Washington Post: Those Freedom Trucker Protests Are Increasingly Dangerous, You Know

By William Teach February 6, 2022 – 9:08 am

There’s been quite a bit of invective thrown towards the freedom truckers. It’s nothing unusual, as anyone who opposes the Left is branded. Racist, sexist, homophobes, etc, are the norm. The truckers are being branded as Nazis, Fascists, authoritarians, even terrorists. The Left, including the Canadian elites, want to deploy the military to stop the truckers. And

From the Washington Post screed

Canada’s capital on Saturday was bracing for a surge of demonstrators to join a week-long protest against public health measures and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that has blockaded much of the downtown core, unnerved residents and been described by officials as an “occupation” and a “siege.”

Local police said Friday that they expected as many as 400 additional trucks and up to 2,000 people to join the self-described “Freedom Convoy” over the weekend. They said that some 1,000 people could also be planning a counterprotest.

Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly, under fire for what critics have called a lenient response to the blockades, said police would be “hardening” the perimeter around the protests and deploying 150 more officers to “deliver a clear message” that “the lawlessness must end.” Roads, highway ramps and bridges could also be closed.

“The demonstrators . . . remain highly organized, well-funded, extremely committed to resisting all attempts to end the demonstrations safely,” Sloly, who said he had received death threats, told reporters on Friday. “This remains, as it was from the beginning, an increasingly volatile and increasingly dangerous demonstration.”

Most of the violence has been caused by the counterprotesters, not the truckers, who are just out there protesting.

Yes, GoFundMe pulled all the funding, and will automatically refund those who donated. And, yes, the Canadian Constitution does allow for protest, and that’s what these people are doing.

The Canadian Anti-Hate Network, a watchdog group, has documented links between several of the convoy’s organizers and the far-right.

Of course they trot this out. That’s what they do. They look to shut down all who oppose them. Back on January 29th, Glenn Greenwald wrote, in terms of trying to shut down Joe Rogan (I’ve never listened)

For years, their preferred censorship tactic was to expand and distort the concept of “hate speech” to mean “views that make us uncomfortable,” and then demand that such “hateful” views be prohibited on that basis. For that reason, it is now common to hear Democrats assert, falsely, that the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech does not protect “hate speech.” Their political culture has long inculcated them to believe that they can comfortably silence whatever views they arbitrarily place into this category without being guilty of censorship.

Constitutional illiteracy to the side, the “hate speech” framework for justifying censorship is now insufficient because liberals are eager to silence a much broader range of voices than those they can credibly accuse of being hateful. That is why the newest, and now most popular, censorship framework is to claim that their targets are guilty of spreading “misinformation” or “disinformation.” These terms, by design, have no clear or concise meaning. Like the term “terrorism,” it is their elasticity that makes them so useful.

Leftists do not want a debate: they want silence from their enemies and conformity from everyone else. And, if you aren’t with them, you are an enemy. Remember the whole 9/11 Truther thing? This was primarily from Democrats, who loathed Bush and many loved the terrorists who attacked the USA. Those countering the Truthers didn’t want to shut them down, they simply rebutted and debunked. (very much worth reading this long piece)

And here’s Glenn Reynolds

Truckers are starting a working-class revolution — and the left hates it

So we’re finally seeing a genuine, bottom-up, working-class revolution. In Canada, and increasingly in the United States, truckers and others are refusing to follow government orders, telling the powerful that, in a popular lefty formulation, if there’s no justice, there’s no peace.

Naturally, the left hates it.

For more than a century, lefties have talked about such a revolt. But if you really paid attention, the actual role of the working class in their working-class revolution was not to call the shots — it was to do what it was told by the “intellectual vanguard” of the left.

A working-class revolution led by the working class is the left’s worst nightmare because the working class doesn’t want what the left wants. The working class wants jobs, a stable economy, safe streets, low inflation, schools that teach things and a conservative, non-adventurous foreign policy that won’t get a lot of working-class people killed. It’s not excited about gender fluidity, critical race theory, “modern monetary theory,” foreign adventures and defunding police.

