Large Number Of States Back Texas In Their Fight Against Biden Open Border

By William Teach January 26, 2024 – 6:45 am

Is this how Civil War 2.0 starts?

Map Shows States Joining Forces With Greg Abbott in Border Standoff

Republican governors across the U.S. have backed Texas in its escalating conflict with the Biden administration over immigration enforcement. (snip)

“The Executive Branch of the United States has a constitutional duty to enforce federal laws protecting States, including immigration laws on the books right now,” Abbott said. “President Biden has refused to enforce those laws and has even violated them.”

The Biden administration’s failure to “fulfill the duties imposed by” Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution “has triggered Article I, § 10, Clause 3, “which reserves to this State the right of self-defense,” Abbott said.

“For these reasons, I have already declared an invasion under Article I, § 10, Clause 3 to invoke Texas’s constitutional authority to defend and protect itself. That authority is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary,” he said.

And it looks like this (I’m using a newer map than at the article)

And another like

Now, this was written Thursday evening, so, perhaps some things will change. I can see how Kentucky might be a bit squishy with a Democrat governor. Same with North Carolina. Arizona would usually be following Republicans, but, Dem governor. Perhaps illegals can start crossing into Arizona and New Mexico?

The article I cited features quite a few Republican governors pledging their support with Texas.

Read: Large Number Of States Back Texas In Their Fight Against Biden Open Border »

Posted in Constitution, Illegal Immigration | 10 Comments | Trackback URL

New EV Issue: Tires Wear Down A Whole Lot Faster

By William Teach January 25, 2024 – 3:00 pm

Here’s the question I have: is this the norm or are we just hearing from those who are complaining about it, having issues?

New tires every 7,000 miles? Electric cars save gas but tire wear shocks some Florida drivers

electric vehicleIt was love at first sight when Neil Semel saw the electric Mercedes EQS 450+ at a Pompano Beach dealership. The sedan was the perfect sleek black color his wife wanted, had only 2,200 miles and they both liked the idea of getting away from gasoline.

“I’ve always driven combustion engines and I thought it was time to try to save the planet,” Semel said.

But after less than 5,000 miles of driving around his Boca Raton neighborhood, Semel was shocked to find some essential — and very expensive — parts were already wearing out. The tires.

“If somebody looked at me and said, Mr. Semel, you are going to love this car but in about 7,000 miles you will have to pay 1,400 or 1,500 dollars to replace the tires, I wouldn’t have bought the car,” Semel said.

Pricey!

For many drivers of EVs in Florida — the nation’s second largest market for electrical vehicles — premature tire wear has become an unexpected black mark on vehicles promoted as a green climate-friendly option to gas-gulping cars.

At EV Garage Miami, a Sweetwater repair shop that services 90 percent electric vehicles, lead technician Jonathan Sanchez said tires are the most frequent thing customers come in about — no matter what model or make of EV they’re driving. Tire mileage can vary widely of course, but he said he frequently changes EV tires at just 8,000 to 10,000 miles — a fourth or even fifth of typical tire wear on a gas-burning car.

Is this something that they are seeing more in a warmer all year round environment like Florida, or happening everywhere? Does this cover all types of EVs, or just luxuries?

There are a number of explanations for the fast wear — from the way EVs work to the composition of the rubber to individual driving habits and maintenance practices — but vehicle and tire makers and industry experts acknowledge the issue. The tire manufacturer Michelin said conventional tires on electric vehicles consume tires 20 percent faster than on a gas-powered car — a figure commonly cited by EV makers as well — but Goodyear also has said they could wear up to 50 percent faster. Automakers and the tire industry are working on improvements.

So, it’s real. To go along with all the other higher costs associated with owning an EV, which takes the gas savings and blows it away with the Everything Else costs. Perhaps not as bad as some are saying, but, certainly, replacing tires quicker is not good.

That would be good for consumers but also for the climate. To some extent, running through tires quickly may offset the reduction of damaging emissions that EVs offer. Some studies have shown that tires actually have more particle pollution than exhaust, 2,000 times as much.

