More than Moore

I wonder whether Dena Sneed (7/5, Letters) understands both sides of the global warming issue. It appears that she only listened to Rep. Dennis Moore’s side of the story. Had Reps. John Lewis of Georgia and Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island not been asked to return to Washington to vote, the bill would have failed.

Can Moore tell us what new industries and how many jobs will be created in the 3rd District?

Michael A. Goodman
Overland Park

Comments

[Kee]

I can tell you how many jobs will be created in the district Mr. Goodman, maybe 1 or 2. However, about a thousand may be lost.

[Arminius]

Was that degenerate Patrick Kennedy medicated when he cast his vote? I see John Lewis on C-SPAN from time to time and wish they would use subtitles during his appearances. He sounds like Mush Mouth from Fat Albert.

[pmcw]

The second greatest economic power held by government is to tax; the greatest is to selectively un-tax. With this seemingly innocuous power, Congress elicits favors from all those who are willing to pay the tab. To radically expand this power is the central goal of Cap and Trade legislation.

For months my friends and most of the pundits I follow thought there was so little chance of Cap and Trade legislation passing, they ignored the issue and, at best, humored me when I pointed to it as the greatest economic threat facing the U.S. economy today. However, with it now apparent there is real threat of this legislation passing the House; thinking people are beginning to take notice. Unfortunately, it may be too late.

Because Congress is not encumbered by truth in advertising laws, the Cap and Trade bill, which even some Democrats call "Cap and Tax," has been named the "American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009" or, as its called inside the beltway, "ACES." This title accompanies two House Resolutions, H.R. 2454 and H.R. 2998. When writing your Senators, I suggest referencing the full title (American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009) and both of the bill numbers noted above. This is a point in time when being abundantly clear is of the utmost importance.

The important thing to understand about ACES is that it is not at all designed to do what its name suggests; as a matter of fact, when viewed on a global basis, it may have just the opposite effect; there are strong arguments to be made supporting the contention that ACES would cause higher global CO2 emissions and significantly detract from our national security even beyond the nearly unbeatable fact it would be ruinous for our economy.

There are many easy, painless and even economically positive ways we can encourage reduced CO2 emissions and stimulate the development of new technologies that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil, which is what is implied by the "security" part of the title. However, this bill will not accomplish these goals. What this bill will accomplish is a mechanism for massive corruption, the strengthening of the power of congressional incumbency, the establishment of a full employment act for lawyers and the debasement of the aggregate U.S. economy. Yes, those are bold words, but I can back them up.

If this bill passes, Congress will have the power to decide who gets to release CO2, how much they will get to release, how much they will have to pay if they want to release more than the congressional dictated allocation and who they must pay. Because nearly everything we do from raising cattle to growing crops to powering our electric grid to manufacturing everything we eat, wear and use emits CO2, the implication is Congress will have absolute control over not just our economy as a whole, but also in naming the winners and losers.

Make no mistake; what our Congress is trying to do is levy a huge carbon tax that will make virtually everything we do today more expensive and then give itself the ultimate and nearly infinite power to selectively un-tax without the annoying encumbrances or inconveniences of due process. Congress knows that if it is successful in this ruse, it will have industry cowering at its feet to beg for just one more bowl of CO2 credits and, with that, all the campaign contributions and perks you would expect to change hands when favors are denominated in tens or, in some cases, hundreds of billions of dollars.

When you write your Senators, which is something you can easily do today through the House web site, www.senate.gov, you should ask for two things. First, that they sign an affidavit stating they have read and understand the contents of both H.R. 2454 and H.R. 2998 and, second, to not only vote against the Senate version of ACES, but also mount a campaign to influence others to vote against them as well.

The bottom line here is that there is nothing that threatens our economy, our freedom, our state's rights, our class mobility and our security more than what is being deceitfully presented as the "American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009." The power it will grant Congress is absolute and its wording is so duplicitous that it will clog our courts for years, which will do nothing more than redirect what money is left in our economy to lawyers. We need legislation designed to give us more scientists, engineers and doctors, not more lawyers and avenues to corrupt our political process more than it already is.