Immigration Reform - Why Immigrate to the U.S.

We are a country of immigrants – we all came here legally or illegally for different reasons, to escape political and religious oppression, unfair taxation, to find wealth and prosperity, for personal safety, to buy land, to farm, to find a wife, a husband, to educate oneself, to escape tyranny, to escape the law, to escape hanging. Whatever the reason was, freedom and economic opportunity became the principal common denominators.

The Obama administration indicated that this term it will give amnesty to twelve million illegals/undocumented workers/paperless citizens. Is this move intended to help legitimize people who broke the law or are these people just voter-pawns in the chess game of power and control? If so, perhaps they should not be allowed to vote for the next six presidents.

Why do immigrants, legal or illegal, still want to come here? What do we have to offer that nobody else can offer them? Mexico has 4.7 percent unemployment, why cross the border into U.S. where unemployment is in the double digits?

We no longer have economic freedom; there is no longer an opportunity for the best and the brightest but for quotas, this minority group and that minority group. The many agencies of the federal government split us into so many groups that we are no longer just Americans. We are divided on purpose by the color of our skin, geographic origination, gender, age, religious preferences, ethnicity, and sexual preferences. There are euphemistic and politically correct categories invented by liberals just so nobody is offended.

The government has suffocated the productive layers of society, rewarding sloth and welfare dependency, while taxing the middle class to the max in the name of the “rich paying their fair share.” And the rich are laughing all the way to their offshore investments where their wealth is secure.

Congress has allowed so much outsourcing of American jobs, building other countries economically from the ground up, while neglecting our infrastructure and allowing it to crumble.

Our influence in the world as an economic superpower is dwindling – we are no longer a success story to emulate. Our military is shrinking and so is its mission – we are now a “force for good.” But domestically, we are arming to the teeth.

Large corporations do the government’s bidding and vice-versa, fair competition is slowly disappearing. With so much stimulus money, the “too big to fail” syndrome, the troubled asset relief program (TARP), three quantitative easings (soon to be ad infinitum), how can a small company compete?

The bloated bureaucracy in Washington has become glaringly expensive, taxing all Americans who earn an income excessively, while protecting the wealth of the elites, large banks, monopolies, and oligopolies.

Our elected representatives no longer serve the citizens who voted them in but protect the interests of those who put them in power with large donations – the corporatists.

We no longer own our land and the right to farm or build on it – the U.N. Agenda 21 has taken care of that bit by bit since 1992. We are now in the phase of Green and Sustainable everything, choked by EPA and Department of Energy regulations and generous taxpayer-funded grants.

Our productive sector, what is left of it, is controlled by unions who have so much money, are able to buy and influence elections, even taking to court corporations in states that have the right to work laws and getting rid of any honest politicians who stand in their way.

We no longer have a stellar education, it is mediocre at best. Indoctrination, including environmental brainwashing, is controlled by the government through the State Department of Education, interest groups, environmental groups, Muslim groups, progressive groups, and anti-American groups. Universities are fast becoming the playground and stage of overt American Marxism and liberal perversions packaged as “social equity” and “social justice.”  

We no longer have the best health care in the world either – it is replaced by Obamacare, a socialist experiment that has been tried all over Europe and failed miserably. We just did not get the memo and are thus becoming Europe – a path to mediocrity and inconsequence.

We are not being served and protected by the police anymore. We have so many agencies that have vilified and scared into compliance ordinary patriotic Americans that I have lost count. We now fear the police and our government just like immigrants feared the police in the totalitarian paradise they escaped from.

We are no longer innocent until proven guilty and the law does not protect the innocent. Judges practice judicial activism from the bench because the Constitution is just an outdated piece of paper written by foggy old men centuries ago.

Lincoln freed the slaves but our government enslaves the free with unpayable debt, robbing citizens yet unborn to pay for lavish spending now.

We no longer control what we eat or drink or how much. Portion control is already implemented in restaurants and cafeterias around the country. We are too fat, have no willpower and the government must intervene to do what is best for us and “ration” our food intake.

Obesity is being discussed at the Davos World Economic Forum – perhaps they will tax fat people as soon as they can devise a devious and complex plan to do it. Maybe they will charge higher health premiums.

Fewer places allow Americans to smoke. Obamacare will penalize smokers by charging them 50 percent higher premium rates. Taxing tobacco sales more has not persuaded many to stop smoking. Paradoxically, tobacco stocks fund health care for children and supply a good portion of pension funds with revenue.

We no longer control what our entertainment is – Hollywood does. We have to accept their moral values or lack thereof, their pompous hypocrisy, their socialist/Marxist movies that revise and twist history, and their constant know-it-all attacks on conservative values and derision of our Judeo-Christian faith.

Even churches are moving in the direction of accepting and embracing the minority liberal views in order to survive. Environmentalism and worship of Mother Earth (Gaia) to the detriment of humans is the religion of progressivism.

Abortion is becoming the norm, forced by Obamacare on Americans and groups that believe the killing of the unborn to be murder.

We no longer have a press; it is now the propaganda arm of the current administration. We have citizen journalists and talk radio for now.

A different point of view labels anyone automatically a terrorist and a racist, maligned ad nauseam by the MSM. Vitriolic talking heads repeat the same false narratives, revisionist history, made-up events and quotes, and replay doctored videos and spliced audios enough times until the low information Americans believe and swear that it is true.

We no longer control what we drive or what kind of fuel we buy. We no longer control what kind of electric meters, appliances, bulbs, commodes, and windows we install in our homes. We are told how much water we can use, where we can fish, camp, hunt, where we can and cannot build a house on the land we own, whether we can use our land, and if we are allowed by local zoning officials to sell the crops we grow.

Our parental rights are being challenged in many places – United Nations wants to take that decision away from us because Government Mom and Government Dad know best.

The right to live and die will be decided by a 15-member “death panel” as part of the unfortunately named Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). The upside is that few people with a conscience would want to be members of such a panel. On the downside, the government will find professionals.

U.S. is no longer about freedom, about the opportunity to be the best that you can be. And immigrants no longer come here for that. Instead, they come here because they believe that the source of wealth and prosperity IS the government. And we do have a very large government that is very generous with other people’s money.

