Delta Will No Longer Allow Members Of Congress Special Serices

I’m not sure why elected members of Congress, ie, Public Servants, and their staffs get these perks in the first place anymore. They are not aristocracy, and shouldn’t get anything We The People do not get or have to pay for

Delta suspends specialty services for members of Congress amid shutdown-driven TSA delays

Delta Air Lines has cut off special services for members of Congress at airports, as the industry continues to feel the effects of the government’s failure to pay Transportation Security Administration workers.

On Tuesday morning, Delta issued a statement saying it would temporarily suspend specialty services for members of Congress “due to the impact on resources from the longstanding government shutdown.”

Members of Congress are given special treatment at airports, including expedited screening, escorts through airports to bypass long security lines, and dedicated reservation desks that, among other things, allow them to make last-minute changes.

TSA workers hit their third period without a paycheck since funding for parts of the Department of Homeland Security was halted because of an impasse between the White House and Congress over immigration enforcement and voting policies.

If you want expedited screening you have to pay for that, right? Why do Congress members not have to pay for that themselves? Too bad Delta cannot restrict just the Congress Critters who have voted against funding DHS (especially since most of them are Warmists who hate fossil fuels)

Two industry sources pointed at the amount of business that airlines have before Congress — one of them specifically cited periodic bailouts — in contending that the companies should avoid alienating or angering lawmakers as they push for a solution.

“Get through this,” said one airline lobbyist. “Don’t be doing things to members.”

Bah! Hopefully United, American, and a few of the other big carriers will follow through (make Congress fly Spirit). Heck, the TSA and the private contractors doing the job of TSA at some airports should put and end to it. If the GOP was smart (snicker) they’d trot a bill up in the House and Senate requiring members of Congress to be treated exactly the same as the rest of us peasants.

Read: Delta Will No Longer Allow Members Of Congress Special Serices »

Trying To Decide On New CRV Vs Staying With Accord

It wasn’t something I was looking to do, but, we are getting wild deals for the next couple of days. I’d be going from a 2024 Accord Sport L to a 2026 CRV Sport L FWD. The monthly goes from $380 to $415, but, also going from 10K miles a year to 12K. Don’t necessarily need 12, but, gives me a bit of play room. New Accord weirdly is about $435. Usually get the best leases on Accords (and Ridgelines). So, kinda writing out this info for my thoughts

Accord benefits:

  • The seats are bit better. A little wider, a little longer. Unbelievably comfy
  • Built in compass. CRV weirdly doesn’t have one
  • Center touch display is wider, so, can see info like the compass, music playing if you have full map on Android Auto (or Apple Carplay if you have that), and can binge obsess over instant fuel economy with it being a hybrid. Maybe it’s better to not obsess?
  • I’m more of a sedan person. I do not have issues getting into one
  • 4 MPG better than a CRV FWD (you lose a lot going to AWD with hybrids)
  • Things are hidden in the trunk
  • Side view mirrors are bigger than CRV

CRV benefits

  • Parking sensors (not a biggie, I know how to park)
  • Power tailgate. Not a biggie, but, can be easier when grabbing groceries and being able to press button on remote or tailgate
  • Heated mirrors. Huge. Weirdly do not have that on Accord, even though the much lower trim SE has them. I live close to the river, and can get really bad ice and fog. I keep deicer in the trunk
  • A little easier to see the blindspot monitors in the mirrors
  • Rear wiper. I miss this from my previous Civic Hatchback. Accords need them, rain kinda sits there, makes hard to see out the back window
  • Big one, 320 watts for the stereo vs 180 for Accords (which boggles the mind. They could at least do 240). 180 is not a lot over 8 speakers
  • Silver is all we have for non-premium colors. Because I will not take black. If I did white it would be about another $12 a month. Do not like the Urban Grey. Not going to do a dealer trade for blue or dark gray, not at this price. It’s what’s on the lot, and the dark gray isn’t coming till next month, too late. I could live with silver. Never had a silver car before.
  • 15 watt wireless charging pad. Would have to get some sort of stuff holder which hangs off the side of the console, I have too much crap in that tray.

