OK, so I don't like to talk about politics too much, but after reading an article about the Republican candidates, I had to dive in and criticize. The article in the NYTimes talks about how almost all the Republican candidates for president are casting the EPA (Environment Protection Agency) as a demonic curse set upon our government to kill jobs and waste money. Some of the biggest complaints are with the EPA's attempt to put in regulations on the output of greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and other large industrial plants. Michele Bachman has vowed to shutter the EPA's doors and start anew in Washington while also claiming that global warming is a hoax. (To view the whole article and other comments in full, please follow this link.) Where are these candidates living because I sure as hell don't think that they are living in the world we know. Perhaps they are aliens sent from a different planet to take over the United States and rule the world. OK, so maybe they are humans, but they are severely out of touch with reality if they think that getting rid of the EPA will bring about more good than ill. Instead of having the EPA monitor oil and gas giants, some candidates would have these oil and gas companies regulate themselves. Really? Since when has self regulation done anything but harm? Where is the incentive to actually follow a regulation if you are regulating yourself? Getting rid of the EPA would be one of the worst ideas I have yet to hear from the Republican party.
Government has grown too big, I will not deny that, but at the same time, we can not just go in and cut every single regulatory agency or department of government and hope that things will turn out all right. Maybe we should start with the entitlements that the representatives receive. Lets start by getting rid of our representatives' secretaries and make them do some of their own leg work for a change. But no, the Republicans would have you believe that the EPA, in charge of keeping our water and air clean, should go. They are claiming that all the new potential regulations regarding emissions, cap and trade programs, and other environmental protecting plans will kill jobs. It will only kill jobs if people do not look for alternative ways of producing power and invest in technology that will keep emissions even lower. There is an enormous industry in clean energy waiting to be tapped if we only felt like it. But no, Republicans would rather stay the course, increase drilling, and perpetuate our problems by focusing on keeping fossil fuels as the de facto choice for power production. The saddest part is that people are actually buying the crap that is being spoon fed to them by these candidates. Just because a candidate hails from a particular party, it seems as if anyone associated with the party will support them regardless of what they say. Maybe Republicans should attack the real drain on our system, Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid. I know, horrendous topics, too large to tackle, oh and wait, too touchy of a subject.
Lewis Black the comedian said it perfect when he said, "We have a two party system in this country; the Republican party, which is a party of bad ideas, and the Democratic party, which is a party of no ideas." How long will we keep on listening to the garbage that the Republicans and Democrats keep dredging up? When will we step out of our apathy and start caring what is going on in government? It seems when you try to talk about politics, the dominating view is, "why bother, nothing will come of our discussion anyway." If we keep shoving politics under the door mat and refuse to work on our broken system, people are absolutely correct, nothing will come of our discussions. If people want a rude awakening, let the Republicans have there way and shutter the doors of the EPA. I want to know when people are unable to swim in their favorite lake or river, fish in their favorite spot, or have clean air to breath. The EPA has its purpose and while it does overstep its bounds every now and then, it has done much more good than harm. With our population continually growing, there needs to be some sort of check to the amount of pollution that is being generated, both on the personal and corporate/industrial levels. Is it any wonder that many of these Republican candidates are backed by the oil and gas industries? I think not. If they are receiving unreported amounts of money to support these companies, then why not bash the EPA. Its all a load of crap. I'm surprised the candidates can even walk anymore with all the crap filling their pants. I mentioned this yesterday and I will re-emphasize it today; we need to clean house down in D.C. and start anew. Our two party system has run its course and its time for a change. Breathe your clean air today and drink your untainted water for if the Republicans have their way, we will be swimming in garbage and breathing more smog.
No comments:
Post a Comment