Trump Explains He’s Not Against EVs, He’s Against Mandates

By William Teach July 27, 2024 – 5:59 pm

The media has been trying to create a rift between Elon Musk and The Donald, making it seem as if Trump is badmouthing Musk, Tesla, and EVs. Nope

Trump sets record straight on Elon Musk, electric vehicles

Despite having a “good relationship” with Tesla’s Elon Musk, former President Trump said he’s completely “against” an electric vehicle mandate.

During an interview on “FOX & Friends” on Thursday, Trump responded to claims that Musk would donate $45 million a month to a super PAC in support of his candidacy and discussed his relationship with the tech mogul despite his negative feelings towards an EV mandate.

“Somebody told me he was going to give me $45 million a month. I said, that sounds like a lot. And even for Elon, that’s a lot,” Trump said. (snip)

The former president, however, touted his “good relationship” with the Tesla founder despite the report.

“He [Elon Musk] did say, I strongly endorse you, despite the fact that I’m against the electric car mandate,” Trump explained before calling the “effort” ridiculous.

“I disagree with the electric cars for everybody,” Trump said, arguing that he’s “very much against” it.

“You want a gasoline propelled car or want maybe a hybrid. You want to have a choice. And that includes electric,” he said.

And that’s the thing: if you want an EV, get one. That’s your choice. If you want a straight gas, regular hybrid, or plugin hybrid, get one. Though, I personally think plugin hybrids are idiotic. When my lease is up at the end of March I will be leasing either a Civic Hybrid or an Accord Sport Hybrid. However, I am seriously considering a lease on an EV, which is $298 a month for 36 months for 30,000 miles (that’s all I need) with nothing down. Manufacturers are offering insane lease deals to employees and dealership employees. For those who understand leasing, this is a $53K vehicle. I pay $225 for a $30K Civic, and I put almost $6k down (I had massive positive equity in 2022, and pocketed almost $6k. I wanted the lower payment).

They’re doing a pretty wild lease for regular customers, $359, you would end up putting about $4000 to $4500 down, though.

We blew out all the ones we have, and other employees put their names on a few in shipping. I am seriously considering one, but, there is a sticky wicket: charging. Four different maps tell me different things on where I can fast charge. I’m not going places to do a level 2 charge and sit there for a long time. All the maps agree on one public charger on the NW side of Raleigh, would take me 20-25 minutes to drive there. Others say stuff is closer, but, they seem to be Tesla superchargers, which are not compatible. This gives me great, great pause.

But, then, there’s the pricing to charge: most of the level 3s are around 43 cents per kilowatt, so, to do a full charge is about $34. It costs me roughly that to fill up my Civic, and, I can go about 60 miles further. So, where is the monetary savings? Granted, I would choose the package where I get $750 of free charging. Not sure if I want to put a level 2 charger at home, would cost up to $2000 (though I could choose a package with a $500 credit and $250 free charging). I do not want a level one, where you plug it into a 3 prong outlet. First, some little punk could unplug it overnight for a lark, second, it can take days to charge at level one. I don’t have a garage.

However, this is where people save money having an EV over another car: charging at home. Not charging out and about. And most people do not have a garage. How many live in apartments? Where does the savings come in?

If you want to travel, a Tesla is probably your best bet. I would have to look for a CSS type plug. An 8 hour trip could quickly become over 9, provided you do not have to wait for the charger to be free. This is giving me serious pause. I know I will pay quite a bit more for a lease in March for a hybrid, with rates higher and cost of vehicles up, but, just not sure I want to give the EV a try. I just want to get in and drive, not play around. And this vehicle is nice. It’s just below the top trim. It drives fantastic. Took one on a 40 minute drive the other week. Enjoyable. It is about 8 inches wider than my Civic, and 5 wider than the Accord I had previously. Doesn’t seem like much, but, 5 to 8 inches in a vehicle is huge. I’ll wait and see what my coworkers think before doing anything.

If I get one, it should be my choice. Not government applying force.

