Aug 22, 2008 | Dollars & Crosses
Washington, DC--Green activists have been pushing for "renewable energy" for decades, even though it shows little promise--after billions of dollars in government subsidies--of ever being practical and inexpensive. Nevertheless, plans are springing up all over the country for large-scale solar, wind, and geothermal projects.
But now, in addition to their enormous technical obstacles, these green power projects are facing fierce opposition . . . from environmentalists.
The Bureau of Land Management has reportedly received more than 130 proposals to build solar power plants on federal lands in the Southwest. New transmission lines to carry the power from the sun-baked deserts to places where electricity users actually live are also under consideration.
However, the solar applications are mired in environmental impact studies, which one solar industry executive said "could completely stunt the growth of the industry." And the plans for new transmission capacity are being ferociously protested by environmentalists decrying the "permanent destruction of hundreds of thousands of acres of pristine public lands."
According to Dr. Keith Lockitch, resident fellow of the Ayn Rand Institute: "This just shows the true objective of green activism. Environmentalists don't actually want us to find alternative ways of producing energy; they want us to stop using energy altogether.
"The basic premise of environmentalism is to leave nature alone. Capturing and utilizing any source of energy--even ones that are supposedly green and renewable--will necessarily have some impact on nature, and will therefore inevitably be subject to environmentalist attacks and condemnation.
"Since the use of energy is an indispensable component of everything we do in our lives, the greens' opposition to even such ridiculous, impractical sources of energy as solar and wind reveals their basic animus against human life."An exasperated Arnold Schwarzenegger said 'if we cannot put solar power plants in the Mojave desert, I don't know where the hell we can put it.' But that is the whole point. On green philosophy, there is literally no place on earth for mankind."Aug 4, 2008 | Dollars & Crosses
Irvine, CA--Two of the problems our presidential candidates are being called upon to solve are the spiraling cost of energy and the "crisis" of man-made global warming. Both Senators McCain and Obama claim to have a unified strategy for tackling both problems.
"The notion that these two issues can be addressed simultaneously is nonsense," said Dr. Keith Lockitch, resident fellow of the Ayn Rand Institute. "No policy aimed at 'fighting global warming' can help solve the energy crisis. An energy crisis is the proposed 'solution' to global warming.
"More than 85 percent of the world's energy comes from carbon-producing fossil fuels. And despite all the propaganda we hear about a 'new energy economy' just around the corner, there are no realistic, abundant alternatives available any time soon. Any measures enacted to 'fight climate change' can lead only to a worsening of the energy crisis.
"And it is not at all clear that climate change is something that needs to be fought. Even though we are constantly told that global warming is occurring at an accelerating rate, in fact global temperatures have been flat for the last decade. We are told that global warming is causing more frequent and intense hurricanes and a catastrophic rise in sea levels, yet the data don't support such claims. Global warming alarmism is more environmentalist hype than scientific fact.
"There is no evidence that cutting off our carbon emissions would have any noticeable impact on the world's climate," Lockitch said. "Yet it would cause a catastrophic blow to the world's economy and therefore to people's lives. Energy use is an indispensable component of almost everything we do every day. And billions of people around the world are suffering right now for lack of abundant energy.
"The only crisis we need to worry about is the unnecessarily high cost of energy--and the solution to that is to remove coercive Green restrictions on oil production, and to start drilling and burning."Jul 22, 2008 | Dollars & Crosses
Irvine, CA--The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out a $550,000 indecency fine against CBS Corp. for the infamous Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. The Court ruled that the Federal Communications Commission "acted arbitrarily and capriciously" in issuing the fine.
"In fact," said Don Watkins, a writer for the Ayn Rand Institute, "the government should put an end to the non-objective 'indecency' laws that permit the FCC to dictate what Americans can say and hear on the airwaves.
"The Supreme Court has defined 'indecency' as speech that 'depicts or describes sexual or excretory activities and organs in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards.' But which Americans count--and don't count--as part of the community? Why are they king? And how are broadcasters to divine their supposedly shared standards?
"As the history of the government's anti-indecency regime has shown, these questions are unanswerable. The only way for broadcasters to play it safe is to engage in self-censorship, cutting any material regulators might declare indecent.
"And once the government becomes the enforcer of 'community standards,' no speech is safe. How long until the courts start rubber-stamping the Bible Belt's efforts to suppress the theory of evolution on the grounds that it is offensive, corrupts young minds, and undermines community values?
"It's time for the government to stop telling Americans what we can say and hear on the airwaves, and to protect our Constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech."Jul 21, 2008 | Dollars & Crosses
Irvine, CA--An active-duty soldier has sued the Department of Defense, alleging discrimination by the U.S. Army on the basis of his atheism. Specialist Jeremy Hall claims that, for example, he was ostracized by Christian soldiers when he refused to hold hands around the table and join in a Christian prayer at Thanksgiving. His federal lawsuit asserts he was also kicked off the promotion track for lacking religious faith.
"This lawsuit highlights one aspect of the insidious process by which the religious right's 'faith-based' agenda is corrupting American institutions," said Thomas Bowden, an analyst at the Ayn Rand Institute. "In the faith-friendly atmosphere of the Bush administration, religionists are taking big swings at the wall of separation between church and state. The allegations in this suit are consistent with recent controversies over evangelical proselytizing at the Air Force Academy and mealtime prayers at the Naval Academy.
"The military is duty-bound to actively shield its soldiers from ostracism and persecution such as that alleged in Specialist Hall's suit. Servicemen, like all Americans, are legally and morally entitled to exercise freedom of thought, which includes the freedom to accept or reject religion according to their own best judgment.
"In their interactions, soldiers should be required to cooperate based on their common values--a patriotic commitment to America's self-defense and to carrying out the specific tasks that goal requires. Religious dogma only undermines such rational cooperation, as centuries of faith-based warfare and persecution demonstrate.
"The religious right must be put in its place before it irreparably damages the wall between church and state. Americans are entitled to expect that the military, the courts, and the President will unite in protecting the First Amendment rights of all citizens. That means opposing, not promoting, attempts to inject religion into American institutions such as the armed forces."Jun 12, 2008 | Dollars & Crosses
Michelle Malkin has compiled a partial list of Obama's Bushisms:- CURRENT EVENTS: Last May, he claimed that Kansas tornadoes killed a whopping 10,000 people: "In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died — an entire town destroyed." The actual death toll: 12.
- GEOGRAPHY: Earlier this month in Oregon, he redrew the map of the United States: "Over the last 15 months, we've traveled to every corner of the United States. I've now been in 57 states? I think one left to go."
- BIOGRAPHY: [...] Last March, on the anniversary of the Bloody Sunday march in Selma, Alabama, he claimed his parents united as a direct result of the civil rights movement: "There was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, Alabama, because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born." Obama was born in 1961. The Selma march took place in 1965.
- FOREIGN POLICY: [...] And in perhaps the most seriously troubling set of gaffes of them all, Obama told a Portland crowd over the weekend that Iran doesn't "pose a serious threat to us"–cluelessly arguing that "tiny countries" with small defense budgets can't do us harm– and then promptly flip-flopped the next day, claiming, "I've made it clear for years that the threat from Iran is grave."
Read the rest here.