If All You See…

By William Teach October 12, 2021 – 1:00 pm

…is an Evil air conditioning unit, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Bookworm Room, with a post on how Leftism destroys intellectual honesty.

Read: If All You See… »

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COVID Today: Abbott Bans Mandates, Rolling Stone Tries To Cancel Clapton

By William Teach October 12, 2021 – 10:30 am

I’m sure the pro-vax authoritarians, who want to force everyone to get the vaccine (which undercuts the point of getting the vaccine), are already writing their lawsuits

Gov. Abbott Bans All COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates In Texas

Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order late Monday prohibiting all COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the state of Texas.

“The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and our best defense against the virus, but should always remain voluntary and never forced,” Abbott said in a tweet announcing the executive order.

The ban prohibits “any entity,” including schools, private businesses, and local governments, from compelling an individual to receive the COVID-19 vaccine if they object due to reasons of “personal conscience,” such as religious beliefs. Abbott specifically took aim at the vaccine mandates announced in early September by President Joe Biden as his reason for issuing the order, arguing the mandates would harm Texas businesses and threaten Texans’ livelihoods. (snip)

Abbott also called on the state legislature to pass a law with the same effect as the executive order, and said he would rescind his order when such legislation was passed.

I was prepared to be slightly against this, since Government should not be interfering with a business making decisions that are best for the operation. But, essentially, this doesn’t actually ban mandates, it makes it so that no one can be forced to take it and be fired. Further, having had COVID, meaning they have the antibodies, is good enough to satisfy any mandate.

It does, though, reinforce that no government in Texas may implement any mandate, and may not require vaccine passports.

Rolling Stone Is Trying to Cancel Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton has been a rock legend for longer than I have been alive. He’s an icon in the music industry who has earned respect and admiration from millions over his career. But he’s been making headlines this year for other reasons.

Since having a severe negative reaction to the AstraZeneca vaccine earlier this year, he’s become an outspoken opponent of the COVID vaccines. He has promised not to perform in venues with vaccine mandates, collaborated with Van Morrison on some anti-vaccine/anti-lockdowns songs, and even bankrolled an anti-vaccine rock group.

And his recent outspokenness as a vaccine skeptic has many of the cultural gatekeepers looking to have him canceled. Rolling Stone magazine has even run a lengthy hit piece on Clapton that blasts his vaccine skepticism.

“Clapton recently embarked on a U.S. tour booked in red states despite surging transmission numbers and death rates — and at venues that largely don’t require proof of vaccination,” David Browne of Rolling Stone writes with horror. “In the process, this Sixties icon, who embraced the sex, drugs, and rock & roll lifestyle as much as anyone in his generation, has drawn praise from conservative pundits.”

Rolling Stone even attempts to delve into the accusations of raaaaacism from decades ago against Clapton in order to turn people against him and get him cancelled.

It must be tough for young Rolling Stone readers to learn about a rock legend who isn’t afraid to speak his mind against the rowdy mob of COVID zealots. So naturally, in order to ensure that readers don’t dare get inspired by Clapton’s anti-vaccine mandate and anti-lockdown views, David Browne devotes most of his article to reexamining decades-old allegations of racism for good measure.

Look, Clapton really hasn’t done anything of consequence musically since the 80’s. That doesn’t matter, though, because he is a rock god, one of the all-time great guitar players. One of the true originals for harder rock. If you pick up a guitar some of the songs you learn to play are Cocaine and Crossroads. Perhaps some Sunshine of Your Love. Rolling Stone used to be about counter-culture and stuff. I remember reading the magazine when younger. “Don’t trust anyone over 30.” Be yourself. It’s amazing when you read all copies from the 60’s and 70’s. Now, like so many in the music business, it has simply become an arm of authoritarian government, telling people to Comply.

Clapton will be remember long after Rolling Stone shuts down.

