Chesapeake Bay Mag, 16 Md. Counties Support Possible “Bayways Crossing Ferry”, Feasibility Study Underway
It’s an idea that could ease traffic and boost tourism at the same time: a network of 40-50-passenger ferries making stops at different Bay ports. Right now it’s just a concept, but it’s gaining traction with grant money for a study and support from several waterfront towns.
Chesapeake Beach, Md. is seeking public comment on the idea, and leaders support it unanimously.
Every Chesapeake Beach Town Council member is sending Mayor Pat Mahoney a big “yes” for the town to participate in the Bayways Crossing Ferry project, as it’s being called. Hilary Dailey, Tourism Program Specialist for Calvert County’s Department of Economic Development took questions from the council about including Chesapeake Beach in the proposed plan.
Their response was universal. “I love this idea,” said council member Greg Morris. Very exciting,” said member Margaret Peggy Hartman. Public comment also showed enthusiasm for the idea.
Once completed, a ferry carrying 40-50 passengers would stop at Chesapeake Beach after crossing the bay from Somerset County, from Annapolis or other waterfront towns. There’s discussion underway to include Smith and Tangier Island as well.
Upon arrival, passengers could visit restaurants, stay overnight in hotels, and visit local shops. Council members expressed interest to include North Beach in the proposal in the Chesapeake Beach stop. There was agreement, too, for multiple arrival and departure times instead of just once a day. Maintaining the required 6-foot channel depth for this type of boat is also a concern.
Dailey says 16 Maryland counties have expressed interest in the plan. Besides Chesapeake Beach and North Beach, the state is also considering Solomons Island as a potential Calvert County location. As of now, a grant has been submitted to study the feasibility of the idea. A second grant, which is due August 20, focuses on potential locations. Local governments will submit access points, infrastructure needs, and a list of activities visitors could enjoy.
Don’t expect to see tour boats appearing anytime soon though. Dailey tells Bay Bulletin, “the only timeline right now, since the whole project is hypothetical at this point, is the grant application.”
It would be fun to take a ferry ride from Solomons to Smith Island to buy a cake.
More at Southern Maryland News, The long voyage--Bay crossing project seeks funds.
Places to go and things to do, I think. Some light reading in the meantime.
In Electoral Politics:
In The Mailbox: 07.27.22 (Evening Edition) : The Other McCain
Sarah Spicer: It’s in her blood. Sara comes from a musical family who recognized her tone and pitch at just four years old when she started singing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”. Not long thereafter, she joined her mom and dad on stage and eventually opened for Tanya Tucker. Seeking meaning and comfort following the passing of her mother, she turned to songwriting. Sara wrote her first song “Heaven’s Gate” in tribute to her mom, the woman who gave her vocal chops, an appreciation for Patsy Cline and a love of all things country.
Fast forward to 2016. Sara toured the US, became a seasoned live performer with an all-girl country group. She spent her spare time writing songs with her songwriting partner, Heidi Hamels, and recording with Nashville producer Zac Maloy (Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Daughtry), getting the opportunity to perform at legendary Blue Bird Cafe. Sara adds: “Performing is my life. It’s not a job to me, it’s my passion and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
The Wombat has Late Night With Rule 5 Sunday: Olga Alberti out on time.
The massive offshore wind (OSW) project proposed by Dominion Energy may pose a serious threat to the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale population. A comprehensive environmental impact assessment is required to determine the extent of this threat and the mitigation it might require. The same is true for the other proposed Mid-Atlantic OSW projects.
The North Atlantic Right Whale is reported to be the world’s most endangered large whale, with an estimated population of just a few hundred critters. They winter off of Florida and Georgia, but summer off New England. They migrate through the coastal waters off of Virginia twice a year, including that year’s baby whales. They can grow to over 50 feet in length and weigh more than 70 tons. Protecting them is a major challenge.
Phase one of the proposed Dominion OSW project will occupy 176 square miles. Phase two might bump that up to 350 or more square miles and the proposed federal lease areas for additional OSW are even greater; much greater in fact.
The obvious monster question is how will all this development affect the severely endangered Right Whale population? Answering this question must be central to the project’s required Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) under NEPA, not yet complete and independent of the pending State Corporation Commission review. This is federal territory.
