Bummer: Democrats Pull Bill To Raise Their Pay

By William Teach June 11, 2019 – 7:49 am

No one tell AOC, who has been pushing for the extra money while not pushing for a vote on her own Green New Deal

They make $174,000 a year for 138 days of work. They have a goodly chunk of their expenses paid for. They have all sorts of money thrown at them. If they don’t like the pay, they can go get a real job

Dems to yank bill to raise congressional pay after backlash

House Democratic leaders are postponing consideration of a bill that would include a pay raise for members of Congress, after facing a major backlash from the party’s most vulnerable members.

Top Democrats agreed in a closed-door meeting Monday night to pull a key section of this week’s massive funding bill to avoid escalating a clash within their caucus over whether to hike salaries for lawmakers and staff for the first time in a decade, multiple lawmakers confirmed.

At least 15 Democrats — mostly freshmen in competitive districts — had pushed to freeze pay after some Democratic and Republican leaders quietly agreed to the slight pay increase earlier this month.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) confirmed to POLITICO after the meeting that he “thinks” they would pull the bill so that Democrats can resolve the issue of congressional pay raises.

The issue flared up in the Democratic leadership meeting on Monday, where there was an intense discussions of whether to force members to go on the record about a pay raise, which some battleground Democrats believed would create a target on their back in 2020.

“Nobody wants to vote to give themselves a raise. There’s nothing good about that,” said Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.), who attended Monday’s meeting.

The bill would have given them a pay raise of $4,500 a year. Which is like almost giving themselves an extra year of pay for the average American. All for losing their minds and holding constant hearings on Russia Russia Russia, especially after the Mueller report failure.

Read: Bummer: Democrats Pull Bill To Raise Their Pay »

Posted in Democrats, Dems in Charge: Now What? | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

Trade Union Which Builds Buildings Sues To Stop Buildings Over Threat Of Bird Deaths Or Something

By William Teach June 10, 2019 – 3:18 pm

One would think this would go against what they’re all about

Trade union holds up Silicon Valley residential project over potential threat to birds

A California trade union is seeking to block a major residential construction project in the heart of housing-starved Silicon Valley, claiming there will be a bloodbath of birds due to the proposed building’s reflective windows.

The Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), which represents construction workers in Sunnyvale — a city of about 140,000 residents between Stanford University and downtown San Jose — has sued the city and its council over the project.

The union claims that the approved 1,051-unit residential project, sponsored by the Irvine Company, may cause permanent damage to the environment and thus must be scrapped, Reason magazine reported.

The project would tear down office buildings in an industrial area and instead build apartments and townhouses, providing desperately needed affordable housing in the area. More than half the units would also be rented at below-market prices to people on lower incomes.

But the union’s lawsuit says that unless additional environmental review is conducted, the project will cause damage to residents and wildlife. The lawsuit notes that birds will be killed as the proposed project features reflective windows.

OK, so, use different windows. Are they seriously trying to kill off projects which would see them all do work that would put money in their pockets? Or, could this be about something else?

According to the outlet, the trade union is using the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a law mandating government agencies to study potential environmental impacts, to disrupt the project. Rather than protecting the environment, the decades-old law has been used by interested groups in the past to ensure unwanted projects don’t get off the ground.

The trade union’s chapter in Los Angeles is even accused of precisely that – filing frivolous CEQA complaints to a building project to ensure the company in charge of it hires all-union labor. The developer, Icon, says the union’s actions violate federal racketeering laws, according to the outlet.

Is this a shakedown to make sure the Irvine Company only uses union labor, particularly the LIUNA workers? What if they just scrap the project altogether, meaning the housing never gets built? That means those union laborers won’t be getting paid.

Read: Trade Union Which Builds Buildings Sues To Stop Buildings Over Threat Of Bird Deaths Or Something »

Posted in Enviroweenies | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach June 10, 2019 – 1:00 pm

…is a rising sea that will soon swamp all the coastal cities, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Ice Age Now, with a post showing 25 points on why CO2 is not the control knob.

Read: If All You See… »

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Special Snowflake Activists Want George Washington Mural Removed

By William Teach June 10, 2019 – 11:20 am

Remember when they said they just wanted everything Confederacy removed, and it was beyond silly to think they’d want to get rid of things featuring Founding Fathers like George Washington?

