If All You See…

…is an Evil fossil fuels machine, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Flopping Aces, with a post on why those who question the 2020 results are being attacked.

Read: If All You See… »

“Funny” Guy Stephen Colbert Freaks Over DeSantist Sending Illegals To Uber Rich Martha’s Vineyard

DeSantis and Abbott should pick another high-toned and fancy to-do liberal enclave. Hey, maybe to Stephen Colbert’s city

Stephen Colbert Wrecks ‘Gaping’ A**hole Ron DeSantis With A Brutal Fact-Check

Stephen Colbert tore into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for “kidnapping” migrants and flying them to Massachusetts for a political stunt.

And that’s not all.

“It turns out it was way worse than we imagined because he actually abducted them from Texas,” Colbert said. “For a guy who acts so concerned about borders he doesn’t seem to know where his state ends.”

DeSantis claimed the migrants were“intending to come to Florida.”

Colbert didn’t buy it.

“C’mon,” he said. “No one intends to go to Florida.”

Really?

Plenty of Democrats escaped to Florida all throughout the strict COVID mandate period. Anyhow, Colbert, because he’s a comedian on a late night show, called DeSantis an asshole. I don’t see him offering to room some illegal aliens himself

(Fox News) The number of migrant encounters at the southern border rose to over 200,000 in August, as the border faced an increase in migrants coming from Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, which officials said was driving a “new wave of migration” across the Hemisphere.

There were 203,598 encounters on the border, a slight increase from the 199,976 encountered in July and lower than the 209,840 encountered in August last year.

Of the 203,598, officials said 157, 921 were unique migrant encounters, with the rest attributed to those who had multiple encounters with officials and had been expelled or deported.

Colbert is freaking over 50 Venezuelan illegal aliens being sent to Martha’s Vineyard? Of course, he’s playing to his base, because Republicans, excluding those with Trump Derangement Syndrome, do not watch at all. In the real world, Independents and ultra-moderate Democrats are seeing the hypocrisy of Democrats in sanctuary areas not wanting the icky working class illegals around.

When does Colbert call Biden an asshole for shipping migrants all around the country in the dead of night?

Read: “Funny” Guy Stephen Colbert Freaks Over DeSantist Sending Illegals To Uber Rich Martha’s Vineyard »

Bummer: Climate Cult Kids’ Lawsuit Thrown Out Of Court

We all know that this suit, like almost all the others, are really being done by the adults, using kids as human shields

Kids’ climate change lawsuit tossed by Virginia judge

st greta carA Virginia state judge has tossed a lawsuit filed on behalf of 13 young people who claim a state law that promotes fossil fuel development violates their constitutional rights, finding the government is immune to the kinds of arguments made by the kids.

Judge Clarence Jenkins Jr on Friday rejected the lawsuit, which was filed earlier this year by Our Children’s Trust (OCT), a nonprofit law firm that advocates on environmental issues.

The kids, ranging in age from 10 to 19, claimed a law that directs the state to maximize exploration and development of coal, oil and gas resources violates their constitutional right to life and liberty. The youth argued the policies result in increasing greenhouse gases, which hasten climate change and put their future and wellbeing at risk.

Jenkins said the state can’t face those claims in its own court system since state law shields the government from lawsuits alleging harms.

Too bad the judge couldn’t just say “this is very silly, it doesn’t violate your right to life and liberty.”

The plaintiffs said they will appeal. Nate Bellinger, an attorney at OCT representing the young people, said the judge’s decision could have serious consequences for any plaintiff challenging government policy.

The state policies are “doubling down, maximizing fossil fuels in the midst of this climate crisis,” he said.

The judge should have asked the kids if they’ve given up their own use of fossil fuels and made their lives carbon neutral

The suit is one of five pending cases filed by OCT for youth plaintiffs against state governments across the country, arguing policies promoting fossil fuel development violate their constitutional rights. A case filed in Montana is set to become the first to go to trial next summer.

So, basically astroturfed, finding a bunch of young dupes.

Read: Bummer: Climate Cult Kids’ Lawsuit Thrown Out Of Court »

Odds Are On A Big Fed Rate Hike This Week

The Brandon economy is just doing super, right?

