Guest Post by Willis Eschenbach
From an interview with Lester Brown, founder of the Earth Policy Institute, a man of whom Bill Clinton said “We should all heed his advice”:
You’ve talked before about the civilizational challenge that climate change poses, how confident are you that the human race is up to meeting that challenge?
We don’t know and there is no guarantee that we will. But we do know that change can come very quickly. Look how quickly the US restructured its whole economy in 1942. At beginning of 1942, the automobile companies were producing automobiles. By the middle of 1942 they were all producing tanks and planes. It didn’t take decades or years, just a few months and they totally converted. If they could do that then, certainly we can restructure the world energy economy today. What Roosevelt did was ban the sale of cars. He didn’t say they couldn’t produce cars. He just banned the sale of cars.
Would you like to see President Obama do that?
I’d like to see him ban the sale of coal and oil.
Dear heavens, the Imperial President should “ban the sale of coal and oil”? Oh, yeah, that’s the ticket. Some 40% of US electricity, lots of our industrial energy, and ~ 100% of our transportation fuel comes from coal and oil, so I’m sure that other than the small matter of impoverishment, suffering, death, and economic ruin, banning them wouldn’t cause any disruption at all … while I want to ask “is this Imperious Idiot for real?”, the sad truth is that Lester Brown is totally serious.
But even more frightening than the horrendous economic disruption and human suffering from such a suicidal course of action is that Lester Brown is advocating tyranny, and given his history, our Imperial President Obama would likely be more than happy to accommodate him.
As a candidate, Obama spoke out strongly against expanded executive power, saying in October of 2007:
These last few years we’ve seen an unacceptable abuse of power at home. We’ve paid a heavy price for having a president whose priority is expanding his own power.
and
I taught constitutional law for ten years. I take the Constitution very seriously. The biggest problems that were facing right now have to do with George Bush trying to bring more and more power into the executive branch and not go through Congress at all, and that’s what I intend to reverse when I’m President of the United States of America.
After watching George Bush, Obama’s position on limiting executive power was one of the reasons I voted for him in 2008 … back before I realized that if Obama’s lips were moving, there were non-zero odds that he was lying, as in this case. Which is one of the reasons why I voted against him in 2012.
Now that he’s in power, and particularly now that he’s in his second term, he’s decided that he gets the last say on everything under the sun, and has presided over a huge increase in executive power, viz:
Whenever this Congress refuses to act in a way that hurts our economy and puts our people at risk, I’ve got an obligation as president to do what we can without them.
Despite being a “constitutional scholar”, he seems to misunderstand the separation of powers. He has no such obligation. It’s not his job to decide what “hurts the economy and puts the people at risk”, and more importantly, he has no such power. If the Congress decides not to pass a law, that’s their choice. The President’s job is to be the “Chief Executive”, and as such, the Constitution says he is to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed”. Nowhere is he given the power to make or interpret the laws. That is the job of Congress on the one hand and the Courts on the other … and if Congress won’t act, well, tough. If you don’t like the Congress, vote them out of office.
However, obviously, neither President Obama nor Lester Brown see it that way. As we just saw with the new regulations involving coal plants, President Obama is more than happy to make new “environmental” laws by presidential edict. And I’m sure that both the Imperial President and the Imperious Idiot firmly believe that Obama has the power to ban the sale gas and oil.
The Founding Fathers were very concerned that the President should NOT have this kind of imperial powers, and for good reason. They’d seen the damage that strong-men had done in a variety of monarchies and tyrannies. So they devised a system of “separation of powers”—Congress makes the laws, the President enforces the laws, and the Supreme Court interprets the laws.
Sadly, we have fallen very far from that, and President Obama has done immense damage to that system by “solving” every problem, from glitches with Obamacare to interim appointments to immigration reform to destroying coal plants, by imperial proclamation. At this point, all I can do is fervently hope he doesn’t listen to Lester Brown …
Gotta say … 2016 can’t come fast enough for me.
w.
End Note: Please do not use this as a springboard for general political attacks on either side. There are lots of web pages for doing that. The issue here is the Imperious Idiot’s asinine proposal to ban the sale of coal and oil, and the Imperial President’s claim that he has the executive power to do just about anything, presumably including Lester’s proposed ban.
