Cartoon Of The Day

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Scientist Worries About Return To Little Ice Age Type Conditions

As always, I’ll start with the notion of “I’ll believe it when it happens”. It will happen at some point, most likely within the next 100-200 years, based on the history of the Holocene

(BBC) It’s known by climatologists as the ‘Little Ice Age’, a period in the 1600s when harsh winters across the UK and Europe were often severe.

The severe cold went hand in hand with an exceptionally inactive sun, and was called the Maunder solar minimum.

Now a leading scientist from Reading University has told me that the current rate of decline in solar activity is such that there’s a real risk of seeing a return of such conditions.

I’ve been to see Professor Mike Lockwood to take a look at the work he has been conducting into the possible link between solar activity and climate patterns.

According to Professor Lockwood the late 20th century was a period when the sun was unusually active and a so called ‘grand maximum’ occurred around 1985.

Since then the sun has been getting quieter.

This could mean a return to those conditions. It could mean a return to the conditions of the mid 20th century, which had media and science types worried about a return to another ice age. I seriously doubt the Earth is headed into another ice age any time soon.

Of course, if the Earth does go into a little dip (like the 40’s-70’s) or one like the cool periods throughout the Holocene, Warmists will blame it on Mankind’s use of fossil fuels.

Read: Scientist Worries About Return To Little Ice Age Type Conditions »

President “You Can Keep Your Plan” Knew You Couldn’t Keep Your Plan

I’m a little late to this party, however, this information still needs to be spread far and wide. Kudos to Lisa Myers and Hannah Rappleye at NBC News for putting this story out. I’m sure they’re catching enormous amounts of Typical Liberal Abuse for daring to expose the truth

Obama admin. knew millions could not keep their health insurance

President Obama repeatedly assured Americans that after the Affordable Care Act became law, people who liked their health insurance would be able to keep it. But millions of Americans are getting or are about to get cancellation letters for their health insurance under Obamacare, say experts, and the Obama administration has known that for at least three years.

Four sources deeply involved in the Affordable Care Act tell NBC NEWS that 50 to 75 percent of the 14 million consumers who buy their insurance individually can expect to receive a “cancellation” letter or the equivalent over the next year because their existing policies don’t meet the standards mandated by the new health care law. One expert predicts that number could reach as high as 80 percent. And all say that many of those forced to buy pricier new policies will experience “sticker shock.”

None of this should come as a shock to the Obama administration. The law states that policies in effect as of March 23, 2010 will be “grandfathered,” meaning consumers can keep those policies even though they don’t meet requirements of the new health care law. But the Department of Health and Human Services then wrote regulations that narrowed that provision, by saying that if any part of a policy was significantly changed since that date — the deductible, co-pay, or benefits, for example — the policy would not be grandfathered.

Buried in Obamacare regulations from July 2010 is an estimate that because of normal turnover in the individual insurance market, “40 to 67 percent” of customers will not be able to keep their policy. And because many policies will have been changed since the key date, “the percentage of individual market policies losing grandfather status in a given year exceeds the 40 to 67 percent range.”

That means the administration knew that more than 40 to 67 percent of those in the individual market would not be able to keep their plans, even if they liked them.

Now, some Lefties, like Jay Carney, will quibble, equivocate, and spin in order to blow off the notion that Obama said you could keep your plan if you like it. Remember when Obama said that “words matter“?

Let’s not forget that the people losing coverage now are those in the individual and small business market. Big businesses have a better grandfathering, but won’t be immune. If they want to make a change, the whole plan will get blow’d up.

More: Think Progress blow by “lapdog” status and ends up in, if you’ll forgive the crudeity, $10 Meth whore blowjob land, having completely missed what Obama said time and time again.

Read: President “You Can Keep Your Plan” Knew You Couldn’t Keep Your Plan »

Alabama, Global Catholic Network File Lawsuit Against “Affordable” Care Act

If anyone thought the lawsuits would end with Roberts court decision, forget that notion. First, Roberts essentially punted till people were nailed with the tax/fee for failing to obtain health insurance. Second, you have ones like this

(Alabama.com) EWTN Global Catholic Network filed a new lawsuit Monday, Oct. 28, in federal court against the Department of Health & Human Services, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and other federal agencies seeking to stop the government from imposing the HHS contraception mandate, which it says is unconstitutional.

Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange has joined EWTN as a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit.  “I am proud to stand with EWTN to oppose this unconscionable mandate,” Strange said. “The freedom of religion, and to believe as one sees fit, is our ‘first freedom’ under the United States Constitution. The people of Alabama have recognized the importance of this freedom and have enshrined it in their Constitution as well. Alabama law does not allow anyone to be forced to offer a product that is against his or her religious beliefs or conscience.”

EWTN had previously filed a lawsuit, but one judge dismissed it. EWTN says they will continue to fight this violation of the 1st Amendment and their consciences.

“The revised rules, published by the government in July, have done nothing to address the serious issues of conscience and religious freedom that EWTN has been raising since the mandate was first published last year. The government has decided that EWTN is apparently not religious enough to be exempt from the rule. It has still placed us in a situation where we are forced to offer contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs as part of our employee health plan or to offer our employees and their families no insurance at all. Neither of these options is acceptable. The mission of EWTN is not negotiable.”

There are also lawsuits rolling through challenging the ability of the Federal government to give credits to those enrolled through the federal exchange, which the law explicitly did not allow. Only those enrolled through state exchanges are eligible.

There could also be lawsuits for Obamacare destroying contract law.

Read: Alabama, Global Catholic Network File Lawsuit Against “Affordable” Care Act »

If All You See…

…are horrid plastic cups which will cause the earth to warm 9 degrees sometime in the future, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The Lonely Conservative, who wonders if you’re ready for the mileage tax.

Read: If All You See… »

Oh, Noes, Jersey Shore Is Doomed From “Climate Change”

And Chris Christie is a Bad Person from not passing legislation that Does Something. The Star Ledger’s Julie O’Connor has a typical Warmist meltdown

One year ago, when Hurricane Sandy struck our shores, Gov. Chris Christie’s approval rating hit a historic high. Who could forget the blue fleece? With his bear hugs for flooding victims, bro-hug for President Obama and lambasting of congressional Republicans who tried to hold our relief money hostage, he truly rallied the public.

Too bad that strong leadership didn’t extend to telling New Jerseyans what we needed to hear most: that we must protect ourselves from rising sea levels that worsen severe flooding, and mightier storms in the future.

Strange, 2013 was one of the quietest hurricane seasons on record.

But to ignore the science on this is crazy. Global warming is raising sea levels at an accelerating rate, and it’s worse in New Jersey than most other states, in part because of the retreat of glaciers from Canada since the last Ice Age, Rutgers scientists say.

They predict sea levels here will rise up to 2 feet over the next 30 years, and 3.5 feet or higher over the next century. To understand the danger, consider this: With just 3 more feet of sea level rise, the nor’easter that came right after Sandy would have produced even worse flooding than we suffered with Sandy.

Ignoring science is crazy, huh? Well, here’s some science

Atlantic City has the longest data-set, yet we’re looking at 1.31 in 100 years. Julie hyperventilates about 2 feet in the next 30.

What caused the sea rise in the early 20th century, when CO2 was at a safe level below 350ppm? Why is there no acceleration? Why does this seem normal when compared to the data for the other warm periods during the Holocene?

Read: Oh, Noes, Jersey Shore Is Doomed From “Climate Change” »

European Union Banning Large Size Vacuums

This is all an attempt to save the world from Bad Weather due to the statistically insignificant temperature increase of 0.14F since 1997 and miniscule 0.28F since 1990

(No Tricks Zone) Incandescent light bulbs have already been removed from the shelves. Next being removed are larger size vacuum cleaners. Germany’s online flagship daily the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reports: “Beginning September 2014 in the EU only vacuum cleaners that consume less than 1600 watts may be sold. From 2017 only a maximum of 900 watts will be allowed.”

The FAZ writes that the ban was very quietly passed by Brussels some weeks ago, going unnoticed by the public.

Vacuum cleaners will also carry a sticker informing the consumer of the appliance’s energy efficiency rating. The EU thinks it can save energy by forcing consumers to buy only small appliances.

Whether the intrusion by the state will have an effect on overall electricity consumption remains a question. Smaller vacuum cleaners will only mean that housewives (and many husbands, of course) will have to spend twice as long vacuuming to get the house clean, and so may end up using even more electricity. This is the latest Brussels eco-justified intrusion into the free market and our private lives.

