Thursday, May 31, 2007
Largest Photovoltaic Panel in the World
This is the future. I love when politicians say solar isn't viable. Is it really any less viable than putting a man on the moon? Then building a national system of highways that paved the way for the car industry? If we want to make truly clean energy a reality, we have to have leaders who can envision it with us and then have the ability to carry that desire out with a strong plan.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Jerry Falwell
The Reverend Jerry Falwell passed away yesterday in his office at Liberty Univeristy of heart complications. While it's never a good day when we lose another human being on this earth, I have to say I was ok with losing this one. Falwell was perhaps one of the most outspoken bigots when it came to homosexuality, America's God culture and anyone left of center on the political spectrum.
My good buddy Isaac over at the Voices of American Sexuality Magazine has posted a great list of Falwell's best quotes. My favorite:
“Christians, like slaves and soldiers, ask no questions”
Um, last I checked the disciples of Jesus asked plenty of questions. Questions are the beginning of progress. It promotes action and is what comes before change occurs, both in thought and in action. If Falwell really believes that Christians shouldn't ask questions than I have to think that Falwell is against progress.
My good buddy Isaac over at the Voices of American Sexuality Magazine has posted a great list of Falwell's best quotes. My favorite:
“Christians, like slaves and soldiers, ask no questions”
Um, last I checked the disciples of Jesus asked plenty of questions. Questions are the beginning of progress. It promotes action and is what comes before change occurs, both in thought and in action. If Falwell really believes that Christians shouldn't ask questions than I have to think that Falwell is against progress.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
All Hail Loyalty
Are you loyal to your country? This seems to be the question our country's draft-dodging, cocaine-using, recovering alcoholic of a president is asking us. On Monday, Congress passed into law a new national holiday: National Loyalty Day. As if I need a day to remind me of my loyalty. Its like having a day to forgive my sins and cash in my good deeds.
The move, surprisingly passing in both houses without much fanfare or discussion, smacks of autocracy and confusion at the White House. But perhaps the ironic piece of this move is that May 1st has traditionally been May Day, a day of May-poles and flowers. It also is a big labor holiday in my dad's hometown of St.Louis, MO as May 1st was the day that summer construction contracts were signed. Unions have always turned out en masse for May Day celebrations and in the past century May Day has also been known as International Worker's Day dedicated to supporting and celebrating the labor movement and the working class.
So, now we add "Loyalty Day" to the list of things to celebrate on May 1. But how the hell do you celebrate loyalty? And isn't it utterly relative? I could celebrate my loyalty to Red Sox Nation by watching the Red Sox tonight. Does that count? Why do we need a useless "holiday" to remind us of our loyalty?
This gets to the root of the problem with a lot of Republican enforced government measures: they're not specific. Their War on Nouns (War on Poverty, War on Drugs, War on Terrorism) has been nothing short of a complete disaster. Their education programs of late (No Child Left Behind) have wavered and collapsed. And now, to add insult to injury, they can't even come up with a decent holiday to add to the national calendar. I guess expecting a timetable and exit strategy around Iraq was out of the question.
In the end, this holiday will have zero impact on our lives. There are millions of holidays that go by without any sort of real acknowledgment. How did you celebrate Labor Day and Memorial Day last year? Most likely, similar to millions of other Americans, you got off work, went to the beach/barbecue/ballgame/picnic of your choice and had a great day off. What sucks about Loyalty Day is that I can't skip out on work. At least they could give me that, for godsakes.
The move, surprisingly passing in both houses without much fanfare or discussion, smacks of autocracy and confusion at the White House. But perhaps the ironic piece of this move is that May 1st has traditionally been May Day, a day of May-poles and flowers. It also is a big labor holiday in my dad's hometown of St.Louis, MO as May 1st was the day that summer construction contracts were signed. Unions have always turned out en masse for May Day celebrations and in the past century May Day has also been known as International Worker's Day dedicated to supporting and celebrating the labor movement and the working class.
So, now we add "Loyalty Day" to the list of things to celebrate on May 1. But how the hell do you celebrate loyalty? And isn't it utterly relative? I could celebrate my loyalty to Red Sox Nation by watching the Red Sox tonight. Does that count? Why do we need a useless "holiday" to remind us of our loyalty?
This gets to the root of the problem with a lot of Republican enforced government measures: they're not specific. Their War on Nouns (War on Poverty, War on Drugs, War on Terrorism) has been nothing short of a complete disaster. Their education programs of late (No Child Left Behind) have wavered and collapsed. And now, to add insult to injury, they can't even come up with a decent holiday to add to the national calendar. I guess expecting a timetable and exit strategy around Iraq was out of the question.
In the end, this holiday will have zero impact on our lives. There are millions of holidays that go by without any sort of real acknowledgment. How did you celebrate Labor Day and Memorial Day last year? Most likely, similar to millions of other Americans, you got off work, went to the beach/barbecue/ballgame/picnic of your choice and had a great day off. What sucks about Loyalty Day is that I can't skip out on work. At least they could give me that, for godsakes.
Superfunds near you
In case everyone forgot about how many biohazard sites we have in this country, the Center for Public Integrity gives us a stern visual reminder: they're in our backyard.
CPI has also found that funding and follow through on clean up around Superfund sites has dropped precipitously since 2000 (go figure -- I guess thats what happens when you appoint former industry lobbyists and friends to the EPA).
Among the most egregious companies contributing to Superfund waste sites (and their cover-up at the local level) are General Motors, Alcoa (largest steel manufacturer in the country), Chevron, BP, CBS Inc., General Electric (so much for that Ecomagination bullshit) and Dow Chemical. But the worst offender, the one that contributes the most with ties to Superfund sites all over the country is the Federal Government (read Department of Defense).
CPI has also found that funding and follow through on clean up around Superfund sites has dropped precipitously since 2000 (go figure -- I guess thats what happens when you appoint former industry lobbyists and friends to the EPA).
Among the most egregious companies contributing to Superfund waste sites (and their cover-up at the local level) are General Motors, Alcoa (largest steel manufacturer in the country), Chevron, BP, CBS Inc., General Electric (so much for that Ecomagination bullshit) and Dow Chemical. But the worst offender, the one that contributes the most with ties to Superfund sites all over the country is the Federal Government (read Department of Defense).
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