Thursday, April 22, 2004
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Killing us Softly with Coal - Wake Up MN
Apparently Gimpy prefers his air . . . clean. Here's his take on coal burning in Minnesota:It seems to me there is a BIG push almost exclusively in political circles (and outside of public forums) for coal-fueled power plants IN Minnesota. They are supposed to be higher-tech, cleaner-burning, yada yada, except they are not solving the emissions problem, only the visible emissions problem (meaning the greenhouse gases, those ozone and human killing emissions remain and being less visible means we don't see the problem until it kills us).
Okay, so that is what comes out the ass-end of coal power...now here is a report that shows us the vomit that comes out the other end--
So, in addition to continuing existing strip mining, and opening mining in more and more pristine nature areas, now there is just a simple mega-cocktail the coal mining companies have been mixing up for decades and putting into flimsy martini glass thin containers, pocketing years and years of income and waiting for the spill to put them out of business whereupon they will declare bankruptcy, take their investment portfolio and walk away to let the US people clean up their greedy mess.
When will we learn--
1) wind and sun renewable energy, and
2) to simply turn off the energy gluttony.
Do we need another moveon.org commercial showing our cute young kids spooning up toxic coal slurry first, or can we just do the right thing because it is the right thing to do.
The Value of a Life - Sharing the Human Cost of War
According to one government association, the FAA, the cost of a human life is $2.7 million. Maybe we need to create a government tax risk for the 130,000 wealthiest Americans (or whatever the equivalent number is to match the troops overseas) where they'll randomly be hit with a $2.7 million tax each time a life is lost in the war? So far, this would have shared the burden with over 600 of the wealthiest Americans and raised over $1.6 billion.Considering that there are over 250,000 decamillionaires in the US today (those worth more than $10,000,000), the pain of coughing up $2.7 million for Bush's war should be a palatable sacrifice.
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
TIME.com: The Case for a War Tax - on Gas -- Apr. 19, 2004
A political hot potato? Yes. But also a good example of the type of pain this country needs to endure to understand the true cost of war, driving excessively gas guzzling vehicles, and the cost of government in general.TIME.com: The Case for a War Tax - on Gas -- Apr. 19, 2004: "The case for a gas tax is a straightforward one. Gas prices are strikingly lower in America than anywhere else in the world; such taxes are relatively easy to collect; since an overwhelming majority of Americans drive, few avoid the tax; and by adding a cost to the wanton consumption of gasoline, you actually encourage conservation, accelerate fuel efficiency, reduce pollution, cut traffic and help wean Americans off the oil that requires the U.S. to be so intimately involved in that wonderful cesspool of rival hatreds, the Middle East. So what's not to like?"
Shopping Mall Business Prioritizing Airport Security?
While there may be security reasons to justify this change, reading that the existence of an airport mall is influencing this decision in any way is very disturbing. I'm also not particularly interested in standing in line behind dozens on non-fliers so they can shop at an airport mall and see of their flying family member or friend from a few hundred feet further into the airport.Yahoo! News - Feds Might Ease Post-9/11 Airport Rule: "Pittsburgh is a strong candidate for the experiment for two reasons: It has a centralized security checkpoint in one terminal. And it has a full-scale shopping mall that has suffered a drop-off in business because it is reachable only by ticketed passengers. "
Sunday, April 18, 2004
Hold Restaurants to Higher Inspection Standards than Gun Shops?
Can someone explain to me how we're better off by NOT allowing federal authorities to randomly inspect gun dealers? What should law abiding gun dealers have to worry about? As a gun owner, I find Cheney and his NRA puppeteer's position completely irrational.Yahoo! News - Cheney Says Kerry a Threat to Gun Owners: "'John Kerry's approach to the Second Amendment has been to regulate, regulate and then regulate some more,' Cheney said, citing votes against legislation that would protect gun makers from lawsuits and in favor of allowing federal authorities to randomly inspect gun dealers without notice. "
