Liberal Fantasyland
- From: jose el fontanero <josefsoplar@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 15 May 2009 10:31:36 -0700 (PDT)
Liberal Fantasyland
By Randall Hoven
If you listen to liberals, they are the "reality-based" people. They
contrast themselves to conservatives, who they claim are ideology-
based or faith-based.
"The arguments of liberals are more often grounded in reason and
fact." Barack Obama
"Reality has a well-known liberal bias." Stephen Colbert
"The facts of life are conservative." Margaret Thatcher
I offer here several pieces of evidence, large and small. You can be
the judge of who is right, Stephen Colbert or Maggie Thatcher.
Eco-Warriors
"A lot of environmental messages are simply not accurate. But that's
the way we sell messages in this society. We use hype. And we use
those pieces of information that sustain our position. I guess all
large organizations do that." Professor Jerry Franklin, an ecologist
at the University of Washington
The good ship Fleur set sail from Plymouth, England, on a 5,000 mile,
"carbon emission-free" journey to Greenland. "The expedition was
followed by up to 40 schools across the UK to promote climate change
awareness." Then reality hit in the form of weather. Wind ripped the
wind generator and solar panels from the yacht, and capsized it three
times. The crew of the Fleur was rescued by an oil tanker loaded with
680,000 barrels of crude oil .
The Catlin Arctic Ice Survey is giving up on its journey to the North
Pole to measure arctic ice thickness. Championed by Prince Charles
and funded by an insurance company that wants to sell insurance
against climate change, the Catlin team travelled 434 km in 73 days,
with 490 km remaining to the pole. Unfortunately, severe cold (to
minus 40 Celsius) took out "both a radar device meant to measure the
ice thickness and a satellite communications unit to relay the
data.". Meanwhile, an airplane equipped with modern technology flew
over them and discovered arctic ice was "thicker" than expected.
Electric cars were studied by a German branch of the World Wildlife
Foundation . "What surprised us was that the carbon dioxide savings
were so small." In the best-case scenario, the savings would be 0.1
percent. In the worst-case scenario, electric cars would be 25% worse
than gasoline-powered.
Hybrids cars get better gas mileage than regular cars, especially
SUVs, I'm told. However, fuel to make the car go is not the only use
of energy in cars. It takes energy to make a car in the first place,
for example. When the "dust to dust" energy use is calculated on a
"total energy cost per mile driven" basis, the picture is the opposite
of that promoted. "While the industry average of all vehicles sold in
the U.S. in 2005 was $2.28 per mile, the Hummer H3 was only $1.949 per
mile. That figure is also lower than all currently offered hybrids
and Honda Civic at $2.42 per mile."
Plastic diapers, plastic bags and disposable coffee cups, turn out to
be non-threats to the environment, according to the green Conscious
Consumer and the Union of Concerned Scientists. While the
environmentally aware were quick to preach to the rest of us how our
use of disposable diapers, for example, was ruining the planet, they
seem slow to catch on to this news.
Acid Rain was once the environmental biggie, the Global Warming of the
70s and 80s. So the government spent 10 years and $550 million to
look into it. The National Acid Precipitation Assessment Project
(NAPAP) essentially concluded it is not a problem. For example, "The
NAPAP study found that among thousands of U.S. lakes, only 4 percent
were somewhat acidic. One-quarter of those were acidic due to natural
causes, leaving only 3 percent somewhat influenced by human
activities." The NAPAP report came out in 1990, suspiciously about
the time Global Warming became the new big thing in environmental
causes.
Carbon credits (a) are costing a lot of money, (b) may do nothing to
lower greenhouse gas emissions, and (c) incentivize the destruction of
the environment and people's homes. Or so the Associated Press
reported. The carbon credit system "is an excessive subsidy that
represents a massive waste of developed world resources," said
Stanford University's Michael Wara.
