Apparently, Marijuana Stores Are Considered “Essential” In California

By William Teach April 4, 2020 – 10:35 am

What about the cookie stores that are next door to them? Anyhow, one doctor is rather upset over this, as she writes to the LA Times

Letters to the Editor: Pot vaping was ruining lungs before COVID-19, and now cannabis is ‘essential’?

As an emergency physician, I believe treating marijuana shops as essential businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic is shameful.

Has everyone forgotten about the vaping-related pneumonias that were killing young people before COVID-19 swept the world? The main association between fatalities and the acute respiratory failure we were seeing was the use of vaping products containing marijuana.

Curiously, the ground-glass appearance on radiologic studies now associated with COVID-19 was first seen in the vaping-related pneumonias. Additionally the “new and improved” legal marijuana seems to have a very different effect on people than the marijuana of the 1980 and ’90s.

At a time like this when healthcare providers are going to be swamped with victims of COVID-19, we want to be minimizing people’s risk for respiratory illness and avoiding the need for psychiatric beds for violent, impaired individuals.

I guess for some it’s essential, like beer, wine, and hard liquor is essential for others. It can certainly help people get through these times. And, personally, I don’t care if someone wants to get high. Again, I used to smoke it a lot, but, don’t anymore. I just don’t find it interesting.

But, that’s not really my point. The same state didn’t consider firearms stores as essential, you know, things that can actually help defend if society breaks down

(The Hill) The National Rifle Association (NRA) and other pro-gun groups filed a lawsuit against California on Friday after the state forced gun stores to close under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) shelter-in-place order amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Under Newsom’s order, these stores are considered nonessential. The complaint demands that gun shops in California be deemed essential and reopened.

Thankfully, society hasn’t broken down. We aren’t seeing a rise in crime, especially violent crime. What happens if this continues? No idea. Let’s not speculate. But, if it does, don’t you want protection? Especially when law enforcement is being sent out to arrest a guy on a paddleboard.

Read: Apparently, Marijuana Stores Are Considered “Essential” In California »

Posted in 2nd Amendment, Current Affairs | 35 Comments | Trackback URL

Climate Cult: Huge Drop In CO2 From Bat Soup Virus, But We Still Need Massive Policy Changes

By William Teach April 4, 2020 – 8:23 am

Haven’t the members of the Cult of Climastrology been screaming and screeching for everyone to reduce their carbon footprint for 25+ years?

Covid-19: Biggest drop in CO2 emissions since WWII but little impact on climate change

Though scientists expect carbon emissions to fall by 5% in 2020, the coronavirus pandemic is having very little impact on climate change, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

A new forecast produced by climate experts of the Global Carbon Project which produces widely-watched annual emissions estimates, predicts that carbon dioxide emissions could fall by the largest amount since World War Two.

Rob Jackson, a professor of Earth system science at Stanford University in California who chairs the Project, said carbon output could fall by more than 5% this year - the first dip since a 1.4% reduction after the 2008 financial crisis.

“Neither the fall of the Soviet Union nor the various oil or savings and loan crises of the past 50 years are likely to have affected emissions the way this crisis is,” he added.

But experts warn that without structural change, the emissions declines caused by coronavirus could be short-lived and have little impact on the concentrations of carbon dioxide that have accumulated in the atmosphere over decades.

So, wait, they’re saying that a reduction in “carbon pollution” output won’t make a difference? That’s weird. And that the only thing that would make a difference is to implement all sorts of taxes and fees and take away your freedom and choice, handing it all over to Government? Huh. It’s almost like this is a scam.

Any reductions in pollution and carbon dioxide emissions are likely to be temporary, said Lars Peter Riishojgaard, from the infrastructure department of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a United Nations agency based in Geneva.

“It does not mean much for climate,” he told a virtual press conference.

Riishojgaard said there was a lot of media speculation about what impact the global pandemic might have on the climate, greenhouse gas emissions and longer-term global warming.

“While in the short term, carbon dioxide emissions would go down as cars stay put and aircraft remain on the ground, “we expect the impact will be fairly short-lived,” Riishojgaard said.

“The pandemic will be over at some point and the world will start going back to work and with that, the CO2 emissions will pick up again, maybe or maybe not to quite the same level.”

Let’s consider: they’re estimating a 5% reduction of CO2 output from Bat Soup Virus. The original Paris Climate Agreement wanted a reduction of 20% overall in order to avoid a 2C increase. And now Warmists are calling for a 7.6% decrease per year till 2030 to avoid their mythical 1.5C increase.

