New Mexico Document Fraud Crackdown Leads To Plummeting Illegal Alien License Applications

By William Teach July 8, 2015 – 6:53 am

Supporters of illegal aliens, along with the illegal aliens themselves, have been pushing hard to allow illegal aliens to be allowed to obtain legal state driver’s licenses, for the stated reason of making sure that illegals who drive have these licenses so that they can purchase auto insurance. Yeah, it’s stupid, but, what else should we expect from those who support illegal aliens. Of course, the real reason is to subtly provide a reason to legalize them, and give them ways to access legal American services

(Fox News) A crackdown on document fraud has sent the number of driver’s licenses issued to illegal aliens in New Mexico plunging by 70 percent, while revealing that the state likely issued tens of thousands of bogus licenses after becoming the first state to adopt the controversial policy a dozen years ago.

Last year, New Mexico issued 4,577 licenses to foreign nationals, down sharply from the 2010 high of about 15,000. Officials in the administration of Gov. Susana Martinez, who opposes the policy but has been unable to get it repealed, say the huge drop came as soon as new procedures were implemented to identify fraudulent documents that had been submitted to obtain licenses.

“While this is encouraging news, Gov. Martinez still sides with an overwhelming majority of New Mexicans who believe we must repeal the dangerous law of giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, which has turned our state into a magnet for criminal activity,” said Mike Lonergan, spokesman for the governor.

New Mexico became the first of 10 states to issue driver’s licenses to illegal aliens in 2003, under then-Gov. Bill Richardson, who claimed it would cut down on uninsured drivers in the state. But while the policy’s effect on public safety has been inconclusive, critics say it launched a cottage industry for criminals to sell fraudulent documents.

Last year, federal officials broke up a five-year operation — which extended from New Mexico to New York — that saw illegal immigrants from Georgia paying as much as $2,000 to obtain documents to secure a New Mexico driver’s license.

Many other states now offer driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, however, New Mexico and Washington are the worst, as they have “no legally present requirements and no expiration with visa or authorization to stay”.

The licenses can be used as official documents for I-9’s when applying for a job. A job that they shouldn’t have in the first place. They don’t stop illegals from having accidents. Don’t forget, many of the 9/11 terrorist obtained valid licenses using fake names in Virginia, licenses that expired long after their official visa dates.

Finally, let’s not forget that those fraudulent documents used can often mean identity theft, which can harm legal U.S. citizens. Perhaps someone could explain why supporters of illegal aliens are picking these lawbreakers over their fellow citizens.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Surprise: Leftists Want Single Payer Due To Insurer Mergers

By William Teach July 7, 2015 – 4:21 pm

Have you heard the news about all the health insurance company mergers? Isn’t there usually a freakout when Big Companies announce their intent to merge, complaints about a reduction in choice? Interestingly, when it comes to health insurance companies, and medical companies, merging, the news has been rather low key. I wonder why? The always unhinged, but a good peek into the Leftist mind, Salon tells us

Robert Reich: Single payer healthcare is the only way
The former secretary of labor on the dangers of health insurance mergers in the wake of SCOTUS’ Obamacare ruling

The Supreme Court’s recent blessing of Obamacare has precipitated a rush among the nation’s biggest health insurers to consolidate into two or three behemoths.

The result will be good for their shareholders and executives, but bad for the rest of us – who will pay through the nose for the health insurance we need.

We have another choice, but before I get to it let me give you some background.

Last week, Aetna announced it would spend $35 billion to buy rival Humana in a deal that will create the second-largest health insurer in the nation, with 33 million members.

OK, that goes on for a while, telling us all how super bad this is (and, really, Reich isn’t all that wrong. A loss of choice, domination by a few companies, etc), leading to

The problem isn’t Obamacare. The real problem is the current patchwork of state insurance regulations, insurance commissioners, and federal regulators can’t stop the tidal wave of mergers, or limit the economic and political power of the emerging giants.

Which is why, ultimately, American will have to make a choice.

If we continue in the direction we’re headed we’ll soon have a health insurance system dominated by two or three mammoth for-profit corporations capable of squeezing employees and consumers for all they’re worth – and handing over the profits to their shareholders and executives.

The alternative is a government-run single payer system – such as is in place in almost every other advanced economy – dedicated to lower premiums and better care.

Which do you prefer?

Remember, we were told by Ocare supporters that Obamacare would increase choice. Choice of doctors, choice of medical facilities, choice of insurers. Opponents talked about a loss of choice. Guess who was right? Again. But, rather than looking towards ways to increase choice, Leftists want to go down the road towards single payer, dominated and run by Government. Of course, this was always the plan.

