Monday, April 30, 2012

Wandering Through My Mind 30 APR 12

Any time a worker protests it is a threat to the state. We should just kill all the workers! That'll learn 'em!

Wandering Through My Mind 30 APR 12

In Canada and the USA the right wing nuts now advocate education only for the wealthy. Students are now evil. 

What's wrong with these people who think austerity and oppression are good for the community? 

They are mentally ill and must be removed from positions of power.

Wandering Through My Mind 30 APR 12

Should lottery winners be taxed? If this seems fair, then those who win a lottery by virtue of having chosen the right parents should also be taxed.

As that noted commie Adam Smith posited, labor creates all wealth.

If you have trouble understanding this, read a book. Stop getting your information from gasbag pundits and bumper stickers.

I suggest Perfectly Legal and Free Lunch by David Cay Johnston, and The Screwing of The Average Man by David Hapgood. Of course, Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith explains a lot.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Wandering Through My Mind 30 APR 12

Folks want to know my motto. It's complex - I have multiple mottoes matching multiple mentalities.

Here are a couple:

"Jack of All Trades; Master of Some" (This applies to my work as a mechanic, engineer, musician, photographer, recording engineer, computer goof, semi-scientist, and trouble maker.)

"Will Work for Pizza" (Since I don't make money playing music, I'll settle for this.)

Wandering Through My Mind 29 APR 12

I have a friend who became a grandparent at age 36. I suppose it's OK that I have become one at age 39. Granddaughter Shaelyn Rose Aflleje was born 28 APR 12 to my daughter Marissa Michelle Desavouret Aflleje and William Aflleje.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Wandering Through My Mind 28 APR 12

It's illegal to put electronic waste into Illinois land fills. DeKalb County runs a recycling program to collect and recycle electronic waste: http://www.dekalbcounty.org/health/environmental/waste.html

I participated in April and noted that there were hundreds of cars in line to get to the deposit area, manned by volunteers. I waited in line for 45 minutes, and was unable to shut off my car's engine because the line moved a few inches every few seconds. I asked for some details.

Crystal Springmede of the DeKalb County Health Department provided details:

928 automobiles were serviced. That was the count before the Health Dept. workers stopped counting due to very heavy demand. The program ran from 0830 to 1400 (?), but was not rigidly scheduled - when the trucks were full, the county would stop the program. I didn't get details on program termination.

The last recycling program serviced about 600 vehicles.

109,574 pounds of electronics devices were accepted.

2,000 pounds of batteries were accepted.

700 pounds of Compact Fluorescent light bulbs were accepted.

Electronic waste is expected to last 70 years.

A company in Pontiac, Illinois receives computer equipment and attempts to rebuild computers. Unusable components are shredded and smelted to remove usable elements and isolate toxic material.

A company near Janesville, Wisconsin accepts TVs and computer monitors for recycling.

There will be another recycling drive in the fall.

Springmede also pointed out that we can commit three crimes by improperly disposing of electronic waste. The consumer who attempts to put electronic waste into garbage, the disposal company that accepts the waste, and the landfill that processes such waste are all liable under the law. 

If you've read this far, you're waiting for the "but" statement. I won't disappoint you. The questions I have are, "how much fuel did we use by sitting in line for 45 minutes? How much toxic exhaust did people breathe during the project? Why does the county have to incur this expense? Don't we pay Waste Management for this "service," or do they only contract for things that are profitable (yes, rhetorical, but intentionally so).



Wandering Through My Mind

For those who think that government is evil and must be abolished, I suggest that they consider our rights under corporate rule. It's a simple document - a blank piece of paper.

No messy courts; no "trial" lawyers; no appeals; no voting; none of that junk that the Bill of Rights and The Constitution promises to those who believe in the fair representation of people who don't have a few million bucks to spare to buy legislative favors.

Voting? That's so 1960s.

Wandering Through My Mind

I suggest that we all write to our legislators (all of them!) and remind them that they are NOT OUR DOCTORS! What's wrong with these people; why is it the "small" government position to stomp on our rights?

Wandering Through My Mind

"To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead." - Thomas Paine

A recent comment to my Facebook entry posited that I would believe that North Korea is a "Liberal Paradise." The image is in my previous post, but here it is again. I don't fancy myself an artist, genius, or such, but I do pay attention and suggest that everyone else try it.

Wandering Through My Mind

I find it amazing that people who do not own stuff would support those who take stuff away from them.