Tag Archives: Inflation Reduction Act

Using Taxpayer Money To Create The Illusion Of Fiscal Responsibility

Posted on by

On Thursday, Issues & Insights posted an article about a change in Medicare law included in the Inflation Reduction Act and the consequences of that change.

The article reports:

We have no doubt that, in the years to come, the media will describe the Biden-Harris administration as “scandal-free.” But that’s only because for the past four years they’ve vigorously ignored any and all scandals.

Case in point is the $15 billion giveaway that Biden-Harris snuck through this summer without a single hearing, vote, or advance notice, in an attempt to buy seniors’ votes. Followed up by a campaign email to these same seniors on behalf of Kamala Harris, also paid for by taxpayers.

Is any of this legal? Who cares, if it helps Harris win in November? At least, that’s how the mainstream press is treating this scandal.

The article explains:

The criminally misnamed “Inflation Reduction Act” that Joe Biden signed on Aug. 16, 2022, after Harris cast the tie-breaking vote, including among its many horrid provisions, several that affected Medicare Part D – the drug benefit for seniors – is set to go into effect in 2025.

Biden and now Harris have been running around claiming that this was a tremendous deal for seniors, except those provisions added huge costs to these drug plans that were going to jack up monthly premiums for this benefit by an average of $110 – a 179% increase!

So, to avoid that, the administration conjured up a “demonstration project” whereby insurance companies would agree to hold monthly premium increases to $35 or less in exchange for a pile of cash.

The Congressional Budget Office figures this will cost $5 billion a year – in borrowed money – plus another $2 billion a year in added interest costs on the national debt.

Critics have pointed out that this wasn’t a “demonstration project,” normally understood as a small-scale effort to test a change in rules governing a program. Instead, it was a subsidy handed out to every insurance company offering Part D plans.

So basically, all Americans are paying for seniors’ Part D Medicare so that the public won’t know that the cost went up. Well, I just told them.

The Health and Human Services sent out a letter touting the Medicare changes.

This is a part of that letter:

“I want to make sure you’re aware of the historic changes to Medicare that are lowering health care costs,” it begins, that are “a result of the Inflation Reduction Act that I signed into law and that Vice President Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to secure.” It goes on to say that “these are just some of the ways my administration has worked to help you save money on your health care costs.”

(No mention is made of the $15 billion they’re planning to spend to make budget-shattering premium increases.)

The letter is flagrant electioneering, paid for by taxpayers, and in clear violation of the Hatch Act, which outlaws the use of federal staff or resources “for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election.”

Last week, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust filed a complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel saying that the email “was entirely political in both its purpose and language,” and “has been described as ‘a sales pitch for Kamala Harris.’”

Don’t look for this story in the mainstream media.

Where The Money In The Inflation Reduction Act Actually Went

Posted on by

On Wednesday, Townhall posted an article detailing where some of the money the government spent in the Inflation Reduction Act actually went. It wasn’t only a green energy bill, it was also a left wing political activism bill.

The article reports:

A glaring example comes from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA,) which distributed grants to organizations that train activists to oppose infrastructure projects under the guise of “environmental justice.” For instance, the EPA sent $50 million to the Climate Justice Alliance, which has a network of 90 affiliates. Last November, the group organized a march in Washington, D.C. where protestors proclaimed “Free Palestine Is a Climate Justice Issue.” Your tax dollars at work.

In another instance, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute received $500,000 to build “capacity” for disadvantaged waterfront communities, which is essentially code for teaching activists how to block offshore wind development—ironically, a project supported by the Biden administration. So, the same taxpayer dollars funding offshore wind are also protesting the same offshore wind. It’s government efficiency at its finest. 

Worse still, some of the most troubling beneficiaries of this funding have nothing to do with the environment at all. As U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) has pointed out, millions of dollars are being funneled to radical anti-immigration enforcement groups. The New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice and the New York Immigration Coalition, both recipients of IRA funds, advocate against federal immigration enforcement and border control, further highlighting how poorly aligned these investments are with reducing inflation. However, they always seem magically aligned with paying organizations that support the political left. Or more specifically, funding paychecks for potential Harris voters.

The article concludes:

It is a convenient scenario for Harris where activists are funded to organize, and bureaucratic inertia prevents effective oversight. All the while, the broader public is left holding the bag—facing higher costs and fewer jobs. Surprising absolutely no one, the Climate Justice Alliance has endorsed Kamala for President.

It turns out if you rob Peter to pay Paul, then Paul will surely support you for president. In that sense, the Inflation Reduction Act is working exactly as Kamala Harris wants.

If we had a media that actually reported on corruption, the Inflation Reduction Act would never have passed.

The ‘Unintended’ Consequences Of The Inflation Reduction Act

Posted on by

One of the major unintended consequences (at least I think it was unintended) of the Inflation Reduction Act is the impact it will have on America’s senior citizens. While the AARP and the Biden/Harris administration are touting the agreement to cut the cost of some drugs, they are failing to mention that the cost of Medicare and its drug programs is going to skyrocket in the coming year.

On Saturday, Breitbart posted an article about President Trump’s plans to combat inflation. You might have noticed that the Inflation Reduction Act has not successfully done that.

The article reports:

Bidenflation has ravaged seniors over the past four years, putting immense financial pressure on those living on fixed incomes. As a result, many seniors in swing states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin are turning away from the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris administration and shifting their support to Donald Trump, who has made clear promises to fix inflation and lower healthcare costs.

Inflation is wreaking havoc on seniors, but the Biden-Harris response has been woefully negligent. Their solution was the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). They promised seniors that prices would come down if it passed. They even got AARP to spend $60 million to convince the swamp to support it. They rammed it through Congress with Harris’ tie-breaking vote delivering it to Joe Biden to sign into law. However, the IRA did nothing to ease seniors’ financial suffering. Instead, the IRA stole hundreds of billions from Medicare to subsidize electric vehicles, benefiting the Chinese manufacturers and their overlords in the Chinese Communist Party. The IRA was never about lowering costs for seniors. It was a left-wing fever dream full of big green subsidies and socialized medicine come to life.

So, seniors’ bills got even bigger. The IRA caused a massive spike in Medicare premiums. Thanks to Biden and Harris, seniors faced a staggering 20 percent increase this year, with projections indicating an additional 50 percent increase next year—or potentially even higher. This is not just an inconvenience; it’s a devastating hit to the budgets of millions of elderly Americans.

Unfortunately, the IRA wasn’t done there. It also repealed the Trump Rebate Rule, a critical safeguard designed to save seniors billions by lowering their out-of-pocket costs and curbing the greed of Big Insurance pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). By removing these protections, Biden and Harris have left seniors more vulnerable than ever to insurance companies overcharging them for prescription drug prices.

