Senate Passes Bill Making Juneteenth A Federal Holiday

By William Teach June 16, 2021 – 10:30 am

I’m mostly in favor of this

Senate unanimously passes a bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday

The Senate unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday establishing June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day, a US holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

The legislation has gained momentum since the massive Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd last year and the Democrats’ takeover of the White House and Congress.

But Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson blocked the bill in 2020, saying that the day off for federal employees would cost US taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Johnson dropped his objection this week despite his concerns, paving the way for the bill’s passage in the Senate.

“Although I strongly support celebrating Emancipation, I objected to the cost and lack of debate,” said Johnson in a statement. “While it still seems strange that having taxpayers provide federal employees paid time off is now required to celebrate the end of slavery, it is clear that there is no appetite in Congress to further discuss the matter.”

The measure needs to pass the House and be signed by President Joe Biden to become law.

On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger announced in Galveston, Texas, the end of slavery in accordance with President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.

I think it is great that we have a national holiday for this (most states have this as a regular holiday, though most people had no idea until sometime in the past few years). Trump himself wanted to make Juneteenth a national holiday, so, it’s strange that Democrats want to do so, as they usually take a 100% 180 degree view from Trump. The thing is, this would be a yearly reminder that it was the Republican party which went to war to end slavery (yes, the Civil War was a bit more complicated) and was the one which ended slavery, while the Democrats fought to keep slavery and were against ending it. And fought against civil rights and such for over a hundred years.

My one objection is that it should not be a paid federal holiday. Perhaps they can remove Columbus Day? Oh, right, federal employees need that free paid day in October.

The question now is if the Democrat run House takes this up, and, if so, when?

Read: Senate Passes Bill Making Juneteenth A Federal Holiday »

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Bummer: Back To Normal Post-COVID Leads To Climate Doom

By William Teach June 16, 2021 – 8:05 am

Do you remember what it was like during lockdown? With you stuck at home, most things closed so there’s nothing to do, businesses shuttered and many going out of business permanently, and so much more? That’s what Vox and so many Warmists want a return to, and stronger

“Back to normal” puts us back on the path to climate catastrophe

The Covid-19 pandemic upended daily life so drastically that there was a moment when it seemed to be making a dent in the climate crisis. Rush-hour traffic disappeared, global travel slowed to a crawl, and the resulting economic tailspin sent energy-related pollution plummeting almost 6 percent globally. This kind of decline in pollution is unprecedented in modern human history — it’s as though the emissions output of the entire European Union had suddenly disappeared. It led many to wonder if the Covid-19 crisis would at least give us a little extra time to avert climate emergency.

More than a year after Covid-19 abruptly changed everyone’s routines, the United States is itching to return to “normal,” and some parts of the economy are approaching business as usual. But for the climate, “back to normal” means pollution is rebounding and, worryingly, climate change is accelerating.

“We ultimately need cuts that are much larger and sustained longer than the Covid-related shutdowns of 2020,” said Ralph Keeling, a geochemist who measures carbon pollution at Mauna Loa.

Would you be up for bigger cuts than what we saw during lockdown? That last a lot longer?

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to rage globally but starts to abate in the US, here are four ways to understand the new “normal” of the climate crisis.

1. Climate change is accelerating despite the pandemic

While emissions dropped last year, carbon and methane concentrations in the atmosphere just reached their highest-known level in millions of years. Think of it as filling a plugged bathtub with water: Even if you turn down the faucet for a little while, the water will keep rising.

So, despite there being a 6 percent reduction during a good portion of 2020, then why did CO2 and methane continue to rise? I’m sure climate cultists have Reasons, but, should there not have been a dip?

As usual, it is a very long Vox piece, blaming everything on Mankind, ending with

Most Americans don’t think there has to be a zero-sum trade-off between climate change and economic growth. The Biden administration has capitalized on that view, making the case for “building back better” and trying to boost the economy with a climate-focused infrastructure package. But this can’t happen without large-scale political action. The US may savor a returning sense of normalcy — but the whole world need to remember that normal was never good enough.

Yet, Warmists are specifically saying that “We ultimately need cuts that are much larger and sustained longer than the Covid-related shutdowns of 2020.” That sure doesn’t seem like a zero-sum trade-off to me. How about you?

