Sleepless in Midland

Should someone registering to vote be required to show proof of citizenship? 10th Circuit says "no"

The state of Kansas simply wanted to require people registering to vote to show proof of citizenship. That should have been easy.

However, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the roughly 30,000 people who couldn't prove their citizenship shows that the "requirement unconstitutionally burdens the right to vote." And the court ruled the Kansas law unconstitutional. Further, the court ruled that having to prove citizenship violated the "minimum-information" requirement of the Motor Voter law.

There are plenty of partisans who want to make it as easy as possible to register to vote, but that seems like an invitation to fraud. Fraud does happen, and it's hard to ferret out. Voter fraud happens in a number of ways, and efforts are being made to eliminate the various ways to cheat. However, it requires plugging each hole. In the aggregate the number of fraudulent votes could be large, but any one tactic might not yield a huge number of votes. Reformers have to tackle each tactic one by one. The job is made more difficult by the requirement that large numbers of cheaters must be proved before reform is allowed.

Anyway, for a discussion of the case by the the Kansas Secretary of State at the time the law was passed, see Kobach: The Tenth Circuit Wrongly Strikes Down Kansas’s Proof-of-Citizenship Election Requirement. And click FISH v. SCHWAB to read the 10th Circuit's opinion.

------
10:15 AM 4/30/2020

KC Chiefs blocker now helping out on the coronavirus front line

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif was a starting right guard for the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl just a short time ago. His education was in medicine, and he decided to help out where he was needed.

A very nice article about him appears in Sports Illustrated: A Blocker Moves to the Pandemic’s Front Line. Here's an excerpt:

Less than three months after helping the Chiefs to a Super Bowl victory as their starting right guard, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is putting his doctorate in medicine to use: fighting the coronavirus outbreak at a longterm care facility in Quebec.

--(Laurent Duvernay-Tardif as told to Greg Bishop Apr 27, 2020.)--

Soon into the crisis I started to ask how I could help. I reached out to the health ministry and public health authorities, but found out that I fell into a gray area where they didn’t know what to do with me, because I don’t have a license to practice—yet. In the interim, officials briefed me on an almost daily basis, and I used my platform and credentials to relay their messages. In Montreal, for a while, the age group most infected was people between 20 and 29, so there was an issue with enforcing those social distancing measures. I tried to reinforce the need for them.
...
I was assigned to a long-term care facility near my hometown on the South Shore, which is about an hour from Montreal. On my drive in, I thought about my own draft experience, back in 2014, when I missed a second-day draft party at my house because I was working at the hospital, in an intensive care unit, helping with an emergency C-section. The Chiefs took me the next day, in the sixth round. My shift started at 7:30 a.m. I found out that I would be working for now in more of a nursing role, helping relieve the workers who have already been in place. There’s so much that needs to happen just to visit with every patient—masks donned and hands washed and equipment like gloves and visors tugged on and off and thrown away. I handled a medication cart, making sure to administer the right dosage and in the proper way. Honestly, I was drained after—and looking forward to going back.

There was one positive test for COVID-19 at the same facility. Officials had set up a makeshift space in the cafeteria with 15 beds to be filled any time a patient comes down with symptoms. So far, due to those types of measures, the virus has not spread to other patients yet.

It’s wild to think that just 10 weeks earlier I played in the biggest game in sports. I was reminded of that even at the facility, when one of the people training me turned and said, “You’re the football player, right?” When I answered yes, he said, “Bro, you just won the Super Bowl.” Indeed, I told him, and now I just want to help.

A true hero!

------
10:52 AM 4/29/2020

A novel approach to the novel coronavirus: Nicotine

Imagination and innovation are often triggered by desperation. This time innovation has brought us the theory that nicotine might actually be useful in the fight against covid-19.

This idea came from the French as described in Was Hockney RIGHT? French researchers to give nicotine patches to coronavirus patients and frontline workers after lower rates of infection were found among smokers:

French researchers are planning to trial whether nicotine patches will help prevent - or lessen the effects of - the deadly coronavirus.

Evidence is beginning to show the proportion of smokers infected with coronavirus is much lower than the rates in the general population. 

Scientists are now questioning whether nicotine could stop the virus from infecting cells, or if it may prevent the immune system overreacting to the infection.