Do-Gooders
"And how do you know when you're doing something right? How do you
know that? It feels so. What I know now is that feelings are really
your GPS system for life. When you're supposed to do something or not
supposed to do something, your emotional guidance system lets you
know." Oprah Winfrey
Oprah's feelings were touched by "A Million Little Pieces," by James
Frey. She was so touched by this come-back-from-hard-times story that
she chose it for her book club, where "more than two million copies
were sold, making it the fastest-selling book in the club's 10-year
history." Trouble is, the supposedly non-fiction story was entirely
made up; it was a hoax.
Oprah was also touched by "Angel at the Fence," a story of love during
the Holocaust written by Herman Rosenblat. Lo and behold, it too was
a hoax.
Oprah was also touched by "The Education of Little Tree," a children's
book she put on her list of recommendations. That book, first
published in 1976, was debunked years ago as "the literary hoax of a
white supremacist."
The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls was supposed to be the
fulfillment of Oprah's dream. Unfortunately, "reports of harsh
discipline soon emerged, and today a dormitory matron at the facility,
Tiny Makopo, appeared in court facing 13 charges including indecent
assault and inducing underage girls to perform indecent acts."
(Actually, I kind of like Ms. Winfrey. But maybe you should think
twice about her recommendations for books or school staff. Didn't she
also recommend a president?)
Jack Henry Abbott was a convicted killer, but Norman Mailer considered
himself a great judge of character when arguing for his release from
prison. Mailer "never thought Abbot was close to killing." Six weeks
after leaving prison, Abbott stabbed to death a 22-year-old waiter,
Richard Adan, in a quarrel outside a Manhattan restaurant. Perhaps
the steak was too well done. Abbot told the judge that Adan's life
"was not worth a dime."
Many considered vaccinations the way to fight disease in Africa.
Unfortunately, the African health care system is not quite up to speed
when it comes to needle use. One study estimated "that more than half
the cases of Aids in Africa before 1988 were caused by unsterilised
needles." However, UN officials dispute that. "The research estimates
that about 60% of people with HIV in Africa become infected mainly
through contaminated needles rather than through sexual contact, but
the UNAids organisation puts the figure at nearer 5%."
I don't know who's right or wrong, but 5% to 60% of 25 million HIV/
AIDS cases in sub-Saharan Africa is 1.25 to 15 million people. First
do no harm?
Timothy Treadwell, Grizzly Man, thought grizzly bears in Alaska needed
saving. He would save them by calling them pet names in a high-
pitched voice and taking their pictures. But the bears did not need
saving. Who needed saving was Timothy and his girlfriend, both killed
by grizzlies while camping near them.
Chris McCandless went Into The Wild. He was another young fellow who
trekked to Alaska. Although we cannot be sure of his motives, he
"abandoned his possessions, gave his entire $24,000 savings to charity
and hitchhiked to Alaska, where he went to live in the wilderness.
Four months later, he turned up dead." And all evidence points to a
pretty miserable four months.
The "Peace Bride," artist Giuseppina Pasqualino, was hitchhiking to
Israel in a wedding dress "as part of her ‘Brides on Tour' project
aiming to plead for peace in conflict areas." She was raped and
murdered in Turkey while on that peace tour.
(The police are only providing the suspect's initials, MK. Who wants
to bet MK stands for Moshe Katz? Who thinks Mohammed Khalid might be
the better bet? One can only guess at this point.)
Public Policy
"This is not Washington imposing its will and its programs on anyone.
It is a cooperative sharing of resources, talents and ideas with
everyone who has something to contribute." Sargent Shriver in 1967
From 1959 to 1964, the poverty rate dropped every single year, from22.4% to 19.0%. After that, President Lyndon Baines Johnson declared
War on Poverty. And indeed, the poverty rate continued to decline,
reaching 12.8% by 1968. But despite the War on Poverty continuing
throughout, the poverty rate sort of stalled in the 12-15% range. It
would climb back above 12.8% by 1980, and stay there through 1997,
when President Clinton ended Welfare. In 2006 it was 12.3%, below
where it was when Welfare ended and about where it was in 1968.