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Posted in Donald Trump, Global Warming | 10 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach July 27, 2024 – 1:00 pm

…is a wonderful low carbon bike offsetting horrible fossil fueled boats, you might just be a Warmist

T he blog of the day is The View from Lady Lake, with a post on the puppet master.

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Media Looking To Help Turn Biden’s Horrible Economic Record Into Helper For Kamala

By William Teach July 27, 2024 – 10:30 am

The slobbering by the Credentialed Media is just out of the starting blocks……but, wait, the AP does a terrible job protecting Cackles after the first few paragraphs

Harris will carry Biden’s economic record into the election. She hopes to turn it into an asset

A key question is looming for Vice President Kamala Harris as she edges closer to gaining the Democratic presidential nomination: Can she turn the Biden-Harris economic record into a political advantage in a way that President Joe Biden failed to do?

In some ways, her task would seem straightforward: The administration oversaw a vigorous rebound from the pandemic recession, one that shrank the U.S. unemployment rate to a half-century low of 3.4% in early 2023 — far below the painful 6.4% rate when Biden and Harris took office in 2021. The rate stayed below 4% for more than two years, the longest such stretch since the 1960s.

Most of those jobs were re-hires from all those laid off due to Wuhan Flu

Boosted by the administration’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package, robust economic growth sent demand for workers soaring, forcing employers to jack up wages. Paychecks rose particularly fast for lower-paid workers, thereby narrowing income inequality.

Soon, though, clogged supply chains caused parts shortages, as demand for furniture, cars, and other goods, juiced by the administration’s stimulus, soared. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine escalated gas and food prices. In June 2022, inflation reached a four-decade high.

Wow, that’s some serious gaslighting. Much of the supply chain was damaged due to the COVID shutdowns, thanks to Democrats here in the US. And, of course other nations run by Leftists. But, the juiced part? The Biden admin was warned about giving people free money. Then we get the BS about the Russian invasion on food and energy.

The spike in prices was so severe that it offset most of the wage growth that workers had enjoyed. And it soured Americans on the economy. Consumer sentiment plunged in late 2021 and has barely recovered even as inflation has plummeted from 9.1% in 2022 to 3%.

The thing about the inflation is that those prices really do not come down. For instance, my favorite soup, Progresso, was about $1.58 before it started, at $2.50 now

In fairness, you can’t blame Biden-Harris for this all: start with China for screwing with coronaviruses. Then you get what Biden and the rest of the leaders did. And gas and energy really didn’t have anything to do with the shutdowns, but, with the Biden-Harris policies.

Speaking this week in Indianapolis, Harris highlighted her support for “affordable health care” and “affordable child care.” She also charged that Trump would eliminate the Biden administration’s price cap on insulin, which the White House often cites as an example of its efforts to reduce high drug costs.

Affordable health care? That’s single payer. Affordable child care? Government running it.

And to fight inflation, the Federal Reserve, led by Chair Jerome Powell, raised its key interest rate at the fastest pace in four decades. Borrowing costs soared as a result. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has more than doubled, from a low of about 2.7% during the pandemic to about 6.8% last week.

I see people’s brains melt when they see that they are paying $2K to $4k more for vehicles (gross profit is still the same) and rates are considerably higher.

Perhaps most painfully, housing affordability has worsened. Both prices and mortgage rates are much higher than they were three years ago. The monthly payment for a newly purchased median-priced home has jumped nearly one-third in that time, to more than $3,000, according to Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. Would-be homebuyers need to earn at least $100,000 to afford the median-priced home in nearly half of all metro areas, the center has found.

Then there are groceries. A pound of ground beef has jumped $1.05 since Biden’s inauguration, to a national average of $5.36 a pound, according to government data. Though egg prices are far below the peak they reached during a bout of avian flu in late 2022, at $2.72 a dozen they’re still 85% more expensive than they were three years ago. A pound of chicken has surged 25% to $2.01 since January 2021.

What happened? The Associated Press has done a terrible job in trying to protect Harris. The article basically says the economy is hurting Americans.

