No Excuse for Amnesty First

One of the reasons the amnesty-first crowd has opposed making legalization contingent on the complete implementation of enforcement measures is that they think it would take too long.

Whatever you think of that argument, its factual basis has been eliminated by a new report from my colleague Janice Kephart. She took a close look at the options for biometric recording of the departures of legal foreign visitors at airports and seaports and found that, contrary to administration claims, it’s both technically feasible and cost-effective.

The Gang of Eight bill requires such a system to be in place a decade in the future, maybe, as a condition for the amnesty recipients to upgrade their legal status from green-card-lite to green-card-premium. Among the concerns of critics is that once all the illegals have been legalized (which happens shortly after Obama has his bill-signing ceremony) the various enforcement promises, including the one for exit-tracking, will fade away and be ignored. This is not an idle concern; the development of an electronic exit-tracking system has already been mandated by Congress eight times (I’d thought it was just six) and we still don’t have one. If you don’t have a reliable record of which foreign visa-holders have left the country, you can’t know which ones overstayed and became illegal aliens (overstays are believed to account for some 40 percent of the total illegal-alien population).

Via: National Review Online

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Sebelius Goes from 'Will Get Covered' to 'Can' to 'May'

Tuesday morning, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius announced on Twitter:

Big news! Nearly 6 in 10 uninsured Americans will #GetCovered for less than $100/month starting Jan 1 #Obamacare #ACA pic.twitter.com/RimQkFIuPJ

— Kathleen Sebelius (@Sebelius) September 17, 2013

However, while Sebelius's claim sounds like a sure thing ("will" get covered,) the accompanying graphic is somewhat less unequivocal, employing the phrase "can"get covered.  But the truth is even one additional step removed.  The HHS press release, which Sebelius refers to but does not link to, reads as follows [emphasis added]:

A new report released today by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shows that 56 percent, or nearly six in ten of the people who don’t have health insurance today may be able to get coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace for less than $100 per month.

Sebelius's words recall President Obama's confident pledge that Americans will be able to keep their doctors under Obamacare, a pledge that changed to "may" on the HealthCare.gov website just this summer.

The authors of the new report released today are careful to point out that they are not making any claims about rates, but are only drawing conclusions about what the uninsured are likely to pay out of pocket towards new insurance premiums after taxpayer subsidies. 

Via: Weekly Standard

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Sen.Manchin Says Obama's Coal Policy's Beating The Crap Out His State (Too Late Joe You Helped To Elect Him)

West Virginia knew what it was doing when it overwhelmingly voted against President Obama in the recent election, they were trying to save their jobs. The number two coal mining state in the country knew that the President's energy policy has a goal of killing the coal industry. Well not everybody in the state knew. West Virginia Democratic Senator Manchin woke up this morning and realized that the president he helped to elect is anti-Coal.

Manchin exploded over the Obama administration’s anti-coal policies during a senate hearing today. 

We’re getting the living crap beaten out of us, there has been nothing more beat up than coal.

Manchin voiced his frustrations with rules put forward by Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency which have made it more costly and difficult for coal plants and coal mines to operate. 

They just beat the living daylights out of little West Virginia, but they sure like what we produce,” Manchin added. “We could do it a lot better if we had a government working with us as a partner. 

Manchin’s remarks were made while questioning Ron Binz, Obama’s nominee to head up the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates electric grids, gas pipelines, natural gas export terminals and hydroelectric power plants.

Hopefully come election time, West Virginia voters will remember that Joe Manchin helped to elect the guy who put them out of business.  Especially when one considers it is about to get much, much, worse.

This week, the EPA is expected to finally release its New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), which will set emissions standards not just for the construction of future power plants, but for existing ones also.

Via: The Lid

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Obama renews call for Congress to act on background checks

In the wake of the shooting at a Washington naval facility that left 13 dead, President Barack Obama renewed his call for Congress to pass background check reforms to keep guns out of the hands of those who would do harm.

“The fact that we do not have a firm enough background-check system is something that makes us more vulnerable to these kinds of mass shootings,” he said in an interview with Telemundo, adding that “ultimately this is something that Congress is going to have to act on.”

