Bummer: SCOTUS Mandate Decision Could Be First Salvo In War On Administrative State

LA Times writer David Cole writes this op-ed like reducing the power the of the federal administrative state is a bad thing (LA Times piece behind paywall, using the Yahoo edition)

Op-Ed: The Supreme Court’s vaccine mandate ruling is the start of something far worse

The Supreme Court’s recent decision to block the Biden administration’s vaccination-or-test requirement for large private businesses will threaten the safety of hundreds of thousands of workers. But the damage it could do goes well beyond the pandemic.

The court’s 6-3 majority acknowledged that the order would save more than 6,500 lives and prevent more than 250,000 hospitalizations — but went ahead and blocked it anyway. There is probably no other court in the world that would stop its national government from taking such common-sense emergency measures to protect workers from the life-threatening risks of COVID. On Friday, a federal judge, relying on the Supreme Court’s decision, went still further, ruling that the president could not even require the federal government’s own employees to be vaccinated, despite a statute giving him broad authority to regulate employment policy for all federal workers.

Employment policy is not requiring workers put a vaccine in their body which is there after work. The judge apparently thought that the law didn’t give Biden the authority to do that. It doesn’t matter that it’s a pandemic, what matters is what the Constitution, then the law, says. Period. SCOTUS was also leary of the “grave danger” when the mandates would kick in a year after the vaccines were released.

Even more worrisome, though, is what the court’s reasoning means for our ability to address national challenges going forward. The majority stopped the order based on a wildly anachronistic vision of how the federal government should operate — one that would require Congress itself, rather than federal agencies, to micromanage complex problems.

This makes David, and you know lots and lots of Progressives (nice Fascists) mad, because it would limit the ability of the federal government to do whatever the hell they want using the most minuscule portion of a law, digging for it, trying to find a way to make it apply

But no. They jettisoned their commitment to textualism, and instead, came up with a way to throw the text aside. They maintained that when Congress authorizes an agency “to exercise powers of vast economic and political significance,” it must “speak clearly.” And then they reasoned that because Congress directed OSHA to address “occupational” safety — and COVID presents dangers outside as well as inside the workplace — OSHA’s authority was insufficiently clear. But nothing in the law limits OSHA to addressing only dangers that arise exclusively in the workplace, and it has long regulated dangers that arise at work and outside work, such as fire and dust.

If the law is not specific, if it doesn’t say something specific, then a federal agency shouldn’t be able to simply pull a justification out of a hat. OSHA cannot regulated what you do at home or outside of work. It’d probably be safer for you to wear work gloves that allow you to grip the steering wheel better on your way home to work, right? Maybe head protection? Heck, you never know, a fire retardant suit. They do not have the authority. You probably have a lot of things in your home that would violate OSHA workplace rules, like things sitting on the floor that block aisles and create hazards. No authority.

Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, in a concurring opinion joined by Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr., tied the majority’s approach to the long dormant “nondelegation doctrine,” which says that Congress cannot delegate its powers to another branch of government. The upshot is to require Congress itself to act rather than allowing the executive branch, through its departments and agencies, to do so wherever the justices deem an issue “major,” a term the court has never defined.

That’s exactly right, Congress cannot delegate authority, laws should be targeted. The Executive Branch can’t just make them up.

Congress cannot possibly legislate all the regulations that it takes to govern the nation — even if it weren’t mired in partisan gridlock. Many subjects require expertise and fact-finding that must, for all practical purposes, be done by federal agencies. Everything the Federal Reserve Board does has “vast economic and political significance,” but surely that doesn’t mean Congress has to set interest rates.

That’s why there’s a 10th Amendment. Congress, and the federal government, is not meant to govern the whole nation in every thing that arises. But, what David means is “Los Federales telling everyone how to live their lives.”

Countless areas of the modern economy are regulated and governed by federal agencies; that’s their job. Yet the decision to block the OSHA vaccine-or-test requirement is an initial salvo in what could become a full-scale attack on the administrative state.

Good. It needs to be rolled back and the power returned to the states, where it belongs. If California wants to mandate vaccination in the state, that’s within their power, if they pass a law. That’s not a power that the federal government has. Some say to use the Commerce Clause, which would be a big stretch. Cole is the national legal director of the ACLU. He should know this. He should know what the Constitution says, and what it means based on the writings of those who wrote the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, such as the Federalist papers.

Read: Bummer: SCOTUS Mandate Decision Could Be First Salvo In War On Administrative State »

Brandon-Harris Admin Seems Fine With EU Getting Fossil Fuels If Russia Invades Ukraine

The BHA is doing all they can to reduce fossil fuels usage here in the U.S., but, for Europe? They’re good with that, I guess because Brandon showed a lot of weakness and empowered Putin to think that invading Ukraine is fine

US putting together ‘global’ strategy to increase gas production if Russia invades Ukraine, officials say

The Biden administration has been in regular discussions with a number of countries and companies in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Asia about stepping up production of liquified natural gas to Europe in the event that a Russian invasion of Ukraine leads to gas shortages, multiple US officials familiar with the discussions told CNN.

