Biden Makes Secret Visit To Ukraine, Gives Them More Money And Aid

By William Teach February 20, 2023 – 10:30 am

He’s apparently visited Ukraine more than he’s visited the Southern border. And the East Palestine, Ohio area

Biden makes surprise visit to Ukraine for first time since full-scale war began

President Joe Biden slipped into Kyiv on Monday for the first time since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost a year ago, demonstrating in dramatic personal fashion his commitment to the country and its struggle as the war enters an uncertain new phase.

The highly secretive visit – which took place as air raid sirens could be heard ringing out around Kyiv while Biden walked alongside President Volodymyr Zelensky around the gold-domed St. Michael’s Cathedral – comes at a critical moment in the 12-month conflict, with Russia preparing for an expected spring offensive and Ukraine hoping to soon retake territory.

Biden announced a half-billion dollars in new assistance, saying the package would include more military equipment, such as artillery ammunition, more javelins and Howitzers. And he said new sanctions would be imposed on Moscow later this week.

“One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands,” Biden said.

Another half-billion, which could have gone to dealing with the fallout of the train crash. And retrofitting trains with new brakes. Sheltering the homeless here in the U.S. Stopping people at the border. Stopping the flow of fentanyl at the border.

Biden’s visit made for a highly symbolic moment, coming a day ahead of a planned speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin marking the anniversary of the war. Speaking from Kyiv, Biden declared Putin’s “war of conquest is failing.”

“Putin thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided,” Biden said, standing alongside Zelensky. “He thought he could outlast us. I don’t think he’s thinking that right now.”

“He’s just been plain wrong,” Biden said of Putin. “One year later, the evidence is right here in this room. We stand here together.”

And how much aid and money are we giving Ukraine? What are they spending it on? And

(American Conservative) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described the situation on the front lines as “tough,” noting that the Russians are attacking on multiple axes in the east and south. Oleksiy Arestovych, who until recently served as one of Zelensky’s top advisors, was more blunt: “I’m an unofficial person already, I can say what I want. If everyone thinks we’re guaranteed to win the war, it’s very unlikely,” he said in an interview.

These grim tidings may come as a surprise to most Western publics, which were told in no uncertain terms for the last eleven months that Ukraine is winning. One could hardly browse the news without coming across yet another article, often reposted from Ukrainian media or sourced from claims made by Ukrainian officials, positing that Russian forces are falling apart at the seams and collapsing on every front, mobilized soldiers are surrendering in droves and being given guns that can’t even shoot, Moscow has been or is on the verge of being crushed by sanctions, and, more recently, that time is on Ukraine’s side.

Yet those who have studied this conflict since its inception can clearly see that something has changed. The cavalier proclamations of 2022 have suddenly started to give way to more anxious, even pessimistic rhetoric.

It’s a never ending money pit. If only Biden cared as much about protecting Americans.

Read: Biden Makes Secret Visit To Ukraine, Gives Them More Money And Aid »

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New Jersey Joins The Banning Sale Of Fossil Fueled Vehicles Racket

By William Teach February 20, 2023 – 7:15 am

Considering the huge amount of commuting in NJ, not sure how well this will work

New Jersey to Ban New Gas Car Sales by 2035

The Garden State got a little bit greener Wednesday when New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced plans to shift to 100 percent clean energy by 2035. The state that still won’t let you pump your own gas will at least make sure you can charge your car from home using clean energy by 2035.

Gov. Murphy announce broad multiple accelerated energy initiatives during a speech at Rutgers University Wednesday afternoon. Through three executive orders, New Jersey will follow California’s lead and ban sales of new internal combustion engine cars by 2035. Not only will the cars be electric, but the power charging all those EVs will be from 100 percent renewable resources as well. From the Murphy Administration’s press release:

“These bold targets and carefully crafted initiatives signal our unequivocal commitment to swift and concrete climate action today,” said Governor Murphy. “We’ve turned our vision for a greener tomorrow into a responsible and actionable roadmap to guide us, and it’s through that pragmatic, evidence-based approach that we will ultimately arrive at our destination. Combined with our federal partnerships reinforced through the Inflation Reduction Act, these comprehensive initiatives will better protect and prepare every New Jersey community, including those on the front lines of climate change who have previously been left out and left behind.”

Interestingly, no reporter has asked, in any of the multiple articles I’ve read, when Murphy is going to stop traveling in fossil fueled vehicles and switch to an EV. No one is asking what happens with all the gas stations which provide fuels for all those who bought a fossil fueled vehicle prior to 2035 because they couldn’t afford an expensive EV. Again, I’m not against EVs, and by 2035 they will probably be ready for primetime, but, it’s not the government’s job to force this change.

