INCONVENIENT TRUTHS:NY Times: Tech is Splitting the Workplace in Two.

Instapundit  Blog Archive  INCONVENIENT TRUTHS
"NY Times: Tech is Splitting the Workplace in Two.

The article focuses on Phoenix, Arizona, as an example of a city in which high-tech is prominent, but the percentage of workers in low-skilled, low-wage jobs hasn’t move for forty years. 
The implied solution, of course, is government intervention.
You might think it would be impossible to write a lengthy article of this sort *without even mentioning* the huge influx of low-skilled labor from Mexico to Arizona in that timeframe, well over 50% of whom have been undocumented since 1990. 
You might think so, but you’d be wrong.
Putting aside what one thinks of immigration, legal or otherwise, it seems rather obvious that if a city is consistently importing poorly-educated workers who don’t speak English, most of whom have no legal residency status and cannot work legally, the percentage of workers in low-skilled, low-wage jobs is going to stay high.---Posted by David Bernstein"

AM Fruitcake

History for February 13

History for February 13 - On-This-Day.com
Bess Truman 1885, Grant Wood 1892, Tennessee Ernie Ford 1919


Chuck Yeager 1923 - United States Air Force General, test pilot, Kim (Marilyn) Novak 1933 - Actress, Peter Tork (Peter Halsten Thorkelson) 1942 - Actor, musician (The Monkees)


1633 - Galileo Galilei arrived in Rome for trial before the Inquisition.


1935 - In Flemington, New Jersey, a jury found Bruno Richard Hauptmann guilty of the kidnapping and death of the infant son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh. Hauptmann was later executed for the crimes.

It's Time to Rise Up and Defeat the Socialist Left - The Rush Limbaugh Show

It's Time to Rise Up and Defeat the Socialist Left - The Rush Limbaugh Show:

“You gotta get rid of abortion! You gotta…” And every time it happened — be it on a golf course, I don’t care where — I would say to them, “If we don’t get a handle on this, it’s gonna get to the point someday where we’re gonna be killing anybody who is inconvenient, not just babies.  If we don’t stand up for life… You’ve gotta stop looking at this as some sort of Religious Right issue and thinking you can’t be part of it because you don’t want to be lumped in with a bunch of Christians or a bunch of religious zealots in your mind.
“This is about the fundamental thing we all only have one of, and it’s a life, and we have a political party which is pushing every day for the right to kill whoever they think is inconvenient — and they’re gonna do it one way or the other. They’re gonna do it with law. They’re gonna do it with health care,” and every time I would point this out, they would pooh-pooh me and say that I was being paranoid and irrational, and abortion was a standalone issue that didn’t have any growth features.  It just was what it was.

The way we were-----Alley Oop by the Hollywood Argyles 1960

Boob-tube-----Leave It to Beaver Cast Then & Now

NYT-How the "think"-----Opinion | Our Brains Aren’t Designed to Handle the Trump Era - The New York Times

Opinion | Our Brains Aren’t Designed to Handle the Trump Era - The New York Times:

• Or mine isn’t, anyway.

I am trying to think about when, exactly, I realized that my brain was wretchedly ill suited to the modern world. 
Was it when Twitter began?
With the internet itself?

Certainly by this current presidency. 
I know that much.

I think, for instance, of Fridays, often slow days in the news business, when journalists catch up on email and sneak out for haircuts and therapist appointments.
Hard to do these days..."
Read on ...if you can stomach their pathetic bleating. 

Was climate change alarmism always about fears of overpopulation? | Watts Up With That?

