SLL Back On, Plus Comment Likes

I’ve turned the SSL certificate back on (you’ll notice that any call goes to an https://www address), because it really isn’t affecting some of the other things that are a bit broken. You’ll notice that there is no Go Stats or Live Traffic in the sidebar most of the time. They are still recording even though not showing. I will see them in the mobile version, though.

The feed isn’t updating regardless of what I try. Work in progress.

I’ve replaced the old comment editor, where you had a few tags like blockquote, link, etc, with a new one. The old one seems to be having the same javascript problem as Go Stats and Live Traffic. The new one is more basic, but, then, does anyone really use anything more than bold, italic, link, and blockquote? Strike is the only thing missing.

I also turned on comment likes through Jetpack. Not sure if I like where they appear, but, you tell me if you like it on.

Nope, likes is going away. Takes too long to load, using too many server resources, and requires WordPress login.

Thanks for your patience.

Read: SLL Back On, Plus Comment Likes »

Surprise: Middle And Lower Classes Bear The Burden For Tesla Sales

Personally, I have no problems with Teslas. Nor any hybrid or fully electric vehicles (FEV). But, there is one thing we should all have a problem with

Middle class bearing Tesla subsidy

When the sale of its 200,000th vehicle occurs later this year, Tesla buyers will no longer be able to claim a $7,500-per-vehicle federal tax credit for purchasing one. But fear not! California’s climate-crazy legislature is coming to the rescue.

Gov. Jerry Brown and state legislators plan to pass a $3 billion electric vehicle (EVs) subsidy to replace the soon-to-end federal rebate. Under California’s generous program, electric vehicle buyers could soon receive up to $40,000 to buy’s Tesla’s most expensive models.

Despite the federal government having provided a $465 million low-interest loan for Tesla to develop a cheap electric vehicle in 2009 and the billions of dollars in tax credits given to buyers, Tesla has continued to turn out $110,000 luxury cars designed for and marketed to millionaires. Those buyers obviously could afford to pay the full freight for their vehicles but instead took money from the poor and middle-income households to fund their “green lifestyle” purchases.

Is there any reason that these vehicles are offered subsidies and tax breaks, when it is essentially rich people who are buying them? I can see this with a Nissan Leaf or a low trim Prius (Prius’ no longer get tax breaks, BTW, nor do many other hybrids/FEV who have already exceeded the cap), as middle class folks would buy them. Of course, then this is being done off the backs of the poor, but, generally, they are part of the class that really doesn’t pay net income taxes.

Aside from receiving substantial federal tax credits and a massive government low-interest loan, Tesla and its wealthy customers also benefit from other subsidies given at the expense of everyone else, including state tax incentives and free charging stations. A 2015 study from researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and National Bureau of Economic Research found the richest 20 percent of Americans received 90 percent of the hundreds of millions of dollars given in taxpayer subsidies for EVs.

If Liberals want to talk about the rich soaking the poor, well, it’s right there.

Read: Surprise: Middle And Lower Classes Bear The Burden For Tesla Sales »

NY Times Goes Moonbat Category 5 On DACA Cancellation

This is nothing you wouldn’t expect. Illegal alien supporters were bound to lose their minds when the un-Constitutional DACA was finally cancelled. Remember, even Obama said the executive amnesty program was illegal and unconstitutional. Lower courts have so far ruled that DACA (and DAPA), where extra-legal usurpations of Congressional power. Anyhow, before we head to the NY Times, let’s have some fun with this Washington Post article

‘We are America’: DACA recipients say they’re not going anywhere

That’s the headline on the WP web front page. The article really has little to do with the headline, being about worries before the announcement was even made, but, that reminds me of this from Tuesday

https://twitter.com/Flewbys/status/905147562281357316

https://twitter.com/WilliamTeach/status/905177980133134336

Illegals are guests in our country. Illegally present guests. If we want them to leave, they’ll leave.

Editorial: Donald Trump’s Cowardice on ‘Dreamers’

President Trump didn’t even have the guts to do the job himself. Instead, he hid in the shadows and sent his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, to do the dirty work of telling the country that the administration would no longer shield from deportation 800,000 young undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children.