Don’t forget, though, that the climate cult elites are already pushing to ban private ownership of all cars, including EVs.

It’s not just cars targeted for cleaning up in the next few years. Other initiatives announced include installing “…zero-carbon-emission heating and cooling systems in 400,000 homes and and 20,000 commercial properties by 2030,” as well as flood protection for folks living in coastal and riverine areas. New Jersey, as a coastal state, has experienced increasingly strong storms fueled by climate change. In September 2021, New Jersey was hit with its deadliest storm yet, Hurricane Ida, which killed 91 people over nine states, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

And those will skyrocket the cost of appliances, homes, and energy. In a state that’s already expensive.

Read: New Jersey Joins The Banning Sale Of Fossil Fueled Vehicles Racket »

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But Of Course They’re Blaming Trump For Ohio Train Derailment

By William Teach February 20, 2023 – 7:00 am

As the saying went during the Bush years “who’s president NOW?” When a Democrat is president, it’s always the Other Guy’s fault, never their own. And, despite the Daily Beast headline, you have to go more than halfway into the article before they gently chide the Biden admin

Trump Admin Is to Blame in Ohio Disaster—but So Is Biden

The Trumpoids are blaming President Joe Biden for the train derailment in Ohio even though former President Trump scuttled a safety measure that would have minimized, even prevented the disaster.

And Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is blaming Trump even though he has had two years to do something about it.

No, not really. Only beyond partisan loons are blaming Biden or Mayor Pete. They are being blamed for their lackluster response, and the Credentialed Media should be blamed for not caring all that much.

Meanwhile, the people of East Palestine were left with the result, their all-American town turned to nightmare. Are they already poisoned with something that may take years to kill them? Can they breathe the air? Can they drink the water? Will they ever be able to? Are their homes contaminated?

They were not likely comforted by what Buttigieg tweeted. “We’re constrained by law on some areas of rail regulation (like the braking rule withdrawn by the Trump administration in 2018 because of a law passed by Congress in 2015), but we are using the powers we do have to keep people safe,” he tweeted, as if the Biden administration had no ability to rectify what Trump has undone.

Did they even know about the rule? Was it on the radar? Did the bureaucrats charged with this stuff know and where they saying that something should be done? If they did, well, Pete has mostly been either MIA or uninterested in doing the job. Just failing upwards. Anyhow, if they want to sort of blame someone, they can blame the GOP congress which passed the law which forced the Trump admin to kill off the rule, but, really, trains still derail well over 1,000 times a year. We’re actually lucky that so few dangerous ones derail.

Here’s where it gets stupid

On June 3, 2016, a train with 96 cars carrying 3 million gallons of oil derailed in Mosier, Oregon, narrowly missing a school and bursting into flames that raged for 14 hours. Computer modeling by the FRA determined that ECP brakes could have prevented the disaster, along with numerous other derailments since 2014. Mosier Mayor Arlene Burns was joined by Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, Tacoma Mayor Ryan Mello, and other elected leaders in signing a declaration that rescinding the ECP brakes rule was “a clear case of the powerful railroad lobby and the Trump administration sacrificing the safety of local communities in favor of corporate profit.”

“The railroad industry and the Trump administration should stop placing profits ahead of safety,” it said.

Can anyone let the Daily Beast know who was president on that date? This is peak Trump Derangement Syndrome

In the aftermath, Buttigieg spoke of the measures the current administration has taken to improve passenger train lines such as Biden used to commute during his time in the Senate. The Biden people did not even try to explain why they have done nothing to revive the ECP brakes program after two years in office.

If this was so important, perhaps Joe could have take fewer weekends off. And Pete can get to work.

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If All You See…

By William Teach February 19, 2023 – 2:35 pm

…is an Evil fossil fueled vehicle, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Right Scoop, with a post on Bernie Sanders trying to explain why his anti-capitalism book tour is so expensive.

It’s girls with guns week!

