I have no memory of this, but apparently the US Core of Engineers stopped the water flow over Niagara Falls in 1969 to see how stable the rock bed was. Flickr user, Russ Glasson, took several amazing pictures of the event: Niagara Falls with no water falling! Check his photos out at this link.
I found this TEDtalk, on the Happy Planet Index, by Nick Marks, to be deeply inspiring and brilliantly on target. It is absolutely worth 17 minutes of your time! He talks about creating the world we all want to live in without costing the earth in the process. He claims our current policy and cultural focus on productivity and materialism is flawed for measuring the well-being of a country and its people.
Nick sites these 5 things we should reflect on in our daily lives enrich our personal happiness without costing the earth. His entire talk is fantastic and has significant implications far beyond saving the earth but could inform our policy on economics, education, health, etc.
We just returned from a very short visit to my hometown of Pensacola. My FC, favorite cousin, Susan, came down for the visit as well. We had a wonderful time filled with laughter, good seafood, and great political talk (the FC and I are on the same side of the political coin). I don't know, it seems the dispersants used in the Gulf, made all of the seafood especially flavorful. Actually, we made sure none of the seafood we ate came from the Gulf. This picture, click to enlarge, was taken by the HU at the Oar House, one of my favorite Pensacola establishments.
So nicely done. Be sure to check out Phil's post on the setup for this time lapse. He includes a 12 minute audio podcast about it as well at: Phil's Blog Post. Oh, and watch this in full screen mode!
If this TED talk by toxicologist Susan Shaw isn't depressing and a powerful call to arms, then nothing is.
She begins by mentioning the chemical industry, which is all but completely unregulated, and how many chemicals can be found in our bodies. In Europe, the numbers are vastly, vastly lower. The worst offender: flame retardant. It's in everything you can imagine (your clothes, cars, furniture...), including your blood stream now! At least we are less likely than the rest of the world to spontaneously combust!
But her talk is on the deadly cocktail that is the chemical dispersants and the oil combination designed to cause the oil to drop to the bottom of the Gulf so we don't see the damage it is doing. Apparently the deadly dispersants make the oil vastly more likely to enter the organs of body through the skin. We don't even know all of the compounds in the dispersants because the chemical industry is not required to disclose them by law. What a revolting shock!
Our US government has completely failed to protect people. What good is it?!
I just get so angry at what we as Americans tolerate without a second thought! Such short-sighted, live for the comfort of the moment idiocy!
I find it so unspeakably maddening that important, reflective, intelligent voices of reason such as Susan Shaw's, are ignored in mainstream media because the influence peddlers would prefer we receive a steady diet of buffoons like Sarah Palin! Dear god!
Today we went walking along the beach and plopped our beach chairs surf side to enjoy a moment of sunshine and the cool ocean breeze. When I sat down, I noticed I had a glob of tar near the heal of my foot. And since I had forgotten to wear my "official beach shoes," I was going to have a very hard time getting the tar glob off.
While seated I frequently rubbed my heal in the sand. No help at all.
So, when I got home, I Googled "remove tar foot" and saw two suggestions:
All of the toothpaste here at the house is gel; so, I got the olive oil out and the tiny new toothbrush my dentist gave me when I had my teeth last cleaned. The tedious process took about 20 minutes, but it worked. Below are the pictures documenting the trauma. Consider this my own personal exhibit of "Crude Awakening" that I blogged about before.
The tar (combined with the beach sand) becomes hard and is completely stuck to the skin. I couldn't even scrape it off with a sea shell. It has the dank tar smell.
The Tar Glob Proper
The Tools for the Procedure
Twenty Minutes Later 
This is quite the week for tar. The city of Manhattan Beach is in the process of redoing the slurry on the streets (that black tar goo with little tiny pebbles in it). They just did the two streets by the house. It's incredibly messy. The workers also got black tar on the grass by the side of the house. Not happy as that oil spill will probably kill the grass.