Read: COVID Today: Abbott Bans Mandates, Rolling Stone Tries To Cancel Clapton »

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Troops To Get Indoctrination Under Pentagon’s New Climate Scam Plan

By William Teach October 12, 2021 – 7:57 am

Well, those who are still left, since the other plan seems to be to boot out all those who refuse to get vaccinated

Troops to Get ‘Climate Literacy’ Education Under Pentagon’s New Climate Change Plan

A military of “climate literate” troops and bases powered by microgrids, that’s the future envisioned by the Pentagon.

Its new climate change plan, ordered by President Joe Biden and released Thursday, would affect every level of command. It seeks to counter the damaging effects of a warming world by educating troops on the potential peril and hardening installations.

Rising sea levels, extreme heat, more severe hurricanes and wildfires are all hitting the military, either by threatening bases and hampering training or by fueling global instability.

“It’s real, and no one in the department denies it, particularly the new people, the younger folks,” Richard Kidd, deputy assistant secretary of defense for environment and energy resilience, said during a press conference Friday. “This is part of their life, and they’re driving it. They’re a force for change.”

Oh, good, the military is seeing lots of little SJWs and virtue signalers join, ones who would rather enforce their beliefs on the gender confused and ‘climate change’ rather than keep the military strong to protect the United States. It’s no wonder so many military specialists are saying China would woop our ass in a conflict.

The new DoD Climate Adaptation Plan will broaden its efforts.

“We intend to adapt the entire department — our decision-making processes, our training, our equipment, our supply chain, and our partnerships with others,” Kidd said at the event hosted by George Washington University’s Project for Media and National Security.

This is apparently going to be the climate peace corps.

Troops will be educated to improve their “climate literacy,” according to the report. The topic should be taught to all during professional development training and at advanced courses, it said.

“In order to properly respond, we need to have the knowledge, the tools and the ability to make climate-informed decisions at all echelons,” Kidd said.

And how much training will this knock out? Time when they should be getting ready to fight wars? How many career and long term members will simply resign in disgust, taking all their knowledge and experience with them? These people are insane, making our military part of the Cult of Climastrology. Will they next become the enforcement arm?

Read: Troops To Get Indoctrination Under Pentagon’s New Climate Scam Plan »

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Let’s Go Brandon: Entrenched Partisanship Collides With His Push For Unity

By William Teach October 12, 2021 – 7:46 am

Can anyone point out any part of #LetsGoBrandon’s agenda that is actually about unity? Perhaps 10% of each of the massive bills he’s pushing contain measures that are not-controversial and not hardcore leftist

Biden’s push for unity collides with entrenched partisanship

President Biden is struggling to make good on a campaign promise to unite the country as his administration runs up against an increasingly divided Washington and polarization among the broader electorate.

Throughout the 2020 campaign, Biden spoke of bringing the country together and “breaking the fever” with Republicans.

“You’re going to be surprised,” he said on a call with grassroots supporters in December just weeks before taking office, going so far as to predict a Republican “epiphany.” He said GOP behavior would change without Donald Trump in office, but that it would take six to eight months to change.

But little has changed inside the Beltway as Biden approaches the nine-month mark without a major piece of bipartisan legislation signed into law. While the president secured an infrastructure deal after intense rounds of negotiations with Republicans, the bill remains in limbo in the House more than two months after it passed the Senate with strong bipartisan support.

And why is it not passing? Because the hardcore Democrats in the House refuse to pass it. The Hill forgets to mention that part.

Some political observers, however, say Biden deserves credit for trying to put aside partisanship in favor of unity.

“It’s more about aspiration than achievement,” said historian Michael Eric Dyson, who was invited to the White House earlier this year as part of a larger group of academics to discuss “big ideas” with Biden. “Voters are savvy enough to know that you’re not able to do everything you want to do because you’re not acting by yourself. What they want you to have is the desire to do so.”

Voters are savvy enough to understand that Brandon’s campaign unity talk was complete mule fritters. 54% say the country is less united now. This, though, is a top-page piece designed to protect Brandon and put the Blame on Other People. It’s kinda hard to push unity when your agenda is the same as Nancy Pelosi, Gavin Newsome, and the other left wing moonbats. It’s hard to push unity when you’re threatening to sick the Department of Justice on parents protesting mask mandates, Critical Race Theory, and other insane stuff in schools. It’s kinda hard to push unity when you want people fired for refusing to take a vaccine that hasn’t even been out for a year. When you’re turning last year’s heroes, the health workers and first responders, into villains.

