Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach January 14, 2024 – 9:46 am

Happy Sunday! Another fine day in the Once And Future Nation Of America. The Sun is shining, the birds are singing, and a fox walked across the backyard. This pinup is by Gil Elvgren, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. The Lid discusses LA wanting to give illegal aliens badges and guns
  2. The Gateway Pundit notes how many guns Americans bought in 2023
  3. The Feral Irishman wonders how many Melrose, Mass residents are opening their doors to illegals
  4. Powerline covers Jewish students suing Harvard
  5. Outside The Beltway discusses porn, public employees, and the 1st Amendment
  6. neo-neocon wonders about the smiley-voice
  7. Moonbattery highlights stopping abuse of children being abuse
  8. Legal Insurrection covers Trump now going after Vivek
  9. IOTW Report features Democrats becoming Independents
  10. Geller Report notes yet another fake hate crime
  11. Dissecting Leftism covers the CDC ordered to report COVID surveillance
  12. Cold Fury discusses Texas seizing a border park and blocking the feds
  13. Climate Depot shows EV disasters coming in threes
  14. American Greatness covers Rice U offering and Afrochemistry class
  15. And last, but, not least, Watts Up With That? notes that embracing your inner communist can help with your climate grief

As always, the full set of pinups can be seen in the Patriotic Pinup category, or over at my Gallery page (nope, that’s gone, the newest Apache killed access, and the program hasn’t been upgraded since 2014). While we are on pinups, since it is that time of year, have you gotten your Pinups for Vets calendar yet? And don’t forget to check out what I declare to be our War on Women Rule 5 and linky luv posts and things that interest me. I’ve also mostly alphabetized them, makes it easier scrolling the feedreader

Don’t forget to check out all the other great material all the linked blogs have!

Anyone else have a link or hotty-fest going on? Let me know so I can add you to the list. And do you have a favorite blog you can recommend be added to the feedreader?

Two great sites for getting news links are Liberty Daily and Whatafinger.

Read: Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup »

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Good News: Biden Gives China Green Light To Invade Taiwan

By William Teach January 14, 2024 – 7:00 am

As if things haven’t gone off the rails enough since Biden assumed the presidency, what with his disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, Russian invading Ukraine, Iran working towards having nuclear weapons, letting a Chinese spy balloon fly across the entire country, Hamas with their horrific attack on Israel/Jews, the Iranian back Houthis getting frisky, and so much more, now Let’s Go Brandon is giving China the green light to invade Taiwan

Biden: US does not support Taiwan independence

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Saturday the United States does not support the independence of Taiwan, after Taiwanese voters rebuffed China and gave the ruling party a third presidential term.

Earlier in the day, the Taiwanese ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate Lai Ching-te came to power, strongly rejecting Chinese pressure to spurn him, and pledged both to stand up to Beijing and seek talks.

“We do not support independence…” Biden said, when asked for reaction to Saturday’s elections.

Hours ahead of the polls opening, Washington had warned “it would be unacceptable” for “any” country to interfere in the election.

And that means what, Joe?

The United States is Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties with the island.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Lai Ching-te on his victory and said the United States “is committed to maintaining cross-strait peace and stability, and the peaceful resolution of differences, free from coercion and pressure.”He said the U.S.looks forward to working with Lai and leaders of all parties in Taiwan to advance their “longstanding unofficial relationship, consistent with the U.S. one China policy.”

But, Joe says the U.S. doesn’t support independence?

In a show of support for the government, Biden plans to dispatch an unofficial delegation to the self-governed island, according to a senior Biden administration official.

The delegation is likely to include some former high-ranking American officials, according to the official, who said the names have not been finalized. Similar delegations have been sent to Taiwan in the past.

So, do we support independence or not? Do we support Taiwan or not?

The Biden administration has feared that the election, transition and new administration would escalate conflict with Beijing.

Biden has worked to smooth relations with China, including agreeing to talk through differences on security matters at a California summit with President Xi Jinping in November.

