If All You See…

…is an area that will soon be flooded by rising seas, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Daley Gator, with a post on the Left’s obsession with releasing violent people.

Read: If All You See… »

Who’s Up For An Omicron Offshoot?

This one is super stealthy

New Omicron Offshoot BA.2 Arrives In U.S. After Spreading In U.K., Denmark, India

Just as the Omicron wave may have broken across the U.S. comes word of another version of the more transmissible variant, dubbed BA.2. It’s been nicknamed by some “stealth Omicron” because it seems to evade identification better than its predecessor.

While other new variants that seemed worrisome — like Mu or Lambda — have had little impact, and details remain sketchy, early indications are that BA.2 seems to be spreading even in countries where the original Omicron lineage, BA.1, is dominant.

In Denmark, a country whose Covid policies are often contrasted with the U.S., BA.2 now accounts for nearly half of the test samples sequenced. In the final week of December, according to data from Statens Serum Institut under the auspices of the Danish Ministry of Health, the subvariant accounted for 20% of all Covid cases in Denmark. By the second week of January, its share had risen to about 45% of the total.

An initial analysis instances of BA.2 in the country “shows no differences in hospitalisations,” according to SSI. It’s also unclear how effective the current vaccines are against the subvariant.

The map at the article shows that BA.2 is hitting the U.S. as a medium, on a scale of meh, medium, and big. Has anyone heard of this before?

BA.2 “has been designated a variant under investigation” by the UK Health Security Agency. The new version of Omicron was first detected in the UK on December 6, 2021, per a HSA report. To date, there have been 426 confirmed cases, with the greatest concentration centered around London.

426. That’s what they’re getting worked up about? Britain is in the big category on the map. Is this something important, or a way to continue sowing fear to control the population?

One anonymous Biden administration official, however, told the Washington Post on Monday that “there is concern about the omicron BA.2 variant.” Because of the increase in cases overseas, the person said the U.S. is gearing up and “paying close attention to the BA.2 variant.”

I’m leaning towards fear.

New York judge strikes down state mask mandate

A New York judge struck down the state’s mask mandate on Monday, one week before it was due to expire, ruling the governor overstepped her authority in imposing a rule that needed to have been passed by the state legislature.

Judge Thomas Rademaker of New York State Supreme Court on Long Island found that the state legislature last year curbed any governor’s ability to issue decrees, such as a mask mandate, amid a declared state of emergency.

Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, vowed to fight back, saying in a statement, “We strongly disagree with this ruling, and we are pursuing every option to reverse this immediately.”

“My responsibility as Governor is to protect New Yorkers throughout this public health crisis, and these measures help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and save lives,” Hochul said.

She can yammer about her responsibility, but, she must follow the law. Period.

Read: Who’s Up For An Omicron Offshoot? »

Paris Needs To Unbury A River To Save Itself From Hotcoldwetdry

Time Magazine unintentionally tells a good chunk of the truth

Paris Buried a River 100 Years Ago. Now The City Needs To Resurface It to Combat Climate Change

In 1899, a writer for French newspaper Le Figaro surveyed the damage Parisians had done to the Bièvre, a river that for hundreds of years had snaked up through southern Paris, joining the Seine near the Jardin des Plantes. “It flows slowly, oily and black, streaked with acids, dotted with soapy and putrid pustules,” the writer observed. “In the sparse and sordid grass, peeled like the back of a worn-out horse, parasitic plants grow in abundance.” (snip)

Paris’ last stretch of the Bièvre was sealed up in 1912. Since then, a deep-rooted cultural fascination with the lost river has powered several heritage campaigns to reopen it. But none have succeeded: its waters no longer even run under the city, having been cut off at towns closer to its source, 13 miles southwest of Paris.

Today, though, the Bièvre has an unlikely ally: climate change. The same industrial activity that destroyed the river has helped drive global warming, with Paris’ average temperature already 4.1°F (2.3°C) higher than in Rabelais’ day. The urban heat-island effect, in which buildings and paved roads absorb more heat than vegetation and water do, is making matters worse, driving Paris’ temperature up by as much as 14.4°F (8°C) than nearby rural areas during heatwaves. By the mid-21st century, according to local government estimates, Paris could have a climate resembling the much hotter city of Seville in southern Spain.

UHI, eh? Which is the reality, along with land use, for the majority of the effect mankind is having on the climate. Not global, local.

