John Stossel has become the latest fearmonger at Fox News.
His journalistic debut there focused on "Free Golf Carts." But in the face of Fox News' tradition of being "Fair and Balanced," the vehicles in question actually turn out to be neither free nor golf carts.
Let's poke John's report to see what hackneyed tactics he's using to bash the government and progressive energy ideas that would actually help most of his ill-informed viewers.
Stossel Trades Lies for Ratings
Stossel is now the newest member of the Fox News team, having left ABC after a long run with 20/20. Apparently, viewers of Fox more readily accept steadfast resistance to progress passed off as news.
At any rate, his big inaugural piece at the network focused on government (he refers to them as "venal cretins" — but that's a news term, right?) tax credits for neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs).
Of course, it wasn't an in-depth, detailed report on the pros and cons of offering people incentives to buy electric vehicles. Instead, his report was more a personal tea party against "free golf carts."
Here's the first line of Stossel's take on the matter: "After money from the "stimulus" bill was spent on destroying perfectly good cars and building an Airport for Nobody, the WSJ reports that government has found an even more ridiculous way to spend your money: free golf carts."
Do you see what he does there? Quotations around the word "stimulus" serve to dismiss the effort that many economists now say helped pull us out of the Great Recession.
And regarding his line about "destroying perfectly good cars:" those cars weren't "perfectly good," were they?
They had been traded in for more efficient models, and their destruction ensured the tax credit wasn't for naught. Oh yeah, and the automakers hailed that idea as great for business.
Then there's the "more ridiculous way to spend your money" line.
Where were these headlines when the Minerals Management Service was doling out billion-dollar land leases to oil companies that had furnished them with cocaine and sex under the Bush administration?
That's a ridiculous way to spend money, not offering tax breaks for the adoption of clean vehicles.
But this is the stuff that's broadcast as news every single day.
All Headline, No Substance
Of course, Stossel's piece was all for shock value. He was even quoted as saying, "It's my first show on Fox Business, and I had to go big."
You don't "go big" when you're a journalist. You report the news.
But we are talking about the same news organization that ran a 12-page pictorial last week featuring "Celebrities Who Go Bra-Free."
(By the way, my colleague Chris Nelder did a good job explaining why such large herds of people chew this cud every single day in last Friday's Energy & Capital.)
What I'm getting at here is that Stossel's diatribe was all about the headline, so some Joe Shmoe could tell a few buddies about big gummit's latest crazy idea. Pure propaganda in the form of a headline.
All Stossel need do is close the report with some subjective vitriol about how stupid this idea is and the herd is hooked. He went with a generic Foxism, saying the "government shouldn't be in the business of taking money and giving it back. That just gives the venal cretins more power over our lives."
He completely disregards any benefits the NEVs and the associated tax breaks have to offer.
Let's see what happens when a journalist with more than a speck of integrity reports on the same story...
The Un-Fox Version of NEVs
I remember reading an article in Wired back in September that showed the not-so-scary side of NEVs. Listen to how terrible this sounds:
It's a brutally hot morning here at the Villages, one of the biggest retirement communities on the planet. But the saunalike central Florida weather doesn't slow down the 77,000 seniors who call this place home.
On the nine softball fields around the development, smack-talking eightysomethings try to leg out a base hit. Graceful swimmers slice through the water in glittering pools. Near the Bait Shop bar in one of the immaculate town squares, line dancers shimmy in unison.
Villagers play hard. And they drive... well, they drive kinda slow. Because the ride of choice at the Villages isn't a Lincoln or a Cadillac.
You guessed it... it's a neighborhood electric vehicle. And the seniors in the community love them.
Just in this one community — there are many more in Florida and elsewhere — there are 87 miles of trails that can only be traveled in an NEV. The trails even take residents right to the doorstep of major chains like Target, Staples, Starbucks, and Wal-Mart.
The entire community is centered around the NEVs. And they help not only to gives hundreds of thousands of seniors a happy and active retirement, but also to perpetuate the American dichotomy of consumerism and community.
It's no wonder the use of NEVs — and the amount of communities centered around them — are on the rise.
Oh, and by the way, Wired reports that "The US government's recent stimulus package offers NEV buyers a $2,500 tax credit (a third to half the cost of the vehicle)."
Stossel's "Free Golf Carts" are based on dealership incentive schemes.
