NY Times: It’s A Clash Between California And Following The Law

By William Teach January 7, 2018 – 7:58 am

The New York Times seems rather upset that California is being told that they need to follow federal law

In Clash Between California and Trump, It’s One America Versus Another

When drivers entered California recently from the borders with Arizona and Nevada, they were greeted with signs welcoming them to an “official sanctuary state” that is home to “felons” and “illegals.” It was a prank, but the message was clear: By entering California, they might as well have been entering foreign territory.

And in many ways it feels like that these days, as the growing divide between California and the Trump administration erupted this past week over a dizzying range of flash points, from immigration to taxes to recreational marijuana use.

What had been a rhetorical battle between a liberal state and a conservative administration is now a full-fledged fight.

By conservative, they mean “an administration that requires that states follow federal law.”

Just as Californians were enjoying their first days of legal pot smoking, the Trump administration moved to enforce federal laws against the drug. On the same day, the federal government said it would expand offshore oil drilling, which California’s Senate leader called an assault on “our pristine coastline.”

When President Trump signed a law that would raise the tax bills of many Californians by restricting deductions, lawmakers in this state proposed a creative end-around — essentially making state taxes charitable contributions, and fully deductible. And California’s refusal to help federal agents deport undocumented immigrants prompted one administration official to suggest that state politicians should be arrested.

I wonder if anyone has explained to any of these folks that they made a big deal of telling us all that federal law held primacy when it was Obama in the White House? Or, hey, that California lawmakers can submit legislation to take marijuana off the federal books as a Schedule I drug? California Senator Kamala Harris, for one, who is going on and on about marijuana.

The clash between California and Mr. Trump and his supporters — between one America and another — began the morning after he won the presidency, when Kevin de León, the State Senate leader, and his counterpart in the Assembly, Anthony Rendon, said they “woke up feeling like strangers in a foreign land.”

Since then the fight has metastasized into what could be the greatest contest over values between a White House and a state since the 1950s and 1960s, when the federal government moved to end segregation and expand civil rights.

Back then, of course, the ideologies and values at issue were reversed, as conservative Southerners, under the banner of states’ rights, fought violently to uphold white supremacy. In these times it is liberal California making the case for states’ rights, traditionally a Republican position.

By “conservative”, they mean “Democratic Party voters.” But, it’s great how Democrats suddenly believe in States’ rights again, albeit for different purposes. A notion which will disappear the minute a Democrat wins the White House at some point. Need I point out that many of these issues, like immigration, are actually tasks of the federal government?

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Boston Mayor: Record Cold Temps A Sign Of ‘Climate Change’

By William Teach January 6, 2018 – 3:50 pm

They just can’t help themselves. They can’t stop

US shivers amid record-breaking low temperatures

North America’s East Coast is shivering in a record-breaking freeze in the wake of a deadly “bomb cyclone” that dumped snow as far south as Florida.

In parts of US and Canada, temperatures were forecast to fall below -20F (-29C), with wind chill making it feel more like -90F (-67C) on Friday night.

In Canada, high winds have knocked out power for tens of thousands of residents in Nova Scotia.

Thousands of snow ploughs are clearing roads across the US East Coast.

The extreme weather has so far been linked to up to 19 deaths in the US and two more in Canada, according to reports.

Here we go

In Massachusetts, residents of Boston, which received over 1ft (30cm) of snowfall, were clearing the streets with shovels. Boston harbour’s tide gauge matched its record at 15.1ft – previously set during the great blizzard of 1978.

Flooding affected the city’s newly renovated seaport district and deluged a downtown subway station, and giant waves saw freezing floodwaters inundate parts of the New England coast.

Mayor Marty Walsh blamed climate change. “If anyone wants to question global warming, just see where the flood zones are,” he said.

That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works. And Warmists wonder why I call this a cult.

Read: Boston Mayor: Record Cold Temps A Sign Of ‘Climate Change’ »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach January 6, 2018 – 1:00 pm

…is a flooded world from Other People eating meat, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Maggie’s Farm, with a post on Hell freezing over officially.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

Blue States Turning To Tax Evasion Post GOP Tax Bill

By William Teach January 6, 2018 – 10:50 am

Wait a minute, I thought Democrats were in love with higher taxes? And that they thought paying more in taxes was patriotic? Oh, right, right, this only applies to Other People paying more in taxes. Here’s the LA Times Editorial Board

Losers in the GOP tax plan, blue states are unwisely turning to tax evasion

Congressional Republicans say the $1.5-trillion tax cut they passed last month will produce far more winners than losers, with the typical family of four earning the median income saving more than $2,000 this year. But the losers will be easier to find in states with high tax rates and elevated property values — like, say, California. (snip)

Similar tax hikes loom for residents of New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and other high-tax, high-cost states. But state lawmakers aren’t ready to accept the hand that Congress has dealt; instead, they’re looking at ways to change their own tax codes to help their residents evade the higher federal levy.

