Posted on 06/20/2008 4:11:56 AM PDT by Kaslin
When I was told I'd be on the Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends" debating Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. about the contentious issue of oil consumption and Barack Obama's refusal to consider offshore drilling or nuclear energy, I really looked forward to the exchange. After all, how many times does one have a chance to have a frank and open exchange with one of the true high priests of the shrill global warming crowd?
Meeting him in the Fox News Channel's green room before the appearance, I began to have some concerns. I'm the kind of guy who likes to have a little friendly banter, even with someone I disagree with. Mr. Kennedy pretty clearly does not, at least not with me. I asked him how his uncle Ted was doing, joked about us being invited to be on the "early morning" shift that day (our appearance aired at 6:15am), and did everything I could to try and establish that, contrary to the way many liberals believe, a conservative like me doesn't have any horns or fangs.
He wasn't buying it.
To describe Mr. Kennedy as aloof might be the understatement of the century. The Kennedy family might be a lot of things, but for RFK, Jr., "warm and fuzzy" doesn't exactly come to mind.
And the ice didn't thaw much once we got out onto the set and began the segment. The host directed the first question to him and he launched into a fairly lengthy monologue that reflected his many years of leading the "let's go green" brigade.
When he got to the part about how the United States should be more like countries like Iceland and Costa Rica in terms of energy conservation, I couldn't take it any more. As I finally got to speak my mind about the scare tactics of Kennedy's disciples on the loony left -- those who bellow about carbon footprints, a "planet in peril", the evil Republicans like me who believe in drilling in just about every square inch of our country so that we don't have to pay 10 dollars a gallon some day -- the look of rage on Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s face was priceless.
If I thought he didn't like me much in the greenroom, he positively loathed me out there in that TV studio.
Click here to see the segment. I think you'll enjoy it.
And I realized that this is a man who is probably rarely, if ever, challenged in public or private. The global warming hysterics don't just offer opinions and beliefs about greenhouse gases and the like. These are people who speak as if they belong to a cult.
Yet many of them are hopelessly hypocritical.
As angry as Kennedy was with me, I decided not to remind him of his well-publicized opposition to wind-powered turbines near the Kennedy compound at Cape Cod, Massachusetts because it would spoil the view.
I really thought he might become unhinged.
This week on my radio show, I interviewed Drew Johnson of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. It seems Mr. Johnson and his organization decided to do a little digging into the emperor of the global warming crowd, Tennessee's own Al Gore.
The leftist world has thrown countless rose petals at the feet of the failed presidential candidate over his relentless and aggravating campaign to scare everyone into thinking the planet is about to explode any day now into a big ball of fire because of our SUV's and double-plied toilet paper.
But the award-winning former vice-president was busted over the energy-guzzling mansion he lives in with his wife, Tipper in the Nashville area. Perhaps you remember seeing the internet sensation, "A Tale of Two Houses." One house, a modest ranch-style home, featured tons of energy-efficient features and cutting edge technology; the other, just a nice, big, ordinary mansion that soaked up electricity like a sponge does with water. The punchline? The modest, energy-smart ranch is owned by President Bush in Crawford, Texas. The energy-obnoxious mansion is owned by one Albert Gore of Nashville, Tennessee.
So what's the grand poo-bah of the "planet-in-peril" crowd to do? Clearly embarrassed by "A Tale of Two Houses", Gore spent a bunch of money installing solar panels, a geothermal system, new windows, and other supposedly efficient measures.
A year after he made the eco-friendly changes, Drew Johnson and his group decided to check out the Gore household electric bill. Their findings: in the year AFTER all these fancy changes were made, the Gores actually consumed 10% more energy than before. They pay thousands and thousands of dollars a year on their electric bill, enough to power hundreds of average American houses.
The rank hypocrisy of the global warming fanatics is simply galling.
I suggested that the Tennessee Center for Policy Research should commit to a new project: tracking just how many trips Gore has taken on big, fat, energy-guzzling private jets in order to give speeches for which he pulls down 100 thousand dollars -- or more -- a pop.