The truckers were called part of a Russian disinformation operation, Nazis, Fascists, and more, all because they oppose the mandates and other government authoritarian COVID stuff. I’ve seen huge numbers on Twitter calling them terrorists, because they are “terrorizing” people in Ottawa. How so? Because they are jamming up the streets. It’s so horrible!!!1!!!!!

But as Twitter user Greg Price noted: “If truckers quit their jobs, society would immediately collapse. If politicians quit their jobs, the world would become a better place. We need truckers more than anybody else.”

Who’s more important, the blue collar working class truckers, or the namby pamby politicians, activists, and others who do not really do much of anything?

And the freedom trucker protests are spreading across Canada. Good luck in demonizing the working class, elite leftists.

Read: Washington Post: Those Freedom Trucker Protests Are Increasingly Dangerous, You Know »

Posted in Bat Soup Virus, Current Affairs, Liberal World | 23 Comments | Trackback URL

Climate Cult Is Rather Upset That New USPS Trucks Will Be Fossil Fueled

By William Teach February 5, 2022 – 3:16 pm

Many are having a snit fit, just like Sheldon (who doesn’t seem to own an EV himself and takes lots of fossil fueled flights to and from D.C., as well as over to climate change meetings)

I mean, we could, but

(Jalopnik) The U.S. mail truck is something of a cultural institution, so the U.S. Postal Service’s job of replacing it with a modern alternative is a tough challenge. Now, the agency says it will cost an extra $3 billion to make those new mail trucks run on electricity.

Hey, what’s an extra $3 billion for them? Pocket change, right? It might be fine for urban mail carriers, but, not out in rural areas, or even spread out suburbs.

The USPS said that any electric truck should be able to cover 70 miles on a single charge. This, it said, would be sufficient to cover around 95 percent of its routes.

The truck should also be capable of carrying a payload of 2,207 lbs and pack in a 94 kilowatt hour battery, which can be fully charged overnight. If a truck that meets these demands can be built, the USPS has pledged to make “at least 10 percent” of its new fleet electric.

But, there is that whole cost thing. And, can they last as long as fossil fueled ones? Warmists are upset that USPS could have the fossil fueled ones for 20 years. How long would an EV one last? Quite frankly, I’m not sure why they didn’t consider a regular hybrid one. Because, in fairness, these gas powered ones get garbage MPG, about 8.6 with AC. 14.7 without. The constantly short drives and idles crush fuel economy. If you drove a route with your Civic or Corolla you’d be getting garbage MPG, as well. What would this kind of usage do to a pure EV range in practice?

A full BEV fleet would “require over $1 billion more in additional investment” the report warned. This would cover the cost of the vehicles, training, manuals, charging infrastructure and 20 years-worth of fuel and utility costs.

As such, a fully electric postal fleet would cost $11.6 billion over 20 years. In contrast, a fleet comprising 10 percent electric trucks and 90 percent newer ICE models would cost $9.3 billion over the next 20 years.

Have fun with EVs in the snow and cold. And hot.

BTW, they are ugly, and those windshields have to cost a lot to replace.

Read: Climate Cult Is Rather Upset That New USPS Trucks Will Be Fossil Fueled »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 9 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach February 5, 2022 – 1:00 pm

…is a world killing dog destroying the climate, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is No Tricks Zone, with a post on Germany clearing a forest to make way for wind turbines.

Read: If All You See… »

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Good News: Brandon Admin Starts Mucking Around With School Lunches

By William Teach February 5, 2022 – 10:30 am

Kids were finally starting to get decent school meals after the disastrous Obama years, where Michelle Obama decided to put her own stamp on the lunches in public schools, creating something inedible. The Obama’s kids sure didn’t eat this slop at their high toned fancy to do private school, of course. And, of course, the tiny portions

From the link

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Friday it is making changes to its school nutrition standards for the 2022-2023 school year, seeking to reinstate health goals that were rolled back throughout the Trump administration.

The Biden administration will make schools and child-care providers offer low-fat or nonfat non-flavored milks, and limit the fat in sweet flavored milks, among other things. At least 80 percent of the grains served in school lunch and breakfast each week must be considered rich in whole grains, under the new policies. And while the weekly sodium limit for school lunch and breakfast will remain at the current level, there will be a 10 percent decrease required for the 2023-2024 school year.