Wired takes a different approach to the conclusion than Stossel's "venal cretins" route:
The Villages embodies what environmentalists have been waiting decades for - a glossy future powered by electric vehicles.
But the lesson of the Villages isn't just about the vehicles we're driving-it's about where we're driving them. The future of transportation should be focused on the quick jaunts that make up most of our day-to-day driving.
The Villages is for people who've lived long enough to know that what they want now is a warm breeze in a quiet, open ride-going fast enough to hit both the golf course and the Walmart in the same afternoon but slow enough to take in the scenery along the way.
As my octogenarian opponent deftly whacks the pickleball past my reach, I look up to catch a glimpse of the future on the horizon. It's a gray-haired guy with a backward cap, cruising in his cart past a brand-new community center. A golden retriever stands on the passenger seat, tail wagging, and an American flag is displayed proudly right where the gas tank should be.
You can decide for yourself by reading Stossel's article here and the Wired piece here.
But it shouldn't be hard to conclude that a tax break for buying a vehicle with no emissions, one that is mostly used by seniors, and one that helps create a sense of community while fostering American consumerism isn't a bad idea.
The green future is here. You can, like Stossel, whine and stomp your feet. Or you can embrace it, leverage it to save money on your utility and transportation bills, encourage it to create a prosperous and energy-secure America, and perhaps maybe even make a little profit for yourself.
Doing the latter is the opposite of venal. It's doing the right things for the right reasons.
Call it like you see it,
Nick
P.S. I know not all of you will agree my view of this situation, but I just wanted to point out the absurdity of Stossel's journalistic approach, namely the blatant polarization of cleantech issues for no other reason than to solidify the base of Fox viewers. But if you do agree, I hope you'll pass this along to friends and colleagues that might also find it informative. I look forward to your comments.
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No open-minded American (liberal, conservative or liberatarian)disagrees with clean technology. What we don't agree with is the federal government subsidizing that policy, anymore than we agree with them subsidizing oil companies. Two wrongs don't make a right. I'm a bit tired of people pointing to bad behavior by others in the past to justify bad behavior that they happen to agree with. Our government is going further into debt adopting policies and supporting things that in many cases aren't even constitutional. We're going broke and need to tighten our belts or we will all pay the price.
No open-minded American (liberal, conservative or liberatarian)disagrees with clean technology. What we don't agree with is the federal government subsidizing that policy, anymore than we agree with them subsidizing oil companies. Two wrongs don't make a right. I'm a bit tired of people pointing to bad behavior by others in the past to justify bad behavior that they happen to agree with. Our government is going further into debt adopting policies and supporting things that in many cases aren't even constitutional. We're going broke and need to tighten our belts or we will all pay the price.
the write of this article really
thinks Sen Kennedy, Obama, Peolosi
are smart people.
A single point of clarity on which Mr. Stossel is correct pertains to the stimulus. Government does not stimulate anything.
If we assume that all are created equal and free, then anything that limits freedom is inherently evil. If the government seeks to take tax or bond dollars, and then allocate those funds to stimulate the economy, the government does so necessarily without allowing free markets decide how to use those funds (a tax cut would have been better).
After all, freedom includes free spending by the consumers/voters.
There is a reason why Fox has more viewers than all the other cable networks combined. Unlike the others, they do offer both sides.
Stossel is right to question Robin Hood economics. He is not complaining about electric vehicles.
Are these carts subsidized? Whose money do you think they are using? Based on your view of what he said, I can't really trust your your recommendations on anything more important than an ice cream flavor. Keep up the good work. CFB
A single point of clarity on which Mr. Stossel is correct pertains to the stimulus. Government does not stimulate anything.
If we assume that all are created equal and free, then anything that limits freedom is inherently evil. If the government seeks to take tax or bond dollars, and then allocate those funds to stimulate the economy, the government does so necessarily without allowing free markets decide how to use those funds (a tax cut would have been better).
After all, freedom includes free spending by the consumers/voters.
This is nothing compared to the whoppers,they make up in the NYTimes.
Rupert Murdoch owns a worldwide media empire of newspapers, radio, satellite, and television channels including Fox. He employs many of the most strident personalities delivering misinformation.