Asked if Biden was naive in talking about unity, Dyson replied: “Of course he was.”

“But we don’t need bad faith actors,” he said. “We need someone who has enough naivety to believe that it’s possible. Thank God for that.”

It’s not naivety: it’s dementia. How do you have a guy who’s naive who’s been in government since 1973? Who served as Vice President for 8 years? Unity was all mule fritters, and he pivoted to hardcore leftist immediately.

Read: Let’s Go Brandon: Entrenched Partisanship Collides With His Push For Unity »

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Columbus Day Hot Take: Italian-Americans Supporting It Is Like Germans Supporting Hitler

By William Teach October 11, 2021 – 5:30 pm

This is a great way to piss off a good chunk of your fan base. And why talk about this at a team press conference, instead of basketball?

Spurs’ Popovich Slams Italian-American Support for Columbus Day: Like Germans Being ‘Proud of Hitler’

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich attacked Columbus Day on Friday, slamming his “backward” hometown for marking the day while accusing the famed 15th-century explorer of initiating a “new world genocide” and branding Italian-American support for honoring the day akin to Germans “proud of Hitler.”

After the first-ever presidential proclamation for Indigenous Peoples’ Day — which honors Native American peoples — was issued by President Joe Biden on Friday, Popovich praised the move, which has long been pushed by the left, calling it “appropriate, important, needed and all those sorts of things.”

Ahead of Friday’s Spurs-Heat preseason matchup, he also expressed confusion over San Antonio’s decision to celebrate the newly-proclaimed day along with the long-observed Columbus Day, claiming he was “a little confused about our city and why it’s [marking] Indigenous Peoples’ Day slash Columbus Day.”

He then slammed the Italian navigator who is credited with the discovery of North America.

“Columbus?” he asked mockingly. “I mean he initiated a new world genocide; that’s what he did.”

OK, let’s be honest, what Columbus initiated was not good. Dude was only trying to find a passage to Asia, but, caused a lot more. But, unhinged rants like this really doesn’t help the case, especially when we’re talking about something that happened 500 years ago, in a completely different time

Calling it “no knock on Italian Americans,” he then equated support for marking Columbus Day with pride in Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

“That’s a silly argument,” he said. “It’s like saying we should be proud of Hitler because we’re German.”

“I mean it makes no sense,” he added. “It’s about Columbus, it’s not about Italian Americans.”

So, he’s calling Italian-Americans horrible people for supporting Columbus Day. How about just shutting up and coaching? Interestingly, for all of Popovich’s unhinged rants against Trump and Republicans, calls for defunding the police (who provide protection for him, the players, and the arena), support of the violent BLM folks, and more, yet, never has a bad word to say about China. It’s almost like he and the NBA are in the pockets of a genocidal, repressive, dictatorial country due to endorsements and shoe deals and such.

Read: Columbus Day Hot Take: Italian-Americans Supporting It Is Like Germans Supporting Hitler »

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If All You See…

By William Teach October 11, 2021 – 1:00 pm

…is a hazy day from too much carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is A View From The Beach, with a post on NYC’s straw law.

Read: If All You See… »

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MSNBC: Religious Exemptions For Vaccine Mandates Shouldn’t Exist Or Something

By William Teach October 11, 2021 – 10:30 am

No one is really surprised that MSNBC is publishing a piece like this, right?

Covid vaccine religious exemptions should not exist. Here’s why.
The law defending religious exemptions for vaccine mandates doesn’t exist.

Bill Of RightsThe law allows for vaccine requirements without religious exemptions. Not only that, but morality mandates it. Therefore, we should abolish religious exemptions for vaccine mandates. Religious objections to vaccines are not a license to kill.

