This page was last updated on February 21, 2012.
Protections lost; Bob Schmetzer; Beaver County Times; February 19, 2012.
I critiqued 14 previous Schmetzer letters and they are usually broken records. A 2004 letter asserted Republicans were “driving Americans into the ground.” That letter claimed the GOP planned “to reflect their commitment to defend our homeland by reintroducing the draft in 2005” despite the fact Democrats were the only guys talking about reinstating the draft. Other letters resurrected the Cheney/Halliburton talking point, lobbied for VP Cheney’s impeachment, lobbied for surrender in Iraq, and blamed President Bush for a mine cave-in. Breaking the trend were letters lobbying for a government-run, taxpayer-funded healthcare system and another expressing panic at offshoring. One letter was nearly word-for-word plagiarism. More recent letters were entitled “Act on drilling before it’s too late,” “Health plan would level playing field,” “The time to protect our water is now,” and “There are two sides to the drilling story.” In one letter, Mr. Schmetzer tried to refute a letter to the editor I wrote. Mr. Schmetzer’s last letter was entitled “Audit of Fed overdue.”
The BC Democrats website used to list Robert Schmetzer as the local town chair for South Heights, but that page no longer exists as of this writing. Mr. Schmetzer is also “vice-president of PA 4th CD Chapter of Progressive Democrats of America.” The PDA-PA4 website is Beaver County Reds. Why doesn’t the BCT mention these associations in an editor’s note when it publishes Mr. Schmetzer’s letters?
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“Pennsylvanians are awakening to the fact their local zoning laws no longer protect them.”
[RWC] My experience is letters like this tend to be red herrings and are really about the religion of manmade global warming. Knowing the manmade global warming myth is increasingly falling on deaf ears, followers of this faith now try to use safety, water quality, etc. as backdoors to stop drilling and production of Marcellus natural gas. This is at least the fourth letter from Mr. Schmetzer on this topic since August 2010. Previous letters are here, here, and here. In addition, at least three other letters (here, here, and here) were written by Mr. Schmetzer’s fellow members of Beaver County Reds.
“The Pennsylvania House and Senate voted to override a Supreme Court ruling and the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning code: HB 1950 & SB1100 eliminates [sic] local control of zoning in favor of the oil & gas industry.”
[RWC] I advise you to read the bills yourself rather than accept Mr. Schmetzer’s representation of their content and effect.
If you believe Mr. Schmetzer is really concerned about “local control,” I have a bridge to sell you. Leftist policies and programs result in big government and one aspect of big government is to centralize control as far up the chain as lefties can get it. That’s because decentralized government fosters competition between jurisdictions and lefties present competition as “a race to the bottom.” Given his underlying agenda, if these bills prohibited Marcellus natural gas production in Pennsylvania, I would be shocked if Mr. Schmetzer complained about that lack of “local control.”
Here’s a local lefty’s “split personality” regarding local control. You will find State Rep. Jesse White (D-46) flip-flops on the issue of local control. In one spot, Mr. White asserts the “bill would effectively eliminate the right of local municipalities to pass reasonable ordinances dealing with natural gas operations.” Later, however, Mr. White complains local control over enacting the impact fee “creates a totally unnecessary level of government bureaucracy.”
“For those individuals who bought or built their homes in a residential zone and believed the area was protected from industrial use such as drilling, you have lost those protections. You will wake up some morning with a drilling rig or compressor station next to your home. Your peace, health, and property values will diminish.
“Its [sic] unbelievable that our state representatives and senators would do this to us. We still have to obey the zoning ordinance, but the oil and gas industry does not.
“Elections are coming, and I know what I am going to do. I hope you have the same thoughts.”
[RWC] Yes, Mr. Schmetzer will no longer check the box for “straight Republican ticket” on his ballot. <g>
© 2004-2012 Robert W. Cox, all rights reserved.