Will EPA Hold Itself to a ‘Higher Standard’ Over Gold King Mine Spill?

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

After causing three million gallons of toxic waste to spill into a Colorado river, we’re still waiting for EPA to hold itself to a “higher standard.”

In August 2015, EPA workers caused mine waste to burst from Colorado’s Gold King Mine into the Animus River, turning it a sickly yellow and polluting water supplies in three states.

After EPA’s Office of Inspector General sent the Justice Department what it thought was evidence of criminal wrongdoing, federal prosecutors chose not to prosecute, leaving any possible punishments against government employees to EPA, the Denver Post reports:

The U.S. Attorney in Denver will not prosecute an Environmental Protection Agency employee involved in the Gold King Mine disaster, leaving it to the agency to determine administrative action against the employee.

A decision made Oct. 6 was based on information submitted by the EPA’s Office of Inspector General to federal prosecutors after a year-long internal probe.

Instead of a criminal prosecution, the EPA’s internal investigators “will submit a report of an investigation to the agency that details the findings of our investigation,” OIG spokesman Jeff Lagda said in response to queries.

“The agency, not the OIG, will then determine what administrative action they may take against the employee based on that report,” Lagda said. “The EPA will have to report to the OIG what administrative action the EPA will undertake.”

Soon after the spill last year, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy vowed, “We are holding ourselves to a higher standard than we would hold other responsible parties.” But earlier this year, McCarthy talked down the damage done by her agency. State officials were not pleased.

There have been plenty of investigations. None made EPA look good.

An EPA internal investigation found that the spill was “likely inevitable” because workers onsite didn’t take water pressure readings from inside the abandoned mine.

Why? Because EPA felt it “would have been quite costly and require much more planning and multiple field seasons to accomplish.”

Internal EPA investigators also noted that the agency didn’t plan for the possibility of a spill that could threaten a river popular with tourists and a necessity for farmers and local residents.

The Interior Department’s investigation was just as tough. It chastised EPA for having “little appreciation for the engineering complexity” and for having “a general absence of knowledge of the risks associated with these [abandoned mining] facilities.”

Then there was the OIG investigation that referred its findings to federal prosecutors. The Hill reports, “OIG found that the unnamed employee may have broken federal water pollution law and may have made false statements to law enforcement officials regarding the Gold King Mine spill.”

What if a private party and not EPA were responsible? EPA would throw the book at them, as they do all the time:

  • Earlier this year, America’s oldest brewery, Yuengling, agreed to a $2.8 million settlement and $7 million in improvement costs over Clean Water Act violations.
  • To protect his land from being washed away from future flooding, an Oregon farmer faces $100 million in fines for building a retaining wall near a river without an EPA permit after consulting with the Army Corps of Engineers.

And anyone lying to the agency would be in serious trouble.

It should be noted that EPA has paid out more than $5 million to state and local governments to reimburse them for emergency response expenses. But is that the “higher standard” Administrator McCarthy promised?

Anyone public or private should be held accountable for violating federal rules and environmental damage they cause.

EPA “will not hesitate” to vigorously hold private parties accountable for breaking environmental laws, but will it do the same to itself? It’s been over a year since the spill, and we’re still waiting.

This is something to think about if EPA’s Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule survives its court challenge (hopefully not), and the agency is allowed to enlarge its authority over land use by claiming jurisdiction over waters, including ditches, canals, ponds, and wetlands, as far as 4,000 feet from a navigable water.

MORE ARTICLES ON: ENVIRONMENT, REGULATORY REFORM

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image of the Animas River. Photo credit: Riverhugger. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

FACT: Socialism Kills More Babies than War by Chelsea Follett

Recent reports that infants now die at a higher rate in Venezuela than in war-torn Syria were, sadly, unsurprising – the results of socialist economics are predictable. Venezuela’s infant mortality rate has actually been above Syria’s since 2008.

The big picture, fortunately, is happier. The global infant mortality rate has plummeted. Even Syria and Venezuela, despite the impact of war and failed policies, saw improvements up to as recently as last year. From 1960 to 2015, Syria’s infant mortality rate fell by 91% and Venezuela’s by 78%. This year (not reflected in the graph above or below), Syria’s rate rose from 11.1 per 1,000 live births to 15.4, while Venezuela’s shot up from 12.9 to 18.6. Meanwhile, infant mortality rates have continued to fall practically everywhere else, and have declined even faster in countries that enjoy more freedom and stability. Consider Chile.

Chile’s infant mortality rate in 1960 was actually above that of both Venezuela and Syria. It managed to outperform Syria by the mid-1960s, but was still woefully behind its richer northern cousin, Venezuela.  In the early 1970s, Chile’s progress slowed to a crawl as its elite flirted with socialist policies. Once its government abandoned socialism and began economic reforms in the mid-1970s, the pace of progress sped up again, and soon Chile’s infants were safer than Venezuela’s. Today, Chile’s infant mortality rate is similar to that of the United States.

There is a lesson to be learned from these data points: economic policy matters. While Venezuela’s socialism has managed to kill more infants than a full-blown war in Syria, Chile’s incredible success story shows us that by implementing the right policies, humanity can make rapid progress and better protect the youngest, most vulnerable members of society. Today it is hard to believe that infants in Chile were once more likely to die within a year than their contemporaries in Venezuela and Syria.

What about your country? For every 1,000 infants born, how many die and how many live to see their first birthday? Explore the data for yourself, and consider using HumanProgress.org’s new tool, Your Life in Numbers, to see your country’s progress in infant survival and other areas since you were born.

This first appeared at Cato at Liberty.

