2/9/2023
Greetings Fellow Republicans,
There are a couple of issues that are “hot” right now and I am asking that you take the time to take action and send emails in opposition if you agree with my position. The first is the mandate that by 2035, Delaware will adopt the California Electric Vehicle Standards and the second is another attempt by the Democrats in the General Assembly to legalize recreational marijuana.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: – This is wrong on so many levels it’s hard to enumerate them all.
- This is NOT a legislative action. Instead, the Governor has mandated that this outrageous hijacking of our freedoms be left to the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (aka DNREC). To state the obvious, unelected bureaucrats will be determining what you drive and how. This is not the representative government we learned about in civics class! I think I would have remembered if I ever voted for someone who works for DNREC! I did not.
- By 2026, (that’s model year 2025), 35% of all vehicles sold in DE must be “zero-emission vehicles” (ZEVs).
- By Fall of 2031, ZEVs must represent 75% of all vehicles sold in DE. By 2035, all vehicles sold in DE must fall into the category of ZEV.
- So far, we don’t know if you will be allowed to register a gas-powered vehicle in DE if you purchased it in an “un-woke” state.
- At the height of the election season, there were opportunities for “We the people” to express our opinions about this, but many of us were otherwise occupied.
- There are also important questions about the safety associated with electric vehicles. These have to do with the fire-safety issues of electric vehicles related to “thermal runaway and fire in Lithium-ion batteries. Thermal runaway or fire can occur as a result of extreme abuse conditions that may be the result of faulty operation or traffic accidents. Failure of the battery may then be accompanied by the release of toxic gas, fire, jet flames and explosion.” (A Review of Battery Fires in Electric Vehicles, Sun, P, Bisschop, R. Niu, Huichang, et al. SpringerLink, 11, January, 2020)
- It’s reported that Delaware will spend $18,000,000 of Federal infrastructure money to install charging stations throughout the state. Instead of leaving it to small businesses to erect these, the state will compete with the Mom and Pop retailers.
- Having the state hold the keys to how you power your car is very concerning. If the state decides that the grid may become overwhelmed, or they don’t want many vehicles on the road for whatever reason, they can just turn off the charging stations – problem solved!
There are other issues as well. Let your minds just meander through some of the possibilities like additional time for that road trip you and your family want to take or how about watching your battery die while sitting in traffic when trying to evacuate coastal areas due to a storm. I haven’t even addressed the cost of the vehicles and the lack of ability to recycle these batteries that each weigh at least ½ ton or more. There are so many more reasons this is a very, very bad idea from the imposition on our freedoms to the practicality and economics.
CALL TO ACTION!
If you oppose this mandate, please send emails to the following:
EV Mandate Call to Action!!
This must be stopped.
Please contact Governor John Carney (John.Carney@delaware.gov, 302-577-8154) and DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin (Shawn.Garvin@delaware.gov) and tell them you oppose their mandate.
Be sure to also include your local legislators.
You can click here to find out who your legislators are.
RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA: – Twenty-one states and many of our territories have legalized recreational marijuana. Sadly, from what I’ve seen, one of the “selling points” for the states is the expected tax revenue that the dispensaries will generate. However, there is more to the story than a new revenue source.
- The Federal Government classifies marijuana as a schedule I drug. This designation means that it is considered to have a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision. There are many different opinions about this, but no matter what they are, marijuana is not accepted as a legitimate treatment by the Feds and consequently, dispensaries are unable to use the Federal banking system or credit cards, thus making these points of sale “cash businesses.”
- These storefronts with their large amounts of cash are ripe for robberies and there is documentation of an increase in robberies at these stores in states where recreational marijuana has been legalized. Many have had to employ security guards for their employees’ safety thus increasing the price of the product to cover the extra overhead.
- Enter the cartels. Since they are not paying the taxes that had the states salivating when recreational marijuana was approved, their pricing is lower than the regulated dispensaries.
- Thinking the cartels will not lace their products with illicit drugs that are more addicting is naïve. In addition, the standards to which the state dispensaries are held, mean nothing to these criminals and their product is not the pure cannabis that the state-licensed facilities are selling.
- There isn’t a Police Chief in the State who thinks this is a good idea.
- Most states who have succumbed to the hype have seen an increase in DUIs.
- You will hear from those Representatives and Senators who are in favor of this that there are a number of people incarcerated for possession of small amounts of marijuana and how unfair this is. However, this is not so. The only people incarcerated are those who were caught with more than the amount considered for personal use and were believed to be trying to distribute.
- During the last General Assembly, the bill passed but was vetoed by the Governor. The concern is that this group of progressives will be able to override another veto if the Governor stands up.
CALL TO ACTION!
If you oppose the legalization of recreational marijuana, please write to the Governor and your legislators.
The Democrats need to hear from us too!
Governor Carney’s email address is: John.Carney@Delaware.gov
You can find email addresses for the General Assembly at: http://www.legis.delaware.gov/.
