Friday, June 26, 2009

PELOSI TAX

Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), has decided that Legislation on Climate Change (Cap and Trade) must pass immediately. Why? What's the Rush? This is another case of nobody has read the Waxman-Markey bill before they vote. Too big, too fast explains one reason.
Remember that gargantuan climate change bill we told you about last week? It's gotten bigger. Over the weekend, the bill grew from 946 pages to 1,201 pages, according to the Sunlight Foundation. It's still changing, with important amendments in flux.
That's better than a 25% increase in size.
This is an incredibly expensive undertaking. If anyone in Congress tells you that he has read and completely understands this bill, and can explain exactly how the system to reduce carbon emissions would work and what its effects would be, he's lying.
It is fair to call this a (Hidden) Tax, since the cost to America Consumers will be increased prices for goods and services as Companies pass the increase to you and me. This will come in the form of Higher Utility Bills and higher prices generally for manufactured goods. Schools, Hospitals and any other large user of Fossil Fuels will be affected.

We need to take our time on this Tax Increase Legislation because as this article notes.
The U.S. can do a lot to reduce its carbon output, but can't do it all. America won't have much impact on global warming if China, India and other major polluters don't follow suit and dramatically reduce their own pollutants. [Emphasis Mine]
That fact alone will cause more outsourcing of American Jobs. The cost to us is Higher Prices and Job Losses.

Again I ask, What's the Rush? One answer is that this is one of the favorites of the Obama, Pelosi Liberal agenda and support seems to be falling as evidence accumulates. Evidence that Global Temperatures are not Warming as the increase in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO2) increases. Read The Climate Change Climate Change from the "Wall Street Journal" Opinion and Commentary Section and note this paragraph.
The inconvenient truth is that the earth's temperatures have flat-lined since 2001, despite growing concentrations of C02. Peer-reviewed research has debunked doomsday scenarios about the polar ice caps, hurricanes, malaria, extinctions, rising oceans.
Based on the growing evidence, many countries have failed to pass or repealed Carbon Credit Tax Legislation. [Emphasis Mine]
In April, the Polish Academy of Sciences published a document challenging man-made global warming. In the Czech Republic, where President Vaclav Klaus remains a leading skeptic, today only 11% of the population believes humans play a role. In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy wants to tap Claude Allegre to lead the country's new ministry of industry and innovation. Twenty years ago Mr. Allegre was among the first to trill about man-made global warming, but the geochemist has since recanted. New Zealand last year elected a new government, which immediately suspended the country's weeks-old cap-and-trade program.
Other Countries such as Australia and Japan have pulled back from Cap and Trade Taxes.
It turns out Al Gore and the United Nations (with an assist from the media), did a little too vociferous a job smearing anyone who disagreed with them as "deniers." The backlash has brought the scientific debate roaring back to life in Australia, Europe, Japan and even, if less reported, the U.S.
The US participation in the Kyoto Accord was defeated in the US Senate in 1997. The vote was a resounding 95-0 on the Byrd-Hagel Resolution (S. Res. 98) despite then Vice President Al Gore's strong backing.

Less publicized is the growing skepticism in the US.
Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe now counts more than 700 scientists who disagree with the U.N. -- 13 times the number who authored the U.N.'s 2007 climate summary for policymakers. Joanne Simpson, the world's first woman to receive a Ph.D. in meteorology, expressed relief upon her retirement last year that she was finally free to speak "frankly" of her nonbelief. Dr. Kiminori Itoh, a Japanese environmental physical chemist who contributed to a U.N. climate report, dubs man-made warming "the worst scientific scandal in history." Norway's Ivar Giaever, Nobel Prize winner for physics, decries it as the "new religion." A group of 54 noted physicists, led by Princeton's Will Happer, is demanding the American Physical Society revise its position that the science is settled.
With all this evidence, it should be clear that we should not rush to pass Cap and Trade Legislation, if at all.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

JOBS OBAMA DID NOT SAVE

With all the non-provable claims Obama has made about the jobs he has saved, this article, Hav-a-Tampa cigars closing Tampa plant, informs us of the 495 Jobs that will be lost due to Legislation President Obama has signed into law.
Tampa will lose part of its cigar heritage in August when Hav-A-Tampa shuts its factory near Seffner and lays off about 495 employees, closing a factory that has been operating since 1902.
Not only will these jobs vanish, they are still needed, but will be moved to Puerto Rico.
Work that had been done in Tampa will now be performed in an Altadis plant in Puerto Rico, where it has extra manufacturing capacity, McKenzie said.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

GOVERNMENT PAID HEALTH INSURANCE - THE TRUTH

The Liberals (mostly Democrats) claim that we need a Government Paid Health Care Plan (commonly called Single-Payer or Public Option) because there are about 46 million Americans who do not have Health Insurance. Of that number, about 13 million are illegal aliens, who should not be eligible for Government Paid health insurance in the 1st place. There are also a number of uninsured who choose not to be covered, even though many of them could afford Health Insurance. These are mostly young adults who want to maximize their take home pay for whatever reason. The reality is that the number of people without Health Insurance is quite a lot smaller than 46 million.

