Save your Confederate Money, Boys! The South is Gonna Rise Again!

Save your Confederate Money, Boys!
The South’s Gonna Rise Again!
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
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In my youth there was a popular song entitled: “Save Your Confederate Money, Boys… the South Is Gonna Rise Again!”

I began to think about it as I watched a group of talking heads discussing the future of America, as a single entity comprised of 50 states. The consensus was… America will not survive as a 50-state nation. It is a conclusion, which I, unhappily, arrived at years ago.

I am convinced we Americans are being lied to by our government. I am also convinced our economy is on the verge of collapse. Maybe it is just my natural paranoia, but I simply don’t see the “silver lining” inside the dark clouds hanging low over Wall Street and other financial centers in America. I think we are in for a total collapse of our economic system.

What then?

Well, we start over. I mean, literally, we START OVER.

Stand back, mentally, and take an objective look at the country we call the UNITED States of America. Can we really say we are UNITED? I mean, REALLY? If we are truthful we have to admit the union has been strained since its inception. Sure, we were united against the British during The Revolution… and several times since. But that lasted only until around 1840. Things went downhill rapidly in the 1840’s and 1850’s. By the spring of 1861 we are at war, internally, with each other. It was the most vicious war Americans have ever fought. United peoples don’t fight each other; certainly not the way Americans did in the War Between the States.

After four years of the bloodiest war this continent has ever seen, my southern ancestors were forced back into “The UNION” at the point of a bayonet – a bayonet, which was wielded by Federal Government very unlike the federal government the colonies/states created to act as their agent. At that moment -- power slipped from the hands of the people into the hands of the government and Americans have never been able to reacquire it, or rescue it, from the grasping fist of that government – a government many now say has gone rogue.

There is an old expression I have heard all my life. It says: “When one door closes, another door opens.” If that is the case, then we Americans may have a chance, and fairly soon, to set aright much that has been wrong with our country since the middle of the 19th century.

The State Sovereignty Movement has been underway for many months now and the last report I saw had the figure at close to two-dozen states already involved, to one degree or another. That is close to HALF the states! For more on the State Sovereignty Movement go HERE.

No, I don’t think there will be another civil war in America. I think we learned our lesson from the last one. I have come to believe that, when the time comes, we will simply agree to separate. I'm not sure, geographically, how that will play out. But, it will not, necessarily, be a north/south split. Some think the northeastern states will most likely join with Canada. Frankly, I am not so sure. I see the northeastern states becoming the country of “New England.” a socialist nation.


To say that the Old Confederacy will re-emerge, is a bit of a stretch. Although, there are some Americans who would certainly like to see that. But we are a different people than our confederate ancestors. Having said that, I DO believe, however, that many of the contiguous southern states will make an attempt at forming a country of their own.

Texas will, most likely, revert back to a republic. I’d have to guess that the mid-western states, where the labor unions have such a death grip, would form some sort of union as a socialist confederation of some sort. The plains states and the mountain states, well, I have no idea what they will do, but I do see them forming a country of their own – a republic of some sort.


The states of the west coast will, no doubt, become a socialist/Marxist nation more closely allied with Red China than with it’s former sister states.

Taking a closer look at the southern tier of states I can see them adopting the original US Constitution and making an effort to revive the original country, with the original government, as the founders of the US had intended (as they made clear so many times in the Federalist Papers).

So, there is the possibility what we now refer to, as the USA will become 4 or even 5 different countries. Which of the new nations will blossom and thrive? My money will be on the southern states… if they heed the mistakes of their forbearers and make every effort not to make those mistakes again.

The important thing is to be able to live peaceably with each other on this continent. That will be no mean task, for when the socialist states begin to fail; there will be a huge migration of their citizens to the southern states. That will create immense friction between the states.

This is not an easy thing to contemplate. It is, most assuredly, unpleasant to talk about. But each of us needs to evaluate our principles and determine our own paths into the future.

Obama told us plainly, during his campaign for president, that he intended to “fundamentally” change America. If he has not accomplished anything else, he has certainly accomplished that.

J. D. Longstreet

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.