The Usual: If you disagree with something that I or anyone has said, please QUOTE THE EXACT WORDS YOU DISAGREE WITH. This avoids many misunderstandings.
The Interview: The full interview is here.
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I copied this from the linked interview with Lester Brown: A man who possesses the general naïveté and wisdom of an adolescent coupled with the perceived authority of an elder statesman – a very bad combination, I think. Anyway, the first paragraph is the question posed to this pathetic old man. And the second is his saliva dripping answer.
‘…one of the arguments the people doing it use is that you’re still going to need a baseline of energy from somewhere for when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing and we don’t have the storage capacity to run our economy of renewables alone. How would you respond to that?
‘We’ve been managing energy flows for a long time. Consider the demand side of the electricity equation, what happens at 3am when no-one’s using electricity versus 6pm when everyone is using it? That’s not creating an insuperable barrier to relying on electricity for our energy needs. The same is true with renewables. They are all manageable. If you have one wind farm, it fluctuates quite a bit but with two, it fluctuates less. And if you have wind farms across the country connected by a national grid, then wind is baseload.’
Well, it’s nice to know that North America and the other continents are at least 12,000 miles wide so that when the sun goes down on their east coasts then their west coasts are sunny long enough for the sun to rise again on the east coasts and vice a versa and, voila, perpetual electricity. Oops, that would defy the laws of geography so Lester didn’t respond to the solar part of the question, only the wind part. And, I guess his windy answer might be a little right. Maybe we could build twenty wind farms all over the place to get reliable power out of the equivalent of one. But, someone needs to explain to him about demand and baseload. So, Lester, what happens when it’s “3am when no-one’s using electricity versus 6pm when everybody’s using it” is that they leave the lights on in skyscrapers in the city at 3am and it’s not because people are working overtime in those buildings at 3am. It’s to maintain a steady baseload. Fail.
Jake J says:
July 5, 2014 at 1:53 am
Ah, I see my lack of clarity strikes again. I did not mean that Obama had done that. I meant that the issue was Obama’s claim that he can do anything including that. I’ve changed the wording.
Thanks,
w.
davideisenstadt says:
July 5, 2014 at 3:57 am
Thank you sir. I think that my willingness to admit when I’m wrong is one of the reasons people put some weight on my opinion.
Best regards,
w.
BarryW says: July 5, 2014 at 9:00 am
“Eisenhower warned us of the Military-Industrial Complex. What he didn’t warn us about was the Financial-Beaurocratic-Progressive Complex.”
Actually, in the same speech:
and…
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/ike.htm
Now why do you suppose the media have largely concentrated on that Military-Industrial thing?
M Simon says:
July 5, 2014 at 7:22 am
Hey, everyone’s a genius now … what, you never made a mistake? You never got fooled by a politician?
Yeah, I’m the only one …
w.
woops, sorry about the double quotation.
The important part is the last two paragraphs.
Craig Loehle says:
July 5, 2014 at 8:52 am
Alan Robertson says:
July 5, 2014 at 9:07 am
Excellent comments, both.
The American frogs are to boiling point as their own elitist class deprive them of the means to rebel, and slowly boil those who follow blindly.
The abuse of power by our current president is without equal and just because of his skin color those in the position to challenge him do not… We need statesman not yes men… DR King would be totally in disbelief of what race has now become, the excuse to do anything to anyone without question.. This is exactly what Dr king fought and died to stop.
The founders of this great nation in preamble of the US Constitution and the DOI expressed that ALL MEN WERE ENDOWED BY THEIR CREATOR WITH CERTAIN UNALIENABLE RIGHTS, THAT ALL MEN WERE CREATED EQUAL. Without equal power nothing is equal. Without equal responsibility nothing is equal.. without equal accountability nothing is equal.
This is precisely why social justice is the biggest lie as it allows the trampling of one persons rights in favor of another. IT’s way past time that the victim mentality to die and all people be held equally accountable and equally responsible… This is why Lady Justice is Blind..
===================================================================
“Constitutional scholar”. I’m reminded of that phrase, “Know thine enemy.”
I don’t think he misunderstands separation of powers. I think he’s using what he knows of “his enemy” to concentrate power.
