Biden To Meet With McCarthy To Discuss Debt Ceiling Maybe Tuesday

Can you imagine how the media would react if it was Trump who blew out Saturday for the beach in the midst of the Debt Ceiling Doom? And who wasn’t coming back into town until late Monday, with no plan to discuss the debt today? Who is, unbelievably, taking a flight from Dover AFB to Philly this morning (71 miles) for something that is not specified, then flying back to arrive at the White House around 4pm? And it being just one day before he then flies to Japan? Maybe that’s why the NY Times and Washington Post barely cover the debt ceiling debate

Joe Biden and Kevin McCarthy Expected to Resume Debt Limit Talks on Tuesday

Facing pressure to resolve the ongoing U.S. debt limit standoff, President Joe Biden said he expects to resume budget negotiations with congressional leadership on Tuesday, just one day before he leaves for the G7 summit in Japan.

He declined to give details on where they stand in terms of a negotiated deal but said he believed an agreement could be reached with House Republicans to raise or suspend the debt cap before the U.S. runs out of cash, which the Treasury Department has said could happen as early as June 1.

“I remain optimistic because I am a congenital optimist,” Biden told reporters on Sunday evening while out for a bike ride in Rehoboth Beach, Del. “I really think there is a desire on their part as well as ours to reach an agreement. And I think we’ll be able to do it.”

The only agreement Biden wants is for the debt to be raised with zero reduction in spending, even a reduction back to pre-pandemic numbers.

When asked if he would support the tougher work requirements for federal aid recipients that Republicans want included in the deal, Biden said he’s voted for some in the past. “For Medicaid, it’s a different story and so I’m waiting to hear what their exact proposal is,” he said.

And, yet, not one reporter said “then why the hell are you taking a bike ride at the beach? You voluntarily ran for this job, yet, you work 30 hours a week and spend most weekends away from doing the job.” Seriously. There was a press gaggle while Joe rode his bike, and he’s not even sure there’s a meeting on Tuesday

Q: Mr. President, when is the debt meeting with the leaders?
B: In about 10 minutes.
Q: Seriously?
B: [Inaudible] You’re holding it up.
Q: When is it actually happening, sir?
B: We’re working on it right now, the exact —
Q: Will it be on Tuesday?
B: I think so
Q: It’s been reported it will be Tuesday.
B: I think so

The guy is lost. The videos at the link really portray his as being lost. He also thinks things are going just fine at the border, and he has zero intention to visit.

Read: Biden To Meet With McCarthy To Discuss Debt Ceiling Maybe Tuesday »

Your Fault: Fisherman Turning To Piracy Due To Climate Crisis (scam)

It’s always something with the climate cult, eh? They’re always looking for new things to Blamestorm

CLIMATE CHANGE LINKED TO INCREASED PIRATE ATTACKS

Climate change isn’t just causing weird weather patterns, like stronger storms or flood surges wreaking havoc on coastal communities and infrastructure. Apparently, scientists say, we can also blame it for — we shit you not — an increase in pirate attacks in the waters off East Africa.

It’s not quite as wild as it sounds. As the ocean off East Africa experiences warmer surface temperatures, fish stocks have suffered, and the resulting economic destabilization has led to increased piracy in the area, as detailed in a new paper in the journal Weather, Climate and Society. Strengthening the case, the same study also analyzed the South China Sea, another piracy hotspot, and found that increased fish production was correlated with a decrease in pirate attacks.

Sound whimsical? On a certain level, sure. But piracy is still a serious global issue, and the climate even more so — so the fact that researchers are charting a link between the two should give anyone pause.

Sounds like BS to me, at least how you driving a fossil fueled vehicle and living a modern lifestyle, refusing to give up your money and freedom, is the cause

The study looked at about two decades of data and analyzed more than 2,000 acts of piracy in the two regions.

Complicating the picture, the researchers also noted that some of the pirates plying these waters are also fishermen, who live largely hand to mouth and have the skills and know-how to navigate the ocean, making them ideal pirates for this new age of maritime crime.