No amount of pandering is going to sway illegal immigrants to vote a certain way. They will vote for bigger government every time. Case in point, Ronald Reagan gave 3 million illegal aliens blanket amnesty in 1986. Only a small percentage voted for Republicans because they are not the party of big government, Democrats are.

We have lost so much of what has made this country great that one ponders the obvious question, why bother to immigrate to the U.S. and leave everything you know behind? So much has eroded; it reminds me of a huge dam trickling drop by drop until suddenly it gives way and explodes into a massive torrent of water that destroys everything in its path, carrying mud, debris, and lives far away until its fury and power have dissipated; at this point, no one can recognize the land as it was.

The Killing of the Smart Meter Bill

I did something uncharacteristic of me and out of my comfort zone – I testified in the Virginia Senate in support of SB 797, The Smart Meter Bill, on January 28, 2013.  It was an interesting lesson in “government for the corporatists” that will stay with me for a long time. No longer do I trust that all of those we elect are going to do the right thing for the people who elected them.

When I arrived in the General Assembly Room B, the auditorium was packed with attorneys and lobbyists. I had to wait patiently two hours until the Senate adjourned its daily session; the Senators took a half hour break, and finally came to our hearing. It was an interesting two hours because I was able to see my government in action for which I voted and paid taxes

The Virginia Senate Commerce and Labor Committee held the hearing on SB 797 introduced by Senator Thomas A. Garrett. This bill would have prohibited any utility company from installing an advanced meter (Smart Meter) on private property or requiring the installation of one unless the customer requested it. If the utility had already installed a Smart Meter, they would have been required to replace it with an analog meter if the customer demanded it. If the customer refused the advanced meter (Smart Meter), the utility company would not have been allowed to charge a penalty or a higher rate.

It sounded too good to be true and it was. No sooner than the hearing started, we found out that the language of the bill had been changed at the last minute because it no longer agreed with the copies of the bill which the Senators had received in advance. We had copies as well and the language was no longer the same. The bill was now asking that people be given the right to opt-out or opt-in, whichever the committee decided.

Twenty private citizens lined up to testify in support of the bill. Each had been promised three minutes. Inexplicably, the Chairman of the committee ruled that only four could speak for a total of eight minutes! How would four people encapsulate the many issues with the smart meters in eight minutes? How could the other 16 who traveled from places far across the state to be there, be denied their right to be heard? One distraught lady started shouting at the chairman that she was losing her hearing because of the smart meter on her house. “I am the only one with a smart meter on my house. I want that meter off my property!” Showing no compassion, the chairman asked her to leave her prepared statement with the clerk.

As we testified, we were cross-examined by some Senators as if we were fabricating complaints like conspiracy theorists. A few smirks among the members were observed. One gentleman was asked if his very ill wife had a doctor’s written statement that her illness was caused by smart meters (she did).

I was asked by Senator Saslaw (Fairfax) if I was aware that having a cell phone from Sprint and putting it to my ear causes radiation exposure equal to smart meters. I immediately responded that I can make a choice whether I have a cell phone from Sprint or not or whether I put it to my ear. However, I do not have a choice in having a spying device such as the smart meter attached to my house by a monopolist supplier of electricity.

The utilities executives were allowed plenty of time, without interruptions or a time constraint. A larger utility company’s executive was asked if he knew of any instance where a smart meter caused a fire – the answer was no. PECO in Philadelphia had to halt smart meter installations because several fire officials found smart meters to have started home fires by exploding. The next question was if he knew of anyone who complained of health issues from smart meters – the answer was no. That is news to the many organizations who have conducted studies and tests on people who suffer debilitating illnesses from smart meters. (www.bioinitiative2012.org)

A second utility executive testified that they are saving money with smart meters, $2 million per year, by not having to send a meter reader to each home. Such savings are given back to consumers, he said, via lower rates. As a matter of fact, that is not true. There is a huge class action lawsuit in California in which citizens complain that rates have gone up by as much as ten times since the installation of smart meters.

None of the executives told the truth about the vulnerability of smart meters and the smart grid to solar flares and hackers. They concentrated on how much easier it would be to detect power outages. No mention was made of the fact that, cutting power and thermostat temps to homes during high demand via smart meters controlled from afar, enables utilities to save billions a year by not having to build extra capacity plants to store electricity in times of peak usage. One smaller utility company (from Danville) stated to the chairman that their customers will be allowed in their area to opt-out of smart meters.

No statement was made that the installation of smart meters is largely paid by consumers with taxpayer dollars and through higher rates. We have met last year with utilities regulators when utilities petitioned them to increase rates per kWh on a scale that would punish those who are careful with their consumption and reward those who are not.

The SB 797 bill to allow consumers to opt out of smart meters and not pay higher rates for their use of analog meters was passed by indefinitely in spite of all the evidence the sponsor, Senator Thomas A. Garrett, provided to the committee, and in spite of thousands of cases, lawsuits across the country, and official studies by reputable organization, such as the Bioinitiative 2012, Congressional Report Service, American Cancer Society, that smart meters cause negative health effects from radiation, house fires when the meters explode, serious cyber security issues, privacy issues in which information gathered through smart meters and obtained without a warrant is sold to third parties, higher electricity rates, and incorrect billing.

The nays recorded were: Senators Newman, Martin, and Obenshain.

The yeas recorded were: Watkins, Colgan, Saslaw, Norment, Stosch, Edwards, Wagner, Puckett, Herring, Stanley, and Alexander.

The mighty dollar rules; corporations are not interested in what happens to the little people and neither do politicians whom they support. The bill failed for now, but “we the people” are not giving up yet.

On a positive note, HB 1430, The Boneta Bill, the amendment to the Right to Farm Bill, passed with minor changes from subcommittee to full committee. It will be heard tomorrow. If it advances, it will be one victory against U.N. Agenda 21 and its local government proponents. Farmers will be allowed to sell whatever produce they grow without huge fines from supervisors who passed onerous regulations.

 

 

Virginians Fight Back Against Smart Meters

People across the country are rejecting the installation of the advanced metering system (Smart Meters). If you think that you are free to choose and keep your analog meters, think again.

Jennifer Stahl of Naperville, Illinois, found out recently that opposing the installation of a Smart Meter at her house landed her in jail. She could see utility company workers replacing her neighbor’s meter although clear signs posted said, “Private Property, No Trespassing, No Authorization to Install Smart Meter.” Obviously, the utility company did not have the owner’s permission to proceed.

