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Feb. 8, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Lofty ideals must be followed with grounded applications

Clifford D. May: Letter from the West Bank
Steve Rothaus: Judge OKs plan for gay man, lesbian couple to be on girl's birth certificate
Gloria Goodale: States consider drone bans: Overreaction or crucial for privacy rights?
Environmental Nutrition Editors: Don't buy the aloe vera juice hype
Michael Craig Miller, M.D.: Harvard Experts: Regular exercise pumps up memory, too
Erik Lacitis: Vanity plates: Some take too much license
The Kosher Gourmet by Susie Middleton: Broccoflower, Carrot and Leek Ragout with Thyme, Orange and Tapenade is a delightful and satisfying melange of veggies, herbs and aromatics
Feb. 6, 2013

Nara Schoenberg: The other in-law problem

Frank J. Gaffney Jr. : A see-no-jihadist for the CIA
Kristen Chick: Ahmadinejad visits Cairo: How sect tempers Islamist ties between Egypt, Iran
Roger Simon: Ed Koch's lucky corner
Heron Marquez Estrada: Robot-building sports on a roll
Patrick G. Dean, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: How to restore body's ability to secrete insulin
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: 3 prostate-protecting diet tips
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen 7 principles for to help you make the best soup ever in a slow cooker
Feb. 4, 2013

Jonathan Tobin: Can Jewish Groups Speak Out on Hagel?

David Wren: Findings of government study, released 3 days before Newtown shooting, at odds with gun-control crusaders
Kristen Chick: Tahrir becomes terrifying, tainted
Curtis Tate and Greg Gordon: US keeps building new highways while letting old ones crumble
David G. Savage: Supreme Court to hear case on arrests, DNA
Harvard Health Letters: Neck and shoulder pain? Know what it means and what to do
Andrea N. Giancoli, M.P.H., R.D.: Eat your way to preventing age-related muscle loss
The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington Baked Pears in Red Wine and Port Wine Glaze: A festive winter dessert
Feb. 1, 2013

Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: Redemption

Clifford D. May Home, bloody, home
Christa Case Bryant andNicholas Blanford Why despite Syria's allies warning of retaliation for Israeli airstrikes, the threats are likely hollow
Rick Armon, Ed Meyer and Phil Trexler Ex-police captain cleared by DNA test is freed after nearly 15 years
Harvard Health Letters: Could it by your thyroid?
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: When 'healthy food' isn't
Sue Zeidler: Coke ad racist? Arab-American groups want to yank Super Bowl ad (INCLUDES VIDEO)
The Kosher Gourmet by Nealey Dozier The secret of this soup is the garnish
January 30, 2013

Allan Chernoff: Celebrating 'Back from the Dead Day'

America isn't a religious country? Don't tell Superbowl fans!
Mark Clayton Cybercrime takedown!
Germany remembers Hitler rise to power
Israel salutes U. N. --- with the one finger salute
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: Get cookin' with heart-healthy fats
Ballot riles Guinness World Records
The Kosher Gourmet by Elizabeth Passarella Potato, Squash and Goat Cheese Gratin
January 28, 2013

Nancy Youssef: And Democracy for all? Two years on, Egypt remains in state of chaos

Fred Weir: Putin: West is fomenting jihadi 'blowback'
Meredith Cohn: Implantable pain disk may help those with cancer
Michael Craig Miller, M.D. : Ask the Harvard Experts: Are there drugs to help control binge eating?
David Ovalle Use of controversial 'brain mapping' technology stymied
Jane Stancill: Professor's logic class has 180,000 friends
David Clark Scott Lego Racism?
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali The celebrated chef introduces us to PANZEROTTI PUGLIESI, cheese-stuffed pastry from Italy's south


Jewish World Review June 8, 2007 / 22 Sivan 5767

Burn a log, go to jail

By Greg Crosby


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Well, the Eco-Gestapo has struck again. As reported by the Los Angels Times, Southern California air regulators have approved a plan that if implemented will "place stringent restrictions on home fireplaces." The plan includes a complete ban on wood-burning fireplaces in all new homes in Los Angeles county, Orange county, and parts of San Bernadino and Riverside counties. It would ban wood-fueled fires in ALL homes in some areas during what they call, "winter pollution spikes." And it would require homeowners in some areas to remove or permanently close off fireplaces before they can sell their house. Either that, or install costly pollution control devices on them. Welcome to yet another example of liberal big government legislation taking a bite out of personal freedom.


