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Government regulators, environmental groups and the news media tell us that the air we breathe is polluted, the water we drink is tainted, our orange juice contains a fungicide, and evil corporations are hoping to make a profit at Mother Earth’s expense. They also remind us that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal agencies are protecting us by fighting the greedy capitalists who seek our destruction. Don’t believe it. The United States is among the cleanest nations on the planet.

Environmental Consultant Rich Trzupek pushes his book, "Regulators Gone Wild" on Fox and Friends this morning:Click to view

These days it’s hard to pick up a newspaper or turn on a news program without encountering stern warnings about the federal budget deficit. The deficit threatens economic recovery, we’re told; it puts American economic stability at risk; it will undermine our influence in the world. These claims generally aren’t stated as opinions, as views held by some analysts but disputed by others. Instead, they’re reported as if they were facts, plain and simple.Yet they aren’t facts. Many economists take a much calmer view of budget deficits than anything you’ll see on TV. Nor do investors seem unduly concerned: U.S....

Meager Expectations We've long become accustomed to typical behavior from given groups. For example, when it comes to bureaucracies like the EPA, no one would be shocked to find it infested with anal-retentive types so focused on what they perceive as the crucial details of their job they long-ago lost sight of the big picture. With the EPA, there's at least a potential upside. The environment is far cleaner now than back when Richard Nixon signed it into existence. In the decades since, it has made major gains over pollution and have been proven at times to be a pyrrhic...

Part 1: Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquistion By: Rich Trzupek, If you're a Monty Python fan, there's a good chance one of your favorite memories is the "Spanish Inquisition" episode. That bit is hilarious, and not just because of the goofy costumes. What really puts it over-the-top is our realization of how far modern society has moved from medieval times. We've understood for centuries that civilized folks don't need to employ the rack and thumbscrew to promulgate their views. Rational discussion, an unbiased assessment of scientific fact, and reasoned persuasion should be all that are needed. We think of the...

It’s no surprise that the American Lung Association’s annual State of the Air Report, released last month, paid no note of all of the massive reductions in air pollution that have been achieved in this country over the last thirty three years. When contributions are at stake, spin is the most important part of any message. ALA President John Kirkwood sniffed that the only reason the air seemed to get cleaner last year is because of unusually cool weather that inhibited ozone formation. No kidding? So much for global warming. But even if we accept Kirkwood’s self-serving claim, one has...

Union likely put pressure on Thome Former Indians star becomes just another greedy player By Mike Celizic Jim Thome is one of the good guys. Always was, always will be. And the shame of it is that a lot of people will never know or understand that, because, for them, he is now and forever just another greedy ballplayer. IF IT’S POSSIBLE to feel sorry for a guy who’s about to become nearly $90 million richer — before taxes and agents’ fees — that’s what I feel for Thome. He was in the position that most Americans dream of, standing...

Relax, this is your captain speaking Jeff Zeleny, Tribune reporter June 16, 2002 On a recent United Airlines flight from Chicago to Washington, D.C., Capt. David Miller stepped from the cockpit to speak to his passengers, who included Tribune reporter Jeff Zeleny. Here is what the captain said. "I am the captain for your flight to Washington, D.C. I am back in the cabin to talk to you before we leave, rather than from the cockpit. I think under the events of the last year or so, it's more [effective] for me to make my announcement from this vantage point...

Greed and amusement KO good judgment By Gerry Trzupek His story has all the makings of one of those deals with the devil; with the inevitable ironic and tragic outcome. "He" is George Edward Waddell, whose baseball talent earned him immortality in the Hall of Fame, but as his Cooperstown plaque forever attests, only under the undignified nickname of "Rube." Rube pitched in the big leagues right after the turn of the last century. He had a devastating fastball, and set strikeout records that survived a good bit longer than Rube, who was buried in 1914. He was one...

We cannot let New York City developer Larry Silverstein dictate the terms of rebuilding. Up from ZERO . . . and counting Rebuilding the World Trade Center site is America's most important urban development project ---- to leave it to the discretion of the money boys would By Blair Kamin Tribune architecture critic March 21, 2002 NEW YORK -- Something is wrong with the sky above ground zero. There is too much of it. In the skyscraper canyons of Manhattan's financial district, where the old Art Deco towers crowd twisting medieval streets, you can only see slivers of sky....

