Archive for 2020
February 23, 2020
APPARENTLY, DEM VOTERS LOVE OLD WHITE MEN: Joe Biden places second in Nevada caucuses, ahead of Pete Buttigieg. “With almost 88% of precincts reporting, Biden has 20.9% of the Nevada votes and Buttigieg has 13.6%.”
Also, it’s hilarious that with caucuses, they’ve only got less than 90% of the votes in at this point.
THE REAL REASON YOU CAN’T USE THE GROCERY BAG OF YOUR CHOICE: The Perverse Panic over Plastic. The green campaign against plastic isn’t merely a waste of time and money. Besides inconveniencing humans, it’s harmful to the environment. Banning plastic grocery bags contributes to global warming because it leads to more carbon emissions. Forcing Americans and Europeans to recycle plastic leads to more plastic pollution in the ocean because some of the recyclables end up being dumped in Asian rivers.
So why do greens keep stoking this panic? Because it makes them feel virtuously superior. The plastic bans are best understood as a modern version of medieval sumptuary laws, which forbade merchants and other commoners to wear clothes or use other products that offended the sensibilities of aristocrats and clergymen. The sumptuary edicts consistently failed to accomplish their stated purpose, but they kept getting issued anyway (there were thousands of them across Europe, as I explain in City Journal) because they enabled nobles to lord it over their social inferiors.
The plastic panic also serves to provide employment for green activists. It’s one more example of what I call the Crisis Crisis: the never-ending series of hyped threats leading to policies that grow the government and leave everyone worse off. (There’s more on this in my new book, The Power of Bad: How the Negativity Effect Rules Us and How We Can Rule It.)
REST IN PEACE TO MY UNCLE TOM BEATY, who died this weekend. He was a good man and a very smart one, a great part of my childhood and of my life. He was a fan of the blog, too.
OPEN THREAD: Discuss the news of the day, if any.
TWO OF US RIDING NOWHERE, SPENDING SOMEONE’S HARD EARNED PAY. TWO OF US SUNDAY DRIVING, NOT ARRIVING: Marianne Williamson endorses Sanders at Texas rally.
AT AMAZON, LED Lanterns, Batteries Included, Set of 2.
TONY KATZ: Chris Matthews Didn’t Compare Bernie To A Nazi, But Indecent Leftists Do It All The Time. That’s different because shut up.
MUSSOLINI MADE THE TRAINS RUNS ON TIME, BERNIE SANDERS EDITION: It’s not surprising that Bernie still sympathizes with Communist Cuba, but it is remarkable that he doesn’t seem to either recognize or care that this sort of thing is politically deadly, especially in Florida.
ROGER KIMBALL: Media Serves Up Comedy in Effort to Get Trump.
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: Venice Cancels All Public Events Including Carnival As Coronavirus Spooks Europe.
Austria stops train from Italy due to coronavirus suspects – report.
Northern Italy shutting down as coronavirus cases surge; three dead.
Spread of coronavirus triggers European travel curbs.
Iran says 43 infected with coronavirus, eight dead – official.
Moscow targets Chinese with raids amid virus fears.
Impact of the Coronavirus Ripples Across Asia: ‘It Has Been Quiet, Like a Cemetery.’
Pandemic Seems Likely as Coronavirus Outbreaks Worsen in Several Countries.
Feds backtrack on transfer of quarantined coronavirus patients to Alabama.
Coronavirus is China’s fastest-spreading health crisis, Xi Jinping says.
What happens if the coronavirus can’t be contained?
Central bankers will look at options for responding to coronavirus – Mnuchin.
Emerging Market Review: Spread of Coronavirus Beyond China Saps Risk Appetite.
Coronavirus Hits the Global Supply Chain.
Coronavirus could start to empty shelves in some U.S. stores by mid-April.
P&G Says 17,600 Products Could Be Affected By Coronavirus In China, Highlighting Supply Chain Risk.
Coronavirus outbreak could cause shortages of 150 drugs.
Coronavirus crisis shows pharmaceuticals have offshored supply chain, Navarro says.
Shipping lines, ports count cost as coronavirus hits supply chains.
Coronavirus to test supply chain analytics, business demand visibility.
Flashback: Coronavirus outbreak fuels concerns about pharma’s global supply chain.
MAYBE THE DEMOCRATS SHOULD WORRY LESS ABOUT THE POLITICS, AND MORE THAT THEY ARE ABOUT TO NOMINATE SOMEONE WHO IS EITHER THIS STUPID OR THIS EVIL FOR PRESIDENT:
NEWS YOU CAN USE: Antidepressants Can Cause Intense Withdrawal-Like Symptoms That Can Trigger Dependence. “With extended use, [antidepressants] can be notoriously difficult to quit because they can produce a state of physical dependence.”
K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: Maryland High School History Lesson Compares Trump With Nazis, Communists.
WILL REPUBLICANS BE POUNCING* OR SEIZING? Will Bernie Sanders’ long-ago praise of Socialist regimes hurt Democrats in November? If Sanders is the nominee, some Democrats worry Trump will hammer him on his long-buried words in defense of governments in Nicaragua, Cuba and the USSR.
Well, we know why those words were “long buried:”
Similarly, note that for NBC, “The issue is not Bernie’s support for dictatorships. The issue is Republicans pointing out Bernie’s support for dictatorships,” Natalie Johnson, Senate press secretary tweets.
Think of the media as Democratic Party operatives with bylines, and it all makes sense:
* For what it’s worth, the Grauniad believes it will be pouncing: Donald Trump pounces on reports Russia is seeking to help Bernie Sanders.
DISPATCHES FROM THE JUNIOR ANTI-SEX LEAGUE: Fingerprinting California porn actors would set a bad precedent.