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Op-Ed: The Insanity of the Inflation Reduction Act

March 5, 2023 by 12 Comments

The following opinion was written and submitted by Paul Plante.

In a now world-famous TWEET on TWITTER by TWEETER-in-chief Joseph Robinette Biden, Junior, the first of his name, or any name for that matter, since Scipio Africanus, and Julius Caesar, and Pompey and even Alexander the Great never got there, to achieve the status of LEADER OF THE WORLD MAGNUS, we common folks, not only here in America, one of Joe’s many provinces that he governs, wisely it is said, but all over the world, as well, because there are a lot of common people out there like us, and like us, Joe has to show them some love, too, were informed as follows by Joe, to wit:

Joe Biden @JoeBiden
United States government official

For decades, climate deniers blocked any meaningful progress in dealing with the climate crisis, but not this year.

Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, we’re taking the most aggressive action to confront the climate crisis ever.

11:20 AM · Sep 1, 2022

end quotes

And people, ALL of us, not only here in America, or on earth for that matter, since this is at least an inter-galactic matter, given that what we do or don’t do here on earth affects the entire universe, inextricably linked as it all is, owe Joe a debt of gratitude for clearing that up for us, because silly us, spank ourselves on our bottoms for being so silly, we actually thought the INFLATION REDUCTION ACT was about, er, well, hey, c’mon man, you know, reducing inflation.

And where would we get such a cock-a-mamie idea as that?

How about the Cape Charles Mirror thread http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/news/r … ns-desk-2/ titled “Rep. Luria Votes to Lower Costs, Combat Climate Change and Tackle Inflation, Sends Inflation Reduction Act to President Biden’s Desk” on August 21, 2022, wherein we were informed as follows, to wit:

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Last Friday, Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA) voted to send the Inflation Reduction Act to the President’s desk and lower health care and prescription drug costs, combat climate change, tackle the root causes of inflation, and reduce the deficit.

end quotes

Yessirree Bob, people, look right there and you shall see it writ large – Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act was going to tackle the root causes of inflation, and reduce the deficit to combat climate change!

EXCEPT THAT IS ALL PRE-ELECTION POLITICAL BULL****, because the IRA doesn’t tackle the root causes of inflation, it is itself a root cause of inflation, it does nothing to reduce the deficit, it adds to the deficit, and it does nothing to combat climate change, because the massive environmental disruptions that are going to result from the implementation of Joe’s IRA are going to be drivers of climate change and weather disruptions!

Going back to that political propaganda concerning the Biden IRA from August 21, 2022, it continued as follows, to wit:

“Rising prices have impacted working families across the country, and the Inflation Reduction Act will put money back into the pockets of Coastal Virginians by lowering health care costs, reducing energy prices, creating jobs, and fighting inflation.”

end quotes

And the jobs being created by the BORROWED MONEY (don’t get sucked into that Biden-esque horse**** that it is paid for) of Joe’s IRA are in some large part the cause of the inflation that the Federal Reserve is now trying desperately to contain with interest rate hikes, while Joe’s IRA creates more and more of it to the detriment of our NATIONAL SECURITY and ECONOMY!

So as Joe’s IRA continues to pump more and more money into the economy to grow it, the Federal Reserve is working as hard as it can to bring that same economy into a recession, and if that isn’t a definition of INSANITY in action, there never will be one!

Going back to the political propaganda from August 21, 2022, it continues, as follows:

“The Inflation Reduction Act will also combat climate change and invest in American energy to end our dependence on foreign energy sources like Russia and China,” Rep. Luria said.

end quotes

End our dependence on foreign energy sources like China?

We don’t depend on China as an energy source.

To the contrary, we are exporting energy to China, which is not reducing, but increasing our energy costs, which increases inflation – not reduces it, as we see in this Rigzone article titled “Increasing US Oil Exports Push Prices Higher” by Bloomberg/Immanual John Milton and Julia Fanzeres on March 01, 2023, to wit:

Oil finished a tumultuous session higher with record US exports slowing inventory builds, igniting crude market bulls even as persistent fears of higher interest rates dragged Wall Street lower.

West Texas Intermediate settled at its highest in nine sessions, with the Energy Information Administration reporting that exports jumped 23%, slowing recent inventory builds.

Encouraging data out of China further supported the bulls’ thesis that global demand was on the mend and could support oil markets even amid concerns the US was headed for economic contraction.

“[EIA data] could be an indication that Asian demand, Chinese demand for oil could be returning,” said Rob Thummel, a portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital Advisors.

end quotes

Going back to the propaganda, because that propaganda sets the stage for where we have to go to next to further demonstrate the SHEER INSANITY of this so-called Inflation Reduction Act, it concludes as follows, and here, with that in the record, I will pause for the moment, to wit:

“The Inflation Reduction Act delivers for Coastal Virginians in the short-term while making long-term investments to reduce the deficit and build a better future for generations of Americans.”

According to 126 leading economists—including seven Nobel Prize winners, three former chairs of the Council of Economic Advisers, two former Treasury Secretaries— the Inflation Reduction Act “will fight inflation and lower costs for American families while setting the stage for strong, stable, and broadly-shared long-term economic growth.”

* * * *

The legislation also represents the largest single federal investment to combat climate change and promote energy security through growing our domestic energy production and ending our reliance on foreign sources.