What you have are failed states, regions and countries that have been in turmoil for a long time, ones that are being destabilized by the rise of Islamic extremism, over-fishing, a rising state of lawlessness, and, even COVID caused a spike. Of course, the climate cultists will blame this all on ‘climate change’, because that’s what they do. None of them are willing to give up their own big carbon footprint lifestyles, of course.

Read: Your Fault: Fisherman Turning To Piracy Due To Climate Crisis (scam) »

Border Czar Who Hasn’t Been To Border Says Border Is “Going Rather Smoothly”

I’ve never been to Ukraine, I hear it’s been going rather smoothly there

‘Border czar’ Harris downplays migrant crisis during Georgia fundraising trip: ‘Going rather smoothly’

Vice President Kamala Harris, who was tasked by the White House to address the “root cause” of mass migration, attended a fundraiser Friday in a wealthy Atlanta suburb, less than 24 hours after Title 42 expired.

Harris gave remarks at the Democratic Party of Georgia’s spring soirée in Buckhead, but did not mention immigration during her speech that appeared to last about 20 minutes. The event came as thousands of migrants flooded the border after the expiration of Title 42 – a COVID-19 emergency policy that allowed border agents to turn away migrants.

The vice president focused her speech on abortion, infrastructure and protecting democracy.

None of those rich folks have to worry about any of that stuff, including illegal immigration.

Harris was asked by a local Atlanta news outlet to respond to the Republican Party of Georgia’s statement on Harris’ visit for the fundraiser, which said it was “deplorable that the Vice President is coming to Atlanta for a fundraiser campaigning while the border crisis is overflowing and we have out-of-control inflation.”

“You know, I hear that everything in the last couple days is going rather smoothly, given what the concerns were,” Harris said. “The bottom line, however, is that this issue of immigration falls squarely within the responsibility of the United States Congress.”

Harris’ quick pivot to blaming Congress for the border crisis echoes Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who pushed the same talking point last week.

Except, Congress has passed laws, which the Executive Branch has to follow, yet, the Biden regime has been ignoring those laws. Oh, hey, remember when Arizona started putting up shipping containers at the border, and the Biden admin sued to make them stop and take them down?

And the number of men vastly outnumbers the women and children.

Yet, Mayor Adams keeps shipping them out of NYC. Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis should resume bussing huge numbers of illegals to NYC, and drop them off in AOC’s neighborhood. Maybe in D.C. near where she lives, as well.

Read: Border Czar Who Hasn’t Been To Border Says Border Is “Going Rather Smoothly” »

If All You See…

…are Evil fossil fueled vehicles, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Flopping Aces, with a post on Brandon sending in the feds to stage a “right wing hate” event, good timing with his loony speech at Howard.

It’s Asian ladies week.

Read: If All You See… »

Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

Patriotic Pinup

Happy Sunday! Another fine day in the Once And Future Nation Of America. A little bit of needed rain, the hummingbirds are all over the feeders, and the Dodgers are finally doing well. This pinup is by Gil Elvgren, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. Victory Girls Blog notes a poll being hidden when the gender confused do not like the results
  2. This ain’t Hell… discusses Mother’s Day cards
  3. The Right Scoop covers CNN’s boss telling reporters they’re too emotional
  4. The O.K. Corral notes Biden heading to the beach during the illegal alien crisis
  5. The Last Refuge highlights a report on your experience buying processed goods
  6. The Gateway Pundit discusses homeless veterans being kicked out of hotels for illegal aliens
  7. The First Street Journal covers Progressives against common sense and reality
  8. The American Conservative says to stop enabling bloodshed in Ukraine
  9. Powerline discusses the falling wages of Bideneomics
  10. Pacific Pundit notes Bud Light’s downgraded stock
  11. neo-neocon says we shouldn’t call schools schools anymore
  12. MOTUS A.D. notes that life’s guidebook comes from mom
  13. Moonbattery discusses a blasphemous display finally removed from a Catholic church
  14. Legal Insurrection says this is the start of the primaries, and Trump may have peaked too soon
  15. And last, but, not least, IOTW Report covers Gavin Newsome making $77 billion disappear