It needs to be noted that because 46 Million in America do not have Health Insurance DOES NOT mean they don't have Health Care. All of them will receive treatment at any Hospital Emergency Room. They must be treated by law. Most of them also receive services at Clinics and Doctors Offices.

The Liberals would like you to believe that a Government Paid Health Insurance Plan would not drive the Private Insurance companies out of business. They claim that it would make the Private Insurers more competitive. The reality is that Private Insurance Companies cannot compete with a Government Plan, because the Government does not have to show a profit. In fact the Government can operate at a loss and once the Government Paid Health Insurance Plan goes into effect, the companies who furnish Health Insurance for their employees as a fringe benefit will not have any reason to continue to offer Health Insurance to their Employees. Some competition.

What is the Liberal Health Insurance agenda? Here are their own words.
Kathleen Sebelius, (Obama's Health and Human Services Secretary) in 2007

Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI)

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL 9th)

The Liberals want to create a system like the one in place in Canada. The Canadian Plan does not improve the quality of Health Care. In fact Health Care is rationed, denied and delayed under the Canadian plan. We do not need this type of Change. It is a step backward.

There are some things we do need to improve our Health Care in the US. Tort Reform is one of the best places to start.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

MORE GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS

Global Warming is a subject evoking strong and passionate feelings. The term Global Warming is a misnomer, however. The Correct Term should be Global Climate Change, because it's not just temperature that's changing. Some places are getting warmer, some colder, and many places are experiencing Climate Changes. Flooding, Storms, etc are all part of Global Climate Change. Change is happening, but to what extant is this change effected by the action (or inaction) of man?

The Alarmists use the Computer Models to "predict" the future. There is a BIG problem with this approach. The Computer Models predict that as the Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO2)Increases, so does the Atmospheric Temperature. Further according to the Global Warming Alarmists, Mankind is adding to the Atmospheric CO2 by using Coal, Oil, Natural Gas and yes even Wood Burning stoves. All of these are fuel, which when burned produce that bad Greenhouse gas, CO2.

The facts are still not absolute, but the trend of these facts shows that Mankind's production of CO2 Has Very Little to do with Global Climate Change. For instance, the facts indicate that while the Atmospheric CO2 levels have continued to increase, the Global Temperatures have not. Therefore, the Computer Models are wrong. To the Alarmists, the Computer Models being wrong are not a problem, because to them if the facts don't fit the reality, the facts must be wrong.

The facts also show that CO2 only accounts for about 4% of the Atmospheric Greenhouse Gases, and Mankind is responsible for about one-half (2%) of the production by the burning of wood, oil, gas and coal. The other 2% comes from Natural Processes, such as Volcanoes. CO2 is a natural atmospheric gas and is absolutely necessary for plants to survive. It is also a fact that there are times in Earth's Historical past that the Atmospheric CO2 level has been much higher than today.

Crops under stress as temperatures fall presents more evidence supporting the conclusion that we don't have enough facts yet to warrant the Drastic Costly and Lifestyle changes called for by the Global Alarmists.
For the second time in little over a year, it looks as though the world may be heading for a serious food crisis, thanks to our old friend "climate change". In many parts of the world recently the weather has not been too brilliant for farmers. After a fearsomely cold winter, June brought heavy snowfall across large parts of western Canada and the northern states of the American Midwest. In Manitoba last week, it was -4ÂșC. North Dakota had its first June snow for 60 years.
If rather than Global Warming, Global Climate Change results in Cooling of the Earth, the consequences are food shortages. Other changes are also happening.
There was midsummer snow not just in Norway and the Cairngorms, but even in Saudi Arabia. At least in the southern hemisphere it is winter, but snowfalls in New Zealand and Australia have been abnormal. There have been frosts in Brazil, elsewhere in South America they have had prolonged droughts, while in China they have had to cope with abnormal rain and freak hailstorms, which in one province killed 20 people.
US and Canadian Farmers are behind schedule due to Cooler Temperatures and Other Climate Changes. The North American grain harvesting yield is predicted to be as much as 15% lower. That would be a 32 year low.

The rest of the World is also affected. China, the World's largest producer of Wheat, has had weather problems affecting their crops. South America and Europe also face lower harvest amounts due to Global Climate Change. The evidence is mounting that we may be facing a period of Global Cooling rather than Global Warming.

