The law is such an inconvenient thing: The IRS under Obama decided last year that it can require licenses from tax preparers, even though no law gives the tax agency that power.
A new bill in Congress would clarify the rights of 1960s astronauts to the space-flown artifacts they took home after their flight.
What I don’t like about this is that it is so specific, only protecting the rights of the astronauts from the 1960s. Why not extend these rights to all those who fly on NASA missions?
We’ve only just begun: Ave Maria University has now sued the Obama administration over the government’s mandate that the university provide contraceptives at no charge to its employees.
In a February 29 letter to NASA, House appropriators have challenged the Obama administration’s decision to shut down the agency’s Mars planetary program.
Another state vs federal battle: The Utah legislature is about to pass a law demanding the federal government release to the state almost fifty percent of the state’s federal land.
The context here is that, for most western states, the federal government controls almost all of the real estate, and has in recent years increasingly restricted its use to the detriment of local residents. The legal maneuvering here is a push back by the state.
A scientist compares all the global warming climate models developed during the past twenty years with the actual data:
We’ve checked all the main predictions of the climate models against the best data. The climate models get them all wrong. … Therefore:
- The climate models are fundamentally flawed. Their assumed threefold amplification by feedbacks does not in fact exist.
- The climate models overestimate temperature rises due to CO2 by at least a factor of three.
Read the whole article. Not only does Evans outline the failures of all the climate models, he also clearly and distinctly describes the actual debate that has been going on in the climate field for the past three decades. It isn’t the effects of carbon dioxide that climate scientists have been arguing about, but, as Richard Lindzen explained to the UK Parliament last week, whether other climate factors, called feedbacks, will amplify or suppress the warming produced by CO2.
Stupidity: The baseball Astros have been forced by league officials to remove the picture of a Colt revolver from their original baseball jerseys.
[Major League Baseball] gave the okay to the uniform, which the Astros will wear to kick off a season of throwbacks commemorating the 50th anniversary of the club. It nixed the pistol on the uniform in an era when guns are a sensitive issue, according to an Astros official.
Surprise, surprise! A new poll shows that Obamacare continues to be a major political problem for Obama, and Romney.
In the poll, Obama lags the two leading Republican rivals in the 12 states likely to determine the outcome of a close race in November:
- Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum tops Obama 50%-45% in the swing states. Nationwide, Santorum’s lead narrows to 49%-46%.
- Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney edges Obama 48%-46% in the swing states. Nationwide, they are tied at 47% each.
Romney also has a health care problem: Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents in the battleground states, 27% say they are less likely to support him because he signed a Massachusetts law that required residents to have coverage. Just 7% say it makes them more likely to back him.
At least Romney has made it clear he intends to repeal Obamacare, which should help him in the election should he overcome the Republican hostility to RomneyCare and become the Republican candidate. For Obama, however, there is no escape. Obamacare is his problem, and his alone, and he is likely going to go down in flames because of it more than anything else.
More video of that townhall meeting where Congresswoman Kathy Hochul (D-New York) was challenged by her constituents over Obama’s contraceptive mandate. Her answer:
Well, basically, we’re not looking to the Constitution on that aspect of it.
She essentially admits that when it comes to the Democratic Party and the Obama administration, policy will trump the Constitution every time.
At the end of the videotape, when she finds herself literally speechless and unable to respond intelligently to the questions being put to her, she says, “Clearly, more work needs to be done.” I agree. The work that needs to be done is to throw these thugs out of office.
Finding out what’s in it: Massachusett has proposed a 500-plus percent increase in vending machine license fees in order to meet new regulations imposed by Obamacare.
And this ain’t the end. Day by day for the next three years — as Obamacare slowly takes effect — we are going to find out again and again how completely bad it is. The important thing will be to remember clearly who imposed this idiocy on us.
The wave builds: Seven states today filed a joint lawsuit, seeking to overturn Obama’s contraceptive mandate.
“This violation of the [First] Amendment is a threat to every American, regardless of religious faith,” Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning said in a news release. “We will not stand idly by while our constitutionally guaranteed liberties are discarded by an administration that has sworn to uphold them.”
The lawsuit also alleges the “practical effect” of the mandate “will force religious employers to drop health insurance coverage,” in order to avoid violating their religious beliefs.
“Obamacare’s latest mandate tramples the First Amendment’s freedom of religion and compels people of faith to act contrary to their convictions,” Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a news release. “The very first amendment to our Constitution was intended to protect against this sort of government intrusion into our religious convictions.”
Success! Germany’s $130 billion solar power subsidies has delayed global warming by 23 hours!
It gets worse: Because Germany is part of the European Union Emissions Trading System, the actual effect of extra solar panels in Germany leads to no CO2 reductions, because total emissions are already capped. Instead, the Germans simply allow other parts of the EU to emit more CO2. Germany’s solar panels have only made it cheaper for Portugal or Greece to use coal.