Activists want a high school mural removed. Can its modern meaning overshadow the artist’s intentions?

For nearly a century, a massive mural by painter Victor Arnautoff titled “The Life of Washington” has lined the hallways of San Francisco’s George Washington High School.

It may not be there much longer.

Washington High School’s Reflection and Action Working Group — an ad-hoc committee made up students, school employees and local artists, historians and Native Americans — believes the mural “glorifies slavery, genocide, colonization, manifest destiny, white supremacy (and) oppression,” according to a statement published in local media.

The group reportedly identified two panels as especially offensive. One shows Washington pointing westward next to the body of a dead Native American (pictured above). The other depicts slaves working in the fields of Mount Vernon.

Because the work “traumatizes students and community members,” the group’s statement concluded that “the impact of this mural is greater than its intent ever was.” They are campaigning for its removal.

Of course they are. Everything “traumatizes” them. Rather than understanding history, learning from it, they want to not just hide from it, but remove it from their view, and everyone else’s view.

The rest of the article is interesting, in that the authors argue against removing art, books, etc, that trigger the little snowflakes.

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DNC Chair Says A Debate About ‘Climate Change’ Is Not Practical

By William Teach June 10, 2019 – 7:04 am

In an Iowa poll of caucus-goers, we find that

(CNN) Majorities of likely Iowa Democratic caucus participants say any candidate who hopes to win their support must favor a woman’s right to abortion, recognize climate change as humanity’s greatest threat, and support restoration of a ban on assault-style weapons, according to a new CNN/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll. (snip)

Support for abortion rights is tops, with about 8 in 10 calling it a must have regardless of how they plan to participate. Recognition of climate change as the greatest threat to humanity stands narrowly behind, a must-have for about three-quarters. Fewer (about 6 in 10) say it’s a must have to support restoring the ban on assault-style weapons.

So, 75% want ‘climate change’ stuff, and you can bet this is similar in other states among those who are the most ferverant moonbat primary voters. But

DNC chair says 2020 climate change debate is ‘not practical’ after being confronted by activists

Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Tom Perez on Saturday said a presidential debate focused solely on climate change was not “practical” after a group of activists confronted him about the issue.

“It’s just not practical,” Perez told the activists after delivering remarks at the Florida Democratic Party’s Leadership Blue gala, according to The Tampa Bay Times. “And as someone who worked for Barack Obama, the most remarkable thing about him was his tenacity to multitask, and a president must be able to multitask.”

The DNC last week informed Democratic presidential hopeful and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) that it would not host a debate focused entirely on climate change, which has emerged as a hot-button issue among candidates and voters. (snip)

When asked about the rejection after speaking at the Florida Democratic party’s largest fundraiser, Perez stressed that each debate will cover a wide range of issues, The Times noted. He added that “once you have one single issue debate, then every debate leads to become a single issue debate in order to address the concerns.”

“A lot of young people say we should have a single debate focused on climate change,” Perez said. “I’ve heard from folks very concerned about the trigger finger guy known as (National Security adviser John) Bolton, who is going to bring us to war in Iran, who say while foreign policy might be number 12 on people’s list, Donald Trump might try to get us into a war in order to win re-election. So what we have said to everybody is that all of these issues are important. Frankly, if we don’t fix our broken politics through democracy reform we’re not going to be able to pass any laws.”

It’s a nice explanation, but, it would still be easy to do, right? Same thing with abortion and firearms. Let the 476 candidates lay out their policies, let them debate. But, the DNC wants nothing to do with single issue debates, especially on these three issues, because they would show the non-moonbat voters, the ones beyond the base, that these people are nuts, that they want your money, and they want to restrict your rights and freedom.

Certainly, on abortion, they want to limit the exposure on just how extreme Democrats are. They want to limit how extreme they are on firearms, and how extreme they are on ‘climate change’.

Read: DNC Chair Says A Debate About ‘Climate Change’ Is Not Practical »

Posted in Democrats, Global Warming | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

California Set To Provide Medicaid For “Low-Income” Illegal Aliens

By William Teach June 10, 2019 – 6:44 am

The state can’t keep the poop, urine, and used drug needles out of the streets, nor tons of garbage, but, they’re are willing to spend $98 million (which we all know will end up to be much, much more) on giving Medicaid to illegals, prioritizing them over actual citizens

California Dems agree to full health benefits for many low-income illegal immigrants, in swipe at Trump

In a stance to distance itself from President Trump’s administration, California is set to become the first state in the country to pay for tens of thousands of illegal immigrants to have full health benefits.