Was climate change alarmism always about fears of overpopulation? | Watts Up With That?
"...Numerous population control advocates have linked anthropogenic climate change to population growth, or tried to revive interest in invoking anthropogenic climate change as the key negative outcome of continued economic growth linked to, foremost among causes, an increasing population. ...
We argue that no specific trigger events were necessary to spark the anxieties of these activists as they already espoused a neo-Malthusian eco-catastrophist mindset that is part of a wider pessimist perspective.
...at least two distinctive perspectives on the understanding of the nature, role, and future of humanity – the pessimist, and the Promethean or optimist ...
...The pessimists model people as bacteria that, in their Malthusian exponential growth, tend to quickly outstrip the resources of their “test-tube earth,” swiftly destroying both themselves and their environment.
Only – perhaps – the timely intervention of top-down expert planning may avert this preordained debacle.
The optimists see resources as limited primarily by human ingenuity and ability to utilize them, and humanity itself as a gathering of creative individuals, each capable of being much more than a mouth to feed.
...Thus, the Ehrlichs’ and Holdren’s preoccupation with human population numbers and their impact on global development or resource use did not need a specific cause or trigger.
Population and resource use anxiety were part of their pessimist perspective that had them always on the lookout for humanity’s confrontation with the inflexible natural limits of the finite earth..."
Read all.

Russia Exploits "Yellow Vest" Turmoil In France | The Heritage Foundation

Russia Exploits "Yellow Vest" Turmoil In France | The Heritage Foundation:

The Yellow Vest protests, which began late last year in rural areas, have spread throughout the country. They are now the most violent demonstrations central Paris has seen since 1968. And despite many concessions by the French government, there is no sign that the protesters will stand down any time soon.
The social, economic and political turmoil gives Moscow's operatives fertile fields in which to sow instability. Hybrid tactics work the best where people perceive poor governance, a lack of economic freedom and opportunity, and growing distrust between law enforcement agencies and the average citizen.
France today checks all three boxes to varying degrees.

"Apparently teaching 9 year-olds about sodomy doesn't seem weird to them."

Colorado Women For Trump

Patricia Anthone

"Sex Ed in Colorado: HB19-1032 is EXTREME. 

Little wonder. 
It's being advanced by LGBT activists and Planned Parenthood.

The activists of the LGBT "community" here and elsewhere in the country seek to inculcate the idea that all forms of sexual expression are of equal value. 

To do that they need access to children at ever-earlier ages. 

Apparently teaching 9 year-olds about sodomy (instead of teaching them to read and write in cursive, for instance) doesn't seem weird to them.

Planned Parenthood is an organization that has a profit interest in the premature sexualization of children and the promotion of sexual promiscuity. 
Is this organization the best choice of influence on the formation character? 
Not so much.

1. Begins sex-ed in the 4th grade

2. Adds the "relational experiences" of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transsexual people to the curriculum

3. Forbids the teaching of Abstinence-Only curriculum

4. Forbids discussion of morality informed by religion in addressing the material..."

Read all!

Dumb as a box of rocks: Democrats suddenly realize their Maduro-love will cost them Florida in 2020

Dumb as a box of rocks: Democrats suddenly realize their Maduro-love will cost them Florida in 2020

"For years, Democrats have fallen over themselves to defend Latin American communist dictatorships.  

Who can forget Rep. Maxine Waters's apology to the Castro regime for the U.S. on her pilgrimage to Cuba or Rep. Jim McGovern's secret collaborations with Colombia's Marxist FARC terrorists or New York mayor Bill de Blasio's "help" to the Nicaraguan Sandinistas or Sen. Bernie Sanders's open praise for Hugo Chávez's Venezuela?  And don't forget Joe Kennedy's Dial Joe-4-Oil, which was a gusher of propaganda praise for Venezuela's oppressive socialist regime. 

They've always gotten away with it.  

Until now.

They suddenly are realizing that the Maduro-lovers and Trump-resisters in their ranks, who happen to be some of their biggest "it" girls with the loudest voices — Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard — have supported Venezuela's detested Maduro regime in recent weeks ... and it's not just them. Other Democrats are also in their tree - think of old dinosaurs such as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who was all worried about the U.S. invading Venezuela, and Silent Ted Deutch representing south Florida in Congress. Supporting a socialist regime just seems to come natural in the Democratic Party. And for that, they're all kissing the purple swing state of Florida goodbye for the Democrats in 2020.