The Inflation Reduction Act is fully paid for and will not add to the national debt or raise taxes on working families, and will reduce the deficit by more than $100 billion over the next decade.

Filed Under: Bottom, News, Opinion

Opinion: The Little Farm Did Wonderful Work

February 12, 2023 by Leave a Comment

The following opinion was written by Scott Cottrell. Mr. Cottrell worked with the Little Farm in Machipongo shoeing (Farrier) the horses housed there.

My name is Scott Cottrell and I had the honor and pleasure of being the Farrier that worked with Katie and crew in caring for their animals. I visited TLF at least twice a month (spending hours at each visit) and was always impressed at the quality and quantity of work done on behalf of the very lucky animals in their care- those animals won the lottery when they came under Katies charge. Katie and Les worked tirelessly on behalf of their animals …the life of an animal rescue manager is one of totally selfless service and commitment to their cause. These wonderful souls must deal with rising costs and uncertain budgets – all things completely out of their control. My hat is off to all of them.

To all who wonder if their contributions were well spent – your support to TLF made a world of difference in the lives of every animal Katie and Les touched. You should feel very good about your contributions….as I do. While I cannot answer questions re dotted “I’s”and crossed “t’s” re their charity I can speak as to what I saw over the time TLF was on the Eastern Shore – what I saw was selfless service and love for every animal in their charge. I am very proud to have worked with Katie and Les and am on lucky to have known them.

Filed Under: Bottom, News, Opinion

Opinion: Still have Questions about Little Farm

February 12, 2023 by 10 Comments

The following opinion is written and submitted by Don Green.

Since the Mirror’s publication of “What Happened to the Little Farm Rescue” on January 8, many questions have surfaced, such as:

“ If Katie and Lester Cook were the recipients of hundreds of thousands of dollars while in California and in Virginia, what happened to those funds?  

Were they really used exclusively to support the animals at the California and Virginia sanctuaries? Were any part of these funds used to purchase the improved real estate in Northampton County, VA, now apparently titled and for sale in the Cooks’ names, rather than that of The Little Farm?  

Were any part used to pay for the Cooks’ move from Northampton County to Franklin, Tennessee or for other private purposes? 

    Neither the Cooks nor their attorney has begun to answer these questions.

Despite the Cooks’ attorney’s statements of full disclosure regarding their plans to move, I never, whether in a Facebook post or a private communication, came across any statement indicating their intention to move to Tennessee.

What about The Little Farm’s 501(c)(3) status?  To date, nobody who has commented on the original article has unearthed any evidence that The Little Farm is currently registered in Virginia as a charitable organization or was registered as such in 2022.  It this is the case, the Cooks were soliciting charitable contributions on behalf of a non-existent charity.   

Regarding the farm animals, the Cooks’ attorney has not accounted for quite all of them; I remember reading about a large pig,  “One-Eyed Willie”, who made the trip from California to Machipongo, VA.   I saw no mention of Willie in Ms. Elkin’s summary of the animals retained and relocated.  Did he die in Virginia?  Was he euthanized?   Additionally, several rescuers deposited dozens of spayed and neutered feral cats at The Little Farm during its short period of operation in Virginia.  Again, there is no mention of them or of how or whether they were transferred.   If any or all of them are still at the Cooks’ property in Virginia, is anyone feeding them?

Finally, as several people have noted, the Cooks’ failure to answer any of these inquiries has raised further questions about their motivations:  even though they seemed to care for their animals, were they using them to solicit funds for private, noncharitable use?   The Cooks’ lawyer’s statement was really one long non-answer.

Here’s my own assessment of what may have happened after the Cooks moved to Virginia:  Though their property provided a wonderful sanctuary for farm animals, there was one important deficiency:  Northampton County lacks some aspects of the infrastructure that a couple moving from California would expect:  it has no quickly accessible specialized hospitals, large grocery stores, or large animal veterinarians.   It lacks a lot of the social structure important to young children that would be available in a more developed area.  Long drives to deal with sick children and animals are, unfortunately, a fact of life in Northampton.    

Additionally, Northampton’s good-old-boy system might not be the most welcoming to a “come-here” real estate agent (Mr. Cook’s profession) who hoped to sell luxury properties.  I believe these realities hit home sometime in early Summer 2022, a bit more than a year after their move to Northampton County.  Of course, by Autumn, they were gone.  It is possible that they hoped to avoid the questions of contributors and well-wishers by just slipping away, and had The Mirror’s January 8 article not appeared, perhaps they would have been able to do so.

Filed Under: Bottom, News, Opinion

Op-Ed: Biden’s GREEN Body Count 

January 29, 2023 by 10 Comments

The following Op-Ed is written and submitted by Paul Plante.

How many times now have we heard it said by Democrat Joe Biden that for there to be progress, somebody has to be hurt?

Yes, people, as Joe Biden says, and he would know because he is president and presidents know these things, progress is indeed disruptive to the status quo and as we will soon see from the New York Daily News article “E-bike battery blaze in Queens kills man and hospitalizes 10 others: FDNY” by Nicholas Williams and Thomas Tracy on January 21, 2023, progress, especially the “green” progress being pushed by Joe Biden to save the galaxy and universe from global warming, which will make Joe a hero, “green” progress can be quite deadly, as well.

