Fred Upton, Thomas Edison and Michigan

jennerationx.com ^ | 11/13/10 | Jen Kuznicki

[jenk]

Congressman Fred Upton has been receiving harsh criticism of his quest to become chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The Republican has co-sponsored a bill with a liberal Democrat to ban the incandescent light bulb, which was originally made available to the masses by Thomas Edison, because, in Upton’s view, it uses too much energy. Upton believes we, as a society, must focus on energy savings since our energy needs will double in a certain time frame due to a study done by God knows who, and paid for probably by a green group.

Upton argued that only 10% of the “obsolete” incandescent energy use was light, and 90% was heat, making the fluorescent a more efficient bulb.

So he introduced a bill to ban Edison’s lightbulb by 2012.

Thomas Edison was a genius. He moved to Port Huron as a child, and frustrated teachers by his constant question of “why?” His mother knew he was not “addled” as his teacher said, she knew he was gifted. She took him home, taught him herself, and he began a business distributing newspapers, snacks and candy that was so successful, he branched out by selling fruits and vegetables. By 14, the boy was campaigning for Abraham Lincoln, the father of the Republican Party. He started his own newspaper, outlining the Lincoln-Douglas debates and was making 10 dollars a day, enough at the time to live comfortably on his own. But he instead used his extra money to finance his chemical lab.

One of his first inventions was the electric vote-recording machine, which was rejected because lobbyists liked to be able to coerce members of the legislature away from their instinctive vote in the Massachusetts legislature during a long, drawn out manual counting of votes.

[LiberConservative]

I never said I agree with the government mandating the switch from incandescent. I'm saying it's just a stupid argument over a freakin’ LIGHTBULB. Sheesh.

[SteamShovel]

I'm saying it's just a stupid argument over a freakin’ LIGHTBULB.

It's only an argument over a trivial matter because the government makes it a big argument when they intrude in personal decisions of a trivial matter.

That was my main point.

That's why I say it is a "line in the sand" issue.

[jenk]

Well then, you miss the point entirely, which is why I told you your comments offer exactly zero to the discussion.

That “freakin’ lightbulb” brought the world out of darkness. It was introduced at a time when men could dream and realize big things, instead of get a “freakin’” government grant and sit on their ass! Get lost!