Biden proposes $2 trillion spending plan and tax hikes.

 

Joe Biden. White House photo.

Joe Biden has proposed a $2 trillion spending plan and will ask for tax hikes. Fox Business. The plan will spend money on roads, bridges, getting rid of lead pipes and expanding broadband internet. In order to pay for this massive spending Biden has proposed raising the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21% and ensure that multinational companies were taxed at 21%. He would also try to remove loopholes in taxes. 

My Comment:

Correct me if I am wrong but I am pretty sure we are in an economic crisis and just spent trillions and Coronavirus relief. I don't think our government can continue to waste money like this. Raising taxes seems like a terrible idea as well and one that could collapse the economy. 

I do agree that our nations infrastructure is in need of repair. But I think that should be the responsibility of state governments, not the federal government. Generally speaking when the federal government spends on infrastructure the states stop spending so there is very little benefit in doing so. 

The tax hike is the biggest problem though. Raising the corporate tax rate means that those costs will be passed onto consumers, which means people will have less money to spend. It could also drive some marginal businesses out of business. I do appreciate that Biden at least is pretending like America is going to pay for this bill, unlike we did for the Covid bills, but it's going to have major repercussions. 

I'm afraid one of those consequences is stagflation. That's when the economy is stagnant at the same time inflation is a problem. The inflation will be due to the Covid relief bills and I have already noticed prices going up. It's happening and I think the worst thing we can do is add on top of that a major economic damage caused by the tax relief. 

And I don't think this will actually provide all that many jobs. Like I said, most of these construction jobs will likely be ones that would exist already due to state spending. Whatever jobs that are created by the bill would be drowned out by job loss due to higher corporate tax rates. 

Will the bill actually pass though? Almost certainly not. I doubt they Democrats will get the 10 votes they need in the Senate to pass this. No Republicans will vote for a tax hike and I think it's possible that a couple of Democrats would defect as well. It will pass in the house but it will never make it past that point. 

But I think the bill will have consequences for the 2022 election. I think a lot of people will remember that Joe Biden and the Democrats tried to raise taxes during an economic crisis for spending on non-critical issues. Given how unpopular Pete Buttigieg's mileage proposal was(and how quickly he walked it back) I think there is zero apatite for any kind of tax hikes right now. 

ISIS claims they have taken the city of Palma in Mozambique, causing a refugee crisis.

 

The Sea Star 1 was one of the ships used to evacuate refugees. CBS/AFP/Getty.

ISIS claims that they have taken the city of Palma in Mozambique leading to a major refugee crisis in the region. CBS News. Between 6000 and 10000 people have been safely evacuated from the city as ISIS fighters conducted a major raid in the gas producing region. Dozens of people were killed and more are missing. Palma is near a major French gas project worth billions of dollars and it is feared that ISIS could disrupt the project. Over 700,000 people have been displaced by the insurgency. Attacks have increased recently due to the end of the rainy season.

My Comment:

Remember under President Trump where ISIS was a bad memory? Well those days appear to be done. This major attack in Mozambique comes after a major terror attack in Indonesia yesterday. It's clear that ISIS is making a small comeback and it is not good news.

Even worse it seems like ISIS is now able to take and hold territory again. If the ISIS claims that they have taken Palma are true that means they are back to being an actual power again. ISIS hasn't really held territory for some time now but if they control portions of Mozambique then they are back to being a major threat.

It also seems that ISIS could be making major inroads into threatening France's gas project. Remember, ISIS was able to become a mini-state because they took over Syria's oil production (and farms and cities). If they manage to take the gas project they will have millions of dollars to fund their insurgency. 

Can ISIS take the gas project? I don't know. ISIS never should have ever been able to Mosul in Iraq either but then the Iraqi Army broke and collapsed. Something similar could happen in Mozambique if nothing is done. On the other hand the gas project is well defended and any attack there would likely draw an international intervention. 

The refugee crisis is a serious problem as well. I think Mozambique will probably have a hard time dealing with thousands of refugees and may not get much help either. Remember, the world is still dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic and food shortage, there might not be funds to spread around. 

Bombing targeting church in Indonesia leaves 20 people injured.

 

A police officer stands guard near the site of the bombing. USA Today/AP.

A bombing targeting a church in Indonesia leaves 20 people injured. USA Today. The Palm Sunday attack was carried out by two suicide bombers who had attempted to enter the church. The bombers, one male and one female, were on motorcycle and were confronted by guards before they blew themselves up, hurting guards and worshipers. Authorities believe that Jemaah Anshorut Daulah, an ISIS affiliate, is responsible for the attack. The group was also responsible for another bombing in 2018. 

My Comment:

Another major terror attack targeting Christians during Holy Week. This one failed but it had the potential to kill quite a few people. It is very fortunate that the guards were on point and stopped these bombers from entering the church as they probably could have killed dozens. 

Of course it's pretty sad that guards are needed at churches in Indonesia in the first place. But ISIS and other terror groups have long targeted churches. Part of it is because of religion. Radical Muslims are supposed to accept Christians as long as they accept an inferior position, but in practice groups like ISIS commit genocide against Christians regularly. 

It's also no coincidence that this attack occurred on Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the Holy Week, which is one of the most important holidays in the Christian Church. It's a sign of total disrespect to attack during this week. And it also means that the church was crowded.

The other factor is that churches make very good targets for terrorism. People are crowded together in a small enclosed area. This means that more damage than usual can be done by a suicide bombing like this. We have seen bombings like this that have left dozens dead. 

Despite recent attacks I am not sure that ISIS is really back. The Indonesian group is not a major group and is not a threat outside of Indonesia. There was the King Soopers attack but I don't know if ISIS has taken credit for that one yet. Compared to the middle of last decade ISIS is a spent force. But that doesn't mean that they aren't capable of attacks.

As for the the guards, I have to say they did really well here. It reminds me of the Paris attacks where security guards prevented an attempt to blow up a soccer stadium and assassinate French President François Hollande. These security guards paid a price since they were injured but I think they saved quit a few lives. 

Biden administration proposes vehicle mileage tax...

 

Transportation secretary Pete Buttigeig. Reuters.

Biden administration Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigeig has proposed a vehicle mileage tax to pay for a $3 to $4 trillion infrastructure plan. MSNBC. The tax would pay for the infrastructure plan that would build roads and bridges. The tax would differ from gas taxes which are paid at the pump. Instead drivers would be charged based on how many miles they drive. However, the tax has not been finalized and other options are being considered. 

My Comment:

I can't think of a more regressive tax then a mileage tax. This would be a huge burden on the lower working classes and a major boon to the rich and powerful. Poor people are dependent on their cars and will not be able to drive less to avoid the tax. It would be extremely expensive for the average person, especially as gas prices raise naturally due to a lack of new drilling in the United States and further instability in the Middle East and Venezuela. 

For the upper working classes this tax would not affect them at all. Many of them now work from home, a trend that will continue in the future. Plus they would be more easily able to afford any tax rates. And even those that do drive will be able to afford the new electric cars that would be immune to this tax. 

It would be the upper classes that would benefit the most from Biden's trillion dollar infrastructure plan. Some lower class people would get new jobs but I doubt seriously that most of that money would go anywhere near poorer people. It would go to the upper classes and the wealthy. And it would be funding nonsense like green energy and racial justice, which obviously have nothing to do with infrastructure.

