THREE MILLSTONES: White House Report Card: Biden Hobbled by Inflation, War, and Harris. All problems of his own making, basically.
Archive for 2022
March 13, 2022
THIS IS WHY EVEN DUMB POLITICIANS FLOURISH: Surprise! Complex Decision Making Found in Predatory Worms With Just 302 Neurons.
K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: Read the Classroom ‘Antiracism’ Survey That Has Maryland Parents ‘Livid.’
WELCOME BACK CARTER! Drive Slow for America. The key to coping with “Putin’s price hike” is better driving habits.
We love speed.
But as the geopolitical situation deteriorates in Eastern Europe, perhaps we might consider again the righteousness of driving at more reasonable speeds—if only to weather the “Putin price hike,” as the Biden administration has branded the inevitable spiking of gas prices already in progress, and support our national resolve to ban oil and gas imports from Russia. Because in the coming months and maybe even years, slowing down will save you money—potentially, depending on the car you drive and how much you drive it, lots and lots of money.
According to a 2013 study by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which evaluated for speed and efficiency 74 vehicles as disparate as diesel Volkswagens, hybrid Ford Fusions, and the gas-powered Mercury Grand Marquis, a typical U.S.-made car achieves maximum fuel efficiency at a steady speed of 40 to 50 mph. After that, explains John Thomas, the now-retired lead investigator on the study, “the rule of thumb is that you lose about 15 percent gas mileage for every 10 miles per hour you accelerate.” On the open road, where drivers maintain steady speeds of 50 to 80 mph, reducing speed by 10 mph can save 75 cents a gallon on a five-dollar gallon of gas—or 90 cents a gallon on a six-dollar gallon of gas, already the price where I live, in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles.
This varies a lot by the make and model of your car, whether you have a headwind or a tailwind or crosswinds, and countless other variables. But basically, Thomas says, “peak fuel economy is the lowest speed you can go in the highest gear.” It’s where your revolutions-per-minute dial hovers in the lower third, where you can hear your engine purring, but never hear it rev. “It’s actually a little bit nonlinear,” Thomas says. “Efficiency gets worse as you keep going faster.”
—The Atlantic, yesterday.
As Glenn writes in the New York Post: Don’t pretend that high prices and American suffering are a ‘bug’ for the establishment — it’s a historic feature.
And Jeffrey Goldberg’s Atlantic is happy to do their part as Democratic Party operatives with bylines to nudge Americans along whatever path President Klain thinks is best.
THE NEW SPACE RACE: Moon battle: New Space Force plans raise fears over militarizing the lunar surface.
The battle is on for the moon.
The U.S. military is investing in new technologies to build large structures on the lunar surface. It’s designing a spy satellite to orbit the moon. And it just announced plans for a surveillance network — what it calls a “highway patrol” — for the vast domain between Earth’s orbit and the moon, known as cislunar space. Top military strategists and documents, meanwhile, now consistently refer to this region as a new realm of operations.
The funding is also starting to flow. The government spending bill passed by Congress this week added $61 million for the military to pursue projects in cislunar space.
Hope we spend more time on propulsion than on pronouns.
WE HAVE POUNCING AND SEIZING!
● “If he doesn’t block Russian oil and gas imports, Biden opens himself to allegations that he’s giving Putin precious breathing room. And the GOP is itching to pounce.”
—Politico Playbook: How gas prices could crush Biden and the Democrats, March 3rd.
● Republicans seize on rising gas prices amid Ukraine conflict.
—The Hill, yesterday.
● “Already battling inflation at a 40-year high, Biden on Tuesday imposed a ban on U.S. imports of Russian oil, adding pressure to crude prices holding near a 14-year peak. The move is likely to drive up U.S. pump prices that have already risen past $4-per-gallon in many places. This stands to pose a political problem for the Democratic president, one Republicans are eager to seize on ahead of November midterm elections in which control of Congress is at stake.”
