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Re: Forum gossip thread by James Bond

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the new left has become very cruel to the working class

Started by Anonymous, January 22, 2021, 09:18:13 AM

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Anonymous

Dozens of celebrities signed a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris calling on their administration to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline for good.



Celebrities who lent their names to the letter include Alyssa Milano, Leonardo DiCaprio, Scarlett Johansson, Ryan Reynolds, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Jason Momoa, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Marisa Tomei, Joaquin Phoenix, Jane Fonda, Don Cheadle, Ed Helms, Cher, Chelsea Handler, Ava DuVernay and Amy Schumer.

Anonymous

https://scontent.fyxd1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/150611202_3745310522203600_4933869265603768527_n.png?_nc_cat=107&ccb=3&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=R8f3JyDJXZkAX-KsIU6&_nc_ht=scontent.fyxd1-1.fna&oh=b201ba98fa4f14c26b404e32cc8730dc&oe=604CCC1A">

Anonymous

My old man used to vote NDP because he thought they were for the working people. They are so anti working class now, that anybody who works for a living needs their heads examined if they vote them.



Federal NDP propose doubling gas-tax funding to cities to aid economic recovery

https://ottawa.citynews.ca/national-news/federal-ndp-propose-doubling-gas-tax-funding-to-cities-to-aid-economic-recovery-3423952?fbclid=IwAR1awytqP2y5KxMeHE3CUin-QVsC3oyTqArJC-luvh9UAab38PYr-M0DciE">https://ottawa.citynews.ca/national-new ... PYr-M0DciE">https://ottawa.citynews.ca/national-news/federal-ndp-propose-doubling-gas-tax-funding-to-cities-to-aid-economic-recovery-3423952?fbclid=IwAR1awytqP2y5KxMeHE3CUin-QVsC3oyTqArJC-luvh9UAab38PYr-M0DciE



OTTAWA — Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he thinks the federal gas-tax fund that provides cities with cash for infrastructure projects should be doubled to stimulate local economic recoveries.



Singh made the proposal, which had the feel of a campaign pledge, during a meeting Friday with the mayors of Canada's biggest cities.



The gas-tax fund is one of the few mechanisms the federal government has to send money directly to cities instead of having to move it through provinces, but the money can only be used on capital projects, not to supplement operating budgets.



This year, the total funding was worth $2.2 billion.



Singh says the funding should be doubled for the next four years.



In a release, the NDP leader says the pandemic has been hard on cities and the federal government should give municipalities tools to quickly get back on their fiscal feet.



Doubling the gas-tax fund isn't new.



The Liberals doubled funding in 2019 to $4.4 billion as an end-run around provinces the government argued were holding up project approvals and slowing the oft-criticized flow of federal construction dollars.



As the pandemic ate into municipal budgets last year, the Liberals decided to move gas-tax funds in one shot in June so the cash would hit local coffers faster.

Anonymous

Quote from: Herman post_id=402003 time=1613265607 user_id=1689
https://scontent.fyxd1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/150611202_3745310522203600_4933869265603768527_n.png?_nc_cat=107&ccb=3&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=R8f3JyDJXZkAX-KsIU6&_nc_ht=scontent.fyxd1-1.fna&oh=b201ba98fa4f14c26b404e32cc8730dc&oe=604CCC1A">

As a member of the AUPE, our union is a connection of the NDP..



Everything that party wants to do will lower our standard of living or put my husband out of work.

Anonymous

It is not just welders and heavy equipment operators who feel the direct negative effects of Biden's dumb decision to cancel KXL.



Rural Electric Companies Hit Hard by Keystone XL Cancellation



MURDO, S.D.—For more than a decade, Jeff Birkeland had been waiting expectantly in the hope that the Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline would finally materialize and bring with it a much-needed boost to his rural community. His dreams were dashed overnight.



Birkeland is the CEO of West Central Electric Cooperative, which is located in Murdo, a small city in South Dakota with a population of less than 1,000. TransCanada, now known as TC Energy, the firm that commissioned the KXL pipeline, first approached his company back in 2008.



