Democrats Dive Back Into Gun Control Well, Push Ammo And Firearm Taxes For Midterms

By William Teach September 27, 2022 – 7:00 am

Let’s be honest, this is a bit of red meat for the unhinged Progressive base, trying to get them fired up to get out and vote. It could fire up even more Conservatives to get out and vote. And some independents. And be yet another reason that the moderate Democrats just stay home

Democrats propose tax hike on guns, ammo weeks before midterm elections

Nearly two dozen House Democrats are proposing higher taxes on firearms and ammunition and want to link some firearm-related taxes to inflation, just weeks before the midterm elections.

The “Gun Violence Prevention and Safe Communities Act,” from Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., and 21 House Democrats, would increase federal excise taxes on all firearms and ammunition. It would also raise taxes on importers, manufacturers and dealers of firearms, as well as any person or entity that transfers ownership of most firearms.

Democrats said the bill is modeled after federal tobacco taxes that generated revenue to fund programs aimed at reducing tobacco use. The gun tax bill would raise as much as $38 million per year and direct that money toward a new Gun Violence Prevention Trust Fund.

That fund would direct the revenue toward “community-based violence prevention grants; gun violence research; hate crimes prevention and enforcement; and forensic examiner training.”

So, they’ll hit up the law abiding citizens engaged in exercising their Second Amendment Right to pay to deal with the criminals using guns illegally, mostly in Democratic Party run cities which have enabled the crime waves through soft on crime policies? Huh.

The legislation is the latest sign that Democrats believe gun control is a winning issue for them as the midterm elections approach. In late August, President Joe Biden said he is “determined to ban assault weapons in this country,” and several Democrats have campaigned on the idea that access to guns is behind increasing gun violence.

“It’s time to ban these,” Biden said. “It’s time to ban these weapons. We did it before and we can do it again.”

Yeah, you just run with that. Will any elected Republican have the cajones to say “we’ll go with a 10 year ban that sunsets if the Secret Service and other agencies which protect the White House, Congress, and Executive Branch agencies have real assault rifles taken away”?

There are already small federal taxes on firearms purchases: raise these up and you might see a nice lawsuit ending up at the Supreme Court, as this is close to a poll tax on federal Rights.

Read: Democrats Dive Back Into Gun Control Well, Push Ammo And Firearm Taxes For Midterms »

Posted in 2nd Amendment, Democrats | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Bidenflation Changing The Way Americans Eat

By William Teach September 26, 2022 – 3:00 pm

When I say Americans, I mean the middle and working classes. Bidenflation isn’t bothering big wigs like Biden, Kamala, Pelosi, and all the ritchies in Congress, along with their deep pocket donors

Inflated Food Prices Forcing American Families to Change Eating Habits

Surging food prices due to historic inflation are forcing American families to adjust their eating habits by choosing cheaper options.

Cutting back on buying meats, shopping at high-end grocery stores, and dining out are among the many ways consumers are trying to save extra cash to avoid financial instability.

One Massachusetts father, Rick Whitman, told CNN that his family was enjoying eating at home more frequently because of how expensive eating out can be but is now grappling with the reality that eating at home is also becoming pricey.

Whitman noted he was spending 25 percent more for family groceries, forcing him to shop at cheaper grocery stores, such as Costco and local chain Market Basket, instead of Whole Foods or Stop & Shop.

Food prices have not only increased for the Whitman family but for the nation, as the consumer price index shows grocery store prices have increased by 13.5 percent since last year under the Biden administration, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall, food prices have increased by 11.4 percent.

Polling has shown that 63 percent of American families with children are changing their eating habits, compared to 31 percent that are not, Breitbart News recently reported.

And it’s not just that food prices have gone up, but, lots of the off-brand alternatives have disappeared. Lots of the Lidl brands are gone, replaced with the more expensive versions. I see this to a degree at Walmart. And, many products are also missing. More often, Tilapia is not at either store. Plenty of salmon, but, I don’t like salmon. Cod is even more rare.

If you don’t want to believe Breitbart, how about CNN?

Food prices are soaring, and that’s changed how we eat

…

We asked CNN readers how inflation has impacted their eating habits, and many mentioned dining out less often, buying less meat and giving up splurges. Some said they are very worried about the future.

