Shame: California To Increase Taxes On Marijuana Sales

By William Teach November 25, 2019 – 10:45 am

What happens when you over-tax something, then over-tax it even more?

California boosts pot taxes, shocking unsteady industry

California is increasing business tax rates on legal marijuana, a move that stunned struggling companies that have been pleading with the state to do just the opposite.

Hefty marijuana taxes that can approach 50 percent in some communities have been blamed for pushing shoppers into California’s tax-free illegal market, which is thriving. Industry analysts estimate that $3 are spent in the illegal market for every $1 in the legal one.

The California Cannabis Industry Association said in a statement that its members are “stunned and outraged.”

The group said the higher taxes that will take effect Jan. 1 will make it even worse for a legal industry struggling under the weight of heavy regulation and fees, local bans on pot sales and growing and a booming underground marketplace.

“Widening the price … gap between illicit and regulated products will further drive consumers to the illicit market at a time when illicit products are demonstrably putting people’s lives at risk,” the group said, referring to the national vaping health crisis.

California made marijuana legal despite it being illegal federally, then essentially pushed people into the same illegal market that had existed, and surely that same illegal market expanded after possession was legalized. Companies cannot compete with the illegal market due to the taxes, so, let’s raise those taxes more!

Separately, cultivation tax rates are being increased by inflation, as required by law. For example, the tax on an ounce of dry buds will climb to $9.65 from $9.25, an increase of just over 4 percent.

Which will be further passed on to the consumer. Why not just grow it yourself, or buy from the person who doesn’t have a store and doesn’t pay taxes on it?

Josh Drayton of the cannabis association predicted that an eighth-ounce purchase of marijuana buds, typically priced around $40 to $45, would be pushed up to $50 or more in the new year.

I haven’t bought any in well over 20 years, I just suddenly found smoking pot to be rather boring, but, if memory serves, isn’t that a heck of a lot of money? I thought we used to by an eighth for about $10-$15 for the good stuff. Maybe I’m off on size, been a while. One article says that buying it illegally will save you 27%. Regardless, this will drive more into the illegal market. Heck, Colorado has much lower legal prices, and it is still thought that 60% of purchases were illegal.

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Paris Climate Agreement Fail: Greenhouse Gases Surge In 2018

By William Teach November 25, 2019 – 6:58 am

Remember when the Paris Climate Agreement was “historic”? When it would save us all? And how so many in government say they’re Doing Stuff to alleviate Hotcoldwetdry?

Greenhouse gases surge to record in 2018, exceeding 10-yr average rate: U.N.

Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere hit a new record in 2018, rising faster than the average rise of the last decade and cementing increasingly damaging weather patterns, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Monday.

The U.N. agency’s Greenhouse Gas Bulletin is one of a series of studies to be published ahead of a U.N. climate change summit being held in Madrid next week, and is expected to guide discussions there. It measures the atmospheric concentration of the gases responsible for global warming, rather than emissions.

“There is no sign of a slowdown, let alone a decline, in greenhouse gases’ concentration in the atmosphere – despite all the commitments under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

“This continuing long-term trend means that future generations will be confronted with increasingly severe impacts of climate change, including rising temperatures, more extreme weather, water stress, sea level rise and disruption to marine and land ecosystems.”

So, despite Paris, nations are putting out more CO2? Who would have thought it? It’s like most nations are more concerned with their own economies not collapsing. If only the Warmists themselves would put their money where their mouths are and practice what they preach. Because, otherwise total Doom!

The concentration of carbon dioxide, a product of burning fossil fuels that is the biggest contributor to global warming, surged from 405.5 parts per million in 2017 to 407.8 ppm in 2018, exceeding the average rate of increase of 2.06 ppm in 2005-2015, the WMO report said.

First, that’s not much of a long term growth rate, just 10 years. Second, that time period was also when we were having the Great Pause, where temperatures were going up so little that it was “statistically insignificant.”

Anyhow, since everyone else seems to be failing when it comes to the Paris Climate Agreement, why does the U.S. even need to be in it?

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Fail: Americans Lose Interest In Impeachment Theater

By William Teach November 25, 2019 – 6:48 am

Perhaps if the Democrats had had any sort of actual evidence of serious wrongdoing, other than what is simple Politics 101 along with a parade of witnesses who had feelings and thoughts but didn’t actually witness the phone call

American public loses enthusiasm for impeachment despite blockbuster hearings

Democrats hoped it would be the week that Donald Trump was hoist with his own petard.

