Bipartisan Group Of Senators Comes Out With Gun Laws

By William Teach June 13, 2022 – 7:00 am

Most of these will not satisfy either side, especially the leftist gun grabbers. Nor would most of these have stopped any of the shooters

Bipartisan Gun Deal Announced: No ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban, No Raised Minimum Rifle Age

A bipartisan group of senators announced a deal on gun control legislation Sunday in the wake of recent mass shootings — though the compromise excludes President Joe Biden’s “assault weapons” ban and a raised minimum age for rifle purchases.

The deal includes Republican priorities such as expanded mental health services and school safety. It nods to Democratic priorities by adding expanded background checks for those under the age of 21, who will now have juvenile records screened before gun purchases.

A press released from the bipartisan group outlines the contours of the proposed legislation (original emphasis) :

WASHINGTON–U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Cory Booker (D- N.J.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Angus King (I-Maine), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) issued the following statement:

“Today, we are announcing a commonsense, bipartisan proposal to protect America’s children, keep our schools safe, and reduce the threat of violence across our country. Families are scared, and it is our duty to come together and get something done that will help restore their sense of safety and security in their communities. Our plan increases needed mental health resources, improves school safety and support for students, and helps ensure dangerous criminals and those who are adjudicated as mentally ill can’t purchase weapons. Most importantly, our plan saves lives while also protecting the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans. We look forward to earning broad, bipartisan support and passing our commonsense proposal into law.”The proposal includes:Support for State Crisis

But of course North Carolina’s two weenie Senators joined in. Burr has almost always been a disappointment, plus, he’s retiring. Tillis started strong, has gone complete RINO. Anyhow, this is what they are proposing

Intervention Orders
?     Provides resources to states and tribes to create and administer laws that help ensure deadly weapons are kept out of the hands of individuals whom a court has determined to be a significant danger to themselves or others, consistent with state and federal due process and constitutional protections. (The intervention orders are pretty much in every state anyhow, and are not the the red flag laws which blow off due process that Democrats want. This is just a way to get the feds more involved in state affairs. )

Investment in Children and Family Mental Health Services
?     National expansion of community behavioral health center model; major investments to increase access to mental health and suicide prevention programs; and other support services available in the community, including crisis and trauma intervention and recovery. (This is just a way to get the feds more involved in state affairs. )

Protections for Victims of Domestic Violence
?     Convicted domestic violence abusers and individuals subject to domestic violence restraining orders are included in NICS, including those who have or have had a continuing relationship of a romantic or intimate nature. (Shouldn’t they already be in the NICS? Typically, yes, but, it requires reporting)

Funding for School-Based Mental Health and Supportive Services
?     Invests in programs to expand mental health and supportive services in schools, including: early identification and intervention programs and school based mental health and wrap-around services. (This is just a way to get the feds more involved in state affairs. )

Funding for School Safety Resources
?     Invests in programs to help institute safety measures in and around primary and secondary schools, support school violence prevention efforts and provide training to school personnel and students. (This is just a way to get the feds more involved in state affairs. And Dems will think this sounds dangerously close to LEOs in schools, which they’re against)

Clarification of Definition of Federally Licensed Firearms Dealer
?     Cracks down on criminals who illegally evade licensing requirements. (Um, shouldn’t that be happening already? Pretty sure there’s law on this now, but, this will allow Democrats to wipe out lots of dealers)

Telehealth Investments
?     Invests in programs that increase access to mental and behavioral health services for youth and families in crisis via telehealth. (This is just a way to get the feds more involved in state affairs. )

Under 21 Enhanced Review Process
?     For buyers under 21 years of age, requires an investigative period to review juvenile and mental health records, including checks with state databases and local law enforcement.

Penalties for Straw Purchasing
?     Cracks down on criminals who illegally straw purchase and traffic guns. (Um, we already have laws on this. Perhaps they should ask Joe about the Fast and Furious gun running program his boss, Barack Obama, ran)

I know many Conservatives might disagree, but, the only one on here which really makes sense is the under 21 enhanced review process. There certainly could be things in a juvenile record which would stop the purchase. But, they’ll have to be very careful on this in terms of violating a lot of laws that protect juvenile records. Perhaps a check with local law enforcement and prosecutors and judges could determine if it is necessary to open up the juvenile records.

The question here is whether there are enough votes to break the 60 vote threshold. Might not even be enough to hit 51. This is not gun grabbing enough for Democrats. Also, the danger here is giving Dems an inch, because then they’ll want a lot more quickly.

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If All You See…

By William Teach June 12, 2022 – 2:42 pm

…are sunflowers growing abnormally large due to carbon pollution, which is Bad, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Right Scoop, with a post on NY schools showering money on drag shows.