Murdoch admitted that he wanted war with Iraq, and Fox cheerled the invasion of Iraq...and Iran. The financial sector spun out of control, industry moved offshore, bankruptcies soared, but Fox opposes remedies. Health care in the US is twice as expensive as anywhere else, offers little choice, produces outcomes slightly better than Cuba's, leaves many without service, and is a major cause of bankruptcy, but Fox opposes change. Climate decline is a major threat to the next generations, but Fox denies the problem. Despite declining wages, longer working hours, less time off, and shrinking benefits, Fox, facilitating the Walmartization of America, opposes unions. It supports the regressive corporate (Republican) agenda that rewards the wealthy at the expense of everyone else.
It is NOT conservative.
Bill O'Reilly has been credited with the assassination of an abortion doctor. Arguably, other domestic violence can be attributed to talk radio.
Even if you are at top income levels, Fox is not in your interest.
Why should any taxes be spent to support that?
No it does not matter that they are emission free (they are not). They nust be charged which requires the electrical power production infrastructure to charge them which requires massive consumption of fossil fuel in order to produce teh electricity. Those vehicles burn oil just like any other. But they burn while they are sitting still and plugged in which is likely most of the time. Mine only burns hydrocarbons when it moves.
Save the tax money and tell them to ride a bicycle so we can improve the health of those who will be on the Healthcare take before that gets out of hand.
All Journalism is Biased and Political IS Incorrect.
Bravo!
It's about time that someone acknowledges that environmentally friendly vehicles may have to be subsidized, just as those companies that have pillaged & raped the environment have been subsidized by "free market" government. Agreed, two wrongs don't make a right. But, if this is what it takes to get people out of their monster SUVs, so be it.
As for Stossel & Farce News. He's just an actor like the rest of that crew. Never liked him or his manner of "reporting."
Keep up the good work, Nick.
The real story is the Government did support Big Oil and the fossel fuel industry and did not support Green Energy in an equal way! That would give us all "choices" since we all pay those tax dollars to the Government and then we the people would be in power to make "choices" based upon our views. The tax payers views! No one cares about that! Good reporting would be about that, but again, we the people like the fight arguements and battles and we like even more butting into people private lives and seeing how many times they cheated on there wives and who they cheated with. Of couse not all of us are treated the same there either! If it was not Tiger Woods, the front page of every paper would not be filled with stories of say if I cheated on my wife with 15 (is that number correct as I write this) other women. If no once watched FOX News they would not be number one, be able to charge inflated ads fees and we all would be watching somone else. We really need Fair & Balanced news reporting, but of couse Fair & Balnced is based upon PROFITS!! Always has been always will be!! That is the real story! Stossel like all the others before him 60-minutes, 20/20 etc. etc. hooked with the truth in reporting and then sold out for the bucks. When will we demand more!!
Chris
I doubt that John Stossel is really against the use of NEVs, but he is against the government giving tax credits for their purchase, as am I. The government should get the heck out of our business; let citizens buy homes, cars, etc. on their own, and big government should not tax everything in sight and then dole out tax credits to groups it deems worthy. The current structure is a controlling mechanism. I want them to work for us, not us for them.
Brian
If you read the WSJ article, this is another waste of taxpayer money. If I remember correctly, it wound up costing over $20,000 for every clunker that was taken off the road. A majority were pick ups that wound up with less than 19mpg.
There was a spike in auto sales that resulted in a downturn after the reate period ended.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704107204574473724099542430.html
My ClubCar meets that definition.
I doubt that John Stossel is really against the use of NEVs, but he is against the government giving tax credits for their purchase, as am I. The government should get the heck out of our business; let citizens buy homes, cars, etc. on their own, and big government should not tax everything in sight and then dole out tax credits to groups it deems worthy. The current structure is a controlling mechanism. I want them to work for us, not us for them.
Brian
Please oblige me as I share with you an insight into my psyche. When the pastor at the church I used to attend started spewing political rhetoric, my family and I found another church. When Bruce Springsteen spent too much time at his concert telling me about all the evils of the administration at that time than playing music, I felt cheated and vowed never to spend my money with him again. You may say that I am a right wing ideologue, but I'd have to disagree. I am a pragmatic person and will say without reservation that after many years of subscribing to and faithfully reading Energy & Capital, I will find another source for my alternative energy information if this type of political commentary continues. Please stick to your core competency, you are the best on water issues and investment opportunities I rely on your insights and opinions on that topic, not the left wing spin which was clearly espoused in this article,I'm inundated with that crap all day long. Thanks again for all you do. Merry Christmas to you and yours
PS - I was born in the East, attended an Ivy League college and have a doctorate in business administration - I am capable of thinking for myself. I can clearly see that an administration that insists on raising minimum wages when it knows that will put teenagers out of work, and subsidizes the destruction of perfectly operational vehicles that could have been bought cheaply by lower income workers and used for years (reminds me of plowing under good crops when people are hungry) is driven by ideology and not by economics or rational thought.