But as Joe says, people, we will not be conquered by things like these, because, well, they happen, how can there be progress afterall if somebody is not hurt, people being hurt a necessary and sure sign that progress is indeed being made, and as a people, and as a nation, we will endure and not only will we endure, but we will emerge from this a better people, a stronger people, a more equitable people and just all-around nice people, which is a win-win-win-win for the nation and Biden regime.

And so that we can see what I am talking about, and the glorious future “GREEN JOE” Biden is leading us into, however reluctantly on our parts, which is why we all need Joe as our leader, let’s go to the story to see what happened and why it is a sure sign of “GREEN PROGRESS”, to wit:

A man was killed and 10 others were hospitalized when a charging e-bike battery sparked a raging Queens fire that tore through a home near LaGuardia airport, police and fire officials said Saturday.

end quotes

So, okay, yes, somebody did get killed here, but that is part of how progress is achieved, by studying these things and learning from these things, which is how we become a better and stronger people, those of us who survive, anyway, which takes us back for more details, as follows:

The blaze is the first fatal fire sparked by the lithium-ion batteries used in e-bikes and electric scooters this year, FDNY officials said.

Last year, six people died in fires caused by these batteries.

“How many places have caught on fire because of these things?” stunned neighbor Anette Ruiz asked as she looked over pieces of the burned e-bike scattered on the ground outside the scorched brick-faced home.

“It’s very dangerous and they continue to sell these things,” Ruiz, 26, said.

“At the end of the day it’s harmful and people can lose their life.”

end quotes

But with run-away global warming that threatens to wipe us all out in the next year or so if we don’t go GREEN ON STEROIDS, that is a small price to have to pay.

Going back for more details, we have:

A charging e-bike in the first-floor hallway of the 89th St. home in Jackson Heights exploded into flames around 11 p.m. Friday, officials said.

“[It] sounded like pops from the backyard,” neighbor Steve Gutierrez said.

“I saw the black smoke coming from back there.”

A moment later, building residents were running into the street, Gutierrez, 23, recalled.

“They were calling for a ladder in Spanish,” he remembered.

“Once I saw the fire get on the electrical wiring, that’s when I was like ‘Ok, let’s get everyone out of the house.’”

The burning e-bike was next to a first-floor staircase when it caught fire, FDNY officials said.

The resulting inferno was so intense that it burned through the first-floor and second-floor staircases, causing them to collapse as firefighters entered the building.

With the staircases burned through, firefighters had to bring in portable ladders to get up to the second and third floors as the fire raged around them.

Firefighters found a man in his 60s on the second floor of the three-story home suffering from smoke inhalation.

He was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital where he died.

The victim’s name has not been released as cops try to track down family members.

Six other residents of the home — which included a 57-year-old woman, a 45-year-old man and a 33-year-old man — who were rescued from the building, were taken to area hospitals with smoke inhalation, but were expected to recover.

Four firefighters suffered minor injuries as the staircases they were on collapsed around them, an FDNY official said.

About 100 firefighters responded to the blaze, which took about an hour to snuff out.

The fire threatened to spread to other homes, but was contained before it damaged any other addresses, firefighters said.

end quotes

So, okay, people, yes, there was a fire and yes, somebody died as a result, and a lot of other people are now homeless, but that is the price of freedom from global warming and CO2, people.

Before that E-bike battery exploded and burned down the house, think how much CO2 it kept from going into the environment and causing global warming which could kill us all, while this fire only killed one person, which takes us back for more details, to wit:

Lithium-ion batteries were responsible for more than 200 fires in the city last year, FDNY officials said.

About 140 people have been hurt and six people have been killed in these fires, authorities said.

That’s more than double the number of lithium-ion battery fires the FDNY saw in 2021, when 100 fires were linked to e-bike and scooter batteries.

The FDNY has repeatedly warned about the dangers of placing e-bikes and scooters near staircases, which would cut off means of escape if they catch fire.

Fire officials have also cautioned against allowing the batteries to charge overnight.

Most of the batteries that spark fires are pre-owned and resold and not compatible with a new device or have been damaged by repeated wear and tear on the roads.

Some landlords, as well as several colleges, have banned lithium-ion battery-propelled scooters and e-bikes from their buildings because of the potential dangers.

The City Council is also considering legislation to regulate the sale of the batteries.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission sent a letter to 2,000 manufacturers and importers of e-bikes and other e-devices late last year urging them to comply with relevant safety standards due to an uptick in fires.

end quotes

And there we have it, people – signs of progress in the bold new GREEN WORLD of American president Joseph Robinette Biden, Junior, a true AMERICAN HERO if there ever was one!

Filed Under: Bottom, News, Opinion

Quick Looks at Bills and Goverance that could impact You

November 27, 2022 by Leave a Comment

As we move closer to a new year, a new round of Federal Governance will also begin. Here is a quick look at just a few current bills, proposals, and concepts that would impact the American people. 

Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)

CBAM will:

“Cash in” U.S. planet-friendly technologies for energy-intense products

Strengthen U.S. jobs and industry by cutting imports from dirty sources; e.g., Chinese steel mills pollute 70% more heat-trapping gases per ton than the U.S.

