The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Light Bulb Jokes

12.27.07 @ 12:01AM

LIGHT SPECTRUM
Re: Sam Kazman's Somewhere, Mr. Edison Gently Weeps:

How many Congressmen does to take to change a light bulb?
-- Pat Callum
Roswell, Georgia

What do the American voters need to do to bring about a White House and Congress that is bright enough to understand that most American citizens are functional adults? The new energy bill was signed into law; this means the unctuous, unnecessary and unsafe legislation had to be approved by the majority of both houses and signed by the president, which is to say a pox from both our houses. Where were the so called guardians of liberty, The Republicans, when this law was passed? Oh, yes, they were holding hands and singing "Kumbija" with the Loony Left, the Democrats. The energy bill is another demonstration of how far the Nanny State is willing to go to oversee our safety. It is time we see the light and usher out the the overreaching politicians of both parties. It is time for a change; a time to throw out the inefficient dim bulbs. It is time for the power of the people to electrify the current conductors of politics. It is time we the people to transform government from one of static (or rather statist) interference into one that allows maximum freedom of its citizenry. If we do not take action, all we can do is hope for a light at the end of the tunnel. But history suggests that the very light for which we are waiting is, in all actuality, a freight train of debt and over-regulation that is soon to overrun us all.
-- Ira M. Kessel
Rochester, New York

Mr. Kazman's article should have been titled "Somewhere, Mr. Madison Gently Weeps."

The author of our Constitution is rolling in his grave; Article I mentions nothing about Congressional powers to regulate consumer products. The commerce clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) only allows regulation of commerce among the several States. The definition of commerce is the movement of goods, not the goods themselves. Where is the authority?

This would be an excellent cause for CEI or the Landmark Legal Foundation to take up in the courts. I'm sure Mark Levin is of the same school of though as I regarding the recently passed and signed Energy Bill. There are so many unconstitutional provisions in the legislation so as to make it the poster child for the phrase "like shooting ducks in a barrel."

The light bulb issue is but one of many such provisions. This target-rich environment also includes the higher CAFE standards, ethanol mandates, and home appliance standards.

Again, I ask, where is the authority?
-- Owen H. Carneal, Jr.
Yorktown, Virginia

We finally know how many politicians it takes to change a light bulb -- and I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that every one of them is invested in companies which will profit from this exercise in rank stupidity. But this is precisely what Americans can expect when the pseudo-science of man-made global warming collides with symbolism-over-substance do-goodism. Add increased government power over individual choice to the mix and such "enlightened" thinking becomes irresistible.
-- Arnold Ahlert
Boca Raton, Florida

My experience with the compact fluorescents is that while they cost a lot more, they do not last any longer than a conventional bulb. I tried using them a while back but gave it up because all but one of them has given up the ghost after a few months. This may have something to do with my electric company, which is subject to periodic outages and fluctuations for no apparent reason. My one consolation is that at my age, I will probably be dead by the time the new regulations kick in. Until then, I am sticking with incandescents.
-- David Boucher

You mention that CFLs take a while to reach full brightness, but they may not light at all if they are too cold to start with. And what is the point of a porch light that you can't turn on when it is cold out?

While not everyone thinks it will save the world, CFLs can save money, and many people like me are using more CFLs where they make sense. Obviously the market has been responding with better and cheaper CFLs. But regulation often makes things worse. I recently had to replace several ceiling fans in my home, and was extremely annoyed to find that the lights no longer use the standard bulb socket, but rather a non-standard E17 size. I have since learned that the mandate for the smaller sockets for ceiling fans came from the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to "save energy." However, since CFLs are not available in this size, the actual impact is that I am forced to use higher cost, higher energy use incandescents.

Idiot bureaucrats.
-- Grant Johnson
Americus, Georgia

The only fixture I use one of those swirly fluorescent bulbs in is in a large glass bulb ceiling light -- I got tired of changing it as often as the other bulbs blew out. The fluorescent one lasts longer. For everything else, regular bulbs are better.

Once again the government has done something to me "for my own good." My toilets haven't worked right since the end of the high-powered flush.. Now, I've got to stock up on Edison-base bulbs before they're no more.

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Education, Bill Clinton, Religion, Environment, Global Warming, Books, Constitution, Law, NATO, Africa, Libertarianism, Energy, Oil