The Constitution is intended to be the means form a Government that preserves individual freedom. The “problem” with freedom is that it means other people are allowed to believe and say and do things that I might not agree with. As long as what they don’t infringe on my or others rights, well, that’s the “price” of freedom.
Some only want freedom for themselves but not for others.
Banning the use of coal and oil in name of CAGW is just a handy lever to power.
(PS The Bill of Rights is not usually included in discussions of the separation of powers. It should be. It is, or should be, the limit on the authority of the others.)
Willis,
I disagree with something you said. You stated… “Despite being a “constitutional scholar”, he seems to misunderstand the separation of powers.”.
I think you are incorrect. Obama doesn’t “misunderstand” this concept. He simply disagrees with it. In fact, there was plenty of evidence that he disagreed with the basic tenets of our system of government available before the 2008 election.
In fact, in an interview given before the 2008 election, he lamented that the constitution didn’t have clauses that empowered the government. He argued that the fact that the constitution was a document that limited government (and thus empowered the people) was a shortcoming that needed to be corrected. Well, it looks like he found a way to correct this… through the administrative and regulatory state (bypassing legislated law).
So again, he understands our separation of powers just fine. He just thinks it sucks, and has purposefully tried to create an imperial presidency.
Voting for Bammy, and calling yourself a “skeptic” does not compute.
As to the issue at hand, Bammy has the power to, and should, ban the sale of oil & gas…
As a person who is long since disenchanted with things American: Bammy, go ahead, make our day!
Anton Eagle says:
July 5, 2014 at 11:27 am
…………
In fact, in an interview given before the 2008 election, he lamented that the constitution didn’t have clauses that empowered the government. He argued that the fact that the constitution was a document that limited government (and thus empowered the people) was a shortcoming that needed to be corrected. Well, it looks like he found a way to correct this… through the administrative and regulatory state (bypassing legislated law).
So again, he understands our separation of powers just fine. He just thinks it sucks, and has purposefully tried to create an imperial presidency.
=============================================
Obama understands perfectly well what he is doing.. He is systematically destroying that which made America Great… Destroying the American dream, the ability to work hard and rise out of poverty and be the captain of ones dreams and desires. The ability to succeed at ones dreams. Obama will be known as the great destroyer… I hope he and his ilk are severely punished for this by those they wish to enslave..
“What Roosevelt did was ban the sale of cars. He didn’t say they couldn’t produce cars. He just banned the sale of cars.”
Roosevelt also offered car makers very lucrative alternative contracts which utilized their existing capital base, then allowed them to transition back to their original markets in an orderly fashion after the war was over.
Brown and the eco-nuts would instead demand that shareholders in vast areas of the business world simply walk away from their huge investments. These Brownians are simply serial wealth destroyers.
Yet worse, the last time I looked, for each dollar invested in a PVC installation the present value of the electricity generated would be maybe 50 cents. So Brown and his ilk would have us destroy wealth as we throw away existing plant and then throw away more wealth as we replace the coal and oil with PVC technology. Not much of a forward-looking strategy.
Janice, only a fraction of electricity is from coal (and NG makes CO2) and just how many electric cars is or can the grid support?
Here in Canada we are getting ready to elect a part time drama teacher as our PM with the complicity of the MSM. Our PM already has as much if not more power to affect legislation and regulation as the POTUS. I pray to God I’m wrong or the gains we have made since 2008 will all be lost and then some. A couple of Trudeau Jr’s more famous quotes are “budgets balance themselves” and his response to the Boston Marathon bombers was “we need to find the root causes of their discontent from society”. Sigh……
Guys like Lester Brown and Barack Obama are just “useful idiots,” shilling for the unseen globalists who want to control every aspect of American life. The real movers and shakers are apolitical and are less interested in saving the world than they are in running it.
There are two questions about a vote for Obama in 2008:
1. How could a thinking person possibly make such an egregious mistake? — I was traumatized watching it happen, clearly a cult of personality phenomenon and mass hysteria phenomenon that was clearly evident in the moment to cleat thinkers.
2. If you say you have learned, tell us what you have learned about yourself that inoculates you in the future from a such terrible blind spot. It is easy to say that you made a mistake, but the question is: Has one learned the right lesson that really moves one toward wisdom?