Read: Media Looking To Help Turn Biden’s Horrible Economic Record Into Helper For Kamala »

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Climate Nuts Protest Toyota At Paris Olympics

By William Teach July 27, 2024 – 7:00 am

I wonder how many of them took fossil fueled trips to Paris? How many are wearing clothes and stuff made with petroleum?

Protest Posters Targeting Toyota Debut at Paris Olympics

The Paris Olympics are now underway, and the effects of the competition on the surrounding city are numerous, including security checkpoints and transit changes. Some of the effects are a little more subtle than others. Parisians and visitors alike might see some posters up that at first look like advertisements for Toyota, a sponsor of both the Olympics and the Paralympics.

Examining the posters more closely reveals something a bit different, though: these aren’t ads for Toyota; rather, they’re protests against the automaker. The Art Newspaper has more details on the protest campaign, which reportedly features posters added to around 100 transit stops in Paris and several other French cities.

In a post on their Instagram account, the group Brandalism — who also targeted Wimbledon with similar techniques — stated their objection to Toyota’s Olympic presence. “Toyota’s sponsorship of the #Olympics is a gold-medal example of sportswashing, or polluting companies using high profile sponsorship deals to hide their massive emissions,” they wrote. The campaign is a collaboration between Brandalism and Résistance à l’Agression Publicitaire.

Seriously, it’s expected that around 15 million will travel from around the world to Paris for the Olympics and Paralympic Games. That’s just visitors, that doesn’t include all the athletes and staff.

Another one of the posters reads, “Art Belongs in Paris. Giant Polluters Do Not.” The images on some of them echo the work of Vincent van Gogh; it’s not hard to imagine a pedestrian glancing at one and taking it for an advertisement for an art exhibition, right up until the text comes into focus.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. How many of the group ride on fossil fueled buses? Will these posters change anyone’s mind? Will anyone care?

Anyhow, a metal band I love, Gojira, who are French and really one of the top metal bands out there right now, opened up the games. This is amazing

Read: Climate Nuts Protest Toyota At Paris Olympics »

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Democracy! NC Democrats Sue To Get Kennedy Off Ballot

By William Teach July 27, 2024 – 6:45 am

Democrats yammer about Democracy! about ever 5 seconds, saying Trump is threat to Democracy!, Republicans are a threat, anything that doesn’t toe the Democrat line is a threat. Well, we just saw how that worked out with the Elites picking Kamala, and now

North Carolina Democrats sue to reverse decision that put RFK Jr. on ballots

The North Carolina Democratic Party has challenged the state election board’s recent decision to recognize a new political party that will put Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the state’s presidential ballots.

The complaint filed Thursday seeks to reverse the board’s action that made “We The People” an official party in the presidential battleground state. Board staff last week said that supporters of We The People turned in enough valid signatures from registered and qualified voters to exceed the petition threshold in state law.

In the complaint filed in Wake County Superior Court, lawyers representing the Democratic Party alleged that Kennedy’s campaign evaded tougher standards for independent candidates to get on the ballot — six times as many signatures — by masquerading as a political party in violation of state law.

Petition instructions for We The People stated the party’s purpose was to put Kennedy on the ballot, the complaint contends. According to the Democratic Party’s lawyers, that’s not a permissible purpose under state law, and Kennedy needed to follow the rules for independent candidates.

The board voted 4-1 in favor of recognition. While Democratic board Chair Alan Hirsch voted yes, he still said that We The People had engaged in “subterfuge” and suggested that anyone challenging the vote in court would “have a very good case.”

We The People representatives have defended the signature drive as legitimate and aligned with state law. The party said its candidates would include Kennedy and running mate Nicole Shanahan, along with candidates for two other local races.

Wild how Democrats do not want citizens to be able to vote for whom they want, and want to sue to get competitors off the ballots, eh? With Trump they engage in lawfare, with Kennedy they just try and knock him off the ballot. They’re trying the same thing in Nevada, New York, and other states. Especially battlegrounds.

