Unhinged Democrats Want Biden To Find That Grocery Stores Are Price Fixing

The idea here is to Blame grocery stores for artificially creating high prices so that they can say that food inflation is not the fault of Democrats and Joe Biden. They’ve decided that grocery stores are their new enemy of the state

Democrats Ask Biden to Investigate Grocery Store Price-Fixing

A group of Democratic lawmakers are calling on President Joe Biden to investigate grocery store chains for price manipulation, writing in a letter sent Monday morning that he should use executive authority to take additional enforcement action to address rising food prices without the help of Congress.

The letter, shared exclusively with TIME, comes after a report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that major grocery chains seemed to take advantage of supply chain disruptions during the pandemic to hike up prices to increase their profits. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat who led the letter and is one of its signatories, has called for more competition and stronger enforcement of antitrust laws to bring down grocery prices for families—but her proposed legislation on the topic has been largely stalled in Congress.

She’s now hoping that Biden will leverage his executive authority to initiate a thorough investigation into the alleged price-fixing practices of major grocery store chains. “Big food companies want to keep these huge profits and they’re hiring plenty of lobbyists to keep Congress from acting,” Warren tells TIME in an interview. “Congress has stalled out on doing work that it could do to help families lower costs… and the President has the tools to fight back.”

Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Martin Heinrich (D-N. Mex.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Peter Welch (I-Vt.) also signed on to the letter requesting Biden’s intervention, along with 35 House Democrats. The lawmakers outlined several proposals in their letter that the Biden Administration could take—from encouraging the FTC to issue guidance on potential violations of price discrimination laws, to creating a joint task force to investigate food price manipulation throughout the supply chain.

Even if they did raise prices beyond what was reasonable, so what? That’s 100% illegal. They can charge what they want. But, really, a lot of the report is along the lines of “suggests”, as in, “we think they really did this, but, we aren’t quite sure, because business happens, big stores have more leverage, and the world was disrupted from the Chinese coronavirus and Democrats shutting businesses down.”

Wages are up. Utility costs up. Insurance costs up. Property taxes up. Maintenance costs up. Input costs up. Cost of borrowed money up. Transportation costs up. This not only applies to grocers but to the growers and processors of food products. How do you think prices can stay where they were when there is cost increases every step of the way from production to retail? And with fuel way up, that will effect almost every part of getting food to the stores and in your basket.

But, also, does the Biden admin actually have the statutory authority to do this investigation? The story really doesn’t say. Obviously, Democrats want to blame grocery stores, not China for releasing COVID and Democrats for shutting things down, but, what else is in play?

The letter underscores what many progressive Democrats and liberal economic minds see as an urgent need for regulatory intervention to level the playing field in the food and grocery sector, ensuring fair competition and affordable prices for consumers nationwide. Studies have found that corporate profits account for more than 50% of current inflation as many American families are being hit with higher costs for groceries. In the food industry alone, four retailers—Walmart, Kroger, Costco, and Albertsons—account for over a third of national grocery sales, potentially allowing dominant retailers to extract more favorable prices and terms from suppliers.

Hmm, having Government take massive control of the food sector? What could possibly go wrong?

Read: Unhinged Democrats Want Biden To Find That Grocery Stores Are Price Fixing »

Doom Today: Coral Reefs Could Totally Disappear

These would be the same coral reefs which have survived higher temperatures and higher sea levels since the end of the last ice age, but, see, not it’s totally different

Coral reefs could vanish if temperatures continue to rise

A recent study published by Oxford University Press highlights a disturbing trend in the health of coral reefs globally, underscoring the severe implications of climate change on ocean temperatures and circulation patterns.

Over the past year, these vital ecosystems have experienced unprecedented levels of bleaching and mortality, particularly around the Caribbean, the coasts of Mexico and Central America, and several Pacific islands including Kiribati and Fiji.

The data reveals a grim future, suggesting that coral reefs might soon vanish if current trends persist.

Sherman Potter Bull Cookies

It’s always some sort of doom with these people. It’s what they know. Perhaps instead they should just practice what they preach and get their climate cult comrades to do the same.

Read: Doom Today: Coral Reefs Could Totally Disappear »

LOL: UNC Chapel Hill Kills It’s DEI Program, Shifts Money To Campus Police

Such a shame

UNC board votes to shift $2.3 million in DEI funds to public safety

As North Carolina’s public university system considers a vote on changing its diversity policy, the UNC-Chapel Hill university board voted Monday to cut funding for diversity programs in next year’s budget.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees unanimously approved a change that would divert $2.3 million of diversity spending — known as DEI for diversity, equity and inclusion — from state funds to go toward public safety and policing at a special meeting to address the university’s budget.

