American Airlines and Delta Air Lines have taken two very different approaches to the pandemic.
Delta has been blocking middle seats since April 2020 while American never embraced the policy.
I took three flights on both airlines in 2021 to see how the two were handling social distancing in the skies.

One chart presented at the meeting shows Texas was less than five minutes away from a blackout that might have crippled the power system for weeks or months.

Magness expressed frustration at the meeting about how long it took to bring some power plants back online. The graphs shared Wednesday showed for days many were not able to re-start and that's what turned this into such a devastating crisis with lives lost and homes damaged.

One board member criticized Magness, saying he did not do enough to warn the board of the possibility of a crisis before the storm hit. //

As NBC 5 Investigates first reported, ERCOT’s audio recordings show Magness spent less than one minute discussing the impending storm at the last board meeting just five days before the storm arrived //

A fifth ERCOT board member resigned Wednesday, joining four others who announced their resignations Tuesday saying they wanted to avoid controversy over the fact that they live in other states.

Economist James K. Galbraith said policymakers failed Texas during the state's recent power outage.
Texas' deregulated electrical system incentivized the cheapest production without accounting for resilient machinery.
Galbraith says the only way to fix the system is to turn it into a public utility.

You see, the “cages” that the left so wailed about under Trump were really chain link fencing that served as initial holding in detention facilities. The press continually used Obama-era pictures of said facilities to go after the Trump administration in one of the greater bits of media dishonesty we’ve seen in the last decade. The realities of the situation were eschewed for partisan gain, as if CBP and ICE could just release children onto the street and tell them to figure it out.

But here’s the kicker — the facilities now being re-opened under Biden were built under Trump. Therefore, in order for a fact-checker to note that the conditions have improved under Biden, they’d have to admit that it was Trump who actually improved the conditions while also revealing it was Obama who so badly screwed them up in the first place.

Regardless, the children are no less detained than they were before. Tents and shipping containers with barred windows are hardly a bastion of freedom, though the optics are slightly better, I suppose. Yet, there’s some serious poetic justice in the Biden administration having to now own criticism for what they formerly used as a political cudgel.

Roughly three dozen House Democrats have sent a letter to Joe Biden urging him to relinquish sole control of the nation’s nuclear launch codes, citing “real risks” that could lead to a rogue launch or an accidental nuclear war, according to reports. //

“While any president would presumably consult with advisors before ordering a nuclear attack, there is no requirement to do so. The military is obligated to carry out the order if they assess it is legal under the laws of war. Under the current posture of U.S. nuclear forces, that attack would happen in minutes.” //

In a segment on Australia’s Sky News last Friday, commentator Cory Bernardi said what half of America has been saying since Biden became the Democrat nominee.

“Never before has the leader of the free world been so cognitively compromised. It’s clear to me at the least that U.S. President Joe Biden is struggling with dementia and is clearly not up to the task he’s been sworn in to do.

“This was apparent to many during the election campaign, but such was the hatred for Donald Trump by the partisan and poisonous mainstream media, they chose to fail to highlight anything that might have derailed a Biden victory.”

“It’s all rather pathetic, but even usually smart people are blinded by the nonsense put out by the mainstream media. They believe every perceived sin of Donald Trump while they seem intent on canonizing St. Joe.”

Of all the tragic facts about the history of slavery, the most astonishing to an American today is that, although slavery was a worldwide institution for thousands of years, nowhere in the world was slavery a controversial issue prior to the 18th century. People of every race and color were enslaved – and enslaved others. White people were still being bought and sold as slaves in the Ottoman Empire, decades after American blacks were freed.

Everyone hated the idea of being a slave but few had any qualms about enslaving others. Slavery was just not an issue, not even among intellectuals, much less among political leaders, until the 18th century – and then it was an issue only in Western civilization. Among those who turned against slavery in the 18th century were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and other American leaders. You could research all of the 18th century Africa or Asia or the Middle East without finding any comparable rejection of slavery there. But who is singled out for scathing criticism today? American leaders of the 18th century.

Deciding that slavery was wrong was much easier than deciding what to do with millions of people from another continent, of another race, and without any historical preparation for living as free citizens in a society like that of the United States, where they were 20 percent of the population.

It is clear from the private correspondence of Washington, Jefferson, and many others that their moral rejection of slavery was unambiguous, but the practical question of what to do now had them baffled. That would remain so for more than half a century.

In 1862, a ship carrying slaves from Africa to Cuba, in violation of a ban on the international slave trade, was captured on the high seas by the U.S. Navy. The crew were imprisoned and the captain was hanged in the United States – despite the fact that slavery itself was still legal at the time in Africa, Cuba, and in the United States. What does this tell us? That enslaving people was considered an abomination. But what to do with millions of people who were already enslaved was not equally clear.

