Biden Bombs in Boston, Inflation Rate Inflates

I skipped over a lot yesterday to get in all the J6 coverage, but that's down to a dull roar again until the next hearing date, so I guess it's back to regular order.

Insty, HOW LOW CAN HE GO? Biden polls his worst yet — and headed lower. 

As Biden and the Democrats poll worse among inflation and shortages, their politics become more confrontational and authoritarian. It’s like they secretly want a genuine insurrection. At this rate, they’re going to wind up with people thinking of the January 6 protesters as martyrs who tried to save us from disaster.

Da Caller even reports a Poll that shows Biden Slips Underwater In Massachusetts For The First Time. Wow! Jazz Shaw at Haut Air VIP sees Democrats wanting to cut Biden loose  coming out of the closet. At Althouse, "The presidency is a monstrously taxing job and the stark reality is the president would be closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and that would be a major issue." "Said David Axelrod, with a distinctively clever way to state the numerical fact, quoted in "Should Biden Run in 2024? Democratic Whispers of ‘No’ Start to Rise. In interviews, dozens of frustrated Democratic officials, members of Congress and voters expressed doubts about the president’s ability to rescue his reeling party and take the fight to Republicans" (NYT)."

Myra Flores

News Max reports GOP Generic Congressional Lead Grows to 9 Points. If only we had generic Republicans. Don Surber thinks 2022 is looking like 2010 on steroids. Don't count your chickens too soon. RCP thinks it knows The Senate Seats Most Likely To Flip in 2022. Remember, it only takes 1. At ET, Republicans Eye Chance for Historic Win in Deep-Blue Texas District, "Texas Congressional District 34 up for grabs in highly contested special election," Mayra Flores, a legal immigrant from Mexico, whose husband is a border patrol agent. At Da Wire, New Left-Of-Center Poll Shows Seismic Shift In Hispanic Political Support. I can see Democrat support for the border wall starting to build. 

Atop Da Hill, Supreme Court permits counting of Pennsylvania mail ballots with missing dates. Doubling down on their refusal to support election laws. “When a mail-in ballot is not counted because it was not filled out correctly, the voter is not denied the right to vote,” Alito wrote. “Rather, that individual’s vote is not counted because he or she did not follow the rules for casting a ballot." In the continuing battle for the GOP primary in Tennessee, Tennessee Star reports Tennessee Supreme Court Unanimously Rules Against Robby Starbuck, Political Parties Not Subject to Open Meetings Act. I&I decries YouTube’s Selective Ban On ‘Stolen Election’ Videos. Only Republicans video's are removed.

At Wa Free Bee, Homeland Security Solicited Twitter To ‘Become Involved’ in Disinfo Board. Jerry Dunleavy at WaEx, Mayorkas misled under oath about DHS disinfo board, GOP senators charge. Yep, they were hoping to slide in control over domestic social media. 'Fuzzy Slippers' at LI, Sens. Hawley and Grassley Press DHS On Plans For Ministry of Truth To “Partner” With Social Media

Dana Pico at First Street Journal celebrates as Chesa Boudin gets kicked to the curb. "Mr Boudin is right: the voters were frustrated and outraged, but he never really got it: they were frustrated and outraged at him and his policies, because his policies didn’t work. One would think that someone as intelligent and educated as Mr Boudin would be able to see that, regardless of what he wants to believe, his liberal policies made things worse, not better." Annie Lowry at the Slantic (cited by MSN) isn't pleased, What Chesa Boudin Revealed About an Undemocratic Election System. At Mediaite, Los Angeles Deputy DA Calls Boss Gascón the ‘Champ’ of Criminals, ‘You’re Not Going to Be Punished.’ Will he be next?

On Friday, new inflation numbers came out, and to be frank, they sucked, and the market sank in response. WaEx, Inflation unexpectedly ticks up to 8.6% as fears of recession grow. As the Geller Reports, Stock Market TANKS 800 POINTS At The Open  Inflation Hits 40 Year High. The Victory Girls, Biden Dithers While Inflation Hits New 40 Year High. Ace, Inflation Rose 8.6% in May, The Highest Rate of Inflation In... Forty-One Years "Not forty years now. Now it's forty one. Pop-Pop's tearing up the old record book. This is another "unexpectedly," which raises the question: Can we trust economic analysts during Democrat administrations?" Sundance at CTH, May Inflation Higher Than all Expectations at 8.6 Percent, Energy, Gasoline, Food Prices Continue Climbing. 