Once workers arrived at Jennifer’s house, she locked the gate and refused them access. The police was promptly called to force her to comply, the lock was cut, the smart meter installed, and she was arrested for interfering with a police officer.  

The Chicago Tribune reported the incident. City Manager Doug Kreiger told reporters, “The city has always had and maintains the right to access our equipment, and today we were simply exercising that right.” What happened to the woman’s right to refuse the purchase and use of a particular good or service as is the case under capitalism? Do our rights disappear when a company has tyrannical monopoly power? (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/naperville/chi-naperville-smart-meter-arrest-20130123,0,6519967.story)

In spite of the work of the Naperville Smart Meter Awareness Group, Smart Meters had been installed in 57,000 homes, a 99 percent completion rate so far. The Group has filed a lawsuit against the city on concern over health, security, and privacy issues. Malia “Kim” Bendis was also arrested on charges of attempted eavesdropping and resisting a police officer. Both women are leaders of the Group fighting the installation of Smart Meters.

Smart meters have been at the center of controversy across the country for causing radiation exposure, health issues, fires from exploding meters, invasion of privacy without a warrant, increased electricity rates, decreased service, utilities cutting power during peak usage, selling of information to third parties without the owner’s consent, and hacking by thieves who could sell information and know when owners are not home. The Congressional Report Service has written two reports to Congress on Smart Meter cyber security and potential health hazards.

Many states have moved to file class action lawsuits and pass bills that would give customers the choice to opt-out and forbidding utilities to charge excessive fees for sending workers on site to read traditional meters each month. I wrote previous articles about the issues with Smart Meters. (http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/44757) and the potential health effects. (http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/41988)

Dr. Mercola’s health website, Mercola.com, has compiled a report on the Smart Meter debacle, including audio, video, and in-depth coverage of the serious issues with smart grid technology. (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/12/05/smart-utility-meters-aspx)

On Monday, January 28, 2013, the Virginia Senate Commerce and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on SB 797 introduced by Senator Thomas A. Garrett. This bill will prohibit any utility company from installing an advanced meter (Smart Meter) on private property or requiring the installation of one unless the customer requests it. If the utility already installed a Smart Meter, they would have to replace it with an analog meter if the customer demands it. If the customer refuses the advanced meter (Smart Meter), the utility company cannot charge a penalty or a higher rate.

According to Josh del Sol, Director of Take Back Your Power, a group in British Columbia had excellent success in helping 140,000-250,000 people to keep their analog meters and thus preserve their rights. (www.TakBackYourPower.net)

If Americans cannot control the type of gadgets and spying devices attached to our home, or what service providers do to us, just how much freedom do we really have left?

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Boneta Bill in Virginia to Protect the Right to Farm

Martha Boneta never dreamed that she would be at the center of a battle in Virginia that will have implications for every small farmer in America. I have met her last year and wrote two articles (http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/52188) about her battle with the board of supervisors in Fauquier County. I have featured Martha in my book, “U.N. Agenda 21: Environmental Piracy.” (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=un+agenda+21+environmental+piracy+kindle)

Delegate Scott Lingamfelter (R-Woodbridge) introduced HB 1430, the Boneta Bill, an amendment to the Right to Farm Act of July 1, 1981. HB 1430 will expand the definition of agricultural operations to include commerce of farm-to-business and farm-to-consumer sales, including art, literature, artifacts, furniture, food, beverage, and other items incidental to agricultural operations. Items which “constitute less than a majority amount of production or sales, or less than a majority of annual revenues from such sales, are defined as part of the agricultural operation.

“The bill gives persons engaged in agricultural operations a cause of action against the county or any official or employee of the county for violations of the Right to Farm Act.” Two provisions of HB 1430 are retroactive to the Right to Farm Act of 1981:

-          expansion of the definition of agricultural operation

-          any ordinance directed at persons, property, or activity on land that is zoned agricultural or silvicultural that seeks to restrict free speech or the right to assembly, among other rights, is null and void

The Boneta Bill will be heard on Monday, January 28, 2013 at 5 p.m. by the Virginia House Agricultural Committee at the Virginia State Capitol – “The Pitchfork Protest Comes to Richmond.” (http://fauquierfreecitizen.com/)

The original pitchfork protest took place in August 2012 in Warrenton in response to a Fauquier County supervisor threatening Martha Boneta, the owner of Liberty Farms in the village of Paris in northern Virginia, with $5,000 fines for selling produce and crafts and hosting unlicensed events such as a pumpkin carving and a birthday party for her best friend’s daughter and eight ten-year old girls.

Boneta was told that “she did not have the proper event permits for the party and other events, including wine tastings, craft workshops, and pumpkin carving.” Fines were also threatened for produce and products not grown or made on her 70-acre farm although she had a special “retail farm shop” license issued to her in 2011. Martha planned to sell handspun yarns, birdhouses, fresh vegetables, eggs, and herbs. But Fauquier County Board of Supervisors changed “farm sales” classification in 2011 to require a special permit for activities that were previously included under her license.

Martha paid $500 to appeal the unjust administrative charges and threats. The country zoning administrator told Martha at the hearing that she was “out of line” for appealing these charges.

Martha’s farm store that was opened just seven hours a week is now closed. She fears the “uncertain, unlawful, and unscrupulous actions of the county.”

When citizens fear their local governments, there is no freedom. The ruling attitude of the elected boards is that the “King can do no wrong.” When elected officials claim “sovereign immunity” and no longer serve the citizens’ interests but their own, there is tyranny and oppression.

According to Delegate Scott Lingamfelter, in November 2012, 74 percent of Virginians voted to amend the Constitution of Virginia in order to strengthen property rights. “Let’s make sure that Fauquier County officials and all government employees remember that they work for us. Virginians will not tolerate overreaching and overregulating by any layer of government.”

The Virginia Association of Counties opposes the Boneta Bill, developing talking points against HB 1430. Some of the counties support the mandates of U.N. Agenda 21 and prefer “penny-loafer farming,” preserving thousands of acres of green grass with a few riding horses, no real agriculture to spoil the well-manicured “wilderness.”

