First of all, if you are still calling it global warming, then you are behind the times. The science is now so conclusive that the earth temperature has either been static or falling for the last decade, that even the most rabid proponents of global warming have smoothly transitioned into the slightly revised religion known as ‘climate change’. For those who feed from the public trough, it is a very fortuitous name change. Since the earth has been in a constant state of climate change for the last 3 billion years, the big businesses of government and environment, can now gouge their money from taxpayers whether the world temperature goes up or down.
‘Man made global warming’ is the grandest scam that has ever been perpetrated. No ripoff, hoax, or Ponzi scheme, has ever approached the audacious scope of climate change. Untold trillions of dollars are at stake worldwide, in the form of grants, scientific studies, carbon credits, green donations, political slush funds, alternative fuels, and corporate profits. At the top of the food chain are world governments which will suck tax dollars from fishermen and other wealth producers, and redistribute them to the ‘players’ in climate change.
With the exposure of the false and manipulated science behind global warming, we now know conclusively that science can no longer be trusted. There is so much money at stake, and the ‘religion’ so dogmatic, that many scientists find themselves completely driven by ideology rather than scientific discovery. For those of us who have long contended that fishery science is driven by politics, and not the health of our industry, the revelations hardly come as a surprise. Trust is essential for good fishery regulation, and the public exposure of faked science is not only a shame for commercial fishermen, but for the majority of scientists who are dedicated and honorable.
Even worse than the money drain on wealth producing people, and the loss of scientific credibility, is the transfer of power from individuals to the government. Between socialized medicine, and climate change, our government will garner enough power to have control over our every move. Each individual decision we make in life will be construed by the enforcing bureaucracies as impacting one or the other of the public welfare mandates, and we will soon find ourselves getting government permission for everything we do.
If you think this can’t happen, and our individual liberties are well protected in America, then be reminded that the global warming crowd now in power, has no use for the Constitution. Our President has stated that ‘the Constitution is a negative document that tells the government what it can’t do, but doesn’t tell it what it can do’, and that the Supreme Court has missed the boat by not mandating more redistribution of wealth. Today, the balance of power on the Supreme Court is so fragile, that if we lose a Clarence Thomas, or Antonin Scalia to another Sotomayor, the constitution could quickly become a meaningless document.
It would be nice if commercial fishermen could just hunker down in their boats, and let the politicians fight their own battles. Unfortunately, every single decision that politicians make, affects us to one degree or another. Cap and Trade, or whatever other tricky name they come up with for climate change legislation, means huge taxes on energy, and we all know what that means to the price of fuel. Of course, our elected leaders, in their infinite wisdom, assure us that high fuel prices will only direct us towards alternative sources of power.
As dutiful subjects of America’s ruling elite, we are supposed to really get serious about turning green. So then, what’s really wrong with wind power? After all, fishermen used it successfully for 4,000 years, right? Or, how about switching over to electric? I can hear it now. Not only will we be reducing our carbon footprint, but think of the karma produced by those softly humming electric pickup trucks pulling into the fish house at 4:00 each morning.
Let us also be comforted by the fact that our elected leaders have assured us that everyone will shoulder a fair share in saving mother earth. So, maybe we could have our politicians commute to Washington on horseback, and live in tents as long as they insist on staying in session? Or how about we reduce carbon footprint by limiting the amount of gaseous rhetoric they are allowed to spew out each year? Hey, I could really get into this ‘share the pain’ and ‘save the planet’ mode.
OK. So what about our diesel engines? I’m not talking about 50 years in the future, I’m talking about right now. Will we have to pay $6.00 a gallon for diesel fuel? With the proposed Cap and Trade bill, will we be targeted as polluters of the planet, and forced to purchase carbon credits like the coal burning power plants? Will we be told which engine we must purchase if we want to keep our fishing licenses? Will we be limited in how much fuel we can use? Will we be told when we can leave the dock, and how long we can stay out?
For anyone who thinks these things can’t or won’t happen, I say – look to the past. Who would have predicted 20 years ago that all of our fishing grounds would be taken in by a 2,000 sq mile National Marine Sanctuary. Just 10 years ago, who could have imagined vessel monitoring systems, Individual quotas, and the specter of satellites and video cameras watching every move that’s made on a vessel? And who indeed, ever dreamed that fishermen would one day be taxed 3% of their hard-earned catch, to pay for the very bureaucracy that is destroying their livelihoods.
These may be hard times for our industry and our country, but if self-important politicians and bureaucrats would just get out of the way, America and commercial fishing can both rebound. Fishermen are survivors. There’s no government help out on the boat when gale force winds are blowing, and there are no bureaucrats to pull lobster traps when the mortgage is due. There are also no guaranteed paychecks each week, and every poor season is an economic recession for the fisherman. Yet year in and year out, with no help from the government, fishermen continue to put seafood in the homes, markets, and restaurants of America.
