COVID Today: Oklahoma Sues DOD, Omicron In 5 States, Biden “Plan”

By William Teach December 3, 2021 – 10:30 am

Yet another lawsuit against Biden’s un-Constitutional vaccine mandates

Governor, AG sue Defense Department over vaccine requirement

Oklahoma’s Republican governor and the state attorney general filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday, challenging the Defense Department’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate for the Oklahoma National Guard.

In a statement, Gov. Kevin Stitt argued that the Biden administration’s defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, overstepped his constitutional authority by subjecting the National Guard to the mandate, which applies to active-duty military members.

“This week, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin declared his intention to proceed with unconstitutional punishment that individually targets Oklahoma National Guard soldiers and airmen, including withholding their pay,” Stitt said. (snip)

Stitt said that although National Guard members are paid by the federal government, he remains their commander in chief under federal and state constitutional and statutory law unless the president orders their mobilization.

Brandon’s vaccine mandates haven’t done so well in court so far. What will happen with this one? And will other states file their own?

And here’s another Biden fail

Omicron Covid variant detected in 5 U.S. states as scientists investigate heavily mutated strain

At least five U.S. states have now confirmed cases of the omicron variant of the virus that causes Covid-19, as scientists investigate whether the heavily mutated strain is more infectious and virulent.

At least 9 cases were confirmed on Thursday in Minnesota, Colorado, New York, Hawaii and California. California confirmed the first U.S. case of omicron on Wednesday, bringing the total number of reported cases so far to 10.

Minnesota public health authorities confirmed Thursday morning the second U.S. case of omicron, in a resident who recently returned from New York City, the state’s department of health said.

Strange that these are all Democrat run areas. Didn’t Biden say he was going to stop COVID? Not so simple, is it, Sparky? Also, most of these people are fully vaccinated. And, Brandon laid out his Big Plan

The good and the not as good in Biden’s winter Covid-19 plan

The Biden administration is trying to get ahead of the threat, detailing a new plan to accelerate vaccinations, increase testing, make treatments widely available, and deploy teams of public health experts to any hot spots that emerge in the coming months.

Taken together, the plan reads like the consensus you would probably find if you asked a few hundred public health experts what we should be doing; in fact, some experts are annoyed some of these things weren’t already being done. Even so, a few provisions — such as promising insurance reimbursement for tests rather than providing them for free — raise eyebrows.

But overall, experts seem to think the plan hits the important points. The real question is how much of an impact any program from the federal government can have at this point. Some state governments are resistant to even the most basic measures, such as masks in schools; 16 percent of adults said in October they will definitely not get the Covid-19 vaccine, the highest share recorded by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) in its vaccine surveys. People have dug in.

The administration knows it can’t stop Covid-19, omicron variant or otherwise. But this is its attempt to lower the barriers for people to coexist with Covid-19: by making it easier to get a vaccine, to get tested, and to get meds if you are sick.

That’s it? That’s the plan? This is the same plan he’s been using, which hasn’t really worked. Joe’s finding out that it’s easier to Blamestorm while running for office, not so easy when you sit in the big chair.

Read: COVID Today: Oklahoma Sues DOD, Omicron In 5 States, Biden “Plan” »

Posted in Bat Soup Virus, Joe Biden | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

Climate Scientists Recommend Applying COVID Tools For ‘Climate Change’

By William Teach December 3, 2021 – 7:00 am

I was telling y’all about this stuff early on during COVID lockdown, that the Cult of Climastrology would push this kind of stuff. They’ve said it again and again. Now they’re getting bolder. It’s isn’t just in some climate cult blog or smaller outlet, this is from Reuters

Behavioral tools of pandemic should be applied to climate policy – scientists

Lessons learned from the pandemic about shifting people’s behavior will be applied to policies to counter climate change and disinformation in the future, leading scientists said Thursday.

Carlos Scartascini, from the Inter-American Development Bank, said behavioral tools became critical in the pandemic, in a panel at the Reuters Next conference.

“When you say ‘wash your hands’ – you can say (it) 20 times, but if you don’t change the way you say people basically do not react,” he said.

Dr. Laura de Moliere, who heads up behavioral science in the UK Cabinet office, said a better understanding of human behavior became critical to policymakers in the pandemic, and that should carry forward.

“There’s lots of really interesting avenues for behavioral science application that have arisen because of because of the pandemic,” said Mary MacLennan, the cofounder of the United Nations Behavioral Science Group.