The New York Times reports this as an alarming development for Democrats:

Venezuela, not Cuba, now dominates Miami's political conversation.  A television anchor not long ago ended a somber segment with a promise to keep praying for the troubled South American country.  Venezuelans in the city have gathered for demonstrations to coincide with protests back home..."

Read all!

Lunch video-----Climate Change: What Do Scientists Say?

Noon-toon

Border Patrol catch 325 migrants who sneaked in via unsecured Mexico barrier, after group lit fire | Daily Mail Online

Border Patrol catch 325 migrants who sneaked in via unsecured Mexico barrier, after group lit fire | Daily Mail Online:

US Border Patrol said they stopped 325 Central Americans trying to illegally enter the country Thursday, spotting them after they were alerted to campfire started to deal with freezing temperatures.
The huge group surrendered to agents assigned to the Ajo Station in Pima County, Arizona who learned they'd crossed via an area only blocked off by a vehicle barrier designed to stop pedestrians crossing the road.
But the bunch – including 150 minors of which 32 were not accompanied by an adult - got caught as a US Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations helicopter scanned the area.

VIDEO: Students all about Ocasio-Cortez's 'Green New Deal'...then find out what's in it

VIDEO: Students all about Ocasio-Cortez's 'Green New Deal'...then find out what's in it

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has released the contents of her "Green New Deal."
• Campus Reform's Cabot Phillips traveled to the University of Miami to find out what students thought of it.
• Most students loved the Green New Deal...until finding out what's in it.

"Last week, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unveiled her long-awaited “Green New Deal," a plan aimed at drastically reducing carbon emissions in the next ten years..."

Lest we forget-----Obama sent Palestinians $221M hours before leaving office

Obama sent Palestinians $221M hours before leaving office
WASHINGTON — Officials say the Obama administration in its waning hours defied Republican opposition and quietly released $221 million to the Palestinian Authority that GOP members of Congress had been blocking.
A State Department official and several congressional aides said the outgoing administration formally notified Congress it would spend the money Friday morning.
The official said former Secretary of State John Kerry had informed some lawmakers of the move shortly before he left the State Department for the last time Thursday.
The aides said written notification dated Jan. 20 was sent to Congress just hours before Donald Trump took the oath of office.
In addition to the $221 million for the Palestinians, the Obama administration told Congress on Friday it was going ahead with the release of another $6 million in foreign affairs spending, including $4 million for climate change programs and $1.25 million for UN organizations, the congressional aides said.
The aides and the State Department official weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity..."
Read all!

#1 This day 1960-----Mark Dinning "Teen Angel"

A practical application of the classic word 'antidisestablishmentarianism'

A practical application of the classic word 'antidisestablishmentarianism'
"When we were teenagers, a smart childhood friend taught me how to spell antidisestablishmentarianism. 
I did not understand at the time what this word meant, other than it was just anti-something, and that generally worked for a teenager.
...In that article, Mr. Hunt went on to say the current-day establishmentarians are the progressive liberals pushing more government controls and higher taxes, and the disestablishmentarians are the current-day Tea Party agitators.  
...Mr. Hunt concluded in 2010 that the Tea Partiers were disestablishmentarians, much like our nation's founders.
Fast-forward to the present day...
The present-day liberals and progressives openly attack anything relating to the founding of this country, in an effort to aggregate enough votes to elect persons who will then secretly make changes to our laws, courts, and institutions. 
Examples of the present-day antidisestablishmentarianism include:

• Openly attacking all white men as if they are guilty for being white men.
• Openly attacking established religions, including Catholics, Jews, and Protestants.
• Openly opposing our military and policies that protect our borders and the safety of our citizens.
• Openly opposing free enterprise and the freedoms to create success and wealth.
• Openly opposing the teaching of our country's founding history.
• Openly opposing the right to bear arms and working to restrict people from having guns that can protect them from evildoers.
• Openly opposing past successful learning regimens and policies in our public schools, creating the present downfall in public education.
• Openly promoting universal health care and higher education, without considering how these "free" services are to be funded.
• Openly promoting unlimited immigration and not requiring new immigrants to learn English or to abide by existing U.S. laws.
• Openly promoting false reporting in support of specific ideologies.