A parade of witnesses, including former aides to the president, strode into Congress to deliver seemingly damning testimony to the impeachment inquiry.

But the blockbuster hearings, which reached a huge television audience, appeared instead to have swung public support back towards Mr Trump.

A national poll by Emerson College, taken during the hearings, between Nov 17 and Nov 20, found 45 per cent now oppose impeaching the president, with 43 per cent in favour.

In October the same poll had a majority, 48 per cent, in favour of impeachment, with 44 per cent opposed.

The new poll revealed a particularly large swing of six points against impeachment among independent voters. The polls showed 49 per cent of independents were now against impeachment, with 34 per cent in favour.

Oops. Now, consider that they’re taking a break for this week, and, when they come back, it will be Christmas season, and people will care even less. There have been no blockbusters so far, so, what, they’re saving those who can make the case for last? Doubtful. If they take a vote before Christmas, no one will be watching. It won’t make it over to the Senate till probably the end of January after recess. Then the GOP led Senate will call Excitable Adam Schiff to testify, and will bring out the information as to what Joe Biden did to help his son regarding Ukraine.

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Posted in Current Affairs, Democrats, Donald Trump | 10 Comments | Trackback URL

Bummer: Extinction Rebellion Is Too Middle Class, To Whitebread

By William Teach November 24, 2019 – 5:28 pm

This isn’t the first mention of Extinction Rebellion (XR) being called this. I do like how the media and pundits only see race in this, but, then, it doesn’t seem that most people other than white, upper middle class to rich folks really care about Hotcoldwetdry. This comes from CNN, but, don’t expect them to actually condemn XR when they do bad things

Too white, too middle class and lacking in empathy, Extinction Rebellion has a race problem, critics say

Last month angry commuters dragged two Extinction Rebellion protesters off the top of trains at a tube station in a working class, historically poor district of east London during morning rush hour. The demonstrators were trying to force the British government to take action on the climate crisis.

Their protest — which disrupted thousands of people’s journeys to work — was rapidly criticized as wrongheaded and out of touch by members of the public, across social media and in the press.

The article goes on to note some of the protests by XR and how they caused lots of problem for lots of people, especially in London, which is where the empathy comes in.

The protest at Canning Town — one of three London tube stations targeted at the end of two weeks of large-scale disruptions in the city — highlighted what many argue is the problem with mass environmental movements: they are too white, too middle class, and lacking in empathy for the least well-off in society.

A 2014 University of Michigan study that looked into 293 mainstream NGOs, foundations and government agencies found that the “current state of racial diversity in environmental organizations is troubling.” It concluded that the percentage of minorities employed as staff or on the boards of the organizations studied did not exceed 16%.

Nothing new for most of the crazy enviro/climate groups.

As a loosely networked grassroots movement , there is no recognized hierarchy within Extinction Rebellion. But Mawuli Klu — who speaks on behalf of the movement as a leading voice within Extinction Rebellion’s Internationalist Solidarity Network — also admits there is a problem.

“Yes, it’s factual to recognize that XR, from a certain point, is not diverse enough, but there needs to be recognition of the work those of us from non-white communities are now doing within XR,” said Mawuli Klu, whose organization serves the pan-African community. “We would all wish to see more diversity in XR. But it’s important to understand that, like every organization, XR has specific origins.”

See, these people only think in terms of race, while screeching at other people about racism.

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If All You See…

By William Teach November 24, 2019 – 1:00 pm

…are pumpkins harvested for the climate unfriendly Thanksgiving, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Weasel Zippers, with a post on an Extinction Rebellion protester failing badly.

It’s cleaning out the extra photos week.