Chelsea Follett

Chelsea Follett

Chelsea Follet works at the Cato Institute as a Researcher and Managing Editor of HumanProgress.org.

Obama administration fears Trump win, approves 100 Muslim refugees for NW Arkansas

The Obama Administration is moving fast to get as many new refugee sites open as possible before January in case Donald Trump is elected.

Arkansas, like West Virginia and Montana, has received very few refugees over the years, but all that will change with the Dept. of State’s (DOS) approval of a new resettlement agency that will ‘welcome’ 100 refugees beginning next month.

All of the new sites*** are needed because Obama has ‘determined’ that the US will admit a huge increase (to 110,000) in the number of refugees admitted to your towns and cities in FY2017.

The Obama DOS is on a crash program now to get as many placed in your towns as they can by Inauguration Day in January (in case Trump is elected) and place as many in the pipeline as they can making it more difficult for a new administration to put the breaks on.

There is only one entity that could slow the flow and they can do it next month and that is Congress (if there is a will)!  Congress (not Obama!) has the ultimate power to DEFUND the large increase in the number of refugees coming in. These contractors, like this new one in Northwest Arkansas have virtually zero money of their own!

The story, here, and below demonstrates how impotent Arkansas’s governor is to do anything to stop the migration to the state.

From KATV Little Rock:

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS (TALK BUSINESS & POLITICS) — The questions surrounding refugees from the Middle East and other parts of the world will soon come to Arkansas as Canopy Northwest Arkansas works to bring 100 or more refugees from around the world to the region.

emily-linn

Emily Linn

[….]

In response to news publicity about the global refugee crisis, concerned residents in Northwest Arkansas (NWA) began meeting in January and formed Canopy Northwest Arkansas, a 501(c)3 non-profit with the mission of settling refugees in NWA.

“We consulted with refugee agencies operating nationally and we learned that there’s a need for new communities to open up to refugees. So we started looking into what it might look like for refugees to come to NWA and what we found is that our community has an incredible capacity to welcome refugees and help them really thrive here,” said Emily Linn, director of Canopy Northwest Arkansas.

Linn cited the growing economy in NWA as a reason refugees would do well.

Here comes the poultry industry! Surely, the Chamber of Commerce is not far behind. (I always wonder if they tell the incoming refugees that they are going to a meat or poultry plant town).

“We have great jobs for folks who don’t even speak English, for example, in the manufacturing or poultry processing industry or agriculture. We also have great jobs and we have a need for people to come and work in very high skilled jobs,” she said. “For instance, we have a brand new hospital opening up in Springdale, Arkansas Children’s and the Washington Regional Hospital is growing and expanding, and there’s a need for very highly educated individuals as well, and so we have this wide variety of employment options.”

I keep seeing this nonsense about skilled labor in the refugee flow. It is bogus. If there are doctors and engineers etc. in the flow they must become re certified in the U.S. which is a long and expensive process. The closest any refugee doctor will get to a hospital is scrubbing the floors at night.

Canopy is a subcontractor of LIRS (see my previous post this morning, here).

Canopy Northwest Arkansas partners with the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), one of nine national resettlement agencies that contract with the State Department to run the refugee resettlement program. LIRS is the agency that will assign refugees to Canopy after the refugees go through an extensive screening process, sometimes lasting more than two years.

Continue reading here.  I see no evidence, at least in this story, that there is any pocket of resistance in Northwest Arkansas.

***Here are some of the new sites we have learned about in recent weeks being set up to accommodate, among other ethnic groups, a large number of Syrian Sunni Muslims.  We heard that there are 47 of these new target sites:

Asheville, NC
Rutland, VT
Reno, NV
Ithaca, NY
Missoula, MT
Aberdeen, SD
Charleston, WV
Fayetteville, AR
Blacksburg, VA
Pittsfield, MA
Northhampton, MA
Flint, MI
Bloomington, IN
Traverse City, MI
Watertown, NY (maybe)

I just created a new ‘tag’ and I should have done it a long time ago, will try to keep it up going forward—New resettlement sites.  For new readers, here is the old list of sites Apparently the feds are not updating the list because they likely don’t want you to know where all of the new offices are located. Secrecy is the watchword of refugee resettlement in America!

RELATED ARTICLES:

Mormon church is getting on the refugee resettlement bandwagon

World’s most vulnerable: are we responsible for them all?

DOS Syrian resettlement pace would bring total in 2017 to over 20,000

Hijrah! A documentary to be released in December

350 refugees a day entering US (less than three weeks in to the fiscal year); Texas is numero uno!

Growing Opposition to Florida’s ‘Legalize Pot’ Amendment 2

Florida’s leaders continue to come out daily in opposition to Amendment 2.

Most recently, Attorney General Pam Bondi made it clear that her position has not changed:

In addition, both the Florida Sheriffs Association and the Florida Police Chiefs Association have shared their positions on Amendment 2:

The Florida Police Chiefs Association stated:

You can read the Florida Police Chiefs Association’s full Press Release and theFlorida Sheriffs Association’s full Resolution here and here.

They are joined by the President of the California State Sheriff’s Associationwho has urged Florida voters not to make the same mistake that Californians did:

Election 2016: The Threat of Immigration Anarchy Hangs in the Balance

Election Day is rapidly approaching. In considering what is at stake, it is important to understand that, as I recently noted, “The Three Most Important Issues For 2016: Immigration, Immigration, Immigration.”

