One of the most amazing things about the human body is its ability to condition to adversity and emerge faster and stronger. If you want to run 26.2 miles, begin by running 50 yards, increase the distance each week and over time you will cross the finish line of the marathon; something less than one percent of Americans have ever done. This adaptation to stress is truly an amazing phenomenon and it absolutely, positively doesn’t exist anywhere in politics. Politicians are not normal people. When repeatedly stressed, they have no conditioning response and repeatedly do the wrong thing. This catastrophic cycle is dynamically unstable and each legislative oscillation is worse than the one previous. The only solution is to quit electing politicians to public office! Here are a couple examples.

I am reaching across the aisle here, saying we can all agree California is broke. (Gosh, that makes me feel so warm and bipartisan.) Recent budget numbers put the Golden State $20 billion in the red. (How’s that for an ironic state nickname.) So what is the response of the politicians whose ridiculous regulations bankrupted the state in the first place? Save the planet by passing more regulations; ban the plastic shopping bag.

Governor Schwarzenegger was a strong supporter of the bag ban when it passed the California Assembly in June and he fervently argued for its passage. Fortunately, on September 1st, by a vote of 14 to 21, the Senate tossed the plastic shopping bag ban bill in the legislative plastic trash bag.

To prove politicians are equally dangerous in city as well as state government, on August 13th, 2010, the San Francisco City Council considered banning McDonald’s Happy Meal. Proponents for the ban argue the plastic toy included in the meal leads to childhood obesity because it is just too appealing to young consumers. Apparently is better for the children if we direct their attention away from Happy Meals to healthier things like a hit on a medical marijuana bong. (This is San Francisco were discussing.)

California isn’t the only state in the “Are you kidding me?” department. Montana’s own Senator Jon Tester burdened our Treasure State with SB 415 way back in 2005. This is an outrageously expensive, feel-good-but-do-nothing, green energy bill. It requires Montana consumers to purchase 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2015, regardless the cost. Are you kidding me? This is a tax folks, and you will pay it every month for the rest of your life. Wait, it gets worse.

I see the legislative hopper in the basement of Montana’s capitol is filling in anticipation of the 2011 session. Brewing in the mix is Senator Kim Gillan’s (D-Billings) LC0072 titled “Increase renewable energy standard.” I’ll bet you the finished bill will demand a California style 33 percent renewable by 2020 mandate. This is insane.

Here’s a thought: Since scientists have reached a consensus that man-caused global warming is a fraud, and because Montana is sitting on some of the largest coal reserves in the world, let’s repeal Senator Tester’s SB 415 renewable energy mandate. Let Montanans purchase whatever color cheap electricity they want. Vote freedom for a change!