Radioactive Communist Zombies

EPA Suppressed Report Critical of Human-Caused Climate Change

(Hat tip Instapundit)

Remember back on April 27th when President Obama gave a speech to the National Academy of Science?  In that speech he said:

"The days of science taking a back seat to ideology are over."

Apparently some in the EPA didn't get the memo.

Emails (pdf file) indicate that a report critical of human-caused global warming (or climate change or whatever it's called these days) was suppressed days before the EPA came out with their "endangerment" finding on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.  One of the emails states:

The time for such discussion of fundamental issues has passed for this round. The administrator and the administration has decided to move forward on endangerment, and your comments do not help the legal or policy case for this decision. I can only see one impact of your comments given where we are in the process, and that would be a very negative impact on our office.

In other words, shut up because your report runs counter to EPA's already-decided policy.

Well, since the Earth hasn't warmed (or has cooled depending on whose data you look at) since about 2000 and CO₂ levels have continued to increase, this seems to indicate that the human-caused theory is incorrect.  You know, maybe its natural.

But the EPA doesn't want to hear it even from its own scientists because that runs counter to its already concluded decision that it's all humanity's fault and they need to regulate greenhouse gasses no matter how detrimental to the economy that is.

Cap and Traitors

Thanks to The Corner I now have the names of the eight so-called Republicans that voted for Waxman-Markey (a/k/a The American Clean Energy and Security Act).  They are:

Mary Bono Mack (CA)

Mike Castle (DE)

Mark Steven Kirk (IL)

(Kirk says on his blog: "The American Clean Energy and Security Act is more than 1,000 pages long.  Just like the Stimulus, I'm making a point to read the entire legislation before I cast my vote."  But no one read it and he voted for it anyway.)

Leonard Lance (NJ)

Frank LoBiondo (NJ)

John McHuge (NY)

Dave Reichert (WA)

Chris Smith (NJ)

As The Corner points out, if just four of these hadn't voted for Waxman-Markey, it would have gone down to defeat.

Waxman-Markey Passes House

Micheal Jackson died yesterday, apparently of a heart attack possibly after taking a huge dose of pain killers.  Just in case you missed the news.

Oh, and the House passed the largest tax increase in history.  Waxman-Markey, also known as the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES).  The Wall Street Journal reports (sub probably required):

The 1,200 page bill—formally known as the "American Clean Energy and Security Act"—will reach into almost every corner of the U.S. economy. By putting a price on emissions of common gases, such as carbon dioxide, the bill would affect the way electricity is generated, how homes and offices are designed, how foreign trade is conducted and how much Americans pay to drive or to heat their homes.

It passed 219-212, and according to Fox News there were some Republicans that voted for it.

I won't repeat everything that is wrong with this bill (see here, here, here, here, and here) but I will say that it will painfully kill any hope of economic growth in this country.

We can only hope it dies a filibusterous death in the Senate.  Probably all depends on Specter the Defector and Olympia Snow and Susan Collins.  Write your senator now!

Government-Run Health Care Preview

Some Senators are saying that the Senate is close to a health care bill with only a $1 trillion price tag.  As Reuters reports:

 U.S. senators on Thursday moved closer to agreement on a $1 trillion U.S. healthcare overhaul that would extend medical coverage to nearly everyone without adding to huge budget deficits.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and other panel members said that reducing the cost was a significant step toward getting a final package that could gain at least some Republican support.

That $1 trillion cost is down from previous estimates of $1.6 trillion.  But the truth is it will cost more and more and will have cost over runs as far as the eye can see.

And the quality of care will be horrible.  We don't even have to look at the waiting lists and substandard care of Britain or Canada.  We can look at our own country.

Ten thousand (!) vets were exposed to HIV due to botched procedures in VA hospitals.  Almost 100 vets had screwed up treatment for cancer.  From Fox News:

Veterans groups and lawmakers say VA hospitals have permitted these violations because federal regulations allow doctors to work with little outside scrutiny. They say the VA health system, with its under-funded hospitals and overworked doctors, is showing signs of an "institutional breakdown," in the words of one congressman.

