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Thursday, September 01, 2005

Please Shut Up!

With the following article, Observations begins a new series, Please Shut Up, featuring stupid comments from people who ought to know better, but just can’t resist sharing their idiocy with the world.

Here you’ll find absurdities from entertainers – including actors, musicians, and comedians – who mistakenly believe their celebrity imbues them with Solomon-like wisdom that the world cannot live without. You’ll also find examples from other people in public view - like politicians and activists – who just don’t have a clue, and haven’t the sense to know to keep quiet.

Herewith, our first selection:

"As Hurricane Katrina dismantles Mississippi's Gulf Coast, it's worth recalling the central role that Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour played in derailing the Kyoto Protocol and kiboshing [sic] President Bush's iron-clad campaign promise to regulate CO2," according to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Tuesday on HuffingtonPost.com.

Mr. Kennedy seems to be suggesting that because Gov. Barbour opposed the Kyoto Accords and because Mr. Bush didn’t support the Kyoto Accords that the northern Gulf Coast is now in ruins. Mr. Kennedy, bless his heart, hasn’t a clue.

"Now we all learning what it's like,” he goes on, teetering on the border between reality and fantasy, “to reap the whirlwind of fossil fuel dependence which Barbour and his cronies have encouraged."

He should have stopped there, but he didn’t. Unable to resist the lure of the limelight, he stumbled and fell head-long into Lala Lan, declaring: "Perhaps it was Barbour's memo that caused Katrina, at the last moment, to spare New Orleans and save its worst flailings for the Mississippi coast." Obviously, Mr. Kennedy hasn’t seen the television accounts of what is going on in New Orleans.

The befuddled Mr. Kennedy ended up as an environmental fanatic as a result of a 1984 criminal conviction for heroin possession. A judge sentenced him to 800 hours of community service with an environmental organization, and he became addicted to that.

Sadly, Mr. Kennedy, in addition to being a hostage of environmental radicalism, is poorly informed. The Kyoto Accords faced bipartisan opposition in the United States from the beginning. Following negotiations with then President Clinton, the United States Senate sent Mr. Clinton a clear message on July 25, 1997 when it passed the Byrd/Hagel Resolution opposing the Kyoto Accords by a unanimous 95 to 0 vote. Even Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry voted against implementing the Kyoto Accord. It was a bad deal for the U.S., and almost everybody but RFK, Jr. recognized that.

If Mr. Kennedy had his way, leadership would mean doing what others want us to do, rather than the U.S. deciding what its position is going to be. That is a prescription for disaster.

Thank God nobody much pays attention to his ignorant and dangerous rantings.

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3 comments:

JL Pagano said...

"bad deal for the US"

I think as this weeks events have shown, Mother Nature has little respect for borders.

The US needs to commit herself to the environment, and as much as though it may pain them to do so, this must involve working with other nations and governments. Period.

Surely it doesn't take an ex-drug addict Senator from a famous family to spell that out.

Anonymous said...

Regarding the Kyoto theme here, I think the main point is that this hurricane is most likely NOT the result of global warming in any way.

And yes, Kyoto sucks. Iwill point out that, true to form, this administration has used those flaws as an excuse for doing nothing regarding global warming, instead of trying to formulate a better plan.

Shott, I like the new set-up, although the font could be a little larger.

And I look forward to more "Please Shut Up"'s (I just hope you bash both sides)

James Shott said...

Mr. Pagano,

What we saw earlier this week is the awesome power of Mother Nature, unaffected by the piddling activities of mankind. Mother Nature has little respect for borders, and is even less affected by the things mankind does to better its lot.

Any U.S. commitment to the environment needs to be based upon the idea that very little that the U.S., or the entire world does, has any significant effect on what happens in the environment, which, as it turns out, is precisely what the present U.S. approach to the environment recognizes. It is far more relevant what man does that negatively affects man, than what man does that affects nature, because man is not capable of having much effect on nature.

And you’re right that Mr. Kennedy is a sad case. He’s not a senator. That’s his crazy uncle, Teddy. Regardless, not much that he has to say is relevant.

Mr. i e p,

I’m still playing with the new template, but took your advice on the font size. Thanks.

Global warning is a reality, but it isn’t man-made, and it isn’t much affected by what man does. There are and have always been heating and cooling cycles. There’s just no evidence that we are in anything other than a normal temperature fluctuation, therefore for the Bush Administration to “do something” regarding global warming would be an exercise in futility.

RE: “Please Shut Up,” I will feature idiocy from wherever it comes, but I’ll have to say that given my conservative posture, there will be much more of it coming from the Left.