Went Fishin'

I took the gas cans up to the local station to get enough gas to top off the boat before they raise the concentration of ethanol to 15%. Yeow!

I met Trevor at the boat around 4:30, we went off to the local fish market and found a couple of 19+ inch stripers

I also had a significantly bigger one on, but it cut me off. From the look of the leader, it either turned and cut it with a gill plate, or scraped it on a barnacle or oyster shell in the shallow water.

Angry Old Man Wants More Solar Panels

From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 06.06.22, Louder With Crowder: Biden Having Old Man Meltdowns Over Being More Unpopular Than Trump

Joe Biden, per Politico, is in a bad mood. Being the worst president ever can put you in a funk. It's even worse when, in what's left of your brain, you think it's not your fault that you are the worst president ever. It's the fault of everyone around you... that you hired. That's what Biden is going with, and the media is happy to help. Biden isn't failing. He is being failed. And it's for THAT reason that Biden is less popular than Donald Trump.

That's what really burns his biscuits.

"The president has expressed exasperation that his poll numbers have sunk below those of Donald Trump, whom Biden routinely refers to in private as 'the worst president' in history and an existential threat to the nation’s democracy."

Donald Trump, while a jerk who said mean things on Twitter, had a thriving economy until the pandemic. While Biden wants to take credit for the jobs coming back that were lost from the pandemic, the American people can see through that. There were no new wars under Trump. And also, thirteen service members weren't killed over Trump's botched evacuation of Afghanistan.

Matt Margolis at PJ Media, Awww: Joe Biden Is Angry That He’s Now More Unpopular Than Donald Trump. Stephen Kruiser at PJ, Biden Is Mad That Americans Are Noticing All of His Failure. Althouse, "Far more prone to salty language behind the scenes than popularly known, Biden also recently erupted over being kept out of the loop about the direness of the baby formula shortage..." Ace, Politico: Biden is Seething -- and Spewing Profanities -- That He's Less Popular Than Trump and Being Unfavorably Compared to Carter, "America is crippled by the Peter Principle.

Scott Johnson at Power Line on The Biden Ordeal "I assess that Joe Biden has no constructive policies offsetting the catastrophes he has wrought."  Summit News looks at an ABC Poll: Biden “Badly Under Water On All Of The Top Issues” “Biden is a serious drag on Democratic candidates nationwide” Breitbart calls it ‘Complete F*cking Chaos’: Establishment Media Lukewarm on Biden’s Potential Second Term. I'm sure they'll come around once Trump or DeSantis wins the nomination. At the Wa Free Bee, Poll: Under Joe Biden, Americans Are Losing Hope, "Americans are 'deeply pessimistic' about the economy, political divide, and the American dream."

Mallory McMorrow

Breitbart watches CNN’s Enten: Polling Shows GOP Will Take Huge House Majority –Best Position in over 80 Years.  "but my estimate for the 2023 House makeup, if the election were held today, which again, it isn’t, we still have five months, five months from tomorrow, would be Republicans, 236 seats to 241 seats. Democrats, 194 to 199." Matt Bai at WaPoo is preparing the troops for failure, Why losing the midterms isn’t the worst thing for Democrats. But Josh Marshall at NYT cited at Haut Hair thinks  Democrats can win this fall if they make one key promise, bust the filibuster and vote for universal abortion on demand. Joe Klein at Front Page thinks he's identified the next AOC, The Progressive Left’s Latest Shining Star, "Delivering the same woke snake oil in a new bottle." Mallory McMorrow of Michigan. She's she's cute and very ginger. I wonder what her pronouns are?

From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 06.06.22, Victory Girls  observe the Senate Race In Pennsylvania – Cardiac Doctor Vs. Cardiac Patient. 

Nick Arama at Red State chortles at Hilarious Shot and Chaser Shows Unhinged RINOs Are About to Get Wiped in Primaries. At Althouse, "Former President Donald Trump is bored at Mar-a-Lago and anxious to get back in the political arena — as a candidate, not a kingmaker...". Steve McCann at Am Think thinks he knows why Why Donald Trump Should Not Run for President in 2024. "If Trump were to defeat the ruling elites a second time, their nihilist radical left-wing allies and their media sycophants would be consumed with uncontrolled vengeance." As opposed to now? At the Slantic Jennifer Senior calls Steve Bannon the American Rasputin, "Steve Bannon is still scheming. And he’s still a threat to democracy."

Chris Chantrill at Am Think compares The Week of Sussmann and Navarro. "But if an Inner Party chappie gets a free ride, and the Outer Party chappie gets leg irons, what is the fate of the Proles in Biden’s America? Hey, ruling class: you may not think about where this injustice leads, but I can." At CTH sundance hosts as Tucker Carlson and Peter Navarro Discuss the Two Tiered Justice System in Navarro’s First Interview Since His Politically Motivated Arrest.  

Matt Margolis at PJ Media, There Was a Huge ‘Mistake’ in the 2020 Census… Guess Which Party It Favored? Also from the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 06.06.22, Weasel Zippers Hand Count Of Votes In DeKalb County Georgia Reveals Machines Were Off By Thousands & Gave Race To Democrat.