'Becca Downs at Town Hall sees that White House Economist Can't Explain Biden's 'Plan' on Inflation. That's because they don't have one. Sundance, Western Economic Inflation is a Feature, Not a Flaw, Currently Hidden Behind the Purposefully Useful Sanctions Against Russia. A little tin-foil hattish, but not necessarily wrong. AllahPundit at Haut Hair, Biden on today's grisly inflation report: That "Putin price hike" really takes a bite, "They’re still sticking with this dopey talking point, huh?" At Da Wire, President Biden Blames Vladimir Putin For Record-High Inflation. Sundance, Biden Tries Blaming Russia for White House Energy Policy and Inflation. The buck doesn't even slow down as it flies past the Resolute Desk, Capt. Ed at Haut Hair, "More money than God": Biden doubles down on "corporate greed" as excuse for inflation. Funny that companies weren't as greedy when Trump was in office. Even Janet Yellen ain't buyin' at WaEx, Janet Yellen bucks liberal talking point that corporations are driving inflation. Guy Benson@guypbenson, "I’m relieved Yellen is assuring us that a recession is unlikely. She totally nailed it on inflation!"

At CNS News, Rep. Kevin Hern: ‘The American People Don’t Believe That Inflation Is Only 8% … Everything Is Up Double Digit’. I do think the indexes tend to understate it. Heather Long@byHeatherLong "Groceries +11.9% y/y -->Biggest inc. since 1979 Chicken +17.4% ->Largest ever Restaurants +9% -> Largest ever Fuel oil +107% ->Largest ever Electricity +12% ->Largest since '06 Rent +5.2% ->Largest since 1987 Airfare +37.8% ->Largest since 1980 Services +5.7% ->Largest since 1990" Bloomies reports US Consumer Sentiment Slumps to Record Low on Inflation Woes. Capt. Ed, Pessimism confirmed: Consumer sentiment plummets to 40-year low. Fortune, What causes a recession? Maybe it’s you and how grumpy you are about the economy. True, at some level. All that keeps economics from becoming a real science is human emotion. Da Caller, The Billionaires Predicting The Country Is Going To Hell In A Handbasket Under The Democrats. At the Insider, The wealth of American households has declined for the first time since the pandemic began, due to a $3 trillion stock-market wipeout. Sundance records how Americans Respond to Biden Saying U.S. Economy is Great

At Based Politics, Real Wages Have Declined This Much Under Biden, New Inflation Data Show.  At Da Wire, New Jobless Claims Hit Highest Rate Since January. At Am Spec, Steve Greenhut, Men (Not) at Work, "The gig economy is not destroying traditional jobs. Virtually anyone who wants a full-time job can have one. But it does offer a solution for a festering problem: Men who are dropping out of the workforce." Sundance would like you to watch the  Last 30 Seconds with El-Erian "Inflation has not peaked."

As Breitbart reports Gas Prices Soar to National Average of $5 per Gallon. We'll cross that threshold here any day now. At NR, (cited by Haut Hair), Kevin Williamson laments a $100 fill up Triple-digit trouble. I'd have more sympathy if he hadn't campaigned for Biden. Wash. Bus. Daily Reports  'The pain of higher prices continues for U.S. consumers,' Gas Misery Index at $1,005. At ADN America, Truck drivers parking rigs as gas prices skyrocket across USA.   Insty, “GASP PRICES” IS A TYPO, BUT IT WORKS: For First Time Since 2011, IRS Makes Mid-Year Adjustment In Standard Mileage Taye Due To Spike In Gasp Prices; 62.5 Cents Per Mile Is Up 11.6% From 2021. James Sherlock at Bacon's Rebellion, Democracy Dies in Sophistry

All should note the article “Average U.S. gas prices top $5 a gallon, as surging energy costs squeeze economy.” in The Washington Post.

The same Washington Post that is the only newspaper for most Northern Virginians who get one.

That article shows again the depths to which the progressive press will descend to deny the effects of the conscious policies of the left on domestic energy production.

