{"id":381,"date":"2019-01-14T16:34:25","date_gmt":"2019-01-15T01:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/?p=381"},"modified":"2019-01-14T16:34:25","modified_gmt":"2019-01-15T01:34:25","slug":"interesting-items-01-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/2019\/01\/14\/interesting-items-01-14\/","title":{"rendered":"Interesting Items 01\/14"},"content":{"rendered":"

Howdy All, a few Interesting Items for your information.\u00a0 Enjoy \u2013<\/p>\n

In this issue:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Boulder<\/li>\n
  2. Fluoride<\/li>\n
  3. Wall<\/li>\n
  4. Speech<\/li>\n
  5. Carriers<\/li>\n
  6. Ginsburg<\/li>\n
  7. Israel<\/li>\n
  8. AK House<\/li>\n
  9. Emissions<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Boulder. One of the things you get these days when you elect democrats is radical gun control legislation, rules, regulations, and enforcement.\u00a0 Usually, this is greeted with over the top cheerleading by local and nationwide media.\u00a0 The local populace, not so much, which makes what is going on in the People\u2019s Republic of Boulder so enjoyable.\u00a0 The Boulder City Council voted last May to ban sale and possession of many semi-auto rifles, pistols, shotguns, bump stocks, and magazines holding over 10 rounds, essentially turning all local gun owners into felons, all of it in clear violation of both state and federal law.\u00a0 There was a 7-month grace period where citizens were \u201callowed\u201d to register their firearms in a registry that was emphatically described as \u201cnot a registry.\u201d\u00a0 The grace period ended Dec. 31, with only 342 \u201cassault weapons\u201d registered.\u00a0 Best estimate is that 20 \u2013 50 gun owners out of nearly 120,000 residents complied.\u00a0 The firearms community in this strongly democrat city is also a strong community, and they are forcibly refusing to comply.\u00a0 There is public non-compliance, protests, openly defying local government to do something about it.\u00a0 In response, public school teachers are encouraging their students to go after children of gun owners.\u00a0 So much for liberal tolerance in this university town.\u00a0 The definition of a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged by reality.\u00a0 I think conservatism is coming to Boulder.\u00a0 https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2019\/jan\/3\/boulder-colorado-assault-weapons-ban-met-mass-non-\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Fluoride. When not repairing structural damage due to earthquakes, Alaskans pursue other innovative political \u201csolutions.\u201d\u00a0 Some of these are better grounded in reality than others.\u00a0 One popular cause is removing fluoride from local water supplies because of how dangerous fluorine as a chemical is.\u00a0 Note the very same chemistry whizzes completely miss the danger of pure sodium or chlorine which is dissolved in all water worldwide.\u00a0 This sort of cause usually appeals to the small government crowd, making it a wrap-around initiative, appealing to the hard left and the hard right at the same time.\u00a0 Sometimes the proponents are successful. \u00a0Usually, cooler heads prevail.\u00a0 Unfortunately the fluoride ban success comes with a price.\u00a0 Alaska\u2019s capitol city Juneau finally passed a fluoride ban in 2007 and we now have over a decade of data on the results of that ban.\u00a0 An examination of Medicaid dental claim billing for two groups of children aged 18 and under since 2007 in Juneau finds that those children now get on average one more dental procedure per year at a cost of $300 \/ procedure.\u00a0 These costs represent a 28 \u2013 111% increase in dental costs for those children.\u00a0 Removing fluoride from local water supplies turns out to be a very expensive (and painful) policy decision.\u00a0 As usual, women and children are hardest hit.\u00a0 https:\/\/www.sciencealert.com\/here-s-what-happened-when-a-city-in-alaska-took-fluoride-out-of-their-drinking-water<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

         <\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Wall. President Trump\u2019s call for the wall, the shutdown, and ongoing media festivities continued last week.\u00a0 The most important observation came out of Limbaugh late last week as he noted the near complete absence of polling on this.\u00a0 IN this world, polling results never disappear unless they are reporting back the wrong numbers.\u00a0 One of the things that terrifies\u2019 the Swamp is that Trump WILL build the wall before they can do anything about it.\u00a0 Construction is in his wheel house, as he knows how to get a project done on time, below budget, and permanently.\u00a0 The 2006 legislation authorizing the wall was gutted a couple months after passage when the Reid \u2013 Pelosi majorities took office, passing an amendment to a spending bill to eviscerate it.\u00a0 Trump is going to get this done within months of pulling the trigger on it.\u00a0 The swamp will not be able to do a bloody thing about it.\u00a0 Worst of all, it is insanely popular with Americans on both side of the political divide.\u00a0 https:\/\/www.americanthinker.com\/articles\/2019\/01\/why_democrats_oppose_the_wall_trump_will_actually_build_it.html<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