At NYPo, Elon Musk accuses Twitter of breaching contract over spam bots. At LI, Elon Musk Threatens to Terminate Twitter Deal if Company Isn’t Honest About Fake Accounts, "Musk also believes Twitter “is actively and thwarting his information rights.” Sundance, Elon Musk Threatens to Walk Away from Twitter Deal if the Social Media Company Does Not Provide Transparency on Bots and Spam Accounts. Capt. Ed at Haut Hair, BREAKING: Musk threatens to dump deal in letter to Twitter, SEC. "Time to play “Let’s Make a Deal,” or time to escape a deal?"

The redoubtable Julie Kelly on What the January 6 Committee Hearings Won’t Cover, "A sham congressional committee working with a corrupt Justice Department boosted by a dishonest national media can only be expected to create political propaganda." Truth.  At Twitchy, Rep. Jamie Raskin says the January 6 committee has found more evidence on Donald Trump than just ‘incitement’ Even AllahPundit at Haut Hair calls it Insanity: At least one Dem on Jan. 6 committee reportedly wants to recommend abolishing the electoral college. That would be Raskin. At the Week Liz Cheney say Kevin McCarthy has 'turned his back on the Constitution', while using her position to extort campaign funds, Liz Cheney Tries To Extract Campaign Cash From J6 Witness Subpoenaed By Her Committee (Tristan Justice at Da Fed). At Da Caller, Former ABC News President Who Quashed The Epstein Story To ‘Produce’ Democrats’ Jan 6 Hearings, so you know they're going to be totally honest. Breitbart, Exclusive — Rep. Elise Stefanik: GOP Ready to Provide Counter Programming to ‘Illegitimate’ January 6 Hearing

In the real insurrection, via the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 06.06.22, from Mike LaChance at LI, Molotov Cocktail Lawyers Plead Guilty to Reduced Charges, Likely Will Get Only Two-Year Sentences. Insty, IT’S GOOD TO BE THE NOMENKLATURA: "Jonathan Turley: New York Attorneys Accused of Firebombing Police Car Given Generous Plea Deal."

“Notably, Rahman and Mattis pleaded guilty last year to one count of possessing and making an explosive device, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Now, however, they will be allowed to withdraw the earlier plea and instead plead guilty to conspiring to assemble the Molotov cocktail and damage the New York Police Department patrol car. That is a nosebleed of a drop in the severity and punishment for this violent attack. It is a sharp contrast to the harsh position taken by the Biden Justice Department on many of those accused of rioting on January 6th. Attorney General Merrick Garland cited the threat to police officers in pledging an unprecedented effort to charge and convict those involved ‘on any level’ in the riot.”

Mary Chastain at LI, Biden Invokes Defense Production Act for Solar Panel Production, Waives Tariffs. Eric Worral at WUWT, Biden’s Blood Panels? Suspect Solar Panel Import Restrictions Eased. Tilting at Windmills, Biden utilizes Defense Production Act for solar panels? Sundance, Biden Administration Declare National Emergency for Clean Energy Production, Invokes Defense Production Act to Facilitate Faster Transformation of Energy Economy Away from Fossil Fuels. 'Bonchie' at Red State finds Karine Jean-Pierre Falls Flat on Her Face Trying to Explain Joe Biden's Latest Abuse of Power. I don't think she's fast enough on her feet for that job. Psaki was a more effective spinner. 

Capt. Ed reads an ABC poll: 80% cite inflation as top issue -- and Biden gets 28% approval. NYPo, Americans say gas prices, economy will dictate midterm election votes. Sarah Hoyt at Insty, TONE DEAF PROPAGANDISTS:  New York Times Makes the Case for More Inflation. "If anyone tells you that inflation is a great opportunity to go vegan, whisper back “leftists are made of protein.”  It might wake them up." Bob Spencer at Front Page, Biden: The Economy Isn’t Bad, You Just Can’t See How Good It Is, "Maybe if we tilt our heads and squint " and David Harsanyi, say Yes, Biden Deserves Blame for Inflation, "From top to bottom, the administration is as wrong as any could be."

Sundance sees an NBC Report, National Avg Gasoline Prices Likely to Reach $6/Gal by Labor Day. Breitbart, California County Sees Average Gas Price Soar Above $7 per Gallon, Mono County, where they have to bring it in with mule teams. At Da Wire, Californians Struggle Under High Gas Prices Ahead Of Primaries, a useful reminder. From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 06.06.22, Hogewash: A Diesel Fuel Pump In Westminster MD, Sundance, Biden Administration Quietly Raised Amount of Ethanol Required in Summer Blend Gasoline from Ten Percent to Fifteen, Three Predictable Problems Will Surface Soon. I have to fill the boat before that goes into effect. Alcohol kills boat motors. 

At Based Politics, This Federal Agency is Spending $300 Million on ‘Digital Equity’. I'm not sure what that means but it doesn't mean any good. At Wa Free Bee, Biden’s Push for Universal Preschool Could Hike Inflation, Study Shows. Like almost everything he pushes for. Stacey Lennox at PJ, Why Joe Biden's Student Loan Relief Could Backfire With Financially Savvy Gen Z

And some culture war DIY, so I can get going:

NFL team appoints first openly transgender cheerleader - Rebel News. Don't look. Trust me.
Stop Saying ‘LGBT’ › American Greatness
Transgender Activists in Their Own Words | City Journal
Burger King Debuts ‘Pride Whopper’ With Two Top Or Two Bottom Buns | The Daily Wire
Drag Teens, Naked Adults, and Stupid Burger Buns. Is This Gay Pride? – PJ Media
Methodist Church’s First Drag Queen Pastor: ‘God Is Nothing’ - The American Spectator | USA News and Politics
Victory against blacklisting: School district drops attempt to punish children for using wrong prounouns – Behind The Black – Robert Zimmerman
Wyoming official rebukes Biden tying school lunches to gender ideology | The Post Millennial
Texas State Rep to File Legislation Banning Drag Shows For Children › American Greatness
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: 'Gender Is Fluid. Language Is Fluid'
What Is a Woman? | FrontpageMag
If Amazon Isn't Woke Enough For LGBTQ Activists, No Company Can Be
Facebook Is Wrong: An Illinois School Is Changing Grades Based On Race
Ilya Shapiro Resigns from Georgetown Law in Scorching Letter

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Atago-sama’s Wedding and FMJRA 2.0: Rubycon up on time and under budget at The Other McCain.

