"As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs."
That was the famous marketing quote for the sale of Papal indulgences to which Martin Luther took strong exception in 1517.
Ever wonder how Al Gore with his three houses and SUVs, and Suzuki with his mega-bus, and Hollywood, etc. claim to be "carbon neutral"?
Exactly the same way indulgences worked. Here's how. One quote:
Example: a mid-sized 30 mpg car driving 12,000 miles/year will create about 3.55 tons of CO2/year. Using Carbonfund.org's calculator we figured this would cost only about $19.50 or $1.63/month to be offset! This means that for a very small amount of money you can drive the equivalent of a zero-CO2-emission car!
As quoted by Gore's office yesterday:
What Mr. Gore has asked is that every family calculate their carbon footprint and try to reduce it as much as possible. Once they have done so, he then advocates that they purchase offsets, as the Gore’s (sic) do, to bring their footprint down to zero.
Another alternative for no footprints: Make yourself a helium-brained airhead and just float over the landscape without your feet touching.
Instapundit found this Stalinist-sounding defence of Gore's hypocrisy, which truly gives me the creeps:
Al Gore lives a life different from most folks. I'm not one to defend elitism, not as a matter of practice, but some elitism is inevitable. There must be a leadership class. There always has been and there always will be. Even societies organized around the principle of the equality and preeminence of the proletariat have had an elite class. It is the natural order of things. The key for a society is to create a responsible, responsive and fluid elite.
With him in it, no doubt. Would somebody remind this hideous un-American creep that, when searching for elites, the last place anyone would search is amongst politicians. They are the least-respected profession in America, and should be.
You want an American Elite, Mr. Smarty-Pants who probably thinks he is elite himself? Try my plumbing, heating, and A/C guy Greg. He is honest, direct, gives sound advice; is smart, skilled, takes my calls, is overly-humble, and efficient - and has never overcharged me. More often, undercharges me, I think. Is God-fearing and God-loving, with a charming young family who understand that he needs to make house calls on Sunday night. And who quotes Shakespeare, and sometimes Milton. That is the American elite, my poor misguided friend: the people, and the government is our servant. Servant. Don't misunderestimate the wisdom of the regular folks, because being in real life can be worth a million-dollar education, especially if you have a curious mind and can learn from experience.
Image: Al Gore owns three homes. This is a recent photo of his carbon-neutral home, in the Belle Mead neighborhood of Nashville.
Just a note to highlight that the dude Gwynnie ranted about here yesterday was indeed the esteemed commentator and fascist-in-training Eric Alterman, about whom the truly admired Ms. Althouse had a few words, today.I do not know this Alterman guy from Ada
Tracked: Feb 28, 19:06
Iowahawk has a plan to save Gaia. It's about carbon credits, natch. Good timing for Iowahawk's piece, as we learn today that the Rev. Al buys his carbon credits from himself! We told ya that he doesn't believe his own BS. Just another political con man,
Tracked: Mar 01, 05:23