I’d love the green Trailsport CRV, but, it’s cloth seats. Nah. Not for that price. Does have a heated steering wheel, nice when cold. Nah. You do lose a lot of MPG being AWD and with the “all terrain” tires. Funny, about the only reason people buy them is because they are green. I’ve never sold a different color.

Hmm, I think I might have convinced myself.

Read: Trying To Decide On New CRV Vs Staying With Accord »

Surprise: TSA Lines Already Getting Much Shorter With ICE Presence

Letting the TSA agents do what they were trained to do while ICE and other federal agents do security. Or, were there that many illegal aliens flying through Atlanta?

WATCH: Shorter Lines at Atlanta Airport as ICE Agents Assist TSA

Lines are shortening in airports such as Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, one day after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrived to more than a dozen airports to assist the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) amid the partial government shutdown.

Fox News Business reported a “remarkable” change in the TSA line at the Atlanta airport on Tuesday.

“It is exponentially different here today than it was this time yesterday, over the weekend. As you can see, there is a very short line right now,” a reporter on the ground said, noting that they do not know if it is simply a light travel day or due to ICE agents assisting with crowd control and ID checks.

Images of the line show a night and day difference from the chaos that unraveled over the weekend into Monday, when TSA wait times exceeded four hours at some airport terminals nationwide.

Not sure why anyone would want to go through Atlanta, that place is a nightmare. And I’ve been to Newark, JFK, LAX and Denver.

Fox is reporting the same, as is CNN. Day 1 and a big difference. Phoenix’s airport is likewise seeing a big drop in wait times. And one thing to notice is that the ICE agents have no need to cover their faces, because the Typical Democrat Moonbats cannot come into the airports and cause the same problems they do out on the roads. They cannot dox them, cannot harass them and their families at home and out and about.

Read: Surprise: TSA Lines Already Getting Much Shorter With ICE Presence »

If All You See…

…is a horrible fossil fueled vehicle, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is IOTW Report, with a post on a petition in Oregon to ban hunting, fishing, and livestock.

Read: If All You See… »

Senators Working On DHS Funding Deal That Would Exclude Funding For Deportation And Enforcement

I’m not quite sure how this would work, since ICE operations were already funded

Senators consider deal to fund Homeland Security but not ICE enforcement as airport lines snarl

Senators are discussing a proposal to end the Homeland Security budget stalemate by funding much of the department, including the Transportation Security Administration airport workers going without pay, but excluding ICE’s enforcement and removal operations that have been core to the dispute.

The potential breakthrough came after a group of Republican senators headed to the White House late Monday to meet with President Donald Trump. Senators said they expected the negotiators to work through the night hammering out the details and present written proposals for both parties to discuss Tuesday at their weekly caucus lunches.

“All I can say is that the discussions have been very positive and productive, and hopefully headed in the right direction,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

Under the package being floated, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations would be funded as well as Customs and Border Protection, but with new guardrails to position officers from those divisions in their traditional roles, rather than as they have been used more recently in immigration roundups in cities. It would also include a number of changes in immigration operations that Democrats have demanded, including mandating that officers wear body cameras and identification.

Since so much of ICE is already funded through Trump’s big tax breaks bill, and immigration officers are still receiving paychecks during the partial government shutdown, senators said the new restraints would also be imposed on operations that rely on that funding source, as well.

Enforcement of federal immigration laws and removal of aliens is rather the main point of ICE, is it not?

Let’s flip to The Hill

A Senate Republican source familiar with the discussion said Trump is willing to separate funding for the Enforcement and Removal Operation from the Homeland Security appropriations bill in order to get enough Democratic support it.

