Are You Ready For New Lockdown With New COVID Strains?

By William Teach January 8, 2021 – 6:56 am

Real concern or just looking for more reasons to continue controlling citizens around the world?

New COVID ‘Super Strains’ Could Disrupt Life Again

After 10 months of masks, social distancing, virtual school, fear for vulnerable loved ones, and loneliness, this is the news no one wanted to hear: The virus that causes COVID-19 has changed — once again — in ways that make it more contagious.

At least one new “super strain” of the virus is already in the U.S. Another highly contagious strain from South Africa could be on its way. As bad as things are now, experts believe these new strains are not responsible for the spike in cases seen in many states as people fall ill after holiday travel.

The strains are about 50% more contagious than the virus that has been most widely circulating in the United States, though it doesn’t seem to be more fatal for any one person who catches it.

While that may seem reassuring, it could be disastrous on a wider scale. One public health expert believes the virus is changing itself to adapt and infect more people.

Another, Adam Kucharski, PhD, an associate professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who specializes in the math of infectious disease outbreaks, says the math shows the infectious strain will be more deadly.

So, what could happen?

Already, one new “super strain” of the virus is driving an alarming surge of COVID cases in Great Britain. On Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson — who had resisted tougher control measures for weeks — reluctantly ordered strict new lockdown measures in that country, following close behind similar moves in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Defending his actions against the economic harm they would cause, he said he had no choice but to lock down again as new cases threatened to overwhelm hospitals.

Once again, most children will stay home for school, and people have been asked not to leave home except to do a very limited number of essential tasks, like seeking health care or going grocery shopping.

What happens next? Time will tell. Could it be overblown, a conspiracy theory to think the bigwigs want to keep this going for their own purposes?

Garcetti says L.A. will keep using COVID-19 diagnostic tests that were subject of FDA advisory

Drive-thru and walk-up coronavirus testing sites in Los Angeles will continue using the same diagnostic tests after federal regulators earlier in the week issued a warning about their rate of false results, Mayor Eric Garcetti said.

The Curative oral swab tests used at L.A. city testing sites carry a risk of false negatives, especially when it’s used on people not experiencing symptoms, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a safety communication Monday.

The FDA says the tests could lead to infected people having a false sense of security, increasing the risk of spread. People who don’t believe they’re sick could also be delayed in seeking treatment.

Why continue to use it, if it doesn’t really work well? But, see, Garcetti is using science “But in a COVID-19 briefing Thursday evening, Garcetti said he still trusts the tests “deeply.”” See? Science.

Read: Are You Ready For New Lockdown With New COVID Strains? »

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Climate Change (scam) Can Be Solved Without Gender And Racial Equality Or Something

By William Teach January 7, 2021 – 3:00 pm

Remember, this is all about the Science, you guys!

How Racial and Gender Equality are Critical for Building Climate Resilience

As we gear up for what will be the most crucial decade for climate action, I reflect on a year that turned everyone’s lives upside down. The year 2020 will be remembered for multiple, overlapping crises—the lives and jobs lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, the on-going racial justice crisis, highlighted by the Black Lives Matter protests and various hurricanes along the Atlantic Coast.

In writing this, I reflect on what this moment means for me as a resilience planner and what thoughts to take forward into the coming year. (snip through idiocy)

Last year’s events provided a stark reminder of the inextricable link between the climate crisis and racial injustice. It is clear that Women and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) bear every crisis’s largest burdens. Going forward, it is critical to involve these groups if we are to develop effective solutions. Here is more on how addressing racial and gender inequality can lead to a healthy and safe future for all:

As I mentioned above, the climate crisis and racial injustice are inextricably linked; and we have seen that BIPOC have been much more severely impacted by COVID-19 and climate change than white communities.

Redlining practices instituted by the federal and local governments in the early to mid-twentieth century prevented Black homeowners from accessing mortgages, which led to decades of community disinvestment. These communities have also had far more exposure to polluted and hazardous sites and much less access to resources to upgrade and repair their homes. It is no coincidence that Black children are twice as likely to have asthma than white children[1] or that predominantly BIPOC neighborhoods are more vulnerable to storms and hurricanes. Racist planning practices are embedded in our cities and institutions and continue to cast a shadow over these communities as many wrongs remain unaddressed.

Wait, so all these “put in a box rather than being thought of as individuals” are in danger because of Democratic Party housing and urban practices? Huh? This is all just more proof that the climate crisis is all about politics and little about science.

Meanwhile

Climate crisis will cause falling humidity in global cities – study

Urban regions around the world are likely to see a near-universal decrease in humidity as the climate changes, a study has found.

