Month: August 2024

Years ago I was saying that this EV thing could not last, and now there is another chink or two in the EV wall.
From Hot Air:
“General Motors had kind of a biggish announcement on 7/23/24. It is again slowing its plans for all-electric vehicles by further delaying a second U.S. electric truck plant and the Buick brand’s first EV.
The six-month delay in retooling the electric truck plant in Michigan, until mid-2026, also means GM will not achieve a prior target of having North American production capacity of 1 million EVs by 2025.

GM’s U.S. EV deliveries increased 40% during the second quarter compared with a year earlier to 21,930 units. Still, EVs made up only 3.2% of its total second-quarter U.S. sales.

It is also quite probable that they have one eye on November and don’t want to commit any more resources than necessary to something whose government underpinnings could be shortly kicked out from beneath it.”

First Ford, then GM, and now Porsche.
From the Daily Sceptic:
“Porsche has scrapped its sales targets for EVs amid a slump in demand. A previous goal of 80% by 2030 has been watered down and the company now says sales will depend on uptake and how the technology develops.”

So the EV ball keeps rolling downhill. Can the bottom be close at hand?

8/20/24

One of the things that Americans are concerned about is inflation. Everyone is living with it. We are all dealing with it in are day to day lives, even though those that know best are trying to convince us that things aren’t really so bad.
From an Epoch Times column by Jeffrey Tucker (founder and president of the brownstone Institute):
“Inflation cooled, lower than expected,” read the financial press on the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for July. One only needs to look carefully: when month-to-month changes are down, those alone get the headline. When they are up, as they are in July, the headline focuses on the 12-month trend. Every time.
Based on the data release we have, the “cooling” is actually up from June to July, if you can believe it.”

President Joe Biden appeared at the Creator Economy Conference, the first event ever hosted by the White House’s Office of Digital Strategy (CNBC). CSPAN: Reporter asks about inflation. President Biden: “I told you you’re going to have a soft landing… my policies are working. Start writing that way, okay”
However, we are all living in our real-life day to day world. We all know that inflation is a bi**h. They can all try to tell us how rosy things are, but their gaslighting will not work.

Back to Jeffrey Tucker:
“However, there are still times when the truth seeps out. CNN commissioned a well-constructed poll of about 2,000 random people to find out where they stand on personal finances. The headline number: nearly 40 percent of Americans are struggling to pay their bills. That is up from 28 percent from only three years ago, and a higher number than back in 2008–09, the period known as the Great Recession.
Two-thirds of people say that the number one issue they face is the cost of living and paying their bills. The typical American is spending nearly $1,000 more per month compared with three years ago just to pay living expenses. That is according to Moody’s, but it also fits with the intuition we all have. It suggests a dramatic decline in real household income, despite what the Bureau of Labor Statistics claims.
The survey further reports that a third of Americans say that they have to take an additional job to make ends meet. This has disproportionately affected Latinos and black Americans and those under the age of 45.”

For the next few months expect a gaslighting frenzy by the Kamala/Walz team. However, I doubt that their “inflation is no longer a problem” spiel will actually convince anyone that what we are living is really a mirage.
8/19/24
www.californiacontrarian.com

As the Olympics are now becoming a more distant memory,
just one more Olympian who deserves our praise and respect.
From Aleteia:
Ukraine’s rhythmic gymnast Taisiia Onofriichuk came to Paris, despite having recently witnessed some of the most lethal airstrikes from Russian forces. Her trainer Iryna Blokhina shared with Reuters: “We didn’t know if we would even get here, because during the last attack before we left, we thought we wouldn’t survive.”
She went on to explain that training for the event had also proved incredibly difficult, with the noise of the airstrikes leaving gymnasts unable to hear the music that was going to be accompanying them during their routines. They eventually had to find a location where fewer attacks were taking place.
However, this did not stop Onofriichuk from getting to the finals in the Women’s Rhythmic Individual All-Around, and placing an impressive ninth!