It’s sundress week

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Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach June 12, 2022 – 10:02 am

Patriotic Pinup Roger Wilkerson

Happy Sunday. Another great day in the Once And Future Nation Of America. The Sun is shining, the birds are singing, and Americans are resilient. Oh, and Tampa Bay beat the Rangers to go to the Stanley Cup Finals. It’s rather tiring having the Lightning in the Finals, but, if there is one team I never ever root for it’s the Rangers. There’s an old joke about “the only way I’d root for them is if they were playing Al Qaeda, but, I’d have to think hard on it.” Anyway, this pinup is by Roger Wilkerson, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. Ace Of Spades discusses the baby formula recipes being rather old
  2. Blazing Cat Fur covers one surprising revelation from the J6 hearings
  3. Chicks On The Right notes Biden’s call to Do Something
  4. Cold Fury says no to Democracy
  5. Common Cents delves into the latest inflation numbers
  6. DC Clothesline covers the nutters now equating obesity with racism
  7. Flag And Cross notes a Dem lawmaker making a joke making drag queen story time mandatory
  8. GeeeZ… has your Sunday faith blog
  9. Geller Report has the Jan6th TV ratings
  10. Gen Z Conservative discusses a hero dog saving his owner
  11. IOTW Report features Brandon’s 10 most honest lies
  12. Jihad Watch covers Jews being under extreme threat in Germany
  13. Legal Insurrection notes the wackos saying it’s racist to ask people to renew their voter registrations
  14. Maggie’s Farm shows what is excessive zoning
  15. And last, but, not least, Moonbattery features a Methodist church having a drag queen as an associate pastor

As always, the full set of pinups can be seen in the Patriotic Pinup category, or over at my Gallery page (nope, that’s gone, the newest Apache killed access, and the program hasn’t been upgraded since 2014). While we are on pinups, since it is that time of year, have you gotten your Pinups for Vets calendar yet? And don’t forget to check out what I declare to be our War on Women Rule 5 and linky luv posts and things that interest me. I’ve also mostly alphabetized them, makes it easier scrolling the feedreader

Don’t forget to check out all the other great material all the linked blogs have!

Anyone else have a link or hotty-fest going on? Let me know so I can add you to the list. And do you have a favorite blog you can recommend be added to the feedreader?

Two great sites for getting news links are Liberty Daily and Whatafinger.

Read: Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup »

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Suddenly, WHO Says China Lab Leak Should Be Investigated

By William Teach June 12, 2022 – 8:37 am

Well, gee wiz, only well over two years too late

WHO now says theory that COVID-19 leaked from Chinese lab should be studied more

Over two years after the coronavirus was first detected in China, and after at least 6.3 million deaths have been counted worldwide from the pandemic, the World Health Organization is recommending in its strongest terms yet that a deeper probe is required into whether a lab accident may be to blame.

That stance marks a sharp reversal of the U.N. health agency’s initial assessment of the pandemic’s origins, and comes after many critics accused WHO of being too quick to dismiss or underplay a lab-leak theory that put Chinese officials on the defensive.

WHO concluded last year that it was “extremely unlikely” COVID-19 might have spilled into humans in the city of Wuhan from a lab. Many scientists suspect the coronavirus jumped into people from bats, possibly via another animal.

Yet in a report released Thursday, WHO’s expert group said “key pieces of data” to explain how the pandemic began were still missing. The scientists said the group would “remain open to any and all scientific evidence that becomes available in the future to allow for comprehensive testing of all reasonable hypotheses.”

Let’s see, a virus that flew around the world within months, that tended to primarily kill the old and people of all ages with pre-existing conditions, kept people sick for long periods of time, spun out many variants, and, according to the sources, didn’t kill Chinese people that much, tending to affect those in the 1st World, Russia, and South America. But, hey, right, it’s because someone in a wet market at a bat or something. And somehow ended up on cruise ships in the Caribbean quickly? No way it came from a lab, right?

WHO’s expert group also noted that since lab accidents in the past have triggered some outbreaks, the highly politicized theory could not be discounted.

Jean-Claude Manuguerra, a co-chair of the 27-member international advisory group, acknowledged that some scientists might be “allergic” to the idea of investigating the lab leak theory, but said they needed to be “open-minded” enough to examine it.

It’s not like there have been previous lab leaks from the Wuhan facility. Or that China pressured WHO to dismiss the notion of a lab leak. Or that there’s lots of evidence for a lab leak.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speculated repeatedly — without evidence — that COVID-19 was started in a Chinese lab. He also accused WHO of “ colluding” with China to cover up the initial outbreak, citing the U.N. health agency’s continued public praise of the country despite China’s refusal to share crucial data.

