What has happened in recent months with cows adrift in the Mediterranean should teach us all a lesson. Banning the exports of live animals violates the European Union’s free trade rules, so the change has to be much more profound, not only has to be a decision of the Spanish Government, but also of the European Parliament.
Every year, several million farm animals (calves, cows, sheep, pigs, goats, horses, etc.) are forced to endure trips of thousands of miles, only to be slaughtered on arrival or fattened in often inhumane conditions.
Animals transported alive suffer a lot due to overcrowding, lack of water and dehydration due to the high temperatures that they must suffer when confined in small places, often without adequate ventilation, the stress of travel, and problems such as accidents that can cause death.
More than 2,500 cows and calves have been found on two boats adrift for three months, and many more have already died during the trip. They are adrift as they were on their way to their final destination and they detected that they were ill and were refused entry, so they continue to circle the ship throughout the Mediterranean. Imagine that it is no way to live for an animal, locked up for months in two boats being rejected by everyone, waiting for death. Something has to be done so that animals are not slaughtered and also to prohibit long-distance transport of animals, each one of those trips is torture.
The suffering of these animals locked up in a boat for so long, waiting for them to be slaughtered now, after so much mistreatment, is completely unnecessary. It is not fair to animals that have to go through this. Do something but don’t kill them!
A new feature from VICE spotlighting Taiji’s global dolphin trade has just been released. The film includes exclusive drone footage, interviews with local citizens and with Japanese activists including Ren Yabuki, the director of Life Investigation Agency: https://t.co/fZh0rO3Nflpic.twitter.com/OJ4RjplRPG
Drink coffee. Help a vet. ALL proceeds go to veterans in crisis or in need. No one gets a paycheck. It is about taking care of our own. One veteran at a time. https://t.co/KkEbsxeXHg
There are 17 North American finch species. These include crossbills, Evening and Pine Grosbeaks, redpolls, and siskins. Birds in the Fringillidae family all have compact bodies, conical bills, and short necks with large jaw muscles. They also have relatively pointed wings, notched tails, and distinctive flight calls.
These small to medium-sized birds seem unassuming at first. However, when looked at more closely, their true beauty emerges. From the striking plumages of the three goldfinch species to the unusual and spectacular bills of crossbills and grosbeaks, finches really do have it all.
While these social birds are relatively conspicuous, they should not be taken for granted: More than half of North America’s finch species are in decline. New Hampshire, for example, is at risk of losing its state bird, the Purple Finch, as rising temperatures are expected to lead to a loss of 99 percent of this bird’s summer range in the state. Brown-capped and Black Rosy-Finches are also in danger and are on Partners in Flight’s (PIF’s) Red Watch List, and only an estimated 6,000 Cassia Crossbills remain.
Hazards like window collisions, outdoor cats, and pesticide use pose a threat to finches. Habitat loss from deforestation and other forms of land conversion are also major threats. But the effects of climate change seem to have taken the largest toll on finch populations.
For the purposes of this U.S.-based list, we’ve used PIF population and conservation data exclusive to the United States and Canada. In many cases, these population estimates do not reflect global numbers. Cassia Crossbill information comes from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Our list is organized taxonomically and includes all regularly occurring finch species in the continental United States and Canada.
U.S./Canada Population Estimate: 3.4 Million Population Trend: Decreasing Habitat: Northern and montane forests Threats: Deforestation, disease, loss of food sources due to pesticides Conservation Status:PIF Yellow Watch List Note: The Evening Grosbeak does not have a complex song, but rather draws from a repertoire of simple calls, including sweet, piercing notes and burry chirps.
Pine Grosbeak
U.S./Canada Population Estimate: 4.4 million Population Trend: Decreasing Habitat: Open boreal forest Threats: Possibly climate change Note: The Pine Grosbeak can be so tame and slow-moving that locals in Newfoundland affectionately call them “mopes.” Pine Grosbeaks declined by 2.4 percent per year between 1966 and 2015, resulting in a cumulative decline of 70 percent.
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch
U.S./Canada Population Estimate: 200,000 Population Trend: Unknown Habitat: Alpine tundra Threats: Climate change Note: The Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch has little fear of humans and will allow people to closely approach.