Exactly what is the Biden regime standing for? When China hears “we do not support independence” what are they thinking? When they see Joe trying to smooth relations, what are they thinking? When Blinkin gives a conflicting statement, what is China thinking? Is it something along the lines of “the Biden admin is squishy, let’s invade Taiwan”?

Seriously, how contorted and absurd can Brandon foreign policy get? China intends to invade and take control of Taiwan. China has militarized and seized vast areas of the South China Sea. It will probably make no difference to Chinese intentions or actions if the US declares that it recognizes and will support Taiwanese independence. It just might however cause them to postpone and will certainly show other countries in the area that the US actually has a backbone. They would then be more inclined to collectively resist coercion by China.

We have a treaty to protect Taiwan, and Biden is making it difficult. And then he blew out of D.C. to head to Camp David.

Read: Good News: Biden Gives China Green Light To Invade Taiwan »

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If All You See…

By William Teach January 13, 2024 – 1:00 pm

…are trees which look bad due to carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Other McCain, with a post on priorities in Seattle.

Read: If All You See… »

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US Institute Of Peace Super Concerned Biden’s Striking Islamic Extremist Group

By William Teach January 13, 2024 – 10:30 am

Funny how so many leftist groups get their panties in a wad when Islamic extremist groups are on the receiving end of military strikes which they earned, but, not so much when the Islamic extremist terrorist groups are attacking

Peace expert says U.S. strikes on Houthis in Yemen marks ‘very dangerous moment in the Middle East’

One day after the U.S. and the U.K. launched retaliatory strikes against Houthi militant locations in Yemen, President Biden said the U.S. is prepared to take action again if the Iran-backed rebels continue to attack ships in the Red Sea.

“We will make sure that we respond to the Houthis if they continue with this outrageous behavior along with our allies,” Biden told reporters traveling with him in Pennsylvania on Friday. (snip)

“I think the hope was there would be other ways to deter Houthi attacks on Red Sea targets,” Mona Yacoubian, vice president of the Middle East and North Africa Center at the U.S. Institute of Peace, told Yahoo News. “It was the significant barrage of missiles and drones on January 9 that finally gave the U.S. — from its perspective — no option but to respond directly by attacking Houthi targets in Yemen.” (snip)

Do you think the U.S. and U.K. strikes will lead to an escalation of a wider war in the Middle East?
Yacoubian: I believe we are in the throes of a much broader region-wide conflict that has directly drawn in the United States. The Houthis are now vowing revenge on Americans. Honestly, [the Houthis are] in a position where they can sort of control a bit of the pace of escalation. They simply need to say, ‘Hey, we’re here, still standing’ and undertake additional strikes.

This will once again put the United States in the difficult position of having to then escalate its own military intervention as a way of seeking to deter Houthi military action. And before you know it, I think we’re off on a whole new escalatory cycle that very much encumbers the United States.

The US Institute Of Peace was actually established by Congress, and is supposedly non-partisan. And they aren’t wrong about being dangerous, but, the US and UK can kick the crap out of the Houthis if we so choose. If Iran wants to get frisky, well, they’ll get smacked around as well.

What happens now?
Yacoubian: We’re at a very dangerous moment in the Middle East. Unfortunately, I think the kind of rising tensions at this flashpoint in the Red Sea have now tipped the region into the broader conflict that many fear could happen.

I think the big question at this point is going to be how to move from a situation of escalating tensions and violence, to one in which the United States can restore deterrence and deescalate very, very dangerous tensions before others end up joining the fight.

They seem very concerned that the terrorist group is on the receiving end of FAFO. They weren’t that concerned when Hamas attacked Israel, at least not about Israel and all the Jews killed. Just that Palestinians, who support Hamas and are so extremist that no Arab country will take them in, would be on the receiving end of FAFO. There were no articles about Hamas attacking Israel. No tweets. And these peace experts seem to want to blame the US and UK, not the Houthis and Iran. The Peace Institute folks seem to think that Israel and the US, along with all those attacked by the Iranian backed Houthis should simply just take it.