The Virginia Association of Counties’ talking points are: (http://www.rightsidenews.com/)

-          HB 1430 weakens the authority of counties to plan and regulate land use (this is false; the bill protects traditional, centuries-old forms of farming commerce and constitutional rights on farm lands)

-          HB 1430 creates a more permissive zoning scheme in agricultural areas that may lead to land use conflicts with neighboring properties (false; protecting rights does not obstruct agricultural zoning; counties are still free to prohibit trespasses by farmers on their neighbors’ rights of enjoyment)

-          HB 1430 threatens “sovereign immunity” of county officials; they won’t be able to perform their duties for fear of penalties (false; HB 1430 is only limited to violations of the Virginia Right to Farm Act; counties carry litigation insurance against frivolous lawsuits when their officials make mistakes in good faith; if officials are fearful of losing their “sovereign immunity,” they should ask Martha what their overreaching ordinance did to her family’s life and livelihood)

Counties and officials who support the Boneta Bill respect and follow the law and do not overreach in their duties as elected representatives of the people. The HB 1430 “will ensure that government at all levels respects the heritage and traditions of farming – and the rights of property owners to enjoy their land in the way that they see fit.” (Del. Scott Lingamfelter’s letter to constituents, January 8, 2013)

Unfortunately, there are those who developed and passed onerous regulations by “consensus,” without the knowledge or approval of a local majority. These are “visioning committee” officials who were hand-picked to promote and pass U.N. Agenda 21 goals without the people’s knowledge that the boards’ green growth, smart growth, sustainable, and save the planet plans were limiting the use and ownership of private property, and, in some cases, leading to confiscation of property and return to wilderness.

Sevil Kalayci wrote an impassionate letter to her representative. “Sunday morning the local news was talking about local farms in Maryland and how much [urbanites] enjoyed getting produce from their local farms. I guess they have no idea small farms will be disappearing because of the goals of U.N. Agenda 21. The ultimate goal is to completely eliminate all small farms around the country. A few huge companies like Monsanto will direct all the farms in the country. Eventually all backyard gardens will be illegal.”

Alice Butler Short was listening to John Kerry deliver a speech on the Hill and heard him make the analogy that “foreign policy is economic policy.” He said, “A fruit vendor in Tunisia who ignited the Arab Awakening wanted dignity and respect. He wanted to sell his fruit without corruption and abuse. That is what led him to self-immolate.”

Doesn’t Martha and millions of small farmers like her deserve the same right to sell the fruits of her agricultural labor without corruption and abuse in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave?

 

 

 

 

 

Silvio Canto Jr. Blog Talk Radio 1-25-13

My weekly radio chat with Silvio of Dallas on the U.S. Economy, current events, breaking news, and issues of interest that the MSM does not report. (50 minutes)
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cantotalk/2013/01/25/the-us-economy-in-review-with-dr-ileana-johnson-paugh

Butler on Business, WAFS 1190, January 23, 2013

My weekly nine  minute commentary on WAFS 1190, Atlanta's Premier Station. Topic: Smart Meters and radiation. I come on at the 30 minute mark.
http://www.cyberears.com/cybrss/17802.mp3

Adverse Health Effects from Electromagnetic Fields and Radio Frequency Radiation Real

Bioinitiative 2012 has just released its 2012 report on January 7, 2013, an update of the 2007 version. It includes approximately 1,800 new studies on biological effects and adverse health effects from electromagnetic fields such as power lines, electrical wiring, appliances, hand-held devices, and from wireless technologies such as cell and cordless phones, cell towers, Wi-Fi, wireless laptops, wireless routers, baby monitors, surveillance systems, and wireless utility meters (smart meters). (www.bioinitiative.org)

The report has been prepared by 29 authors from 10 countries; ten researchers have medical degrees (MDs), twenty-one have PhDs, three have MsC, MA or MPHs. RF color charts can be downloaded as well as 4 links with summaries of hundreds of studies done between 1990 and 2012 on the “free radical damage from both RFR (radio frequency radiation) and ELF (extremely low frequency) and a set specific to electro-sensitivity.” (www.bioinitiative.org/report/research-summaries/)

Lennart Hardell, MD from Orebro University, Sweden, said, “There is a consistent pattern of increased risk for glioma, a malignant brain tumor, and acoustic neuroma, with use of mobile and cordless phones.”  Acoustic neuroma is a slow growing benign tumor of the vestibular cochlear nerve that connects the ear to the brain. As it grows, it can damage other nerves. “Epidemiological evidence shows that radiofrequency should be classified as a human carcinogen.”

The topics explored, as evidenced by the abstracts, include damage to DNA and genes, changes in memory, learning, behavior, attention, sleep disruption, insomnia, heat sensitivity, cell damage, cancer, benign tumors, and neurological impairment and diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Human subjects as well as animals and birds were used.

At least a dozen studies connect cell phone radiation to sperm damage. The DNA of sperm may be harmed, misshapen, and fertility in men may be impaired even by a cell phone kept in a pocket or on a belt. Laptop computers and wireless Internet connection can also damage DNA in sperm.

“The existing FCC/IEE and ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection) public safety limits and reference levels are not adequate to protect public health. Based on strong evidence for vulnerable biology in autism, EMF/RFR (electromagnetic fields/radio frequency radiation) can plausibly increase autism risk and symptoms.”

Martha Herbert, MD, PhD, believes that in people with autism disorders, children, people who are planning to have a baby, during pregnancy, we should minimize wireless and EMF (electromagnetic field) exposures. Pregnant women who use laptops and cell phones are not aware that such wireless devices may alter the brain development of the fetus and may cause miscarriage. Children and adolescents may be adversely affected by wireless classrooms.

David O. Carpenter, MD, co-editor of the 2012 Report said, “There is now much more evidence of risks to health affecting billions of people world-wide. The status quo is not acceptable in light of evidence for harm.” New safety standards are urgently needed for protection against EMF and wireless exposures present everywhere in daily life.

Smart meters use radio signals to communicate via RFR (radio frequency radiation) and are similar to those in a cell phone. Smart meters (advanced metering systems) pulse information several times per minute to the utility company on the electricity demand and usage of someone’s home. Microwave ovens, radar, Wi-Fi devices also emit RFR.

I have read the findings of the abstracts in the four links of the Bioinitiative 2012 Report and chose some that I found particularly interesting.