Black Rosy-Finch
U.S. Population Estimate: 20,000 Population Trend: Decreasing Habitat: Alpine tundra Threats: Climate change Conservation Status: PIF Red Watch List Note: The Black Rosy-Finch nests in crevices along cliffs in alpine areas that are rarely visited by people.
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch
U.S. Population Estimate: 45,000 Population Trend: Decreasing Habitat: Alpine tundra Threats: Climate change Conservation Status: PIF Red Watch List Note: This is the most sedentary rosy-finch.Unlike the Black Rosy-Finch, this species is known to sometimes nest in abandoned buildings.
House Finch
U.S./Canada Population Estimate: 31 million Population Trend: Increasing Habitat: Generalist Threats: House Finch conjunctivitis (mycoplasmal conjunctivitis) Note: House Finches are native to the western United States and Mexico but were introduced in the eastern United States when illegal cagebirds were released in New York in 1939. This one of the most well-studied bird species.
U.S./Canada Population Estimate: 5.9 million Population Trend: Decreasing Habitat: Mixed northern, montane, and boreal forests Threats: Competition with the House Finch over food and breeding grounds, possibly climate change Note: Purple finches sometimes imitate other birds in their songs, including Barn Swallows, American Goldfinches, Eastern Towhees, and Brown-headed Cowbirds. Populations decreased by almost 1.5 percent per year between 1966 and 2014.
Cassin’s Finch
U.S./Canada Population Estimate: 3 million Population Trend: Decreasing Habitat: Western forests Threats: Additional studies are needed to determine the factors causing declines in populations. Conservation Status: PIF Yellow Watch List Note: Both sexes tend to show more of a peaked head and longer, straighter bill than the House and Purple Finch. Cassin’s Finch populations have declined 69 percent since 1970.
Common Redpoll
U.S./Canada Population Estimate: 38 million Population Trend: Unknown Habitat: Sub-Arctic forests and tundra Threats: Vehicle collisions, salmonella infections from bird feeders, possibly climate change Note: During winter, Common Redpolls are known to tunnel into the snow to stay warm during the night. To keep redpolls and other birds safe at feeders, it is recommended that you clean your feeders with a diluted bleach solution several times a week, and make sure feeders are dry before filling them with seed. This helps prevent salmonella and other infections.
Hoary Redpoll
U.S./Canada Population Estimate: 10 million Population Trend: Unknown Habitat: Arctic tundra Threats: Possibly climate change Note: Many Hoary Redpolls overwinter in areas that are entirely dark, or nearly so, during the winter.
Red Crossbill
U.S./Canada Population Estimate: 7.8 million Population Trend: Decreasing Habitat: Coniferous forests Threats: Deforestation, vehicle collisions, possible chemical poisoning Note: The crossbill’s odd bill shape helps it get into tightly closed cones. The crossed tips of the bill push up scales, exposing the seeds inside.
Cassia Crossbill
U.S. Population Estimate: 6,000 Population Trend: Decreasing Habitat: Lodgepole Pine forests, other coniferous forests Threats: Forestfires, infestations of Mountain Pine Bark Beetle, possibly climate change Note: Prior to 2017, the Cassia Crossbill was considered one of ten types of the Red Crossbill. However, researchers discovered that it doesn’t breed with other crossbills, has a thicker bill, and isn’t nomadic. Its name comes from Cassia County, Idaho.
White-winged Crossbill
U.S./Canada Population Estimate: 35 million Population Trend: Increasing Habitat: Boreal forest Threats: Habitat loss and fragmentation, possible chemical poisoning Note: White-winged Crossbills with lower mandibles crossing to the right are approximately three times more common than those with lower mandibles crossing to the left.
U.S./Canada Population Estimate: 35 million Population Trend: Decreasing Habitat: Northern and montane forests Threats: Domestic cats and other predators, salmonella infections from feeders, pesticide poisoning Conservation Status: Common Bird in Steep Decline Note: Pine Siskins can speed up their metabolic rate roughly 40 percent higher than a “normal” songbird their size to stay warm. Pine Siskin populations have declined by 80 percent since 1970.
