Republicans Pounce: Biden Fights To Say Inflation Is No Big Deal

By William Teach June 28, 2021 – 7:56 am

How dare Republicans fight back against Sleepy Joe! That never happens in politics! Democrats never fought Trump

Inflation summer vs. recovery summer: Biden fights to win the narrative

President Joe Biden faces a daunting task over the summer months: convincing Americans struggling to return to a normal life that rising prices on everything from gasoline and food to airline tickets won’t last.

Republicans — seeing a potential repeat of President Barack Obama’s “Recovery Summer” of 2010 when the economy suddenly backslid after emerging from the Great Recession — have used the price spikes to attack the administration’s big-spending plans and response to the pandemic.

That will put pressure on the White House to go all out in the coming months to convince the American people that despite recent setbacks, including lower-than-expected job gains, the economy is on the right path.

Employment growth may be disappointing to some economists, but Biden officials note that wages are rising. Inflation is hitting consumers, but the Federal Reserve considers it transitory. Homeowners may have to wait months for furniture and appliance deliveries, but that’s because the economy is roaring back faster than predicted. And the administration wants to pour trillions more into the economy, with child-care options, free pre-school and other benefits for workers, especially at the lower end of the income scale.

In fairness, there’s a lot of stuff going on that would be exactly the same had Trump been re-elected. Cars would still be in short supply, as would so many other products. The difference is that Trump would be working to make the economy better, rather than trying to put more and more regulations in place, attempting to enable confidence in a recovery. Joe is just Joe, not really sure what’s going on. But, is anyone surprised that Politico is making this more about Republicans Pouncing?

‘Spray and Pray’: Republicans ramp up attacks on Biden on … everything

Early in Joe Biden’s presidency, Republicans openly conceded how poor a target he was for them. Their hits on the president simply weren’t sticking.

That hasn’t, however, kept Republicans from swinging away. Biden is far and away the GOP’s No. 1 villain on Facebook, according to an analysis conducted by the Democratic-leaning communications agency Bully Pulpit for POLITICO.

Over the last three months, Republicans and affiliated groups and committees have spent nearly $2.5 million trying to paint Biden and his priorities in a negative light. That’s more than three times what they’ve spent on Facebook ads targeting other leading Democrats — from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and former President Barack Obama — and issues like socialism, fake news, and “defund the police” combined. POLITICO opted to review the last three months of data, after Facebook lifted the ban on political ads on its U.S. platform.

But there has not been a consistent theme to the anti-Biden spots. The attack lines getting pushed most on the right go after Biden’s massive infrastructure push, his call for raising taxes, dark money groups that support his agenda, his position on guns and the rise of gun violence in U.S. cities, according to Bully Pulpit’s analysis. The conservative outfit Americans for Prosperity is leading the online barrage against Biden, with spots on infrastructure, taxes and the American Jobs Plan. The National Rifle Association has run online ads targeting Biden on guns, claiming that the “Biden Political Machine [will] dismantle the 2nd Amendment.”

Democrats, including Politico, spent the entire four years of Trump’s presidency attacking him on everything, including personal stuff. I don’t remember Politico’s complaints on that, on the ginned up “crime” investigations against Trump, his family, and his businesses. Why would Republicans not spend way more money attacking Biden than Pelosi, AOC, Sanders, and Obama? Good thing the Credentialed Media is there to protect Biden.

If the economy was doing so great, would Sleepy Joe and his people need to work overtime to convince people that the economy was great?

Read: Republicans Pounce: Biden Fights To Say Inflation Is No Big Deal »

Posted in Joe Biden, Wonky Media | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

If You Can’t Reach The IRS By Phone It’s Your Fault For Driving A Fossil Fueled Vehicle

By William Teach June 27, 2021 – 3:00 pm

This is a new bit of climacrazy from a Warmist

Can’t Reach The IRS By Phone? Blame Climate Change

John Sheeley couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He was listening to brand new IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig deliver a keynote address at a tax conference in the summer of 2019. Commissioner Rettig told the group of tax professionals that, in addition to the obvious staff shortages and budget cuts, another reason calls to the IRS were going unanswered was the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA). According to Commissioner Rettig IRS phone representatives are cross-trained to answer phones for FEMA in the event of a natural disaster. Indeed entire IRS call centers can be reallocated from the IRS to FEMA when necessary. While that’s good news for those needing to reach FEMA during or immediately after a natural disaster it’s terrible news for an already chronically beleaguered IRS, taxpayers, and tax practitioners.

