Chuck Muth: Federal Department of Toilets and Light Bulbs

I've mentioned a few times now my local, liberal left newspaper, the Tucson Citizen, has hired a new columnist, Chuck Muth. Mr. Muth is a refreshing conservative view in the vast wasteland of leftist views. I've subscribed to his daily emails and shown a few things he's written thus far.

Today I decided to visit Mr. Muth's website. Turns out, he's a conservative from Nevada and appears to be as impressed with ReidCo as the rest of the conservatives out there, which is to say, not much.

This is the post I received in today's email:

Federal Department of Toilets & Light Bulbs

How many congressmen does it take to change a light bulb? 400.

That’s how many members of Congress recently voted for a bill to force Americans to change the 50-cent incandescent light bulbs they’re currently using and replace them with expensive new, $3 “energy-efficient” light bulbs. As Shane Cory of the Libertarian Party sarcastically put it, “If you outlaw light bulbs, then only outlaws will have light bulbs.”

The ban, which takes effect in 2014, was included in the 2007 energy bill which 314 members of the United States House of Representatives and 86 members of the United States Senate voted for.

Nevada Sen. Harry Reid said he thought the light bulb ban was an appropriate exercise of federal power. Interesting company Reid’s keeping. Because when the bill was originally introduced by California Rep. Jane Harman last March, CNS News reported that two other countries had already taken similar steps to eradicate inexpensive incandescent light bulbs from the planet: Fidel Castro’s Cuba and Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela.

Unfortunately, this is nothing new for Congress. The light bulb ban is simply the latest example of an increasingly intrusive federal government butting into the day-to-day affairs of the average citizen.

Remember the 1992 energy bill, in which Congress banned the 3.5 gallon toilet? It mandated that that Americans no longer use more than 1.6 gallons per flush. Of course, per the immutable Law of Unintended Consequences, the new 1.6 gallon toilets turned out not to be enough to, er, get the job done. So folks found themselves flushing two and three times per visit, thus using the same amount of water, if not more, than they did before Congress stuck its nose into our bathrooms.

Excuse me, but would someone please show me where the federal Department of Toilets and Light Bulbs is authorized by the United States Constitution.

And make no mistake. Congress has no intention of stopping here. Still under active consideration is a new federal ban on top-loading washing machines, as well as a federal ban on disposable diapers. Seems some of our elected officials won’t be satisfied until we’re again washing out our cloth diapers on rocks by a steam in the pitch dark.

The late, great Sen. Barry Goldwater famously declared in the early 1960s that he would “not attempt to discover whether legislation is ‘needed’ before I have first determined whether it is constitutionally permissible.” That sentiment has all but disappeared in the halls of Congress today. One notable exception is Arizona Rep. John Shadegg, a co-founder of the Goldwater Institute, whose proposed “Enumerated Powers Act” would require that “Each act of Congress…contain a concise and definite statement of the Constitutional authority relied upon for the enactment of each portion of that act.”

What a “revolutionary” notion.

Rep. Shadegg has introduced this bill in every Congress since 1995. And to give you an idea of how far Congress has drifted from the limited-government ideal of our Founders just over the last dozen years, the original bill had 103 co-sponsors. The same bill this year? Just 38. Goodnight, Constitution. I’ll leave a non-incandescent light bulb on for you.

This guy is worth a periodic read--he has a sense of humor and at the same time, makes perfect sense. Go visit his site here and grab a cup of coffee while you're at it. You're going to need some time to go through his work.

Cross posted at Grizzly Groundswell here and Real Clear Politics here.

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More From Chuck Muth-Troops Deserve More than Bumper Sticker Support

Ok, this last article from Muth, as promised. After this, I'll just include bits and pieces from his daily roundup. Again, this impressed me, coming from our daily liberal rag and it provides a brief glimpse of hope for this town actually getting some truth. Good for Chuck, bucking the trend.

Muth's Truths-The Truth Detector

Troops Deserve More than Bumper Sticker Support
By Chuck Muth
November 10, 2007

For this Veterans Day weekend I decided to read "Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10." The story is about four U.S. Navy SEALs whose June 2005 mission in northern Afghanistan "was to capture or kill a notorious al Qaeda leader known to be ensconced in a Taliban stronghold surrounded by a small but heavily armed force. Less than 24 hours later, only one of those Navy SEALs remained alive," Marcus Luttrell.

This book is Luttrell's first-person account of that tragic day, "the largest loss of life in Navy SEAL history." All thanks to asinine rules of engagement our military personnel are forced to fight under. I couldn't possibly explain this intolerable situation better or with more moral authority than Leading Petty Officer Marcus Luttrell himself, so consider the following taken directly from the first chapter of his book:

"Looking back, during our long journey in the C-130 to Afghanistan, I was more acutely aware of a growing program which faces U.S. forces on active duty in theaters of war all over the world. For me, it began in Iraq, the first murmurings from the liberal part of the U.S.A. that we were somehow in the wrong; brutal killers, bullying other countries; that we who put our lives on the line for our nation at the behest of our government should somehow be charged with murder for shooting our enemy.