Strengthen U.S. trade balance – strengthen the U.S. dollar

Strengthen U.S. international climate leadership (EU’s CBAM is scheduled for 2023)

Tune in at https://www.rff.org/events/rff-live/decarbonization-policy-and-international-competitiveness/

No action since date of introduction June 7, 2022  –   https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/4355  –

Note that the cost to the planet, including spiraling severe weather costs, is not included in “cheap” imports that are higher in GHG emissions. See “Value of Nature” below, and https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/beyond-data/2021-us-billion-dollar-weather-and-climate-disasters-historical

Put a price on sources of planet heat-trapping gases (GHGs)

Require oil/gas/coal firms to pay a carbon tax (actually, a FEE for dumping emissions into our air). A majority in the U.S. agree, especially if they are informed of the policy – https://www.clcouncil.org/media/Luntz-Carbon-Dividends-Polling-May-20-2019-FINAL.pdf

Economists say fee-and-dividend, splitting the fee among U.S. households, applies market power to create the least burdensome climate solution – https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/425841-former-federal-reserve-chairs-economists-back-carbon-tax/

REMI Report (Carbon Fee Study)

And, causes little (or no) slowing of the economy or cuts in employment – https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/jul/16/comprehensive-study-carbon-taxes-wont-hamper-the-economy

Re-introduced Jan, 2019, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act remains blocked in Congress. No action since – Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy.
Action By: Committee on Energy and Commerce, 04/02/2021

Invest a minute and 41 seconds.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRCTPx3Zv7E

FOREST Act of 2021

This bill “Prohibits the importation of any product made wholly or in part of a covered commodity produced from illegally deforested land. The bill outlines requirements for import declarations of covered commodities.” Deforestation causes an immediate increase in atmospheric heat-trapping gas (GHG), and unfairly competes with U.S. forestry.

No action since – Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. 10/06/2021
Complementary bill – Trillion Trees Act, introduced April 19, 2021. Latest action: Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry, 06/15/2021

Note that bamboo does offer a way to “plant our way” toward a global warming remedy – https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/bamboo-production

Jaime’s Law (named for a victim of Parkland H.S. mass shooting

Introduced 04/20/2021.  Latest action: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Action By: Senate, 04/20/2021.

International Pandemic Preparedness and COVID-19 Response Act

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51235105

“This bill outlines U.S. foreign policy to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and to future pandemics and disasters. . . . With respect to COVID-19, the Department of State must develop a strategy to expand and expedite access to COVID-19 vaccines in other countries.”

Introduced  06/24/2021.  Latest action:  Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar, General Orders, 07/30/2021

Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act

Pork and beef ran low in grocery stores – https://www.aei.org/op-eds/consolidation-among-meat-packers-is-dangerous-big-government-is-the-cause/

“To reform the antitrust laws to better protect competition in the American economy, to amend the Clayton Act to modify the standard for an unlawful acquisition, to deter anticompetitive exclusionary conduct that harms competition and consumers, to enhance the ability of the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to enforce the antitrust laws, . . .”

Introduced 02/04/2021.  Latest action:  Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, 02/04/2021

Four packers now dominate U.S. meat.  At one time, every county in Georgia had a meat packer – https://bittersoutherner.com/will-harris-white-oak-pastures-farm/#.Y30v9nbMKUk

Recognize the value of nature

While focus is directed to GDP, employment, and inflation in the political realm, study posits that 2/3ds of the well-being experienced by H. Sapiens is provided by nature, rather than the human-ordered “economy.” – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959378014000685

A global economy dependent on fossil fuels disrupts the natural order – https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/what-is-the-sixth-mass-extinction-and-what-can-we-do-about-it

Governance should address climate

The view from COP27, the 27th meeting of The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC):  “To have any hope of keeping to 1.5, we need to massively invest in renewables and end our addiction to fossil fuels.”  https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2022-11-19/statement-the-secretary-general-the-conclusion-of-cop27%C2%A0-sharm-el-sheikh%C2%A0%C2%A0

U.S. House may disband the bi-partisan climate crisis Committee. Senior Republican on the Committee – “Garret is committed to delivering on the energy components of the Commitment to America and will be intimately involved in making sure that happens,” . . . That plan includes bolstering oil and gas, mining and hydropower. 

Food Security

In the last 60 years, climate change has reduced agricultural productivity growth by an average of 21%— and up to 40% in some regions— with impacts predicted to accelerate in coming decades.

I will attend Agrilinks’ ‘What’s Next After the ‘Implementation’ COP?’

https://agrilinks.org/events/whats-next-after-implementation-cop-catalyzing-action-intersection-climate-change

Does Climate threaten human civilization?