Except, government made little to no attempt at understanding human behavior: they dictated it, and are still dictating it. Germany is now putting major restrictions on the unvaccinated, while still keeping lots of restrictions on the vaccinated. As are many other countries. They loved locking everyone down, and cracked down on protests (while being fine with BLM/Antifa protests/riots). Forced mask wearing. Travel restrictions. Forced vaccination. Arresting, or at least chasing, people who were out and about with no one within a hundred yards of them. Dictating where you can go and when you can go and what you can buy. Passports. Show your papers. You remember all this stuff. You lived through it. This is what they want, lots and lots of restrictions and control of people’s lives.

I’ve been saying this since 2004 when I converted to Skeptic, and more are starting to realize this has virtually nothing to do with science. Even if the current warm period was caused by mankind 51%+, why are all their policy ideas about dictatorial government? People really need to listen to what the climate cultists are saying, especially the casual Warmists.

Read: Climate Scientists Recommend Applying COVID Tools For ‘Climate Change’ »

Posted in AGW Socialism, Bat Soup Virus, Global Warming | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

Axios: Un-named Republicans Totally Say Pro-Life Win Could Come Back To Haunt Them

By William Teach December 3, 2021 – 6:45 am

Seriously, what could possibly go wrong with dumping one of the worst Supreme Court rulings of all time, where a supposed right to kill the unborn was generated out of thin air. Regardless of your feelings of it morally, Constitutionally it was a horrible ruling. The arguments the government made against the Mississippi abortion law were pretty bad, based on feelings and “well, a ruling was made 50 years ago,” while Scott Stewart, the solicitor general of Mississippi, avoided morality and emotion, sticking to legal and constitutional principles. So, it’s not looking really good for the abortion on demand disciples, hence, we’ll get stuff like this

Some Republicans fear abortion win could come back to bite them

Republicans are on the brink of achieving a decades-long conservative project — overturning abortion rights — but some strategists worry that the party isn’t ready for the political dangers of this monumental victory.

Why it matters: The GOP has the best political environment in a decade leading into the midterms — and the last thing top party operatives want is for the Democratic base to become energized if the Supreme Court narrows or overturns Roe v. Wade.

As one longtime GOP political operative put it to Axios, it’s one “big flare-up” that could “derail what could be a 2010-level victory next year for the party and the movement.” (snip)

Despite the entrenched red state/blue state divide, overturning Roe could persuade suburban women who would have otherwise likely voted for Republicans to vote for Democrats, two operatives told Axios.

A Republican campaign strategist said such a ruling would be a messaging challenge for GOP candidates, and said they should calibrate their statements differently for general election voters than they would for primary voters.

States would be able to ban or severely restrict abortion access if the Supreme Court strikes down Roe, which seemed to be a real possibility during oral arguments yesterday. In that situation, operatives say, Republican-led states may want to tread lightly, to avoid a political backlash to especially stringent restrictions.

Who are these “Republicans”? Funny how they aren’t named, with their doomy prognostications. The only two named are Rep Nancy Mace (R-SC), who simply recommends caution, not doom, and former Republican Rep. Tom Davis, who says it will put the issue front and center (I think that will hurt Democrats, because they’ll be agitating for killing the unborn, and we have witnessed how nutso they get), and it could be problem in the higher income districts. Which is silly. Are they really supporting abortion that much? Anyhow, we can expect more of this kind of silly.

Read: Axios: Un-named Republicans Totally Say Pro-Life Win Could Come Back To Haunt Them »

Posted in Constitution, Wonky Media | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

John Kerry, With His Private Jet, Calls Out Other Countries On ‘Climate Change’

By William Teach December 2, 2021 – 3:00 pm

This takes some serious hutzpah from a massive climahypocrite

Kerry calls out countries that need to ‘step up’ on climate change

John Kerry climateSpecial presidential envoy for climate John Kerry on Wednesday called out a handful of countries that need to “step up” on climate change, urging them to do more as the world works to stave off the worst effects of global warming.

Kerry, during an interview at the Reuters Next conference, said the current commitments of a number of countries fall short of what is necessary to limit global warning to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

“And that means you have China, India, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, South Africa, a group of countries that are going to have to step up,” Kerry said.

“And we have to help them. This is not just unloaded responsibility on them,” he added.

Kerry has been adamant about China being part of the global fight against climate change, at one point saying the current climate situation cannot be rectified without “full engagement and commitment” from Beijing.