"It's been an insidious progression, the criticisms of the U.S. Armed Forces from politicians and from the liberal media, which knows nothing of combat, nothing of our training, and nothing of the mortal dangers we face out there on the front line. Each of the six of us in that aircraft en route to Afghanistan had constantly in the back of our minds the ever-intrusive rules of engagement.

"These are drawn up for us to follow by some politician sitting in some distant committee room in Washington, D.C. And that's a very long way from the battlefield where a sniper's bullet can blast your head, where the slightest mistake can cost your life, where you need to kill your enemy before he kills you.

"And those ROE are very specific: we may not open fire until we are fired upon or have positively identified our enemy and have proof of his intentions. Now, that's all very gallant. But how about.when a bunch of guys wearing colored towels around their heads and brandishing AK-47s come charging over the horizon straight toward you? Do you wait for them to start killing your team, or do you mow the bastards down before they get a chance to do so?

"That situation might look simple in Washington, where the human rights of terrorists are often given high priority. And I am certain liberal politicians would defend their position to the death. Because everybody knows liberals have never been wrong about anything. You can ask them. Anytime.

"However, from the standpoint of the U.S. soldier, Ranger, SEAL, Green Beret, or whatever, those ROE represent a very serious conundrum. We understand we must obey them because they happen to come under the laws of the country we are sworn to serve. But they represent a danger to us; they undermine our confidence on the battlefield in the fight against world terror. Worse yet, they make us concerned, disheartened, and sometimes hesitant.

"I can say from first-hand experience that those rules of engagement cost the lives of three of the finest U.S. Navy SEALs who have ever served. I'm not saying that given the serious situation, those elite American warriors might not have died a little later; but they would not have died right then, and in my view would almost certainly have been alive today.

"I am hopeful that one day soon, the U.S. government will learn that we can be trusted. We know about bad guys, what they do, and, often, who they are. The politicians have chosen to send us into battle, and that's our trade. We do what's necessary. And in my view, once those politicians have elected to send us out to do what 99.9 percent of the country would be terrified to undertake, they should get the hell out of the way and stay there.

"I realize I am not being specific, and I have no intention of being so. But these broad brushstrokes are designed to show that the rules of engagement are a clear and present danger, frightening young soldiers, who have been placed in harm's way by their government, into believing they may be charged with murder if they defend themselves too vigorously. . . . I simply do not want to see some of the best young men in the country hesitating to join the elite branches of the U.S. Armed Services because they're afraid they might be accused of war crimes by their own side, just for attacking the enemy.

"And I know one thing for certain. If I ever rounded a mountainside in Afghanistan and came face to face with Osama bin Laden, the man who masterminded the vicious, unprovoked attack on my country, killing 2,572 innocent American civilians in New York on 9/11, I'd shoot him dead, in cold blood. At which point, urged on by an outraged American media, the military would probably incarcerate me UNDER the jail, never mind IN it. And then I'd be charged with murder.

"Tell you what. I'd still shoot the sonofabitch."

This Veterans Day, let's commit to doing more than just slapping an "I Support the Troops" bumper sticker on our car or tying a yellow ribbon 'round the old oak tree. Let's commit to fighting to give men like Marcus Luttrell the freedom, authority and confidence they need to do the job they've been trained to do and we've asked them to do. Supporting the troops doesn't mean bringing them home while the threat to our nation and our citizens still exists. It means letting them win. It means letting them kick (expletive) and take names. It means pinning a medal on their chest for killing a bad guy, not pinning a murder rap on them.

And it means extending a heartfelt "Thank You!" to each and every veteran you come across this Veterans Day. They've earned it. And then some.

Amen, Chuck-amen.

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Chuck Muth-Tucson's Op-Ed APPEARS To Be Pleasantly Conservative!

Working in a law office, there are times it becomes prudent to have somewhat of a subscription to the daily rag, in this case the Tucson Citizen. In choosing which email alerts to subscribe to, I chose "Citizen Outreach", otherwise known as Chuck Muth's News and Views. I've been pleasantly surprised by the daily roundup I'm getting and this is the sampling for today:

IS IT SAFE?

I’m on my way to Washington, DC, for a few days to visit all of our tax dollars and stare in awe of everything great the Democrats are doing on our behalf.