Nothing against golf carts or so-called NEV's but let me get this straight:
So it's a good idea to subsidize trading harmless CO2 emissions which feeds trees and food crops for up to a dozen lead acid batteries per "clean" vehicle? And more lead is good for environment?
I try to read your articles as opportunities of time permit. I also try to be opened minded to the thoughts of others. I do not consider the FOX NEWS Network to be ingaged in "fearmongering" while there are elements with in our society that promote physical acts of agression on others, such as the SEIU. Now, if you are advocting that Al Gore is correct in pumping his concept of flawed science is the way to go to encourage your readership to conserve this planet Earth, then I will have to simply DELETE you from my readings. I realize we all have different opinions, that is what makes America great, but If you call the folks at FOX NEWS "fearmongers", then I must assume you mean myself as well. Interesting, I have tried to measure myself and everything else to the level my Founding Fathers. Yet, I find just about everything they stood for is under attack. I have often asked myself, "Have we really lost our moral compass?" Perhaps, I should reevaluate your opinion, eh? I was just recalling the words of Paul Revere, when he called out, "The Red Coats are coming, The Red Coats are coming". Perhaps we should exchange "Red Coats" for "Socialist".
I wonder who is really feeding on the "fear", FOX NEWS, or perhaps yourself. There is EVIL afoot among us. Years ago, there used to be what was called "town cryers". Do we need people to cry out the evil doings of others? YES! If this news station did not report what is going on, wow how much farther would there actions have taken them? Can I conclude that you agree with the Al Gore's of the world or is the idea of making a profit at the expense of personal freedom more important to you? If that is how you measure the folks at FOX NEWS "fearmongers", well,... perhaps you have answered my question, do you Nick, measure up my "ForeFathers". Somewhere you have to make a STAND, if you can not stand by your "self", you can not stand with others.
How much will it cost the world to lower the temperature just one degree?
George Penman,
The next time you need a serious operation head for Cuba baby! Leave our health care alone.
How much will it cost the world to lower the temperature just one degree?
George Penman,
The next time you need a serious operation head for Cuba baby! Leave our health care alone.
I agree with the person who said "the best thing to come out of Washington is gridlock".
I knew there was a reason to keep my subscription active!
Where are you going to put all of the wind and solar plants you are promoting? The best sites have already been stopped by the same groups promoting this green source!
Stop running interference for the current administration.
When is any new ridiculous level of govt spending enough for you?
Never letting a good crisis go to waste, Washington dictated a trillion dollars in stimulus to just fly out of our wallets, as unemployment skyrocketed 50% from 6.5 to over 10 from Nov 08-Nov 09. Cash For Clunkers cavalierly tried conning me into ditching a perfectly good 10 year old vehicle for a similar new truck that would have cost me $48,000. That's $820 a month for 6 years. Spend more than my house payment to save 4 miles per gallon, are you kidding me?
Benefits have costs. Sometimes trying to get a tiny bit greener is hugely expensive, and many of us just can't afford it. No matter how hard you wring us, there's no more water left in the sponge.
That said, I agree with your other writers who did not like the US Government buying cars (electric, gasoline, diesel or steam) reguardless of the fuel used. Also, "cash for caulkers" should only be available for those who actually cannot afford weatherizing. Banks who make imprudent loans should be permitted to fail. A Congress which pressured these banks to make those loans should be impeached.
The vehicle shown on "Fox" appeared to be very similar to a golf cart, with certain on-road features. So why not discuss the "subsidity" for an electric car? To call one of these or any other electric car a NEV is a stretch. Unless it can be recharged by a nucular power plant it will cause "pollution".
A more basic question everyone, should be asking, is what is the "proof" man is causing any warming trend on our planet? I believe there is a HYPOTHESIS presenting that claim called "Global Warming" or Climate Change". To classify CO2 as a pollutiant is ludicrous. When any oxygen breathing creature exhales, they omit CO2.