Their outrage at the slap from Washington is understandable; it seems hardly coincidental that congressional Republicans would target a deduction that matters most to blue states. But rather than respond with real tax reforms of their own, they’re resorting to tax-dodge gimmickry.

That’s because these Blue state governments still want to hit their constituents up for money to fund redistribution projects and illegal aliens and such. So, what does the LATEB recommend?

In short, the new tax law produces winners and losers, as big changes in the tax code invariably do. With one of those changes hitting high-cost, high-tax states particularly hard, Californians are naturally suspicious and looking to fight back. There are reforms to the state tax code that could help reduce the maddening volatility of its revenue while also helping on the federal tax front — for example, by reducing income taxes in favor of new levies on carbon and services. But that’s not the approach taken by De León’s bill. Instead, it offers a clever tax-avoidance scheme, exploiting a loophole that Congress should have closed long ago to magically transform tax payments into “charitable contributions” — as if the state budget were a food bank or the Red Cross. Californians deserve a better tax overhaul than Congress just delivered, as do all Americans, but this isn’t the way to get one.

Got that? Replace one tax with another that will also increase Californian’s cost of living. Only in Liberal World. And let’s not forget that these “tax avoidance” schemes are really only going to help the rich. It’s really not something the middle and lower classes can take advantage of.

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Posted in Democrats, Taxation | 8 Comments | Trackback URL

Cult of Climastrology: Bomb Cyclones Are The New Normal Or Something

By William Teach January 6, 2018 – 7:18 am

All because you decide to have a hearty breakfast which included evil sausage in your evil natural gas heated home which is too big in the first place, per Excitable Eric Holthaus

Get used to saying ‘bomb cyclone.’ This is our climate now.

Now that one of the strongest nor’easters on record has swirled off to Canada, it’s time to talk about what everyone was thinking during the storm: Is this just what happens now?

Short answer: yes. Get used to it. Wild storms like this week’s massive coastal cyclone will be part of winters in the Anthropocene.

This storm’s frightening name — the “bomb cyclone” — was derived from an obscure meteorological term and caught on after President Donald Trump’s terrifying tweet about nuclear weapons. The storm wasn’t as scary as all that, obviously, but it still spread havoc. (snip)

Storms like this one have always threatened to flood coasts. Seven of New York City’s 10 worst coastal floods on record have been from nor’easters. With rising seas and warming wintertime oceans juicing the power of cyclones, there’s good reason to expect that huge winter storms will pose an increasingly severe risk to coastal communities in the Northeast. In fact, it’s exactly what we expect will happen with climate change.

So, massive cold weather and snow is now “exactly what we expect will happen with climate change”? Good grief. These people just won’t give up.

Winter may be the last refuge of climate deniers, so it makes sense that they’ll work harder to seize on cold-weather storms. It’s a window into their view of the world. Appearance is enough evidence. It’s all that really matters. Given what’s at stake in the oceans and on land, such views should be seen for what they are: a threat to our safety, just as real as any bomb.

What’s also interesting is that Eric just called it weather. When Skeptics note the cold weather, it’s just weather. When Warmsists discuss it, it is totally doomy worthy ‘climate change.’

Read: Cult of Climastrology: Bomb Cyclones Are The New Normal Or Something »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

Trump Lays Out Detailed Plan For Border Wall, Other Border Security

By William Teach January 6, 2018 – 7:01 am

Remember Mr. Obama’s version of a plan?

Yeah, a sticky note with almost no detail behind it. What about Mr. Trump’s version of a plan?

Trump seeks $18 billion from lawmakers for border wall

The Trump administration has told lawmakers that it wants $18 billion over the next decade for the initial phase of a Mexico border wall, laying out for the first time a detailed financial blueprint for the president’s signature campaign promise.

The money would pay for 316 miles of new fencing and reinforce another 407 miles where barriers are already in place, according to cost estimates sent to senators Friday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. If the work was completed, more than half of the 2,000-mile border with Mexico would have a wall or other physical structure by 2027.

“Detailed financial blueprint.” It’s a little easier for Congress to get things done on their end if you tell them how it’s going to be done and where the money is going. Of course, this is the Washington Post, so, by paragraph 3, we get Outrage

Democratic lawmakers blasted the $18 billion request, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, and it arrived in the middle of delicate budget negotiations that include the risk of a government shutdown Jan. 20 if no deal is reached.

“President Trump has said he may need a good government shutdown to get his wall. With this demand, he seems to be heading in that direction,” said Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Immigration subcommittee.

Interesting. The border wall is already required by law. Furthermore, why do Democrats have such a problem with securing the U.S. border from outside invasion? It is one of the actual duties laid out in the U.S. Constitution, unlike, say, mandating that little girls must share bathrooms, showers, and locker rooms with the gender disturbed. If they think the Republicans, or, at least Trump, won’t be bringing this weakness up in the runup to the midterm elections, you haven’t been paying attention. And he’ll get the media to cover it with his tweets.

