…is horrible concrete, probably at Gumball’s house (hey, he’s the one who brought up concrete), which causes pre-Thanksgiving storms that never happened before CO2 went about 350ppm, you might be a Warmist
The blog of the day is The Lonely Conservative, who really made me laugh with the Obamacare Rap, (which was surely deemed raaaaacist by liberals, who have no sense of humor, unless it involves violence against conservatives).
Read: If All You See… »
The insanity continues. And, just think, they’ll be able to start whining about Christmas in less than a week!
3 Things To Think About Before Buying Your Thanksgiving Turkey
Thanksgiving is time for celebration of family, football, and friends, sandwiched between platters of turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. But when you head out to pick up those last minute ingredients for your Thanksgiving feast, you may want to consider just how much food won’t get eaten at your table.
3. Reducing Food Waste Brings Environmental Benefits
Improving the efficiency of food production and consumption will help people and the planet. Agriculture is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions—which is the main driver of man-made global warming–with nitrous oxide from fertilizer and carbon dioxide from plowing fields accounting for roughly 10 percent of global emissions.
One unexpected benefit of reducing food loss and waste would be to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. An FAO report from September found that food loss and waste are responsible for about 3.3 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year. That’s about one-half of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions (based on 2011 levels).
This has driven Progressives to their typical barking moonbat level 10 status
(The Hill) The Obama administration faces a tough task in convincing the Supreme Court to rule in favor of ObamaCare’s contraception mandate, according to legal experts.
They say Chief Justice John Roberts’s court, which upheld the health law in a landmark 2012 decision, has generally set a high bar for limiting religious rights.
In addition, Justice Anthony Kennedy, often the court’s swing vote, authored a 1993 decision that exempted a religious group from following laws it said were contradictory with its beliefs.
The Supreme Court announced on Tuesday that it would consider the case, possibly in its spring term.
While Hobby Lobby and other businesses opposed to the mandate don’t have a slam dunk case, experts said it will be tough to convince the court that the federal government can order businesses to pay for contraception coverage that goes against their owners’ religious beliefs.
Many news outlets are framing this in terms of Citizens United and “corporate personhood”, but that has nothing to do with the issue
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
The 1st is about what Congress cannot do. It restricts them. Nowhere is any difference made between citizens, groups, and companies.
https://twitter.com/WilliamTeach/status/405416642097594368
That’s an important point: if Team Obama loses this suit, it will not harm the “Affordable” Care Act in the least. Nowhere in the ACA is there a mandate for contraception, sterilization, nor abortifacients. These mandates were part of the rule making process, as the ACA gave the head of Health and Human Services enormous power and latitude to craft how the law works. If Hobby Lobby et al win the case, all this will mean will be that the rule has to be rolled back to not include any who have a religious objection, if not see the rule tossed completely. I’m going to place my bet and say that SCOTUS determines the former.
Read: Supreme Court Accepts Obamacare Religious Freedom Suit »
Anything to distract from the failure of his “signature legislation”, Obamacare
(The Hill) The Obama administration on Tuesday moved to rein in the “dark money†groups that have spent millions of dollars in political campaigns without disclosing their donors.
In draft guidance to be issued by Treasury and the IRS, the administration proposes new standards for tax-exempt groups like the Karl Rove-linked Crossroads GPS and Organizing for Action, the offshoot of President Obama’s own campaign apparatus.
“This proposed guidance is a first critical step toward creating clear-cut definitions of political activity by tax-exempt social welfare organizations,†said Mark Mazur, Treasury’s assistant secretary for tax policy.
See, when I first read The Hill headline (Obama seeks limits on tax-exempt groups) on my tablet, I thought “fine, let’s go after Organizing For Action. And there you go, OFA is mentioned. Who wants to bet that the rules make OFA’s 100% support of Democrat politics, especially the Obama beliefs, are found to be A-OK, while groups like Crossroads GPS see their capabilities rolled back?
The guidance, if adopted, would make clear that the promotion of social welfare — the stated purpose of so-called 501(c)(4) groups — does not include “candidate-related political activity.†At the same time, the administration is asking for input on how much social welfare work a group must engage in to qualify for 501(c)(4) status.
Virtually nothing OFA does is “social welfare”. It’s all about Progressive politics. Obama has spoken directly with the group multiple times this year. It is essentially a shell corporation for the Obama campaign, designed to push things he cares about.