—Biden’s political strategy on U.S. gas hikes? Blame it on Putin, Reuters, Wednesday.
● “While members of both parties greeted the Russian energy ban, Republicans seized upon it to call for more domestic oil and gas drilling while Democrats said the economy’s sensitivity to petroleum imports underscores the need to shift toward alternative energy sources and electric vehicles.”
—Biden warns of higher pump prices as he bans Russian energy, Roll Call, Tuesday.
HOW CAN WE MISS YOU IF YOU WON’T GO AWAY? Jordan Schachtel: Fauci emerges to congratulate himself on COVID response: ‘the success story has been the science.’
As the Biden White House pivots to war in Ukraine, the 50 year government bureaucrat has largely been relegated to local TV and obscure podcasts. His CNBC appearance was his first major network appearance in weeks, and it was not at all featured in any of CNBC’s social media platforms. The interview is only available behind a paywall for CNBC’s Squawk Box show. I’ve pulled the audio from the Squawk Box podcast for the show.
* * * * * * * *
“The one really big success story has been the science,” Fauci declared, adding that the creation of multiple mRNA vaccines should be a cause for celebration.
In applauding a victory for “the science,” Fauci appears to be congratulating himself. He has previously revealed that he believes himself to be the personification of science as a concept.
Flashbacks:
● Johns Hopkins Analysis: ‘Lockdowns Should be Rejected Out of Hand.’
KAROL MARKOWICZ: Big bureaucracy fumbled COVID and our faith in institutions: Americans will never again trust what our health agencies tell us.
While we reminisce on the “before times,” it’s equally important to recall the beliefs that had been shattered by these two COVID-19 years.
I was a small government conservative, sure, but I somehow still believed in our health agencies. The people were panicking, and buying toilet paper en-masse, but I was certain our health officials had spent decades preparing for a pandemic such as this. They would lead the way on sharing information between countries, carefully discarding information from totalitarian regimes like China, and would prioritize returning us to normal as soon as possible.
In retrospect, it’s crazy that I had such faith. I didn’t think I was naive but it turns out I was. I had generally counted on the government, certainly the federal government, to handle things poorly. I was raised on the Ronald Reagan quote “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.'”
And still, I believed. This was important. This was their moment to shine. They couldn’t let us down now.
They did not shine. They did let us down.
No matter how little faith you have in them, it’s still probably too much.
March 12, 2022
BETO’S BACKBONE: First prominent Democrat to flip flop on support of CRT in schools is… “His quest to become Governor of Texas is bringing some interesting soundbites. The latest one is no, he doesn’t think critical race theory (CRT) should be taught in schools, why do you ask? The question was asked during a town hall event in Victoria, Texas on Friday.”
ON THE BING NEWS “SCIENCE” PAGE RIGHT NOW:
OPEN THREAD: Can’t Stop The World. Don’t let it stop you.
THE NEW SPACE RACE: China to open space station to commercial activity.
SO JOE BIDEN SAYS THERE WILL BE NO WORLD WAR III.
But Amazon keeps trying to sell me a Nukalert Radiation Detector. Hmm.
EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY FOR VLAD: Russian spy chiefs ‘under house arrest’ as Putin turns on his security chiefs over invasion setback. “A Russian spy chief and his deputy have been placed under house arrest by Vladmir Putin as the president blames his security services for the resistance met in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it has been claimed. According to a leading expert on the Russian security services, Sergey Beseda, head of the FSB’s foreign intelligence branch, was arrested along with his deputy, Anatoly Bolyukh. Andrei Soldatov, who is co-founder and editor of Agentura- a watchdog of the Russian secret services’ activities – revealed that sources inside the FSB have confirmed the detention of both men. The arrests were further corroborated by Vladimir Osechkin, an exiled Russian human rights activist who also added that the FSB officers had carried out searches at over 20 addresses in Moscow of colleagues suspected to be speaking with journalists.”
