Bummer: Trump Admin Stalling Wind And Solar Through New Permitting Requirements

By William Teach August 7, 2025 – 4:29 pm

Well, if they were taking public money then they’re at the whim of whomever runs the government

Dozens of Wind and Solar Projects Stall as Trump Cracks Down on Renewables

The Trump administration has sharply escalated its attacks on wind and solar power in recent days, issuing a barrage of policies that could halt the construction of renewable energy projects on public and private lands across the country.

The Interior Department is now requiring dozens of formerly routine consultations and approvals for wind and solar projects to undergo new layers of political review by the interior secretary’s office, a policy that is causing significant permitting delays. The agency is also opening investigations into bird deaths caused by wind farms and withdrawing millions of acres of federal waters previously available for leasing by offshore wind companies.

The Interior Department also signaled that it would review wind projects that have already been approved by the federal government but are being sued by opponents, and consider rescinding their permits, a step that could halt projects already under construction.

On Wednesday, the agency said it was reversing a Biden administration decision to approve the Lava Ridge Wind Project, a giant wind farm planned for southern Idaho that was opposed by state lawmakers because, among other things, it would be visible from the Minidoka National Historic Site, a World War II internment camp for Japanese Americans. The Trump administration said it had discovered “legal deficiencies” in the original approval but did not provide details.

Man, it’s a real shame when the tactics Democrats use to stop things they do not like are used against them, eh?

Dozens of wind and solar projects that sit on both public and private lands nationwide are now stalled while waiting for what were once ordinary approvals from the federal government, Mr. Grumet said. While fewer than 5 percent of solar and wind projects are on public lands directly overseen by the Interior Department, many projects on private lands often need federal approvals to comply with wildlife protections or other laws.

One planned solar facility on private land in the Upper Midwest is currently delayed because federal agencies have halted all discussions over a needed water permit. Another large solar farm on private land in the West is being held up because it must now undergo three layers of political review, including by Mr. Burgum’s office.

Hmm, that whole “well, it’s your land, but, Los Federales will dictate what you can do on it” sure has come full circle, eh?

Elizabeth Peace, a spokeswoman for the Interior Department, declined to comment on the delays but defended the agency’s stricter reviews. “Evaluating land use efficiency and environmental impact isn’t partisan, it’s responsible governance,” she said.

That’s going to leave a mark.

Read: Bummer: Trump Admin Stalling Wind And Solar Through New Permitting Requirements »

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If All You See…

By William Teach August 7, 2025 – 2:01 pm

…is horrible carbon pollution infused beer, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Gateway Pundit, with a post on the FBI firing a whole bunch of people involved in investigating Trump and J6ers.

Read: If All You See… »

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Trump Admin Looks To Terminate Union Protections For Federal Workers

By William Teach August 7, 2025 – 10:30 am

Realistically, in most cases, why are there unions for federal agencies? The whole point of a union was to protect workers from harsh, unsafe working conditions, from bad bosses, and to negotiate for better wages and benefits. Well, in most cases, federal workers do not have harsh, unsafe working conditions (except for Gen Z, who thinks a 40 hour work-week an having to come into the office is mean). Democrats tell us that Government Is Good, so, why would they have bad bosses, especially when most are also liberals? And federal workers have much higher wages and benefits than most private workers. But, that is what the unions are really doing: negotiating with Dems to get more and more at the expense of the federal taxpayer, then donating back to Dems

Trump Administration Begins to Strip Federal Workers of Union Protections

The Trump administration has moved forward with a plan to end collective bargaining with federal unions across a swath of government agencies, even after arguing in federal court that it would not do so until a legal battle over an order President Trump signed was over.

The Department of Veterans Affairs said on Wednesday that it had moved to strip labor protections for more than 400,000 of its workers — most of whom are represented by the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union for federal employees.

The department’s announcement included attacks on union activities and leadership, and Doug Collins, the head of the agency, argued in a statement that the “unions that represent V.A. employees fight against the best interests of veterans while protecting and rewarding bad workers.”

Everett Kelley, the president of the A.F.G.E., said in a statement that the V.A.’s decision was “another clear example of retaliation” against unions that have opposed Mr. Trump’s plans to slash the federal bureaucracy. Mr. Kelley accused Mr. Collins of choosing to “rip up the negotiated union contract” of the majority of his work force.

Well, not really: Republicans have long wanted to end most federal unions, or, at least, strip most of their power. Government unions should not be negotiating with friendly government to get more and more while doing less and less.

