Observations From the Back Row

By Rich Kozlovich

I’m going to start with the claims by the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s claim that glyphosate is a “probable” carcinogen.  I stated from the very beginning when this report is finally analyzed by real scientists it will go the way of the discredited study by Gilles-Eric Séralini that purportedly showed that genetically modified maize causes tumors in rats that was finally retracted as a result of universal scorn.  Once again – rats aren’t people, and all rodents used in these studies genetically specific rodents because all of them are genetically prone to developing tumors.  All of these claims are nothing more than science by press release.  A favorite tool of activists and junk scientists who support them. 

 

I would like to point out these declarations about using rodent testing to determine what’s carcinogenic is the reason in 2005 the American Council on Science and Health petitioned the EPA to stop using rodent testing alone to make these determinations under the Information Quality  Act, (link no longer working) which requires EPA to use the best science available.  The EPA responded their determinations didn’t fall under the auspices of that act because these determinations were not a matter of science, but EPA policy.  Which makes one wonder what their policies are based on if not science.

Toxicologist pans UN glyphosate report  by Robert Arnason

A Canadian toxicologist says the World Health Organization made a critical scientific error in its decision to classify glyphosate as a probable carcinogen.  A panel of experts with the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer released a report March 20 on five pesticides, including glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the world.

After reviewing the scientific literature, the experts classified glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in Roundup, as Group 2A: probably carcinogenic to humans.  In a brief statement explaining the new designation, the scientists cited a number of research papers, such as a study on rural Colombians who were exposed to a spray of Roundup.  IARC said the study demonstrated that glyphosate can cause genotoxicity, or DNA damage, and cause cellular mutations that may result in cancer……

 

China

China's military buildup draws U.S., Japanese concern - The U.S. might finally be pivoting to the Pacific as the military rise of China becomes a key focus.

Economics

Innovation Act preserves America's patent system - Congressman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., reintroduced the Innovation Act, which represents common-sense... More than 200 years after our Founding Fathers enshrined patent protections into our constitution, America continues to be a shining beacon for innovation and ingenuity. It is not by chance that our economy remains the envy of the modern world, it is a testament that strong intellectual property (IP) rights are essential to building a first-class economy.  Unfortunately, a small group of predatory litigants too often undermines the very system that helped build America's economy. In recent years, frivolous patent litigation has increased as non-practicing entities whose patent claims are unfounded — "patent trolls" — target small businesses and entrepreneurs with lawsuits.

To be clear, not all non-practicing patent holders are "trolls." Some, such as universities and inventors, possess legitimate patent claims. Unfortunately, businesses targeted by actual "patent trolls" are forced into unnecessary litigation or extortionate settlements instead of investing their resources in creating new jobs or new technologies. That not only harms the targeted businesses, but it also inflicts further harm on our economy and weakens our patent system itself……To Read More……

Rick Perry Deserves Credit for Shrinking Texas’s Welfare Rolls - They say “everything is bigger in Texas,” but Texas’s welfare rolls are shrinking, and presidential hopeful and former governor Rick Perry (R) deserves a lot of the credit. When Perry first became governor of Texas in 2000, the number of people enrolled in the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program was well over 300,000. Since then, the number has declined to below 80,000, and a new study says key policy changes help explain why.

March job gains disappoint at 126,000, unemployment steady at 5.5 percent - Friday's numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics fell short of Wall Street's expectations for closer to 245,000 new jobs. Revisions also took away 69,000 jobs from past months' gains. The disappointing March numbers showed a slowing of a broader trend toward bigger job increases.

Jobless claims plunge to 268,000 - Jobless claims fell by 20,000 from last week's revised number, well more than expected. The four-week moving average of claims was 285,500, a decrease of 14,750 from the week before, bringing the average below the 300,000 mark.

How to make retirement more secure and make capitalism work for all - Employee stock ownership plans are giving employees a chance to own a stake in the companies they work for.

U.S. pursues aggressive energy agenda as it takes over major Arctic group - The Arctic has become increasingly important for nations seeking strategic and commercial advantages.

Bernanke is back and blogging - Bernanke has been blogging for the Brookings Institution, sparring over economics and drawing traffic

Book Review: Bitcoin and the Age of Cryptocurrency - “Because the cryptocurrency system requires no bank and no government control it is truly disruptive, and multiple agencies described by the authors are already trying to block it or control it. An interesting outgrowth of this in the authors’ eyes is that bitcoin has attracted libertarian-leaning techies, and in some parts of the book it is clear that they themselves have a strong libertarian bent.”