Getting beyond the TDS, the NY Times Editorial Board is admitting that the program is illegal. We’ll come back to that in a few

Mr. Sessions, a longtime anti-immigrant hard-liner, was more than up to the task. In a short, disingenuous speech, he said a program set up by President Barack Obama in 2012 — known as DACA, for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — was a lawless policy that “yielded terrible humanitarian consequences” and denied jobs to hundreds of thousands of American citizens. (Mr. Trump echoed these claims in a statement released by the White House.) Mr. Sessions called DACA “an unconstitutional exercise of authority” and said “failure to enforce the laws in the past has put our nation at risk of crime, violence and terrorism.”

False, false, false and false.

DACA recipients are not threats to public safety or national security; to the contrary, they must have a nearly spotless record to be eligible in the first place. They do not receive legal status in this country, only a two-year, renewable deferral of deportation along with a work permit and eligibility for other government benefits down the road. And they are not taking jobs from native-born Americans, whose declining levels of employment can be chalked up to other factors.

No threats. Except for this Dreamer, who raped a little girl, who was 6 when it started, for years. Thousands have been found in violation of the DACA requirements, and, in reality, not that many are vetted either during their first application, nor in the follow ups.

As for the policy’s legality, there’s no question that the president has the authority to set immigration-enforcement priorities. Presidents of both parties have done that for decades, and President Obama did it by focusing on people with criminal records and not on those brought to this country as children. For most of this latter group, the United States is the only home they’ve ever known. About 9 in 10 are working taxpayers, and deporting them could reduce the gross domestic product by over $400 billion over the next decade.

“Priorities”. However, what DACA did was not “set immigration-enforcement priorities”, it 100% shielded illegal aliens who were brought as children by their parents from being deported, and, by extension, shielded the parent(s), because they didn’t want to “separate” families.

Let’s say the DEA has a policy of prioritizing drug dealers, especially the big shots. And, they go on a raid. If they catch a few buyers at the same time, will they let them go? No. They were in violation of the law. How about if they created a policy where the buyers would be excused? Better yet, if the DEA set a policy where they would only go after the big shot dealers, and not the small fry sitting on corners selling small amounts of drugs. Everyone good with that? Of course not.

DACA told these illegals that they had nothing to worry about and would even be given legal status for work. That’s not setting priorities: it’s creating 2 year amnesties with perpetual renewal.

Contrast that with President Obama’s willingness to defend a policy that has always had detractors. “Ultimately, this is about basic decency,” Mr. Obama wrote on Facebook on Tuesday. “This is about whether we are a people who kick hopeful young strivers out of America, or whether we treat them the way we’d want our own kids to be treated.”

Mr. Trump has no good rejoinder. That’s partly because there isn’t one and partly because, as is so often the case, he doesn’t fully understandthe scope of what he’s done. One would hope that the widespread outrage at Tuesday’s announcement, and the impending suffering of hundreds of thousands of people who’ve done nothing but try to become contributing members of society, might impress it upon him.

Perhaps Mr. Pen And Phone, who had a poor relationship with Congress, even the ones in his own political party, should have picked up the phone and talked to people who pass laws. Realistically, this is about basic Law. We can either be a nation of Law or a nation of Men. Where is the decency to the American citizens when the government excuses illegal behavior for a certain class of people?

Crossed at Right Wing News.

Read: NY Times Goes Moonbat Category 5 On DACA Cancellation »

Anyone Having Security Issues On Individual Post?

I’ve notice on a few occasions yesterday and today that when I am going into individual posts I get a Jetpack (a backend WordPress plugin) warning. Makes the site very thin. And means you can’t comment. Anyone else seeing this? It’s happened on several browsers and on two completely different IPs.

If yes, hit me on my Twitter feed (on the sidebar) or at wteach@thepiratescove.us

Read: Anyone Having Security Issues On Individual Post? »

If All You See…

…is an evil road that supports fossil fueled vehicles, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day Moonbattery, with a post on vegan ISIS.