How does 5% feel right now? Are you enjoying it? Ask the average Warmist if they are enjoying it. Ask them if they want their lives to be like this for the next decade. See what they say. It’s easy for the bigshots in the CoC to make these pronouncements, because they certainly won’t live the 7.6% life. They’ll jet off around the world and live the high life.

Read: Climate Cult: Huge Drop In CO2 From Bat Soup Virus, But We Still Need Massive Policy Changes »

Posted in AGW Socialism, Global Warming, New Climate Deniers | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Jim Acosta Dragged For Interrupting Dr. Birx: “An Effort To Score Points”

By William Teach April 4, 2020 – 7:48 am

While Fox News is leading with Dear Diary Jim Acosta “mansplaining” to Dr. Birx, the focus should be on the scoring points part

CNN’s Jim Acosta blasted for ‘mansplaining’ after interrupting Dr. Birx to attack Trump

CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta was widely blasted for interrupting Dr. Deborah Birx during Friday’s coronavirus briefing to attack President Trump.

Birx took a moment at the podium to address the “who knew what when” concerns and said all the countries affected by the pandemic can “look back” to develop a timeline but not while “in the middle” of the crisis.

“We can talk about why didn’t Italy do something or Spain do something or Germany do something, or we can really say right now — we all can do something,” Dr. Birx explained. “We can do the social distancing and all of the pieces that we know is starting to work around the globe in country after country. And then when we get through all of this, we can ask the questions about could we have done some piece of this better as a global community.”

She spent a bit more time discussing WHO and what they said earlier this year, and then

Acosta quickly derailed her observations about WHO to knock President Trump.

“Dr. Birx, the president was saying this was going to go away,” Acosta said. “It’s April.”

“It is going to go away,” President Trump fired back. “I said it was going away and it is going away.”

First, the problem with interrupting her and not even being on topic with what she was saying. Some discussed him attempting to mansplain, a term I despise, as it means that women aren’t strong enough. And, let’s be honest, people try to ‘splain things to people regardless of biological sex. Others noted that Acosta interrupted as she was smacking around WHO, which has been protecting China from criticism. But, this one really hits the mark

“Jim Acosta’s interruption of Dr. Birx is an example of how CNN’s echo-journalism model is destroying the media’s credibility,” George Washington University Law professor Jonathan Turley reacted. “Every question from Acosta is an effort to score points rather than elicit information. It is a press pandemic that continues to rage without relief.”

“Score points.” That pretty much sums up the media. They aren’t looking for information. With a Republican in office they try and score points, and it is even worse now than when George W. Bush was in office. Of course, they always try and score points against Republicans, and attempted to score points against anyone attacking Democrats and Barack Obama. This is what modern Journalism is all about.

Read: Jim Acosta Dragged For Interrupting Dr. Birx: “An Effort To Score Points” »

Posted in Beyond Moonbat, Journalistic Malpractice | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

In Case You Missed It, Progressive Towns Which Banned Plastic Bags Now Turning To Them

By William Teach April 3, 2020 – 3:25 pm

Isn’t the climate crisis the most important crisis facing us? More so than Bat Soup Virus?

San Francisco reverses ban on plastic bags, now bars reusable totes

San Francisco has reversed its 13-year ban on plastic bags and will now prohibit the reusable bags city leaders once championed because of the coronavirus.

The city announced the switch this week as part of its plan to curb the spread of coronavirus. Barring customers from bringing reusable bags, mugs and other household items into stores was adopted as a measure “to prevent unnecessary contact.”

San Francisco is not the only place that has reversed its reusable bag policy, but it is certainly the most surprising. The city was at the forefront of eliminating single-use plastic bags in 2007.

At that time, San Francisco’s board of supervisors linked plastic bags to a litany of scourges, including litter, climate change, big oil and endangering sea life.

But the coronavirus has changed all of that. As of Thursday afternoon, California was one of the states most ravaged by the virus, reporting 10,000 cases and 200 deaths in its population of almost 40 million.

Yes, we do need to reduce the use of single use plastic, and positively incent people to recycle and reuse.

In New Hampshire, Gov. Chris Sununu issued an executive order on March 21 directing stores to use only new paper or plastic bags they provide and to refuse to allow customers to use their reusable ones.

Well, that went the other way. I constantly reuse them. I keep a couple in my car for when I stop at Lidle.