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Climate Defiance Wackos “Ask” Cackles Harris To Be The Climate Candidate Or Something

By William Teach July 26, 2024 – 3:30 pm

Always demanding that other people do stuff that puts the government dominance on other people

A climate activist group’s 8 asks for Harris

A climate activist group is urging Vice President Kamala Harris to lean into a “bold climate candidacy” as she sprints toward the November presidential election.

Climate Defiance, an organization that made waves by interrupting speeches and events to prod Biden administration officials on climate, laid out eight requests for Harris on Friday as the likely nominee looks to rally young people and climate-minded voters behind her.

“We’re hoping that Kamala Harris will really commit to a strong climate platform that recognizes the stakes at the moment that we’re in,” said Evan Drukker-Schardl, an organizer with Climate Defiance.

The rest of E&E News (hardcore Warmist outlet) article has a serious paywall, so, let’s go to the Twitter

Here are the 8 asks (which are really demands)

  • Kamala Climate ClownAsk #1 No new oil & gas infrastructure projects. Full stop.
  • Ask #2 End federal fossil fuel subsidies and stop financing fossil fuel projects abroad. (have they asked whether Americans actually want 1 and 2? And 4? Or, does that even matter to their little Fascist minds?)
  • Ask #3 Rapidly expand investments in renewable energy and R&D into new technologies that can accelerate the transition. (I’m not against investing in R&D)
  • Ask #4 End all new leases of oil & gas drilling on federal lands and waters.
  • Ask #5 Provide a living wage, training, and career growth opportunities to American workers transitioning from the fossil fuel industry to green energy jobs. (Smacks of Socialism and government controlling the economy)
  • Ask #6 Compensating victims of environmental racism and prosecuting the perpetrators. (in other words, jail people for Green Wrongthing)
  • Ask #7 Increase federal funding for infrastructure and public housing that can withstand extreme weather events. (more government)
  • Ask #8 Provide clean, cheap, and accessible energy and water to Native reservations. (have they asked the Indians if they want this? Or, are they just White Knighting, since most of these wackos in Climate Defiance tend to be white, and middle class to rich?)

The funny part is that none of these folks are actually saying what they have done in their own lives, especially since most of their clothes, shoes, signs, phones, glasses, etc, are made with petroleum.

One immediate change that can be made is stopping the genocide and ecocide against the Palestinian people. Harris can support an arms embargo and press Israel to end its assault on Gaza- threatening to make the land, water, and air of Gaza unlivable for generations. She must.

It wouldn’t be an unhinged Progressive group without Jew hatred and support of Hamas.

Read: Climate Defiance Wackos “Ask” Cackles Harris To Be The Climate Candidate Or Something »

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If All You See…

By William Teach July 26, 2024 – 1:00 pm

…are horrible Bad Weather clouds that could be a carbon pollution driven hurricane, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is This ain’t Hell…, with a post on the media going wacko over Cackles Harris being “border czar”.

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Pro-Hamas Demonstrators Call For Israel To Be Kicked Out Of Olympics

By William Teach July 26, 2024 – 10:30 am

This is surely the start of the unhinged Jew hatred we’ll see during the Olympics

Migrants and homeless people are cleared out of Paris during the Olympics

Less than a day before the opening ceremony of the 2024 summer Olympics om Friday, there were competing demonstrations in Paris against and in support of Israel.

The several hundred pro-Palestinian demonstrators chanted, among other things: “Fascist and terrorist Israel”, “Israel is occupying, Emmanuel Macron will wake up”, “Free Palestine” and “Flee from Paris.”At the same time, several dozen pro-Israel demonstrators waved a sign that read “Antisemitism has no place in the Olympics.”

On Wednesday, during the Israeli soccer team’s first Olympic match in 48 years, held against Mali, fans waved Palestinian flags and booed during the playing of Israel’s national anthem. In addition, quite a few Moroccan and Palestinian fans, who also came to the stadium, entered the Israeli stands and there was a violent confrontation between the parties .

One of the pro-Israel demonstrators, Jacqueline Dufo, said: “I’m not Jewish, but they can’t use this conflict to show antisemitism and ask to remove Israel from the Olympics. It won’t happen.”