Food prices have spiked 11.4% over the past year, the largest annual increase since May 1979, according to data released in mid-September by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Grocery prices jumped 13.5% and restaurant menu prices increased 8% in that period.

And portions have gotten smaller. Meat is often reduced and replaced with more cheap veggies.

Consumers are responding by looking for deals and switching to generic brands, according to July data from the market research firm IRI. Companies like Tyson (TSN) have noticed customers are switching from beef to chicken, and Applebee’s and IHOP have reported an uptick in higher-income customers who are likely trading down from pricier restaurants. Some people may be dining out less often, or avoiding restaurants altogether.

For those who struggled to buy food even before prices shot up, rising costs could mean falling into food insecurity, a state of unreliable access to affordable food.

“If food prices continue to increase at a rate that outpaces increases in wages, that is the inevitable consequence,” said Jayson Lusk, head of the agricultural economics department at Purdue University. “The last time we had a big run up in food insecurity rates was in the wake of the Great Recession.” Last year, about 10.2% of US households were food insecure, according to the USDA, slightly below the 10.5% rate in 2020 and 2019.

There’s a lot more in both articles. The CNN article, which is from their business side, provides lots and lots of details, but, fails to ask a simple question: what is Biden doing to help? His big Inflation Reduction Act provides zero help, and doesn’t actually reduce inflation

Read: Bidenflation Changing The Way Americans Eat »

Posted in Economy, Food and Drink, Joe Biden | 34 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach September 26, 2022 – 1:00 pm

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

The blog of the day is Jo Nova, with a post on European fertilizer production down 70%.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 11 Comments | Trackback URL

Unsurprisingly, Biden’s Being Influenced By “Green” Group With Deep Ties To China

By William Teach September 26, 2022 – 10:30 am

This would be the same China which makes a lot of promises to Do Something about anthropogenic climate change, and then builds a whole bunch of coal power plants

Green group influencing Biden admin has deep ties to Chinese government

China Votes BidenThe Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a major U.S. green group that has influenced Biden administration policymaking, has deep ties to the Chinese government.

The NRDC, a non-profit organization based in New York City with total assets exceeding $450 million, has worked on climate issues extensively in China since the mid-1990s and several of its top officials have worked for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or government-sponsored institutions.

The NRDC also maintains a close working relationship with President Biden’s administration. The NRDC’s former president, Gina McCarthy, served as Biden’s climate czar up from January 2021 until earlier this month. Current president, Manish Bapna, has attended at least two White House meetings, visitor logs reviewed by Fox News Digital show.

The NRDC regularly communicates with Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry’s office on policy issues, according to internal State Department emails obtained by the watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust and shared with Fox News Digital.

On its website, the NRDC highlights its collaboration with a “wide range of Chinese and international partners” to boost green policies and “fortify” environmental regulations in the country.

None of this helps you. None of this helps reduce your own cost of energy. California politicians have long been swayed by the NRDC, and look how well their energy grid is working, at the cost of their energy, over the brownouts and blackouts, over being told “don’t use appliances or charge your EV at night.”

The NRDC, though, rarely condemns the communist government in China despite the nation’s massive world-leading carbon footprint and its commitment to fossil fuel energy. China accounts for about 27% of total global emissions — nearly tripling the total in the U.S., the world’s second-largest emitter, according to Rhodium Group — and continues to approve and construct a large amount of coal power plants. (snip)

The NRDC also regularly has published blog posts commending China for its climate actions.

“China’s leaders are sending a clear signal that China’s shift from fossil fuels to clean energy is accelerating and that ‘new energy’ should be the basis for China’s future energy system, rather than fossil fuels,” NRDC senior adviser Alvin Lin wrote in 2021.

And they have a lot of people who worked in China, who were part of the Chinese government, and just continuously support China and their goals

Through its legal efforts, the NRDC has opposed domestic oil and gas drilling programs, coal plants, the Keystone XL pipeline and critical mineral mining projects.

The group bragged in December 2019 after it had filed its 100th lawsuit against the Trump administration.

And they’re still filing lawsuits, all of which reduce the availability of affordable, dependable energy. They’ve even been part of lawsuits blocking “green” energy, such as in deserts, along with transmission lines.

