Stupidest piece of legislation considered all year

[Storebought]

The House on Monday sent to President Bush a bill sponsored by Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama that would eventually ban the export of elemental mercury.

From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The United States is one of the world's biggest exporters of mercury, a neurotoxin that is harmful to humans, especially pregnant women, newborns and children. In the 2000-2004 period the United States exported 506 more metric tons than it imported and the legislation notes that the export ban would have a notable affect on the market availability of elemental mercury.

"I applaud Congress' overwhelming bipartisan passage of this important bill, which will protect millions of the world's vulnerable citizens, particularly pregnant women and children, from the deadly threat of mercury poisoning," Obama said in a statement.

Elemental mercury can be found in thermometers, barometers, dental amalgams and batteries. The main source of pollution comes from mercury exported for use in foreign mining operations and other industrial processes.

So now Nancy Pelosi's Congress has decided to ban the eightieth element of the periodic table? 

Neglecting the sheer scientific ignorance that could conceive this (Hg is poisonous when complexed to organic compounds or is inhaled as a vapor -- the elemental metal is harmless), what they intend to do is

(1) shut down the mines in the US that extract the stuff from other metals and sell it for profit on the international market, because the US doesn't really need the trade

(2) raise the prices on the myriad health and technological products that use mercury to function, as if commodity price inflation hasn't already wrought havoc with goods that make use of the other base metals

(3) completely ignore the true cause of mercury poisoning, namely, the primitive technology and utter lack of regard for worker safety and environmental standards in the Third World industries. Obama and the rest of his band of morons would prefer to shutter American industry, and declare war against a natural element, than tell China and India to improve their own primitive industrial standards.

[Storebought]

I like how you place all the blame on Obama and Pelosi when the Republicans voted in favor of it 170-5 as well.

But just looking at the list of those who opposed makes me want to support it:

Broun
Flake
Paul
Sali
Westmoreland

If you asked me to make a list of the members whose policy judgments I trusted least, there you have it.

I'm disappointed Roscoe Bartlett of MD isn't on that list.

The principle still stands: This is just ignorance parading as concern for public health. Simply demand that the Chinese improve their own abysmal factory standards.