Under an agreement between Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrats in the state legislature, low-income adults between the ages of 19 and 25 living in California illegally would be eligible for California’s Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal. The deal emerged as part of a broader $213 billion budget.

The plan would take effect in January 2020, the Sacramento Bee reported.

State officials have estimated the benefits would be available to about 90,000 low-income illegal immigrants at a cost of $98 million per year.

“While it’s not all we sought, it will provide a real tangible difference for people, especially for those around and below poverty and for middle income families who don’t get any help under the federal law,” Anthony Wright, executive director of advocacy group Health Access, said. Indeed, a family of four earning as much as six times the federal poverty level — or more than $150,000 a year — would be eligible to get about $100 a month from the government to help pay their monthly health insurance premiums.

Federal money is generally restricted for use for Medicaid and Obamacare for illegal aliens, so, the Trump administration should audit the hell out of California on a constant basis to make sure only state money is used. And where is that money supposed to come from?

To pay for part of it, the state agreed to start taxing people who don’t have health insurance. It’s a revival of the individual-mandate penalty that had been on the books nationwide under former President Barack Obama’s health-care law until Republicans in Congress eliminated it as part of the 2017 overhaul to the tax code.

Supposedly, 44 million Americans do not have health insurance. So, they’d have to tax them $2 million each per year to pay for this. Though, of course, all 44 million do not live in the People’s Republik Of California.

The Trump administration should start dumping illegal aliens in Sacramento, the capital of California. Let the state deal with them. When they do this kind of stuff, Democrats entice people to come illegally. Further, providing aid in this manner does seem to violate federal law. Perhaps a few people should be charged? Not that anyone has the cajones to do this.

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Posted in Democrats, Illegal Immigration | 10 Comments | Trackback URL

Surprise: Canadian Carbon Tax Rebates Lagging

By William Teach June 9, 2019 – 4:37 pm

See, members of the of the Cult of Climastrology make grandiose promises about people getting all sorts of money back from the carbon taxes passed into law by Warmists to offset the artificially increased cost of living from those taxes, and then

Average carbon-tax rebates are lagging federal estimates, data suggests

The federal government has returned $1.75 billion in carbon-tax rebates to more than eight million Canadian families, the Canada Revenue Agency says.

Roughly 8,022,780 families had claimed the rebate as of June 3, the federal tax agency said Friday.

Families in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick are eligible for the “climate action incentive,” which is claimed as a rebate on their personal income taxes.

The Canada Revenue Agency said in May about 97 per cent of eligible families had applied for the rebates, based on the personal tax returns it had processed to that point; as of Friday, it didn’t yet have an updated application rate to match the latest payout numbers.

But, see, it’s not actually rebated money. Let’s say you purchase a TV, and it has a $100 rebate. You send it in, they send you $100. Now, let’s say you claim a $7,500 rebate on your taxes. You do not get $7500, it just changes the taxation schedule, meaning you either get more money back (but not $7,500) or owe less (but won’t be reduced by $7,500 actual dollars).

Legislation requires 90 per cent of the revenues to be returned to individuals with the rebates, through a tax credit that varies by province because the amount of carbon tax someone pays will be influenced by where he or she lives. Officials have previously said rebate levels will be adjusted each year to ensure that 90-per-cent target is always met.

This year’s rebates were paid up front, before the revenues were collected. It means the rebates were only based on estimates, not actual amounts of carbon tax collected.

When announcing the carbon-tax rebate program, the federal government estimated the average payment would be $248 in New Brunswick, $300 in Ontario, $336 in Manitoba and $598 in Saskatchewan.

As of June 3, CRA says, the average payment was less than those amounts: $174 in New Brunswick, $203 in Ontario, $231 in Manitoba and $422 in Saskatchewan.

Surprise? That’s about 30% less than anticipated. Think the cost of living hasn’t gone up that much, though?

The climate payments are intended to offset increased costs for Canadians. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna has said putting a price on pollution is intended to provide financial incentives to find ways to cut your own greenhouse-gas footprint without affecting your standard of living — the difference between a household’s rebate and its carbon-tax payments, it gets to keep.