The Constitution is not a roadblock for such vaccine mandates. We have a strong tradition of protecting the freedom of religion in our country, as we should. The First Amendment specifically guarantees that the government cannot prohibit “the free exercise” of religion. In plain English, that means every individual has the right to hold their own religious beliefs and to engage in actions or practices in support of those religious beliefs without government intrusion.

Except the First Amendment doesn’t exactly mean that. The freedom of belief is absolute, but the freedom to engage in actions in support of that belief is not — nor should it be.

OK, let’s apply that to Freedom of the Press. MSNBC and writer Jessica Levinson would be fine with Government restricting what they publish, right?

Why aren’t the protections afforded to individuals under the free exercise of religion absolute? Because that would actually harm the rule of law, public safety and general welfare. As far back as the late 19th century, the Supreme Court has acknowledged it would be absurd to allow people to opt out of many generally applicable laws by simply claiming their religious beliefs compelled contrary action. In 1879, the court correctly posited, “Suppose one believed that human sacrifices were a necessary part of religious worship; would it be seriously contended that the civil government under which he lived could not interfere to prevent a sacrifice?”

It’s a cute attempt at making a point, but, there’s a vast difference between refusing to take the vaccine, apparently because it uses aborted fetal tissue (personally, I believe it is not a good argument, as discussed here, but, it’s not my authority to deny them their deeply held religious beliefs), and cutting someone’s beating heart out of their chest to sacrifice to the sky god.

So we know the government can sometimes impose regulations, even if those regulations burden actions taken in furtherance of religious beliefs. But when? The Supreme Court concluded in 1940, “Conduct remains subject to regulation for the protection of society.”

Call me crazy (and I’m sure many will after this column) but the “protection of society” would surely seem to include obtaining a vaccine to protect oneself and others from a deadly virus. This is perhaps the quintessential example of the government having a compelling interest to enact a law, even if it arguably burdens the freedom of religion in some narrow cases.

Again, let’s apply this to the Press: how would MSNBC like the state of Texas to censor their broadcasts and website, in the name of “protection of society”? Remember, each state has its own Constitution, which protects freedom of religion and freedom of the press. Jessica would be fine with this, right?

It’s a very slippery slope, which is simply mean to do away with religious freedoms.

The constitutional protection for the free exercise of religion enshrined in the First Amendment isn’t the only law to consider when talking about vaccine mandates and religious exemptions. When it comes to the employer-employee relationship, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act also kicks in to protect employees from discrimination on the basis of religion. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission specifically provided that as long as an employer complies with Title VII, federal disability laws and “other EEO considerations,” federal equal employment opportunity laws allow employers to require “all employees physically entering the workplace to be vaccinated for COVID-19.”

The 1st Amendment is not a law. These people are nuts.

We know how to protect ourselves and each other. There is no reason nor any constitution to prevent us from doing so.

Yeah, there actually is.

Read: MSNBC: Religious Exemptions For Vaccine Mandates Shouldn’t Exist Or Something »

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Democrats Electric Vehicle Push Looks More Like Politics Than Science

By William Teach October 11, 2021 – 7:14 am

It’s not surprising that Democrats are attempting to force citizens into driving expensive, limiting EVs. There’s only one “choice” that they like. Everything else must be dictated by Government. This looks more like a sop to the unions that vote Democrat

Democrats’ electric vehicle push sparks intense lobbying fight

Electric vehicleDemocrats’ effort to spur electric vehicle (EV) adoption has set off an intense lobbying battle on Capitol Hill as car manufacturers jockey for influence over legislation that will shape the industry’s future.

Automakers generally back President Biden’s green energy plan, which would spend billions of government dollars to construct charging stations across the nation and expand incentives that lessen the cost of buying an EV. But they’re sharply divided over a key tax credit component of the proposal.

Under the legislation advanced by the House Ways and Means Committee last month, most EVs would qualify for a $7,500 tax credit. But union-built EVs assembled in the U.S. would receive an additional $4,500 in credits.