With few exceptions, union employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs have now lost the rights and protections provided by a 308-page collective bargaining agreement between the agency and the federal employees union. Those include the right to have work disputes resolved by a neutral arbitrator, and to have union stewards and leaders be granted official time on the job to work on cases and participate in contract negotiations.

How many work disputes are there? Upset because they were written up for coming in late a lot? Weren’t allowed to take a “mental health day” because they were triggered by seeing a Trump hat?

(Thomas Jefferson Institute) Private-sector unions fight with management over an equitable distribution of profits. Government unions negotiate with friendly politicians over taxpayer’s money putting the public interest at odds with union interests, just as we have seen in states such as California and Wisconsin, exploding the cost of government until we are at the breaking point today.  California’s public sector pension costs soared 2000 percent in the last decade thanks to unions.

Huh. How about this from 2011

(NY Times) The founders of the labor movement viewed unions as a vehicle to get workers more of the profits they help create. Government workers, however, don’t generate profits. They merely negotiate for more tax money. When government unions strike, they strike against taxpayers. F.D.R. considered this “unthinkable and intolerable.”

Government collective bargaining means voters do not have the final say on public policy. Instead their elected representatives must negotiate spending and policy decisions with unions. That is not exactly democratic – a fact that unions once recognized.

Interesting.

(City Journal) Even if the Trump administration prevails against the unions in court, however, its victories could be undone by a future White House. The most effective way permanently to curb public union power in Washington—and restore accountability in the bureaucracy—is for Congress to repeal federal employees’ collective-bargaining rights. (snip)

To that end, Trump should push the GOP-controlled House and Senate to pass legislation banning federal workers from collectively bargaining. He and other leaders should frame that policy as a way to save taxpayers’ money. As the Institute for the American Worker has shown, the collective-bargaining process costs taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars yearly.

Not sure if they can get that through the barely controlled Senate. They could maybe leave working conditions clauses in, especially when it comes to protecting law enforcement, but, collective-bargaining needs to end.

Read: Trump Admin Looks To Terminate Union Protections For Federal Workers »

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Bummer: Climate (scam) Lawsuit From City Of Charleston Against Big Oil Dismissed

By William Teach August 7, 2025 – 7:15 am

Sadly, the judge didn’t say to the city in the  lawsuit “You don’t like fossil fuels? Don’t use them”

Charleston’s Climate Lawsuit Against Oil Giants Is Dismissed

A judge in Charleston, S.C., dismissed on Wednesday the city’s lawsuit against oil and gas companies over their role in climate change, ruling that the case raised questions that were far beyond the bounds of state laws.

During two days of hearings in May, lawyers for the city argued that the companies, ranging from giants like Exxon Mobil and Chevron to local firms, had covered up what they knew about the dangers of greenhouse gas emissions. They accused the companies of mounting a disinformation campaign to cast doubt on climate science and failing to warn the public about the dangers ahead.

Those actions increased demand for fossil fuels, which led to emissions and the grave risks linked to climate change that the historic coastal city now faces, including flooding and sea-level rise, they argued. The case cited state tort laws and the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act and sought funds for adaptation and mitigation projects.

In his 45-page decision, Judge Roger M. Young wrote that while the lawyers argued the claims were about deception, “they are premised on, and seek redress for, the effects of greenhouse gas emissions.” He said that those issues fall squarely under federal and not state law, and that the court lacked jurisdiction over out-of-state companies.

We’re increasingly seeing this as the response of the judges. But, really, Charleston wouldn’t run without fossil fuels. City services, including the FF vehicles for the mayor and other city officials. All the cruise ships. The airports. All the boats and ships. All the people driving to Charleston in FF vehicles. All the residents. Maybe Charleston should try banning them, see how that works out.

Read: Bummer: Climate (scam) Lawsuit From City Of Charleston Against Big Oil Dismissed »

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Indiana To Build “Speedway Slammer” Immigration Detention Center

By William Teach August 7, 2025 – 7:00 am

Category 5 Moonbattery incoming

‘Speedway Slammer’ immigration jail set to be Trump’s next ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

The motorsports company behind the Indy 500 says it was caught off-guard by the Trump administration branding a new immigration detention center as the “Speedway Slammer.”

Following an Aug. 5 announcement that Indiana house up to 1,000 detained immigrants at a maximum-security prison, Homeland Security touted the agreement online with a mash-up photo that features an IndyCar with an imposing detention center in the background.

