Your Fault: Britain May Never Experience A Dickensian White Christmas Again

All because you engaged in capitalism and bought Christmas gifts, had them shipped from Big Companies, took a long fossil fueled trip, and ate meat

‘Dickensian’ White Christmas may never be seen in Britain again due to climate change

Bing Crosby famously dreamt of a White Christmas, but Britain may never see a proper snowy scene on December 25 again, according to experts.

A ‘Dickensian’ scene of widespread snow on the ground on Christmas Day could be consigned to British history due to climate change, the Met Office says.

It’s not impossible that generous blankets of snow will cover British ground at Christmas again some point in the future, it told MailOnline.

But the effects of climate change mean the required conditions for snow in the UK will occur less frequently, and chances could keep getting smaller as this century progresses.

In other words, when it happens they will either say this is the exception or it’s actually caused by ‘climate change’.

The Met Office’s official definition of a White Christmas is just one snowflake to be observed falling in the 24 hours of December 25 somewhere in the UK.

Under this definition, 2020 was technically the last White Christmas in the UK, with six per cent of weather stations recording snow falling.

But the more generous Dickensian scene worthy of ‘A Christmas Carol’ – consisting of thick blankets of snow covering the ground up and down the country – has proved to be somewhat more elusive.

The story, which is actually entitled “A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas”, was published in 1843, as the Little Ice Age was coming to an end. Dickens would have seen many a white Christmas during his years, but, he would have been only 2 when the River Thames really, truly froze over and they held an Ice Fair. But, see, the climate flips, going between warm and cool periods. Even during the cool and warm periods you can get the other, such as the period around 1945-1978, where the global temperatures were dipping. You even had a good freeze of the Thames in 1962-1963. Not like during the Little Ice Age, but, it was there.

This is a doomsday cult, though, so, they have to see witchcraft, er, carbon pollution, in everything, hence, because of things Other People do (not themselves, of course. They’re exempt because they Believe), things are Horrible and Doomy and we should all pay Penance.

Read: Your Fault: Britain May Never Experience A Dickensian White Christmas Again »

Christmas Patriotic Pinup

This doesn’t count towards the normal Patriot Pinup, but, since Christmas is on a Saturday, must have

Plus

and more below the fold

Read More »

Read: Christmas Patriotic Pinup »

Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Clause

Every Christmas, once everyone is up, Christmas greetings were made, hugs were exchanged, the presents were opened, and breakfast was being made, I would read this first in the paper (ye olde parental units get an actual paper, and they live in NJ). It is a Christmas classic that has always touched my soul. While some people outside of the Tri-State area have heard of it, rarely do papers outside of the NY-NJ-Conn area see it in print, and I always direct them to read it online. Especially since we keep getting news pieces as to whether or not we should be telling kids the truth about Santa (we shouldn’t. Let them be kids). I humbly bring it to you, and hope it touches you as much as it touches me:

Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus

Editorial Page, New York Sun, 1897

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, If you see it in The Sun, it’s so. Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O’Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a sceptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus? Thank God he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

And a Merry Christmas from deep down in my heart to all my friends and visitors out there.

If you would like to know the background on the letter, you can go to the 2004 posting of this.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Read: Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Clause »

That’s What Christmas Is All About, Charlie Brown

Hilariously, Youtube took down the version I uploaded in 2006, with 4.8 million views. I’m surprised the above has lasted 7 years

Read: That’s What Christmas Is All About, Charlie Brown »

Who’s Up For An EV Charging Station Lounge?

This doesn’t give me a lot of confidence in traveling with an EV

From the Robb Report

electric vehicleAudi wants to make the experience of charging your EV as enjoyable as possible.

The luxury marque opened what it’s calling the world’s first charging hub in its home country of Germany on Thursday. It’s not like a gas station for EVs, though. Instead, the reservation-only hub features a well-appointed lounge you can relax in while waiting for your battery to top up.

The charging concept, which is located in Nuremberg, is part of a pilot program aimed at making life easier for EV owners living in urban areas, specifically those who don’t have their own superchargers at home. The station is equipped with six charging points, which are powered by 2.45 MWh of interim storage and an additional 200 kW of green energy, according to a press release.

Ah, so, really not for traveling. Just for people in urban areas who live in apartments and such

Those ports will be pretty powerful, too. Audi says they’ll each have 320 kW of charging power, meaning they can add 62 miles of driving range to the E-Tron GT in just five minutes and charge its battery from 5 to 80 percent in about 23 minutes. The automaker expects that around 80 EVs will be able to use the hub each day.

That’s nowhere near as fast as it would take to fill up a traditional car with gas, of course (although that may soon change). Because of this, the hub includes a well-appointed waiting lounge upstairs. The modern space will have couches, TVs, WiFi and self-serve coffee and vending machines so you can relax or work while your EV charges. You won’t have to worry about your racking up a huge bill while you wait, either. The company says each kilowatt should cost about 35 cents.