At PJ Media Matt Margolis experiences a FLASHBACK: When ‘Experts’ Claimed Gas Prices Would NOT Skyrocket Under Biden. Jon Dougherty at the Conservative Brief, says the Results Are In: Most Americans Believe Biden Intentionally Keeping Gas Prices High. Paul Bedard at WaEx reports Aggies organize to challenge #Bidenflation “The Left long ago lost touch with rural America’s culture and values, and Ag Conservatives will be relentless in pushing back on overreaching and misguided policies while promoting the pro-agriculture reforms needed to ensure our farms are here for generations to come,” Executive Director Jeff Snow said."

At the Wa Free Bee, Biden Reboots Obama-Era Green Energy Loan Program That Funded Solyndra And Cost Taxpayers Billions. Only the good die young. Stacey Lennox at PJ details The Surprising Ways Biden's NIMBY Energy Policy Could Affect You Sooner Than You Think. At Fox Business, Battery shortage is affecting U.S. energy, drive to replace fossil fuels with other sources, "The shortage threatens the pace of the U.S. transition away from fossil fuels as the Biden administration seeks to decarbonize the grid by 2035." Unless a phenomenal breakthrough occurs, batteries won't cut it.

In random inflation and supply chain news, Don Surber reports Groceries up 11.9%. ADN America claims Manhattan median rent skyrockets to $4,000, first time ever. My sympathies are small. KT at Ace's expounds on Why baby formula recipes are often old recipes in the USA. "So current regulations and regulatory practices inhibit innovation and new investment. Perfect. Compare to pharmaceutical innovation and manufacture. Anything that triggers a new FDA product application is extremely expensive." CNN admits A tampon shortage is the latest nightmare for women. "The shortages appear to stem from supply constraints around key materials like cotton and plastic, which are also used in personal protective equipment, and have been in high demand from the start of the pandemic. The war in Ukraine has further crimped supply because Russia and Ukraine are both major exporters of fertilizer, which is used to grow cotton. A drought in Texas hasn't helped, either."

At Ace's ONT

Not the Bee sees The Milwaukee Brewers hosted a drag show before Wednesday night's game against the Phillies. From Da Caller, California Middle School Subjected Kids To Performance By Drag Queen Named ‘Nicole Jizz’. ADN America, DeSantis weighs action against parents who take children to drag shows, "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis threatened to have Florida’s child protective services investigate parents who take their children to drag queen shows at a news conference on Wednesday." Dana Pico at the First Street Journal, You will comply, or we’ll starve your children! Leah Barkoukis at Town Hall reports on the  Fox News Pride Month Segment that Leaves Conservatives 'Stunned'. Glowing story about parents who forced their child to "transition" at 5. At Haut Hair, John Sexton thinks Jesse Singal's take on support for puberty blockers and hormones for kids is worth a read if you have (a lot of) time. “yes, it is technically true that the ‘top dogs’ have published documents supporting youth gender medicine. The quality of those documents is another story.”  From the Wa Free Bee, Taxpayers To Foot Bill for Terrorist’s Sex Change "Career criminal Cristina Iglesias mailed fake anthrax to British Commonwealth and Foreign Office in 2002." I OK with it if they do the surgery without anesthetic. 

From Twitchy, Matt Walsh: Rolling Stone writer who did hit piece on ‘What Is a Woman’ watched zero percent of the film. Matt Vespa at Town Hall bemoans The 'Once-in-a-Generation' Scientist Who Had His Life Ruined by Overblown 'Me Too' Nonsense

Paul Caron at The TaxProfBlog has More On Ilya Shapiro And Georgetown Law School.

At Haut Hair, John Sexton hears Andrew Sullivan claim The scolds are in retreat. He believes it, but I don't. However, they are facing more opposition, and they don't like it one little bit.

The Wombat has Late Night With Rule 5 Sunday: Paige Spiranac and FMJRA 2.0: Girls With Guns up at The Other McCain.

