Tea time....
Back in 2003 I made this observation about the obstacles Orville and Wilbur Wright would have faced if they tried to invent the airplane in today's world:
As we prepare to celebrate the 100th anniversary of powered flight this year, I think we can all be thankful that one of Indiana’s favorite sons, Mr. Wilbur Wright, lived in the era that he did. Can you imagine the hurdles that he and brother Orville would have to face today if they decided to invent the airplane?
It would take years for the EPA to complete it’s study on the effects of powered flight on the migratory habits of Monarch butterflies and Canadian Geese, and it’s a safe bet the Department of Homeland Security and the DEA would have some questions concerning the intended uses of such a machine.
Building an airplane in a shop that had only been approved for work on bicycles would surely throw OSHA inspectors into a tizzy, and the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission would no doubt take a dim view of the fact that the boys built the plane while Catherine stayed home.
And, if by some miracle the Wrights did manage to receive FAA approval to launch a flying machine constructed of wood and cloth, we can rest assured they would still be circling and holding while the commissioners and their neighbors debated on whether a landing strip violated proper land use and zoning requirements.
Timing is everything.
Timing appears to be a factor again. A plan by a Cedar Rapids group to protest a proposed tax increase by dumping tea into the river has been thwarted by a government regulation that, believe it or not, prevents tea from being dumped into a river.
Luckily, the regulation wasn't in effect in Boston in 1773.
Perhaps just as luckily, in 1773 Samuel Adams still had a pair.
As we prepare to celebrate the 100th anniversary of powered flight this year, I think we can all be thankful that one of Indiana’s favorite sons, Mr. Wilbur Wright, lived in the era that he did. Can you imagine the hurdles that he and brother Orville would have to face today if they decided to invent the airplane?
It would take years for the EPA to complete it’s study on the effects of powered flight on the migratory habits of Monarch butterflies and Canadian Geese, and it’s a safe bet the Department of Homeland Security and the DEA would have some questions concerning the intended uses of such a machine.
Building an airplane in a shop that had only been approved for work on bicycles would surely throw OSHA inspectors into a tizzy, and the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission would no doubt take a dim view of the fact that the boys built the plane while Catherine stayed home.
And, if by some miracle the Wrights did manage to receive FAA approval to launch a flying machine constructed of wood and cloth, we can rest assured they would still be circling and holding while the commissioners and their neighbors debated on whether a landing strip violated proper land use and zoning requirements.
Timing is everything.
Timing appears to be a factor again. A plan by a Cedar Rapids group to protest a proposed tax increase by dumping tea into the river has been thwarted by a government regulation that, believe it or not, prevents tea from being dumped into a river.
Luckily, the regulation wasn't in effect in Boston in 1773.
Perhaps just as luckily, in 1773 Samuel Adams still had a pair.
Labels: Boston Tea Party, Wilbur Wright
posted by Rex Bell at 2:06 PM
1 Comments:
Gee one wonders if the original tea partiers asked King George for his permission. These *politically correct* "protesters" are a disgrace to the people that they purportedly emulate.
As the *public servants* continue to ask their bosses (us taxpayers) for a larger slice of our *income* we ought to be telling them to downsize (cut taxes) or we will outsource their jobs!
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