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If All You See…

By William Teach July 7, 2015 – 1:00 pm

…is a horrible water using pool, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Lonely Conservative, with a post on American cities resembling war zones.

Read: If All You See… »

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“Climate Change” Totally Threatens Europe With Colder Climate

By William Teach July 7, 2015 – 10:12 am

Is there anything that Liberals driving around in fossil fueled vehicles and/or fossil fueled airplanes to climate change rallies anthropogenic climate change can’t do?

Global Warming Threatens Colder Climate for Europe

Scientists have yet again warned that weakening ocean circulation in the North Atlantic could deliver a climate paradox—a colder Europe as a consequence of global warming.

A study published in Nature Climate Change found that as sea ice off Iceland and Greenland retreats, the flow of cold, dense water to the bottom of the North Atlantic ocean could be reduced, and therefore weaken the warming effects of the Gulf Stream.

The great submarine current—sometimes called the Atlantic Conveyor—flows south to surface in the tropics as the Gulf Stream, which then flows north again to deliver tropic warmth to European coasts.

However, a slowdown in the natural overturning of the ocean could weaken the Gulf Stream, which in turn could cool the atmosphere over the British Isles and western Europe.

Let’s be clear, they’re actually not wrong on what can happen to the ocean circulation patterns, but, this has happened time and time again as part of the natural processes of the Earth. No actual proof that it is mostly/solely being caused by Mankind this time. Furthermore, they’ve been telling us that “climate change” will make the world, including Europe, super duper hot. They need to make up their minds.

Such a possible collapse of a natural oceanic system is predicated as one of the irreversible tipping points that could result in calamitous climate change.

Good grief. More tipping points.

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Study: Electric Vehicles Can Be Worse For Environment Than Fossil Fueled Vehicles

By William Teach July 7, 2015 – 7:47 am

On the bright side, there are so few of them, because only a tiny percentage of people are willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars for a vehicle that can’t travel very far per charge

(UK Daily Mail) They have been hailed as the environmentally-friendly solution to getting around towns and cities.

But new research has found electric cars have an overall impact on pollution that may be worse than gas-guzzling vehicles.

The study looked at US vehicle emissions on a county-level to map where gas cars and electric vehicles cause the most damage to the environment.

It found that in the east of the US, the impact of charging up EVs overnight does more harm to the environment than going to the petrol station.

‘What we find is that the benefits are substantially different depending on where you are in the country,’ study co-author Stephen Holland of the University of North Carolina, told CityLab.

The real big take-home message is: location, location, location.’

What they mostly mean by “the environment” are greenhouse gases, rather than things that are actually bad for the environment. Anyhow, certain areas are better than others, because so much depends on where the energy comes from

With gas cars, the worst damage, which is shown on the map in red, took place in highly-populated urban areas such as New York.

Environmental damage for EVs appears to be worse in the Midwest and Northeast, where the electricity grid tends to rely on coal power plants.

In places like LA, EVs produce less environmental damage because the city’s air shed traps pollutants from gas cars.

Strange: liberal cities in the North are pretty bad with gas vehicles. I thought all these Warmists would give up their fossil fueled travel. I guess not. Hey, I know a way we could make the EVs more “environmentally friendly”: build nuclear and natural gas plants and replace the coal fired plants (which really are bad for the environment).

Read: Study: Electric Vehicles Can Be Worse For Environment Than Fossil Fueled Vehicles »

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Hutzpah: White House Attempts To Blame GOP For Murder Of Woman In San Francisco By Illegal Alien

By William Teach July 7, 2015 – 7:23 am

If Democratic policies on illegal aliens are so great, why do they always have to shift blame

(Washington Times) The White House blamed congressional Republicans Monday for the death of a San Francisco woman allegedly shot by a repeat offender illegal immigrant, and for a spate of gun violence last weekend in President Obama’s hometown of Chicago.

Referring to the shooting death last week of Kathryn Steinle, allegedly shot by a Mexican man who has been deported five times, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the U.S. would be safer if Republican lawmakers had approved comprehensive immigration reform backed by the president. (WT note: not alleged, he admitted it)

“The president has done everything within his power to make sure that we’re focusing our law enforcement resources on criminals and those who pose a threat to public safety,” Mr. Earnest said. “It’s because of the political efforts of Republicans that we have not been able to make the kind of investment that we would like to make in securing our border and keeping our communities safe.”

Josh forgot something

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which had Lopez-Sanchez in its custody in March after his release from federal prison, turned him over to San Francisco deputies on a drug warrant and requested an immigration detainer, asking that the agency be notified before he was released.