The Election Post: Bannon to Surrender

The saga of Steve Bannon and the other Jan. 6 refuseniks continues. US News, Trump Adviser Bannon to Face Criminal Charges for Stonewalling Capitol Riot Probe "Bannon, 67, is expected to surrender to law enforcement in Washington on Monday and make his initial appearance in federal court, according to the Justice Department." What Monica Showalter at Am Think thinks of the Bannon indictment: Joe Biden takes another political prisoner. I agree. John Solomon at JTN, Trump comes to Bannon's defense, says contempt prosecution proof 'USA is a radicalized mess' "Former president suggests ex-adviser being treated tougher than China and Russia." Well, China and Russia are our enemies, so Democrats must be for them. At the Slantic, David Frum frumps, Steve Bannon Knows Exactly What He’s Doing "The fight over January 6 is about much more than the law." Likens Bannon to the Chicago Seven. At HE, Mark Meadows Marked Absent for House Inquisition Deposition Deadline, setting up another confrontation. Amy Wang at WaPoo whines, In wake of Bannon indictment, Republicans warn of payback. Damn straight. Also George Terwilliger opines In abandoning executive privilege, Biden rejects 200 years of history. And Jen Rubin opines Bannon’s indictment should quiet DOJ critics. The left is never satisfied. There's always one, from Mediaite, Former Trump Spox Alyssa Farah Blasts Aides Defying Jan. 6 Subpoenas. 

At Am Great, Lloyd Billingsley details The Chutkan Chronicles, "January 6 judge shows preference for judicial abuse." and Julie Kellie publishes A Poem of Persecution and Faith by a January 6 Trespasser. Anxious gets Inside Chris Christie's breakup with Trump over Jan. 6. 

And in the real insurrection, Mike Miller from Red State reports the BLM NYC Leader Who Threatened 'Riots' and 'Bloodshed' Walks off Interview When Called Out.

Sundance at CTH, cites ABC/WaPo Outlines New Terrible, Horrible Polling For Joe Biden and Democrat Communists, while  AllahPundit at Haut Hair whines as Historic: GOP soars to 10-point lead on generic ballot as Biden's approval sinks.

This is the polling equivalent of the moment in “Jaws” when Roy Scheider is chumming the water and the shark finally breaks the surface, giving him his first look at the scale of what he’s dealing with. . . . Democrats are going to need a bigger boat. . . . I know Joe Biden doesn’t drink but he should consider starting. Hoo boy.

PM, Biden's approval and job performance numbers are so bad even CNN has no positive spin left for them. Dan Chaitin at WaEx catches Chris Dodd (one of the pieces of bread in a waitress sandwich), Biden confidant says quiet part 'out loud' about 2024 run for reelection

“I’m hoping the president runs for re-election,” Dodd said, according to a New York Times report published Friday, “but for whatever reason that might not be the case, it’s hard to believe there would be a short list without Kamala’s name on it. She’s the vice president of the United States."

Will he even make it a full term? 

Politico whines that the GOP roars back to life in Trump-resistant Pennsylvania suburbs, "The Republican rebound suggests the Democratic suburban slide reaches beyond Virginia and New Jersey." Roger L. Simon claims GOP Leaders Betray Their Voters Over Murkowski. Politicians gonna politic. On Da Hill, Alyssa Farah says she thinks Pence will run for president in 2024 against Trump. I don't see him succeeding. At Da Beast Matt Lewis hopes Could Chris Christie and Liz Cheney Take Trump Down?  I doubt it. At Am Think, Paul Gardiner warns of Guarding against Cheating in Elections by the Far Left. Atop Da Hill, Americans are participating in redistricting like never before, written from a pro-Democrat position. I'll get excited about it when they fix Maryland. 

Robert Spencer at Front Page, Feds Warn of Rise in ‘Domestic Violent Extremists’ – But Where Are They? "Look in the mirror" Merrick Garland. CNS News, Biden DHS: ‘Anti-Government/Anti-Authority Violent Extremists…Pose a Significant Threat to Our Homeland’ For example, ‘See You in Court’: Parents Announce They’ve Got Enough Signatures to Have Judge Oust Loudoun Co. School Board Members. Domestic terrorists! Fox, Arizona parents rip spying school administrator: 'We the parents are the people,' "Arizona parents call for the resignation of Scottsdale Unified School District president." More domestic terrorists! Wa Free Bee, Thousands of Massachusetts Parents Pull Kids From ‘Woke’ Sex Ed Classes, "Sex ed curriculum has received $26 million in federal funding" Domestic terrorist are everywhere, even Massachusetts! 

JR Dunn at Am Think thinks about The Left's Bungled Revolution

In the USSR, they had the kulaks. Now, “kulak” means “fist,” and that’s how the word was used in the old imperial Russia. A kulak was a hard guy, an SOB – a landlord or foreman who brutally overworked the peasants, or a moneylender who gouged serfs who took out loans after bad harvests or times of shortages. So when the Bolsheviks showed up and announced they were getting rid of the kulaks, the peasants rejoiced: no more brutal overwork, no more confiscatory interest payments.