For example, will the whales enter and swim through the resulting maze of giant towers and whirling overhead blades? If not, then OSW might well prevent the migration. We first need to know just how these migrations work, in both directions. Is there a single path or many highly distributed paths? Are they taken by single whales or large groups? Do they quickly go straight through or is there a lot of wandering and feeding?
Then too, there is a great deal of northbound and southbound shipping in this area. The Northeast US and Canada supply, and are supplied by, many places and countries to the South. Being struck by ships is the leading cause of whale death. If the OSW arrays force the whales into the shipping lanes the impact could be devastating. Note that these huge OSW arrays are also an obstacle to commercial shipping, which might tend to concentrate the shipping, thereby increasing the threat of killing whales.
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Then there is the noise issue. Whales communicate acoustically and there is an extensive literature on how human noise adversely impacts them. That wind arrays create a lot of noise is well established, with many states having noise limits for onshore wind.
So we need to know things like
- How noisy will this Dominion array be under water?
- What are the likely frequencies and how are they related to whale communication?
- Will the noise make it harder for whales to hear approaching ships?
- If a problem, how far will it extend?
It is conceivable that the noise might cause confusion, distress or even act like a great wall to the whales trying to migrate. Confusion alone could be dangerous to the baby whales. So the impact of noise should be a central part of the EIA.
There are other potential issues as well. For example, how might the huge OSW array affect the local food supply for the whales? What about the impact of construction, as compared to operation.
In addition to building and operating the huge OSW array itself, there may be issues with the power lines use to bring the juice ashore. These lines are collectively gigantic compared to even our biggest onshore power lines.
Low frequency noise is a problem from humans around wind generators and whales have extremely acute hearing, and water is a much better conductor of sound than air, so the issue of whether whales will be susceptible to the noise from wind generators is a very good question. However, whales routinely get hit by ships, which aren't exactly known for their stealth.
CNN admits 75% of Democratic voters want someone other than Biden in 2024. Brad Thayer at Am Great discusses at length the problems involved in Making ‘The Switch’ "Tanking poll numbers and obvious lack of enthusiasm for the Biden Administration have forced the Democrats to confront a series of hard choices." But will he even make it far enough for that to be a problem? At Summit News, Journalists Again Demand To Know Why Biden’s Doctor Is Hiding.
Stacy McCain, ‘We Were Somewhere Around Barstow on the Edge of the Desert When the Trump Derangement Syndrome Began to Take Hold …’ John Cardillo@johncardillo, "Kristol has become his own parody account." Bill Kristol@BillKristol "I've been saying for a while that we need as our next president our version of the admirable Volodymyr Zelensky. Today I got another "personal message"--i.e., mass e-mail--from @johnlegend on behalf of Democrats. Which leads me to ask: When Biden steps aside--John Legend in 2024?" Insty, I SAW THE BEST MINDS OF MY GENERATION DESTROYED BY TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, STARVING HYSTERICAL NAKED, DRAGGING THEMSELVES THROUGH THE TRANSGENDERED BATHROOMS AT DAWN LOOKING FOR AN ANGRY FIX. 2024: Bill Kristol Says Democrats Should Recruit John Legend (Not Kamala) to Replace Biden — ‘Our Version’ of Zelensky. Well, that would make Chrissy Teigen the first lady, so there would be lots on nude photos to use. Ned Ryun at Am Great thinks Trump Should Announce His Candidacy Before the Midterms, "Trump's announcement and presence during the last two months of the midterm campaign would be a stark reminder of what was compared to what is."
At NotTheBee, "I am Kamala Harris, my pronouns are she and her, and I am a woman sitting at the table wearing a blue suit." AllahPundit approves, "I am a woman sitting at the table": Harris opens meeting by reminding the audience of her pronouns. "I know she’s at six percent in that primary poll of New Hampshire today, but it’s early. Give her time. By 2024 she might make it all the way to zero." Althouse reacts to "I am Kamala Harris, my pronouns are she and her, and I am a woman sitting at the table wearing a blue suit." "To follow "My pronouns are she and her" with "I am a woman sitting at the table wearing a blue suit" is like saying "My pronouns are she and her — duh!""