And no, I have never been fooled by any politician ever. To suggest one was fooled by a politician is to demonstrate one’s utter and unforgivable naïveté — and it really just means you fooled yourself. Being fooled by a politician certainly doesn’t befit a person who wants to lead any adult cohort.
Sorry to be harsh, but naiveté is just as harmful as malevolent intent.
If you knew where to look it was clear that Obama was lying about everything in 2007, including his religion.
M Simon says: July 5, 2014 at 7:45 am
……….Would Obama have won the last election if he told people about how was going to placate the greens by banning new coal plants……….
Well he announced his intention in Jan of 2008: And he got elected.
________________________________
Lets not beat about the bush here.
Obama was voted in because of a melanin surfeit, and not because of anything he knew, said, or could do.
R
The defense against tyranny is THE reason We, The People enjoy the right to bears arms and form a militia. The second amendment exists to guarantee that we Americans can stand up to OUR OWN GOVERNMENT.
The second amendment to the US Constitution has nothing to do with hunting.
Obama was elected.
He’s our first “American Idol” president.
“”He’s so cute and has a great hook shot.””
Blame it on our own education system.
There is a nice word “decarbonize” introduced in this discussion. Yep, all our problems would be solved just by decarbonizing all carbon-based life forms.
M Simon says: July 5, 2014 at 7:35 am
“FYI, this convention is not called to rewrite the Constitution as some opponents say as a scare tactic. It is only for proposing amendments.”
And if they decide to exceed their authority as the first Constitutional Convention did? Then what?
The states will set the ground rules for the convention, and may recall any delegate that exceeds the boundaries.
Even if wild and crazy amendments are proposed, they still must be ratified by three-quarters of the states, just like amendments that Congress proposes.
Good heavens. RobRoy and the rest of you who are blaming this on education. We have ONLY ourselves to blame. Not teachers. Not our parents. Not the neighbor. Not the weather. The true blue citizen carries blame on their own shoulders. Only those who see themselves as perfect (even while NOBODY else has that opinion of that person) go out of their way to blame others. History is filled with despotic leaders who placed blame on whatever condition they didn’t like on the backs of others.
In one point or other in time the following entities were blamed for the ills of the world:
Samaritans
Women
Children
Jews
Christians
Men
Blacks
Whites
Industry
God
Satan
War
Peace
Government
Republicans
Democrats
Dogs
Cats
Sin
Perfectionism
So here is my blame: I blame myself. My teachers had nothing to do with it. My parents had nothing to do with it. The past government had nothing to do with it. The blame rests solely on me for the part I played in electing Obama in the first place.
And that, my friends, makes me a citizen of a free country. With freedom comes responsibility. For those of you here who blindly shove blame in any direction but on your own shoulders, how does that make you different than the very politician you hate?
Bill H says, “This is precisely why social justice is the biggest lie as it allows the trampling of one persons rights in favor of another.” Yeah, right. Over my life time, and the life time of my grandparents (Taft Republcans in Cincinnati) who raised me, the conservatives (mainly Democratics before Nixon’s southern strategy) did everything they could to prevent Negroes from equal rights: voting, education, civil rights. My grandmother could not vote until she was 30. Who opposed her voting rights- the conservatives.
I was in Birmingham, Alabama, Christmas vacation, 1961, visiting my college fraternity brother’s family. What I saw shocked and motivated me. I joined the NAACP and CORE when I got back to college. Fast forward. Now for the past few decades I’ve seen conservatives defame gays and oppose every law or action for gay social justice.
Willis, I don’t think presidential imperialism is anything new, and I think the neocons were every bit as inclined as the present white house to expand executive powers.
With the tea party activists playing the same role in the GOP that extreme environmentalists do in the Democratic Party, I have no party affiliation. I was very disappointed in George W.. I am very disappointed in Obama. I will probably be disappointed in the next president because he or she will be hostage to the extremists in their party. Issues of social justice, separation of church and state, and military preparedness and realism are important to me. I don’t trust the Republicans on issues of church and state and social justice, I don’t trust either party on military preparedness and realism or the war on drugs. I don’t trust the Democrats on climate change or economic realism.
So yes, Lester Brown is an idiot, and Holdren, too.
My 2016 presidential candidate will appoint Judith Curry as head of the EPA. Anthony will oversee NOAA, and you will be in charge of all NSF and other science funding.