The climate change crowd cares nothing about commercial fishing. The politicians, scientists, and extreme environmentalists who make up the movement, are anti-free market ideologues who are looking to profit from a purported concern for the future of our planet. There is no better example of the opportunism in climate change, than our former vice-president, and guru of global warming, Al Gore. He is now a billionaire. And no, he did not make it growing tobacco!
It is critical to the survival of commercial fishing – especially our small boat fisheries – that these monstrous federal programs not get instituted. Americans are often slow to get started, but there is a growing groundswell of opposition to government completely taking over our lives. Citizens are beginning to understand that like always, it will be working people, not the rich, who foot the bill for power-obsessed politicians.
As commercial fishermen and Americans, we hear the word crisis so often that we become immune to it. But, in our lifetime – in America’s lifetime – there has never been a more critical time than right now. Our government intends to change the core values that have ridden our country to greatness in the last 200 years…. working hard to get ahead…. the Constitution protecting individuals from the politicians…. democracy as the preferred form of government…. Capitalism as the best way to raise the standard of living for everyone…. and individuals bearing responsibility for their own lives and actions.
It is an unfortunate fact of life that fishermen can do nothing about the bureaucracy. They are unelected officials, yet have almost limitless power over our industry. Though they are supposed to be public servants, many of those in charge, operate as if the fishing industry exists to serve their needs. They cannot be fired or replaced, and we have no way to temper their power except through our elected representatives.
Every poll shows that most Americans still believe individual freedoms are more important than the collectivist power of the state. The tea parties that are springing up all over America in opposition to big government, are only the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the surface is a massive and still growing, assemblage of working Americans who fear that their liberty and standard of living, is being eroded by arrogant politicians, and a broken bureaucracy. Most of us who have been active in fishery issues are discouraged over our inability to have any effective role in shaping policy, but it is wrong to think that we can do nothing about it.
Our voices, our presence, and especially our votes, can have a profound effect on the direction of America. The politicians lie, if they say they’re not worried about the tea parties, and they lie if they say they don’t notice your protest. The one thing – the only thing – that politicians fear, is losing their power. Since they refuse to open their eyes and ears now, we will have to open them in the November elections.
Global Warming?
Monday, June 28th, 2010 Posted in Commentary, Fishery Issues, Industry
First of all, if you are still calling it global warming, then you are behind the times. The science is now so conclusive that the earth temperature has either been static or falling for the last decade, that even the most rabid proponents of global warming have smoothly transitioned into the slightly revised religion known as ‘climate change’. For those who feed from the public trough, it is a very fortuitous name change. Since the earth has been in a constant state of climate change for the last 3 billion years, the big businesses of government and environment, can now gouge their money from taxpayers whether the world temperature goes up or down.
‘Man made global warming’ is the grandest scam that has ever been perpetrated. No ripoff, hoax, or Ponzi scheme, has ever approached the audacious scope of climate change. Untold trillions of dollars are at stake worldwide, in the form of grants, scientific studies, carbon credits, green donations, political slush funds, alternative fuels, and corporate profits. At the top of the food chain are world governments which will suck tax dollars from fishermen and other wealth producers, and redistribute them to the ‘players’ in climate change.
With the exposure of the false and manipulated science behind global warming, we now know conclusively that science can no longer be trusted. There is so much money at stake, and the ‘religion’ so dogmatic, that many scientists find themselves completely driven by ideology rather than scientific discovery. For those of us who have long contended that fishery science is driven by politics, and not the health of our industry, the revelations hardly come as a surprise. Trust is essential for good fishery regulation, and the public exposure of faked science is not only a shame for commercial fishermen, but for the majority of scientists who are dedicated and honorable.
Even worse than the money drain on wealth producing people, and the loss of scientific credibility, is the transfer of power from individuals to the government. Between socialized medicine, and climate change, our government will garner enough power to have control over our every move. Each individual decision we make in life will be construed by the enforcing bureaucracies as impacting one or the other of the public welfare mandates, and we will soon find ourselves getting government permission for everything we do.
If you think this can’t happen, and our individual liberties are well protected in America, then be reminded that the global warming crowd now in power, has no use for the Constitution. Our President has stated that ‘the Constitution is a negative document that tells the government what it can’t do, but doesn’t tell it what it can do’, and that the Supreme Court has missed the boat by not mandating more redistribution of wealth. Today, the balance of power on the Supreme Court is so fragile, that if we lose a Clarence Thomas, or Antonin Scalia to another Sotomayor, the constitution could quickly become a meaningless document.