“Tires are rapidly eclipsing the tailpipe as a major source of emissions from vehicles,” said Nick Molden, to the Guardian who conducted one study with Emissions Analytics.

So, actual air pollution, as well as getting in the waters and on land. Cool! Solve one “problem” by creating another.

Also, I have to wonder, do the tires get punctured more, as there is a whole lot more weight pressing down on them?

Read: New EV Issue: Tires Wear Down A Whole Lot Faster »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 9 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach January 25, 2024 – 1:00 pm

…is horrible ice cream made with milk from evil moo cows, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Lid, with a post on moonbats wanting to take away your coffee.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

Ohio Protects Children From Gender Procedures, Men Playing In Women’s Sports

By William Teach January 25, 2024 – 10:30 am

I’m highly confident that the people who like mutilating children, damaging their mental health, and forcing women to share locker rooms, changing rooms, and showers with biological males, while letting the males compete in sports and taking wins away from women will sue and some psycho judge will agree with them

Ohio bans gender-affirming care and restricts transgender athletes

Ohio has banned gender-affirming care for minors and restricted transgender women’s and girls’ participation on sports teams, a move that has families of transgender children scrambling over how best to care for them.

The Republican-dominated Senate voted Wednesday to override GOP Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto. The new law bans gender-affirming surgeries and hormone therapies, and restricts mental health care for transgender individuals under 18. The measure also bans transgender girls and women from girls and women’s sports teams at both the K-12 and collegiate level.

The override cleared the chamber 24-8 mostly along party lines, save Sen. Nathan Manning, a Republican from Cuyahoga County who has consistently broken from his party on the issue.

Officials expect the law to take effect in roughly 90 days. The Republican-majority House had voted to override the veto earlier this month.

Two of Kat Scaglione’s three children are transgender, and the Chagrin Falls artist is devastated, but not surprised, by the new law. Her 14-year-old daughter Amity is already receiving mental health services and some medication, and would be able to continue her treatment under the law’s grandfather clause, but she wouldn’t be able to seek anything further, such as hormone therapies, and would have to go out of state to progress in her gender-affirming care.

One has to see the irony of gender confused youths need to see mental healthcare professionals. What are the chances of two children being gender deranged without it being a fad that was pushed on them by adults, be it the parents or teachers? A very dangerous fad that has long term medical and mental implications. These kids cannot drink, join the military, buy tobacco, or buy a gun. But, the unhinged Leftists want them to be able to take drugs and get medical procedures. The want the males with mental issues to compete against women, taking their wins which can lead to scholarships.

Scaglione and her partner, Matt, are even considering moving their family out of state entirely, despite recently buying a house in a school district and community that’s safer for Amity and her 10-year-old sister Lexi who is also transgender. They don’t feel welcome in Ohio, and don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Parents like this should be charged with child abuse. In a sane world that would happen.

At least 20 states have approved a version of a blanket ban on transgender athletes playing on K-12 and collegiate sports teams statewide, but a Biden administration proposal to forbid such outright bans is set to be finalized this year after multiple delays and much pushback. As proposed, the rule would establish that blanket bans would violate Title IX, the landmark gender-equity legislation enacted in 1972.

Somehow, allowing mentally damaged males to compete again real women is “gender-equity” now. Title IX was meant to protect women’s sports, not be used by a mentally deficient man to destroy them. Biden and his Comrades care more about the small number of gender deranged over real women. Seriously, what’s the end game here, Biden and Comrades? How does it benefit anyone by allowing children to have all sorts of life altering medical procedures and males competing against women?

Read: Ohio Protects Children From Gender Procedures, Men Playing In Women’s Sports »

Posted in Current Affairs | 27 Comments | Trackback URL

Who’s Up For A “Green Sabbath”?

By William Teach January 25, 2024 – 7:00 am

The Washington Post has Ideas on how to help save us from global boiling, by appropriating religious beliefs into their cult

Why reviving a 2,600-year-old spiritual practice made my life better

Every Friday around sunset, I close my laptop. For 24 hours, my work is done. No email. No news. No social media. If it’s work-related, it waits.