The biggest Fed rate hike in 40 years? It could be coming this week.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and times are, arguably, increasingly desperate. The persistence of high inflation might force the Federal Reserve to resort to the biggest increase in a key U.S. interest rate in more than 40 years.

After another dismal U.S. inflation report, economists at the brokerage Nomura Securities on Tuesday became the first on Wall Street to predict a full-percentage-point increase in the Fed’s benchmark short-term rate.

“We continue to believe markets underappreciate just how entrenched U.S. inflation has become and the magnitude of response that will likely be required from the Fed to dislodge it,” the economists at Nomura wrote in a report to clients.

The last time the Fed made such a drastic move was in the early 1980s — another period marked by sky-high inflation.

The previous hikes were .75. A full point would be huge, which could stall most big purchase loans, effecting everything from automobiles to homes to business loans

In August, the consumer price index rose a scant 0.1%, largely because of another big drop in energy prices. And the annual pace of inflation slowed a bit to 8.3% from 8.5%.

But that was virtually all of the good news. The cost of almost everything rose last month, including food, rent, clothes, furniture, cars, medical care and so forth.

So, pretty much everything that’s necessary for life.

Read: Odds Are On A Big Fed Rate Hike This Week »

LA Times: Citizens Must Demand Government Implement Small Solutions

I told you the LA Times was a on a big roll with the climate crisis scam. Here’s another (Yahoo piece here)

Op-Ed: Climate change is a big problem. Citizens must demand many small solutions

The world is on fire. The flames are hard to see, because we hide them so well. But you can hear them — in the whine of jet engines as planes streak across the sky, in the rumble of power plants as they send electricity surging over power lines, in the purr of your car engine as you drive to work.

Every person living in a well-off country contributes to the conflagration. When you and your neighbors turn on your lights at night, a coal- or gas-burning power plant somewhere will most likely increase its fuel use — just a smidgen — to supply the electricity.

Sherman Potter Bull Cookies

Many people are trying to help, in their own ways — perhaps by buying a Prius or an electric car, recycling diligently, installing smart thermostats, eating less meat, maybe contributing money to an environmental group. These actions are important, but by themselves they are not enough. The world will not be saved by conscientious “green consumers” who decide, one family at a time, to drive less or install solar panels on the roof. The problem is just too big for that.

Instead, we all need to become “green citizens.” We need to focus, together, on a relatively small number of public policies that can, over time, bring about sweeping change.

Strange how this always comes to Government Authority, eh? Especially since most of these “green consumers” aren’t.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 passed by Congress will help by using tax subsidies to make clean energy more affordable, which should speed the construction of wind and solar farms, hasten the switch to electric cars and much more. But Congress did not clear away many of the obstacles that are slowing change. And a lot of those issues are under the control of state and local governments.

This means much of the work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will need to be done by local leaders, spurred on by their citizens. A prime example is the need to improve our building codes.

Buildings are one of the nation’s largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions. It will be impossible to meaningfully slow global climate change without cleaning up America’s buildings, and the way to do it is to subject them to new rules.

As if housing costs in California aren’t high enough already. And there’s’ lots and lots on government building codes

Too many Americans feel paralyzed by the climate crisis. It is a daunting problem, but the idea that we as citizens can do little about it reflects a poverty of imagination. If you’re tired of feeling helpless with a sense of impending doom, put on your marching shoes and make some political demands.

Yes, yes, let’s empower government with more dictatorial controls.

Read: LA Times: Citizens Must Demand Government Implement Small Solutions »

If All You See…

…is a cloudless sky from too much carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Da Techguy’s Blog, with a post on the danger of the Democrats SAFE-T Act in Illinois.

Read: If All You See… »

Brandon Finally Catches On That COVID Is Over

He and the people in his administration are still going to push everyone to get a booster, though

Biden says ‘the pandemic is over’ even as death toll, costs mount

U.S. President Joe Biden said in an interview aired on Sunday that “the pandemic is over,” even though the country continues to grapple with coronavirus infections that kill hundreds of Americans daily.