That question was finally answered by a war in which one life was lost [620,000 Civil War casualties] for every six people freed [3.9 million]. Maybe that was the only answer. But don’t pretend today that it was an easy answer – or that those who grappled with the dilemma in the 18th century were some special villains when most leaders and most people around the world saw nothing wrong with slavery. //

Ronna McDaniel
@GOPChairwoman
We are the Party of Lincoln & the Party of Kay Coles James, Condoleezza Rice, Herman Cain, Dr. Ben Carson, Ida B. Wells, Thomas Sowell, & the list goes on.

Black Republican candidates are running all around the country, and I am proud to support them.
"Tell the whole story during Black History Month | Afro" //

She wrote in the linked piece, ” that:

Black History Month is not just about Black Liberal history.

Law enforcement officials testifying before a joint Senate hearing on Tuesday confirmed their belief that the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol building was planned before the day of the event. This information completely annihilates the Democrats’ narrative regarding the assault on the Capitol building. //

Former Capitol police chief Steven Sund told members of the Senate that several factors led the authorities to believe that the riots were preplanned, and not spontaneous as Democrats have suggested.

“I’m able to provide you a quick overview of why I think it was a coordinated attack. One, people came specifically with equipment. You’re bringing in climbing gear to a demonstration. You’re bringing in explosives. You’re bringing in chemical spray … you’re coming prepared,” he explained. //

Acting D.C. Metropolitan Police chief Robert Contee III concurred with Sund’s assessment. He told lawmakers that he saw “hand signals being used by several of the insurrectionists,” along with communication via radio being used by others.

“A number of individuals linked to various right-wing groups, including the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, have been arrested in the weeks following the attack in connection to the violence, while the FBI’s D.C. field office is currently searching for dozens of other people present during the attack,” according to The Hill.

Joe Biden is one efficient guy. On his first day in office, “blue-collar Joe” managed to kill the jobs of 11,000 unionized Keystone XL Pipeline workers, walk back a major American commitment to Canada, and slap a serious question mark on the future of U.S. oil independence — and that’s just for starters.

In contrast, in Donald Trump’s final month in office, for the first time in 35 years, America didn’t import a single barrel of crude oil from Saudi Arabia. Whether or not our friends on the left give credit to Trump is immaterial; facts are facts and numbers are numbers.

Global crude oil prices were under $50 a gallon and the average price of gas was roughly $2.30 at the end of December. Just 30 days into Biden’s “job,” global crude had jumped to $65 a barrel, and the price of gas had climbed to an average of $2.72 per gallon. //

Biden’s policies will be a yuuge benefit to the oil-dependent economies of Russia, Saudi Arabia, and… wait for it… Iran, as the price of crude continues to increase to upwards of $70 per barrel.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the irony of the Russia collusion nonsense was that there was no one who hurt Russia more than Trump and his America-first energy policies. Russia really is nothing more than a third-world country, with oil and gas. Trump’s pro-America energy policies were a disaster for Russia, and the truth is Biden is a godsend for Russia.”

Quote of the day: "Give my regards to your puppet master [Jeff Bezos]," Elon Musk said in response to the Washington Post's request for comment on an article published by the newspaper today. //

As properly called by our friend Benny Johnson:

@Elonmusk just Rekt Bezos.

Route the first fall of rainwater away from your tank to avoid possible pollutants from entering your collection. With this First Flush™ Water Diverter, you can divert water away from your tank and toward your garden. The installation is easy and this kit includes everything you need, just add a 3 in. PVC downspout. The First Flush™ diverter empties itself and will reset automatically.

Keep your rain harvested water clean with this Leaf Eater™ Rain Head. Attach the rain head to your downpipe to block out leaves, debris, and pests. With simple installation, rain water collecting will improve in quality with little maintenance required.

Constitutionally, while federal courts only have the power to hear a “case or controversy,” meaning the Supreme Court lacks jurisdiction to hear “moot” cases, here there is a well-established exception to the mootness doctrine: the capable-of-repetition-but-evading-review exception.

This exception to the mootness doctrine provides that federal courts hold authority to resolve cases where “the challenged action is in its duration too short to be fully litigated prior to cessation or expiration” and where “there is a reasonable expectation that the same complaining party will be subject to the same action again.”

Both criteria exist here, Justice Thomas wrote, as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision came a mere six weeks before the election, and the petitioners in the cases—the state Republican party and state legislators—are likely to “again confront nonlegislative officials altering election rules.”

In his separate dissent, Justice Alito also concluded that certiorari should be granted because the cases “present an important and recurring constitutional question.” His dissent, joined by Justice Gorsuch, focused mainly on the mootness question. //

Maybe the six justices who voted against certiorari believe the country will be better off without relitigating the election. The denial, however, will not heal a country that witnessed state officials and courts change the rules mid-vote—not just in Pennsylvania, but in Wisconsin and Michigan too. Then her citizens saw the Supreme Court seemingly ignore those violations of the Electors Clause when Texas sought relief in the Supreme Court.

Worse yet will be the damage done to our republic when the bending and breaking of election laws repeats in the future. For now, as Justice Thomas concluded, “by doing nothing,” the Supreme Court invites “erosion of voter confidence.” We “citizens deserve better and expect more.”