What I try to do is — nothing at all. Or, rather, I spend time with people I love, usually outdoors. I swim or surf. I share a meal with friends and family. Sometimes, I just lie on my back in the park enjoying the sun.

It has rekindled a sense of joy I last felt when I was a kid with nothing to do, and gratitude for whatever miraculous series of events led me here to this moment.

For years, this one-day pause seemed untenable. For many, it’s virtually impossible to set aside an entire day for rest free from responsibilities to work and family.

Michael J. Coren literally spends a bit of time every week writing climate cult opinion pieces for the Washington Post. That’s it. And, if he wants to do nothing, have at it. However, climate cultists are very fond of telling Other People what to do.

In 2019, Schorsch founded the Green Sabbath Project to incite a “mass movement to observe a weekly day of rest” for the secular and religious alike. This is not a spa day, but a modern version of what the ancients practiced: avoiding work in factories and offices, or even in front of our laptops; opting out of driving or flying, or using engines of any kind for the day; putting off shopping; preparing food in advance; and ceasing incessant doing.

The immediate effect among millions of people, he calculates, could dial back emissions for at least one day a week with no new technology or spending. But the practice of doing nothing, he argues, can make people change the way they live year-round, by appealing to an ancient human ritual, rather than reason or even religion. (snip)

Schorsch is now hoping to find more communities willing to undertake this radical experiment in time together. “Ultimately, as a society, we’re going to need to have ecological practices,” he says. “It’s not enough to impose laws. Do we solve [climate change] through technocratic solutions and policy, or do we solve it through new cultural, even spiritual approaches? One without the other is not going to be enough.”

But, will this happen without Governmental Force? He tried to compare it to yoga, but, it seems more people are interested in wearing yoga pants to show their ass then actually doing yoga. Many are recommending that lots and lots of blue laws are brought back to keep people from being able to do anything on that one day a week.

Seriously, why can’t these people just mind their own business and stop trying to force their beliefs on everyone else?

Read: Who’s Up For A “Green Sabbath”? »

Posted in Climate Cult, Global Warming | 15 Comments | Trackback URL

Texas Gov. Abbott Follows Supreme Court Ruling On Border Razor Wire To A T

By William Teach January 25, 2024 – 6:45 am

Everyone wanted Texas Governor Greg Abbott to defy the SCOTUS ruling, but, there is no need

Texas is exploiting a loophole in a new Supreme Court ruling to keep putting up razor-wire fencing at the border

Texas is apparently taking advantage of a loophole in a recent Supreme Court ruling involving the US-Mexico border in order to keep putting up more razor-wire fencing along the Rio Grande riverbank.

The Supreme Court’s 5-4 Monday ruling delivered a huge win to the Biden administration in its ongoing legal battle with Texas over the southern border by allowing federal border agents to cut or move barbed wire fencing the Republican-controlled state installed at the border.

I wonder if the Texas lawyers argued that Texas was having to do the job of the federal government because Los Federales were failing to do their Constitutional job? Anyway

The ruling does not call for Texas to take any action in the matter — and the state’s Republican governor, Greg Abbott, suggested in a post to X on Wednesday that Texas will keep putting up the fencing, even if federal border agents take it down.

“Texas’ razor wire is an effective deterrent against the illegal border crossings encouraged by [President Joe] Biden’s open border policies,” Abbott said. “We continue to deploy this razor wire to repel illegal immigration.”

Meanwhile, a federal law enforcement source with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to speak publicly told Business Insider on Wednesday that Texas can put up all the wire fencing it wants but that border agents have the right to cut it down if it gets in their way.

“If they put up wire, that’s fine,” the source said of Texas. “If it interferes with federal law enforcement’s ability to do its job, that’s when there’s an issue.”

Whoops! Big loophole. Texas can, and will, continue to put up razor wire. How quick can Los Federales take it down?

