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Author: Leslie Eastman

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Leslie Eastman

I am an Environmental Health and Safety Professional, as well as a science/technical writer for a variety of news and professional publications. I have been a citizen activist since 2009, and am one of the co-founders of the San Diego-based group, Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on June 02, 2015 27 Comments
As I was joining a friend for lunch at a local craft beer establishment, I caught this bumper sticker that I can't help but share with you. Food and Friends June 2015 002 Today, this sentiment is even more true. You may recall last week that a Fox News pundit referred to President Obama as "delusional" over his claims that climate change was a national security issue. Obama's most recent statements clearly show he has left the junction of reason and sanity:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 28, 2015 18 Comments
Now that former Senator Rick Santorum has dived into the presidential pool, I thought I would check the status of a candidate who is already in -- Carly Fiorina. Early in her candidacy, Professor Jacobson noted she was "rocking it" by taking the fight to Hillary Clinton. She continues to show the rest of the field how to target the elusive Democratic candidate. For example, Clinton has been less than responsive when it comes to addressing the American press. In contrast, Fiorina held a press conference...directly outside a Clinton event.
First the former Hewlett Packard chief executive popped up outside the Marriott hotel where Clinton was just about to kick off a campaign event, offering to take questions from the press since Clinton so often won't. Forty-five minutes later and six blocks down the road, there Fiorina was again, bragging to the South Carolina House Republican caucus about what she'd just done as they chewed on grilled chicken at a Hilton hotel luncheon. "I've answered probably 420-plus questions on the record about everything, from, 'Is a hot dog a sandwich?' -- I flubbed that one, I will tell you -- to what I would do about ISIS and everything in between," Fiorina said. "And Hillary Clinton has answered maybe 15 questions."

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 27, 2015 48 Comments
Fuzzy Slippers recently pondered if, based on false press reports on the status of the "culture wars," the Tea Party faded away prematurely. Based on my experiences with a vibrant California Tea Party group, I would argue that the conservative citizen movement transmuted. The form changed, based on the needs and political situation of its many members. Yet, several people who have been active in the movement agree that the "culture wars" have played a role in the current status of the Tea Party. Shane Atwell, who writes often about Tea Party-related matters for the San Diego Local Order of Bloggers, makes an interesting connection between social conservatism and the "fading" Tea Party.
I think a lot of the fire left the Tea Party when it got absorbed by the conventional conflict between lefties and conservatives on social issues. It started out as being about limited government (abolishing the federal reserve, getting the government out of housing, reducing taxes, reducing regulations, abolishing Obamacare) and morphed into being about maintaining or expanding government (border fences and marriage restrictions). The leftist media focused on these last and might have known that it would help diffuse the Tea Party.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 25, 2015 6 Comments
Legal Insurrection has been filled with touching Memorial Day pieces, especially Professor Jacobson's on Roslyn Schulte, Johnny “Mike” Spann and Jonathan Porto. My contribution, and one I intend to carry forward on future Memorial Days, will feature American scientists and engineers whose discoveries and innovations have helped our military men and women return to their families. However, I would like to begin with a woman who was not a scientist, but whose World War II innovation still impacts our lives today and allows our service men and women to stay connected to home while they are on duty. Lamarr-Stars-and-Stripes-300x243 Hedy Lamarr was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in Vienna, Austria. After ending an unhappy marriage in 1937, to a wealthy Austrian munitions manufacturer who sold arms to the Nazis, the actress fled to the United States and signed a contract with the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio in Hollywood under the name Hedy Lamarr. She became a big star upon the release of her first American film, Algiers, co-starring Charles Boyer.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 23, 2015 18 Comments
President Barack Obama focused on global climate change in his commencement remarks at the Coast Guard Academy.
“I’m here today to say that climate change constitutes a serious threat to global security, an immediate risk to our national security, and – make no mistake – it will impact how our military defends our country,” Obama said. He added that climate change deniers are negligent and derelict in their duties. "And if you see storm clouds gathering or dangerous shoals ahead, you don’t just sit back and do nothing. You take action to protect your ship, to keep your crew safe. Anything less is negligence. It is a dereliction of duty. And so too with climate change. Denying it or refusing to deal with it endangers our national security," he said.
For those of you want to endure the entire speech, here is the White House video: There are so many perplexing aspects to these remarks, I hardly know where to begin. Such a great deal of evidence refutes the climate assertions made by environmental activists (including expanding Antarctic glacial levels) that failure to question the premise is a dereliction of common sense.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 22, 2015 7 Comments
A ruptured pipe sent 21,000 gallons of oil streaming along the coast of Santa Barbara, and workers are valiantly working to contain and control the strong-smelling release that is marring nine miles of prime California real estate.
State and federal officials on Wednesday investigated what caused a 2-foot-diameter underground pipeline to leak thousands of gallons of crude oil that polluted several miles of wildlife-rich beach and ocean along the scenic Santa Barbara coast. Houston-based Plains All American Pipeline said that in a "worst-case scenario," up to 105,000 gallons of oil spilled Tuesday from its ruptured onshore pipeline and that an estimated 21,000 gallons swept down a storm drain that empties into the Pacific. The company said a control room operator noticed "abnormalities" and shut down the pipeline around 11:30 a.m. PT (2:30 p.m. ET). Around the same time, Santa Barbara County firefighters responded to a report of a strong gasoline smell at Refugio State Beach and found oil pouring into the ocean.
At this point, the response crews appear to have the situation controlled. This is a real blessing, because there will no replay of the BP oil spill drama that impacted the Gulf Coast and allowed an opportunity for Obama to grandstand. A News Today video summarizes the situation:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 21, 2015 7 Comments
The ancient Egyptians worshipped divine bulls...and now it seems to be paying off! The country's stock market has gone bullish after it halted capital gains taxes.
Egypt suspended a capital gains tax on Monday, sending shares soaring after a months-long downturn in which investors had complained of a lack of clarity about the new taxes, with some even taking the government to court. Immediately after the announcement, Egypt's EGX 30 index rose 3.3 percent to 8562.07, according to Egypt's official news agency. By late afternoon, shares were up 6.5 percent. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi approved a law nearly a year ago which placed a 10 percent tax on capital gains, fueling a sell-off by investors in an economy already battered by years of political unrest since the 2011 uprising. The law had been part of a broader government effort to broaden the tax base as it pushed through a host of tough measures, including slashing fuel subsidies, amending the property tax law, imposing a 10 percent tax on stock dividends and allowing the Egyptian pound to devalue somewhat against the dollar.
Contrast that with President Obama, who used America's moms as an excuse to propose capital gains tax increases.
In a wide-ranging interview with Vox, Obama discusses his proposal to raise capital gains taxes on couples making more than $500,000 a year to help pay for middle-class tax breaks. The rate would go from 23.8% to 28%. Obama tells Vox’s Ezra Klein the capital-gains proposal “would make a big difference in our capacity to give a tax break to working moms for child care.” And, says Obama: “There’s no evidence that would hurt the incentives of folks at Google or Microsoft or Uber not to invent what they invent or not to provide services they provide.”

