As happens from time to time, I saw a couple of vehicles at the recycling center next to the Bearden Kroger yesterday with Republican bumperstickers: one for Corker for Senate and a Bush/Cheney '04.

I just had to think: Why would they bother? If they support politicians who don't believe that public policy has anything to do with basic science; who don't believe that human beings affect the environment through pollution and overbuilding; who believe that it's God's will that humans use up the planet at their will; and that it's OK to blow up countless numbers of human beings and destroy vast ecosystems through wars of choice--then why bother separating their paper and plastic and hauling it down to the recycling bins?

I know that Richard Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency, but the current crop of Republican office holders make Nixon look like Ralph Nader. And of course the Democrats are no great shakes either. But if you actively support the party that unapologetically supports destroying the environment at an ever-increasing pace, then why bother with recycling?