Twice the standards of everyone else
This past weekend, the media have been abuzz over the word Ann Coulter used to describe John Edwards -- in another classic example of a “failed joke” of epic stupidity. That word used to mean a bundle of sticks, and now is a derogatory term for a man who prefers the intimate company of other men. It has become an ugly term, and Coulter deserves all the castigation she gets, from both left and right sides of the political spectrum, for pretending to make humor with it.
Still, we’re not asking that she enter rehab for it.
Meanwhile, one of the left’s favorite “funny” men, Bill Maher, has come out in all seriousness to support of the attempted assasination of the vice president of our free country. What do we hear about “hate speech” from the leaders of the left? Crickets chirping.
One of the left’s prominent leaders, Jimmy Carter, came out with a book blaming Israelis for having the gall to be blown up by Palestinian suicide bombers, and by having the further nerve to build a fence to prevent more deaths. Did more crickets chirp? No, the author was nominated for a second Nobel Peace Prize.
And Al “the Goracle” Gore received an Oscar for Best Documentary, for his popular amalgam of propaganda and glitzy effects, “An Inconvenient Truth.” The very same week, it was made public that, in one month, his modern (1980s construction) mansion in Nashville uses 20 times the energy of the average American home. Last August alone, that house’s electricity usage outstripped the average family’s total energy consumption for a full year, including light, heat, and transportation. And there the Goracle stood, in all his pride, lecturing people about “reducing their energy footprint” to nil. There he stood, exhaling carbon dioxide while lecturing the masses on reducing their carbon dioxide emissions to nil.
To top things off, he pushed “carbon offsets” as his excuse from energy restraint.
The concept of offsets was introduced during negotiations for cleanup efforts in Europe and Asia, in advance of the ill-conceived Kyoto accord. Those states which could not initially afford to clean up their polluting acts could buy their way out of trouble by paying into a fund, with the aim that the funds would be applied to development of cleaner energy sources. This led to a number of theworst offenders remaining the worst offenders, but on a grander scale because they know they can buy their way out of trouble. It’s the equivalent of church indulgences -- the ones which, ultimately, contributed to the failure of credibilty of the Church, and led to Martin Luther’s rise. Gore is now promoting the purchase of said offsets from a company for which he is the founder and fully stock-holding chairman, so the Goracle stands to gain much by the sale of these indulgences.
Contrast a 2001 Chicago Tribune report of one famous house in Crawford Texas: “Geothermal heat pumps located in a central closet circulate water through pipes buried 300 feet deep in the ground where the temperature is a constant 67 degrees; the water heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summer. Systems such as the one in this ‘eco-friendly’ dwelling use about 25% of the electricity that traditional heating and cooling systems utilize. A 25,000-gallon underground cistern collects rainwater gathered from roof runs; wastewater from sinks, toilets and showers goes into underground purifying tanks and is also funneled into the cistern. The water from the cistern is used to irrigate the landscaping surrounding the four-bedroom home. Plants and flowers native to the high prairie area blend the structure into the surrounding ecosystem.” No offsets required.
The Nashville Electric Service, though, lacks the data on how many offsets Gore would need to pay for the many private jet flights he makes, the number of limousine and Sport Utility Vehicle rides he takes, the amount of energy consumed in staging his worldwide public appearances selling the “most pressing moral issue of our day.”
Meanwhile, the Goracle and his acolytes refer to President Bush as the man who has done the greatest harm to the ecosystem.
And we will not even go into the fictions Joe Wilson and Patrick Fitzgerald have been selling about others’ supposed lies.
Without double standards, it seems, some folks would have no standards at all.
Suggested Reading:
On Gore's Nashville mansion: Tennessee Center for Policy Research
On Bush's Crawford house: Common Dreams
Gerard van der Leun asks "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the greenest of them all?"
Donald Sensing is shocked to be defending Al Gore, and his "comments" section has good responses
Eric Scheie of Classical Values on Why hypocrisy shouldn't -- but does -- matter
Will's Corner Googled The F-Word... Lots Of It At Daily Kos. (not the "f-bomb, though. It's related to Coulter's choice)
Rick Moran at Rightwing Nuthouse: What Joe Wilson's Lies Have Wrought
Tom Maguire at JustOneMinute: Fitzi's Dishonor (HT: Instapundit)
Still, we’re not asking that she enter rehab for it.