This is your fault, you know. All that Bad Weather is your fault. Thanks a lot.

One of the lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic was that while it is never cost effective to have resources simply sitting on hold in the event of an emergency it is prudent to do so. While permanently increasing FEMA’s number of telephone assistors to the number required during a severe and/or prolonged disaster may not be possible or even desirable, given the increasing pace and severity of meteorological events such as wildfires, hurricanes, polar vortex episodes, etc. it may be prudent to provide some level of permanent increase to the agency’s current number of telephone assistors. Additionally, if Congress continues to pass new tax legislation with immediate and/or retroactive effects they should probably also consider the effects on IRS phone centers and maybe, just maybe, consider cross training some other agency’s phone team (the Social Security Administration possibly?) to handle FEMA-related overload. Of course, it’s just a suggestion.

And the solution is to hire even more federal employees to answer phones. But of course!

Realistically, FEMA shouldn’t be that big, they are there just to coordinate emergency responses between different states, like how you’ll get power employees going to other states after a big ice storm or hurricane, as well as between state, county, local, and private sector to the federal government. Not to be in control or the primary agency in charge.

Read: If You Can’t Reach The IRS By Phone It’s Your Fault For Driving A Fossil Fueled Vehicle »

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

If All You See…

By William Teach June 27, 2021 – 1:00 pm

…are mountains which will be our last refuge from sea rise, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Blazing Cat Fur, with a post wonder why it’s not just property when it comes to the George Floyd statue.

It’s golf week!

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach June 27, 2021 – 9:15 am

Patriotic Pinup

Happy Sunday! Another fine day in the Once and Future Nation of America. The Sun is shining, the ducks are honking, and my fishtank is starting to get back to normal after daily water changes (suffering from old tank syndrome). I really do not want to have to empty a 20 gallon tank and start over. This pinup is by K.O. Munson, with a wee bit of help.

What is happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. The New American notes that Derek Chauvins sentence is double the guidelines
  2. Sister Toldjah covers John Kennedy giving Sleepy Joe a fact check on crime
  3. DC Clothesline says “Delta variant” is another way of saying vaccine injury
  4. Diogenes’ Middle Finger says Joe is like Don Quixote on a 3 legged donkey
  5. Doug Ross has the “Only White Rage In America” edition
  6. Free North Carolina wonders who will be the target with “domestic terrorism”
  7. Geller Report News covers Palestinian terrorists trying to attack an Israeli Pride parade
  8. Gen Z Conservative notes Gen Milley defending teaching CRT, while Sec Defense claims it’s not being taught
  9. IOTW Report features a defund the police politician asking for special police protection at his home
  10. Irons In The Fire says we should know who killed Ashli Babbitt
  11. Jihad Watch highlights pro-Jihad activists in Boston screaming at a pro-Israel activist
  12. Legal Insurrection covers polling showing the failure of the “America is racist” crowd
  13. Moonbattery features a profile on COVID hypocrisy
  14. Nocturnal Lives lists all the books he’s written, which, strangely, I did not realize all these years with the blog on my feedreader. I’ll be checking them out since I love science fiction, you should too
  15. And last, but not least, Pacific Pundit features AOC whining that she’s taller than Marjorie Taylor Greene

As always, the full set of pinups can be seen in the Patriotic Pinup category, or over at my Gallery page (nope, that’s gone, the newest Apache killed access, and the program hasn’t been upgraded since 2014). While we are on pinups, since it is that time of year, have you gotten your “Pinups for Vets” calendar yet? And don’t forget to check out what I declare to be our War on Women Rule 5 and linky luv posts and things that interest me.

