The Heartland Institute today released more evidence that Pacific Institute President Peter Gleick was the likely author of a fake “climate strategy memo” that Gleick originally claimed came from a “Heartland insider,” and later said he received “in the mail” from an anonymous source.
Heartland released a computer forensics report, conducted by Protek International, which states: “We conclude that the Memo did not originate on the Heartland System. It was not created on the Heartland System and was never present there prior to its February 14 posting online.”
The new report contradicts disgraced climate scientist Gleick’s claim to have received the memo from someone affiliated with The Heartland Institute and adds to a growing body of evidence pointing to Gleick’s guilt. A month ago, Juola & Associates, the premier provider of expert analysis and testimony in the field of text and authorship, said “it is more likely than not that Gleick is in fact the author/compiler of the document entitled ‘Confidential Memo: 2012 Heartland Climate Strategy,’ and further that the document does not represent a genuine strategy memo from the Heartland Institute.”
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If Dave Gray of Ripon, Wisconsin, is right – and I believe he is – there’s a relatively simple way to stop the movement to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in its tracks. And perhaps even a way to send recall activists to jail.
To borrow a quote from the A-Team, “I love it when a plan comes together.”
As I wrote previously, here and here, Wisconsin recall laws are so flawed that voter fraud on a massive scale is possible – even likely – when it comes to signatures on Walker recall petitions.
That’s because recall supporters are publicly urging Wisconsinites to sign these petitions more than once, even though only one signature is supposed to count under state law. A Milwaukee man evidently took this advice to heart and signed 80 times.
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Good stuff from Heartland’s podcasts this week, including a discussion on Obama’s restructering of the federal student loan program. Click the links below to listen, and subscribe on iTunes so you get the latest podcasts as soon as they are produced. (Search for “Heartland Institute” in the iTunes store.)
ON EDUCATION: Annie Hsiao of the American Action Forum joins the podcast to analyze and discuss President Obama’s executive order restructuring the federal student loan program. She explains why the president’s actions are likely to lead to higher government and student indebtedness, and explores better alternatives. Listen here.
ON ENVIRONMENT: Angela Logomasini, senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, explains the principles of risk management regarding environmental chemicals. Listen here.
ON HEALTH CARE: Benjamin Domenech discusses the entitlement reform plans of each of the Republican candidates. Listen here.
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We’ve got some good stuff for you this week, as always — in all six of our primary topic areas. Be sure to subscribe on iTunes for the latest in free-market policy. (Search for “Heartland Institute” in the iTunes store.)
ON HEALTH CARE: Maureen Martin reacts to the Fourth Circuit decision to dismiss Virginia’s lawsuit against the individual mandate. Listen here.
ON ENVIRONMENT: International Climate Science Coalition executive director Tom Harris discusses flaws in Al Gore’s latest movie. Listen here.
ON EDUCATION: More than a decade after the No Child left Behind Act was originally passed, the House of Representatives just took the first steps to reauthorize it. Lindsey Burke, policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation discusses the context of the bill and the implications of its passage. Listen here.
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A busy news day for The Heartland Institute. First a pre-buttal to Obama’s speech, then a federal appeals court gives the president a victory for Obamacare.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Thursday overruled a December 2010 decision striking down the mandate in Obamacare that individuals purchase health insurance. The case involves Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s suit that claims the law’s mandate is unconstitutional. The panel unanimously ruled Cuccinelli did not have standing to sue.
The following statements are from legal and health care experts at The Heartland Institute:
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Though Rahm Emanuel’s 100 days in office are hardly a basis for comprehensive judgement, the mayor’s support of a new ordinance passed by City Council is disconcerting to investors, community developers and all those who have an interest the the health of Chicago’s real estate market.
The ordinance, passed in July, allows the definition of a property’s owner to be broadened to include a “mortgagee” “assignee” and “agent” according to the Wall Street Journal.
The intention behind the law is sincere; in an effort to clean up countless abandoned and dilapidated housing units, the city is attempting to make those responsible pay. But the city’s definition of “those responsible” extends far beyond the property owner; anyone with even a remote financial connection with property responsible for upkeep costs.
It doesn’t matter if the property is foreclosed or if the title hasn’t changed hands; banks, mortgage agents and anyone else economically linked to the property can be made to pay upkeep costs under the ordinance.
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While England may be in flames, and Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Ireland stand on the precipice of default, there can be no question of the US’s grave (and worsening) economic state. And if the rest of the world can tell us one thing, it’s that economic laxity is merely a symptom of a larger syndrome.
The US’s own bloated bureaucracy, out of control spending and reliance of Keynesian theory has begun to manifest itself in the S&P’s recent credit downgrade, rising unemployment numbers (as the percentage of Americans working hits a 28-year low) and plunging stock values.
The answer does not lie in more government spending and deficits, as the president seems to believe, but rather incentives for production. As The Heartland Institute’s Peter Ferrara, author of America’s Ticking Bankruptcy Bomb, observes in The American Spectator:
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I’m a former resident of Southern California. I like to joke that I left the backward, dysfunctional and corrupt politics and policies of the formerly Golden State for the sunny uplands of Chicago. The joke is becoming less funny the longer I live in the Second City (one year and counting).
But reading Brian Calle at the Orange Punch blog always makes me feel better — or, at least, less sick. As screwed up, bankrupt and corrupt Chicago politics are, at least it’s nominally competent. California is a lost cause.
If you want to feel better about the politics and policies of where you live, get a load of some recent posts by Brian:
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On July 14, Greenpeace activists in Australia illegally entered an experimental farm operated by the country’s national science agency and destroyed a crop of genetically modified (“GM”) wheat. The GM wheat was altered to enhance its nutritional value for addressing obesity and bowel cancer. Because of the incident, scheduled human trials will have to be delayed by as long as a year.
Greenpeace Australia Pacific has trumpeted the actions of the individuals and posted videos and photos of the event on their website. One of the activists, whose name the organization released, has said that Greenpeace will stand beside her throughout any criminal investigation and prosecution.
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Like many of the EPA’s regulatory forays, the Clean Air Act of 1963 is fundamentally well intentioned, but has been subject to so many amendments and new rules through the years that distort original purpose. Two such changes are the newly proposed Clean Air Transport Rule and the Utility Air Toxics Rule, were recently the subject of a hearing organized by Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), chairman of the Clean Air and Nuclear Safety subpanel.
The Utility Air Toxics Rule aims to cut back on mercury emission from coal-powered electricity generators, while the Clean Air Transport Rule ventures to reduce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions by thousands of tons.
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