The IRA also corrupted the popular Medicare Part D. No longer a market-driven program to deliver affordable drugs to seniors, the IRA is trying to turn a successful program into a bureaucratic nightmare with price controls imposed by Washington, creating a new $3 billion bureaucracy that makes medicine less accessible for seniors. This isn’t just about rising premiums; it’s about government interference in patients’ access to essential medications.

Vote blue if you want grandma and grandpa to move in with you because they can no longer afford to live on their own!

 

Another Consequence Of The “Inflation Reduction Act”

Posted on by

The Inflation Reduction Act was bad news. It did pretty much everything except reduce inflation. Now it is becoming clear that the law is going to have a very negative impact on the cost of Medicare Part D for senior citizens.

Issues & Insights reports:

Go to Kamala Harris’ campaign website and among the very short list of alleged achievements is this: “She cast the deciding vote to lower drug prices and cap insulin prices for our seniors.”

The only problem is that drug costs for seniors have skyrocketed since Harris signed that bill.

Harris is pointing to the criminally misnamed “Inflation Reduction Act,” which got zero Republican votes, and which was supposed to lower the cost of prescription drugs by giving, as Harris puts it, “Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices with Big Pharma.”

When George W. Bush established Medicare Part D, he let private insurers negotiate with drug companies over prices and then compete for seniors’ business. The result was a program that cost both seniors and taxpayers far less than government bureaucrats had expected, offered seniors a wide range of options, and had premiums that barely budged for more than a decade.

…Seniors next year will face premiums that are 57% higher, on average, than they were in 2021.

“Seniors in some states face even bigger hits to their wallets,” finds a state-by-state analysis done by the Heritage Foundation. “Under the Biden-Harris administration, Medicare drug plan premiums jumped by more than 90% in 10 states. Premiums more than doubled in three of those states (California, 122%; New York, 116%; and Nevada, 104%).”

And the number of plans offered has been cut in half. Which means less competition, which in turn will fuel further price hikes.

As the Congressional Budget Office noted in a recent report, premiums are shooting up “in part because the Part D redesign led to higher costs for those plans.”

…Here’s how the leftist news site Politico put it:

One of President Joe Biden’s signature domestic achievements is set to cause a significant spike in Medicare premiums for millions of Americans just ahead of the November election. Now, his administration is preparing to dole out billions of dollars to private insurance companies to blunt the impact of the increase.

The jump in premiums is a consequence of efforts to reduce what older Americans pay for prescription drugs, part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Insurance companies are on the hook for what patients used to pay and are raising drug plan premiums to make up the difference.

This isn’t a “signature domestic achievement.” It’s a scandal of epic proportions. And it gets worse.

Two months ago, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers issued a statement noting that not only is the “Inflation Reduction Act” costing seniors, it has led to a 35% increase in the cost of new drugs and the cancellation of three dozen research programs by pharmaceutical companies.

Vice-President Harris was the deciding vote on The Inflation Reduction Act–she broke the tie.

Bad News For America’s Senior Citizens

Posted on by

On Sunday, Just the News reported that the Biden-Harris administration’s new Medicare prescription drug plan could wind up costing America’s taxpayers up to $20 billion over three years.

The article reports:

The budget analysis arm of Congress said the increased costs are due to the government subsidizing many seniors’ premiums by sending money to insurance firms, and it would cost at least $5 billion extra in 2025 alone and add to the deficit.

“The higher costs are attributable to the increases in subsidies for premiums and risk corridors,” the CBO told key lawmakers this week.

Does anyone remember medicine before the government got involved? Do you remember taking your children to the doctor when they all had ear infections and the doctor was able to look at all of them and charge you a reasonable price? Do you remember when doctors didn’t have to fill out a ton a paperwork just because you went in for your annual checkup. I suspect that if we all calculated what we spend on medical insurance vs. what we used to pay in medical expenses, we would find out we are paying much more. I understand the need for insurance for surgery and serious diseases, but what about going back to the time you could go to the doctor for a minor ailment and the bill was cheaper than your insurance payment for the month? The free market always works better without government interference.

The article concludes:

CBO responded that federal spending would increase between $10 billion and $20 billion in 2025 compared to earlier projections.

Lawmakers blasted the Biden/Harris administration for imposing such new cost on taxpayers

“As predicted, the Biden-Harris Inflation Reduction Act not only quelled investment for new cures, but caused Medicare prescription drug plan premiums to skyrocket, and Democrats are scrambling to cover it up before the election,” Arrington said .

“In July, the Biden-Harris CMS scrambled to create a new federal program that will send billions of tax dollars to large health insurance companies to cover up a massive flaw in their so-called Inflation Reduction Act.”

The new average plan bid for a standard Part D coverage increases by 179% for 2025 partly due to an underestimation of federal coverage of the Part D changes, CBO said.

Rewarding The Hand That Feeds You

Posted on by

There are people in America who will vote for Kamala Harris for many reasons–the idea of a woman President, the idea of a mixed-race President, and the idea that a Harris presidency will provide free money for a lot of people.

On Thursday, mrctv reported the following:

The union that represents the nation’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents announced Wednesday that it is endorsing Democrat Kamala Harris for president in this year’s election.

Vice President Harris has played a role in “one of the most pro-labor administrations in history,” the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) explained in a press release announcing its decision:

“The administration also delivered agency budgets that provide federal employees with additional staffing and resources, including significant new investments to rebuild the IRS under the Inflation Reduction Act.”

Indeed, the Inflation Reduction Act, for which Harris cast the deciding vote to break a Senate deadlock, boosts the IRS budget by $80 billion, enabling the agency to hire an additional 87,000 employees – while increasing the union’s membership in the process.

However, the IRS expansion won’t just increase union membership, it’ll also help the agency to collect an additional $5 trillion of tax increases Harris wants, analysis by Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) finds:

“Harris-proposed tax increases will kill jobs in the private sector but create jobs for IRS agents.

“Agents certainly appreciate her call to make the IRS even larger and more powerful if she wins the presidency. Agents will be hired and deployed to implement the $5 trillion of tax increases Harris wishes to impose over the next decade.”

ATR research also found that 97% of political contributions by the IRS agents’ union went to Democrats in the 2022 election cycle. In all, the union gave $635,170 to Democrats during that election cycle.

Nothing like supporting your local IRS agent.

Who Is The Threat?