How many cars can be charged at a gas station daily? And most can fill up in 10 minutes, grab a quick drink and snack while you’re at it.

This is not a pop-in service, however—you won’t be able to just drive up to the hub with your EV. At least for now, charging appointments must be reserved in advance. And they are only open to E-Tron owners whose vehicle has Plug and Charge functionality and an active charging service contract.

That may sound limiting, but don’t be surprised if the automaker’s idea catches. After all, your first-class sky lounge was once just an idea, too.

So, basically a fancy way for the rich folks to charge their toys. BTW, what’s generating all this power?

Read: Who’s Up For An EV Charging Station Lounge? »

If All You See…

…is a sea that is rising and will destroy all coastal cities, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Green Jihad, with a post on how bad Facebook fact-checkers are.

A couple more below the fold, so, check out 357 Magnum, with a post on some serious irony, and A View From The Beach, with a post on a new offshore bird blender in Maryland.

Read More »

Read: If All You See… »

Bummer: Blue State Residents Escaping To Red States From COVID Tyranny

Well, they’re welcome to come if they are Republicans escaping from Crazy Blue, and if they’re leftists who will leave their Moonbattery back in their Blue states

Census: Americans Flee Left-Wing Lockdown States for Open, Red States

Blue states that have repeatedly imposed mask mandates, vaccine requirements, and lockdowns over the last year have lost population to red states that have done away with such policies.

Newly released data from the United States Census Bureau reveals that while blue states like California and New York have increasingly lost population from July 2020 to July 2021, red states such as Texas and Florida have seen population increases.

Thirty-three states saw population increases over the last year while 17 states, and Washington, D.C., saw their populations decline. New York has suffered the largest numerical population decline with roughly 319,000 fewer residents today than a year ago.

New York, especially New York City, has imposed school closures, business lockdowns, vaccine requirements, and mask mandates sporadically in the last 12 months.

Simultaneously, Texas — which has not had any statewide Chinese coronavirus-related restrictions since March — has gained population to the sum of more than 310,000 residents.

Florida, with a similar ethos of remaining open with little-to-no restrictions, saw the second-largest numeric population gains after Texas with more than 211,000 new residents.

Sadly, the data doesn’t distinguish the political persuasion of those moving out of the Democratic Party run states. It would be interesting to know that, particularly for those who left California and NY for Florida and Texas. Democrats hate on Florida and Texas, yet, we do keep seeing lots of Democrats moving and visiting, vacationing. They really need to be checking their Marxist cards at the border and learn to live like the Red staters. Unfortunately, they often try and push the same, failed, abusive, authoritarian policies they just escaped.

Oh, hey, the Blue states can have all the illegal aliens Brandon is importing, right?

Read: Bummer: Blue State Residents Escaping To Red States From COVID Tyranny »

Climate Cult: Forget The Electric Vehicles You Can’t Afford. People Need To Drive Less

Or, the climate cultists could simply mind their own business and stop trying to force everyone to Comply. Maybe stop using fossil fueled vehicles in their own lives

Letters to the Editor: Electric cars aren’t a climate change panacea. We need to drive less

Electric vehicleTo the editor: Electric cars shouldn’t be regarded as the silver-bullet solution to lowering automobile emissions. While they don’t run on gas, their batteries create their own set of environmental problems. (“California isn’t on pace to meet its climate targets. Here are 3 ways to cut pollution faster,” editorial, Dec. 19)

What we need is to use our cars less. We have to stop looking at cars as the only viable option to get from Point A to Point B. We can start by carpooling to work, taking the bus to run an errand and riding a bike for short trips.

A few tweaks in our driving habits can go a long way toward reducing our carbon footprint, electric or not.

What’s this “we”, Sparky? I do not see many Warmists doing this in their own lives. I haven’t met many EV owners who are doing it due to ‘climate change’. I mean, good grief, they have barely rolled out pushing for everyone to be forced to drive an EV (which most cannot afford) and now we have to get rid of them.

To the editor: There seems to be a delusion among those who formulate climate policy that if they set a pollution reduction mandate, it will surely happen.

The mandates and targets never have the supporting, well-conceived, detailed plan for how to reach the goals. Broad guidelines like “increasing the percentage of zero-emission vehicles sold” are made, but they rarely have the how-to specifics.

The populace gives lip service to climate goals while legislators avoid the draconian measures that would be required.

Let’s face it: There is no way that California will meet its legal mandate to cut emissions 40% below 1990 levels by 2030.

Where are the concrete, specific goals from Warmists in their own lives to cut their own emissions? But, really, this person’s point is correct: most in government do not have real plans, probably because even the most hardcore realize they can’t make them happen.