I do think that America's infrastructure does need some investment but this is not the time to do it. We have gone through a massive economic crisis and we just don't have the money to spend. The economic contraction and the trillions spent on Coronavirus relief did not come cheap and I can't imagine spending more on top that. 

But will any of this come to pass? I do think the mileage tax is probably dead. Nobody likes this idea except for out of touch wierdos like Pete Buttigieg and actually trying to implment it would probably cost the Democrats the 2022 midterms and it wouldn't even be close. It's enough to ensure that nobody in the suburbs would vote for Democrats. 

And the infrastructure bill? I think it's probably dead as well. I don't think the Democrats have the 50 votes in the Senate they would need without the filibuster or the 60 they need without it. I also think that generally a party that is in control of both houses of Congress and the Presidency only have time for one signature bill. In the Obama term it was Obamacare and in Trump's it was the tax cut. I think for Biden it was the Coronavirus relief bill and that's probably all they are going to accomplish.

Still, this idea has to be one of the worst ones I have seen in awhile. It is such a slap in the face for the lower classes. One of the only real advantages the poor in the United States have is that travel and gasoline is cheap and this tax would take that away. And it would be at a time when the average household cannot afford higher taxes at all. It's just a terrible idea. 

Georgia finally passes election security bill...

 

Georgia representatives talk while the Senate debates the bill. AJC.

Georgia finally has passed an election security bill after questionable results in the 2020 presidential and senatorial elections. Atlanta Journal Constitution. Governor Kemp signed the bill into law almost immediately after the bill passed. The bill would ensure that absentee ballots will be confirmed by driver's license instead of by signature. It would also restrict absentee ballot drop off locations and times and shorten the times between runoff elections. State officials will also be able to take over control of elections from local governments if they suspect fraud. Democrats were furious to the point where one was arrested for trying to disrupt the Governor's statement on the bills. 

My Comment:

Why in God's name did it take so long for this to happen? This could have been done before the 2020 election and even if that failed it could have been used before the runoff elections that gave the Senate to the Democrats. There is no excuse for the Republicans in Georgia for not getting this done before now. 

It makes me think that they wanted the Democrats to win in 2020. After all it was mostly national elections up for grabs in 2020 and not the governor's race. The next election is for the governor's race and I guess that actually matters to them. Though I agree that action must be taken to prevent Stacy Abrahams from coming anywhere near power the same thing could be same for the White House and Senate. 

The Democrats are predictably furious, claiming that this bill is racist. They would do so regardless but it's not. Almost everyone can get an ID in Georgia and even assuming they can't there are still other options. If people are unable to do that then they probably aren't capable of voting in the first place.

Getting rid of signature verification is also very bad for Democrats as using license numbers instead pretty much destroys any chance at voter fraud. A signature can easily be faked for people who aren't actually voting but it's a lot harder to fake a driver's licence number. 

Being able to take back control over the elections from corrupt city districts is another huge victory and one that should help keep the election honest and safe. It was very clear during the 2020 election fiasco that local officials were not being honest in what they were doing. If they weren't in control Donald Trump would be President right now and the Republicans would probably have the Senate and House as well. 

The Democrats claim that these election security measures are racist. To that I say this. It's incredibly racist to assume that black people can't do simple things like vote on voting days, get a driver's license or understand voting laws. Protecting elections is a lot more important than protecting the sensitive feelings of the Democrats, who aren't acting in good faith regardless. 

What is needed is more reform in other states. Other states are taking action to correct the mistakes of 2020 and we need more of that. The problem is that these actions are only happening in red states, with blue states going even further in making voting insecure. And at the federal level things are even worse, with the Democrats pushing HR-1, a bill that would essentially make elections pointless as Democrats would never lose a national election again. 

Senator Marco Rubio is concerned about UFO's seen around our military instillations.

 

Senator Marco Rubio shared concerns about UFO's seen around American military bases. TMZ. The government will have to release all their classified information on UFOs in a couple of months. Rubio claimed that there are UFOs flying around our military bases that have not been identified. He also seemed concerned that the UFOs could be from foreign governments, though he also quipped that if the UFO's are aliens they must be much more advanced then us. 

My Comment:

I wanted to write a less serious post after this weeks events and I thought this was a good one. I don't usually use TMZ as a source but the article is pretty much them restating the questions and answers they got from Senator Rubio so it's not the end of the world to use them. 

This issue isn't a joke though, it is a serious problem. Regardless of the source of this phenomenon, it's a real threat to have unknown objects flying over our military base. It could be anything and if a war happens it could end up losing us the war. 

The most likely explanation is of course a secular one. These objects are probably some kind of earth-borne technology. These are likely government funded drones with technology beyond what is publicly known.  

It's a real concern if these objects are operated by a foreign government. These UFO's seem to have technology far beyond what we have here in the US and if they are a foreign government we are in serious trouble. That means Russia or China has a huge technological advantage over us and can surveil our military bases at will. 

It's also possible that these UFO's are US technology and it's a major case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. Indeed, it may have been tests of our own technology picked up by our military forces. If those programs are classified it is not surprising that our government wouldn't tell our military what was going on. 

Another possibility is that these are simply natural phenomenon with some kind of unknown explanation or even cases of software glitches or mistaken identity. Given what has been released already I think that seems unlikely. The video and witness we have had talking about the tic-tac UFO's encountered by the US Navy seem credible and I don't see how so many systems could confirm these objects and be wrong at the same time. And I have no idea what kind of natural phenomenon could cause these sightings. Swamp gas maybe?

The least likely but most dangerous and paradigm shifting would be an alien intelligence. If these are aliens and they have any hostile intent we are pretty much screwed. With the level of technology they would have it would be trivial for them to either take over or utterly destroy us. If their intent was peaceful then perhaps we could have diplomatic relations but that's putting the cart before the horse. Either way it would forever change the world and the human species to find out we are not alone. 

  

Suspect in Boulder shooting has been identified...

 

Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa. Daily Camera/Police Handout.

The suspect in the Boulder shooting that left 10 people dead including a cop has been identified as Ahmad al-Aliwi Alissa. Daily Camera. Alissa allegedly opened fire at people at a King Soopers grocery store. Police engaged him with Alissa killing one of the officers before being injured and captured. He has been charged with 10 counts of murder and one count of attempted murder and if convicted would face life in prison. No motive has been released for the attack.

Heavy has more information on the suspect. Alissa was described as paranoid and very defensive of his Muslim faith. He was also convicted for assault for attacking a class mate in high school, but it was only a misdemeanor. He was also an immigrant from Syria and regularly posted anti-Trump posts on Facebook. 

My Comment:

I wasn't going to comment on this case as I do believe that coverage of mass shootings encourages them. Indeed, I think the coverage of the Atlanta shootings may have inspired these attacks. Though I have heard rumors that Alissa was planning previous attacks, I haven't been able to confirm these. With no motive being released we can only speculate. 

But I do think that the coverage of this case was newsworthy itself, not only for the shameful way the media handled this case but for the obvious possible impact on our gun rights this case may have. In a perfect world cases like this would remain local stories without long term coverage but that is not the world we live in. 

The reaction to this case was extremely racists. There were a lot of journalists and other blue check marks on Twitter that were blaming this attack on white people. Middle Eastern Muslims are not central examples of white people. People were saying that white people were a major threat and that Alissa was captured instead of killed (even though he was shot) because he was "white".