Meanwhile, because Democrats do not really understand, or care, about law or the Constitution, some want Brandon to federalize the Texas National Guard

Texas Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro was the first to call for a federalization of the Texas National Guard, which as a military unit is ultimately under the command of President Biden as commander-in-chief.

Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) followed suit Wednesday in the wake of Abbott’s statement.

“I agree with Congressman Castro: if Abbott is defying yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling, President Biden needs to establish sole federal control of the Texas National Guard,” said Casar.

Yeah, it actually doesn’t work that work. The POTUS can only take control of National Guard under very specific circumstances, otherwise they remain under control of the State. Under Title 32

1. 32 USC 502 (f): This statue allows member of the National Guard to be ordered to full-time National Guard duty
to perform operational activities. It was used for the Airport Security mission after 9/11 and also for Hurricane
Katrina and Rita response effort.
2. 32 USC § 901: The term “Homeland Defense activity” means an activity undertaken for the military protection of
the territory or domestic population of the U.S., or of infrastructure or other asset of the U.S. determined by the
Secretary of Defense as being critical to national security and at risk of a threat or aggression against the U.S.

There’s a few other abilities, however, they all pretty much say the same thing: for protecting the United States and enforcing the laws of the United States. It’s rather difficult to use them to stop the enforcement of the laws of the US, eh?

Read: Texas Gov. Abbott Follows Supreme Court Ruling On Border Razor Wire To A T »

Posted in Illegal Immigration, Joe Biden | 10 Comments | Trackback URL

Your Fault: Extreme Wave Hits Marshall Islands

By William Teach January 24, 2024 – 3:00 pm

See, rogue waves never happened prior to the fossil fueled vehicle and people eating meat, which really started this century, you know

Extreme wave in Marshall Islands highlights dangers of climate change, experts say

A series of extreme waves that wreaked havoc on a U.S. military base in the Marshall Islands could be indicative of more dangerous coastal behavior in the future, according to experts.

Flooding from the waves inundated one-third of the island of Roi-Namor, located in the Kwajalein Atoll in the northern Marshall Islands, according to the U.S. Army. The U.S. Army Garrison-Kwajalein Atoll base serves as a space and missile defense test range for the U.S. Department of Defense and contains some of the Army’s most sophisticated tracking equipment. (snip)

Sea level may have played a contributing factor into the severity of the waves and could cause them to occur more often in the future, Sienkiewicz said.

The Marshall Islands are considered at the very front lines of climate change, with research showing that rising sea levels contribute to powerful, destructive waves and more flooding in coastal areas as a result.

Several other factors, such as coastal topography, weather conditions and tide cycles, could have also played a role in the strength of the waves. Other causes could include a rapid change in the bathymetry, or the depth of the water, Sienkiewicz said.

I’m surprised they threw that last paragraph in, when, it’s clearly the fault of Other People buying new clothes and flying places. In fact, sea rise at the Marshall Islands is only .68 feet per 100 years, making it exactly average sea rise, when it should be much more during a Holocene warm period. Weather happens. Things are not static. Things change. That’s Earth. Climate cultists think things are always supposed to stay the same and never change.

Surprisingly, no one caught any video of the waves, just them hitting a building

I blame you.

Read: Your Fault: Extreme Wave Hits Marshall Islands »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach January 24, 2024 – 1:00 pm

…is a big city being flooded from sea rise, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Theo Spark, with a post on trusting the government.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 8 Comments | Trackback URL

Excitable Chuck Schumer Super Concerned Over Zyn Nicotine Pouches

By William Teach January 24, 2024 – 10:30 am

Having solved all the big issues facing America, Chuck has Ideas

Schumer’s call for federal crackdown on Zyn nicotine pouches faces backlash: ‘Nanny state alive and well’

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has called for a federal crackdown on Zyn nicotine pouches, eliciting strong backlash in return.

The Democrat lawmaker recently issued a “warning to parents” and said young people are getting hooked on the nicotine pouches from social media, CBS New York reported on Sunday.

