…is a wonderful plant taking carbon pollution from the air, you might just be a Warmist
The blog of the day is Bookworm Room, with a post Twitter revelations.
Doubleshot below the fold, check out Bustednuckles, with a post on the Biden admin constantly asking Twitter to remove Tweets.
Read: If All You See… »
Isn’t L.A. full of liberals who Obey the rules, get all their shots, and be Good Little Citizens? Why is COVID raging?
Los Angeles Again Nearing Covid Thresholds For Universal Indoor Mask Mandate In Public Spaces
Another 4,744 Covid infections were reported today by Los Angeles County. That’s up from 4,353 yesterday, continuing a surge in daily cases that could soon lead to a renewed requirement for people to wear masks in all indoor public spaces.
The county has been logging steady increases in daily infections and hospitalizations since the beginning of November. As of Friday, the county’s average daily number of new infections over the past seven days was 3,053, up a little under 50% from the 2,121 average a week ago. (snip)
L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Thursday that the rising case and hospitalization numbers have moved Los Angeles County from the “low” Covid community activity level to the “medium” category, as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She said the county is on pace to reach the “high” level in a matter of days, when the rate of new cases reaches 200 per 100,000 residents. The rate is currently 185 per 100,000 residents.
The move to medium does not prompt any immediate changes to public health mandates, such as indoor masking — which is already “strongly recommended” by the county.
But masking could again become mandatory indoors in a matter of weeks, Ferrer said.
And masking will do what? It did just about nothing when it was first imposed in 2020, and did nothing through 2021. There were potentially more deaths and infections during masking. I would posit because the talking points made it seem as if masks would keep people safe, so, they got too close to other people too often, were shaking hands, hugging, and more.
“In some ways this surge is likely to be different — we know more about Covid, have tools to help mitigate severe outcomes, and we are more aware of symptoms and when to take action. On the flip side, this will be the first winter where we are facing rising levels of Covid, with emerging new strains we know less about, along with unusually high flu and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) activity.”
Yes, we do know more. We know what should work and not work. Masks do not work. Especially when the majority who get COVID in any form will feel sick for a few days then be fine. Keep your distance, wash your hands, don’t touch your face, cover your coughs and sneezes, if you feel sick, stay home, get tested. To hell with the masks.
You know all the good little liberals will Comply if masking is reimposed, though, right?
Read: Los Angeles County Close To Reimposing (Worthless) Mask Mandates »
I’m not sure if I was one of the first to start referring to it as the climate scam, along with a few others such as Tom Nelson, but, it’s darned close, and I’ve been calling it a scam in one form or another for well over a decade. And the climate cult is Very Upset over referring to it as a scam
#ClimateScam: denialism claims flooding Twitter have scientists worried
Twitter has proved a cherished forum for climate scientists to share research, as well as for activists seeking to rally action to halt oil pipelines or decry politicians’ failure to cut pollution. But many are now fleeing Twitter due to a surge in climate misinformation, spam and even threats that have upended their relationship with the platform.
Scientists and advocates have told the Guardian they have become unnerved by a recent resurgence of debunked climate change denialist talking points and memes on Twitter, with the term #ClimateScam now regularly the first result that appears when “climate” is searched on the site.
Yeah, they’re pretty upset that they no longer can censor those who disagree with the scam, but, you know, we wouldn’t be calling it a scam if they didn’t constantly prove it was a scam
Under the often chaotic leadership of Elon Musk, Twitter has fired content management teams, dismantled the platform’s sustainability arm and lifted bans on several prominent users with millions of followers, such as Donald Trump and the rightwing commentator Jordan Peterson, who has espoused falsities about the climate crisis. The changes have been too much to bear for some climate experts.
Science requires debate. That is not what the Cult of Climastrology wants. They want anyone who disagrees to be shut down.
“Folks noticing a rise in climate denialism and disinformation is particularly worrying and I am concerned that it could slow climate action in ways that are devastating to economies, communities and health,” she said.
So, then prove what you’re saying is on the level, that it is true, that it is fact, that it will stand up the rigors of the Scientific Method. Prove it by practicing what you preach.
