China Joe-Kamala Admin Says Getting Rid Of “Subsidies” Totally Won’t Raise Energy Prices

As we all know, they really aren’t subsidies, they’re tax breaks, most of which are available to lots and lots of companies who do other types of business. We also know that when you raise taxes the costs are rarely eaten by the companies

Treasury says plan to end fossil fuel subsidies would bring in over $35 billion

The Treasury Department estimates its plan to end subsidies for fossil fuel companies would bring in over $35 billion in federal revenue over 10 years.

Driving the news: “The main impact would be on oil and gas company profits. Research suggests little impact on gasoline or energy prices for U.S. consumers and little impact on our energy security,” officials said in a report on the wider White House tax policy proposal.

  • The White House has not spelled out precisely what tax code provisions that affect fossil fuel companies they want to change.
  • But past Democratic proposals have taken aim at areas like write-offs for certain drilling costs and the oil-and-gas industry’s eligibility for deductions on manufacturing income.
  • The White House is looking to boost tax revenue from the oil industry while expanding tax incentives for renewable power, creating new transmission and storage credits and more.

The other side: The oil-and-gas industry argues that it doesn’t get special treatment under the tax code, and instead uses provisions aimed at spurring a wide range of business investment.

It’s always great when you have people making tax and monetary policy who have no experience working in the private sector, at least not anytime this century, eh? Seriously, all these fossil fuels and energy companies should just not sell their product to the White House. Let’s see how well they operate.  Also, isn’t it required for Congress, specifically the House of Representatives, to change provisions of the tax code? That’s what my copy of the Constitution states.

But, take away those write-offs and deductions and the money gets passed on to the consumer. It means less investment, fewer pay raises for employees. None of this happens in a vacuum, as these Government fools always determine.

Meanwhile, John Kerry continues to be very silly in India

Biden will restore U.S. credibility on climate change, says John Kerry

“[Former President Trump] shot America’s credibility in the head and turned his back on science,” Mr. Kerry said in response to a question from The Hindu at a media roundtable at the end of his visit, referring to the U.S. decision to pull out of the Paris agreement (UNFCCC) on climate change in 2017.

“The United States comes back to the table understanding this obligation, understanding what we need to do, we come back with humility. We come back knowing that the for the last four years we’ve disappointed people,” he added, but pointed out that many U.S. states and cities had stayed the course on climate change mitigation despite Mr. Trump’s pull-out from the agreement.

This after taking a long fossil fueled flight almost halfway around the world.

Read: China Joe-Kamala Admin Says Getting Rid Of “Subsidies” Totally Won’t Raise Energy Prices »

If All You See…

…is horrible heat snow from carbon pollution driven Bad Weather, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Bustednuckles, with a post saying to read between the lines when Los Federales say they won’t require COVID passports.

Read: If All You See… »

Dems Plan Vote On Making D.C. A State Week Of 19th

They should have tried packing the Supreme Court before doing this, because it is clearly un-Constitutional, but, then, when did Democrats ever care about that? If they really want people in D.C. to have clear representation, well, move the federal government somewhere else and suck D.C. back into Maryland. Or, all those people who reside in D.C. can move not far away to Maryland or Virginia. D.C. was never meant to have permanent residents

House to vote on DC statehood bill during week of April 19

The House will vote on making Washington, D.C., the 51st state during the week of April 19, the district’s non-voting representative in Congress announced Wednesday.

Eleanor Holmes Norton, the D.C. delegate, said the House Oversight Committee will vote on her statehood bill on April 14 and then send the legislation for a full House vote the following week.

“The week of April 19th the House will take a historic step in righting the monumental wrong of denying the 712,000 federal taxpaying American citizens who live in the nation’s capital voting representation in Congress and self-government without congressional interference into local affairs,” Norton said in a statement.

They chose to live there. That’s on them. The only really Constitutional way of doing this cute little carve up they think will solve the issue, basically leaving the area where most of the federal buildings are and turning the rest into a state would be to revert it to being a part of Maryland, which would mean there wouldn’t be two extra senators in the Dems back pocket. Just the same two from Maryland.