Will news professionals and elected officials inquire why National Climate Assessment (NCA) author Katherine Hayhoe stated this threat at “Cost of Climate Change” hearings, June 11, 2019 – https://budget.house.gov/legislation/hearings/costs-climate-change-risks-us-economy-and-federal-budget   Tune in at 1hr-23min.  Learn more about/from Dr Hayhoe >  http://www.katharinehayhoe.com/wp2016/biography/   and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi6RkdaEqgRVKi3AzidF4ow    

Changes that might improve governance in America

A decline in trust may signal that change is needed – https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/06/06/public-trust-in-government-1958-2022/

Political Order and Political Decay author Francis Fukuyama (also authored Trust) weighs in – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmtDwNqo5QU

Bi-Partisan Policy Center’s ‘Governing in a Polarized America: A Bipartisan Blueprint to Strengthen our Democracy,’ apparently 2014 – https://bipartisanpolicy.org/download/?file=/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/BPC-CPR-Report.pdf

Articles – https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/156799

Extending change beyond the political system – https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/lifestyle/magazine/how-to-fix-american-democracy/

I will attend Bi-Partisan Center’s ‘Building a Congress that Works’   –  https://bipartisanpolicy.org/event/building-a-congress-that-works/

Filed Under: Bottom, Environment, Environmental Activism, Opinion

How January 6 Committee Ruined Luria’s Brand

November 13, 2022 by 9 Comments

Eliane Luria came into Congress on a wave of anti-Trumpism, and left on a wave of anti-Bidenism. That’s how it goes most of the time.

The bottom line is that Luria was a fine Congresswoman that should have breezed into into a third term, however, the moronic Democratic Party gave her enough rope to freely tie her own noose.

Her accomplishments were great for the Shore–she brought money and attention, would have fitted the last mile of broadband, would have put even more eyes on Wallops.

Her best work was as the House Armed Services Committee’s Vice Chair for the 117th Congress.

To local shipbuilders here in Coastal Virginia, and sea power supporters, she’s an ally; to the Navy, she’s both a supporter and a skeptic. She led a bipartisan coalition to boost defense spending, and she often used her military experience to grill officials on both the size and readiness of the Navy’s fleet, and whether those factors were enough to win a war against China. Luria was making up for 20 years of the Navy being underfunded or under-resourced.

This should have resonated in the 2nd district whose local economy is tied to Naval Station Norfolk, home of the most U.S. Navy personnel, and to Norfolk Naval Shipyard, which services nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines on the East Coast.

But then came the January 6th Committee, and Luria was tapped as a member, and in many ways, became the face of it–she was a regular guest on national news shows.

Luria emphasized her role on the Jan. 6 committee in her closing television ad, and told Vox that she felt it was ultimately a good decision. “If it’s not popular with voters and I don’t win reelection, I’ll be able to sleep at night because I know I did the right thing . . . in the long run, I think I’m on the right side of it, and the economy will recover,” she said earlier this month. “Democracy may not.”

This was a big miscalculation. People, especially on the Shore, and across the Bay are struggling, and we are all pretty sure what policies are driving the pain. The Jan. 6th stuff tied Luria directly to Biden and Pelosi, and she was viewed as just another partisan politician up in Washington, out of touch with what the working class is actually going through.

Essentially, the January 6 Committee ruined her brand. The committee has been broadly mocked, and is even deemed the real threat to Democracy by many of the ordinary people.

It’s a shame, she had much more good work to do for the US Navy, and the Defense Department in general. There are many in the DoD that may be glad to see her go. Whether Kiggins will pick up where she left off is story yet unwritten.

Filed Under: Bottom, News, Opinion

Is the Nature Conservancy Running a Scam in Northampton?

November 6, 2022 by 13 Comments

The following is reader-submitted content by Ken Dufty of Wardtown. Many of you might have seen the “excavation” work on 13 heading north, just before the RoFo. Mr. Dufty fills us in on what’s really going on.

Regarding the massive construction on Route 13 in Northampton County, the bottom line is this.  Some rather undefined company called C-BAY LLC buys 26 acres of land actively farmed and planted in soybeans from Phil Custis.   Somehow, without a land transfer that we can find, the land becomes a Nature Conservancy and Land Trust project.  More than a few have asked if C-BAY, based in Texas but holding a Limited Liability  Corp distinction.

     Next thing you know, excavators, bulldozers and backhoes converge on the site a stones throw from busy 13, silt fences erected, and the top soil is stripped off and stationed around the perimeter.  No more soy, no corn, no nothing but a mud hole. This site is 1/2 mile south of the turn off to Exmore as you are heading northbound from Nassawadox, on the east side of 13 (to the right).

      People start asking what is going on and once we started trying to find out discovered that no one including the BOS or the Planning Commission seems to know anything about it.

      We start working with the DEQ (very helpful, as always) and learn that the Nature Conservancy and the Land Trust are undertaking a “wetland mitigation land banking” project here, proposing to develop a “non tidal wetland” out of what was not a wetland but a productive farmfield.

      What we also learned is that once the project is “developed” into a treed wetland (and the frogs and salamanders are trucked-or is that parachuted- in, the Nature Conservancy and/or Land Trust can market mitigation credits from this site, allowing some company or development that would not otherwise be able to build or fill in an existing and productive wetland to do so by purchasing “offset” wetlands here in Northampton County.

      We were told by the state DEQ that the project that may be proposing to build on an existing wetland and would need to purchase mitigation credits must be in the Atlantic Ocean quadrant which only includes Accomack and Northampton County plus a small portion of land in Virginia Beach.

      Once this man-made wetland (what?) is developed, the Nature Conservancy can offer 18.7 mitigation credits from this former farmfield that was purchased by C-Bay LLC, and the average price of the credits in the Atlantic Ocean district (ours) is, upon information and belief,  $100,000 (that’s one hundred thousand dollars) per credit.