Lesser Goldfinch
U.S. Population Estimate: 4.7 million Population Trend: Increasing Habitat: Brushy areas, forest edges, gardens Threats: Loss of riparian habitat Note: The Lesser Goldfinch is most common in California and Texas, with pockets of local populations throughout the rest of its U.S. range. It also occurs widely from Mexico to northern South America. This species’ range is increasing with urbanization.
Lawrence’s Goldfinch
U.S. Population Estimate: 240,000 Population Trend: Decreasing Habitat: Chaparral, dry areas near water Threats: Habitat loss, introduction of invasive species Note: The Lawrence’s Goldfinch is nomadic, present in large numbers in a locality one year and absent the next.
U.S./Canada Population Estimate: 43 million Population Trend: Increasing Habitat: Open habitats, fields, forest edges, open woodlands Threats: Cat predation, glass collisions Note: Goldfinches have an almost entirely plant-based diet, only swallowing the occasional insect.
How Can I Help?
We all can do our part to protect North America’s finches.
American Bird Conservancy and our Joint Venture partners have improved conservation management on 6.4 million acres of U.S. bird habitat — an area larger than the state of Maryland — over the last ten years. This is a monumental undertaking, requiring the support of many, and you can help by making a gift today.
Policies enacted by Congress and federal agencies, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have a huge impact on America’s birds. You can help shape these rules for the better by telling lawmakers to prioritize birds, bird habitat, and bird-friendly measures. To get started, visit ABC’s Action Center.
We only have until Monday (March 1st) to comment on rollbacks to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Please ask the US Fish and Wildlife Service to help restore this important #bird protection law!
Oklahoma, like some other southern states, has suffered from abnormal, extreme cold. Thermometers in the center of the region fell below -20°C (-4°F).
In southeastern Oklahoma, in McCurten County, the swamps are frozen. The alligators that live there try to adapt to the cold. Even though they’re frozen in the ice, they leave their nose outside so they can breathe.
Pictures of the reptiles were published by Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Officer David Arbor. He took these pictures in the Red Slough marshes. Previously, this behavior of reptiles during frosts was observed in North Carolina in 2018 and 2019.
This state is akin to hibernation in mammals. Abnormal coldness causes reptiles’ metabolism to slow down. If the animals left the swamps, they could die, because they cannot regulate their body temperature. When the thermometers rise above zero, the alligators will return to their normal state.
Poachers massacre rhinos for their horns. Just one can sell for as much as $300,000. Some are carved into ornaments. Some are ground up and sold as medicine. But if horns were cheap, few criminals would take the risk and go to the trouble of killing rhinos. So entrepreneur Matt Markus has a plan to save the rhinos: drive poachers out of business by 3D-printing cheap horns. Markus says: ?When things are abundant, people don?t kill, fight or steal.? Rhino farmers also guard rhinos because they sell Rhino horns without killing them. That drives down prices, too. In 2008, South Africa banned selling horns. Prices and poaching skyrocketed. Then in 2017, South Africa legalized sales. Since then, poaching declined. But environmental groups HATE the idea of any market for horns. I debate a representative from the Humane Society in the video above.
America has become a long comedy of errors under Democrat Joe Biden, and it is simply humiliating for anyone who wants to be taken seriously. No one wants to laugh at an aged man with dementia. No one wants to be cruel about his obvious decline, but powerful positions require cable and skilled leaders. People are going to talk.
“It is clear US President Joe Biden is not up to the task he has been “sworn in to do,” according to Sky News host Cory Bernardi.
Australian News called out Joe Biden for cognitive compromise; the dementia is transparently obvious, so know our “family secret” is out in the public stream of consciousness.
So, Biden is not only a radical far-leftist, he is not mentally fit for President’s office, and now foreign media is saying it out loud. Oh, and calling out our clown show media as well.
Bernardi went on to say that it is something that was “evident” during the election campaign, but the “partisan and poisonous” mainstream media chose not to highlight anything which could have “derailed a Biden victory.” “Even now, after he has been sworn in, many of them are still refusing to speak the truth about Biden’s lack of capacity.”
.” The result was nothing short of a disaster … it was littered with total falsehoods,” Mr. Bernardi said. “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.”
“Not a specific disease, dementia is a group of conditions characterized by impairment of at least two brain functions, such as memory loss and judgment. Symptoms include forgetfulness, limited social skills, and thinking abilities so impaired that it interferes with daily functioning. Medications and therapies may help manage symptoms.”
