NY Times: Wuhan Virus Is Worse Than 9/11 Or Something

By William Teach March 18, 2020 – 3:06 pm

There once was a time when the people in charge of media outlets would sit back and say “is this really a good idea?” Sure, they weren’t always perfect, but, in these days, reading the Credentialed Media is more like reading the Democratic Underground, Daily Kos, or Media Matters. Here we have Unhinged Frank Bruni

Why the Coronavirus Is So Much Worse Than Sept. 11

After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, we were exhorted to defiance. I remember it well.

Don’t let the terrorists win, we were told. Don’t let them steal your joys or disrupt your routines — at least not too much. Be wary, yes, and be patient with extra-long security lines where they didn’t previously exist. If you see something, say something. But otherwise, resume normal life. Venture out. Revel.

“Get down to Disneyworld,” President George W. Bush said.

Disneyworld is now closed.

The specter of the coronavirus is utterly different from prior moments of national panic or devastation. I keep hearing comparisons to Sept. 11 in particular, and I understand why: The terror now is similar to the terror then, a wicked weave of vulnerability, helplessness and the inability to guess what’s next.

Frank gives it a whirl, discussing social distancing, shuttered businesses, etc and so on, but, last time I check, we didn’t lose 2,996 people in the space of a few hours, and be concerned with a real threat of violence from Islamic jihadis (though we weren’t allowed to call them Islamic). Coronavirus is not 9/11: this is disrespectful to those who were murdered and all those who pitched in.

But jokes don’t fly right now. And in my eerily languid, palpably tense Manhattan neighborhood, it has been a few days since I heard the music of human laughter.

His piece is a joke, and monumentally overestimates the threat of Wuhan, which most in the media have done, because, I hate to say it, the media wants to use this to take down Trump, along with the fact that they love fear-mongering. It’s seemingly part of their job. “If it bleeds it leads.”

From that article

During the swine flu pandemic, were there mass cancellations of events including conferences, concerts, sporting events, and entire professional sports leagues? Did colleges cancel classes, finishing the remainder of their semesters online? Were travel restrictions imposed between America and Europe? Were panicked Americans hoarding everything from toilet paper to pasta?

That was 2009

Reported deaths had occurred in people ranging in age from 22 months old to 57 years old. Also, only 13% of hospitalizations had occurred in people 50 years and older, and there were few cases and no deaths in people older than 65 years, which was unusual when compared with seasonal flu. (snip)

Swine flu caused 60.8 million illnesses, 273,304 hospitalizations, and 12,469 deaths in the U.S.

Worldwide, swine flu may have killed up to 203,000 people, more than the number thus far infected with Coronavirus, and the vast majority of those infected recovering uneventfully.

Cases are leveling off in China. There, Italy, the UK, here in the U.S., etc, most people had minor to moderate symptoms, and lots don’t even know they have it. We certainly do not need to under-estimate or minimize it, but, we shouldn’t be over-estimating nor maximizing it, and that’s what has happened, to the point people are hoarding toilet paper, tampons, sanitary pads, pudding, and more.

Read: NY Times: Wuhan Virus Is Worse Than 9/11 Or Something »

Posted in Current Affairs, Unhinged Tools | 25 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach March 18, 2020 – 1:00 pm

…is horrible heat snow from carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Moonbattery, with a post on intolerance being tolerance.

Read: If All You See… »

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In Deep Blue Ventura County, Climate Tax Dies A Hard Death

By William Teach March 18, 2020 – 10:30 am

Ventura County, California, is just north of the Los Angeles area, with the two biggest cities being Ventura and Oxnard, right on the Pacific Ocean. They have been yammering about Future Doom from ‘climate change’ for decades. This is a county that went for Hillary Clinton 61.6% to Trump’s 32.8%, and always votes Democrats. So, a climate tax would be something they’d want, forcing themselves to pay for their own carbon footprints, right?

Climate change tax proposal dies after poll shows limited support

A proposal to raise the sales tax rate in Ventura County to address climate change, fire protection and other concerns died Tuesday after county supervisors concluded the voters were unlikely to pass it.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors decided against proceeding with the November ballot measure after polling showed 63% of likely voters supported a quarter percent increase in the sales tax to fund the programs. The sales tax totals 7.25% in most areas of the county.

