Even Though North Carolina Meets Phase 1 Guidelines, Governor Won’t Make Decision Till May 8th

It’s almost like Democrats want to keep things closed. No, no, definitely not politics, right?

N. Carolina Meets Guidelines for Phase One Reopening, Democrat Gov. Cooper Will Not Consider Until May 8

When North Carolina’s Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper announced last week the extension of his stay-at-home order until at least May 8, he also said the state will not move into Phase One of an economic reopening even after that date until two criteria are met.

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) Director Dr. Mandy Cohen identified those criteria at Cooper’s Thursday press conference:

  • A decrease or sustained level in the number of cases,  and
  • A decrease in the percentage of positive tests

Those Phase One criteria differ in several ways from the Phase One criteria identified in the guidelines established by the Trump administration last week.

Both guidelines must be met.

According to the COVID Tracking Project, the percentage of positive tests for daily coronavirus deaths in North Carolina has declined from 23.7 percent on April 13 to 6.7 percent on April 29. The total number of new cases per day has increased from 296 on April 13 to 380 on April 29. That increase reflects more than quadrupling of tests on those two dates, as the chart below illustrates:

This meets the federal government’s standards

Unlike the Trump administration guidelines that identify three different areas of focus – symptoms, hospitals, and cases – the North Carolina criteria announced by Cooper’s administration focus just on cases.

Notably, those guidelines for cases identify either of two criteria: (1) Downward trajectory of documented cases within a 14-day period OR (2) Downward trajectory of positive tests as a percent of total tests within a 14-day period (flat or increasing volume of tests).

Heck, it seems like there is a downward trajectory for both Cooper’s criteria. Gaston County, just west of Charlotte, is wavering back and forth on whether or not they will enforce Cooper’s order, but here in Wake County, where the seat of government resides

(WRAL) More Wake County businesses will be allowed to open their doors on Friday after the county’s stay-at-home order during the coronavirus pandemic expires.

Most of the county will shift to the statewide stay-at-home order, although Apex officials plan to issue their own rules.

“We put our order in place in late March to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Wake County, one day before the governor issued the statewide stay-at-home order,” Greg Ford, chairman of the Wake County Board of Commissioners, said in a statement. “Our community was affected first by the virus, making it vital that we act more swiftly. But now that there is community spread and we are all fighting to slow the spread collectively, it’s appropriate to follow the state’s order, which provides some additional flexibility to our residents.”

So, down to Cooper’s rules (which don’t seem to be any different from the state rules), which means that things are going well. I literally know of 1 person who got Bat Soup Virus, spouse of a coworker. Another coworkers (don’t know who) spouse got it, as well. Both caught it very early after traveling for their jobs. No one I know in the personal life has it, nor family members. The parents haven’t mentioned knowing anyone with it. We still want to be careful, but, let’s start re-opening stuff.

Watch: North Carolina Police Arrest Man for Attempting to Reopen His Business, Others May Follow Suit

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But in a disturbing incident that happened around lunchtime today, an Apex, NC man was seen on video being being led away by police from his business in handcuffs after attempting to reopen his tattoo parlor:

Guy is about to lose his business, and needs to be able to feed his family. He hasn’t had any success with getting the small business loan yet, nor applying for unenployment.

Read: Even Though North Carolina Meets Phase 1 Guidelines, Governor Won’t Make Decision Till May 8th »

2020 Will Surely Be Among The Hottest On Record Or Something

Well, since the record doesn’t really go back that far, it’s really not saying much. But, then, they do this every year in, and they always seem to be correct. Funny that, eh? They couldn’t possibly be manipulating the data? But, they sure get worked up about hundreds of a degree

It’s Almost Certain 2020 Will Be Among The Hottest Years On Record

The last 10 years have been a decade of unprecedented record-breaking temperatures, and this year is likely to continue the trend, according to meteorologists. Analysis of temperatures over the first quarter of 2020 put it as the second-warmest first three-month period recorded, and delivers a grim projection for the remaining nine months.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has calculated that currently, 2020 has a 74.67 percent chance of being the hottest year since records. It has a 99.94 percent chance of being in the top five, and over 99.99 percent chance to be in the top 10 hottest years on record.

These estimates are part of the NOAA’s State of the Climate: Global Climate Report for March 2020. They are based on two main factors: statistical distribution of month-to-month fluctuations in the historical record and how different the monthly readings have been compared to all previous annually averaged values. And March 2020 was, unfortunately, a scorcher.