Yet, the same people who pass these laws virtually never change their own behavior.

Read: Surprise: Canadian Carbon Tax Rebates Lagging »

Posted in Carbon Credits, Global Warming | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach June 9, 2019 – 1:00 pm

…is an evil CO2 infused can of beverage, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Political Clown Parade, with a post on Mexico paying for the wall by becoming the wall.

It’s smiles week!

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach June 9, 2019 – 8:49 am

Happy Sunday! Another fantastic day in America. The trees are getting water, fish are free to swim all over, and the Dodgers are still kicking butt. This pinup is by Gil Elvgren, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. Independent Sentinel covers the big win by Gibson Bakery over Oberlin College
  2. Weasel Zippers notes the TSA policy on Americans needed papers to fly, but not illegal aliens
  3. The Right Scoop has Maxine Waters losing her mind over Trump’s Mexico win
  4. The Other McCain covers guy who tweeted that Trump should be in jail finding himself in jail for solicitation of minors
  5. The Lid discusses Democrats in the House thinking they deserve a pay raise
  6. The American Conservative discusses the summer of grievance grift
  7. Raised On Hoecakes covers students not having heard of D-Day
  8. Powerline notes ‘climate change’ causing water to go up and down!
  9. Patterico’s Pontifications highlights Connecticut saving us from the scourge of unlicensed eyebrow techs
  10. Moonbattery shows what teaching in the face of 3rd World invasion looks like
  11. LL1885 covers the failure of Common Core
  12. Legal Insurrection notes Ilhan Omar against supporting Jew hating Linda Sarsour
  13. Jihad Watch covers Islamic teachers instructing on youths to riot in Indonesia
  14. hogewash highlights a gorgeous spider in space
  15. And last, but not least, Geller Report shows Leftists calling for annihilate the Jews Day in NYC

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.

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Democrats Seem Pretty Upset That Trump Forced Deal With Mexico To Limit Illegal Immigration

By William Teach June 9, 2019 – 7:44 am

See, it’s pretty interesting, as past Congresses have passed laws against illegal immigration, as well as the Constitution requiring that it work to stop invasion of the nation

Democrats blast Trump for forcing Mexico deal to cut illegal immigration

Democrats lashed out in all directions at President Trump after he won concessions from Mexico to try to stop the flow of illegal immigrants at the border.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi chided the president Saturday for his method, saying his threat of tariffs was unbecoming of a friendly country’s treatment of a neighbor.

But Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer took a different approach, saying — seemingly with as much sarcasm as can drip on Twitter — that since Mr. Trump has struck a deal, he can stop talking about illegal immigration.

“Now that that problem is solved, I’m sure we won’t be hearing any more about it in the future,” Mr. Schumer said.

Just days before Mr. Schumer had predicted Mr. Trump would cave and find a reason to revoke his tariff threat.

It’s almost like Democrats want unfettered access to the U.S. by non-citizens. Of course, the same Democrats threw hissy fits when reports of Trump bandying the notion of releasing illegal aliens in sanctuary jurisdictions came out.

Trump’s big win leaves critics sputtering

Because President Trump emerges as a clear winner from his week-long confrontation with Mexico over our neighbor’s lax enforcement of its southern border, reflexive Trump critics will scramble to find some way of containing what is a clear Trump triumph, which came with assists by Vice President Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who conducted the key negotiations.

Already we have heard about long-term damage to trust between the North American allies, about investor nervousness and Trump’s unpredictability. This sort of flailing-about to deny the obvious says nothing about Trump and much about those critics who can no more admit he played high-stakes poker and won a round on border security than they can admit that the president delivered a magnificent tribute to the heroes of Normandy on Thursday.

In front page article, the Washington Post also notes

Pelosi accuses Trump of ‘threats and temper tantrums’ in Mexico negotiations

That’s all she and the Democrats have. Whines. Because the way Trump did it mostly worked. It should be mentioned that the #NeverTrumpers on the Right are also melting down. They’ve allowed their personal animosity up to hatred of Trump to affect their belief in policies that benefit America and limit illegal immigration..

Read: Democrats Seem Pretty Upset That Trump Forced Deal With Mexico To Limit Illegal Immigration »

Posted in Current Affairs, Democrats, Donald Trump | 25 Comments | Trackback URL
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