       So here is the take by many:   Northampton County loses 26 acres of valuable farmland, a commodity the retention of which is high priority in both our 2009 and 2020 Comprehensive Plan.  And plus, once the TNC and Land Trust gets a Conservation easement on the property, the tax revenue from the land could be lowered and the value of the land is dimished in  perpetuity. More importantly is that many fear that this exploitation of our prime farmland is just the beginning and could set a very dangerous precedent for Northampton County…a bell we may not be able to unring.

        In return, we get a wildlife and manufactured wetland habitat that is right on Route 13…not exactly what many would envision as a place for a productive and diverse mecca.  

     And in return, somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean district, many, many well-established non-tidal wetlands can be filled, paved, and indeed destroyed if the developers pony up, and the Nature Conservancy and perhaps others (C-Bay?) can reap $1.8 million.

                                    The major epic failure as far as full disclosure and transparency

                                        lies with our planning department which did not even think               

                                      to involve or consult with the public, the Board of Supervisors

                                         members of our Wetland Board, and even the Planning 

      In closing, unless we close some loopholes, this project could be the first of many. The majority of folks we have conversed with holds that the Board of Supervisors needs to grab this issue with both hands, pull on the regulatory emergency brake, and ensure that we all have full knowledge…and a voice in the next attempt by the Nature Conservancy to reap significant proceeds from the demise of our productive farmland.

Filed Under: Bottom, Environment, News, Opinion

Op-Ed: On Joe Biden’s Dangerous Demagoguery

October 23, 2022 by 5 Comments

This Op-Ed was written and submitted by Paul Plante.

A “demagogue,” according to the Reader’s Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary, is “one who leads the populace by appealing to prejudices and passions; an unprincipled politician.”

It is my premise herein that Democrat Joseph Robinette Biden, Junior, is just such a “leader,” especially on the issue of abortion, leading his portion of the populace by appealing to their prejudices and passions, as we see in a Reuters article titled “Biden to codify abortion rights in January if Democrats keep Congress” by Jeff Mason and Nandita Bose on October 18, 2022, as follows:

“I want you to remember that the final say does not rest in the Court now.”

“It does not rest with extremist Republicans in Congress.”

“The final say about your right to choose.. rests with you.”

“And if you do your part and vote, Democratic leaders in Congress I promise you will do our part.”

“I’ll do my part.”

The president also cited a part of the Supreme Court ruling that said women are not without electoral or political power, suggesting they could mobilize and elect lawmakers to guarantee abortion rights.

“Let me tell you something.”

“The court and extreme Republicans who spent decades trying to overturn Roe are about to find out,” Biden said.

end quotes

With those words of Joe Biden in mind, that same source, the Reader’s Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary, then defines the term “demagogic” as “pertaining to or like a demagogue; given to unprincipled political agitation,” and “demagoguery” as “the spirit, method or conduct of a demagogue.”

It is my premise herein based on those words of Joe’s in that Reuters article above, with regard to abortion, specifically, that Joe Biden is indeed engaging in “unprincipled political agitation” which marks him out as a modern-day demagogue.

“Demagogue” is a word that seems to have fallen out of our political lexicon, probably because it is hard to spell and has so many characters in it that it would play hob with composing a TWEET on TWITTER, although for a time, the term was being applied, rightly or wrongly, to Donald Trump,

Before that, in my memory, we have to go back to George Wallace to find an American politician branded as a demagogue.

According to an article in The Bulwark titled “Demagoguery in America” by Pejman Yousefzadeh on August 30, 2020, which article is a review of a book titled “The Demagogue’s Playbook – The Battle for American Democracy from the Founders to Trump” by Eric A. Posner, we have this American history to consider, as follows:

Andrew Jackson, the earliest American demagogue Posner identifies, “was able to win the presidency because by his time the original constitutional bulwarks against populist demagogues had eroded.”

Under Jackson, “the new populist ideology could justify destruction of the institutions, not just reform, including institutions that constrain, or lie outside the power of, the executive.”

“Only the president himself was powerful enough to lead this assault.”

In short, the new ideology justified “a leader who derives his power from the people rather than from a set of political institutions, a demagogue.”


Notwithstanding the creation of a technocracy — and the administrative bureaucracy that preceded, grew with, and enabled it — Posner tells us that populist demagogic impulses returned with a vengeance with the arrival on the scene of Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy, to whom the press “flocked” because he was (here Posner borrows from historian David Oshinsky) “bizarre, unpredictable, entertaining, and always newsworthy.”

Despite the fact that McCarthy was ultimately repudiated by his Senate colleagues, the demagogic strain remained, and found at least some resonance in the public career of Alabama governor George Wallace and the presidential candidacies and presidency of Richard Nixon.

end quotes

So we have had presidents before Joe Biden who have been deemed to be demagogues, which takes us back to that article for this, which is directly relevant to the times we are in today and the dangerous demagoguery of Joseph Robinette Biden, Junior, to wit:

The Demagogue’s Playbook is a well-written and -sourced work of pop-scholarship, with a narrative style that moves briskly without skimping on important historical and cultural details.

Posner’s historical judgment, however, is sometimes lacking.

