Posts Tagged ‘EPA’
Friday, August 14th, 2015
Austin had a very, very wet spring, but August is shaping up in normal fashion: Bone dry and hot as hell. Try to keep cool and enjoy a Friday LinkSwarm:
“There is no real distinction between today’s Democrats and socialists.”
Democrats have an America problem.
The email scandal could very well sink Hillary:
Politicized or not, the DOJ will be increasingly boxed in by the FBI and intelligence community investigations. Normally, when the intelligence community finds classified materials in unauthorized locations, it seeks felony prosecutions. Gen. David Petraeus was sunk for keeping his own personal calendars in an unlocked drawer at home. The calendars were deemed classified, even if they lacked an official stamp. President Clinton’s CIA Director, John Deutsch, lost his job and security clearance for using his portable computer at home. It had classified material on it. Those violations are trifling compared to Hillary Clinton’s exposure.
(Hat tip: Instapundit.)
Longtime Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin may be joining her in the big house
Bernie Sanders up over Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire? #WhiteVotesMatter
Ohio Democrats continue their youth movement by recruiting 74-year old Ted Strickland for a Senate race.
Someone spilled millions of gallons of toxic waste into a river! Call the EPA! Oh wait, it was the EPA.
Islamic State executes 300 electoral civil servants in Iraq. Good thing we’ve got Nobel Prize winner Barack Obama sowing peace and stability to the Middle East rather than that warmongering bungler Bush… (Hat tip: Jihad Watch.)
So why did the Obama Administration pretend Taliban-head Mullah Omar was still alive when he’s probably been dead 2 years? (Hat tip: Prairie Pundit.)
And why is the Obama Administration siding with the terrorists and against the Americans who have already won legal judgments against them?
A whole bunch of gun myths debunked. (Hat tip: Borepatch.)
Just why did the University of Minnesota think it needed grenade launchers? (Hat tip: Say Uncle.)
China devalues the Yuan. This is Big Freaking News, but hard to conceptualize, since China’s economic statistics are have not even a nodding acquaintance with reality, and haven’t for at least a decade. So is China’s current bubble bad, or super mega world-shatterling bad?
Your guide to global black market pricing.
Islamic State Worse off than Greece?
Brazil: Super-Duper boned.
“Great Cthulhu emerges as surprise front-runner in Labour leadership contest.”
Tianjin, China Blows Up Real Good.
Jihadis kill four, kidnap six from hotel in central Mali. That’s really going to crimp your vacation plans. (Hat tip: Jihad Watch.)
Cop-killing inmate dies in prison riot. Alas, my electron microscope is being recalibrated, so I won’t be able to find the proper sized violin to commemorate this sad occasion… (Hat tip: Dwight.)
Social Justice Warriors continue their war on comedy on campus.
Man arrested for shooting at police in Ferguson was completely unarmed. Except for his guns.
Cool World War II radio intercepts story, via Instapundit.
Florida Man has been busy.
Tags:2016 Election, 2016 Presidential Race, Afghanistan, Bernie Sanders, black market, Brazil, China, Crime, Cthulhu, Democrats, environmentalism, EPA, Florida, Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton Scandals, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Italy, Jihad, Mali, Mullah Omar, Obama Scandals, Palestinians, PIIGS, Social Justice Warriors, Ted Strickland
Posted in Crime, Democrats, Economics, Elections, Foreign Policy, Jihad, Military, Obama Scandals, Social Justice Warriors | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 30th, 2013
Still getting up to speed, so expect these updates to be a bit random for, oh, the next five weeks or so.
Abbott: The Obama Administration’s Voting Rights Act lawsuit is purely political.
The administration’s approach reveals the Democrats‘ fear that Republican candidates were making inroads with Hispanic voters. Democrats could never “turn Texas blue” if that trend continued, so they got the courts to draw district lines that guarantee Democratic victory in predominantly Hispanic areas.
Instead of allowing the Voting Rights Act to work in a way the Constitution allows, the Obama administration is sowing racial divide to score cheap political points. The president is using the legal system as a sword to wage partisan battles rather than a shield to protect voting rights. This overreaching action undermines the Voting Rights Act and the rule of law. Texas will not tolerate it. So far, neither will the Supreme Court.
Abbot also appeared on Lou Dobbs to discuss voter ID:
He also appeared on the Mike Huckabee show:
And the Mike Gallagher Show:
And Trey Ware’s show on KTSA:
Huckabee, who last endorsed David Dewhurst in the Senate race, endorses Dan Patrick in the Lt. Governor’s race. I’m sure the endorsement had nothing to do with Huckabee’s son doing work for a consulting firm hired by Patrick…
Former state Rep. Ray Keller is running for the Railroad Commission.
