Snowmageddon 2019
Three meters of snow (almost 10 feet) fell in just 48 hours in parts of the country, with another three feet – or more! – on the way.
Another meter or more (more than 3 ft) was forecast to fall on Saturday and Sunday alone.
What are the Implications for Climate of Recent North Magnetic Pole Activity?
Scientists warn Earth’s magnetic North Pole has begun moving ‘erratically’ at speeds so fast they are having to issue an emergency update to maps used by electronic navigation systems.
This is the precursor to a magnetic reversal.
Let’s hope that the sun is at a sunspot minimum during the time of the reversal — since the earth’s magnetic field is what protects us from all those bad cosmic rays.
Earth’s magnetic fields are shifting – and scientists are unsure why.
Researchers say the magnetic North Pole is ‘skittering’ away from Canada, towards Siberia.
The problem has got so bad, researchers around the world are scrambling to update a global model of the fields.
Called the World Magnetic Model, it underlies all modern navigation, from the systems that steer ships at sea to Google Maps on smartphones.
Gallup: Record Numbers of Americans Want to Leave the U.S.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- 40% of women younger than 30 would like to leave the U.S.
- 22% who disapprove of Trump would like to move vs. 7% who approve
- Canada is top desired destination for would-be migrant Americans
WASHINGTON, D.C. — While Donald Trump has spent much of his presidency focused on the number of people who want to get into the U.S., since he took office, record numbers of Americans have wanted to get out.
Though relatively average by global standards, the 16% of Americans overall who said in 2017 and again in 2018 that they would like to permanently move to another country — if they could — is higher than the average levels during either the George W. Bush (11%) or Barack Obama administration (10%).
Gallup: Americans Continue to Embrace Political Independence
Looks like I’m in the majority.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Significantly more U.S. adults continued to identify as political independents (42%) in 2018 than as either Democrats (30%) or Republicans (26%). At least four in 10 Americans have been political independents in seven of the past eight years, including a record-high 43% in 2014.
The trend is based on aggregated data from all Gallup polls conducted in each year. The 2018 aggregate includes 13 separate surveys, encompassing interviews with more than 13,000 U.S. adults. Gallup asks Americans in every poll it conducts whether they identify politically as a Democrat, a Republican or an independent.
Gallup: Majority of Democrats Identify as Liberal for First Time
The political climate allows them to finally admit it.
The percentage of Democrats identifying as liberal averaged 51% in 2018, up from 50% in 2017, marking the first time a majority of Democrats have adopted this term, following gradual increases since the 1990s.
In 1994, nearly half of Democrats described their views as moderate while equal percentages, at 25%, identified themselves as liberal and conservative. That fundamental pattern held until about 2002, during the first half of President George W. Bush’s first term in office. From 2002 through 2014 — spanning the Iraq War under Bush and the Barack Obama presidency — the liberal share increased approximately one percentage point a year, while the percentages moderate and conservative fell. Since 2014, the percentage of Democrats identifying as liberal has increased at an even faster rate of two points per year on average.
Gallup: U.S. Still Leans Conservative, but Liberals Keep Recent Gains
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Conservatives continue to outnumber liberals, 35% to 26%
- Nine-point difference ties last year for slimmest in Gallup trends
- For first time, majority of Democrats identify as liberal
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans’ assessment of their political ideology was unchanged in 2018 compared with the year prior when 35% on average described themselves as conservative, 35% as moderate and 26% as liberal. Although conservatives continue to outnumber liberals, the gap in conservatives’ favor has narrowed from 19 percentage points in Gallup’s 1992 baseline measurement to nine points each of the past two years.
Since 1992, the percentage of Americans identifying as liberal has risen from 17% then to 26% today. This has been mostly offset by a shrinking percentage of moderates, from 43% to 35%. Meanwhile, from 1993 to 2016 the percentage conservative was consistently between 36% and 40%, before dipping to 35% in 2017 and holding at that level in 2018.
