House GOP keeping America safe from progress

The Republican controlled House has already, long ago earned the reputation for the worst congress in history.   So back in Washington for a couple of weeks before they adjourn again for a long vacation -- and then political campaigns -- they spent some of that precious time voting to save American from progress.

They could have tackled immigration reform, even passing the president's request for emergency funds to handle the tens of thousands of children coming across the southern border.  Or any number of other useful things.   Heck, they could even have voted, once again, to repeal Obamacare if they really want to do something momentous.

Instead, they passed by a vote of 253 to 170 a spending bill that would, among other things:

1.  Slash funding for renewable energy programs by more than $100 million, while boosting funds for coal and other fossil fuels.

2.  Ban the enforcing of energy efficient standards for light bulbs.

3.  Prevent the Energy Department from using already appropriated funds for a program to develop and validate climate change models, as well as forbidding spending funds for climate change study.

4.  Slash funding for incentives for higher-efficiency toilets.

[Thanks for Kate Sheppard of the Huffington Post for this information.]

It's really reassuring to know that our representatives are working so hard to keep us from the perils of progressive ideas and programs.  The 21st century is such a scary place, we should cling to the 20th and, preferably, hold on to much of the 19th century where we can.  Ah . . .  the good old days.

Well, actually, perhaps I'm being a little too hard on the Republicans.  It's not that they really oppose progress -- as long as doesn't involve science or reason and doesn't contradict the Bible.  It's that they want to save us from increasing the federal deficit -- which, incidentally, is declining at the most rapid rate in decades.  But, hey, those are just the facts, ma'am.

And we prefer not to soil our purity with vulgar things like facts.

Ralph