Whores, Idiots and Heretics
When it comes to the subject of Global Warming, Climate Change or the Environment, I have concluded that everyone generally falls into one of three distinct categories: Whores, Idiots and Heretics.
The Eco-Whores: The best (or worst, depending on your perspective) example I can give is Al Gore. He has worked tirelessly spreading the gospel of climate change. He has done such an effective job that he even won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work. Note that I said “Peace” prize – not economics, physics or chemistry. You see, these prizes are for the hard sciences – things subject to extensive peer review and public scrutiny. The Peace prize, on the other hand, is a purely political prize handed out to whoever is popular at the moment. No real work goes into winning this prize – you just have to be popular.
Al Gore is a Whore because he has worked diligently to shape public policy in the US and around the world for no other reason than to expand his financial holdings. Gore was one of the co-founders of Generation Investment Management LLP, a for-profit corporation that “integrates sustainability research into a rigorous traditional investment process in order to deliver superior long-term results.” In other words, lobbies government to pass silly laws like Cap-and-Trade so that Al Gore and his buddies can make a quick buck selling eco-snake oil.
Gore isn’t the only eco-whore out there. There are thousands of “scientists” who have sold their integrity so that they could get their hands on research dollars. Here is an example as reported in The Washington Post.
In one e-mail from 1999, the center's [Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia (UEA)] director, Phil Jones, alludes to one of Mann's articles in the journal Nature and writes, "I've just completed Mike's Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (i.e., from 1981 onwards) and from 1961 for Keith's to hide the decline [in temperature]."
In other words, if the data doesn’t agree with the green agenda, lie!
The biggest Whores of all are the politicians who use a fabricated crisis to sell a bill of goods that the ignorant masses will gladly accepts. As with all the other sub-groups of Whores, the truth be damned and don’t forget to throw in a dose of theatrics to cover up your lack of hard evidence. Take the example of Senator Timothy Wirth (D-CO). In the PBS Series Frontline, the episode titled Hot Politics (April 24, 2007), the narrator states “he we was not above using a little stagecraft for [James] Hansen’s testimony”. Wirth admits, “We called the weather bureau and found out what was historically the hottest day of the summer.” They scheduled Hansen to testify on that day. Wirth further stated, “we went in the night before and opened all the windows, I will admit, so that the air conditioning wasn’t working inside the room.”
He said all this with a sly smile. Bastard! You purposely altered reality to get you agenda on the map.
The Eco-Idiots: What passes for science in the minds of most people of the world is tragic. The Idiots understand of the workings of scientists bears more resemblance alchemy than to the application of the scientific method. Like religious zealots, they simply listen to the holy word and follow the teachings of whichever Eco-Whore has pushed his way into the pulpit.
To the Idiots, the earth is heating up, the oceans are rising and we are all destined to be blown away by a category 20 hurricane sometime soon! At least that’s what they say they believe. Examine their actions, and you will see a different thing indeed. I do not know a single person who has made any significant effort to live a “green” lifestyle. Sure, some nibble around the edges by putting trash into a recycle bin or buying bullshit eco-friendly products. Sadly, they are too stupid to check things out for themselves. They don’t realize that 80% of the material chucked into the recycle bin gets forwarded to the regular landfill (while unwilling taxpayers like myself are billed to have the trash sorted at the plant). They don’t bother to read the fine print on the eco-friendly product label to see that the stuff is just a diluted version of the regular product. They just know that they “feel good” doing something green.
However, rarely does their action mesh with the lip-service they pay to the environment. Just look at the popularity of SUVs and big screen televisions. The fact is that most of these Idiots are unwilling to change any meaningful aspect of their lives in order to achieve their stated goal of reducing carbon emissions. From my perspective, the only thing that matters is knowledge and results. The Idiots have neither knowledge nor do they produce results.
The Eco-Heretic: Well, that’s me. I don’t believe any of this Anthropogenic Global Warming bullshit.
The Wall has fallen. Long live the Wall!
I had hoped that I would be able to post a long overdue obituary today for The Berlin Wall (August 13, 1961 – November 9, 1989). Along with it should have been all of Socialism as well. Sadly, socialist and walls still exist.
The wall was constructed as a means of imposing Socialism on an unwilling population. During The Wall’s existence, over 5,000 people successfully escaped. By some estimates, more than 1,000 died trying. It is difficult to be sure of this number given the totalitarian nature of the East German government.
Less than 48 hours ago, lurking about in the dead of night much like a Stasi agent, the US House of Representatives strung the barbed wire that served as a temporary barrier prior to the construction of the concrete wall. Built out of more than 1,900 pages of paper, the ObamaCare package will trap me, an unwilling victim, inside a system of socialized medicine.