Posted on by

In 1787, Benjamin Franklin responded to a question about the new Constitution with the phrase “a republic, if you can keep it.” Our Founding Fathers envisioned a country with a weak central government and strong state governments. In the early 1900’s a number of things happened that paved the way for a strong central government and weak state governments. The year 1913 was a banner year for those who wanted a strong central government—federal income tax was passed, the federal reserve was created, and the direct election of U.S. Senators was passed. The direct election of U.S. Senators meant that the Senators were no longer subject to recall by their states if they did not represent their state. If a Senator sponsored a bill that would harm his state in some way, the state legislature would recall him. Woodrow Wilson was President when these three things happened. Signing these three things into law significantly shifted the balance of power in America from the states to the central government. The Inflation Reduction Act would never have passed the Senate if Senators were appointed by their states rather than elected.  One illustration of the growth and centralization of government is the fact that in 2023, twenty-five percent of all jobs created were government jobs. We are also in a situation where the majority of our laws are not laws—they are regulations passed by unelected bureaucrats. Any law passed by Congress was probably written by lobbyists. Our tax code is a shining example of what lobbyists can accomplish. According to the Tax Foundation, “There’s the literal statutes that Congress has passed (Title 26 of the U.S. Code). The Government Printing Office sells it spread over two volumes, and according to them, book one is 1,404 pages and book two is 1,248 pages, for a total of 2,652 pages. At perhaps 450 words per page, that puts the tax code at well over 1 million words. (By way of comparison, the King James Bible has 788,280 words; War and Peace runs 560,000 words; and the Harry Potter series is just over 1 million words.)”

The bureaucracy that has been ensconced in America in the past one hundred years or so does not want to give up the power it has co-opted. The biggest current threat to that power is President Donald Trump. He won’t be able to undo a hundred years of unconstitutional behavior in four years, but he will be able to make a beginning. President Trump is a serious threat to our own entrenched bureaucracy, and they are not going to give up their power easily.

President Trump has been accused of being a ‘threat to our democracy.’ First of all, we are a Republic–not a democracy. Secondly, the only threat that President Trump poses is a threat to the entrenched bureaucracy that has perverted the ideas that our Founding Fathers tried to enshrine in our government.

Recognizing Marxism Part II

Posted on by

Author:  R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D

In a previous article, I outlined seven indicators that a politician or government is advocating destructive Marxist principles or actions. Here are a few more that we should be aware of if we want to protect our freedoms as true American patriots.

First: Government giveaways. Marxist governments seduce citizens for support by providing things, seemingly for free. Examples:  free healthcare for all, canceling student debt, providing guaranteed income for all, and recently, free down payment money for first time home buyers. Of course, the government does not create wealth but merely takes from a person who earned it, and gives it to another who did not earn it. This is actually wealth transfer which penalizes the hard-working person.

Second:  Inflation. Most, if not all inflation, is caused by excessive government spending that exceeds revenues. The government does this by printing money that is not backed by actual economic growth.  Printing money is the Marxist way of buying votes while at the same time devaluing the buying power of the currency. This essentially amounts to a tax that makes citizens poorer. The Harris campaign’s recent announcement that inflation will be reduced by going after corporations who are “gouging the public” is misdirected and typical of trying to blame private companies for government caused inflation. Price controls always lead to shortages and increased inflation.

Third:  Suppressing dissent. Controlling the press, limiting free speech, and prosecuting opposition occurs in all Marxist countries such as China, North Korea, Russia, Cuba, and Venezuela. Alarmingly, this is now occurring in America. Blocking people from social media platforms, falsely prosecuting January 6th demonstrators as “insurrectionists” (while allowing actual rioters after the George Floyd incident to go free) are examples of what Marist governments do. The most glaring example, of course, is the Biden/Harris administration’s persecution of Donald Trump for bogus crimes. This has never happened before in the history of this country and represents a serious change which should alarm us all.

Fourth:  Intentionally distorting the truth. Truth is not a Marxist value. Marxists will say anything in order to hide the truth from the people. This includes mislabeling their destructive actions to hide the real impact. For example, the so-called Inflation Reduction Act did nothing but increase inflation. The Biden/Harris administration spent billions of dollars on green energy and other programs that required borrowing more money, that the government did not have. Another example, is the tragic effort to encourage the surgical mutilation of children. They call it “Gender Affirming Care” when it is the exact opposite. Instead of encouraging children to accept and be content with their birth gender, they advocate gender hormone blockers and genital surgery in an effort to change the child’s true gender. Some states like California and Wisconsin (where VP candidate Tim Walz is governor) threaten to take a child away from the parents if they refuse to agree to hormone blockers or surgery.

Fifth:  Open borders. Marxism always attempts to eradicate the national traditions of any country they control. One way of doing this is to flood the country with immigrants who do not share the principles, values, and traditions of that country, thereby allowing the government to define the culture. Demeaning a country by focusing on flaws from their past diminishes patriotism and love of country and ignores the positive accomplishments.  This is especially destructive to the youth.

The issue facing America in 2024 is whether there are enough clear-thinking patriots who recognize the destructive path we are on and are willing to do what is necessary to reverse course.  The upcoming election will answer that question, once and for all.

Hiding The Increased Cost Of Medicare Premiums Caused By The Passage Of The Inflation Reduction Act

Posted on by

The Inflation Reduction Act did a lot of things. One of the things it did not do was reduce inflation. We are now finding out that it will cause a significant increase in the cost of Medicare Insurance.

On Wednesday, Fox News posted an article about the use of taxpayer money to delay the increases until after the election.

The article explains:

In a move critics say is designed to shield the Biden-Harris administration from election fallout, the administration has leveraged taxpayer funds to mask upcoming increases in Medicare premiums.

Under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was intended to cap out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries, insurers are poised to significantly hike monthly premiums, with average bids for Part D plans expected to triple by 2025.

In response to potential voter backlash, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rolled out a three-year “demonstration project” to subsidize these premiums, aiming to keep them artificially low. However, despite the appearance of relief, some critics are saying that taxpayers will fund a dramatic increase in subsidies — from $30 per recipient per month in 2024 to $142.70 in 2025 — raising concerns about the long-term impact on government spending and debt. 

The article notes:

Research published by Fidelity, an investment research group, shows that a 65-year-old retiring today can expect to spend $165,000 on health care in retirement, a 5% increase from last year and more than double the estimate from 2002.

Yet, there appears to be a disconnect for many Americans between the actual projected cost of health care in retirement and how much they expect to spend on those expenses. The average American thinks they will spend about $75,000 on health care and other medical expenses, less than half of Fidelity’s calculation, according to the research.

The estimate assumes that an individual is enrolled in Medicare – including Part A and Part B, which cover most hospital care and doctor’s visits – and Part D, which covers prescription drugs. Other expenses such as Medicare premiums, over-the-counter medications, dental and vision care and other costs typically not covered by Medicare are “left to retirees to manage on their own,” the report said.