Most polls skew how the concerns of the majority of Americans are reported by the media. Most Americans are most concerned about the threats posed by terrorists and criminals.  All too many Americans fear losing their jobs and are concerned about the opportunities that their children will have in these United States. Generally, when polls and surveys are conducted, participants cannot pick more than one item that they consider to be the most important issue. When those polled need to decide what is their biggest worry, they tend to ignore the fact that failures of the immigration system profoundly undermine national security and have a huge impact on nearly every other issue of great concern.

In the Orwellian world of politics and journalism, cities that violate our immigration laws by shielding illegal aliens from detection are referred to as “sanctuary cities.” I addressed the threat that such jurisdictions create in my article, “Terrorism, Enclaves and Sanctuary Cities: How sanctuary cities facilitate the growth of terror enclaves in America.”

In point of fact, on October 3, 2016 the New York Times ran an article with the breathless title, “Millions at Risk of Deportation as Justices Refuse to Rehear Case.”

The “millions at risk” are aliens who either entered the United States without inspection. In the parlance of immigration enforcement personnel, such aliens are referred to as Entrants Without Inspection (EWI).  They were not vetted and their presence in the United States is a violation of our laws that are supposed to prevent the entry of aliens who pose a threat to the safety and/or well-being of Americans.

Such “at risk” aliens also include those who, subsequent to being admitted into the United States, went on to violate the terms of their admission by remaining in the United States beyond their authorized period of admission if they were admitted as non-immigrant (temporary) visitors.  Foreign students who fail to attend school or fail to maintain proper grades are subject to removal.  Aliens who take jobs for which they lack authority are subject to removal, as are aliens who are admitted under the provisions of temporary work visas and fail to report for those jobs or leave those authorized jobs, but remain in the United States without permission.

Finally, aliens who commit a variety of serious crimes may be subject to removal even if they were admitted as lawful immigrants.

Would the New York Times run a report about efforts to get more drunk drivers off the road by saying that stepped-up police efforts to identify and arrest drunk drivers put those drunk drivers “at risk” of arrest? It is more likely they would accurately report that such enforcement programs were aimed at making our roads safer.

Aliens who work illegally, it must be noted, are likely displacing American and/or lawful immigrant workers. In this faltering economy where so many Americans are unemployed and under-employed, a job is a valuable commodity.  Somehow the nonsense spewed by the media makes it appear that there is nothing wrong with aliens who are present in the United States provided that they are working, even if they have stolen the jobs of hard-working Americans.

Additionally, every year hundreds of billions of dollars are wired or otherwise sent from the United States to the home countries of aliens working legally and illegally in the United States, hobbling our economy and driving up our national debt.

Our immigration laws are not about bias, but about protection — protection for America and Americans.

Claiming that Obama sought to “protect” illegal aliens through his executive orders and misuse of “prosecutorial discretion” is as Orwellian as it gets.  The same could be said of “sanctuary cities.”

If our government ought to be protecting anyone, it should be the citizens of the United States. Our government should be seeking to protect victims of crimes committed by aliens who have no right to be present in the United States and American workers who are displaced by foreign workers.

It is essential to note that often the victims of criminal aliens are members of the ethnic immigrant communities in which these criminal aliens live.

When illegal aliens evade the inspections process, there is no record of their entry.  We don’t even know that they are here. This is a matter of national security.

Nevertheless, Hillary Clinton would, if elected president, fill the current vacancy at the Supreme Court presumably with an appointee who would be predisposed to support her proposed massive amnesty program.

There would be no way to interview those millions of illegal aliens or conduct field investigations to verify their identities, entry data and other pertinent facts.

There would be no way to even know if they are actually citizens of the countries they will have claimed to be citizens of. There will be no way to verify their true identities or when they actually entered the United States.  All that the beleaguered adjudications officers of USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) would have to go by are the responses that these aliens provided in their applications.

It would be relative child’s play to defraud this system. It was noted by the 9/11 Commission that immigration fraud and visa fraud were the key methods by which terrorists enter the United States and embed themselves.

Having raised the issue of fraud, the Daily Caller ran an article on October 3, 2016 showing that the lack of integrity of the immigration system apparently mirrors the lack of integrity demonstrated repeatedly by Ms. Clinton.  The title of that article was, “EXCLUSIVE: DHS Refuses To Investigate Top Official Who Fast-Tracked Visas For Hillary’s Brother.”

This hard-hitting news report began with this excerpt:

Both the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Government Ethics have refused to fully pursue an ethics investigation against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s brother, Tony Rodham, and now-Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, despite findings that DHS official Alejandro Mayorkas gave preferential visa treatment to a company founded by Rodham.

This is likely a breach of federal law.

The DHS’s inspector general determined in 2015 that Deputy Secretary Mayorkas, who at the time served as director of Citizenship and Immigration Services, had improperly involved himself in fast-tracking visa applications under the E-5 investor visa program for Rodham and McAullife’s company GreenTech Automotive, which McAullife was involved in four years before he became the governor of Virginia in 2013.

Federal regulations state that the director of the Office of Governmental Ethics (OGE) “may recommend” that the head of an agency launch an investigation if the OGE director “has reason to believe” a violation has taken place. These regulations also empower the agency to take “appropriate disciplinary or correction action.”

The article concluded this way:

In other words, neither agency filed reports on Mayorkas’ major ethics violations.

Rodham launched GreenTech Automotive in 2010. The company has in large part been financed by EB-5 investors, in addition to receiving millions in support from Mississippi and the U.S. government. The EB-5 funding came through Gulf Coast Management LLC, which Rodham operated. When Hillary Clinton served as secretary of state, Rodham traveled through China funneling investment through Gulf Coast via the EB-5 program into GreenTech.