Read: Bummer: Back To Normal Post-COVID Leads To Climate Doom »

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

Surprise: Israel Responds After Hamas Launches Balloon Attacks

By William Teach June 16, 2021 – 7:52 am

Will Democratic Party haters if Israel and Jews, such as those in what’s being called the Hamas Squad (Ilhan Omar, AOC, Rashida Tlaib, etc) Blame Israel for responding to attacks on civilians?

Israel’s fragile coalition government gets first test, launches airstrikes on Hamas

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s coalition government, just three days into its term, responded to an incendiary balloon attack from Hamas by launching airstrikes into the Gaza Strip.

Bennett, the right-wing leader who was once former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff, has said that he would approach balloon attacks with the same seriousness as if they were rockets.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli Defense Forces said it targeted Hamas infrastructure. About 20 fires broke out in southern Israel as a result of the balloon attack, the report said.

The New York Times, citing Palestinian news, reported that one of the Israeli strikes caused damage to at least one property, but there have been no confirmation of any casualties.

The paper reported that Israel had been on edge after the new government approved a “far-right Jewish march to pass through Palestinian areas of Jerusalem on Tuesday night.”

Let’s be honest, everything sets the “Palestinians” on edge. They are always looking for a reason to attack and kill Jews. Though, in fairness, the ultra-nationalists aren’t particularly good people, almost as bad as Hamas in their rhetoric. Of course, they aren’t actually launching attacks on civilians, they just like running their mouths and being provocative. They aren’t sending balloons with incendiaries across the border at farms and nature reserves like Hamas.

Funny how she failed to mention the balloon attacks on Israel, eh? Also, most Israelis are of the same descent as Arabs, being Middle Eastern, hence, how are they racist? Does she not have any other words in her arsenal? It’s not surprising that she would side with Hamas.

Read: Surprise: Israel Responds After Hamas Launches Balloon Attacks »

Posted in Democrats, Israel, RoP | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Frost That Damaged French Wine Region Is All Your Fault For Taking A Fossil Fueled Trip

By William Teach June 15, 2021 – 3:00 pm

No matter what the issue is, the answer from the cult is “climate doom!”

Record-high temperatures scorch Western states in preview of climate change future

A week of triple-digit temperatures made worse by climate change is forecast across much of the American West this week, with records poised to fall in several towns, cities and states across the drought-plagued region.

Scorching summer heat waves, which climate scientists warn will become become more commonplace in the coming decades, result in increased health risks. A study released in May found that more than one-third of the world’s heat deaths are now directly attributable to global warming.

So, an area which is always rather hot, and is expected to be hot during a typical Holocene warm period, is actually caused by you getting that burger. BTW, the records haven’t fallen, this is just prognostication. So, of course, this is also your fault

Costly frost in France attributed to climate change

Scientists say damaging frost that caused significant economic loss to France’s central winegrowing region this year was made more likely by climate change.

A report released Tuesday by researchers who study the link between global warming and weather events suggests that the intense April 6-8 frost in France was particularly damaging due to a preceding warm period in March.

The analysis conducted by the group World Weather Attribution used 132 climate models to simulate the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on temperatures in the vineyard-rich Champagne, Loire Valley and Burgundy regions of France. The group uses widely accepted methodologies for its work, but the study hasn’t yet been independently reviewed.

The researchers from France, Britain, the Netherlands and Germany concluded that the warming caused by man-made emissions had coaxed the plants into exposing their young leaves when a blast of Arctic cold reached Europe in April.

Their models tell them so! It’s not like we haven’t had the phrase “false Spring” for hundreds of years. It’s not like this stuff hasn’t happened for most of the Holocene (and surely before then). Nope, it’s because you and your ancestors did Bad Things. Seriously, this is a cult.

Read: Frost That Damaged French Wine Region Is All Your Fault For Taking A Fossil Fueled Trip »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach June 15, 2021 – 1:00 pm

…is an evil fossil fueled engine, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Flopping Aces, with a post on China Joe’s G7 disaster.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

China Joe Admin Comes Out With Plans On “Domestic Extremists”

By William Teach June 15, 2021 – 10:30 am

First, you know that the administration will not go after groups like BLM, Antifa, and other left wing groups. Second, this sure seems to be creating government surveillance and more of people engaged in their 1st Amendment rights

White House unveils strategy to battle domestic extremism

The White House unveiled its plan for addressing domestic terrorism on Tuesday, rolling out a strategy that set goals and acknowledged challenges as much as it outlined specific steps for combating a growing threat.