Thursday DIY Politics Post

As I suggest two weeks ago, Thursday morning politics post is likely to DIY for a while as I have places to go and things to do. Enjoy! Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest, mhmm

Elections and the Horse Race:

Is Biden the Worst President in U.S. History? He’s Doing His Best To Earn The Title

NBC News Described the Biden White House With One Word...And It's Not Good
New Times Square Billboard Lists Biden Administration Failures - Job Creators Network
Another Biden Fail: Unity Index Shows Divisions Deepening — I&I/TIPP Poll – Issues & Insights
Help! The (Pretend) President's Fallen and Can't Get Up! - American Thinker
We Have Entered the Self-Pity Stage of the Biden Presidency | The New Republic
Instapundit » Blog Archive » IF YOU HAVE TO KEEP REMINDING UNDERLINGS OF YOUR AUTHORITY THEN YOU DON’T REALLY HAVE ANY: ‘Furiou…
Senate Dems to Biden, Harris: Ixnay on sault-ay uns-gay an-bay – HotAir
Trumpology › American Greatness
Herschel Walker is "mad" at Trump taking credit for his Senate run – HotAir
Dems sweat GOP surge in South Texas special election - POLITICO
Maloney vs Nadler: New York thunderdome update – HotAir
DCCC says it looks like Cuellar won his primary, plus Dems sweat a special election in TX-34 – HotAir
‘It’s going to be an army’: Tapes reveal GOP plan to contest elections - POLITICO
19,000 Late, Invalid Ballots Were Counted in Arizona 2020 Election: Report
Cyber agency: Voting software vulnerable in some states - ABC News
Census blunder may tip 2024 to Democrats | The Hill
Judge Removes Republican From Ballot In Key Gubernatorial Race | The Daily Caller
Supreme Court Won’t Block GOP Lawmaker Depositions in Texas Redistricting Challenge

Jan. 6 Nonsense

Peter Navarro subpoena suggests DoJ may be investigating Trump
Peter Navarro: Jan. 6 panel is 'Democrat-controlled mob' with 'weaponized' congressional powers | Just The News

Scoop: GOP plots '23 probes

It's The Stupid Economy

Biden to Spend Summer Lying Even More About the Economy – PJ Media
Ace of Spades HQ Yeltsin Admits Mistake on Inflation; Biden Touts "Recovery" as Nation Crumbles Into Recession
Trafalgar poll: Biden's "Putin's tax" spin on inflation is a flop – HotAir
The CBO confirms Bidenflation is real | Washington Examiner
‘Does Biden Take Any Responsibility?’: Peter Doocy Grills Karine Jean-Pierre On Inflation
Biden’s Shameless Portrayal of Himself as a Deficit Hawk › American Greatness
Breitbart Business Digest: Janet Yellen's Apology Tour
More Pretending, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Pretends She Got It Wrong on Inflation, She Did Not - The Last Refuge
‘You Better Brace Yourself’: Billionaire Banker Says Economic ‘Hurricane’ Is Heading For US | The Daily Caller
Jamie Dimon says 'brace yourself' for an economic hurricane caused by the Fed and Ukraine war
Report: Joe Biden Blames Aides for 40-Year-High Inflation
Majority in poll blame Biden for increasing inflation - TheBlaze
Joe Biden says gas, food prices aren't coming down anytime soon
Another Embarrassing Jean-Pierre Gaffe as She Tries, Fails to Cover for Biden's White Privilege – PJ Media
"Everything is terrible, but I'm fine" – HotAir
Gas Price Up 5 Cents Overnight to Record High $4.67/Gallon
Tweet From Democrats Comes Back To Bite Them In The A** Six Months Later | The Daily Caller
Ace of Spades HQ Biden's Chief of Staff, and the Acting Shadow President, Ron Klain is Obsessed With High Gas Prices. But He Has a Plan For Dealing With Them.
The White House has one problem that rules them all: Gas prices - POLITICO
White House continues to blame Putin for inflation, high gas prices | The Post Millennial
Seriously? Biden looks at releasing the last diesel reserves – HotAir
"Incredible Transition" update: Gas prices hit new record; analysts wonder when we break $5 a gallon – HotAir
IEA Warns of Possible Gasoline Shortages and Need for Rationing - The Last Refuge
American Confidence in the Economy Drops to Lowest Level Since 2009, Oil Prices Climb, Gas Prices Break Records, Main Street in Serious Trouble - The Last Refuge
Inflation desperation: Biden to order more ethanol for cars as grain shortages loom – HotAir
Ethanol: A Dumb Idea or A Crime — Or Both? – Watts Up With That?
Claim: Skyrocketing Gasoline Price Inflation is Michael Mann’s Fault – Watts Up With That?
NEC Director Brian Deese Defends Policy as U.S. Economy Transitions Away from Oil and Gas to Windmills and Solar Power - The Last Refuge
Americans Bracing For Blackouts Better Hope For Tame Hurricanes
Biden Admits He Did Not Realize Seriousness of Infant Formula Shortage
Another Airlift Proves Biden's Baby Formula Crisis Is Far from Over
Popcorn supply 'will be tight' at theaters this summer, producers warn
Get Ready for $1 Per Egg: USDA Forecast Predicts Highest Food Inflation Since 1980 – PJ Media

