A federal judge in Seattle appointed by “Joe Biden” has just decreed that Trump’s decree “temporarily pausing” federal funding of EV charging infrastructure isn’t lawful – because Congress allotted the funds and the president has no Constitutional authority to withhold such allotted funds.
The Constitution being a kind of fig leaf covering up the fact that the federal government decides the extent of its own powers. More finely, how such power is divvied up among the various federal branches and apparats. which fight over the power like a pack of hyenas over the body of a dead giraffe.
Anyhow, this federal judge has just snatched some power back from the executive branch (Trump) after he snatched it from the legislative branch. We the people never had much say in the matter. We never have because we (most of us) do not see the problem that inheres in this business of voting away our power. That is what we do every time we vote to give undefined and thus unlimited proxy power to what are styled “representatives.” It is a ridiculous and dangerous thing to style people who can decide to act in any manner they personally deem appropriate – and without any need to obtain our specific approval for any specific action they take on our behalf – representatives. It is of the same species of etymological abracadabra as getting people to use the word “customer” when dealing with the IRS.
The end result of such “representation” is what just happened. Or – rather – isn’t going to happen. Trump got to play-pretend he was pulling the plug on EVs by pulling the federal funding (that is the redistribution of money slurped up by the federal tax machine) for the infrastructure upon which EVs depend to be viable as vehicles. If you can’t find a place to charge when you’re running low on charge, you might as well just stay home. It is like having eggs without a pan or a stove to cook them on.
Many of the people who voted for Trump wanted him to unplug the EVs – because they resented being the ones plugged into. It being their wallets that are filched to provide the “funding” – this is the word they always use, because it sounds innocuous – that is then redistributed by branches and agencies of the federal government to push-along various pet projects that find favor with the branch or agency that wants them pushed. During the “Joe Biden” years, the “representatives” in Congress decided that the EV pushing ought to be promoted by sluicing lots of funding to states, to fund the EV charging infrastructure EVs need to be viable.
Tan Lin – who is the federal judge appointed by “Joe Biden” – says Trump’s minion Sean Duffy at the Department of Transportation “yanked the program’s cord out of the outlet.” What he actually did was withheld the $5 billion in “funding” that was looted from the American taxpayer and scheduled to be redistributed to rent-seeking companies that build out EV “fast” charging infrastructure that mostly isn’t used – because not many people want to worship at the Green Totem Poles for the half an hour or longer it generally takes to instill any meaningful charge in an EV. 
But it amounts to the same thing.
Trump campaigned in part on his promise to unplug the EVs, which he has more or less done. But now that is being undone – and the money (like the spice) must flow.
The latter is a Dune reference that seems apt.
What will Trump do about it?
Maybe he will do as he has been doing in so many other instances – that being to just do as he likes and dare the other branches of the federal apparat to do anything about it. It brings to mind a story about Stalin and the Pope. The latter shook his finger at the Vozhd – the Russian language equivalent of “chief” or “boss” or Fuhrer in the German language – over some thing or other that Stalin had done that the Pope didn’t like. Stalin replied by asking: How many divisions does the Pope have?
Maybe Trump will ask a similar question as regards the federal judiciary. He is, after all, acting like the boss – for all the good and bad that portends. The problem there is that there will inevitably be another boss – one who may decree differently. We the people get caught in between this see-saw power-grabbing.
But hey, that’s what we voted for – by casting votes.
. . .
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Government at all levels does what it damn well pleases and we have nothing to say about it.
If you don’t like it, you can spend money you can’t afford begging the lawyers appointed and paid by the government to tell that government to stop.
Somebody is running this show and it ain’t us.
Maybe we can vote harder next time.
Dang, are you saying you don’t like Satanic war mongering monsters deciding for you, and telling you what’s best for you?
Are you Anti-American, ‘er something?
Shut-up & sit down.
“Maybe he will do as he has been doing in so many other instances – that being to just do as he likes and dare the other branches of the federal apparat to do anything about it.”
When did he do that?
Renaming the Gulf of Mexico, imposing on and off again 100%, 200% spin the wheel tariffs, grabbing Gaza and charging $1 billion payable to him to sit on a “Board of Peace,” confiscating and selling venezuela oil and depositing proceeds in Qatar in his own “piggy bank” as Thos Massie termed it, ordering the Navy to destroy speed boats w/no evidence of crime doing and then kill any survivors, not complying with Congressional deadline for releasing Epstein files, destroying the East Wing to build a ballroom, federalizing ICE cases and granting ICE immuninty, deploying national guard, having non-governmental officials i.e. his son-in-law Jared Kushner negotiating with Putin, Zelensky, mideast leaders. Sure there are egregious things I have forgotten.
Keep in mind that the gaggle of useless waste of folks we called representatives are now called “Law Makers” The word “representative” is rarely used today by the . More and more the District of Criminals is becoming appropriate. They’re not even ashamed being called crooks, Today it’s an honor.
by the media…
Agreed. The only good thing I have to say about Asshat Johnson is he was attempting to do budgeting by regular order, but sat on things to long, so, oopsie, anther CR/Omnibus to keep the .gov going.
