Free speech or taxpayer-funded propaganda? Recently both Montana universities sponsored a conference for Power Shift. Power Shift seemingly stands for the promotion of clean energy. Look deeper: The organization is a subsidiary of the Energy Action Coalition and is linked to the Occupy and Greenpeace movements. Power Shift’s motto is “we demand 100% clean energy.”
So-called “dirty” energy is everything that Montana might mine from the ground, such as coal or oil. The “dirty energy industry” (I am using Power Shift’s wording) includes the timber industry, biomass and the trucking industry, which brings our Montana residents all of the goods we need to survive on, everyday.
I like clean energy just like the next person. But to think that our country or, more specifically, our Montana economy might be able to run on 100 percent clean energy (wind, solar etc.) is not only youthful and ideological, it’s ridiculous. We all know how Montanans depend on our natural resources and we have a great balance in the way we responsibly mine our treasures. Our motto is “The Treasure State” and our state seal contains the Spanish words for gold and silver.
But, here come the radical organizations like Power Shift, to tell our university students how to disrupt thousands upon thousands of good, decent jobs in our state, and they do it with the blessings of both of our university presidents, who were keynote speakers. Here’s a sampling from their agenda/program:
• Tar Sands and Their Tentacles . . .
• Environmental Justice and Environmental Racism
• Bringing Your Beat to the Movement
• Sierra Club, Beyond Coal Campaign (which boasts how it shut down over 150 coal plants)
• Overturning Citizens United, How to Win Back Our Elections
It goes on and on. The conference glorified one of its speakers, Bill McKibben, who “spent several days in jail for coordinating the massive civil disobedience against the Keystone Pipeline project.” Another “presenter” was Alec Loorz, a 17-year-old Californian who was praised for “suing the U.S. government to get them to fulfill their obligation to protect the atmosphere as a public trust for his generation.”
Hmm. Looks like there was a heck of a lot of Us versus Them mentality going on at this so-called conference. The problem here is that their Us is the radical minority. According to a recent Montana Chamber of Commerce poll, a full 73 percent of Montanans want to see more hard rock and coal mining, oil and gas development and timber production. So, our majority must be the Them. What about democracy?
Most of us (real people with real Montana interests and jobs) will remember how this type of dangerous propaganda has led to crazy thinking, with even crazier acts.
Here’s a novel thought for the universities: Why not use the money you receive from hardworking Montana taxpayers and students to fund higher education learning instead of agenda-driven propaganda?
Jana Taylor is a Republican representative from Dayton.