Blue States Turning To Tax Evasion Post GOP Tax Bill

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.

Read: Blue States Turning To Tax Evasion Post GOP Tax Bill »

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

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 »

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

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.

Read: Trump Lays Out Detailed Plan For Border Wall, Other Border Security »

Goracle Confuses Weather With Climate

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 »

If All You See…

…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… »

California Will Fight Federal Marijuana Crackdown Or Something

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?

Read: California Will Fight Federal Marijuana Crackdown Or Something »

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

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?) »

Washington Post Is Rather Upset That Trump’s Using Illegal Aliens As Bargaining Chip

Of course, in the world of folks like the Washington Post Editorial Board, pretty much everything makes them upset when it comes to Trump

Trump’s disgraceful use of ‘dreamers’ as a bargaining chip

AFTER ALL of President Trump’s bluster about his “great love” for “dreamers,” brought to this country as children through no fault of their own, it turns out he’s content to use them as leverage in a high-stakes game of political horse-trading. Mr. Trump seems willing to strip them of jobs, security and homes unless Democrats buckle on a range of Republican immigration priorities, including an even longer-standing object of the president’s ardor: a beautiful border wall.

This is just a continuation of the Democrats meme of a “clean” DACA bill, which gives illegal alien Dreamers some sort of legal status, which would primarily benefit Democrats, with no immigration security included.

It soon became apparent that Mr. Trump’s passion for his base, whose anti-immigrant fervor he stoked in the course of the 2016 campaign, exceeded his feelings for the dreamers. Prodded by White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller, a nativist hard-liner, Mr. Trump has made clear that his price for helping the dreamers is steep — not just the wall and additional funding for border security but also an overhaul of the immigration system to end family-based migration and the visa lottery, whose beneficiaries are mainly from developing nations.

That agenda is anathema to Democrats and would harm the country. It’s worth debating the merits of expanding visa quotas to allow more high-skilled and highly educated immigrants, but that’s not what the White House is pressing for. Rather, Mr. Trump is more interested in tearing down programs than building new ones. And, as he made clear, he now regards dreamers as a means to that end. Democrats, he said in a tweetlast week, are on notice that dreamers are out of luck “without the desperately needed WALL” and “an END to the horrible Chain Migration & ridiculous Lottery System of Immigration.” But the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program cannot and should not be the mechanism by which the United States’ immigration system is refurbished.

In other words, protecting the citizens of the United States from people who come here illegally/overstay their visas, along with bringing in relatives who do not speak the language, have few working skills, and won’t assimilate is “anathema to Democrats.” And by “harm the country”, the WPEB means ” harm the Democrats”, who’ve decided that illegal aliens come well before US citizens.

It is cute how suddenly the art of give and take in politics (and business) is “disgraceful.” Where politicians demand things in return for their votes on other things. Something which has always happened.

Similarly, though, remember all the editorials from the WPEB when Obama was holding businesses and statues and museums and parks hostage during the government shutdown that Obama caused? Me neither. That was disgraceful.

Democrats should be careful in their push for a “clean” DACA bill: they might become so shrill that Republicans, including Trump, decide to move on and not bother at this time. How would that help the Dreamers?

Crossed at Right Wing News.

Read: Washington Post Is Rather Upset That Trump’s Using Illegal Aliens As Bargaining Chip »

Bill Submitted To Ban New Fossil Fueled Vehicles In People’s Republik Of California

Well, how would all the celebrities and politicians get to all their gigs in tiny electric cars rather than limos?

(Engadget) Under a new bill introduced this week, every single new car sold in California after 2040 would be an emission-free vehicle. The bill, introduced by San Francisco Assemblyman Phil Ting, is in line with Governor Jerry Brown’s goal for 1.5 million zero-emission cars on the state’s roads by 2025.

In a statement, Ting said that, “We’re at an inflection point: We’ve got to address the harmful emissions that cause climate change”, and noted that vehicles that run on fossil fuels are responsible for nearly 40 percent of California’s greenhouse gas emissions.

If the bill is passed, the sale of new passenger vehicles powered by fossil fuels would be banned from January 1 2040, helping the state to achieve its target of slashing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050.

Good luck with this. If it manages to pass, it’ll be forgotten or repealed in due time. If not, expect vehicle manufacturers to start pulling dealerships out of California, meaning a huge loss of jobs. California ports will be ignored for bringing parts, materials, and vehicles in to the U.S. Loss of jobs. Gas stations will close. Loss of jobs. And all the money the economy will lose. People will simply go to Nevada to purchase a vehicle. Will California restrict interstate commerce? Anyhow, again, good luck, PRC.

Read: Bill Submitted To Ban New Fossil Fueled Vehicles In People’s Republik Of California »

If All You See…

…is a horrible flooddrought world, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is A View From The Beach, with a post on things SJW scientists wreck.

Read: If All You See… »

Pirate's Cove