Read: US Institute Of Peace Super Concerned Biden’s Striking Islamic Extremist Group »

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Netherlands Sued By Dutch Caribbean Citizens Of Bonaire Over Climate Doom

By William Teach January 13, 2024 – 7:15 am

The lawyers for the Netherlands should ask in court if these Dutch folks have given up their own use of fossil fuels and will stop all shipping of goods to the island, and stop all tourism, since that is the primary part of their economy

Dutch Caribbean islanders sue Netherlands over climate change

Eight people from the Caribbean island of Bonaire are suing the Netherlands, accusing it of violating their human rights by not doing enough to protect them from the climate crisis.

The group, with Greenpeace Netherlands, filed a formal legal challenge against the Dutch government in The Hague on Thursday, asking the district court to order it to cut its greenhouse emissions much more quickly and to help its most vulnerable territories adapt to the impact of the climate crisis.

As a low-lying island, Bonaire is likely to experience serious consequences from climate change, including extreme weather and sea-level rise.

“Likely to.” So, it’s not happening now?

The KNMI report concludes that climate policy that focuses on reducing emissions can make a big difference to the future of Dutch Caribbean islands such as Bonaire.

OK, no more flights to their international airport, no more cruise ships, no more fossil fueled vehicles and boats.

Research by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, commissioned by Greenpeace, shows sea-level rise is likely to permanently submerge parts of the island by 2050, a problem exacerbated by the loss of coral reefs as a natural buffer against the oceans warming and acidifying.

Interestingly, there are no measurements for the actual sea level rise in that area. The closest nation, Venezuela, has none. Columbia’s haven’t been updated for decades. Isn’t always interesting how these doomsayers never have actual data?

Read: Netherlands Sued By Dutch Caribbean Citizens Of Bonaire Over Climate Doom »

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

New Mexico Democrats Push Gun Control Laws That Won’t Stop Criminals

By William Teach January 13, 2024 – 7:00 am

New Mexico has already passed lots and lots of gun laws. Not quite at the level of the People’s Republik Of California. Everytown rates them #16 for U.S. states. Giffords gives them a C+, and has recommendations for New Mexico. Which the Democrats seem to be following

NM Gov. Grisham pushes gun control, public safety as Legislature reconvenes

New Mexico’s governor presented a broad suite of legislative proposals on gun control and enhanced penalties for violent crime Friday, vowing to forge new pathways through the complex landscape of constitutional law in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to expand gun rights.

The announcements by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a second-term Democrat, puts public safety at the forefront of a 30-day legislative session that starts Tuesday. The fast-paced session is limited to budget negotiations — and initiatives chosen by the governor.

“The constitutionality questions are beginning to be very complicated in the arena of gun violence,” Lujan Grisham said. “We are going to continue this effort, following what is going on around the country. … There will be others who will follow in our footsteps, creating their own public safety corridors, which in effect also make New Mexicans safer.”

So, they are going to make it harder for law abiding citizens to defend themselves from the criminality the Democrats create with their terrible, soft on crime laws and policies.

Germane proposals will include a ban on guns at public parks and playgrounds with felony penalties for violations — expanding a hallmark of the governor’s ongoing declaration of a public health emergency related to gun violence and drug abuse.

Democratic legislators are seeking a 14-day waiting period for background checks on gun purchases and a minimum age set to 21 on purchases of semiautomatic rifles and shotguns.

A proposal from Democratic state Rep. Andrea Romero of Santa Fe would place new limitations on assault-style weapons to reducing a shooter’s ability to fire off dozens of rounds a second and attach new magazines to keep firing.

A list of more than 20 public-safety bills, sponsored mostly by Democratic legislators, extend beyond gun safety to a panhandling ban and expanded criminal provisions related to retail theft as local stores have resorted to padlocking clothes. The proposals also include felony penalties for teachers and coaches who ignore hazing incidents in the wake of alleged locker-room assaults involving New Mexico State basketball players.