(From September 2009)

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
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“I cannot accept, your canon that we are to judge pope and king unlike other men, with a favorable presumption that they do no wrong. If there is any presumption, it is the other way against holders of power ... Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”… Lord Acton

What will it take to convince Americans that the people we place in office ought to be of high moral character? I no longer think it is even possible. I no longer think Americans even care… as evidenced by the results of the presidential election, and numerous congressional elections, and even state and local elections around the country just last year.

We have become so accustomed to self serving, double-dealing, dishonest, greedy, callous, crafty, deceitful, duplicitous politicians that we now accept it as “normal”. What that says about Americans, as a people, is absolutely shameful. What it says about the future of America is terrifying!

I dare say ancient Rome was not as corrupt as America is today. We have managed to dumb down our populace, the voter base, the electorate, concerning what is expected of public servants, until we think nothing of electing to public office people of such low morals they ought not be allowed IN public, let alone serve in a public office. Nowadays, the use of the phrase “choosing the lesser of two evils,” when describing our choice of candidates, is in regular use… and we don’t even raise an eyebrow. Why? Because it is true!

James L. Buckley once said: ” What people fail to appreciate is that the currency of corruption in elective office is, not money, but votes.” He was spot on!

I am not surprised at the corruption of our politicians. How could I be? How could YOU be? It is we who elected them. It is we, the people of America, who bear the shame and the guilt for placing these people of low repute in offices that good men fought, bled, and died on foreign and domestic battlefields to secure for us. Do we not understand that we have disgraced our heritage? Do we not understand that we have brought shame upon our ancestors, upon our forefathers, upon The Founders of this nation, and… upon ourselves for not being good citizens and good stewards of this priceless jewel of a country?

Too long have we abrogated our singular duty to study the foundations of this country, the constitution of this country, the legal/judiciary system of this country, and, just as important, the government of this country, and… the way that government was intended to operate. We haven’t done any of this.

Our public education system has failed, utterly, in educating our young about their heritage as Americans. It has failed at instilling pride in our young as Americans. The angry cries of “nationalism” have drowned out “patriotism” until one is frowned upon for any public display of pride in America. There is something intrinsically wrong about that! In modern day America education has been devalued while ignorance is celebrated… even unto the voting booth! It is revolting!

Yes, I am angry. It is an anger born of frustration. I am frustrated with my fellow Americans who absolutely refused to see that substance does trump style every time. The percentage of the electorate who voted to place a man in office, primarily because of the color of his skin and, secondly, his eloquent way with words, have done America a huge disservice. The cost is going to be monumental, biblical, even.

One of the great men of the American Revolution, Samuel Adams, said this: “The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men.”

I would draw your attention to the last portion of the last sentence above: “… or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men.” THAT is precisely where we find ourselves in America today. And we have no one, no one, to blame… but ourselves.

Are you ready for the years, immediately ahead, with tailgating scandals and stories of corruption and graft and the peccadilloes of powerful men unable to restrain themselves when let lose on an ignorant populace? You’d better be - for I am mighty afraid that is exactly where we are heading. The political shenanigans in Washington, to which we have, unfortunately, become accustomed, are, I’m afraid, only the tip of a vastly underestimated iceberg of such conduct. America’s ship of state is sailing directly into that iceberg.

J. D. Longstreet

Unsolicited Advice to Israelis.

Unsolicited Advice to Israelis.

A Commentary by: J. D. Longstreet

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Israel, like all democratic countries, and formerly democratic countries (such as the United Socialist States of America), have liberals. They also have a coterie of not-so-bright members of elite academia, plus leftist members of the press corp. That is a given. It is a given with which we mightily disagree. But hey, some things we just have to swallow and move on as best we can. I make an effort to stay up with current news events in Israel on a daily basis. I'm from the old school where the scholars believe that Israel is the linchpin of humanity on this earth and by keeping a close eye on Israel one can see the future in the making.

It also gives me ulcers. Israel, you see, has a goodly number of left-wing journalists just as we do in the states. The Israeli leftists want the same thing the American leftists want. That is -- socialist domination of their country and the world.