Only Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV, Chrysler’s parent company, would benefit from the extra incentive, as union workers assemble most of their EVs in U.S. plants. The proposal effectively leaves other automakers, including Tesla Inc., the nation’s main EV manufacturer, at a $4,500 per vehicle disadvantage.

The provision has drawn outrage from car manufacturers that do not have unionized workforces, including Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., which blasted the legislative language as “blatantly biased” and “discriminatory.”

Of course, tax credits are not actually cash, and are so complicated that no one is quite sure how they work and to contact your tax professional. And, of course they’re trying to push unions. Despite a history of making lower quality vehicles

Autos Drive America, a trade group that represents most major foreign-owned automakers such as Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen Group, is running TV advertisements in Washington, D.C., urging lawmakers to reject the pro-union measure.

“Carmakers are racing to get more EVs on the road, but Congress’s sweetheart deal for unions would take most of today’s EVs off the table for many American families,” the group’s most recent ad tells viewers.

And those foreign vehicles, most of which are assembled in the US, and Tesla, are much better vehicles overall than the domestics.

While the auto industry is divided on some issues, it’s united behind Democrats’ proposal to end an existing provision that phases out tax credits after a manufacturer reaches 200,000 EV sales. Carmakers are also pushing Democrats to ax a proposed cap on EV tax credits for customers with incomes of $400,000 or more and a measure that limits the EV tax credit to cars that cost $55,000 or less.

The Zero Emission Transportation Association, which lobbies for luxury EV makers such as Tesla, Rivian and Lucid Motors, argues that the price limit would “force manufacturers to produce lower range, less desirable vehicles, which diminishes the consumer experience and will slow EV adoption.”

Why does this look more like a push to help the big donors for the Democrats? And, the argument is that automakers will make crummy, low mileage vehicles. Huh.

Read: Democrats Electric Vehicle Push Looks More Like Politics Than Science »

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Dr. Doom Wants You To Get Out And Enjoy Halloween

By William Teach October 11, 2021 – 6:56 am

And please, people, get vaccinated to do so

Fauci: ‘Go out there and enjoy Halloween’

Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday urged parents celebrating Halloween to get vaccinated against the coronavirus but described the holiday’s activities as low risk, given that they are mostly outdoors.

“Particularly if you’re vaccinated, but you can get out there. You’re outdoors for the most part — at least when my children were out there doing trick-or-treating — and enjoy it,” Fauci said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

He added: “This is a time that children love. It’s a very important part of the year for children. I know my children enjoyed it.”

Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, made the comments after CNN host Dana Bash asked for his guidance to parents who are concerned about staying safe while handing out candy and walking through their neighborhoods.

Although Fauci described trick-or-treating as a generally safe activity, he said it would be even safer if people get vaccinated first.

“If you’re not vaccinated — again, think about it, that you’ll add an extra degree of protection to yourself and your children and your family and your community. So it’s a good time to reflect on why it’s important to get vaccinated,” he said.

About the only parts he got right is that kids enjoy Halloween and that the point of getting vaccinated is to protect yourself. The strange part is how there are all these packed college football games going on and we aren’t hearing about superspreader events.

Cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all declining, raising the possibility that the pandemic could become more endemic — a less disruptive threat that would allow life to increasingly return to normal. But the tens of millions of people who have not yet been vaccinated threaten that prospect as winter approaches, he suggested.

Why? If they get COVID that’s on them. That’s the chance they take. Unless Fauci is saying that the vaccines do not work as advertised?

Fauci’s advice last year for winter holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, when people frequently travel and spend time indoors with large groups, rankled some of his critics. Widespread vaccinations have mitigated some of the risk as the same holidays approach again.

Strangely, he was good with people traveling on airplanes last year before the vaccines were rolled out, saying it was safe to fly.

Meanwhile (direct Washington Post article, behind paywall, here)

Hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops have not yet complied with vaccine mandate as deadlines near

Hundreds of thousands of U.S. service members remain unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated against the coronavirus as the Pentagon’s first compliance deadlines near, with lopsided rates across the individual services and a spike in deaths among military reservists illustrating how political division over the shots has seeped into a nonpartisan force with unambiguous orders.