But first I have apologize for all the rotten things I’ve ever said about the Transportation Safety (or is it Security) Administration, aka, the TSA. Those are the folks who operate the security checkpoints at airports and create those agonizingly long lines to board a commercial flight. But I have to admit they caught me red-handed yesterday trying to smuggle a can of deadly Arid Extra Dry onto my plane.

Doesn’t everyone feel a lot safer now?

NOBEL HYPOCRITE AWARD

“Next month, the world will get a chance to enjoy some brazen hypocrisy. Former Vice President Al Gore will speak in Oslo as he accepts his Nobel Peace Prize. . . . But how will Gore get to Norway? Maybe he’ll take a wind-powered Clipper ship and then climb aboard a dogsled to go the rest of the way. But if that’s the case, he’d better leave immediately. No, it’s far more likely he’ll fly in, bringing a sizable entourage of family, friends, security officers and so forth. Gore, you see, leaves a large “carbon footprint” wherever he goes, even when he stays home.” [Emphasis mine]

- Columnist Rick Tucker

DEMS GO AWOL ON MUKASEY

“So in the end, the Senate voted to confirm Michael Mukasey as Attorney General on Thursday night, 53-40. What happened to the grave threats he posed to the republic? Yes, Majority Leader Harry Reid took to the floor to explain that the judge was unfit to serve because he wouldn't declaim on the legality of ‘waterboarding,’ an interrogation technique that Congress itself hasn't banned. But notably missing in action were the Democrats running for President. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd had all declared their opposition but never showed for the vote. Their absence suggests that the entire Mukasey ‘fight’ was a political charade.” [Emphasis mine]

- Wall Street Journal, 11/10/07

WHAT DEMOCRATS WILL DO

“The choices for America have never been clearer. On almost every issue, Democrats and the left are promoting more government ownership and control, pushing America closer to a welfare state. All of the Democratic Presidential hopefuls are running on a decidedly collectivist and socialistic leaning platform.

“The Democrats want socialized medicine and more federal control of our schools. They are committed to raising taxes and expanding federal government programs. They will increase the burden of regulations and taxes on the American people, cost American jobs, and reduce America's competitiveness around the world.

“Democrats will once again weaken our nation's defenses and intelligence systems, while continuing to hold Americans hostage to foreign oil. They will seek citizenship, government benefits, and voting rights for illegal aliens. And Democrats will appoint liberal judges who will replace America's traditional values with government's directionless secular views.” [Emphasis mine]

- Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), 11/6/07

THOMPSON’S PRO-LIFE RECORD

“Fresh from a Sunday interview during which he said he would support overturning Roe v. Wade but not a human life amendment, Fred Thompson defended his pro-life views. In New Hampshire, Thompson said he is adamantly pro-life even though he won't go further than letting the states pass their own abortion laws.

“Thompson said he is ‘100 percent pro-life’ despite comments he made Sunday on the NBC ‘Meet the Press’ program. ‘My record is clear. One hundred percent pro-life voting record over eight years at the national level. The proof is in the pudding there,’ he said. ‘Go back and look at all that record. My whole career I have said Roe versus Wade was wrongfully decided. I've been pro-life all my career and always will be,’ Thompson added.”

- LifeNews.com, 11/10/07

JURASSIC POST

“The United States Postal Service is an anachronism. Yale's law and economics scholar George Priest has characterized it as ‘the most significant example of socialism in the United States...[embracing] almost all the aspects of socialism rejected in Eastern Europe and in the privatized Western economies.’

“It employs 30 percent of the nonmilitary federal workforce; pays wages and benefits 30 percent above competitive levels; and operates more than 60 percent of its offices at a loss. The Postal Service has survived -- despite high costs, bland offerings, and comparatively middling service -- by exploiting its two statutory monopolies: the carriage of First Class mail; and exclusive access to customer-owned mail boxes.”

- Columnist James Montanye

STUCK ON STUPID

“In Cincinnati, the nannies who run the Little League have decided to ban chatter on the diamond. The league president explained: ‘If you're saying, 'Swing, batter,' and this poor little kid is swinging at everything, he feels bad and maybe he turns to the catcher and gets mad. Honest to gosh, I didn't have any trouble doing this.’

“A Colorado Springs elementary school is one of the latest to ban tag on its playground. Running will still be allowed as long as there is no chasing. . . . Other schools have already banned swings, merry-go-rounds, teeter-totters, crawl tubes, sandboxes and even hugs.

“At Mascoutah Middle School in Illinois, 13-year-old Megan Coulter was recently given detention for hugging two friends goodbye before the weekend -- a violation of the school's ban on ‘public displays of affection.’”

- Columnist Charles Sykes

I'm beginning to think there may be hope for the conservatives marooned in this far left fringe town! Chuck even wrote a beautiful tribute to our Veterans--that deserves a post all its own. Look for more of Chuck Muth's News and Views--I think I like this guy!

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