Dems Throw Mary Landrieu To The wolves, Reject Keystone Pipeline

 

Embattled Louisiana Democrat Senator Mary Landrieu was on her knees, literally. She begged her fellow Democrats in the lame duck Senate to vote to pass the Keystone Pipeline, because she saw it as the only slim chance she had left to save her seat in the coming run off election in energy conscious Louisiana.

It failed to pass the Senate.

You see, it was one thing for her to whore herself out for ObamaCare and the rest of that putrid agenda.But now, she's no longer useful, and a lot of the far Left Democrat Senators, especially the ones from blue states who didn't lose their seats  saw no reason to buck the president and the climate change nazis just to save her copious behind. Come December 6th, she will be pitted against Republican Bill Cassidy, who's comfortably ahead even in Democrat polls like PPP. She's almost certain to lose.

The Republicans together with the more sensible senate Democrats will pass this in January, and given that today's vote was 59-41 and the GOP will have made 9 pickups when the new senate sits, they likely have a veto proof majority to pass something that should have been passed years ago.

I admit that I enjoy seeing Landrieu booted out, but it does recall something I read about how the SDS, the communists  and other radical groups operated. They would start by recruiting useful idiots for the more benign 'social justice' parts of their agenda and cynically use them for as long as they could, gradually demanding loyalty on the more radical parts until the mark simply wasnlt willing to go along anymore..after which they'd be dumped and ostracized.

The SDS used to talk about people like Mary Landrieu as being 'on the bus' for as long as they were down for the agenda and made it a point to massage them on how important they were to the movement, how much they were loved, yadda yadda.  And once the bus reached a place where the mark voiced misgivings or hesitated, they were off the bus and that was that.

Mary Landrieu is off the bus.In fact, she's under it.

Executive Orders Are Redistributing American Wealth

 

By Laura Rambeau Lee

It began with a guest appearance by then administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Lisa P. Jackson on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart back in April of 2010. During their discussion she stated that they were waiting for the price of carbon to be established so that we could meet our commitments to the country and the entire world.  What?  What exactly are our commitments to the country and the entire world?  Some research and digging into this seemingly innocuous statement led to some pretty interesting albeit disturbing discoveries.

 

On June 14, 1992 the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)  was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  At this conference, referred to as the Rio Earth Summit, the participants crafted a blueprint for the world, commonly known as Agenda 21.  In its preamble, Agenda 21, Chapter 1 states:

“Humanity stands at a defining moment in history. We are confronted with a perpetuation of disparities between and within nations, a worsening of poverty, hunger, ill health and illiteracy, and the continuing deterioration of the ecosystems on which we depend for our well-being.  However, integration of environment and development concerns and greater attention to them will lead to the fulfilment of basic needs, improved living standards for all, better protected and managed ecosystems and a safer, more prosperous future. No nation can achieve this on its own; but together we can - in a global partnership for sustainable development.” 

In other words, the goal of the United Nations is social and economic justice through a redistribution of wealth scheme using the threat of anthropogenic (man-made) global warming or climate change to implement the market based solution of carbon emissions trading.  The International Monetary Fund  proposed a plan for a Green Fund to achieve this goal.

Following the Earth Summit President George H. W. Bush declared: “Effective execution of Agenda 21 will require a profound reorientation of all human society, unlike anything the world has ever experienced – a major shift in the priorities of both governments and individuals and an unprecedented redeployment of human and financial resources. This shift will demand that a concern for the environmental consequences of every human action be integrated into individual and collective decision-making at every level.” – signed by G.H. Bush, 1992

Despite pressure from the United Nations partners, U.S. delegates did not sign on to the convention.

On June 29, 1993 President Clinton issued Executive Order 12852 establishing the President’s Council on Sustainable Development as a result of the Rio Earth Summit in an effort to cooperate and implement the goals of Agenda 21.  Our obligations to the world through a treaty never ratified by our Senate are being implemented through presidential executive orders.

During George W. Bush’s two terms as President he continued to further the goals of this United Nations agenda, following his father’s lead and continuing the work of President Clinton.

Why is all of this important?  This ties in directly with the push for cap and trade legislation that has been floating around the House and Senate for many years.  When Congress failed to pass a bill, on May 14, 2010 the E.P.A. unveiled their rules to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from the largest industrial facilities, with a phased in approach that began on January 1, 2011.  As a result we are hearing about the many coal plants that are being forced to shut down in the next few years because they cannot meet these emissions reduction numbers, and it will be too expensive to retrofit their plants.  President Obama announced new CAFÉ standards for automobiles that will require them to achieve 36.5 miles to the gallon by 2016 and 54.5 miles per gallon by the year 2025.  The talking points are that this will help us achieve energy security and reduce our use of foreign oil.  But the truth is that the United States has committed to the United Nations and its partners to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and these CAFÉ standards will have to be met in order to achieve this goal. The taxes on carbon dioxide emissions, along with other implemented market based solutions, are being funneled through the United Nations to other U.N. member countries.