Culture Wars

Stefanik, Mullin introduce resolution to expunge post-Jan. 6 Trump impeachment | Just The NewsSan Fran Mayor unveils plan to end transgender homelessness – HotAir
Matt Walsh on Twitter: "GMA interviewed Lia Thomas today. Great timing. Our film features one of Thomas's teammates. She told me that women on her team were silenced and referred to psychological counseling if they objected to having Thomas on the team. More in the full film: https://t.co/xibkNa4oHW https://t.co/YRRf2S712a" / Twitter
U.S. Marines on Twitter: "Throughout June, the USMC takes #Pride in recognizing and honoring the contributions of our LGBTQ service members. We remain committed to fostering an environment free from discrimination, and defend the values of treating all equally, with dignity and respect. #PrideMonth #USMC https://t.co/MOyvFmyJiB" / Twitter
Instapundit » Blog Archive » GLEICHSCHALTUNG! The US Space Force just posted a graphic where the American flag on the moon is …
Ramstein Airforce Base Cancels Drag Queen Story Time Despite USAF and U.S. Marines Celebrating LBGTQ Pride Month - The Last Refuge
Drag queen pastor declares 'God is nothing' in blasphemous profanity-laced video - TheBlaze
Justice Department Asks Court to Reinstate COVID-19 Travel Mask Mandate
Ace of Spades HQLancet Study: Masks Did Not Stop Spread of Covid in Schools
Principal Fired After Hiring Pole Dancer To Greet New Kindergartners | LittleThings.com
No Free Lunch: Biden Admin Will Pull Meal Funding for Schools That Don’t Comply With Its LGBT Agenda
Justice Department tries to overturn ruling on mask mandate on planes – HotAir
COVID Restrictions Are Coming Back – Summit News
Joe Biden Says He Welcomes Advice from New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on How to Structure Firearm Restrictions and Force Climate Change Energy Policy - The Last Refuge

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Penelope Cruz on time at The Other McCain.

America is Too Corny

According to this article from Matt Reynolds at Slate: We Have Way Too Much Corn

the Corn Belt is on the move. Over the past couple of decades, farmland devoted to corn production has been creeping northward and westward. In North and South Dakota, grasslands that were formerly used for cattle grazing or set aside for conservation have been converted to cornfields. Between 2005 and 2021, the area of land harvested for corn in the U.S. increased by around 14 percent.

 

One of the big drivers of this shift has been bioethanol—transportation fuel usually made from fermented corn. Since 2005, the U.S. government’s Renewable Fuel Standard has mandated that gasoline producers blend corn ethanol into their fuel. The amount the RFS requires to be mixed in has ratcheted up each year from the policy’s start, and since 2016 gasoline producers have been instructed to blend 15 billion gallons of corn ethanol annually into transportation fuel. The RFS was supposed to reduce reliance on fuel imports and lessen the environmental impact of the transportation sector, but when it was introduced some scientists warned that it might end up increasing overall emissions. Now it looks like those predictions have come to pass.

 

In February, Tyler Lark, a scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, published a study analyzing the impact of the RFS. Lark and his colleagues researched the impact the policy had on crop prices and farm expansion between 2008 and 2016, comparing the real-world situation with a counterfactual one where biofuel production was kept at levels mandated in an earlier version of the RFS.

Lark’s study found that the RFS significantly pushed up the price of corn. This incentivized the expansion of total U.S. cropland by 2.1 million hectares between 2008 and 2016—an increase of 2.4 percent. Often the areas newly converted to cropland were grasslands on the western edge of the Corn Belt. “Over millennia these grasslands have created really carbon-rich soils. And what happens is, when you plow that up, you expose a lot of it and make it vulnerable to being released into the atmosphere,” says Lark.

 

The supposed benefit of biofuel is that, although it still releases carbon dioxide when it burns, that carbon was drawn down from the atmosphere by the plants that make up the fuel rather than being released from oil that was once underground. But growing fuel creates emissions too. The biggest problem is when land that used to be a carbon sink is plowed up to plant crops, but manufacturing fertilizer is also a major source of emissions, and applying that fertilizer to land also releases greenhouse gasses in the form of nitrous oxide emissions.

In 2010 the Environmental Protection Agency, which sets the amount of corn ethanol required by the RFS, estimated that by 2022 corn ethanol would have total life-cycle emissions 20 percent lower than gasoline. But these projections didn’t account for the dramatic effect the RFS would have on land use in the U.S. “I don’t think people expected as much land to come back into production,” says Lark. His study found that the RFS increased corn prices by 30 percent and the prices of other crops by 20 percent. In response, farmers who previously used their land for cattle grazing or were involved in conservation schemes started growing crops instead. All this land use change has essentially outweighed the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that come from growing fuel instead of pumping it out of oil wells.