That narrative lasted for about a day. When it was found out that Alissa was a Syrian refugee a lot of tweets got deleted and people had to eat crow. Some doubled down of course but it's clear in all cases that a lot of people used this attack to express their obvious racism. 

Though the motive has not been released it's clear that this wasn't a right wing terror attack. Alissa was a Muslim and apparently a fairly extreme one. And he was an anti-Trump activist as well and blamed racism for all of his problems. He is not a right winger at all and though the motive hasn't been released it's probably either Islamic or Woke in nature. 

Immigration is an issue here as well. There is pretty much no reason for Alissa to be in this country in the first place. He and his family came here in the late 90's from Syria at a time when Syria was not the hellhole it is now thanks to Obama's Arab Spring. Had we had a better immigration system this attack never would have occurred. 

The biggest threat of this attack is gun control legislation. A couple of bills have passed congress and will be considered in the Senate concerning background checks and now there are efforts to ban "assault weapons" and standard capacity magazines. Joe Biden has also said that he might make an executive order on guns. 

The good news here is that those gun laws are unlikely to pass. Senator Joe Manchin has already said he will not support the background check bills. With those less serious bills DOA it would be insane to me if the Democrats somehow got the 60 votes they needed to pass a bill or even the 50 votes they need if the blew up the filibuster. 

Biden is a bit of a more serious problem. My fear is that he might issue an executive order reclassifying AR pistols since that is what Alissa used. I don't think that will happen as Biden is both senile and incompetent but it is the kind of thing that keeps me up at night. 

Long term though I think this incident will be forgotten quickly. It went against the narrative that the Democrats and media were trying to fabricate and the desire for gun control is mostly non-existent. After all, 2020 was the best argument against gun control in existence. Pushing new laws is a lose lose for the Democrats as if they win it's a civil war and even if they fail they will probably lose the house and senate in the 2022 midterms. Not only will the right be extremely motivated to punish the left for even attempting this b.s. the few leftists that actually support this garbage will be furious with them for failing. If they were smart they would memory hole this entire effort as soon as possible. 

What is the Biden administration trying to do with foreign policy?

 

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Asia Times/AFP.

The Biden Administration threatened sanctions against four different countries in the past 72 hours including Russia, China, India, and Germany raising questions as to what goals the Biden administration even has and who is in control of foreign policy. Asia Times. These actions make little sense as both India and Germany are US allies. The threatened sanctions against India is for their purchase of the S-400 anti-air system made by Russia, which may push India out of the alliance against China. Germany is about to finish a pipeline to ship natural gas from Russia but has been threatened by the Biden administration to end the project as well. The threats against allies comes after a disasterours meeting with China were US diplomats exchanged insults with Chinese diplomats in Anchorage Alaska and one of the most notable diplomatic insults in recent history where Joe Biden called Vladimir Putin of Russia a "killer".

My Comment:

Though the above source was an opinion piece it was one that I agree with entirely. I have no idea what the Biden administration is trying to accomplish here. If he was trying to isolate Russia, why piss off the Chinese, Indians and Germans? And if he was trying to isolate China he did a piss poor job of it.

Angering our allies is not going to help things. The Germans were already angry with us over making them pay their fair share in NATO under President Trump, but threatening to sanction them in a blackmail attempt to either prop up Ukraine or buy our own natural gas instead of Russians is not going to help things. At this point the Germans should finish the pipeline just on principle. 

India too is a head scratcher. They are probably our biggest ally against China due to their large military and huge border with China. They alone could probably prevent a war in the South China Sea as the Chinese wouldn't be able to protect their western flank. But we are pissing away that advantage because they are buying some crappy Russian missiles? Why should we care about that?

I already discussed the absolutely vile insult that Biden sent to Putin. Wars have been started for less than what Biden did here. Though it's undeniable that Putin is a killer, basically every world leader is, including Biden himself. Saying he has no soul is even worse and pissing him off makes zero sense. I know the neocons and neoliberals always want to go to war with Russia, even they have to admit that his is utter idiocy.

And that has nothing on how badly the United States bungled the Anchorage summit. All the US did was insult the Chinese and the Chinese responded in kind, pointing out that the actions were not of a country that was confident in their position. Absolutely nothing was accomplished and the world is laughing at us. 

The really sad thing is that Germany and India are not the only allies we pissed off under Biden. Canada too is furious with us for canceling the Keystone Pipeline, which was almost finished. That hurt their economy pretty badly, well at the same time screwing over thousands of US workers. 

Mexico and many Central American countries are furious as well. Biden's open border policy is causing major problems for Mexico and the other central American countries. They are having to deal with a major refugee crisis and are not getting any help from the Biden administration. This is a huge turnaround from the Trump days when we actually had a good relation with Mexico and had the immigration issue mostly solved. 

And the Middle East? Forget it. We have basically abandoned all of our Arab allies and Israel in favor of placating Iran. We are not allowing them to purchase weapons to defend themselves and we are on the verge of letting Iran get nuclear weapons. Again, we are reversing the real accomplishments that Trump made in making a major alliance against Iran and actually making peace deals between the Arabs and Israel.

I know some people are going to be saying "well what about Trump". And I agree, Trump insulted people as well. But unlike Biden he always had more going on than just insults. He would say dumb stuff on Twitter but then he was also working behind the scenes to actually make efforts at diplomacy. And it got some results as we avoided war with North Korea and Iran and actually gathered new allies in Asia and the Middle East. Biden is just making threats and insulting countries for no real reason.

All of this begs the question what on earth is the plan here? And I think the commentary is right, there is no plan. Biden is not a strong president and his various underlings are kind of doing whatever they hell they want because there isn't a coherent narrative to draw on. Biden himself is barely there anymore and it seems that his senility is growing worse. And I don't think Kamala Harris would be doing any better. The world senses weakness and we are going to pay the price. 

President Trump says he will return to social media with his own platform in two or three months.

 

President Donald Trump.

One of President Trump's advisors say he will return to social media with his own platform in two or three months. The Hill. Trump advisor Jason Miller made the comment on Fox News saying that the platform will "redefine the game" and draw "tens of millions" of users. President Trump has been banned from Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. So far none of these social networks have let President Trump back onto their networks. 

My Comment:

There have been rumors that President Trump was going to be doing this for awhile now and it looks like those rumors are true. With Twitter, Facebook and Youtube all banning President Trump in a massive overreaction to the counter coup on January 6th, President Trump has been essentially silenced for the past three months. 

This is, of course, completely unacceptable. The big social media companies interfered in the election and have prevented President Trump and his allies from getting their ideas a fair hearing. It's utterly disgusting and I would love to see all of these tech companies burn. 

Having a major social media network with the draw of President Trump is an excellent idea. It's going to succeed as basically everyone who supports President Trump and likes social media will make an account. I know when President Trump was banned from Twitter my account lost about a quarter of my followers and not all of them were banned. Many just deleted their accounts in protest. 

The biggest losers of this has to be the Twitter alternatives Parler and Gab. Both sites saw a massive boost in users after President Trump got banned from Twitter and I am guessing both of them wanted President Trump on their platforms. And though Trump has made a few posts on Gab it's clear that neither platform won him over. 

So why make his own site instead of using Gab or Parler? I think it's because both websites have had some major problems. Parler was easily taken down because they foolishly decided to work with Amazon. Gab has had issues with user security and have the problem of having a lot of actual scumbags using the site. Neither site is stable in the short or long term and having a network that Trump has full control over would be a better alternative. 

