There’s an article on the front page of the Wall Street Journal this morning about how effective lobbying has exempted manufacturers of toxic chemicals from homeland security regulations. You can’t get it online without subscribing, but it’s well worth picking up a dead tree edition to read. Key quote:
“Liberals wanted to use the tragedy of Sept. 11 as an excuse to regulate more,” says Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe, the lead Republican legislator on chemical security.
Translated: free market ideology trumps everything, including your safety from terrorist attack. We can go invade entire countries on the off chance they might have some connection to terrorism, but god forbid we should regulate chemical plants which, if attacked, could lead to a disaster that would make Bhopal look like a pleasant afternoon in the park.
(Bonus rant: The Journal really is one of the best newspapers out there. The investors at whom it is largely aimed may enjoy wanking to the ravings of its editorial page, but when it comes to making business decisions, they need actual, straightforward information, not ideological fantasy. The NY Times is too often hobbled by its biases — not the “liberal bias” so many simpletons perceive it to have, but the class and status quo biases which too frequently inform its stories.)