Don’t forget to check out all the other great material all the linked blogs have!

Anyone else have a link or hotty-fest going on? Let me know so I can add you to the list. And do you have a favorite blog you can recommend be added to the feedreader?

Read: Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup »

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Sleepy Joe Walks Back His Infrastructure Comments Or Something

By William Teach June 27, 2021 – 8:11 am

Generally, when a politician walks something back it’s because they told their version of the truth, they said what they believe, and are now trying to make up Excuses

Biden: Infrastructure vow was not intended to be veto threat

spite house Aiming to preserve a fragile bipartisan deal on infrastructure, President Joe Biden endorsed it “without hesitation” Saturday, walking back from a threat to veto it if Congress also didn’t pass an even larger package to expand the social safety net.

Biden said he didn’t mean to suggest in earlier remarks that he would veto the nearly $1 trillion infrastructure bill unless Congress also passed a broader package of investments that he and fellow Democrats aim to approve along party lines, the two together totaling some $4 trillion.

Speaking on Thursday moments after fulfilling his hopes of reaching a bipartisan accord, Biden appeared to put the deal in jeopardy with his comment that the infrastructure bill would have to move in “tandem” with the larger bill.

Yeah, that’s what he did mean to say. He gave comments to this effect multiple times Thursday. Even his dementia wouldn’t mean he did not mean what he said

By Saturday, Biden was seeking to clarify those comments, after his top negotiators Steve Ricchetti and Louisa Terrell worked to assure senators that Biden remained enthusiastic about the deal.

“My comments also created the impression that I was issuing a veto threat on the very plan I had just agreed to, which was certainly not my intent,” Biden said in a statement.

“I intend to pursue the passage of that plan, which Democrats and Republicans agreed to on Thursday, with vigor,” Biden added. “It would be good for the economy, good for our country, good for our people. I fully stand behind it without reservation or hesitation.”

Senate Republicans should demand an immediate vote on it, see if Joe and the Senate Democrats will go for that. A straight line vote on passage, without amendments, without adding pork (more pork), without adding Joe “people infrastructure” stuff back in. Of course, Pelosi and other House Democrats are saying they will add all that stuff back in and then want it passed during reconciliation of the House and Senate versions passed (merging them), by the voting method of reconciliation, if you know what I mean. Will Joe go for that, or stick by his walked back words on passage of the original bipartisan version?

Biden was set to travel on Tuesday to Wisconsin for the first stop on a nationwide tour to promote the infrastructure package, the White House said.

Where he will walk back his walked back comments, most likely, in order to placate his unhinged voting base

The two measures were always expected to move together through Congress: the bipartisan plan and a second bill that would advance under special rules allowing for passage solely with majority Democrats votes and is now swelling to $6 trillion. Biden reiterated that was his plan on Saturday, but said he was not conditioning one on the other.

“So to be clear,” his statement said, “our bipartisan agreement does not preclude Republicans from attempting to defeat my Families Plan; likewise, they should have no objections to my devoted efforts to pass that Families Plan and other proposals in tandem.”

That doesn’t really sound like he was walking anything back, does it? It sounds like he’s setting it up for voting on both, and see why one will fly.

Read: Sleepy Joe Walks Back His Infrastructure Comments Or Something »

Posted in Dems in Charge: Now What?, GOP, Joe Biden | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

Surprise: Scammers Looking To Scam COVID Passport Users

By William Teach June 26, 2021 – 6:00 pm

This would be a minor problem if the digital passports were originally positioned as something very simple, but, right from the get go the Big Government folks pushing them wanted them to be more than just a simple name and vaccination record

Scammers are looking to exploit digital vaccine records, officials warn

The push to obtain digital proof of vaccination provides an opportunity for scammers, consumer protection experts warn.

“The consumers are confused, and the scammers know it,” Steve McFarland, president and CEO of the Los Angeles/Silicon Valley chapter of the Better Business Bureau, told Yahoo News.

The BBB has seen an uptick in calls from people facing scams regarding their online vaccination records.