Of course the major problems that Gab and Parler had might plague President Trump's network as well. I can't imagine that Apple or Microsoft would allow an app on their platforms. And there would be a massive problem with banks, credit car companies and tech companies going out of their way to try and destroy President Trump and his platform. Not to mention the actions of individual actors who will make fake accounts, try to hack the platform or even try to post illegal content. 

But in the end I think that the platform will be successful. Despite the fact that I have way too many social media accounts already, I plan to make an account on the new platform as soon as it happens. Not only will it be a good place to promote my blog, it will be good to see President Trump again.  

Taking the Coronavirus vaccine/why I took the vaccine.

 

An Airman receives a Coronavirus vaccine. US Department of Defense. 

As you may know the Coronavirus vaccines are being administered across the United States. Millions of people have already gotten their vaccine and every day that number grows larger. This Friday I became one of those people to actually get the vaccine. 

Why was I able to get it? I work in the food production industry and am qualified to get it because I am considered a critical worker. I tend to think that was well earned. Though I never caught the virus probably around 500 people who worked with me did end up catching the virus (though as far as I know nobody died). 

As for the vaccine itself I got the Pfizer vaccine. The vaccine does have a major drawback in that I will have to go back for a 2nd dose. I was hoping for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine myself since it only requires one dose, but you don't get to choose the vaccine.

Though a lot of people made a big deal out of side effects I didn't really have any for my first dose. My arm was a bit sore yesterday but by today it was fine. It wasn't any worse than your average flu shot. Perhaps I shouldn't say that because my flu shot this year kicked my ass, but regardless as far as I can tell I had no side effects from the vaccine other then some muscle pain near the shot. 

So why did I take the vaccine? Well there were incentives at work. My company is going to pay me a small bonus for taking the vaccine. Not a huge amount but it's something. Plus I got paid overtime for getting the vaccine outside of work hours. Plus my company said they would cover any Coronavirus related illness if I took the vaccine. 

The other main reason I took the vaccine is simply I don't want to catch the virus. As far as I am aware I still haven't gotten the virus and I would like to avoid getting it. I hate being sick and don't want anything to do with respiratory illness. I'm not afraid of dying or even serious illness from Coronavirus at my age and health, I simply don't want to get the virus. It's the same reasoning I had for taking the flu shot this year, even if the threat is low, even a mild case of the flu is extremely annoying. 

I also did this in hope that it will mean a return to normalcy. I personally am sick and tired of masks, taking temperatures, and all the other forms of security theater that we have had to go through in the past year. If taking the vaccine can help this crap end a little bit sooner then so be it. 

Am I worried about long term effects? Slightly. The vaccine is new and there is always a chance of something bad happening. But it's a very slight concern for me, to the point where I didn't have any second thoughts of having the vaccine. 

At this point I think the pandemic is all but a moot point for me. After I get my 2nd dose I won't care about this anymore. Most of the people I care about who were in danger have already received their 2nd dose of vaccine. In a few months everyone will have access to the vaccine and anyone who gets it at that point won't be my problem. 

Two more states are on the verge of passing permitless carry for firearms, Iowa and Tennessee.

 

iStock. 

Two more states are close to passing permitless carry for firearms. Fox News. In Tennessee the state senate passed a bill that would allow people to conceal or open carry firearms as long as they are legally allowed to own one. The bill has passed the senate but has not yet passed the house, though it is out of committee there as well. In Iowa permitless carry passed the state house on partisan lines. It will now go to the senate. The law would allow people from Iowa to get permits for reciprocity purposes. 18 other US states have permitless carry in some form with the state of Utah being the most recent. 

My Comment:

As the Democrats are talking about gun control on a national level, it's clear on the state level that the momentum is going in the other direction. Many states now allow carrying of handguns without a permit and if these two bills pass, which I think they will, that means 20 states will have permitless carry. 

I would also like to add that there are states like my home state of Wisconsin where you need a permit for concealed carry but not for open carry. If my math is right half of states allow for permitless open carry, with there being more restrictions on concealed carry. 

What do I think? I never thought that the idea that permits for carrying were on solid constitutional grounds. After all, the 2nd Amendment allows for people to keep and bear arms and no permit should be required to exercise that right. 

I would also say that my states permit requirements are a major reason I why I don't carry a handgun regularly. Though Wisconsin is a shall issue state it does require classroom instruction. That is both inconvenient and annoying for someone like me who has a difficult work schedule, and even more so during a pandemic. It did create a cottage industry of people that teach the class but I would be more happy if those classes were not required and I could just carry. 

I do think there is value though in teaching people how to carry. Though the chaos that the left has always predicted from widespread CCW and open carry laws has never even come close to coming true, it is nice to have a good idea of when and how you can use force in your state. It's also good to know how to interact with cops. Even though I don't think that people should have to be permitted I do think that some instruction is probably good for people who don't have a lot of experience with firearms. 

As for gun laws in general it's crazy that the Democrats are even trying anymore. Gun ownership is up across the board and background checks are shattering records pretty much every month. There are millions of new gun owners who were taught in pretty explicit terms that you can't count on the government to protect you when a virus hits or the riots start, and some of those people were from demographics that vote for Democrats. These new attempts at gun laws will not be tolerated and they will likely fail. And at the same time our state laws are getting looser and looser. 

Russia recalls its ambassador after Joe Biden calls Vladimir Putin a "killer" and said he would face consequences.

 

Vladimir Putin. Reuters/Sputnik. 

Russia has recalled its ambassador after Joe Biden called Vladimir Putin a "killer" and claimed that he would face consequences for "interfering with the election". Reuters. Biden made his comments after an intelligence report claimed, without evidence, that Putin had helped President Trump in the 2020 election, which the Russians said was a baseless claim. The ambassador was recalled so he could be consulted with in an effort to prevent a total breakdown of relations between the United States and Russia. 

My Comment:

I had hoped that Biden would have been better than Russia than Hillary Clinton would have been but apparently not. This move is utterly baffling and one that will almost certainly have extreme consequences. I can't believe that Biden is this stupid. 

First of all, there is no evidence that Russia interfered with the 2020 elections. Even in the 2016 elections all they did was buy a few facebook ads, which was more about sewing chaos than helping one candidate over the other. The "report" that claimed this cited no evidence and absolved China's obvious attempts to get Biden into the White House. It was nonsense and obviously so. 

There is not doubt that Putin hates Hillary Clinton and the reason why is pretty obvious. Back in the day Hillary Clinton compared Putin to Hitler, a huge insult to a Russian. It seems like Biden has made the same mistake. This was a major diplomatic insult done for basically no reason. 

Some people are probably saying "but isn't Putin a killer because of X". To that I say, what world leader isn't a killer? Biden certainly is. He caused a ton of deaths in the Middle East while he was Vice President and has already launched strikes in Syria. Even President Trump, who was much more dove like in comparison, killed people. Biden is certainly no better than Putin here. 

I also have to say that it's just disgusting that Biden is focusing on Russia when China is the obvious threat. They allowed the Coronavirus to spread, they have committed economic warfare against the United States and they have corrupted many of our politicians, including Biden himself. Russia is just a paper tiger that is only a threat at all because they have nukes. 

In a sane world America would be cozying up to Putin and Russia as they would make natural allies against China. China is an aggressive actor and are as big of a threat to Russia as they are to us. It makes no sense to fight them. 