The strategy includes a call to bolster law enforcement partnerships and stem extremist recruitment paired with elements deemed more essential after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, including better analysis of social media and programs to boost civics education and battle disinformation.

It also touches on other priorities from President Biden, echoing previous calls for gun control in order to address mass shootings. (snip)

It calls on the U.S. intelligence community to increasingly focus on “open source” information including things included in a Jan. 5 FBI report that noted calls to come to the Capitol armed and ready for war.

Senior officials said the administration would be “augmenting information sharing the government does with tech companies.”

This sure looks like open-ended government surveillance of the private communications of U.S. citizens. Will they have a warrant? Now, for any Democrat who approves of this, just ask yourself “would you approve if Donald Trump’s admin was doing this against Democrats?” This is a very dangerous road to tred. If there is specific information about a potential attack, that’s one thing, and you get a warrant. This is simply open ended government spying.

But the plan could raise concerns among civil liberties groups while leaving a task to an intelligence community that has said it struggles to tease out rhetoric protected by the First Amendment from serious calls to act on violence.

Could raise concerns? Everyone should be concerned. If the China Joe admin implements this with the approval of Democrats, will those same Democrats be fine when a Republican administration does this to Democrat supporting groups? You can’t have it both ways.

The plan also identifies a number of cultural issues as long-term contributors to domestic terrorism.

“That means tackling racism in America. It means protecting Americans from gun violence and mass murders. It means ensuring that we provide early intervention and appropriate care for those who pose a danger to themselves or others,” the White House wrote.

“It means ensuring that Americans receive the type of civics education that promotes tolerance and respect for all and investing in policies and programs that foster civic engagement and inspire a shared commitment to American Democracy.”

So, it means indoctrination for anyone engaged in Wrongthink. And Democrats get upset when we call them Fascists. Related, this article on what a North Korean defector saw in the U.S. college system is an eye opener.

Read: China Joe Admin Comes Out With Plans On “Domestic Extremists” »

Posted in 1st Amendment, Joe Biden | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

St. Greta Inspired Climate Scam Chapter Disbands For Being Racist

By William Teach June 15, 2021 – 6:46 am

You do know that everything is racist, right?

Can anything be racist when everything is raaaaacist? How about ‘climate change’?

Auckland chapter of Greta Thunberg-linked climate movement disbands itself for being ‘racist’

St. GretaIn September of 2019, the streets of Auckland, New Zealand were a sea of protesters. Across the globe, several million people were marching as part of the “School Strike 4 Climate” youth movement sparked by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg. But few demonstrations were more sweeping than the one in New Zealand’s largest city, where up to 80,000 marchers filled the streets.

Less than two years later, however, one of the groups that organized the Auckland event is disbanding because of what it says is its own racism.

In a Facebook post, School Strike 4 Climate’s Auckland chapter said it was shutting down because it “has been a racist, white-dominated space.” It directed people concerned about climate change to Indigenous-led groups and said it would not be organizing any more climate strikes.

“SS4C AKL has avoided, ignored, and tokenised BIPOC voices and demands, especially those of Pasifika and Māori individuals in the climate activism space,” it wrote. BIPOC is the acronym for Black, Indigenous and people of color, while Pasifika refers to people who identify with the Pacific islands.

To start with, most of these climate cult groups are full of overwhelmingly white and middle class to rich people in 1st World nations. People, in this case kids, who really do not have any real problems in their lives. They aren’t worried about shelter, food, clothing, education, medical care. Their parents take them on nice fossil fueled vacations to exotic locations. We’ve seen this in most climate cult groups.

Secondly, it is actually rather racist/biased/prejudiced for these white kids to believe they can think for all these “BIPOC”, Pasifika (I wonder if they call themselves that, or, is it a term these white SJWs came up with, like they did for Latinx?), and Maori folks, that they can assign these belief sets to all those folks. Are they not allowed to think for themselves? Did they bother asking? Seems rather presumptive, does it not?

New Zealand’s School Strike 4 Climate movement was criticized in March 2019, when its first strike was scheduled during a festival for Pacific Islanders. “There was a growing perception that SS4C was just an extracurricular activity for upper-class [White] kids,” Stuff, a New Zealand news website, wrote earlier this year.