Both the German article and No Tricks Zone note that most manufacturers are not resisting, since vacuums tend to be below that 1600 watts threshold already. But no more than 900 watts might be a stretch, since the average wattage for vacuums is 1200. Heck, my Bissell vacuum is around 1200 watts. Commercial vacuums are much larger.

Regardless, what we see here is Government interfering more and more in the lives of citizens and the private marketplace, all for a ginned up issue, “climate change”, which is used to enact those controls. This is what progressives do, as they push their fascistic Big Government.

Read: European Union Banning Large Size Vacuums »

Politico: “Hey, That “Affordable” Care Act Is Not Working Out So Well”

Is this a random act of journalism or do the writers understand that Obamacare is a really bad law which is causing a lot of problems and will only get worse?

(Politico) President Barack Obama has said it again and again: Obamacare is more than just a website. And he’s right — the Affordable Care Act’s benefits aren’t limited to healthcare.gov.

Neither are its hangups. (snip)

Consumers are suffering from sticker shock; a major cross-section of previously insured Americans are finding out that their plans are changing to conform with Obamacare even though the president promised they wouldn’t; evidence of customer satisfaction is anecdotal; and there’s still no guarantee that the young “invincibles,” who must make up 20 percent to 30 percent of the pool to make the exchanges work, will actually enroll. (snip)

Despite assurances from the White House, insurers are sending out cancellation notices by the tens of thousands in states around the country. That’s because a bunch of carriers are discontinuing the plans they sold in the individual market. Sure, some are offering to transition the people over into their new exchange plans — but it is, at a minimum, inconvenient. For some, it’s more than that: there are people happy with the cheaper, leaner coverage they have now and don’t want to shell out for the expanded benefits. Now they have to.

The few people who made it through the website are seeing their options for the first time, and some are not happy about what they’re seeing. Those with lower incomes are eligible for substantial subsidies, but middle income folks making 400 percent of poverty or more don’t get a thing, and the new insurance market rules are driving their premiums way up — in some cases doubling them, or more.

Obamacare desperately needs young, healthy people to sign up through the Exchanges in order to avoid a complete collapse from payouts for health care for those who aren’t healthy. People who had insurance they liked are being dropped by the hundreds of thousands, not tens of thousands. The replacement insurance isn’t typically as good, in terms of coverage, cost, and deductibles, as people previously had.

Papers all across the country are discovering that the “Affordable” Care Act is doing exactly what ACA opponents said it would do, even before passage in the dead of night with parliamentary tricks and bribes. The LA Times, certainly one of the big cheerleaders, had a front page story about the issues on the 26th. Grandfathered plans aren’t necessarily grandfathered. Companies haven’t started to receive their cancellation notices. And, let’s not forget, if anyone or any business wants to make changes, even minor ones, grandfathered status ends.

So, harping on healthcare.fail is fun, but the website is simply a symptom of a catastrophic law.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: Politico: “Hey, That “Affordable” Care Act Is Not Working Out So Well” »

Bummer: Brits Mostly Against “Green” Taxes

Really, any time someone runs a poll on “climate change”, they should include 4 questions

  • Do you think people should pay more in taxes for “climate change”?
  • Would you be willing to pay higher taxes?
  • Do you think government should heavily regulate the use of fossil fuels?
  • Do you think government should heavily regulate your own use of fossil fuels?

Anyhow

(Daily Mail) Nearly two-thirds of voters oppose planned hikes in green taxes – and back David Cameron in his battle with Nick Clegg to ‘roll back’ the levies.

A total of 60 per cent of voters object to the charges, which will hit households with an extra £270 per year on their energy bills by 2020. Just 18 per cent support the taxes.

The findings, in a Survation poll, come after a week in which double-digit hikes by the energy companies dominated debate at Westminster.

The 18% figure probably really like the idea of taxes on Other People. And those spiking energy prices can primarily be aimed directly at “carbon reduction” schemes, mandates, and the expansion of the barely working “green energy” projects, particularly in light of Britain suffering through very cold winters 4 out of the last 5. Plus barely having a spring. And even if Britain makes huge changes now, the problems caused by the “climate change” initiatives will still be felt for decades, significantly raising the price of energy, with everything else to follow.

Read: Bummer: Brits Mostly Against “Green” Taxes »

If All You See…

…is the concrete used to join the street stones together, causing seas to rise 40 feet, you might just be a Warmist

The Blog of the day is American Power, with a post on yet another unhinged, murderous liberal.

Read: If All You See… »

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