What is needed so that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) would consider your people “qualified persons” — that is, people who are exposed to electrical hazards 50V and greater (Photo 1)? This could be electricians, technicians, HVAC technicians, or any other person who works near 50V or more. OSHA doesn’t care about the job title. If your job title is “Chief Bag Carrier” and you work on or near exposed energized electrical conductors or circuit parts, you need to be qualified.

One important distinction to note is that for a qualified person to work on what is considered to be energized circuits or parts, that circuit would have to be both exposed and energized. Therefore, energized equipment that is not exposed would not have the same requirements as equipment that is exposed. It is considered “guarded” (Photo 2) by OSHA and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 70E standards and would present no danger — unless you open the door, rack in or out a circuit breaker, or do something else that would expose the energized part inside. //

There are two sources that provide training requirements for qualified persons:

OSHA regulations in 29CFR1910.399, 1910.332,  and 1910.333
NFPA 70E, “Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace”

OSHA uses broad, regulatory, non-prescriptive language. In other words, it can be vague if you are not used to using it. NFPA 70E is very prescriptive. The two documents work together to provide a complete picture.

My best friend was on the other side of the spectrum of survival, and used several less expensive solutions. He was able to comfortably live with far less and used a little creativity to solve problems as they appeared.

Generator: He had a Honda 2kW with extended tank. He initially was running it for one space heater but found it to be so inefficient that he just used it for entertainment and electronics during the day. (This is not included in $200 total but is not necessary, as you will see.)

Water: Collect it in buckets. Five-gallon buckets from Home Depot can be a real commodity, and boiling the water they collect in a small crawfish pot gives you clean water for cooking food or for a hot bath.

Heat: Use a Mr. Heater Buddy tied into a 20-pound propane bottle. This is a hunter’s best friend in cold winter mornings, and most of us have them. They are approved for indoor use and can heat a room for days. My friend was able to heat his bedroom to 55-60 degrees for two nights and used approximately one-third of a propane bottle.

For cooking, he relocated his grill out of the wind and used a tarp to create a little outdoor kitchen and cut the wind. The heat from the grill made a comfortable outdoor area while cooking and kept the rain and wind off him.

With a few buckets, LifeStraw or Katadyne water filter, gas burner, pot, Mr. Heater Buddy, and a few propane tanks, he could have lived fairly comfortably for a week or more with a small amount of food storage. That is efficient survival.

Data from the NBC News poll shows that the composition of the two major parties is changing, and one massive shift is coming in employment: the kinds of jobs Democrats and Republicans hold. There are signs across racial and ethnic demographic groups that Republicans are becoming the party of blue-collar Americans and the change is happening quickly.

If the movement continues it could have a large impact on the future of the GOP. //

NBC admits that the GOP had better economic messaging than Democrats, but warns that the majority of this growth took place during the Trump era and if the GOP continues to use the same tactics Trump did to attract blue-collar workers, then it would further tie the party to him. //

Economic policies can be practiced without belonging to a specific man. If it works, it works. For the blue-collar voters in America, it definitely worked.

In my view, Thomas is completely correct here. This was a case that was punted due to technical reasons, not an honest look at the law. Further, if before an election is not the time to allow this suit to go forward, and after the election it can’t go forward because it’s moot, exactly when can it go forward? All this sets up is for the country (and Pennsylvania in particular) to be dealing with these same issues again in two years.

Keep in mind, this was not a question of election fraud (i.e. falsifying votes) or some other radioactive topic. It was simply a question of whether unelected judges in a state can override said state’s constitution, blatantly violating election law while doing so. That seems like a precedent that should absolutely not be set and should instead be slapped down with prejudice. This is what the Supreme Court exists for, and once again, several members of the conservative wing chose cowardice over dealing with tough issues.

In the end, all this does is make sure that a huge contingent of Americans don’t trust our election system. And why should they if the courts can’t even be counted on to settle such obvious issues as what occurred in Pennsylvania? This is also a disappointing showing for Kavanaugh and Barrett, two judges that conservatives absolutely went to the mat for. No one is asking them to bias their judgements, but there was no logical reason to not vote to take up this case.

As per our usual agreement, everything that’s old will be new again, and that includes fighting these election fights in the coming years because our institutions refuse to fix the system.

Dr. Fauci has become the face and voice of the virus, with dozens of pronouncements over the past year on what Americans should and shouldn’t do. Many of his statements have been contradictory to the point that I (and probably many others) am confused about official virus-related policies from the federal government. Accordingly, I have a few simple questions to put to him that would clarify matters bigly:

Axios’ Nicholas Johnston: “Let me talk a little more of the Trump administration. Mask-wearing aside, what did they get right?”

Dr. Collins: The Operation Warp Speed, for which I give a great deal of credit to [former Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar], was a effort that many of us were not initially convinced was going to be necessary.

According to a new report from The Washington Times, multiple members of the Obama administration met with Iran in the attempt to undermine the Trump Administration including Kerry; Robert Malley, Obama’s Middle East adviser; and Obama Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

In the effort to force “equality” we instead can end up erasing Black representation altogether.