These adjustments would mark a change from the direction that the Trump administration took when it came to nutrition standards at schools. Trump aides had rolled back rules, initially easing policies regarding whole grain, nonfat milk and sodium, citing food waste and nonparticipation as key rationales.

Well, not as bad as Michelle Obama’s initiative (which her kids didn’t participate in, of course), but, slowly going that way. Most of the kids loathed the low-fat and no-fat milk. They’re kids: the fat content of a thing of milk is no big deal for kids, unlike us older folks. Will we soon be seeing crappy lunch memes?

USDA Deputy Under Secretary Stacy Dean told reporters Thursday that while the pandemic hasn’t ended, it has highlighted the essential role that school meals play in combating hunger and getting vital nutrition to the more than 30 million children who rely on these programs every day.

You know combats hunger? Not serving garbage food that the kids won’t eat.

The Biden administration changes are largely a return to Obama-era nutrition standards established in 2012, which the USDA’s nutrition study found to have a dramatic effect on diet quality: For the 2009-2010 school year, student’s Healthy Eating Index for breakfast was 49.6 out of 100, rising to 71.3 by the 2014-2015 school year. In that same time frame, the lunch score went from 57.9 to 81.5.

Have fun, kids, in your return to the Obama years.

Read: Good News: Brandon Admin Starts Mucking Around With School Lunches »

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Democrats Think Climate Crisis (scam) Messaging Could Help In Midterms

By William Teach February 5, 2022 – 7:00 am

I’m sure everyone would be thrilled to give up more of their money, see the economy get ravaged more just as it is slowly coming back, and have government slap tons of restrictions on their lives, right?

Will climate action this year matter in the midterms?

Congressional Democrats think they’ve found a way to head off the trouncing they’re expected to receive in the midterm elections: Pass their aggressive climate change agenda.

As congressional leaders and President Biden pick up the pieces and plot the future for at least some provisions of the $1.7 trillion “Build Back Better Act,” many Democrats are pushing for the $555 billion in climate spending, and tying it to the elections.

Supporters argue that voters will reward Democrats in November if they pass the massive package that includes new electric vehicle subsidies, clean energy tax incentives, funding for electric grid infrastructure and other policies.

They are offering warnings that voters who gave Democrats control of the White House, Senate and House in the 2020 election cycle might not return to the polls if they don’t deliver on the high expectations they set on climate.

“Voters want us to get stuff done. I think most voters realize that climate change is real, it’s getting worse, not better, and we need to do something,” Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Tom Carper (D-Del.) told reporters. “And to the extent we can do something to create some jobs, I think they’re all for that.”

Go for it. I’m sure the Elites in the Dem party who are pushing this will love it. You know, the ones who won’t see their freedom curtailed, don’t worry about their own use of fossil fuels, and can easily afford an EV for those times when they want to climavirtue signal. But, take limos and private jets when needed.

If the GOP is smart in their messaging, and that’s always suspect and iffy, they’d make sure people know what the Dems “climate” push will lead to, because, again, it might be popular in theory, but, not in practice.

Read: Democrats Think Climate Crisis (scam) Messaging Could Help In Midterms »

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

U.S. Sees 900,000 Deaths, Totally Not Biden’s Fault

By William Teach February 5, 2022 – 6:45 am

And, let’s be honest, this is China’s fault. What could Biden have really done? Of course, he ran on shutting down the virus, not the economy, and has done neither. Meanwhile, imagine this NY Times piece if Trump were still president. Heck, it’s not even the top story. Whining about January 6th is

U.S. Covid Death Toll Surpasses 900,000 as Omicron’s Spread Slows

More than 2,600 Americans are dying from Covid-19 each day, an alarming rate that has climbed by 30 percent in the past two weeks. Across the United States, the coronavirus pandemic has now claimed more than 900,000 lives.

Yet another, simultaneous reality of the pandemic offers reason for hope. The number of new coronavirus infections is plummeting, falling by more than half since mid-January. Hospitalizations are also declining, a relief to stressed health care workers who have been treating desperately ill coronavirus patients for nearly two years.

