Energy Myths and Realities - A Warning about What's Coming with "Cap and Trade"
Allow me to recommend the following article to you, containing an address on energy myths made by Keith Rattie, the President and CEO of Questar Corporation, to the students at Utah Valley University. This excellent presentation clearly explains the disastrous path the socialists in Washington are taking on our energy policy and demonstrates how it will fail because it ignores both the laws of thermodynamics and economics. |
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Steven F. Hotze, MD
President, Conservative Republicans of Texas |
Read the speech online by using this link (PDF):
Here is a sample of the remarkable insight and analysis, quoted directly from the concluding paragraph of the speech:
Let me close by returning to the lessons my generation learned from the 1970s energy crisis. We learned that energy choices favored by politicians but not confirmed by markets are destined to fail. If history has taught us anything it‟s that we should resist the temptation to ask politicians to substitute their judgments for that of the market, and let markets determine how much energy gets used, what types of energy get used, where, how and by whom energy gets used. In truth, no source of energy is perfect, thus only markets can weigh the pros and cons of each source. Government‟s role is to set reasonable standards for environmental performance, and make sure markets work.
I hope you will read this article and be convinced of the dangers of "cap and trade" legislation as evidenced by history and the example of our neighbors in Europe. Please contact your U.S. Senators and Congressman, asking them to oppose any and all “cap and trade” legislation.
Sincerely yours,
Steven F. Hotze, M.D.
President, Conservative Republicans of Texas
"Burying The Hatchet" To Advance Conservative Legislation
Steven F. Hotze, M.D.
January 23, 2009
Dear Fellow Conservatives :
Harmonious relationships are essential to accomplishing goals. On Wednesday morning, January 14th, I met with Governor Rick Perry in his private office at the State Capitol in order to restore our relationship. Although Governor Perry and I have differed on some issues in the past, it seemed essential for us to"bury the hatchet" and work together to advance conservative legislation in the 2009 Texas Legislature.
 Our meeting was very productive. We discussed the key legislative goals that Conservative Republicans of Texas and other conservative leaders across Texas are committed to advancing during this legislative session . They are as follows:
- A bill requiring an ultrasound for women prior to abortion
- Reduction of property tax by instituting property appraisal caps which would limit property appraisals increases to 5% per annum
- Elimination of the business tax
- Legislation addressing voter identification and fraud
These important conservative policies will produce a strong, positive impact upon the daily lives of Texas families . They w ill strengthen our economy and create jobs in the current economic downturn.
The Legislative Session runs through May 30, 2009, so time is short. Restoring broken relationships and working together for our shared goals is critical to success in this session. I praise God for His goodness in helping to restore this relationship, and I trust that He will bless our efforts in these next weeks and months.
Stay tuned for important updates on these four key legislative issues. Conservative Republicans of Texas needs your continued involvement in order to achieve the goal of passing these legislative initiatives. You have already had a tremendous impact through your contacting of the Texas State Senators, causing them to change the Blocker Rule. We must continue to press ahead on all fronts.
With much appreciation for your commitment to liberty, I remain,
Sincerely yours,
Steven F. Hotze, M.D.
President, Conservative Republicans of Texas
Democracy, How Long Does America Have?
About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years earlier:
'A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government.'
'A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.' From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.'
'The average age of the world's greatest civilizations under a single form of government from the beginning of history has been about 200 years.'
'During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:
1. From bondage to spiritual faith;
2. From spiritual faith to great courage;
3. From courage to liberty;
4. From liberty to abundance;
5. From abundance to complacency;
6. From complacency to apathy;
7. From apathy to dependence;
8. From dependence back into bondage'
Professor Joseph Olson of Hemline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the 2000 Presidential election:
Number of States won by: Democrats: 19; Republicans: 29
Square miles of land won by: Democrats: 580,000; Republicans: 2,427,000
Population of counties won by: Democrats: 127 million; Republicans: 143 million
Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Democrats: 13.2; Republicans: 2.1
Professor Olson adds: 'In aggregate, the map of the territory Republicans won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of this great country. Democrat territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare...'
Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the 'complacency and apathy' phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the 'governmental dependency' phase.
The gains made by the Democrats in the recent elections of 2006 and 2008 reinforce this contention. More Americans are becoming brainwashed to become more dependent on government, and the promise that, if only they elect the right candidate, "climates will change, the planet will be healed, etc."
If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million illegal aliens called "undocumented workers" and they vote, then we can say goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years.
If the Secretary of the Treasury diverts $700 Billion into bailing out failed corporations, and gets corporate America used to government assistance every time times get tough, then we lose the incentive for capital risk and entrepreneurship which make this country great. Socialism is the wolf at the door.
If you are in favor of the end of the USA as outlined in the Constitution, delete this message. If you are not, and want to preserve our great nation as the Founding Fathers intended, pass this al ong within your circle of influence to help everyone realize just how much is at stake, knowing that apathy is the greatest danger to our freedom.
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” ~ John Quincy Adams
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