What's with "smart meters" that are being installed on our houses?

Illinois Electricity Customers Forced to Get 'Smart Meters' or Pay Fine 

... " Tammy Yeakel’s power company, PPL Energy, had helpfully installed a “smart meter” on her home that could monitor her power usage in real time. The meter uploaded that information to PPL’s website, so she could identify peak usage times during the day."

 

ComEd customers refusing smart meter will be charged $21.53 a month

Smart Meters: We can monitor everything you do in your home (Video)

"Although Smart Meters are promoted as energy efficiency components, the actual intent of these meters is to track your use of energy in real time across every 24hr. period, which will allow the provider to bill you for that period at the highest energy rate for the day.

"They have another purpose: thanks to Smart Meters, every appliance in your home will be monitored.

"As you will be rationed only so much energy for any 24 hr. period, opening and closing your refridgerator too many times during the daily billing cycle can cause your power to be disrupted. Your use of lights, appliances and even your time on the Net will be charged against your daily allowance of power."

 

Pros and Cons of Smart Meters

There is even a website on this subject: Stop Smart Meters!

Jonathan Turley: The left’s indifference to Obama’s executive power grabs is beginning to border on a cult of personality

Hot Air    "Precedents are being set that will be built on by future presidents of both parties; for all the complaining about executive overreach by Democrats circa 2006 and Republicans today, the cold realities of power are what they are. I’m tempted to say that it was O’s latest unlawful delay to ObamaCare’s employer mandate that soured Turley’s mood, but I don’t think that’s it. I think it was the State of the Union, where Obama embraced bypassing Congress as formal policy. Look out for the phrase “borders on authoritarianism.' ” 

It's official: the American press is pathetic (Updated)

 

Rick Moran;  How 'free' is our 'Free Press'?  ... "The U.S. has taken a hit largely from the post-9/11 insistence on fetishizing claims of "national security" (Rep. Mike Rogers now wants to criminalize the publication of sensitive information like that released by Edward Snowden) and from the Obama administration's crusade against whistleblowers."

 

Reporters Without Borders reports: “One step forward, two steps back for media freedom”  "These media freedom concerns are part of a wider trend that has come to light in recent months. The Obama administration has named James Rosen of Fox News as a co-conspirator in its case against State Edward Snowden, and Bradley Manning, who is currently on trial for passing documents to WikiLeaks."

Department leaker Stephen Jin-Woo Kim. Moreover, Jeffrey Sterling, the former CIA employee, is the seventh former government employee to face prosecution under the Espionage Act since Obama took office..."

 

Crazy Gets A Pass When It’s ‘Progressive’   "During his monologue segment on The Five last night, co-host Greg Gutfeld slammed the lamestream media for turning a blind eye to loons just because they happen to be leftist loons."

None of The Network Newscasts Reporting Ray Nagin’s Corruption Conviction Bother To Mention He’s A Democrat…

Michelle’s $12,000 Dress Cost More Than Median Yearly Household Income Worldwide of $9,733

 

CNS News   "The blue and black designer dress that first lady Michelle Obama wore to Tuesday’s state dinner for the French president reportedly cost between $10,000 and $12,000, according to news media, which is more than the median annual household income worldwide of $9,733, and greater than the median income for households in at least 87 countries, according to data from Gallup."

IRS Targeted Established Conservative Groups for Audits, Too

Wall Street Journal    “ 'We now know that the IRS targeted not only right-leaning applicants, but also right-leaning groups that were already operating as 501(c)(4)s,” Mr. Camp said in a statement. “At Washington, DC’s direction, dozens of groups operating as 501(c)(4)s were flagged for IRS surveillance, including monitoring of the groups’ activities, websites and any other publicly available information. Of these groups, 83% were right-leaning. And of the groups the IRS selected for audit, 100% were right-leaning.' ”

Vulnerable Democrats Want the IRS to Do More of Something that ‘Outraged’ Obama Last Year  "We can officially mark the Democrats’ feigned outrage at the IRS targeting conservative groups from 2010 through 2013 as dead. They weren’t really outraged about it then when the IRS engineered its disclosure, and they want even more of it now. Even the systematic persecution of Catherine Engelbrecht by multiple executive branch agencies doesn’t bother them. Democrat Rep. Elijah Cummings piled on even more persecution."
"What the Democrats really want is to silence everyone who disagrees with them. They want a weaponized IRS to make that happen."

Not a ‘Smidgen’ of Corruption… Vulnerable Dems Push IRS to Crack Down on Conservative Groups   "Senate Democrats facing tough elections this year want the Internal Revenue Service to play a more aggressive role in regulating outside groups expected to spend millions of dollars on their races."

 

The Insiders: Obamacare creates new ways to prosecute American business; The President has invented A NEW CRIME!

President Obama is inventing new crimes!

WaPo  "And the fine print of the latest announcement from the Administration is worse than the terrible headlines. This rule includes a provision that says you have to have the right motives for having a certain number of employees to be in compliance with Obamacare. Bear with me, that’s right: You must certify to the IRS – under the threat of perjury – that the reasons for your employee head count have nothing to do with your opposition to or avoidance of Obamacare. This president doesn’t just selectively enforce the law as he sees fit; now he is actually inventing new crimes.  It’s jaw-dropping that if you fall below 100 employees, the burden will be on you to prove that you meant no disrespect to Obamacare.  I can’t wait to see the video of the first Democrat who tries to defend this new threat of prosecution within Obamacare.  In fact, look for the White House to fix this and somehow drop this provision altogether.  It’s completely indefensible."

