If All You See…

By William Teach February 22, 2012 – 1:00 pm

…is a field that should be full of wind turbines, you might just be a Warmist

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Half A Million German Families Sit In Dark Due To High Energy Prices

By William Teach February 22, 2012 – 11:08 am

This is the result of pushing “green” energy when it is not ready for prime-time

(GWPF, translated from Die Walt) Many households in Germany are no longer able to pay their electricity bills. As a result, around half a million households are sitting in the dark.

The sharp price increases for electricity and gas is leading to serious payment problems for more and more consumers – even to dark apartments. Because of unpaid bills an estimated 600,000 households in Germany had their power cut off in 2010, said the consumer watch dog Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen which is based in Düsseldorf. This estimate is based on a survey of local energy providers in Germany’s most populous state.

“Price increases of around 15 percent for electricity and gas in the past two years have made energy for many households unaffordable”, said CEO Klaus Mueller. The increasing fuel poverty is alarming. What is more, ever tighter household budgets and regularly lacking competence in keeping personal finances in check are turning claims arising from unpaid energy bills quickly into an insurmountable cost trap.

Three-quarters of the 58 companies that responded to questions from the NRW consumer group reported growing problems related to energy debt and power outages. In 2010, the surveyed utilities in North Rhine-Westphalia alone sent out three million reminders for unpaid electricity bill. They issued 340,000 blocking threats and cut off power to 62,000 customers.

According to extrapolations by consumer protection groups, power has been cut off to about 120,000 households in NRW alone and to about 600,000 households nationwide. The estimates of the energy companies are consistent with the experience of the consumer advocates. A spokeswoman from the NRW consumer watch dog added that their consumer advice increasingly focuses on the question of how to comply with payment obligations towards energy suppliers.

What could be driving up power costs? Well, many factors, including the simple cost of living, and, with the world wide economy still in the crapper, this leads to less disposable income. But, Germany had been one of the best position, due to their recession policies putting Germany on a better path than most of Europe, the US, and the rest of the 1st world nations. However, Germany, like so many EU nations, had been pushing “green” energy, which is much more expensive though it provides less power, while moving away from traditional power, including nuclear.

In fact, just a few days ago No Tricks Zone highlighted a report that shows that the German model is 1) driving up electricity and energy rates for consumers and 2) making the power supply unreliable, among others. Power companies are also leaving for greener pastures where the power supply is more reliable.

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Tax Law Provision Could Keep Supreme Court From Making Obamacare Decision Till 2015

By William Teach February 22, 2012 – 8:49 am

Perhaps this is one of the reasons Team Obama is arguing that the mandate is a tax

(USA Today) Next month’s challenge to the Obama-sponsored health care law could affect the care available to most Americans, alter the balance of power between Washington and the states and remain a flash point through this presidential campaign.

Yet there is a path the Supreme Court could take when it hears the case that could delay for years any resolution of a main point of contention.

The core of the law is a requirement that most people buy health insurance by 2014 or face a tax penalty. But looming over the case is a federal policy that restricts the timing of lawsuits connected to the assessment and collection of “any tax.”

On the first day of their historic session March 26-28, the justices will consider that policy and address whether people who challenge the insurance requirement must first pay the disputed tax and seek a refund before bringing a lawsuit. If the answer is yes, the legal fight over a key part of the law could be delayed, possibly until 2015.

SCOTUS announced Tuesday that they would allow an extra 30 minutes to debate this issue, based on the Anti-Injunction Act. Any SCOTUS ruling could very well be based on how the complainants argue, since they will also say that the mandate is, in fact, in violation of the Commerce Clause, and they may well argue that the AIA is itself a constitutional violation.

But, think about this: with the mandate, Americans would be assessed a “tax” for simply being an American who did not purchase something, in this case, health insurance. With the AIA, Team Obama would be arguing that Obamacare can’t be challenged because the tax has not been assessed. They basically want it both ways.

The plaintiffs can also argue that Team Obama have argued that the mandate is both a tax and a penalty (using the Commerce Clause, despite there being no power to do this based on that pesky old Constitution). And the lawyers for the plaintiffs are on top of it

“The individual mandate is a free-standing legal requirement obligating virtually every American to obtain health insurance,” lawyer Michael Carvin, representing the NFIB, told the court. He says Long wrongly argues that the “penalty” for not buying insurance can be characterized as a “tax.”

Paul Clement, representing the state challengers, similarly argues that the court should address the constitutional merits of the mandate. The Anti-Injunction Act does not apply “for the most basic reason of all,” he told the court. “The challenge here is to the mandate, and not the penalty that enforces it.”

