Carbon Tax Hallucinations

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Average planetary temperatures haven’t budged in 16 years. Hurricanes and strong tornadoes are at or near their lowest ebb in decades. Global sea ice is back to normal, while the Antarctic icepack continues to grow. The rate of sea level rise remains what it was in 1900.

And yet, President Obama and many politicians, newscasters and alarmist scientists continue to insist that carbon dioxide emissions are changing Earth’s climate, and we need to take immediate action to prevent storms like Hurricane Sandy and avert catastrophes predicted by IPCC computer models and “scientific consensus.” Not surprisingly, polls show public support for controlling CO2 output and taxing hydrocarbon use – to “ensure climate security” and “save vital federal programs” from budgetary axes.

As the liberal lobby Think Progress put it, people “overwhelmingly” prefer a carbon tax on “big polluters” versus cuts in favorite programs “like education, Social Security, Medicare and environmental protection.”

Five-alarm climate claims, skewed polling questions and phony taxes-versus-grandma budget alternatives will almost always ensure support for carbon taxes – especially among Bigger Government and Ban Fossil Fuels constituencies. More rational analysis reveals that dreams of hundred-billion-dollar windfalls from slapping regressive new taxes on job creation and economic growth are nothing more than dangerous tax revenue hallucinations. They would bring intense pain for no climate or economic gain.

Employing Energy Information Administration data, a recent Heritage Foundation study by economists David Kreutzer and Nicolas Loris found that a tax starting at $25-per-ton of CO2 emitted and increasing by 5% per year would cut a family of four’s income by $1,400 annually, raise their utility bills by $500 a year, and increase gasoline fill-ups by up to 50 cents per gallon. That’s $2,000 a year chopped from their budget for food, vacations, home and car payments and repairs, college and retirement savings, dental and medical care, and overall quality of life.

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Report: $2 Billion Spent Annually For Medicaid Emergencies, Largely For Illegal Immigrant Baby Deliveries

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Photo Credit: Laura RauchEven though federal law largely bars illegal immigrants from obtaining Medicaid coverage, the program annually pays out more than $2 billion in free emergency coverage that mostly goes to illegal immigrants, according to Kaiser Health News.

The vast majority of the total emergency care reimbursements cover delivering babies, Kaiser reports.

Based on a Kaiser data analysis of the states believed to have the greatest populations of illegal immigrants — including California, New York, Texas, North Carolina, Arizona, Illinois and Florida — more than 100,000 people annually receive emergency care that is reimbursed by Medicaid. California, Kaiser’s analysis showed, receives approximately half of the annual $2 billion Medicaid expenditure category.

That category of Medicaid also covers some homeless people and legal immigrants who have been in the country less than five years — and are therefore mostly ineligible for Medicaid, according to Kaiser.

“We can’t turn them away,” Joanne Aquilina, the chief financial officer of Bethesda Healthcare System in Boynton Beach, Fla., told Kaiser.

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Taxing the Planet Clean: Boxer, Sanders call for $1.2 Trillion Carbon Tax

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Photo Credit: APSens. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Barbara Boxer (D., Calif.) announced they will introduce sweeping new energy regulations, including a carbon tax, during a Thursday press conference.

The proposed legislation would use a tax on carbon emissions to fund “historic investments in energy efficiency and sustainable energy technologies such as wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass,” according to a press release.

“We have the opportunity right now, with the president’s commitment in the State of the Union to make major progress,” Sanders said at the press conference. President Barack Obama called for “meaningful” action on climate change in his State of the Union address Tuesday, and Boxer said her bill was in line with the president’s goals.

“The president is right—we must do more to combat climate change, and Superstorm Sandy was a wake-up call,” Boxer said in a statement. “I strongly support the president’s efforts to move forward with executive actions to address this serious threat.”

Sanders said the bill’s tax—$20 per ton of carbon dioxide above a set limit—would target 2,869 of the country’s biggest carbon emitters, including coalmines, oil refineries, and natural gas processing points.

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Gun Makers Refusing To Sell Arms To Government

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Photo Credit: paljoakimSince New York State enacted its restrictive new gun laws, many manufacturers have sent that state (and others) a message: If local governments are going to severely restrict the ability of citizens to own guns, then these companies will not be selling to law enforcement in those areas.

Among the gun manufacturers sending that message:

Olympic Arms, Inc
La Rue Tactical
EFI, LLC – Extreme Firepower
York Arms
Templar Custom
Cheaper Than Dirt

Olympic Arms posted a press release on the company’s Facebook page earlier this week. Their intentions were quite clear.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Olympic Arms is a staunch believer in and defender of the Constitution of the United States, and with special attention paid to the Bill of Rights that succinctly enumerates the security of our Divinely given Rights. One of those Rights is that to Keep and Bear Arms.

Legislation recently passed in the State of New York outlaws the AR15 and many other firearms, and will make it illegal for the good and free citizens of New York to own a large selection of legal and safe firearms and magazines. We feel as though the passage of this legislation exceeds the authority granted to the government of New York by its citizens, and violates the Constitution of the United States, ignoring such SCOTUS rulings as District of Columbia v. Heller – 554, U.S. 570 of 2008, McDonald v. Chicago – 561 U.S. 3025 of 2010, and specifically the case of United States v. Miller – 307 U.S. 174 of 1939.

Due (to) the passing of this legislation, Olympic Arms would like to announce that the State of New York, any Law Enforcement Departments, Law Enforcement Officers, First Responders within the State of New York, or any New York State government entity or employee of such an entity – will no longer be served as customers.

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65.4 Million Gun Purchases Since Obama Took Office, 91% More Than Bush’s First-Term Total

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Photo Credit: ElCapitanBSC There have been 65,376,373 background checks completed for Americans purchasing firearms since February of 2009, the first full month of Barack Obama’s presidency.

