OSHA Releases COVID Vaccine Rule, Calling It A “Grave Danger”

By William Teach November 5, 2021 – 8:15 am

It’s such a grave danger than the rule won’t kick in till January 4th. Here’s Marty Walsh, the U.S. secretary of Labor and Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator and counselor to the president in an op-ed in the USA Today

Employer COVID-19 vaccine and testing mandate will protect workers and boost U.S. economy

spite houseOur nation is at an inflection point in our fight against COVID-19. About 70% of American adults are fully vaccinated, and cases and hospitalizations are down over 50% since early September. This is real progress, but the virus remains a threat to unvaccinated individuals, particularly America’s workers.

Although COVID-19 is not exclusively an occupational disease, transmission can and often does occur in workplaces – affecting employees and their health, families and livelihoods. In fact, more than 4.6 million American workers missed work in early September because they or someone they loved had COVID-19.

In other words, COVID-19 continues to hold back our workforce and our economy – and it will continue to do so until more Americans are vaccinated.

Interestingly, the economy was starting to do quite well before Joe Biden took office, even though very few had been vaccinated.

American workers deserve and expect a safe and healthy workplace. That’s why Thursday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a rule that will protect workers from the grave danger posed by COVID-19. The new OSHA rule requires businesses with 100 or more employees to ensure each of their employees is fully vaccinated or undergoes weekly COVID-19 testing.

Employers have until Jan. 4 for each employee to get their shots or begin testing at least once a week. The new rule also requires employers to provide paid time for workers to get vaccinated, eliminating one of the major barriers that keeps workers from starting or completing their vaccinations.

How is that a barrier? People have days off. It literally cost me about an hour to drive to the vaccination site, get the shot, wait around for adverse reactions, then drive home. This is not a thing, but, then, Democrats live in their own little world, thinking that companies will screw their employees on even things like this.

This rule covers more than 80 million workers and will have a huge impact, saving thousands of lives and preventing 250,000 workers from hospitalization over the next six months alone.

Why not companies under 100 then, if we are going to protect workers? Don’t they matter? Why wait till now to release this rule?

And because people want to work where they feel safe, vaccination policies could lead to up to 5 million Americans reentering the workforce, according to Goldman Sachs. That’s good for workers and business alike.

That might not be the best report to cite, as it estimates that “7mn affected workers report that they will definitely not get the vaccine, and vaccine mandates imposed by health care providers earlier this summer caused some workers to leave their jobs”, though they say those people might get jobs at smaller firms.

It is called a “grave danger” many, many times in the rule (here it is an all its 490 pages). And

Masks are mentioned hundreds of times, yet, the text, way down in Section VI, part I Face Coverings, does say just that. That completely undercuts masking for all vaccinated people.

It is huge because there is lots and lots of blather, most likely included to make it tougher for lawsuits. And you can bet the lawsuits will be filed soon. Lots of them.

Read: OSHA Releases COVID Vaccine Rule, Calling It A “Grave Danger” »

Posted in Bat Soup Virus, Joe Biden | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Climate Cult Fail: California Looks To Natural Gas Due To Lack Of Energy

By William Teach November 4, 2021 – 3:00 pm

Much like so many nations in Europe who embraced unreliable, expensive “green” alternatives, and ended up burning more wood and going back to natural gas, and even coal, Californians are learning a valuable lesson

California looks to natural gas to keep lights on this winter

stop global warmingAfter years of restricting the growth of fossil fuel infrastructure, California is looking to natural gas for power generation this coming winter after drought and wildfires leave the state with few other options to keep the lights on.

California has spent years moving away from fossil fuels to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. But U.S. states like California and Texas have faced notable challenges to their electrical grid in recent months, and worldwide power crunches have forced other countries to ramp up output of coal and other fossil fuels to maintain power.

This year, the state has leaned more on gas fired-power plants as extreme drought has cut hydropower output by more than half, while frequent wildfires often shut electricity imports from other states.

Drought is typical in California. Probably not the best of ideas to depend on hydroelectric dams to provide 11.24% of California’s power. Why don’t they just slap up more solar panels and wind turbines? Or, just have everyone turn their stuff off? Suffer for their beliefs. Oh, right, Warmists only want the Bad stuff to happen to other people.

Gas supplies have been tight in Southern California for years due to pipeline limitations and reduced availability of Aliso Canyon (a NG storage facility), resulting in curtailments to power generators and higher prices for consumers.

Environmental groups want the facility closed entirely and oppose the proposals.