It is. Most of these kids, like the rest of climate cultists, do not practice what they preach.

In New Zealand, there have been growing calls to place people of color — who are disproportionately affected by climate change — at the center of the environmental movement.

Calls by whom? Uber-white middle and upper class Warmists? Ones who think so little of people of color that they believe they cannot survive without the helpful hand of government and the white Warmists? That’s racist.

Sherwood-O’Regan, who is Māori and began her climate activism at age 13, said people should see the group’s disbanding as a chance to improve the environmental movement.

“You get into a cycle where front line community groups are expected to spend all our time essentially making … White organizations less problematic rather than actually being able to do the critical work we need to do on the ground to stop climate change and to protect our communities,” she said.

Hey, this is the world you SJWs/virtue signalers/Progressives created.

Read: St. Greta Inspired Climate Scam Chapter Disbands For Being Racist »

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

Health Experts Say To Be Really Careful In Sharing Your Data On Health Apps

By William Teach June 15, 2021 – 6:27 am

Let’s start out here

COVID vaccine ‘passports’ in the U.S.: Here’s what we’re getting and why

The European Union is about to launch a digital pass system that will let residents prove they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, recovered from the disease or recently tested negative for the virus, allowing them to travel freely among all 27 member nations.

For months, Israelis used a similar digital pass system, showing their vaccination status to enter restaurants, gyms and other venues. Australia has rolled out a digital proof of vaccination certificate, and Japan plans to issue one as soon as this summer.

But don’t expect the United States to go that way.

With the federal government unwilling to take the politically charged step of creating or endorsing a universal digital health pass or app, several companies are trying to fill the void. That might mean Americans will need several digital passes, like so many credit cards in a wallet. It could also mean employers, businesses and venue operators will each have to decide which works for them — or might not bother using any at all.

The EU, Japan, Israel, and Australia all seem to be limiting the passports to simply one thing: vaccination status. And, getting beyond the notion of creating a two tiered system between the vaxxed and unvaxxed, we’ve already seen that New York and a few other states are already looking to add quite a bit more information to their passports

Be careful sharing your personal information on health apps, experts warn

With all the stress, sadness and anxiety we’ve dealt with over the last year, it’s no wonder use of mental health apps is surging.

Whether it’s a guided meditation or an appointment with a licensed therapist, mental health apps are in demand, but experts say people should be careful about sharing personal or sensitive information over these apps.

Some platforms might not be private as you may think. They’re not always covered by the same medical privacy laws, such as HIPAA, that protect information you share with a doctor in person.

And even when HIPAA rules do apply, they may not cover all the data an app collects.

“What companies tell you about what they do with your data is often pretty vague and confusing and it’s usually buried in privacy policies, where it can be hard to find,” Thomas Germain, Consumer Reports Tech Editor.

Do you think the government/private COVID passports are going to be any better, any safer? How many issues did they have with the Obamacare portals? Especially when they start asking for more and more information beyond simply whether you’ve been vaccinated? Also, how does one prove it? The system is ripe for abuse since (first article)

In addition, the U.S. does not have a national database for immunization records that could act as the source of vaccination data for use in digital passes. A national system to create a unique identification number to link the health records of every American has been banned since 1998, spearheaded by then-Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), who said such a system would be an unwarranted privacy intrusion.

Is anyone keeping track of who has gotten the vaccine? Not just how many citizens, but, actual names and information? Are states? Counties? Or, are they just handing out CDC cards and everyone is just a number? Meaning people can game the system easily? Regardless, it is not unusual for government here in the U.S. to over-reach and perform mission creep with just about everything, and you know they will want to expand everything about the COVID passports and what they are used for.

Read: Health Experts Say To Be Really Careful In Sharing Your Data On Health Apps »

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Bummer: The Rush To Force People To Buy Electric Vehicles Leads To Destructive Mining

By William Teach June 14, 2021 – 3:00 pm

The UK Guardian, as you might know, is one of the world’s biggest news outlets that supports the Cult of Climastrology. They make no attempt to hide their belief in Doing Something about ‘climate change’ before it destroys the world. And they’ve been big cheerleaders for EVs. However

The rush to ‘go electric’ comes with a hidden cost: destructive lithium mining

electric vehicleThe Atacama salt flat is a majestic, high-altitude expanse of gradations of white and grey, peppered with red lagoons and ringed by towering volcanoes. It took me a moment to get my bearings on my first visit, standing on this windswept plateau of 3,000 sq km (1,200 sq miles). A vertiginous drive had taken me and two other researchers through a sandstorm, a rainstorm, and the peaks and valleys of this mountainous region of northern Chile. The sun bore down on us intensely – the Atacama desert boasts the Earth’s highest levels of solar radiation, and only parts of Antarctica are drier.