Still, the company has not sold a single electric car and has only manufactured 25 vehicles, even though it projected the production of 30,000 cars every year since 2014 and after. The type of car GreenTech has produced, called MyCar, can’t go any faster than 25 miles an hour because of regulations.

GreenTech is also currently being investigated by the Securities and Exchange for securities fraud, the details of which are unknown.

Neither the DHS, nor OGE responded to a request for comment from The Daily Caller News Foundation.

For all too many of our corrupt politicians, the lack of integrity to the immigration system is a cash cow.

For terrorists, it is something quite different.

As noted in a Washington Post article written by Bob Woodward, “In Hijacker’s Bags, a Call to Planning, Prayer and Death,” for terrorists, the failures of the immigration system open the doors to terrorists. Take, for instance, these chilling words found in the notebook of Mohamed Atta, the ringleader of the terror attacks of 9/11, quoted in Woodward’s article:

“Oh, God, open all doors for me. Oh God who answers prayers and answers those who ask you, I am asking you for your help. I am asking you for forgiveness. I am asking you to lighten my way. I am asking you to lift the burden I feel.

“Oh God, you who open all doors, please open all doors for me, open all venues for me, open all avenues for me.”

Metaphorically, America’s doors are found at our nation’s 325 ports of entry.  Most of those terrorists were admitted into the United States through those “front doors” and thousands of innocent people were slaughtered.

Those “doors” were also open to the other terrorists who subsequently went on bloody, murderous rampages at Boston, San Bernardino and elsewhere.

Our borders and our immigration laws are our first line of defense and our last line of defense.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in FrontPage Magazine.

VIDEO: Paris 2016 ‘Scenes from the Apocalypse’ — The Muslim Migrant Infestation

Culture shock – if you are planning a trip to France, you will have low airfares and hotel costs because quite simply, you will be traveling to a dying nation.  The flood of Muslims into France already has damaged the country almost to a point of no return.

The below video and accompanying photos will show you just one section of the city – the Avenue de Flandres near the Stalingrad Metro Station, a slice of the city that has already experienced the devastation of uncontrolled mass migration of Muslims who share nothing in common with the country in which they have invaded; excuse me, migrated.  The photos are surreal.

Wake-up America because the same plan is unfolding here in our country.  The crime, severe assaults bordering on major and massive civil unrest, the degradation as already experienced across Europe are planned for America.

migrants-paris-3-e1458373835488

Muslim migrants on the Avenue de Flandres, 19th Arrondissement

The Paris you know or remember from adverts or brochures no longer exists. While no part of Paris looks like the romantic Cliches in Hollywood movies, some districts do resemble post-apocalyptic scenes of a dystopian thriller.

This footage, taken with a hidden camera by an anonymous Frenchman in the Avenue de Flandres, 19th Arrondissement, near the Stalingrad Metro Station in Paris as well as areas in close proximity, shows the devastating effects of uncontrolled illegal mass immigration of young African males into Europe. I compiled the clips and used some fitting music.

If it weren’t for the somewhat working infrastructure, the scene might as well have been the setting of movie shooting – or a slum in Mogadishu. The streets are littered in garbage, the sidewalks are blocked with trash, junk and mattresses, thousands of African men claim the streets as their own – they sleep and live in tents like homeless people.

20160916001283460265-original_800x600If no portable toilets are in reach, open urination and defecation are commonplace. Tens of thousands of homeless Illegal immigrants, undocumented or waiting for a decision of their asylum application, waste away trying to pass the time in the city. Although their prospects of being granted asylum as Africans are bleak, they’re hoping for a decision that would grant them an apartment, welfare and make France their new home.

The conditions are absolutely devastating. The police have given up trying to control these areas, the remaining French people avoid the areas at all cost, crime and rape is rampant, just recently mass brawls and riots made the news as fights broke out near the Stalingrad metro station.

If current trends continue and the French become minority in their own capital in even more areas, scenes like this might spread to areas frequented by tourists, forever changing the last romantic parts of Paris that match what most people have in mind when they think of the iconic city.

FACT: Democrats have ‘Zero’ Moral Authority

Sure, everybody has the First Amendment right to say anything they want because the First Amendment does not require statements to be logical, rationale or even morally accurate. If it did, every Democrat is a felon, at least according to the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America.
If that statement is too much for you to swallow, how about being a felon according to Natural Law?

Donald Trump, as ethically flawed as he may be, does NOT hold an existential and moral position that violates science, culture, common sense and Natural Law. Therefore, until such time Democrats repudiate a fundamental plank of their political platform they may wax eloquently about the “sins” of Trump, but they do it to their own ethical demise, abandoning all moral authority to be taken seriously, as least by clear-thinking people.

Now, I will make my bulletproof case.

FACT: The science is absolute as evidenced by a simple sonogram; that which is in a woman’s womb is a living, growing human being. You can argue this FACT, but to do so makes you an ass or even worse, a LIAR.

FACT: Abortion KILLS this living, growing human being, half of who are female. You can argue this FACT, but to do so makes you an ass or even worse, a LIAR.

FACT: Though the “law” allows abortion the “law” does not magically change the absolute FACT that abortion KILLS this living, growing human being, half of who are female. You can argue this FACT, but to do so makes you an ass or even worse, a LIAR.

FACT: Historically, the killing of living, growing humans was the MOST grievous of moral and unlawful actions, I think even worse than making vulgar sexual comments about women.

FACT: The 2016 Democrat Political Platform, the core of Democrat political and moral philosophy elevates the killing of living, growing humans, half of who are female, to the level of personal freedom to be celebrated and honored.