But San Francisco is a “sanctuary” city that doesn’t honor such immigration detainer requests. The sheriff’s department released him.

Last time I checked, ICE is a federal agency run by the Executive Branch, meaning Mr. Obama, a Democrat and Josh Earnest’s boss, is the head. San Francisco is a city wholly run by Democrats. Speaking of Mayor Edwin M. Lee, who is totally happy and supportive of San Fran’s official sanctuary city policy

He also took a swipe at Republicans in Congress for blocking pro-amnesty comprehensive immigration reform bills.

“Even after repeated attempts by President Obama and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to reform our immigration laws, Republicans in Congress have blocked those efforts, unfortunately, leaving cities and local municipalities to act upon immigration issues that affect its residents,” Mr. Lee said.

San Fran’s choice, going back decades, has been to offer sanctuary for illegal aliens, in violation of federal law. Instead of coddling illegals, San Francisco and Mr. Obama should enforce the laws on the books. Finish the border fence, as required by law (let’s be clear, George W. Bush was a bit squishy on this subject, too). Deport illegals. Period. Giving lawful status to illegals wouldn’t stop this.

But, Democrats aren’t really interested in “if we could save just one life”, as they yammer when it comes to gun violence: they are interested in creating new Democratic Party voters, and to hell with US citizens.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

Read: Hutzpah: White House Attempts To Blame GOP For Murder Of Woman In San Francisco By Illegal Alien »

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Starbucks Set To Raise Coffee Prices: Can You Guess Why?

By William Teach July 6, 2015 – 4:28 pm

Let’s dip back to this Think Progress article from February 2015

In October, Starbucks announced that it would raise its employees wages in January of this year. It promised to increase starting wages for new employees but also to give “all baristas and shift supervisors…a pay increase.”

While the announcement attracted press attention, it didn’t include details on how much employees would actually see, and the workers themselves didn’t find out until late January.

All in all, the raise supposedly didn’t amount to much, roughly 2.5% for those who had been there, and a 13% increase for new hire pay. Hey, when the pay is low to start with (to pour coffee, mind you), it doesn’t add up to much to start with. But, increase costs, and something must change

(NJ.com)  The cost of some Starbucks coffee drinks will increase by 10 to 20 cents starting Tuesday in response to rising operational costs, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Starbucks’ bagged coffee prices are also set to go up by $1 — from $8.99 to $9.99 — later this month, according to the L.A. Times.

Company representatives have said the rising costs are needed to offset increases in wages and rent.

Cause. Effect.

And, no, the cost of beans from Hotcoldwetdry hasn’t happened.

Read: Starbucks Set To Raise Coffee Prices: Can You Guess Why? »

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If All You See…

By William Teach July 6, 2015 – 1:00 pm

…is an evil CO2 infused beer can, causing hundreds of feet of sea rise, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Daley Gator, with a post on the latest Feminist crazy: tat noticing.

Read: If All You See… »

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CoC: Forget Talking About Science When it Comes To “Climate Change”

By William Teach July 6, 2015 – 11:10 am

This comes via our pals at The UK Guardian, a news organization which has formally dumped news for advocacy (without bothering to divest their own holdings from fossil fuels, nor given up the use of fossil fuels to deliver their paper)

12 tools for communicating climate change more effectively

……

But while scientists, campaigners and other communicators should never downplay or hide the intricacies inherent in climate models, there are better and worse ways of communicating uncertainty. A new Uncertainty Handbook released by the University of Bristol and the Climate Outreach and Information Network distills research finding and expert advice to set out 12 principles of smarter communication around climate change uncertainty. It’s intended to provide scientists, policymakers and campaigners with the tools they need to communicate more effectively around climate change.

What are they? I could snark at all of them, but here are a few of my favorites

3. Be clear about the scientific consensus
Having a clear and consistent message about the scientific consensus is important as it influences whether people see climate change as a problem that requires an urgent societal response. Use clear graphics like a pie-chart, a messenger who is trustworthy to communicate the consensus, and try to find the closest match between the values of your audience and those of the person communicating the consensus message.

So, they’ve decided to ditch science and go with sociology/political theory. Good to know.

4. Shift from “uncertainty” to “risk”
Most people are used to dealing with the idea of risk. It is the language of the insurance, health and national security sectors. So for many audiences – politicians, business leaders or the military – talking about the risks of climate change is likely to be more effective than talking about the uncertainties.

In other words, spin like a good politician.

7. The most important question is “when”, not “if”
Climate change predictions are usually communicated using a standard uncertain outcome format. So a statement might say that sea levels will rise by “between 25cm and 68cm, with 50cm being the average projection, by 2072”. But flip the statement around – using an uncertain time framing – and suddenly it is clear that the question is when (not if) sea levels will rise by 50cm: “sea levels will rise by at least 50 cm, and this will occur at some time between 2060 and 2093”.