Bodies of water, just like trees and plants, help to cool down their surrounding areas: water absorbs heat from the air, and when water particles evaporate, they carry the heat away with them, lowering the ground-level temperature. They can also mitigate floods by giving excess rainwater somewhere to go, and make cities a more pleasant place to live. So it makes sense that Parisians would welcome the return of a long-lost waterway. Paris’ Green Party proposed “the rebirth of la Bièvre” during the campaign for elections last year, and Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s Socialist Party agreed to pursue it as part of a coalition deal. A feasibility study is underway and Lert expects to complete the first section within city limits by the end of the mayor’s current term in 2026. It will join several stretches of the Bièvre uncovered over the last few years in smaller towns, in parks and other underdeveloped areas.

Land use. This is not man-caused global warming, it’s simply artificially increasing the localized temperature. But, hey, why not jack up taxes and give your freedom to government for a scam, right?

Read: Paris Needs To Unbury A River To Save Itself From Hotcoldwetdry »

LA Times Seems Surprised That There’s No Debate On Rising Cost Of Single Payer Push

What, exactly, did they expect? When you vote for and elect far left Progressive (nice Fascism) fanatics, you aren’t electing public servants: you’re electing people who Know they are better than everyone else, so, the peons will do as they say (direct LA Times piece here behind the paywall)

Column: No debate on skyrocketing cost of California single-payer bill? So much for good government

Things don’t always go as hoped. A prime example is the Democrats’ push for single-payer healthcare legislation.

A good-government hope was that this effort would result in a thoughtful, substantive legislative debate worthy of the monumental issue of universal healthcare.

That hope was dashed Thursday in a legislative fiscal committee, which failed to carry out what should be its primary duty: to dig into the innards of a spending bill and examine whether it makes financial sense.

The contentious bill, AB 1400, sailed through the Assembly Appropriations Committee on a party-line 11-3 vote without any discussion at all. Shameful.

This measure, after all, would completely change healthcare coverage for Californians. Insurance companies would be shoved aside. People would be switched from their current coverage — whether private, federal Medicare or Medi-Cal for the poor — to a new state-run plan called CalCare.

Californians always seem surprised that they get what they vote for, eh? Hey, this uber-progressive DA is awesome, he/she will Do Something. Hey, why is my car getting broken into/stolen constantly? Why are people constantly robbing my business, and the cops do nothing? Why are my power bills so high? They said green energy would be cheap.

But it would require by far the largest state tax increase in history, estimated at $163 billion. The state would also have to find an additional few hundred billion dollars. No one knows how much. Washington would need to be persuaded to turn over to Sacramento all the federal Medicare and Medicaid (Medi-Cal) money now spent in California.

Any questions?

How about: Is this state government remotely capable of pulling off such an ambitious endeavor? Is it fiscally attainable and sustainable?

How about “suck it up, this is what you voted for.”

Particularly a bill that a committee staff analysis estimated could cost between $314 billion and $391 billion annually if it were in effect now. The analysis also cited a study showing that $222 billion in employer and household healthcare spending would need to be replaced.

To put those numbers in perspective, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year totals $286 billion. He’s neutral on the single-payer legislation.

If they think it will come from those Rich People and Big Businesses, just wait till they blow out of California. So many of them are for these progressive measures, they just don’t want to be the ones who pay for it.

Read: LA Times Seems Surprised That There’s No Debate On Rising Cost Of Single Payer Push »

Indiana Lawmakers Missed A Big Chance On Teaching Kids About ‘Climate Change’

This really could have been a big learning moment for the youths

Indiana students demand action on climate change. Lawmakers respond with hard ‘no.’

It’s obvious to a lot of people. To the Indiana cities that are taking steps to cut their emissions. To the Hoosier farmers who are seeing reduced crop yields from wetter springs and hotter summers. To the high school students who are scared for what their future may look like, demanding Indiana leaders make a change.

And yet, the state legislature seems to have blinders on when it comes to climate change, according to environmental experts and advocates.

Three pieces of legislation have been proposed this session. Two bills would create task forces to tackle climate change issues. The other is a resolution that says “the Indiana General Assembly acknowledges climate change as a serious problem for Indiana.”

This is actually in the news section, not opinion where it should be.

Neither the bills nor the resolution, however, have even been scheduled for a hearing in the environmental committees they’ve been assigned to. The deadline to do so is this week.

Environmental groups across the state are frustrated, but not surprised.  (snip through some whining and explanation of the bills)

The driving force behind these bills is a student group called Confront the Climate Crisis, which launched in West Lafayette in 2020. The student-run organization now has students from communities across Indiana including Evansville, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and Gary.

