The following newspaper articles authored by John Merlette, were published in the Editorial section of The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, Montana. To print the entire document, open it by clicking on the title then use the print button on your web browser or follow instructions at bottom of document page. You are encouraged to submit your own opinions to share with others regarding these controversial topics but to do so, new and return visitors must Register or Log-in here first.
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Editorial Opinion by John Merlette published in The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT; Sep. 2, 2007
Posted by author on 1/8/08 2:43PM MST
GLOBAL WARMING 101: NO REASON TO BUY IT
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"Psst, hey buddy, wanna buy some carbon credits real cheap?"
First it was selling the Brooklyn Bridge, then swampland in Florida, and now, the latest in get-rich-quick scams: "carbon credits". From the dark corners of our republic emerges a new gang of flimflam profiteers hawking a commodity that has no verifiable redeeming value but one that offers a convenient escape for environmental hypocrites and unfathomable profits for the instigators. Efforts to legitimize the carbon credit hoax include a former Vice President hustling the product like a kid yelling "Fire!" in a crowded movie theatre.
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Editorial Opinion by John Merlette published in The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT; Sep. 29, 2007
Posted by author on 1/7/08 8:50PM MST
CARBON CREDITS:IT'S THE MONEY, STUPID!
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To clarify, I wrote my 9/2/07 opinion article, Global Warming 101: No reason to buy it, specifically to challenge the legitimacy of the "carbon credit" enterprise. For the benefit of those who haven't delved into the subject of carbon trading, here are some facts you need to know. As a starting point, please look up "emissions trading" in Wikipedia for a simple synopsis of how the global trading scheme works.
In our own country, the Chicago Climate Exchange, (CCX) has been established that engages in the trading of carbon credits like other exchanges buy-and-sell corn and pork bellies. Unfortunately, unlike other commodities that are tangible assets, carbon credits are not.
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Editorial Opinion by John Merlette published in The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT; Oct. 18, 2007
Posted by author on 1/8/08 9:20AM MST
CARBON CREDITS: NAIL IN THE COFFIN
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In this, the third and final chapter that began with my 9/2/07 opinion article, Global Warming 101: No reason to buy it, I will attempt to nail the coffin lid shut on the carbon credit scam.
U.S. Representative, John D. Dingell, Michigan's 15th Congressional District is presently drafting Federal Carbon Tax Legislation that would impose:
- A $50/ton tax on all carbon dioxide emissions from burning coal and natural gas plus,
- A 50 cent/gallon additional tax (above existing taxes and added to his CO2 emissions tax) on gasoline, jet fuel, etc. and,
- Elimination of the mortgage interest tax deduction on houses larger than 3000 square feet. (Homeowners that buy carbon credits to offset energy use would be exempt of course).
The proceeds of this immense windfall of money, according to Mr. Dingell, would be used, in part, to fund a future universal health care program. If you don't believe it, check out Rep. Dingell's website.
"The future of civilization is in peril," Rep. Dingell and his ilk whine, "unless something is done to stop rapidly growing accumulations of manmade CO2 in our atmosphere". (Imagine me sighing deeply in exasperation). Everyone is jumping on the "Global Warming" bandwagon it seems, from funding more socialist programs to just outright fraud.
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Editorial Opinion by John Merlette published in The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT; Sep. 9, 2007
Posted by Author on 1/9/08 11:00PM MST
HOW THE DEMOCRATS WILL DEAL WITH IRAQ
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It's time for me to make my first election year prediction.
Forty-some years ago, America became involved in the affairs of South Vietnam for all the right reasons. President Kennedy saw an opportunity to aid a downtrodden people who were living with continual conflict internally and attacks from their neighbor to the north. After becoming involved in the police action however, after years of death and disappointment, the American public grew restless and frustrated, encouraged by relentless criticism of the war effort by the news media. The disappointing end to that military conflict finally came in April 1975.
