The “shadow presidency” of California Governor Jerry Brown scored a win Monday night as eight Republican legislators crossed the political aisle and voted with most Democrats to extend a key component of the “cap-and-trade” program that has literally shifted $4.42 billion from the private sector to the government since mid-2012. While a lot of politicking went into rounding up the votes for the cap-and -trade extension among both political party caucuses in both chambers, it was clear that Governor Brown had enough political capital, along with a willingness to “strategically target” the spending of Cap and Trade tax dollars to woo Democrats. So in the final days preceding a vote, much of the attention was focused on Republican legislators. Because it is a tax increase, the bill required a two-thirds vote to pass. Democrats have barely over two-thirds in either chamber and so, in theory, could have passed it without a solitary GOP vote. But Democrats were not 100% unified, and also at least one Democrat in the State Assembly was going to be absent this week on a long-planned family vacation, meaning at least one GOP vote would be needed in the lower house. On the GOP side it was a David vs. Goliath situation, with a small coalition of small business and taxpayer advocates, as well as GOP groups like the Orange County Lincoln Club. They were out-gunned and out-spent, up against many well-heeled interests, including the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Manufacturing and Technology Association, and others. (Big businesses can handle navigating a cap-and-trade system, and largely pass along the costs to consumers. The small- and medium-sized businesses suffer the most, and of course taxpayers in general.)Those billions and billions in taxes paid to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) drive up the costs of so many products — most notably gas and electricity prices: it is estimated that by the early 2020s, cape-and-trade will be adding over ...
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Xi Jinping Still Absent from Coronavirus Vaccine Drive as China Lags Behind World
Chinese dictator Xi Jinping has yet to inform the public if he has been inoculated against the Chinese coronavirus or if he plans to, and at press time has not participated in any public efforts to promote his government’s vaccination drive. Xi’s absence is particularly striking given that he is actively using his high profile for other efforts, such as promoting China’s Belt and Road Initiative and participating in President Joe Biden’s international summit on climate change scheduled for Thursday. Xi mentioned the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which began in China, during remarks to the Boao economic forum this week, urging countries to “strengthen global governance” to end the crisis. Elsewhere around the world, in nations with higher vaccination rates, heads of state and government have taken to publicizing their vaccines. Leaders like Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky received their vaccinations in front of television cameras or published photographs of the event. More discreet leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin did not offer any proof of their vaccination but issued statements claiming to be vaccinated through their spokespeople. The Chinese communist regime has offered no information at all regarding Xi’s inoculation status or intentions regarding vaccination at press time. At age 67, Xi is in an age range that is at high risk for severe coronavirus complications. The Chinese Foreign Ministry fielded a question regarding Xi’s vaccination status in March, resulting in a spokeswoman answering, “I have no answer at this moment. Vaccine is our silver bullet for epidemic prevention and for our ultimate victory against the virus.” Beijing has offered no further clarification since. Xi aroused suspicions that he may have been vaccinated that month at the annual convening of the National People’s Congress (NPC), ...
Lawmakers reintroduce bill to invest billions to compete with China in tech
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Chuck Schumer Lawmakers react to guilty verdict in Chauvin murder trial: 'Our work is far from done' Overnight Health Care: Johnson & Johnson pause seen as 'responsible' in poll | Women turning out more than men for COVID-19 vaccines 'Real Housewives of the GOP' — Wannabe reality show narcissists commandeer the party MORE (D-N.Y.) led dozens of bipartisan House and Senate members on Wednesday in rolling out legislation that would invest more than $100 billion in emerging technologies in an effort to put the U.S. on a level playing field with China. The Endless Frontiers Act, first introduced last year, would establish a Technology and Innovation Directorate at the National Science Foundation, which would use $100 billion in federal funds over five years to research emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, quantum computing and semiconductors. The legislation would also appropriate $10 billion to the Department of Commerce to help support regional technology innovation throughout the nation, while a further $2.4 billion would go toward expanding and enhancing U.S. manufacturing capabilities in key technologies. ADVERTISEMENT A Supply Chain Resiliency and Crisis Response Program would be established to help the U.S. strengthen critical supply chains for emerging technologies around the world. The bill is primarily co-sponsored by Sen. Todd Young Todd Christopher Young 'Building Back Better' requires a new approach to US science and technology To encourage innovation, Congress should pass two bills protecting important R&D tax provision Senate Republicans voice opposition to Biden on Iran MORE (R-Ind.) and Reps. Ro Khanna Rohit (Ro) Khanna Lawmakers demand justice for Adam Toledo: 'His hands were up. He was unarmed' Biden can make history on nuclear arms reductions Overnight Defense: Biden makes his Afghanistan decision ...
