What is his solution to the “problem” of global warming?

We need to alter the playing field with tax and fiscal polices… Developed countries have made this step with air and water pollution by enacting outright regulations and installing a cap and trade system.

Uh huh. So the new Energy Secretary has no plans on how to create new energy in the United States? Just more regulation and taxes on energy that we already have?

More:

Mr. Chu has called for gradually ramping up gasoline taxes over 15 years to coax consumers into buying more-efficient cars and living in neighborhoods closer to work. “Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe,” Mr. Chu, who directs the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal in September.

The new Energy Secretary is not interested in energy independence. In the strictest sense of the word, he is looking to foster a new energy dependence– not a dependence on foreign suppliers, like in the past. No, Chu’s new energy plan is to socially-engineer the American people towards a further dependence on the government. The state will decide what kind of cars we drive and how close we live together.

The media is taking much enjoyment in pointing out that Obama disagrees with Chu on gas taxes. Its true. In the past, Obama has opposed a raise in the gas tax, but it is likely that his reasons were rooted in political pragmatism (remember gas prices in the summer?). But now that he’s got the top job, Obama can appoint ideologues like Chu to high-level positions in his cabinet and let them make all of the hard decisions for him.

In addition to wanting to dictate to oil companies what they should charge for their products, Mr. Chu has referred to coal powered energy as his “worst nightmare,” and has said that even clean-coal technologies will not be enough. “It’s not guaranteed we have a solution for coal,” he said.

Take a look at this graph of where our electricity came from in 2007. As you can see, coal power makes up about half of all of it. That’s a good thing; and Steven Chu wants a “solution” for it.

In summary:

Today, I am announcing a few key parts of my plan. First, we will launch a massive effort to make public buildings more energy-efficient. Our government now pays the highest energy bill in the world. We need to change that. We need to upgrade our federal buildings by replacing old heating systems and installing efficient light bulbs. That wont just save you, the American taxpayer, billions of dollars each year. It will put people back to work.

Finally! Obama gets specific about where he’ll be cutting the government budget: cheaper light bulbs! And new light bulbs means Obama will need to hire an army of light blub changers, which will be made up of the hordes of newly-unemployed investment bankers, stock brokers and their former secretaries. They should start a Union.

What else does Obama have planned?

Second, we will create millions of jobs by making the single largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s. We’ll invest your precious tax dollars in new and smarter ways.

The most upsetting part about this plan is that Obama truly believes that it will work. It can’t. It won’t.

Its really very simple: government make-work programs such as these do not create jobs, they move them around. Think about it. Where will the money that will pay the government-laborers come from? The top 5% of income-earners, of course; the people who do most employing in the private-sector. By taking money away from them to pay the “millions” of new government employees, they will have less money to pay those who they currently employ. As a direct result of this plan, more people will lose jobs, and then go work for new, bigger government programs. This vicious cycle will continue until we’re all working shoulder to shoulder in the rice fields.

Perfect equality, right?

In a series of hang-up and follow-up calls that appears to have taken up much of the afternoon, Ros-Lehtinen first received a call on her cell phone, from a Chicago phone number, and was informed by the caller that Obama wished to speak with her. When a man sounding like Obama got on the line, Ros-Lehtinen cut him off, saying, “I’m sorry, but I think this is a joke from one of the South Florida radio stations known for these pranks.” She then hung up, according to a statement issued by her office.

A little while later, Chief of Staff-designate Rahm Emanuel called the congresswoman back.

“Ileana, I cannot believe that you hung up on the president-elect,” Emanuel said, according to the congresswoman’s office.

Her response?

“Ros-Lehtinen told Rahm that she didn’t believe the call was legitimate and hung up on Emanuel,” her statement said.

The quote to keep from this definitely comes from Rahm:

“I cannot believe that you hung up on the president-elect.”

What is the deal with these people? Seems that whenever I read something from the Obama trasition team, the words “president-elect” fly out of their mouths at least two or three times every minute. I want to grab these people by the shoulders and shake them. “President-elect” is not even an official title, its just something the media made up; its nowhere in the constitution. There is no such thing as an “Office of the President-Elect.” Be patient, you’ll get there soon enough.

…Anyway, just wait until Keith Olbermann gets his grubby little fingers on this story. I can hear it now: “This idiot Republican didn’t even know that Obama won the election!”

All in all, Ros-Lehtinen shouldn’t feel too bad; if it had been me, I would’ve hung up on them intentionally.