The State Department, led by Senior Adviser for Energy Security Amos Hochstein, has in the last six to eight weeks been putting together a global strategy exploring contingency options to redirect and increase gas supplies from different parts of the world, a senior US official said.

Reuters reported last week that Hochstein had been in talks with energy companies but that increased production was not a request. The senior US official told CNN that increased production has in fact been discussed, but that companies recognize that increasing production could be risky and would take time.

The countries engaging in the talks include Norway and Qatar, the official said, but the US’ outreach has been “truly global” as Washington and allies determine what supplies will be needed to get through the winter and spring if there are gas shortages.

The discussions are in a “fairly advanced” stage, according to the senior US official, and have been aimed at reassuring nervous European allies that levying sanctions on Russia in coordination with the US will not result in an outsized blowback on the European economy. European allies have been particularly concerned about the potential for Russia to weaponize its gas exports to Europe to retaliate against Western sanctions.

Basically, expect Russia to invade soon, in the next couple of weeks, if it is going to happen. That way all those nations which get fossil fuels from Russia, needed for heating in the winter, will just turn their cheeks and shrug. Meanwhile, the BHA wants to force you out of your fossil fueled vehicle and into an EV you can’t afford and is impractical for travel, while getting rid of natural gas. And doesn’t seem too concerned about Europe using it.

Read: Brandon-Harris Admin Seems Fine With EU Getting Fossil Fuels If Russia Invades Ukraine »

COVID Today: All Visitors To US By Land Or Ferry Require Vaccination, Plus Some Passports For Kids

Unless you’re an illegal alien. Then come on in, per Brandon Admin

Entering the US by land or ferry? You’ll need to be vaccinated – even if it’s essential travel.

spite houseStarting Saturday, non-U.S. citizens need to be fully vaccinated before entering the country by land or ferry, even if they are traveling for “essential” purposes.

The change was first announced in October and more closely aligns with air travel vaccination requirements to enter the United States. Travelers visiting the country could previously cross land ports or ferry terminals without proof of vaccination for essential reasons such as work and trade.

“These updated travel requirements reflect the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to protecting public health while safely facilitating the cross-border trade and travel that is critical to our economy,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a Thursday statement.

Wait, the Biden-Harris admin? In all my years, I’ve never hear of that. It was never the Trump-Pence admin, Obama-Biden, Bush-Cheney, Clinton-Gore, etc and so on. Anyhow, this only applies to those coming legally. The Brandon-Harris admin will continue to allow illegal aliens to cross into the U.S. without being vaccinated, often without being tested, then release them somewhere in the U.S. Usually far from his home state of Delaware and D.C.

Meanwhile, the Covid Cult is just insane

Children to get Covid vaccine passports in time for half-term holidays

Children are set to be given access to digital Covid passes in time for half term, as the Government prepares to announce relaxations to travel rules on Monday.

Ministers are expected to agree to scrap a range of measures at a meeting of the Covid-O committee on Monday morning, including tests for travellers arriving in the UK.

The changes are likely to be implemented in early February, allowing British holidaymakers to take advantage of the more lenient rules over the next school holidays.

Children aged 12 to 15 will finally be granted access to the NHS Covid pass app. At present, they are excluded from using it, thus curbing their ability to easily prove their vaccination status.

These people will never let go of trying to control citizens.

Read: COVID Today: All Visitors To US By Land Or Ferry Require Vaccination, Plus Some Passports For Kids »

If All You See…

…is horrible meat causing Bad Weather clouds, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Moonbattery, with a post on efforts to force vaccination on children.

Read: If All You See… »

Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

Patriotic Pinup KO Munson Nurse

Happy Sunday! A gorgeous day in the Once and Future Nation Of America. The Sun is shining on the snow, the Devils obliterated the Hurricanes (I like the Canes, but, I end up with a lot of bets when they play), and the media is starting to see how bad Biden is. This pinup is by KO Munson, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. The Conservative Treehouse covers DC asking residents to ration food
  2. Greenie Watch discusses the authoritarianism of greenies
  3. 357 Magnum notes that supply chain woes are about to get worse
  4. American Greatness highlights the Defeat the Mandates march
  5. Da Techguy’s Blog says no dough for you
  6. DC Clothesline notes the catty reason a substitute teacher was fired
  7. Diogenes’ Middle Finger wonders about using bologna as a facial mask
  8. Dissecting Leftism discusses a CDC study on natural COVID immunity
  9. Free North Carolina covers more people staying with home schooling
  10. Gates Of Vienna shows the aftermath in Afghanistan
  11. Geller Report covers Brandon ordering all US Embassy families to leave Ukraine
  12. Gen Z Conservative features Kamala losing her cool on the Today show
  13. IOTW Report contrasts the UK removing COVID restrictions while the EU implements more
  14. Irons In The Fire is pretty sure Democrats will cheat in the next election
  15. And last, but not least, Jihad Watch covers Biden releasing a terrorist linked to murder of children