QUESTION: How can any Democrat, from one side of their mouth proclaim that abortion is the celebration of personal freedom (the position of the 2016 Democrat Platform) and from the other side of their mouth judge the abhorrent sexual words of Donald Trump without understanding the illogical, hypocritical, absurd moral position they hold?

INTRODUCTION OF EVIDENCE

Democratic Platform on Abortion:

Securing Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice

Democrats are committed to protecting and advancing reproductive health, rights, and justice. We believe unequivocally, like the majority
of Americans, that every woman should have access to quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion regardless of where she lives, how much money she makes, or how she is insured. We believe that reproductive health is core to women’s, men’s, and young people’s health and well being. We will continue to stand up to Republican efforts to defund Planned Parenthood health centers, which provide critical health services to millions of people. We will continue to oppose and seek to overturn federal and state laws and policies that impede a woman’s access to abortion, including by repealing the Hyde Amendment.

Republican Platform on Abortion:

The Fifth Amendment: Protecting Human Life

The Constitution’s guarantee that no one can “be deprived of life, liberty or property” deliberately echoes the Declaration of Independence’s proclamation that “all” are “endowed by their Creator” with the inalienable right to life.
Accordingly, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections
apply to children before birth.

CONCLUSION

If the full context of the Access Hollywood video confirms the vile statements, Donald Trump needs to be judged and condemned for the words he said about women in a private conversation, eleven years ago, when he was a Democrat… but NOT by any Democrat who believes in their own political platform.

RELATED VIDEO: Abortion is Criminal according to the Constitution By Jake MacAulay.

‘Incredible’ 35% HMSA Hawaii Obamacare Rate Hike for 2017

HAWAII 2017 AFFORDABLE CARE ACT INDIVIDUAL RATES

News Release from DCCA, October 7, 2016

HONOLULU – The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Insurance Division released final decisions for 2017 Affordable Care Act (ACA) individual plan health insurance rates. These rates are expected to affect approximately 41,000 individuals currently purchasing ACA individual plans.

2016 ACA Individual Health Rate Filings

Company Proposed Average Rate Change  Final Approved Average Rate Change

HMSA      43.3%                                     35.0%

Kaiser      25.9%                                     25.9%

“The Insurance Division’s approval of rates were made pursuant to the statutory requirement that rates cannot be excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory” said State Insurance Commissioner Gordon Ito.

“Healthcare costs continue to rise at a significant pace, while healthcare utilization in ACA plans continue to be extremely high, not only in Hawaii, but nationwide.  This highlights a challenge in balancing these rising healthcare costs with ensuring affordable access to health insurance,” added Commissioner Ito. “While we hoped to maintain rates at a more stable level, we found the premium increases necessary for carriers to continue to provide ACA individual coverage within the State. Hawaii remains committed to ensuring health care for all and continues to look for ways to improve health insurance access.”

Utilizing rate and policy analysts and actuaries, the Insurance Division closely reviews all submitted data to ensure that rates are adequate, fair, and justified.  With the rising costs of the healthcare delivery system, rates must also be set at levels that are adequate to prevent insolvency and keep competition in the market.  Inadequate rates could result in an insurer failing to meet statutory solvency requirements which would jeopardize policyholders and providers under their plans.

Consumers are encouraged to review and understand the offered ACA plans during open enrollment starting November 1, 2016.

ABOUT THE HAWAII INSURANCE DIVISON

The Hawaii Insurance Division oversees the Hawaii insurance industry; issues licenses; examines the fiscal condition of Hawaii-based companies; reviews rate and policy filings; and investigates insurance related complaints.

SA:  ‘Incredible’ increases in Obamacare premiums approved

List of Republicans who are members of the ‘Open Borders’ movement

The great to-do about nothing regarding Donald Trump’s decade-old locker room talk is really all about immigration.

And as such, perhaps the kerfuffle is actually a great benefit to us because it very clearly shows us those members of Congress, U.S. Senators and a couple of governors who do not want to close our borders.

These are also the elected officials we can’t count on to slow the refugee flow into America because by opposing Trump they are supporting Hillary’s (tens of thousands of Syrian Muslims for your town) plan and inviting her Muslim Brotherhood pals to join her in the White House.

You know, bloggers like me have nothing to lose. I could care less if you read this blog or not! I don’t make a living doing this like some of those who write for National Review, so I’m calling the following elected officials traitors to America.

There is only one issue that matters for the future of this country and that is immigration. And, Trump is the first candidate at that level to know it and speak forcefully in favor of saving our unique American culture!

These Open Borders Republican globalists are out of the closet now!

South Dakota Senator John Thune is one of the weasels in the Senate who has come out of the closet today. This man will never support closing the border or slowing Muslim refugees to America because he doesn’t support the one man who can do it. Make it a habit to check their ‘Conservative scores’ here: https://www.conservativereview.com/scorecard

john-thune

South Dakota Senator John Thune

Thune has an “F” grade.

This is from The Hill.  Some of them were so chicken they said they weren’t voting for Hillary, but couldn’t vote for Trump. We are not stupid! A vote for anyone else is a vote for Hillary.

Some say that Mike Pence should go to the top of the ticket. Nice guy, great VP pick, but Hillary will win. This is asinine.

I suspect it is only a partial list because earlier in the day, I saw that Rep. Mia Love (R-UT) was now opposing Trump.

And, even before I posted, the news is out that Sen. John McCain has joined the list. Only surprise is why it took him so long when his protege Kelly Ayotte leads the list.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.)
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R)
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah)
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert
Rep. Frank Lo Biondo (R-N.J.)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Ak.)
Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.)
Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala)
Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo)
Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.)
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)
Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Mo)
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Az.)
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.)
Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo)
Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev)
Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.)
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah)
Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala)
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.):
Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah)
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Ak)
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.)