Meanwhile, one of the left’s favorite “funny” men, Bill Maher, has come out in all seriousness to support of the attempted assasination of the vice president of our free country. What do we hear about “hate speech” from the leaders of the left? Crickets chirping.
One of the left’s prominent leaders, Jimmy Carter, came out with a book blaming Israelis for having the gall to be blown up by Palestinian suicide bombers, and by having the further nerve to build a fence to prevent more deaths. Did more crickets chirp? No, the author was nominated for a second Nobel Peace Prize.
And Al “the Goracle” Gore received an Oscar for Best Documentary, for his popular amalgam of propaganda and glitzy effects, “An Inconvenient Truth.” The very same week, it was made public that, in one month, his modern (1980s construction) mansion in Nashville uses 20 times the energy of the average American home. Last August alone, that house’s electricity usage outstripped the average family’s total energy consumption for a full year, including light, heat, and transportation. And there the Goracle stood, in all his pride, lecturing people about “reducing their energy footprint” to nil. There he stood, exhaling carbon dioxide while lecturing the masses on reducing their carbon dioxide emissions to nil.
To top things off, he pushed “carbon offsets” as his excuse from energy restraint.
The concept of offsets was introduced during negotiations for cleanup efforts in Europe and Asia, in advance of the ill-conceived Kyoto accord. Those states which could not initially afford to clean up their polluting acts could buy their way out of trouble by paying into a fund, with the aim that the funds would be applied to development of cleaner energy sources. This led to a number of theworst offenders remaining the worst offenders, but on a grander scale because they know they can buy their way out of trouble. It’s the equivalent of church indulgences -- the ones which, ultimately, contributed to the failure of credibilty of the Church, and led to Martin Luther’s rise. Gore is now promoting the purchase of said offsets from a company for which he is the founder and fully stock-holding chairman, so the Goracle stands to gain much by the sale of these indulgences.
Contrast a 2001 Chicago Tribune report of one famous house in Crawford Texas: “Geothermal heat pumps located in a central closet circulate water through pipes buried 300 feet deep in the ground where the temperature is a constant 67 degrees; the water heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summer. Systems such as the one in this ‘eco-friendly’ dwelling use about 25% of the electricity that traditional heating and cooling systems utilize. A 25,000-gallon underground cistern collects rainwater gathered from roof runs; wastewater from sinks, toilets and showers goes into underground purifying tanks and is also funneled into the cistern. The water from the cistern is used to irrigate the landscaping surrounding the four-bedroom home. Plants and flowers native to the high prairie area blend the structure into the surrounding ecosystem.” No offsets required.
The Nashville Electric Service, though, lacks the data on how many offsets Gore would need to pay for the many private jet flights he makes, the number of limousine and Sport Utility Vehicle rides he takes, the amount of energy consumed in staging his worldwide public appearances selling the “most pressing moral issue of our day.”
Meanwhile, the Goracle and his acolytes refer to President Bush as the man who has done the greatest harm to the ecosystem.
And we will not even go into the fictions Joe Wilson and Patrick Fitzgerald have been selling about others’ supposed lies.
Without double standards, it seems, some folks would have no standards at all.
Suggested Reading:
On Gore's Nashville mansion: Tennessee Center for Policy Research
On Bush's Crawford house: Common Dreams
Gerard van der Leun asks "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the greenest of them all?"
Donald Sensing is shocked to be defending Al Gore, and his "comments" section has good responses
Eric Scheie of Classical Values on Why hypocrisy shouldn't -- but does -- matter
Will's Corner Googled The F-Word... Lots Of It At Daily Kos. (not the "f-bomb, though. It's related to Coulter's choice)
Rick Moran at Rightwing Nuthouse: What Joe Wilson's Lies Have Wrought
Tom Maguire at JustOneMinute: Fitzi's Dishonor (HT: Instapundit)
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