Landgrebe M. et al concluded in a study in 2008 that “data indicate that tinnitus is associated with subjective electromagnetic hypersensitivity.” The study adds that “significant cognitive and neurobiological alterations point to a higher genuine individual vulnerability of electromagnetic hypersensitive patients.” (Landgrebe M. et al. Cognitive and neurobiological alterations in electromagnetic hypersensitive patients: results of a case-control study. Psychol. Med. 38 (12): 1781-1791, 2008)

EMF exposure alters melatonin, behavior, growth, and reproduction in males kestrels (falco sparverius). EMF exposure is a “possible human carcinogen and associated with some neurodegenerative diseases. Oxidative stress contributes to cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and immune disorders. (Fernie KJ, Bird DM. Evidence of oxidative stress in American kestrels exposed to electromagnetic fields. Environ. Res. 86 (2): 198-207, 2001)

Extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) affect DNA integrity in human cells. (Focke F, Schuermann D, Kuster N, Schaer P. DNA fragmentation in human fibroblasts under extremely low frequency field exposure. Mutat. Res. 683 (1-2): 74-83, 2010)

J. Frahm said that the “interaction of extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields (MF) of 50 Hz with cells can induce alterations in various cell physiological processes.”

Al Garip and Z. Akan reported that “It is by now accepted that extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields ELF-EMF (0-300 Hz) affect biological systems although the mechanism has not been elucidated yet.” (Garip Al, Akan Z. Effect of ELF-EMF on number of apoptotic cells; correlation with reactive oxygen species and HSP. Act Biol. Hung. 61 (2): 158-167, 2010)

Agawam A. et al found that “radiofrequency electromagnetic waves (RF-EMW) from cell phones may lead to stress in human semen. We speculate that keeping the cell phone in a trouser pocket in talk mode may negatively affect spermatozoa and impair male fertility.” (Agawam A, Desai NR, Maker K, Varghese A, Moored R, Sabanegh E, Sharma R. Effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic waves (RF-EMW) from cellular phones on human ejaculated semen: an in vitro study. Fertil. Steril. 92 (4): 1318-1325, 2009)

Atasoy’s findings raise questions about the safety of radiofrequency exposure from Wi-Fi Internet access devices for growing organisms of reproductive age, with a potential effect on both fertility and the integrity of sperm cells. (Atasoy HI, Gunal MY, Atasoy P, Elgun S, Bugdayci G. Immunohistopathologic demonstration of deleterious effects on growing rats testes of radiofrequency waves emitted from conventional Wi-Fi devices. J. Pediatr. Urol. March 30, 2012)

Martin and Goodman found that electromagnetic fields (EMF) in both extremely low frequency (ELF) and radio frequency (RF) ranges activate the cellular stress response, increasing levels of stress proteins. In the RF range DNA strands break down. To protect living cells, “EMF safety limits must be changed from the current thermal standard based on energy, to a standard based on biological responses that occur long before the threshold for thermal changes.” (Martin B, Goodman R. Electromagnetic fields stress living cells. Pathophysiology 16, 71-78, 2009)

For reasons of space, I constructed a short list of radiation effects without citations. They can be found under the four links of abstracts on the Bioinitiative 2012 website. (www.bioinitiative.org)

-         Most mobile phones emit 900 MHz of radiation that is mainly absorbed by the external organs.

-         Static magnetic fields (SMF) effect genetic mutation and necrosis.

-         Electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation has been found to induce arterial dilation.

-         It is generally accepted that electromagnetic fields (EMF) can exert biological effect but the mechanism by which EMF elicits responses are still unknown.

-         Childhood leukemia has been the only cancer consistently reported in epidemiological studies as associated with ELF MFs.

-         Increasing production of free radicals in organisms is one of the putative mechanisms by which an extremely low frequency magnetic field (ELF-MF) may affect biological systems.

-         There is a relation between the exposure of SMF to ELF-EMF and the oxidative stress through distressing redox balance leading to physiological disturbances.

-         “Epidemiological studies have suggested that extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (EMF-MF) are associated with an increased incidence of cancer. Studies using in vitro systems have reported mixed results for the effects of ELF-MF alone, and the World Health Organization (WHO) Research Agenda published in 2007 suggested that high priority research should include an evaluation of the co-carcinogenic effects of ELF-MF exposure using in vitro models.”

While Americans have the option to pick what appliances they surround themselves with, they do not have much choice when it comes to power lines and electrical wiring, cell towers, and smart meters (advanced metering systems).

All across the country utility companies are in a hurry to install smart meters and connect everyone to the smart grid. This move is supposed to save energy, reduce consumption, reduce the cost per kilowatt hour, and deliver energy more expediently to all customers, none of which is actually true. Supply is curtailed, costs have skyrocketed in some states, people’s homes are electronically searched without a warrant, their usage information and patterns of consumption are sold to third parties, while customers are suffering adverse health effects from radiation. The smart meters are expedient, of course, for the utility companies, their financial gain, and for the environmentalists who control our lives in the name of saving the planet. And the smart grid is a sitting duck to the next solar flare or cyber-attack.

 

 

Silvio Canto Blog Talk Radio 1-18-13

One hour radio chat on national Blog Talk Radio with Silvio Canto Jr. of Dallas:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cantotalk/2013/01/18/the-us-economy-in-review-with-dr-ileana-johnson-paugh
Topics today: the U.S. economy, Obamacare, this day in history, Auschwitz, Treblinka, Dachau, U.N. Agenda 21, default

Debt Ceiling Fear Mongering

Alan Blinder, former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, and co-author of a very popular Economics college textbook, believes that although the fiscal cliff was serious, the “debt ceiling is scarier.” Allowing the economy to go over the fiscal cliff would have resulted in a 4.5 percent contraction of GDP. The upcoming debt ceiling impasse could shrink GDP by more than 6 percent, force a 26 percent reduction in government spending, and a “swift descent into recession.” Blinder said that “At current rates of spending and taxation, federal receipts cover less than 74 percent of federal outlays.” (Wall Street Journal, The Debt Ceiling is Scarier than the Fiscal Cliff, January 14, 2013)

The federal government just increased taxes on Americans who earn an income. The touted rich, who “must pay their fair share,” were barely touched because these new taxes do not include wealth, just earned income. Texas, Louisiana, Florida have balanced their budgets without raising taxes, they just cut spending. Illinois and California, who increased taxes, are still following the federal government’s reckless spending formula.