Read: If All You See… »

Irony: Al Gore’s Book Outsold By Book Debunking Gore’s Book

Hey, maybe it’s because Warmists do not want to invest the carbon pollution producing energy required to purchase the book?

(Daily Caller) Former Vice President Al Gore’s new book is lagging in sales, and, in fact, is being outsold on Amazon Kindle by an e-book debunking many of the claims made in “An Inconvenient Sequel.”

Climatologist Roy Spencer authored an e-book, “An Inconvenient Deception,” to critique the “bad science, bad policy and some outright falsehoods” in Gore’s latest movie and book, which were released in August. Now, it’s ranked higher in Amazon’s Kindle store.

“There are three big weaknesses in Gore’s new movie: science, economics and energy policy,” Spencer, a noted skeptic of catastrophic global warming, told The Daily Caller News Foundation.

The e-book published to accompany Gore’s film is ranked #51,031 for purchases in the Kindle Store, according to Amazon.com. Spencer’s book is ranked #1,201 for Kindle Store purchases.

At the time of writing of this post, 8:45am, Gore’s book is now 40,015 in paid Kindle books. Roy Spencer’s is #278.

I have Spencer’s book on my Kindle, haven’t gotten around to reading it yet, have a couple of things up first.

Read: Irony: Al Gore’s Book Outsold By Book Debunking Gore’s Book »

Tom Cotton: Sure, We Can Support Dreamers, But, We Have To Shut Down The Illegal Alien Pipeline

Today is the day that President Trump is slated to announce his decision on Obama’s lawless and un-Constitutional DACA. What will he announce? We’ll see. Tom Cotton has some ideas

(Washington Examiner) Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, who after the departure of Jeff Sessions has emerged as the Senate’s leading immigration hawk, says he would support the legalization of all current DACA recipients — nearly 800,000 of them — if Congress would at the same time pass measures to protect Americans workers from the effects of that legalization.

“We ought to take care of them,” Cotton said in a telephone conversation Sunday, noting that DACA recipients arrived in this country illegally “through no fault of their own.”

Again, this brings up the notion of what to do with the parent(s) who brought them. Do we reward the parent(s) for breaking federal law while bringing their children who are now “entitled” to some sort of legal status through “no fault of their own?”

“In any legislative fix, I would like to see them receive a green card,” Cotton said. At the same time, he continued, “We ought to recognize that giving them legal status has two problems. First, it creates a whole new class of people who will then be eligible for a green card and citizenship — namely, the extended family members of those who will receive legal status who can, through chain migration, get legal status themselves.”

“Second,” Cotton said, “it will encourage more illegal immigration.”

And that is the rub. If you reward lawless behavior, you will get more lawless behavior.

The first problem can be fixed by passing the RAISE Act, Cotton said — the bill Cotton has sponsored with fellow GOP Sen. David Perdue that would strictly limit chain migration as well as re-balance current immigration policy in favor of skilled immigrants.

The second problem could be addressed by extending E-verify across the country, which Cotton called “the best way to reduce more illegal immigration.”

They’re partial ideas, but neither full deals with the concept of illegal immigration. The RAISE Act is more about those coming in legally. E-verify can only deal with those who are caught, and only if law enforcement does something. I offered some recommendations at the end of this post yesterday regarding DACA. We can be sympathetic while also being tough. There are ways to deal with the needed workers with temporary work permits while also being tough on illegals. To start with, if you are caught illegally in the U.S., you see a judge who asks if you are in the U.S. illegally. That’s it. No asking “why.” When the answer is yes, you are deported immediately. If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.

Oh, and Trump just tweeted this

Read: Tom Cotton: Sure, We Can Support Dreamers, But, We Have To Shut Down The Illegal Alien Pipeline »

Washington Post: Since Impeachment Is A Long Shot, There’s Something Else Unhinged That Can Be Done

The unhinged fantasies of Democratic Party voters, and, yes, some Republicans, that Trump will be impeached are not good for their mental well being. This constant bleating that something will show up, that he’s committed some sort of crime, that they can invoked the 25th Amendment, and, further, somehow get impeach VP Mike Pence at the same time and end up with a Hillary Clinton (a candidate who was so bad that even though the entire media was pulling for her, she lost the only election that mattered by blowing off needed states. And passing out in public view). Now, we have the Washington Post’s Robert Kagan dragging out yet another fantasy

Impeaching Trump is a long shot.  There’s another way to protect the country.

