This Is Not A Smoking Gun - It Is A Mushroom Cloud: Leaked Emails Destroy "Global Warming" Fearmonge

"This is not a smoking gun, this is a mushroom cloud" that's how world-renown climatologist Patrick J. Michaels described revelations contained in a 61Mb ZIP file that shows the systematic attempts by climate "scientists" to lie, manipulate evidence, and go to extraordinary lengths to stop the publication of any information or data which did not support the man-made global warming theory. As Andrew Bolt puts it, this scandal could well be “the greatest in modern science”.

In this leaked files are 1079 emails and 72 documents  that thoroughly expose the lie underpinning Al Gore's "Inconvinient Truth". Remember this, as Congress tries to ram the job-killing economy-destroying multi-billion-dollar-tax-hike called "cap & trade" down our throats - that it is all based on a lie, and this lie is being exposed.

To me, the most stunning of these emails is the line"I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (ie from 1981 onwards) amd from 1961 for Keith’s to hide the decline." Scientific process indeed...

In another email, Phil Jones, the director of the East Anglia climate center, suggested to climate scientist Michael Mann of Penn State University that skeptics’ research was unwelcome: We “will keep them out somehow — even if we have to redefine what the peer-review literature is!” Neither man could be reached for comment Sunday. In another  e-mail , following a Freedom Of Information Request, Phil asks one of his collaborators, Michael Mann, creator of the fraudulent "hockey stick" graph "Mike, Can you delete any e-mails you may have had with Keith re AR4? Keith will do likewise.... Can you also e-mail Gene and get him to do the same?... Will be getting Caspar to do likewise."  In a previous email he states "“If they ever hear there is a Freedom of Information Act now in the UK, I think I’ll delete the file rather than send to anyone”?"

As renown Australian Economist, Professor Sinclair Davidson, noted:

A lot of media coverage has focussed on that one email, where Phil Jones uses the word ‘trick’. The public might focus on that email too - but it could very easily be legitimate. What is not legitimate, however, are the attempts to subvert the peer-review process, refusal to make data available to journals, attempts to manipulate the editorial stance of journals, attempts to avoid releasing data following FOI requests, tax evasion, rejoicing at the deaths of opponents, manipulation of results, apparent misappropriation of grant money, and threats to physically assult rivals.

You can read a full summary here or a description of all the emails here.

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Much Truth Is Said In Jest

Much truth is often said in jest, and as we've commented before, the line between satiric fiction and reality is steadily becoming even more blurred.

Below is a brilliant Saturday Night Live skit exposing the truth behind President Obama and the so-called "stimulus" (WARNING: Does contain some risque humor)

When even NBC's SNL starts airing things like this, you know the Administration is in trouble...

(Reproduced with permission via Hulu)

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Tax Cuts Around The World

At our current Administration seems dedicated to imposing even more crippling taxes that will kill jobs and destroy our economy, it seems the rest of the world is doing the exact opposite.

Thoughts On Freedom provides this roundup:

"A decade ago it seemed that “tax cuts” was an extremely rude phrase in most of Europe. Not any more.

- Germany is looking at tax cuts.
- France is looking at tax cuts.
- Italy is talking tax cuts.
- Finland is cutting taxes.
- Sweden is rolling out tax cuts.

Most of these tax cuts are modest. However it does seems that tax cuts are no longer the height of rudeness in Europe. You can say “tax cut” and get elected."

As the rest of the world becomes more and more competative, our outdated tax code, based on the failed economic polices of the past, will hurt as more and more.

(Reproduced with permission from Thoughts on Freedom)

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Dear Congress: ARE YOU CRAZY?????

The following chain-email seems to be doing the rounds quite a bit today. And I think it sums the situation up perfectly:

A message to the Administration:

The U.S. Postal Service was established in 1775 - you’ve had 234 years to get it right; it’s broke.

Social Security was established in 1935 - you’ve had 74 years to get it right; it’s broke.