Medical experts say there are 7 stages of Dementia.What Are the Seven Stages of Dementia?
Stage 1 (No cognitive decline)
Stage 2 (Very mild cognitive decline)
Stage 3 (Mild cognitive decline)
Stage 4 (Moderate cognitive decline)
Stage 5 (Moderately severe cognitive decline)
Stage 6 (Severe cognitive decline):
Stage 7 (Very severe cognitive decline):
Dementia may produce a group of signs and symptoms that become more severe over time. Some doctors believe that the early warning signs and stages include a decline in memory, counting, reasoning, and language abilities.
The power came back on for most Texans after a horrifying week brought to you by liberalism where millions of Lone Star state residents saw extended outages when the Texas power grid couldn’t hold up to harsh winter storms.
As if that wasn’t enough now a second crisis is hitting many Texans in the form of gigantic electric bills some say they can’t possibly in a million years be able to pay. So far, the highest noted bill for one resident came in at $17,000, for the month as of Thursday.
Jason Wheeler, a reporter for KHOU-TV has been covering the problems Texans are facing who are under variable or indexed (by market rate) payment plans for their power bills. Most electric customer’s bills are set at a fixed rate, but the variable-type plans fluctuate. Normally, customers would take advantage of rates going down with the risk that rates could slightly go up. Well, for them the costs went up and there was nothing slight about it.
Wheeler reported that just over the past few days, the wholesale cost of one megawatt of power went from around $50 to $9,000, and that caused residential customers with non-fixed plans to get skyrocketing bills far that go beyond anything they could ever afford.
After asking for Texans who received crazy bills to send them to him, Wheeler said they just poured in. One person showed they paid just $88 last month for their electric bill and just received a bill close to $2,550 for a 990 sq ft apartment. Someone else said his daughter’s electric bill was usually around $50 a month and her bill just shot up close to $1,900.
Ty Williams who pays for electricity for his home, a guest house, and an office normally totals at about $600. This time his bill went to a whopping $17,000.
“How in the world can anyone pay that?” Williams told KHOU. “I mean you go from a couple hundred dollars a month…there’s absolutely no way. It makes no sense.”
In the meantime, other power companies are refusing to take on new customers for people who want to switch as they are trying to work on servicing their current customers during the chaos going on in the state.
A lot of customers are angry that they are facing these sky-high electric bills when they haven’t had power on in their homes for the past week. Some folks are asking how the racked-up bills aren’t considered price gouging. I would say because they were on that variable or index rate plan and that’s what the cost went up to when the ice hit the windmill. See what I did there?
Without electricity, there was no heat for a lot of homes, and in the kind of frozen weather Texas received recently a lot of homes’ water pipes burst to cause all kinds of damage. Disaster recovery services are not cheap either.
One person responded to Wheeler’s tweet about the situation.
“Talk about kicking us when we’re down… I’m afraid to see what my bill is going to be. So freaking mad about this $*it. I’m already afraid to see what they’re gonna do with my water bill after having to keep our taps dripping for almost a week now.”
More had things to say about what they’re going through.
“When my power came back on Wed the heater was blowing cold air then the fire sprinkler pipe burst the next day. I have renters insurance but what are my options? My apt is not getting warmed and kitchen living room ruined. Also will my bill electric skyrocket?”
Bird Calls Black-and-White Warbler, Dennis W. Donohue/Shutterstock
BirdCalls
News and Perspectives on Bird Conservation
John C. Mittermeier January 29, 2021
How long do birds live? Whether you want to ace this question at your next bird-themed trivia challenge or just impress someone spontaneously, here’s the answer: Birds can live between four and 100 years, depending on the species.
While it may win you trivia points, this answer may raise more questions than it resolves: Why is there such a range of lifespans? Which birds live the longest? Can some birds really live to be 100?
Answering these questions proves to be surprisingly hard. In many cases, the seemingly simple question of how old is that bird can be impossible to answer.
By learning a few basic facts about how birds age, however, we can gain some interesting insights into bird lifespans and even begin to understand which of the familiar species around us are likely to be living longer (and shorter) lives.
