SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It was only a month ago that California Gov. Gavin Newsom concluded an emergency session of the state Legislature by signing that special session’s crowning achievement: Legislation that requires the state’s dwindling number of oil refiners to maintain larger inventories and have longer lead times before planning for refinery maintenance. The session gave the governor plenty of time to rail against so-called price gouging. “Price spikes have cost Californians billions of dollars … and we’re not waiting around for the industry to do the right thing — we’re taking action to prevent these price spikes and save consumers money at the pump,” he said regarding the new law. Beaming lawmakers headed into the election vowing to lower gas prices, which are around $1.50 a gallon higher than the national average. The whole session was political theater. Industry observers say the new regulations will add costs and could lead to higher gas prices. Everyone understands the reason for the state’s high prices. The government imposes the highest gas taxes in the nation. It mandates a special formulation used nowhere else, which lowers supply. It imposes the nation’s most stringent environmental rules. And the state’s official policy is to eliminate fossil fuel production, which makes refiners unwilling to invest in new capacity. Every once in a while, newspapers report on a so-called “mystery” gas surcharge to explain why Californians pay more at the pump than other Americans. But that’s absurd. It’s no mystery, but the direct result of the above-mentioned policies. It’s also not a mystery why the state’s gas prices likely will soar again. Newsom and his legislative allies spent weeks hyperventilating about the impact of high gas prices on California consumers, but then on Friday I heard no indignant speeches from them as a state regulatory agency approved a rule that will boost gas prices by an estimated 47 cents to 65 cents a gallon. Newsom previously made a few comments about transparency, but I can’t find any statement about the 12-2 vote from an agency dominated by his own appointees. Go figure. Specifically, the California Air Resources Board voted to update the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. According to the agency’s statement, it’s designed to “channel global, national and local private sector investment towards increasing cleaner fuel and transportation options for consumers, accelerating the deployment of zero-emission infrastructure, and keeping the state on track to meet legislatively mandated air quality and climate targets.” The LCFS program basically imposes more aggressive reductions in the state’s cap-and-trade system. As CARB further explains, the LCFS “reduces air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by setting a declining carbon intensity target for transportation fuels used in California; producers that don’t meet established benchmarks buy credits from those that do.” This obviously will have an impact on gasoline prices. CARB’s own researchers reportedly said the rules would increase costs by 47 cents a gallon next year and much higher in coming years. Now suddenly those estimates can’t be trusted, or maybe the new rules won’t even affect gas prices or it’s now somehow impossible to calculate the extra costs. Don’t try to find that old document on CARB’s website. A CARB official told attendees at its Riverside board meeting that “Any claims that LCFS is responsible for high gas prices is misleading at best and not supported by the data,” per a Los Angeles Times report. Yet the story pointed to a study last month from the University of Pennsylvania Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, which provided supportive data: “If LCFS credit prices reach their maximum allowed levels, as has occurred in the past, then retail gasoline price impacts could be $0.65 per gallon in the near term, $0.85 per gallon by 2030, and nearly $1.50 per gallon by 2035.” As the Southern California News Group opined, California officials refuse to level with the public about the real-world costs of their climate policies. For a state leadership so committed to democracy, you’d think they would be willing to allow a wide debate about these proposals in the Legislature rather than just drive them through a regulatory agency led by appointees. The vote is the obvious end point of Newsom’s previous mandates. “Newsom mandated California’s transition to 100% electric vehicles (EVs) by 2035,” wrote Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, R-San Diego, in a San Diego Union-Tribune column. “The problem is, everyday Californians don’t want battery car …. This isn’t about cleaner air or affordable energy; it’s about forcing us into submission. Rather than risk his authoritarian mandate failing, Newsom told his cronies at the air board to ‘up their game.’ Their plan? Make gas prices so high that Californians are forced into EVs.” The state’s approach is hypocritical and condescending. California leaders expressed upset at rising gas prices and led emergency-session show hearings that blamed oil companies. They passed a bill that looks like it does something, but could make the problem worse and certainly won’t fix anything. Then after their own policies led to a regulation that likely will raise gas prices by a lot, they are remarkably passive. It’s almost enough to turn one into a cynic. Steven Greenhut is Western region director for the R Street Institute. Write to him at sgreenhut@rstreet.org. READ MORE: Californians Reject the Worst Initiatives Preview of California’s Initiative Frenzy Newsom’s Oil-Price Show Hearings The post State Officials Give Nod to Far Higher Gas Prices appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Meghan McCain calls it “a national embarrassment.” It’s “a laughingstock,” according to Arizona Republican state Sen. J. D. Mesnard. “Our system is broken,” groused Elon Musk. Progressive Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts says, “You could grow a beard” waiting to find out what happened. “And