The war weary American troops were finally brought home...the vanguard of a mass migration of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people to our shores...peaceful people whose lives were in jeopardy if they remained at home.
History is repeating itself it seems only this time the battleground is in Iraq. Our nation had the same justification for intervention, found the same bad guy types to deal with, the same criticisms from the news media, the same public malaise...and, if the Democrats win in '08, the same conclusion.
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Editorial Opinion by John Merlette published in The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT; Nov. 4, 2007
Posted by Author on 1/8/08 1:59PM MST
CAVITIES AND CULTURES
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Walk up to the average person on the street and ask what he or she thinks of the social programs in our country.
The respondent will typically praise all the wonderful benefits and entitlements the programs offer to people who suffer economic hardships or are just down on their luck: subsidized housing, free healthcare, support for illegal immigrants...the list goes on and on.
Then ask the same person what they think of communism. Now the interviewee will get focused and talk about the horrors of gulags and repression, dictators, food lines and suffering...a failed political and economic system.
What most people fail to understand is that socialism is nothing more than communism-lite. Socialism is the candy and communism is the tooth decay that always follows.
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Editorial Opinion by John Merlette published in The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT; Nov. 14, 2007
Posted by Author on 1/7/08 3:45PM MST
HILLARY IN THE WHITE HOUSE?
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I have followed Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign with both amusement and dread. Finally, after all these years since her graduation from Wellesley College, Ms. Clinton is on the threshold of imposing the Marxist ideals of her radical idol, Saul David Alinsky, on all Americans.
The giddy news media is speculating on an appropriate title for the husband of America's first woman President. What's more important should be an appropriate title for America's first socialist leader should she win.
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Editorial Opinion by John Merlette published in The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT; Nov. 22, 2007
Posted by Author on 1/8/08 2:11PM MST
IS 'LOST' A STEP TOWARD THE OCEANIC MARITIME EMPIRE OF NATIONS (OMEN)?
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How many of you have even heard of the United Nation's Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST)?
Why should anyone here in land-locked Montana really give a darn about it? Heck, the only time most of us ever even see an ocean is when we take the kids to Disneyland or Sea World. Well, after reading this letter you'll be worried, at least those who still care about your nation's sovereignty.
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Editorial Opinion by John Merlette published in The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT; Dec. 12, 2007
Posted by Author on 1/8/08 10:10AM MST
THE FOUNDING FATHERS WARNED US, BUT WE DIDN'T LISTEN
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In 1981, Senator Hayakawa proposed a Constitutional amendment establishing English as the official language of the U.S. He felt it necessary as our republic was evolving into a divisive, bilingual society.
Now, it appears we must reestablish the fundamental republican basis of the laws of our nation that put limits on government control so as to mend our divided, divisive nation.
It isn't just Al Gore terrorizing schoolchildren with dire warnings that the world will end soon that is scary. No, it's our elected officials in Washington striking fear into the hearts of taxpayers every time they pick up a pen to sign yet another piece of legislation.
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Editorial Opinion by John Merlette published in The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT; Dec. 12, 2007
Posted by Author on 1/8/08 11:42PM MST
AMERICA IS NOT WHAT IT ONCE WAS
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In my previous Daily Inter Lake Opinion letter I appealed to Congress to restore the republican system of government that our Founding Fathers created for America. Fat chance! Does anyone really believe that there is anyone left in Congress with enough integrity to take a stand in support of the Constitution, what with so much special interest money floating around? Short of a Constitutional Amendment that forces the restoration of a free republic, I don't see it happening.
Look at what we're potentially faced with in the aftermath of the next election; a socialist majority managed by grand wizard George Soros controlling his handpicked toadies. If anything, the next herd of leftist puppets clogging the halls of Congress will see to it that we move even further from our republic roots to the detriment of America's sovereignty and fiscal stability.
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Editorial Opinion by John Merlette published in The Daily Inter Lake , Kalispell, MT; Dec. 21, 2007
Posted by author on 1/7/08 1:40PM MST
DO YOU PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE?
