My Word for July 20, 2001

I'm going off Chandra for today, just because things have gotten so ugly in Europe for the arrival of Pres. Bush at the G-8 summit.

What are these protestors protesting?

Globalization — the world wide phenomena of poor countries getting in on the first world economic action.

The protestors see it as the imposition of big country, big economy values on small country, small economy nations. They see it as bad, and evidently they're willing to die over it.

But that's just half the story. The protestors don't like Pres. Bush because he had the cojones to say the Kyoto accords are bogus, and the U.S. isn't going to abide by them.

Kyoto, of course, is the treaty that says big countries like the U.S. will restrict greenhouse gas emissions for the good of the planet, even if it means bad things for that country's economy.

So Bush says forget it, as he should. And when he shows up in Europe, riots break out.

What are they so angry about? No European nation other than Romania had ratified Kyoto. Privately, European leaders are horrified they might have to live by the thing because the Kyoto accords would so stringently restrict greenhouse gasses that worldwide economies would be in the tank.

It was bush who saw how flawed this treaty was. He said China and India should not be exempt from restrictions because they are developing nations.

He no sooner said that than China came along and proved him right by bragging that it had unilaterally reduced its greenhouse gas emissions. So if China can do it, why should China be exempt from the rules that apply to the U.S. and Europe?

But Europe is green through and through, as you can see by today's riots.

Europe is stamping its little feet in a greenhouse gas hissy fit, trying to show Bush he should bow to bad rules cooked up by European greenies.

I have great confidence that Bush will not be swayed.

Bush ought to stand tall in his Texas boots, and tell the rioters and the green Europeans that he is doing them a good turn.

If the U.S. economy goes in the tank, so does theirs. By rejecting Kyoto, he is doing Europe a favor it doesn't have sense enough to do for itself.

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