Oil is gushing freely into the Gulf of Mexico today as BP is trying to cap the well again. And I just read an article online about the potential of a massive methane gas bubble from all of the methane gushing from the well in the Gulf (40% is methane gas and 60% is oil) rising from the Gulf and causing the extinction of all life on earth as methane gas is deadly. She claims the sea floor around the gushing well is rising for about a 5 mile radius. I hope the author is a crackpot. If not, at least BP was kind enough to only kill all life on one planet in the solar system.
Check out the link at the bottom for a more detailed description of the methane gas theory including a link to the original article.
But the greatest tragedy of all was the realization that I have lived here in Manhattan Beach for about 2.5 years now, and today was the first time I've actually sat out on the beach. That will be rectified this summer!
No wonder cancer is rampant in our world today. Unbelievably, by the time I was born, 134 atomic bombs had been detonated on our planet:
And, horrifying as it may be, 2,053 atomic bombs have been exploded on the planet through 1998 with over half being detonated by the US.
NPR's Robert Krulwich reports that in 1962, shortly after the discovery of the magnetic Van Allen radiation belts were discovered, the US military exploded an atomic bomb in outer space to see if they could disrupt the Van Allen belt to use it as a weapon against the USSR. The project, named Starfish Prime, produced an astounding light show in the heavens.
I can think of little that could be so irresponsible and nothing that better demonstrates the evil nature of the military industrial complex that runs this nation. Those military officials and scientists discover something they do not understand and then want to see if they can blow it up. This is insanity.
What other lunatic experiments have the unknowing people of the earth been victimized by because of this military experimentation? I have no doubt that thousands have died and probably will continue to die of cancer as a result of these bomb tests and god knows what else (biological experiments, etc.).
View the interactive graphic of when, where, and by whom the atomic bombs were detonated. Source: CTBTO
The hyper, militant, radical, evil, ultra-conservative, Republican noise machine has reached a new level of shill: stop beating up poor little innocent BP. [Insert a string of vile profanities of your own choosing here.] Listen to these idiots.
At the very least, BP should go out of business. Frankly, I favor the US nationalizing all of their assets. Just please spare Tony a yacht.
Near my hometown of Pensacola, this photo of Orange Beach, Alabama: what once was crytstal clear, slightly blue/green water — so clear you can see your toes on the white sandy bottom. Now, ruined — probably forever. (Click to enlarge.)
I'd vote for her! Shoot, I'd campaign for her! She's attractive and charming. She's witty and articulate. She speaks core American values. She does her homework.
Obama, while infinitely better than his wretched predecessor, has been astoundingly disappointing as president. This disaster affords him the opportunity to do right by the American people and fulfill one of the primary duties of government: protect and defend — not from some invisible "terrorist" threat, but from the very visible threat of capitalism gone awry, greed and excess, of government beholden to transglobal corporations and not the people.
Once again, Rachel Maddow nails it in her "fake speech to the nation as fake President Obama."
Texas Republican Joe Barton shows he only cares about the oil industry.
“I’m ashamed of what happened in the White House,” Barton said today as a House Energy Committee panel began a hearing on BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The Obama administration called Barton’s comments “shameful.”
The London-based oil company agreed yesterday to Obama’s request to establish a fund to pay damages from the spill, and to temporarily suspend dividends as Gulf residents and businesses begin filing claims. BP said it will commit $20 billion to the fund.
Source: Bloomberg: BP's Spill Fund a $20 Billion Shakedown, Rep. Barton Says
Tony Hayward's appearance before Congress is just another expensive governmental "go-through-the-motions" sham. I still maintain that the oil industry as a whole should be regulated like any other public utility.
Software Updates
I admit that I use technology more than the average person. Maybe I need to change that, because I am sick to death of sitting down to work at one of my computers only to be greeted with a bunch of software updates — which I always feel compelled to do immediately and be done with. Then, 5 minutes later I launch an application I need to use only to find that there is a new version available for download. Three minutes later I'm ready to get to work.
