If All You See…

…are horrible Bad Weather clouds, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is This ain’t Hell…, with a post on your Tuesday feel good stories.

Read: If All You See… »

Biden Plans To Expand HIPAA To Abortions

Well, of course he does, because abortion is the number one sacrament under the Democratic Party. Let’s start with the New York Times

Trump and Allies Forge Plans to Increase Presidential Power in 2025

Donald Trump and his allies are planning a sweeping expansion of presidential power over the machinery of government if voters return him to the White House in 2025, reshaping the structure of the executive branch to concentrate far greater authority directly in his hands.

Their plans to centralize more power in the Oval Office stretch far beyond the former president’s recent remarks that he would order a criminal investigation into his political rival, President Joe Biden, signaling his intent to end the post-Watergate norm of Justice Department independence from White House political control.

There’s a lot of this in the NY Times article, which actually misses the point in that Trump wants to decrease the power of federal agencies, weeding out the extras and those who have become partisan tools against the People for the Democratic Party. Further, criminal investigations? You know that all these criminal attacks against Trump come from the highest levels, which must include Biden and his top advisors. But, the same Times never seems to notice Biden’s expansion of presidential power, such as

Biden’s HIPAA expansion for abortion draws criticism, lawsuit threats

The Biden administration’s effort to wield the nation’s premier health-privacy law to protect abortion rights is under fire from Republicans who accuse the president of overreaching — and from Democrats who call it too weak.

The Department of Health and Human Services is preparing to release a final rule later this year that would expand the protections of the decadesold Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, with the aim of shielding people who seek, obtain or provide abortions from red state probes — one of the most concrete steps the administration has taken to defend abortion rights since the Supreme Court ended Roe v. Wade a year ago.

But conservatives, including Republican attorneys general and former Trump administration officials, say the move would violate states’ rights as well as the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision — and would be ripe for a lawsuit.

There is “absolutely” a potential for legal challenges, said Roger Severino, who served as the head of HHS’ Office for Civil Rights under former President Donald Trump and is now vice president of domestic policy at the Heritage Foundation. “I would imagine, at the very least, that a challenge would come from state attorneys general, because the administration is interfering with their ability to enforce their own laws.”

In Democrat World unfettered abortion must be protected at all costs. There can be no restrictions at all, and the ability to get one anytime anyplace should be easy.

Dozens of top Democrats in the House and Senate, meanwhile, say the draft rules are inadequate for a post-Roe environment in which Republican-controlled states are seeking to more aggressively target abortion providers and anyone who helps a patient circumvent state restrictions.

The attacks from both sides highlight the precarious path the Biden administration has tried to navigate since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer. With no hope of restoring abortion protections through legislation in a divided Congress, the White House has largely leaned on rulemaking and executive orders — many of which are drawing criticism from progressives and the right.

That sounds like an expansion of executive power, NY Times. And the Supreme Court ruling was rather specific: this is a States Rights issue. Not a federal one.

In a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra shared first with POLITICO, Democrats led by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) make several demands, including that the administration require law enforcement to “obtain a warrant before forcing doctors, pharmacists, and other health care providers to turn over their patients’ [protected health information].”

Interesting, since Los Federales required employees to share their private medical information on whether or not they took a Wuhan Flu vaccine. We’re supposed to leave it all up to women, but, the government, mostly Democrats required them to wear masks, take a vaccine, and locked them down, followed by implementing work from home.

Read: Biden Plans To Expand HIPAA To Abortions »

Having Solved All Problems, NYC To Fine Restaurants Which Include Plastic Utensils Without Being Asked

These are the real criminals, not those people who mass-loot stores

New York will now fine restaurants for including a common takeout add-on in their to-go meals: ‘Years in the making’

In an effort to reduce plastic use, New York will start fining restaurants and third-party delivery services that provide disposable utensils, soy sauce packets, and similar items without the customer requesting them.

In late June, New York City announced plans to implement its new “Skip the Stuff” bill, which aims to reduce plastic use by fining restaurants and delivery services handing out unsolicited plastic items like ketchup and cutlery.

Food vendors and delivery services have a moment to adapt. Actual fines won’t start being handed out until July of 2024, and until then, violators will only receive warnings, Bloomberg reports.

How will The Authorities know? Will they run sting operations? Will they request patrons snitch when they are given plastic forks and condiments? They are counting on 3rd party delivery services to snitch, for one thing. Usually the bags are sealed. Will the delivery snitches open your bag?