Often overlooked is the effect of Sun Spots on the Earth's Climate Changes.
It is now more than 200 years since the great astronomer William Herschel observed a correlation between wheat prices and sunspots. When the latter were few in number, he noted, the climate turned colder and drier, crop yields fell and wheat prices rose. In the past two years, sunspot activity has dropped to its lowest point for a century. One of our biggest worries is that our politicians are so fixated on the idea that CO2 is causing global warming that most of them haven't noticed that the problem may be that the world is not warming but cooling, with all the implications that has for whether we get enough to eat.
Also overlooked, is Legislation Mandating the use of Bio Fuels produced from corn and other food stocks. The Alarmists have convinced many politicians World-Wide that we need to do something about Global Warming by creating and using Bio Fuels, rather than the Fossil fuels. Bio Fuels are renewable and reduce our dependence on Oil and Gas. But there is a downside to Bio Fuels.
It is appropriate that another contributory factor to the world's food shortage should be the millions of acres of farmland now being switched from food crops to biofuels, to stop the world warming, Last year even the experts of the European Commission admitted that, to meet the EU's biofuel targets, we will eventually need almost all the food-growing land in Europe. But that didn't persuade them to change their policy. They would rather we starved than did that.
While this article is targeted to Europe, one only has to change EU and Europe to US and America to make the statements also true here.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

HOW'S THAT GLOBAL WARMING THING GOING?

According to Al Gore and a good part of the Democrats in Congress the sky is still falling. According to a growing number of the American Public, that sky is falling claim is questionable or just down-right wrong.

So here are some of the facts from AccuWeather, some areas of the USA may see little summer and total Lightning strikes are down.(Recent Upswing in Lightning)
As of June 3, 2009, there have been 5,589,686 flashes, with 6,517,381 reported by June 3, 2008.
As you may have guessed by the title of the AccuWeather piece, there has been an upswing in the number of people and planes struck by lightening.
So far, 2009 has been a deadly year for lightning strikes. Two people were killed last week, and another Monday, bringing the total number of lightning-related deaths to seven, with 50 injuries reported total. A Southwest Airlines plane was struck by lightning in California earlier last week. Is this trend of lightning strikes on people and airplanes abnormal this year? [Emphasis Mine]
And what's the answer to the question of abnormality?
On average, 60 people are killed and over 350 people are injured by lightning each year, with June, July and August the most common months for deaths. In 2008, 27 people were killed by lightning and 303 injured.

As for aircraft, 66 have reported lightning strikes so far this year. Last year, 55 reported lightning strikes to airplanes occurred through May.

The number of deaths and the number of airplanes hit does not seem out of the ordinary this year.
In summary, the number of Flashes is down, but the number of planes struck is higher than average. Apparently the statistical analysis of the lightening data is not out of line with the averages.

The lightening data is, however, a part of "Global Climate Change". Believe it or not, "Most Global Warming Skeptics" (including Me) agree that Temperatures and other atmospheric changes are taking place world wide. They just don't believe it will be a disaster for our planet. Rather it's a natural cycle of Planetary changes which has been happening since the Earth was formed. It has happened many times in the past and will happen in the future. That's why it's called Cycles.

As far as US Temperatures this year, the AccuWeather article also says the changes in Lightening patterns is related to the Temperatures.
One of the reasons for this [lightening activity change] could be colder-than-normal weather across the northern tier of the country that has suppressed the number of thunderstorms and has significantly reduced the number of tornadoes this year. The number of reported tornadoes so far this year is 685, just over half of the average annual amount, which is 1,297.
Specifically they state the Lightening pattern is due to changes in the Jet-Stream.
According to Long Range Expert Joe Bastardi, areas from the northern Plains into the Northeast will have a "year without a summer." The jet stream, which is suppressed abnormally south this spring, is also suppressing the number of thunderstorms that can form. The ones that do form in areas of the Ohio Valley and West are forming in places with very cold temperatures, which can lead to more electrified thunderstorms than normal this year.
what does this mean? My reaction is, we don't have enough data to accurately predict the future of "Global Climate Change". However, we do have sufficient data to say the "Inconvenient Truth" is that DRASTIC measures are not warranted.

While we accumulate more data, let us continue to institute any and all green changes which are economically possible, but don't institute DRASTIC, COSTLY, LIFESTYLE Legislation which will cause more harm than good. As much as we would like to believe it, it's just not factually supported that Mankind is a significant factor in Global Climate Change. First, do no harm, should be our motto.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

WHY IS OBAMA APOLOGIZING?

I listened to President Obama's Address in Egypt this morning. Parts of his speech were very good, but some things were headscratchers. Obama admits US involvement in Iran coup in 1953 why was that necessary?
US President Barack Obama made a major gesture of conciliation to Iran on Thursday when he admitted US involvement in the 1953 coup which overthrew the government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh.