I yield to no man in my disdain for gasahol. It takes uses ground that that could be growing food for people, or at least food for our food (animals), instead of being wasted as a vehicle fuel for which it doesn't even serve the proclaimed function of reducing greenhouse gases. And the fuel isn't even very good, less energy dense than gasoline, and prone to water absorption problems. But it is a bi-partisan folly.  

The Wombat has posted Rule 5 Sunday: Anya Forger on time and under budget at The Other McCain.

It's Gonna Be Biblical!

The Red Wave, that is. AllahPundit at Haut Hair  hears as Dem strategist: We're facing a "biblical disaster" in the midterms

Team Blue is running out of time for an electoral gamechanger. Their best chance is the Supreme Court overturning Roe in June, but if that doesn’t kickstart Democratic enthusiasm to turn out then they’re facing a truly epic beating this fall. All hope that inflation might fade soon organically, without painful intervention from the Fed, seems to have been lost. And the White House appears intent on following through with lifting Title 42, creating a border stampede that’s likely to tilt the remaining Democratic-leaning swing voters towards Republicans.

CNS News, ABC News/Ipsos Poll: 69% Disapprove of Biden's Handling of Inflation as Mortgage Rates Hit Decade-High (HE) and Leslie Eastman at LI reports that Biden Suspends Summertime Ethanol-Fuel Ban in Desperate Bid to Ease #Bidenflation. I don't have the time or energy to list all the reasons that this is a bad idea, but consider this one, as Russian and Ukrainian grain harvests get hammered, the US is going to dump more into gas tanks? What will that do to food prices here, and around the world?

Ben Domenech looks at the numbers and concludes, The Left Lost Hispanic Voters When It Chose To Be The Party Of White Woman's Instagram, "One aspect that shouldn’t be underrated is this: that Latino-interest media gave Democrats a constantly renewed false perspective on the relative priority of immigration, and that having a soft immigration policy was an unquestionably good way to reach Hispanic voters." Christian Datoc at WaEx reports Majorities see Biden's latest border order as huge mistake. As Buses Arriving in DC With Illegal Aliens Blow up One of Biden's Biggest Lies and Leave the WH Babbling, (Nick Arama at Red State), and KT at Haut Hair, First Texas bus of illegal migrants arrives in D.C., Cuccinelli blasts Abbott's actions, Capt. Ed at Haut Hair finds Sinema wondering If the CDC is extending mask mandates in transit, why is Biden lifting Title 42?

In miscellaneous politics, The Conservative Brief is overjoyed as DeSantis Makes Major Move To Bring Big GOP Gains: ‘Entirely Wiping Out’ All Democrat Gains Nationally. Matt Margolis at PJ media hears rumors; Is New York Shifting Red?, or at least purple? From Fox, RNC votes to withdraw from Commission on Presidential Debates, "RNC promises to work through 'newer, better debate platforms' for GOP nominees" and at Da Caller, RNC Votes To Withdraw From ‘Biased’ Presidential Debates. The debate moderators have been Democrat operatives for years. It's time to put our foot down and fix it. Rick Moran at PJ Media on National Democrats Strip Iowa of 'First in the Nation' Election Contest. It's too white. 

Morgan Ortagus

At Wa Ex a Report that Trump invests $500,000 in bid to unseat Georgia Gov. Kemp. AllahPundit is pissed All in: Trump's PAC finally spends some big bucks in 2022 -- to try to take down Brian Kemp. No love lost their, but half a mil doesn't strike me as a game changer. WaEx also reports Trump plans to endorse JD Vance in contentious Ohio Senate GOP primary. He tends to favor non-traditional politicians. Like, Dr. Oz? AllahPundit, Laura Ingraham: I'm not afraid to say that Trump endorsing Dr. Oz was a mistake. Breitbart has Resurfaced Video Showing Dr. Oz Praising Jussie Smollett After Hoax Attack. At the Tennessee Star TN Secretary of State Offers Conflicting Comments on Whether He Will Enforce Residency Law and Remove Carpetbaggers from the TN-5 Ballot (Robby Starbuck, Morgan Ortagus, Baxter Lee, and Stewart Parks). 

Ace, Glenn Youngkin Submits Bill Accelerating Re-Election Date for All Nine Members of Loudoun County School Board, Forcing Them to Face Voters This Year, If Passed

Will the tyrants be forced to face the peasants they've been abusing?

Before getting too excited: Remember, the Virginia Senate remains in Democrat hands, only because the Senate didn't come up for reelection last year. Youngkin will need Democrat vote to get this to pass.

Rod Dreher atAm Con Won’t Get Fooled By Groomers Again. At 538, Why So Many Conservatives Are Talking About ‘Grooming’ All Of A Sudden. It's mean to do they, us liberals are supposed to control the terms of debate! Eddie Scarry at Da Fed claims Washington Post’s Aaron Blake Defends Groomers In Public Schools. Rabbi Fischer at Am Spec imagines a conversation, Hey Kids, Let’s Talk About Penises and Vaginas!, "In the modern classroom, with first- and second-graders." At Da Blaze, Pennsylvania town removes 'Easter' from egg hunt promos after single complaint — and the backlash is fierce. From Fox, School systems are 'usurping family responsibility,' Betsy DeVos says. Yep. Olga Khazan at the Slantic says Republicans Have Sex Ed All Wrong. "Some pundits say that talking with little kids about sex and gender primes them to be taken advantage of. Sex-ed researchers say that the opposite is true." Sex ed can be done right, but mostly, now, it's just an excuse for infiltrating LGBTQRSTUVWXYZ propaganda. Things that make you go hmmm, at Da Mail, Two inmates at all-women's New Jersey jail are PREGNANT after both had sex with transgender prisoners: ACLU won battle to house 27 trans inmates there. Fresh from the College Fix, University misrepresented study by claiming puberty blockers help teens’ mental health