Interview with Barry Smitherman
The Houston Chronicle tackles the Lt. Governor’s race by…comparing Twitter statistics for Jerry Patterson and Dan Patrick. I feel dumber merely by having linked to that.
Texas Sparkle endorses Todd Staples for Lt. Governor.
Eric Opiela is running for Agricultural Commissioner. I sort of like his ad featuring a Prius-driving EPA official:
Malachi Boyuls is running for the railroad commission. You don’t see many Malachis in public office these days…
Democrat Mike Mjetland is considering running for Governor.
Tags:2014 Election, 2014 Governor's Race, 2014 Lt. Governor's Race, Barry Smitherman, Dan Patrick, Elections, EPA, Eric Opiela, Greg Abbott, Jerry Patterson, Malachi Boyuls, Mike Huckabee, Mike Mjetland, Ray Keller, Republicans, Texas, Todd Staples, video, Voter ID
Posted in Elections, Republicans, Texas, video | 1 Comment »
Saturday, June 8th, 2013
It’s hard to find time to do an ordinary LinkSwarm with so much Obama scandal news breaking. It’s like ScandalPalooza. And there are some scandal tidbits here as well.
Inside the life of Kim Il-Sung’s personal sushi chef.
Obama’s arguments for vast NSA powers amounts to “Terrorism is on the run. That’s why we have to tap all your phones and read all your email.”
You know what the great weasel word in common for tech giant non-denial denials on the NSA PRISM scandal? “Direct access.” Or “we give them boatloads of indirect access.”
The IRS scandal is like Enron: criminality by underlings empowered by a toxic culture at the top by people who think the rules don’t apply to them because they’re smarter than everyone else. “Any good CEO will tell you that ethical meltdowns like the IRS political-targeting scandal are rarely the work of a few rogue employees. Such messes are the result of a toxic culture that has been allowed to fester.”
That Gibson guitar raid now makes sense as part of Obama’s weaponizing of the federal government.
ObamaCare advocates are just fine with doubling premiums for the poor.
Code Pink learns that Michelle Obama may not be criticized any time, ever, for anything.
Oh, come on! You can’t even parody this stuff any more. (Hat tip: Ace of Spades.)
Fake EPA employee wins real EPA award. (Also from Ace of Spades, which has a lot more EPA malfeasance, including the same sort of conservative targeting the IRS used.)
The idea that conservatives oppose Obama just because he’s black is an outrageous, pernicious lie that harms America.
Mark Steyn: Why are we spending billions on the NSA when we don’t have the guts to actual screen Muslim immigrants?
A former Communications Intelligence officer looks at PRISM.
24 Turks arrest for anti-Erodgan Tweets.
Complex regulation i strangling American business.
Tags:EPA, IRS, Jihad, LinkSwarm, Media Watch, NSA, Obama Scandals, ObamaCare, PRISM, Tayyip Erodgan, Turkey
Posted in Jihad, Media Watch, Obama Scandals, ObamaCare | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 21st, 2012
“A federal court has struck down an Environmental Protection Agency rule that forces cuts in soot- and smog-forming power plant emissions that cross state lines, dealing a major blow to the White House’s air quality agenda. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule.”
This is great news for Texas, as the original rules could have resulted in Texans dying during the height of summer due to shutting down existing Texas power plants before new ones had come online. Those rules had already been stayed early this year, but have now been struck down entirely.
From the news stories, it’s unclear whether the Obama Administration’s EPA will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
More from Red State.
Edited to add: TPPF now has a memo up celebrating the ruling. For once I was ahead of them!
Tags:EPA, Regulation, Texas, Texas Public Policy Foundation
Posted in Regulation, Texas | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, August 14th, 2012
The U.S. Fifth Court of Appeals ruled for Texas and against the EPA on the latter’s rejection of Texas’ Flexible Permit program.
In November 1994, Texas submitted a proposed amendment to its State Implementation Plan that included the Flexible Permit program. The Clean Air Act required that EPA approve or disapprove the amendment within 18 months. However, the EPA did not announce its rejection of the program and the permits issued under it until July 2010 – more than 14 years after its statutory deadline to act.
Just think: Thanks to ObamaCare, soon that same lightning-fast efficiency exhibited by the EPA will be coming to your doctor’s office.
Note: This is not the cross-state border emissions rules that was threatening to shut down power plants at the height of the summer (which, thankfully, hasn’t happened so far). Texas’ appeal on that is still pending.
