Hold Your Breath!

Forget the Age of Reason. We've entered a new era, the Age of Insanity, where pseudo-science trumps the real thing and common sense is no longer common.

And for those who live in Kansas or eastern Colorado, the day may come when you are freezing to death in the dark because a liberal Kansas governor and her enviro-activist friend on the state's Department of Health and Environment managed to block the application for a new coal-fired power plant based on the fact that it will emit carbon dioxide!

Newsflash to the scientifically impaired Kathleen Sebelius and her protege, Roderick Bremby: Almost all power generation involves the discharge of carbon dioxide, a naturally occurring compound used by plants in photosynthesis. Even the small mobile power plants known as human beings inhale air, extract the oxygen, and exhale air laden with carbon dioxide.

This is the first time in history that a power plant application has been turned down because it will emit a clean natural product that will be useful for flora. The decision has drawn cheers from the "humans are evil, all the time" crowd.

"Now the Sebelius administration rockets to the forefront of the states [working] to solve the global warming crisis," said Bruce Nilles, a Sierra Club lawyer.

Like many governors, Sebelius has been promoting the expanded use of renewable energy, especially wind. In her state of the state address this year, she said: "The question of where we get our energy is . . . no longer just an economic issue, nor solely an issue of national security. Quite simply, we have a moral obligation to be good stewards of this state."

A Sunflower Electric spokesman, Steve Miller, said the decision will be appealed.

Miller said that Sebelius had pledged not to oppose the plants but that her position was clear after her "moral steward" remark. "That implies that we're not moral stewards of the land, which we don't appreciate one bit," he said.

Today's new coal-fired generators are light years ahead of the old equipment that used to clog the air with impurities. But it doesn't make much difference if the liberal-enviro-leftists keep changing the definition of what is and is not pollution.

A thought: will the day come when all breathing humans will be taxed because of the carbon dioxide we exhale? No doubt someone is already working on it.

Just what we need: An astronaut's collective

From the "As Useless as Teats on a Boar Hog" Dept.:

Chinese astronauts say they will form a "Communist Party" in space.

Now 14-strong, the Chinese astronaut corps more than meets the party's minimum requirement of at least three members for a branch, the official Xinhua News Agency said Thursday.

China's space communists would "carry out the regular activities of a Communist Party of China branch in space in the way we do on Earth," Yang Liwei, the first Chinese astronaut to fly into space, was quoted by Xinhua as saying on the sidelines of the national party congress.

So what'll they do? Formulate a 5-year Plan? Let bloom a thousand flowers in a hydroponics tank? Maybe violently suppress any democratic movements or Falun Gong they might encounter out there among extra-terrestials (or other human astronauts)?

Most intriguing part of the story: The astronaut declares that Communism is more than a political ideology, it is a "spiritual power".

"Like foreign astronauts having their beliefs, we believe in communism, which is also a spiritual power," he said. "We may not pray in the way our foreign counterparts do. But the common belief has made us more united in space, where there is no national boundary, to accomplish our missions."

Only if you believe in the power of the Dark Side.

Jet set before the wet set

They're calling it Aeromigrante. Rock-bottom airfares from southern and central Mexico - one way - for those ready to swim the river (or whatever) to enter the United States.

The flights are part of a booming services industry for the estimated 13 million Mexican and Central American migrants who reside in the USA. Passengers who used to make bus trips of several days can arrive at the border well-rested for the often dangerous crossing.

Return flights south are often nearly empty of passengers, and some routes offer only one-way service. One of the airlines, Tijuana-based Avolar, estimates that 70% of its customers have the USA as their final destination.

"The most productive routes we have are cities where you have those passengers who are traveling with the idea of the American dream," said Luis Ceceña, a company spokesman.

Apparently the airlines are making up in volume what they are no longer charging as fare.

Other budget carriers such as Volaris, Interjet and Click have started operations in the past two years and make air travel affordable to poorer Mexicans. One-way flights to Tijuana from central Mexico cost about $150, half what they did a few years ago.

"It's much more comfortable than the bus, and about the same price," said Leopoldo Torres, 37, of Mexico City, as he stretched his legs aboard a Volaris flight to Mexicali. He and a traveling companion, Julio Menéndez, planned to cross into the USA illegally through the California desert.

Maybe the U.S. government should contract with the same airlines to provide inexpensive transportation for deportees.

Smile when you think of government-run health care

File this under the heading "Learning from the Mistakes of Others."

A study of dentists and their patients in Great Britain reveal that lack of dentists, rising out-of-pocket costs, and red tape in getting appointments is resulting in many people doing their own dental work!

This includes tooth extraction. With pliers.

Some Brits have cut dental care costs by going to dentists in Egypt. They may a holiday of it and spend less, even with travel and hotel costs, rather than using an at home dentist.

Naturally government health officials deny there is any problem.

Next time someone suggests that health care is too important to leave up to the vagaries of the private sector, think of this photo and remember that you do not want some un-elected bureaucrat deciding when, or if, you need a root canal.

Or an appendectomy. Or whatever.