Fannie Mae was established in 1938 - you’ve had 71 years to get it right; it’s broke.

The “War on Poverty” started in 1964 - you’ve had 45 years to get it right. $1 trillion of our money is confiscated each year and transferred to “the poor”; it hasn’t worked and our entire country is broke.

Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965 - you’ve had 44 years to get it right; they’re both broke.

Freddie Mac was established in 1970 - you’ve had 39 years to get it right; it’s broke.

Trillions of dollars were spent in the massive political payoffs called TARP, the “Stimulus,” the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009…. none show any signs of working, although ACORN appears to have found a new source: the American taxpayer.

And finally, to set a new record: “Cash for Clunkers” was established in 2009 and went broke in 2009! It took cars (that were the best some people could afford) and replaced them with high-priced and less-affordable cars, mostly Japanese. A good percentage of the profits went out of the country. And the American taxpayers take the hit for Congress’s generosity in burning three billion more of our dollars on failed experiments.

So, with a perfect 100% failure rate and a record that proves that “services” you shove down our throats are failing faster and deeper, you want Americans to believe you can be trusted with a government-run health care system-  20% of our entire economy???

With all due respect,  Are you crazy? Or do you think the American people are?

(H/T Think Free)

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A Taxing Taste Of Things To Come

A taste of things to come if the Administration's plans to radically hike taxes is implemented comes from the high-taxing United Kingdom, where a financial services consulting firm in London has just released a survey with the stunning finding that one-fifth of entrepreneurs are thinking of escaping the county because of punitive taxes — particularly the new top tax rate of 50 percent. Tax-news.com reported:

The results of a new survey suggest that one-fifth of UK-based entrepreneurs earning more than GBP150,000 are planning to flee Britain in search of countries with more favorable tax rates. The poll of more than 300 entrepreneurs by business advisors Tenon also found that many more may follow in an attempt to escape the 50% rate of income tax, due to be introduced from next April on annual incomes above GBP150,000, with nearly half of the respondents (48%) still deciding what action to take. …Tenon points out that in the last month, high profile names such as the actor Sir Michael Caine and the artist Tracey Emin have threatened to change their tax residency to countries with more favorable tax rates. Popular locations for redomiciling include Monte Carlo, Guernsey, Liechtenstein, and the Cayman Islands. Andy Raynor, Chief Executive of Tenon Group, noted that entrepreneurs are showing their disapproval of the tax measures by “letting their feet do the talking.”

(H/T Cato@Liberty)

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Florida Set for Automatic Job Loss

How would you like to experience a 1094% tax increase? It doesn’t sound too appealing, does it? Yet that is exactly what businesses across the state of Florida must confront. Starting next year, the minimum level of payments for unemployment insurance will jump from $8.40 per employee to $100.30 per employee.  

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Congressman Latta Requests Hearing on Impacts of Cap and Trade

 A letter went out today from Congressman Bob Lattea (R-Ohio) on behalf of 31 other Midwestern Colleagues requesting a joint hearing with the House Committee on Agriculture, House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and House Committee on Small Businesses to examine the effects of climate change regulations on manufacturing, agriculture, and small businesses in the Midwest. The letter is available in PDF format here.

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Brian Rooney Signs Taxpayer Protection Pledge in Congressional Race

Recently, Brian Rooney became the second candidate in Michigan’s 7^th Congressional District to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. Tim Walberg, Rooney’s opponent in the GOP primary and former Representative of MI-07, signed back in August.

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Senate Health Bill Raises Taxes
On Special Needs Kids and Their Families

• There are 18 separate tax hikes in the Reid-Obama healthcare bill.  One of them caps the amount that can be deferred in Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) at $2500 per year (a similar provision was included in the Pelosi-Obama health bill and written about by Congressman Cathy McMorris-Rogers, R-Was., for National Review Online).  There is currently no limit to how much can be saved, though all monies must be used by the end of the year.  Employers may put a cap in place for their employees, but this would put a cap in federal tax law for the first time.  According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), 30 million American families use an FSA. 