The Republican-led state volunteered to host the Trump administration’s next immigration detention center after Florida created a detention facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has been touting the administration’s efforts to rapidly expand immigration detention capacity amid a surge in immigrant arrests.

“If you are in America illegally, you could find yourself in Indiana’s Speedway Slammer,” Noem said in an Aug. 5 post on X. “Avoid arrest and self deport now using the CBP Home App.”

Well, at least the weather is nicer than Florida, and no alligators. Pythons. Scary spiders. But, it is in Indiana. And they can all avoid this by getting the hell out of the U.S.

Immigrant advocates say the nicknames obscure the harrowing conditions that have been documented in ICE detention in recent months and dehumanize the people held there.

No one cares. If they leave they have no worries. BTW, no one really listens when other criminals are sent to jail.

Meanwhile

L.A. officials, Penske trucks decry federal agents’ use of vehicle in immigration raid

An immigration raid at a Westlake Home Depot has raised the temperature on simmering tensions in Los Angeles.

Video posted to social media shows what appears to be a squad of federal agents loading into a Penske truck, with the video’s caption saying the scene was recorded at 6:40 a.m

Obviously, all sorts of lefties are having conniption fits, even threatening to no longer rent from Penske, not that Penske had anything to do with this, and whined that their trucks shouldn’t be used to transport people.

Read: Indiana To Build “Speedway Slammer” Immigration Detention Center »

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Law Professor Says Oregon Can Take Steps As Trump Kills Federal Climate (scam) Action

By William Teach August 6, 2025 – 3:00 pm

Remember back when we were told we should only listen to climate scientists? About taht

Law professor says Oregon can take action if federal climate change regulations go up in smoke

With the Trump administration’s dismantling of environmental regulations and total reversal of policies to combat climate change, activists have filed lawsuits and requests for injunctions all over the country. The latest development is the Trump-led Environmental Protection Agency reversing the long-standing “endangerment finding” that greenhouse gases threatened human health and welfare. One environmental law professor at Harvard called it “an assault on the foundation of all federal climate policy.”

Well, yeah, it is, because the Constitution really didn’t give the Congress the power to do this, hence, the Executive Branch wouldn’t have laws to Do Something. But, it is what it is, hence, what Obama and Biden can put into regulation Trump can kill

Lewis & Clark environmental law professor Melissa Powers says Oregon — and other states — do have options to fight climate change, besides filing individual lawsuits. She says one viable strategy would be for Oregon to create a Climate Superfund. We talk with her about what the unraveling of environmental regulations is likely to mean in Oregon and more about the potential for an Oregon Climate Superfund.

Hmm, notice she fails to say that the Warmists in Oregon can practice what they preach? Give up their own use of fossil fuels, live in tiny homes, don’t use hair dryers and ice makers, only buy second hand clothes, not use plastics, and more? Weird, right?

Read: Law Professor Says Oregon Can Take Steps As Trump Kills Federal Climate (scam) Action »

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

If All You See…

By William Teach August 6, 2025 – 1:00 pm

…is a horrible fossil fueled cargo ship, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Last Refuge, with a post on the purpose for the raid on Mar-O-Lago.

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Pentagon Slashes Red Tape To Prepare For Drone War

By William Teach August 6, 2025 – 10:30 am

Bureaucrats love bureaucrating. They live for this. Gumming up the works, making people and companies jump through hoops. Making procurement complicated. Even if it blocks the Pentagon from getting what they need to compete

Pentagon seeks to slash red tape for mass drone production

The Trump administration is slashing red tape to quickly equip troops with more small, easily replaced drones in a bid to keep up with the likes of Russia and China, the Pentagon’s chief technology officer told NewsNation’s Kelly Meyer in an exclusive interview.

Emil Michael, the under secretary of Defense for research and engineering, said the U.S. is speedily moving to reduce bureaucratic barriers and expand the quantities and types of drones U.S. troops can use to defend American bases, forces and interests.

“You’ve got to cut the red tape out,” when it comes to drone production, he told Kellie Meyer from The Hill’s sister network. “A lot of the regulations around what you could build and how you could build it, and even how you could test it were limited in the last administration.”

Drones are the new frontline of modern conflicts, featuring prominently in Russia’s war in Ukraine and Israel’s conflicts in the Middle East.

Nowhere were drones displayed so mightily that in June with Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb, where Kyiv spent months smuggling hundreds of small drones deep inside Russia for coordinated strike that destroyed upwards of 40 Russian warplanes on five airbases.