In 2011, he signed a contract with TC Energy to build a transmission line and two substations that would serve power along the KXL route. West Central Electric was meant to start producing power for pump stations along the XL route as early as November 2011, before the pipeline was put on hold.



In March 2019, then-President Donald Trump granted TC Energy a presidential permit to construct and operate the XL pipeline. Biden revoked that permit via executive order in one of his first moves as president.



"It basically shut a lot of what we were doing down overnight," Birkeland told The Epoch Times. "We're out $90 million, that's what that means to us."



Electric co-ops are private companies that deliver electricity to their customers, also known as members. Rural electric cooperatives serve 56 percent of the nation and account for about 12 percent of total electricity sales in the United States, according to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.



There are multiple co-ops in the area that range in size in terms of employees and areas they cover. West Central Electric has more than 3,671 members and covers more than 7,000 square miles, and Birkeland said the cancellation of the project hits small rural communities like Murdo especially hard.



Birkeland fired off a number of figures highlighting the negative economic effects of the KXL cancellation, during an interview at his office.



If they had been able to start work on the project in 2012, school districts in the area would have received $1.7 million in tax revenue, he said. South Dakota will also miss out on $4 million in state sales taxes. And if the entire pipeline was up and running, it was expected to generate more than $100 million in property tax revenue along the route. The pipeline would also contribute $3.4 billion to the GDP of the United States on an annual basis.



His company now has $14 million worth of materials sitting idly in the warehouse.



"Essentially, this tells me our rates are going up," he said. "We're sparsely populated and this load represented growth and opportunity for our members. That's what's tough—if you sit at my desk, you're trying to figure out what's best for your members."



The cries of help from rural communities are starting to be heard. Fourteen Republican attorneys general are urging Biden to reconsider his decision to cancel a permit for the construction of the pipeline, to prevent severe economic harm. They are also threatening to take legal action.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/rural-electric-companies-hit-hard-by-keystone-xl-cancellation_3689331.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2021-02-16-4">https://www.theepochtimes.com/rural-ele ... 21-02-16-4">https://www.theepochtimes.com/rural-electric-companies-hit-hard-by-keystone-xl-cancellation_3689331.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2021-02-16-4

Anonymous

There no new jobs for workers Biden fired or new customers for hotel owners along the proposed pipeline right of way.



South Dakota Hotel Owners Describe Impact of Keystone Cancellation



MIDLAND, S.D.—"My husband just called me ... he just got fired," said Laurie Cox, her voice trembling ever so slightly as she put on a brave smile. But it was impossible to ignore her now-crestfallen demeanor.



Cox is the owner of a hotel in Midland, a quaint town with a population of about 100. She had just finished talking about how business was booming late last year during which she had befriended people working on the Keystone XL oil pipeline.



Workers would return from their shifts from a handful of nearby pump stations to unwind at the hotel since it was just a short drive away. Cox recalls having dinner together with the workers and lively chats night after night, many became close with her pet dog—a cute canine called Heidi.



Her husband, Wallace Cox Jr., was an industrial mechanic who had been setting pumps in Minnesota before he was laid off on Feb. 10. He was also scheduled to work on the Keystone XL pipeline—specifically on pumps in Montana in the upcoming summer.



The hotel's picturesque scene crumbled almost instantly after President Joe Biden shut down the pipeline on Jan. 20 through an executive order. The cancellation was among one of his first moves as president.



"The workers staying here all came to me and said well that's it—we're done, we're going home," Laurie told The Epoch Times, as she described the scene following the news. "As he was signing that executive order, they were getting the lay-offs."



"My heart sank," she added. "I tried to hold back everything because they're packing up. They have to go face their families, start their lives all over again, get back onto the out-of-work list, and try to figure out their next assignment."



