Talkin' Trash

About 10 days ago I spoke in my blog about creating a national recycling clearinghouse. I was thinking today that, while the clearinghouse would reduce some trash and save some resources, there is more we could and should do in this area. Living out in the boonies, I don't have trash service. I take a trip to the dump about once a month to dispose of household trash. I do my best to recycle most everything that I can, but it still piles up. Every time I go I see people getting rid of things that can either be repaired or at least recycled, and they DO have an area for recycling. There is an employee working at the dump site, directing traffic and watching that nobody picks anything up to take back home (stupid rule). I believe that people should be REQUIRED to separate their recyclables. Then add one more employee at each site to inspect the loads when they are first weighed in. It wouldn't take long, just a minute or two, and it would seriously reduce the amount of trash going into the landfill. For pick-up service, have the employee check the trash and reject it if it is not separated. Gee, they would have to go back to actually getting out of their trucks. Then again, there use to be TWO workers per truck, and should be again.... wow, this would help the employment situation too!
I do NOT believe that we should have to pay a deposit when we purchase merchandise that is in recyclable containers, feeling that it is just another means for the state to get money for nothing as less than 50% voluntarily return the containers so the unclaimed deposits become state money. RIP-OFF

The Road to Utopia

I can't help but feel that the common person is getting swallowed up in this country. The gap between rich and poor continues to broaden and the middle class is becoming closer and closer to joining the poor. Soon it may just be the haves and have-nots... the service sector and the give me service sector. Not at all the way a country should be run. Oh sure, the politicians (correction.. the Democrats) talk a good game and promise the moon (the Republicans don't give Jack about the people... just business and money). The Democrats hearts may be in the right place but capitalism gets in the way. Capitalism, by it's very natural demands greed... a economic system of gaining wealth by screwing the next guy. Cheat, lie, steal... everybody wants their little slice of the pie... your pie. You can't have some of anybody Else's pie though...Just try asking for a raise and see what happens. Everyone cries when there is talk of increasing taxes because in the current state of things we pay a lot of taxes on just about everything and get pretty much nothing for it... but what if we did? What if we had to pay upwards of 80% in taxes... but got most or all of our basic needs taken care of for it? The remaining 20% would be purely disposable income to improve upon the basics in the areas that you decided. Health care, transportation, housing, utilities, food, employment, clothing.. all taken care of by the higher tax so you don't have to worry about it, and neither would the poor, because their wouldn't be any.
Of course, this can't happen as long as we are still a group of states, counties and cities... each grabbing for that slice of pie... and each with it's own laws, etc.
If we got rid of the separate state's right idea, this country could have uniform laws, schools, hospitals and many other things. We COULD just become a nation.... let's call it AMERICA.

We Don't Need to Show You no Stinking Badges

I read today that the U.S. Customs Border Patrol is urgently trying to hire more agents in the Southwest, so it seems like a good time to share my views about immigration... and more specifically, ILLEGAL immigration. I don't understand at all why anyone would be in favor of amnesty or fast track citizenship for illegal immigrants. Personally, I don't want someone here who has broken the law the very first second they enter my country. I realize that the welcoming committee is REAL busy, and it takes a long time to become a citizen, but anything worth having takes effort and patience. We already have the system in place to become a citizen and while it may or may not be any good... and I would be all for making it a speedier accomplishment by boosting that departments workforce and streamlining the process, I do believe that there are certain basic requirements necessary. Establishing identity would be a good start to getting a green card. After that, require that they (with the governments help) become gainfully employed (or that a household member supports them) and set up a residence. I feel that it is also important that they learn English within a period of time and take a proficiency test. They have to show that they would be good citizens by being lawful during the probationary period, then they should be granted the privilege of becoming a citizen... and the perks that go with it... but NOT until then.
I believe in strong borders, a strict but reasonable, fair and expedient means of becoming a citizen, and removal of ILLEGAL immigrants. If we can do this, then there will be no reason to do it illegally.

The Times They are a Changin'

Change is a constant, but in my opinion the changes lately have not been for the better... at least not better for the common man. The race for president is building more and more steam and I personally don't see a candidate that would bring any REAL change to this country. Actually, I don't think there has been a president worth much since Truman. JFK perhaps could have made a big difference if he had the time, but it wasn't to be. Since then it's gotten worse with each new administration. Weak losers with no vision, no integrity. The current administration is by far the worst though. I thought his daddy was bad, but GW (I refuse to say his name) could and would drive this country into the ground if it wasn't for term limits. Bold face liars, cheaters, thieves of life and property, with total disregard for the law, for the people of this great country (well, it use to be great.. and could be again) or for humanity. I don't need to cite specifics, anyone with a brain can and has seen all too much on the news about what these evil, power mad lunatics have done.... the worst of it we probably do not and will never know. Doesn't matter, I've seen enough already to believe that GW should be impeached and take the V.P. with him. That, of course, is the problem... to get rid of all the bad apples in this bunch we'd have to dig all the way down to who knows where.
Seems to me that the phrase "of the People, by the People and for the People" is no longer a part of the government. Politicians WILL say or do ANYTHING to get and stay in office. These people are suppose to represent US, the people. Instead, they are more loyal to their party (doesn't matter which one) so that the money supply stays open. Congressional Reps falsely believe that they are elected to LEAD us... that we are too stupid to know what's best for us. The fact is that they are elected to REPRESENT us in congress... to fight tooth and nail for what is RIGHT and for what WE tell them is important to US... not for what the lobbyists are willing to pay them for.. or to follow the party platform like a bunch of lemmings. I do not see one single candidate in this election year that wouldn't buckle under to the pressure of special interests.
My views are very much different from the mainstream.. I actually BELIEVE that the government should DO things to make this a better country. We have become the world's police and that's not a good thing. It is causing us to place the betterment of this country on a lower priority. Additionally, Big Business is far too involved in the politics of this country. Those who have almost all the money want the rest of it. Not a good thing. Words like sacrifice, integrity, generosity and kindness are seldom used.
We need to get back on track. There are hard and serious issues that NEED to be not only discussed, but solved... and solved in a way that makes this a BETTER country.