From 1900 to 1965, life expectancy for men in the US rose from 46 to67 years. In 1965, health spending in the US was 5.9% of GDP. That
was the year LBJ gave us Medicare. Life expectancy continued to go up
after that, but more slowly. Today it is about 75 years for men. And
by 2007, health spending took 16.2% of GDP. Medicare is now about to
go completely broke. It paid out more than it took in for the first
time in 2008. The Medicare "fund" is expected to be depleted by 2017.
The temperance movement aimed to eliminate the evils of demon drink.
I'm sure it did discourage drinking, but it also incentivized
organized crime and gangsterism. In 1920, when Prohibition began, the
murder rate was 6.8 per 100,000. In 1933, when Prohibition ended, the
murder rate peaked at 9.7 per 100,000, the highest ever up to then.
After Prohibition ended, the murder rate subsided. By 1953 it fell
below 5 per 100,000 and would stay below that level through 1963,
reaching the lowest murder rates since 1906. Then the criminal reform
movement took over. The Map v Ohio decision (exclusionary rule) came
in 1961. Miranda warnings were mandated in 1966. The Gun Control Act
was enacted in 1968. The murder rate doubled between 1961 and 1972,
and would hit its highest point ever, 10.7 per 100,000, in 1980, Jimmy
Carter's last year as President.
By 1980, Concealed Carry was getting a toehold. Liberals were dead
set against it, saying men hiding guns would come into schools and
churches and kill people. In the decade 1989-1998, CC swept most of
the nation, becoming law in more than 30 states. The murder rate
dropped from 10.1 per 100,000 in 1991 to 5.9 in 2004. If you know of
any CC permit-holder convicted of murder, or of any gun related
felony, please let me know, because I think the number of such persons
is zero.
I know what some of you are thinking: the statistical evidence that
Concealed Carry reduced the homicide rate is too thin. The Center for
Disease Control would agree with you. The CDC did a study and found
that CC had no effect on violent outcomes, either way. But if you
insist on believing the CDC on that, then you should believe the CDC's
conclusion on all gun control laws: "The Task Force found insufficient
evidence to determine the effectiveness of any of the firearms laws or
combinations of laws reviewed on violent outcomes." Do you know how
much it hurt the CDC to say that?
Summary
I will end the list there, not because I'm running out of examples,
but because this article is already too long. But before signing off,
I would like to offer some sense of balance.
First, there were some "conservative" fantasies. But I put the word
"conservative" in quotes because, in these cases, conservatives acted
like liberals.
•President Reagan sent US Marines to Lebanon with rubber bullets for
ammunition and the Rules of Engagement being "don't engage." The
result was 246 dead Marines. I love Reagan and believe him to be the
best President of the 20th century, but this was right out of Jimmy
Carter's playbook. US Marines kill people and break things. If
that's not the mission, don't send Marines.
•The War On Drugs is the quintessential nanny-state policy. Some
conservatives such as William Buckley and Milton Friedman saw the
serious flaws and anti-conservativeness in this Nixon initiative.
After almost 40 years, this is another un-won war, with costs
including increased crime in the US and foreign policy conundrums from
Latin America to Afghanistan.
Secondly, there is some trace evidence that not all liberals live in
fantasyland. There is a group called Beyond Good Intentions, for
example, that recognizes that most international aid is not only
ineffective, but also counterproductive. The MIT Poverty Action Lab
appears to be using evidence to guide global anti-poverty policy.
I have no idea if these groups are being effective, but it is nice to
know there are at least a few liberals willing to go beyond good
intentions, their own feelings, and showering problems with other
people's money.
My plea to liberals is this. Think of the movie, The Matrix. Take
the red pill. Leave the matrix created by the entertainment/education
echo chamber.
.
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