Study: Los Angeles Fast-Food Ban Went Bust - “In 2008, the city of Los Angeles passed strict regulations on fast food restaurants in an effort to force citizens to adopt a better diet. But seven years later, the regulations have had no effect on either the diets or weight of area residents.”

Education

High school seniors don't know what a 'novel idea' is - New data released from a national reading assessment show which words students are struggling with.

Nevadans Deserve Better Options than Common Core - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, various teachers unions, and endless recipients of money from Bill Gates’ private foundation who cheer Common Core are cheering for cut-and-paste students. They are applauding and rewarding an education-to-workforce machine that is cheating the children of Nevada’s families out of a joyful and liberal education fit for free citizens.

TEXAS: The Lone Star State is considering what would become the most comprehensive private school choice program in the country, but an odd coalition of rural and suburban Republicans opposes the plan.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: A local town uses the state’s existing tuitioning law to become the second school district in the country to create a full school choice program, where students can take tax dollars to any private or public school.

PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY: Likely Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush now claims he does not support federal involvement in Common Core, but that's not what he said back in 2011.

WISCONSIN: The state keeps pushing back its dates for administering Common Core tests because of a profusion of technical difficulties. School leaders are furious at the constant disruption.

NEW JERSEY: The state teachers union says 40,000 children have opted out from Common Core tests so far this year.

ARIZONA: As the state Senate considers a bill the House passed to repeal Common Core, Gov. Doug Ducey says there’s no need, since he appointed a panel to tweak the standards. Ducey campaigned on eliminating Common Core.

ARKANSAS: The Senate has passed a bill that would restrict the state’s contract with national Common Core testing organization PARCC to one year.

LOUISIANA: A state judge dismissed a lawsuit from Gov. Bobby Jindal that alleged state officials violated state law when adopting Common Core. Another Jindal lawsuit against the federal government’s imposition of Common Core remains tied up in courts. And a new poll finds a majority of Louisianans disapprove of Common Core.

NCLB: House Republicans are likely to bring back the Student Success Act, unchanged, for a vote as early as April 13. This is the bill leadership pulled after conservatives indicated they would vote against it for giving the federal government too much power over education.

NORTH CAROLINA: Lawmakers will soon consider a bill that lets colleges charge school districts for students that need remedial classes.

MARYLAND: A state senator is introducing a bill that would let parents opt their children out of state tests.

TESTING: The four largest testing companies spent $20 million lobbying state and federal officials from 2009 to 2014, a new report says.

Environment

Sen. Harry Reid Retires Amidst Green Energy Scandal - One scandal that could haunt Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) even after his retirement is the improper help he gave to the green energy company Ormat Technologies – a firm that owns and manages geothermal plants in California and Hawaii. Reid helped Ormat secure nearly $136 million in economic stimulus funding from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Pulling the Plug on Renewable Energy - For 50 years, green-energy gurus in industry and the environmental movement have sold the snake oil that renewable power would soon be as cheap and reliable as coal, oil, nuclear, and natural gas. The nation has been told the turning point has always been just around the corner. We never seem to get close to turning that corner.

High hurdles for EPA climate rules in energy plan - A new energy study could bolster critics' arguments that the EPA did not take into consideration.

He said/She said on GMOs: Mark Lynas v Claire Robinson - This week The Independent has been investigating the future of genetically modified food – nearly 20 years since the first GM crops were planted. To round the series off we asked one pro and one anti GM campaigner to go head to head on the issues in an email exchange to help readers make up their own minds. Claire Robinson of GMWatch and Mark Lynas, an author and proponent of GM technology, took up the challenge. .....To Read More.... 

Top scientists warn climate change solution could make things a lot worse - A recent study warns against the use of a new technology to reduce global warming.

Success of independently funded GMO papaya confoundsanti-tech ideologues - Hawaii’s Big Island has banned or severely limited the farming of genetically engineered (GE or GM) crops, including a papaya developed by a native Hawaiian to resist a devastating virus disease. The battle over GE crops and the law enacted in Hawaii is a microcosm of the global fight determining the future of GE crops

Health Care

Medicaid expansion plans rejected by multiple states - Now that the legislative season is wrapping up with little progress, some last-ditch efforts are being made.