One board member told CBS 17 that he believes the DEI programs only divide campuses.

“The DEI efforts seemed counterproductive to that effort to treat people based on who they are as a human, not based on any kind of characteristic they might have,” Board of Trustees budget chair Dave Boliek said.

Well, that’s exactly what it is about: treating people unequally. Giving priority to people based on race, sex, and all sorts of leftist values at the expense of others.

The board’s vote would only impact UNC-Chapel Hill’s diversity funding, which could result in the loss of its diversity office.

UNC will join the ranks of other notable public universities that have stripped diversity spending, such as the University of Florida in Gainesville, which announced in a March memo it was reallocating funds to faculty recruitment.

The vote to shift more funding to public safety comes as continued pro-Palestinian protests on UNC’s campus have resulted in several arrests in recent weeks. The budget committee vice-chair Marty Kotis said law enforcement has already been forced to react to protests, but they need more funding to keep the university “safe from a larger threat.”

“It’s important to consider the needs of all 30,000 students, not just the 100 or so that may want to disrupt the university’s operations,” Kotis said. “It takes away resources for others.”

It really is a hoist on their own petard situation: if the wackjob Hamas supporters/Jew haters hadn’t caused so many problems with their protests this might not have happened. That whole taking down the American flag and replacing it with a Palestinian one was probably the last straw.

Read: LOL: UNC Chapel Hill Kills It’s DEI Program, Shifts Money To Campus Police »

Sac Bee: Gavin Newsom Is Failing The PRC On ‘Climate Change’

Weirdly, the Sacramento Bee’s Tom Philp is missing a big point (non-paywalled here)

As he heads to the Vatican, Gov. Newsom is failing on climate change | Opinion

Gov. Gavin Newsom is flunking a key climate change test within a stone’s throw of the Capitol. A freeway widening project on parts of Highway 50 and Interstate 80 is moving forward under his leadership that is in blatant defiance of the Sacramento region’s climate change strategy to dramatically move motorists into carpools.

When the governor visits the Vatican later this week to attend an international climate change summit, he has reason to confess a Sacramento sin. Instead of doing the hard work of real leadership, risking the annoyance of some commuters by compelling them to use carpool lanes that produce less emissions, Newsom has instead ducked this issue for months.

Team Newsom is siding with the road builders of the California Department of Transportation and ignoring his own Air Resources Board and their two blistering critiques of the coveted Caltrans project to widen freeway lanes between Sacramento and Davis. The Air Resources Board says this project will worsen the effects of climate change, but Caltrans and Newsom and trying their damndest to ignore them. Oh, and they are also ignoring the six-county Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), who want more carpool lanes.

Newsom is no Jerry Brown, a governor who was willing to take on CalTrans from his very first term, when necessary. When it comes to road building, Newsom has far more in common with Donald Trump, pretending that unpopular moves to tackle the globe’s biggest challenge aren’t really necessary.

But, um, is Gavin listening to what the citizens of the People’s Republik Of California want with the road? Are they in favor of the road widening project? Should Gavin be listening to the citizens more than the unhinged Air Resources Board?

There is nothing popular about reversing the effects of climate change. It will demand some big changes in human behavior to reduce the gas emissions that contribute to trapping the sun’s heat and causing drier rainy seasons and temperatures to rise.

This is one of the perfect climate cult sentences: it doesn’t matter if you like it, the Elites will force you to comply. Sit down, shut up, and do what you’re told.

Philp actually forgot to mention two things: that Newsom is taking a long, fossil fueled flight all the way to Italy, and you can bet it isn’t a commercial flight. Second, Philp forgot to mention what actions he’s taken in his own life.

Read: Sac Bee: Gavin Newsom Is Failing The PRC On ‘Climate Change’ »

If All You See…

…is a weird looking sun from what is obviously carbon pollution driven wildfires, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Right Scoop, with a post on another Democrat breaking with Biden on Israel.

Read: If All You See… »

Pro-Hamas Demonstrators Turning To Pro-Hamas Al Jazeera For News On Gaza

Now, if it was Republicans turning to seriously hardcore news outlets, the NY Times would be apoplectic

Frustrated by Gaza Coverage, Student Protesters Turn to Al Jazeera

Nick Wilson has closely followed news on the war in the Gaza Strip since October. But Wilson, a Cornell University student, is picky when it comes to his media diet: As a pro-Palestinian activist, he doesn’t trust major U.S. outlets’ reporting on Israel’s campaign in Gaza.

Instead, he turns to publications less familiar to some U.S. audiences, such as the Arab news network Al Jazeera.