The 63% approval number was less than the major show of support Supervisors Linda Parks and Steve Bennett were seeking for the measure that would need a two-thirds vote to pass in the election. The tax would have raised an estimated $35.8 million annually until ended by the voters.

Wow, a quarter percent increase! And could only get 63% to agree to it? Why not go big? How about a 1% sales tax increase? Why are these Warmists so afraid to spend their own money? Oh, right, because while most people agree with Doing Something in theory, in practice most do not want to spend more than $10 a month on Hotcoldwetdry stuff.

Read: In Deep Blue Ventura County, Climate Tax Dies A Hard Death »

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Cult of Climastrology: Coronavirus Is A Great Opportunity To Implement ‘Climate Change’ Policy

By William Teach March 18, 2020 – 8:27 am

See, people are getting sick (not many), people are scared (a lot), so, hey, it’s time for the doomsday cult to do their thing

Blog: Humanity must unite to beat coronavirus and climate change

The Coronavirus pandemic will have a huge global impact in 2020, not only on health and well-being, but also on our societies, economies and politics.

It is worth thinking through what the impact of the pandemic may be on climate change and climate actions – in terms of emissions, global and national politics, and social change. (snip)

If handled badly, the pandemic could suck the energy out of public action and public policy as prosperity declines. Governments will need to provide stimulus to economies that suffer from the impact of the coronavirus.

One way could be to fund elements of the green transition, thereby creating jobs. Helping economies and societies that suffer to recover and start the shift to a low emissions future is a way to meet both short and long-term social needs.

Governments need to respond effectively and fast to the coronavirus. That could distract attention and divert resources away from focusing on the climate crisis in the short term. (snip)

Perhaps the pandemic will produce changes that make societies more willing to act on the climate crisis in the long run. Strengthening recognition of our interdependence – that everyone’s health is everyone else’s business – could strengthen the understanding that compassion and empathy are functional traits for humanity.

This is not some random small blog like mine: this is from the Red Cross Red Crescent’s climate center website, which seems to be hoping for Doom in order to push ‘climate change’ policy, which is a push for a massive government dominated and controlled society.

Then there’s this at Climate Home News

Governments have ‘historic opportunity’ to accelerate clean energy transition, IEA says

Political and financial leaders have “a historic opportunity” to usher in a new era for global climate action with economic stimulus packages to confront the coronavirus pandemic, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said.

In an interview with Climate Home News on Tuesday, Fatih Birol said stimulus packages to prop up economic recovery marked a critical moment for governments to “shape policies” in line with climate action.

“I am talking with several governments and international financial institutions leaders because they are all busy designing stimulus programmes for the economy – the plans they will put together will be extremely important,” he said.

“This is the reason I am telling them that we can use the current situation to step up our ambition to tackle climate change.”

Taking advantage of people being in fear to institute their Modern Socialist agenda.

Read: Cult of Climastrology: Coronavirus Is A Great Opportunity To Implement ‘Climate Change’ Policy »

Posted in AGW Scaremongering, AGW Socialism, Global Warming | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

Washington Post Suddenly Discovers This Thing Called Federalism In Differing Wuhan Virus Responses

By William Teach March 18, 2020 – 8:05 am

Why, yes, this is the way it is supposed to work. Different areas require different responses. Heck, different parts of different states require different responses. What’s needed for small parts of New York, such as NYC, Long Island, Buffalo, Albany, are quite different than the rest of mildly suburban/rural NY.

Across U.S., a vast disparity in responses

Mark Estee spent his Tuesday laying off 100 cooks, waiters and dishwashers, having been forced by city decree in Reno, Nev., to close two restaurants that had been thriving just days ago.

Less than an hour down the road, in Nevada’s Carson Valley, the threat of coronavirus had inspired no such restrictions. Estee’s three other restaurants were preparing to serve dinner, a hearty mix of pasta, burgers and beer.