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 »

Good News: The Debt And Border Are Totally Not Biden’s Fault

I mean, they must not be, nor be important, since Brandon blew out for Delaware yet again today

On Debt Ceiling and Title 42’s End, Biden Boxed In by Outside Forces

Joe Biden is in the midst of an incredibly consequential stretch of his presidency and remarkably little of it will be under his sole control. In fact, much of the coming weeks—and, perhaps, months, if not his total legacy—is contingent on the engagement of other players and their openness to being good-faith collaborators, and just dumb luck.

It is precisely the worst imbalance of power that any White House can face. The West Wing can fight a battle on plenty of fronts, just so long as the barbs are going out from inside the White House; taking incoming is far tougher to handle when no one knows where the next hit is being fired from, who’s the target, and what it’s blowback.

There’s a good reason that Campaign 2024 isn’t getting much real estate in Biden’s daily briefing books. Even in the best of cases, the presidency is an exercise of triage. Nothing less than the global economy is at risk if Biden can’t strike an agreement with Republicans in the House to, frankly, pay the bills that have piled up from Presidents in both parties over the last few years.

Joe could have negotiated months ago. Like politicians have always done, at least before Obama

Separately, the U.S.-Mexican border is a fresh hellscape as pandemic-era policies expired at midnight, and extreme poverty and violence in Latin America are triggering historic waves of migrants to head north. Those Trump-era policies allowed the US to turn away more than 2 million would-be asylum-seekers. Biden’s replacement rules, at least on paper, are harsh, but in different ways; instead of instant processing of asylum cases, there could be instant expulsions.

See? The border is not Joe’s fault. It’s Trump’s fault! Surprise! I really do not have to spend any words explaining why this is nutsbar, right?

And those are just the top two domestic challenges on his plate. Look abroad and things get precipitously worse—hostages, spycraft, disinformation. Look inward, and Republicans’ pursuit of first son Hunter Biden looks plenty risky. And then there’s ex-President Donald Trump’s threat to return.

As much as Americans like to lionize the presidency, it is a fragile and fickle institution. Biden can still move headlines when he cares to, and his team is working behind the scenes to reassert some control over moving events. But Biden is, whether he likes it or not, at best a collaborator in the livestream of history, and in some cases a passive observer left to react. No President likes to be cast as a supporting actor, but it’s undeniable that, at least right now, Biden is at the mercy of outside forces.

Not Joe’s fault, it’s all those icky outside things that no president has ever had to deal with in the history of the U.S. But, you know, maybe if he spent the time doing the actual job, rather than working 30 hours a week and spending almost every weekend off he could be in charge. And if he had his mental faculties. In the meantime, as things get worse and worse, you’ll have media outlets like Time Magazine to absolve Biden of responsibility for the job he *checks notes* voluntarily ran for.

Read: Good News: The Debt And Border Are Totally Not Biden’s Fault »

Your Fault: Chance Of Big El Nino This Year Grows

In a sane world, this would simply be some weather related news, no big deal. In a climate cult world this would be a call for doom

El Niño is coming back — and could last the rest of the year

El Niño is making its comeback – and making itself at home. National forecasters said on Thursday that the climate pattern system, known for bringing record rainfall in South America, more winter storms in the U.S West and South, and droughts in southern Asia, Indonesia and Australia, is expected to make its official return within a few months and has a strong chance of lasting the rest of the year.

El Niño is a climate pattern that naturally occurs every two to seven years when ocean surface temperatures warm in the eastern Pacific.

And according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, it will likely come to fruition again this year, sometime between May and July. This year’s event could be “potentially significant,” forecasters said, due to a “westerly wind event” expected in mid to late May, as well as “above average” heat in the ocean.

There’s an 80% chance the event will at least be moderate and about a 55% this year’s El Niño will be “strong,” NOAA said. There’s also a 90% chance that El Niño will stay in the northern hemisphere throughout the winter.

