Democratic Plan for Permanent Control: Pay Illegals to Vote

First the pay: IRS commissioner: Illegals are now eligible for tax credits under Obama’s amnesty — even for years past

. . . Illegals are already eligible for some tax credits, he noted at the time, but the real money is in the Earned Income Tax Credit, which can add up to thousands of dollars for low earners with multiple children. Illegals can’t get the EITC, though, because the law requires a Social Security number to apply and they don’t have Social Security numbers. Until now.

So they’ll be able to claim the EITC going forward, which means untold billions in wealth transfers from American citizens to our new quasi-legal class of self-invited “guest workers.” And not just going forward, as it turns out: Under the law, you can claim the EITC retroactively for the three previous years by filing amended returns for those years. Surely that doesn’t apply to illegals too, wondered GOP Rep. Mick Mulvaney at yesterday’s House hearing on the IRS. After all, their status during the last three years was fully illegal, sans Social Security numbers. Surely they can’t claim benefits retroactively for those years now.

They sure can, says IRS chief John Koskinen:
“Under the new program, if you get a Social Security number and you work, you’ll be eligible to apply for the Earned Income Tax Credit,” Mr. Koskinen said.
He said that would apply even “if you did not file” taxes, as long as the illegal immigrant could demonstrate having worked off-the-books during those years.
That expands the universe of people eligible for the tax credit by millions. He said only about 700,000 illegal immigrants currently work and pay taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, but as many as 4 million illegal immigrants could get a stay of deportation and work permits under the temporary amnesty, which would mean they would be eligible to claim back-refunds if they worked those years.

Not all illegals will file back-dated returns — some may have earned enough income that they’ll end up owing the feds even with the EITC taken into account — but plenty will. And the fraud potential is limitless. Ben Sasse and Ron Johnson, denouncing this scheme as a way of paying “amnesty bonuses,” wonder if illegals will be able to claim dependent children for EITC purposes if those children still reside in the illegal’s country of origin. If the point of the EITC is to give lower- and middle-class taxpayers a little extra change to help support their kids, what should it matter to our amnesty-friendly administration if those kids live in Mexico City or Dublin or Beijing? They still need supporting. You trust illegals to be honest about just how large their families are in reporting their dependents for EITC calculations, don’t you?

And the vote? Obama amnesty creates loophole for illegal immigrants to vote in elections

President Obama’s temporary deportation amnesty will make it easier for illegal immigrants to improperly register and vote in elections, state elections officials testified to Congress on Thursday, saying that the driver’s licenses and Social Security numbers they will be granted create a major voting loophole.

While stressing that it remains illegal for noncitizens to vote, secretaries of state from Ohio and Kansas said they won’t have the tools to sniff out illegal immigrants who register anyway, ignoring stiff penalties to fill out the registration forms that are easily available at shopping malls, motor vehicle bureaus and in curbside registration drives.

Anyone registering to vote attests that he or she is a citizen, but Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted said mass registration drives often aren’t able to give due attention to that part, and so illegal immigrants will still get through.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris W. Kobach said even some motor vehicle bureau workers automatically ask customers if they want to register to vote, which some noncitizens in the past have cited as their reason for breaking the law to register.

“It’s a guarantee it will happen,” Mr. Kobach said.

How many close congressional elections will the decided by illegal votes? And, of course, the Democrats will continue to portray any Republican plan to require proof of citizenship to vote as unfair and unconstitutional.

Oregon, Oh Oregon

The scandal with the Governor of Oregon is keeps on chugging. Back in October things got going when it was revealed that the First Lady Mistress of the state (they're not married), had previously entered into a sham marriage with an Ethiopian for the the purpose of Immigration fraud. Cylvia Hayes, who in addition to her official position as first bitch, was also getting paid as a consultant to the state on "green" issues. A few day later came the revelation that she had been working on a pot farm in Washington state in prior years too. That explains her familiarity with "green issues."

What was she thinking? All the best pot comes from Humboldt County California. The cool climate of Washington produces an inferior product. Now, finally, after the election, democrats in Oregon are finally starting to look askance at the couple.

From Stacy MCain: A Sordid Scandal in Oregon

The general shabbiness of Cylvia Hayes’ character was exposed in 2014 by her ex-boyfriend, and that was before revelations about conflicts of interests involving Hayes’ consulting business. Kitzhaber’s office reportedly attempted to destroy evidence of the governor’s corrupt dealings and, at last, even Democrats in liberal Oregon have had enough:

Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek met with Gov. John Kitzhaber on Thursday morning and told him it was time to resign.
At a 1 p.m. press conference to discuss the meeting, Courtney said the discussion with Kitzhaber was difficult.
“He was upset,” Courtney said. “He was defiant. He was struggling.” . . .
Courtney said that he and Kotek have been trying to get security for Secretary of State Kate Brown, who would become governor if Kitzhaber were to step down.
Courtney said that he had received a note from the governor’s staff earlier in the day saying that Kitzhaber was attempting to reach the secretary of state to “set up the transition.”
“I don’t know what that means,” Courtney said.
Kotek said later that the governor has been consumed by all the legal investigations and media inquiries.
“The work of the state has to go on,” she said, “and he’s not able to focus on that right now.”
“It has become clear to both of us that the ongoing investigations surrounding the governor and Cylvia Hayes have resulted in the loss of the people’s trust,” Kotek said.

It takes an awful lot of corruption to become “too corrupt” to be an Oregon Democrat, but somehow Kitzhaber’s done it! 

In Cylvia Hayes, and Gov. Kithaber's defense, she is kind of cute:

From OregonLive

UPDATE: Gov. Kitzhaber resigns, effective Feb. 18.

Wombat-socho brings the goods on Monday with "Rule 5 Monday: Snow Bunnies."

