The Eco-Socialists are getting upset as more Conservatives offer alternatives to and criticism of the “Government is GREAT!” fallacy they all share. The ad hominem attacks are increasing.
This signals that they both have no argument in rebuttal, have not much for rebuttal skills to boot and can be made to be frustrated as they see their Narratives collapse in on themselves. Telling us, effectively to “just go away.”
And they are ticked that their former “Safe Space” now has folks like me asking them serious questions about their “faith.”
And good Governance.
Remember, these folks are Socialists – they LOVE Government because Government can be Totalitarian and can force we infidels to do what they demand.
Sidenote: Doubt me? Just look at how fast the “Nice Canadians” are being treated by Little Justin Trudeau simply because he has no actual answer to all those truckers. He is fearful and now is walking down the path to turn Government against those that disagree with his policies. After all, freezing your bank account, taking your money, taking your DOGS is rather like Xi of China, right? That’s “good” governance”? But he was in favor of Antifa…
So over at TH was yet another post that castigates the West for having modern lifestyles (e.g., we’re using….wait for it…energy!); emphasis mine:
Western Nations Are Climate Hypocrites, Emitting More Carbon in a Week Than Many Countries Do in a Year
So should we complain when others want to rise out of energy poverty?The world has two energy problems: one for the rich who burn too much and one for the poor who have too little. Euan Ritchie, a policy analyst at the Center for Global Development Europe, put it more bluntly and accused the U.S. and Britain of climate hypocrisy for emitting tons of carbon per capita but complaining about energy projects in countries where most people live in energy poverty.
“Underpinning this discussion should be an acknowledgment that there is vast inequality in energy use, and CO2 emissions, between richer and poorer countries. Just a few days of life in the U.S. produces more emissions than people in many low-income countries produce in the entire year.”
Inequality? Sure is. Is it a matter of apologies and prostrating while wearing sackcloth and throwing ashes into the air?
Nope. But the intent is to guilt the West (again) in thinking it is “taking away stuff” from others. Simply, on that resource-rich continent, the problem isn’t resources but Governance. Or to plainly put it, the lack thereof, and I’ll leave the wonderings for another time. The brunt of the post is that we eliminate our use of fossil fuels and then send money to them. A grift, plain and simple. Vindalo Bugaboo pithily sums up this entire hash with:
What’s the “very very hard choices” to which you allude? Democracy, freedom and retention of modern Western society vs. draconian imposition of reduced living standards on par with DRC austerity? There’s no choice to make if that’s the argument.
And as I keep saying, it is that latter choice that the eco-socialists want to force upon us. While the word “equitable” only appears once in the post, it is clear that the old school Marm’s admonition of “if you didn’t bring enough candy for everyone, you can’t have it either” holds true here. They even have a chart trying to enforce that:
Just the way the chart is constructed is biased – “CO2 emissions are too high” is a clear tip off.
But is it about energy? Is it about calling out the West’s selfishness by proxy (e.g., the writer is Canadian)? Or is it about Governance?
I posit the latter because if you look at the two bubbles, those that are “high” in emissions are ALSO those with better Governance. It is that which has allowed the US to become richer (respecting Private Property, the Rule of Law, et al) as well as having a much more modern lifestyle which, by definition, requires better Governance. Just look at those at the bottom / left – NO one in their right mind thinks that their Governments are all that good for their citizens.
But as in true Communism, everyone has to be completely equal in outcome. We can’t have that stick of gum unless EVERYONE has one too. Not more light switches that actually work unless the least serf in North Korea has one too!
But as I said, more Conservatives are infiltrating TH and are bringing that discussion of Governance to the fore instead of the constant bellyaching about emissions and equity. And one brings up THE problem that is now one of paramount importance that I’ve been writing about for years. Which, if not abated, will send us back down to that bottom left bubble above. All emphasis is mine, slight reformatting:
david russell: We don’t have much of a democracy in the US. Most govt that affect citizens are unelected agencies immune from legislative oversight.
Yep, the Administrative State which is getting more and more powerful as Legislatures, Federal and State, give up more of their Powers to the Executive Branch. “Here’s a vague outline of a Law – you bureaucrats in the Executive Branch, fill in the regulations and make it ‘work'”. So we aren’t a Constitutional Republic if you look at the Laws on the book versus the red tape that is created afterwards. And one person, a conservative when measured against TH standards, disagreed:
Randy Wester: I think your government mostly works as it’s meant to. Agencies are created by legislation, and outside of that, must work within the rule of law.