These ideology figures are based on combined data from Gallup’s monthly GPSS and other standalone surveys conducted each year. The 2018 aggregate includes 13 surveys totaling more than 13,000 national adults.
Gallup: U.S. Catholics’ Faith in Clergy Is Shaken
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- 31% of Catholics rate the clergy’s honesty highly, down from 49% in 2017
- 44% of Catholics confident in organized religion; an 8-point drop
- 52% of Catholics say religion is a “very important” part of their lives
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amid turmoil in the Roman Catholic Church in the ongoing fallout from priest sex abuse scandals, a record-low 31% of U.S. Catholics rate the honesty and ethical standards of the clergy as “very high” or “high.” This marks an 18-percentage-point drop between 2017 and 2018, when more sexual abuse allegations against priests surfaced and questions arose about the Vatican’s response.
Ginsburg can stay on the Supreme Court and vote, no matter how sick or disabled she becomes
Unless she is impeached for being incapacitated.
I had asked previously about whether she is allowed to vote without being able to attend the court proceedings. The answer is yet.
Though she was not present for oral arguments, Chief Justice John Roberts said Ginsburg would participate in the cases by reading briefs and argument transcripts.
In addition to reviewing relevant case material from home, Ginsburg has also voted in matters before the court. There is no written rule prohibiting justices who are missing from the bench from casting their votes.
Before her cancer surgery last month, for example, Ginsburg voted remotely to deny a request from the Trump administration to enforce its new asylum policy, according to reports.
100 years ago in Spokane: Spanish Flu Outbreak
I’ve always been intrigued by the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918. Of those who contracted the flu, 20% died. 50-100 million died worldwide — about 5% of the entire world’s population, over the course of a year.
This happened during WWI, and the massive troop movements likely led to the spread and hastening of the pandemic.
There are some excellent resources available about the Spanish Flu. Probably the best I’ve read is John M. Barry’s The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History.
There have also been some great articles in the Spokesman Review’s “100 Years Ago Today” series that discusses the effect of the Spanish Flu on the Palouse.
- Pandemic petering out, emergency hospital at last closes doors
- Two more Spokane residents died of the flu, but the statistics continued to show the epidemic waning.
The ban on public dances would continue indefinitely, said the city health officer. - Father McAleer of the Sacred Heart Church was arrested for holding meetings in Harrington, in violation of that town’s flu quarantine.
He was released on his own recognizance to appear for trial in Davenport.
Meanwhile, the flu epidemic continued to wane in Spokane, but authorities were nervous about a recent recurrence in West Coast cities and in some of the Inland Northwest’s small towns.
The flu death toll in Spokane stood at 439. - The flu situation still was improving, but people were not exactly dancing with joy.
In fact, the ban on public dances remained in effect. City health officer Dr. J.B. Anderson said he would not lift the dance ban until he could make further study of local conditions.
Anderson was nervous about an uptick in the Spanish flu in Seattle and other cities, and he wanted to remain cautious. In general, however, he said he was “well satisfied with conditions in Spokane at present.” - The flu epidemic continued to wane, but plenty of people were still suffering.
The city’s Social Service Bureau asked for donations of mattresses, because “in some instances an entire family is sick and there are not enough beds in the home for all.”
Meanwhile, health officials announced plans to close the city’s emergency flu hospital on Jan. 15. - The Spanish flu epidemic was waning in Spokane, but not in surrounding towns.
A dangerous recurrence was reported in Wallace. Theaters, schools, churches and all public gatherings were once again banned there.
Wallace schools reported 150 children absent. - The Spokane Daily Chronicle’s editorial page noted that some critics had complained about Spokane’s flu quarantine by saying, “New York City didn’t close the churches, schools and theaters because of the flu. And look at New York.”
Those people weren’t saying that any more.
The annual death statistics were out, and they told a grim story for New York. That city’s death rate jumped in one year from 15.2 per thousand to 18.8, an increase of 3.6 in 1918.