Right, right, like China will do a damned thing. Only fools think they’re serious. Though, they’re happy to sell cheap solar panels and stuff around the world. But, hey, I’ll start listening when all these climate cult elites practice what they preach

Read: John Kerry, With His Private Jet, Calls Out Other Countries On ‘Climate Change’ »

Posted in Climahypocrites, Democrats, Global Warming | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach December 2, 2021 – 1:00 pm

…is an evil fossil fueled vehicle causing bad weather mud, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Raised On Hoecakes, with a post on the Salvation Army apologizing for you reading what they said.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 18 Comments | Trackback URL

Democrats Are Getting Very Worried That Roe v Wade Will Be Overturned

By William Teach December 2, 2021 – 10:30 am

Personally, I think the Supreme Court will either rule in a very limited manner, saying that this ruling only applies to Mississippi, or have a broader ruling that leaves abortion in the hands of the States. Where it should be. The Constitution says nothing about abortion, it was not an assigned power or duty, hence, any regulation and legality is up to states. Since belief in abortion on demand is the most important belief to be a Democrat, they are worried. Would make it a lot harder for them to continue to have blacks kill their babies off in a higher percentage, because we know Democrats are black haters

Big changes to abortion law appear likely after oral arguments at Supreme Court in Mississippi case

The U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to dramatically weaken legal abortion protections — and it could completely overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling next summer — after oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on Wednesday.

The state of Mississippi defended a law passed by its Legislature in 2018 that imposes a ban on abortion at 15 weeks of gestation, and it appeared likely that at least five of the nine justices would uphold It.

This means big changes are almost certain for the future of abortion, but it does not mean that Roe — the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that found a constitutional right to an abortion before fetal viability — is certain to be overturned in its entirety. The court could institute a nationwide ban at 15 weeks.

That’s doubtful, as the Court would then be making legislation. The Mississippi law was designed to be similar to the laws in most European nations, few of which allow abortion after 15-20 weeks. Most of the EU nations also have many regulations on the medical standards for abortion facilities, unlike here in America, where Democrats want them to have the same medical standards as a convenience store.

Yet there were plenty of indications that there might be five votes to overturn Roe entirely. In that case, most abortions would be illegal in roughly half the states while remaining legal in the other half, according to state abortion laws currently on the books.

The main question among legal observers before the court heard arguments was whether the majority-conservative court was more likely to overturn Roe completely or whether it would create a new standard for when abortion could remain legal.

Realistically, if they want full on overturn, it wouldn’t, shouldn’t, make it illegal: just return the power into the hands of the States. Hence, you could find states where it is illegal to get one, and states where it is legal. Perhaps Democrats would simply go back to pushing contraception? It wasn’t all that long ago where this was Important to them. So, what do Democrats do?

If Roe is gutted, Democrats are unlikely to make it law. But they’ll run on it.

If the Supreme Court overturns or guts abortion rights in a major case that was argued Wednesday, the Democratic-led Congress is unlikely to have the votes to counteract it legislatively.

The fallback plan, Democrats say, is to take the issue to voters in the 2022 elections and argue that Republican victories in Congress and states could fuel restrictions on or even outlaw abortions.

Even though many polls say it should be legal, once you start getting into the details things change. Like with the time frame, where the polls start to be evenly split in restricting after 15 weeks. When you start talking about late term abortions and treating abortion facilities like medical centers, the numbers trend away from the abortion believers in the Democratic Party. So, if Democrats want to push abortion for the mid-terms, I don’t think it will help.

The House passed the Women’s Health Protection Act in September to codify abortion rights nationally. But the bill is likely to face a dead end in the Senate, where Democrats have a 50-50 majority and need 60 votes to defeat a probable Republican filibuster. The bill has only 48 Senate co-sponsors, with two Democratic exceptions, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Wednesday that the House bill would get a vote in the Senate. “Abortion is a fundamental right. We will not let right-wing ideologies tell women what to do,” he said. “It won’t be an easy fight, but we will not back down.”

If they manage to pass it in the Senate, it will be sued immediately, since there is no actual federal responsibility for this, except, really, in saying that states cannot stop or penalize a woman crossing state lines to get one.

A Supreme Court decision is expected by the end of June, in the heat of the midterm elections. Oral arguments indicated that the six conservative justices on the nine-member court appeared willing to at least uphold the 15-week abortion ban in Mississippi, if not go a step further and overturn Roe v. Wade and its precedents.

So, for all the hoopla, we won’t know anything till June. Just from a Constitutional point of view, the Supreme Court should remove the federal government from the abortion debate, and leave it up to the states. No, that isn’t about morality. Yes, abortion is horrible. But, the foundation of our system is what it is, and has to be obeyed.

