Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Monday, April 19. 2021

Monday morning links


Left Coast Preparing For First Emergency Water Shortage Declaration…


Too much desert with too many people relying on the Colorado River. Only real solution is massive desalinization systems. 


 Conservative Women Are the Happiest People in America


Glass half full, or glass half empty? Gratitude, or bad attitude?


 Education Insanity: Top 10 Stories Of The Week


Ron DeSantis Delivers a Message to Vaccinated Americans, Hysteria Follows


 The Search to Explain Our Anxiety and Depression: Will ‘Long COVID’ Become the Next Gender Ideology?


"Our?" 


Remote Learning Prompts Cheating Scandal at West Point


 You Will Not Believe the INSANE Proposals Austin Is Considering for 'Reimagining' Public Safety


 The never-ending story: Rioting and arson in Portland


 State Budget Time In New York And Florida


Dominion Advisor Met With John Podesta Offering ‘Anything’ That Would Help Defeat Trump, According to Email Released by WikiLeaks


Joe Biden Now Describes Migrant Rush on the Border as a ‘Crisis’


Biden explains:





 We’re going to increase the number [of refugees]. The problem was that the refugee part was working on the crisis that ended up on the border with young people. We couldn’t do two things at once. But now we are going to increase the number.



Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 07:00 | Comments (31) | Trackbacks (0)

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Joe Biden off-handedly referred to a "crisis" at the border in a random remark - I fully expect that statement to be walked back at the next press conference, they're still in full denial that there's anything going on at the border.
#1 Jerryskids on 2021-04-19 09:10 (Reply)
"Totally unforseen", "completely unanticipated levels of refugees", "no way to avoid this crisis thanks to Trump's insistence on a wall instead of concentrating on other methods of handling refugees" and the like...
#1.1 Jlawson on 2021-04-19 09:53 (Reply)
Told you so.
#1.1.1 Jerryskids on 2021-04-19 14:58 (Reply)
It's shaping up to be a pretty bad drought year in the heartland, all the way down into South Texas. That means, both watershed sides of the Continental Divide will be struggling with the available runoff.

The left coast has continued to grow in population, and their taxing of the water resources is much closer to the margins. Plus, California has failed to invest in infrastructure such as new reservoirs, for decades now; so in surplus years, the surplus runs into the sea.

With acute shortages this year, watch for the themes on 'Climate Emergency' to start including population control.
#2 Aggie on 2021-04-19 09:41 (Reply)
It hasn't helped that they destroyed a number of dams and reservoirs in order to promote 'natural flow' of the rivers.

But hey, throw away your water and don't be surprised if you run short later.
#2.1 Jlawson on 2021-04-19 09:51 (Reply)
Yea, more recent arrivals are going to be shocked at how water rights work during a (possibly multi-year) drought.

Assuming, of course, that left coast governments respect those rights...Colorado, surprisingly, accepted the "I'm just collecting the rain that fell on my property" argument from Denver residents.
#2.2 OldCurmudgeon on 2021-04-19 11:42 (Reply)
"Too much desert with too many people relying on the Colorado River. Only real solution is massive desalinization systems. "

Nah, just send a few million far left migrants to conservative states...
And leave the rest to reap the rewards of "green policies" and die from starvation, disease, and dehydration.
#3 JTW on 2021-04-19 10:02 (Reply)
Stanford study quietly published at NIH.gov proves face masks are absolutely worthless against Covid



https://americanconservativemovement.com/2021/04/17/stanford-study-quietly-published-at-nih-gov-proves-face-masks-are-absolutely-worthless-against-covid/
#4 Jake on 2021-04-19 10:05 (Reply)
What The CDC's VAERS Database Reveals About "Adverse" Post-Vaccine Reactions

https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/what-cdcs-vaers-database-reveals-about-adverse-post-vaccine-reactions
#4.1 feeblemind on 2021-04-19 10:35 (Reply)
Here is another one on the efficacy (or not, mostly not) of the mask from National Center for Biotechnology Information.

And note this:
QUOTE:
Although infection fatality rate (number of death cases divided by number of reported cases) initially seems quite high 0.029 (2.9%) [4], this overestimation related to limited number of COVID-19 tests performed which biases towards higher rates. Given the fact that asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic cases is several times higher than the number of reported cases, the case fatality rate is considerably less than 1% [5]. This was confirmed by the head of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from US stating, “the overall clinical consequences of COVID-19 are similar to those of severe seasonal influenza” [5], having a case fatality rate of approximately 0.1%
#4.2 B. Hammer on 2021-04-19 12:28 (Reply)
My bad. Your link goes directly to what I linked. I saw Stanford, but I was reading right from the NCBI, which I read over the weekend.
#4.3 B. Hammer on 2021-04-19 12:43 (Reply)
Re: Left Coast Preparing For First Emergency Water Shortage Declaration…

QUOTE:
Too much desert with too many people relying on the Colorado River. Only real solution is massive desalinization systems.