Spokane’s death rate went from 8.09 to 10.23, an increase of 2.14.
“To make it a little plainer: If Spokane had followed New York’s plan with New York’s results, among 120,000 people there would be 175 more graves in the city’s cemeteries than there are today,” said the editorial. - The city’s social services nurses were among the unsung heroes of the Spanish flu epidemic.
Statistics showed that they worked tirelessly throughout the previous year. One nurse alone made 1,102 visits in 12 months.
They were able to shoulder this prodigious – and often dangerous – workload with help from the city’s “automobile chamber of commerce,” which supplied the nurses with autos. - The Spanish flu epidemic was waning in Spokane, but not in surrounding towns.
A dangerous recurrence was reported in Wallace. Theaters, schools, churches and all public gatherings were once again banned there.
Wallace schools reported 150 children absent. - Spanish influenza pushes death rate to record high
- Spokane’s Sunday school classes were allowed to resume after being banned for months due to the flu epidemic. This was part of a larger lifting of the ban, announced the day before.
- End of flu quarantine announced for New Year’s
- Spanish flu, in the wane, claims former Spokane mayor
- City Heath Officer Dr. J.B. Anderson said that the epidemic is “practically under control.” Yet he was not willing to take any chances. He was still banning holiday gatherings through New Year’s Day. Three new deaths from flu were reported, bringing the total to at least 407.
- The Spanish flu epidemic was waning, but it continued to take a toll. Lois Major, 20, a mother of three small children, died at the city’s emergency influenza hospital.
- The Spokane School Board anticipated the reopening of schools in the new year, and approved a new calendar that called for school to run from January 6 to June 13.To make up for dozens of lost school days because of the flu closure, every school day would be a half-hour longer. Also, there would be only three vacation days during that period.
- For the first time in many weeks, not a single flu death was recorded in Spokane. In addition, the number of patients in the city’s emergency flu hospital dropped to 23, far below its peak. The official death toll stood at 402.
- Dr. J. B. Anderson continued to stand up against Spokane’s theater owners who wanted to lift the modified flu quarantine.
- Theater owners fight back against health officer’s attempt to stop flu
- City health officer Dr. J.B. Anderson reiterated his pledge to keep the partial ban on public gatherings in place until at least January.
- Businesses petition to lift on public gatherings ban; health officer unmoved
- Flu deaths continue to drop
- Flu deaths down, influenza pandemic appears finally to be on the wane
- As schools remain closed, teachers hire out as tutors
- As city begins distributing whiskey to treat flu, demand is high [you think?]
- Public holiday celebrations banned as flu deaths mount
- The Empress Theater was allowed to reopen after being closed for 24 hours for violating the rules of the flu quarantine.
- Authorities crack down on violators as flu death toll reaches nearly 300
- Conflicting messages as flu death toll continues
- Public gathering ban drives rift through citizenry as flu cases grow
- Flu cases – and deaths – spike
- As flu cases climb, city health officer hardens line on public gatherings
- 9-year-old boy holds out as flu ravages family
- Dances and other gatherings banned as city tries to stop spread of flu
- Schools closed as flu spreads to the young
- Spiting flu warnings, thousands take to the streets for fair and dance
- City proposes sweeping vaccination program for local youngsters
- Spanish flu comes roaring back
- Spokane residents were no longer restricted by the seven-week-long ban on public gatherings and were ready to join together in song and dance. Everyone assumed that Spokane had weathered the worst of the Spanish flu epidemic. They were wrong.
- Leo Wenzloff was serving a 90-day sentence on bootlegging charges – but he was released early, in recognition of his service as a jail “flu nurse.”
- Schools reopen after flu closure
- Prayer inadequate medicine for local faith healer — note: the wife blamed it on the lack of faith of people present, not on the lack of faith of her healer-husband.