“Instead of pursuing clean energy solutions that can eliminate the need for Aliso Canyon entirely, California is proposing to expand this dangerous facility – putting communities at greater risk of another catastrophic leak,” said Alexandra Nagy, California director of Food & Water Watch.

I agree with the “enviros”: they should close it and let the chips fall where they may. Of course, many of those same enviros can be a problem

Read: Climate Cult Fail: California Looks To Natural Gas Due To Lack Of Energy »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Energy, Global Warming | 10 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach November 4, 2021 – 1:00 pm

…is a wonderful low carbon bicycle, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Jihad Watch, with a post on the Taliban wanting in on that sweet, sweet, strings free climate cash.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Axios: Vaccine Deadlines Hit With A Whimper

By William Teach November 4, 2021 – 10:30 am

It could be due to a lot of people not wanting to lose their jobs

Vaccine deadlines for millions of workers hit with a whimper

Mandatory vaccine deadlines have now come and gone for millions of workers — and most of them have either bit the bullet or taken advantage of wiggle room offered by their employers.

Why it matters: These mandates have become one of the most polarizing policies in America, but predictions that they’d drive workers away in droves, voluntarily or not, simply aren’t coming to fruition. (snip)

Many large employers that imposed their own vaccine requirements — from Disney, Citigroup and AT&T to big airlines, hospitals and cities — say compliance has been high, and there’s little risk that they’ll end up losing any significant share of their workforce.

What’s considered significant? How much does it cost to recruit and train new workers?

Yes, but: There are pockets of staunch resistance: In New York, more than 10,000 workers defied last Monday’s deadline to get vaccinated; and in Los Angeles, L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva vowed not to enforce a countywide mandate.

Hospitals across the country reported that only handfuls of workers — often about 1% to 2% of their workforces — chose to leave due to mandates, Axios health care editor Tina Reed reports.

But many of them also reported higher-than-usual rates of medical or religious exemption, often around 4% to 6%.

In Maine alone, hundreds of health workers have left their jobs rather than getting the vaccine (around 800). Now they have to be replaced when medical facilities were already shorthanded. Now do that across the country. These health workers will go to friendly states, and health care will suffer. It might not seem like much, but, consider the problems with fast food joints and them being low on employees.

What’s next: There’s a Dec. 8 deadline for federal contractors and subcontractors to comply with the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate Additional deadlines for federal workers and school employees to be vaccinated are scattered through November and December.

Yeah, and then there’s the military

Troops who refuse COVID vaccines won’t be guaranteed veterans benefits, officials warn

Troops who refuse the coronavirus vaccine won’t see any extra protections or leniency in how their dismissals are handled, Defense and Veterans Affairs officials confirmed Wednesday.

Instead, decisions on whether to give those individuals other-than-honorable discharges — potentially blocking them from a host of veterans benefits — will be left to local commanders, and their cases won’t receive any preferential evaluations for veterans’ benefits eligibility, despite recent lobbying from Republicans lawmakers for a less punishing approach.

In other words, the military is going to hose the troops who refuse to take the vaccine, and it will be harder to recruit.

Read: Axios: Vaccine Deadlines Hit With A Whimper »

Posted in Bat Soup Virus | 8 Comments | Trackback URL

St. Greta Is Unhappy About Greenwashing Or Something

By William Teach November 4, 2021 – 7:09 am

Maybe she should be unhappy about all her cult Comrades taking long fossil fueled flights

Greta Thunberg, other climate change activists in Glasgow slam ‘greenwashing’ and ‘false solutions’

St. GretaClimate activist Greta Thunberg stormed out of an event at the U.N. Climate Change Conference on Wednesday afternoon, where officials and business leaders were discussing how to ensure that markets for trading carbon offsets actually achieve the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Swedish teenager, who was in the audience at a panel discussion, left the venue saying, “Thanks for greenwashing,” after a moderator thanked her for attending the session.

When Thunberg said “greenwashing,” she was using an environmentalists’ term for an organization’s false portrayal of itself as environmentally friendly. Some activists contend that corporations and governments participating in the climate summit, also known as COP26, are guilty of just that, by paying lip service to combating climate change while continuing to use the fossil fuels that cause global warming. (snip)

Earlier on Wednesday, hundreds of protesters from the group Extinction Rebellion gathered in the center of Glasgow, just under 2 miles from the official conference venue, to show their concern over what one protester described as “false solutions” to the climate crisis.