The Democrats in California are working hard on a solution to this. By making the state into a hell-hole, people are leaving in droves. Their goal is apparently to make it such a crappy place to live that eventually they could be self-sufficient in water and would no longer need water from the Colorado.
#5 mudbug on 2021-04-19 10:22 (Reply)
The Road from Rome

Had its empire not unravelled, or had it been replaced by a similarly overpowering successor, the world wouldn’t have become modern.

The author makes an interesting argument for his supposition, but what really struck me were all the wokeisms sprinkled through the piece.

For example:
QUOTE:
Roman power had fostered immense inequality: its collapse brought down the plutocratic ruling class, releasing the labouring masses from oppressive exploitation.


Is this the style in which articles about history will be written from now on?

https://aeon.co/essays/how-the-fall-of-the-roman-empire-paved-the-road-to-modernity
#6 feeblemind on 2021-04-19 11:10 (Reply)
They used to be slaves. Then they became serfs.
#6.1 Jim on 2021-04-19 15:22 (Reply)
Somebody should tell them there's a WHOLE PACIFIC OCEAN just offshore...

Education Insanity: Top 10 Stories Of The Week (Vol. 11): I'm so glad I went to college yearrrrrrrrrrrrrrs ago, when sanity was going around...

Ron DeSantis Delivers a Message to Vaccinated Americans, Hysteria Follows: Well, what else would you expect from the Lefties?

You Will Not Believe the INSANE Proposals Austin Is Considering for 'Reimagining' Public Safety: It's AUSTIN! I'd believe anything there, except for sane actions.

The never-ending story: Rioting and arson in Portland: Insanity IS Portland.

Dominion Advisor Met With John Podesta
Offering ‘Anything’ That Would Help Defeat
Trump, According to Email Released by
WikiLeaks: Is anyone (ANYONE) surprised????? Anyone?? Buehller???
#7 Sam L. on 2021-04-19 11:30 (Reply)
re Left Coast Preparing For First Emergency Water Shortage Declaration…

Too much desert with too many people relying on the Colorado River. Only real solution is massive desalinization systems.

from the article:
QUOTE:
Arizona, Nevada and Mexico have voluntarily given up water under a drought contingency plan for the river signed in 2019. A shortage declaration would subject the two U.S. states to their first mandatory reductions. Both rely on the Colorado River more than any other water source, and Arizona stands to lose roughly one-third of its supply.


I don't think desalinization is going to work for Arizona or New Mexico.

QUOTE:
Colorado River water is used primarily for agricultural irrigation and municipal and industrial (M&I) purposes. The river’s flow and stored water also are important for power production, fish and wildlife, and recreation, among other uses. A majority (70%)of basin water supplies are used to irrigate 5.5 million acres of land;

https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R45546

I think if it is as bad as this there will be a lot of irrigated farms turning back into desert. There looks to be plenty of water for people if the irrigation is dialed back.
#8 feeblemind on 2021-04-19 11:36 (Reply)
Desalinization would work fine in Arizona and New Mexico. All they need is a large pipe along I8 to run salt water from the Pacific. Not that that would ever happen but...
#8.1 John Fisher on 2021-04-19 12:35 (Reply)
I think this approach might be problematic - With de-sal plants, once the fresh water is harvested from the seawater supply, a more concentrated brine is the left-over by-product. Normally it's just returned to the ocean with no long-term effect.
#8.1.1 Aggie on 2021-04-19 12:44 (Reply)
There is already a large pipe from Lake Havasu to Lake Mathews.
#8.1.2 B. Hammer on 2021-04-19 12:50 (Reply)
A pipeline carrying water from the ocean does work in theory, however, and I suspect Aggie knows this better than I, pumping water uphill gets very expensive very quickly. IOW moving water from the ocean to the interior of the continent is the equivalent of pumping out of a very deep well.

And then there is the cost of the pipeline and the acquisition of right of way problems.
#8.1.3 feeblemind on 2021-04-19 14:00 (Reply)
Suspect it could be done if the will was there (thinking of the NYC Aquaduct system), my only point was that it would be considerably less complicated to conduct de-sal on the coastline and pump finished product inland.