The AIA stance has only won in one court so far, so, we’ll have to see how it does at the Supreme Court.

Ace has more, based on this Freedom Works article.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

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Obama To Propose 28% Corporate Tax Rate, Go After Oil And Gas Companies

By William Teach February 22, 2012 – 8:06 am

If you remember, Obama announced as part of his campaign style budget that he was going to push for corporate taxes in line with peer nations, which would have put the rate at about 20%. Well, his love of high taxes didn’t quite allow him to get there

(Washington Post) President Obama on Wednesday plans to propose a major overhaul of the nation’s corporate tax code, an election-year gambit that is likely to draw a contrast over a key policy issue with the Republicans vying to replace him.

Obama will propose lowering the nation’s tax rate to 28 percent. At the same time, however, he will seek to increase the amount of revenues raised overall through corporate taxation by eliminating numerous deductions and loopholes that save companies tens of billions of dollars a year on their tax bills, according to a senior administration official.

Perhaps Obama should talk with his buddy and adviser, Jeffrey Immelt, head of General Electric, about GE paying virtually no taxes in 2010. Now, removing some deductions and loopholes is not necessarily a bad thing: the “Bush tax cuts” actually removed many, one reason why the tax burden shifted to those evil rich people who donate so much to Obama’s campaign chest. That said, if the idea is simply to find a way to make corporations pay more taxes directly to the Central Government, those same corporations will work harder to find ways to avoid paying taxes, regardless of which way their leaders lean politically. The proof is in the details, and whether Obama actually goes further than simply announcing he wants a lower corporate tax rate, and submits some sort of legislation to Congress.

In his proposed rewrite, Obama will target oil and gas companies for tax hikes while promising special breaks for manufacturing companies, according to a senior administration official.

That one sentence shows what this is really all about, going after oil and gas companies while hooking up unions, companies that tend to donate Democrat, and, I’m sure “green” energy will be included. Democrats, including Obama, have long wanted to removed tax breaks for oil and gas, because they’re, well, Evil in Liberal World. Announcing the removal allows Obama to play class warrior, and, if said breaks were actually removed, he could then claim that the gas price rise is a result of oil and gas companies being big meanies, rather than his own absurd energy policies.

“We are going to propose a broad reform that will lower rates, broaden the base and eliminate and wipe out a very substantial fraction, dozens and dozens and dozens of special tax preferences for businesses,” Geithner said in congressional testimony last week. “We’re doing that because we think there’s a compelling economic case for doing that.”

Obama’s plan to raise additional tax revenue through corporate tax reform is notable because officials had previously suggested that they were hoping that corporate tax reform would neither add to, nor subtract from, annual budget deficits.

So, we can see that the idea is simply to create a situation where corporations are paying more tax directly to the Central Government, rather then reducing the rate which would incent companies to spend more of the money they keep, spreading it around to workers and through the economy. Typical.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

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Shocking News: Higher Tax Rate In Britain Results In Lower Tax Revenue

By William Teach February 21, 2012 – 9:51 pm

It’s the height of Liberal/leftist/progressive fashion to try and tax those evil rich people to make up for idiotic government spending, and also because in Liberal World rich people are simply evil and….well, you’ve heard the story before. So, what happens when government tries it?

(Telegraph) The Treasury received £10.35 billion in income tax payments from those paying by self-assessment last month, a drop of £509 million compared with January 2011. Most other taxes produced higher revenues over the same period.

Senior sources said that the first official figures indicated that there had been “manoeuvring” by well-off Britons to avoid the new higher rate. The figures will add to pressure on the Coalition to drop the levy amid fears it is forcing entrepreneurs to relocate abroad.

The self-assessment returns from January, when most income tax is paid by the better-off, have been eagerly awaited by the Treasury and government ministers as they provide the first evidence of the success, or failure, of the 50p rate. It is the first year following the introduction of the 50p rate which had been expected to boost tax revenues from self-assessment by more than £1 billion.

Although the official statistics do not disclose how much money was paid at the 50p rate of tax, the figures indicate that it is falling short of the money the levy was expected to raise.

The obvious answer is to then play with the tax code and regulations and laws to stop the “manoeuvering” (don’t you just love the Brits and their spelling?), instead of incenting them to put more of their money back into the economy, which then flows around, helping citizens, and eventually ends up in the Treasury in higher amounts.

And, while we don’t have any figures, I think we can all guess that high earning liberals were the most guilty of manoeuvering to avoid the higher rate.

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Grist Really Excited Over The Ultimate Warmist Apartment

By William Teach February 21, 2012 – 3:48 pm

I’m sure they’ve all rushed out move in

(Grist) If you’re like me, you watch this video and think “my house is 10 times as big as this apartment and only slightly more functional,” and then curse the day you moved to the suburbs.