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 20, 2015 57 Comments
Los Angeles now joins two other bastions of progressive political activism in setting the new minimum wage level to $15/hour.
Los Angeles became the largest US city to raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour on Tuesday, as a wage increase bill passed the city council by a vote of 14-1. It is now up to city attorney Mike Feuer to draft an ordinance to implement the new minimum wage requirements. The ordinance will then return to the council for a final vote before becoming law. Under the proposed legislation, the city’s minimum wage would increase to $10.50 in July 2016, and would increase incrementally every year until it reaches $15 in July 2020. For small businesses with 25 or fewer employees, the wage hike would come on a modified schedule with the incremental increases starting in July 2017 and the minimum wage reaching $15 by July 2021. The current minimum wage in California is $9 an hour and is set to increase to $10 in January 2016. In the past year, two other US cities have approved similar wage increase measures. In June 2014, Seattle moved to increase its minimum wage to $15 by 2017. Last November, San Francisco voted to increase its minimum wage to $15 by 2018.
It will be interesting to see the economic fallout from this decision. As many aspiring actors and actresses work fast food jobs and hold entry-level service positions to survive while catching their big break, I would anticipate that Hollywood will be feeling the pinch in a much more limited pool of talent. And that is likely to be only one of many unintended consequences of this vote.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 17, 2015 19 Comments
I recently reported that some Vatican officials were unhappy with scientists who directly challenged the questionable data and erroneous assertions being used as the basis for Pope Francis' upcoming eco-encyclical. Now, in a drama worthy of a Dan Brown novel, there is a dispute about the status of that much-anticipated publication. A widely-cited report has been released by an Italian journalist who covers the Catholic Church and the Vatican indicating that these papal plans may be delayed. Hot from Italy's "L'espresso": E questo sarebbe il teologo di fiducia del papa? (Translated by my SoCal Tax Revolt Coalition colleague, Anthony Porrello)
According to Vaticanist Sandro Magister, Pope Francis has decided to postpone the publication of his long-awaited encyclical on the environment. The reason, according to Magister, is that the Pope realized that the document in its current state had no chance of receiving the approval of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith under the leadership of Cardinal Gerhard Müller. If it seems somewhat improper for a Cardinal to be telling a Pope what he can and can't write, don't fret, gentle reader: the text wasn't written by Pope Francis at all.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 14, 2015 21 Comments
The last time we checked in with Pope Francis, he was preparing an encyclical addressing "the moral cause of climate change." A group from the Heartland Institute, which promotes free-market solutions to social and economic problems, was on its way to Rome to present data that would give the pontiff a more science-based perspective than the faith-based theories of climate change activists. Sadly, the team did not obtain an audience with the Pope. However, they did hold a "Environmental Workshop" in an attempt to formally present information to the public in hopes that it will eventually been seen by the Holy Father. There were many wonderful talks, but perhaps the most poignant was given by Christopher Monckton, British peer and chief policy advisor to the Science and Public Policy Institute (SPPI).