But it sure looks a conflict with Russia is possible now. Such a conflict will be devastating to everyone involved, other than China, which would love to see a nuclear exchange between Russia and the United States. Biden and his neo-liberal advisors want a war and it looks like they could get it after this diplomatic insult. 

The only good news is that I actually trust Putin a lot more than I do Biden. Putin knows that Biden is going to be dead or otherwise out of office before the end of his term. I don't think Kamala Harris will be any better but I do think that Russia thinks there will be another GOP president after 2024. I think he realizing that he can probably just wait this out.  

Eight people shot and killed in spree killing targeting Asian massage parlors in Atlanta.

 

Police at the scene of one of the shootings. Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Alyssa Pointer.

Eight people were killed one person was injured in series of shootings targeting three Asian massage parlors in Atlanta. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A suspect, 21 year old Robert Aaron Long, was arrested for the attacks. Surveillance footage showed Long at the three different sites. The victims were mostly Asian women with a white woman and white man also being killed while the one wounded person was a Hispanic male. No motive has been released for the crime. 

My Comment:

This shooting seems more than a little convenient for the left. They have been trying to push both gun control and the idea that racism against Asians is on the rise and coming from white males. Though I don't want to suggest anything I don't understand why such an attack would occur just when the left was making a big deal out of this. It could even be that the guy heard the media and decided that "hey this is a good idea, why not?" I remain convinced that media coverage, more than any other factor, is the reason why mass shootings happen. 

There could be a million and one reasons for this attack and I won't speculate too much other than listing the possible options. The least likely is racism as far as I am concerned. Very few people hate Asians and those that do tend to be inner city blacks. I honestly have never heard anyone be out and out racist against Asians and it's not like there weren't given opportunities. Such bigotry could certainly be possible but if it is the motive it would be fairly unprecedented.  

It's also possible that the guy had some grudge against women instead of Asians. That seems possible as the picture of the suspect doesn't look like someone who had much success in that area. Still, it doesn't make much sense why he would target Asian massage parlors. 

As far as political messages I have no idea. It's possible that these massage parlors were not legitimate (or the suspect assumed that they were not) and this was an attack on prostitution. It could be an anti-immigration thing but again, I don't think too many people are upset with Asian immigrants. I also don't think it was a Republican vs Democrat thing as the target doesn't make sense for that. 

Finally, it could just be a random attack. That seems pretty unlikely considered he targeted multiple locations, that usually doesn't happen in a random attack. This seems like it was planned. It might have been something as simple as a personal dispute with these massage parlors. We will likely find out soon enough, as I am assuming that this story will be a major one. 

The left will almost certainly exploit this tragedy to push their agenda, most notably gun control. The gun control issue should be dead nationally after the 2020 series of disaster and only a major shooting could give them any momentum at all. I still don't think anything major will pass but it could give them enough support to ban the private sale of firearms. 

It's also clear that the narrative that Asians are suffering from a massive wave of hate crimes committed by whites, which isn't supported by the crime statistics, is going to be supported by this attack. That narrative is so dishonest that I am surprised that the Democrats have been going with it. My guess is that this is an effort to shore up the Democratic coalition as Asian Americans have been wavering. Asians have been fairly furious about affirmative action, which actively discriminates against them. 

There has also been major tension between the Asian American and African American communities. This dates back as far as the Rodney King Riots and actually has shown up in the crime statistics. There have been several high profile attacks against Asian Americans committed by blacks but that is a very inconvenient fact for the left. 

Time will tell how this narrative will play out. Without further information about this attack it's unclear what the media spin will be. If the attacker was motivated by anti-Asian racism (which is certainly possible) expect it to be a huge story about racism. If he used an assault rifle expect a major gun control push. If he hated women expect a feminism push. And if he had some other motive and used non-AR weapons? Expect this story to disappear soon...

Report: Joe Biden considering first tax hike since 1993

 

Joe Biden's VP portrait. 

A new report says that Joe Biden is considering the first tax hike since 1993. The Hill. The report, that originated in Bloomberg, said that Biden was trying to keep his campaign promises. The hike would include increasing the corporate tax from 21% to 28%, increasing the income tax rate for people who make more than $400,000, expanding the estate tax, removing tax breaks for LLC's and setting up a higher capital gains tax on people making more than $1 million. The tax effort would raise $2.1 trillion over 10 years. It would also repeal parts of the 2017 Trump tax cuts. If passed the new higher taxes would likely come into effect in 2022. 

My Comment:

A quick comment on the source of this story, it was on Bloomberg, behind a paywall and relied on anonymous sources. That's three strikes for me so I think there is a chance that this story is not entirely true. I generally don't like stories that only rely on anonymous sources as they can not be questioned by other journalists to confirm or deny the story. I always feel that is an important disclaimer to add whenever I see a story like this. 

Do I think there is truth to it? I would not be surprised. America has spent a huge amount of money during the Coronavirus crisis and the question remains how it is going to be paid for. The solution so far has been to print money but that's a temporary solution at best, as it will lead to inflation or even hyperinflation at some point. 

Plus raising taxes has been a Democratic priority for awhile now. Despite being incredibly unpopular they believe that the rich and corporations do not pay enough in taxes. Passing a new tax law would be a campaign promise kept for the progressive left. 

Doing so will be incredibly unpopular. Even though the hike seems mostly targeted at the rich, they will effect everyone. I know that my company gave me a couple of raises due to the Trump tax cuts and though those raises won't go away they will not be joined by any new raises if they have to pay a lot more in taxes. 

The estate tax is especially offensive. The idea that people should be taxed right after their parents die is offensive to me in the first place but making people pay even more is utterly disgusting. And given that inheritance is a way to transfer wealth from the older generations to the younger ones it's just another example of how Millennials, Zoomers and Generation Alpha are getting utterly screwed by the American economy. 

I think the only thing that people might support is higher taxes for companies but even then when they see their paychecks or lose their jobs they won't be supportive for long. And since these tax hikes will take effect right before the 2022 midterms it's going to hurt the Democrats if this gets passed. 

But will it pass? I doubt it. I think there are enough Democrats who don't want to commit suicide politically that this won't pass. It's terrible strategy to raise taxes right before an election and I also think that the Democrats have too much on their plate right now to be effective. And I am guessing that the negative reaction this story is going to get is going to change their plans. Plus, it's insane to raise taxes when the economy is just starting to recover from the Coronavirus crisis. 

With all that said though, I do think something has to be done to raise funds to pay off some of the debt we have collected last year and this year. What would I do? Cut spending on nonsense, raise tariffs and pull out of our wars. Will that happen? Almost certainly not. I am guessing that the status quo will continue and that the result will be inflation...  

Editor's Note: Covid test results.

 As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I have felt ill since last Friday morning. Given the current pandemic I got my self tested for the Coronavirus. I got my results early this morning and they are negative! 

This is not too surprising as my symptoms more closely resembled a bad cold than anything Covid related (though you could argue that the Coronavirus causes a REALLY bad cold). Instead of lower respiratory symptoms like a dry cough and shortness of breath, I had upper respiratory symptoms, like a runny nose and stuffiness. Unfortunately in some cases Coronavirus does cause those symptoms so I had to get the test. 