As of April 2024, about 67.3 million Americans were enrolled in Medicare, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Of those, about half were enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, while about 80% were covered by Medicare Part D.

“They just want to get through the election,” Grogan (former President Trump advisor Joe Grogan) said. “They’re hoping after the election they can face it, but its gonna need to be dealt with in the next 12–18 months. They did not believe it would be this bad and its only gonna get worse.” 

Medicine was much more efficient and much cheaper before the government got involved. It is time to let medicine become a free-market part of the economy. More competition will provide more care at a more reasonable price for everyone.

 

 

When Is Eliminating Taxes On Tips Bad?

Posted on by

Recently Kamala Harris has stated in a campaign speech that she would like to eliminate income taxes on tips. That’s interesting. According to an article in Breitbart posted on Sunday, in 2022 she cast the deciding vote to allow the IRS to track down workers’ tips so that they could be taxed. That provision was part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Among other things, that bill provided $80 billion in additional funding to the IRS. The Senate voted 50-50 to approve the bill, and Kamala Harris cast the deciding vote.

On Monday, Breitbart posted an article reporting the following:

In a stunning display of hypocrisy and double standards, CBS News attacked former President Donald Trump when he announced his “no tax on tips” policy proposal in June and then suddenly became uncritical of the idea when Vice President Kamala Harris copied Trump on Saturday.

“Vice President Kamala Harris is rolling out a new policy position, saying she’ll fight to end taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers,” CBS announced in a Monday X post.

When President Trump proposed the idea, CBS immediately claimed that it would cost the federal government up to $250 billion over 10 years. Now that Kamala Harris has proposed it, there is no mention of the cost.

This is how the mainstream media works.

Where Our Money Is Going

Posted on by

It would be really nice to have people in Congress who understand basic budgeting. If you have the money to buy something, it’s okay to buy it. If you don’t have the money to buy something, it isn’t okay to buy it. It’s called fiscal responsibility.

On August 5th, The Federalist posted an article detailing how some of our taxpayer money is being spent.

The article reports:

With its July 22 announcement that it is disbursing $4.3 billion in taxpayer-funded grants for an assortment of climate projects around the country, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) secured the loot for grateful recipients before President Joe Biden leaves office in January.

The money will go to 25 projects across 30 states (some will cross state borders) and will target greenhouse gas emissions from “transportation, electric power, commercial and residential buildings, industry, agriculture/natural and working lands, and waste and materials management,” the EPA said in a press release. Funds for the grants were provided from the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants Program anchored in the 2022 misnamed Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden administration’s landmark climate law.

That was the law that Joe Manchin said he would not vote for and was bribed to vote for with some concessions on fossil fuel exploration that were later reneged on.

The article lists some of the people receiving taxpayer dollars:

Among the projects receiving the federal largesse are statewide decarbonization initiatives in Pennsylvania targeting cement, asphalt, and other materials; $307 million for measures in Nebraska to promote “climate smart” practices ostensibly to reduce emissions from agriculture and waste; and an effort to install EV chargers for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles along a highway on the East Coast.

An air management district in Southern California will receive $500 million to help decarbonize the region’s transportation and freight sectors, including at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. EPA’s grants to the region will provide funding for “electric charging equipment, zero-emission freight vehicles and conversion of cargo handling equipment to lower emissions.”

The article concludes:

The ruling class repeatedly claims to protect the masses from whatever “existential threat” suits their purposes. Time and again, their follies blow up — usually not in their faces, but in the faces of ordinary people who bear the brunt of their hubris. The billions EPA is spreading around will have no effect on the climate, but it will ensure more precious resources are wasted.

I agree.

Some Sanity From The Federal Bench

Posted on by

With all the cries from hysterical Democrats that President Trump would be a dictator if he is elected, why don’t the Democrats look in the mirror? The student loan forgiveness has continued despite being ruled unconstitutional, domestic oil production has pretty much been shut down despite the fact that Congress passed no laws shutting it down, the border has been left open despite laws that would control the flow of illegal immigrants, and liquid natural gas exports have been shut down despite the fact that Congress never passed a law shutting it down (more on that in a moment). So who is the dictator?

On Friday, Hot Air posted an article about a recent decision by Judge James Cain of the Western District of Louisiana putting the Biden’s pause on LNG exports on hold.

The article quotes Politico:

A federal judge in Louisiana on Monday put the Energy Department’s pause on natural gas export permits on hold, dealing another legal blow to the Biden administration’s climate agenda.

Judge James Cain of the Western District of Louisiana, a Trump appointee, granted a request for a stay from 16 red states that had challenged the pause, arguing it will harm their economies.

The decision to stay the LNG pause upends one of Joe Biden’s major policy nods to climate-focused activists who have accused the president of not doing enough to mitigate planet-warming emissions despite Democrats passing the largest investment in climate in history via the Inflation Reduction Act.

The article also quotes The Wall Street Journal (behind the pay wall):

The Sierra Club, a vociferous and enthusiastic proponent of the January pause, is one of the more strident voices now encouraging our mush-brained hero to do an end-run around SCOTUS.

KEEP DOIN’ THAT VOODOO THAT YOU DO SO WELL

…Who cares what a court says? Not the Sierra Club, which says the judge’s ruling doesn’t compel the Administration “to issue any specific decisions.” In other words, the Administration can continue to slow-walk reviews, as it has been doing.

…Democrats fret that Donald Trump will ignore court rulings, but the Biden Administration defies them left and right. A federal judge in June 2021 ordered the Administration to resume quarterly oil and gas lease sales as required under federal law. It didn’t hold its first auction until June 2022 and waited another year to hold a second.

Progressives have no credibility when they warn about an imperial Trump Presidency after encouraging a lawless Biden Administration.

Laws only apply to Republicans.

Truth vs Lies

Posted on by

Author: R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D harropcrew1@gmail.com

The basis of all effective human dialog and interaction should be truth. This is particularly vital in the political realm where voters must make decisions on critical issues. Politicians have always been somewhat suspect about being truthful. What is occurring now in our country is beyond anything I have ever seen and threatens to further divide our country. This reminds me of George Orwell’s novel 1984, where the so-called Ministry of Truth, controlled what people were told.

There are far too many examples of politicians lying to list them all, but here are a few. The Inflation Reduction Act, initiated by the Biden regime, not only had nothing to do with reducing inflation, but actually did the opposite by increasing government spending and resulting in more inflation. Similarly, with the so-called student loan forgiveness program by Biden. This effort unjustly passes the debt on to other taxpayers. Truth would require it to be called the student debt transfer to others program. Management of the COVID19 pandemic was full of lies. Starting with the origin of the virus from gain of function projects funded by Dr. Fauci’s organization to the lack of effectiveness and danger of the vaccine, we were told numerous lies.

