When you read the Drudge Report you expect to see stories about Tea-partiers and their guns or which communist leader Obama most recently bowed to, not video contests. But check out this screencap from today’s edition of the website:
See that headline on the top left? “EPA Contest Seeks Videos Promoting Government Regulations…” It always suprises me when I see video contests mentioned in the media. But I never thought I’d see one posted on the Drudge Report.
I saw that EPA contest listing the other day and actually thought about entering it. It never crossed my mind that it was political in any way though. I guess it is kind of weird to hold a pro-government regulations video contest but is it really something conservatives need to get all pissed about? (check out the comments on the article. It’s nothing but angry, anti-government, anti-EPA stuff from Drudge readers) To build on what the article says, government regulation is what keeps the asbestos out of your house, the lead out of your kid’s toys and the cyanide out of your drinking water. Hey….that’s actually not a bad line. Maybe I will enter after all. In your face, Drudge!
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Nice post.
I love the government and I love regulations and it’s so weird the battles the conservatives in this country are picking right now. It’s like, they are staking their reputation on saying no to absolutely anything and everything. And I’m with you, this is one I want to enter.
Wow Joel,
I thought you were more of the freedom loving type. I didn’t peg you as one of the extras in Orwell’s ’1984′.
Check this:All rights not specifically granted to the federal government in the constitution are reserved for the states. Congress shall not compel states to enforce federal regulations. New York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144 (1992).
By the feds own admission (as detailed int the contest rules), regulations tend to increase 10 fold relative to the correlating law. Hmm…so let’s see…a 2,000 page health care law = 20,000 pages of new regulations. That’s nice. I am ok with regulation Joel, but let each state decide what is good for it’s own people, not the federal government. The original union of states almost never happened because of this very reason, and here we are repeating ourselves for lack of historical recollection.
You may be enamored of regulation now Joel, but once you start having kids and realize their loss of freedom and opportunity we are inflicting on them, you will (should) re-think your position. At almost 50 years old now, it is amazing how many acquaintances of mine who wish they didn’t get that tattoo back when they were 23. Sure, when I was young and foolish I had favorite tee shirts with favorite slogans, but even then I never thought, “Gee I like this shirt so much I think I’ll wear it everyday for the rest of my life”.
Remember Joel, whatever you post on the internet becomes part of your legacy…FOREVER. It may be just a stupid video contest today, but tomorrow it is your tattoo. Personally I think you are considered way too funny and rational a guy to throw your support to something so seriously ugly, but hey it’s your call.
Jared
I’m always amazed when people can look at things like the massive fraud perpetrated on us all by wall street and still think “nope, don’t need more regulation here.” Or they can look at the large numbers of e coli outbreaks across the country and say “nope, don’t need more regulation on produce packing plants.” Or they can look at a massive health care industry gouging people who have a constitutional right to a healthy life, and see it doing everything it can to avoid covering kids, avoid covering the sick, avoid paying for needed procedures, and say “nope – I think they should be unregulated. Let’s let people who’s sole purpose is to make money for their investors make the decision about who lives and who dies.”
I find your way of looking at the world to be beyond selfish, I find it evil.
Lastly, I don’t need to hear some email saying “you’ll understand when you’re older.” You wanna reference the colonists? Jonathan Dayton signed the Declaration of Independence when he was 16 years old. Are you telling me he didn’t know the value of freedom because he was only 16? Of course not. Then don’t tell me I don’t know the value of a community’s responsibility to it’s members as a 29 year old.
I can’t believe you want your kids to grow up in a world where people don’t look out for the well being of others. A government’s responsibility is not to make things better for the best of us, but to make things good for the least of us.
And you also wrote this to me as an email – don’t ever write me a personal email again.
Joel
Hey Joel,
You are wrong about the personal email. I did not send you one. You need to figure out how your blog works before you start throwing accusations around. It was sent through your ‘Happy Joel’ wordpress blog…sheesh. Check it, and you will see your error. It was YOU who just sent me a personal email in the matter. If you want to call me on it, I’ll post it here for everyone to see.
I agree that there should be regulation Joel, but you totally missed the point of my post. THE REGULATION SHOULD HAPPEN FOR EACH STATE, AND BY EACH STATE. The 16 year old to whom you refer (Jonathan Dayton) was very weary of a ‘unifying’ federal government and what it could mean to state’s rights. Check your history bro.
And dude, if you really believe you won’t grow in intelligence and experience between now and when your 50, you have some surprises ahead of you.
BTW, you are welcome to send me a personal email anytime you like Joel (similar to the one you did just a few minutes ago). I am not threatened by you beyond the fact that you have voting power, and I certainly don’t feel you are ‘evil’… just uninformed.
Jared
1) You’re right about the email, my bad.