Yeah, they had to include some measures to deal with their previous idiocy on going easy on criminals. Because criminals will follow these laws and the gun laws. Have fun with the lawsuits if passed! Republicans should offer amendments, since they cannot necessary stop the anti-2nd Amendment bills, that strip those who protect the governor of “assault rifles”, large capacity magazines, and where they can carry weapons in public.

Interestingly, these same people freak about a 72 hour waiting period for abortions, which are not constitutional rights

Read: New Mexico Democrats Push Gun Control Laws That Won’t Stop Criminals »

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‘Climate Change’ Drove Extinction Of Real King Kong Or Something

By William Teach January 12, 2024 – 3:00 pm

I’m pretty sure this is your fault

What killed the ‘real King Kong’? Scientists say they now know the answer to an ancient mystery

It did not fall off the Empire State Building.

Instead, a giant ape sometimes dubbed the “real King Kong” was driven to extinction by climate change that put its favorite fruits out of reach during the dry season, according to new research published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Standing 10 feet tall and weighing up to 650 pounds, Gigantopithecus blacki roamed the forested plains of southern China’s Guangxi region hundreds of thousands of years ago, chowing down on fruits and flowers.

But the apes’ strict diet may have led to the species’ demise, researchers found.

The herbivore ape made a “fatal mistake of being reluctant in changing its food preference to find new, more nutritious food,” Yingqi Zhang, the study’s lead researcher, told NBC News on Thursday.

But researchers were able to use one of the latest techniques, called “luminescence dating,” which enabled them to date the soil around the fossils in 22 caves in southern China.

That helped them conclude that the giant apes died out sometime between 295,000 years ago and 215,000 years ago.

Must have been pretty hot with all those fossil fueled vehicles, right? What they, and all the other articles, fail to note is that period was mostly a cool period with many segments of ice age, but, then a massive high spike around 230K years ago, then falling temperatures. Depending on the reconstruction. Because some just show a very cold period between the numbers mentioned above. The object here is to do a bit of scaremongering, make people link this with anthropogenic climate change.

Westaway said the research could also open a possible window into the future for how humans can adapt to adverse climate events and ensure the survival of the species.

“It really puts a precedent on trying to understand how primates respond to environmental stresses and what makes certain primates vulnerable and what makes other ones resilient,” she said.

See? I’d be worried if the greenhouse gases were going to cause an ice age.

Read: ‘Climate Change’ Drove Extinction Of Real King Kong Or Something »

Posted in AGW Scaremongering, Global Warming, New Climate Deniers | 13 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach January 12, 2024 – 1:00 pm

…is snow caused by Other People refusing to give up eating meat, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The RedSquirrel Report, with a post on predictions for 2024.

Read: If All You See… »

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WWIII Watch: Iranian Backed Houthis Vow Response After US Strikes

By William Teach January 12, 2024 – 10:30 am

So, of course, this happened yesterday

U.S. and UK Launch Retaliatory Strikes Against Iran-Backed Houthis, Answering Months of Attacks on Global Trade

The ability of Iran proxy Houthi terrorists to threaten merchant shipping “has taken a blow”, the MOD said after a major strike against 60 targets in Yemen by the U.S. and UK by warships, aircraft, and a submarine.

The United States and the United Kingdom made good on days of warnings that continued attacks on global trade in the Red Sea would incur “consequences” overnight into Friday morning with what had been described as a “massive retaliatory strike” on Houthi targets in Yemen.

Iran-backed Shiite Houthi militias have been striking at civilian merchant ships carrying the world’s trade including cargo containers, cars, and oil through the strategically crucial Red Sea in solidarity with Hamas’s attack on Israel since November. According to the United States, they have launched 27 separate attacks, some of which have hit targets.

United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said the strikes targeted “radar systems, air defense systems, and storage and launch sites for one-way attack unmanned aerial systems, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles”. The Associated Press, citing anonymous defence sources, said 60 targets at 16 sites were attacked in the strike.

