Bill and Melinda Gates: #1 Farmers in the USA

I guess with Joe Biden being sworn in next week it means that agricultural trade with China will increase. So, it was not a total surprise to learn Bill and Melina Gates are now the #1 farmers in the USA. Much of their farmland is in Nebraska, home to Bill's best friend Warren Buffett. 

I'm confident they will be following in the steps of Oliver and Lisa Douglas in their embrace of the Cornhusker State as depicted in the CBS sitcom Green Acres. 

Green Acres had a very catchy theme song. You can click on the music here and I've updated the lyrics below. The lyrics begin to be sung 15 seconds in. 

[Bill] Nebraska is the place to be.

Farm livin’ is the life for me.

 

Sand Hills spreading out so far and wide.

 

Keep Seattle, just give me that countryside.

 

 

[Melinda] Seattle's where I’d rather stay.

 

My shoes don’t like that ‘husker clay. 

 

I just adore the Space Needle’s sights.

 

Shopping at Borsheims just doesn’t seem so right.

 

 

[Bill] Casey’s...

 

[Melinda] Starbucks...

 

[Bill] The breeze...

 

[Melinda]  Tesla Trucks.

 

 

[Bill] You are my wife,

 

[Melinda] Good-bye Seattle life, 

 

[Both] Nebraska we are here!

Dust Storm Warning!

The curved red stripe on this satellite image is the blowing dust.

From earlier this afternoon:

 Rare dust storm warnings were issued for parts of Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma. 

 My brother sent this photo of a wind turbine -- obscured by blowing dust. 

As of 1:15pm CST, here are the primary warnings across the north central USA.

• Orange = blizzard warning
• Gold = high wind warning.
• Blue = winter weather advisory
• Maroon = high wildfire danger
• Gray = air quality warning due to blowing dust

Unicorn Meteor Shot

 Via Twitter, an amazing shot of a meteor and its trail. It was obtained accidentally. 

Wind Warning Expanded

Don't even think about trying to drive through the (orange) blizzard warning. Wind gusts of 60-65 mph were common today and will be in parts of the high wind warning (gold and brown) tomorrow. 

Major Storm: North Central United States

Please note if you are traveling

• Orange is a blizzard warning. 
• Gold = high wind warning.
• Maroon = wildfire conditions high
• Blue = winter weather advisory 

Please do not travel through the blizzard warning area and use caution in the high wind warning if you have a high profile vehicle. 

Latest Goodreads Rating of "Warnings"

 
If you received a gift card for Christmas or if you have your COVID shot and want a great book to read on a late-winter vacation, may I suggest Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather.

Here is the very latest rating from Goodreads.com:

Thank you, Samantha!

Major Wind Event Forecast for Thursday

The browns are high wind (≥ 50 mph) watches and warnings for a major windstorm starting tonight and continuing Thursday night. In some areas, gusts will exceed 80 mph. There will be scattered power outages and it will be dangerous for tractor-trailers and other high profile vehicles. 

Greens are various flood statements and warnings. Purple is a winter weather advisory and the greenish blue in the Upper Midwest is a winter storm watch. Bright blue is an avalanche warning. 

Another Essay That is Required Reading

“If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on earth.”                                                  -- President Ronald Reagan

We, sadly, live in extraordinary times. I've never proclaimed two "required readings" in a month, but this is January's second. The silence of President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris is deafening. 

This Also Goes For Offending Governors

Marty Makary M.D.  @MartyMakary

2m

Hospitals: Stop worrying about offending your state dept of health and do the right thing! Get vaccines in the arms vulnerable community members quickly!

How Much Snow??

Snow depth across the United States as of midnight.

Total snow, season-to-date.

Sunday Fun: I Would Not Put This at the Top of My Worry List

Darn! We only have 100,000,000+ years left. 

"Free Speech Dies in Timidity"

“If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on earth.”                                                  -- President Ronald Reagan

I appreciate the 1000+ people who read my piece below. Thank you. If you haven't yet read it or Jason Whitlock's piece (purple link), I urge you to do so. 

It was written before the stunning anti-free speech events of yesterday evening during which dozens of conservative voices were kicked off Twitter and Facebook. Chad Felix Greene, who identifies himself publicly as a gay, Jewish man has written a cogent summary here. I urge you to read it, also.

The silence of President-Elect Joe Biden is deafening. In an earlier, better era, Presidents Truman and Kennedy would have denounced, in a heartbeat, these attempts to silence free speech. 

Where do we go from here?

