John Block Reports from Washington

Hello everybody out there in farm country. We have fringe groups in this country, also in Europe, that just simply are against any kind of economic growth or any kind of technological development. Among other reasons, this country is the greatest nation in the world by far because we have led the world with innovation and a willingness to solve problems.

Do we really believe we can maintain our global leadership if we continue to duck all the tough issues?

The Greenpeace nuts of the world wring their hands and worry if we will have enough food to feed the world . Yet, they oppose genetic engineering which is pushing up yields by a wide margin wherever used. The tree hugger crowd are afraid we'll destroy the environment. Yet, they fight wind energy because the windmills might once in a great while kill a bird. Those are the dumb birds anyway. The Al Gore, Global Warming alarmists are against drilling for oil in Alaska and off our coast. It is going to take awhile to develop all of these new sources of energy. In the meantime, we need oil. We are sending our money to our adversaries in the Middle East and Venezuela and even Russia, which makes them stronger. How dumb is that!

On another front, liberals oppose trade. They argue that it costs jobs. We should not be outsourcing our work. I would remind that our national unemployment rate has been running at 4-5%. Here in Northern Virginia and tbe D.C. area, the rate is about 3%. Anyone that really wants a job can find work. Liberals cry about the fate of the poor of the world, but don't want to trade with them, or allow them to use genetic engineered seeds to increase food production.

We have a long list of challenges on our plate that we don't seem to have the political will to deal with. Let's not forget immigration, social security, and Medicare running out of money. Subjects for another day.

We can't let the liberal fringe set the agenda. They are against everything.

Until next week, I am John Block from Washington.