Notice that the Israel supporters are calling for peace and tolerance, while the Palestinian demonstrators are calling for hate and exclusion

The Palestine Olympic Committee asked the Olympic committee to exclude Israel from the Games, a request to which Iran also joined. But the chairman of the Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, made it clear to them that this would not happen. An official statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that “Israeli athletes do not deserve to be present at the Paris Olympics because of their war against the innocents in Gaza.”

Jibril Rajoub, chairman of the Palestinian delegation to the Olympics said: “Israel has no right to appear in the Olympics. Israel has lost its human and sporting values. She has no place in the Olympics, she is committing genocide in Gaza. Israel should be treated the same way South Africa was treated during the Apartheid era.” Rajoub also said that he hopes to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron so that he will “recognize a Palestinian state.”

When people are siding with Iran they are definitely on the wrong side of history. That they’re on the side of hate and destruction.

(USA Today) Israeli athletes will receive 24-hour protection during the Paris Olympics, France’s interior minister said, after a far-left lawmaker said Israel’s delegation was not welcome and called for protests against their participation.

Why is that Jews need security from all the “peaceful” protests and Palestinian supporters, but, Palestinians do not? Expect many more unhinged acts of Jew hatred in Paris.

Meanwhile, the homeless and migrants were cleared from the whole are of the Olympics in Paris

None of them look French. Most look like Muslim illegal aliens. Why are they always leaving their Islamist nations and bringing their same culture they left?

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Yout Groups Want Kamala To Take Away Their Money And Freedom For ‘Climate Change’

By William Teach July 26, 2024 – 7:00 am

Why can’t they all just practice what they preach instead of forcing their beliefs on everyone else?

Youth groups urge Kamala Harris to hold the line on climate change policy

Young climate campaigners are urging Kamala Harris not to soften her position on global warming in a bid to win over swing voters as she campaigns to become the next US president.

“We are watching and waiting to see what kind of vision she puts forward on climate in coming weeks,” said Stevie O’Hanlon, spokesperson for the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate organisation that helped elect Joe Biden in 2020, but recently called for him to stand aside.

“When Democrats run away from their progressive stances when they run for president they look like flip-floppers,” said O’Hanlon. “She has a chance to defend the positions she has taken over the last decade and make the case for them.”

The Sunrise Movement said it would allow its members to vote on whether the group should endorse Harris as the Democratic candidate over the next two months.

But its caution about endorsing Harris underscores the political difficulty of generating enthusiasm among young Americans, who proved a crucial part of the Democratic party’s winning coalition in 2020, while also appealing to a wider voter base with more moderate views on climate action.

Kamala has been pretty hardcore on trying to force the peasants to practice the tenants of the Cult of Climastrology, all while using vast amounts of fossil fuels herself. She doesn’t drive an EV for one thing. Will Harris lie about her agenda, ie, soften her stance to get elected? Or, will she stick to her guns? If Trump and Cackles debate he should ask her directly about her climate scam agenda.

Meanwhile, over at Hot Air, since I may or may not get to this

If you thought Joe Biden’s electric vehicle mandates were unpopular (and they are) just wait until you see the even more aggressive plans that Kamala Harris has in store if she manages to be elected to the White House. Rather than giving in to a popular lack of demand, Harris intends to double down, accelerating the schedule for converting the American fleet of vehicles at an even more rapid pace wherever possible. The Democrats still aren’t quite crazy enough to try to make possession of a gas-powered vehicle illegal, but they will bully the automakers to ensure that a full 50% of all vehicles sold are EVs and they will use the regulatory power of federal agencies to enforce their will. It’s almost as if Harris and her party are daring the American people not to vote for them. (Free Beacon)

Many manufacturers are giving absurd deals to dealer employees to get their EVs on the road, because, for one thing, inventory is just sitting there. One maker had an insane one about 6 months ago that also carried over to any employee of the group, though, it was only an 8K mile a year/2 year lease. I usually get a 10K a year lease. It was interesting, the SUV was the size I like, but, no thanks. We are getting offered $299 a month for a 3 year/30K lease on a bigger SUV that is pretty loaded. They drive very nice. Smooth. Enjoyable. Great acceleration. If it carries for at least 2 months I might consider it, though, it is a bit wider than I generally like. A bunch of fellow employees have taken advantage. I’ll see what their opinions are in a month or so (I’m taking a long drive to see the parents in August, don’t feel like making that part of my learning curve, plus, any color I want won’t be in stock till late August/early September).