She Will, Too!

NSFW sound, no shit!



In the future, everything stupid you do will be videoed and put up on the web.

Hammer Time!

This is what those construction guys do waiting for the lumber to arrive.

Party On, Prez!

Obama Secretly Partied With Bill Ayers Last Summer

On Aug. 30, 2014, MSNBC anchor Alex Wagner and former White House chef Sam Kass got married at a private wedding north of New York City. It was widely reported at the time that President Obama, a longtime friend of the groom, attended the ceremony with his family. There were two other notable guests, however, whose attendance has been successfully kept secret: Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, the former campus radicals whose loose association with the Obama family over the years has inspired countless Fox News fever-dreams and led to Sarah Palin's famous accusation that Obama “pal[s] around with terrorists.”

We recently heard that Ayers and Dohrn, both former leaders of the Weather Underground, the militant left-wing group best known for bombing empty government buildings in the 1970s, were also present for the Wagner-Kass celebration at the Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a restaurant and event space in Pocantico Hills, New York.

While the fact that Obama was literally partying with former advocates of violent struggle against the U.S. government will no doubt be taken by his critics as further evidence that he hates America, the most interesting thing about the wedding is the shocking proof it offers that—at long last!—Obama truly no longer gives a fuck about keeping up political appearances.  (my bold) It’s unthinkable that the Obama of the 2008 or 2012 campaigns would have been permitted to go anywhere near Ayers or Dohrn, for fear of fueling the unhinged right-wing narrative that he is a radical leftist.

Ayers and Dohrn were likely invited due to their connection to Kass. Though the nature of their relationship with him is unclear, Kass resided for several years in Chicago, where Ayers and Dohrn live, and appear to have close mutual friends. In 2012, for example, the trio attended the same 22-guest wedding at a San Francisco art gallery.

Another Great Moment in Zero Tolerance

From the Weasel Zippers, by way of Wombat-socho's "In the Mailbox: 02.12.15 RTD edition"

New Jersey Snow-Shoveling Teens Get In Trouble With The Law For Not Having A Government Issued Permit

When a major snowstorm hit the east coast two weeks ago, two entrepreneurial teens in New Jersey were ready.

Until they ran directly into a real force of nature: government nannies.

Matt Molinari and Eric Schnepf, both 18-year-olds from Bound Brook, N.J., were going door-to-door in their neighborhood Jan. 27, handing out homemade flyers that offered snow-shoveling services. School had already been canceled for the next day, when a winter storm was expected to bury their portion of the Garden State under several inches of cold white powder.

But their offer of a free exchange of services for cash caught the attention of the local police force.

According to local news reports, the cops told the kids they weren’t allowed to solicit business by going door-to-door without a permit from the local government.[…]

To get a permit for door-to-door solicitation in Bound Brook, Molinari and Schnepf would have had to pay the borough $450 (and the government-issued permission slip is only good for 180 days at a time, which is fine if you’re trying to run a snow-shoveling business, but not so great if you’re trying to offer services year-round).

I think they should go the non-profit route like a museum, and offer to  shovel snow for "a donation" of  "X".

Congress Passes Keystone Pipeline in Bipartisan Vote

Congress passes Keystone XL bill, setting up veto showdown with Obama

The House passed a bill to approve construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline Wednesday, setting the stage for the first veto showdown of the new Congress with President Obama.

On a 270-152 vote that fell mostly along party lines, the House approved the bill, which has already cleared the Senate. The measure will now head to Obama's desk. The president has vowed to veto the measure.

Only one Republican, Rep. Justin Amash (Mich.), voted against the bill. Amash, a libertarian-leaning member, frequently clashes with GOP leadership.

Twenty-nine Democrats crossed over to vote for the pipeline.

The Post would only deign to call it bipartisan if it were something the majority of democrats wanted, and a single Republican Senator from Maine had voted for it.

I fully expect Obama to veto it as promised, despite the fact that it has been given a clean bill of health by his own State Department and all the states involved.

Go ahead and veto 14,000 jobs Mr. Preznit.

Where Do You Add the Gas, Anyway

Which by twisted thinking get us to here, this (properly) banned beer commercial:



I kinda don't think they ever seriously considered it for broadcast, more likely a viral campaign. I'm willing to help.

By the way, who gets a beer 5 minutes out of the shower?

Wombat-socho brings the goods on Monday with "Rule 5 Monday: Snow Bunnies."

Are People Really This Insane?

Why 'Measles Parties' Are a Bad Idea

Measles parties" that intentionally expose unvaccinated children to the illness are not a good idea, health officials said this week.

In a statement, the California Department of Public Health said it "strongly recommends against the intentional exposure of children to measles," according to the radio station KQED. Such action "unnecessarily places the exposed children at potentially grave risk and could contribute to further spread of the [measles] outbreak," officials said.

The warning came after KQED reported that a mother in Northern California had been asked if she wanted her unvaccinated children to play with a child who was sick with measles. However, the mother declined the invitation, and there have been no confirmed reports of recent measles parties in the area, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The idea for "measles parties" and "chickenpox parties" first emerged decades ago, at a time when vaccines against these diseases were not available. The thinking was that it was better to ensure that children got the disease when they were younger, and avoid getting a possibly worse form of the disease as adults, according to KQED.

Measles parties made sense when the chance of getting measles in you lifetime was practically 100%, and older was badder. Besides, a mother might want to get them over  with for her three obnoxious boys (just to pick an example). all in one lot and get on with life.

But in an era when the diseases can be all but prevented with a shot or two? Insanity

I blame Jenny McCarthy.  I could blame RFK Jr. too, but who wants to look at a picture of him with minimal clothing?.