According to data compiled by the FBI, the number of Americans purchasing guns has skyrocketed since Obama was elected.

In 2009, there were 13,984,953 background checks for Americans buying firearms. If we subtract the 1,212,860 checks completed in the month of January, the total checks for the year under Obama were 12,772,090.

For 2010, background checks totaled 14,320,489. In 2011, checks were 16,336,732, and in 2012, 19,463,832. Background checks for the month of January 2013 were 2,483,230.

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Health Care Exchanges And The Two Americas

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Photo Credit: Reuters In the Obamacare era, there are two Americas. Half the states have refused to set up the health insurance exchanges, ignoring a Friday deadline for states to take on core requirements of the law. They’ll hand over the keys to the Obama administration, which will play an outsize and risky role in driving critical health insurance decisions that are typically the province of state governments.

Barring any surprise last minute Friday announcements, in those 25 states — nearly all led by Republican governors — the feds must set up health insurance exchanges. Enrollment starts in October, and on Jan. 1 those online marketplaces are supposed to provide affordable health coverage for millions of Americans.

Republicans who voted against the law and still clamor to repeal Obamacare believe the feds are heading for a nationwide failure.

“I have a hard time understanding how the administration expects to have exchanges up and running by Oct. 1, ” Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said Thursday.

For the administration, it’s a dangerous endeavor: the text of President Barack Obama’s health law didn’t envision widespread abdication by the states. There’s not much of a playbook for federal health officials to follow. And if it goes horribly awry, not only will the Obama administration be blamed, the entire health care law could be in trouble.

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Video: Massacre Survivor Tells Senate ‘I’m Not A Victim Of Guns, But Of Lawmakers Who Legislated Me Out Of The Right To Protect Myself And My Family’

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Photo Credit: Getty ImagesDr. Suzanna Hupp became a case study in gun control after testifying in front of Congress as a survivor of the 1991 “Luby” massacre in Texas where both of her parents were killed. On Monday, more than a decade later, she spoke once more on the issue, examining it through the lens of the debate currently gripping the nation.

During her first appearance, Hupp explained how a friend had given her a gun when she was 21 and, though she doesn’t like guns or hunting, she agreed to get some training and carry it in her purse.

Not long after, a man crashed his car into a restaurant where she was eating with her family and started shooting people.

“It took me a good 45 seconds to realize that this man wasn’t there to commit a robbery,” she said. “He was there to simply shoot as many people as he possibly could.”

“When I finally realized what was occurring, I thought, ‘I got him,” she said, snapping her hand. “And I reached for my purse. He was maybe 12 feet away…But then I realized a couple of months earlier, I had made the stupidest decision of my life. I took my gun out of my purse and left it in my car, because as you well know in the state of Texas, it’s sometimes a felony offense to carry a gun in your purse.”

See video:

See video of original testimony:

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Surge Of Sheriff Groups Opposed To Obama Gun Control Rises To 10

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Photo Credit: Mike SaechangIn less than four weeks since President Obama proposed sweeping new gun control laws and a ban on assault-style weapons, the backlash from law enforcement groups that strongly support the Second Amendment has surged and now there are 10 state sheriffs associations opposed to the president.

The Illinois Sheriffs Association became the last to join the growing crowd of police opposed to Obama, arguing this week that the president should instead be focused on mental health, not gun hardware.

“Sheriffs from across the state of Illinois believe that it is their responsibility and duty to uphold the Constitution including the Second Amendment. Rational law abiding citizens are not the cause of random acts of horrific violence in our communities. The focus should be primarily on the lack of mental health services in our country,” the group just announced.

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Print And Fire: 3D Printing Could Muzzle New Gun Laws (+video)

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Photo Credit: defensedistributed.comGun owners who can’t buy high capacity ammo magazines because of new laws have another option: Print them.

Gun control measures passed or proposed in the wake of the Sandy Hook school massacre have targeted magazines that can feed 30 rounds or more into the firing chambers of AR-15s and other semi-automatic guns. New York has banned magazines holding more than seven rounds, and a federal bill proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., would ban magazines holding more than 10 rounds.

But the laws are at least one step behind technology. Using 3D printers and schematics available on the Internet, gun owners can manufacture a fully functional, plastic magazine clip. Plans are free, although getting access to a 3D printer may prove expensive, at least for now.

“If you can download it, you can have it,” said University of Texas law student Cody Wilson, who is part of Defense Distributed, a group that has created the design for what they refer to as a “Cuomo Clip” along with other gun parts. It is all under an initiative they refer to as the Wiki Weapon Project.

“It’s basically to head them [legislators] off at the pass, which we have,” Wilson added, noting that “hundreds of thousands” of visitors have gone to his group’s site to download the CAD file for the ammo magazine since it was first posted in mid-January.

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Canadian News Anchor: ‘Gun Registration Will Lead To Confiscation’ (+video)

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Photo Credit: Sun News NetworkLiving in Canada, Sun News Network anchor Brian Lilley has already seen where seemingly innocent gun control measures can lead. During a news broadcast this week, Lilley warned Americans that gun registration led to gun confiscation in Canada, and the same thing will happen in the U.S. if citizens don’t defend their Second Amendment rights.

Lilley also told the story of Ian Thompson, who was charged for defending himself with a firearm against four men firebombing his home in Canada.

“We are at a state in Canada where they don’t want you using firearms for anything. Ever,” Lilley said. “That’s the push. And as we look at what’s happening in the United States, that’s what’s happening.”

He went on: “So I’ve got a warning to my American friends: Registration will lead to confiscation. And if you don’t believe me, just look at what’s happened here.”

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