There has been an uptick in Twitter content referencing #ClimateScam, “climate scam” or “climate is a scam” since July, three months before Musk’s $44bn takeover of the site, with more than 500,000 mentions of these terms since then, according to an analysis by the Climate Action Against Disinformation coalition. The opaque nature of Twitter’s algorithm makes it unclear why this has happened, the coalition said.
That group doesn’t attempt to sway not prove, it attempts to censor and shut down, like the good little Comrade group it is.
While false claims about the climate crisis have been deployed for decades by the fossil fuel industry and various conservative figures, there is some evidence there has been a rise in polarization over climate on social media over the past two years. A recent study by researchers in the UK and Italy found there was a fourfold increase in “contrarian” rightwing climate conversations on Twitter during the UN Cop26 climate talks last year, compared with the same summit held in 2015.
Perhaps if they weren’t utter climahypocrites it wouldn’t be necessary. At the end of the day, they’ve basically admitted that the alternative opinions were censored before Musk bought Twitter.
Read: Climate Cult Is Rather Upset Over So Many Using #ClimateScam »
Obviously, this is not anything new. There was talk among the moonbats of having Blue states succeed when Bush was president. Then, talk of Texas leaving when Obama was pres. Then more serious Democrats yammering about it during the Trump years. And parts of states wanting to leave to be their own state or join a different state. And now
Secession movements gain traction in US amid deepening political rifts: ‘A long-standing problem’
Grassroots movements of Americans seeking a political divorce from their fellow citizens have recently gained traction amid deepening cultural rifts, according to multiple figures involved with secessionist organizations who spoke to Fox News Digital.
Such movements have emerged in every region of the U.S. and vary in their goals. Some aim for entire states to leave the union to form a new country, while others endeavor more simply that rural red counties secede from the domination of blue urban centers to form new states. All agree that the disagreements with their political opponents have grown intractable.
“We’re at a point, I think, where America is not necessarily in the balance, but the institution known as the United States is in the balance,” Daniel Miller, president of the Texas Nationalist Movement (TNM), told Fox News Digital.
Miller’s organization endeavors to see Texas leave the union and revert to the sovereign republic it was from 1836, when it broke from Mexico, until it was annexed by the U.S. in 1845.
“People are beginning to ask themselves this question: ‘If their state was already a self-governing, independent nation, knowing everything they know about the federal government, would they vote to join the union today?’ And I think many people are coming to the conclusion that the federal government is not really fit for purpose; there is a better way,” Miller said.
The thing is, we are not a confederation, which is a voluntary union, we are a republic, meaning they can’t leave. There is not method for that. But, what happens when the federal government is out of control and consistently violating the Constitution? When the federal government is constantly taking power that does not belong to it, but, belongs to the States and The People? When the differences between the parties is so great that there is virtually no agreement on anything?
G.H. Merritt, who serves as chairwoman of the grassroots organization New Illinois, told Fox News Digital that far from impeding them, modern technology has widened the efforts of her movement, which aims to form a new state and emancipate Illinois’ conservative rural counties from the political dominance of Chicago and Cook County in the state’s General Assembly. New Illinois so far has committees in 30 of Illinois’ 102 counties, Merritt said.
“We do not call this ‘secession,'” Merritt said of New Illinois’ goals. “We never use that word, because secession is more like saying, ‘Hey, I’m taking my marbles and going home.’ And what we’re doing is following the process laid out in Article 4, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, so it’s a different thing.”
You have something similar with California, NY, and Oregon. It all makes you wonder, is there a time coming when there will be a split between Blue and Red America?
Interestingly, none of them are telling Biden to reduce his own carbon footprint (he’s flying up to Boston, then flying back to spend the weekend at Camp David today), nor mentioning what they are doing in their own lives
Activists pressure Biden to quickly issue new executive actions to fight climate change
Climate change activists and experts are calling on the Biden administration to swiftly deploy a series of executive actions to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels now that Republicans are set to retake control of the House of Representatives, effectively blocking new climate legislation from being passed.
Through its regulatory authority under laws such as the Clean Air Act, the executive branch has considerable leeway to affect U.S. energy policy, but some critics say the administration has been too slow to roll out new pollution regulations concerning the burning of fossil fuels. They warn that if the Biden administration doesn’t pick up the pace right away, too few rules will be finalized before the end of the president’s term in office.