With the popularity of takeout and delivery steadily rising, this new rule is arriving at an opportune time. It will encourage businesses and consumers to be more conscious about plastic use habits and hopefully curtail the impact of single-use plastic on the environment.

The environment stands a lot to gain, too. That little packet of hot sauce or singular plastic spoon might seem harmless, but over half of the plastic utensils wind up being tossed out instead of recycled. Many end up in our waterways, contaminating some sources of water and harming marine wildlife.

Well, on one hand, that’s not bad, because single use plastic is an real environmental issue and is rarely recycled, polluting the land and waters. But, guess what’s next

Additionally, the mere production of such items causes pollution. In fact, creating one ton of plastic cutlery results in roughly 1,350 to 3,800 more pounds of harmful carbon pollution than disposable wooden cutlery.

The fines will range from $50 to $250 for restaurants, food delivery and third-party courier services.

Read: Having Solved All Problems, NYC To Fine Restaurants Which Include Plastic Utensils Without Being Asked »

Sacramento Bee Seems Upset Over GOP Calling Out California Dems For Voting Against Protecting Children

There’s hot-takes, and then there’s this insanity

There’s a big time paywall, so, you can read it in full at Yahoo News

California Democrats spent the final few days before summer recess in an unusual spot: embroiled in a legislative fight with Republicans, who typically operate in the shadow of the state’s blue supermajority.

The cause? A bill to strengthen penalties for child sex traffickers that lawmakers killed ahead of a looming legislative deadline.

By the time they left Sacramento last week, Democrats had doubled back and advanced Senate Bill 14 in an emergency hearing of the Senate Public Safety committee, likely at the behest of both Gov. Gavin Newsom and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister.

And Republicans were celebrating a “win for law and order in California” with bill author Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield.

How did a party with almost no power in California manage to achieve a political win?

In part by employing simplistic, fear-based messaging that exploited the divide between progressive and moderate Democrats on criminal justice reform. Social media posts amplifying the bill’s failure suggested Democrats are soft on crime, especially related to children.

Democrats had voted AGAINST a bill that protected children from child trafficking. And, without that messaging, the GOP would have had zero power. They cannot do anything in the California general assembly. And Democrats would have simply moved on

Their arguments in favor of the bill also carried a whiff of the far-right GOP conspiracy theory related to Democrats and pedophilia.

Now, just imagine that it was the GOP who voted against significantly increase the felony penalties on child traffickers. How would the SacBee frame that?

California has spent the past 15 years moving away from the tough-on-crime sentencing laws that created overcrowded prisons filled with Black and brown people. A panel of federal judges in 2009 ordered the state to begin reducing the incarcerated population.

That resulted in a series of changes that reclassified some lower-level crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, shifted some prison inmates to county jails and increased opportunities for people to earn credits and reduce their sentences.

Progressive Democrats have been hesitant to support bills that would increase penalties, wanting to avoid a return to policies promoting mass incarceration.

And look at what this has gotten California. But, we’re also talking about trafficking children, and Democrats are so soft on crime they refused to strengthen the law.

Human trafficking has long been a strong issue for Republicans. This is especially true in far right corners of the party, where conspiracy theorists have perpetuated myths that Democratic leaders are trafficking children.

Maybe there wouldn’t be a conspiracy theory if Democrats weren’t so weak on protecting kids, much less crime overall. The authors call this a political issue. It shouldn’t be, but, Democrats are batshit insane, and no matter how much their pet media wants to position it, most of the parents in California do not want to go soft on child traffickers.

Read: Sacramento Bee Seems Upset Over GOP Calling Out California Dems For Voting Against Protecting Children »

AI Lyrics Vs Real Lyrics

I have some thoughts on AI generated lyrics, was having a discussion on them in Real Life, maybe I’ll discuss later, but, what about the difference on these. Below the fold

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Read: AI Lyrics Vs Real Lyrics »

Death Valley Continues To Sizzle And It Is All Your Fault

You could have given up your fossil fueled travel, stopped using an ice maker, turned the AC up to 80, only bought second hand clothes, given up eating meat, and moved into a tiny apartment in a Progressive city, but, no, you had to do you and cause the Earth to burn

California’s Death Valley sizzles as brutal heat wave continues

Long the hottest place on Earth, Death Valley put a sizzling exclamation point Sunday on a record warm summer that is baking nearly the entire globe by flirting with some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded, meteorologists said.

Temperatures in Death Valley, which runs along part of central California’s border with Nevada, reached 128 degrees Fahrenheit (53.33 degrees Celsius) on Sunday at the aptly named Furnace Creek, the National Weather Service said.

The hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 134 F (56.67 C) in July 1913 at Furnace Creek, said Randy Ceverny of the World Meteorological Organization, the body recognized as keeper of world records. Temperatures at or above 130 F (54.44 C) have only been recorded on Earth a handful of times, mostly in Death Valley.

“With global warming, such temperatures are becoming more and more likely to occur,” Ceverny, the World Meteorological Organization’s records coordinator, said in an email. “Long-term: Global warming is causing higher and more frequent temperature extremes. Short-term: This particular weekend is being driven by a very very strong upper-level ridge of high pressure over the Western U.S.”

More likely! ZOMG! We’re doomed…..wait, what was that part about 1913? When carbon pollution was below the “safe” level of 350ppm? How did that happen? And was it all your fault?

Anyhow, they call it Death Valley for a reason

Heat records are being shattered all over the U.S. South, from California to Florida. But it’s far more than that. It’s worldwide, with devastating heat hitting Europe along with dramatic floods in the U.S. Northeast, India, Japan and China.

First, they told us that El Nino was going to spike temperatures which are already up because we are in a Holocene warm period, so, the cultists are using this as an excuse. Second, floods have always happened. People have very short term memories about this stuff, so, it’s easy for the cult to fearmonger.

A combination of long-term human-caused climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas is making the world hotter by the decade, with ups and downs year by year. Many of those ups and downs are caused by the natural El Nino and La Nina cycle. An El Nino cycle, the warming of part of the Pacific that changes the world’s weather, adds even more heat to the already rising temperatures.

So what happened in 1913 when we didn’t have all those fossil fueled vehicles and such?

Read More »

Read: Death Valley Continues To Sizzle And It Is All Your Fault »

If All You See…

…are homes in an area where it will SOON flood from sea rise, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Victory Girls Blog, with a post on Joe Manchin potentially going 3rd party for 2024 president.

Read: If All You See… »

NYC Looks To Racetrack For A “Migrant” Tent City

It’s a real shame when you realize that your belief in unfettered illegal immigration actually shows up on your doorstep, eh?

Mayor Eric Adams eyes Aqueduct Racetrack, Creedmoor Center for new NYC migrant tent cities

Mayor Eric Adams’ administration is eyeing the Aqueduct Racetrack and Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens as new locations for massive emergency tent cities that would help temporarily shelter the relentless influx of migrants in the Big Apple, officials said Sunday.

City Hall notified Queens Borough President Donovan Richards late Saturday that officials would be touring the grounds of both sites this week, he confirmed to The Post.

If they are deemed suitable, the tent cities would open on the grounds of Aqueduct and Creedmoor at the end of July, Richards said.

The City first reported the locations were in play to be converted into encampments housing 1,000 migrants each.

Both sites are on state property and Gov. Kathy Hochul would have to approve the plans, officials said.

Both sites are away from the main part of NYC, out in Queens. I guess they don’t want all those migrants hanging around all those rich folks.

“I understand we are in a crisis. I’m not playing the NIMBY game here,” Richards said, referring to the acronym for the phrase “not in my backyard,” used to refer to people who oppose undesirable developments in their neighborhoods.

But Richards expressed frustration that he doesn’t know how many migrants are sheltered in the borough because city officials have refused to provide the tally.

“How many migrants are in Queens? I can’t get a breakdown,” he said.

Interesting. The NYC government is being rather shady on this. I wonder how many single adult males have been shipped to Queens.

The administration estimates will be a $4.3 billion price tag by the end of the next fiscal year. That cost also includes contracts with security firms to safeguard the sites.

This is what they wanted by declaring themselves a sanctuary city, right? New Yorkers should be happy if the city imposes higher taxes and fees to accommodate the illegals.

Read: NYC Looks To Racetrack For A “Migrant” Tent City »

Brandon Regime Are Super Excited To Push ‘Climate Change’ With China

It’s not like there are serious issues, like human rights abuses, including slavery, dumping good on the U.S. market, trade imbalances, China’s moves towards Taiwan, their military getting frisky, flying balloons at will, developing viruses, and so much more, right?

China should be pressured on climate issues, Jake Sullivan says

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday that China should be pressured to “take significant, substantial action“ in reducing emissions and fight climate change.

Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,“ Sullivan said of China: “They should not able to hide behind any kind of claim that they’re a developing nation, to step up to their responsibility. And their responsibility under the Paris climate accord is to take significant, substantial action to reduce emissions on a defined time frame in the near-term.“

And what will the U.S. do if China continues to pay lip-service and do things like build coal fired power plants in China and for African nations? Does Sullivan actually think China was serious about their Paris commitment, which, if you’ll remember, has no power of force. It was more of a pinky swear.