I’m not just talking about the men.” What is going on that can unite the Left and the Right in such a rare show of concord? They’re counting votes in Maricopa County. The counting in Arizona’s largest and most populous county may go on until Election Day plus 10–13; that is, it’ll take between 10 days and 13 days before all the Maricopa County votes have been tallied. And that’s fast. In 2012 and 2018 it took 14 days, in 2010 it took 15, in 2008 it took 17. Another election season, another election fiasco. Arizona, once a reliable red state in its voting habits, is now reliably red-faced with its vote counting. The authorities tick off on their fingers justifications for this glacial tally operation with troubling nonchalance. They act like it’s old hat because it is old hat. The many close races can’t be called, we’re told, until the Maricopa ballots are tabulated, given that the country’s second-largest county (Los Angeles County is the largest) comprises about 62 percent of Arizona’s population. Compounding that, the ballots in Maricopa County this cycle were two pages long — double-sided — with 79 races and referenda, on average. Long ballots take longer to count. Add to this a curing period, mandated by law, in which voters are given five days to verify that an unclear or otherwise problematic signature is theirs. This pushes back the earliest possible final vote announcement to Election Day plus five. But the real rub is a state law that mandates that election officials cannot start processing early ballots dropped off at polling stations on Election Day — what they call “late earlies” — until the morning after Election Day. There were 292,000 of these in 2022; this cycle’s number was 225,000, which doesn’t include the hundreds of thousands of ballots dropped off late last week and over the weekend. Four days post-election, on Nov. 8, an estimated half a million ballots still needed to be counted. It was not until Saturday night that the Associated Press called the state for Trump. He won by a six-point spread — 52.6 percent to 46.4 percent. On Monday, six days after Election Day, the AP called the Senate race for Ruben Gallego who won by about two points. One House race is still undecided, with 90 percent of the vote tallied. Arizona could take a few pointers from Florida. Once the most mockable of all states in vote counting, Florida has turned fiasco into state of the art. It has recovered from the hanging chads and dimpled chads and butterfly ballots of the contested 2000 presidential race that took until December to call to where, in 2024, the state called their results shortly after 8 p.m. on election night. They do it by cutting off early voting days before Election Day; this year the deadline was Saturday, Nov. 2. All those early ballots have to be counted by 7 p.m. on Election Eve. Thus, once the polls close, they have all mail-in and early votes tallied. Arizona Republicans passed in 2023 a piece of legislation that would have yielded similar results. Senate Bill 1595 would have moved the deadline for dropping off early ballots from 7 p.m. on Election Day to 7 p.m. on the previous Friday. Voters who dropped off ballots on Election Day would have been required to follow the same requirements as those voting in person — stand in line, show ID, and sign the poll book. The number of “late earlies” would have dropped considerably, thus reducing the number of ballots to be signature-verified beginning the next day, and streamlining the vote counting immeasurably. Mesnard, the bill’s sponsor, said it “was commonsense, practical to implement, fair to the voters, and would have made a real difference in tackling the lengthy timeline voters and candidates – and the nation – continue to complain about.” The bill made it to Gov. Katie Hobbs’s desk, where the “Veto Queen” pounded it with her veto stamp — one of 185 she nixed since taking office in 2022, which breaks the record of 181 by former Gov. Janet Napolitano, who took six years to rack up her many no votes. Explained Hobbs, “This bill fails to meaningfully address the real challenges facing Arizona voters.” A response that could have been written by a machine. Mesnard’s response to the veto: Once again, Arizona is a laughingstock across the country for how long it’s taking our state to determine winners and losers in this election, an election with national implications. This chaos, confusion, frustration, and controversy is nothing new for us and easily could have been avoided this year had the Governor not vetoed SB 1595. According to the Arizona Daily Independent, Warren Petersen, president of the Arizona Senate, promises to introduce, on the first day of the legislative session, a bill that would result in more timely vote counting in the Grand Canyon State. READ MORE from Tom Raabe: Men in Women’s Sports Is Becoming a Major Political Issue If Trump Wins… How a Church Fought Back Against a Liberal Takeover — And Won The post Still Counting Votes in Arizona appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

from OPERATION FREEDOM: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/

by Mish Shedlock, Mish Talk: Trump has a mandate on the border and to deport criminals. What else? Then what? Trump’s Mass Deportation Promise Let’s discuss the WSJ article Trump’s Mass Deportation Promise. My comments are in square brackets. Emphasis also mine. TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/ Donald Trump won a second term in the White House […]