Such is the state of America’s patchwork response to the pandemic sweeping the globe. In some places, governors, mayors and county leaders have instituted aggressive action that is changing the fabric of life: shelter-in-place orders, business bans and school closures. In other spots, authorities have been far more lax, allowing routines to carry on more or less as normal.

The divide in responses showed some signs of narrowing Tuesday: Nevada’s governor was reported by multiple news outlets to be preparing to announce the shutdown of restaurants and bars late Tuesday evening. The governor of West Virginia did the same, and he appeared chastened as he announced that his state had become the 50th to record a coronavirus case.

I wonder what the other eight states will do?

In states that had already taken tough measures, the response only escalated: North Carolina’s Outer Banks announced it was setting up checkpoints to keep nonresidents out of the popular barrier islands. New York’s mayor said he was considering ordering the city’s nearly 9 million people to stay at home, as San Francisco did a day earlier.

But in other states, another day passed without the sort of robust action that public health officials say is needed to stem the virus’s spread.

The disparities across the country set the U.S. response apart from that of nations that have moved in a unified way to try to tamp down outbreaks. The gaps are increasingly drawing the ire of state and local officials who have acted decisively to halt the spread, but worry their efforts will be for naught if their neighbors don’t follow suit — and if Washington doesn’t act more proactively to set the tone.

This is federalism. It should work this way. The federal government can provide guidance, but, it’s much better of governments closer to actual people to look towards policy. Los Federales have limited knowledge of what’s going on here in Raleigh, nor in the more light suburban/almost rural area to the east. Even the state of North Carolina may not know as much. What is necessary for Raleigh could differ from, say, Zebulon and Wendell. Dare County, which is a big part of the Outer Banks, has stated no one but residents, despite there being zero known cases. In fact, only a handful of NC counties have any cases, and it is Wake County, where the capital city, Raleigh, is located (and an international airport) and Mecklenburg, home of Charlotte and another international airport, have a bunch of cases.

There have only been 100 deaths so far. Compare that to the 20-40 thousand the CDC estimates from the regular flu this year. Regardless, states also have different Constitutions and statutes laying out their authority, for which the federal government really does not have said authority. You’d think they would, but, no, theirs is extremely limited, and that was done on purpose. Most states make it tough for the government to crack down, also on purpose. You can figure out why. Here in NC, the Lt. Governor is questioning the restaurant bans

Lt. Gov. Dan Forest questioned the validity of Gov. Roy Cooper’s order Tuesday afternoon to shut down in-house seating at North Carolina bars and restaurants, saying the governor doesn’t have the authority to do it.

Forest said the governor didn’t get concurrence from other Council of State members before announcing his decision Tuesday morning, failing to satisfy a requirement in the section of state law that lays out his emergency powers.

“Thus, he does not have the authority to issue this part of his executive order,” Forest said in a statement posted to Twitter about 4 p.m.

It’s not that Dan doesn’t agree: he does, heard him say it on the radio. But, there are laws in place.

“It’s one thing to disagree, it’s another to create a chaotic situation in the middle of a pandemic,” Weiner said in a statement. “The governor is taking action to protect the health and safety of North Carolinians and does not need concurrence. The governor and the secretary of (the Department of Health and Human Services) have the authority to do this under state public health and emergency powers law.”

It’s dangerous applying power in this manner: where does it stop?

Anyhow, federalism.

Read: Washington Post Suddenly Discovers This Thing Called Federalism In Differing Wuhan Virus Responses »

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The Rich Are To Blame For ‘Climate Change’ Or Something

By William Teach March 17, 2020 – 3:32 pm

Guess what? You’re probably one of the people who are considered rich

Climate change: The rich are to blame, international study finds

The rich are primarily to blame for the global climate crisis, a study by the University of Leeds of 86 countries claims.

The wealthiest tenth of people consume about 20 times more energy overall than the bottom ten, wherever they live.

The gulf is greatest in transport, where the top tenth gobble 187 times more fuel than the poorest tenth, the research says.

That’s because people on the lowest incomes can rarely afford to drive.

The researchers found that the richer people became, the more energy they typically use. And it was replicated across all countries.

And they warn that, unless there’s a significant policy change, household energy consumption could double from 2011 levels by 2050. That’s even if energy efficiency improves.