D.C. has a population of more than 700,000 residents — greater than Wyoming and Vermont — but the residents don’t have voting members in Congress or full control over local affairs. However, the District of Columbia pays more in federal taxes than 21 states and more per capita than any state, according to the 2019 IRS data book.

They aren’t supposed to have control over their affairs. The Constitution gives that to Congress. Any power local government has is given to them by Congress, and can taken back in heartbeat. Like was done with Alexandria. Which is no longer part of D.C., but, was given back to Virginia.

Under the plan, the 51st state would be called “Washington, Douglass Commonwealth,” named for Frederick Douglass.

D.C. would have full control over local affairs and full representation in Congress, which would amount to two senators and one representative in the House based on the current population.

The area around the White House, Capitol, Supreme Court and National Mall would be carved out into a federal district controlled by Congress and named the “Capital.” (snip)

However, the legislation needs 60 votes to advance and therefore will die again in the Senate without GOP support.

Unless Dems want to kill the filibuster (reconciliation is not on the table), it won’t move forward. Let’s say they do make it a majority vote: we knew this back in 1993

D.C. Statehood: Not Without a Constitutional Amendment

Statehood proposals for the District of Columbia have been around for years. Today, however, we have a President pledged to support D.C. statehood. Congress is controlled by the Democrats, whose platform supports statehood. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the so-called non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives from D.C., has introduced a statehood proposal in the current session of Congress.1 Jesse Jackson, the “Shadow Senator” from the District, was recently arrested while leading a group of pro-statehood protesters blocking an intersection near the Capitol.2 And readers of The Washington Post received an Independence Day issue of the Post’s Sunday magazine devoted to the statehood cause.3 In short, statehood matters may be coming to a head in the political arena.

Yeah, this was Bill Clinton’s first year in office

What most statehood proponents ignore, however, is a fundamental question that should precede their political campaign: even if it were a good idea, can Congress make D.C. a state without a constitutional amendment? As a partisan matter, support for statehood is almost exclusively Democratic, as would be New Columbia’s congressional delegation. As a constitutional matter, however, the Justice Department under both Democratic and Republican administrations has consistently agreed that statehood for the District requires a constitutional amendment; it cannot be done by mere majority vote in Congress. A review of the District’s history, the terms of the Constitution, and the practicalities of making D.C. a state, reveals that statehood legislation is ill-conceived at best.

A simple vote cannot Constitutionally create this new state out of D.C.

By the 1950s, support for some form of local and national representation for the District’s residents began to swell. President Eisenhower supported Home Rule—the grant of certain powers of local administration to officials elected from the District.11 In 1961, the states ratified the 23rd Amendment, giving District residents for the first time the right to vote for President and Vice President.12 The District was granted Home Rule in 1974, and Walter Washington, previously the Commissioner of the District, became its first modem elected mayor.13

And that amendment complicates the simple vote of no representation as the first Constitutional hurdle. If you read the entire piece, you will see that it would also violate Article 1, Section 8: Permanent Congressional Power, which gives Congress power over the district. But, the carve out! Wouldn’t that take care of this?

Article IV, Section 3: Maryland’s Permission

Statehood’s second constitutional problem is Article IV, Section 3, which provides that no new state may be created out of the territory of an existing state without that state’s permission.27 Under this clause, doesn’t Maryland need to give permission before a state can be created out of the District? It gave the territory that became the District to the federal government for use as the seat of government, not for making a new state.

This means that the grant of land would mean that the carve out could be given back to Maryland, letting those people be Maryland residents, not a new state.

Read: Dems Plan Vote On Making D.C. A State Week Of 19th »

Bummer: COVID Lockdowns Haven’t Stopped Carbon Pollution

Remember when they were telling us that COVID lockdowns reduced the output of carbon dioxide by up to 17%? And that climate cultists loved the notion of keeping everyone locked to stop/slow climate apocalypse? Well…

COVID-19 hasn’t slowed global warming: Earth’s carbon dioxide levels highest in over 3 million years, NOAA says

The COVID-19 pandemic did nothing to slow the root cause of global warming.