For example, in discussing the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt, Posner concedes that Roosevelt “used some demagogic tactics,” but argues that those tactics were justified:

First, [Roosevelt] acted during a serious emergency — actually two emergencies, the Great Depression and the start of World War II.

end quote

And think about today, and the excuses Joe Biden is using for his demagoguery – the economy and “a war raging,” as Joe was just quoted as saying in a Reuters article titled “U.S. sells oil reserves as Biden tackles pump prices ahead of elections” by Nandita Bose, Jarrett Renshaw and Steve Holland on October 19, 2022.

Going back to the article for more similarities between the demagoguery of FDR and the demagoguery of JRB, we have:

The creaky American constitutional system inhibits executive action, and while that may be tolerable in normal times, in a national emergency a timid executive may spell doom.

The Great Depression was already three years old when Roosevelt took office, and a new banking crisis had begun just months earlier.

Hoover was not up to the task.

Roosevelt also faced an extraordinarily complex situation in the run-up to World War II, when he sought to signal to Germany that America would come to the aid of the Western alliance while avoiding a domestic political backlash that could have hamstrung the eventual war effort.

One will not find many people nowadays who will deny that Roosevelt faced extraordinary challenges during his presidency, and that an extraordinary response was necessary.

But it is more than a little unsettling to read Posner claiming that those exigencies justified “some demagogic tactics.”

Were we to confine the use of judicious demagoguery to Roosevelt’s presidency and his response to the likes of massive global recession and another world war, perhaps we would not have much to fear from the prospect of demagoguery at the presidential level.

The obvious problem, however, is that while few presidents may encounter twin crises like the Great Depression and World War II, the emergency powers of the president are vast, and the combination of presidential demagoguery and the exercise of presidential powers at the merest suggestion of an emergency is frightening to contemplate.

end quotes

Think about how many “merest hints of emergencies” there have been under Joe Biden that are requiring him in his own view to keep expanding his powers through executive orders.

Going back to that article, it continues with this following warning, to wit:

It is worrisome enough that the powers of the presidency have considerably expanded through the decades and show no sign of lessening.

It would be worse still if we turned a blind eye to the unbounded ability of a president to engage in demagoguery in any circumstance he labels an emergency — even if no real emergency exists — because in part we are occasionally given to excusing “some demagogic tactics.”

end quotes

And with that in the record, let me pause here for all of that to sink in, and most certainly, if we do turn a blind eye to the unbounded ability of a president, in this case, clearly Joseph Robinette Biden, Junior, to engage in demagoguery in any circumstance he labels an emergency — even if no real emergency exists — because in part we are occasionally given to excusing “some demagogic tactics,” then we are asking for serious trouble as a nation and as a people!

Filed Under: Bottom, News, Opinion

Op-Ed: Dobbs for Dummies

October 9, 2022 by 6 Comments

The following Op-Ed was written and submitted by Paul Plante

As I sit here typing these words, one old grandfather and disabled combat veteran without political clout or financial means out here in what the slick and sophisticated city folks would call a cultural backwater tucked back into the mountains, where it is still the 1800’s, and really cool dudes like Hussein Obama mock the people, working-class voters the majority of them, who have become frustrated with economic conditions, saying to the world, as if someone from Chicago like him who has never really been to America would even have a clue, “And it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations,” none of which is really true, the Democrats are spending millions of dollars promoting abortion, and in the course of doing, openly and blatantly spreading what I call a GREAT BIG TOXIC ABORTION LIE for no other purpose than to provoke and incite violence, including violence towards members of the Supreme Court, by stoking the passions and emotions of women with outright lies, as we see by going to an article in the Albany, New York Times Union titled “Ad spending shows Dems hinging midterm hopes on abortion” by Steve Peoples and Aaron M. Kessler of the Associated Press on September 20, 2022, as follows:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are pumping an unprecedented amount of money into advertising related to abortion rights, underscoring how central the message is to the party in the final weeks before the November midterm elections.

With the most intense period of campaigning only just beginning, Democrats have already invested more than an estimated $124 million this year in television advertising referencing abortion.

That’s more than twice as much money as the Democrats’ next top issue this year, “character,” and almost 20 times more than Democrats spent on abortion-related ads in the 2018 midterms.

end quotes

So, some really BIG MONEY in the game here, people, which should raise the question in the minds of all Americans – WHY?

Specifically, WHY are the Democrats spending more than twice as much money on abortions as they are on their next top issue this year, that being “character,” of which they are sorely lacking?

WHY is abortion so much more important to Democrats than character, when it is character that is so much more important to me?

Which takes us back to that article, as follows:

The estimated spending figures, based on an Associated Press analysis of data provided by the nonpartisan research firm AdImpact, reveal the extent to which Democrats are betting their majorities in Congress and key governorships on one issue.