I do have to say that it was a very bad cold as far as those things go. Unlike most colds this one knocked me on my ass and it kept me out of the game for awhile. I had to call into work which is not something I would usually do and I would have done so even had I known that my test results were negative. Not only was I sick, I was also exhausted, so a day off helped. 

Once again, I wonder if this is going to be a thing. This is the longest time I have gone without a respiratory infection and I don't think I have gotten a cold since late 2019. All the masking, sanitizing and handwashing probably worked against the cold virus but once those efforts failed it hit me like a brick. I wonder if all those precautions made my immune system weaker? I am guessing that a lot of other people are going to get severe colds this year and next years Influenza season is going to be a very bad one. 

Another thing I have to wonder is how I picked up the virus. I almost always wear a mask when I go out, not so much because I believe in them but more because I don't want to hassle some service employee just trying to bring home a paycheck. The only times I didn't wear a mask last week was when I was fishing or when I was eating at work. Of course cold viruses spread fairly easy even compared to this Coronavirus so it didn't need much of an opportunity. 

As for blogging I think things will return to normal now. I might even have another post up tonight. I have to say that I have been avoiding the news for the most part this weekend so I might have some catching up to do. Though I am still sick I am feeling a bit better and I shouldn't have that as an excuse to not post something. 

Editor's Note: Illness.

 Just an FYI, I came down with some kind of illness the last couple of days. Started on Friday morning with a runny nose and a cough and it has continued through the weekend. My stomach is also upset and I have had a few minor chills. I don't appear to have a fever though. Not sure if it is minor Corona or a very bad cold. Right now it feels somewhere between a cold and a flu.

I will find out soon though. I went to CVS this morning on got a test and I should have the results back by Sunday or Monday. The process was relatively painless as it was through the drive through and it probably took about 10 minutes. This is either my fourth or fifth coronavirus test but the first one where I actually felt ill. 

My guess is that this is just a bad cold and things will return to normal soon. But for now expect to see less posting than usual. Whatever this is, it's kicking my ass and I have not been up to actually posting all that much. If it is the cold and follows the trajectory I have had with the virus in the past I should be mostly better in a day or two. Who knows what will happen if it is Covid? 

I do wonder if a year of wearing facemasks, not going out and generally avoiding using my immune system is making this a lot worse. I usually don't have too many problems with colds but this one seems a lot worse then normal. Then again, I haven't been using my typical anti-cold medicine and instead am using generic Dayquil, which might just be garbage. 

As for blogging, it's going to depend on what I am up to. I know I have missed quite a few days in the past few months but it just can't be helped sometimes. I am relived that it was mostly a slow news weekend so far anyways. If something major happens I may have a post up but otherwise don't expect too much. 

Mexico will likely legalize marijuana.

 

Stock photo of marijuana. The Hill/Getty.

Mexico is poised to legalize recreational use of marijuana as a bill has passed in their lower legislative chamber. The Hill. In 2018 the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that the ban on marijuana was unconstitutional. The bill passed and will likely pass in Mexico's upper chamber as well. Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has also voiced his support for legalization. Supporters argue that the legalization will help control the violence from the Mexican Drug War and would be a new major tax base for the country. Opponents say that legalization is not going to help with violence as the cartels have switched to smuggling other drugs over marijuana. Mexico will join with Canada and Uruguay in legalizing marijuana. 

My Comment:

It seems as though marijuana legalization is inevitable at this point. America is the only country now in the North America where marijuana is illegal and even then many states have legalized medical and recreational use. Mexico is just the latest domino to fall and I think it's extremely likely that pot will be legalized in my lifetime. 

Is this a good move for Mexico? Possibly. I do think that legalizing pot will be a major tax boon for the state. A lot of people in Mexico smoke pot and that's potentially millions of dollars a year for Mexico as long as pot remains legal. Plus there will be a large number of legal jobs for Mexican citizens in the marijuana industry. 

Will it help with the cartel violence? Of course not. Legalizing pot won't stop the cartels as they will still smuggle pot into the United States. And even if it was legal, the cartels can probably undercut the government and businesses by providing cheaper pot than they can. If nothing else they would make profit on people who want to buy pot tax free. 

And it's not like pot is the only profit stream for the cartels. There are obviously other drugs, like cocaine, opiates and methamphetamine that they can smuggle into the United States. Indeed, I bet that those drugs are already the main source of income when it comes to drug smuggling for the cartels. And the cartels have many other sources of revenue like stealing oil/gas, corruption and even kidnapping. 

Indeed, I suspect that the cartels will be deeply involved in the legal cannabis industry pretty much soon as it is formed. I worry that they will threaten any business that tries to start a cannabis outfit if not take it over entirely. The cartels currently have a monopoly on pot production in Mexico and I doubt they will want to give that up.

As for America it seems very likely that legalization is coming. A lot of people are in favor of it and the people that opposed do not seem as passionate as they once were. Back when President Trump was in power I argued that he should have made legalizing pot a campaign issue and if he did I don't see how he could have lost even despite voter fraud. The Democrats may want to slow walk it so they can keep it as a campaign issue (which I am also shocked they didn't use in 2020) but I think it is coming. There is widespread support for it and there is a ton of money to be made. 

For me personally, I don't have any horse in the race. I have never smoked pot and even if it became legal I would have little interest in it. Being around smoke is not something I enjoy and it doesn't matter if it is tobacco or marijuana. Plus, I don't like how so many people who smoke it make it there whole life. The issue is moot for me. 

Congress approves $1.9 trillion Coronavirus stimulus package...

 

Joe Biden Vice Presidential photo.

Congress has approved a $1.9 trillion Coronavirus stimulus package, giving Joe Biden a major legislative win. Fox News. The vote barely passed with no Republicans voting for the package and one Democrat voting against it. The bill will send out another round of $1400 checks for singles and $2800 for married couples if they make less than $150,000. Families with children will get an additional $1400 per child. The bill also continues the $300 unemployment checks. Families with children will get a tax allowance that will provide $3600 a year for each child under 6 and $3000 for each child under the age of 17 but older than 6. Republicans did not support the bill due to a massive $350 billion give away to state and local governments. Progressives did support the bill despite the bill removing progressive priorities like a $15 minimum wage and lowering income requirements for the checks. 

My Comment:

I have mixed feelings on this bill. I do think that people needed help after the Coronavirus disaster. The money will help people that have been hurt economically by the virus and could stimulate the economy as people purchase products or pay down debt with this money. It will also help people who are unemployed.

But I have major problems with all the pork this bill has. I don't think state and local governments deserved one thin dime. Those states are a basket case and do not deserve government money. It seems very likely that this is just a wealth transfer from better run red states to pay for blue cities and states. This money will be completely wasted on garbage leftist priorities. 

More concerning is the fact that this massive increase in money will cause inflation. Putting massive amounts of money into the system will cause the dollar to be worth less, possibly erasing any economic gains. I know the previous bills did not cause inflation but I am not sure if that will be the case in the future. 

Despite my misgivings I will obviously be taking the money. I don't need the money at all, 2020 was very good for my finances, but I am not going to turn it down. My taxes paid for these payments so I might as well get some of my money back. And I am sure I can find something to spend this money on.

This probably counts as a victory for Joe Biden. Though congress passed the bill the president tends to get credit for major legislation like this. Given how senile Biden has become any victory for him is a needed one. 