Only now, the new version has a damned bug in it and will not do what the old version did just fine. It crashes. I relaunch to try it again. The crash reporter comes up. I fill it out. I get so fed up trouble shooting software that I pay to own. Obviously these software companies do not test their work!!! Then the software crash reporter has to gather my system information. Well damn —that takes a good 5 minutes. And of course it will take a day or two (or week or month) for the support team to respond and then weeks before a software update is issued — oh god!!!! another software update. Hell!!!!! A half hour passes and I haven't accomplished anything! This pisses me off in a HUGE, HUGE way.
AT&T Has New Data Plans
AT&T is trying to get the message out that the new plans will save most users money unless you are a "data hog!" Well, let me tell AT&T something. I am a data hog. And I pay damned good money to be one too! Get off your greedy, stingy ass and stop trying to blame your customers, who pay for your service, for the fact that your service is crap! Instead, --novel idea here-- invest some of your profits in upgrading your network!
And AT&T wants you to believe that the new rates will save 95% of their customers money. Yeah, right!!! This year. Just wait boys and girls. How long before they raise the rates and make even more money off their already over-priced, crappy network?!!
I bought an iPad without 3G, because I refuse to give AT&T another penny of my money. I loathe this company! I use my MiFi from Verizon for my network access when I'm out of range of one of my WiFi networks. Screw you, AT&T. Verizon has a pervasive 3G network that works!
BP MUST Go Out of Business
I have never in all of my life seen a company CEO that is as arrogant, self-serving, calloused, and evil-hearted as the CEO of BP! He is tired of the oil spill and "just wants his life back?!" What a #$%@ing bastard!
What about the 11 people that were killed by what appears to be company negligence*? What about the entire ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico? Watching the poor birds violently gasping trying to catch just one more breath to stay alive before their inevitable death is too heartbreaking. What we can't see are all of the different kinds of sea life that have been poisoned to death in the water by BP's oil, toxic chemicals, greed and negligence! And they are spending $7,500 a day to purchase search terms from Google to get their spin out as the top search results about this horrific environmental catastrophe.
These poor creatures have no idea what is happening to them as their flesh is burning, their eyesight is taken, and they painfully struggle to survive the impossible.
As far as I am concerned Tony Hayward and his company can rot in hell!
Photos Source: Caught in the Oil: boston.com
*See the 60 Minutes exposé
I had no idea that the grandson of the renowned late Jacque Cousteau lives just a few miles up the road in Santa Monica, California. As a child I loved watching his grandfather's expeditions. This interview is so depressing.
I could cut my leg off, I could cut my arm off, I could gouge my eye out, I'd still probably survive, but not very well," Cousteau said. "And that's what we're doing to our oceans.
Pointing to massive annual dead zones off the U.S. coast, Cousteau explained that our oceans are past their tipping point:
The Florida Keys, third longest barrier reef in the world, is a dead zone. Ninety percent of the big fish, the tuna, the sharks, and other things, are already gone in the oceans. There's a dead zone in the Gulf Of Mexico every summer the size of New Jersey, where there's not enough oxygen for things to live. So it's not a question of 'Can the oceans take any more?' The oceans can't take any more. They couldn't take any more fifty years ago. The question is, when are we going to stop?
Source: Phillippe Cousteau To Bill Maher: Even Before Oil Spill, The Oceans Couldn't Take Any More (VIDEO)
He also speaks of the enormous mass of non- biodegradable plastics in the middle of the Pacific ocean larger than the size of the state of Texas! Ironic, isn't it.
Related articles:
- Phillippe Cousteau, Jr. To Bill Maher: Even Before Oil Spill, The Oceans Couldn't Take Any More (VIDEO) (huffingtonpost.com)
- Phillippe Cousteau Joins Bill Maher to Talk Deepwater Disaster (VIDEO) (treehugger.com)
- Philippe Cousteau dives into the Gulf oil spill (theworld.org)
- Behind the Scenes With First Divers To Descend Beneath the Surface of Gulf Oil Spill (Exclusive) (treehugger.com)
- Underwater nightmare: 'What BP does not want you to see.' (thinkprogress.org)
- Cousteau's grandson: "This is a nightmare." (crooksandliars.com)
But he, BP senior VP Kent Wells, really is anything but Mr. Clean.