The crowd included one activist dressed as a tree who spoke angrily about deforestation, while another was in costume as a green blob — he said the outfit was the embodiment of greenwashing — and said, “Companies say a lot of nice things, but then they don’t do any of them.”

And what are St. Greta and her Comrades doing, exactly, other than attempting to force Other People to do things she and the others won’t do? They talk a big game, and, that’s about it. Isn’t that also greenwashing?

Read: St. Greta Is Unhappy About Greenwashing Or Something »

Posted in Climahypocrites, Global Warming | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Lesson Learned? Democrats Look To Speed Up Their Agenda Post Election Blowout

By William Teach November 4, 2021 – 7:00 am

Both parties refuse to learn the lesson of elections. Republicans always fail to understand that fighting back works. That politics is not a nice business. You have to take it to Democrats. Firing a broadside then going back into get along go alone squishiness doesn’t work. Democrats never learn from election losses. Sure, you might have some, such as James Carville, who understand pivoting and moving on, but, most just make Excuses, usually along the lines of Republicans cheated, the voters are racist/sexist/Islamophobe/etc, those darned white women, we just need to reframe and rename. What did they learn Tuesday night?

Well, unless you have a subscription, you aren’t reading that one, so, over to the NY Times

Democrats, Stung by Losses, Press Forward on Biden Agenda

Smarting from an off-year electoral rebuke, congressional Democrats pushed forward on Wednesday toward House votes as soon as Thursday on nearly $3 trillion worth of social policy, infrastructure and climate change programs — but with a deep new worry: Would a legislative victory help or hurt their bruised political standing?

The day after a defeat in the Virginia governor’s race and an unexpectedly close race in the Democratic stronghold of New Jersey, the Democrats in Congress toiled to keep recriminations to a minimum. But centrists grumbled that the party’s left flank had held back final passage of what they considered the most popular part of the agenda, a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill, while liberals blamed poor campaigns and ineffectual candidates.

“Candidates matter,” added Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, one of the Democrats who blockaded the infrastructure measure. But virtually all Democrats came away from the sweeping defeats in Virginia and a narrow escape for New Jersey’s Democratic governor, Philip D. Murphy, agreeing that the imperative now was to pass both bills as quickly as possible to prove their party could govern.

No, sorry, what they understand is that their agenda becomes less popular the more people know, and that they have a limited time to get it done before the 2022 mid-terms, after which they will most likely lose the House, the Senate, or both, and they know it would be virtually impossible to get rid of this Progressive (nice Fascism) insanity. First, because Joe will just veto, and, second, getting rid of it even with a win in 2024 for the White House by a Republican could make it difficult. How’d it work out getting rid of Obamacare, especially once it was established? That’s the chance, and the calculation, Democrats will make.

Hanging over the endeavor was a deep sense of dread among Democrats — reinforced by the results on Tuesday — that their prospects for keeping control of Congress in the midterm elections next year were dwindling by the day, amid President Biden’s sagging approval rating and widespread discontent with the direction of the country. Puffed up by his party’s successes, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the House Republican leader, predicted that Democrats would lose more than 60 seats next year.

One would think if there is deep dissatisfaction they’d pivot, do different things which are popular. That’s what Clinton would have done. These days, Democrats do not care, they’ll just try and force this on Americans. Because they do think you are stupid and need to be told what to do and forced to do it.

Read: Lesson Learned? Democrats Look To Speed Up Their Agenda Post Election Blowout »

Posted in Democrats, Politics | 8 Comments | Trackback URL

High Flying John Kerry Teases New Way To Fund ‘Climate Change’ Action

By William Teach November 3, 2021 – 2:58 pm

I’m sure there’s absolutely no reason to tell you to watch your wallet, right?

Kerry teases coming announcements to finance climate change policy in developing nations

John Kerry climateSpeaking during and immediately after a meeting of the High Ambition Coalition, a group of roughly 60 countries that advocate for the strongest possible policies to address climate change at the U.N. Climate Change Conference, special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry hinted Tuesday that major announcements on climate finance are in the offing.

“A hundred billion dollars doesn’t do it, folks,” Kerry said to a gaggle of press following the meeting at the conference, also known as COP26. He was referring to the promise of $100 billion per year in financing for adapting to and mitigating climate change for developing countries, made by developed countries at the last major round of climate negotiations, in Paris in 2015. “It’s trillions of dollars that are needed. And the only way that we will get this done is if trillions of dollars are forthcoming. And they are. Tomorrow there will be an announcement. I’m not going to jump the announcement, but there are tens of trillions of dollars announced that are available to be invested in this transition.”