“The pandemic is over,” Biden said during an interview conducted with CBS’ “60 Minutes” program on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show, an event which drew thousands of visitors.

“We still have a problem with COVID. We’re still doing a lotta work on it. But the pandemic is over. If you notice, no one’s wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it’s changing.”

The toll of the COVID-19 pandemic has diminished significantly since early in Biden’s term when more than 3,000 Americans per day were dying, as enhanced care, medications and vaccinations have become more widely available.

We noticed it was over for most Americans months and months ago. We were done with all the restrictions, the closures, the forced masking, all that long ago, especially when we saw all the big wigs refusing to wear masks. When we saw the Elites playing Mask Theater, where they’d put it on for the cameras and then take it off. When we saw Biden and his people walk up to the podium and take the mask off, despite Biden’s EO requiring the wearing of masks inside federal buildings. Dare I say it was officially done on Super Bowl Sunday 2022, with all the big wigs blowing off the mask requirements?

But nearly 400 people a day continue to die from COVID-19 in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Biden spent more than two weeks isolated in the White House after two bouts with COVID-19, starting in July. His wife Jill contracted the virus in August. Biden has said the mild cases were a testament to the improvements in care during his presidency.

Remember, more people died from COVID under Biden in the same time frame as died under Trump, despite all the vaccines and knowledge. And people like Biden got Wuhan flu multiple times

I guess she didn’t get the message. She did get COVID, though.

(The Hill) As a result, the Biden administration has focused its messaging on the importance of getting vaccinated and receiving booster shots to increase immunity, as well as the wide availability of of antiviral pills and other forms of treatment for those who contract the virus.

Immunity? Immunity is with the measles and polio shots. This is more like the shot (unfortunately) for the flu, where, maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t, but, if you get it, the symptoms will probably be more weak or moderate. How many times have people gotten it and said “thankfully I’m vaxxed and boosted”?

I will say, I still attempt to avoid shaking hands and keep my distance when possible. I wash the heck out of my hands, but, I do that anyhow. Some people are just nasty.

Read: Brandon Finally Catches On That COVID Is Over »

Bummer: Driving An EV Doesn’t Make You Pro-Environment Or Something

The Los Angeles Times is on a roll. After spending a lot of time saying how great EVs are, now they keep pushing pieces saying EVs are bad (non-paywalled at Yahoo)

Commentary: Driving an EV does not make you pro-environment

When I started driving an electric vehicle in 2018, I became part of the problem.

Not for the reasons cited by EV critics during the recent heat wave, when the state asked that electric cars not be charged during peak demand. That prompted howls of “I told you so” from those who think the electrification of everything from home appliances to cars is a left-wing pipe dream, especially in light of California’s mandate requiring 100% of all new vehicle sales to be zero-emission by 2035.

Nor am I part of the problem because of the worries expressed ad nauseum by EV skeptics, few of which have much merit. (lots of that stuff – snip past it)

And that’s part of the problem. In the end, an electric car is still, well, a car — and mass car ownership has devastating environmental consequences beyond tailpipe emissions.

I became part of this car culture in 2018, after The Times moved from downtown L.A. to El Segundo. Until then I was a dedicated transit commuter and even held out for months after The Times’ relocation. But five hours a day on buses and trains eventually got to me, so I leased a Nissan Leaf.

See, all cars are bad. But, Paul Thornton never does say that he’s stopped driving his Leaf. Weird, that.

But electric vehicles, like gas-powered cars, require vast expanses of concrete and asphalt for automotive use. This paving over of entire regions has turned neighborhoods into heat sinks that soak up energy from the sun during the day and release it at night — not exactly what we want in an era of accelerating climate change.

That’s called the Urban Heat Island effect, and, while man caused, is not global and has nothing to do with greenhouse gases.

And electric vehicles, like gas-powered cars, force their drivers to sit in the same traffic jams as everyone else, often on freeways that required the bulldozing of long-established, minority communities to be built. In Downey, locals are fighting a highway expansion plan that would displace residents from more than 200 homes. I haven’t asked, but something tells me “yeah, but more electric cars” wouldn’t convince those residents to give up fighting for their homes.

Of course there’s a raaaaacist component.