Next, the Senate will pour the concrete. Once the bill makes it to the Conference Committee, the concrete will harden. After that, Obama promises punishment for all who do not cooperate. Erich Honecker may have died in 1994, his reincarnation now lives in The White House. Long live the Wall!
I Demand Equal Rights!
Yesterday I received a letter from my health insurance carrier. Along with the literature was a notice titled, “Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998″. It explains that federal law requires insurance carriers to pay for reconstructive surgery (ie. a boob job) for women who undergo mastectomies. Cancer is a tragedy, to be sure, and reconstructive surgery can provide some small degree of comfort to those who suffer.
Here is my gripe – why is there no “Men’s Health and Cancer Rights Act”? What happens if we suffer testicular cancer? Why doesn’t the government mandate that insurance carriers have to pay for neuticles?
Who watches the non-profit organizations?
Under the US tax code, various types of organizations can claim tax-exempt status. There are several different flavors depending on the type of activity the organization conducts. In general, they are categorized according to the section of the Internal Revenue Code their exemption qualifies for. Traditional non-profit organizations which do bona-fide charitable work are often referred to as being “501(c)(3)”. This means that contributions made to these organizations may be used as a deduction on the donor’s tax return. Donations to another type, “501(c)(4)”, are not deductible. This is because 501(c)(4) organizations are allowed to conduct political lobbying campaigns. Some organizations have a parent which is 501(c)(4) with one or more affiliates that are 501(c)(3).
Recently, we have heard quite a bit about the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) in the press. A July 2009 congressional report — titled “Is ACORN Intentionally Structured As a Criminal Enterprise?” lists 361 organizations affiliated with ACORN. I would list the URL for this report, however sometime within the past week it has been removed from the house.gov website. Fortunately, I saved a copy of the original document before the link disappeared.
Current allegations against ACORN involve voter fraud, the mis-allocation of millions of dollars and certain scandals involving a pimp, prostitute and a hidden video camera. However, ACORN is only one of literally tens of thousands of entities recognized as non-profit by the IRS. Who watches these people?
This morning, I decided to look into non-profits associated with my friend, The Eco-Industrial Complex. I looked up financial information pertaining to 40 non-profit organizations which serve the interest of environmental causes. While my inquiries were in no way a careful, scientific study, the results are non the less eye-opening. The source of my information is Charity Navigator.
The 40 organizations I chose where selected more or less at random. Here are some interesting numbers:
Their total annual income was $3,023,011,143
Their total annual expenses were $2,236,940,217
They collected $786,040,756 more than they spent
Their total assets were $6,963,054,523
Almost $7 Billion in assets (over $4 Billion held by The Nature Conservancy)! That’s enough money to buy 245,600 Prius automobiles! It seems to me that if these organizations really cared about the environment, rather than sitting on all that capital, they would put it to work in a way that would promote their stated goals.
The average personal automobile in the US gets about 17 miles per gallon (remember, there are a lot to SUVs and pickup trucks out there). A Prius gets about 45. Suppose that we replace 245,000 average cars and that the average person drives 10,000 miles per year. That would save 89,670,000 gallons of gas and create 851,865 fewer tons of carbon dioxide. Not that I believe any of this human-caused global warming bullshit. Obviously, the environmental charities don’t either, otherwise, they would really do something about it! Furthermore, these numbers are for only 40 eco-charities. Not counted were what is likely to be thousands more non-profits and hundreds of 501(c)(4) organizations.
P.S. For the record, I drive a smart and get about 35 miles per gallon. See my actual mileage.
Depth of thought
“I think that’s a good idea!” When spoken by most people, this phrase causes me to assume the speaker is either lying or does not understand just what he is saying. The operative word is “think”. In my experience, this is exactly what most people spend all of their lives evading.
Thinking is not an automatic process, it must be practiced and exercised. Since practically nobody does this, how can they possibly “think” something is a good idea? Often times I like to quote Dr. Thomas Sowell who spells out for us in his book Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One, the concept of Stage One Thinking. He explains that Stage One Thinking is when an idea is accepted because of its stated outcome without considering the incentives and consequences.
Dr. Sowell generally discusses this concept as it applies particularly to government actions pointing out that the desired result rarely happen without undesired incentives and consequences. Lets look at an example.
The proponents of ObamaCare (in the common vernacular) have claimed that “If you like your current insurance plan, you will be allowed to keep it” while detractors of ObamaCare claim that “you will have to give up your private insurance.”
Section 102 of HR 3200 is titled, “PROTECTING THE CHOICE TO KEEP CURRENT COVERAGE”. This sounds like a good idea, that is to those who only read the title of the section. However, if you dig into the details, you will learn that the incentives and consequences of this section mean something else entirely. You may keep your current coverage only if:
"Subject to paragraph (3) and except as required by law, the issuer does not change any of its terms and conditions, including benefits and cost-sharing, from those in effect as of the day before the first day of Y1."