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"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all."
What is it about this simple patriotic oath originally penned by Francis Bellamy in 1892 that terrifies liberal jurists and bureaucrats so much they feel compelled to eradicate it from public use? Since the start of the bicentennial, courts have consistently struck down traditional policies that require school children and gatherings of adults to stand at attention and reaffirm allegiance to our nation as represented by Old Glory.
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Editorial Opinion by John Merlette published in The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT; Dec. 30, 2007
Posted by Author on 1/9/08 1:45PM MST
ARE YOU A DEVILCRAT?
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Devil-crat \ n, pl devilcrats : 1: an adherent or advocate of immoral social and political beliefs 2: a radical political movement or organization promoting socialist policies and thought 3: A denouncer of conservative (republic) form of government : esp: 2007 Democratic party of the U.S.
Like the earth's climate, the political parties of the U.S. continually wax and wane. Up until the Great Depression, liberals and conservatives alike adhered to the principals of a constitutional republic. Then, under FDR, our nation began a dangerous transition into the unstable form of government known as a democracy. Now, 3/4ths of a century after the New Deal, America has fallen down the rabbit hole and finds itself adrift in the swampy underworld of socialism. The Devilcrats are wresting control of our government and all of us had better wake up and give a damn.
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Editorial Opinion by John Merlette not yet published in The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT
Posted by Author on 11/9/08 7:40PM MST
GLOBALISM; The BEAUTY and the BEAST
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It's good for a country to engage in international trade. Acquiring scarce foreign commodities or selling domestically produced goods abroad improves the vitality and wealth of any society. Our nation's less fortunate citizens benefit the most from our importation of goods from overseas that would cost much more if produced domestically. However, in pursuing trade opportunities, the U.S. should not compromise its sovereignty like members of the European Union have.
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Editorial Opinion by John Merlette not yet published in The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT
Posted by Author on 1/10/08 1:30PM MST
THE ENVIRONMENTALIST'S CONUNDRUM
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It seems as if nobody in Montana really gives a hoot about environmentalists. The "greenies" have been blamed, rightfully so, for paralyzing western Montana's vital timber industry and for putting a serious hurt on coal, oil or gas exploration and extraction. They also are blamed for threatening our nation's economy by seeking to have steep taxes enacted on fossil fuel consumption under the guise of "global warming" even though the primary culprits behind that scam are a clandestine group of private investors spearheaded by Al Gore. The irony is that these same advocates for Mother Nature offer no practical solutions to the global problem of supply/demand of oil or the disputed CO2 emissions problem, only costly bandaids.
Forget about the academic novelties of wind or solar power or even biofuel. The amortized cost per kilowatt of energy produced by these inefficient sources is such that the options will never attain major league status even with the continued underwriting of costs by the U.S. government.
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Editorial Opinion by John Merlette not yet published in The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT
Posted by Author on 1/9/08 4:44PM MST
AMERICA'S FUTURE
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Uncle Sam is almost $10 trillion in debt and growing by $1.5 billion per day. That's a debt of $30,000 for every man, woman and child living in America. Less than twenty years ago, the national debt was $2.7 trillion. (I won't say "only" as that would make it an asinine statement).
$4 trillion of the current national debt is comprised of the surplus money (after obligations were met), that you and I paid into the Social Security fund during the years we worked. The only problem is that, by law, surplus collections can't be held in the trust fund itself, but rather than investing the surplus in an escrow account ( knowing it will be needed in future years) the Federal Government squandered the excess savings every year to fund other projects. Now the retirement fund is under-funded and the program's future is in jeopardy. The Government is unable to repay the $4 trillion in IOU's it has accumulated so far. They claim the theft never occurred since "borrowing money from yourself isn't stealing". Borrowing whose money, Senator Billy Bob? That braying you hear is the congressional reply after being asked when and how the 'loan' will be repaid.
