NY Times: Hey, The Supreme Court Is Too Powerful, You Know

By William Teach July 1, 2022 – 7:00 am

The Supreme Court wouldn’t have to show it’s power to match the Legislative and Executive if those two would do the job they Constitution requires (you can read not behind the paywall here)

A Powerful Court

By now, most of us are used to U.S. Supreme Court rulings that bring big changes to American life — on abortion, guns, same-sex marriage and more. Thursday may bring another sweeping ruling, on climate change.

But the Supreme Court’s power is strange in a global context. The highest-level courts in other rich democracies tend to be less dominant. Elsewhere, courts can still overturn laws and restrict the government’s reach, but they often face sharper limits on their decisions.

There are two major reasons that the U.S. Supreme Court is unusual. First, the court’s structure allows for few checks on the justices’ power: They have lifetime tenure, and other branches of government have few ways to overturn a ruling. Second, the dysfunction of the rest of the U.S. government, especially Congress, has created a vacuum that the Supreme Court fills.

Unchecked judges

Supreme Court justices remain on the bench for life or until they choose to retire. In other countries, there are term or age limits: Judges on Germany’s federal constitutional court, for example, serve for 12 years or until age 68, whichever is sooner.

This is sounding rather insurrectiony, isn’t it? It’s also utterly ridiculous. Who cares how other countries act? Notice in those other countries that the legislatures and the executive offices, including the head, run roughshod with few checks on their power. We have a nice little system with three branches that are equally powerful. And, if the Legislative and Executive do their jobs according to the Constitution, then the Judicial Branch need not flex their muscles.

Democrats do not like this when the court is ruling against them, meaning, in favor of what the Constitution states. You can bet they were all happy with the court ruling in favor of the Brandon admin on the remain in Mexico policy (I may not like the decision, but, it looks to be correct in Constitutional context). When they lose, Democracy Is In Peril! The Court is out of line!

The U.S. Supreme Court is also empowered by the frequent gridlock across the rest of the federal government. For example, Congress could pass a federal law guaranteeing access to abortion in the first trimester, which most Americans favor. Or Congress could pass laws giving the Environmental Protection Agency clearer authority to deal with climate change. Neither has happened.

And that’s the way it’s supposed to work. Big decisions need to be agreed on in order to not run roughshod on the minority. Because we have a Republic, you know this. Doesn’t matter. Leftists either have no idea How The Constitution Works, or, they do not care.

She wasn’t the only one. There are plenty of Democrats losing their minds.

Read: NY Times: Hey, The Supreme Court Is Too Powerful, You Know »

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COVID Doom Coming Or Something

By William Teach June 30, 2022 – 2:53 pm

They just won’t give up on the fear porn

‘The worst version’ of COVID is spreading. Can we update our vaccines in time?

For the last 18 months, the original COVID-19 vaccines — first as a two-dose series, then as boosters — have done an extraordinary job shielding us from illness, hospitalization and death. Globally, they saved nearly 20 million lives in 2021 alone. Even today, unvaccinated Americans are twice as likely as vaccinated Americans to test positive for COVID — and six times as likely to die from the disease.

But viruses evolve, and vaccines should too.

That was the big-picture takeaway from a pivotal meeting this week of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s expert advisory panel. The question before them was simple: Ahead of an expected winter surge, should vaccine manufacturers tweak their forthcoming booster shots to target Omicron — the ultra-infectious variant that has spent the last seven months surging throughout the world in one form or another — or should they stick with the tried-and-true 2020 recipe?

Really, for most citizens, the bad part of COVID is over. We aren’t doing masking. We aren’t staying home. We aren’t getting locked down, we aren’t going to shut our businesses down or limit them. What we’re left with is economic issues. If the mask cultists want to mask up, feel free. Of course, half of them are leaving their noses uncovered

For anyone who hasn’t been paying attention, the Omicron strain that triggered last winter’s massive COVID wave (BA.1) is now extinct. In March, it was supplanted by the even more transmissible BA.2 … which was supplanted in May by the even more transmissible BA.2.12.1 … which is now being supplanted by the (you guessed it) even more transmissible BA.4 and BA.5.

Experts say BA.5 is the one to worry about: “The worst version of the virus that we’ve seen,” as Dr. Eric Topol, the founder of Scripps Research Translational Institute, recently put it. Together, the closely related BA.4 and BA.5 now account for the majority of new U.S. COVID cases, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — but BA.5 (36.6%) is spreading a lot faster than BA.4 (15.7%). By early July, it will be the dominant strain in the U.S.