Our President had promised to cut the budget deficit in half during his first term and then balance the budget – he did neither. On the contrary, he increased the national debt, the “mess” he keeps reminding us that he had inherited from his predecessor, from $6 trillion to over $16 trillion in four years.

Not raising the debt ceiling again would force the federal government to operate within the means of revenues, forcing cuts overnight and the choice which bills to pay and which to delay.

There is another option to the quandary of sequestration in two months when automatic cuts of 9 percent will be made in the military. We could do away with the debt ceiling altogether as the Secretary of Treasury Tim Geithner had suggested and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, echoed, “Get rid of the debt ceiling, it has no practical value.”

Not having the debt ceiling, which is periodically raised anyway, unless a Republican President wants to start a war, in which case, it is fine to vote against raising the debt ceiling, is like giving a credit card to a teenager without a credit limit.

What credit card company would raise the credit limit to someone who maxed out their card to the tune of $100,000 when they only earn $30,000 a year?

The debt limit or ceiling is not something new. “Congress created a statutory debt limit in the Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917.” What is new is the extraordinary level of government outlay in such a short period of time (4 years).  In the absence of a budget, the government has been operating on continuing resolutions. If the sequestration does kick in, the problem becomes compounded by the fact that the government has been spending money since October 2012, on the premise that the debt ceiling will be raised again in March 2013 and the sequestration will not be necessary.

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies…. Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here.’ Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.” (Sen. Obama’s Floor Speech, March 20, 2006)

Senator Obama was then urging Congress not to increase the debt ceiling to $9 trillion. The government statutory debt limit has now reached $16.394 trillion as of December 31, 2012.

The federal debt is debt held by the public, foreign and domestic, and by government agencies, also known as intragovernmental debt. The federal government borrows money because of budget deficits (spending more than its yearly revenues) and because of investments of federal government account surpluses in Treasury securities, as required by law.

The Treasury can employ “extraordinary measures” to avoid exceeding the debt limit such as a “debt issuance suspension period.”  The Treasury suspends investments in the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Trust Fund, Postal Service Retiree Health Benefit Fund, and the Government Securities Investment Fund of the Federal Thrift Savings Plan. Geithner established a debt issuance suspension period until February 28, 2013. (CRS, pp. 3-4)

Department of Treasury actions were taken previously in 1985, 1995-1996, 2002-2003, 2009, 2011, and 2012 in order to postpone reaching the debt limit. (CRS, pp. 4-6)

After the Budget Control Act of 2011 was passed on August 2, 2011, the debt limit enacted then was reached on December 31, 2012. Using “extraordinary measures” will buy additional time until February 28, 2013. (Congressional Report Service, “Reaching the Debt Limit: Background and Potential Effects on Government Operations,” Mindy R. Levit, Clinton T. Brass, Thomas J. Nicola, Dawn Nuschler, January 4, 2013)

The intragovernmental debt is debt issued primarily to trust funds such as Social Security, Medicare, and Unemployment Compensation. When a trust fund “invests” in U.S. Treasury securities, it lends money to the rest of the government. Treasury periodically pays interest on the special securities held in a government account. The revenues exchanged for these securities go into the General Fund of the Treasury and is then spent for any government outlay.

What if the debt limit is reached and not raised? Perhaps bills will be paid in the order in which they are received; bills to be paid will be prioritized; other bills would go into an unpaid and delayed bills category. Such decisions would be similar to those made by everyday Americans who have to live on a limited budget and within their means. Would prioritizing be a glaring example of U.S. government’s failure to meet its commitments? GAO said in 1985 that the “Treasury is free to liquidate obligations in any order it finds will best serve the interests of the United States.” But the Treasury thinks that all obligations have equal footing according to the law.

It is fear mongering to say that the U.S. cannot pay its bills if the debt ceiling is not raised again. “The Treasury has sufficient resources to liquidate all obligations arising from discretionary and mandatory (direct) spending, including interest payments on the debt.” (CRS, p. 10)

Delaying payments to vendors, contractors, beneficiaries, other governments, and employees could take place. Congress passed P.L. 104-121 to preclude the use of Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds for debt management, except for payments of benefits and administrative expenses of those programs.

CBO said in 1995, “Failing to raise the debt ceiling would not bring the government to a screeching halt the way that not passing appropriations bills would. Employees would not be sent home, and checks would continue to be issued. If the Treasury was low on cash, however, there could be delays in honoring checks and disruptions in the normal flow of government services.” (CRS, p. 11)

Sequestration may furlough government employees for up to 22 days. The military is exempt until October 1, 2013. The Joint Chiefs of Staff have sent a letter to Congressional leaders this week expressing their concern that not passing a 2013 defense budget and sequestration will create a hollow force.

A government default will affect the economy and the public welfare: salaries and wages of employees, social security benefits, civil service retirement, services and supplies in general. The full faith and credit of the U.S. will be downgraded further. It is unclear how the financial markets will be affected. Some economists are concerned about the out-of-control federal debt but warn of significant repercussions if the debt limit is not raised. “Suggesting that the United States might default on its debt is factually wrong and shameful behavior on the President’s part,” said Heritage’s J. D. Foster. The “threat of default,” as Obama called it, is a red herring.” The Treasury has “far more than enough funds to pay all interest as it comes due.”(Amy Payne, Heritage Insider, January 15, 2013)

Nouriel Roubini said that United States would not have to pay higher borrowing costs if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling. In the face of global fear, other nations usually dump the yen and the euro and buy dollars. If China avoids the dollar, the emerging markets would not want their currencies to appreciate and lose market share to China, therefore the best move would be to buy Treasury securities and the dollar. (Moneynews, Roubini: U.S. Still Safe Despite Debt Ceiling Fight, Michael King, January 15, 2013)

It would not hurt if banks, which are too big to fail and have become extremely political and not so pro-America in their business stance, would be split up into smaller entities.

It is not a good idea to raise the debt ceiling again without balancing the budget. Because the main stream media does not report unbiased news anymore, it is hard for most Americans to understand that they are being held hostage to a fear of economic Armageddon if politicians do not get their outrageous spending wishes, some of which are shamelessly included in the hurricane Sandy relief package.