In fact, the level of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere is now higher than it’s been in at least 3.6 million years, federal scientists announced Wednesday.

At that time, sea levels were as much as 78 feet higher, the average temperature was 7 degrees Fahrenheit higher than in pre-industrial times, Greenland was mostly green, and Antarctica had trees.

So, if the sea levels and temps were considerably higher back then, and the CO2 level is the same, why don’t we have the same? Perhaps CO2 isn’t the control knob.

Overall, levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane – the two most important greenhouse gases – continued their unrelenting rise in 2020 despite the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“Human activity is driving climate change,” said Colm Sweeney of NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory, in a statement released Wednesday. “If we want to mitigate the worst impacts, it’s going to take a deliberate focus on reducing fossil fuels emissions to near zero – and even then we’ll need to look for ways to further remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.”

The burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas releases greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, which has caused the temperature of Earth’s atmosphere to rise to levels that cannot be explained due to natural factors, scientists say.

Well, if the release of those gases were greatly reduced to the massive reduction in driving, flying, manufacturing, and so forth during 2020 (and there are still lockdowns and stay home orders throughout the world), then why did they continue to rise? Perhaps nature has something to do with it? O, right, if that is the case, that hurts the cult narrative.

In the past 20 years, the world’s temperature has risen about two-thirds of a degree Fahrenheit, NOAA said.

Well, that’s a bold faced lie, especially since a goodly chunk of that period was a pause period. The reality of the situation is that the temp has risen 1.5F since 1850, not much to do about anything. But, scaremongering is what the cult is good at. Yet, they refuse to modify their own lives. Go figure.

Read: Bummer: COVID Lockdowns Haven’t Stopped Carbon Pollution »

China Joe To Rollout Gun Measures Thursday Which Will Do Pretty Much Nothing

The China Joe-Harris administration (because that’s the way they are referring to themselves, the Biden-Harris admin, because, apparently, Joe isn’t up to doing the job he campaigned for) has failed to note what difference any of this will make, but, it’s a chance to Virtue Signal to his base who are too stupid to understand this won’t do a thing, plus spend money on liberal groups

Biden to target ‘ghost guns,’ stabilizing braces in new gun control actions

President Biden will announce gun control measures on Thursday that an administration official described as an initial set of actions aimed at addressing all forms of gun violence.

The president will detail several initiatives to be achieved through a mix of executive and legislative action, the official told reporters.

Biden will call on the Department of Justice to issue proposed rules to stop the proliferation of so-called “ghost guns” within 30 days. Ghost guns refer to kits that allow the recipient to assemble the firearm using provided parts. These guns do not have commercial serial numbers and are difficult to track.

The Justice Department will be given 60 days to issue a separate rule on stabilizing braces, which can turn a pistol into a more accurate weapon that fires like a rifle. Sixty days will also be provided for the DOJ to develop model “red flag” legislation that would allow friends and family members to identify an individual as a potential danger, thereby temporarily preventing the person from accessing a firearm.

China Joe-Kamala have a fact sheet, which is a little short on facts as to why this is necessary, and what difference it will make. How many people are making ghost guns and using them for crimes (it would be good to know, wouldn’t it? If lots were being used by criminals and used in crimes, I think most law abiding gun owners would be for regulating them. But, criminals are criminals, and will still make them). Stabilizing braces? Again, how many are used in crimes? And why do the people protecting China Joe-Kamala get to still use them?

As for red flags, expect immediate lawsuits as a direct violation of the 2nd Amendment. It will be interesting to see how they will do this under what statutory authority. This would be something that the duly elected Legislative Branch would need to pass, but, so often Congress passes such broad laws that the Executive Branch finds a way to use them. We already know that red flag laws are ripe for abuse. What are the consequences for a false report? Since these would be federal, do you call the FBI? ATF? A social worker at HHS? Will they be able to immediately confiscate your firearms without a judicial hearing?

The president will also highlight the steps his administration is taking to invest in community violence interventions and call on the DOJ to issue a firearms trafficking report.