Under the proposal presented to Trump, Senate Republicans would pass additional money for ICE’s removal operations under the budget reconciliation process, which allows them to circumvent a Democratic filibuster in the Senate as long as the legislation being considered meets certain requirements related to the spending, taxation or deficit reduction.

Senate Republicans told Trump that they would also attempt to pass elements of the SAVE America Act, which Trump has called his No. 1 legislative priority, in the follow-up reconciliation bill.

Here’s the thing: will they? Will they have the cajones to do this? Republicans have basically gone Squish since George W. Bush came into office. Democrats play harball politics, Republicans try to play nice, which doesn’t really get them far. They mostly won’t blast Democrats and won’t fight. They “compromise” but most of their compromise gives Democrats what they want and almost nothing for Republicans. Will Republicans actually add the SAVE Act in? They aren’t fighting for it now.

As far as body cams go, well, that usually results in Democrats losing, because the cams show Democrat bad behavior, as we’ve seen with police now wearing them heavily. Cops want to wear them in the post George “Fentanyl” Floyd era to show they are doing the job while people are being wackjobs.

Not sure what happened to Rand, but, how about this: we run with Rand’s proposal and keep all the ICE funding in the DHS funding bill. But, we add in a measure that makes it a federal felony to dox federal agents and harass them and their families. That’s why they wear masks.

Also, why aren’t we using contractors instead of TSA?

Read: Senators Working On DHS Funding Deal That Would Exclude Funding For Deportation And Enforcement »

Good Grief: Cult Looks To Blame Connecticut’s Cold Winter On Global Boiling

Do they understand how insane this looks? Do they care?

Did climate change play a role in Connecticut’s winter this year?

Spring has sprung, and winter is over, at least according to the solar calendar. The Vernal Equinox occurred on Friday, March 20. It’s also (more commonly) known as the official start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Now that winter is over, let’s take a look at how it shaped up here in Connecticut and any influence climate change may have had.

The average temperature in the Hartford, CT area this winter was 27.9°, down from 32.6° last year and the coldest since 2015. Snowfall for our winter can still technically occur into April, but as of March 23, the Hartford area has received 52.7″ of snow, compared to 21.7″ last year, and the most snow since 2017.

“If you were feeling like, gosh, it’s really cold this winter, you’re on to something,” says Dr. Kristina Dahl with Climate Central. Dr. Dahl is the Vice President for Science at the non-profit organization and says that, even with climate change, some winters will still be colder than normal here in Connecticut.

“So it doesn’t mean you won’t ever experience another cold winter or a winter with a lot of snow, but the chances of those kinds of winters are getting lower and lower,” explains Dr. Dahl.

Just give it up, nutters

Winter in Connecticut is the fastest-warming season compared to spring, summer, and fall. When we look at average temperatures, Connecticut’s winters are about 5 degrees warmer than they were in 1970. Yearly variability can still occur, as we saw this season.

Um, yeah, that happens during a Holocene warm period

This winter featured several bitterly cold blasts of Arctic air. Dr. Dahl says there is a lot of research focusing on the influence of climate change on the pattern of our jet stream. Some theories suggest that the jet stream is becoming wavier and more erratic, bringing wilder temperature swings (including a lot of warmth and many Arctic outbreaks).

“And there’s some evidence to suggest that this might be happening,” explains Dr. Dahl. She continues, “It might be linked to climate change. But there are also studies that say, no, there’s not a long-term trend in this. It’s not linked to climate change. And so the jury’s still really out.”

Well, at least he had the cajones to say “we don’t know.” But, they will sure hintimate that it is All Your Fault. Why else even run the article?

Read: Good Grief: Cult Looks To Blame Connecticut’s Cold Winter On Global Boiling »

Will Supreme Court Kill Mail In Ballots?

I’ll say it again: I only like mail in ballots for a limited use, such as being out of state, like with college students. Out of country. Certain people that utterly just cannot get to the polling place. And people can mail them in a month before the election. Things happen in the last month. But, what if the ballots are showing up after election day?