Wisdom, a 69-year-old female Laysan Albatross, currently holds the record as the oldest-known wild bird. Photo by USFWS
Birds don’t age like we do
As humans, we’re accustomed to using visual hints to guess the age of someone or something. The neighbor’s dog with flecks of gray fur and a stiff walk is obviously getting up in years. That huge gnarled tree in the park must have been there for decades.
Birds are different. They don’t get gray; they don’t become arthritic; they don’t get bigger with each passing year; they don’t leave growth rings for us to count.
In fact, once most birds develop their adult plumage, they essentially become impossible to age.
The reality that birds don’t show physical signs of aging creates a challenge for understanding how long they live: If we can’t age adult birds, how can we study their lifespans?
Cookie, a Pink Cockatoo, lived to the age of 83, making her the world’s longest-living bird. Photo by Brookfield Zoo/Flickr
What we know (and don’t know) about the oldest birds in the world
If you Google “longest-lived bird,” you will find multiple claims of birds that lived for over 100 years. Some birds may have even lived to be 120!
Take these claims with a grain of salt.
These records depend on knowing when a bird hatched, a fact we usually do not have if the bird was born in the wild. Also, as with fishing stories, bird fanciers sometimes exaggerate how long their birds live.
According to Guinness World Records, the oldest confirmed bird is “Cookie,” a Pink, or Major Mitchell’s, Cockatoo that lived to the age of 83 at the Brookfield Zoo near Chicago.
Some birds have almost certainly lived to be older than 83 (hence the upper range of the trivia answer), but for now, we do not yet have definitive confirmation of an avian centenarian.
It is usually difficult to age wild birds
As the claims for the title of “world’s oldest bird” demonstrate, accurately aging birds, even in captivity, is challenging. For wild birds, it is even harder. There’s the obvious problem that wild birds are difficult to keep track of. In almost all cases, it is impossible to know when exactly an individual bird began or ended its life. Furthermore, animals in the wild lead very different lives from those in captivity and the insights gained from captive individuals may not always be relevant to those in the wild.
Our knowledge of birds’ lifespans in the wild comes almost entirely from bird banding. The theory behind this technique is simple: If you catch a bird that has already been banded, you can confirm its age — or at least the time elapsed since it was originally caught.
In practice, though, aging birds from banding is more complicated than it seems. Only a small percentage of banded birds are ever observed again, and if they were adults when they were first banded, their starting age is unknown.
Red-tailed Hawks have been recorded living up to 30 years. Photo by Stanislav Duben/Shutterstock
Relatively speaking, birds live a long time
While there is still a lot to learn about how long birds live in the wild, one thing is clear: Many birds live much longer than we might expect.
Life expectancy in the animal world generally correlates with metabolic rate. In mammals, this is often linked to body size: Big mammals with slower metabolisms generally live longer lives; small ones with faster metabolisms live shorter lives. Humans, for example, live longer than dogs and cats, which live longer than mice and hamsters. (As is often the case with these generalized patterns, there are exceptions.)
Many birds are small and have extremely high metabolic rates. So, we would expect birds to be relatively short-lived. But they aren’t.
On the contrary, many birds live an extraordinarily long time, particularly when compared to similar-sized mammals. For example, under ideal conditions in captivity, a House Mouse can live four years. Meanwhile, a Broad-billed Hummingbird (a quarter the size of the mouse) can live up to 14 years in thewild.
Barn Swallows have been recorded living 16 years, enough time for these prodigious travelers to have traveled roughly half the distance to the moon during their annual migrations. European Goldfinches can live up to 27 years. Common Ravens are known to have lived 69 years, more than twice as long as the oldest-known dog.
As with their lack of physical aging, we are also still learning how birds are able to live so long with their super-fast metabolisms. The answers may offer clues to understanding aging in our own species.
One important point to keep in mind: Just because birds can live a long time doesn’t necessarily mean that all individuals of the species do live that long. Similar to us humans (who have been recorded living to 122), most individuals will have shorter lives than those at the extreme.
The oldest recorded Wild Turkey lived for 15 years. Photo by Paul Tessier/Shutterstock
Clues for identifying the longer (and shorter) lived birds around you
For those of us watching birds at our feeders or birding in the field, it will almost always be impossible to accurately age individual wild birds once they are adults. But we can begin to understand which of the bird species around us are likely to be longer (and shorter) lived.