Kudos to Taisiia Onofriichuk, not only for coming in ninth, but more importantly for just competing under the most dire of circumstances.
8/18/24

Before we Americans actually hear any of Kamala’s actual policies are there any groups of Americans that should be seriously thinking long and hard before voting for her?To me the answer is obviously, “yes!” Where to start? … Let’s start with Catholics.
FROM CV NEWS FEED:
Catholic columnist and author Ashley McGuire recently stated that Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris is a “bigot,” referring to the vice president’s “blatant discrimination against people of faith, particularly Catholics.”
McGuire, a Senior Fellow at the Catholic Association  laid out Harris’ anti-Catholic history in an article for the New York Post, beginning with Harris’ 2018 targeting of Brian Buescher, a Knight of Columbus who was running to be a federal judge at the time.
“Then-Sen. Harris subtly criticized the charitable and fraternal organization for being an ‘all-male society comprised primarily of Catholic men,’ then not-so-subtly slammed it for adhering to [Buescher’s] faith’s core — or “extremist,” to use her word — beliefs about life and family,” McGuire wrote.
She added that Harris arranged for Buescher to be asked if he would resign from the Knights if his position as judge were confirmed in order “to avoid any appearance of bias.”
“That’s what they call a religious test for office, and it’s illegal,” McGuire pointed out.

McGuire also highlighted the legislation that Harris has sponsored in the past, such as the Do No Harm Act and the Equality Act. The first act would have required healthcare workers or charitable organizations to provide abortions or contraceptives, without exceptions for religious beliefs, while the second would have required faith-based organizations to hire people who opposed their religious values by living in same-sex unions or under “transgender” lifestyles.

Harris also supported the California FACT Act, which would have required crisis pregnancy centers—including the Catholic and Christian sites—to refer women to abortion facilities, going against their religious beliefs. She also wanted faith-based corporations like Hobby Lobby to cover abortion pills in their healthcare plans for employees, once more violating the religious principles and values of the Christian company.
“Both cases were casualties at the Supreme Court, which stepped in to defend the conscience rights of religious Americans,” McGuire wrote, adding, “Kamala Harris does not think you can be both a Knight of Columbus and a federal employee.”

While I have many, many reasons to not vote for Kamala, her obvious anti-Catholic prejudice when questioning Brian Buescher is way more than enough for me to agree with Ashley McGuire that Kamala is, indeed, a “bigot,” as a zebra doesn’t change its stripes.
8/17/24
www.californiacontrarian.com

How aware are most Americans about the positions taken by the two presidential candidates. On 8/15/24 I sent out the list of the twenty promises that Donald Trump made if he were to be elected.
With the DNC starting on 8/19/24, I would guess that a lot of promises will be made by Kamala without reference to her prior positions on these same issues. Are most Americans familiar with her prior positions?
A recent study by Media Research Center discovered that large
majorities of registered Democrats and Independents who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 — exactly those who would be expected to support Vice President Kamala Harris in this year’s contest — are mostly in the dark about many of the controversial and radical positions Harris has taken.
This poll was conducted for the Media Research Center by McLaughlin & Associates between August 2 and August 5. The survey consisted of 1,200 people — 800 registered Democrats plus 400 Independents who reported voting for Joe Biden in 2020.
The results are as follows:

% aware % unaware
Harris would consider allowing death
row inmates to vote 14% 86%
Harris supported the elimination of
private health insurance 19% 81%
Harris promoted a fund to bail out
violent protesters during 2020 riots 22% 78%
Harris supported abolishing ICE 23% 77%
Harris was named the most liberal U.S.
Senator in 2019 25% 75%
Harris said it should not be considered a
crime to enter the U.S. illegally 26% 74%
Harris co-sponsored the Green New Deal 27% 73%
Harris never visited a conflict zone on
the border as Border Czar 28% 72%
Harris supported cutting funding for
the police 29% 71%
Harris supported reparations payments
to atone for slavery in the U.S. 29% 71

To me the most revealing thing about this poll is just how uninformed a large cadre of very likely Kamala voters are about her positions on a number of very important issues.
The question remains:
Is there any way to inform them? They certainly will not get this info from MSM.