Consistent with people of your level of intellectual and economic deficiency, is your proclivity to denounce your detractors with a deluge of demagoguery related to peripheral issues to which most people might agree; however, none of those issues address your contention that Stossel was misleading with his comments on free golf carts. Indeed, we have heard from many quarters other than Fox News, that is a fact that golf carts can be purchased essentially for no cost, when one applies the credit afforded by the government, using taxpayer money. Additionally, you continue your rant, by summarizing your original theme at rants end; perhaps in the hopes that the reader has been so assaulted with a deluge of objectionable pointes upon which you focus, to associate the unrelated negative pointes with the vitriolic critique you are attempting to foist upon Stossel. It is my opinion that you failed miserably in your attempt to do so.
P.S. In the remote possibility you would like to improve your take on proven failed Socialist, Marxist, Progressive, and Communist economic histories, try reading the Milton Freedman version of Capitalism, you may have heard of that economic process, its the one that made the United States the most successful economy in the world. Thought I would let you know, in case you didnt notice.
Carefull me boy. You sure opened up a firestorm here. (g) No, your readers aren't getting much taste of reality from Fox entertainment, denial news, but let them discover that for themselves when they make their investment decisions on Fox quicksand.
And let them discover that the investment nexus falls apart when their neighbors are left behind in poverty and despair while a tiny fraction wallow in supreme power and wealth. It's just a matter of time before the bleed works up from the bottom to ingulf nearly all of us.
This whole liberal/conservative dichotomy is a load of you know what. What counts is the realities that we all face and thank you all here for studying, thinking and analysing a road map for getting through it without loosing everything to the liars and deniers.
I've been reading your column for months and have really respected your expertise about energy, but you've made the same mistake many athletes and other "famous" people have made ... you couldn't contain yourself and you let your political views out. Now I have no respect for your views. Let me see - Fox News caters to a bunch of idiots who resist progress, right? Well guess what? Fox News has more viewers than all the other cable and network news channels combined. So you, like your liberal elitists friends, think you're better than everyone else right? That's right out of Marx, Lenin, and Mao's book. There's the elite, and everyone else, and we all have to rely on the government, which raves about Social Security and Medicare, which are going bankrupt. And wasn't the ethanol fiasco wonderful? You can't pipe it; it takes too much energy to create energy, and it's not as efficient as gas. Yeah, more government.
Oh, and did you notice, the global warming (oh, excuse me - climate change) argument is unraveling. Apparently you've bought into that house of cards, but if you've ever looked at history you'd see that we've been warmer than we are now, and we had a mini ice age only a few hundred years ago, so don't tell me a trace gas is the culprit. Oh and by the way the EPA now says CO2 is a dangerous gas, so I guess we should just exterminate mankind, huh?
American technology is the best there is. We should drill all the oil and gas we can right here in the good old US of A, make clean coal economically feasible, use solar, wind, geothermal, and every other alternate source we can domestically get our hands on, and tell the Arabs and Chaves they can stick their oil where the sun don't shine. And you my friend, should keep your polotical opinions to yourself and stick to what you know.
Keep the fast cars on the race track where they belong.
The minescule amount of people who can afford those toys are not a force to deal with.
Keep the fast cars on the race track where they belong.
The minescule amount of people who can afford those toys are not a force to deal with.
Tell Nick to stick to Energy and stay out of media. I like his work, but I like FOX even more!
PS: I live 8 miles south of the Villages, so I know of what I speak about their ability to pay! for their golf carts.
As a Flordian who lives in the villages part time I am one who has a golf cart and love it. But I bought it on my own with my own money. It is not the governments job to GIVE us money, force us to buy into their agenda. ENOUGH!! I would suggest you read the constitution. This governement has overstepped its authority, and I think John Stossel's thought was enough!! Butt out government, and leave us alone. Our tax dollars are to support our constitution, not everyone and everything. Period!! Their job is to protect and defend..Sorry Nick........your head is in water. Read the constitution.
As a Flordian who lives in the villages part time I am one who has a golf cart and love it. But I bought it on my own with my own money. It is not the governments job to GIVE us money, force us to buy into their agenda. ENOUGH!! I would suggest you read the constitution. This governement has overstepped its authority, and I think John Stossel's thought was enough!! Butt out government, and leave us alone. Our tax dollars are to support our constitution, not everyone and everything. Period!! Their job is to protect and defend..Sorry Nick........your head is in water. Read the constitution.
