Washington Post Is Super Bummed That The Social Cost Of Carbon Is Going Away Under Trump

By William Teach February 6, 2025 – 3:01 pm

I’ll write it again: people thought I was nuts back in the early 2000’s when I said the whole global warming, now ‘climate change’, movement was a grift that was meant to increase the power of government. That it is about authoritarianism. And this is just more proof that I was completely correct from my little perch

The most important number you’ve never heard of was just gutted

With the deluge of executive orders in the initial weeks of the second Trump administration, an important directive flew under the radar. It requires the federal government to consider abandoning “the social cost of carbon,” potentially undercutting all climate policymaking.

That is a technical way of signaling something simple and false: Climate change is not real. If the social cost of carbon is treated as zero, then greenhouse gas emissions inflict no damage. Regulations that reduce those emissions have no benefits, which suggests that those regulations should be eliminated.

The social cost of carbon has often been described as the most important number you’ve never heard of. The metric is meant to capture the harm caused by a ton of carbon emissions, making it a foundation of national climate change policy. A lower value would justify weaker regulations, while a higher one would warrant more aggressive policies.

Under the Obama administration, in which I served, the social cost of carbon was relatively modest: around $50. As the Government Accountability Office found, the interagency process that led to that valuation was emphatically apolitical. The calculation, whose use was upheld in federal court, helped support numerous regulations involving fuel economy, energy efficiency and power plants.

At the end of the day, though, this is a control on you. This was always something meant for government to put a control on you peasants, via taxation/fees and restriction mandates. Not for the elites, of course. And it has always smacked of Modern Socialism (you can call it communism, Marxism, Fascism, whatever). China loves this type of stuff.

President Donald Trump’s executive order presents a dramatic shift and a potentially lawless abandonment of the whole enterprise.

But, nowhere can this opinion piece point to what law was potentially broken. Because there is none. Guidance from OMB is not law.

The simplest reason to use the global figure is moral. If one country is imposing harms on another, its policymaking should take those harms into account. Morality aside, leading economists have insisted that the global number, or something close to it, is the right choice for the United States’ self-interest, too.

If it is so immoral to not do the communist cost of carbon, why do so few Warmists practice what they preach?

There’s a lot that can be done to rethink the social cost of carbon, but one thing is clear: The U.S. government cannot treat that number as if it is zero. Climate change is real. No president, and no federal agency, has the authority to pretend otherwise.

Yes, it can. Trump won. When Obama won we were told to sit down and shut up. Same with Biden. Well, elections have consequences. Suck it up, Comrades.

Read: Washington Post Is Super Bummed That The Social Cost Of Carbon Is Going Away Under Trump »

Posted in AGW Socialism, Global Warming | 9 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

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

…is a mud pit from too much carbon pollution driven extreme weather, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Watts Up With That?, with a post on solar farms and bird deaths.

Read: If All You See… »

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Reuters: Hey, Is DOGE Going After Government Waste Legal?

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

I was intending to do something different, maybe illegal immigration or terrorism, but, this is beyond batguano insane, and you almost only need the first paragraph

Explainer – Is Elon Musk’s government efficiency drive legal?

Elon Musk is testing the limits of legal and ethical restrictions on the role of special advisers in U.S. presidential administrations, according to some legal experts and lawmakers who oppose the billionaire’s mission against what he deems wasteful government spending.

Think about that: these legal “experts” and lawmakers (meaning Democrats) are against reigning in government waste, against not using your forcibly taken hard-earned money for idiocy, graft, scams, and their own personal beliefs. They think you are their personal piggy bank, and they can take that money for whatever the hell they want for this and that and the other, all over the US and world. And their pockets. Perhaps Reuters should have asked We The People how we feel about the government doing all the nutty things they do with our money. About wasting it.

The White House says Musk is a special government employee, meaning he does not get paid and is only allowed to work 130 days or fewer in a year. He is subject to some but not all conflict-of-interest and ethics rules for federal employees.

Legal experts disagree over whether Musk’s widening role in government means he needs to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a cabinet officer. Generally, officials who report directly to the president and enjoy high levels of autonomy over major decisions need to be Senate-confirmed.

I wish I could find an article I read yesterday, which discussed how no one was questioning John Kerry’s role, at least legally, as he was in the same position as Musk, a special government employee. Which is fully legal. Presidents have the legal ability to do this.

Some lawmakers, legal experts and advocacy groups say Musk has no authority to shut down or interfere with the work of agencies set up and funded by Congress.