           <\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Speech. President Trump gave his first national speech last week making the case for a permanent wall on the southern border.\u00a0 It was dry, straightforward, and fact filled, something that irritated democrats and their media mouthpieces to no end.\u00a0 Media schemed for several days how to make sure nobody either saw the speech or would listen to what President Trump had to say.\u00a0 They tried a real time fact check effort that didn\u2019t go all that well.\u00a0 In fact, it backfired badly.\u00a0 For example, Trump claimed that a full third of female caravan travelers were raped.\u00a0 CNN happily aired a gotcha sequence claiming that number was actually 80%, making Trump\u2019s point.\u00a0 That segment was quickly dropped.\u00a0 CNN gadfly Jim Acosta found a section of wall in Texas and made a big show about not seeing any illegal crossing.\u00a0 Everyone, including President Trump thanked him for making the case for the wall for them.\u00a0 https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2019\/01\/11\/trump-thanks-acosta-pitch-wall\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

             <\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Carriers. A ChiCom Rear Admiral ran his mouth at a military trade conference a few weeks ago, announcing that in his estimation the thing the US feared the most was casualties and the easiest way to do that was to sink a pair of aircraft carriers.\u00a0 These comments were followed a few days later by ChiCom President Xi saber rattling about Taiwan reunification, fighting the bloody battle with our enemies, and noting that Taiwanese independence is a \u201cdead end.\u201d\u00a0 This sort of language is a bit more bellicose than they have recently been using, likely due to some of their diplomatic, economic and military initiatives coming up a bit short.\u00a0 Indeed, they managed to trigger active opposition to their expansion by their neighbors.\u00a0 President Trump\u2019s tariffs haven\u2019t helped any either.\u00a0 Finally, the ChiCom economy appears to be on the verge of a contraction, something they never expected.\u00a0 They perceived the lack of focus of the last two administrations as proof of US decay and decline.\u00a0 President Trump reversed that and they are now worried.\u00a0 The last people who thought Americans would quit following a bloody nose have died by the tens of thousands in the Middle East, much faster than they can breed new ones, since 2001.\u00a0 The next people who forget this lesson will suffer a similar fate.\u00a0 Just ask the Japanese.\u00a0\u00a0 https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/opinion\/china-should-think-twice-before-threatening-to-attack-americans<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

               <\/p>\n

                \n
              1. Ginsberg. SCOTUS Justice Ruth Ginsberg missed the first three days of oral arguments for the new SCOTUS term last week recuperating from her recent surgery.\u00a0 Democrat senators are getting worried about a replacement fight and are laying the groundwork for a new anti-Catholic religious test for judges going after Trump nominee Brian Buescher for the federal bench.\u00a0 So far, Feinstein, Kamala Harris and Mazie Hirono are all involved in the festivities, questioning his membership in the Knights of Columbus.\u00a0 This is seen as preparatory for an expected Trump nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, a strong Catholic, to replace Ginsberg should she step down.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t about Catholics.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t about the Knights of Columbus.\u00a0 It is all about the latest line of attack to damage and hopefully destroy an expected replacement for a reliable liberal on the Bench and it is starting sooner rather than later.\u00a0 https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/another-religious-test-in-the-senate-11546559559<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                 <\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. Israel. Newly elected Florida Governor Ron DeSantis fired Broward County Sherriff Scott Israel.\u00a0 Israel famously used his position to politicize the Sheriff\u2019s office in favor of democrats.\u00a0 When you do that sort of thing, actual law enforcement typically gets left in the dust, in this case leading to the Parkland shootings.\u00a0 Last week a Florida state panel released a 458-page report detailing security breakdowns, police blunders, and school inaction.\u00a0 The report also detailed facts about school resource officer Scott Peterson\u2019s arrangement with Sheriff Israel.\u00a0 Peterson, who refused to enter the building during the shooting, investigated a sexual assault claim against Israel\u2019s then-senior son who assaulted a 14-year freshman.\u00a0 Peterson filed a 4-page report that got filed and downplayed.\u00a0 Peterson could have charged Israel\u2019s son with a felony, but downplayed it as simple battery, worth only a 3-day suspension.\u00a0 Israel\u2019s kid was the starting quarterback for the school football team and liked to pick on freshmen.\u00a0 This one got way out of hand and should have resulted in a sexual battery \/ attempted rape charge.\u00a0 In return, Israel reciprocated and gave Peterson some breaks, like not firing him on the spot for failing to enter the building during the shooting, instead allowing him to resign with full pension.\u00a0 Israel\u2019s firing is the first of many steps necessary to clean up the mess that he and his democrat backers made of local law enforcement.\u00a0 https:\/\/victorygirlsblog.com\/stench-broward-county-sheriff\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                   <\/p>\n