Out of a total of 5 million homes in Southern California almost 2 million of them have fireplaces. Besides missing the obvious aesthetics and enjoyment of having a nice cozy fire on a cold wintry night, there are numerous businesses that would be hurt by the new regulations. Chimney sweeps would go the way of the village blacksmith and girdle makers, people who work in the brick and mortar sectors of home building would be hurt as well as the real estate business. The only business that would profit from this will be the companies who manufacture and install those new "pollution control devices" for the fireplaces.


"A fireplace - especially a beautiful fireplace, and what people normally mean by that is a wood-burning fireplace — it's the thing people like to have" when they buy a home, said real estate agent Barbara Burner, who works for Century 21 in Thousand Oaks. Yeah, no kidding. Try to snuggle up in front of a forced-air wall heater with your best girl you can pretty much kiss off any romance for the night, my friend. And don't tell me about "natural gas logs" — there's nothing "natural" or "log" about having a hunk of painted cement surrounding a pipe comprised of 6 gas jets which emit that steady blue/yellow front burner glow and run up your gas bills like crazy. And spending an evening in front of that thing would be about as sexy as cuddling up in front of my mother's O'Keefe & Merritt kitchen gas range.


An estimated 5,400 people in the region die prematurely due to exposure to fine particles, generated largely by diesel exhaust, according to state estimates. I would seriously question how the powers that be came up with that number, but for the sake of argument let's accept the statement on face value. Now, what did it say again? "An estimated 5,400 people in the region die prematurely due to exposure to fine particles generated largely by diesel exhaust." Did you get that? GENERATED LARGELY BY DIESEL EXHAUST — not fireplace smoke.


So let me get this straight — because trucks on the California freeways are spewing out crap that kills people, the government shuts down private home fireplaces? That makes sense. How about trying this instead — how about curtailing all those 18 wheelers coming up across the boarder from Mexico? Any restriction on those? No? Any regulations? No? I thought not.


And if you think the smog generated from those trucks is bad now, just you wait, Henry Higgins. According to a report by the California Air Resources Board released this past March, 50 tons of new smog - the equivalent of that produced by 2.2 million cars — will be pouring into California's skies because 17,500 Mexican trucks will be crossing into the Golden State each day under NAFTA's rules. Today, that number is only 3,500 trucks. You do the math. And no, folks, Mexico does not require installation of any sort of pollution control devices on their trucks.


It wouldn't surprise me to hear that banning outdoor barbequing is next up on the agenda for the Eco-Gestapo. No kidding, just think of all that charcoal smoke polluting the air. I'll bet someone is working on a barbeque version of the catalytic converter right now. Then every barbecue will be required to have this device installed. And every year the state will require people to bring their barbeques in to a certified barbeque smog check representative who (for a nominal fee) will make sure your barbecue passes a smog test before you can use it that year. Of course the state will get their piece of the action, too, in the form of license fees for every barbecue in California. What a cash cow!


But let's get back to fireplaces. I guess you get the idea by now that I am against government regulations on my fireplace. I'm also against government regulations on smoking, seatbelts, bicycle helmets, and transfats. I want the government out of my personal life. The government's job should be to protect me from bad people who want to do me harm and to fill potholes in the streets — period. I don't want the government telling me what I should eat or where I can smoke or what I should wear on my head if I choose to ride a bike. The government needs to keep terrorists off our shores — and I'll decide what kind of fat should be in my hamburger.


If you own a fireplace, better enjoy it while you've got it because you may not have long to use it. If you don't have a fireplace, well, you can still put on your bicycle helmet and peddle yourself over to get a tofu burger. But be careful — don't breath in any of that nasty smog from the unregulated Mexican diesel trucks on the way. That could kill you.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.


JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. A freelance writer in Southern California, you may contact him by clicking here.

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© 2006, Greg Crosby

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