If the next president is a Republican, rules that haven’t been finalized are likely to be withdrawn, as President Donald Trump did with limits on carbon dioxide pollution from power plants that were proposed under his predecessor, President Barack Obama. And the Congressional Review Act gives Congress up to six months after a rule has been finalized to overturn it, meaning that if Republicans win control of the Senate and the White House in 2024, they could reverse rules put in place at the end of Biden’s term, just as they did to 14 Obama-era environmental regulations in 2017.
Therein lies a big problem: Congress has ceded too much power to the Executive Branch, and this is a bipartisan problem. That said, Democrat presidents, their appointed staffs, and all the leftists in the bureaucracies are more than willing to stretch that power. It’s much better when Congress passes specific, targeted legislation, which usually has to be agreed on by both parties, rather than forcing all sorts of things on everyone at the federal level. And a lot of this power belongs in the hands of the States, not the federal government.
“Climate change does not get solved by passing one law,” Stokes added, in reference to the Inflation Reduction Act, which will distribute $369 billion in subsidies for clean energy and electric vehicles over 10 years. “We have to focus on making sure that President Biden delivers on his campaign promises and acts with strong executive action in all areas. The Biden administration has been doing a really good job in some ways, but they’ve been holding back on executive action.”
See, on the flip side, these same people will caterwaul if a Republican president kills off these actions. What’s good for the goose is not good for the gander in Climate Cult World.
But the administration hasn’t been as active when it comes to writing new regulations on pollution from fossil fuels. Evergreen Action released a report card in October that found the EPA is falling behind its own deadlines on regulating pollution from power plants. Of the 10 possible regulations it examined — including rules limiting carbon dioxide emissions, updated mercury and air toxics standards and tighter limits on smog, soot and coal ash — Evergreen found that eight had either been delayed or no action had been taken at all.
“The EPA must move further and faster,” Evergreen Action executive director Jamal Raad told Yahoo News.
These same people will lose their minds when their power bills skyrocket (more) and they’re subject to blackouts and brownouts. How about they just practice what they preach in their own lives, and leave the rest of us the F*** alone. It’s a very long article, which never does ask “what are they doing in their own lives? Why is Biden taking so many fossil fueled trips?”
Read: Climate Activists Pressure Biden To Force Other People To Fight ‘Climate Change’ »
…is a sea that is rising several feet a year, you might just be a Warmist
The blog of the day is Ace Of Spades, with a post on how many manufacturing jobs disappeared.
Read: If All You See… »
You’ll never guess who they’re attempting to demonize
DHS warns of heightened threats ahead of holidays
The Department of Homeland Security is warning of rising threats in the coming months.
A report from DHS referred to a heightened threat environment, with risks of domestic terror attacks committed by lone-wolf actors or groups motivated by personal grievances and violent ideologies.
The report, which comes ahead of the holiday season, said potential targets include public gatherings, religious institutions, government facilities, schools and the LGBTQ+ community. The agency also warned of possible attacks against the media, critical infrastructure and perceived ideological opponents.
“Perceptions of government overreach continue to drive individuals to attempt to commit violence targeting government officials and law enforcement officers,” the report stated. “Some domestic violent extremists have expressed grievances based on perceptions that the government is overstepping its constitutional authorities or failing to perform its duties.”
Got that? It’s primarily Republicans and those on the far, far right they are Blamestorming, even though those people are vastly more likely to observe the spirit of the Christmas season than Democrats. It’s not Republicans who are using perceived racial grievances to commit smash and grabs at all sorts of stores, playing the knockout game, or assaulting Asians in Democratic Party run cities.
DHS pointed to an uptick in extremist content online as well as recent attacks like the Colorado Springs shooting at a gay nightclub that killed five people and recent threats made against the Jewish community in New York City.
The Colorado Springs shooting was committed by a non-binary lunatic, not exactly the type of person who votes Republican. Most threats against Jewish people come from either Democrats, who seem to despise Jews and Israel, or wackjobs. The above case features one guy who has a history of mental illness and loves Nazis.