Meanwhile, here are 22 of the “most anticipated” EVs (you have to look at the Canoo Lifestyle vehicle. Very silly looking). For those with pricing, the least is $34470. Most are way, way more. That’s affordable, right? And, while stocks soared in 2021, they’re expected to go way down in 2022. Because anticipation is not the same as people actually buying them. They’re toys for the upper middle class and rich.

Read: Climate Cult: Forget The Electric Vehicles You Can’t Afford. People Need To Drive Less »

Surprise: NPR Says Cloth Masks Don’t Protect People From Chinese Coronavirus

The media has been telling us for over a year and a half that masks are awesome, just wear a mask. Any mask. Once in a while they’ll do a study that shows the effectiveness of most masks is barely better than not wearing a mask at all, but, those are minimized. And now NPR is really letting the cat out of the bag

From the screed

With another coronavirus variant racing across the U.S., once again health authorities are urging people to mask up indoors. Yes, you’ve heard it all before. But given how contagious omicron is, experts say, it’s seriously time to upgrade to an N95 or similar high-filtration respirator when you’re in public indoor spaces.

“Cloth masks are not going to cut it with omicron,” says Linsey Marr, a researcher at Virginia Tech who studies how viruses transmit in the air.

Omicron is so much more transmissible than coronavirus variants that have come before it. It spreads at least three times faster than delta. One person is infecting at least three others at a time on average, based on data from other countries. (snip)

True, a cloth mask can be a “marginally OK to maybe a decent filter,” Marr says. But with something as highly transmissible as omicron, just “OK” isn’t good enough. (snip)

Given all this, you want a mask that means business when it comes to blocking viral particles. Unlike cloth masks, N95, KN95 and KF94 respirators are all made out of material with an electrostatic charge, which “actually pulls these particles in as they’re floating around and prevents you from inhaling those particles,” Karan notes. “And that really is key” — because if you don’t inhale virus particles, they can’t multiply in your respiratory tract.

The material in surgical masks also has an electrostatic charge. But surgical masks tend to fit loosely, and a snug fit — with no gaps around nose, cheeks or chin — “really makes a big difference,” says Marr, who has studied mask efficacy.

Omicron may be more transmittable, but, it is also way less dangerous, way less deadly, than previous variants, especially Delta. But, we already knew that cloth masks had around a 10% effectiveness rate at stopping any version last year. Now they want everyone to wear higher end masks, which are not in abundance. All while few areas and states are requiring masks. It is very weird being in NJ and there is no mask mandate, most people are walking around without one in stores.

Wachter says he’s also covering up indoors with small groups of friends and family unless everyone is vaccinated and boosted. If they’re not boosted, he says, “I consider them to be somewhere between vaccinated and unvaccinated, and I act appropriately if I’m going to be around them.” That means he either has everyone mask up, or he has everyone take a rapid test to make sure no one is infectious at that moment. “One or the other.” This is especially important if anyone attending is high-risk.

And then it’ll be “if you haven’t had a second booster, you’re somewhere between vaccinated and unvaccinated.

Marr says that with omicron surging, she’d have kids wear respirators if possible when they’re indoors in public spaces. Parents searching for good respirator options for their children can check out the work of Aaron Collins, aka “Mask Nerd,” a mechanical engineer with a background in aerosol science. He’s been testing the filtration efficiencies of hundreds of masks and respirators on the market. You can find his reviews on his YouTube channel. (This spreadsheet on kids’ masks may also be helpful.)

And they want to drag kids into their mask hysteria.

Read: Surprise: NPR Says Cloth Masks Don’t Protect People From Chinese Coronavirus »

SCOTUS To Take Up Brandon’s Forced Vaccination Mandate

That was quick

U.S. Supreme Court to take up Biden vaccine mandate cases

spite houseThe U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to take up disputes over the Biden administration’s nationwide vaccine-or-testing COVID-19 mandate for large businesses and a separate vaccine requirement for healthcare workers.

The brief court order said the court will hear oral arguments on Jan. 7 in the two cases, with rulings likely to follow in short order.

The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, delayed action on emergency requests in both cases that sought an immediate decision. The workplace mandate is currently in effect nationwide, while the healthcare worker mandate is blocked in half of the 50 U.S. states.

The White House is confident in the legal authority for the two mandates, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a statement, and the Justice Department “will vigorously defend both at the Supreme Court.”

Who will make the better argument? What will the Court decide? Will they notice that the Brandon administration is trotting out that getting boosterized means full vaccination? Will they notice that a goodly chunk of those getting Omicron are vaccinated? Even ones who’ve gotten a booster? Will they care that chief of staff Ron Klain noted that this was an end run around Congress, the legislative branch? Will they consider whether OSHA has the statutory authority to implement this mandate? Time will tell.

Read: SCOTUS To Take Up Brandon’s Forced Vaccination Mandate »

Pirate's Cove