Category: Points of Information

Very brief descriptions, with appropriate links, of current or recent news items.

How Obamacare is Hastening the bankruptcy of state governments

3:50 pm

Repeal the damn bill! How Obamacare is hastening the bankruptcy of state governments. Key quote:

If state Medicaid spending increases by 41 percent as projected by [the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services], then by next year Medicaid could end up consuming nearly 30 percent of the average state budget. Medicaid would greatly exceed all other state priorities, including education, which tops state budgets at about 22 percent. In fact, state spending on education would experience certain cuts next year. [emphasis mine]

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Twenty Of The Craziest Things The U.S. Government Is Spending Money On

12:36 pm

Your tax dollars at work: Twenty idiotic things the U.S. government is spending money on. My favorite, #8, also happens to be one of the most expensive:

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs spent $175 million during 2010 to maintain hundreds of buildings that it does not even use. This includes a pink, octagonal monkey house in the city of Dayton, Ohio.

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Christmas Sweater Club Punished At Local High School

12:26 pm

Ho! Ho! Ho! The members of an informal high school “Christmas Sweater Club” have been punished by their school for spreading Christmas cheer. Key quote:

Mother Kathleen Flannery said an administrator called her and explained “not everyone wants Christmas cheer. That suicide rates are up over Christmas, and that they should keep their cheer to themselves, perhaps.”

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Continuing resolution in the Senate freezes NASA at 2010 numbers

7:41 pm

The space war over NASA continues: The continuing resolution being offered by the Senate would freeze NASA’s budget at 2010 numbers through March. Also,

NASA would be prohibited from initiating new programs, and could be required to continue spending about $200 million per month on the Moon-bound Constellation program.

As I’ve said repeatedly, the whole thing is a mess.

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Automakers suing EPA over higher ethanol mix gas

3:13 pm

Good intentions strikes again! Automakers are suing the EPA over its decision to allow a higher ethanol mixture in gasoline. Key quote:

Automakers say they are worried the EPA decision would eventually lead to motorists unknowingly filling up their older cars and trucks with E15 and hurting their engines. The problem could be exacerbated if E15 fuels are cheaper than more conventional blends, prompting owners of older vehicles to use the fuel despite the potential engine problems.

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Bat fungus more deadly that first thought

2:51 pm

Bat researchers have concluded that the fungus seen on the dying bats in the northeast United States these past four years is far more deadly than any fungus previously studied, and is increasingly believed to be the primary cause of the bat deaths. Key quote:

“This fungus is amazingly destructive — it digests, erodes, and invades the skin — particularly the wings — of hibernating bats,” said Meteyer. “The ability of this fungus to invade bats’ wing skin is unlike that of any known skin fungal pathogen in land mammals.”

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Electricity from wind plant so expensive no one will buy it

12:14 pm

The electricity produced from a proposed wind plant will be so expensive the company can’t find customers. They do have one customer, however, but one wonders why:

In its 15-year deal, National Grid agreed to pay 18.7 cents per kilowatt hour for Cape Wind power beginning in 2013, with a 3.5 percent annual increase. The starting price is twice what National Grid pays today for power from fossil fuels, and regulators say the contract will add about 1.7 percent to its residential customers’ bills.

Read the whole article. It explains a lot about the failures of renewable energy, and how the efforts of the government and environmentalists to force it on us is misguided and downright foolish.

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