New York straight up Through ghastly circumstance, it is once again Manhattan's tallest skyscraper. But the Empire State Building has always been so much more. By Blair Kamin Tribune architecture critic March 20, 2002 NEW YORK -- There it is, popping out from between the skyscrapers as you face south from Central Park. There it is again, soaring above the sidewalk as you gaze east from Macy's on 34th Street. Looking northward from the Flatiron Building at 22nd Street, it is there, too, rising in splendid isolation, its Art Deco summit lit up like the American flag in stacked...

Bush sets clean-air plan Emissions limits would be tied to state of economy By Bob Kemper and Jeff Zeleny Washington Bureau February 14, 2002 WASHINGTON -- Nearly a year after he rejected an international treaty on global warming, President Bush on Thursday will unveil a substitute plan that places a premium on protecting U.S. businesses while encouraging a reduction in greenhouse gases over the next 10 years. Bush's plan would tie environmental protection to economic activity so limits on emissions would be measured against the size of America's gross domestic product. Such an approach would tighten pollution controls as ...

Best thing about substitute teaching WFTD? I was finally shamed into making a FR donation. Sure didn't seem right to ask for others to make a trip to the donation page if I didn't myself. For once, I have my priorities in order. Those who wish to send check or money order can do so at: FreeRepublic, LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794 And now for something completely different… Or mildly different. No offense to the tantalizing and talented teach, Rika, but there will be a few changes here today. Not because she does things poorly, or even that ...

Be grateful for the songs not being sung By Bob Greene It may be time for Americans to pause for a moment, and pat themselves on the back. There is something to be sort of proud of: Restraint. Restraint in warfare is not always a good thing. Restraint on the homefront, though, is worthy of self-congratulation. President Bush, almost immediately after the attacks on New York and Washington, made it clear that insulting remarks, much less violence, against Muslim people, or people of Arab descent, will be considered un-American. Americans seemed to understand that he meant it. Let's go back ...

What airport screeners need is a bonus plan By John Kass Our Washington politicians can finally stop fighting about how to best motivate the beleaguered airport security screeners. Democrats want the screeners on the federal payroll. Republicans want them to remain in the private sector. They've been shrieking at each other for weeks. But now, they can stop shrieking. The problem has been solved. Solved, I tell you. In this column. Today. Let's call it the Nicodemus Airport Security Initiative. Within minutes of enacting the Nicodemus Initiative - the Bush White House could do it tomorrow-the much-criticized airport security baggage ...

Making buildings terror-proof Experts gather here to brainstorm ways to protect skyscrapers By Blair Kamin Tribune architecture critic A week before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, structural engineers met at a conference in Frankfurt, Germany, and wondered aloud about how to build taller skyscrapers. On Monday, they will join architects and other building experts in Chicago for a far more sober discussion: Will such high-profile symbols of power and prestige be built any time soon -- and, if so, what can be done to make them safer and more secure? Chicago is an appropriate choice ...

Ancient history offers lesson for today's battle John Kass All week, we've been talking about how Americans have begun to master fear; how we've become comfortable with the use of force; how we've tried to hold on to our civility and grace. We've had much to deal with since Sept. 11. Today, I'd like you to consider how other people have dealt with these problems. They used their mythology to deal with fear, and they also used their armies of free citizen soldiers to destroy repressive slave states. Sound familiar? The Greeks, for example, created horrible mythological creatures as expressions ...

Columbus gets his day, and no more By Gerry Trzupek As we enter October, America winds up for her yearly Feast of the Inaccurate Deception, otherwise known as Columbus Day. Lately, more and more groups who like to make themselves heard have been condemning Columbus for wholesale slaughter of Indians. These vocal groups decided Columbus best signifies Western civilization, which, quite frankly, was going to find it all but impossible to coexist on a resource-rich continent with a hunter-gatherer society. In that battle, put your money on the team with thundersticks. But Columbus is not to blame. Are we to ...

They say the world has changed. As will occasionally happen, "they" are right. At the same time, the world doesn't change without modifications to language. Here are a number of words and phrases that now take on new or expanded definitions and connotations. Life as Normal: Fully refined definition still in the works. We'll return to life as normal, but right now it's impossible to say what "normal" will become. And unfortunately, we may stray very far from our old definition for quite a while before settling on a new one. Silence: The word takes on new local meanings ...

Sorry to use any space that could be better served for breaking news (and pray God little more is left to break), but I noticed today's date: 9/11. I don't know, tinfoil for me or what, but seems a helluva coincidence that such a day of emergency would occur on 911. If it was the target date for that reason, it almost seems like it would be the fault of the Allah-lickers. Too subtle a touch for them. Not like it really f*cking matters right now...