Jenny McCarthy’s full quote to Time Magazine in an interview published on April 1, 2009:

People have the misconception that we want to eliminate vaccines. Please understand that we are not an antivaccine group. We are demanding safe vaccines. We want to reduce the schedule and reduce the toxins. If you ask a parent of an autistic child if they want the measles or the autism, we will stand in line for the f___ing measles.

Wombat-socho brings the goods on Monday with "Rule 5 Monday: Snow Bunnies."

Hogan Proposes Rain Tax Repeal

He campaigned against it, and now he's actually floating a proposal to get rid of it. Shocking!

The Republican governor's legislation would take away the state requirement that 10 jurisdictions impose a fee to pay for programs that curb storm water pollution.

Hogan's bill to repeal the rain tax, which has 61 co-sponsors, is now in the hands of the General Assembly.

"Forcing counties to raise taxes against their will was a mistake and needs to be corrected," Hogan said.

In the past fiscal year, more than $100 million has been collected in storm water fees. The money is supposed to fund measures to reduce storm water runoff pollution. Storm water is untreated and separate from municipal sewage systems. The Environmental Protection Agency requires local jurisdictions with separate systems to establish a watershed and restoration program.

"We don't need a mandate from Annapolis to do what is right. We are already doing it, and for many years," said Delegate Haven Shoemaker, R-Carroll County.

The governor's legislation gives jurisdictions the option of continuing to collect the fee or not. Harford County has already repealed its fee.

The "rain tax" has been unpopular since it's conception, but "big enviro" thought it was a great idea to get the more urban counties to pay for storm water systems.  The idea of getting the urban areas was noble, but in practice, they tried hard to shift as much of the as possible the bill onto rural areas which were not the source of the problem. A farm with a large paved area surrounded by a much larger unpaved area with no runoff problem would face the same bill as a business which was all impermeable surface, all of which had to run into storm sewers. Churches would get exemptions based on hokey out reach programs, and I expect other non-profits to lobby and win similar exemptions.

Why not just set the standards that need to be achieved, and let the counties determine how to raise the money, and how to spend it?

What? Allow local government to decide! What's the fun in that?

A Good Start

Maryland Natural Resources Police arrest 13 since Jan. 1

Maryland Natural Resources Police have charged at least 13 watermen with illegal hunting, harvesting or poaching oysters since the new year, and it could get worse.

Police spokeswoman Candy Thomson said officers are on “high alert” this time of year. She said she remembered how busy nefarious watermen kept water patrol officers in 2014.

“This has season has been fairly active at this point,” Thomson said. “There are about 1,200 watermen out on oyster bars, coming on the last two months of the season. A lot of the bars are exhausted, fished out, the legal bars. So if you are going to continue to harvest oysters, the number of legal places is diminishing rapidly.

 Which is why they need to implement my oyster recovery plan ASAP. No more fishing on wild oysters for at least 5 year, preferably 10 to see if the oysters can replenish themselves.

“Now is when it ratchets up. … This is when it dog-eat-dog,” she continued.

If they really intend to stop illegal commercial fishing, they'll have to make sure there's a decent chance of being arrested and that the consequences are severe enough that it's not simply taken as another cost of doing business.

Money has been set aside in the state budget for two academy classes to add officers to the under-staffed Natural Resources Police. Thomson anticipates that a "large number" of police will be retiring in the next two or three years.

Progress on the first part. . .

Natural Resources Police found 32 bushels of illegally harvested oysters aboard a vessel belonging to Vaughn Edward Collins Jr., 44, of Nanticoke, and Kristopher Daniel Graves, 20, of Salisbury. Of the 32 bushels, four contained undersized oysters, according to the NRP Blotter . The two face a maximum fine of $6,000.

If actually imposed (only likely if they are repeat offenders, as many watermen are) that might be enough to make them think twice.

Kayla Mueller's Family May Not Agree

White House Says Climate Change Is A Bigger Threat To National Security Than Terrorism

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest confirmed Tuesday that President Obama does believe that climate change is a greater threat to the country's national security than terrorism.

In an interview with Vox released Monday, Obama said he "absolutely" believes that the media "sometimes overstates the level of alarm people should have about terrorism" as opposed to "climate change."

Asked to confirm Tuesday if this means Obama believes "the threat of climate change is greater than the threat of terrorism," Earnest responded, "The point the president is making is that there are many more people on an annual basis who have to confront the impact, the direct impact on their lives, of climate change, or on the spread of a disease, than on terrorism."

 American ISIS Hostage Kayla Mueller Is Dead, Family Says

Kayla Mueller

American ISIS hostage Kayla Mueller is dead, the aid worker's family and the White House said Tuesday. The announcement came four days after ISIS claimed the 26-year-old Arizona native had been killed by a coalition airstrike in Syria.

"We are heartbroken to share that we've received confirmation that Kayla Jean Mueller, has lost her life," Mueller's parents, Carl and Marsha, and brother Eric, said in a statement. "Kayla was a compassionate and devoted humanitarian. She dedicated the whole of her young life to helping those in need of freedom, justice, and peace."

"We are so proud of the person Kayla was and the work that she did while she was here with us. She lived with purpose, and we will work every day to honor her legacy."

The statement from Mueller's family — which was accompanied by a copy of a letter the aid worker sent to her loved ones from captivity — did not elaborate on how it had learned of her death or the circumstances behind it.

U.S. officials would not confirm Mueller's cause of death or say when she died, telling NBC News only that the family had received a message from the aid worker's captors with information that American authorities were able to authenticate.

U.S. believes hostage was given to ISIS fighter as bride

The U.S. intelligence community believes that American hostage Kayla Muellerwas given as a bride to a fighter with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, during her captivity, CBS News has learned.

The White House confirmed the Arizona woman's death Tuesday.

She is the fourth American to die in the hands of the extremist group.