Ari Kaufman at Da Lid sees Two Huge Republican Senate Primaries Set For Next Week. Missouri and Arizona. Capt. Ed at Haut Hair thinks GOP might be heaving a sigh of relief in Missouri?. And at Haut Hair VIP AllahPundit sees Another ominously bad poll for Dr. Oz in Pennsylvania "But the results here are grim enough to be noteworthy, particularly when we’re starving for data from Pennsylvania." I have no love for Oz, but the GOP needs every Senate seat possible to pull it off.
At CJ, Jack Ketchum explains the Electoral Count act well and the proposed reforms, Better a Century Late than Never, "A bipartisan group of senators proposes commonsense reforms to the Electoral Count Act." At Politico, Jan. 6 panel Dems throw shade at Senate's bipartisan foray into their turf, "The proposal designed to prevent a future Capitol-riot-style election challenge needs buy-in from both chambers. And for now, they're diverging." AllahPundit wonders Are House Dems dumb enough to tank the Senate's attempt to "Trump-proof" the next election?. No! Republicans are the stupid party; Democrats are the evil party.
PBS Wisconsin whines Wisconsin disabled voters file federal lawsuit over voting and absentee ballots, "The federal lawsuit follows a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that prohibits absentee ballot drop boxes and only the voter can return their absentee ballot in person to a clerk's office or a designated site." Of course, they can still mail them in.
Capt. Ed, Grassley: "Highly credible" sources tell me the FBI's running political interference for Hunter Biden. Margot Cleveland at Da Fed explains FBI’s False Labeling Of Biden Laptop As Disinformation Is Even Worse Than It Seems. Here’s Why. The Wa Free Bee names names, Meet the FBI Analyst Behind The Decade’s Biggest Political Disinformation Campaigns, "Brian Auten pushed Trump-Russia collusion and is now accused of discrediting Hunter Biden stories" Bob Spencer at Front Page wants to Defund the FBI, "The Bureau has become irremediably politicized and inveterately corrupt." Yep.
The unsinkable Molly Hemingway (and Tristan Justice) at Da Fed reveal In Private, Cassidy Hutchinson Joked About Riot, Called J6 Committee ‘Phony,’ Praised Trump Before Changing Story. Ace, Private Texts Reveal That Madison Cornbread Called Herself an "Insurrectionist," Joked About the Riot, Praised Trump, and Called the J6 Committee Phony Before Starting the Madison Cornbread Image Makeover Media Blitz. So was her conversion staged or coerced? Insty, THAT’S WHAT SHOW TRIALS DO, citing Matt Margolis at PJ Media, Jan. 6 Committee Hiding Evidence That Absolves Trump
“Mr. Miller and GEN Milley met with the President at the White House at 5:30 p.m.,” the report reads. “The primary topic they discussed was unrelated to the scheduled rally. GEN Milley told us that at the end of the meeting, the President told Mr. Miller that there would be a large number of protestors on January 6, 2021, and Mr. Miller should ensure sufficient National Guard or Soldiers would be there to make sure it was a safe event. Gen Milley told us that Mr. Miller responded, ‘We’ve got a plan and we’ve got it covered.'”
As John Solomon of Just The News reveals, “The Pentagon memo also yields insight into the mindset of the Democrat-led Congress, top military officials and the local police” before the events of Jan. 6, 2021. “Key players, it reveals, repeatedly raised concerns about accepting the offer of National Guard help, fearing it would create the perception of a military coup or martial law as the election results were certified.”
As we know, President Trump’s offer of troops was not accepted and adequate security measures were not in place.
It is quite clear from this that Democrat leaders bear more responsibility for the riot than Donald Trump — which is why you haven’t seen this come up in the hearings and why the committee was stacked with anti-Trump partisans.
WaPoo whines Trump didn’t want to call for Jan. 6 rioters’ prosecution, new video shows. At Twitichy, Scott Adams sums up all of the January 6 committee hearings to date in five steps, Scott Adams@ScottAdamsSays. Along with a few amusing suggestions for #6 and #7