The research suggests that building green infrastructure and increasing urban vegetation might be a safe bet for cities looking to mitigate rising temperatures.

I’d think that all the Warmists in Big Cities giving up their own use of fossil fueled vehicles, going meatless at meals, turning their AC up to 80 and heat down to 60, city government putting limiters on their showers to no more than 3 minutes, restricting the number of flushes per day, and more, would be better. Seriously, where are they going to put this urban vegetation?

Jaguar savagely killing ocelot at a watering hole in Guatemala could be sign of climate change

Brutal moment a jaguar kills an ocelot at a watering hole in Guatemala in ‘over-competition’ for water caused by climate change

A deadly animal attack in the Guatemalan rainforest is being blamed on climate change that is causing animals to compete for water.

Got that? A bigger predator kills a smaller one, and this is suddenly your fault for that burger you ate the other day.

Read: Climate Change (scam) Can Be Solved Without Gender And Racial Equality Or Something »

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If All You See…

By William Teach January 7, 2021 – 1:00 pm

…is an evil fossil fueled vehicle causing fields to dry out, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Datechguys’s Blog, with a post on being shocked, very shocked.

Read: If All You See… »

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CDC: The Vaccines Are Actually Pretty Safe, Folks

By William Teach January 7, 2021 – 10:30 am

There are mostly three types of news articles you see on the vaccines. The first is that rollout is slow, with the media blasting Republicans in charge and covering for Democrats in charge. The second is the distribution, especially when older folks are being left out. The third is about someone having an allergic reaction, which is hyped bigly, right?

CDC: With nearly 5 million Americans vaccinated, just 29 have had confirmed allergic reactions

The odds of a severe allergic reaction after COVID-19 vaccination are looking quite slim.

According to the first data released on allergic reactions after vaccination from the US Centers and Disease Control, only 29 cases of confirmed anaphylaxis have been reported among the 5 million Americans who have so far received shots from Moderna or Pfizer.

“Our vaccine safety systems haven’t picked up any worrisome signals,” the CDC’s Nancy Messonnier said on a call with reporters on Wednesday. “This means that right now, the known and potential benefits of the current COVID-19 vaccines outweigh the known and potential risks of getting COVID-19.”

The CDC is keeping track of bad vaccine reactions in a few different ways. One is a new texting system they’re using to ask patients about symptoms, after they receive their first (of two) shots. This new self-reporting goes hand in hand with the existing Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), which is co-managed by the CDC and FDA.

This doesn’t mean people won’t have regular allergy reactions, just few will have the really bad ones causing anaphylaxis. Eating scallops can cause that for me. The CDC is suggesting that people talk to the ones giving the vaccine, and hang around for 30 minutes if concerned.

Among the 21 people who had anaphylaxis after those initial shots in December, four had a past history of allergies to sulfa drugs, and two had egg allergies. Four patients had no history of allergies at all, and the majority had never had an anaphylactic reaction to anything before, making it tough to draw firm conclusions about what might’ve caused these occurrences.

Most of the reactions happened within 15 minutes after vaccination, which is why the CDC is recommending that providers have epinephrine at the ready (for treating allergic reactions) on site with vaccines.

Anaphylaxis is higher than with the regular flu shot, but, if you’re concerned, hang out. It’s worth it.

Read: CDC: The Vaccines Are Actually Pretty Safe, Folks »

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Dem Georgia Senate Wins Could Push Through China Joe’s Climate Agenda Or Something

By William Teach January 7, 2021 – 8:19 am

Of course, this all depends on the challenges to the results in the Georgia senate races. And for Democrats to get rid of the filibuster for everything. And the poor optics of Vice President Kamala Harris voting with the Democrats on every bit of legislation, which, while Constitutional, the optics of the Executive Branch being the deciding vote in the Legislative Branch will not be a good one

Control of Senate allows Democrats to act on Biden’s climate change agenda

Without a GOP-controlled Senate, Biden has greater leeway to pass climate change legislation. The former vice president’s climate action pledge includes an ambitious $2 trillion economic plan that would accelerate a clean-energy transition, cut carbon emissions from the electricity sector by 2035 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

The goals of Biden’s climate plan are in line with targets set by other major economies including China and the European Union. However, many of the policies would have been blocked by a Republican-controlled Senate.

The $2 trillion plan will still be a tough sell even as Democrats take over the White House and Senate. But experts are optimistic for some broader bipartisan-backed climate legislation to pass in upcoming years.