That’s even as large majorities of Americans think the country is heading in the wrong direction and that the economy is in poor condition.

end quotes

Which seriously blows my mind – yes, people, the country is indeed heading in the wrong direction, the economy is in poor condition and is about to get worse, your credit card interest rate is going up, you can’t afford food, or to pay your rent, your neighbor’s smarmy son who went to Harvard law school and now makes his living going after college students who can’t pay their student loans and evicting people who can’t pay their mortgages just got his student loans canceled by Joe Biden, and you can’t find katsup on the shelf to make katsup soup with to feed your children, but buck up folks, because the Democrats are doing everything they can to make sure you can still get an abortion, which takes us aback to that article for more, as follows:

Since the high court’s decision in June to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion, roughly 1 in 3 television advertising dollars spent by Democrats and their allies have focused on abortion.

end quotes

And whoa, right there, people – because there is the Democrats’ GREAT BIG TOXIC ABORTION LIE staring us right in the face there, because there was NO high court decision in June to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion.

THERE WAS NO CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO ABORTION TO ELIMINATE IN JUNE BECAUSE IN JUNE, SUCH A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO ABORTION DID NOT EXIST, PERIOD!

In concurring in Roe v. Wade in 1973, Mr. Chief Justice Burger stated in plain and simple language that even dull-wits like the Democrats should be able to comprehend and understand, as follows:

Plainly, the Court today rejects any claim that the Constitution requires abortions on demand.

end quote

And there is where it all begins and ends, people, with those fourteen (14) words written by the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court in 1973.

So WHY are the Democrats lying to us today, trying to tell us something different?

Because they think we are all stupid and easy to deceive and mislead?

And let me make an important point here – NO, you do not need to be a lawyer to read Supreme Court decisions like Roe v. Wade or Dobbs, State Health Officer of the Mississippi Department of Health, et al. v. Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization et al., No. 19–1392, decided June 24, 2022, nor do you need a JD from Harvard to understand and comprehend what the decisions are saying, since the decisions are meant to speak to us, the common folks in this land, so that we can understand what the law really is without having to keep a lawyer on retainer like the organized crime dudes do.

And that goes for members of the press who keep misrepresenting Roe v. Wade, and Dobbs, as well, which is why I am stepping up to the plate here to confront these lies with a little more than four weeks until the all-important mid-terms elections which are going to determine the fate and future of OUR Republic in the face of a Democrat onslaught to strip us of not only our liberty, but essentially, our citizenship rights if we are not pro-abortion, as we see in this Fox News article titled “AOC wonders if pro-life Democrats should continue to serve: ‘We really need to reassess'” by Cortney O’Brien on 26 June 2022, to wit:

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., suggested in an Instagram video Saturday night that pro-life Democrats should no longer serve in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.

end quotes

Think about it, people!

Think about what AOC is really saying there.

IF you do not believe fervently and whole-heartedly with women having abortions any time they want them, on demand, then you should not be represented in the Congress of the United States of America.

If you are cool with that, then your choice is obviously already made, so there is probably nothing here of interest to you, since your mind is already closed.

If, on the other hand, you are really concerned about the direction the Democrats want to take this country, and want to know more about what Roe v. Wade and Dobbs, State Health Officer of the Mississippi Department of Health, et al. v. Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization et al. really do say in simple and easy to understand terms straight from the decisions themselves, as opposed to from the Democrat PROPAGANDA MILL, stay tuned.

Filed Under: Bottom, News, Opinion

The Slow March of Gentrification

September 25, 2022 by 12 Comments

For the last decade, we have watched the slow, methodical gentrification of Cape Charles. Like an anaconda, the muscle of rich, northern money has been used to strangle and suffocate the last remaining bits of the town’s authenticity. The whole historic thing is laughable. Bird is not the word, tourism is. The industrial and rail history is being canceled in favor of tourist-driven eateries and shops. Years ago, this writer was laughed at for coining the term “Cape Maying”, but who’s laughing now? In fact, Cape May is probably jealous of how fast this place sold out.

The ultimate goal of the Cape May effect is homogenization–eliminating as much diversity as possible. This accounts for all this Rosenwald School hoopla and the almost frantic way the white people are frothing at the mouth, throwing money and taxpayer resources at Cape Charles’ most prominent symbol of racism and segregation (all while pricing out a large swath of the African-American community). As if this will somehow cleanse the past. It’s just a way of glorifying segregation without saying you’re glorifying it, all the while whitewashing what you are currently doing, trying to cover up the secret yearning for a town made up of people who look, think, and are from the same class as you. You would think the community would have rallied around the Cape Charles School, which was actually the place that ended racial segregation–many of the same Rosenwald proponents fought tooth and nail to give the old school away for a mere $10. History Note: the selling of the school was just a convenient way of keeping black kids from coming into town to play basketball and eliminating any possibility of bringing back the boys and girls club. We have the receipts.

Then there’s Washington Street. It is one of the last holdouts, a most diverse neighborhood where there are the last few affordable homes left. It’s been a slow train coming, forces diligently chipping away east and west, but even Washington Street is ready to fall.

A few months ago I saw it–one of the houses painted and all beached up, and even renamed Beach Bungalow.

The house was listed on Zillow for $425k. There goes the neighborhood.

It will sell. The inventory is so limited, that the Airbnb crowd will snatch it up, and the last remaining houses and lots will go and soon be fashioned as one of those annoying faux beach cottages.

The anaconda will continue to squeeze and Cape Charles will get a little less diverse. Bit by bit, the last of full-time working class folks will have to make way for the ‘visitors’.

The inmates won’t admit this, but they really want it this way.

The greasy till doesn’t lie.

Filed Under: Bottom, News, Opinion

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