BloggeRhythms

An article by Senator John Barrasso M.D. of Wyoming on FoxNews.com today is headed: “The climate change boondoggle hits a wall.” His conclusions, however, are far broader, capturing another snub by the POTUS of Israel.  

According to the senator: “The White House unilaterally pledged $3 billion for international climate change as part of the Paris deal. The administration wants these U.S. taxpayer funds to go to the Green Climate Fund.” 

And then, after a complex description of how the funding of the climate change agreement works, the point is made that “despite Congress not appropriating money specifically for the Green Climate Fund, President Obama recently transferred $500 million to it.” 

However, “President Obama’s climate-change payoffs ran into trouble on March 17 when the “State of Palestine” became a full member of this United Nations agency. 

“The 1994 Foreign Relations Authorization Act prohibits Washington from giving money to “any affiliated organization of the United Nations” that grants the Palestinians membership as a state. 

“The president wants to give the UNFCCC $13 million for its operational budget in the fiscal year that begins this October, along with another $750 million for the Green Climate Fund. 

“Once this U.N. climate-change organization recognized the “State of Palestine” as a full member, U.S. law prohibits the administration from sending them another dime. 

“The UNFCCC and its related entities are clearly affiliated with the United Nations. The U.N. general secretary appoints the agency’s executive secretary. It declares that it is “institutionally linked” to the U.N. – wording that remains on its website today. The UNFCCC secretariat offices are even part of the U.N.’s campus in Bonn, Germany. 

“Likewise, the Green Climate Fund says that it is “an operating entity of the Financial Mechanism” of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.” 

And then, the senator gets to what is likely the real heart of the matter, whereas: “The U.S. law that bars contributions to these organizations was written for a good reason. Congress wanted to make sure that Israel and the Palestinians negotiate directly, free from outside interference. One of the issues in the negotiations has always been recognition of a “State of Palestine.” If other countries or groups intervene on that point, it changes the negotiations dramatically.  

“The U.S. law simply affirms what the Israelis and the Palestinians have agreed on themselves. The Oslo II Agreement, Wye River Memo, and Sharm el-Sheikh Memo all prohibit either party from “chang[ing] the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip” prior to reaching a permanent agreement.” 

All of which led the senator to a highly probable conclusion, illustrating just how far the POTUS has distanced the nation from his now frequent target; Israel. “President Obama has shown that he is willing to turn his back on Israel. He has also shown an obsession with the political theater of international climate change. The only question now is whether the president of the United States will follow the law.” 

As far as the last question is concerned, it’s extremely likely that the senator, just like anyone else who’s observant, already knows the answer. 

On another recurring topic, an article @yahoo.com/news, begins: “Recession-wracked Venezuela is to ration electricity in 10 of its most populous and industrialized states, including metropolitan Caracas, the socialist government said.

“Venezuela's economy has plunged along with the price of the oil on which it relies for foreign revenues. Shortages of medicines and goods such as toilet paper and cooking oil are widespread.” 

While President Nicolas Maduro blames the collapse on an "economic war" by capitalists, it’s been obvious for years that socialism just isn’t working for his nation, and never has. 

So, perhaps it might be wise for Sanders to pay some close attention to what Venezuelan’s are facing at present. 

According to yahoo, “Last week, [Maduro’s] government said it was shifting its time zone forward by 30 minutes to save power. 

“Other measures include giving government workers an extra day off each week for the next two months, and Maduro has urged Venezuelan women to stop using their hairdryers. 

"The greatest power consumption is residential," Luis Motta Dominguez, minister for electric power, said, speaking at the Guri hydroelectric plant.

“Maduro said Wednesday that residential energy-saving targets had not been met, necessitating the rationing that "will save the Guri" from collapse.” His other measures to cut electricity use include reducing the workday to six hours for ministries and state companies and ordering them to lower their electricity consumption by 20 percent. 

“He has also ordered shops and hotels to ration electricity, obliging them to generate their own power for several hours a day. 

“Shopping centers have cut back their hours since that plan was introduced."

And here’s the truly irrational reality: “He has vowed to hold on to power and press on with the socialist "revolution" launched by his late predecessor Hugo Chavez.” And, although Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves, the government has resisted using crude to generate electricity, calling it inefficient.

So, here’s further evidence of what happens when political theory outweighs simple, everyday common sense. And for those wondering exactly what the U.S. will look like under Sanders leadership, a couple of months in Venezuela is suggested. Have a pleasant trip.  

Reader Ryan commented: “Gotta love socialism. They are producing over 1.5 million barrels of oil per day, but can't even get their citizens electricity. As the old saying goes if you set up a socialist nation in the Sahara desert, in 2 years they'd be importing sand.

Venezuela, "feelin' the Bern" 24/7/365” 

Bringing us to today’s update on Bill Clinton’s wife.

With much of today’s campaign news stale, repetitive and frankly, outright boring, an article was found on Drudge by Camille Paglia, University Professor of Humanities and Media Studies at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, questioning the rationale of most of Bill’s wife’s “admirers.”  

The piece @salon.com, is titled: “Enough with the Hillary cult: Her admirers ignore reality, dream of worshipping a queen.” 

Most interesting, is Ms Paglia’s reinforcement of the premise that, while Bill’s wife has attained no concrete individual accomplishments of her own at all, she has still obtained significant numbers of followers. And therefore, Ms Paglia asks: “What is it with the Hillary cult?” 

Two paragraphs from the article define Bill’s wife’s faults quite clearly, while presenting the yet to be answered conundrum regarding her undeserved popularity, as follows:  

 

“As a lifelong Democrat who will be enthusiastically voting for Bernie Sanders in next week’s Pennsylvania primary, I have trouble understanding the fuzzy rosy filter through which Hillary fans see their champion. So much must be overlooked or discounted—from Hillary’s compulsive money-lust and her brazen indifference to normal rules to her conspiratorial use of shadowy surrogates and her sociopathic shape-shifting in policy positions for momentary expedience. 

“Hillary’s breathtaking lack of concrete achievements or even minimal initiatives over her long public career doesn’t faze her admirers a whit. They have a religious conviction of her essential goodness and blame her blank track record on diabolical sexist obstructionists. When at last week’s debate Hillary crassly blamed President Obama for the disastrous Libyan incursion that she had pushed him into, her acolytes hardly noticed. They don’t give a damn about international affairs—all that matters is transgender bathrooms and instant access to abortion.” 

What’s most disturbing about Ms Paglia’s precisely accurate conclusions is that, thanks to the blind allegiance of misguided zealots, we all might wind up with this total fraud in the White House again. And that’s truly as scary as the situation can get. 

It also brings up the hope that, Joe Biden, Mayor Bloomberg, Jerry Brown, and Starbuck’s chairman and CEO, Howard Schultz, are reading this. 

That’s it for today folks.  

  

Adios