There are probably more I haven’t seen yet.  Send them along if you see them.

And, if anyone is going to be blamed for destroying the Republican Party it is this list!

I recommend that if any of these are your representatives and you want to see the Donald Trump “movement”in the White House, you need to unload on them in the next couple of days.

Picket their homes if you must! But, don’t let them get off the hook.

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Where do WE put a billion people?

Rutland, VT: More secret exchanges revealed by Judicial Watch FOIA

Lifelong Socialist, Islam apologist, chosen as new Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres

Planned Parenthood Shouldn’t Be Welcome At High School [+Video]

Cecile Richards greets participants at the Rally for Women's Health on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. on July 11, 2013.

Cecile Richards greets participants at the Rally for Women’s Health on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. on July 11, 2013.

Planned Parenthood isn’t happy unless they are harvesting body parts and ending the lives of perfectly healthy babies. To make sure they have a never ending supply of fetuses the organization establishes student groups on high school campuses to influence young impressionable girls. A recent addition is at a public high school in Richmond, Va.

The Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School is funded by Virginians’ state taxes. The esteemed school’s mission is,

“…to provide comprehensive educational opportunities that advance gifted students’ understanding of world cultures and languages. Our diverse and supportive community develops students’ character and ability to contribute, collaborate, and lead.”

The Governor’s school must consider Planned Parenthood to be a beacon of light to their students. Certainly the women’s reproductive center will help young students understand the character needed to undergo an abortion, not to mention the sacrifice of a human being in order to contribute to the greater goodof the organization, which is all about the money.

Not only will the club educate the girls about their abortion rights, but will actively involve them “in the political process to win elections and pass pro-reproductive freedom legislation.”

Excuse me, but what the hell does that mean? Planned Parenthood is anything but PRO-reproductive. They are for killing babies, and making money no matter what. To top it off they harvest the baby’s internal organs for a handsome price. Has the country so soon forgotten the videos plainly showing their executives advocating for this?

planned-parenthood-doc

This barbaric organization has no business stepping foot on public school grounds, not to mention being sanctioned as an upstanding club. I guess the parents who send their students to this school must heartily agree with the political leftists who are running it, or there would be a massive push back against the formation of the club.

There is no doubt in my mind those who send their kids to these types of progressive schools are probably graduates from prestigious universities and other places of higher learning.

I wonder if the parents consider the health risks and emotional trauma to women and girls who undergo abortions? It is not only well documented throughout the world, but also common to hear of the regret when talking with those who have personally gone through them. In fact AfterAbortion.org reports about a case study in Finland that states,

“The Finland researchers found that compared to women who carried to term, women who aborted in the year prior to their deaths were 60 percent more likely to die of natural causes, seven times more likely to die of suicide, four times more likely to die of injuries related to accidents, and 14 times more likely to die from homicide.

Researchers believe the higher rate of deaths related to accidents and homicide may be linked to higher rates of suicidal or risk-taking behavior.”

The fact is that abortions have many negative ramifications and predisposes those who have had them to psychological struggles later in life.

As a nurse who sees many patients taking anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications, one wonders why parents would allow an organization access to their children who encourage practices that increase the chance of health risks down the road.

This is what happens in schools across the nation when parents fail to get involved in their children’s education. Whether it be the lack of understanding of the contents in the textbooks, to what kind of clubs are offered at the school, parents need to stay on top of what is being taught these days. We certainly can’t trust the liberals involved to make the right choices.

What is ironic and even more telling is the video embedded on the Wilder School’s website.

It appears to be footage of a past graduation ceremony with someone singing Jim Croce’s “I Got a Name”. Interestingly enough, if you listen to the song, the lyrics say this:

“Like the north wind whistlin’ down the sky

I got a song, I got a song

Like the whippoorwill and the baby’s cry

I got a song, I got a song”

The sad thing is this school will be giving a foothold to an organization that wouldn’t allow the opportunity for that baby to utter one cry in this world. No, they would have snuffed the life out of him/her before that could take place. Apparently Planned Parenthood doesn’t believe everyone deserves the right to sing their song.

If anyone wants to talk about the real war on women, the war on humanity, I’ll be here waiting.

EDITORS NOTE: Those interested in contacting the school may find the info in an article by Rick Buchanan, in Fauquier Free Citizen.

Projections of mortality and causes of death, 2015 and 2030

This infographic displays data from the World Health Organization’s “Projections of mortality and causes of death, 2015 and 2030”. The report details all deaths in 2015 by cause and makes predictions for 2030, giving an impression of how global health will develop over the next 14 years. Also featured is data from geoba.se showing how life expectancy will change between now and 2030.

All percentages shown have been calculated relative to projected changes in population growth.

MEDIGO – Mortality and Causes of Death. 2015 and 2030: a comparison

How much longer will we live in 2030?

Life expectancy worldwide has increased since the start of the century and will continue to rise, with areas considered to be ‘developing’ seeing the biggest increases. Despite this there will still be a huge disparity in life expectancy around the world.

MEDIGO – Mortality and Causes of Death. 2015 and 2030: a comparison

Top 10 killing diseases in 2015

Although progress is being made in some areas, there are also reasons for concern. Of the top 10 causes of death in 2015, 7 will cause even more deaths in 2030.