Longer lifespan is often associated with features of a bird’s biology and natural history. Here are five characteristics that can help us make an educated guess about which species are likely to be longer-lived:
Body size. On average, larger species tend to live longer than smaller species.
Number of chicks. Birds with longer lifespans often have fewer young, while those with shorter lifespans tend to have more.
Years to reach adulthood. Shorter-lived species tend to reach adulthood more quickly than longer-lived species.
Life on the ground. Birds that live and nest on the ground have often adapted for shorter lifespans than those that live higher up, such as in the shelter of the tree canopy.
Island life. Birds that live and nest on islands are often longer-lived than their mainland counterparts.
Keeping these insights in mind, which do you think lives longer: A Wild Turkey or a Red-tailed Hawk?
To get started, here are a few basic facts: Turkeys are larger than Red-tails (up to 24 lbs. versus vs. 2.8 lbs.), have substantially more chicks (up to 17 eggs versus up to five eggs), reach adulthood more quickly (one year versus three years), and live on the ground.
If you chose the Red-tailed Hawk, you’re right. Red-tails have been recorded living up to 30 years, while the oldest recorded Wild Turkey was 15 years old.
In addition to these biological and ecological features, there is another factor that often predicts how long a bird species is known to live: How much people have studied it. In general, birds that have been better studied are more likely to have records of long-lived individuals. Given how difficult it is to age birds, this makes sense. It also shows how much there still is to learn about how long many bird species can live.
Longevity records for some familiar North American birds in the wild (based on banding data from the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Bird Banding Laboratory).To see more records, take a look at our expanded wild bird longevity graph.SpeciesAgeMallard27 yearsElf Owl5 yearsAmerican Flamingo49 yearsLaysan Albatross68 yearsGreat Blue Heron24 yearsBald Eagle38 yearsSandhill Crane37 yearsAtlantic Puffin33 yearsGreat Horned Owl28 years
See if you can use what you know about the size and natural history of some of these familiar birds to notice patterns in their lifespans. Remember, not all of these characteristics are hard-and-fast rules, and sometimes patterns are influenced by how much we have studied a species. For more, check out the avian longevity records by species from the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Bird Banding Laboratory.
Smaller owls like the Elf Owl can live up to five years; larger species, like the Great Horned Owl, can live to be nearly 30. Photos (left to right) by Terry Sohl and Brent Barnes/Shutterstock
Longevity and Conservation
Longer-lived birds often have fewer young each breeding season and take longer to reach adulthood. This means that their ability to successfully produce young can be dependent on each individual being able to live a long time. Wisdom, a 69-year-old female Laysan Albatross that currently holds the record as the oldest-known wild bird, may have produced as many as 36 chicks over the course of her life. If this seems like a lot, consider that a very productive female turkey might produce nearly that many chicks over the course of one or two years!
The slow-paced lifestyle of long-lived birds such as albatrosses can have important consequences for conservation. On islands, for example, where birds have long lifespans, the introduction of new threats such as invasive predators can have disastrous results.
ABC’s work to protect long-lived island-nesting birds such as the Hawaiian Petrel is one way we’re helping long-lived bird species continue to make the most of their slow and steady lifestyles.
ABC works to improve prospects for birds throughout the Americas and beyond. This means taking on human-caused challenges to birds including habitat loss, building collisions, pesticides, and climate change.Your support helps us achieve conservation for birds and their habitats.
Dr. Steve Austad generously offered advice for this blog. His book Methuselah’s Zoo, which focuses on aging in the animal world, comes out in 2021. John C. Mittermeier is the Director of Threatened Species Outreach at ABC. He works with ABC’s partners in Bolivia and helps to lead ABC’s lost birds and bird trade initiatives.
There are an estimated 22.1 million illegal immigrants in the United States (2016), “double the current widely accepted estimate”. [A] Immigrants from poorer countries appear to bring in more family members through family joining: “In the most recent five-year cohort of immigrants studied (1996-2000), each new Mexican immigrant sponsored 6.38 additional legal immigrants.” [B]
“CONGRESSMAN MO BROOKS STRONGLY OPPOSES PRESIDENT BIDEN’S PLAN TO GRANT AMNESTY & CITIZENSHIP TO EVERY ILLEGAL ALIEN IN AMERICA February 18, 2021 Press Release
Washington, DC– Thursday, Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-05) expressed his strong opposition to amnesty and citizenship bills introduced in the House and Senate at President Joe Biden’s bequest by Congresswoman Linda Sanchez (D-CA-38) and Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ).