They may be onto something. Authors in sciencemag.org explains how the virus tries to wipe us out in How does coronavirus kill? Clinicians trace a ferocious rampage through the body, from brain to toes. Here's a short excerpt addressing the immune system:

Some clinicians suspect the driving force in many gravely ill patients’ downhill trajectories is a disastrous overreaction of the immune system known as a “cytokine storm,” which other viral infections are known to trigger. Cytokines are chemical signaling molecules that guide a healthy immune response; but in a cytokine storm, levels of certain cytokines soar far beyond what’s needed, and immune cells start to attack healthy tissues. Blood vessels leak, blood pressure drops, clots form, and catastrophic organ failure can ensue.

It's no secret that nicotine acts as a mild depressant of the immune system. There probably aren't any stats on people who actually use nicotine for the sole purpose of alleviating symptoms of those diseases in which their own immune systems attack some organ. But they are out there comfortably appreciating the relief nicotine gives them.

So now we are slowly learning that they also might be helping themselves ward off the most devastating part of the coronavirus.

Doctors have been so indoctrinated against smoking that they are loath to suggest any remedy that uses nicotine. And this is not enough of a reason to start smoking. But there are other ways to get nicotine into the system, and anyone willing to try can come up with a way that doesn't involve lighting up.

------
2:25 PM 4/26/2020

Who are Biden's Supreme Court picks?

Pundits speculate on who Biden's VP running mate will be, and so far, he has hit all the notes in the identity politics song. But the other importion question is who will be his Supreme Court picks.

Many 2016 Trump voters were focused on the replacement of Antonin Scalia. And candidate Trump was smart enough to publish a list of originalists. He has subsequently selected some fine jurists to fill empty spots not only on the Supreme Court but the whole federal judiciary.

But what about Biden? So far, not much forthcoming. It would probably be fair to assume his picks will be straight up proponents of the living constitution theory by which a judge decides for him/herself what the constitution should have said so that it fits in with present day political whims.

Democrats know that, so it probably wouldn't benefit him politically to name his potential picks. But it would be fun to watch the political theater when Democrats complain that there aren't enough jurists of one group or another on the list.

Actually, at this point in the process, we don't even know for sure that Biden will be the nominee. There are probably plenty of Democrat insiders who would like to dump him.

------
8:46 AM 4/25/2020

Fox Friday 4-24-20 -- Fox sees a poltergeist

Fox sees a poltergeist. Actually it was just a photo aberration.

Two foxes debating about who eats first.

Fox inspects a mysterious box that showed up behind the water bowl. There was food in it. It wasn't a trap, but the fox was too suspicious to go in.

------
2:48 PM 4/23/2020

Ethanol in gasoline -- Earth Day is a great time to drop this requirement

The idea of putting ethanol in gasoline came about as a way to please the green lobby and corn farmers. But both of those concepts are outdated and unnecessary.

As for the corn farmers, it's time to wean them off the government dole. However, a subsidy once initiated is hard to withdraw.

And if fact, they are wanting more. Tim Carney tells us that the Ethanol lobby asks for a coronavirus bailout:

So it is with the coronavirus crisis. The companies that turn grain into an inferior fuel are already subsidized up to their necks by state and federal governments, and they are already eligible for the coronavirus relief available to all businesses. Yet they want more — they want their own special coronavirus bailout.

Yes, the ethanol industry is now lobbying the Trump administration for a bailout, Reuters is reporting. ...

This is what always happens.

High corn prices and low gasoline prices in 2009? There was a push for an ethanol bailout.

Financial crisis in 2008? Push for an ethanol bailout.

Oversupply in 2007? Lobby for an ethanol bailout.

Another glut in 2010? Lobby for an ethanol bailout.

These days, every industry needs help. But the ethanol industry has been getting it all along and doesn't deserve special treatment now.

Meanwhile, the oil producers are facing a hefty problem of their own. How about a bailout for them?

------
2:09 PM 4/22/2020

Fox Friday 4-17-20 -- these animals don't like to share

Lil Gray guards the food dish while the fox watches from the sideline.

A couple of hours later --

Another fox arrives. But one still has to wait. Hungry critters don't like to share.

------
3:12 PM 4/16/2020

A test we should hope becomes available sooner rather than later

There are two types of tests researchers use on patients for Coronavirus detection. One tests whether the patient is infected. It's the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) which is a method for amplifying the disease's RNA from the patient's snot -- we've seen them demonstrated on TV where a stick is poked into the patient's nose. That would confirm whether or not the patient is infected, but it works only while the patient is infected.

The other test is a serum test which would require a small sample of blood from which the researcher could determine whether the patient's body has antibodies to the virus. But that's the tough one, since the antibodies in that patient may have developed to fight some other form of the virus and might not protect against Covid-19.