And most of the illiterati have been consumed with the battle between Twitter and Elon Musk, who seems poised to attempt a hostile takeover of the platform. Stacy McCain, The Action and the Reaction:

What have we learned here? A self-declared “free speech absolutist” makes an offer to purchase Twitter, and many liberals instantly get nightmare visions of Hitler.
. . .
Liberals consider censorship necessary to “Our Democracy” for the simple reason that their ideas can’t compete in a free market of uncensored communication. CNN once had a monopoly on cable news; when Fox News offered an alternative, they almost immediately became Number One and nowadays CNN has lower ratings than reruns of Spongebob Squarepants. In the early years of Twitter, conservatives used the platform so effectively that liberals demanded censorship — this was at the heart of the online battle that became known as #Gamergate.

Silencing dissent and criticism, effectively declaring that their opinions are the only valid opinions and that all disagreement is “hate,” liberals seek to obtain through censorship what they cannot achieve through public debate. It doesn’t matter what the issue is, their approach is always the same.

Insty, at His NYPo gig, ‘Censorship is free speech’ is the establishment’s Orwellian line on Elon Musk’s Twitter crusade.  and Insty, I MEAN SURE, MAYBE… The Twitterati are taking this whole “possible free speech” thing super well and I, for one, am glad they are the people who set the agenda for our public discussion. Matt Taibi says  Twitter's Chickens Come Home to Roost, and they were vultures.  Da Caller snarks ‘Great Day For Diversity’: Elon Musk Poised To Be First African American To Own A Major Social Media Company (Musk is from South Africa). At Da Wire, Musk Reveals During TED Talk That ‘There Is’ A ‘Plan B’ If Twitter Rejects His Offer To Buy The Company. But won't explain. AllahPundit not convinced, Elon Musk: I don't want Twitter to make money, I want it because we need an inclusive arena for free speech. "What do we have to lose? If all Musk does after acquiring Twitter is block every political operative and reporter from accessing it, he’ll have improved society by 10 percent overnight." At some point, you have enough money. Might as well have some fun with it. Twitchy, has a Report: Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal ‘in danger of losing his employees’. Not a lot of sympathy to be had. Althouse, "Musk’s attempted takeover came in the middle of a 'focus week' at Twitter. Employees were treated to... minimal meetings throughout the week." "From "Twitter employees complain that Elon Musk ruined their calm 'focus week'" (Fortune)."

That's kind of a junk article compared to what I was trying to find, which is something more like percentages of Twitter workers who hate the idea of Musk taking over and those who like it or are neutral. What proportion of Twitter workers have jobs devoted to the kind of censorship that Musk might seem to be about to eliminate? Are these people planning to quit? Do they think they might sway Musk to appreciate at least some of their moderating function? Are they just hoping to hold onto their jobs and ready to readjust to the new agenda? How passive and resigned are they? Is there some plan of action? Are they preparing sabotage?

 Nick Arama at Red State looks abroad, Saudi Prince Tries to Throw a Roadblock Into Musk's Twitter Deal, but Elon Levels Him With Response, Elon Musk@elonmusk, Replying to Alwaleed_Talal@Twitter and @Kingdom_KHC, Interesting. Just two questions, if I may. How much of Twitter does the Kingdom own, directly & indirectly? What are the Kingdom’s views on journalistic freedom of speech? Jim Treacher, Elon Musk Seems Like a Cool Guy and Maybe He'll Hire Me at Twitter. "No matter what happens, libs are panicking. So that’s always fun to watch. We’re already seeing Orwellian horsecrap about Musk being a threat to free speech because he wants people to be able to say whatever they want..." Doug Murray at NYPo, Dear Elon: Here’s five things you can do to make Twitter better. Includes shoot into space, but not nuke from orbit. Also at NYPo, Donald Trump insists he won’t return to Twitter if Elon Musk buys it. Too boring. Jazz Shaw at Haut Hair notes that If Twitter doesn't want Musk, Gab does. But I think Elon wants the real thing, not the pale substitute. Meanwhile Twitter continues it's campaign against conservative thoughts, Jordan Boyd at Da Fed, Twitter Punishes Libs Of Tik Tok For Daring To Expose Radical Leftism, "Essentially, Twitter deemed it illegal to amplify what gender-bending, Trump-hating, racist, groomer leftists have already revealed about themselves online."

And quite coincidentally I'm sure, Charles Gasparino@CGasparino, "BREAKING: As @elonmusk offers to buy the rest of @Twitter a legal source tells @FoxBusiness @SECGov and @TheJusticeDept have launched what he described as a "joint investigation" into a myriad of Musk regulatory issues primarily involving @Tesla"

Linked at Pirates Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: All Sydney, All The Time! and FMJRA 2.0: Not Long Before The End awaiting your digital pleasure at The Other McCain.

Politics Delayed

 We went to the beach before I finished.