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he was detained by police at Dulles International Airport earlier this month. McCaul said he became “disoriented” at the Washington DC-area airport after mixing alcohol and medication before his scheduled flight to Texas. The House Republican said he made a “poor decision.” “Two weekends ago, I made a mistake – one for which I take full responsibility. I missed a flight to Texas and found myself disoriented in the airport. This was the result of a poor decision I made to mix an Ambien – which I took in order to sleep on the upcoming flight – with some alcohol,” McCaul said in a statement, according to the Associated Press.  “Law enforcement officers briefly detained me while I waited for a family member to pick me up. I have nothing but respect and gratitude for the officers who intercepted me that evening. This incident does not reflect who I am and who I strive to be. As a human, I am not perfect. But I am determined to learn from this mistake and, God-willing, make myself a better person,” he added. U.S. Rep Michael McCaul, the chair of the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee, was briefly detained at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C. on Nov. 4, in an incident he called “the result of a poor decision” to mix Ambien and alcohol. https://t.co/c2wfQ812Xn — Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) November 13, 2024 From the Associated Press: McCaul was reelected this month to an 11th term in his district that runs from Austin to the Houston suburbs. Michael McCaul detained at Dulles, acknowledges mistake in mixing alcohol, Ambien https://t.co/0iJYGYdTWM — The Hill (@thehill) November 14, 2024 Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told NBC News he recently "made a mistake" mixing Ambien and alcohol ahead of a flight and was "briefly detained" by police. https://t.co/KiOiMlCvv2 — NBC4 Washington (@nbcwashington) November 14, 2024 Per Semafor: A McCaul spokesperson confirmed the recent incident, describing the congressman as “a nervous flyer” who took the popular sleep aid Ambien and consumed alcohol before boarding a flight home to Texas. McCaul ultimately missed that flight, he told Semafor, adding that he was disoriented from the combination of the medication and alcohol, subsequently locking himself out of his cell phone. He was later found by police, who assumed McCaul was intoxicated and detained him, according to his spokesperson.

Multiple Senate Republicans signaled they would not support confirming the nomination of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) as President Trump’s attorney general. “I don’t think it is a serious nomination for the attorney general. We need to have a serious attorney general and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious. This one was not on my bingo card,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said. Murkowski: I don't think it is a serious nomination for the attorney general. We need to have a serious attorney general and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious. This one was not on my bingo card. pic.twitter.com/CAzLQFGHKb — Acyn (@Acyn) November 14, 2024 “He will never get confirmed,” a Republican senator, who spoke anonymously, told Fox News Digital. “Ain’t gonna happen,” one Senate Republican source told the outlet. Matt Gaetz faces GOP Senate opposition after Trump selection for attorney general https://t.co/oIyPGSo4Pf — Fox News (@FoxNews) November 13, 2024 Fox News reports: Gaetz’s office referred Fox News Digital to his response on X, “It will be an honor to serve as President Trump’s Attorney General!” and did not comment on the GOP criticism about his potential confirmation. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters, “I think we have to consider any nominee by the president seriously, but we also have a constitutional responsibility.” He was prompted about whether the House Ethics investigation currently being conducted into Gaetz would factor in to his confirmation, to which the senator replied: “That might come up.” The allegations being probed by the committee include sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and accepting improper gifts. Responding to the announcement of Gaetz’s selection for attorney general, Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., who chairs the Ethics Committee, said that “once a member is no longer a member of Congress, then ethics has no jurisdiction. So if Matt Gaetz were to be appointed as the Attorney General, the ethics investigation [which] is currently ongoing would cease at that point.” It will be an honor to serve as President Trump’s Attorney General! pic.twitter.com/dg0iQ0bA6Y — Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) November 13, 2024 Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) hinted at pushback due to the ethics investigation into Gaetz. “He’s under investigation by the House Committee on Ethics,” Collins said, according to Fox News. “Obviously, the president has the right to nominate whomever he wishes, but this is why the background checks that are done by the FBI and the advice and consent process in the Senate, and public hearings are also important,” she added. “We ought to have a full court press against this WEAPONIZED government that has been turned against our people. And if that means ABOLISHING every one of the three letter agencies, from the FBI to the ATF, I’m ready to get going!” Gaetz said Wednesday. We ought to have a full court press against this WEAPONIZED government that has been turned against our people. And if that means ABOLISHING every one of the three letter agencies, from the FBI to the ATF, I’m ready to get going! pic.twitter.com/Wsp8zVuBEU — Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) November 13, 2024 Per NBC News: Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who sits on the Judiciary Committee that oversees the nomination, said the Senate will “have to consider any nominee by the president seriously, but we also have a constitutional responsibility.” “I don’t know the man, other than sort of this public persona,” Cornyn told reporters. When asked about Gaetz being investigated by the House Ethics Committee for allegations of sexual misconduct, Cornyn deadpanned: “Well, that might come up.” “I don’t know whether there’s any basis to it or not,” he added. “So yeah, I’m sure we’ll be asking a lot of questions.” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who also serves on the Judiciary Committee, said the Senate will give Gaetz an “honest look” and that the investigations involving the congressman will be “part of the process” of considering him for the job.