Hello Nick and Chris, both of you say things that need to be said concerning how certain biased un news programs keep a good portion of americans dumb, stupid and under informed. If they were not mislead by the short sighted mistruths there would be less confusion and more consensus and thus a better inveting climate for new energy , etc. thank you for the great newsletter, I wish I had more money to invest , etc. But I get a great education from reading your materials and both of you have good writing flair....I love what you are saying as i have been around energy supply for close to 30 years. Been in the Bakken, the Uranium mines and tested soil for wind farms, etc. etc.
Energy is complex, and most of these short sighted types who think tax breaks are all bad and think that oil and gas and coal are totally free markets are so illiterate and un informed. I say to all these so called patriot conservatives , where were you when Bush and Co gave oil & gas 40 billion in tax breaks in the 2001 to 2008 time frame and where were you when bribery adn corruption by oil co's cost the US Treasure ( that is all of us taxpayers ) close to $25 billion or more in lost payment in kind royalties...so much for business efficiency...Fox will never report that....oh no...cant let the public really be informed on Truth....The cost curve is bending fast for alternatives adn going the opposite for the traditional hydrocarbons so the transition has begun finally. Granted the great gas resource discoveries in LA. Marshellius and Eat Tx and OKl area give us a great gas resource adn this will help with the electric sector and base load generation.....I could write more ...but both of you say it much better...keep up the great work...glad to see the conservative flat earthers get riled up by two very inteelligent capitalist investors that tell the WHOLE Picture not just a pollyanna version of drill baby drill...Peak Oil and other resources are here and you guys do a great job...I commend you for thinking and talking outside the box...good work. thanks for the newsletter.
may not be the main point he was addressing. The point is that it is not the function or the right of the Federal Govt. to take my money (or borrow on my behalf) and pay for someone else's golf cart/NEV. I will soon need the money to buy my own. For now, at age 72, I walk, cut my own wood, and grow a garden.
I'm behind you 100% on this. In the long run it helps us all. If we have to have Gov't subsidies, better this than Tax Credits to IBM for jobs in India. This American Industry get a needed push vs. Lockheed, Haliburton, et. al.
It's become expected from you leftist cowards to attack the messenger since you're wholly incapable of attacking or debunking the message with facts. You're emotion charged rhetoric cannot stand up to reason and logic. Truth is, I cannot remember when or how I signed up for your worthless electric banter but I do remember swiftly depressing the delete button each and every time it arrives. Today just gives me rise to take the next step needed and remove myself of your vacuous globalist tirades.
You are a patriot.
Whoopee.
Let me boil (yes, another pun) it down for y'all ---
The Constitution of the United States is clear to all who claim to read words in context and understand (comprehend) their meaning.
There is no mention anywhere about 90% of the C-rap passed by the Federal government as legislation. All of you, and I mean ALL of YOU, criers and whiners and mis-representers, are a disgusting lot. All of you shrivel from the responsibility to your fellow man, so ..... you have Big Brother do it. YOU ARE A FRIGGIN' STATIST.
You want to help the poor --- step up and show them the way to a better life. You feel things aren't fair in the world --- work with others to prepare those who need to meet the challenge of reality. Jealous of your neighbor making more money than you --- find out what he has that others want (and pay to have it) and do what they do to earn it.
Geeezzzzzzzz .... you're such a sorry lot.
For me, I want the Fed to do what they are directed to do in the Constitution, leaving the rest "to the States, or to the People."
Pathetic. Sad. Weaklings.
May God have mercy on you.
The cash-for-clunkers was one of the most idiotic bills ever passed by Congress.
As for the Global Warming, I would be willing to debate you, or anyone you choose, about the scientific proof for man-made global warming. It just simply does not exist. I have been following the merits of what we know about Climate change since the 1960's. Those who agree with the so-called consensus are mostly know nothings whose agenda would take us back to the stoneage.
You called him a "jounalist" and suggested he should stick to the news.
Sir, he is not a "journalist" and does not profess to be one. He is a commentator on the issues of life. And a pretty good one. There are "journalists" in the alphabet media that have proven time and time again in recent months that true investigative journalism is truly dead. Instead, they take dictation from this administration and report it as "news". A hard question posed to this president would be "What grade would you give yourself?" Yikes, take it easy on the poor fella, would ya?
And you single this story out because it fits your twisted and false agenda of foisting alternative energy on the populace or the seas will rise. This has been already proven to be bad science, despite the "consensus" of opinion of some scientists. Besides, how can it be a scientific truth if it is just a "consensus" of opinion anyway? But I digress.