Realistically, it is a weather pattern, not a climate pattern. But, you know, cultists gotta cult, and the use of the word is meant to elicit fears of anthropogenic climate change.

One of the biggest fuels of El Niño is warmer ocean waters, which can spur hurricanes in the Pacific, NOAA says, while also driving marine species to other areas in search of colder waters. Data from NOAA shows that since about mid-March – well before the beginning of El Niño – daily sea surface temperatures have already hit record numbers, well above temperatures seen in 2016, around the time a “Godzilla” El Niño was unleashed. Monthly average ocean surface temperatures also surpassed what was seen this time in 2016 and 2022, the data shows.

Ocean heat has only been intensifying. In January, researchers said that the seas warmed an amount equal to the energy of five atomic bombs detonating underwater “every second for 24 hours a day for the entire year.” Ocean temperatures last year, researchers said, were “the hottest ever recorded by humans,” increasing by an amount of heat 100 times more than all the electricity generated globally in 2021.

See, if you had been willing to give your money and freedom to government, the seas wouldn’t be so warm and the El Nino wouldn’t be as bad.

Seriously, this is a normal event, but, the Warmists have to make it out like it’s Doom.

Read: Your Fault: Chance Of Big El Nino This Year Grows »

Colorado Passes Massive climate Crisis (scam) Bill

I do not want to hear any complaints out of Colorado Democrat peasants. You voted for the people who passed this, and, when, not if, it messes with your lives you have no one to blame but yourselves

Gov. Jared Polis signs “enormous package” of green energy and climate change bills

Colorado has new climate goals etched into state law and a slew of new tax credits and programs to help get it there.

Gov. Jared Polis signed into law Thursday a package of bills that includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 100% come 2050, a program to automate and streamline local solar energy permitting, encourage geothermal heating and cooling and a tax credit package to incentivize more electric vehicles.

“It’s sort of one enormous package that, taken together, will help to clean the air, achieve our climate targets and save Coloradans money,” Will Toor, executive director of the Colorado Energy Office said.

In particular, Toor touted the new decarbonization tax credit law, HB23-1272, as “probably the single-largest investment the state of Colorado has made in climate action, clean energy, and consumer incentives.”

That bill creates some $200 million in tax incentives over the next several years to promote electric bicycle, car and truck purchases, as well as geothermal, heat pump, industrial clean energy and other initiatives.

Can’t wait to see how the heat pumps, electric bikes, and EVs work during a Colorado winter. Plus, consider that once you get out of the few big cities Colorado tends to be somewhere between small town America and pure rural. Travel in Colorado will be difficult. How many will decide to forgo visiting the state due to the high costs and difficulty getting around?

At the trio of bill-signing events, Polis and sponsoring lawmakers all cited the necessity of the new laws to combat climate change in ways big and small.

Sounds like the government is getting rather authoritarian.

The Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Measures bill, SB23-016, for example, creates a 30% point-of-sale discount for new electric lawn equipment and snowblowers, while also giving state regulators authority over a class of injection wells. The latter provision sets the stage for state involvement in carbon capture.

“It’s going to take every tool in the toolkit for us to reach our climate goals,” state Sen. Chris Hansen, a Denver Democrat and sponsor on several of the climate bills, said. “We need to decarbonize every part of our economy and every part of our state.”

I’m wondering why the Denver Post failed to ask Polis and those in the general assembly who voted for this if they are driving EVs, riding electric bikes, and have installed heat pumps themselves. The 2050 date is cute: if it’s such a climate emergency then why wait 27 years? Go hardcore now.

That said, geothermal would be great, but, expect the extreme-enviros to block any projects.

Read: Colorado Passes Massive climate Crisis (scam) Bill »

If All You See…

…is an overly bright day from too much carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is American Greatness, with a post on the GOP introducing a bill to ban drag shows at military bases. Not to editorialize, most trans shouldn’t be in the military, as it’s not safe to have people with serious mental health issues and suicidal thoughts around military grade weapons.