But Obama is right, Global Warming, Global Climate Change, Climate Instability, Climate Stability, has never happened before, as witness the fact that over three feet of  of snow fell in Boston recently. I'm sure that's never happened before. I'm sure Bostonians would prefer that ISIS kidnap, rape and kill their daughters instead.

UPDATE: WH Knew Location of ISIS Hostages, Delayed Rescue Attempt

. . .Herridge also reported the locations where the hostages were held in Syria - largely together in the same places - between November 2013 and May 2014.

"One was Aleppo, another was an industrial area known as Shaykh Najjar and the third was in the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa," Herridge said.

"By the spring of 2014, the ISIS captors, we're told, felt so confident in their situation that there was very little visible security around the hostages. And by May, eight Western hostages were held together in one location," Herridge said.

She added that Mueller was kept separate from the men, but she was able to communicate with other Western hostages, including James Foley, that she was not being mistreated or abused by her ISIS captors.

According to Herridge, there was very specific intelligence about the location of a group of Western hostages in May 2014, so specific that intelligence officials even knew in which building they were being held.

So Obama let her die.

The "Black Mamba" Gets a New Face . . .

or did she? Uma Thurman sports new look as surgeons debate if she went under the knife

Uma Thurman (Left)at a 2014 press conference and on Feb. 9 2015 at 'The Slap' premiere (Right)

 Let's look at some old photos and make up our own minds.

Is Uma’s new look more pulp fact or fiction?

Thurman caused tongues to wag after she debuted a noticeably different face on the red carpet at the premiere party of her new NBC miniseries "The Slap" Monday in New York City.

Her new look – complete with smooth forehand and minimal eye makeup --sparked some serious plastic surgery speculation.

No one is sure whether the “Kill Bill” actress’ new look is thanks to a make-under, or whether Thurman went under the knife – even the experts are divided.

Dr. Phillip J. Miller of the Upper East Side’s Gotham Plastic Surgery, thinks the actress had work done. “It looks as if Thurman had her lower lids treated – the shape of her eyes is different now,” he told The News.

A really old one from 1988 "Baron Munchausen" (NSFW).

But is the new look for the better? In Miller’s opinion, no. “It would be like if Cindy Crawford got rid of her mole,” he said. “Her eyes were her trademark, so she looks common now.”

“Her face looks tight to me,” he told The News, adding that he is “almost sure” that she had an upper or lower eyelid surgery.

“When you take fat out from the upper and lower eyelids, they get crinkly,” Kassir added. “That’s a tell-tale sign of having had eyelid surgery. Her eyes have lost that nice almond shape.”

  I don't see that, do you?

But for Dr. Victoria Karlinsky, a cosmetic surgeon on the Upper West Side, the only difference in Thurman’s look was makeup. “Whoever the makeup artist was – they can really change her look with the stroke of a brush,” she told the Daily News, noting a possible lack of mascara and eyeliner leading to the noticeable change in appearance.

To me, it looks like she had the slight ski jump taken out of her nose, too in addition to botox to smooth out older age.  She has a very distinctive face, one I would say has more character than beauty. She would make a perfectly good elf, if Jackson needed any more for Tolkien movies. A 17 hour version of The Silmarillion, anyone, complete with the bunny sled of doom?

If anything, the after pictures look more like my older pictures, which suggests that whatever work she did or did not have achieved the desired result of taking years off her face without turning her into a new person. If you can confuse the plastic surgeons, you've done a pretty good job.

Wombat-socho brings the goods on Monday with "Rule 5 Monday: Snow Bunnies."

Long Live the King!

The monarch massacre: Nearly a billion butterflies have vanished

Threatened animals like elephants, porpoises and lions grab all the headlines, but what’s happening to monarch butterflies is nothing short of a massacre. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service summed it up in just one grim statistic on Monday: Since 1990, about 970 million have vanished.

It happened as farmers and homeowners sprayed herbicides on milkweed plants, which serve as the butterflies’ nursery, food source and home. In an attempt to counter two decades of destruction, the Fish and Wildlife Service launched a partnership with two private conservation groups, the National Wildlife Federation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, to basically grow milkweed like crazy in the hopes of saving the monarchs.

Monarch butterflies are a keystone species that once fluttered throughout the United States by the billions. They alighted from Mexico to Canada each spring on a trek that required six generations of the insect to complete. Afterward, young monarchs about the quarter of the weight of a dime, that know nothing about the flight pattern through the United States, not to mention Mexico, fly back, resting, birthing and dining on milkweed. Only about 30 million remain.

I question whether the Monarch butterfly should be considered a Keystone species. Resorting to Wikipedia for a definition that generally corresponds to the one I was taught in basic ecology umpteen years ago:

A keystone species is a species that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance. Such species are described as playing a critical role in maintaining the structure of an ecological community, affecting many other organisms in an ecosystem and helping to determine the types and numbers of various other species in the community.

Monarchs are not important food for anything; one of the points of interest about them is that they are toxic and unpalatable to their main potential predators, birds, because of the toxins they accumulate from the milkweed their caterpillars eat. Milkweed itself is largely a weed (although there are horticultural varieties; we have one), and because it is so toxic, it has few other animals eating it. It's a bit of a closed loop. Monarchs need milkweed, but not much else needs Monarchs or Milkweed. It's not that I don't like Monarchs, but I hate sloppy over exaggeration of ecology.

Fish and Wildlife is reviewing a petition filed by the Center for Biological Diversity to list monarch butterflies as an endangered species that requires special protection to survive. The agency is studying whether that’s necessary and also trying to do more to help restore the population.

The agency is providing $2 million for on the ground conservation projects. As part of an agreement, the federation will help raise awareness about the need for milkweed, provide seeds to anyone willing to plant it and to plant the seeds in open space — roadsides, parks, forests and patio flower boxes, to name a few places. Another $1.2 million will go to the foundation as seed money to generate a larger fundraising match from private organizations.