Gee, underfunded.  That will never happen in the U.S., right?  You sure you want to put the same people in charge of your health care that maintain our deteriorating roads and bridges?  They can't even maintain VA hospitals:

Wilson told FOXNews.com that poor funding has aggravated problems, and that money is often misspent on repairs for old facilities and equipment to help manage a construction backlog that has put the VA years behind. He said the aging facilities are incapable of handling or properly operating new technology and equipment.

"The average age of VA facilities is about 49 years," he said. "That's too old. In the private sector the average age of facilities is about 12 years."

Of course, not too long and there won't be a private sector, no matter what the Democrats claim about their health care reform, it is on big leap toward socialized medicine.  Then we can all enjoy the benefits of VA-quality health care.

Teachers Paid to do Nothing

In New York City, home of some the most expensive awful schools in the country, 700 teachers are being paid their full salary, benefits, and vacation to sit around and do nothing.  Karen Matthews of AP reports:

Hundreds of New York City public school teachers accused of offenses ranging from insubordination to sexual misconduct are being paid their full salaries to sit around all day playing Scrabble, surfing the Internet or just staring at the wall, if that's what they want to do.

Because their union contract makes it extremely difficult to fire them, the teachers have been banished by the school system to its "rubber rooms" — off-campus office space where they wait months, even years, for their disciplinary hearings.

The 700 or so teachers can practice yoga, work on their novels, paint portraits of their colleagues — pretty much anything but school work. They have summer vacation just like their classroom colleagues and enjoy weekends and holidays through the school year.

Did you catch that?  "Union rules" make it dang near impossible to fire them.  And that's a huge problem with education in this country: it's ran by the unions.  So apparently in New York City you can't fire a teacher accused of sexual misconduct so you have to pay him or her to sit around and do nothing.  And the process for misconduct hearings is so tedious (because of union rules) they can wait doing nothing for years.

Just be glad this doesn't happen in your school district (you hope).

Oops: Good for the Ozone; Bad for Climate Change

(Hat tip Plant Gore)

Remember back in the '80's when CFC's were going to kill us all by getting rid of the ozone layer?  So they were banned by the Montreal Protocol.  Well, problem is, their replacements are horrible greenhouse gasses.  The U.K. Times of London reports:

A ton of HFC23 used in refrigeration has the same global warming potential as 14,800 tons of CO2.  A ton of HFC-134a, widely used in vehicle air-conditioning units, is equivalent to 1,430 tons of CO2. The problem has been increased by the rising demand for refrigeration and air-conditioning because of economic expansion and population growth in Asia.

A study out this week will warn that, by 2050, HFCs could account for up to 19% of global warming. “By 2050, the contribution of HFCs to global warming will be more than that of current global CO2 emissions from houses and office buildings,” said Guus Velders of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, who did the research.

Oops.

So you have environmentalists making one problem worse because of the solution to another problem.  What problems will they cause as they try to stop climate change (which might be natural, anyway)?  I mean, beside the poverty they will spread globally. 

Kodachrome, RIP

Word today that Kodak will no longer make Kodachrome film, after 70 plus years:

"Eastman Kodak Company announced today that it will retire Kodachrome color film this year, concluding its 74-year run as a photography icon," the company said in a statement.

Frankly, I blame digital cameras.

No word from anyone what will happen to hard working men and women who make, process, and develop Kodachrome film.  Perhaps we should subsidize Kodachrome to keep those people working.  People are losing their way of life out there.

Obviously, technology has left Kodachrome behind.  Much like the ice box and the buggy whip industries.  Now the people who make Kodachrome can go do something more productive with their labors.  That's the creative destruction of capitalism.  And when governments interfere with that, it only makes things worse.

Book Excerpts

On Facebook, for my status, I have been posting excerpts from my novel Radioactive Communist Zombies.  I've been taking one per chapter.  Since Facebook gives you a limited amount you can post for a "status" I've only been able to post small snippets.  I chose them to try to give a feel for what the book is about.  I've gotten some positive feedback.

Here are the excepts I've posted on Facebook

Chapter One: "You know why I really hated the bastard?" Gomez said loudly, sloshing his drink in the general direction of the bar's TV. The brown liquid almost spilled out, which wasn't a completely bad thing; Gomez had always been a cheap drunk. Judging by the bar he'd dragged me into, his habits hadn't changed.