That’s very interesting. If we’re talking about month to month fluctuations, the Cult of Climastrology claims that CO2 is the control knob for the global temperature. If that’s the case, wouldn’t a sizable reduction in CO2 emissions from this test drive of Modern Socialism mean that temperatures should go down? Per their tenants from the Book Of ManBearPig, that should be the result, should it not?

They’re also claiming the cleaner air and water from Bat Soup Lockdown will help the climate. So, shouldn’t global temps go down? Unless something else is truly causing the current warm period. And, really, it should go down in those urban areas, as heat trapping smog, unrelated to CO2, has dropped precipitously.

However, anyone hoping that the current lockdown-induced drop in pollution and carbon dioxide emissions will have a long-lasting effect, this is unlikely. It may prove a brief respite, but it is unlikely to affect the climate on the long-run, and scientists are urging people not to forget the ongoing climate crisis which still needs to be addressed.

It’s a nice bit of excuse making, but, we should see a nice dip in 2020’s temps if CO2 is the control knob.

Read: 2020 Will Surely Be Among The Hottest On Record Or Something »

If All You See…

…is a horrible fossil fueled vehicle, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Maggie’s Farm, with a post on listening to scientists with different views on Bat Soup Virus.

Read: If All You See… »

Comrade De Blasio Singles Out Jews In Warning Message

Democrats do not seem to really have an issue singling out Jews in America anymore, do they?

De Blasio singles out one religious group in warning about social distancing, and he’s getting roasted for it

Democratic New York City Major Bill de Blasio faced a fierce online backlash after he singled out Jews in a message warning everyone against large gatherings during the pandemic.

De Blasio tweeted out his warning on Tuesday against those not observing the social distancing guidelines in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus. He was referring to a specific gathering for a funeral of a rabbi that the police dispersed in Williamsberg.

“My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed,” he tweeted.

“I have instructed the NYPD to proceed immediately to summons or even arrest those who gather in large groups. This is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period,” he added.

“We have lost so many these last two months [and] I understand the instinct to gather to mourn. But large gatherings will only lead to more deaths [and] more families in mourning. We will not allow this. I have instructed the NYPD to have one standard for this whole city: zero tolerance,” de Blasio continued.

Not surprisingly, Comrade Bill was blasted

“I can’t imagine de Blasio saying this about any other community,” said Ben Shapiro. “It’s pretty amazing. And for the record, MANY of the leaders of the Jewish community have taken strong stands on social distancing.

“NYC has been a refuge for Jews fleeing persecution and death for decades and more. How on earth does the mayor of NYC single them out for persecution in the middle of a pandemic? Words do not exist to describe the criminal incompetence at City Hall,” said Lis Smith, the former senior advisor to Pete Buttigieg.

Yeah, let’s see Bill single out Blacks or Muslims. He won’t. It’s easy to go after Jews. The Democratic Party hatred of Israel morphed into hatred of Jews. When do Jews realize this and stop voting Democrat?

Also Comrade Bill

Why didn’t Bill #StayHome? These are both linked, as the gathering for the funeral involved a large group Orthodox Jews, which led to his tweet on “the Jewish community”. While it certainly puts it all in context, why only call out Jews?

Read: Comrade De Blasio Singles Out Jews In Warning Message »

Climate Cultist Calls Michael Moore’s Film Dangerous, Wants It Censored

I’ve only read a little bit about Michael Moore’s new film which blasts renewable energy sources (see Watts Up With That?, Tom Nelson’s tweets, and Green Jihad, among others), but I’ve been rather reticent about defending Moore because you just don’t know what his true agenda is. Hey, maybe he’s serious. But, this kind of thing makes me want to defend him, because, like any Cult, if you offend them, they will come after you

Climate experts call for ‘dangerous’ Michael Moore film to be taken down

A new Michael Moore-produced documentary that takes aim at the supposed hypocrisy of the green movement is “dangerous, misleading and destructive” and should be removed from public viewing, according to an assortment of climate scientists and environmental campaigners.

The film, Planet of the Humans, was released on the eve of Earth Day last week by its producer, Michael Moore, the baseball cap-wearing documentarian known for Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine. Describing itself as a “full-frontal assault on our sacred cows”, the film argues that electric cars and solar energy are unreliable and rely upon fossil fuels to function. It also attacks figures including Al Gore for bolstering corporations that push flawed technologies over real solutions to the climate crisis.