                    \n
                  1. AK House. We keep on electing Republicans to the legislature here in Alaska, but they can\u2019t seem to get themselves organized into a working majority caucus.\u00a0 Now that the final race has been decided (a Fairbanks Republican won by a single vote and the state courts did not allow the democrat candidate to steal the election via creative vote disqualification), we should have sufficient Republican House members to organize a working 21+ seat majority.\u00a0 Not so fast on that.\u00a0 Following that win, there are 23 total Republicans, which ought to be enough.\u00a0 Two of them organized with democrats during the last session. \u00a0One of those has been invited to organize with the new caucus.\u00a0 The other was shown the door for a variety of very well deserved reasons including suspected voting fraud in her primary win.\u00a0 One other member withdrew from the Republican caucus with a demand that a bipartisan majority form.\u00a0 And we have a fourth Republican House member playing coy with his support.\u00a0 This takes the Republican majority down to 19 \u2013 20 depending whose numbers you use, and it takes 21 to form an organization.\u00a0 Democrats are in worse shape, as they have 16 members.\u00a0 Add to that the two remaining turncoat Republicans and a single faux independent, and they have 19 possible members (happily, we took out one of their turncoat Republicans and one of their faux independents in November).\u00a0 The legislative session starts in a week, and if there is no clear majority, nobody can hire staff, as that staff is allocated by majority (majority caucus gets more people), so things will be up in the air for a while.\u00a0 Looks like this one is going to take a while to figure out.\u00a0 https:\/\/www.adn.com\/politics\/alaska-legislature\/2019\/01\/13\/control-of-alaska-house-unsettled-ahead-of-session-start\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                     <\/p>\n

                      \n
                    1. Emissions. In Items 12\/24, I discussed Willis Eschebach\u2019s analysis of the social benefit of carbon (CO2 emissions).\u00a0 He calculates that the social benefit of carbon is $4,380 in new goods and services produced for each additional ton of CO2 produced.\u00a0 Compared with the suggested social cost of carbon at $40 \/ ton, we need to produce lots more rather than less.\u00a0 Last week, another WUWT post validated that conclusion with the news that US carbon emissions rose 3.4% in 2018, the largest increase in eight years.\u00a0 The rise also coincides with the booming economy under President Trump.\u00a0 Electricity demand increased with most of the increase being powered by natural gas as renewables are not able to keep up and coal plants closing.\u00a0 Also contributing to the rise in emissions were a cold winter, more trucking and air travel, and growth of the manufacturing sector, all due to the booming economy.\u00a0 2018 was the largest closure of coal fired generation capacity on record, with 11.2 GW closed and another 2.5 GW scheduled for closure by the end of the year.\u00a0 OTOH, natural gas fired electrical generation grew by a new 11.5 GW last year.\u00a0 Demand for diesel and jet fuel increased by around 3% last years, growing transportation emissions roughly the same rate as they did in 2017.\u00a0 Finally, the cold winter of 2018 increased heating days by 15% during the first quarter of 2018, relative to that of 2017.\u00a0 Increasing emissions is the sign of an expanding, growing economy, more jobs and more opportunity for all of us.\u00a0 They should be embrace and celebrated.\u00a0 https:\/\/wattsupwiththat.com\/2019\/01\/08\/u-s-carbon-emissions-skyrocketed-in-2018\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      More later –<\/p>\n

                      – AG<\/p>\n

                       <\/p>\n

                       <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                      Howdy All, a few Interesting Items for your information.\u00a0 Enjoy \u2013 In this issue: Boulder Fluoride Wall Speech Carriers Ginsburg Israel AK House Emissions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":382,"href":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381\/revisions\/382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}