8/16/24
www.californiacontrarian.com

Every morning I read that another day has gone by without Kamala doing a news conference.(Presently her ducking day total has reached 25 days!) She is still constantly using a teleprompter even for very short speeches. She is also backtracking on her prior positions, although this is not confirmed heresay, as she isn’t actually saying anything.
Whereas Donald Trump is widely proclaiming what he proposes to accomplish if elected. He does not use a teleprompter when he speaks, and as best I can tell is not backtracking or reneging on what he has said in the past.
Read the following: (please excuse the copy and paste erratic format!)
President Trump’s 20 CORE PROMISES TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

1 SEAL THE BORDER AND STOP THE MIGRANT INVASION
2 CARRY OUT THE LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY
3 END INFLATION, AND MAKE AMERICA
AFFORDABLE AGAIN
4 MAKE AMERICA THE DOMINANT ENERGY PRODUCER IN THE WORLD, BY FAR!
5 STOP OUTSOURCING, AND TURN THE UNITED STATES INTO MANUFACTURING SUPERPOWER
6 LARGE TAX CUTS FOR WORKERS, AND NO TAX ON TIPS!
7 DEFEND OUR CONSTITUTION, OUR BILL OF RIGHTS, AND OUR FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS, INCLUDING FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FREEDOM OF RELIGION, AND THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS
8 PREVENT WORLD WAR THREE, RESTORE PEACE IN EUROPE AND IN THE MIDDLE EAST, AND BUILD A GREAT IRON DOME MISSILE DEFENSE SHIELD OVER OUR ENTIRE COUNTRY – ALL MADE IN AMERICA
9 END THE WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT
AGAINST THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
10 STOP THE MIGRANT CRIME EPIDEMIC, DEMOLISH THE FOREIGN DRUG CARTELS; CRUSH GANG VIOLENCE; LOCK UP VIOLENT OFFENDERS

REBUILD OUR CITIES, INCLUDING WASHINGTON DC, MAKING THEM SAFE, CLEAN, AND BEAUTIFUL AGAIN.
12 STRENGTHEN AND MODERNIZE OUR MILITARY, MAKING IT, WITHOUT QUESTION, THE STRONGEST AND MOST POWERFUL IN THE WORLD
13 KEEP THE U.S. DOLLAR AS THE WORLD’S RESERVE CURRENCY
14 FIGHT FOR AND PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE WITH NO CUTS, INCLUDING NO CHANGES TO THE RETIREMENT AGE
15 CANCEL THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE MANDATE AND CUT COSTLY AND BURDENSOME REGULATIONS
16 CUT FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ANY SCHOOL PUSHING CRITICAL RACE THEORY, RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY, AND OTHER INAPPROPRIATE RACIAL, SEXUAL, OR POLITICAL CONTENT ON OUR CHILDREN
17 KEEP MEN OUT OF WOMEN’S SPORTS
18 DEPORT PRO-HAMAS RADICALS AND MAKE OUR COLLEGE CAMPUSES SAFE AND PATRIOTIC
AGAIN
19 SECURE OUR ELECTIONS, INCLUDING SAME DAY VOTING, VOTER IDENTIFICATION, PAPER BALLOTS, AND PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP
20 UNITE OUR COUNTRY BY BRINGING IT TO NEW AND RECORD LEVELS OF SUCCESS.

I agree with all of these except #14, as I think the Social Security retirement age needs to be readjusted upwards.
To me it seems crystal clear that we have someone with an actual plan as opposed to someone who is going solely by the cuffs of her pants suit!