Planet of the Humans has provoked a furious reaction from scientists and campaigners, however, who have called for it be taken down. Films for Action, an online library of videos, temporarily took down the film after describing it as “full of misinformation”, though they later reinstated it, saying they did not want accusations of censorship to give the film “more power and mystique than it deserves”. A free version on YouTube has been viewed more than 3m times.

See, rather than respond to the accusations, the Cult of Climastrology just wants it banned. I have not watched it, so, I can’t be sure what kind of spins Moore makes, like in many of his other movies, or if he played it straight. Regardless, I didn’t want the horrible Fahrenheit 911 to be taken down. Free Speech isn’t just for stuff we like, right?

A letter written by Josh Fox, who made the documentary Gasland, and signed by various scientists and activists, has urged the removal of “shockingly misleading and absurd” film for making false claims about renewable energy. Planet of the Humans “trades in debunked fossil fuel industry talking points” that question the affordability and reliability of solar and wind energy, the letter states, pointing out that these alternatives are now cheaper to run than fossil fuels such as coal.

Why doesn’t Fox, along with the others, simply rebut Moore’s allegations? Probably because they can’t, but, even if they could, they wouldn’t, because dissension is not allowed. Think how Scientology goes after people who leave the reservation, after people who expose Scientology.

Read: Climate Cultist Calls Michael Moore’s Film Dangerous, Wants It Censored »

Four Arrested At Raleigh Protest, Raw Story Reduces Female Officer Down To Her Skin Color

While I agree that the NC economy needs to be re-opened, some of the protesters are going too far. Leave the guns at home. This is about the economy. Leave the MAGA hats at home. Let’s keep it about the economy. Some want to jump into re-opening way too much. We still need to be careful. And it doesn’t help that social distancing, which still makes sense, has gone out the door. But, we still have both a federal and state Constitution regarding protesting and asking for redress of grievance

ReOpen protesters in NC converge outside legislative building, 4 arrested

Hundreds of protesters crowded into downtown Raleigh on Tuesday for a third week of rallying aimed at reversing Gov. Roy Cooper’s stay-home order for North Carolina.

Four protesters, including ReOpenNC leader Ashley Smith, were arrested when they stepped onto the sidewalk outside the governor’s mansion on Blount Street, violating police instructions.

Protesters gathered around the Capitol Police car and banged on the window as Smith was taken away.

“This is how Nazi Germany started,” said her husband, Adam Smith, who was handed bail money by other protesters. Using a bullhorn, he called each officer outside the governor’s mansion a “little piggie.” (there is video at the link)

That’s right, they closed the sidewalk at the Governor’s Mansion. They never gave a reason, and, none of the local news outlets, including the News and Observer above, bothered to ask why.

But, Raw Story goes full Progressive race baiting

‘Take me to jail!’ Reopen protester in Raleigh pesters black police officer during NC demonstration

A lockdown protester in North Carolina singled out a black police officer for harassment.

Demonstrators turned out Tuesday in Raleigh to protest Gov. Roy Cooper’s stay-at-home order intended to halt the spread of the coronavirus, and one man wearing a Gadsden flag as a cape pestered a black law enforcement officer.

“What law am I violating by standing on the sidewalk?” the protester asks. “Take me to jail for not violating the law. Take me to jail.”

Video shows the man antagonizing the impassive officer, who is wearing a medical mask and sunglasses.

“Can you arrest me right now for standing here?” the man says. “That’s a simple question, the news is right here, right? Are y’all the news? Can you arrest me for standing on the sidewalk right now, and if so, articulate what law, which general statute says it?”

Notice anything interesting about her right arm? They denote a higher ranking officer. In this case a sergeant. A rank the officer has surely earned through hard work. Yet, all Raw Story sees is that she’s black. She’s been reduced to her skin color.

It should be made clear that most of the issues were with the Capital Special Police rather than the Raleigh PD or State Police.

Read: Four Arrested At Raleigh Protest, Raw Story Reduces Female Officer Down To Her Skin Color »

Hotcold Take: Let’s Bring Back Neanderthals To Stop Climate Doom

You might burn yourself with this take from the UK Guardian

Could bringing Neanderthals back to life save the environment? The idea is not quite science fiction

In 2015, flooding exposed the frozen bodies of two cave lion cubs in the Yakutia region of Russia. Members of a species that vanished at the end of the last Ice Age, the pair were buried approximately 12,000 years ago when the roof of their den collapsed and trapped them in the frozen ground. In photos, their faces are so well-preserved one might almost believe they are only sleeping.