Illinois, Massachusetts and Maine have imposed similar bans, or in some cases suspended their own state laws encouraging reusable bags.

Retailers across the country have jumped on board. Target has halted the sale of reusable bags, asking customers who bring bags from home to fill them at checkout.

I’m guessing real world issues are more important than ‘climate change.’

Read: In Case You Missed It, Progressive Towns Which Banned Plastic Bags Now Turning To Them »

Posted in Collapsing Science, Global Warming | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach April 3, 2020 – 1:00 pm

…is a cactus that will soon be growing in Alaska due to the climate crisis, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Jo Nova, with a post on 27 feet of social distancing.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 20 Comments | Trackback URL

Surprise: Lots Of Liberals Are Buying Guns During Bat Soup Virus Emergency

By William Teach April 3, 2020 – 10:08 am

Well, this is a heck of a thing, gun grabbers putting aside their gun grabbing beliefs for their own protection

Yes, Plenty Of Liberals Are Buying Guns Too

The record number of firearms sold in March weren’t all purchased by Trump-loving Republicans in red states, despite claims by gun control activists that the surge in sales is all due to fearmongering on the part of the NRA. As it turns out, the desire to protect yourself and your loved ones is non-partisan, and even the New Yorker is recognizing that many of the 1-million or more new gun owners around the country don’t fit neatly into the anti-gun stereotype of the typical Second Amendment supporter.

The magazine’s Charles Bethea reports on a recent trip to Gorge Guns in Hood River, Oregon, where owner Erika Bales has been busy with customers new and old. Among the customers opening her door for the very first time was a woman in her 60s looking for something she could use for home defense. (snip)

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Post-Gazette newspaper also found self-described progressives purchasing firearms for self-defense.

After standing in line at a Pittsburgh-area sporting goods store for more than an hour, not knowing what he would say to the sales clerk, the self-described “liberal Democrat from New York City” bought a gun. He said it was an impulse buy, not a “panic.”…

“The stock market is tanking. I’m well-read enough to know that puts the onus on people to feel differently about how commodities are traded and how people will act,” said the gun-purchasing anesthesiologist, who lives in Fox Chapel and works in Pittsburgh.

I’ve actually spoken to a few shop owners and they report the same thing around here.

It will be interesting to see just how many folks on the left side of the political aisle discover a newfound appreciation for the Second Amendment, and how many of them in places like coastal California, Washington, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts end up discovering that the gun control laws and anti-gun politicians they may have supported in the past are actually making it impossible for them to acquire a firearm during the current emergency.

Will lots of Democrats switch over to being 2nd Amendment supporters, especially those who purchased themselves? Or, will they pretend they do not have a gun? Think about all the celebs, such as Alyssa Milano, who have firearms but want to restrict others (Alyssa has 2). And Democrat Gabby Giffords, who herself has a firearm, as does her husband.

Read: Surprise: Lots Of Liberals Are Buying Guns During Bat Soup Virus Emergency »

Posted in 2nd Amendment, Democrats | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

Bummer: U.N. Postpones Climate Crisis Working Vacation Meeting

By William Teach April 3, 2020 – 8:05 am

If there’s one thing that Bat Soup Virus has shown us, it’s that people can actually use technology to have meetings. Nothing new there, though, right? We’ve been doing conference calls for decades and decades and decades, along with video conferencing in the same manner. But, you know, climate cultists want to be able to take long fossil fueled trips to vacation spots, especially when they are paid for by Other People

U.N. Postpones Global Climate Summit Over Pandemic Concerns

The United Nations postponed an important year-end climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, because of concerns about the novel coronavirus pandemic.

U.N. climate leaders bowed yesterday to mounting pressure to delay the summit that attracts thousands of delegates and observers. The gathering will be held in 2021, and a midyear meeting that would have been held in June is scheduled to occur in Bonn, Germany, at the end of this summer.

The news comes as the coronavirus has spread to 180 countries and claimed more than 45,000 lives. The conference center in Madrid where the U.N. summit was held last December and the Glasgow venue that was booked for this November’s meeting have both been converted to field hospitals. (snip)

The Glasgow conference was to be the most important climate meeting since the 2015 Paris summit. Countries were expected to update their Paris Agreement pledges ahead of the gathering, further reducing emissions through 2030. The first round of pledges, now 5 years old, put the world on track for potentially catastrophic warming of 3.2 degrees Celsius, according to the U.N. Environment Programme. The Paris Agreement’s goal is to keep warming “well-below 2 degrees.”