Congressman Brooks said, “At the October 22, 2020 presidential debate on national TV, then candidate Joe Biden promised amnesty and citizenship for all illegal aliens in America.[1] In my judgment, Joe Biden and his…
“CONGRESSMAN MO BROOKS: PRESIDENT BIDEN HURTS AMERICANS WHEN HE OPENS UP AMERICA’S SOUTHERN BORDER
February 11, 2021 Press Release
Washington, DC— Thursday, Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-05) blasted President Joe Biden’s rescission of President Trump’s border crisis national emergency declaration and termination of future border wall construction.
Congressman Brooks said, “Joe Biden puts Americans last and illegal aliens first— a significant departure from President Trump’s America First policy. Now is not the time to weaken border security. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents report that the tsunami of illegal aliens exceeds more than 3,500/day. The number of unaccompanied minors illegally entering America is closing in on 300 per day. CBP has encountered 200,000 illegal aliens attempting border crossings since October, and the number is constantly rising. America is experiencing a border crisis, regardless of whether Joe Biden recognizes it or not.”[1]
Brooks continued, “Ending border wall construction hurts American workers and…
Mayor Lozano is a Latino member of the Dem party. We will see if Biden makes Mayor Lozano into a Republican:
“City of Del Rio Mayor Bruno Lozano makes an urgent plea to the President of the United States“, February 17, 2021: “The City of Del Rio Mayor is pleading with the President of the United States to put a halt to any measures regarding the release of immigrants awaiting court dates into the City of Del Rio and surrounding areas. After the extreme weather and emergency conditions in the area, the city does not have the resources available to house and accommodate these migrants within the community“Watch the video: https://youtu.be/VPUbt42YsAI
A full thirty percent of all U.S. reporting stations set record daily cold highs and 20% set record daily cold lows from Feb. 14-16, according to NOAA. From Feb. 7th to the 16th, 6,601 daily cold records (for a particular day) were tied or set.
There were 944 daily-record-cold highs on Feb. 14, alone. (Happy Valentines day everyone.)
Another 567 daily-record-cold lows were set on the following day, Feb. 15.
As impressive as those numbers are, dozens of locations set records, not just for a particular day, but for any day in their history.
Eighty – count em, 80! – all-time coldest daily high temperature records were tied or set from Feb. 14-16. That means it was colder than any day in December. Or January. Or for February. Or any other month. It was the coldest for any day in their history.
Those were the coldest high temperature record-breakers…
“We are governed by immature children having a climate temper tantrum based on faulty reasoning that CO2 warms the planet.”
– Yukon Jack
____________
There are no adults in the room
Yukon Jack
There are no adults in the room, we are governed by immature children having a climate temper tantrum based on faulty reasoning that CO2 warms the planet.
Why were these huge windmills built in the first place? Because the globalist media narrative said CO2 was a threat. It is not a threat, it is a life gas. So right off the bat, windmills were built based on a false premise.
So where are the adults, the solid level headed thinkers who direct capital based on need and efficiency? Gone with the wind, we are basing our infrastructure capital investing based on lies of a political class that couldn’t care less about truth or efficiency.
Wolf Patrol took a look into the coyote fur industry to see what becomes of the many animals killed annually in Wisconsin. What we found out was that most of the coyotes killed by hound hunters are in such bad condition that they are almost commercially worthless. Indeed, what we learned was that for this reason, many hunters simply kill coyotes and leave them where they lay.
Comments on the Groenewold Fur & Wool Co. Facebook page December 2020.
This is especially true now in late winter when not only coyotes, but other animals’ fur such as wolves is of little commercial value due to the animals rubbing and the natural yellowing of the fur that occurs when days become longer. For those coyotes caught in traps, at the right time of the year, their pelts can fetch as much as $80.00 in prime condition. Wolf Patrol’s research into the…
Dozens of volunteers on South Padre Island are coming together to rescue cold-stunned turtles amid Texas’s deadly winter storm.