Yet despite their unusually perfect condition, the cubs are not the only such relics to have appeared in recent years. Throughout the Arctic and subarctic, animals and artefacts buried for thousands of years are reappearing, liberated from their frozen graves by the rapid warming in the region. In the Alps and elsewhere, bodies of people lost for decades in the mountains are emerging from the ice as glaciers melt. In Australia, towns submerged for generations are resurfacing as dam levels fall due to drought and heat.

As British author Robert Macfarlane has observed, these uncanny emergences or “Anthropocene unburials” are part of a larger process of unsettlement and unhinging. As human time and geological time collapse into one another, the deep past is erupting into the present all around us with terrifying and uncanny consequences. What was fixed is now in flux, what was settled is being swept away faster than we can save it. Nor is it just the past that has become unstable. The climate emergency is unsettling our future as well, erasing what we thought was certain, what we thought we knew. (snip)

Faced with this reality I began to ask a series of slightly different questions, questions about inevitability and the new reality we inhabit. At what point, I wondered, does what we are losing become unbearable? At what point does hope become just another form of denial? How are we to live in such a world

What about Neaderthals?

My new novel, Ghost Species, seeks to explore these questions by asking what it would mean if the deep past were to come to life in a literal sense, through a scheme to recreate a Neanderthal child from remnant DNA. Although this idea might seem pure science fiction, it isn’t, or isn’t quite. Many scientists believe cloning may offer a way to de-extinct species wiped out by human activity. Here in Australia researchers have already laid many of the building blocks to resurrect the thylacine, while in Russia scientists in Siberia are working on a scheme to hold back the collapse of the permafrost by recreating the ecology that existed in the region 12,000 years ago, complete with woolly mammoths.

12,000 years ago, when the seas were rising quite a bit and it was much cooler, still coming out of the ice age? Someone is just trying to sell a book while suffering from climate anxiety, to give other people climate anxiety. Books about aliens are more fun.

Read: Hotcold Take: Let’s Bring Back Neanderthals To Stop Climate Doom »

If All You See…

…is a world flooded by carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Moonbattery, with a post on officials inflating Coronavirus deaths.

Read: If All You See… »

Illinois Judge Rules Governor Exceeded Authority, Violated Civil Rights

For most of us looking to re-open America, we understand many of the restrictions, but, many restrictions are violations of our civil rights and went way, way too far

Illinois governor exceeded authority with stay-at-home order, judge rules

A judge in southern Illinois ruled Monday that Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order to stem the spread of the coronavirus exceeds his emergency authority and violates individual civil rights.

Clay County Circuit Judge Michael McHaney sided with Republican Rep. Darren Bailey, who sought a temporary restraining order against the Democratic governor’s far-reaching executive order. Pritzker has relied on an April 2 statewide disaster declaration as authority to close schools, shut down nonessential businesses and limit movement by individuals from their homes because of the potentially deadly COVID-19.

Pritzker then had a meltdown, and

Pritzker promised “swift” action to overturn the judge’s order, which applies only to Bailey but allows other individuals and groups to challenge the movement restrictions while the highly contagious illness circulates.

The new stay at home order starts May 1, and is even more stringent than the previous one. Why? As the curve bends down, why are people like Pritzker making it even tougher?

The ruling came the same day House Republicans attacked Pritzker on another front, renewing demands for details on state prison inmates released early because of COVID-19 fears. (snip)

But in response to an Associated Press public records request for the names of inmates released because of the pandemic, IDOC provided a link to an online document showing all inmates released since March 1. The list of roughly 3,900 inmates doesn’t include the reasons for their release.

Might be interesting information to know. Meanwhile

Newsom sued by California residents demanding end to stay-at-home rules

Two Sacramento County residents on Monday filed a federal lawsuit challenging Gov. Gavin Newsom’s sweeping stay-at-home order that is credited with helping slow the spread of coronavirus.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Ron Givens of the Sacramento Gun Club and Christine “Chris” Bish, a real estate agent and a Republican candidate for Congress running against Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento), alleges that the California Highway Patrol unconstitutionally denied their requests for permits to hold a protest outside the state Capitol.