1. Trump attempted a planned insurrection.
2. Okay, loosely planned.
3. Okay, not planned, but he encouraged it.
4. Okay, he didn't encourage it, but he didn't try to stop it.
5. Okay, he did try to stop the violence, but he should have done more, and sooner, during fog of war.
Capt. Ed reads WaPoo: Trump now a target in DoJ's criminal probe? "Not necessarily, although that’s the impression the Washington Post wants to leave with this blockbuster report last night." Breitbart, AG Garland Won’t Rule Out Charging Trump — Even If He Is 2024 Candidate. Sundance at CTH, Washington Post Reports DOJ Conducting Grand Jury with Witness Testimony Targeting President Trump for Seditious Conspiracy Against Government "Do they want a civil war? It might sound good around the DC cocktail party circuit, whipped into a frenzy by the Lawfare crowd, but the outcome would not be in their interests." Haut Hair cites the NYT, “We would just be sending in ‘fake’ electoral votes to Pence"
In emails reviewed by The New York Times and authenticated by people who had worked with the Trump campaign at the time, one lawyer involved in the detailed discussions repeatedly used the word “fake” to refer to the so-called electors, who were intended to provide Vice President Mike Pence and Mr. Trump’s allies in Congress a rationale for derailing the congressional process of certifying the outcome. And lawyers working on the proposal made clear they knew that the pro-Trump electors they were putting forward might not hold up to legal scrutiny.
But then, they might. Lawyers try things. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.
“We would just be sending in ‘fake’ electoral votes to Pence so that ‘someone’ in Congress can make an objection when they start counting votes, and start arguing that the ‘fake’ votes should be counted,” Jack Wilenchik, a Phoenix-based lawyer who helped organize the pro-Trump electors in Arizona, wrote in a Dec. 8, 2020, email to Boris Epshteyn, a strategic adviser for the Trump campaign.
In a follow-up email, Mr. Wilenchik wrote that “‘alternative’ votes is probably a better term than ‘fake’ votes,” adding a smiley face emoji.
Always write your email like you expect to have them read in Congress. Capt. Ed lays out how a Judge DQs prosecutor from one target in Georgia fake-electors probe": Optics are horrific" In a similar lawfare attempt, the Conservative Brief reports how a Judge Rules GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Is Eligible For Re-Election.
Jazz Shaw, DC man sentenced to more than 5 years for "swinging a pole" on January 6th. Now do Antifa.
At Wa Free Bee, How Long Until Democrats Storm the Capitol? "The party's climate rhetoric is increasingly radical, dangerously insurrectionist" and This Climate Alarmism Group Is Planning To Shut Down the Nation’s Capital, "Declare Emergency hopes roadblocks will pressure Biden to declare a climate emergency,"
Breitbart, Summer of Rage, Part II: Court Filings Reveal Threats, Intimidation Against Anti-Abortion Group Prior to Firebombing Claimed by ‘Jane’s Revenge’. Behind the Black adds Today’s blacklisted American: Pro-abortion terrorists vandalize 77 churches and pregnancy centers in last ten weeks, "And yet, the Biden administration can’t find anyone to arrest."
Tongue firmly in cheek, the Babylon Bee celebrates as Joe Biden Signs 'Don't Say Recession' Bill. At Da Wire, Yellen: We’re Not In A ‘Recession,’ We’re In A ‘Transition In Which Growth Is Slowing’ Slower than negative? Not good. Matt Margolis at PJ Media notes the White House Refuses to Say What Its Definition of a ‘Recession’ Is. That depends on how bad the data come in, doesn't it? Elle Reynolds at Da Fed, The Left’s Response To Failure Is To Redefine It As Success Katie Pavlich@KatiePavlich, "Except it is the technical definition." Brian Deese: "Two negative quarters of GDP growth is not the technical definition of recession. It's not the definition that economists have traditionally relied on."
Capt. Ed calls "Pre-recession"? Consumer confidence falls to year-low level. At NYPo, US home prices to plunge ‘substantially’ on ‘cratering’ demand: economist. From the Center Square, Inflation is hammering rural America, report shows. It's just flyover country. Politico bothers to explain Why expensive gasoline is here to stay, "Future presidents and administrations are going to be absolutely bedeviled by high gasoline prices. . . . The reason: The United States’ capacity for refining oil into gasoline is declining, a trend that appears irreversible — for reasons that include climate change. But the nation’s appetite for fuel is holding firm, no matter all the predictions of a future filled with electric cars." Which doesn't explain low prices during the Trump presidency.
I&I sees the handwriting on the wall, ‘You Will Own Nothing, And Like It’ — The Real ‘Clean Energy’ Future
So, if raping the earth and ravaging the seas to get the minerals needed for “clean energy” are off the table, what’s left?