One of the things that really disturbs me is the Israeli leftist's continual promotion of our President, Mr. Obama --- and their continual tearing down of their own Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Granted: I do the same thing here --- only I do it in reverse!)

If such things were possible, I would gladly swap our Mr. Obama for their Mr. Netanyahu, in a heartbeat, and never look back! As a matter of fact, I expect about 47%, or so, of the American electorate would be happy with that trade!

The left-leaning press in Israel continues to tell their readers how Obama is going to force Netanyahu to do thus and so. Ain't gonna happen! Oh, don’t misunderstand, now. Obama will try to tell Netanyahu what he will do and what he will not do, but it will go into one of Mr. Netanyahu's ears and out the other. See, Bibi has a mind of his own and he tends to think for himself. Sometimes it brings him grief, but, hey, he is his own man. Nobody owns him --- not even Obama.

Recently, Netanyahu went to Washington to speak with Obama. We were assured by the leftist press that Obama would read him the riot act and Netanyahu would relent and fall in line behind Obama’s Two-State Policy, which features a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Didn't happen!Us dumb ole conservative writers told you it would NOT happen weeks before the event. But, dear reader, you must understand that if a scribe, such as myself, has "conservative" by his or her name, it automatically means we are dumb inbred hicks from the backwoods of the American wilderness.

Why is that, do you suppose? You see, we frighten the leftists so much they live in constant fear of our penchant for being able to almost instantly form an opinion, take a stand, and then defend our stand in the face of all comers. Seldom do we wring our hands and worry for days on end about the nuance of the words we have just spoken or written. The left is in awe of our insight into world events, including current events here in our own country. We make them look so bad, they make every effort to keep us under wraps and to stifle us at every opportunity. They will censor news of events of a conservative nature, which they fear might have some effect upon the American electorate.

Allow me to give you just one example: "The Great American Tea Party,” held just last summer, all across America: Did you know the collective crowds were estimated at over one million Americans gathered at the many gathering points, from sea to shining sea, (as planned) to protest the continued raising of taxes on American citizens in order to redistribute the nation’s wealth, and the government's blatant ignoring of the Constitution. Did you see anything in the papers about it? Did you hear or see anything on the TV about it? When you DID manage to find a story the press had reluctantly produced about it, were you surprised to see the leftist slant to the reporting and hear the nearly inaudible snickering from the elitist newspersons covering the report?

You can bet that had the US Supreme Court been considering a case on Roe vs Wade and there had been just three persons carrying poster board signs, in support of Roe -v- Wade, outside the Supreme court building, you would not have been able to walk those sidewalks for the dozens of newspersons, cameras, microphones, microwave dishes, and mobile control rooms (in multicolored vans) parked everywhere forcing you to tip-toe through the cables strewn everywhere as if a 2-year- old had been playing with his spaghetti supper.

But, how dare I? Don’t I KNOW there is absolutely no left-leaning bias in the press? Well, DUH!

Now a note to our Israeli friends: You have finally got a Prime Minister who is ready, willing, and able to save the country so many of you have bled and died to preserve. Let him do his job!

Right now, at this point in history, Netanyahu's job is to save Israel from Iran. If that requires bombing Iran back to the Stone Age, then get behind Netanyahu and help him do it. It is the only way your country, Israel, will be saved. The socialists running America these days are far more concerned for the welfare of the Arabs and Muslims than they are for Israel.

You are, for all intents and purposes, on your own. It is going to be up to Bibi Netanyahu to stop Iran. He can do it, but, it seems to me, an admitted outsider, that you have a responsibility to help defend your nation -- and it also seems to me, you can best do that by supporting your Prime Minister's efforts at this particular time in history.

Forget Obama! In four years, eight years, tops, he will be gone from the political stage and we conservatives, with God's help, will have gotten our act together and will have earned an opportunity to salvage whatever is left of the once great America and re-establish her as a world power -- once again.

As you can plainly see, under Obama's guidance America is slipping from the pinnacle of power, with each passing day, and will continue to do so until the American people say “enough” and purge our political house of all the socialists in our government.

