March 2014 Archives

A claim has come before the nation's highest court complaining that insurance coverage for contraceptives contained in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are an infringement of religious freedoms and, therefore, in violation of the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993.

The First Amendment prohibits Congress from passing legislation restricting the free exercise of religion and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act provides the Government shall not substantially burden a person's exercise of religion.

A recent Associated Press news item by Jason Dearen and Don Thompson warns us that we may experience an immediate 12 cent increase in gas prices as a direct result of California's greenhouse gas reduction law.  Moreover, this 12 cent gouge is just the beginning; gas prices could ultimately increase by as much as 40 cents per gallon.

AB 32, a California State Assembly bill passed in 2006, requires the reduction of statewide "Green House Gases" (GHG) emissions to 1990 levels but gives air-polluters until 2020 to get the job done.  Accordingly, one might assume fourteen years is plenty of time for these massive air polluters to clean up their act.