 

Emphasis added.

 

Hillary Clinton Kept Records Of Her Time As First Lady To Get “Revenge”…

Weasel Zippers  "Woman is evil."

 

Fayetteville, Arkansas (CNN) – Shortly before Hillary Clinton’s effort to pass health care reform died in the summer of 1994, the first lady asked a close friend and confidant for advice on “how best to preserve her general memories of the administration and of health care in particular.”

When asked why, according to the friend’s June 20, 1994, diary entry, Clinton said, “Revenge.”

That exchange is among thousands of pages of notes, letters, and diary entries penned by Diane Blair, a political science professor and longtime Clinton friend whose papers were donated to the University of Arkansas after her death in 2000.

 

Diary of Hillary Clinton's confidante reveals the jeers over Bill's affair that Chelsea had to endure at Stanford   ... "Also drawing focus were the conclusions of a secret poll conducted by pollsters Celinda Lake and Stan Greenberg in 1992 that painted Hillary in a horible political light.

" 'While voters genuinely admire Hillary Clinton’s intelligence and tenacity, they are uncomfortable with these traits in a woman,' the public opinion gurus determined.

" 'What voters find slick in Bill Clinton, they find ruthless in Hillary.'

Democrat's War on Work

http://patriotupdate.com/cartoons/liberated/

Roger L Simon: The Democrats’ ‘War on Work’   "The Republicans are supposed to have a “War on Women” that’s about as real as the Loch Ness monster, but the Democrats are developing a war that is considerably more authentic and quite a bit more sinister — a “War on Work.' ” 

 

 

 

 

 

Stalinist Lawlessness: Companies Must Swear to IRS They Didn't Fire Employees Because of Obamacare

Freedom of Speech Clause of the Constitution: 

The Freedom of Speech Clause of the First Amendment is one of the most valuable and precious rights guaranteed to Americans in the United States Constitution. At the same time, it is one of the most abused rights by Americans. The Freedom of Speech Clause of the 1st Amendment reads like this:

"Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech."...

 Full article here.

What on earth does it take before honest democrats become disgusted with this administration?

Rush Limbaugh  " ...  they don't want businesses saying that they're laying people off or firing people because of Obamacare.  That's really what the rub is, and it boils down to they can do what they want but they better not say that they're firing people because of Obamacare.  Now, it's been running around, going around here, that this is a banana republic.  This is way beyond a banana republic now.  This is Stalinism." 

Companies Must Now Swear — to the IRS — That None of Their Layoffs Are Because of Obamacare  "Company officials will be trapped in a catch-22. They can lay off as many people as they want because of Obamacare. But because they’ll have to swear to the IRS that their decisions had nothing to do with Obamacare, they can’t speak publicly about what’s happening. What a great way to silence the people who are on the front lines of dealing with Obamacare’s horrific effects."

 

A clear violation of Freedom of Speech that any honest court should shut down.

Like Hugo Chavez, Obama criminalizes private business decisions

The IRS is the Democrat's Gestapo.

Businesses must swear to the IRS that Obamacare had nothing to do with firings   "The most coercive law in American history just got more coercive.

"In delaying the employer mandate - again - the White House made it clear that businesses thinking of downsizing their company to avoid Obamacare mandates better think again.' "  More.

....

" 'Under penalty of perjury..." Apparently, lying to a grand jury about sex is OK but lying to the IRS about Obamacare will land you in jail."

Companies Must Now Swear — to the IRS — That None of Their Layoffs Are Because of Obamacare   "Company officials will be trapped in a catch-22. They can lay off as many people as they want because of Obamacare. But because they’ll have to swear to the IRS that their decisions had nothing to do with Obamacare, they can’t speak publicly about what’s happening. What a great way to silence the people who are on the front lines of dealing with Obamacare’s horrific effects."   Emphasis added, TD

 

This First Lady's dress is big in the news today

Which would be the relevant point here: that Mrs. Obama lives like the 1% that Democrats revile or that the press gushes over most of what the Obamas do?

 

 

'BOW DOWN:' NBC's White House Producer Goes Gaga Over Michelle Obama's Dress

"Fifty years to the day after The Beatles' first concert in the United States, NBC's Shawna Thomas could have been mistaken for one of the screaming fan girls at the Washington Coliseum. But instead of idolizing the rock and roll band, the network's White House producer shouted for joy over Michelle Obama's gown, which the First Lady wore to Tuesday's state dinner for French President Francois Hollande."

"Chris Matthews might finally have some competition in the Obamas-give-me-the-thrills club for the media."

$400 bottles of wine? 

"That dress is gorgeous!"


Enuff said on this.

The FCC Will Begin Investigating Bias In the Media (and By That, They Mean Conservative Bias)

Ace of Spades  "The transformation of America continues apace."

... "Any corporation -- and any person, actually -- will usually opt for the path of least resistance. It's easier and safer to do the thing that government and society approve of-- you know you face no heat for saying the politically-correct, government-approved thing.

"The FCC's rule seeks to make a progressive tilt in news bias not only "safe" as a matter of social mores and general industry bias towards the left, but also safe as regards the law." ...

Hat tip to Patrick Humphries, who wrote perceptively, "If you like your opinion. You can keep your opinion. (To yourself)."