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 10, 2015 13 Comments
As I was preparing for my Mother's Day vacation getaway, this tweet came across my screen: LI #04b Salon Mother's Day Tweet A worthy question, as I thought progressives would be positively joyful at this point in the "Hope and Change" presidency. However, they seem to be clinging to their bitterness. Following the social media trail, it turns out that in a piece on Salon.com, author Anne Lamott transforms a happy holiday into a scourge:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 07, 2015 26 Comments
When the history of the past decade gets written, it will be peppered liberally with the word "unprecedented." California Governor Jerry Brown recently unveiled the state’s first water restrictions in response to the “mega-drought." In a move that will surprise almost no one, our state legislature passed the "unprecedented" proposal:
California regulators approved sweeping, unprecedented restrictions Tuesday on how people, governments and businesses can use water amid the state’s ongoing drought in the hope of enticing residents to conserve more water. The State Water Resources Control Board approved rules forcing cities to limit watering on public property, encouraging homeowners to let their lawns die and imposing mandatory water-savings targets for hundreds of local agencies and cities that supply water to California customers. Gov. Jerry Brown sought to tighten the already strict regulations, arguing that voluntary conservation efforts have not yielded the water savings needed amid a four-year drought. Brown ordered water agencies to cut urban water use by 25 percent from levels in 2013, the year before the drought emergency was declared.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 05, 2015 22 Comments
We have been following the fallout from the shootings that centered around a “Draw Mohammed” event. Most of the media is honing in on blaming the victims, as if Pam Geller had it coming to her. Noah Rothman at Hot Air writes, The toxic implication that Pamela Geller had last night’s terror attack in Texas coming:
When political commentators note that there is no justification for sexual violence, they aren’t adhering to doctrinal feminism but the tenets of civilized Western thought. No woman, a responsible citizen would say, invites violence merely because their assailant was uncontrollably stimulated by their victim’s choice of attire. This is such a bedrock principle of human decency that it barely needs to be said. Only the most brutish and crude among us would contend otherwise. Why then does it appear vogue to imply that a terrorist attack on a Texas American Freedom Defense Initiative event organized by the group’s president, Pamela Geller, was the inevitable result of provocation on the part of the victims?
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, and promises more:
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack outside a Prophet Mohammed cartoon contest in Texas -- and warned of more attacks to come. In a broadcast on its official radio channel Tuesday, the group said two Al Khilafa soldiers opened fire outside the event in Garland, a Dallas suburb. Al Khilafa is how ISIS refers to its soldiers. The gunmen, Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, wounded a security guard before police shot and killed them. The ISIS radio announcer also referred to Simpson and Soofi as the terror group's "brothers." The announcement ended with this warning: "We say to the defenders of the cross, the U.S., that future attacks are going to be harsher and worse. The Islamic State soldiers will inflict harm on you with the grace of God. The future is just around the corner."
It turns out that the winner of the "Draw the Prophet" contest, Bosch Fawstin, was previously featured at Legal Insurrection when I covered a special conference organized by conservative talk show host Tammy Bruce:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 03, 2015 24 Comments
The past few days have been difficult for American law enforcement. First, the Baltimore officers involved in the arrest and subsequent death of new civil rights icon, Freddie Gray, have had the legal book thrown at them. Now, protests in several of country's deepest blue and most "tolerant" areas have devolved into hostilities against police.
Crowds clashed with police during May Day marches in several U.S. West Coast cities late on Friday, as officers responded with stun grenades and pepper spray, police and media said. Anti-capitalist protesters hurled wrenches and rocks at officers in Seattle, police said. Demonstrators in Oakland, California, and several other cities, rallied against a series of police killings of unarmed black men, local media reported. Footage on social media showed protesters smashing shop windows in Seattle and crowds scattering as police in riot gear threw in "flashbang" grenades. Demonstrators set fire to garbage and damaged at least two dozen vehicles, police said.
The city's top law enforcement officer shared this:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 01, 2015 13 Comments
Amid all the violence and chaos on the streets of Baltimore, I thought I would check on the status of the chaos and violence in Libya. The last time we reported about the region, Egypt's commandos were striking ISIS, its air force was bombing terror strongholds, and its President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, was calling for a United Nations resolution mandating an international coalition to intervene. As one might have projected, the UN response has been less than robust. So, Egypt is planning another operation.
Egypt reportedly is preparing a large-scale ground and air assault along the Libyan border to oust the Islamic State group from eastern Libya. DebkaFile, quoting military and intelligence sources, said naval and marine forces are assembling at Egypt's Mediterranean ports for a possible assault on Derna, the militants' provincial capital. DebkaFile noted the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, represents an unacceptable threat to Egypt, and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has been warned extremists already have penetrated some Egyptian towns and military units. ISIS fighters are being smuggled through the Sinai Peninsula and Egypt from Syria and Iraq by drug rings, DebkaFile said.
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