At Da Caller, POLL: Biden’s Approval Rating Craters Again. So much for the KBJ confirmation bounce. Also, Biden’s Hemorrhaging Support In Key Voting Bloc A Huge Threat To Dems, "people aged 18-30." 'Fuzzy Slippers' at LI notes an  NBC Poll: 30-point Shift Toward GOP In Hispanic Congressional Preference, “Most Hispanics are fleeing countries that have been economically and morally ruined by leftist policies.” John Sexton at Haut Hair predicts Democrats are heading for disaster in the Senate. Simon Bazelon at Anxious is anxious that Democrats are sleepwalking into a Senate disaster, "Business as usual will produce a huge GOP majority." At Power Line Steven Hayward starts an optimistic new series, The Dem Midterm Wipeout Watch (1) From Breitbart, a Poll: Only 7 Percent Believe Nation Is Doing ‘Very Well’ Under Joe Biden. Who are those 7%? Salena Zito at Am warns Great Pennsylvania’s Dramatic Shift Rightward Is a Warning Sign for Both Parties about Overreach. 

Sundance at CTH, announces Here We Go, White House Warns of Extraordinarily Elevated Inflation Data to Be Released Tomorrow (today). At Da Caller, Psaki Warns Of ‘Extraordinarily Elevated’ Inflation Data, Blames ‘Putin’s Price Hike’. Anxious, Get ready for a nasty inflation report. From Da Wire, ‘Voters Know Biden Is To Blame For Higher Prices’: RNC Slams White House For Pinning Inflation On ‘Putin’s Price Hike’. 'Bonchie' at Red State, Joe Biden Announces a Mind-Numbingly Stupid Move on Gas Prices, "Nah, he’s going to allow an E15 blend during the summer months instead." Rick Moran at PJ Media looks at their history and wonders Why Aren't Democrats Dancing for Joy About Sky-High Gas Prices? Silly question. It's because it's hurting them now. The Center Square thinks agrees with Critics: Illinois Democrats' plan to force retailers to post 'tax relief' details is unconstitutional, election year propaganda. Forget it Jake, it's Illinois. Joy Pullman at Da Fed claims The Government Could Stop Inflation Within A Year. Instead, Expect Things To Get Worse. They probably could, but it would hurt them, so they won't. Matt Labash worries about Groundhog Day, "Are we doomed to a Trump v. Biden time loop?" At Breitbart, Stephen Miller: Biden Immigration Policy ‘Completely Impeachable.’ As we've learned, impeachable depends entirely upon the Congress.

In random political news, Nick Arama warns Kamala Has a Clueless Word Salad That Might Make Your Head Hurt. I worked in academe; my head is pretty used to meaningless words. Jazz Shaw reports on an Iowa Dem dumped from Senate ballot over rookie mistake. You have to do the paperwork. AJC thinks The  Internal poll shows Brian Kemp close to outright primary win, despite Trump fight. At Haut Hair AllahPundit has the case of the Dem congressman who decides he's just sort of not going to show up for work anymore. I encourage this, for both parties. At JTN, Trump-backed Tshibaka officially jump in race to challenge Alaska GOP Sen. Murkowski. Good. Ace not pleased that Donald Trump Endorses Liberal Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania Senate Race, "Celebrity."

At PM WATCH: Polyamorous, genderfluid 'witch' brags about how she teaches her preschool students about sexuality. Yep, she's a witch, too. Twitchy has a Middle school teacher who says ‘I’m your parents now’ and f***k them if they don’t love and accept you for who you are. Breitbart has the case of the  Teacher who Tells Kindergartners ‘When Babies Are Born,’ Doctors ‘Guess Whether the Baby Is a Boy or a Girl’. Robert Spencer at Front Page, New Jersey to Force Second-Graders to Learn Explicit Details About ‘Gender Identity', before the times tables. That's OK, who need math? John Sexton at Haut Hair, San Diego's largest high school cut honors classes for equity. At CNS News, Pulitzer Prize Winner David Mamet: Teachers 'Are Abusing Kids Mentally and Using Sex To Do So'. At Front Page, The Left’s War on Childhood, "Leftists demand safe spaces for themselves, but take them away from children." At NR, Don’t Expect a Sister Souljah Moment from Democrats Anytime Soon. On the contrary, I expect them to double down.

WaPoo actually dares to publish a piece by Trans woman on what she wishes she'd known before having surgery at 19 (cited at Haut Hair by Joh Sexton). Althouse reads it, "I once believed that I would be more successful finding love as a woman than as a man, but in truth, few straight men are interested..."  In the course of Human Events, Alabama Gov. Signs Law Banning Sex Change Treatments for Kids.

At PM, America's Shadow President, DeSantis signs bill investing $70 million into programs to support fatherhood. Fox 13, Tampa, New Florida law funds pro-fatherhood programs such as Tony Dungy's 'All Pro Dad'. Althouse catches J. K. Rowling being a recidivist, What is this hashtag — #RespectMySex?. Dan Fletcher at Am Think thinks about Equity and 'Equity-speak.'  

Breitbart, Charlee Corra, Disney Heiress and High School Teacher, Comes Out as Trans; Slams Florida’s Education Law. From now on, Disney princesses will come in butch and butcher. Bounding Into Comics reports Twitter Locks Out Agent Poso Creator Jack Posobiec Over ‘Boycott Groomers’ Disney Parody Merch. Across da pond at Da Mail, Transgender killer who has changed from male to female now says she identifies as a baby and demands nappies, baby food and a dummy in her prison cell, "Eastwood is a complex person and intelligent but she is pretty demanding on the resources of the prison and enjoys being the centre of attention."