THE #RESISTANCE BROADENS: Via a friend:
REPORT: Rocket attack confirmed in Northern Iraq:
Multiple rockets have targeted Erbil in northern Iraq early on Sunday, the state news agency has reported quoting Erbil’s governor.
More than three explosions were heard but the city airport was not believed to be the target, Deputy Minister Hiwa Afandi said.
Lawk Ghafuri, head of Kurdistan’s Foreign Media Relations, also said more than three explosions were heard, He added that security forces are investigating the incident and updates will be available shortly.
As is consistent with previous attacks instigated by Iranian-backed militia, media channel Sabreen posted videos of the attack moments after its occurrence.
Video here:
BREAKING: Sky News Arabia is reporting that multiple long-range ballistic missiles have been fired targeting the U.S. consulate in Erbil, Iraq.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 12, 2022
AN IDEOLOGICAL PURGE: Harvard Canceled its Best Black Professor. Why? “The few legacy media outlets that did cover the case, such as the New York Times, dutifully repeated the university’s narrative: this punishment was overdue MeToo justice. No, it wasn’t. Drawing on previously unreported documents and interviews with dozens of Fryer’s friends and colleagues, we reveal his cancellation for what it was: an ideological purge.”
OUT ON A LIMB: Gov. Gavin Newsom: ‘There’s no compassion stepping over people in the streets and sidewalks.’
California’s governor proposed a plan Thursday to offer more services to homeless people with severe mental health and addiction disorders even if that means compelling some into care, a move that many advocates of homeless people oppose as a violation of civil rights.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a press conference that he has no intention of rounding people up and locking them away. Instead, he said his plan would offer a way for people to get court-ordered psychiatric treatment, medication and housing, preferably before thnewsoey are arrested.
Under the plan, which requires approval by the Legislature, all counties would have to set up a mental health branch in civil court and provide comprehensive and community-based treatment to those suffering from debilitating psychosis. People need not be homeless to be evaluated by a court.
But if approved, they would be obligated to accept the care or risk criminal charges, if those are pending, and if not, they would be subject to being held in psychiatric programs involuntarily or lengthier conservatorships in which the court appoints a person to make health decisions for someone who cannot.
“There’s no compassion stepping over people in the streets and sidewalks,” Newsom told reporters at a briefing at a mental health treatment facility in San Jose. “We could hold hands, have a candlelight vigil, talk about the way the world should be, or we could take some damn responsibility to implement our ideals and that’s what we’re doing differently here.”
Good to see California finally going back to the future: We Shut Down State Mental Hospitals. Some People Want to Bring Them Back. Is “mental illness” a fraudulent concept for locking up social deviants? Or does forced treatment free the ill “from the Bastille of their psychosis?”
Related: It’s mental health, stupid: How Team Biden misunderstands homeless crisis.
SURPRISING TO SEE A NICE CAR LIKE THE G80 HEADING THIS LIST: There Are Still Some Cars That Dealers Can’t Sell Right Now.
STILL POPULAR: CQR Men’s Tactical Pants, Water Repellent Ripstop Cargo Pants, Lightweight EDC Hiking Work Pants, Outdoor Apparel. #CommissionEarned
I’VE ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT ELECTRIC VEHICLES SHOULD BE DESIGNED TO SERVE AS A BACKUP POWER SOURCE TOO: How electric vehicles could help power California homes.
HOW PUTIN LOST THE PLOT: The Weakness of the Despot
The biggest surprise for Putin, of course, was the West. All the nonsense about how the West is decadent, the West is over, the West is in decline, how it’s a multipolar world and the rise of China, et cetera: all of that turned out to be bunk. The courage of the Ukrainian people and the bravery and smarts of the Ukrainian government, and its President, Zelensky, galvanized the West to remember who it was. And that shocked Putin! That’s the miscalculation.
I know it’s the New Yorker. It’s good anyway. And they should be encouraged to do more articles about tyrants and despots that don’t mention Trump even once.