I think this was a major defeat for the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. They didn't get much of what they wanted other than big paychecks for people. They failed to get their minimum wage increase, which never made sense in the first place in a relief bill, and they failed on making sure only poor people got the checks. They failed despite the party promising those things. 

I do hope that this is the last round of Coronavirus stimulus packages. The virus is pretty clearly on the way out and with many people getting vaccinated I can't imagine it sticking around past this spring. Whatever economic damage remains will because blue states are too afraid to open up. I don't think we will need any more stimulus payments after this one...  

Girl who lied about her teacher in France, leading to his beheading, was lying about what happened.

 

Samuel Paty. CBS/AFP via Twitter. 

A girl who lied about her teacher in France, which lead to his beheading by a radical Muslim, was lying about what happened. CBS/AFP. Paty showed cartoons that depicted Mohammad, which is forbidden in Islam, during a class. However, the unidentified 13 year old girl lied about attending the class and falsely claimed that Paty ordered Muslim students to leave the room. The girls father was informed by her and he whipped up a frenzy on social media, leading to Paty's death. Both the father and a cleric were charged in the case. Paty was murdered by an 18 year old Chechen who was then shot and killed by police. 

My Comment:

Interesting development in this case from France. What happened to Paty was horrible enough but it seems like the girl that caused the frenzy was lying about what happened. She wasn't there and no Muslims were kicked out of the class. It was a lie but it was a lie that spread all over France and had the predictable outcome of getting someone brutally murdered.

The case shocked France and for good reason. The French people believe in freedom of speech and hate that Islamic terrorists are trying to prevent them from talking about radical Islam. They also recognize how important those cartoons are. Without it you cannot understand the Charlie Hebdo attacks, one of the most significant terror attacks in French History and an attack that marked a wave of absolutely devastating and horrible attacks, including the Paris and Nice attacks that left dozens dead. 

I think this counts as an example of cancel culture spreading via social media. Much like the Twitter crusaders that try to get people to lose their jobs, the people in this case wanted to destroy someone's life because they did something they didn't like even though what he did was both legal and decent. In this case someone got killed but I honestly don't understand why it doesn't happen more often. 

As for the 13 year old, I think she should be charged in her role in this case. Had she not lied to her father about what happened he might not have spread the hatred that lead to Paty's death. And if her father and the cleric can be charged for their role I think she should be as well. It's also clear that she didn't get the purpose of the lesson which is that free speech is more important than her outrage. 

The beheading was probably one of the most notable terror attacks of last year. Thankfully Islamic terrorism is slowing down dramatically. As ISIS and al-Qaeda have largely been destroyed there aren't any major terror networks promoting terrorism. That leaves lone wolf attacks like this one and even those are becoming more rare...

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad tests positive for Coronavirus.

 

Syrian Preisdent Bashar al-Assad. NBC News/AFP.

The President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, and his wife, Asma, have both tested positive for the Coronavirus. NBC News. Assad and his wife both have mild symptoms and are being monitored and will work from home. He joins other world leaders such as President Trump, Prime Minster Boris Johnson and President Emmanuel Macron who have had the disease. The announcement comes near the 10 year anniversary of the war in Syria. 

My Comment:

Just a quick post on Assad today. It doesn't surprise me that he got sick. I don't think that he was able to take the level of precaution other world leaders have taken and as the article notes, they got sick as well. And I doubt that Syria is first in line for the vaccine. 

Assad will probably be fine. He's 55 years old and has no health issues that I am aware of. Most people in his age group who get the disease will be fine and he will be getting the best healthcare that is available in Syria. He's almost certainly going to survive, along with his wife. 

It would be fairly crazy if Assad did succumb though. The war to oust him has lasted almost 10 years now and completely failed in the goal in removing him. It would take an act of God to remove him from office at this point and the Coronavirus could be that. 

That being said, I don't think him succumbing to the virus would be a good thing. Having him die would cause a succession crisis. Assad has a 19 year old son named Hafez but I doubt that he is ready to rule. He is probably being groomed for the role but who knows how the succession would play out? 

I also don't think that Assad succumbing to the virus would actually improve Syria. It could end with a 2nd civil war, this time between members of the regime over who gets to rule the country. That would be a bitter end to the 1st civil war. 

As for Syria and the Coronavirus, I can't imagine they are handling the disease well. With the civil war destroying much of their infrastructure they probably cannot treat people who get the virus very well. And forget about administrating the vaccine. I don't think they will get the virus under control until well after the western world gets it done and even then I think they would be behind poor but more stable countries. 

Houthi rebels launch widespread attacks against Saudi oil facilities.

 

Fires burn in the city of Sanaa, Yemen after the Saudis counterattacked. Reuters.

Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched widespread attacks against Saudi Arabian oil facilities. Reuters. The Houthis launched ballistic missiles and drones against targets in Ras Tanruna, where the world's largest oil facility is located, as well as the cities of Damman, Asir and Jazan. The Saudis claimed that they shot down the Houthi drones and the damage from the ballistic missiles was minimal. The Houthis claim the attack consisted of eight ballistic missiles and used 14 drones in the attack. The Saudis bombed targets in Yemen in response to the attacks. The Houthis have become more bold after Joe Biden removed the terrorist label from them, which had been placed by President Trump. 

My Comment:

Ugh, as if gas prices weren't high enough already. Joe Biden has already done a ton to destroy American energy independence. I get the feeling a lot of people never even realized that America WAS energy independent under President Trump. But thanks to Biden we are now dependent on foreign oil again, and that means attacks like these will cause an increase in prices. 

This will remain the case even though it appears that these attacks did little damage. Unlike the 2019 attack that devastated Saudi Arabia's oil production, this attack seems to have been largely prevented with the drones being shot down. The ballistic missiles did some damage but did not destroy much. The problem is that the instability will spook the markets and cause the price of oil and gasoline to go up. 

I do have to say that if the Saudis are right and they shot down all the drones it is a major improvement. The Saudis had major problems with that in 2019. My guess is that they now knew the tactic and developed countermeasures against it. My guess is that they were able to detect these drones and shoot them down, either with ground to air missiles or intercepted them with airplanes. 

It seems pretty clear that the Iranians are off the leash now and are taking advantage of American weakness. Joe Biden has made it very clear that he supports Iran over the Saudis even though the Iranians are targeting US targets in Iraq along with their proxies in Yemen attacking Saudi Arabia. They know that there will be no consequences for their actions and that the Biden administration hates the gulf states. 

With the go ahead from the Biden administration and the Houthis no longer called terrorists it means Iran can continue their proxy war against the Saudis. This will result in higher prices for oil and gas and will continue the massive amount of human suffering in Yemen. 

So will things get worse? I am not sure. It seems clear that the missile and drone strike plan by the Houthis are not as effective as they were a couple of years ago. But the Houthis have state backing and may come up with new plans to hit Saudi Arabia. And it's clear that the Saudis have been left out to dry by the United States. I think things will probably get worse and there is a chance the whole thing turns into open warfare...

Influenza season incredibly mild with the CDC only reporting one death of a child from the virus.

 

NHCOA

The CDC reports an extremely mild flu season with very few positive tests and only one child dying of the virus thanks to preventative measures against the Coronavirus. The Hill. In a normal year 20 to 30% of tests come back positive for the flu but in this season only 0.1% are, an extreme drop. And the virus usually kills 22,000 people per season but this year only 450 have died with the stats for children being even better. In a normal year around 195 children die but this year only one has done so. Experts credit Coronavirus precautions, such as hand washing, masks, remote work and schooling and the high number of people that took the vaccine this season. However, there are fears that the next flu season will be much worse than normal due to few people being exposed this season. 