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Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach November 24, 2019 – 9:31 am

Patriotic Pinup Zoe Mozert

Happy Sunday! Another fantastic day in America. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and Thanksgiving is almost here. Oh, and the Devils beat the Red Wings so they are not the worst in the league. This pinup is by Zoe Mozert, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. Climate Change Dispatch goes inside the climate cultist money machine
  2. Green Jihad (new to the feedreader) covers a climate cultist getting a vasectomy
  3. Always On Watch discusses the bombshell that wasn’t
  4. Blazing Cat Fur notes all the Democratic candidates hating Israel
  5. Chicks On The Right covers Liz Warren lying about where her kids went to school
  6. Creeping Sharia: Minnesota: Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed by Grandmother Threatened with Prosecution for Filming Mosque Violations
  7. DaTechGuy’s Blog says Republicans need to learn to fight to win
  8. Geller Report News discusses citizen confidence in the Trump economy
  9. hogewash features the election hackers helping the Dems
  10. Irons In The Fire notes what happens when a group has no actual real problems
  11. Jihad Watch covers an Italian nursery school calling off its Christmas play. Guess why
  12. Legal Insurrection highlights climate cultists storming the field at the Harvard-Yale game
  13. Moonbattery covers the LGBT agenda shutting down a Christian adoption center
  14. Pacific Pundit has Rudy Giuliani saying he will uncover an Obama pay to play scheme
  15. And last, but not least, Political Clown Parade covers CNN’s war against Devin Nunes

As always, the full set of pinups can be seen in the Patriotic Pinup category, or over at my Gallery page (nope, that’s gone, the newest Apache killed access, and the program hasn’t been upgraded since 2014). While we are on pinups, since it is that time of year, have you gotten your “Pinups for Vets” calendar yet? And don’t forget to check out what I declare to be our War on Women Rule 5 and linky luv posts and things that interest me.

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?

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Mr. Rogers Is A Healing Presence In The Age Of Trump Or Something

By William Teach November 24, 2019 – 8:10 am

Is it really necessary to use the Mr. Rogers movie to get all unhinged over Donald Trump? In Liberal World it is

From the brilliant #Resistance minds at CNN, here’s Sara Stewart, which is based on the Jake Tapper video, available at the link, entitled “What would Mister Rogers make of today’s political climate?”

As a critic, I’m not much for anointing “must see” movies — they’re too expensive these days, and viewers’ tastes too varied — but “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” is pretty darn close to a must-see.

With Tom Hanks’ portrayal of the radically empathetic children’s show host Fred Rogers, director Marielle Heller has given our turbulent country a challenge: To re-learn to see one another as neighbors, rather than opponents. (snip)

Unlike Rogers, I didn’t grow up here. I arrived four years ago, after a long stint in New York City, relocating to the small town of Indiana, Pennsylvania, where my husband teaches at the local university. We made good friends here. We hiked in the woods and kayaked in the lake. I slowly began to recognize more and more faces around town. I felt I had a community.

Then the 2016 campaign season happened.

Cultural clashes came screaming to the forefront of daily life. I started noting frequent sightings of Confederate flags on cars. MAGA hats began to proliferate in alarming numbers; our Hillary Clinton sign disappeared from our front yard. By the time election night was winding down, I was in tears, convinced I’d unwittingly moved into a truly foreign land — one that didn’t want my kind around.

Interesting that she didn’t mention all the insanity from the Hillary supporters, which was a hell of a lot unhinged than anything Trump supporters were doing.

And, of course, some illegal alien support and aspersion casting of Islamophobia from conservatives

Likewise, I think he’d be encouraged by a sign that’s been popping up in front of houses around town for a while now. It’s a small message, but a quietly hopeful one. The brightly-colored cardboard rectangle bears three versions of a single sentence, in English, Spanish and Arabic, that might have come straight from Rogers himself. “No matter where you are from,” it reads, “we’re glad you’re our neighbor.”

It’s certainly not as bad as some bits of Trump Derangement Syndrome, it’s one of those “read between the lines” bits of unhinged. Also, can’t they just leave movies and such alone, instead of assigning political motives and attempting to suck all the fun out of them?

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Posted in Film, Unhinged Tools | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

Surprise: Kid Used Ghost Gun In California Shooting

By William Teach November 23, 2019 – 4:08 pm

Well, this is a hell of a thing. Guess we should take away all the legally acquired firearms purchased by law abiding citizens from lawfully licensed firearms dealers who put the buyer through a background check, eh?

Teen in California high school shooting rampage used ‘ghost gun’ made from parts

A 16-year-old boy who opened fire at his Southern California high school, killing two classmates and wounding three others before shooting himself in the head, used a “ghost gun” built from parts, the local sheriff said on Thursday.

Nathaniel Tennosuke Berhow pulled the .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol from his backpack on Nov. 14, his birthday, and shot students at Saugus High School in the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Clarita seemingly at random before turning the gun on himself. He died of his wounds the next day.