Tens of trillions in Other People’s money, eh?

It’s unclear who will provide the tens of trillions of dollars Kerry mentioned, but reading the tea leaves — especially his reference to investment — it sounds like the private sector will play a major role, providing loans as opposed to grants.

See? I wonder what they could be looking at?

Tariffs to Tackle Climate Change Gain Momentum. The Idea Could Reshape Industries.
The proposals come with risks, including undermining world trade rules and triggering trade disputes

Governments in the U.S., Europe and other developed nations are embarking on a climate-change experiment: using tariffs on trade to cut carbon emissions. The idea has the potential to rewrite the rules of global commerce.

Policy makers on both sides of the Atlantic are looking at targeting steel, chemicals and cement. The tariffs would give a competitive advantage to manufacturers in countries where emissions are relatively low.

Well, that’s all you’re going to get from the Wall Street Journal, unless you subscribe. But, there are plenty of other articles, and, while tariffs can have their place in attempting to level a playing field, these would just cause prices to skyrocket. I know, let’s place a huge tariff on all the people who attended COP26, see if they’re good with paying with their own money.

Read: High Flying John Kerry Teases New Way To Fund ‘Climate Change’ Action »

Posted in Economy, Global Warming | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach November 3, 2021 – 1:00 pm

…is an area flooded from too much Bad Weather, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Gen Z Conservative, with a post on the LGBFJB community.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

NY Times Wonders If Classic Rock Songs Should Be Toppled Like Confederate Statues

By William Teach November 3, 2021 – 10:30 am

It’s pretty understandable that the opinion section of the NY Times wants to mostly avoid what happened in Virginia and other states, leaving it to a few stories and “analyses” in the straight opinion sections, because they would then have to expose themselves to criticism for being an insane political party. Sort of Republican Ross Douthat tries with Republicans Schooled the Left in Virginia and sorta Republican Brett Stephens goes for Why Democrats Are In Trouble. There’s something about Michelle Wu winning in Boston, some whining about the Supreme Court, even a piece on changing clocks twice a year. But, nothing from the liberals about their Tuesday losses. Instead, we have this bit of moonbattery from Jennifer Finney Boylan

Should Classic Rock Songs Be Toppled Like Confederate Statues?

Cancel Culture AlligatorA long, long time ago — I can still remember how that music used to make me smile.

“American Pie,” Don McLean’s generation-defining ballad, was released on vinyl 50 years ago this October. The first time I ever heard it, I was with my sister in our kitchen. I was 13. I was eating a bowl of Alpha-Bits cereal. It came on the radio, and my sister — only a year older but centuries cooler — told me, “This is the greatest song ever.”

It’s impossible for me to hear that song now without thinking of her.

But when Patrisha McLean, Don McLean’s ex-wife, hears “American Pie,” she isn’t reminded of golden moments of adolescence or even the classic age of rock ’n’ roll memorialized by the song. Ms. McLean says she was subjected to years of emotional and physical abuse from her former husband.

Was all this necessary? Liberal minds are just weird. They have to link everything to their hardcore politics. I love Paul Simon stuff, even though he’s a hardcore socialist. Roger Waters is an avowed socialist, and an Israel and Jew hater, but, I still love Pink Floyd. Devo used a John Hinkley, Jr poem to create a song (not a particularly good one), but, I like other Devo stuff.

The past several years have seen a reassessment of our country’s many mythologies — from the legends of the generals of the Confederacy to the historical glossing over of slaveholding founding fathers. But as we take another look at the sins of our historical figures, we’ve also had to take a hard look at our more immediate past and present, including the behavior of the creators of pop culture. That reassessment extends now to the people who wrote some of our best-loved songs. But what to do with the art left behind? Can I still love their music if I’m appalled by various events in the lives of Johnny Cash or Elvis or Jerry Lee Lewis? Or by Eric Clapton’s racist rants and anti-vaccination activism?

Of course, there is no easy answer here. Even Ms. McLean doesn’t think “American Pie” should be banned from playlists, like some other pieces of classic rock produced by disgraced musicians. Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll (Part 2),” more popularly known as “The Hey Song,” for instance, was pulled from airplay after the musician was convicted of possession of child pornography and a series of sex abuse offenses against young girls.

Instead, Ms. McLean told me, she feels we should reconsider how we elevate these artists. It’s the tarnished creators, she said, that we should not celebrate. In other words: The problem with “American Pie” isn’t the song. It’s the singer. “American Pie” remains a great song. In 2016 the Library of Congress selected the original recording for preservation in the National Recording Registry.