As always, the full set of pinups can be seen in the Patriotic Pinup category, or over at my Gallery page (nope, that’s gone, the newest Apache killed access, and the program hasn’t been upgraded since 2014). While we are on pinups, since it is that time of year, have you gotten your Pinups for Vets calendar yet? And don’t forget to check out what I declare to be our War on Women Rule 5 and linky luv posts and things that interest me. I’ve also mostly alphabetized them, makes it easier scrolling the feedreader

Don’t forget to check out all the other great material all the linked blogs have!

Anyone else have a link or hotty-fest going on? Let me know so I can add you to the list. And do you have a favorite blog you can recommend be added to the feedreader?

Two great sites for getting news links are Liberty Daily and Whatafinger.

Read: Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup »

Bummer: Climate Emergency Threat Grows As Economy Recovers

Good news for the editorial board of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: the economy is not doing that well at this time thanks in part to Joe Biden’s policies, so, we should be safe from climate doom

As economy recovers, climate threat grows

One of the few beneficial aspects of the global pandemic was a sharp reduction in pollution at all levels, including greenhouse gas emissions.

China was the first country to lock down in January 2020, prohibiting people from even leaving their homes for several weeks. The result? Air pollution declined at a rate never before seen. As the virus spread and one country after another curtailed activities, worldwide pollution levels plummeted. Much of that decline was driven by a sharp reduction in all forms of transportation, which is the main contributor to greenhouse gases in the U.S. and here in Minnesota.

What we experienced was a real-time experiment in the impact of human activity on our planet and what would happen if we could radically reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

Of course, that air pollution wasn’t CO2, which rests in the upper atmosphere, but, smog at the lower levels, and, yes, it was nice seeing that clean air. Here’s a question: why haven’t Warmists given up their own use of fossil fueled vehicles?

But as economic activity has resumed, so has pollution. After dramatic reductions in 2020, U.S. emission rates soared by more than 6% last year and are expected to continue rising as the economy reaches higher levels of normalcy.

President Joe Biden wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions 50% below 2005 levels by 2030, a goal that experts said the world should follow to prevent the planet from further warming and the extreme weather events expected to accompany it.

But durable progress has been painstakingly slow. So far, with everything the country has done to spur development of alternative energy sources, U.S. emission levels are only 17.4% below those 2005 levels.

How about all the True Believers practice what they preach? Has the Star Tribune stopped using fossil fuels for their operations?

The Build Back Better Act that would aim more than $500 billion at renewable power, electric vehicles, electric stations, solar and other programs could, according to Princeton researchers, get the U.S. close to its goal. But the bill remains stuck in the Senate, where Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a coal state, has proved difficult to win over. (snip)

We are no longer in a position to stave off climate change. That time has long passed, time squandered in endless debate over whether climate change was caused by human activity. But we do still have time to work together to mitigate the worst effects. We know some of the actions that must be taken. We know we must lessen dependence on fossil fuels.

See, in order to Do Something (which most Warmists haven’t done themselves during the 30+ years of spreading awareness), we have to pass big, life restricting, government domineering legislation. We have to skyrocket the cost of energy, which will increase the cost of living. Food, clothes, products, housing. And how many can afford an EV, with an average price of $54,000.?

A year ago, Frank Kohlasch, climate director at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), said that “while it will be challenging to move ahead in light of where we’ve been with COVID and economic slowdown, this is an opportunity to … take important and significant action on climate change.”

The COVID crisis proved far deeper and more durable than anyone could have imagined. But that immediate emergency does not dispel the gathering threat of climate change.

See, the suggestion here is the economic reduction from COVID, all those businesses closed by Government, people not going into work, everything else, we were all there, right, was a great thing for ‘climate change’, and we need to get back to that. Did the people at the Star Tribune miss paychecks? How about the big shots on the editorial board? They should take a poll, see if people are willing to do this in practice, not theory.

Read: Bummer: Climate Emergency Threat Grows As Economy Recovers »

Climahypocrite DiCaprio Gives World 9 Years To Stop Climate Apocalypse Doom

Did he get on a fossil fueled private jet or fossil fueled mega-yacht afterwards?

Satire ‘Don’t Look Up’ Gave Six Months To World Destruction By Comet; Leonardo DiCaprio Puts 9-Year Ticking Clock On Climate Crisis

Perhaps no film on his list of narrative star vehicles has subject matter as near and dear to Leonardo DiCaprio as Don’t Look Up, the star-studded Adam McKay-directed Netflix satire that substitutes a metaphorical comet in place of the toll that the climate crisis is taking on the planet.

