Is it possible that we may know less about the climate and temperature change than previously thought? Maybe so, says a new study published online today in the journal Nature Geoscience. The report found that only about half of the warming that occurred during a natural climate change 55 million years ago can be explained by excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. What caused the remainder of the warming is a mystery. “In a nutshell, theoretical models cannot explain what we observe in the geological record,” says oceanographer Gerald Dickens, …
Much of the controversy in President Obama and congressional Democrats’ health care overhaul thus far has focused on the public option and concerns with the budget-busting price tag. But as negotiations in Congress on hundreds of pages of complex legislative text continue to move at break-neck pace, all leading up to floor consideration scheduled in the next few weeks, the issue of taxpayer funding for abortion is threatening to take center stage. Just before Congress broke for the 4th of July recess, nineteen Democrat members of the House sent a …
The recent letter to Congressman Rangel from the AMA in appreciation and support for H.R. 3200, the “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009” is disconcerting and fails to accurately represent the concerns of many of America’s physicians, myself included. The AMA has failed to clearly discuss the significant trade-offs that private practice physicians and their patients will face if this legislation is rushed through congress. First of all, if the legislation is passed along with the option of a public plan that competes with private plans, physicians will bear …
Republicans in Congress are making yet another major attempt to reform the health care system, going in a very different direction from the expensive health reform bills proposed by Democrats. Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) is set to introduce his Improving Health Care for All Americans Act, which seeks to control costs while promoting greater health insurance portability and choice. The bill offers three main provisions: offer tax relief for those who don’t have employer-sponsored insurance or don’t like their current work place coverage, establish new pooling arrangements for individuals, and facilitate …
Yesterday, the UK National Defence Association released the latest in a series of reports on Britain’s armed forces. Titled “A Compelling Necessity,” it makes the case for an increase in British defense spending, in spite of the economic downturn, in order to restore and preserve Britain’s defenses. Of particular importance is the statement by economist Irwin Stelzer, who correctly notes in the report’s foreword that, while the U.S. and Britain face the same threats – international terrorism and a nuclear-armed North Korea and Iran, among others – Britain needs to …
On February 2, 2009, Iran successfully launched a satellite into orbit using a rocket with technology similar to that used in a long-range ballistic missile. It also test-fired a 1200-mile solid-fueled ballistic missile in May. Today, July 15th, Germany’s foreign intelligence service, BND, announced that Iran will be able to produce and test a nuclear weapon within six months. BND also stated that it has “no doubt” that Iran’s missile program is aimed solely at the production of nuclear warheads. While many of us may have put the Iranian missile …
President Obama’s foreign policy thus far has been marked by an emphasis on public diplomacy. As a result, successfully engaging foreign publics has become a top priority of his administration. The President himself has taken an active role in this effort, delivering several high-profile speeches to audiences around the world. His July 7th oration in Moscow, which focused on the importance of media freedom and human rights, was one such occasion. But Obama’s message failed to reach his intended audience- the Russian public. On Russian television, which is tightly controlled …
President Obama’s health care takeover will not just force most Americans into a government-run insurance plan, it will also give us European-style tax rates. Actually, we will be taxed at higher rates than most Europeans. Yes, that’s right. No need to do a double take. In order to pay for the White House’s dreams, Americans will be taxed at a higher top marginal rate than most Europeans, including the French, the Germans, and the Spanish. The White House and the President’s supporters in Congress will soon swing into gear with …
The massive 1,018-page health care bill introduced by House Democrats is full of bad policy ideas, and they’re not all even about health care. One troublesome provision calls for a home visitation program that would bring state workers into the homes of young families to improve “the well-being, health, and development of children.” Lawmakers have essentially inserted the “Education Begins at Home Act” – which was introduced in 2008 and again this year by Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) and Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) – into the health care bill under …
The Obama Administration promised unprecedented transparency in its financial recovery efforts, including a gee-whiz $18 million web site, Recovery.gov. The problem is that the Administration seems addicted to secret back-channel orders to the private sector to obey, “or else”. Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal reports on a secret “memorandum of understanding” that apparently orders Bank of America to replace a majority of its board of directors (after already replacing former Chairman Ken Lewis). And the Financial Times reports that Citigroup is near a “secret deal” with the FDIC to restructure its …