- Governor clears Washington State in probe into treatment of students with Spanish flu
- Optimism abounded that the flu “epidemic crest” had passed, said a headline. However, the death toll rose to 203 and 145 new cases were reported.
- Fewer than 50 new Spanish flu cases were reported, and this was considered good news since the number continued to decline every day.
- Flu prudence urged as public life comes roaring back
- City takes deep breath of relief as quarantine lifts
- Girl dies day after mother’s funeral as city’s death toll from flu rises to 181
- Spokane was certainly not alone in suffering from the Spanish influenza epidemic.
- City health board continues ban on public gatherings as flu deaths rise
- Nurses battling flu lauded
- Flu death toll rises, but theaters hope for end to ban on public gatherings
- Heady celebration as armistice arrives, but flu fears churn underneath
- The flu epidemic, which seemed to be waning, would come roaring back soon after Armistice Day, possibly because of these gatherings (for Armistice Day).
- Anti-influenza health measures prove challenging to enforce
- The local flu situation took another turn for the worse with 10 more deaths reported in one day.
- The local Red Cross started selling flu masks in the corridor of Spokane City Hall
- Nurse suggests onion poultice to ward off flu
- City health officer says “the situation is grave … really serious, more serious than the general public seems to realize.”
- After a brief lull, the Spanish flu death toll spiked.
- The city health officer said the flu situation in Spokane “looks better than it has at any other time since the epidemic started.”
- Flu claims Spokane County treasurer; crowds banned at campaign rallies as flu death toll rises
- Flu claims Spokane County treasurer; crowds banned at campaign rallies as flu death toll rises
- The Spanish flu death rate spiked to 69, including 18 deaths in four days.
- Spanish flu fears spread, and facade of confidence begins to crack
- Concerned son writes home with flu fears; found dead when parents arrive
- Editorial declares ‘fresh air’ the best treatment for Spanish flu
- Mixed messages on Spanish flu’s progress, but signs remain troubling
- Flu hospital overwhelmed as nurses get ill
- 300 Washington State students sick with Spanish flu
- Glimmer of hope a thin cover on city’s fear as Spanish flu continues to spread
- Growing influenza crisis creates demand for able nurses
- City health official puts his foot down on influenza crisis
- Flu death toll rises to 15 as city takes more action to limit crowds
- Hotel owners object to city’s takeover over of building as flu hospital
- Public calm wavers as death toll from Spanish flu continues to rise
- Flu cases continue to rise, but only two dead
- Spanish flu sweeping through Northeast
- Reports of Spanish flu on East Coast reach Spokane
- Flu epidemic getting worse on East Coast and spreading west
- Sash company turns production to war work
- Local action called for as Spanish Influenza spreads
- Spanish influenza arrives in a rush
- Spanish influenza rears its ugly head
- First local deaths in 1918 flu pandemic reported as hospitals hit capacity
- Frenzy of countermeasures as Spanish flu takes hold
- Health ordinance puts strict ban on public congregation
- Spanish flu spikes at Gonzaga, Hillyard neighborhood
- City shuts down as Spanish flu hits Spokane
Barry believes that the virus actually originated in Kansas.
In some parts of Austria the snow is so high that cable cars are engulfed by it
Global warming will do this.
In some parts of Austria the snow is so high that cable cars are engulfed by it
FA Hayek: Socialism in Theory vs. Practice
From F.A. Hayek (pictured above) writing in 1941 in Nature:
In theory Socialism may wish to enhance freedom, but in practice every kind of collectivism consistently carried through must produce the characteristic features which Fascism, Nazism and Communism have in common. Totalitarianism is nothing but consistent collectivism…
Price Changes: Jan 1998 – Dec 2018
Of interest: notice that the most regulated part of the economy is the one with skyrocketing prices. What if, what if government got its hands out of the cookie jar?
