Getting It Right

Still more to learn from the Danes:

Denmark will ban burkas in schools and universities as part of a plan to tackle what it calls ‘parallel societies’.

The garment worn by some Muslim women is already banned in public places in the Scandinavian country, but the move would now expand the order into classrooms across Denmark. 

In Denmark, the term ‘parallel societies’ refers to residential areas where more than half of inhabitants are from an immigrant background. 

The ban on full-face coverings was introduced in Denmark in 2018, with those found to break the rule forced to pay a £1,300 fine. 

And the best part:

Denmark has some of the toughest migration laws in Europe, which were introduced after its Left-leaning government, which came into power in 2019, promised to curb migration to ‘protect Danishness’.

The underlying sentiment:  fit in or fuck off — or to be more precise, fit in or we’ll make you fuck off.

Gotta say, I’m not disagreeing with the Danes here.

I know, I know:  we wouldn’t do this to Orthodox Jews or the Amish, who create their own “parallel societies”.

The difference is that, unlike the Muslims, neither the Orthos or the Amish are interested in eventually forcing the rest of their host country to become like them.

Worthwhile Largesse

When I think of how much of our taxpayer money has been frittered away on useless crap like eco-lunacy, supporting Commie insurrections and delivering government benefits to illegal immigrants [156 more examples omitted for reasons of space], here at least is one I can get behind (via Reader John C., thankee):

The Department of War has given $10 million to TV host Mike Rowe’s Foundation that encourages Americans to enter the skilled trade industry.
The former “Dirty Jobs” star started the program that aims to offer Americans careers in the skilled trades like plumbing, electrical, and other hands-on work that won’t be made obsolete by artificial intelligence.

Wow… government money being spent on a civilian program that actually helps citizens and provides strategic benefit to the nation.

Here’s the enormity of the thing:

The foundation has helped over 2,600 people so far train as welders, HVAC technicians, pipefitters, and diesel mechanics who command a six-figure salary without requiring a four-year degree and massive amounts of student loan debt.

However:

The foundation says that America will need 320,000 welders, 250,000 shipbuilders, and 81,000 electricians over the next decade.

I bet the Lefties are totally pissed off about this — ironic, really, considering that they’ve always proclaimed themselves as the “Workers’ Party”, but really aren’t.  Then again, they are the “Party Of Lies”, and always have been.

Congrats to the Pentagon, and of course likewise to Mike Rowe (a true patriot if ever there was one).  If I have a single quibble, it’s that they should have given more than ten million dollars to this most worthy cause.

Finally, Part 2

I said this a couple weeks ago:

Start your engines, rev them loudly and turn your A/C down to 65, because the foolishness is ending:

The reelection of President Donald Trump came with an overall shift in the political landscape regarding climate and energy issues. Since then, major media outlets shut down their climate desks, corporations are easing back on emission-reduction targets, and polls consistently show the public rates climate change low on their list of priorities.

Can we also repeal all those stupid CAFE standards and regulations on auto companies and the cars they sell?

And now this is coming down the turnpike:

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright today announced the Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to permanently end home appliance and equipment mandates that raise costs and disrupt consumer choice.  The proposal will update the Department’s Process Rule used to establish energy conservation standards for household appliances and equipment, including air conditioning units, gas stoves, washing and drying machines, water heaters, refrigerators, and other products Americans rely on every day.  In America, you should be able to choose a dryer that dries clothes on the first try rather than one that takes multiple cycles — unfortunately, past administrations thought otherwise,” Secretary Wright said. “For too long, the American people paid the price for mandates that restricted consumer choice and drove up costs.  President Trump promised to end this nonsense and that is exactly what we are doing.”

One more time:

Excellent — Or Funny?

I see that the U.S. is finally going to get serious about our energy infrastructure:

One announcement Trump is set to make is the allocation of $425 million in Defense Production Act (DPA) funds to aid 13 coal plants in Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, per the official. Funding will also support coal mines in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

The official noted that funding will enable coal plants to extend their operational life through investment in upgrades, strengthen grid reliability, and prevent electricity prices from surging with demand.

So because it’s being funded by the DPA (as it should be), there’s no haggling with Congress required.  But the very next little addendum is what got me giggling:

The president is also expected to tell reporters that $75 million in DPA funding will help construct a coal-export terminal in Oakland, California, the official said.

One wonders what the Watermelons in California will think of their beloved Golden Shower State becoming a conduit for the EEEEVIL COLE to be sent out to pollute other nations’ air.  Maybe their feelings will be assuaged by this:

The West Gateway project is anticipated to create 1,400 on-site jobs and support thousands more in the western states.

…not that California ever cared about those icky blue-collar jobs, though.

There’s a lot more good news, but read the rest of the thing to get it all.

I personally think that the coal-mining industry would be far better served by the elimination of most if not all of the tiresome Obama/Biden-era EPA restrictions, but that would involve Congress and we all know what horrors, foot-dragging and tantrums that would cause.

Waking Up To Reality

Finally, someone has seen the light:

Bolt CEO fires his entire HR team because they “created problems that didn’t exist”, and “those problems disappeared when I let them go”.

Welcome to the party, pal.

Ryan Breslow, the co-founder and chief executive of US fintech firm Bolt, said the department was scrapped as part of sweeping layoffs aimed at returning the struggling business to “start-up mode”.

The 32-year-old added that HR professionals were more suited to “peacetime” conditions at larger companies rather than a start-up environment focused on rapid growth and efficiency.

In his seminal work, Up The Organization, the late Robert Townsend had a small chapter as part of his plan to make companies more successful:  “Fire the entire HR department.”  (I should point out that his incendiary book — which was and still is one of the best management books ever written — was published back in 1971.  One can only wonder what he’d think of today’s HR.)  Also, for those who don’t remember, Townsend was responsible for taking #2 car rental firm Avis to #1, so he knew what he was talking about.

I used to publish this little comment as a joke, except that it isn’t, really:

What I like is that the BOLT CEO has replaced HR with a small team tasked with “training and employee support” — i.e. the original function of the “Personnel Department” before they adopted the soulless “Human Resources” nomenclature.

Incidentally, Townsend sneered at HR being part of the hiring process, saying that this function should be left to the department managers, who should have a better idea than some third party of the kind of person they’d need.

I bet that Breslow would agree with that, now.