SCOTUS conservatives signal readiness on curbing late-arriving mail ballots

The Supreme Court on Monday offered sharp ideological differences in considering a Mississippi election law that allows for the counting of mail-in ballots received after Election Day — a high-stakes court fight that could have significant implications for the November midterm elections, and determining control of the new Congress.

Justices heard roughly two hours of oral arguments in the case, Watson v. Republican National Committee, centered on a 2024 lawsuit brought against Mississippi’s state law that allows for the counting of mail-in ballots received up to five days after the election, so long as they are postmarked by or before Election Day.

Mississippi is one of 14 states — as well as the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories — that currently allow for the counting of late-arriving mail-in ballots, so long as the ballots are postmarked by or before Election Day.

During oral arguments, justices grappled with whether federal election-day statutes preempt various state laws, and sought to clarify what “the election” means when it comes to the actual casting and receiving of ballots.

In fact, federal law, 2 U.S. Code § 7 passed in 1845, which established the specific date of federal elections, being the “The Tuesday next after the 1st Monday in November, in every even numbered year, is established as the day for the election…” Not a week after the election. There is no provision in the Constitution to mail anything in. Votes should be counted on election day, just like in most of the 1st World

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett could be the deciding votes on the matter, and used their time to ask tough questions to lawyers for both sides.

“If Election Day is the voting and taking, then it has to be that day,” Roberts noted. He also questioned whether the interpretation of “Election Day” could impact early voting, asking lawyers whether their logic “requires a different consideration” for early ballots.

“Is there any limit to that? Fill out a ballot… and drop it off two weeks before?”

Sounds right. Election day should be election day. Make it a federal holiday.

Justice Samuel Alito pointed to concerns that “confidence in election outcomes can be seriously undermined” when results are delayed, which was echoed later by Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

“If the apparent winner the morning after the election ends up losing due to late arriving ballots, charges of a rigged election could explode,” Kavanaugh noted.

Or, even when all these ballots start showing up the next day, and they all seem to go for Democrats

Gorsuch pressed lawyers on various hypothetical questions, including how far states could go in pushing their own deadlines for accepting mail-in ballots, should the Supreme Court side with Mississippi in the case.

“If we were to rule against you, is there anything that would limit a state from allowing a receipt by election officials up until the day of the next Congress?” Gorsuch asked at one point during arguments.

Roberts is the wild card, but, I think we can expect the rest of the Republicans on the court to rule to disallow mail in ballots showing up after election day.

Read: Will Supreme Court Kill Mail In Ballots? »

Beavers Are Totally Helping Solve Climate Change

I wonder how much in the way of taxpayer money was used for this unnecessary study?

Groundbreaking study finds a natural way to fight climate change

Forget groundhogs and their weather predictions. Now, fellow critters ? beavers ? are actually doing their part to combat climate change, one dam at a time, a new study says.

The new research, published on March 18 in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, has, for the first time, calculated the carbon dioxide emitted and sequestered due to engineering work by beavers in suitable wetland areas.

“Our findings show that beavers don’t just change landscapes: they fundamentally shift how carbon dioxide moves through them,” said study lead author Joshua Larsen, of the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, in a statement.

By slowing water, trapping sediments, and expanding wetlands, the beavers turn streams into powerful carbon “sinks,” which are a key part of the planet’s carbon cycle. Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas most responsible for human-caused global warming.

It’s almost like they think beavers are doing this on purpose, instead of just doing beaver stuff. And they probably do, because it’s a cult.

This first-of-its-kind study represents an important opportunity and breakthrough for future nature-based climate solutions across Europe, Larsen said.

To do what with? That is missing in the screed. What are we going to do with this information?