It would be nice if commercial fishermen could just hunker down in their boats, and let the politicians fight their own battles. Unfortunately, every single decision that politicians make, affects us to one degree or another. Cap and Trade, or whatever other tricky name they come up with for climate change legislation, means huge taxes on energy, and we all know what that means to the price of fuel. Of course, our elected leaders, in their infinite wisdom, assure us that high fuel prices will only direct us towards alternative sources of power.
As dutiful subjects of America’s ruling elite, we are supposed to really get serious about turning green. So then, what’s really wrong with wind power? After all, fishermen used it successfully for 4,000 years, right? Or, how about switching over to electric? I can hear it now. Not only will we be reducing our carbon footprint, but think of the karma produced by those softly humming electric pickup trucks pulling into the fish house at 4:00 each morning.
Let us also be comforted by the fact that our elected leaders have assured us that everyone will shoulder a fair share in saving mother earth. So, maybe we could have our politicians commute to Washington on horseback, and live in tents as long as they insist on staying in session? Or how about we reduce carbon footprint by limiting the amount of gaseous rhetoric they are allowed to spew out each year? Hey, I could really get into this ‘share the pain’ and ‘save the planet’ mode.
OK. So what about our diesel engines? I’m not talking about 50 years in the future, I’m talking about right now. Will we have to pay $6.00 a gallon for diesel fuel? With the proposed Cap and Trade bill, will we be targeted as polluters of the planet, and forced to purchase carbon credits like the coal burning power plants? Will we be told which engine we must purchase if we want to keep our fishing licenses? Will we be limited in how much fuel we can use? Will we be told when we can leave the dock, and how long we can stay out?
For anyone who thinks these things can’t or won’t happen, I say – look to the past. Who would have predicted 20 years ago that all of our fishing grounds would be taken in by a 2,000 sq mile National Marine Sanctuary. Just 10 years ago, who could have imagined vessel monitoring systems, Individual quotas, and the specter of satellites and video cameras watching every move that’s made on a vessel? And who indeed, ever dreamed that fishermen would one day be taxed 3% of their hard-earned catch, to pay for the very bureaucracy that is destroying their livelihoods.
These may be hard times for our industry and our country, but if self-important politicians and bureaucrats would just get out of the way, America and commercial fishing can both rebound. Fishermen are survivors. There’s no government help out on the boat when gale force winds are blowing, and there are no bureaucrats to pull lobster traps when the mortgage is due. There are also no guaranteed paychecks each week, and every poor season is an economic recession for the fisherman. Yet year in and year out, with no help from the government, fishermen continue to put seafood in the homes, markets, and restaurants of America.
The climate change crowd cares nothing about commercial fishing. The politicians, scientists, and extreme environmentalists who make up the movement, are anti-free market ideologues who are looking to profit from a purported concern for the future of our planet. There is no better example of the opportunism in climate change, than our former vice-president, and guru of global warming, Al Gore. He is now a billionaire. And no, he did not make it growing tobacco!
It is critical to the survival of commercial fishing – especially our small boat fisheries – that these monstrous federal programs not get instituted. Americans are often slow to get started, but there is a growing groundswell of opposition to government completely taking over our lives. Citizens are beginning to understand that like always, it will be working people, not the rich, who foot the bill for power-obsessed politicians.
As commercial fishermen and Americans, we hear the word crisis so often that we become immune to it. But, in our lifetime – in America’s lifetime – there has never been a more critical time than right now. Our government intends to change the core values that have ridden our country to greatness in the last 200 years…. working hard to get ahead…. the Constitution protecting individuals from the politicians…. democracy as the preferred form of government…. Capitalism as the best way to raise the standard of living for everyone…. and individuals bearing responsibility for their own lives and actions.
It is an unfortunate fact of life that fishermen can do nothing about the bureaucracy. They are unelected officials, yet have almost limitless power over our industry. Though they are supposed to be public servants, many of those in charge, operate as if the fishing industry exists to serve their needs. They cannot be fired or replaced, and we have no way to temper their power except through our elected representatives.
Every poll shows that most Americans still believe individual freedoms are more important than the collectivist power of the state. The tea parties that are springing up all over America in opposition to big government, are only the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the surface is a massive and still growing, assemblage of working Americans who fear that their liberty and standard of living, is being eroded by arrogant politicians, and a broken bureaucracy. Most of us who have been active in fishery issues are discouraged over our inability to have any effective role in shaping policy, but it is wrong to think that we can do nothing about it.
Our voices, our presence, and especially our votes, can have a profound effect on the direction of America. The politicians lie, if they say they’re not worried about the tea parties, and they lie if they say they don’t notice your protest. The one thing – the only thing – that politicians fear, is losing their power. Since they refuse to open their eyes and ears now, we will have to open them in the November elections.