The border crisis that has been occurring during the Biden administration has resulted in an invasion that threatens to destroy our country was blamed on President Trump, The truth, of course, is that the Biden regime wanted an open border in order to get more voters. This lie continues with Biden’s recently announced program to limit illegal immigration. It does no such thing. The reality is that allowing 2500 illegals per day will produce 925,000 per year in addition to 900,000 from other admission programs. Another glaring example of government lies is the term “gender affirming care”, for the prescribing of destructive hormones, puberty blockers and surgery. It is truthfully biological sex change which is rarely ever successful and a reflection of, in many cases, an underlying mental illness.

The most recent example was Nancy Pelosi being caught on a video recording admitting that she was to blame for January 6th because she did not authorize the placement of National Guard troops around the Capitol as had been recommended by the Trump administration. Her lie was the basis for the entire effort to prosecute President Trump for what happened on that day and resulted in the unjust prosecution of thousands of innocent protestors.

It is obvious to any rational person that Truth is not a left wing value. They will say anything, do anything, and lie as needed to fool the public. The sad thing is that many people in this country accept these lies. The recent vote in Europe that has produced a move toward conservative government is encouraging. The election on November 5th will show whether the majority of citizens in this country realize they are being lied to and are ready to throw out the liars.

It Didn’t Do What It Said It Did

Posted on by

On June 3rd, Breitbart posted an article about the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on Medicare Part D premiums.

The article reports:

One of the classic strategies in the Obama/Biden playbook is policy that sounds good in the short-term, but whose long-term consequences won’t be felt until after an election. That way if Democrats win, they’re insulated from voters holding them accountable; but if they lose, they can blame Republicans when things go south.

This was undoubtedly one of the plays the Biden administration had in mind for the gallingly misnamed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). But this disastrous legislation hasn’t just sabotaged Americans’ wallets, it’s sabotaged their health as well.

Snuck into the IRA was a poorly drafted provision that attempted to lower out-of-pocket expenses on prescription drugs. The IRA lowers the out-of-pocket maximum for seniors from about $3,300 to $2,000 by shifting the responsibility for the $1,300 difference to insurance companies. To no one’s surprise, the insurance companies pass that cost to consumers in the form of higher premiums and restricted access to prescription drugs.

This year, premiums for Medicare Part D are up more than 20 percent for the more than 50 million Americans enrolled. In 2025, they could increase again by more than 50 percent! We hope people are paying close enough attention during open enrollment in October to compare this price spike as President Biden campaigns on how he “fought Big Pharma to lower drug costs!”

The article concludes:

One large health plan, Mutual of Omaha, recently hinted that it will pull out of the Part D market in 2025. Almost 200,000 seniors – who one hopes are all high-information voters living in Rust Belt swing states – will be forced to find a new plan from increasingly fewer options. As time goes on, unless changes can be made, this will get worse and worse, leaving seniors with fewer options as they’re told by uncaring Democrats how much they’ve helped them.

The Biden administration has screwed – along with the economy, immigration, foreign policy, the future of the human race, etc. – the American healthcare system. And it seems like most people have gotten wise to the schemes in their dirty playbook, as everyone knows they’re lying about this issue. When they likely lose in November, President Trump and his allies will have their hands full undoing the damage. Luckily, they’re up to the task.

Let’s simply vote out all Democrats this November.

The Government’s Misplace Priorities

Posted on by

On Friday, The Epoch Times posted an article about some changes being made to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The article reports:

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) intends to raise its enforcement personnel by 40 percent by the end of this fiscal year, with revenue agents seeing the largest workforce increase.

For fiscal year 2024, the IRS plans to boost enforcement staff by a net 5,462 employees, according to a Jan. 29 report by IRS watchdog Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). This would take the total number of enforcement personnel at the tax agency to 18,960 by the end of fiscal 2024, which is 40 percent higher than the staffing at the beginning of October 2023.

Out of the 5,462 net additions, 4,704 will be revenue agents who are tasked with conducting “face-to-face audits of more complex returns.”

The tax agency intends to add a net 493 special agents for the year, who are armed officials investigating “potential criminal activities.” Staffing of revenue officers will rise by 265 employees. Revenue officers are tasked with collecting delinquent taxes and securing delinquent returns.

First of all, I do not believe that IRS agents should be armed. Secondly, the idea of an apolitical IRS went out the window when Lois Lerner decided to target conservative groups to delay their 501c3 tax status requests.

The article notes:

By fiscal 2024-end, revenue agents will comprise close to 70 percent of the enforcement personnel. Armed special agents will make up 13.5 percent and revenue officers will account for 16.4 percent.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provided the IRS with $79.4 billion in supplemental funding that is available for the agency until September 2031. By the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2023, the agency had used $3.5 billion of the funds.

As long as we are arming federal employees, let’s send them to our southern border to enforce our immigration laws.

The New Definition Of Low Income

Posted on by

On Wednesday, The Daily Caller posted an article about the Biden administration’s continuing push to convince Americans that electric vehicles are a good idea. The mental and verbal gymnastics in this effort are becoming comical.

The headline of the article reads:

Biden Admin Classifies Martha’s Vineyard, Elite Locales As ‘Low-Income’ To Push EV Charger Subsidies

The article reports:

The Biden administration is classifying some of the country’s most elite and exclusive locales as “low-income” areas, making them eligible for electric vehicle (EV) charger subsidy programs.

The administration’s EV charger tax credit program — made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), President Joe Biden’s signature climate bill — is specifically designed to route subsidies to “low-income” or “non-urban” areas of the country. The “low-income” emphasis for eligibility aligns in spirit with the Biden administration’s wider pursuit of so-called “environmental justice,” which is effectively the combination of social justice ideology and green policy.

Numerous elite hangouts and locales — including Montauk and Fishers Island in New York, and parts of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket in Massachusetts — are among the areas that the administration has classified as “low-income” and eligible for receipt of EV charger subsidies, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation analysis of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) interactive eligibility map.

Building out a nationwide charging network is a key supporting plank of the Biden administration’s EV agenda, but the charging infrastructure that currently exists is concentrated in wealthier, more densely-populated coastal regions of the country. The Biden administration’s tax credit program is designed to blunt the costs of charger construction specifically in non-urban, less wealthy parts of the country that would be less likely to install them.

“This tax credit provides up to 30% off the cost of the charger to individuals and businesses in low-income communities and non-urban areas, making it more affordable to install EV charging infrastructure and increasing access to EV charging in underserved communities,” the White House stated on Jan. 19.

To meet the “low-income” definition, a given Census tract must have a poverty rate of 20% or more. Alternatively, an area can qualify if the median family income is below 80% of the median family income in the wider metropolitan area or in its state if a given Census tract is not part of any particular metropolitan area, according to section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code.