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Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach February 19, 2023 – 9:28 am

Patriotic Pinup

Happy Sunday! Another fine day in the Once And Future Nation of America. The Sun is peeking out, the squirrels are blazing through the bird seed, and the Devils keep winning. This pinup is by Bill Randall, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. Flag And Cross discusses a mother denied a heart transplant due to vaccination rules
  2. Jihad Watch notes yet another leftist lunatic is actually a white girl
  3. Legal Insurrection covers a book publisher writing children’s book to be Woke
  4. Maggie’s Farm discusses a mask study that shows they are pretty much worthless
  5. Moonbattery notes LA is replacing police with yoga
  6. neo-neocon has chatbots gone wild
  7. Pacific Pundit notes John Fetterman’s hospital stay being extended indefinitely
  8. Twitchy notes Fetterman being “forced” to contend with brain trauma and a demanding job
  9. The First Street Journal says it’s easy for uber-white liberals to support progressive politicians while living in safe neighborhoods
  10. The Hayride says car thefts are so bad in New Orleans that they’re stealing K-9 cop cars
  11. The Last Refuge covers FEMA deciding to support East Palestine right after Trump announced that he would visit
  12. The Other McCain discusses armed self defense in Dallas
  13. The Right Scoop highlights Andrea Mitchell staring blankly at Kamala’s word salad
  14. This ain’t Hell… has stupid people of the week
  15. And last, but, not least, Weasel Zippers covers shooting a $12 balloon down with a $400k missile

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 »

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WWIII Watch: Former Ukraine President Says They Need Weapons, Sanctions, And NATO Membership

By William Teach February 19, 2023 – 7:00 am

Well, the US and some EU nations have given them weapons. They’ve invoked sanctions that really aren’t doing much of anything. As for NATO membership, various NATO members have been blocking it for almost a decade, and there are enough to block it now, because that starts WWIII fast. Right now they’re just trying to saunter on up to WWIII. This is Petro Poroshenko, who served as president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019.

Former Ukrainian President: We Need Weapons, Sanctions, and NATO Membership

The winning formula for Ukraine is simple: Supplies of weapons, economic sanctions against Russia, helping to strengthen Ukraine’s resilience, the de-Putinization of Russia, and the accession of Ukraine to the European Union and NATO. Only all the elements of this formula combined would guarantee permanent security for Europe and the whole world.

Napoleon is credited with once saying that to wage war, he needed three things: first, money; second, money; and third, money. Money is the fuel that powers the deadly military machine of Russia that kills Ukrainians. To bring this machine to a stop it will take more than military action. There must be powerful financial punches—indeed an economic crisis—and even social upheaval.

The price for aggression must constantly rise, becoming ever more unbearable. This is the way to change the Russian bear’s behavior, drive it backwards, and spoil its appetite. Putin cannot be stopped by half-steps and half-measures. He will always look for gaps, loopholes, and allies of convenience.

How many weapons does it take? Because Russia has a lot more than could be supplied, unless NATO countries want to strip themselves bare.

The Suez Canal must also be closed to Russian cargo. Doing so would add three to four weeks for a tanker to get from Russia’s western ports to India and China, huge consumers of Putin’s oil and coal. The longer these routes are, the more transportation costs, the greater Russia’s losses, the fewer Ukrainians will die.

Anyone want to take a guess how that would turn out? Think Russia would take that well? Of course, Egypt is a pretty big trading partner with Russia, and isn’t really taking sides between the West and Russia.

The Russian economy is highly dependent on imports. The exhaustion of gold and currency reserves would force the government to further reduce imports, leading to the absence of many vital goods on shelves and the curtailment of many industries. In short, it would kill Russian imports, which means it would kill the economy. Inflation and a sharp drop in living standards would strike directly at the heart of the Russian people. Putin needs his people to at least stay quiet—if not supportive—if he wants to remain in power. But without Putin the world would definitely be a better place.

These people are pushing for Russia to commit to an all out assault on Ukraine, and trying to drag the world in a war.

Is the West escalating the Ukraine war?
One year on, there is no sign of an endgame

Barely a day had gone by from Ukraine’s successful request for German Leopard-2 tanks when the government in Kyiv called on Nato countries to yet again prove their solidarity by supplying it with US-made F-16 fighter jets. While military experts doubt these vehicles will significantly alter the situation on the battlefield, Kyiv touts them as important symbols of Western political resolve. (snip through lots of interesting info worth reading)

For it is in Kyiv’s interests to steer Nato into becoming more closely entangled in the war. Ukraine has resorted to a combination of tactics — including information warfare and exploiting historic Western guilt — to instigate an informational and reputational cascade among Nato members that would assure accedence to Ukrainian demands. Given its clear long-term weaknesses in quality manpower, artillery, and ammunition, the Zelenskyy government has shrewdly fought a hybrid war from the start, knowing that Ukraine cannot defeat Russia without Nato fighting on its side. The question now is whether the West should allow itself to be entrapped into that war and jeopardise the fate of the entire world in doing so.

There seems to be no strategy other than Ukraine dragging the West deeper and deeper. And there seems to be no strategy from the West except to be dragged deeper and deeper. There seems no plan. It’s like going into the Super Bowl without game planning, just winging it. Of course, if you lose the game, the world doesn’t blow up.