Do we still call such things 'infrastructure' or is that just day-care now?
#8.1.3.1 Aggie on 2021-04-19 17:41 (Reply)
>A majority (70%)of basin water supplies are used to irrigate 5.5 million acres of land;

In fairness, that's better than irrigating some urban/suburban landscaping

Prediction: left coast governments will change the laws to divert water to those urban/suburban uses.
#8.2 OldCurmudgeon on 2021-04-19 20:23 (Reply)
And south of the US border, Mexico relies on the Colorado River whose waters are sent all the way to Tijuana, and who knows where else.
#9 LP on 2021-04-19 12:35 (Reply)
I have a feeling that there are going to be a lot of people who will be secretly disappointed if large numbers of vaccinated people don't die from getting vaccinated.
#10 RebeccaH on 2021-04-19 13:48 (Reply)
They're whooping it up now that one of the 7 million J&J vaccinations caused a death.
#10.1 Sal D. on 2021-04-19 17:39 (Reply)
"Only real solution is massive desalinization systems."

-----------------------------------------------------------
De-sal water is very expensive. Takes a lot of electricity to produce, although it may become more feasible with large scale solar farms. As someone else has mentioned, it is also expensive because you have to pump it uphill to where it can be used. Again, takes a lot of electricity. The Israelis are the experts, but it doesn't pencil out in a lot of places where there is a freshwater need.
#11 Jim on 2021-04-19 15:30 (Reply)
"But sir! It was that Remote Learning thingy that made me cheat. It has nothing to do with the fact that I was appointed by a Congressman bankrolled by my Dad. Who knows I'm an OK jock but hopeless in class."

The military should keep track of who recommends cheaters to the service academies, and do a "three strikes, you're out" for these payola dealers. Oh, and bounce the cheaters, too.

My service experience with academy grads is black and white; they're either top notch or hopeless dimwits, with not much in between.
#12 Mike Anderson (Link) on 2021-04-19 15:34 (Reply)
re: Western water crisis. Nothing new here. Read Cadillac Desert for the original response to the western water shortage. Powell expedition identified the problem-it's a desert-early on and he was ignored.
#13 rocdoctom on 2021-04-19 17:14 (Reply)
Off topic (somewhat). I copied this from "The National Pulse".

Dean Alfange, a progressive and labor activist, wrote the following 163 words as first published in Reader’s Digest in 1952:

“I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon. I seek to develop whatever talents God gave me—not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me. I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any earthly master nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say – ‘This, with God’s help, I have done.’ All this is what it means to be an American.”

Alfange died at 91 in Manhattan, New York.

Use/abuse as you see fit.
#14 Stargazer on 2021-04-19 19:42 (Reply)
Re: West Coast Water Shortage

First, read this quote: "Water levels in the two lakes are expected to plummet low enough for the agency to declare an official shortage for the first time, threatening the supply of Colorado River water that growing cities and farms rely on."
The author has placed [farms] and [cities] in the same category. And he has also made the assumption that cities should continue to grow. But both of those statements are wrong. First, if you want to see the most corrupt government in the world, look at California. There are dozens of illegal arrangements by which huge factory farms are allowed to drain California's water table for free; that's trillions of gallons of water, to grow highly profitable crops. You can thank Nancy Pelosi's family for that. They control the entire California water supply. And they make deals with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation so that Washington can finance pointless multi-billion dollar "water improvement" projects, which are a giant payment to the Unions. Those guys vote. So the destruction of the Colorado river is actually planned and approved in Washington. They don't care about nature, they just want more money.

And the argument that cities should continue to grow is ludicrous. Real estate prices are sky high, the highways are packed with traffic, and the economy is so bad that eventually everyone will be on some form of assistance. If anything, the foreigners need to be sent home, so that cities can shrink, and become safe places again. Africans and Hispanics and Asians do not contribute to a healthy community. But the left wants to bring-in another hundred million people, and those immigrants have to live somewhere. Why not California?

So here's the truth: The dams need to come-down, the factory farms need to close-down, the Bureau of Reclamation needs to shut-down. Nature, and the water, and the rivers, and the Salmon, are what really matter. But the Mafia in Washington D.C. doesn't want to hear that. After all, it's about the money.
https://psmag.com/news/as-californians-fight-over-fresh-water-the-san-francisco-bay-barely-survives#

The Southern Nevada Water Authority is not allowed to talk about farmers.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9459301/Las-Vegas-pushes-ban-ornamental-grass.html

The San Francisco Water Company isn't allowed to talk about farmers, either.
[url]https://sfwater.org/index.aspx?page=1136[/utl]
#15 Ron Liebermann on 2021-04-19 22:42 (Reply)
"Conservative women are the happiest people in America" - reminds me of the survey done by Redbook in the 70s which found "higher levels of sexual satisfaction among women who attend religious services." (quote from a comment about the Redbook survey). As I recall, Redbook attempted to explain this away by saying religious women had thrown off some of their supposed inhibitions. Which made no sense, as presumably the less satisfied had thrown off a lot more of those "inhibitions" but were les satisfied.
#16 Frances on 2021-04-19 23:33 (Reply)

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