The carefully placed shine on the top of his head is brilliant marketing! Godlike. Saintly. Trust me. I am your savior.
The LCD TV screen instead of a poster spends your BP dollar well while making the white on the graph look as white as possible — much brighter than a poster board would appear!
A wrinkle-free grey shirt. The perpendicular lines on the beige wall behind them to make the graph appear as tall and as white as possible.
Tech update... Oh really? Interesting that BP would title the picture for everyone. I think of it more as an ongoing environmental Chernobyl update!
Wow! This spin machine is in high gear!! They left nothing to chance!
But think of his work more like Mr. Filth.
He is deceiving the world with his trickery: graphs. Oh, the lies data can tell. Looks likes things are getting a lot better. The green bars are going up high! Lots of white space. Even some blue. How environmentally pure.
Pooh authentica!!
Sure, the syphon is collecting more and more oil. The bar should be going up. But why does he not include a black, oily, slimy colored bar for the millions of gallons of crude oil that are NOT being syphoned off?
Let me tell you: perhaps the ceiling in the room is not tall enough for that graph!!!!! The little green line would be shockingly dwarfed by the enormous, hideous bar representing the volume of oil already and continuing to be dumped into the Gulf!
Cut to the chase, liars: first you told us the well was only leaking at most 5,000 barrels (or gallons, I forget) of oil a day. But then, oops, we find out that the syphon is sucking up 2,000 - 3,000 and not even making a visible dent in the huge volume of oil we see leaking out. Then experts confess the well could be leaking as many as 100,000 per day!
Don't forget boys and girls, am I the only one that remembers they said the oil was leaking in three places???? Yet we only ever see one of them???? And why is that??????
And the Republicans want to turn the tide with their spin machine: Obama's fault now.
Yeah, right!
Drill baby, drill!
Lie baby, lie!
Screw people. Screw the earth. Screw wildlife. After all, it's all about profit!
When the Exxon Valdez spewed 10.8 million gallons of crude oil in Alaska in 1989, I was horrified. I was so angered by not only that companies irresponsible destruction of habitat and commerce, but their callus and irresponsible lack of sufficient and meaningful effort to redress the horrible wrong they had perpetrated on our planet, people, and wildlife.
I don't know that I've ever made this public, but from that day forward, I've never purchased gasoline from any Exxon, Esso, Enco, Mobil, and Humble stations—all owned by Exxon. I never will purchase gas from Exxon as long as I live. This was significant to me because Exxon had always been my preferred brand of gasoline all of my life. No more.
Now, BP has committed an even greater atrocity against the earth. No one can have watched the CBS 60 Minutes exposé on the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon without being overcome with the level of irresponsibility of British Petroleum. And to see their arrogance surrounding this matter ... I just have no words. These companies are making record profits and just are raping the earth. The have secured legislation limiting their liability in any disastrous event to only $75 million dollars. Obvious, with Dick Cheney and George W. Bush as glowing examples, they own our government.
The oil these companies take from the earth what belongs to the people of the United States. Why do these companies pay nothing for its taking? Why is this industry not regulated like the water, gas, and electric industry as a common utility for the public good?!
Since our government has once again failed us, I call on all Americans to boycott the irresponsible corporate greed of Exxon and BP by no longer purchasing their gasoline. Put them out of business. Chevron. How long until you desecrate my trust?
When the Exxon Valdez spewed 10.8 million gallons of crude oil in Alaska in 1989, I was horrified. I was so angered by not only that companies irresponsible destruction of habitat and commerce, but their callus and irresponsible lack of sufficient and meaningful effort to redress the horrible wrong they had perpetrated on our planet, people, and wildlife.
I don't know that I've ever made this public, but from that day forward, I've never purchased gasoline from any Exxon, Esso, Enco, Mobil, and Humble stations—all owned by Exxon. I never will purchase gas from Exxon as long as I live. This was significant to me because Exxon had always been my preferred brand of gasoline all of my life. No more.