“What’s going on is that [scammers are] claiming that you can sign up for a QR code, maybe some type of a verification with them, and all you gotta do is pay a fee,” McFarland said. “Two, three weeks ago, we had people that were sending pictures of their vaccination card over social media, and of course that was giving your private information over the net, and scammers were jumping all over that.”

Well, you are a fool if you uploaded your vax card to social media, as so many did to virtue signal and even “to own the cons.” And some, let’s be honest, because they have to upload everything, including the cup of coffee they got this morning.

But while the digital version has its advantages, setting it up also presents security risks. Several bogus apps have sprung up in recent months, seeking to lure people into entering their personal financial information.

“They want to do it right now before you have time to think about it, before you have any time to do any investigation,” cybersecurity expert Matt Malone told Yahoo News. “The best thing a user can do to stop from getting scammed is take a breath.”

The best thing would have been for Los Federales setting up something simple that provided no personal information other than name and vaccination record. Nothing else. No social, no date of birth, no address. The last two can be used behind the scenes with strong security behind the scenes, perhaps using the, yes, I know, bad, IRS records, since they already have them. And it could be linked in to your COVID tests, if you have to take one (like I took the other week when I got a cold). But, no, Democrats wanted to make the digital vaccine passports about way more.

New York is currently the only state issuing digital COVID-19 vaccine records through a state-run app. But other states, such as Hawaii and California, have partnered with private companies to create something similar.

Are Hawaii and California having the companies develop, or run? Should those companies be given your private data?

An example of a private company issuing digital vaccine records is GoGotVax, which created VaxYes. Its site allows a person to securely input vaccination information for a digital record that can be added to an Apple Wallet or Android phone. The company said this could be useful for traveling, attending live events or returning to work.

And how safe is that? You want mine, I’ll show you a photo of my card.

“There’s scammers out there [saying], ‘Well, I can send ya over a vaccination card for $50. Just give me your credit card or some gift card information. I’ll do it for ya,’” McFarland said. “Well, people are doing it, and people call us complaining about it. That they wanted a card and they applied for a phony card — they admit it — but yet they want their money back.”

Some people are gullible. Let’s not forget, even the ACLU is concerned about them.

Read: Surprise: Scammers Looking To Scam COVID Passport Users »

Posted in Bat Soup Virus | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

Green On Green: Cult Group Says EU’s Green Deal Is Climate Colonialism

By William Teach June 26, 2021 – 3:00 pm

It just goes to show that no matter what one does, it’s never enough, and the nutters will always complain. Oh, and that this isn’t about the climate (via Watts Up With That?)

Green Group Accuses Europe of Climate Change Colonialism

…

Cancel Culture Friendly FireMeanwhile, the push for greener sources of energy, particularly in the Global North, is driving the demand for metals like nickel, cobalt and lithium. Labourers in mining communities working to extract these metals face dangerous and degrading working conditions.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the use of child labour in cobalt mines is widespread, putting the lives of children at risk, damaging their health and depriving them of education. In Bolivia, Chile and Argentina, lithium mining uses large quantities of water, accelerating desertification and polluting underground waters and rivers, putting the health of local communities at risk. (snip)

Although the end of colonialism was declared decades ago, its last effects in the form of these extractive industries are clear. The system of Indigenous land takeovers, resource extraction, labour exploitation and wealth transfer set up by European colonialists continues to operate and dispossess people in the Global South.
It is against the backdrop of this neo-colonial reality that the European Union announced its Green Deal at the end of 2019.

Underpinned by an apolitical narrative that humans have already changed the Earth’s climate and degraded the majority of its ecosystems, so action needs to be taken, the Green Deal completely ignores the fact that the Global North was the main driver of climate change and environmental degradation across the world.

