Cost of ObamaCare for Virginians on Bronze Plan

The Affordable Care Act specifies in Section 1401 of its voluminous content that subsidies cannot be paid to people residing in states that do not have a State Exchange. The decision was upheld in the D.C. Federal Circuit Court and the Supreme Court will make a decision in June 2015. Continue reading

Executive Action for Immigration

The President’s “immigration accountability executive action” has confused many Americans since a president’s action is more or less a “wish list” and does not have the legally-binding power of an executive order. Unlike an executive order, an executive action is not published in the Federal Register. An executive order can be reversed by Congress or by the courts. Is this executive action meant to obfuscate the illegal immigration issue and postpone the “fixing of the broken immigration,” a euphemism for refusing to enforce the already existing laws? http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/20/fact-sheet-immigration-accountability-executive-action Continue reading

Is There Honor in Amnesty?

The amnesty by executive fiat is a fait accompli – five million law breakers are now going to become American citizens with all the benefits American taxpayers are forced to provide, including Obamacare.
The “fiscal cost of immigration” will include: Medicaid, unemployment insurance, Social Security, workmen compensation, TANF, earned income credit, WIC, SNAP, free phones, SSI, free education, free lunch programs, kindergarten programs, day care, and other services such as police protection, fire protection, military protection, libraries, parks, highways, and over 80 different welfare programs that already provide cash, food, utilities, education, and housing to 100 million low-income Americans. Continue reading

Global Warming as a Fabricated Moral Issue

snow Laden Photo: Ileana Johnson 2014
The area south of Buffalo, New York was buried this week in 76 inches of snow, quite possibly the largest 24-hour total in U.S. recorded history. At the same time, the desperate advocates of global warming/climate change are finding more novel ways to push their carbon dioxide reduction and carbon footprint taxation in order to redistribute the wealth from the United States to the rest of the world. Continue reading

How Many Millions of Illegal Aliens Will Qualify for Discretionary Amnesty?

As President Obama is getting ready to make his announcement on immigration on Thursday, November 20, 2014, the Congressional Research Service is advising Congress through legislative attorneys, Kate M. Manuel and Michael John Garcia “on the scope of the Executive’s discretionary authority over immigration matters, including with respect to the enforcement of immigration-related sanctions and the granting of immigration benefits or privileges.” (”Executive Discretion as to Immigration: Legal Overview,” November 10, 2014, R43782) Continue reading

Snow Up to the Waist

Christmas Tree in March 17, 2014 Photo: Ileana Johnson 2014
We had crossed the Allegheny Mountains, driving through a rock tunnel, speeding by changing wintry landscapes, bald trees, and still wind turbines dotting the Pennsylvania sky like giant spiders. After seven hours we made it to Scott’s boyhood home.
As huge snowflakes started dancing in the air, Ray opened up his memory bag of childhood stories. The first snow of the year was beginning to stick to the ground and the drab Ohio landscape was turning into a winter wonderland. But this gentle snow blowing from Lake Erie was just a fuss when compared to blizzards past. Continue reading

The Washington National Cathedral, Not an Ordinary Place to Worship

Washington National Cathedral Photo courtesy of the web
On the highest point of Washington, D.C., Mount Saint Alban, a fourteen-century English Gothic style cathedral stands out – the Washington National Cathedral – with its centerpiece of the high altar, “The Majestus,” designed by sculptor Walker Hancock and carved in stone by Roger Morigi. Continue reading

Democrat Electioneering Day

On Election Day I agreed to pass sample ballots for a couple of hours for the Republican Party. They were having a hard time finding someone to do it – Republicans are generally busy working. How hard could it be sitting down and giving a ballot sample to those who pass by? It was a gorgeous fall day and I was glad to be outdoors. I would find out soon enough that it was harder than it seemed. Continue reading

Historic Spanish Point

Sunken gardens

Sunken gardens

On a balmy late October day, the sunny, sparkling white beaches of Siesta Key came into view. The eight-mile long island off Sarasota with its snow-white quartz sand churned by the force of the emerald ocean into a fine powder is home to miles of canals, tropical vegetation, herons, pelicans, sea gulls, wild parrots, and bottlenose dolphins. The occasional ‘do not feed the alligators’ sign reminds mesmerized travelers that there are more creatures in the surrounding waters than the gentle dolphins and the flying fish. Continue reading

“Don’t Bank On It” Book Review

There is something strange about fighting debt by incentivizing more debt.”
– Jaime Caruana, head of Bank of International Settlements, “the central bank of central banks”

Craig R. Smith book cover Craig R. Smith and Lowell Ponte’s book, “Don’t Bank on It,” should be a required primer for high school and college students who often graduate economically illiterate unless they major in Economics. The average American’s economic literacy would be tremendously augmented by reading this book, written for the average person who is not an investor or a banker. Continue reading