In other words, this study is along the lines of politics, and how Government can put their foot down on citizens. So, a people for the government.

The research also examined the relative energy consumption of one nation against another.

It shows that a fifth of UK citizens are in the top 5% of global energy consumers, along with 40% of German citizens, and Luxembourg’s entire population.

Only 2% of Chinese people are in the top global 5% of users, and just 0.02% of people in India.

Even the poorest fifth of Britons consumes over five times as much energy per person as the bottom billion in India.

Say, what about all those climate cultists who take long fossil fueled trips to climate conferences? Should they be restricted, or are they given a free pass?

But Professor Kevin Anderson, from the Tyndall Centre in Manchester, who was not involved in the study, told BBC News: “This study tells relatively wealthy people like us what we don’t want to hear.

“The climate issue is framed by us high emitters – the politicians, business people, journalists, academics. When we say there’s no appetite for higher taxes on flying, we mean WE don’t want to fly less

“The same is true about our cars and the size our homes. We have convinced ourselves that our lives are normal, yet the numbers tell a very different story,” he said.

In other words, Warmsists are hypocrites, and the Cult of Climastrology wants everyone in the 1st World to be forced to live a 3rd World life.

Read: The Rich Are To Blame For ‘Climate Change’ Or Something »

Posted in AGW Socialism, Global Warming | 8 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach March 17, 2020 – 1:00 pm

…is the need to travel to the place where the big climate agreement came from, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day in this coronavirus need to travel week is Don Surber, with a post on how China gave Italy money and the coronavirus.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Say, Who Are The “Climate Doomers”, Hoping For Society To Disintegrate?

By William Teach March 17, 2020 – 7:36 am

It’s actually rather surprising that the BBC would run this, because, even though it takes a more even tone, these people really come off as nutjobs

The ‘climate doomers’ preparing for society to fall apart

An article by a British professor (Jem Bendell) that predicts the imminent collapse of society, as a result of climate change, has been downloaded over half a million times. Many mainstream climate scientists totally reject his claims, but his followers are already preparing for the worst.

As the last light of the late-winter sunset illuminates her suburban back garden, Rachel Ingrams is looking at the sky and pondering how long we have left.

Her hands shielded from the gusts of February air by a well-worn pair of gardening gloves, Rachel carefully places tree spinach and scarlet pimpernel seeds into brown plastic pots.

Over the past year, Rachel, 45, has invested in a greenhouse and four bright blue water butts, and started building a raised vegetable patch out of planks of wood. It’s all part of an effort to rewild her garden and become as close to self-sufficient as she can, while society continues to function.

Within the next five to 10 years, she says, climate change is going to cause it to fall apart. “I don’t see things lasting any longer than that.”

Sounds sane, eh? But, hey, suddenly preppers are cool, as long as they’re doing it due to a slight increase in a trace gas necessary for life on Earth

Bendell, a professor in sustainable leadership at the University of Cumbria, is the author of an academic article, Deep Adaptation: A Map for Navigating Climate Tragedy, which has become the closest thing to a manifesto for a generation of self-described “climate doomers”.

In it, he argues that it is too late for us to avoid “the inevitability of societal collapse” caused by climate change. Instead, we are facing a “near-term” breakdown of civilisation – near-term meaning within about a decade.

The paper was rejected for publication by a peer-reviewed journal, whose reviewers said its language was “not appropriate for an academic article”.

Even Michael “Robust Debate” Mann, who knows a lot about garbage science, called the paper trash and “pseudo-scientific nonsense.”

Bendell rejects the scientists’ claims and says people have been inspired by his paper to demand radical government measures to tackle climate change.

“I hope Michael Mann gets to meet some more climate activists on the streets, so he can meet the new breed of fearless people taking peaceful direct action after being moved by uncompromising assessments of our situation,” he says. “Many of the leaders of Extinction Rebellion read my paper and quit their jobs to go full time to try to reduce harm and save what we can.”

Mann underestimates the number of people driven into the Cult of Climastrology who are believing this clap-trap. They hear politicians yammering about having so many years to save the Earth constantly. That doom is coming. Only so many will act on this, like the lady in the story, but, the rest are just becoming mental messes.