I love NEV's. We have good friends that have lake front property out in the wilds of east Texas but most of those in their little community have NEV's strictly from a convenience point of view. Others have gas-powered ATV's for getting around.
If the neighborhood in FL requires everyone to have an NEV and they know that going in, it sounds like a great idea and sounds like a mighty fine community. But they need to buy their own.
Using my tax dollars to buy them their NEV's or anyone else for that matter is totally unacceptable and I would feel like Stossel. Enough already!
So, sorry, Nick. You blew this one.
By the way, the glaciers in Greenland are not all melting away. Here's a short story to prove my point.
In July 1942, a flight of P-38 fighters were flying from the USA to Britain to fight in WWII. They ran into bad weather, ran out of gas and had to ditch on a glacier in Greenland. In 1992, 50 years later, a group of salvagers thought they'd go in, gas them up and fly them out but they couldn't find them. They brought in ground-penetrating radar and imagine their surprise when they found BURIED UNDER MORE THAN 200 FEET OF NEW ICE. The melted a shaft down to one of the planes, took it apart, shipped it home and spent years rebuilding her. They named her "Glacier Girl" and if you Google Glacier Girl, you'll get the full story.
So, in just 50 years, Greenland grew more than 200 feet of new ice - and they say it's melting.
It's just too hard to get to the truth through all the hysteria like Al Gore saying the ice caps will melt in 5 years then ridiculed in Copenhagen for spreading misinformation.
I know this is long, but hey - you write some pretty lengthy stuff, too.
Thanks.
We should not be truned off by any of our fuel sources we will need them all.
Anything that saves a person money will take off on it's own merits and should not be subsidized by government.
As far as Cash for Clunkers, how are dealers fairing presently? Sales may have soared under Cash for Clunkers but are waning as I write. Just read that Saab is closing it's doors and won't be surprised if more car companies go under.
Media, as a whole, is no longer trustworthy and having financial problems as Americans become more aware of the complicity between media and our progressive government. As I understand it, many print publications will soon be seeking taxpayer money to bail them out. Won't be long before government will control every facet of our lives from what we read to what we eat, to what we drive and how much plus how warm or cool we can maintain ourselves.
Completely factual or not, without Stossel's piece, many of us would not have known about the NEV debacle as many of us do not know much of what this secret administration is doing.
I served in academia(medical school) for 22 years, but I found many of the faculty and administrators to be close minded boobs, with little appreciation for the genius of the American political system except for their constant whining for more government paid grants. The disdain of the general public for most of these self righteous jerks is well earned. Your columns seem to have a propensity for government support where that support is more likely to render poor selection of winners and losers and rigged decks as currently dealt by John Murtha and his "airport to nowhere".
I lived in an upscale retirement community in Tucson, Az for 11 years. Such complaining and whining you have never seen, and the something for nothing crowd was in an abundance. Every activity was grand and "needed": as long as someone else paid for it in the dues. The last thing my fellow "naybors" needed was another handout. $2500 tax credit my butt!
BTW, this year I spent $26000 for a whole house geothermal system, because as you do, I believe a severe energy adjustment will hit us in the next ten years. It works great.
Last thing, if you know your history, you know the Mann hockey stick is a total joke.
Stossel was critical (and yes, a bit overboard on terms but only if you've never watched the filth on MS-NBC) of the politicians who continually throw subsidies into the market - however well intentioned - that ALWAYS result in taxation spending that the market would have made more efficient. Government simply can NOT spend it's way to ANY positive impact on an economy, it is always money stolen at the end of an IRS-gun and then handed out like candy to reward someone else, with a bit skimmed off the top.
Stossel was correct. The subsidies are bad economic policy, even if they help your stock picks.
Intellectual dishonesty can only be excused by applying the well-known Christian enunciation: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."
(The only problem is, many of them DO know what they do, and these are the ones who will burn in Hell forever-and-ever without relief or pity from any of us in Heaven who will look down on them in their agony and just smile as we peel another grape in smug satisfaction over having made the right call when we were still mortal human beings.)
The article was excellent work. I hope it didn't cost you too much.
Sincerely
Joel Deckard
I will say I'm impressed with the quality of the comments on this site. The contributors do not rant, know how to spell and form sentences, do not use profanity or call names, and most try to get their viewpoint across in a reasoned manner. Much better than the comments I see on other blogs. Refreshing.