China to Flood World Market with Billions of Doses of Its Low Protection Rate Vaccines
Chinese officials announced Tuesday that Chinese companies manufacturing vaccine candidates against the Chinese coronavirus would significantly increase their production capacity to export billions of doses around the world. The announcement, made at the Communist Party-led Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), followed an admission by the director of China’s Center for Disease Control (CDC), Gao Fu, this month, that Chinese-made coronavirus vaccines “don’t have very high protection rates.” It also comes amid concerns that Chinese citizens are not receiving vaccinations at rates equivalent to other large countries, in part due to distrust of the country’s vaccine manufacturers, leaving China exposed to deadly coronavirus outbreaks. The Boao Forum is an economic summit meant to bring together Chinese allies to discuss the expansion of trade ties with Beijing. The Communist Party is expecting to attract 200 million tourists for concerts and other super-spreader events for May 1, the global communist holiday colloquially known as “May Day.” China expects to produce as many as 5 billion doses of multiple brands of Chinese vaccine candidates by the end of 2021, according to Zheng Zhongwei, director of the Development Center for Medical Science and Technology of the National Health Commission (NHC). The doses would reportedly meet both foreign and domestic demand. “After production is properly established in the second half of this year, China will provide doses to more people in need through multilateral and bilateral measures,” Zheng reportedly added, according to the state-run Global Times newspaper. To increase production, two of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical companies are planning to export vaccine technology abroad, the newspaper added. “Yin Weidong, CEO of Chinese vaccine producer Sinovac Biotech, said at the Tuesday session that the company will try to realize technology transfer to 10 countries as soon as possible,” the Global Times stated. “Yu ...
China Deleting Feminists from Social Media amid Birth Rate Collapse
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) internet censors have allegedly deleted dozens of social media accounts belonging to Chinese women’s rights groups ahead of the release of China’s latest ten-year census, expected to show a sharp decline in birth rates for the fourth consecutive year. “In recent days, more than a dozen accounts used by women’s-rights groups were deleted from the Weibo social-media platform as well as cultural-discussion site Douban.com,” the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on April 19. Weibo is a Chinese microblogging website often referred to as “Chinese Twitter.” It is one of China’s most popular social media platforms. Douban.com is another popular Chinese social networking service. Both Weibo and Douban.com., like much of the Chinese internet, are heavily censored by CCP authorities. “The deletions came as China awaits the results of a once-a-decade census, which had been expected by early April but have yet to be released. Demographers expect the data to show a sharp drop in births in 2020, the fourth straight decline following a brief rise in 2016, the first year after the one-child policy was lifted,” WSJ reported. “What are they afraid of?” one Chinese social media user allegedly wrote in the wake of the mass deletions, according to the newspaper. “Are they afraid of more women waking up? Are they panicking when seeing the fertility rates and marriage rates?” Weibo officials issued a statement via their own verified Weibo account saying the microblogging site had recently removed some accounts because they were “related to illegal or hurtful information,” but did not provide further details. “A spokeswoman for China’s National Statistics Bureau said in a Friday [April 16] briefing that the agency needed additional time on the census because there was more data to process than in previous ones,” WSJ reported. “Lü Pin, a Chinese activist based in New York whose Weibo account was taken down, says that women taking ...