One has to wonder what this is really all about? We saw over the past two years that it was more about power and control than wise policy based on science and research. Would anyone be surprised if the Powers That Be attempt to create a situation for lots and lots of mail in ballots, ballot harvesting, and the other things they did in 2020? Cheat by mail?

Read: COVID Doom Coming Or Something »

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If All You See…

By William Teach June 30, 2022 – 1:00 pm

…is a sea wall meant to fight off sea rise from man-caused climate change, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Doug Ross @ Journal, with a post on the top 20 tweets.

Read: If All You See… »

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Good News, Supreme Court Rules Against EPA On ‘Climate Change’

By William Teach June 30, 2022 – 11:12 am

This is a pretty big decision, potentially more than the Dobbs decision, as it can seriously impact the administrative state

Supreme Court says EPA does not have authority to set climate standards for power plants

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled the Environmental Protection Agency does not have authority to set standards on climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions for existing power plants.

In its 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court said that Congress, not the EPA has that power.

The court’s ruling on the case affects the federal government’s authority to set standards for planet-warming pollutants like carbon dioxide from existing power plants under the landmark Clean Air Act.

The decision is a major setback for the Biden administration’s agenda to combat climate change, specifically the goal to zero out carbon emissions from power plants by 2035 and cut in half the country’s emissions by the end of the decade.

Yay, Constitutional separation of powers! Congress being the lawmakers, not the Executive branch

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, in the case, known as West Virginia v. the Environmental Protection Agency, which was joined by the Supreme Court’s other five conservative members.

The decision is the first time a majority opinion explicitly cited the so-called major questions doctrine to justify a ruling. That controversial doctrine holds that with issues of major national significance, a regulatory agency must have clear statutory authorization from Congress to take certain actions, and not rely on its general agency authority.

Roberts wrote, “There is little reason to think Congress assigned such decisions” about the regulations in question to the EPA, despite the agency’s belief that “Congress implicitly tasked it, and it alone, with balancing the many vital considerations of national policy implicated in deciding how Americans will get their energy.”

A lot of the articles on this decision are trying to avoid the big part, which is that this decision will apply to all big rules and regulations from Executive branch agencies. Unless they are specifically given the power by a duly passed Legislative branch law, they do not have the power to make big decisions which impact We The People.

Justice Elena Kagan wrote a dissent, which was joined by the court’s two other liberals.

“Today, the Court strips the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the power Congress gave it to respond to ’the most pressing environmental challenge of our time, ” Kagan wrote in that dissent.

“The Court appoints itself — instead of Congress or the expert agency—the decisionmaker on climate policy. I cannot think of many things more frightening,” Kagan wrote.

We are a nation of law, not of men, unlike in Kagan’s world, where the government can do whatever the hell it wants when it wants. The Constitution is the primary method for this, and, it means that Congress must do their job in writing specific laws, rather than vague ones. For instance, Obamacare said not a word about contraception. So, where did the Contraception Mandate come from? Perhaps some minimal language in Ocare, perhaps from some other vague law. Congress needs to give specific authorization. They are the law making branch. That’s their job. Spend less time yammering and complaining and Twittering and posing and stuff. Craft a proper law. Consider in Ocare, Congress abdicated its responsibility in saying what full time was. And how long someone can be without insurance before being penalized. At least in this case they specifically authorized HHS and IRS to make the determination. Congress never authorized EPA to manufacture rules for the climate change scam.

So, yes, this sets a standard for all Executive branch agencies that whatever they want to do needs to be specifically authorized by Congress, at least if it has a major impact on citizen’s lives. This is why all the leftist news agencies and such were saying a few weeks ago

Supreme Court climate case might end regulation

The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision in the coming days or weeks that could curtail EPA’s ability to drive down carbon emissions at power plants.

But it could go much further than that.

Legal experts are waiting to see if the ruling in West Virginia v. EPA begins to chip away at the ability of federal agencies — all of them, not just EPA — to write and enforce regulations. It would foreshadow a power shift with profound consequences, not just for climate policy but virtually everything the executive branch does, from directing air traffic to protecting investors. (snip)

“The broader picture of what may be happening is that the Court is firing a shot across the bow of the regulatory state to say, ‘Stop thinking about new problems or improved solutions to old ones, just think of your job narrowly and imagine yourself back at the time when Congress wrote the enabling statute — even if that was 1970,’” said Sankar, who clerked for Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who retired in 2006.

If Congress wants action, they need to specifically authorize it, not write broad, vague legislation that puts the power in the hands of the Executive Branch, since the job of the Exec branch is to implement legislation, not create all the rules and regs.