Without evidence. There was no evidence it came from a bad meal. And, with the Wuhan Institute of Virology right down the road, which seems more likely?

To investigate whether COVID-19 might have been the result of a lab accident, WHO’s experts said interviews should be conducted “with the staff in the laboratories tasked with managing and implementing biosafety and biosecurity.”

Yeah, well, good luck, because you can bet the labs have been sterilized of anything related to coronaviruses and the staff will have been threatened to keep their mouths shut.

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Say, Are Reports Of Climate Apocalypse Making Things Worse?

By William Teach June 11, 2022 – 3:00 pm

The Baltimore Sun has thoughts, as reprinted in the Daily Jefferson County Union

Climate change: Are reports of our doom making matters worse?

Even the most casual observer of current events has to admit there is much to be gloomy about. From public health (monkeypox and COVID-19 variants) to mass shootings (Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, among others) to the inability of opinion leaders to agree on basic facts (see the events of Jan. 6, 2021), there is a certain deficit of optimism of late. Throw in some election-year fearmongering on inflation, the stock markets and gasoline prices, and it does seem like the best way to cheer up might be to disconnect from all electronic devices.

Yet in the midst of this profoundly somber time, what subject matter has the commentariat yakking about how doomy forecasts have gone too far and risk unleashing a dangerously apocalyptic mindset upon the populace?

That would be climate change.

Yes, that’s right. Apparently, a lot of folks have gotten too Negative Nancy about how the use of fossil fuels has been fundamentally changing the planet’s climate and not for the better. That’s not to dispute that climate change is a problem exactly (although you can still find plenty in right-wing media casually describing it as a fiction created by political extremists instead of, you know, a demonstrable, carefully measurable trend studied closely by leading scientists). But the critics worry that the circumstances have been cast in such frightening and absolute terms that it may fuel violence. Or it might be creating such despair, especially among young people, that we do little or nothing about the problem. On the internet, people have coined a term, climate “doomers” to describe people who are extremely fatalistic about the problem, and it’s considered really, really bad by both those who accept climate change science and those who deny it.

Doomers? Haven’t really seen much of that at all. Perhaps written as climate Doom, but, they’re usually called Warmists, Alarmists, or cultists. Doom is usually reserved as an adjective, not a noun. But, see, it’s OK to prognosticate doom

There may be something to be said about the hazards of doomsaying. Once there’s no hope, what’s the point, right? But the problem here is that climate change denial remains so rampant that advocates for action feel a need to provide a full-throated warning. According to Pew Research Center, most Americans favor the nation pressing toward carbon neutrality by 2050, but they also favor proving more natural gas, a fossil fuel, to Europe. This suggests a certain lack of firmness in our resolve. Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters overwhelmingly favor U.S. support of international efforts to reduce climate change impacts (92%). But among voters who define themselves as conservative Republicans? A majority would oppose that (57%).

The “Doomers” might be going full-throated, but, few of them are making any changes in their own lives.

Yet color us skeptical that the threat of climate change has been described in too extreme, calamitous terms. For one thing, denial is still too high to believe everyone has gotten the word on the basic premise of global warming. On the other, the outlook does, in fact, look pretty dire. Last year was one of the seven hottest ever recorded, and each decade since the 1980s has been hotter than the previous one. Does anyone seriously believe that enough is being done right now to forestall disaster? Sorry, it can’t be described in rosier terms.

Does this put you in a state of deep despair? What it should do is cause you to advocate for sensible energy policies that might still soften the blow of climate change. Is that too much to expect?

Has the Baltimore Sun stopped using fossil fuels in their own operations? How about the Daily Jefferson? Turned off the AC? Disallowed meat at work?

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Posted in AGW Scaremongering, Global Warming | 13 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach June 11, 2022 – 1:00 pm

…is an area flooded by carbon pollution fueled Bad Weather, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is 357 Magnum, with a post noting that shoplifting is not a crime in NYC.

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Federal Judge Blocks Biden Rule On Discretionary Deportation

By William Teach June 11, 2022 – 10:30 am

Once again, Joe Biden loses in court. And you know if this had occurred with Trump, or any Republican, in the White House, the headline would read “Trump policy encouraging discretion in deportation blocked by judge”.

DHS policy encouraging discretion in deportations blocked by judge

In fairness, CBS News and Reuters did go with Biden, instead of DHS. Of course, they seem to be the only ones covering this along with the aforementioned The Hill piece. Nothing from the NY Times, Washington Post, ABC News, or NBC News

A judge in Texas on Friday threw out a policy instituted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) last year that directed border officials to exercise discretion in deportation cases.

