A dear friend of mine reads my blog every day. He often calls me with the same refrain, "You can't make up this stuff!" He is right. It seems every day I am fighting four or five different absurdities for the right for me to offer them up in print.
Today I am going to concentrate on a speech delivered in Congress in 2005 by the current Chairman Emeritus of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Joe Barton (R-6th TX). Though the comments were made a number of years ago, they make the point about a serious problem with our Congress. This is no lightweight on whom I am focusing attention. The Wall Street Journal, in an article in 2002, called Mr. Barton the, "House GOP's leading expert on energy policy."
In a discussion on the effects of any energy policy that might include wind turbines, the Waco Congressman had this to say:
In other words, Representative Barton believes that if we incorporate wind turbines to produce energy we will slow down the world's wind. I have read this quote dozens of times and my head still hurts from the lack of science, logic and common sense. If he is the Republicans' energy expert in the House, it is no wonder China and other nations are eating our lunch when it comes to alternate energy sources.
What can make a man this stupid? According to the Congressman's website, he has a degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M and a Master's in Industrial Management from Purdue. Though these schools are not Ivy League in stature, they are both well-respected bastions of learning.
So, if he is not stupid, what would make him utter such stupid things? Perhaps he is speaking for someone else. Let us look at who funds his campaigns since he has been in Congress. Since 1985 Mr. Barton has received almost $4 million from the energy and natural resource sector, according to the website OpenSecrets.org. To provide perspective, the health sector is a distant second providing $1.4 million less to Barton's campaigns.
Could this be the answer to the question? The Texas Congressman knows that turbines take away from oil, gas, and coal industry profit.
Maybe he is thinking, "I'll say something outrageous because I know everyone will listen. I'm the leading expert on energy here and people will believe I used science to reach my conclusion. After all, who is going to look it up? I'm the old professor!"
According to statistics posted on the website School Digger, which are compiled by the National Center for Educational Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, and the Texas Education Agency, schools in Waco, Texas, are ranked 660th out of 853 cities. This puts basic education in Mr. Barton's district in the lower 25 percent of schools in the Lone Star state.
Perhaps Mr. Barton believes the people who elect him are so stupid he can blow this kind of smoke up their collective butts and get away without a challenge. In the meantime he continues to accept large contributions from the industries that...quite literally...are profiting from his obfuscation and unscientific rantings.
Congressman Barton is not alone. In both the Senate and House, legislation is discussed without a tablespoon of science to prove theories both correct and incorrect.
I do not think members of Congress are stupid. I do believe, however, they think we are!
In a discussion on the effects of any energy policy that might include wind turbines, the Waco Congressman had this to say:
Wind is God's way of balancing heat. Wind is the way you shift heat from areas where it is hotter to areas where it is cooler. That's what wind is. Wouldn't it be ironic if in the interest of global warming we mandated massive switches to energy, which is a finite resource, which slows the wind down, which causes the temperature to go up? Now I'm not saying that's going to happen, Mr. Chairman, but that is definitely something on the massive scale. I mean it does make some sense. You stop something, you can't transfer that heat, and the heat goes up. It's just something to think about.
In other words, Representative Barton believes that if we incorporate wind turbines to produce energy we will slow down the world's wind. I have read this quote dozens of times and my head still hurts from the lack of science, logic and common sense. If he is the Republicans' energy expert in the House, it is no wonder China and other nations are eating our lunch when it comes to alternate energy sources.
What can make a man this stupid? According to the Congressman's website, he has a degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M and a Master's in Industrial Management from Purdue. Though these schools are not Ivy League in stature, they are both well-respected bastions of learning.
So, if he is not stupid, what would make him utter such stupid things? Perhaps he is speaking for someone else. Let us look at who funds his campaigns since he has been in Congress. Since 1985 Mr. Barton has received almost $4 million from the energy and natural resource sector, according to the website OpenSecrets.org. To provide perspective, the health sector is a distant second providing $1.4 million less to Barton's campaigns.
Could this be the answer to the question? The Texas Congressman knows that turbines take away from oil, gas, and coal industry profit.
Maybe he is thinking, "I'll say something outrageous because I know everyone will listen. I'm the leading expert on energy here and people will believe I used science to reach my conclusion. After all, who is going to look it up? I'm the old professor!"According to statistics posted on the website School Digger, which are compiled by the National Center for Educational Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, and the Texas Education Agency, schools in Waco, Texas, are ranked 660th out of 853 cities. This puts basic education in Mr. Barton's district in the lower 25 percent of schools in the Lone Star state.
Perhaps Mr. Barton believes the people who elect him are so stupid he can blow this kind of smoke up their collective butts and get away without a challenge. In the meantime he continues to accept large contributions from the industries that...quite literally...are profiting from his obfuscation and unscientific rantings.
Congressman Barton is not alone. In both the Senate and House, legislation is discussed without a tablespoon of science to prove theories both correct and incorrect.
I do not think members of Congress are stupid. I do believe, however, they think we are!
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