It might help some, but my guess it's just going to be money going out to friendly NGOs for a cost of many dollars per extra butterfly.

For what its worth, we have at least 2 species of wild Milkweed at the beach, and one horticultural variety in our garden, and despite looking frequently, I have never found a Monarch caterpillar or chrysalis. If Monarchs are limited by the amount of Milkweed to be found, you would think you could find them a little more often.

EPA Would Prefer Us to Starve in the Dark

From the Bay Journal, house organ of the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program, this ridiculous article questioning the value of pesticides:

Debate rages over whether pesticides benefits outweigh risks

A report released this fall argues that pesticides have done more good than harm as they’ve bolstered food production across the United States and Canada — and that their application should be expanded to help feed the world’s growing population by 2050.

The report, released as Issue Paper 55 by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, a nonprofit backed by companies like Dow AgroSciences and groups like the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, states that pesticides have contributed to greater crop yields while lessening the legwork required to combat pests and increasing farmers’ incomes.

Overall, pesticides have “improved the prospects for long-term sustainable food production,” the paper states.

But a growing body of research and advocates would call that thesis into question, or at least pose another question, “At what cost?”

A decade-long study by the U.S. Geological Survey also released this fall found that the presence of pesticides continues to be a concern for aquatic life in many of the nation’s rivers and streams. The report found that the presence of pesticides in the water ebbed and flowed with new regulations that affected their use on nearby lands.

It suggested that more research is needed to determine the full effects of pesticides on natural resources.

It strikes me that the brilliant minds at EPA who are clearly aiming to get rid of pesticides out of some primal loyalty to Rachael Carson's "Silent Spring" are like the mothers at Whole Foods who deny their children the benefits of vaccination because they have not seen the ravages of measles in their lifetimes because vaccination all but eliminated measles in the US before their birth.

Back in the "good old days" of agriculture before pesticides,  it was often a race between the bugs and the farmers as to who would gather most of the harvest. Between fertilizers (another target of EPA), pesticides and farm equipment, the yield of food per unit cropland has grown enormously:

Source: Wonk Blog

Without pesticides and fertilizers, it's doubtful the United States could support it's current populace, let alone export food to help feed the remainder of the world.

On the other hand, that may be another reason they oppose it. It's not so much they love the environment, as they just hate people.

A song my Dad used to sing:



I think he did it better.

Nutritionists Get Egg on Their Faces

The U.S. government is poised to withdraw longstanding warnings about cholesterol

The nation's top nutrition advisory panel has decided to drop its caution about eating cholesterol-laden food, a move that could undo almost 40 years of government warnings about its consumption.

The group's finding that cholesterol in the diet need no longer be considered a “nutrient of concern” stands in contrast to the committee's findings five years ago, the last time it convened. During those proceedings, as in previous years, the panel deemed the issue of "excess dietary cholesterol" a public health concern.

The new view on cholesterol in the diet does not reverse warnings about high levels of "bad" cholesterol in the blood, which have been linked to heart disease. Moreover, some experts warned that people with particular health problems, such as diabetes, should continue to avoid cholesterol-rich diets.

But the finding, which may offer a measure of relief to breakfast diners who prefer eggs, follows an evolution of thinking among many nutritionists who now believe that for a healthy adult cholesterol intake may not significantly affect the level of cholesterol in the blood or increase the risk of heart disease. The greater danger, according to this line of thought, lies in foods heavy with trans fats and saturated fats.

This reaffirms a belief I've held for a long time, that cholesterol in the diet is not particularly important. The "normal" human is more than capable of metabolizing cholesterol in the diet, using it where necessary for the body (cholesterol is a major component of cell walls), and metabolizing it for energy if it's abundant.

That's not so say cholesterol can't be a problem. Some people produce excess cholesterol, and it does accumulate in blood vessels and lead to strokes. I have relatives (by marriage) with the condition. The father and half his children have familial hypercholestoremia, high levels of blood cholesterol despite a low cholesterol diet and medicine. The disease is genetic, and a dominant gene (you get it if you have one copy of the gene). Life just ain't fair. But to deny the rest of us the benefit of eggs as a result is just silly.

Now if they would just get down off their high horses and declare bacon the perfect food, all would be good.

And egg producers should be allowed to sue to government for years of suppression of their production due to the anti-egg propaganda put out by the government.

How to Piss Off Your Boss

San Francisco Water Manager Faces Suspension After Seen Urinating In Reservoir

Priest Reservoir

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — A $111,000-a-year San Francisco water manager will likely be suspended after he was seen urinating in a reservoir that supplies drinking water to nearly 2.5 million Bay Area residents.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports Public Utilities Commission employee Martin Sanchez could receive a five day suspension without pay after the Jan. 6 incident took place at the Priest Reservoir in the Sierra foothills.

A commission insider sent the SF Chronicle an anonymous complaint that alleges a number of employees saw Sanchez urinating “several times” in the reservoir.

Utilities commission spokesman Tyrone Jue said the reservoir had been drained for maintenance at the time and poses no health danger. Still, Jue said his action were “not acceptable.”

“The bottom line is — you pee in the wrong place again, and you are toast,” Jue told the SF Chronicle.

The volume of Priest Reservoir is approximately 1950 acre feet, or 635,410,295 gallons. Assuming that Mr. Sanchez had just finished a 40 ounce Colt 45 (1.25 quarts), and was relieving the excess hydrostatic pressure therefrom, that would  amount to approximately 0.05 parts per billion urine in the water. Not to mention all the fish in the reservoir, and creek upstream, and all the wildlife that life around the reservoir and piss and shit in the water. And Priest reservoir is only one of several reservoir in the water system required to provide the San Francisco Bay with the water necessary to to support several million urban dwellers with water on demand.