Did Kerry have the authority to negotiate climate (scam) agreements? Yes, he actually did, for better or worse. You won’t find one thing in my archive saying what he was doing was not legal.

That order mandated it to modernize federal technology and software “to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity,” but Musk and his aides appear to be doing much more than simply making recommendations.

Musk’s actions have already sparked multiple lawsuits. Public interest groups sued DOGE alleging its structure violated fairness and transparency rules, and government employee unions have sued to block the Treasury Department from disclosing their personal and financial information to DOGE.

Some legal experts and government ethics groups say Musk may be violating at least three privacy laws: the Federal Information Security Management Act, the Privacy Act and section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Service code.

They’re throwing everything at the wall in order to stop DOGE from stopping the government from wasting your money. Have they really considered their position on this? One comment under the article reads

If you are writing an article on this and not the corruption, you may be part of the problem. How/Why do civil servants get wealthy. The salary is a comfortable salary. How are they millionaires?? You can argue what you like, but we have problems in America that need to be solved first. We should be aiding the homeless, aiding the poor, trying fix the education system. Our infrastructure too.

There was a time when people said “you don’t go into government, into being a public servant, or the money, though the benefits are great. You go in because you want to help people.” Nowadays they go in for the money, the even better benefits, and the power. They aren’t trying to help Americans, they’re trying to help themselves and take taxpayer money for their own beliefs and benefits. Not all. Some, maybe most, are good people, at least not doing shady things. Americans have complained about the inefficiency of government for decades and decades. About it wasting money. We got rid of earmarks. And now the money is even worse.

If your kid or spouse were taking money from your wallet and then wasting it, would that be acceptable?

Read: Reuters: Hey, Is DOGE Going After Government Waste Legal? »

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Judge Deals NJ Climate Shakedown Suit Mostly Fatal Blow

By William Teach February 6, 2025 – 7:15 am

Obviously, this doesn’t mean the the climate cult will give up. They never do

NJ lawsuit claiming oil companies cause climate change dealt massive blow in court

The climate change movement was issued a massive blow on Wednesday after a trial judge permanently closed a Democrat-charged lawsuit claiming that big oil was to blame for climate-caused damages in the state.

In 2022, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin filed a lawsuit against the country’s largest oil companies, ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66, Shell, as well as the American Petroleum Institute, claiming that the fossil fuel industry was worsening the effects of climate change, and therefore, causing damage to the state.

However, the case was tossed out on Wednesday by New Jersey Superior Court Judge Douglas Hurd, who ruled that lawful oil companies could not be held liable for worldwide emissions. The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be reopened.

“Plaintiffs seek to regulate the nationwide—and even worldwide—marketing and distribution of lawful products on which billions of people outside of New Jersey rely to heat their homes, power their hospitals and schools, produce and transport their food, and manufacture countless items essential to the safety, wellbeing, and advancement of modern society,” said Hurd, who issued the ruling.

Essentially, NJ cannot seek damages for nationwide and international emissions, as their claims cannot be governed by NJ state laws.

“Because Plaintiffs seek damages for alleged harms caused by interstate and international emissions and global warming, their claims cannot be governed by state law. Under our federal constitutional system, states cannot use their laws to resolve claims seeking redress for injuries allegedly caused by out-of-state and worldwide emissions,” Hurd said in the decision.

This suit is done, but, you can bet that the Warmists in NJ will try their climalawfare in some other way.

Read: Judge Deals NJ Climate Shakedown Suit Mostly Fatal Blow »

Posted in Collapsing Science, Global Warming | 5 Comments | Trackback URL

Bummer: DOGE Going After Medicaid And Medicare

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

Obviously, this will make Democrats very upset, but, what if DOGE finds lots and lots of, let’s just call it mismanagement? And they find lots of extra money which can go into helping Americans rather than graft fraud theft shady mismanagement?

DOGE officials home in on Medicare, Medicaid offices

Representatives of billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have turned their focus to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency confirmed Wednesday.

It was unclear which systems DOGE had access to and whether any sensitive medical information was part of the efforts.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Wednesday that DOGE aides had been granted access to key payment and contract systems.

“CMS has two senior Agency veterans – one focused on policy and one focused on operations – who are leading the collaboration with DOGE, including ensuring appropriate access to CMS systems and technology,” the agency said in a statement. “We are taking a thoughtful approach to see where there may be opportunities for more effective and efficient use of resources in line with meeting the goals of President Trump.”

The CMS is essentially the federal government’s insurance provider. The agency sets payment rates for doctors, hospitals and insurers, while also overseeing Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Affordable Care Act — programs that provide coverage for more than 150 million people.

