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8/01/2005 |
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Energy Bill Schmenergy Bill it is All the Same Junk | |
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Some people have asked me, "If you are on the right, why are you not a Republican?" Honestly, they tend to be too liberal for me. They claim they support originalist views by throwing bones like John Roberts. But let's face facts, few Republicans are truly conservative, and when push comes to shove, they are in the pocket of the special interests, just like democrats. I would love to see a Constitutionalist take powers, but while I do not agree with the platform, I would respect a Progressive because right or wrong, I believe that either would be moving the country in a direction they truly believe is the proper direction, without the special interest garbage. Take a look at this article from the Wall Street Journal regarding the passage of the Highway and Energy Bills, at least they were supposed to have been highway and energy bills. The pork on these bills are ridiculous. Speaker Dennis Hastert had barely waited for dawn to break after the midnight Cafta vote before he directed the House to pass a $286.4 billion highway bill. He expects Mr. Bush to sign this because it is "only" $2.4 billion more than the President's 2005 veto limit, which is "only" $28 billion more than his 2004 veto limit of $256 billion, which was "only" a 17% increase over the previous six-year highway spending level. "Only" in Washington could spending so much money be considered an act of fiscal discipline. Hey Dennis, the words "only" and BILLION should never be used in the same sentence. NEVER! Tax subsidies for oil companies? WHAT! These bastards are posting record profits and are gouging the citizens with record gas prices. So let's give them a tax break without forcing them to lower prices. Good idea! $2.5 million for freeway landscaping in California. I've never been to California, but from what I've seen on TV, it is pretty hard to beat the natural landscaping of the Pacific Ocean on one side and the mountains on the other. $3.2 million to extend the longest paved walkway in the nation for Duluth. Where exactly is it being extended to, Mexico? In the energy bill you have $6 million to encourage people to ride their bikes. They should not worry about that since nobody will be able to afford gas soon. Thanks to a mandate that will make gas 10 cents higher per gallon with a new ethanol additive. Over $15 Billion for home heating subsidies?" How about a tax break for everyone. If you can't pay your heating bill, move someplace warmer. Sometimes I wonder how our parents and grandparents got by without big government entitlements. The Republicans used to be the party of of constraint, the party of small government and low taxes. But with junk like this I wonder. Imagine the debt reduction that money could accomplish, the tax relief. Bush should veto these bills until the garbage is removed, but he has yet to veto a single offering from Congress. I find that odd. Here is an option, our railroad was top-notch, now government run Amtrak is in shambles and a majority of freight in this country is run through trucks, not rail. Rails can move more freight further, faster and us less fuel than trucks. Rebuilt the rail infrastructure and get the trucks off the road. You will reduce accidents, traffic jams, fuel consumption and emissions. There are two problems though. The first is the teamsters. Their lobby is too strong to allow such an occurrence. Even though they dole out millions every year to the democrat campaigns, they have a problem supporting its platform on the environment. Second is the not in my back yard mentality. It is funny how people are all gung-ho to say they support the environment, but say you are going to reopen the rail like that is a mile from their house, and they have a major problem. This same situation happened a few years ago in a Philly suburb when the transportation schmucks known as SEPTA tried to reopen a passenger rail line. It would have saved headaches and emissions from thousands of cars daily. But some rich suburban snobs got together and fought back with the "Not in my backyard defense" and after they won, went back to wearing their Birkinstocks and hugging trees. I am tired of junk like this that adds to the already too high debt. Any instance of junk I find will be brought to light on this site. |
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