In a July 21 op-ed, The Washington Times attacked energy standards that will increase the efficiency standards of light bulbs. The op-ed claimed that "[l]iberals want to take away your light bulbs" and claimed a “bulb ban” will “force everyone to switch to fluorescent lighting.” The op-ed also claimed that suggesting there is no light bulb ban is an Orwellian “linguistic trick ... called 'newspeak.' ” This graphic accompanied the op-ed:

In fact, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, signed into law by President George W. Bush, does not ban incandescent light bulbs -- only inefficient ones.

From the op-ed:

Liberals want to take away your light bulbs, pickup trucks and family sedans, but they aren't honest enough to admit it. On the House floor last week, Democrats insisted regulations prohibiting the sale of cheap sources of illumination beginning in January are about increasing consumer choice. Likewise, the Obama administration's forthcoming 56-mile-per-gallon fuel-efficiency mandate for automakers is supposedly a boon for consumers.

“I continue to hear my colleagues promote the fantasy that government has banned the incandescent light bulb,” said Rep. Jason Altmire, Pennsylvania Democrat. “They think if they say it over and over again that it will be true. But it's not true.” Proponents of the bulb ban also claim misleading efficiency increases. There's a good reason to be skeptical; legislative acts don't create engineering breakthroughs. The sole purpose of the law signed by President George W. Bush was to eliminate the sale of 25-cent light bulbs because the greens want to force everyone to switch to fluorescent lighting.

It is true that - for now - our regulatory masters will allow the purchase of a 72-watt halogen bulb at a stiff price premium. While it is a form of incandescent, it is no substitute for Edison's invention because it cannot, under the rules, match the output of the prohibited 120-watt and 150-watt bulbs often used to brighten large rooms. Moreover, halogens are certain to be banned in the next round of rulemaking to ensure politically correct curlicue bulbs are the only realistic choice remaining.

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George Orwell warned of such linguistic tricks, which he called “newspeak.” He saw socialists abusing language to change the public's thought patterns. Such is the case when pulling cheap light bulbs off the shelf isn't a ban and prohibiting the sale of large pickup trucks becomes a choice. As debt-ceiling negotiations proceed and members of Congress look for places to cut spending, they ought to zero out the “standards” divisions at the Energy Department and Environmental Protection Agency.