The power is out, and the water has stopped running for most of the typically warm beach town, but many residents braved the freezing temperatures to rescue the endangered sea turtles. The people ventured on foot and by boat, working tirelessly to gather as many turtles as possible.
Volunteers working with Sea Turtle, Inc. had transported over 3,500 comatose turtles by late Tuesday. The reptiles were brought to the town’s rescue center to be rehabilitated. Conservationists hope to gradually increase the turtles’ body heat as they lay them on tarps and kiddie pools indoors.
But Wendy Knight, the local rescue group’s executive director, fears that hundreds of the recovered turtles may have already succumbed to the cold.
“It’s unprecedented. A cold stun like this could have the potential to wipe out decades of hard work, and we’re going through it with no power and a unique, more catastrophic challenge to our efforts,” she told The Washington Post.
Below zero temperatures and prolonged power outages have left more than a dozen people dead around the U.S. as of early Wednesday. And it’s not just the turtles; other animals have also felt the brunt of the Arctic Chill that has ravaged Texas and other areas in the southern part of the country.
According to conservationists, it often takes days for them to know how many turtles were able to survive as the animals slowly regain warmth.
These turtles play a significant role in keeping the ecosystem balanced. Dubbed as the “lawnmowers of the ocean,” they consume the area’s thick, underwater vegetation.
However, when temperatures drop below 50 Fahrenheit—which rarely happens in South Padre Island—the low temperatures can cause them to become cold-stunned.
When this happens, a turtle’s heart rate lowers and its flippers become paralyzed. Its body will then float comatose above the water and will sometimes be washed ashore. This phenomenon can put them at risk of predators, boats, and even drowning.
In a typical year, Sea Turtle, Inc. volunteers expect to rescue anywhere from a few dozen to a few hundred cold-stunned turtles, warming them inside the group’s facility. But this time, they were already filling up the rescue center to the brim before the weekend was up.
They put out a call for help, and the community didn’t disappoint. Soon, much of the island transported the turtles to an overflow facility at the South Padre Island Convention Center. The generators and good insulation in the place could help keep the animals warm.
On Monday and Tuesday, boats went out to scoop up cold-stunned turtles from the freezing water. Other volunteers on foot scanned the beach for any reptiles and loaded them into their trunks and truck beds to bring them to the rescue center.
Gina McLellan, a 71-year-old retired professor and longtime volunteer, said this is “a huge, huge community effort.”
“We very often don’t even think about the [cold’s] impact on animals, because we’re so worried about our own electricity and water. With this kind of event, it’s a classic display of humanity toward animals,” she said.
Although she’s grateful for the volunteers, Knight said that their efforts would be in vain without the power grid’s help.
The “dry dock” rehabilitation method used inside the centers can only do so much. The dozens of injured and sick turtles need to be treated inside massive, heated tanks.
“If we don’t get some relief from a power standpoint, we’re not going to be able to sustain this,” Knight said.
Hopefully, each of these turtles will be returned to their habitat once the harsh weather has subsided.
You can help by donating to Sea Turtle, Inc. You may also follow their Facebook page for more updates.
Image provided by wildlife advocate from own photos.
If anymore evidence was needed about what an absolutely cruel and vile state Wisconsin is, look no farther than the events of the past five days regarding our gray wolf population. As a “quick” summary this is what happened.
This is so tragic. Even for state universities the debt burden for Medical School is many times greater than for average grad degrees.
From NumbersUSA https://www.numbersusa.com
“Doctors without Jobs’ Bring Their Message to D.C.
PUBLISHED: Fri, FEB 12th 2021 @ 9:08 am EST by Eric Ruark Over the last week of January, members of the group Doctors without Jobs [1] came to Washington, D.C. to educate Members of Congress on their issue – that 6,570 U.S.-citizen medical school graduates in good standing are unmatched with residencies.
Without residency training, doctors can’t practice medicine, which means medical school graduates, many burdened with debt, are stuck in career limbo waiting for a residency match that may never come
As we pointed out last August, [2] despite the claims made by many in the media, and by politicians who are pushing legislation that will expand the number of foreign doctors admitted…
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