And what kind of systemic change would that be? Build out a big public transit system (L.A. is trying), and make it free, reliable and safe. Subsidize the purchase of electric bikes, which make it easier to commute longer distances on devices that use considerably less power and road space than electric cars. Think more of what people in neighborhoods need than what people driving through those neighborhoods want.

But, not for Warmists like Paul. Just for the Other People.

Read: Bummer: Driving An EV Doesn’t Make You Pro-Environment Or Something »

Brandon Admin Looks To Create A “Digital Dollar”

What possible issues could arise from the Government holding your money? And you won’t really have a choice

Sounds reasonable

unintended consequences(Yahoo News) The Biden administration is moving one step closer to developing a central bank digital currency, known as the digital dollar, saying it would help reinforce the U.S. role as a leader in the world financial system.

The White House said on Friday that after President Joe Biden issued an executive order in March calling on a variety of agencies to look at ways to regulate digital assets, the agencies came up with nine reports, covering cryptocurrency impacts on financial markets, the environment, innovation and other elements of the economic system.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said one Treasury recommendation is that the U.S. “advance policy and technical work on a potential central bank digital currency, or CBDC, so that the United States is prepared if CBDC is determined to be in the national interest.”

Oh, a central bank controlled by unelected bureaucrats, ones who usually seem to be hardcore Progressives (nice Fascists). They certainly wouldn’t have any power to see exactly what you spend, how you spend it, limit your spending, blacklist Wrongthink individuals and companies, or anything else, right?

Why a ‘Digital Dollar’ Is a Really Bad Idea

Any digital currency that uses blockchain technology can technically be called a “cryptocurrency.” But, as Bitcoin influencer and content creator Layah Heilpern has aptly explained, Bitcoin has unique properties that make it valuable. Namely, it is both permissionless—anyone can use it and can use it how they want—and decentralized, meaning there’s no central authority that can control the currency.

This latter part is especially important. Because no one can increase the supply of Bitcoin beyond its predetermined mining schedule, no one can arbitrarily erode its value like the US government has done with the dollar through money-printing.

In fairness, they do this with non-digital money printing. Might it be easier with digital?

Of course, if a “digital dollar” was just kinda useless, that wouldn’t be the end of the world. But it’s much worse than that. While a central bank digital currency would offer none of the benefits of Bitcoin, it would offer governments new, unprecedented ways to control citizens. To call the idea rife for abuse is an extreme understatement.

After all, a central bank digital currency would allow the government to track your every purchase. It could also be easily used to restrict purchases.

The out of touch, insulated, elitists in government would never do something like that, right?

For example, imagine a future government deciding that gasoline must be rationed in order to address climate change. Your “digital dollars” could be made to stop working at the gas pump once you’ve purchased a certain amount of gasoline in a week. In this way, a central bank digital currency would open up new avenues for the government to assert control over our everyday lives. It would make our wealth and incomes less truly our own.

Nah, they’d never do that, right?

(Real Clear Markets) A Fed CBDC would make it hard for private citizens to avoid financial snooping by the government in every aspect of their financial lives. Moreover, suppose, as one would expect, that that the Fed’s CBDC siphoned large deposit volumes from private banks. The Fed would have to invest in financial assets to match these deposit liabilities, which would centralize credit allocation in the Federal Reserve, politicizing credit decisions and turning the Fed into a government lending bank. The global record of government banks with politicized lending has been dismal. A digital dollar could therefore undo more than a century of central bank evolution, which has usefully divided the issuer of money from private credit decisions. In the process, a digital dollar would subject private banks to vastly unequal and inevitably losing competition with the government’s central bank.  Finally, a CBDC would make it easier for the central bank to expropriate the people’s savings through negative interest rates.  For these reasons, a CBDC may fit an authoritarian country like China, but not the United States.

Just another Big Government idea from the Brandon admin.

Read: Brandon Admin Looks To Create A “Digital Dollar” »

If All You See…

…are horrible plastic stools made from fossil fuels, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Real Climate Science, with a post on lies, damned lies, and climate statistics.

It’s shorts week!

Read: If All You See… »

Pirate's Cove