Yes, let us know about the Obama admin, for which Joe was VP, as they ran a gun program that lost of 2,000 firearms, which ended up in the hands of Mexican cartels and European jihadis, killing and wounding hundreds, including Mexican kids and killing two federal U.S. border agents. And showed up at a jihadi attack in Paris. The money for community violence? Just a way to pay back Democratic organizations that backed Joe.

The administration official told reporters on Wednesday that Biden is concerned about all forms of gun violence, not only mass shootings but also domestic violence and forms of community violence that disproportionately affect Black and Brown communities.

Well, that’s strange, since China Joe-Kamala don’t seem that concerned with what the FBI terms “black in origin crime”, ie, black on black, in places like Chicago, Baltimore, NYC, LA, San Francisco, Detroit, Philadelphia, and so many other Democratic run cities. Do you hear them talk about all the blacks who shot each other in those cities? No. Because Democrats really don’t care. They’re the original racists, and have never stopped. They just do it differently these days.

Read: China Joe To Rollout Gun Measures Thursday Which Will Do Pretty Much Nothing »

Who’s Up For Making “Ecocide” An International Crime?

Gee, what could possibly go wrong?

As the Climate Crisis Grows, a Movement Gathers to Make ‘Ecocide’ an International Crime Against the Environment

In 1948, after Nazi Germany exterminated millions of Jews and other minorities during World War II, the United Nations adopted a convention establishing a new crime so heinous it demanded collective action. Genocide, the nations declared, was “condemned by the civilized world” and justified intervention in the affairs of sovereign states.

Interestingly, a goodly chunk of Leftists/Warmists hate Jews and Israel.

Now, a small but growing number of world leaders including Pope Francis and French President Emmanuel Macron have begun citing an offense they say poses a similar threat to humanity and remains beyond the reach of existing legal conventions: ecocide, or widespread destruction of the environment.

The Pope describes ecocide as “the massive contamination of air, land and water,” or “any action capable of producing an ecological disaster,” and has proposed making it a sin for Catholics.

The Pontiff has also endorsed a campaign by environmental activists and legal scholars to make ecocide the fifth crime before the International Criminal Court in The Hague as a legal deterrent to the kinds of far-reaching environmental damage that are driving mass extinction, ecological collapse and climate change. The monumental step, which faces a long road of global debate, would mean political leaders and corporate executives could face charges and imprisonment for “ecocidal” acts. (big snip)

The campaign to criminalize ecocide is now moving from the fringe of advocacy into global diplomacy, pushed by a growing recognition among advocates and many political leaders that climate change and environmental causes are tied inherently to human rights and social justice.

The effort remains a long shot and is at least years from fruition, international and environmental law experts say. Advocates will have to navigate political tensions over whether national governments or the international community have ultimate control over natural resources. And they’ll likely face opposition from countries with high carbon emissions and deep ties to industrial development.

The environmentalists must also figure out how criminal law would address climate change, which has been driven by practices like burning coal and gasoline that are not only legal, but central to the global economy.

Will they keep the doctrine of innocent till proven guilty, not something present in a good chunk of the world? Or just throw these people in jail? How soon till you driving a fossil fueled vehicle to get a burger is considered Ecocide? Till they can demand you live in a tiny house, only buy certain Approved products, and only travel in Approved ways? Want to use your wood fireplace? Nope. In fact, you have to take it out. Same with that outdoor firepit. Wood pizza ovens? Gone. Same with wood fired smokers. Of course, since meat will be verboten, won’t need them, anyhow? This is all simply applying a Fascist doomsday cult belief set to international law.

Meanwhile, this is not a crime in their eyes

Not a cop in sight till after the property damage was done. That they feel they can do this in broad daylight says quite a bit.

Read: Who’s Up For Making “Ecocide” An International Crime? »

If All You See…

,,,is a wonderful low carbon sailboat in a flooded drought world, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Blazing Cat Fur, with a post on the Left’s war on free speech.