Read: Good News, Supreme Court Rules Against EPA On ‘Climate Change’ »

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NY Court Upholds Block Of Natural Gas Power Plant

By William Teach June 30, 2022 – 7:55 am

Well, New Yorkers, you kinda voted for this when you voted in Democrats as the majority, with 106 Dems to 43 Republicans and 1 Independent. When you vote Democrat for Governor, and they appoint people who make sure “dirty” energy (which is reliable, dependable, and affordable) is killed off. Don’t be surprised when your power costs go higher, and it’s unreliable

N.Y. Court Upholds Denial of Air Permit on Climate Change Grounds

A New York trial court’s ruling to uphold a decision by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to deny a natural gas-fired power plant a key air permit on climate-change grounds could have serious consequences. Although the decision remains subject to appeal, if affirmed it will grant enormous power to state agencies to deny permits and other approvals under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), the state’s comprehensive climate change statute.

This decision strongly reinforces the need for all businesses in New York to be aware of the statute’s scope and impact.

The CLCPA is a comprehensive statute that requires the nearly complete decarbonization of New York’s economy by 2050. Among its aggressive requirements are a statutory obligation for the state to obtain 100% of its electricity from emissions-free sources by 2040, and a requirement that the DEC establish statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions limits applicable to all sectors of the economy. (snip)

In 2019, the owner of the Danskammer Generating Station in Newburgh, N.Y., filed an application with the DEC for a new Title V air permit, which would authorize the replacement of its existing natural gas-fired equipment with new, more efficient equipment. On Oct. 27, 2021, the DEC rejected Danskammer’s application on the grounds that the replacement project would increase GHG emissions from the facility (due to more frequent dispatch).

By reaching this decision, the DEC effectively asserted that it has the authority to deny a permit application under Section 7(2) if the proposed action would be inconsistent with or interfere with the statewide GHG emissions limits established under the CLCPA.

So, they just wanted to replace the old equipment with newer, better equipment, which means the existing plant will not be as good, and will have to shut down at some point in the future. What is it being replaced with? No one knows. But, the climate cult must be appeased.

In its decision, the court found that the DEC’s denial of the permit was within the scope of its authority under the CLCPA. While the court acknowledged that Section 7(2) did not expressly authorize regulatory agencies to deny permits, it did not expressly forbid them from doing so, either. It therefore found it necessary to analyze the Legislature’s intent in enacting the law to determine whether agencies have the authority to deny permits under Section 7(2).

Wait, what? This is absurd. If the law didn’t give them the authority to deny permits, that’s it. It doesn’t matter if the law didn’t expressly forbid it. The law must authorize. This is what you get with activist courts. And that’s what you voted for, New Yorkers.

While the case is likely to be appealed, if it were to hold up it would grant to the DEC and other state agencies enormous power to reject permits for any project that they find will materially increase GHG emissions. This would include not just air permits, but other permits issued by the DEC and other agencies, including, but not limited to, wastewater permits, water quality certifications issued under the Clean Water Act, and determinations of consistency with the Coastal Zone Management Act.

If this decision is upheld in federal court, it means that NY state agencies can assume power that was not granted to them. Have fun! And stay in New York if you voted Democrat. Don’t try and escape to states that do not have these problems.

Read: NY Court Upholds Block Of Natural Gas Power Plant »

Posted in AGW Socialism, Energy, Global Warming | 7 Comments | Trackback URL

Consumer Expectations Falls To 9 Year Low

By William Teach June 30, 2022 – 7:33 am

Who was president 9 years ago? And who was the VP?

Consumer expectations fall to 9-year low as inflation weighs on Americans

The Conference Board’s latest reading on consumer confidence showed consumer expectations in June fell to their lowest level since 2013.

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for June fell to 98.7 from 103.2 in May, below expectations for a reading of 100.

The report’s expectations index, which is based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income growth, the job market, and overall business conditions, fell to 66.4, its lowest reading since March 2013.

“Consumers’ grimmer outlook was driven by increasing concerns about inflation, in particular rising gas and food prices,” said Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “Expectations have now fallen well below a reading of 80, suggesting weaker growth in the second half of 2022 as well as growing risk of recession by year-end.”

The Conference Board’s report follows consumer sentiment data from the University of Michigan released last week that fell to a record low of 50.2.