They could have looked to pass laws that would have put a lot of restrictions on young kids, see how much they like it. Take it from theory to practice. Even if they weren’t serious about passing the bills, how about things that restrict the sale of fossil fueled vehicles to anyone under 30? Disallow serving any meat at publically funded schools, from elementary school through college? Deeming that AC shall not be lower than 78 and heat no higher than 65 at the schools? And so much more. See how they like it when this directly affects these students.

Read: Indiana Lawmakers Missed A Big Chance On Teaching Kids About ‘Climate Change’ »

If All You See…

…is a horrible carbon pollution infused beer, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Political Hat, with a post on Canada outlawing telling someone they might not be queer.

Read: If All You See… »

Bummer: SCOTUS Mandate Decision Could Be First Salvo In War On Administrative State

LA Times writer David Cole writes this op-ed like reducing the power the of the federal administrative state is a bad thing (LA Times piece behind paywall, using the Yahoo edition)

Op-Ed: The Supreme Court’s vaccine mandate ruling is the start of something far worse

The Supreme Court’s recent decision to block the Biden administration’s vaccination-or-test requirement for large private businesses will threaten the safety of hundreds of thousands of workers. But the damage it could do goes well beyond the pandemic.

The court’s 6-3 majority acknowledged that the order would save more than 6,500 lives and prevent more than 250,000 hospitalizations — but went ahead and blocked it anyway. There is probably no other court in the world that would stop its national government from taking such common-sense emergency measures to protect workers from the life-threatening risks of COVID. On Friday, a federal judge, relying on the Supreme Court’s decision, went still further, ruling that the president could not even require the federal government’s own employees to be vaccinated, despite a statute giving him broad authority to regulate employment policy for all federal workers.

Employment policy is not requiring workers put a vaccine in their body which is there after work. The judge apparently thought that the law didn’t give Biden the authority to do that. It doesn’t matter that it’s a pandemic, what matters is what the Constitution, then the law, says. Period. SCOTUS was also leary of the “grave danger” when the mandates would kick in a year after the vaccines were released.

Even more worrisome, though, is what the court’s reasoning means for our ability to address national challenges going forward. The majority stopped the order based on a wildly anachronistic vision of how the federal government should operate — one that would require Congress itself, rather than federal agencies, to micromanage complex problems.

This makes David, and you know lots and lots of Progressives (nice Fascists) mad, because it would limit the ability of the federal government to do whatever the hell they want using the most minuscule portion of a law, digging for it, trying to find a way to make it apply

But no. They jettisoned their commitment to textualism, and instead, came up with a way to throw the text aside. They maintained that when Congress authorizes an agency “to exercise powers of vast economic and political significance,” it must “speak clearly.” And then they reasoned that because Congress directed OSHA to address “occupational” safety — and COVID presents dangers outside as well as inside the workplace — OSHA’s authority was insufficiently clear. But nothing in the law limits OSHA to addressing only dangers that arise exclusively in the workplace, and it has long regulated dangers that arise at work and outside work, such as fire and dust.

If the law is not specific, if it doesn’t say something specific, then a federal agency shouldn’t be able to simply pull a justification out of a hat. OSHA cannot regulated what you do at home or outside of work. It’d probably be safer for you to wear work gloves that allow you to grip the steering wheel better on your way home to work, right? Maybe head protection? Heck, you never know, a fire retardant suit. They do not have the authority. You probably have a lot of things in your home that would violate OSHA workplace rules, like things sitting on the floor that block aisles and create hazards. No authority.

Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, in a concurring opinion joined by Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr., tied the majority’s approach to the long dormant “nondelegation doctrine,” which says that Congress cannot delegate its powers to another branch of government. The upshot is to require Congress itself to act rather than allowing the executive branch, through its departments and agencies, to do so wherever the justices deem an issue “major,” a term the court has never defined.

That’s exactly right, Congress cannot delegate authority, laws should be targeted. The Executive Branch can’t just make them up.

Congress cannot possibly legislate all the regulations that it takes to govern the nation — even if it weren’t mired in partisan gridlock. Many subjects require expertise and fact-finding that must, for all practical purposes, be done by federal agencies. Everything the Federal Reserve Board does has “vast economic and political significance,” but surely that doesn’t mean Congress has to set interest rates.

That’s why there’s a 10th Amendment. Congress, and the federal government, is not meant to govern the whole nation in every thing that arises. But, what David means is “Los Federales telling everyone how to live their lives.”

Countless areas of the modern economy are regulated and governed by federal agencies; that’s their job. Yet the decision to block the OSHA vaccine-or-test requirement is an initial salvo in what could become a full-scale attack on the administrative state.

