The temperature climbed to well over 100 in Las Vegas, Arizona, much of Texas, and New Mexico. In Phoenix, the heat wave is the worst since 1974. The New York Times had this headline linking the rising temperatures to climate change:
Well, of course, the climate is always changing, but our friends at the Heartland Institute published these two useful charts on U.S. heatwaves. The first shows no real pattern of more extreme heat waves in recent years – despite this year’s scorcher. Chart 2 shows the heatwave of the 1930s was at least on par with the current surge in temperatures. Was the 1930s heat blast due to “climate change” too? That heat wave during the Great Depression happened before 90 percent of the global CO2 emissions were belched into the earth’s atmosphere.
2) New Jersey Marches Next In Line To Abolish Gasoline-Powered Cars
First, California comes up with a crazy idea and the next thing you know... New Jersey is right behind them.
NJ Governor Phil Murphy has handed down this "administrative rule:"
The plan would “require car manufacturers to ramp up sales of electric vehicles before barring them from producing fossil fuel vehicles altogether in 2035.”
Electric vehicle sales will reach 100% in 2035 – by order of the Governor.
Staple this announcement to every tree in the Garden State.
To our knowledge, Murphy never asked the state’s citizens whether they WANT an EV. Nationwide, less than one in ten new car sales are EVs.
Murphy won his bid for re-election by just 3.2 percentage points in 2021. Now Jersey residents will pay the price.
3) Why Are Republicans Helping Dick Durbin Regulate Credit Cards
Today, unlike as recently as 25 years ago, almost all Americans of all incomes have access to the convenience of credit or debit cards rather than having to carry around wads of cash. It’s been a fantastic pro-consumer convenience now available to all.
Naturally, Congress can’t resist regulating the industry. Illinois Senator Dick Durbin's infamous debit card price controls ended rewards debit cards and all but ended free checking in America – with no apparent savings for consumers at the cash register.
Now, Durbin is setting his sights on credit cards, with his so-called "Credit Card Competition Act", which would impose implicit price controls on credit cards. Five Republicans are cosponsors of these bills to impose the new regulations:
Sen. Marshall, Roger [R-KS]
Sen. Vance, J. D. [R-OH]
Rep. Gooden, Lance [R-TX-5]
Rep. Tiffany, Thomas P. [R-WI-7]
Rep. Van Drew, Jefferson [R-NJ-2]
Durbin claims there is a lack of competition in the credit card market, allowing providers like Visa and Mastercard to charge monopolistic prices. But a recent analysis from the Federal Reserve shows that this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Credit card companies often incurred net losses on their transactions because they were paying out more in rewards to consumers than they were taking in from interchange fees – which have risen 25% from 2015 to 2020.
These thin profit margins are a testament to the fierce competition in the credit card market and proof that consumers are the big winners because they enjoy the benefit of all that cash back, frequent flyer miles, etc.
Durbin's bill would only make it more difficult for lower-income families to access credit cards - which is hardly pro-consumer.
Durbin's never seen a market he wouldn't like the government to take over – but what excuse do his Republican cosponsors have?
As of Friday, 225 people who failed the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test used for teacher licensing from 1994 to 2014 had already been notified they’re getting settlements of at least $1 million, according to an analysis of Manhattan federal court records.
Court rulings found the exam violated civil-rights laws, allowing far more white candidates to pass.
So the progressives in America want to put men and women who can’t even pass a basic competency test in front of a classroom with 25 kids – all in the name of “equity"? How can kids learn a subject if the teacher doesn’t even understand the subject?
This ruling is based on the crazy legal doctrine of disparate impact: namely that any exam some minority groups disproportionately fail is racist.
But who will suffer the “disparate impact” from having to sit in a classroom with an incompetent teacher? MINORITY CHILDREN!
5) Speaking of Outrage – American Taxpayers Still Funding the Wuhan Lab
This is welcome news but... the Biden administration somehow waited until July 2023 to do this?? How in the world were US taxpayers' dollars still being sent to the Wuhan lab until YESTERDAY?