 

 

Bureaucracy Gone Wild and Stupid

People have asked me over the years to what I attribute my interest and talent in foreign languages. It was hard to explain in a few short sentences that people are born with strengths and weaknesses in the eight types of intelligence that Harvard professor Howard Gardner had identified in 1983 in his book, “Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligencies.” Human beings are a lot more complex in their ability to learn than previously thought.

The European Union is now making it simpler for me to explain. The EU committee on linguistic problems has commissioned a study to quantify the number of translators authorized to interpret official documents from Romanian into Moldavian language. Moldova has strong ties to EU member Romania and Romanian passports (for EU citizenship) are often granted by Romania to Moldovan citizens.

The conclusion of the study was that 95.26 percent of Romanians understand spontaneously the official language of the Republic of Moldova, the Moldavian language. Shocking to the researchers was the fact that the new Indo-European language appeared in 1990.

Dumbfounded, the British researchers advanced the only plausible explanation that “Romanians have genetic intelligence and the rare talent to communicate in foreign languages.” To support this theory, the argument was brought up that 4.74 percent of the Romanian population does not show this spontaneous intelligence and is represented by national minorities like Hungarians and Germans who do not understand Romanian either.

The linguistic researchers had no clue that the Hungarian minorities do speak Romanian as well as Hungarian since the Romanian government had built schools and universities over the years in which children could study in Hungarian, German, or Romanian, or all of the above.

Only British linguists and bureaucracy gone wild could come up with such earth-shattering conclusions. I wonder how much money was spent on commissioning and executing the study.  I would have given them the answer for free.

Did anybody tell this illustrious body of EU researchers that the Republic of Moldova had been part of Romania for many years and that the majority of the population still speaks Romanian today?

The Republic of Moldova did become an independent country in 1990 with its official language, Moldavian; however, this language is a dialect of Romanian. There is still a province left in eastern Romania called Moldova. The rest of Moldova had been carved out and given to the Russians back and forth during the various world war conflicts. There are thousands of Svetlanas and Ivans in the Republic of Moldova who speak both Russian and Romanian.

Bureaucracy has indeed gone wild and stupid.

 

A January Day

The forest is wet and misty. A dense fog hangs on top of the river like a fluffy blanket. I hear twigs snapping in the distance. A couple of white tail deer are eyeing us with curiosity. In a few days the forest rangers are going to cull the herd. There is not enough acreage to support all the wildlife. My hubby is walking ahead leaning on his Gandalf stick, his silhouette disappearing in the mist. The drizzly rain shapes diamond droplets in my dark hair like a nature’s tiara.

My breathing is labored. I have not been out of the house in two weeks - the flu really sapped my energy. The hard to discern trail winds gently downhill all the way to the railroad bridge that crosses the river. The return will be much harder, going uphill. I watch my steps carefully - the twisted tree roots bulge out of the ground but are hidden underneath a thick cover of dead leaves.

The water level is low - rain has been very scarce this winter. We can see the sandy beach with fantastic shapes of driftwood, empty shells, and dried algae. In summertime I would not dare venture on the beach – there are too many snakes for comfort and the cotton mouth is everywhere. I step on the fine yellow sand and take my shoes off. It is soft and velvety but cold. The water looks like it’s covered by fine webs.

A tree's snarled roots are hanging half in the air and half solidly dug into the soil. The power of water has ravaged the shore and bit a large chunk of earth from the bank where the tree had grown. The roots are covered with barnacle-like fungi. Two trunk knots look like peering eyes. I expect Hobbits to jump out of the fog.

We cross three bridges overgrown with moss before my lungs tire - we must return. I hear the distant whistle of the freight train approaching the bridge. Underneath, a lone fisherman in a grey jacket blends with the background as he stands still holding the rod. He seems to disappear in the fog. I am not sure what he is fishing for - the river is infested with snake heads some weighing as much as 18 pounds. Who knows who dumped this invasive species into the Potomac River but he did a great disservice to the native wildlife and fish.

On the way back, the climbing trail is more difficult. A primitive bench carved from the trunk of a fallen tree offers a few minutes of rest. The silence is comforting. I hear in the distance the cry of an owl and the chatter of small birds. A few squirrels dart from trees to the ground in search of acorns.

 

The Progressive Global Sharing Economy

U.S. taxpayer, meet the newest liberal scheme to lighten your pocketbook of your hard-earned cash: the Global Sharing Economy. If you think this is not serious, consider the billions that you are already contributing to friends and foes across the globe in aid via United Nations and other myriad of nonprofits under the umbrella of our generous federal government.

This scheme is rather simple. You can tell how serious these progressives are by the length of their report, 170 pages. The London headquartered Share the World’s Resources (www.stwr.org)

is advocating for an international program of emergency relief to prevent poverty.  “We

We have already spent trillions of dollars in the war on poverty in the past fifty years and we are nowhere close to eradicating poverty, we have lost this war long time ago as populations have become accustomed to welfare and a lifestyle of welfare dependency and entitlements without any incentive for meaningful work and contribution to society.

“We also call for extensive reforms to the world economy to ensure a fairer sharing of wealth, power and resources within and between nations.”

Governments could raise over $2.8 trillion a year “to bolster the global sharing economy to prevent life-threatening deprivation, reverse austerity measures [in big spender countries like Europe] and mitigate the human impacts of climate change.”

This report published on December 6, 2012, is divided into three parts. Part one deals with “sharing economies” and “social welfare” via progressive taxation and redistribution of wealth.  Apparently social welfare systems are far from perfect and we must do more to achieve “social justice” and equitable distribution of wealth to developing nations.

I don’t know about you but I feel that Americans are quite generous and share a great deal of their wealth with the rest of the world while the world is highly unappreciative and demands more. In lock step with U.N. Agenda 21, the report recommends that we must “create a truly sustainable and equitable world.”

Part two deals with the “global emergency.” Lately, progressives have brought all their darling ideologies, schemes, and philosophies to the forefront by presenting them as a global emergency. When a real emergency happens, people might not be so quick to respond because liberals have cried wolf too many times.