2) Here’s the problem with you tea party fools (and yes, I read your blog and read you’ve been to rallies with those idiots who misspell signs, hate responsibility and believe that saying no to everything is the way to solve America’s problems) You fell into that common Tea Party trap when talking about early Americans – you take what you want. Here’s why you are wrong… ready?
You said “Jonathan Dayton was weary of a “unifying” federal government.”
1) My point is not that people from the time of the signing were right about everything, the point is that they had the ability to make up their mind whatever their age. I can think of 5 things we know they were wrong about right off the bat (though since you’re a tea partier, I suppose there’s a possibility you still wish blacks and women didn’t have the vote.)
2) And the far funnier point is, HE SERVED IN THE CONGRESS AS A FEDERALIST!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_Party
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Dayton
So just because he was a signer (and I’m assuming because of your silly reaction you didn’t know anything about him before you started guessing at what his actual intentions were like so many of your compatriots) doesn’t mean his main focus was on “being scared of a federal government.” They wanted freedom for a democracy to make decisions, as opposed to a monarchy. Pretty simple.
And on the specifics of Federalism, those who wanted a strong nationalized bank in the early years of America are equivalent to those who want strong health care now. It’s the idea of a FEDERALIZED system of bargaining to get the best deals for the whole country. For national standards.
Lastly, of course I believe that I will grow in experience between now and 50, that doesn’t however negate the validity of what I believe now. If it did, then we wouldn’t let 18 year olds vote – we would only let people vote when they are 90 because only by then would they really “have all the understanding of their lives.” It’s such a stupid point you’re making, and just makes me respect you even less than I did before, which, you’ll probably have guessed by how ready I was to write back angry at you in the first place, wasn’t much.
I don’t care if you’re threatened by me, I asked you not to send me a personal email because I DON’T LIKE YOU! I DIDN’T LIKE YOU BEFORE AND I LIKE YOU EVEN LESS NOW THAT I KNOW YOU ARE MORE OF SELFISH MORON THAN I REALIZED!
Lastly, don’t use the word “bro.” It sounds unseemly out of a creepy 50 year old dude.
Beardy, sorry if you’re upset this back and forth is happening on your blog.
ATTN: Fellow jaded citizens disappointed with our government (and yes that includes Tea Party members)
Joel Moss is an example of the ever decreasing minority (yet still powerful) opinion that our federal government knows best how to regulate us. It is his type of fervor that we are contending with. We need to remain as diligent and as passionate as he is and to stay engaged between now and November and thereafter.
With some production value help from his friends, Joel will probably win this contest because he is a talented actor and comedian. I hope he doesn’t spend the generous $2,500.00 all in one place. Amazed that was all the federal government could find in the treasury for this one. Now that I think about it, they are probably saving the balance to fund the voluminous entitlement programs for undocumented illegal aliens,… my bad (fifty year-old speak).
Good luck Joel, I am done here amigo, bro, compadre, co-hort, peer, male, and any other thing you think a 50 year old shouldn’t be saying. Wow, does this mean I have been censored?……typical.
Oh snap. Who would have thought that something from the Drudge Report could be so divisive?
Joel,
I don’t the debate happening here. I don’t think many of the readers of VCN would ever think to check the comments section of this particular post so the discussion won’t be seen by many people.
Jared,
No one’s comments are not being censored.
I know that you said you are “done here” but out of curiosity I have to ask, which specific federal regulations (not laws) bother you or make your life less free/more complicated? Which regulations would you rather see handled by specific states? I’ve been trying to think of some bad regulations but I’m happy every regulation I can think of exists. I’m glad that people can’t take box cutters on to airplanes at ANY airports in the US, I’m glad that the sewage plants in Michigan can’t dump (all) of their waste into lake Michigan and close our beaches here in Illinois and I’m glad that meat packing plant in Colorado that processed my burger has to be as clean as any other plant in the country.
Oh…I wish they could show boobs on TV. That’s an federal regulation I don’t approve of.
A Message to all would-be Tea Party Slayers:
http://videocontestking.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/jared-eastwood.jpg
I’m with Beardy. More boobs please.
Hey Beardy,
The comments section on wordpress only allows for nesting of 10 deep. We have maxed it out with our thread. Repost as a new comment and I will be happy to respond.
Jared
Hey Beardy,
BTW, here’s the scorecard on the war of words between Joel and myself.
JARED SAID:
“…I didn’t peg [him] as one of the extras in Orwell’s ‘1984’”.
JOEL SAID:
“Beyond selfish…evil…you tea party fool…[I must] wish blacks and women didn’t have the vote…stupid and whiny…SELFISH MORON …filthy tea-partier…”.
The reader can decide who tried to elevate the language here. As usual, the radical raises his voice instead of reinforcing his argument. I imagine if he had addressed me in person there would have been aggression and venom in his delivery. It is not an effective method of communication.
The VCK
[...] you read our post on monday about the EPA’s new regulation-themed video contest, you’ll know that there [...]
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