As The Hill points out, CMS spent $1.5 trillion in 2024, which is 22% of the federal budget. Was it all on the up and up? Was there waste? Overspending? Paying employees way to much? Moving money to where it doesn’t help? Expenditures that do not help Americans with medicine but enrich some pockets? Even if it is just $100 million, that can go far, right?

“Obviously, everybody’s private health information needs to become private, but I think they need access and to see where we can be more efficient, effective. There’s a lot of money been spent by CMS,” House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) told reporters Wednesday.

This is just one step in auditing the entire federal government.

Read: Bummer: DOGE Going After Medicaid And Medicare »

Posted in Donald Trump, GOP, Government | 14 Comments | Trackback URL

Your Fault: Diabetes Is Skyrocketing Due To Global Boiling

By William Teach February 5, 2025 – 3:10 pm

It couldn’t possibly be due to poor eating habits and such, right? It has to be because you drive a fossil fueled vehicle, eat meat, and have an ice maker in your fridge

Climate change is worsening diabetes worldwide

…

As heat-trapping gases cause the climate to warm, one often overlooked consequence of extreme heat is its impact on people with diabetes mellitus: 830 million people globally, 101 million of them in India.

The most common forms of diabetes are type 1 and type 2. In type 1, the immune system attacks the pancreas, producing little to no insulin. Type 2 diabetes, which is more prevalent, occurs when the body’s cells become resistant to insulin, and the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin to meet the body’s needs.

World Health Organization data shows diabetes has skyrocketed by 315% since 1990, with cases surging in low- and middle-income countries. A 2017 study indicated that rising heat may explain some of that rise, perhaps by reducing the activity of a certain kind of fat. The researchers found that a one-degree Celsius rise in temperature could cause over 100,000 new diabetes cases annually in the U.S. alone.

In 2021, more than 2 million people worldwide died from diabetes and related kidney diseases, and more than half those affected by diabetes did not take medications in 2022. Still more could suffer as global warming exacerbates the disease. One study found that in a high-emission scenario, China’s heat-related diabetes mortality could multiply eightfold by the 2090s.

Could. May. In other words, they do not know. They’re just scaremongering. Because that’s what they do.

Climate change target of 2C is ‘dead’, says renowned climate scientist

The pace of global heating has been significantly underestimated, according to renowned climate scientist Prof James Hansen, who said the international 2C target is “dead”.

A new analysis by Hansen and colleagues concludes that both the impact of recent cuts in sun-blocking shipping pollution, which has raised temperatures, and the sensitivity of the climate to increasing fossil fuels emissions are greater than thought.

The group’s results are at the high end of estimates from mainstream climate science but cannot be ruled out, independent experts said. If correct, they mean even worse extreme weather will come sooner and there is a greater risk of passing global tipping points, such as the collapse of the critical Atlantic ocean currents.

Just leave us alone.

Read: Your Fault: Diabetes Is Skyrocketing Due To Global Boiling »

Posted in AGW Scaremongering, Global Warming | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See….

By William Teach February 5, 2025 – 1:00 pm

…is tundra melting in the 51st state from big fossil fueled vehicles, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Flopping Aces, with a post on how not to say I love America.

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Posted in If All You See | 19 Comments | Trackback URL

5,000 Of 13,000 FBI Agents Were Involved In J6 Investigations

By William Teach February 5, 2025 – 10:30 am

All for this

Instead of dealing with serious crimes, they went after grandmas who casually walked through the People’s House

FBI turns over details of 5,000 employees who worked on January 6 cases to Trump Justice Department, as agents sue

FBI officials have complied with demands to provide the Justice Department with details of thousands of employees who worked on investigations related to the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot, according to people familiar with the situation.

The demand has caused consternation among FBI employees who fear it is meant to amass a list of personnel for possible termination by the Trump administration.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, in a Friday memo with the subject line “Terminations,” had given FBI officials a noon deadline Tuesday to submit the details of thousands of agents and analysts. Bove previously ordered the firing of eight senior FBI officials, including those who oversaw cyber, national security and criminal investigations.

More than 5,000 employee details were submitted, including employee ID numbers, job titles and their role in the January 6 investigations, sources said, but not their names. There are more than 13,000 agents and 38,000 total FBI employees.

How many failed to go after violent gang members, like all those Ten De Aragua illegals let in by the Biden-Harris admin? Or illegals who are murderers? Or those people who firebombed the Portland Justice Center during the 2020 mostly peaceful protests? And, not one J6er was actually charged with insurrection. Maybe they would have been able to stop the New Orleans jihadi had they focused on actual bad people.