Still, it's not a pretty picture. . .

Irony Alert: Muslim Thugs Beat Artist Calling for Coexistence

French Artist’s Calls For Peace End in Brutal Beating

It seems like something one would be hard pressed to disagree with: the word “coexist,” written on a wall using a Muslim crescent as the letter “C,” a Star of David as the letter “X,” and a Christian cross as a “T.”

But in Paris, this particular iteration of the popular inscription—here, created by the street artist Combo, who also pasted a life-size photo of himself next to it—didn’t go down well with everybody. Le Monde reports that four young people asked the artist to remove it last weekend, and beat him up severely when he refused to do so.

Combo ended up with a dislocated shoulder and many bruises.

The attack is characteristic of the inter-religious tensions that plague France and have been exacerbated by the Charlie Hebdo tragedy (see 12 Killed at Magazine Previously Attacked for Satirical Cartoons). Combo declined to discuss the identity of his assailants. “It would only add fuel to the fire,” he told the French newspaper.

That's not too dissimilar from the Coexist bumper sticker commonly seen around college campuses:

Could this be taken as a sign of intolerance? Jonathon Chait, call your office. In the meantime, liberals might consider scraping it off to avoid pissing off one of their interest groups.

How About We Divest From the University of California?

University of California Student Government Passes Resolution to Divest - From America

The University of California Student Association board – which represents all 233,000 students enrolled in the UC system’s 10 campuses – approved a resolution on Sunday that calls on the system’s leaders to financially divest from the United States.

The measure cited alleged human rights violations by America such as drone strikes that have killed civilians, and claimed the country’s criminal justice system is racist, among other accusations.
The “Resolution Toward Socially Responsible Investment at the University of California” passed with an overwhelming majority vote of 11-1-3.
. . .
The resolution also called on UC system leaders “to withdraw investments in securities, endowments, mutual funds, and other monetary instruments with holdings” from the governments of Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Russia, Turkey, Israel, Sri Lanka and Mexico, as well as the U.S.

The US Congress should immediately follow up with legislation to stop all federal funding to the UC system until the students reverse their stand. Grants, building, student loans, every federal dollar that feeds into the UC system.

A Cheeky Play

Wombat-socho brings the goods on Monday with "Rule 5 Monday: Snow Bunnies."

Before We Give Up On Football Until Fall

Slots For Trophy Rockfish?

Rockfish plan slotted for approval

For months it has been a stone-cold fact that the coastal and Chesapeake Bay striped bass harvest will be curtailed this year. The big question looming all winter, however, has been exactly how to implement those cuts, and, more specifically, what the 2015 regulations will be for Maryland's popular spring trophy season which opens in April.

On Feb. 5, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Striped Bass Management Board seems to have put those questions to bed by approving Maryland's request for a spring trophy option of one rockfish of 28 to 36 inches, or one rockfish longer than 40 inches. It's expected the ASMFC's Technical Committee will bless the measure in coming weeks. The ASMFC also signed off on the bay resident striper fishery (May 16-Dec. 20), in which Maryland is expected to implement a 20-inch minimum size and most likely allow either two rockfish between 20 to 28 inches, or one rockfish 20-28 inches and one rockfish longer than 28 inches.

I blogged about the 20 inch "summer season" size limit previously, but this is the first I've heard of the proposed slot for the spring "trophy season." It doesn't seem like much of a change to me, but it does protect a group of fish between 36 and 40 inches. How big a fraction of the population that is I'm not sure, but I've caught and kept (or caught and released) a number of fish in that size class. However I don't expect it to affect me much personally. The two major groups that represents recreational fishermen seemed to agree:

Dave Sikorski, Coastal Conservation Association-Maryland's government relations chairman, said his group is on board with the slot. Maryland's Sport Fisheries Advisory Commission, a 16-member, governor appointed, citizen group representing various fishing interests, voted overwhelmingly in support of Option 5. Sikorski, who also serves as SFAC vice chairman, added the decision "both protects the spawning stock of large female fish, and allows for socio-economic benefit to the state."

Dave Smith, the director of the state's largest sportfishing group, the Maryland Saltwater Sportfishing Association, said his group is "pleased with the outcome. While not every stakeholder group got what they want (MSSA initially supported a 36-inch size limit) we found common ground on achieving the mandated reduction, conserving for the future and protecting the rights of anglers to harvest for oneself and have access and opportunity to our fisheries resources."

Members of the charter fishing community were less effusive in their praise:

Randy Dean of Bay Hunter Charters supports and understands the importance of conserving rockfish but is also concerned with potential mortality of rockfish in the slot that must be released, particularly during spring tournaments.

Captain Mark Galasso of Tuna the Tide Charters said, "I think it's a far better option than the 36-inch size limit."

Capt. Jeff Eichler of the charter boat Southpaw, predicts: "This proposed change is going to do more harm than good. It will be a mess and I am sure it will hurt the charter business and kill more breeding fish in the process."

Others had harsher words still for the ASMFC action. Brad Burns of Stripers Forever doesn't believe "shaving inches here and there" will make much of a difference in conserving rockfish. "If the current downturn in striped bass is reversed by any of the plans approved at the recent ASMFC meeting it will be pure luck," he said.

Local Fossil in the News

No, not Bernie Fowler. 15-million-year-old Mollusk Protein Found

A team of US scientists have found "beautifully preserved" 15 million-year-old thin protein sheets in fossil shells from southern Maryland. Their findings are published in the inaugural issue of Geochemical Perspectives Letters, the new peer-reviewed journal of the European Association of Geochemistry.

