Gore: Global warming skeptics are this generation’s racists

I don't know if Al Gore truly believes the junk science, or if he is deliberately trying to pull the wool over people's eyes:

One day climate change skeptics will be seen in the same negative light as racists, or so says former Vice President Al Gore.

(Read more...)

“This is an organized effort to attack the reputation of the scientific community as a whole, to attack their integrity, and to slander them with the lie that they are making up the science in order to make money,” Gore said.

No, Mr. Gore, it isn't. It is about watermelons subverting the scientific method for political reasons!

Government Mandated Compact Fluorescent Lights

I don't mind using CFLs where dimmability doesn't matter; where instant brightness doesn't matter; where a balanced, continuous spectrum doesn't matter; where operating cost is important; where longevity is important. Hey, EPA, I am quite capable of making the appropriate illumination choices for myself, thank you very much. And if someone can convince me that using these devices will be beneficial for the environment, I'll support that too -- voluntarily. But government mandates are usually a clear indication that there is no other sufficiently compelling reason for people to do something.

Not Debunking the Laffer Curve

I was discussing the Laffer Curve with a co-worker today, and I argued that it is just as real and just as valid as the effect of price on the law of supply and demand. The difference is in the shape of the curves. In a free market, people pay for things voluntarily, so the peak price point is where the selling price matches the perceived value of the purchase. The peak revenue point on the Laffer Curve is much higher because taxation is compulsory. The Laffer Curve peaks at the point where the oppression from taxation equals the people's will to persevere. What a grim prospect!

I had to admit, the theory that raising taxes would lower revenue, or that lowering taxes would increase revenue is probably a fallacy at our current tax rate, because the Laffer Curve peak is probably close to an 80% tax rate. We're still below that tax rate today. That is not to say the economy wouldn't tank at our current tax rate, but I digress...

It got me thinking, though. If you wanted to know what people really think government is worth, make taxation voluntary. Then, the amount of tax that people would be willing to pay voluntarily would exactly equal the amount of government that We the People think we really need and want. Wouldn't that be interesting?!

The New Counterculture

Fifty some years ago, the 1960s brought forth on this continent a new counterculture, conceived in sex, drugs and rock'n'roll and dedicated to peace and love. They said, "If we were in charge, things would be different." Now, they are in charge, and things are different. It turns out that their leaders are bigger tyrants and oppressors than the ones they criticized. They're using the force of government to compel We the People think and act the way they do.

Today, we have a new counterculture: the tea parties. What are we dedicated to? Well, we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

We are the new counterculture; they are the establishment! And when we regain control, I hope we remember these principles - embodied in The Constitution of the United States - and that we live by them.

Resisting the Natural Progress of Things

Are biodegradable plastic shopping bags the biggest problem Bellingham faces? I think not, because few people were talking about it until a few days before the city council shoved the shopping bag ban down our throats. If it isn’t high on the Bellinghamsters’ agenda, then whose agenda is it? And why is it being imposed on us?

In a free country, when consumers identify a problem, they demand solutions from their producers. Then consumers vote with their dollars for the preferred solution. But no, here we use the force of government to compel everyone to adopt The Agenda, and implement the prescribed solution – under penalty of law.

Mind you, this is not about the bags. This is about freedom. Thomas Jefferson said, "The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." To preserve our freedom, we must resist "the natural progress of things", even over silly things, such as bag bans.

Retailers supporting the ban include Fred Meyer, Albertsons, Haggen, Village Books, Paper Dreams, Terra Organica… maybe others. Please vote with your dollars to let them know, they can promote environmental awareness without disrespecting your freedom so trivially.

Deniers and Heretics and Skeptics -- Oh My!

Many watermelons argue that preservatives are all a bunch of dogmatic Christian fundamentalists who reject science. I don't think that's true. Let's consider the history of science and the role of skeptics and testable hypotheses in the quest for the truth. Following the line from Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Newton, Einstein...

The Americans With No Abilities Act (AWNAA)

This is from an email circulating on the internet (it appears to be a modified version of an article that originally appeared in The Onion):

Washington, DC May 31, 2011 - The Obama Administration is urging Congress and the Senate to pass sweeping legislation that will provide new benefits for many Americans: The Americans With No Abilities Act (AWNAA). President Obama said he will sign it as soon as it hits his desk.

The AWNAA is being hailed as a major legislative goal by advocates of the millions of Americans who lack any real skills or ambition.

'Roughly 50 percent of Americans do not possess the competence and drive necessary to carve out a meaningful role for themselves in society,' said California Senator Barbara Boxer. 'We can no longer stand by and allow People of Inability to be ridiculed and passed over. With this legislation, employers will no longer be able to grant special favors to a small group of workers, simply because they have some idea of what they are doing. We are legalizing another protected class of Americans.'

In a Capitol Hill press conference, former House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) pointed to the success of the U.S. Postal Service, which has a long-standing policy of providing opportunity without regard to performance. Private-sector industries with good records of non-discrimination against the Inept include retail sales (72%), the airline industry (68%), and home improvement 'warehouse' stores (65%). At the state government level, the Department of Motor Vehicles also has an excellent record of hiring Persons of Inability (a whopping 83%).

Under The Americans With No Abilities Act, more than 25 million 'middle man' positions will be created, with important-sounding titles but little real responsibility, thus providing an illusory sense of purpose and performance.

Mandatory non-performance-based raises and promotions will be given so as to guarantee upward mobility for even the most inept employees. The legislation provides substantial tax breaks to corporations that promote a significant number of Persons of Inability into middle-management positions, and gives a tax credit to small and medium-sized businesses that agree to hire one clueless worker for every two talented hires.

Finally, the AWNAA contains tough new measures to make it more difficult to discriminate against the Non-abled, banning, for example, discriminatory interview questions such as, 'Do you have any skills or experience that relate to this job?'

'As a Non-abled person, I can't be expected to keep up with people who have something going for them,' said Ken Cox, who lost his position as a lug-nut twister at the GM plant in Flint, Michigan, due to his inability to remember 'righty tightey, lefty loosey.' 'This new law should be real good for people like me,' Cox added. With the passage of this bill, Cox and millions of other untalented citizens will finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Said Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL): 'As a Senator with no abilities, I believe the same privileges that elected officials enjoy ought to be extended to every American with no abilities. It is our duty as lawmakers to provide each and every American citizen, regardless of his or her inadequacy, with some sort of space to take up in this great nation and a good salary for doing so.'