Tags:EPA, Obama, Regulation, Texas
Posted in Regulation, Texas | No Comments »
Thursday, May 10th, 2012
You know all those lovely jobs the free market has been creating in Williamson County? Well, they’re about to be salamandered:
The Williamson County Conservation Foundation is gathering a task force of various communities and stakeholders to try and prevent the endangered listing of several salamander species in Central Texas.
This has been churning away in the background for a while, but I’m hearing that it’s about to impact some local Williamson County Republican races. I don’t think I have a good handle on all the angles yet. I’ll try to post when I do.
Tags:EPA, Republicans, Texas, Williamson County
Posted in Austin, Regulation, Texas | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 28th, 2012
Texas wins another skirmish in the war the EPA is waging against the state’s prosperity, this one over “minor pollutants.” The EPA was suppose to file any objection to the state’s plans within 18 months, but instead, displaying the lightning speed the federal government is known for, they waited four and a half years to object. The actual 6th court ruling is here.
As far as I can tell, this doesn’t affect the Cross-Border Rules (i.e., the one EPA ruling most likely to kill Texans in a heat wave, since it requires closing down power plants), which are (last time I checked) currently stayed.
Tags:environmentalism, EPA, Regulation, Texas
Posted in Regulation, Texas | No Comments »
Monday, January 2nd, 2012
In all the pre-New Year’s Eve excitement, I missed Friday’s news that D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals enjoined the EPA from implementing its Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) until the court completed its review of the legal challenges against the rule.
This is good news, especially if the rules is invalidated, since that would prevent Texans from dying, as might well happen should older power plants that can’t meet the new rules be unavailable to provide power during peak summer days. (And remember that a 2003 heatwave killed more than 14,000 people in France.
Thanks to the Texas Public Policy Foundation (which has been following the story closely) for the heads-up.
Tags:Energy Policy, EPA, Obama, Texas, Texas Public Policy Foundation
Posted in Texas | 2 Comments »
Monday, September 5th, 2011
It appears that my celebration was premature. I previously reported that the Obama Administration’s shelving of new, economically-destructive smog regulations meant Texas was off the hook. It now appears that isn’t the case, and we can still expect rolling blackouts (and likely additional heat-related fatalities) thanks to the completely different “cross-state pollution rules:”
The controversial “cross-state pollution” rule, which aims at tightening emissions from power plants in Texas and 26 other states, remains scheduled for implementation in January. The cross-state rule targets nitrogen oxides, an ozone precursor, as well as sulfur dioxide, which is not an ozone precursor but can also cause lung damage.
“The cross state air pollution rule is final,” Betsaida Alcantara, press secretary for the Environmental Protection Agency, which crafted the rule, said in an email.
[snip]
The cross-state rule requires Texas power plants to lower sulfur dioxide emissions by 46 percent and nitrogen oxide emissions by 7 percent compared with 2009 levels, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the state’s environmental agency.
But the cross-state rule has stirred huge opposition from Texas officials, who say it is onerous and takes effect too quickly. In a statement Friday, the TCEQ said that it hoped the ozone rule pullback “signals that the EPA is beginning to consider science and common sense in their decisions, and we would hope that they would apply this to other regulations such as the proposed cross-state air pollution rule.”
Last week the Texas electric grid operator reported that the cross-state rule could curtail the operations of some coal plants so severely that it could lead to rolling blackouts — an issue that carries heightened visibility as Texas comes off a scorching summer that badly stretched power supplies.
“At least two” rotating outages would have occurred this summer had the pollution rule been in place, said Warren Lasher, an official with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the grid operator.
So it appears that I was wrong when stating the EPA had come to its senses. In fact, he Obama Administration does still want to kill Texans in the name of radical environmentalism.
BattleSwarmBlog regrets the error.
Tags:Energy Policy, environmentalism, EPA, Obama, Texas
Posted in Democrats, Economics, Texas | 2 Comments »
Friday, September 2nd, 2011
When last we checked the Obama Administration, as part of it’s ongoing war against (pick one or more) A) Energy, B.) Capitalism, and/or C.) Texas, had the EPA come up with new emissions rules that would have resulted in Texas power plants having to shutdown before sufficient new capacity was online, which would most likely have resulted in rolling blackouts (and probably fatalities) the next time summer came around.
Now comes word that the EPA is backing off on new smog emissions rules. Naturally Rick Perry, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and the 25 million Texans who’s A/C won’t suddenly shut off when it hits 112° in August because some bureaucrat in Washington decreed it are pleased, while radical environmentalists are outraged.
Score one for the good guys.
Tags:Energy Policy, EPA, Obama, Rick Perry, Texas
Posted in Economics, Regulation, Texas | 1 Comment »