Read: Democrats Are Getting Very Worried That Roe v Wade Will Be Overturned »

Posted in Constitution, Current Affairs, Democrats, States Rights | 19 Comments | Trackback URL

Surprise: Madagascar’s Food Crisis Is Not Actually Due To Climate Emergency

By William Teach December 2, 2021 – 8:54 am

The surprising thing here is that multiple news outlets published this. Here’s a smattering of what we were seeing over the past months

That last one is from CNN, from back in June, when the climate cult was beating their drum of doom. Here’s CNN having to admit the reality

Madagascar’s food crisis has been blamed on climate change. Scientists say that’s wrong

The UN’s World Food Programme and multiple media organizations have been warning that the African island nation of Madagascar is on the brink of the world’s first climate-change-induced famine. But a new study says the human-made climate crisis has had little to do with the current food scarcity in the country.

Consecutive years of low rainfall have led to a prolonged drought that has shaken Madagascar’s food security and has already pushed tens of thousands of people into famine-like conditions.

A study by scientists at the World Weather Attribution initiative, an international collaboration led by Imperial College London and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, found that a natural variation in the climate was most likely the main reason for the drought.

The group said that poverty, poor infrastructure and a high level of dependence on rain for agriculture were also behind the country’s food crisis. (snip)

The scientists said that they couldn’t rule out climate change entirely as contributing to the lower rainfall, but its role, if any, was so small that it was indistinguishable from the country’s historical climate patterns.

Another hyper-Warmist outlet, the UK Guardian, also had to admit to this (though they call it “climate breakdown”)

A million people in the region are struggling for food following the worst drought in 30 years. But the scientific analysis did not show a convincing link to global heating, despite the World Food Programme describing it as the “world’s first climate-induced famine”.

But, of course, both outlets are dragging climate doom into the mix, because that’s what cultists do

Maarten van Aalst, director of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre and part of the 20-strong scientific team behind the study, said: “This event in Madagascar shows that in many cases we are not even prepared for today’s climate.”

Piotr Wolski, at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, said: “Even though we do not clearly see the role of anthropogenic climate change in this particular event, similar events will happen in the future, and will more likely be exacerbated rather than alleviated by climate change.

“Adapting and reducing vulnerabilities to such events is a moral imperative that should not be frustrated by inherent uncertainties of climate change projections or statistical analyses.”

So, we should Do Something even though this had nothing to do with anthropogenic climate change. Back to CNN

WFP responded to the study by saying the food crisis was the result of a combination of above average temperatures, lower rainfall, crop failures and other vulnerabilities in communities dependent on subsistence agriculture, worsened by the economic impact of Covid-19.

“The WWA study does not attribute the 2019/2020 droughts solely to human-induced climate change. But it acknowledges that global heating increases vulnerabilities,” the organization said in a statement. (snip)

The WFP wrote that it “is concerned that Madagascar and other countries will continue to have food crises if we do not mitigate the climate crisis and enable the vulnerable to adapt and build their resilience.”

They just won’t stop pushing their authoritarian solutions and brand of doom. I’m sure the Washington Post is pulling the same thing, but, it’s behind a paywall.

Read: Surprise: Madagascar’s Food Crisis Is Not Actually Due To Climate Emergency »

Posted in Collapsing Science, Global Warming | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

Brandon Admin Considers Quarantine For All Americans Returning From Abroad

By William Teach December 2, 2021 – 8:37 am

Interestingly, I’m not necessarily against this whole testing and quarantining regime Biden – well, his advisors, as he doesn’t seem to know what’s actually go on most of the time – wants to put in place. We do want to limit the number of people who are bringing COVID back. Yes, it’s here, but, maybe we could have avoided Xi, er, Omicron, with the first detected U.S. case in the uber-restrictive state of California. Lots of Conservatives are against this. We can disagree. There’s something else in here that’s a bit more interesting

Biden Admin Considering Mandatory Quarantine for Americans Returning from Abroad

Biden Brain SlugThe Biden administration is expected to announce stricter COVID-19 testing requirements for all travelers entering the U.S. on Thursday, including returning Americans, according to a new report.

Three federal health officials reportedly told the Washington Post the administration is readying stricter testing requirements amid concern over the new Omicron variant. The new guidance would require everyone entering the U.S. to be tested one day before boarding flights, regardless of vaccination status or country of departure.

Officials are also weighing a requirement that all travelers get retested within three to five days of arrival, as well as a proposal to require all travelers to self-quarantine for seven days, even if they test negative.

The requirements could be enforced by fines and penalties, according to the report.

While the two testing measures are included in a draft public health order written by the CDC that is currently under review by officials at the White House and the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, the self-quarantine requirements are not included in the draft. However, a self-quarantine measure could be added later, officials told the paper.