Those are the workers who had to work more because their unvaccinated coworkers were fired and no longer allowed to work in hospitals and such, right? Because of mandates by Biden and other Democrats, right?

All that has created a disorienting moment in the pandemic: Though deaths are still mounting, the threat from the virus is moving, for now, farther into the background of daily life for many Americans.

Patrick Tracy of Mundelein, Ill., has seen the disconnect up close. In his county, new infections have fallen in recent weeks as the highly infectious Omicron variant has begun to recede nationwide. But as those case rates were dropping, Mr. Tracy’s wife, Sheila, died from Covid. Ms. Tracy, 81, a native of Ireland who was devoted to her grandchildren and the roses she tended in her front yard, was vaccinated, but also had underlying medical conditions.

“The people that don’t get vaccinated — you tell them that almost 900,000 have died, and they say, ‘They’d have died anyway,’” Mr. Tracy said. “We have very little consideration for our fellow man.”

Funny, more unvaccicanted are dying now than before. Joe might want to talk to China about this. Oh, right, he’s buying huge amounts of masks and tests from China. And there’s literally no relevant mention of President Biden, as if he has nothing to do with this. The guy who said he had a plan had no plan.

At this point (Friday late night), the Washington Post has no article. Nor does CNN. Nor CBS News. ABC News has a lower priority article, and NBC News has one way down the page. The focus is on Jan 6th and Pence rebuking Trump. The LA Times leads with the China Olympics, and a small story on 900k Americans dying from the Chinese coronavirus

Read: U.S. Sees 900,000 Deaths, Totally Not Biden’s Fault »

Posted in Bat Soup Virus, Journalistic Malpractice | 29 Comments | Trackback URL

Bummer: Lots Of Countries Back Away From Their Climate (scam) Commitments

By William Teach February 4, 2022 – 3:00 pm

Is this also “historic”, like when a bunch of rich elites signed a document to force Other People to conform by government fiat?

Countries Back Away from Pledge to Update Climate Goals This Year

One decision that came out of last year’s climate negotiations gained more attention than others for the pressure it puts on nations to cut planet-warming pollution faster.

Rather than wait until 2025 to submit new plans for reducing emissions, each country would need to update their targets this year, according to the final pact sealed in Glasgow, Scotland.

And then they all had their private jets fly from other airports without passengers before getting on and flying home

But in 2021, the first year such updates were due, some countries like Australia and Indonesia submitted targets that did nothing to limit their emissions. Others, like India, didn’t submit new plans at all.

The Glasgow pact requests countries to revisit and strengthen their 2030 targets “as necessary” to align with the Paris Agreement by the end of 2022.

Fransen said she thinks the language is meant to try and eke out as much action as possible, particularly from major emitters that haven’t pledged enough. (snip)

But legislation that is central to the U.S. meeting its goal of halving emissions by 2030 has collapsed.

Australia and Canada are also unlikely to put forward new NDCs. And with natural gas and oil prices rising, as well as tensions between Russia and Ukraine, many countries are trying to balance their climate goals with energy security.

Most countries realize that it’s a Bad Idea to hose their economies as they are slowly coming back from the Chinese coronavirus. Except for idiot U.S. Democrats.

Read: Bummer: Lots Of Countries Back Away From Their Climate (scam) Commitments »

Posted in AGW Socialism, Global Warming | 7 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach February 4, 2022 – 1:00 pm

…is the flag of a Terrible carbon polluting country, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Jihad Watch, with a post on how bad Biden bungled Afghanistan.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

Next Masking Idea: Pantyhose

By William Teach February 4, 2022 – 10:30 am

Only wear a mask if you’re sick. Wear any face covering if you’re around a lot of people. Wear a mask at all times indoors even when no one is around. Wear 2 masks. Wear 3 masks. Wear an N95.

Sigh

In 2020, researchers from the University of Cambridge started testing out some of the ways people might adjust face masks to make them fit better on their faces. Their findings were finally released as a peer-reviewed study this week in the journal PLoS ONE.