These recent actions do not appear to be promoting policies that would improve our free society..."

Read all!

A problem indeed!

These 27 Universities Bought Body Parts From Aborted Babies for Grisly Research | LifeNews.com

These 27 Universities Bought Body Parts From Aborted Babies for Grisly Research | LifeNews.com:

Their dual roles mean not only that clinics gain the services of some top medical school faculty, but that medical schools are desensitized to the fundamental contradiction of medical care and abortion, which kills, not heals. Their core principles corrupted, they go so far as to send out their residents for training at these clinics, learning to perform late term abortions, and perhaps even learning the in and outs of the fetal tissue procurement business.
This can’t be what medical schools, many of them state supported, are supposed to be teaching.
Connected to Fetal Tissue
The list of universities on the list of those ordering and using fetal tissue for research contains the names of some of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the country: Baylor, Dartmouth, Duke, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Ohio State, Stanford, UCLA, University of Michigan, University of Miami, Vanderbilt, Yale, and many others. (See list below drawn from the “Final Report” of the Select Investigative Panel of the Energy & Commerce Committee, December 30, 2016, from pp. 175-7 & 254-5. Hereafter it will be referred to as “SPR.”)

Carbon Taxes: Lessons from Canada | National Review

Carbon Taxes: Lessons from Canada | National Review
"Promises of revenue neutrality don’t survive contact with the real world.
Hey America,
It’s Canada, your friendly neighbor to the north.
You might remember us — there’s a big white wall between our properties.
But only in winter.
Anyway, we couldn’t help but notice you seem to be having a bit of bother over carbon taxes these days.
At the risk of intruding, we thought we might offer a few neighborly observations.
You see, we’ve had the same issue in our house for a few years now.
On your side of the fence, the Climate Leadership Council’s plan — recently backed by 27 Nobel Prize–winning economists and other economic luminaries — calls for a nationwide tax starting at $40 a ton on carbon dioxide emissions, on efficiency grounds. (All figures in U.S. dollars.)
It vows that “the majority of American families . . . will benefit financially by receiving more in ‘carbon dividends’ than they pay in increased energy prices.”
A tax that pays you sure sounds appealing!
But a word of caution: 
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Up here in Canada, we’ve been burned by the same promise..."
Read all!

AM Fruitcake-----Venezuela is looking grim for a socialist dictator, but there's always the Democrat presidential primary | Babal Blog

Venezuela is looking grim for a socialist dictator, but there's always the Democrat presidential primary | Babal� Blog:

History for February 12

History for February 12 - On-This-Day.com
John Winthrop 1588, Charles Darwin 1809, Abraham Lincoln (U.S.) 1809 - Sixteenth President of the United States


Ted Mack (William Maguiness) 1904, Lorne Greene 1915, Arsenio Hall 1955 - Actor, comedian , talk show host


1870 - In the Utah Territory, women gained the right to vote.

1909 - The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded.

Shhhhhhh! It's Communist Party USA's 100th anniversary - WND

Shhhhhhh! It's Communist Party USA's 100th anniversary - WND:

What’s the party organ’s top news story today? It’s not Russia collusion, it’s a conspiracy tale about how Trump is behind the National Enquirer’s sleazy attack on the richest man in the world – Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and the owner of the Washington Post.
Why is that not a surprise? Maybe it’s because mega-corporations like Amazon aren’t as bad as Trump in the eyes of the new Communists. The party apparently likes the spin offered up by Paul Shearon, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, who recently explained: “We represent people in the private sector. None of their bosses are as bad as this.”
The party has many other new heroes, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler and, yes, even Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
It’s something to behold.