I wonder what they will say? That they were “just following orders?” This is why the FBI needs to be restructured: it’s a wholly leftist political agency.

Read: 5,000 Of 13,000 FBI Agents Were Involved In J6 Investigations »

Posted in Current Affairs | 13 Comments | Trackback URL

Bummer: Killing USAID Is Bad For ‘Climate Change’

By William Teach February 5, 2025 – 7:00 am

BTW, Trump has all the authority needed to kill the program, since it was created by Jimmy Carter with an Executive Order. Which means Trump creating DOGE is just fine

Ending USAID climate programs could increase security risks

The axing of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which Elon Musk has vowed to “kill” with President Trump’s support, could destabilize regions where human-caused climate change is hitting particularly hard.

Why it matters: By ending humanitarian assistance and proactive climate resilience and adaptation programs, the U.S. military could get pulled into responding to more future crises.

Experts tell Axios that axing the agency completely, or even significantly downsizing it, would have security implications when it comes to climate change.

I don’t. Especially since we all know that most of the money will never end up where it is supposed to go. It’ll go in lots of people’s pockets. It’s a slush fund.

Zoom in: According to archived versions of USAID’s websites, the agency helps countries cut their emissions, conserve carbon-rich tropical rainforests and rely more on renewable energy sources.

“Climate change affects nearly everything we do at USAID,” its climate page stated as of Jan. 17, according to the Internet Wayback Machine.

“As such, the Agency mainstreams climate change considerations across much of our development and humanitarian assistance work.”

Don’t care. Time for USAID to die, and move on to all sorts of other agencies to cut.

What they’re saying: Curtailing USAID is “going to add substantially to the instability in these volatile regions, because vulnerable populations will be doing without,” Sherri Goodman, a senior fellow at the Wilson Center and board chair at the Council on Strategic Risks, told Axios.

Let them get their own money.

Also the cult

Read: Bummer: Killing USAID Is Bad For ‘Climate Change’ »

Posted in Collapsing Science, Global Warming | 10 Comments | Trackback URL

Hmm: Trump Says Will Level, Rebuild, And Own Gaza Strip

By William Teach February 5, 2025 – 6:45 am

I’m really not sure how I feel about this idea. Good one? Bad one? Mixed? Do we really want to get that involved? Would be allowed to? Who pays for it? We should certainly rebuild Western NC, the fire area of California, and Maui (believe it or not, only 3 homes have been rebuilt of over 3,000, thanks to Democrat policies) before Gaza.

‘Level it’: Trump says US will ‘take over’ Gaza strip and rebuild it to stabilize Middle East

The U.S. will “take over the Gaza strip,” level it and rebuild the area, President Donald Trump said during a press conference Tuesday evening after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump said Tuesday evening in a joint press conference with Netanyahu. “We’ll own it, and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous, unexplored bombs and other weapons on the site.”

“Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area,” he said. “Do a real job. Do something different. Just can’t go back. If you go back, it’s going to end up the same way it has for 100 years.” (snip)

“I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East, and maybe the entire Middle East,” Trump said. “And everybody I’ve spoken to — this was not a decision made lightly — everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land. Developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent in a really magnificent area that nobody would know. Nobody can look because all they see is death and destruction and rubble.”

If Trump could make it happen (and where’s the money coming from?), would it work? It sounds like there would have to be a large military presence, effectively a military outpost, to make sure Iran wasn’t sending in material to make military weapons and bombs, and to keep the Palestinians from going terrorist.

Netanyahu lauded Trump’s tenacity and ability “to think outside the box” during his comments to the press.

“Your willingness to puncture conventional thinking, thinking that has failed time and time and time again, your willingness to think outside the box with fresh ideas, will help us achieve all these goals,” he said. “And I’ve seen you do this many times. You cut to the chase. You see things others refuse to see. You say things others refuse to say, you know. And after the jaws drop, people scratch their heads and they say, you know, he’s right.”

Would the Palestinians be living there? We keep being told how nice Gaza was prior to Israel bombing it back to the stone age after October 7th: what would keep them from doing the same old same old? But, you know, maybe it’s time to try something different. The naysayers will say “you can’t do that!”, to which the response should be “what’s your plan?”

Read: Hmm: Trump Says Will Level, Rebuild, And Own Gaza Strip »

Posted in Donald Trump, RoP | 14 Comments | Trackback URL
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