Obama defended giving an address on the economy – which contained more than one barb about legislative gridlock, aimed mostly at Republican lawmakers – even as the manhunt for the shooter was still underway just a few miles from the White House.

“I think that everybody understands that the minute something like this happens, I'm in touch with the F.B.I., I'm in touch with my national security team, we're making sure that all the assets are out there for us to deal with this as well as we can,” he said, noting that he did address the shooting and offer prayers for the victims at the beginning of his Monday speech.

Via: NBC News

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CPI up 0.1% for August as Fuel Oil, Food, Medical Care Cost More

The Consumer Price Index increased a seasonally adjusted 0.1% for August, according to a Labor Department report (link opens as PDF) released today. 

After cheap natural gas kept July's Index to 0.2% gains, analysts' expectations for August proved right on the money. 

Source: Labor Department. 

According to the report, the Index's edge up was largely a result of steady 0.1% gains in food prices (pushed higher by more expensive fruits, vegetables and meats), as well as a 1.2% jump in fuel oil and a 0.7% increase in medical care services. Utilities marked a third month of declines with a significant 2.3% dip. Excluding more volatile food and energy prices, the CPI still managed 0.1% gains. 

The shelter index increased 0.2%, the same increase it notched in June and July, with the rent index increasing 0.4% and the index for "owners' equivalent rent" rising 0.2%.

Today's report showed gas prices slipped 0.1% last month, the first drop since April. New-car prices were unchanged. Travel costs eased: Air fares plunged 3.1% , the third straight drop. Hotel prices fell 0.7%.

Over the last 12 months, the CPI has headed 1.5% higher, pushed up by a 3.2% increase in energy services. Overall energy prices have remained low, however, with energy commodities dipping 2.2% and gasoline specifically notching a 2.4% decline. Food prices are up 1.4% in the last year. 

Via: The Motley Fool

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Biden’s niece busted after roommate dispute

Vice President Joe Biden’s niece  was arrested Tuesday for allegedly swinging at a police officer in her TriBeCa apartment — and later transported to the hospital for what law enforcement sources described as “difficulty breathing.”

Caroline Biden, 26, was “screaming at the top of her lungs” and “beating on doors” after her roommate confronted her about unpaid rent at their Desbrosses Street apartment when police were called at 9:15 a.m. for a “threat,” sources said.

While cops were filling out a report, Biden’s niece started mouthing off to the officers and then threw a punch and lunged at a female officer, sources said.

Biden struck a male officer in the arm and chest who jumped in between them and “flailed her arms frantically” to resist being handcuffed, cops said.

She was charged with resisting arrest, obstruction of government administration and harassment.

At the 1st Precinct, she resisted going into a holding cell “by grabbing a police officer’s arm,” cops said.

“She was being irrational,” a witness said. “She went berserk.”

After complaining of “not feeling well” and difficulty breathing she was transported to Beth Israel hospital shortly before 4:30 pm.

“What isn’t she complaining about?” a cop at the precinct griped.

She was described as “highly uncooperative,” and was issued a desk appearance ticket. Biden must show up in court on the complaint Oct. 29.

Via: NYP

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IHS: Shale Oil Boom Could Go Global

The shale oil boom that has led to resurgence in U.S. production could be replicated internationally, according to a new study from research firm IHS Global Insight.

Oil is recovered from shale formations using a combination of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. The process has also allowed for a significant increase in gas production, particularly at the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania.

Domestic oil production recently hit its highest level since May 1989, driven by shale plays like North Dakota’s Bakken and Eagle Ford in Texas. Previous studies by IHS have shown North America has about 43 billion barrels of commercially recoverable oil.

The group’s latest report suggests global shale formations potentially hold seven times the amount of technically recoverable oil located in North America.

While it remains to be seen how much of the oil is commercially recoverable, the geological study from IHS identified 148 global shale plays that may have 300 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil.

Because well-level data does not exist outside of North America, IHS grouped international plays based on their geographical characteristics. It then compared each play to its closest equivalent in North America to get an estimate of its technical potential.

Via: Fox Business

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