In practice, however, the latter definition for a “low-income” area enables places that may not be colloquially considered “low-income” to qualify for the credit by virtue of being located in a wealthy state or metropolitan area.

Some of these ‘low-income’ areas include homes worth over a million dollars. Unfortunately, this is simply another example of the Biden administration paying off its wealthy donors.

Please follow the link to the article for further details. Many of us would love to live in some of the low-income areas that are getting the tax credits.

Compromise or Not? 

Posted on by

Author:  R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D    

Historically, the “spirit of compromise” has been touted as one of the elements of our Republic that has helped it survive for almost 250 years. The question arises as to whether compromise is always the best strategy. Given the circumstances, compromise may allow the country to move forward with each opposing side believe that they achieved some of their objectives but not all.  Knowing when to compromise and when not to is critical. Let’s look at some examples. 

Compromising makes the most sense, when both sides agree on the ultimate goal but disagree how to get there.  A good example was World War II.  Both the United States and Great Britain agreed that Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan both had to be defeated militarily.  Great Britain wanted the United States to focus almost exclusively on defeating Germany first. The United States, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, wanted to defeat Japan first, since in 1941 Japan appeared to be the most immediate threat to our country.  Churchill and Roosevelt came to a compromise which allowed the majority of focus on the war in Europe and a steady war against Japan, but with less resources. Clearly the compromise worked since both Axis powers were eventually defeated. 

Currently, the struggle between preserving our Republic as we have known it is incompatible with the Left’s desire to make this country Socialist.  Make no mistake about it, many if not all on the left, want exactly that.  Since these two forms of government are incompatible, it must be one or the other.  As they just decided in Brazil, socialism does not and never has worked for the people, and they elected a conservative leader to go back to freedom and capitalism.  Either the people retain the power to run their own lives, or we turn governance over to a few elected leaders and the bureaucrats. The outcome of the elections in 2024 will once and for all determine whether we preserve our Republican form of government or not. 

Let’s take another example:  Climate Change.   Short of an all-out war, this issue has the greatest potential to completely destroy our country. We all want a clean environment, but the goal of the Left is to eliminate all fossil fuels without which no modern civilization can survive.   Look what is happening in Europe–their energy costs have sky rocketed and  they have had to re-open coal fired electrical plants.  The Left’s unverified  belief that climate change is caused by mankind and not natural forces is being used to justify their goal of zero carbon emissions while China, India and other countries are not only building more coal fired plants, but are using coal from our country to do it.  Meanwhile, the United States only contributes 13% of carbon emissions worldwide.  Instead of fighting against this, many of our so-called conservative elected officials compromise and go along with outlandishly expensive subsidies for the wind and solar developers and electric vehicles.   Seventeen Republicans voted for Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which was a cover up for billions of dollars in support of so-called green energy programs.  Compromisers! 

Another area is saving our public schools from the socialist indoctrination being advanced by the Left.  Instead of coming out and stopping Critical Race Theory, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and transgender indoctrination, our Boards of Education have shown a strong tendency to compromise instead of prohibiting these things.   

Compromising with evil should never be allowed to happen.  We need to elect candidates that have clear, strong values and beliefs, and are not afraid to stand up and fight for what is right.  It is the only way to save this country. 

The Laffer Curve At Work

Posted on by

On Tuesday, Just the News posted the following headline:

Federal revenue falls $416 billion from this time last year despite passage of IRA

This is the Laffer Curve:

What is illustrates is the fact that after the government raises taxes past a certain amount, tax revenues fall. That is because the people whose taxes have been increased have more incentive to find ways to move their income to places that are taxed less.

For example, 93.1FMWIBC reported the following in April 2021:

Mr. Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, routed their book and speech income through S corporations, according to tax returns the couple released this week. They paid income taxes on those profits, but the strategy let the couple avoid the 3.8% self-employment tax they would have paid had they been compensated directly instead of through the S corporations.

Questionable, but probably legal.

Just the News reports:

Scott Hodge, president of the Tax Foundation, told Just the News that some of the tax credits in the IRA, like the clean vehicle credit and solar tax credit, are in effect right now and will cost billions. “In the short term, the IRA is generating little new revenue because of the delays in implementing the 15% minimum tax so the green energy credits are costing taxpayers billions,” he said.

Hodge pointed out that the IRS enforcement plans were delayed because of the debt ceiling deal reached by President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, adding that the IRS hasn’t fully implemented the 15% minimum corporate tax until the agency finalizes the enforcement rules.

“If we look at Treasury’s monthly report, the drop in individual income tax receipts is the biggest factor for the overall decline in federal receipts. They are down by $438 billion alone,” Hodge told Just the News.

“My guess is that much of that may be due to the slower economy and lower capital gains tax collections because of the slumping stock market. Corporate income taxes are higher than last year as are payroll taxes such as Social Security, so those are not a factor,” he added.

There is a tipping point. When corporate taxes get too high in America, corporations go elsewhere.

How To Tell When Election Season Starts

Posted on by

I hate to be cynical, but I have become good at it. When Senators start criticizing bills that they have passed, you know that an election is near (even if it’s a year away).

On Wednesday, The Hill reported:

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Wednesday said he will keep up his battle against the Biden administration and officials who seek to “undermine” the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as part of their “radical climate agenda” on the first anniversary of it being signed into law.

The West Virginia moderate, in a lengthy statement on the anniversary of the IRA being signed into law, praised parts of the legislation, which he helped author.

The article quotes Senator Manchin:

“With respect to energy security, and contrary to those in the Biden Administration who seek to undermine this goal, this law re-established an all-of-the-above energy policy and empowered the growth of fossil fuels and renewables,” Manchin said. “If implemented as designed the IRA will ensure that all Americans have more reliable and more affordable power for years to come.”

“Make no mistake, the IRA is exactly the kind of legislation that in normal political times both political parties would proudly embrace because it is about putting the interests of Americans and West Virginians first,” Manchin continued. “Going forward I will push back on those who seek to undermine this significant legislation for their respective political agenda, and that begins with my unrelenting fight against the Biden Administration’s efforts to implement the IRA as a radical climate agenda instead of implementing the IRA that was passed into law.”

The bill that was passed into law was a green energy bill. Senator Manchin would have had to incredibly naive not to know that. His current comments are nothing more than the result of having a viable opponent in his next campaign for the Senate. The IRA has been more the cause of inflation than a solution. It has increased the energy costs for Americans and resulted in less reliable energy for many Americans. The quest for green energy in North Carolina resulted in the first brownouts in the history of the state last December. If the Biden administration continues to implement its energy policies, we can expect more brownouts in the future. Remember, Senator Manchin voted FOR the IRA.