Introduced last September, the policy encourages officials not to deport noncitizens who have lived in the country for years without incident and to focus on those who have a serious criminal record.

In a scathing 96-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton argued that the policy overstepped the executive branch’s authority regarding immigration enforcement.

“True, the Executive Branch has case-by-case discretion to abandon immigration enforcement as to a particular individual. This case, however, does not involve individualized decisionmaking. Instead, this case is about a rule that binds Department of Homeland Security officials in a generalized, prospective manner—all in contravention of Congress’s detention mandate,” Tipton, an appointee of former President Trump, wrote.

Well, not so much as a mandate, but, actual law.

Last September, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas argued both that the policy was just, saying most undocumented immigrants “have been contributing members of our communities for years,” and that it was needed due to limited resources.

“The fact that an individual is a removable noncitizen should not alone be the basis of an enforcement action against them,” he added. “We focus our resources because they are limited, and because of our dedication to doing justice.”

But, DHS was tasked with simply ignoring most illegals unless they were the worst of the worst. The law says if they are known and caught they be deported. Period.

“It is also true that the Executive Branch may prioritize its resources. But it must do so within the bounds set by Congress. Whatever the outer limits of its authority, the Executive Branch does not have the authority to change the law,” Tipton said.

Since when did Biden care about the letter of the law? And he and DHS will probably ignore the judge’s order.

Read: Federal Judge Blocks Biden Rule On Discretionary Deportation »

Posted in Illegal Immigration, Joe Biden | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

Vox Notices That It’s A Really Bad Idea To Give Kids Climate Anxiety

By William Teach June 11, 2022 – 7:15 am

Yeah, they’re about 10 years too late

Stop telling kids that climate change will destroy their world
Some “climate anxiety” is the product of telling kids — falsely — that they have no future.

My 5-year-old daughter is now old enough to read a lot of books and magazines aimed at children, and it’s given me a whole new perspective on the discourse wars over how we talk about climate change, conservation, and the future of the planet.

As I’ve written about before, climate change is going to be bad, and it will hold back humanity from thriving as much as we should this century. It will likely cause mass migration and displacement and extinctions of many species.

That’s exactly the kind of discourse that makes kids mental messes

What it won’t do, however, is make the Earth unlivable, or even mean that our children live in a world poorer than the one we grew up in. As many climate scientists have been telling us, the world is a better place to live in — especially for people in lower-income countries — than it has ever been, and climate change isn’t going to make it as bad as it was even in 1950.

“I unequivocally reject, scientifically and personally, the notion that children are somehow doomed to an unhappy life,” Kate Marvel, a climate scientist at Columbia, told Ezra Klein in his column this week about overcoming climate despair.

Writing aimed at adults doesn’t always do the best job of striking a balance, though not everyone agrees on precisely what that balance is. Books like The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming, to my mind, do a reasonable job of describing some extreme scenarios that really are worth contemplating, but they still don’t add up to an uninhabitable Earth, or even one that’d be an awful place to live.

The good ship Rationality left the dock long ago, and it won’t be coming back into port anytime soon, because it is staffed by way too many wackjobs. And, really, even if Warmists are not telling kids that the planet is doomed to be uninhabitable, they are giving plenty of other fables that screw with the kids’ minds. How many times have they been told that the coral reefs will all die out, and that we’re in the middle of a mass extinction? That the coastal cities will SOON! be under several feet of water?

As a parent, I think it’s essential to empower kids and pass along the message that the world will be in their hands, that they will have the power to solve its most pressing problems, and that there are lots of people already working on those problems who are eager for kids to learn, grow, and join us. Fighting climate change is part of that, and it’s important and worthwhile, but not because there will be no world for children to live in when they grow up.

Unfortunately, the latter message is the dominant one in Our House Is on Fire: Greta Thunberg’s Call to Save the Planet, a beautifully illustrated picture book aimed at ages 3-8.

Vox writer Kelsey Pipper is living in a fantasy world if she thinks that messages of Doom are not the norm, and they’ll continue to be the norm. There are some Warmists, like Michael Mann, who want nuclear power. And their voices are drowned out by the majority who don’t.

That pessimistic message seems to be sinking in for the young. A 2021 study funded by the campaign and research group Avaaz polled 10,000 people between 16 and 25, and found that over half thought that humanity was “doomed” because of climate change.

It won’t stop. And the message of Doom is baked into the cult of climastrology at this point. Look at any Extinction Rebellion protest and…well, just consider their name, right?

