“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me.… Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful—that’s what matters to me.”

R.I.P Steve Jobs. He was the patron saint of entrepreneurs. Newton once reflected that if his vision extended farther than others’ it was because he stood upon the shoulders of giants. One of the giants has left this iWorld a much more interesting place.

Others will write volumes on this incredible man’s achievements.  I do not possess the eloquence to encapsulate so amazing a life nor his impact on the way we live today and will in the future.  All I can say from a personal standpoint is that Steve Jobs, through Apple and Pixar, represented to me what possibilities exist in this great country when brilliance, vision, chutzpah and a whole lot of confidence in one’s own assessment of what the public desires combine into one formidable force.  (Oh, and as the Occupy Wall Street mob might want to remember as they tweet on their Apple, Inc. iPhones and iBooks, Jobs’ start-up also demonstrates how vital unfettered investment capital from the private sector is to finance said vision—in this case, $250,000 in1977 dollars from Mike Markkula, whom I imagine today would be classified by these same protestors as an “evil millionaire”.)

As the days pass the pantheon of memories of Mr. Jobs’ legacy will also include, rightfully, some failures as well as his many undeniable successes.  Eli Lehrer at the Heartland Institute points out a few: The Apple III was bug-infested.  The Lisa was prohibitively expensive.  The Apple G4 Cube sold poorly and he never made a mark in the applications software arena.

Still, as any creative person knows, and certainly those in business will tell you,  the road to ultimate success is often paved by initial failures, so long as they are viewed for what they are: a treasure trove of valuable lessons.

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Steve Jobs personified capitalism and free markets in as pure and beautiful a way as the world has seen in the modern generation of industrial giants. His pursuit of excellence — his passion to make Apple the best and most profitable company it could be — enriched the lives of untold millions.

Jobs set a new standard for how a personal computer should work — i.e., it should be as easy to use as nearly any other home appliance. The industry was forced to follow Jobs’ lead. His leadership in developing the iPhone completely changed the game — forcing competitors to quickly evolve beyond a device that flipped open to one that brought the entire digital world to one’s fingertips. Jobs not only put the word ‘apps’ into our shared lexicon, but — against betting odds — made app-interface the present and future of digital media consumption.

And, under Jobs’ leadership, Apple developed the iPad — the industry standard for the modern tablet. Not long ago, people sneered and snickered at the name, iPad — and boldly predicted the failure of Apple’s big gamble. What fool would dare to try to establish a middle ground between a smart phone and laptop when none yet existed? Steve Jobs dared. He created a new market, out of thin air, and welcomed tens of millions of happy customers to Apple for his efforts.

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The enviros have succeeded in destroying both the environment and jobs with their radical legislative successes. First, it was their complete stranglehold on our nation’s energy policy: no new nuclear plants, a complete ban on exploring for natural gas domestically or for drilling for oil near our coasts. This forced us into the more hazardous and more expensive deep water drilling. This time they’ve succeeded with the outlawing of the lowly light bulb. The incandescent light bulb, the one Thomas Alva Edison invented in 1879, will be put to death in the US due to federal energy regulations. A law passed quietly in 2007 will be phased in next year with the final sales of incandescents occurring in 2014. Don’t blame Obama, this was done under George W. Bush’s watch.

death of the American light bulb

The liberals, who always cry for “choice”, don’t want to give the American consumer choice in choosing light bulbs. They’re apparently only pro-choice with baby killing. Otherwise, they will tell you just how to live your life, thank you. The banning of the incandescent light bulb meant that General Electric, the largest maker of light bulbs, had to close all their plants in the US. The last factory closed in Winchester, VA. in September of last year.  The jobs are now all in China. They’re the largest makers of the compact fluorescent bulbs, CFLs.  They’re not made here, in part, because they’re too hazardous.

Ironically, the CFL’s contain mercury, a highly toxic substance. A broken bulb can create an environmental nightmare and according to Scientific American at least one case of mercury poisoning has been linked to these bulbs.

Toxic cleanup crews may be necessary to contain a broken light bulb. I guess this is what the enviros mean by creating more “green jobs”. Cleaning up the mess that they’ve foisted on the American people through advocacy of their radical legislation. First, we ban imports of lead in Chinese toys and now this: forcing Americans to buy toxic light bulbs from the Chinese at the expenses of American jobs and consumer safety? What kind of insanity is this?

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Today, by some people’s estimation, is Earth Day. Riley thinks we should celebrate Human Ingenuity Day instead. We tend to agree. Turn on a light, power up an electronic device or otherwise support the brilliance of human invention.

In September, the European Union banned the sale of 100-watt incandescent light bulbs, with lawbreakers facing up to $70,000 in fines. Over the next few years, bans on lower-wattage bulbs kick in. In the United States, similar legislation comes into play in 2012. The idea is to kickstart the market for compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), which use less energy than conventional incandescents. Although CFLs present any number of problems (even beyond a much higher initial cost), governments all over the globe are determined to make them the new standard.

Invented in its modern form by Thomas Edison in 1879, the light bulb became synonymous with a brilliant idea. Now, it seems, it’s just one more symbol of a nanny state that increasingly dictates more choices in our public and private lives.

“Light bulbs vs. The Nanny State” is produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie. Approximately two minutes.