Now, BP has committed an even greater atrocity against the earth. (BP includes ARCO.) No one can have watched the CBS 60 Minutes exposé on the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon without being overcome with the level of irresponsibility of British Petroleum. And to see their arrogance surrounding this matter ... I just have no words. These companies are making record profits and just are raping the earth. The have secured legislation limiting their liability in any disastrous event to only $75 million dollars. Obvious, with Dick Cheney and George W. Bush as glowing examples, they own our government.
The oil these companies take from the earth what belongs to the people of the United States. Why do these companies pay nothing for its taking? Why is this industry not regulated like the water, gas, and electric industry as a common utility for the public good?!
Since our government has once again failed us, I call on all Americans to boycott the irresponsible corporate greed of Exxon and BP by no longer purchasing their gasoline. Put them out of business. Chevron. How long until you desecrate my trust?
You know, I think democracy is just much too expensive: all of those expensive campaigns and elections, the cost of congress, the presidency, the supreme court. And then running all of those state governments. It's simply not cost effective.
I suggest we combine state and nation government into one and just have all the CEO's of the very largest transglobal corporations, regardless of their country of origin, run government. To keep military spending high, they can have a huge military to enforce their regulations on the poor, stupid masses.
We can abolish all rights of individuals—again, they are not cost effective. The only rights will be reserved for corporations to make profit.
Then we can convert all of the earth's natural resources into profit! We can privatize public schools to make even more money. And we save a fortune not having regulations and regulators!!
I think this is a great idea! Freedom, democracy, and the environment are much too over rated! Yes! Yes!! Yes!!! Drill, baby, drill!!
It looks very scary. It's not good. I really feel... not good about that." That's what the International Space Station Commander, cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, says about the Gulf's oil disaster. This is the last satellite image.
Captured by NASA's Aqua satellite, the image shows only part of the oil surface, with the Sun shining over. I've exaggerated the image contrast so you can clearly see the extend of the damage."
I'm enraged that CBS is being blocked by the US Coast Guard from reporting on how bad this catastrophe really is. But you never know! Those liberal commy reporters are probably terrorists seeking to set the entire Gulf of Mexico on fire by tossing a match into the water! Can't trust them! No, no, no!!
I hadn't come across Sean Stiegemeier's work until I saw this astounding time lapse of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupting. Not only do you see stunning imagery from nature, but his use of the motorized dolly really brings this to life. And the still life of the old bullet riddled plane... Way awesome. Amazing work! No doubt this guy will have work start pouring in.
I hope he had one whale of a zoom! (He used a wide angle though. Brave man!)
For the best viewing experience, watch this with HD on!
"I don't think I'm overstating the case by saying this is America's Chernobyl." —Louie Miller, Mississippi state director, Sierra Club, at a news conference on May 1, 2010, in Gulfport, Mississippi.
Not overstating it? Indeed!
But, unless you live on the Gulf Coast, as does my extended family, unless you know people who will lose everything because their livelihood. in fact, the economy of the whole regions already deeply depressed by the aftermath of Katrina, is completely dependent on the health of the Gulf of Mexico, this is just a minor little setback in the United State's intoxicated love affair with oil consumption and war above all else.
God forbid we should have policy that takes care of people and the environment in which we live! That ain't Amurrrrican! That ain't for the real Amurrrrica.
I mourn the death of the pristine beauty of the Gulf Coast on which I grew up: the sugar white sands, the beaches littered with sea shells and crabs, the clearest water in the world in which you could watch little seahorses and starfish swim, dolphins play, and routinely see huge sea turtles and giant manta rays swimming in the wild.
Gone, now. Probably forever so bubbah can drive his Hummer and Ms. Thing can sip her bottled water shipped all the way from Fiji. Am I angry? You're damned right I am! Where's the righteous indignation over taking care of people and the beauty of God's creation?! Instead, we just want to kick some terrorist butt so we can guzzle some more oil.
And where is Dick Cheney today? Talking to King Abdullah in Saudi Arabia? Trying to line his purse with more oil money no doubt? Now isn't he just the clever one. Dick never misses an opportunity!
Our reckless, live-for-the-moment, greedy, consumptive lifestyle in this nation will inevitably kill us all. But what matters most is that some people will get very wealthy in the process.
