American exceptionalism

The question of “American Exceptionalism” has surfaced increasingly since Obama was chosen to preside over the American people. From the time of our founding as an independent republic through at least the Reagan administration, we have recognized that there was something different about Americans and the nation they built. But, since the current administration took power – and I use the term “took” purposefully – that status has come increasingly to be doubted.

Coal, Transmission Costs, and FERC Coal

During the confirmation hearing for Ron Binz on Tuesday, Senator Wyden noted, on several occasions, that FERC has no authority to regulate coal. He is right in the strictest sense of the word, but the Senator knows (or should know) that there are multiple ways that FERC affects the coal industry. He also knows that this FERC – under the leadership of Binz’s mentor Jon Wellinghoff — has used all of them to damage coal.

Turning Smokers Into Criminals

America is filled with groups of people clamoring for their “rights” or claiming they are being discriminated against. One group, however, has been successfully silenced and, broadly speaking, turned into criminals. They are people who enjoy a cigarette, a cigar, or a pipe. There is no one left to speak for them, so I will.

EGYPT: Two Christians Murdered Over Muslim Poll Tax

Sources: Assyrian International News Agency, Assist News, VOM Contacts, CBN Two government employees were killed for refusing to pay Jizya, a Muslim poll tax inflicted on Christians by the members of the Muslim Brotherhood. On September 12th, at around 10 a.m., a gang of militant Muslims fired bullets at the house of Emad Damian, 50, who was present in his home at the time of the shooting, along with his cousin Medhat Damian, 37. Both of the deceased men were from the village of Sahel Selim in Assuit Province.

Wreckage from Brazil: Another Foreign Policy “Victory” for Obama?

Progressive sad sacks like Nancy Pelosi tried to spin Obama’s devastating defeat at the hands of Vladimir Putin (on Syria) into a spectacular win.

Real climate science the IPCC doesn’t want you to see

Once again, it's the NIPCC versus the IPCC--facts versus gloom-and-doom assertions. Earth's average atmospheric temperatures haven't increased in almost 17 years. It's been eight years since a Category 3 hurricane hit the United States. Tornado frequency is at a multi-decade low ebb. Droughts are shorter and less extreme than during the Dust Bowl and 1950s. Sea ice is back to normal, after one of the coldest Arctic summers in decades. And sea levels continue to rise at a meager 4-8 inches per century.

A Word to the Wise

The most insidious result that central-planning and the overabundance of government control that it requires is not the mal-adjustments that it inevitably creates in the economy. It is not the crony capitalism and bureaucratic nepotism that it always fosters. It is not the smothering blanket of nanny-state regulations that strangle creativity. It is not even the tendency to one-party rule even when camouflaged behind a two party system that is in reality two heads of the same bird of prey. It is not a system which may actually contain only two parties if you believe there is the government party and the country party.

Hydrazine: A bomb in our stomachs: A rocket fuel: A cancer cure

Chemophobia is a term meaning an irrational fear of chemicals in the environment: that no matter how tiny an exposure one faces, the chemical is to be avoided at all costs. Such fears are unnecessary and baseless, given the fact that we are all made of 'chemicals.' Every piece of food we eat, every breath we take, every move we make results in the ingestion of a chemical of some sort.

National Geographic encourages culturally induced ignorance

For 125 years, National Geographic has enjoyed a reputation as a scientific and educational organization. It is so trusted that if a topic is covered within the pages of National Geographic, it has been accepted without question. Most of us grew up reading it in the classroom, and later, in the doctor's office.

Nightmare-inducing Uncle Sam featured in creepy new anti-Obamacare ads

If you believe the administration, one of the most important steps to ensure the continued existence of the Obamacare monstrosity is getting young people to buy into the scam. If proponents can convince college-aged kids that the government should be deeply involved in their health care, they believe they'll have won the war and the law will stick.

USA Today: The IRS is scared of little old . . . Herman Cain?

I don't mean to minimize the threat the IRS poses to liberty. It's huge. They have virtually unchecked power to harass Americans, and that's the direct result of a tax code that seeks to manipulate Americans behavior, thus empowering the IRS to snoop on us and see if we're complying with the manipulation as politicians intend.

Israeli victims of terrorists victorious against China in New York court

The family members of 20 citizens of Israel who were killed in terrorist attacks won a key victory in New York State Appellate Court as a result of their civil action against the Bank of China on Tuesday in New York City, according to the plaintiffs' legal team.

Cui Bono (Who benefits?)

The Romans had a phrase they used when they started questioning people’s motivations. The phrase was “Cui Bono” - who benefits?

A $15 an hour minimum will force fast-food chains to replace humans with robots

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Medieval doctors bled their patients with leaches. Far from improving their condition, it left them worse off. Raising the wages of fast-food workers to $15 an hour would produce similar results for those the proposal is intended to help.

What You Need to Know About the Debt Limit

The Congressional Budget Office just dropped a budget update on Washington, and it’s not good. The U.S. government is spending recklessly—and Obamacare is adding fuel to the fire.

Obama’s speech on the debt ceiling in 2013 vs 2006

CNS News reported an excerpt from President Obama’s speech on September 18 at the Business Roundtable in D.C. Obama claimed that, “Now, this debt ceiling — I just want to remind people in case you haven’t been keeping up — raising the debt ceiling, which has been done over a hundred times, does not increase our debt; it does not somehow promote profligacy. All it does is it says you got to pay the bills that you’ve already racked up, Congress. It’s a basic function of making sure that the full faith and credit of the United States is preserved.”

The Tenth Amendment (4th in a series)

The Tenth Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights is clear enough. "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." In other words, the law confirms that education is NOT a responsibility of the federal government; it is "reserved to the States respectively or to the people." This Amendment redefines the relationship to avoid all misunderstanding or illegal encroachment of power. Why? Because our Founding Fathers feared that the new or any future national government might seek to exercise powers it was not granted, and the states might not be able to fully exercise their reserved power, which is the case today.

Obama’s Move to Arm Al Qaeda in Syria

On Monday, twelve years and five days after al Qaeda precipitated the worst domestic attack in modern history, President Obama waived two sections of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), allowing him to provide military assistance to "vetted" rebel grips in Syria.

Til Death They Do Part—The House, Part II

Since the first part of revealing the plague that is the U.S. Congress ended with Henry Waxman, it is only fitting part 2 begin with the other half of the "Beavis and Butthead" duo, Edward Markey. Mr. Markey is 67 years of age and after serving 37 1/2 years in the House was elevated to the Senate by the voters of Massachusetts in a special election.

Pressure Builds on Boehner Over Benghazi

Informed speculation mounted at Monday’s Accuracy in Media conference, which officially launched the Citizens’ Commission on Benghazi, that House Speaker John Boehner’s opposition to a Watergate-style congressional committee to investigate Benghazi stems from his knowledge of arms shipments to al-Qaeda terrorists in Libya and Syria.