My Comment:

I have to say that I agree with this report. Though the measures against the Coronavirus may not actually be effective in fighting the disease I do think that they are extremely effective at fighting the cold and the flu. I almost always get at least one cold every year and I tend to get the actual flu virus every couple of years as well. Since the Coronavirus precautions went into place I have not gotten sick with respiratory symptoms at all, not counting my allergies. That is the first time I can say that has ever happened as I almost always get at least one cold every year. 

I think the flu shot push helped a lot this year. I usually skip the flu shot largely out of convivence but this year they were having the shot right at work at a time when it was extremely easy for me to take. I had a bad reaction but regardless the push got me vaccinated at least. And I think a lot of other people who would otherwise not get the shot did so. Part of it was the fact that people didn't want the anxiety of having to wonder when they got sick if it was the flu or the Coronavirus. 

I think the handwashing push was a big part of it as well, which was funny as it doesn't seem to have affected the spread of the virus. From what I understand fomite transmission is fairly rare for Coronavirus but it's very common for influenza, so by trying and failing to protect themselves from one virus they may have done so for the other. 

Should we be worried about a bad wave of flu next winter when the Coronavirus is presumably going to be gone or a minor issue? Maybe. I think some of the changes from the virus will stick around, with people more likely to wash their hands and wear masks if they are sick. And with more people staying home they will also be less likely to infect people, as the work from home craze seems like a more permanent change. 

And I also don't think the virus will be that much worse than in previous years in terms of deadliness. Most people get the flu every couple of years or so, and that means they will still have immunity built up. People will also take the vaccine, with the developments from the Coronavirus vaccine perhaps being used to create more effective ones. 

I know some people have said that it's possible that the influenza virus might go extinct. I don't think that is likely at all. After all the flu has non-human hosts as well and they aren't taking any precautions. Once we stop our precautions for Coronavirus I am expecting the virus will come back, though not any more dangerous than it was before. 

Another rocket attack hits Iraqi airbase, one contractor dead.

 

File photo of Ain al-Asad airbase. Reuters. 

Another rocket attack has hit an Iraqi airbase and one contractor died at the scene. Reuters. No US troops were injured in the attack but the contractors was an American citizen and died of heart attack. Ten rockets hit the airbase, which was targeted by Iran during a ballistic missile strike last year. It has not been determined who launched the attack but Iranian backed militias are the prime suspects. The attack comes after Joe Biden launched an attack in Syria targeting Iranian militias in retaliation for another rocket attack. 

My Comment:

Ugh, something tells me that the Biden administration will use this as an excuse to launch further strikes in Syria... even though the attack was carried out in Iraq by Iraqi militias. I have zero faith in Biden's ability to restrain himself and I am guessing the neoliberals in his administration are salivating at the thought at bombing Syria again. 

I obviously don't think that a retaliation strike is justified. The rocket attack didn't kill anyone directly. There was a death but it's the kind of death that probably would have happened regardless. Sometimes a contractor has a bad heart and if they do they can die. Sure, the attackers were trying to kill people but I just see zero interest in bombing third parties that had little to do with the attack. 

If there is a response it should be limited to the militia responsible and limited to strikes within Iraq. I don't even think that is necessary but if they are going to be launched it should be launched against the people that actually did the attack. We don't need to bomb Syria again. 

Honestly, I don't understand why we still have troops in Iraq in the first place. We should have withdrawn a long time ago. Our main purpose in being there was fighting ISIS and ISIS is mostly gone. I know that Biden wants bomb Iran and Syria but that's no excuse for keeping troops in Iraq. 

I also think that it is way past time for Iraq to stand on their own. We have given them billions of dollars and built and rebuilt their army after ISIS left it destroyed. We have done everything we can to allow them to stand on their own and right now we shouldn't be fighting their battles anymore. If they want to fight these Iranian militias then they should go ahead and do so.

But I am guessing that the attack wouldn't even happen if American troops weren't still in Iraq. Not to justify Iranian attacks but if we weren't there they would have to try and hit other targets or simply let things lay. The Iranians want us out of Iraq for their own reasons and if we aren't there they wouldn't be attacking us most likely. They would probably be focusing on Israel and Saudi Arabia. 

I have to say that I am extremely disappointed in the foreign policy of the Biden administration. I feel that they will use these minor rocket attacks as a pretext to war with Iran. And if they don't, they will probably go back into the Iran nuclear deal... which will probably lead to a war with Israel and/or Saudi Arabia. Under President Trump there probably would have been a status quo ante... 

Texas and Mississippi lift mask mandates, open businesses.

 

Texas governor Gregg Abbott. ABC News/Getty.

The governors of Texas and Mississippi have lifted mask mandates in their states and also allowed businesses to open at 100% capacity. ABC News. In Texas, Govenor Abbott said that state mandates are no longer needed due to vaccinations and recoveries. His order does offer an exception that would allow counties to bring back restrictions if hospitalization rates exceed 15% capacity for seven days. Mississippi also followed suit, with Governor Tate Reeves saying that it is justified by lower infection rates and higher rates of vaccination. National health authorities said it was too early to lift mandates. 

My Comment:

A lot of people are praising Governors Abbott and Tate for this but I am not one of them. Though I do agree that this move is long overdue I don't think they should get too much credit for only doing this now. Florida opened awhile ago and other states, like South Dakota and Georgia, never really locked down long term. 

Does that mean I hate masks and won't take precautions against the virus? Of course not. I wear a mask wherever it is required and I don't have a problem if people want me to wear a mask if I visit. I think it is mostly security theater but it might have some small effect. I've also avoided large gatherings of people, but that has more to do with my personality than anything else. 

But what I have a problem with is the government telling everyone what to do. I think people should have the choice on what they want to do. I know a lot of people are uncomfortable with masks and others don't think the risk is worth it. And people should have the right to have their businesses open even if there is a risk.  

I also don't think that lockdowns were ever the right answer. I do think that people should take precautions but I think the right answer was to protect the people that were most vulnerable. Keep people in old folks home safe and those with medical risks but let other people get sick. The vast majority of them would have been fine. Lockdowns probably didn't save any lives but it did massive damage to the economy. 

A lot of people on Twitter are complaining about this but to them I would say this. If you really want to keep wearing a mask, nobody is going to stop you. If you don't want to go to a restaurant or bar, no one is going to force you to do so. Indeed, if you want to stay in your house for the rest of your life you can. That's fine but I think it's long past time that everyone else is allowed to live their lives as they please. 

And with the vaccines out now there isn't much of a point in keeping restrictions. From what I can tell the most vulnerable people are pretty much vaccinated now. The three vaccines protect against the virus and even people that get it won't be seriously ill. The number of people that will die from the disease will now collapse so at this point it's not really a threat. 

So will other states follow suit? I think red states might. But blue states? I have no idea. It seems a lot of these governors love the power that the virus gave them and aren't going to give it up easily. Thankfully the governors of California and New York are being recalled and are mired in scandal, so they may have no choice. But I worry about people like Michigan's Governor Whitmer and my state, Wisconsin, Governor Evers. Whitmer seems to have an absolute lust for this kind of power and I doubt she will give it up unless the Democrats change their tune on lockdowns...