When cap and trade legislation failed to pass, then Senator John Kerry (D-MA) said: "The Obama administration has again reminded Washington that if Congress won't legislate, the EPA will regulate.  Those who have spent years stalling need to understand: killing a Senate bill is no longer success.  And if Congress won't legislate a solution the EPA will regulate one, and it will come without the help to America's business and consumers contained in the American Power Act."   Senator Kerry replaced Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Obama Administration, both tasked with the responsibility of redistributing the wealth of the American people to other developing United Nations member countries through USAID.

 

Americans must realize how much of our tax money is being sent overseas to meet our commitments to the global community under a treaty never ratified by this country but implemented through presidential executive orders and cabinet departments like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and the State Department.  

At the 2009 Climate Conference in Copenhagen (COP 15), U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged that developed countries would mobilize $100 billion by 2020 from both public and private sources for climate mitigation and adaptation in the developing world.  And you can bet that the bulk of that money will come from the hard earned labor and borrowed future earnings of middle class Americans.

 

Click to see the video of The Daily Show's interview of Lisa P. Jackson

 crossposted at Right Reason                                                                                              

Something to Think About Concerning The Big Freeze In The USA

 

To the distress of the global warming groupies, what we appear to be seeing now is a trend towards global cooling, a theory a number of scientists have now come out for.

The average temperature today in America is a chilly 19.9°Fahrenheit. Airports, schools and roads are closed nationwide, and temperature records in places like Chicago have been smashed.

In Canada, it's so cold they're experiencing what are called 'frost quakes' - sonic boom type explosion that occur when rain and ice seeps down into the soil freezes when the temperature drops and then expands with a loud explosion as the temperature drops further.

And in Europe, some people are comparing this winter to a period in the 14th century known as 'the year without summer'.

We live in a time when 'climate change' - actually, an excuse for a wealth transfer from the developed western world to UN and EU bureaucrats and selected cronies - has led to carbon taxes, 'smart grids' that can regulate when and how you use your appliances,various green energy scams while proven technology is handicapped and shut down and even the banning of the light bulb in favor of hazmat creating mercury-filled devices at ten times the price.

Here's something to mull over as you shiver...what if all of these devices, products and processes were what was keeping a major cooling of the earth at bay? Geologically speaking, the earth has an ice age on average every ten thousand years or so and we were overdue before the 'global warming' Nazis began using this as a new avenue of government control and in many cases,personal enrichment.

What if the entire 'global warming' campaign is responsible for the Big Chill that's going on now?

Pictures: Snowstorms In Israel, Egypt And Saudi Arabia !

 



Israel...

 

Saudi Arabia...




 

And Egypt! This is the first time Cairo has had snow in over a century.

(h/t Carl)

The Left Wants To Track Where And How Much You Drive - And Tax You On It

Here's a statist bureaucrat's wet dream - a black box in your car that tracks where you drive and how far, and then sends you a tax bill.

Both members of congress and state legislatures in Blue states are salivating over imposing this on every car driven in America.

The rationale is that funds are needed to maintain and fund improvements in the highway systems, and the money isn't there. Apparently the hefty sales and excise taxes,which in  high tax states like California can average almost 25% of the retail price of a gallon of gasoline at the pump  either aren't enough or are being used elsewhere.

The Left is also seeing the results of som eof its favorite crusades,  the push for hybrid electric cars (which use less gas at the pump but run on electricity generated by plants that run on fossil fuels or coal for the most part unless you're in a location where hydroelectric is available) and the constant war on domestic energy creation which has resulted in high fuel prices that have people simply driving less as a personal economy measure.

So they want to go to the black boxes.There's no mention, of course about exactly where the taxes collected at the pump are actually going.

As an added bonus, they will also be used to track where you drive and even whether you're exceeding the speed limit...so an electronic ticket can be generated and automatically mailed to you. It's a lot cheaper and more inclusive for them than those little radar guns and the overhead cameras.

Needless to say, the Ruling Class will almost certainly receive waivers if this goes into effect.

Wonks call it a mileage-based user fee. It is no surprise that the idea appeals to urban liberals, as the taxes could be rigged to change driving patterns in ways that could help reduce congestion and greenhouse gases, for example. California planners are looking to the system as they devise strategies to meet the goals laid out in the state's ambitious global warming laws.

Of course they are.The idea is control, and ideally forcing people to primarily use public transportation by making private cars very expensive propositions to use.

At one point, the article refers to the proposed black box imposed levy as a ' mileage-based user fee'.

User fees, like the registration fees you pay to your local Department of Motor Vehicles are currently a tax deductible item. Anyone want to bet this 'user fee' won't be?