“For the enviros, it’s really all about power,” H. Sterling Burnett, the director of the Heartland Institute’s Center on Climate and Environmental Policy, told Fox News Digital in an interview. “It’s not about greenhouse gas emissions, is it? Well, if it was, they’d be talking about China all the time, non-stop. They’re not.”

“Why is NRDC not attacking China?” he continued. “First off, they know that China can just kick them out. Secondly, it’s hard to bite the hand that feeds you. If you’re being paid not to criticize somebody, then you don’t need to criticize them.”

Meanwhile, they’re suing the Brandon admin on one hand, while advising them on the other.

Read: Unsurprisingly, Biden’s Being Influenced By “Green” Group With Deep Ties To China »

Posted in Democrats, Global Warming, Joe Biden | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

The Atlantic Notices Something That Progressives Don’t Get About Hotcoldwetdry

By William Teach September 26, 2022 – 7:00 am

Yes, Alec Strapp, they do get it: you’re using the political label “Progressives.” A description of that would be “Nice Fascism.” They are authoritarians. They do want this. Anthropogenic climate change is just a platform to achieve it

What Many Progressives Misunderstand About Fighting Climate Change

Since the 1960s, fighting for the environment has frequently meant fighting against corporations. To curb pollution, activists have worked to thwart new oil drilling, coal-fired power plants, fracking for natural gas, and fuel pipelines. But today, Americans face a climate challenge that can’t be solved by just saying no again and again.

They blamed it on witches in previous warm and cool periods

But this may not be enough for some environmentalists. Jamie Henn, an environmental activist and the director of Fossil Free Media, recently told Rolling Stone, “Look, I want to get carbon out of the atmosphere, but this is such an opportunity to remake our society. But if we just perpetuate the same harms in a clean-energy economy, and it’s just a world of Exxons and Elon Musks—oh, man, what a nightmare.” Many progressive commentators similarly believe that countering climate change requires a fundamental reordering of the West’s political and economic systems. “The level of disruption required to keep us at a temperature anywhere below ‘absolutely catastrophic’ is fundamentally, on a deep structural level, incompatible with the status quo,” the writer Phil McDuff has argued. The climate crisis, the Green New Deal advocate Naomi Klein has insisted, “could be the best argument progressives have ever had” to roll back corporate influence, tear up free-trade deals, and reinvest in public services and infrastructure.

This isn’t the fringe saying it: it’s the mainstream climate cultists, from the big Elites to the proletariat. The outliers are those Warmists who do not want to do this.

Such comments raise a question: What is the real goal here—stopping climate change or abolishing capitalism? Taking climate change seriously as a global emergency requires an all-hands-on-deck attitude and a recognition that technological solutions (yes, often built and deployed by private firms) can deliver real progress on decarbonization before the proletariat has seized the means of production. A massive infusion of private investment, made not for charity but in the anticipation of future profits, is precisely what’s needed to accelerate the clean-energy transition—which, like all revolutions, will yield unpredictable results.

The goal is not so much abolishing capitalism, but, putting everything and everyone under the control of the government. The People’s Republican Of America. China-like at a minimum. Cuba. Venezuela. Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Skipping to the ending

Yet we cannot succeed in the fight against global warming without giving many alternatives to the status quo an opportunity to evolve and prove themselves. In reality, the false solution to climate change isn’t geoengineering or nuclear energy—it’s the belief that we can decarbonize the economy only by upending our economic system, categorically rejecting certain technologies, and spurning private investment.

That’s what your Comrades want, Alec. They’ve made no bones about.

Read: The Atlantic Notices Something That Progressives Don’t Get About Hotcoldwetdry »

Posted in AGW Socialism, Global Warming | 11 Comments | Trackback URL

Bummer: 56% Of Democrats Want Someone Other Than Biden In 2024

By William Teach September 26, 2022 – 6:45 am

He’s doing a bang-up job

Majority of Democrats want candidate other than Biden in 2024: poll

Just 35 percent of Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents want President Biden to run for second term in 2024, according to a new ABC News-Washington Post poll.

The poll, produced by Langer Research Associates, found that 56 percent of Democrats want the party to choose a different nominee for president, while 9 percent said they had no opinion.

Biden and his aides have stressed the president intends to run again in 2024, although he has not made a formal announcement. (snip)

The poll found that 39 percent of respondents approve of Biden’s job performance, compared to 53 percent who disapprove.