“Al Jazeera is the site that I go to to get an account of events that I think will be reliable,” he said.

Many student protesters said in recent interviews that they were seeking on-the-ground coverage of the war in Gaza, and often, a staunchly pro-Palestinian perspective — and they are turning to alternative media for it. There’s a range of options: Jewish Currents, The Intercept, Mondoweiss and even independent Palestinian journalists on social media, as they seek information about what is happening in Gaza.

Al Jazeera has always been a pro-Islamist and anti-Israel outlet. Jewish Currents is a very hard left Jewish outlet. The rest are simply Jew haters and supporters of Palestinians, who all fail to note that no Arab nation wants them because of their penchant for violence.

Their preferences embody a broader shift for members of Generation Z, who are increasingly seeking out news from a wider array of sources and questioning legacy outlets in a fragmented media ecosystem.

Israel’s recent ban on the local operations of Al Jazeera has only elevated the network’s status among many student protesters. They prize coverage from reporters on the ground, and Al Jazeera has a more extensive operation in Gaza than any other publication. Students also noted the sacrifices it has made to tell the story there. Two Al Jazeera journalists have died since the start of the war.

That’s because Al Jazeera has no harsh words for Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the US, EU, and UN.

While many Western media outlets, with few if any journalists in Gaza before the war, have struggled to gain access to the territory, Al Jazeera has been recognized for its raw, searing portrayals of the death and destruction there. A typical report may show video of Israeli tanks rolling into cities, alongside drone shots of leveled buildings in Gaza City and Palestinians fleeing their homes.

In normal times the NY Times would note that Al Jazeera is providing propaganda for Hamas. And the kiddies are downloading the Al Jazeera app in huge numbers

Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, described the network’s Arabic-language channel as more outwardly pro-Palestinian than the English one, which he said has a more subtle slant.

Critics say its coverage veers into support of the armed resistance to Israel. The Israeli government, which has accused Al Jazeera of acting as a “mouthpiece” for Hamas, last Sunday seized its broadcast equipment and shut down its operations in the country for at least 45 days.

The majority of people named in the article have names which would suggest that they support Islamic terrorist groups and hate Jews. If they were Republicans the Times would be calling them racists and terrorist supporters

The protesters rattle off a list of mainstream U.S. publications as having coverage they find objectionable, including CNN, The Atlantic, the BBC and The New York Times, among many others. Although major news outlets have reported extensively on Israel’s campaign in Gaza, the death toll and the damage, the coverage in the view of student protesters doesn’t assign enough blame to Israel for Palestinian deaths, or thoroughly fact-check Israeli officials. And they said protest coverage has focused too much on antisemitism on college campuses instead of Islamophobia.

The protesters are upset that Credentialed Media outlets are actually covering the Jew hatred and support of Hamas. Pretty wild to think with these outlets, eh?

Part of what doomed the network back then was “a distinctly anti-American bent” to its coverage, Ibish wrote in a 2016 guest essay for the Times. But now, broadcast from a different country, the network’s tone is finding its audience on university campuses, he said.

“There’s a third-worldist, anti-imperial point of view, and that’s also the view that many college kids have adopted,” he said.

They’re play-acting at being revolutionaries while going back to their dorm rooms and meal plans, having access to reliable water, clean clothes, electricity, then home to their parents homes when school is out. They wear their Intifada keffiyehs as fashion for the camera, having no understanding of their meaning. These students need to go to Gaza, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Yemen, etc. to see how well they are received with open arms by the people they advocate for so much, especially the women and LGBT folks. See how that goes.

Read: Pro-Hamas Demonstrators Turning To Pro-Hamas Al Jazeera For News On Gaza »

Who’s Up For Floating Cities To Save Us From Sea Rise (that’s your fault)?

The NY Times, rather than investigating government, checking out wrong doing, protecting citizens from government, decides this is a better use of their time, because, they’re part of a cult

Are Floating Cities the Solution to Rising Seas?

Worldwide, rising sea levels and increasing urbanization represent a formula for disaster, with more and more people seeking to live on land that will, at some point, be swallowed up by the sea. But a futuristic-sounding solution — the construction of full cities on top of the water — is poised to become a reality.

One project in particular, off Busan, South Korea, is roping in a combination of high and low technology to create a large-scale, on-water town, which will be able to house more than 10,000 people.

Strictly defined, floating communities already exist in the Netherlands, Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. But these are typically clusters of houseboats moored close to one another. What sets the new concepts apart is a matter of scale. Rather than comprising an agglomeration of smaller vessels, each of these cities is designed to be built on enormous concrete platforms suspended on the water.