Chapter Two: The girl was long-limbed and a bit on the thin side. Her skin was the color of coffee con leche and her kisses were as sweet. I know there are people who care about skin color; I've never understood that. That she was brown made no difference to me. She was striking, with lovely black eyes and she made love like a wild, beautiful animal.

Chapter Three: A car zoomed up, scattering the rubberneckers, and squealed to a stop. Three men jumped out, all Cuban but wearing suits and hats like American mobsters. All carried large guns, presumably the "automatic weapons" that were fired in the alley. The crowd evaporated in screams. Liesl pointed at the men and one blew apart like a pile of dry leaves before a hurricane, his gun clattering to the pavement.

Chapter Four:  I turned but too late: pterodactyl claws grabbed my torso, wrapped around my body like a fleshy vise, and pulled me skyward, the beating of the wings blowing down on me as the claws held me so tight I couldn't breathe. I didn't know why it just didn't eat me. I was sure it would hurt less than what its claws were doing to me and the way my head was hanging down with the blood rushing to it.

Chapter Five: I had wasted, in his opinion, my father's money and had had the pickup when he claimed he needed it. He used a switch on me for the last time that night. He was red with rage as the willow branch snapped against my backside. And he hadn't even discovered that the stash of whiskey he kept hidden from my mother, the bishop, and--he thought--from me, was missing.

Chapter Six: I smiled up at the sky and let the sun warm my face. But looking up I also noticed the high stone wall topped with triple loops of concertina wire. Spaced towers held guards holding AK-47s. I recognized the curved magazines and the extended front sights from my CIA training. I knew they were a deadly and dangerous automatic weapon provided to Castro by the Sovs.

Chapter Seven: Giancana looked at me when he calmed down. "Can you kill Castro?" "Yes," I said. "I need to know his name." "Fidel Castro!" Giancana screamed at me. "Is that his full name?" Giancana blinked and looked at me. "I don't know," he yelled. "Then I can't kill him." "You can God-damn well try," Giancana screamed. I looked at Luttazzi, who gave me a pleading look. "I'll have to be alone."

Chapter Eight: The fire must have come from an upper window. I saw the orange reflection on the shiny fender of a car and ducked into the busy street. The flames slapped into the cement and splattered the building and cars parked on the curb. I looked up and saw an adept pointing at me, fire arcing from his finger. He was aiming it toward me, the flame crossing the hood of a parked car, leaving a black trail of scorched paint.

Chapter Nine: I heard a crash and a lot of yelling: "DOWN! DOWN! DOWN!" by men used to being obeyed. Almost instinctively I doubled over putting my nose almost on my knees. Suddenly air was on my face and I could breathe. I heard a clap as atmosphere suddenly rushed in to fill a void. Gunfire rang out so close to me my ears screamed afterwards. More shots were fired and I heard something heavy fall.

Chapter Ten: About two A.M. on the seventeenth we were a few hundred yards off Zapata Peninsula, deep inside the Bay of Pigs, with Cuba on three sides of us, east, west, and north. We held position near what had been code-named "Red Beach." It was almost pitch black in the boat, but the men whose faces I could see were tight with emotion. I realized most of these men had been civilians less than a year ago.

Chapter Eleven: The plane opened fire, spraying bullets into the boat. I heard the boat's hull snap with the sound of breaking wood and was pelted by flying splinters. Men screamed as they were shot and the smell of scorched metal, shattered wood, spilt blood, and burning flesh filled the air.

Chapter Twelve: A motion to my right caught my eye. Che was raising his pistol. Three bullets ripped through my torso before I was able to bound over Maria's body, put my hand on his leg, and knock Che out of commission, which was easier than a protection spell for me. I didn't kill him--that would take too much time and too much meta-- but he was unconscious and crumpled to the floor dropping his gun near me.

Chapter Thirteen: The flames washed over me.  I felt the heat and nearly screamed with the pain but I was undamaged.  I didn't dare breathe, as I'd suck the flames inside.  The protection spell protected only my exterior.  I was vaguely aware of screams from others, but my eyes were locked on the vortex of fire shooting at me.

Epilogue: My career as a leader of the American Meta Association was long and satisfying.  And it was certainly better than working for the CIA.
Except you don't get to save the world from radioactive communist zombies.