A better seal around the edges of the masks means more protection from COVID-19, but most consumer-level surgical masks and KN95s leave gaps around the sides. The researchers tested seven different hacks that attempt to close the gaps, on surgical and KN95 masks:

  • Taping the edges of a mask to one’s face
  • Filling the sides of a mask with gauze
  • Binding the mask to the face with gauze (the “mummy” method)
  • Putting a knot in the ear loops
  • Rubber bands around the front to create a “brace” against the mouth
  • A slice of pantyhose wrapped around the face

All of these were better than nothing when tested by measuring concentrations of particles inside and around the mask. But the one that created the best seal was the pantyhose: they cut a section out of the thigh of some hose and yanked that over the wearer’s head and mask (except for one participant, who couldn’t get the hosiery over his head). The pressure of the stretchy fabric kept the mask on tight, but there was a catch: people really hated wearing it.

People hated wearing it? Shocking! In fact, every single one was uncomfortable…well, made the already uncomfortable masks even more uncomfortable.

“For most of the hacks, comfort was a big issue,” Eugenia O’Kelly, the paper’s first author, said in a press release. “The rubber bands for example, tended to put painful pressure on the ears and face, to the point where they hindered circulation to the ears. However, using an effective but uncomfortable hack may make good sense in some high-risk situations, where the discomfort is worth it for the added protection, but it would be harder to wear these hacks day in and day out.”

Piss off.

Read: Next Masking Idea: Pantyhose »

Posted in Bat Soup Virus, Unhinged Tools | 20 Comments | Trackback URL

‘Climate Change” Measures Have To Be Profitable Or Something

By William Teach February 4, 2022 – 7:00 am

At the end of the day, a lot of the things the climate cult wants are actually good ideas from an environmental point of view. Think about this: what if we could all drive EVs, and the skies would be mostly smog free? Remember during lockdown, when the air seemed so much clearer? I sure saw it, since, being an essential worker, I was going in every other week. It was great. Think about appliances which use less energy, are more efficient, are better for the environment, and cost you less. Makes sense, right?

Perspective: For climate change measures to work, they must be profitable

There is no path to fighting climate change without making the solutions profitable.

This is probably a shocking statement for many, but it’s actually fairly simple. With almost 10% of the global population living on less than $2 a day, and 13.4% of Americans living in poverty, people will always prioritize their survival, putting food on their table and providing for their families. As they should.

Unfortunately, the dialogue on climate thus far has largely been focused on ideas that appear solely applicable for the upper class. Electric vehicle costs are dropping, but they remain more expensive up-front than a normal internal combustion vehicle. People are being told that in order to save the planet, they must use energy sources that are more expensive than the alternative — a solution they can’t afford.

Now, some of the measures we have now, like refrigerators, were gradually mandated by government, along with companies simply making better products for consumers. Some things just make sense, and are beneficial. And affordable. That’s a much better word than profitable, at least at this time. Because most of the things being pushed are not affordable. They are for the rich

Examples of profit providing pro-climate results can be seen in our own homes, as well. Many Americans have switched to Nest, an at-home heating and cooling technology. Nest, which generated $726 million in revenue in 2017, allows everyday Americans to control their energy usage from an app. Families like mine have saved thousands of dollars in energy bills, lessened our overall energy usage and provided a profit for an up-and-coming company.

Except, that’s still for the middle and upper classes.

That’s something Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gets right — climate solutions can’t just serve the upper class. Unfortunately, the AOC approach of more government control, more regulation and less competition for new technology only perpetuates this problem. We need climate solutions that work for all classes of people, not just the upper class.

Working-class people have to be able to fight climate change without thinking about it more, paying more and dramatically changing their way of life.

See, even if anthropogenic climate change is a big scam (it is), there wouldn’t be this massive pushback on “fixes” if those fixes weren’t so darned expensive, if they didn’t artificially drive up the cost of living, and didn’t require government taking our money and freedom. But, that’s what this is really about, government dominance over citizens. They don’t care about you. And they’ve brainwashed the peons into thinking that this is the way.

Read: ‘Climate Change” Measures Have To Be Profitable Or Something »

Posted in AGW Socialism, Global Warming | 7 Comments | Trackback URL
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