8/15/24
californiacontrarian

On 8/13/24 it was a month since the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, and over that month what have we learned about what happened? … Basically we, the American citizens have learned nothing other than who the shooter was, and we knew his name on that on that same evening.
Thomas Matthew Crooks was the shooter. He was killed after firing X number of shots. How many shots did fire? Did the number of shell casings found close to Crooks’ body match up to the number of shots heard on analyzed sound audio recordings?
The 20 year old Crooks apparently flew drones over the area hours before the shooting but for some reason the Secret Service did not use drone technology to monitor the area. Also there was apparent disturbing lack of communication between the Secret Service and the local police. How could this any of this happen ? … and why?

As I have alluded to before there are but a few possibilities to attempt to explain (excuse) what occurred:
Poor leadership.
Incompetence at multiple levels
Lackadaisical or perhaps even purposeful inattention to detail

Let’s start with the leadership of the Secret Service and perhaps just as important, the philosophy of the leader of the Secret Service (USSS) at the time of the assassination attempt.

Kimberly A. Cheatle, who has since resigned, was in charge of the Secret Service at the time of the assassination attempt.
Her qualifications for this esteemed position? She had served in the Secret Service from 1995 to 2019, she worked as senior director of global security at PepsiCo from 2019 to 2022.
To me her background sounds reasonable enough with 24 years in the USSS, although going from security at PepsiCo to the head of USSS seems like quite a stretch. Was she a favorite of Jill Biden as has been reported, and did this connection grease the skids for her elevation to this prestigious position?
Hmmm!

Let’s be clear … Cheatle was not on site in Pennsylvania when all of this occurred, but did the philosophy of the leader of the USSS play any role in what happened on 7/13/24?

What was Cheatle’s philosophy?
In 2023, Cheatle told CBS News the agency needed to “attract diverse candidates and give opportunities to everybody in the workforce, particularly women,” outlining her goal that by 2030, thirty percent of its recruits would be female.
Pure and simple her philosophy is one of DEI! With three daughters and seven granddaughters, I have nothing against women being promoted based on their talents and skills, with my emphasis being on “talents and skills.” However, to outline a 30% goal of female USSS agents by 2030 is nonsensical and potentially dangerous. Did Cheatle’s DEI philosophy play any part on what happened on 7/13/24?
Could trickle-down incompetence have played a role in what happened?
Hmmm!
Although it would be easy to ascribe everything to Cheatle’s incompetence and trickle-down philosophy, I am not ready to solely assign the blame for what happened on 7/13/24 solely to Kimberly Cheatle. However, it is way too soon to stop asking questions. Even though the liberal MSM seems ready to forget what happened, while not asking pertinent and reasonable questions, I am not ready to sweep this entire thing under the rug.
Decide for yourself.

8/14/24
californiacontrarian

Veep Kamala Harris touted federal grants two years ago to replace thousands of gas-guzzling school buses with greener versions — yet fewer than 7% of the initial districts have actually completed the switch.
The administration announced its kick-off to the troubled program in 2022, with Harris crowing that the first billion dollars would help 389 school districts across the country purchase upwards of 2,400 “clean” buses.
But so far, just 27 of those hundreds of school districts have marked their project status as “complete,” according to an EPA tracker, which was updated  June 20.

But it gets worse than just non participation.
Who actually wants them? Perhaps we should ask some of those in blue Maryland.

From Daily Caller:
“An investigation into a Maryland school system’s electric bus initiative found that it resulted in millions of dollars in “wasteful spending” due to issues with the vehicles, according to a report from the county’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released in late July.”
Perhaps wasteful government spending is a recurrent blue state theme?
Are EV school buses safe ?
Rollouts for electric buses across the country have been plagued with issues, including reports of the vehicles bursting into flames due to battery malfunctions in Wichita, Kansas, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Hamden, Connecticut, since July 2022. Additionally, eight electric buses purchased by a Democratic enclave in Wyoming became indefinitely inoperable in 2023 after the buses began experiencing mechanical issues and their manufacturer, Proterra, went bankrupt.