But groups with Tea Party links — like the American Center for Law and Justice — panned the rules as a diversion, and accused the Obama administration of starting “a new front in its war against political dissent.”
“This is a feeble attempt by the Obama administration to justify its own wrong-doing with the IRS targeting of conservative and Tea Party groups,†said Jay Sekulow, ACLJ’s chief counsel.
“Instead of holding those responsible for the unlawful targeting scheme accountable for their actions, the Obama administration is determined to further limit the free speech of Americans by attempting to change constitutional practices that are decades old.â€
The promotion of social welfare does not include direct or indirect participation or intervention in political campaigns on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. However, a section 501(c)(4) social welfare organization may engage in some political activities, so long as that is not its primary activity. However, any expenditure it makes for political activities may be subject to tax under section 527(f).
That’s directly from the IRS website. Does anyone think that OFA should be allowed to keep their tax exempt status? Right now their splash page is push the health insurance marketplace. Barack Obama is specifically named and shown all over the website. Here’s what OFA is about
Organizing for Action is a nonprofit organization established to move forward the national agenda Americans voted for on Election Day 2012. OFA will advocate for these policies throughout the country and will mobilize citizens of all parties and diverse backgrounds to speak out for passage and effective implementation of these policies, including gun violence prevention, sensible environmental policies to address climate change and immigration reform among others. In addition, OFA will encourage the formation of chapters that will be dedicated at the grassroots level to this program, but also committed to identifying and working progressive change on a range of issues at the state and local level. In carrying out its work, OFA will operate as a “social welfare” organization within the meaning of section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code.
If their entire purpose is to push the politics of the 2012 election, that is in no means social welfare. It’s a nice try mentioning gun violence, environmental policies, and immigration reform, but when it solely backs the Obama agenda, it drops out of any form of social welfare coverage and is strictly political. The rules for 501(c)(4)’s themselves are too convoluted and broad, so OFA, and other groups, can get away with this. Obama can start by dealing with his own group, OFA.
Crossed at Right Wing News.
Read: Schizophrenic Obama Pivots To Limiting Tax Exempt Groups »
Tammy Bleck is really just writing what most Progressives think (or, really, what they’ve been told to think)
Why Thanksgiving Is My Least Favorite Holiday
It’s that time of year again. Bah!
To say that Thanksgiving is my least favorite holiday would be the understatement of the year. I am clearly not a fan. I don’t know how much of this attitude comes from my age (I’m over 40. Fine. I’m 60) and how much comes from experience and wisdom. I’m going to go with experience and wisdom here. (snip)
All of this explains a lot about my resistance towards the holiday that celebrates a man taking a piece of country away from its native inhabitants and claiming it for his own. Maybe we should commemorate the holiday by walking into someone’s home and declaring it as ours. Just saying.
Like it or not, Thanksgiving comes around every year. And while I know it’s a time of year to be grateful for our blessings, the thing is, sometimes I don’t feel very grateful. Sometimes I just feel tired and a bit annoyed. Life can be exhausting.
There seems to be so much to worry about this time around. The brewing violence in the Middle East, a Congress of buffoons and a Senate of fools that don’t play well with others, Edward Snowden, federal government closures, global warming, our country’s fiscal uncertainty, illness, loss, epic natural disasters, and let us not forget the still imploding Health Care Act that is limping towards the finish line.
Style points for mentioning Obamacare, just not that many for not calling it Obamacare or even the ACA. Really, Liberals are such downers. Give them a puppy and they’ll focus on the pooping, peeing, and neediness, oh, and that dogs are bad for “climate change”.
…is a Bad Weather causing refrigerator, you might just be a Warmist
The blog of the day is Maggie’s Farm, with funny graphic.
Read: If All You See… »
Earlier I mentioned Obama giving a fundraising speech talking about illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, the day before…
(CBS8) Authorities in San Diego say Border Patrol agents were pelted with rocks and bottles as they tried to stop dozens of people who’d crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.
A Border Patrol statement says several agents were hit in the arms and legs with rocks and one was hit in the head by a water bottle during Sunday’s confrontation. But there were no serious injuries.
Authorities say more than 100 people had crossed into the U.S. west of the San Ysidro border checkpoint and became unruly when a border agent tried to stop them and then fired pepperballs.
More agents were called in, and would have been in the right had they used deadly force with a large group of illegals heading towards them. These people cross our borders illegally then get violent when they are told to get the hell out. Great people that Obama, Democrats, and some squishy Republicans want to legalize, eh?