If the new rules take effect, they would mark a departure from the current guidance that requires only unvaccinated air travelers to be tested no more than one day before departure. Currently, those who show proof of full vaccination must be tested no more than three days before the flight’s departure.

Omicron is still not the predominant version of infection, so, this is pretty much saying that vaccines do no work. Just like forcing the vaccinated, even those who’ve had boosters, to wear masks.

Meanwhile

Exclusive — ‘Tool to Enforce Orwellian Rules’: 80 House Republicans Help Pass Bill to Fund Federal Vaccination Database

Eighty House Republicans voted with Democrats on Tuesday to pass the Immunization Infrastructure Modernization Act, which if passed by the Senate and signed into law would fund a federal vaccination database.

According to the bill, also called  H. R. 550, the government would provide $400 million in taxpayer dollars to fund “immunization system data modernization and expansion,” a system otherwise defined as “a confidential, population-based, computerized database that records immunization doses administered by any health care provider to persons within the geographic area covered by that database.”

The text specifically outlines an expansion of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Public Health Department capabilities and the ability for state and local health departments, as well as public and private health care providers, to share health data with the federal government.

In a statement, the bill’s main sponsor, Democrat Rep. Ann Kuster (NH), said the system would be used to “remind patients when they are due for a recommended vaccine” and identify areas with low vaccination rates to “ensure equitable distribution of vaccines.” Notably, the bill has four Republican co-sponsors: Reps. Larry Bucshon (R-IN), James Baird (R-IN), David McKinley (R-WV), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). Not one Democrat voted in opposition to the bill.

That doesn’t sound like such a bad idea, eh? It can be difficult to track, and records can get lost when switching doctors, moving to different areas, etc. Oh, wait, it’s putting all this information in the hands of un-elected bureaucrats who are not medical professions to nag citizens, rather than leaving this in the hands of their doctors

Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL), who was one of the 130 Republicans to vote “no,” told Breitbart News exclusively on Wednesday that the legislation would enable the federal government to “track” unvaccinated Americans who “will be targeted and forced to comply with Biden’s crazy ‘global vaccination’ vision.”

“These systems are designed to allow for the sharing of crucial information and maintenance of records. Do we really trust the government to protect our medical records?” Miller said. “The bill’s author even bragged in her press release that these systems will help the government remind patients when they are due for a recommended vaccine and identify areas with low vaccination rates to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines. This was clearly a legislative tool to enforce vaccine mandates and force their Orwellian rules onto those who do not comply.”

So, an authoritarian nag system. The Central Planning Government sticking its fingers in everything.

Read: Brandon Admin Considers Quarantine For All Americans Returning From Abroad »

Posted in Bat Soup Virus, Democrats, Joe Biden | 10 Comments | Trackback URL

Brandon Admin To Focus On Climate Crisis (scam) With Their Space Policy Framework

By William Teach December 1, 2021 – 4:12 pm

Since Kamala is apparently in charge of this, it should be a big fail

Biden administration issues new framework for space policy, with a focus on climate change

Kamala Climate ClownToday, Vice President Kamala Harris’ office released a new framework for US space policy, detailing how the Biden administration plans to approach commercial, civil, and military space activity moving forward. Called the United States Space Priorities Framework, the document keeps many of the same space priorities from the previous administration but adds a new emphasis on using space to help combat climate change and investing in STEM education.

The new framework comes ahead of today’s National Space Council meeting, the first one to be held under the Biden administration. Harris, who chairs the National Space Council, will convene the policy advisory group at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, at 1:30PM ET today. (snip)

In the biggest break from the previous administration, there looks to be a renewed focus on using space in the fight against climate change. In the new framework, the administration pledges to invest in satellites that can observe Earth from space, helping scientists better understand our changing climate. “Open dissemination of Earth observation data will support both domestic and international efforts to address the climate crisis,” the document states. To further drive home this new emphasis on climate research from space, President Biden plans to sign a new Executive Order today that will add five new members to the National Space Council, including the Secretaries of Education, Labor, Agriculture, and the Interior, but also notably the National Climate Advisor.

Uh huh. Basically, this is like the way climate cultists add ‘climate change’ to every real world issue. Of course, will they hide the raw data from the satellites or release it? Do we just get the massaged results? What if the data undermines the anti-science notion of anthropogenic climate change?

Read: Brandon Admin To Focus On Climate Crisis (scam) With Their Space Policy Framework »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming, Joe Biden | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach December 1, 2021 – 1:00 pm

…is a perfect field for wind turbines, far away from where you live in a big city, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is IOTW Report, with a post on Biden’s staff blasting music when he rambles off-script.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 6 Comments | Trackback URL
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