“We don’t think the federal government should tell people what kind of lighting to use in their homes,” says Republican Congressman Joe Barton. Yet, Joe Barton does think that the federal government should tell people what kind of person they can marry.
Congressman Ted Poe has joined Barton’s protest against light bulb regulation that will require the phase out of light bulbs that waste energy. Poe complains that it’s unconstitutional for Congress to pass laws that regulate light bulbs. “The federal government does not have the authority to force anybody to buy anything,” Poe says. Yet, Poe does believe that the government has the authority to force everybody to marry people of a certain gender, even if that’s not the gender they’re sexually attracted to.
H.R. 2417, the so-called Better Use of Light Bulbs Act, will come up for a vote in the House of Representatives today. The legislation would reverse one aspect of the Energy Independence Act of 2007 – the part that requires inefficient light bulbs to be replaced on store shelves by more efficient alternatives.
Republican politicians have provoked many of their followers into a light bulb frenzy, a fury that anyone would take away their liberty to buy wasteful, old-fashioned light bulbs. There are even incandescent bulb hoarders, people who are going to hardware stores to buy as many inefficient bulbs as they can. Why?
- Republican politicians say that the Energy Independence Act created a ban on incandescent light bulbs that will soon go into effect, but that’s not true. Incandescent light bulbs will be remain on sale – only the ones we’ll buy will be more energy efficient.
- Republican politicians say that every single compact fluorescent light bulb for sale in the United States is made in China, but that’s not true. Lights of America makes compact fluorescent light bulbs in the town of Walnut, California.
- Republican politicians say that Americans are going to be forced to buy compact fluorescent light bulbs even though fluorescent light bulbs trigger migraine headaches in a small number of people, but it’s not true that anyone will be forced to buy fluorescent light bulbs. In addition to the incandescent light bulbs that will remain on the market, people will be able to choose LED lights if they want. People have more choice of light bulbs now than they did a few years ago, not a restricted choice.
- Republican politicians say that it’s unconstitutional for Congress to pass laws that create regulations of the energy efficiency of light bulbs, but that’s not true. The Constitution authorizes Congress to pass laws regulating interstate commerce, and if that weren’t enough authority, the Constitution also grants Congress the authority to pass laws to promote the general welfare.
The switch to more efficient light bulbs will save a household with 15 electric lamps 50 dollars per year. The energy savings will prevent the construction of 30 dirty power plants.
Why, given these facts, would anyone oppose the regulations that are bringing us better light bulbs? Republican politicians say that it’s a blow to American liberty for the government to make decisions about light bulb technology. Yet%2
Bill Maher giving it right back to the Republican “base:”
http://www.dependablerenegade.com/dependable_renegade/2011/07/this.html
A bit of environmental “piling on” in a time of economic stress, high unemployment, municipal tax funds and services “drying up” as well:
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-great-drought-of-2011-14-states-suffering-us-south-2011-7
Crucify the GOP whores… starting with Joe “Publicly Fellating BP” Barton, the Jack of Holes.
No crucifixion, I say. Just a little bit of exposure… under a compact fluorescent light bulb.
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