I'm confident that no one could have imagined an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. I mean, we've never had such a thing before. The existence of entire ecosystems have never been threatened before. People's livelihoods have never before been decimated by an oil spill, say: in Alaska. How could anyone have anticipated such a thing?
Besides, we have a Chevron oil refinery right here directly on the Pacific Ocean with giant oil tankers anchored out in the bay all the time. And just look how pristine our bay area is! Why, I only had to spend 3 hours this morning getting some oily tar mass off of the shoes I wore last week as I walked along the surf crashing along the shell-free beaches.
As Sarah Palin so eloquently put it in just good ole, real Amurrrican English that everyone can understand: "Drill baby, drill!"
The photo above was taken after spending about an hour scraping the oily tar gunk off using a knife. Then I went to Home Depot and purchased some toxic chemicals designed to vaporize all living things. After another couple of hours scrubbing the shoes, 5 plastic gloves, 2 sponges, and countless paper towels, the shoes are mostly clean. (The rubber soles will probably be eaten off during the night by the residual chemicals.) Pictured below is the sink after the cleaning was completed.
Yes indeed, "Drill baby, drill!" Sarah is just so smart. And unfettered capitalism is just so good. I'm just feeling so patriotic today. Praise the lord!
Alila Villas Uluwatu, in Bali, is sustainable resort on Bali's southern coast. The pictures depict a gorgeous resort selling for $800 a night and touting luxury combined with ecology. (I'm not too sure such a thing can exist.) But the place is gorgeous. [Source: CoolHunting—sited below the pictures]
I love the infinity pool pictured above.
Every morning in Manhattan Beach, a large truck pulls a huge raking mechanism along the beach to pick up all of the trash* the tide and beach goers left behind. In the past I've actually posted a picture of what that looks like.
This morning I got up early to photograph the sunrise. The thick layer of fog over the water precluded that endeavor, but I was greeted with a water buffalo and his owner raking the beach front here in front of the bungalow. He really is more flattening the beach than raking it as their is no trash in the sand, only sea shells.
The water buffalo would dutifully follow his owner back and forth pulling this weighted log behind him. At one point the owner left the water buffalo along the beach while he went to the boathouse for a moment.
Then, the fishermen started working along the beachfront. Next the sun began to appear above the fog layer and horizon. I snapped several pictures, but in my rush I bumped he camera settings and didn't realize it. All of the sunrise pictures were almost completely overexposed. I'll have to hope for a repeat or even better tomorrow.
I'm now sitting outside for a little while, blogging. The humidity is probably 100%. Photographing the morning events was a challenge as the camera had been inside the room for most of the night and the lenses immediately fogged up. I realized I would face this dilemma and placed the camera and lenses in the outdoor garden to adjust to the temperature and humidity difference for about 3 hours, but that didn't prove adequate. Even my computer screen is completely fogged up as I type this!
* I've shown the trash that washes up from the ocean: massive amounts of styrofoam and plastic that somehow manage to find their way out to sea only to be washed in from the tides. The amount of non-biodegradable trash is revolting!
Bloomberg reports today that, astoundingly, Iraq is now opening its doors to BP, Exxon Mobile, and Shell for the first time since 1972, when the country, under the leadership of the now executed Saddam Hussein, nationalized all of its oil fields. Astoundingly, this will open the 3rd largest oil reserves in the world directly to western countries.
And, um... why are we complaining about the bank bailouts? How much money did the citizens of this country spend on (and will continue to spend on) making this happen for the oil corporations? (Not to mention the number of people that were killed!) If there is a hell, unfettered capitalist greed needs to rot in it.
In my earlier post, I mentioned that the surf has been out of control with the storm and earthquake. The life guard stations had to be moved inland—waaaay inland, and the surf still almost got to them. Here you can see that the sand was completely eroded away by the surf, creating the sudden drop off that was as tall as me! (Click to enlarge.)