Thankfully that didn’t turn into WWIII. The U.S. needs to be prepared for an attack like that, and the U.S. needs to be able to project that type of force, as well as use a drone swarm for defense

But the United States is currently outpaced by Russia and China in military drone use, a gap caused by a dearth in companies approved to make drones for the U.S. military as well as limited equipment and expertise needed to mass-produce drones, according to a new report released Tuesday by The Heritage Foundation.

Only 14 companies currently can make drones for the Defense Department while just one Chinese company, DJI, accounts for 70 percent of all worldwide drone sales and makes millions of drones each year, putting Washington at a disadvantage. U.S. law bars the military from buying Chinese drones.

So, the Pentagon is going to fast-track building drones for military use, particularly for attack. Small ones. Not the big ones. We do great with the big ones, which are usually under direct control by a pilot in a room far away. I guess we’ll see how this turns out.

Read: Pentagon Slashes Red Tape To Prepare For Drone War »

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Trump Admin Looks To Claw Back $7 Billion For Low Income Solar

By William Teach August 6, 2025 – 7:00 am

Trump is such a big meanie, he wants to take free energy away from po’ folk

Trump wants to roll back $7 billion in grants for solar projects in low-income communities

The Trump administration is reportedly considering terminating a $7 billion grant program aimed at helping low- and moderate-income families install home solar panels, part of the White House’s larger campaign to claw back billions in Biden-era climate spending.

The Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of drafting termination letters to the 60 state agencies, nonprofit groups, and Native American tribes awarded the funding through the Solar for All initiative, part of the Biden administration’s landmark 2022 climate law.

The agency said Tuesday it has not made a final decision about the grants.

Environmental groups say if Trump does go through with the cancellation, the effort will face legal challenges.

Wiping away the grants would halt many projects before they were complete.

Let’s be honest, most of this money has gone to friendly companies which donate to Democrats, and the low income folks aren’t really going to see any benefits. How many of them actually own the homes?

The first Solar for All projects, efforts to install residential solar and battery storage systems for tribal communities in Montana and South Dakota, went online in October 2024.

“One in five households on reservations lack access to electricity, and this program was an opportunity to close that gap,” Cody Two Bears, the chief executive of Indigenized Energy, told The New York Times, which first reported on the cancellation effort. “But those were just two kickoff projects to show what was coming for the next five years.”

Instead of cancelling the money, how about the EPA audit the companies that got the money? Let’s see how it was spent. Let’s see if the government and homeowners were overcharged, if way too much money was being pocketed by the companies.

Read: Trump Admin Looks To Claw Back $7 Billion For Low Income Solar »

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Trump Warns DC Over Violent Youth Gangs, May Federalize D.C.

By William Teach August 6, 2025 – 6:45 am

Here’s a good question: has Congress delegated any power to the Executive Branch to do this? Because Congress has delegated authority for some of the day to day work to local government, but, ultimately, Congress has with plenary legislative authority over the federal district

Trump threatens to federalize DC after ex-DOGE employee ‘Big Balls’ violently beaten

President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to federalize Washington, D.C., calling for local minors and gang members over the age of 14 to be prosecuted as adults, after a famed former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employee was allegedly beaten in the nation’s capital.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said local youth and gang members are “randomly attacking, mugging, maiming, and shooting innocent citizens, at the same time knowing that they will be almost immediately released.”

Along with the post, Trump shared a photo of a bloodied man on the street.

Multiple sources told Fox News Digital the person in the photo shared by the president is Edward Coristine, the teenager known as “Big Balls,” who previously worked for DOGE.

Obviously, Democrats will oppose cracking down on crime. Quite a few of them have their own security and/or live in tony, high class buildings, divorced from the violence.

The president said it appears criminals are “not afraid” of the police, because “nothing ever happens to them.”

“Washington, D.C. must be safe, clean, and beautiful for all Americans and, importantly, for the World to see,” he wrote in the post. “If D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they’re not going to get away with it anymore.”

Consider: The District Of Columbia is rated a 2 by Neighborhood Scout. That means it is safer than 2% of U.S. cities. Meaning it is high crime. You have a 1 in 95 chance of being a violent crime victim, and the 10.47 (per 1,000) rate is over double the national rate of 4. Assault and robbery are off the chain. Property crime is 1 in 24, with a rate 3 times the national rate. Theft and motor vehicle theft are super high.

Look at the map at the link: this is our nation’s capitol. Should any part be beyond a light blue? Let’s not forget that these are Democrat doing the crime, since 90% voted for Kamala.

Read: Trump Warns DC Over Violent Youth Gangs, May Federalize D.C. »

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