UK's Global Warming Office New Figures: No Warming in the Past 15 Years

Whoopsie:

The supposed ‘consensus’ on man-made global warming is facing an inconvenient challenge after the release of new temperature data showing the planet has not warmed for the past 15 years.

The figures suggest that we could even be heading for a mini ice age to rival the 70-year temperature drop that saw frost fairs held on the Thames in the 17th Century.

Based on readings from more than 30,000 measuring stations, the data was issued last week without fanfare by the Met Office and the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit. It confirms that the rising trend in world temperatures ended in 1997.

Remember 'the science is settled'?

What I'd like to know now is how taxpayers in the developed world go about reclaiming the billions of taxpayer dollars that were and still are literally being stolen from the public purse in the name of this scam.

Brinks, The Great Train Robbery and even Bernie Madoff aren't even in the same league.

California Goes Crazy Again...

Ah, the beat goes on...

Notwithstanding the massive recalls of Chevy Volts, the low driving range before recharging and the high incidence of battery fires,The California Air Resources Board unanimously approved a set of new rules requiring that one in seven of the new cars sold in California by 2025 be an electric or other zero-emission vehicle.

The plan also mandates a 75 percent reduction in smog-forming pollutants by 2025, and a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from today's standards. All hail Gaia! :

"Today's vote ... represents a new chapter for clean cars in California and in the nation as a whole," said Mary Nichols, the board's chairman. "Californians have always loved their cars. We buy a lot of them and drive them. Now we will have cleaner and more efficient cars to love." [...]

Trade groups representing auto dealers worried that the new regulations would increase the costs of vehicles for consumers and stifle the industry's growth.

The California New Car Dealers Association and other industry groups representing those who sell cars said the board is overestimating consumer demand for electric vehicles and other so-called "zero-emission vehicles."

Dealers are concerned that the regulations will lead to higher costs in all cars, and say consumers have been slow to warm to electric and other zero-emission vehicles.

Board member Sandra Berg, who said she drives the all-electric Nissan Leaf, said before the vote that regulators need to take consumer behavior and choice seriously in this equation.

She said a lot of work must be done to educate dealers to sell the new generation of cars.

"Early adopters (of electric cars) are willing to go without heat to save the miles they need to get to their destination, but that is not going to help grow the consumer base," Berg said, referring to the range issues with some current electric vehicles.

The board's research staff disputes the argument from dealers that the mandates for new technology will increase costs for cars. They point to steady increases in hybrid and other sales and argue that fuel cost savings will make up for any vehicle price increase.

"Our research shows a $1,400 to $1,900 car price increase. But over the life of the vehicles, the owners save $6,000 in reduced fuel and maintenance costs," board spokesman David Clegern said.

Consumers have largely shied away from these electric vehicles because of their limited driving range, higher purchase prices ( I don't know what planet Clegern and his 'researchers' are living on) and a mixed record for reliability in a number of models. Simple solution..California's bureaucrats are going to force you to buy them.

Let's look at the likely results of this stupidity:

Car prices across the board are going to rise sharply. That includes the price of used cars as people desperately try to avoid having to shell out huge bucks for an electric car that only gets 30 to 40 miles per charge and makes trips to outlying areas without a charging station a thing of the past.And by the way, do you know how long it takes to charge up an electric car as opposed to a fill up at your local gas station?

Additional government spending in a state that's already broke to put in the infrastructure for charging stations and the all important bureaucrats and their staffs to ensure and monitor compliance by dealers and manufacturers.

Increased demand in the urban areas of California for electric power from the state's already strained power grid...and of course, higher prices for energy for both homes and what remains of California's businesses. Welcome to blackout city!

The ironic part is that this is being done in the name of 'global warming', but will have little or no effect of emissions because all that electric power comes from - you guessed it, power plants fueled by oil, gas, coal or nuclear power. And even if that wasn't true, pollution doesn't honor state boundaries. Or even national borders.

Of course, this isn't about pollution per se, but almost entirely political in nature. The Obama Administration loves cap n' trade because it provides tax revenues, cripples the hated oil and coal industries and gives them bureaucratic control over yet another segment of American industry. And it also allows them to use taxpayer dollars to reward campaign donors with Solyndra-like green energy scams. The Democrats who run California are no different.

If California was anything but a state of the Union, it would be under receivership right now.

Final Results Of The Climate Conference's Attempted Rip Off Of American Taxpayers

The Durban Climate Conference I reported on here and here has come to an end.

President Obama and the UN were unsuccessful in their attempt to soak America with a huge 'climate tax' and transfer billions to the UN while bypassing Congress, but the can was essentially kicked down the road until next year, and there was some progress towards that ultimate goal.