If you’re like me, you wonder why the hell someone would pay for it, but, then…

This is the smallest studio apartment you can build in California, by law — 160 square feet — and it includes a bevy of space-saving measures.

…you realize they pay way, way, way to much for living space in the People’s Republic Of California. Of course, this is the kind of living space Warmists want Everyone Else to live in. That is, when they aren’t pushing homes more reminiscent of 1499. Video below the fold

According to the guy who uploaded the video at the Youtube page, “This first development breaking ground in March in SOMA (south of market area) will be rental units, starting at $1,595 month. Sounds high for the size though the average rent for a studio in SOMA is $2063.”

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If All You See…

By William Teach February 21, 2012 – 1:00 pm

…is an evil plastic water bottle, you might just be a Warmist

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Obama To Take Victory Lap On Payroll Tax Extension, Forgets To Do One Thing

By William Teach February 21, 2012 – 12:04 pm

Despite having done zip regarding the extension of the payroll tax cut (which will decrease the available money available for Social Security), his typical leading from behind, Campaigner In Chief Obama is taking a victory lap today

(ABC News) President Obama will spend this morning touting the agreement to extend the payroll-tax cut and urging Congress to take additional steps to help the middle class.

“Because of this bipartisan action, the typical American family will still see an extra $40 in every paycheck, keeping nearly $1,000 of their hard-earned money this year,” the White House said of the legislation that the president plans to sign into law later this week.

The president will be joined at today’s White House event by Americans who stand to benefit from the tax cut and unemployment insurance extension.

There’s only one problem, well, two: Obama hasn’t signed the legislation, H.R. 3630, because the Democrat controlled Senate has yet to send it over for his signature. This is like take a victory lap before actually crossing the finish line. Fortunately, Obama will spend the day excoriating Harry Reid for this failure….oh, sorry, no, he’s going to attend a concert at the White House this evening.

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Democrats Feeling A Bit Cocky About November

By William Teach February 21, 2012 – 9:30 am

For the life of me, I can’t understand why. But, they do have the majority of the media watching their backs

(Politico) Democrats have plenty of reason to feel good right now: The economy’s improving, the president’s numbers are up, their prospects for holding the Senate have brightened, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is confidently predicting that she’ll have a shot to regain the speaker’s gavel next year.

Television screens and news pages are full of stories about new Democratic momentum.

Because continued 8+% unemployment, the lowest employment participation rate in US history, low consumer confidence and spending, extremely low disposable income levels, continued problems in the housing market, and rising gas prices (among others) are great things. Well, they are if spun correctly by the Liberal media. Remember how the media portrayed the economy during Bush’s terms, especially in the run-up to the 2004 election? It was portrayed as horrible, and that all the jobs were bad ones. Doug Powers has a few contrasts when discussing oil prices.

But on the ground level, Democrats’ newfound optimism is heavily salted with caution. The confidence is tempered by the knowledge that the political environment can change in an instant, especially when the resurgence owes to a fragile economic recovery — and the fact that three wave elections in a row haven’t sated the pitchfork politics of a nation that hates its capital.

Wait till gasoline is at $4 a gallon on average even before Memorial Day. I’m sure we’ll get some words from Obama about someone having to do something. Perhaps another round of releasing oil from the Strategic Reserve….btw, how’d that work last time? And perhaps some assaults on the oil industry for not doing their part, along with talking points about “record breaking profits”, despite Big Oil not setting the price, and making about 8 to 10 cents on the dollar.

Congressional Democrats, long frustrated with Obama’s reluctance to go full guns on Republicans, now say they see a president who has warmed to his role as leader of the party is reaping rewards from a more confrontational brand of politics.

So, Democrats are finally admitting that Obama is not acting as POTUS, but as leader of the Democrat Party. We are finally free to say “hey, he’s not my president.”

Interestingly, the vast majority of the article is pro-Democrat and anti-Republican. Just like we are used to seeing. Oh, and here’s Queen Nancy complaining about high gas prices while Bush was president

Think we’ll see her do the same around Memorial Day? Funny how she complains about dependency on foreign oil, yet, Democrats did nothing to alleviate that, and have blocked measures to increase domestic drilling. Republicans should have someone virtually mimic her speech the day gas hits $4 on average.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

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Warmist Peter Gleick Admits To Being Part Of Heartland Document Leak

By William Teach February 21, 2012 – 9:05 am

You remember the kerfuffle over the Heartland documents, right? The ones that include what is charitably called a completely faked “gotcha” document. And now, Peter Gleick, involved in globull warming advocacy for numerous organizations, including the National Academy of Science, has admitted to obtaining the documents by impersonating a Heartland board member

The Origin of the Heartland Documents

Peter Gleick

Since the release in mid-February of a series of documents related to the internal strategy of the Heartland Institute to cast doubt on climate science, there has been extensive speculation about the origin of the documents and intense discussion about what they reveal. Given the need for reliance on facts in the public climate debate, I am issuing the following statement.