“That matters because gases like carbon dioxide and methane drive climate warming. If we can store carbon in landscapes for long periods, it reduces how much ends up in the atmosphere. So carbon sinks act as a kind of natural buffer against climate change,” Hallberg said in an email to USA TODAY. (snip)

“Our research shows that beavers are powerful agents of carbon capture and adsorption,” said study coauthor Annegret Larsen, assistant professor in the soil geography and landscape group at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. “By reshaping waterways and creating rich wetland habitats, beavers physically change how carbon is stored across landscapes.”

First, water vapor is the number one greenhouse gas. Second, if you call yourself a scientist and refer to CO2 as carbon you’re a cult activist, and do not care about science.

Anyhow, speaking of beavers

Some are saying this is AI, but, I don’t think so. Too many points of blurriness for that.

Read: Beavers Are Totally Helping Solve Climate Change »

If All You See…

…is ice cream from world killing cow milk, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Victory Girls Blog, with a post on tone deaf Code Pink in Cuba.

Read: If All You See… »

TDS: Washington Post Very Concerned Over Trump’s Threat To Washington

It’s what type of threat that’s the funny part

Trump is the biggest threat to D.C.’s architectural splendor since War of 1812

A loosely circular driveway sweeps through the White House grounds, just below the beloved South Portico of the mansion. Its shape echoes a larger park, known as the Ellipse, which connects the president’s home to the National Mall. It also mirrors the curving pathways of nearby Lafayette Square, on the north side of the complex.

The simple symmetry of this modest roadway and the grace of the White House south grounds are no accident: They were the vision of the great landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., one of the original members of the Senate Park Commission, which created the monumental core of Washington as we know it, more than a century ago.

The geometry of this driveway — a small but resonant element of Olmsted’s master plan for the White House campus — will soon be erased, now that a federal judge has allowed President Donald Trump to proceed at least temporarily with construction of his 90,000-square-foot, $400 million ballroom. The ballroom, which will be larger than the original mansion, is so gargantuan that the original curving road simply won’t fit. To make room for Trump’s entertaining and fundraising space, a large notch will be clawed out of the driveway, according to drawings released by Shalom Baranes Associates, the D.C.-based architecture firm overseeing one of the most unpopular projects of the president’s second term.

We’re still doing this? Still whining about the ballroom?

Trump is the most significant threat to the city’s architectural and design legacy since British forces burned the Capitol and White House during the War of 1812. He has already demolished the East Wing of the White House, which dates to the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He will replace it with a building that makes James Hoban’s neo-Classical executive mansion a mere appendage to a space meant to function like a hotel-convention-center-entertainment venue. He has proposed (but temporarily delayed) painting the next-door Eisenhower Executive Office Building a blinding shade of white, which preservation groups argue could irreversibly damage the stone facade.

He wants to build a 250-foot-tall memorial arch near the most hallowed ground in the country, Arlington National Cemetery. His “Independence Arch,” which he has said will honor himself personally, would dwarf the largest victory arches in the world, including the arch in Pyongyang, built in 1982 to honor North Korea’s murderous dictator, Kim Il Sung. Only Eero Saarinen’s slender ribbon of steel, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, would be taller. Although it would be built in a traffic circle on the Virginia side of the Potomac, the Trump arch would compete with some of the tallest buildings in Washington, including the Washington Monument and Washington National Cathedral, fundamentally altering a meticulously preserved skyline.

The president’s proposed “National Garden of American Heroes” would introduce a forest of quickly designed statues to the banks of the Potomac almost opposite the new triumphal arch. A sylvan space defined by monumental memorials to Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Thomas Jefferson would be cluttered, wax museum-style, with hundreds of stubby tributes to showbiz stars, folk heroes and sports celebrities.

I mean, personally, a lot of the things Trump is doing and has proposed are kinda stupid, but, good grief, the WP’s Philip Kennicott is going pure batguano insane on this. Is this article really necessary, especially being web front page and pretty high on placement? Maybe they could spend some time investigating graft and fraud and waste in the federal government? Crime in D.C.? And this is not a short piece. It’s long.

Read: TDS: Washington Post Very Concerned Over Trump’s Threat To Washington »

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