Screw it. Shut the whole thing down. Forever. It has outlived its usefulness.
Two thumbs up for that!
Just like “Democratic” Party.
Something broke today in the ‘markets’. Copper futures soared over 10 percent to a record high of $6.56 an ounce. That’s a doubling in price since July 2022.
How in the hell do you manufacture electrical equipment — never mind EeeVees — when the red metal costs $6.56 a pound?
This will even drive up the price of new houses — copper wiring; copper used in the HVAC system. Can’t afford no copper plumbing: that’s for posh folk.
The US dollar is dying. Trump killed it. What will R-party retards break next??
Pre-1982 pennies are about to break the 4 cents worth of copper barrier
Trump didn’t kill the dollar, at most he’s putting it out of its misery. Roosevelt mortally wounded the dollar, and Nixon came along and desecrated the corpse.
And yes, I use a fair amount of copper wire and for the last few years grab up partial lengths at auctions and estate sales. It’s still not cheap but you can get it for half or less of retail.
The Venezuela invasion by the USA is an attempt to prop up the “petrodollar”, the unit of currency used worldwide to purchase oil products.
The USA dollar has been the principle currency used to purchase oil products throughout the world. This system was established in 1974 by none other than Henry Kissinger in order to prop up the USA dollar.
THAT is the reason forced regime change is being imposed on Venezuela.
Venezuela has been selling oil to all comers, demanding payment in any currency but petrodollars. This is causing USA interests to react negatively towards Venezuela.
The same situation existed in Libya which was set to demand payment for oil in gold, silver, and other non-USA currencies. This is why the USA assassinated Libya’s leader Ghaddafi.
If the petrodollar goes down, so does the USA federal reserve system. The only thing propping up the USA dollar is its use in petroleum transactions.
If Iran is successful in shutting down the Strait of Hormuz after an israeli attack, Venezuela will be the only large petroleum reserve in the world.
The USA dollar is on life-support, only being worth about 0.22 cents compared to its worth in 1970. It’s use as the petrodollar is the only think keeping it afloat.
All true, but tying the value of your currency to a consumable has a whole bunch of down sides. Money should be durable, portable, and fungible. Oil fails on the durability.
One should wonder why the Breton Woods pseudo gold standard was ditched and the petro dollar was implemented right around 1974. It couldn’t be that the gold reserves allegedly in Ft Knox were substantially depleted about then?
Whatever reserves might have been there were about to become significantly smaller. There were French warships in port waiting to turn in dollars and haul the gold back to France. So Nixon “closed the window.”
‘WTF Just Happened …’ cries ZeroHedge, as stocks sail over the lip of Trump Falls and plunge to pieces on the rocks below.
When the still sea
Conspires an armor
And her sullen and aborted currents
Breed tiny monsters
True sailing is dead!
— The Doors, Horse Latitudes
I noticed gold futures took a big hit this morning, perhaps the Fed is making some threatening calls to other central banks.
Almost a daily occurrence now Mike. By the end of each day, 3 out of 5 have recovered and moved higher. May be a wall of worry, or a rear guard action. Every government in the world needs higher gold to paper over all the fraud and debt, giving Dollahdollah Bill Yo a few more moments in the sun. The trend is still your friend.
RE: “Copper futures soared over 10 percent to a record high of $6.56 an ounce. That’s a doubling in price since July 2022.”
That’s really odd. In light of the crash/profit-taking in silver and gold.
Up one, down the other two.
No surprise, tho.
Republicans won both Senate, House and Executive. Why didn’t/don’t they pass LEGISLATION to reverse the LEGISLATION that was passed? Trump has done the same thing on numerous issues: instead of getting it passed through Congress, he issues a bunch of exec orders which will just be reversed and raised by the next “executive.” These lazy authoritarians are making nonsense of creating a platform that people vote on and then if you win enACTing it — THEY are destroying the republic. And when people like the Pauls, Massie, MTG, and numerous others in my lifetime try to do anything about it these same authoritarians do their best to defeat them.
Thomas Massie criticizes Trump for selling Venezuelan oil and putting the money in his own “piggy bank” in Qatar. Massie criticizes the congress for saying there was no time to vote on Venezuela, but doing nothing about voting (neither executive/legislative) as Trump sends an “armada” (remember what happened to the Spanish armada?) to Iran. What does Trump and Johnson, the special and self interest tools who subvert the constitution and the rule of law to benefit themselves, they find someone who can be bought and do their best to denounce and defeat the legislator who is for the agenda they pretended to run on: drain the swamp, end the wars, adhere to the constitution/limit the government.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5697347-thomas-massie-donald-trump-venezuela-oil-sales/
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-loses-it-at-ineffective-loser-republican-thomas-massie-in-300-word-tirade/
https://x.com/MassieforKY/status/2016598066095137104?
