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7/10/2009
Landsverk: One more example of politicians thinking they are God
It’s hard to be involved in politics these days because just when you think things can’t get any dumber, worse, infuriating, maddening … I guess just plain eye-rolling, you read another news report. My latest “I cannot believe these politicians believe this stuff” moment came Thursday morning when I read the leaders at the G-8 Conference, a world meeting being held in Italy, want to make sure that global temperatures don’t rise more than 3.6 degrees.
How, my slow-witted mind thought, can a bunch of politicians think they can control the weather? The incredible arrogance it takes to believe that Man is so brilliant that he can control the weather is beyond the pale. We can’t predict the weather three days in advance but we now claim we can control it? You’ve got to be kidding.
I can see it now as President Obama sits in the Oval Office and gets a report from the “World Weather Center” that global temperatures have just risen 3.4 degrees and immediate action must be taken to avert the California coast from being washed into the Pacific Ocean. The Chosen One then spins in his chair and picks up the glass case that is protecting what used to be the red Bat Phone. He picks up the receiver as the red light flashes with urgency.
“Get me the Industrial Minister in charge of Midwest coal production, pronto,” the President calmly decrees. “We have to cut our coal carbon emission output to zero this month. I’ll let you know when we can re-use our coal power plants.”
With certain calamity averted, the President gets out a cigarette, flicks the match across the bottom of his shoe, lights the heater and sits back with a feeling of accomplishment. It is great saving the planet from ruin, he thinks.
I’ve got a different idea. Maybe there is a higher being that knows a bit more than a president, prime minister or scientist about the weather. Maybe the weather changes because the weather changes and Man can’t do a darn thing about it. Just a thought.
I am so glad that we, the common citizen, have political leaders who can with the signing of a piece of paper solve all the world’s problems. Even some problems, as in the case of global warming, oops, I mean “climate change,” that don’t exist.
If you want to get a scorecard out now we can run down all of the things Washington, D.C. insiders are experts in running.
- Car companies. Never mind that President Obama hasn’t managed a single business in his entire life, he knew enough about the car industry in just two or three meetings with his advisors to fire the man leading the top car company in America. Then, he hired a guy to unwind the auto mess who is in his early 30s who has never run a company or even been involved in the auto industry. And now the American taxpayer gets to own two car companies. Brilliant.
- Insurance. Because certain insurance companies were “too big to fail” our leaders figured that we might as well own AIG, too.
- Health care. Never mind that the three things government already runs, i.e. Medicare, Medicaid and the Veteran’s Hospitals, are either going broke or woefully mismanaged, we now hear that their must be a “public option” for health care to work. I’ve got a simple question, why would any employer offer insurance to their employees if they knew the government would pick up the tab? Government-run health care has not worked in any other country that has tried it and having it in this country would be a disaster. Can you say rationing?
- Energy, i.e. Cap and Trade. Cap and Trade is a confusing bill, but in essence the government wants to punish industries that use carbon-based fuels and are going to tax them in favor of “green” energies. This idiocy is intertwined with the climate change movement and is probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of. Farmers will be hurt. The paper industry will be hurt. Any industry that uses carbon fuels will see their energy costs go up, unless they’ve already cut a deal with Congress. I do know that wind turbines will never be able to power a tractor or the sun will never fuel a semi hauling groceries. We already are the only country in history that refuses to drill its own oil or tap its own natural gas. I guess the only way to top this is to tax ourselves for using these cheap, efficient fuels. Damn the free market.
So in six months we’ve moved closer and closer to a European-style of socialism by following leaders that have no grasp of reality. I suggest we all just take a deep breath and understand that as the great Ronald Reagan often said, “Government isn’t the solution to our problems, government is the problem.”
The quicker we trust in ourselves and in each other is the quicker we’ll fix the problems we now face in this country.
Bart Landsverk is the general manager of the Times-Villager, Kaukauna.
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