Since his Oscar-winning turn in The Revenant, DiCaprio has done in-person Deadline interviews for all his awards-season films. Because of Omicron, this one was done by phone. Here, DiCaprio assessed everything from awards season to moviegoing in the age of Covid, and yes, the real danger of global warming for those who missed the symbolism. (big, big snip through lots of stuff, including other climate cult yammering)

DICAPRIO: I’ve had two great passions in my life. That has been acting, and the protection of the natural world and getting the message out about the climate crisis. I’ve had a foundation for 20 years. I got to go to Glasgow. I got to see world leaders make some pretty substantial commitments, but much like this movie, there is a ticking clock. I think there’s a worldwide sense of anxiety about the fact that the powers that be, the private sector, governments, are not making the transition fast enough. We literally have a nine-year window.

mule fritter sherman potter

How much in the way of fossil fuels was used to make Don’t Look Up? How much to film the upcoming Dicaprio movies? I’ll believe that it’s a crisis when the people who tell me it’s a crisis act like it’s a crisis in their own lives. What will Leo have to say when everything is fine in 2031?

Read: Climahypocrite DiCaprio Gives World 9 Years To Stop Climate Apocalypse Doom »

If All You See…

(photo is below more tag. Trying to see what’s causing server instability, including these photos which come from my Photobucket account)

….is horrible heat snow, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Green Jihad, with a post on a doctor discipline by state for COVID “disinformation”

Read More »

Read: If All You See… »

Federal Judge Puts Biden Federal Worker Mandate On Time Out

Brandon’s not doing so well in court, eh?

Texas judge blocks Biden vaccine mandate for federal workers

A Texas federal judge has blocked the Biden administration’s order for federal employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in the latest setback to the administration’s pandemic response.

The ruling by Judge Jeffrey Brown stated that the order “amounts to a presidential mandate that all federal employees consent to vaccination against COVID-19 or lose their jobs.”

“Because the President’s authority is not that broad, the court will enjoin the second order’s enforcement,” wrote Brown, who was nominated to the federal bench by President Donald Trump.

Brown cited the Supreme Court’s decision last week that prevented the administration from enforcing a requirement that all businesses with at least 100 employees mandate that workers get vaccinated or undergo weekly testing.

Brown claimed the administration’s order for federal workers was a “bridge too far” by allowing the White House “with a stroke of a pen or without the input of Congress, [to] require millions of federal employees to undergo a medical procedure as a condition of their employment.”

Now what, Joe?

Read: Federal Judge Puts Biden Federal Worker Mandate On Time Out »

Your Fault: West Coast To See More Blackouts And Energy Price Spikes From ‘Climate Change’

If only those people in California, Washington, and Oregon gave up their fossil fueled vehicles and drove EVs, took the bus, walked. Gave up meat, moved into tiny homes. Gave a large portion of their income to the government

Climate change will likely worsen West Coast blackouts and cause energy price spikes, studies find

A pair of recent studies suggest West Coast residents and businesses will suffer more frequent blackouts and higher electricity prices because climate change will lead to more disruptive extreme weather events. The research papers were published in the scientific journal Earth’s Future.

Wait, “suggest”? They don’t know? Then why are they putting out studies?

“The impacts of climate change and extreme weather events on the grid, mostly in the form of drought and heat waves, are going to get worse under climate change,” co-author Jordan Kern, assistant professor of forestry and environment resources at North Carolina State University, said in a statement about the reports. Kern’s co-authors included professors of environmental science and engineering from the University of North Carolina, Oregon State University and the University of Washington.

In one study, computer models projected the West Coast electricity grid’s reliability between 2030 and 2060 under 11 different climate change scenarios, based on the trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions and how much warming results. The researchers found more likelihood of blackouts in summer and early fall, largely driven by extreme heat in California causing increased demand for air conditioning. (West Coast states have interconnected power grids, so Washington and Oregon could be affected by California’s demand.)

All from a whopping 1.5F increase in global temperatures since 1850? It couldn’t have anything to do with replacing reliable, dependable, affordable energy sources with non-reliable, non-dependable, expensive ones, could it?

Although the researchers predicted only brief blackouts, they noted that a growing imbalance between supply and demand for power during heat waves would cause prices to spike up to California’s legal cap of $1,000 per megawatt hour. “When prices go up to $1,000 per megawatt hour, that’s the grid ringing the alarm bell,” Kern said.

These would be the rolling brownouts and blackouts due to a lack of reliable energy that are happening right now, right? We can solve this if you give your freedom, liberty, consumer choice, and money to government, though.

Read: Your Fault: West Coast To See More Blackouts And Energy Price Spikes From ‘Climate Change’ »

Pirate's Cove