The Charlotte Capitalist:

Saturday, August 09, 2003

Why Is There Never An Old-Fashioned Liberal Around When You Need One? (Part One) 

“Reality-focused Charlotte capitalist seeks tens of thousands of Peace Corps-cherishing liberals. Post-1967 nihilist New Lefties currently inspiring the media and the Democratic Party need not apply. Opportunity to save North Carolina, Africa, and the rest of the world by marching on Washington, carrying picket signs, handing out leaflets, kicking around the late President Dick Nixon, and singing “Blowin’ In The Wind” in a group environment with no mean people.”

Okay. Enough of the attempt at smart-ass humor -- it is time to get serious.

The Charlotte Observer reported the year’s first two North Carolina West Nile cases. In a story the day before the Observer published, “Health officials would not give more details about the man, who lives in a rural area. Devlin said the specific location of the victim isn't important because West Nile is prevalent across the state and could affect anyone anywhere. ‘Already this year the virus has been identified in birds from 24 counties from Dare County on the coast to Macon County in the west," she said. "It is here. It has affected a person in the state, and has the potential to affect others. That's why people need to be very diligent in preventing mosquito bites.’ So far this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded 154 human cases of West Nile virus infection, including four deaths in 17 states.”

There is no need for this. There is a way to prevent West Nile and other mosquito-spread diseases in a safe and effective manner. Former Washington state governor and scientist Dr. Dixy Lee Ray stated in her book Trashing The Planet, “[It] was the first, best, and most remarkable of modern pesticides. Its history is a tale of triumph that ended in tragedy...Mosquito-borne malaria has always been man’s worst disease, judged by the number of its victims. Until [it] came along, about 200 million people were stricken annually with malaria, and about two million of them died each year…In 1970 [24 years after the beginning of a large-scale spraying program], of two billion people living in malarial regions, 79 percent were protected and the expectation was that malaria would be eradicated. Six years after the United States banned [it], there were 800 million cases of malaria and 8.2 million deaths per year.”

It was banned because the Nixon Administration, without regard to scientific evidence, bowed to environmentalist pressures and banned the production of this life-saving cure. The consequence continues to be millions (yes, I said millions) of preventable deaths. It is almost unbelievable, but it is true. What is so troubling is the lack of classic liberal outrage. No outrage, either rational or irrational, for over 30 years now since the banning of this life-saver. No outcries of “Save the children” or “Multi-national corporations are withholding life-saver from dying Africans.” Nothing. Zero. Zip.

Why? Several reasons. One, the life-saver has been smeared. Few are willing to face scientific fact and to stand up to political correctness. Two, the nihilist New Left environmental movement has shut down the old-fashioned liberal. While the old liberal appeared to care about human life, there is plenty of evidence to show that the New Left has no respect for human life at all. Bugs, dirt, and sucker fish have primacy over humans.

It doesn’t have to be this way. There does not have to be West Nile disease in North Carolina. There do not have to be millions of deaths in Africa. By the way, “it” is…DDT. More next time.

Link posted by Exalted Moments @ 11:36 AM