I had come to the salt flat to research an emerging environmental dilemma. In order to stave off the worst of the accelerating climate crisis, we need to rapidly reduce carbon emissions. To do so, energy systems around the world must transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Lithium batteries play a key role in this transition: they power electric vehicles and store energy on renewable grids, helping to cut emissions from transportation and energy sectors. Underneath the Atacama salt flat lies most of the world’s lithium reserves; Chile currently supplies almost a quarter of the global market. But extracting lithium from this unique landscape comes at a grave environmental and social cost.

Wait, writer Thea Riofrancos traveled from Providence College to Chile? Did he/she do this without the use of fossil fuels?

In the mining installations, which occupy more than 78 sq km (30 sq miles) and are operated by multinationals SQM and Albemarle, brine is pumped to the surface and arrayed in evaporation ponds resulting in a lithium-rich concentrate; viewed from above, the pools are shades of chartreuse. The entire process uses enormous quantities of water in an already parched environment. As a result, freshwater is less accessible to the 18 indigenous Atacameño communities that live on the flat’s perimeter, and the habitats of species such as Andean flamingoes have been disrupted. This situation is exacerbated by climate breakdown-induced drought and the effects of extracting and processing copper, of which Chile is the world’s top producer. Compounding these environmental harms, the Chilean state has not always enforced indigenous people’s right to prior consent.

These facts raise an uncomfortable question that reverberates around the world: does fighting the climate crisis mean sacrificing communities and ecosystems? The supply chains that produce green technologies begin in extractive frontiers like the Atacama desert. And we are on the verge of a global boom in mining linked to the energy transition. A recent report published by the International Energy Agency states that meeting the Paris greement’s climate targets would send demand skyrocketing for the “critical minerals” used to produce clean energy technologies. The figures are particularly dramatic for the raw materials used to manufacture electric vehicles: by 2040, the IEA forecasts that demand for lithium will have increased 42 times relative to 2020 levels.

Apparently, the answer to the question is “yes.” Most of this stuff happens far from the eyes of the 1st World uber-white Warmists. Of course, once they figure this all out, they’ll want to restrict EVs to themselves, and not in 3rd world nations. Anyhow, it is a very interesting and well written article when you read it from an environmental point of view, understanding the destruction caused by all the mining and such necessary to do all these “green” projects.

A transportation system based on individual electric vehicles, for example, with landscapes dominated by highways and suburban sprawl, is much more resource- and energy-intensive than one that favours mass transit and alternatives such as walking and cycling. Likewise, lowering overall energy demand would reduce the material footprint of technologies and infrastructure that connect homes and workplaces to the electricity grid. And not all demand for battery minerals must be sated with new mining: recycling and recovering metals from spent batteries is a promising replacement, especially if governments invest in recycling infrastructure and make manufacturers use recycled content.

But, Warmists do want to force Everyone Else out of their individual vehicles.

Chilean activists are clear: there is no zero-sum conflict between fighting climate breakdown and preserving local environments and livelihoods. Indigenous communities in the Atacama desert are also on the frontlines of the devastating impacts of global heating. Rather than an excuse to intensify mining, the accelerating climate crisis should be an impetus to transform the rapacious and environmentally harmful patterns of production and consumption that caused this crisis in the first place.

How? The article discusses all the environmental destruction, but, is rather short on how to avoid it. Regardless, it is something that so many of us Skeptics have noted for a long time, namely that “green” stuff, meaning for the climate crisis (scam), is not particularly environmentally friendly.

Read: Bummer: The Rush To Force People To Buy Electric Vehicles Leads To Destructive Mining »

Posted in Collapsing Science, Environment, Global Warming | 18 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach June 14, 2021 – 1:00 pm

…is an Evil meat burger causing temperatures to skyrocket (also the evil SF Giants hat), you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is America’s Watchtower, with a post on a federal judge halting China Joe’s biased farm loan forgiveness plan.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 7 Comments | Trackback URL
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