Ah, the global elites have the answer!
Just get everyone to give up ownership of their cars, cell phones, and other stuff that needs power to operate. If we all shared the stuff, we’d need less of it.
“More sharing can reduce ownership of idle equipment and thus material usage,” Yeh says.
Other leftists have been singing the same song. Late last year, a transport minister in the United Kingdom declared that we had to move away from “20th-century thinking centered around private vehicle ownership and towards greater flexibility, with personal choice and low carbon shared transport.”
We can share the women, we can share the wine. We can share what we got of yours 'cause we done shared all of mine:
Forget it Jake, it's Monkey County. From Breitbart, Maryland School District Requires Assisting Child ‘Gender Transition,’ Lying to Parents
Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools is requiring teachers and administrators to both facilitate a child’s “gender transition” and lie to that child’s parents about it, according to district-wide guidance.
The school district also appears to promote a parental reeducation plan for those who are “nonsupportive.”
Montgomery County employees are required to refer to a student by their preferred name and pronouns — the ones the student believes correspond to their chosen gender identity as opposed to the name their parents gave them and the pronouns that correspond to their actual biological sex.
Despite that, the guidance makes clear that the references to what the student prefers should not be made when contacting parents in an effort to hide the child’s gender ideation and the school’s facilitation of it.
According to the guidance, disclosing a student’s transgender status to parents may violate federal privacy laws, as it constitutes “confidential medical information.”
Under the “Communication with Families” section of the guidance, teachers and administrators are told they must ask the student’s permission to disclose medical information to the student’s own parents.
“Prior to contacting a student’s parent/guardian, the principal or identified staff member should speak with the student to ascertain the level of support the student either receives or anticipates receiving from home,” it states. “In some cases, transgender and gender nonconforming students may not openly express their gender identity at home because of safety concerns or lack of acceptance.”
In the case of “familial conflict,” it continues, “Student Welfare and Compliance (SWC) should be contacted” in order to develop a “student-led plan that works toward inclusion of the family, if possible, taking safety concerns into consideration, as well as student privacy, and recognizing that providing support for a student is critical, even when the family is nonsupportive.”
In other words, the student welfare office must be contacted in order to put parents and families on a reeducation plan presumably until they capitulate to the will of the school district.
A “Gender Support Plan” can be made with parental knowledge only “if the family is supportive of the student.” Otherwise, families are kept entirely in the dark about what their children are going through at school and how their schools are promoting gender ideology.
“Unless the student or parent/guardian has specified otherwise, when contacting the parent/guardian of a transgender student, MCPS school staff members should use the student’s legal name and pronoun that correspond to the student’s sex assigned at birth,” the guidance states. It also recommends limiting the use of permission slips that require the disclosure of a student’s gender.
“Transgender and gender nonconforming students have the right to discuss and demonstrate their gender identity and expression openly and decide when, with whom, and how much to share private information,” the guidance says.
Throw the groomer bums out.
Motorious, Motorcycle Monday: Antifa Declares War On Oregon Motorcycle Clubs - This isn’t going to end well…
Back on Saturday, July 16 members of Antifa followed through on vows to try disrupting a gathering at the HonkyTonk Bar in Salem, Oregon. The result of the far-left group’s actions is what some are predicting to be a war between them and several motorcycle clubs throughout Oregon. If that sounds to you like a confrontation which would be wise to back away from, you’re not alone. What happens next could be ugly.
Originally, Antifa groups began rallying members and supporters to join a “counter demonstration” for the “Take Action Tour” event being held at the HonkyTonk Bar. They characterized the venue’s gathering as “racist” and catering to both “fascists” as well as “white supremacists.” That event was marketed by the bar as “Hero Appreciation Day” complete with a dunk tank, bike show, eating contest, live music, bouncy house, family-friendly karaoke, free hot dogs, etc.
When Antifa showed up in black bloc, their numbers were very few. Still, they used a megaphone to draw attention to the gathering across the street from the bar. Eventually, several patrons made their way over to confront the demonstrators. Arguing turned into shoving, mace was deployed by an Antifa member, then the group retreated away from the establishment entirely. Taking on biker clubs usually doesn’t end well for the opposing party since they fight back unlike moms driving their kids through downtown Portland or Christian parents holding a concern in a park, something those Antifa who showed up learned quickly.