“Democratic control of the Senate means funding for climate action and the energy transition through appropriations, policy advances through the reconciliation process, political support and messaging from Congressional leadership, and potentially, if one is being highly optimistic, big ticket climate legislation with some level of bipartisan support,” said Michael Burger, head of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University.

Bipartisan climate legislation could address policies that target wind and solar energy, carbon capture and tax incentives for clean energy, among other things.

“For years people have been talking about Republicans in the Senate who favor climate action waiting for the opportunity to make a jailbreak from the party’s anti-climate, anti-environmental agenda,” Burger said. “Here’s the time to make the break.”

Any Republican who crosses over and votes with the Democrats on climate scam legislation will be primaried, and primaried hard, especially after all the election shenanigans from the Democrats that gave China Joe the win. Anyhow, if Democrats are super interested in passing legislation that is going to harm the economy, they’ll have to get rid of the filibuster. Do they have the cajones to do that? We’ll see. They should remember that they won’t be in control of Senate forever.

Read: Dem Georgia Senate Wins Could Push Through China Joe’s Climate Agenda Or Something »

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Defund The Police Party Vows To Investigate Capital Police Response

By William Teach January 7, 2021 – 8:03 am

Sure, not every elected Democratic Party federal official was/is for defunding the police. Most of them just kept their mouths shut to make sure no one knew what they really believed. Most of them did take the side of the violent BLM/Antifa folks. And wanted all sorts of hardcore reforms on police officers. When stuff was happening Over There. But, since Crazy happened in D.C.? Now they want better from the police in a crazy situation

Lawmakers vow to investigate police after Capitol breach

Lawmakers are vowing an investigation into how law enforcement handled Wednesday’s violent breach at the Capitol, questioning whether a lack of preparedness allowed a mob to occupy and vandalize the building.

U.S. Capitol Police, who are charged with protecting Congress, turned to other law enforcement for help with the mob that overwhelmed the complex and sent lawmakers into hiding. Both law enforcement and Trump supporters deployed chemical irritants during the hourslong occupation of the complex before it was cleared Wednesday evening. (snip)

Police said 52 people were arrested as of Wednesday night, including 26 on the Capitol grounds. Fourteen police officers were injured, Contee said.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., chairwoman of the House Administration Committee, said the breach “raises grave security concerns,″ adding that her committee will work with House and Senate leaders to review the police response — and its preparedness.

Lofgren was hardcore on all sorts of police “reform” bills (because she thinks all cops are racists), but, also voted for one granting more money for hiring officers, to be fair. But, she previously blasted officers in Portland, the ones who were getting assaulted and having the federal courthouse firebombed, reposting a Vice story about “people being kidnapped off the streets.” You know, arrested for criminal activity.

Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., a former police chief, said it was “painfully obvious” that Capitol police “were not prepared for today. I certainly thought that we would have had a stronger show of force, that there would have been steps taken in the very beginning to make sure that there was a designated area for the protesters in a safe distance from the Capitol.”

Why? It was mostly peaceful. Demings had ties to the BLM/Antifa nutters, and ties to lots of defund the police wackos, before changing her tune for political expediency. Maybe as a former chief she does care. She stood with the people who wanted to do that.

Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., said she was outraged to see accounts on social media of a Capitol Police officer posing for a photo with a protester. “Would you take a selfie with someone who was robbing a bank?” she asked. “I can’t imagine if a couple of thousand of (Black Lives Matters) protesters had descended on the Capitol … that there would be 13 people arrested.”

Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, suggested there could be leadership changes at the Capitol police.

I can’t find anywhere where Bass was outraged about so many local police departments being stood down while BLM/Antifa riots raged in their cities. Nor about the few who were arrested being released right away and never prosecuted. And, Bass is not a big fan of the term “defund the police”, just what it stands for by a different name. Ryan isn’t much better.

I suggest we disarm all the cops in D.C. Every branch, from the Capital Police to Sheriffs to Washington Metro to Secret Service. Especially the ones who protect Congress. Because Dems want to disarm citizens. And cut the number of those protecting congress by half. Because that’s what Dems want…..what? Oh, only for Other People? Huh.

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Ten Things China Joe Plans To Do To Combat Climate Crisis (scam)

By William Teach January 6, 2021 – 3:00 pm

China Joe has plans. None of them include reducing his own use of fossil fuels, nor making the White House run on 100% renewables. Nor doing away with grand parties for foreign dignitaries flying to the U.S. on fossil fueled private jets

How Joe Biden plans to use executive powers to fight climate change

Democrats have won control of the Senate, thanks to two tight Tuesday runoff races in Georgia.