At the beginning of 2012, I received an anonymous document in the mail describing what appeared to be details of the Heartland Institute’s climate program strategy. It contained information about their funders and the Institute’s apparent efforts to muddy public understanding about climate science and policy. I do not know the source of that original document but assumed it was sent to me because of my past exchanges with Heartland and because I was named in it.

Given the potential impact however, I attempted to confirm the accuracy of the information in this document. In an effort to do so, and in a serious lapse of my own and professional judgment and ethics, I solicited and received additional materials directly from the Heartland Institute under someone else’s name. The materials the Heartland Institute sent to me confirmed many of the facts in the original document, including especially their 2012 fundraising strategy and budget. I forwarded, anonymously, the documents I had received to a set of journalists and experts working on climate issues. I can explicitly confirm, as can the Heartland Institute, that the documents they emailed to me are identical to the documents that have been made public. I made no changes or alterations of any kind to any of the Heartland Institute documents or to the original anonymous communication.

I will not comment on the substance or implications of the materials; others have and are doing so. I only note that the scientific understanding of the reality and risks of climate change is strong, compelling, and increasingly disturbing, and a rational public debate is desperately needed. My judgment was blinded by my frustration with the ongoing efforts — often anonymous, well-funded, and coordinated — to attack climate science and scientists and prevent this debate, and by the lack of transparency of the organizations involved. Nevertheless I deeply regret my own actions in this case. I offer my personal apologies to all those affected.

An anonymous document and did not know the source, eh? Of course, Peter is going for the “fake but accurate” position, and, like all good Warmists, defends his pseudo-religion. And one must love the part about “anonymous, well-funded, and coordinated.” Like Anthony Watts, I’m not anonymous, well-funded, nor coordinating with anyone. I’d love to see some of that money, which tends to be a whole heck of a lot less than the Warmists get, especially considering how much taxpayer money is funneled their way.

Then there is the part about “debate”. What debate? Warmists refuse to debate. They are the ones who claimed that the science was settled, and rarely allow themselves to appear with a Realist to discuss the issue. Then we get to “transparency”: remember, it is and was Warmists who did everything they could to block Freedom Of Information requests, including deleting material and emails, and looking to put it all under the banner of the UN IPCC, which is not subject to FOI requests, as we learned in the latest round of Climategate emails.

Andrew Revkin states

One way or the other, Gleick’s use of deception in pursuit of his cause after years of calling out climate deception has destroyed his credibility and harmed others. (Some of the released documents contain information about Heartland employees that has no bearing on the climate fight.) That is his personal tragedy and shame (and I’m sure devastating for his colleagues, friends and family).

Is anyone truly surprised at this, though? We’ve seen the lengths to which people on the Left, in this case Warmists, will go to protect their interests. One of the people commenting at Revkin’s article even mentions “Lucy Ramirez.” Remember her? She was intricately involved in Rathergate.

Obviously, this isn’t stopping the Warmists. Excitable Charles Johnson, the DeSmog Blog, and all manners of liberals are saying “who cares if any of the documents are fake and stolen from a private institution, climate change is real and Heartland is EVIL!”

And, and in an interesting bit of transparency and debate, the comments for Gleick’s HuffPo article were closed from the get go. That’s called “debate” in Warmist World.

Others: Michelle Malkin, Heartland Institute, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, EU Referendum, blogs.forbes.com/stevezwick, Guardian, Watts Up With That?, iOwnTheWorld.com, Tim Blair, The PJ Tatler, Watts Up With That?, Guardian, Vox Popoli,

More: The Other McCain says Gleick is blaming the victims: ““It’s not my fault!” The end justify the means: The alleged evil of their opponents excuses any shoddy smear Gleick and his allies may perpetrate against them. And despite their admitted amorality, they wonder why we doubt their claims to “science”?”

Warmist Greg Laden says this is proof, proof, I tell you!!!!11!!! that the faked document is real.

Excitable Balloon Juice whines about the “a massive, multi-billion dollar effort to convince the world that setting the place on fire is fine and that science itself is suspect.” Sorry, bub, the multi-billions are on your side, designed to convince anti-science dupes to give up their liberties, and Warmists have spent billions, and want to waste trillions, on limiting temperature rise with projects that won’t actually work.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

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