According to several Twitter posts from accounts journalist Andy Ngo says are Antifa members, the group which confronted them was the Free Souls Motorcycle Club. The one percenter motorcycle club might not have the household brand name of the Hells Angels, however its roots run deep. Founded in Eugene, Oregon in 1968 there’s considerable controversy over the details of its foundation, history, and what its aims are today. Regardless, Antifa seems poised to take it and other one percenter motorcycle clubs on in Oregon, promising for a confrontation like they’ve never seen.
White Rose of the Willamette Valley used its Twitter account to complain after Salem police didn’t protect their fellow Antifa members during the confrontation. It said Free Souls and “other uniformed security” both “attacked and injured community members peacefully protesting” without supplying details or other evidence. Unlawful whatever on Twitter claimed “one of ours” was hospitalized from the fight, retweeting a different person claiming “Salem police literally backed away” when the Free Souls came out to confront them. Another Antifa account proceeded to dox several people involved in the confrontation, tagging their supposed employers as well as releasing other personal details.
Awe, the cops didn't risk their lives to save Antifa a few lumps? Too bad!
Bonchie at Red State, Portland Residents Learn What Consequences Are as Democrat Policies Ravage Their City
Journalist Andy Ngo, who chronicles Antifa aggression across the country (but got his start in Portland), released the clip showcasing a series of people whining about homeless encampments in the city. Worse, anytime contractors try to clean up and sanitize the areas in question, Antifa attack them with no reprisal from Portland officials.
"I'm living in a nightmare neighborhood"
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) July 24, 2022
Portlanders break down in tears over how @PortlandGov has allowed their neighborhoods to be run down by encampments. Efforts at any clean-up is strongly resisted & sabotaged by far-left activists allied w/Antifa. https://t.co/q1JeMR1bqa pic.twitter.com/1fgKuNjY3j
There are two ways to respond to this as someone from the outside looking in. I could recognize that these people are in a tough position, having no real way to enact immediate change as their neighborhoods are destroyed by homeless encampments that bring with them rampant crime and even sickness. Conversely, I could note that Portland is one of the bluest, far-left cities in America and that its residents, including likely everyone in that video, continually vote for Democrats who do nothing but make the situation worse.
Take a guess at what response I’m going with.
They vote stupidly.
As early as 7,400 years ago, Siberian dogs had evolved to be far smaller than wolves, making them more dependent on humans for food including sea mammals and fish trapped below the ice, a new study showed Friday.
Robert Losey of the University of Alberta, who led the research published in Science Advances, said the findings helped explain the growth in the early dog population, as people put them to work for hunting, herding and sledding.
"The long term changes in dog diet have really been oversimplified," he told AFP, explaining that prior work had focused only on two main ideas to explain how dogs transitioned from wolves, a process that began some 40,000 years ago.
The first of these was that friendlier wolves approached human camps during the Ice Age to scavenge for meat, eventually became isolated from their wild counterparts, and were then intentionally bred into dogs.
The second was that some dogs evolved a better capacity to digest starches following the agricultural revolution, which is why some modern dog breeds have more copies of the AMY2B gene that creates pancreatic amylase.
To study ancient dog diets in more depth, Losey and colleagues analyzed the remains of around 200 ancient dogs from the past 11,000 years, and a similar number of ancient wolves.
"We had to go to collections all over Siberia, we analyzed those bones, took samples of the collagen, and analyzed the protein in labs," he said.
Based on the remains, the team made statistical estimates for body sizes.
They also used a technique called stable isotope analysis to generate dietary estimates.
They discovered that dogs of 7,000-8,000 years ago "were already quite small, meaning that they just couldn't do the things that most wolves were doing," said Losey.
This in turn led to greater dependence on humans for food, and reliance on small prey and scavenging, rather than prey bigger than themselves, which wolves hunt.
"We see that dogs have marine diets, meaning they're eating fish, shellfish, seals and sea lions, which they can't easily get themselves," he said.
Ancient dogs were found to be eating fish "in areas of Siberia where the lakes and rivers are frozen over for seven to eight months of the year."
Wolves of the time, and today, were hunting in packs and mainly eating various species of deer.