You see, there is simply no defending the preferred mode of travel for many of the celebrity crazies who lecture us about carbon credits. Do you think these folks are willing to give up their mansions and private jets in order to "save the planet?"
It's not going to happen.
I've come to the conclusion that many of these people are mentally ill. They won't accept any rational opposition, scientific or otherwise, that refutes the global warming theory. Drew Johnson reported that after his organization first revealed Al Gore's electric bill to the general public, his group received a number of death threats. Their computers were hacked. Phoned obscenities were common.
I guess violence, vandalism, and profanity go hand-in-hand with the type of people who brag about driving around in a go-cart that they plug into their garage every night.
Sen. John McCain is obviously correct in calling for off-shore drilling, harnessing nuclear power, and abolishing the federal gas tax. Sen. Barack Obama is obviously wrong in opposing off-shore drilling, nuclear power, and, like any good liberal, loves the federal gas tax.
Could this presidential election really be up for grabs?
Uh huh. And that would have been bad, because ____ ?
Kennedy is just another spoiled rich kid that needs some real life experiences.
"We, The People...." want what we deserve....It means jobs, consumer savings, oil independence...
Now what the hell is wrong with that??
Could Mike Gallagher possibly be surprised at what RFK Jr was like?
I have seen and heard only a little of him on tv and I would’ve never expected him to banter with me in the FNC green room or come across as anything but aloof, holier than thou, angry and mentally unhinged.
What did Mike expect?
Are conservatives, even talk show host conservatives, THIS naive?
That said, these types of people including Gore are truly frightening.
But the most frightening are members of Congress and the Democrat Party machinery and the Courts who wield so much power in this, and other crucial areas, of our lives.
And the American public who supposedly can’t wait to invest even more power in their hands, come November...
First, don’t get me wrong. Al Gore is a huge (and getting huger) hypocrit. Still I wonder, what makes his electric bill public information? I’m wondering, would internet service providers just tell me bandwidth usage for a household too... and (only few steps away) what sites have been visited by that household? I expect some would object to the listing of sites being made public but I wonder why a person’s energy bill (aka carbon footprint) shouldn’t be private information too.
Algore's mansion's electricity is provided by a public utility and their records are open to the public by law in the state of Tennessee.
Direct link to Fox Interview:
RFK Jr. vs. Mike Gallagher on Energy Independence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6efhS0DYeLU
RFK has one scary voice! What’s up with that?
There are several screws loose in all Kennedys. It is, apparently, a genetic thing that has transferred to all generations.
The more the genetic aberration is studied the more one can see that it has the ability to be transmitted to others making all complete and utter socialist nutcases.
(eg: Clinton Duo, Kerry, Gore (the Man-Bear-Pig) and many others.)
It's not just with public utilities... I've called private utilities myself when buy homes to see what the average energy usage was and the utility companies told me with no questions asked. Further, just because it's a public utility I don't think justifies publicizing what everyone buys from it (of course that's just my opinion).
Welcome to the world of the living.
Man has had to endure these episodes of mass insanity throughout recorded history.
The only difference between the Glow-Bull Warmers and, let's say, the Flat Earthers, or crop circles are made by aliens bunch, or the government can do it better adherents, is the particular type of insanity.
For those of us that still have some semblance of sanity remaining, after being constantly bombarded by these new age socialists, take comfort in knowing that man can do nothing to control the warming, or cooling of the planet, anymore than he can change the direction of the wind, or make it rain.
And remember, should the seas rise try to relocate to higher ground. Should it rain, go back into your cave, and snuggle up with your dry bugs & berries.
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE
I agree. RFK is the archtype arrogant unhinged moonbat. Gallagher should have known that going in......I think he did though but needed a good run up for his column so he pretended he didn't.
Paranoid/Delusional is my diagnosis.
Thanks for posting the link. I was unable to do so, or otherwise I would have
Shouldn’t you be building a raft, instead of wasting your time on FR?