Overall, the military’s vaccination rate has climbed since August, when Defense Department leaders, acting on a directive from President Joe Biden, informed the nation’s 2.1 million troops that immunization would become mandatory, exemptions would be rare and those who refuse would be punished. Yet troops’ response has been scattershot, according to data assessed by The Washington Post.

For instance, 90 percent of the active-duty Navy is fully vaccinated, whereas just 72 percent of the Marine Corps is, the data show, even though both services share a Nov. 28 deadline. In the Air Force, more than 60,000 personnel have just three weeks to meet the Defense Department’s most ambitious deadline.

81% of the Army is supposedly vaccinated. The order also applies to Guard units who deploy on federal orders after December 15. So, what will the military do? Will they lose that many members? Kick them out? Lose all that experience? The White House wants them booted with some sort of not-honorable discharge.

Read: Dr. Doom Wants You To Get Out And Enjoy Halloween »

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People’s Republik Of California: Say Goodbye To Your Gas Mowers And Lawn Implements

By William Teach October 10, 2021 – 3:15 pm

You know, this is For Your Own Good. That seems familiar. The definition of Progressivism is “Nice Fascism”. That doesn’t mean these are nice people, it means they’ll run your life for you own good. It makes sense when mom and dad do this when you’re a kid. Not when you’re an adult. But, hey, a goodly chunk of you moonbats in California keep voting for this stuff

California law bans small off-road gas engines, including lawnmowers and chainsaws

California took another step toward its goal of ridding the state of all gas-powered engines thanks to a new bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday.

The new law will ban the sale of all off-road, gas-powered engines, including generators, lawn equipment, pressure washers, chainsaws, weed trimmers, and even golf carts. Under the new law, these machines must be zero-emissions, meaning they will have to be either battery-powered or plug-in, according to the Los Angeles Times.

China is very pleased, since they produce a lot of the precious metals, batteries, and devices that will comply.

The new law is expected to affect nearly 50,000 small businesses. California’s budget includes $30 million to help professional landscapers and gardeners quit using gas-powered equipment, but even then, the budget is still not capable of bearing the full financial burden.

And what becomes of all the dead battery powered machines, which never seem to last as long, as well as the batteries? Just dump them in the landfill? Great idea! Say, will the government of the PRC stop using all these devices? They can jack up taxes to pay for it

The National Association of Landscape Professionals also noted how zero-emission commercial equipment is both more expensive and less efficient than gas-powered equipment. A gas-powered riding lawn mower costs between $7,000-$11,000 while the zero-emissions version costs more than twice that amount, according to the outlet.

And, you have to purchase them more often. Remember how Warmists said that all this stuff won’t cost people more? Huh.

Meanwhile in the PRC

Big California retailers must offer gender-neutral children’s aisles under new law

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday signed a law that requires large California retailers to maintain gender neutral toy and childcare sections.

The new law, Assembly Bill 1084, requires that retailers with 500 or more employees in the state of California “maintain a gender neutral section or area, to be labeled at the discretion of the retailer, in which a reasonable selection of the items and toys for children that it sells shall be displayed, regardless of whether they have been traditionally marketed for either girls or for boys,” according to the legislative counsel’s digest. (snip)

One of the most vocal opponents of the law was the conservative California Family Council, which said that the bill was a marketing scheme by Rob Smith, the proprietor of The Phluid Project, to sell his gender-neutral clothing.

“You have to give Rob Smith credit; he’s found quite an audacious marketing plan in asking Sacramento to force California retailers to make room for his products,” California Family Council President Jonathan Keller said in a statement. “But activists and state legislators have no right to force retailers to espouse government-approved messages about gender. It’s a violation of free speech and it’s just plain wrong.”

The people of the PRC keep voting for this stuff.

Read: People’s Republik Of California: Say Goodbye To Your Gas Mowers And Lawn Implements »

Posted in Barking Moonbats, Democrats, Global Warming | 9 Comments | Trackback URL
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