Interesting, but I'm not sure I see what this is adding to the story. What I see is that humans around Siberia were subsisting on a primarily fish and seafood diet, and as always, dogs were willing to eat the stuff humans left behind.
The Wombat has Late Night With Rule 5 Sunday: Olga Alberti out on time.
From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 07.25.22, Twitter bots for Biden, at Twitchy, A lot of ‘honest US citizens’ think Joe Biden is one of the best presidents in the country right now. Are they Chinese or DNC bots? From the stilted wording, I'm guessing Chinese. Bill Scher at Washington Monthly pleads Don’t Run Joe. Second Terms Suck. John Sexton at Haut Hair NY Times Opinion: If something happens to Biden, Kamala Harris isn't ready to take over. Ace, New York Times: Biden Has Failed to Position Kamala For Succession, "I think that's the best headline I've written in ten years. It just came to me. I'm proud of that one, even though it was not really the product of actual work, just random inspiration." Althouse reads the NYT too, so you don't need to, "This isn’t simply about being fair to [Kamala] Harris or elevating her like some other vice presidents have been elevated..."
Writes Jeffrey Frank, author of "Ike and Dick: Portrait of a Strange Political Marriage," in "Kamala Harris Is Stuck" (NYT).
. . .
I elided a lot of material about the relationship between VPs and Presidents over the years. Frank thinks the Biden/Harris relationship is especially weak and Biden's age (and covid infection) make the strength of the VP more important than usual. But I don't expect to see Harris's stature improve, and I can't picture her doing well as a candidate for President in 2024, so it's just as well that Biden keeps saying he's running for a second term.
And I really wish Trump haters would move away from characterizing his criticisms of the 2020 election as "lies" and attempting to intimidate anyone who wants better election security — calling them a threat threat to "the legitimacy of American democracy." Put your efforts into improving the accuracy of our elections, not denouncing the people who are telling you that they're worried about the legitimacy of American democracy.
Yahoo! worries about Trump v. DeSantis: Young conservatives debate GOP's future. At Da Wire, ‘Try Crying About It’: Liberal Reporters Blocked From Florida GOP Summit. 'Bonchie' at Red State is amused when 'The View' Hosts Went Wild on Ron DeSantis, Then the 'Clarifications' Started. They apparently said something so egregious that lawyers were in their ears immediately. Peter Navarro at Am Great warns Trump’s ‘Think Tank’ Prepares to Betray Him, "The America First Policy Institute’s broader agenda appears to be to hijack the political attractiveness of Trumpism but replace Trump with their own anointed RINO." Et tu? Allah Pundit at Haut Hair, Christie's theory: Trump's polling was artificially low in 2016 -- and is artificially high now. "I take his point, but I’m skeptical. Especially since Christie may be susceptible to wishful thinking about whether a candidate other than Trump stands a chance at the Republican nomination in 2024."
At RCP, Gingrich predicts an "American Tsunami" Will Deliver GOP 5-6 Senate Seats, 40-70 House Seats. Don't get cocky. AllahPundit takes notice of the Sleazy Dems who boost MAGA Republican against GOP freshman who voted to impeach Trump. He's desperately afraid they might win. Matt Lewis at Da Beast, What Will Democrats Say If Their MAGA Candidates Win? "Liberals are backing Trump-allied candidates because they think they’re easier to beat in general elections. What happened to MAGA being an “existential threat to democracy”?" Breitbart catches a CNN Editor admitting ‘Cheney Looks Likely to Lose — and She Knows It’ From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 07.25.22, At Am Great, Eric Lendrum sees Cheney Bracing for Massive Primary Loss in August,
From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 07.25.22, at the Volokh Conspiracy: A Breakthrough on Reforming the Electoral Count Act [Updated]. "This is the rare bill that is not only "good enough for government work," but actually good! It won't, by any means, fix all the problems that ail American democracy. But it can fix some key vulnerabilities revealed by aftermath of the 2020 election." Dave Catron at Am Spec says Democrats Discover Another ‘Threat to Democracy.’ "Moore v. Harper may end improper interference by state courts in congressional elections."At Twitchy, Erick Erickson zeroes in on what the Biden administration’s ‘recession’ redefinition will tell us about the MSM going forward, Erick Erickson@EWErickson, "We're about to see just how much the media is over Biden. If they go along with the Biden Administration's redefinition of what a recession is after four decades of holding it as 2 quarters of negative growth, the press is dead, and only the propagandists remain." Sundance, Even CNN Panel Cannot Support the Biden Administration Redefining Terms Because their Economic Policy Sucks. Hmm. Nice Deb at Am Great, Biden Regime Accused of Gaslighting Nation With ‘Soviet Level Propaganda’ after It Attempts to Redefine Recession. At Breitbart, ‘Soviet-Style Propaganda’: Republicans Rip Biden White House for Redefining ‘Recession’ amid Economic Contraction. Megan Marzzacco@MeganMarzzacco, "The left can't define a woman. They can't define a recession. Is there anything they can define???"Question: Out of the past 10 times the U.S. economy has experienced two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth, how many times was a recession officially declared?
