Monday, January 28, 2008

Photovoltaic Systems and Politics

Each of us has his/her own reason for implementing a solar photovoltaic (PV) system. A solar PV system is a practical solution for those not served by a utility company. Some of us implement alternative electric systems because we want to cut our electric bill, or because we like the idea of “green” living. Many of us implement small PV systems because we expect weather-related power outages, or because of an unreliable electric service provider.

Whatever your reason for using alternative energy, you’ve chosen to invest your time and money in a responsible way. As the 2008 election approaches, this would be a good time to consider which of the candidates would be the best choice for those of us who choose to act in such a responsible manner. Maybe the following stories will help you decide:

Ant & the Grasshopper

Two Different Versions! Two different Morals!

OLD VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.

The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

-------------------------------------------

MODERN VERSION:

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his
house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands
to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table
filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast.

How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so ?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being green.'

Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.' Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.

Nancy Pelosi & John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer.

The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government.

Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a defamation suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panel of federal judges that Bill Clinton appointed from a list of single-parent welfare recipients.

The ant loses the case.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be
the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow.

The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once
peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2008

- - Thanks JA for this story. sj

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Empires crumble as a result of FUD such as this. Have you really been paying attention the last 7 years?

Posts like this totally undermine anything positive you have to say on your blog.

John said...

The message is "be careful how you vote in 2008" period, that's it!

The story happens to poke fun a few democrats, but it could have just as easily been about "W" or some other republican. (Did you see my April 11th post?)

This was just a fictional story. I didn't know democrats were so sensitive..... Or could it be that you didn't like the moral of the first story, "Be responsible for yourself" Maybe you prefer a benevolent government who treats its citizens like sheep. Let the government take care of you. Is that what you believe?

Spreading Fear, Uncertanty, and Doubt (FUD) is not what I'm doing. I'm helping people to help themselves.

sj

Unknown said...

Anon:

If empires crumble from anything, it's executive hubris (and a lack of satire).

SJ's story made me wince, and I'm not even a US voter, but I'm glad he wrote it if woke someone up.

Rgds

Damon

John said...

I doubt that anonymous will be back. We're obviously dealing with a "liberal" here, and by nature they have no use for the kind of information I provide. Instead, they believe that the government should do everything for everyone. But thanks for your comments d.

sj

Unknown said...

Hey SJ,

"Liberal" is not a term of abuse in Europe, though "illiberal" is!

I think that most of Europe, especially as you go further north, is to the "left" of most of the US politically!

Rgds

Damon