At CTH. sundance features True the Vote, Catherine Engelbrecht and Gregg Phillips, Outline Details of 2020 Ballot Harvesting Process

From Breitbart, Zuckerberg money won’t be in next round of aid for elections, "The nonprofit that distributed most of the $350 million in donations from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to election offices in 2020 says it won’t disburse similar donations this year". At PJ Media VodkaPundit wonders Why Hasn't Hillary Clinton Been Banned From Twitter?

Ace has a Plot Twist: Elon Musk Will Not Take a Seat on Twitter's Board of Directors Censors. Bob Spencer at PJ Media, Elon Musk Is NOT Joining the Twitter Board After All, and That’s Good News. The Verge, Elon Musk’s SEC filings reserve the right to buy a larger stake in Twitter. PM, Elon Musk signals that he was told to 'play nice and not speak freely' by Twitter board. It's more fun to be outside throwing stones in, and it only cost him $3 billion.

Tanking Up for Tuesday

 

Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Damn It, Janet ready and willing at The Other McCain.

Long Live the Monarch!

A pretty interesting (at least to me) article on Monarch butterflies at by Jim Steele at  WUWT: The Monarch Abundance Roller-Coaster- part 2. Pictures from my collection.

Indeed, some Monarch populations have declined in recent decades. However, the species as a whole is not endangered. Monarchs experience booms and busts as do many insects. So, we still need to determine if recent population declines are part of natural cycles or due to human disturbance. Counter-intuitively, humans purposefully and unwittingly have both increased and decreased monarch populations.

Eighteen thousand years ago, most of the breeding habitat for North America’s eastern monarch populations was covered in ice sheets and permafrost. Unfortunately the monarchs main food plants, Common Milkweed and Showy Milkweed, are frost intolerant. Today those milkweeds die back each autumn, forcing monarchs to migrate south. Habitat south of the ice sheet was covered with dense forests, which also limited the milkweed species that require warm open habitat, and disturbed ground. As the earth warmed and ice retreated, milkweed migrated northward colonizing glacially disturbed landscapes. Likewise, monarch populations expanded.

However, some scientists suggest the monarch’s awe-inspiring abundance really boomed during the past 200 years after European colonists began extensively logging America’s dense southern and eastern forests. Logging created more open fields and pastures, more farms and roadways; habitat milkweeds still favor today. More milkweeds, more monarchs.

So, while Monarch populations have certainly been reduced in North America, they were already beneficiaries of human intervention, and it's not really clear that they are now less abundant than before European colonization.

In addition, gardeners adored showy milkweed flowers, so began planting milkweed across the globe. Again, the monarchs followed. Suddenly monarchs expanded out of North America and across the globe. Around 1850 monarchs reached Hawaii likely as stowaways on trading ships, then spread to several Pacific Islands. With optimally warm climates monarch populations boomed, feeding on introduced milkweeds and closely related native species. But monarchs often decimated their food plants causing island monarch populations to bust.

I knew they lived outside North America, but I had no idea they had been spread by man. So they're a damned invasive species (although their caterpillars probably eat another invasive species).

By the turn of the century monarchs were found in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, the Philippines and southeast Asia. They also spread across the Atlantic to the Azores, Canary Islands, Spain, Portugal and Morocco. In many regions, monarch populations are now stable. Where warm temperatures permitted milkweeds to grow all year, monarchs no longer migrated. Having successfully colonized much of the suitable regions of the world, insect experts don’t fear monarch extinction. However, concern remains for the USA’s eastern population that winters in Mexico.

Having successfully colonized roadway ditches and any open disturbed landscapes, milkweed species began invading the open fertilized ground between rows of crops. Monarch populations boomed, while the farmers’ crops suffered. Studies estimated milkweed competition reduced harvests of wheat and sorghum by 20% and most states declared milkweed a noxious plant. But when farmers tried to eradicate milkweed by mowing, they only stimulated its underground roots promoting a greater infestation. Likewise, for herbicides that only eliminated stems and leaves. Tilling the fields only fragmented milkweed roots, again causing milkweed to multiply. The growing battle to eliminate milkweed started the monarch’s mid 20th century decline. With the 1970s discovery that the herbicide glyphosate killed the whole plant, the loss of milkweeds in the monarch’s human-made breeding grounds accelerated.

Still, there was room for optimism. Monarchs continue to breed throughout their traditional habitats. More efficient agriculture allowed more land to revert to “natural” states. Furthermore, the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) was successfully compensating farmers to take environmentally sensitive land out of crop production. The good news was the majority of Midwest monarch breeding habitat was found on lands enrolled in the CRP. But fossil fuel fears reversed all that promise. The 2005 Energy Policy Act and the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act instituted subsidies and quotas that rewarded biofuel production.

 Gasahol is a bipartisan folly.

As a result, U.S. corn harvests for ethanol rose from 6% in 2000 to 43% percent in 2012. The monarch’s remaining “natural” breeding habitat was increasingly eroded as corn acreage increased by 17 million acres since 2006. Lured by lucrative biofuel subsidies, farmers increasingly abandoned the CRP program. Soon thirty percent of the CRP’s sensitive lands converted back to growing corn and soybeans for biofuels.

Perhaps the loss of milkweed in agricultural lands, will only reduce monarch populations to their “natural’ levels of the 19th century, before modern agriculture opened the land for more milkweeds. Monarchs may become less common, but not endangered. For monarch lovers, our best safeguard is to halt the spread of biofuels and plant more milkweed in our gardens.