— Michael R. Strain (@MichaelRStrain) July 25, 2022
Answer: 10. pic.twitter.com/yrR1kwlC4r
Vladimir Putin’s military action against eastern Ukraine had nothing to do with the severe food shortages and inflation in Sri Lanka {link}. Nor does Putin have any influence over the Dutch government trying to stop food production {link}. Additionally, Putin has no control over Justin Trudeau’s decision to limit harvest yields by blocking the use of nitrogen-based fertilizer {link}. More importantly, it was not Vladimir Putin who forced all the western politicians to sign up for a new ‘climate friendly’ energy program that is destroying the ability of western farms to generate higher yield crops.
You do not need to be a farmer to understand that nitrogen/phosphorus-based industrial fertilizer has been the reason why farm yields have generated massive amounts of food on a global basis. The United States, Canada, the U.K. and places like the Netherlands have massively increased their ability to generate food for export, in large part due to the success of improved fertilizer and crop saving modern pesticides. Take those farming advancements away under the guise of climate change and you get a global Sri Lanka.
Scientists aren’t sure what’s behind the slump, and many say it worries them because crabs are such an important part of the Bay region’s seafood industry and food culture.
“It’s rough surf,” said Tom Miller, who’s been studying the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, for nearly three decades. He’s director of the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory at Solomons, MD, part of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.
The Chesapeake’s crab population tends to yo-yo naturally every year or two. This year, though, marks the third below-average tally from the annual winter dredge survey, in which Maryland and Virginia check for crabs waiting out the winter in bottom sediments in 1,500 spots around the Bay and in its rivers.
What’s even more troubling is that the survey’s estimate of juvenile crabs has also hit an all-time low, or nearly so, for two years running. With so few young available to produce the next generation in a species that only survives a couple of years, a quick rebound looks iffy.
Crabs have been in deep trouble before, falling in 1998 into a decade of below-average abundance and subpar harvests.
By 2008, Miller and other scientists thought they’d turned the corner by getting fishery managers to impose harvest limits intended to conserve female crabs so more could spawn. They set an overfishing threshold for females — “sooks,” as crabbers call them — and a target number believed sufficient to rebuild the population and boost harvests.
At the time, it was the best available science, Miller said, “no doubt in my mind about that.”
Now, he’s not so sure.
It appears the fault can’t be laid on crabbers this time. While overfishing female crabs was a problem in the past, the catch has stayed within bounds since 2008. The adult female crab population has been 76% higher on average than it was in the decade before female-oriented harvest limits were set, Miller said.
Yet “recruitment” — the number of young crabs that make it from egg to adult — has not improved. Nor has the harvest grown in the way scientists and managers expected it would. In 2021, the Baywide commercial catch was 36.3 million pounds, well below the long-term average of 60 million pounds.
Miller said one statistic is especially troubling: The average number of young crabs reaching maturity for every spawning-age female has declined by 40% since female-oriented harvest limits were imposed.
“The blue crab stock is less productive than it was previously,” he told the Potomac River Fisheries Commission in June.
Something appears to have changed. Or maybe the experts have missed something. In hindsight, Miller said he’s concerned that they may have aimed too low in deciding how many females are needed to sustain the population.
“I think at one level we have to bear responsibility,” Miller said. With female crab abundance suggesting the stock was sustainable, scientific and management attention focused more in recent years on restoring the Bay’s oyster population. “To an extent,” he added, “we’ve taken our eye off the ball.”
Well, live and learn.
The Wombat has Late Night With Rule 5 Sunday: Olga Alberti out on time.