Interestingly, The Hill attempts to mostly demonize Republicans for Christmas, but, the DHS bulletin is the 7th since the beginning of 2021, and goes till May, 2023. Of course, DHS is mostly attempting to Blame Republicans with their bulletins, despite most of the violence coming from Democrats. It’s not Republicans attacking police officers. But, is it any wonder some people get upset over vast government over-reach when the government is vastly exceeding its Constitution authority?
Read: DHS Decides It’s A Good Idea To Warn Of Threats Over Holiday Season »
Who could have possibly seen this coming?
Satellites detect no real climate benefit from 10 years of forest carbon offsets in California
Many of the companies promising “net-zero” emissions to protect the climate are relying on vast swaths of forests and what are known as carbon offsets to meet that goal.
On paper, carbon offsets appear to balance out a company’s carbon emissions: The company pays to protect trees, which absorb carbon dioxide from the air. The company can then claim the absorbed carbon dioxide as an offset that reduces its net impact on the climate.
However, our new satellite analysis reveals what researchers have suspected for years: Forest offsets might not actually be doing much for the climate.
When we looked at satellite tracking of carbon levels and logging activity in California forests, we found that carbon isn’t increasing in the state’s 37 offset project sites any more than in other areas, and timber companies aren’t logging less than they did before.
The findings send a pretty grim message about efforts to control climate change, and they add to a growing list of concerns about forest offsets. Studies have already shown that projects are often overcredited at the beginning and might not last as long as expected. In this case we’re finding a bigger issue: a lack of real climate benefit over the 10 years of the program so far.
Essentially, these companies offering carbon credits/offsets really aren’t doing much in planting trees. It’s all a scam to make Warmists, mostly the moneyed ones, feel better about their own massive carbon footprints as they continue living the highlife and flying all over, driving in big fossil fueled vehicles, living in big mansions, and more. I don’t blame the companies so much, they’re just making a buck off of Warmists, though, as so many, including myself, noted back in the early 2000’s that no one seemed to actually be checking to make sure the carbon credits/offsets companies, and governments, were actually doing what they were supposed to be doing.
Here’s one idea they have to help fix this
Additionally, California could improve its offset contract protocols to make sure landowners can’t withdraw from an offset program in the future and cut down those trees. Currently there is a penalty for doing so, but it might not be high enough. Landowners may be able to begin a project, receive a huge profit from the initial credits, cut down the trees in 20 to 30 years, pay back their credits plus penalty, and still come out ahead if inflation exceeds the liability.
So, land owners can never back out? The contracts are forever? They will never be able to do with their land what they want? Speaking of satellites
NASA Cancels Satellite CO2 Monitoring Project
The Geocarb Project cancellation leaves a lot of questions – like how NASA managed to spend $170 million on the CO2 monitoring project without putting anything into space.
Good question. Here’s some of the article
NASA cancels greenhouse gas monitoring satellite due to cost
NASA is canceling a planned satellite that was going to intensely monitor greenhouse gases over the Americas because it got too costly and complicated. (snip)
When it was announced six years ago, it was supposed to cost $166 million, but the latest NASA figures show costs would balloon to more than $600 million and it was years late, according to NASA Earth Sciences Director Karen St. Germain. (snip)
The equipment alone has more than doubled in price and then there were non-technical issues that would have added more, she said. The agency has already spent $170 million on the now-canceled program and won’t spend any more.
Nice. Pissed away $170 million for nothing.
Read: Surprise: Satellites Find No Benefit From Carbon Offsets (scam) »
As we’ve seen, most of what they called misinformation turned out to be factually correct. Like when health professionals said masking most people, including kids, was unnecessary. That the vaccines wouldn’t stop people from getting COVID. That there was no reason to have anyone other than the elderly and with pre=existing conditions from isolating. And so much more. But, this is not the first time the authoritarian nags have gotten upset. They’ve been saying that allowing people their free speech is Dangerous since 2020
Twitter’s decision to no longer enforce its COVID-19 misinformation policy, quietly posted on the site’s rules page and listed as effective Nov. 23, 2022, has researchers and experts in public health seriously concerned about the possible repercussions.