Read: Vox Notices That It’s A Really Bad Idea To Give Kids Climate Anxiety »

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

Most Voters Believe Biden Is Intentionally Letting Gas Prices Rise

By William Teach June 11, 2022 – 7:00 am

Just like the car shortage, this is not something that can be easily fixed at this point, and will last quite some time

Poll: Most Believe Biden Admin Allowing Gas Prices to Rise to Get Americans off Fossil Fuels

I did that BidenMost voters believe the Biden administration is allowing gas prices to rise to force Americans to use less fossil fuel, a Convention of States Action/Trafalgar Group survey released Friday found.

The survey asked, “Do you believe the Biden Administration is intentionally letting gas prices rise to make Americans use less fossil fuels?”

Most, 53 percent, said “yes,” they believe the Biden administration is allowing it to happen purposely to force Americans to use less fossil fuel. Another 39.6 percent, however, do not believe that is the case, and 7.4 percent are unsure. 

Opinions are divided along party lines. Over three-quarters of Republicans, 77.3 percent, and 56.5 percent of independents believe the Biden administration is deliberately allowing gas prices to rise for those purposes. Most Democrats, 68.7 percent, disagree and do not believe the administration is doing so.

When voters decide to have staycations because gas is just too high, when they bow out of taking day trips places, when they see the price of food continuing to go up, they will remember this at the ballot box. It’s perfectly expected that Republicans would answer the question this (I’m guess most of the rest either think Biden is just incompetent, with a few being #NeverTrump fucktards), what is dangerous for Dems is the Independents thinking this way. And, I wouldn’t be surprised if a whole lot more Democrats think this way in private.

Gas prices: ‘Demand destruction’ has already started, says strategist

Gasoline prices at all-time highs may be starting to put a dent on demand at the pump. Yahoo Finance spoke to several strategists to get their take on when consumers start buying less gas amid rising energy costs.

“One could argue that demand destruction for gasoline has already started,” Peter McNally, global sector lead for industrials, materials, and energy at Third Bridge, told Yahoo Finance.

“Since the start of March, U.S. gasoline consumption is 6% lower than the corresponding period in 2019,” pre-pandemic.

After lockdowns in 2020, limited travel in the latter part of 2020, and even limited during 2021 because of the huge spikes of Delta and Omicron, people want to travel. They do not want to have to stay home. Some are saying the worst will be over by Labor Day, because of “history.” Does anyone truly feel that gas will even drop below $4 a gallon by Labor Day?

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Posted in Energy, Joe Biden | 9 Comments | Trackback URL

Miscellaneous: Vizio Soundbar And Latest James Bond Movie

By William Teach June 10, 2022 – 7:51 pm

I’ve had the same 2.1 Samsung soundbar since about 2014, though it was time for a new one. The sound is OK, good for TV shows, OK for movies, not quite as immersive. I’d love to be able to use my Bose 301 speakers with the stereo, but, have to use a converter, change a TV setting each time. Have been considering getting a new receiver, doesn’t have to be great, just take an optical cable, perhaps add a second set of speakers.

Anyhow, was looking for a new soundbar that is at least 3.1 with Dolby Atmos. All the reviews really showed that the best bang for the buck (had no plan to spend over a grand) was the Vizio M512a-H6, which I picked up at Best Buy, getting them to match the price from Amazon at $450. It was actually rated higher than the more expensive ones like the Sonos Arc, Bose 900, and many others.

Except, after getting it all set up, the first thing I noticed was that all the voice was coming from the center, from Atmos content (Carnival Row at Amazon), Hell’s Kitchen on Tubi, Burn Notice via Freevee, and 47 Meters Down on Amazon. Which is not particularly expansive. It doesn’t surround you. It felt like putting an Echo Dot in front of the TV. The music and background audio came from the side speakers, which sounded good. The satellite speakers did have sound, but, was so low didn’t really add much.

I’d consider playing with it a bit, but, the normal volume level is around 50. Out of a 100. Kinda makes no sense, and lots of reviews mention this. And getting vastly different volumes depending on the show. My current soundbar is good at around 8-10, go to about 15 for louder stuff, like playing a movie. Just not impressed with the Vizio.

So, for any of y’all who have something at least 3.1, preferably with Atmos, what do you have? I really do not want a 3.1 or more where the voice comes only from the center.

Then we have the latest James Bond, No Time To Die. Regardless of the pre-reviews and reviews, worried about Wokeness having a black, female 007, no, it wasn’t, it was actually pretty good. Well done, the story moves well, easy to track. It was utterly enjoyable (spoilers below the fold

Read More »

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