Read: If All You See… »

Texas Governor Bans COVID Passports For Government And Some Private Entities

Again, I’m not necessarily against them. Just like I’m not against many Bat Soup Virus measures. Social distancing, no touching, wash your hands, even masks, up to a point. It’s all about moderation. I’m not wearing a mask when I’m out and about except where required. I won’t wear one while walking on the greenway. Kiss my butt if you’re upset. Stay 6 feet away. Do the little things to protect yourself and others. The problem is, many players want to use this for power and control. They want to shift the goal posts. And they don’t seem shy about constantly breaking the barriers. Nor about abusing the measures that are smart. And COVID passports are ripe for abuse

Texas governor bans mandated COVID-19 ‘vaccine passports’

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott used his executive power Tuesday to ban state government and some private entities from requiring COVID-19 “vaccine passports” to access services, in the latest move from a Republican governor pitting public health campaigns against personal freedom and private choices.

According to Abbott’s order, state agencies and political subdivisions, and public and private organizations that receive public funding in Texas cannot require people to prove that they have been inoculated against the coronavirus.

The mandate also states that it will supersede any conflicting local executive orders and calls for the Texas Legislature to take up COVID-19 vaccine requirements during its ongoing current session.

“We will continue to vaccinate more Texans and protect public health — and we will do so without treading on Texans’ personal freedoms,” Abbott said in a statement announcing the order.

Remember, the same people who want all these COVID passports are the same ones who blew a gasket over Arizona’s SB1070, which they said was all about people showing their papers to prove they were in the U.S. legally. Not too mention being dead set against having to show ID to prove you are who you say you are and can legally vote.

Abbott said the U.S. Constitution does not empower the federal government to mandate proof of vaccination. The White House has ruled out a national “vaccine passport,” saying it is leaving it to the private sector to develop a system for people to show they’ve been vaccinated. The Biden administration is developing guidelines for such passports, touching on privacy, accuracy and equity.

And that’s the rub: you have the China Joe admin saying they won’t do it, but, for all intent purposes, giving the old wink wink nod nod for the private sector to do this. Which will then become the U.S. government putting out standards, backing this, and coming out with something so they’re all the same and reliable.

The states planning on using COVID-19 vaccine passports — and the ones that won’t

The use of so-called COVID-19 “vaccine passports” is quickly becoming a divisive issue across the US – with several states, including New York, embracing the idea, while others have already moved to ban them.

Last month, New York became the first state in the nation to formally launch a digital vaccine passport for Empire State residents to verify that they’ve been immunized against the coronavirus. (snip)

Hawaii Gov. David Ige told reporters Monday that his state is testing the technology needed for a vaccine passport, but that there is still more work that needs to be done.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has also said that he supports passports, but added that they should not be required to enter an event or facility.

“As long as it is your choice,” Pritzker told reporters, according to Patch.com. “If people ask you to show that for a particular venue or private venue, they have the ability and right to do that. You don’t have to show that to them. You don’t have to be to go to that venue or be engaged in that activity.”

What Pritzker is attempting to do is entice private entities to require them, so government doesn’t have to be the bad guy. Right now, you have Florida, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri and Nebraska being dead set against the passports. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few weeks.

Read: Texas Governor Bans COVID Passports For Government And Some Private Entities »

John Kerry Takes Long Fossil Fueled Flight To Say India And U.S. Should Join In Fight Climate Crisis (scam)

In a climate cult future, if you want to travel to India to see the sights you’ll have to take a sailing ship across the ocean, then either walk, bike, or take a train where available. For the grand high poobahs, they’ll be allowed to fly with fossil fuels, because their lives and what they do is Important

‘World’s two biggest democracies should join hands on confronting climate change’: John Kerry

John Kerry climateUS Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, called on India to join hands with the US to confront the climate crisis through a clean energy transition.

“Our two nations, the world’s two biggest democracies have a great deal to gain by joining hands and global leadership to confront climate change now. We must do this,” Kerry said in his address to the South Asia Women in Energy (SAWIE) Leadership Summit.

Earlier in the day, Kerry met Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar regarding increasing climate ambition ahead of President Biden’s Leaders’ Summit on Climate to be held on April 22-23.

“Had an engaging and fruitful discussion with Mr John Kerry. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. We discussed a range of issues including climate finance, joint research and collaboration etc,” Javadekar tweeted after the meeting.

