Angels and Oil
James Madison famously observed that if we were all angels, we wouldn't need a government, adding that, "If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary." So, in the absence of angels, who are we left with? A community organizer whose unique perspective enabled him to remark that:
"Some of the same folks who have been hollering and saying 'do something,' are the same folks who, just two or three months ago, were suggesting that government needs to stop doing so much."
Well, that little exercise in reductionism is catchy so long as one doesn't bother to look behind the rhetorical curtain. Fortunately for us, W. R. Wansley, at the American Thinker, has pulled the curtain back and exposed federal incompetence on a scale that would make Cecil B. DeMille blush.
What people, from Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, to local county and city councils in the Florida panhandle, to fishermen and ordinary citizens have asked of the federal government is simple. Get your enormous bureaucratic, lethargic, agencies to free up the resources our people need to deal with this mess, or at a minimum, please get out of the way.
In his article, Wansley gives examples like the company that produces fiber mats to absorb oil, or another that has a machine that will separate oil from water. He writes,
"One man has tons of material that is extremely lipohilic (oil loving) which traps, holds, and sinks the oil to be destroyed by oil eating bacteria."
Has the gentleman advised the EPA of this material? Yes. And the EPA responded that it is against regulations to intentionally sink oil. Evidently, EPA regulations do permit the destruction of the gulf coast by oil, so we can rest easy. Our bureaucrats are hard at work. Meanwhile, Governor Jindal and at least one Florida local government has decided to move forward with construction of barriers to protect their coasts with or without federal approval.
Proving yet again the inherent inefficiency of a massive and massively uncontrollable federal government, Obama had the gall to lampoon the people who want the government to stay within its Constitutional limits, essentially calling them hypocritical. Evidently, expecting competence in response to an event that took place in federal waters is expecting too much. They will be so much more adept at managing your health care, right?
Arguably the best line in the article is this:
"If he is looking for someone's 'buttocks' to boot, maybe he should look at the one whose rear end is up in the air in a notorious picture bowing to the Saudi King."
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May '10
Re: Angels and Oil
Prediction: some wacky politically-programmed scientist will "discover" that drilling for oil and gas in the ocean releases huge amounts of CO2, and is a major contributor to "climate change."
May '10
Re: Angels and Oil
Dave, I wasn't able to get your link to the American Thinker article to work. This one works for me. I am hoping this is the article you were referring to.
May '10
Re: Angels and Oil
Very good article by the way, thanks!