The team--John Nance, John Armstrong, George Cody, Marilyn Fogel, and Robert Hazen-- from the Carnegie Institution (Washington DC) collected samples from Calvert Cliffs, along the shoreline of the Chesapeake Bay, a popular fossil collecting area. The Cliffs were named after the mother of the English explorer John Smith (of John Smith and Pocohontas fame). The team found fossilized shells of a snail-like, shallow marine-dwelling mollusk called Ecphora that lived in the mid-Miocene era--between 8 and 18 million years ago. 

Yes, indeed, Ecphora are a relatively common fossil here, so much so that they are officially named as Maryland's State Fossil. We've been collecting them for years, and are still looking for the perfect specimen like the one at the link with its tip intact. Most of ours are just fragments.  So what's so interesting about this one?

Ecphora is known for an unusual reddish-brown shell color, making it one of the most distinctive North American mollusks of its era. This coloration is preserved in fossilized remains, unlike the fossilized shells of many other fossilized mollusks from the Calvert Cliffs region, which have turned chalky white over the millions of years since they housed living creatures.

Yes, they are covered with a lovely reddish brown shell, and in some cases nice polished fragments look like carnelian. But again, we've know about that since, well, almost forever. So again, what makes this interesting?

The fact that the coloration of fossilized Ecphora shells is so well preserved suggested to the research team that shell proteins bound to these pigments in a complex might also be preserved. "We were amazed to find that the shells, once dissolved in dilute acid, released intact thin sheets of shell proteins more than a centimeter across" said main author John Nance. Chemical analysis including spectroscopy and electron microscopy of these sheets revealed that they are indeed shell proteins that were preserved for up to 15 million years.

"These are some of the oldest and best-preserved examples of a protein ever observed in a fossil shell," said author Robert Hazen.

Remarkably, the proteins share characteristics with modern mollusk shell proteins. They both produce thin, flexible sheets of residue that's the same color as the original shell after being dissolved in acid. Of the 11 amino acids found in the resulting residue, aspartate and glutamate are prominent, which is typical of modern shell proteins. Further study of these proteins could be used for genetic analysis to trace the evolution of mollusks through the ages, as well as potentially to learn about the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay during the era in which Ecphora thrived.

I don't think that's so remarkable. 15 million years isn't that old be geologic standards, and many proteins are well conserved in evolution, if it serves a useful function. And how are they going to learn more about the ecology of a  Chesapeake Bay which did not exist 15 million years ago (at that time the whole area was a shallow shoreline part of the Atlantic Ocean) from the shell proteins.

6 AM Eye Opener - "Breathe"

Faith Hill:

Dog Gone Lucky

"If You Ain't Cheating, You Ain't Trying"

Said our Patriots supporting wellness club coach. But I don't think this was quite what he had in mind:

All Of Paraguay’s Temperature Record Has Been Tampered With

When Paul Homewood, who runs a small blog called Not a Lot of People Know That went off to look at the temperature record for Paraguay (hey, someone has to care) he found a disconcerting fact. All nine of the the major sites in that country had had their temperature records altered to reduce the historical temperature record which made the history appear as if it were warming, when the original records showed little or no warming, and in some cases actual cooling:

The reality is that, as far as the story of temperature adjustments is concerned, the genie is out of the bottle now, and no amount of huffing and puffing will put it back.

What is perhaps most telling is that we have not heard a word from NCDC or GISS. We expect the jokers from BEST to jump in, but this data and the associated adjustments are from NCDC and GISS.
Serious accusations have been levelled against them in the media, yet they have not responded or attempted to defend their data. Instead, they seem intent to sweep the matter under the carpet, just as they did last summer when they told us “the system was working as it was supposed to”!

There are reasons to adjust station data due to changes in the siting, changes in the landscape around the temperature sensor etc, but there is no justification given for these changes.

This is not the first time skeptics have seen what appears to be "fiddling" with the temperature record to cool the past, and make it appear as though the record is getting warmer. One adjustment to GISS cooled the United States record and got rid of the inconvenient fact that the highest average temperatures ever recorded in there occurred in the 1930s:

A Mirage at the Beach

 It was a gorgeous morning for February when we decided to visit the beach before lunch. Partly sunny, 59 F, a light west wind and a good low tide.

The weird temperatures had generated an impressive, and ever shifting Fata Morgana mirage out of the Eastern shire. Here it looks like large bridge, as the wooded shore line is reflected back up into the sky.

 A closer view with the zoom lens shows it's much more complicated, with multiple reflections and refractions.

A big cargo ship is seen with it's upper side reflected in the mirage.  Initially I thought it might be in two from the tug on the right, but in fact, the tug is much closer.

Given the weather, it's no surprise we had a good turnout at the beach, even a few kids wading in the surf, which is barely above freezing (in fact, there is still some ice in the harbor).

 A lucky dog out for a long walk.

It was also a pretty good day for teeth, with 25 total including this Mako Shark tooth that I found (top), and the Snaggletooth that Georgia found (bottom). Both were in beautiful condition, and will sit on the kitchen window sill until displaced by better.

Should RFK Jr. Go To Jail for Anti-Vaxxtivism?

Of course not, but there is a certain symmetry in asking about it:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the prominent environmental activist, thinks people who disagree with him on climate change should go to jail and corporations that disagree “should be given the death penalty” by having their charters revoked. He even goes after Charles and David Koch, accusing them of “treason,” which is a violation of the Constitution, for their purported views on climate change.

“Do I think they should be in jail?” Kennedy asks. “I think they should be enjoying three hots and a cot at the Hague with all the other war criminals.” He adds, “Do I think the Koch brothers should be tried for reckless endangerment? Absolutely, that is a criminal offence and they ought to be serving time for it.”
. . .
In 2005, Kennedy appeared on the Late Show with Jon Stewart to peddle his anti-vaccine lunacy; claiming vaccines cause autism and that there is a massive conspiracy to cover this up involving the U.S. government, academic researchers and the vaccine industry. Stewart, normally a skeptical host, sat entranced — even fawningly telling Kennedy “I appreciate you getting the word out” — in what amounted to a seven minute anti-vaccine infomercial.