Read: WWIII Watch: Former Ukraine President Says They Need Weapons, Sanctions, And NATO Membership »

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Your Fault: Climate Crisis (scam) Making Tampons More Expensive

By William Teach February 18, 2023 – 3:11 pm

See, if you do not Believe in anthropogenic climate change and aren’t willing to give up your money, freedom, and liberty, you’re a sexist. You hate women (though, most Warmists have trouble defining what is actually a woman these days, because science)

How Climate Change Is Making Tampons (and Lots of Other Stuff) More Expensive

When the Agriculture Department finished its calculations last month, the findings were startling: 2022 was a disaster for upland cotton in Texas, the state where the coarse fiber is primarily grown and then sold around the globe in the form of tampons, cloth diapers, gauze pads and other products.

In the biggest loss on record, Texas farmers abandoned 74 percent of their planted crops — nearly six million acres — because of heat and parched soil, hallmarks of a megadrought made worse by climate change.

They can’t really say how much worse it was made because you drive a fossil fueled vehicle and eat meat, but, it’s the worst since the 800’s….if only they hadn’t been driving fossil fueled bikes and heating their homes with coal back then, right?

That crash has helped to push up the price of tampons in the United States 13 percent over the past year. The price of cloth diapers spiked 21 percent. Cotton balls climbed 9 percent and gauze bandages increased by 8 percent. All of that was well above the country’s overall inflation rate of 6.5 percent in 2022, according to data provided by the market research firms NielsonIQ and The NPD Group.

It’s an example of how climate change is reshaping the cost of daily life in ways that consumers might not realize.

“Climate change is a secret driver of inflation,” said Nicole Corbett, a vice president at NielsonIQ. “As extreme weather continues to impact crops and production capacity, the cost of necessities will continue to rise.”

Halfway around the world in Pakistan, the world’s sixth-largest producer of upland cotton, severe flooding, made worse by climate change, destroyed half that country’s cotton crop.

So, it causes drought and flood. It does everything! Because it’s a cult. Last excerpt

For decades, the Southwestern cotton crop has depended on water pumped from the Ogallala Aquifer, which stretches underneath eight western states from Wyoming to Texas.

But the Ogallala is declining, in part because of climate change, according to the 2018 National Climate Assessment, a report issued by 13 federal agencies. “Major portions of the Ogallala Aquifer should now be considered a nonrenewable resource,” it said.

That is the same region that was abandoned by more than two million people during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, caused by severe drought and poor farming practices. John Steinbeck famously chronicled the trauma in his epic “The Grapes of Wrath,” about a family of cotton farmers driven from their Oklahoma home. Lately, the novel has been weighing on the mind of Mark Brusberg, a meteorologist at the Agriculture Department.

So, it wasn’t ‘climate change’ back then? When CO2 was below the “safe” level of 350ppm? Huh.

Read: Your Fault: Climate Crisis (scam) Making Tampons More Expensive »

Posted in AGW Scaremongering, Global Warming | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach February 18, 2023 – 1:00 pm

…is a horrible pool made with lots of evil concrete, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Common Cents Blog, with a post on the Ohio train derailment being worse than they’re telling us.

Doubleshot below the fold, check out Dissecting Leftism, with a post on the Republicans COVID origins inquiry.

Read More »

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Bipartisan Warmonger Coalition Wants Biden To Send F-16’s To Ukraine

By William Teach February 18, 2023 – 10:30 am

Ukraine already has fighter jets, about 81, comprised of Russian made Sukhoi Su-27 and Mikoyan MiG-29. What, exactly would giving them F-16s do, considering they would need to spend months and months training to use them?

Democrats, Republicans join up to urge Biden to send F-16s to Ukraine

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pressing President Joe Biden directly to send F-16 warplanes to Ukraine as the fight against Russia’s invasion enters its second year.

Five House members argued modern jets — which Kyiv has sought, but the administration has so far not agreed to — “could prove decisive for control of Ukrainian airspace this year” in a Thursday letter to Biden obtained by POLITICO.

“The provision of such aircraft is necessary to help Ukraine protect its airspace, particularly in light of renewed Russian offensives and considering the expected increase in large-scale combat operations,” the lawmakers wrote.

The letter was organized by Maine Democrat Jared Golden. Also signing on were Democrats Jason Crow of Colorado and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania and Republicans Tony Gonzales of Texas and Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin.