Read: Some Of Obama’s Hard Working Illegals Assault Border Patrol »
I’ve mentioned this story a few times, thought I’d give the outcome
(Guardian) A Pacific Island man’s bid to become a climate change refugee suffered a blow on Tuesday after a New Zealand court refused to let him challenge a decision denying him asylum.Â
Ioane Teitiota, 37, had said he was trying to escape rising seas and environmental risks caused by global warming in his home country of Kiribati.Â
But New Zealand’s High Court in Auckland ruled that his claim fell short of the legal criteria, such as fear of persecution or threats to his life.Â
What he was really concerned about was poo infested waters. This is a big blow to the Warmists, who have been attempting to push their “climate refugee” meme as a way of pushing redistribution of (Other People’s) wealth.
Read: Bummer: New Zealand Court Rejects Climate Refuge Defense »
Much like some of the big effects of Obamacare, Team Obama does not want the climate targets to come out and hurt Democrat election efforts. This was unintentionally exposed by Guardian reporter Fiona Harvey (via Tom Nelson)
Weary delegates trudging home from an exhausting and sleep-deprived fortnight of climate change talks in Warsaw may be unwilling to acknowledge it, but the hard work is just beginning. Like schoolchildren after a packed day of lessons, they have been sent back to their national capitals to “do their homework”.
By the first quarter of 2015, countries must come forward with their “contributions” to global reductions of greenhouse gas emissions, that will come into force from 2020. (snip)
Publishing targets in the first quarter of 2015 do not leave long for the assessment process to take place. However, that timetable has been drawn up chiefly to take account of the realities of the US electoral timetable. The US government announced earlier this year that it would set its post-2020 targets in the first quarter of 2015. That is necessary to ensure that the decision does not get tangled up in the US congressional elections in autumn 2014 – they are likely to be touchy enough, without introducing the incendiary subject of climate change.
Funny how Democrats always seem to want to avoid the hard decisions for their belief sets when election time comes around. It’s almost like they know that their beliefs are unpopular.
Read: Climate Targets To Be Announced In 2015 To Avoid U.S. Midterms »
The Obama distraction tour continues. With the utter failure of the healthcare exchanges, he’s been looking for any subject that sticks. He’s flipping back and forth between immigration, the economy, and the “green” economy, to little effect. He gave a speech in friendly San Francisco, which was actually part of a fundraising tour, and here’s the WH blog post on the subject
No Matter Where You Come From, America Is a Place Where You Can Make It If You Try
In the early 1900s, more than 300,000 people passed through California’s Angel Island on their way to a new life in America, many drawn by the belief that here, anything was possible.
Today, just a few miles away at the Betty Ong Recreation Center in San Francisco’s Chinatown, President Obama said he is committed to fixing our broken immigration system to make sure we continue welcoming striving, hardworking immigrants who see America the same way many of our ancestors did when they came here generations ago — as a country where no matter who you are or what you look like or where you come from, you can make it if you try.
“Too often when we talk about immigration, the debate focuses on our southern border,†President Obama said. But immigrants from all over the world have put down roots in every corner of the country. In San Francisco, where the economy is one of the fastest growing in the country, 35 percent of business owners are immigrants.
“That’s the impact that our talented, hardworking immigrants can have,” he said. “That’s the difference they can make. And that’s why it’s long past time to reform an immigration system that doesn’t serve America as well as it should – because we should be doing more to unleash that potential.â€
So, no matter whether you broke our immigration laws by coming across our borders illegally (it’s not just our border with Mexico, they sneak across elsewhere, too) or decided to blow off the expiration of your VISA, hey, no prob, it’s cool, Obama’s got your back. The man tasked with upholding the laws and Constitution of the USA.
I’ll write it again: our immigration system is not broken (though it could certainly use a few tweaks), our political class and bureaucracy is broken. They refuse to properly enforce the laws on the books, and even sue when some want to make it tough for illegal immigrants. We can discuss the reasons as to why they do this, but, suffice to say they do.
Obama also had an exchange with a heckler at the fundraiser. Call me skeptical, but it sure seemed like a plant moment, it was too convenient. Obama was neither peeved nor did Obama allow the heckler to be removed. And it gave him the ability to jump out with pretty smooth talking points, which he never has the capability to do without a teleprompter.
Crossed at Right Wing News.
Read: White House: No Matter Who You Are, Come On in Illegally. We Got Your Back »
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