As I look at Washington today I am forced to admit that Joe McCarthy was right (only too early) with his charges of communists in the American government.

To our friends in Israel we say, don't allow your nation to be taken from you as we Americans did in 2008. America has transformed from a constitutional republic to a socialist state almost overnight.

On the surface, the promises socialism makes are beguiling --- especially to the ignorant among us -- and to those of lesser intelligence, as well as to the lazy and, shall we say --- non-motivated. It is also appealing to those who are ready, willing, and able to use their guile, in the service of greed and power, to wring anything and everything of value from those who willingly fall into step behind the leader of a socialist movement. That is what is happening, everyday, here in America these days.

As a loyal American, who has great feelings for the state of Israel, I plead with you to not take your direction from the Obama Administration. I strongly suggest that you, as a free people, insist that your government make it's own decisions based on what is right for Israel --- and Israel alone.

J. D. Longstreet

Obama’s Progressive Regime Attacks Local Radio

Obama’s Progressive Regime Attacks Local Radio
A Proposed Tax That Could Kill Local Radio, As We Know It.
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

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“For more than 80 years, radio and the recording industry have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship: free play for free promotion. And it works. It’s a relationship that has sustained businesses on both sides.

In fact, radio’s free promotion of artists translates to as much as $2.4 billion annually in music sales for record labels and artists. And this doesn’t even include the enormous revenues they receive from concerts and merchandising.

But the labels–like many businesses–are struggling in this economy. They have failed to adapt to the digital age, and find their business model is broken. And now they want to impose a fee called a performance tax on local radio stations to subsidize their losses.

A performance tax would threaten the local radio stations that communities depend on. It would financially hamstring stations, stifle new artists and harm the listening public who rely on free local radio.” … National Association of Broadcasters (You may read the entire story HERE.)

As a retired broadcaster with 30 years of experience in the business, I can tell you a “performance tax” would not just cripple many small market stations it would effectively put them out of business.

Broken down, what is meant by a “Performance Tax” is this: Each time a radio station plays a recording on the air, that station will be required to pay a fee (TAX!) to the recording label. (Some estimates say the amount in dollars would be 2 to 7 billion dollars a year! It should be noted that some estimates have the amount of free promotion for the record labels and recording artists, as a result of the radio stations playing their music, valued at 2.4 billion dollars a year!)

You can see, instantly, that many small market stations would, of necessity, stop playing music, of any kind, on the air. Thousands of stations across America would, almost overnight, become talk radio stations -- that is, if they chose to remain on the air. With the economy as it is, currently, in America, I think it is safe to say that many small market stations would simple “go dark”, go off the air, shut down, and send their licenses back to the FCC in Washington, DC. As it is, thousands of small market stations are holding on by the skin of their teeth. It won’t take much to persuade the owners to simple shut the station down and walk away.

Suppose Congress passes the Performance Tax. Where will all that money go, anyway? Well most of it will go “off-shore,” “overseas,” to a foreign country. It will not remain in America. Why? Well, there are four major record labels in America today. Three out of the four are foreign owned. The National Association of Broadcasters says: “The record labels would like for you to think this is all about compensating the artists, but in truth the record labels would get at least 50 percent of the proceeds from a tax on local radio.” (Read the entire story HERE. )

Here in America, there are some 235 million people who listen to radio every week. A performance tax would reduce, not just the amount of music you hear on you favorite radio station, it would reduce the number of stations. Among the hardest hit stations would be the minority-owned stations. Those station determined to remain on the air would, of a necessity, switch their formats from “music” to “talk.” They’d have to, or perish.

Now think about this: Local radio stations pump thousands of dollars a year, in public service, into their markets, even the small market stations. How do they do this? Simple. The National Association of Broadcasters reports: “Radio stations are major contributors to public service – generating $6 billion in public service annually, providing vital news and community information and free airtime to help local charities. If a tax were imposed, stations’ critical community service efforts could be reduced.”

There are well over 100,000 Americans employed in local radio stations in America. If the stations income is reduced they will be forced to reduce their work force. That means even more Americans out of work.