It’s a constant refrain from the Biden admin, with John Kerry and Janet Yellen taking long, fossil fueled flights to kowtow to the communist leaders of China, failing to bring up anything else. It’s a joke.

Read: Brandon Regime Are Super Excited To Push ‘Climate Change’ With China »

Politico: Democrats Have A Masculinity Problem

Well, gee, you think? When they’re essentially pushing all their males to pretend to be women and the rest are mostly soy boys, yeah

Democrats Have a Man Problem. These Experts Have Ideas for Fixing It.

surprise surprise surpriseIt’s hard to deny that Democrats have a masculinity problem. Attitudes toward masculinity have been an important predictor of votes for Donald Trump. And while Black and Latino voters still overwhelmingly lean Democratic, men in those communities are turning to Republicans at higher rates than women. Republicans seem all too happy to capitalize on the gun-toting, fist-pumping tropes of stereotypical manhood. GOP presidential candidates are bragging about their athletic prowess. Missouri Senator Josh Hawley’s recent book, Manhood: The Masculine Virtues America Needs, joins a body of let-men-be-real-men work that includes the preachings of Jordan Peterson, the postings of Andrew Tate and the writings of a popular online guru who goes by “Bronze Age Pervert” — all of whom cast liberals and progressives as the enemy of masculinity.

As they approach elections with razor-thin margins, what are Democrats to do? Recruit candidates who fit traditional stereotypes of manhood? Confront Republican arguments head-on with alternative takes on crime, guns, transgender rights and a vision of masculinity that intersects with all of these issues? Or just do nothing and hope voters are turned off by GOP rhetoric that they see as toxic or discriminatory?

So, should they continue to be against traditional biological roles, or fake it for the election season?

Joanna Weiss: Chuck, more Latino men voted for Trump in 2020 than in 2016. You’ve argued that Democrats need to more directly court the Latino vote. What’s the best way to do that?

Chuck Rocha: You start with the premise that the average age of a Latino in America is around 27. They’re just a younger demographic. They’re consuming things differently. This narrative that GOP appeal to Latinos is about machismo is mostly a false narrative. It’s more about this economic pressure on Latino men to provide.

Huh, so, no ideas.

Then you see Josh Shapiro, who won, presenting a very different paradigm and a very different view of masculinity. In his ads, he talked about faith, he talked about family, he talked about opportunity, he talked about how when he was a county legislator, he cut taxes and kept taxes low. He talked about how as attorney general, he worked to combat crime. He always talked about being a dad and going home to his kids, and how he’d married his high school sweetheart. Those are, I think, examples of masculinity that a lot more men can identify with than these guys out there like Doug Mastriano dressing up as a Civil War soldier, or feeling the need to storm the Capitol in a triangle hat.

So, the complete opposite of Democrats

There are really two abiding themes in masculinity: The macho man — Trump’s got that covered — and the good man. And what Democrats need to do, and Josh Shapiro did this, Lis, to a certain extent, is enact the good man, the decent man, the “It’s a Wonderful Life” man. The only people I see articulating that are other Republicans, which makes me a little sad as a Democrat.

Joanna Weiss: You’re talking about adopting a kind of working-class white male perspective. This right-wing critique of the Democratic Party as out of touch and feminized and elitist and arugula-eating and in the ivory tower — how much of it is really just a proxy for class warfare?

There’s a lot of talk in this piece, but, it all boils down to if Democrats can fake it to make it. Skipping all the way to the end

Jackson Katz: I hear Democratic Party and progressive strategists saying, “We’re sick of talking about white men. White men are the cause of all the problems. Why are you going to spend more time on this?” And I think a lot of young white men hear this, and they hear disdain. Go to the comment sections on Breitbart: They basically say, “The left and the Democratic party hates white men.”

My plea here is that there is a way to speak to those young white men and young men of color that is inclusive, that is challenging, that is positive. It’s not that we have to replicate the aggressive traditional masculinity to appeal to them. It’s just that we have to take them seriously. When someone like Jordan Peterson sells out 10,000 people in an arena, when people like these are getting 20 million views … they’re tapping into something real. How can we tap into it in a way that gives them actual solutions? If we can do that, we have the potential for creating multiracial, mixed-gender coalitions that can actually put in place the legislation and the policy that will help everybody. I don’t think that’s naive. I just think we have to do a better job.

So, say they hate white men but not so harshly.

Read: Politico: Democrats Have A Masculinity Problem »

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