Senators Look To Revamp Tax Code Blank Slate Style

By William Teach June 29, 2013 – 11:45 am

Not to get too far ahead, they tried this in 1986 with the Tax Reform Act, and that turned into the behemoth we have today (read Showdown at Gucci Gulch for the details)

(Washington Post) The Senate’s chief tax writers plan to scrap the entire code and start from scratch in their push for tax reform, and on Thursday they gave lawmakers a month to make a case for preserving some of the $1.3 trillion in breaks on the books.

In a letter sent to all 98 of their colleagues, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and his Republican counterpart, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (Utah), said they would take a “blank slate” approach to the tax code that assumes the elimination of thousands of popular perks, including such sacrosanct policies as the deduction for mortgage interest, the child credit, and the lower rate for dividends and capital gains.

They had a nice flat rate set up in 1986, and then someone said “what about the interest deduction on people’s first mortgage”. Snowballed after that.

However, the letter says, “the tax code is also littered with preferences for special interests. We plan to operate from an assumption that all special provisions are out unless there is clear evidence that they: (1) help grow the economy, (2) make the tax code fairer, or (3) effectively promote other important policy objectives.”

That brings several problems to mind. First, taxation should not be based on the whims of the elected class who come and go but leave their garbage behind. If the policy is not described in the Constitution specifically, it doesn’t belong.

Second, the only thing that makes the code “fairer” is everyone paying the same percent. Of course, what they mean is sticking it to “the rich”, ie, successful people.

Third, if they truly want it to be fair, it should not pick winners and losers in terms of “growing the economy”, since Congress and the President look at this mostly from political terms.

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Congressman Steve Stockman Says Senate Amnesty Bill Is Unconstitutional

By William Teach June 29, 2013 – 8:34 am

Not that many elected officials actually care about that pesky Constitution thingy

(Washington Times) Rep. Steve Stockman, a Texas Republican, said Friday that the Senate immigration bill is a revenue measure, which makes it unconstitutional because all revenue bills must start in the House.

“Not only is the Senate amnesty bill an abuse of taxpayers and immigrants, it’s utterly unconstitutional,” Mr. Stockman said. “The Senate cannot invent its own amnesty taxes.”

He called on House Speaker John A. Boehner to officially reject the Senate bill as unconstitutional using what’s known in Congress as the “blue slip” process, which is when the House informs the Senate that one of its bills contains taxes or spending and therefore must come from the House.

Blue slip procedures are considered privileged motions and can be brought quickly to the chamber floor for debate and a final vote.

I’d mention that Article 1, Section 7, Clause 1, but Democrats and some Republicans have amnesty on their minds and won’t be dissuaded by the ultimate legal document of our Republic.

Meanwhile, here’s Robert Menendez (D-NJ) on voting for the amnesty bill with its pesky border security portions

“It was painful to me, and not only in the sense that I believe that it’s a bad policy, as chairman of the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, I believe that it’s a bad policy regarding neighboring countries,” said Menendez in an interview with Univision, according to a transcript.

Yet, he still voted for it, since he knows that, at worst (for his side), the federal government will take some token steps to show that they are Doing Something to secure the border.

Read: Congressman Steve Stockman Says Senate Amnesty Bill Is Unconstitutional »

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Horrified Bird Watchers See Rare White Throated Needletail Whacked By Wind Turbine

By William Teach June 29, 2013 – 7:59 am

But, as we’ve seen, most Warmist supporters forget that they’re cult is supposed to be based in environmentalism, and tell us that a few bird deaths are no big deal, not when we’re saving Gaia from catching a fever and having Bad Weather

(UK Daily Mail) There had been only eight recorded sightings of the white-throated needletail in the UK since 1846. So when one popped up again on British shores this week, twitchers were understandably excited.

A group of 40 enthusiasts dashed to the Hebrides to catch a glimpse of the brown, black and blue bird, which breeds in Asia and winters in Australasia.

But instead of being treated to a wildlife spectacle they were left with a horror show when it flew into a wind turbine and was killed.

The last time one was seen in the area was 22 years ago. What does a spokesperson for the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) have to say?

‘Wind energy makes a vital contribution towards mitigating the impacts of climate change, which is the biggest threat to our native birds and wildlife.’

Good grief. Do I really need to point out that birds have survived all the hot and cold periods during this inter-glacial, many which were much warmer than this current warm period? That they’ve been around for tens of millions of years?

The same RSPB was having a hissy fit over a bird cull at an airport the other day, yet has no problem with huge numbers of birds being killed by wind farms. James Delingpole notes (in an article I’ve had sitting in my Instapaper account) that the RSPB tends to care more about the wind farms than birds, in relationship to this same issue of the white-throated needletail

Perhaps if this goes on the RSPB should consider a name change. Royal Society for the Prevention of Birds.