Based on today’s BLS report for CPI price data through December, I’ve updated the chart above with price changes through 2018. During the most recent 21-year period from January 1998 to December 2018, the CPI for All Items increased by exactly 56.0% and the chart displays the relative price increases over that time period for 14 selected consumer goods and services, and for average hourly earnings (wages). Seven of those goods and services have increased more than average inflation, led by hospital services (+211%), college tuition (+183.8%), and college textbooks (+183.6%). Average wages have also increased more than average inflation since January 1998, by 80.2%, indicating an increase in real wages over the last several decades.
The other seven price series have declined since January 1998, led by TVs (-97%), toys (-74%), software (-68%) and cell phone service (-53%). The CPI series for new cars, household furnishings (furniture, appliances, window coverings, lamps, dishes, etc.) and clothing have remained relatively flat for the last 21 years while average prices have increased by 56% and wages increased 80.2%. Various observations that have been made about the huge divergence in price patterns over the last several decades include:
a. The greater (lower) the degree of government involvement in the provision of a good or service the greater (lower) the price increases (decreases) over time, e.g., hospital and medical costs, college tuition, childcare with both large degrees of government funding/regulation and large price increases vs. software, electronics, toys, cars and clothing with both relatively less government funding/regulation and falling prices. As somebody on Twitter commented:
Blue lines = prices subject to free market forces. Red lines = prices subject to regulatory capture by government. Food and drink is debatable either way. Conclusion: remind me why socialism is so great again.
b. Prices for manufactured goods (cars, clothing, appliances, furniture, electronic goods, toys) have experienced large price declines over time relative to overall inflation, wages, and prices for services (education, medical care, and childcare).
c. The greater the degree of international competition for tradeable goods, the greater the decline in prices over time, e.g., toys, clothing, TVs, appliances, furniture, footwear, etc.
Female Lawyer Gets Tulane University to Stop Discriminating Against Men
From the PJMedia article “Female Lawyer Gets Tulane University to Stop Discriminating Against Men” by Toni Airaksinen:
Tulane University has agreed to stop financially discriminating against male students in an unprecedented response to a Title IX complaint made against the school. As PJ Media initially reported, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) launched an investigation into Tulane University in August amid concerns that six of the school’s scholarships violated Title IX, the 1972 law that prohibits sex discrimination.
The complaint was filed by Margaret C. Valois, a Virginia Title IX attorney and mother of two sons. Though she typically provides legal counsel to students accused of sexual misconduct, she said she was inspired to file the complaint to fight educational inequity. “Tulane’s implementation of Title IX provides greater educational opportunities for female students than for male students. When opportunities and benefits are offered to one group because of their sex… it is patently unfair,” said Valois at the time.
Four months later, Valois got unprecedented news. On December 14, Tulane University quietly entered into a resolution agreement with the OCR, which dictates that Tulane is now undertaking steps to ensure that financial assistance is fairly distributed.
“By September 6, 2019, the University will ensure that it is not treating male students differently on the basis of sex by providing different amounts of financial assistance, limiting eligibility for financial assistance… or otherwise discriminating with respect to financial assistance,” details the resolution agreement.
To help ensure this, Tulane also agreed to arrange training for all financial aid officers and other administrators to ensure “nondiscrimination in financial assistance” and nearly all other aspects of campus life. Tulane University will have until September 2019 to ensure compliance. From now on, OCR officials will monitor Tulane until the terms are met, and may send officers to campus to interview students, staff and administrators to assess progress.
While Valois is sympathetic to Title IX’s original goal of ensuring equity for women, Valois also argues that in many ways, men are not only underrepresented on college campuses, but also discriminated against in Title IX trials that violate due process.
Trump White House urging allies to prepare for possible RBG departure
Trump’s one lasting legacy could be his setting the direction of the Supreme Court for decades to come.
And with the Senate in his pocket…
The White House is reaching out to political allies and conservative activistgroups to prepare for an ailing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s possible death or departure from the Supreme Court — an event that would trigger the second bitter confirmation battle of President Donald Trump’s tenure.