"In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian government," Obama said during his keynote speech to the Muslim world in Cairo.

It is the first time a serving US president has publicly admitted American involvement in the coup.

The CIA, with British backing, masterminded the coup after Mossadegh nationalised the oil industry, run until then in by the British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.
Are we now going to be ordered to pay reparations to Iran?

President Obama also called the Iraq War "a war of choice". Since President Obama has long claimed he was against the Iraq War and voted against continued funding in the Senate, it is logical to assume President Obama considers this War a Bad Choice. If that is true, how does this quote from CNN (Obama in Egypt reaches out to Muslim world) fit?
He addressed the conflict in Iraq, calling it unlike Afghanistan "a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world."

"Although I believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein ... [Emphasis Mine]
This makes the Iraq War a Good Choice, I guess. President Obama appears to be trying to have it both ways. President Obama continued.
... I also believe that events in Iraq have reminded America of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our problems whenever possible," he said.
Apparently Our President has forgotten all the diplomatic actions leading up to the Iraq War. Remember that there were UN Sanctions and No Fly Zones which Saddam Hussein violated repeatedly. Apparently President Obama has forgotten that England, Poland, Australia and 43 other countries made up the Coalition Forces which invaded IRAQ after years of failed diplomatic actions.

This appears to be the pattern of President Obama's trips abroad. Apologize to everyone because it's all the US's fault. What about all the good and great things Americans have done for the world? The Good Ole USA has FREED more Muslims from tyrany than anyone other country in the history of the World. Where is that fact mentioned?

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

WHO'S TO BLAME BUSH or OBAMA

The present state of the Economy is still not good. Who's to Blame? Public perception is public reality. Therefore according to at least one poll, the public perception is this is Bush's Mess. But is it really asks Dick Morris in What's Keeping Obama Up?.
The Rasmussen poll conducted over the weekend of May 30-31 asked a key question designed to give us perspective on Obama's current popularity. The question was whether the current problems "are due to the recession that began under the Bush administration or to the policies Obama has put in place since taking office." In other words, who's to blame, Bush or Obama?

By 62-27, voters say Bush is still the culprit.
That's better than 2:1. Impressive indicator of President Obama's perceived popularity with the American Public.

Will Obama's popularity remain high or fall? The answer to this question hinges on what happens economically as we go forward. If the public sees a turn-around in the economy the answer is yes. But if the economy continues to stagnate, and especially if inflation climbs into levels not seen since President Carter, the answer is no.
The real recession - dating from the stock market collapse - began four months before Bush left office. And it is now four months since Obama was inaugurated. From this vantage, it still looks to voters like Bush's recession.
Since I don't believe the economic policies of the Obama Administration will spur the Economy, and will in fact prolong it, President Obama's popularity will fall quickly. Without improvement in the economy, the public perception of who's to blame will shift to President Obama.
But it will become increasingly obvious that the large deficit Obama has incurred while pursuing his cure for the recession is, on its own, causing more problems than it solves. As high interest rates and, most likely, inflation, begin to set in - with no relief in unemployment - it will be obvious that Obamanomics isn't working and is, in fact, aggravating the economic trouble.
I think President Obama is beginning to recognize that his solutions aren't not working.
Obama, recognizing the danger, has recently begun to speak out - without even cracking a guilty smile - against the huge budget deficit he created. He is trying to blame the deficit, too, on Bush. But voters will not overlook the huge spending sprees of January and February, when Obama quadrupled the 2009 deficit. They will come to see that spending as a huge mistake and will shift their blame to the new president who proposed it.
What are his choices now?
He can leave taxes as they are and take the poison of high interest rates, rapid inflation and a new recession, all caused by the massive borrowing he has forced on the Treasury. If the Treasury cannot sell enough bonds at a reasonable interest rate, it will, of course "monetize the deficit" - economics-speak for printing money so that there will be enough to buy the Treasury debt at moderate interest rates. But the process of so vastly expanding the money supply (or even just leaving the current expansion in place without trying to soak up the extra money) will cause its own runaway inflation.

Or Obama can break his pledge and raise taxes on everybody. His soak-the-rich approach will not be enough to cover the deficit. Especially when one factors in his healthcare proposals, big tax increases on the middle class become an increasing likelihood. And when we consider his cap-and-trade legislation, huge increases in utility rates also loom.

Either poison will make it clear that the economy is suffering from the medicine Obama administered, rather than the original disease that started under Bush.
The future doesn't look good for the Perceived Popularity of President Obama. If the economy doesn't improve, the Public will turn on President Obama with a vengeance.