Without reading the full section of the law, this is somewhat difficult to understand. However, what it is saying is that you can indeed keep your current coverage so long as your insurer does not change the price or benefits. This is where those pesky “incentives and consequences” rear their ugly head.
Health and Life insurance premiums increase as we get older. Furthermore, insurance carriers sometimes elect to revoke coverage of certain benefits when they are discovered to be ineffectual, over-priced or simply unnecessary. However, if the carrier makes any change to the policy, you will have no choice but to leave the plan and seek coverage in a “government approved” plan.
Since the carriers will do everything possible to retain customers, yet no longer have the tool of adjusting price or product, something will have to change. Maybe they will lay off members of their claims processing staff in order to avoid a price increase. Hospitals and physicians will have to wait longer for payment. Maybe they will not pay dividends to shareholders thus causing their stock value to decrease. That will have a negative impact on people who own their stock – some of these people will be retirees. The point is that we just don’t know what impact this legislation will have on the insurance industry but I think it is a fairly safe bet that bankruptcy will not be out of the question.
So before you go running off at the mouth saying that you “think” ObamaCare is a good idea, actually put some “thought” into the proposition.
Pickpockets vs. Murderers
I just had a thought. Back during Clinton’s first administration, Hillary set the stage as being a VERY activist First Lady by proposing what was called “Hillary Care”. The proposal was dead on arrival. To the best of my knowledge, there was never even a bill presented in Congress to match the scheme she proposed. It didn’t take much public opposition for the plan to die a quiet death.
Now, we have Obama Care. There are about a dozen congressional bills and proposals to carry the plan forward. This has elicited hundreds of angry confrontations at town hall meetings, a Congressman calling Obama a liar in an extremely public venue and a march on Washington protesting the plan with anywhere from 30,000 to a million participants (depending of which source you believe). Despite all this, the Administration is not backing down.
Here is my take on the above facts. Hillary and Bill were going after health care simply for the purposes of pandering for votes. Obama, on the other hand, is Socialist to the core and truly believes that he has a moral imperative.
This being stated, I would like to point out that it is much easier to push back against a politician who is pandering for votes. They are generally crafty enough to rephrase their message in such a way as to express, “I didn’t really mean that we should…” The myrmidons will go back to grazing.
However, when dealing with a moral zealot, there can be no retraction. They will function with all the passion of a religious terrorist. As Ayn Rand taught us, “When force is the standard, the murderer wins over the pickpocket.”
Obama Is Great!
Barack Obama is absolutely the greatest thing that ever happened to America. That is, since December 16, 1773, the date of The Boston Tea Party. Obama has mobilized millions of Americans – sadly for him, none of them seem to support his agenda.
It all started on October 12, 2008, when Obama made his famous “spread the wealth around” comment to Joe the Plumber. At that moment, the whole world was able to see in no uncertain terms that Obama is a Socialist. He denies the label, but all the facts show otherwise.
Point: Obama happily accepted a copy of “The Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a continent,” a book by Eduardo Galeano, which chronicles U.S. and European economic and political interference in the region, from Hugo Chavez. Reports in the media indicate that sales of this book on Amazon increased substantially on Amazon.
Counterpoint: Another books is selling like hotcakes – “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand. Thank you Mr. Obama!
Point: At the behest of the United Auto Workers union, the people of the United States now own a substantial share of Chrysler and General Motors. For decades, these two companies have been collapsing under the weight of union thugs driving up costs and driving down productivity. Now that the union has driven both companies into bankruptcy, they run to Uncle Sam for a bailout.
Counterpoint: Under the government’s “Cash for Clunkers” program, more than 80% of vehicles sold are NOT Chrysler or GM products. Looks like the car buying public are not supporting the Nationalized automobile industry.
Point: Conspiring with Democrat members of Congress, he has started the process of Socializing the entire health care industry of the United States. Obama has created the White House’s Health Reform Office and appointed Linda Douglass the Communications Director. She has openly assaulted the Drudge Report and other who speak out against this gross violation of the Constitution.
Counterpoint: Millions of freedom loving Americans have responded. Every day there are new video clips of ordinary people asking hard questions of Congressional Demi-Gods. The pressure is mounting so badly that Town Hall meetings are overflowing with opponents of Socialized health care.
Obama may be the best thing to happen to Liberty since the American Revolution. He has awaken a sleeping giant and that giant is saying, “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”
Remember, Remember
The following speech was deliver by V to the citizens of London in the movie V for Vendetta. It sums up my thinking quite accurately.