The president’s approval rating has remained underwater for more than a year with inflation near a 40-year high.

Thirty-six percent of respondents approved of Biden’s handling of the economy, while 57 percent indicated they disapprove.

Pretty sure those two things are linked, right?

In fairness, for the GOP, 47% want Trump and 46% want someone else. I’d like someone else. Trump had his time, now it’s time for new blood.

Mace says there is ‘pressure on the Republicans’ to impeach Biden if they win House

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) on Sunday said Republicans will face pressure to impeach President Biden if they take the House majority in the midterms.

“I believe there’s a lot of pressure on Republicans to have that vote, to put that legislation forward, and to have that vote,” Mace said of an impeachment vote when asked by NBC “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd.

“I think that is something that some folks are considering,” she continued.

He deserves to be impeached for his incompetence, for using the DOJ/FBI as a Stasi like political assault group, and so much more. And as payback for the crap Democrats pulled against Trump. Take the gloves off. But, is it the best political move? They’ll never get enough votes in the Senate, so, it’s an exercise in futility. Even if they did, you now have Kamala Harris. It would be better to stay laser focused on the economy, the economy, the economy, immigration, the economy.

Read: Bummer: 56% Of Democrats Want Someone Other Than Biden In 2024 »

Posted in Democrats, Joe Biden | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach September 25, 2022 – 3:28 pm

…are mountains without glaciers due to ‘climate change’, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Gen Z Conservative, with a post on FJB being back at college football games.

It’s fit girls week.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 15 Comments | Trackback URL

Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach September 25, 2022 – 9:35 am

Patriotic Pinup Runci

Happy Sunday! It’s another wonderful day in the Once and Future Nation Of America. The Sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the new furnace works well. Though, a bit stinky still, takes a few days to wear off. This pinup is by Edward Runci, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. Powerline discusses criminalized Conservatism
  2. Sultan Knish says they’re redistributing money, not fighting inflation
  3. The American Conservative wonders why the NEA wants to teach kids butthole licking
  4. The First Street Journal wonders if anything we’ve been told about COVID is true
  5. The Gateway Pundit covers an FBI SWAT team raiding the home of a pro-life leaders (I would like to see video/body cam footage to ascertain whether true. He was arrested and charged, that’s clear)
  6. The Last Refuge notes power in Mass. going up 64% in the Bidenconomy
  7. The Lid has video of armed illegals storming a ranchers house
  8. The O.K. Corral highlights Alemeda County banning wild cow milking
  9. The Right Scoop covers Excitable Liz Cheney vowing to interfere to stop Kari Lake winning
  10. This ain’t Hell… features stupid people of the week
  11. Weasel Zippers notes Obama has tons of classified material in an abandoned warehouse
  12. Maggie’s Farm has an interesting bit on the War Of 1812
  13. Legal Insurrection delves into Taylor Lorenz blaming Libs Of TikTok over the Boston bomb threat hoax
  14. Jihad Watch notes the Islamic State has regrouped
  15. And last, but, not least, IOTW Report discusses the massive protests in Iran

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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Joe Manchin Attempts To Pitch His Permitting Scheme To Big Wig Elites

By William Teach September 25, 2022 – 7:00 am

Now, streamlining permitting is a darned good idea. Unfortunately, Manchin made a massive mistake in giving his vote for Build Back Better v4, er, (won’t reduce) Inflation Reduction Act in exchange for a promise to get his streamlining scheme passed in a future bill, because too many hyper-left Democrats are trying to scuttle it, and now Republicans are refusing to play along

Manchin’s pitch to energy leaders: IRA without permitting reform a missed opportunity

Sen. Joe Manchin pitched his permitting reform legislation to a crowd of global energy leaders and private sector executives as essential to achieving the full goals of the Inflation Reduction Act he helped craft.

The West Virginia Democrat also told the crowd at the Global Clean Energy Action Forum in Pittsburgh that the Senate would start voting on the permitting legislation next week, likely on Tuesday. But the legislation faces stiff opposition in both parties.

Manchin’s appearance was disrupted by a handful of protesters seemingly opposed to the bill’s provisions aimed to help spur completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which the senator is a staunch advocate of. This followed a protest Thursday against permitting of natural gas infrastructure at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by opponents of efforts to build new fossil fuel infrastructure in the United States.

