We have many foreign enemies who want to do us harm. But, while we must be vigilant and continue our commitment to the two wars, our biggest threats may be internal. It is interesting how the verboten word terrorist recently came back into vogue. Our director of Homeland Security is not using one of her idiotic acronyms for the terrorist arrested in Colorado. He’s a terrorist. Enthusiasm to eradicate all Bush did to protect us is waning. As more and more threats are hopefully exposed, much of that enthusiasm may go away completely. The biggest threat we have to protecting us here is not from foreign shores but from those here who misunderstand the measures that may be needed to protect us.
On the unemployment front, we will hit 10% before the year ends or in early 2010. Still, we plan to entertain a cap and trade bill. A bill that will increase unemployment. The oil and gas industry, the most maligned industry in America, employs over 9 million Americans. Mostly high paying jobs, many union jobs. Cap and trade will make many of those go away. To be replaced by what? Government jobs in the green energy business? Run by the likes of Van Jones. The BP refinery in Whiting, Indiana is putting in a major project, a conversion unit to process heavy Canadian crude. The original cost was $3 billion. With overruns it may be as much as $6 billion. That money put a lot of people to work in Northern Indiana the past two years. Politicians in Illinois and Chicago fought this tooth and nail. Why, not that it was a true threat to the environment, the EPA had approved it, but to get media exposure and pander to the environmental zealots.
Exxelon, the big Illinois utility dropped out of the National Chamber of Commerce. They wanted the Chamber to endorse cap and trade. How noble, a utility fighting for reduction in carbon. No, a utility that will get millions in cap and trade credits since they have heavy nuclear energy production. This money goes directly to their bottom line, no capital needed, no jobs added.
The vision of America as a land that has no manufacturing and no pollution and everyone has access to every need is a nice vision. But, in reality it is a fool’s vision. Chasing that vision is like Obama telling the UN he has a vision of a world with no nuclear weapons while two countries are working day and night to get them.
We, the people, are killing our own country. We are buying into ideas that can’t work in practice. The end result will be dramatically sad for our kids and grand kids. We are the problem. We need to get real. We can blame the politicians, but we elect them. We can blame the unions, but we elect people who will adopt card check and expand the unions. We can blame overzealous environmentalists, but we elect those who take the money from them and vote their ticket. We can blame Wall Street, but it was the elected officials who let Freddie and Fannie do their work and it’s looks like they may get re-elected.
We are doing ourselves in, not anyone else. We let government spend and expand. We want free stuff. We will let health care reform happen, then whine about the consequences. We are to blame, we are the enemy.
The town hall meetings were a start. But, we must require every elected official to hold a minimum of 10 of these a year. We have to have a place to speak. Letters are a waste of time. The inglorious egomaniacs just send back a form letter. They need to be put on the spot and forced to answer hard questions in person. The need to be held accountable for their votes not their words. Their words for the most part are worthless. It’s the deeds that count. We can’t vote based on the bogus ads they run and how much money they have garnered from special interests to run those ads, but on their record. We can’t vote on party lines. We can’t vote based on campaign promises.
If you want a candidate who promises you everything, vote for one. If I want a candidate who will bring back reality to America, I will try hard to find one. They are becomming extinct. Maybe we should put them on the endangered species list. Along with the Delta Smelt that shows what lack of reason can do. You know, the one that shut down farming in California. And, put thousands out of work.
