Category: Politics
Earlier this month a briefing paper for US government officials and environmental leaders on ways to “re-frame” the global warming debate in order to build stronger public support for climate change legislation, found its way into the hands of the New York Times.[1] Re-framing is a technique used by politicians to make radical ideas more palatable to the public by replacing controversial expressions with language that evokes empathy, cooperation, and a sense of interconnectedness.[2] The concept is largely based on the work of George Lakoff, Professor of Linguistics at Berkley University and well known adviser to the environmental movement, who believes that if you control the language of a debate then you control the way that people think.
In 1996 the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Second Assessment Report was released, and I was listed as one of approximately 3000 “scientists” who agreed that there was a discernable human influence on climate.
In his acceptance speech at the Republican convention in August 1988, President Bush announced: “And the Congress will push me to raise taxes, and I’ll say no, and they’ll push and I’ll say no again, and they’ll push again. And I’ll say to them “Read my lips: No new taxes”. In June 1990 he found himself agreeing to a rise in taxes after all in order to keep the deficit from getting out of hand. One day reporters pursued the President as he jogged laps in St Petersburg, Florida, pressing him to clarify his stand. “Read my hips!” he smirked, and jogged on. Bush’s acceptance of tax hikes in violation of his pledge hurt him badly when he ran for re-election in 1992. He was defeated at the polls that year.
Budget Day is coming up. Finance Minister Bill English has promised that this will be a ‘responsible Budget’ - but what does that actually mean? How can we tell if a Budget is responsible or reckless? Unless we understand some fundamental economic truths, then we will not be able to determine whether Mr English delivers on his promise. Set out below are 10 principles we must keep in mind when assessing a Budget.
Many people have been shocked to learn that the Department of Conservation has received more than $8 million dollars in cash payments from state energy companies, in return for withdrawing their opposition to projects with significant environmental effects.[1] While not unlawful, under the Resource Management Act – referred to be some as the Ransom Management Act - such payouts have the look, feel and smell of “back-handers”.
The drive for renewable energy in the form of windpower, marine power and the like, is driven by a belief that man-made greenhouse gases will cause dangerous global warming and that large-scale adoption of these technologies will “fight climate change”. To this end, thousands of MW of heavily subsidized wind power capacity are being added worldwide each year.
We believe that the growing role that government has played in financing and administering schooling has led not only to enormous waste of taxpayers’ money but also to a far poorer educational system than would have developed had voluntary cooperation continued to play a larger role. Milton and Rose Friedman, “Free to Choose”.
Zombie science, defn: Science that is dead but will not lie down. It keeps twitching and lumbering around so that (from a distance, and with your eyes half-closed) zombie science looks much like the real thing. But in fact the zombie has no life of its own; it is animated and moved only by the incessant pumping of funds. - Dr Bruce M. Charlton.[1]
The New Zealand government is discussing various forms of a “global warming” tax to pay for an alleged, looming Kyoto liability. What they apparently have not informed the public is that this rationale, or rather excuse, for new taxation is actually something that does not and does not need to exist.
On Friday 3rd April 2009 the Australian Government endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This move fulfilled an election promise made by Kevin Rudd, to overturn Australia’s opposition to the Declaration.
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