Grifters have long fascinated us. Operating outside accepted moral standards, they excel at persuading their “marks” to hand valuables over willingly. If they ever represented a “distinctly American ethos,” they’ve been supplanted by con artists seeking bank accounts for funds abandoned by Nigerian princes. Their artful dodging is epitomized by Frank Abagnale daring the FBI to “catch me if you can,” Anna Delvey inventing Anna Sorokin, Redford and Newman masterminding their famous Sting, and … [Read more...]
ESG’s Perverse, Narrow, Fraudulent Ethical Principles
Warning: Your retirement fund may have been Shanghaied by BlackRock or other Wall Street asset managers who’ve unilaterally decided that the tens of trillions of dollars of other people’s money they control should be used to advance political causes they favor – to “make the world a better place.” Image: Creative Commons under Unsplash As most people know, ESG stands for Environmental protection, Social justice, and Governance of corporate and societal affairs. They’re all … [Read more...]
Vital Energy Lessons for Virginia and America
When they open their 30-day session on January 11, Virginia’s Senate and House of Delegates must correct some serious energy mistakes they made two years ago, when Democrats controlled nearly the entire state government and passed the “Virginia Clean Economy Act.” One of its party-line provisions requires that Virginia adopt California’s requirement that only low-emission vehicles (LEVs) be sold by the model year 2025 and only zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) by MY 2035. That means in barely … [Read more...]
Escaping from the COP-27 Insane Asylum
“Show us the money!” climate activists demand, and rich countries are expected to pony up.Do I hear $100 billion? Would you give $1 trillion? Now, then, would you give $2 trillion?The climate reparations bidding war is on. What began at $100-billion-a-year at COP-21 in Paris rapidly ballooned to $1.3-trillion on the eve of COP-27 in Sharm-el-Sheikh-Down, Egypt, and now stands at $2.4-trillion annually! And we’re nowhere near “going once, going twice, sold.”Of course, it was always about the … [Read more...]
The Coming Green Electricity Nightmare
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) wanted regulatory reform, in part to reverse some of the Biden Administration's reversals of Trump-era reforms intended to expedite permits for fossil fuel projects. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) needed Manchin’s vote in the 50-50 Senate to enact his latest spending extravaganza, the Inflation Reduction Act, which was primarily a massive climate and “green” energy subsidy arrangement. It gives Schumer allies some $370 billion in wind, solar, … [Read more...]
Washington, DC’s Energy Colonialism
Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser thinks people worldwide have a “human right” to come to the United States, legally or illegally. Our nation’s capital proudly proclaimed itself a “sanctuary city” in 2016. “We celebrate our diversity and respect all DC residents,” the mayor said, “no matter their immigration status.” But when Arizona and Texas were overwhelmed by a million-plus illegal migrants – and their governors sent a couple thousand of them to Washington – she was outraged. They … [Read more...]
Biden Energy Policies: Incoherent, Incompetent, Intolerable
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in West Virginia v. EPA is truly a landmark ruling. It decisively rejected the Environmental Protection Agency’s attempt to use vague, “previously little-used” language in the Clean Air Act to shutter America’s remaining coal-fired power plants and force the nation to switch to pseudo-renewable energy, in the name of ending the “manmade climate crisis.” But the decision goes much further. The Court made it clear that federal agencies may not … [Read more...]
War on Fossil Fuels Means US Oil Sales to China — Child, Slave Labor
As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden promised to end fossil fuel use in America. Biden said, there’ll be "no more drilling," "no more pipelines." Within hours of taking office, President Biden ended construction on the Keystone XL pipeline and began imposing leasing and drilling moratoriums, slow-walking permits, pressuring banks not to fund oil companies, and taking other steps to turn his promises into policies. However, with a little boost from President Vladimir Putin’s war on … [Read more...]
Real Threats to Biodiversity and Humanity
References to climate change almost guarantee funding, even for research topics of little interest beyond academia and eco-activists. Polls reveal that most people worry most about energy and food prices, crime, living standards, Putin’s war on Ukraine, and increasing efforts to control their lives. A recent study by Rutgers University scientists sought to determine how much diversity is required among bee species to sustain wild plant populations. They concluded that ecosystems rely … [Read more...]
Cancel Mom’s Grocery Bag Misinformation
I don’t deliberately avoid organic foods or markets, but I don’t seek them out either. Claims that organic food tastes better or is more nutritious are not supported by evidence and certainly don’t justify the far higher prices. Mostly, I’m put off by assertions that organic food is pesticide-free, safer, and more planet-friendly. Those assertions are simply false advertising; deliberate misinformation. Mom’s Organic Market shopping bags provide an excellent example. They’re emblazoned with … [Read more...]