Numerous companies and institutions are working to develop an antibody test. Let's all hope some or all of them come up with a simple, fast, and cheap test. And more importantly, someone comes up with a working vaccine.

Resources:
The coronavirus test that might exempt you from social distancing—if you pass
New COVID-19 Antibody Pilot Testing Begins Friday Across LA County
Coronavirus Update: N.J. City Begins ‘Rapid Antibody COVID-19’ Testing On First Responders
Could a simple blood test for COVID-19 antibodies help reopen the economy?

------
3:10 PM 4/15/2020

------

Updated 7:43 AM 4/16/202: a news release dated 4/15/2020 from Abbott Labs proclaims:

Abbott has launched its third test for coronavirus (COVID-19) and will start shipping it in the U.S.

The test is a serology test – also called an antibody test – which could be a critical next step in battling this virus.

Abbott's test helps to detect the IgG antibody to SARS-CoV-2. An antibody is a protein that the body produces in the late stages of infection and may remain for up to months and possibly years after a person has recovered. Detecting these IgG antibodies will help determine if a person was previously infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.

The new antibody test is to be used on Abbott's ARCHITECT i1000SR and i2000SR laboratory instruments, which can run up to 100-200 tests an hour. ...

We're significantly scaling up our manufacturing for antibody testing and expect to ship close to 1 million tests to U.S. customers this week and 4 million of the antibody tests during April.

Abbott plans to ship 20 million antibody tests in the U.S. in June and beyond as we expand our testing capabilities to our Alinity i lab system.

Pelosi and Schumer put the "dem" in pandemic

Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer try hard to never let a crisis go to waste. And when we see headlines like this -- ‘We Have Real Problems’: Pelosi And Schumer Demand Republicans ‘Stop Posturing’ On Coronavirus Relief -- we can suspect politics are at play.

A clean bill without all the Democrat wish list fulfillment would be ideal. But opposition parties must oppose. And with President Trump demonstrating daily the irrelevance of the progressive movement and their friends in the media, it's almost enough to make a person feel sorry for them.

------
5:10 AM 4/14/2020

Daniel Henninger's prescient analogy to the roaring 20s

In early January our quote of the week was from Daniel Henninger's piece in which he told us what happened in the roaring 20s and how the time period had an eerie similarity to the present.

There were tariffs (Smoot Hawley), there was a booming economy, and there was a stock market boom. Then came a crash followed by the Great Depression compounded by government mistakes.

Flash forward and notice the similarity: booming economy, tariffs, and record setting stock market rallies. And then we experience a stock market crash and an economy in the dumps. The blame can be placed on the Coronavirus pandemic. But the similarity is eerie.

In this case government is concerned about both the disease and the economy. There are sharp minds at work battling the pandemic, and hopefully, it is close to a peak. And maybe this time the government is a great bit wiser when it comes to the economy.

As the old saying goes, "Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it."

Previously on these pages: Quote of the week -- Daniel Henninger on the roaring '20s.
Henninger's original piece: Will the ’20s Roar Again?

------
2:10 PM 4/11/2020

Fox Friday 4-10-20 a twofer for Good Friday

It has been a while since two foxes appeared in the same frame. But here they are.

Just in time to help us celebrate Good Friday.

------
10:20 AM 4/10/2020

Hooray for the garbage men

There are a lot of unsung heroes out there doing their jobs to help us live a comfortable life, and garbage men are among those heroes.

Now during the Coronavirus pandemic most communities consist of people trying to shelter in place, a lot of household garbage must accumulate.

It's sometimes hard to sympathize with a union rep complaining about the boss, but this Chicago union guy has a point: City workers say they’re picking up 50 percent more garbage — with no masks. Yeah, they probably should wear masks. But with a mask shortage the city may not have access to factory made masks they could divert from the medical professionals. However, DIY masks are appearing everywhere. And maybe the union could serve their members by making masks for the workers.

Meanwhile, having worked one summer during high school as a garbage man, I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the guys who pick up the trash. At that time, a truck typically had a crew of three: a driver and two workers to pick up the cans and dump them into the truck. It was a labor intensive job, but it was well suited for an adolescent kid trying to grow some muscles.

BTW, Garbage Man Day is June 17, 2020. It's won't hurt to start celebrating early.

------
10:52 AM 4/8/2020

The fashionable shopper -- Spring 2020 edition

The in look this Spring will be conscientious, practical and sophisticated, with a just a hint of the stealth with these fashionable accessories.

Dress for success!

------
1:30 PM 4/5/2020

Fox Friday 4-3-20

Sneaking up on his prey.

Yelling in triumph!

------
1:19 PM 4/2/2020