Russia has over 900 fighter jets, most of them multi-role, along with 121 bombers and 197 close air support, plus all sorts of others. Did these 5 war mongers consider that the Ukrainian air force would still be overwhelmed if Putin decided to truly involve Russia’s air force? Did they consider that Ukraine, once they actually received the F-16s and were trained, might decide to use them for direct strikes inside Russian borders?

The lawmakers contend that fighters — either the Lockheed Martin-manufactured F-16 or something similar — would give Ukrainian forces greater capability than ground-based artillery provided by the U.S. and other nations.

“F-16s or similar fourth generation fighter aircraft would provide Ukraine with a highly mobile platform from which to target Russian air-to-air missiles and drones, to protect Ukrainian ground forces as they engage Russian troops, as well as to engage Russian fighters for contested air superiority,” they argued.

If this is their argument, it’s a piss poor one, which fails to truly explain how the Ukrainian air force could operate in a theater where their numbers would be overwhelmed by Russian forces, and would simply escalate the conflict. And where Russia could become peeved that U.S. made fighter jets supplied to Ukraine where attacking Russian troops, bases, and planes.

And, who maintains them? It takes about 25 people per plane to do so, and 16 hours of maintenance per hour of flying. And then you need all the weapons, which are different from what is loaded on the Russian made jets. Will we be supplying them, too? And, from that link about the number of Russian jets

As we’ve already discussed regarding the establishment of a NATO-enforced no-fly zone over Ukraine, advanced Russian air defense systems like the S-400 Triumpf have an operational range of around 250 miles. That means Ukrainian fighters would need to engage air defense systems inside Russia and potentially even Belarus in order to take control of their airspace (as multiple Ukrainian officials and pilots have championed as part of the request for these fighters). Otherwise, these air defense platforms could continue to shoot down Ukrainian jets that strayed too close to Russian territory.

But Russian air defense systems aren’t the biggest reason Ukraine would need to send its newly-gained F-15 and F-16 fleets into Russia—the biggest reason is that most Russian airstrikes are launched by aircraft that never leave Russian airspace.

Well, this is just a wonderful idea, right? If you want to push towards WWIII.

Read: Bipartisan Warmonger Coalition Wants Biden To Send F-16’s To Ukraine »

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Could Ending Fossil Fuels Actually Hurt The Environment?

By William Teach February 18, 2023 – 7:15 am

I’m skeptical of studies like this, just as I am with pro-climate cult ones. I’ve said many times that I am not a big fan of fossil fuels, which do damage the environment as pollutants, air, sea, and land. That said, a big thing to remember is that the environment is different from the climate scam.

Going black, not green: Curbing US oil, gas production would hurt the environment, report finds

Environmentalists seeking to halt U.S. oil and gas production in the name of combating climate change are undermining their own agenda and risking greater damage to the planet, according to a new report.

The Institute for Energy Research (IER) released a paper showing that the U.S. is the most environmentally friendly major energy producer and arguing that, like it or not, because petroleum products are here to stay, limiting U.S. production would have a devastating effect on the environment.

There have been vast strides over the past 50+ years in making fossil fuels cleaner (though, I don’t buy the clean coal thing). I noticed a lot of pollution from motors in the waterways back during the days of growing up at the beach, and this has gotten much better over the years.

A major hurdle for the Brandon administration, according to IER, is that global efforts to curb oil and gas production haven’t lessened the world’s reliance on fossil fuels for energy — petroleum products are entrenched in modern society to such a degree that fossil fuels and modernity have become all but inseparable.

“Nearly every facet of modern developed economies requires petroleum products and natural gas to function and provide the comfortable lifestyles that citizens of developed countries have come to expect,” the report states. “These resources are necessary for agriculture, heavy industry, transportation by all modes — road, rail, air, or ship — and a great number of the products that we take for granted. They’re ingrained in almost everything.”

As a result, the report continues, efforts to reduce or eliminate oil and gas production in developed countries will simply shift production to other countries in order to meet global demand that’s not going away.

In other words, if the U.S., the world’s largest producer of both oil and natural gas, reduced its production significantly, other energy producers — such as China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, among others — would likely pick up the slack, thereby not leading to any drop in global fossil fuel use.

One day the Earth will be able to transition away from most use of fossil fuels for energy and transportation, but, good grief, do the climate cultists and extreme enviros realize how much is made with fossil fuels? This site provides a partial list of 144 of about 6,000 products. Someone is going to produce it, and a lot of these nations will be a lot less careful about being as environmentally responsible as possible.

Oh, and it would probably skyrocket the cost of all the goods.

Read: Could Ending Fossil Fuels Actually Hurt The Environment? »

Posted in Energy, Environment, Global Warming | 16 Comments | Trackback URL
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