So, scaremongering. Because sea levels will not rise 19.685 inches this century, much less in 33 years or less. This is about as valid scientifically as palm reading.

10. Communicate effectively about climate impacts
The question “is this weather event caused by climate change?” is misplaced. When someone has a weak immune system, they are more susceptible to a range of diseases, and no one asks whether each illness was caused by a weak immune system. The same logic applies to climate change and some extreme weather events: they are made more likely, and more severe, by climate change.

Funny thing is, most impacts as prognosticated have failed to come about, no matter how many times they are repeated. Nor can they link them with high probability to anthrogogenic causation.

Read: CoC: Forget Talking About Science When it Comes To “Climate Change” »

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Bummer: Very Liberal Education System Is A Hotbed Of Racism Per Salon

By William Teach July 6, 2015 – 7:50 am

When we’re talking about public education, Democrats are in the majority. 67% voted for Obama in 2008, compared to just 30% for John McCain. 93% of National Educational Association donations went to Democrats. This is an organization that votes overwhelmingly for Democrats and donates to Democrats. Think on that

“Modern racism lurks in the shadows of equality”: Why colorblind school policies have failed black people
Instead of confronting racial and cultural divides, American education only serves to further them

The United States is experiencing a paroxysm of racism, from police shootings and the brutality of white supremacy in Charleston to a string of arsons in black churches across the South. Of course, it’s nothing new for a nation with a long history of extreme racist violence—the most recent lynching-related death occurred in 1981, hardly a lifetime ago, when Michael Donald was hanged by two members of the Ku Klux Klan.

The United States, however, continues to avoid its history on race, refusing to confront its past in a “post-racial,” “colorblind” society, and that policy of systemic ignorance is particularly strong in the education system. We shouldn’t rely on the social justice conversation on Twitter to drive the conversation. It’s time for our schools to recognize that #BlackLivesMatter.

Though addressing the huge problems with American race relations is a complex issue, reforms to American education policy need to be a crucial component of successful anti-racism work. Classrooms in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education are all failing students through omission or outright lies. Students graduate with no knowledge of Japanese internment camps or learn that Southern slaveowners were “benevolent masters,” and thus, graduates are deprived of crucial information when they enter the harsh light of the outside world.

A nation that refuses to look its past in the eye is doomed not just to repeat the horrors of prior generations, but to relive them in new, ever-changing ways. White supremacy has been a fact of life in the United States since North America was colonized by Europeans, but today’s version looks very different. Modern racism lurks in the shadows of equality, cloaked in the rhetoric of a nation where people of all colors can live together peacefully. We think racism is easy to point out and confront, and racists are easily punished. That’s not the case.

So, the Leftist education system in very racist. Much like the Democrat party itself. Perhaps schools should teach the true history of the Democratic Party.

Instead of confronting racial and cultural divides, American education only serves to further them. Racial division is an inescapable fact of primary and post-secondary education itself, thanks to huge gaps in education quality that are closely tied to race and socioeconomic status. Some of the nation’s most underperforming schools are in primarily minority areas, reflecting the diminished opportunities for the nation’s children of color. Moreover, students of all races and backgrounds are subject to wildly differing history curricula, with Southern students often instructed that the Civil War was a “War of Northern Aggression.” Those distinctions matter.

Huh. I wonder why education is so bad in these areas. We dump huge amounts of money into these schools, yet, they continue to fail. But, see, we aren’t really allowed to discuss the real reasons, because that would be racist.

This is about much more than whose ancestors enslaved whose. It is about a persistent culture of willful ignorance, and the childish belief that standing in the middle of the classroom with our hands over our ears is an effective strategy in dealing with racism in contemporary America. We owe it to ourselves and the next generation to be honest about race—and that means creating an education policy that forces the issue.

But, we are told to put our hands over our mouths when it comes to discussing the reality of these majority-minority schools. The violence, the crime, the unwillingness to learn, because “learning is white”. Jared Taylor (yes, I know who he is), a writer for American Renaissance (yes, I know what the site is about), has a book called Face To Face with Race. In it is an article written by a teacher about schools. Over the top? Perhaps. Perhaps a bit generalize? Yes. This is the kind of thing we are Not Supposed To Discuss. Liberals do not want a discussion: they want a soliloquy. Toe the line or be smeared. Hence, the problems in schools can never be solved.

Read: Bummer: Very Liberal Education System Is A Hotbed Of Racism Per Salon »

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