And, yes, Kerry is actually in India. He will soon meet with PM Modi. Oh, and his visit gets sillier

Sergey Lavrov, John Kerry meet in India, discuss climate-related matters

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and US special presidential envoy John Kerry met briefly in the Indian capital on Tuesday and talked about climate-related matters.

Lavrov and Kerry are in India for separate bilateral meetings – the Russian minister met his Indian counterpart to prepare the grounds for an annual summit while the US envoy is meeting interlocutors to discuss mitigating India’s fossil energy use.

Of all the things the U.S. needs to discuss with Russia, this isn’t it. But, climate cultists gotta climate cult. Russia and India are playing Kerry and China Joe. They have little intention to do more than make token moves. But, then, most climate cultists don’t make more than token moves in their own lives.

Yellen: ‘We lost four important years’ in fight against climate change

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday said the U.S. is working closely with the international community to combat climate change, saying the country “lost four important years” under the Trump administration.

Yellen made the remarks in an address during her first meeting with the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action. She reportedly said the U.S. is committed to reaching the reduced emissions goal of 2030 set by the Obama-era Paris climate agreement.

“Climate, by its very nature, requires strong global cooperation,” Yellen said. “We lost four important years, and we recognize that many of you around the room have been leading change in your own countries.”

Or, the Believers could practice what they preach. But, that’s not what this is about. This group is super excited to get governments fully into controlling the banking systems of their nations. This is about control. How many of these people at the conference took long fossil fueled flights, rather than do it as a Zoom call? I repeat myself again and again and again on this point, but, that’s what it is.

Read: John Kerry Takes Long Fossil Fueled Flight To Say India And U.S. Should Join In Fight Climate Crisis (scam) »

Head Scratcher: China Joe Admin Looking To Create Legal Migration Ways For Central America

This is one of those headlines that just make you curl up your face and recoil from the computer screen a bit, wondering if you read this correctly and if the Biden admin is that stupid

White House aims to create legal ways for Central Americans to migrate, U.S. envoy says

The White House is looking to create legal ways for Central American migrants to reach the United States, U.S. President Joe Biden’s special envoy Ricardo Zuñiga said on Tuesday, amid a sharp rise in illegal crossings over the past few months.

Zuñiga, Biden’s envoy to the so-called Northern Triangle countries in Central America, said on a visit to Guatemala that the White House was looking to offer protections to migrants amid a push by Biden to reshape the U.S. border policy.

A jump in immigration from the three Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador has posed one of the biggest political challenges to the new Biden administration.

A day after meeting with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, Zuñiga met most of his government’s senior cabinet ministers to discuss how to improve security as well as economic and societal conditions that drive Guatemalans to migrate.

“We are here to also talk about the need and the efforts of the White House to create legal means for migration so that people do not have to use irregular and dangerous routes,” Zuñiga said in a press conference.

“We also want to make sure that there are ways and means of accessing protection for people who require that protection,” he added.

Oh, good, so, this will incentivize even more people to make the long trek to the U.S. border where they will either demand entry or sneak in illegally. Though, the way this admin is working there’s often no need to enter illegally, or at least beyond walking across a point and getting caught, because they’ll be detained for a short period, fed and housed, then released to disappear into the nation.

There is a legal way: they can apply for citizenship via the normal channels, as so many other people do from around the world. They can apply for asylum at a U.S. embassy. They’ll go through the process to make sure they are good people, that they can take care of themselves, that they aren’t criminals, and so forth. But, that’s not what Democrats and China Joe want: they’d prefer the nation be overloaded with people who have few skills, little ability to pay for themselves. They want people who will be wards of the state and vote Democrat. They don’t care if these migrants are bringing nothing to the table. That they don’t read or speak English, and cannot communicate with Americans. That they often bring crime, drugs, and disease. And then they demand healthcare, money, housing, food, clothes, smartphones, and citizenship they haven’t earned. And Democrats are happy to give it to them

Read: Head Scratcher: China Joe Admin Looking To Create Legal Migration Ways For Central America »

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