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Piece of Mind: Gohmert Goes Goofy

The Hill
Louie Gohmert asks if BLM and Forest Service can alter Earth's space trajectory.

This question deserves to be asked: Is Louie Gohmert really as stupid as he sounds?

The Republican congressman from Tyler actually wondered aloud during a House committee hearing whether the U.S. Bureau of Land Management or the U.S. Forest Service could — get ready for it — change the moon’s orbit around Earth or Earth’s orbit around the sun. 

I am left initially to mutter: Holy sh**!

To be clear, Gohmert represents a portion of the GOP that I call the Loony Bin Wing. I also must stipulate that Louie the Goober is a graduate of Texas A&M University and from the law school at Baylor University. That’s right. The wacko has a law degree!

The Hill reports:

Gohmert was speaking with Jennifer Eberlien, associate deputy chief of the National Forest System, during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing.

“I understand from what’s been testified to the Forest Service and the BLM [Bureau of Land Management], you want very much to work on the issue of climate change,” Gohmert said to Eberlien, adding that a past director of NASA had once told him that orbits of the moon and the Earth were changing.

“Is there anything that the National Forest Service, or BLM can do to change the course of the moon’s orbit or the Earth’s orbit around the sun?” Gohmert asked Eberlien. “Obviously they would have profound effects on our climate.”

Gohmert asks if federal agencies can change Earth’s or moon’s orbits to fight climate change | TheHill

So help me I do not know what to think of this. Gohmert cannot possibly contend he was joking, or that his question was taken out of context, or that the media are making hay out of a “fake news” event.

My goodness, this man represents a portion of the state where I live. Indeed, he represents a part of the state that reads this blog on this platform.

I am reminded of something my father used to tell me when I complained about the weather. Dad would say, “Go talk to God.”

Hey, Rep. Gohmert, you need to ask the Almighty about doing something that is, shall we say, way above the BLM or USFS paygrade.

John Kanelis, former editorial page editor for the Amarillo Globe-News and the Beaumont Enterprise, is also a former blogger for Panhandle PBS in Amarillo. He is now retired, but still writing. Kanelis can be contacted via Twitter @jkanelis, on Facebook, or his blog, www.highplainsblogger.com.Kanelis' blog for KETR, "Piece of Mind," presents his views, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of KETR, its staff, or its members.

Kanelis lives in Princeton with his wife, Kathy.

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