Anyway

In addition to the $18 billion in wall funding, the CBP also requested $8 billion for additional personnel and training, $5 billion for new border technology and at least $1 billion to build more access roads. The final price tag for the CBP spending plan would exceed $33 billion over the next decade, according to a copy of the document obtained by The Washington Post.

Benjamin L. Cassidy, the DHS assistant secretary for legislative affairs, said in a letter to Durbin that the funding requests “were developed through a rigorous assessment and are derived directly from the experience and insight of U.S. Border Patrol Agents in the field, supported by operational data and analysis.”

So, Democrats want to go against the advice of the people who actually do the job. An $33 billion over the next decade is a small price to pay for border security.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Posted in Democrats, Donald Trump, Illegal Immigration | 11 Comments | Trackback URL

Goracle Confuses Weather With Climate

By William Teach January 5, 2018 – 3:14 pm

Is anyone surprised?

The link goes to, what else, Gore’s Climate Reality Project, meant to enrich Gore’s wallet

A ‘PERFECT STORM’: EXTREME WINTER WEATHER, BITTER COLD, AND CLIMATE CHANGE
World-renowned climate scientist Dr. Michael Mann explains why the bitter cold and snowy conditions gripping the US are “an example of precisely the sort of extreme winter weather we expect because of climate change.”

Pretty every bit of weather, no matter what it is, seems to be “what they expect from Hotcoldwetdry.” Is there anything that they believe scientifically invalidates their Cult? And when it’s a mild winter, they’ll say that’s ‘climate change.’ Or an average winter. A snow one. Not snowy one. Everything.

I wonder if Warmists David Robert will chastise Gore?

https://twitter.com/drvox/status/948259635105906688

Read: Goracle Confuses Weather With Climate »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming, New Climate Deniers | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach January 5, 2018 – 1:00 pm

…is an evil milk shake made with evil milk from evil cows, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Evil Blogger Lady, with a post on the #FakeNewsAwards.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

California Will Fight Federal Marijuana Crackdown Or Something

By William Teach January 5, 2018 – 10:30 am

Suddenly, Democrats don’t like The Federal Government running things

(ABC10)  California’s Democratic attorney general says his office will vigorously enforce the state’s new recreational marijuana law despite the threat of a federal crackdown.

Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Thursday criticized U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to end a policy directing federal authorities to take a hands-off approach to marijuana enforcement.

He says California voters decided it is best to regulate rather than criminalize cannabis. He says Californians “embrace, not fear, change.”

Becerra says the state’s Department of Justice will do what it can to protect California’s interests.

Obviously, this is in response to Jeff Sessions deciding that, hey, there’s actually a federal law that says growing, distributing, and using marijuana is illegal, and he plans on, get this, enforcing it. There’s a lot of wiggle room in the order, but, it has given many politicians and growers heartache. It’s even made some worry about (laughably) a midterm backlash.

I’ve made my opinion clear numerous times here: I really do not care if people smoke pot. I don’t. I used to, long ago. I find it boring now, though. Doesn’t excite me. But, if people are allowed to drink alcohol, a much worse drug than marijuana, then pot should be legal, and, more importantly, it should be up to the States. It should not be a federal power, except in terms of importing from other countries or across state lines, and, as to the latter, really only in terms of taxation.

But, it is a federal law that has been on the books since the 1930’s. If they don’t like the law, change it! They can’t pick and choose which laws are OK and not OK arbitrarily. Remember, for instance, how Democrats blew a gasket over Arizona’s SB1070 law regarding illegal immigration. They stated that federal law had primacy, and must be followed to the letter. Why is marijuana law different?

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Posted in States Rights | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

It’s So Cold That Iguanas Are Falling From Trees In Florida (and can you guess the cause?)

By William Teach January 5, 2018 – 7:07 am

So this is happening in Florida

‘Frozen’ iguanas are falling out of trees in Florida. Please don’t pick them up.

One of the strongest winter storms on the East Coast in modern history has pummeled cities with snow and sleet, forcing schools and businesses to close while grounding thousands of flights.

And in South Florida, it is “raining iguanas.”

Green iguanas, like all reptiles, are coldblooded animals, so they become immobile when the temperature falls to a certain level, said Kristen Sommers of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Under 50 degrees Fahrenheit, they become sluggish. Under 40 degrees, their blood stops moving as much, Sommers said.

They like to sit in trees, and “it’s become cold enough that they fall out.”

This is not a new phenomenon — there were similar reports in 2008 and 2010 — though it is not typical.

It was actually happening so much during that 2008 winter that news media set up cameras to see if people were telling the truth. They were. And the cold can effect bats, which can also fall from trees, along with manatees, sea turtles, and other wildlife which isn’t used to such pervasive cold weather. So, of course

https://twitter.com/joshbeckwith/status/949199391826628608

https://twitter.com/iekee/status/949178741460119552

These people.

Anyhow

Picture from this tweet.

Read: It’s So Cold That Iguanas Are Falling From Trees In Florida (and can you guess the cause?) »

Posted in Current Affairs, Global Warming, New Climate Deniers | 6 Comments | Trackback URL
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