Power to the People

Last night here in Southern California we were under a severe rainstorm watch. I read that about 1 million people in Orange County were without power. Well, it happened to us at about 8:45pm. We lit candles, dug out the flashlight and, at first, complained about how there was no computer, no TV and worst of all, no heat. I decided some time ago that since the cost of propane was high, as was the the cost of decent firewood, we would just go with electric heaters. At least that way I'm only paying one large bill instead of several. Evently we sat around just talking and laughing, waiting for the lights to come on. They didn't... so after a couple of hours we turned in for the night. When we still had no power the next (cold) morning we went to breakfast and basically did our standard Saturday routine. The power came back on shortly before 10:00am and things got back to normal, but it did make me realize once again just how dependent we are on electricity. It was almost as if our lives had been put on hold until power was restored. I hate that feeling and would really like to be self-sufficient in our needs. I'd love to have solar and wind power, but right now we can't afford the initial costs. Still, the idea of being self sufficient is very appealing. Growing some or all of our food, owning and using only those things that we can maintain ourselves, making our own furniture, etc. Not generally practical in this day and age because using that electric table saw is a heck of a lot easier than a hand saw, but I do feel that we should all have a backup plan of some sort. Maybe just start with some oil lamps and go from there and at least I do OWN a hand saw!

Just Throw it Away

How did we become a throw-away here in America? When something... anything... breaks we pretty much just throw it away and get another. From lighters to computers, our dumps are filling at an alarming rate with stuff that actually can be fixed IF you A) knew how or B) knew a business that knew how. Good old American know-how is a thing of the past it seems, as are the Mr. Fix-it shops of years gone by. The problem is actually very simple. We buy junk..... junk that is cheap.... cheap because we can't afford to buy the good stuff.... and we can't afford it because we have Mc-jobs that pay little and care even less. Of course, the cheap stuff is SO cheap that it's not worth fixing even if you could find a way to do it. So we just go buy another cheap piece of junk to get us by, but in our heart we don't really want to throw it away because we still believe it's worth something. I know this is true because one of my hobbies while driving is looking at all the crap in my neighbor's yards. If it's not thrown away, it's parked, stored or stuffed in a corner. Cars, RVs, trailers, dune buggies, desks, pallets, the list is endless. It's a sign of rampant consumerism. We, as a people, generally have more crap than we need and an enormous appetite to buy more still (It's brainwashed into us by the never ending ads on the Web, TV, billboards and every place else you look). It's also a sign that this is a very wealthy society (or one that's up to it's ears in debt). We are conditioned to believe that we need this stuff to be happy. How nice it would be if there were "unwanted merchandise" clearinghouses around the country where people could donate their unwanted items and others who could actually use the stuff can have it for free. Wait a minute... a free warped piece of lumber?... a FREE chair?..... FREE half bricks? Nahhh, that could never work here in America... or could it?

You'll Wonder how you ever Lived Without it!

As a continuation of my blog from yesterday about boycotting.... let's explore the area of entertainment. Is it possible for them to stick just ONE MORE commercial advertisement into my TV viewing experience? Can't I view even MORE previews before starting that movie? You better believe they can, and will..... as long as we allow it. Some DVDs now will not allow you to fast forward through the "previews" (ads) before the movie. I have found that going to the disc menu can usually bypass the ads but it's just a matter of time if nothing is done. The typical TV show has 18 minutes of programming and 12 minutes of commercials per half hour. Don't believe me? Time it yourself! They try to convince you that you can't LIVE without it (the "it" being whatever they are selling of course). So, what to do????
BOYCOTT it!!!!! Make it public knowledge which companies or stations are the worst offenders and let them know that you will NOT tolerate it anymore. Personally, I will not rent or buy a Rogue Pictures movie because they are one I know of that has too many ads before the movie and doesn't allow the viewer to fast forward to the movie. Take a stand... get fed up.... go into action!
Just a note here about Hersheys chocolate company. My wife informed me recently that they are closing a plant in Canada and one in California (at least) and starting a new facility in Mexico.
Happy for Mexico, sad for the U.S. and Canada. Sorry Hersheys, you just made my person boycott list and I urge everyone else to join me.... No more Hershey chocolate... no Kit Kat bars... no peppermint patties... or anything else by Hersheys. (Shouldn't eat that crap anyway)