morality all over the place?

I replied:

Who is legislating morality? From my standpoint it's clear the Godless left seems to be the ones imposing their moral code on everyone these days Alicia Dworek. Or havne't you heard of Political Correctness, Cancel Culture, Intersectionali

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Timothy Birdnow

A reading from the Gospel of Luke:

Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, ²and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. ³Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. ⁴And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. ⁵They were delighted and agreed to give him money. ⁶He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.

The Last Supper

⁷Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. ⁸Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”

⁹"Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.

¹⁰He replied, "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, ¹¹and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹²He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.”

¹³They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

¹⁴When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. ¹⁵And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁷After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. ¹⁸For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

¹⁹And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

²⁰In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.[a] ²¹But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. ²²The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” ²³They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.

²⁴A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. ²⁵Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. ²⁶But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. ²⁷For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. ²⁸You are those who have stood by me in my trials. ²⁹And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, ³⁰so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

³¹"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. ³²But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

³³But he replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”

³⁴Jesus answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”

³⁵Then Jesus asked them, "When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?”

"Nothing,” they answered.

³⁶He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. ³⁷It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’[b]; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.”

³⁸The disciples said, "See, Lord, here are two swords.”

"That’s enough!” he replied.

Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives

³⁹Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. ⁴⁰On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” ⁴¹He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ⁴²"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” ⁴³An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. ⁴⁴And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.[c]

⁴⁵When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. ⁴⁶"Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

Jesus Arrested

⁴⁷While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, ⁴⁸but Jesus asked him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

⁴⁹When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, "Lord, should we strike with our swords?” ⁵⁰And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.

⁵¹But Jesus answered, "No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.

⁵²Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, "Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? ⁵³Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”

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From Frank Lasee

Refrigerators made our lives a lot better and we take it for granted. They are going to become more expensive because a key component has been outlawed.

The Icebox Cometh

"The growing prevalence of refrigerators is partly due to their declining cost and partly due to people’s growing incomes. In 1919, the Frigidaire was the first self-contained refrigerator. It cost $775 (over $11,000 in today’s money). As the average hourly wage in 1919 was just $0.43, it took the average American 1,802 hours of work to afford this luxury appliance." - Alexander Hammond The Icebox Cometh: CAPX c2018

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