It’s a long article, worth the read to see climamoonbattery.

Read: Say, Who Are The “Climate Doomers”, Hoping For Society To Disintegrate? »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, AGW Scaremongering, Global Warming | 7 Comments | Trackback URL

Trump Calls Out NY Times For Missing Half A Quote

By William Teach March 17, 2020 – 7:20 am

The NY Times still hasn’t updated the article to reflect the entire quote

Trump calls the New York Times a ‘disgrace to journalism’ for misrepresentation of his coronavirus quote

Media pundits criticized President Donald Trump based on an incomplete quote from a recording of the president’s conference call with state governors about the crisis from the coronavirus pandemic.

The quote appeared in a report by the New York Times.

“Trump tells governors not to wait for federal government to look for needed medical equipment on their own,” tweeted Peter Baker of the New York Times.

“Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment—try getting it yourselves,” the quote read.

That tweet generated lots of typical hate towards Trump

But according to the Washington Examiner, the president followed up that quote with a clarification that the White House would help governors with the effort to obtain medical equipment.

“We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves,” he said. “Point of sales, much better, much more direct if you can get it yourself.”

Now, the NYT article in question has a link to another Times article, which includes the full quote, but, how many will click it? Full context matters, especially with such a short quote. And, of course, the Times in that linked piece tries to go negative

The suggestion surprised some of the governors, who have been scrambling to contain the outbreak and are increasingly looking to the federal government for help with equipment, personnel and financial aid. Last Wednesday, Mr. Trump directed his labor secretary to increase the availability of respirators, and he has generally played down fears of shortages.

All sorts of mostly Democrat Governors had hissy fits, because that’s what they do. One the quoted was Washington gov Jay Inslee, and, you can understand why he’s upset, being unable to do anything about all the urine and feces in the streets of Seattle. Perhaps Jay should have spent more time on other things rather than ‘climate change’, eh?

“If one state doesn’t get the resources and materials they need, the entire nation continues to be at risk,” said Ms. Lujan Grisham, a Democrat.

She’s the gov of New Mexico. She apparently missed the part about trying first themselves, because they are closer down the supply chain, and state, county, and local employees may well know better where the supplies are and able to procure them faster, because the federal government only has so many employees involved in things like that. New Mexico has around 29,000 federal employees in the state, 12K of whom work for the Air Force directly, with another 3,400 civilian AF workers. 133 work for the Dept of Commerce. How many of these 29K will understand how to make purchases?

If they need help, they can ask. That’s the way it works. Doesn’t sound like these Democrat leaders are particularly competent.

Oh, and there was also a failure at the Washington Post to practice proper journalism

Read: Trump Calls Out NY Times For Missing Half A Quote »

Posted in Barking Moonbats, Donald Trump, Journalistic Malpractice | 40 Comments | Trackback URL

The Bulwark #NeverTrumper Discovers Federalism

By William Teach March 16, 2020 – 3:00 pm

We’ve seen this time and time again: the people who’ve called Trump a dictator, a Fascist, “literally Hitler” are now upset that Trump is not Declaring Things. Here’s The Bulwark’s resident unhinged Lefty, because a conserving conservative site needs that, right? (via Twitchy)

https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1239560969925398528

Is this called Federalism? Did she just discover the 10th Amendment?

https://twitter.com/UsagikoNat/status/1239587748006125568

Seriously, this is the way it’s supposed to work. The duties of the federal government are laid out in the Constitution, and the restrictions on Los Federales are laid out in the initial 10 Amendments. These are our founding documents. There’s a reason they are called states, namely because they are as big as old world European nations. When the leader of a foreign nation comes to the U.S., what do they call them? Chief of state. We know that the federal government was meant to bind us together, and given certain duties, such as setting monetary policy.

Heck, we can even invoke the 9th

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

As much as I’d love to write a dissertation long post on this subject, you either know it or don’t, and I shan’t bore you with it.

Read: The Bulwark #NeverTrumper Discovers Federalism »

Posted in Constitution, Liberal World, States Rights | 17 Comments | Trackback URL
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