But then the meaning expanded to embrace well-to-do peasants – people who owned their own homes or a small plot of farmland. And then peasants with a handful of cattle or horses. Then any peasant who owned a single cow. Eventually everybody got to be a kulak, with an equal chance of ending up in the Gulag.

Today, the equivalent would be “domestic terrorist.” Originally, this meant trash like Theodore Kaczynski or Timothy McVeigh. But this too expanded during the Clinton years to cover cranky religious leaders and backwoods off-the-gridders, and then Tea Party members, and Trump loyalists, until at last it has come to mean… parents of small children.

 

BANANA!

Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything! Two articles that came in the Chesapeake Bay News feed exemplify this thinking. First, from CBF, Southside Virginia Pipeline Compressor Station Raises Environmental Justice Concerns

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is raising environmental justice and pollution concerns about a proposed compressor station in Pittsylvania County for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). The Lambert Compressor Station, an industrial facility planned to pump gas through the pipeline, would be built in Chatham, Virginia. The location is within five miles of four environmental justice communities with strong African American and American Indian roots.

Nearby residents are already burdened by pollution from the existing Transco Compressor Station and are concerned this project would add to those health risks. That includes Elizabeth and Anderson Jones, whose Chatham farmland has been in the family for 97 years. Mr. Jones suffers from asthma and his mother died of the disease. They are shocked and saddened to see the character of their community threatened by natural gas infrastructure.

CBF and partners previously raised environmental justice concerns for a similar compressor station in Union Hill proposed for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. This led to a landmark decision in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals finding that Virginia did not fulfill its legal duty to determine whether the Union Hill facility would unfairly threaten the health of nearby residents.

The air permit application for the Lambert facility does not meet the standards set by the Fourth Circuit Court and Virginia law for environmental justice, including the Virginia Environmental Justice Act, which aims to ensure no single community should bear more than its share of pollution. The application also contains multiple technical deficiencies and shortcomings in the air pollution modeling.

I'm relatively sure the compressor stations is planned to be sited close enough to the pipeline to be useful, where the costs for the installation (especially land costs) are as low as possible, and somewhere where as few people as possible are affected. Are some of those Native American or African American? Yeah, so what? Do they benefit from natural gas? Yes. Also, 5 miles seems quite a wide range to include. A circle with a radius of 5 miles covers over 75 square miles. I live less than 3 miles from a nuclear power plant, and it rarely enters my consciousness except when I go fishing there. 

The second article, from Pew Trust is Locals Worry Wind and Solar Will Gobble Up Forests and Farms

Massachusetts has installed solar panels faster than almost any other state as it seeks to reduce its carbon emissions. But some activists say the state’s transition to renewable energy has come at a cost.

“We have big multinational solar companies coming and cutting down forests,” said Jane Winn, executive director of the Berkshire Environmental Action Team, a nonprofit in the state. “They're not doing a good job of it, so they're allowing erosion into wetlands. We're trying to connect our forests so wildlife can move, and they're in there fragmenting it.”

Similar conflicts are cropping up across the country, as the fast-growing wind and solar industries expand into new areas, driven in some cases by state mandates and incentives. In many places, locals are pushing back, saying that forests and farmlands should not be sacrificed in the fight against climate change.

 

Local activists say they support clean energy, but they want state regulators to be more thoughtful about where to allow development. The activists would like to see more solar projects on rooftops and previously developed sites such as parking lots and landfills.

But some industry leaders say large, ground-mounted projects are much more cost-effective, and the only realistic way for states to transition away from fossil fuels. They say “not in my backyard” attitudes threaten to stall important climate work.

Some state regulators have begun rethinking their wind and solar strategies to push projects away from undeveloped areas. But they acknowledge more conflicts are inevitable as the industry grows, and many states still lack a clear picture of the land use that will be required to meet their renewable energy goals.

In Massachusetts, 150,000 acres could be lost to renewable energy development as the state seeks to meet its climate targets, according to a 2020 report from Mass Audubon, a conservation nonprofit. Between 2012 and 2017, the group found that solar projects accounted for a quarter of the natural lands that were converted to development. In response to those concerns, Massachusetts leaders are seeking to reduce state incentives for building solar projects on ecologically sensitive lands.