Read: If All You See… »

NY Times Is Mad That GOP Bill Will Make It Almost Impossible To Regulate

What has been happening for decades is that the Congress passes a bill, often a giant one, which authorizes the Executive Branch to do this and that, but, usually in a very generic way. It’s not targeted. Not specific. Like how Obamacare authorized the IRS and HHS to come up with how long people can go without insurance before being fined, but, things are so nebulous that the Exec can create things out of thin air. Like how HHS created the contraception rule. There are zero mentions of contraception in the Ocare bill. Where did that come from?

The Exec keeps creating rules and rules and rules, often using tiny, unrelated language from bills. What to do about that?

Little-Noticed Part of GOP Bill Could ‘Make It Impossible to Regulate’

Government agencies have proposed dozens of major regulations so far this year. One specifies the kinds of operating cords that can be used on custom window coverings, and another would effectively require carmakers to transition two-thirds of all new passenger cars to electric technology.

Under a little-noticed provision in a House bill that passed this month, all of those regulations would need to come before Congress for a vote before they could go into effect.

“It may seem like it’s in the weeds, but it really affects all of us,” said Susan Dudley, the director of the regulatory studies center at George Washington University, who was the top regulatory official in the George W. Bush administration.

She was one of several leading experts unaware that the bill contained this provision.

The Republican legislation, which is not expected to become law in its current form, has mostly attracted attention for its part in the debate about raising the country’s borrowing limit and for its proposals to reduce federal deficits over the next decade. But its effort to reshape the federal regulatory process could arguably have a deeper impact on the future functioning of government.

That’s the way it should be. No regulations unless specifically authorized by the duly elected Legislative Branch. Operating cords? Based on what law? Where did they come up with this? It’s usually regulatory over-reach and/or bureaucrats just doing things for the sake of doing things.

While Congress passes laws every year, federal agencies tend to roll out many, many more regulations. Those long, often technical rules help business understand how the government works, by setting standards for allowable pollution, establishing how much doctors and hospitals will be paid for medical care, and explaining what numerous technical or vague terms and processes in legislation really mean. The process of rule-making often takes years and requires a period of public comment before a regulation becomes final.

Rules should stem from specific, detailed legislation, not because bureaucrats want to institute their agenda.

Regulations are not apolitical. As Congress has become more polarized and gridlocked, presidents have become more aggressive about enacting major policies through them. Barack Obama tried to use rule-making to limit carbon emissions from power plants. Donald Trump used rule-making to deny green cards to immigrants who had used certain social benefit programs. And President Joe Biden is hoping to use regulation to forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in student loans.

Trump at least had the benefit of law being on his side, and it not significantly affecting US citizens.

But many major regulations make fewer headlines, and most rely on technical expertise by federal agencies that Congress would be hard-pressed to replicate. This year’s list includes one updating technical standards for mammography equipment and one clarifying when a gun’s features mean it is designed to be fired from the shoulder. A recent payment rule for Medicare Advantage changed the formula meant to pay private insurers for covering customers with vascular disease, based on a detailed review of medical data.

I blame Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, for failing to pass detailed bills. They should seek out expertise prior to crafting the bill, not say “eh, I have a vague idea, someone will make it detailed.”

The legislation would require Congress to approve each of those actions before they go into effect, under a fast-tracked legislative process that would force up-or-down votes on the rules without any possibility of amendment. Any major rule that failed to pass both houses of Congress could not be proposed again for at least a year. Current law allows Congress to upend a regulation it does not like, but the process requires majority votes by both houses of Congress, and a signature by the president, meaning nearly all regulations go into effect.

All this is also a clarion call to reduce the power of the federal government back to the States and The People, where it belongs. Democrats are very upset that a law would force checks and balances, so they wouldn’t be able to run roughshod over the people.

Read: NY Times Is Mad That GOP Bill Will Make It Almost Impossible To Regulate »

Pirate's Cove