The Biden administration is handing out nearly $1.7 billion across 46 states and territories to buy electric and low-emission buses despite their susceptibility to catching on fire, the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced.
Hmmm!

The federal government has already spent $3.3 billion on the bus electrification projects prior to the recent announcement, and reportedly plans to spend a further $5 billion in the next three years as outlined in the bipartisan infrastructure law, according to The Associated Press.

Does the misguided wisdom of Kamala Harris on EV school buses actually suggest to anyone that she should be in charge in our country?
Will she suddenly have a “change of heart” on EV school buses, similar to what is now having on fracking?

8/13/24
californiacontrarian.com

I was in need of some uplifting news the other day. I have been struggling with a bad cold for days. (Covid tested, … negative, otherwise would have taken my one remaining dose pack of Ivermectin.) Anyway on top of feeling like crap I keep reading about the surging Kamala, and that just made me feel much worse. What I needed was an upsurge and I got it.
First, at a Trump rally in Bozeman, Montana, Trump played a montage of Kamala’s nonsensical meanderings, and that video clip actually brought a smile to my face. Could the USA really elect such an air-head??
Then following that uplifting Trump montage I came upon some fresh polling data which boosted my spirits. Many polls are apparently reporting that Kamala has taken the lead over Trump in many battleground states.
From Townhall:
According to Polling Plus, Trump is picking up steam in crucial battleground states.
In Wisconsin, Trump edges out Harris 49 to 48 percent.
In Pennsylvania, Trump’s 46 percent triumphs Harris’ 44 percent.
In Arizona, Trump is leading Harris 48 to 47 percent.
In Nevada, Trump outperformed Harris by three percentage points (48 to 45 percent), and in North Carolina, the 45th president took the largest lead, with 49 percent of the vote compared to Harris’ 45 percent.
Michigan is the only battleground state, in which the poll found Harris to be doing slightly better (49 to 47 percent).
Electora Map Based on Trafalgar/Insider Advantage taken on 7/29-7/30 shows Trump ahead 297-241.
Granted this was done early in Kamala’s honeymoon period, and she will undoubtedly get bump from the Democrat “convention.”
After these pieces of good news, my cold symptoms are now improving as is my overall attitude about the future of our country.
8/12/24
californiacontrarian

On Sundays I try to write about individuals who deserve our respect and admiration. Because today is the last day of the 2024 Olympics, Silina Pha Aphay of Laos is a perfect fit.
From NPR News:
It was on 8/2 during the preliminary heat of the women’s 100-meter race at the Paris Olympics. Lucia Moris of South Sudan, in Lane 1, was keeping pace after bolting from the starting blocks. But halfway through the race, she began to slow down and look unsteady, before crumpling to the ground. The fall occurred in front of Pha Aphay, who was in Lane 2.
The South Sudanese athlete laid on the purple track, unable to get back up. Even after the race ended, Moris, 23, remained on the ground alone, shrieking in pain and clutching her right thigh.
But before medics arrived, someone else rushed to her side: fellow competitor Silina Pha Aphay of Laos. The Laotian had just finished sixth, which was not high enough to advance to the next stage. And so, her time at the Olympics was over. But in that moment, Pha Aphay’s first action was to go to the distressed Moris.
Standing beside Moris, Pha Aphay called out for help. Once medics arrived, Pha Aphay continued to stay on the track, holding Moris’ sneakers while medics prepared to put Moris on a stretcher.
“All 100 meters athletes have to know how being hurt feels. And this is a big competition. It’s a big dream to come here. But you get hurt here. So everybody knows the feeling,” Pha Aphay later told the Washington Post.

On 8/2/24 Pha Aphay’s Olympic medal hopes were dashed, but in her moment of extreme disappointment, she rose above the others and offered consolation to her downed fellow competitor, Lucia Moris of South Sudan.
Pha Aphay did not win any medal, but in my mind she came in first place!
8/11/24