If the Paris climahysteric agreement was so historic, why is it necessary to change it? Of course, despite all the pledges, almost no nation is actually on track to meet their commitments.

Climate advocates accepted the summit’s delay. But they said as countries move past their response to the public health crisis and refocus on recovering economically, those policies should support the promises they made in Paris five years ago and not undermine them. Stimulus plans worldwide can spur green energy innovation, efficiency measures and climate resiliency. Or they can double down on fossil fuels, they said.

So, we can implement policies which will keep the economies of all the nations in the toilet, or we can ignore the climate cultists and get things going. These same climate cultists will be taking lots and lots of fossil fueled trips and engage in consumerism once we are done with Bat Soup Virus. Even more than normal after being locked down.

It remains unclear when the Glasgow conference will happen. The U.N. and the U.K. government must coordinate with African countries—who were to host COP27, the U.N. summit in 2021—to decide whether there should be two summits in one year, or whether the meeting in Africa should be postponed until 2022.

Why not have both, since the CoC has multiple big ones yearly. Heck, you could have the Glasgow one in March, then the Bonn in June, then the normal one in Africa. I bet the 10,000+ who attend would love this. Bunch of climahypocrites. Why not simply have small meetings and allow people to watch on video? It’s not like most of the 10,000+ are actually doing anything but sitting in seats and watching, you know. Oh, right, free vacations.

Read: Bummer: U.N. Postpones Climate Crisis Working Vacation Meeting »

Posted in Global Warming | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

NY Times: Why Is The Guy We Accuse Of Being A Dictator Not Action Like A Dictator?

By William Teach April 3, 2020 – 7:41 am

As we all know, Democrats and their pet Credentialed Media have been accusing Trump of being an authoritarian for years. They can’t say exactly how he’s being one, especially since he tends to do away with rules and regulations rather than enact them. I guess it’s do to him being mean to Dems and the media? James E. Baker, who served under Clinton, is upset

Why Is Trump So Timid With the Defense Production Act?

Every Marine knows better than to pull a knife in a gunfight. But so far, that appears to be the federal government’s approach to battling Covid-19. The president has “invoked” the Defense Production Act, but the government has not used the full authority of the act. There is a difference between invoking a law and using it, just as there is a difference between talk and action.

Governors and health officials tell us that there is a profound gap between the protective equipment, hospital equipment and testing resources that are needed (and will be needed) and what is available (or in the pipeline). Bill Gates reminds us that we will need to produce millions, perhaps billions, of doses of vaccine in 12 to 18 months. This isn’t a passing crisis; we will need more of everything in two months, six months and maybe years.

Don’t let debate over the details of General Motors’ and Ventec’s honorable effort to build more ventilators hide the bottom line: The federal government has all the authority it needs to close the supply gap, allocate resources among states, and prepare for the production and distribution of the vaccine to come. Until the federal government demonstrates — with statistics, contracts and timelines — that the gap is closed and the vaccine pipeline is ready, we should ask: Why isn’t the government bringing its full arsenal to the fight?

Don’t look at all the those private companies voluntarily changing their production lines to help out distract you from the bottom line (remember how the media belittled and attacked the founder of My Pillow and the company?), which is that Trump Should Be Acting Like A Dictator

The D.P.A.’s authorities go beyond prioritizing contracts and manufacturing supplies. Its allocation authority addresses the problem of states’ competing against one another for scarce resources based on market mechanisms. The federal government can allocate equipment and supplies based on actual need and best public-health practices. The D.P.A.’s industry assessment authority can be used to measure production and distribution capacity, remove blind spots, plan efficiently and recreate a supply chain at home. The federal government can determine now which entities could produce vaccines while it plans for their ethical allocation. The government can then use the D.P.A.’s Title III incentive authorities to issue loans, offer antitrust protection and guarantee purchases, creating a secure market for masks, tests and vaccines.

The minute that the Trump admin starts prioritizing they will be accused of picking and choosing winners and losers, that they are helping out Trump states and not Blue states.