Learning Slowly

Posted on by

As you recall, Senator Manchin from West Virginia’s vote for the Inflation Reduction Act allowed the bill to pass. In return for his vote, Senator Manchin was promised that Biden administration would pursue energy security provisions within the legislation. Aside from the fact that it was a horrible bill, the Biden administration did not follow through on its promise (are you surprised?). Well, Senator Manchin is up for re-election in 2024 (although he has not confirmed that he is running) and he has a strong Republican opponent. We can expect to see Senator Manchin become very conservative in the next year. He will only vote with the Democrats when his vote is absolutely necessary. He will vote with Republicans when his vote doesn’t matter.

On Wednesday, Just the News reported the following:

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin announced Wednesday that he would lend his support to a Republican-backed effort to overturn a Biden administration rule limiting pollution from large trucks.

The Environmental Protection Agency posits that the regulations could prevent nearly 3,000 deaths through 2045 by reducing emissions of nitrogen oxides, according to The Hill. 

“The Biden Administration wants to burden the trucking industry with oppressive regulations that will increase prices by thousands of dollars and push truck drivers and small trucking companies out of business,” Manchin said, ahead of a vote on a resolution to eliminate the regulation. “When our country faces record-high inflation and vulnerable supply chains, we cannot let the EPA continue to seize unrestrained power and create regulations that devastate our economy.”

“I am proud to support this resolution to stop this government overreach,” he added.

The moderate lawmaker’s remarks follow a declaration earlier this week in which Manchin vowed to see the Inflation Reduction Act repealed if the Biden administration did not pursue energy security provisions within the legislation.

Expect more conservative words from Senator Manchin during the coming year. Don’t watch his actions too closely as they may not agree with the conservative words.

A Broken Promise

Posted on by

On Wednesday, The Daily Caller posted an article about the Democrats reneging on their promise they made to Senator Manchin in order to obtain his vote of their Inflation Reduction Act which was actually about funding green energy. It was an awful bill loaded with pork, and without Senator Manchin’s vote, it would not have passed.

The article reports:

A top House Democrat celebrated Tuesday after Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia’s permitting reform bill was excluded from the annual military spending package.

In August, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi agreed to help Manchin pass a bill that would accelerate federal permitting for energy and mining projects in exchange for his sponsoring of the Democrats’ climate spending bill.  However, after Congressional leaders chose to remove Manchin’s bill from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) due to a lack of votes, Democratic House Natural Resources Chair Raul Grijalva, who along with many more left-wing Democrats had opposed the bill, touted the defeat of Manchin’s legislation as a win for “environmental justice communities” across the nation, according to a Tuesday press release.

“Thanks to the hard-fought persistence and vocal opposition of environmental justice communities all across the country, the Dirty Deal has finally been laid to rest,” Grijalva said. “House Democrats can now close out the year having made historic progress on climate change without this ugly asterisk.”

The historic progress they made is likely to cause power brownouts this winter in the coldest areas of the country. People may not be able to heat their homes as a result of Democrat policies. The Inflation Reduction Act will not reduce inflation–it will only fund the special interests that are involved in green energy. It has nothing to do with inflation.

 

What Difference Did It Make?

Posted on by

We are getting a lot of information right now about the censorship operation that Twitter was operating in order to protect the Biden campaign during the 2020 election. The information is not really surprising to those of us who were paying attention, but some of this is actually news to many Americans. On Saturday, PJ Media posted an article about the probable consequences of Twitter’s censorship.

The article notes:

Let’s begin with the premise that suppressing the content of Hunter Biden’s laptop affected the outcome of the 2020 Election. The Media Research Center (MRC) conducted one of the only polls about how the information on the computer would have affected the way people voted. MRC’s analysis found that full awareness of the Hunter Biden scandal would have led 9.4% of Biden voters to abandon the Democratic candidate. This would have flipped all six of the swing states Biden won to Trump, giving the former President 311 electoral votes.

By that analysis, if not for the fateful decision to censor the laptop story, which Gadde and Baker had a hand in, at least five major things would be different.

The article then goes on to list five of the things that would be different:

First and foremost, it is almost certain there would not be a war in Ukraine right now. President Trump placed sanctions on the Nord 2 pipeline during his term, despite German objections. All Biden had to do was stand up to outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel. After all, the entire purpose of NATO is to protect the European continent from Russian aggression. Letting Germany and other western powers become dependent on Russian energy goes directly against the mission.

When the Biden administration inexplicably lifted the sanctions in May 2021, it green-lit the pipeline that would bypass Ukraine, depriving the former Soviet nation of transit revenues and making it more vulnerable to Russian aggression. Even Ukrainian President Voldymor Zelensky knew it.

…Next, the Ukrainian war led to Russia and China becoming closer allies and leading the BRIC nations. This group includes Brazil and India. Many believe these nations will be dominant suppliers of manufactured goods, services, and raw materials by 2050. There have been reports that BRIC nations and their allies want to replace the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. The Biden administration seems content to let this happen without a challenge. As the kleptocrats in our government, led by Joe Biden and Wall Street, lead us into managed decline, you can thank Gadde and Baker.

Third, our European allies would not be facing an energy crisis. The war in Ukraine needlessly destroyed Nord 1, which supplied much of the continent. Additionally, the Biden administration’s not-in-my-backyard energy policy leaves the U.S. unable to meet our own energy needs, let alone help Europe.

…The same NIMBY energy policy also makes the United States less safe. In a 2020 debate, Trump explained in about 10 seconds how U.S. energy independence strengthened our foreign policy. Now, Joe Biden begs some of the worst dictators in the world for oil, and they laugh at him. Biden also drains our strategic petroleum reserves to save Democrats from getting obliterated in the midterms, leaving us less prepared.

The article concludes:

Finally, as you struggle with inflation on food and gas, know that it never needed to happen. When Trump left office, the economy was recovering from the pandemic on a V-shaped trajectory. The American Rescue Plan, the infrastructure bill, and the Inflation Reduction Act blew more money into an economy overheated by pandemic relief. When the new administration allowed even more dollars to chase fewer goods, prices rose. So, when you are rolling your eyes over your grocery bill, thank Gadde and Baker. Their manipulation of Twitter helped Joe Biden do that.

The only constitutional solution to a stolen election is the next election. Please keep that in mind. For those of you that hate President Trump, remember the good he did for the average American. You may not like his style, but he accomplished more in four years than the past five presidents. In the interest of fairness and for the good of the country, he needs to be re-elected in 2024.