By the time most of the workers had left the hotel, Laurie had really started thinking about the full effects of the pipeline shutdown. She didn't just lose the workers staying at her hotel, but also those who would have stayed in the future.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/hotel-owners-left-shattered-in-wake-of-keystone-pipeline-shutdown_3699134.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2021-02-19-3">https://www.theepochtimes.com/hotel-own ... 21-02-19-3">https://www.theepochtimes.com/hotel-owners-left-shattered-in-wake-of-keystone-pipeline-shutdown_3699134.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2021-02-19-3

Anonymous

Rural Town Left out of Money, Hope After Keystone XL Shutdown



PHILIP, S.D.—Entire towns and communities along the route of the Keystone XL pipeline—once lively and prosperous due to the economic opportunity it brought—have been left out of money and out of hope after the project was scrapped by President Joe Biden on his first day in office.



One such town in rural South Dakota had invested heavily in their businesses in order to provide for an influx of workers the project had brought. Some businesses had even secured contracts with various companies working on the pipeline, but now have been left in deep debt and face a bleak future.



Residents of Philip, a small town with less than 900 people, knew that the construction and extra business was temporary, but also knew that the revenue it was to generate would have long-lasting effects on their economy.



Tricia Burns is the owner of a popular fitness center in Philip called Ignite Wellness Studio, a place many Keystone workers frequented. Biden's decision impacted her livelihood in three separate ways: first, her gym lost approximately $3,000 in recurring monthly income with the loss of membership alone; second, a ranch her family owned suffered a "substantial loss" due to the rise in energy and fuel costs; and third, she described a "heart wrenching loss" from not being able to see her newfound friends again, many of whom were pipeline workers forced to leave the town after being fired.



"The devastation was so evident," Burns told The Epoch Times. "Not just loss of their jobs but a bleak future of the trade they worked so hard for.



"We cried many tears as the pipeline workers came in to say goodbye to cancel their memberships, not knowing what their next move was but knowing Philip was no longer home" she added.



Terry Cunha, a spokesperson for TC Energy Corp., told The Epoch Times in January that "as a result of the presidential permit being revoked for Keystone XL, 1,000 unionized jobs will be lost in the coming weeks." Cunha did not respond when asked for more specific details about the job cuts.



Burns said her first reaction to Biden signing the executive order that cancelled the project on Jan. 20 was "disbelief followed by anger." Then the sadness started to set in. Within 20 minutes of the president's signature, workers had started cancelling their memberships.



Although she feels blessed to live in a community that supports its local businesses, Burns said the concern for their future is "very real." This anxiety and fear has become almost a daily topic and sentiment among her family, friends, and community as she explained how the growth in rural agriculture-based towns like Philip is very minimal.



The Keystone XL pipeline was a huge project expected to generate $3.4 billion in U.S. GDP growth, including millions in state and local tax revenue, according to the U.S. Chamber Global Energy Institute.



It would have generated millions of dollars of economic opportunity for South Dakotans.



Many towns like Philip are fading away, Burns said, as she described the Keystone XL Pipeline as an opportunity they will likely never see again in their lives.



"I truly couldn't believe that an executive order could be signed—one that would impact our entire nation—with little to no hesitation, in my opinion," she said.



Her indignation was shared by many in the local community.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/rural-town-left-out-of-money-hope-after-keystone-xl-shutdown_3710992.html?utm_source=morningbriefnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mb-2021-02-26">https://www.theepochtimes.com/rural-tow ... 2021-02-26">https://www.theepochtimes.com/rural-town-left-out-of-money-hope-after-keystone-xl-shutdown_3710992.html?utm_source=morningbriefnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mb-2021-02-26

Anonymous

While the United States continues to make progress in its greenhouse gas reductions, India, China and Russia continue to increase their emissions. But, Biden's plan over the next nine years would attempt to triple that pace — without the technology to do so. In the meantime there will be a lot of costs to our lifestyle.



Some of those costs associated with Biden's green plan would include switching to $55,000 electric cars and reducing meat consumption by 90%.



The cost of the Green New De could be as high as $93 trillion, according to the American Action Forum (AAF).