Expectations went way down during the recession at the end of the Bush admin, rebounded a bit during Obama’s years, with some bumps here and there, a small dip at the beginning of the Trump admin, then went up and stayed rather high. Initially, it stayed up as Biden took office after COVID, and has been nosediving since near the end of 2021. Can Biden control everything? No. Again, the initial blame for the economic conditions goes to China, with an assist from Fauci and the NIH for funding the Wuhan Institute to do gain of function research on coronaviruses. However, Biden and his admin are not engaged in what’s going on. They seem to be finding out what’s going on when the news publishes stories, then say “oh, we knew about this months ago”, yet, did nothing. Offered no help. They aren’t working to get ahead of the curve. They wait till the ships are stacked up in the California ports, the baby formula is missing from the shelf. The gas prices are sky high.

And they project zero confidence. Only a diehard Brandon supporter will say they have confidence in him and his administration. There’s no policies that help being offered. The few they’ve gotten passed haven’t helped, and, have made inflation worse. What’s happening with the “infrastructure” bill? Look it up, there’s no news, really, of its impacts? What’s being constructed? What roads are being repaired?

On Tuesday, The Conference Board said purchasing plans for large items like homes, cars, and appliances had held “relatively steady,” though this data has cooled since the start of the year.

“Looking ahead over the next six months, consumer spending and economic growth are likely to continue facing strong headwinds from further inflation and rate hikes,” Franco said.

And limited product availability. I’ll say that Biden has no responsibility himself for the dearth of autos: China’s fault, with the shutting down of all the production and mining facilities. We saw the issues of computer chips, and, there was only so much Biden could do. How about fast tracking the mining and production in the U.S.?

Read: Consumer Expectations Falls To 9 Year Low »

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The World Will Need To Invent Lots Of Things To Deal With Climate Crisis (scam) Or Something

By William Teach June 29, 2022 – 4:28 pm

None of these things really exist yet, just like how most of the current things aren’t viable. But, really, we don’t need any unicorn farts and pixie dust, the solution is right there: all who believe that the slight temperature increase since 1850 is mostly/solely the fault of Mankind needs to give up their own use of fossil fuels, stop eating meat, live in tiny homes, AC no lower than 85, heat no higher than 65, handwash and line dry clothes, etc

The world will need dozens of breakthrough climate technologies in the next decade

We’re living in a pivotal decade. By 2030, global emissions must fall by half, mostly through massive deployment of commercial solutions such as wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicles. But emerging climate technologies must come to market during this decade too, even if they don’t make much of a dent in emissions right away. The International Energy Agency forecasts that roughly half the reductions needed to cut emissions to nearly zero by 2050 must come from technologies that are not ready for the market today because they’re too expensive to manufacture, haven’t been tested at scale, or both.

Only a handful of clean technologies, such as silicon solar panels, onshore wind turbines, light- emitting diodes (LEDs), and lithium-ion batteries, have graduated from scientific laboratories to mass deployment. And it took decades for them to reach a scale where they could significantly reduce global emissions. Those timelines must be compressed for the world to have a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C above preindustrial levels, which world leaders agreed at last year’s Glasgow Climate Conference would offer the best chance of avoiding catastrophic effects.

And, let’s be honest: most of those technologies really do not provide the power necessary, and have been around for a long time. Solar panels now aren’t much better than ones from 50 years ago.

Clean energy technologies in the electric power, transportation, industry, and building sectors will drive this change, because the use of fossil fuels in these areas causes three-quarters of global greenhouse-gas emissions. We’ll also need technologies to slash emissions from agriculture and deforestation and to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it. Most of these technologies, however, come with what Bill Gates refers to as a high “green premium”—a measurement of the difference in cost between a clean option and a carbon- intensive one. In other words, clean energy technologies often cost more to use.

Most of the rich elite Warmists pushing this do not care, they can afford it. The average person can’t.

So how do you speed innovation? One way is by promising future customer demand. This gives innovators and investors an incentive to scale up unproven technologies and find ways to rapidly cut costs in the process. The First Movers Coalition, launched by President Joe Biden and John Kerry, the US special presidential envoy for climate (and my boss), along with the World Economic Forum, includes over 50 of the world’s largest companies, which have all made commitments to purchase emerging climate technologies by 2030. These include clean fuels to decarbonize shipping and aviation, decarbonized steel and aluminum, zero-emissions trucks, and advanced technologies to suck carbon out of the atmosphere.

In other words, government will promise they will force citizens to be consumers, whether the citizens like it or not. Surprise!

Read: The World Will Need To Invent Lots Of Things To Deal With Climate Crisis (scam) Or Something »

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If All You See…

By William Teach June 29, 2022 – 2:52 pm

…is an area flooded by carbon pollution, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Diogenes’ Middle Finger, with a post on the Saudis giving Biden the finger.