Perhaps Warmists should be called “anti-environmentalists”. Wind turbines kill almost 600,000 birds a year in the United States alone, many of them necessary birds of prey and/or protected birds. Worldwide, that estimate can get as high as 40-50 million around the world, which will continue to rise as more are built. Good job, Warmists. Nature haters.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

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Posted in Enviroweenies, Global Warming, New Climate Deniers | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

Democrats Working Hard To Win Supporters By Calling Them “Flat Earthers”

By William Teach June 28, 2013 – 2:52 pm

I never did touch on (NMP) Obama, The Man with the biggest carbon footprint in the world, calling those who do not believe in man caused “climate change” part of the flat earth society (btw, the president of the real Flat Earth Society is a Warmist). I had blogged enough on the subject, and we should all be used to Obama insulting people who do not agree with him at this point. That said, Katie Pavlich notes that the DNC is now pushing this in emails. I’ve opted out of all the DNC/Obama communiques post-election, was tired of the 5-10 a day.

Friend —

Just this week, President Obama announced his comprehensive plan to tackle climate change. And guess what? The climate-change deniers are already out in full force.

It’s astounding to me that in 2013 there are still people who claim that climate change isn’t real — a viewpoint with no basis in scientific fact.

But because these people have the backing of powerful special interests, they’ve been able to control much of the conversation in Washington and halt progress on these critical issues. And while I hate to say it, if we don’t act quickly to support the President, they might win again.

Will you stand up to climate-change deniers and stand with President Obama?

Under the President’s plan, we have a real chance to reduce our carbon footprint, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and create a more sustainable future for our children, and our children’s children. But it won’t happen if we don’t act.

I can guarantee you that this will be a big fight — many Republicans will deny science and claim that “those liberals” are making it up. But you, me, and 97 percent of scientists know better — climate change is real and we have to act now before it’s too late.

As the President said, “we don’t have time for a meeting of the flat-earth society.” Stand up and fight today:

http://my.democrats.org/Climate-Change

Thanks,

Patrick

Patrick Gaspard
Executive Director

Wow, so many lies, so much scientific illiteracy, not enough time to cover it all. Funny how Democrats always seem to promote strife, rather than working together, eh?

BTW, 0.14F increase in global temperature since 1997. 0.28F since 1990. Not scary numbers.

Obama “carbon footprint”: 41,000 metric tons yearly. Average American CFP: 19 metric tons yearly. Interestingly, neither Obama nor the DNC mention what Warmists can do in their own lives to bring their own CFPs down.

Read: Democrats Working Hard To Win Supporters By Calling Them “Flat Earthers” »

Posted in Barking Moonbats, Barry Obama, Democrats, Global Warming, New Climate Deniers | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach June 28, 2013 – 1:00 pm

…is a horrible flooded drought world making it difficult to ride awesome Gaia friendly bikes, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Victory Girls Blog, with a post that points out that it’s not 1965 anymore.

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A Love Letter To The NSA Agent Who Is Monitoring My Online Activity

By William Teach June 28, 2013 – 11:26 am

Funny stuff, via Ned Hardy from Happy Place, some big wet kisses to the NSA (click more tag to open in single page)
Read More »

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More Than Half Of Republican Senators Vote Against Amnesty Bill

By William Teach June 28, 2013 – 7:45 am

That’s the headline at The Hill, except it says “immigration bill” rather than amnesty bill. Alternated headline: 100% of Democrats Vote For Amnesty Bill that Doesn’t Actually Secure The Border And Will Allow Criminals To Obtain Legal Status and Federal Benefits

(The Hill) More than half of the Senate GOP conference voted against the immigration reform bill.

Leading critics of the bill complained that it repeated the mistakes of the last major immigration reform in 1986 by granting “legalization before border security.”

“It continues false promises of a secured border,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said. “It ought to be enforcement now and legalization later.”

The vote was 68-32, and here are the 14 Republican senators that need to be primaried

Marco Rubio (Fla.), Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Jeffrey Chiesa (N.J.), Susan Collins (Maine), Bob Corker (Tenn.), Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Orrin Hatch (Utah), Dean Heller (Nev.), John Hoeven (N.D.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), John McCain (Ariz.)

The two worst are Rubio and Ayotte, who ran as amnesty opponents, yet voted yes for this legislation.

Meanwhile, it looks like Paul Ryan, who’s a fan of the Senate amnesty bill, has noted that the House won’t bother with this turd of a bill

(Politico) Rep. Paul Ryan says the House won’t be taking up the Senate immigration bill, but it will be working on its own legislation that he says will create a “workable legal immigration system.”

The Wisconsin Republican told Sean Hannity on Fox News on Wednesday that the border security amendment to immigration reform passed by the Senate brings that bill closer to the House position, but he wants to make sure there are “triggers” in the final bill.