It would be great if the permitting scheme does get passed

Most of the developed world can build and permit infrastructure in a few years, but the U.S. permitting process can take as long as a decade, Manchin said.

“Why should we be at a disadvantage and can’t compete?” he said. “We know what needs to be done. Why can’t we be able to do it?”

In the Inflation Reduction Act, “everything’s based on a 10-year window,” Manchin added. “If it takes seven to eight years or longer to permit something, we’re going to miss the window for having those investments come to fruition and you miss that window, then you’re going to have money stranded out there.”

Yes, it does take way too long, and the lunatics sue left and right to stop the project, and can usually find a sympathetic judge to jam up the works.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told reporters Friday the Biden administration supports the deal that it took to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, including the permitting bill.

“We are very excited at DOE about the potential for streamlined permitting on clean energy projects,” she said. “I think that holds the greatest promise for the goals we’d like to achieve which is, of course, to get to 100 percent clean electricity by 2035.”

So, even if it gets passed, it won’t get used for fossil fuels projects. Good work, Joe, good work. Really, he got played, and sold out the people of West Virginia, and the rest of the United States. The final result will be fastrack permitting for “green” energy projects, and nothing for pipelines and such.

Read: Joe Manchin Attempts To Pitch His Permitting Scheme To Big Wig Elites »

Posted in Democrats, Energy, Global Warming | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

Bummer: Sales Of Large Pickups And SUVs Is Harming Carbon Pollution Reduction From EVs

By William Teach September 24, 2022 – 3:00 pm

In the real world, these are the vehicles people want, especially SUVs

Surging sales of large gasoline pickups and SUVs are undermining carbon reductions from electric cars

Replacing petroleum fuels with electricity is crucial for curbing climate change because it cuts carbon dioxide emissions from transportation – the largest source of U.S. global warming emissions and a growing source worldwide. Even including the impacts of generating electricity to run them, electric vehicles provide clear environmental benefits.

Plug-in vehicles are making great progress, with their share of U.S. car and light truck sales jumping from 2% to 4% in 2020-2021 and projected to exceed 6% by the end of 2022. But sales of gas-guzzling pickups and SUVs are also surging. This other face of the market subverts electric cars’ carbon-cutting progress.

People want these vehicles. Many manufacturers had already mostly stopped making sedans. Others stopped offering sub-compact cars, like the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris. Nissan still has the Versa, but, it doesn’t sell well, they do not make that many right now, and most go to rental car companies. The subcompact SUV class, though, which includes ones like the Honda HRV, Toyota CHR, and Kia Soul, are selling like gangbusters. RAV4s, CRVs, and other compact SUVs likewise sell big time. Many people are interested in the regular hybrid versions. People are interested in getting a mid-sized hybrid, but, not much going on there. People just do not want to deal with the charging issues of an EV. Or the pricing.

In spite of rapidly growing sales, however, EVs have not yet measurably cut carbon. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data indicates that the rate of carbon dioxide reduction from new vehicles has all but stalled, while vehicle mass and power have reached all-time highs.

Why? The surging popularity of low-fuel-economy pickups and SUVs. My analysis of the EPA data shows that through 2021, the higher emissions from market shifts to larger, more powerful vehicles swamp the potential carbon dioxide reductions from EVs by more than a factor of three.

Consumers make the choice. It shouldn’t be Government demanding it. If Warmists want EVs, let them go get one, and stop telling everyone else how to live their lives and what products companies can sell. And, as usual, John DeCicco, Research Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan, who wrote this piece, fails to note that he’s switched to an EV.

Policymakers and environmental organizations have mounted major promotional campaigns in support of EVs. But there are no similar efforts to encourage consumers to choose the most efficient vehicle that meets their needs. Significant numbers of Americans now believe that global warming is for real and of concern. Connecting such beliefs to everyday vehicle purchases is a missing link in clean-car strategy.

Mind your own business. Stop minding everyone else’s.

Read: Bummer: Sales Of Large Pickups And SUVs Is Harming Carbon Pollution Reduction From EVs »

Posted in AGW Socialism, Global Warming | 15 Comments | Trackback URL
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