Normally, along a seashore, one expects to find seashells. Well, not so here in the South Bay. Regrettably, the dumping of LA's sewage has long ago killed such sea life. But what I found even more distressing was the amount of trash the surf brought to the shore line. It was unbelievable! Thousands of plastic bottle caps littered the shoreline as if they were the missing seashells! Bits of styrofoam, in various sizes, were everywhere. This is outrageous! We have turned the Pacific Ocean into a sewer. Click the image below to see two different pictures.
we eat genetically modified food?
Three types of Monsanto genetically modified corn are under scrutiny in the wake of a new study published by the International Journal Of Biological Sciences which found that rats ingesting the corn were subject to statistically significant amounts of organ toxicity....
The finding that corn produced by one of the world's agricultural giants could cause organ failure has been met with obvious concern by food activists and consumers alike.
"Effects were mostly concentrated in kidney and liver function, the two major diet detoxification organs, but in detail differed with each GM type. In addition, some effects on heart, adrenal, spleen and blood cells were also frequently noted. "
[Source: Monsanto's genetically-modified corn causes organ failure in rats // Current.]
I've actually been thinking more and more about leaving the US. I mean: for good. I find myself so disillusioned with what is happening in my native land.
My country forces education reform that is destroying creativity, problem solving, deep thinking, and analysis of knowledge to inform carefully considered long term solution-making for the immediacy of factionalized curriculum memorization. My country will not move beyond prejudice and discrimination. My country is squandering our national (as well as international) resources. My country is flinging privacy and personal freedom as fast as it escalates fear. My country cares more about greed, money, and possessing things than it does about people and their basic wellbeing. My country is removing the separation of church and state and forcing people to live by tenets of religion in which they may not personally believe. My country allows business, built on greed and outsourcing, to become so large they can not fail and must receive tax payer's money to keep the executes rolling in fat bonuses with shameless abandon. My nation's government is bought and sold by transglobal corporations and makes divisiveness its core ethic.
I can do little of nothing to stop or change any of this.
I wonder if this is a natural part of getting older--seeing the world through more jaded eyes. But I see other nations, not without their faults to be sure, at least maintaining some more moderate and productive sense of balance. I just think the US government is fundamentally broken and inept.
I shared last night at dinner that I actually don't think the US will be able to move to a better place within my lifetime. This saddens me greatly.
I've supported Lawrence Lessig's work for some time. I've had his "Change Congress" link on my site for some time. In this video he sums up things, and, unlike my dismal state of disillusion, offers a ray of hope. He doesn't frame the problem as conservative versus liberal or Republican versus Democrat. He is insightful and brilliant.
This morning I sat down to read the news headlines while eating breakfast and learned that Delta has increased the fees they charge for checking bags. My first thought was, "So, what's next? Is Walmart going to start charging for shopping cart use?"
Well, good grief! Almost.
A few articles down I see a video link to Walmart now charging for shopping bags in selected stores.
Frankly, I think the idea of the reusable shopping bag is a good idea. I think anything that reduces the vast amount of plastic waste we generate in our world is a good thing. It cuts oil consumption. (Plastic manufacture uses petroleum products.) And, it reduces landfill waste and off shore dumping.
The grocery stores in Manhattan Beach have offered reusable bags for months now. (Click the image to view the larger picture.)
I believe we need to return government to "of the people, by the people, and for the people"—not a radically new idea, really.
I invite you to explore Larry Lessig's Change Congress initiative.
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| Unibody MacBook Pro | Apple's Keynote |
| MacPro | Panic's Coda |
| Logitech's Cordless Trackman Optical Trackball | MacRabbit's CSSEdit |
| Apple's Magic Mouse | MacRabbit's Espresso |
| iPhone 3Gs | LaunchBar |
| Canon 5D Mark II | Adobe's Lightroom |
| Adjuste Pano Head | MarsEdit |
| Drobo | NetNewsWire |
| Wacom's Bluetooth Tablet | Podcast Maker |
| PopChar | |
| Netware | LittleSnapper |
| SlideShowPro | Panic's Transmit |
| Blazeback | Wirecast and BoinxTV |
| Hootsuite and TweetDeck | WriteRoom & Scrivener |
| DropBox | xScope |
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