But, I bet if you give these people a lot of money they will be happy, right? Nah, they’ll just demand more

The European Green Deal also ignores the environmental impact of Europe’s drive for renewable energy and electric mobility on other parts of the world, where resources for this economic shift will have to be extracted. It also does not pay attention to how climate change and environmental degradation have disproportionately affected its own marginalised communities and the poor and destitute in the Global South. (snip)

The EU’s apolitical narrative on climate change – ignoring the impact of colonialism and capitalism and heavily influenced by the very corporations who profit from them – could result in climate action that is not only non-impactful but, worse, could be unsustainable and damaging for marginalised communities on the continent as well as the Global South.

The author does have a point on that, though, in that the 1st World Warmists require environmental destruction in 3rd world shitholes to get all the necessary materials so 1st World Warmists can force Everyone Else to live off solar and drive an EV. Still, these “activists” with their crazy talking points are nuts. Eric Worrall at WUWT notes

It would be easy to write off Equinox Initiative For Racial Justice as yet another sad group of climate communists. But I strongly agree with their point that many rich country climate justice types seem to have a big blind spot when it comes to the ruthless exploitation of people in poor countries, to obtain the deluge of toxic minerals needed to supply their precious green energy revolution.

Yup. Unfortunately, these crazy green groups are crazy, sound like they want to end capitalism, sound like Marxists, and yammer about all the same left with crazy.

Read: Green On Green: Cult Group Says EU’s Green Deal Is Climate Colonialism »

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If All You See…

By William Teach June 26, 2021 – 1:00 pm

…is an Evil carbon pollution infused beer which will cause bridges to collapse, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Don Surber, with a post on understanding white rage.

Hopefully Imgur works, had problems last time. Photobucket is misbehaving this morning.

Read: If All You See… »

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GOP Senators Feel Blindsided By Sleepy Joe’s Bad Faith On Infrastructure Deal

By William Teach June 26, 2021 – 10:30 am

I’m not sure why they are surprised in the least that Joe would double deal, as this happened numerous times while Joe was Vice President, with Obama backtracking on deals that were hammered out and agreed to. They had to know that Joe would not negotiate in Good Faith

Key GOP senators balk at terms of Biden infrastructure bill

President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure deal has been thrown in doubt as Republican senators said they felt “blindsided” by his insistence that it must move in tandem with his bigger package. The White House doubled down on the strategy, meanwhile, saying it should have come as no surprise.

The rare accord over some $1 trillion in investments faced new uncertainty Friday, barely 24 hours after Biden strode to the White House driveway, flanked by 10 senators from a bipartisan group, with all sides beaming over the compromise.

Senators were described as “stunned,” “floored” and “frustrated” after Biden publicly put the conditions on accepting their deal, according to two people familiar with the private conversations who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the reactions. (big snip)

But Biden’s vow to essentially veto or refuse to sign the bipartisan accord without the companion package being negotiated by Democrats, which is now eyed at nearly $6 trillion in child care, Medicare and other investments, was an additional step that throws the process into doubt.

Instead of being stunned, floored, and frustrated, they should simply walk away and constantly talk about Joe’s Bad Faith negotiations, his double dealing, and make it clear they will pass nothing if this is what Joe wants to do. If you negotiate with me in bad faith, I’m taking my deal off the table and walking away. I’ve done it before. Happened just a few months ago. Person made an offer, we accepted. It was a really good deal, better than most with a very limited amount of product available. We went an got the product, which cost us more money. He came in and said would only purchase for another $500 off plus another $200 in accessories. We said no. He said that’s the only way he’s going to purchase. We said have a good day. Product sold by end of day. Next day he wanted it. Nope, gone. And we refused to do the same discount or locate another. In stock only. Nor would I print out the original deal. I don’t do bad faith deals, and neither should the GOP.

“There’s a lot of conversations taking place right now as to what the president meant,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., in an interview with a Fox affiliate in New Orleans shared by his office.

Cassidy noted that the president may have misspoken and said he hoped “it won’t be as if we crafted something just to give the president a point of leverage to get something that Republicans disagree with.”

Cassidy is an idiot. Biden didn’t misspeak. It’s what he wants. Demand a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill, and, if Dems renege, walk.