These agencies may not do what elected politicians of the day, or even what the majority of the people would like them to, at every particular point in time, but that’s exactly the point of writing legislation. Consistency and order trump perfection and redressing every grievance [sic] of the past. The Canadian government is actively and busily forgetting that.
It’s that “must work within the rule of law” bit that got both me and David Russell a bit wound up:
david russell: Not from where I sit, but it’s always good to hear from those with a different perspective.
I’m thinking of the FBI which stone-walled the intelligence committee for over a year in requests for documents.
I’m also thinking of NSA whose sins were revealed by Snowden and the head of which lied to Congress (with no consequence). I won’t bore you with countless other examples. Perhaps things are worse elsewhere, which is perhaps your point.
And then I piled in with a couple more examples of agencies NOT following the law:
GraniteGrok to Randy Wester: And they think here at TH that Government is their friend. Pfft!
I think your government mostly works as it’s meant to. Agencies are created by legislation, and outside of that, must work within the rule of law.
Like the CDC eviction moratorium that SCOTUS squashed TWICE for NOT following the Rule of Law?
Or OSHA’s Jab mandate that was also ruled out of bounds by several levels of the Judiciary?
Or how about schools that have decided to do things that are clearly outside their enumerated authorizing legislation (I know – I’m suing my School Board on several Powers they are claiming they have but can’t / refuse to tell me what State statutes give them the power in this Dillon’s Rule State).
Or one of our “regional planning commissions” that decided it was no longer limited to trying to coordinate the building of roads between towns to becoming a Purchasing Agency (because no one was building any new roads and like all bureaucracies, had to justify its existence)?
Randy seemed astonished – just like I was when I started to become more politically aware and realized that the Government processes I learned in school weren’t really the norm:
It appears from what you say that some of the checks and balances are working. And some aren’t. How did you ever lose control of your school boards? Seriously, how?
And your public administration and civil service has obviously become bloated beyond recognition.
And more than a million illegally entered the country? You’d better hope they just want to make some money and a better life, because if they’re intent on trouble, that’s a lot of it, right there.
Good observations. And we are back to one of my most favorite questions: What IS the Proper Role of Government? For if it isn’t recognized and enforced, we’re all going to end up like all those “Energy Poverty by bad Governance” in the above chart:
Two thing at play and mostly due to the fact that we almost have two societies when it comes to the Proper Role of Government.
One, from the late 1800s decided that our US Constitution was outdated given the new idea that Societies could be “engineered” by the Smart People as if they were mere replaceable cogs and need their Guiding Hand to be successful (See Bill’s unsupported supposition above that the US, with 330M people, NEEDS that heavy hand). It is these folks that have inserted themselves into the bowels of Govt and have almost 180’d our Founders vision from being being one where Govt was supposed to protect Individual Liberties to one where Govt makes most of the important decisions (in contradiction to that vision)
The rest, myself include until a few years ago, placed our emphasis in family, friends, and careers thinking that Govt would just continue to work as we had learned in school.
And we have learned that this premise has been wrong for far too long. That’s how we “lost control” – most forgot the admonition that our government was only for a moral and involved people.
I’m afraid that too many became too complacent so we are where we are.
But I am labeled as an extremist for going against that now openly Socialist Narrative while I only hold onto the values embedded in the US (and New Hampshire) Constitutions – and fight for those values to be restored. Which requires a return to a limited Govt that stays within its “lanes”.
And to which Bill (and other THers) scoff at.
OK, a bit long but only half the length of my previous DISQUS Doodlings. The fact that the Mods haven’t deleted any of my writings for a while, which they used to do on a regular basis, is a hope that I’m starting to make some headway. Having other supporters of Freedom and Liberty, even if it is just two, three, or four, helps a lot. ALL of them know their principles and philosophy and say things and ask questions of the Socialists there – and often get little in response.
And that’s what we need in the real world, too. More of us need to stand up and take on the Democrat / Socialist / Progressive / Communists because if there aren’t more of us on that wall keeping them out, we’re doomed. They’ve already breached Congress and the White House.
And are trying hard here in NH.
Screw DC, save NH.
