The Washington Times, September 14, 2010

CARUBA: Turning off the light of liberty

As incandescent bulbs go, so goes America

What if the government banned air conditioning? What if flat-screen televisions were determined to use too much electricity and were ordered phased out of production? What if the use of all plastic grocery bags was banned? What if the incandescent light bulb, one of the greatest inventions of Thomas Edison in the 1870s was banned? Oh wait, it has been banned.


In a nation where Obamacare "reform," which requires Americans to purchase health insurance they may not want and may not be able to afford, was rammed through Congress, what can stop the government from dictating just about any choice you have regarding any purchase you make? The answer? Nothing.

Only it would no longer be a constitutional government, a nation of laws that reflect anything resembling the truth. The ban on incandescent light bulbs turns off the light of liberty throughout America.


Here are some truths to keep in mind: (1) Carbon dioxide (CO2) and other "greenhouse gas emissions" do not cause global warming. (2) There is no global warming. (3) The Earth has gone through known warming and cooling cycles for millions of years. (4) The Earth is in a cooling cycle. (5) Beginning Jan. 1, 2012, government rules will make it impossible to purchase a 100-watt incandescent light bulb. After that, in time, all such light bulbs will be phased out, leaving Americans with only dim, overpriced, mercury-filled light bulbs. (6) They will be made overseas, primarily in China.

By 2012, by order of the government, Americans will no longer be able to purchase any incandescent light bulbs. Why? Because Congress banned them, citing the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming that isn't happening.

That's the same Congress that already had determined how much water your toilet can use to flush. It's the same Congress that determined Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules that determine how many miles per gallon your automobile must achieve. It's the same government that requires that ethanol be added to gasoline, thus reducing the mileage a gallon of adulterated gasoline can produce while also driving up the cost of gasoline as well as of corn - a food product used to produce ethanol.

It's the same Congress that has blessed a Renewable Electricity Standard that requires utilities to use electricity produced by wind and solar power even though both sources require 24/7 backup by traditional coal-fired natural gas or nuclear plants because they cannot be relied upon to generate electricity in a predictable fashion or during periods of peak capacity.

It's the same Congress that initiated Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two "government entities" that purchased the subprime mortgage loans that banks and mortgage-loan firms were required to make to people who clearly could not afford to repay them. The result was the financial crisis that occurred when those "bundled" mortgages turned out to be "toxic" - worthless paper sold to investment firms and banks as assets.

In early September, The Washington Post published an article, "Light bulb factory closes; End of era for U.S. means more jobs overseas." It reported, "The last major General Electric factory making ordinary incandescent light bulbs in the United States is closing this month ... the remaining 200 workers at the plant here [Winchester, Va.] will lose their jobs."

In June, The Washington Times reported in an editorial that the "Federal Trade Commission [released] 91 pages of regulations that will force manufacturers to revise their packaging and make costly compact fluorescent bulbs appear more appealing to consumers," who have refused to purchase them willingly. "Congress wants to force the pale, cold fluorescent curlicue fixtures on everyone because it makes members feel that they are doing their part to 'save the planet.' "

While the ban was initiated in 2007, before the Obama administration took power, it has not gone unnoticed that the chief executive officer of General Electric, Jeffrey Immelt, "sits on Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board." Recovery is nowhere in sight, while GE closes its factory making incandescent light bulbs.

There's more. GE was the recipient of bailout funds and "stands to benefit from current and future contracts with the U.S. government." Connect the dots. GE owns MSNBC, a cable news channel famous for its adulation of President Obama before and since his election.

The issue, however, is far less about GE than it is about the vast global-warming fraud, the equally vast matrix of U.S. laws and regulations that are based on it and, most important, the way they are being used to undermine and destroy the U.S. economy, along with the freedoms that Americans take for granted.

One of the many tasks facing the next Congress, of which Republicans are expected to regain control after the November elections, is to repeal the ban on incandescent light bulbs. After that, the mountain of other laws and regulations strangling consumer freedom and even threatening the health of Americans also must be repealed.

All nations must evolve, but America is moving toward less freedom of choice, more control over the choices that a free market requires. It is rejecting its founding principles and it is doing so on the basis of environmental lies.

Alan Caruba blogs at factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com and is the founder of the National Anxiety Center.

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