With the Senate question largely resolved, President-elect Joe Biden can now start to focus on policy, including his ambitious agenda to deal with climate change, which calls for an aggressive shift to clean energy, carbon neutrality by the middle of the century, and massive federal investment to drive these changes. Contrast that with President Donald Trump, who put forth no plan to deal with climate change and actively undermined existing policies to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

OK, lets skip past the typical Voxwhining and Voxcomplaining to the salient 10 points

Campaign press secretary Jamal Brown told us that Biden has come up with at least 10 executive actions to pursue off the bat:

  • Requiring aggressive methane pollution limits for new oil and gas operations. (skyrocketing energy prices)
  • Using the federal government procurement system — which spends $500 billion every year — to drive toward 100 percent clean energy and zero-emissions vehicles. (Bet Joe and Kamala won’t use them)
  • Ensuring that all US government installations, buildings, and facilities are more efficient and climate-ready, harnessing the purchasing power and supply chains to drive innovation. (your taxes are going up to pay for this)
  • Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation — the fastest growing source of US climate pollution — by preserving and implementing the existing Clean Air Act, and developing rigorous new fuel economy standards aimed at ensuring 100 percent of new light- and medium-duty vehicles will be electrified and annual improvements are made for heavy-duty vehicles. (the cost of even compact cars will soon become unaffordable to the lower and lower-middle class folks. Heck, even for the middle-middle class folks)
  • Doubling down on the liquid fuels of the future, which make agriculture a key part of the solution to climate change. Advanced biofuels, made with materials like switchgrass and algae, can create jobs and new solutions to reduce emissions in planes, oceangoing vessels, and more. (because those have worked so well)
  • Saving consumers money and reducing emissions through new, aggressive appliance and building efficiency standards. (you “save” money by having to purchase more expensive appliances and such that die before you recoup the extra costs)
  • Committing that every federal infrastructure investment should reduce climate pollution, and require any federal permitting decision to consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. (taxation and inefficiency)
  • Requiring public companies to disclose climate risks and the greenhouse gas emissions in their operations and supply chains. (I don’t believe this is legal without a new law)
  • Protecting biodiversity, slowing extinction rates and helping leverage natural climate solutions by conserving 30 percent of America’s lands and waters by 2030. (he’s going to take a run at the Waters of The USA rule again, which was shot down as un-Constitutional. It basically gives the feds a say in what people do with their private lands)
  • Protecting America’s natural treasures by permanently protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other areas impacted by President Trump’s attacks on federal lands and waters, establishing national parks and monuments that reflect America’s natural heritage, banning new oil and gas permitting on public lands and waters, modifying royalties to account for climate costs, and establishing targeted programs to enhance reforestation and develop renewables on federal lands and waters, with the goal of doubling offshore wind by 2030. (we’ll become a net importer of oil again, with much higher prices, which lead to a higher cost of living)

These actions are only a slice of how Biden plans to address climate change, and there may be more. There are also more contentious executive actions Biden could potentially take, like revoking authorization for the Keystone XL pipeline or denying oil and liquefied natural gas export licenses.

I’ve got a slap in my pocket, as the Brits say, for any China Joe voter who complains about their cost of living skyrocketing. And those who can no longer afford a compact fossil fueled vehicle. Who’s energy bill skyrockets. This is what you schmucks voted for, regardless of whether you were actually a China Joe voter or were voting against Trump, letting your Trump Derangement Syndrome guide you to vote against your best interests.

Read: Ten Things China Joe Plans To Do To Combat Climate Crisis (scam) »

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If All You See…

By William Teach January 6, 2021 – 1:00 pm

…is a wonderful open space that would be perfect for a solar farm, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is IOTW Report, with a post on some flakes on a train.

Read: If All You See… »

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Weird: DC Judge Orders Proud Boys Leader To Leave And Not Come Back

By William Teach January 6, 2021 – 10:30 am

It’s like something out of an old west movie. Or the Lord Of The Rings

Proud Boys Leader Released From Police Custody And Ordered To Leave D.C.

The leader of the right-wing group Proud Boys was released from police custody on Tuesday and ordered by a judge to leave Washington, D.C. — and stay away.

Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, 36, was arrested Monday shortly after his arrival in the District, where Trump supporters are gathering to rally during Congress’ official certification of the Electoral College ballots on Wednesday.

Tarrio was charged with destruction of property and possession of high-capacity firearm magazines.

In media interviews, Tarrio has claimed responsibility for tearing down and burning a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic Black church last month.