Health Care Reform: HMO's for Everyone (Except Congress and Federal Employees)!

And continuing on their quest to ruin America, the Spendocrats are putting out their health care reform ideas.  The Washington Policy Blog lists the major provisions of the House version:

   *  A government-run health insurance exchange.

   *  A government-option health insurance plan to "compete" with private insurance.

   *  Subsidies for the purchase of health insurance up to 400% of the federal poverty level.

   *  Guaranteed issue - i.e. anyone, regardless of prior illness, must be offered health insurance.

   *  A cap on out-of-pocket expenses.

   *  An individual mandate - everyone must have health insurance.

   *  An employer pay-or-play with a penalty fee of 8% of payroll. To avoid the fee, employersponsored plans must meet minimum benefit and contribution requirements set by the government.

That last one means your employer could be buying you a Cadillac health insurance policy but if it doesn't meet some aspect of the government's plan your employer will get hit up with a tax.  And that means fewer jobs, less benefits, and lower pay raises.

And still now word on how we're going to pay for all this.  But there are plans to save money on health care.  Remember HMOs (Health Maintenance Organizations) that limited care and even denied it in order to save money?  Well, that's what the Kennedy plan has in it in order to . . . you guessed it: save money.  Betsy McCaughey has dissected the Kennedy's plan to herd you into a penny-pinching HMO-like insurance plan:

For a health plan to count as "qualified," it has to meet all the restrictions listed in the legislation and whatever criteria the Secretary of Health and Human Services imposes after the bill becomes law. You may think you're in a "qualified" plan, but the language suggests that only plans with managed-care controls such as the "medical home" will meet the definition . . .

"Medical home" is this decade's version of HMO-style insurance, according to the Congressional Budget Office, with a primary-care provider to manage your access to costly services such as visits to specialists and diagnostic tests. Medical home providers in "qualified" plans, states the Kennedy bill, will have a "payment structure" based on "incentives" rather than payments for each doctor visit or procedure . . .

And you like the plan you're in?  You won't be able to keep it unless it is "qualified" (see above).

But Congress and federal employees are exempt (expect unionized workers to join that group as this bill makes its way through the fever swamps of Congress).

And again, no word on paying for all this.  Which means either higher taxes or more massive debts or, more likely, both.

Cost Benefit of Cap and Trade

The Obama Administration and their fellow Spendocrats in their headlong rush to turn the U.S. into a bigger version of France are overloading the system with their innumerable "fast track" legislation.  Just off the top of my head there's health care reform, banking reform, screwing up the automobile through ridiculous CAFE rules, pork, waste fraud and abuse laden stimulus, and of course, Waxman-Markey, the cap-and-trade and other egregious provisions bill.

If you run the numbers on just the cap-and-trade provisions of Waxman-Markey, it doesn't add up.  Pete DuPont writing in today's Wall Street Journal give us the run down:

The Manhattan Institute's Jim Manzi concludes that the benefits of Waxman-Markey would not be much. Historical data show that the average rate of warming in the 30 years from 1977 to 2007 was just 0.32 degree Fahrenheit per decade. The expected warming in the next hundred years is estimated to be about 0.50 degree Fahrenheit per decade, and the new bill is estimated to lower global temperatures by about 0.18 degree Fahrenheit by 2100. Manzi estimates the additional economic costs of the bill would be 0.8% of gross domestic product, while the economic benefits would be just 0.08%--so the costs would be 10 times the benefits.

In other words, for every dollar of benefits Waxman-Markey accrues, the economy will lose ten dollars.  And capping CO₂ is going to cost a lot of dollars for you and me:

An April study by Charles River Associates tells us that if the Obama proposal to reduce CO2 emissions becomes law, it will have a serious impact on the availability and cost of energy. By 2025, just 16 years from now, the cost of natural gas would rise 56%, electricity 44% and motor fuel 19%. Annual household purchasing power would annually decline by an average of $1,827. And America will lose 3.2 million jobs.

Three million jobs?  Is that too high a price to pay to do almost nothing about climate change (which is probably natural anyway)?

Just so you know who to blame when you lose your job due to cutting CO₂, remember when Republicans (well, most Republicans) wouldn't do anything about global warming?  Makes you long for the good old days pre 2006.