Weirdly, South Korea has plenty of unused land. But, really, if climate cultists were so concerned about sea rise they wouldn’t be moving to so many coastal areas. Nor would the Elites who like to buy beachfront homes, eh?

But, hey, surprisingly, ‘climate change’ in any form isn’t mentioned. Nor do they mention actual sea rise data. Most South Korean tide gauges are well below expected sea rise during a Holocene warm period. Some are about average. But, you know what? I think it would be great if climate cultists lived on floating cities. That’d keep them away from the non-cult people.

But, um, what happens when the Earth’s climate flips back into cooling? How do they survive?

Read: Who’s Up For Floating Cities To Save Us From Sea Rise (that’s your fault)? »

Good News: Biden Admin Has Been Withholding Key Intelligence That Would Help Israel Defeat Hamas

With allies like this who needs enemies?

That top tweet continues:

Keeping Israel’s hostages kidnapped

Keeping Israel under threat of rocket attacks

Keeping Gazans endangered

Perpetuating the war ON PURPOSE.

Further, it kept U.S. hostages kidnapped. Rep. Corey Mills needs to add this to the articles of impeachment

U.S. cites intelligence, offers Israel supplies to limit Rafah operation

The Biden administration, working urgently to stave off a full-scale Israeli invasion of Rafah, is offering Israel valuable assistance in an effort to persuade it to hold back, including sensitive intelligence to help the Israeli military pinpoint the location of Hamas leaders and find the group’s hidden tunnels, according to four people familiar with the U.S. offers.

American officials have also offered to help provide thousands of shelters so Israel can build tent cities — and to help with the construction of delivery systems for food, water and medicine — so that Palestinians evacuated from Rafah can have a habitable place to live, said the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to disclose secret diplomatic talks.

President Biden and his senior aides have been making such offers over the past several weeks in hopes they will persuade Israel to conduct a more limited and targeted operation in the southern Gaza city, where some 1.3 million Palestinians are sheltering after fleeing there from other parts of Gaza under Israeli orders. Israel has vowed to go into Rafah with “extreme force,” and this week Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a number of steps that raised fears at the White House that the long-promised invasion could be materializing.

So, the Biden admin has been sitting on this information and is essentially using it to protect terrorists. Israel could have used it weeks or months ago to minimize casualties and take out Hamas, which, in case no one told Biden, is a U.S. State Department designated terrorist organization. Perhaps Biden should be playing to his non-terrorist loving voters, eh? And

(NY Post) But Biden’s “f–k up” doesn’t end there. It also simultaneously undercuts America’s relationship with other allies who have new reason to worry they could be next on his hit list.

Can Saudi Arabia really trust an administration that mercilessly undercut America’s closest ally?

Should European allies be worried that they, too, will somehow run afoul of a White House that treats its enemies better than its friends?

Then there’s Ukraine, which has another reason to worry, while Russia and China must be delighted to see American weakness in action.

How do our allies take it? Can they actually trust the U.S.?

Read: Good News: Biden Admin Has Been Withholding Key Intelligence That Would Help Israel Defeat Hamas »

If All You See…

…is horrible carbon polluting concrete, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Pacific Pundit, with a post on Jew hating students walking out of the Duke graduation.

It’s short shorts week.

Read: If All You See… »

Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

Patriotic Pinup

Happy Sunday! Another great day in the Once And Future Nation Of America. This Sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the Carolina Hurricanes live to play another game (they’re my second favorite team after the Devils). This pinup is by David Uhl, a bit more modern, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. Greenie Watch notes what the media won’t tell you about the “green” energy transition
  2. Jo Nova covers what lived in the high Arctic 9,000 years ago
  3. Not A Lot Of People Know That shows foxes eating eco-friendly brake lines
  4. Watts Up With That? shows that NOAA’s latest data shows there is no climate emergency
  5. American Greatness covers St. Greta and the greatest of all heresies
  6. Chicks On The Right wonders why Woke people say Gaza in a weird way
  7. Climate Depot has Polish farmers marching against “green poison”
  8. Cold Fury discusses the band Rockpile
  9. Dissecting Leftism covers a study that shows how well COVID vaccines worked
  10. GeeeZ has your Sunday faith blog
  11. Geller Report discusses why Biden is betraying Israel
  12. LMAO says to beware of guys on green bikes
  13. IOTW Report notes the three Bob Fergusons running for governor
  14. Irons In The Fire covers not wanting to investigate voting fraud by the government
  15. And last, but, not least, Jihad Watch (who’s feed is finally working), explains why pro-Hamas protesters wear masks

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, so, most are hosted internally). 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 »

Pirate's Cove