Givens wants to protest the state’s failure to process background checks for people buying firearms, and Bish hopes to protest the stay-at-home order, according to the lawsuit.

“At a time when Californians are rightfully questioning the duration and extent of the stay-at-home orders, which are unevenly enforced and which have resulted in other constitutional challenges, Gov. Newsom has reacted to citizen protests not by addressing widespread concern, but simply by shutting down protest at the Capitol altogether, making no reasonable accommodations for this fundamental function in a free society,” said Harmeet K. Dhillon, one of the attorneys handling the case.

This should be interesting, considering what the Federal and California constitutions say.

Read: Illinois Judge Rules Governor Exceeded Authority, Violated Civil Rights »

UN Chief Wants Us To Stop Bat Soup Virus And Climate Crisis Or Something

U.N. head Antonio Guterres is given a perch at the NY Times, a paper which supports climate action but fails to understand what the Cult of Climastrology policies will do to their own operations, skyrocketing their operating costs and making it too expensive to gather and disseminate the news, especially the dead tree edition

A Time to Save the Sick and Rescue the Planet

The Covid-19 pandemic is the biggest test the world has faced since World War II. There is a natural tendency in the face of crisis to take care of one’s own first. But true leadership understands that there are times to think big and more generously. Such thinking was behind the Marshall Plan and the formation of the United Nations after World War II. This is also such a moment. We must work together as societies and as an international community to save lives, ease suffering and lessen the shattering economic and social consequences of Covid-19.

Well, we did have that Cold War thing. And Red China wiping out tens of millions. The killing fields of Cambodia.

The impact of the coronavirus is immediate and dreadful. We must act now and we must act together. Just as we must act together to address another urgent global emergency that we must not lose sight of — climate change. Last week, the World Meteorological Organization released data showing that temperatures have already increased 1.1 degrees centigrade above preindustrial levels. The world is on track for devastating climate disruption from which no one can self-isolate.

1.1C, also known as 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit, since 1850 really is nothing, which is why they say “preindustrial.” Putting a number with it makes people go “meh.”

Addressing climate change and Covid-19 simultaneously and at enough scale requires a response stronger than any seen before to safeguard lives and livelihoods. A recovery from the coronavirus crisis must not take us just back to where we were last summer. It is an opportunity to build more sustainable and inclusive economies and societies — a more resilient and prosperous world. Recently the International Renewable Energy Agency released data showing that transforming energy systems could boost global G.D.P. by $98 trillion by 2050, delivering 2.4 percent more G.D.P. growth than current plans. Boosting investments in renewable energy alone would add 42 million jobs globally, create health care savings eight times the cost of the investment, and prevent a future crisis.

Never let a good crisis, people getting sick, people dying, people not working, wondering where their next meal comes from, do they get booted from their home or apartment, lose their car, etc, go to waste, right? Anyhow, he has 6 policy ideas

  • First: As we spend trillions to recover from Covid-19, we must deliver new jobs and businesses through a clean, green transition. Investments must accelerate the decarbonization of all aspects of our economy. (what’s this we? The UN gets all its money from others)
  • Second: Where taxpayers’ money rescues businesses, it must be creating green jobs and sustainable and inclusive growth. It must not be bailing out outdated polluting, carbon-intensive industries. (when will the UN stop using fossil fuels for its own operations?)
  • Third: Fiscal firepower must shift economies from gray to green, making societies and people more resilient through a transition that is fair to all and leaves no one behind. (cultist word salad, where they want Government to fully control economies)
  • Fourth: Looking forward, public funds should invest in the future, by flowing to sustainable sectors and projects that help the environment and climate. Fossil fuel subsidies must end and polluters must pay for their pollution. (again, when does the UN, including Guterres, stop using fossil fuels?)
  • Fifth: The global financial system, when it shapes policy and infrastructure, must take risks and opportunities related to climate into account. Investors cannot continue to ignore the price our planet pays for unsustainable growth. (meaning that Government must take over the entire financial sector)
  • Sixth: To resolve both emergencies, we must work together as an international community. Like the coronavirus, greenhouse gases respect no boundaries. Isolation is a trap. No country can succeed alone. (which is why the UN puts human rights abusers, like China and Iran, on the Human Rights Council

Are you enjoying your test drive of what a Progressive, Cult of CLimastrology world looks like?

Read: UN Chief Wants Us To Stop Bat Soup Virus And Climate Crisis Or Something »

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