How about all the big cities in Massachusetts volunteer to cover the sky with solar panels and wind generators. Who needs to see the sun anyway?

You know what form of power would require far less forest land that the wind and solar generators, and produce no carbon dioxide? Nuclear. 

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Not From The Black Widow Movie ready for your digital delight at The Other McCain.

Follow the Money

From WUWT, BUSTED: State climate lawsuits are all about ignoring legislature to get cash stream

Transparency Group Provides Federal Court of Appeals with Records Proving State “Climate” Lawsuit is to Obtain “Sustainable Funding Stream”, After Failing to Convince Legislature to Fund its Priorities

BOSTON, MA, March 10, 2020 – The Transparency group Energy Policy Advocates (“EPA”) yesterday filed a motion with the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to appear as a friend of the court, to provide information showing the July 2018 “climate nuisance” lawsuit filed by the State of Rhode Island belongs in federal court — and should be dismissed therefrom. Matthew Hardin, who represents GAO in numerous lawsuits, filed on EPA’s behalf.

In the memo accompanying its motion, EPA revealed to the Court notes, obtained under a state open records law, recording a damning confession by a senior State of Rhode Island official that the objective of this litigation is in fact a “sustainable funding stream” for the State’s spending ambitions, because the voters’ elected representatives don’t share the administration’s priorities.

As EPA noted, “[t]his information is thematically consistent with the brief of Amici, Sens. Markey, Reed and Whitehouse alleging that a certain party is using this Court, in this action, in service of its economic interests. Refreshingly, these records move beyond aspersions and instead provide documentation, contemporaneously recorded by two different parties hearing the same assertions and recording them the same way. Contrary to the suggestion of the Amici Senators, however, these notes show the State confiding to peers that it is Plaintiff who seeks to use the judiciary, in this suit, in that way.”

EPA provided the Court handwritten and typewritten notes both of which, independently, “document the State’s concession that Rhode Island’s elected representatives are insufficiently moved by the State’s claims of loss and looming disaster to enact laws raising the revenues the State’s executive desires; and that Plaintiff is thus “looking for [a] sustainable funding stream”, having been reduced to “suing big oil” for its “Priority – sustainable funding stream”. Notably both sets of notes capture the Plaintiff as having emphasized the “state court” aspect of its plan.”

These notes were taken during a two-day meeting in July 2019, hosted by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund at the Rockefeller mansion at Pocantico, NY, as a forum for policy activists and a major funder to coordinate with senior public officials from 15 states. It is to these officials the Plaintiff Rhode Island, through its Department of Environmental Management Director Janet Coit, confessed to this motive, captured unambiguously by not one but two participants.

So it's not about saving the planet, at least mostly; it's about feeding the states insatiable appetite for money.

Balloons Banned in Boston?

As well as the rest of Massachusetts? Massachusetts Lawmakers Consider Banning Balloons

Tuesday, Massachusetts lawmakers debated a bill that would prohibit the sale and use of balloons, violation of which would be punishable by fine. Citing potential harm to animals and the environment, proponents of the bill were countered by lawmakers who mentioned such a rule might be harmful to business as well.

Reports have yet to mention how government’s most persistent and pervasive function is a joy-killer, a regular grinch and scourge on fun and childhood.

Boston’s CBS affiliate has more:

State lawmakers are considering a bill to ban the sale and use of all balloons in Massachusetts.
“The sale, distribution and release of any type of balloon, including, but not limited to, plastic, latex or mylar, filled with any type of lighter than air gas, both for public or private use, is hereby prohibited,” the bill sponsored by Rep. Sarah Peake, D-Provincetown, states. Violators would be fined up to $100.
A hearing was held on the proposal Tuesday.
According to WesternMassNews.com, supporters of the bill say balloons can be deadly for animals and bad for the environment. But opponents said the proposed measure would hurt businesses.
Earlier this year, the town of Orleans debated a balloon ban. Chatham, Nantucket and Block Island have already enacted balloon bans.

Government, basically:

I have a little more sympathy for this ban than I have for attempts to ban straws, but it seems to me that education would be a better use of resources. In Maryland, Queen Ann County has voted to ban balloon releases: Maryland county bans release of harmful helium balloons, and in Virginia,  a lawmaker has proposed a ban on releasing balloons into atmosphere. But these are bans on releases, not just sale and distribution, which more directly gets to the source of the problem.