• For most people, the $2500 cap won’t be noticed.  FSAs tend to be used for things like small deductibles, co-payments, eyeglasses, over-the-counter medicines, and laser eye surgery.  The amount deferred in the typical FSA is probably much less than $2500 today 

• There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly-cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children.  There are thousands of families with special needs children in the United States, and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education.  Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington, D.C. (National Child Research Center) can easily exceed $14,000 per year. 

• Under tax rules, FSA dollars can be used to pay for this type of special needs education.  According to IRS Publication 502, Medical Expenses:
  

  You can include in medical expenses fees you pay on a doctor's recommendation for a child's tutoring by a teacher who is specially trained and qualified to work with children who have learning disabilities caused by mental or physical impairments, including nervous system disorders.
  
  You can include in medical expenses the cost (tuition, meals, and lodging) of attending a school that furnishes special education to help a child to overcome learning disabilities. A doctor must recommend that the child attend the school. Overcoming the learning disabilities must be a principal reason for attending the school, and any ordinary education received must be incidental to the special education provided. Special education include teaching Braille to a visually impaired person; teaching lip reading to a hearing-impaired person, or giving remedial language training to correct a condition caused by a birth defect.

PDF Version

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How Does the Reid-Obama Health Bill
Raise Taxes on Your Current Health Plan?

Many people have heard that the Reid-Obama government healthcare bill will raise taxes.  What you might not realize is that many of the tax hikes raise taxes on the health insurance you already have today—endangering the health security of you and your family.  Here’s how:


Excise Tax on Comprehensive Health Insurance Plans (Page 1979/Sec. 9001/$149.1 bil): Starting in 2013, new 40 percent excise tax on “Cadillac” health insurance plans ($8500 single/$23,000 family).  Higher threshold ($9850 single/$26,000 family) for early retirees and high-risk professions.  CPI +1 percentage point indexed.  From 2013-2015, the 17 highest-cost states are 120% of this level. 

Employer Reporting of Health Insurance Costs on W-2 (Page 1996/Sec. 9002/Min$): Preamble to taxing health benefits on individual tax returns.

Medicine Cabinet Tax (Page 1997/Sec. 9003/$5 bil): No longer allowable to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin)

HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike (Page 1998/Sec. 9004/$1.3 bil): Increases additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.

FSA Cap (“Special Needs Children Tax”) (Page 1999/Sec. 9005/$14.6 bil): Imposes cap on FSAs of $2500 (now unlimited).  Will most hurt families of special-needs children, who tend to use outsized FSA deferrals.

Tax on Innovator Medicine Companies (“Miracle Cures Tax”) (Page 2010/Sec. 9008/$22.2 bil): $2.3 billion annual tax on the industry imposed relative to share of sales made that year.

Tax on Medical Devices Like Prosthetic Limbs, Wheelchairs, and Pacemakers (Page 2020/Sec. 9009/$19.3 bil): $2 billion annual tax on the industry imposed relative to shares of sales made that year.  Exempts items retailing for <$100.

Tax on Health Insurance Premiums (Page 2026/Sec. 9010/$60.4 bil): $6.7 billion annual tax on the industry imposed relative to health insurance premiums collected that year.

Eliminate tax deduction for employer-provided retirement Rx drug coverage in coordination with Medicare Part D (“Retiree Rx Tax”) (Page 2034/Sec. 9012/$5.4 bil).  Will make employer-provided Rx coverage for retirees less available.

Raise “Haircut” for Medical Itemized Deduction from 7.5% to 10% of AGI (Page 2034/Sec. 9013/$15.2 bil): Waived for 65+ taxpayers in 2013-2016 only.  Will make it more difficult for working families to deduct medical expenses on their tax return.

Tax on Cosmetic Medical Procedures (“Botox Tax”) (Page 2045/Sec. 9017/$5.8 bil): New 5% excise tax on elective cosmetic surgery to be paid by the surgery patient

PDF Version

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