What’s interesting in the news today?
1. The Ohio State Buckeyes are the national champions. And now that the first ever college playoffs are over, what did you think of it?
From MSNSports “They took advantage of an opportunity they never would have had in the BCS, shrugging off questions about if they belonged among the college football’s final four. Cardale Jones, Ezekiel Elliott and the Buckeyes won the first College Football Playoff national championship, upsetting Marcus Mariota and Oregon 42-20 on Monday night.
Behind their bullish backup quarterback Jones and the relentless running of Elliott, the Buckeyes (14-1) completed a remarkable in-season turnaround with a dominating performance against the Ducks (13-2).”
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2. The House is trying to rollback Obama’s executive overreach. I know, which one, right?
From TheHill “The GOP-led House Rules Committee late Monday advanced a bill to the floor that would fund the Department of Homeland Security through September and several amendments that would roll back President Obama’s immigration policies.
The House will likely vote on each of the amendments and the spending bill on Wednesday. The GOP-sponsored amendments are expected to be adopted and wrapped into the spending bill.
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), chairman of the Rules panel, said Republicans want to withhold funding for the executive orders because Obama’s actions are “unlawful, illegal and unconstitutional.”
The amendments would defund Obama’s executive orders on immigration from November, the Morton Memos of 2011 and 2012 that relaxed some immigration laws and the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that defers deportations of children who came to the United States illegally.
Other amendments focus on immigration enforcement for sex offenders and prioritizing people who came to the U.S. legally ahead of those who arrived illegally.”
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3. The Keystone pipeline passes its initial Senate hurdle. Still no idea if they have the Democrat votes needed to override Obama’s threatened veto.
From LegalInsurrection/TheAP “Legislation approving construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline cleared an initial Senate hurdle Monday, a victory for newly empowered Republicans angling for a quick veto showdown with President Barack Obama.
The bipartisan 63-32 vote was 3 more than the 60 required, and well above the level the highly controversial measure ever gained in recent years when Democrats controlled the Senate….
But with more than enough votes at their command, Republican and Democratic supporters said they hoped the legislation could win final approval and be sent to the White House by the end of next week.
“President Obama has every reason to sign the jobs and infrastructure bill that we will pass,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. He noted that the Nebraska Supreme Court had recently rejected a legal challenge brought by opponents, an obstacle the White House had cited.”
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4. More “green science” myths bite the dust.
From HotAir “Not that anyone in the anti-energy community will pay attention to this, but the debate over hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and energy extraction in general has delivered another blow to the Green Energy crew. In fact, several of the most commonly repeated stories about the health hazards associated with the oil and gas energy have turned out to be “claims masquerading as science.”
[Dr. Dan Hill, head and professor and Noble Chair of the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A & M University] cited a study in Colorado, which alleged that people who live within a half mile of a natural gas well are at higher risk of cancer. That study was later criticized by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for it flawed methodology and was eventually decommissioned by the Garfield County Commissioners in Colorado.
Similarly, some residents of Flower Mound, Texas (north of Fort Worth) suspected that breast cancers were linked to increased drilling. After extensive investigation by the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, the Texas Cancer Registry, and Susan G. Komen for the cure in Dallas all said there is no evidence of an increase in cancers. The Texas Department of State Health Services also found no connection between natural gas production and cancer in 2014.
In order to appreciate the impact of these results, do a Google search on Flower Mound, Texas and Fracking. This case has taken on legendary status among fracking opponents. It brought the phrase cancer cluster to national prominence and fueled the opposition to hydraulic fracturing in the liberal media for years. It was accepted as gospel that the incidence rate of cancers must be higher and, even in the absence of any evidence of a causal relationship, that it must have been caused by fracking. However we now see groups including Komen for the Cure saying that there was no increase and no relationship.”
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Wandering Views 