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Roll Tide! finished on time and within budget.

Massachusetts Considering Commercial Striped Bass Ban

State weighs ban on commercial striped bass fishing

Striped bass are New England's premier sport fish, sought by thousands of anglers who prize them for a fighting spirit and high-quality fillets.

Stripers were pushed to the brink of extinction in the late 1970s but made a dramatic comeback. Now recreational anglers say the coveted fish again is struggling, and they’re lobbying Beacon Hill to implement new regulations that include making the fish off-limits to commercial fishermen.

One proposal, filed Rep. Walter Timilty, D-Milton, would limit commercial licenses to fishermen who can demonstrate they've caught and sold more than 1,000 pounds of striped bass annually over the last five years.

That's a pretty small quota. I've been on trips with Walleye Pete where we caught more than 800 lbs of stripers in one day, about 200 fish.

Another proposal, offered by Rep. Thomas Stanley, D-Waltham, would phase out commercial fishing for striped bass by 2025 and establish fines up to $500 per fish for violators of new regulations.

"We're asking for only one saltwater species to be reserved for recreational purposes and protected as a gamefish," said Fred Jennings of Ipswich, who is the Massachusetts co-chairman of Stripers Forever, a recreational angler advocacy group. "And it's one of vital importance to the economy of our state."

Mike Spinney, a Stripers Forever board member, said a black market for striped bass is "thriving" along the coast, with poachers hauling in fish under cover of darkness.

 That's been a well known problem in Maryland as well.

Fisheries managers have become overwhelmed by the illegal striper market, he told members of the Legislature's Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture on Wednesday.

"The lax commercial regulations and lack of enforcement is why so many people feel at liberty to break the law by selling to unscrupulous dealers, markets and restaurants," he said. "In one case, a refrigerated truck was driving up and down the Cape Cod canal, taking striped bass from a network of poachers, for sale, presumably, to the black market."

Of course, I occasionally fish for Striped Bass commercially with Walleye Pete. I do it for free, for the fun of catching many big stripers on light tackle. I even spend my own money on tackle.

Pete has always said he would prefer striper fishing in Maryland to be recreational only; although he can make more on a commercial day, over the course of a year, the recreational side of his business is much more important.

In general, the money spent by recreational fishermen on striper fishing far out weighs the economic value of the commercial fishery. God knows I'd save enormous amounts of money by buying the fish at Safeway.

Linked by EBL in "Christine Keeler RIP", "Gal Gadot in the IDF", "Virginia Mayo", "Who did they cast as Dr. Smith in the reboot of Lost In Space?", "Candace Owens and conservative truth",  "Dina Habib Powell is leaving the Trump Administration" and "Gropey Dustin Hoffman?" Wombat-socho has "Rule Five Sunday: Snow Bunnies" up and at 'em.

Floron du Jour

Naked female intruder eats canned pineapples in Florida woman's house

A Florida woman was shocked last week when she was confronted with a naked intruder in her house -- eating pineapple.

Mary Hamilton, 63, told deputies she went inside the St. Augustine home on Oct. 5 because “the door was open for me to come inside,” St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office told News4Jax.

After the homeowner discovered the nude intruder eating canned pineapple, she retreated to her car and called police.

Hamilton reportedly went inside the home, seized a shirt that belonged to the homeowner’s son and consumed some leftovers from the refrigerator, deputies said.

Who among us hasn't wandered naked around the neighborhood, checking for open doors, and helping ourselves to their clothes and  food?

Zachary Tomko                Holly O'Neil

And the Masshole's of the day: Skinny dippers disrupt wedding reception

 A pair of skinny-dippers gave a wedding reception at a scenic Massachusetts restaurant more of a view than expected.

Zachary Tomko tells WHDH-TV he didn't realize there was a restaurant nearby when he and Holly O'Neil jumped naked into the water at Salisbury Beach on Saturday.

Salisbury Police Chief Thomas Fowler tells The Boston Globe his department received several calls about the nude swimmers from both beachgoers and members of the wedding party.

Fowler says police charged 29-year-old Tomko and 20-year-old O'Neil, of Londonderry, New Hampshire, with disorderly conduct.

Bride Leah Allen says the swimmers made for a "really interesting wedding day," and she applauded them for braving the cold water.

Now that's a good sport.  Both cribbed from "Saturday Morning Weird News Dump" at Ace's.