In recent weeks, Jonathon Leibowitz Stewart has been rather harsh to Republican candidates, not for opposing vaccines, which absolutely none of them do, but for waffling on the issue of whether they should be mandatory:

Just this week, he called out two likely Republican presidential candidates; Senator Rand Paul for views on vaccines much milder than Kennedy’s, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for saying parents should have some choice in vaccinating their kids. Stewart also conveniently glossed over his embarrassing 2005 love-in with Kennedy.

Which brings us to this essay on Macusean Intolerance, by Stacy McCain.

Marcuse has sometimes been called the “Father of the New Left,” his books Eros and Civilization (1955) and One-Dimensional Man (1964) credited with inspiring the so-called “counterculture” of radical youth in the 1960s. However, it may be that Marcuse’s most lasting contribution to progressive politics was his 1965 essay “Repressive Tolerance,” in which he sneered at “abstract tolerance and spurious objectivity” and coined the phrase “totalitarian democracy” to describe Western society. Marcuse claimed that “the concentration of economic and political power . . . in a society which uses technology as an instrument of domination” means that “effective dissent is blocked.” He claimed that it was possible to determine “the most rational ways of using [economic] resources and distributing the social product,” that “it is also possible to identify policies, opinions, movements” to accomplish this goal. However, he insisted, it would be necessary to suppress opposition to these “rational” socialist policies:

Liberating tolerance, then, would mean intolerance against movements from the Right and toleration of movements from the Left.

This was plainly a call to suppress dissent. Marcuse insisted that “progress” — i.e., a socialist policy to redistribute “resources”– required silencing opponents of such policies. Marcuse was arguing fortyranny in the name of liberation.

Shame on the Anti-Vaxxers

Jenny McCarthy before she was a health care expert

The Anti-Vaccine Movement Should Be Ridiculed, Because Shame Works

The best way to win a debate is to present your facts in a clear, respectful way. When that doesn't work, another option is incessant ridicule. Here's why we have to use shame if we want to stop the anti-vaccine movement.

By now I'm sure you know the score. America's anti-vaccination movement has steamrolled its way across the country, leaving a trail of sick people in its wake. Measles is back. Whooping cough is back. And it's all because we spent the last decade watching people like Jenny McCarthy concoct a narrative that vaccines are unsafe. This is a public health crisis that's simply inexcusable. 

Vaccines are safe, though I'm not here to convince you of that. Countless scientists and doctors have already presented evidence for over a century that vaccines work. They save the lives of kids, families, and whole communities. At this point no amount of logical argument or proof will convince McCarthy and her ilk that vaccines are safe. Studies show that confronting anti-vaxxers or climate change deniers with logic only makes them more defensive and thus more deeply entrenched in their positions. So why do we continue to use logic with the anti-vaccination movement? After all, the movement's modern founding text, a 1998 paper by British doctor Andrew Wakefield, was retracted and deemed fraudulent. Wakefield was even stripped of his medical license. But this has only strengthened the resolve of the anti-vaxxers in their belief that the medical establishment doesn't want people to know "the truth."

I'm here to convince you that the best way to deal with anti-vaxxers is to ridicule their position so much that it's no longer acceptable to say in polite company that vaccines cause autism.Ridicule is our best option to help stem the tide of dangerous superstition washing over this beautiful, measles-infested country of ours. Because shaming works.

In an ideal world, vaccines would not need to be mandatory, because all people would rationally evaluate  the value of the vaccines, and the need for a large fraction of the population to be vaccinated for the "herd immunity" effect to work. Unfortunately, the citizenry as a whole are not all rational actors, and cannot always be trusted to behave in their own, let alone our all best interests.  While I don't advocate the strongest forms of mandate, I do think that demanding vaccination for schools, work, and welfare are reasonable steps.

In the meantime, I'm OK with shame too. More NSFW Jenny McCarthy.

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup" and links and at American Power in "Charlotte McKinney Sunday Rule 5." Wombat-socho brings the goods on Monday with "Rule 5 Monday: Snow Bunnies."

Midnite Music - "The Eve of War"

How 'bout some Zepp?



From the comments on the first video:

You know... The world may be running out of oil, fresh water, etc.

But I feel better knowing that it's supply of smokin' hot violinists is still better than ever

Wombat-socho brings the goods on Monday with "Rule 5 Monday: Snow Bunnies."

Escala:

Bacon Takes Revenge

Oregon farmer eaten by his pigs

"I can't believe I ate the whole thing"

Terry Vance Garner, 69, went to feed his animals last Wednesday on his farm by the coast, but never returned.

His dentures and pieces of his body were found by a family member in the pig enclosure, but the rest of his remains had been consumed.

The Coos County district attorney's office said that one of the animals had previously bitten Garner.

The animals are estimated by the authorities to each weigh about 700lb (320kg).

Thanks to Alex.

Brian Williams to Take a Break

Hoping we'll forget in a few days. Or maybe hoping he can make up a better story.

In the midst of a career spent covering and consuming news, it has become painfully apparent to me that I am presently too much a part of the news, due to my actions.

As Managing Editor of NBC Nightly News, I have decided to take myself off of my daily broadcast for the next several days, and Lester Holt has kindly agreed to sit in for me to allow us to adequately deal with this issue. Upon my return, I will continue my career-long effort to be worthy of the trust of those who place their trust in us.

Personally, I prefer a disgraced news reader at the anchor desk. It reminds me of how seriously we should take their opinions.

From Theo's