MEDIGO – Mortality and Causes of Death. 2015 and 2030: a comparison

Expert: Illegal Aliens are an ‘Unarmed Army’ waging ‘Bio Terrorism’ against America

There have been growing reports of illegal aliens and refugees coming to the United States infected with diseases that have been previously eradicated. I reached out to Dr. Bob McCann, a licensed physician and certified lawyer in Florida, about this growing threat.

The following is information that Dr. McCann provided to me,

A flood of illegals has massively surged at our southwestern borders. The economic impact of medical care, education and incarceration for illegals forced on taxpayers is bankrupting states.

Why are such swarms entering the U.S. illegally NOW, particularly children? Newspapers in Mexico and Central and South America are actually describing U.S. “open borders,” encouraging people to come with promises of food stamps or “amnesty.” It is textbook Cloward-Piven strategy to overwhelm and collapse the economic and social systems, in order to replace them with a “new socialist order” under federal control.

Carried by this tsunami of illegals are the invisible “travelers” our politicians don’t like to mention: diseases the U.S. had controlled or virtually eradicated: tuberculosis (TB), Chagas disease, dengue fever, hepatitis, malaria, measles, plus more.

A public health crisis, the likes of which I have not seen in my lifetime, is looming.

Hardest hit by exposures to these difficult-to-treat diseases will be elderly, children, immunosuppressed cancer-patients, patients with chronic lung disease or congestive heart failure. Drug-resistant tuberculosis is the most serious risk, but even diseases like measles can cause severe complications and death in older or immunocompromised patients.

TB is highly contagious – you catch it anywhere around infected people: schools, malls, buses, etc. The drug-resistant TB now coming across our borders requires a complex, extremely expensive treatment regimen that has serious side effects and a low cure rate.

Chagas, or “kissing bug” disease, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is carried by the triatomine bug that transmits disease to humans. Although “kissing bugs” are already here, they are not as widespread as in Latin America. Right now, Chagas disease is uncommon in the U.S., so many doctors do not think to check for it.

Chagas causes debilitating fatigue, headaches, body aches, nausea/vomiting, liver and spleen enlargement, swollen glands, loss of appetite. When Chagas reaches the chronic phase, medications will not cure it. It can kill by arrhythmias, congestive heart failure or sudden cardiac arrest.

Vaccine-preventable diseases like chicken pox, measles and whooping cough spread like wildfire among unvaccinated children. Other illnesses, along with scabies and head lice, also thrive as children are transported by bus and herded into crowded shelters – courtesy of the federal government. Treatment costs are borne by taxpayers.

Our public health departments complain of being overtaxed by a dozen cases of measles or whooping cough. How will they cope with thousands of patients with many different, and uncommon, diseases? Americans, especially Medicaid patients, will see major delays for treatment.

Dr. McCann concluded that we must:

Stop illegal immigration!

Infectious diseases that we had controlled are returning such as tuberculosis was almost non-existent in the USA, Leprosy (a biblical disease) spreads by infected illegal aliens working in fast food, dish washing and hotels. Whether it’s dengue fever, now in Florida, Hemorrhagic Fever coming up from Texas border towns or E-coli intestinal parasites arriving with illegal aliens from Mexico daily, every American citizen is under a form of ‘Bio Terrorism’.

Illegal immigration is a mounting invasion from an ‘unarmed army’ of disease carrying illegals who carry head lice, leprosy, tuberculosis and hepatitis A, B, and C.

While many focus on illegal aliens taking jobs away from Americans who are seeking work, another issue is the rising costs to all American taxpayers of dealing with this form of Bio Terrorism.

Illegal immigration and refugee resettlement are creating a heath crisis in the U.S. This is a clear and present danger to every American, their families and children.

ABOUT DR. BOB MCCANN

Dr. McCann is a native of Chicago, Illinois, and a Roman Catholic of Irish decent. He is the second of four sons born to Harry McCann Jr., a Steel Worker, and the late Catherine (Dwyer) McCann, a Homemaker. Dr. McCann attended Annunciata Catholic Grammar School, and graduated from George Washington High School in the Chicago Public School System. In 1975, Dr. McCann joined the United States Navy and served honorably in the Hospital Corps. Dr. McCann received an Honorable Discharge from the Navy in 1979 and attended college on an Illinois Veteran’s Scholarship and the G.I. Bill. Dr. McCann obtained his Associate of Science degree from Thornton Community College located in South Holland, Illinois and his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Northern Illinois University located in DeKalb, Illinois. Dr. McCann is married to Rosemarie G. (Mrzik) McCann. They own a home in Bradenton, FL where they have resided for the last 6 years.

Dr. McCann received his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree in 1988 from the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, Missouri. Dr. McCann is a Member of the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association (FOMA), a Member of the Federation of State Medical Boards, and a Fellow of the American Association of Osteopathic Examiners (AAOE). Dr. McCann practices Emergency Medicine and Aviation Medicine.

Dr. McCann is designated by the Federal Aviation Administration as a Senior Aviation Medical Examiner. Dr. McCann is a licensed commercial pilot with single and multi-engine/instrument ratings, and he enjoys flying complex and multi-engine aircraft.

Dr. McCann obtained his Juris Doctor degree with Honors from the Florida Coastal School of Law located in Jacksonville, Florida in 1999. Dr. McCann is a practicing member of the Florida Bar; the District of Columbia Bar; the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida; and the United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, Atlanta, Georgia, and the United States Supreme Court as of June 9, 2008. Dr. McCann practices Health Care Law, Administrative Law, and Litigation.

Dr. McCann currently practices both Medicine and Law and has lectured on medical investigations including Bioterrorism and Counterterrorism, Medical Ethics, Prevention of Medical Errors, and Proper Prescriptions of Controlled Substances.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Refugee child died arriving in Chicago; look for many more problems as the DOS crams them into your towns

West Virginia: Is Catholic Charities bringing in foreign laborers for a poultry plant to compete with Americans?