Read: If All You See… »

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California To Send Out Inflation Relief Check, Increasing Inflation

By William Teach June 29, 2022 – 10:30 am

This is meant to fight high gas prices. What happens when you “prime the pump” with even more stimulus during times of inflation? You get more inflation. Which doesn’t matter to the Democrats in Sacramento, they see a way to buy the support of Californians come election time, because most of the electeds are rich and the inflation doesn’t bother them

Millions of Californians to receive ‘inflation relief’ with gas tax rebate checks

Millions of California taxpayers may get thousands of dollars to help combat the high cost of gas and other goods.

The money will be distributed soon as California Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders reached an agreement over the framework for the 2022-23 state budget, Newsom’s office announced Sunday.

About 23 million eligible Californians could each receive payments of up to $1,050 as part of a $17 billion inflation relief package, the governor’s office said in a news release.

“California’s budget addresses the state’s most pressing needs, and prioritizes getting dollars back into the pockets of millions of Californians who are grappling with global inflation and rising prices of everything from gas to groceries,” Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon said in the release.

The deal comes as California drivers face the highest gas prices in the nation as the average price for a gallon of gas in the state Monday is $6.32, according to AAA, nearly 30% higher than the national average. Newsom first proposed a gas tax refund in March.

California has a budget surplus of $97 billion. They could use it to build a couple of gas refineries, which would bring gas prices down. Obviously not immediately, but, even signalling there would be construction would signal to the market to bring it down. But, the money is not just going to vehicle owners, but, everyone who fits the demographic. Which means demand for goods and services rise, chasing limited goods and services, which increases the prices.

(Sacramento Bee) The “inflation relief” package championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic legislative leaders could have the opposite effect, pushing inflation — now at its higher level in 40 years — even higher, top economists say.

“One-off tax holidays or rebates which put more money in people’s pockets without doing anything to boost supply are inflationary,” said Jared Walczak, vice president of state projects at the Tax Foundation, a Washington-based research group.

The Bee contacted economists familiar with California. All but one saw the plan as having the possibility of adding to inflation.

“Any increases in government spending will generally increase inflationary pressures,” said Michael Shires, associate professor of public policy at Pepperdine University.

During normal times, send refund checks back to taxpayers from the surplus would be a good idea. It’s not normal. But, Californians vote for these types of leftist crazies who do not understand Real World Economics, so, enjoy!

Read: California To Send Out Inflation Relief Check, Increasing Inflation »

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Portland Is Taking On Climate Doom Causing Concrete

By William Teach June 29, 2022 – 7:15 am

It would probably be in Portland’s best interest to take on things like their rising crime rate. Neighborhood Scout rates them as a 3, meaning they are safer than just 3% of U.S. cities. That is not good. Not good at all. They’re still down a lot of police officers, and more are leaving. The constant violent protests. The massive homelessness. And so much more. No, they go with

How Portland is fighting climate change by tackling concrete

unintended consequencesWith concrete used throughout the city of Portland, city staff and leaders are re-thinking how concrete usage impacts the city’s carbon footprint.

According to an announcement by the city, chief engineers from Portland’s infrastructure bureaus approved recommendations to add specific concrete requirements for all city construction projects.

The recommendation is apart of Portland’s commitment to climate action and climate leadership, added the press release.

“Most of us don’t think much about the concrete beneath our feet,” said Stacey Foreman, who leads the project as the city’s sustainable procurement program manager. “As the most widely used building material in the world, it has a significant environmental impact. Portland is a leader in establishing these thresholds and in our approach of bringing multiple stakeholders together to develop them.”

The city explained that the largest component of concrete is cement. This means cement production alone generates 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the announcement.

So, what are they going to do?

“When considering all city projects that use concrete, the annual reduction is significant. The city uses concrete for a high volume of projects, including sidewalks and ADA ramps, bicycle and pedestrian paths, fire hydrant pads, retaining walls for parks, and large infrastructure projects such as the Water Bureau’s Bull Run filtration facility and the Bureau of Environmental Services’ wastewater and stormwater infrastructure,” said the press release. “By adopting higher sustainability standards for concrete, bureaus will accelerate their use of concrete that is durable and that has been manufactured with lower climate impacts.”

So, more sustainable blah blah blah. You know what this really means? More expensive construction. It is already super expensive in Portland. This will drive up the cost of driveways and home foundations. And lots of little things, like the pad an AC sits on. And then the price of public works. Oh, and then commercial buildings, for which the companies will simply build outside of the city limits. Eroding the tax base. Good job, Warmists.

Read: Portland Is Taking On Climate Doom Causing Concrete »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Global Warming | 10 Comments | Trackback URL
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