“It’s a pouch packed with problems – high levels of nicotine,” Schumer said at a press conference. “So today, I’m delivering a warning to parents because these nicotine pouches seem to lock their sites on young kids, teenagers and even lower. And then use the social media to hook them.”

The local outlet reported Schumer is urging the Federal Trade Commission and Food and Drug Administration to investigate Zyn “for concerns relating to marketing and health effects.”

Chuckles is concerned that how Zyn markets is enticing kids. You know, the same kids that are seeing all this advertising and all these THC and similar products everywhere, including the state of New York, where “cannabis” is legal. Should kids be using nicotine pouches? Probably not, same way they shouldn’t be vaping. Probably a lot better than smoking, and certainly a whole lot better than alcohol. Most of those pouches have multiple levels of nicotine. I tend to get the lowest levels. I do not gen Zyn much, because they’re a little more expensive than others and only have 15 pouches. I tend to get On, which isn’t as good, but, you get 20 for less. Velo is good. Do not care for Rogue, they are too thick. It keeps me from smoking much (I don’t want to quit, my only vice. I rarely drink, do not do drugs), and they do not contain all those extra chemicals like cigarettes. Which kids get. Oh, and they get other things

“Joe Biden wants to ban menthol cigarettes. Chuck Schumer wants to ban Zyn. The nanny state is alive and well with today’s Democrat Party,” the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) wrote on X.

Nanny state for that stuff. But not

Huh

As more teens overdose on fentanyl, schools face a drug crisis unlike any other

Kids of all ages are dying from fentanyl, some who take it on purpose, some by accident. Even toddlers are dying from it. But, let’s worry about Zyn.

Read: Excitable Chuck Schumer Super Concerned Over Zyn Nicotine Pouches »

Posted in Barking Moonbats, Democrats | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

Good News: Asheville Spent Millions On Electric Buses: Most No Longer Operate

By William Teach January 24, 2024 – 7:15 am

Electric buses cost 3 to 4 times what a regular diesel bus costs, but, we’ve been Reliably Told that they will save around $100K over the lifespan of the EBs. They have to run first

From the link

The city of Asheville, North Carolina, shelled out millions of dollars in 2018 to add five electric buses to its fleet. Now, three of the five sit idle, and city employees are telling the cautionary tale.

Asheville’s interim transportation director, Jessica Morriss, told local station WLOS-TV that the three out-of-commission buses are down due to a combination of software issues and mechanical problems, and one has had a broken door since July that can’t be replaced.

“We haven’t been able to get new doors,” Morriss told the outlet. “There’s no third party that makes a door. We’d have to get custom-made doors.”

Part of the issue is that the company that made the electric buses, Proterra, filed for bankruptcy in August. According to the News & Observer, Proterra’s operations are still shut down. The company was recently purchased by Phoenix Motor, but it is unclear when parts and services for Proterra buses will be available.

They can’t get a door. A door. Regular buses are fixed easy peasy, and you don’t have to deal with software problems.

In the meantime, Asheville is staring down losses from a major investment. Morriss told WLOS that each bus cost at least $616,000, and the city had to spend another $200,000 for the installation of each charger, another $118,000 every year to lease batteries for the buses, and nearly $45,500 annually in electric costs to charge them.

Wait, leasing batteries? Along with the cost of the buses, which are three times the average cost of a commuter bus.

She also noted that maintenance costs for the electric buses have topped $250,000. At the same time, having most of the electric buses out of operation has increased wear and tear on the rest of the 32 buses in the fleet, which either run on biodiesel or are hybrid models.

Yeah, maybe they should have just bought good old reliable diesel buses

Maintenance director John McDaniel also weighed in on the problems Asheville has had with its electric buses. He told WLOS that the two electric buses that are still in operation can only travel around 78 miles in the wintertime before needing to return to the shop and charge for hours.

What a fantastic investment.

Read: Good News: Asheville Spent Millions On Electric Buses: Most No Longer Operate »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 11 Comments | Trackback URL
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