Tarrio appeared in court on Tuesday. A judge ordered him to leave the District and banned him from returning except for very limited conditions, including meeting with his attorney or attending a court date, The Associated Press reports. His next hearing is scheduled for June, according to WAMU.

Again, I’m not defending Tarrio’s destruction of property, he did it, he admits it, and it is wrong. It’s wrong for BLM/Antifa nutters to do it, but, interestingly, have you ever heard of a D.C. judge ordering one of them to leave the capital city of the United States of America and not come back except for court stuff? Can the judge legally do this, order a U.S. citizen to stay out of the People’s capital? Sure, a judge can order someone to stay away from a very specific place, but, a whole city? Especially the nation’s capital? What if Tarrio wants to go to the office of his Representative or Senators? Or witness what happens in Congress?

Read: Weird: DC Judge Orders Proud Boys Leader To Leave And Not Come Back »

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The “Smart Solution” To Climate Crisis (scam)? A Multi-Nation Carbon Tax!

By William Teach January 6, 2021 – 7:04 am

Climate cultists just refuse to give up on their taxation schemes, evolving them, massaging them, and now, expanding them

Here’s a Smart Solution to Climate Change

There’s a great way the U.S. and the European Union could together address two huge challenges in one policy sweep. It’s to create a transatlantic “carbon club,” which I’ll describe in a moment.

The geopolitical promise of this idea is to resurrect the notion of the “West” at a time when the U.S. and Europe are drifting apart but still hoping to rejuvenate their alliance after Joe Biden becomes president. The even bigger goal is to win the struggle against global warming, which both Biden and the EU cite as their priority.

The only way to slow climate change is to dramatically reduce our planetwide emissions of greenhouse gases. And the best approach to that is to put a price on carbon that’s both high and rising. This signal will make producers and consumers adopt behaviors and technologies to pollute less.

Guess who ultimately ends up paying for this? The average citizen. Their cost of living will skyrocket. I suggest that we implement this tax scheme on all news providers who believe in anthropogenic climate change, starting with the above Washington Post. Let’s see how they like it.

Within a given jurisdiction, we already know how to set such a carbon price. You can tax emissions directly. Or you can limit their overall amount by law, then issue carbon allowances which firms can buy and sell in an open market, at a price that constantly changes. This way emissions will be cut fastest wherever it’s easiest and cheapest to do so.

Of these cap-and-trade systems, the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein jointly have the world’s largest. Still, it only covers sectors — from power generators to steelmakers and airlines — that account for 40% of European emissions, so the system must be expanded. Even then it still faces a bigger problem.

It’s that the rest of the world isn’t in the system. This both slants the economic playing field against European companies and leads to “carbon leakage.” Take a European steel company, for example. It must buy allowances to emit carbon, which is a cost. To avoid that cost, it can invest in technology that makes production cleaner, but that’s also expensive.

In other words, countries like China and India will benefit while the US and EU will handicap themselves. Is there something that can be done?

The solution to the free-riding dilemma is the club model proposed by Nordhaus and now endorsed by sharp minds such as Guntram Wolff, the director of Bruegel, a think tank in Brussels. Here a group of countries would agree on a minimum international carbon price.

All club members would then set about reaching that price with either a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade system, the equivalent of their club dues. As long as their domestic carbon prices are high enough and comparable, there’s no need for club members to punish each other’s imports, so they trade freely (if you ignore other tariffs and quotas for the moment).

Non-members of the club, by contrast, would have to pay countervailing carbon duties on their exports to the club. The EU calls this a “carbon border adjustment mechanism” (CBAM). Unlike ordinary tariffs, the surcharges wouldn’t aim at making domestic producers more competitive but at spreading the cost of global carbon abatement. So they should be allowed by the World Trade Organization.

And guess were the extra cost goes for those duties? Correct, right to the consumer! And those countries continue to blow up on “Doing Something” about their own carbon footprints, instead, telling the consumers in those climahysteric nations they should be blaming the climahysteric politicians for the high prices.

And, no, no, this merging of international markets shouldn’t give Globalist conspiracy theory folks any ammunition

If we still have a shot at controlling global warming, this might be it. Moreover, this kind of positive cooperation between rivals in east and west would have other benefits. Anxiety is growing that the enmity between the U.S. and China could one day end as the contest between Imperial Germany and the British Empire once did: in war. A successful collaboration against the common enemy, global warming, could defuse this conflict — and save the planet along the way.

Read: The “Smart Solution” To Climate Crisis (scam)? A Multi-Nation Carbon Tax! »

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