In other words, we should Cancel the people, not their music. Or, you could just mind your own business and stop being such a Karen.

For a lot of baby boomers, it’s painful to realize that some of the songs first lodged in our memories in adolescence really need a second look. And it’s hard to explain why younger versions of ourselves ever thought they were OK in the first place.

Or, maybe cancel the songs, too.

I want to live in a world where I can be moved by art and music and literature without having to come up with elaborate apologies for that work or for its creators.

Then move on, don’t listen. Don’t watch. Don’t force your views on everyone else.

It was Don McLean, in “American Pie,” who asked if music can save our mortal souls. My guess is probably not. But it can help us to time travel, and not only to our adolescent past. Maybe reconsidering those songs, and their artists, can inspire us to think about the future and how to bring about a world that is more inclusive and more just.

Yup, cancelling. Hey, let’s go after Jimmy Buffett, a reliable Democrat, because he changes the line in Margaritaville to say “it’s some woman’s fault” when he does it live.

Now do all the rap songs about bitches and hoes, treating women in a degrading manner.

Read: NY Times Wonders If Classic Rock Songs Should Be Toppled Like Confederate Statues »

Posted in Barking Moonbats, Music | 54 Comments | Trackback URL

Who’s Up For Paying A Meat Tax To Solve The Climate Crisis (scam)?

By William Teach November 3, 2021 – 9:10 am

Or, perhaps Warmists could all just stop eating meat, and leave the rest for the non-cult folks. Let’s start here

Biden set to go after methane emissions on day 2 of Glasgow climate change conference

climate cowPresident Biden lauded an agreement reached by more than 90 countries to cut methane emissions by 30 percent over the next decade.

“One of the most important things we can do in this decisive decade is to keep 1.5 degrees [Celsius of temperature rise] in reach and reduce our methane emissions as quickly as possible,” Biden said during his second day at the U.N. Climate Change Conference.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that Biden noted is behind “about half of the warming we’re experiencing today.” Keenly aware that world leaders gathered at the conference are looking to the U.S. to lead on climate change with not just words but actions, the president announced two new initiatives to reduce U.S. methane emissions.

“We’re proposing two new rules: one through our Environmental Protection Agency that’s going to reduce methane losses from new and existing oil and gas pipelines, and one through the Department of Transportation to reduce wasteful and hazardous leaks in natural gas pipelines.”

In reality, methane is a potent greenhouse gas, way, way stronger than CO2, and is one of the reason I say that Mankind does have a small impact on global warming. It wouldn’t be a bad thing to reduce the output. But, Warmists tend to ignore the stuff that Biden mentioned (except in terms of stopping them altogether), and focus on something else

Should you pay a ‘meat tax’ on your burger? Some environmentalists say it’s a necessary step to save the planet

Americans already pay taxes on everything from the real estate they own to some of the consumer goods they purchase.

But could they one day be taxed on the meat they eat?

The idea of a meat tax has been widely discussed across the globe in recent years, particularly as a way to reduce consumption of beef in light of the effects the cattle industry has on the climate crisis. The United Nations has said that emissions from livestock account for 14.5% of total greenhouse gas emissions across the planet. Almost two-thirds of those emissions come from cattle, especially in the form of the methane gas emitted by the animals, according to the United Nations.

George Eustice, the U.K.’s Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, told the Telegraph that taxes are being considered in connection to such foods because of the impact on global warming. “We need to do the thinking about it now,” he said.

Trot that one out to the UK citizens, see how that goes

It’s perhaps a stretch to think that the U.S., which ranks among the top countries in meat consumption, would enact a climate change-related meat tax, whether it’s levied on meat producers or shoppers.

But Atul Jain, a University of Illinois atmospheric-sciences professor who has studied the relationship between food production and greenhouse-gas emissions, says it’s at least worth contemplating.

“This is a very good idea,” said Jain.

At the same time, Jain says there are many ways to tackle the issue, beginning with educating younger people about the connection between food and the climate crisis as a way to reduce their consumption of meat. Jain also says if the U.S. is to encourage people to switch from an animal-based diet to more of a plant-based one, it must make sure nutritional needs and concerns are properly addressed.

So, perhaps a meat tax isn’t the best for the U.S. Instead, let’s doing nagging and indoctrination from the Government! Hooray!

Read: Who’s Up For Paying A Meat Tax To Solve The Climate Crisis (scam)? »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, AGW Socialism, Food and Drink, Global Warming | 1 Comment | Trackback URL
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