And now

Houthis Vow to Respond After U.S. Leads Strikes in Yemen

Iranian-backed Houthi forces and their allies on Friday condemned American-led military strikes in Yemen and vowed to respond, as the Middle East went on alert for retaliatory attacks that could expand the conflict in the region. (snip)

A spokesman for the Houthis, referring to the American-led strikes, told Al Jazeera: “It’s not possible for us not to respond to these operations.”

Iran called the U.S.-led strikes a violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and of international laws, according to state media. Hamas, the armed Palestinian group that controls Gaza, denounced what it called “act of terrorism” and said the United States and Britain would be responsible for “repercussions on the security of the region.”

Oh, good, the terrorist group and terrorist nation are yammering about violations of sovereignty and international law. But, you know, if they didn’t want wake up calls via the U.S. military they shouldn’t have gotten frisky, just like Hamas could have avoided retaliation from Israel.

On the bright side, Biden’s schedule shows him being in D.C Friday night.

Meanwhile, a lot of Biden Comrades are complaining the strikes violate the War Powers Act, including the typical Jew haters and Islamic extremist supporters like Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib.

Read: WWIII Watch: Iranian Backed Houthis Vow Response After US Strikes »

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Shame: Hertz To Dump Huge Segment Of Their EV Vehicles

By William Teach January 12, 2024 – 7:15 am

Look, if you want to get an EV, feel free. Once again, I’ll say I’m not against one. One would work for me 90% of the time, since I’m mostly puttering around town. But, it should be my choice. I’d rather get a hybrid (I’m hoping Honda brings the HRV hybrids to the US when my lease is up in April 2025). Anyhow, can you guess why Hertz is dumping them?

High cost of fixing. Weren’t we told that maintenance is lower for EVs? From the article

Popular car rental service Hertz announced it will get rid of 20,000 electric vehicles from its fleet because of the high cost of fixing them.

The company decided to sell after discovering the vehicles were more expensive to repair after a collision than gas-powered cars.

“Expenses related to collision and damage, primarily associated with EVs, remained high in the quarter, thereby supporting the company’s decision to initiate the material reduction in the EV fleet,” Hertz said in a statement.

The stock market recoiled at the news of the sale, with Hertz shares falling 5% Thursday morning.

Hertz still offers dozens of EV options, from Teslas to BMW’s i3. Even after the sale, the company should have thousands of EVs available. Last year, the company bought around 160,000 EVs for use from Tesla and Sweden’s Polestar.

EV vehicles are typically much more expensive than gas-powered cars to maintain, especially after a crash, with estimates showing a $1,000 difference.

They may have bought them, but, they never entered the fleet, which analysts show to be around 60K, with quite a few articles showing that dumping 20K is a third of their EV fleet

(CNN) Hertz, which has made a big push into electric vehicles in recent years, has decided it’s time to cut back. The company will sell off a third of its electric fleet, totaling roughly 20,000 vehicles, and use the money they bring to purchase more gasoline powered vehicles.

Electric vehicles have been hurting Hertz’s financials, executives have said, because, despite costing less to maintain, they have higher damage-repair costs and, also, higher depreciation.

The falling prices of EVs is also causing major issues for Hertz’s resale segment

“The MSRP declines in EVs over the course of 2023, driven primarily by Tesla, have driven the fair market value of our EVs lower as compared to last year, such that a salvage creates a larger loss and, therefore, greater burden,” Scherr said.

Simply put, people are generally willing to pay a certain amount less for a used car than for a new one. As the price of new car goes down, that also pushes down what people are willing to pay to buy a used one.

Hertz expects to take a loss of about $245 million due to depreciation on the EVs, an average of about $12,250, per vehicle the company said in an SEC filing.

Yeah, $245 million isn’t chump change. And, are people wanting to rent EVs? Perhaps the small segment who already has one, but, if they’re just handing you the keys it’s not that easy. It can be hard enough for people to drive a different car than what they have with all the technology. It took me a while to figure out a Tesla, and jumping into other manufacturer vehicles and demonstrating them I can only know so much.

Read: Shame: Hertz To Dump Huge Segment Of Their EV Vehicles »

Posted in Economy, Global Warming | 5 Comments | Trackback URL
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