GOP support for sick leave reveals its election-time popularity - A federal mandate for paid sick leave will be a major campaign topic in the 2016 elections.

Justice

Lethal injection drug shortage may get worse - States could be forced to consider alternative methods of execution, like nitrogen gas and firing squads

The Left wages total war; and then plays victim - It should be obvious to all that the Left long ago dropped its love of pluralism and tolerance, Carney says.

Menendez indictment shows the perils of mixing business and government - Menendez, prosecutors charge, "never disclosed any of the reportable gifts that he received from Melgen."

Internet

 

Obama issues cybersecurity executive order - President Obama on Wednesday issued an executive order allowing the government to impose penalties on foreign individuals or entities that engage in cyberattacks that threaten U.S. national security or the economy.

Iranagate

State Dept. defends release of separate Iran nuke deal parameters - State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf on Friday stood by U.S. officials' decision to release a fact sheet separate from the Iranians providing details on Thursday's framework for an agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb.

Obama: U.S. reaches 'historic understanding with Iran' - President Obama Thursday hailed a tentative agreement struck between six world powers and Iran that would limit Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions against the Middle Eastern nation.

U.S., Iran to make statements on status of talks - Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is expected to address the press following the talks in Lausanne, Switzerland, followed by a separate news conference by Secretary of State John Kerry, who is expected to provide more details, according to several media reports.

Obama's Iran legacy on the line in overtime talks - The latest extension only ratcheted up the pressure on Obama, giving critics plenty of new ammunition.

Will Obama really walk away from a bad Iran deal? - The late tells in the negotiations cast doubt upon both Iran's intentions and Obama's competence.

Obama becomes salesman in chief on Iran deal - Obama essentially warned lawmakers to get on board or absorb the blame for sinking a historic deal.

Obama oversells his non-deal with Iran - When he said, "Iran has met all of its obligations," Obama was simply not telling the truth.

Netanyahu to Obama: Iran deal would threaten Israel's existence - The Israeli prime minister warned Obama that the deal would accelerate Iran's arming of terrorist proxies.

Leftism

Video Review of “United in Hate” - Why Jamie Glazov's analysis of the Left's romance with Islam is more urgent than ever.

Middle East

Why the Islamic State war authorization might be dead - Inaction from Congress essentially endorses ongoing U.S. military involvement in the region.

Iran’s Takeover of Yemen - Rebels backed by the Islamic Republic seize the presidential palace.

Race

Remembering the Politically Inconvenient Malcolm X - This year isn’t just the golden anniversary of Selma. It is as well marks the 50th anniversary of the murder of Malcolm X.   Malcolm X has been mythologized. According to the myth, there are, essentially, two Malcolms: the “pre-Mecca” Malcolm and the “post-Mecca” Malcolm X. The former, a national minister for Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam, preached black separatism. The latter, in glaring contrast, rejected the Nation and promoted interracial unity.  That this is revisionism at its best (or worst) is gotten easily enough from the inconvenient facts that it omits:….

Religion

‘Are You Muslim or Christian? Death to Christians!’ - The Kenyan university jihad in context.

Twisting Islam to Enable an Interfaith Dialogue? - Muslim deception toward Christians ensues.

Arkansas governor sends religious freedom bill back to state lawmakers - The decision not to sign the bill until as it is rewritten comes amid the controversy over Indiana's bill. Asa Hutchinson reiterated Wednesday that he wants the Razorback State "to be known as a state that does not discriminate but understands tolerance."

How Indiana undermined the Hobby Lobby decision - "This new amendment wipes away a lot of the work the Hobby Lobby decision actually did."
 

Christian Owned Indiana Pizzeria Raises More Than $100K in Less Than 24 Hours Following Death Threats by Sodomites  - A fund set up to help the Indiana pizza shop under fire for its owner’s stated refusal to cater weddings that have been redefined to include sodomy has garnered nearly more than six figures in 16 hours. More than 3,000…

Discrimination in Indiana – Private or Political? - “The path of using political power to try to bring about changes in social attitudes and actions is both morally wrong and often far too counter-productive. The road to liberty, equality, and tolerance runs through a respect for and defense of individual rights of freedom of association, not by way of collective punishment and group privilege.”

Final Thought

Is the Obama legacy built on quicksand? - Obama's legacy is entirely dependent on some future Republican president not undoing his executive actions.