As I’ve said, it should be a personal choice, not a government mandate. I’m fine with one 90% of the time. The range is about 75-100 miles less than my Civic. If I want to fast charge, the closest is a 15 minute drive away. I do not have a garage, so, leaving it plugged into an outside plug is not optimal overnight. I am interested, though. 8 inches wider than a Civic (heck, 5 inches wider than an Accord), 9 inches longer, though, I’ve had an Accord before, length is not the issue. Width is. The end of the day, it’s not the government’s job to dictate why an American drives.

Read: Yout Groups Want Kamala To Take Away Their Money And Freedom For ‘Climate Change’ »

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France Runs Into A Sticky Wicket Over Their Anti-Hijab Laws For Olympics

By William Teach July 26, 2024 – 6:45 am

Is a hijab required for Muslims? On one hand, a woman only has to wear a hijab if she’s going to be seen by a man who isn’t her husband or a blood relation. On the other, the Qu’ran also states that “there is no compulsion in religion”, which means that Muslims have the choice of how they practice their religion, and some Muslim women choose not to wear a hijab while still observing modesty. Regardless, France bans the wearing of most religious clothing in public, which would apply to the Olympics

France struggles with its hijab rules for Olympics opening ceremony

French government and Olympics officials are seeking a creative solution to allow Muslim French sprinter Sounkamba Sylla to wear her hijab at the opening ceremony while still complying with the country’s secularism laws, they said on Wednesday.

Thousands of athletes, including some who wear a hijab, are arriving for the Paris Olympics, placing an international spotlight on tensions in France over national identity and perceived discrimination against Muslims.

Sylla, part of France’s 400-metre relay team, wrote on her Instagram account on Monday that her hijab – a head covering worn by many Muslim women – would prevent her from appearing in Friday’s blockbuster opening ceremony along the Seine River.

“You are selected for the Olympic Games, organised in your country, but you can’t take part in the opening ceremony because you wear a scarf on your head,” Sylla posted on her account.

Well, that is the law of France. You don’t wear it when you are running. Why are you letting men dictate what you wear? Seriously, your running apparel isn’t exactly “modest” per the dictates of Islam. She plans to wear a cap. So, what’s the problem? The idea here is that a 1st world nation must comply, submit (the root of Islam literally means submission), to the will of Allah. They must change their entire culture, mores, laws, etc, for Islam.

Eager to avoid an embarrassing domestic flap with the entire world watching, French government and Olympics officials said they were willing to find a solution for Sylla, although it remains unclear what that could be.

“Our citizens expect us to follow these principles of secularism, but we also need to be inventive about solutions to make everyone feel good,” Amelia Oudea-Castera, minister for sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said on Wednesday, adding that Sylla “understands our principles, our rules”.

Foreign athletes are not affected by the secularism rules.

Which is interesting, since women going to Islamic nations must comply with their laws, though, in fairness, those who were at the convention halls for the latest UN IPCC COP didn’t have to wear head coverings in the buildings. Just when they left the grounds.

Maria Hurtado, spokeswoman for the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, criticised the French government in September last year over its stance on the hijab for French athletes during the Olympic Games, saying that “no one should impose on a woman what she needs to wear, or not wear”.

Except, there are rules as to what athletes can wear in every sport, including the Olympics. And, again, in fairness, sometimes those rules are absurd, like how the volleyball women were supposed to wear essentially bikini bottoms.

Regardless, France has been invaded by the Religion of Peace, which has long attempted to change France into a soft caliphate.

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