Thanks for posting the facts. No skepticism is not about mistatements of Gore’s energy usage. But this is not a thread about skepticism, just about losers like JFK Jr and Gore Jr who grow up in wealth and decide that the rest of us should sacrifice while they turn off a crystal chandelier or two.
I see you just joined two days ago. Hmm
Give the guy a break. Gore’s energy usage is still extravagent so it does not help our case to mistate what it actually is.
We would all be better off if the Kennedys would confine their activities to their usual behaviors.Like drinking and chasing whores.
No, it’s not mental illness; it is a calculated effort to destroy the American economy so that liberals(socialists) can have ultimate control over a helpless populace. And, the author is right about hypocrisy. These “prophets” will never give-up their own personal comforts and conveniences. Instead, they will preach from their ivory towers about how little people need to sacrifice so that the world may be saved. It is disgusting, immoral and it needs to be challenged at every possible opportunity.
Got a mouse in your pocket?
I would say you just characterized the entire global warming movement.....regurgitation of garbage and hyperbole. And it still goes on and on despite that fact that the earth cooled .7 degrees last year and the has been stable or cooling since 1998.
The fact that Al Gore had to be forced into making the energy saving changes to his home by public embarrassment, after years of pontificating about global warming, shows what Al Gore is really all about....a Huckster of the worst kind.
And Al Gore is just one global warming guru. You have a whole herd of celeb hypocrites merrily consuming far more than the average joe, with Arianna Huffington leading the way.
The whole theory of human caused global warming rests on complex and easily manupulated computer models. The fact is the models have been proven wrong by the recent cooling, and never made any sense to begin with except to the mind numbed global warming cultists.
BTW.....welcome to FR!
Because it's
NOT
about Environmentalism or Global Warming.
It's about implementing FASCISM in our country, and controlling people's lives.
Insurance industry is the final authority. Wow. They really like to talk out both sides of their mouth. Here the libs blame “greedy insurance companies” when doctors leave the state because they don’t want to pay the hight rates of med-mal.
Sorry, skeptical case. Gore’s house does not use “100’s” of times an average house as the article states. It is more like 10’s. That is hypocritical, but the facts are not what the author stated.
The outrage at the gas price spike is exactly why Obambi said he didn’t mind the high prices, just that they went up “too fast”.
He wanted to continue boiling us frogs slowly so that we wouldn’t notice until the state had full control of our travel freedom.
This information is public information so that if you are looking to buy a house, you can check how much the utilities would cost.
I’m a little skeptical of the site you cited as well (a comp sci guy from Australia?). Even so, if the TCPR is lying as you suggest someone COULD and SHOULD check their figures from the place they cited. Isn’t the media great? Still I do understand your frustration with media nonsense. We’ve seen plenty of it here on FreeRepublic from forged documents to smears about genocide over Katrina. I appreciate your calling this factoid about Gore into question. It HAS been picked up by almost every media outlet there is. This tells me one thing at least... Al Gore’s days of respect have long since passed. Anyone who is telling me that I’m using too much energy better make sure their own house(s) are in order (even if they are 40% better as Al claims - and someone should check his figures too).
No, leftwingers would never result to violence, threats, and intimidation when their agenda is exposed... no, never.
Honestly (I am really asking something BIG here when I request honesty from a lefty) -
which car would be safer:
A car with a Kerry ‘04 sticker at a conservative rally,
or a car with a Bush sticker on it at any of the various protest-of-the-week lefty rallies?
I understand. I've done it myself. I'm questioning whether or not it should be and I'm not sure it should be public information (for whatever reason) becuase the obvious next question is... where does it end?
Welcome to FRee Republic!
...and what's with the screen name? Do you like Sopwith Camels?
Cheers!
I have it figured out. It’s the sin of Pride.
They’re rich and elite, so they should enjoy luxuries FAR beyond what the common man can.
In a capitalist economy, this “luxury gap” is much smaller, and they don’t look so high and mighty compared to the commoner.