“Good Morning, London. Allow me first, to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of the everyday routine, the security of the familiar, the tranquility of television. I enjoy them as much as anyone.
But in the spirit of commemoration whereby those important events of the past, usually associated with someone’s death or with the end of some awful bloody struggle, are celebrated with a nice holiday, I thought that this year we could mark the Fifth of November, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat.
There are those, of course, who do not want us to speak. In fact, I suspect that right now orders are being shouted into phones and that men with guns will soon be on their way.
Anything and everything will be done to stop me talking to you.
Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. The truth is there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn’t there?
Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And here once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission.
How did this happen? Who is to blame? Certainly there are those who are more responsible than others and they will be held accountable. But again, if truth be told, if you are looking for the guilty, you need only look in the mirror.
I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn’t be. War, terror, disease. Food and water shortages. There were myriad problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you and in your panic you turned to the now High Chancellor Adam Sutler with his gleaming boots of polished leather and his garrison of goons. He promised you order; he promised you peace. And all he demanded in return was you silent, obedient consent.
Last night, I sought to end the silence. Last night I destroyed the Old Bailey to remind this country of what it had forgotten. Four hundred years ago, one of our citizens wished to embed the Fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice and freedom were more than words – they are perspectives. So, if you have seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you then I suggest that you allow the Fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see – if you feel as I feel – if you would seek as I seek – freedom from their tyranny and an end to their oppression, then I ask you stand beside me one year from last night outside the gate of Parliament, and together, we shall give them a Fifth of November that shall never, ever be forgot!”
ObamaCare and the Post Office
Yesterday, I had an odd encounter at the Post Office. I needed to make a left turn (NOT in the political sense!) across a busy street to get into the parking lot. In front of me was a mini-van waiting to turn left as well. On the back window of their vehicle was an Obama “Yes We Did” sticker.
In addition to being annoyed by having once again to be reminded that we now have a Socialist In Chief, I wondered just exactly what was delaying the van from moving. Minutes passed without traffic. Finally, she went into the parking lot and I followed.
The driver of the van went inside with me following. I was not surprised to see a line of people waiting and only ONE clerk working the counter. Minutes passed and the line slowly progressed. A lady came into the building, raised her voice and asked the clerk, “I came in earlier to buy coils of stamps and you said you where out. Do you have enough books of stamps to sell me 200 stamps”? The clerk replied “Yes”.
At that point, mini-van woman said, “You think they would get him some help back there” to which I replied, “What are you complaining about? This is exactly how Obamacare will work”. I cannot remember ever getting a more evil look in my life and I genuinely worried that she would hit me.
Why was she so mad? What I said was true. A customer had come into the Government run Monopoly to buy a product, was told that the supply had run out and was sent away without the offer of an alternative. She then had to return to beg for a lesser product that cost just as much. Sounds like Obamacare to me!
The Negative Externalities of Organic Food
Tonight, Penn & Teller will expose the myth or Organic food for exactly what it is: Bullshit!
In their excellent television show, Bullshit!, they will tell us that, just like “Global Warming”, there just isn’t any science to back up the claims of those who extol the virtues of an Organic diet. A paper published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (a peer-reviewed scientific journal) concludes that “Our review indicates there is currently no evidence to support the selection of organic over conventionally produced foods on the basis of nutritional superiority”.
I bet, however, that Penn & Teller will miss yet another point never spoken of regarding Organic food: Organic food hurts poor people. If you want to know how, read on.
In the science of economics, we recognize a phenomenon known as “externalities”. They come in both the positive and negative flavor. An example of a positive externality is when a business adds pretty landscaping to the front of its office building. Anyone passing by can enjoy looking at the scenery, but there is no practical way for the company to charge for the positive experience. In this case, a party having no part in the financial transaction benefits.
In the case of Organic food, there is a negative externality imparted onto everyone who does not buy the stuff. Due to the lack of use of conventional (and therefore, more effective) pesticides and fertilizers, the yield per acre of all organic crops is less than that of conventional crops. Since Organic foods have a higher market prices, it provides an incentive for farmers to take land previously used for conventional crops and divert them to use for Organic crops.
Now that there is less land available for conventional crops, rents on this space will increase. This increase in land use cost will be reflected in the final price of the conventional crops. While those of us who buy only conventional produce had no part in the financial transactions of producers and purchasers of Organic food, we suffer none the less from the negative externality of higher prices for conventional produce. Due to the availability of less disposable income, the poor are hurt by this phenomenon more than the well to do.
Almost universally, the Organic crowd are your typical Lefty/Liberal/Socialists. And, once again, they say they want to help poor people while simultaneously doing them more harm than good.