I guess this is what America wanted when we voted for change, right?
President Obama- Taxing the Middle Class
Campaigns have promises; elections have consequences:
Cap and Trade- An Exercise in Stupidity
Stupidity on display:
MSNBC: In a triumph for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives narrowly passed sweeping legislation Friday that establishes the United States’ first limits on pollution linked to global warming and aims to usher in a new era of cleaner, yet more costly energy…
Fact: This net effect of this legislation will be an increase in the cost of living for every American household by hundreds of dollars every year.
It is “the most important energy and environmental legislation in the history of our country,” said Democratic Rep. Ed Markey. “It sets a new course for our country, one that steers us away from foreign oil and toward a path of clean American energy.”
Fact: This bill does nothing to create any additional sources of energy, instead it penalizes all existing forms of American energy by creating higher costs for both producers and consumers.
Under the bill, the government would limit heat-trapping pollution from factories, refineries and power plants and issue allowances for polluters. Most of the allowances would be given away, but about 15 percent would be auctioned by bid and the proceeds used to defray higher energy costs for lower-income individuals and families.
Fact: Rather than actually allocating money to increase domestic clean energy, Democrats have chosen to force higher prices for energy onto all Americans and then choose “winners” and “losers” by offsetting a portion of the increased costs to households that meet Washington’s approval. This is one of the largest middle class tax increases in history.
Winner: Democrats.
Losers: The American People.
Cap and Trade Bill Just in Time
Well, Congress chose a great time to try to pass this bill, which Democrats claim will combat ”global warming.”
The only problem is that it appears that, as of today, the Arctic is still well below freezing, which makes it the latest date of below freezing weather that the Artic has seen in the last 50 years of record keeping.
Is it unreasonable to at least ask politicians to prove that there is in fact a problem, before they cripple the economy in order to solve it? Sadly, it seems as though politicians and even the EPA are less than concerned with reality, and would prefer to quiet dissen,t rather than listening to facts:
The source, who chooses not to be identified for fear of retaliation, said that Carlin was rebuffed in his attempt to introduce scientific evidence that does not accord with the EPA’s view of global warming, which largely relies on IPCC reports. The source also saw Carlin’s report and said that it was ‘based on 8 points of peer-reviewed, recent and relevant scientific publications’ that cast doubt on the wisdom of regulating CO2 as a pollutant.
Thanks Al Gore.
Cap and Trade Will Further Cripple the American Economy
As the country is busy discussing health care and infidelity, House Democrats are quietly pushing through a bill that will further derail the already struggling American economy.
WSJ: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has put cap-and-trade legislation on a forced march through the House, and the bill may get a full vote as early as Friday. It looks as if the Democrats will have to destroy the discipline of economics to get it done.
This new bill is designed to reduce carbon emissions of large scale “polluters,” although the bill does nothing to actually promote cleaner production; instead it limits, taxes, and penalizes both producers and consumers. Rather than employing technology to reduce emissions, the federal government simply steps in and places a limit on the amount of carbon that the country is allowed to create by auctioning permits to companies- the cap. Once the companies have purchased these permits, they are allowed to trade amongst each other to continue production- the trade.
While Democrats boast about reducing emissions, the real outcome is increased costs to consumers, higher barriers to new firms entering the marketplace, limits on production which stagnates or lowers employment, and increased incentive for companies to leave the U.S. and move their operations to countries without such legislation. Yet none of this really seems to have affected the Democrats’ resolve on the issue.
Even as Democrats have promised that this cap-and-trade legislation won’t pinch wallets, behind the scenes they’ve acknowledged the energy price tsunami that is coming. During the brief few days in which the bill was debated in the House Energy Committee, Republicans offered three amendments: one to suspend the program if gas hit $5 a gallon; one to suspend the program if electricity prices rose 10% over 2009; and one to suspend the program if unemployment rates hit 15%. Democrats defeated all of them.
And the cost per household of this legislation?
Under this more comprehensive scenario, it found Waxman-Markey would cost the economy $161 billion in 2020, which is $1,870 for a family of four. As the bill’s restrictions kick in, that number rises to $6,800 for a family of four by 2035.
And all of this, to reduce the amount of carbon produced in America, while countries like China and Saudi Arabia gladly fill our demands for manufacturing and energy.
Sanford’s Boneheaded Fall
As if cheating on his wife wasn’t bad enough, Gov. Mark Sanford (R – South Carolina) decided to just take off for Argentina to be with his mistress without telling his staff or family where he was going or how he could be reached. All this has lead to the amazingly-swift fall of a man who was previously near the top of the list of 2012 presidential contenders. I guess the only silver lining is that at least he wasn’t with a prostitute.
What an idiot…
Obama Plants Reporter
It’s interesting to note that while the main stream media swoons over socialized medicine, embraces deficit spending, and refuse to even raise concern over bailouts and market intervention, there is still one thing that will upset the most liberal of journalistic institutions: planting questions.
After the obligatory first question from the Associated Press, Obama treated the overflowing White House briefing room to a surprise. “I know Nico Pitney is here from the Huffington Post,” he announced.
Obama knew this because White House aides had called Pitney the day before to invite him, and they had escorted him into the room. They told him the president was likely to call on him, with the understanding that he would ask a question about Iran that had been submitted online by an Iranian. “I know that there may actually be questions from people in Iran who are communicating through the Internet,” Obama went on. “Do you have a question?”
Pitney recognized his prompt. “That’s right,” he said, standing in the aisle and wearing a temporary White House press pass. “I wanted to use this opportunity to ask you a question directly from an Iranian.”
While the majority of networks and media outlets are still doing everything within their power to prolong the Presidential honeymoon period, if Emanuel and Gibbs don’t clean up their act, the administration may actually face difficult questions from their comrades in the press- what a horrifying thought.
BCC Will Be Back on the Air Today
Today from 9-10 a.m. CDT, we will once again be guests on “Mac’s World.” Today’s big topics will include the unrest in Iran, Obama’s latest personnel scandal, and anything else that should come up.
Please feel free to listen live here from 9-10 a.m. CDT. And, if you’d like to participate in the discussion, the number is 888-Go-For-It (888-463-6748).
We last appeared on the air Friday May 22, 2009.
Inspector General Walpin Firing Scandal Update
Here is a more in depth article regarding Obama’s latest scandal involving the illegal firing of Inspector General Gerald Walpin. Spoiler alert: he wasn’t fired for not paying his taxes…
To review: Walpin discovered taxpayer funds being misused by a political supporter of the president, questioned the validity of another large program funded with AmeriCorps dollars, and criticized the oversight of the CNCS board, which is chaired by one of the president’s largest contributors. The president then, without a meaningful explanation or other justification, fired Walpin.
Under such circumstances, the summary termination of an IG appears to any reasonable observer to be political revenge at best — and possibly worse, if it’s intended to prevent further investigation, cover up wrongdoing, or signal other would-be investigators to watch their backs. As is true with the Justice Department’s unexplained dismissal of the suit it had won against the New Black Panther Party for voter intimidation in Philadelphia, the administration’s silence is telling.
And Libs got upset when Bush fired a few prosecutors?