“We’re not going to bring up the Senate bill, we’re going to do it our own way, on our own very methodical way, because we want to make sure we get this stuff right,” Ryan said. “We want to have real triggers on the border, real triggers on what we call the e-verify.”

What they should do is drop the subject for the time being and work on economic legislation, perhaps with a few quickie bills interspersed that do things like secure the border, implement biometric tracking for those coming to America for temporary stays, and methods to drive illegals out, such as implementing massive criminal and civil penalties on companies that hire any illegal, whether they be a border jumper or someone who overstayed their visa.

And, as if we needed to see that far left opinion regarding the way immigration reform should go, here’s the far left New Republic with Four Misguided Ideas the House is About to Inject in the Immigration Debate

  • Undocumented immigrants as nefarious criminals (liberals want them treated with kid gloves)
  • The dreaded “trigger” (liberals want no impediment to full voting rights for illegals)
  • The border needs securing (they want open borders..of course, most liberals do not live near the border and aren’t concerned with the problems that occur due to illegals coming across)
  • Immigration reform will cost billions (they buy into the notion that legalizing them will save money)

Anyhow, did I mention that the 14 Republicans who voted for the amnesty bill should be primaried?

Read: More Than Half Of Republican Senators Vote Against Amnesty Bill »

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SCOAMF Talks NBA During Toast In Senegal

By William Teach June 28, 2013 – 7:02 am

So, the man with the Largest Carbon Footprint In The World who just stated that he’s going to Do Something about reducing “carbon pollution” flies to Africa and gives a toast in Senegal, which includes this

Sadly, it appears as if he’s looking down to read his toast, and was still a stuttering fool. I counted 19 “ah’s” during that 50 second clip. Image if that was George W. Bush: how would the media treat him? Of course, despite making a few words up here and there, W was able to speak in clear English, having learned how Adults, leaders, and presidents should speak.

Everyone, from the media to talk radio to blogs, has taken note of the complete SCOAMFishness of Rachel Jeantel, the prosecutions “start witness” in the George Zimmerman trial, her inability to speak adult English (she’s a perfect example of today’s public school educational system), yet here’s a man who went to and graduated from some of the countries best and he’s the POTUS. Sad, isn’t it?

BTW, here are a bunch of nutjobs at the Democratic Underground “apologizing” to Rachel.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

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The Life Of Julia, Amnesty Applicant

By William Teach June 27, 2013 – 7:53 pm

This is freaking hilarious, in a sad and true way, from the Center For Immigration Studies. Wish I could drop a photo of this, a spoof of Obama’s “Life Of Julia” neo-socialist government will take care of women-folk lunacy. Using Droid phone, I’ll see about adding one later.

Hah, figured out a way to get part of the first real slide downloaded, edited. Hope it is legible

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Clean Energy Could Kill Off Endangered Killer Whales

By William Teach June 27, 2013 – 4:16 pm

I’m sure quite a few Warmists would be OK with this. They’re fine with wind turbines killing off endangered birds, as well as just killing off millions and millions of other birds

(Daily Caller) A new clean energy project could wipe out the killer whales off the coast of Washington State, according to an environmental group dedicated to protecting the mammals.

Washington State has decided to build a tidal energy pilot project in Admiralty Inlet in the waters of Puget Sound. It’s a plan that has pitted clean energy advocates against their animal-loving allies in the environmental movement.

While at least a dozen groups have urged federal regulators to thwart the state’s plans, some of the most vocal opponents are environmentalists who say the clean energy project threatens the endangered Southern Resident killer whale population.

The Orca Conservancy — the national nonprofit created to protect the killer whale and its habitat — has urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) not to grant a license to the Snohomish County Public Utility District (PUD) in Washington State for its tidal pilot project.

The group fears that the 386 metric ton turbines and their accompanying noise would seriously harm the orca population which transits and forages in Admiralty Inlet, where the project would be located.

Of course, other enviro groups, and the Department of Energy, are blowing off the concerns of The Orca Conservancy. One of the things they say is that the turbines move so slowly that they’d just push the orcas away. Remember how groups said that wind turbines turned too slowly to harm birds?

The Orca Conservancy — joined by OrcaLab, Naked Whale Research, Fins and Fluke, and Voice of the Orcas — told FERC that the tidal turbines are smack in the middle of the migration and foraging areas of several “pods” of the whales.

The groups warned of turbine collisions resulting in “bruised, discolored, or lacerated animals.” Impacts from noise and vibration are also a concern, the groups wrote.

Many other environmental groups have made their objections known to the project. If this was some sort of oil drilling project, does anyone think that it would not be killed in a minute?

Read: Clean Energy Could Kill Off Endangered Killer Whales »

Posted in Energy, Environment | 6 Comments | Trackback URL
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