“When we did a search of the house, we encountered what’s called a kit gun. The weapon used in the homicide was also a kit gun,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told local KABC-TV in an interview.

“It was assembled from parts, had no serial number. So it becomes what’s known as a ‘ghost gun,'” Villanueva said.

Berhow was in violation of California law

As ghost guns proliferate across the state, lawmakers and police are scrambling to understand the scale of the problem, let alone remedy it. In 2016, the California Legislature passed a law requiring residents to register homemade weapons with law enforcement. A separate requirement outlawed the possession of unregistered ghost guns.

To have a “ghost gun” one must be eligible to own a firearm in the first place per California law. A 16 year old is not eligible. It must have a serial number. And it must meet certain other criteria. Oh, and a 16 year old isn’t lawfully eligible to have a handgun. Weird how some people do not follow the law.

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If All You See…

By William Teach November 23, 2019 – 1:00 pm

…is horrible, evil, terrible, terrifying snow from too much carbon pollution heat, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is A View From The Beach, with a post on Governor Blackface making a good proposal.

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Some Companies Boycott Black Friday Due To ‘Climate Change’

By William Teach November 23, 2019 – 12:36 pm

Boycotting Black Friday should be a good thing. Companies need to reign themselves in and stop with the opening super early, as well as stop opening on Thanksgiving. But, hey, they wouldn’t do it if some people wanted to shop and buy. It seriously inconveniences employees, though. But, to close for Hotcoldwetdry? Silly

Why Some Brands Are Leading A Black Friday Boycott

Beauty company Deciem is calling for “a moment of nothingness” this Black Friday.

The company, which owns cult cosmetic brand The Ordinary, will close all its stores and take down its website for the whole day on Nov. 29. The aim, according to the company, is to push back against our relentless buying of stuff.

“Hyper-consumerism poses one of the biggest threats to the planet,” reads Deciem’s Instagram statement, “and flash sales can often lead to rushed purchasing decisions, driven by the fear of a sell-out. We no longer feel that Black Friday is an earth or consumer-friendly event.” Employees will still get paid for the day, a Deciem spokeswoman confirmed.

Now, you could say that this sounds like environmental mumbo jumbo, and, let’s face it, some consumerism is bad for the environment. But, this is all code word, it’s duckspeak.

Companies actively sabotaging themselves on one of the biggest consumer days of the year may seem unusual, but Deciem is not unique. For the past five years, outdoor retailer REI has closed its stores on Black Friday, urging its 14,000 staff — who also still get paid — to spend the day outside.

Meanwhile, in France, a collective of 200 brands, organized under the banner “Make Friday Green Again,” has agreed to avoid any discounts on the day and instead donate 10% of their sales to nonprofits. “The aim is to denounce Black Friday and what’s behind it. It’s to educate consumers about a better consumption,” said Diane Scemama, the co-founder of ethical marketplace DreamAct, one of the brands taking part.

These moves fit with a trend of companies looking to take a stand on social and environmental issues: telling us to slow us down, to think carefully about our consumption, to consider whether we really need the things we buy, and in REI’s case, to prioritize time with family and in nature. And what better time to do it than Black Friday?

I’m happy to think about things to buy, I can avoid these companies. They do have a point about spending time with family. So give them kudos for that.

But when it comes to messages around environmental impact, it gets knottier. Companies can appear to deliver messages of responsible consumption, while at the same time tempting us to buy more.

REI’s anti-Black Friday marketing embraces messages around consumption and climate change. This year, it launched a campaign called “Opt to Act,” encouraging employees and customers to take simple actions to reduce their environmental impact. Deciem co-founder and CEO Nicola Kilner, meanwhile, speaks of needing “to feel comfortable in knowing that we considered the bigger impact of our actions.”

Yet, neither of these companies has ditched deals altogether. Deciem is offering a 23% discount for the whole month (apart from during the blackout). Meanwhile, REI is offering up to 30% off between Nov. 15 and 25. Both defend their sales as providing value to their customers without pushing them into rushed purchasing decisions.

Oops.

But, hey, perhaps we could back down on the consumerism, buying things simply because they are a deal, things we do not need.

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Posted in AGW Socialism, Global Warming | 6 Comments | Trackback URL
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