THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XII, Issue # 190, September 12, 2010
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
TURNING OFF THE (INCANDESCENT) LIGHT OF LIBERTY
By Alan Caruba
ALL NATIONS MUST EVOLVE, BUT THE AMERICAN NATION IS EVOLVING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION, NAMELY, IN THE
DIRECTION OF STATISM & SOCIALISM. AMERICA IS MOVING TOWARD LESS FREEDOM OF CHOICE & MORE
GOVERNMENT CONTROL OVER THE DECISIONS THAT A FREE MARKET ECONOMY REQUIRES INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES, &
PRIVATE GROUPS TO MAKE. AMERICA IS REJECTING ITS FOUNDING PRINCIPLES, & IS DOING SO ON THE BASIS OF
ASSUMPTIONS THAT ARE, IN REALITY, THE LIES & DISTORTIONS WHICH COMPRISE THE PROPAGANDA DISSEMINATED
BY THE ENVIRONMENTALIST MOVEMENT.
FULL STORY:
What if the government banned air conditioning? What if flat-screen televisions were determined to use too much
electricity and were ordered phased out of production? What if the use of all plastic grocery bags were banned? What
if the incandescent light bulb, one of the greatest inventions of Thomas Edison in the 1870s was banned? Oh wait, it
has been banned!
In a nation where the Medicare “reform” that requires Americans to purchase health insurance they may not want and
may not be able to afford was rammed through the Congress, what can stop the government from dictating just about
any choice you have regarding any purchase you make? The answer? Nothing.
Only the nation would no longer be operating under a constitutional government and the rule of law. The nation's laws
would no longer reflect anything resembling the truth.
In America, the ban on incandescent light bulbs turns off the light of liberty throughout country.
Here are some truths to keep in mind. (1) Carbon dioxide (CO2), along with other “greenhouse gas emissions,” does not
cause global warming. (2) There is no global warming. (3) The Earth has gone through known warming and cooling
cycles for millions of years. (4) The Earth is in a cooling cycle.
(5) Beginning January 1, 2012, government rules will make it impossible to purchase a 100-watt incandescent light bulb.
After that, in time, all such light bulbs will be phased out leaving Americans with only dim, over-priced, mercury-filled
light bulbs. And (6) they will be made overseas, primarily in China.
By 2012, by order of the government, Americans will no longer be able to purchase any incandescent light bulbs. Why?
Because Congress banned them, citing the need to reduce “greenhouse gas emissions” to reduce global warming that
isn’t happening.
It’s the same Congress that had already determined how much water your toilet can use to flush. It’s the same Congress
that determined “cafe” rules that determine how many miles per gallon your automobile must achieve. It’s the same
government that requires ethanol be added to gasoline, thus reducing the mileage a gallon of adulterated gasoline can
produce, while also driving up the cost of gasoline as well as of corn, a food product, used to produce ethanol.
It’s the same Congress that has blessed a Renewable Electricity Standard that requires utilities to use electricity
produced by wind and solar power, even though both sources also require 24/7 backup by traditional coal-fired, natural
gas, or nuclear plants because wind turbines and solar panels cannot be relied upon to generate electricity in a
predictable fashion or during periods of peak capacity.
It’s the same Congress that initiated Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two “government entities” that purchased the
sub-prime mortgage loans that banks and mortgage loan firms were required to make to people who clearly could not
afford to repay them. The result is the financial crisis that occurred when those “bundled” mortgages turned out to be
“toxic,” worthless paper sold to investment firms and banks as assets.
In early September, 2010, The Washington Post, published an article, “Light Bulb Factory Closes; End of Era for
U.S. Means More Jobs Overseas.” It reported that “The last major General Electric factory making ordinary
incandescent light bulbs in the United States is closing this month … [and] the remaining 200 workers at the plant here
(Winchester, Virginia) will lose their jobs.”
In June, 2010, The Washington Times reported that the Federal Trade Commission earlier in the month (released)
91 pages of regulations that will force manufacturers to revise their packaging and make costly compact fluorescent
bulbs appear more appealing to consumers,” bulbs which consumers have refused to willingly purchase. “Congress
wants to force the pale, cold fluorescent curlicue fixtures on everyone because it makes members of Congress feel that
they are doing their part to ‘save the planet’ [from man-made global warming].”
While the ban was initiated in 2007, before the Obama administration took power, it has not gone unnoticed that the CEO
of General Electric, Jeffrey Immelt, “sits on Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board.” And recovery is no where in
sight while GE closes its factory making incandescent light bulbs.
There’s more. GE was the recipient of bailout funds and, according to an article in Front Page Magazine, “stands
to benefit from current and future contracts with the U.S. government.” Connect the dots. GE owns MSNBC, a cable
news channel famous for its adulation of Obama before and since his election.
The issue, however, is far less about GE than it is about the vast global warming fraud, the equally vast matrix of U.S.
laws and regulations that is based on the fraud, and most importantly, the way the the laws and regulations are being
used to undermine and destroy the U.S. economy, along with the freedoms that Americans take for granted.
One of the many tasks facing the Congress, of which Republicans are expected to regain control in November, 2010, is to
repeal the ban on incandescent light bulbs. After that, the mountain of other laws and regulations strangling consumer
freedom and even threatening the health of Americans must also be repealed.
All nations must evolve, but the American nation is evolving in the wrong direction, namely, in the direction of statism
and socialism. America is moving toward less freedom of choice and more government control over the choices that a
free market economy requires individuals, families, and private groups to make. America is rejecting its founding
principles, and is doing so on the basis of assumptions that are, in reality, the propaganda lies and distortions
disseminated by the environmentalists and global warming alarmists.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Political Environmentalism Versus Human Progress & Prosperity:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
The Earth's Natural History, Global Climate Changes,
& the Future of Human Life & Civilization on the Planet:
Science, Ideology, & Public Policy
Political Economy -- Philosophies, Systems, & Public Policies:
Government, the Economy, & Economic Prosperity
The American Political & Cultural Left:
Liberals, Statists, Socialists, Marxists, & Other Leftists:
The Democratic Party, Academia, & the Mainstream Media
The U.S. Constitution & the American Economic Order:
Civil Liberties -- Private Property Rights
Alan Caruba writes a daily post at http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com. An author, commentator and business and science writer,
he is the Founder of the National Anxiety Center, a clearinghouse for information about "scare campaigns" designed to influence
public opinion and public policy.
Return to Top of Page
Go to the WEBSITE INDEX
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Public Issues & Political Controversies
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
Most Recent Articles
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Volume XII, 2010
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Subject Matter Highlights
Return to POLITICAL EDUCATION Homepage
CONTACT & ACCESS INFORMATION
This is not a commercial website. The sole purpose of the website is to share with interested persons information regarding civics,
civic and social education, political science, government, politics, law, constitutional law and history, public policy and political
philosophy and history, as well as current and recent political developments, public issues, and political controversies.
POLITICAL EDUCATION, CONSERVATIVE ANALYSIS
POLITICS, SOCIETY, & THE SOVEREIGN STATE
Website of Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr.
Government, Politics, Public Policy, Legal Issues, Constitutional Law, Government & the Economy, Cultural Values, Foreign Affairs,
International Relations, Military Defense & National Security, Geopolitics, Terrorism & Homeland Security, American National Interests,
Political Systems & Processes, Political Institutions, Political Ideologies, & Political Philosophy
INDEX FOR THE ENTIRE WEBSITE
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues
Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity