If Only We Had This Much Hot Air to Provide Power

Lois Capps is our local congressman (congresswoman/person, ad nauseum) who periodically sends out newsletters informing her constituents of her activities. What these letters tell me is that we need term limits.

Back when our republic was founded, we elected representatives (the house) and the senate was appointed by states. The intent was that business people and average citizens would stop what they were doing and go serve the greater good for two years and then return to business. A lifetime of being in congress was not envisioned. The pay was low and it was really considered public service.

In our era, politics has become a career choice and if a person has the knack of winning elections, a quite good career could be had full of benefits that the elected person could vote for themselves. Both Madison and Jefferson wrote about this and -- in paraphrase: As soon as these people figure out that they can vote money and benefits for themselves, the whole system will collapse. Isn't this what has happened? It seems to me that we have let congress run rampant to pad their own futures.

So, here we have a newsletter, which I am sure is paid for by tax dollars, telling us about the glorious work Lois is doing on our behalf. What has she been doing? Why introducing legislation of course.

Here is the list of legislation and other things she has either sponsored or co-sponsored in her own words:

--I'm supporting legislation to retroactively get rid of the outdated $75 million oil company liability cap. . .

--I've introduced legislation to raise the civil and criminal penalties for polluters that violate environmental and safety law and regulations. (By the way, wasn't BP drilling in water 1 mile deep because environmental regulations would not allow them to drill in shallow water?)

--I called on BP to suspend its $30 million ad campaign promoting itself and to stop its plan to pay out up to $10 million in dividends. . . (Don't these dividends go to working people who have invested in BP stock? Aren't they also paid out to retirement funds, pension plans and other funds designed to secure individual's retirement?) I was pleased that BP heeded this request.

--I introduced legislation to establish an independent commission. Similar commissions were very useful in helping us learn from the TMI disaster and Challenger accident. (This is a total crock. The panels that examined both those incidents were not peopled by politicians but by industry professionals with the goal to come up with solutions to prevent future problems.) I was please when the President adopted my idea. . .

--I introduced legislation to give this commission subpoena power. (Obviously she has never read the lessons learned from the establishment of "people's committees" under the Soviets and the abuses caused and the lives destroyed.)

--Last month I wrote to BP urging it to take the necessary steps to insure the health and safety of the workers and volunteers cleaning up its giant mess. (Wha. . .? Thank you Lois. It's not like they haven't been pummeled from every quarter. I'm sure your letter turned the tide and they saw the light.)

The next two statements are so curious that I won't comment. But this is the kind of person we have representing us: She's totally clueless and driven by ideology.

--Still, reports of worker illness persist and it is clear BP is incapable of making the protection of the public’s health their priority. That’s why I am urging the President to relieve BP of their role in the public health response.

--My longtime opposition to offshore drilling is well known and the spill is just the most visible reminder of why. But I have also been pushing for a transition to a clean energy economy for years because our addiction to oil is a danger to our national security. We simply have to rely too much on countries hostile to us for our energy. (Lois, Lois, Lois. The reason we have to rely on enemies for oil is because environmentalists, who you openly support, have gone waaay overboard and have coerced legislators to draft legislation so restricting the oil industry that it's difficult to make any kind of profit from the stuff. Oh yeah, I know that national resources are considered "the peoples" but someone still must fund the exploration, discovery, drilling and implementation of a distribution system. The people you so avidly support think people like Chavez and other totalitarians have the answer. If that's the way you feel, you need to get some historical perspective. Ok. I wrote that I wouldn't comment but I found myself unable to resist.)

So here it comes, Lois writes that government wants to improve efficiency in our homes. This means more government employees, more laws, more fines and whole industries rising up in black market energy. It is the guarantee of Bill Clinton's promise to make "government your friend and partner in everything you do."

Who in America wants that? More importantly, is this what we want for our children?

FB