In the event you had not noticed, local radio is free to the listener. It was designed to be free to the listener. The rich and the poor BOTH receive cal radio at no cost. The broadcaster is required to perform a certain amount of public service to its coverage area and city of license free, as well. Records are kept and reports to the FCC are made, periodically, to ensure the broadcaster is fulfilling his duty to broadcast in the “public Interest.”

Your local broadcaster needs your help. There are currently two bills in congress that would slap a performance tax on your favorite station -- H.R.848, sponsored by Democratic Congressman John Conyers (MI-14) and S.379, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy (VT).

There have been resolutions against the Performance Tax introduced in both the Senate and the House in an attempt to assist your local radio station fight back. Both are known as “The Local Radio Freedom Act.” In the Senate, Sens. Blanche Lincoln (AR) and John Barrasso (WY) introduced S. Con. Res. 14, and in the House, Reps. Gene Green (TX-29) and Mike Conaway (TX-11) introduced H. Con. Res. 49.

Your members of Congress need to hear from you! Congress needs to hear you tell them to vote "No" on a Performance Tax for radio stations and to support the Local Radio Freedom Act.

J. D. Longstreet

Disclosing the Real Risks of Climate Change ... by Paul Driessen

Disclosing The Real Risks of Climate Change
SEC says companies must disclose risks due to climate change.

Seize the opportunity.
Paul Driessen
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We are not weighing in on the climate debate. We are not opining on whether the world’s climate is changing, at what pace or due to what causes, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Shapiro insisted on announcing the SEC’s new “interpretive guidance” on climate change.
The Commission’s two Republican members objected that the Obama Administration was using the Commission to promote its global warming and renewable energy agenda (along with the EPA, NASA, Defense and Interior Departments and others). It’s true, but irrelevant.

Environmentalists and “ethical investing” groups had pressured the Commission for years to require corporate disclosure on climate matters. Now, as the SEC steps in, the Copenhagen treaty negotiations have collapsed in disarray. Cap-and-trade has bogged down over senators’ fears of further damage to the economy and their reelection chances. The Environmental Protection Agency has decreed that plant-fertilizing carbon dioxide is a “dangerous pollutant,” because senators are increasingly reluctant to micromanage the economy, companies and families, but the regulations’ forward trajectory is uncertain.

Michael Mann’s “hockey stick” graph and the ClimateGate email scandals have metastasized into a tsunami of revelations that have besmirched the IPCC’s credibility and its role as dominant arbiter on matters of energy and climate. Manipulated and missing temperature data. Doctored computer models and disaster scenarios. Alarmist scientists rejecting any studies that dissent from climate catastrophe claims. Headline-grabbing disaster “studies” about melting glaciers and parched rainforests based on rank speculation or written by World Wildlife Fund activists. “Mann-made” climate change, indeed.

Investors certainly do have a “fundamental right to know” which companies are well positioned to address future crises and opportunities, and which are not – as we are frequently reminded by activist investor groups like Institutional Shareholder Services and CALPERS. However, these groups want to use the SEC decision to drive cap-and-trade laws and “endangerment” rulings forward, and drive hydrocarbon use into oblivion.

Many companies have been cowed into going along with this agenda. They seek to gain “a seat at the negotiating table,” curry favorable PR through “greenwashing” and “green-nosing,” protect themselves against lawsuits over CO2 emissions and global warming, or profit from renewable energy mandates, subsidies and stimulus grants.

But the “right to know” extends far beyond the activists’ narrow agenda. Indeed the lesson may be that this SEC guidance offers a tremendous opportunity for any company or investor wise enough to seize it. For the new guidance does not say companies must disclose only alleged risks from climate change.

It says they should also address impacts from legislation, regulation, international accords and their effects on business trends. This creates valuable opportunities for educating investors, customers, employees and voters about climate change issues.

Some 2,400 lobbyists are working on energy and climate issues in Washington. General Electric alone spent $7.6 million lobbying in the second quarter 2009, to secure stimulus, climate change and renewable energy dollars from US taxpayers. GE hopes to garner up to $192 billion over the next several years from projects funded by governments worldwide, including renewables and electricity grid modernization.

Wind turbine and solar panel sales are high on GE’s list, and will play a growing role. However, their electricity is 3-5 times more expensive than coal-based power, which translates into big taxpayer subsidies and more factory layoffs. Moreover, generating just 20% of US electricity with wind power would require some 186,000 turbines, 19,000 miles of new transmission lines, 18,000,000 acres of land (half of Illinois), and 270,000,000 tons of concrete, steel, copper, fiberglass and rare earth minerals (the equivalent of 180,000,000 Toyota Priuses). Even worse, a West Texas wind farm now under construction created 2,800 jobs – but 2,400 of them are in China. Solar power cost-benefit issues are similar.

Insurance companies and reinsurers may want to “disclose” alleged 20-foot higher sea levels and more violent hurricanes conjured up by computer models. These Gore and IPCC scare stories can translate into “increased risk,” higher premiums and additional profits. New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand says carbon permits could be a “boon” for the Big Apple’s financial sector, creating a commodities market of “as much as $3 trillion by 2020.”

Other members of the climate-industrial-government-activist-scientist complex likewise have a big stake in global warming disasters and massive government spending to “prevent a cataclysm” and terminate our “perilous dependence on fossil fuels.” Exelon, Duke Energy, Penn State (Mike Mann again), NASA and other institutions all see huge potential returns on “investments” in climate alarmism and lobbying.

But 38 states depend on coal for 35-98% of their electricity and a sizable portion of their jobs and tax revenues. While others get rich, they will pay dearly. While a few members left the US Chamber, because it opposes cap-and-trade legislation, most recognize the risks in laws and regs that will send energy costs skyrocketing, ship millions of jobs overseas, and shackle living standards and civil rights across America.

Carbon emissions trading on the Chicago Climate Exchange began at $1 per metric ton in January 2004. Prices then fluctuated wildly, reaching a $7 peak value in May 2008, before crashing to $0.10 in October 2009. Speculators who entered the carbon market on 5/30/08 lost 98.6% of their investment.

Imagine how they might have fared if SEC rules had compelled utility companies, the Chicago Climate Exchange, and Al Gore’s Generation Investment Management firm to truthfully disclose what was going on in the IPCC, Climate Research Unit and NASA. Imagine the roller coaster ride that GE, Exelon and Munich RE investors could take, as more sordid details come out of the IPCC, concerns soar about US deficits and credit ratings, and taxpayer anger rises over climate fraud, subsidies, and sweetheart deals that corporate lobbyists have negotiated with Congress and the Administration.

(Pfizer and Big Pharma’s recent experience with Congress over national healthcare should serve as a cautionary tale. See Kimberly Strassel, “Pfizer’s bad political bet,” Wall Street Journal, February 5, 2009.)

Investors have a right to know all these complex facts. That’s where the SEC guidance offers vital opportunities for intelligent investors and socially responsible companies. They should carefully consider how to comply with the Commission’s ruling in the areas it has identified.
Physical impacts of climate change: Are the impacts real, or generated by computers and activists? What is the current state of climate science and its integrity, transparency and accountability?

Impacts of legislation, regulation and international accords: Are projected future profits based on current and reliable vote counts and realistic assessments that a binding climate treaty will be agreed to? As Climategate unfolds and 2010 elections approach, will wind turbine makers and carbon traders benefit – or will it be hydrocarbon-based industries like chemicals, manufacturing, airlines and tourism?

Indirect impacts on business trends: Are profit projections based on melting glaciers and other Climategate fraud, greenwashing, backroom lobbyist deals, or wishful carbon trading? How will new laws affect demand for goods in industries that have recently been extolled – or vilified? How will they affect consumers?

It has become increasingly clear that the real risks to businesses, investors, employees, and low-income, minority and elderly families are not from climate change. They are the result of policies enacted in the name of preventing climate change. The SEC guidance can help identify risks and opportunities – and advise people about them in a timely, accurate, responsible manner. Socially responsible companies will seize the opportunity.

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Paul Driessen is senior policy advisor for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (http://www.cfact.org/) and its “All Pain-No Gain” climate change education project.