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OCTOBER 22,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

THE WAY THE REAL WORLD WORKS – FROM BREITBART:   CNN noted on Wednesday that China made an effort to scale back coal production this year to placate climate change activists, but those desultory efforts simply evaporated in the face of rolling blackouts that interfered with the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) industrial goals.  China’s power grid remains heavily dependent on coal and its international Belt and Road infrastructure program has littered the Third World with more coal-burning plants. China added over three times as much coal-fired generator capacity in 2020 as the rest of the world combined.
The Communist Party tried increasing the price of electricity and encouraging its subjects to reduce their power consumption, but in September the pretense of restraining coal production was quietly abandoned and coal inventories began growing again. Now the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is telling mine operators to increase production by all means necessary, and outlawing shutting down any Chinese coal mine.   I wait breathlessly for criticism of China from the left wing of the Democratic Party.  I'll tell you if I hear anything.  Check me next July.

October 22, 2021       Permalink

WAIT!  WAIT!  Do we see a flash of common sense?  Could it be?  Believe!  Believe!  From National Review: 

The National School Boards Association has apologized for a letter that called on the Biden administration to investigate whether alleged threats against school-board members constituted domestic terrorism.

The NSBA Board of Directors apologized in a memorandum to members on Friday. The initial letter, sent on September 29, asked the administration to investigate whether alleged threats to school-board members, over masking policies and “propaganda purporting the false inclusion of critical race theory” in lessons, necessitated federal investigation.

“As you all know, there has been extensive media and other attention recently around our letter to President Biden regarding threats and acts of violence against school board members,” the memorandum states. “On behalf of NSBA, we regret and apologize for this letter. . . . There was no justification for some of the language included in this letter.”

The apology comes after emails obtained by the nonprofit Parents Defending Education, first reported by the Free Beacon, showed that the NSBA consulted with White House officials on language to be used in the September 29 letter.

Those emails showed that the group did not consult its board of directors before sending the letter. Additionally, various state school-board groups said they too were not consulted before the letter was published by the NSBA.

The letter asked the Biden administration to investigate whether alleged threats against school board members “could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.”

In response to the letter, U.S. attorney general Merrick Garland ordered the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Offices to investigate those alleged threats. Most of the incidents cited by the NSBA did not involve threats of physical violence.

COMMENT:  So far, so good.  Maybe the NSBA actually realizes the harm the letter did, and the disgrace the group brought upon itself. 

Now, on the other hand, we can look at this from the cynical side.  (Of course, I'd never do that.  I'm merely speculating.)  A follower of politics might say that the NSBA issued the apology to help the governorship campaign of Terry McCauliffe in Virginia.  It has been faltering, with the election only ten days away.  McCauliffe is closely linked to the education establishment, and the letter episode damaged him.  Am I being too mean?

October 22,  2021     Permalink 

OCTOBER 21,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

THE COST OF GETTING BEHIND THE WHEEL – OVERNIGHT:  Gas prices are soaring.  Voters are watching.  Democrats are sweating.  From Daily Caller:   The price of gasoline in a remote California town reached $7.59 per gallon this week as energy costs continue to rise nationwide and show no sign of slowing down.  The town — Gorda, California — is located in a rural part of the state about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco and is known for its high gasoline prices due to its distance from other areas with gas pumps, according to ABC 7. The price of premium-grade gasoline, used for cars with engines that require higher octane fuel, in Gorda surged to nearly $8.50 per gallon.  While Gorda’s gasoline prices are often an outlier, the rest of the state and country continue to see higher prices at the pump, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The national average price of regular gasoline reached $3.37 per gallon on Thursday, up nearly 6% from a month ago and up 55% compared to a year ago.  Overall, the price of regular gasoline has hit its highest level since September 2014, the EIA data showed.   This itself could swing a presidential election, and can have a devastating effect on the Democrats in next year's Congressional midterms.  Of course, many fashionable Democrats like higher gas prices because they mean that the peasants out there will drive less, which in turn will mean that the planet, which is scheduled to die next June, will have a year or so more of existence.  I learned that from an environmental activist who hasn't gone outside since 2015 because he fears he'll contribute to global warming.

October 21,  2021     Permalink

AND THE PARENTS MARCH GOES ON – OVERNIGHT:  I've never seen an issue build so fast.  Education is now a major topic of discussion in political races.  Virginia set the tone when parents started rebelling against the way they were treated and what their children were being taught.   From the New York Post: 

More Americans are uneasy about what children are learning in the classroom.

According to a new Fox News poll released Thursday, 73 percent of registered voters say they are “extremely” or “very” concerned about what is being taught in public schools amid an ongoing national debate over the addition of critical race theory to K-12 curricula.

The survey found that the only issues more worrying to voters are inflation and higher prices (87 percent extremely or very concerned) health care (76 percent) and political divisions in America (76 percent). Issues that rank behind education on the list of worries include unemployment (71 percent), the federal deficit (70 percent), the border crisis (69 percent) and the COVID-19 pandemic (67 percent).

Republicans (81 percent), parents (80 percent) and independents (74 percent) are far more likely to say they are extremely or very concerned about public school lessons, while just 63 percent of Democrats say they are extremely or very worried about the issue.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents (63 percent) say school administrators pushing a political agenda is a “major problem” in the US, compared to 57 percent who say the same of violent threats against public school officials and 54 percent who say the same of parents aggressively pushing a political agenda at school board meetings.

School administrators pushing a political agenda is a topic of concern for 63 percent of respondents.

Around half (49 percent) of registered voters said that too much focus on race was a “major problem” in public schools, more than said the same of parents not having enough say over curricula (47 percent) and “overly accommodating transgender policies” (44 percent).

Earlier Thursday, Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee grilled Attorney General Merrick Garland over his Oct. 4 memo in which he that the FBI would probe what he called “a disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff.”

Garland’s announcement was in response to a Sept. 29 letter from the National School Boards Association (NSBA), which stated that incidents involving parents protesting at school board meetings “could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes” and asked the White House to “examine appropriate enforceable actions” under legislation including the post-9/11 Patriot Act. 

COMMENT:  The parents revolt is a very good thing.  Democracies turn slowly, but, when they turn, they turn decisively.  I just have the sense that the parents revolt is the start of something decisive in American life, and that the age of wokeness may have reached its limit.

October 21, 2021       Permalink