Good. It needs to be rolled back and the power returned to the states, where it belongs. If California wants to mandate vaccination in the state, that’s within their power, if they pass a law. That’s not a power that the federal government has. Some say to use the Commerce Clause, which would be a big stretch. Cole is the national legal director of the ACLU. He should know this. He should know what the Constitution says, and what it means based on the writings of those who wrote the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, such as the Federalist papers.

Read: Bummer: SCOTUS Mandate Decision Could Be First Salvo In War On Administrative State »

Brandon-Harris Admin Seems Fine With EU Getting Fossil Fuels If Russia Invades Ukraine

The BHA is doing all they can to reduce fossil fuels usage here in the U.S., but, for Europe? They’re good with that, I guess because Brandon showed a lot of weakness and empowered Putin to think that invading Ukraine is fine

US putting together ‘global’ strategy to increase gas production if Russia invades Ukraine, officials say

The Biden administration has been in regular discussions with a number of countries and companies in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Asia about stepping up production of liquified natural gas to Europe in the event that a Russian invasion of Ukraine leads to gas shortages, multiple US officials familiar with the discussions told CNN.

The State Department, led by Senior Adviser for Energy Security Amos Hochstein, has in the last six to eight weeks been putting together a global strategy exploring contingency options to redirect and increase gas supplies from different parts of the world, a senior US official said.

Reuters reported last week that Hochstein had been in talks with energy companies but that increased production was not a request. The senior US official told CNN that increased production has in fact been discussed, but that companies recognize that increasing production could be risky and would take time.

The countries engaging in the talks include Norway and Qatar, the official said, but the US’ outreach has been “truly global” as Washington and allies determine what supplies will be needed to get through the winter and spring if there are gas shortages.

The discussions are in a “fairly advanced” stage, according to the senior US official, and have been aimed at reassuring nervous European allies that levying sanctions on Russia in coordination with the US will not result in an outsized blowback on the European economy. European allies have been particularly concerned about the potential for Russia to weaponize its gas exports to Europe to retaliate against Western sanctions.

Basically, expect Russia to invade soon, in the next couple of weeks, if it is going to happen. That way all those nations which get fossil fuels from Russia, needed for heating in the winter, will just turn their cheeks and shrug. Meanwhile, the BHA wants to force you out of your fossil fueled vehicle and into an EV you can’t afford and is impractical for travel, while getting rid of natural gas. And doesn’t seem too concerned about Europe using it.

Read: Brandon-Harris Admin Seems Fine With EU Getting Fossil Fuels If Russia Invades Ukraine »

COVID Today: All Visitors To US By Land Or Ferry Require Vaccination, Plus Some Passports For Kids

Unless you’re an illegal alien. Then come on in, per Brandon Admin

Entering the US by land or ferry? You’ll need to be vaccinated – even if it’s essential travel.

spite houseStarting Saturday, non-U.S. citizens need to be fully vaccinated before entering the country by land or ferry, even if they are traveling for “essential” purposes.

The change was first announced in October and more closely aligns with air travel vaccination requirements to enter the United States. Travelers visiting the country could previously cross land ports or ferry terminals without proof of vaccination for essential reasons such as work and trade.

“These updated travel requirements reflect the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to protecting public health while safely facilitating the cross-border trade and travel that is critical to our economy,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a Thursday statement.

Wait, the Biden-Harris admin? In all my years, I’ve never hear of that. It was never the Trump-Pence admin, Obama-Biden, Bush-Cheney, Clinton-Gore, etc and so on. Anyhow, this only applies to those coming legally. The Brandon-Harris admin will continue to allow illegal aliens to cross into the U.S. without being vaccinated, often without being tested, then release them somewhere in the U.S. Usually far from his home state of Delaware and D.C.

Meanwhile, the Covid Cult is just insane

Children to get Covid vaccine passports in time for half-term holidays

Children are set to be given access to digital Covid passes in time for half term, as the Government prepares to announce relaxations to travel rules on Monday.

Ministers are expected to agree to scrap a range of measures at a meeting of the Covid-O committee on Monday morning, including tests for travellers arriving in the UK.

The changes are likely to be implemented in early February, allowing British holidaymakers to take advantage of the more lenient rules over the next school holidays.

Children aged 12 to 15 will finally be granted access to the NHS Covid pass app. At present, they are excluded from using it, thus curbing their ability to easily prove their vaccination status.

These people will never let go of trying to control citizens.

Read: COVID Today: All Visitors To US By Land Or Ferry Require Vaccination, Plus Some Passports For Kids »

If All You See…

…is horrible meat causing Bad Weather clouds, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Moonbattery, with a post on efforts to force vaccination on children.

Read: If All You See… »

Pirate's Cove