The law is so broad in places that it is sometimes referred to as a “commandeering” authority. Lawyers prefer to say the president would act at the zenith of his authority under the paradigm presented in Justice Jackson’s concurrence in the Supreme Court’s landmark Youngstowncase. But its use is not as extraordinary as some suggest, and it is not commandeering. The Defense Department alone uses the prioritization authority some 300,000 times a year, while the government uses Title III incentives 20 to 30 times per year. Although the allocation authority has not been used since the Cold War, some civilian airliners and freighters remain allocated for the Civil Reserve Air Fleet. Nor does exercise of the prioritization and allocation authority equate to state ownership. Under the act, corporations are paid fair market value for their products. Any actual “commandeering” of production would require just compensation under the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause. Moreover, price controls under the D.P.A. require a joint resolution of Congress signed into law by the president.

Wait, what was that about a joint resolution by Congress? We all know that the minute Trump goes and fully uses DPA the same media will accuse him of going to far and acting like an authoritarian.

State and local authorities are imploring the federal government to use the authority it has to secure our medical supply chain. So far, the administration appears to have responded like a parent doling out candy to a child: one piece at a time. This is an “all hands on deck” moment, not merely to flatten the curve but to leap ahead of the curve. America was once the arsenal of democracy; the D.P.A. can help make us the arsenal of public health.

Wait, government is inefficient? Who knew! But, really, if these state and local administrations are incompetent, perhaps they should resign and let others who aren’t do the job.

I’ve never heard of a commander who complained about having too many tanks or who asked for a few artillery shells and not one too many. It’s high time we fought the virus the American way: with everything we’ve got.

Perhaps Mr. Baker should have a conversation with Mr. Obama, and his VP Joe Biden, about depleting the N95 masks and not replenishing them.

Read: NY Times: Why Is The Guy We Accuse Of Being A Dictator Not Action Like A Dictator? »

Posted in Donald Trump, Unhinged Tools | 35 Comments | Trackback URL

‘Climate Change’ Can Totally Decimate The Economy Just Like Bat Soup Virus Or Something

By William Teach April 2, 2020 – 3:00 pm

This is a doozy of an attempt to fear-monger while linking Coronavirus

If The Virus Can Decimate Global Economies So Can Climate Change

When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the Soviet Union ultimately collapsed in 1991, the world changed. The end to the Cold War corresponded with prosperity, balanced budgets and the rise of dot.coms. The new millennium would transform American life — from how we buy goods to how we earn livings.

Global leaders were forced to think outside the box — to imagine the unimaginable. Could communism collapse? Could brick-and-mortar businesses tumble while Americans shopped online? Could terrorists strike and knock down the World Trade Center buildings?

Which is interesting, considering that these climate cultists have the same goals as the communists

Today, the international community faces a new threat — an invisible virus that has infected millions and killed 40,000 to date. It is shutting down commerce and wounding economies too. Great thinkers are wanted now more than ever: if a virus can disassemble livelihoods so too can climate change — another amorphous problem that has been allowed to fester and that needs leadership.(snip)

This could be a win-win: The American Society of Civil Engineers says that the nation’s infrastructure is in decline and needs as much as $2 trillion in investment — something that facilitates commerce and generates jobs. The Democrats, meanwhile, want money poured into low-carbon assets — things like new solar and wind farms as well as advanced broadband and telecom. Label it what you like, but this is really a Green New Deal.

So, yeah, this is really about pushing the Cult of Climastrology’s agenda, using Chinavirus as the basis

The lessons learned from the health pandemic are clear and they have implications for climate change. The United States should be leading but instead, it has become a drag on international progress. This can all change: marrying the need to build a modernized infrastructure with the desire to reduce CO2 levels could move the country forward. It’s about being proactive and preparing for external threats, all to prevent the kinds of calamity caused by 9-11 and COVID-19.

Interestingly, 9/11 and the slight downturn was caused by nutjobs. Wuhan virus was caused by idiots, and then made worse by fear-mongerers. Yet, despite a very slowly increasing global temperature, humanity has made more forward strides in that time than any time in history.

But, cultists will be cultists.

Read: ‘Climate Change’ Can Totally Decimate The Economy Just Like Bat Soup Virus Or Something »

Posted in AGW Socialism, Global Warming | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach April 2, 2020 – 1:00 pm

…are Evil fossil fueled vehicles, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Political Hat, with a post on how to be a Conservative.

I don’t usually editorialize with in these posts, but, I don’t fully agree with Sir Roger Sruton’s version, since it is moving the needle from Classical Conservatism, which is practiced in Europe, rather than being based on Classical Liberalism, which is what Conservatism is based on here in the States. But, it is an excellent viewpoint, worth the 44 minutes. And, heck, what else do you have to do right now?

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 15 Comments | Trackback URL
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