“Humanity is in the grip of a global emergency.” We have so many “systemic” crises, they say, food, environment, climate change, extreme poverty, natural disasters. Apparently, the world has never before experienced the aforementioned.  The governments must act immediately by “progressive redistribution” of taxes on wealth, income, inheritance, corporate profits, and “even by setting minimum and maximum wage levels.” (pp. 27-28) 

I call this stealing my economic freedom and enslaving me to individuals I don’t even know, care to know, and whose lifestyles, religion, and ideologies I do not approve of,  nor am I willing to share my hard work with willingly. Call me selfish but I believe in personal responsibility.

Harping on climate change and ecological crises when the fake global warming scheme has been debunked is also strident and irritating when informed Americans know that huge fortunes are to be made by taxing carbon emissions and exchanging carbon credits in the developed world while the developing world is doubling up on their Co2 emissions.

Part three describes the ten policies that would finance this “global sharing economy” which in my opinion is a sorry excuse for stealing our wealth and property and enslaving us to another progressive wealth redistribution scheme.

First, the report emphasizes that “all unjust and unpayable developing country debt” should be cancelled. Who is going to decide which debt is unjust, what formula will be used, and what is unpayable debt?  Should the borrowers not have ascertained whether they could repay promissory notes before they signed the loan?

Share the World Resources (STWR) claims that over $4 trillion dollars is owed by “low and middle-income countries” and $1.4 billion is spent every day repaying debts, I presume in interest and principal. Action must be undertaken for “international debt justice.” (p. 145)

Secondly, import tariffs must be protected because lowering import tariffs reduces the government revenues significantly and poor countries have a hard time servicing their budgets without trade taxes. (p. 159)

Thirdly, support for agribusiness should end. Large agribusinesses with their government subsidies of $374 billion a year hurt small and family-run farms that are often put into bankruptcy by cheap prices with which they cannot compete. (p. 103)

According to the STWR report, the culprit of world hunger is industrial agriculture. Economies of scale should move back to “environmentally sustainable practices, alongside more localized production and consumption” just like U.N. Agenda 21 dictates. If I read this well, they want us to return to agriculture as it was practiced 100 or so years ago when local food and survival where at the mercy of the weather and crop diseases.

We tried localized agriculture for food in countries like Afghanistan however, as soon as the U.N. specialists left, the farmers returned to their main agricultural staple, poppies. It was cheaper to plant poppies and harvest opium, the buyer of the crop came to the farmer, and the return for their labor was significantly higher than any food grown.

Fourth, financial speculation should be taxed, specifically hedge funds and investment banks because they are the culprits who destabilized the world economy. I agree that hedge funds and investment banks have taken unnecessary risks and there are upwards of $800 trillion of unfunded liabilities deriving from the speculation of hedge funds and investment banks.

“Global sharing” proponents believe that a financial transaction tax can yield around $246 billion a year in the European Union and $650 billion globally. Such a tax is a bad idea in my opinion since it would fleece small mom and pop investors and steal money from pensions, income, and savings.

Fifth, fossil fuel and biofuel subsidies should end immediately, raising $531 billion a year by 2020. “The burning of fossil fuels is the largest contributor to global warming, and it would be impossible to keep carbon emissions to safe levels if governments continue to subsidize fossil fuel production and consumption.”

Renewables would have to take the place of coal and oil to fuel the world’s developed economies – the industrial world would have to plunge back to 1800s levels in order to satisfy the global warming alarmists’ demands to replace “dirty energy” with clean energy.

None of the renewable energy would exist without heavy subsidies. Many providers around the world went bankrupt even with generous government subsidies. Renewable energy would not be able to replace the needs of energy for such large economies like ours.

The sixth recommendation is to “divert military spending.” Instead of spending money on the military and the war machine, the world should strengthen the United Nations peacekeeping efforts as a way to reduce conflict. I feel safer already knowing that United Nations would be responsible for my wellbeing and safety.

According to STWR, the world has spent $1.7 trillion on military expenditures in 2011, 12 times more than global spending on aid. Progressives believe that we have misguided priorities. I personally believe strongly in the Roman motto, “Si vis pacem, para bellum,” if you want peace, prepare for war. (p. 67)

Who really believes that climate change, poverty, and inequality are a greater source of conflict than the military posturing of totalitarian regimes like Iran and North Korea? Apparently liberals do and are trying their hardest to convince the brainwashed low information Americans.

The seventh recommendation is to “stop tax avoidance.” It is the fault of the global “super-rich elite” who hold up to $32 trillion of untaxed private wealth in tax heavens. “Clamping down on tax heavens and preventing corporate trade mispricing could raise more than $349 billion globally each year. A fairer redistribution of wealth and income is fast becoming the mantra for those seeking economic justice.” The global tax is the solution because the progressive voices of international tax justice demand it. (pp. 79-80)

The eighth recommendation is increasing international aid. What we generously give is squandered and therefore we must give more. “Advanced economies are redistributing so little of their national incomes.”  The aid is conditional, it is not enough, it is tied to preferential treatment, it is phantom because of high administrative costs, it is politically motivated, it has declined in food, and some countries have become dependent on aid. (p. 94)

The ninth recommendation is to redistribute IMF resources. IMF has the third largest holdings of gold reserves in the world and should sell it at market rates in order to help poor countries. Sharing the IMF assets is seen as a restoration and compensation for the IMF’s financial mismanagement over time. IMF should “leverage its significant financial resources for climate finance and poverty eradication in developing countries.” (p. 117)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) which was established at Bretton Woods in 1944 had a different mission – it provided loans to member countries when they ran into serious financial difficulties. IMF insisted then that borrowers adopted contractionary fiscal and monetary policies.

IMF’s current mission is to “foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.”

The tenth recommendation of STWR is to tax carbon emissions in order to ”raise significant funding for international climate finance.” Although they acknowledge that there is no way to account for the environmental cost of emissions in the shipping and aviation industries, a universal tax on international transportation should be levied, including air travel, in addition to the carbon tax. The STWR report calculates that $108 billion in taxes could be raised from a national carbon tax, maritime and aviation taxes, and taxes on tickets for international flights. (p. 131)

It is clear that Share the World Resources is another glaring example of progressives forcing the world’s productive citizens to finance through confiscatory schemes a forced march towards communism across the globe in the name of social justice, social equity, and environmental justice.