If anyone has lefty friends, remind them that they best way to embarrass Trump is to make sure that Thomas Massie wins his primary in a landslide. Get your lefty friends to contribute to the Massie campaign.
Good Luck! The guy (Trump) seems to be untouchable. Invasion, Piracy, Extortion, Kidnapping, Robbery, Assassination and possibly Murder have become Constitutional and acceptable to MAGA / Conservative voters.
But maybe not pedophilia, all of the above were done to distract from the Epstein files.
Just because these congressmen (and women) choose an R to put behind their name, doesn’t make them anything but a greedy, amoral, (usually) lawyer. At the end of the day if you don’t rock the boat and lie convincingly to the voters, you will get rich in the easiest way possible.
Which is why I love Trump. Right, wrong, or sideways, he’s a wrecking ball doing things the rest won’t touch.
RE: “Which is why I love Trump. Right, wrong, or sideways, he’s a wrecking ball doing things the rest won’t touch.”
He’s just more of the same ole same. You’ve been had.
For decades you would often hear people say “we need a businessman to be President. That’ll fix what’s wrong.” They talked about Iacocca, Perot, Trump, etc. Turns out it’s a pretty lousy idea. Businessmen don’t have to deal with legislation. They give an order and it’s implemented. That’s not how governing works. Trump is just lazy too and his EO’s can be reversed on day one of the next guy. And Republicans have been horrible at passing legislation in the modern era. I remember when I was younger thinking that if only Republicans could get unified control of the branches the size of government would drastically shrink. Boy was I wrong!
Man, are you ever lost in The Deep End.
RE: “if only Republicans could get unified control”
Control. Control. Control.
Do you want to be controlled more?
If your wife had a button which allowed her more control over you, would that make your world better?
…If she handed that control button to a politician, would that make things even More better?
Maybe give ’em an open dip into your bank account?
Anyway, the Republicans had unified control many times in the past. They did Jack with it.
Re-reading this, I may have misread your comment. If so, perhaps, we agree?
Hab a nice day.
And when Congress keeps the spending in there and adds another $1t in spending on useless garbage, The Orange One will once again sign it, as he has the whole time.
The only bills he vetoed in his first run were ones that cut spending, so why should this one be any different
‘Maybe Trump will ask a similar question [how many divisions does the Supreme Court have?].’ — eric
It’s nigh on three months since the hacks in black granted emergency oral argument on V.O.S. Selections v Trump, and a related tariff case. With the Orange Duce slinging new unilateral tariff threats literally every day, you’d think the hacks in black might want to publish a decision with alacrity.
Now the Lügenpresse has gone to speculating about the Court’s lead time, as if it were baseball statistics. Three months is about average, say the
traincourt spotters. But it could be as late as June, when the court tends to unleash a big dump of decisions, like an elephant emptying its bowels.Meanwhile chaos rules. Part of Big Gov may shut down this weekend, as Senators fecklessly shout and gesticulate at each other across the aisle. Are we not entertained??
I don’t have a problem with this going back to the legislative branch as it’s supposed to be in their purview. The other reason is that it would also make it potentially harder for the next President to play similar games.
Sadly, I’ve reached the point I don’t expect much out of Congress, the Senate or Executive branch at this point.
Got stuck behind a Tesla earlier this week. Cuz was jamming up traffic by going well below the speed limit. My guess is the fact that it was 13′ in Dixie and the poor bastard watched his range plummet bc he had to run the heat.
5 EV charging stations were just opened not too far from where I live, in the parking lot of a Dollar store. Needless to say they are rarely used.
Morning, Howard!
Yup. Same in my area (SW Virginia). There are two EV “stations” I drive by regularly and it’s rare to see more than one EV plugged in. Usually, there are none. The one at the Earth Fare supermarket in Roanoke has six of these totem poles and the install cost must have been in the many hundreds of thousands… our tax dollars at work!
Sometimes the EV spots are prime and vacant.
Unfortunately, “it is illegal to park a non-electric vehicle (ICE car) in a designated electric vehicle charging space in Florida. Violators can be charged with a noncriminal traffic infraction.”
Exactly, Howard. EV chargers represent the waste of prime parking real estate. The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if maybe the ruling class is deliberately filching parking spaces to make it a tad more difficult for people to sleep overnight in their cars (as growing numbers are homeless).
Also, the spread of EV chargers is propagandistic since it leaves the impression that “everyone’s buying an EV…guess I should, too!”
As long as we can keep our green vehicle parking spots…
https://blnnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/green-vehicle-parking.png
I wonder if you could beat the ticket you would get in court based on the wording on the sign?
Second that Landru, his truck is green 😆
Ahh, yes, Dollar Tree, the place where trendy EV owners buy their potted meat…
Hi Mark:
After you buy an EV, Dollar Tree is about the only place left you can afford to shop at. 🙂