With the impeachment and removal of President Trump a long shot at best, there is another way to provide the country some protection from our unfit president: congressional government. The idea may seem far-fetched in this era of the “imperial presidency,” but there have been times in the nation’s history, especially in the decades after the Civil War but also to a lesser extent during the 1920s, when Congress ran the show on many critical matters and the president dared take no action without the approval of powerful committee chairmen.

The clearest example of this, and the one most relevant to the current situation, was in 1865, when a Republican Congress seized control of federal administration of the defeated South from then-President Andrew Johnson. A Tennessean who saw himself as the defender of Southern white supremacy, Johnson refused to pursue the agenda of the Radical Republicans who wanted to break the power of the white ruling class in order to ensure the rights and the physical safety of newly freed blacks. When Johnson refused to compromise, Congress took charge. For some months, Congress wielded control not only over national policy but also over its implementation by the military.

Months. In fact, Kagan is leaving a lot of details unmentioned. A LOT. The situation was vastly different. Look it up. There’s no comparison with Trump, who Democrats and some Republicans loathe simply because.

There’s no reason Congress could not do the same now. On some issues, it already has. On two important policies — sanctions on Russia and health care — a working majority of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate has already thwarted Trump. Another bipartisan majority appears to have formed against Trump’s threat to shut down the government unless he gets significant funding for a wall along the Southern border. In fact, on any number of issues, there are enough anti-Trump Republicans in the Senate not only to block the president but also to push their own policies contrary to the president’s — as was the case with Russia sanctions.

But, that isn’t even close to Congress “running the show.” It’s simply the normal state of affairs, where the duly elected Legislative Branch disagrees with the duly elected Chief Executive. That happens. Is the Supreme Court “running the show” when it disagrees with legislation?

The rest of the typical Barking Moonbat opinion is just a continuation of this silliness, this fantasy of people who just can’t move on. It’s surely a good time to be a psychologist. Gonna be a lot of fancy cars and boats purchased by them.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

Read: Washington Post: Since Impeachment Is A Long Shot, There’s Something Else Unhinged That Can Be Done »

Good Grief: Cancelling DACA Would Be “Evil”

Well, leave it up to the Washington Post’s resident wackadoodle “Republican” Jennifer Rubin to go wonkers

Ending DACA would be Trump’s most evil act

Following the law as written is now evil, you guys.

Some in the media take seriously the notion that he is “conflicted” or “wrestling” with the decision, as though Trump were engaged in a great moral debate. That would be a first for Trump, who counts only winners and losers, never bothering with moral principles or democratic norms.

How about the Rule Of Law? Doesn’t that come first?

First, let’s not think Trump — who invites cops to abuse suspects, who thinks ex-sheriff Joe Arpaio was “doing his job” when denying others their constitutional rights and who issued the Muslim ban — cares about the Constitution

Doing away with DACA would, get this, be following the Constitution.

However this turns out, the GOP under Trump has defined itself as the white grievance party — bluntly, a party fueled by concocted white resentment aimed at minorities. Of all the actions Trump has taken, none has been as cruel, thoughtless or divisive as deporting hundreds of thousands of young people who’ve done nothing but go to school, work hard and present themselves to the government.

So, enforcing The Law is sorts of bad things? Good grief.

And, let me throw this out there: why are Whites not allowed to have grievances? Blacks are allowed to air theirs, as are Latinos, Hispanics, Mexicans, Liberals, etc. Not whites, though? Last time I checked, we still had Constitutional rights.

Regardless, with friends like Jen Rubin (and Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney, etc), who needs enemies? And, as Scott Greer notes, all the arguments for DACA put Americans last.

Read: Good Grief: Cancelling DACA Would Be “Evil” »

If All You See…

…is an evil animal contributing greenhouse gases that will destroy the Earth, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Pacific Pundit, with a post on EPA related fake news from the AP.

Read: If All You See… »

Pirate's Cove