Read: GOP Senators Feel Blindsided By Sleepy Joe’s Bad Faith On Infrastructure Deal »

Posted in Democrats, GOP, Joe Biden | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Totally Not A Cult: Salon Writer’s First Thought On Building Collapse Was ‘Climate Change’

By William Teach June 26, 2021 – 7:11 am

I was hoping to move on from the climate cult’s linking of the Sunrise building collapse with their cult beliefs, but, this one is too nutty to ignore

The Miami Building Collapse Is a Warning

When I saw Thursday morning that a condominium building had partially collapsed near Miami Beach, the first question I had wasn’t if anyone had died (that was second), but to wonder why the building had collapsed in the first place. Really, it was to wonder if a building collapsing in Miami would be investigated as a potentially climate change–related disaster.

That’s is pure, 100% unadulterated cult crazy. And climate cultists like Slate’s Susan Matthews (remember when Slate wasn’t moonbat nation?) aren’t even scare to admit, or even ashamed, that their first thought wasn’t about the people involved, but the climate crisis scam and how to link it to the disaster.

While authorities are understandably trying to frame Thursday’s collapse as a unique and freak accident, a few options have been raised about what possibly went wrong. Peter Dyga, president and CEO of a Florida chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors, told the Miami Herald that investigators would be looking into numerous factors, including the building’s architectural plans, construction materials, and maintenance records. “This is going to be probably multiple years in trying to figure out what happened here. There are so many variables,” he told the Herald. “It’s probably more than likely going to be a combination of bad things.” Burkett told a local TV news station that “he couldn’t imagine any reason for the tragedy other than if a sinkhole occurred or someone pulled the supports out of the building.” The vice president of a construction company explained to another local news station why Florida is a particularly difficult place to build—if steel gets exposed to salt or chlorides, it can corrode; if soil subsides, it can affect the foundation and overall structure of a building.

It was built on a barrier island on a soft, sandy, limestone base. It’s been there for 40 years exposed to salty ocean water, through tropical systems and thunderstorms, and was apparently ill-maintained. But, you know

climate change joke

Pretty soon, however, news stories started to assess possible connections between climate change and the collapse. The Washington Post reports that “experts on sea level rise and climate change caution that it is too soon to speculate if rising seas helped destabilize the oceanfront condo,” and then goes on to explain all of the things we already do know that feel quite relevant: Miami is particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise—some estimates in Miami suggest it’s seen a foot of rise in the past century, half of that coming since the 1990s—and sea-level rise in limestone is a particularly worrisome combination (because the water goes through instead of being held back, which can exacerbate corrosion). The Palm Beach Post sorts through the same issues, with various experts weighing in from various directions about the most likely culprits. Some think sea level rise and its corrosive effects might have played a role, others are more inclined to suggest it was the crane on the roof that might have been a bigger factor. The experts largely dismiss sinkholes as a possible cause because they’re less prevalent in the immediate area, though for what it’s worth, a paper published in the Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences in 2018 looked specifically at climate change’s effect on sinkholes in Florida and concluded that “for every 0.1°C rise in global temperature, the number of sinkholes increases by 1%–3%.”

But, of course the climate cultists went right to Hotcoldwetdry. Like, immediately. Trotting out pieces designed to prop up their cult and scaremonger.

Ultimately, what upsets me most about the collapse is the immediate death, the count of which is sure to grow. But I also am disturbed that my brain wrapped around this horrific event by jumping a few steps further into the future, into a world where building collapses are just another thing that journalists cautiously acknowledge as catastrophes that might be exacerbated by climate change, but we end up just dealing with them, just like we have learned to deal with the heat waves and the fires and the droughts and the hurricanes. The water is already boiling. We’re just getting more accustomed to treating the burns.

BS all around. Susan admitted the first thing she cared about was ‘climate change’, not people hurt and killed. Because this is a cult. And there were plenty more unhinged pieces I scrolled through while searching climate change over the last 24 hours.

Read: Totally Not A Cult: Salon Writer’s First Thought On Building Collapse Was ‘Climate Change’ »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, AGW Scaremongering, Global Warming | 8 Comments | Trackback URL
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