The Chinese and India, who quite correctly were holdouts on something that could have bankrupted their developing economies caved in finally to some degree, agreeing to take part in talks starting next year that could bind them for the first time to emission reductions. Obama's delegates representing the U.S. signed on to plan led by Europe to reach a 'global agreement' by 2015 that would put the climate tax in place and funnel money to the UN.

The impasse was between the US, which was arguing for the tax and Russia, China and India who were firmly against it.

EU Climate Czar Connie Hedegaard broke that impasse a by presenting a “roadmap” that calls for China and India to reduce emissions by 2020, but the details won't be solidified for now....they'll start fleshing that out at the next climate summit in Qatar.one year from today. As part of the agreement in Durban, Japan, Russia and Canada dropped their resistance to renewing their commitment to Kyoto treaty after its targets expire in 2012,although they won't face any formal penalties if they don't comply.

So essentially, the entire scheme is put off for one year. Keep in mind that while President Obama may have been defeated by then,he will still be in office, so this bears careful watching.

Especially since the dinosaur media isn't telling you a thing about this foul effort to pick your pockets to benefit a lot of well connected greenies, Third world shakedown artists and UN bureaucrats.

Keep in mind that the framework agreed on in Durban was specifically designed to avoid being a treaty = because those have to be voted on by the Senate,not just put through by executive order.

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Obama Delegates Fighting Hard For UN 'Climate Tax' To Bankrupt America

As I reported previously, President Obama has his people working hard on a scheme to soak America with a huge 'climate tax' and transfer billions to the UN while bypassing Congress.

This is taking place at a UN climate conference in Durban, South Africa, where what's on the table is a new tax levied by the UN on every foreign currency transaction in the world and a UN tax on imports and exports.This would cost Americans billions, and is essentially the mother of all wealth transfers.

President Obama is reportedly prepared to implement this by executive order to bypass Congress, since a formal treaty would need to be ratified by the Senate.This would affect America much more than the EU, since they managed to get a provision exempting transactions with the eurozone.

Needless to say, you're not hearing anything about this in the media or from any of the presidential candidates in the debates.

The latest developments? The US is fighting tooth and nail with China and India, who are refusing to sign on:

But behind the back and forth over language and technical details, the talks have boiled down to a tussle between the United States, which wants all polluters to be held to the same legal standard on emissions cuts, and China and India who want to ensure their fast growing economies are not shackled.

The fractious late night exchanges punctured the earlier mood of cautious optimism which had suggested agreement on the four separate accord in the package was possible.

Should the talks collapse on Sunday, that would represent a major setback for host South Africa and raise the prospect that the Kyoto Protocol could expire at the end of 2012 with no successor treaty in place.

Aside from the Chinese being concerned about their own exports to places like America, they are also likely concerned about the effect this would have on America's economy and the US debt they are holding as investors.

Another problem is that some of the potential Third World beneficiaries aren't satisfied with language talking vaguely about a 'protocol' or 'legal instrument' . They want an actual treaty or something close to it, to ensure that they're able to glom on to all that money.

Asked if the latest language was acceptable, Karl Hood, who represents an alliance of 43 small island states, said: "No it's not. Never was and never will be. It's too broad a statement."

His alliance colleague MJ Mace, added: "You need a legally binding instrument. You have legal outcomes all the time. A decision is an outcome. You need something treaty like."

President Obama has been working quite hard to punish America and shackle its economy, and a UN 'climate tax' is a decent vehicle, especially one that bypasses Congress.

I'm rooting for the Chinese on this one..let's hope the talks collapse and that President Obama's latest big idea is a stillborn one.

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Obama To Bypass Congress And Hit US With UN 'Climate Tax'

President Obama has a wonderful new scheme to raise taxes - oh,sorry, 'new revenues' - on America's collective back in the making. And this time, it's not even for America but for the UN!

President Obama's negotiators at the at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa are apparently prepared to approve an agreement calling for a tax on foreign currency transactions designed to pay for a "Green Climate Fund."

Negotiators at the conference are considering "a new tax on every foreign currency transaction in the world," according to the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT). "Every time you travel abroad, you'll have to pay a climate tax," explains CFACT, the group that released the "Climategate" emails. "More importantly, every time we import goods, every time we export our fine products (think jobs) we will do so with a climate tax skimming off the top."

European countries would evade much of the tax burden, however, because "transactions within the Eurozone won't have to pay this new tax."

CFACT suggests that Obama is open to implementing this tax and similar policies in the absence of a full climate treaty, which would require congressional approval. "We have learned that while many have discounted this conference, knowing that a full climate treaty is difficult to achieve especially with a U.S. Senate that will not vote to ratify," CFACT says. "Obama and his fellow climate travelers are working around the Senate and planning to stick America with the bill."

Higher taxes, punish America, do an end run around Congress - tell me that doesn't sound exactly like a wet dream for the current occupant of the White House.

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