This article is referencing the actual article which states: "In the past year, Gore’s home burned through 213,210 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, enough to power 232 average American households for a month."
That is quite true! 232 homes at about 920 kWh in a month is what Gore uses for 1 houses in a year.
Energy Guzzled by Al Gore’s Home in Past Year Could Power 232 U.S. Homes for a Month
What a drama queen!
Don’t go being a hater.
It does seem that the facts got in the way of one, or the other of the authors. And with so much B/S being propagated it is becoming a daunting task to get to the truth of any one subject.
My reply to frankbi was simply meant that Glow-Bull Warming adherents need to be prepared for the coming holocaust, instead of joining FR in an attempt to derail the subject at hand. (which seemed to me to be the lunacy of the Left)
That and the fact that he/she/it is a two day wonder gives me pause.
Regards
Prolly related to his HEROIN ADDICTION....
" In 1983, he was arrested in a Rapid City South Dakota Airport for heroin possession after being found unconscious in an airplane bathroom with a needle stuck into his arm, a search of his carry-on bag uncovered 183 milligrams of heroin. Upon entering a plea of guilty, Kennedy, then 30 years old was sentenced to two years probation, periodic tests for drug use, treatment by joining Narcotics Anonymous, and 1,500 hours of community service by Presiding Judge Marshall P. Young."
Typically I don't take a scolding from Junkies about Global Warming -- or anything. Mike should have asked 'Jr' if he needed a fix.
And note the 'tough' punishment 'Jr The Junkie' got --- NONE. No wonder Kennedy's think they can get away with murder - literally.
Al Gore owns several houses, in addition to a multimillion dollar condo at the St. Regis here in San Fran. Why look at only one house?
And speaking of the hyperbole of global warming alarmists, here is a typical example:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033825/posts
I have often wondered if Sheryl Crowe really uses toilet paper while advocating that the rest of us shouldn’t.
OK, here's a Freeper that understands dimlibs to their core. Socialists, Bolsheviks; all the same. They want a Socialist America and won't stop until they realize their nightmare. Until the rest of the population understands this threat and begins to deal with it on the Bolsheviks' level, we'll continue to be a nation at risk. Thanks, Arkansas Toothpick. You nailed it.
I'd like to know why an environmentally conscious person would call consuming 213,210 kwh/year "acceptable".
Doing some back of the envelope calculations, I consume in the neighborhood of 8000 kwh/year. While I don't waste electricity, neither do I skimp. Assuming my neighbors are more-or-less the same....AlGore consumes as much electricity as my entire neighborhood. Amazing.
Thank you for your compliment, but I owe Rush Limbaugh for this one. When I first listening to him in about 1990, he stated that the true agenda of environmentalists was socialism. I’ll confess that I didn’t believe him initially, but I sure as heck do now!
I think it was all the drugs and booze he did with Uncle Ted when he was younger. It does a lot of damage to the throat.
It really is creepy. And what a total buffoon.
I wish he had pushed him on the wind power.
What an unfair and obnoxious comment.
The younger Kennedys spend a great deal of time testing street drugs for quality and purity, just as Uncle Ted used to do before switching to a personal ethanol-based energy program. And the Kennedys don't "chase" whores. They have people for that.
What if a bad load of crack were to hit your 'hood? Or the VFW bar served contaminated scotch? I'm afraid that you do not appreciate the sacrifices this great and selfless New England Exemplary Catholic family makes on our behalf. It's all out of love for us, the little people.
If you don't believe me, ask Marilyn Monroe, or Mary Jo Kopechne. Or their babysitters. Or the many people on the Cape who have shiny wheelchairs after Kennedy Kar and Boat, Krashes.
The 40% figure was put out by the Gore people; it refers to the natural gas bill since the geo-thermal loop was installed, not the total power used and he did indeed use more electricity than last year.
What puzzles me is how he can burn so much juice when he is never here in Nashville.
I presume somebody is there even if it's servants. I wonder what the big power burners are in a house like that. Security systems? Security monitors/cameras and probably lights, lights, lights.
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