All the reported cases of Zika in the United States

10 examples of men abusing Target’s dangerous policy

The overwhelming evidence continues to pile up against Target’s policy to allow men into women’s restrooms and dressing rooms it its stores.

Target says, “[W]e welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity. …Everyone deserves to feel like they belong.”

This means a man can simply say he “feels like a woman today” and enter the women’s restroom…even if young girls or women are already in there. Target’s policy is exactly how sexual predators get access to their victims. And the proof keeps mounting.

Clearly, Target’s dangerous policy poses a threat to wives and daughters. Over 1.4 million people have pledged to boycott Target stores until protecting women and children is a priority.

Here are 10 examples that show Target should immediately rescind their dangerous policy and keep men out of women’s bathrooms and dressing rooms.

  1. Man wanted for taking photos inside Target changing room
  2. Transgender woman caught filming in Target changing room
  3. Man seen reaching under stall with phone in Target dressing room
  4. ‘Peeping Tom’ reported in Target dressing room
  5. Teen girl reports dressing room peeper at Target
  6. Police Looking for Target Peeper
  7. Target peeping Tom pleads guilty
  8. Man Arrested for Taking Photos of Woman in Target Bathroom
  9. Peeping tom caught filming women in Brentwood Target dressing rooms
  10. ‘Peeping Tom’ took pics of people in Target bathroom

TAKE ACTION

1. Help Target understand the problem. Copy and paste this link (http://bit.ly/2d9KvWV) of 10 examples to Target’s Facebook page.

2. Sign the #BoycottTarget pledge. Encourage family and friends to sign the pledge, too.
3. Share the boycott information on social media and be sure to use #BoycottTarget

If our mission resonates with you, please consider supporting our work financially with a tax-deductible donation. The easiest way to do that is through online giving. It is easy to use, and most of all, it is secure.

Tim Wildmon, President
American Family Association

RELATED ARTICLES:

It’s Not Fake News: Predators Are Taking Advantage of Target’s Fitting Room Policy

When Transgender Inclusion Moves From Bathrooms to Basketball Courts

I Need You

On October 1, 1937 the U.S. House of Representatives passed The Marihuana Tax Act, Pub. 238, 75th Congress, 50 Stat. 551. The bill was an important because it established the path that led to the criminalization of cannabis.  It stipulated that pot could not be sold without a license and licenses were never issued.

When I opened my email this morning and read the words below, I knew why Florida Amendment 2 must not pass. Please read it and Vote NO on 2!

jessica-spencer

Jessica M. Spencer, Ed.D., CAP, CPP

I had a conversation with a very close friend this afternoon while on my way to a speaking engagement.

My friend expressed concern that it sounded like I was going to have a heart attack and maybe it was time to change my work if it was too stressful.

I never care how stressed I get, it just is what it is. I am passionate.

It is my job to fight.

But it is a question I hear sometimes or see on people’s faces.

“Why are you doing this if the legalization of marijuana is inevitable?”

Within an hour I had an answer.

As I sat at a table eating dinner with a group of people one of the couples at the started talking about their daughters old roommate and best friend in Colorado that had 3 kids whose husband shot her

I blurted out “Kristine Kirk”

They stopped and stared at me and said yes, but how do you know her name?

I told them that since her death I have used her image and story in my presentations to explain to people the toll marijuana takes on families, children, communities, etc.

Kristine’s husband ate marijuana candy, experienced significant mental distress and shot her in the head while she was on the phone with 911 in front of her 3 young boys. That’s the short story.

No one should have to experience such horror.

I was reminded why I fight.

I was reminded why I am not afraid.

I was reminded why I will not stop. Heart attack, stress or not. I will not stop.

Fate whispers to the man “you cannot withstand the storm” and the man whispers back – “I am the storm”

John Morgan, George Soros – I am the storm and you better grab your umbrellas.

Keep fighting friends. Keep fighting. Our communities and state need us.
Sincerely,

Jessica M. Spencer
Ed.D., CAP, CPP

RELATED ARTICLE: Richard Kirk hearing: Suspect asked boy, 7, to kill him

California Sheriff Urges Floridians to Vote No On Amendment 2

In an Op-Ed published in the Pensacola News Journal on Sunday, California Sheriff Sandra Hutchens urged Florida voters not to make the same mistake that California did:

“… yes — California’s medical marijuana law was a joke. Even the coauthor of the law admits it — describing medical marijuana dispensaries as little more “than dope dealers with storefronts.” But it looks like the same joke is being played on Florida, only there would be no hope of fixing the inevitable problems and unintended consequences.”

Read more below:

“… Floridians have the rare opportunity to look into a crystal ball and see precisely what’s in store for them should their own medical marijuana initiative pass. The question is: Will Floridians actually take a look before they pass Amendment 2 and legalize pot in Florida?

[ … ]

“Fortunately, Floridians have every resource at their disposal to see exactly how a law like this will pan out in their state. Just Google “Weedmaps” and take a look at a city, such as San Diego. Perform a YouTube search of real live budtenders — all of whom are also medical marijuana cardholders and look perfectly healthy. Look at a menu from one of California’s “medical” pot shops. They hold products like: Blueberry Crack, Lemon Kush, Ganja Gum, Edipure Sour Sea Creatures.

[ … ]

“With the truth right in front of you, this should be an easy decision.

“Don’t be duped. Vote No on 2.”

To read the full piece click here.