Sliding to Marxism

Posted on by

Author: R. Alan Harrop,Ph.D 

The Marxist Left is succeeding in their efforts to take over America.   The recent election of John Fetterman, an avowed Marxist and grossly impaired person, in Pennsylvania is glaring proof.   There are many strategies the Left is using that we need to be aware of if we are going to save America.  Let’s examine a few. 

Promising Free Stuff.  Humans have a propensity to like getting things nothing.  The Biden regime is using the promise of student debt relief and continuing, so called ,“ temporary” delayed payments on existing loans to get the youth vote.  It is working as shown by estimates of 70% of voters in their 20’s voting for Democrats.   Democracies fail when those in power buy votes in this way.  

Information Control.  All tyrannies use the media to control what people believe.   The fake media in this country no longer even pretends to be objective.  With rare exceptions, they are shills for the Left.  The large majority of the media are registered Democrats.  Conservative media must be encouraged and supported to offset this overwhelming advantage.  Government funding of National Public Radio (NPR) must be terminated.  Social media platforms run by Leftists are censoring  information that the Biden regime wants blocked.   Efforts like those by Donald Trump and Elon Musk have to be supported.   Get your children off these platforms.  Stop giving cell phones to minor children.  Check out the five minute, conservative internet videos on Prager U.      

Expanding Government Overreach.   As Ronald Reagan clearly warned, the greatest threat to our freedom is an ever expanding  federal government.  Adding 87,000 armed, IRS agents;  collecting credit card purchase information of guns/ammunition;  and the expansion of Medicaid, are examples of the Biden regime’s moves to expand government control over our lives.   Add to this the use of the FBI and the Department of Justice to threaten citizens who oppose the Left and we see the makings of a police state.   We must demand that our Congressman defund these and other examples of government intrusion in our lives.    

Practicing the Big Lie.   The term “gaslighting” has become a common term that refers to telling lies to the extent that a person begins to doubt what they see with their own eyes.   The leftist Democrats are continually using gaslighting on the American people.  For example, the Biden regime claims that the border is secure when we all know it is wide open.  They label a major expansion of government spending , the Inflation Reduction Act, when we know that excessive government spending is a major cause of inflation.  They label a recent bill the Marriage Protection Act, when in reality it will destroy traditional marriage between a man and a woman.   We must recognize that we are being lied to and confront our elected officials.

Compromising with Evil.  Too many so-called conservative elected officials are willing to put their principles aside for political gain.   We need fighters who will stand against the Marxist forces that are out to destroy this country.  Compromisers/ Rinos like Thom Tillis, Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski and others need to be removed from office and replaced with reliable conservatives who will fight to save our country.   

It is high time that we recognize the dangers we face and take action to stop the slide to Marxism. 

Get The Mink First

Posted on by

On Tuesday, The Daily Caller posted an article about the compromise the Democrats made with Senator Joe Manchin in order to persuade him to vote for the Inflation Reduction Act. The Inflation Reduction Act passed by a vote of 51-50, with Vice-President Kamala Harris breaking the tie–all Democrats voted for it. If Senator Manchin had not voted for it, the bill would not have passed. In order to win his vote, the Democrats made promises of reforming the permitting process in energy permits in a future bill. The Democrats have reneged on that promise, and Senator Manchin is stuck with a bill that will negatively impact his home state of West Virginia. Now the Senator has backed down from his insisting that the agreement made be honored in the government funding resolution. He is not looking good. He is up for re-election in 2024, but maybe voters will forget what he did by then.

The article reports:

Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin backed down from including his energy permitting overhaul in a government funding resolution Tuesday evening after a bipartisan group of senators threatened to block it.

Federal funding is scheduled to run out Sept. 30, and the continuing resolution introduced by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York would pay for the government to stay open through Dec. 16. As part of Manchin’s support for the Inflation Reduction Act, Schumer promised the moderate that the Senate would pass his permitting reform proposal. The Energy Independence and Security Act would speed up completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a more-than-300 mile pipeline that would transport natural gas from West Virginia to Virginia, and amend the National Environmental Policy Act or the Clean Water Act to require federal agencies to approve or reject energy projects faster.

The article concludes:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky whipped Republicans against the provision, although Manchin’s fellow West Virginia senator, Republican Shelley Moore Capito, came out in favor of it.

“Given what Senator Manchin did on the reconciliation bill, [it’s] engendered a lot of bad blood,” Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn told Politico of the package. “There’s not a lot of sympathy on our side to provide Sen. Manchin a reward.”

Manchin announced his support just hours after 17 Republican senators voted in favor the CHIPS and Science Act. McConnell had threatened to pull Republican support from the research and development package if Democrats continued with reconciliation negotiations.

The Senate voted 72-23 shortly before 7 p.m. to open debate on the continuing resolution. The final bill must become law by Saturday to avoid a government shutdown.

Remember when Congress actually paid attention to the correct, legal budgeting process and we didn’t have threatened government shutdowns? It’s time to get back to a time when annual budgets were passed rather than continuing resolutions. I believe that the last time we actually had a federal budge passed was sometime between 2007 and 2009. It’s time we got back to doing things according to the law.

 

Just What We Needed–Another Government Agency!

Posted on by

On Sunday, The Epoch Times reported the following:

The Biden administration on Saturday launched a new national office dubbed the “Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights” charged with addressing what some officials say are the disproportionate harms inflicted on low-income areas and communities of color by pollution and climate change.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government, announced that the new office “will position the agency to better advance environmental justice, enforce civil rights laws in overburdened communities, and deliver new grants and technical assistance.”

The new office will oversee a portion of Democrats’ $60 billion investment in environmental justice initiatives created by the Inflation Reduction Act—specifically, the implementation and delivery of $3 billion in block grants to underserved communities affected by pollution.

The EPA said the new office will also “ensure EPA’s implementation of other funding programs provided by the Inflation Reduction Act [and] Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”

Three existing EPA programs that oversee environmental justice, civil rights, and conflict prevention and resolution will be merged into the new senior-level office.

Wow! A whole agency saying that the climate is racist. Good grief!

I have a suggestion. If the summertime temperature is higher in black neighborhoods that white neighborhoods, plant trees. I am sure something could be worked out so that the city involved could afford to do that. We don’t need another government agency to do that.

Note that they are merging three current EPA programs into this new office. These programs oversee environmental justice, civil rights, conflict prevention and resolution. Let’s get something straight–if the earth burns up because of climate change (which is highly unlikely) all people will be equally impacted. The climate is not aware of anyone’s financial situation or political power. If those screaming the loudest about climate change really believed what they were saying, would they buy oceanfront estates and run around in private jets?

The article concludes:

The EPA’s definition of “environmental justice” is “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.”

There is no such thing as environmental justice–the government does NOT control the environment! This office will simply be a center for the redistribution of wealth, which is the ultimate goal of the Biden (Obama) administration.