The outreach began after Ginsburg, 85, on Monday missed oral arguments at the court for the first time in her 25 years on the bench. The justice, who was nominated to the court by President Bill Clinton in 1993, announced in late December that she underwent a surgical procedure to remove two cancerous growths from her lungs.
The 10 SAFEST STATES in AMERICA
Idaho is #4.
The video starts with Idaho at 4:56
The Latest: French protesters demand more help from govt
Protesters want deeper changes to France’s economy and politics.
They want more socialism at lower cost.
They clearly have no mathematical skills.
Thousands of yellow vest protesters have marched through Paris and other French cities for a ninth straight weekend to denounce President Emmanuel Macron’s economic policies.
Sporadic violence broke out during protests Saturday in Paris, Bourges, Bordeaux, Rouen, Marseille and Toulouse. The Interior Ministry said more than 100 people had been arrested.
Protesters walked peacefully through central Paris from the Finance Ministry in the east of the French capital to the Arc de Triomphe in the west. But scuffles between police and activists then broke out at the end of the march. Police used tear gas and water cannon to push back some protesters throwing rocks and other objects at them.
French armored vehicles blocked protesters from going onto nearby Champs-Elysees Avenue.
The movement for greater economic equality appears to be resurging, despite Macron’s promises of billions of euros in tax relief.
Avalanche, accidents add snow-related deaths in Europe
Global warming is a funny thing, doing the exact opposite of the predictions.
BELGRADE, Serbia – Heavy snowfall this week in the Balkans has closed down schools, left some remote villages cut off and disrupted traffic and power supplies in the region, while authorities in Bulgaria said two snowboarders died in an avalanche Friday.
The Bulgarian Red Cross said in a statement the snowboarders’ bodies were found at noon local time in the Pirin Mountains. The statement alleged the two triggered the avalanche that killed them after ignoring warnings and weather alerts.
At least 20 weather-related deaths have been reported in Europe in the past week. In Germany, the driver of a snow plow died Friday after his vehicle toppled into an icy river. Albania’s Energy Ministry said a power company employee suffered a fatal heart attack while repairing damaged supply lines.
About 2,000 soldiers and other emergency workers in Albania were assigned to help people trapped by snow and to clear roads to restore access to rural areas.
Via the AP.
To Prepare For The Worst, Democrats Purchase Funeral Plot For Ginsburg On Ancient Indian Burial Ground
Democrats have reportedly used the burial ground with supernatural resurrection power numerous times, most notably during voter registration drives.
“It’s the least we can do for ol’ Ginsburg,” Senator Kamala Harris told reporters as she and a group of Democrats trudged through an old pet cemetery and climbed over a sharp, treacherous deadfall to pick out a plot for the ailing justice. “We know this barrier wasn’t meant to be crossed, and that the locals don’t want us to go beyond the deadfall, but we think it’ll all work out.”
“We have to try the Indian burial ground to see what’s in it,” Pelosi chimed in as she skipped across the deadfall and past a creature called a “Wendigo,” which let them pass as he’s a strong Democratic supporter.
White House pushing for H1B visas
Trump is looking for educated and skilled immigrants.
More than 100,000 workers are brought to the on the visas each year, and are allowed to stay for up to six years.
The latest plan offers a pathway to citizenship for those in Silicon Valley, who are working for major tech companies.
However, there are concerns about the effects it could have on American workers.
Every year, more than 85,000 Americans potentially lose their jobs to foreign labor through H1B visas.
So who exactly is concerned about this? Those who support illegal immigration?
Pres. Trump lists border statistics, asks Democrats to come back to the table
23% of Federal inmates are illegal immigrants. Border arrests are up 240%. In the Great State of Texas, between 2011 & 2018, there were a total of 292,000 crimes by illegal aliens, 539 murders, 32,000 assaults, 3,426 sexual assaults and 3000 weapons charges. Democrats come back!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2019
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2019
Pres. Trump lists border statistics, asks Democrats to come back to the table