These would be the same people who initially said that masks were unnecessary unless you were sick, then said wear a mask if you were inside and going to be near people, then wear them all the time inside even if you are nowhere near anyone else, then wear them outside, then double mask, then wear an N95. All while so often getting caught not wearing one themselves. And that the vaccines were totally safe. And that they stopped people from getting COVID. And that buying seeds to garden was dangerous
As a researcher who studies social media, I believe that reducing content moderation is a significant step in the wrong direction, especially in light of the uphill battle social media platforms face in combating misinformation and disinformation. And the stakes are especially high in combating medical misinformation.
Then buy Twitter yourself. Or, debunk what people are putting out. Prove your case. Shutting people down is wrong.
There are three key differences between earlier forms of misinformation and misinformation spread on social media.
First, social media enables misinformation to spread at a much greater scale, speed and scope.
Second, content that is sensational and likely to trigger emotions is more likely to go viral on social media, making falsehoods easier to spread than the truth.
Third, digital platforms such as Twitter play a gatekeeping role in the way they aggregate, curate and amplify content. This means that misinformation on emotionally triggering topics such as vaccines can readily gain attention.
Funny, the same people demanding that everyone be censored now had no problem with all the 9/11 Truther stuff, as well as the proven fake Russian collusion garbage.
In 2021, a U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory identified that social media platforms’ content moderation policies need to:
- pay attention to the design of recommendation algorithms.
- prioritize early detection of misinformation.
- amplify information from credible sources of online health information.
These priorities require partnerships between healthcare organizations and social media platforms to develop best practice guidelines to address healthcare misinformation. Developing and enforcing effective content moderation policies takes planning and resources.
Let them buy social media companies. And that looks like the government attempting to censor citizen’s voices. The very fact is is that people spread misinformation well before social media, and we do not need government, companies, or powerful entities dictating what we can say or think. Even if wrong.
Read: Twitter Allowing COVID “Misinformation” Is A Grave Risk Or Something »
From the insane moonbat minds at Jezebel
More Than 200 Republicans Voted Against Paid Sick Days for Railroad Workers
Railroad workers are unionized and their contract is set to expire on Dec. 9, which has prompted speculation about a possible railroad strike that could disrupt travel and cripple supply chains.
President Joe Biden and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh helped broker a tentative deal earlier this year, but four out of 12 rail unions voted against it, mostly because the proposed contract included just one single paid sick day. In their current contract, the workers have zero sick days. (snip)
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted on a bill to adopt the tentative contract, which passed 290-137. Many Democrats were also furious about the sick time issue, so the House also voted on Resolution 119, which would add seven days of paid sick leave to the contract. A whopping 207 Republicans voted against it. The resolution still passed with 221 votes, from 218 Democrats and a measly three Republicans.
They were just doing as Biden and Pelosi asked, to vote for a clean bill. Congress does, in fact, have a lot of power in the business of privately owned railroads, but, what happens if this resolution becomes part of the Tentative Agreement, and the railroads spike it? Which then leads to a strike? That was the whole idea of voting for a clean bill. The railroads say there is a reason they only want 1 sick day (I’m not buying it, workers should have more, or, at least be able to use a few vacation days without notice as sick days). Congress is not the place to muck around with this.
So far, the White House has nothing to say on not getting a clean vote. And it ended up getting a clean vote, without that resolution, in the Senate
(Wall Street Journal) Senate lawmakers passed a bill Thursday to prevent a nationwide strike by railroad workers after rejecting a proposal to give them expanded paid sick leave.
In a 80-15 vote, with one voting present, lawmakers agreed to force unions to adopt an earlier labor agreement, exceeding the 60-vote threshold for the measure to pass. The move is expected to end the long-running labor dispute between Union Pacific Corp., CSX Corp. and other freight railroads and more than 115,000 workers.
The measure now goes to the White House. President Biden has said he is prepared to sign any resolution passed by Congress that prevents such a strike. Under the Railway Labor Act, Congress can make both sides accept an agreement to prevent harm to the U.S. economy.
The additional 6 sick days was shot down 52-43, unable to pass the 60 vote threshold. They also killed an amendment to allow for 60 days more of negotiation
Read: Hot Take: 207 Republicans Voted Against Sick Days For Railroad Workers »
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