Do not be intimidated. While we should always be polite, we should not shrink to caving in to political correctness. Regardless of whether it is comments about Donald Trump, Ann Coulter, the election, drag queen story time, or anything else, it is your right to speak. Muscles not exercised atrophy. 

Do not allow the subject to be changed. The violence at the Capitol or the sometimes ridiculous statements of President Trump do not change the fact that freedom of speech is being squelched or that fraud (extent not fully known) occurred in the recent election. 

Acknowledge the root problem. No one much cared whether Gerald Ford (a liberal Republican) or Jimmy Carter (a centrist to conservative Democrat) won the 1976 election. Why? The federal government was tiny compared to today: spending in 2020 was twenty-three times that of 1976!! The very best thing we can do is to run and elect candidates who are rock-solid small government conservatives. 

This blog will always stand for liberty, free enterprise, religious freedom and the rule of law. Hope you will visit from time-to-time. 

Required Reading: Reaction to the Storming of the Capitol

“If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on earth.”                                        --- President Ronald Reagan

Before discussing the storming itself, I wish to comment on CBS News' coverage as the event unfolded: I've never seen a news organization pour gasoline on a fire to the extent Norah O'Donnell and others did Wednesday afternoon. They should be ashamed of themselves. O'Donnell should be fired. 

Since the campaign of Barack Obama commenced in 2008, the MSM has abandoned all pretense of objectivity or even fairness. With the growth of social media, it has only grown worse as President Trump's ban on Twitter this afternoon demonstrates. 

With my comments about the MSM in mind, I urge you in the strongest way to read every word of Jason Whitlock's comments about the events of Wednesday. 

One can believe the violence terrible and that storming the Capitol was completely wrong while also believing:

• There were serious issues with fraud in the 2020 presidential election (especially in Pennsylvania and Georgia). Whether a full investigation would have overturned the result is unknown, at least to me. However, the fact there were so many working to cover things up, it is extremely suspicious. If everything was on the up-and-up, the election authorities would have been anxious to demonstrate it. 
• Those who excused the violence of summer 2020 have no moral standing to condemn the events of Wednesday. After the small group went into the Capitol, the vast majority of MAGA demonstrators did not follow them in. 
• President Trump was correct to urge Congress to repeal Section 230.
• The MSM covered up the important Hunter Biden computer scandal. That malpractice may have seriously factored into the outcome of the election.
• I hope President-Elect Biden will be an outstanding president. 
• Given the amount of corruption in Congress, the members' sanctimonious statements about the "sanctity"of the House and Senate chambers are more than a bit rich. 

I despair more and more "the essential nation" -- America -- is lost. When I was growing up, the United States was #1 in both economic and personal freedom. No more. We are no longer in the top twenty on either list. 

Increasingly, it is difficult to see how this ends well. While we, as a nation, need each other, I fear a peaceful division is the best-case outcome. I hope I am wrong and that we are able to repair ourselves in short order. 

Tonight's Wichita Sunset

 Wow, it has been one after another lately.

Taken at 5:33pm from my backyard. It doesn't quite rank with Tuesday's but it is still great. 

Unusual Snow Storm in the South

Please factor this in if you plan to be traveling. 

With the NFL Playoffs Starting...

...here is a good tutorial as to the NFL replay review process.

My Chiefs have a bye and don't start play Saturday. 

Solving the Vaccine Distribution Problem

This is a fantastic idea. Before you say, "But, they are closed on Sundays," please keep in mind that, at least in our area, they are only offering injections five days a week. This would be an improvement. Of course, this is tongue-in-cheek. 

Seriously, my real choice would be Walgreen's. They seem to understand medicine distribution and I get my flu shots there. They also have contracts with many nursing homes.

Meanwhile doses are expiring because our utterly incompetent government cannot duplicate past successful vaccination campaigns. 

Calling a Meteorologist a 'Weatherman' is an Insult

The above comment is from Instapundit and it pertains to meteorologist Dr. Cliff Mass of the University of Washington. Dr. Mass has a PhD in meteorology. 

"Weatherman" is a term used for weather presenters who do not have credentials in meteorology. Al Roker would be a good example. "Weathergirl" is often used as a pejorative. 

In this case, applying the term "weatherman" to a university professor with a PhD in the science is mildly insulting. Please use the terms appropriately. Thank you. 

Some Words of Great Wisdom

 “We’re not doubting that God will do the best for us; we’re wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.”

                                                                            ~ C.S. Lewis

Reminders....

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