Thursday, November 5, 2015
To pay for highway bill, US House relies on selling strategic oil reserve and privatizing IRS employment instead of raising gasoline taxes
From the story here:
"The bill is in fact financed with a collection of offsets that many lawmakers find objectionable, such as raising $9 billion by selling oil from the country’s emergency oil reserves. Roughly $2.5 billion comes from requiring the Internal Revenue Service to use private debt collectors, reviving a controversial program opposed by many Democrats, consumer groups and the union that represents agency employees."
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
At new book launch, Trump accuses Janet Yellen of keeping interest rates low to protect Obama's reputation
Donald Trump, quoted here by AP/Obama:
'"In my opinion Janet Yellen is highly political and she's not raising the rates for a very specific reason: because Obama told her not to," Trump said. "Because he wants to be out playing golf in a year from now, and he wants to be doing other things and he doesn't want to see a big bubble burst during his administration." ...
'The central bank decided in October to keep its key short-term interest rate at a record low in light of a weak global economy and slower U.S. hiring.'
Michigan Republicans increase gasoline excises by 7.3 cents, taking the state from 12th to 5th for highest gas taxes paid in America
Here's the current list of highest combined federal and state gasoline taxes per gallon paid in the top paying states, from highest to lowest:
PA: 73.70 cents per gallon
WA: 62.90
NY: 62.67
HI: 61.55
CA: 59.32
CT: 55.91
FL: 54.82
NC: 54.65
WV: 53.00
RI: 52.40
NV: 52.25
MI: 52.24
IL: 51.87
IN: 51.70
WI: 51.30
GA: 51.02
MD: 50.50
IA: 50.40
ID: 50.40
The tax increase in Michigan will bring the current level to 59.54 cents, ahead of California!
Lest you tree-hugging electric and hybrid drivers think you'll escape, you get slapped with $100 and $30 surcharges (hahahahaha!), according to the story here, on licenses, the rest of us 20% increases:
"Registration fees for passenger vehicles and trucks would rise by 20 percent in 2017, meaning an average $100 bill would rise to $120. The state would also assess a new $100 annual surcharge on most electric vehicles and $30 on hybrids."
And you thought Republicans were against raising taxes.
Raw temperature data have all been changed, 20% of it 16 times in the last 2.5 years
So says Marcia Glaze Wyatt here:
"Raw data is adjusted, sometimes justifiably (yet still injecting uncertainty), yet sometimes, arguably not justifiably, adding more uncertainty!!! Raw data have all been changed – 20% of it changed 16 times in the last 2 and a half years. This plot shows NOT the average surface T trend between 1880 and 2010, but rather the trend of changes made in the temperature anomalies (1880 to 2010) between May 2008 and May 2015. Take the month of January for comparison b/n 1915 and 2000. In May of 2008, the difference b/n January temperature anomalies for those years was 0.39oC. As of May 2015 note, the difference is 0.52oC (almost a degree F). ... And while one assumes that good intentions motivate the adjustments, one thing is obvious: temperatures adjustments prior to 1950 have resulted in a substantial cooling of the early century (20th) and adjustments made after 1950 have substantially warmed the record; consequently, the trend of temperature increase has significantly steepened over the years – a product of data changes. Is this an accurate reflection of reality? Uncertainty..."
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
As usual Paul Krugman is full of crap about Republicans and jobs
Here:
"[P]rivate-sector employment is eight million higher than it was when Barack Obama took office, twice the job gains achieved under his predecessor before the recession struck."
When Barack Obama took office, W-2 employment stood at 155.4 million, and promptly fell 4.5 million. At the end of 2014 it stands at 158.2 million, 2.8 million higher than at the end of 2008, not 8 million higher.
At the same point in his presidency, George W. Bush had added 5.8 million W-2 jobs, and 7.3 million by the end of it.
Give 'em hell, Harry: The South China Sea is no more China's than the Gulf of Mexico is Mexico's
Admiral Harry Binkley Harris, Jr., Commander, USPACOM, quoted here:
Harris has been a forceful advocate within the military for challenging China’s claims to vast areas of the South China Sea. He told a Senate hearing in September that “the South China Sea is no more China’s than the Gulf of Mexico is Mexico’s.”
Monday, November 2, 2015
Sunday, November 1, 2015
An El Nino forecast for winter in Grand Rapids Michigan July 2015 - June 2016
Mean snowfall 66.7, predicting 47.85 inches
Mean heating degree days 6719, predicting 6148
Grand Rapids Michigan was warmer on average in October 2015 by 1.1 degrees F
The cumulative anomaly for 2015 thus declines from -18.2 to -17.1 degrees F.
That's now two months in a row with above average temperatures, helping to erase the big negative anomaly built up in the winter, and in February in particular.
Summer temperatures in GR in 2015 were below normal, so the warmer September and now October have offset that. A late or extended summer, you might say.
The cumulative anomaly in 2014 was -30.3 degrees F, and would have been even worse if not for a warm and snowless December. November set snow records here with 31 inches and the negative temperature anomaly reached -33 degrees F.
The peak negative anomaly in 2015 so far has been -22.6 degrees F through August.
Saturday, October 31, 2015
China's nine-dash-line claim in the South China Sea will finally get its day in court
But China won't be there to defend it.
From the story here in The Diplomat:
On Thursday, October 29, the Permanent Court of Arbitration awarded its first decision in the The Republic of Philippines v. The People’s Republic of China. The court ruled that the case was “properly constituted” under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, that China’s “non-appearance” (i.e., refusal to participate) did not preclude the Court’s jurisdiction, and that the Philippines was within its rights in filing the case. In short, Thursday’s decision means that the Permanent Court of Arbitration rules in the Philippines’ favor on the question of jurisdiction. With the jurisdictional issue resolved, the case can move forward to evaluating the merits of the Philippines’ legal assertions in the South China Sea. ...
First, and most vexing for China, is the status of Beijing’s nine-dash line claim in the South China Sea. Manila argues that the nine-dash line is an excessive maritime claim and not in line with the entitlements for coastal states under UNCLOS. With jurisdiction question resolved, we can look forward to China’s nine-dash line getting its day in international court (although, notably, without China taking part to defend it). China has kept the scope of its nine-dash line ambiguous under formal and customary international law, but once the Court decides on the matter, its ability to maintain ambiguity will be limited.
Second, based on the first point, that the nine-dash line is an excessive claim, the Philippines is arguing that China’s occupation of various features in the Spratly Islands is illegal.
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